Chalkboard Snowflake

Hello!

I have been making more Christmas cards and we are not even in November.  I am usually a mid December Christmas card maker so this is a very unusual year for me :)  I also send very few cards because I am so disorganised but this year may just be different!

Here is a chalkboard snowflake card that I made using a fabulous, ornate snowflake image from Indigoblu:

 

The snowflake image is so striking that I decided not to add a sentiment on the front and stamped a Christmas greeting on the inside instead.  I will link this up at Merry Mondays where the challenge is to use snowflakes and neutral colours and also at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge where anything goes.

 

I have also made a one layer Christmas card:

 

I stamped the wreath from Hero Arts in Festive Berries and silver embossed the Tim Holtz Christmas sentiment over the top.  A few sequins finished the design.  It is very simple but I quite like the quirky wreath with the angular font.  I will join up at CAS on Sunday's current one layer challenge and at Addicted to Stamp's Clean and Simple challenge.

 

I hope to get the chance to do a bit more cardmaking at the weekend - fingers crossed....  However, I am off to carve pumpkins with the boys now who are both very excited about another sugar fuelled Halloween :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

 

Time Out Reminder

Hello!

Another week is whizzing by....and we have already reached the halfway point on the current challenge at Time Out.  It is a word inspiration this time:

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

There are lots of ways you can use this phrase.  I decided to go with feathers this time....

I used my MFT feathers dies with some newsprint paper and coloured with Chameleon pens.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts and is inked in Peacock Feathers and Pumice Stone.

I am still enjoying the newsprint challenge over at Less Is More (I promise this is my last entry!).  I will also link up at the Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge.

The Time Out DT have some fab inspiration for you along with our Guest Designer Jill Vickers of My Life in Paper.  I hope you will take Time Out to play along with us :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah x

A Few Challenges

Hello!

I hope your week is going well.  The kids are on half term and spending a few days with their grandparents so life is a bit less hectic this week....which means that I have had time to make cards for a few challenges.

Here is a card for the current challenge over at Altenew:

I was inspired by the flowers, colours and gold elements in the inspiration photo and gold embossed some flowers from Henna Elements.  I coloured them with Festive Berries and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks and matted on dark brown cardstock.  The sentiment is from Avery Elle.

Have you seen the amazing new release from Altenew - it is fantastic.  So many gorgeous stamp sets :)

Next up is a card that I made for the current challenge at Festive Fridays - I love all of the beautifully gift wrapped presents:

I used a gorgeous sentiment from Waltzingmouse Stamps and combined with a bow die.  I white embossed some dots from Winnie & Walter on the red cardstock at the back to mirror the dotty bow. 

Thanks as always for stopping by - I really appreciate your visit!

Sarah x

Butterfly Rainbow

Hello!

Just a quick post tonight with another card for this week's Less Is More challenge to use newsprint:

I used this newsprint butterfly from Clearly Besotted and stamped it in a selection of bright colours.  The sentiment is from Avery Elle.  A bit of stripey washi to finish.  A very simple design!

I hope you like it :)

See you again soon, Sarah x

Krafty Snowflakes and Newsprint Butterflies

Hello!

The clocks went back last night so I got an extra hour in bed - yay!  Feeling slightly refreshed I have had a bit more time in my craft room and came up with this:

I white embossed a range of Hero Arts snowflakes on to a kraft base and added a die cut Hero Arts snowflake in grey with a vellum one on top.  Combined with a sentiment from HA's Merry Christmas Messages.  I like the grey and kraft together although it is not a traditional Christmas colour combo!

I will link up with Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge to use kraft and at Hero Arts Holiday Challenge under the Anything Goes category.

The challenge at Less Is More this week is to use newsprint.  It is ages since I have used text print and had forgotten how much I like the look of it.  I found a free printable online to use as a base for this tag:

I stamped and embossed the outline of a butterfly from Clearly Besotted on the tag and coloured with my Chameleon Pens.  The banner and sentiment are from PTI.  A bit of distress ink around the edges of the tag and splatters in the background to finish.  I may well be back with some more newsprint cards later in the week :)

Thanks as ever for stopping by!

Sarah x

Muse

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend....I am so weary after a frantic week that I think my mojo may have gone to sleep!  It has taken me all afternoon to make a card for this week's Muse.....

 

I loved the red and yellow rays of the die cut on Marion's card along with the bold grey sentiment.  I used a new (to me) Memory Box die cut border and popped it up over a panel of red cardstock and die cut the Happy using a PTI die.  It is stacked up for a bit of dimension.  A few yellow enamel dots echoed the yellow elements on the inspiration card.

I'm going to get an early night....

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Krafty Christmas

Hello!

I wanted to make a card for the current challenge at CASology where the cue card is Home.  I made another Christmas card....

I love this rustic wreath from PTI and the sentiment seemed to work well with the home theme.  I always think that kraft card has a homely look and white embossing on kraft is one of my favourite things to do.  I coloured the leaves with Spectrum Noir pencils.

I will also join up with Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge where the theme is kraft and at Addicted to Stamps where the theme is holiday.

I hope you like it.  Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Modern Snowflake

Hello!

Nearly at the weekend :)  I hope you are well.

Just a quick post from me with a card that I have managed to squeeze in during the evenings:

 

I love this fantastic snowflake die from Hero Arts which I have stacked up to create some dimension.  I combined it with patterned papers in fresh colours and added a Hero Arts sentiment white embossed on vellum. 

 

I will join this up at the Merry Mondays Challenge to use non traditional Christmas colours, with Addicted to CAS where the code word is vellum and at the current holiday challenge at Hero Arts under the Anything Goes category.

 

I hope you like it!

 

Bye for now, Sarah x

Time Out Challenge #17

Hello!

It is time for another fab Time Out Challenge.  You were obviously all as inspired as we were by Heather Telford's card last time and I loved seeing your beautiful designs!  This time we are inspired by words:

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

Lots you can do with this :) 

I had to use a new Clarity Stamp that I got a few days ago - love this image:

I coloured the stamp with distress markers and spritzed generously with water.  I think it gives a really dreamy, autumnal look.

While playing with the stamp I also made this:

I inked up the sky in fired brick, spiced marmalade and mustard seed distress inks and stamped the tree on top. I sprayed a bit of Mister Huey's shine to add to the dreamy effect.  The sentiment is from PTI.  I think this one looks a bit more dramatic.  As it is a bit more inky than my usual designs I will link it up with the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp's Monday challenge.

Anyway, do go and check out what the fabulous design team have created using this phrase - they are super talented.  And talking of super talented we are joined by the fabulous Jill Vickers from My Life in Paper as Guest Designer for this challenge - I love Jill's work and you can also see her guest designing over at Merry Mondays as well this week!  Do check out her blog for lots more inspiration :)

I hope you have fun with our new challenge and take Time Out to join us!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Cute and Spooky

Hello!

I have a few cards to share with you tonight - one cute little critter for Less is More and a Halloween card (which isn't very spooky!).

First up is a card for the current challenge at Less is More which is to feature a little creature on your card.  I was rooting through my very disorganised pile of stamps and found a free set that I got with a magazine years ago featuring cute Pink Petticoat designs.  I stamped the little bug and punny sentiment on to a die cut stitched panel and coloured with markers.  I added a bit of Spun Sugar distress ink around the edges and stuck over the top of a banner cut from Lawn Fawn paper.  Added a heart button for a cute finish.  Buttons only rarely make an appearance on my cards but this one seems to work :)

Next up is a Halloween card using the colour combo from Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge:

 

I just love these cute stitched ghost dies from Lil Inkers which I have combined with a Hero Arts sentiment from the set You Scare Me and a Memory Box cobweb stencil.  Very easy!  I will also link this up at the current challenge at AAA Cards which has a Halloween theme.  I can't believe that I was picked as a winner from the last autumn colours challenge - thank you so much :)

One final link to The Male Room which has a Halloween theme as well!

Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments - they make my day :)

Sarah x

Non Trad Christmas

Hello!

Just a quick post from me tonight with a card that I have made using my new Simon Says Stamps ornament set:

I stamped the ornaments in Peacock Feathers and Shabby Shutters Distress Inks and then watercoloured them to give a bit more depth and shading.  The panel is die cut with my current fave stitched rectangle die from Lawn Fawn and the sentiment is silver embossed from PTI.  I lightly inked my Hero Arts confetti stencil to create a bokeh type effect in the background.

I will link up at this week's Merry Mondays challenge to use non-traditional Christmas colours.  I hope to play along again this week as I love using different colour schemes for my Christmas cards.  I will also join up at the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge to use watercolouring given that I am using my new SSS stamps :)

I hope you like my card.  Thanks for stopping by....I really appreciate your support!

Sarah x

More festive cards

Hello!

I have had fun making a few more Christmas cards today....I also signed up for the 2014 Holiday Card Workshop from Online Card Class yesterday so I am obviously going to be making lots more too!  Class starts on 3 November so I hope that I will see lots of you there.  It is often a challenge to keep up with homework around the day job but I do love to see the inspiration from class and what other students do with it!

Given that I have been so enthusiastic with my Christmas card making this year I plan to send some of my cards over to support this year's Caring Hearts Card Drive organised by Jennifer Maguire and Vera Yates - such a great idea.  I'm not aware of anything similar in the UK but if there is - let me know!

First up I have made this fun Christmas card with some of my new Hero Arts stamps:

I really love these bottle brush trees from the Hero Arts Friends and Family set.  Here I stamped them in teal and pink for a bit of a non traditional colour combo.  I masked off a section at the bottom and used Hero Arts Tiny Ink Dots in the background to look a bit like snow.  Washi tape down the side and a sentiment from the Friends and Family set to finish.

I will join up (for a 5th time!) at the current Holiday card challenge over at Hero Arts in the Anything Goes category and also enter (for a 3rd time) at A2Z Scrapbooking's October challenge to use two or more 'hard' HA products on your project.

Next up is a card for the latest challenge at the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Group - watercolour:

I watercoloured some Tim Holtz watercolour card with Festive Berries and Fired Brick Distress Inks. I cut out a panel with a Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle and inked through my new Simon Says Stamp large dot stencil leaving the dots deliberately part coloured to give some variation.  I die cut the new SSS seasons greetings die and stacked it up for a bit of dimension with some WoS on top.  The snowflakes in the background are from Hero Arts.

The effect isn't as watercolour-y as I wanted but I love that stencil!

If you like Simon Says Stamp products it is definitely worth checking out the Flickr group challenge - there is a fab prize and it is lots of fun :)

Thanks for bearing with my ramblings and for stopping by!

Sarah x

Muse

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend.  Just one week left until half term - thank goodness :)

I don't often get the chance to play along with the fab Muse challenge but I did love Therese's sweet card and wanted to have a go.  Here is what I made:

This is a fairly literal take on Therese's scene combining stitched hills die cut from patterned paper and these cute elephants from Hero Arts Lil Hoot set.  I coloured them with my new Chameleon Pens - I need a bit more practice but like the shading they give.  The sentiment is from SSS.

I will also join up at Addicted to Stamps where the current challenge is to Make Your Mark.

While I was having a play I also made a card with the colour combo over at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge.  I used some fun Halloween stamps from Tim Holtz:

The boys really like this cool skull stamp!

Thanks, as always, for stopping by - I really appreciate it  :)

Sarah x

Time Out Reminder

Happy Thursday to you!

After my marathon number of blogposts yesterday I hope you are still with me :)  This time I am popping in with a reminder about our current challenge over at Time Out where we have a gorgeous inspiration card from the talented Heather Telford.

Here is a second card that I made for the challenge:

I was inspired by the beautiful colours on Heather's card:

I used the fab leaf stamps from Waltzingmouse Stamps Funky Flowers stamped in Rusty Hinge, Mustard Seed and Crushed Olive distress inks.  The thanks die is from Clearly Besotted and is stacked up in several layers for a bit more texture.  A very simple card!

I hope you check out the great inspiration that the rest of the DT have to get you started....there is still a week left before the challenge closes.

Before I go I will share a second card that I have made to play along with Less is More's current challenge to make a one layer card featuring two things:

 

I used a beautiful wreath set from PTI and added a touch of wink of stella to the berries.

 

Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments :)

 

Sarah x

Time for Bed!

Evening!

Click here for my ABNH project.

Just popping in with my final card for the Waltzingmouse Pajama Party....

Here is what I made for the Old Pajamas challenge to make a Christmas card with one of the older stamp sets:

I adore the beautiful Festive Foliage set which I white embossed along with a sentiment from Tis the Season.  Matted on to some gold card.

I have had lots of fun playing along today but it is definitely time to call it a night :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Recycle It!

Hello!

I am back again this evening with my 6th blog post of the day - phew!!  This time I am excited to tell you about the start of our latest challenge over at A Blog Named Hero:





We are looking forward to seeing what things you can creatively re-use for your project:

 

 

I used a mix of Lawn Fawn and Hero Art stamps in bottle tops - covered in glossy accents and then made in to fridge magnets!  My boys love them and want to go through my stamp collection to choose more designs :)  I think that I have started a bottle top craze in our house!

These aren't perfect as you can see - I have a few bubbles from the glossy accents and the colours seemed to bleed on a couple of them so there is definitely room for improvement but they are a really fun project and make such sweet little gifts.  It is also a great way to use those mini stamps in sets which are often neglected.

I loved using these cute Lawn Fawn images in the bottle tops - they are so dinky and perfect for this type of project.  It has been a real pleasure to use Lawn Fawn products this month :)

Check out the cool projects from the rest of the DT and I really hope that you play along with us!

Remember there is a prize from our fab sponsors:

I look forward to seeing what you make but in the meantime - thank you so much for stopping by!

Old Pajamas

Hello!

I am back again with another card for the fab challenges over at Waltzingmouse's Pajama Party.  This one is for Challenge #3 Old Pajamas to make a card using older Christmas sets.

I stamped the Santa bauble and sentiment on some vintage looking patterned papers.  Distressed and inked the edges of the paper and added a wood veneer snowflake along with one of my die cut Waltzingmouse snowflakes too.  I don't often use patterned papers but think they add a bit of interest on this occasion!

I have one more card to post - this has been a super productive Pajama Party :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Pajama Party 3

Morning :)

One very quick post before I go to work with a card I made last night for the fun Pajama Party taking place at Waltzingmouse Stamps today!

This card is for Challenge #4 - the Bedtime Story sketch. 

 

This is the sketch that I was working from:

 

I used my favourite Christmas ornament stamps from Waltzingmouse embossed in black and gold along with one of the stunning sentiments from Tis the Season.  I added some patterned paper to echo the details along the bottom of the sketch whilst trying to keep the design relatively CAS.

I hope you like it.  I will be back after work to look through the galleries and hopefully link up another card (or two!).

Sarah x

Pajama Party 2

Hello Again!

I have a second card for Waltzingmouse's Pajama Party - this time for Challenge #1 - Texturise It.

I struggled a bit with this one but ended up embossing (or debossing?) the large snowflake die in to the rich purple cardstock and sanding the surface.  I topped with two other Waltzingmouse Snowflake dies and combined with a silver embossed sentiment from PTI.  I think I liked how this turned out?

The grey and purple colour combo is also unusual for me but means that I can link up with the challenge over at Inkspirational.

I would love to know what you think :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Pajama Party

Hello!

It is time for another fun pajama party over at Waltzingmouse Stamps :)

I have made a few cards in advance so that I can play along around the edges of work tomorrow!

Here is my first card for Challenge #2 - Snow Is Falling:

A very simple design featuring the lovely Waltzingmouse snowflake dies and a sentiment from Compliments of the Season.  I inked around the edge of the panel with Pumice Stone and dusted with Perfect Pearls to give a bit of shimmer.  The snowflakes have a bit of WoS on them too.  I pierced the lines to give the effect of the snowflakes hanging like Christmas decorations. 

I really like this - despite the non-festive colour scheme :)  These snowflake dies are so beautiful (and I am a sucker for snowflake dies) that they definitely deserve to be the stars of the show.

I shall be back again shortly with another card.....

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Autumn Wreath

Hello!

I hope your week has got off to a good start....it is feeling very autumnal here and that has prompted me to make a second card for the Waltzingmouse Fanatics challenge where the theme is Anything Goes.

 

I have seen lots of lovely wreath cards in blogland and wanted to create my own.  I stamped the cool leaves from Waltzingmouse's Funky Flowers in a combination of autumnal colours and finished with a bit of twine and an enamel heart.  The sentiment is from Technique Tuesday.

Just a quick post today....I will be back tomorrow with some cards for Waltzingmouses's Pajama Party.

I have just seen that the challenge theme at AAA Cards is to use autumnal colours.  I have wanted to play along with this fab challenge for ages so will link up there....a bit late in the day :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Merry Mondays

Hello!

Today I am really excited to be the guest designer over at Merry Mondays :)  I only started playing in this challenge a few weeks ago but really love it - it is the perfect way to build up a stock of Christmas cards and the inspiration from the design team is wonderful!

Here is how I was inspired by this week's theme:

I loved the peaceful snowy scene with the little red houses amongst the woods.  I used my Memory Box die and coloured the houses red.  Combined with some glamour dust glitter and a sentiment from Hero Arts Friends and Family set stamped in navy ink.

A very easy card but one that I would never have come up with without the challenge.

I also made a second card:

 

Again the moonlit snowy scene was the main inspiration to create a monochromatic CAS design.  I used the beautiful Hero Arts Winter Scene stamped in Chipped Sapphire along with a sentiment from the Merry Christmas message set.  I simply dusted some ink around the moon mask to create the sky and added a bit of glitter.

 

I will also join this card up at the Holiday Challenge at Hero Arts in the White Out category.

 

That's it from me - I hope you will play along with us at Merry Mondays and check out the fabulous DT designs.  You are sure to be inspired!

 

Thanks for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

Snowflakes and Splatters

Hello!

I hope you have had a fantastic weekend with lots of crafty time.  I managed to make a few more cards today so it has been quite a productive weekend for a change and we went for a lovely autumn walk this afternoon :)

First up is a card that I made for the current challenge at Uniko Studio to make a CAS card:

I used the Stunning Snowflakes stamps and dies and the challenge colour combo:

I swiped the cardstock through a mix of Peacock Feathers, Broken China and Dusty Concord spritzed with water and die cut the snowflake.  It is stacked up on a couple of layers to give a bit of dimension.  I will also link up with the current challenge at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge to use watercolour.  This can be another entry for the fab CAS challenge at Virginia's View - there are some amazing cards in the gallery!

Next up is a one layer card to play along with Less is More's current challenge to use two of something:

After all of my recent Christmas card making I decided to use some pastel colours and butterfly stamps from PTI.  I added some splatters with a stamp from WPlus9 to add a bit of interest so I will also link up for a second time at CASology.

Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments - they make my day :)

Sarah x

Saturday Makes

Hello!

I hope you are having a good weekend....I have been busy this afternoon trying to catch up with my card making.  Here is what I made while the boys were at the cinema!

 

I made this card for the current challenge at Merry Mondays to use neon.  That had me a bit stumped as I don't have any neon inks or paints and couldn't find any papers that would fit the bill.  However, when I was doing a bit of masking this week I realised that my post it note was a neon pink and decided to use it behind my Memory Box bauble.  I put some WoS on the post it for a bit of sparkle and finished with a sentiment from Hero Arts.  Very CAS but I quite like the look.

I also wanted to make one final card for the WCMD challenges over at A2Z Scrapbooking.  It is another Christmas card for the Anything Goes (Challenge #2).

I white embossed the beautiful snowflakes from Hero Arts Designer Snowflakes set and inked with Tumbled Glass.  The sentiment is silver embossed from Hero Arts Decorate the Holidays.  I will also link up with the challenge over at Hero Arts in the Anything Goes category.

Finally I wanted to play along at CASology where the cue card is Splatter:

I took a break from my Christmas card making to use my splatter stencil from Tim Holtz inked in Festive Berries along with a headphone and sentiment stamp from Indigo Blue.  I will also link up at Addicted to Stamps where the current challenge is Anything Goes.  This will be my third entry at Addicted to CAS where the code word is Stencil.

It was quite a productive afternoon :)  I wonder where I can send the boys tomorrow to get more crafting time.....

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Aqua Butterfly

Hello!

I am back with a quick post to show you a card that I made inspired by the colour combo that A2Z Scrapbooking gave as the first challenge as part of Saturday's WCMD celebration:

 

The colour combo is aqua, silver and white and I used the lovely butterfly from Hero Arts Butterfly set white embossed on vellum with the polka dot layer stamped in Tide Pool.  I also used HA's Confetti Stencil to create a soft inked background. 

I will also link up at Virginia's View current Clean and Simple challenge and at Addicted to CAS where the codeword is Stencil.

I hope you like it!

See you again soon, Sarah x