Time for Something a Little Different 'Clean and Simple'

Hi folks,
Well here's something a little bit different from me. I have to say that I find it really hard to refrain from using lots of scrummy papers and flowers etc so clean and simple is not really part of my vocabulary, but here goes:

 

I have to say that once I started I kinda got carried away!

 

 The gorgeous poppy stamp is from Hero Arts and as always is coloured with Promarkers. The beautiful embossing folder is courtesy of Marianne D.

Well hope you like it and happy crafting!

I am entering these into the following challenges:

Paper Sundaes - #106 'Clean and Simple'

Less Is More - #53 'Aqua'

Footballer Edwin

Good morning all!
Back with you to share a very undistressed Edwin card. This is my DT creation for the latest fab challenge over at ABC. This time we are up to the letter 'H' so a nice simple one for you, we just want to see Happy Birthday projects.

We are sponsored this week by the the lovely Lacey from Stamp and Create, so why not show your support and send us an entry.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Crafty Cardmakers - #59 'No Floral Embellishments'

Crafty Catz - #115 'Use Something New' (This fab football embossing folder has just arrived in my store so had to use it!)

Cupcake Crafts - #174 'Something New' (Again my lovely football embossing folder)

Charisma Cardz - #1 'Happy Birthday' (Big Congrats on your 3rd Birthday!)

Poppy Resist

Hi guys, thought I would share with you a card I made a little while ago but forgot to post. I loved making this as it explores a few different stamping techniques which I had neglected for a while.

All of the images are from Hero Arts. I stamped the dictionary definition first with brown ink then stamped the poppy background stamp with versamark and clear embossed. I then used a sponge dauber to colour the poppies with distress inks..

I am entering this into the following challenges:

Paper Sundaes - #88 'Anything Goes'

Sweet Stampin - 'Anything Goes'

Hope You Like Green?

Thought I would share with you  the card that I made for my mum's birthday. I fell in love with a card made by the very talented Sue Carrington a few months ago and new my mum would love it so I adapted it and this is what I ended up with.

Each and every panel has been embossed then stamped with Peeled Paint DI and then distressed with Shabby Shutters DI. All of the gorgeous images are from Hero Arts. I then finished it with cord that was coloured with Pear Green Promarker, a little lace and a silver charm from my stash.

I am entering this into the following challenges:

Cute Card Thursday - #182 'Anything Goes'

Totally Gorjuss - #98 'Nothing Square About Me'

Stamptacular Sunday - #129 'Just Sayin!'

A Little Bit of Steampunk!

Hello all,
Just a quick post tonight. I wanted to share with you a card I made for a workshop called 'Shimmer and Shine'. I wanted to show that you can put a bit of glitz into a card for a male. 

The shimmer was added by using the yummy Graphite Glimmer Mist by Tattered Angels to create some of the cogs and the shine was created with silver pearl card for the rest of the cogs.

Materials Used:

DP's: Craft Creations and Coredinations

Embossing Folders: Steampunk by Tim Holtz

Stamps: Clocks and Sentiment by Hero Arts

Dies: Sprockets by Spellbinders, Cogs 'On The Edge' by Tim Holtz
Everything was distressed with Black Soot DI.

I am entering this into the following challenges:
Crafty Catz - #95 'Emboss It'
Totally Gorjuss - #93 'Round and Round'
Charisma Cardz - #32 'Distressing'
Craft Your Days Away - #26 'Birthday Celebrations'
Simply Create - #50 'Time to Distress'

A Little Touch of Pink

Hello! I thought it was about time I shared with you some new projects. I think if I remember rightly the inspiration for this came from a project by the very talented Kath in her cubbyhole. I love this stamp from Hero Arts and have used it so much.

Quite clean and simple from me but it's fun to experiment although still not 100% sure if this ticks all the boxes for me.

A is for Auburn

Good morning folks,
Sorry once again for my absence, what with a visit from my in-laws, my birthday and hubby's hospital trips I haven't had a minute to post. Anyway here I am today with a DT creation for the ABC challenge and this weeks letter is 'A is for Auburn'.
We are sponsored by the fabulous Meljen Designs and myself and my teamies were provided with some great digi images to use, and I chose to work with this lovely little fairy.

 Materials used:

Image: Meljens Designs

Papers: Basic Grey 'Pyrus', Coredinations

Flowers: Papermania

Colouring Medium: Promarkers

Punches: Martha Stewart

Dies: Nestabilities

I am entering this card into the following challenge:
Allsorts - Week #114 'Free and Easy'

A Touch of Monochrome

Good morning to all in the land of blog,

I hope everyone had a great weekend, I had a fab afternoon yesterday doing some extreme gardening at my parents house which has left me covered in nettle stings but it felt great to be out in the sunshine!
I really just wanted to share this quick card with you today. I created this for a workshop on how to use nestabilities in a different way. I think everyone gets stuck in a rut and sometimes forgets to explore the possibilities of products. This is such a simple technique here, I just used the nestie to create a debossed frame instead of using it to die cut a shape.

The gorgeous main stamped image is 'Pop Stems' from Hero Arts which I simply stamped with black memento and then dotted some of the image and the flower centres with lots of silver stickles. The scroll stamp is from Penny Black and is actually a Christmas stamp with snowflakes but I have strategically placed the flowers to cover these. The greeting stamp is by Papermania as are the punches used to create the flowers. I then added ribbon and pearls from my stash.
I am entering this into the following challenges:
Allsorts - #104 'Birthdays' (Big Happy Birthday to You!!)
Truly Scrumptious - #57 'Anything Goes'
Simply Create - #44 'Special Day/Event'
Simon Says - 'Sparkle and Shine'
Anyway, hope you like it and that you have a great day.
Hugs
Clare
x

ABC Challenge 'U is for..........Underneath'

Morning all sorry I've been awol for the last week but it has been a seriously stressful week, anyway lets hope for a quieter end to the week. Can't believe it's time for another ABC challenge but it is and this week the letter is U is for Underneath so use your imagination. This week we are sponsored by the fabulous Wags 'n' Whiskers.

I have used this gorgeous image from Sarah Kay 'Josephine with her pet cat Kiki', coloured with Promarkers and teamed with the stunning papers from First Edition 'Love Letters'. I used a gem brad to create the swivel panel which hides the hidden sentiment (underneath) which is from Hero Arts. Not sure what happened to my camera but the colours look really flat so must investigate.

Promarker Colour Recipe:
Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink
Hair: Cinnamon
Dress: Pear Green, Marsh Green
Cardigan and Shoes: Carnation, Fuschia
Hat: Satin, Putty
Hat Trim and Belt: Burgandy
Cat: Cool Grey 1 and 3

T is for......Trouble

Good morning all,
I hope you all enjoyed the amazing sunshine at the weekend and that you didn't eat too much chocolate!
Its time once again for another challenge over at ABC and this time the letter is 'T is for Trouble'. This week we are thrilled to be sponsored by the fabulous Kenny K who kindly sent the DT a selection of amazing digi's to use. I chose to use the very sassy 'Club Kid' and thoroughly enjoyed colouring her. Sorry this is such a short post but loads of work to do so happy crafting and I'll be back soon.

Materials Used

Image: Club Kid by Kenny K

Papers: Fancy Pants, Coredinations

Colouring: Promarkers

Sentiment: Hero Arts

Buttons: Papermania

Bling: Prima

I am entering this in the following challenges:

Sketch Saturday - #152 Sketch sponsored by Sparkle Creations

Totally Gorjuss - #77 'Bling It On'

Promarker Colour Recipe:

Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink
Hair: Buttercup, Tulip Yellow, Sunflower, Gold
Jacket: Cool Aqua, Sky Blue
Jeans: Cornflower, Midnight Blue
Trainers and Tie: Lime Green, right Green

Mermaid Tilda

Afternoon all,

Well what a miserable Sunday it's wet and horrible here. However just put away a very nice Sunday dinner and am sitting here with a big mug of freshly brewed coffee surrounded by my crafty stash. Had great fun finishing my DT project for tomorrow mornings Magical Monday Challenge, so I hope to see you all giving our next challenge a go.
Anyway for now I have a Magnolia project to share with you. Last week I ran a workshop on how to incorporate acetate into your projects and this is one of the cards made. I used 3 of the gorgeous images from the Bon Voyage collection - Mermaid Tilda, Sea view Background and the Seaweed. The acetate front of the card was secured with a tab sandwiched between the back of the card and the DP was used to cover the join. I stamped the seaweed along the botton of the acetate panel using Stazon then glittered it. Then I stamped and coloured the other 2 images and applied the mermaid to the front of the acetate panel and stuck the sea view inside the card. The greeting is by Hero Arts which I layered up and attached to the front.

I am entering this in the following challenges:

Just Magnolia - Week 75 'Anything Goes'

Crafty Catz - #52 'A Birthday Card for a Child with Sparkle'

Paper Sundaes - #38 'Something from your Stash' (Haven't used my acetate for ages!)

Stamp Something - 'Something to Celebrate'

Creative Cottages - #24 'Bling it On!' (check out the glittery seaweed)

Basic Grey Challenges - #30 'Sparkle'

Here's a little close up of Tilda:

ProMarker Colour Recipe:
Mermaid Tilda
Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink
Hair: Buttercup, Tulip Yellow, Gold
Shell Top and Tail: Pink Carnation, Fuschia Pink

Sea Background
Porthole Rim and Boat Hull: Sandstone, Cinnamon
Sails: Ivory
Sky: Pastel Blue
Sea: Tea Green, Denim Blue



Robin Hood - 'One for the Boys'

Good Evening all,
Hope every one of you had a good weekend. I had a wonderful birthday and received loads of gorgeous handmade cards which I am very grateful for, they will definately stay on display for a long time.
Anyway thought I 'd share with you my latest Magnolia card. I love this image of Edwin dressed as Robin Hood and I couldn't wait to ink him up so here is the result. I kept the card kinda simple as obviously flowers weren't really suitable so I opted for some ferns, raffia and pearls. I also used the new Tim Holtz alphabet Sizzlits die to add the 'wanted' sign. Inside the card reads 'A Special Birthday for a Special Boy'. I am entering him in the following challenges:
Magnolia Down Under Challenge #57 - Birthdays
Ooh-la-la Challenge #59 - Birthday
Sweet Stampin Challenge #37 Sketch
Allsorts Challenge #63 Dressing Up (Edwin clearly loves to play dress up!)
Passion for ProMarkers #62 Colour Challenge 'Green'

ProMarker Colour Recipe:

Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink

Hair, Bow & Tights: Sandstone, Cinnamon
Tunic & Hat: Pear Green, Moss

Belt & Shoes: Cinnamon, Shale

Thanks for taking a look, also don't forget to enter my draw for my big birthday candy while you here.

Hugs

Clare

x

Color Throwdown Card

Good evening,


Soo late posting this card but I have just got back from the cinema, wasn't sure what I'd think of the new Twilight film but the eye candy is amazing yum!


Anyway, back to crafting this is a very quick little card I made for a class to show off the gorgeous MME papers and the fab Hero Arts Flower stamps. Cannot believe it but there isn't a ProMarker in sight! I did however use my all time favourite Nestie to make the card - Labels 8. The photo did not come out well so I will replace it with a better one soon.


I am entering this over at Color Throwdown they wanted to see the following colours Regal Rose, Certainly Celery,Real Red and Baja Breeze (Blue)
Thanks for taking the time to swing by my blog.
Happy Crafting!
Hugs
Clare
x

Fairy Dust

Good morning,
Just wanted to show you all my latest creation. I had an enormous amount of fun playing with these new stamps from Pergamano. There are 2 new collections of fairies and they are both adorable. A s usual I coloured this little fairy with ProMarkers and then seriously went to town with the Glimmer Mist (Irridescent Gold) and Stickles. I cracked open my new delivery of Basic Grey papers and I have totally fallen in love with the Capella collection, it has a real vintage textile look to it.
This card also gave me an excuse (not that I need one) to use the super sweet toadstool stamps from Hero Arts.
Well I'd better get back to work so bye for now and happy crafting!



Fairy Close Up

ProMarker Colour Recipe
Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink
Hair: Sandstone, Cinnamon, Cocoa (Dark Brown Marvy Le Plume pen for fine tendrils)
Flowers: Dusky Rose, Antique Pink
Dress: Ivory, Vanilla
Shoes: Cinnamon, Cocoa
Butterfly: Cinnamon, Henna
Toadstools: Cinnamon, Cocoa, Tan, Caramel, Almond, Henna
Banner: Ivory, Vanilla

To distress the background I used Tattered Rose and Tea Dye Distress Ink Pads.

Tilda on Acetate

Here comes the sun....du du du du!
Well keep your fingers crossed anyway. The sky looks really grey at the moment. Call me paranoid but I feel the clouds are waiting for me to shut the shop and start walking home before they decide to burst.
Anyway I wanted to get another card posted before the weekend as I will be away and unable to post for a few days.


As many of you know I have my own shop and I teach classes weekly. Well I was asked if I could run a class incorporating Acetate and Shrink Plastic. I really wanted to make something a little funky as I do tend to lean quite heavily towards the distressed style when creating. So, I had a think and came up with this acetate creation. If you look closely you'll also see that I did dig out my shrink plastic to create the little glittery butterfly. Really enjoyed playing around with the acetate as I hadn't used it for ages, a simple design but fun to make.

ProMarker Colour Recipe

Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink

Hair: Raw Sienna, Terracotta, Henna

Top, Socks & Petticoat: Ivory, Vanilla

Dress & Shoes: Saffron, Apricot

Spring Rain Tilda

Good Morning!

I hope everyone enjoyed the fabulous weather we had at the weekend. Yippeee! My day off and it was bathed in glorious sunshine. I spent most of Sunday morning crafting with my mum whilst drinking copious mugs of tea and listening to the soothing sounds of a contented spaniel snoring his head off!

Anyway, this week over at Just Magnolia there challenge is a sketch based one, and I had great fun using it. The other twist was that it had to be a Thank You card. I have been desperate to use Tilda in Spring Rain so I set to it. The only problem I faced was that once I had coloured her and cut her out with the largest oval Nestie I found that to fit all the other elements of the sketch in I needed to use an 8x8" card. I used the fabulous MME papers from the Quite Contrary range, lots of Prima bling and of course my trusty ProMarkers. I also used the gorgeous Hero Arts 'Big Flower Pattern' stamps to create my layered flowers. These are fast becoming a firm favourite of mine.
I will also be entering this card over at Quixotic Paperie as there challenge is 'Heavy Metal' and I used a fab metal Umbrella charm to add a bit of fun.
Over at 'Totally Gorjuss' the theme is to include a charm so I will be entering over there as well.




Challenges I am entering:
http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com - Sketch by Mina - Optional twist of Thank you
http://quixoticpaperie.blogspot.com - Challenge #21 'Heavy Metal'
http://totallygorjuss.blogspot.com - Challenge #26 'Charming'

Little Metal Charm Close Up


Tilda colouring close up

ProMarker Colour Recipe:

Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink

Hair: Raw Sienna, Terracotta, Henna

Umbrella: Pale Pink, Antique Pink, Sandstone, Cinnamon

Coat: Tea Green, Grey Green

Wellies: Red

Puddle: Pastel Blue

Just Magnolia Easel Card Challenge

Wow 2 posts in a day. Created this easel card for the following challenge over on Just Magnolia.

http://justmagnolia.blogspot.com - Week 47 Easel Cards

Another little close up

Promarker Colour Recipe:

Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink

Hair: Raw Sienna, Terracotta, Henna

Top: Pale Pink, Antique Pink

Trousers: Tea Green, Grey Green

Shoes: Cinnamon, Cocoa

Tilda on Watering Can

Wow can't believe I am managing to post again so soon. Another Magnolia image but I was totally inspired by the MME Quite Contrary papers. The whole range is beatifully fresh and springlike. Once again went a bit mad with the Prima flowers but as this was a birthday card for my friend I knew they would be appreciated.

I love the new Hero Arts sentiment stamp that I used as the easel support. Sorry its not very easy to read in the pics but it says:

"Wishing you love and laughter good health and happiness on your birthday and always"

Not too mushy I thought.

The "Just for you" stamp was a freebie afew months ago on the front of the Docrafts Creativity mag.


Front view




Little close up

Promarker Colour Recipe

Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink.

Hair: Sandstone, Cinnamon, Cocoa.

Outfit: Pink Carnation, Rose Pink, Meadow Green, Apple.

Watering Can: Cool Greys 1-4.

Greenery: Pear Green.

Flowers: Tulip Yellow, Apricot.

Butterfly: Lavender, Lilac, Cinnamon.

Special Birthday Kitchen Tilda

Hi, brrrr!!! how cold is it today. Well thought I'd better post again as it has been afew days.
On a completely non crafty note did anyone else notice just how bright the moon was the other night because clearly my spaniel Dexter did as at 1.30am Peter and I were woken by an amazing display of howling. Dexter was firmly planted in the middle of our bed and was quite intent on baying at the moon!!!
He looked so comicle that even after Peter had dozed back to sleep muttering something about a daft dog I still had a fit of the giggles and found myself to be firmly awake watching my little Were Spaniel as he snored in ignorant bliss!!
Don't really seem to have caught up on the missed sleep yet but nevermind, I have been awake enough to craft so all is not lost.

Here is another Tilda offering. I wanted to keep this one a little simpler so managed to drag myself away from my flower stash. Think it works but if the mood takes me it may still get the flower treatment.

Promarker Colour Recipe

Skin: Blush, Dusky Pink. Dress, Shoes and Headscarf: Pale Pink, Antique Pink. Apron and Socks: Ivory, Vanilla. Hair: Raw Sienna, Terracotta, Henna. Spoon: Sandstone, Cinnamon, Moss.

Just a little closer: