CASology - Guest Designer

Hello bloggers!

Hope you everyone is keeping well.  I'm delighted to be this week's Guest Designer for one of my favourite challenge blogs - CASology. The cue word is 'kite:'

I think we'll see a few of these cute MFT Adorable Elephants for this one - it's such a popular set. I kept it very simple and just coloured him with Copics, then set him on the sentiment to ground the image. Too easy!

Happy stamping everyone!

Claire

Textured Christmas

Hello again,

I'm determined to make a few Christmas cards whilst locked down instead of leaving it all until the end of the year like I normally do. MFT's colour challenge screams Spring but I thought these bright and breezy hues would make a pretty Christmas palette:

I kept it very simple and used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches for the layout which features MFT's (now retired) Holiday Cheer.  I'm also throwing it into ATCAS' challenge,  to use texture. since she has a scattering of embossed snow falling all around her!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Donut Forget the Purple!

Hello folks!

I was lucky enough to win a gift certificate from Poppy Stamps a few months ago. I wasn't aware of them before I won and I do like the way a lot of their smaller sets feature a matching die along with the stamps. I inked up Donut What I'd Do for Time Out's latest challenge which is a very special one - you can read all about it here:

The theme is purple, with the optional twist of friendship - I happen to think that a lot of my friends are pretty awesome! Purple just so happens to feature in Colour Throwdown's palette this week as well, along with violet and white.  I'm also throwing it into the Simon Says Stamp's 'anything goes' Wednesday challenge.

Make sure you pop by Time Out and read a bit about why there's a purple theme this week and then pop by and have a look at Sandie's blog too.

Happy stamping!

Claire

MFT Sketch Challenge #481

Hello again!

Hope your lockdown, self-isolation or whatever other nightmare situation you find yourself in is going as well as possible!

Just getting in before the linky closes at MFT's sketch challenge:

I used the new Flower Fairies set which caught my eye as soon as I saw the latest release. The white embossed strip is stamped with Happy Birthday Background and the sunrise has been stencilled with Radiating Rays Stencil.

Short and sweet today!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Swell Circles

Hello fellow inkers,

In this age of isolation I'm so thankful to have a hobby that I can do at home. We're not in lockdown in Australia but looking at Europe, I'm wondering if it's only a matter of time before we are. 

Anyway, here's a CAS card for AAA Cards which has an 'along the edge' theme this week. No optional cats and dogs on this one - just a cute little puffer fish from Your Next Stamp. They have a 'critter' theme for their Friday challenge - can a puffer fish be considered a critter?

Addicted to CAS has a circle theme for their challenge so I created the 'water' by stamping lots of different sized Winnie and Walter circles in varying shades of blue.

Hope everyone is keeping safe and well in these very trying times,

Happy stamping!

Claire

Time to Feel Lucky

Hello again,

Hope everyone is staying well during these Coronavirus filled days. At least making cards gives us something else to think about!

Your Next Stamp's latest challenge has a lucky theme - at a time when people are (selfishly) hoarding the essentials, I feel very lucky to still be able to get decent coffee. It's the one thing I truly couldn't go without and if I had a choice between toilet roll or coffee, I think coffee might actually win:

I used Coffee Cart  and coloured the images with the pretty hues from Less is More's Colour Challenge -   red, raspberry and grey.

Happy stamping and hope you stay safe!

Claire

Happy Birthday Time Out!

Hi folks,

It's Time Out's 6th birthday so the theme of their latest challenge is 'birthdays,'  with the option of using die cuts:

I used the sketch from My Favourite Things as inspiration with the focus on their 'celebrate' die-namics. I cut the word with hot pink card stock and added a very liberal coat of Glossy Accents, then sprinkled it in some clear diamond dust glitter. I added 3 die cut sequins from Blueprints 24, a strip of washi and a strip of DP from Sweet Celebration. The background is stamped in Grout Gray ink on Grout Gray card stock (again!) using Marble Background.

Hope yogurt time to get inky this weekend!

Claire

A New Challenge - Cut it Up!

Hello bloggers,

I always seem to play along with the same challenges each week but at the weekend I came across a challenge blog I've never played in before called Cut It Up:

As the name suggests, it's a die cut challenge and this week's theme is 'green with envy.' I used a never been inked set from Hero Arts featuring cacti - perfect for the green theme. The die cuts are an MFT stitched frame and a decorative corner die from my local craft store. I've been inspired by the soft greens and beiges in The Card Concept's inspiration pic and created an alcohol ink background on some yupo paper with an embossed green sentiment.(Embossing on yupo is a total nightmare as the paper buckles completely under the heat of the gun.)

I'm really at a loss as to how to describe the style of this card - perhaps a mixed media style suits it best. What do you think?

Happy stamping!

Claire

Paper Smooches - Anything Goes!

Hello, happy weekend again!

Paper Smooches has an 'Anything Goes' challenge this week:

I inked up Bitty Bungalows, one of the very first PS sets I bought.  I've also added a sentiment from Fun and Flirty and a die cut Hearts strip which was the perfect size for the sentiment.  I'm also popping it over to CASology where the cue card is 'skyline.'

Happy stamping!

Claire x

MFT Sketch Challenge #478

Hello folks!

Here's a card for My Favourite Things' Sketch Challenge:

I used Happy You Day but couldn't fit the sentiment that I wanted to use so I made a landscape version, rather than portrait. The sentiment's from Sassy Pants Birthday Greetings 2 and the background was stamped in Grout Gray using Wood Plank background stamp. The strip of DP is from the Sweet Celebration Paper Pack.

Thanks for popping by!

Claire

Rainbow Symmetry

Hello, hope you're having a good weekend.

I've made a CAS card for 3 different challenges today - although I'm wondering if I'm pushing the boundaries a little with one of them:

 The first one to catch my eye was the ATCAS code word of 'symmetry.' Symmetry appeals to my anally retentive nature when it comes to stamping, so I reached for Winnie and Walter's Bigger Bang Confetti and played around with the large and small diamond stamps to create a symmetrical rainbow coloured pattern.  Since I've used different sizes I'm also popping it over to Less is More for their 'big and small' challenge,  but looking at them, they look more similar in size than I realised, so Kylie might hit the delete button on this one! The last challenge I'm entering it for is CASology where the cue card is 'tall.' It's a tall pattern in comparison to the PTI sentiment...wonder if I'm pushing it with that one too?!

Happy stamping!

Claire