Sunday Sketch & Stamp

This is the sketch we have to work with at Sunday Sketch & Stamp this week - not brilliant but the best I could come up with!

For my card I've used the plane image from Stampin Up's Plane & Simple set and stamped it with sepia Versafine and cut it with Nesties. The cream border is stamped with a greeting and harlequins from the same set. The harlequin backing paper is from a Crafts Too pad which is perfect for male cards as it has matching papers in harlequins and stripes in the same colourways. The border is a Martha Stewart punch and it's finished with a couple of buttons.

Bloglovin

Well, it's only a few days until Google Reader goes so I've signed up for Bloglovin. Not sure I'm liking it as much as others seem to at the moment but I'm sure I'll get there and I'm so glad that all the blogs I follow have been so easily moved over in one go. It's just the reading part that I need to look into.

I've put the Bloglovin button in my sidebar so if you haven't moved your blogs over yet you can use that button to follow me or just click below

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Lots Of Layers

The current challenge at Pan Pastels is Lots of Layers. For my card I've used yellow, orange and green Pan Pastels for the background and layered it onto green and yellow card. I'm afraid to say that my Pan Pastels are rather negleted but they are so easy to use.  The sentiment is by Inkylicious and stamped with Versafine then embossed with clear powder and cut and layered with Nesties having added a touch of colour with Pan Pastels. A ribbon tied to the side to finish

I'm also entering this into the Use It Tuesday challenge which is Bring on the Sunshine

Cuttlebug Mania Mosaics

The girls at Cuttlebug Mania want us to use mosaics on out cards this week. I've had to get cracking with this as I'm going away tomorrow. For my card I've used another craft shop buy - this pack of black and white letters which I got for 30p

This is my second attempt at this card as I used a ruler to make sure the letters were straight and it looked wrong so I've started again and just stuck them as I went. I've used Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder for the bottom half of the card and some scrap of black grey and silver card using three more folders (Cuttlebug Diamond Plate and Candy Cane Stripe and Sizzix Lattice). A couple of embossed lines and layered the panel onto black card to finish for a quick man's card. I'm also entering this into Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground

On Your Wedding Day

It's new sketch time at Saturday Sketch and as it's Jen's Birthday this week we can choose any of her previous sketches. I've gone for this one

I've used a Forever Friends decoupaged topper and some Forever Friends backing papers. I've used hearts instead of the stars on the sketch. The large hearts are made of felt and held together with ribbon. They are from the Docrafts Forever Friends Kraft selection and there are five sets on the strip of ribbon. I've added some other punched hearts and some Stickles and a little heart charm to finish. I'm also entering this into the Crafty Friends challenge which is to add a charm and the Docrafts challenge which is to use a soft embellishment

Technique Time Tuesday - Chalkboard

The challenge this month at Technique Time Tuesday is to use the Chalkboard Technique. I've only tried this once and forgot how much I liked it and I've gone for a similar card as before as it seemed to work well. I've use two stamp sets - Amazing Family by Stampin Up and The Journey by Tim Holtz. For the main image I've stamped in Versamark and embossed with WOW Opaque White powder. I've then over-stamped with Ink It Up White ink to give a shadow. My border is done with a Picket Fence Distress Marker and a ruler. I did think I had a dud pen as it didn't show straight away but gradually appeared and I think it has a chalky effect. I also used my finger on the ink left on the stamps to add a few smudges. The background is just stamped with the stamps on the Tim Holtz set with Versafine onyx black. These are really great sets when you don't have the right backing paper.

If you've not tried this technique before, be sure to pop over to TTT to see the video as it's really clear. In one of the magazines this month there was a tutorial on the chalkboard technique but it actually used chalk which seems a little bit of a cheat to me.

I'm also entering this into the Joanna Sheen challenge which is to make a Father's Day or Male card.

I do have another idea for this technique but I'm not going to get time to try it until I get back from holiday but I will definitely have a go.

Happy 40th Paolo

It's my cousin's husbands 40th Birthday soon and this is the card I've made him. I've followed this layout from Tuesday Morning Sketches

The 40 backing paper I made in Craft Artist but the smaller pieces are scraps from my Papermania All Aboard pad. The Forever Friends image is one I got in the sale ages ago and just right as Paolo is a taxi driver. The sentiment is by Stampin Up and I've added a little car charm too.

I'm also entering this into the following challenges:
Pixie's Snippets Playground - Snippets
Crafty Friends - Use a Charm

Orange, Yellow & Green With A Button

That's the challenge at Cuttlebug Mania this week - fantastic summery colours.  I've used the Woodware Bubble Bloom Felicity stamp and stamped it with green ink and cut it out with a Nestie on my Cuttlebug. Lots of orange and yellow buttons from my stash and for the smaller dots I've used yellow Stickles. The leaves were stamped again on the green backing paper and raised with silicon glue. The sentiment is by Stampin Up and layered on another die cut.

I'm also entering this into the following challenges:
Kaboodledoodles - Summer
Brown Sugar - Summer
Polka Doodles - Summer Birthday
One Stop Craft Shop - For A Friend

Blockbusters

Remember the old television programme - give us a B Bob? Well I picked up this pack of game cards in a charity shop

Someone had just returned it as there were some cards missing and the manager said to put it in the bin. I'll have it I said and paid the princely sum of 10p. I wanted it more for the idea than the cards and when I saw this weeks sketch at Sketch Saturday, I just knew what I was going to do

I've used one of the playing cards for the background. The hexagons were cut with a Die-namics die. Now I must admit I was caught out by this die as it cuts 3 each of two different sized hexagons. I didn't realise this until I had stuck some down and they just wouldn't fit so I had to start again. It worked out well though as it meant that I could do the two tone green for some of the hexagons. The letter were cut from scraps of black card with a Quickcutz alphabet dies in the Squeeze. And this is the final card

Now to find something to do with the other 30 odd playing cards!

I'm also entering this into the following challenges:

My Mum's Craft Shop - Dies, Dies Dies

Joanna Sheen - Fathers Day/Male Card

The Crafter's Cafe - Father's/For A Male

Cards For Men - Boys Will Be Boys

Heck Of A Challenge -Bingo - middle line - Yellow, Die Cut or Punch, Green

and of course, Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground

Sunday Sketch & Stamp #161

It's Sam's turn to give us a sketch this week at Sunday Sketch & Stamp and this is what she has come up with

For my card I've used a stamp from the Stampin Up Serene Silhouettes set and stamped it in black and embossed it. I've then cut it with a Nestie and coloured it with ink to match the backing paper. The doily is cut from DSP with an X-Cut die and the greeting is by Craftwork Cards. Some ribbon and gems to finish

Masculine Card With Stripes

The girls at Cuttlebug Mania want us to make a masculine card with stripes this week. For my card I've used this layout from Tuesday Morning Sketches

I must admit that this is my second go as the first one I tried with a square card and when it was all put together it just didn't work and ended up in the bin! I've used a Marianne car die as the main image. I do have some proper crafting metal but it is not cheap so I came up with these which at 99p, I thought were great value

And they cut the die beautifully in my Cuttlebug. You'd get 4 of the cars from the centre flat piece and I'm sure I'll find a use for the outside pieces. The stripy backing paper is from a DCWV pad called Cafe Mediterranean. The letters are  Tattered Lace dies again cut from the plate. A few Papermania Mosaic gems to finish

Favourite Colours at Crafty Friends

I was asked if I'd like to be a Guest Designer for the new Crafty Friends challenge and of course I said yes. This is their third week and they're already getting loads of entries.

The theme this week is to use your favourite colour and I've used an image by their sponsor this week Rick St Dennis called Serena and followed the layout at Feeling Sketchy

I've coloured her with Promarkers and cut her out with Nesties. The backing paper is from a pad I got in Netherlands of all blue papers and I've used the divine swirls embossing folder for the card pieces. I didn't want to add flowers and then remembered this pack of little feathers I got  - a great deal for 99p

The greeting is by Craftwork Card and I've added some Stickles to her jewellery to add a little sparkle

And here is my card in full

Addicted To Colours

It's colour week at Addicted To Stamps and this is the colours they've chosen

I don't have any Perfect Plum so I've used Lavender Lace instead. I've based my card on a class I did with Jane Gill at the Glitter Pot. Jane put some lovely colour combinations together and I thought these colours would look good too.The main image is Wheat stamp by Woodware which I've stamped in Versamark and embossed with WOW white powder. I've randomly dabbed the three colours over the embossed image. The sentiment is from the same set and is embossed and coloured the same way. The background stamp is Grasses Background again by Woodware and I've stamped this on So Saffron card with Versamark and embossed with clear powder

Christmas In June

The girls at Cuttlebug Mania want us to make a Christmas card this week - the first week of glorious weather too! I've based my card on this layout from Seems A Little Sketchy

Most of my Christmas stash has been put away and it's too early to get everything out but I did keep this cute Marianne Design Skater stamp with my other Marianne stash so I've coloured him with Promarkers and cut him with a Nestie die in the Cuttlebug. The backing paper is also by Marianne Design from the Scandinavian Winter bloc. I've embossed a strip of white card with the Swiss Dots folder for the piece across but when it came to do the mat for this, I didn't have enough of the blue card so I've used the scraps from the main piece and only matted the end pieces that show (another card for Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground). The sentiment is from the same set as the image which was a freebie with a magazine last year - one of the best freebies I've had in a magazine. The skates are a Marianne Design die and I've finished off with a little Stickles.

Sunday Sketch & Stash

This is the sketch we have to work with at Sunday Sketch & Stamp this week by the lovely Mari

For my card I've used a Kaisercraft stamp set called Technologic. The backing papers are by Smirk from the For Him pad. The image is matted onto blue mirror card to match the top paper. The silver cogs are cut with Spellbinders cogs dies from scraps of mirror card. neither piece was big enough so the pieces that are missing are behind the image - a great way to use those scraps

I love the sentiment that comes with this set

Because of the scraps of mirror card, I'm entering this into Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground. If you've not played before, pop along and see what it's all about and use up the scraps