City Crafter Challenge Blog - Hygge

This week, at City Crafter, we'd like you to capture the spirit of hygge.  Hygge is a Danish term for creating a cozy atmosphere and enjoying the simple things in life with good people around you. You could also take inspiration from this photo:

For my DT card I created a scene using stamps from My Favourite Things and sentiments from Avery Elle . I used a patterned paper which came free with a magazine - sometimes I look at it and think it's knitting and other times, I think it's something like woven basket - but definitely something handmade. But I think it's the pattern that's causing an optical illusion on my photo - does it look to you like the right hand side tapers towards the bottom? Honestly, it's absolutely square in real life!

I hope you'll take up this challenging challenge -but first please visit us at City Crafter and see how the DT were inspired by hygge.

I'd like to enter:
Cupcake Inspirations  cats
Crazy Challenge we love animals

Poinsettia

This image is a Lili of the Valley digistamp that I coloured one evening and then had kicking around because I didn't know what to do with it.  Last night my son came into my craft room to watch The Voice with me on my PC, and over those two hours I managed to finish the card.

While I was embossing the poinsettia on the XCut A4 cutting machine, the cutting plate snapped in two. This is the second time this has happened in less than 6 months. I guess I am very heavy handed and a bit slap-dash ...but I had my Big Shot for years and never broke the plate. Maybe being bigger makes the plates more vulnerable, I must be more careful as replacements cost £10 each.

I'd like to enter:
Winter Wonderland  anything goes
Sparkles Monthly  the word love
Fab n Funky Christmas
Christmas at Sweet Stampin anything goes
Creative Craft Cottage  red, image, die-cuts

Fabulous Birthday

Here's a birthday card I made for my friend earlier this week. Unfortunately it then hung around the house/ my partner's desk/ my handbag, hoping someone would buy it a stamp and mail it...well, today it eventually got sent off, several days late - whoops!

So, the image is by Stamping Bella and the die-cut 'fabulous'  (which I coloured red) and the yellow patterned paper I used for paper-piecing, were a gift from my lovely Inkspirational Secret Santa. The other bits of the sentiment are Avery Elle.
I'd like to enter:
QKR Stampede birthday card
Stampin Royalty dies
Inky Chicks  happy Birthday
Cut it Up  birthday
Sweet Stampers  add a sentiment

Bundle of Joy

My daughter has given me advance (for a change) warning that she'll be needed several 'new baby' cards for friends this year, so I'm using some challenges to get ahead,

Here I used a Personal Impressions stamp, coloured with markers. I cut a stitched banner shape from chevron -patterned paper, using the Silhouette.  The sentiment is by Sarah Hurley (the star is attached to it) and I embossed the background with a Taylored Expressions folder. Finally, I added tiny pearls.

I'd like to enter:
Addicted to Stamps and More  photo
Double D  zig zag
Mod Squad geometric

Inkspirational - Connect

Our new challenge at Inkspirational is 'connect'.

For my DT card I went with internet and electrical connections. I used the pendant light from MFT  'Our Story ' set , and combined with the computer , keyboard and 'hello' stamps by Sweet Dixie.  I made a rough mask and brushed the yellow ink for the light. I chose the paper because it reminded me of electrical circuits or even DNA.

I hope you'll come over to Inkspirational and see what the rest of the DT have made, and enter your own project.

I'd like to enter:
Watercooler Challenges masculine
Moving Along with the Times for a man
Brown Sugar  anything goes

Bird Friends

I was inspired by Time Out Challenges to make a card with a whimsical look .

I used a 'stitched' circle from 49 Market, birds and sentiments from Justrite and distressed wall stamps from Leanne Creatif.

As well as Time Out, I'd like to enter:
Make My Monday  birds
Cas-ual Fridays one layer
Brown Sugar anything goes

City Crafter Challenge Blog - A Few Stitches

This week's challenge at City Crafter is to use faux stitching on your project. 

Yes, I know Valentine's Day has gone but when I found this heart and stitches stamp from Inkydoodles in my stash, I knew it would be perfect for this challenge AND for a card for my partner. 

I stamped it onto a linen effect card base and then stamped it again in red on spare card, cut out three hearts and pieced them on. The sentiments are by Stamping Bella and Heidi Swapp. 

Our Guest Designer this week is Bailey Rosy , so I hope you'll come over to City Crafter and see what she and the rest of the DT have made , and enter your own project, 

I'd like to enter:
Give a Crafter a Cookie  photo
Sparkles Monthly love
Making Memories valentine

Pro-Am Showdown # 2 - New Home Card

Last month I shared my new, self-imposed challenge for 2017- Pro- Am Showdown.   The idea is to be inspired by some of the many mass-manufactured cards (the professionals) and make my own homemade version (the amateur).

My daughter asked me to make a 'new home' card for her friend who has many pets, including guinea pigs, so I used this birthday card for inspiration:

The professional card that inspired me

My guinea pig is a digi-stamp from a Craft Artist kit. I coloured him in and masked him with a rough circle shape and stamped the woodgrain (Hero Arts) which I coloured with inks. The banner and letters were cut on the Silhouette and the flowers are from Docrafts.

I'd like to enter:
Alphabet Challenge  you choose
Allsorts anything goes
Sweet Stampers  add a sentiment

Scoot and Slide

Here's a slider card, cut on the Silhouette.  The dog on the scooter is an old Penny Black stamp and the scene in the background was from a set that came free with a magazine. The sentiments are from Heidi Swapp and Avery Elle.

I'd like to enter:
The Male Room wheels
Retro Rubber  birthday - stamp must be 5 years old or more
Brown Sugar birthday
Double D  zig zag (the slider track is a zig zag shape. )

Carp Diem

My partner's step-father's great interest is koi carp- so I'm always having to come up with some twist on the koi theme.

This stamp is an old one - it has no branding on the wooden mount- and I've certainly used it before for his birthday card. I hope I've come up with a fresh design!

I heat embossed the fish in gold on black card and cut it out. I dry embossed the background and coloured it with Cosmic Shimmer gilding polish. The sentiment is Clearly Besotted.

I'd like to enter:
Try it On Tuesday  get messy - I hope it's messy enough - I had to apply the wax with my fingers , but it did wash off nicely!
Moving Along with the Times  for a man
Cards 4 Guyz no patterned paper