Christmas - Sweet Stampin' December Challenge

 In just over a couple of weeks we'll be celebrating Christmas 2023 so there can only be one challenge theme at Sweet Stampin' this month.  Our challenge will run throughout December, so keep your creations coming in!

Here's my DT card

My mojo has been AWOL for most of this year but I loved making this.  I'm hooked on Taylored Expressions Create in Quads stencils which give you 4 designs on one A4 sheet.  For this card I went for a different scheme for me (I'm usually a red and green kinda gal), using Cobalt and Stardust inks from the Stamp Market and Concord & 9th respectively, adding white pigment ink for contrast.  I stamped a sentiment from Avery Elle and heated embossed in gold.

I found some matching blue card to layer with the Lawn Fawn kraft cardstock and completed the look by adding some Glossy Accents on the Stardust stencilled dots.

It would be great if you would play along with us at Sweet Stampin' this month. All the details are on the blog along with some fabby inspiration makes from the team.

Have a lovely weekend

xxx

Happy Birthday Sweet Stampin'

 We're celebrating our birthday at the Sweet Stampin' blog this weekend and we'd love you to join in our birthday-themed challenge.  It'll make a change from making Christmas cards!

Here's my DT make:

My main image was created using a layering stencil which I think is by Gina K. I used a combination of ink brands and added a stamped birthday sentiment from an ancient Papertrey Ink set.  I layered the image onto a pink cardstock mat before adhering to a black A2 card base.  Quick and simple!

Hope you can hop over to the blog to check out the inspiration makes from my lovely Sweetie teamies.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Tracey xx

Use Red

 I hate to tell you this, but we're just over a month away from Christmas!  Have you started on your cards yet?

As our challenge theme at Sweet Stampin' this fortnight is to Use Red, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to add another card to the Christmas pile (I admit, it's a very small pile right now - so small, in fact, that it probably doesn't even qualify as a pile).

Anyway, here's my DT card for the challenge!

I stamped the Stamping Bella Gnomes on to Make it Colour cardstock and used my Copics to colour it in. I added a little bit of Glamour Dust for some sparkle on the white trim and pom poms on their hats.  The sentiment is from a Lawn Fawn set, I think.

I adhered the image to a panel of red cardstock and layered this over a piece of embossed card which I then cut to A2 size.

This was reasonably quick to make and the embossed card just adds a subtle little something.

I hope you can play along with the team at Sweet Stampin' this fortnight.  Do check out the fab inspiration makes provided by my teamies over on the blog.

Have a great weekend

xxx

Make it Plaid!

 I love plaid, so this fortnight's challenge at Sweet Stampin' really appeals to me.  Tartan fabric, whether it's bold and bright or subtle and muted, always looks beautiful to me. My son had a kilt made when he was little and I still have it - I love the colours (soft, blues with a deep, pinkish-red running through) and it reminds me of him dancing at a village ceilidh, not really knowing the dances that well but unselfconsciously doing his own thing.

Today, though, for my DT card, I've gone with bold reds and greens for a warm and cosy look. The plaid pattern was created using a Concord & 9th turnabout stamp, along with quite a bit of trial and error! I've paired the background with a hAnglar and StAnglar image that I've had for quite a number of years, colouring the clothes with Copics to match the colours in the plaid.

It would be great if you could play along with us this fortnight. You'll find the challenge details and fab inspiration from the design team here on the challenge blog.

Have a brilliant weekend!

xxx

Tags at Sweet Stampin'

 We have a new challenge starting today at Sweet Stampin'. This fortnight we'd like to see Tags: they can be part of a card design or layout, or just to adorn a gift, but they must have some stamping on them.

I'm desperately trying to use up some of my older stash so I went to town with older papers and ephemera create a set of Christmas themed tags.

 I cut the tags from various dies in my collection using card and design paper, which I adhered together for stability.  The papers I chose for this project is from Magnolia and I still love it's shabby chic look.  I paired the paper with some Simple Stories ephemera, stamping sentiments from Avery Elle and MFT either directly on the ephemera or on black card, which I then cut into thin banner strips.  I finished the tags with red twine and will be pairing them with some dark green wrapping paper when I get round to wrapping presents.

I hope you can play along with us this fortnight.  You'll find lots of inspiration from the Sweet Stampin' team over at the challenge blog here.

Have a great weekend

xxx

Weddings or Anniversaries at Sweet Stampin'

 A new challenge starts today at Sweet Stampin'.  This fortnight we'd like to see your projects on the theme of Weddings or Anniversaries.  We don't mind what you make, as long as it features some stamping.

I'm on a mission to use up items in my stash that I've had for ages and today's card features a very old Lili of the Valley rubber stamp, Magnolia papers and a doily that once upon a time would have appeared in most of the cards I made!  I kept the design very simple, layering the papers and doily beneath a gold cardstock mat.  The image was coloured with Copics and I added just a few clear droplets and a little bit of gold pen for some sparkle.

We'd love you to play along with us, so do pop over to the challenge blog and check out the other DT projects.  You have just under 2 weeks to post your entry.

Have a great weekend

xxx

Christmas in July at Sweet Stampin'

 If you live in Scotland you could be forgiven for thinking that Christmas is just around the corner, given the weather we're having here.  While in reality we're a wee while away from making cards in pre-Christmas panic mode, over at Sweet Stampin' we're encouraging you to add another card to your collection by giving our new challenge a Christmas theme.

My DT card features a Pretty Pink Posh wreath which I stamped and coloured with Copics before cutting out the the co-ordinating die.  I layered this up with a second wreath to make it a bit more sturdy and added glossy accents and glitter pen to accent some of the smaller images.

I gold heat embossed a sentiment from MFT in the centre of a dark green cardstock panel and popped this onto a white cardbase.

We'd love you to join in with us this fortnight so do check out the challenge blog here for more inspiration from the design team.

Take care xx

Flowers at Sweet Stampin'

 I'm jumping in on Team Wends' challenge at Sweet Stampin' this week as it's my favourite theme - Flowers!

The image is a digi from Alex Syberia designs and believe me, it's a joy to colour.  As usual I used Copics and chose the R80+ colour range.  The sentiment is from an Altenew birthday set which is a good few years old.

It's been a good first week to the school holidays, in spite of the dodgy weather, as it was the Boy Wonder's graduation on Wednesday.  I'm a very proud mum but now he needs to get a job!

Why not hop over to the challenge blog to check out the Team Wends creations - we'd love you to play along with us!

xxx

Sweet Stampin' - No Patterned Paper

A new challenge at Sweet Stampin' starts today and this fortnight we're asking you not to include any patterned paper in your design.

For my DT project I used stamps that I think I bought when I first started stamping - way too many years ago to remember brand names!

I used Concord & 9th ink cubes to stamp the paint stripes and over the top of this I stamped the flower in Versamark Jet Black ink.  The sentiment comes from the same set (which must be nearly 20 years old!) and again was stamped in Versamark Jet Black.

We'd love you to play along with us so do hop over to the challenge blog here to check out the fab inspiration projects the Sweeties have made.

Have a great weekend!

xxx

Things with wings

 A new challenge starts at Sweet Stampin' today and our theme for the fortnight is Things with Wings.

My go-to for the this theme is usually butterflies, but I've been feeling a bit nostalgic for my hAnglar and StAnglar stamps, so I used a hAnglar fairy instead.  These images are so lovely to colour and the old red rubber ones stamp beautifully.

I added some Glamour Dust to his wings and mounted the image onto a black cardstock mat.  I'm still using up my DP (it will take me years, I reckon) so I had a good look through my paper box and found these two panels which I'd already cut, probably years ago!  Some enamel dots finished off the design.

I hope you can play along with our challenge this fortnight.  Head over to the challenge blog here for some fab inspiration from Sweet Stampin's Team Susan.

Enjoy your weekend!

xxx

Animals!

 A new challenge starts today at Sweet Stampin' and this time we'd like you to include animals in your design.

I went for a fairly CAS look for my DT card...

The polar bear belongs to a stamp set by MFT and it has quite a few punny sentiments.  I kept the whole thing really simple:  a red card base and white tag, with red and white in the bear's scarf and matching twine through the top of the tag.  A bit of subtle shading with my Copics and a good sprinkle of glitter were all that was needed to complete the card.  

I can't remember where the tag die is from but as you can see from the A2 card, it's a good size for layering to hold a gift card.

I hope you can join in with this fortnight's challenge at Sweet Stampin'.  Do hop on over to the challenge blog to check out the fab inspiration makes by my lovely teamies.

Have a great weekend and for my friends in the UK, enjoy the Bank Holiday!

xxx

Use Dies

 Another month comes flying in and with it a new challenge at Sweet Stampin'.  This fortnight we'd like you to use dies to create your project as well as stamping.

I made a shaped card using Honey Bee Stamps products

The die set to make this card creates a rainbow-shaped card base and insets to make the stripes, which I cut from coloured cardstock.  I then used the corresponding stamp set to add white detailing to the stripes with embossing powder.  The clouds were doubled up to give a bit more weight and I stamped my sentiment on one of them.  I similarly doubled up the sun after using Catherine Pooler inks in shades of yellow.

I really hope you can play along with us at Sweet Stampin' this month. My amazing teamies have made the most lovely projects to inspire you, so do hop over to the challenge blog to take a look.

Have a fab weekend

xxx

Special Lady

 Hello!  We have a new challenge starting at Sweet Stampin' today and we are celebrating the special women in our lives.

In the UK we are gearing up for Mothers Day, but to enter the challenge you can make any stamped project with a special lady in mind.  Here's my DT card

I'm still on a mission to use up my Maja Designs papers, as you can see!  I stamped a Stamping Bella image and coloured it with Copics, adding a few gems here and there as the only embellishments.  The sentiment is from an Altenew mini heart set.

We'd love you to play along with us this fortnight, so please hop over to the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog to check out the details and the fab inspiration projects my teamies have made.

Have a great weekend!

xxx

Love, love, love!

 February brings us Valentine's Day, so it seems appropriate that this fortnight's challenge at Sweet Stampin' is all about love.

My Team Susan friends have created some fabulous inspiration for you, so do check out the challenge page here.

For my DT card I chose a Hanglar & StAnglar image which is a good few years old now, but they are so nice to colour and red rubber stamps give such a clear impression.  I chose soft lilacs as my colour palette, using up left overs from a Maja Designs paper pad and toning shades from my Copics.

I hope you can play along with us - you can make anything you like as long as it features some stamping and has a connection to our love theme.

Have a great weekend!

xxx

Anything New

Happy New Year!

It's time for our first challenge of 2023 over at Sweet Stampin' and our theme is "New" - it might be New Year, new home, new baby or maybe you want to use some new crafty supplies?

I treated myself to some Concord & 9th stencils and co-ordinating stamps for my DT make

I used a selection of peachy-orangey inks to stencil the butterflies and stamped the antennae and sentiment in black.  A few enamel dots completed the design which I adhered to a card base made from Gina K Tomato Soup cardstock.

We'd love you to play along with us this fortnight. You can check out the challenge details and see the rest of the team's lovely inpiration makes over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a fabulous weekend

xx