Some pretty pink paper piecing

I'm a bit late entering Less is More this week but it's a favourite technique of mine: paper piecing.  I've used a sweet Phindy's Place image called Spring Dress Mei Mei and I've paper pieced her dress from Basic Grey Indian Summer DP.  Never mind Indian Summer, please can we have a summer first!   The image is matted and layered a few times and a sentiment that came free with a magazine added to it.  I'm also entering CAS-ual Friday's Pretty in Pink Challenge.
My hairdresser asked me to make her a wedding card and I've come up with these two, what do you think?

First one is a Whiff of Joy stamp silver embossed and the second is a Waltzing Mouse sentiment on a Spellbinder mounted onto gold pearlescent card.

Phindy's Place Challenge #111, Plaid/Check

This week at Phindy's Place we're challenging you to use a check or plaid.  I've used a My Mind's Eye check that I like so much I bought it as a 6x6 pad and a sheet of the 12"!   I've paper pieced Spring Dress Mei Mei and kept my card very simple, adding some yummy roses ribbon from Stamp Attic.

Something shiny...

This week's Less is More Challenge is "Something shiny".  Shiny means Christmas cards to me, soI used new Stamp Addicts stamps of the twelve days of Christmas and embossed using Wow Superfine powder, which is fab for these detailed stamps.  I've scored a double line above and below the squares.

Phindy's Place Challenge - beach babies

Good morning and welcome to this week's Phindy's Place Challenge.  This week we have the summer theme of beach babies, I just hope we the rain stops and we get the weather to go with the theme!   I used the adorable Summer Bare image for my card, adding some Cupcake Basic Grey DPs and some card candy.  The layout is from Saturday Sketchers. 
My card is for the following challenges:
Sketch Saturday - sketch
Divas by Design - summer
Paper Pretties - summer inspiration
Simon Says - summer inspiration
Fashionista - simply summer
Pile it On - let's get outdoors

Holiday Ornaments

I have succumbed to temptation and got a new set of Waltzing Mouse stamps, the totally gorgeous ornaments which are designed to be used with Spellbinder dies.  They also go with the Nordic Winter set which is my all-time favourite stamp set for Christmas so I had to get them really :).
This is loosely based on this week's Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge, I've embossed onto kraft card and added a dry embossed panel.  I'm really impressed with the detail on these stamps, love them.

Clean & Simple Christmas

This week's Basic Grey Challenge is clean & simple.  I love my 6x6 pads and have lots of scraps that I cannot bear to throw away.  So I decided to use some up for this challenge.  Here I've matted squares from an Eskimo Kisses pad onto mirri card and used my Wow embossing powder in pale superfine gold for the Stampin' Up sentiment.  I think I may try this with 3x3 squares, not 2x2, what do you think?

Less is More flourish

This week the Limettes are challenging us to use a flourish on a one-layer card.  While I was looking for a flourish I realised I've hardly (if ever) inked up this Elusive Images birdhouse with a flourish growing up its pole. Hope it is a suitable flourish!  I white embossed it and brushed some Distress Inks onto the masked card.  The sentiment is Papermania.

Phindy's Place Challenge #109 - Father's Day

Welcome to this week's Phindy's Place Challenge.  This week we are making Father's Day cards, or masculine cards, mine is actually for my FIL.  The adorable image is called The Faithful and the Fickle, as ever I coloured with my trusty Copics, adding some brads, some Stampin' Up ribbon and masculine DPs.
I'm entering my card in the following challenges:
Card Cupids - animals
Penny's Paper Crafty - Father's Day
Clear it Out - brads and masculine (the brads are old stash)
Digital Tuesday - anything goes
Shopping our Stash - Father's Day
Cards for Men - Father's Day
Love to Create - Father's Day
Here Come the Boys - anything goes
Little Claire's - male
Secret Crafter - anything goes

Sweets for the sweet

This week Waltzing Mouse Challenge celebrates its 100th sketch!  This is my take on it, I really like simple red and white together for Christmas cards...

Red, white & Blue (and a diamond!)

Here's a one layer card using my Inkylicious stamps.  I used Distress Inks in Faded Jeans and Fired Brick and added a tiny diamond gem to the crown.
My card is for:
Less is More - red, white & blue
One Stop Craft Challenge - crowns or diamonds AND red, white & blue
Daring Cardmakers - red, white & blue

Digi Doodle Shop Challenge #110 - get the bunting out

Good morning and I'm a day late again with my posting!  I've been having problems with my printer and as a result I seem to be behind on everything...  This week's Digi Doodle Shop Challenge is right on trend for this week's Jubilee celebrations, we want you to add some bunting to your card.  I used the adorable Playful Puppies image, teaming it with this week's Papertake sketch and some Basic Grey Marjolaine papers from an old pad.
My card is for the following challenges:
Papertake - sketch
Simon Says - anything goes
Bearly Mine - animal kingdom

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #69 - Distress It

Oops I forgot to schedule this yesterday, must have been sidetracked by the sunshine!   This week the Crafty Cardmakers would like to see Distressed Projects.  I've used a gorgeous new set of stamps from Stamp Addicts which lent themselves perfectly to a vintage, distressed look. 

My image was stamped in Sepia Versafine, I've distressed and inked the edges then stitched around it.  Background uses more inking and the keyhole stamp, I added a couple of buttons with twine to the sentiment.
My card is also for the following challenges:
Incy Wincy - vintage
Opus Gluei - sew what
Poodle Parlour - monochromatic
Fab'n'Funky - a new beginning
Sisterhood of Crafters - old fashioned

Less is More - a shaped card

This week the LIMettes want us to make a shaped card, not something I'm usually too keen on.  Then I remembered how to cut down a standard rectangle into a triangle which can make a fun Christmas card.   There's not a lot of white space as I used my Swiss Dots embossing folder on the smaller, matted triangle, but I think it still works...   Sentiment is Lili of the Valley.

Phindy's Place Challenge #107: 1-2-3

 

This week at Phindy's Place we have a 1-2-3 challenge, use 1 image, 2 DPs and 3 embellies.  You can either count my embellies as 3 pearls or pearls, ric-rac and punched edge, whichever you feel fits the challenge best lol.  I've used the very summery image Biking Babe, along with Basic Grey Out of Print DP.

My card is also for the following challenges:

Sweet Stamps - anything goes

Bunny Zoes - anything goes

Catered Crop - ric-rac

One Stitch at a Time - anything goes

Basic Grey - anything goes

Less is More - baby or child

For some reason this week's theme at Less is More didn't seem to fit anything that I had so I ended up buying a large Woodware clear stamp at my local craft shop.  I've paper pieced the pram with SU cardstock and drawn a border with a Copic rather than matted it.  After I took the photos I saw that the white card is whiter than the white cardstock - oops.

Phindy's Place Challenge #106 - summer is coming!

What a long week this has been!  Thank goodness it's Friday and here is my cad for this week's Phindy's Place Challenge, Summer is Coming.  I chose the adorable new image Summer is Here and follwede the Sketch'n'Stash layout.  DP is Basic Grey Out of Print.
My card is for the following challenges:
Sketch'n'Stash - sketch

Digi Doodle Shop Challenge - work related

This week's challenge at Digi Doodle Shop is work related.  I've chosen to use In the Garden, a perfect image for those difficult man cards...  The background is brushed with Distress Inks and main image coloured with Copics.  I added some garden twine and some brass brads, keeping my card fairly simple.
I'm entering my card for:
Simon Says - clean & simple
Whimsy Stamps - anything goes

A CAS-ual bird

Today's card is an attempt at a CASE of the awesome Michele Zindorf, here is her card that inspired me.  I've sponged ink onto pearlescent cardstock, added twine, a sentiment and a punched out bird.  Not much white space but still very clean and simple. 

I'm entering my card for:
CAS-ual Fridays - birds
Catch the bug - things with wings
One Stop Craft - monochrome
Fairytale - things with wings
Glitter Geeks - things with wings
Polkadoodle - monochrome

Less is More - use 3 stamps

Remember when images were not usually coloured, before we all got Copics?  I had a go at a non-coloured card for this week's Less is More challenge, but ended up adding some colour with Distress Inks!  All three stamps are from a now retired Stampin' Up set which I love.  The single layer cardstock didn't like watercolouring but after three earlier attempts hit the bin I am sticking with this version :).
I'm also entering the St Luke's Challenge for this month which is one layer. 

Phindy's Place Challenge #105 - Christmas in May

Good morning and welcome to this week's Phindy's Place Challenge, which is to make a card or project for Christmas.  I couldn't resist the sentiment stamp that I bought in the post-Christmas sale at Stamp Attic and of course I had to use Phindy's brilliant Power Nap image for my card! 

I've kept things fairly simple, paper piecing the chair and adding my image to an easel card.  One card done for Christmas, maybe I will avoid the panic this year...

Less is More meets CAS-ual Fridays

I'm late with my LIM entry this week after spending the Bank Holiday weekend with a friend in sunny Dorset, eating and drinking too much and doing little else :).
LIM would like to see yellow used as the focus and CAS-ual Fridays are celebrating their 1st birthday.  I have the Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die and don't use it anything like enoujgh, so I cut out some petals using yellow fabrics and attached them to a pale greeny-yellow card, adding a sentiment from a stamp that came free with a magazine.  Very clean, very simple :).

My card is for:  Less is More - yellow and CAS-ual Fridays - Happy Birthday.

Phindy's Place Challenge #104 - vintage

This week at Phindy's Place we are challenging you to make something with a vintage style.  Phindy's been drawing some fabulous new images recently and I chose Potted Primroses for my card.  I printed and coloured four times and made a decoupaged card.  There is lovely detail on the image but it has a very clean outline, perfect for this technique.  I followed the layout from Sketch Saturday, added some embossing and buttons.

My card is also for the following challenges:
Sketch Saturday - sketch

Aud Sentiments - anything goes
Craft us Crazy - favourite stamp company - easy one, Phindy's designs have been my favourite ever since I discovered them!
C.R.A.F.T.  - buttons
Crop Stop - emboss it
Do You Stack Up - circles
Little Miss Muffet - May flowers
Papercrafting Journey - vintage
My Mum's Craft Shop - embossing
Paper Pretties - flowers
Papertake Weekly - anything goes
Tuesday Throwdown - in the garden

Anything Goes at Digi Doodle Shop

This week's Digi Doodle Shop Challenge is Anything Goes - so no excuses not to enter!  I opted for some watercolouring, using the Foxgloves image printed large so I could paint in the gorgeous detail on the image.  I added some My Mind's Eye DP (which matches much better in real life!) and some lacy white ribbon.  The sentiment is Craftwork Cards mounted onto a diecut circle and that's it - another fairly clean and simple card...
My card is also for: 
Paper Pretties - flowers
Simon Says - birthday
Crazy Amigos - flowers
Crafty Sentiments - spots or stripes (stripy DP)
Shopping our Stash - anything girly
Sassy Cheryls - May flowers
Tuesday Throwdown - in the garden
Use it Tuesday - April showers bring fourth May flowers (using hoarded DP and ribbon)
Hooked on Craft - flowers
There she Goes - May flowers
Victorine Originals - flowers
Whoopsidaisy - pile on the flowers

Crafty Cardmakers - for the boys

Welcome to this week's Crafty Cardmakers Challenge, this week the challenge is to make something for a boy or a man.  I've used the adorable Boy and Dog image from one of this week's sponsors:  Digi Doodle Shop.  I kept my card very simple to show off the fab image which I coloured with copics and Distress Inks, just adding a printed sentiment from Craftwork Cards and some design paper as well as a few layers.  The brads are a dark copper, works well for the masculine theme.
My card is also for:
Di's Digi Designs - lets meet your animal friends
Send a smile 4 kids - for the boys
That craft place - for the boys

Less is More - sketch

 This week at Less is More we are reminded to keep plenty of white space on our cards and have been given a choice of sketches to follow.  I've made two cards, one for the circle sketch and one for the square.  The Thank You card uses the incredibly useful Frame It set from Waltzing Mouse, stamped in Versafine Olmpic Green.
The circle is a Hero Arts cling stamp which has a square background of script.  I've cut round the centre, coloured with Copics and popped it up on foam pads for dimension.  The sentiment is Imagination.  Not sure which I prefer, I'm pleased with the C&S look of both of them...

Phindy's Place Challenge #103

Good morning and welcome to this week's Phindy's Place Challenge.  This week we are challenging you to make a clean and simple card.  Clean and simple style is very popular at the moment, though I can find it a challenge to keep to the guidelines when using images that are complex to colour.  The Design Team have come up with some brilliant cards though, I do hope you can take the time to check them out.

I used one of my favourite images, Birdie, and printed her onto watercolour card.  She's coloured very simply with watercolour pens, matted and layered a coupl of times and a sentiment added. 
My card is also for the following challenges:
Digital Tuesday  - wintry blues (I went with the blue option)
Paper Pretties - clean & simple

Just a Note

I'm blogging a second card today, to enter the Vintage Challenge at WOW.  I love WOW embossing powders, their superfine is just perfection to use.  Now there is no embossing on this card, however I have used a section of a gorgeous music stamp that I bought from the WOW stand at the NEC in March.  The ribbon is Stampin' Up and the sentiment comes from Imagination Crafts.This is a clear stamp, isn't the detail on it impressive?
For some strange reason there don't seem to be many entries to this challenge, all I can say is:  get over there and check it out!

April Showers

We're certainly getting April Showers here this week, today I managed a long walk with the dogs between showers and then retreated to the craft room to make a few cards.  I put together some House Mouse decoupage that had been cut out a while back, isn't this a fun Spring image?  I added some Glossy Accents and Stickles to the raindrops and a couple of ribbons beside my image. 
I'm entering my card for:
House Mouse & Friends - anything goes
Creative Belli - animals
Sassy Cheryl's - April Showers
Use it Tuesday - April Showers (decoupage is my hoarded stash)
Bunny Zoe - ribbon or twine
Get Hippity - April Showers
Scrappers Delight - April Showers
Digi Designs - animal friends

A Clean & Simple Birthday Card

Today's card uses my new background stamp from Stamp Addicts.  I've used Tumbled Glass Distress Ink to stamp it out, as well as the sentiment.  There is a 1/16" mat on the stamp then it's popped up onto dimensional dots.  I added a bit of Stickles to the centres of some of the flowers.
I'm entering my card for a few "Anything Goes" challenges:  Simon Says,   Make it Monday and Love to Create.

Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge

Today's card is a fairly c&s design for this week's Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge, despite it not having much white space.  I used a Waltzing Mouse background stamp, I'm really pleased how well it lined up for repeats.  The sentiment stamp is by Ludiec and the ribbon from Stampin' Up.

A Charming Less is More

This week's challenge at Less is More is to use a charm embellishment while still keeping the card clean & simple.  I bought charms a while back but don't really tend to use them, a rummage in the drawer came up with some Christmas snowflakes.  I white embossed my Indygo Blu snowflake border and brushed Distress Ink over it to create a sky.  The glossy ribbon is coloured with Copic pen and I used a bit of Glossy Accents to eep the charm where I wanted it on the card.  Sentiment is Butterfly Kisses.
My card is also entered for ABC Christmas Challenge, which is H is for Hardware.

Phindy's Place Challenge #102 Stitches & Squares

Good Morning and welcome to this week's Phindy's Place Challenge, this week we are challenging you to use some stitching and a square card or image.  I've used the adorable Summer Blossom image for my card, colouring to match the My Minds Eye DP.  I've followed the layout for this week's Sketch Saturday Challenge and added some bold black stitching.
My card is also for:
Sketch Saturday - sketch
Incy Wincy - digis only
Charisma Cardz - shabby chic
Papertake - a stitch in time

Digi Doodle Challenge #104- April Showers

Welcome to this week's Digi Doodle Shop Challenge, which is April Showers.  This means to use water in one form or another on your project and I have been rebellious and frozen my water:).  I loved the Sliding Penguins image the moment I saw it and had so much fun making this card.  The image is coloured with Copics nd some Stickles, I've cut it out and added a background of brayered ink that was sprayed with water and then had some "snow" added.  The DP is glittered, the ribbon has metallic wording and I added some snowflake brads.  Hope you like my winter scene:). 

My card is also for the following challenges:

Cute Card Thursday - metallica

Shopping Our Stash - water related

Oozak - anything goes

ABC Christmas - H is for Hardware

Crafty Sentiments - use a digi

It Must be Love

I've played along with the sketch challenge at Waltzing Mouse this week and used the Nordic Spring set to make my card.  There's the most amazing stitch detail in the stamps and I used WOW superfine embossing powder to show it off.  The sentiment is also Waltzing Mouse, I added some gems and a bit of dry embossing.

My card is also for:
Bearly Mine - embossing
Papertake Weekly - a stitch in time (the stitches are knitted ones on the stamps!)
Deep Ocean - song inspiration (Madness, It Must be Love)

Dancers

 Today's card is pretty and feminine, it uses the ballerina from Stamp Addict's set Ballet Shoes.  I saw a gorgeous card on my friend Viv's blog that uses a button with a shank on and I've pinched her idea here.  The ballerina was masked and stamped in Sepia Versafine onto a textured peach cardstock.  I watercoloured the images with pink and skintone and matted it, adding a MS punch border.

I'm entering my card for:
Paper Sundaes - anything goes
Stamptacular Sundays - freebie week
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle Saturdays - pastels
Little Darlings - pastels
Crazy4Challenges - buttons
Card Makin' Mamas - getting girlie
Prairie Fairy - anything goes
Polka Doodles - pretty in pink

Less is More - one layer doodling

 

The challenge this week at Less is More had me stumped for a while; it is to add doodling to a one-layer card.  I fiddled around with some stamps and didn't like the effect I got, I felt that they looked fine until I doodled on them!

In the end, I used a lovely new background stamp from Stamp Addicts, stamped in Bashful Blue onto a brayered strip of my card.  I dotted either side of the ink with a blue Pigma Pen and decided that was fine.  I then added a dot either side of the sentiment and didn't like it at all, so I added gems over the dots to rescue the card, as well as a few gems on the stamped part of the card too.

Phindy's Place Challenge #101 - what's cooking

Welcome to this week's Phindy's Place Challenge, which is a subject dear to my heart LOL:  food and drink!  I chose to use one of the Two-seven-oh images, Deluxe Cone , colouring it twice and decoupaging it and I just had to add it to the Basic Grey  DP.  I stamped the Dimension Fourth sentiment stamp onto some ribbon and added a couple of Memory Box corner dies to complete my card.

My card is for the following challenges:
Sassy Cheryl's - anything goes
Use it Tuesday - anything goes from stash (I've had the DP for years, also I've never used the image before!)
Anything Goes - anything goes
Pan Pastel UK - sweet treats

Three Shades of Green - plus one!

I don't know if those Lady Limettes will count this card, it has the three shades of green but I've added a sprinkling of flowers in Worn Lipstick, couldn't see anything in the challenges that said it had to be monochromatic!  The stamps are from a Dutch company called Ludiec, the sentiment is Waltzing Mouse again.  The leaves are stamped in SU Pear Pizzaz, the sentiment in Versafine Olympia Green and the dark green cardstock that I used to mat the image is the third green:).

Three Shades of Green

This week's Less is More is a colour challenge:  three shades of green.  This was a perfect challenge to use my reel of shaded ribbon from my stash; I was thinking over how to use it and sadly I need a sympathy card to send.  So I added a Waltzing Mouse sentiment and a Memory Box corner die to my ribbon.

Phindy's Place Challenge #100 - Blog Hop and Anything Phindy Goes!

 

Welcome to our 100th Phindy's Place Challenge, I have been on the DT from the start and I have had so much fun along the way!   I hope you are joining in our Blog Hop, I'm the first stop along the way and the next blog you visit is Cec, be sure to check out her brilliant creation.  We have mega candy up for grabs and the challenge is Anything Goes Using a Phindy image.

I've made my card using Super Sized, isn't this bunny adorable?  Not to mention all that chocolate.... :).   Here's a photo of our mega candy, you may well find some more candy up for offer along the way...

Happy Easter to everyone, here is the Blog Hop order in case you get lost along the way:

Anne Ray (DT Leader) Cec Wintonyk (DT Coordinator) Ann English Catherine Ward Kathy Curry Linda Payne Marlena Peduzzi

I'm also entering my card for the following challenges:

Paper Sundaes - Easter
Forever Friends - embossing and animal
Rainbow Lady - Easter
Sarah Hurley Challenges - Easter
Shelly's Images - check it out (check out the dungarees!)
Fab'n'Funky - embossing
My Mum's Craft Shop - Easter and/or animals
The Paper Shelter - Easter anything goes
Ruby's Rainbow - Easter
Oozak - anything goes

Digi Doodle Challenge #102 - New Stash

Good Morning and welcome to my first posting for the Digi Doodle Shop Challenge.  This week's challenge is to use some new stash.  As I recently visited Hobbycraft this was a very easy challenge for me:).  I used a new sentiment stamp that I bought, as well as the gorgeous digi image Mare & Foal which I used to make this card for my friend.  The DP is My Mind's Eye Stella and I used a MS punch on the mat around the image.  I really loved using this image and I'm looking forward to the future challenges.

Have a blooming wonderful day

This Spring scene is a new stamp from Little Claire, isn't it pretty?  I've coloured it in soft spring colours with my Copics, followed a sketch from Seems a Little Sketchy, adding some garden twine, some seam binding and Basic Grey DPs from Porcelain.  I've matted everything with Kraft card.  The sentiment is Craftwork Cards.
There are lots of Spring challenges around, I'm entering my card for the following:
Seems a Little Sketchy - sketch
Little Claire - Spring/Easter
Paper Pretties - April showers bring forth May flowers

Stamp & Create - Spring
Crazy Challenge - Spring
Stamp with Fun - no Easter card!
Addicted to Stamps - Easter/Spring
Come & Get It - bring it on - Spring
That Craft Place - all about Spring
Copic Challenge Group - Spring
Mark's Finest Papers - square card
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle - Spring
Sweet Stampin' - Spring or Easter
Prairie Fairy - Spring Fling
Incy Wincy - Spring and/or pastel colours
The Kraft Journal - celebrate Spring or Easter

Land of Hope & Glory?

I got these fun Inkylicious stamps at the NEC on my recent trip and have been looking forward to using them.  CASual Friday Challenge is to make a clean & simple project based on a song.  I thought this card was perfect to match with a patriotic song so here's my Land of Hope & Glory card:).

I inked up with Barn Door & Sapphire Distress Inks, adding a tiny bit of bling to the crown and some baker's twine.  Hope you like my Jubilee card:).

Waltzing Mouse meets Less is More

I'm not altogether happy about this card, it's a bit too subtle I think!  I made a one layer card using the doily set from Waltzing Mouse and followed the colourscheme at Less is More.  I tried a new embossing tip that I learned at the NEC on the WOW stand:  I put tiny pinches of spring green over the embossed images, then finished off with white powder.  The background is inked with Sage Green & Spun Sugar; I've added some bling to the doilies and embossed the WM sentiment.  What do you think?

Easter Blooms

I have two cards to show you today, this is made using an Imagination collage stamp that I got at the NEC, I've coloured it with watercolours and decoupaged the crocus so that they stand out.  There's a swirly dry embossed background and the label came from a Nestie set.
My card is for:
Catch the Bug - Easter/Spring
Craft your Days Away - Easter
Di's Digi Designs - embossing
Sweet Stampin' - Spring/Easter
Stamp, Scrap & Doodle - spring
Alphabet Challenge - D is for dry embossing
Just Add Ink - Easter
4 Crafty Chicks - Easter
Aud Sentiments - Happy Easter
Totally Papercrafts - Easter
One Stop Craft Challenge - Easter