The Sugar Bowl Challenge #13

There's a fab sketch for this fortnight's Sugar Bowl Challenge, with the additional challenge to use 'kraft coloured card' on our cards. I don't have any 'kraft' card, but found a sheet of a similar colour in my BasicGrey 'Granola' pad, which I embossed with the Cuttlebug 'Birds & Swirls' folder. I used another sheet from the same BG pad for the background, and coloured 'MacBeth' to match. The two larger flowers are from Poppicrafts, and the rose in the centre is from Hobbycraft. The bow is tied using a piece of tape that I've recycled from the label on a skirt I bought last week! lol
I couldn't resist adding a few pieces of card candy to the bottom right corner, as it looked a bit bare.

Hunny Bunny

This is my card for Ann's Summer Time Blog Candy, where she has challenged us to make a card for a Post Pals child, which is also the theme of this week's Daring Cardmakers and Simon Says Stamp challenges. I followed the fab Sketch & Stash Challenge sketch, and even managed their additional challenge of 'Animals', by using my new 'Hunny Bunny' stamp (by Whipper Snapper Designs). The papers are from the 'Christmas' stack by DCWV, the flowers and brads are from Poppicrafts, the dragonfly brad is by Dovecraft, and the card candy is by Craftwork Cards. I'm also entering this for the 'Embellished Somethings' challenge on the Stamp Something Challenge - I've used flowers, brads and card candy as my three different embellishments.

Buddy's Birthday Challenge

The lovely Buddy has hijacked his Mum Kath's blog to set us a Birthday Challenge...to make him a Birthday card to help him celebrate his 3rd Birthday (21st in doggy years) on Tuesday...how could I resist those big brown eyes?!

I picked out a Penny Black stamped image ('Circus Act')...which is just perfect for a doggy birthday...watercoloured it, then carefully cut it out (nearly cut off an ear! lol). I decided to use a triangle card blank (from Lakeland) that I've had for ages, but never got around to using, and covered the panels with paper by Prima Marketing. I cut a smaller triangle of the same paper, and stamped some 'muddy paw prints' using a Hero Arts stamp (from the 'I love my dog' set) on the plain blue reverse side of the same paper. The tower of dogs is mounted using 3D foam, and I added a few Nestie stars in co-ordinating colours.

Here's a view of the whole card:


This is the front panel:


I added more stars to the sides, and on one side a number 3 cut using the Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet:


And on the other, I've personalised it with Buddy's name (also cut using the 'Olivia' alphabet):



I'm also entering this card for the Dutch Dare 'Triangle Card' challenge, and the Everybody Art Challenge to make 'A Card for a Male'.

Hope you don't get in too much trouble for this Buddy...and enjoy your birthday on Tuesday!

Pretty in Purple

I always think of 'Birthday Dog' (by Penny Black) as a boy...I'm not sure why...but I thought I'd have a go at a bit more of a 'girly' card with 'him', and use shades of purple...the theme for this week's Pile It On Challenge. I followed the Pink Elephant Challenge sketch...adding a few extra bits'n'pieces, and I'm also going to enter this card for the Charisma Cardz 'Anything Goes' challenge.

I don't very often use purple on my cards...it's not that I don't like it...I just don't find it very easy to combine with other colours...so I've avoided that problem here by using two shades of purple card - the lighter shade has been embossed using the 'Happy Birthday' Cuttlebug folder. The flowers and the ribbon are all from Poppicrafts, and the card candy is by Craftwork Cards.

Par Avion...

It seems that I'm still stuck in yesterday's 'Two Tone' colour scheme of red and white, but this time I've used it on a Christmas card...only 6 months 'til Christmas! lol

I followed the fab Mojo Monday sketch, stretching it to fit a DL card. The image is 'Par Avion' by Penny Black, and the sentiment stamp is from a little set by Studio G. The white background is a mixture of the 'Snowflakes' and 'Snow Dots' Cuttlebug folders, and the ribbon is from Hobbycraft. I'm also entering this card for the Christmas Stampin' All Year Long Challenge...a new discovery for me...who are having a 'Free' challenge this week...all you have to do is to create a Christmas card...and the Charisma Cardz Challenge, where 'Anything Goes!' this week...

I've been published!

A couple of months ago, a card of mine was 'spotted' by Clare Curd in my Docrafts Gallery...and she asked me if I'd like to take part in her 'Talent Spot' feature in the Docrafts Creativity magazine...I was extremely flattered to be asked, and of course I said yes! A few days later, a package arrived filled with Docrafts goodies...Papermania papers, trims and brads, Core'dinations card, Anita's ribbons and glitter stickers, and some card blanks...with the brief to make 3 cards using only those products. Eeeek! I rarely make a card without some form of stamping, so this was a real challenge! lol

I did eventually manage to make three cards...although they've only shown two of them in the magazine feature (I'm quite pleased that they didn't show them all, as I didn't really like the other one! lol).

Well, the magazine is out now...and here's the feature (I'm in the middle of the page):


Here's a close up of my cards (and me!):


I took my own photos of the cards before I sent them off, so here are a couple of better views. The first one uses a selection of papers from the 'Jesse Edwards Boutique' range for Papermania. I made a 'gift box' out of a couple of pieces, mounted on 3D foam pads, with some of the Anita's satin ribbon tied in a bow. For the background, I used more of the papers layered up on a scalloped card blank, with some brads in the corners and some doodled faux stitching around the edge.


I used some more of the papers on the second card, together with some Coredinations card to make a 'lollipop' flower - I drew circles onto the reverse of the paper/card then tore around the lines, then I screwed them up and creased them to create a distressed look. I used a deckled edge card blank, and tore all of the edges of the card and paper layered up behind the flower which was attached using a brad. To finish, I added a length of one of the sparkly trims, and a greeting made from the glitter stickers.


The other card in the feature is the one that was 'spotted' by Clare in the Docrafts gallery...it did make an appearance on my blog a couple of months ago...so here's a link if you want any details.


Thanks Clare and Docrafts for asking me to take part...I had great fun creating the cards...and I still have some goodies left to play with! ;0)

ABC Challenge - T is for...

This week at the ABC Challenge we've reached the letter T...which is for 'Two Tone'. We'd like to see you using just two colours on your cards...plus neutrals for skin and hair if you're colouring images.

I decided to use red and white on my card as it's for a Ruby Wedding Anniversary. I started by scoring three parallel lines across the white piece of card, then used the Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' folder to emboss the areas above and below these lines. The sentiment stamp is from the Clare Curd Signature Range by Papermania, the brads are by Dovecraft and the ribbon from Poppicrafts. The hearts were cut using the 'Concentric Hearts' die by Cuttlebug, then mounted onto an oval mat cut using Nesties, then embossed to match the background.



Don't forget to visit the other design team member's blogs for more inspiration for this week's challenge.

Blue Christmas

I've combined the fab Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge sketch with the 'Blue Christmas' theme of the Winter Wonderland Challenge. I love using blue on my Christmas cards, so this was a nice and easy challenge. I've used 'Snowy' by Penny Black, and papers from the 'Christmas' stack by DCWV. The sentiment is from a set by Studio G, the snowflakes were cut using a Cuttlebug die, and I doodled the border with a white gel pen.

Distressed Melinda...

...well actually it's 'Confirmand Melinda'...but she is quite distressed too! lol
I used the fab Friday Sketcher's Sketch...but I was a little naughty and left off the sentiment...I just couldn't decide what to use...but I may add one when I come to use the card. I paper pieced her dress and hairband with some gorgeous K&Co paper ('Blue Awning - Polka Dots'), so I'm also entering this card for the Whiff of Joy and Creative Inspirations Challenges, which both have the theme of 'Paper Piecing' this week.


I used the same K&Co paper for the background of the card, with a strip of paper from the 'Boxer' pad by BasicGrey, and a piece of Core'dinations card embossed with the Cuttlebug 'Textile' folder underneath the image. As I'd used a deckled edge Nestie to cut out Melinda, I decided to have a go at distressing the edges of all of the papers with ink and sandpaper to stop them looking 'too neat'. The flowers are a mixture from Poppicrafts and Hobbycraft, and I also inked the edges of those to match the papers.

Happy Bee-Day!

I'm combining four challenges on this card: the fab Sketch Saturday sketch; the Penny Black Saturday Challenge theme of 'Embossing'; Allsorts Challenge's 'Wings' theme; and the Everybody Art Challenge to make a 'Birthday Card'. The image is 'Bee Costume' by Penny Black...coloured with watercolour pencils, then I added 'Kaleidoscope' embossing powder to all of the wings. The patterned paper (just seen behind the image) is from the 'Pocket Full of Posies' stack by DCWV, and the sentiment stamp is by Stampendous. I embossed the yellow background card with the Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' folder, and added a few brads from Poppicrafts.

Sketch & Stash meets Dutch Dare...Pile It On!

I've used some more new rubber on this card - the adorable'Dexter Bear' and the 'So Sweet' sentiment stamps by Sugar Nellie. I followed the fab Sketch & Stash sketch...and the Dutch Dare 'Colour Inspiration' photo. The papers are by Crate Paper, the buttons are by Papermania, and the ribbons are from Poppicrafts. I'm also entering this card to the new Pile It On Challenge...which is perfect for crafters like me who love to combine challenges! Their challenge this week is to use 'at least two different ribbons'...and of course combine it with at least one other challenge.

Cheeky Monkeys!

I just love the expressions on the faces of these cheeky monkeys...especially the one sticking his tongue out! lol
I've combined lots of challenges on this card: the fab sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches; the 'Dots' theme of Stamp with Fun; the Secret Crafter Challenge to use 'Jungle Animals'; and the Cuttlebug Spot challenge to make something 'Masculine'. I've kept the colour scheme really simple, using two shades of blue card embossed with the 'Swiss Dots' and 'Spots & Dots' Cuttlebug folders for the layers behind the image ('Birthday Monkeys' by Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie), and the Nestie stars.

Triple Challenge Charity Card

I know I'm cutting it fine, but I just had to make a card for the Dutch Dare 'Post Pals' challenge....I've managed to combine it with a couple of other challenges too: the Stampavie Challenge, and the Roses on Paper Challenge, which both asked for flowers...so I've given them flowers on my image ('Garden Bears' by Rachelle Anne Miller), flowers on my paper (by Sandylion), and some paper flowers too (all from Poppicrafts). The sentiment is from the Clare Curd Signature Range set (by Papermania), and I couldn't resist a few pieces of card candy (by Craftwork Cards).

ABC Challenge - S is for...

Wow - it seems that you all love roses as much as we do....thank you for all of the fabulous entries to last week's challenge! :0)

This week over at the ABC Challenge, we've arrived at the letter S...which is for 'Summer'.

I chose to use bright summery colours on my card, in the form of some gorgeous 'Amy Butler' papers by K&Co. The fab image is by Penny Black ('Lazy Days')....now that's how I'd like to spend the summer! lol
I kept the layout fairly simple, as the patterns on the papers are quite busy, adding only a few flowers from Poppicrafts, and some pieces of card candy in co-ordinating colours.


Don't forget to check out the rest of the design team's creations.

Let it snow!

The card I made for last week's Winter Wonderland Challenge would have been perfect for this week's 'Let it snow!' theme...but alas, I couldn't use it again, so had to make something new. I followed this week's Stamp Something Challenge sketch for the layout, changing the dimensions to make a square card. I used a Sugar Nellie image ('Snowflake') stamped for me by my lovely friend Pauline, which I coloured with watercolour pencils, adding a touch of glitter and adhesive gems to the snowflakes. The gorgeous 'vintagey' snowflake paper is by My Mind's Eye ('Festive - Frost'), the embossing was done using the Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder, the sentiment stamp is by Penny Black, and the satin ribbon is by Anita's.

Happy Birthday PBSC!

My favourite challenge blog...Penny Black Saturday Challenge...is celebrating it's first birthday this week...Happy Birthday ladies! I love the PBSC...I've entered every challenge...and I hold it (and it's fantastic design team) wholly responsible for my addiction to blogging and blog challenges! ;0)

The theme of their challenge this week, is 'Celebrations'...so I inked up one of my favourite Penny Black stamps ('Birthday Dog') to make a birthday card. I've combined him with papers from the 'Cupcakes' pad by BasicGrey and 'Pocket Full of Posies' stack by DCWV. The sentiment stamps are by Hero Arts, the stars were all cut using Nesties, and I used the 'Swiss Dots' and 'Spots & Dots' embossing folders.


Congrats PBSC on a fantastic first year of challenges...and thank you for all of the inspiration from your wonderful design team cards...long may it continue! :0)