Sunday 31 May 2009

Oh Christmas Tree...

Another new challenge blog launched today...it's called Winter Wonderland, and is all about...yes, you've guessed it..Christmas! It's the perfect challenge for me...if you're a regular visitor to my blog you'll know that one of my New Year's resolutions was to make at least one Christmas card every week...and so far I've just about managed to stick to it (only had one week where I didn't manage it...but made two the following week to make up for it! lol)...and the theme of their first challenge is 'Oh Christmas Tree'. I decided to combine this with a few other challenges on my card: Daring Cardmakers where this week's dare is to use '5 things the same'; Papertake Weekly's challenge to use our 'Scraps'; and the Cuttlebug Spot's colour combo of 'Brown with Blue or Orange'.


I used a die from the Cuttlebug 'Winter' set to cut the Christmas trees from scraps of paper from the 'Festive - Frost' pack by My Mind's Eye. The beige piece of Core'dinations card (looks kind of grey in the photo, but it really is browny/beige) has been embossed with the Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder, then sanded to reveal the lighter core.

I've actually made a couple more Christmas cards this weekend...so I'll apologise in advance for the un-seasonal blog posts you'll see next week! lol

Mojo Monday meets the Secret Crafter

I've combined the fab Mojo Monday sketch with the colour scheme of 'Pink, Turquoise and a hint of Brown', of the Secret Crafter Challenge. I've used an image from the 'Critter Party' set by Penny Black, and carried the dotty theme of the hedgie's parcel through to the BasicGrey papers (from the 'Blush' range), some of which I've embossed with the 'Swiss Dots' and 'Spots & Dots' Cuttlebug folders. The sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts, the flowers and ribbon are from Poppicrafts...and I've used yet more Craftwork Cards card candy!

Happy Birthday Cathy!

My lovely friend Cathy is celebrating a milestone birthday today...but I'll be kind, and not reveal which one! lol She loves her Sugar Nellie stamps, so I decided to use the Sugar Bowl Challenge sketch to make her card. I've used 'Pen Pal' as the main image...in fact I think that Cathy may have sent it to me for my birthday last year...I hope she doesn't mind me sending it back! lol The papers are a mixture of K&Co and BasicGrey, and I embossed the plainest one using the Cuttlebug 'Textile' folder. The sentiment is from the 'Critter Party' set by Penny Black, the flowers are all from Poppicrafts, the raffia lace is from Hobbycraft, and I added pieces of Craftwork Cards card candy in each corner. I managed the additional challenge of 'Pearls', with a few adhesive pearls in the corner of the image in place of the photo corner in the sketch, and the Papermania pearl brads in the centres of the flowers.


Hope you're having a fabulous birthday Cathy...and enjoying your holiday too!

Saturday 30 May 2009

Polkadoodles meets Colour Create

There's another fab sketch for the second Polkadoodles Challenge...and as you know, I'm a sucker for a sketch challenge! I've combined it with the delicious sounding colour combination of 'Lemon, Pink Sorbet & Chocolate' of the Colour Create Challenge. With colours like that, I just had to feature some food on my card...with 'Henry - Celebrating Mouse' (by Whiff of Joy), and a couple of extra cupcakes (from the Hero Arts 'Cupcakes' set). The pink paper if from the 'Bittersweet' pad by BasicGrey, and has been embossed with the 'Swiss Dots' Cuttlebug folder. I cut the lettering using the 'Olivia' Cuttlebug alphabet, the raffia lace is from Hobbycraft, the flowers are from Poppicrafts...and yes, there's yet more card candy in the corner...I'm addicted to it...so it's a good job it doesn't contain any calories! lol

Dies to Die For Sketch Challenge

Tracy, from Dies to Die For, has a competition running on her blog at the moment, with a fabby sketch by Dawny, and gorgeous stamps for the winners. I've used the sketch to make a 'Congratulations' card for one of my flatmates - she's celebrating finishing her degree course and handing in her dissertation (she works full time, so it's taken her 5 years, part-time, so she's celebrating in style!). I don't have any 'graduation' images, but I found this gorgeous Penny Black mouse image ('Bubble of Joy'), stamped for me by my lovely friend Pauline in amongst my box of images, which was just perfect. I coloured him with watercolour pencils, and added a sentiment from the set by Clare Curd for Papermania. I decided to use one of my favourite colour combos, of pink and green, with these gorgeous BasicGrey papers (from the 'Sultry' pad). The flowers and ribbon are from Poppicrafts, the raffia lace is from Hobbycraft, the pearl brad is by Papermania, and I couldn't resist using some Craftwork Cards card candy to echo the bubble shape on the image and paper.


You'll have to be quick if you fancy winning those fabby stamps...as the competition closes tomorrow!

Friday 29 May 2009

Sketch Saturday meets Charisma Cardz

I'm combining challenges again...the fab Sketch Saturday sketch and the 'Going Dotty' theme of the Charisma Cardz Challenge. I rotated the sketch to fit my 'Birthday Monkeys' stamp (by Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie), and was inspired by the balloons on the image to get out a background stamp (by Funstamps) that I've had for ages, but neglected. I watercoloured the background to match the monkey image, and used plain card, in co-ordinating colours for the rest of the background, using my Cuttlebug 'Spots & Dots' and 'Swiss Dots' folders for texture. The stars were cut from scraps of the same card, using Nestie dies, and then embossed with the same folders, and also the 'Tiny Bubbles' one. The ribbon is from Poppicrafts.

Wednesday 27 May 2009

Friday Sketchers meets Creative Inspirations...

I'm combining challenges again...this time the fab Friday Sketchers sketch, with the challenge to make a 'Card for a Male' from Creative Inspirations. I've chosen to make a birthday card, rather than a Father's Day card (already did that ages ago! lol), and I've used one of my favourite Penny Black stamps - 'Birthday Dog'. The papers are by Prima...I've had them ages, but never used them...the sentiment is by Woodware ('Circular Greetings'), and the buttons are by Papermania.

ABC Challenge - P is for...

Thank you for all of the fabulously 'Orderly' cards last week - I do hope that I managed to visit you all...you may have noticed that we (along with lots of other challenge sites) had problems with Mr Linky going AWOL...so if you did want to be considered for the guest DT spot for June, please leave a link your project for last week's 'Orderly' challenge in a comment on this post before 8pm tonight.

This week the ABC Challenge is being sponsored by:

And one lucky challenger will receive one of the new release of Whimsy Stamps...a really cheeky monkey...as a prize.

This week, we have reached the letter P...and we would like to see Pearls on your cards.

The Design Team were all sent images by Whimsy Stamps, and I received this fun skunk...so I decided to go for a monochrome look to mirror the colouring on him (or her...I'm not quite sure! lol). As the image is quite large, I decided to keep the layout quite simple, with some dotted paper by Doodlebug, and a strip of white card, embossed with my 'Swiss Dots' folder, across the centre. I added small white adhesive pearls in the scallops around the image, and larger black pearls in the corners, and the flowers (from Poppicrafts) are held in place with a Papermania pearl brad.


Don't forget to stop by and check out the rest of the Design Team's creations for more inspiration.

Tuesday 26 May 2009

Three Challenges in One...

I've had a productive day crafting...thanks to the awful weather...can't show you everything just yet...one card is my DT card for the ABC Challenge tomorrow, and another is for a birthday next week, but I can show you this one. I combined three challenges: the sketch from Stamp Something; the 'New Beginnings' theme of the Secret Crafter Challenge; and the colour combo of 'Light Blue or Turquoise & Brown' (although I must admit to misreading this as 'Light Blue, Turquoise & Brown'! lol) of the Stampavie Challenge. My main image is 'Garden Bears' by Rachelle Anne Miller (for Stampavie), and as the sketch is quite simple, I used layers of plain card, the main piece embossed with the 'Swiss Dots' folder, for the background. The sentiment was cut using the Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet, and the ribbon (just seen poking out from behind the image!) is from Hobbycraft.

Polka Doodles meets the One Stop Craft Challenge

There's a fab new challenge blog called Polka Doodles...it launched on Friday, with a great sketch for the first challenge...and gorgeous candy to give away...if you haven't checked it out yet...what are you waiting for??? I've combined my the sketch with 'Vintage' theme of this week's One Stop Craft Challenge. For my main image I've used 'Pringle' (by Sugar Nellie), together with papers from the 'Figgy Pudding' collection by BasicGrey - I inked all of the edges to give a more 'vintage' feel...and I'm sure you'll agree that Pringle looks 'well-worn'! lol The sentiment is from the 'Fabulous Birthday' set by Hero Arts, and the stars were cut using Nesties.

Monday 25 May 2009

Inspirational Card Sketches meets Penny Black Saturday Challenge

I rotated the sketch for this week's Inspirational Card Sketches Challenge, to fit the Penny Black image (from the 'Hugs' set) I wanted to use. The paper is 'Romani' by BasicGrey...I cut around the edges of the flowers down one side. In place of the 5 circles on the sketch, I used Prima flowers with some cute little flower buttons (from Poppicrafts) for their centres...which I hope qualifies for the 'Buttons Galore' theme of this week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

Sunday 24 May 2009

Whiff of Joy meets Stamp with Fun

There's a fab sketch for this week's Whiff of Joy Challenge...which I decided to combine with the 'Shabby/Vintage' theme of the Stamp with Fun Challenge...now as you've probably noticed...I don't really do shabby...I do love that style of card, but I just don't seem to be able to do it myself! But I think I've managed a vintage-y feel with the colours and inked edges of the 'Granola' papers (by BasicGrey), and the Prima flowers. I've used 'Musing Melinda', coloured to match the papers, together with a sentiment also by Whiff of Joy. The pearl brads are by Papermania.

Just Christmas & Birthday Cards Challenge #32

I've just managed to get my Christmas card for this week done in time to enter for the Just Christmas & Birthday Cards Challenge. I loved the simplicity of this week's sketch...plenty of room for extra embellishments. I've used a Penny Black image ('Aiming to please'), which was sent to me in a swap by my lovely friend Pauline, together with 'Figgy Pudding' papers by BasicGrey. The sentiment stamp is by Three Bugs in a Rug, and the smaller stars were cut using Nesties, and the larger one is a sticker from the 'Figgy Pudding' collection pack.

Friday 22 May 2009

Papertake Weekly with a Spoon Full of Sugar

I've made a birthday celebration card for the Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge's 1st Birthday challenge, using the sketch from this week's Papertake Weekly Challenge. I've used one of my favourite Penny Black stamps (from the 'Critter Party' set), and papers from the 'Sweet Nothings' pad by Papermania. The sentiment is from the same stamp set, the ribbon is from Hobbycraft, the flowers are from Poppicrafts, and the card candy is by Craftwork Cards. I couldn't resist adding a little bit of sparkle to the icing on the cupcake, with my trusty Stickles! lol

Wednesday 20 May 2009

And the winner of my handbag charm is...


Congratulations Jac! Please email me with your address (helenbrammer@hotmail.com) and I'll get your prize in the post asap!

Thank you everyone else for the lovely comments you left...I'm just sorry that there could only be one winner.

ABC Challenge - O is for...

Wow - what a talented bunch of crafters you all are! It was fantastic seeing all of the fabulous items you created for our 'Not a card' challenge! As this is a scheduled post (I'm already on my way to work), I'll draw the winner of the handbag charm I made last week, when I get home this afternoon.

This week at the ABC Challenge we're at the letter O, which is for 'Orderly'...we would like your cards to be balanced...so, for example, if you use a flower somewhere on your card, it should be balanced by another somewhere else on the card.

I've used 'Blossom' (by Leanne Ellis for Sugar Nellie), and coloured Annie in shades of red and pink to match the papers by My Mind's Eye ('Adore') and BasicGrey ('Blush'). The flowers are from Poppicrafts, the pearl brads are by Papermania, and I couldn't resist adding a few pieces of card candy (by Craftwork Cards).


Don't forget to check out the fab creations by the other DT members for more inspiration.

Tuesday 19 May 2009

Three Challenges in One...

I made the most of my crafting time at the weekend...and combined challenges..again! This time, I used: the fab Sketch & Stash Challenge sketch; with the Penny Black Saturday Challenge 3-2-1 Recipe; and the colour combo of 'Pink, Green, Light Blue, and 1 neutral' of Our Creative Corner. My new item is the strip of Core'dinations card (from the gorgeous new 'Whitewash' pad) that I've embossed with the Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder, then sanded to reveal the blue core. The image is 'Gifts for You' by Penny Black, and includes one of my 3 flowers (the other two, I cut in half, then used them in place of the scalloped border), the 2 papers are from the 'Two Scoops' pad by BasicGrey, and my 1 brad is the dragonfly by Woodware.

Monday 18 May 2009

Creative Card Crew meets Charisma Cardz

I've combined the 'Minimal' theme, of the Creative Card Crew, with the challenge to use 'Stars' on our cards from Charisma Cardz. I used 'Cat on the Moon' by Penny Black...I love this stamp, but always find it hard to decide which papers and colours to put with it...so decided to use some silver card embossed with stars, that I've had for ages (I think it came from Hobbycraft). I used my star Nesties for the shiny stars, added some 'Star Dust' Stickles around the image, and tied a simple bow with a piece of silver organza ribbon.