It's Hip To Be Square

After Going Round in Circles at the Cutlebug Spot, this week It's Hip To Be Square. I was asked to make another Prom Maze Book and was left with lots of offcuts

So I decided to make a similar background to my circles card and cut the scraps into squares and stuck them to a card base. I haven't embossed them this time but used my brayer to make sure they are stuck down well. The image is Hot Diggity Dog from the Docrafts Tulip & Friends CD. I've added some raffia type twine and a few buttons to finish

I'm also entering this into the DoCrafts challenge which is to make a male card and the Joanna Sheen 3-2-1 challenge which is to use 3 papers, two types of embellishments and one image

My Mum's Craft Shop

The January challenge at My Mum's Craft Shop is Anything Goes. For my card I've used my Die-namics stamp and die set Sew Nifty which I got on my first visit to Kitty's shop. The backing paper is another from the free Pink Petticoat pad which I'm trying to use up. I've cut the mannequin from the same paper and stamped it in brown ink which makes it stand out from the background. The cotton reel is cut from a Kraft card to match the base card and stamped with brown ink and wound with pink thread. The greeting is from the same set and punched with Stampin Up punches. Some flat lace on a scallop edged card finishes it off.

Sunday Sketch & Stamp

Carole has done a this great sketch for this weeks Sunday Sketch & Stamp

The sponsor is Bugaboo so I've used their Knobbly Knees Sorry Girl. Not a lot of colouring to do on this one but what there is is done with Flexmarkers. The paper is by Pink Petticoat and was a free pad with Quick Cards magazine ages ago.

I'm also entering this into the Crafty Cardmakers challenge which is Belated Birthdays

DoCrafts Colour Challenge

The challenge at DocCrafts this week is to use colours on your card. I've started with a colourful flower paper from the Forever Friends Spring Time pack. The Forever Friends sticker is matted onto a Marianne die. Unfortunately this didn't stand out very well on the paper so I've added a layer of card in the same colour that I've backed the paper with. The flowers are from a Papermania Hampstead Petal Pouch which I've layered with punch daisies and stuck together with a brad. This weeks Sketch Saturday layout required a ribbon towards the bottom but I couldn't decide which colour to go with so I've used lace instead. It's got a little glimmer to it which doesn't show up too well. Of course with the Forever Friends image I'm also entering this into the January Forever Friends challenge which is Birthdays

Round & Round It Goes

That's the challenge at the Cuttlebug Spot. For my card, I've punched lots of circles from patterned paper scraps, stuck them onto a square of card then run it through the Bug with a Crafts Too dots folder. The image is a Forever Friends sticker on die cut Nesties. I've added a sequin strip across the bottom and dotted a few more of the sequins about the card. To match in with the current Forever Friends challenge I've added my favourite embellishments, flowers and gems.

New Home

I was asked to make a new home card for a couple just moving in together. I knew I had this fabulous Don & Daisy image by Marianne Designs. I've coloured it with Promarkers and cut out with a Marianne die. I've based it on the current Sketch and Stash layout and made it a round card to enter the Don & Daisy challenge. The papers were in my scrap bag. The sentiment was computer generated and cut with Stampin Up tag punched. The ribbon flower and buttons are from my stash. I'm also entering this into the Joanna Sheen challenge which is New Beginnings.

Lucy Cromwell Ultimate Pack

I bought the Lucy Cromwell Ultimate Die Cut pack at the last DoCrafts demo I went to at This Is It in Poole. It was already reduced and they had 20% off as well so it was a real bargain. I love the soft pastel colours in this kit but it contained a sheet of die cut paper strips and I wasn't sure what to do with them. Today I saw a card on Cally's blog using the sketch at Feeling Sketchy

A perfect sketch for using those strips up. I've used a square punch to shape the bottoms and the topper is mounted on to Nestie cut shapes.

There's supposed to be another demo at the shop tomorrow but I'm not sure if Kate will make it or if I'll be able to get there. I'll see what it's like in the morning

Marianne Design Cozy Winter

Challenge 71 at Marianne Design is to create a Cozy Winter card. I've put all my Christmas stash away apart from dies so I've used the Marianne windmill stamp and tried to colour it in wintry colours. The backing paper is from the Dutch Design paper bloc amd if you're imaginative, it may look like snowflakes! I've used a couple of Marianne Design dies cut from white card and added glitter for a frosty feel. I've not put a greeting yet because I may use it this month if we have snow or leave it for Christmas.

Pink & Purple Recycled card

The pink stripped backing for this card was some packaging of two very cute owl handwarmers that I got in Sainsbury's for £2. I've already used the acetate from the packet to make some flowers and when I needed a quick card, this was on my desk. Normally when I save things like this they never get used but it saves cutting into some designer paper :) The image is a Forever Friends sticker which is always useful for a quick card and the ribbon is of course recycled from a top.The greeing is from  Personal Impressions set cut with a Stampin Up punch The border strip is by Fiskars. I've used the current Fetch a Sketch design for this card

I'm also entering it into the Forever Friends monthly challenge

Sunday Sketch & Stamp Challenge 139

There's a lovely sketch by Marie for this weeks challenge at Sunday Sketch & Stamp

For my card I've used the free Emma Canning digi which is available at Polka Doodles for this weeks challenge and blog hop. The papers are from an old stack by Dovecraft called Piece of cake  so they're just right for this image. The sentiment if from Stampin Up's Crazy For Cupcakes cut and layered with the label punch. A ribbon and some gems to finish and a gem for the cherry too. Don't forget to pop over and join in too at Sunday Sketch & Stamp

Emma Canning Blog Hop at Polka Doodles

The first Polka Doodles challenge of the year is also a blog hop. And you get a free Emma Canning digi to use in the challenge. It's great to see what everyone has done with the same image and a lot of people have used the new Cherry Blossom Lane CD which I got for Christmas so I've got lots of inspiration now.

For my card I've used two papers from this CD and then resized them to paper piece her clothes. The ticket sentiment is from the same CD and coloured with Tumbles Glass Distress Ink. A few gems and a Marianne die swirl to finish. The layout is from Sketch Saturday's current challenge.

Furry Good Wishes

I've made this for my cousin's Birthday. I always make her a cat card but usually a cat topper from Kanban or a Joanna Sheen CD so I thought I'd do a different sort of cat this year. The image is from a Personal Impressions set called Everyday Furry Cat Wishes and is great for Nicola as she is a fantastic cook. This is the first time I've used this stamp and I had an awful problem getting it to stamp properly with Memento. In the end I used Versafine and embossed it with clear powder . The greeting is from the same set and heat embossed again. I struggled to find a punch the right size for it so added a few cupcakes at the top. The backing paper is from an 8x8 pad by DCWV called Nana's Kitchen. This is a gorgeous stack with half the papers glittered. I've resolved to start using some of my paper stash and this did go so well with the image. The corners are from a Cut n Emboss die by Ellison. I've added some gems on the corners and for the cherries to finish off. I've even done the insert which is normally a last minute job for me.

25th Anniversary Card

I wasn't sure what to do for this card and then I saw the challenge on the Marianne Design Challenge blog which is to make a wobble card and this idea came to me. I've used the same die for the card base and topper but swopped the white and mirror card around for each The wording is computer printed, two die cut glasses and a ribbon finish it off

Fetch A Sketch Challenge 40

I'm supposed to be making a Birthday card but I'm struggling with it so I've put it to one side for now and had a go at the Fetch A Sketch Challenge 40

I've turned the sketch to make a landscape card using a pearlescent green card base.The stamp I've used is XO Heart by Hero Arts which I've stamped with Versamark on pearlescent green card and embossed in Silver Metal Magic. I've not used this embossing powder before and I really like the effect. The backing paper is new from Papermania Vintage Notes linen paper stack which has a lovely texture to it which shows in the picture. A strip of the base card with a silver ribbon across the middle and I've got another card for the animal charity shop.