Cuttlebug Mania Tuesday - Toys

Yes it's time for another challenge at Cuttlebug Mania and this fortnight we're playing with TOYS. Our sponsor this week is Paper Nest Dolls. For my card I've used their cute little boy called Sailor Owen. I've coloured him with Promarkers and cut him out with a Spellbinders Lacey Edge Square die. The background is plain card the top is embossed with the Sizzix (Stampin Up) Clouds folder and the bottom half is embossed with a Fiskars Texture Plate. I remember when I first got these with the scratchy little tool that came with it. It was way before die cutting machines and embossing folders. My plates soon went in the back of a drawer as the tool was not the most user friendly thing and the results were very patchy. I had totally forgotten about them until I did a metal class at Jendenink in Fareham and we used one. It took quite a bit of searching when I got home before I could find mine and there are lots of nice patterns and the wave one seemed perfect for this card. The embossing isn't as deep as you get with an embossing folder but it does show and worked well in the Cuttlebug with a shim of card.

 The little ships wheel is cut from a scrap of card from my snippets folder with a Die-namics die from the Sea Charms set and is tied on with some bakers twine. The little wooden duck came from an old picture frame and has been in my stash for ages but it seemed perfect for this card.

House Mouse Snowman

I've been having problems with Blogger as I wanted to change my email address and all I managed to do was create a new account and delete my old one - eek! Somehow I managed to get it back but I also lost my list of blogs on Bloglovin so I've not been visiting anyone but fingers crossed it's all sorted now.

I was looking through my House Mouse CD and came across this little snow mouse and thought he'd be perfect for the CD Sunday challenge which although it is Snow People I'm sure they'd allow a cute little mouse in. I've followed this sketch from Friday Sketches

The backing paper is another from the Kraft Notes Forever Friends Christmas stack matted onto red  card. The green strip from my snippets file is embossed with the Cuttlebug Holly & Berries folder and I've added some Xmas Red Stickles to the berries. The greenery is cut from snippets with a Marianne die and the little berry things are from a pack of Beaded Buds by Lakeland that I found while sorting things out in my craft room. Some ribbon scraps and it's all finished and I think I'm going to be able to sneak into Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground with this one which I pleased about as I didn't get to play along last week and I've been missing all the fun

Snowman

I love this fun snowman - he looks so happy. He's from the Polka Doodles Magical Winter 2 CD. I've used this layout from Sketch Saturday

The backing paper is from the Kraft Notes Forever Friends Christmas stack. The vertical strip is embossed with the Cuttlebug Snowflakes folder. The horizontal strip was one of my attempts at the Faux Patina effect which didn't quite turn out right but I've rescued a piece for this card. The metal snowflake, button and twine are from my stash.

I'm also entering this into the following challenges:
CD Sunday - Snow People
Cards For Men - String It Up

Another Faux Patina for Technique Twist

This is my second entry into the Faux Patina challenge at The Technique Twist but I'm not sure if the result is true Faux Patina but that's how it started until I played around. Instead of inking my Cuttlebug Snowflakes folder on the top side to start with, I've used Versamark on the "bottom" side so that the de-bossed snowflakes were coated and then used clear powder. This means that when I've added my layers of ink (Bashful Blue, Baja Breeze, Ballet Blue and Not Quite Navy), the snowflakes have remained mostly white. I've then added some random Versamark and embossed with Stardust Embossing powder and my patina panel was created

To make the card I've used a snowflake backing paper from the new Kraft Notes Forever Friends Christmas stack on the base card. The image is a die cut by My Paper Stash. I just love that it's not the typical robin - as much as I love robin's. The strip is from the same die cut sheet and the snowflakes are from a Cuttlebug die. The layout is based on this one at Sketch N Stash but my panel is a lot bigger as I didn't want to cut into it. As I've used some Kraft Notes backing paper, I'm also entering it into the DoCrafts Christmas Card challenge

Little Red Robbin

The challenge this week at DoCrafts is to make a Christmas card. For my card I've used this layout from Freshly Made Sketches

I had promised myself I wouldn't buy any more Christmas craft stash but when I saw the Little Red Robin range by Lucy Cromwell for Papermania, I had to have some of it. The papers are so fresh yet still Christmassy and I've used two of them on this card. The topper is from the Postage Stamps set from the same range. A few gems and the card is finished. I'm sure I'm going to be using this sketch a lot

Faux Patina

The technique at this fortnights Technique Twist is Faux Patina and there is a link on the blog to a great tutorial. I started my card with with the Cuttlebug folder Textile textures as I thought this had a lovely vintage feel. I used So Saffron on the folder when I embossed my card and then went over with Certainly Celery and Taken With Teal inks followed by Close to Cocoa on the raised elements. Versamark is then roughly rubbed over the piece and I've used Gold Sparkle embossing powder to finish. I didn't want a plain background but I didn't want it too busy so I've used the French Filigree background stamp with brown ink and matted it onto some teal card. The image is a Marianne Romantic Vintage stamp which I've stamped in brown and used the green and teal inks over it. A touch of lace and it's finished

Sunday Sketch & Stamp Week 175

We've another sketch for you this week at Sunday Sketch & Stamp and this is it

Now I must admit I haven't done a lot of crafting over the past week or so and I totally forgot about this challenge until I woke up this morning so it is a very quick card from me. I've used the winter image from Stampin Up's Four Seasons set. I've used markers to colour it before stamping and cut it out with Nesties. The backing paper is from the Forever Friends Kraft Notes Christmas stack. I wasn't going to buy this but when I saw it at a Docrafts demo I was sold. It's all double sided and there are lots of papers that can be used for other occasions so it's not just for Christmas. The only thing is that the colours are quite muted and I'm after some real red papers so if you know of any, please let me know. I've added some snowflakes to the corners which were cut with a Cuttlebug die and a scrap of ribbon. And that's it - a very quick card

If It Could Go Wrong ...

... it did. Everything about this card went wrong. I found the Hot Diggity Dog topper in a box of bits that I'm trying to use up as it's all really old stuff. I got the matching paper pad out and chose papers with the same pattern in green and pink and decided to follow this layout at Tuesday Morning Sketches

Well, I cut the green paper too small for the background so had to use it for the panels but then cut the pink one too big but I didn't realise until I had glued it and suck down three sides and then tore it as I pulled it off. Luckily there was another sheet of this one left in the pad. I stuck down the strip of pink card and went to put the topper on and realised that I'd already put it on green card cut with a scalloped Nestie when pink would have showed up more but hey, I've kept this topper for a couple of years so didn't want to just dump it. Then, the green foliage that I had already cut was lost so I cut it again in pink - really? Pink foliage! Now the greeting That's from an old Stampin Up set called Circle Of Friendship which I stamped in green in and punched out and layered it on a scalloped punched piece of card but it didn't look right at the bottom left of the image so I had to put it at the top. Card finished, I picked it up to photograph it and the green ribbon was in my lap - I had forgotten to add it. I managed to tuck it under the image but it's had to go around the whole card. And of course I can now see that the left panel is too low!

Now when you look at it, think green where you see pink and pink when you see green and you'll see how it was meant to be. And remember - a blind man would be pleased to see it

And this is what's on the back - an old stamp by JudiKins that I'd totally forgotten about but is just perfect for this card

I'm also entering this into the following challenges

DoCrafts - Birthday

Oldie But A Goodie - Dies & Punches

Cuttlebug Mania Tuesday - Flying High

It's time for another challenge at Cuttlebug Mania and this week we're Flying High. I'm lucky enough to live on the south coast and we recently had the Bournemouth Air Show.  We went along on the first day and it was great especially when the Spitfire, Hurricane and Lancaster flew over together. For the next 3 days I sat in my craft room and saw the planes fly by after taking off and just before landing. On the Friday it was like my own little ari display especially when the Red Arrows came home one by one from different directions. 

So that was the theme for my Flying High card. I've used two folders from the Cuttlebug Skyward set and embossed some Core-dinations that came free with a Darice folder. I've sanded the centre piece to highlight the clouds. For the image, I've used the Hobby Art set called Flypast and coloured with watercolours and cut with Nesties Labels 2. I've cut some clouds using Memory Box Puffy Cloud dies and stamped the sentiment onto the largest one

I'm also entering this into the following challenges
Friday Sketch - flipped
Brown Sugar - Transportation

Faux Silk Kimono

I wanted to have another go at the Faux Silk technique which is this months challenge at Technique Time Tuesday and wanted to do something other than a background. So I thought of clothing and the Wild Rose Studio stamp Mia in Kimono came to mind.  I used red tissue paper and stamped her with Versamark and embossed her with Stampendous Jewelled Gold powder. I wasn't sure if this would work but it was fine. I then stamped her again with Memento and coloured her with Promarkers then cut out her dress, parasol and flower and paper pieced them on top. I had to stamp the hands a third time to go on top of the kimono. I used another panel of red tissue and stamped it using Versmark and a stamp from Stampin Up's Hopeful Thoughts set and again embossed with the gold powder. I've also used a piece of gold mirror card and embossed it with the Cuttlebug Daisy pattern folder. The sentiment is from the WRS Mia in Kimono set and stamped in Brilliance Rocket Red and matted onto gold card. If you want to have a go at this technique, pop over to Technique Time Tuesday where Mynnette has a great video tutorial

I'm also entering this into the Quirky Crafts Challenge which is "It's a Quirky Small World" and the Paper Piecing challenge at C.R.A.F.T.

CD SUNDAY - Little Boys

Well after sneaking in at the last minute for last weeks challenge at CD Sunday I'll be one of the first this week. I've used a cute image from the Rachelle Anne Miller Collection CD. The background is embossed with the Cuttlebug Stars folder and I've embossed some of the lighter card and cut three stars out. The greeting is cut using Britannia dies. I'm also entering this at Polka Doodles where the challenge is One For The Boys

Last Minute .COM

It seems that I'm entering challenges at the last minute all the time now but I think I'm just in time for the CD Sunday challenge this week which is Shop Til You Drop. Now I'm not sure that my card is going to count but I thought I'd enter it anyway. I'm trying to build up my stash of male cards for the animal charity and men and shopping don't really go together that well until I thought that he could be online shopping and then I thought of where most men shop - in the pub - (see why I don't think it will count). Or it could be that he's spent the afternoon shopping with his wife and is recovering in the pub. Either way it's another male card made.

I've followed the layout from Friday Sketch but flipped it (pop over - it's their 2nd Birthday this week)

The image is from The Best Of Just Inklined 2012. For the backing I've used the Stampin Up Woodgrain stamp and the strip of card is stamped with the beer mug from the old Cheers To You set so I'm also entering this into the Crafters Cafe Challenge which is No Designer Paper. I've cut one of them out for the corner and the sentiment is from the same set.

Less Is More Dark Green & Rust

Yes it was a colour challenge this week at Less Is More and the colours are Dark Green and Rust. Mine is a very quick card as this week has just flown by so there is very little time left. The image is from Stampin Up's Wetlands set and I've used Cajun Craze and Garden Green markers to ink the stamp and matted it onto a scrap of green card. The sentiment is from the same set, stamped in Cajun Craze. Just some green and white bakers twine added to finish, It was going to be brown and white but it was too dark for the rust colour so I went with this - still too light but not as bad as the brown. I'm thinking now that the sentiment is too low but I haven't got time to do it again so it will have to do

Third Bleach Card

Well it seems that I can't stop with this bleach stamping lark. This time I've used the Stampin Up Sail Away stamp and stamped onto navy card with bleach. I love how the detail has come out - even the little birds. The colour that resulted matched Sahara Sand so I've matted it onto a piece of that and matted the backing paper (from Forever Friends Best Of British pad) onto a larger piece. The border is punched with a Woodware Crafty Edger punch and a strip of the backing paper placed across it. The stamp is from another Stampin Up set called Label Something and cut with the matching punch. Of course I'm entering this into the Technique Twist challenge again but that will be it for tonight

Not a brilliant picture as my camera battery has run out and the charger has gone walkabouts so I had to take this with my phone

Dasher

As I had the bleach pad ready and DH is cooking dinner, I thought I'd have another go at the Technique Twist Bleach challenge. For this card I've used Dasher by Stampin Up and stamped with bleach on red scrap card. It came out a lovely gold colour. I've matted it onto white and then red card and added some red gems to the swirls on his antlers. I've used a scalloped edged card and embossed the bottom with the Divine Swirls embossing folder that was still on my desk from the last card and I thought it went well with the antlers. A simple stamped greeting and a couple of red gems in top corners although they look orange in the picture.

Dream

I almost missed the Technique Twist challenge as although it's fortnightly, I thought this was the first week but today is the last day so it had to be a very quick card. I've followed this layout from Sketch Saturday

The image is from Stampin Up's Summer By The Sea set and stamped with bleach onto a scrap of blue card. It was amazing to see the image gradually appear and I think it's a great impression. I've matted it onto some creamy caramel card as it matched the colour that the image turned out. I've embossed a square of the same card with the Cuttlebug Divine Swirls folder and the backing paper is from Papermania's Portabello Road pad. Luckily there was a piece of the blue card left when I trimmed the image an I've stamped the Dream onto it again in bleach and cut it with one of the Stampin Up Itty Bitty Banner dies. I was going to add some gems but it seems too busy already

You Paint My Heart Happy

The challenge this week at Colours & Sketches is to use Rainbow Colours. I started my card with the sentiment which is from the My Favourite Things set called Clearly Sentimental About Art. I just love this set and I think you'll be seeing a lot more of it here for quite a while. The base card has a couple of embossed lines across it and I've punched various hearts from scraps of textured card and stuck on with foam pads (I did vary the height but they didn't look right so I've taken them off and made them all the same). The sentiment is then inked with Stampin Up markers to match the colours of the hearts. A quick and simple card once I'd decided what to do. I'm also entering this into Pixie's Crafty Snippets Playground

Technique Time Tuesday

The August challenge at Technique Time Tuesday is to use the Faux Silk technique. As usual, Mynnette has made a great video of the technique if like me you have never tried it so pop over and have a look.

When I saw this effect, I thought of the sea so for my card I've used some light blue tissue paper. I bought a pack of 20 different colours last year for £1.20 and I was so pleased when I found it almost straight away. I've stamped the Sail Away ship by Stampin Up with Ultramarine Stazon before screwing up the tissue paper and sticking it onto a piece of scrap card. an then matted it onto another piece of white scrap. I didn't want the background to be too busy so I've used Stampin Up's The Open Sea set and Versamark to decorate the Brilliant Blue card. The off cut of this is matted onto some white card and I've added a button with some Papermania bakers twine. The sentiment is from another Stampin Up set called Itty Bitty Banners and is stamped on another snippet so I'll be hopping over to add this to the Playground too

Sunday Sketch & Stamp Week 173

It's Carole's turn to give us a sketch for Sunday Sketch & Stamp this week and she has this great one for us

For my card I've used a stamp by My Favourite things called Dip Me In Chocolate. I've coloured her with Flexmarkes and cut out with Nesties. The papers are from First Edition Sweet Owl and DCWV Sweet stack - the brown one is really shimmery but I didn't catch it in the picture and I've used some of he pink one to paper piece the chocolate wrapper. The greeting is by Craftwork Cards matted onto some brown card cut with a Stampin Up punch

Fairy Time

Yes, It's Fairy Time at Polka Doodles and the lovely Nikky has given us a fairy to play along with. I've followed this sketch from Friday Sketches

I've coloured her with Flexmarkers and matted her onto some purple card. The backing papers are from the Sundae Of Seasons CD and the sentiment is from the Magical Winter 1 CD. I've added some Frosted Lace Stickles to her wings but they don't show in the main picture. Some gems and it's finished

Less Is More - Use A Rubber Stamp

This weeks challenge at Less Is More is to use a rubber stamp and watercolours. It wasn't until I started writing this post that I realised that my stamp isn't actually rubber but I'm hoping clear stamps will count too.

I've used the scene stamp from Woodware's Wine Buffs set and stamped it in Versafine black onto a scrap of linen card and then embossed it with clear powder. I've used my Aqua Markers to colour it. I've trimmed it off and layered it onto a tall linen card base. The sentiment is from my new set by My Favourite things called Clearly Sentimental About Art which at got at My Mum's Craft Shop on Saturday at their discount day.

I'm also entering this into the Anything Goes challenge at Addicted To Stamps And More

Super Quick Poppies

I've not made many cards over the last couple of weeks as my mojo just disappeared. I think it's when I have to make cards for a special occasion and with a friends wedding coming up I've just couldn't think what to do. Most of my cards go to charity so I like to get inspiration from challenges, but the special cards are a right pain. Every time I came into my craft room, the invitation was sat there as a reminder and I just couldn't get on with anything else. Despite knowing about the wedding for a year, I left it to the totally last minute and I must say a few things went out the window yesterday - I forgot it was open when I pushed some bit back! But the card is now done and in the post so I was looking for a quick card to get me going again and had a look at the Colours & Sketches blog. As it's the fifth week of the month it's a double so you have to use this sketch

and this colour combination

Now I don't have those exact colours so I've stamped my images with Versafine Majestic Blue ink and added some colour with a lighter blue Aqua Marker. I put it onto an acrylic block and used a water brush along the shading lines of the poppies. I've added some Frosted Lace Stickles to the centre of the poppies and the card was finished - it must have taken 10 minutes at most and that included getting all the bits out. The poppies and sentiment are from Indigo Blu's Poppy Meadow set. 

I'm also entering this into the Less Is More challenge with is to use a rubber stamps and watercolouring and the challenge at Sir Stampalot which is poppies

Cuttlebug Mania Tuesday - Back To Nature

Well you certainly liked last weeks challenge at Cuttlebug Mania as we had a 117 entries. This week out theme is Back To Nature so there is plenty of scope with that. And we have now gone fortnightly so you have plenty of time to enter.

For my card I've gone with an autumnal feel and used the Couture Creations Bon Jour embossing folder. I love this folder as it can be used either portrait or landscape with a clean central panel.  I've used a gold card stock and gone over the raised parts with Versamark and then  dusted some Green Patina Perfect Pearls over it and matted onto green card. The centre piece is an Inkylicious stamp called Nature Speaks (which seems to have been made for the panel) and I've stamped it on a scrap of cream card with brown Versafine. I've added a few leaves cut from some scraps of DSP with the Sizzix Tim Holtz Autumn Gatherings decorative strip

So why not pop along and see what the other girls have made and have a go yourself but don't forget to tell us how you've used you manual die cutter