Viva La Verve June Week 2 Sketch Challenge

This must be a record......think I've posted every day this week; may give myself a day off tomorrow!

When I saw the Viva La Verve Week 2 sketch I just wanted to play:

Here is my take on the sketch:

The designer papers are from a 12x12 pad called New Leaf which I picked up at a craft fair for a ridiculous price.  I used my Tonic oval and rectangle dies for the half oval and sentiment.  The oval was embossed using a lovely floral embossing folder but it doesn't have any information on it at all so I can't let you know where it's from (but I've had it a long time).  I thought just leaving the embossing on the oval was a nice subtle touch.  The sentiment is from Heartfelt Creations HCPC 3474.  I added some punched butterflies and Liquid Pearls to finish the card.

Thanks for dropping by - hope the weather is as good with you as it is here in Somerset.

Happy crafting.

Addicted to CAS - Challenge # 47

Yes, I know it's only been a week but what gorgeous creations you all made for the LUXURY challenge. Certainly makes it hard to decide!

So onto today's newest challenge at Addicted to CAS.  Your hostess for this challenge is the gorgeous and very talented Sylvia of Poppy's Papercraft Patch.  Here is the code word she's chosen for you:

Our Sponsor is:

http://www.whimsystamps.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=13_38

and they are offering a prize of 5 free digis

Now I must admit I really don't have many oriental stamps..........or not really any that I wanted to use so I turned to Joanna Sheen's Oriental Dreams CD and picked out this lovely bird graphic.  Very simply matted it onto dark blue cardstock and the greeting (computer generated) was treated the same.  All popped up on a DL card blank and I added two swirls of Memory Box Blooming Vine as it looked a little too bare!

As I was left with more of these images in different sizes I decided to make another card, not quite to CAS, to use them up.  I matted the various sizes of image onto dark blue card and then layered them up side by side.  The sentiment actually says "Love" in Chinese and was computer generated and punched out using my EK Success label punch.  I then added a double bow and some Liquid Pearls.

Now, let's see what you come up with - can't wait to come visit your blogs.

Happy crafting.

Christmas Card Club - Challenge # 12

Hello Everyone - apologies for not posting much these last few weeks but things have been pretty hectic here and it seems like the garden needs attention every day!!!  This warm and wet weather is brilliant for the weeds........they're growing like....well.....weeds!!! lol  Also my conservatory looked like a jungle with all the plants I have grown which definitely needed to be planted outside - Tony thought they were taking over!!!

Anyway onto my card for today's challenge over at the Christmas Card Club.  This week it's the lovely Sue who has set the challenge which is a Nativity Scene.

As soon as I had time to think about what I was going to do a little parcel slipped through my letterbox (don't you love it when that happens???) and out pops this lovely die that I'd ordered - and I got a "ding" and knew what I wanted to do.  So here is my first offering - 'cause I felt guilty not joining in the last couple of challenges I've made two cards:

I've used an Anna-Marie 7" square card blank for the base and I embossed it with my dotty Embossalicious e/f.  The nativity scene was downloaded from the internet.  I made a couple of frames using my Lil'Inkers stitched mats and layered them over the image.  I then used my gorgeous new die which is the Sweet Dixie "Star" SDD015 - isn't it lovely?  I added a thin strip of acetate and glued it behind the frames so it has movement - if you look carefully you can see that the star on the image is actually the same shape as my new die - how about that for serendipity!  The sentiment is SU Gifts of Christmas stamped using my Delicata gold ink and punched using my EK Success ticket punch.

My second card again uses an image from the internet mounted behind a frame from Spellbinders Card Creator Mystical Embrace.  This is then mounted on some dark blue mirri and then onto an embossed mat gold base.  The sentiment is from a polymer stamp set but it's got no name.  That is mounted on a banner from the Spellbinders Card Creator Tranquil Moments set.

Thanks for dropping by.  Please pop on over to see the offerings by the rest of the girls in the Christmas Card Club (links on my sidebar) - if you fancy joining in with us send an email to Margaret.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Happy crafting.

Addicted to CAS - challenge #36

Hello everyone - well it's Saturday and that means a new challenge at Addicted to CAS. This week your hostess and the person responsible for the theme is the lovely Michelle.

Our Sponsor for this challenge is:

It's a new month, which means that we have a new Guest Designer here at ATCAS.  Please welcome the very talented Anita (in France) from MyPaperCraftWorld.

Hello … bonjour.  I’m Anita in France … and I’m blessed to live in beautiful south west France.  I’ve crafted in one way or another since I can remember and got seriously into card making about 18 months ago, when I started my blog.  My style is mainly clean and simple … sometimes quirky, sometimes graphic, occasionally whimsical.  I’m excited, delight and honored to have been invited to join the ATCAS Design Team this month and am looking forward to seeing what you create over the next few weeks.

A huge welcome to the lovely, and superbly talented, Anita; we are all looking forward to working with her for the next month.  

Our lovely leader Kylie has been on my mind this week as it's only a few days before she flies off from Australia to enjoy a very well deserved holiday in the UK and Europe.  So she is behind my card today..............

I have used watercolour paper for the card which I wetted first and then brushed Distress Inks on to create a simple background.  I left it to dry overnight with a weight on top to stop it curling.  The image is the Leaning Tower of Pisa by Designs by Tabbykat stamped using Black VersaFine ink. The sentiment which was a freebie with a magazine has been stamped and punched with my EK Success Labels punch and threaded with some bakers twine.

Pop on over to the Addicted to CAS blog to have a look at Anita's gorgeous card and all the wonderful inspiration provided by the rest of the Design Team.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Addicted to CAS - Challenge #35

Happy Saturday to you all

It's time for another new challenge at Addicted to CAS and your hostess for this is the "uber" talented Sylvia of Poppy's Papercraft Patch. 

She has chosen your code word for this challenge and it is:

Our Sponsor for this challenge is:

The prize will be a pack of her rubber stamps called "It's all about You".

I decided to use some NBUS (Never-Before-Used Schtuff) in the form of a Joanna Sheen Motorbike Signature die.  I cut it out twice, once on silver mirri and once on black shiny cardstock.  I put these together but offset them so you can see the silver mirri at the back of the bike and also to give it some dimension.  The sentiment is computer generated (thought it gave the impression of speed???) and cut using an EK Success label punch and I've attached it to the bike with some bakers twine making it look like it's being pulled along behind (it's popped up on a couple of foam pads).  I used a Fiskars border punch on the edge of the card with a touch of red behind and three red gems.

Thanks so much for popping by - don't forget to visit the Addicted to CAS challenge blog to see what inspiration the other DT members have made for you.

Happy crafting.

Less is More - Week 124 - THEME

Hello everyone - well the weather is a bit better today after a very dismal and damp weekend.  We were quite lucky on Saturday as it stopped raining just before our village BBQ but was extremely windy with paper plates, napkins etc flying all over the place!!!  Still, I think everyone enjoyed it.  Yesterday a group of us went to the Sincerely Yours show at Taunton and, of course, made a beeline for Oyster Stamps where my buddy Martine had kindly brought along my pre-requested stash!!!  lol  Huge thanks Hun - you're a star :o)

Well, it's been a couple of weeks since I was able to join in the fun at Less is More but was determined to play along this week and the challenge is:

For our Theme this week we have chosen something this is very prevalent in Blogland at present... and that is

HEXAGONS.

There seem to be all sorts in evidence at the moment from dies and stamps to embossing folders and even hexagonal shaped cards.

My card is a very simple one.  I used my Sizzix Honeycomb e/f to emboss a piece of white pearl card and then die cut some hexagons using my Clearly Besotted honeycomb dies using d/p from my stash.  I die cut seven shapes and added them onto the embossed background.  Used a piece of (I think) SU ribbon to tie around the card.  The sentiment is from the Filigree stamp set by Mama Elephant, punched with my EK Success label punch and tied using some bakers' twine.  This has then been popped up on d/s foam to the card blank.

Thanks for dropping by.  Hope you all have a creative week.

ADDICTED TO CAS - Challenge #4

Welcome to our first challenge of 2013!!

We can't wait to start the New Year with our latest challenge. Hosted by me, Karen, our Code Word this fortnight is 

We have an awesome sponsor again for this challenge. Please let me introduce you to 

Beverley from Uniko Studio

Uniko Studio is a small company based in the North East of the UK. Uniko Studio specialises in surface pattern design & clear stamps for the hobby market.

Uniko Studio will feature high quality photo polymer stamps designed & manufactured here in the UK, and if things go well we will branch out into other crafting supplies.

Since starting & graduating from Cleveland College of Art & Design, with a first class honours (BA) degree in Textiles & Surface Pattern Design I knew that my new path in life would be a creative one. Since a young girl I have been creative & I have enjoyed the hobby of making cards for as long as I can remember! During the final stages of my degree I focused my projects on designing clear stamps for the hobby market with a clear focus of starting the company once I graduated.

So here I am.. Uniko Studio! I hope you will join me on this adventure & enjoy the NEW stamp designs from Uniko Studio.

Beverley has been kind enough to offer a fabulous prize -

This gorgeous digital collection is up for grabs AS WELL as your choice of 3 x digital paper collections!!!

For my inspiration card I was lucky enough to be able to use the beautiful English Country Garden digistamps together with their Eclectic Mix Summer papers.

I started with an 8" scalloped card blank and put it through my eBosser in an A4 embossing folder.  I then used a Die'sire Embossalicious e/f called Regal Frame and embossed a piece of card which is 6" square.  I printed out four of the papers and then resized the flowers and butterfly and printed each onto different papers using my laser printer.  These were then foiled (which I hope you can see from the photos).  I did the same for the sentiment and punched it out with my EK Success Labels punch.  The finishing touch was some White Opal Liquid Pearls to make the butterfly trail.

To be in the running to win this wonderful prize, please do not forget to check our challenge rules HERE.

Please use the Code Word provided for your inspiration and remember to keep your project Clean and Simple. Now, how are you going to use embossing on your project? Will it be dry or heat or both? We can't wait to see what you come up with.

Pop on over to Addicted to CAS to have a look at the wonderful inspiration the Design Team have come up with.

Thanks for visiting - it's much appreciated.

 

LIM Week 92 - Colour Challenge

Afternoon everyone - hope you are all keeping well and are not snowbound...............we had a freak snowstorm on Sunday morning after very heavy rain; I looked out and there was literally a white-out.  I have never seen such huge snowflakes and within about half an hour had about 2 1/2" on the car.  We were due to go over to Taunton for a craft fair which, as crafters, you know we would brave hell and high water........not so sure about snow though!!!  lol  We took it very easy but as we approached Taunton all we could see were blue skies and sunshine.........we got some very odd looks I can tell you as we still had rather a lot of snow on the car!

 Anyway, back to business.  This week's theme over at LIM Towers is a colour challenge and Chrissie, in her wisdom (!), has chosen the colour.......... da da de de de de deeeeeeeee.........

P I N K

It seems a lot of Limettes don't like, or use,  the colour pink vary often; and I am one of these but hopefully I've managed to dip my toe into the pink hue enough to fulfill the challenge.

A very simple card - I've used one of my new goodies bought at Taunton - Spellbinders Delicate Asters, a piece of white and pink bakers' twine, a couple of pink brads and the sentiment is SU Silhouette Sentiments punched out with an EK Success label punch.  The whole thing was cut slightly narrower than the base card and popped up on foam.

Thanks for dropping by.

Make My Monday - Week 45 - Men/Boys & Sports/Hobbies

Hi Everyone - well, I've dragged myself away from all the 'Tangles.......!!!  lol  I wanted to enter the challenge over at Make My Monday which is still on the theme of men and boys but this week it is sports or hobbies.

I've had this digi image for ages and unfortunately I don't know where it came from but I thought it ideal for this card.  Printed out and coloured in with Flexmarkers.  Then die cut using Spellbinders flowerpots............ weird eh but they were the perfect size turned upside down!!!  Backing papers from my stash and the die cut is a Memory Box die.  The sentiment is computer generated and I used my oval and scalloped oval SU punches.  Photo corners from my EK Success punch.

Thanks for dropping by.

Less is More - Week 61 Lucky Dip

This week's challenge over at Less is More is:

Picture Inspiration
 for you from the fabulous 

Design Seeds
It is a wonderful source of colour combinations.

 

Aren't they gorgeous colours?  I've had this Memory Box stamp and die for quite a while but haven't had the chance to use it yet.  I stamped the Chrysanthemum Frame onto cream card using Memento ink in Bamboo Leaves, Rich Cocoa and Tuxedo Black and coloured using Flexmarkers.  I then cut a negative mask which basically just masked off the borders and flowers and sponged over Old Paper DI to add some depth.  I wanted to mat the main frame image so cut it out using scissors and then die cut a mat in pearlised green card using Memory Box Blank Ticket die.  I then stamped out the flowers and coloured them so I could add dimension by decoupaging them.  The swirl border is also a Memory Box die.  The sentiment is from my Stampin Up Always Elegant set stamped onto matching cream card, matted onto green pearl card and punched out using my EK Success label punch.

I'm also entering this into the Allsorts challenge.

Thanks for dropping by.

Less is More - Week 34 - Sketch

Think I've just got this in by the skin of my teeth this week........... the challenge over at Less is More is a sketch.  For this quick card I die cut an aperture out of paper using Nesties so I could mask off the rest of my card.  I then inked the edges with Distress Inks and stamped the butterfly image from my Stampin Up set "A touch of Nature" using brown Versafine ink.  I then cut out a mask for the butterfly so I could stamp the large SU French text background stamp over the butterfly.  I inked two borders using the same Distress Inks (which are straight but look a bit wonky from taking the photo at an angle) and then stamped the sentiment which was from the same stamp set.  The two punched butterflies are from my new EK Success 3 butterfly punch and were inked before being adhered to the card.

Thanks for looking.

Steampunk ATC

This week over at Make My Monday the challenge is to design a Steampunk ATC.  I really love anything Steampunk so dug deep in my stash to find some watch parts - cogs, springs etc - which I haven't used for a few years when I used to design for Stampers Mall an American website.

I cut my base ATC at 2.5" x 3.5" and sponged the edges using Distress Inks.  I then added the tag, which already had cogs etc on it, after I'd embossed it with a Tim Holtz e/f.  I then embossed a small piece of pewter using the same embossing folder.  From this I punched two photo corners using my EK Success punch and cut a strip to go across the centre of the ATC.  I printed out the hot air balloon which was a free digistamp from the lovely Carmen at Beyond The Fringe Crafts - she is amazingly generous in sharing her fab creations..  I sponged with Distress Inks and added to the ATC.  I then added various cogs, springs, wheels etc from my stash; an old pen nib and a watch glass.  I then used Diamond Glaze on the hot air balloon.

I've got into Steampunk so much I have even managed to find a Steampunk Clock (on my side bar)!!!  lol

Thanks for visiting my blog.

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Bah Humbug - Challenge 33 - Something new

This week Ann and Max over at Humbug Hall have asked us to make a Christmas card using something new.  As I had recently bought this lovely stencil from Dreamweaver I thought it was about time I used it.  I taped it onto black card using low tack masking tape and then spread embossing paste through.  I carefully lifted up the stencil and then sprinkled it with Art Glitter from the Monochromatic Brown set.  I left it to dry thoroughly and then brushed off the excess glitter (most of which attached itself to me!!!  lol).  I mounted this onto copper mirri and punched the corners with my SU ticket punch.  I then found the backing paper in my stash which went perfectly with the image.  The black border is a Martha Stewart edge punch with some copper ribbon underneath.  The corners have been punched using an EK Success photo corner punch.  The sentiment is from my SU Contempo Christmas set and fitted perfectly into my EK Success ticket punch.

Thanks for dropping in.

Sew what.................?

I've just finished my free machine embroidery classes and wanted to make a card for our tutor Lynn.  It obviously had to be something associated with sewing so I used a combination of the Sewing & Stitching stamp set from Local King Rubber Stamps in Canada and a Creative Expressions stamp set.

I started off making a square easel card using my book pages nesties.  I then made some backing paper using a variety of the rubber stamps, adhered to the top and then folded to make an easel card.  I then die cut some felt (which absolutely cuts beautifully) using a nestie and then some card using the next size down.  The main image is an old sewing machine which I stamped and clear embossed and then cut out carefully.  I stamped and cut out some bobbins which I then wound threads around.  The stopper on the inside is actually an EK Success button edger punch which was embossed in clear e/p to make the buttons shiny and then I added some more "real" buttons.  The sentiment (inserted photo top right) comes from the Creative Expressions set and just about sums up the feelings of crafters everywhere!!!  lol  I also added some safety pins, more buttons and a flower.

Thanks for visiting.

Bah! Humbug! Challenge 25 - Penguins

This week's challenge over at Humbug Hall is Penguins.  After having a look through my stash I decided to use this digi stamp from Prairie Fairy which is called Polar Pals.  I've coloured with Promarkers and added Stickles for the snow and wings.  The image has been die cut using nesties and I sponged around the edge.  This has been layered onto another die cut in a co-ordinating colour.  The backing paper is from Dovecraft "Let it Snow" pad and has cute little penguins on it.  The borders are made using a Martha Stewart snowflake punch.  The sentiment is computer generated using Summer's Snowman font which you can get here.  The photo corners are an EK Success punch and I added a ribbon to finish.

Acetate and Fairies

I've been a bit short of time this week but think I will just scrape by timewise to enter this card for  Do it with Digis challenge.  The challenge is for  I can see clearly now either using acetate or an aperture.  I was going to enter it into the Die Cut Dreams challenge of Fairies/Angels but realised I'm too late for that one - never mind, there's always next week!!  lol

This time I've used a square blank linen card and die cut an aperture using nesties in the front of the card.  I have then die cut a frame from embossed mirri card for the front of the card.  The fairy image is downloaded from The Clipart Fairy and I took her into CraftArtist to resize and give her a nice stary sky background.  I then printed her out onto printable acetate and placed her behind the frame.  I then made it into a shaker card and used silver glitter for the shaker part which I don't think you can see from the photograph.  The sentiment is from a clear stamp set and heat embossed with Distress e/p Stream.  I punched out photocorners from the same card as the frame using my EK success punch.  The final addition were snowflakes die cut using a Whimsy Stamps Frameology die and then coloured using Copic BG05.

Many thanks for dropping by and I wish everyone a fantastic weekend.

My friend Anne over at Stamps & Paper posted a lovely card the other day using a Sugar Nellie design and I couldn't resist and had to go right over and buy some of their digistamps.

Here is Joy - she is so pretty that I thought she deserved a real girlie card.  I've coloured her with Promarkers and cut out using nesties labels die and mounted onto card from stash which has been put through my Joy cutting machine in an embossing folder.  The backing paper is also from my stash; the bottom one is a DCWV Luxury Stack which was also embossed with the same folder.  A piece of lace hides the join and I have punched out photo corners using my EK Success punch.  I've added flowers and pearls to embellish and the sentiment was lying on my desk and is from a Papermania 3D sticker set called "Memories".

Thanks for dropping by.

Christmas Lace

Over at Die Cut Dreams the challenge this week is Christmas Lace.  Strangely enough one of our projects at this week's craft club was lace glittering so I decided to use this method as well as some ordinary lace on my card.


I started off by taking a piece of card and, using red liner tape (as it's so strong), covered the width on the card that co-ordinates with the width of lace you will be using.  When you have your tape in place put down your lace over it and make sure it is very smooth.  You can use a little roller which is normally used for seams on wallpaper when you're decorating...........  Pour over your first choice of glitter (mine was red) and rub into the glue.  When all is covered remove the actual lace and you are left with the "negative" pattern.  Using another colour of glitter (in this case gold) pour it over the strip and it will adhere to the glue.  When I had finished I cut it to size for my square card blank.  I added gold mirri and red card and put a strip of lace over the join.  I have used a Lili of the Valley image and made a red frame using nesties.  I had a small piece of glittered lace left so used my EK Success photo corner punch to give me corners for the frame.  The sentiment has been stamped and embossed with red glitter e/p and matted.  Some red roses, Stickles and gems finished the card.

Thanks for stopping by.

Elf challenge

The challenge this week over at Die Cut Dreams is ELF............ not sure how common it is to have an elf stamp etc but I hunted around and found this cute image of an elf holding a present (mind you he doesn't look at all pleased to be giving it away........ lol).  It's from Little Scraps of Heaven Designs and it's a paper piecing design. 

I covered a 6" square card blank with paper from Papermania Silent Night and then got to work with my new nesties............... these are beautiful and the set I've used here is the Beaded Ovals.  I think you will be able to see from the photo that you can actually use an embossing tool and emboss the design from the back of the die which gives an additional element to them.  I have threaded some red ribbon through the main oval - all the papers used are from the Silent Night collection.  I have used a Martha Stewart punch for the central border, added some red lace, gems and photo corners which were cut with my EK Success punch.  The sentiment is computer generated - a bit cheesy but gave me a giggle!!  I added some cotton wool on the elf's hat and Stickles and ribbon on the parcel.  The final touch was some Diamond Glaze on his boots and eyes.

Thanks for stopping by.