Sunday 28 April 2013

Lots of Flowers

That's the challenge at Forever Friends this fortnight. For my card I've followed the layout at Sketch N Stash again


I've used a Forever Friends sticker which I've had for yonks and layered it onto pink card. The card base is from a Papermania Kraft pack and the main backing paper is from the Forever Friends Kraft Ultimate kit. The embossed panel is a Cuttlebug folder and the horizontal strip is a leftover scrap from a previous card. Flowers and gems from my stash to finish


Saturday 27 April 2013

Black & White

The Docrafts challenge this week is to make a black & white card. I've followed this sketch at Sketch N Stash

For my card I've used papers from the black & white Creative Tones pack. I bought these years ago in all the colourways and they've lasted so well. The stamp is my new Papermania Urban Dragonflies stamp which I won in a previous Docrafts challenge. I've stamped it in Versafine Onyx black and embossed with clear powder. The side panel is embossed with a Crafts Concepts folder on black Core-dinations. I've gone over it with a sanding block and distressed the edges. A few black gems in the top corner to finish



Friday 26 April 2013

Card and Gift Bag

This is my second entry for the Crafty Cardmakers challenge to make a card/tag and matching gift wrap/bag/box.

For my card I've followed the sketch at Seems A Little Sketchy


The papers are a mix of Stampin Up and Dovecraft. The topper is from a Kanban kit - they may have gone out of business but I still have loads to use up. For the bag I have used a Rayher handbag template that I got when I was in the Netherlands. I've cut it out from one of the Stampin Up papers I used on the card and added a tag and ribbon



Thursday 25 April 2013

Pleasant Poppies

The challenge at Pan Pastels this week is to use the colours Red, White and Blue. For my card I've used the Stampin Up Pleasant Poppies stamp and stamped through one of the Clever Cut aperture masks. I've embossed the black lines with clear powder and coloured with Promarkers. I've use the black Promarker with a fine nib to draw around the template then placed the inside of the template over the poppies and used Permanant Red Pan Pastel around it. These pastels have so much colour I only used what was still on the sponge from a previous project as I only wanted a light effect. I've added some small blue butterflies which were cut with a Stampin Up Embosslit from scaps of paper and some black Stickles for the centres of the open poppies. I'm also entering this into the Addicted To Stamps challenge which is Make Your Mark


Sketch Saturday

This is the layout for this weeks challenge at Sketch Saturday


The image on my card is from the Crafter's Companion Inspirational pack. The hearts backing paper is from a Dovecraft Back To Basics pack and the glittered paper is from a First Edition pad called Love Letters.
My strip of card is embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. The sentiment is by Cuddly Buddly and the flowers are from my stash - the leaves are a Marianne die. 


It wasn't until I was tidying up after this card that I realised I left a mat off the glittered card as it was lying on my desk. Ho hum, too late now.

Wednesday 24 April 2013

Aperture Card For Docrafts

The challenge at Docrafts this week is to create a card with an aperture. For my card I've used Lucy Crowell items. The sentiment is from the Ultimate Die Cut pack and the glittered paper is from the 6x6 paper pad. I've cut the aperture in pink card with an Xcut postage stamp die in the middle of the pink card and a plain square die for the patterned paper. A simple bow in the corner to finish


Tuesday 23 April 2013

Happy 3rd Birthay

The challenge at That Craft Place is to make a card for a child and the Daring Cardmakers challenge is Childs Play. For my card I've used a Clipart Fairy image and this sketch at CRAFT


The backing paper is from the Dovecraft Tea Party pack which goes so well with the image. The border is a Marianne die with ribbon thread through. I've punched some pink card flowers and added some cupcakes from the backing paper to the centres. A Craftwork Cards greeting to finish




Forever Green

There's a colour challenge at Cuttlebug Mania this week - Purple & Green. As the challenge is sponsored by Crafty Individuals, I thought I'd start with one of their stamps and I chose this lovely tag stamp. I've stamped it onto pale green card with Versamark and then used some Forever Violet Perfect Pearls over the ink. It's very difficult to catch the colour on camera but it is definitely there. For the background I've used the Special Touch of Mica vine mask and black card. Before I put it through the Cuttlebug, I inked over it with Versamark so it came out with the raised parts tacky. I've brushed on Forever Green and Forever Violet Perfect Pearls on. Some ribbon and green card to layer finishes it off. Purple and Green are spring colours to me as they remind me of the crocuses that are the first sign of spring so I'm going to enter this into the Crafty Individuals Spring Fashion challenge




Monday 22 April 2013

Majesty?

I'm not sure I'll get away with this but the challenge at CD Sunday is Majestic to celebrate the Queen's Birthday. The image from LaPashe came to mind but that was too obvious and I don't know what I'd do with the card. Then I considered Lions but two of the design team have gone with that and done a brilliant job so I had to think of something different.

For my card, I've used the Wine Buffs CD by Katy Sue Designs and one of the coaster toppers and two backing papers.



And this is the bottle of wine to go with the card


So have you guessed where the Majestic comes in? Yep - I got the bottle at Majestic Wines!

I'm also entering this into the Crafty Cardmakers challenge which is to make a card or tag and matching gift wrap/bag/box

The Gardener

I just love this Snoesjes stamp by Marianne  Design. It is actually a front and back set but  for this card I've only used the front image which I've coloured with Pomarkers. I've used lots of Marianne dies for this including the frame the image is on. The backing paper is from the Vintage Pastels paper pack. The sentiment is by Stampin Up. I've added some gems as water from the watering can to finish

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

The Snoesjes - use Snoesjes stamp/decoupage
Addicted To Stamps - Anything Goes
 Promarkers - Pastel Colours




Sunday 21 April 2013

Heavy Metal

That's the challenge at Anything Goes and I think I'm just in time to enter. I've used the sketch at Tuesday Morning Sketches


It's not quite heavy metal as it's the bottom of a foil container. I went to a Plant & Cake sale at the village hall yesterday and although there were some lovely cakes, I only came away with some shortbread fingers and they were in this container (yes I have eaten them all!)


I cut the bottom out and smoothed it with the edge of my bone folder then cut the cars out with Marianne dies. I'm really pleased at how they came out


I've added quite a bit of sillicone glue to the back of the card so it won't crush. The bottom backing paper is from my stash and the top one is from a Wild Rose Studio pack. The sentiment is from an Inkylicious set called Journey. I've added a strip of mirror card which has been through the Cuttlebug in one of my favourite embossing folders for men. I've sanded it lightly and added some blue alcohol inks to take most of the shine off it. I'm also entering this into the Joanna Sheen challenge which is Recycle and the Cards For Men challenge which is Anything Goes



Water Stamping Technique

Water Stamping is the Technique of the month at Technique Time Tuesday. I had a play with some blue distress inks and stamped a bird on but it was a bit of a mess so rather than waste the card, I've used the Stampin Up Medallion background stamp. I wasn't sure about this stamp at first as it's so big but there are so many beautiful cards on the internet made with it that I decided to get it and I'm glad I did as it is now retired

I've "inked" the stamp with water then put the corners of my card on the stamp rather than use it as a whole image. I really like how the pattern comes through and you can just about see the bird towards the middle


I've added a sentiment from another Stampin Up set Butterfly Prints and stamped it in Majestic Blue Versafine. The butterfly is cut from scrap pattered paper with a Marianne die and I've edged it with distress inks to tone down the white.When I cut the butterfly I used some wax paper to help the diecut release and it's such a shame to waste it so I've put it on the card under the main butterfly to give another layer.


I've done another in pinks pretty much the same but the sentiment didn't show up will directly on the card so I've re-stamped on a scrap of card and edged it with distress inks to blend in. I quite like this water stamping technique and I'm sure I'll use it again


I'm also entering this into the challenge at Heck of a Challenge. The theme this month is Water so these cards fit in well

Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Carole's Sketch

It's time for another challenge at Sunday Sketch & Stamp and Carole has given us this lovely sketch to play with


I've used this Frame It digi by Bugaboo who are our sponsors this week and coloured it with Promarkers. The backing paper is glittered and is from the Kitchen pad by DCWV. The yellow strip is embossed in the Cuttlebug with a kitchen folder. Some ribbon to finish.

I'm also entering this into the following challenges:
 Promarkers - Pastel Colours
Digi Galore - One For The Girls


Thursday 18 April 2013

Love

The challenge at Don & Daisy is to use Banner/Flags. For my card I've used the Marianne hearts die as the banner and stuck the LOVE letters onto them. The image is Don & Daisy Wedding coloured with Promarkers and cut with a Marianne die as are the flowers and flourish. Some ribbon to finish. I'm also entering this into the  Promarkers challenge which is Pastel Colours


Wednesday 17 April 2013

Forever Friends Wedding

This is a cute Forever Friends wedding decoupage although I haven't used all the layers. I've put it onto card cut with dies from a Marianne set and added some bling for a quick card.

I'm entering my card into the following challenges:

Docrafts - Decoupage
Forever Friends - Die Cuts/Punches



Butterflies

This is my card for the Country View Crafts challenge but I've made it with the Cuttlebug Mania Sentiments Only challenge in mind as I wasn't too happy with the card I made for that challenge. I've used the Darice Butterfly Corner embossing folder. The sentiment is from the Stampin Up set called Just Believe and I've stamped it in Rich Razzleberry and embossed with clear powder. The card base is Rich Razzleberry and I've added a butterfly cut from the same card. I've added Star Dust Stickles to the embossed dots and added gems to all the butterflies.


Tuesday 16 April 2013

Sentiments Only

Sentiments only is the challenge at Cuttlebug Mania so no images. As soon as I saw this, I had an idea and had a play about but I'm not overly happy with the result.  I've used a Sizzix Hearts embossing folder which I inked with red ink before putting white card in and running through the Cuttlebug. I've then used the small Cuttlebug folder With Love. Again I've inked the folder but this time with white ink and I used red card. I also used white embossing powder and heated it. The heart is from a Marianne Design set. I'm not sure about the result but I did enjoy trying a new technique - well new to me


I think I'm going to have another play with this challenge although  know you're only allowed one entry

Sunday 14 April 2013

Girl About Town

This is a card for my niece's Birthday. She has just bought herself a camper van so I thought this Kanban topper would be perfect. I've used this weeks layout at Friday Sketch but turned it around


The backing paper is Kanban too and is lovely embossed with silver. I've used a Cuttlebug rose embossing folder for the piece of card and some Tonic punches for the flower. Some ribbon from my stash and a gem to finish


Saturday 13 April 2013

Tears

The challenge at Crafty Cardmakers this week is Humour and I think I'm just in time for this one. The walls in my craft room are quite plain and there is one wall that is very thin and useless for hanging anything heavy on so for the challenge this week I've not made a card but a wall hanging. I've printed the sentiment and cut it out with some large Quickcutz nestie type dies. The tears are cut with an X-cut paisley die and are attached with acetate strips. A piece of ribbon and a button top to finish


Climb Every Mountain

That's the challenge at Cuttlebug Mania this week - to make a different fold card. And they've given us a lovely digi image to use too. I didn't think I'd be able to enter as my printer is playing up (well it's not printing at all). OH's printer doesn't like card at all but after a few wasted sheets of Rymans, I managed to print it off. I've coloured it with Promarkers and cut it with a Marianne die. The card fold is a Double Dutch fold card. We did this at my craft club last year and I'd forgotten about them but thought it fitted the bill for this challenge. There's a good tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers. I've used a rose embossing folder for behind the image and the two small squares on the flaps. On one of the small squares I've used a small greeting from Stampin Up which I've embossed with clear powder and on the other I've put a flower cut with a Marianne die and a small gem in the middle although it doesn't show in the picture.

I'm also entering this into the I Love Promarkers challenge which is Embossing.


Tuesday 9 April 2013

Bird House

This is my card for the Marianne Design challenge which is to make a Passe-partout card. I don't have any of the new Passe-partout dies yet so I've used the smaller die from LR0234 to cut the  aperture from the centre of the card and used the die cut inside having stamped it with the little butterfly stamp that comes with the bird house die. I love this little bird house die and stamp set by Marianne Design. The backing paper is from Eline's Old Fashioned Nursery and I've based the colours of my die cuts on this paper. The branch, birds and fence are also Marianne dies and I've stamped a few of the butterflies and cut them out.





Monday 8 April 2013

Addicted To Stamps CAS

This weeks challenge at Addicted To Stamps is Clean & Simple. I've made three versions of the same card as I couldn't decide which I like best. They all use a stamp from the Stampin Up Easy Events set which I think is perfect for CAS cards. The ink and card are Wild Wasabi. The first one I've coloured the leaves with a Wild Wasabi marker but I think I prefer the other uncoloured ones - they look more CAS. I've put glossy accents on the berries on the first two cards and added peals for the third. I've added Xmas Red Stickles to all the berries on the corner. The only other difference is that for the first card I've used textured cardstock. Looking at them now, I think the corners take away dfrom the CAS look but I don't have time to make another one for the challenge so I'll stick with this. I think the pearl card is my favourite but at least I've got three more Christmas cards ready






Sunday 7 April 2013

Sunday Sketch & Stamp #151

This is the sketch at Sunday Sketch & Stamp this week


For my card I've used a Robyn's Fetish digital stamp called Katie Reading and coloured her with Promarkers. The papers are from a pad called Off To School by Fancy Pants which I thought went very well with the image. I've not put a sentiment on yet as I'm not sure what I'll use it for.



Saturday 6 April 2013

What's The Alternative

The challenge at Incy Wincy this week is to make a card to celebrate one of the Bizarre, Wacky or Unique Holiday taken from the Funny Holiday site

I've used this weeks Friday Sketch


I've chosen Look On The Bright Side Day which is celebrated on 21 December

Look on the Bright Side Day

When : Always December 21
Look on the Bright Side Day is today. We hope you see the light. Literally looking on the bright side may be a bit difficult today. It is winter solstice, the shortest day of the year. And, December days tend to be cloudy. However, we're going to be optimistic, and fully expect you to succeed.
Look on the Bright Side Day is a day to be optimistic. The term itself is an optimistic one. It calls upon us to look for something positive, out of an otherwise bad or sad situation. Often, a bad experience has positive lessons to be learned.  
If you have a bad day yesterday, look on the bright side.... today is another day, and an optimistic one at that!


I've used the Bugaboo Stella - One More Birthday image and the sentiment from Stella - Birthday Alternative. I've coloured her with Promarkers and cut out with Nesties. The backing papers are by Stampin Up and the candles are a Marianne Design die. I've added yellow Stickles to all the candles to finish. I'm also entering this into the Bugaboo Anything Goes challenge


Paper Piecing

Paper Piecing is the challenge at both Forever Friends and Polka Doodles. For my card I've used the Forever Friends New Arrival stamp set which was another bargain at the Range



I've used papers from the Hugs & Cuddles Forever Friends pad for bote the background and the paper piecing. I've coloured the bear with Promarkers and paper pieced him too. The sentiment is by Stampin Up and cut with the matching Stampin Up punch. You'll see there's room on the sentiment to write the date of birth.