Purple Paper-pieced Party Frock

Hello Folks!

Today's challenge at Totally Papercrafts has been set by my talented team mate Chitra and is sponsored by the wonderful Digistamp Boutique...

 

Chitra has chosen one of my favourite themes - CLEAN AND SIMPLE - so channel your inner minimalist creativity and have a look over there to see some of the inspiration from the design team.

Digistamp Boutique has been one of my long time favourite places for digis - I just love the style and cuteness of the images - there's everything from adorable baby animals to funky shoes and handbags.

I chose to make today's cards with a much loved Digistamp Boutique oldie...

It's a gorgeous prom dress done in my favourite technique - paper-piecing. I've used a pretty lilac and purple spotty patterned paper on the dress and as a border and finished off with a matching ribbon and gems.

This card is so typical of my current style - clean and simple. I just love to see white space on cards - very fresh looking. Paper-piecing is such a great way of colouring images as well - it adds a bit more depth and texture than I am able to achieve through colouring with pens.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

CAS-ology - Purple

As You Like It Challenge - Showcase your favourite style

Crafting For All Seasons - For The Girls

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge - Spots and Dots

Thanks for visiting

Sharon

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Put On Your Dancing Shoes..

It's sketch week at Less Is More and this is what Chrissie has given us to work from:

 

Amongst the box of 'things that must be used before I buy anything else...' I came across some funky dancing related stickers and came up with this:

 

Very quick and easy! The funky font is called Mister Sirloin BTN Rare for those who need to know such details.

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Sisters - 60th Birthday

I was asked to make a card for a work colleague for her sister's 60th birthday - she wanted something pink and cute to reflect the fact that her and her sister were so close in age and looks that their mother used to dress them like twins! I trawled my massive library of digis, and the Internet, for a suitable image and eventually found this...

The image is delightful - it was a freebie by Sliejke who has a blog full of wonderful freebies - have a visit and I'm sure you'll find something you like.

I've coloured the image with pro markers and added matching patterned papers and ribbons from my stash. The numbers are die cut and I've added a large Papermania flower as an embellishment. Not my usual style of card but it certainly meets the brief.

I've entered this into the challenges at:

Divas By Design - Anything Goes
Crafting For All Seasons - For the Girls
Whoopsi Daisy - Tic Tac Toe (flowers, die cuts, digi)
Creative Inspirations - Ribbons

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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CAS Baby Boy

Helloooo!

It's another dark dreary day here in the North East so what better way to spend the day making cards by the fire. Loads of friends at work are about to go on maternity leave so inspired by the challenges at Less is More (new baby) and Addicted to CAS (new) I thought I would add to my collection of new baby cards...

The cute sheep and hearts are cut out from a sheet of watercolour images by Ruth Watkins for Craft Creations. I've added a strip of polka dot paper and a piece of ribbon to cover the join, mounted on white card and fixed to the base card with some foam tape to add some dimension.

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Paper Pieced 50th

It's my team mate Olivia hosting the challenge at Totally Papercrafts this week and she has chosen the wonderful theme of:

PAPER PIECING

Clever girl Olivia - it's one of my fave techniques! I don't actually stamp myself, but I've managed to master this technique using digi images - just as easy.

There is a fab prize for the winner:

So get yourselves over there and check out the creations from my talented team mates!

 

 

I've used a fabulously girly image from Jellypark and enlarged her in Microsoft Publisher,  printed her onto white linen card then onto patterned paper which was a freebie from a magazine (Kaisercraft I believe). I've also cut the numbers from the same paper and used it as a border. I've coloured the remainder of the image using pro markers.

I've entered this card into the challenges at:

Moving Along With The Times - girly feminine

Seize The Birthday - any type of colouring

Thanks for visiting

Sharon

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Floral Heart

I've done very little crafting in the last week due to technical troubles - my trusty Epson C48 printer has finally died after 10 years of faithful service - RIP my little friend. I've had the difficult job of finding a printer that prints on card OK. I bought an Epson XP-212 but it just wouldn't suck card through at all so back it went. I've ended up with an HP Deskjet 2540 which is perfect - sucks card through like a hoover!

So here's the first card printed on it...

The digi is gorgeous - it was drawn by Cathy at A Surcee Life and I've added a sentiment in Galeforce BTN font.

I've entered this into the current challenge at
Less Is More  - It's one layer week and the theme is hearts.

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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Winter Blues

I've had such a busy morning shopping that I only settled down to this week's Less Is More challenge after lunch! It's the colour theme week and the challenge is:

Winter Blues

We would like to see cards with shades of blue 

Paper piecing came straight to my head so I used some lovely blue abstract patterned paper to piece my favourite floral digi on a linen card base:

Thanks for visiting

Sharon

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New Beginnings

Morning folks...

It was my turn to host the challenge this week at Totally Papercrafts and as we have just started a brand new year, I chose the theme of 'New Beginnings'. Take a look over there - there's a fabulous prize from Alota Rubber Stamps and some lovely work produced by my talented team mates...

I need a new home card for a work colleague who has just bought her first home and came up with this...

The house is a very cute digi from Digistamp Boutique and the greeting is a digi by Annie's Little Footprints. The clouds and sun were free digis found on the internet and I drew the tree myself. The papers are from my scraps box.

I've also entered this into the 'New' challenges at  
Heck of a Challenge  
Little Red Wagon 
Sweet Stamps Blog
and Simon Says Stamp

Thanks for visiting

Sharon
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13th Birthday

Catching up on some orders today, this card is for a colleague's son to give to his sister. My only instruction was to make it pink!

The large numbers were made in Word and hand cut. Not sure where the pink and brown polka dot paper is from but I wish I could find some more! The polka dot theme continues in the ribbon I've used and the greeting was computer printed and the glue dots I've used to stick it are carefully hidden by pink gems.

I've entered this into the current challenges at:

C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - Anything Goes
Charisma Cardz - Birthdays
Seize The Birthday - Use Numbers

Thanks for looking

Sharon
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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

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

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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
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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
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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

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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

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