Friday Sketchers with Charisma

This card uses the sketch for this week's Friday Sketchers Challenge, and the colour combination of 'Purple and Green' from the Charisma Cardz Challenge. I've used one of the floral stamps from the Woodware 'Art Deco' set for the main image, and some Whiff of Joy 'Spring Swirls' (embossed in clear powder) on the background. The sentiment is also by Whiff of Joy, the ribbon is from Poppicrafts, and the lace was in the candy I won from Camilla.

ABC Challenge - J for 'Jagged Edges'

We've reached the letter J over on the ABC Challenge this week, and we'd like to see some 'Jagged Edges' on your cards.
I created my jagged edges in two ways...by tearing, and with my deckled rectangle Nesties. I thought that the torn paper gave a 'vintage' look, so have used the gorgeous 'MacBeth' by Sugar Nellie as he definitely looks 'well-worn'! The papers are by K&Co ('Roam') and I embossed the two torn strips with the Cuttlebug 'Forest Branches' folder. The sentiment is by Whiff of Joy, the flowers are from Poppicrafts, and the pearls are from my stash.


Looking forward to seeing what you all come up with!

Two awards...

...from my lovely friend Pauline - thank you, and right back at you!




I'm supposed to pass this cute award on to my top 10 favourite blogs...how mean to make us only choose 10! lol
I've decided to give it to five bloggers, whose blogs I love to visit regularly: Jacqui, Lyndsey, Tracie, Marcea and Heather...and to all my new ABC Challenge DT buddies:
Alison, Cathy, Jane, Jennifer and Vicky.





I'm passing this second award on to five special people who always make me smile! :0)
Carol, Cathy, Jo, Sue and Squirrel! Thanks for your friendship girls!

Stamp Something meets Papertake Weekly

I've combined the themes of the Stamp Something Challenge (Shapes), and the Papertake Weekly Challenge (Perfect Pastels) on this card. I kept the layout really simple, and I'm afraid I only managed three shapes. The main image is 'Rainin' Daisies' by Penny Black, and I used the Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' and 'Tiny Bubbles' embossing folders. The rainbow ribbon is from Hobbycraft.

A Spoon Full of Sugar #46

The theme for the current Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge is 'How Old!!'...and I've just managed to get this card done in time. My main image is 'Springtime' by Rachelle Anne Miller (for Stampavie), and I've coloured her to look like the little girl that this card is for...hence the red hair. The backing paper is by Papermania ('Sweet Nothings'), and the number and lettering was cut using the Cuttlebug 'Olivia' alphabet.

Truly Scrumptious meets Colour Create

I've combined the fab sketch from the Truly Scrumptious Challenge with this week's Colour Create colour combo of 'Chocolate, Coffee and Cream'. I've used 'Confirmand Melinda' (by Whiff of Joy) as my main image, and as I didn't have any suitable papers, have used some Core'dinations card and embossed it using the Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' and 'Textile' folders. I've added a few flowers (from Poppicrafts) for the 'Flower Power' element of the Truly Scrumptious Challenge, and distressed the embossed card, and inked around the edges for the Colour Create extra of 'Distressing'. I've left off the sentiment (for now), but will probably add one before I use the card.

Sketch Saturday meets Dutch Dare

I've combined the 'recipe' of the Dutch Dare Challenge, as the ingredients (basic card, 3 pieces of card, 2 DP, 2 flowers, 2 brads and 3 buttons) seemed perfect for this week's Sketch Saturday sketch. My main image is 'Lazy Days' by Penny Black, and the 2 DP are from the 'Amy Butler' pad by K&Co. I used the Cuttlebug 'Perfect Paisley' and 'Swiss Dots' folders to emboss 2 of my pieces of card, the sentiment stamp is by Papermania, the flowers are from Poppicrafts, and the buttons are from my stash.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge #44

This week's Penny Black Saturday Challenge really was 'A Gift'...as I'd just finished wrapping my Mum's birthday presents when I went and looked at the blog to see what this week's theme was!

I've used a couple of Penny Black stamps ('For You' and one of the stamps form the 'Critter Party' set) combined with My Mind's Eye paper ('Adore - Cupid's Damask'). I made another pyramid gift box (using a Pink Petticoat download), and used one of the images for a simple label. The other gift has been wrapped using plain brown paper, then I cut a strip of the same paper to wrap around the centre, then mounted the other image on the front.

The Sugar Bowl Challenge #8

There's a fab sketch for the Sugar Bowl Challenge....lots of layers...so plenty of room for lots of gorgeous papers! I've made a Christmas card (still managing to make one a week) using 'Pringle' (by Sugar Nellie), and papers by My Mind's Eye ('Festive - Frost'). I've not added any extra embellishments, as the papers and and sketch have a lot going on, just inked all of the edges in keeping with the vintage feel of the papers.

Whiff of Joy Challenge #25

The Whiff of Joy candy I won from Camilla arrived...and it's gorgeous...I couldn't resist having a play straight away! I've used the sketch for this week's Whiff of Joy Challenge to make this card. I've combined the two stamps ('Confirmand Melinda' and 'Cat with bow')...positioning the two images so it looks like she's stroking the cats head! lol The papers are by Sandylion, the lace is from Hobbycraft and I used the Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder to emboss the background.

I couldn't decide on a sentiment, so I used some flowers (from Poppicrafts) and used one of the fab pearl brads (that were also in the candy from Camilla) to hold them in place.

Penny Black Production Line...

I have a fab group of crafting buddies, united by our love of Penny Black stamps, and for Easter I've made them each a little card...of course featuring a Penny Black stamp! As there were 15 to make, I kept them quite simple...using the same layout and colour scheme for each. As there are several challenges with an Easter theme at the moment, I'm going to enter these for: the Penny Black Saturday Challenge; the Creative Card Crew Challenge; the Stamp Something Challenge; the Our Creative Corner Challenge; and the Everybody Art Challenge.


I used the largest scalloped circle Nestie to make the card blank (using thinner card than normal, as it needed to cut through two layers at once), the next layer was embossed with the Cuttlebug 'Swiss Dots' folder, then topped with the image matted on to another scalloped circle. I've used three different pastel colours of card, in various different combinations, for a little variation.
I don't have any specific Easter stamps, but have a couple of Penny Blacks with bunnies and chickens on, so have used those. Here are a couple of close ups of the two different images:

This image is a section of the 'Bunny Friends' stamp (I masked off three of the bunnies before stamping, as there just wasn't room for them on the card! lol

This image is called 'Totally Excited'...I love the look on the chicken's face!

Hopefully, I've not spoiled the surprise...and that you've received your cards today...but you never know with Royal Mail! lol

ABC Challenge...My First DT Card!

I was so excited last week to be asked to be a guest designer for the ABC Challenge this week...and even more thrilled when I was asked to be a permanent member of the Design Team...I just hope that I can help inspire you to join in with the fun of the challenges each week!

On to this week's challenge....we've reached the letter 'I' which is for 'Inside'. I don't usually decorate the insides of my cards...just not enough time...but have gone the extra mile for this one to make it really special (it's for my Mum's birthday on Monday).

Here's the inside:

And the front :



I've kept the layout and colour scheme the same throughout, using BasicGrey papers from the 'Porcelain' and 'Sultry' pads. The images are by Penny Black ('Crossing Bridges' and 'Gifts for You'), the letters were cut using the 'Olivia' alphabet, the flowers are all from Poppicrafts, the dragonfly brad is by Dovecraft, and the sentiment stamp is by Hero Arts.

Don't forget to stop by the other DT members blogs to check out their fab creations!

Can't wait to see what you all come up with too!

ABC meets Inspirational Card Sketches

I've been meaning to join in with the Inspirational Card Sketches Challenge since it started a couple of months ago...and I nearly managed to this week, but didn't quite get this finished in time...oh well! I've combined the sketch with the theme of 'H - for Hearts' on the ABC Challenge. The image ('Musing Melinda', the sentiment and heart stamps, are all by Whiff of Joy. The paper is by K&Co ('Addison Swirl Collage'), the cardstock is by Core'dinations (one of the pieces has been embossed with the Cuttlebug 'D'Vine Swirls' folder, then sanded to reveal the core), the flowers are by Prima, and the raffia lace is from Hobbycraft.

I have some exciting news about the ABC Challenge...but you'll have to wait 'til tomorrow when I reveal my first ever guest designer card for the letter I...

Stamptacular Challenge #1

Another new challenge blog, Stamptacular Sunday Challenge, launched yesterday, and the theme of their first challenge is 'New Beginnings'. I've made a 'New Baby Boy' card with the Penny Black stamp 'In a Nutshell', mounted using my new deckled rectangle Nesties, which I also used to make the white border along the 'Swiss Dots' embossed piece of card. The paper is by Papermania ('Sweet Nothings') and the flowers are from Poppicrafts.

Stamp with Fun meets Whiff of Joy

There's a new challenge blog called Stamp with Fun that launched today with a fab sketch...my favourite two things combined...so how could I resist! I've used it to make a guys card, so I've stuck quite closely to the sketch...no extra 'frilly bits', although I did use a die-cut star in place of the flower. I've also inked the edges of everything (a bit more than I would usually do), and have sanded the embossed panel for a distressed look...so I'm also entering this card for this week's Whiff of Joy Challenge, where the theme is 'Let's get dirty!'

My main image is 'Henry - Celebrating Mouse', the single cupcake (from the 'Cupcakes' set) and the sentiment (from the 'Anytime' Messages' set) are both by Hero Arts, the papers are all by BasicGrey (from the 'Granola' and 'Archaic' pads), I used the Cuttlebug 'Spots & Dots' folder on the background, and the star was cut using a Nestie die.

Sketch Saturday meets Colour Create

I've combined the fab Sketch Saturday Challenge sketch with the gorgeous colour combination of 'Duck Egg Blue & Rose' of the Colour Create Challenge. I had to rotate the sketch to fit my image ('Blossom' by Leanne Ellis for Sugar Nellie), which I cut out using my new deckled rectangle Nesties. The paper is by K&Co (from the 'Amy Butler' pad), the flowers and ribbon are from Poppicrafts, and the raffia lace is from Hobbycraft.

Sketch & Stash Challenge #7

I've used the current Sketch & Stash Challenge sketch to make a Christmas card...just realised I hadn't made my Christmas card this week...it was also a perfect opportunity to use this stamp ('Welcome Party' by Penny Black) that I bought in the sales after Christmas...but hadn't used yet! As the papers are quite busy (from the 'Christmas Wishes' stack by DCWV), I've stuck quite strictly to the sketch....only adding a couple of sentiment stamps (both by Three Bugs in a Rug).

I can't believe I've been lucky again, and won some more candy...from Camilla...this time I get to share it with two of my lovely blogging buddies, Cathy & Pauline...I think I should go straight out and buy a lottery ticket! lol

Friday Sketchers meets the Secret Crafter

I've combined challenges...again...on this card, using the sketch from Friday Sketchers, and the 'Stripes' theme of the Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge. The image ('Bee Costume' by Penny Black) was sent to me by my lovely buddy Carol, and the sentiment stamp is by Stampendous. For the 'stripes', I've used a K&Co paper from the 'Roam' pad, and the 'Forest Branches' Cuttlebug embossing folder.