Red Red Wine

I was asked to make a card for a friend's Dad for his 50th birthday...

The digi stamp is an old one from my favourite store - The Digistamp Boutique. I re sized the images to quite a large size, coloured them using Pro-markers and carefully fussy-cut. The embossed background is a metal grating design that I 'found' in a drawer over Christmas - am I the only crafter who finds tidying up just as good as shopping!

The greeting and number were created using various dies and I used a burgundy textured A5 card base.

I'm entering this card into the challenges:

Crafty Sentiments - anything goes
CAS on Sundays #125 - use markers or pencils
Die Cuttin Divas #354 - anything goes
I Love Pro Markers #351 - embossing

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Spring Blooms

We've had a few nice days here in the North-east and I've noticed the crocuses in my garden are in full bloom - Spring is on it's way.

This inspired me to dig out one of my favourite digi images from The Digistamp Boutique and do some colouring. 

I decided to use this lovely simple sketch at Sketch-Tanten #40 -

This is what I created

I've printed the image onto linen textured card and coloured it with a mixture of Copics and Spectrum Noir pens. The papers are from a pad called 'Vintage Garden' from The Range.

I've added some tiny lilac pearls for some of the flower centres and 3 larger ivory pearl in the top right corner. The greeting was printed using Zolano Serif font.

I'm also entering this into the challenges at:

Allsorts Challenge #452 - use an old favourite

Creative Moments #135 - anything goes

Color Inspiration Monthly #30 - anything goes hand coloured

Addicted To Stamps And More #276 - anything goes

Thanks for visiting

Sharon

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Party Like A Penguin

We're three quarters of the way through January very quickly - thank goodness - it's not my favourite month! I always think of the line from a song I remember from my childhood: 'January - sick and tired you've been hanging on me' (Pilot - 1974)... 

Well - enough on the reminiscing! Today's card is a late entry for the current challenge at Less Is More. I haven't caught this challenge for w while but the theme was too good to miss!

I used one of my favourite images from 2 Cute Ink and printed it straight onto a white linen base...

The image is coloured with a mixture of Pro-markers and Spectrum Noir pens and I've added a trio of co-ordinating flat-backed pearls.

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Spotlight Stamping

Today's card is a totally new technique for me - spotlight stamping. My card making has got into a rut and i need to try new scary things!

I don't do the inky kind of stamping very often - I much prefer the control you have using digital images. The flower border image I have used is from Digistamp Boutique.

I printed the image twice on an A4 sheet of card, then trimmed folded one of the images to make a one-layer base card. This was left uncoloured.

I cut a circle out of the other image which was coloured using pro-markers and mounted with foam pads over the same part of the uncoloured image. The greeting is a peel-off, coloured with a black pro-marker.

This is a technique I need to play with a bit more - the card looks much better in real life but overall it's just a touch boring. With the right image this technique looks amazing but I guess this isn't the right kind of image?

C'est la vie!

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

The Flower Challenge #16 - spotlight stamping
Allsorts Challenge #450 - no patterned papers
AAA Cards #106 - quote inspiration (below)

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Vintage Flowers

I struggled a bit with today's card as I'm not a lover of the vintage look...

I was asked to make a card for an older lady that with the brief  'old-fashioned with flowers'. Some time ago I was given a pack of patterned papers that can only be described as 'faded floral and dull' which I never thought I would use but were ideal to create a vintage feel.

I used a sticker of some lilies (I think!) mounted on a fancy Marianne oval die-cut and some pearls and a strip of lace as embellishments. The greeting was printed directly onto patterned paper.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Crafty Catz #399 - anything goes/for the ladies
4 Crafty Chicks #385 - no winter blues
Crafter's Castle #1 - anything goes
Moving Along With The Times - flowers
Cuttlebug Mania - flowers

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Penguin With Present

I've tidied away most of my Christmas stash till at least April but I made time to make a quick penguin card before the patterned papers were boxed up...

A lot of my friends are penguin fanatics so this design will go down very well. 

The cute image from Digistamp Boutique was very quick to colour with pro-markers and mount on a scalloped die cut frame. The patterned paper was from a pad from The Range and I crimped the bottom panel to add some texture.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

The Holly and Ivy Challenge #22 - Christmas anything goes 
Craftaholics R Us #2 - patterned paper
Die Cuttin Divas #351 - penguins - SHOWCASE PICK
Crimbo Crackers #149 - anything goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - use patterned paper

Only another 50 weeks to go...

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Football Themed 21st

Today's card was a request from a friend for a card for her nephew's 21st Birthday - with a football theme...

As the recipient is a Newcastle fan I decided on a black and white colour scheme. I used some football patterned paper mounted on black card using silver mirri-card to highlight.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Just Us Girls #422 - Anything goes
Brown Sugar #274 - Birthday
Craftaholics R Us #1 - Celebration cards
Creative Friday #196 - Anything goes
Craftyhazelnut's Patterned Paper - January Challenge

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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A Floral Wreath For My Mam

Happy New Year folks!

Today is my Mam's birthday so I'm able to share the card I made using some new dies I got for Christmas...

I die cut the flowers, leaves (Intricut)  and letters (Die-namics) using the same linen textured card as the base card, then I coloured them using pastel shades of pro-markers. I also added some flat-backed pearls for the centre of the flowers.

The happy birthday wording (X Cut) was cut using gold mirri-card which I also used to 'shadow' the 'Mam' letters. Finally I added some gold peel-off dots so the gold theme pulled the design together.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Pause Dream Enjoy Challenge#1- die-cuts - TOP PICK!
A Bit More Time To Craft #59 - anything goes
Crafty Friends Challenge #74 - for a lady
Dies R Us #88 - anything goes
Watercooler Wednesdays #51 - feminine

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Ernest's 80th Guest Book

Good evening - I hope you are all enjoying the festive season, especially if like me you are lucky to be enjoying time off work!

There's no card today even though I'm itching to start playing with my Christmas pressies and the crafty bargains I've acquired in the sales. Instead I'm sharing the Guest Book Cover I have made for my friend's father-in-law's 80th Birthday celebrations this weekend...

The scrapbook was  plain kraft coloured 12x12 and I was given a 'classic car' theme to play with. The car images are from a Kanban decoupage sheet and I've echoed the colours for the large die-cut number. The background is quite subtle - a beige dogs-tooth check patterned paper.

I'm entering this creation into the challenges at:

Brown Sugar - anything but a card
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #448 - anything goes
Watercooler Wednesday - anything masculine - ROCKSTAR!
Crafty Gals Corner #155 - anything goes
Craftaholics R Us #51 - birthday 

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Black Reindeer

Today's card is for a friend to give to her brother and brother-in-law - she finds it very difficult to find cards for a gay couple that aren't too risque/smutty.

I bought some fab black die cut reindeer heads at a recent Max Papercraft fair and I knew I had some perfect patterned paper to match !

I've mounted the die cut on a oval frame and added a red pearl for the nose and a Memory Box bauble die dangling from an antler.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Water Cooler Wednesday #150 - masculine 
C.R.A.F.T. Challenge #447 - anything goes
Creative Knockouts #225 - 'Tis the Season
Crimbo Crackers #148 - anything goes
Crafty Cardmakers #202 - Christmas
The Merry Christmas Challenge - anything goes
Die Cuttin' Divas - holiday

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Snowman Family

How fast is this month going - I can't believe it's a week since I posted! All my Christmas card orders are now complete and I can pack away my Christmas stuff until at least March!

Today's card was an order for a friend who wanted something special for the ladies who look after her elderly Mam in her Care Home.

I wanted an image showing a group of snow people and came across this old digi in my files which I believe is by DillyBeans. The image was coloured with Pro-markers, fussy cut ten mounted on some polka-dot patterned paper to represent snow. Finally, I've added a die-cut snowflake with a coordinating red gem. By accident, the oval shape of the image and the greeting give the appearance of a snow-globe!

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Cards and More #199 - snowmen
The Sisterhood of Christmas - all about Christmas
Addicted To Stamps #272 - make your mark
Cards 4 Galz #62 - show me a snowman
Sparkles Christmas Challenge #83 - snowmen
CCC Digi Creations #87 - Happy Christmas
Hiding In My Craftroom #331 - use a digi


Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Cute Christmas Bear

Today's card is for my friend's Nanna (female grandparent for those not familiar with our strange British words!)

It was made using a cute die cut decoupage image in a Trimcraft/Dovecraft kit from The Range

Very pink and glittery!

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

613 Avenue Create #204 - anything goes/Christmas
Through The Purple Haze #139 - more than 3 layers
Dragonfly Dreams - non-traditional Christmas colours
In The Pink #128 - pink Christmas - Perfect Pinkie!
Allsorts Challenge #445 - snowflakes
Creative Friday #194 - untypical colours

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Retro Bauble

Today's card has a very retro feel to it - I used some funky bauble patterned paper that came in one of the large patterned paper books from Crelando available at Aldi/Lidl...

I'm still loving that bauble die from my last post!

Although red is a very popular Christmas colour the combination of red, turquoise, cream and dark purple is very unusual! I added coordinating gems and pearls and used a cream linen card base.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Paper Minutes - Christmas tree balls (baubles!)
Dream Valley Challenges #169 - Christmas
Come and Get It - Christmas challenge
Pile It On #137 - non-traditional colours
Scrap and Craft Challenge #10 - Christmas time
Card Mania Challenge #99 - Christmas

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Green Bauble

I'm now making my final few Christmas cards after a week's break visiting the Christmas Markets in Germany and France. What a wonderful trip this was - very Christmassy and we experienced some real snow - not just the 5 cm that usually brings this country to a halt!

We stayed in a lovely village called Elzach Oberprechtal in the Black Forest - when it snowed it was like being in a Christmas card setting...

Anyway - back to today's card! It's for a friend to give to her sister and she requested something traditional but with a bit of girly sparkle...

I used a Sweet Dixie bauble die, mounted on my favourite fancy backing die.This was matted onto some dark red card, then matted again on some subtly patterned green paper. To add some sparkle I used some green square gems.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Winter Wonderland - red and green
Crafting with Dragonflies - Christmas all glammed up
Fab 'n' Funky #373 - Christmas
Merry Christmas Challenge #45 - anything goes

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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White Deer

Today's card is a little bit girly, almost white on white and was very quick to make as I'm quickly running out of time in the Christmas card marathon...

This deer die is soooo pretty! I used foiled patterned paper for the die-cut ring and added even more bling in the form of gold pearls on the antlers. The final touch was a red pearl for the nose!

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Craftaholics R Us #46 - girly
Crafty Gals Corner #150 - to die for
The Paper Shelter #319 - a Christmas card
Crafting By Designs - get ready for Christmas (November)
Jingle Belles - baby it's gold outside
Moving Along With The Times - Christmas animals

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Tartan Trees

I'm still making cards with those lovely Alley Way trees...

I lined up the tree digi stamps in Publisher then re-formatted the images and changed the colour of the stamps from black to a rich dark red. I then coloured using a dark red/burgundy pro marker, and added various stars and a punched heart.

The backing dp is a lovely tartan from my stash and I've matted using burgundy and gold papers.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Addicted to Stamps and More #268 - holiday
The Merry Christmas Challenge #43 - anything goes Christmas - TOP PICK!!
Sweet Stampin' Christmas - November anything goes
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #19 - anything goes
Crimbo Crackers #145 - anything goes

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Winter Wedding

Today's card is for a wedding at the end of the month...

I've used a Lili Of The Valley topper from one of the art pads they used to make - I wish they still did these pads! The image was cut using an oval die then matted on coordinating pink card. It was then mounted using foam pads onto the background fancy die. I've added some flat back pearls and some flowers and fancy scroll dies in the corner. The greeting was made using Formal 436 BT font.

Here's another photo is a different light, though I do like how the photo above show off the textured card.

I'm entering this card into the challenges at:

Dream Valley Challenge #167 - add a sentiment

Scrap and Craft Inspirations #9 - winter wedding TOP 3!

Crafting With An Attitude #33 - anything goes

Crazy 4 Challenges #410 - layer it up

Aud Sentiments #192 - bingo (pink, digi image, dies)

Thanks for looking

Sharon

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Cute Crimbo Couple

Another five 'quick cards' (read basic layout) made this afternoon. I've used a cute topper I found in my Christmas stash - it may have been cut from an old shop-bought card...

I mounted the image on gold mirri-card and used some pretty gold star patterned paper as a backing. The greeting was printed using Formal 436 font and I've added a tiny holly branch in the corner with gold pearl 'berries'.

I'm entering this into the challenges at:

Crafty Friends #70 - Christmas
Creative Fingers #140 - anything goes
Crimbo Crackers #144 - quick and easy
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge #358- anything goes
Cute Card Thursday #502 - anything goes
As You Like It - Christmas or non-Christmas and why. Definitely Christmas - I love playing with shiny and glittery papers that can look tacky at other times of the year. You can never be too blingy on a Christmas card!

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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