Jolly Holly

 

 Here's a pretty holly fairy from Phindy's Place, she looks like she is making magic with her holly sprig, don't you think?  She's coloured with Copics and Stickles and the holly DP is Papermania, the holly berries are embossed on it.  The ribbon is coloured with Copics and I've based my card on this week's sketch at Simon Says.

My card is for:

Simon Says - sketch

Papertake - last Christmas card of the year (it may be or I may still make some more!)

Party Time Tuesdays - use ribbon

Top Tip Tuesday - anything Christmas

Craft your Passion - things with wings

Mark's finest papers - make a Christmas card

Partridge in a Pear Tree

Hmm... it's time to start on the Christmas cards soon, I'm sure I had a lot more made this time last year!  This uses a lovely set from Stamp Addicts that I've been sent of a Partridge in a Pear Tree, complete with tree, partridge, sentiment (not this one) and solid and outline pears, making it easy to use in lots of different ways.  I brushed and brayered glossy card then stamped my tree in Stazon, with Distress Ink pears.  I decoupaged my partridge onto the tree, he's also inked with Mustard Seed Distress Ink to match the pears.  The vertical strips are embossed with snowflakes and the pear DP is Basic Grey from Nook & Pantry, couldn't resist combining it with the tree:).  The card is a large, shaped Craftwork Cards blank.  Lovely sparkly ribbon came from Really Reasonable Ribbons.
My card is for the following challenges:
Sketch 'n' Stash - sketch with the DP being old stash and the stamps new
Basic Grey - anything goes
Hooked on Craft - things with wings
Mark's Finest Papers - emboss it (white strips)
Secret Crafter - make a scene
Bah Humbug - something new (stamp set)
Fuzzy Wuzzy Challenge - shaped cards
Aud Sentiments - anything goes
Papercraft Journey - anything goes

Ooh La La - Guest Designer - Challenge #82 - Father's Day/ someone special

Welcome to this week's Ooh La La Challenge, which is to make a card for Father's Day or for someone special.  This card is for my father-in-law who has had several holidays to the Yorkshire Coast, so when I saw this scene on the Ooh La La Watercolour Memories CD I had to make it for him.  I printed it onto heavyweight watercolour paper which makes it look even better.  My printer doesn't like such heavy card so I printed the scene out a little way down a sheet of thin copy paper, then I used spray glue to attach cardstock cut to size.  Somehow this kids the printer into co-operating:).  I extended the picture using my Hobby Art Scene-It stamps, computer generated a sentiment and used a backing sheet from the same CD that goes with a different scene, Aldborough I think.
My card is for the following challenges:
Mark's Finest Papers - Father's Day
Delicious Doodles - Father's Day
One Stop Craft- Father's Day
Secret Crafter - masculine card
Stamp Scrap & Doodle - Father's Day
Polkadoodles - something for Dad
Simply Create - all about you Dad
Fussy & Fancy - man cards
Crazy 4 Challenges - masculine cards
Stamptacular Sunday - Dads or Grads

Less Is More - monochrome

 

The less is more style does not always come easy to me, I find it easier to keep adding rather than take it away:).  This card is an exception and I'm really pleased with it.  I bought the Hero Arts flower stamps with the idea of doing lots of paper pieced flowers with them and remembered some orange cardstock I have.  I won a challenge for the first time ever, probably a couple of years ago and my prize was lots of Stampin' Up paper cut into 6" squares.  I've used lots of it but not the orange.  Don't get me wrong, I do like orange but it does need a lot of space around it and less is definitely more wth it!  The sentiment came from a Papermania set and I've added a big blob of Glossy Accents rather than a brad in the middle of each flower, which makes it a card that won't need extra postage.  The paper is double sided the even the underneath of the blooms is orange.

Challenges:

Less is More - monochrome

Bearly Mine - anything goes

Crafts & Me - stamp something

Clear it Out - paper piecing

Mark's Finest Papers - flowers

Catching Snowflakes

There is still time to join in the celebrations at Phindy's Place group on PCP, we're partying after reaching a massive 1,000 members!  There are lots of competitions and challenges to take part in, I hope you'll join us.  This is a card I've made just for fun, to fit Tammy's Challenge which is to make a Christmas card using non-traditional colours.

First of all, apologies for the rubbish picture, DH is away gallivanting for the weekend and has the good camera with him, so this is a scan. :(
I've used one of the adorable Christmas Cuties, called Tasty Flakes, you can buy her here.  She's coloured with Copics and I've added Polar White Flowersoft for snow and for the trim on her boots.  The DP is Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather, sentiment is from Craftwork Cards.  I've followed the Sketch Saturday Challenge layout.  I couldn't think how I wanted to put the thin lines in - until I looked at all the trimmings from matting and layering the image!  The little stars are peel-offs.
My card is for:
Sketch Saturday Challenge  - sketch
Bee Crafty Challenge  - Christmas
Mark's Finest Paper - Holiday cards
One Stop Card Challenge - Anything goes
Fussy & Fancy Friday - Winter wonderland
Creative Belli Challenge - Flowersoft or flocking

Fred She Said Favourite Things Blog Hop

Hello and welcome to the Fred She Said Blog Hop, to introduce the new Design Team - which includes me - hurray! If you've arrived here from the very talented Shelly's  blog then you're in the right place.  If you've just happened across the hop then you need to start it at Tracy's Fred-She-Said Blog.  

FSS designs have long been one of my favourites and I'm so excited to be on the team!  We have a great prize to be won for our blog hop: $20 CAD to spend at the Fred She Says Store AND $20 GC for CropStop)  - wow!  This prize will be awarded at random to one hopper who has visited eveyone's blogs, left a little love along the way, collected all the mystery words and made a sentence. You'll get the instructions for how to enter your sentence in the hop when you've completed it.  You'll have to read on to find my word (evil grin!).

For our hop we chose our favourite FSS image and used it in our favourite style.   Now I can't possibly pick a favourite image so I've chosen the new sunflowers because I love flower cards and I especially love sunflowers.  I've based my card on this week's sketch at Card Patterns Challenge.    I've used a combination of ready coloured images from Sunflowers and Thankfulness (the decoupaged flowers at the top) and the Sunflowers and Pumpkin digi coloured with Copics and Distress Inks.  I wanted to make an interesting frame for the image so I used a labels Nestie and then added some scrolls cut with a punch.  Large ric-rac came from a ribbon shop, border punch is Martha Stewart.

I ddin't want to stop there so added a little gift bag that is a simplified version of a tutorial by Leigh O'Brien on SCS.  Do check out the tutorial, her bag is much better than mine:).  The giftbag is from the same K & Co DP I used on the card and it has two layers of pre-coloured sunflowers decoupaged onto it.  I think this is a great size to give someone flower seeds for their garden... 

OK thanks for reading all this, my word for the blog hop is "hopping".  Your next stop along the way is Tracy's gorgeous blog where you can see another stunning FSS project.  Thanks for joining the hop and enjoy the eye candy:).

I'm also entering my card and tote in :

 Craftalicious Challenge - Harvest Festival/Autumn

Mark's Finest Paper - Pumpkin

Stamp Something - with Fall colours

Crafty Little Place - Autumn Daze

Simon Says - It's Autumn