Colour Q #269

G'day folks!

How's your week going? I expect those of you over in the US are busy preparing for Thanksgiving this week.  I think if I had to deal with Thanksgiving and Christmas 4 weeks later, I'd probably keel over with the stress of it all....

Hopefully you'll be able to reduce those stress levels by taking part in this week's Colour Q challenge:

I have to say the blue threw me a bit and then I remembered this little set by Mama Elephant called Sweet Havana.  It's such a pretty set and you don't need to do anything much, other than stamp the blooms and arrange them in the jug.  It looked a bit lost without anything with it so I embossed a frame around it to add a little detail.

If you are over in the US, have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I hope you have the opportunity to spend time with your loved ones.

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

A Krafty Freshly Made Sketch

Evening folks!

Just a quickie tonight - I've combined the latest Freshly Made Sketch with the challenge over at The Card Concept:

The latest Card Concept challenge is an inspiration pic -  I used my Waltzingmouse background stamp (again),  embossed it in white,  then coloured parts of the pattern with green and red Copics to make a clean and layered card. The cute little elf is a digi stamp from Mo's Digital Pencil.

Ok, short and sweet for me tonight - have a fabulous weekend!

Claire x

Colour Q #268

Hello bloggers!

Has Tuesday really come round again? I feel like all the days are blending into each other at the moment and every time I think of Christmas I have a slight pang of mild panic!

What better way to cope with Christmas stress than to make a card? This week's Colour Q challenge is another combo of Autumn hues, with a little bit of aqua blue thrown in:

I've combined my offering with another challenge  - CAS(E) This Sketch is celebrating a milestone this week, with it's 100th sketch!

I used a heap of patterned papers for this - a great way to use all the colours if you're a little short on ink pads.  I die cut and layered some Nestability Fancy Squares and added a  die cut sentiment from MFT.   I created a shadow by cutting it in white and olive, just so it pops a little against the white cardstock.

Do go and check out all the other creations this week but the DT - and send them some love while you're at it!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire

Waltzingmouse Pyjama Party

Good morning all!

It's Pyjama Party time over at Waltzingmouse today and for once I've been a little more organised and managed to get three out of the four challenges done:

First up is a set of 'Scandi' Tags.   Since my only brush with Scandinavia has been at the local Ikea,  I'm not too familiar with Scandinavian style - but I guess if it's clean and simple these will fit the bill. I had some happy mail recently from Melinda Spinks  - she sent me a very generous pack of goodies which included these gorgeous Doodlebug cork tags.

I partially stamped the Folk Art Medallion and embossed it in red, white and gold - the sentiments are from Ornate Ornaments. I'm also entering them into this week's Casology challenge:

Challenge 2 is 'Wrap it up Warm.'  I have no problem admitting I am the laziest wrapper upper on earth.  I'll spend hours making the perfect card but chances are your present will be wrapped in the cheapest, most rubbish paper from the local dollar store.  So you can appreciate how difficult this was for me.  Once again I delved into my new pack of goodies and out popped these cute, kraft pillow boxes.  I embossed  the background using Heirloom Patterns and used the Picot Panel die for the label.  The Camellia was embossed on kraft and coloured in with Copics.   Sorry Claire, no plaid or stitching but I think it's got a kind of 'cosy' vibe to it!

 The last project is for 'Old Pyjamas' - I used the first Christmas set I ever bought from WMS which was the Seasons or Love Tags.  I've also used the sketch from this week's Freshly Made Sketches:

I made a shaker card and filled it with a few red and green sequins.  It's only my second Christmas card so far - let's just say my Christmas preparations are not going well this year!

Well that's all folks - can't wait to see what everyone else has done! Thanks for popping over,

Claire x

Colour Q #267

Hello folks!

For those of you in the Northern Hemisphere, Autumn will have well and truly set in by now, so what better way to celebrate it than using these beautiful colours to make a project:

Of all the seasons,  I miss Autumn most of all - we just don't get the distinction between seasons here in Sydney.  And whilst the (mostly) beautiful weather is a definite bonus, there's something to be said about falling leaves, bracing winds and vibrant, Autumnal colours.

I used Deconstructed Sketch #175 for this one.  The flowers are a selection from W Plus 9's Fresh Cut Florals...I find it so relaxing playing around with those little die cuts and trying to make it look like a pretty bouquet...is that a little weird?!

Hope you get the chance to join in again this week.  Don't forget, if you make a comment on last week's card you'll get the chance to gain a place in the draw to win some of Tracey's goodies!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Mojo Monday #370

G'day bloggers!

How's your weekend going? The kidlets have just spent most of the day in beautiful sunshine playing on the banks of the local river.  I really wish they could appreciate how lucky they are to live in Australia...I keep explaining that my English childhood was very different and outdoor play was rather constrained by the copious amount of rain!

I managed to get a quick card done using the sketch from Mojo Monday,  simply because I had some bits and pieces left over from a previous challenge.  I wanted to break out the Asian Gardens Additions set from Waltzingmouse which I've had for a couple of months and hadn't yet inked up.  Can you spot the PTI stamp too?  I noticed that the chain from PTI's Men of Life set was the perfect size to use as a hanging cord for the lanterns.  The beautiful dragonfly paper is a strip of Japanese yuzen paper and I've gold embossed the background from the original Asian Gardens set.

Hope you enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Claire x

Colour Q #266 - 25 Days of Christmas Tags

Hello folks!

We've got something a little bit different over at Colour Q this week and there's a chance to win a prize just for making a comment here!  The uber-talented Tracey McNeely of In My Creative Opinion  has asked us to use this week's colours to take part in her annual '25 Days of Christmas Tags' event.  You can see all the details here but let me tell you this lady has been VERY busy behind the scenes and has organised a whole heap of fabulous prizes from Reverse Confetti,  Clearly Besotted, CAS-ual Fridays, Neat and Tangled and Paper Smooches.

So, without further ado here are this week's colours:

It's been a bit quiet on my blog in recent weeks - I've now gone back to work after being a stay at home Mum for the last 8 years and I'm doing more hours than expected.  So you'll have to forgive me, I'm kind of struggling to get into a crafty zone at the moment!  I used a heap of strips from some Imaginisce patterned papers for this one and a couple of stamps from Waltzingmouse. The flower is one of Paper Smooches stand alone dies which I love - just the right size for a tag!

So,  like I said there's the chance to win for making a comment! Make a comment at the end of this post and you have the opportunity to go into a draw to win a prize from Tracey.  She'll be making the prize draw on November 28th! Don't forget to check out her blog for more ways to win and good luck!

Thanks for stopping by,

Claire x