Winter whites

I can't seem to leave my new tree stamps alone, this is a clean and simple Christmas card based on this week's CPS sketch.  I started off wanting to keep it as Kraft and white but decided I prefer it with the red added in.  Don't know whether to top the trees with a tiny gem, what do you think?

Stamp Addict Trees are embossed in white, as is the sentiment.  White card has Cuttlebug embossed snowflakes.  I've distressed the edges of the Kraft card with a bit of Brushed Corduroy.

My card is for the following challenges:

CPS - sketch

Crimbo Crackers - anything goes

Craft Your Passion - let's get crafty

Meljen's Designs - Christmas

Sparkle Creations Rubber Stamps - no colouring

Karen's Doodles - emboss it

One Stitch at a Time - emboss it

Simon Says - anything goes

I'm nuts about you

 I know, it's a corny sentiment but I had to do it lol!  Good morning and welcome to this month's Tiffany Doodles Challenge, which is All Creatures Great and Small.  There are two great chances to win a Gift Certificate from Tiffany Doodles: a $10 TD Gift Certificate to the winner who uses a Tiffany Doodles digital stamp and a $5 TD Gift Certificate to the 2nd runner up - no matter what stamp you've used.

Tiff has some stunning animal images, fun and realistic and I have chosen the Squirrel for my card.  Somehow, even though it's high summer (in theory anyway) he has ended up as an Autumnal card, with Basic Grey Indian Summer DP, some tiny punched out leaves and lots of stitching.  Midnight Madness, CPS and Critter Cards have ALL used basically the same sketch this week so I'm entering my squirrel in all three!

My card is for the following challenges:
Basic Grey - stitching
Simon Says - a stitch in time
A Spoonful of Sugar - stitching
Paper Sundaes - stitching
Critter Challenges - sketch and use red
CPS - sketch
Midnight Madness - sketch

White space isn't always white...

 When I saw this week's CPS sketch I knew it was made for a clean and simple card using one of the new Fred She Said Doodledallion flowers.  I know C&S has lots of white space by definition but I reckon sometimes that space can be coloured as long as it's not been fussed about with:).  So here is my purple & gold version of white space!  DP has stitched borders on Basic Grey Wisteria and Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather, image is coloured with Copics and layered.

My card is for the following challenges:
CPS - sketch
Basic Grey - stitching
Digital Tuesday - flower power
Crafts and Me - birthday
Creative Stamp Friends - dots

Phindy's Place Challenge #60 - Black & White

Good Morning, welcome to Friday and welcome to a new Phindy's Place Challenge. Before I tell you about the new challenge, we have an exciting change coming up on the Phindy's Place Challenge Blog: from July we are having Phabulous Phindy Friday: on the first Friday of each month: this will be an Anything Goes Challenge with a twist: you can make absolutely anything, combine it with as many other challenges as you like, as long as you use a Phindy's Place image and have made a NEW project for the challenge - no backlinking please!So you will have plenty of time to get your fabulous Phindy project ready for the first of each month!

This week our challenge is to make a black and white card; you can use colour in your image if you wish, but just black and white for the rest of your card please.  You   don't have to use one of Phindy's images to enter the challenge,  but  we  love it when you do - and you get a second entry into the prize  draw!  I used Lula Shopping for my card, a rather sophisticated gal who suits the restricted colour palette!  She's coloured with Copics and left on a bright white background.  The two DPs are both sides of some Stampin. Up DP and the main piece is embossed cardstock that I've sponged with Soot Distress Ink.  I've added some lace and some gingham ribbon, home made flowers with a touch of pink and a set of 4 white and 4 black pearls on the image.
My card is for the following challenges:
Digital Tuesday - gingham
Card Positioning Systems - sketch
Stamping Scrapping Challenge - embossing
StampsR Us - 1 image, 2 patterned papers, 3 embellishments
Card and Scrap - lace and ribbon
Bling it On - embossing
Digi Design House - pearls and lace
Happileigh Scrappin - embossing
Stamp with Fun - pearls and flowers

Phindy's Place Challenge #47 - Hot Stuff

I hope this scheduled post works as I will be at the Cheltenham Festival for a fourth day's racing today, Friday:)  At Phindy's Place Challenge this week we're anticipating a lovely long hot summer to make up for the hard winter so many of us have had, with our theme of Hot Stuff.  You can interpret this with warm colours, summer image cards, it's up to you.   I've taken the opportunity to use Mr Brown On Vacation, this image is available in the shop here.    It's such a fun image that I wanted the card itself to be very simple, this week's CPS layout is perfect!

Image is coloured with Copics (do you like the touch of sunburn on Mr Brown's nose and legs?) and I used some Stickles on his fishing line and beercan.  The string lace is from Bunny Zoe's, DP is My Mind's Eye and the sentiment is a Joanna Sheen House Mouse one.
My card is for the following challenges:
CPS - sketch
Incy Wincy Challenges - for the boys
Paper Pretties - masculine card
Ooh la la Creations - It's a Man Thing

Welcome little one

 

A work colleague of  DH and his wife have had a baby girl and would you believe I didn't have a girl card to hand!  There are several boy cards in the card box and no pink ones at all...  So I opted for this old favourite from Phindy's Place, called Contentment, it is one of my all time favourites, so serene, also it colours quickly and easily lol.  I used this week's sketch from Card Positioning Systems and grabbed my Basic Grey Kioshi pad for an easy colourscheme.  Coloured with Copics, the Basic Grey plain DP was run through an embossing folder, the punch is a Martha Stewart.  Don't forget you have until Friday to enter baby projects at Phindy's Place Challenge too!

My card is for the following challenges:  

Card Positioning Systems - sketch

Digital Tuesday - welcome little one

Everybody Art Challenge - baby

Paper Playtime - anything digi goes

Dream Valley - new beginnings

Phindy's Place Challenge #42 - Spring is on the way!

It's Friday and it's time for another fun challenge at Phindy's Place.  This week's challenge is a bit of wishful thinking on my part:  it is called Spring is on the way!  So many of us have had our fill of snow and ice and cold, but the days are beginning to get longer and my card is celebrating this.  I've used no less than three - count 'em - three Phindy's Place images and I have combined them in Photoshop, which was a very steep learning curve.  When I say "I", that means "We" as DH was far more patient than I am and was a great help with this card:).  Left to right, the images are Spring Dress Mei Mei, Spring Dress Emma and Spring Dress Kulla.  I wanted to ground my images using more than just Distress Inking, so I made an attempt at drawing in some paving at the edge of the grass they are dancing on.  

The sentiment is from a Joanna Sheen House Mouse set, the corner punch is Martha Stewart Pansies.  There are tiny tiny flower buttons scattered on the grass, bling in the corners and the DP is Basic Grey Sugar Rush.  I've moved the sentiment across a little on the CPs sketch..

My card is for the followng challenges:

CPS - sketch

Paper Sundaes - two or more images

Crafty Creations - 3 little words

Craft your Passion - anything goes

Pile it On - bright and breezy

Little Claire - anything goes

Stacks of Strawberries

I have a couple of House Mouse cards to show you today, this is the first one, a Joanna Sheen decoupage.  I've teamed it with a freebie sentiment stamp that came with the DoCrafts magazine sometime last year which is great for all those fruit/veg images.   I've put it together using the very simple sketch at CPS, which works really well for a big complex image like this.  The DP says DaisyD's, I think it was in a bargain bin at a craft show.

My card is for the following challenges:

CPS - sketch

Scrap Creations - animal antics

Cupcake Craft - seeing red

Gingerloft - use red

Craft Your Days Away - photo inspiration

Ewe can't have too much of a good thing

We've just got back from taking older son back to University, a very long drive.  This scene is typical of the area of Wales we drove through, made the card last night and didn't get round to blogging it.  I'm really enjoying playing with my scene stamps.  It's fairly clean and simple; the scene is built up with Hobby Art stamps and watercoloured.  No idea where the check card came from, the lined brown is recycled card from Stamp Attic.  Two small bronze brads and a couple of sheep from the same set complete the card.  Oh, the circle is raised up on gel glue.

I used the sketch from Card Positioning Systems for the card, nice and straightforward.  With the textured card, brads and dimension I'm also entering Secret Crafter's Tons of Texture Challenge.

Feel Better Soon

Here's a departure from all the Christmas cards I've been making; I've sent 4 Get Well Soon cards this week and thought I'd better add to the stocks!  Mind you this is a special one, I went a bit mad with the paper piecing, the quilt is all paper pieced as are most of the other details.   The image is from Phindy's Place, called Feel Better Soon and the DP is Papermania Henbury Lane.  I've used this week's sketch from Card Positioning Systems for my card. 

Poppy Days

 

Here's a reminder of summertime on a cold winter day, we have a light dusting of snow outside.  Both the scene and the poppy are Sheena Douglass stamps and she has made some lovely cards by leaving the scene sepia and giving the poppies vivid colours.  I used Aquamarkers and I did colour the background but kept it soft and subdued.  The frame is Nellie Snellen, background DP My Mind's Eye, sentiment from Craftwork Cards and I've used a little of my precious red velvet ric-rac.
I'm entering the following challegens with my card:
 Card Positioning Systems - sketch
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - red and green
Delightful Challenges - flower power
Paper Playtime - thank you

Seaside Town

Are you bored of the little seaside scenes I've been making yet?  I hope not because I'm really enjoying making them and here's another one!   The little stamps are made by Jenny Mays of Hobby Art; tomorrow I'm going to the Craft Barn to take a class with Jenny.  I'm really looking forward to it; what's the betting that I come home with some more Scene-Its? LOL  This uses the sketch from Card Positioning Systems Challenge.  It's very small scale to fit into the embossed frame, about 1 1/2" x 31/4".  The shells are Elusive Images stamps used on paper that I've sponged with Distress Inks and the net DP is My Mind's Eye.  Nothing else, no extra embellies as it's another man card for the stash.

DT Posting - Corrosive Challenges - #78 - drinks are on us!

Welcome to this week's Corrosive Challenge, if my scheduled post works.  If not, then sorry but I can't welcome you LOL!  This week's theme is drinks.  I've chosen a great image of two ladies catching up on some tea and scandal, you can interpret it any way you please, cocktails, scrapbook layouts of party photos maybe, can't wait to see your entries:).

My image is Mrs Comfy and Rose do coffee, a fabulous digi from Phindy, you can buy it here.  The gingham digi papers that I used to paper piece the tablecloth and for background papers are freebies from the lovely Bev Rochester.  If you visit her blog they are available as downloads, check out the RH column and you'll find a link.  My card fits the sketch at Card Patterns Challenge this week . The background to the card is embossed with a Tim Holtz folder, image is cut out and popped up on silicon glue.  Sentiment is Joanna Sheen.

DT - Corrosive Challenge #70- flowers galore

I'm late with my DT posting for Corrosive Challenges, been fighting with an eye infection for the last few days:(. The Challenge this week is to use lots of flowers on your project. I've been playing with my Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die, I love that it cuts fabric and I simply layered up 4 different fabrics and cut. Voila! I based my card on the CPS sketch for this week, which worked well with my flowers and also my gorgeous Iris stamp that was part of my blog candy from Elusive Images. The colouring on it wasn't perfect thanks to my eye infection, but lots of lovely Distress Ink round the edges covers a multitude of sins:). I edged the image with Brilliance reinker silver ink on a sponge, but I was a bit heavy handed and it hadn't dried overnight! I now have silver ink on all kinds of surfaces... The sentiment is also from Elusive Images, another theme plate this time. The DP is My Mind's Eye. The scale between the big flowers and the delicate iris isn't quite right, but hey, it's summertime:)

DT Posting - Twisted Thursday #60 - Tickled Pink!

It's time for another Twisted Thursday Challenge from Shirleys2Girls. This week the twist is simply to use some PINK on your card or project, yes it's as simple as that. The new images this month are all about babies and weddings and the DT has some fabulous baby cards for you to check out this week, but you don't need to make a baby card, just so long as there's a piece of pink somewhere:).

I've based my card on a sketch from Card Positioning Systems that I thought worked well with the pink lace and the embossed scalloped border that I wanted to use. The adorable image I've used is called Puppy Love, you can buy it here. It's coloured with Copics, the DP is an old Basic Grey (possibly Two Scoops?). The hearts were cut with a Sizzlits die and then dry embossed with the Swiss Dots folder. Scalloped border (and card) are from Craftwork Cards, ribbon from my sewing stash.

Please check out the challenge blog for full details and be sure to visit the other Ladies with Attitude, check out their amazing creations and leave them some love, here's the team: Ann, Anne (me), Carlie, Cat, Debbie, Georgia, Gina, Jane,Jeannie, Judy and Lisa.

DT Post - Twisted Thursday #54 - It's all about Mother

It's Twisted Thursday and this week the Shirley2Girls Challenge is "All About Mother". I've based my clean & simple card on a great sketch at the CPS Challenge. The image isn't a standard Mother's Day one but I am in love with the April in Paris digis and wanted to use La Promenade for my card, you can buy it here. Sentiment is also from S2G, both are coloured with Copics. I've used plain cardstock for once, not a sniff of a patterned DP! Swiss Dots are Cuttlebugged onto the yellow cardstock and the blue is edged with a Martha Stewart lattice arch punch. The card candy is from Craftwork Cards and the ribbon from stash.

Please check out the challenge blog for full details and be sure to visit the other Ladies with Attitude, check out their amazing creations and leave them some love, here's the team: Ann, Anne (me), Carlie, Cat, Deanne, Debbie, Georgia, Gina, Jana, Jane,Jeannie, Jennifer, Judy and Lisa.

Cutie Pie

What do you think of this very cute Stampavie stamp that I bought at the NEC? I fell for it at the Hobby House stand as soon as I saw it. It's a boy, but I bought it with a view to sending a card to my Post Pal, who is a teenage girl who is dog mad but cannot have a dog due to infection problems and all the time spent in hospital:(.

I began making this when Simon Says had the challenge to make a card for a child and to send it to a Post Pal, but I've had a cold and just didn't get it finished in time. Papertake Weekly's theme this week is Cutie Pie and I think that fits to perfection! I've used a great sketch from Card Positioning Systems (I love things in threes, they always look good) and MyTimeToCraft has On the Spot as its challenge.

Image is coloured with Copics and Distress Inks, cut with a deckle edged Nestie. The ticket is from Bearly Mine, a download sheet, card candy from Craftwork Cards. The DP wih dots is Basic Grey Porcelain and the script is My MInds Eye. The image and cardstock is layered onto brown parcel paper which worked best with the colours I used.

The Keeper of the Light

Hooray for Bank Holidays, I've got two cards to blog in a day! This week's freebie from Faith at Designed2Delight is a lighthouse scene which makes a great card for a man. I have taken some artistic licence with my card as you will see; the lighthouse is working on a bright sunny day:). I've coloured my image with Copics and added Glossy Accents to the wave tops and the windows on the lighthouse. I've added a charm from Quixotic Paperie to my scene. 2 DPs are Basic Grey from Cupcake and the background one is My Mind's Eye. Brads are from stash, card candy from Craftwork Cards.

My card is based on the sketch at this week's Card Positioning Systems Challenge. and I've followed the recipe of 3 papers, 2 brads, 1 embellishment at I Love Digis. Sweet Stampin's Challenge this week is It's a Man's World, I think this is a great man's card image. Crafty Creations has an anything goes theme week and so does Anything Ink. Simple Doodles has the theme of layers, plenty on here:).

Sunflower Smooches

There's a different challenge at House Mouse this week, to use a faux grid. I made mine on a piece of lightweight card that I'd sprayed with Glimmer Mist. I scored lines 1/2" apart and emphasized them with some Distress Ink in Scattered Straw and Peeled Paint. The image is called Sunflower Smooches, isn't it beautiful? It's another Ebay bargain stamp :), it's coloured with Copics. I've followed the sketch for this week's CPS Challenge. The background paper is Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry, I've used a punch on the Glimmer Misted paper and green card to make the flowers, ribbon, brads and little green label are from stash and the sentiment is Papermania. Phew, I think that's the lot!

Almost all the snow has gone now, it's just sticking where it was piled up or on north facing nooks and crannies. I do hope the threat of more tomorrow is wrong, though it does mean I'll get more crafting done if I can't get to the outside chores :)

Aqua & Red Willow, Part II

This is the second of the three Whiff of Joy images that I coloured for their Aqua & Red Challenge. I've based my card on this week's CPS Challenge sketch.

I've stamped Willow and masked her to sit her on the toboggan, she's coloured with Copics and there are Stickles on the toboggan's runners. The image is edged with Distress Ink in Broken China and I'm also entering Corrosive Distressing Challenge. The DPs are, again, free downloads from Summertime Designs. The card candy and the sentiment are from Craftwork Cards.