Celebrate the Season

Today's card really is the last one! It's a quick card I made this afternoon to go with a friend's Christmas pressie.

I've used a very girly mini diva Christmas image from Pink Petticoat - coloured with pro markers and highlighted with silver gel pen. The image is mounted with foam pads on a dark red card base and I've made the bow using sheer dark red ribbon and gold thread and attached it with wire.

I've entered this image into the challenges at:

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - whatever is still needed for Christmas
Coffee and Cards Challenges - Christmas
Brown Sugar Challenge - Christmas
Dragon's Lair Designs Challenge - Christmas Time

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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One Layer Robin

I love one layer cards - they are so quick and easy to make! As usual I've used a Digistamp Boutique image - it really is the place to find the cutest digis.

Instead of my usual colouring medium (pro markers) I've used watercolour pencils. I've added a touch of glitter on the hat and boots and a pom pom.

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

Less Is More - Snow
Addicted to CAS - Family

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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A Snowman For Nanna

Today's card was made using an old digi from The Digistamp Boutique - the Santa frame from the Christmas Frames set.

It's for a child to give to their grand parent therefore the naive childlike feel to this digi is perfect. I've used a large 7 x 7 scalloped base therefor the digi is quite huge. I've coloured it using pro markers and matted it using some holly patterned paper. The nose, hat and scarf have been decoupaged to add some depth.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

Chocolate Coffee and Cards  - Christmas
Crafts 4 Eternity - Christmas
Crafty Catz - Last minute Christmas
Brown Sugar Challenge - Red white and green

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Golden Baubles

I've nearly finished my Christmas cards now - only another 10 or so to make. Today's card took no time to make! I've used some bauble peel-offs I've had for years - they actually look really good against the cream linen base card.

I've used some dull gold card for the matting and added a bow (part of a Memory Box die) and a gold peel-off heart on the middle bauble. Very simple to make but the shiny baubles look lovely in the light.

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

Just Us Girls - Sparkle
Inkspirational Challenges - Anything Goes with Gold
Delightful Challenges - Twinkle Twinkle

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Kraft and Blue Christmas

Today's card is for a 4 year old boy so the perfect image to use is the pre-coloured 'Winter Philip' - a cute digi I acquired some time ago from Pink Gem. I've mixed a scalloped Kraft base with pale blue spotted and dotty papers from Papermania's Spots and Stripes Festive collection.

I've distressed the edge of the patterned paper and added glitter (always difficult to photograph). I've also added some snowflakes and a pom pom on his hat. The wording is peel-offs coloured with a dark grey pro marker on punched matted circles.

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge - Anything Goes with Spots and Dots
Dream Valley Challenge - True Blue
Glitter n Sparkle Challenge - modern Christmas Colours
That Craft Place - Christmas
A Gem of a Challenge - Christmas

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Joyful Hearts

It's a freezing cold day here in the North East of England - no sign of snow but Winter woollies are very much needed.

Today's card is for the niece of a work colleague - the request was for something pink and girly! I've used some die-cut toppers from NitWits Joyful Hearts range - perfectly pink.

I've created the 'snow' using some fake decorative snow I bought from the Pound Shop - it looks and feels very similar to 'Flower Soft' and in the right light has a bit of a twinkle. The background is some pink and white spotty paper from my stash.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

The ABC Challenge - Y is for Yuletide
Creative Moments Challenge - Anything Goes/Winter
Divas By Design - Feeling Festive
Crafting For All Seasons - 'Tis The Season

Thanks for visiting - keep warm!

Sharon
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Cream and Gold with a Touch of Red Bling!

Today's card was a very quick one! I bought some foiled and die cut Christmas images at a recent craft fair - very useful for last minute cards. I'm not sure who makes them as there's no brand to be seen. I've mounted the image onto some Swiss dot embossed cream matting and added some red gems for a bit of sparkle.

Now this card annoys me for two reasons; firstly the person who requested it wanted 'Nana' spelt in this way - I have always spelt it 'Nanna'. Secondly, the Christmas tree has been printed not quite centre - this is absolutely killing me!

I've entered this into the 'anything goes' challenges at:

Sister Act Card Challenge

Just Us Girls

Crafty Catz

Brown Sugar Challenges

Thanks for looking!

Sharon
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Pink Petticoat Presents

I'm still loving the cute Christmas digis I bought from Pink Petticoat some years ago - today's card is made with the present digis...

The image has been coloured with pro markers and I've again added red gems for the holly berries. I've reached the point in my Christmas card making where I'm struggling to think of new layouts so everything I'm doing looks a bit basic! Still, I do prefer the modern clean and simple look.

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

C.R.A.F.T. Challenges - Christmas present
Let's Craft and Create - Christmas
Little Miss Muffet Challenge - Clean and Simple
As You Like It Challenge - favourite Christmas style - mine is definitely modern. I love quirky designs like the Pink Petticoat one above - I wouldn't thank you for sentimental Victoriana type images or Christmas landscapes, robins, candles etc etc; give me modern and fun every time!

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Hope Your Christmas Sparkles

I needed to make some quick girly cards for my female friends and this cute bauble digi from Pink Petticoat is the perfect image. This is the pink version but I've also made some in lilac, pale blue and red.

The images are coloured using promarkers with areas of white glitter (which is always difficult to photograph!) and red gems for the holly berries. Each card only took about 15 minutes to make which is ideal when you have to do a large batch.

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

Less Is More - anything Christmassy
Allsorts Challenge - no patterned paper
Winter Wonderland - let's get sentimental
Festive Friday - photo inspiration below



Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Snowman With Stripes

I wasn't in the mood for stamping or colouring today so I've used one of a set of vintage looking images I found in my local craft shop as a ready made topper. I'm not sure of the make but they do have a lovely rustic Christmas feel...

I've mounted the image on some Swiss dot embossed cream card and added patterned paper and burgundy ribbon from my stash. To add a bit of bling I've used some tiny square shaped black tiles as buttons. The greeting is computer generated.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

Creative Card Crew - stripes
Perfectly Rustics - embossing
Fan-tastic Tuesday - masculine (must be square or oblong card)

Thanks for visiting

Sharon

With Love At Christmas

With only five and a half weeks until the big day the Christmas cards are coming along nicely. Today's card was made using a wonderful free digi from Alley Way Stamps - lovely to colour and easy to cut.

I've used my favourite heavy linen card for the base and coloured the image with promarkers. There is a heart on the middle tree anyway but I've added a heart button for extra cuteness.

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

Less Is More - use more than one tree
CASology - festive 
Polkadoodles - clean and simple

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Snow Friend

Just a quick post tonight to show one of the many quick cards I have made over the last few days...

The digi is from the Snow Friends set from Digistamp Boutique and the paper is an oldie from Dovecraft. It's coloured with promarkers and I've added a pom pom for a bit of extra cuteness on his hat.

I've entered this into the challenges at

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Christmas
Cute Card Thursday - Red and green
Sweet Stampin' Christmas - Snow people

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem

I've sorted out my old wooden stamps this week and found this little gem...

I think it's by Michelle Ward and I've had it a while but never used it. Using a heavy linen textured card base, first I printed a computer generated greeting then carefully lined up the stamp. It's coloured using pencils, just normal ones from WHSmith, nothing fancy, though in hindsight I wished I'd used watercolour pencils to help 'blend' the sky. Never mind, I quite like the effect of the pencils on the linen card. I've used silver and gold metallic gel pens to highlight.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

Less Is More - OLC Starry Starry Night
Crafty Hazelnut - Keep it flat
Christmas Cards All Year Round - No patterned paper
Crimbo Crackers - Clean and simple

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Best Friends

Today's card was made using one of my favourite stamps - I don't often do stamping but when I want to make a girly card this is my stamp of choice..

It is of course the one of the wonderful Stampin' Bella Uptown Girls cuties. I've paper-pieced it which is my favourite technique for adding pattern as well as colour.. The co-ordinating papers came as freebies with a magazine and I've added some matching bling in the form of coloured gems.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

Cute Card Thursday - Stripes
Creative Inspirations - use striped paper
Creative Moments - anything goes (celebration)
Delightful Challenges - use patterned paper
Scrapper's Delights - paper piecing

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Embossed Holly Card

The Christmas cards are now well under way. Here's a family card I made today using a holly bunch digi stamp and a holly embossing folder, coloured with promarkers..

I've fussy cut the image and mounted it on a fancy die cut oval. The berries have a coat of glossy clear nail varnish on them which is difficult to see in the photo but adds a bit of sheen in the right light! I'm really pleased with the white on white background - makes the image really stand out.

I've entered this in the current challenges at 

FAB 'N' FUNKY CHALLENGES - Christmas
ADDICTED TO STAMPS - CAS
DIVAS BY DESIGN - Anything goes
PENNY'S PAPER CRAFTY CHALLENGE - Anything goes

Thanks for taking the time to visit

Sharon
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30th Card in Halloween Colours

Today's card was a special order from a friend at work for her husband's 30th Birthday. I think I've been inspired by the fact that the birthday is so near Halloween and ended up using black and orange as the colour scheme.

The paper used are from Dovecraft (charcoal background) and Pebbles (orange numbers)

I've entered this into the challenges at:

Chocolate Coffee and Cards - For The Boys
Fussy and Fancy Friday - Orange and Black
Tuesday Throwdown - Halloween Colours

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Lego Birthday Card

Annoying stuff isn't it, especially if you stand on a piece in your bare feet!

I've often thought of making a card on a Lego theme and my chance came when I was asked to make a card for a friend's son who loves the stuff...

I've created a Lego frame around a die-cut number and greeting. The Lego blocks were fiddly rather than difficult - I've created the 3D effect by using tiny foam pads under the circles.

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

Seize The Birthday - Anything Goes
Come And Get It Challenge - card for a child
Quirky Crafts Challenge - frame it

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Back on Track

A welcome return to my craft room this weekend after IT issues, being poorly, then a much needed holiday in Turkey. There's now just over 10 weeks to Christmas so I guess it's time to make a start on the Crimbo cards...

I do love one layer cards - they are so quick to make! The cute penguin digi is of course from the Digistamp Boutique, coloured with pro-markers and just the tiniest embellishments added for the pom poms.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

Less Is More - one layer week - use two of something
Crimbo Crackers - anything goes
Crazy For CAS - one layer card

Thanks for visiting

Sharon 
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Baby Congratulations... In Turkish?

I get the strangest orders for cards... I was asked to make today's card by a colleague at work for some Turkish friends hence the odd looking greeting.

I had specific instructions on the wording of the greeting and I'm hoping it says something like 'Erkan and Louise - congratulations on your new baby boy' but when I used an on line translator I'm convinced the greeting isn't grammatically correct. Not that I speak fluent Turkish.. I mean I can order two beers and say I don't want to go on a boat trip but I can't say a lot else. Never mind, the customer is always right :-) 

The card is enormous - A4 sized as requested and I have used my favourite baby digi from the Digistamp Boutique, paper pieced with some blue gingham patterned paper. I've added buttons onto the onesie for extra cuteness but somehow managed to give the rabbit devil eyes!

I've entered this card into the current challenges at:

Fan-Tastic Tuesday - Anything Goes (twist - use buttons)
Through The Craft Room Door - Anything Goes 

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Sanity Restored

For the past two weeks I have had no home Internet connection... but now I'm back in the land of the living after a visit from the wonderful Virgin engineer (got substantial reimbursement for my 'inconvenience' as well!)

So inspired by the challenges at:

Less is More - I do like to be beside the seaside 
and the sketch at Crazy for CAS 

 I came up with this:

The digi image and the greeting are from the Bon Voyage set by The Digistamp Boutique - how ridiculously cute is that boat! I've coloured the boat in primary colours with pro markers and the 'sea' is ric-rac card coloured blue.

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Spitfire

Afternoon all...

Today's card is a special card for a friend's Dad. He loves anything to do with aircraft but to link up with the present she had bought for him, my friend requested a Spitfire theme.

I found a picture of a spitfire using Google and printed 3 copies so I could decoupage the image. It looked a bit odd against the bright white background so I used a couple of brown ink pads to give a grubbier look. I've added texture with the corrugated brown card and the burlap.

I've entered this card into the current challenges at:

Southern Girls Challenge - use some texture
Seize The Birthday - anything goes
Brown Sugar - anything goes
Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge - anything goes

Thanks for looking

Sharon 
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Wedding Bells

Just a quick post before bed...

The last fortnight has been frantic finishing off an order for 200 wedding invites. I had time to catch up on some 'normal' card orders and the first one I did was a wedding card for the coming weekend - I obviously have weddings on the brain!

The cake is made from oblongs of scrap card, decorated with small scraps of ribbon. I've added embellishments of tiny flowers with gem centres and some random shiny stars. It looked rather bare, even for a CAS card, so I added some decorative peel-off corner stickers. Not my favourite thing to use but I think it works.

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

The Card Concept - a wedding card (clean and layered style?)
Nutcrafters - anything goes
Penny's Paper-crafty Challenge - anything goes

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Pot of Gold

So here's the second Good Luck card of the day - this one has the theme of a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. I found the image of the pot through Google and made the rainbow with strips of coloured card - I found that lining them up on a strip of tape helps keep them straight and in place. I don't know if I've seen the greeting somewhere or made it up but it sounds right for a Good Luck card!

I'm in two minds about this one - I'm not keen on the balance of the design. Who'd have thought good luck cards would be so difficult!

I've entered this into the challenges at:

Less Is More - anything goes (entry #2) to celebrate Chrissie's birthday

CAS-ology - rainbows

Settled down now to enjoy the gymnastics at the Commonwealth Games - come on England!

Byeee

Sharon
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Four Leaf Clover

I've been such a lazy blogger lately but the weather has been gorgeous and it seemed a shame not to get a lot of work done in the jungle garden! 

I've been asked to make a couple of good luck cards which I've put off and put off because I had no inspiration whatsoever. After looking through what other people have created on Pinterest and Google images, I liked the idea of making a 4 leaf clover with die-cut hearts. I took the heart idea one step further by using my stash of wooden laser cut embellishments that I recycled from cleaning up after a friend's wedding (they were going to be thrown away - the horror!).

I sanded the hearts to get a light colouring surface and coloured them with a Forest Green pro-marker. The card candi was done in the same colour, as was the matting on the greeting (Candy Round font). The patterned paper matting is from Papermania's green Capsule Collection.

I've entered this card into the 'anything goes' challenges at:

Less Is More
Divas By Design
Fan-Tastic Tuesday

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Dancing in the Rain

Afternoon All...

Welcome to a warm but damp Saturday afternoon here in the North East. The pollen count is still quite high though because I'm sniffling constantly!

Today's card has been inspired by the following challenges:

Just Us Girls - colour scheme
Addicted To Stamps - CAS
 Inkspirational - Splash
Less Is More - Singing In The Rain

 

I've used a fun digi I've had for years - a freebie by Louise Brigden at Charmed Cards and Crafts. The quote under the image is from Vivian Greene - wife of the great author Graham Greene

 Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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Fingerprint Bird

Back in the craft room after a lovely week away and I think my mojo has returned. 

There's a very unusual challenge this week at Less Is More - adapt a finger print!

 

It's One Layer Week aswell, which is also the current challenge at CAS on Sunday - I love one layer cards!

I did have a little chuckle at the thought of getting inky as I have a bit of a phobia about having dirty hands. I located a black ink pad that was last used about 3 years ago and surprisingly it was still 'wet'. One big fat thumb print later produced this effort:

I then immediately had to go and scrub my hands!
 
I don't know where this idea came from - a finger print chick with a crown and a reggae tail. Is it a bit drunk - why the red nose? Never mind - it was fun to do and made me smile! The greeting was done on the computer using my fave new font - Mountains of Christmas and I've added a googly eye and some diamantes on the crown.

 Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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