Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - New Beginnings

This week's Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge theme has been set by Cathy...and rather appropriately, she has chosen:

'New Beginnings'

This could be New Year, New Baby, New Job, Wedding, Retirement...the list goes on...
I chose to make a 'New Home' card...and have used an image and sentiment from a set by OneFourZero as the focal point. The papers are by Daisy D's, the brads are by Papermania, and the raffia lace (behind the image to look like a picket fence...lol) is from Hobbycraft.

The design team have worked their magic again, and created some gorgeous projects...so make sure you stop by the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge blog for some more inspiration.

2010 Calendar

I managed to sneak some photos of one of the Papermill Shop Calendars that I decorated as a Christmas gift...and as there are a lot of photos...I've turned them into a slideshow:

The images are mainly Penny Black stamps, but I did sneak in a couple of Whipper Snappers, a Whiff of Joy and a Forever Friends. The papers are a mixture of BasicGrey, My Mind's Eye, Fancy Pants Designs, K&Co and Daisy D's. The embellishments are a mixture of Poppicrafts flowers & ribbons, Woodware and Papermania buttons, Craftwork Cards card candy, and raffia lace in assorted colours from Hobbycraft. I used a few Cuttlebug folders: 'Swiss Dots', 'Tiny Bubbles', 'Moroccan Screen' and 'Victoria', the Cuttlebug 'Ice Crystal' die, and a few different shaped Nesties.

Don't forget that there's still time to join in with the ABC Christmas Challenge blog hop...you can find the first stop here.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Last Minute Gifts

This is our last Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge of 2009...and this time Mandy has challenged us to make :

'Last Minute Gifts'

I've made quite a few of my Christmas presents again this year...but these little post-it note covers, were by far the quickest and easiest things to make:

I cut pieces of card measuring 3 1/4 x 7 inches, then scored them 3 1/4 inches from each of the short ends, and folded along the score lines. I glued the post-it note pad to the inside, and decorated the fronts with a mixture of My Mind's Eye and Daisy D's papers, buttons & flowers from Poppicrafts, card candy and lettering cut using my Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet.
Here's a view of the inside:


I'm sure you're all busy making those final preparations for Christmas...and I'm sure that you'll find some inspiration for those 'last minute gifts' from the design team over on the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge blog.

More simple cards...

I had a bit of a production line going yesterday and made some more simple cards for charity. I kept the layout the same, but used different colours and papers by My Mind's Eye, Daisy D's and K&Co.


I used three different Cuttlebug folders: 'Victoria', 'Textile' and 'Moroccan Screen'...trying to match them to the paper designs. The flowers and ribbons are all from Poppicrafts, and the sentiment was cut using the Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet.

Inspirational Card Sketches

I've finally managed to find time to play with one of the Inspirational Card Sketches, and get my card uploaded before the challenge has ended! lol
I rotated the sketch to fit my image ('Rainy Days' by Rachelle Anne Miller for Stampavie), and used papers by Daisy D's and K&Co, that I've had for ages, but have never got round to using. I embossed one of the papers with the Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder. The sentiment stamp (by Whiff of Joy) goes perfectly with this image, and the ribbon is from Poppicrafts.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge 14

Well, after all the gorgeous girly cards over on the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog last week, I suppose it's only fair, that the challenge this week is to make 'A Man's Card, But No Blue'.
I struggled to decide which stamps to use, as most of mine seem to be more suited to girls cards, but in the end I thought I'd have a go with some of these cute 'Bear Blanks' that my friend Carol sent me a couple of weeks ago. I didn't really have a clear idea of how this card was going to turn out when I started it, as it sort of 'evolved'! I've used papers by Daisy D's, and sentiment stamps by Hero Arts ('Anytime Messages'). I stamped the letters on the bear blanks with some cute little alphabet stamps by Studio G that I picked up recently in The Range, for the bargain price of £1! I guess that this card will be perfect for Fathers Day next year...if I can remember where I've put it by then!

Hope you like it!