Bundles of Blossoms - MFT Colour Challenge #90

Hi again,

I've been playing with the colours from MFT's colour challenge using their Bundles of Blossoms background stamp:

So do you think I may have overdone it with the stamping?! This came about due to a complete error on my part - I stuffed up the Copic colouring and in the end resorted to fussy cutting the blooms and lining them up with the same stamps underneath.  In hindsight I might have been better just leaving the white panel plain white - but I do like a good background stamp! The sentiment is from Adorable Elephants.

I'm also popping this one over to Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge where the theme is 'anything goes.'

Hope you have a great Easter!

Claire x

Freshly made Sketches #330

 Morning folks!

It's time for another new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches - it's my last card as guest designer for this month and I've so enjoyed being a temporary part of such a lovely team! Here's my card:

I smooshed a background with distress inks and gold embosssed MFT's Bundles of Blossoms background stamp over the top. The huge butterfly is a cut file from Silhouette - it took about 4 attempts to cut it as it's quite intricate and delicate. I do get really annoyed with my silhouette - I seem to waste so much card stock trying to work out which settings are best,  especially with the more intricate designs.

Make sure you go and say hi to everyone on the FMS Design Team won't you? 

Jen Brum - Ladybug Designs

Linda Callahan - Stampin' Seasons

Narelle Farrugia 

Karren Johnson

Jen Mitchell - I Create

Amy O' Neill - Amy's Paper Crafts

Cecile Ribon

Kim Singdahlsen - Joyful Creations

Jen Timko - Stampin' on the Fly

You have until 3.00pm EDT on Monday 2nd April to enter - hope you get some time to get inky over Easter!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire x

Time for a Twofer

Hello again,

I've been wanting to play along with Darnell's Twofer challenge for a while now but DT commitments have taken priority.  I had a look last night and realised there were only a few hours left until the end of the blossoms challenge so I made two very clean and simple cards using CAS-ual Friday's Wallflower:

Short but sweet today!

Happy stamping!

Claire x

The Dreaded One Layer

G'day all,

Hope your weekend is going well. I'm trying to get back into CAS mode and feel as though I'm failing miserably! Of course it doesn't help that it's for Less is More's one layer challenge using stencils - I always find one layer cards difficult and I also struggle with stencils! I was lucky enough to win 2 of SarahG's stencils over at Funky Fossil so hopefully I'll improve when I get to use them!

I masked the card off with some washi tape then blended some distress inks through a lattice stencil. The sentiment is from PTI and I've added a teeny, tiny stamped heart for the dot on the 'i' with some glossy accents to make it shine.

I stuck to the lower third of the card face so I'm also popping it over to AAA's challenge - to only use one third.

Happy stamping!

Claire x

Time Out Guest Designer - Take 2

Hi folks,

Have you managed to put some ink to paper yet and play along over at Time Out? You've still got time to enter their 4th Birthday Celebrations to be in with the chance to win a gift voucher from Concord and 9th. It's an 'inspired by words' challenge:

Here's my take on it:

I layered some Pretty Pink Posh stitched photo frames and used the quirky little goat from Your Next Stamp's Funny Farm Crew as my main image. The sun is from Whimsy Stamps and the sentiment's PTI.

Theres some stunning cards from the DT this week so take a peek for some inspiration!

Happy stamping!

Claire x

Freshly Made Sketches #329

Hi all,

The week has flown by and it's time for a new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. The ultra talented Kim is your hostess with the mostest:

I knew Waltzingmouse's Folk Art Medallion would fit this sketch perfectly.  I loved this set when it came out but it hasn't seen any ink for a while.  It's definitely a set which requires a steady hand (or the help of a Misti) and that's why I stamped the centre bloom on a die cut circle, then popped it up with dimensional tape - I just couldn't get it centred inside the medallion! 

As always the DT have some beautiful cards to showcase this sketch so pop on by and say 'hi.'

Thanks for stopping,

Claire x

A Trio of Lucky Challenges

Hello, hello,

There's a multitude of St Patrick's Day inspired challenges around at the moment - I've made a very quick card based on three of them:

This is my version of a 4 leaf clover using a couple of small leaf images from Waltzingmouse. I've stamped them and smothered them in Wink of Stella, then stamped the WMS sentiment over the top.   I've used four different shades of green ink so I'm entering Less is More's monochrome challenge. The Card Concept also has a monochromatic theme using green and Addicted to CAS'  inspiration is 'luck or lucky'. I don't think you could define this as anything but clean and simple in style!

Happy weekend!

Claire x

Time Out Guest Designer

Hello again,

I was thrilled that my card was given top pick in Time Out's recent photo challenge and Sandie has kindly asked me to be guest designer for the next couple of challenges. I've had a few guest designer gigs in the last few weeks...they all seemed to happen at once so forgive me if you're getting a bit bored of my cards!

Challenge #105 is 'inspired by words' - it's a special one as it's also Time Out's 4th birthday:

This little fella from Your Next Stamp always puts a smile on my face - I thought he fitted the theme of the words perfectly. I sponged a sunny background using distress inks and coloured everything else with Copics. The bubbles were embossed using a stencil and the woodgrain flag is stamped with MFT's Wood Plank Background.

The Design Team over at Time Out are a talented lot so check out how they've been inspired - the challenge is also being sponsored by Concord and 9th so there's a chance to win a prize... no excuses for not joining in!

Thanks for calling by!

Claire x

Freshly Made Sketches #328

Hello bloggers!

It's been a busy week with my son and I both sharing a birthday - we celebrated with a weekend away with family and friends, lots of wine and even more food.  I'm amazed I didn't have to be rolled out of there!

It's time for a brand new sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches where I'm guest designing for the month - this week's sketch is from Linda:

As soon as I saw the diamond I knew exactly which stamp set I'd use - Lovely Layers from PTI.  I used Glimmer Mist to create the soft, stencilled background and the sentiment is Winnie and Walter. There's a whole heap of inky inspiration from the FMS Design Team so make sure you check out there cards and pop by won't you?

Thanks for taking a peek!

Claire x

Freshly Made Sketches #327 - Guest Designer

Hello folks!

I'm chuffed to bits to be this month's Guest Designer at one of my favourite challenge blogs - Freshly Made Sketches.  I remember when I found FMS - it completely suited my clean and layered style and I've loved  joining in with their challenges over the last few years.This week's hostess with the mostest is Jen M:

As you can see,  I switched the direction of the diagonal cut (does this make me 'diagonally challenged?') but otherwise all the elements of the sketch are the same. I used My Favorite Things' Happy Hippos with two MFT background stamps - Bundles of Blossoms and Wood Plank so I'm going to pop this one over to their colour challenge which finishes in a few hours.

The team at FMS have some stunning cards to show you as always - hope you get the time to join in!

Thanks for calling by,

Claire x