You Inspire Me!

For my second post of the day is a card for the Crafty Creations #105 - Three Little Words.

The butterflies, flower stamp and the sentiment are all by Elusive Images.

The main flower image  and the large and small butterflies was stamped on glossy card with black ink and coloured with Promarkers. before being cut out.

The layer beneath the main image was made from white card which was dipped in various shades of blue and lilac Distress ink which had been splodged onto a craft mat and spritzed with water until a pleasing effect was obtained.

This layer and the black layer beneath were cut out with Grand Nesties. The sentiment was cut out with the same style of Nestie (as was the black gloss layer beneath). The sentiment was coloured with the same Distress inks, applied with a blender tool whilst it was still in the die. This gives the contrasting white edge.

The base card is made from lilac textured card, A5 in size. This has been used in a "tent" configuration with the  ribbon wrapped round about an inch from the fold and ties with a bow. The main image was added with D-S tape to keep it flat tot eh base card. The sentiment and the butterflies were added with foam pads.

Have a good Sunday, one and all.

Hearts

Maybe the last Valentine card for this year.

This card is for 3 challenges:

The Stamp Man Challenge #16 - Hearts
Crazy Catz Weekly Challenge #63 - Valentine/Love
Totally Papercrafts # 53 Clean and Simple

The base card is white A5 in size. The background was red card sprayed with Moonglow Glitz Spritz Scintillating Silver. The next layer is red gloss card which has been embossed with dots using a folder and a cuttlebug.

The hearts and the sentiment are Elusive Images which have been stamped on pearl white card. The sentiment was layered onto Silver mirror card.

A red ribbon was wrapped round the embossed layer. The was layered onto the spritzed card which in turn was mounted on the white base card.

The three hearts and the sentiment were added to the card with Pinflair glue. As a final embellishment the ribbon bow was added to the corner of the sentiment.

I Love Ewe

Good morning. Welcome to Tuesday. I don't know about you but this is my least favourite day of the week. Monday, you still have the euphoria from the weekend. Wednesday, is all down hill to the weekend. That leaves Tuesday with nothing to recommend it!

Anyway, on to more important things. I don't believe this, my second "cute" card for this week. Not only that but it is made from the free papers etc from this month's "Simply Cards and Papercrafts magazine". I just fell  in love with these "In the Meadow" collection papers.

As I have already made quite a few more traditional Valentine type cards, it made a change to do something more light hearted.

This is card to be entered into 3 challenges: Sentimental Sunday #41 - Happy Valentine's Day, Craftycardmakers #39 - Hearts and
Critter challenge #51 - Include a Critter (Animal).

This is a very simple card. The two different colors of background paper were matted onto white card to stiffen them up. A plain cream webbing was used to cover the join. This was far more "rustic" than ribbon would have been. This was matted onto silver mirror card which was, in turn, layered onto the A5 base card blank made from double sided cream pearl card for a bit of luxury.

The heart frames were cut with both scalloped and plain hearts Nesties. The hearts from the centres were used under the sentiment. Stuck behind the frames were hearts which are a slightly different colour variation (but with the same pattern) as the background papers.

Two trees and two sheep were cut out. The second sheep was cut down to use the head to decoupage onto the other one with foam pads.

Everything was positioned onto the card and a few heart shaped flat backed gems were added to the hearts and the sentiment for some bling and a large bow, made from the same webbing was added as a final flourish.

Hydrangea

Good morning. Here we are at the start of another week.

This card is for the Sketch and Stash challenge # 54 here.

For the "stash" element is the hydrangea and flourish stamps both of which I have had for a least a couple of years but have lain neglected in the draw since I purchased them.

The main image was stamped with Versamark and embossed with Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder. Once die cut with a Nestie, Faded Jeans and Dusky Concord Distress inks were used to colour the iamge but this was done whilst the image was still in the die so as to obtain the white edge. A length of lilac ribbon was threaded around the picture using the holes cut by the die. This was knotted at the bottom and the ends trimmed to length. A bow was made from the same ribbon and bonded in place with Pinflair Glue.

The scalloped square mat was a piece of white card which had the same colours of distress ink applied by splodging the ink on a craft mat, adding a spray of water and the dipping the paper onto the mat until a pleasing effect was obtained. Once dry this was cut out with the smallest size of grand nestabilities.

The back ground card is made from Centura white pearl card and is 7" x 7" in size. This was simply stamped with the flourish using Royal Purple Stazon ink. The edges of the card were tinted with Dusky Concord to add some extra interest. The dark purple strips were stamped using the same stamp but heat embossed with WOW powder - clear with hologram bits in it so you get a watermark effect with some shimmer.

Everything was layered together with D-S tape except for the main image which used large foam pads.

Bird Card for 2 Challenges

Sorry about this, third post of the morning but this one had to be done as one of the challenges expires today.

This one is for: Critter Sketch Challenge #50 and Crafty Catz Weekly challenge #68- Tartan/Plaid.

The two bird stamps are from Elusive Images.

The birds on the bird bath were stamped with Versamark onto the yellow card and embossed with a coppery embossing powder from Cosmic Shimmer. It was cut out with a Nestie and the edges tinted with Antique Linen and Rusty Hinge Distress ink whilst it was still in the die so that a yellow edge was maintained. This was mounted onto a larger scalloped Nestie shape in copper mirror card. The small birds were stamped  onto glossy card which had been brayered using ink from Spice Big 'n' Juicy. Once dry, they were cut out and mounted on copper mirror card Nestie Shapes.

The plaid paper had two circles and on border cut out with Nesties and all of these were mounted onto copper mirror card.

All of these elements were mounted onto an A5 size yellow card blank to fit to the sketch of the Critter challenge.

Friendship

Good morning. My second post so far today. Desperately trying to catch up on Challenge entries.

This one is for Totally Papercrafts 1st Birthday. The theme was Friendship for which I had nothing suitable amongst all my many hundreds of stamps, Therefore I had to go for a digital stamp from the new MCS "Violet" CD Rom. This is a very different card for me as usually I do not do "cute"

The background for this also came from the same CD with an overlay of pink lace. The frame was cut out and placed over the top of the image which was coloured with Promarkers. Several lots of flowers were printed so they could be decoupaged to add extra interest.

The background is matted onto silver mirror card which was wrapped with pink satin/organza before adding to the pink A5 base card.

The sentiment,which says "When I was a little girl..... I wanted a Best Friend just like you!" was printed from MCS, cut with a Nestie and mounted onto a silver Nestie shape before being added to the card with foam pads. The double pink bow as added to complete the effect.

Red, Red Rose

Good morning. Happy Sunday.

Here is a card for 2 challenges: Crafty Creations - My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose and CES Challenges - Red and Romance.

The stamps used on this one are beautiful ones from Elusive Images. Both are from one of the collage A4 sheets.

The background was white card which was stamped with the gorgeous border stamp using Archival ink. This was over sprayed with two colours of red Glimmer mist and trimmed to size. It was matted onto silver mirror card which in turn was bonded to an A5 red base card.

The main image was stamped in Archival ink onto white glossy card. It was stamped again on another piece so the the rose flower could be cut out and decoupaged. The base image and the extra flower head  was coloured with thee green and three red Distress inks using a brush.When dry, the edges of the main image were tinted with Fired Brick ink. This was matted onto silver mirror card and a satin/organza ribbon wrapped around. This assembly was added to the card. The double bow was added with Pinflair glue to complete the card.

Valentine

Good morning. An early start today as I have a twelve hour day ahead of me for work. Consequently I though I should post this now rather than this evening when I shall probably just want to fall asleep!

This is a card for 3 challenges: Crafty Cardmakers - Spotlight on Water (techniques), Die Cut Dreams #82 Lots of Hearts but no Sentiment and Cards for Men #3 - Valentine/Love.

For the spotlight on water I have used 2 techniques. The 3 hearts were stamped and embossed in silver on white card and then painted with various colours of Twinkling H2Os. The background for the main image and the piece of card on the right hand side were made from white card which was sprayed with various colours of Glimmer Mist and a layer of cling film was added over the top whilst it was still very wet and the film drawn up into wrinkles. This concentrates the mica powder in the wrinkles and gives a lovely effect on the dried card. The main image of a lovely bottle of champagne with two glasses (very romantic) was stamped onto this sheet and embossed with silver. Once cut out the edges were darkened with Fired Brick Distress ink. Both the heart and the main image are stamps by Elusive Images.

The background card was layered onto a red A5 blank. Another piece of red card was dry embossed using  an Ultimate Pro (Crafter's Companion) to give several wavy lines and the end of the card was trimmed to the last line. The pinkish paper (from the crafter's Companion Love CD Rom) was printed out, dry embossed in the same way and trimmed to suit. This was mounted onto the wavy edged card and bonded to the base card.

A ribbon and bow were added before the three hearts were stuck in place with foam pads. The main image was also mounted on foam pads and for a final flourish the 6 little flat back gems were stuck in place (3 each of 2 different sizes).

Bright and Bold Flower

Good evening all.

Here is a card for 2 challenges: Crafty Catz Challenge #67 Flowers and CES Challenge #21 - Bright and Bold

I have to say that the yellow and red are brighter in real life than they are in this picture!

The main image, a glorious stamp from the Stampman, was stamped twice on glossy black card and embossed with gold powder. Both of the flowers were painted with Twinkling H2Os and allowed to dry. One flower was cut out and the card shaped before being layered on top of the other with Pinflair Glue.

The red card was randomly stamped with another poppy stamp from Elusive Images and embossed with clear WOW powder to give a watermark effect.

The sentiment, again from Elusive Images, was stamped and embossed in gold on glossy black card, cut out with a Nestie and layered onto a yellow scalloped Nestie shape and finally onto a glossy black Nestie shape.

To assemble the flower was layered onto yellow cad and the ribbons added on the 2 corners. This was bonded to the red card, which in turn was added to a layer of black and finally onto the A5 yellow base card. The sentiment was added on foam pads to give extra dimension to the card.

Oriental Lady

Good morning and Happy Sunday to you all.

A card for the The Stampman Challenge #15 - Oriental and .Sentimental Sundays #40 Chinese New Year

I decided to stay with the red, blank and gold theme for this so I started off with an A5 black base card.

The background was white card which was sprayed with Scarlet and Raven Glimmer Mist sprays. Once dry this was stamped randomly, using Versamark ink, with the same flower stamp that you can see on the left of the red card and this was embossed with clear powder. You can just see this effect along the top of the card. It was difficult to photograph!

The A6 central red card was stamped 6 times with the same stamp. Two more were stamped on individual squares of red, leather textured card which had previously been stamped with some oriental script. The script and flower stamps are by Judikins. The individual squares were mounted on squares of gold card and then mounted onto the red card.

The main image, by the Stampman, was stamped on leather textured card and sprayed with a pale glimmer mist. This was mounted onto gold card which in turn was added to the card using foam pads for extra depth.

Gold thread was wrapped around the spine of the  A6 red card and oriental style beads added to the ends of the thread. The A6 card was then taped shut and mounted onto the background card

Landscape

Good morning and welcome to Friday. That means the weekend is almost here. Hurray. Crafting time is nearly upon me!

However, I did manage to sneak some extra time in the last few days so here is my second challenge card of the week. This is for Critter Sketch Challenge #49 - Circle and Distress Effects

The card is based on an A5 brown blank card. The back ground started off as cream card which was: sprayed with several different green mica sprays, dried, screwed up, unscrewed, rubbed over with sandpaper to remove some of the spray on the high spots, rubbed over with Tea Dye Distress ink, sprayed with water, flattened out a bit and finally dried again. You almost have to feel sorry for it, to be treated so!

The border on the left hand side was designed on a Gypsy, cut on a Cricut and coloured with the same colour Distress ink.

The flowers: different size layers were sized on the Gypsy, cut on the Cricut, stamped with a random pattern, aged with Distress ink, shaped and layered with glue and a gem placed in the middle of each.

The main image - my favourite stamp at the moment from Sheena Douglass. The was stamped on water colour card with Adirondack Espresso ink and water brush whilst the ink was still damp. When dry, Antique Linen and Tea Dye Distress ink were used to age it. The image was stamped again on glossy card and a suitable size Nestie used to cut out the required circle. This was coloured with Promarkers and bonded onto the large image matching the lines exactly to give a highlighted area. Pinflair glue was used to do this, rather than tape, to give 'slidability' to ensure the image was perfectly positioned.

The lovely sentiment, also from Sheena, was stamped, cut out and tinted in the same way and mounted onto the Scalloped Nestie cut out.

The cream webbing strip was coloured with Tea Dye ink.

The border was mounted onto the distressed panel only along the edge so that the main image could be positioned under some of the flourishes. Once this was bonded onto the base card, the webbing was added with a slight curve built in to follow the shape of the tree. Everything else was then layered on top of this to give the completed effect. Assembly of the card was done using D-S tape and Pinflair glue

Geraniums, a Card for 2 Challenges

Good morning. Here we are, Thursday again....which means it will soon be Friday and hence the weekend.

Here is a lovely card for two challenges: Crafty Creations - Let's Heat It Up and Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #38 - Flubbers.

For the first challenge it needed such things as heat embossing, warm colours or something to remind us of warmer places so I heat embossed a Geranium stamp (Elusive Images), which reminds me of all the window boxes in France in the summer, and used lots of warm sunny colours. For the second challenge - Flubbers means flowers so the Geraniums and the hand-made embellishments fit the bill.

The stamped and embossed image (brass WOW powder) was water coloured with Aquamarkers and a water brush. It was cut out with a Nestie and the edges worked with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink. A slightly larger cut out was made from a coppery card to frame it.

The orange and yellow flowers and leaves were cut out in various sizes with a Cricut /Gypsy, layered up and a gem added for the centres.

The easel card was made from 3 large Grand Nestie scalloped circles (about 6" diameter) layered with slightly smaller ones. The central circles are made from a gorgeous hand-made, thick, textured paper, cut out with a Nestie and over sprayed with copper mica mist.

Everything was assembled with D-S tape, foam pads and adhesive to give the creation you see before you.

Butterfly Fairy

Happy Sunday to you all.

A card for the CES Challenge #20 - Angels and Fairies.

The main image is from a My Craft Studio - Silhouettes - Butterfly Fairy. She was coloured with Promarkers and cut out with a Labels Nestability.  The shape was edged with Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink. Glamour dust was added to her wings to add some fairy sparkle.
An orangey-yellow shape was cut out with the next size and finally the orange layer was cut out after drawing around the outside of the last one.
The card base was cut out from bright yellow, leather textured card with a Grand Nestability making sure that the cutting edge overhung the edge of the card to stop it cutting out 2 separate shapes.
Two butterfly stamps from Elusive Images were stamped randomly over the yellow card with Brown Archival ink. The same two stamps were used to stamp some butterflies on white paper. These were coloured with Aquamarkers and cut out.
Gold thread was used to weave in and out of the holes left along the top spine of the card and knotted at either end.
The card was assembled with double sided tape and with Pinflair Glue for the small butterflies on the corners.

Let's Party - A Card for 2 Challenges

Good afternoon.

Went out for a lovely walk on this cold and frosty morning and I was delighted to see the first catkins on the trees. This must mean that Spring is just around the corner.

Still, on to the main point of this blog - a card for 2 challenges: Cards for Men Challenge #2 - Let's Party and Die Cut Dreams #81 - Use a Digi and a Rubber Stamp Together

For the DCD challenge - the Let's Party was from a My Craft Studio No Stamp Required CD - it is a font so strictly that is 8 stamps which I coloured in with Promarkers after printing them out on Super Smooth Paper. The Pub and the Beer stamps are from a set by Creative Expressions.

The Cards for Men Challenge gave the theme of Lets' Party. I had no real party type stamps but I thought "well you can always party down the Pub". The pub was stamped onto watercolour paper with Adirondack Espresso ink and it was coloured using the same ink and a water brush. The edges were tinged with Spiced Marmalade and Rusty Hinge Distress ink. The bear bottles were stamped and coloured in the same way and 5 sets were cut out - 2 for the label and 3 as individual embellishments

The Let's Party was cut out with a Label Nestability and with the cut out still in the die an edging of Rusty Hinge ink was added. A larger size of the same shape was cut from copper mirror board and the two were stuck together.

The base card is dark brown and A5 in size. The background layer a gorgeous piece of copper embossed card that I have had for ages and I can't remember where I got it from. Everything was attached to the base card with Pinflair Glue.

Birds - A Card for 4 Challenges

Good afternoon one and all.

Here is a card for 4 challenges: Totally Papercrafts #50 - Add a Heart, Crafty Catz Challenge #66 - Forgotten Stamp, Crafty Creations Challenge # 102 - It's a Bird Thing, and finally Crafty Cardmakers - Spotlight on Pencils.

The card is based on dark green hammered card, A5 in size. The backing layer was cream card that was sprayed with 3 colours of green glimmer mist and the polka dots were applied using metallic green paint through sequin waste.

The forgotten stamp is the large image, from Elusive images which I used a lot a couple of years ago but haven't used for ages. This is part of the bird element for 'it's a bird thing'. I stamped this onto white card and coloured it with Inktense pencils from Derwent. I used a blender pencil and burnisher to help blend the colours and to smooth the image out.

The two small hearts are from a free stamp from Craft Stamper designed by Elusive Images again. These were coloured in the same way as the main image.

To assemble, the background player was cut to size and the ribbons added before bonding it to the base card. The main image was added followed by the two hearts and finally the 3 groups of 3 sticky backed gems were attached for a bit of bling.

I think that about does it so I hope you like it.

Nymph

Good evening. Here we are at the end of Wednesday which means it is all down hill from here to the weekend and more time for crafting! Hurray!

A card for 2 challenges:
Critter Challenge #48, Colour and Embellishment which requires blue and silver with Pearls or Rhinestones and  Sketch n Stash #53 which provided the sketch for the card layout. The Stash element is the gorgeous blue patterned and textured card which I have had for ages.

A lovely blue pearlescent card provided the A5 base card. Lovely card this - it is white pearlescent on the other side giving a very luxurious inside surface as well.

A strip of the textured blue card was cut to size and it was edged with silver mirror card cut out with a Borderability. This is such a gorgeous pattern too.

The main image is from a Clarity stamp which was simply stamped on glossy, white card using Denim Adirondack ink. This was cutout with a circular Nestability and the edges tinted with Chipped Sapphire Distress ink. A silver mirror card scalloped circle was cut to make the backing.

The flowers are from a Cricut cartridge - I can't remember which one. The two different sizes were made on Gypsy and cut on the Cricut. These were tinted with the same Distress ink and layered with Pinflair glue. The large rhinestones were set in the middle of each flower.

The card was assembled to give the result you see above. I hope you like it.

Happy Birthday

Good evening to one and all.

A card for the Totally Papercraft Challenge #49 - Happy Birthday.

I went for nice bright colours as I am still in a Spring Time mood.

The butterfly and the two different flowers stamps are of my own design that I had made for me.

The base card is A5 in size, bright yellow, leather textured finish. I edged it with Spiced Marmalade Distress ink. The back ground layer started off as white card which I coloured with various colours of Distress ink. The ink was splodged onto a non-stick mat and were sprayed with water. The card was dunked into this until I was happy with the pattern. Once dried it was trimmed to size and from the offcuts a strip was cut for the bottom of the card.

A cream coloured aperature card was used as the basis for the main image. Inside the aperture is a pale yellow vellum stamped with the solid flower which was embossed in gold. The front was stamped with the other flower stamp, embossed in gold and coloured with Sakura pens in yellow and orange. Two ribbons were wrapped around the bottom of the card and secured with tape. The bows were made seperately and secured with Pinflair glue.

The butterfly, which look quite blue in this photo, was stamped on Fusable Film using Stazon ink. As with all fusable film the colour changes depending on the light. It other lights is looks pinker.There are two layers stuck together  along the body with silicone glue and the top one is glittered. The top layer is bent upwards to give dimension

The Happy Birthday sentiment was a free stamp from one of the crafting magazines. This was stamped and embossed as before and then cut out with a Nestability. A backing in a gold textured card was also cut and the two bonded together.

Everything was assembled with double sided tape except for the sentiment which was mounted with foam pads for depth.

Challenge Link: Totally Papercrafts Challenge #49

Dragonfly Tags

Good morning. Happy Sunday.

Here is a card for two challenges - The Stamp Man #14 - Distress and CES Challenge #19 - No Designer Papers.

The base card is Navy Blue and A5 in size.The Background was a piece of white card (that hates water) that was attacked with several colours of Distress Ink and lots of water. Whilst wet it was screwed up and generally battered about before touching more ink over the ridges that were created. When dry, it was trimmed to size and the edges roughened up with that magic edge tool by Sir Tim.

The script paper was stamped twice, side by side, using a Stamp Man stamp using Stazon Ink. The edges were torn and tinted with 2 colours of Distress ink (Broken China and Stormy Sky).

The piece behind the tags was coloured with Distress Ink and splashed with water to lift some of the ink. When dry it was run through a Cuttlebug with an embossing folder and finally sanded to remove some of the surface to age it.

The two tags were coloured with distress inks using a blending tool, stamped and embossed with a flourish stamp from Sheena Douglass. The front one had the word Love stamped (again from Sheena) and the Dragonfly stamp from The Stamp Man.

When the backing was assembled, a hole was punched to take the ball chain (Tim Holtz). The tags were threaded onto the chain and attached to the card and they are held i place with foam pads.

Challenge Links:
The Stamp Man #14 - Distress
CES Challenge #19 - No Designer Papers.

New Home Card

Good morning.

Thursday already. Nearly the end of the week. It is all down hill to the weekend from here! Excellent. More time from crafting!

This card is for the Crafty Creations Challenge  - New Beginnings. I chose New Home for the theme as I just love this cottage stamp by Clarity. A lot went into making this card so here goes........

Card size A4 in cream hammered card.

Background paper - I designed the pattern  in My Craft Studio, printed it on a laser printer and hot foiled it in gold.

Tag - coloured with various Distress Inks, stamped with the cottage in brown, the sentiment, computer printed as I did not have a suitable stamp, tinted with ink, trimmed and bonded to the  tag and some lovely rusty coloured organza ribbon threaded onto it.

Flower embellishments -  cream card, sprayed with various Glimmer Mists, stamped with the flower (sorry, I can't remember the manufacturer) and cut out when dry.

Matting layer under the main image - white glossy card to which was applied various colours of alcohol inks with gold mixive added.

Main image - white glossy card (A6). Cottage stamped applied so that it is the opposite of the stamp by using a brayer. Cottage stamp applied directly to the card above the reflected one. Same technique for the trees. The water was brayered in place after running the brayer over crumpled paper Sky brayered on after masking the main cottage. Hills added in the background by sponging ink over torn paper. Finally the edges were ined to give a vignette look to the completed artwork. Thanks to Barbara Grey for all those techniques.

The image and 1st mat were mounted onto cream card to give definition and the card was assembled to give the finished look.

Challenge link: Crafty Creations - New Beginnings

You Take the Cake - Card for 3 Challenges

Good morning.
Here we have a somewhat different style of card for me which is being entered into 3 challenges: Critter Sketch Challenge #47 - For the sketch design, Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #37 - Red and a Die Cut, Crafty Catz Challenge #64 - Food and Drink.

The reason that this is so different was because I had nothing in my stamping stash for Food or Drink so I had to resort to my Cricut Imagine cartridge which is suitably entitled "Yummy" - say no more!

The card is based on a 6" x 6" pink card blank. The square scalloped mats, the red oval  and the photo corners are all die cut with either Nestabilities or Sizzix dies.

The patterned paper was from my stash.The edges of the card blank and all the square mates were edged with "Worn Lipstick" Distress Ink.

For the food and drink elements, they were all done by the Imagine machine to print them and cut them out. The cupcakes were printed as layers so the extra cherries were printed to allow a decoupaged layer for added  interest.

Once all the elements were prepared it was a simple assembly job using double sided tape and foam pads. The final touch were the 6 pink flat backed gems added for sparkle.

Challenge links:
Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge #64
Critter Sketch Challenge #47
Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #37

Hope is the Companion of Power - Card for 2 Challenges

Second post of the day as I catch up on a few challenges. This is the problem of working full time - not enough time for crafting during the week.

This card is for 2 challenges - Cards for Men - Sketch Challenge and Die Cut dreams - Quote. See the end of the post for the links.

I started off with the cream, hammered card blank A5 in size. The background is a piece of kitchen roll which was used for moping up the craft mat when I was using glimmer mists in tones of brown. This was trimmed to size to give an even border all round and mounted in place with double sided tape.

The quote, from a chap named Sydney Bremer, is an Elusive Images stamp. The balloon, the checked background and the sentiment are from Creative Expressions.

The checked pattern has been stamped in black archival ink onto wood veneer which has previously been sprayed with Glimmer Mists. The balloon as done in the same way.

The quote was stamped in black archival ink on satin card which had been previously brayered with ink from a Big and Juicy ink pad. The sentiment was stamped onto the same type of card which had been sponged with the same colour as used on the quote.

The quote and the sentiment were matted onto a copper coloured textured card which I have had for ages and I haven't a clue where I got it from. The same card was used with an oval Nestability to cut and emboss the shape as required by the challenge sketch.

Everything was mounted onto the kitchen roll background with tape except for the wooden elements for which I used very large, strong foam pads.

Challenge links:
Cards for Men Challenge #1 - Sketch
Die Cut Dreams Challenge #80 - Quote

Thank You, a card for 2 Challenges

Good morning to one and all and a very Happy Sunday to you.

Here is a card for 2 challenges - CES - All Creatures Great and Small and Totally Papercraft - Thank You. See the end of the post for the links.

All the stamps, inlcuding the sentiment, used for this card are by Elusive Images. There are two different sizes of butterfly, the flourish corner, The Harlequin & Daisy stamp and the Thank You sentiment.

The flourish and the harlequin & daisy stamp were stamped onto watercolour card with black Archival ink. The daisy stamp was watercoloured with Distress inks - Mustard Seed, Dried Marigold, Spicy Marmalade ans Shabby Shutters.  The edges were tinted with Marigold and Marmalade inksThe sentiment was added using foam pads to give extra height.

Flower Card for the Critter Sketch Challenge #46

Good morning. I obviously am trying to be optimistic and think of Spring as this is my second flower based card of the week. It is just such a shame that it is snowing outside (again)!

The base dark green card was cut with the largest of the Grand Square Scalloped Nestabilities using my new Grand Calibre machine (a Christmas present to myself!).

The background was cut with the same, but 2 sizes smaller, from a sheet of card which I coloured with various green chalk inks, sprayed with 2 colours of green Glimmer mists and stamped with the snowdrop stamp from Sheena Douglass using Bottle Adirondack ink.

The main snow drop image and the gorgeous sentiment (a Clarity stamp) were stamped on watercolour card with Versamark and embossed with gold WOW powder. The snowdrops were coloured with Aquamarkers and the edges of both tinted with Shabby Shutters Distress ink. They were both cut out with Nestabilities and mounted on gold mirror card also cut with Nestabilities.

The vertical strip is green mirror card with a thinner strip of gold mirror card added on top. The horizontal piece of card is the same as the base card with decorative corners added with a Fiskars corner punch.

The whole card was assembled with double sided tape except for the image which was mounted with foam pads to make it stand out. A gold ribbon bow and three gold pearls were added as the finishing touches to complete the card against the requirements of the sketch. I do hope you like the finished effect.

Challenge link: Critter Sketch Challenge #46

Flower Card for Sketch and Stash Challnge #52

Good morning. Here is what I consider to be a fairly dramatic card for this sketch challenge. The stash used are the large fabric flowers which I won in a sort of crafting lucky dip over a year ago and have never quite known what to do with them as they are so large - about 6" (15cm) in diameter. They have been used to enhance the size of the image on an 8" x 8" size card.

First and Last (or Greatest) Challenge

This is an entry for the Crafty Cardmakers Mega Xmas Challenge of first card (or the oldest that you have a picture of) and the last card you made (or else the greatest card you have made).

Well, the pink card is one of my very earliest creations using Hot of the Press papers (if I remember correctly), some little tags that were stamped and coloured with Twinkling H2Os and peel offs, which I very rarely use now.

The oriental card is my favourite card that I made last year due to the number of techniques used. The background was made with distress inks on white card and a beautiful oriental stamp. The tag uses Sheena Douglass' Poppy stamp and the buttons were made from Fimo, stamped with various impressions before they were baked. For more details on how this card was made, please refer to my blog for Wednesday 10th Novemebr - Oriental Button Card.

I belive that that this fits the crieria for the challenge. At least it shows that I havemade some progress over the years!

Challenge link: http://craftycardmakers.blogspot.com/2010/12/crafty-cardmakers-mega-xmas-challenge.html

Gone Fishing

January is here which means 2 men's cards in the first week of the year for 2 birthdays on the 8th of the month! Consequently I panic as they are always difficult, as we all know.

So here is the first one for the man who is a fishing addict. This is being entered into 2 challenges, the links of which are given below. The card layout is based on challenge #8 of the Sketch and Stash Challenge site - the challenge (#51) being to use my own choice of the previous challenge sketches. I have owned the stamp and CD ROM for well over a year and this is the first time I have used it. The second challenge is 'Anything Goes' , Challenge #17 for the CES blog.

Not my usual type of card, as you can see. I have had to resort to CD ROMs etc for the backing papers which I do not usually do.

This backing paper and border come from a Crafter's Companion CD for Men. The main image and the fish embellishments are from the stamp set that accompany the CD ROM.

The main image and the fishes were stamped onto watercolour card with Espresso Adirondack ink. A damp brush was used on the main image to colour it by drawing the ink from the image and painting with it. The fish were left, just as they were stamped - no brushing required.

Three colours of Distress ink were used to 'age' the edges of the picture after it was trimmed to size. Once dry it was matted onto copper mirror card to give some definition. The fish were cut out and put to one side for the assembly at the end. The distress ink was also used to tint the edges of the border.

The base card is 7" x 7". A piece of the background paper 6.75" x 6.75" was matted onto the card and the various other elements applied with double sided tape except for the main image which was raised off the surface with foam pads. The copper blobs in the corners of the brown layer were made with Pearlidoodles.

Challenge links: http://ceschallenges.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge-17-anything-goes.html

http://sketchandstashchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/sketch-n-stash-challenge-51.html

The Last Christmas Card

I know we are now in 2011 but I needed an excuse to post this Christmas card that I made for my other half. I was so pleased with it. Therefore this is to be an entry for the Crafty Catz challenge #63 which was my choice of any of their old challenge themes. Consequently I chose #60 - Christmas.

The base card is navy blue and A5 in size.

The background was made from white watercolour card which was tinted with Distress ink and when dry it was over sprayed with silver and lapis lazuli mica mists. The made the distress ink run and gave a very nice effect.

The two flourishes were cut on my Cricut machine.

The sentiment was hand foiled in silver and the edges tinted with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. This was matted onto silver mirror card.

The image, by Sheena Douglass, was stamped with the same distress ink onto watercolour card and then with a damp brush the ink from the outline was drawn into the image to add shading. Once trimmed to the required size the edges were tinted with the same ink (I just love this colour) and the image was matted onto silver mirror card. Although it is not that easy to see on the photo, I added snow, both falling from the sky and on the ledges of the house, on the ground etc, using a quickie glue pen and glamour dust to give a very delicate sparkle.

These were all added to the base card with double sided tape except for the sentiment which was applied with foam pads to give depth

Now I will forget Christmas cards for the next few months and look forward to all the new challenges that 2011 will bring.

Link to Crafty Catz challenge: http://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/craftycatz-challenge-63-your-choice.html

Happy Christmas

Good morning.
Here we are, Christmas Eve. We are just about ready for the big day. It may be 04.30ish but the gammon is on the stove for the next 2 hours before being baked in the oven. The mince pies need to be baked and relatives need to fight their way through the snow from Yorkshire to get here this evening.
I just wanted to wish you all a very Happy Christmas and an excellent New Year for another year of crafting, challenges and blogging!
See you soon,
Hugs,
Shirl xx

Pink Roses

A second post today to catch up on another challenge. This is for the Crafty Creations Challenge #98 - Photo Inspirations. From the photo I took the colour pink and rose elements from the fabric.

On a 6" cream base card I layered up some very pretty pale pink and cream paper which is a very old design from Joanna Sheen. It is very delicate and features roses and hearts.

The rose images, both the spray and the individual corner flowers are from Creative Expressions stamps. The spray and 4 single blooms were stamped onto slightly textured cream card with Versamark and embossed with Platinum WOW powder. These were coloured in with two shades of pink Twinkling H2Os to give a slight sheen.

For the main image, once the paint was dry, the shape was cut out with a square scalloped Nestability. The edges were then tinted with Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstick Distress inks using a blending tool. The four individual blooms were cut out, just outside the embossed line.

The main image was bonded in place with double sided tape. The leaves, which were part of a prize for winning a challenge, were mounted in place with Pinflair glue as were the 4 roses.

Challenge link: http://craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge-98-photo-inspiration.html

Spring Card

Good morning. I seem to have nothing but clear snow for the last couple of days so it is good to find some time for some crafting again.

This card is for the Critter Challenge #44 - No pattern paper.

I really enjoyed this one. I got right away from Christmas, Christmas colours etc and went for a spring theme.

The stamps are from Sheena Douglass' A Little Bit Sketchy range - Poppies and Daisies.

The base card is A5 in size in a very pale yellow hammered card. The flower strip is fabric and a very old part of my stash that I just knew would be needed one day.

A dark yellow linen card was embossed with a Cuttlebug Embossing Folder and then Spiced Marmalade Distress ink was applied on the raised areas to highlight the embossing. This was matted onto gold mirror card and applied to the base card.

The main image was stamped onto cream, slightly textured card and embossed with Platinum WOW powder. The image was tinted with Aquamarkers. Once trimmed to size, the edges of the card were coloured with Dried Marigold and Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink. The small daisies were stamped, embossed and coloured in the same way. The lovely sentiment was stamped and embossed on another piece of cream card which had been cut out and embossed with a square scalloped Nestability. The edges were tinted with the same Distress inks again. The image was matted onto a piece of gold mirror card which was the waste from cutting out a frame with a Shapability. The sentiment was matted onto a slightly bigger square scalloped gold mirror matte.

All of these elements were then added to the base card. As a finishing touch the individual daisies were added to the sentiment.

Challenge link: http://critterchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge-44no-pattern-paper.html

Peacock Feather Card

This is a card for the Totally Papercrafts Challenge # 46 - Paper Piecing.

The base card is dark green hammered card A5 in size. Two contrasting green cards were given a pierced edge using a Borderability die. These were embossed and Pine Needles Distress ink highlights the embossing. The same coloured cards were cut with circular Nestabilities to continue the pieced theme.

An A4 piece of white card was sprayed with Glimmer mists in various greens and lilacs in a random way. Once dry this was over stamped with a Peacock Feather stamp from Elusive Images. The eye of each feather was painted with blue and lilac Twinkling H2Os.
This was trimmed to the required size and the sentiment applied in the corner with a Clarity stamp - Birthdays are a Feather in the Wing of Time.

The two sheets and the stamped sheet were applied to the base card with double sided tape. The peacock feather was cut down to the required size and boded in place with Pinflair glue. The layered discs were bonded together and then more Pinflair glue applied before bonding in pace over the end of the feather.

Challenge Link: http://totallypapercrafts.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge-46-paper-piecing.html

Bear Card for 3 Challenges

Good morning and welcome to another cold and frosty one.

This card is for three challenges, the links for which are given below. Two challenges and a Bear Theme on the other other was anything but a Christmas card.

I am a great bear lover, having a collection of about 60 of them. Therefore I was horrified to realise the I had nothing about bears in my craft collection. Consequently I had to make do with what I had got i.e a lot of stuff bears. So it is my pleasure to introduce to your Spencer Bear.

I took a photograph of him and imported it into Digital Scrapbook Artist 2. I put the photograph through Cut Out Studio and removed all the background. Then in Photo Lab I removed the colour and gave it more of a sketch look. Once printed on Super Smooth paper, he was recoloured using Promarkers and then the edges aged with 2 different colours of Distress ink.

The background was a piece of white card that I was using to mop up excess Glimmer Mist sprays last week when I was making a large batch of A4 decorated card up for future use. When the masks got too much spray on them I put them upside down onto the sheet and the excess spray was transferred. Do this enough times and you get some quite interesting patterns! This card was trimmed to size and then any white areas covered over with distress ink and the edges aged with ink too.

A ribbon was wrapped around the card and then it was bonded to the dark brown A5 base card.

Mean while the picture and a backing mat was cut out with some Nestabilities. These were mounted onto the card and the three flowers, which I made a few weeks ago, were attached with Pinflair Glue.

Challenge Links:

http://craftycreationschallenges.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge97-beary-project.html

http://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/craftycatz-birthday-bear-challenge.html

http://ceschallenges.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge-16-anything-but-christmas.html

Purple and Teal Card

Here is a card for the purple and teal sketch challenge for the Critter sketch challenge blog # 43.

Teal was a very difficult colour to find, I can tell you. In the end I had to resort to My Craft Studio and just try and concoct the correct colour so I hope that I am not too far off!

The base card is a dark purple 6" x 6" card. This was layered with Teal paper and a gorgeous lilac textured card. The stripe across the middle is more of the dark purple card with a 6mm lilac ribbon.

The image is from an Elusive Images Paisley stamp which I think is absolutely gorgeous. It was stamped with Versamark and embossed with Obsidian Teal Moonglow embossing powder.

The flowers were painted with Purple Twinkling H2Os and the leaves with Teal H20s. Therefore I managed to get at least two teals into the card. The image was cut out with an oval Nestability. The edges of this were tinted with Dusty Concord Distress ink. The image was mounted onto a Purple Mirror card scalloped oval. This assemble was mounted onto the base card.

A bow was tied, from the same ribbon as used on the strip across the card, and secured in the top right hand corner as a finishing touch.

Challenge link: http://critterchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/challlenge-43sketch-and-color.html

Morning Glory

Good evening to you all. Welcome to another cold December evening. Still, there is nothing like a bit of crafting to make you forget the cold outside.

This card is for the Sketch and Stash Challenge #50. The stash used was the textured lilac card used for the base card which I have had for years and the beautiful stamp from Elusive Images.

The lilac A4 card was folded in two to make the A5 base card, The edges were tinted with Dusty Concord Distress ink to give some contrast.

The image was stamped onto plain white card and coloured in with Promarkers. A second image was also stamped and only the two blooms were coloured in and cut out. The edges of the first image were tinted with the same Distress ink that was used on the card base.

A ribbon was wrapped around the image and secured on the reverse side. A bow was tied, using the same colour of ribbon, trimmed and bonded in place with Pinflair glue. Four border strips were cut from lilac paper using a Borderability die. Two of the border strips were carefully bonded in place with double sided tape along the long sides of the image. The other 2 strips were trimmed to the required length and secured in place along the top and bottom edges. This whole assembly was then bonded to the base card.

A short strip of the textured lilac card was cut and some ribbon stuck along the centre line. One end of this strip was cut to give a forked end. This was stuck at a jaunty angle in the top right hand corner and the extra flowers bonded in place with Pinflair glue.

Challenge link: http://sketchandstashchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/sketch-n-stash-challenge-50.html

Spotlight on Tags

This tag is for the Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight on Tags.

This is a cream standard size tag. It was coloured with Distress inks using a blending tool.

All the stamps used are from Sheena Douglass' new range of A Little Bit Sketchy stamps.

The sentiment was stamped on the tag with Adirondack Espresso ink.

I coloured a piece of plain white card with distress inks and water. When dry the leaves and acorns was stamped in Versamark and embossed with Brass Regular powder from the WOW range of embossing powders. The leaves were cut out by hand.

All of the embellishments were positioned using Pinflair glue.

A mustard coloured organza ribbon completed the tag.

Challenge link: http://craftycardmakers.blogspot.com/2010/12/spotlight-on-tags.html

Seeing Triple

Three cards for one challenge. Well that is a bit different. Here are my entries for the Die Cut Dreams Challenge #77 - Seeing Triple.

The cards feature the same stamp from Creative Expressions on scalloped squares, cut using a Nestability, made from card that was coloured by myself by splodging different colours of Distress inks onto a non-stick mat, spraying with water and then dipping the card onto the ink, drying the card, dipping again etc until I was happy with the results. Each of these cards were made with a slightly different colour mix of inks.

The base cards are made from commercially produced pearlescent card all featuring the same pattern but one is pale pink on cream, one mustard yellow on cream and the last one pale blue on cream. They are A5 in size. It also uses a sheet of gold embossed cream vellum.

A 21cm square was cut from the A4 card and this was folded to give the A5 size. The short part became the front of the card. Using my Ultimate Pro, the scalloped edge was embossed and trimmed back to the embossed line. One third of the vellum sheet was embossed and trimmed in the same way and layered under the front fold. A piece of A4 cream pearlescent card was cut in half to make an A5 piece which was also embossed and trimmed in the same way and bonded under the vellum layer. The piece that was left after trimming the first piece of A4 down to a square was bonded on the inside of the back of the base card to give the pattern down the right hand edge.

A slit was made in the spine of the card to pass the ribbon though which was then knotted in the centre of the card and trimmed.

The main images were all produced in a slightly different way.

The one on the left was white glossy card which was dipped in the same way as described above to give a soft colouring. The image was stamped with black Stazon ink and when dry was trimmed to size.

The middle one was made using plain white card. the image was stamped using a Big 'n' Juicy rainbow ink pad. When dry it was trimmed to size and a layer of Versamark ink was applied over the whole image and embossed with clear powder. This was repeated to give a very glossy finish.

The right hand one was stamped on plain white card in black ink. This was then hand coloured with ink with touches of Twinkling H20s.

The images were mounted onto the three different coloured scalloped squares which in turn were bonded to the base cards.

Challenge link: http://diecutdreams.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge-77-seeing-triple.html

CES Challenge #15 - Sketch

My entry for the CES sketch challenge this week.

All stamps - the poppies, trees, flourishes and sentiment are from Sheena Douglass' new range - A Little Bit Sketchy.

The base card is A5 in size and dark brown.

The background is a piece of kitchen roll which has been used over many week to mop up ink and glimmer mists from my non-stick mat. Never waste a thing is my motto.

The dry kitchen roll was backed with card to make it more robust and trimmed to size. Gold ribbon was wrapped round it before it was mounted on the card.

For the poppies: A piece of plain white smooth paper was coloured with 3 different Distress inks. Water was splashed onto the paper and lifted off again with a tissue to remove patches of the colour. The whole thing was then sprayed with Glimmer mist and allowed to dry. The poppies were stamped with Timber Brown Stazon and the poppy heads coloured with Aquamarkers. These were then cut out with Circular Nestabilities and mounted on Gold Mirror card also cut to shape with scalloped Nestabilities.

The sentiment was stamped onto watercolour card in the same Stazon, coloured over with Distress inks, trimmed to size and mounted on gold mirror card.

The flourish layer was simply stamped with brown ink, coloured with Distress inks and trimmed to size.

The main image was stamped onto watercolour card with Adirondack Espresso ink and a damp brush was used draw the ink into the picture to tint it.

All the individual elements were mounted onto the card either with double sided tape or Pinflair glue.

Challenge link: http://ceschallenges.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge-15-sketch.html

New Year Card

A card for the Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge #61 - Happy New Year.

I decided not to go for the Party theme but to remind people that Spring is just around the corner once Christmas has come and gone. I like to look on the optimistic side of life!

The card is 7" x 7" - it's not often I make a square card but this seemed to suit the embellishments.

Layered onto the dark green base card is a mat of holographic card. On top of this is a layer that I made consisting of a piece of white card that I splattered with Purple and Green Glimmer Mist sprays. The splatter was created by spraying the mists onto a some twigs of a fir tree from my garden and then just slapping it onto the card - messy, but fun! When dry and trimmed to size two pieces of organza / satin ribbon were wrapped around it and secured in place with tape. This layer was then mounted onto the card.

The Happy New Year sentiment is from a Clarity stamp. The full stamp had more text that this so I just inked up the text that I wanted with Versamark and it was embossed with Platinum Sparkle powder from WOW. This was trimmed and layered on silver mirror card, green card and another layer of silver.

The main image of snow drops, another Clarity stamp, was embossed with Platinum Regular powder from WOW. I did not colour it in as I felt that the white card suited the stamp. This was layered up on Silver, green and silver again with shapes being cut out with Nestabilities.

The flowers and leaves in the bottom right hand corner were cut from a sheet manufactured by Klever Konstructions. They were warmed with a heat gun and before they cooled the flowers and leaves were shaped to the desired positions. These, and the green bow, were bonded into place with Pinflair glue.

Challenge Link: http://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge-61-happy-new-year.html

Christmas Punches Challenge

Good morning. Well, after about 3 inches of snow yesterday, it is now raining here in South Wales and hopefully washing it all away. I just hope that it does not freeze tonight!

Here is a card for the Totally Papercrafts Challenge #45 - Christmas Punches. I thought, to start with that I did not have any. But trawling through my memory to the dim and distant past I remembered some Sizzix Paddle Punches and one border punch from Fiskars that I got years ago.

Consequently here is my holly based card that I hope you like.

A pale blue A5 size card provides the base and layered onto this are three layers of paper - two of silver pearlescent and one blue that have been punched along the edges with the holly border punch and mounted onto the base card.

The image, from Creative Expressions, which features holly, was stamped with black Stazon and coloured with distress inks. This was cut out with the small scalloped Nestability and was mounted onto a large scalloped Nestability cut out, which is made from the same material as the base card.

This was mounted onto the card with foam tape to create a gap under it. The green holly leaves were punched out with a Paddle Punch and bent up along the spine to give them some shape. These were then bonded in pace with Pinflair glue. A light blue double bow was added as a final embellishment.

Challenge link: http://totallypapercrafts.blogspot.com/2010/12/challenge-45-xmas-punches.html

White and a Splash of Colour Challenge

Good morning. Here is my entry for the Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #35 - White and a Splash. i have to say that this was not an easy one. What constitutes a "splash"?

So I started with an A5 sized plain white card for the base.

An A6 piece of silk art card was run through my Cuttlebug using Swirls embossing folder. This was trimmed to size and then I followed over the raised pattern with Frosted Lace Glitter glue from Ranger and allowed it to dry.

The central image is a stamp from Creative Impressions which was coloured with Twinkling H2Os and edged with distress ink once the oval shape had been cut out with a Nestability. Double sided tape was applied all the way around the underside of the oval and a white fabric ruffle added. For the strip at the bottom of the card a strip of navy blue card was edged with the ruffle in the same way. The Ivy Leaves were embossed on white card using a Crafter's Companions Embossing board which fits the Ultimate Pro. Once cut out, a very small amount of distress ink was applied with a blending tool to define the edges.

The swirly card was layered onto a piece of navy card to define the edges and this in turn was bonded to the white base card. The central image was mounted onto this using Pinflair glue.

The ruffled strip was bonded in place with double sided tape and then the ivy leaves added with Pinflair glue to ensure that they were at different heights to give extra depth to the card.

Challenge link: http://craftycardmakers.blogspot.com/2010/11/challenge-35-white-splash.html

Card for the Critter Challenge #42

Good evening. Here is my entry for the Critter Sketch challenge #42.

It is based on a 7.52" square navy blue card. The first layer was white card which was sprayed using two colours of Glimmer Mist using pieces of fir tree as masks. This was trimmed to size and mounted onto the base card.

The vertical and horizontal strips were made from silver mirror card which were cut out with Borderabilities and mounted on strips of white card which had their edges tinted with blue distress ink.

The main image was stamped with black Stazon ink and coloured in with Twinkling H2Os. It was cut out using a scalloped circular Nestability and the edges tinted with Distress inks applied with a blending tool.

The sentiment was stamped (Clarity stamp) and embossed with platinum WOW powder, cut out with a circular Nestability and mounted onto a scalloped circular silver mirror card layer.

The large circle is a paper doilley which had its edges tinted with Distress ink.

All these elements were layered onto the base card and three silver mirror card snowflakes were added in the the top right hand corner.

I hope that this meets the challenge sketch and that you like the result.

Challenge link: http://critterchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2010/11/challenge-42sketch.html