Deepest Sympathy

Wasn't expecting to have to make one of these this week but we found out today that a friend of Mum's died on Tuesday at the same hospital she was in - so I've made this for my Mum to send.

Used the La Blanche stamp again inked with two shades of pink, sponged with TH spun sugar whilst still inside the die then matted onto black card stock. Sentiment stamped in black versafine.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - sketch 

Shopping our Stash - B&W plus one (pink ink is ancient)

Carol x

Happy Birthday

It's been gorgeous here again today, it's hard to believe it's October tomorrow.

Using a decoupage image from Popcorn Bear CD, matted onto a Marianne Design doiley and a PATP mat. Card is finished with flowers, ribbons, pearls and sentiments from my stash.

Challenges entered:

The Stamping Boutique - birthdays

Cupcake Craft - teddy bear

Kaboodle Doodles - doiley

Karen's Doodles - pink and brown

Deep Ocean Challenge - Happy Birthday

Jen's Digi Stamps - girls

Paper Shelter Challenge - for girls

Charisma Cardz - love

Crafty Purple Frog - lots of layers

Cute Card Thursday - animal crackers

Delightful Challenges - pearls and swirls

DYSU - swirls

Crafts 4 Eternity - anything goes

Polka Doodle - ages

Sew Many Cards - anything goes

Our Creative Corner - number

Crafty Calender - let sleeping bears lie

Marianne Design - bloom and grow

OSAAT - favourites (decoupage)

Carol x

Fall Candle

Decided to have a play - I've been meaning to try stamping on candles for a while but after using this Fred she Said image on a DT card I decided to try using a digi. After ironing some tissue paper (well the iron has to be useful for something!) I attached it to an A4 sheet of paper with low tack tape, re-sized the digi to fit the candle and printed it off then coloured it with promarkers.

The image was then attached to an old unused candle which I found in a cupboard then I've decorated the bottom of the candle with lavender and gold pearlised papers which I've edged with a Martha Stewart punch, a lavender ribbon, orange bow, WOC rose and some leaves.

I was very surprised at how easy this was so I'm off to find more candles!

My tip this week is to use a carrier sheet to enable you to print direct onto tissue paper thus allowing you to use any of the fabulous digis available for decorating candles.

Challenges entered:

Paper Pretties (Monday Challenge) - fall inspired

Clear it Out - alter something

Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT - fall and/or fancy folds

Ribbon Carousel - alter it

Top Tip Tuesday - 2 or more ribbons

Just for Fun - anything but a card

Rainbow Lady's - fall/autumn flowers

Southern Girls - anything goes

Daisy Doodles - fall/give thanks (use digi)

Digi Makeover - re-size

House of Gilli - fall/autumn

Joyful Stamper - inspire me Friday

Wags and Whiskers - handmade (gift)

Phindy's Place - fall

Fussy and Fancy - new technique (first candle)

Carol x

Poinsettia sentiment

Using a decoupage image and backing paper which were free from a magazine, matted onto glitter paper. I've used a Martha Stewart border punch and a nestie scalloped oval mat. Card is finished with a red satin ribbon.

Challenges entered:

Paper Pretties - sentiment as focus

Fab's big Christmas - poinsettia

Carol x

Christmas Candles

Using a decoupage image and backing papers which were free in a magazine, matted onto glitter paper. I've used a Martha Stewart punch for the borders and nestie scalloped circles for the mats. Sentiment stamp from LOTV. Card is finished with a ribbon.

Challenges entered:

Christmas Inspirations - candles

Bows and Berries - glitter

Pixie Cottage - pop it up

Carol x

Polar Bear

Well Mum seems none the worse for her little do thank goodness (apart from rattling with all the pills she has to take!). I've got her here for a few days so that will keep me out of mischief. Thanks to all of you who left messages of support for me, it means a lot.

Using an image and backing paper from Joanna Sheen's Pam West CD all from the snippets box. Image is cut out with a labels nestie and edged with a silver pen. BP is edged with a Martha Stewart border punch. Merry Christmas strip from Kanban. Card is finished with ribbon and peel off stars.

Challenges entered:

CD Sunday - winter wonderland

Repeat Impressions DCC928 Designer’s Choice Challenge - animals

Cute Card Thursday - animal crackers

The Crazy Challenge - 3 colours (pink, white and blue)

Jules Snippet challenge

Carol x

Aud Sentiments #38 Happy Birthday

Lovely to see all your Get Well cards posted for our last challenge. This time at Aud Sentiments we'd like to see all your Happy Birthday creations. We're being sponsored by Glitterbabes  and the DT got to work with some fab images. I chose Celebration Envie:

I've coloured the image with promarkers using these lovely warm fall colours and highlighted with a gelly roll pen, then matted onto two layers of Papermania card stock. Backing paper is from HOTP, this has also been matted onto Papermania card stock. I've done some faux blanket stitching around both the image and backing paper (my first attempt!) and finished the card off with a ribbon tied into a bow and a K&Co embellishment. The sentiment was also from Glitterbabes.

Please pop over to the challenge blog to see the delightful creations of my team mates, you'll not be disappointed.

Challenges entered:

Celebrate the Occasion - any occasion (use ribbon)

Paper Pretties - fall inspired

Lollipop Crafts - anything goes

Scrapalicious USA - anything goes

For Fun - warmth

Digistamps 4 Joy - anything goes

Stamps R us - birthday card

My Craft Spot - ribbon

Deep Ocean Challenge - Happy birthday

Paper and Such Design - recipe (ribbon, DP and flower)

Penny's Paper Crafty - anything goes

Carol x

Happy Birthday

What a day I had yesterday, one of my sisters phoned about lunchtime to say Mum had taken a funny turn in the hairdressers and was being taken to hospital - all the symptoms of a stroke! So after an anxious wait for another call later in the afternoon I set off for Northumberland and went down to the hospital with my youngest sister only to arrive as visiting ended! Luckily they let us in and we were able to spend an hour or so with her so by the time I got back home it was after 10pm.

Turns out she's had some sort of mini stroke, she's getting out this afternoon and I'm just waiting for a call from my brother to say they've left the hospital and I'll go down home to meet them and Mum's coming back here with me for a few days, so I've spent this morning getting the bedroom ready for her and doing some general tidying up so she doesn't think I'm a real sloven lol

Anyway onto cards, here's one I made earlier:

Masked off a square and inked with TM distress ink, stamps from Words with Honey. I've had a few cards to send abroad lately so finding it handy to have a stock of OL cards ready.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - sketch

Crafty Creations - CAS

Carol x

Christmas Challenges (with sketches) #10

Well it's less than three months until Christmas - have you started your cards yet? If the answer is no then now's the chance to redeem yourself - come and join in our sketch challenge at CCWS and make a start. This week we are being sponsored by Hein Design and it was the lovely Monique's turn to design the sketch - this is my interpretation:

Tilda is coloured with promarkers then mounted 3d to the card. Backing papers are from Papermania as is the ribbon. Tree die is from Spellbinders. Card is finished with punched snowflakes and card candy which has been coloured to match the card.

Do call in to the challenge blog to view the sketch for yourself and see how my team mates have interpreted it.

Challenges entered:

Stampin for the Weekend - what a cutie

Phindy's Place - opposites on colour wheel (red and greeny/blue)

Moving along with the Times - recipe (3 DP's, 2 types embellishments, 1 image)

The Squirrel and The Fox - anything goes

Party Time Tuesday - anything goes

Crafter's Companion - Christmas Wishes

Bearly Mine - 3 x DP's

CHNC - for a child

Simon says Stamp - anything goes

The Paper Shelter - for the girls

Crafty Ribbons - anything goes

Carol x

Sending Happy Thoughts

Thought this would be perfect to send a relative about to start radiotherapy treatment.

Owl stamp from CartUS, stamped then masked and over stamped with a dotty mat (from a set of 4 bought recently but don't know the make), finally added a sentiment from Wild Rose Studio.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - sketch

Stamps & Fun = Creativity - anything goes

DYSU - duo

Carol x

What are little boys made of.......

a mix of devilment and fun in our house, thought this image summed them up!

Using a pyramage topper from Joanna Sheen's ATC CD I've mounted it to an kraft ATC back which I've sponged with faded blue jeans distress ink and edged with a red ink pad.

Challenges entered:

ATC Challenge blog - what are little boys made of?

Paper Playtime - Halloween project

Crazy 4 Challenges - Halloween/fall

Carol x

Baubles

So glad I decided to buy the brayer, I've been playing again and used my new Brilliance tri-colour twilight pad then cut out a bauble with my new nestie set.

I've used pearlised card stock for the base card to match the sparkle of the ink and embossed the next size bauble direct to the card. I cut another bauble from gold foiled acetate to use as an overlay and added a lilac bow. Card is finished with a sentiment stamped in the same ink.

Unfortunately the acetate doesn't photograph too well and the colours of the brayering are not showing at their best.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - sketch

The Cheerful Stamp Pad - be transparent

Sparkles Forum - something that sparkles

OSAAT - your favourites (currently brayering)

Fussy and Fancy - new technique (brayering)

Carol x

Happy Birthday

I can't believe it's a year today since we sold the business and retired - where has the last twelve months gone? Hubby and his family are now looking to start a new business but I'm quite happy being a SAHM and pottering around my craft room whenever I please.

I've got a couple of male birthdays coming up next month so decided I'd better make a start as both parties had to make do with bought cards last year when I ran out of time and steam.

This one for my nephew uses a trusty old Penny Black stamp and since he supports Newcastle United I've left it uncoloured and used black and white mats to make up the card base. The ribbon is recycled from a Christmas cake and I've made a double bow with black and white satin ribbon and attached a football button. I've done some faux blanket stitches around the layers to add some detail - someone showed a tutorial on their blog this week (sadly can't for the life of me remember who :( ) and I've been testing it out ever since.

Challenges entered:

Penny Black Saturday - monochromatic

Paper Sundaes - anything goes

Celebrate the Occasion - birthday (use balloons)

Oldie but Goodie - one for the boys

CES - recycle

Fussy and Fancy - new technique (blanket stitching)

Carol x

Christmas Card Club

It was Chris's turn to choose the theme this time and she kindly gave us an anything goes.

This is a very simple card using one of the 60 Costco Christmas tags I recently bought.

The reindeer is actually a faux leather and I've mounted the tag to a deckle edged nestie rectangle, applied some faux blanket stitching and fixed direct to card base then finished with a sentiment. Simples!

Do pop over to see what the other girls have made (list on my sidebar) and if you'd like to join us get in touch and one of us will point you in the right direction.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - sketch

The Ribbon Girl - greens and browns

Bah! Humbug! - Rudolph or reindeer

Carol x

Pink Rose

It was a lovely warm day here today so I spent some time sitting in the garden doing absolutely nothing except enjoying the sunshine. I'm pleased to say the builders are doing great, they've converted half the garage to an extra room this week with little or no mess and it's ready to plaster. On Monday they start digging the founds for the extension of the existing dining room so we'll see how that goes.

Anyhow on to cards, I've been playing since coming in from the garden:

This is a new La Blanche stamp, I've inked it up in 3 shades of pink/red and brown for the stem then cut out with a scalloped nestie and used some spun sugar TH distressed ink before removing the die. This is mounted on foam pads. Card is finished with a sentiment and a pearl.

This was originally going to be a OLC but there was obviously stray ink on the stamp so rather than waste a card base I re-stamped and covered up! That's why it looks like I've mounted it too far into the corner.

Many thanks to all who left comments on my cards last week, it was a bit manic wasn't it - don't know how Chrissie and Mandy coped, they must have been typing comments in their sleep!

Challenges entered:

Less is More - sketch

Allsorts - keep it simple

Polka Doodle - distress it

Art Impressions Stamp - for the girls

Fairy Fun Fridays - pink and distressed

Carol x

Wolf Howling (again)

I love to see Freya when she starts howling she really does look like this. I've made this for my son probably for Christmas although I may send it to college from Freya as she's really missing him.

Image from Daisy Doodles printed onto ice blue decoupage paper and matted onto midnight blue stardream and silver mirri card.  Base is 8 x 8 pearlescent card, a square of blue card has been embossed and matted onto silver mirri. Card is finished with some bakers twine.

Challenges entered:

Unstampabelles - animals plus dry embossing

Lady Bug Crafts Ink - animals

Here come the Boys - bingo (twine, cute image, 2 squares)

Carol x

Trick or Treat

Well after all the LIM cards this week I thought I'd bring you something completely different. I don't really 

"do" Halloween as a rule but there are some gorgeous digi images out there and I won this cute Pumpkin Witch from Delicious Doodles. I decided to make a decoration for the house as DD is going to have a Halloween party with a few of her friends - hopefully the kitchen will have been pulled apart and put back together by then.

The main image has been digitally layered onto a free backing sheet from Jak Heath and printed onto pearlised paper and coloured with promarkers then highlighted with a gelly roll pen and mounted onto a scalloped nestie rectangle. The backing papers front and back are freebies from Bearly Mine (I've used a Martha Stewart punch on the striped one). I've used Grand Nestie scalloped circles to cut the black base and purple and copper mirri card layers. The front is finished with some flowers which I've distressed with TH black soot, lots of lovely purple fibres, a button and the letters for "treat" are "Halloween Felt Alpha" from Raspberry Road.

The back has been decorated with black ribbon, a button, some glittery monsters (from Hobbycraft) and the letters for "trick" as before. I won the pumpkin digi too from Prairie Fairy and it has been coloured in promarkers. The bat is a freebie from Dude Time Doodles and he's been coloured with promarkers and I've added a felt top hat from my stash.  I've used gorgeous orange ribbon to hang it with.

I still need a spider to finish this off - should have kept the bl**dy big one running across my kitchen floor yesterday lol.

This is my first attempt at making something purely decorative and I've rather enjoyed making it - I may get some more made before the party (I've got a whole month to do it!!) but just in case we bought some bits at M&S yesterday (hangs head in shame lol).

Thanks for your visit today and I hope you like what you see.

Challenges entered:

Cupcake - black and purple

Ribbon Carousel - add fabric (felt top hat)

Delightful Challenges - Happy Fall Y'all

The Paper Variety - home (home decor item)

Pixie Dust Studio - circles

Incy Wincy - distressing

Happileigh Scrappin - T Time (trick or treat)

Paper Sundaes - felt (top hat)

Delicious Doodles - cute as a button

Paper Pretties - use buttons

Lollipop Crafts - anything but a card

OLLC - punches and dies

Heart Song Inspirations - orange or buttons

Bearly Mine - buttons

Creative Craft Challenges - buttons and bling

Creative Stamp Friends - anything but a card

Corrosive Challenge Blog - punches and/or dies

Carol x

Noel

Using one of my trusty old Penny Black stamps and some recycled ribbon:

Image is coloured with promarkers and matted onto red card and gold mirri card then mounted 3d onto the card base.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - anything goes

Christmas Cards all Year Round - use stash at least a year old

Penny Black - get ahead for Christmas

Samuel Taylors - Christmas card using rubber stamp

Carol x

Across the Miles

Snowflake made with Spellbinders dies, layered up and topped with a LOTV sentiment stamp - I've added glitter glue to the edges of the snowflake and the button. Card is finished with aqua ribbon and a snowflake button.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - anything goes

Jingle Belles - Suzy snowflake

Winter Wonderland - across the miles

LOTV - aqua, white and glitter

Sentimental Sunday - monochromatic

Carol x

Fa la la la la

Same set of freebies, I've tried some more stamping off the page with this one, love these little card blanks I found at Hobbycraft.

Coloured with promarkers.

Challenges entered:

Little Red Wagon - repeat after me

 Catch the Bug - create a scene

Less is More - anything goes

Fab's Big Christmas - birds

Christmas Stampin - CAS

Carol x

Rudolph

No builders today so got tidied up and the washing done and  retired to the craft room to make a few more quick and simple cards, this is the first of four so feel free to comment once at the end if you wish.

Using the magazine freebies again, embossed a circle with a scalloped nestie and stamped the image inside it then coloured with promarkers. Sentiment was part of the same set of stamps.

Challenges entered:

Bah! Humbug! - Rudolph

Less is More - anything goes

Christmas Stampin - CAS

Pixie Dust Studio - use circles

Carol x

More brayering

I watched a video tutorial on using a brayer the other day and decided to try out the technique being demonstrated. I bought this beautiful versacolour tri-colour ink pad on my visit to Hobbycraft on yesterday so decided to test drive it. I used an A6 piece of card (the type you use promarkers on) and although the whole of the piece wasn't perfect I was able to stamp this image and cut out with a square nestie.

The stamp is from a wooden boxful bought from QVC many moons ago and it's never been used before. Card is finished with a bow, a pearl and a sentiment. I was somewhat pleased with the result but will have to have a trial run on a OLC.

 (I also bought a gold, silver and copper version and a Brilliance one in pinks and lavenders so going to play some more).

Challenges entered:

Less is More - anything goes

Rainbow Lady - white space

Fab n Funky - a hard theme (just learning to use a brayer)

Our Creative Corner - not big on pink

Totally papercrafts - thank you

Carol x

Fall

Image is a decoupage I've had for ages, embossing folder is from Marianne Design being used for the first time and it's layered onto maroon and orange card stock. Punch is from Martha Stewart. Card is finished with brown ribbon rescued from a chocolate box, a tulle flower and some pearls.

Challenges entered:

Shelley's Image Blog - maroon, orange and brown

Paper Pretties - fall

Ooh La La - punches and dies

Polly Craft Monday - swirls and pearls

OSAAT - punch it

Card Makin Mamas - punches

Marianne Design Divas - bloom and grow

Shopping our Stash - no colouring

Rainbow Lady - white space

4 Crafty Chicks - fall

Carol x

Crafty Ann's #50 Around the World

I hope you're all sitting comfortably this week, it's time for another challenge at Crafty Ann's and this time the theme is "Around the World". Here is my card:

I've used two of the Venetian mask digis and the colours of the Italian flag. The flag and masks have been coloured mainly digitally with various papers from the polished stone collection (all available from Crafty Ann's digi shop) and finished off with promarkers. The main mask has been layered up and two of the smaller masks added with 3d foam for dimension. Images are layered onto textured silver mirri card and I've added red, green and white ribbon and a few gems to finish it off.

Do pop over to the challenge blog to see the delights my team mates have to offer.

Challenges entered:

The Paper Shelter - anything goes

Crafts and Me - stripes

Southern Girls - anything goes

Digistamps 4 Joy - anything goes

Carol x

Thanks so much

A big hello to all my new followers and thank you for stopping by. I made this card yesterday and didn't like it but tonight I added the ribbon and sentiment then coloured the image and I'm quite pleased with the result.

Masked a strip of card and inked with different colours of TH distress ink. Stamp from Magenta is coloured with promarkers and distress inks. Card is finished with a ribbon and a sentiment.

Challenges entered:

For Fun - feline thankful

Less is More - anything goes

The Paper Players - CAS animals or plants

Fresh Brewed - keep it simple

Carol x

Less is More - anything goes

Less is More - anything goes

Carol x

Less is More - anything goes

Less is More - anything goes

Fabs Big Christmas - poinsettias or birds

Carol x

Less is More - anything goes

Less is More - anything goes

Fabs Big Christmas - poinsettias or birds

CCEE Stampers - add a bird

Carol x

Less is More - anything goes

Less is More - anything goes 

Carol x

Less is More - anything goes

Had a trip up to Hobbycraft today to pick up some Halloween bits and bobs, of course a few other bits dropped into the basket whilst I was walking round so I've been having a play tonight.

A pack of two Sissix embossing folders - first has been matted onto green card and highlighted with pearlescent chalks, second embossed straight to card base and stickles added (although I've been a tad heavy handed on the tree!). Both cards finished with ribbon and a snowflake button.

The stamps on these three were in a set of freebies off a magazine last week. All stamped direct to card and coloured with promarkers. First and last finished off with a piece of raffia saved from a bouquet of flowers (since I'm honest - last one is covering up a horrendous piece of stamping!!).

Challenges entered:

Less is More - anything goes (are we there yet lol????)

Carol x

Brayered

Using my brayer and a big and juicy ink pad I masked off the card with some nestie waste then stamped the image from La Blanche with versafine back ink. Still need some more practise with my brayer me thinks! Card is finished with a stamped sentiment. 

Challenges entered:

Less is More - anything goes (week 2 OLC spring)

I think I've now done all the missed challenges so does that make me a fully fledged Limette??

The Paper Players - animals or plants CAS

The House that Stamps Built - one layer CAS

Shopping our Stash - no colouring

Truly Scrumptious - clean and simple

Carol x

Christmas Candle

Using some free Christmas stamps all coloured with promarkers and highlighted with a gold gel pen then cut out with square nesties and matted onto green scalloped nestie squares. Card is finished with a peel off sentiment.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - anything goes (week 4 three squares)

Simon says Stamp - dies to die for

Christmas Inspirations - candles

Samuel Taylors - Christmas card using rubber stamp

Carol x

Happy Birthday

Well so far so good with the builder's. They've converted half the garage to a room and knocked through to the house with very little mess or disruption. Tomorrow the plasterers arrive.

This little chap arrived in the post this afternoon a challenge prize given by Whiff of Joy. I decided to ink him up while tea was cooking.

He's coloured with promarkers then cut out with a nesties four label and matted onto co-ordinating Papermania cardstock. Card is finished with a stamped sentiment and some pearls.

Tip - use your promarkers to colour white pearls to match perfectly with your colour scheme.

Challenges entered:

Less is More - anything goes

Crafty Sentiments - Happy Birthday

Creative Inspirations - let's celebrate

Top Tip Tuesday - one for the kids

My Mum's Craft Shop - boys and girls

Carol x

Silver

I won some images from Delicious Doodles and this one "Bark at the Moon" immediately grabbed my attention. I've printed onto ice blue decoupage paper and layered onto silver mirri and textured silver and black stardream card.

Challenges entered:

DYSU - silver

My Time to Craft - L is for lycanthrope (werewolf)

Party Time Tuesday - monochromatic

Card Cupids - anything goes