Your Next Stamp - Sketch and Colour Challenge

Gday folks!

Only a 3 more days until the big day - my kids are besides themselves with excitement!  I'm hoping they don't beat last years record and come into our room at 4am to tell us Santa's visited!

Your Next Stamp's current challenge is open until Thursday January 5th 2017 so plenty of time to get your entry in and be in with the chance of winning a YNS gift certificate to the store.

I was a little over making Christmas cards when I made this card so opted to use the sketch with this cute set of stamps called Blast Off. I sponged a moon and sky using distress inks, then added lots of stars using the Mini Star Ink Splatter with some pewter embossing powder.  Dont forget you can use the sketch or the colours or even both together. 

Hope Santa's good to you this year - Merry Christmas!

Claire x

Your Next Stamp - Fave of 2016

Hello bloggers!

As Guest Designer for December I've been asked to post my favourite YNS creation for 2016. I had quite a few to choose from but actually made a new card using some stamps from their latest release: Mini Merry Chris-Moose and Cool Backgrounds:

I use this design again and again for quick cards - it's so versatile and can be used with almost any image. The little square backgrounds are perfect for it so I can see myself using this set a lot in the future.

Hope you're getting into the Christmas spirit of things!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

G'day from a very hot and sticky Sydney!

In an attempt to cool down I had to make a snowy themed Christmas card for the Winter Coffee Lovers Blog Hop:

This cute little penguin is from a new set by Your Next Stamp called Waddles Winter Happiness. He looks very happy with his hot cup of coffee - perhaps he's added a tot of whisky to it to warm himself up.  Go and check out the YNS blog where they are having a Winter Wonderland themed showcase - make a comment and you could win a prize.

Over at Simon Says Stamp Monday blog, there's a snow themed challenge so I'm going to pop this little fellow over there too. I created a glittery, snowy background using a Winnie and Walter snow stencil with some gesso, then sprinkled it with glitter before it dried.

Thanks for calling by,

Claire x

All Spaced Out

Hello!

It really is getting to that time of year where the cards are few and far between isn't it? Thank goodness for clean and simple challenges like Casology! This week's cue word is 'space:'

I had a completely different vision for this card - let's just say the idea I had failed miserably! I masked a heart of 'space' with distress inks, then added a scattering of gold stars from Your Next Stamp and a couple of die cut hearts smothered in Glossy Accents.  The inside of the card continues the sentiment with 'to the moon and back.' 

Have a wonderful week!

Claire x

Your Next Stamp - Design Team Dare

Hello bloggers!

So today is Design Team Dare day over at the Your Next Stamp blog. I've been dared to CASE a card from 2016 made by one of the YNS Design Team. The card I've chosen to CASE is by the very talented Dian:

After making this card, I had a picture in my mind of our little fisherman from Keepin' it Reel doing a spot of ice fishing.   I like the way Dian created the snowy background and the snow drifts with her die cut so that's the direction I went in.  I blended a Wintry sky, then used a snowy background stencil and some Gesso to create the snow. I edged the snowdrifts with some glue and added some chunky glitter for some snowy sparkle. I'm wondering if this little fella is perhaps Santa in disguise? Perhaps he shaved his beard off and went to do a spot of ice fishing for a well earned rest? Somebody really needs to tell him that long sleeved clothes are more suitable in the North Pole!

Make sure you go and check out what the YNS Design Team have been up to!

Thanks for calling by,

Claire x

Candles for Casology

Hello folks!

Hope you are feeling relaxed in the lead up to Christmas.  It's been so busy lately,  I haven't had time to play along at Casology for weeks.  Their latest cue word is 'candle' so I combined it with this week's Less is More challenge,  which is a colour challenge using only primary colours:

Primary Colours

The candles have come from Whimsy Stamps Happy Everything and the sentiment is from PTI's Birthday Sentiments. I added a little sparkle to the flames using some KindyGlitz - otherwise it's nothing but stamps and ink.

I'm also popping it over to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where they have an 'anything goes' theme.

Thanks for calling by!

Claire x

Your Next Stamp - Year in Review Blog Hop

Hello!

Welcome to the Your Next Stamp Year in Review Blog Hop! You should have hopped over here from  Dian's blog. The very talented YNS design team have each put together a project using their very favourite product from 2016 so make a comment on any of their blogs before 12 midnight on December 6th and you could be in with the chance of winning a $25.00 YNS store gift certificate. The more blogs you comment on, the greater the chance of winning! 

My absolute favourite set for 2016 is Keepin' it Reel.  I find it really difficult to find masculine sets that I like but as soon as I saw this one I just knew I had to get my inky little mitts on it! I love creating little scenes with the stamps and the sentiments aren't just restricted to birthdays so it's a really versatile set.  On the card above I coloured the cheeky little fisherman with Copics, sponged the clouds, hills and water using Distress Inks and then matted it on to some masculine patterned papers. Bless him, he looks so pleased with himself and he's only caught a boot!

Next on the hop is Holly so why not leave a comment below for the chance of winning and then pop on over to her blog to send her some love!

Thanks for popping by!

Claire x

An InLinkz Link-up

Your Next Stamp - Sketch and Colour Challenge

Hello bloggers!

Your Next Stamp have a bi-monthly Sketch and Colour challenge so as this month's Guest Designer, I've played along with the current challenge which you can find here:

As you can see, I went with the sketch but you have the choice of using the sketch or the colours or  even both together. 

For this card I used Silly Monsters, perfect for all kinds of little (and big) monsters in your life.  I masked the background using all four monsters from the set, then coloured three of them with Copics and added lots of Glossy Accents to their eyes. 

Link up your project for the chance to randomly win a $15.00 YNS Store gift certificate and if you use YNS proucts as the main focus you can increase this to $20.00!

Hope you get the chance to get inky!

Thanks for stopping by,

Claire x

Guest Designer - Your Next Stamp!

Morning folks!

I'm chuffed to bits to be Guest Designer over on the Your Next Stamp blog this month. I've been a big fan of their whimsical stamps for quite a while now - they're full of fun images and many of the sentiments are clever puns that will bring a smile to anyone's face:

This little set is no exception - it's called Fishy Fun. It's one of those sets that feeds my Copic addiction with lots of fish-shaped outline stamps to practise my colouring.  There's also an additional fish on this card that's from another Your Next Stamp set called Keepin' It Reel.  More of that set later in the month...

Make sure you go and check out the store won't you and I'll be back tomorrow with another card to show you for their latest blog challenge!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Papertrey Ink November Blog Hop

Hello and happy weekend!

I didn't think I'd be able to pull a card together for this months blog hop over at PTI but after I saw the post go live this morning I quickly got my supplies and did this:

I have to admit, not much thought went into it. I only have one Christmas PTI set that I've had for years called Take a Bough - it's so old it's now in the PTI vault! I really must update my Christmas supplies! I mainly took the colours from the pic and added a sprinkling of glittery snow on the branches. I'm also going to play along over with the lovely ladies at Time Out where the challenge is: Christmas with an Optional Twist of Glitter/Shimmer.

Time to take a peak at how everyone else has been inspired!

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

Feeling Feathery

G'day folks!

Quick card for Addicted to CAS where the theme is 'ombre' and for Less Is More who have a vintage theme:

Thanks for stopping!

Claire x

Giving Thanks

Hello and happy Sunday to you!

I've been playing around with one of my new Altenew purchases which has been on my inky wish list for a very long time - Hennah Elements.  I used the colours from their November Challenge inspiration pic: 

Since it's Thanksgiving this week there's lots of challenges to link up to with a 'thank you' theme so I'm also playing along at CAS-ual Fridays and Stamplorations which is running a special thank you themed blog hop .

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

Celebrating 300 Weeks!

Hello folks!

A clean and simple card for Less is More which is celebrating a whopping 300 challenges - the theme this week is 'celebration:'

Why do clean and simple cards take me so long? It took about 5 minutes to blend up a background with some distress inks, perhaps another few minutes to add the snowflakes in embossing powder and Versamark. And then it kind of stopped there. Should I have the whole panel covered in the snow scene (no, too busy), should I have a panel at the base, partially covering the pattern (the pattern at the top overpowered the bottom), should I have curved edges, straight edges, should the panels be white or navy...the list of questions went on....

Anyway,  it didn't look 'clean' enough for Less is More so I ended up using a couple of curved panels using some Lawn Fawn dies to clean it up a bit. I'm happy now!

Thanks for taking a look!

Claire x

Freshly Made Altenew Blooms

Hello!

It's been a long time between cards but a visit to the local paper craft fair emptied my wallet and kick-started my mojo:

Surprisingly I found a stand selling Altenew Stamps so I treated myself to a couple of different sets - the blooms here are from Floral Motifs but the sentiment's from Hennah Elements.  I gold embossed the blooms, then coloured them with Copics and created a stencilled background using Gesso. I'm popping this one over to Freshly Made Sketches and Simon Says Stamp where the theme is 'anything goes.' Time Out has an 'inspired by words' challenge this week so I'm linking up over there too - the theme is 'Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart'.

Enjoy your Monday!

Claire x

All Coffee'd Out!

G'day folks! 

It's a rare card for me that manages to achieve all the requirements for three challenges! Of course it helps when two of those challenges feature the same cue word - coffee:

I'm more than happy to admit that I am a total coffee snob - put a cup of instant coffee in front of me and I'm likely to chuck it down the sink. I truly wouldn't get through the day without my huge,  hot cup of fresh caffeine in the morning. It truly is my drug of choice...even better that it's legal!

I combined a couple of different stamp sets for my card - Waltzingmouse's Coffee Set and W Plus 9's Borders and Backgrounds 3. I've never used the sweet little beans from the WMS set so stamped the sentiment and scattered a few beans in amongst the hearts. I used the coffee cue word from Addicted to CAS and  Casology and the colours are from this week's Colour Throwdown. 

Have a great weekend!

Claire x

Never Give Up - CFC#59

Hello, hello,

As you know, October is Breast Cancer awareness month so the CAS-ual Fridays blog has turned pink in support of this amazing cause. For this months challenge we'd like you to create a card of fighting encouragement for your female friends:

I used a few different CAS-ual Fridays products for my card of encouragement. The quote is by Winston Churchill from the Dream Then Do stamp set. The pink die cuts underneath the banner were cut using the motif from the Funky Square Tag Fri-dies and the sentiment stamped in black is from Calling All Sistahs. Did you know that 50% of the profits from stamps and dies sold from the Calling All Sistahs range are donated to breast cancer research and awareness programmes? As of September 2016 Michele has donated over $1800.00 to breast cancer charities through their sale. 

Link up your creations to be in with a chance of winning a $25.00 gift certificate to the store. If you use CAS-ual Fridays Stamps and Dies as the main focus of your card the prize will be doubled!

Happy stamping!

Claire x

Your Next Stamp - Sketch and Colour Challange

Morning folks!

Not many inky antics happening around here lately - it's been school holidays Down Under and the kids have been sick on and off for the last 4 weeks.

I've been trying to kick-start my mojo with some colouring - I've used both the colours and the sketch from  the latest Your Next Stamp challenge:

I flipped the sketch and used my Copics to colour the Silly Monsters, then added a heap of Glossy Accents to the eyes to make them a little more googly. I think I might give this one to my youngest little monster who turns 8 on Monday!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Winnie and Walter - World Card Making Day Challenge

Morning bloggers!

Winnie and Walter has challenges galore in honour of World Card Making Day. I decided to go with Taheerah's 'Pick n' Mix' challenge and used white as my neutral, blush, lawn and mustard as my colours, floral as my theme, die cutting as my technique and sequins as my trend:

I also used the sketch from Mojo Monday and the stamps are Winnie and Walter's 'The Big, the Bold and the Extras'. 

Have a wonderful week!

Claire x

CFC-158: 1 in 8

Hello!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and the CAS-ual Fridays blog will turn pink for the entire month. Did you know that 1 in 8 women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer during her lifetime? Based on this fact, we want you to create a card which features 8 of something. It can be 8 colours, 8 sequins, 8 patterns, 8 enamel dots...use your imagination and see where the figure 8 takes you!

For my card I used stamps and dies from CAS-ual Friday's Calling All Sistahs Collection .  50% of the profits from these sets are donated to breast cancer research and awareness programmes.  I die cut the Ruffled Ribbon and stamped and clear embossed it with the Hope Ribbon, then blended a selection of pink distress inks to colour it. My 8 elements are the tiny little crystals I've used to embellish it.  For the card base I cut a rectangular panel and covered it with acetate. The sentiment is also from the Hope Ribbon set.

Link up your creations to the challenge and you could be in with a chance of winning a $25.00 CAS-ual Fridays store certificate. Use CAS-ual Fridays stamps or dies as the main focus and Michele will double the prize.

I'm also popping my card into Time Out's latest challenge which has a similar theme - the challenge is being sponsored by Michele,  giving you even more chances to win some CAS-ual Fridays goodies!

Happy stamping!

Claire x

Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

Hello!

It's the Fall Coffee Lovers Bloghop so time to ink up those coffee/tea themed stamps:

My mojo went a bit walkabout with this one - let's just say I was really 'procaffeinating' about what to do.  I couldn't decide on colour, design or even stamps...so used the latest Retro Sketch with the colours from Fusion for some inspiration. In hindsight I probably should have had a couple of cups of  strong coffee to get the creative juices flowing!

Hope you have time to join in the fun!

Thanks for calling by,

Claire