What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday - 66

I've remembered to take and upload a photo this week - by the time I remembered the past couple of weeks it was already Thursday!

This photo shows the main part of my desk with my cutting mat, draining board holder (with all my gems, pearls etc) and my Promarkers at the right hand side of the picture. You can also see (again far right) the set of tag cutting dies I bought from Little Claire Designs at the weekend and my collectio of punches on the other side. On my desk I've got a Penny Black stamp, a coloured image from the stamp and some patterned and plain card - I'm part way through making another card using this image. I've already made one card with it and liked it so much, I'm making another one which is virtually the same! The blue spotted card was another bargain from G-Mex at the weekend - ten A4 sheets in a pack for £1. They are supposed to be seconds but I can't see anything wrong with them!

By the Cute and Girly - Indian Summer

I've had this stamp from Penny Black for a few weeks now and finally got round to using it today - isn't she a little cutie?!

The background is some more of the cut price seconds card I bought on Saturday and I've added some ribbon and some blue card to finish it off.

I'm entering this in the current challenge on By the Cute and Girly which is 'Indian Summer'.

Bear and Bubbles!

I've made this card today to fit several different challenges. The image is from Elzybells and he's been coloured with Promarkers and then die cut and mounted onto a scalloped circle shape. The background is from a pack of seconds card I bought on Saturday at the G-Mex show and I've finished the card with a ribbon and some punched flowers. I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Pear Tree Designs - animals

Just Cute Bears - let's go dotty

Allsorts Challenge Blog - new beginnings (I think he looks a bit like a baby bear!)

Passion for Promarkers - where they want to see a bear on your card

Pollycraft Monday Challenge 60

This week's challenge on the Pollycraft challenge blog is to make a Christmas card without using red or green.

My card is made with the Christmas peel offs from Little Claire Designs and I've used a black sheet and white sheet in the "Christmas Pals" design. I used the black outline and then inlaid the white sections inside the outline to make the picture, leaving some of the scarf blank so my polar bear has got a stripey scarf.

I used the oval and scallop oval "Amazing Frames" die cuts also from Little Claire Designs to make my base card and some pale blue and silver card and paper to layer it up. The greeting and snow flakes are from the same peel off sheet.

All Set Up for Christmas - Part 2

Here's my second card from this month's club set of stamps at Little Claire Designs - a very quick and easy one made with the cute little penguin stamp.

He's been stamped and coloured with Promarkers and then I die cut a circle round him, added a circle of red card in the next size up and put that on to some Craft Creations green gingham paper. I've finished it with red dots of card.

The base card is from Craftwork Cards.

All Set Up for Christmas

The latest club stamps from Little Claire Designs are now on their website here - a lovely set of different Christmas designs including some great word stamps.

This is one of the cards I made using the set and is the club card for members this month. I've used red and green Swiss dot Bazzill card, a large and small scallop and circle die and then a small strip of card and punched dot to make the little faux fastening.

Another Blog Award

A big thank you to Heike for giving me another blog award - very much appreciated and a lovely surprise after a stressful day at work!

I have to say why I started my blog and then pass the award on to ten other people.

I started my blog as a way of sharing my cards and also entering all the great blog challenges that are out there. It's also a great way to get inspiration and ideas as there are many wonderful card makers and crafters out there with blogs.

Now to pass the award on to ten other people:

Mary's Card World

Sharon - The Little Stamper

Missy B

Susie's Cardmaking Adventures

Yone - Artes da Yone

Cockney Blonde

Cazro's Crafty Corner

Ali's Art Factory

Purple Murtle

Wishcraft

One Stitch at a Time - Challenge 28

The theme at One Stitch at a Time this week is "something girlie" so I'm uploading a card featuring shopping!

The stamp is from Little Claire Designs and is called "Lydia Goes Shopping" as is my backing paper which is from Imaginisce and is called "Tweet Talk" - it's double sided and you can see one side on the easel panel and one on the base panel.

The card itself is made with the Amazing Frames - oval and oval scallop - die cuts which again are from Little Claire Designs.

Blog Award from Mary

A big thank you to Mary for a lovely blog award - the first one that I've received!

So here is what I have to do:

1. Thank the person who sent the award to me - thanks again, Mary.

2. Put the award on my blog - done.

3. List three things that I love - crafting, blogging and relaxing.

4. Post a picture I love - I took this photo in my garden and was really pleased that the butterfly stayed put long enough for me to photgraph it!

5. Tag 5 other people for the award - Dot, Yone, Jax, Barbara and Kathleen.

Anyone for Anya - Happy Birthday!

At Anyone for Anya? this week they are celebrating the first birthday of the challenge blog so this week's challenge is, of course, to create a birthday card.

I've used Maria from the Greetings Farm Role Call set for my card. I die cut an aperture in the front of my card, covered it with acetate and then put the image in the middle of the acetate circle. My backing papers are from Dovecraft and the circular greeting is from Craftwork Cards.

Just Cute Bears - Challenge 31

This week's challenge on Just Cute Bears is to use pink and brown. My entry is this set of ATCs that I made last night and which, by coincidence, fit the theme. I know the middle one doesn't quite fit it but I made them as a set of three so I've included that one too. The images and the sentiment are all from Elzybells and the paper on the middle ATC is from My Minds Eye.

Pear Tree Designs - Challenge 13

This week's challenge on Pear Tree Designs is to make a card with the words 'best wishes' on it.

I've used one of the very cute Pink Gem Chloe stamps on my card coloured with Promarkers as always. My flowers were also coloured with Promarkers to match the image and I've sewed buttons in the middle and then sewed them on to the backing paper. The paper is from My Minds Eye and the 'best wishes' is a black sticker.

I Love Promarkers - Challenge 28

This week's challenge on I Love Promarkers is "the seaside". I've made an easel card using the 'Beach Huts' set of stamps from Little Claire Designs which you can find here. As always I've coloured them with Promarkers and then added some peel off words - also from Little Claire Designs and some punched dots.

What's on Your Workdesk? Wednesday 63

This is the other side of my desk - the right hand side was in the photo I posted last Wednesday. In this photo you can see my draining board cutlery holder again with all my pearls, gems etc in it and also my handle hole punch and Dymo machine. There's also a stack of double sided tape and a sheet which has tiny black dot peel offs on it. Under the desk lamp are my two boxes of little word stamps which I use time and again and also my punches. To the side of the desk is my box of 6 by 6 papers. The ATCs on the desk are for a round robin swap - I'm doing the 'finishing touches' stage before they go back to their owner.

Now I'm off to have a look at everyone else's workdesk!!

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 125 "Tree-mendous"

This card is for this weeks challenge on Cute Card Thursday which is "tree-mendous".

I've used the 'Cupcake Tree' stamp from Little Claire Designs coloured with Promarkers and then die cut into an oval with a pale pink scallop underneath. The backing paper is from My Mind's Eye and I've added black dots to each corner to finish it.

Introducing Odette ......

The image on this card is from The Greeting Farm's 'Roll Call' sheet and she's called Odette. I've paper pieced her dress using the pink handmade paper that I used in the background - it's made by Paper Mania. The black strip down the side of the card was made using one of my Martha Stewart punches and I added pink nailhead gems down the middle of the strip.

I'm entering this in three challenges:

One Stitch at a Time - 'pack a punch'

Allsorts Challenge Blog - paper piecing

Nutty Nutshells Challenge - anything goes

Just Cute Bears - Challenge 29

This week's challenge on Just Cute Bears is "Bear and Me". My card is made with one of the stamps from Little Claire Designs available here - you get the main image and also the little shoes that I've used as the 'stopper' in the pack.

I've also used some stripey backing paper and some white flowers together with a peel off also from Little Claire Designs.

What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday - 62

I've noticed several people uploading photos of their craft room desk for What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday so I thought I'd give it a go this week!

This photo is the right hand side of my craft room desk. You can see my Promarkers and my desk tidy (actually it's a plastic holder designed for draining cutlery!) which holds my gems, glue, scissors etc. My Cuttlebug is there too and next to it my box of Nestabilities and other die cuts plus a couple of packs of Gorjuss Girls pyramage I bought at the weekend. I also have some cardboard CD holders from Smiths which I use to store all my unmounted stamps and a pack of Elzybells stamps (bought in their sale) waiting to be put away. I'm busy working on some vintage style ATCs so I have all my 'vintage' stuff out on the desk as well as a sheet of images printed out ready to go.

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 124

This week's theme on Cute Card Thursday is 'whateva!' so I decided to upload a screen card that I made recently for a swap.

The base card was cut using a piece of A4 size green cardstock with the Wendy Stenton WS Designs screen card template - I didn't cut out the little 'feet' at the bottom because I wanted to card to be nice and stable and also wanted to put the decorative border on it. The border is actually gold (doesn't show up quite right in the photo) and was punched using a Martha Stewart punch. I added a gold straight line peel off along the top to neaten it up. The two floral images are from Little Claire Designs and the sentiments from Hero Arts. They are coloured (as always!) with Promarkers and then I added some gold nail head gems at the base of each inside panel.

Moving Along With the Times Challenge 58

The theme for Challenge 58 at Moving Along With the Times is Christmas so here's one of the cards I've made with one of the new stamp sets that will be available very soon on the Little Claire Designs website here.

The wording on the stamped design is "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year". I've coloured it with Promarkers and layered the image on to silver pearl paper and then onto lilac Swiss Dot Bazzill card. The greeting on the 'stopper' is a Little Claire Designs peel off and at the front I've added some punched snow flakes and silver peel off line.

Little Claire Designs Lazy Days - More Cards

These are two more cards I made with the Little Claire Designs 'Lazy Days' stamp set which is available here.

For this first one, I stamped the hammock and then added poles at each end before die cutting the image and adding the sentiment which is also part of the set. The background paper is from My Minds Eye.

Lazy Days - Part 2

This is the final card I made from the Lazy Days set - a simple one using the washing line stamp. I stamped it once and then stamped two of the pairs of shorts again to get a longer washing line, coloured them in with Promarkers and added a peel off greeting.

Allsorts Challenge 63 - Dressing Up

And the last one for today which is for challenge 63 on the Allsorts Challenge Blog which is Dressing Up".

This stamp is from Wild Rose Studio, coloured with Promarkers and layered onto black paper. The swirl design is a Sizzlit die and I've added some black pearl gems to the corners of the card.

Christmas in July

This is a Christmas card made with one of the new Christmas peel offs from Little Claire Designs which you can find here on their website.

I've put the peel off onto white card and then coloured it with Promarkers before die cutting it into an oval shape and adding a scalloped oval red border. My background paper is from Doodlebug and the peel off greeting and snowflakes are all the from the same sheet as the main image.

I'm entering this one into two challenges:

I Love Promarkers - challenge 25 "Christmas in July"

One Stop Craft Challenge - challenge 91 "Patterns"

Little Claire Designs - Lazy Days

The August club stamp set at Little Claire Designs is called Lazy Days and is available here now.

This is one of the cards I made with the set and it's featured as the club card for this month. I've decoupaged the man's trousers, arm and beer glass and used Craft Creations blue gingham paper as well as navy blue card for the background. Both greetings are included in the set too.

Lazy Days - Part 2

This card is made from the other stamp in the Lazy Days set and I decided to turn it into a Christmas card!

I've stamped and coloured the row of underpants and then used an oval die cut and scalloped oval round them, adding a peel off greeting and also 'Santa's Laundry' printed on the computer.

This card also features in the August club pack.

Lazy Days - Part 3

And this is the third card I made from the "Lazy Days" stamp set - this one also features in the club pack being sent out to members this month.

I've stamped and coloured the design as before and used paper from Cosmo Cricket called 'Delovely' as my background - it matches well with the pattern on the hammock. Again, I've printed my own words for this card because I thought it would be ideal for a retirement card.

One Stitch at a Time - Challenge 23

I made this card for my parents' wedding anniversary this past weekend -it's a bit different for me because there's no stamping involved!

I've used black and white decoupage which has feint silver lines in it - hard to pick up on the photo but they look much better ' in the real'. I've layered the design up using black and silver pearl paper and added a peel off greeting on the base of the easel as the 'stopper'.

The theme for challenge 23 on One Stitch at a Time is black and white plus one other colour so I'm entering this card.

Christmas in July!

This card is for two challenges:

Anya Ink - Christmas in July

Anyone for Anya - Be Dazzled

The image is of course from The Greetings Farm and I've used Stickles on the hem of her coat and muffler. I've also added little clear gems to the centres of some of the snowflakes on the background paper. I've finished the card with a greeting from Craftwork Cards.

A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge 6

Here's my entry for Challenge 6 on A Gem of a Challenge which was a sketch challenge.

My image is from Pink Gem and my background papers from My Minds Eye. I've used some paper flowers (also from the Pink Gem site) which I've coloured with Promarkers and some Card Candy and a greeting, both from Craftwork Cards, to finish the design.

Cute Card Thursday Challenge 121 - Get a Head Start!

The challenge this week on Cute Card Thursday is to get a head start on making your Christmas cards!

I've made a die cut card for a change using the Bambino cutting die from Little Claire Designs. He's cut from Bazzill cardstock and I've stuck black peel off dots on the back of each die cut to give him black markings.

I've layered the white panel onto green Bazzill card and then onto tartan paper and green Bazzill again and added a Little Claire Designs peel off greeting and some green Nailhead stick on gems.

Dottie the Dalmation

This card was made using "Dottie's Slipper" from Little Claire Designs - I die cut the image using the largest cutting die from their Squirly Frame #2 set and then layered it on to pink and black cardstock. The image was coloured with Promarkers.

The paper I've used is from Craft Creations and I've added some punched flowers, peel off dots and some punched dots to finish off the card.

I'm entering the card into three challenges:

Moving Along With the Times - challenge #55 which is a sketch plus an animal theme

Passion for Promarkers - week 60 - animals

Pollycraft - challenge #52 - bold and bright

Corrosive Challenge #72

This is my entry for the current sketch challenge on The Corrosive Challenge Blog using a floral design from Aspects of Design (The Stampman). I've Cuttlebugged the panel at the side of the card and layered it all with blue and navy card.

The strip along the front of the base was punched with a Martha Stewart punch and I've added a greeting stamped from a set by Personal Impressions.

Lili of the Valley - Challenge 57

This card is for the current sketch challenge on the Lili of the Valley Challenge Blog using one of their own stamped images. The papers are from My Mind's Eye (again!) coloured with Promarkers and I've added a greeting from Craftwork Cards.

Just Cute Bears - Challenge 25

This is my take on the current sketch challenge at the Just Cute Bears Challenge Blog using a Lili of the Valley stamped image. I've coloured the bear and flower with Promarkers and then layered them using papers from My Mind's Eye and some pink cardstock. I've finished the card with some peel off dots and some punched dots.

Pink Pyjamas

The image on this card is from Little Claire Designs and I've layered it with paper from My Mind's Eye and pink cardstock in two different shades. I've added some punched flowers and dots and white peel off words.

I'm entering this in two challenges:

One Stop Craft Challenge - challenge 88 'monochromatic'

Moving Along With the Times - I've followed the sketch for the card.

Pink, Black and White

Two challenge blogs have 'pink, black and white' as their theme at the moment so here's my take on the colour combination. The image is from The Greetings Farm 'Dressed Up Anya' set and she's been coloured with Promarkers. I've die cut the image and layered it with a pink scallop and another oval in black. The strip on the left of the card was punched with a Martha Stewart punch and the detail added with black line and dot peel offs. The flowers are punched and the greeting from Craftwork Cards. The links are:

Crafts and Me Challenges - challenge 8

Anyone for Anya - colour combo

A Little Distressed ......

I'm referring to the card here, not me!!

The image I've used on this card is Maria from The Greeting Farm Role Call set and she's been coloured with Promarkers. The background was made by running some Coredinations Whitewash Card through my Cuttlebug with a floral embossing folder and then sanding it to bring through the pink colour. I've also distressed the edges with Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Ink. The flowers were coloured with Promarkers and the Vintage Photo Ink and I've added some K&Co pearls to the flower centres and down the brown card on the left.

I'm entering this for four challenges:

Quixotic Challenge - challenge 31 'Pretty Pearls'

I Love Promarkers - challenge 22 'Distressing'

One Stop Craft Challenge - challenge 87 'Distressing'

Anyone for Anya - 'Anything Goes'

Just Cute Bears Challenge #24

And this is my entry for the current decoupage challenge on Just Cute Bears - I just had to use one of the designs from Forever Friends for this one!

The pink papers are from the decoupage pack and I've added some beige pearl paper, punched flowers and some little pink gems.

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 120

This is my card for the current Cute Card Thursday challenge which is 'School's Out for Summer' - I've chosen a card with a holiday and seaside theme.

The stamps I've used are all part of the Beach Huts set from Little Claire Designs - I've coloured them with Promarkers and then layered the images onto dark brown card except for the sign which I've cut out. The backing paper is from My Mind's Eye.

Corrosive Challenge Blog - Challenge #71

This is my entry for Challenge 71 on the Corrosive Challenge Blog where the theme is Christmas.

I've used a stamp from Little Claire Designs (one of my favourites because there isn't much colouring to do on it!), some navy card and backing paper from Bella Press. The circular greeting is from Craftwork Cards and I've added some punched dots and scalloped circles to finish the design off. It doesn't show up very well on the photo but I've also used Glossy Accents over the igloo, baubles, snow and star.

Little Claire Design Team

The design team for Little Claire Designs has now been announced here and I'm one of the twenty people chosen!

I've listed the blog links for the other team members who have their own blogs in a separate list at the side of my blog - I'm off to see who else is involved!

In the Summertime .....

This is one of my favourite Anya images and this card is for three challenges.

The patterned paper is from DCWV and the plain card from Dovecraft - I've just added some punched flowers, punched dots and a peel off greeting.

I'm entering it into the following:

Quixotic Challenge - challenge 30 which is a sketch

Nutshells - challenge 19 'summertime fun'

Pollycraft - challenge 50 'pinkalicious'

Sugar Nellie Cheerleader - Two Challenges

This card is for two challenges and is also a swap card on one of the Yahoo groups I belong to so it's a multi-purpose one!

The image is from Sugar Nellie and the backing paper (again!) from the Dovecraft Piece of Cake collection. At this rate I'm going to have to buy another pack!!

I'm entering this in the current challenge on I Love Promarkers which is to include stripes on your card and also for the current pink and brown challenge on One Stop Craft Challenge.

The Office - First Card

This card was made with another new stamp set from Little Claire Designs called 'The Office' - you can find the stamps here and also see my cards on their blog here.

The backing on this just plain card in two shades of brown. The image was coloured with Promarkers and I cut around three sides of the shed door with my craft knife so it 'opens'.

The Office - Second Card

This is the second card made with 'The Office' and for this one I cut a triangle from the front panel of the card by cutting on a diagonal line. I coloured the image with Promarkers, die cut it into an oval and then die cut the next size of oval in black.

The paper is from My Mind's Eye and I've added black peel off lines and black dots to emphasise the shape together with a peel off greeting.

The Craft Barn Shaped Card Competition

And here's the final one for today! This is a card I made this afternoon using July's club stamp from Little Claire Designs and I'm entering it in The Craft Barn shaped cards competition.

The card itself was made using a scalloped oval Nestabilities die and I then stamped the lily image, coloured it with Promarkers and layered it on the top of the card. The sentiment 'stopper' was stamped onto a smaller die cut oval to complete the card.

Cute Card Thursday Challenge 119 - Let's Get Fruity!

Here's my card for the latest Cute Card Thursday challenge 'Let's Get Fruity'. The image I've used is from the Greetings Farm 'Roll Call' plate and this little cutie is called Jade.

The backing paper is from Die Cuts With a View with strawberries to fit in with the theme and I've used my Martha Stewart punch to create the strip across the middle of the card.

The Further Adventures of Dottie - Part 1

Here's the first of two cards made with another Dottie stamp called 'Amongst the Flowers'. Once again the stamp is from Little Claire Designs and you can find it here and also see my cards on their blog here together with some of my other cards.

The base card for this one was made using a scalloped Nestabilities die and I've added some paper flowers and a peel off as well as a Nailhead gem to the tag on Dottie's collar.

The Further Adventures of Dottie - Part 2!

And another one featuring Dottie the Dalmation - once again I've coloured the image on this card with Promarkers and added some Craft Creations gingham paper plus layered flowers coloured with Promarkers.