City Crafter - Balloons

The challenge at City Crafter is to add a balloon to your project.

I hope my DT card reflects both the joy and hard work of a new baby! The baby in the basket is by Inky Doodles, the washing machine and detergent by Lawn Fawn, the balloon by Mama Elephant and the sentiment by Hero (I think).

I hope you'll come over to City Crafter and see what our Guest Designer, Suchi , and the rest of the DT have made, and enter your own creation.

I'd like to enter:
Creatalicious baby
Just Add Ink  Just add M ...masking and marker pens
Stamp Ink Paper  baby

Make My Monday - April Showers Bring May Flowers (Conquering Paper Mountain # 9)

'April Showers Bring May Flowers' is this week's challenge at Make My Monday .I stamped and coloured this old image (Woodware?) and paper-pieced it like crazy, thereby reducing my paper mountain. (Well, fractionally!)

I hope you'll join us with your projects featuring flowers, showers or both.

I'd like to enter:
Double D  April Showers (thanks for the tip-off Ros!)
A Snowflakes Promise  spring
Aloha  April showers

For a photographer

The latest challenge from my daughter...make a card for a photographer, featuring a black and silver camera.

The camera is a Silhouette cutting file and I embossed the black bits with a spotty embossing folder to add interest (doesn't show very well in the photo).

I'd like to enter:
Uniko metallic
Lets Craft and Create  card for a man
Paper Shelter  for the boys
The Challenge  photo

Inkspirational - Vehicles

Our new challenge at Inkspirational is to feature a vehicle.

For my DT project I made a very simple card, using a die-cut cut on the Silhouette with an alcohol ink background. The sentiment is Clearly Besotted.

I hope you'll come over to Inkspirational and see the work of the DT and our fabulous Guest Designer, Tanya - and link up your own creation.

I'd like to enter:
Time Out  celebrations/die cutting
Seize the Birthday anything goes
Paper Artsy  white space

Forever Friends

I had this layout, unfinished, waiting for some embellishment, when I saw the challenge at Shopping Our Stash , which is to use chipboard.

I do have quite a few bits of printed chipboard languishing in drawers. But actually, when I looked at it, I realised that the reason it is unused is that a lot of it is misprinted - the image/pattern is only partially on the chipboard- sometimes with a bit of another pattern at the bottom! This is even in well-known brands. Why didn't I complain at the time? Too late now - it is time to toss it!

Anyway, here I made some little clusters with some of the good chipboard.The papers I used are very old- Amy Butler for K and Company.

For You

Silhouette UK  have a weekly challenge to use the Silhouette free cutting file. I've been wanting to join in but I just haven't liked the free files for the last few weeks.  This week though, the freebie is both pretty and versatile, so I've had a go with it.

I ungrouped the file and deleted all except three flowers which I re-sized. Then I created a blank 'base' for each flower, which I coloured using spray inks. The sentiment was made using a freebie alphabet from a few weeks ago.

I'm not sure if it was a wise decision to use a black card base. I played around with different colours as a base and liked the slightly chalkboard effect of the die-cuts on the black. I used an embossing folder on the black to give a bit of texture, but it doesn't seem to show up in the photo.

I'd also like to enter the spring flowers challenge at Cut it Up 

Whatever the Weather

Okay, I confess ...having an already crammed craft room is not enough for me, I've been shopping....
This is my first play with Lindy's Stamp Gang magicals, used as watercolours over a heat embossed stamp.

The umbrella stamp is a very old one (over 12 years?) from Magenta and the two sentiments are Clearly Besottted and a magazine freebie. I also used a raindrops embossing folder from Taylored Expressions.

I made this last night and my fingers were dark blue when I went to work this morning. I can't believe no-one commented on it - at least to my face! - they were probably too polite!

I'd like to enter:
Retro Rubber  it's raining
Addicted to CAS rain
Little Red Wagon  April Showers
Ecletic Ellapu  April Showers

City Crafter - Blog Hop Winner

Last week we had a blog hop for City Crafter Challenge Blog's 6th birthday.

Thank you for all the lovely comments and blog-birthday wishes.

To choose a winner, I allocated a number to each comment in chronological order and used random.org.  (Don't forget to also check all the DT  blogs and the main challenge blog, if you also left comments there.)

The winner of my prize is :

Ellen 

Congratulations. Please contact me with your postal address. (My email is on the left hand sidebar, scroll down to 'About Me' and view my complete profile). 

City Crafter - "An Englishman's Home is his Castle"

This week, at City Crafter Challenge Blog, Ros asks us to be inspired by the saying 'an Englishman's home is his castle', and use a house or the word 'home' on our projects. 

hard to photograph! 

For my DT card I used my Silhouette Cameo to create the card front , and then made a stepper base out of patterned paper. The sentiment (at the back) is by Little Claire. 

I hope you'll come over to CCCB, see the work of the DT and also our wonderful Guest Designer Valentini  - and join in yourself.

I'd like to enter:
The Paper Girls fancy folds
ABC Challenge fancy folds 

Make My Monday - Butterflies

We've got a real crowd-pleaser challenge at Make My Monday this week - butterflies!

For my DT card I used stamps by Craft Asylum, Inky Doodles and Clearly Besotted, plus an embossing folder I got free from a magazine.

I hope you'll come and see what the rest of the DT have made and join in our challenge.

I'd like to enter:
Aloha living thing with wings
Crafty Boots use a sentiment
Simon Says Monday butterfly
Come and Get it wings
Creative with Stamps  butterfly

Butter Wouldn't Melt

For this layout I used papers from Basic Grey and stamps by Inkylicious and Finnabair (?). I'm entering this into the 'Circle of Life' challenge at Scrap it with a Song.  I think it reflects the song title because these boys are actually two generations of my family - the blond one is my grandson and the younger one is my son.

I hope you've heard of the saying 'butter wouldn't melt'... they look so innocent and sweet, you would never guess the amount of mischief they get up to!

I'd also like to enter the 'generations' challenge at Sisterhood of Crafters. 

Easter Layouts

Yes,I know Easter is over but that's the time to do Easter layouts. This first one is actually of Easter 2011, although I only scrapped it last week at the retreat. I used papers from two Echo Park ranges and some stamps. I'd like to enter it into Crafter's Cafe  - 'What season are you in' - it's spring! 

This next one is for the challenge at Scrap Our Stash  - be inspired by the book cover (I used the colours) and include 2 clouds. 

Finally, this one uses Pebbles papers and die-cuts from the Silhouette. I'd like to enter it at Scrap the Girls .

Quick Cakes

glitter shot 

This was the quickest card ever made.

I got up yesterday morning and found a text from my daughter, asking me to make a card for her friend who was celebrating her birthday that evening! Which would have been fine if I hadn't been expected to attend work! So I made this card when I got home from work, with my partner snapping at my heels because he wanted us to go out and get the food shopping. (My glamorous life!)

What I know about my daughter's friend is that she is starting up her own cake-making business, so I used this cupcake stamp from Papermania. I coloured it with Promarkers, paper-pieced the cake cases and added glitter and pink liquid pearl. Finally, I added some pattern paper and a Hero Arts sentiment.

I'd like to enter:
Casology - pink
Fab n Funky girly and pretty
Seize the Birthday birthday  (also floral paper)
Creative Craft Cottage add some sparkle

Spring Frog

Now it's spring, the pond at the end of our garden is jumping with frogs. My partner likes to go down there at night with a torch to watch them. This card is for his birthday at the end of the month.

The frog and bounce stamps are by Newton's Nook, the triangles are Stamp Addicts and the sentiment is Hero Arts.

I'd like to enter:
Less is More - one  layer, geometric
Penny Black and More birthday
Addicted to Stamps cas 

City Crafter- Case Me if You Can - Blog Hop with Prizes!

It's our 6th birthday at City Crafter Challenge Blog! And we have presents! All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning a 'present' is leave a comment here on my blog post.  This is a blog hop - the more blogs you leave a comment on, the more chances you have to win a prize. The blog-hop list is:

Marina - you are here 

City Crafter Challenge Blog 

Kirsty Vittetoe

Ros Crawford

Stella Schenkel

This is the prize I'm sponsoring (see the other prizes on the DT blogs):

And now onto the challenge, which is to CASE any one of the four DT cards on the City Crafter Blog.

The DT were all entered into a secret draw to assign which card they were to CASE and I drew this fabulous card by Stella : 

You can see my interpretation at the top of the page. My main twist on Stella's card was to use large flowers instead of a small heart. I clear embossed a Stampendous flower stamp onto kraft card and then coloured it with Distress ink. Then I created shading by lifting some of the colour with water. 

I hope you'll go over to CCCB , choose a card to CASE and leave a comment on all our blogs - we can't wait to see your interpretation of our cards. 

I'd like to enter:

Use Your Stuff - kraft - the flower is embossed on kraft

Lawnscaping  flowers

CAS on Sunday flowers 

Ship Shape

Here's another layout from the weekend. This time it's using the sketch from Scrapbooking Top 50 .

(While I've got you, I'd love you to visit my craft consumer blog 'We Want Craft Stuff UK ', where I've posted a review of British craft TV. )

Hello Love U

I had a wonderful weekend at the Scrapbags retreat and while I was there decided to do some scrapbooking challenges.

This one is for Scrap it With a Song , and the song is 'Hello, I love you" by The Doors.

I used papers from Kaisercraft and My Mind's Eye.

(While I've got you, I'd love you to visit my craft consumer blog 'We Want Craft Stuff UK ', where I've posted a review of British craft TV. )

Make My Monday - Pets

Our new challenge at Make My Monday is 'pets'.

For my DT card I created a scene using several different sets of stamps. The dog was from a magazine freebie and the fence is Molly Bloom. The sun is Hero Arts and the sentiment is Mama Elephant.

I hope you'll come over and see what the rest of the DT have made and enter our challenge.

(While I've got you, I'd love you to visit my craft consumer blog 'We Want Craft Stuff UK ', where I've posted a review of British craft TV. )

I'd like to enter:
Crafting when we can based on a song. Sentiment is quote from 'I can see clearly now..'
Dream Valley anything goes
Come and Get it  bright colours
Incy Wincy  fave colouring medium - markers

Inkspirational Word Prompt - Rock

When this scheduled post publishes, I'll be away for the weekend. But if you're thinking of burgling my craft room while I'm away ..forget it ....I've taken most of my stuff with me as it's a crafty weekend!

Anyway, here's our challenge at Inkspirational :

As you can see, I interpreted this as 'rocks' meaning precious stones.  I used gold rub-ons, on vellum, coloured with Promarker. I stamped the 'you're a' and die-cut the 'gem'. I mounted it on gold mirror card and glittery paper.

There are so many ways to interpret this word prompt, and you can get some great ideas from visiting Inkspirational and seeing the work of our brilliant Guest Designer Sathya, and the rest of the design team. See you there!

Long Cat

It's navy , not black! 

Here's something a bit different for me ..not sure if it's good-different or just different!

The text background is Hero Arts, the long cat and the sentiment are by Waffle Flower.

(While I've got you, I'd love you to visit my craft consumer blog 'We Want Craft Stuff UK ', where I've posted a review of British craft TV. )

I'd like to enter:
Stamp Ink Paper colour  (sorry I tried to cut and paste the graphic but it wasn't working for me)
Less is More white but not white space
Alphabet Challenge c for cats

City Crafter - You are my Super Hero

Our new challenge at City Crafter  is to use a superhero, a comic strip or the word 'super'.

For my DT card I used an ADFD digi of a super-hero Santa, which I coloured using Promarkers. The sentiment was made using amix of stamps and die-cutting. I mounted it on red glitter paper.

I hope you'll come over to the challenge blog and see what the design team and our Guest Designer Melissa have made- and to join in our challenge.

I'd like to enter:
Sparkles Christmas  CAS Christmas
A Day For Daisies  add glitter (glitter paper)
Jingle Belles santa baby
Christmas Card Challenges anything goes
Holly Jolly santa

Make My Monday - Watercolour

Our new challenge at Make My Monday  is 'watercolour' . I hope you'll take a look at what the DT has done as they have used watercolour in loads of different ways.

For my DT card, I scribbled different shades of markers (Le Plume) onto a Paper Artsy stamp and sprayed it with water before stamping. I like how it blends the colours and softens the edges . The 'Hello' is a Waffle flower stamp.

I hope you'll join us.

I'd like to enter:
Little Red Wagon  water
Lawnscaping  florals
Retro Rubber anything goes- I've had the stamp for about 3 years I think (def over 3 years)

Daffodil Dress

Spring flowers - tulips and daffodils - are my favourite flowers of all . They are so full of personality! Here's my attempt to make a really spring-y card.

I'd like to enter:
Crafty Boots  spring is in the air
Eureka spring is in the air
Fairytale  spring cards
A Snowflakes Promise  touch of spring
Cards4galz springtime