Thank you ...

.... Morning!  You might have seen my post yesterday where I was Guest Designer for the current challenge at Cupcake Inspiration Challenge - CIC#336.  I had a hard time with these colours - not at all in my comfort zone.  However, after making yesterday's card, I made another and here it is:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - You're Wonderful, So Very Grateful
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: SU/Sizzix - Wonderful Wreath; Die-namics - In & Out Diagonal Stitched Rectangles Stax #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Calypso Coral; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear; White Embossing Powder

I used the cue word, GIVE, from this week's CASology challenge - CAS#172.  One of the things that we do is give thanks for our friends - and this is for one of my UK friends.  I used the stitched die to cut a mat layer for the card.  I stamped that pretty spring-like wreath on white paper, coloured it with Copic makers and cut it out with the matching dies.  I added sparkle to all the flowers with my clear Wink of Stella brush.  I stamped the sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed it with white powder, once cool I stamped it again in black to give a shadow effect.  I finished the front with a yellow bow on the wreath.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of coral card and on the white panel added a simple sentiment, along with a pretty sparkly flower.

I can't believe I've actually made two cards for the CASology challenge!  That's all for now.  Do drop by again soon.

Surprise Sweetie ...

.... Good morning!!!  I am absolutely thrilled and delighted to be this week's Surprise Sweetie at Cupake Inspriations Challenge - CIC#336.  The colours for this week's challenge are so pretty and here's my card:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - So Very Grateful
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versamark
Dies: SU/Sizzix - Bitty Banners Framelits
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Calypso Coral; SU EF - Decorative Dots; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear; White Embossing Powder

I don't often use these colours (I tend to use blues, greens, lilacs, etc) so this was a bit of a challenge for me, but that's entirely the point!!  I stamped the flowers on white card, coloured them with Copic markers and then cut them out.  I made the card base from dark coral card.  I cut a panel of white card which I embossed with dots and used my corner chomper to soften the corners.  I adhered the flowers with dimensional gel.  To finish the front I stamped the sentiment in Versamark, heat embossed it with white powder and cut it out with the matching die.  I used my clear Wink of Stellar brush to add lots of sparkle to the flowers.  On the inside I cut a mat of white card, added some more flowers and finished the greeting.  The cue word at CASology - CAS#172 this week is GIVE - and my card is to say thanks for giving!

Here's a close-up photo of the flowers showing all the wonderful sparkle:

I'd like to thank the team for inviting me to join them this week.  Do play along - these colours are so pretty!  See you soon.

52CCT - Colours ....

.....  Morning!  Do you know, including today, there are only 6 Saturdays until Christmas!!!  Didn't mean to scare you.  Hopefully, you've been playing along with 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown since the beginning of the year and your Christmas card stash is done or almost there.  But it's not too late to get some cards made before Christmas and hopefully this week's colours - PURPLE AND GREEN will inspire you.  Here's my card:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Embellished Ornaments; Stampers Anonymous - Tim Holtz Crazy Talk; Uniko - Simply Said Christmas
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versamark; SU - Wisteria Wonder, Concord Crush
Dies: Die-namics - Double Stitched Oval STAX #5; SU/Sizzix - Delicate Ornament Thinlets
Accessories: White Lustre Card: SU Card - Concord Crush; Silver Embossing Powder; Staedtler - Aquarell Pencils; Glitter; Metallic Thread; Silver Mirri Card

I've made a clean, elegant card that has several layers, but is still flat enough to go through the post - which is important as I lots to send by post!  I've used several metallic elements in this card, so I'm submitting it to the current challenge at CAS-ual Fridays - CFC#145.  I love this colour combination, it's rather regal, so I thought elegant would work.

I started cutting an oval die from purple card (sadly discontinued).  I positioned the oval on the card, lightly traced around it and then stamped the holly leaves in Versamark.  I heat embossed them with silver powder and coloured them with green watercolour pencils.  I stamped the ornament on white card and cut it out with the matching die.  I die cut the hanger from silver mirri card.  I coloured the little berries with green glitter.  I finished the ornament with metallic thread in lilac and purple.  I adhered the ornament flat to the oval mat.  I finished the front with a simple sentiment in black.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of purple card.  On the white panel I added a couple of ornament images in lilac and added a greeting.

I've taken a close-up photo of the ornament so that you can see the shimmer and sparkle of the green glitter berries - so pretty!  You can also see the metallic thread and the water coloured holly leaves.

Do visit our blog to see more inspiration cards from the rest of the team.  You've got plenty of time to play along, submission deadline is midnight (GMT) Friday 20th November (7.00pm EDT).  Have fun!  See you soon.

25 Tags of Christmas ....

... Hello!  I'm playing along with Tracey McNeely's 25 Tags of Christmas challenge.  This year is the challenge's 5th Anniversary.  Bev at Uniko is one of the sponsors and several of the DT have made tags to play along!  I don't often make tags, so this was a fun way to get me started and I actually ended up making three tags.  Here's a photo of all three together:

Stamps: Uniko - Peace on Earth, Rustic Christmas, Jolly Christmas; Waltzingmouse - Seasons of Love
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Up! - Marina Mist, Old Olive, Real Red
Dies: Uniko - Snowflakes; Waltzingmouse - Stitched Tag
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Copic Markers; Glitter; Ribbons; Wink of Stella - Clear

I used my Waltzingmouse Stitched Tag die to cut six white blanks - one for the front and one for the back.

Dove - I stamped the image and sentiment in black.  I used my Copic markers to add a touch of colour to the dove's wings and used a glue pen to colour the bird and added lots of glitter.  Once dry I adhered the front and back together and finished by adding some ribbons.

Santa - I stamped the image directly on the card, coloured it with Copic markers and added glitter to the white parts.  Once dry, I added lots more sparkle by using my clear Wink of Stella Brush on the rest of the image.  I adhered front and back together and finished with more ribbons.

Snowflake - I stamped the sentiment at the base of the tag. Next I used the largest of the snowflake dies to make an impression in the tag.  I ran a glue pen around the impression line and then added blue glitter to add definition to the snowflake.  I glued front and back tags together and finished the tag with ribbons.

On the back of each tag I added some lines on which to write a message as well as a few Christmas stars.

Full details of the challenge can be found here on Tracey's blog - there are lots of opportunites to win prizes by taking part.  And I really must make some more tags too!  That's all for now! 

TMR - Theme ....

.... Morning all!  It's time for our new challenge at The Male Room.  For the next couple of weeks our theme is REMEMBRANCE OR SYMPATHY.  I picked this theme because today is Armistice Day which commemorates the end of the First World World.  It is a time to remember and honour all those who lost their lives in that war, and the many more that have followed and are still going on.  I made a sympathy card for the challenge and incorporated poppies in the design:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Pleasant Poppies, Heartfelt Sympathies; Stampers Anonymous - Tim Holtz's Crazy Talk
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Die-namics - Zig-Zag Stitched Ovals STAX #4 and #5
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card/DP - Basic Black; Copic Markers

I kept this really clean, simple and elegant.  I stamped the poppies on white card, coloured them with Copic markers and cut them out with a scalpel.  I die cut a couple of mat layers in black and adhered the poppies to the design paper.  I stamped the sentiment in black directly on the card.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of black card and on the white panel added a sentiment and some more poppies.

Our Guest Designer this month is Vicki of Stamp Smiles and she has made a really lovely card for the challenge.  And the rest of the team have come up with a lovely selection of projects too.  Do drop by and leave them all some comments.

It's always a good idea to have a few sympathy cards in your stash as they can be difficult to make.  Don't forget you don't have to make a card - you can make any kind of papercraft project with a masculine feel.  That's all for today.  Bye for now!

ASM - Photo Inspiration ...

....  Good evening! It's time for our new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!  This week it's our Photo Inspiration challenge.  You must follow the photo provided, but you can take anything from the photo - colour, theme, image - whatever inspires you.  Just tell us what you did!  Here's my take on the photo:

Stamps: Penny Black - Majestic; Stamper's Anonymous - Tim Holtz's Crazy Talk; Uniko - Stunning Snowflakes; Chocolate Baroque - Snowflakes (don't remember the name of the set)
Inks: Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - London Fog
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Rectangles #5, Dual Stitched Rectangles #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Real Red; Martha Stewart - Red Glitter; Silver Embossing Powder

I think it's fairly obvious what my inspiration is - the snowflakes, the red and the branch.  I die cut a red panel and adhered it flat to the card.  On the white panel (also die cut) I stamped the tree and sentiment in black.  I then added a flurry of snowflakes, stamped in Versamark and heat embossed with silver powder.  Then I added glue to the berries on the tree and added lots of red glitter.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of red card.  On the white panel I stamped a simple greeting and added some more snowflakes.

I took a close up of the glitter on the tree as you can't really see just how pretty the little red berries are in the bit photo above:

I'm submitting this card to the current challenges at Inkspirational - INK#95 where the colour challenge is that anything goes with silver, and at The Paper Players - PP#270 - the team want black and white, and either silver or gold with one other colour.

Our sponsor for this week's challenge is Kylie's business - Happy Little Stampers, and the winner of the challenge will receive a $15 gift certificate.

Don't forget to visit our blog to check out what the rest of the team have made.  That's all for now, don't forget to have fun with the challenge - we look forward to seeing what you make!

52CCT - Sketch & DT Call ....

....  Afternoon everyone!  I'm rather late with my post for this week's 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown challenge, I do apologise!  As well as our challenge, we've got a DT call on - see more at the bottom of this post.  As always with the first Saturday in the month, we have a sketch for you.  You can turn it, flip it - but we must be able to see the sketch in your card.  Here's my take:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Rustic Christmas; Stampin' Up! - More Merry Messages
Inks: SU - Real Red; Brilliance - Galaxy Gold
Dies: Die-namics - Fishtail Flags Layers Stax #5
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Gold Marble Mirri Card; Wink of Stella -Clear

This is a clean, layered card with a bold pop of red in the mittens.  I'm submitting it to the current Merry Monday Challenge - MM#178 where the team want to see cards with red and gold - check!  I die cut the gold marble banner and adhered it flat to the card.  I stamped the mittens on scrap card and carefully cut them out, leaving a small border of white around each mitten.  I finished the front by stamping some small gold mittens in the background.  I added a touch of clear Wink of Stella to each glove - it really shimmers!  On the inside I cut a mat layer of gold card and added a simple greeting to the white panel, along with some mittens!  The card looks like it has some depth, but it is nice and flat, so easy to post!

You can really see the warm glow of the gold marble mirri card in the photo above!  Sadly you can't see the shimmer on the tiny mittens.  Do visit our blog to see what the rest of the team have made with this sketch.

I mentioned a DT call above - here's the information:

DESIGN TEAM CALL

We're looking for a few new members to join the team in 2016.  We have a rota of challenges each month and they are:

• Week 1 - Sketch
• Week 2 - Colours
• Week 3 - Theme/Recipe
• Week 4 - Stash/Technique
• Week 5 - Pick a Previous (the host gets to pick)

If you wish to be considered you need to play along with THREE of the four challenges this month. Put the letters, DT, after your name on your entry submission.  We will contact successful applicants during December and the new DT members will start with us in January 2016.

I've not been on the blog much this week - busy at home instead.  I plan to be about a bit more next week, so do drop by.  That's all for now - have a fun weekend and see you soon.

Uniko - Sneak Peek 2 ...

... Hello!  Time for a couple more sneak peeks from the November Uniko release.

You're going to love this set - lots of possibilities, lovely images and sentiments too.

You'll love these bold and very festive images.  They'll coordinate with so many Uniko sets.

Once again, a quick reminder of the release schedule:

There will be a couple more sneak peeks tomorrow, but in the meantime here's the release schedule:

• Sneak Peeks - 5th & 6th November
• Introducing the sets -7th - 10th November - some examples of the soon to be released products.
• Release Day - 11th November.  Your chance to see the sets in their entirety and purchase them at the Uniko Shop.  There will be a mini DT blog hop with the chance for one lucky person to win an eGift Certificate.

Nicki and I haven't got the new sets yet (we're in the States and waiting on the post!) so there's going to be an extra DT blog hop.  Countdown to Christmas Blog Hop!  This will be on Saturday 28th November and is the official DT Blog Hop showcasing the entire release - and there will be prizes. Check back for more information.  That's all for now!

Uniko - Sneak Peek 1 ....

.... Hi!  Good morning!  It's time to start sharing some sneak peeks from the November Uniko release, Bev has created some wonderful sets.

We're starting off with a look at something a touch Christmassy!  Perfect timing too.  A mixture of solid and outline shapes, with sentiments.  It also co-ordinates with an existing set - so even more possibilities.

I'm totally in love with this sneak peek - I just LOVE  my coffee, in the morning, at lunch and at dinner too.  Oh yes, there might be another cup or two during the day :)  Yes, I guess I'm addicted.  I really can't wait to play with this set!  Love the Uniko flower too!

There will be a couple more sneak peeks tomorrow, but in the meantime here's the release schedule:

• Sneak Peeks - 5th & 6th November
• Introducing the sets -7th - 10th November - some examples of the soon to be released products.
• Release Day - 11th November.  Your chance to see the sets in their entirety and purchase them at the Uniko Shop.  There will be a mini DT blog hop with the chance for one lucky person to win an eGift Certificate.

Nicki and I haven't got the new sets yet (we're in the States and waiting on the post!) so there's going to be an extra DT blog hop.  Countdown to Christmas Blog Hop!  This will be on Saturday 28th November and is the official DT Blog Hop showcasing the entire release - and there will be prizes.  Check back for more information.

Thanks for stopping by and see you again tomorrow!