Cupcake Craft Challenge 7

This week's challenge is Christmas! Plain and simple- you can make anything at all- a card, ATC, decoration- the possibilities are endless. As I've been quite busy this week, my design is one of the Christmas cards I've been making. I used this lovely Rubber Romance stamped image- I absolutely love their designs, they're so trendy. I was digging through my papers and remembered I had this lovely plaid design which would match the scarf she's wearing so I based the card around the paper. I coloured with my copics and added highlights of Crystal Stickles to the snow and gave her glamorous glittery eyeshadow! I added hot fix crystals down her coat as buttons, a couple of gorgeous flowers and a rub-on.

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Rubber Romance); Papers (Banana Frog); Copics; Crystal Stickles; Flowers (Ebay); Brad (Woodware); Rub-on (K&Co); Button (Recycled); Hot fix crystals

7 swans a swimming & 8 maids a milking

Sorry, the photos are a bit dodgy with this post. So here I am continuing with Penny Black 12 days of Christmas stamps and we're up to 7 swans a swimming and 8 ladies dancing. For the swans card, I coloured the image with watercolour pencils and added a bit more of a swan-like beak with the colour and I highlighted the "7" with red glitter glue pen. The paper is from the Christmas DCWV stack and the sentiment stamp is from Elzybells. I added blue gems to add a bit more sparkle!

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Penny Black & Elzybells); Watercolour pencils; Glitter glue; Paper- Christmas stack (DCWV); Assorted cardstock; Gems (Lakeland); Ribbon (recycled)

I really like the design on this card. I made the apeture using my nesties, it was really easy and made me realise I'd never need to buy a pre-made apeture from a shop- how cool is that? Again I coloured the image with watercolour pencils and highlighted areas with white gel pen and Crystal Stickles. The paper is from DCWV Christmas stack and the gems from Lakeland. I liked the colouring on both these cards as I think it's nice to get away from the traditional Christmas colours of red, green, silver and gold.

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Penny Black & Elzybells); Watercolour pencils; White gel pen (Sakura); Crystal Stickles (Ranger); Assorted cardstock; Nesties; Paper- Christmas stack (DCWV); Gems (Lakeland)

Lili of the Valley Challenge -week 1

Yay! It's here at last! Today is Lili of the Valley's Challenge blog's first challenge!! Every Thursday will see a new challenge with some great prizes on offer. As this is the official challenge blog for LOTV, Laila and Lisa will be donating the prizes and will be visiting the blog to take a look at everyone's entries!!

This week's challenge is called "Welcome"- this could cover "welcome home", "new baby", "welcome back" etc. For the first few challenges you are not limited to LOTV products so don't worry if you haven't got any yet!

Here is what I came up with for my design team entry:

For this card, I used the Lili of the Valley Babies- Hello stamp which I coloured in with copics and highlighted with Crystal Stickles and a blue hotfix crystal. I cut the image out and mounted it on flowery paper (both from Lili of the Valley) and layered with some pretty gingham paper. I then added some more crystals, buttons, a ribbon and die cut the sentiment using my Wingo Zingo alphabet. I think he looks cute!

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Lili of the Valley); Papers (Lili of the Valley & Making Memories); Copics; Crystal Stickles; Assorted cardstock; Buttons (free); Ribbon (recycled); Hot fix crystals; Wingo Zingo alphabet (Sizzix)

Do have a look at the challenge blog and see the other girls' entries on the design team- they're fantastic! And have a go yourself because the prize is sooo cute!

Whilst I'm talking about LOTV, I also wanted to say a big thank you to Laila and Lisa for making me part of the design team but also to Jacqui who did fantastic work in getting the blog up and running and for sending me this stunning card. It's so beautiful, I just had to show you! Thanks, Jacqui!

I forgot... I've been tagged!

I forgot that I'd been tagged by my fellow designer over at Cupcake Craft Challenge, the lovely Ceal. Here are the rules:

1. Link your tagger and list the rules on your blog
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs
4. Let them know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

7 things about me you may or may not know:

1. I love George Michael, always have done since his Wham days and I've been to see him 3 times on his last tour
2. I'm a medical librarian
3. I love to dance around the house whilst doing the housework- generally listening to Madonna!
4. I always, always get sayings wrong- much to the amusement of everyone around me!
5. I love yoga- especially postures when I'm upside down!
6. When I was 5 I got trapped in a friend's bathroom and had to be rescued by the fire brigade!
7. I'd love to go travelling around Australia and New Zealand

The 7 ladies I'm now going to tag are Jacqui, Niki, Kim, Jo and Donalda who are my fellow designers on Lili of the Valley Design Team and the lovely Sarah and Kerry whose gorgeous blogs inspire me and who are always so friendly and supportive!

Have fun and tag someone!

Cupcake Craft Challenge 6

This week's Cupcake Craft Challenges is the above sketch designed by Chris at Pollycrafts, our sponsor. You can alter it, flip it etc as long as the original design can still be seen. Entries to be in by next Monday.

Below is my design although I must admit I did forget slightly what the sketch looked like and somehow in my mind I thought the circles were up in the right hand side but you can still see the original sketch so that's the main thing! As I'm doing Christmas cards at the moment, I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone and enter this one.


Crafty stash used: Stamps (Elzybells sentiments); Stamped image (Ebay); Copics; Paper- Xmas stack (DCWV); Assorted cardstock; Prima flowers; Gems (Lakeland); Ribbon (Recycled)

Lili of the Valley Challenge Blog!

My second post of the day but I just had to tell you all about the new Lili of the Valley Challenge blog of which I have just found out I'm a design team member!!! I am sooooo beside myself with excitement!!!

Our very first challenge will be posted on Thursday 25th September. Lili of the Valley are, of course, the sponsors and will be providing lovely candy for the winners of the challenges. To get a look at their full range of wonderful products, check out their website. It's not strictly necessary to use Lili of the Valley stamps and die cuts for the first few challenges just to get the ball rolling.

If you want to join us, please have a look at the challenge blog for further details.

5 gold rings & 6 geese a laying

Onto 5 golden rings and 6 geese a laying today! Again, both these stamps are versatile and can be used for other occasions- the ring for an engagement card and the goose for Easter cards- fab! I coloured in the cat using watercolour pencils and then highlighted the "5" using Platinum Stickles. I used my nesties to create all the rings and just layered them behind the main image ring. I chose this paper as the snowflakes reminded me of the sparkle you get on top of a ring!

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Penny Black); Watercolour pencils; Paper- Christmas pack (Dovecraft); Assorted cardstock; Platinum Stickles; Nesties

I also coloured this image with watercolour pencils and highlighted the "6" with Platinum Stickles. The paper is from the Christmas stack (DCWV) and I chose it because the dots reminded me of eggs. I added some gems and Christmas brads, both from Lakeland. The sentiment stamp is from See D's.

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Penny Black & See D's); Watercolour pencils; Paper- Christmas stack (DCWV); Assorted cardstock; Gems (Lakeland); Brads (Lakeland); Platinum Stickles

4 calling birds!

I'm back to Penny Black 12 Days of Christmas cards...today's offering is 4 calling birds! I love this stamp as it's versatile to be used for other occasions! I coloured my stamp with coloured pencils and used my nesties to cut the scalloped circle and outer circle. I then used my swiss dots embossing folder to give the outer circle some texture. The paper is from the Christmas stack (DCWV) and I stamped the "4 calling birds" sentiment twice and added a See D's sentiment in the bottom left. I finished it off with some ribbon and a brad.

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Penny Black & See D's); Watercolour pencils; Paper- Christmas stack (DCWV); Assorted cardstock; Nesties, Ribbon (recycled); Brad (Jo'Ann's)

Cupcake Craft Challenge 5

This week's challenge is the above sketch. You can rotate it or alter it slightly as long as you can still see the original design. Entries must be in by next Monday. Do pop along to the challenge and view the other design team members' designs- they're fantastic! And why not have a go yourself?

Here is my design:

The main feature of my card is the Chloe in bath Sizzix die. This is the first time I've used it and let me tell you, it was a nightmare! I don't think the die was sharp enough as it didn't seem to cut completely cleanly around the image plus working out all the different layers was really difficult. In the end I kind of did my own thing! I didn't have any flesh coloured card so I used white card and coloured it with copics. That's why I love copics- I don't think you could achieve that effect with brush, pen marks using anything else. Plus you get to achieve great shading which I also used on the pillow. My favourite bit was to use my trusty snow writer to look like bubbles in the bath which I then topped with Crystal Stickles- it really looks like bubble bath! The sentiment is from Penny Black and the paper Making Memories.
Crafty stash used: Chloe in bath (Sizzix); Stamp (Penny Black); Paper (Making Memories); Assorted cardstock; Copics; Prima flowers (Ebay); Gems (Joanna Sheen and recycled); Ribbon (Artic Frog); Snow writer; Crystal Stickles (Ranger)

Oooh la la!

Here is the 3rd of my Penny Black 12 days of Christmas cards- 3 french hens! I decided I wanted to go for a red, white and blue card whilst still retaining the Christmasy theme. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils and added highlights with a white gel pen and Stickles to the glass of champagne. I used my Cuttlebug snowflakes embossing folder in my Big Shot (first time I've used Cuttlebug dies) to create a nice texture. The paper is from the Christmas Retro stack and I then added a rub-on and some brads.

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Penny Black); Watercolour pencils; White gel pen; Crystal Stickles; Snowflakes embossing folder (Cuttlebug); Paper- Christmas Retro stack (DCWV); Rub-on (K&Co); Assorted cardstock; Brads (Lakeland)

2 turtle doves

Here's the second of my Penny Black 12 days of Christmas cards. I'm really pleased with this one! I coloured in the images using a mixture of watercolour pencils and brush markers. I used my Snow Writer (tool of the moment!) on the little bobbles on the woolly hats to add some texture and I mounted them on foam pads to make them pop. I then used my nesties to add a bit of depth to it. I used Stickles on the "2" turtle doves and stamped the sentiment using my Christmas See D's. I finished it off with 2 star brads.

Crafty stash: Stamps (Penny Black, See D's); Paper- Christmas Retro stack (Papermania); Assorted cardstock; Watercolour pencils; Brush markers; Snow Writer; Crystal Stickles; Brads (Lakeland); Nesties

Blog candy!

Forgot to mention, my fellow Cupcake Craft Challenge Design Team member Jennifer is offering some blog candy this week. She is launching her very own line of stamps designed by her and her daughter. They're so cute and funky. Great for teenagers who are so difficult to make cards for. All you have to do is say which design you like the most and you can win a stamp of your choice. Winner announced Sunday 14th.

First Christmas card!

This is my first Christmas make! Normally I wouldn't make Christmas cards this early but I'm doing a craft show in a couple of weeks and the organiser said some people like to buy Christmas gifts and cards at this show! I'm panicking a bit cos it's only a couple of weeks away and I've only just started on my Christmas stock! I soooo love these Penny Black stamps. They're such great value for money, so quirky but best of all, quite a few of them you could use at other times of the year rather than just being restricted to Christmas. Oh and they're great value too!! If any of you are thinking of getting some- DO IT! I love the nested circle idea on this. I was inspired for this by a design Heather did on the A Muse stamps blog- she did a get well card using circles in this way. I coloured the image using watercolour pencils and then highlighted areas with a white gel pen.

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Penny Black, Elzybells); Paper- Christmas stack (DCWV); Assorted cardstock; Watercolour pencils; White gel pen; Gems (Lakeland); Nesties

Cupcake Craft Challenge Design Team

I'm really excited to find out that I have been selected for the Cupcake Craft Challenge Design Team by Lauren! As I'm so new to blogging, I didn't know if I'd be accepted so I'm really proud and excited!! The other members of the team are:


Ceal
Jennifer
Jenny
Jilly
Rosette
Sarah


This week's challenge is cupcakes! It can be anything at all- card, gift, ATC- as long as it features cupcakes. Challenge closes on Monday 15th. Do join in! Here is Lauren's creation for the week. Isn't it sweet? I love the swirly icing!!

Funnies

I've been making a few more cards for my sale stock including some funny ones using Inkadinkadoo stamps. I love these stamps, they're such good value for money as you get an image (which can often be used in isolation for other cards) plus some kind of funny text. And I got mine for a pound! I gave H2Os a go for these cards. I must admit I haven't really used them that much but I like the sheen I got on these.

Crafty stash used: Stamp (Inkadinkadoo); H2Os, Paper- Retro stack (Papermania); Assorted cardstock; Flowers (Lakeland); Brad (Jo'Anns)

I used pretty much the same stash to make this congratulations card. This stamp actually consisted of 3 stamps- the duck, the sentiment and the little four leafed clover- all for a pound! Bargain! I added "best of luck" to the top using my Elzybells sentiments sheet of stamps. Paper is also from Papermania's Retro stack.

Crafty stash used: Stamps (Inkadinkadoo & Elzybells); H2Os, Paper- Retro stack (Papermania); Assorted cardstock; Brads (Jo'Anns)

Cupcake Craft Challenge 3- my first ever ATC!

This week's challenge is to make an ATC. I was quite excited by this as I haven't made an ATC before but kept meaning to give it a go. There are no other confines to the challenge- no specific colour or technique- just an ATC. Entries to be in by Sunday 12pm.

I decided to make one using this lovely mermaid stamp. I have no idea who makes this stamp as it's unmounted and I bought it randomly off Ebay. I've wanted to use this stamp for ages and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it. Having this challenge has given me an excuse to get on and use it as I discovered the dimensions were just about perfect for an ATC!

I coloured the mermaid using watercolour pencils and used 7 different blues on her tail. I then covered the tail in Crystal Stickles to give it a scaly appearance. I also added highlights to her using a white gel pen. I then used my brush markers to paint the sandy background. I wanted the surf of the waves to really pop out so I used my snow writer on these areas which really makes it lovely and tactile. I've used shells I've picked on a couple of my other cards before and knew they'd look perfect on this. I think the holographic card mounts it really well as it gives a reflective appearance of the sea.

Crafty stash used: Stamp (?); Assorted cardstock; Watercolour pencils; Brush markers; Snow writer (Deco Art); Crystal Stickles (Ranger); Gems (Lakeland); Shells

FOREVER FRIENDS

Have you seen the new Forever Friends collection being advertised at Artymiss? There's a whole collection consisting of a variety of papers, stickers and wooden stamps! Cute or what?! I must admit I'm very tempted but I'm trying to resist buying anything for the next few months! The only thing is, I'm guessing the stamps must be pretty small because for wood based stamps, they don't seem that expensive. I think they'd be really good for selling cards at craft shows because people are familiar with the images but they also get that handcrafted touch! Be interesting to see your crafty designs on some of the forums to see the collections in action!

Easy does it!

I made a couple of quick and easy cards to add to my selling stock. I don't normally like to make cards in this way- firstly because I love the opportunity to stamp but secondly because I think they're a bit of a lazy way to make cards. It doesn't really take much creativity to stick on a few embellishments! But having said that, I do make cards like this occasionally as they are a great way for quick and easy cards in an emergency or to bulk up my stock a bit. The anniversary card was made using the Classic Papermania Embellishment kit. I used 2 of the papers, the rose embellishment and the tag from the kit. I then stamped happy anniversary on the tag using Tea Dye ink and added a brown ribbon. I finished it off with some fabric flowers.

Crafty stash used: Paper (Papermania); Embellishments (Papermania); Tea Dye ink (Ranger); Brown ribbon (recycled); Fabric flowers (Lakeland); Button (free)

This birthday card was made using the Mother's Day embellishment kit from Papermania. Again I used 2 papers from the kit and 2 embellishments. 

Crafty stash used: Papers (Papermania); Embellishments (Papermania); Ribbon (recycled); Gems (Lakeland)