Sir Stampalot September Challenge DT Project

Good morning,

It's September! That means it's time for another challenge at Sir Stampalot and this month our theme is "ALL DISTRESSED".

As usual, our sponsors, Sir Stampalot, have donated a brilliant prize.

I decided to make a tag.

The stamps I used are all from Paper Artsy "Hot Picks 1004", one of my current fave stamp sets. I stamped the sentiment onto the tag using Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Aged Mahogany" and then heat embossed it with holographic embossing powder. Next I stamped the moth image randomly over the tag using Versamark ink and again heat embossed with holographic powder. I then sponged Tim Holtz Distress Inks "Antique Linen" and "Aged Mahogany" over the whole tag, starting in the centre with the Antique Linen. I love the colour of Aged Mahogany when it is sponged on, it's such a lovely pink and so different to the colour of the sentiment. Next, I spritzed the tag with a mixture of "Heirloom Gold" Perfect Pearl and water, using a Mini Mister, once the tag was dry I ran a "Galaxy Gold" Brilliance Ink pad around the edges.

The gorgeous flower stamp is from the same stamp set. I stamped this flower four times using Versamark, heat embossed with Heat It Up! "Enchanted Gold" and then sponged over each flower with Antique Linen and Aged Mahogany Distress Inks, before cutting them out and assembling them into a flower. (There are many videos and tutorials describing the process of making these flowers, including this one by our very own Brenda, leader of the Sir Stampalot challenge). Finally I added some leaves cut from vellum using  a Marianne die (LR0133), and a little heart brad.

I hope you feel inspired to join in with the challenge this month.

Hugs, Clare xx

Simon Says "Paper Piecing"

Good evening to you,

The current challenge at Simon Says is "Paper Piecing". I just love to paper piece and couldn't resist making a card for this challenge.

Hopefully I will be able to send this card to my brother and sister-in-law very soon. Their new baby boy is overdue and should be making an appearance any day now.

I've used a Forever Friends stamp called "New Arrival", an Elzybells sentiment and digi papers "A Patchwork of Papers - Blue" from Cuddly Buddly. (Since I took this picture I have popped a foam pad under the sentiment to stop it from sagging!).

For those of you in the UK, enjoy the bank holiday tomorrow.

Hugs, Clare x

Allsorts - Park Inspiration

Good morning,

The challenge at Allsorts this week is to to get some inspiration from a garden or park and let that show in your work.

Gardens mean flowers to me and if I go to a park I love to see all the wonderful beds full of beautiful plants.
 

 
I've used a stamp by Penny Black 4035K 'letters and flowers'. I love this stamp but sometimes feel a bit limited by it as it is a silhouette stamp, so I decided to stamp the image in a light colour so that I could watercolour over it using Derwent Graphitint pencils. I chose memento "London Fog" ink stamped onto watercolour card and I'm really pleased with the results.  I've kept the card simple again to highlight the image. The little butterflies are the small ones from a Martha stewart Butterfly trio punch.
 
I hope you are enoying the weekend.
 
Hugs, Clare xx

My Good News!

Good morning,

I don't know if you are aware, but there is a new Challenge Blog called "Oldie but a Goodie" and I am delighted to have been chosen as one of the DT to join a team of very talented ladies.

The first challenge starts on 7th September and you can find out all about it here.

Hugs, Clare x

p.s. Does anyone know how to add a hyperlink to a picture now that blogger has changed? I've always been able to do this in the past, but sadly no longer!

Allsorts Challenge

Hello,

The challenge at Allsorts this week is "Paper Piercing or Paper Piecing". This card combines both, the clothing is paper pieced and the edges of the paper have been pierced by the sewing machine!

The image and papers are from Cuddly Buddly - Skateboarding Boy and Peppy Papers. I resized the papers to make the pattern a more suitable scale for the boy's clothing.

Thanks for taking a look.

Clare xx

Another CAS "Ghosting" card

Good afternoon.

I had so much fun making yesterday's card using the "Ghosting" technique that I thought I would have another go today.

The image I have used is Penny Black "Letters and Flowers". I used Versamark Dazzle "Frost" again, as this gives a lovely sparkly sheen to the image. I brayered using Big and Juicy "Hydrangea" and lightly sponged around the edges using the same ink pad. The embossing on the base card was done using a Scor-Pal.

Thanks for visiting!

Hugs, Clare xx

Trying out a new (to me) technique

Hello there!

Here's a simple card I made to try out a technique called "Ghosting".

Basically, this entails stamping your image in Versamark and brayering straight over it. There is no need to wait for the Versamark to dry or to heat set it in any way. It's so simple and I love the effect it gives.

I used Versamark Dazzle "Frost" and a Big and Juicy "Soothing Sunset" inkpad with a Speedball brayer. The image is a stamp by Magenta called "Lovely Meadow" and the sentiment is from an SU! set called "Oval All".

See you soon.

Clare xx

Happy Birthday Crafty Cardmakers!

Good afternoon!

Crafty Cardmakers are celebrating their first birthday and have therefore chosen the theme of "Birthdays" for their current theme. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU CRAFTY CARDMAKERS!

My poor fairy's wings look very dull - they aren't in real life. I've heat embossed them with kaleidescope embossing powder and they look wonderful and sparkly but unfortunately I couldn't catch this in the photo.

I've used a Lili of theValley image coloured with Copic Ciaos and a sentiment from Waltzing Mouse Stamps.

I've been put off using my 6" x 6" Core'dinations Gemstones cardstock as I only have one sheet of each colour which isn't enough to make a card with a base layer and a mat - so here's what I did to make it go that little bit further:

I cut the nestie shape for my mat from the middle of the 6" x 6" cardstock before sticking the card onto my base card.

I then cut another nestie shape, the same size, from some plain card (I've got lots of this) and stuck it in the gap left in the middle of the card to make it all level.

Finally I stuck on the Designer Paper. There's no hole for it to fall into and you would never be able to tell would you?

I hope you have all enjoyed your weekend. There's still a bit left to enjoy. I shall have an evening in front of the television watching "Sherlock".

Hugs, Clare xx

Penny Black at Allsorts

The theme at the Penny Black at Allorts challenge this month is "Glitter and Glitz". There is also a DT call along with this month's challenge and I've put my name down - fingers' crossed!

I am still in Christmas Card mode and, for me, a Christmas card generally means lots of glitter!

I love this image, I can't help but feel happy looking at this little mouse doing his happy dance in the snow!

Here's what I used to make this card:-

Image and sentiment from Penny Black "T" for Transparent set "Holly Day Critters"
Base card blank from Craftwork Cards
Designer Papers from Papertrey Ink "Rustic Snowflakes"
Nestabilities large classic square, large classic circle, large scallop circle
Nestabilities tag trio
Lots of Glamour Dust applied with the help of a Quickie Glue Pen
Copic Ciao and Sketch for colouring (B0000, G85, G94, R27, R29, E50, E51, E53, E93, E47)
Brilliance "Moonlight White" ink to edge the largest piece of designer paper.
Gems from stash

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you are enjoying your weekend. It's wet, wet, wet here so we are all having a relaxing stay at home day.

Hugs, Clare xx

More Christmas cards

Good morning, here are my final Christmas sample cards for the new release at Cuddly Buddly.

Aren't these images gorgeous? I had lots of fun colouring them with my Copics.

Have a great day whatever you are doing.

Hugs, Clare xx

It's Christmas!

Well, it certainly feels like it with all these Christmas cards, and I have more to show you tomorrow!

The stamps I have used are all available from today at Cuddly Buddly as either rubber stamps or digi images and the papers are avialable in digi format.

Thank you for visiting!

Hugs, Clare xx

Quick and Simple Christmas Card

Hi folks,

I've just finished making sample cards for Kim MacFarlane at Cuddly Buddly using her soon to be released Christmas 2010 rubber stamps.

This has left me feeling particularly Christmassy so I have turned my thoughts to making a start on my own Christmas cards. I like them to be quick and easy, which this one certainly was.

See you soon!

Hugs, Clare xx

Sir Stampalot August Challenge - "Bring on the Bling"

Good morning,

Doesn't the time fly fast? It's August, time for Summer Holidays and another Sir Stampalot challenge.

The theme this month is "Bring on the Bling" and, once again there is a fabulous prize to be won, kindly donated by Janice and Andy of Sir Stampalot.

For my card I have used a Whiff of Joy wedding cake stamp which I stamped and heat embossed using silver embossing powder. I've added glitter to the icing on the cake and used mirri card to mat and layer it. The sentiment, from Waltzing Mouse, has also been heat embossed in silver and I've added a few gems for extra bling.

I am entering this card into the current challenge at Polka Doodles, where the theme is Generic Male and Female - I hope it's okay as it is a card for both!

Hugs, Clare xx

Warm Summer Days

Good afternoon,

The theme at By the Cute and Girly this month is "Warm Summer Days".

Butterflies and flowers always represent summer for me and I've used both in my card.

The flower and butterlfy stamps are from Crafty Individuals (sets CI - 207 and CI - 226) and the sentiment is also from Crafty Individuals.

I stamped the images using Tim Holtz distress ink "Walnut Stain". I stamped over a large area on a piece of cream cardstock and then chose the section I thought look best to cut with an oval nestability. I sponged on Tim Holtz distres inks "Dried Marigold" and "Spiced Marmalade". I painted in some of the flowers with "Spiced Marmalade" and then added some "Heirloom Gold" perfect pearls (although this doesn't show on the picture).

The punched butterfly uses an X-cut punch, and the top butterfly has been run through a script Cuttlebug folder. The sentiment has been punched out using Stampin Up! oval punches.

Thank you for taking a look at my card.

Hugs, Clare xx

One Stop Craft - Monochromatic

Good morning,

It's another lovely sunny day here in Warwickshire, so I have hidden away in my craft room which is just about the coolest room in the house in the morning (and the hottest in the afternoon!).

My apologies for the awful picture. I am struggling to find the right amount of light, it's either too bright or too dark! (Aren't I fussy).

My card uses Papermania DP, a Martha Stewart deep edger punch, Tim Holtz Tattered Florals die, Leonne Em stamen punch, ribbon and pearl from my stash and sentiment from Waltzing Mouse stamp.

I am entering this card into the One Stop Craft Challenge where the theme is Monochromatic (I hope I will be forgiven for the little bit of green).

Thank you for taking a look and have a lovely day.

Hugs, Clare xx

Autumn Fairy

Good evening,

Here's my second card of the day.

The image is "Autumn Girl Fairy" and is available either as a digi image or a rubber stamp from Cuddly Buddly. The papers are "Fairy Fun Seasonal" digi papers, also from Cuddly Buddly.

I have heat embossed the leaves and the fairy wings, but this doesn't show up too well on the photo.

The image is coloured with Copic Ciaos and I've distressed around the edges with Tim Holtz Distress Ink "Antique Linen".

I am entering this card into two challenges:-

One Stop Craft - Distressing
Crafty Catz - Distressing

Hugs, Clare xx

Rosie D's - Summer Birthdays

Good afternoon!

Summer birthdays is the theme at Rosie D's. My niece Emily Grace is 2 this month and this is my card for her.

The image is a RAK from a kind blogging friend and the papers are "A Patchwork of Papers - Pink" from Cuddly Buddly.

Hugs, Clare x

Allsorts Challenge - Seaside Retirement

Good evening,

Here's another card using the Hobby Arts "Harbour" Scene-It stamp set.

I've stamped onto water colour paper and coloured with derwent Graphitint pencils.

I am entering this into the challenge at Allsorts this week which is "Create a Scene".

Thank you for looking.

Clare xx

Sea Breeze

Good afternoon,

I'm enjoying keeping my cards nice and simple at the moment.

This card uses stamps from the Hobby Arts "Harbour" clear stamp set. I've stamped them onto water colour paper and used Derwent Aquatone pencils to colour. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink "Mega Mixed Messages".

Many thanks for looking. Enjoy the weekend ahead.

Hugs, Clare xx

Sir Stampalot July Challenge - Lazy Hazy Days of Summer

A very good morning to you!

It is time for another Sir Stampalot challenge. We were overwhelmed by the number of entries last month and hope you enjoy this month's theme just as much, which is

"LAZY, HAZY DAYS OF SUMMER"

To make my card I brayered Big and Juicy “Soothing Sunset” onto a piece of glossy white cardstock and stamped around it with Hero Arts “Leaf Flourish F5042”. I matted this onto a black card base and then I brayered a smaller piece of glossy white cardstock and stamped this with an Inkadinkado wood backed stamp (unfortunately I don’t know the name or number of this stamp). I cut this out with a large label nestability and layered it onto a large scalloped rectangle nestability cut from black card. I stamped the butterflies onto glossy card and sponged ink onto them. The large butterfly is from the Elusive Images “Butterfly Poppy” plate and the small butterfly is from the Crafty Individuals sheet “CI-226”, finally I cut out the butterflies and stuck them onto the card.

Our challenge sponsors, Sir Stampalot, have come up with another fabulous prize and, of course we will choose a top three along with the winner, but please do check out the rules to make sure your entry is eligible for the prize.

Hugs, Clare xx