Saturday 28 January 2017

Less is More #313

Morning friends, are you ready for this week's challenge at
Less is More
This week it's our Recipe week and the theme for this one is to use

1 or More balloons on your card

Here's mine and there's loads of fabulous designs from my fellow teamies
over on the main blog HERE with links to their own blogs.
Do check them out and pay them a visit if you've time - they'd love it!

I have to admit I'm a bit of hoarder in the craft department and seem
to hang on to any little bit of die-cut scraps and off-cuts so this card
is made up of a lot of scraps that have been cluttering my desk!
The die-cut BG was a surplus piece from a previous card, the 
die-cut balloons were from a left-over scrap of distress-inked 
watercolour card and an off-cut of cardstock for the sentiment strip! 

Items used:
Neat & Tangled: Punchinella die
Sugar Pea Designs: Celebrate word die
Paper Smooches: Big Balloon dies
Distress inks and Doodlebug Sprinkles

It's an 'Anything Goes' week over at Addicted to Stamps and More
so I thought I'd pop this one in over there plus the 'Anything Goes with Dies'
at Happy Little Stampers.




This one uses some yummy Altenew inks to create a flurry of balloons.
The balloon and strings are from the Clearly Besotted set: Let's Party
with sentiments from our sponsor for this month, Happy Little Stampers;
Every Day Sentiments and Fun Birthday Sentiments

It's also an Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday
so I'd like to head over there plus 'Anything Goes with HLS'

Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog Logo



I hope you'll play along and have some fun.

Thanks for calling by and I'll be back soon!

Sarah

Thursday 26 January 2017

Uniko - Design Team Inspiration Teaser

Hi there friends, I'm over on the Uniko blog today HERE to share a little

Design Team Inspiration. 

Here's a little sneaky peek at my card and I hope you'll hop, skip and jump
over to Uniko to read a little more on my inspiration and design.



Thanks so much and catch up soon!


Sarah

Sunday 22 January 2017

AAA CAS Cards Challenge #82

Hello there friends, it's time for another challenge over at 

AAA CAS Cards

The theme for this one is Winter Chill and here's my card followed by a
little photo inspiration for you too ...


I adore these Arctic Penguins from Mama Elephant and haven't used them
in a while but they sprung to mind with our theme for this challenge.
I started out by stamping and masking the 2 penguins, followed by the
icy float before inking and blending distress inks in: Chipped Sapphire,
Mermaid Lagoon, Blueprint Sketch and Tumbled Glass. A little bit of colour
using Promarkers plus a flick and spritz of perfect pearls and water finishes
the little winter scene which is die-cut using Simon Says Stamp stitched circle 
dies and mounted on fun foam. The sentiment is from Uniko: Pure Florals: Poinsettia!




As always there's plenty more super CAS creations by my fellow teamies, 
with links to their blogs on the AAA Cards blog HERE

We are also delighted to have 2 guest designers with us for this challenge...

First up is Shery of STAMPlorations who also happens to be our sponsor for this one;
our lucky winner will receive a stamp set and die as used by Shery in her card.

Also joining us is one of our previous challenge winners;
Katrina of Katrina's Craftworks

Do pop along and visit their blogs and leave a friendly word or two and some
 love - I'm sure they'll appreciate it.


As always thanks for calling by my blog today and I hope 
you feel inspired and will play along with us!

Sarah

Saturday 21 January 2017

Less is More #312


Morning friends, are you ready for this week's challenge at

Less is More

It's our THEME week and we've chosen

New Beginnings

I have to admit I was struggling with ideas and mojo this week and everything
I tried didn't quite work and ended up in the 'you know where'! So pretty
basic examples here but I'm sure if you skip across to the main blog HERE 
my fellow teamies haven't let you down and as ever their cards are simply
oozing with classy and elegant designs.



I fancied making a distressed sky using purples and pinks and I 
quite like how it turned our with a little spritz of perfect pearls for added
interest and sparkle. I've used a border die by Clearly Besotted along
with sentiments from their 'Home Sweet Home' set too.

Next up a couple of Baby congrats cards for my 'good to have in' box!
These use the Just Hatched set from Mama Elephant and design paperby Lawn Fawn.



Hope you'll play along and have some fun.
Thanks for calling by and I'll be back soon!

Sarah

Friday 20 January 2017

Uniko Challenge #39


Hello friends, it's time to introduce you to our first challenge of 2017 over at

Uniko
and it's an Anything Goes with the Optional Twist of LOVE

The Challenges are slightly different this year so please read on for the details
but first here's my card using the beautiful Marvellous Mehndi set which I've 
heat-embossed repeatedly in gold on red cardstock to create a background panel. 


Don't forget to pop across to the main Uniko blog HERE where you'll see 
snippets of my fellow teamies creations and links to their personal blogs too 

We're also joined by one of our previous winners this month;
Izzy of Izzy Scrap
is our Guest Designer for this challenge and I hope you'll pay her a visit
and leave some friendly feedback on her stunning cards.

Here's the all important prize information and you have until 
Friday, 24th February to play along and link up to the challenge.

Main Winner Chosen By the DT
 £25 eGift Certificate

Random Twist Winner
 £4 In Stock Clear Stamp Set of the Winners Choosing

Random Uniko Stamps Winner 
£4 In Stock Clear Stamp Set of the Winners Choosing

      Top 3 Chosen By DT - 150 Loyalty Reward Points



As always thanks for visiting my blog today and I'll catch up
with you again soon. 

Have some crafty fun!

Sarah

Saturday 14 January 2017

Less is More #311


Hello friends, are you ready for this week's challenge at

Less is More

It's our ONE LAYER CARD week and the theme for this one is
Favourite Drink / Beverage 
so whether it's flat, fizzy, hot or cold just
have fun and I can't wait to see what you've got for us!

I've been under the weather this week with a dose of flu ... just typical
when I've been dodging it for weeks from various sources and the first week
back in work after the festive break and OH BLAST!

My mojo hasn't been in a creative mood either so just 2 very simple ones
from me this week. Nothing fancy just a little outing of a brand new set
from Altenew that I treated myself too with a few pennies from Santa.




My fellow teamies have had NO issues with mojo this week so do pop
over to the main blog HERE with links to their personal blogs
and fantastic creations.
I'm sure they'd love a visit if you've time!


Hope you'll play along and have some fun.
Thanks for calling by and I'll be back soon!

Sarah

Friday 13 January 2017

Muse Challenge #198

Hello friends, I've been nursing a flu/cold this week and feeling a bit sorry for myself! 

First day back at work on Monday and I managed until lunchtime!
BUT
The best medicine EVER and to add a little cheer is a mooch around blogland! 

My fellow teamie and bestie at Less is More (Anita) is this week's MUSE
and I love the blend of colours she'd used with added texture to the circle
on her card then WOAH! that sentiment strip pops one heck of a punch so
I had to have a little play. It was a really quick card to make and I feel much
better today! Thanks Neets!

Here's my card with Anita's inspirations below


I started out with a handful of Distress Inks and blended them over a piece of card stock -
 I think this part has Blueprint Sketch, Spun Sugar, Peacock Feathers and Seedless 
Preserves on it. I couldn't resist the little flick and spritz of water and perfect pearls.
Using a heart stax from WPlus9 to die-cut my shape I then ran it back through the 
big-shot using one of the WeR Memory Keepers Next Level embossing folders 
(from Santa!) To finish a bold sentiment from Lil'Inkers and a few sequins.





I hope you like how I've interpreted Anita's card and thanks so 
much for calling by my blog today. 



Sarah

Wednesday 11 January 2017

Uniko Revisit: Beautiful Blooms I


Hello there! I
After all the new year and holiday festivities it's time to settle down 
and revisit a previously released set over at Uniko this month. 

Bev has asked us to 'dig out', dust down and bring the Beautiful Blooms I 
plus matching dies back into the limelight! 

This has to be one of my all time favourite floral sets from Uniko and 
it's only when I started playing with it again the I realised just how much 
I love the style and image ... so here goes!


I started out by stamping my images using Altenew inks before die-cutting.
I used an MFT basic stitched border die to create the rounded edge
along the top to follow the line of the blooms. The sentiments are from
the FONTiments - birthday (sadly retired) and 'On Your birthday' from
Simply Said Birthday.

I hope you like how I've showcased this beautiful set and there's plenty 
more fun designs by my fellow teamies with links on the Uniko blog HERE


It's a 'Blue and Yellow' colour theme over at The Flower Challenge 
so I'd like to pop this one in over there.


As is the tradition there's a blog hop giveaway; the prize being the featured set plus
matching dies, or a gift card to the same value. 

You have until Friday, 20th January to leave 
your comments and be in with a chance of winning a prize.

Here's the order and if you get lost along the way just head back to Uniko

Sarah P (that's me)

Before I leave you to hop here's the image of the sets and as always thanks
for visiting my blog today and I wish you lots of luck on the hop!





Sarah

Sunday 8 January 2017

AAA CAS Cards Challenge #81

Hello there friends and a very Happy New Year to you!
Let's hope it's a good one!

So it's time for another challenge over at 

AAA CAS Cards

The theme for this one is HELLO and here's my card followed by a
little photo inspiration for you too ...


This one uses:

Dies 
 MFT Die-Namics: Inside-Out diagonal stitched rectangles & By the letters
Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Butterfly Birthday sentiment
Brusho panel behind the raised die-cut panel 


As always there's plenty more super CAS creations by my fellow teamies, 
with links to their blogs on the AAA Cards blog HERE

We are also joined by Valentyna of Flourishtina.com
a previous winner of our challenges, who is Guest Designing for this one. 
Do pop along and visit her blog and leave a friendly word and some love - 
I'm sure she'll appreciate it.

Our sponsor for this challenge is Happy Little Stampers and one lucky winner
will receive a $15 gift certificate to spend in store

... I'd like to enter this card over at Happy Little Stampers - Watercolour challenge
although I haven't twisted with a stencil, my BG panel is water colour and brusho.


As always thanks for calling by my blog today and I hope 
you feel inspired and will play along with us!

Sarah

Saturday 7 January 2017

Less is More Challenge #310


Morning friends, are you ready for this week's challenge at

Less is More

It's the first one of the month which means we're also announcing
our sponsor for the month which is Happy Little Stampers and what's
more the super-talented and wonderful owner, Kylie is also our
Guest designer too so I hope you'll visit her blog and leave lots of love!

This week it's COLOUR week and we've chosen 
OMBRE
You can use any colour but with an ombre / graduated effect.

Here's mine and there's loads of fabulous designs from my fellow teamies
over on the main blog HERE with links to their own blogs.
Do check them out and pay them a visit if you've time - they'd love it!


I couldn't resist using one of the newly released sets from Happy Little Stampers
and this one is called 'Wish you were Here' with a sentiment from 'Fun Birthday
Sentiments'. I've created the ombre effect using Zig Clear brush pens, blending with a
water brush then a little flicking and spritzing of a water and perfect pearl mist.
The card base is dry-embossed using an embossing folder by We R Memory Keepers
(2 pk set - pressie from Santa aka. my kids!) and the ombre panel is die-cut with 
a pierced square die by MFT Die-namics and mounted on 3d foam.

I'd like to enter this one over at Anything Goes Using - Happy Little Stampers
... rude not to don't you think!



This time I've used Distress inks to create the ombre effect using
Broken China, Salty Ocean, Mermaid Lagoon and Blueprint Sketch.
The card base had a heavy spritz of perfect pearls and water and I've
die-cut the 'smile' from Lil'inker Designs from an off-cut of the card base
before adding dimension with several layers of die-cut cardstock.
The stamped sentiments are from Avery Elle 'Sentimental' and I've
added a few coordinating sequins just for the 'bling' of it!

Although I've not gone with the 'Stencil' optional twist I would like




Last one and again using the zig clear brush pens to create an ombre
panel before dry-embossing the panel with the 2nd embossing folder from 
the We R Memory Keepers set mentioned above. The 'celebrate' word die
is by Sugar Pea Designs and is die-cut on some glitter tape from Heidi Swapp
plus several layers of white card stock to add dimension. The '70' numbers are
die-cut from the 'count on us' set by Avery elle from the same glitter tape
and adhered flat to the card base. A couple of sequins and stars finishes the design.

I'd like to link this card up at Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge
where it's 'Something New' and both my embossing folder and celebrate die
were goodies from Santa under my Christmas tree!

Simon Wednesday Challenge Blog Logo

I hope you feel inspired to play along and I can't wait to see your ombre techniques
and ideas! Thanks for calling by and I'll be back soon!

Sarah

Monday 2 January 2017

Happy Little Stampers - January 2017 CAS Challenge

Well hello friends ... am I excited to be sharing this post with you today!

Not only is it the start of a New Year BUT ...

It's also my first outing with the Happy Little Stampers CAS Design Team
Whoopie! I've known about this for a good few weeks but today
I start proper so read on for more details on the first challenge of 2017!


Our challenge is sponsored by HLS and one lucky person will 
 win a prize so why not join in - there's a whole month to do so!
You might even like to link up to some of the other Happy Little Stampers 
challenges and all the details are on the blog HERE


So here goes with my stencil inspired card and I've got another TWO-fer!


Both of them start with the inking of my Concentric Grid stencil from
My Favourite Things in Distress Inks: Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and
Mermaid Lagoon ... then the fun starts with cracking open my HLS goodies
to accent the stencilled panels! So here's what I've used:

Everyday Sentiments, Fun Birthday Sentiments, Mix Mash
and Mixed Media Fun (don't you just love 'neat' splatters' - I'm hooked!)

To add a little more depth to my panels I've inked the edges too and beneath the
sentiment panel on the second card I've blended Mermaid Lagoon and Salty Ocean
Distress inks before laying my stencil on top and dabbing through it with
a damp kitchen towel to lift some of the ink. Just another little trick with stencils
that I keep seeing my teamie Anita use but haven't had the nerve to try! 


Ok I hope you feel inspired to play along with us and don't forget to
pop along to the main CAS Challenge blog found HERE where my
teamies have worked magic with their stamps and stencils. 

Thanks as always for visiting my blog today and catch up soon!
Sarah