One Last MFT Colour Challenge

Hello folks,

Can you believe it's the last ever MFT challenge? Kim's closing the doors which is such a shame as I've loved their colour and sketch challenges over the years.  She's finishing appropriately with a very patriotic set of colours - having said that, I chose to make a Christmas card. Not the best photo - there's weather warnings all over the east coast of Oz at the moment so it's a very windy, dull and rainy day:

 

 

 

 

 

I've always loved MFT's Christmas stamp sets and it got me thinking about which is my favourite card I made after all these years.  I've made a whopping 349 cards using MFT products according to my blog - way more than any other stamp company.  I picked the one above as I had to wait months before the BB Merry Christmoose came back in stock. I'm so glad I managed to get my inky hands on it!

So thanks to Kim for all the wonderful products and inspiration - all the very best with what's to come!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Addicted to CAS - Water

Hello inkers,

Still not much craftiness going on in this household but here's a quick card I made for Addicted to CAS where the code word is 'water:'

 

I made a watery background with alcohol inks and added some sparkly bubbles. The cute little fish is from an older YNS set in my stash. 

I'm also popping it over to AAA Cards who have an 'anything CAS goes' challenge - without the optional twist!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Altenew May Inspiration Challenge

Hello inkers, long time no card!

Not much creativity for the last few weeks but here's a quick one for Altenew's May Inspiration Challenge that I'm managing to enter by the skin of my teeth:

 

I usually have a lot of white space when I make a card using Altenew stamps but the colours called for a bright, bold background with some stamping using Groovy Garden.  The background was done on my Gelli plate with a light inked wash and stencilling with Altenew's Grid Stencil.  I added some sparkle to the centres of the flowers for a bit of bling!

Happy stamping!

Claire

CAS Flowers

Hello bloggers,

The cards are very few and far between in this house unfortunately. I've strained my neck by card making which is the saddest reason to strain your neck isn't it? It would sound so much more impressive if I'd done it rock climbing or jumping out of a plane!

So this is a very simple card for AAA Cards colour challenge and Seize the Birthday where the birthday topping is flowers.  I used a die from Altenew as a stencil to colour the flowers, then popped a clean die cut over the top. The die is quite intricate so it took longer than I thought and quite frankly wasn't worth the effort (or the dodgy neck)! Next time I'll use paper die cuts to colour in the bloom I think!

Happy stamping!

Claire

April Altenew Inspiration Challenge

Hello again,

It's been such a busy few weeks I completely forgot to post my card for Altenew's Inspiration challenge this month:

Until I actually finished it I hadn't realised that there are quite a few similarities with Amy's beautiful card.  I used the same sentiment from the Timeless Sentiments Die Set with a smaller one from Tiny Sentiments: Hello. The blooms are from Build-a-Flower:Sakura Blossom Layering Stamp and Die Set (on sale by the way!) and the background is the Diamond Cover Die.

Happy stamping!

Claire

Seize the Birthday - Surprise Party Guest

 Hello folks,

It's been a busy week with family visiting from overseas. I look forward to these visits for months in advance but saying goodbye is still hard even though I've lived in Australia for 25 years.  I never know quite when I'll see loved ones again so it always takes a few days to get back into the normality of life.

And the normality is that cards need to be made, this time for Seize the Birthday's latest challenge.  I'm chuffed to bits to be their surprise party guest:

The topping for this challenge is 'stencilling' but you don't have to add the topping. I chose a spotty stencil from CAS-ual Fridays and used a rainbow of inks for a bright and cheery background. The sentiment is Whimsy Stamps - stamped in black and embossed in clear sparkly EB. 

There's lots of amazing inspiration from the DT as usual and don't forget, you could get the opportunity to 'take the cake' and be a future party guest on the blog!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Layered Blooms

Hello again,

I haven't been able to play along with Freshly Made Sketches for a while so made this card using the colours from Colour Throwdown and the prompts from Time Out (pastel and floral):

I don't use pastels often - I much prefer brights and bold colours so this is about as 'pastelly' (is there such a word?) it gets. Lots of older products on this from PTI and W Plus 9. 

I'm also popping it over to Seize the Birthday where the topping is 'layer it' - I love a few layers and layered the card stock and flowers to fit the challenge. 

Apologies if you've left a comment recently - I've got family over from the UK and looking for a new job which is a full time job in itself! I will get there eventually.

Happy stamping!

Claire