A Bit of Retail Therapy .....

My final card for today is for two different challenges:

Anyone for Anya - the challenge was to use two different images on the card.

Quixotic Challenges - the challenge for this one was to use embossing.

I've used the Swiss Dots Cuttlebug folder on my background and although you can't see it on the scans, the images are embossed as well using Versafine and clear powder.

I Love Promarkers - Challenge 16

And here's my entry for the current sketch challenge on the I Love Promarkers Challenge Blog - I've used a Sugar Nellie image, background paper from Craft Creations and a greeting from Craftwork Cards. The flowers have been coloured again to match the colouring the image.

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 114

The current challenge on Cute Card Thursday is to make a card without using any pre-printed designer papers. Not as easy as I thought as I do love my papers!! For this card I've used an image from Little Claire Designs together with some purple card and gold paper. I've added some flowers coloured to match the image.

Passion for Promarkers - Week 53

Passion for Promarkers is celebrating its first anniversary with an "anything goes" challenge and there is an amazing list of prizes on offer. My card is made with one of my new Sugar Nellie stamps and some background paper from Kanban. I've added some black ribbon, some flowers coloured with Promarkers and a greeting from Craftwork Cards.

Nutshells Challenge 16

This is my entry for the current challenge on the Nutshells Challenge Blog - the challenge was to use dots or stripes or both on your card. I've used papers from My Mind's Eye and my image is from The Greetings Farm. I've finished the card with peel off greeting and some black dots in different sizes.

I Love Promarkers Challenge Challenge 15

And this one is is my entry for the I Love Promarkers Challenge 15 which is to make a card including your own flowers. The image is a Sarah Kay one which I've matted onto paper from My Mind's Eye. The flowers have been coloured with Promarkers, layered up and completed with dots of brown card. The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I Love Anya Ink Challenge

This is my card for the challenge on the I Love Anya Ink blog which is to make an easel card. My image is from The Greetings Farm and the background paper and white flowers are from Craftwork Cards - I've added some brown cardstock and a greeting from Hero Arts.

Paris ATCs

I've finally managed to get back to my crafting today and have made a set of ATCs for a Paris themed swap. The backgrounds were done with Distress Inks (Old Paper and Teabag) and then I've stamped with my Hero Arts 'Old French Handwriting' stamp. The images are printed but I've stamped at the corners with some more Hero Arts stamps (Par Avion and a stamp with the Eiffel Tower) and then added some flowers and black gems.

Blog Candy from Charmed Cards & Crafts

I'm recuperating from an operation at the moment so I'm spending a bit more time than usual browsing online - not quite up to card making yet but hopefully it won't be too long.

In the meantime, I've spotted this great blog candy at Charmed Cards & Crafts on their Crafty Goings On blog. It looks like a great prize so fingers crossed!!

Anyone for Anya Challenge - Lotsa Layers

This week's challenge at Anyone for Anya is to make a card using 'lotsa layers' so here's my entry. I've added an extra layer to the background and also an extra oval round the scalloped pink oval and raised the whole main image with foam pads. I've also raised the circular greeting with a pad and then added a double layered flower, coloured with Promarkers to match the image.

I Love Promarkers Challenge 12

Here's my card for the latest sketch challenge on I Love Promarkers using a Greetings Farm image which I really love and some Kanban pink and black card for the main background. The circular greeting is from Craftwork Cards and I've added some papers flowers also coloured with Promarkers.

Moving Along With the Times Challenge #44

This is my card for Challenge 44 on the Moving Along With the Times challenge blog - it's a sketch challenge. I've used a Greetings Farm Anya stamp as my main image with some Die Cuts with a View paper as the panel and then some coloured card for the other layers.

It's All Black and White ....

These are two of the five cards I made at a Little Claire workshop last weekend. The workshop was called 'It's All Black and White' and we used a variety of stamps and punches as well as some patterned papers. The owls are coloured with grey Promarkers.

Sir Stampalot April Challenge

Finally for today, here is my card for the first Sir Stampalot Challenge - the theme is fantasy. The stamp I've used is a Sweet Pea image which I discovered from Dot's blog a few weeks back. I've cut the image out and mounted it onto white pearl paper. I decided it didn't need much added to it so I've just used some blue and lilac backing paper which has butterflies and script on it and a few silver peel off dots.

Cute Card Thursday Sketch Challenge 109

And here is my card for this week's Cute Card Thursday challenge. The card is made following a sketch and I've used another Greeting Farm image, some patterned paper and some Cuttlebugged card. The circular greeting is from Craftwork Cards.

Nutshells Challenge #14

This is my spring themed card for this week's Nutshells Challenge using one of my favourite images from The Greetings Farm. I've also added some patterned paper that came free with a magazine, blue card which I've punched with my Martha Stewart flower punch and some white flowers with gems in the middle.

I was lucky enough to win last week's Nutshells Challenge - the prize is another cute Greetings Farm stamp to add to my collection!

CC Designs ATCs

These are three ATCs I've made for a swap this month using CC Designs stamped images - I love the big eyes on all their designs! I just added a thin strip of striped paper and a paper flower to each one as I don't think they need much more than the image.

Anyone for Anya Challenge - Sweet as Sugar

This card is for the Anyone for Anya Challenge - the theme this week is 'sweet as sugar'. I've made a girlie birthday card using Doodlebug paper, pink card, paper flowers coloured with Promarkers and a little circular greeting.

Zig Zag Acetate Card

I've made this card today for a swap on one of the Yahoo groups I belong too - it's the first time I've tried making one of these so I don't know whether it's right or not! There is acetate over the top of the zig zag card - it doesn't show up that clearly on the photo but hopefully you will get the idea. The pink and black card is from Kanban, the sentiment from Hero Arts and the main image from The Greetings Farm.

Moving Along With the Times Challenge #41

And the last one for today - an easel card for Challenge 41 on Moving Along with the Times - the tree and owls are from the latest club set from Little Claire and the background card etc came with the kit sent out with the stamp set. I've altered it a bit to make it into an easel card and added some flowers too.

Quixotic Challenge and I Love Promarkers

This image is from Little Claire and I've used Magnolia daffodil paper in the background with some green card, green and white spotted ribbon and some paper flowers.

This one is for two challenges - Quixotic Challenge #20, the Joys of Spring and I Love Promarkers #9 Animals.

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 107 - Mono Mania

And this one is for the Cute Card Thursday Challenge Blog - mono mania. The image is from Cuddly Buddly and I've layered it up with some pink card and paper and added some paper flowers coloured with Promarkers and some ribbon.

Nutshells Challenge #13

This is a card I've made today for the Nutshells Challenge Blog - a shaped card made using one of the images sold by Nutcrafters. I spotted the shop online a few weeks ago and ordered a couple of images - this one is called "Hazel with Handbag". I've made an easel card with a die cut circle for the main feature and then added some Kanban card and white flowers with little gems in the middle.

Anyone for Anya - Anything You Want Challenge

This week's challenge on Anyone for Anya? is an open theme. I've used one of my favourite Anya images, combined with Doodlebug background paper and pale pink card to make an easel card. It's finished with some pink ribbon and layered paper flowers, coloured with Promarkers to match the image.

Cute Card Thursday - So Egg-citing

Here's my card for the So Egg-citing challenge on Cute Card Thursday this week. The image is from Elzybells and the pink floral paper from a Forever Friends decoupage pack. I've added some white ribbon and a stamped greeting in the bottom right hand corner.

A Little Bird Told Me .....

.... that this post is number 100 on my blog! I just noticed it when I was altering the blog background - hard to believe that I've made that many posts here.

This is a bird ATC made for one of the Yahoo groups I belong to - it had to include a peel off so I've used some copper lines either side of the image. The bird is stamped - a Snag 'Em image that I thought was just too cute to resist. The background paper is by K&Company and I've added a matching flower.

Spring Flowers Swap Card

This is one of the cards I made over the weekend for a "spring flowers" swap on one of the Yahoo groups I belong to. It had to include some Cuttlebugging (the dots folder on the pink card at the top) and of course some spring flowers. The main design is decoupaged and the flower paper came with the pack of decoupage design sheets.

Elzybells ATCs

These three ATCs are made using stamps from the Floral Rectangle set - one of the newer stamp design sheets from Elzybells. They are stamped in black, embossed and then coloured with Promarkers. I stamped the little greetings from the same set and then used a circle punch to cut them out. Finally, I added some black and white ribbon and layered onto pink and then black.

Stitched Easter Card

This is a stitched card I made recently for an Easter themed swap - the greeting is made by Penny Black and I added some daffodil paper and green card to finish it off.

Happy Stampers North West May Festival

I belong to Happy Stampers North West the club that organises the twice yearly stamping festivals at Port Sunlight on the Wirral. The next show is on Saturday 8 May and details of tickets (admission is by ticket only) will appear on the website soon. The club has display boards of members' work in the foyer of Hulme Hall and these are my contributions for this festival. Our theme was "spring wedding" and we had two use two colour palettes. The first one was pink, chocolate brown and gold on ivory card - I've used a stamp from Little Claire Designs and added some paper flowers and gold Nailhead stickers. The second palette was chocolate brown, aqua and gold and for this one I've used some stamps which came free with a magazine.

Happy Mothers Day

This is the card I made for my Mum for Mothers Day. It's based on the current club project from Little Claire Designs - I added some ribbon to the materials we received. The stamp is a camellia and appears on the home page of the site at the moment. I've stamped the whole image and then cut it into four pieces. Then I stamped one flower and overlayed it onto the panel using foam pads.

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 103 - Celebrations!

The challenge this week at Cute Card Thursday is to make a celebration card.

This card is made with a Greetings Farm image - the first time I've used this stamp and I love it! I've added some ribbon, some paper flowers coloured with Promarkers, some Nailhead gems and a stamped greeting to finish the card off.

Anyone for Anya? Challenge - Mum's the Word

And this card is for the Anyone for Anya? Challenge this week which is "Mum's the Word".

The image is (of course!) by the Greetings Farm and the papers are by Doodlebug. I've used my Martha Stewart punch down one of the short sides of the card and added a white peel off greeting onto a punched circle of card and a flower coloured with Promarkers to match the colour of the dress.

Quixotic Challenges #16 - Leave it Out

This card is for the current challenge on the Quixotic Challenges Blog which is called "Leave it Out". The card has to feature leaves in some form.

The image I've used is from Little Claire Designs and the backing paper is from Doodlebug. I've coloured a paper flower to match the hedgehogs' boots and added a piece of pink ribbon.

Another Little Claire Class - Card Two

And this one is an easel card made using a stamp called Dale's Bear - the border punch is made by EK Success and the cupcake is punched from a Martha Stewart punch.

Another Little Claire Class - First Card

I've been to another class run by Little Claire Designs today and these are two of the cards we made.

The first is a tent card made with one of their cute cat stamps. It's backed on a lilac scalloped shape and then blue card and finishes with beautiful blue and white swirled ribbon.

Anyone for Anya? Sketch #7

This week's challenge on Anyone for Anya? is a sketch and here is my card. The image is of course from The Greetings Farm and the papers are by Doodlebug. I've added a couple of flowers, some pink nail heads and a back sticker greeting to finish the card.

Bird ATCs

These ATCs are for a themed swap in one of the Yahoo groups I belong to. The stamp is one of the cover mounts from Craft Stamper and I've used pieces of paper left over from larger sheets, edged with brown ink and stamped the words on strips of card.

The Sugar Bowl - Challenge 30

This is the first challenge that I've entered at The Sugar Bowl so I hope the card is going to be OK. Challenge 30 was a sketch and the 'added extra' was to use a shabby chic style.

The image is from Sugar Nellie (of course!) and the backing papers from K&Co and Basic Grey. I coloured the image a bit darker than usual - I used vanilla Promarker under my usual pink shades to tone it down. The sentiment is from a Papermania set and I've added a Sizzix flower and some paper flowers coloured with Promarkers.

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 101 - Ribbon-Tastic

Challenge 101 on Cute Card Thursday this week is called Ribbon-Tastic and the challenge is to make a card using a little or a lot of ribbon. The ribbon is my card is the orange and white gingham on the tag - both behind the main image and at the bottom of the tag as well.

The main image is one of the newest stamps from Little Claire Designs called 'Duckmum' - there are actually three characters on the stamp but by masking off the stamp with low tack tape, I just stamped one of them. I've also used my new Martha Stewart punch down one side and used the little cut out flowers as accents.

Anyone for Anya Challenge - Something Completely Different

This card is for the "Something Completely Different" challenge on the Anyone for Anya Challenge blog.

I actually made my first card shaped like this at a class yesterday so it's still new to me - the image is of course from Greetings Farm and the sentiment is a Hero Arts one.

I Love Promarkers Challenge Blog - Challenge #2

I found the I Love Promarkers Challenge blog when I was browsing through other people's blogs earlier in the week and then spotted the sketch challenge they were running.

This is my card made with a Greetings Farm image and a sentiment from Hero Arts. The backing paper is from Basic Grey and I've added some pink and dark cream card. The base flower is coloured with a Promarker and I've added an extra peel off too.

Papercraft Essentials Issue 52

These two cards are featured as the 'Online Favourite' in the latest issue of Papercraft Essentials - a lovely suprise!

They appear on page 12 under my gallery name of Stamping Helen. The flower image is from Little Claire and the girl on the stool is another stamped image.

Little Claire Workshop

I've been to a workshop this afternoon with the Little Claire stamp company all about making shaped cards. We made five cards in all but I've shown two of my favourites here - a stepped card and an easel card.

They have some gorgeous stamp designs as well as other lovely products - you can see them all at www.littleclaire.co.uk

Cute Card Thursday - Metal Mania

And this card is for the Cute Card Thursday Challenge this week which is called "Metal Mania". I've used metal flower brads over the paper flowers in each corner of the card and put a nail head gem in the centre of each to finish them off. The main image is from Elzybells.

Quixotic Challenges - Something for Mum

This card is for the latest Quixotic Challenge "Something for Mum". The main image and sentiment are from the "Me Time" Greetings Farm set. The backing paper is actually a Christmas one by Craft Creations but I thought it went well with the image and words! I've finished it with some black ribbon and paper flowers coloured with Promarkers to match the image.

Anyone for Anya - Flower Power Challenge

This is my card for the Anyone for Anya Flower Power challenge. I needed to make a green themed card for another swap so decided to combine the two.

The image is coloured with Promarkers and I coloured the paper flowers to match adding a Sizzix die cute flower behind the middle one. I finished the flowers with nail head gems and added some more the the top and bottom on the left hand side.

Stitched Valentine Swap

This is a stitched card made for a Valentine swap using a pattern from the Stitching Cards website. It's stitched in DMC threads and then matted onto gold paper and a white card.