Some "bunny" stop me!

Groan..... yep it's more stamp soup today!

I showed this little bunny off in a previous post and explained that if you were new to stamping or not confident with masking that you could simply stamp the individual elements and layer them up. This is exactly what I did with this bunny. I think it's just as effective as one layer stamping - what do you think?

That's it for me today. Have a fabulous Easter Sunday and enjoy eating those eggs that the Easter Bunny left this morning!

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
A Gem of a Challenge - Easter
Challenge Up Your Life - Bunnies
Crafting with dragonflies - Easter
Let's Colour Linky Party 6 - Anything goes
Artisitic Stampers - Springtime
Just Keep On Creating - Anything goes
Lets Craft and Create - Easter

More soup? Today it's Chicken....

Well chick actually! For those of you who haven't got a clue what I'm talking about, it is of course yet another make using the fantastic Stamp Soup collection from Polkadoodles.

Today's offering is this little chick card which was really quick and easy to make. You'll have to excuse the colouring and the card itself.... it was my first attempt at using Lyra Pencils on Kraft. I think I've decided I'm not a Kraft kind of girl to be honest!

I used two different stamps to create the chick. If you check out this post here you will need to use the stamps that I used for the head and feet then simply add a pair of eyes, a little beak and legs and the jobs a good un!

Hopefully you're not too bored with seeing the projects made with this collection? I'm truly loving playing with the collection and seeing what variations I can come up with!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafty Catz - Stitching
Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
Jo's Scrapshack - Anything Goes
Morgan's Artworld - Anything with wings
4 Crafty Chicks - Less is more
Hanna and friends - Easter
Addicted to Stamps & More - Anything goes
Stampotique - It's all about birds (sdc237)

Hoppy Easter!

Happy Easter to you all! Can you guess what I've been playing with again? I bet you can't....OK I bet you can! Stamp Soup..... I can tell you my mojo hasn't been this fired in a loooonnnnngggg time!

I'm still not making floral projects (although I do have a few in the pipeline as well as a few TV samples that I've yet to show you) as I'm having way too much fun seeing what else I can easily create with the stamps.

Today I'd like to show you a stamped bunny complete with carrot. Now I've done this using lots of masking but if you aren't sure about masking or are new to stamping you can easily create the bunny simply by stamping out the individual elements, cutting them out and layering them up (I'll show you another card which has been done this way tomorrow). I've cheated a bit on this and used punched butterflies (even though you can make some adorable little ones using the stamps) as they were an after thought and I have a few Easter cards to make.

I thought I'd stamp each of the individual elements so you can recreate the bunny if you wish.

Right that's it for me today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Brown Sugar - Easter
Crafting with friends - anything goes
Crafty Catz - Stitching
Creative Fingers - Anything goes
Jo's Scrapshack - Anything goes
PDE Linky Party - Anything goes
Simply Papercraft - Anything goes
Double ClickSkittles - Bunny, basket or egg
Little Red Wagon - Easter
Inky Chicks - Easter

Chocolate Free Easter Treat

I know it seems wrong doesn't? However there are a few people out there who either can't eat chocolate or gasp don't like chocolate. I have guests for Easter and one those doesn't eat chocolate eggs. It's been bugging me for a few weeks as to what I could do for them in place of an egg and finally I hit upon this idea. It's totally not suitable for anyone who is diabetic (although there is a really nice selection of diabetic eggs available on the high street) and is going to be a Marmite type project in as much as you'll either love it or hate it!

Anyway, I decided that I'd make an Easter "Sweetie" Breakfast complete with Sharpie embellished plate! So I scoured the supermarkets looking for suitable sweets and this is what I ended up with:

Bacon - Sour Strips
Eggs - Jelly Eggs
Baked Beans - Jelly Beans
Black Pudding - Liquorice
Mushrooms - Coconut Mushrooms and Foam Mushrooms
Tomatoes - Foam Strawberries
Ketchup - Giant Cherry Lips
Sausages - Rhubarb Cables

I'm going to hot glue an small Easter arrangement onto the cellophane - I'm just waiting for my chicks and lambs to be delivered.

That's it from me today. Thanks for stopping by.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this project into the following challenges:
The Creative Girl
Today's Creative Blog

Easter Wreath

I just thought I'd pop on and show you an Easter Wreath that I made as a sample for a kids craft class that I run. The idea for this came from Pinterest when I did a search for recycling projects and came across pages and pages of wreaths using plastic bags and old wire hangers.

I wasn't expecting much from it but thought that it might be a project that the kids would enjoy, so imagine my delight when it turned out like this!

Neat huh?

This a definite Pinterest success project and what's more the kids loved making their own ones and even managed to put their own spin on them.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this project into the following challenges/linky parties:
Craft My Life - Anything goes
Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes/ Easter (DT Favourite)
Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes
Craftin Dessert Divas - Easter (Top 5)
Not Just Cards - Anything Goes
Craft-O-Maniac The Creative Collection
Made By You Monday
Tip Me Tuesday

Quick and Easy Cards!

As the title would suggest I've got a selection of quick and easy cards to show you today. I don't know about you, but I find that most people I know now expect a handmade card and are visibly disappointed when I present them with a shop bought one. So when last weekend I suddenly realised that Sunday was going be Easter Sunday I kind of panicked as I normally send out a handful of cards to various friends and family who celebrate.

After a little bit of thought I suddenly remembered that there were some uber cute little birds on the Candy Doodles CD that could easily be recoloured to look like chicks and would therefore be ideal for an Easter card. I'd also spotted on the Polka Doodles DT blog that an upcoming challenge was for Easter/Spring and as I haven't made anything for the challenge blog for ages that I'd also join in over there!!

So here's what I came up with. You'll notice I didn't stop at Easter cards I also knocked up a few Birthday cards to add to my stash too!! These were so quick and simple that it seemed rude not too!

Firstly I opened a word document and using the shape tool drew a square measuring 9cm x 9cm and changed the outline to 0.05pt so it was nice and fine. I then opened up the bird image from the Candy Doodles CD in Paint and recoloured and copied it. I then pasted the bird into the word document and resized it to fit into the square , before copying and pasting and rotating the image to create a mirror image.

I then added a text box with no outline and typed my sentiment, before dragging it into position. Once I was happy with the layout I grouped the images and simply copied and pasted the desired number on the page. At this stage I decided I didn't want the birds to be all the same colour so I recoloured them and I also changed the sentiments before hitting the print button.

Once printed it was simply a case of using the squares as guide for trimming to size before matting and layering the image onto a card base.

To finish I simply tore some strips of Washi Tape for grass and re-drew the birds legs with a fineliner, before adding a line from the birds beaks to the sentiment.

I hope that you'll join us for the Easter/Spring challenge.

Claire x

Products Used:

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

Faux Bronze Egg

I've got another one of those little altered cardboard eggs to show you today. This was actually the first one I created after being inspired by the new Dutch Doobadoo Butterflies which I received in the post. If you haven't seen them, then you really need to take a peek - they are STUNNING (so much so I've already ordered some more!!!)

To be totally honest with you, when I first looked at the butterflies I thought they were going to be really flimsy as they are so intricate and delicate looking, but I was wrong! They are amazingly robust, so much so that they took two coats of paint and a light misting with a reactor agent.

So what did I do? Well the first thing I did was to remove the inner lip from the edge of the egg so that I could place a hinge to allow the egg to be opened and closed. Next I coated the egg with a generous coat of Gesso.

Whilst I waited for the Gesso to dry I started painting all of the objects that I intended to use on the project with Vereday Paint. Once I'd covered everything with two coats of paint I lightly spritzed it with the reactor solution and left it to work it's magic.

Once the egg and decorative pieces were completely dry I assembled the egg et voila!!

Now I know this isn't to everyone's liking but I had fun making it and I actually quite like the finished item. I'm going to give this to my MIL instead of an Easter Egg as she's diabetic and can't have ordinary chocolate and doesn't like the diabetic stuff!

These eggs are quite addictive and I have another one in the pipeline already! I just hope that I can complete it before Easter!!!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

Supplies:



I'd like to enter this project into the following challenges:
Altered Eclectics - Anything Goes
Just B Creative Crazy - Anything Goes
Rhedd's Creative Spirit - Altered Art Only
Everybody Art Challenge - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Easter
Pause, Dream Enjoy - Anything Goes
Through The Craftroom Door - Anything Goes
Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes/Monochrome
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Winged Things
That Craft Place - Anything Goes/Easter

The Easter Bunny has a treat in store for you........

Oh yes he does!! How would you like to get your hands on the gorgeous little image I've used today? Well you can. Nikky Hall has drawn this gorgeous little Easter Bunny Tatty Twinkle for Tattered Lace and they have decided to give her away as a freebie! To claim her simply hop over to the Crafting website. Nikky has also got some freebie papers for you all too, so hot foot it over to Polka Doodles to claim them.

Apologies in advance but this post is picture heavy and it STILL doesn't do the project justice! Don't think I'll be giving up the day job anyday soon to become a Photographer!

I decided that I needed to start using these tacky cardboard Easter eggs that I'd had knocking around in my stash for what seemed like forever. So what better use than to make a cute little scene?

I added a cardboard hinge to the egg and then covered it completely in course modelling paste.

Whilst I waited for it to dry I coloured up the images using my Graph'It markers and added a bit of sparkle with a Shake It Glitter Marker.

Once the paste was dry I hot glued some beads onto the base for feet and then painted the egg and added some Maimeri Iridescent Paste to some Gold Acrylic Paint which gives it a pearly shimmer.

Once dry I added a row of pearls. Then I painted the inside of the egg and added some florists moss for the grass before securing the images into the scene. You can see the scale I was working on in the picture above (I have placed a £2 coin in-front of the egg).

To finish the scene I added some of the gorgeous little butterflies from the Dutch Doobadoo range.

Finally, I decorated the outside of the egg with some die cut leaves, mini rosebuds and some more of the Doobadoo Butterflies.

Don't forget to check out the rest of the creations using this cute little stamp, there are truly inspiring projects.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this project into the following challenges:
All Crafts Challenge April/May - Anything goes but no cards!
Artistic Inspirations - Anything Goes Easter Animal

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Peek-a-Boo Bunny Bunting And A Candy Overload!!! Dontcha Know It's Easter and We're Hopping!!!!

Boo!!! Yep it's me again with my second post of the morning. This time it's to show you my Easter bunting and tell you about this weeks challenge over on the Polka Doodles Blog which is........ EASTER :D You may want to grab a coffee and some cake as this is an uber long post with more than it's fair share of piccies ;D

If you're taking part in the Polka Doodles Blog Hop then you should've arrived here from Ruth's blog.

The bunting was made using pre-cut flags which have simply been covered with some yummy papers from the new Polka Doodles CD Sugarplum Daisy.

 I used the letters from the word book Template on the Candy Doodles Collectors Edition.

To give them some depth and dimension I ran an embossing tool around the edges and then added some Glossy Accents.

 The bunnies are also from the Sugarplum Daisy CD

 I've simply flipped them around in a graphics programme to get them facing in different directions.

Then they've been cut so that they are peeking out from behind the letters.

Anyway, if you're still here, I think I'd better get onto the important stuff - The Challenge.......This week its going to be a bit different - we still have our regular challenge but we also have a blog hop which is also part of the challenge!! And you know what that means - LOADS of candy!! 

CHALLENGE STAGE 1: Now, we know that not everyone likes to do a hop for whatever reason, so we still have our normal challenge for the week which is EASTER themed - you must make a card or project which is Easter themed.

But that's not all...

CHALLENGE STAGE 2: Our second challenge is the blog hop - if you hop along with us this week you will find that the Easter Bunny has arrived early and left some hidden goodies on some of the Design Teams blogs - but you have to hop though the whole list to find who the Easter Bunny has visited! 

You need to complete both the Easter themed challenge and the blog hop to be in with a chance of winning one of the fantastic prizes on offer! You need to go to the challenge blog to see what is on offer but it is fabulous! There will be one grand prize winner and two second place winners!

If you've never taken part in a blog hop before it's easy peasy...all you need to do is visit each blog in turn and for this hop each Polkadoodler will give you a LETTER (be careful - some of the Polkadoodlers may have more than one!) Now add all the letters together, unscramble them and leave a comment on the Polkadoodle Challenge Blog (comments will be moderated!) with what the word is.

Your entry will automatically be judged for the Easter themed challenge BUT we will know if you have completed the Blog Hop so if you haven't you will still only be eligible for the random blog candy hidden amongst some of the Polkadoodlers. FOR THE EASTER THEMED CHALLENGE JUST LEAVE YOUR ENTRY AS NORMAL USING THE INLINKZ BUTTON, WE WILL SORT THROUGH THE ENTRIES AS WE WILL KNOW IF YOU FOLLOWED THE HOP OR NOT! ; )

If you have arrived at my blog from Ruth's Blog then you are on the right track! The letter you require from me is A  and the second letter is Y. Keep them safe and now hop onto the Polkadoodle Challenge Blog and leave a comment. If you get stuck, please go back to the Polkadoodle Challenge blog where you will find the full list of Polkadoodlers.

Good luck!

Claire xxx

I'd like to enter this bunting into the following challenges:
Fab n Funky - Easter
Anything goes - Easter
Creative Craft - Anything but a card
Top Tip Tuesday - Easter and/or Animals
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Charisma Cards - Easter
Delightful Challenges - Easter
PaperPlay - Easter
Decorate to Celebrate - Easter
More than favors - Easter

Shhh I think spring might be here!

I'm not going to say it too loudly, but I really do think Spring is here! My garden is full of daffodils and tulips, and the cherry blossom tree has loads of little buds just waiting to erupt into a mass of flowers. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the warmer, brighter days will soon be here. I really have had enough of the Winter this year and am finding that it has sapped my desire to create. However, if I'm brutally honest it probably has more to do with the fact that I have had to venture into a cold conservatory to rumage through my stash than an actual lack of desire to create! ;)

Anyway, enough of my rambling the challenge over at Delicious Doodles this week is flowers. We want to see lots of flowers on your creations. Up for grabs are two fantastic prizes, one is any three paper pads from our sponsor Pascale's Pad and the other is any three digi's from the Delicious Doodles Store.

As you can no doubt tell, I've been heavily influenced this week by the sudden promised change in season and have made the first of my Easter cards.

The image I've used this week is a new release from Delicious Doodles called On The Lookout. I thought it was perfect for more "grown up" Easter cards. As always the image has been coloured with Promarkers. I've then cut it to shape using Nestabilities Labels 8 and then heat embossed the edges using Heat It Up Gold Embossing Powder. The background paper is a piece of Core'dinations White Wash cardstock which has been run through the Bigshot with a Daisy Texturz Plate and then given a light sanding to expose the core colour. The ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons new Spring/Easter collection. The flowers are Prima E-line topped with Craftwork Cards Card Candy.

Thanks for stopping by this week.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Colour Create - Pastels
Crafty Purple Frog - Green
Delightful Challenges - Pastels
Digi Doodles Shops Best - Ribbons & Bows
Simon Says Stamp - Mothers Day/Girly
Stamping Vacation - Easter
Passion for Promarkers - In the Garden