Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 101

Our latest challenge at Crafty Cardmakers is set by my team mate Jackie, and she wants to see your 'cute and furry' creations!

Our sponsors for this challenge are:

See the challenge blog for details.

Now, cute and furry isn't my style at all. In fact, I have problems with 'cute' in general. So, when I trawled through my digi images, I pretty much came up blank. Then I had a vague memory of a stamp I picked up as a freebie at a craft show at Olympia a few years ago, and I was off!

I stamped him using Versafine ink, and coloured with Derwent Coloursoft pencils. I cut the image using a Nestibility die, and edged with Distress Ink in Spun Sugar.

For the background, I used one of my most recent acquisitions. Last weekend I was at Alexandra Palace for the BSSBS and came across a company I hadn't noticed before called Inky Doodles. They've got a fabulous range of background stamps with one huge advantage over most of the ones I've seen: they repeat! And what's more, they've got several sets of stamps where there are two or three different patterns which can be combined to create multi-coloured backgrounds. I used one of these sets to create the backgroun above. I stamped it in Distress Ink in Spun Sugar and Tumbled Glass, adding some of the individual elements  supplied (hearts and filled squares) to finish the effect. For embellishment, I punched some flowers, edged with Distress Ink and finished with s blog of Stickles.

And, because I was on a roll, I went ahead and did a variation:

The background this time is another Inky doodles stamp, this time a single background, but again, repeated to fit the required size. I also overstamped using an Indigo Blue crackle stamp to give a hint of pink in the background, but that isn't obvious from the photo.

I hope you can join us this time.

I'd like to enter the top card into the following challenges:
4 Krafty Girlz where anything goes,
A.R.T.where anything goes,
Chocolate, Coffee and Cards where anything goes,
Sister Act where anything goes,
Crafting by Designs where anything goes,
Bearly Mine where anything goes,
2 Sisters where anything goes.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 183

This week at One Stitch at a Time, our challenge is to make something Autumn-themed. If you're like me, the cooler days (and nights) are very welcome, so thinking about Autumn is very welcome!

Our sponsors this week are:

See the challenge blog for more details.

This week, I worked with an image from Barbara Jensen called Butter Blue, which I decided to colour in Autumn shades instead of blue!

I coloured with Promarkers. The image is cut using a Spellbinders die, and the frame is one of the Fleur de Lis rectangles. The background paper is from the Papermania Persimmon collection, and it's faintly patterned although that doesn't show clearly in the photo. I edged the paper using a Martha Stewart border punch. and mounted everything onto a cream card.

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Lady Anne where they want 'things with wings',
Digi Makeover where anything goes,
Love to Create where they have a picture for inspiration,
Bearly Mine where anything goes,
Die Cutting Divas where they want Autumn colours,
Party Time Tuesdays where anything goes,
Oldie but a Goodie where they want dies and punches (both the die and punch used in this project are over a year old.)
A Creative Romance where they want winged creations,
2 Sisters where anything goes,
CMC where they want Autumn colours.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 182

It's another 'anything goes' challenge at One Stitch at a Time this week, so time to show us what you're up to!

We're sponsored by

See the challenge blog for details.

This week, I worked with a fabulous image from BBCakes called Clowning Around.

Isn't it  fabulous image? I coloured with Promarkers and cut it with a Spellbinders die, leaving her foot to come over the edge. The paper was designed in Photoshop Elements with this image and shape in mind - I seem to be in a harlequin frame of mind at the moment! I liked the simplicity of the design and decided to leave the card unembellished.

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Pink Elephant where they want digital image and/or paper
Divas by Design where anything goes,
I Love Promarkers where anything goes,
Lady Anne where anything goes,
Sisterhood of Crafters where they want digis,
Sister Act where anything goes,
Chocolate, Coffee, Cards where anything goes
A Creative Romance where they want us to use dies or punches.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 100

Wow! One hundred Crafty Cardmakers challenges, and while I haven't been around from the start, I've definitely done of lot of them!

This time, our sponsors are:

and

And our theme is 'things with wings'! So, easy!

One of my favourite artists when it comes to fantasy images is Sara Burrier, and she's got loads of images available as digi stamps from Crafts and Me, so I decided to use one I bought a while ago.

 I added the wording in Photoshop Elements before colouring with Promarkers and adding some sparkle to the angels' wings with some Glamour Dust. I rounded the corners before dusting the edges with Distress Ink. The next layer down was embossed using a Cuttlebug folder in my Big Shot Pro. It was an afterthought, but I felt that without that layer, all the greens seemed a bit heavy. The background was made using white card which I stamped and embossed with clear holographic powder. I then dusted with Distress Inks in various shades of green. The snowflakes were cut using some Spellbinders dies.

I hope you can join us this time.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Sentiments where anything goes,
Tuesday Throwdown where anything goes,
4 Krafty Girlz where anything goes,
A Creative Romance where they want us to use dies/punches,
Chocolate, Coffee and Cards where anything goes,
Digitally Sweet where anything goes,
Challenges 4 Everybody where anything goes,
That Craft Place where they want 'things with wings',

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 181

This week at One Stitch at a Time, our theme is Autumn. So, let's see those lovely Autumn colours or whatever else reminds you of this time of year.

Our sponsor this week is:

I got to work with an image from a new Stitchy Bear artist - Sentimental Susan, and it's called 'Owl Landing'.

I added the wording in Photoshop Elements before printing, die cutting, and colouring with Promarkers. The background was made using a Colourbox ink pad in Autumn Colours, and a couple of leaf stamps from my collection.

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Bearly Mine where they want Autumn colours,
Crafty Sentiments where anything goes,
Craft Room Challenge where they want trees or leaves. (Hope the leaf background is ok for this.)
LEJ where they want 'Autumn Colours',
Tuesday Throwdown where anything goes,

Creative Card Crew where they want 'things with wings',

4 Krafty Girlz where anything goes,

Craftin' Boutique where they want 'anything with an owl',

Sarah Hurley where the theme is 'Autumn Glow'.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 180

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're challenging you to use a digi. That's all! So, show us what you've been up to.

Our sponsor this week is:

See the challenge blog for prize details.

This week, Hazel chose a lovely image from BBCakes. Now, I'm surprised how much I like it, as it's a Steampunk themed set, but it's so sweet, I don't see how you could fail to like it. And, because Steampunk isn't my favourite style, I've gone very bright - no faded, vintage colours from me!

I did say it was bright! I've coloured the image with Promarkers, and added a little gold Glamour Dust to the cogs and things. In the background, I've done some embossing. First, I used a Sizzix folder, and then I used a new Creative Expressions? folder, which I added some cyan die to before embossing. The cogs are from a couple of dies from the Papermania Chronology set.

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Bearly Mine where anything goes,
Papertake Weekly where anything goes,
4 Krafty Girlz where anything goes,
Papercrafting Journey where anything goes,
Lady Anne's Stamp Challenge where anything goes,
Addicted to Stamps and More where anything goes,
Digitally Sweet where anything goes,
Sister Act where anything goes,
Catch the Bug where anything goes,
Totally Gorjuss where anything goes.

It's the Final Countdown ...

Or at least, it's the last day of the summer holiday. I've spent the last couple of days making a few Christmas cards while watching my SG1 DVDs. Of course, I know them so well, and I'm more of a listener than a watcher when it comes to following stories, so there isn't a problem with that.

 These first three use images from Chocolate Baroque. I actually did the baubles weeks ago, but didn't have enough Klingon to mount all the stamps, so I didn't do some of the others. I used Versamark ink and some Cosmic Shimmer embossing powder for the bauble. The paper in this one is from a magazine freebie, and the corner piece is from a Spellbinders die. It's one of the Gold collection. I don't know about anyone else, but I've found that cutting edges close to the debossing areas don't cut that well.

The larger image here was stamped using Distress Ink.

In this case, I used gold metallic embossing powder.

And then there are two that are rather different.

These both use Michael Powell images, and I've chosen rather more whimsical colours that I've used in the past so that they work with some Dovecraft papers.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 99

It's my turn to host the challenge at Crafty Cardmakers this time, and I've chosen to get away from the hot, sunny summer and turn to winter! (Hey, not everybody likes hot weather ...) So, I want to see your creations which include some Christmas ice and snow! Snowmen/women, icy landscapes, anything cold and wintery, as long as that's the main theme of the card. A single snowflake as an embellishment won't do!

Our sponsors this time are:

and

I've chosen an image from Lil Diva called Winterville, which is available here via the Stitchy Bear shop. It's a really pretty image and doesn't need a lot to make a lovely card.

And I've kept it fairly simple! I did a little colouring with Derwent Coloursoft pencils, then added quite a lot of Glamour Dust to give the snow some sparkle. The paper is from a pad that came as a magazine freebie, and I finished with a couple of die cut snowflakes courtesy of a Marianne Creatables die set and my trusty Big Shot Pro.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Creative Fingers where anything goes,
Sister Act where anything goes,

And, in some respects similar and in others very different, I've used a Michael Powell image which I stamped and coloured using Promarkers.

I do like his rather quirky style - which is unusual for me, as I tend to like straight lines and symmetry! The images are quite fun to colour too! In the background, I've made some paper using distress inks, stencils, ink dusters and rubber stamps. The holly sprig is from a Joanna Sheen Signature die.

I hope you can join us this time.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Cuttlebug Mania where they want die cuts,
Lady Anne's Challenge where they want us to use a stamp,

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 179

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we're challenging you to 'make one for Christmas'!

My image is from Floppy Latte and it's called Santa Sleigh Silhouette.

And, if fact, I've made not one, but four!

I coloured the image and added the text in Photoshop Elements before printing. Then, I kept things fairly simple - adding some backing paper (all magazine freebies), a border cut with a Memory Box die, some sticky ribbon and some die cut snowflakes (Cuttlebug die.) I added a little glamour dust to trail from the reindeer, although that's not obvious in the photo.

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter the top card into the following challenges:

ABC where they want 'no flowers',
Simon says Stamp where they want things that're dotty,
Bearly Mine where they want digital images or papers,
Cuttlebug Mania where they want die cuts,
Party Time Tuesdays where anything goes,
Creative Fingers where anything goes,
Sister Act where anything goes,