Cure for the Monday Blues

Hello!

I hope your weekend is going well :)  I have ignored the housework and played in my craftroom instead - it is the best way to destress after a hectic week....

I have been wanting to play along with Taheerah's fabulous Cure for the Monday Blues all week and this is what I came up with:

I stamped a scalloped border from Paper Smooches on a Reverse Confetti tag and combined it with a ME hello die stacked up several times.  I also stamped the chevrons from the same Paper Smooches set in the background.  I love a black and yellow colour combo and picked up the scallops, hello and heart from the inspiration photo:

I will also link up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge which is Anything Goes - I think this is my third entry.

You can get the Paper Smooches border stamps, Reverse Confetti and ME dies from Make the Day Special.

I hope you like it :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Spring Wings

Hello!

Thank goodness its Friday....I haven't had any time to make cards this week which always leaves me feeling a bit down :(  But I have a couple of cards to share that I made last weekend.

First up is a card for Less Is More and the birthday challenge at Uniko:

I stamped the lovely Uniko butterflies in fresh, spring colours.  I cut one butterfly out in yellow and popped it up and stamped another on the card base to add a bit more interest.  It is a simple design but you can never go far wrong with a few butterflies :)

I will also link up for a third time at Simon Say's Wednesday Anything Goes challenge.

Next up is a second entry for this week's CASology where the cue card is mini.  This is the card that I made for my hubby for our 13th wedding anniversary this week.  I am still waiting for mine so there may not be a 14th wedding anniversary!

I used this sweet sentiment from Pink Petticoat and popped it up with my new Memory Box cross stitch rectangles.  Just a little touch of red to the heart added a bit of colour.

I hope you like them!  I am determined to find some time to get creative this weekend so watch this space :)

Sarah x

Time Out Reminder

Hello!

We are already at the midway point of our current Time Out challenge which is a word inspiration:

Rock Around the Clock

I am really loving mint and blush at the moment - so used this colour combo for my card.  I used Uniko's Time stamp set and matching die and combined it with a sentiment from Altenew's Label Love and an edge die from Clearly Besotted.

The fabulous DT have lots more inspiration for you over at the Time Out blog along with our wonderful GD - Hazel from Hazel's Paper Designs.

I will also link up at the Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge.

Happy crafting :)

Sarah x

Little Cutie

Hello!

I hope the week is treating you well :)  I managed to find enough time last night to make a card for the joint SSS and Lawn Fawn Flickr Challenge to use kraft.  I don't have many Lawn Fawn stamps but I do love this cute Monster Mash set:

I coloured this little cutie with my Chameleon Pens and combined them with a sentiment and star stencil from Simon Says Stamps. 

I will also link up with the current challenge at CASology where the cue card is 'mini' as my card features this cute mini monster and at the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge.

I hope you like it :)

Thanks, as ever, for stopping by!

Sarah x

Floral Fun

Hello!

I have a quick post with a few flowery creations that I made over the weekend.  First up is a card for The Card Concept:

I love the colourful inspiration photo and decided to use some fresh and simple florals from Papertrey Ink to make a cheerful card intended to brighten someone's day!  I combined them with a sentiment from CBS and my new set of Memory Box rectangle dies with a cute cross stitch edge.  I reckon that this card is clean and layered in style.

Sticking with my bright and cheerful theme I was able to ink up my fab new floral stamp from Create A Smile:

 

This Botanical Love set is just gorgeous and I fell in love with this big bloom.  I am not a very accomplished colourista but this gave me the chance to play with my Chameleon Pens.  I have stamped the flower twice and layered it up for a bit of extra impact.  I am pleased with how it turned out :)

 

I hope you are having a bright and happy week - hopefully my cards have made you smile!

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

Celebrate Today

Hello!

I hope you have had a great weekend :)  It has been pretty wet and miserable here so I managed to get a bit of crafty time....

I put Ranger Texture Paste through a stencil to create a bit of texture. I white embossed a lovely butterfly from Uniko Studio and watercoloured it with distress inks (and Wink of Stella) and combined with a sentiment from Uniko.

I will join up at Less Is More where this week's challenge is Wings and at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge to use Texture.  I will also play along at Uniko's birthday challenge (my second entry) and at Craft Stamper's Make It Take It Challenge to use Stencils.

I hope you like it :)

Thanks, as ever, for stopping by!

Sarah x

Birthday Balloon

Hello!

Just popping in with a quick Friday night card featuring some new Uniko Studio stamps:

I stamped the striped border from Clearly Besotted and combined it with the Uniko birthday sentiment and balloon.  The balloon is double embossed with clear powder so has a lovely shine.  I attached the birthday to the balloon to make it look as if it is being carried off.

I will link up at Uniko's latest challenge which is to make birthday cards and at AAA Cards challenge to use orange.

I hope you like it - oh, and it is my second one layer card this week :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Time Out Challenge #25

Hello!

Merry Thursday to you :)  We are back with our new Time Out Challenge which is a word inspiration:

Rock Around the Clock

I have made a very simple one layer card:

I just inked through a Tim Holtz clock mask in Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and added a sentiment from the lovely Uniko Studio Time stamp set.  I decided to just leave it there and stepped away from the enamel dots, sequins and ink.  I hope you like my CAS design :)

There is lots more inspiration on the Time Out blog from the lovely DT and I am also super excited that we are joined by the fabulous Hazel from Hazel's Paper Designs as our GD for this challenge.  Hazel is on the DT at CASology and I love seeing her creative and CAS designs - her blog is well worth a visit - and she is such a kind, sweet person too :)

I hope you will play along with us for this word inspiration challenge at Time Out - I love seeing the different designs that everyone comes up with.

I will also link up with the stencil challenge at Craft Stamper's Take It Make It challenge.

See you again soon,

Sarah x

CAS Challenge Cards

Hello!

I'm back with a couple of CAS cards which I have made to play along with some of my favourite challenges :)

First up is this happy orange card:

I die cut the Happy die from PTI from the top panel and popped it up over a base panel which I had inked in shades of orange distress ink.  A white embossed sentiment from Uniko Studio provides a bit of contrast.

I will link this up with the current challenge at AAA cards which is Orange and also with CASology where the cue card is monochrome (I think this applies?!).

I have also made a one layer card to play along with Less is More where the theme is love:

I stamped the sweet Hero Arts elephants and coloured them in with Spectrum Noir pencils.  I masked them to add some subtle inking in the background.  The sentiment and hearts are also HA.  As this card features animals I will also enter it in to SSS Wednesday Challenge - All Creatures Great and Small and in to the Nature Challenge over at Hero Arts.

I am back to work tomorrow but have enjoyed finding time to catch up on my crafting over the last few days :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah x

Triangles and Embossing

Hello!

It is my turn to post on the a2z Scrapbooking blog today and I used a fabulous Hero Arts Basic Grey triangle pattern stencil.  Check it out!

While I had the stencil out I decided to play with watercolouring and embossing some more:

 

I white embossed the Petals of Beauty stamp on watercolour card and added watercolour with Tumbled Glass, Ripe Persimmon, Worn Lipstick and Shabby Shutters distress inks.  The panel is cut out with the Lawn Fawn stitched rectangle die.  I inked through the triangles stencil on the card base in the same distress ink colours.  I think this card has quite a springy feel to it.  I will enter it in to the nature challenge over at Hero Arts.

 

 

With this card I inked through the stencil randomly with versamark and white embossed it on watercolour card.  I wet the card and then added Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers and Mowed Lawn distress inks.  The sentiment is an old HA one.

 

I will link this up at Happy Little Stampers Embossing Challenge and for a final time at Addicted to Stamps and More Anything Goes Challenge.

 

You can get a great selection of Hero Arts products at a2z Scrapbooking with a 15% discount by quoting Sarah15 on purchases of $25 or more.  There is an embossing challenge too during February so don't forget to link up your creations with HA products to be in with a chance of winning $25 to spend in store :)

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

 

 

The Odd Couple

Hello!

I hope you have had a good weekend.  Just a quick post from me to share a fun card that I have made with my Paper Smooches Chubby Chums stamps:

 

I coloured the chums with Chameleon Pens and framed them with my Lawn Fawn polaroid dies and Lets Polka paper.  I partially inked the frames to give a bit of interest.  I thought this was an unlikely couple but they make me smile :)

I will enter in to the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes challenge and in to Simon Says Stamps Wednesday Challenge - All Creatures Great and Small.

I hope you like it!

Sarah x

Colourful Washi

Hello!

This is my second post of the day and a last minute card for Taheerah's fabulous Cure for the Monday Blues:

I love the bright colours and patterns on the inspiration photo and used my Kaisercraft washi tape stamps to create the colourful border.  I stamped them using Mama Elephant inks and finished with a Paper Smooches sentiment and enamel dots.  The grey down the side of the card echoes the magnetic memo board and provides a bit of neutral contrast to the bright colours. 

It took me a while to get here but I think the different patterns and colours work with the photo:

I was so thrilled to be picked as one of the Top 3 from last week's challenge - thanks Taheerah!

I will also link up at Addicted to Stamps for a second time with their Anything Goes challenge.

Thanks for stopping by - it's always good to see you :)

Sarah x

Super Hero Shaker

Hello!

I have been meaning to play along with the shaker card challenge at Virginia's View for a couple of weeks and time is fast running out so this was my top crafting priority for the weekend :)

Here is what I came up with using my new super hero stamps from Mama Elephant and a range of Simon Says Stamp supplies:

I stamped and die cut my little super hero and coloured him with Chameleon Pens.  The background was inked with Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans distress inks and I used the SSS star stencil with silver glitter paste.  I die cut the SSS stitched circle in silver mirri to create a frame around the aperture and also die cut the shine sentiment from WPlus9 in the same card.  The You is from SSS.  I filled the aperture with some blue and silver sequins from Doodlebug.

I'm glad that I was finally able to join in the fun at Virginia's View - there are some fantastically creative shakers in the gallery!

I will also link up at SSS Flickr Challenge #12 which is sparkle.  The silver mirri, silver glitter stars and sequins add lots of bling.

I am planning to send the boys out this afternoon so will be sneaking back in to my craftroom later :)

Thanks for your visit and kind comments - they make my day!

Sarah x

Vellum Hearts

Hello!

Yay, we have got to the weekend....and tomorrow is Valentine's Day!  I have made a few cards inspired by current challenges. 

I red embossed a SSS honeycomb heart on to vellum and die cut it.  I combined it with a mixed  font word from Clarity Stamp.  I pierced the heart and stitched through it with black embroidery thread.  I layered the panel up on some newsprint paper.

I will link up at ColourQ and at CASology where the theme is Love.

While I had the stamps and vellum out I made another card:

I also wanted to play along for a 2nd time at AAA Cards.  Again the red swirly heart is from SSS and is embossed on vellum.  Finally I will link up at the Anything Goes challenge at Addicted to Stamps.

I hope to be back with some non love cards this weekend....time to move away from the hearts :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah x

Time Out Challenge #24 Reminder

Hello!

Here we are at the midway point already in our current Time Out Challenge to CASE Kylie's beautiful card.  Here is my second take on the inspiration:

I went very CAS with this one and simply focused on the spring flowers from Kylie's card.  I stacked this sweet Memory Box tulip die up several times for some dimension and coloured with Chameleon Pens.  I added a very plain sentiment (from PTI, I think).  I think it looks really fresh and clean.

Here is Kylie's card:

Her fab blog Kylie is Addicted to Stamps and More is full of equally gorgeous inspiration!

Head over to the Time Out blog to see what our fab GD Sarah from Sazzle Dazzle Crafts and the rest of the DT have created.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Pink and Grey

Hello!

Just a quick post with another pink and grey creation for the 4th birthday challenge at Less Is More.

This is very simple - I die cut this new Memory Box butterfly from grey cardstock and adhered to a light pink base.  I combined with a sentiment from Hero Arts stamped in grey ink.

I will also link up at SSS's Wednesday Challenge - All Things Bright and Beautiful.

I hope your week is going well :)

Sarah x

Lots of Love

Hello!

I hope you have had a fabulous weekend.  I seem to have less and less time to craft at the moment but really hope that I can catch up with myself and with all of your wonderful blogs as the week progresses. 

I have just managed to squeeze in at the last minute to play along with Taheerah's Cure for the Monday Blues.  Here is my card:

Here is the inspiration photo:

I was inspired by the floaty feel of the heart strings and the combination of whites and metallics.  I cut the fabulous SSS heart die in gold mirri and in vellum and adhered them slightly offset to the card using gold staples.  I had already splattered the card with gold spray and gold embossed the sentiment from SSS.  I also sponged through a Tim Holtz stencil in gold delicate ink on the card base for a bit more interest.

I will also play along at the first AAA Card Challenge of the year where the challenge is Love.  I think the SSS heart die works with the inspiration photo:

Given all of the sparkly elements I will also link this card up at SSS Flickr Challenge #12 which is sparkle.

My next card is to play along with Less Is More where it is a colour challenge to use pink and grey.  That is one of my fave colour combos so I might try and play along again this week too. 

I used new (to me) Clearly Besotted Stamps on this card stamping the keys randomly in the background.  I silver embossed the heart lock on the tag and added a few enamel dots for good measure.  I was definitely inspired by Michelle's lovely GD card for this challenge!  LIM is 4 years old so that is another good reason to play along - big congrats to Chrissie and the lovely DT.   I love my Saturday morning visit to LIM to see what they have in store for us :)

That's all from me - I hope you have a great week!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Time Out #24

Hello!

What an amazing response we had to our last challenge at Time Out - over 240 entries!  Thank you all so much for playing along....it was great to see so many fantastic designs.  We have another fab challenge to get you creating which is to CASE this gorgeous card by Kylie with your own twist:

Many of you will know Kylie Purtell from Kylie is Addicted to Stamps and More.  She is one of my favourite cardmarkers and the inspiration behind popular challenges such as Addicted to CAS, Addicted to Stamps and the Happy Little Stampers forum. 

This card is so lovely and fresh from the light pinks and greens, to the embossed stripes in the background, the tag and polka dot ribbon - there are so many great elements.

Here is what I came up with:

I think that my take on Kylie's card is fairly obvious!  I have used a stitched tag from Waltzingmouse Stamp and stitched rectangle die from Lawn Fawn.  I have combined them with stamps from WPlus9 to reflect the spring blooms on Kylie's card.  Above all, there is lots of lovely white space :)

We also have a fabulous guest designer with us this week in the lovely Sarah from Sazzle Dazzle Crafts.  Sarah makes the most amazing CAS cards and is a designer for Less Is More, Uniko and Addicted to Stamps.  Her blog is always worth a visit!  Check out what the rest of the DT have created to get more inspiration. I look forward to seeing what you create.

I am also going to link this card up at Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge - All Things Bright and Beautiful. 

This is also the card for my post today at Make The Day Special as you can buy the fabulous WPlus9 stamps there.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Sending Love

Hello!

I recently got some fab new stamps and dies from Simon Says Stamp and have been itching to have a play.  Here is a quick card that I made this evening:

I stamped a Clearly Besotted striped border down the edge of the card and created a background from the SSS envelope stamps in pale grey.  I coloured a piece of card with Picked Raspberry distress ink and die cut the fabulous distressed heart from it.  I added wink of stella to that and to the die cut sentiment.

I will link this up at the SSS Flickr Group Challenge #11 and for a final time at SSS's Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes. I will also play along at Addicted to CAS's current challenge where the code word is Hugs and Kisses.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

More Birthdays.....

Hello!

With the number of cards that I make, you would think that I am never short of a birthday card...however, my Mum asked me to give her a card for a friend and I seemed to have more valentines cards than birthday cards!  Time to stock up....

I am loving playing with my Create A Smile stamps at the moment.  I actually made this card a little while ago but don't think I have posted it before:

I combined the cute monster family with a sentiment from Hero Arts and paper chains from Altenew.  I am still practising with my Chameleon pens!  I will join up for a third time at Create A Smile's March Guest Designer call and at Simon Says Stamp's Anything Goes challenge.

Last week my post at Make the Day Special featured the lovely butterfly frame die from WPlus9.  I made this card from patterned paper but didn't have time to add it to my post:

 

I will link up a second time at Seize the Birthday Challenge blog.

 

I hope you like my birthday cards :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x