Just Cute Bears - Baby Cards

The theme of our Just Cute Bears Challenge this fortnight is:

'Baby Cards'
(with an optional extra to include gingham & ribbon)

We are sponsored by the fabulous Simon Says Stamp for this challenge, who have very generously donated this Popcorn the Bear stamp set as the prize.

I've used some of the cute little Penny Black 'Bear Blanks' on my card...which is an easel card made using the largest of my scalloped circle Nesties. The gingham paper is from the 'Wild Asparagus' collection br My Mind's Eye, and the button and ribbon are from Poppicrafts.

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

• C.R.A.F.T. - Shaped Card 
• Craft Your Days Away - Babies
• Crafty Cardmakers - Step away from the square
• Penny Black Saturday - At least 2 Penny Black images
• Sundays with Chrissy - Buttons & Bows
• Totally Gorjuss - Not a square
• Totally Papercrafts - Buttons & Bows

For more inspiration, please visit the Just Cute Bears blog...and don't forget you now have 2 weeks to enter our challenges.

Just Cute Bears - Swirls & Bling

Before I get on to the theme of the new Just Cute Bears Challenge...I have a couple of announcements to make...firstly, the challenges will now be fortnightly, starting with this week's challenge, which gives you more time to play and hopefully join in with our challenges...and secondly, that Lols, our lovely guest designer this month, is joining us permanently...yippee...we're so pleased to have you on our team!

Ok, so the theme of this fortnight's challenge is:

'Swirls & Bling'

We are sponsored for this challenge by Pollycraft...

...and the prize is an amazing 10 digis from the Pollycraft store!

I've used one of my favourite Penny Black stamps ('Rainin' Daisies') on my card...I haven't used it ages, so I thought it was about time. I cut the image out with a Nestie, then stamped some swirls around the edge using some Whiff of Joy stamps and a pink chalk inkpad. The paper is Bo Bunny 'Back to Basics', and I embossed the reverse side with my Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder, then sanded the raised area to reveal the white core. I used my EK Success 'Diamond Scallop' border punch on plain white card to separate the two papers. The sentiment is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts, and the pink gems are by My Mind's Eye.

I'm also going to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Taylored Expressions - Sketch
• Charisma Cardz - Anything Goes
• Digidoodles - Embossing
• Oldie but a Goodie - Pink & Girly
• Penny Black @ Allsorts - Punch Away
• Spoon Full of Sugar - Anything Goes

For more inspiration, please stop by the Just Cute Bears Challenge to see the fabulous cards by my lovely DT buddies.

Just Cute Bears - Photo Inspiration

This week on the Just Cute Bears Challenge, we have a photo inspiration challenge for you:

Now, when I first saw this photo I was a little bit scared...but then I remembered some fabby papers in the 'Penny Lane' glitter stack by My Mind's Eye, that looked just like the 'eyes' on the peacock's feathers...perfect! The image is 'Teddy with Bouquet' by Lili of the Valley, which I coloured using water colour pencils, and added some sparkle to the flowers with a Sakura Stardust pen. The flowers are by Prima, and the jewelled brads are from Craft Obsessions.

I'm also going to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Sketchy Thursday - Sketch (It's the 100th challenge, so BIG congratulations!)
• Crafts & Me - Gems & Sparkle
• My Time to Craft - Jewelled
• Totally Gorjuss - Flowers

For more inspiratio, check out the fabulous samples by my lovely DT buddies on the Just Cute Bears Challenge.

I have candy on offer at the moment...and if you haven't already entered, you can find all of the details on this post.

Just Cute Bears - Lets Go Dotty!

The theme of our Just Cute Bears Challenge this week is:

'Lets Go Dotty!'

I've made a 'New Home' card for some friends of mine who moved house this weekend, using 'In the shed' by Lili of the Valley. I coloured it with watercolour pencils, adding their new house number to the little sign, to match the spotty papers from the 'Max & Whiskers' pad by BasicGrey. I distressed the edges of the papers, and added some faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug and a white gel pen. The flowers are by Prima, the ribbon & brads are from Poppicrafts, and the sentiment was done on my computer.

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

• Lili of the Valley - Sketch
• Allsorts - New Beginnings
• Crafty Catz - 3 Embellishments, 2 Papers, 1 Image (I've interpreted this as meaning 3 types of embellishment...flower, brads & ribbon)
• Moving Along with the Times - In Stitches
• My Time to Craft - In the Garden
• Paperplay - In Stitches

For more inspiration, visit the Just Cute Bears Challenge blog to see the fabulous cards by the rest of the design team, including Ali who is back after a short break, and our guest designer for September...Lols!

I have candy on offer at the moment...you can read all about it on this post.

Just Cute Bears - Embossing

The theme of this week's Just Cute Bears Challenge is:

'Embossing'

We also have a DT call running on this challenge...so if you fancy joining our friendly little team, you can find all the details here.

I've used several Cuttlebug folders for the embossing on mmy card - 'Swiss Dots', 'Ice Crystals' and 'Snow Dots'. The adorable image is 'Little Star' by Lili of the Valley, the sentiment is also Lili of the Valley (from the A5 Christmas set) and the ribbon is from Poppicrafts. The snowflakes were cut using a Cuttlebug die, and then I coated them with Glamour Dust.

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

• Teddy Stampers - Sketch
• Lili of the Valley - Dotty About Circles
• Totally Gorjuss - Christmas in August

For more inspiration, check out the fabulous creations by my lovely Just Cute Bears DT buddies.

Just Cute Bears - Pink & Brown

The theme of the Just Cute Bears Challenge this week, is a yummy colour combo:

'Pink & Brown'

We are sponsored this week by Wild Rose Studio...who are very generously offering the winner of this challenge two stamps of their choice!

I've used one of the Lili of the Valley 'Busy Bears' on my card...'I Baked a Cake'. The pink paper is from the My Mind's Eye 'Quite Contrary' freebie pad, the sentiment stamp is from the 'Anytime Messages' set by Hero Arts, and the ribbon and flowers are from Poppicrafts.

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

• Papertake Weekly - sketch
• Paperplay - Pink to Make the Boys Wink
• Wild Orchid - One for the Girls

Do pop over and check out the creations by my lovely teamies on the Just Cute Bears Challenge.

Just Cute Bears - Buttons & Blooms

Our theme for this week's Just Cute Bears Challenge is:

'Buttons & Blooms'

I've used one of the adorable Lili of the Valley bears...'Teddy with Bouquet'...on my card. The sparkly papers are from the 'Penny Lane' pad by My Mind's Eye, the flowers are a mixture of Prima and Poppicrafts, the ribbon is also from Poppicrafts and the button is by Papermania.

I'm also entering this card into a couple of other challenges:

• Friday Sketchers - Sketch
• Crafty Catz - Animals

Please pop over to the Just Cute Bears Challenge, where you can see the gorgeous creations by my lovely DT buddies.

Just Cute Bears - Bear & Me

This week's Just Cute Bears Challenge is a little bit different...the theme is:

'Bear & Me'

Well...maybe not 'you'...but a person with the bear on your item! lol

We are sponsored for this challenge by Whiff of Joy, who have generously donated the adorable 'Bruno with Cupcake'

I've used one of the Gorjuss Girl stamps by Sugar Nellie on my card...and rather appropriately, it's called 'Teddy Bear'. The papers are from the 'Lemonade' pad by BasicGrey, the flowers are a mixture of Poppicrafts, Prima and Petaloo, and the pearl brads are by Papermania. I used my 'Stylized Flowers' and 'Just My Type' Cuttlebug folders to emboss the 'plain' papers, and then sanded the raised areas to reveal the white core.

I'm also entering my cards into a few other challenges:

• Stamp with Fun - Sketch
• BasicGrey - Pearls
• Creative Card Crew - Cute & Girly
• Creative Inspirations (Wed) - Recipe: 5 Flowers, 3 Papers, 1 Ribbon

As always, don't forget to check out the fabulous creations by the rest of the Just Cute Bears DT.

Just Cute Bears - Anything, but Square...

This week's Just Cute Bears Challenge is an interesting one...we'd like you to make:

'Anything, but square...and include a tag'

Hmmmm...it certainly had me scratching my head! lol 

In the end, I decided to make a little Christmas gift box...it's a pryamid shape...and just perfect for hanging on the Christmas tree. I used this freebie template from Pink Petticoat, printed on to the reverse of a piece of paper from the My Mind's Eye 'Signature Christmas - Festive' collection. After cutting out the template, I punched a hole in each of the 'points', and threaded some ribbon through to close the box. For my tag, I've used a cute little Penny Black bear called 'Candle-lit Night', which I've watercoloured, then cut out with my Nesties.

Here's a view of the back...it gives you a better idea of the shape:

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

• Our Creative Corner - Christmas in July
• Prairie Fairy Friday - Make it 3D
• Stamp Something - Christmas in July Somethings

For more inspiration...check out the fabulous makes by the Just Cute Bears design team, and our guest designer for August, Vicky.

Just Cute Bears - Bear Necessities

Our theme for you this week at Just Cute Bears, is:

'Bear Necessites'

In other words, we'd like to see your 'Clean & Simple' creations.

I really love the clean & simple style, but I love my pretty papers too...and as a big fan of sketch challenges, I rarely make anything in that style myself. While I was paring everything down, I decided to be brave, and stamp my image ('Dream a Dream' by Penny Black) and sentiment (from the 'Sending Sunshine' set by Simon Says Stamp) directly on to my card blank...I've never made a single layer card before! lol After watercolouring my image, I embossed along the top and bottom of the card using one of the Cuttlebug border folders from the 'Just my Type' set, then I added a touch of colour to the raised areas using chalks.

For more 'Clean & Simple' inspiration, check out the gorgeous creations by the rest of the Just Cute Bears girls.

Just Cute Bears - Christmas in July

The theme of this week's Just Cute Bears Challenge is:

'Christmas in July'

Well...it's never too early to get started on your Christmas cards! lol

I've used an adorable Gillian Roberts stamp called 'Teddy & Robin' on my card...watercoloured to match the 'Figgy Pudding' papers by BasicGrey. I distressed the edges, and added faux stitching using my CutterBee Bug, and a white gel pen. I couldn't resist a bit of bling, and added some adhesive gems, and some Stickles to the snow, and fur on the Teddy's hat.

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

• Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Sketch
• Christmas Stampin' All Year Long- Bling
• Cute Card Thursday - Christmas
• Fussy & Fancy - Stitches, Scallops & Sparkle

For more Christmassy inspiration check out the fabulous cards by the rest of the Just Cute Bears design team.

Just Cute Bears - Sketch

This week's Just Cute Bears Challenge is a sketch by me:

We are sponsored for this challenge by MelJen's Designs, and the prize is three of their adorable bear images.



I've used the sketch to make Christmas card with an adorbale Lili of the Valley bear ('Little Star'). The sparkly papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' pad by My Mind's Eye, and I embossed the matte gold card using my Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes' folder.

I'm also going to enter this card into the following challenges:

• DCD Christmas Club - 'A Very Beary Merry Xmas'
• Stampavie & More - 'Sparkling'

For more inspiration from my lovely teamies, and our guest designer for July, Becky, visit the Just Cute Bears blog.

Just Cute Bears - Decoupage

Our challenge for you this week on Just Cute Bears is:

'Decoupage'

Eeeeek....totally not my thing! So...I decided to 'decoupage' a stamped image...this one is one of my favourite bears...'Boo Boo Bear' (by Whipper Snapper). The papers are from the 'Ooh La La (for Her)' collection by My Mind's Eye, the flowers are from Poppicrafts, and the ribbon, brads and card candy are from my stash.

Here's a close-up of the image....just to show that I really did 'decoupage' it!:

I'm also going to enter this card into the a couple of other challenges:

• Sweet Sketch Wednesday: Sketch
• Totally Papercrafts: Girly

Don't forget to check out the fabulous creations by my lovely Just Cute Bears teamies for more inspiration.

Just Cute Bears - Anything Goes!

There's no excuse or you not to join us this week at the Just Cute Bears Challenge, as our theme is:

'Anything Goes'

I've made a little box, which I've filled with the bear stamped images and embellishments I'm sending to the lucky winner of last week's 'Monochrome' challenge...but I'm not showing you the contents, as I'd like it to be a surprise for the recipient.

 

The box is roughly a six inch square, and I covered the top with scraps of BasicGrey 'Bittersweet' papers to create a patchwork effect. To give an impression of fabric, I distressed the edges, and added some faux stitching using my Cutterbee Bug and a white gel pen. I also decorated the sides of the box with more scraps of the papers. I made a tag using Nesties, and added one of my favourite bear images 'Rainin' Daisies' by Penny Black.

Here's a better view of the top of the box:

 I'm going to enter this into a couple of other challenges:

• Penny Black Saturday Challenge: 'Paper Patch'
• One Stop Craft Challenge: 'Pink & Brown'

The rest of the design team have created some fabulous projects for this challenge...you can check them out on the Just Cute Bears Challenge blog.

Just Cute Bears - Monochrome

Before I get on to this week's Just Cute Bears Challenge, I have some sad news...our lovely Ali, who started up the Just Cute Bears Challenge, has decided to take a break from blogging, so will be leaving the team...we'll miss you hun! But, this is not the end for Just Cute Bears...we're going to keep the challenge going, and are now in the capable hands of Cathy! 

The theme for this week's Challenge is:

'Monochrome'

I decided to use my favourite colour (blue) to make a baby boy card...I don't know anyone expecting a boy...but it doesn't hurt to be prepared! lol The image is 'Dexter Bear' by Sugar Nellie, and I created the background using my 'Swiss Dots' and 'Spots & Dots' Cuttlebug folders. The sentiment was done on computer.

 

I'm going to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Sunday Sketch & Stamp - Sketch
• Craftalicious - Monochrome
• Creative Inspirations (Sundays) - Monochrome
• Sweet Stampin' - Clean & Simple

Don't forget to check out the fabulous creations by my lovely Just Cute Bears teamies.

Just Cute Bears - Here Comes Summer

Our theme for you this week at the Just Cute Bears Challenge is:

'Here Comes Summer'

For my card, I've used an adorable Lili of the Valley bear called 'Deckchair Dreaming'...well...isn't that how most of us would hope to spend the summer? The paper is from the 'Cupcakes' pad by BasicGrey...and, although I don't like icecream, I'm assured it's a most enjoyable treat on a hot summer's day! lol I used my 'Forest Branches' Cuttlebug folder on Core'dinations 'Whitewash' card, then sanded over the raised areas to reveal the blue core before distressing all the edges. The sentiment is a Tim Holtz adage ticket, the ribbon is from Poppicrafts, and the letters were cut using the Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet.

 

I followed the sketch from Sweet Sketch Wednesday for my card, and am also entering it into the Crafty Catz 'Embossing' and Totally Papercrafts 'Animal Magic' challenges.

Make sure you stop by and check out the fabulous creations by the rest of the Just Cute Bears design team.

Just Cute Bears - Happy Father's Day

This week's Just Cute Bears Challenge is to make a card for:

'Father's Day'

I've used yet another Lili of the Valley 'Busy Bear' on this card - I just can't help myself...they're soooo sweet! This one is called 'In the Shed'...perfect for those men in your life! lol The papers are from the 'Bloom & Grow' pad by My Mind's Eye, the raffia lace is from Hobbycraft, and if you look really closely, you might just be able to make the handwritten sentiment on the sign on the image.

 I'm also going to enter this card into the following challenges:

• Midnight Madness - Sketch (I chose the simple one)
• Creative Cottage - 'Happy Father's Day'
• For Fun - 'Men'
• Sew Many Challenges - 'Father's Day - NO Blue'
• Simon Says Stamp - 'Father's Day/Men'

You can check out the fabulous cards by my lovely teamies, and our guest designer for June Cherie, on the Just Cute Bears Challenge blog.

Just Cute Bears - Thank You!

This week at Just Cute Bears our challenge is:

'Thank You'

I've used another adorable Lili of the Valley bear...'Teddy with Bouquet'...what better way to say 'Thank You', than with a big bunch of flowers?! I coloured him with watercolour pencils, then added some sparkle to the flowers with a Sakura Stardust pen, to match the glittery 'Penny Lane' papers by My Mind's Eye. The sentiment stamp is by Cuddly Buddly.

 

My lovely teamies have created some really gorgeous cards again this week...you can see them all on the Just Cute Bears blog.

Just Cute Bears - Sketch

This week's Just Cute Bears Challenge is a fab sketch by our lovely guest designer for this month...Bev:

I used it to make a Christmas card using an adorable Lili of the Valley stamp called 'Little Star'. The papers are from the 'Wonderful Winter' glitter stack by My Mind's Eye, I used an EK Success punch for the scalloped border, and the satin ribbon I found amongst my stash.


There's more inspiration from my lovely DT buddies on the Just Cute Bears Challenge blog.