Inkspirational - Photo Challenge

Our new challenge at Inkspirational  is to be inspired by the photo below. 

For my card I stamped some summer holiday traffic and watercoloured with Zig markers.

I hope you'll visit the blog and see the wonderful DT projects before entering your own. 

I'd like to enter: 

Craftaholics R Us  sunshine 

4 Crafty Chicks summer 

Cas on Friday  watercolour 

City Crafter Challenge Blog - Seaside

This week at City Crafter, Lucille wants us to be inspired by the photo below.

I hope you'll join us.

I'd like to enter:
Always Fun  fun at the beach
Fashionable Stamping  seaside
Through the Purple Haze  beach
Alphabet Challenge  great outdoors
Time Out 

Library Challenge - The Rose Garden

The new Library Challenge  is The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley. I kind of read this book by accident. I was on my library website, wanting to download something quickly before I went out and I just chose it by the cover. I'm not a big reader of romance but I did enjoy this one, mainly for its time travel plotline and the amazing twist near the end. 

For my first card I used boy and easel stamps by Neat and Tangled and a rose stamp that was a Craft Stamper freebie. The sentiment is Clearly Besotted. 

I'd like to enter:
Bastel-Traum
Addicted to Stamps 
AAA Cards

For my second card I used a Pure innocence Digistamp  and a rose pattern embossing folder. 

I'd like to enter:
Seize the Birthday 
4 Crafty Chicks  dry embossing
Crafty Cardmakers   embossing


I'd love it if you popped over to The Library and entered the challenge.

Cutlery Jar

I like to put cutlery into a cup or jar to put out on the table when we eat in the garden . Using a project from The Craft Kingdom by Eli Maor, I decorated a jam jar by writing with a hot glue gun and then painted it. I think I need a bit more practice in writing with the glue gun if I want a more polished look! But I did enjoy making it and I'm going to do some more, with my 11-year-old son.
My review for the book is here . 

Sweet lIke chocolate

Here's a layout of my son on a chocolate factory tour. I used scraps of paper from different brands. I created and cut the sentiment on the Silhouette and then painted it with two shades of acrylic paint for a milk-chocolate look (hopefully).

I'd like to enter:
Use Your Stuff  inspired by Sweet like Chocolate by Shanks and Bigfoot
Lasting Memories  paint 

City Crafter - I'm a Star

 This week at City Crafter, Amy wants us to make a project using stars.

I designed and cut this card on the Silhouette  and  used old freebie paper and some Waffle Flower word stamps. 

Please go over to CCCB and see the fabulous makes from the rest of the DT, then enter your own star themed project.

I'd like to enter:
HLS Dies 
Tuesday Throwdown you're on my mind

Doodle Garden

Here I stamped images from three different stamp sets (Waffle Flower and Pink Fresh) onto a Distress Ink background and added a doodled frame.

I'd like to enter:
Little Red Wagon bee
Aud Sentiments  
TGIF Challenges 
Penny Black and More  in the garden

Inkspirational Challenges - Use Small Stamps

Nonni has chosen our new challenge at Inkspirational  and it is to use small stamps.

I didn't find this easy at first and this design wasn't my first attempt. But I'm really pleased I persevered as I like what I made in the end. That's the nice thing about challenges - they can get you out of your comfort zone in a good way. 

I used a set by Craftwork Cards that's got loads of tiny Christmas stamps. I made a heart stencil and stamped them through it in red and green. Then I very daringly (given how often I mess things up) stamped the (Avery Elle?) sentiments, leaving it a single-layer card. 

We have a wonderful Guest Designer Valerie , so please go over to Inkspirational and see what she and the rest of the DT have made, then enter your own project.

I'd like to enter:
Time Out 
The Holly and Ivy 
Addicted to Stamps 
Christmas at Sweet Stampin 
Craft Stamper 

Boys and Unicorns

Here are my grandsons enhancing a shop's unicorn-themed display. I cut the unicorn from glitter card on my Silhouette and everything else was randomly selected fun things from my stash.
I'd like to enter:
Use Your Stuff : magical
The Studio Challenges : sketch

City Crafter - Safari So Good

I chose this week's theme at City Crafter, using a photo I took in a big London branch of an international chain store.

My card isn't the one I originally intended to make - I knew I had some animal print paper that I've had for ages and I wanted to use it up- but after an extensive search failed to find it, I made this card instead. I used a safari set from Hunkydory. Guess what? Once I'd stopped looking for the papers they turned up!

Please come and join in at City Crafter.

I'd like to enter:
Pause, Dream, Enjoy  circles
Animal Friends  elephant
Crafty Calendar  three of something

The Library Challenge - Where the Wild Things Are

The new Library Challenge  is Where the Wild Things Are and I was surprised to discover how old this book is (1963) as I don't remember it from my own childhood or even from when my oldest child was little. But my youngest son (now 11) ...this was one of his favourites! (Apparently Barack Obama is a big fan of this book too.)

For my first card I stamped, masked and coloured some wild things (although the wild things in the book are monsters)  from a MFT set. I used a Dymo to create the sentiment, which is a quote from the book. Actually, I did the quote from memory but then felt the need to check it - turns out there are two published versions, one that uses the word 'begin' and the other 'start'.
I'd like to enter:
The Male Room - Little Boys
Shopping Our Stash  favourite things - I love masking and stamping to create a scene (the stamps are MFT too)
Creative with Stamps  cute animals
Passion for Promarkers  summer fun

My second card isn't new ...it was a Valentine's card I made for my son in 2016 and was posted to my blog then. This photo was taken at the time but I recently found the original in the bottom of my son's wardrobe along with old school projects etc.  I used a die-cut monster and boat and another quote from the book.

I'd love it if you popped over to The Library and entered the challenge.

Two Angels

Here I used some digi stamps that were freebies from a magazine some time ago. I coloured them with antique linen Distress Ink and a gold Perfect Pearls spray mist. The spots in the background are a Neat and Tangled stamp and the sentiment is Hero Arts.

gold!

While I have you, could I ask you to be an angel (haha) and click over to my crafty friend Sandie's blog where she's raising awareness of epilepsy? Thanks.

I'd like to enter:
Just Add Ink  spots splatters
Merry Monday  angels
HLS  Joy
Country View  the written word


Thanks for the Hon. Mention at Just Add Ink.

Father's Day

|I made this Father's Day card for my partner's step-father.  The silhouette stamps are by For the Love of Stamps , except the scallop border. The sentiment is Stampin Up and the stencil is by Neat and Tangled.

I'd like to enter:
Color Throwdown 
Crafty Cardmakers man
Tuesday Throwdown what a guy
Cardz4Guyz Father's Day
Stinkin Inkers guys

S.E.A

Here's a project I made after being inspired by the book Creative Wood Letters . (I've reviewed this book here.) It wasn't one of the projects in the book (although there is an idea in there for collaging photos onto a wooden letter that I do intend to try), but the book got my mind whirring with my own ideas.  Instead of going and buying wooden letters, I decided to use what I already have and make my own letters using layers of cardstock and recycled cardboard.

I designed my project in Silhouette Studio using a basic font and a cutting file of a seagull from the Silhouette store. I did cut most of it on the Silhouette Cameo but it didn't go through the thick cardboard so I had to finish cutting that by hand. For the top layer I used papers and shell die-cuts from a Tilda paper pad. I finished off my edges with gesso and Distress Ink.

I'd like to enter:
Little Red Wagon shabby chic
Cardmania nautical
Sparkles Monthly  seashells
Always Fun  summer fun
Make My Monday  upcycle- used recycled thick cardboard from back of a scrapbook paper pad.

City Crafter - Bake it Pretty

 This week at City Crafter, Kirsty wants us to make a project using baking elements.

Here I used one of my favourite images from A Day For Daisies, colouring it with Promarkers and adding a patterned paper 'tablecloth'. The sentiment was a Clearly Besotted freebie.

Please go over to CCCB and see the fabulous makes from the rest of the DT, then enter your own baking themed project.




I'd like to enter:
Papercraft Challenges children
QKR Stampede
Sisterhood of the Snarky Stampers 
CCC Digi Creations

Ripped Paper Dress

I've been reading a review copy of a mixed-media journal book and I was inspired to make this little canvas. I didn't really copy any of the projects in the book , just used some ideas and picked things like collaging with torn paper, using book pages etc.

I used a Penny Black stamp , acrylic paint, a Tim Holtz stencil and Distress Ink re-inker (on the hair).

The book is The Painted Journal by Jeanne Oliver. I posted a review of it here.

I'd like to enter:
Country View Challenges the written word
Try it on Tuesday  she's got the look
A inky Mess anything goes
Art Journal Journey   inspired by (the book)

Inkspirational Challenge - Power

At Inkspirational, our new challenge is to be inspired by the word 'power'.  I went with super-power of course! A few things that don't show up well in the photo:the background is stencilled clouds but she's actually standing on die-cut clouds and also, the base card is embossed with stars.

What does the word power mean to you? Please come over to Inkspirational and join in.

I'd like to enter:

Passion for Promarkers  anything goes Girl coloured with Promarkers 

Watercooler Wednesday 

4 Crazy Chicks  anything goes