Rockin' the sweet stuff

As I said in my last post Sugar Nellie are my favourite stamps not just because they are Scottish (yey) but also because I love so many of the designs. The new manga collection are about to be released and they are such fun and perfect for teen cards. As part of their 3rd birthday celebrations Funkykits are giving away 20 spot prizes to blogs who show off this banner, just click on the image to go and gab one for your blog!

Sugar Bowl Sketch

This evening I'd like to share a card which I made for the Sugar Bowl challenge, Sugar Nellie stamps have been high on my list of favourite images since I started using rubber stamps again a few years ago and this is my most recent one which I got from my crafty friend Jude this week. There are six new manga images about to be released at Funky Kits so I thought this one was appropriate for the sketch challenge.
I coloured the image with Promarkers and used K& Co backing papers with Bazzil cardstock. The flower was coloured with alcohol inks and cut out by hand and the sentiment and the punched ovals are from Stampin Up.


I also had these challenges in mind when making this card:
ABC - T is for Thank You
Spoonful of Sugar - 3-D something
My Time to Craft - Ruby, Ruby, Ruby
Craft Your Passion - Recipe, 1 ribbon, 2 papers & 1 flower

Gorjuss!

This week is going to be really busy so I'm just popping on before I have to get myself into gear to share a card I managed to fit in before work yesterday. I wanted to make a card for the challenge at Totally Gorjuss because the sponsor this week is none other than the designer of the Gorjuss Girls herself Suzanne Woolcott whose work I have admired and coveted for some time now!
I followed the sketch from Friday Sketchers and used the colour combo from If the Shoe Fits, die cuts for the challenge at Daring Cardmakers and added a charm for Stamp Something's Charmed Somethings challenge.
The sentiment is from Woodware. Forgot to mention - papers are from Papermania Secret Garden and Basic Grey Marrakech.

Scrap the Art challenge 6

This fortnight on Scrap the Art we have used the 'Hand with reflecting sphere' by M.C.Esher ca. 1935 as our inspiration. I decided to go for a monochrome theme as Esher worked almost exclusively in black and white and his style was very graphic so I wanted to use a strong image and repeat it. I doodled a couple of flowers which I printed out in various different sizes I then cut them out and edged them with distress inks and misted with water to soften them. I then scrunched them up to shape them a bit and stuck them on my die cut circles, adding a few little paper flowers to fill the gaps. I finished it off with some diamonte gems and a button in the centre. I'm still debating whether to add a sentiment but really not sure about that. The flowers will be available on Cardmadfairy's Creations later today.

I'm also entering the card in the following challenges:
DU2D - Flowers
Polka Doodles - Monochrome
Dutch Dare - Repeat Something
Paper Play - No Patterned Paper
Our Creative Corner - Blooming Blossoms
Secret Crafter - Distressing

At last some time off!

This week I've finally had a day to myself - it's been a busy month so far and I've been finding it difficult to get much of anything done until this week when I've had a couple of hours in the afternoons and and a whole day on my own today.

So what have I been doing? Well I have managed to get three new digi stamps completed and made cards out of all three, I've also been practising the new (to me) art of Zentangle. My sister Gillian showed me a couple of these pieces of doodle artwork online when she was here and this week I have been having a shot at it myself. I love it - it is such a relaxing way to pass a bit of time, especially when you can listen to the TV but not need to watch. Very good for de-stressing which is very much a requirement at the moment! Here is an example of what I've been doing:

As well as that I want to share one of my cards made with one of the new images - this one is Julia, she is enjoying a lazy swing in the garden and unlike me looks as if she has no stress at all!
I coloured her with Promarkers and doodled some flowers on her dress and added some Stickles for a glittery sparkle. The backing papers are Lime Rickey by Basic Grey and the sentiment is Stampin Up. I used some organza flowers from my stash which I was on the verge of giving away - thought I'd never find a use for them - with a couple of paper roses and some lovely bright yellow Prima flowers and I love the way they all work so well together.



This card fits the challenges at:
ABC Challenge - S is for sparkle
Crafty Creations - distressing
Fab'n'funky - Get it all out - unused stash that is!
Passion for Promarkers - In the garden
Digital Tuesday - April showers or flowers
Twisted Thursday - flowers

Thanks so much for looking, hope you are all having a great week!

Creative Inspirations - Recipe challenge

This week's Creative Inspirations challenge has been set by the lovely Maxine, she wants to see 3 flowers, 2 papers and 1 ribbon on your projects. I have used my digi stamp All Dressed Up (available on my other blog Cardmadfairy's Creations for the very reasonable sum of 99p!) and coloured her with Promarkers, adding a bit of sparkle with Sakura glitter pen and Stickles. The papers are old ones that I've had in my scrap drawer for ever so no idea where they came from, the flowers are Prima and the brads Basic Grey - though I added a bit more of the Stickles to them to add a bit more sparkle.

My card also fits in with the following challenges:
Just Us Girls - Colour challenge
DU2D - Metal (the brads)
If the Shoe Fits - Diva/ Glamour
No Time to Stamp - Colour challenge
Stamp Something - Something Layered
Stampin for the Weekend - Ribbons & Bows

Scrap class

Last night was my regular scrap class and this time I was showing the ladies how to add pockets to cards and scrapbook pages. I made this card to demonstrate (from a great tutorial here), it has two pockets one for a tag/greeting and one for a gift card which you can see better from the second photo. My image is an old Sugar Nellie stamp which although cute is one I've only used a couple of times. It was great fun ladies, thank you!



The card fits the challenges at:
Cute Card Thursday - Touchy Feely
Papertake Weekly - Cutie Pie
Creative Belli - Any Kind of Die Cut (I used nestabilities for my scalloped and plain circles)
Fab'n'Funky - Use a neglected Stamp
La la Land - Scraps (left over DP and my last little scrap of lace)

Back at last and very late!

I feel as if I've been away for ages but I've actually been here all the time looking after my lovely Mum who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, as you can imagine it's more or less a full time job and leaves little time for much else. My sister Gillian and her daughter Rachael have also been staying with us for the last few days which allowed me to get out to work when necessary. I wish I had enough space to have Mum here all the time but with my elder son having to give up his room and sleep on his brother's floor it's a situation that can't be any more than short term especially as he has his all-important Highers coming up in a few short weeks. So Mum has gone over to my other sister Karen for a couple of days and then will have to be returned to the home she shares with her own sister at the end of the week. We are hoping that the social care team will now step in and provide the maximum help before my aunt goes into meltdown!
(Whilst on the subject I just want to add a huge thank you to my sisters - don't know what I'd do without the two of you! xx)

Anyway while all that was going on I missed the deadline for the Scrap The Art DT card I had started but not had time to finish, this fortnight our inspiration comes from the art of Paul Klee and his work Senecio, 1922.


I wanted to use the lovely orangey patterned paper - another one from a recent swap so used it for the central circle and found a toning spotted paper from a free download to use in the background. My butterfly image is by Clare Curd from the Papermania Doodles set of clear stamps, some of the flowers came from the same set and I added some little paper flowers from my stash. I used half pearls and dewdrops for the centre of all the flowers and the sentiment is just the text part of a stamp by Katie & Co.


It would be fantastic to see a few more crafters joining in with this challenge, there are some great sponsors and a prize to be won each fortnight.

Also entering this for the challenges at:
Stamptacular Sunday - Spots & Dots
Secret Crafter - Get Well
Allsorts - Petals & Pearls
My Time to Craft - Pretty Pearls

Lime Green & Black

Creative Inspirations challenge this fortnight calls for Lime Green and Black with an added extra of Flowers, I have used a Cuddly Buddly image 'Emmy with Basket' and coloured her with Promarkers and Sakura Glaze pens. My backing materials were a piece of lime green card which I stamped flowers on with a Woodware accent stamp and a piece of green patterned paper I received in a swap so no details I'm afraid. The oval is cut with a die from Nellie Snellen. The ribbon and buttons are from my stash and the sentiment is Stampin Up.

I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday
and I'm entering the challenges:
Stamptacular Sunday - Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice
Our Creative Corner - Break out the Buttons
Just Add Ink - Anything Goes
The Pink Elephant - Nature

Well Easter and my birthday have come and gone but passed more or less unnoticed, apart from having my lovely daughter and her boyfriend over for enchiladas on Friday which was fun - thanks Lyns! and cards from crafting friends including a lovely one from my sister Gillian - go and check it out over at her new blog :o)
Had to work unexpectedly on my birthday and then go and fetch my Mum who is staying with us while her house is getting painted. She needs quite a lot of looking after so not much time for crafting I'm afraid, however I did manage to make this quick card after getting her settled for the night last night.
I used the sketch from Sketch & Stash and this sweet image 'Elise' from Christine Dark at Sketching Stamper, (if you're not familiar with Christine's fabulous digi images you should definitely go and check them out!).
My backing paper is one I just received in a swap so I don't know what make/design it is but I loved the soft pastel colours and floral design. I used my Martha Stewart punch to punch the borders on the backing cards and foam pads between the layers for some added dimension. The flower were recycled from a hand crafted card I got from a crafty friend and were so pretty that I had to reuse them. The purple buttons were from my stash.



The card also fits the following challenges:
Stamping for the Weekend - Ribbons & Bows
Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Open Theme
Stamp Something - Something Pink
One Stitch at a Time - Anything Goes
Colour Create - Pastels

Thanks so much for looking!

Happy Easter

Well it's Good Friday and a beautiful day here in the South of Scotland, the snow is beginning to disappear, seeing the sun definitely cheers me up - although I've been quite cross since I heard that tomorrow's craft fair has once again been cancelled because of the snow. I'm sure I'm not the only crafter who has produced a lot of work and now has no outlet for it for the 3rd time this year! Anyway the sunshine is helping and so is the crafting - I would do it even if I never sold another card to be honest, I'm sure it's the only thing keeping me sane at the moment.


Today's card is for a colleague who shares my birthday tomorrow, I've only been working with Pam for a few months and we only seem to share shifts once or twice a month but she's a lovely girl and I wanted to make her a nice card. I used the sketch from Our Creative Corner as the basis for the design, the circles were cut using my Nestabilities, the stamp is a gorgeous one from Dimension Fourth which I bought at a stamp show in Edinburgh last year. I coloured it with Promarkers and Sakura pens using the colour combo from this week's C.R.A.F.T challenge - Purple and Turquoise. I was going for a bit of a vintage look to suit the Creative Card Crew challenge so I combined a free backing paper (sorry not sure where this one came from) with a free digi image from AiFactory to create a flourish border. The flowers came from my stash box and the purple gems were part of a card competition prize I won around Christmas time. Finally the sentiment is from Stampin Up set Oval All.
The card also fits the challenges at
Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
Paper Sundaes - photo Inspiration
Papertake Weekly - Open Theme

Happy Easter to anyone who visits my blog this weekend!