Corrosive Challenge # 57 - Easter or Spring - plus a few more challenges

This week's Corrosive Challenge is an Easter or a Spring Challenge, I've used one of Shirleys2Girls cute Easter images for my card. I based my card on the sketch at Friday Sketcher's Challenge . I'm also entering it for the Easter Challenges at DareU2Digistamp and Fussy & Fancy and also Creative Card Crew's theme of Going Dotty.

Image is coloured with Copics and Glossy Accents. DP is K&K, flowers are die cut and assembled from a Little Claire die, fern is die cut, gems from Hobby House.

Yesterday I went to a day class with a florist and made an Easter wreath for the table. The wreath is beautiful but I don't see this as a future hobby, I now know my limit is cutting off stems and plonking flowers in a vase :).
When I got home I had the most AMAZING present in the post from my blogging friend Viv, who has made me a shoe from paper. How astonishing and exquisite is this! Thanks so much Viv, there's even a little present inside that co-ordinates, and a heel - wow and wow!

Domino the dog does a dozen challenges!

Meet Domino, he's an Airedale terrier (I think) from Shirleys2Girls, he's a Christmas digi with a wreath and sentiment included, but I've used him along here for a "With Love" card. I was so pleased to get this digi, he's lovely and useful for lots of occasions, with the gift bag in his mouth. This card has the alternative title "A Dog Is Not Just For Christmas", in view of the Christmas digi :). I think I've broken my own record here, with a DOZEN challenges from one card! OK with all the "Love" themes around this week it wasn't as tricky as it sounds!

I don't really *do* Valentines cards, so a With Love is as close as it gets :). I've based my card on the sketch from Mojo Monday's Challenge and am also entering it for a few other challenges, including Papertake Weekly's Love Actually Challenge - great name for the theme! Cupcake Crafts has the theme Four Legged and Friendly and this is another entry for this theme, which is certainly a popular one with me. Stampin' for the Weekend's challenge is "love is in the air"and the ABC Challenge is N for New (the digi is new). I hope Dareu2Digistamp will accept this as a Valentine's card for their challenge, Charisma Cardz has I Love You as its theme, Stamp Something has Love Somethings, Double Dutch and Creative Card Crew both have Valentines for their theme, the Belli Challenge is to use ribbons and Pile It On's theme is "To the one you love".

Domino is simply coloured with a couple of shades of Copics, his present is paper pieced from Artylicious paper which is also used behind the Prima flower in layers. The sentiment is Elusive Images and the ribbon came from a box of chocolates. He's cut out with a deckle edged Nestie and the DP is also Artylicious. Isn't he gorgeous and adorable?

Christmas Fjords

A couple of days ago I posted a card made with a digi image from Phindy's Place of a foal, which became a Norwegian Fjord foal with very little tweaking. Having seen how well Phindy drew the Christmas Colt, I begged her to think about drawing a horse and sleigh for Christmas, preferably drawn by a Fjord and was joined in this by Tammy, who also wanted a horse and sleigh image. Within a day, just look what Phindy came up with, listed on her blog as "by request"! This beautiful image is all that I could have wished for, how Christmassy is this!

The card is based on Jeanette's sketch from Sketch Saturday, which hasn't got too many other distractions and allows the image to be the star. I've coloured with copics and Glamour Dust, the DP is Magnolia, one of five sheets I bought at the NEC and have only stroked until now, it was waiting for a very special card and here it is :). ; Sentiment is from Craftwork Cards, snowflakes cut from Spellbinder dies, ribbons and buttons are from stash. I'm also entering it for Dare U2 Digistamp's red, green and a neutral challenge. The Christmas Colt image had my name all over it, all I can say is that this image has my name, height and shoe size on it, it really was made for me (and Tammy) and is even getter than I could dare imagine. ; Phindy is officialy a digi-genius!

Bella & Bronte get their skates on again

This card is for Mo Manning's Challenge, which uses a recipe this week of three different papers, two ribbons and one decorative edge. I've used the sketch from this week's Card Positioning Challenge and I'm also entering it into DU2DS's Glitter Challenge.

Image is coloured with Copics and lots of Diamond Stickles. It's mounted onto a Nestie scalloped rectangle (my decorative edge). The three DPs are Stampin' Up. The blue ribbon was originally cream and has been coloured with Copics. The sentiment is Papermania. I think I've used this image more than anything else so far for Christmas cards!

Cupcake Daydream

I've been meaning to use this image ever since I saw it used by Ann, a very talented fellow blogger. I finally got round to using it with this lovely Truly Scrumptious sketch. The Challenge also requires doodling which is not my strong point. I did a few doodles with my white pen on her coat and brolly, hope this counts! As I worked on the card it turned out to fit quite a few challenges...

• Truly Scrumptious Sketch Challenge (with doodling)
• Pile It On Challenge - let them eat cake
• Copics Colour Challenge - G02, Y11 & V15
  
• Basic Grey Challenge - embossing (I dry embossed)
• One Stop Craft Challenge - die cuts (yellow border)
• DareU2 Digistamp Challenge - punched shapes or diecuts
• Charisma Cardz Challenge - decoupage
• Crafty Cardmakers Challenge - 3D elements

Whew! I don't think I've ever fitted eight challenges into one card before. Here's how I made it:
Digi image from Hambo Stamps was coloured with Copics - hooray I had two of the three colours, my collection is growing :). Umbrella and some of the cupcakes cut from second image and decoupaged. Cakes, umbrella, hat and coat have Glossy Images to give them a sheen, coat has white stitching doodled on it. Basic Grey Cupcake papers used - of course :) - with their edges distressed. The yellow has been dry embossed with a swiss dot Cuttlebug folder, dots emphasized with the distress ink, then a die cut border added with a Woodware punch. I've decoupaged more cupcakes at the ends of the ric-rac, they looked unfinished without.

I had so much fun making this card, I hope you can tell from the end result :).

Last in the mending pile...

I love this image by Mo Manning, called Darn It. I think it's a bit like the saying that the cobbler's family have the worst mended shoes; he's got to the end of the mending and now it's just his own trousers, so no small stitches or matching thread...

I've made him for several challenges:

• Digital Tuesday's Challenge #20 is male cards

• Sketch & Stash Challenge #17 has the sketch I've used
• DareU2Digistamp's Challenge #19 is to use blue, green, white and cream
• Pile It On's Challenge #11 is Oh Boy - more masculine card theme - a second entry here :)

Sketch & Stash ask what new or neglected stash was used: Darn It is a new image that I've bought and love using. The red buttons are from a Sizzlits die that came with my Big Shot, never used it before, shamefully!
I'm not sure whether this is eligible for DareU2Digistamp as I've added in the red, though the criteria doesn't say no other colours may be used. I began with the blue, green and cream palette but it looked really insipid, so I gave him red slippers, changed a paper and added the buttons and the mat, which gives the card a lot more interest.

Image is coloured with Copics, edged with Distress Ink. Red paper is Basic Grey Cupcake and the other papers are K&K Hopscotch.

Darn It - Passion for Promarkers Challenge 11

Darn It is a digital art download from the talented Mo Manning. I've coloured him with Promarkers for the Passion for Promarkers sketch challenge this week, which uses any colours. Thank you, as someone who has only a small collection of Promarkers (so far) I appreciate the chance to take part with a limited palette - and what a great idea to have the pens themselves as prizes!

There are buttons and bows (well knots then :) ) on my card so I'm entering it for the Simon Says Challenge this week and also for Dare U2 Digistamp's fortnightly challenge which is Distressing. There's Scattered Straw Distress Ink around the image and sentiment, also a lot of Worn Lipstick ink around the circle, which started out as a sort of plainish red.

I've aimed for a more masculine look with the colours, but I'm having trouble getting the colours to show on his clothes, they look a bit washed out :( . Promarkers used: Gold for hair and thimble, Cocoa for trousers and socks, Vanilla for shirt, Poppy for thread and accents, Pastel Beige for outline and Pastel Pink for skin. Sentiment stamp is from a floral Inkadinkado clear set. The plain and patterned reds are Basic Grey from the Cupcake set and the other two I've had in for ages. Buttons and perle thread from my sewing stash. The image is layered onto dark brown card, the other papers are edged with the Cocoa Promarker.

Fathers Day - My Grafico & Dare you to Digistamp

I've made this card for Fathers Day, my Dad made his living from the sea, sailed for relaxation and still lives by the sea, while we live as far from the sea as its possible to get in England :). Before I go any further, I should explain that this card pinches someone else's idea, though I've tried to tweak it a bit from how I remember the other card layout. I've gone through my browser history and hunted high and low, but I can't find the other blog to give credit for the idea. Apologies and if anyone knows who made a card on these lines, please let me know so I can acknowledge them.

My Grafico has a challenge this week to make your best summer/sea card or layout. They have a lovely free set called baby silhouette stamps which I downloaded because it's got a great owl in it to use. The boat is in here, I've resized it into varying sizes and cut round it. Dare You To Digiatamp has a challenge this week to make a scene. Of course for scenes the Sketchingstamper has fabulous images, what a great excuse to buy one :).

I coloured the scene with a mixture of Inktense and watercolour pencils. Because I wanted to superimpose the boats on top of it, which are not to scale, I stylised the background scene by cutting it into three segments and matting them onto navy card. Then I used some silicon glue to attach the boats onto the split image. The background card is a world map double sided paper that I bought from Stamp Attic last year and the greeting is a peel-off. I'm really pleased with the way this card has turned out, Happy Father's Day Dad!

One Bird, Three Challenges

I've been playing with digital images again today. My Grafico has a challenge blog up and running and to take part, you get a freebie image from them to use. So you've actually "won" before you've even entered! The image is one of four from a set called Little Birds. I love birdimages so I had to give this one a go :). Thank you to Martha for the free image :)

Friday Sketchers has a lovely sketch by Jeanette for its challenge this week, that I used for the card. Finally the colour scheme has come from this week's DareU2DigiStamp challenge, which is to use chocolate and orange. So that's image, layout and colourscheme all decided for me, no decisions, just cardmaking :).

I found the Terry's chocolate orange colourscheme quite tricky, much more so than eating one :). I printed my bird image out onto a sheet of brown paper from a Funky Fairy kit called Justabit, he's lovely but quite a challenge to cut around that splendid curly tail, I shall colour him on a plain background if I'm in a hurry to use him next time. The orangey-brown swirly paper is a freebie from Funky Fairy's blog that comes in lots of colours, very useful.

I've used an Inkessentials white pen on my bird's eye and wing for a highlight. There's some metallic bronze paper behind the oval and thin brown and orange ribbons. The flowers are white flowers coloured with Copic pen, with more of the bronze paper behind them. It's quite a simple card; I've left the sentiment off as I think this is quite a versatile card and I'll add the wording as I need it.

The bird image is fab and I will definitely be using it some more, do check out My Grafico when you get the chance.

Three birds with one stone...

This card combines three challenges, hence the name, I know there are two birds, not three, sitting on the fence :) To begin, I've used the Dawn's great sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches #16 .

The lilac and lemon colour scheme (plus digi image) is from Dare You to Digistamp's Friday Challenge and the final touch is GLITTER for Secret Crafter's Saturday Challenge # 32

The digi image is a free printable from Pollycraft called Lovebirds. The page comes with extra sets of the birds and fence to cut round, very handy. I'm not totally sure about digis, I do like to be able to emboss images when I want, but this freebie is a great way to test them out, thank you Paula for your generosity. I've coloured with Inktense pencils and used Glitter on top of Glossy Accents on wings, tails and hearts, then Stickles as it wasn't glittery enough for me.

The birds and fence are both cut round (ack the fence has a lot of detail!) and are mounted onto foma pads to give dimension. The lilac spots and stripes are free magazine papers, the purple butterfly is an Artylicious paper. The vellum is stamped with a Hero Arts sentiment and is attached with brads. Purple gems at the top are from Kaiser. Nice colourscheme, with hindsight it could have used a little contrast...