CIC - Theme ,,,

..... Good morning! I'm here with my card for our new challenge at Cupcake Inspirations - CIC#369. This week we have a theme for you - THE GREAT OUTDOORS. Our sponsor this week is Mygrafico and I've used some of their clipart on my card:

Stamps: Mygrafico Clip Art - Cool Caravans; Simon Says Stamps - One with Nature
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Early Espresso, Pear Pizzazz
Dies: Lil Inkers - Dual Stitched Squares #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Pear Pizzazz

I just love these funky caravans. I created the caravan panel on my PC using Publisher. I imported several of the caravans, adjusted the sizes and layered them to give a suggestion of depth. I flipped a couple horizontally to make them face different direction. I finished the panel by typing on a sentiment. I printed the finished panel in best quality on to white card, cut it out, edged it with a dark marker and adhered it to a die cut green square. I stamped a simple sentiment in the corner of the card to finish the card. On the inside I cut another panel of green card for the mat layer and added a white panel with a greeting.

I remember going camping in a caravan with my aunt, uncle and cousins once - it was so much fun! I'm submitting this card to the current Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#204 challenge which is CAS.  For more inspiration do visit Cupcake Inspirations to see more from the team - we all have quite different takes on the theme! That's all for now.

52CCT - Pick a Previous ....

.... Hello! I've been enjoying our wonderful summer weather, sitting out in the sun and playing in the pool with Mum and Kat. And catching up reading too. It's been far too nice to sit in my craft room. However, I did take some time earlier this week to make my card for our new challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT30-16. We have five Saturdays this month which means we have a bonus challenge and Jacqueline has selected PICK A PREVIOUS 2016 SKETCH. I picked our February Sketch; here's my card:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Peaceful Pines
Inks: SU - Old Olive, Cherry Cobbler, Crushed Curry; Crumb Cake; Chocolate Chip
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Panels; SU/Sizzix - Perfect Pines
Accessories; White Lustre Card; SU DP - Season of Style; SU/Sizzix EF - Softly Falling

I've been very faithful to the sketch, but I like Christmas trees, so it was fun. I've made a reasonably clean and simple card. I die cut a panel of design paper attached it to the card and then adhered another die cut and embossed white panel on top. I used my MISTI to position and stamp the sentiment in the top corner. I finished the front by adding the Christmas tree which was stamped on scrap white card and cut out with the matching dies. On the inside I cut another piece of the design paper for the mat layer and added a Christmas greeting to the white panel, along with another tree.

I'm submitting this card to a couple of challenges - Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#204 has a CAS challenge, and Merry Monday Challenge - MMSummer is running a Christmas in Summer link up. For more inspiration do visit our blog to see more from the rest of the team.

No more crafting for me today. Mum and I plan to visit the shops for a bit of retail therapy!

CIC - Colours ...

... Hello! I think I'm finally getting back on track. I'm here this morning with my card for our new challenge at Cupcake Creations - CIC#368. This week we have a colour challenge for you with really lush colours - magenta, midnight and papaya. Our sponsor is A Day For Daisies. I've used one of their lovely images on my card:

Stamps: A Day for Daisies Digi - Time Out Dragon; Clearly Besotted - Sweet Little Sentiments
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Lil Inkers - Dual Stitched Squares - #4, Stitched Squares #5
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Rose Red; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear

I printed this cute little dragon on white card and coloured her with Copic markers. I added clear Wink of Stella to her wings and belly - you can just about see the shimmer in the photo above. I cut out the finished image with a stitched edge die and layered it on some pink card. I finished the front with a fun sentiment. I've not done the inside just yet but will get it done before I send it out.  Do visit our blog to see more inspirational cards from the rest of the design team.

Today both Kat and I are off to a class with Finnabair - it's such fun crafting with my daughter!! That's all for now.

52CCT - Technique ...

.... Good morning! I'm actually on time with my DT card this week. Mind, it was quite close as I only finished it last night at 10.00pm. Our challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT29-16 this week is a technique. We want you to make a card with 2 or more folds. I have to admit that I'm not great with fancy folds, so I've gone for a simple stepper card:

Stamps: Uniko  - I love Tea, Essentially Christmas; Stampin' Up! - Peaceful Pines
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; SU - Gumball Green, Real Red
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Gumball Green; SU DP - Real Red; SU/Sizzix EF - Softly Falling; Clear Embossing Powder

I got inspiration for this card from the photo for Merry Monday - MM#209, and I'll be submitting this to Lori's Christmas in summer challenge. I made a very simple stepper card with just two folds from some green card. I cut a couple of white panels which I embossed to suggest falling snow. I stamped the tea cup on two pieces of red design paper and again on white card. I added a pattern to the white cup and then cut them all out. I adhered the cups to the card and finished off the front with a small bunch of holly leaves and a bow. On the inside I stamped a greeting on the white panel and added more decoration.

For more inspirations - do visit our blog to see more from the rest of the design team. Have fun!

I'm off to some mixed media classes at Scrappy Chic today with Finnabair. Really looking forward to getting covered in paint! I'll share photos soon. Bye for now.

52CCT - Theme ....

.... Hello again! It's another gorgeous day here in Northville, so making a Christmas card is kind of tough! I'm here with my DT card for this week's challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT28-16. Jacqueline has picked a fabulous theme for this week - The 12 Days of Christmas. There's so much inspiration in this carol. I'm sorry that's it's taken me so long to make my card:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Partridge and Pears, Wonderland; Clearly Besotted - All Occasion Sentiments
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; SU - Soft Sky
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Soft Sky; Copics; Glossy Accents; Wink of Stella - Clear

This card was really quick and very easy to make. I stamped the main image on white card, coloured with Copic markers and cut it out. I added some Glossy Accents to the pears and a touch of clear Wink of Stella to the berries and blue markings on the partridge. I stamped a background of snowflakes and finished the front with a simple greeting. On the inside I cut a mat layer of pale blue card and added a greeting to the white panel.

Over at Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#203 the theme this week is holiday, and this is certainly a holiday card, so I'm playing along with them.

I'm sure you've already seen the super cards on our blog and there's still time to play along with us this week - deadline for submission is midnight (BST) Friday 22nd July - that's 7.00pm EDT for those of us in the States. That's all for now!

TMR - Colours ....

.... Good afternoon. I'm running a tad late with my DT card for this week's challenge at The Male Room - TMR#40. For the next couple of weeks we want you to use some particular colours on your masculine projects - RED, BLUE and one other. You need to make sure that it's an actual colour, not a tone of red or blue, so yellow, orange, green, purple. You can use neutrals and gold and silver. Here's my take:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Free Spirit Boy, Free Spirit Sentiments
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Grey Flannel; Versafine
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Real Red; Copics; Clear Embossing Powder

I've gone for a very clean, simple and graphic look for my card. I've used my all time favourite stamp - the circles from Waltzingmouse Free Spirit Boy. Sadly, Waltzingmouse has now closed up shop, but Claire is working with Gina K and has released some of her stamps via Gina K. Who knows, perhaps, Claire will make a few more masculine sets?? As I've used my favourite stash on this card, I'm going to play along with AAA Cards - AAA#69.

I cut a panel of white card smaller than the base and, using my Misti, stamped the image in Memento Tuxedo Black. I coloured sections of the circles in red, blue and green. I then put the finished panel back in the Misti, inked up with Versafine, stamped and heat embossed with clear embossing powder. This is a trick I picked up from the new Heat Wave class over at Online Classes. I layered the finished panel on red card and attached it to the card base. On the inside I cut another mat layer of red card and on the white panel stamped the circles again - this time in grey.

I'm still not back on my proper routine, but I'm getting there. That's all for now! See you soon.

Tropical heat ....

.... Good afternoon! It's a wonderfully hot, sunny day here in Northville. We're heading for tropical temperatures and humidity in the coming week! So obviously my card has a tropical feel. I'm here, albeit very late, with my DT card for the current challenge at Cupcake Inspirations - CIC#367 where the theme is tropical.

Stamps: Your Next Stamp - Jungle Critters
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Grey Flannel; Stampin' Up! - Cajun Craze; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SUDP - Botanical Gardens; Copics

I've used the sketch from the current Your Next Stamp Challenge - YNS#43 and the theme over at City Crafter Challenge Blog - CCCB#321 is tropical, so I'm playing along with them too.

I cut a panel of design paper with lovely tropical leaves for the side of the card. In the corner I stamped a plantation of coconut palms in grey ink. On white card I stamped another palm tree and the parrot (I've decided he's a parrot) and coloured them both with Copic markers. I made the palm trunk slightly longer by drawing in some extra lines. I adhered both the palm and parrot with dimensional gel. I finished the front with a sentiment and some hearts. The inside hasn't been done yet.

Our sponsor this week is Your Next Stamp and the randomly picked winner of this week's challenge, will receive a $25 gift voucher from them.

I'm still working hard to get back into my normal routine, but failing!! So I have to apologise to my team mate over at Cupcake Inspirations for being so late with my card. I'll do better - promise! That's all for now.

Uniko - TMR - Flowers ....

.... Hello! I can't quite believe that it's been almost two weeks since I posted anything - I'll explain later. I'm here this morning with my card for our new challenge at Uniko - USC#34. This month our theme is

FLOWERS

I finally got to play with Bev's wonderful new stamp set - Paradise - which includes a beautiful hibiscus, as well as a fabulous toucan. Over at The Male Room - TMR#39 our challenge is to use flowers and make them masculine. I'm very late with my card, but I think this works for both challenges!

Stamps: Uniko - Paradise
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - Grey Flannel; Stampin' Up! - Wisteria Wonder, Crushed Curry
Dies: Winnie & Walter - Cheers Cutaway; Reverse Confetti - Coffee Cup
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Crushed Curry, Basic Black; Copics; Staedtler - Aquarell Pencils; White Flock; Clear Embossing Powder; SU Marker - Basic Grey

The layout is based on this week's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#245. I masked off a section at the top of the card and stamped the hibiscus flower over the bottom section in grey. I drew in three lines to define the area. As soon as I saw this set I thought of the toucan adverts for Guinness that ran in the UK, and that's the theme of my card. I stamped the toucan in Versafine onyx black and heat embossed it with clear powder. I coloured the bill and feet with watercolour pencils, and then fussy cut the bird. I made the glass of Guinness from a coffee die. I coloured it with Copic markers and added white flock for the white froth on top of the pint of Guinness. I die cut the word "cheers" from black card - works so well with the pint. I finished the front by added a coloured hibiscus flower. I think this works as a masculine card. What do you think? On the inside I cut a mat layer of yellow card and on the white panel added a birthday greeting and another toucan.

Do visit Bev's blog to see more inspiration cards from the rest of the team.  As an incentive to play along, we have prizes!

• The DT will choose a winner who will get a £15 gift voucher.
• The DT also choose a Top 3, who will each get 100 Loyalty Reward Points added to their Uniko customer account.
• We also do a random draw for all those who use a UNIKO stamp. This winner will get 200 Loyalty Reward Points added to their UNIKO customer account.

You've got plenty of time to play along with this month's challenge - the deadline for submission is midnight (BST) on Friday 12th August (that's 7.00pm EDT).

We got back to the States on Saturday 2nd July and I planned to get right back into crafting. However, I was a bit under the weather - nothing serious, but all my mojo got up and left! It's taken a while, but I think the mojo is back. We have been enjoying some wonderfully hot summer days which have been followed by some fairly serious thunderstorms. It's nice to be back home :)

Before I go below you'll see a couple of clips from U-Tube - they are toucan Guinness adverts; enjoy!

CIC - Theme ....

..... Hello, good morning! This is the last of my scheduled posts. After a two week break, it's time for our new challenge at Cupcake Inspirations Challenge - CIC#365. This week we have a theme for you - FLOWERS. Our sponsor for this challenge is Winnie & Walter and the winner will receive a $25 Gift certificate from them. Here's my card:

Stamps: Winnie & Walter - The Big, The Bold & Friends, The Big, The Bold & Happy, In Bloom Addie's Garden
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Crushed Curry
Dies: Winnie & Walter Cutaways - Hugs
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Crushed Curry, Wild Wasabi; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear

I've made a very clean, simple and pretty birthday card for my mother-in-law. I can share it safely now, as her birthday was last Saturday 1st July and she has already seen the card. I stamped the tulips and leaves on some scrap white card, coloured them with Copic markers and then cut them out. I added sparkle to the flowers with a clear Wink of Stella brush - you can just about see the sparkle above. I used dimensional gel to adhere the flowers to the card. I die cut the word "hugs" three times - twice in yellow card and once in green, glued them together with the green slightly offset to give a shadow effect. I added clear Wink of Stella to the word. I finished the front by stamping "and kisses". On the inside I cut a mat layer of design paper and added a large birthday greeting along with an outline tulip in yellow.

Do visit our blog to see more from the team. That's all for now - see you again soon.