Addicted to CAS #23

Its time for our next challenge at Addicted to CAS. This fortnight the very talented CAS designer Sylvia is our hostess and she has chosen the following, very seasonal, code word for us:

In England this time of year is Autumn but we don't mind what you call it! We just want to see projects that are inspired by Autumn/Fall. This is my favourite season. I love to walk through the park and just look in wonder at the amazing colours that surround me. Each day your eyes are filled with a new and changing painting of beautiful colours. The sentiment on my card today really says it all! And the sentiments and images also make my card suitable for this weeks 'Autumn' challenge at CASology 

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

This is a pre-scheduled post as I am actually now on holiday in the sun! However, when I made this card it was the first time I had used these stamps and dies from Clearly Besotted Stamps. Aren't they gorgeous?  I am sure that I will have used them plenty of times since making this card.

We are very pleased that The Paper Nest Dolls our sponsoring this challenge. The DT have made some outstanding projects to inspire you to play along with us. Pop over to our blog here and take a look then get stamping your Autumn projects my friends x

Addicted to Stamps and More #64

Wednesday is here with us again and that means it is time for our challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More. This week it is our 'CAS' week. We want to see clean and simple projects.

And here is mine:

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This is for a 50th Wedding Anniversary. I have heat embossed my decorative heart to give the card texture. I added dimension with this die cut heart which I found in my stash! The gold rope was also found in my stash. 

We are very pleased that The Paper Nest Dolls are sponsoring us again this week.

Before you join in with us, please pop over to our blog here to see what fabulous projects the DT have made to inspire you this week.

Enjoy!

Happy Hols to me!

 Hello my crafting friends,

This is my last post before I fly away to Cyprus tomorrow. I have some pre-scheduled posts for my design teams, so I won't be completely absent from blogland!

Today my card is for CAS-ual Fridays 'Fall Colours and a Leaf' challenge.

My card was inspired by this card that Loll posted last week. I loved her idea of embossing a leaf with gold. I have used the same stamp set from Clearly Besotted Stamps that I used yesterday but this time I also used the die. I blended Autumn coloured inks onto my card stock then die cut the leaf. I then stamped and heat embossed in gold. The leaf is just stunning on its own and a CAS design was the way I had to go with it. I just scored a few lines then spritz the card with gold shimmer ink to give the splatter look. This card was so hard to photograph in this dull English weather! Here are 2 shots that hopefully give you some idea.

O.K my blogging friends I am off to pack!

Take care and see you soon x

Greetings Autumn!

I am popping in quickly to share a card a made yesterday using the 'Autumn Flowers' stamps from Clearly Besotted Stamps. I wanted to try out some masking with one of the stamps and had a lot of fun making this card:

The design was inspired by this photo at Pinspirational Challenges

I am going to enter it this challenge and the 'make your own background' challenge at Clearly Besotted Stamps.

Tomorrow I will be posting another card I made using these stamps and dies but a more CAS version.

I have to run now as I am going on hols very early Wed morning and am in the middle of getting myself sorted!

Have a great day x

I did it!!

Today I have made my last card for Jackie's Pantone Colour Challenge. The deadline is tomorrow so I have just managed it. The final colour I had to do was Monaco blue and I have been thinking all week about this and have struggled. Inspiration was still escaping me this afternoon so I decided to browse a few of my favourite challenges. And it finally happened........3 challenges all seem to speak to me and off I went and created this card (the photo is not so great but the dark nights are drawing in and I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to share this with you......sorry I was just excited I had finally cracked the last colour!!)

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

Now the 3 challenges that inspired me:

• Runway Inspired-I took my inspiration from the netting and the blue pattern on the dress-I just reversed the colours. And added a tag of silver/white mesh to represent the netting.

• Festive Friday-I have been following this challenge and my favourite blogger and cousin Lynn enters regularly and I have been wanting to join in but this is the first time I have! The challenge is Silver, White and Blue. My medallion is actually heat embossed with silver snow white embossing powder that does sparkle a bit more IRL.

• CAS(E) this Sketch provided me with the perfect lay out for my card.

So, Jackie...........I have done it! And if you still haven't joined in the fun to win a custom designed blog header for you or a friend then check out the details here. You don't have to do all 10 colours, you can do just one as the it is a random draw.

Enjoy the rest of your day my crafting chums x

Addicted to Stamps and More #63

Hello crafting friends,

Today our challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More we have a colour challenge for you.

I really like this combo of colours but when I came around to creating a card I got a bit stumped. I wanted to use my crumb cake ink but couldn't decide how. In the end I went for a doily stamp and jazzed it up with some colouring, a button and red and blue gems. I don't think I have used so many gems on a card before but I like how it turned out.

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

I think I could actually use this as a Xmas card if I don't have enough.

This week we are having a DT call at Addicted to Stamps and More. Check out the details of how to enter here.

This week we are sponsored by The Paper Nest Dolls and their store is bursting with wonderful goodies. So check it out here.

And don't forget to take a look here at what our DT have created for you this week to inspire you. Then time to get inky and join in the fun x

An Autumn Inspired Christmas!

Another week begins and today I am starting the week full of Christmas joy.

Today I have used my new Autumn Flowers Clearly Besotted Stamps to make a Xmas card. I just stamped the leaves in red and added some glossy accents to the die cut leaf and viola.....a Xmas card!

(hover over the image and click on the image to safe to pinterset)

I used the sketch from Shery's challenge blog-STAMPloations Holiday Papercrafting challenge. Shery makes some great cards and I urge you to check out her blog here. I did a CAS take on the sketch (had to stay true to my CAS loving heart!)

I am also going to enter this into Jackie's Poppy Red Pantone Colour Challenge- a new custom designed blog header is on offer here! I have one colour left to make before the deadline on Sept 22nd so I need to get my skates on!

Shery's Sketch

Enjoy the rest of your day and stay away from the Monday Blues x

Autumn Flowers!

I am very excited today to share with you a card I made a few days ago using the new 'Autumn Flowers' stamp and die set from Clearly Besotted Stamps. I just got this set and have already made 3 cards using them and love them all.

My card today was inspired by Anita's card here. I loved how she had embossed the background with white on white. I used this idea to make my own background so I could enter the challenge at Clearly Besotted Stamps. I heat embossed a couple of the big leaf stamps and a few smaller single leaves-to fit in with this week's sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch.  I have used cream embossing powder on cream card stock. I have used glossy accents on the top leaf die to give it a shiny feel and to add more texture. It was quite hard to take a photo of this especially with all the dull weather we are having!

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

This was the best photo out of about 25!!

If you pop back tomorrow you will see how I have used these stamps to create a Xmas card!



Enjoy your day x

Addicted to CAS #22 Get Well

Happy Saturday my crafting friends,

Today it is my time to host the CAS challenge at Addicted to CAS. I have chosen 'Get Well' as our code this week:

All you need to do is make a CAS project inspired by 'Get Well'

I decided to make a bookmark to match this card I made a few weeks ago. I thought this would make an ideal gift for someone who was ill and could not do much except read and drink lots of fluid (that's tea not wine!!)

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I have masked the Fresh Squeezed Stamps cup and saucer to make this pile of cups and coloured with promarkers. I decided to add my own little CAS design to the cups. I fussy cut the teabag holder out to make the tag for my bookmark.

And here it is with the card:

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

This was my first go at making a bookmark but I enjoyed making it. I think it makes for a sweet little gift. Unfortunately with ereaders these days there are not so many people who you could send this too. However there are still quite a few of my family who prefer 'real books'. Therefore, I do have scope to make a few more!

Our DT have come up with some great projects this week. Pop over to our blog here and take a peek.

This week we are very lucky to have The Paper Nest Dolls as our sponsor.

I am looking forward to hosting the challenge this fortnight and am very excited to be choosing the winners. I can't wait to visit your blogs. 

Have fun my CAS friends!!

My first Silhouette!

Happy Friday Eve my friends,

I have a card to share that was inspired by the silhouette challenge at CASology. I wanted to have a go at the challenge but really didn't know what to use as my silhouette. After a hunt through my stamps I came across an unused stamp that I thought was perfect.

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

I punched a circle and then used distress inks to make my sunset. I have tried to blend 3 colours so the centre is darker. I had a lot of fun with curving the sentiment. In the end I had to do some sentiment surgery and cut it in 2, then stamp it! The woodgrain base just seemed appropriate. The gems are a design element........they cover a black splodge that I left during my sentiment surgery (but that is just between you and me!)

I am also going to enter it into the Trees and Leaves challenge at Craft-Room Challenges.

Have a fun day x

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #62

Its time for our 'Make Your Mark' challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More. You can use any kind of markers including pencils, paints and crayons. I had another go at blending using caio copic markers. I masked off a small area using post it notes then stamped this flower and stem from Hero Arts. I then used my copics to colour the flower blending the pinks.

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

I am still finding this technique a challenge but it is fun to try out different techniques. I realised once I had stamped the 'just a note' sentiment that it would have looked better off-set rather than directly underneath. But, as this was my fourth attempt at getting the colouring right, I decided to rescue my card by placing the 'happy birhtday' sentiment at the bottom. Isn't this what, in the crafting world, we call a design element and not a mistake!!

Our DT have made some super examples of how to use markers and you can see these here. This week we are sponsored by The Paper Nest Dolls-$25 gift voucher to their store to up for grabs!

I am also going to enter this into the 'single flower with minimalist design' at Soartful Challenges

Have fun with our challenge and I am looking forward to visiting your blogs x

Anniversary Number 8!

Today is my 8th Wedding Anniversary. 8 years ago today I married my adorable hubby, Callum, at sunset on the gorgeous Greek Island of Santorini, surrounded by our closest family and friends. We did have plans to celebrate over the weekend but Callum was poorly so our celebrations have been postponed until next weekend.

I do have a little stash of cards that are for Callum but today I had an idea for a new one that was inspired by the sketch this week at CAS(E) this Sketch!.

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

My first attempt followed the sketch exactly but it just didn't look right to me. So I moved the whole thing down to the bottom and off set the 'u'. To me, this looked much better, so I stuck with it. I have to say, I love making CAS cards, but I was a little bit wary of all this white space. However, the more I looked at the card, the more I liked it, just as it is now! I firstly heat embossed the 'u' onto the card but decided that more dimension was needed so heat embossed another 'u' and fussy cut this out, mounting it on foam pads. 

Luckily hubby is a fan of my CAS cards (these days, when buying cards for me, he hunts the shops for the most CAS card he can find!) 

Thanks for popping by and enjoy the rest of your day xx

Inkspirational Challenge #36

This week we have a colour challenge at Inkspirational. And the colours are:

Remember my London themed card earlier this week using the die cuts? Well today I have used another die cut that came in the set. This card has again been sent across the miles to my cousin Lynn, her hubby and sons. First the card then the photo that inspired the card!

And this is the gang in England..........all it is missing are these lovely young men!

I hope they had a giggle when they received this!

So, what can you do with these colours? Take a peek here to see what the Inkspirational DT created for you and then get inky and join in the fun.

This month the prize is a $20 Gift Voucher from Inspired by Stamping.

Have fun x

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #61

Its time for our Anything goes challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

My card today was inspired by the this card by one of my blogging friend and fabulous CAS crafter Aimes. She actually posted this card the day that I met her and my cousin Lynn in London. I loved it so much I went straight to eBay to hunt out this London cityscape die by Xcut
And here is the card I made using the colours of my blog header:

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

I wanted to make this card for Lynn to remind her of her hols in London, but just couldn't get the dies to cut the card properly. Aimes came to the rescue and gave me some great tips and after a lot of attempts, a few tears and lots of wasted card, my card came together and I love it! So thank you Aimes and I hope this has already arrived Lynn so I haven't ruined the surprise!!

Our DT team at Addicted to Stamps and More have some great projects for you, so pop to have a look here.

This week we are being sponsored by The Paper Nest. Take a peek at their store here, you could win $25 gift voucher!

I am going to enter this into the Plum and one other colour at Dynamic Duos 

It is your time to get inky now. I can't wait to see what you create, let you imagination go wild and most of all have a lot fun x

CASology #60

Today is a very special day for me as I am the Guest Designer for CASology. I nearly fell off my chair when I saw that I was the weekly CASology winner with this card and later that day I was doing a happy, happy dance when I got an email from Melissa, the CASology coordinator, asking me if I wanted to be the Guest Designer for this week. I have a badge to prove it!!

I didn't hesitate in saying 'Yes Please'. When I had calmed down I then had a little panic when she sent me the code word for this week.......Apple!

I immediately thought.....eek I have no Apple stamps. Then decided I didn't actually need an apple stamp as this is just the code word and you can create anything that comes to mind when you think about 'apple'. I went with the idea of an Apple Mac computer. After all, these days, what else could we think??? 

I was lucky in that hubby has recently got a new fancy Apple Mac computer for producing music and along came with it some transfers of the logo. So I decided to use this to create my Apple card.

  

(hover over the image and click on the pin to save to pinterest)

I hope you appreciate my pun! It took me ages to come up with it. I combined lots of different sentiments until I opted for this one. I found it amusing (I hope it is not just me!!)

I again took my scissors to the 'tech talk' stamp set from CAS-ual Fridays to come up with the computer UR. And then heat embossed the 'delicious'. The black panel is popped up on foam pads to give dimension although it is hard to see it from the photo.

So what does the word 'Apple' make you think about? The DT at CASology have come up with some great projects. Take a look here to be inspired.

And a big thank you to Melissa and the team for choosing me as the winner last week and asking me to me the Guest Designer this week x

I am slo going to enter this into the 'back to school challenge' at Curtain Call. I have been following this challenge since it re-started recently and this is the first time I have had chance to join in the fun!

Here is the inspiration photo: