City Crafter Challenge Blog- Colourful Birds

Our new challenge at City Crafter is to create a project with many colourful birds on it.

Here I used stamps by My Favorite Things, and although it looks pretty simple, there was lots of masking needed to get all the birds round the cage!

I hope you'll join in our challenge at City Crafter- but not until after you've come over to the blog and seen what the rest of the DT have made. 

I'd like to enter:

Allsorts - things with wings 

Time Out  quote 

Just us Girls  photo 

Not Mushroom for Crafting

At last! Some crafting time this weekend.

This card was inspired by some challenges-  the photo at Inspired by the Little Things , the sketch at Paper Players  and The Crafty Addicts (brad).

The toadstool stamp was a freebie years ago(Woodware made it, I think)  - I coloured them with Zig Clean Colour and then added glitter to the red bit and white enamel for the spots. The sentiment is from Lil Inker.

Quick Birthday Card

I've been having a very busy time in real-life lately , so when I discovered, at short notice, that my lovely CCCB teammie Lucille's birthday was coming up, I needed a quick and easy design. 

This design only uses two stamps (sentiment by MFT, balloons by Mama Elephant), a black inkpad, two Promarkers , an embossing folder and a white gel pen for highlights on the balloons. 

The idea was to tether the balloons to the letters - I hope that works. 

My card is now on it's way to Lucille. 

I'd like to enter :

Crafty Catz birthday party 

Cards in Envy  easy 

Seize the Birthday  balloons 

Inkspirational Challenges - Hello

Our new challenge at Inkspirational is 'hello' and this is my second attempt to make a card for the challenge, using this waving fox. 

Here's my first attempt:

As you can see, the design is almost identical but I coloured the leaf pile, fox and leaves stamps (Sugar Pea Designs) with coloured pencils on kraft. I think I need a bit of practise with these! 

On my original card, I cut a die cut 'hello' , but on the final version, I used a Papermania stamp. 

I'd like to enter:

Casology  big (sentiment) 

Watercooler- masculine 

AAA Cards autumn colours 

Make My Monday  autumn colours 

Little Red Wagon  leaves 

City Crafter Challenge Blog - Apples Everywhere

Our new challenge at City Crafter  is Apples Everywhere.

My DT card is very deep and meaningful! 'Happiness', represented by sunshine and apples, has been trapped in a bell jar so that it can be presented to you!

On a single layer card, I stamped and embossed the bell jar (Flora and Fauna) and the apples (Clearly Besotted) and coloured the apples with Zig Clean Colour markers. I masked the outside of the jar and  stamped the sun (Lawn Fawn)in orange. I added shadows with a grey marker and stamped the sentiment (Hampton).

I hope you'll join in our challenge at City Crafter- but not until after you've come over to the blog and seen what the rest of the DT have made. 

I'd like to enter
The Paper Players  cas harvest 
The Male Room  masking 
Shopping Our Stash  apples
CAS on Friday  apples coloured with markers

City Crafter - I Know What You Did Last Summer

I chose this week's challenge at City Crafter - 'I know what you did last summer' - show us something you  did over the summer.

For my DT project I made a layout using a photo of my son and grandsons in the paddling pool in my daughter's garden.  I used a sketch from Stuck Sketches .

I hope you'll join in our challenge at City Crafter- but not until after you've come over to the blog and seen what the rest of the DT have made. 

Hedgehog Surprise

Here's a one-layer-card I made for some challenges (and because I never have enough birthday cards!).

The hedgehog is by Penny Black , the torn hole stamp is Woodware and the sentiment is Sarah Hurley. I coloured with markers and added glitter pen to the hat.

I'd like to enter:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge  one layer card
Cupcake Inspirations  colour - hope it's okay to add the brown for the hedgehog.
Unicorn Challenge  birthday
Alphabet Challenge  make your mark
Cards in Envy  cheers to you

Fidget Spinner

I've been meaning to use this photo ( a selfie taken by my son and posted on Instagram) in a layout. This week's challenge at Shopping Our Stash is 'On Trend', so this seemed a good time to do it. Are Fidget Spinners a big craze everywhere or just in our area? They have been banned from schools. My journalling reads'Fidget Spinners 2017. Loved by kids. Despised by teachers.'

For my layout I found an image of a Fidget Spinner online and traced and cut it with my Silhouette. 

The other thing that I think is quite trendy is the faceted letters - generally the faceted look of gems etc.  These ones are Thickers and I coloured them to co-ordinate with my paper (We R Memory Keepers).

As well as Shopping Our Stash, I'd also like to enter Craft Rocket , something beginning with F (Fidget Spinner).

Happy Birthday Yvonne

Happy Birthday to my dear Inkspirational team-mate Yvonne. 

This is the card I have sent to her - it's flying from England to the US, so I'm not sure if she'll have received it yet.

I made this card on the same day I made my card for our new Inkspirational challenge, and using the same stencil. This time I made a background with Brushos and stencilled with gold paint. The sentiments are Altenew and Waffle Flower.

I hope you have a great day Yvonne.

Inkspirational Challenges - Photo

This fortnight at Inkspirational , we have this photo to inspire us:

I think you can see how my project was influenced by the photo!  First, I found an image of a ballerina online and made it into a stencil. I attached the inside part (mask) to the middle of the paper and built up a layer of texture paste around it. When it was dry I stamped it with a music stamp. Then I covered the texture paste with the stencil and sprayed the ballerine with black spray mist and added gold watercolour splatters. 

I hope you'll join in our challenge, but not until you've come over to the Inkspirational blog and seen the work of our wonderful Guest Designer , Karren, and the rest of the DT.

I'd like to enter:
Little Red Wagon - make background
Just Add Ink  d for dancer
Card Mania  shabby chic
Watercooler Challenges  feminine

Using My Prize

glitter shot

Recently, I was delighted to be the lucky winner of a fabulous £50 prize to spend at Paper Artsy All I did was enter their challenge - no skill needed - I was just lucky enough to be 'pulled out the hat'.

My prize was waiting for me when I got home from work today. So here I made a one-layer-card using stamps from both the sets I chose.  The tag is from one set and the three different baubles plus 'joy' sentiment, are from another. 

I used the colour scheme from Stamp Ink Paper  - honestly, that blue colour is much more of a green-aqua in real life. 

I'd also like to enter:

Merry Monday Joy

ABC Christmas  trio -of baubles 

Happy Little Stampers  sparkle 

Double D  glitter 

 

City Crafter Challenge Blog - Pick One

This week, at City Crafter , Kirsty wants us to pick one of these backgrounds:

For my DT card I created a watercolour panel and stamped and die-cut a leaopard by My Favorite Things , which I coloured with Promakers. No sentiment yet, so I can add one later , depending on the occasion. 

I hope you'll create one of these colourful backgrounds and join in our challenge - but not until after you've checked out the lovely creations from the rest of the Design Team.  

Pro-Am Showdown #12 - On the Slopes

This year, my self-imposed challenge is Pro-Am Showdown, where I take on a commercially produced card I've received (the Pro) and see if I can beat the professionals at their own game with my amateur card.

I'm going to have to step up a few notches if I'm going to meet my target of 24 over the year!

Anyway, this is the card I am using as inspiration:

the commercially-produced card that inspired me

For my amateur version I made a snowslope with some torn paper, attached it to a panel of grey card and stamped the animals in the sledge (Avery Elle) over the top. I paper-pieced the sledge, coloured the animals with alcohol markers and added some white and gold gel pens. The sentiment is from a different Avery Elle set. 

I'd like to enter:
Jingle Belles  the sentiment and sledge reminds me of the song 'Jingle Bells', although there's not even one horse pulling this vehicle. 
Shopping Our Stash  I love all the seasons tbh, but I love to make wintery Christmas cards all year long. 
Penny Black and More  get ready for Christmas 
Sparkles Christmas  animals 
Addicted to Stamps  Christmas 

Stripes and Leaf

Here's a one-layer-card that I made to enter some challenges.

The stripes stamp is Hero Arts, the leaf is Stampin Up and the sentiment is Hampton Art.

I'd like to enter:
Time Out  case-ing Bev''s beautiful card (below)
Less is More  royal blue and lime green
Eclectic Ellapu  nature
Give a Crafter a Cookie  photo- the stripes  combined with nature and words

Bev's inspirational card 

Back to School

My youngest child is entering his final year at primary next week and here's a not-too-complicated 'back to school' card for him.

The animal is by Mama Elephant - tbh I'm not really sure what kind of animal it's supposed to be. A mouse? I went for grey hoping that , if it's not a mouse, using a neutral couldn't be too far wrong (it's not a parrot, at least!).

The sentiment is by Hunkydory and the paper is  from Cosmo Cricket.

I'd like to enter:
Cupcake Inspirations  back to school
Use your Stuff  back to school
Always Fun   back to school
The Male Room  school colours - my son's school uniform is green sweater, white polo shirt and grey or black trousers.