I ♥ Promarkers #99 - Cute & Cuddly

Wow the week is flying  by ... Wednesday already, which means it is time for another  I ♥ Promarkers Challenge. Thanks as always to everyone who entered last week's Buttons & Lace challenge - there were some really pretty creations, and the winner is on the main challenge blog.

This week we have a theme of

Cute & Cuddly

which ties in very well with the type of images produced by our sponsor, Stamp Fairy, who are offering a $10 gift certificate for their online store where you can find a wide selection of whimsical and cute digi images.

Don't forget to be eligible for our prize you should submit a new piece of work that follows the theme, and where your image is coloured using Promarkers, Flexmarkers, Aquamarkers or Tria pens by Letraset.

Stamp Fairy very kindly provided some digi images for the DT to play with, and I chose the adorable Molly Fairy ... here's my card.

This is really rather a departure for me, as I have always deliberately steered away from stamps where the faces have no mouths - I find eg. Tilda really creepy for some reason (I can still admire other people's Tilda cards for their composition and details, but I don't like the images per se). However this stamp seemed to me to have a more appealing face than many stamps of that type, and in the end I really enjoyed colouring her :-)  Here's a closeup to try to show the sparkle on her wand and wings!

I decided to go for a spring-like colour scheme ... partly to distract myself from the dark miserable days of January, but also so that I could use my brand new Me To You "Spring Chic" papers - just bought a 12" * 12" pad and they are absolutely scrumptious! I think they will be appearing on here a lot over the next few weeks lol!

Stamp: Stamp Fairy "Molly Fairy";

Media: Promarkers (Dusky Pink, Blush, Ivory, Sandstone, Vanilla, Duck Egg, Cool Aqua, Buttercup, Primrose) and Flexmarkers ( Soft Aqua, Pale Citrus, Lemon Chiffon, Tea Rose, Nutmeg); glamour dust on wings and wand;

Papers: Docrafts "Me To You - Spring Chic";

Supplies: flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts & Sweet Lilac; lace from The Ribbon Box; pearls from The Hobby House; ribbon from my stash;

Tools: X-Cut nested star die; Marianne D "Branch Forest" (LR0150); Martha Stewart small monarch butterfly punch; Cuttlebug "daisies" embossing folder.

Challenges:

Craft Your Passion #92 - Mythical Creatures

Cute Card Thursday #198 - What's New?

( papers and star shaped die)

Crazy 4 Challenge #118 - New Toys / New Techniques

Crafty Creations #152 - Something New
Papertake Weekly - Die Cute Special
Really Reasonable Ribbon #39 - Sparkle & Ribbon
Passion For Promarkers #131 - Inspired By A Song
("Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star")
Sweet Stampin' - Spots & Dots 
(2 of my 3 papers have dots on)
Simon Says - Spots &/or Stripes
(as above, plus one of my papers has both spots & stripes! :-)  )

One Stop Craft Challenge #164 - Bingo! 

(flowers, diecuts/punches, embossing) 

Dream Valley #23 - Anything Goes

CES #67 - Anything Goes

Magical Mondays - Anything Goes

Anything Goes #58 - Anything Goes
Sketch Saturday #189 - sketch 

Looking forward to seeing all your cute and cuddly creations ... have a great week! 

A Cutesy Day At The Zoo

Good morning everyone - here's another card I made during my Saturday craftathon. I really do think this Wild Rose Studio stamp is totally adorable :-) Unfortunately the light wasn't great when I was taking the pic so it is a little dark ... but I guess that's winter for you!

I have been entering the Penny Black At Allsorts monthly challenges since they started, and have spotted that they have now opened up the challenges to other makes of stamps ... so I am entering this card for the November challenge. Feels really weird entering a card that doesn't have a Penny Black stamp on it ... but as they allow three entries per challenge I'm sure I'll be back with a PB card before the month is over !! ;-)

Stamps: Wild Rose Studio "Pickle With Sledge";

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers;

Papers: Dovecraft "Jolly Happy Christmas";

Supplies: gems from The Hobby house; sentiment by Craftwork Cards; ribbon from my stash;

Tools: Cuttlebug "ice crystal" cut 'n' emboss set; Crafts Too "Snowflakes" embossing folder.

Challenges:
Penny Black & More at Allsorts (November) - All Creatures Great & Small

Passion For Promarkers #124 - A Day At The Zoo

Fun With Shapes & More #95 - Animalistic Christmas
CES #60 - Song Or Film
("March of the Penguins")
Charisma #44 - Cutesy!

Card Makin' Mamas #32 - Cut It Out (die cuts)
Cuttlebug Spot - Anything Goes

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes + bling (3rd entry)

Thanks for looking!

Oldie But A Goodie - Ribbon and Lace

Good morning everyone - hope it is sunny where you are ... we had a lovely day here yesterday :-)  It's time for another Oldie But A Goodie Challenge - thanks so much to everyone who entered our Anything Goes challenge last time - fab projects as always !

This fortnight we have a theme I'm sure you'll love - I definitely didn't need any encouragement to get going with this one! It is

Ribbon and lace

Ooh! my favourites (along with flowers, pearls etc... etc... lol!!)

This fortnight we are sponsored by Poppy's Cabin - do be sure to check the main blog for further details and all the other ladies' gorgeous ribbony and lacy samples :-) And just a reminder ... in order to be eligible for the prize you should link to a new piece of work that features a stamped image (NO digis please) that is at least 6 months old ... that's why we're called An Oldie But A Goodie ;-)

When I got to thinking about my DT card for this challenge I decided to ink up a stamp which is both old in terms of initial release (1996!!) and also old in terms of the physical stamp in my hand ... but it is new to me. My local craft shop sells a few second hand stamps, and I spotted this pre-loved (but very well cared for as there was hardly a mark on it) vintage Penny Black stamp .... and they were asking £2 for it - that's got to be one of the best crafty bargains I've ever had!! I also got some new summery papers by Prima so I couldn't wait to get started ... the final element of inspiration was this week's Sketch Saturday sketch, which had perfect elements to incorporate as ribbon and lace.  I felt this created a really fresh summery feel, especially when I piled on the flowers :-) Here's the result .... I'm actually rather pelased wtih this one for once :-)

I also noticed that there are a number of stitchy challenges around right now ... and as the image itself has a bit of stitching on it I thought I'd get down to a bit of faux stitching as well (I don't do real stitching lol!!) Unfortunately it doesn't show up too well (my pink marker was running out!!) so here's a closeup just to prove it is there (along with the distressed paper edges)  ...

Recipe:

Main image: Penny Black "A Gift of Flowers" (586K) coloured with Promarkers and Copics;

Sentiment: LotV sentiment circles;

Papers: Prima "Sparkling Spring";

Supplies: flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts and Crafts4U2Do; lace from Crafts4u2Do; ribbons and pearls from my stash;

Tools: pokey tool used to make faux stitching; Tim Holtz distressing tool used to rough up the paper edges.

Challenges:

Sketch Saturday #163 - sketch

Simon Says - A Stitch in Time

Simon Says Stamp and Show - Stitching

One Stop Craft Challenge #139 - Summertime

Totally Gorjuss #88 - Summertime

Crazy 4 Challenges #95 - Summer

Pile It On #28 - Favourite Technique

(colouring with Promarkers)

Penny Black Challenge - Favourite Distressing Technique

(distressing paper edges with TH distressing tool)

CES #44 - Recipe: 1 image, 2 ribbons, lace or twine + 3 DP's

Cute Card Thursday #172 - Lace

Penny Black at Allsorts (July) - Flower Power (2nd entry)

Charisma #27 - All About Flowers

Creative Craft - Pretty Blossoms

Crafty Pad #129 - Lots of Texture

Kaboodle #75 - Use Those Scissors

(my vintage image wasn't a perfect rectangle so I cut it out by hand rather than with a  paper cutter)

Craft your Passion #66 - Just For You

ABC - Y is for Yesterday

Cupcake #150 - Your Favourite Challenge

(wow I could choose so many ... but howzabout 1. Flowers, 11. Vintage, 36. Summer, 61. Going Girly, 69. Flower Power, 103. Lace, 138. Lots of Layers ... all great themes in my opinion :-)  )

Hope you can join in the challenge this fortnight - look forward to seeing your creations.

Now for something a little bit different ...

Just a very quick post today to showcase a couple of the latest crafty bits and bobs I have bought recently.

During my little crafty jaunt on Saturday to Crafts4U2Do, I just couldn't resist some fabulous glitter paper by a company called Robin's Nest. In a 12*12" sheet it really looks like a sunset sky, and is much more sparkly than the picture does justice to. I also knew straight away that I would love to do a resist technique with my recently purchased Unity "insightful meadows" stamps; so I popped a couple of suitable colour distress inks into my basket. Lastly, I could immediately visualise my image framed by my fab new nestabilities squares which I bought earlier in the week but hadn't got round to cutting out yet.

All in all this was a pretty easy card to make although very different from my ususal style - the paper and frame are so stunning that I thought they pretty much spoke for themselves and the card didn't need much else. (I never thought I would hear myself say things like that ... I think LIM-itis must be really getting hold of me - think I'll go and have a lie down lol!!)

I have also taken the opportunity to enter the Simon Says Stamp & Show Challenge for the first time - it hasn't really been my kind of style up until now, but I'm liking using he distress ink sand would like to get more into it :-)

Recipe:

Main image: Unity "Insighful meadows", embossed with detail clear powder and then resist inked with "Scattered Straw" and "Marigold" distress inks;

Sentiment: Penny Black;

Paper: Robin's Nest;

Supplies: ribbon and pearls from my stash;

Tools: Fleur-de-Lys square nestabilities.

Challenges:

CES #31 - Monochromatic

One Stop Craft Challenge #126 - Monochrome

The Stamp Man - Embossing

Simon Says Stamp & Show - Distressing

Thanks for looking :-)

Less Is More #8

Like so many people I eagerly await Saturday morning to see what the challenge theme is going to be over at Less Is More .. and this week didn't disappoint with a fabby sketch to follow.

Last week I mentioned that I felt a little foolish as I fired off on all barrels and made a "masculine" card featuring flowers - it was gratifying though to receive kind comments that indicated it wasn't a totally idiotic thing to do lol!!

Anyhow I sat down on Saturday afternoon and had another go for this week ... this time I am actually quite pleased with how it turned out and it was rather quicker than some I have made :-). I decided to go with a statement flower - I considered making one but I had quite a few cards to make so was on a bit of a mission and didn't really have time to mess ... so I brought into play a fabulous Prima sparkly velvety rose that was part of a pack I won a while ago. These flowers really are scrummy and well deserving of being a focal point on a card. As luck would have it I very soon found a piece of perfectly co-ordinating paper that was also sparkly, and a piece of co-ordinating ribbon almost leapt out of my ribbon bag (not often that happens!!). I decided to pull the whole thing together by placing my sentiment on a tag, and I chose the sentiment as it seemed the best size and style to go with everything else I had assembled so far.

Last week Chrissie helpfully suggested that I didn't really need the pearls on a "masculine" card ... so I really tried not to use any this week. But here's the thing ... I really LOVE pearls ... and even if I tie my hands together they somehow free themselves and reach for the pearl pack. I guess I just can't help myself lol!! However I am quite pleased with the placement of the pearls this week and actually have a vast white space that they don't interfere with ... scary but I think I like it!!

Recipe:

Sentiment: Penny Black transparent set "Salutations";

Paper: Papermania "Henbury Lane";

Supplies: Prima velvet rose; pearls from The Hobby House; ribbon and lace from my stash; Tools: Magnolia "vintage tag" die.

Challenges:

Less Is More #8 - Sketch

Creatalicious #20 - Two Tone

CES #29 - Die Cut Crazy

Truly Scrumptious #53 - Tag It!

I'm going to be a bit busy this week with work stuff, so don't forsee a lot of crafting going on before next weekend. So that's all for now - have a nice week !

PS - anyone else having trouble editing in blogger?? This is the second post where I have found that it keeps removing my html edits and either creating huge spaces or running all the text together!

A couple of cuties

Yesterday afternoon I felt like pulling out an image from my image wallet to colour rather than getting out my stamps and ink; and I settled on this cute pair of Penny Black bunnies. I couldn't quite decide whether to make them into a love themed card, but then decided with the spring-like flower they are holding I would make them into an Easter card instead.

I followed this week's Papertake Weekly sketch #52 (had to fiddle around slightly with the position of the sentiment, or poor bunny's whiskers would have been trapped behind it and we coudn't have that, could we?)

... and I would also like to enter this card for the following challenges:

Daring Cardmakers - Year of the Rabbit
Dutch Dare #97 - 3 papers + 3 flowers + 3 sparkly things + 1 ribbon
Ooh-La-La #72 - Three of a Kind (3 sparkly gems)
CES #21 - Bold & Bright
Paper Play #4 - Layer It Up
My Time To Craft #125 - Embossing
Pile it on #5 - Punch it!
Stamptacular Sunday #96 - Whateva!

Copic Creations #42 - What's New?

( daisy & yellow cherry blossoms from WOC)

Recipe:
Main image: Penny Black "Daisy Bunnies" (3108K), coloured with Promarkers and Copics;
Sentiment; Penny Black;
Papers: papermania "Forever Friends - Spring time";
Supplies: large daisy and cherry blossoms from Wild Orchid Crafts; ribbon and gems from my stash;
Tools: small classic circles and lacy circles nestabilities; Martha Stewart "Wild Flowers" PATP corner punch; Leone Em "Ash branch" leaf punch; Cuttlebug "daisy pattern" embossing folder.

Must dash now to work - catch you later!

Penny Black Saturday Challenge #125 - Zig Zags or Triangles

Good morning everyone and welcome to another Penny Black Saturday Challenge. I've just about come out now from behind the sofa where I was hiding after looking at all your spooky Hallowe'en creations - absolutely fabulous as always! Don't forget to check out whether you have won last week's prize !! :-)

I'm running a little late this morning so straight to business ... this week we have a theme for you which is

Zig Zags or Triangles

Yikes! This wasn't a very easy one for me as I couldn't find much that was ziggy zaggy amongst my stash, but the other ladies on the DT have rocked this challenge as they always do, so please do go and check them out.

Here's my effort ......

I decided to use some Christmassy felt ric-rac, and also put my hand on some sparkly monotone Christmas paper which looked beautiful in the shop, but I wasn't quite sure what to do with it when I got it home (a common problem I find lol!). The end result was something quite unusual for me - a very understated monotone style Chrimbo card - the main interest comes from the texture and sparkle (there is LOTS of sparkle on this card but the dull autumn days aren't very helpful for capturing it on camera).



Recipe:
Main image: Penny Black "Fantasy" (3880K) heat embossed with white glitter powder and decorated with silver gems;
Sentiment: Stamps Away;
Papers: from my stash (make unknown);
Supplies: Papermania ric rac; pearls from The Hobby house; silver gems from my stash;
Tools: large classic circles and large classic scalloped circles neatabilities; Fiskars "Victorian" cutting blade.

Challenges:
Stamp With Stampavie #114 - Christmas
CRAFT #74 - Monotone
CES #10 - Chocolate Caramel
Our Creative Corner - Photo Inspiration
Totally Papercrafts #40 - Bling It on ..

Hope you will be able to join in with this week's PBSC - we have a fab prize of a 15% lifetime discount voucher from Dick at PB Stamps.

Have a great weekend and looking forward to seeing your creations.