Sunshine and Smiles

I couldn't resist this very cute free digi image from the Pink Gem Designs blog - her name is Phoebe and I thought she was perfect to use for the latest Gem of a Challenge.

Card Recipe

Image - Phoebe from Pink Gem Designs

Sentiment - Pink Gem Designs

Paper - Craft Creations

Pink and brown card

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge - 'anything but square'

Fun at Fairy Knoll - 'happy' 

Just to Say .....

Here's another card made with one of the very cute Bella images from DigiStamp Boutique - I love these little characters!

Card Recipe

Image - Bella and Flowers by DigiStamp Boutique

Paper - Pink Petticoat

Ribbon - Meiflowers

Pink card

Peel off greeting

I'd like to enter this in the following challenges:

Totally PaperCrafts - 'cuddly and cute'

Totally Gorjuss - 'spring is sprung'

Allsorts Challenge Blog - 'for a special lady' (it's a get well card for a very good friend)

Digistamp Boutique - March customer creations 

Oh Baubles!

This is probably my favourite stamp of the Christmas releases from Little Claire Designs last year - I love the idea behind the stamp plus it's a nice easy one to colour!

Card Recipe

Image - 'Deck the Horns' stamp from Little Claire Designs

Paper - Craft Creations

Peel off greeting - Little Claire Designs

Red and green card

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Winter Wonderland - 'oh baubles!'

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - 'a square card'
Secret Crafter - 'Christmas in Spring'

Less is More Sketch Challenge

I'm having some problems getting my photo to show up in my post but it must be there somewhere because it appears when I click on the little dot which shows where it should be!  So I've decided to post and see whether it reappears tomorrow - fingers crossed!  This is my card for the Less is More sketch challenge - I've used paper from Dovecraft and a circular sentiment stamp from Pink Gem Designs stamped with purple metallic ink.  I used the same ink to edge the circle and the purple card which is underneath my patterned paper.

Birthday Amy

I discovered another digi-stamping site this week while I was looking at the gorgeous cards made by Katina and Vicky - the company is called Crafty Sentiments and they've just launched a new range of digis featuring Amy.  The one I've used on my card is available free on the Crafty Sentiments blog.

Card Recipe

Image - Amy by Crafty Sentiments

Papers - Pink Petticoat

Pink gem stones

Sentiment - Craftwork Cards

Pink Cardstock

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Sentiment Designs - a card using the freebie image

Charisma Cardz - birthday card for a teen

Crafts and Me Challenges - 'anything goes'

Papertake Weekly - 'girlie'

Peartree Designs - 'happy birthday'

ABC Christmas Challenge - F is for Freebie!

The theme on the current ABC Christmas Challenge is 'F is for Freebie' which in this case is the digi image I've used to make my card.  There's also a sketch to follow.  I really like this cute little stamp - he's very easy to colour.

Card Recipe

Image - Stamp Fairy (available here)

Papers - DCWV

Red card

Sentiment - Craftwork Cards

Cupcake Tree

Last card for today!  This one was made using the 'Cupcake Tree' set from Little Claire Designs - the little row of cupcakes is from the same set.  I've just used pink and brown card to put the card together - the base has a scalloped oval on it although you can only see part of it and I used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder on this and the pink panel on the top of the card.

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Wild Orchid Challenge - 'dieing to punch it out'

Charisma Cardz - 'to die for'

Sarah Hurley Challenges - 'embossing'

Alphabet Challenge - 'T is for trees'

Stamp Something - 'stamp something sweet'

Craft Us Crazy - 'cupcakes'

Let's Ink It Up - 'die cuts/punches'

Paper Sundaes - 'embossing' 



Three Waistcoats

I'm really enjoying the challenges on the Less is More blog and when I saw that this week's theme is 'masculine', I immediately thought of this stamp.  It's made by a firm called Inkwell Stamps and it's one that I've had for years and used on many occasions.  I've coloured it with Promarkers and used some brown paper, black dots and a peel off greeting to finish it off.

I'd like to enter the card in the following challenges:

Less is More - 'masculine'

Papertake Weekly - 'triple tastic'

One Stitch at a Time - 'something for the boy's

Fun at Fairy Knoll - Birthday Challenge

I made this card today for a birthday this coming week - I wanted something 'non-cute' so I went for this stamp which I think is a Visible Image one.  I've had it for a long time but I think it was one of theirs!  The sentiment stamp is from Little Claire Designs and I've just added some pink and black card to frame it.

I'd like to enter this card in the 'birthday or thank-you' challenge currently running at Fun at Fairy Knoll.

Little Claire Designs Challenge 3 - Pink and Green

Our third challenge at the Little Claire Design blog has lanched today - you can see all the details, cards from the DT and the winners from the last challenge here.  Take a look at the photo above to see the prize for this challenge - the theme is 'pink and green'.

I Love Promarkers - Challenge 57

The theme on I Love Promarkers this week is 'cards for men' - this is the card I made for my Dad for his birthday which was today.  I used a digi image from Pollycraft Designs called 'Cuthbert and Car' and papers from the Dovecraft 'Back to Basics 2' pack.

Card Recipe

Digi stamp - Pollycraft Designs

Paper - Dovecraft

Circular greeting - Craftwork Cards

Black paper and peel off greeting

Christmas Mimi Tag Card

Another Christmas card - still keeping to my resolution to make them throughout the year!  This one is a tag card - I die cut the base using a tag die in my Cuttlebug and then die cut the paper to match.  The stamp is one of my favourites from last Christmas - part of the Christmas Mimi set from Penny Black.

Card Recipe

Stamp - Christmas Mimi by Penny Black

Paper - DCWV

Red ribbon and gold paper (scalloped circle)

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Winter Wonderland - 'tag it with a shape' (my scalloped base card)

Anything Goes - 'die cuts' (my base card and the image and scalloped circle)

Crafty Hazlenut's Christmas Challenge - 'go for gold' (thank you for your lovely comment on my blog and for pointing me in the direction of your challenges!)

Friendship

I finally got round to using some of my new Crafty Individuals stamps today - this image is from a sheet of different images of children with some beautiful sentiments/sayings and I thought it was perfect for a vintage card I wanted to make for a swap.  The paper is from a new set I bought at G-Mex in January from Do-Crafts - 'V&A - Hanoverian' and I added some lace and little self adhesive pearls.

Card Recipe

Stamps - Image and Sentiment - Crafty Individuals

Paper - V&A Hanoverian Collection by Do-Crafts

Flowers - Prima

Lace and self adhesive pearls

I'd like to enter this card in two challenges:

Sketch and Stash - I've followed their sketch as the card layout

A Spoonful of Sugar - 'vintage'

Pearls and Lace

This is one of latest purchases from Lili of the Valley - the design is called 'Mirror Mirror' and I just thought it looked so cute and girlie!  I've used pink and green cardstock to match the background paper which is from a Pink Petticoat pad.

Card Recipe

Stamp - 'Mirror Mirror' from Lili of the Valley

Sentiment - Personal Impressions

Paper - Pink Petticoat

Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder

Lace, pearl gems, pink card and green card

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Lili of the Valley - 'say it with flowers'

Let's Ink it Up - 'embossing'

Totally Gorjuss - 'pearls and lace'

Bunny Zoe - 'lots of pearls'

Butterflies

This is my card for the current challenge on the Less is More challenge blog which is 'one layer - off the edge', certainly not as easy as you might think!  It's probably the first time I've ever stamped direct on to a card blank - I always put at least one two layers on my cards, one of which would be a piece of card with my stamped image on it!  My card was made using one of the images from 'The Flourishes Pack' by Inkadinkado - it's the same image stamped three times.  I didn't add a sentiment because I was concered it wouldn't be 'balanced' - I don't do 'random'!

I'd also like to enter the card in two other challenges:

Paper Sundaes - 'keep it simple'

One Stop Craft Challenge - 'clean and simple'

Easter Fifi

Here's my first Easter card for this year made with a digi-stamp called 'Easter Fifi' from Digistamp Boutique - another lovely image to colour in!  I've used some green striped paper from the Forever Friends spring pad and some white paper flowers coloured to match the image.  The sentiment is a stamp from Penny Black.

Card Recipe

Image - 'Easter Fifi' from Digistamp Boutique

Sentiment - Penny Black

Paper - Forever Friends spring stack

Paper flowers and pale green card

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Ellephantastic Challenges - 'cute with a butterfly'

Sarah Hurley Challenges - 'flowers

Alphabet Challenge Blog - 's is for stripes'

Pink Flowers

This is a card I made yesterday using a peel off sticker from Little Claire Designs - it's part of their 'assorted flowers' peel off sheet which is available here.  I've also used some of the Pink Petticoat paper from the pad that came free recently with one of the magazines I bought - it's a very pale pink with a white dot which wasn't very easy to photograph!

Card Recipe

Peel off floral image - Little Claire Designs

Circular greeting - Craftwork Cards

Paper - Pink Petticoat

Pale green card

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Cupcake Craft Challenges - 'pink polka dots'

Charisma Cardz Challenges - 'easel cards'

Totally Papercrafts - 'shaped cards'

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - 'flowers for mum'

Blue and White Baby

Here's another new baby card - this time made with one of my older (wood mounted) stamps.  I've also used my new Die-namics 'jumbo scallop' die which was a recent purchase from a newly discovered online craft shop called 'My Mum's Craft Shop'. 

Card Recipe

Stamp - 'Baby's Pram' by Funstamps

Sentiment - Personal Impressions

Paper - Craft Creations

Pale blue card and blue ribbon

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

I Love Promarkers - 'babies'

Crafty Creations - 'baby blue'

Oldie But Goodie - 'for a baby'

Spend the Day With Little Claire ......

Spend a whole day of making the most amazing cards with the Little Claire team! Everything is provided to give you the best time - you will be guided step-by-step to make your own gorgeous Little Claire cards, and you will be the first to use AND KEEP two NEW Little Claire stamp sets, never seen until the day. All materials (more stamps, lovely ribbons, stickers, sentiments, papers etc) are included and Gill & Steve will be there to look after you and will provide food & drink throughout the day together with a buffet lunch.

Classes will run from 9am - 12pm & 1.30pm - 4.30pm. The Little Claire day will be held at the Holiday Inn, Chester on Saturday 18th June and places are limited to just 40. The day costs £100 which is fully inclusive of all materials, two NEW Little Claire stamp sets, food & drink and lots & lots of ideas and inspiration peppered with a smattering of fun! A £50 deposit is payable at time of booking and £50 to be paid by 31 May. Club members will receive 10% discount from cost. If you would like to stay over the night before a room can be booked for you at the hotel. To book onto this amazing day, please call us: 0844 800 4376 or email carol@littleclaire.co.uk and this will secure your place.

Moving Along With the Times - Challenge 89

The theme this week on Moving Along With the Times to make a card suitable for a male.  My card is made using one of the stamps from the Little Claire Designs "Room With a View - Garage" set which is available here.  It's a very simple card and quick to make.

Card Recipe

Stamps - image and sentiment - Little Claire Designs

Paper - Dovecraft

Merry Wishes

Here's my Christmas card for this week made with a new stamp from 'My Favourite Things' - it's from the 'Pure Innocence' range and is called 'Presents for You'. 

Card Recipe

Stamp - image and sentiment - 'My Favourite Things'

Paper - Forever Friends

Dotty Cuttlebug embossing folder

Large snowflake punch

Craftwork Cards Card candy

Purple card and ribbon

I'd like to enter the card in two challenges:

ABC Christmas Challenge - 'embossing plus 3 embellishments'

Winter Wonderland - 'snowflakes'

Meet Oscar!

This little guy is Oscar from the same Digi Stamp Boutique kit as the image on the card in the post below this one.  I think the images are really cute and they're so easy to colour in too.

Card Recipe

Image - 'Oscar and Flower' by Digi Stamp Boutique

Sentiment - Personal Impressions

Pale green card

Blue ribbon

Paper - Forever Friends Springtime Pad

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Corrosive Challenges - 'going green'

Easy Craft Projects - 'green'

Cute Card Thursday - 'signs of spring'

Creative Craft Challenges - 'thank you'

Another Digi Card

I've seen so much about the Digi Stamp Boutique images on other people's blogs that I have finally decided to give their images a try.  I've bought a set of images featuring two little bears called Oscar and Bella - you can see them all here.  This is my first card made with one of the images - this one is called 'Bella and Pram'. 

Card Recipe

Image - 'Bella and Pram' by Digi Stamp Boutique

Sentiment - Personal Impressions

Paper pink card

Paper - Forever Friends Springtime Pad

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Just Tracy's Craft Challenge - 'new beginnings'

Dream Valley Challenge - 'new beginnings'

Paper Sundaes - 'stripes'

Less is More - 'pastel colours'

There is also a really good tip on the Less is More blog for creating 'faux nesties' which has meant that I can finally get that embossed line when I use my nesties to cut shapes!  I could never get the right 'sandwich' using my Cuttlebug but using the technique with an embossing tool I have got perfect results.

Little Claire Designs Challenge 2 - Flowers

The second challenge at Little Claire has just been launched today and we're now running on a fortnightly basis.  Our theme for this challenge is 'flowers' and you can see all the details plus the DT cards and the winners for the first challenge here. 

I've made my card using one of the new digi designs from Little Claire called 'daisy pitcher' which is available here - I finally got myself a new printer last weekend so I can now do some more experimenting with digi designs.

Card Recipe

Digi stamp - 'daisy pitcher' by Little Claire Designs

Paper - Dovecraft 'Sugar and Spice' collection available here

Sentiment - Craftwork Cards

Martha Stewart punch - using the little punched hearts as accents

Bazzill Bling Card

I'd like to enter this card in the current challenge at Stamp Something where the theme is 'digi week'.

More Messing About on the River

Here's my third card made from the new Little Claire Designs 'Messing About on the River' set using both stamped images.  The card is made up of four panels each measuring four inches square and the base was made from a sheet of twelve by twelve cardstock.  The sentiment I've used comes from the 'Room with a View' Dog set also fromLittle Claire Designs.  It wasn't easy to photograph the card so here are the first two panels:

and here are the last two panels:

Card Recipe

Stamps - image and sentiment - Little Claire Designs

Paper - Craft Creations

Flower punch - Sizzix daisy

Pink card and beige pearlescent paper

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Craft Us Crazy - 'be one with nature'

Charisma Cardz Challenge - 'four legged friends' (there's a dog in the boat!)

Sarah Hurley Challenges - 'four legged friends'

New from Little Claire Designs - Messing About on the River

The new March club stamp set is now available here from Little Claire Designs - it's called 'Messing About on the River' and there are two main images plus the 'just for you' sentiment.  I think both images are really cute - I love character stamps like these!  This is my first card made with the set - I've got one more to show today and then a third, using both images, which I'll post tomorrow.

Card Recipe

Stamp - image and sentiment - Little Claire Designs

Paper - Craft Creations

Lilac card

Flower punch in two sizes

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Dream Valley Challenges - "anything goes"

Cupcake Craft Challenge - "anything but square"

Messing About on the River - Second Card

And here's my second card made with the 'Messing About on the River' set - this is the second image on the sheet used with the sentiment. 

Card Recipe

Stamp - image and sentiment - Little Claire Designs

Paper - Dovecraft

Ribbon - Meiflower

Blue gems and blue card

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

Pear Tree Designs - "ribbon"

Papertake Weekly - "anything goes with something old" - mine is the ribbon which I'd had for ages and have only just started to use!