Birthday Buzz

Hello!

I just wanted to stop by with a quick post to share the cards that I put on the blog over at Make the Day Special today using Reverse Confetti's The Buzz set:

These bees are so fun to use - they are lovely and round!  I have coloured them in with Spectrum Noir pencils.

I will link up at CASology where this week's cue card is Wings and at Simon Wednesday's Challenge where it is Anything Goes.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Time Out Reminder

Hello!

We are already at the second week of the latest challenge at Time Out where we are CASEing Alice!

I have used the same stamps again for my second card (I do love the Hero Arts cactus set!) and this time I have watercoloured them:

On this card I popped them up against kraft card to echo Alice's design and added a few hearts and hugs related sentiment too.

This is the fab original from Alice of Alice's Little Wonderland:

There are so many ways that you could go with this card from the layout to the patterns, colours, image, sentiment etc.  I can't wait to see how you were inspired!

The DT have more takes on the inspiration card to share with you at Time Out along with our fab GD, Rema from RTImpressions.

I will also link up with the Anything Goes Challenge at Simon's Wednesday Challenge.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Uniko Challenge Reminder

Hello!

A super quick post today to share a reminder card for the current challenge over at Uniko Studio - it is black and white with a splash of colour.

 

I used an old favourite - The Hands of Time set to create this card in black and white with a touch of soft blue.  I popped up the central panel to add a bit of interest and stamped a sentiment from A Gift For You on to black card.  I absolutely love the detail of these stamps!

I hope you find time to join in with our latest challenge!

Check out the fab inspiration from the DT and our talented Guest Designers - Anita from Neet and Crafty and Julie from Crafted by Jules.

I shall also link up at the Clean and Simple challenge over at Addicted to Stamps.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Time Out #36

Hello!

It was great to see all of your nature inspired creations for our last challenge at Time Out and our next challenge is equally fun!  This time we are CASeing this fabulous card by the talented Alice Wertz:

How fabulous is this?!  It is one of the most fun cards that I have seen for some time and is  bursting with personality - just like Alice :)  Do go and check out her great blog Alice's Little Wonderland!

I really love my cactus stamps from Hero Arts so Alice's smiley cactus gave me the perfect excuse to ink it up:

I inked up a grid stencil with antique linen distress ink to create a faded background and then stamped the cactus and pop.  I should really have masked them but actually I think the way the grid shows through on the cactus adds to the texture and realism of the plant.  I shaded the side of the pot with my spectrum noir pencils too.  A sticky heart and hugs sentiment (also Hero Arts) also refer to Alice's inspiration card.

The rest of the DT have more CASE inspiration for you along with our GD, Rema who is a regular challenge player and produces really stand out designs - her blog, RTImpressions is well worth a visit!

I will also link this up at the CAS July challenge over at A2Z Scrapbooking.

Have fun with this cool design!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Surfer Dude

Hello!

The current theme at Less Is More is Life's A Beach which was the perfect excuse to play with my Waltzingmouse surfer stamp which has never been inked up:

 

I love the distressed look of the stamp.  It is stamped in navy ink and combined with a die cut paper clip from My Favourite Things.  A great card for boys and teens!

I will also link up at another of my fave challenges - AAA Card Challenges where the theme is water and dies both of which feature here!

It is only a few weeks now before we will be heading for the beach - can't wait!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Cupcake

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying your weekend....I am stopping by for a super quick post with a few cards that I have made inspired by the current challenge at CASology where the cue card is Cupcake.

 

I used lovely stamps from Waltzingmouse in pastel colours to create the sweet cupcake and combined it with a sprinkle of sequins.

I enjoyed stamping the cupcake so much I created a background with them:

I combined the cupcake background with a gold embossed sentiment from Altenew and a sprinkle of gold enamel dots.

I hope you like my cupcake creations!

Thanks, Sarah x

Addicted to CAS #68

Hello!

Our next challenge at Addicted to CAS is hosted by the fab Deepti who has chosen the code word Chevron for us to play with:

Here is what I came up with:

 

I simply stamped a chevron border from Paper Smooches in several shades of blue and green and die cut butterflies from the patterned paper that I had created.  I accented them with some mini butterflies in coordinating colours and combined them with a sentiment from Avery Elle.  I often think masculine when I try using chevrons so it is nice to come up with a feminine card for a change!

What will you come up with?  I look forward to seeing your chevron inspired creations.  The fabulous DT have lots more inspiration over at Addicted to CAS including our cool GD, Kathy K from the Purple Princess Diaries. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Uniko Challenge

Hello!

We are back with the Uniko Challenge for July which is black and white with the optional twist of a splash of colour!

 

I used the beautiful Cosmos set that was released just last week and masked the flowers whilst stencilling a Hero Arts confetti stencil in blues, greens and yellows in the background.  I thought this turned out quite well....

 

We have two fabulous guest designers joining us again this month - the lovely Anita from Neet and Crafty who makes gorgeous CAS designs and equally lovely Julie from Crafted by Jules who shares lots of beautiful creations on her blog.  Of course, the rest of the fab DT have inspiration to share with you too!

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

A bit abstract

Hello!

Another quick post today to share some cards I have made with my new stencil from My Favourite Things.  I just love this stencil so much!

First up is a card for the current one layer challenge at Less Is More which is to make masculine cards:

I lightly inked through the stencil with Tumbled Glass distress ink and then stamped the headphones from Indigoblu and sentiment from Mama Elephant.  Simple.

I also posted this card on the Make The Day Special blog today featuring the stencilled background and an origami elephant from Altenew's Ori Kami set.

 

I hope you have enjoyed my abstract stencilling :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

 

 

 

Time Out Reminder

Hello!

Is it Thursday already?!  Actually, I don't mind the weeks flying by at the moment as we are looking forward to our summer break at the end of July....it can't come quickly enough.  However, another Thursday brings a reminder of our current challenge at Time Out.

The theme is Nature with the optional twist of animals (butterflies and insects included).  Here is my card:

 

 

Obviously blue lions are not often spotted in the wild but I wanted to use my Mama Elephant stamps to make a cute new baby card.  I elongated my WPlus9 dies (thanks to Chrissie from Simply One of a Kind for the tip) to provide a frame and added a few enamel dots.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

 

I hope you like my blue lion :) 

 

The fab DT have lots more nature style inspiration for you over at the Time Out Challenge blog and we are delighted to have the lovely Barb from Barb's Studio Creations joining us as GD for this challenge.

 

Thank you so much for stopping by,

 

Sarah xx

Tree

Hello!

A quick post today with a card that I have made after all of the excitement with yesterday's Uniko release.  I wanted to play along with the new Christmas themed challenge at Happy Little Stampers and decided to use some Uniko Christmas stamps (of course!).  The challenge theme is Tree:

I white embossed the gorgeous tree from Uniko's Rustic Christmas set and red embossed the little red bird before lightly inking with Tumbled Glass and Peacock Feathers.  I white embossed the sentiment on red cardstock to complement the little pop of red from the bird.

I am gradually building my stash of Christmas cards but am really going to have to get motoring after the summer break so a new Christmas themed challenge is always welcome!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Uniko Release Day!

Hello!

Finally we can reveal the fabulous stamp sets that Uniko are releasing today :)

Here are a few cards that I haven't had the chance to share with you yet this week:

 

This card features the Home Sweet Home set combined with the Garlands.

 

 

Next up is the lovely Cosmos set.  I stamped and masked the pair of flowers before adding a third.  They are coloured in with Spectrum Noir pencils and combined with a sentiment from the fabulous Fontiments set.

 

Finally a festive card featuring the versatile garlands and the lovely doves from Uniko's Peace on Earth set.  All simply stamped in navy with a touch of grey pencil and wink of stella on the doves.  A one layer card which it would be easy to mass produce for Christmas!

 

Here are the actual sets that Bev has showcased on the Uniko blog:

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Remember that there is the chance of winning this entire release if you hop along with us and leave a comment.  The rest of the DT have some amazing cards to share:

 

Gillian

Jane

Nicki

Sarah G

Sarah P

 

Thanks for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

 

Introducing Pure Florals: Cosmos

Hello!

It is good to be back with a reveal of the third stamp set in the Uniko July release.  Bev designs some gorgeous floral sets and this one is no exception.  Here is what I came up with:

 

 

First up I wanted to create a simple design and watercoloured the flowers.

 

 

I stamped the flowers in red on the card base and stamped and glazed some flowers for the top panel.  I curved the sentiment along the edge.

 

I ran out of time to make more cards with these lovely flowers but I will be playing with them over the next few weeks.

 

The rest of the DT have made some gorgeous designs featuring these flowers:

 

 

Gillian

Jane

Nicki

Sarah G

Sarah P

 

Remember that there will be random winners and mystery prizes all of this week so make sure that you join in the fun.  Places to join in on the fun & possibly win a prize are by commenting along the way on the Uniko Studio Blog, DT & Guest Design Team Blogs, liking the Uniko Studio Facebook Page, following on Twitter and Pinterest! 

 

You will finally be able to get your hands on these stamps tomorrow and we will have our DT Release blog hop where one lucky commenter will get the chance to win the entire release :)

See you again tomorrow!

Sarah x

Introducing Home Sweet Home

Hello!

I am back with some more cards featuring one of the new Uniko sets - Home Sweet Home.  I can't tell you how much I LOVE this set!  This is the one from the release that I didn't want to put down :)

Here are a few examples:

 

I stamped and masked the house and inked a sunburst behind it.  Isn't the font on that 'home' lovely?

 

Here I masked the house and then gently inked around it.  The house is coloured with Chameleon pens.

 

I die cut a heart aperture as a frame for the sweet house.  It looks different depending on the colours you use.

I can definitely say that I don't have a stamp set like this one and it can be used for so many designs!  Check out what the rest of the DT have made:

Gillian

Jane

Nicki

Sarah G

Sarah P

Remember that there will be random winners and mystery prizes all of this week so make sure that you join in the fun.  Places to join in on the fun & possibly win a prize are by commenting along the way on the Uniko Studio Blog, DT & Guest Design Team Blogs, liking the Uniko Studio Facebook Page, following on Twitter and Pinterest! 

See you again tomorrow!

Sarah x

Time Out #35

Hello!

Happy Thursday to you - I hope your week is going well?  We have another fab Time Out Challenge to get you in a creative mood!  The challenge is Nature with an Optional Twist of Animals (which can include butterflies and other insects).  This is one that we can all play along with :)

Here is my card:

It is a very simple take on the challenge using all Hero Arts stamps.  I love the little ladybirds from the Antique Engravings set combined with a bold birthday sentiment.  I simply coloured my trail of ladybirds with Spectrum Noir pencils and that is it!!  I just like the way they meander across the card :)

I am so delighted that we have the fabulous Barb from Barb's Studio Creations with us as a GD for this challenge.  Barb is such a talented cardmaker and one of those generous bloggers who makes blogland a happier place with all of her encouraging comments.  I love her style and know you will too so do stop by if you haven't already visited her blog.  The rest of the talented DT also have fab designs to inspire you too.

I almost forgot to mention that we have a prize of $25 from the lovely CAS-ual Fridays for one lucky player who uses the twist. 

I will also link up at the July Challenge at A2Z Scrapbooking which is clean and simple and at CASology where the cue card is Repeat - as the ladybirds are an example of repeat stamping.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Introducing Garlands Galore

Hello!

Finally I can share with you some cards that I have made with the fabulous new Garlands Galore set that will be released by Uniko Studio this coming Saturday.

The garland stamps in this set have quickly become a firm favourite with me.  They are so versatile and a perfect way to add a customised sentiment to any design.  Here are a few examples:

 

The garland set makes a cute banner which is perfect for new baby cards.  Here I have combined it with Uniko's sweet baby stamps too.

 

The same idea too here for a new baby boy.  You can create any message and there are different shapes of banner with a perfectly sized alphabet to stamp any combination.

 

On this card I decided to feature the pretty star garland and stamped it repeatedly in blue, green and yellow before cutting it out with a banner die. 

 

I have made other cards with this fab stamp set which I plan to share with you later in the week!

 

Check out what the rest of the DT have created with this set:

 

Gillian

Jane

Nicki

Sarah G

Sarah P

 

We will back with more designs tomorrow and remember that the release day is 11 July when you will be able to see all of the products. As always there will be a DT Blog Hop with a chance for you to win the ENTIRE release :)

 

However, there are random winners and mystery prizes all week so make sure that you join in the fun.  Places to join in on the fun & possibly win a prize are by commenting along the way on the Uniko Studio Blog, DT & Guest Design Team Blogs, liking the Uniko Studio Facebook Page, following on Twitter and Pinterest! 

 

I look forward to seeing you again tomorrow!

 

Sarah x

Uniko July Release Sneak Peak #3

Hello!

Last but not least we have the final sneak peak from Uniko's July release:

 

That means there are 3 fab stamp sets which will be available to buy on 11 July.  Stop by tomorrow to see some creations featuring one of these lovely sets.

There will be random winners and mystery prizes all of this week so make sure that you join in the fun.  Places to join in on the fun & possibly win a prize are by commenting along the way on the Uniko Studio Blog, DT & Guest Design Team Blogs, liking the Uniko Studio Facebook Page, following on Twitter and Pinterest! 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Nautical card

Hello,

A quick post from me with a 2nd card that I have made for this week's Less Is More challenge which is red, white and blue.  I love the clean and crisp designs that you can create with this colour combo and once I had gone past patriotic I thought of nautical:

 

 

I used one of my favourite sets from Waltzingmouse - Ocean Bound and stamped the rope in red with a popped up white panel featuring the anchor stamped in navy and the sentiment white embossed on a piece of blue cardstock.

 

I hope you like my nautical design :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

 

 

 

 

Uniko July Release Sneak Peak #2

Hello!

Here is our second peak at the gorgeous new release from Uniko Studio which will go live on Saturday, 11 July......

I can't wait to show you some of the cards that I have made with this awesome set :)  There is another sneak peak tomorrow and then we can start the reveal.

There will be random winners and mystery prizes all of this week so make sure that you join in the fun.  Places to join in on the fun & possibly win a prize are by commenting along the way on the Uniko Studio Blog, DT & Guest Design Team Blogs, liking the Uniko Studio Facebook Page, following on Twitter and Pinterest! 

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Birthday Fireworks

Hello!

Today is my youngest's 10th birthday so now both of my boys are in double figures :)  He is currently working his way through an Avengers Lego set so we have at least bought ourselves a few hours of peace and quiet!!

I hope that my US blog friends have been enjoying this 4th July weekend.  I have a celebration card to share with you:

I used some very old firework stamps and combined them with a sentiment from Mama Elephant.  I will enter the card in to the current red, white and blue challenge over at Less Is More and at CASology where the cue card is Pop.  I will also link up at the current CAS challenge at Happy Little Stampers which is stamping along with Virginia's View challenge too :)

Before I go I will share the birthday card that I made for Jack:

I coloured a rocket stamp from Inky Doodles and popped it up over some starry patterned paper.  The rocket is popped up using some folded cardstock to give it more movement and dimension.  The sentiment is from Papertrey.  I will link up at AAA Cards where the theme is starry night.

Thank you for your visit and comments - they are all very much appreciated! 

Sarah x

Uniko July Release Sneak Peak #1

Hello!

Happy Sunday to you :)  Just popping in to tease you with a sneak peak of one of the amazing new sets being released by Uniko Studio on Saturday, 11 July.  Obviously I love Bev's designs but this release has got to be one of my all time faves!

We have sneak peaks for you today, tomorrow, and Tuesday followed by some reveals over the rest of the week so I hope you will stay with us to enjoy the release.

 

 

There is so much you can do with this set!

There will be random winners and mystery prizes all of this week so make sure that you join in the fun.  Places to join in on the fun & possibly win a prize are by commenting along the way on the Uniko Studio Blog, DT & Guest Design Team Blogs, liking the Uniko Studio Facebook Page, following on Twitter and Pinterest! 
 

See you again soon :)

 

Sarah x

Addicted to CAS Challenge #67

Hello!

Today I am so pleased to be playing along for the first time at Addicted to CAS as a member of the DT!  It was such a lovely surprise when Kylie asked me if I wanted to come on board as I have loved joining in with this challenge ever since I first found it.

This week we are hosted by the lovely Jaydee who has chosen the following code word:

Of course that fits perfectly with 4 July!  Obviously as I am from the UK I don't have much call for 4 July cards but us Brits do love a bit of red, white and blue :)

Here's what I came up with:

I used one of my fave sets from Altenew to create some paper streamers in red and blue which I coloured in with pencils.  I do love that sentiment!

Did I mention that our challenge this time is sponsored by the awesome Create A Smile who are offering a free stamp set to the winner:

We also have a fabulous GD for this challenge in Kathy K from The Purple Princess Diaries - she is a talented cardmaker who can create in lots of different styles - as you will see from her blog :)  Check out what the rest of the DT have been up to and I look forward to seeing your patriotic creations!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Guest Designer at Stamplorations!

Hello!

I am so excited to say that I am the July GD at the Stamplorations Challenge :)  I am a huge fan of Shery's stamps and stencils and I am always amazed at the fabulous creations the DT produce with them so this is a real honour....

The theme for July is Stamps and Distressing so lots of scope for you there!  I made two cards.  First up is a design using Trendy Leaves, a sentiment from Grateful Beyond Words and the fabulous Mixed Media Grunge set.  This is a lot more stamping than I usually do on a card but I love the texture on these leaf stamps and stamping them in a combination of distress inks gives the leafy frame more interest.  Those grunge stamps are quite addictive and it was hard to stop stamping on this card :)

 

For my next card I was inspired by cardboard packaging and stamped the Hashtag Authentic sentiments on a kraft base which I distressed around the edges to give a more ragged look.  The grunge set came in useful here too!

 

I hope you like my distressed creations.  The DT will have lots more inspiration to get you started too.  Thank you for having me as your GD :)

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

 

 

Time Out Reminder

Hello!

I am back with a quick reminder about the current fun challenge over at Time Out:

 

This is my take on the fabulous photo inspiration:

 

 

I was mainly inspired by the colour combo this week and the way that the doorways create frames from one room to another.  I used some picture frame stamps from Paper Smooches and sentiments from Avery Elle (I think!)

 

The rest of the DT have more great inspiration for you along with our sweet GD from Sue from Foley's Friend.

 

I will link up at Virginia's View Challenge where the cool theme for July is 100% stamped.  My design is simple but it is all stamped :)  Also CAS on Sunday has a challenge for one layer designs so I shall play along there too.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x