FABULOUS FIFTY

Back again with two more quick cards then I'm back to crafting!  Lots to do ...

This first card was made yesterday for a friend's hubby who is celebrating this milestone on Friday so I couldn't believe my luck when I saw the Less is More 'Turquoise' colour challenge this morning. Not only that but it's one of my absolute favourite colours and I love wearing it, painting my house in delicate shades of it and creating with it. Happy Dayz!

I'm also entering my card over at Simon Says Stamp where they are celebrating not a 50th birthday but their 5th so the theme is Happy Birthday.

OK enough waffle; here's my card:

                                  

This Used:

Cuttlebug Embossing folder: Stars
Papers: Echo Park
Clearly Besotted: Sentiment from Home Sweet Home set, Rounded Tag Die
MFT Die-namics: High Rise number dies
Sequins: Doodlebug, Candy Dots: Stampin Up with Ribbon and cord from my stash


My next card is to enter the CASE Study #185 challenge. That's 2 weeks on the trot for this challenge ... pretty good as I usually miss it! The photo inspiration is so delicate and feminine that I just had to have a go.

I've used the Uniko Studio Flower Power 3 set with the stem and leaves from Flower Power 2, the sentiment is from Clearly Besotted Fabulous Fuchsias and I've added a couple of nail heads and a sprinkling of a Wink of Stella.

Thanks for checking out my cards and hope to be back soon with some more creations.

Enjoy the rest of your day.

TOPSY TURVY FUCHSIAS

Hello

Just whizzing by with a quick card to enter into the CASE Study Challenge. It's not a challenge I've entered many times but the photo inspiration was so pretty that I decided I had to have a go.

I've used the beautiful Fabulous Fuchsia set from Clearly Besotted; stamped onto a slightly patterned pink vellum then die cut. I've also stamped the card beneath the vellum fuchsias to add some depth to the colour.

Having received a clear Wink of Stella pen last week I'm going crazy with it!!!! Inking up some of the flowers for extra dazzle! The sentiment is also from Clearly Besotted - Happy Days set and I've added a couple of pink pearls from my stash.

Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear your feedback if you've time.

COLD, WET 'N' WINDY = LET'S CRAFT

What's the weather been doing for you all today?  Appalling here with strong winds and lashing rain which meant one thing once dog-walk done and some housework ... hmmm bit of crafting.

I've three cards to show which are for various challenges so here goes:

This one is for my uncle (husband of Crafty American Auntie) so hoping she's too busy packing up her belongings for heading back to California once he's retired to search around my blog!

                               

I've used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches so that's where I'll be heading in a moment.

Items Used:
Image: Vintage Boys - Take it Easy from LOTV
Papers: Papermania
Sentiment: Clearly Besotted
Tools: Promarkers and Mosaic embossing folder
Ribbon & Twine from my stash




Next up is a brand new colour challenge (for me) called Colour Me which I'm combining with my interpretation of the CASE Study challenge for this week.  This Memory Box Tilda Flower die has been on my desk since the weekend when I tried my first bit of sponge daubing here but this time I've die-cut the shape using pearlised card and patterned paper from Echo Park. I've then 'painstakingly' re-inserted all the little petal bits then made a circle aperture for the sentiment, which is from Clearly Besotted. The green background image is from Uniko Studio (Background Builders - Circles). Yesterday I received some long awaited items from Craft Mojo ... Doodlebug sprinkles and sequins!!! Love them but may have gone a bit OTT with them as they are new but the photo on the colour challenge had lots of little dots!

    


My last card is quite similar to the previous one in that I've used the same Memory Box Tilda Floral die with re-inserted petals but I wanted to show you how extremely economical and versatile this sponge daubing with die cuts can be.  This is the daubed die cut used in this card here which I've re-inserted into the negative made from the previous card above.

This time the card is to enter the Simon Says Stamp challenge where the theme is 'Glitter It'. I have used a Wink of Stella pen on the petals but because it's pearlised card it's not showing up on the photos clearly. I've also glittered and glossy accented the centre of the flower. The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted - Geometric 1 stamped on to an MFT Sentiment Strip die-cut and the twine from my stash.

Think I better have a bit of a tidy up now as it looks like a bomb has hit my little crafty cupboard!

IT'S A TRIPLE POST

Dashing in with a quick post with 3 more cards to show - Oh I have been a busy bee this weekend! Not sure when I'll next get around to posting though!

First up is to enter the CASE Study challenge which I don't always get chance to play along with but the inspiration photo was so beautiful that I couldn't resist. I've not altered it much at all but I was thrilled to use a brand new die which arrived in the post just in time! It's the Tilda Swirl die from Memory Box which I've cut out twice and rotated the top one so it looks like petals all around. I die-cut a circle from gold glitter card and sprinkled pink beads on to tie the colours together. I've rotated the card and placed a piece of embossed vellum behind the flower which has been embossed with a Birthday sentiment from ... you guessed - Clearly Besotted! A couple of sequins and gems for added sparkle and a strip of washi tape at the right of the card and that's it.

I'm also going to enter this into the CASual Fridays challenge as I've placed the flower so it is just hanging over the edge of the card.

  

Next up is to join in the celebrations over at Less is More where they are celebrating their 3rd Birthday!!! Well done ladies - I don't know any blog buddies who don't enter these weekly challenges regularly and since I started blogging I've tried to enter every week (give or take a few when I've been stumpt!) Here's to the next 3 years - I honestly don't know how you come up with so many ideas to challenge us but it's fantastic and certainly gets me focussed on a Saturday morning!

The theme this week is 'Rainbow' and this has to go down as one of the quickest cards I've ever made. I've scored some lines across the card for added detail, used a sentiment from the wonderful Clearly Besotted then a selection of coloured gems from my stash.

And last but by no means least is my entry to CAS Colours and Sketches where this week it's a duo challenge to use the sketch and colour scheme.

Once again it's the Clearly Besotted products I've reached for as these sets are new to me and I love the birds right now - you may have noticed on some of my other cards!

I've used the Love Birds and Paired Up sets plus a sentiment from the 'It's you Birthday' stamp set plus a couple of pink pearls from my stash.

Ok that's definitely it for me for today - my fingers need a break from typing! Perhaps I'll go and do some cutting and sticking instead!!!

Catch you all soon.

CRAFTY BEE AT WORK TODAY

Hello Friends

Hope you are keeping dry in this disgusting weather today ... I took the dog out for a walk this morning but neither of us were keen and thankfully I hadn't done the housework before Cookie decided to shake himself like crazy as soon as we got home! Don't you just love 'em?

So what better place to play once the jobs were done ... yep the crafty cupboard. I've had quite a few commissions to do recently and isn't it great when you can combine them with a challenge or two?

For my very first time I'm going to try one post with multiple photos and challenge entries! May have to edit this if it doesn't work though!

Here's number one which is a commission for my daughter's friend, who wasn't being particularly helpful in giving me ideas and themes! After much head-scratching and web surfing I came across the Seize the Sketch Challenge and thought I'd make use of the lovely sketch along with some amazing free papers I downloaded ages ago but haven't ever used. Think I'll be making an effort to use them in future though.

Seize the Birthday (sister challenge to Seize the Sketch) have an anything goes challenge so I'm going to drop my card in there too.

Arrrgh! Only just noticed that my card doesn't entirely match the sketch ... Oh **** Well I'm going to enter anyway and hopefully get an acknowledgement for trying! Sorry ladies.



Card Recipe:

Papers: All Freebies from Shery K Designs
Sentiment: Computer Generated
Dies used: Nestabilities Labels, Sizzix Framelits Pennants, Clearly Besotted Florals, MFT Die-Namics numbers and a Martha Stewart Butterfly punch
Button, twine and gems from my stash plus a drizzle of glamour dust here and there




So onto my next card which is for a challenge I've never entered before - the CASE Study Challenge. I spotted it while checking out Amy Wanford's blog and couldn't resist entering as I had the perfect ballerina die cut image which was a freebie from Dies to Die for.

I was also itching to try out my new poinsettia stamp and die set from Clearly Besotted. I stamped three of the large outline poinsettias onto white vellum then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I added glamour dust to the veins for extra dazzle but think I've perhaps got a bit carried away with the old glamour dust as I decided my ballerina would look pretty cool with a glittered tutu and ballet shoes!!! I've attached the vellum poinsettias to white card with brads covered with candy dots in coordinating baby pink and I'm hoping my cluster of 3 can pass as the 'circle' in the CAS - Colours and Sketches Sketch Challenge which is where my card is heading too.

Card Recipe:

Image: Ballerina from Dies to Die For, Poinsettia Stamp and Dies from Clearly Besotted
Papers: From Do-crafts (Forever Friends)
Sentiment: Uniko Studio
Sizzix Swirls Embossing folder used on the Kraft semi circle
Candy Dots from my stash


    


Did I say I'd been a busy little bee today?

So here's my last card which is another commission; this time for an 18th birthday card where the recipient loves owls.

My cute little owl reminds me of barn owls out in the countryside and on that note I've decided to enter him into the CASology Challenge where the cue word is 'Country'. I'd been watching some videos on using acetate on cards so decided to make an acetate cover for the card and layer my images on the top with the scalloped circles behind. Looking at the photo you probably can't tell there's any acetate so you'll just have to take my word for it.



Card Recipe:

Images, Papers & Sentiment: Clearly Digi Stamps who are sadly no longer trading (I stocked up before they closed the doors) but you can purchase items from Doodle Pantry
Acetate, metallic cord and gems from my stash plus I've added a few glossy accents for extra definition.




Wow that's got to go down as the longest blog post I've ever done ... a marathon indeed. Going for a lie down now or should I do the ironing???? No contest!

Hope to catch up with you all tomorrow and enjoy the rest of your evening.  Fingers crossed this multiple blog post will work when I come to enter the challenges Hee Hee!

BUMPER AUTUMN CHALLENGES

Back again ...

Now I'm not great at combining challenges and 2 is usually the maximum I manage but today ... whoopie I've managed 4 AND using another crafty bit of felt from my wonderful Crafty American Auntie.

Card Recipe:

Leaves and Pumpkin are gifts from my Crafty Auntie
Sentiment: Clearly Besotted
Backing Paper is stamped using Uniko Studio: Accent Essentials Arrows
Pearls from The Hobby House

So I guess you want to know what challenges in case you fancy playing along too ...

Case Study #158 - a new challenge for me today
CAS-ual Fridays
Color Throwdown: CTD260
Less is More - my second entry using Felt or Fabric