Truly Scrumptious & Creative Inspirations challenges

This is today's second card and this one is for two challenges.

I have followed the sketch on the Truly Scrumptious blog. The other rule with this challenge was to use at least three different stamps, not including the sentiment. I have used these lovely Woodland Elements stamps from Woodware because they fitted in really well with the other challenge I was doing - the Creative Inspirations blog asked for an Autumn themed card.

The images were stamped in black Memento ink and then coloured with my promarkers. The frame was cut with my nestabilities - I've just got a great magnetic mat from Joanna Sheen and it makes cutting frames so much easier!!!

I used some velvet flocked autumny papers I've had sitting around in my stash for ages - they just seemed right (at last!!). The red strips across the back are my trusty red rafia I got in Tesco's last Christmas (will have to stock up this year!!!)

Thanks for looking!!

Moving Along with the Times challenge card

This is the first of two cards I have for you today. It is for the challenge on the Moving Along with the Times blog.

There was a sketch to follow and also a theme, which was 'Strictly Sparkling'.

My Forever Friends bear has been stamped in Memento Grape Jelly ink and then coloured with my promarkers. To stick with the sparkling theme I have used lots of silver card in my matting, together with lilac handmade paper, and then spritzed it with Cosmic Shimmer Mist in Silver. The actual card is now quite sparkly but it doesn't show up very well on the photo!!!

Thanks for looking!!

Stampin' Chic sketch challenge

This is my take on this week's sketch challenge over on the Stampin' Chic blog.

I wanted to use my elephant stamp (which I had previously stamped onto white vellum, using stazon). I thought the pattern on the elephant would go well with these papers, from the Clare Curd Signature Range. Although now I look at it on here I'm thinking maybe you can have too much of a good thing and I should have left the white layer unpatterned!!!

I coloured the image with promarkers, cut it out, stuck it on silver card and then cut it out again.

The shapes are all cut with my nestabilities. The sentiment stamp I've used again is the freebie from one of the recent DoCrafts magazines. The ribbon is from the new Papermania couture ribbon collection and I've also used Papermania scalloped card blanks (yes, I do use quite a lot of their stuff!!!).

Thanks for looking!!

Moving Along with the Times challenge card

This card is for the Moving Along with the Times challenge blog. I have followed the sketch on the blog and also the theme which was 'Birthdays'.

I have used my Daisy stamp (from Papermania), coloured with promarkers. The background papers and ribbon are also Papermania. I can't remember where the flower came from!!

Thanks for looking!!

Sugar Bowl challenge card

Well, I hope you haven't suffered too much from the wind we had last night!! We had things blown around all over the place here. My girls have (or rather, had!!) a wooden castle in the garden which ended up in pieces up the lawn. Not good!!

Oh well, on to cards...!! This is my card for the current Sugar Bowl sketch challenge. The challenge was also to use the colours pink and brown. I made this for my mother-in-law's birthday which is today - Happy Birthday Ann if you're reading this!!

The image is one of the Gorjus girls and I have coloured it with my promarkers.

The pink circle has been embossed with the Swiss Dots cuttlebug embossing folder and then I highlighted over the top with beige Papermania shimmer chalks. All the edges have been inked with Colourbox fluid chalk in Chestnut Roan.

The 'Just for you' stamp was a freebie on one of the latest Creativity magazines. I stamped it with the same fluid chalk.

The papers are from the Clare Curd Signature Range Big One paper pack. Brads and ribbon both Papermania. Paper flowers from my local craft shop (and the home of Sugar Nellie!!).

Thanks for looking!

Mojo Monday & Papertake weekly challenges

I hope you all had a good weekend! We've had a lovely day at Landmark today (an adventure park near Aviemore). The girls had an excellent time climbing on all the things, now that the summer queues have died down!!

This evening I have a card that is for two challenges. I made this for one of my daughter's friends from her ballet class.

Firstly, I have used the sketch from the Mojo Monday blog.

The ballerina girl image is called 'Elise prepares'. I downloaded it from the website Sketching Stamper digi-stamps. I printed it off and coloured it in with my promarkers.

The circles are all cut with my nestabilites. I have added faux stitching around the edges for this week's challenge on Papertake Weekly which is 'faking it'!!

The background papers are Papermania. I have then sprayed some of them with Cosmic Shimmer Mist in Rich Gold. It is the first time I have used these sprays and I am not entirely happy with the effect - will need to practice!!

The chipboard numbers and dots were from Papermania. I have painted them with Anita's metallic black acrylic paint. When dry I covered this in Stickles glitter glue.

Well, I think that's about it! Thanks for looking!!

Passion for Promarkers and Sketch Saturday challenges

Hello everyone! Friday already, not sure where the week went to!! Well, this card is for two challenges, Passion for Promarkers and Sketch Saturday.

The layout follows the fab sketch on the Sketch Saturday blog.

The Passion for Promarkers challenge this week was to include polka dots on the card, so I've used this spotty paper from Papermania.

The image was given to me by Jenny (check out her blog here!!) - thanks Jenny, seemed just right for the 2 year old's birthday I was making this for. I've coloured him in with my promarkers - the main colours I've used are Pumpkin, Marine and Blue Pearl. I also used the Marine pen to highlight the edges and the back of the main image before I turned the corner down.

The metal dragonflies were from Mad About Cards - cute, aren't they!!

Thanks for looking!!

Stampin' Chic, Creative Inspirations and Sketch & Stash challenges

Well, I'm back to it with a bang! This card I have made for three challenges:

1. The Stampin' Chic blog has always been one of my favourites and I so love the CCSR patterned paper!! The challenge on the Stampin' Chic blog was to use glitter on a card (and also something from the Clare Curd range so I have used the buttons paper and the sentiment).

I remembered when doing this why I don't use glitter very often!!! I love glitter glue and should have stuck to that as I made a right mess with it!! I've stuck the glitter with Anita's clear gloss - think I'll cover it with some more of that later, as Tina on the Stampin Chic DT did this and it gave a lovely finish (and hopefully not too messy!!!).

2. The challenge on the Creative Inspirations blog is to use animals on the card. I thought this stamp fitted perfectly. It is called 'Believe' from the Diane Duda range at Sugar Nellie.

3. Finally I used the sketch from the Sketch & Stash blog (although I have tweeked the sizes a bit!!). My bit of new stash is the 'Believe' stamp, which I bought at the begining of the summer but this is the first time I've used it on a card!!

The stamped image was coloured with promarkers. I've backed it with some gorgeous beige sparkly card from the Papermania Gemstones cardstock pack - lovely!! The white strip across the middle of the card I've embossed using the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug embossing folder and then coloured over it with one of the new Papermania shimmer chalks.

Thanks for looking!!

Claire xx

Passion for Promarkers Blog Hop

Check out the fab Blog Hop happening on the Passion for Promarkers website!! Look at my sidebar for a picture of the prize - all 56 new colours of the promarkers!!! Actually, maybe you shouldn't look - I'd like to win them!!!

Passion for Promarkers challenge

Well, the best laid plans and all that!! I was planning to get this card finished last night in time for the challenge. But in the end my youngest daughter was sick after banging her head at school and we ended up spending the evening in A&E while they checked her out. In the end they decided she didn't have concussion and sent us home! One very tired girl this morning!!

So, I've finally got my card finished and thought I'd put it on here anyway, even though it's too late to enter. I used the Passion for Promarkers challenge colours of Sandstone and Blue Pearl. The stamp is from Sugar Nellie. The papers are Papermania.

Thanks for looking!!

Jewellery sets

Twilight Saga now finished so I have my life back! Loved it but now quite disappointed that I've finished!! Still, I've ordered a few new Promarkers ready for the next few challenges and am now waiting excitedly for them to arrive (and don't all the new colours look lovely!!!).

In the meantime I thought I'd share with you a few jewellery sets I made recently for presents. Hope you like them!!

It's been a funny week here - I've had maintenance people round investigating a funny smell in my house. At first I thought it was a dead mouse (yuk!) but now they reckon it's the water pipes all stirred up by the recent flooding. After a few days with the girls complaining about the smell, and me thinking they were just being rude, it got worse and worse. Luckily, today it seems to be getting better or they were going to start digging up the floorboards on Monday!!

Hope you all have a good weekend!!

Birthday cake & thank you notes

Hi everyone!

Hope everyone is doing okay!! It's now my second day with the girls at full time school, no visitors and my husband back at work, and very wierd it is too!!!

I have had one 'problem' the last couple of weeks - I discovered the Twilight Saga!!! For anyone out there who hasn't read it - it is very very addictive!!! I've spent the last two weeks reading it whenever I can and am now half way through book 4 (which I only started yesterday morning) and can't wait to finish it!!! (then I can catch up on some sleep!!)

I have done a few 'crafty' things though, altough not any challenges unfortunately. It was my youngest daughter's 5th birthday last week (very scary - how did she get to be so old!!!). We had a party in the garden with 17 of her friends (luckily this was before the flooding started!). I made a butterfly birthday cake for her - thought I'd put a picture on here!! (For some reason the picture keeps rotating itself when I upload it so it looks a bit odd, sorry!)

I also made a batch of butterfly themed thank you notes. The butterfly stamp and sentiment are a Papermania Snag'em stamp duo. These were stamped in black ink then embossed in holographic powder. I coloured them in with twinkling h2o's. The scalloped backings were cut with my nestabilities. The backgrounds were embossed using Sizzix embossing folders in my BigShot.

Well, I can't resist it any longer. I have to go and read a bit more of my book!!!