Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween my friends,

Have you got the witches blood brewing and the 'tricks and treats' all ready for the night ahead??

To mix things up a bit, I have a very un-Halloween card to share with you. This is the a card for Mynnette's DT call (details here). I based this card on Mynnette's sketch here:



I was going to do die cut Xmas baubles but then saw the Trigger Tuesday photo (see below) and off went my mind in a completely different direction! I was attracted by the flourishes and big flowers and using the colour combo from Colour Q this week, my Xmas bauble card ended up looking like this!!

I stamped, coloured and cut out the yellow flowers then raised them on foam pads to give the card dimension. The centre is a little saffron yellow brad. A bit more stamping, a few little gems and there you go....my very non-Halloween and Xmas card. Funny how you start in one direction, then see a photo and you completely go in another direction! I think that makes crafting all the more fun!!

Trigger Tuesday's photo and colourq's combo:

                         

Have a spooky night and stay safe!!

A Retro Sunset!

Happy Monday crafting chums,

Christmas is fast approaching so when I saw the challenge sketch on  Retro Sketch I immediately thought of Xmas trees. However, I wanted a little break from Xmas cards so decided to go for a different theme and opted for a dreamy sunset and palm tress. Don't you just wish you were here??

I sponged and blended inks for the sunset then used my new Verve stamps for the palm trees. The dotted background stamp and sentiment are both from PTI

Here is the retro sketch I have used:



I came across a new DT call for CAS cards. It is a weekly challenge based on sketches and colours and for all CAS lovers-check out the blog here.

Have a good week and thanks for popping by x 

Krafty Christmas!!

Happy weekend to all,

I have not been feeling too crafty this week but today decided to play along with Cas-ual Friday's 'kraft' challenge. Have to say this card did not turn out the way I planned. I kept playing around trying to make it the way I wanted but, alas, no joy! However I decided to post this card as I think we can't always be enthused by everything we make and perhaps tomorrow I might like it more. I added some glitter to make it feel more Christmassy. Can you believe I actually used 4 sets of stamps-Verve, PTI, Joanne Sheen and Green grass!!

I had fun inking around so maybe this has got me back into my crafting space and more cards will follow next week.

Have a fun weekend x

Love!

Happy Thursday crafting chums!

Today I am sharing the card I made for my Mum and Dad's Anniversary next month. 49 years......yes, that is right, 49!!  How special it must be to have shared so many years with the one you love. And next year is the big one so I had better start planning!!

I just loved this photo from Runway Inspired this week:



I loved the colour mix of cream, white and red-they look so cool together, the cut of the jacket and the actual runway pattern, were all aspects of this photo that inspired me. I did a CAS take on the sketch below from Retro Sketches,



And came up with this (using my new Verve 'stronger love' stamp)

I just love this sentiment and think it so suits my Mum and Dad and the special bond they share xx

Hello Again!

I am back from my fun in the sun and now enjoying the London fog and drizzle!

The day I got home I received a package of goodies from the US with lots of stamps for me to get my mojo back into stamping land and off the sunbed!!

The card I made was for CAS-ual Fridays 'over the edge' challenge (have a sneak peek at their new store here) and for a new CAS sketch challenge CAS(E) this sketch. Here is the sketch:



And my take on this with the added 'over the edge' button and tag:

Here I played with my new Verve 'relax' stamps.......do you think I am still in holiday mode???

Have a great Tuesday x

Sunsets

I have scheduled this post as I am away in Spain, hopefully enjoying the kind of sunset that I created in my card for today.
This is for the calendar I am making for a Xmas gift. I used a homemade stencil and then blended the inks. I just love this sentiment from ginger house. I hope you look at this and dream just for a bit.

I must go now and enjoy a class of wine, watch the sunset and dream some more! x

Lets play hockey!

Happy Saturday!

A quick card to you today. I am still on hols so this has been scheduled and I am hopefully about to be off to have a swim in the sea!!
This is a card for my friend's daughter who has really got into ice hockey. I was a bit stumped of what kind of card to make her as I knew she wouldn't like a pink card with a girly image on. But, problem solved when I found a funky ice hockey girl image on Kenny downloads. I used her team colours for the image and matched these with the paper. Had to add a ribbon for a touch of girly!! I know she will love this papersmooches sentiment. She really does rock!! I have got her a card making kit for a gift and will add a few things from my stash as she does like to come and ink along with me.......so not all sporty!!
I am going to enter this into the 'birthday' challenge at Cute and Girly

Have to run, the sea is calling me! Have a fun weekend x

Inkspirational Card #2

Today is the eve of my hols. Packing done and just managed to get in some inky time before I go.

My card today for the 'leaf' challenge on Casology and for the photo inspiration challenge for Mynnette's DT call (card number 2 of 4!!)
Here is the inspirational photo:



I have been looking at this photo all week and to me it said 'Christmas', red and black, and a large focal centre. So these are the items that I wanted to base my card on. I was browsing through some old cards and found a few from my cousin Lynn that helped me focus my ideas. So here is my CAS card inspired from the elements I wanted to draw out from this photo and my cousin Lynn's old Xmas card (see Lynn, I keep all your cards for future inspiration-so a big thank you!)

And as I am enjoying stamping the inside of my cards at the moment, I went for Xmas stars in blue. I chose  blue as I wanted it to contrast with the front.

So crafting chums, I do have a couple of posts scheduled but will not be crafting for over a week but I intend to blog hop and watch what you guys are creating.

Have fun and see you in a week x

Inkspirational Card #1

Hello fellow crafting chums,

How did your week start? Well, you have got passed the Monday blues and, for our US crafters, you are one day closer to 'hump' day (makes me giggle every time I say that!)

Mynnette is starting up a new challenge blog and is looking for a DT. She has set 4 challenges for us to enter if we are interested in being part of her team. The challenge is called 'Inkspirational'. Today I am sharing with you my first card which is a 'case' of the card below:



As I am a fan of 'clean and simple', I decided to CAS 'case' this card. Instead of having a strip of patterned paper I decided to ink my own pattern taking the inspiration from the flower. I inked a different flower in 'lilac posies' memento ink, cut it out and raised it with a foam pad to give the card some dimension. I added a small, simple sentiment and just inked the edges of the white card. Naturally I used my much loved PTI linen impression plate. So here is my CAS 'case' of Mynettee's card. Sorry about the shadow-serves me right for taking photos when the sun has gone down......you live and learn!!

And Make it Monday this week is all about stamping the inside of your card. So again I have made this CAS  using the 'garden of life' stamp set from PTI

Enjoy the rest of your day x

Pink Hugs!

Happy Monday crafting chums,

It is breast cancer awareness month and over on Cas-ual Fridays they are reminding us to get checked out and also for us to remind our friends and loved ones. So girlies, if you haven't been checked out recently, get to it!
Cas-ual Fridays are also challenging us to make a card for an important woman in our lives. So today my card is for a friend who has just found out that she is clear of Breast cancer 10 years after she suffered very badly from this crippling illness. Unfortunately she has other troubles now and my card is for her so she knows I am sending her hugs.
I have used this weeks colour combo from Colourq, I do love pink and grey together!

And the inside of my card:

My crafting friend Asha always decorates the centre of her cards and I guess I have caught the bug as, if you come back tomorrow, you will see I have done it again!!

Hope your week is starting well and I must dash now as I am going on hols on Thursday and need to get organised x

Love and Hearts

Happy Friday crafting chums.

Today my paper creation is for the calendar I am making for a Xmas present. It is for February so obviously I went with a love and heart theme. I used the gorgeous sentiment from ginger house and combined it with some die cut heart I had stamped with my text stamp and inked with bright red (naturally!)
I will enter this into the love challenges on less is more and willow sketchie

Have a fab weekend all and happy Thanksgiving to our Canadian buddies x

New Year??

Not quite the New Year but I am in the middle of making 2 calendars for 2013. It is a long job as each month has a new header. I started the process a few weeks ago and am slowly getting through the months.
Today I did the main header for my Aunt and Uncle's calendar. My Uncle, Tony, has worked with cars all his life and now at 70 plus, when he should be sitting back and taking a well deserved rest, he still works everyday! It seemed right to base the header around cars so I used a number plate rubber stamp from Stampology. This set comes with numbers, letters and months to mix and match. I followed this week's great sketch from retro sketches



I wanted to make the background appear like a garage and tried out a number of different patterned paper but just couldn't get it right. I decided to make my own using the 'grunge' set from PTI to make memento London fog ink. It was fun inking this and I like the way it looks.
I will also enter this into the 'numbers' Just Us Girls challenge.

Challenge A Crafting Buddy!

My crafting chum Asha and I challenged each other to make a card in the style of each other. Asha's cards are stunning and very detailed. She loves patterned paper, embossing, ribbon, gems and most of all stitching. And all her stitching is hand-done, amazing! I got a gorgeous card from her in the post this weekend and was just overwhelmed by how talented she is and when you see the card in real life it is even more impressive.

Asha has had a go at CAS-see her version of CAS here. When I saw this card it inspired me to get going making a super detailed card. I decided to un-cas one of my own cards and this is the one I chose:

And here is the un-cas version (after hours of playing)

Please note-no stamping!! Patterned paper, 2 ribbons (the bottom one was a pressie from Asha), die cuts, embossing, flowers, gems and curved edges!! Pretty non cas and really not my style but I kinda like it!
Then when I thought my work was done I remembered that my crafting chum always decorates the inside.....so when I am faced with a challenge I can't give up. And here is the inside:

I will be entering this into the die cutting challenge over on totally gorjuss

This was a lot of fun, so why not challenge one of your crafting chums??

So Asha.........how did I do???

Play Date Cafe 151

Happy Tuesday,

I am just popping in quickly to share my card for this week's Play Date Cafe challenge. This week the colour combo is wine, pumpkin and moss, a very Autumn palette with a hint of mulled wine to warm us up for the fast approaching winter!

I have used the 'garden of life' PTI stamps for the background and sentiment.
I will also enter this into the 'friendship challenge on eureka stamps

Have a happy Tuesday xx

Masking Monday

A new month begins and one day closer to Christmas!

Today I have had a go at masking for the challenge this week on One Layer Wednesday. I came found this site when checking out Karen's blog here. If you haven't seen Karen's site before, check it out, she is a master of CAS! I decided to really keep to the 'one layer' rule and add no gems, twines, ribbons or layers and see how I got on.

I had a few attempts but am happy with this one:

Autumn has well and truly set in now, so best to get crafting on those Xmas cards now, so in December you can kick back and enjoy more Xmas cheer!

Have a jolly week, crafting chums x