Stampers Blog

My first challenge this year!

2011-02-27T00:07:00.007Z

I was inspired to enter a blog challenge after seeing a sketch on a blog that I subscribe to with email updates. The sketch was for Papertake Weekly Challenge and was this:

I loved the sketch as it was simple with nice clean lines so I set to work and came up with this:

The image I used is a beautiful rubber stamp from Lili Of The Valley and I coloured her with Polycolour pencils. The background papers were in a download kit from Nitwit Collections and the sentiment and "Word Window" punch are from Stampin' Up! The punched border was made with a Martha Stewart border punch called Eyelet Lace.

I really enjoyed the challenge and being in time to enter it too!

Thanks for dropping by, Claire.

It's been sooooo long...

2011-02-26T23:42:00.002Z

It's been so long since I updated my blog. It's partly because of my M.E./CFS as I live in two-hour time blocks between rests and when I'm feeling really shattered, this is too much effort! It's also partly because I wasn't entering any challenges because of a lack of time and therefore I didn't feel as if anybody would come to my blog so there was little point.

Anyway, I have recently started to make cards for my childrens special school. They are sold in the staff room and all of the money goes to the "Friends of" charity that pays for trips, toys and equipment etc. I find it a real honour that people find my cards good enough to buy and am thrilled when I need to make more to stock-up the box!

I have got lots of cards to update my blog with so they will start to filter through soon I hope!

Thank you for visiting my blog.
Claire
x

Another birthday...

2010-05-31T18:37:00.006+01:00

I'm still not getting any free time to make cards for fun yet and still haven't inked up my new Magnolia stamps yet, but I did have to make time to make this birthday card a few days ago:

For this card I followed a sketch from the Papertake Weekly Challenge blog:

As the image was quite large, I used an 8" x 8" card blank. The image is a House Mouse stamp that I bought from the Big Stamp Show at Alexandra Palace, it was coloured in with Lyra Polycolour Pencils. The papers are all from Pink Petticoat and I printed them all in the same colour. The blue circles are Card Candy from Craftwork Cards, as is the sentiment.

Lili of the valley challenge!

2010-05-21T00:16:00.007+01:00

I am back with another card as it was my nieces birthday this week. I bought the Lili of the Valley stamp of a horse and girl especially for her card as she loves horses. I decided to follow the sketch of the Lili of the Valley challenge blog to make the card as it saved me having to plan it first! I haven't entered a challenge for a while so it's nice to get the chance.

The stamp is from Lili of the Valley and it was coloured in with Promarkers. Unfortunately the sketch had an oval image but I wasn't able to get this image into an oval so I hope the rectangle will be okay! I mounted the image onto pink pearlised card cut with a scallop rectangle Nestabilities die. The patterned papers are from a 6"x6" Making Memories pad and the scalloped border was cut with an X-Cut Border Punch. The flowers are all Prima with a small yellow brad in the middle and the pink dots are Craftwork Cards Card Candy.

Finally, here is the sketch I (mostly) followed:

I do have an excuse...!

2010-05-19T18:14:00.007+01:00

I am so sorry (again) that it has been far too long since I updated my blog. I have really missed my craft things in the last few weeks and I have several new Magnolia stamps to play with too! I shall share my excuse with you in a minute, but first I have one more card to share from April.

I made this card for my Mum and Dads Anniversary. It was a bit rushed so I kept it quite simple. The stamped image is a Penny Black rubber stamp called Good Cheer that I bought from The Glitter Pot. I coloured the image with Lyra Pencils and blended the pencil with Zest-it. The lilac and blue cardstock mats are Core'dinations card, the hearts edge was made by a Martha Stewart border punch called Valentine Lace, and the purple dots in the corners are Craftwork Cards Card Candy. The patterned paper is unknown I'm afraid as it came with a scrapbook kit. Finally, the sentiment stamp is also a Penny Black one.

Now, here is my reason for being so busy lately...

Meet Harry, our 11 week old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Puppy! He is wonderful but it's like having a toddler, we have to watch what he's up to all of the time! This photo is him eating grass in the garden, usually he tries to eat stones in the garden or dirt. I am from a family of cat lovers so owning a dog is a new experience for me. We looked into different breeds of dogs that could be a companion for our children and were amazed once we found out about Cavaliers, they are so friendly and were bred to be companion dogs so they are perfect!

"Dad" Birthday Card

2010-04-18T23:37:00.006+01:00

Two weeks ago it was my Dads birthday and I hadn't made the card in advance so I had to make it on the day. There was a bit of pressure as I had to make it by a certain time but I soon decided on the Chef and Cake stamps and they were luckily easy to colour quickly so it wasn't too bad in the end. When I look at the card, I feel as if it's missing something, but then again, my Dad isn't really into pretty things so I couldn't add flowers or too many gems!

The stamps are Magnolia Chef Edwin and Cake. I stamped them and coloured them with Promarkers before cutting them out. I mounted them with foam tape to a background cut with a Nestabilities die, which I coloured with a blue distress ink pad. The harlequin background is a piece of blue Core'dinations Whitewash cardstock which I embossed with a Sizzix Texturz Plate then sanded to reveal the colour. The mat of blue cardstock under it is Core'dinations. The letters that spell "dad" were cut with a Sizzix Embosslits Pink Lemonade Alphabet die and the sentiment is a Craftwork Cards message. Finally, the glitter dots are from a Papermania pack.

Boys Football Card

2010-04-08T17:15:00.005+01:00

Finally for the cards I made in March is one for my nephew who loves football:

I used a 6x6" square card and used an Elzybells rubber stamp for the footballer, which I coloured in with Copics. I matted the image onto red and black pearlised paper which I embossed with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. I used a Martha Stewart rings border punch to cut a decorative strip for the middle of the card, which I wrapped striped ribbon around. I used a football sheet of 12x12" paper (cut to size!) for the background but this is quite old so I don't know who made it! I then finished the card with an "8" candle cut with a Quickutz Die, corners cut with an EK Success punch and a Craftwork Cards "Oh my Words" Sentiment.

I'm back with a catch-up for March!

2010-04-08T11:42:00.006+01:00

I have been a bad blogger, sorry! March flew by quickly, the I had an operation last week so have been recovering. Anyway, I thought I would post the cards that I made in March first to catch up...

It's not a great photo I'm afraid but it's the only one I took. I made some cards for the Do-Crafts cards for Cancer Research UK. I tried to make fairly quick and simple cards as they are being sold for £1 so I didn't want to use very expensive embellishments. On the pink card I used a Penny Black rubber stamp and a Craftwork Cards sentiment. On the lilac card I used an Anya stamp from The Greeting Farm and a Craftwork Cards sentiment for speed.

These two cards were also put into the Do-Crafts charity bags and taken to my local Cancer Research shop. The brown squares card was from a Papermania boxed set of cards. I used a Funstamps rubber stamp for the bear and coloured it in with Copics and the sentiment was a rubber stamp too. On the blue card, the image is from an Elzybells rubber stamp, coloured with Koh-i-noor pencils, and the border is cut with a Martha Stewart Deep Edger Punch.

Mothers Day Card

2010-04-08T11:27:00.009+01:00

For the second part of the March catch-up, here is the Mothers Day card I made for my Mum:

I started off with a large 8" x 8" square card from Craftwork Cards. The image is a Lili of the Valley rubber stamp, it was coloured with Lyra Polycolour Pencils and was cut with an Oval Nestabilities Die. I then cut a mat for it with a Scalloped Oval Nestabilities Die. The pattered paper is from the Forever Friends Pink Parfait pad and the card is Bazzill Dotted Swiss and textured. The pearls are Prima e.line and the flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts (they were white and I coloured them to match the card).

What a week!

2010-02-28T12:24:00.003Z

Again it feels like I've neglected my blog but I just haven't had the time to craft! We had a hectic week as we had a Tribunal this week against the education department to get a place for our son at a special school in another county. It went really well and we won!

I couldn't even get near my workspace as it was too untidy but last night I spent a few hours re-organising my craft cupboard so everything would fit in and be easy to grab too. So now I should be able to squeeze in a bit more craft time in between sorting out the house and changing furniture!

Anyway, to give me a head-start, here is a card that I made last week:

The card is a 5x5" size and had to be made as once I mounted this cute stamp, I had to stamp it and colour in the image! The image is C.C. Designs Swiss Pixie called "Miss Rosalie with Roses" from Quixotic Paperie. I coloured it in with Promarkers which is a change for me and added some stickles glitter glue to the roses which doesn't really show here. I used a Martha Stewart edger punch called Hydrangeas to edge the card and brushed a little Distress Ink on the sides. The sentiment stamped on the tag is from Whimsy Stamps, also from Quixotic Paperie.

Valentines Bag

2010-02-17T20:40:00.003Z

I am a bit late for this post, I made a Valentines Bag a week ago for the Elzybells challenge to create a Valentines treat/gift but I have been neglecting my blog a bit as there's still so much to do in our new home!

I made the bag using two nestabilities scalloped hearts. I cut a strip of card and scored a line along each side before folding it into a v-shape. I then added double sided tape along the scored edges and attached the hearts. I then used my Martha Stewart punch to make the handle and finally cut a Nestabilities heart for the front of the bag.

I used all Elzybells stamps on this; the Mini Tags clear set for the tag and sentiment; the heart was from the Hey Cupcake clear set; and the flowers are the very cute Mini Daisy Trio.

Valentines!

2010-02-07T19:32:00.009Z

I made this card yesterday but added a touch more colour to the image today as it looked a bit lost on such a bright card! It is a Valentines card, but the "Happy Valentines Day" sentiment is on the inside as I had to use the sentiment on the front that worked well with the image.

The Stamps are all Penny Black. The main image is from a new Penny Black clear set called "Piece of My Heart" from The Glitter Pot and is coloured in with Lyra Polycolour Pencils. I used a 6x6" card and used a mat of black smooth cardstock with some Karen Foster "My Heart" 12x12" paper from Whoops a Daisy. I then used some more Bazzill 12x12" smooth card in red and black which was just 35p, again from my local craft shop called Whoops a daisy.

The mat for the image was cut with a circle Nellies Multi-Frame Die and the heart borders were cut with a Martha Stewart Valentine Lace Border Punch. I added Prima e.line pearls in red and black and a heart pin from my blog friend Jane (thank you Jane!) that is threaded through hearts which are cut with a Martha Stewart Scalloped Heart Punch.

This card hopefully qualifies for two blog challenges this week (I am on a roll for me!!)... First of all, the challenge this week on Penny Black Saturday Challenge is to use "Pins and Pearls". Secondly, on the Lily of the Valley Challenge Blog, the theme is Valentines, unfortunately I didn't own a LOTV stamp that was suitable for my husbands Valentines card, but luckily it's not essential.

Whiff of Joy Baby Love

2010-02-05T18:43:00.007Z

Here is the card I made yesterday. This week on the Whiff of Joy Challenge Blog the theme is "Love" and I thought this stamp shows so much motherly love (the most important kind!), hopefully it will still count so I can enter.

The image is from a Whiff of Joy Stamp called Willow Holding Baby. I think the image is so pretty and elegant. I coloured the image in with Copics and mounted it onto a pink mat from a Making Memories 6x6" pad that co-ordinates with the background. I cut a lattice border with a Martha Stewart String Lattice Edger Punch and added some Making Memories ribbon. Finally I added some Prima Flowers called Painterly Petals and some Prima e.line pearls.

Fairy Happy Birthday!

2010-02-02T23:42:00.003Z

After making the monochrome card, I went for a cute one. The stamped fairy is a stamp by The Greeting Farm called Fairy Chloe. I cut it out with a Circle Nestabilities die and mounted it onto lilac card cut with a Scalloped Circle Nestabilities Die. The background papers are from a Making Memories 6x6" pad, the gemstones are from The Hobby House and the sentiment is from a Whiff of Joy set called Fairy Useful Sayings.

Now I'm up to date with last weeks cards, I will have to take a photo of the card I made yesterday and bring my blog right up to date. Maybe I'll try and squeeze in another card tonight too!

Monochrome

2010-02-02T23:30:00.008Z

I received my order of some new Quickutz Dies recently so I decided to try out a card with the Ballerina. I didn't have anyone specific in mind for this die but I'd liked it for ages so thought I should make a card with it soon to warrant the purchase!

I cut it out on some Papermania adhesive velvet to make the silhouette so then went with a monochrome theme. I used a 6x6" card and some Pink Petticoat papers (so it didn't look too messy, I actually lined up the swirls on the black and white papers). I then added Prima pearls and gems, black cord, 2 white bows (thank you Jane!), and a Craftwork Cards sentiment.

New Baby Card

2010-02-02T23:21:00.003Z

First of all, I have a baby card to share with you. Our neighbours had a baby girl almost two weeks ago and this is the card I made for them. Sorry I'm so late posting it!

I used a Forever Friends baby stamp, I think this was coloured with Derwent Coloursoft pencils (I cheated and used one from my box of images coloured in!). I mounted it onto Craftwork Cards pearlescent papers which are then on a 6x6" card with pink pearlescent paper with a panel of DCWV baby cardstock and a border of pink cardstock cut with a Fiskars "Threading Water" border punch. I finished the card with four pink pearls on the image and three flowers in the corner which were from a cheap pack in The Range with a couple of leaves punched with an EK Success punch.

Time for a catch-up!

2010-01-24T13:09:00.011Z

It's been far too long since my last post, I am so sorry! We moved house 10 days before Christmas and there has been so much to do and being so busy really took it's toll on my M.E. and I've been exhausted. Anyway, a few days ago I finally got round to making my first card in our new house and it was so good to be back!

First of all though, it's time for a catch-up with the Christmas cards, so here goes...

First of all, this is the Christmas card I made for my husband. I loved this stamp so I bought it especially for this card. I might just have to use it for several years to make it worthwhile though!! The image is a Magnolia stamp and I bought the matching Magnolia Mistletoe paper to go with it. I used an A5 card blank as I like this size and a little green glitter paper to break up the background. The image was coloured with Lyra pencils and I used a Penny Black "Merry Christmas" stamp for the sentiment. The flowers are Prima flowers and the hearts border was made with a Martha Stewart "Valentine Lace" edger punch.

Next, I made this Christmas card for my daughter. She loves lilac and sparkly things so it had to have glitter card and lots of lilac. The image is an Elzybells rubber stamp that has been coloured in with Copics. I went around it with a blue chalk pencil afterwards. The sentiment is also from Elzybells. The tree border along the bottom is white glitter paper cut with an EK Success slim edger border punch.

Finally,this card I made for my son at Christmas. The image is from a Lili Of The Valley rubber stamp. I *Love* this stamp! It had sold out when I first tried to buy it so I was really pleased to get it in the end. I coloured it with my Lyra pencils and blended it with Zest-It which has now replaced my Sansodor as I found that the bottle can get a bit messy. The green paper was from a Papermania pack I bought the year before, it's so handy as I feel that I don't need a sentiment stamp when using that. I felt that the card turned out a bit too grown-up but in the end didn't have time to make a new one from scratch so had to give it to my son.

2009-11-22T15:26:00.005Z

I found out four days ago that we are moving house in three weeks time! Plus on top of that the whole house needs re-decorating and carpeting before we move in. Therefore I have been flat out trying to organise things and today I'm concentrating on Christmas! I need to get all my Christmas cards done in the next few days and get presents wrapped then packed for moving. I made these cards a few days ago:

For this card I used the Eskimo and wording stamps from Elzybells. I coloured the Eskimo image with Lyra Polycolour Pencils. The papers are from a Papermania 8x8" paper pack from last year and the snowflakes were punched with a Martha Stewart punch.

For this card, I used a Whiff Of Joy stamp of Henry Mouse, coloured with Copics. The wording stamp is Magnolia. The papers are from Daisy & Dandelion.

This stamp is from Elzybells and is so sweet! I coloured her with Copics ans used a blue chalk pencil around her to add a bit of sky. I added some Snowflakes punched from Glitter Card using a Martha Stewart Punch and then for speed, used a die-cut greeting from a Daisy & Dandelion paper pack.

November ATC's

2009-11-21T23:03:00.003Z

The Theme for Novembers ATC swap on Addicted to ATC's is "Spooky". I did mine in good time this month while I could still be in the mood for Halloween before tackling my Christmas cards!

I used the Elzybells clear halloween stamp set for the vampire, bats and sentiment. The spiders web was a Magnolia stamp which I then added stickles glitter glue to. The image was coloured in with Lyra Polycolour pencils and I used chalk around it to darken the background.

October ATC's

2009-11-21T12:48:00.003Z

These are the ATC's I made for the Addicted to ATC's October Swap. The theme was "Harvest" so I went for an image from The Greetings Farm which I thought could be used as a basket of harvested vegetables.

The background paper was from a 6x6" pack of MME Bloom & Grow. The wheat was from a Jolee's By You pack and the stamp was The Greetings Farm. I used a paper punch for the leaves and drew the pumpkins on card before cutting them out.

Two Awards!

2009-11-16T19:42:00.007Z

I feel so bad, three weeks ago, the lovely Jane left me an award on her blog and I kept forgetting to put it on my blog, sorry Jane. I was so pleased too as it's my first. So long overdue, here it is:

I now have to write 5 things about myself and then pass it on to 5 more people so that we are spreading the smiles.

1 - I am a chocoholic (anything Cadburys is great and Hotel Chocolat "Salted Caramel Puddles" are heavenly)

2 - I am getting a BigShot Express for Christmas!!

3 - I have been a surrogate mum by carrying my friends babies

4 - I *love* the band Keane and have met two of the members of the band!

5 - My two children are home educated at the moment

Phew! That was hard! Now, I have been lucky enough to get two awards, so I will put the 'Famous Five' after the next award so you can pick which award you would like...

I received this award from Paul last week and have been a bit slow to update my blog. Thank you for the award Paul, it is very kind of you seeing as you must visit lots of blogs!

The award comes with a few with rules, which are:
Pass this award on to five people, post on their blog to let them know you left this award, and then answer a list of questions in ONE word.

1. Where is your cell phone? Handbag
2. Your hair? Brown
3. Your mother? Babysitting (not for me)
4. Your father? Busy
5. Your favorite food? Chocolate
6. Your dream last night? Ants!
7. Your favorite drink? Diet Coke
8. Your dream/goal? Happiness
9. What room are you in? Lounge
10. Your hobby? Craft
11. Your fear? (large) Spiders
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Healthy
13. Where were you last night? Home
14. Something that you aren't? Selfish
15. Muffins? Yum!
16. Wish list item? Ferrari (for my son!)
17. Where did you grow up? Ipswich
18. Last thing you did? Ate dinner
19. What are you wearing? Jeans
20. Your TV? Corrie
21. Your Pets? Cute
22. Friends? Few
23. Your life? Stressful
24. Your mood? Tired
25. Missing Someone? Keane!
26. Vehicle? Mazda
27. Something you're not wearing? Slippers
28. Your favorite store? The Glitter Pot
29. Your favorite colour? Purple
30. When was the last time you laughed? Yesterday
31. Last time you cried? Unsure
32. Your best friend? Husband
33. One place that I go to over and over? Sainsburys!
34. Facebook? No
35. Favorite place to eat? Home

Now for the hard bit! I have to pass this on to five people. Well, I should go with my favourite blogs; Jane, Paul, Dawny P, Marcea, and Bev.

It's funny as I get email updates of blog posts from Dawny P, Marcea and Bev so I haven't actually been on their blogs for a while, so this is a good excuse for me to post a comment to tell them how good they are!

Boys Birthday Card..

2009-11-09T16:48:00.003Z

I was forced into cardmaking a few days ago (thank goodness!) to make a card for my nephews 7th birthday. He likes football so I used an Elzybells Stamp as I don't have many boy-ish stamps!

This stamp is very handy as it's good for young or old. I also used the football stamp as an embellishment as I didn't think I'd be able to get away with ribbon, gems or pearls! I used a 6x6" card and the paper was Karen Foster Designs called "Soccer Ball Collage". I used an EK Success punch to break up the background and a Personal Impressions clear stamp for the sentiment.

A bit of a late post...

2009-11-09T16:35:00.004Z

I'm sorry I am being a bit of a bad blogger, I've been pretty exhausted so haven't had much time for crafting or blogging. This card I made a few weeks ago but had forgotten to put it on my blog!

The stamp is from Magnolia and is called "Tilda with Lilacs" and was coloured it in with Lyra pencils. The backing paper was from Pink Petticoat called washed damask. The punch used at the side is from Martha Stewart and called Doily Lace. I then used some small Pearls bought from Quixotic Paperie on the main image and in the centre of the punched flowers. The sentiment is a Craftwork Cards "Oh My Words" Birthday Circle.

Pink Piggy Blog Candy!

2009-10-30T18:11:00.002Z

Dawny P's Blog "Pink Piggy" has some amazing blog candy up for grabs that even includes a Martha Stewart Punch, stamps and loads of embellishments. You can find the Pink Piggy blog here http://pinkpiggywiggy.blogspot.com/2009/10/blog-candy-4u-x.html Just follow the instructions to be in with a chance of winning!

Twins 1st Birthday Cards

2009-10-24T20:57:00.005+01:00

Today I had to make 1st Birthday cards for twins, a boy and a girl. I was stuck at first and wasted £12.99 on a Giraffe die as I thought I could use a giraffe but I then thought it would be too plain. I went through my stamps and found two Elzybells stamps that I thought would be perfect as they both had two bears on which could each resemble the twins.

I used large 8"x8" square cards so I had lots of room as the images are quite big. Both images are from Elzybells and have been coloured with Lyra Rembrandt Polycolour Pencils, blended with Sansodor. The wording was done on the computer so I could personalise it. The patterned cardstock is DCWV from an 8x8" glittered mat stack. I used a Quickutz Die for the photo corners on the top card and added Papermania gems/dots to the cards too.

Copic Colour Challenge Week 35

2009-10-20T16:35:00.004+01:00

Finally, I have made another card to take part in a blog challenge!

The colours for this week on the Copic Colour Challenge blog were; G02 Spectrum Green, BG05 Holiday Blue, and, R27 Cadmium Red. Here is my entry:

I used a Whiff of Joy stamp for the image (I tried a couple of images before picking one that didn't require too many colours!). I used Core'dinations cardstock from a 6"x6" pack and cut the frame with a Nestabilities die. The gems and brad are from Papermania and the flower was a RAK from Jane, my loyal follower! (Thank you Jane!)

Three charity cards

2009-10-18T23:25:00.004+01:00

Sorry it has been so long since I posted anything on my blog. I have been really busy but have made a few cards so I just need to get round to uploading the photos.

A couple of weeks ago I made some cards to take to take to my local hospital as they have a charity table in the physio department raising money for the local hospice. I took them on the Wednesday when I had an appointment and when I went back last Wednesday, the bottom two had sold which I was really pleased about. Maybe the Nurse one didn't sell as everyone who goes there is ill rather than visiting ill people!

I will keep this brief as there are three cards! They are all on small 5" square cards and I tried to keep them quite simple. The Nurse is a stamp from The Greeting Farm called Nurse Anya. I also used a paper printed from Pink Petticoat. The bear on the bottom two is from Elzybells. On the green and pink card, the paper is from Papermania and the border punch is Fiskars Apron Lace. On the white and purple card, the background cardstock is DCWV and the border punch used was Martha Stewart Valentines Lace.

Lets hope tomorrow brings more time to update my blog!

Copic Colour Challenge 33

2009-10-06T17:05:00.006+01:00

I'm on a roll! This time I challenged myself to take part in the Copic Colour Challenge. The challenge is to make a card with the colour combo of markers G02, Y11, and V15. I tried a couple of images until I settled on this one.

The image is a Whiff of Joy one, coloured in with Copics G05, Y11, and V15 (and Raw Silk for the skin tone). The card is from a 6x6" Core'dinations pack, the papers are from a PaperMania 6x6" pad and the "get well soon" stamp is from Hero Arts. The dots are Craftwork Cards "Card Candy". I was tempted to add gems to the corners of the card with the image on but didn't want to over-do it, especially as they wouldn't match the card candy.

Anyone for Anya Challenge!

2009-09-29T17:27:00.008+01:00

I am still a bit of a beginner when it comes to blogging. I don't do a lot of blog-hopping or entering competitions, but I do subscribe by email to some. One of the blogs I get updates from is Marceas blog http://marceascraftingcorner.blogspot.com/ as I really love her work. Yesterday I followed Marceas link to the Anyone for Anya challenge blog (here: http://anyoneforanya.blogspot.com/) and this week the challenge is a sketch so I decided to make sure I got round to doing it for a change! I have had this intention before so to save me forgetting, I made it yesterday afternoon. This is the card sketch:

This is my card:

I started with the image and decided I wanted to go with an orange colour scheme so coloured in Anya with my Copics. I thought it would be quicker than with my pencils, but I'm sure it wasn't! The papers are My Minds Eye 'Bloom & Grow', I love them, they are such good value for money and the assortment is great! The orange cardstock is Bazzill, which I also used for the Quickutz Photo Corners. The ribbon was from Hobbycraft (I was so relieved to find orange in my collection!) and the flowers are Prima (I think I should have gone for bigger flowers). The tag is also a Quickutz Die and the sentiment is from an Elzybells clear tag set.

Using up images..

2009-09-29T16:55:00.005+01:00

I have lots of stamped images that have been coloured in and are just waiting to be made into a card. Most are in a box but some are still on my desk. Last week I had a can of diet coke on my desk and a box fell off the shelves above it and diet coke spilled over some of my things! I was devastated but luckily not too much got ruined. I was worried about some CC Designs images I'd recently coloured, but luckily only the white card got wet so I was able to save them by cutting out the image. So, three days ago I thought I should just start using some of the images that I have laying around and made these two:

This one is very simple, when I put the image onto the card, I felt that I should leave it rather than clutter it with anything extra as it would hide the cupcakes! The image is Whiff of Joy and the background paper is Doodlebug.

This one is a CC Designs fairy called Gretal. She is coloured with Copics and put onto Nestabilities circles. I used the Doily Lace Martha Stewart punch for the strip behind the circles and then my new Quickutz Photo Corner die for the corners. The flowers are Prima (of course!).

Janes Birthday!

2009-09-29T11:27:00.005+01:00

It was Janes birthday last week. Jane (along with Petra) runs the Addicted to ATC's swap and has a wonderful blog called Milliesmarvels. Both links should be on my blog somewhere, but I'm not quite expert enough with my blog to put the link in here!

This is the card I made for Jane:

The stamped image is Magnolia "Tilda with Bicycle". I coloured it with Lyra Polycolour Pencils and blended with Sansodor low odour spirit. The image and mat underneath were cut with Nestabilities "Labels Eight" dies. I used the Doily Lace Martha Stewart Punch to break up the background paper and Prima Flowers at the bottom. The pearls are from the new Prima E-line range and are really good, but you do only get two of each size in each colour!

Cupcake ATC's

2009-09-25T20:35:00.004+01:00

This months ATC swap theme on the Addicted to ATC's blog is Cupcakes! I love one Cupcake in particular from the Hero Arts clear set so I used it on these ATC's.

I did pull out some cupcake papers to use on the ATC's too, but I think they would have looked a bit busy as they are so small so I stuck to a plain background card but stamped swirls on it. I don't really like the wording, I think the card should be smaller as it takes the focus away from the cupcakes. I was going to say I'll try better next time but the theme is Harvest and I haven't got a clue what I'm going to do!

2009-09-11T22:51:00.002+01:00

I had to make a thank you card a few days ago so I decided to use my Elzybells Sunflower Girl stamp for the first time. I also used the sunflower for the background. I really enjoyed colouring this in, it was so nice!

The image was coloured in with Lyra Rembrandt Polycolour Pencils and blended with Sansodor. The girl and sunflower images are Elzybells stamps and the "thanks a bunch!" wording is a Penny Black stamp. The green card in the background is from a DCWV pad and it was cut with a Nestabilities Scallop Rectangle Die.

Another Whiff Of Joy Card!

2009-09-07T21:18:00.003+01:00

When I used my new Whiff Of Joy stamp two days ago, I coloured in two images (because I loved it), they are very similar but have different colour aprons.

After I made the lilac card yesterday, I started to make this one then finished it off this afternoon.

I used an A5 white card and cut the edge with a Martha Stewart punch. I then put the green paper on the front with a tiny strip of it inside the card so it would show up the punched detail. The Whiff Of Joy image was coloured with Lyra Polycolour pencils and mounted onto pink Creative Memories card which I used a corner punch on to create the photo slits. I used a ribbon tag cut with a Spellbinders die and stamped on the sentiment using the Elzybells Family Messages set and added the Prima flowers to cover up the end of the ribbon as I couldn't work out where to end it!!

Big card...

2009-09-07T21:07:00.006+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, I made this card, but hadn't quite finished it off with a sentiment, so I finished it off today. I'm not 100% happy with this card as I now think the paper may look a bit strange how it is, and I don't really like how I finished the sentiment. I think I was a bit guilty of finishing this quickly.

The image is Whiff Of Joy, coloured in with Lyra Polycolour Pencils. The card is Co'redinations, which has been cut with a Martha Stewart Edger Punch. The flowers are Prima with a Craftwork Cards "Card Candy" dot in the middle.

Prize Candy at Squiggle Stamps!

2009-09-07T19:43:00.004+01:00

I have recently just found my way to the Squiggle Stamps Blog (don't you love blog hopping?!) and they have an amazing prize to give away, check this out...

You can find their blog here:

http://squigglestamps.blogspot.com/2009/09/squiggle-candy.html

I need some of the items now, so I'm heading to their website next!

Whiff Of Joy Card

2009-09-06T20:18:00.003+01:00

Yay.... I got round to making a card today!! I coloured in two Whiff Of Joy images last night and I made this card today. I put it on a 6x6" square card with some lilac card and spotted paper from a very old Provocraft paper pad. I made the photo corners from the lilac card, added punched flowers from the Spotty Paper then punched leaves from Bazzill Swiss Dotted Card.

The image was coloured in with Lyra Rembrandt Polycolour Pencils that my lovely husband bought for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. They are so lovely to use as they are nice and soft, but are also very fine, unlike the Derwent Coloursoft pencils.

Our new cat!

2009-09-01T14:17:00.003+01:00

Five weeks ago we adopted a cat from the Blue Cross. We have called him Charlie and he has fitted into the household really well. Here he is...

Second 'antiqued' card...

2009-09-01T13:59:00.006+01:00

I was going to have another day of tidying yesterday, but was inspired to try another antiqued card!

This time, I picked a Sarah Kay image (already coloured!) called First Kiss and picked a paper to go with it. I was braver with the inks this time and went for Tea Dye then Walnut Stain. I under-estimated how much of the Walnut Stain was left on the foam when I went around the stamped image and had to try and even it out, so it is darker than I aimed for.

I like the colours on this card. The paper was a Basic Grey paper called Lemonade "Pretty Petals". I thought it looked old-fashioned, but then on closer inspection I realised it was flowers and ladybirds! The green card is a Bazzill dotted swiss cardstock and the flowers are Prima with a small adhesive pearl in the centre.

I then had a problem. Who could this card be for? It was of a boy and girl kissing, so I thought I'd better make it for a couple. I thought it's too girly to be to a man, so I thought I'd better make it an anniversary card for a woman. Hopefully I'll be able to sell my cards one day, and this will have to be one of them! In hindsight, I should have just made this an anniversary card for a couple... I could still change it...

My first 'antiqued' card...

2009-09-01T13:40:00.004+01:00

I have seen some beautiful antiqued cards recently, especially when I went to Stamperama last month. I had wanted to try one myself, but didn't really have alot in the way of embellishments or papers.

I hunted through my paper stash (one of them!) and found a paper that I didn't really think much of as a whole, it was a cheap one from a set, but thought might age well! Therefore, I chopped it up and used Distress inks around the side. I started with pale colours as I wasn't feeling very brave so I used Scattered Straw and then a tiny bit of Tea Dye on the corners.

I then chose an image (from my box of images already coloured) that would go with it and used the Scattered Straw Distress Ink around the edge. I then used ink on the orange ribbon to tone down the colour and chose Prima flowers to match the colours. I also cheated with a Craftwork Cards Birthday Message on the front!

The Stamp was a Rachelle Anne Miller Stamp from the Lily & Milo clear stamp range called "Peek-a-boo". It was coloured with Derwent Coloursoft pencils.

I quite like it because it's different, but it could be better. I will keep trying!

Birthday card for a 3 year old...

2009-08-28T22:07:00.005+01:00

Tomorrow is my nieces 3rd birthday so yesterday I made her card. I decided to use the Penny Black fairy to make it girly. Of course, it had to be pink and glittery too and I had fun putting on the glitter. I then decided to use a Martha Stewart punch (I am so impressed with how well they work on card!) called Valentine Lace and I put Cassies name on the card too, rather than a sentiment. The alphabet was a Quickutz 4x8" die called Storybook and I like it, although I have found the "C" looks a bit like a "G" so it looks like the card says "Gassie"!!!

I coloured the image with some Lyra Rembrandt Polycolour Pencils. I saw them being demonstrated at Stamperama in Stevenage so I bought a few loose ones to try. They are lovely to work with as they are alot finer than Coloursoft pencils so my husband bought the set for my birthday.

I have just realised that I forgot to put any extras on the card (like adhesive stones). I think I was in such a hurry to finish last night as it was really hot in my small room. I will go and add those finishing touches now!!

New Home Card

2009-08-28T22:01:00.002+01:00

I was a bit disappointed with this card. I had to make a new home card and I chose my new Woodware set. I coloured it in with Coloursoft pencils but was in a rush to finish the card before I went out so I didn't get the time to play around with ideas. It ended up being very plain so I'm not very happy with it but thought I'd post it anyway.

My Mums Birthday

2009-08-28T20:18:00.004+01:00

August is the month of most of the family birthdays including mine! This card I made for my Mums birthday that was last week.

I chose my new Elzybells Picking Strawberrys stamp as it's elegant and pretty and I teamed it up with a Magnolia strawberry paper. I also had to use one of my new Martha Stewart punches and chose one called "Doily Lace" which I used down the side. Because it didn't show much on the white card, I used a piece of red(ish) cardstock behind it.

The inside:

I really enjoyed using the little Elzybells Strawberry too, it's so versatile and great for backgrounds too!

My Grandads Birthday

2009-08-28T20:08:00.003+01:00

I discovered recently that my Grandad thinks my cute cards are for children so when it came to making a card for him, I stayed well away from Penny Black!

I went shopping for a new stamp (what torture!) and looked at the male ones (old cars and trains) but he's not old fashioned so I kept searching. My husband then found a large cake covered in candles so we thought that's probably best for him.

As the paper was still out from my Beerafella cards I decided this would work with the blues and greens of the candles (and it would help me avoid adding yet another half sheet of paper to my box of used sheets!).

I coloured the cake with Derwent Coloursoft pencils and blended them with Sansodor and paper stumps. I used Glossy Accents on the flames and icing and then took a shortcut with a Craftwork Cards birthday circle! I also used a new border punch that I got for my birthday down the side of the card. I have got lots of Martha Stewart punches lately, but this was an EK Success one, it's a slim punch that locks closed which is very handy for storing lots!!

Beerafella v.2!

2009-08-12T22:06:00.003+01:00

Monday was my brothers birthday. I decided it would be nice and easy for me to use the Beerafella man again as I could loosely copy my last card (and the paper was still out!!).

I did make it a tiny bit different as you can see, but it's mostly the same. I was quite pleased with the result actually for a plain card. I love ribbon, gems and glitter so I find it challenging to make male cards without these things!

Again, I coloured the image with Derwent Coloursoft pencils and blended them with paper stumps. I kept to the colours that would go with the paper again. Lastly, I used Glossy Accents on the beer bottles for the finishing touch!

Beerafella 1

2009-08-12T22:02:00.003+01:00

Last Friday was my Brother-in-Laws birthday so I decided to use the Stamping Bella "Beerafella" stamp. I also wanted to keep the card quite simple so I tried not to add anything cute, although I did end up using four adhesive dots, but I kept them small!

I also used a Craftwork Cards "Birthday Circle". I couldn't believe how much time it seemed to save by using it... needless to say I have bought several packs (different colours)!

I coloured in the image with Coloursoft pencils and blended them with a paper stump and Sansodor.

My Daughters Birthday Card

2009-07-17T21:31:00.002+01:00

This card I made last weekend for my beautiful daughters 7th birthday which is today!

My daughter loves cats so I bought the new Magnolia stamp called "Tilda with Cat". As always with my Magnolia stamps, I just have to give them smiles!

I coloured the image with Koh-i-noor pencils from Elzybells and the sentiment is from an Elzybells clear set. The background paper is a download from Pink Petticoat and the flowers are punched with a woodware paper punch from Crafts U Love.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESSICA!

xxxxxxx

Fathers Day rushed card!

2009-06-22T11:18:00.003+01:00

I was so busy this weekend that the Fathers Day card for my Dad was made in a bit of a rush! I went through my box of stamped images already coloured and went for the footballer.

The image and football are from Elzybells and the wording is from an Elzybells clear set. Inside it is stamped with Happy Fathers Day. The image was coloured with Koh-i-Noor pencils (also from Elzybells) and the boots were accented with Glossy Accents. The glittery paper was bought a long time ago from Craftwork Cards.

Another male birthday card!

2009-06-02T15:46:00.003+01:00

This card I made for my husbands birthday last week. I didn't know what stamps to use, so I used some new ones I'd bought from Elzybells.

I wanted to use the car as I had booked a Rally Driving lesson for my husband the next day, but then I thought it was a bit small for the large card so I also used the snoozing bear. I had intended to use a "rest, relax, enjoy" stamp, but then I couldn't work out how to place everything on the card and it turned out like this. I'm not 100% happy with it because it ended up being a bit rushed in the end and I was so tired after wrapping the presents and making the cake!

All of the stamps are from Elzybells, the car and snoozing bear are unmounted ones and the others are from clear sets. The images have been coloured with Copic markers and the car has been covered in Glossy Accents (and stuck down with lots of foam pads as the card went a bit warped). The cardstock is Bazzill; blue Bazzill Bling and black (pepper) swiss dotted.

ATC of the week!

2009-06-02T14:59:00.002+01:00

As I colour so many stamped images, I thought it would be a good idea to try ATC's (Artist Trading Cards) about a month ago. I was a bit daunted at first but found they were really enjoyable. I subscribe to the do-crafts newsletter and discovered that they have a weekly ATC competition for ATC's using their products, so I made a couple of ATC's using Papermania/Anitas/Dovecraft products from Do-Crafts. I was delighted to read the newsletter last week to find my ATC was ATC of the week! I am now inspired to make some more.

Teenage boy card!

2009-05-26T15:10:00.002+01:00

Every card maker knows that mens cards are hard to make, but I had a real dilemma last week when trying to work out what to do for our step-nephew's 15th birthday. Luckily he does karate and I managed to find an old Elzybells stamp that I owned of a bear doing karate (this has now been re-released so is available from Elzybells). Otherwise I wouldn't have had a clue what to do for his card. I tried to keep it quite simple so it wasn't too cute, it was horrible not being able to use adhesive gems or ribbon!

The stamped image is Elzybells, coloured in with Copic Ciao markers. The red card is core'dinations. The Happy Birthday message is from Elzybells and the background stamped image was from Elzybells some time ago so may not be available. The brads are Dovecraft.

Wedding Card

2009-05-20T16:40:00.002+01:00

I had to make a wedding card for my Brother-In-Law this week. They went to the US to get married so I made it a "Just Married" card as they will be getting the card afterwards. I bought three new wedding stamps and in the end decided my favourite was the Elzybells bride and groom. After I coloured the image, I chose a pink theme to go with the colours and then the whole thing just turned out to be VERY PINK!!

I usually add the inside message onto an insert inside the card, but I decided to make it a bit more interesting (and colourful) this time. I stamped the message onto white cardstock then added it to the Bazzill dotted cardstock. I then added the punched out flowers and hearts to keep it all flat inside.

All of the rubber stamps I used were from Elzybells, the pink cardstock is Bazzill, the ribbon is Dovecraft, the brads are Papermania, and the flowers are Prima. The image was coloured with Coloursoft pencils.

News...

2009-05-20T12:47:00.002+01:00

One of my favourite blogs to follow has some great Blog Candy on offer! Michelle Short has loads of amazing inspiration on her blog called "The Card Grotto" and at the moment there is some gorgeous blog candy up for grabs. Michelles blog can be found at: http://cardgrotto.blogspot.com/ or directly from the bottom of my blog.

Magnolia girl

2009-05-18T01:37:00.003+01:00

I haven't been using Magnoia long, but I have found the versatility of them so useful! This is the card I made for my Nieces birthday, she is four today.

I chose the girl with puppy as it is so cute and added the swing to the picture using the masking technique. I coloured the picture with coloursoft pencils and added Glossy Accents to the boots. I also decoupaged the head and puppy. I added a smile to the girl as I don't like them without a smile!

I also used pink pearlescent card, a 12x12" background paper, Prima flowers and a Papermania large brad.

Elzybells Cookies

2009-05-18T01:28:00.002+01:00

This card I made when my children were still at the zoo. I have quite a few new gorgeous Elzybells stamps that I haven't had time to try yet so I finally got round to using this set.

These stamps (the girl, wording and cookies) all came from the Elzybells "Just Desserts" clear stamp set. I coloured the girl with coloursoft pencils and used Core'dinations cardstock. The only thing I'm not happy with really is my choice of card colour, I couldn't find a colour to match the girls dress!

Sarah Kay (again!)

2009-05-18T01:09:00.001+01:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have my husband take the kids to the zoo for an afternoon so I was able to get to work on a card idea that I had in my mind. I had pulled out a turquoise-ish paper that I thought would go with a Sarah Kay image that I had coloured and I wanted to put it together. Anyway, I am quite happy with the result as it is again a bit different to anything I had made, which was the aim again. The only thing I wasn't so happy with was the ribbon.. it was the wrong shade of turquoise!

The stamped image was again the Sarah Kay "Precious Moments" clear stamp, coloured in with Copic Ciao markers. The wording stamp was from Elzybells; the paper was from Doodlebug; the cardstock was Core'dinations; the flowers from Prima and the large brad from Papermania.

Sarah Kay cards

2009-05-18T00:45:00.002+01:00

I was so happy when I discovered Sarah Kay clear stamps! I used to have a Sarah Kay sticker album when I was young, probably around 7 years old - actually, I still have it! I loved seeing those images again so jumped at the chance of owning some of the stamps.

My first purchase was the one used in these three cards: "Precious Moments". As it has the chicks, I thought of Easter first of all, but then I thought I'd try it for other uses as it was so cute and I came up with these. They were an absolute joy to colour with my Copic Ciao markers. On the Lilac card, I decoupaged the hat so it stands out more but on all the cards, I tried to keep them quite simple as the image is a generous size.

Penny Black Frolic

2009-05-18T00:35:00.002+01:00

I don't know what to think about this card. I enjoyed colouring the picture but I'm not sure about the background paper. I was trying to come up with something different, which it is, but I'm not 100% happy with it.

The Rubber Stamped image is Penny Black "Frolic" and it was coloured in with Coloursoft pencils. The paper was from a Papermania 6x6" pack and the flowers are Prima.

Another male card...

2009-05-17T23:58:00.001+01:00

This card I am pleased with as I came up with a card sketch first and tried to push my boundries a little. I wanted a card that was different to my normal layout (see below) so I was pleased to try something new and have it work.

Also, I tried something new (for me) with the border of the picture and wording with the rough lines. Normally I am a perfectionist and have to have everything lined up and straight so I had to leave my comfort zone to do the squiggly imperfect lines, but I was pleased with the result as again, it was a change to my normal cards.

The rubber stamps used are: Funstamps "Racing Ted" and Stampendous "Montage Birthday". The spotty card is Bazzill swiss cardstock and the image is coloured with Copic Ciao markers.

My old style

2009-05-17T23:37:00.002+01:00

This card I am putting on as an example of what my card layouts used to usually be like. I used to half cover the card with background paper, the image was matted and layered at the top and the wording matted and layered at the bottom. Although, they used to be more plain I suppose without the brads and flowers!

Since discovering such inspiration on other peoples blogs, my card making has changed. I discovered other rubber stamps (such as Whiff of Joy on Michelle Shorts blog) and Prima flowers! Card sketches have also been great for pushing my creativity.

Cupcakes!

2009-05-17T23:14:00.001+01:00

This card was made for my Grandad (to give). I tried to go for a more grown-up design. I used the Hero Arts clear stamp set of Cupcakes and coloured them with Copic Ciao markers. The wording is also from the Hero Arts set. The tag was cut with a Quickutz cookie cutter die. The foiled paper is by Penny Black and the flowers are by Prima, held on with a Dovecraft flower brad.

Wish Big!

2009-05-17T23:06:00.002+01:00

This card I made when trying to think of ideas for a male birthday card. I started with the image as I thought it is really suitable for men and cute but not too cute. I think this image came from my box of "Images ready" so this is coloured with chalk pencils (my old way of colouring) with Sakura glaze pens for the candles. The stamps used are all Penny Black.

More cards coming...

2009-05-17T22:58:00.003+01:00

My blog is still looking pretty empty so I have now added my name to several cards and I'm about to add them to my blog!

I have hundreds of stamped images already stamped and waiting to be used. I also have hundreds that have been coloured in and are ready to use. A few weeks ago my Grandad asked me to make some cards for him so I grabbed my box of images and started a marathon of card making. It was quite a challenge actually as I tried to make some not-so-cute cards and some male ones too.

This card is made with the following:
Penny Black rubber stamp "Spotty", Stampendous window box stamp,
WHSmith 5"x5" white card blank, Papermania cardstock and red organza ribbon.

Another card!

2009-05-17T00:41:00.004+01:00

As I have now worked out how to post with a photo, I now have a lot of catching up to do so here is another card. The picture isn't perfect as I scanned the card and because of the bow, it didn't sit flat on the scanner. This is all a learning curve though and I have now learnt it is best to take a photo!

The stamp is by Penny Black and is called "Wind Caressed". I bought it from The Glitter Pot after seeing their gorgeous example in the shop... I wouldn't have bought it otherwise!

I coloured the image with coloursoft pencils and used a pale pink pearlised card for the background which I stamped with the Penny Black "Portraits" stamp in a pink ink and embossed with clear powder. I cut the scallop edge on the pink card with the Woodware trimmer and scallop blade. The flowers are Prima.

Penny Black Acrobat

2009-05-17T00:19:00.004+01:00

Here is my first uploaded card to my blog. This is with a Penny Black rubber stamp called "Acrobat". I had the idea for the layout when I was making it but I'm not totally happy with it, I can't see how I can change it now though!

The image was coloured in with coloursoft pencils and the flowers are Prima flowers.

New to this!

2009-05-16T22:19:00.000+01:00

Hi, This is my very first blog so I am just finding my way! Hopefully soon I will master this then I will be adding pictures of my cards. Thanks for visiting!