Pretty papers birthday card

A really quick birthday card made for a friend using pretty summery papers.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

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

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything goes

A Gem of a Challenge - Don't be a square

Crafty Calendar - Anything goes

Aud Sentiments - Birthday

Crafting with an attitude - Anything goes

Crafty Girls Creations - Anything goes

It's that Gorjuss Girl again!

I thought it was about time that I dug out my Gorjuss Girls decoupage as it's been a while since I last used it. This was a super quick and easy make which took about twenty minutes to pull together.

I hope you like it.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

Materials used:                                        

 

Ultimate Decoupage Kit

 

Chantilly Lace

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafting with friends - Anything Goes
Simply Create Too - Anything Goes
Simply Papercrafts - Anything Goes
Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes
Crafting By Designs - 3 or more layers
Creative Moments - Anything Goes
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes
Top Tip Tuesday - Ribbons & Pearls
Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes

Fairytale Castle Wedding Card

Just thought I'd show you this commissioned card/keepsake that I recently had the pleasure of making. The customer was really specific as to what they wanted and although it was a challenge I managed to incorporate everything they required from the order! This post is really picture heavy so apologies if it's a little slow loading.

The castle is an attempted replica of Herstmonceux Castle where the ceremony was taking place. I say attempted because there were so many details when I started looking closely at it, that it would have been almost impossible to replicate, so I've used a bit of artistic license on it!

The first thing I did was to create a template for the base. I didn't have template for a castle, so I created my own. The project had to be boxed for presentation as it didn't fold flat. Had I made the turrets square then the whole project would've folded flat for posting, which definitely something I will keep in mind for any future similar projects.

Next I covered the walls with papers from Polka Doodles Work & Play Collection 2 and then cut out individual bricks to make the arches on the bridge. I covered the drawbridge in a wood effect paper from Polka Doodles Work & Play Collection 1

I used a variety of cutting dies for the name/greeting plate, shield, foliage, bunting and flags. The tiny flowers are a punch.

The image is from  Mazyart and coloured with Graph'It Markers. I had to alter it slightly as the Groom has a very specific hairstyle which the customer wanted included.

The final request was for somewhere to write a message and place a money gift, so I made a little concertina pocket to the rear of the card which held a tag envelope.

This was a fun project to make and I understand the happy couple were delighted with it.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafty Calendar Challenges - Anything Goes
Brown Sugar Challenges - Anything Goes
Crafts For Eternity - Tic Tac Toe (Dies, Punches, Blue)
Crafty Girls Challenges - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
My Heart Pieces - Use a digi stamp
The Crafters Cafe - Use Punches and Dies
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Just Inspirational - Wedding
PDE Linky Party - Dies/Punches
Top Tip Tuesday - Anything Goes (see tip re turrets)
Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes
Crafting From The Heart - Anything Goes

Guess Who's Hosting This Weeks Challenge Over At Stampotique????

Yup it's lil ol me! Before we get down to business I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas with plenty of new goodies to play with?? If you did then hopefully you'll come and join in with this weeks Stampotique challenge which is "Out with the old and in with the new". 

Which basically means that if you were very good then Santa will have bought you lots of new stash to play with, which means you can either make a project using a combination of old and new stash (just don't forget to tell us what it is). Or if you weren't so lucky, you can make something to celebrate the new year. The choice is yours!

I went for a combination of both for my card!

I used die cut numbers to create a mask before spraying the card with a combination of inks. Whilst I waited for the ink to dry, I stamped up Head and "Gussie Up" which were then cut to size and coloured as necessary. Once the background was dry, I matted and layered it onto cardstock and added some Glossy Accents to the 2013 to add dimension. 

I do hope that you'll join us as I can't wait to see what you come up with.

So all that's left for me to do is to wish each and everyone of you a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year.

Claire xxx

Love Birds!!

Morning. It's time for another challenge over at Polka Doodles and this week we want to see "things with wings". Don't forget you don't need to use a Polka Doodles product, but we'd love it if you did!

This is a commissioned card for a lad that I work with. He wanted a card for his girlfriend to mark the six months that they'd been together. The stipulation was to include a photograph of them, the date they met, a bird, no flowers and no pink!!! So this it what I came up with.....

The papers are from the Sugarplum Daisy CD and the images are from the Candy Doodles Collectors Edition. I made a pocket for the tag which carries a photograph of the couple and I used the computer to generate the date they met text which has been printed onto the ribbon. The die cut hearts are some that the lovely Angie from Bumbles Bees Craft Den sent me ages ago. The sentiment on the die cut heart is also computer generated.

Well that's it from me today. I hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire x

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

Building Igloo's!!

It's time for another challenge over at Polka Doodles and this week we want to see a bird on your creation. As you've probably noticed I'm in full Christmas mode at the moment and when I spotted this adorable little penguin on the Here Comes Christmas CD I knew I had to find a project to use him/her in. As luck would have it Emma Canning also released some Chrimbo cuties and I thought that Snow Race would fit perfectly on the card I had in mind! The only thing was I couldn't find an Igloo digi, so I thought I'd make my own - I have to say I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out. What do you think?

The card base is of course a simple stepper card. I roughly sketched the igloo onto white card and then cut out each individual ice block. To give an icy look to the blocks I edged them with Distress Ink and Stickles before gluing them onto place on the back step of the card. I then tore several strips of white card to create the snow banks and again edged them with DI's and Stickles.

All of the images have been coloured with Promarkers and accents added with Sakura Glitter Pens and a Sakura Glaze Pen (I cannot recommend these pens highly enough). They've then been mounted onto the card using foam pads. The sentiment comes from the Here Comes Christmas CD and has been die cut with my Oval Nesties. To finish I added some fabric snowflakes that I found in the pound store and then glued some blue gemstones into the centres.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend. We've got a friends birthday party to attend, so I have a feeling that I may have sore head come Sunday!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Aud Sentiments Challenge - Christmas
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything goes
Just Keep On Creating - Christmas
Creative Card Crew - Christmas
Papertake Weekly - Anything goes
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything goes
Crafty Cardmakers - Anything goes
Fashionista Challenge - Kids
Make It Monday - Anything goes

Piñata Bunny Meets The Monsters!

Today's the day!!! That's right folks it release day over at Stampotique. You finally get the chance to buy some (or all) of the lovely rubber we've been showing you over the past few days. Today I thought I'd show you a different take on the oh so cute  7302 "Hung Out To Dry" bunny and another new stamp from Kira 4024 "Line Up"  (I'll apologise in advance if I've managed to offend anyone, especially Maria as I'm not sure this how she envisaged him being used, but I blame the monsters!!).

So there you have it! One oh so cute bunny that's now not quite as cute and a very guilty looking monster in the line up! I have to say both of these new releases are just brilliant as you can use them in so many ways. I'll be blogging some more of my new release makes over the next few days/weeks.

For our last little surprise, all of those who have hopped with us this week and today will be eligible for our random drawing of a winner to get some new release goodies.  We will choose our winner next week before our next challenge. Almost the entire team is hopping and sharing some creations, so we hope that you will join us.  If you've not started the hop yet, then you need to go to Sam's blog and follow the directions from there. If you're already hopping then you should have arrived here from Jo Capper-Sandon's blog and your next port of call is Kaz Boughton's blog.

Enjoy the hop and thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

Stamps:                                                                                                                                             
7302 "Hung Out To Dry"
4024 "Line Up"
3031 "Abstract Foliage"
9163 Stones & Grass Cube
3002 Daisy Daisy
6090 Picket Fence

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Haunted House Designs - Bare Bones
The Octopode Factory - How Does Your Garden Grow

We Three Kings.....

This another of my samples that appeared on the launch show for the new Studio 12 Picknix Collection 2 - Gingerbread Twist CD. I managed to make quite a few samples with the CD and will blog them over the next few days/weeks as and when I find time.

This card came about purely by accident to be honest. I was nosing through all the different sections on the CD and found one marked cutting files. Now as you all know I am lusting after an electronic cutting machine, but currently I don't have the funds nor the space for one, so I thought I'd torture myself and take a look at what I'd be missing out on! Well can you imagine how excited I was when I realised that the folder had amongst other things some PNG files and then to find this gorgeous image hidden amongst them ?? :D It was a proper Tena lady moment I can tell you!

I thought it would be rude not to use the image on a card, so this is what I did with it. Sadly in my excitement I completely forgot to add a sentiment to the card blank before mounting and attaching the image - doh! So I had to add it afterwards (kicks herself!!!).

The background is of course inked with Distress Inks and I've used a white gel pen to add some highlights to the image to make it pop a little.

So are you starting to get a feel for what the CD is about now? I do hope so, cos CD's get such bad PR and  to be honest the only limits to creating with them is your imagination!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments - Christmas or Holiday Sentiment
Charisma Cards - No embellishments
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
The Perfect Sentiment - Anything goes
Creative Card Crew - Christmas

All Stitched Up!

Good morning. It's challenge time AGAIN over at Polka Doodles (is it just me or do these challenges come round far too quickly??!!!). This week we want to see some stitching on your card. I've elected to use faux stitching (only cos I'm far too lazy to get the sewing machine out and *blushes* I can't find my sew easy tool).

Now before I show you my card I just wanted to let you know about a couple of DT calls that we have going on at the moment. The first one is for Polka Doodles and you can find all the information you need here. The second is just a reminder for Emma Canning's DT call (I wish I wasn't so busy as I'd definitely apply, her images are a complete pleasure to work with) details can be found here. I do hope that some of you will consider applying as I know that both Nikky and Emma will love your work.

So, onto my card! I'll be honest with you, it was an experiment and I'm not all together sure that it's one I'll repeat - LOL, but you know me, I'll show you my successes and failures!

The image is of course Emma Canning's stunning Angel who has been coloured with Promarkers and Sakura Gel Pens. The edges of the image have been inked with Dusty Concord Distress Ink and then faux stitched using a gold glitter pen before being mounted onto a piece of die cut mirri board. The gorgeous purple paper is from the Sugarplum Daisy CD and I've simply distressed it and added some more faux stitching before glueing into place over the top of some scraps of mirri board (that was one of my (not so successful) experiments!). I found a scrap of plain lilac paper (which I think might be from the Candy Doodles CD) and embossed it with a Sizzix Snowflake Embossing Folder before swiping with DI and mounting onto another scrap of mirri board. The final part of my experiment was the Doodle Dewdrops. I bought the clear ones and applied some gold paint to the base of them - I'm really pleased as the gold shows through brilliantly but doesn't look flat or dull.

Well that's it from me today. I hope you all have a fantastic weekend.

Claire x

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

DIY Notepad For Your Handbag

Good morning it's my turn to provide today's Studio 12 inspiration post. So my project today is a handmade notepad for your handbag using one of the journalling pages from the Studio 12 Piknix Collection 1 CD.

Simply print out numerous copies of your selected journal page onto cheap copy paper, trim to size and then stack so that all of the sides are equal. Then use bull dog clips to hold the pages in position before brushing the top edge lightly with Copydex glue. Once dried, apply a further two layers of glue to ensure a good seal (nothing worse than a notepad which falls to pieces the minute you try to use it).

Then print the paper pattern of your choice onto card and cut it to measure 8" x 2 3/4". Next score the card at 1 1/4", 1 1/2", 4 3/4" and 5". Fold along the score lines, punch a decorative edge and lightly ink the edges if desired, then glue the pad into place. I've used a small piece of magnetic tape to secure the flap. Embellish as desired.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire

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

Studio 12 CAS Kraft Card

Good morning. Just a quickie from me today as I've got to work today :(

It's my turn to post over at Studio 12 today, so I've made this really quick and easy card using Studio 12 Picknix Collection 1. If you haven't been over there before, please do take the time to visit as there is a different inspiration post every day.

This card literally took five minutes to make and I think I'm pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. I should be back over the weekend with another project, but if I'm not I'll see you on Wednesday.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
My Mum's Craft Shop - Kraft It
The Paper Shelter - CAS
Tanda Stamps - CAS
Flourishes - Use Kraft paper
Make It Monday - Anything goes
OSAAT - Anything goes

It's Groovy Baby!

Well are you sick of summer yet? I'm not it can stay as long as it likes, loving the heat and being out in the air instead of cooped up indoors. Sadly though it looks like it's going to break today, I just hope it's a minor blip!

Anyway, over at Polka Doodles this week we are celebrating SUMMER, so we want to see all your summer themed cards. The prize this week is a copy of the Studio 12 Picknix Collection 1 CD . Remember, that whilst we'd be thrilled if you used a Polka Doodles image, it's not compulsory, so I really hope that you'll pop over and join us this week.

I used the fabulous Taylor "Camping Day" by the hugely talented Emma Canning for my card. As soon as I saw her, she shouted "groovy" and images of flowers and peace symbols sprang to mind. Unfortunately, my card didn't quite translate from my head to paper, so I'm not thrilled with it and keep looking at it thinking I will re-make it.

I die cut an easel card using my circular nesties and then covered it in papers from the All Around & Everywhere CD  .The sentiment was computer generated using a font from DaFont, I simply changed the font colour and printed it directly onto the orange polka dot paper, before cutting it out and mounting onto the card using silicone glue. To give it more dimension I've added some Glossy Accents. The flowers with buttons are taken from the Sundae Of Seasons CD.

Taylor was coloured with Promarkers and I've added some sparkle to her dress with my new Copic Atyou Spica Pen. Her glasses and boots have been Glossy Accented and to finish I've added a little punched flower and gem to hairband.

Well that's me about done, I hope you all have a fab weekend. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire xxx

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

Whimsy Stamps Challenge - Summer Fun

Fashionista Challenge - Birthdays or Baby

Anything Goes - Let's not be square

Bearly Mine - Shaped Cards

Sassy Cheryl's - Polka dots

Top Tip Tuesday - It's all about circles

Make It Monday - Anything goes