New Home

I used First Edition, New Leaf papers by Mindy Terasawa on this card. The image is pollycraft, coloured with promarkers - caramel, sandstone, pear green, mustard, honeycomb and spice. I also sponged in a sky with some light blue papermania ink - it's the first time I've tried doing that and I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. The sentiment is also a digi stamp, it's from Bird's Cards. And I finished of course with a few gems, including one as a door handle :)

I've used this weeks Pollycraft Challenge #137, which was a sketch from Arabella:

I'm also submitting this for:
- Try it on Tuesday - Anything Goes With a Twist (I have linked the new leaf papers, available from the craft barn)
- Rainbow Lady's Challenge #202 - On The Street Where You Live
- Sarah Hurley Challenge Blog #65 - Take me Home
- Crafty Catz #130 - Anything Goes
- Simon Says - Anything Goes

Our Creative Corner: Butterflies

A very quick and simple (and last minute!) card today for Our Creative Corner's Butterflies Challenge - because I kept forgetting to do it earlier in the week and I really didn't want to miss this one. Butterflies are one of my favourite things - not necessarily on cards, but in life. One of my animal guides/spirits is a butterfly and so they are very special to me.

I used a stamp that a friend sent me at Christmas - I'm afraid I don't know where it is from - coloured in amber and rose pink promarkers. Added the sentiment from dovecraft and a few gems to finish.

And bonus, this shall prove incredibly easy to replicate again and again for my upcoming birthday :)

Unicorn Wishes

All through making this card I was convinced I hated it... but actually on finishing it, it's not so bad! I used freebie papers I got in erm... some magazine or another, they are from NitWit Collections and I added the faux stitching. The digistamp is from Pollycraft cut with a spellbinders nestie in my cuttlebug, and I coloured using promarkers - rose pink, dusky pink, mustard, canary, and blush... adding a bit of glitter glue to the unicorn's horn and a gem to the flower, before using more faux stitching.

I think the sentiment is papermania, but I couldn't swear too it... and I used my lace trim border punch from x-cut to jazz it up a bit along with inking the edges and adding the same faux stitching I used on the rest of the card. I tied a bow from some ribbon and sewed a little button into it and finished the card with a few more gems.

I used this weeks MoJo Monday Sketch #238:

Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #166:

(I went for the middle line with Pink, Ribbon and Die Cut)

And am also submitting it for:
- Crafty Cardmakers #66 - Fantasy
- Crafty Creations Challenge #167 - That's What Little Girls Are Made Of
- Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes
- Diva's By Design #32 - Buttons and/or Bows
- Pile It On #17 - Sparkle & Shine

Retro Sketches #8

Retro Sketches had the above super cute sketch this week for challenge #8.

When I saw the sketch I wasn't sure what to do, but while flicking through a book of paper from Simply Cards and Papercraft Magazine, I saw the perfect paper! It's from Websters Pages. I used one sheet and then cut the dresses from a second sheet to layer it up a bit. used the xcut lace trim border punch on the brown card and stamped the sentiment - I have unfortunately forgotten where the sentiment came from - in brown ink. (I seem to be really loving brown at the moment!) and finished with a few pearls.

The Sweet Stop: SSS155-April 21

I used freebie papers from Simply Cards & Papercraft Magazine, from Websters Pages, backed on brown card. The stamps are from Stampendous - with the exception of the sentiment which is from stampin' up and they are all stamped in brown papermania in. I cut the stamped image and the flowers with my cuttlebug and used an x-cut lace border punch. The ribbon and pearls came from my stash.

I used The Sweet Stop sketch #69 - as part of their 3rd Birthday celebrations this month:

Gardening Birthday

I used plain black and white card cut with my nesties and run through the swiss dots embossing folder to create my checker pattern, backed onto brown card and set off center on my card base. The image is from Beccy's Place, I cut around it closely and coloured it with my promarkers - Caramel, Sandstone, Pear Green, Lime Zest, Marsh Green, Cool Grey 3 and Cool Grey 4, adding it to my card with dimensionals. The sentiment is computer generated and I added a little flower stamp, finishing everything off with a few gems.

I'm entering the card for the following challenges:
- My Time To Craft #178 - Gardening Gems
- Cards for Men #9 - Texture (Embossed card)
- 365 Cards Day 54 - Black and White Plus Two (My two are Green and Brown)
- Passion for Promarkers #146 - Cut it Out (used my nesties dies)
- Ladybug Crafts Ink #59 - Birthday

Sent With Love

I used papers I got free with Crafts Beautiful magazine this month, they are by Alison Butler. The toppers came from a same. I used navy card from the paper mill. Tied a bow with a bit of ribbon from my stash, added the charm and then a few gems to finish.

I used the iSpy Sketches ISSC12 with Melyssa Connolly:

And am also submitting this for:
"Less Is More" - Week 62 - How Charming
Secret Crafters Saturday Challenge - #182 - Inspired by a Film Title (The Queen)
UnstampaBelles Challenge #10 - Colours of your Country's flag (there is a bonus theme for a card that wasn't a square/rectangle, but I didn't do that part obviously)
Bunny Zoe's Crafts #23 - Ribbon or Twine

In other news, I had another fantastic surprise today, when I discovered I'd won a £10 Gift Voucher from One Stop Card Crafts - after being chosen as the winner of the Pampered Pet's Challenge on Try it On Tuesdays - was utterly delighted by the win! I guess it's just my lucky week!

CAS-ual Fridays: CFC49

This weeks CAS-ual Friday's challenge #49 was a sketch.

I used a 8x3.5 inch base card. And stamps from Stampendous Vintage Typewriter set. I used the stamp of loose paper sheets, - masking of the third sheet from the stamp and cut and coloured them with a sandpaper promarker - in theory to make the paper look older! I then used the hello sentiment from the same set and added three red gems.

Birthday Card and Squee

Todays card uses New Leaf papers by Mindy Terasawa, I picked these up at the craft fair the other day and I just love them! The image is from Beccy's Place, coloured with promarkers - amber, honeycomb, spice and marsh green. I used satin ribbon - also got at the craft fair, 23meters for £1.50 talk about a bargain! and tied a bow with same, sewing a little charm into it.

The sentiment is half from Daisy and Dandelion and half from Stampin' up - I'm not thrilled with the placement, I had hoped it would show up better than it did, but oh well, it's readable... next time I shall know honeycomb is a little too dark to stamp like that into with brown ink! And of course, I finished with a few pearls - another craft fair purchase - six packets of 100 pearls for £5 I was chuffed *g*

I used the sketch from Simon Says:

And I'm also submitting it too:
- Cute Card Thursday - #213 Metallica (my charm)
- Crafty Catz Weekly - #129 - Strips of Checks (I've gone for stripes obviously *g*)

In other news - and this would be why the squeeing! I was so thrilled to learn this morning that I won a prize over at Pollycraft Monday Challenge - a £10 voucher from Sew Sweet - I can't wait to spend it! *g*

I love using challenges as inspiration and it is the first time I've won a prize on any of the challenges, so I'm utterly delighted! :-D

60th Birthday Card

This card was a special request from a friend, who wanted a birthday card for her Aunt's 60th Birthday. I used paper from Bo Bunny's flutterby, layered on plain brown paper. The image is from Pollycraft, coloured with promarkers - spice, caramel, sandstone, canary, buttercup, mustard, pear green and rose pink. I cut the flower with x-cut dies and the border with an x-cut lace trim border punch. The sentiment is computer generated and I used gems to finish.

I used the sketch from Willow Sketchie - 19th April - (and flipped it):

And I'm also submitting this for the following challenges:
- Pollycraft Monday #136 - Cute Critters
- The Cuttlebug Spot - Easel Cards
- Crafty Creations Challenges #166 - Yellow and Your Choice Colour (Yellow and Brown)
- PaperPlay Challenges '12 - Week 16 - Animal Antics
- The Crafty Pad - Live in the Edge

Heart of Gold

This card started out life in my brain as something else entirely... but then I changed everything about it and suddenly, this is what I had! lol! I used New Leaf paper by Mindy Terasawa, black card - and used my new x-cut lace trim board punch. The stamps are from a couple of sets I got for £1 ages ago - embossed with gold powder. The sentiment is stampin' up, the ribbon is Laura Ashley and I finished with a few gems from my stash.

I used this weeks Mojo Monday Sketch #237:

And am also submitting it for:
- Fussy and Fancy Friday #61 - Punches and Dies. Obviously, because I used my nesties to cut my circles :)
- C.R.A.F.T Challenge #151 - Wedding/Anniversary

Hippy Birthday

For todays card I used a print out from Papercraft Inspirations magazine. It's actually one I printed ages ago - I used the other part of the print out months ago, but didn't get around to using this part... it originally had nine coloured squares with the little VW Vans, but I cut them up and only used six here. I used paper from Summer Goodness by Raspberry Road, layered up on black card and some green ribbon, a button and a few gems from my stash.

I'm submitting this for the Everybody Art Challenge #189 - Card for a Man.

In other news I had great fun yesterday at a Craft Fair at the King's Hall, Belfast - I got many lovely things, gems, pearls, ribbons and all the little handy basic embellishments like that. A couple of stamps sets and papers, a new border punch, an embossing folder - and I stopped at art and hobby on the way home (because I hadn't spent enough money clearly! lol!) and got a lovely me-to-you set that had three sets of stamps, a few inks and two mounting blocks. It was a most fruitful day for crafting and I had great fun - even if my bank balance is now groaning a bit now! lol!

Pamper Yourself

Today's card was made at the special request of a friend who wanted a card for her sister. She has bought her some vouchers for nails, hair etc... and wanted a pocket inside as well.

I used card from the papermill and the paper is from the Born to Shop range. The image is Dottie Bath, from Bugaboo Stamps, coloured with promarkers - blush, mustard, rose pink, dusky rose, honeycomb and amber - and I used glitter-glue on the bubbles. The sentiments are computer generated in Cocktail Bubbles font and I backed them on the same orange card before adding a few gems. I used the same card and paper inside, creating a small pocket for the vouchers and adding a verse (font: bird cherry) and a little white space to write in a personal note and added a few more gems on the pocket.

I picked the colours to match this weeks Play Date Cafe challenge #128.

And I'm also submitting it to the Ooh La La Challenge #103 - Bold & Bright

Pink Flowers... Just For You

I used paper from the nitwit collection 'Thimbles and Threads' - and the flower stamp is also from that collection, coloured with a dusky rose promarker. I layered it up on red card, sewed on the pink buttons from my stash and added the sentiment from Daisy and Dandelion and put another button on the 'O'.

This card uses The Sweet Stop Sketch #44 - as part of their 3rd Birthday celebrations, where you can pick any sketch from their back catalogue!

I'm also submitting it for:
- The Crafty Pad #166 Bounty of Buttons
(more than 3 buttons)
- Allsorts Challenge Blog #150 - Buttons and Threads
- Whoopsi Daisy - Free and Easy (Anything Goes)

Sponge Layer Card

This weeks "Just Us Girls" Challenge #132 was a technique challenge, to create a card using a sponge layer.

It's the first time I've tried this technique, although I love seeing it on other peoples cards and I am not totally happy with it, but I don't think it's bad for a first attempt! I masked off the area I wanted to sponge and used yellow papermania pigment ink. I then stamped the flower stamp over it a few times (it was a freebie and I forget where from) and coloured the flowers with a china blue promarker... sadly my camera thought it was more green than blue, but it looks blue-er to the eye... I then stamped the sentiment (which I think might be papermania but I couldn't swear too it) in blue ink and finished with a few gems.

I'm also submitting this for the Colour Create Challenge #94 - Yellow, Blue and White.

Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

I used Freshly Made Sketches #30 - A Sketch by Tui Nathan:

I embossed the base card. Used paper designed by Jenny Ellory layered on brown card and used my cuttlebug to cut circles in white and brown card, stamping the white card with a stamp I got recently in a magazine. The sentiment comes from the same set and the image was coloured with promarkers and I finished with a few gems.

I'm also submitting this for:
- Try it on Tuesday - Pampered Pets
- Crafty Catz Weekly #128 - Animals
- Stamptacular Sunday Challenge #159 - Freebie (Anything Goes)

If You Don't Know Where You're Going...

I used papers from the BoBunny Flutter Butter range and a topper from the same, layering it all on brown card. The ribbon is from the Smirk range and the pearl from my stash.

For the layout I used MoJo Monday sketch #236:

I'm also submitting this too:
- Cards for Men #8 - Spring Colours - Green, Blue and Yellow are (I think) sufficiently springy - and yet masculine.
- Saturday Challenge #181 - A Man's Card