Home sweet home!

Hello!

We are just back from a few days in Scotland for half term - it was great to have a break and spend time with the boys.  We have been to St Andrews before and love it around that area as there is lots to see and do including walking along the amazing beach at Tentsmuir and going to visit the pandas at Edinburgh zoo.  The little fishing villages along the east coast are beautiful and we stayed in a cosy cottage in Anstruther.  I will share a few photos later....

However, it is always nice to be home - particularly when there is crafting to be done :)

 

I got a set of Dear Lizzy journaling cards on sale at Hobbycraft and thought that they would be useful as stencils.  However, with this one I coloured a sheet of vellum in a rainbow of colours behind the sentiment and coloured/glittered a number of Studio Calico wood veneer stars as an embellishment.  No stamps at all on this one!!

 

I will join up with the current challenge at Addicted to CAS to add texture.  There are some gorgeous cards in the gallery there.... I will also link up with Anything Goes at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge.

 

I'm off to play in my craft room so hopefully I will have more to share soon :)

 

Thanks for your visit!

 

Sarah x

 

A Few Challenges

Hello!

I have had the chance to catch up on a few challenges after a hectic week - here's what I have made :)

This card is my last entry for the Hero Arts Sketch Challenge which closes today.  This was the one sketch (Sketch #1) which I hadn't tried:

I stamped some of the lovely florals from Flower Garden on a die cut label and framed it with die cut leaves from Avery Elle.  A few pearls and a die cut circle finish the design.  I will also join in with the current challenge at Less Is More where the challenge is to use die cuts.  I have just remembered to link up with A2Z Scrapbooking's theme of How Does Your Garden Grow?  You have until 31 May to link up!

My next card plays along with Colour Throwdown - I just love this colour combo!

 

I inked up a new (to me) set of stamps from Paper Smooches, Cyber Café.  I masked the cups to stack them up.  Love the sentiment :)  I will also link up with The Card Concept which has a coffee themed challenge.

That's it from me for today.  Thanks for your visit - I really appreciate it!

Sarah x

Wet and Wild

Hello!

It is really wet and miserable here this weekend....and I have taken refuge in my craftroom :)

Given the wet weather it seemed like a good idea to make a card for the current challenge over at Keep It Simple - Maritime!

 

I used the large Simon Says Stamp stripes background white embossed in the background and a new stitched tag die from Waltzingmouse Stamps.  The sentiment is from WPlus9 and I think the anchor die is from Simon as well, I stacked up a few together for a bit of dimension.  I love the patterned paper which is from a 6x6 Dear Lizzy paper pad that I picked up on sale the other day.  The mint and navy colour scheme is lovely :)  Nothing very complicated but I like how it has turned out......

 

My second card to share is one I made whilst I had the navy cardstock out.  I have used a sketch from the Hero Arts Challenge which finishes tomorrow....I have used sketch #3:

 

 

I have used the gorgeous Constellation Background from Hero Arts clear embossed on the dark blue card.  The star and sentiment are silver embossed and from HA's Written in the Stars set.  They work so well together :)  Some silver sequins, thread and American Crafts glitter tape to finish.

 

Both cards feature embossing - remember the current challenge at A Blog Named Hero:

 

 

There is still time to enter and there are prizes from both Simon Says Stamp and Mama Elephant up for grabs!

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

Sarah x

 

 

Hello Flowers

Hello!

I am loving the Hello Flowers set by Hero Arts and have made this card to play along with Less Is More Challenge and CASology both of which are featuring a flowers theme this week.

 

I white embossed the flowers and inked them with Scattered Straw and Worn Lipstick distress inks.  The sentiment is from the fab Winnie and Walter, The Big, The Bold and The Happy stamp set.  I inked a Simon Says Stencil with Pumice Stone and added a few glitter enamel dots.

 

I hope you like it.  It is forecast to be a wet weekend so I should be able to get some time to play in my craftroom :)

 

See you soon.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

 

Time Flies, Love Lasts

Hello!

A quick post tonight for the Time Out Challenge based on the theme 'Time Flies, Love Lasts'.  I used my new Hero Arts Feathers set white embossed on watercolour card with a wash of blue and green distress inks.  The sentiment is made with my dymo.

 

That's it for me - another busy week at work so not much time for crafting so far!

 

Thanks for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

Simple Flower Cards

Hello!

I hope your Monday has been a happy one!  Just a few cards that I made over the weekend using the sketch from last week's CASE this Sketch which I really liked but didn't get time to play along with. 

First up is this card made using the lovely Petals n Posies stamps and dies from Reverse Confetti and Bold Buzzwords from Paper Smooches:

 

I used Reverse Confetti's Tag Me die and cut the large flower from felt.  I embossed some yellow cardstock to add a bit of colour to the kraft card base. 

 

 

Same layout on a soft blue/grey cardbase.  The felt embellishment has been lurking in my stash for ever - I think it might be from American Crafts.  The sentiment is from Altenew.  I will play along with this week's Less is More Challenge to use flowers and Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge to use die cuts.

 

Thanks for your visit - hope to see you again soon :)

 

Sarah x

 

Splash

Hello!

Have you had a good weekend?  It has been gloriously sunny here so the only raindrops are on my card :)  This is a shaker card that I made for this week's CASology challenge with the cue card Splash.  It seemed like a good opportunity to use my new Weather It stamps and dies from Avery Elle:

 

I stamped the raindrops from the set in Teal Zeal from Memento and used some Wink of Stella.  The umbrella is die cut and I backed it with acetate before inlaying the handle.  I used a selection of doodlebug sequins for the shaker element.  I have never made a shaker card before - it was lots of fun!  I will also link up with Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge to use die cuts.

 

I am way behind with the OCC Watercolour for Cardmakers class but have loved seeing the videos and all of the fantastic cards that others have created.  Here is a (very simple) watercolour card made using the Sochatoa set from Altenew and a sentiment from Avery Elle's Handwritten Notes stamps.  The triangles are watercoloured with Picked Raspberry, Worn Lipstick, Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade Distress Inks.

 

 

Thanks for your visit - I really appreciate you stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

 

Watercolour Stamping

Hello!

I am just popping in to share a card that I have made by stamping with gelatos to try out the technique that Shari Carroll demonstrated on Day 4 of the OCC Watercolour for Cardmakers - yes, that is how far behind I am with my homework!

 

I used Hero Art's lovely Silhouette Grasses stamp.  I covered the stamp with different  colours of gelato and spritzed liberally with water - this is the second impression.  I watercoloured and splattered around the image to give it more depth.  I gold embossed the sentiment on vellum.

 

Do you like it?  I was quite pleased with my first attempt at stamping with gelatos!

 

Thanks for your visit :)

 

Sarah x

Embossing

Hello! I hope your week has been going well.....

There is a new challenge over at A Blog Named Hero - to use embossing, wet or dry on your card.



I love using embossing powder - it always look like magic when it melts :)

I have used Hero Art's Tiny Flags stamp and white embossed it.  I have used distress inks to watercolour the background - chipped sapphire, salty ocean, broken china and tumbled glass.  I stamped the sentiment from Mama Elephant's fab Hustle set.  I like the pooling of colours that the watercolouring gives between the embossed triangles.

 

On this card I have white embossed part of Hero Arts Zig Zag background and used a sentiment from Mama Elephant's Smitten set.  A few pearls and strip of dark blue cardstock to finish.

 

I hope you will play along with the challenge - I look forward to seeing what you create :)

 

Remember there is a great prize from our fab sponsors:

 

 

And Mama Elephant have offered to give 2 stamp sets away as well :)

 

 

Happy crafting!  Thanks for stopping by :)

 

 

Spring Flowers

Hello!

A quick post with a few cards that I have made with my new Avery Elle stamp sets - Laurels and Oh Happy Day:

This is a very simple one layer card that I can link up to this week's Less Is More Challenge to make one layer thank you cards.  Love the font of that sentiment plus the sweet little bird :)

 

I will join this card up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Spring Flowers. 

 

That's all from me - see you again soon!

 

Sarah x

A Bit More Watercolouring

Hello!

Just a quick card made from the second stamp I took from the Hero Arts fern image that I used for yesterday's watercolour card:

 

I like the soft look of the tag!  I cut the tag with my Hero Arts die and again in kraft.  The sentiment is from Avery Elle's Weather it set.  I stamped Hero Arts Five Line Background in soft beige.

 

I will join this card up to Hero Arts Sketch Challenge using Sketch #2 and to Keep It Simple's Watercolour Challenge.  I will also play along with Addicted to CAS's Off the Edge Challenge as the image is stamped off the edge of the tag and the tag itself is offset.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

Gold

Hello!

Popping by with a quick card for the current CASology Challenge with the Cue Card - Metal.  I wasn't very imaginative and just went with gold elements:

 

I wanted to make a card with my new stamps from Winnie and Walter - love that font!  I gold embossed a honeycomb heart from Simon Says Stamp on vellum and added some stitching with gold thread.  I sponged gold ink through a Memory Box stencil on each corner of the card base to provide a bit of interest.

 

The stitching means that I can play along one more time with Virginia's View Challenge!

 

While I am here I can also share another card that I have made inspired by the Watercolour Class for Cardmaker - specifically Day 3/4 Watercolour Stamping. 

 

 

 

I used distress markers on the Hero Arts palm stamp and spritzed generously with water.  Finished with a large sentiment from HA - I can't remember which set it comes from!

 

I hope you like them - thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

Stitching and Watercolouring

Hello!

There is a lot of inspiring stitching and watercolouring in blogland at the moment.  I have to thank Virginia Lu for having a stitching themed challenge over at Virginia's View.  It is something that I haven't really tried on my cards before but I decided to make it the focal point of this card and I like the look :)

I stamped some arrows from Uniko Studio in pale grey as a guide for my stitching and combined the stitched images with a great sentiment from Mama Elephant.  The sentiment is coloured with blue wink of stella.  Finally, I matted the main panel on some blue vellum.

I have also been practising my watercolouring using some of the great techniques that the designers have been demonstrating.

 

I white embossed the Looped Flower background from Hero Arts and used a range of distress inks - Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, Worn Lipstick and Spiced Marmalade.  I white embossed the sentiment from Hero Arts Messages with Flourish set on vellum and added some black for contrast.

 

I hope you are enjoying some creative time this weekend.  Thanks for your visit :)

 

Sarah x

Watercolour Homework

Hello!

I am so ready for the weekend :) Are you?!

I have been really enjoying the current Watercolour Class for Cardmakers there is so much amazing inspiration from all of the designers.  I haven't had much time to experiment due to work this week but will try to catch up over the weekend

I have a few simple cards to share today using techniques from Days 1 and 2.

 

 

I wanted to try out Laura Bassen's technique of stamping with acrylic blocks. I used a small square block and overlapped the colours to get this look.  I used a range of distress inks including Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint.  I cut the panel out with the Wonky Rectangle from Spellbinders and white embossed this sentiment from WPlus9.  I thought that some splatters would work well in the background :)  I am finding the main challenge of working with watercolours is the lack of control....however whilst this isn't perfect I quite like the variation of colour.  I think it will work for a guy card.

 

I have also made this card with the great Altenew Ori Kami set:

 

 

I simply white embossed the image and sentiment and created a watercolour background with Dusty Concord. Milled Lavender and Scattered Straw distress inks.  I will join in with Time Out Challenges latest challenge to create a project inspired by 'Time Flies, Love Lasts'.  I think the bird image and sentiment work with the theme.

 

Thanks for your visit - I hope to see you again soon :)

 

Sarah x

 

Over at ABNH

Hello!

I haven't been around much this week due to work.  I hope that things are going to calm down a bit towards the weekend as I want to catch up with the homework from the Watercolour Card Class - so many great ideas to try :)

Here is a card that I am sharing over on my solo post at A Blog Named Hero....I thought it would be fun to make some more cards for boys.

 

I made the background using gelatos over white embossed bicycles from Hero Art's Joy Ride.  The tag is cut using a Hero Arts Frame Cut die.  I glittered a Studio Calico wood veneer and combined with a cool sentiment from Mama Elephant's Hustle set. 

 

There are another three cards over at ABNH, I hope you check them out.  While you are there, join in with our current challenge:

 

 

There is a chance to win a $25 from our fantastic sponsor, Simon Says Stamp

 

 

 

And this month there is an extra prize thanks to Mama Elephant who are offering two stamp sets for each of our challenges this month - how awesome is that?! 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by today - I really appreciate your comments :)

 

Purple

Hello!

I have made a card for a few challenges:

The current challenge from the Card Concept is monochromatic purple which is a colour I struggle with so it was a real challenge for me:)  I have used 3 shades of purple - milled lavender, dusty concord and seedless preserve and so can play along with Less Is More's colour challenge to use 3 shades of one colour. I have also used the layout from the fabulous Virginia Lu's inspiration card at Time Out.  Finally I will link up at A2Z's blog where the theme is How Does Your Garden Grow.

I have used Hero Arts Leaf Cluster stamps and a sentiment from Year Round Sentiments along with Hero Art's butterfly die. I masked and inked the strip before stamping the leaves.  The butterfly was die cut from cardstock coloured with distress stains and covered with some Wink of Stella for some glimmer.  A few sequins to finish.

I will play along with Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes.

I hope you like it :)

Bye for now, Sarah x

Kraft - ing

Hello!

How has your weekend been?  Just popping with a few cards that I have made playing with kraft card....I love the texture and colour that it gives but don't use it very often.

First up is a card that I have made using Hero Arts (new to me) Five Line background:

 

I white embossed on kraft and clear embossed on black - it gives a lovely crisp look.  The tag is a HA die cut and I inked through their numbers stencil.  The sentiment is from HA's Heyday Sentiments on the Mama Elephant die cut banner.

 

I will play along with Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge which is Anything Goes and also with Hero Art's sketch challenge - sketch #2

 

Next I made this:

 

 

I stamped the fab button stamp from Hero Arts Not Perfect stamp set.  I thought it would be fun to add a stitch to the middle button which means I can play along with Virginia's View May Challenge.  I love seeing stitching on other people's cards but it isn't something I have ever done myself...I might try something a bit more ambitious before the end of the challenge :)

 

I hope you like them.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

 

 

Playing with new stamps....

Hello!

It has been a busy week at work so it is great to finally get the chance to make some cards....

 

I made this card using the fab Ori Kami stamp set from Altenew.  I masked the bird and sponged through the Memory Box mesh stencil.  I watercoloured the bird to provide some soft colour and I coloured a torn piece of vellum for the background.  As I watercoloured the image I will enter this card in to Keep It Simple's current watercolour challenge and will play along with Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge which is Anything Goes.

 

I also made a card with another (new to me) stamp from Neat and Tangled:

 

 

I love this big sentiment - it works great as a focal point on a card!  I used a Tim Holtz stencil in the background with Squeezed Lemonade and Tumbled Glass ink.  I thought this splattered effect background would work well with Addicted to CAS's current challenge with the cue word - grunge.

 

Thanks for your visit :)  I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

 

Sarah x