Birdcage Aperture Card

OK a real quick post from me today as due to the fact that I didn't win the Euro Millions Draw on Friday and the housework fairies have been exceptionally lax in their duties I have a date with a pile of ironing :(

I've been wanting to play with this Woodware Birdsong Stamp Set for ages and finally got the chance the other day. The card base was matted and layered with Bazzil cardstock and Jack n Jill Papers from Prima. The aperture was cut using my Labels 8 Nesties. I stamped and heat embossed the birdcage and then coloured it with a Tea Green Promarker it has been hung in the aperture using metal jump rings. The birds and branch were stamped using the other stamps in the set. The faux heart charm has been made from shrink plastic and then painted with acrylic paint and coated in stickles.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Art Impressions Stamps - Embossing
Craft Us Crazy - Nature
Crafty Purple Frog - Things with wings
Digi Doodles Shop's Best - Pearls
Little Miss Muffet Challenges - Designer Papers
PaperCrafting Journey - Wings
Dutch Dare Card Challenges - Photo Inspiration
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
Stampavie & More - Birds
A Spoonful of Sugar - Shabby/Vintage
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp & Show - Metal

Bad Hair Day??

We all have them, but for once it's not me, it's the cute little madam on my card! However, I have to say the dragged through a hedge backwards look that she was sporting has been greatly improved by me since I gave her a hair cut! It wasn't intentional, I'd just finished fussy cutting and then somehow manage to catch an ultra-fine piece of the image and rip it off! Naughty words weren't used - much!! I was going to re-do it, but as I'm running way behind schedule this week with everything that has been going on, I've taken a gamble that most people won't notice or will be far to polite to point my poor workmanship out - so I've left it.

Anyway, this week over at Sweet Pea Stampers we want to see your SCALLOPS. I really hope that you'll be joining us.

Now I don't normally do scallops as they are just that little bit too frilly for me, so this was a real challenge. I don't think I did too badly, but have to say that I'm tempted to totally re-work this card as it's not one of my favourites - not sure what the problem is but it just doesn't feel right - maybe it was that haircut!

The scalloped shaped card was cut using Large Nestabilities.As previously mentioned I used Bad Hair Day by Lisa Victoria from Sweet Pea Stamps. The image has been coloured with Promarkers and then decoupaged onto the digital designer paper from Fred She Said. The fairies dress has been covered with Clear Star Sakura Gel Pen to try and give a really sheer translucent look to the skirt. Her wings have been coated with a thin layer of Stardust Stickles. The toadstool has had a coat of Glossy Accents and Picket Fence Stickles. The butterflies are from my most favoured punch at the moment Martha Stewart 3 in 1 Butterfly Punch and the gems are from my stash. The sentiment is from Craftwork Cards.

I've added this second photo to try and show the sparkle and shimmer on her skirt and wings. If you click the image to enlarge it you can just about see it.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Creative Card Crew - No flowers
Flutterby Wednesdays - Photo inspiration - sky
Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes
Bearly Mine - Birthdays
Magical Monday - Spring Colours
Totally Papercrafts - Shaped Cards

It's Supposed To Be Green, But Mine Is Pink!!

Good morning to you all. Today's challenge over at Delicious Doodles is to use green. It was designed to coincide with St Patrick's day, but as I don't have anyone to send a card to, I thought it would be a bit of a waste of card and paper. So rather than sit the challenge out, I decided that I'd make a card with some green on it :)

If you want some St Patrick's Day inspiration then check out the other girls on the DT's blogs, they have produced some awesome projects using some of the images from the Delicious Doodles Shop.

I've used Sweet Shamrock Fairy for my card and have shamelessly nicked the lovely Pascale's inspired idea of colouring the shamrocks a different colour, which means that I can use this beauty all year round!! I decided to paper piece the dress using some papers from My Minds Eye and have coloured the rest of the image with Promarkers. The flowers and wings have been given a coat of Stickles.I've then added some Glossy Accents to her eyes, lips and the flowers in her hair.

The card base has been cut using Large Circle Nestabilities. It's then been inked with Distress Inks and sprayed with Tattered Angels Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist. The flowers have been punched using Nellie Snellen punches and the butterflies are from a Martha Stewart 3 in 1 Butterfly Punch. I've then added some hot pink gems to finish.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Penny's Paper Crafty - Green
Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes
Charisma Cards - Easel Cards
Paper Play - Shades of Green
Paper Romance - Colour
Sarah Hurley - Flowers
Totally Papercrafts - Shaped Cards

Happy Birthday To Me!!! My First Triple Easel Card. Oh And I Have A Candy Winner!!

Firstly sorry I'm very late with this post - I've had one of those weeks where everything that can wrong has gone wrong! I was already going to be slightly late with the post, but then events took a rapid and unexpected turn for the worse and DS ended up being admitted to hospital for an emergency operation on Friday. Thankfully he's home now and seems to making a speedy recovery.

OK so I think an explanation is required - it's not my actual birthday, just the card I would like to receive. Now before you all go thinking that I've completely lost the plot, I'd better explain what this all about! Oh you guessed already? That's right, it's the new challenge over at Delicious Doodles - make the birthday card you would like to receive. We're sponsored this week by the fantastic FunkyHand who are going to provide the winner with a copy of the Craft The Year Away CD. As always the girls on the DT have produced some amazing creations for your inspiration, so please do go checkout their blogs (links are in the sidebar) to see what they've been upto.

I decided that as I love fairies and ink that "my" birthday card would have to contain these elements, then I thought about my favourite colour and that was where I hit a stumbling block! I don't really have a favourite colour, it's more like colours! So I decided that I'd use each and every colour that I fancied using!!! For those of you who have followed me for anytime, you will remember that I love experimenting, so when I saw a triple aspect easel card being demonstrated the other week I decided that I'd have a play and make my own. So drumroll please........... here's my birthday card.

Firstly I created my base card using plain white cardstock from The Papermill. I then inked up some cheap old copier paper and used it to line the back and inside of the card. The background has been created with Distress Inks upon which I've stamped leaves, grasses and flowers with my new Martha Stewart Peg Stamp Starter Kit.

I've used two images, Mushroom Fairy and Fairy Seats from Delicious Doodles. Both images have been coloured with Promarkers and then decoupaged. The fairy has been given a liberal dusting of Sakura Gel Pen, Stickles and Glossy Accents and the red part of the Fairy Seats have been coated with Glossy Accents.

The flowers have been punched using my Nellie Snellen 5 Petal Embossing Punch. I've then placed some 3mm yellow rhinestones in the centres to add a bit more shimmer and shine. The butterflies have been punched from pink cardstock using a Martha Stewart 3 in 1 Butterfly Punch. They've then been stickled to within an inch of their lives.

Now the bit you've all been waiting for....... the winner of my followers candy!! Before I announce the winner I'd just like to say a huge thank you to each and everyone of you who follows this blog and is kind enough to take the time to leave a comment. I just wish that I had enough pennies to send you all some candy. Anyway, I chucked all 63 entries into Mr Random Generator and he selected number 25

Which is Maggie. Congratulations hun, if you'd like to send me an email with your snail mail address I'll get your prize out to you asap.

Remember if I don't hear from the winner within 7 days of this post, then I will do a redraw.

Thanks for stopping by

Claire xx

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
The Pink Elephant - Springtime
The Crazy Challenge - Lovely Ladies
Kaboodle Doodles - Go green
Magical Mondays - Spring Colours
Craft Your Passion - Anything goes
Aly's Sunday Challenge - Anything goes
Card Cupids - Anything goes
Gingerloft Challenge - Flowers
Catch The Bug - Anything goes
Challenge Up Your Life - Fairytales
Little Claire's - Flowers
Simply Create - Flowers
Stamp Something - Use a digi
Wags n Whiskers - More than one fold
Crafty Purple Frog - Things with wings
Delightful Challenges - Welcome Spring
DYSU - Green
Paper Crafting Journey - Things with wings
Bearly Mine - Birthday Card
Bunny Zoes - Flowers
Die Cut Dreams - Spring Garden Scene
Passion For Promarkers - Sugar Rush

Followers Blog Candy

This post will remain at the top of my blog until 8/3/11.

Yep I'm back - fourth day in a row!! Still no card though - but I'm working on a whole bunch of stuff that I will be being posting in the next couple of weeks!

Anyway as promised in yesterday's post, I'm back with a candy offering. The candy is open to all of my lovely followers. To be in with a chance of winning you simply need to enter your name in Mr Linky and make sure you check back here to see if you're the winner. If you'd be kind enough to spread the word that would be great, but it's not necessary to be eligible to win.

The candy closes at midnight on 7th March 2011 and I will draw and announce the winner shortly afterwards. The winner will have seven days to claim their prize. If the prize remains unclaimed I will draw another winner.

Good luck and THANK YOU for following me!

Claire xx

Spring Shaker Card Using Tim Holtz Sizzix Branch Tree Die

Today's post is going to be short 'n' sweet as I'm really pushed for time! A friend who runs a craft store asked me to create a sample card using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Branch Die. At first I was completely uninspired and could only see a Halloween related project, which in March is hardly appropriate! So I went away had a little think and came up with this card.

I covered a card base with Basic Greys Lemonade Paper. The shaker frame has been cut using my nesties, I've then filled it with Soft Magic. The tree has been cut from white cardstock and coloured with distress inks. I've added Soft Magic to the tree branches. The sentiment from Ladybug Crafts Ink has been stamped using Memento Ink.

I'm going to try and make a few more cards with this Tree Branch Die all with a different theme, so watch this space!

Thanks for stopping by today.

Claire x

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
By the Cute & Girly - Springtime
Sir Stampalot - Spring is in the air
Everybody Art - Spring
Incy Wincy Designs - Spring
Papercutz - Spring

Silhouette Fairy & Toadstools

Just a quickie from me today. I've had my Distress Inks out to play and thought I'd try some new silhouette fairy and foliage stamps from Personal Impressions. The card base was cut using my nesties and the sentiment is from Ladybug Crafts Ink.

Thanks for stopping by.

Claire xx

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafty Cardmakers - Silhouettes 
Bearly Mine - Birthday
Cupcake Craft - Anything but square
Stamps R Us - For the girls
I Did It Creations - Punches or Dies
Challenge Up Your Life - Fairytales
Sugar Creek Hollow - Inside Out