Champagne Thomas!

I need loads of birthday cards this month...so I made a couple at the weekend. This one uses 'Champagne Thomas' by Lili of the Valley, and papers form the 'Wild Asparagus' collection by My Mind's Eye. I distressed the edges, and added faux stitching using my Cutterbee Bug and a white gel pen. I used one of my Cuttlebug 'Just My Type' folders, which I haven't used in ages, on the strip across the centre, then sanded the raised area to reveal the white core of the paper. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts, and the flowers are by Prima.

Challenges for this card:

• Lili of the Valley - Sketch
• Cupcake Craft - Happy Hour (Drinks)
• Paper Sundaes - From your stash (the border embossing folder)

Monster Birthday!

I'm currently busy preparing for the new term ahead...and arranging music for my classes and ensembles to play...but had a little break from the computer to make a quick card. I've used a fun digi image by Hambo Stamps...called 'Monster Sax'...and papers from a Hallow'een collection by My Mind's Eye called 'Boo to You!'. I've kept it really simple, as it's a guy's card...just distressed all of the edges with inks, and added a couple of sentiments from a little Studio G set.

Of course there are some challenges:

• Midnight Madness - Sketch (I've used the simple one)
• Corrosive - For the Guys
• Crazy Challenge - Monsters & Dragons
• Cupcake - Lets Get Digital
• Sweet Stampin' - Distressed Birthdays

Just a little 'heads up'...it's my second blogoversary tomorrow...and I'll be back with some candy tomorrow to celebrate...

Sledge Ride

Yet another Christmas card from me today...I promise I'll have something non-festive for you tomorrow! lol
This one follows the sketch from the Penny Black Saturday Challenge...I rotated it to fit my image...from the 'Holly-Jolly' set. The sparkle papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye...and I matted them on to some shimmery blue card from the Paper Mill Shop. I cut some snowflakes using Cuttlebug dies from the same card, and added a Papermania pearl brad to the cetre of the largest one, and some adhesive pearls (from Wild Orchid Crafts) to the smaller ones. I used Glamour Dust on the snow and furry trim on the image, and a drop of Glossy Accents on the Snowman's nose.

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

• Crazy Challenge - Christmas
• Creative Craft - Transport
• Creative Inspirations (Sundays) - Christmas
• Cupcake Craft - Blue & Green
• Penny Black @ Allsorts - Glitter & Glitz (they are also having a DT call on this challenge...so if you love PB's as much as me...go check it out!)

Just a quickie...

Just a quick post...I meant to blog this earlier, but time ran has run away from me today! lol
I've used another of my new birthday stamps...'Toby with Roses' by Wild Rose Studio. The papers are from the glittered 'Penny Lane' stack by My Mind's Eye, the ribbons, and flowers are from Poppicrafts, and the sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly.

Challenges for this card:

• Midnight Madness - Sketch (the simple one...rotated)
• Cupcake Crafts - 2 Paper, 2 Ribbons, 2 Flowers (Oops...missed the deadline...didn't see that they'd changed it to Saturday this week! lol)
• Pink Elephant - Ribbon & Sparkles

Welcome Party!

It's another Christmas card from me today...this one follows the sketch from the Create4Fun challenge...although I flipped it by accident...stuck the pieces of paper the wrong way round! lol
The image is 'Welcome Party' by Penny Black, and the papers are from the 'Colourful Christmas' collection by My Mind's Eye. As they're so bright and busy, I kept it really simple, just inking the edges to define the layers.

I'm also going to enter this card into a few other challenges:

• Bah! Humbug! - 'Christmas Stockings'
• Cupcake Craft - 'Cats & Dogs' (There's a mouse too...but I hope that's ok!)
• Critter Challenge - 'Christmas in July'
• Papertake Weekly -  'Cutie Patootie'

Of course I'm coming!!!

I made this card to send to my lovely friend Samantha and her fiance Efisio, in acceptance of their invitation to their wedding. The title of this post is because although she knows I'm going...and I've booked a few nights at a local B&B...and I'm going to be playing flute at the wedding too...I'd neglected to send a card...shame on me! lol
I followed the sketch from Card Patterns...keeping it really simple...mainly white, with just a splash of red (taking inspiration from Samantha's gorgeous invite)...which just happens to be the colour combo of this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge. I used my 'Swiss Dots', 'D'Vine Swirls' and 'Victoria' Cuttlebug folders for the embossing, distressing the edges slightly to help define the layers. The hearts were cut using a Cuttlebug die, and I used my Nesties for the circle and label shape...so I'm also going to enter this card into the Daring Cardmakers 'Die Cut Crazy' challenge.

Shopping List Pad & Gift Holder

Here are a couple of 'non-card' creations I've made for birthdays coming up this month.
The first is an altered shopping list pad:


I bought the pack of pads from one of those shops that sell everything...then removed the flimsy cover, and replaced it with some thicker card. I decorated the front with some My Mind's Eye '29th Street Market' papers, and flowers made using stamps from a set called 'Doodle Flowers' by Inkadinkado. I added a strip of adhesive magnetic paper to the back, so that it can be kept on the fridge door...perfect for writing shopping lists!
It's not very exciting...but here's a view of the back:


I'm going to enter this into Stampavie & More's challenge to 'Use some green', the Cupcake Crafts challenge which this week is to 'Make your own flowers' (I hope that my 'stamped' flowers are allowed), and the Quixotic 'Joys of Spring' challenge (I think the greens are quite 'springy'! lol).

My other project is a gift carrier:

I wanted a pretty way to package a couple of aromatherapy bath oils for my friend's birthday...to make up for the fact that I didn't make her present this year! After a bit of blog hopping, I decided to make the kind of carrier which you usually see carrying paper milk cartons. I had to fiddle around to get the dimensions right, as I needed the 'pockets' to be quite deep in order to support the bottles. I decorated the outside using some paper by Crate Paper (from the 'Mia' collection), and added a matching gift tag made using my Nesties.

An Apple a Day...

I've had this adorable Happy Hopper image ('An Apple a Day') in my image box for absolutely ages...in fact I have quite a few...but I've always been a bit scared of colouring them...so I thought I be brave, and have a go at the House Mouse & Friends Challenge, which is a sketch. I've combined him with some My Mind's Eye papers, from the 'Bloom & Grow' pad, and some Craftwork Cards 'Card Candy'.


I'm also going to enter this card for the Cupcake Craft's 'Food & Drink', the One Stop Craft's 'Feeling Fruity', and Pile it On's 'Animal-riffic' challenges.

The girls over at the Stamptacular Sunday Challenge are having a 'Build-a-card' blog hop today to celebrate their first birthday...there's lots of fabby candy on offer...so why not pop over and join in the fun.

Hoppy Spring!

I'm back with another 'Spring' themed card...this time for the Stampavie Challenge. I followed the sketch from Sunday Sketch & Stamp...and as I've used quite a few flowers on this card, I'm also entering it into the Crafty Calendar & Cupcake Challenges, both of which have 'Flower Power' as their current theme.
The image I've used is called (rather appropriately) 'Hoppy Spring', by Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie. The stripey paper is from the '29th Street Market' collection by My Mind's Eye, the flowers are a mixture of Prima and Poppicrafts, the raffia lace is from Hobbycraft, and the sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly.


We have a really special Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge going live at midnight tonight...Wendy has some very exciting news to share! I'd love to be able to tell you all...but then I'd have to kill you! lol
All I can say is...you won't want to miss it...

Happy Bee-Day!

I can't believe it's already Friday again...where has the week gone?!
This card is for a few challenges: Sunday Sketch & Stamp; Cupcake Craft Challenge's 'Four-legged and furry'; and Pollycrafts Challenge's 'Things with Wings'. The image is 'Bee Costume' by Penny Black, the paisley paper is Pebbles Inc, I used my Cuttlebug 'Perfect Paisley' folder for the embossing, and the sentiment stamp is by Stampendous.

Girly Birthday

This is another of the cards I made during my craft-a-thon last weekend...this time it's for the following challenges: Totally Gorjuss (lovely sketch!); Cupcake Craft ('Girly'); and Crazy4Challenges ('Birthday'). The image is 'Teddy Bear' (by Sugar Nellie), and the papers are from the 'Colourful Christmas' collection by My Mind's Eye...see I told you they're not just for Christmas! ;0)
I distressed all of the edges, and added some faux stitching with a white gel pen. The flowers & ribbon are from Poppicrafts, and the sentiment is a Hero Arts stamp (from the 'Cupcakes' set).

Dream a Dream...

After spending all afternoon working in front of my computer, I decided to treat myself to some craft time last night...and made a couple of cards. This one uses Sketch 2 from the Penny Black Saturday Challenge (I also like Sketch 1...so I might have a go at that too today!). I've also managed to include a couple of other challenge themes: the Cupcake Craft 'Baby Card'; the Papertake Weekly 'New Beginnings'; and A Spoon Full of Sugar's 'Hearts'.
The image is 'Dream a Dream' (by Penny Black), and the paper is 'Blush' by BasicGrey...and I decided to use the same paper for all of the layers, to make the image really stand out. The sentiment stamp (which says 'Cherish'...although it's not that easy to see in the photo) is from a Studio G set, and I added a few pieces of card candy, and some organza ribbon.


Well, as it's far too cold to go outside...I plan to spend today crafting...so I'll probably have lots to show you next week! lol

Bruno Bear

I was sent this lovely Bruno Bear with Cupcake image (by Whiff of Joy) a while ago, by my lovely friend Samantha...but I've been waiting for the perfect opportunity to use him. I've combined a few challenges too: the Whiff of Joy Challenge sketch; the Our Creative Corner theme of 'Food or Drink'...well he is holding a cupcake; the Cupcake Craft Challenge to make a card for a 'Celebration'; and the Charisma Cardz Challenge of 'Anything - but Christmas!'. I've used some of my new stash on this card...the sparkly ribbon & pink pearls were a gift from my crafty Secret Santa (thank you!), and the Cuttlebug 'Diamond Plate' folder was a gift from my brother. The paper is My Mind's Eye ('29th Street Market') and the sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts (from the 'Anytime Messages' set).


Right, I'm off to have another little play...but before I go, just a quick reminder...don't forget to enter the ABC Christmas Challenge blog hop...there's lots of fabby candy on offer! The first stop is here.

Little Snowy Gift Bag

I'm spending this weekend trying to get all my Christmas cards written and posted...gifts made and wrapped that need to be distributed next week...but I did find time for a challenge (or three!). The Penny Black Saturday Challenge has a colour themed challenge of 'Red & Gold' this week...perfect for Christmas projects. I followed this tutorial on Splitcoast Stampers to make a little gift bag.


I stamped a random pattern of snowflakes (using some stamps from Lakeland) using gold ink on to plain red card before assembling my bag. I added a small snowman image ('Little Snowy' from the 'Holly-Jolly Christmas' set by Penny Black) mounted on some Nestie circles to decorate the front. So, having taken my inspiration from the song 'Frosty the Snowman', I'm entering this into the Cupcake Craft Challenge, where the theme is 'Sing a Christmas Carol'.
Here's a view of the side, showing you the shape of the bag:



I'm also going to enter this into this week's Our Creative Corner Challenge...where the theme is 'Holidays'...mine's obviously Christmas.

Ice Skating Henry

Well, after a busy weekend, trying to get my DT stuff for the next couple of weeks sorted out, and putting the finishing touches to my Nan's 90th Birthday presents and wrapping...as it's her birthday this Sunday, and I'm heading home for the weekend for the party...so no crafting for me...I have managed to squeeze in another card that fits the themes of a few challenges.
I used my new 'Ice Skating Henry Mouse' image (kindly sent to me by my lovely friend Samantha)...which is perfect for the 'New or Neglected' challenge of the Creative Inspirations Challenge. I followed the sketch from Inspirational Card Sketches and used the colour combination of 'Blue, Silver & White' of Colour Create. The Everybody Art Challenge wanted to see 'Distressing', so I used my distressing tool and inks to distress the edges of the papers, and the Cupcake Craft Challenge has the theme of 'Snow Much Fun' this week...so I used my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder, and 'Ice Crystal' and 'Snowflakes' dies to cut out a few snowflakes.

Christmas Angel

There's a fab sketch for this week's Cupcake Craft Challenge...I've combined it with the Whiff of Joy Challenge colour combination of 'Red, Cream and One Other Colour'...in my case Gold. I've used 'Confrimand Melinda' as a Christmas angel with papers by BasicGrey (from the 'Figgy Pudding' collection). The snowflakes were cut using a Cuttlebug die. As this card has an 'old fashioned' sort of feel, I'm also entering it for the 'Vintage' challenge over at Our Creative Corner.

Autumn Maggie

There's been a real nip in the air first thing in the morning this week...so I decided to ink up 'Maggie' (by Sugar Nellie)...she looks so cosy in her coat and scarf! I followed the Card Patterns Challenge sketch, which I combined with a few other challenge themes: the Cupcake Craft 'Buttons & Stitching' challenge; the Pink Elephant Challenge 'Fall' theme; the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge 'Autumn Colours' challenge; and Stampin' for the Weekend's 'Orange, Brown & Leafy Green' colour combo. I used some more of the My Mind's Eye 'Bloom & Grow' papers...I was even brave enough to tear one of the sheets! lol
I used my 'zig-zag' CutterBee Bug to make the holes for my faux stitching, added a few buttons (from Poppicrafts), a sentiment by Doodlebug, and a star shaped brad (from Tescos) on the end of Maggie's sparkler.