A shining engagement

Hello, crafting friends!

Welcome to the latest challenge from CAS Colours and Sketches! Joanne is doing a great job of guiding us through the month of November and her latest inspiration is this versatile sketch:

I was delighted to hear recently that a lovely couple I know had got engaged and really enjoyed using this sketch to create a celebratory card for them.

I started by masking off the sides of a thick card base with sticky notes, leaving a strip exposed. Into this, I stamped a design with the flower stamp from Clearly Besotted's Perfect Lilies using versamark ink. This was heat embossed with gold embossing powder.

The background was coloured with a silver metallic pencil and the flowers shaded with a gold metallic pencil and given detail with a darker gold metallic pen.

I finished the card with a sentiment from Gemini die cut from gold foil card stock. There's a lot of shimmer and shine on this card which I've just not been able to capture on camera but I hope you can use your imagination!

And now it's over to you! The team has made some inspiring samples so do hop over to the CAS Colours and Sketches blog and check them out. As usual, you'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post so that you  can share your own creation with us. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I used the Silver/Gold colour duo at Color Hues to give a special feel to my engagement card so I'm linking up there.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The back story of today's card is this: I was looking after one of my favourite little dogs one weekend and had sent photos of him to his owners who had jaunted off to London. 'He's had such a busy weekend of walking and playing,' I texted, showing a photo of him sleeping on his back with his paws in the air. I got a text back with a photo of an elegant hand bearing a diamond ring with the caption 'We've had quite a busy weekend too!' I am so pleased because from the very first time I met this couple, when I went to meet their puppy, I had everything crossed for a wedding!!

Sending hugs,

Bloomin' cards!

Hello crafting pals!

Do you remember this post when I tried out a new die that had slithered into my shopping basket when I was supposed to be buying sensible things like glue and white card stock? I wasn't happy with the outcome but I am not one to give up, and today that die had another, more successful outing :) Come and see:

The die is Country Garden by Gemini and I used it to make two cards that are very different from each other. It's a large ornate die that could cover a card front, but I chose to use just parts of it today.

CARD ONE

The first card uses a piece of the die cut with all the little bits and pieces taken out to give a pretty lacy look. I used a restrained colour palette of white on cream and covered the die cut with a wide bordered frame cut with two of my Heffy Doodles stitched rectangle dies.

The sentiment uses a gorgeous banner from Be Merry, a WPlus9 Christmas set that I HAD to have for this very reason :) I stamped the congratulations from Clearly Besotted's Simply Said, snipped it out with paper snips and added it to the banner.

CARD TWO

To make the second card, I created a background on a card panel by masking off the edges and sponging ink gently from the edges into the centre. When the masks were removed, there was a nice crisp semi-frame.

The die was passed through my Big Shot three times using pink, blue and green card and I cut various parts out and grouped them together onto the background. The card was finished with a block sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said.

CHALLENGES
Both these cards use the same die, on different designs and for different occasions, so I'm linking up with the Twofer Challenge; I'll also enter both into the Happy Little Stampers Die Challenge where Anything Goes.

With Card One, I'm also joining in with Less is More, where the colours required are White and Cream.

Card Two was made with the fabulous bright colours from this week's Paper Players challenge; I'm also joining in with AAA Cards CAS challenge, where we are to use up to one third of the card front with the optional twist of a repeating image; last, but not least, I'm playing along with Addicted to CAS, where the code word is Flower.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
The Lockdown measures have been lifted slightly in the UK in a rather vague and confusing way. For example you can sit two metres away from two people in a park but, oddly, not if you know them! I think we just have to use our common sense and carry on behaving as if we are carriers of the virus and not wanting to put others at risk. I shall be going up to my favourite bluebell woods, a 15 minute drive away, but staying away from anyone else. That seems pretty safe to me and oh my goodness, I'm a bit giddy about the prospect of a trip out!

How are things going in your area? Do you have any plans to go out?

Be safe won't you,

Celebrate a golden day with Stampin' Up!

If you love Stampin' Up products, I'm sure you'll have wished that you could get more of them for less money. Well, you can! Every week the company offers selected products at slashed prices and I made this celebration card...

... to celebrate this week's fabulous selection of Weekly Deals!

The subtle texture on the background is made with the Diagonal Scoring Plate that fits neatly into your Simply Scored tool. The decorative possibilities are endless with this - and the plate even makes envelopes too!

I gave my panel a pretty wrap using the fancy foil vellum with hearts, adding extra hearts cut out effortlessly with the Confetti Hearts border punch. Produce loads of tiny, perfect, delicate hearts with one click of this punch and use them for cards, scrapbooks, table confetti or sprinkled into a gift before wrapping or into an envelope before sealing it.

This stunning gold ribbon is on offer too. It's a good idea to stock up on this as it's handy for adding touches of trend-setting gold to your projects throughout the year and, if you should have any left over, will make your Christmas gifts look shiny special too!

 • I've used just a few of the items on Weekly Deal for this card. You'll be able to get these products at the special prices until Tuesday 17th June 2015. Click here to see all the current special offers

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!

Bravo Photopolymer Stamp Set £23.00	Gold Stampin' Emboss Powder £4.50	Banner Triple Punch £21.00	Gold Fancy Designer Vellum Foil £10.00
Diagonal Scoring Plate £11.00 now only £8.25	Gold 1/8" Ribbon £4.50 now only £3.38	Confetti Hearts Border Punch £20.00 now only £15.00	Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack £15.50

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

My golden girl is really growing up now - although she certainly doesn't think so! Here she is having 'puppy cuddles' with my 6 foot tall eldest son.

Have a wonderful weekend won't you. I'll be back on Tuesday with more crafting fun.

Guy Greetings for an engagement - Stampin' Up Artisan blog hop

It's Thursday and that means another round of fabulous inspiration courtesy of Stampin' Up's global Artisan design team! I love working with these talented ladies and am constantly amazed by the projects everyone comes up with each week. I know you will be too so grab a cup of something delicious, settle back and enjoy :)

A BIT OF VINTAGE ARTINESS
Spring has got to me this week I think! I spotted the Guy Greetings stamp set in our box of goodies and it occurred to me to put that gorgeous vintage car into a romantic arty setting. Come and see:

Wouldn't this make a charming engagement card?! In my head, the car has been parked in a quiet spot and a happy couple have unpacked their picnic in the spring sunshine with blossom floating down from the trees like confetti. Perhaps you can hear the pop of a champagne cork - she has said YES!

I love the nostalgic feel of the car. It was stamped with Basic Black ink, heat embossed with clear embossing powder and coloured with Garden Green ink and a blender pen to turn it British Racing Green! But what about the background?

It's all been done with the blossom stamp from Sheltering Tree to give a pointillism effect! Isn't it fun?! (And if you're wondering what on earth pointillism is, find out all about it here.) This is much simpler than real pointillism - you just ink up (and stamp off if necessary), then stamp repeatedly where you want the colour. TIPS: You can always add colour but you can't take it away so start pale! Sponging ink round the edges of the panel draws the eye in to the scene.

I hope you've enjoyed my romantic moment! Now it's time to hop off and see the rest of the team's work - just click the button below to whizz over to Allison Okamitsu!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!

Guy Greetings Photopolymer Stamp Set £23.95	Sheltering Tree Photopolymer Stamp Set £22.95	Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Strawberry Slush Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95
Garden Green Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Blender Pens £8.95	Basic Black Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder £3.95	Stamping Sponges £3.25

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

Thanks for joining me today. I'll be back tomorrow with a look at some of the amazing Weekly Deals. See you then!

See Ya Later in three minutes

Are you ready for Valentine's Day tomorrow? Well, I know what you mean! But hopefully today's quick card for my Three Minute Thursday slot will help you out - and there's even a video for those that prefer to see a card actually being made! Come and have a look:

I used designer paper and one of the fabulous images from the See Ya Later stamp set that you can get free as part of Stampin' Up's Sale-a-bration promotion. There aren't too many frills on this card and I've been assured by my Quality Control department (my husband) that it's perfect for a man. But of course, now he's seen it, I can't give it to him can I?!

To get my multi-coloured image quickly, I inked the stamp up with Crumb Cake ink and then used a Real Red marker to go over the 'someone' before huffing on it and stamping. Adding the red over the Crumb Cake does darken the red very slightly but that just makes the punched heart really stand out!

Here's the video or, as my children like to call it, Crafting Clare - Da Movie!



This card is made with a bunch of snippets so I shall be linking up with the Snippets Playground. That's the second time this week - but the truth is I'm fascinated about the building of the ark which, under the instructions of a foreduck, will be used as an umbrella I understand... have I got that right?!

'This is a Man's World' is the theme over at Crafty Cardmakers, so I'll link up there too, and also at The Male Room where the challenge is Valentine.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my shop) 

Stamps: See Ya Later (free with Sale-a-bration)

Ink: Crumb Cake plus Real Red marker

Card stock: Whisper White plus scrap of Real Red

Other: Sweet Sorbet designer paper (free with Sale-a-bration), owl punch (for the little heart), stamp-a-majig

Click above to place an order any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

CHOOSE A FREE SALE-A-BRATION GIFT WITH EVERY £45 YOU SPEND

The sentiment on this card is such a lovely, romantic one isn't it? Perfect for Valentine's Day, anniversaries, engagements and weddings... unless, of course, you write: "But it's quite tricky to get an appointment with George Clooney" inside!

See you tomorrow,

3 minute engagement card

I'm always happy to hear of ways to help others through crafting. One way cardmakers can help a very worthy cause is to join in with the St Lukes Charity Challenge. This is a monthly challenge, with prizes, where you not only make a card, but also actually send it in along with any others you may have spare. The cards are sold to raise money for the St Lukes Hospice in Sheffield which cares for terminally ill people and offers support to their families. I think it's a great idea to help others by doing what we love!

It's a great challenge this month - the theme is Bling, which gives me the chance to make something I've been wanting to try for a long time with Creatively Yours, a stamp set you might just have overlooked from the main Idea Book and Catalogue (page 84). Come and see:

Creatively Yours is a wonderful set consisting of eight images designed to add that professional touch to your handmade creations. The gorgeous image I've used here usually says 'handstamped' in the little box but with a stamp-a-majig, all things are possible...

...and the box makes a great home for a 'congratulations' sentiment which fits in nicely with its heart swirls and hand with heart motif! Give the hand a rhinestone ring and you suddenly have an engagement card and the brushed silver card base just adds to the celebratory feel.

I know what you're thinking: as bling goes it's pretty understated but you have to remember I'm a CAS kind of a girl and also that the card took only three minutes to make! If I'd had a bit more time, perhaps I would have stamped the hand again, cut it out with a circle punch and popped it up over the original (the 'ring' would obviously be placed on the popped up hand.)

Here's what you'll need to make today's card:

Stamps: Creatively Yours, Perfect Punches (sentiment)

Ink: Basic Grey and Real Red markers

Card stock: Whisper White, Brushed Silver

Other: Basic Rhinestones, stamp-a-majig

I'd be delighted to order any of these items for you and can have them delivered to your address in the UK. I'm committed to providing excellent customer service and am always happy to offer help and advice. To place your order, just send me an email or give me a call on 01280 820593. And don't forget to add a free pack of designer paper if your order is £45 or more (Offer limited to one pack per qualifying order - click here for details).

We've been having a major clear out here, of out-grown, outdated clothes mainly. In the back of my youngest son's wardrobe we found something which triggered many memories: a white beanie rabbit belonging to my daughter which had gone missing many moons ago. She had called it Snowball but the boys had stolen it, given it the villain's role in one of their games and re-named it Mip the Kipper! The game, which went on for several years, ended with the evil rabbit being heroically captured by the other beanie toys and thrown into The Abyss (the back of the wardrobe). Oh those wonderful times before the evil xbox turned up! Maybe that should be 'thrown into The Abyss' one of these days!

See you tomorrow,