Sweet Things

Hello!

I hope you have been having a good weekend!  We have got a bit of Christmas online shopping done and the Christmas cake is in the oven as I type so that is something.  I'm not feeling festive yet, but we are going to the German market in Leeds tonight so that might do the trick :)

On a non-Christmassy theme, I made a card to play along at CASology where the cue card is 'eat'.  As I don't have any edible themed festive stamps I used a sweet cupcake stamp from Waltzingmouse Stamps and a 'bake off' style colour scheme:

 

The pinks and blues are a nice change from the recent Christmas colour combos that I have been using.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts and I used my Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle dies which have to be amongst my top crafty purchases of 2014!!  I will also link up a second time at Less is More's celebration challenge - reaching a milestone of 200 challenges is definitely a good reason to bring on the cake!  I will also join up at Simon Says Wednesday's Anything Goes Challenge - why not?!

 

I have also been playing some more with the adorable Create A Smile stamps and made two tags with cute characters from the Cool Buddies set:

 

 

I will link these cuties up at Addicted to CAS where the theme is dots and at The Card Concept where the challenge includes tags and snowmen.  The patterned paper is from Pink Petticoat - I was inspired to use it after I saw a great card from Sarah at Sazzle Dazzle for Less is More and the sentiments are from Penny Black.

 

That's all from me - thanks for stopping by.  I appreciate all of your comments and visits :)

 

Bye for now,

 

Sarah x

 

  

Uniko Christmas

Hello!

I was so excited to receive my new stamps from Uniko Studio's latest release - they are gorgeous.  It would have been rude not to open them up and have a play today :)

 

 

The Christmas tree from the Rustic Christmas set is great to work with.  On this card I white embossed it on to some teal cardstock and used Uniko snowflakes from the Winter Vines set.  I added a few pops of red and some Mister Huey's shimmer spray to give a festive feel!  I will link this up with Less Is More's current challenge which is 'celebrations' and at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday's Anything Goes Challenge.  I will also link up at Uniko's Anything Goes challenge too :)

 

 

 

 

On this card I decided to try using the tree as a background stamp and used a light grey Mama Elephant ink.  I just got a few ME inkpads from Make the Day Special and they are lovely....think I will be adding the full set to my Christmas list!  I like the pattern the trees create and added a tree in red on top.

 

 

Finally I went with more traditional Christmas colours in red and green.  This simple card shows how lovely the tree is.  The little birds add a pop of colour.  I will link up at Merry Mondays where the challenge is to use red/white/green.

 

I hope you like them :)

 

See you again soon,

 

Sarah x

Festive Wreaths

Hello!

Happy Friday - I am so glad to get to the weekend but really need to get started with Christmas preparations.  Are you organised already?!

I have two more Christmas cards to share with you today using some of my favourite Hero Arts stamps:

I stamped the wreath in several times in different greens and stamped the little flower from Family and Friends along with the sentiment.  I think it looks quite fresh :)  I will link up with the challenge at Merry Mondays which is to use this colour combo and I will also join in at Addicted to Stamps current Holiday challenge too.

I made a variation on this card using the same stamps but on kraft card:

 

I stamped the wreath in a white chalk ink to give a shadow effect and inked around the edge of the kraft panel which is matted on to a dark chocolate cardstock.  I added some red twine too.  It is amazing how different this same design looks on a different cardstock - which look do you prefer?

 

I will link up at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes and put in a final entry for this month's A2Z Scrapbooking Challenge which is also Anything Goes.

 

I hope you like my festive wreaths!  I will post a few more cards over the weekend....

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

 

Time Out Challenge #19 Reminder

Hello!

We are already a week in to the current challenge at Time Out which is:

Embossing with an optional twist of sparkle

It is great to see all of the sparkly creations already in the gallery and you still have a week to play along.  Remember that you are in with a chance of winning a stamp set from our fab sponsors, Avocado Arts if you use the twist :)

I went all out on sparkle with this Christmas card:

I coloured some card with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and clear embossed snowflakes in the background before spraying with some Heidi Swapp clear shine spray.  I also brushed some Perfect Pearls around the edge.  I die cut a delicate snowflake wreath from Memory Box in silver glitter card and in vellum and scattered some sequins.  The sentiment, from PTI, is white embossed in the centre. 

It was quite difficult to capture the shine so apologies for the glare on the photo!

Do head over to Time Out where the rest of the DT have more great inspiration to get you in the mood for embossing :)  I look forward to seeing what you create....

I will also link this card up at Addicted to Stamps current Holiday challenge and at the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge.

Thanks, as always for stopping by.  I hope to see you again soon,

Sarah x

Radio Waves

Hello!

I hope your week has got off to a good start :) Just a couple of quick cards from me....

First up is another card using my new Create A Smile stamps - I love the quirky, retro radios in this set:

I used a fab Memory Box stencil to create the radio waves and coloured in my radio with Chameleon Pens (and a bit of Wink of Stella!).

I will link up with Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge where the theme is thanks/thanksgiving.

Back to festive cards - here is a card I made using some Uniko stamps and a stags head die from WPlus9:

 

I stamped the Merry sentiment from All Occasion Sentiments #4 in white ink on black card for a chalkboard effect in the background and the green garland is from Peace on Earth.  I sponged some Antique Linen around the edge of a stitched rectangle die.  I really like how you can see the woven effect of the paper that I have used for the stag die.  I will join this up at Uniko Studio's Anything Goes Challenge.

 

Thanks, as always, for stopping by :)

 

See you again soon,

 

Sarah x

 

 

Jingle Bells

Hello!

A quick post from me today.

I am linking these glittery bells from Lil Inkers at Less Is More where the challenge is Jingle All The Way, at Merry Monday whose theme is Christmas Bells and at Inkspirational where the challenge is to make a card with non-traditional Christmas colours.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts as are the dots that I have used to create a bokeh style effect.

I have also made another card with my lovely new Create A Smile goodies :)

I used the cute fox from the Cool Buddies stamp set and combined him with stamps from the Waltzingmouse Flurries set to create a little scene.  I have coloured the fox with Chameleon pens.  I will link this little fella up at Addicted to Stamps where the challenge is to Make Your Mark.

Thanks for stopping by!

See you soon, Sarah x

No Stamps!

Hello!

Happy Saturday to you...I hope you have been doing something you enjoy today :)  I have managed to fit in some crafty time and have made a few cards to share with you.

I would regard myself as a stamper first and foremost but as my collection of dies and stencils grows I also find myself making cards which don't include any stamping at all!

First up:

This simple card was made using a large snowflake die from Uniko Studio cut about 4 times from an aqua cardstock and stacked up.  I used my SSS diagonal stripes stencil on the top layer to add a bit more interest.  I die cut the sentiment from Lil Inkers from deep red cardstock and covered in Wink of Stella. 

I will link up at the Anything Goes Challenge at Uniko Studio - my card is a fairly literal take on the sketch.  You don't need to use any Uniko products to play along so it is worth checking out and there is loads of time as the challenge doesn't close until 14 December!

I have used lots of dies to make my next card:

 

I have stacked up my greeting die from SSS and combined it with a lovely leaping deer die from WPlus9.  The paper looks like fabric so it has a nice texture.  I placed them on some patterned paper cut with my Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle die and layered on top of another panel which has the Penny Black snowflake stencil covered with pale blue embossing paste.    As it features die cutting and SSS products I will link up at the SSS Flickr Challenge.

 

I am sure that I will have some more inky creations to share with you tomorrow :)

 

Thanks, as always, for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

New Goodies

Hello!

Finally we are at the weekend :)  I am looking forward to getting the chance to get crafty this weekend as it feels like it has been a very long week.....

However, I got some fantastic products this week from Create A Smile and I couldn't wait until the weekend to have a play with them:

I created a simple scene with the wonderful snowpeople from Cool Buddies, coloured with Chameleon Pens.  The sky is created using the Swirly Stencil and Tumbled Glass distress ink.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.  I will link up with the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps which is to 'make your mark'.

 

I played another of the fab stencils from Create A Smile on my next card:

 

I sponged Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Worn Lipstick and Picked Raspberry inks through the speech bubbles on this Say It stencil and used a Lawn Fawn speech bubble die.  The sentiment is from Avery Elle and the cute little speech bubble is from Create A Smile's Perfect Tune.  I will link up at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge where the theme is thanksgiving and at AAA Cards Challenge which has the same theme.

As you can tell, I am loving the designs from Create A Smile and I will have more of a play over the weekend.  It is worth heading over to the blog for lots of great inspiration.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

 

Time Out Challenge #19

Hello!

I'm back with the start of our next Time Out Challenge - embossing with an optional twist of sparkle!  Just perfect for all of those festive cards that are popping up all over blogland :)

Here is my card:

I embossed a Penny Black snowflake stencil with embossing paste and sprinkled with glitter while it was still wet and used my new stamps from Stamplorations which are just fantastic!  I wilver embossed the sleigh, cute it out and watercoloured with inktense pencils.  A bit of wink of stella added some extra shimmer.  I also silver embossed the sentiment and cut out the words.

Lots of sparkle going on here!

I will also link up with Stamploration's November Challenge - Stamps and Layers. It is my first time playing along :)

Do head over to Time Out to see what fantastic inspiration the rest of the DT have for you.  We are really excited to have Lesley Croghan from Always Playing with Paper as our Guest Designer this time.  Lesley is an amazing card maker and will already be known to many of you so needs no introduction from me!

Did I mention that this challenge is sponsored by the fab Avocado Arts - what more incentive do you need to make your creations sparkly?!

I look forward to seeing you over at Time Out :)

Sarah x

Christmas Trees

Hello!

We are on the downhill slope to the weekend and I wanted to make a card for this week's Less Is More Challenge before I ran out of time :)  The challenge is to use more than one tree on your design and the LIM DT made some amazing inspiration cards this week.

Here is my card:

I used a lovely tree scene stamp from Hero Arts in HA navy ink and layered it up on a Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle.  I covered some card in the navy ink and die cut this cute sentiment from Lil Inkers and stacked it up on several layers.  I decided that I needed a bit more interest on the card and used white embossing paste on a Penny Black snowflake stencil on the card base which gives some texture but doesn't take away my white space!

I will also link up at AtoZ Scrapbooking's Anything Goes challenge.

I hope you like my card - thanks for taking the time to stop by!

Sarah x

More Babies!

Hello!

I can't believe it - my other cousin has had a baby girl today so for the second day in a row I am posting a new baby card :)  I find new baby cards quite hard to make - don't know why, maybe it is just lack of practice! 

Here is what I came up with:

I used a Lawn Fawn rectangle die and sponged a bit of light pink around the edge.  I stamped the lovely Handwritten Borders from SSS on a curve to create a string effect.  I used some cute little stamps from Card-io as little hanging hearts and covered them with glossy accents.  I inked my SSS striped stencil in soft grey on the card base to create a bit of interest.

As yesterday, I will link up at SSS Wednesday Challenge featuring stars and at the SSS Flickr Challenge #6 which features die cutting.

I will be back tomorrow with a more festive card....I am not aware of any more babies being due in the family this week :)

Thanks for stopping by and your kind comments,

Sarah x

Precious

Hello!

Just a quick post from me tonight - I felt quite under the weather at the weekend and didn't get any cards made :(  However my cousin has just had a little boy a few weeks earlier than expected so I quickly pulled this card together tonight (hence the rubbish light):

I used a Memory Box star die on a Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle and used a sentiment from Uniko Studio.  I inked Tide Pool through my SSS big dots stencil for a bit of interest in the background.

As I have used dies and SSS products on this card I will link up at the SSS Flickr Group Challenge which features die cutting.  I will also link up at SSS Wednesday Challenge which is all about stars.

I hope you like my little card :)

Thanks as always for stopping by!

Sarah x

Scandi Tags

Hello!

I hope you are having a great Saturday.  I managed to take a quick break out from football and ironing to make these scandi inspired tags for Challenge One in the Pajama Party over at Waltzingmouse Stamps.  I am in love with the beautiful woodgrain stamp at the moment:

 

I used my WMS stitched tag dies, Nordic Winter, Woodgrain and Santa's Coming to Town. 

I am loving the rustic/scandi look for Christmas this year....

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Pajama Party Card #2

Hello!

Back again with another card for Waltzingmouse Stamp's November Pajama Party.

This is another card for Challenge 3 - Old Pajamas.  It is ages since I have used these glorious ornament stamps.  I stamped one in silver and watercoloured with light blue inktense pencils and stamped the other in Chipped Sapphire and embossed.  I silver embossed the lovely branches from the pine cone stamps.  I think the cool blues and silvers work well together.

I will also link up at Merry Mondays where the challenge is to use ornaments with a blue/silver colour scheme and at Virginia's View where we are focusing on metallic elements.

Thanks as always for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Waltzingmouse Pajama Party

Yay - it's time for another pajama party at Waltzingmouse Stamps!

I haven't had time to play along with each of the party challenges this month but have made this card for Challenge 3 - Old Pajamas:

 

I was obviously influenced by the scandi theme from the first challenge with this design....I embossed an Imagination Craft stags head and stamped Waltzingmouse's Nordic Winter into the shape.  I sponged Antique Linen and Frayed Burlap around the edge of the stencil to give the shape more definition. 

 

I decided not to add a sentiment to the front of the card and keep it simple!

 

I will also link up at CASology where the cue card is Festive.

 

I hope you like it :)

 

Sarah

Starry, Starry Night

Hello!

Happy Friday to you :)  I am so glad to have made it to the weekend and have just enough time to play along with this week's Less is More Challenge.  Before I share my card I wanted to say a massive thank you to Chrissie, Sarah and Anne for choosing me as the October winner - I am so thrilled! 

This week's LIM challenge is a one layer card featuring stars.  This is not the first card I made as I had forgotten that it is one layer week....doh!

I masked a panel and used Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean and Tumbled Glass Distress Inks.  I put silver embossing paste through a SSS Falling Stars Stencil and stamped a Hero Arts sentiment.

The NOT one layer card which I made first features a lovely fox stamp from Inky Doodles coloured with Chameleon Pens.  The background was created in the same way as the first card and the sentiment is from SSS. 

I will link this card up with Inkspirational's challenge where the prompt is 'Shine' and Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge to use stars.

I hope you like my starry cards :)

Bye for now,

Sarah x

Time Out Reminder

Hello!

Another week has flown by and we are half way through Time Out Challenge #18.  It is a lovely photo inspiration:

 

Here is my reminder card:

 

I have stayed with the rustic elements of the inspiration photo using some of my Waltzingmouse Stamps.  I have stamped the woodgrain background on kraft to reflect the pallet table and used the wonderful pine cones stamp.  The lovely sentiment is gold embossed.

I will also enter this card in Virginia's View Challenge to use metallic elements and also in the Anything Goes challenge at Addicted to Stamps.

Pop over to Time Out and check out the rest of the DT cards - they have lots of inspiration to share.  There is a week left in the challenge so I hope you will take time out to play along with us :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah x

A Christmas Free Post

Hello!

I hope your week is going well so far...I have started the week behind on my 'to do' list and it doesn't look like I am going to catch up!

I have a few cards to share today.  First up is a card for the Thinking of You theme at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge:

 

It was a quick one layer card which I made while I had my Waltzingmouse Stamps out for the nautical tag card at the weekend.  I love the font and wording of the sentiment :)

I have also had a play with watercolouring to join in with the current challenge at the AAA Card Challenge:

I used inktense pencils with this lovely Hero Arts poppy stamp which is one of my all time favourites.  I stamped the sentiment from Avery Elle on to vellum and splattered some pale blue on the card base.  Given this is a Hero Arts image I will also link up at the Anything Goes Challenge over at A2Z Scrapbooking.

There you go - a whole post without a Christmas card....quite out of character! 

I hope you like today's cards.  Thanks for stopping by - I do appreciate your comments :)

Bye for now,

Sarah x

Footsore!

Hello!

I hope you have had a good weekend.  I am feeling a bit weary (and very spent up) after a great day out at the Hobbycraft Show at the NEC!  I can't wait to have a play with all of my new goodies....

I haven't had much time to create this weekend but thought I would post a few cards that I haven't got round to blogging yet:

 

I white embossed this lovely tree from Clarity Stamps and added a sentiment from Avery Elle.  The background is coloured with distress inks and splattered with water for a more mottled look.  I matted it off centre on a black card.  I will join this up at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge which is Thinking of You.

 

Next up I have a second card for the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Group Challenge which, this week, is embossing:

 

I used pearlescent embossing paste on my SSS big dots stencil and clear embossed the two mosaic ornaments which had been stamped in Picked Raspberry and HA's Tide Pool.  The sentiment is silver embossed from Penny Black.  It was hard to get a decent photo of this card without glare from the pearly embossing but I hope you can see it from this angle!

I hope you like them :)

Sarah x

 

Nautical Thanks

Hello!

A really quick post from me today with a card for this week's CASology where the cue card is Sea.  It was the perfect excuse to get out my Ocean Bound stamp set from Waltzingmouse Stamps:

I stamped the rope image repeatedly in navy to create the background and stamped the lifesaver and sentiment on a stitched die from Waltzingmouse too.  I coloured it in with my Chameleon pens - still working on the blending :)

I will also link up with Addicted to CAS's current challenge where the codeword is Tag.

It was nice to take a break from Christmas cards to use a fresh, nautical colour scheme.  I hope you like it! 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

A Blog Named Hero Christmas Event

Hello!

ABNH has got a great Christmas event running every day this month:

There is fabulous festive inspiration every day and the chance to win prizes from Simon Says Stamp and Hero Arts .  You must check it out!

Today is my day on the blog and I have two cards featuring Christmas baubles - here is one of them:

A card featuring HA's lovely Christmas Crystals set - coloured in with my Chameleon pens.  A strip of black glitter tape and some wink of stella to add the essential Christmas bling!

I would love for you to visit me over at ABNH and let me know what you think of my cards - remember you could be in with a chance of winning :)

I will also link this card up with the current holiday challenge over at Hero Arts under the Anything Goes category and at A2Z's Anything Goes November challenge.

Thanks for stopping by - I really appreciate your visit!

Sarah x

Time Out Challenge #18

Hello!

Thursday already?!  That means it's time for another Time Out Challenge :)  This time we have a fab photo inspiration:

I was inspired by all of the beautiful rustic details - so warm!  Here is my rustic Christmas card...

 

I used my PTI wreaths on kraft and clear embossed some of the berries for some shine.  I pierced a line to look that they are hanging.  I thought the warm colours and rustic look reflect the photo.

Be sure to head on over to Time Out to see what inspiration the rest of the design team have in store for you :)  We are lucky to have Toni from Frankie Helps Craft as our Guest Designer for this challenge - she has a great CAS and fun style! 

I will also link this card up with the rustic Christmas theme at Merry Mondays.

I hope you will take Time Out to play along with us.

See you again soon :)

Sarah x

Merry Bauble

Hello!

I am really enjoying the current Holiday Class from Online Card Classes.  I love the inspiration but don't often manage to keep up with the homework.....BUT I have managed to make a card inspired by Jennifer's fabulous word Christmas tree from Day One:

 

 

I die cut a bauble to create my mask and stamped various 'merry' stamps in shades of purple and then went round the outside with a light lilac to give the shape a bit more definition.  I really like the effect!  It is a very simple design but nice and CAS and flat for posting....

 

I will link up at Less is More where the challenge is to use non traditional Christmas colours - this is my last card, promise!  I will throw it in to the Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge too although there are a gazillion cards in the gallery :)

 

Anyway, I better crash....another busy day tomorrow!

 

Thanks for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

Lots of Glitter

Hello,

Monday is back to work so I have decided to brighten up my day with lots of glitter :)

 

I used clear embossing paste on my favourite Simon Says Stamp diagonal stencil and covered with gold glitter.  Love the bling and texture!  I embossed the ornaments form SSS in gold and silver and combined with a PTI sentiment.  This has more bling than I would usually use but that's ok for Christmas, right?! 

I will link up with the fifth challenge at the SSS Flickr Group to use embossing and with Virginia's View Challenge to feature metal elements - I think there is plenty of gold on here!  Finally I will link up with Less is More's challenge to use non traditional Christmas colours for a second time - this card definitely doesn't have any red or green on it.  So sorry that the last card I linked up had red on it....I had thought that red and green were banned not red or green - doh :)

 

 

I made a second card on the same theme with the SSS ornaments die cut from my glittery background.  I clear embossed through the SSS stencil on the black base to add a bit more interest.

 

I hope you like my black and gold Christmas cards.

 

See you again soon :)

 

Sarah x