Challenge Winning cards

Sunday, December 29, 2013

CAS New Year

Needing a couple of new year cards for people who I forgot to send Christmas cards, I had a bit play about with some number dies...




Very simple - the negatives from the die cut numbers has been used for the second card. I love this blue card - it's so bright and looks great against the stark white.

I've entered these cards into the CAS challenges at:

Less Is More - Challenge week 35 - the colour of your eyes
Cas-ual Fridays - Happy New Year
Crazy For CAS - Anything goes
CAS on Sunday - Happy New Year

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

Saturday, December 28, 2013

17

Nice to get back into my craft room after the break leading up to Christmas. Lots of new crafty presents to play with as well!

Today's card is for a work colleague to give to her son for his 17th Birthday. I find male cards difficult at the best of times but teenage male is a big stumbling block!



I used a large (8x8) Kraft card base and a 'masculine' colour combination of red, white and black with a splash of silver. The number patterned paper has been sitting unloved in a box for at least 2 years - a craft fair bargain.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

The Male Room - celebration
Charisma Cardz - anything goes
Seize The Birthday - anything goes
Creative Card Crew - anything goes

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Last Christmas Card!

Oh thank goodness - I seem to have been making Christmas cards for ever now but I'm finally finished. This is my version of a style of card I've seen a few versions of on Pinterest - a Christmas tree made from hearts...




I've used a polka dot moss green paper for the larger hearts and a lighter green for the smaller hearts. Loads of diamantes add some festive bling and the tiny die cut bow is part of a memory Box bauble die.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

Make My Monday - A CAS Christmas
Whoopsi Daisy - Anything Christmas
Without Words Challenge - Nearest and Dearest
Papertake Weekly - Last Christmas card
Try It On Tuesday - Trees
Kaboodle Doodles - Christmas colours

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

CAS Snowflake

The idea for today's card came from a card I made a couple of weeks ago using a bauble from a pack of bauble and snowflake window stickers - you know the peel off kind that stick to glass without any glue. Well, inspired by the challenges at:

CASology - snowflake
Addicted to CAS - snowflake
Crazy for CAS - blue and silver/grey

I came up with this:




I made what looked like a clear negative photographic slide with OHP film and Nesties and stuck the sticker to the film. This was built up with tiny foam pads then matted on to more squares.

The good thing about this card is that once I've die-cut loads of squares it'll take no time to make a batch for my friends - I've been so busy with other people's orders I've just got round to making my own Christmas cards!

Thanks again for visiting

Sharon
x

Monday, December 09, 2013

Special Friend

Today's card is a style I find quite difficult - mixing different patterned papers. I love patterned papers but I never seem to get them to look the way other folks do - even when I use papers from the same collection.



The image is an old one from Digistamp Boutique and the papers are from Dovecraft's Christmas Fancy 6x6 pack. The colour combo of pink and lime green is a bit unusual for a Christmas card but I've tried to pull the colours together with the colours used in the image.

I've entered this into today's challenges at:

Created With Love Challenge - Anything goes
Kaboodle Doodles Challenge - Non traditional colours
Cutie Pie Challenge - Special friend
Whoopsi Daisy Challenge - Non traditional colours

Thanks for looking

Sharon
x

Saturday, December 07, 2013

The Bauble Obsession Continues...


Another day, another bauble. I'm on a mission to see how many dies I can use as baubles. This cute heart die from Memory Box makes the perfect Christmas ornament.

Inspired by challenges at Less Is More:

For our colour challenge this month we would like to see some 
Metallic Element plus One Other Colour 
                                                                  of your choice.


and the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches:



My colour of choice was a lovely shade of dark mossy green. I've used hammered white card for the base and the bow is also from a Memory Box die. 



Off to get ready for another Christmas get together tonight - that'll mean I'm probably crafting in a 'delicate' state tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting

Sharon

Friday, December 06, 2013

Bauble Tag Set

Hello Everyone

The challenge at Totally Papercrafts this week is...

Anything Christmassy but a Card


---------------------------

This weeks fabulous sponsor is



and

 


To have a break from the frenzy of Christmas card making I had a go at a set of tags for this challenge. 



The tags were die cut with a freebie die I got with a magazine a couple of months ago and the baubles  are from a very cute Memory Box die set. I've kept them clean and simple in style - the bauble is the star of the show and all I've added are coloured gems and ribbons in co-ordinating colours. I've also matched the bow part of the die to the colour schemes.


Why not take a look at some of the gorgeous makes by my talented team mates over at Totally Papercrafts?

As well as the challenge at Totally Papercrafts, I've also entered these into the challenges at:

CAS-ology - Ribbon
Try It on Tuesday - Handmade tag
Songbird Challenge - Die Another Day

Thanks so much for visiting

Sharon
x

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Another Sparkling Bauble

I'm quite late today with my Less Is More card - I had a  quick look first thing and saw that the challenge was 'Sparkle' then went off to town to see the Coca Cola truck - I'm such a big kid . Whilst doing a bit of Christmas shopping afterwards I came across some bauble window stickers in a pound tat shop. My obsession with baubles is continuing - they had lots of glittery bits on them and basically were calling me to buy them - I couldn't leave them on the shelf for the sake of a pound.

Once home I had the bright idea of incorporating acetate somehow in my card (yeah - just like a window!). This is what I ended up with...




I just love the colour of the bauble! All I've added is three clear gems and the ribbon. I think using the acetate means that you can't tell it's a window sticker - I hope so because there's also some very nice snowflakes in the pack and I plan to make similar cards with them. I do love a bargain...

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

Monday, November 25, 2013

Clean and Simple Baubles

I am seriously loving the Kanban die-cut baubles sheet I bought a couple of weeks ago at a paper craft fair. I've made a load of cards with it - I wish I'd bought more than one!



You really can't get much simpler than this - the baubles have been coloured in places and some green gems have been added. I've mounted them on die-cut squares and finished off with die-cut bows - part of a Memory Box bauble die. It's hard to photograph 'sparklyness' but in daylight these are so shiny and blingy if that's even a word!

I've entered these into the current challenges at:

Crafty Cardmakers - clean and simple
Dream Valley Challenges - clean and simple
 
Thanks for visiting...

Sharon
x

Saturday, November 23, 2013

Simple Penguin

After early Christmas festivities I am in a very delicate state this morning so I knew my card for whatever Less Is More threw at us wouldn't be my greatest production! The challenge this week is...

Today we have another chance for you to catch up on those 
Christmas Cards
but this time with the added proviso to
 Use a Bird!
What fun!
 
 
I looked through all my cute Christmas bird related  digis but nothing inspired... then I remembered a card I'd seen in a cheap (oh the pun!) card shop - their version was hi-gloss and did look quite cheap!
 
 
I had a quick blonde moment when I did wonder if a penguin was an animal or a bird but I'm also blaming that on last night's excesses! I might just colour in today rather than trying to 'create' - my mojo is still asleep!

Thanks for looking

Sharon
x

Friday, November 22, 2013

Snowflake Wreath

Hello everyone

The challenge this week at Totally Papercrafts is to:


Add a Bow

This week we also have two fabulous sponsors - Lili of the Valley and The Ribbon Girl:


 and

 My card this week is very white with splashes of vibrant burgundy. I used corrugated white card as a backing, matted onto burgundy card and punched 24 snowflakes in thin white card to build up the wreath. I arranged the flakes in a circle and stuck the first two layers of eight with glue then used foam pads for the top 8 flakes to give some depth.




I've then punched 8 small hearts in the burgundy card for embellishments and added a computer printed greeting and a burgundy organza ribbon.

I've obviously gone down the Christmas route as I still have about 30 cards to make! I've knocked up a few of this style of card and it also looks nice in navy blue and forest green colourways. Take a look over at Totally Papercrafts to see some of the fab non-Christmas makes by my lovely talented teamies.

Thanks for visiting...

Sharon
x






Sunday, November 17, 2013

Blue Bauble

Two posts in one day - you can tell it's nearly Christmas!

I love the new die cut bauble sheets from Kanban - very shiny but with areas that can be coloured in so you can choose your own colour scheme.




I wanted a frosty look so I used an ice blue pro marker to colour some of the areas and added pale blue gems for extra bling. The backing paper (Lidl of all places!) is also very shiny making the overall effect very sparkly.

This card is for the challenges at:

Crafty Sentiments - Blues
Crafty Ribbons Challenge - Anything goes with ribbons
My Time To Craft - Baubles
A Little Bit Crafty - Sparkle and shine

That's all for today!

Sharon
x

Pink and purple Snowman

Today's first card...



Another cute digi from Beyond The Fringe. I've fussy cut him and coloured him using pastel shades of pink and purples to compliment the strips of patterned paper (Festive Frost pack from The English Paper Company).

I've entered this card into the challenges at:


Treasured Times - Non Traditional Colours
Ready Teddy Go - Use Embossing

Enjoy what's left of the weekend

Sharon
x


Saturday, November 16, 2013

Octagon Wreath

It's Saturday which means another challenge at Less Is More:


Use Designer Paper in a CAS Way
There's a tendency to forget about Designer Paper when creating Clean and Simple cards, but there is a variety of ways in which it can be used... without covering large areas of the card base.
Let's see what you can come up with!
 
I have hundreds of packs of patterned paper, loads have come free with magazines and loads more haven't even been opened yet! Am I the only card maker like this or is it a common trait?

This pack came free with a magazine a couple of years ago:


For all they are designed with summer fruits and jams in mind I thought they also had a Christmassy look about them...


I used my smallest octagon nestie and arranged the eight pieces in a wreath shape. Then just a ribbon and a simple greeting. I'm not 100% happy about the ribbon but c'est la vie!

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

Friday, November 15, 2013

So Angelic

Hello Crafty peeps,

I've been so busy making cards this week I haven't had time to post any. Also, it's difficult to get decent photos as I'm at work through the day and I find indoor night-time photography looks odd with my camera! So that's why today's pic was taken in the back of my car at lunchtime...




Isn't she a cutie - she's available as a freebie from Beyond The Fringe - a great source of quirky digis. I've kept with the primitive/naive look by keeping colouring to a minimum and using embossed Kraft and gingham patterned card for the backing.

I've entered this into the current challenges at:

Totally Papercrafts - CAS (Design team entry although it's not my team's week)
Winter Wonderland - Fairies or angels
Delicious Doodles - CAS 
Cute Card Thursday - So Angelic

Enjoy your weekend

Sharon
x

Saturday, November 09, 2013

One Layer Thanks

Hello folks

Hope you're enjoying the weekend so far...

It's One Layer week at Less Is More and today's challenge is 'Thanks'. I don't do stamping so I always use digis for this challenge which also fits in with this week's challenge at Divas By Design - use a digi.   The colour scheme was inspired by the current Autumn/Fall colours challenge at Stampin' For The Weekend and I've kept the overall look very clean and simple which is this week's challenge at Simon Says...


I decided to use a cute bird with flower digi from Pink Cat Studio and a freebie sentiment from Paper Smooches. The only embellishments are the three red gems - all cards need a bit of bling!

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

Friday, November 08, 2013

CASEd Farmyard Birthday Card

Today's card is a special request for a little boy who is about to turn 3. He is mad about farms - everything from tractors to pigs. I had nothing suitable amongst my dies or decoupage, I couldn't find any nice digis or patterned papers to I turned to Google (a crafter's best friend!)

I soon found this wonderful card on an etsy site - Jilly Bear Designs - and I decided to have a go myself. Most crafters don't mind you CASE-ing their cards (stands for Copy And Share Everything) as long as you give them credit for the original card.

Here's Jilly Bear's original...


And here's my interpretation..


I'm rather pleased with it - all the animals have been made using various punches and dies and I've used card candi on the bunting rather than twine.

So a big thank you to Jilly for inspiring me with her wonderful card!

I've entered this card into the following challenges:

Papercrafting Journey - CASE a card
Cute Card Thursday - Animal Magic

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

70th Birthday Card

Hello to all you lovely card crafting folk!

This is my first design team card for Totally Papercrafts where the challenge this week is:

'Use Glitter'

This week's challenge is sponsored by:




Delicious Doodles has been going for about 4 years now and the artist, Teri, sells images that will appeal to everyone - everything from cutesy animals to Gothic fantasy figures.



So I resisted the urge to make another Christmas card and instead, I had a go at using glitter on a masculine card.

I've used a pale blue card base and added some very old patterned paper from Papermania. The mounted stars are die-cuts and my glitter has been added to the die cut numbers - number 70 representing the age of my best friend's Dad at the end of this week.


Pop over to TPC to see what my lovely new team mates have made 

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Little Boy Humour

Today's card is a request I've had to make a funny Christmas card for a little boy - he's at the stage where bodily functions are highly amusing and he is always snickering about bottom burps and poo!

So... here goes



I embossed the background to give a snowy effect and and two further glittery topped layers at the front for depth. I found the reindeer image via Google and paper pieced him with brown spotted patterned paper. Wonky eyes and a red glitter nose finish him off. 

As you can see I've added a few little 'extras' for amusement!

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

Quirky Crafts Challenge - make us laugh
Totally Gorjuss - anything goes with snow
Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge - embossing
Crafty Calendar Challenge - all things Christmas

If any of the challenges find this offensive please just delete - I understand that one person's humour isn't always funny to others

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

Saturday, November 02, 2013

HB2U

Needing to make a card for a teenage boy, I found my inspiration at the current challenges at Less is More...


 Dark background with a splash of colour(s)


and also at CASology...





So using a black base card, some scraps of brightly coloured card and some Die-namics letter and number dies I came up with this...

 

I love how the colours really stand out against the black but my fave bit is the white star - in my head it seems to make it even more masculine and balances the design nicely.

Back to the Christmas cards now!

Sharon
x

Friday, November 01, 2013

Emily's First Christmas

Afternoon all

It's been a lovely bright day here in the north east - two loads of washing dried outside this afternoon - success! I also had time to make this card for my ever-growing pile...






I used a delightful snow baby image by Jenni Hamilton at Card Mad Fairy's creations, coloured with pro markers and fussy cut. The striped paper came in a pack with a magazine and as embellishments I've added pale pink snowflakes with buttons in the middle.

This card is my entry for today's challenge at Totally Paper Crafts (use buttons) - I start on their design team with next week's challenge so this got me right in the mood for the challenges ahead!

 Thanks for visiting - enjoy the weekend

Sharon
x

Thursday, October 31, 2013

NitWits Deer Grandson

Hello...

Just a quick post today as I'm busy answering the door every 5 minutes to strange children and giving them sweets! This sounds wrong on so many levels!

It's another Christmas card - I'm averaging 2 each night so I'm well on track to complete my orders by the end of November. This one is made using the super cute NitWits Deer Friends range...


I've kept it unfussy - it's for a friend's 9 year old grandson so sparkle and glitz are definitely not required.

It has been entered into the current challenges at...

ABC Christmas Challenge - V is for Vixen (use a reindeer)
Make it Monday - anything goes
Aud Sentiments Challenges - use a Christmas sentiment

Happy Halloween folks!

Sharon
x

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Exciting News !

I had some exciting news yesterday! I've been asked to join the design team at Totally Papercrafts, a weekly challenge blog held each Friday with prizes from some fabulous sponsors...





I'm really excited (and a bit nervous to be honest!). I've never done anything like this and I'm having the usual worries about  my cards being right and doing challenges out of my comfort zone but hopefully this opportunity will encourage me to be more adventurous!

Watch this space!

Sharon



Saturday, October 26, 2013

Twine Tree

Another Christmas card done, inspired by today's challenges at Less Is More..

For our recipe this week, we'd like to see
String or Twine

And also by the challenge at Allsorts Challenge blog:


********Treemendous********

Not possessing any of the two tone bakers twine stuff, I improvised by using some embroidery thread from my cross stitching days. To make the tree, I pricked holes in the card in a triangular pattern and threaded beads as I sewed.



I added some patterned paper down the side and finished off with more thread and a snowflake and button.

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
x

Thursday, October 24, 2013

Poinsettia

Christmas card production is now well underway - I've got all my orders in now and I have about five weeks to finish them so you may be seeing a few over the coming weeks. I was also delighted for this card here to be a Top 3 winner at Creative Inspirations - I regularly enter their challenges and was pleased to see their current challenge is Anything Goes! 



I've also entered today's card into the poinsettia challenge at Perfect Sentiments. They are such lovely flowers and the digi image used looks great against the white embossed background. To add a bit of sparkle, I've used tiny yellow gems for the middle bit.

Thanks for taking the time to look

Sharon
x