Vintage - One Stop Crafts Challenge

This weeks theme at One Stop Craft Challenge is Vintage, so we would love to see your distressing, inking or vintage ephemera this week :) We are sponsored by  One Stop Card Crafts where the very generous Shelley is offering the winner a £10 voucher to spend at the online store.  This is a fab prize, as there is always lots of great new stuff to choose from.

Now if I was asked to pick one of my cards that I feel really reflects my personal taste and style, then this would be it.  I am a huge fan of the Pre-Raphaelites, poetry and classic literature.  Whilst I love making cute, whimsical and girly cards, this style is a lot closer to my heart and often think I should spend a little more time exploring this side of my creativity.

I recently won this image from Dezinaworld which is based on a painting by Frank Cadogan Cowper called Vanity.  I use this as my blogger avatar (as you can see), so I was thrilled to get this digi-image to play with.

I hand-stitched and distressed HOTP paper pizzaz 'Heritage' papers, I coloured the flesh tones and dress detail with PM's and inked the rest of the image.  The flowers were an ebay bargain and the pearls, ribbon and brads were from stash.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Anything Goes

Top Tip Tuesday - Make it Girly

Crafts & Me - Ribbon

Creative Inspirations - Fab Sketch

The Stamp Man - Show some stitching

Totally Papercrafts - Bling it up

One Stitch at a Time - Pearls and Swirls

Allsorts Challenge - Free & Easy

Thanks so much for looking and good luck to everyone entering these challenges,

Sweet Stampin DT Card - Fashion

We have a great Fashion challenge this week over at Sweet Stampin', so we want to see some gorgeous girly and fashionable creations and our sponsor this week is the very generous Stampin Boutique .  Check out some of the other really fabby creations by the rest of the DT, as they have really rocked this theme!

I had quite a bit of fun making this card, considering it felt a bit out of my comfort zone......  I dont really 'do' fashion! lol :)  but I aimed for a boutique feel to the papers and background.

I used a mixture of paper scraps, Kenny K image, WOC roses and Spellbinder and Magnolia dies.  Pearls, stickles and ribbon from stash.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Kenny K Krafty Girlz - Anything Goes

Crafts and Me - Add a Flower

Charisma Cardz - Summer Colours

Stamp Something - Embellished

Totally Gorjuss - Punch or Die

Allsorts - Free and Easy

2 Sisters Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for looking and have a smashing weekend,

Christmas in July - I ♥ Promarkers

As I was saying yesterday, there are a few Christmas challenges to play along with this week, and our new challenge over on I ♥ Promarkers is 'Christmas in July'.  We want to see your glitter, snow, bling and anything christmassy.  We are sponsored this week by Crafts 4 You who kindly gave us some great wintry and seasonal sentiments to use.

I used a gorgeous digi stamp from Crafts & Me, HOTP papers and cut the icicle borders with my digi-die cutter.  Pretty simple card for me! :) lol

I am entering this card in the following competitions:

CES Challenges - Christmas

Paper Sundaes - Christmas in July

Stamp Something - Christmas in July

Thanks so much for looking and good luck to everyone in these challenges,

Santa Thinks I'm Nice ;)

Bit of a brief post from me, but I made this card so I could join in the fun of the Kenny K Anniversary blog hop - I love Kenny K! :) 

Now there are quite a few Christmas in July challenges knocking about this week, so I thought as this is my favourite Kenny K digi its an ideal opportunity to get a christmas card made. 

I coloured using my trusty PM's (with fine nibs!) HOTP paper, MS punch, Marianne die and the sentiment was digi-die cut.  Stocking charm from stash.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Kenny K Krafty Girlz - Anything Goes

CES Challenges - Christmas in July

Papertake Weekly - Hot Hot Hot

Creative Inspirations - No Flowers allowed

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Stamp Something - Christmas

2 Sisters Challenge - Christmas in July

Sparkles Forum Christmas - Glitter

Creative Inspirations - Christmas in July

Paper Sundaes - Christmas in July

Thanks so much for looking and good luck to everyone in these challenges,

One Stop Craft Challenge - Sketch

This week over at One Stop Craft Challenge we have a fab sketch by my teamie Val, and we are sponsored this week by Sassy Studio Designs .  I really enjoyed making this card, and went to town on dies, punches and lots of sparkle.

I hand stitched the papers and hand beaded the embellishments.  I used Prima papers, an MS punch and the frame was cut with my digital die-cutter as the image was just too big for a standard nestie. 

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Digital Tuesday - Spellbound - the flourishes are Spellbinders

Crafts and Me - Summertime

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Emerald Faeries - Nice and Girly

Crafty Calendar - Under the Sea

Simon Says Stamp & Show - Stitching

Cupcake Craft Challenges - 47 - Pearls & Swirls

Magical Mondays - Texture

Really Reasonable Ribbon - Cool it

Bearly Mine - Anything Goes

Do You Stack Up - Stitching

Moving along with the Times - Favourite things - Stitching, pearls & Swirls

Rainbow Ladys Challenge - A Stitch in Time

Allsorts - Free n' Easy

One Stitch at a Time - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today, and I hope everyone has a smashing sunny weekend! :)

Oooh Arrrgh - a recipe @ I ♥ Promarkers

Wow!.. Wednesday comes round so quick! :)  

Today is the start of a brand new challenge at I ♥ Promarkers and this week we have a recipe to follow of 1 Ribbon, 2 Brads/buttons/gems and 2 backing papers.  Now I have made this card for a good blogging friends' special birthday, so if you are reading my blog today Karin - dont look!! :D lol.  We are sponsored this week by Sassy Studio Designs who gave us a couple of images to play with.

Now, remember me mentioning my new digi-die cutter that arrived the day of my accident?  Well, this is me well and truly putting it through its paces! ;)  Everything on this card was made using my Silhouette SD machine (except the paper tearing round the image).  I always said if I got one of these machines I would be dangerous!! lol.

I had been hankering after one of these machines for a few years and knew I wanted one with its own software, as I didnt want to be restricted to cartridges.  I took to it like a duck to water, as its just like using a printer, the software was easy-peasy.  It will never replace my trusty Cuttlebug, but I love to have the ability to just create something quite random and 'one-off' without being stuck with a die that has limited use.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Totally Papercrafts - The Beach

Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes

Creative Inspirations - No Flowers

Allsorts - Free n' Easy

Papertake Weekly - Hot, Hot, Hot

Ladybug Crafts - Summer Birthdays

Lexis Creations - At The Beach

Cupcake Challenges - No 29 - use a number

Sketch Saturday - I followed this great sketch

Thanks so much for looking at my blog today and good luck to everyone in these challenges,

Cute n' Cuddly @ Sweet Stampin & Promarker Fine Nibs! :)

This weeks theme at Sweet Stampin is Cute n' Cuddly (chosen by me! :) and our wonderful sponsor this week is the awesome Di's Digis.  Now I love any image with a 'shroom' on it, and as soon as I saw this cute digi (King of the Castle) I knew I wanted to just colour it in!  I really hope you find time to join us this week and also visit the rest of the DT's sweet creations.

Now to colour this image, I used for the first time my brand new ProMarker Fine Nib attachments.  I dont usually do reviews on my blog, as I dont consider myself any expert or critic at all, but these have really got me buzzing, and I am seriously thrilled to bits with them!!!! :)

I am definately not the worlds greatest colourer, nor even a very confident one, so I love my ProMarkers because they are quick, easy and I am always happy with the results.  I do however struggle with adding fine details and often feel that I could have always added a little more.  A lot of gorgeous new digi stamps seem to be getting more detailed too, so I was desperate to move my colouring onto something a little more advanced.

These tips are available in packs of 3 (I bought mine direct from Letraset) and they come complete with a new cap and literally just click into place.  It takes just a second or two for the colour to come through, and they are also easily detachable again so you can access the standard nib instantly.  You can see the difference in the line thickness here, and the inkflow is excellent.

Now I bought several of these sets as I would prefer to have them individually on my PM's, and know I will use them a lot, but you can swap them over easily within a similar colour group, and I would advise just cleaning them by attaching to your blender pen to clear the colour before swapping.   But I will say, I was so impressed I ordered more packs today, as they are in my opinion incredibly innovative and what my PM's and I have been waiting for :)

Colouring this picture was the first time I used the nibs, so they were an instant hit for me.  They enabled me to give the Kitties some fluff and fur in a way I have never been able to do before, and also you can get into really tight areas easily.

Like I said, I am definately not the worlds best colourer, but this really didnt take me long at all, and I felt in control of the ink and the pen the whole time, so in my opinion - THEY ROCK!! :)

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Paper Sundaes - Stitching

One Stitch at a Time - Use a Digi

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Sewing

Creative Craft Challenges - Pretty Blossoms

Simon Says Stamp - A Stitch in Time

Charisma Cardz - Flowers

Totally Gorjuss - Summertime

Thanks so much for looking at my blog today, good luck to everyone in these challenges, and have a great weekend!

Normal service has been resumed! :D lol!

Right, so after my CAS card I was pretty keen to get stuck back into all my usual gubbins and play about with punches, dies and layers.  I had coloured this image before my accident and it was such a shame to see it gathering dust for about 4 weeks as it was originally intended for a DT card.

I followed the great sketch over at CLP and the image is Bugaboo from the sunbonnets range (which I love!) :)  The papers are Fizzy Moon and the flowers were from ebay.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

CLP Challenge - Fabby sketch

Charisma Cardz - Flowers

Allsorts Challenge - Free and Easy

Saturday Challenge - Here comes summer

2 Sisters Challenge - Birthdays

Dream Valley - Ribbons

One Stitch at a Time - Use a Digi

Creative Craft Challenges - Pretty Blossoms

Really Reasonable Ribbon - Summer Fun

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Try it on Tuesday - Flower power

Bearly Mine - Anything Goes

Colour Create - Fuschia, Green, White

Thanks so much for looking and good luck to everyone in these challenges - have a great day!

CAS Week at I ♥ Promarkers!

Todays new challenge over on I ♥ Promarkers is 'Clean and Simple'. Eeeek! ;)  Most people would only need to glance at my blog to see its not a style I am accustomed to, or sits favourably with me.  (I confess to actually avoiding the genre at all costs!) lol. :)

I do however see some very beautiful CAS projects when I am blog-hopping and commenting, and have a lot of admiration for the crafters who really excel at this.  I also feel its perfectly suited to certain cards that are also very difficult to make and give for the obvious reasons. 

We are sponsored this week by the uber-generous Joanna Sheen who is giving the winner a £10 voucher to spend at her online store :)  This is a smashing prize, as I visit her site regularly and there are always some wonderful goodies to look at.

This really was a quick and simple card for me, using just black and white bazzil card, black peel offs, gems and ribbon and light colouring with Ice Grey PM's 1 - 4.

I am entering my card in the below competitions:

Do You Stack Up - Squares

Bling it On - Anything Goes

Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Bearly Mine Challenges - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for looking at my blog today, and I hope you find time to look at all the other stunning work by the DT.

Tag It! - One Stop Craft Challenge

Morning :) I'm thinking its gonna be a stunner of a weekend weatherwise! ;) (fingers crossed!) 

I'm so excited because I'm off to see Transformers in 3D tonight.  For some strange reason Transformers totally mesmerise me! :D ....... I dont 'do' chick flicks! ;)  lol.

So, today being Saturday sees the start of a brand new challenge over at One Stop Craft Challenge where the theme is 'Tag - youre it!'.  We would love to see your creations with tags on and are sponsored this week by One Stop Card Crafts. 

I used a free tag that came with a magazine and just distressed and inked it a bit and took my colours from the matching sheet of free paper (which I didnt end up using! lol).  I hand stitched and distressed K&Co papers and made the centre flower and the outer roses from Marianne Dies.

I am entering this card in the below competitions:

Bling it On - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Great Sketch!

Lili of the Valley - Celebrate - I am still celebrating being back! :)

Do You Stack Up - Squares

Top Tip Tuesday - T is for 'Tag'.

Crafts and Me - Birthdays

Bunny Zoe's Crafts - Faeries

By The Cute and Girly - Things with Wings

Allsorts Challenge - Free and Easy

Craft Your Days Away - Vintage

Emerald Faeries - Sugar and Spice & all things girly

I hope you find time to check out the challenge blog and see all the other wonderful creations by the DT and maybe play along.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog today and have a smashing weekend,