Howdy

QKR Stampede are having a 'cowboys' challenge, so I seized the chance to use up some of my leftover October Afternoon 'Saspirella' stickers. In addition to the stickers, I cut a cactus and 'Howdy' on the Silhouette cutting machine.

I'd also like to enter
Ooh La La one for the boys

Inkspirational Challenge - One Layer Card

Our new challenge at Inkspirational  is to make a one-layer-card. For my DT card I created a scee using two Penny Black stamps, two Mama Elephant sentiments and Promarkers.

I hope you will join us at Inkspirational  see the work of our DT and our Guest Designer Ellie , and enter your own one-layer card.

I'd like to enter: 

One Layer Christmas Card 

Winter Wonderland  create a scene

Get Whale

My poor daughter was taking the recycling out last week and tripped over the doorstep(!) and broke her leg. Things are not going well and she is having to have an operation on it.

The heartbeat thingy was a copyright-free image from the internet that I recoloured, mirrored and printed. The sentiment and whale are Studio Calico digistamps and I made the whale into a die cut on my Silhouette cutting machine. I used a pen round the edge and added a googly eye.

I'd like to enter:
Come and Get it  black and white and one other colour
Time Out  photo
Addicted to Stamps  cas

Happy Birthday Pia

It's time to say Happy Birthday to my lovely Inkspirational team-mate , Pia . I hope she has received this card by now .

I used a Hero Arts background text stamp, a border stamp (Kanban) and the children, dog and words are from a little set I won in a challenge a while back - it wasn't a brand that is available in the UK and I've just searched for it and can't find it to check the name !

Have a great day, Pia.

I'd like to enter:
Challenge up your life  background stamp.
Suzy Bee's Blooming Challenge  border
Get Creative  no printed paper

City Crafter - World Traveller

Our challenge at City Crafter this week is to be inspired by this mood board:

For my DT card I used stamps and papers from Stampin Bella, Kaisercraft and October Afternoon. I found a picture of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and made it into a Silhouette cutting file. 

Our special Guest Star, Suchi  is still with us at City Crafter , I hope you will come and visit us, see her work and the work of the DT, and join in with your own travel inspired creation. 

I'd like to enter: 

Crafty Calendar pink, die cuts, stitching (faux on clouds) 

Tuesday Throwdown just because

Fab n Funky   wings (I know it's small but it's the plane) 

Crafty Boots fair and square 

Crazy Challenge paper piecing 

Happy Birthday Pet

Regular visitors to my blog (and I really do appreciate your visits) may remember that my daughter likes to make some pretty challenging 'orders' for cards, often at short notice.

So, most of the ideas on this card were my daughter's. She said she wanted a card with 'a guinea pig in a party hat and the words "happy birthday pet".  She chose the sentiment as a pun because (for my international visitors!) the friend it is for has moved to Newcastle (in the north of England), where 'pet' is used a term of endearment like darling or honey.

The guinea pig is a digi from a Serif  CD and I coloured it, and the sentiment, with Promarkers. The hat was cut on my Silhouette electronic cutter and I used an embossing folder too.

I'd like to enter:
Incy Wincy birthday wishes
Crafty Cardmakers  no patterned papers
Chocolate Coffee and Cards sentiment
QKR Stampede  use a diecut (hat)
Craft your Passion  anything goes

Empty Box Project #24 - Roses

It's my partner's mum's birthday soon and he always likes to give her a traditional floral card - but I'm not good at that kind of card. I thought I'd have a go using some current challenges for ideas. The relative simplicity of this card belies the facts of how long it took me to make it!

The back panel and small panel at the front are from a MCS paper pack (they have glittery bits built in). I stamped the sentiment onto a banner and the big banner is embossed with a magazine freebie embossing folder - this is what took the most time as the first few times I tried it the folder cut right through the cardstock. The other panel is inked with distress inks and stamped with a stylised rose which was a Craft Stamper magazine freebie and was in my empty box project box.

Just to recap:

On New Year's day I revealed my stamping shame - a big box of unused stamps - and started my Empty Box project. My aim is to work through the box , one stamp/ stamp set at a time and see if I can use them. If I can't use them, I will dispose of them. The aim is to finish with an empty box.

I'd like to enter: 

Try Stampin on Tuesday  sketch 

Allsorts roses 

ABC Challenge  pretty in pink 

Crafting with Dragonflies  floral 

Try it on Tuesday sending you flowers  

Happy Birthday Nonni

It's time to wish Happy Birthday to my friend and Inkspirational team-mate Nonni.  I hope she has received this through the post by now.

The sentiment is by Clearly Besotted and the caterpillar and border are by Paper Artsy. I embossed the backing paper with a doily embossing folder I got free with a magazine. I thought 'Wink of Stella' pens were a mess-free glittering solution - but I still managed to make a terrible splodge with it on the caterpillar!

Have a great day Nonni.

I'd like to enter:
Alphabet Challenge  no designer paper
Chocolate, Coffee and Cards  sentiment
Vintage Stamping anything goes
Suzy Bee's  border

Rainbow Baby

About 18 months ago I was given the sad task of making a sympathy card for my daughter's friend who had lost a newborn baby. So, it was nice when my daughter asked me to make a card for the friend's new baby, born healthily a few days ago.

She said a baby born after a loss is called a 'rainbow baby' and asked for a new baby card incorporating a rainbow. I did find this quite a challenge- I do have some digistamps and cutting files with rainbows on them but they all seemed too cartoonish (the sort of thing you might see on a St Patrick Day card). So I thought I'd try creating an impression of a rainbow using inks. Obviously, it doesn't really look like a rainbow but I hope it gives that effect.

The image of the mother and baby is an A Day For Daisies stamp - actually a clear acrylic stamp as they did these for a short while.

I'd like to enter:
Lulupu baby
Catchy Challenges make background
A Gem of a Challenge  one for the girls.

Post Box Boy

I made this card for a few challenges. I used Molly Blooms post box stamp, the boy is also Molly Blooms but from a magazine freebie set and the sentiment was also a magazine freebie (Polkadoodles I think) .
Merry Monday  colour
One Layer Christmas Card
Jingle Belles postal
52 CCT For a child

City Crafter - Around the Corner (and Empty Box Project #23)

This week's challenge at City Crafter is : Around the Corner (Create a card or  project and use just one corner and leave the rest of your card/project blank. )

 For my DT card I used a teddy bear stamp from my ' Empty Box Project'  Box. 
Just to recap:

On New Year's day I revealed my stamping shame - a big box of unused stamps - and started my Empty Box project. My aim is to work through the box , one stamp/ stamp set at a time and see if I can use them. If I can't use them, I will dispose of them. The aim is to finish with an empty box.

The teddy bear stamp is from a Craftwork Cards set that I won in a challenge. The sentiment is a well-used circular stamp from My Sentiments Exactly.

Our special Guest Star, Suchi  is still with us at City Crafter , I hope you will come and visit us, see her work and the work of the DT, and join in with your own 'around the corner' creation. 

I'd like to enter:
Ooh la la  boys
Seize the Birthday do balloons count as flying? Luckily there is also the no topping option
Fantasy Stampers boys rule 
Scribbles boys 

Gelatos and Polar Bear

I've had my gelatos for a while now , but never really got to grips with them, so I thought I'd play around with them and use them for some watercolouring. I know the pink/ orange background is unusual for both a Christmas card and a polar bear, but see this:

Although those bears seem to have foolishly forgotten their scarves.

I'd like to enter:
Christmas Card Challenges photo ( white snowflakes)
Crafty Cardmakers warm summer colours
Christmas at Sweet Stampin  polar bear
Christmas Cards All Year Round  snowflakes
Catchy Challenges  watercolour

Up

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been joining in with ATDML cybercrop this weekend. I made this card for the Up challenge - make a card using a balloon or a house. ( Can you see which I've used?!)

I used a Sizzix balloon die, a magazine freebie text stamp and a heat embossing resist technique.

I'd like to enter :
Mod Squad  heat embossing
Little Tangles  birthday
As you See it  celebrate

This is the final layout I made for the cybercrop.

One-layer-cards are the big thing in cardmaking at the mo, and, inspired by one of the cybercrop class layouts, I thought I’d try a one-layer layout. The gridlines, flowers, butterflies and ‘wonderful day’banner were already printed on the paper . ( Grace Taylor) . Using black pen, stamps and a grey marker, I added frames, stitching, splatters, shading and the arrow and ‘a good day’. 

ATDML Cybercrop

I wasn't able to go to my local crop yesterday but I discovered there is a cybercrop at Created by ATDML  and I was able to join in with some of that.

The 'Corfe' layout was a challenge and the challenge was to incorporate bricks or brickwork into the layout.  I did this by cutting bricks out of my cardstock (using Silhouette) and layering some patterned paper behind. Then I stencilled more bricks using texture paste coloured with acrylic paint. While I had the paints out, I coloured a chipboard cloud, hinge and corner.

I'd like to enter this into Lasting Memories 'sky high' challenge.

I made two other layouts taking part in the classes but using my own stash:

my layout

original class layout by Ann Freeman 

my layout

original class layout by Mel Hand 

Inkspirational Challenge -Melt

 Our new challenge at Inkspirational is 'melt'.  As you can see, global warming has caused melting in the North Pole and the polar bear (My Favourite Things) has had to hop onto the signpost and float along . I know you can't really see it in the photo, but glitter was involved.

I hope you'll visit us at Inkspirational , see the work of our DT and Guest Designer Susanne, and enter your project.

I'd like to enter:
Christmas at Sweet Stampin polar bear 
CRAFT Challenge  Christmas animals
Addicted to Stamps  make your mark

See Ya

When I saw the 'spectacles' challenge at Shopping Our Stash , I remembered the spectacles sticker I had on a Basic Grey sheet that has been unused for ages. In fact, it turned out to be part of a bigger sticker, so I cut it apart and layered it with a record sticker and a die-cut circle. The 'see ya' was part of yesterdays freebie svg set from Miss Kate Cuttables. The background is a Hero Arts friend definition stamp.

I would use this as a leaving work card for a man.

Lighthouse

Did I say I love the nautical look? Always looking for a little twist.
Lighthouse is a Woodware stamp.
I'd like to enter:
Ooh La La - nautical
4 Crafty Chicks  nautical
Artistic Inspirations  water
Casology aquatic
Male Room vacation/ beach  

Bear with me

Regular visitors to this blog (and I do appreciate your visits!) may remember me commenting that I seem to be making loads of bear cards lately, and had bought a new set of bear stamps. This is the set - it's by My Favorite Things.  Here I used 6 stamps from the set, so there was lots of masking to be done. I coloured them with Promarkers and then added highlights with Wink of Stella.

I'd like to enter:
Cupcake Inspirations  colour
Craft Barn  pens
Addicted to Stamps  make your mark
Tuesday Throwdown favourite occasion

City Crafter - Inspiration Photo

This week's challenge at City Crafter  is to be inspired by the photo below:

For my DT card I wanted to reflect the 'natural' look of the photos by using shells and hessian (burlap) . I used stamps by Indigo Blu, Crafty Individuals and a sentiment from a recent magazine freebie, There's no actual sea showing on my card, but I hope you can imagine it in the distance! 

Come and join in at City Crafter. Please visit us and see the work of the DT and our special Guest Designer, Suchi .

I'd like to enter:
Fashionable Stamping Challenges  seaside
Incy Wincy  sea, sun and sand
Crafty Boots life's a beach
Eclectic Ellapu  by the sea 

Scottie Dog and Snowman

Here's a Christmas card using one of my new stamps from Little Claire. I seem to be drawn to images of scottie dogs, which may be because when I was a kid I used to get a comic called 'Bunty', where the character ( portrayed in a weekly cut-out paper doll) had a scottie dog. I remember a free gift of a plastic scottie dog brooch, that I was quite attached to.

Aaaah - before I get stuck down memory lane, let me tell you that I stamped the stamp onto snowfall acetate and coloured it with Promarkers.

I'd like to enter:
52cct red and green
ABC Christmas Challenge  polka dots
Jingle Belles photo
Come and Get it  feature a creature

Leggy Robin

No slacking on the Christmas cards!

I'd like to enter:
52cct sketch
Holly Jolly  feathered friends

Never Ever Give Up

I made this gatefold card using an A Day for Daisies digi , coloured with markers  and some Glitz papers and the little sentiment 'Never ever give up'. I thought this might be a nice encouragment card - I believe that ballerinas need a lot of determination to succeed so I thought it went nicely with the image.
I added a feather and also I traced, enlarged, duplicated and cut out (Silhouette) a flower from her dress and added them to the feather with gems.
I'd like to enter:
A Day for Daisies add a flower
Mod Squad gatefold
Polkadoodle more than one fold
Stamp and Create one for the girls

Banner

I made this card for Addicted to CAS banner challenge and Catchy Challenge  (inspired by shop header). The photo is a bit disappointing. I hope you can see the butterflies stamped and embossed on the flags.

Welcome Neighbour

We knew our neighbours were moving in August, and , of course, that we'd be getting new ones. As well as the 'good luck' card I'd made for our  neighbours , I'd always intended to make a welcome card for the new ones. So why was I surprised when yesterday, as we drove in from a few days away, we found a removals van on the drive next door? I somehow thought we had more time!

What's a crafter to do when she needs an idea for a card . and fast? ! A quick scout around the latest challenges revealed Little Red Wagon's shaker card challenge. Okay, not really a quick and easy option but it gave me a clear idea of what I could make AND , while I was away , a bag of sequins I'd ordered had been delivered through my lettterbox, so nice and handy for a shaker.

I used my Silhouette cutting machine and a house SVG by Miss Kate Cuttables and I made it into a shaker by creating an inner frame, cutting it out LOTS of times and sticking them together. I also cut out a fence and the word welcome (using a font on my pc) and made a background with patterned paper.

As well as Little Red Wagon, I'd like to enter:
Crafting by Designs  windows
Cute Card Thursday one word
Crafters Cafe  use some torn paper

Bear in the Orchard

What is it with me and bears at the moment? I seem to be using them all the time AND I've just bought a new stamp set with bears on it.

Anyway, this bear was a free digi from Birdie Brown. Actually almost everything on here was free , as the tree and the basket of apples (bottom left) were the daily freebies from Miss Kate's Cuttables. I am stunned by all this generosity.

So, the Silhouette cutting machine was used extensively here. I cut out the tree and the basket and cut out some extra apples and put them on with 3d foam and added Wink of Stella. I coloured the bear with Promarkers and paper-pieced his jumper and basket.

I'd like to enter:
Curtain Call  orchard
Scribbles birthday
A Gem of a Challenge   animals

City Crafter - SNAP

Our challenge at City Crafter this week is to create a project with a camera.

I'm pleased Kirsty chose this challenge because I have several scrapbooking papers with cute cameras that I really should use. 

The papers I used are by Amy Tangerine. I cut out the camera, punched some holes on the side and added twine. I covered the heart at the front with white enamel. 

Your camera could be a stamp or an embellishment ...anything goes as long as it's a camera. See you over at City Crafter. 

I'd like to enter:

Crafting when we can  twine 

Pastel Polar Bear

The big sentiment stamp is Indigoblu and the polar bear is Hobby Art.

I'd like to enter:
abc Christmas  off the edge
Tis the Season  photo
One Layer Christmas  I seem to be haunting this challenge lately
Christmas Stampin All Year Long anything goes
Sparkles Forum Christmas  ditch the design papers

Random Male

I made this card just playing around with stuff I had on hand - really random but I quite like it. The background is paints and stencils. The flowers and grasses stamps are Paper Artsy, the text is Hampton and the man and the circular stamp are Artistic Outpost.

I'd like to enter:
Fashionable Stamping Challenges  all about the men
Paper Artsy  flowers
Mixed Media Mojo  anything goes

Don't Feed the Bears

When I was a teenager I remember other girls saying you shouldn't go camping when you're on your period as bears smell the blood and attack you. Given that our camping trips were local to NE Lincolnshire, I think the risk of a bear attack was pretty low!

Here's a fun card (I hope) use a Dearie Dolls free digi, coloured with markers, a cutting file from Lettering Delights (sign) and a scrap of patterned paper.

I'd like to enter:
Die Cuttin Divas  great outdoors (die is the signpost)
Catdz4Guyz beginning with t - tent
Fairytale boys and men
Crafty Calendar bingo - die cuts, kraft, blue
A Gem of A Challenge  animals

Inkspirational Challenge - Beach Photo

Our new challenge at Inkspirational is to make a project inspired by this photo:

For my DT card I brayered a mix of shades of blue ink onto glossy card and cut the card into 3 sections. I die - cut  a palm tree on my electronic cutting machine and stamped the sentiment (unknown brand). The slight wonkiness of the word 'here' was entirely deliberate - just didn't want it to look too perfect like a Hallmark card! - no honestly, it was deliberate!

Please come over to Inkspirational . We have fabulous card from our DT and a wonderful Guest Designer, Lucille , and we'd love you to enter our challenge this fortnight.

I'd like to enter:
Stampin Royalty  by the sea
Eclectic Ellapu  by the sea
Sparkles Forum sun, sea, sand