Birds of a Feather

Hello again,

Just sneaking in with a card using the colours from Color Throwdown. I was very sad to see that Barbara Anders from Paper Pursuits has passed away. She always really inspired me with her beautiful cards over at MFT - the DT have left some lovely messages about her on the CT blog:

I made a birthday card rather than a sympathy card - I've sent far too many out this year, the latest this afternoon, unfortunately.  Instead,  I've followed the theme over at Seize the Birthday - 'feather.' I used a new to me Jane's Doodles set from 2014 that my beautiful friend gave me from her stash. After some random stamping I gold embossed a few of the outline feather stamp. (I'm hoping gold is considered an neutral along with the chocolate brown.) The die cut sentiment is from Altenew and the stamped one from MFT. 

Thanks for popping by,

Claire

Time Out Guest Designer Challenge #275 - Baking/Sweet Treats

Hello inkers!

I'm delighted to be guest designing over at Time Out for this week's challenge. It's a theme challenge - 'baking/sweet treats.' Who doesn't love a sweet treat? Unfortunately most of us love them a little too much:

I chose a sweet MFT Pure Innocence image for this one. Christmas cake reminds me of Christmas growing up in the UK - my Mum would make the cake weeks in advance and like every kid I'd savour the good part which was the thick layer of marzipan and icing on top and very begrudgingly ate the fruit cake underneath!

This challenge is being sponsored by the wonderful Lawn Fawn with a $25 voucher up for grabs - you have to be in it to win it so check out the DT's designs which are always inspiring and get inking!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Freshly Made Sketch 658

Hello inkers!

It's been ages since I've joined in with Freshly Made Sketches so here's a little card I made for my youngest son who turns sweet 16 this week. I use the term 'sweet' very loosely!

 

I've used the hues from Color Throwdown to colour this sweet little fisherman from Your Next Stamp. This was always a favourite set from YNS but he's been in semi retirement and hasn't seen ink for quite a while. 

I went for some smaller stitched Mod Rectangles from MFT instead of standard rectangles so I could have a little more white space to give it more of a CAS feel.  The patterned paper is also MFT. 

Have an inky week!

Claire

Altenew October Inspiration Challenge

Hello folks,

Time for another Inspiration Challenge from Altenew, this time from April Leithner:

 

I love the colours for this one and really wanted the bright blooms to stand out against the leaves. I used the Craft Your Life Project Kit: Fragrant Florals and coloured the image using the coordinating stencil. I love these kits - it's so much faster colouring these huge stamps with a stencil. I've tucked a few sprigs of foliage behind from the Whimsical Layering Die Set.

Because I've used the stencil this one's going over to The Flower Challenge as well!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Funky Feathers

Hello bloggers,

 After a little break I'm back in the inky swing of it- a good job as October brings a multitude of family birthdays. Addicted to CAS' 'masculine' theme was a good kick start to the mojo:

These Funky Feathers from Waltzingmouse haven't seen ink in quite a while. According to the packet they were released in 2011, long before I purchased a Misti! I doubt I could have got them in such a straight line back then (and certainly not whilst drinking a glass wine!)

This one's also going over to AAA Cards' 'anything goes' challenge - without the optional twist this time!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Lavinia Stamps September Creative Challenge

Hello again,

I completely forgot to post this one which I did for Lavinia Stamp's September challenge.  I posted it on the last day of the challenge and it was a combo of Time Out's 'inspired by words' and Lavinia's Autumn themed challenge:

 

I made the background using my Gelli plate - it's something I'm still getting used to. My clean and simple nature means that a lot of my backgrounds get thrown in the bin as I just don't know what to do with them. I could never be a mixed media artist! 

No sentiment on yet - I'll add that when I find a reason to send it! 

Enjoy your weekend and happy stamping!

Claire

Autumn Hues

Hello folks!

It's that time of year - the leaves are turning, the temperature is getting crisp and the nights are drawing in. Except they're not - Down Under the very opposite is happening having just gone into Spring! That hasn't stopped me from making a few Autumnal themed cards though:

 

There's quite a few Autumnal challenges in the world of ink at the moment - AAA Cards 'anything goes with the optional twist of Autumn colours', Time Out's 'inspired by words' and CAS on Friday's theme of 'leaves.'

I made a very CAS card using a tiny maple stamp with a trio of maple leaves from Lavinia Stamps and each cluster has been stamped in a different coloured ink. The sentiment's from PTI and I dotted some gold pen around the wreath so it's actually quite sparkly IRL.  Who knew I had so many autumnal hues in my ink stash? 

Thanks for popping by,

Claire

Altenew September Inspiration Challenge

Hello inkers!

I had a bit of a break from card making in September - I've had a few GD spots in the last few weeks so but I think I've been all carded out!

So I'm trying to get back into the swing of things with a very last minute card for Altenew's September Inspiration challenge:

I used the Whimsical Garden Layering Die Set which I've had for a few months but hadn't opened. I didn't want to use plain card stock so I splashed some pink and green alcohol inks on yupo and die cut them. It was a bit like completing a jigsaw putting all the tiny pieces back together. 

I placed it on one of the large tags from Terrific Tags Die Set, added the hello from Timeless Sentiments and set it against a paper background from the Pinkfresh Celebrate 6 x 6 paper pad. It looks pretty CAS but took a while with all the die cutting!

Happy stamping!

Claire

AAA Card Challenge - Anything CAS Goes: Guest Designer

Hello inkers,

I'm delighted to be guest designing again over at AAA Cards Challenge - they have a brand new challenge for the start of September: anything CAS goes with the optional twist of sympathy/get well.

Sympathy cards aren't the easiest to make but I think it's the words that are most important - this Altenew set,  Say it With Love, has some lovely sentiments for all sorts of occasions. 

 

I blended a panel with various distress inks, then cut a floral border with Altenew's Floral in 'N' Out Die.

 

Make sure you pop over to the DT's blogs and check out what they've been doing - their cards always amazing and are bound to inspire you to get the inks out!

Claire

 

Feeling Fruity!

 Hello bloggers,

There's a fruity theme happening in blogland at the moment - both The Paper Players and Time Out have a fruity inspiration pic to play with:

My inky mojo has escaped in the last few weeks and even this CAS one was a bit of a struggle. I grabbed a couple of very old Whimsy Stamps sets and stamped/coloured away.  The sentiment's from an equally old Waltzingmouse set. 

Happy stamping!

Claire

AAA Cards Challenge #272: Sketch - Guest Designer

Hello inkers!

I'm delighted to be guest designer this week for AAA Cards - it's a sketch challenge so here's my take on it:

This Grunge Me Papertrey Ink set is so old and so well used! The stamps all need a really good wash - you know when you try and stick them to your Misti or acrylic block and they fall off? It's a great set for playing around with so after a few random stamps on some scrap paper I settled on this.  I coloured some of the circle centres with Copics but otherwise left the stamps alone.

The challenge runs until 31st August and you could be in with the chance of being a future guest designer. Make sure you pop over to the DT to say hello - they alway provide heaps of inspiration!

Happy stamping!

Claire

August Altenew Inspiration Challenge

Hello folks!

Chuffed to bits to be August's challenge host over at Altenew - you can check out all the details here for the chance to win one of five $30 gift cards!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Sunday Stamps SSC #340

Hello again,

There's nothing like a layered sketch to use up some of the patterned paper I've been hoarding: 

I used a whole heap of My Mind's Eye papers from years ago - the cute little bee is from Your Next Stamp and sentiment is MFT. 

Thanks for popping by,

Claire

AAA Cards Challenge

 Hello inkers!

Another quick post as I've picked up a nasty bug. Again. I feel like my place is infested with germs at the moment....roll on Spring!

 

 I've been having a play with the sketch over at AAA Cards with the additional challenge of using the ombre effect in any colour. This is actually my second attempt - if anything could have gone wrong with the first card it did and I ended up ditching it!

 

I used Holiday Silhouettes (GKD) - funnily enough, the same set that Karen used in the DT. I love this set but the main scene stamp sits on a curve and I always mess it up so I have to admit it was an exercise of sheer frustration!

 

Hope you get the chance to get inky this weekend!

 

Claire x

Christmas Kickstart Challenge 88/52 Christmas Card Throwdown

Hello again,

Now that MFT have stopped their challenges I've had to find some alternative Christmas challenges to give me a kick up backside and get some cards done so I'm not doing them last minute! This one's for the Christmas Kickstart Challenge and the challenge is to use a frame and 52 Christmas Card Throwdown with a Christmas Lights theme:

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not a festive frame so I hope it fits the challenge!  I stamped and coloured this sweet moose from Yuzu Merry Moose over at MFT and placed him on a blended ink background, then splattered some snow over it using a Posca pen. It was meant to be almost a one layer but I stuffed the sentiment up right at the end...so annoying. Nothing that a piece of card stock couldn't cover though! 

Hopefully he won't get an electric shock from those lights!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Tic Tac Toe Challenge

Hello inkers,

Quick card and a quick post for Tic Tac Toe's challenge - think it's a new one for me:

 

I've gone with the bottom, horizontal row with a yellow, Copic coloured Stamplorations die cut butterfly,  green leaves and MFT sentiment. I also added a little bit of sparkle to its body. The background is stencilled with a butterfly stencil (although you wouldn't know it) and stamped with a W Plus 9 script stamp.

Enjoy the weekend!

Claire

Sunday Stamps - Mosaic Madness

Hello again,

 As soon as I saw the bold colour palette over at Sunday Stamps I knew which stamp set I wanted to use:

 

 

 

 

 

Folk Art Medallion is an older, much used Waltzingmouse set. This came out long before the Misti was ever invented so you had to have a steady hand when using it. So much easier with a stamping platform! The sentiment is from Altenew's Timeless Sentiments die cuts.

Happy stamping!

Claire

Time Out 'On Vacation' - Guest Designer

Aloha!

I'm so thrilled to be Time Out's guest designer for their newest challenge. Whilst everyone is sunning it up over in the northern hemisphere, those in the south are rugging up so it was good to be reminded that Summer's just around the corner as the theme for this challenge is 'on vacation:'

 

Of course,  a vacation doesn't necessarily mean sun and warmth but that's what I always think of,  so I inked up MFT's Polynesian Paradise. 

I often get Ralph Tyndall's card making videos popping up in my Facebook feed - they're great because they're not overly long and this one was no exception. I love how he used the stencil for the sea and some embossing paste for the waves. So clever!  (Clearly, I'm not quite so clever as I put the paste on before die cutting the panel which meant it squashed the paste after it had dried.)

The challenge is being generously sponsored by Varada Sharma who is offering $25 store credit - there's also the opportunity to guest design at Time Out for a future challenge. 

The DT over at Time Out always have some great cards to inspire so go and check them out!

Happy stamping!

Claire

My Favorite Things - Final Colour Challenge

Hello folks,

So sad to see that MFT are stopping their challenges - it's a rare week when I don't enter a card into one of them! Here's my entry to their final colour challenge:

I used BB Rain or Shine, Lined by Hand Background (both retired), Cloud Stencil and Stitched Rectangle Frames.

Happy stamping!

Claire

Altenew July Inspiration Challenge

Hello folks, hope you're enjoying the weekend!

I received some Altenew happy mail last week so it was an easy pick deciding what to use for this month's Inspiration Challenge: 

I bought the Craft Your Life Project Kit: Fragrant Florals. This is a huge stamp! It's so big I had to cut it down to fit on the card.  I was going to make a tag with the left over piece but then decided to put it underneath the main image which I popped up using some dimensional tape. I used the Dotted Lines Debossing Cover Die for the background and a big stamp deserves a big sentiment so I used Timeless Sentiments.

Happy stamping!

Claire