Sketch Saturday

Here is Sketch Saturday's sketch

And here is my cardI've used GCD Carnival papers and I punched out a decorative strip with a Martha Stewart punch to go along the botton. The image and sentiment are both from an Ethel and Murray unmounted sheet. They have been coloured in with promarkers.

If you would like to join in with the Sketch Saturday challenge you find all the details here

http://sketchsaturday.blogspot.com/

Sorry it's a quick post I'm off to catch a train in 10 minutes.

In Style - Thankful Thursday

In Style stamps have a challenge on a Thursday called Thankful Thursday. Each week a member of the DT put up a sketch to follow. This week it was the turn of Jennie.


Here's the sketch for this week

And here is my card and I remembered to put thank you on it this time!

The stamp I have used is from In Style stamps and she is called Pam. Wish I looked that glamorous when I am walking Milly!! It has been coloured with promarkers. The sentiment is from Snag 'em stamps. I have used Basic Grey Mellow papers for this one. My thinking is that you walk a dog in the park and the background paper is showing a girl in a park??

You don't have to use an In Style stamp but it's good if you do. I know not many Europeans have heard of In Style, but I'm trying to spread the word. :0) The only other rule is that you have to have the words "Thank you" or "Thanks a lot" something along those lines.

Cute Card Thursday & House Mouse Challenge

The challenge on the Cute Card Thursday blog this week is

Valentines

Here is my card

I've used a House Mouse image called "Pumpkin Pie" which I have coloured with promarkers. All the papers are from a Basic Grey Perhaps pad . I've layered the papers onto cs and stitched around the edges with a pink thread. The sentiment is also from House Mouse. The ribbon and bling heart are from my stash. I've also done a little paper piercing, I don't think you can see it very clearly. It is along the decorative strip and the right corner of the image.

We have two GD this week, Denise Lynn and Juliet. Both have made gorgeous cards as have the DT. There is a great prize this week of two Valentine stamps from Whimsy Stamps. To find out all the details just go here

http://cutecardthursday.blogspot.com/

I'd also like to put this card in for the House Mouse Monday Challenge as their theme is Paper Piercing.

Girlfriend Sharon

Well I told you in a few posts back that I had an Alota stamp named after me by Helene, well she arrived yesterday evening and here is a card I've made with her just this minute.

The image is called "Girlfriend Sharon" and is part of a range all named after the Design Team.

The bow is also from Alota and matches perfectly with Sharon's hat. I've paper pieced the images using the same papers as the backgrounds. They are all from Basic Grey and are called Stella Ruby. I then just added the coppery brads.

You can find all the girl stamps here http://www.alotarubberstamps.com/ars/viewGroup.asp?bid=1845967996&sub_category_id=395 along with all the other brand new stamps.

Papertake Weekly Challenge

There is a great sketch to follow over on the Papertake Weekly Challenge blog made by Dawny.

Here it isAnd here is my card

I have used three stamps from Alota stamps. The first is the cupcake, love this it is a really good size, just right to sit your "characters" on. The second is the sitting girl bug isn't she cute? And the third is the sentiment "Hey Cupcake". I've used promarkers on the images to colour them and then added some gloss pen and a little star pen. The papers are all from Papermania and are called Sweet Nothings. Just a little pink gingham ribbon and it was finished.

Tilda & Friends ATC Challenge

One to make you think a bit this week! The theme is

No Designer Paper

Here is my ATC, I'm happy with the background but I boo booed and put too much gesso on the stamped image so it doesn't show up to well now.


So first of all I used TH distress inks and smooched them on with the applicator, I then added some pearl. For the edges I ran a versamark pad around them and then dipped them into triple embossing powder mixed with some denim ink. Heated it up and it was done. The image is a pink cat studio stamp, I have coloured it with promarkers. It looked a bit bright for the background so I sponged some old paper ink onto it and then made the mistake!! I stippled some gesso over it to try and blend it in with the background but think I got too much on the brush. I then went around the edges with a gold pen.

We have a new GD this week , Beth with her little card blog. You can see all the details for the challenge here

http://tildaandfriends.blogspot.com/

A Spoon Full Of Sugar

This week's theme on the A Spoon Full Of Sugar challenge blog is

Love is in the air

And here is my card

I've used papers and distressed them with some sandpaper. The decorative strip has been made with a Martha Stewart punch. The chocolate box image is by Alota stamps and is called Chocolate Candy Box. It's quite a big stamp but great to colour. I've used promarkers but for the word I have used a sakura red gold pen. The sentiment is also from Alota. To decorate I used a silver heart charm , ribbon and some blooms from my stash.

If you would like to join in then you can find all the details here

http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/

We also have a guest designer too, it's Marte. She has made a beautiful card.

There is a great prize this week of of the gorgeous Greeting Farm Stamp "Princess Anya" which has been kindly donated by Bryony owner of Silly Monkey Crafts.

In Style Method Monday Challenge

The Method Monday tutorial challenge over on the In Style stamps blog this week is how to make a Square Coat Card.
Maria has set this challenge and there is a great tutorial on her blog with pics that is super easy to follow.

So here is my card with it's "coat" closed. The strip in the middle is held together by a tied ribbon.
And here is my "coat" open, showing the main card inside.

I have used an In Style stamp called Jasmine and coloured her in with promarkers. She has then been layered onto two layers of cs. I'm sorry but I haven't a clue who the papers are by, they were just sitting in my stash paper box. The "BABY" has been cut out with the same papers and I used the Plantin Schoolbook cartridge for the Cricut to cut them. The top and bottom strip has been punched with a Martha Stewart punch, as has the strip on the coat. Then I've just added the ribbon and gems.
Really easy but effective.

To play along, post a comment on the InStyle posting of this tutorial with the link to the picture of your card from your blog site, SCS photo, PCP photo, or photo album. If you're uploading your card at Paper Craft Planet, tag it with "InStyle" or "ISSMM1-26"

You don't have to use an In Style stamp, just use whatever you have already. Have fun!

New Alota Stamps - Pretty Essentials Frames

Here are two brand new releases from Alota stamps called "Pretty Essentials Frames". The top one is "Pretty Circle Essentials" and the bottom one is "Pretty Oval Essentials".

The great thing about them is that they fit the large nestabilitie sets. How cool is that?

Keep an eye out I'll be showing them on my blog soon. :0)

I think I have sussed out something about my blog. Before when you clicked on my pics for a better look nothing happened. As from the last post you can now click on the pic and it will enlarge it for you. So you can see all my mistakes now!! ;0)

Friday Sketchers

I was quick off the mark with this challenge!! So here is the sketch for the Friday Sketchers challenge blog.

I managed to make a masculine card too, so that was a bonus. Here is my take on the sketch
First of all I layered the card with a piece of burgundy cs. I then tore a piece of the DP to fit the card and rolled some of the edges over. I then sponge inked all around the edges with a distress ink. Next I added the buckle and ribbon, I had to sew the ribbon onto the buckle so I covered the stitching with some more ink. I then stamped out the image and sentiment from an Ethel and Murray set. So much fun these stamps. I clear embossed them too and then coloured the image with promarkers going over his glasses with a glaze pen. The image was then layered onto oval cs with 3D pads. The sentiment was also layered onto cs but I went over it with distess ink. I adhered these to the card. I then used a Quickutz flourish die to cut out the swirls with the DP. They looked too bright for the card so I went over these too with the ink. Lastly I put in the two large eyelets.

Image & Sentiment stamps: Ethel and Murray unmounted sheet.

Cardstock: Bazill

Papers: Sassafras - Life is beautiful

Die: Quickutz Flourish

Eyelets, buckle, ribbon etc: From stash

You can find the Friday Sketchers challenge blog here

http://fridaysketchersblog.blogspot.com/

Just for fun

I made this card just for fun, I always seem to be making things for challenges or DT work so I thought I'd make this one just because I like using the images so much.

The images and sentiment are from an Ethel and Murray unmounted sheet set. I stamped them with black stazon and then clear embossed them. I've then coloured them with promarkers. For the sentiment layer I sponge inked all over it with a brown ink. The papers are from 3 Bugs in a rug and they are called Rhapsody. I then just added the gold brads to each of the corners.

Friday Sketchers

This week on the Friday Sketchers blog it was Mumur's turn to create a sketch and here it is

And here is my take on the sketch

All the papers I have used are from a Stampin Up set called Wintergreen. The decorative strip across the middle has been punched with a Martha Stewart punch and the flourishes have been cut with a Quickutz flourish die. The image and sentiment are from an Ethel and Murray unmounted set. They are fab and there are some great sentiments. She has been coloured with promarkers and also I've highlighted some areas with a clear pen. The sentiment has been stamped with black stazon and then clear embossed.

Cute Card Thursday

The theme on the Cute Card Thursday Challenge blog this week is

Make a Scene

Here is my card
I have used images from Alota stamps. The background wall is called Wall/Window. The wagon and cats are from a set called Wagon/Wheelbarrow. I stamped out the kittens and then masked them to stamp the wagon so it looked like they were sitting in the wagon. They have all been coloured with promarkers, I used a little ink for the sky next to the wall. The sentiment is also from the wagon/wheelbarrow set. I layered that onto tag shapes. For the strips on the left I cut out two word window punch shapes and stuck them together for each strip. I then cut out the word window punch shape in contrasting paper from a Martha Stewart punch border and then added a little gem to each. The papers are from a school pad called Schooled from GCD studios.

If you would like to "make a scene" card for the Cute Card Thursday Challenge you can find all the details here

http://cutecardthursday.blogspot.com/

There is a great prize again this week for one lucky random winner.

For this week's theme on the Tilda & Friends ATC Challenge we have a recipe of

one, two & three.

1 button, 2 ribbons and 3 flowers

So with that in mind I created this ATC


First of all I cut a piece of light green cs to the size of an ATC. I then cut a piece of white card a little smaller and embossed the background onto it using a cuttlebug folder. To make the pattern stand out I inked over it with a sponge. The image has been coloured with promarkers. I then added one of my ribbons to the bottom of the ATC. I adhered the image with 3D pads and added the little gems. Now the image already has 2 flowers on it so I just added the other bloom to make the three up. I threaded a thin cream ribbon through the button and then I had completed the recipe.

Remember you can now use anything on your ATC so why not have a go this week? You can find all the details here

http://tildaandfriends.blogspot.com/

A Spoon Full Of Sugar

This week's theme on the A Spoon Full Of Sugar challenge blog is

Oh Baby

Our Challenge this week is to create a card for a New Baby, Mum-to-be, New Mum or Pre-schooler.

Here is my card

I've used a Dottie & George download which is available from Charmed Cards and Crafts. I've coloured them in with promarkers and a white highlighter pen. All the papers far from Basic Grey and are from the Oh Baby! collection. The lilac side strip has been punched with a Martha Stewart punch. All the embellies are from my stash. I have just threaded through a single strand of fibre through the button holes and then knotted it.

We have a Guest Designer this week too. It's Debbie! I always admire her work she has some fabulous pieces on her blog and her colouring is always perfectly done. Please go and have a look at her blog , you won't be disappointed.

The other DT members have made some gorgeous cards too, if you would like to see them and find all the details for joining in with the challenge , just go here

http://aspoonfullofsugarchallenge.blogspot.com/

2 Sketches 4 You

Just a quick one as I nearly missed the deadline for 2 Sketches 4 You. In fact I think I have missed it, oh well.

Here's the sketch

Here's my cardI've used a Worldwide Printable Stamp from the Bee my Valentine set. I've coloured it with promarkers. All the papers and embellies are from Cosmo Cricket.

Origami Box

I thought I'd have a go at one of these Origami boxes as I'd seen some on US blogs. They looked really lovely. They look hard to make but once I'd had a practice on some waste paper and uttered a few curses I got the idea. The actual box needs no glue but the lid needs a little to apply the DP to the board.

Here is a view of the top of the box.

Here is a side view.

And here is a view of the box opened.



I used a pink Bazill card for the box , it was nice and thick. I then used Collage Paper - Sugar Plum for the lid covering. The DP was double sided so I used the reverse side to make two decorative strips to put along the top and bottom of the box lid. I punched these using a Martha Stewart punch. The image is from a brand new Alota set called "Wagon, Wheelbarrow". It's a gorgeous set and really versatile. I've used two of the stamps, the wheelbarrow and then placed the flower pot stamp on top. The little bug is a individual stamp also from Alota. I have coloured them with promarkers adn a little sakura star. I sponge inked around the image with a pink chalk ink. The image was layered up and I added the photo corners with the same paper. To close the box I put two eyelets onto the box, one on the lid and one on the side of the box at the front. I then threaded the green ribbon through and tied a tight bow. To finish off I added layered blooms with a little gem.
I would really like to make a few more of these , they are quite easy to make but I think they look really pretty. Mine will be used for some new stamps that I'm waiting on, they are on an unmounted sheet so I 'll cut them up and keep them in this box.

Alota Stamps Sketch Challenge

On the Paper Craft Planet, Alota Rubber Stamps forum there is an Alota stamp sketch challenge. This time it was Helene who created the sketch. I've turned the sketch 90 degrees so I could fit my embellies in without spoiling the image. Here's my card

I've used two Alota images, Country for the background and Rainy Days Friends Bugs for the foreground. They've both been coloured with promarkers with a little star and gloss sakura pens. The sentiment is also from Alota.The papers are from Stampin Up and are called Rainbow Sherbet. Everything else is from my stash.
If you would like to have a go at the sketch and there is a prize up for grabs then all the details are here

http://www.papercraftplanet.com/group/alotarubberstamps/forum/topics/alota-rubber-stamps-sketch

Made me smile

I woke up this morning pretty grumpy I have to admit, went off to school with the kids, came home had a cup of coffee and had a look on the Alota website. I was just having a nosey at the new stamps when I saw that Helene had named a stamp after me!!!! How neat is that. The other girls on the DT also have their own stamp. Thanks Helene, that set me up for the day. xx

If you would like to see all the other new stamps , you can find them here

http://www.alotarubberstamps.com/ars/viewGroup.asp?bid=691228018&sub_category_id=395