My favourite Things

 

The challenge over at Natalie and Amy's this week is to show some of your favourite things, and for me, House Mouse is ranking right up there at the moment.

 

Here is a card that I made for my mother in law, using a House mouse decoupage set from the Joanna Sheen project CD. My MIL's favourite flower is a poppy, so this image was just perfect for her.

 

This is an A5 card as the image is quite big, and I have kept it really simple so that the focus is on the image. I was tempted to glitter it a bit., but managed to hold back!!

 

Also, no prizes for my photography here - as you can see there is a wooden duck peaking over the top of the card!!!

 

Here are the challenges that I am entering today......

 

Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes

Natalie and Amy - Favourite Things

The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes

Card Crafters Circle - Anything Goes

Make it Monday

 

Thanks for stopping by today

 

Sharon x

 

 

 

 

 

Oh Christmas Tree

I couldn't resist one more quick post, whilst sitting here in my PJ's blogging!!

Here is a card that I made using a Denami Mimi stamp, which I water coloured for a change. I have mebellished with another gorgeous holly die, cut from pearlescent card and embellished with peal paint for the berries.

The base carda nd marring has all been made suing my Grands Nesties, and I could'nt let this one go without a bit of last minute glitter sprinkling!

And here are some more challenges:

Papertake - Pick of the Year - Anything Goes
Ecclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes
One Stop Craft - A Christmas Carol  Oh Christmas Tree
Make it Monday

That's all from me for now!

Sharon x

Something 'tweet'

Well, despite my best intentions, my plan to blog profulsely over the Christmas period never came to pass......there was just too much to do!

If you have seen my older posts, you will know that I had quite a list of crafty activities to complete ready for Christmas, and so I ended up still finishing up at midnight on Christmas Eve (or would that be Christmas Day once the clock struck 12!) - so it was a pretty close call.

I didn't help myself by deciding that I would make two more necklaces on the 23rd......I guess I just can't help myself!

So here is one of my cards which I made using  this cute Robin miage from Digistamp Boutique. I coloured him in with Promarkers and added some glitter (which for once you can actually see in the photo), before matting him up on some paper which I already had in my stash.....I think they were magazine freebies, but they are quite nice don't you think?

I finally topped it up with some gorgeous delicate die cuts..........I have to say I still have a momoent of amazement when you see how beautifully these come out when they are run through the machines,

So it's time to enter a few challenges again......here goes:

Papertake Pick of the Year - I chose 'Anything Goes'
Make it Monday
Ecclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
The paper Shelter - Anything Goes
My Time to Craft - Animals in the Snow
One Stop Craft - A Christmas Carol - Inspired by 'The Holly and the Ivy'

So that's my post for today. I would like to wish a Merry Christmas to all my visitors. I hope that you had enjoyed the festive season and I look forward to a Crfty New Year with you all.

Sharon x

We could be doing this soon!

 

Rumour has it that there could be some snow on the way in these parts, in the not too distant future.......and if that's the case, we could see a bit of sledging activity going on!

Aside from all the problems of getting on with daily life, a decent snow fall can work wonders for getting the kids outside....and my son is no exception. For once he is willing to put down his PC game controls in favour of some fun the old fashioned way........sledges, snowballs and freezing yourself to pieces, but not really caring!

This image really puts me in mind of that. It came from Digi Stamp boutique and is one of the last things that I printed before my old printer gave up the ghost.

I coloured it really simply with flat colouring and then mounted it on to some lovely papers from the NitWits Winter Mittens set.

Finally I have finished of with someglitter and a snow flake border cut from my Memory Box die.

Simple but sweet, I hope you will agree!

So here are the challenges that I would like to enter today:

The paper Shelter - Anything Goes
Make it Monday
Stamptacular Sunday - Christmas Time
Come and Get It - Merry Christmas
Ecclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
The Squirrel and the Fox - Christmas
Papertake Fav' Challenge - Anything Goes

So that's the end of another post. Only a few days of Pre Christmas panic left now! Hope your plans are are working out  - I'm off now to do some more wrapping.........fa la la la laaaaaa!! :o)

Sharon x

Winter Friends

Here I am - back with my second post of the evening, this time with no stamping!

This time I delved in to my gorgeous Mulberry Wood CD  to dig out the lovely decoupaged owls. I think they are my favourite characters on the CD as they look so cute perced on their little bracnch.

The backing papers are also from the CD and even the buttons and the paper beads came from the same place. I have to say I am right in to the paper beads now....there'something very satisfying about taking a flat piece of paper and making it in to a 3d bead.

And now on  to my challenges:

Crafters Companion - Winter Friends (of course!)
Make it Monday
Come and Get It - Anything Christmas
The Squirrel and the Fox - Christmas
Papertake Weekly - Pick of the Year - Anything Goes
Ecclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - So charming

Thanks for stopping by.

Sharon x

I'm on the Wagon

I am pleased to say that I have been alcohol free for two weeks now......I'm not talking about drinking, as I'm actually tee-total.....but what I am talking about is my beloved collection of alchohol pens!

So I thought it was about time that I got down to entering a few challenges once again, and here is my first card for that purpose.

As you can see, the Mimi stamp that I used has been water coloured, and I got busy with my grand nestabilities to make the backing card, and of course my gorgeous memory box tree die to make the background.

I thought I would enter this card in to the following challenges:

Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
Polka Doodles - Young Adult
Make it Monday
Papertake Weekly - Pick of the Year - Anything Goes

Thanks for looking.

Sharon x





I can't believe that I have left them alone for all this time. It wasn't a deliberate thing  - it's just that I have been really busy with other stuff....a lot of decoupage, knitting jumpers, making beaded bracelets.....you name it, I've been doing it.

Clean and Simple

As you will have noticed, I have been absent from blogging for a while now - unfortunately too much to do and too little time!!

So today I thought I would do a quick post to show a very simple card that I made using a lovely Mimi stamp from Denami and a random senitment stamp which I happened to come across im my stash.

Just for a change I have coloured using water colour pencils and I have used one of my new favourites - 4x4 inch cards.....small certainly can be beautiful!

There are a few challenges that I would like to enter and they are the ones:

Make it Monday
Papertake Weekly - Snow White
Card Crafters Circle - December Celebrations
Less is More - One Layer

So that was short and sweet for me today. Hopefully it won't be too long before I am back again!

Thanks for stopping by.

Sharon x

The Countdown has Begun.....

Unbelieveably, here we are in December already! I have been making various Christmas cards for ages, but none the less, the fact that Christmas is a little over three weeks away has still come as a bit of a shock!

I am very organised for me, as I have already bought most of my Christmas presents.....even the 'difficult' ones. However, there is quite a lot of crafting involved in my Christmas planning this year and, on that I am laggng sadly behind!

I have the following to make:

• 7 beaded bracelets (beautiful pearls that I just want to keep looking at....I don't know if I will be able to part with them)
• a load of Thomas Kinkaid decoupage cards for a number of family members who are coming to a special family gathering in 2 weeks time.
• A knitted jumper for my oldest great nephew (luckily I have already finished the one for the youngest)
• A load of gift tags as I brought my wrapping paper with the smart idea that I could make coordinating tags (cos I have got all the time in the world!)
• Decorated gift boxes for the aforementioned bracelets.

It will indeed be a Christmas miracle if I manage to get all ofthis done! When will I ever learn???

Still, if you can't go a bit craft crazy at Christmas, then when can you?????

In the meantime, here are a few challenges that I am going to enter with this very simple Christmas card.

I Love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Simon Say Stamp - Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter - Christmas is Coming
Ready Teddy Go - Clean and Simple
Eclectic Ellapu - Santa Paws

That's all for me now.....need to get back to ticking some items of that Christmas craft list!!

Sharon x

In Pieces........

 

 

Apologies for the quality of the picture (it was taken on one of those dayswhen we nevver seem to see any daylight) but I wanted to show a card today that uses paper piecing.

 

This cute little stamp is from Stamping Bella.....it's one that I have had for ages but, for one reason or another, never quite got round to using.

 

I needed to make this card in a bit of a hurry, so I decided to save a bit of time on colouring by doing a bit of ppr piecing instead. Who knew that it would take me longer to cut out the fiddly bits than to do the colouring! Her dress, under skirt and handbag have all been cit from the background papers. Here's her close up..........



 

Of course the rest of her is coloured with my trusty promarkers.

I couldn't let this one go without entering a few challenges, so here they are:

A Gem of a Challenge - Paer Piecing
I Love Promarkwes - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
ABC Challenge - Clear it Out

Sorry about the terrible spelling on the links - I am sure you get the idea anyway!

Sharon x

A girly moment.....

Much as I love Christmas and all the craftiness that goes with it, it's really nice to get away from it occassionally, and this girly card does just that.

This lovely little girl is a digi image from the Polkadoodles Pretty Sweet CD and the backing papers are from the same place. I chose the papers first, for their lovely colours which reminded me of Spring, and then I coloured in the girl to match using a combination of Promarkers and Sketch Markers. The embellishments are lovely Candy dots and a scrap of velvet ribbon.

I couldn't let this change of theme go by without entering a few challenges, so here they are:

Cute Card Thursday - Girls Only
Make in Monday
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
I love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Digital Tuesday - Girls

That's all for me today. I'm off now to do something a little different - stiching together a jumper that I have made for one of my great nephews for Christmas. It has taken me a while to do it, and I am worried that it won't fit him for long, so I need to sew it up quick, and give it as an earlier than planned Christmas present I think!!!

Bye for now.

Sharon x

Still Nuts!

Here's my second nutty card created this weekend, using the 'Go Nuts' squirrel. As you can see, he comes complete with his own sentiment....which is very appropriate!

This time I have used papers from the Docrafts Woodland set, which, I have to admit, is one of my favourite Docraft packs.  I have gone for a red squirrel this time, and embellished with more nuts, much to the disgust of my garden wildlife!

Once again I have some challenges to enter for this card.......

Make it Monday
Stampin for the Weekend - Use Texture
Creatalicious - Winter
Friday Sketch Challenge

That's enough Squirrel Business for today I think!

Sharon

Caution - May Contain Nuts!

Yes - this card really does contain nuts......nicked from my bird (and squirrel) feeder!

I received this stamp from Stamp Addicts, to have a little play with and for some reason, I felt the need to stick actual nuts to it.

The squirrel stamp is so lovely as he looks like he's been caught in the act, whilst stealing that hazelnut (reminds me of my son's face when he has raided the biscuit tin!)

I have followed a sketch from the Sweet Stop for this card and used some snowflake paper in an unusual colour to represent the winter, without being to obvious.

There are a few challenges that I would like to enter this card in to.......

Make it Monday
The Sweet Stop - Sketch
Stampin for the Weekend - Use Texture
Creatalicious - Winter

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon x

Snowy People

Here's a card that I made using another gorgeous Digistamp Boutique image.

I love all the sweet smiley faces!!

I have coloured them in with  my promarkers and added lots of sparkly glitter.

The backing papers are from a lovely NitWits set, appropriately named Winter Mittens, and I have used a memory box corner dies which I got at the Hobbycraft shows earlier this month.

Here's a close up of the characters:

I would like to enter this for the following challenges:

My Mum's Craft Shop
Creatalicious Challenges
Sweet Stamping
The Squirrel and the Fox
Crafty Calendar Challenge
Bearly Mine
Make it Monday

That's it for me today......dinner's ready.....time to go!!!

Sharon x

True or Faux???

Hi all. I hope you are all enjoying your weekend, despite the grey and gloomy weather that we are having today.

I thought I would opt for a bit of snowy cheerfulness today with this cute little digi image from Digistamp Boutique.

It's lovely and simple to colour and took no timeat all, so I invested a bit of time in making some more paper beads for the embellishments. Now that I know roughly what size and shape of paper I need to roll the right size beads, I can make them out of almost any paper, and in this case I have used some left over scraps of Nitwits digital paper.

I have also added a bit of faux stictching to create a frame and not forgetting the essential ingredient........GLITTER!!!!!!!

I have a few lovely challenges to enter today:

Christmas Card Challenge - Snowmen
Crafty Sentiments - Christmas
My Mums Craft Shop - Winter Wonderland
Anything Goes - Stitching - Real or Faux
Creatalicious - Winter

Right, time for me to go out and tackle tescos now, before a night or relaity TV entertainment!!

Sharon x

The Mulberry Moose

I never thought I would see the day when I would be raving about a stamped image of a moose, and yet that day has now arrived!

I really love the Mulberry Wood range and for some reason I have a particular soft spot for these mooses (is that how you say more than one moose - I kinda wanna say 'mice' but I know that's not right!

Here's a close up of them......

As I have had a few days off work I have had a chance to get some of my stamps out and my printer churning, and here is the first result. The papers arfe all from the Mulberry Wood CD and, I have to admit, I wasn't too sure about them when I first printed them off, but I am really pleased with how the card came together in the end, particularly as it is way out of my colour comfort zone.

I have colured these two buddies with alcohol pens and added a bit of glitter (it's mandatory for snowy scenes!), before putting the card together following a lovely sketch featuring on Cupcake Craft this week.

My son really liked this card, as it is a departure from my usual pinks and pastels, so I think this one may be earmarked for him........one family Christmas card down....a zillion to go!!!

Here are the challenges that I am entering today......

Cupcake Craft - Sketch
Make it Monday
Catch the Bug - Things with Tails
One Stop Craft - Anything Goes
Crafty Sentiments - Christmas
I love Promarkers - Christmas Trees
My Mums Craft Shop - Winter Wonderland
Sweet Stampin - Anything Goes

So that's all from me today. Back soon with some cards featuring a new technique for me.....paper beads. All of a sudden I am a little hooked on these, as I can't belive how a little slip of paper can turn in to a decorative beaded........I  may be a bit gluey fingered but I am certainly happy!!

Until next time.

Sharon x

Autumn Colours - Digi style

Hi all. I'm about to launch full swing in to Christmas, so, before I do, it's time for one last autumnal challenge.

I have used a lovely digi image from Stamp Addicts called Bear Inked, and coloured him in 'flat' style with my promarkers.

Everything else on the card is also digital. The beautiful papers and the gorgeous tree are all from my NitWits Go Nuts FQB, and the toadstools are from the Polka Doodles Sundae of Seasons CD.

So here are the challenges that I am going to enter today:

One Stop Craft - Anything Goes
Sweet Stamping - Anything Goes
Catch the Bug - Things with Tails
Di's Digi Designs - Fall Colours
Make it Monday

Thanks for stopping by today.

Sharon x

Getting Sentimental

 

So, after very good intentions of blogging earlier this morning,it is now 5.30pm and I have finally got a chance to load something up to show you.

I would like to say that I have been busy crafting all day - alas no! - but I have had a lovely day all the same, and I am very pleased with myself as I came across a very unusual, but perfect Christmas present, whilst I was out on my walk abouts.....can't really say any more about that now....nudge nudge, wink wink!!

I also got some very nice 'condiment' type pressies whilst at our local garden centre today so I am feeling that I have achieved something towards the festive season!!!!

Back to today's card though. As you can see, it's really simple and it's made using a lovely Polkadoodles stamp, very simply coloured in with Promarkers, on a 4 inch square card.

As you can see, I have pulled out my trusty sentiments sheet, to stamp a very simple 'thank you' at the bottom.

Simple....but sweet - I hope you will agree!!

So there are plenty of challenges that fit with this card, and here they are.....

Papertake - Anything Goes
My Mum'sCraft Shop - Sentiments
One Stop Craft - Anything Goes
Sweet Stampin - Anything Goes
Card Makin Mamas - Thank you
Passion for Promarkers - In the Garden
Less is More - 1 layer, houses

Well that's my card for today.

I am DETERMINED to colour some stamps at some time tomorrow....my SWALKs and Mulberrys are calling me.......watch this space!

Thanks for dropping by.

Sharon x

Mr Fox is back again!

I'm back again today with a second card featuring the Foxy stamp from Stamp Addicts.

This time I have pulled out some old Blonde Moments papers from the coffers, and I have to admit, I had forgotten that I had them. Ain't it great when you rediscover something!!!!

I thought these papers were great for a boy card and a really nice colour combination.

Having picked the papers first, I coloured in my Foxy with my Promarkers, to complement the papers.

Once again I have followed a sketch for this challenge, and here is the list of challenges that I would like to enter today:

By the Cute and Girly - Twinkle Little Star
The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes
Stampin for the Weekend - Anything Goes
Sketch Saturday
Allsorts - For Men Only
Papertake - Anything Goes
Make it Monday

So I'm going to sit back and chill out now. Tomorrow is my last day of work this week as I am off to Hobbycraft on Thursday and then I have a few more days off........bliss!

Have a good evening everyone.

Sharon x

Feelin' foxy.....

Yesterday I received this stamp in the post form Stamp Addicts. Entitled 'Foxy' it's going to be featured in one of the Create and Craft shows coming up this month.

So here is the product of my efforts of last night (in conjunction with watching the X Factor of course!)

I have followed a sketch from the Papertake challenge this week, but rotated it around by 90 degrees as the toadstools needed to be on the ground!!

I have coloured Mr Fox 'flat' with promarkers and the papers are all from the lovely Do Crafts Woodland pack.

Ooooh and not forgetting the lovely toadstools which I had printed from my Sunday of Seeasons CD (Polkadoodles of course!)

Here are the challenges for today:

Make it Monday
Anything Goes - Anything Goes
Papertake - Sketch
Stampin for the Weekend - Anything Goes
I Love Promarkers - Cute
The Papershelter - Anything Goes
Allsorts - Men Only

Thanks for stopping by today. I am gearing myself for a short working week this week as I am off to Hobbycraft on Thursday - whahoooooooo!!!!!!

Sharon x

Giving myself a Tea Break!

Well it's been a typical Saturday so far for me today. Firstly dragging myself out of bed ( I have to admit I need a bit of encouragement to drag myself out of my bed on a Saturday morning!)

Anyway, once I got going I have been getting on with the usual tasks that a working mum does on a weekend......washing, cleaning and all that fun stuff! Usually I try to get everything done and then find I have run out of time to craft and blog, so I end up posting at about 11pm or something ridiculous! So today I have decided to give myself a tea break and post at 11ish in the morning instead!

There are lots of 'anything goes' type challenges out there this week and also a 'manly' one from Allsorts so I decided to go with the boys for today.

As you may know, my beloved printer gave up on me earlier this week, and I can't tell you how badly I am missing it. Everything I want to do craft wise, seems to involve my Printer somewhere along the line, since the majority of my papers are of the digital variety these days! So I have decided to venture out to PC world this afternoon and get myself a new printer......then comes the scary bit of trying to get it connected to my laptop, which is now a bit of a dinosaur, running on Windows Vista. Oh well, one step at a time as they say!

In the meantime, the card I am blogging today was made with digital images and papers from the fabulous Pretty Tough CD form Polkadoodles.......my staple source on inspiration for just about any boy between 5 and 21!!!

As you can see, my Skater boy is coloured with promarkers, but the skateboard and greeting are printed directly from the CD, pre-coloured.......a little bit of a cheat but I hope I have got away with it!

Here are all the challenges that I am going to enter today:

Crafters Companion - Favourite Colour combination.....I have loads of favourites but the blue and burgundy is probably my favourite for a boy card.

Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
Anything Goes - Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes
By the Cute and Girly - Twinkle Little Star
Stampin for the Weekend - Anything Goes
Allsorts - Men Only
Make it Monday

Thanks for stopping by. Wishing you all a restful and crafty weekend!

Sharon x

Flowers Galore

Here's a card that I made a little while ago, using a lovely bear stamp from Stamp Addicts. I wanted the bear to be standing under a floral archway so I had to make this base card from scratch, creating a double thickness card arch way which I secured to the front and back of the base, in the hopes that it would stand upright once the card was finished.

All ofthe lovely pastel flowers came from one of my Nitwits DigiKits. I didn't make a note of which one I actually used, but you will find flowers like these in most of their FQB sets.

As you can imagine, I spent a fair amount of time cutting out those flowers, but oddly I find it quite relaxing.

The bear is coloured 'flat'  with my promarkers, and I have finished off with a little scrap of satin ribbon.

I would like to enter this card in to the following challenges:

Anything Goes Challenge - Anything Goes
Bearly Mine - Flowers Galore
I Love Promarkers - Cute
The Paperlane - Anything Goes
Make it Monday
Stampin for the Weekend - Anything Goes

That's all for me today.

Thanks for stopping by.

Sharon x

Getting Girly.

Time to get back to the girly stuff today ans the Lili's Little Fairy's challenge this week is all about Christmas cards for girls.

So I inked up this lovely little lady, set to work on her with my promarkers and glitter, and here is the result.

I followed a sketch as well and embellished with some little pearlescent snow flakes which I bought years ago, and topped them off with some little green dew drops from Polka Doodles.

The papers are all from one of my first edition pads, which is just as well as my printer has decided to die on me today.......aaarrggghhh!!!

So here are the challenges that I would like to enter today.....

Make it Monday
I Love Promarkers
Stampin for the Weekend
Lili's Little Fairys
Sunday Sketch and Stamp
Eclectic Ellapu
The Paper Shelter


Thanks for looking. Back tomorrow with something that I managed to make before my printer conked out!!

Sharon x

Snow is Falling!!

It has been freezing in our neck of the woods today and, can you believe that there has been the threat of snow?? I must admit that I was thinking 'fat chance' until my hubby received a text from his friend in Peterborough (which is not all that far from us) to say that they woke up to snow this morning. Then this afternoon we had a MASSIVE hail storm.  Talk about an overnight change!!

So, since winter is clearly on it's way and Christmas is less than two months away (aaarrghhhh!!!), I thought it was time to get the snowman out!!

This stamp (from Stamp Addicts) is pretty big as you can see from the card, but it has remarkably little colouring which is always a bonus when you have a lot of Christmas cards to make.

I have kept this card really simple, colouring the snowman with Promarkers and mounting on to a scalloped card which I have distressed with ink, before adding some red ribbon for that festive feel.

Here are the lovely challenges that I am entering this card in to.......

I Love Promarkers - Christmas is Coming
Make it Monday
Stampin for the Weekend - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by today.

Sharon

Oh Christmas Tree.....

As promised, I'm back today with the card that I started yestrday, but never quite got around to finishing.

The image is a gorgoeus Lili of the Valley who somehow manage to makecute looking boy images that still look like boys if you knoe what I mean! This little chap looks like he's on a mission with his Christmas tree (for some reason it reminds me of the national Lampoons Christmas Vacation Movie - probably because they go out in to the snowy wilderness to seek out the Griswald family tree  - note to self.....must dig ot that DVD this Christmas!)

I have coloured the image with promarkers and added glitter for a bit of sparkle...bt the glitter is so fine that it hardly picks up on the picture.....guess you will just have to trust me that it's there!

The backing papers are printed from one of my Nitwits digi collections....only printed them yesterday, but forgot to make a note of which digiset they came from.....sorry!

There are lots of lovely challenges that I would like to enter this card for, so here goes:

Bearly Mine - Anything Goes
My mum's craft shop - Anything Goes
Lili's Little Fairies - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - Got Glitter
Ilove Promarkers - Anything Goes
One Stop Craft - Anything Goes
The Poodles Parlour - Anything Goes

That's all for now folks. Have a good week all.

Sharon x

Wings n things

It's back to a nice simple card for me today using one of my older stamps.

I love this stamp because it's so simple but really effective and I especially love the little mouse and his ink pot.

This card is one of my 'tiny' ones at only 4 inches square. I have coloured in promarkers and gone for something a little different  with the matting by matting the back two layers directly on to the base card, adding my ribbon and then raising the image, which give a little bit of a shadowed effect.

Here are the challenges that I am entering today:

Flutter by Wednesday - Wings
Bearly Mine - Anything Goes
I Love Promarkers - Anything Goes
The Poodle Parlour - Anything Goes
One Stop Craft Shop - Anything Goes
Make it Monday

Thanks for stopping by - more tomorrow, as I ve been playing with my lovely LOTV stamps again!

Sharon x

Mulberry Magic

How cute is this little puppy? He's from the Mulberry Wood Christmas range, which I was lucky enough to receive for my birthday earlier this year.

I had a lovely colouring session the other night, with my Spectrum Noirs, and this is the result.

I then printed some papers from the Mulberry CD and followed the sketch on Sketch Saturday to make this card.

I'm not going to waffle on too much today, but I would like to enter the following challenges:

Make it Monday
Simon Says Stamp - Dies and Punches
http://sketchsaturday.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/week-229-with-simon-says-stamp.html
Eclectic Ellapu - Anything Goes
Bearly Mine - Anything Goes
Deep Ocean - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by today.

Sharon

Classic Christmas

As promised, here I am, back with a little bit of Lili of the Valley. Their challenge this week is classic Christmas and I think that this lovely little image is a real representation of a traditional Christmas.

There's quite a lot of colouring involved here but I really think it's worth it for the end result.

For this card I have delved in to my NitWits digital collection, picking some backing paper, a faux ribbon and a matching frame which I resized on my Serif programme. I then stampd directly in to the frame, and added a bit of dimension by decoupaging the holly sprigg.

I have also parted with some of my beloved bell charms to finsh the card off.

Here are challenges that I am entering today:

Deep Ocean - Anything Goes
Lili'sLittle Fairies - Classic Christmas
Eclecticellapu - Anything Goes

That's me done for today.

Thanks for looking.

Sharon x

Going to Paper Pieces

I'm back with my second post of the day......this time on the theme of paper piecing.

For once I have used something other than alcohol pens........and gone with my water colour pencils and Lyras instead. I had such fun with these preparing for my demo day at Stamp Addicts, a few weeks ago, that I decided I must get them out and dust them off more often. Perhaps it should be my New Year's Resolution!

Anyway - back to the card. This one is made using one of my many Mimi stamps and I have kept it very clean and simple, using one of the backing papers to paper piece the car......I guess I was going for that VW Beetle sort of effect. I've also added a few Polka Doodles dew drops as a bit of embellishment and I am quite surprised to say that you can actually see them on this picture!!

On with the challenges now. Here are the ones that I am entering....

Make it Monday
Deep Ocean - Anything Goes
A Gem of a Challenge - Flowers
Cute Card Thursday - Paper Piecing

Thanks for stopping by today.

Back tommorow with something for Lili of the Valley.

Sharon x

Winging It......

The challenge over at Less is More today is one layer but incorporating wings.

I decided to move away from the obvious and use one of my lovely Patchwork Polly stamps from Jayne Nestorenko at Crafters Companion. This character is called Helena, and she is named after Jayne's best friend. I am pleased to say that I have had the pleasure of meeting both lovely ladies, and it's nice to know the story, and the person, behind the image.

For this card, everything is stamped on the base layer and coloured in with good old promarkers. As you can see I've added a good old bit of glitter sparkle just to finish it off.

So here are the challenges to go with this card:

Less is More - One Layer
Make it Monday
Deep Ocean - Anything Goes
A Gem of a Challenge - Flowers

So that's my first post today.

I'm going for the double whammy today, so back shortly with another post (as you can guess, housework has been de-prioritised this weekend!)

Sharon x

Prima Ballerina

Time for some pink girlyness today I think!

Here's a card that I made using a lovely classical ballerina image from Stamp Addicts. There is very little to colour on her and, as you can see, I have glittered the tutu to give it that light and airy feel.

I have gone with some quite classical papers to amtch, but unfortunately they are left overs from my existing stash so I am not too sure where they came from.

I have finished off with some lovely silk ribbon and lots of flowers, punched from pearlescent paper, finished off with pearl paint centres.

Time to enter a few challenges now.......

Gem of a Challenge - One for the girls
Crafters Companion - Anything Goes
Deep Ocean - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp - Dies and Punches
Make it Monday

Thanks for stopping by today.

Sharon x

Something Spooky's Going On.......

Well it has suddenly hit me that Halloween is just around the corner......hard to believe when we are having such mild weather at the moment, but the indications are there....the leaves changing and starting to fall off the trees, the way that it suddenly turns a bit chilly when the sun goes behind a cloud, and of course those nights are really starting to draw in now!

I have to say that I love the halloween celebrations......lots of lovely colours, lots of fun and....most of all CHOCOLATE!!  It's all to easy to start to feel regrets when the summer is suddenly over and the dark nights are taking over, and I think Halloween is a great way to inject a bit of fun, just when you need a bit of a boost.

So here's my Halloween card, which I plan to enter in to some of the spooky challenges which are out there right now. This card will of course be for my son, and features some lovely Halloween digi's coupled up with some lovely papers that I got years ago but never wanted to cut in to!

This reminds me exactly of what goes on in our neck of the woods once darkness falls on Halloween night.....long may it continue....a bit of harmless fun.

Here are the challenges that I am going to enter:

Papertake - Anything Goes
Without Words - Things that go bump
Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
The Poodles Parlour - Halloween
Crafty Calendar - All things Spooky
The Ribbon Girl - Card for a boy

That's all for me today...gonna sign off now and hope to find a little time for crafting this evening!

Sharon x

Long Time....No Blog

Well it's been quite a while since I have blogged anything....so much going on and so little time.

Life and work have been manic I'm afraid, so I haven't even had time to surf and comment! Sorry to all my blogging friends....I will come back and visit  you soon, I promise!

In the meantime, just a quick shout to say thanks to anyone who came over to the Stamp Addicts Birthday Day last Saturday. I had such a lovely time demoing that day and it was lovely to meet and chat with some lovely crafters......craft people are such a friendly bunch aren't they!

During that day I was tasked with demonstrating water colouring using the Denami Mimi range of stamps. I t couldn't have been beter for me as I love these stamps and I have a good old selection at home. It was the perfect excuse to get them out, dust them off and have a good old play with them......perfect!

This is one of the cards that I made as a sample, using one of the fab stamps, some Denami patterned paper and of course a generous dose of glitter. I used a Marianne die to create the flowers (which turned out to be quite heavy - hence the lopsided appearance of the card) and made the centres with a little blob of pearly paint!

So, I thought it's time I entered a few challenges once again,  and here they are.....

Totally Papercrafts - shaped cards
A Gem of a Challenge - For the  Girls
Crafters Companion - Birthdays
Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
Make it Monday

That's all for me today.

I wil ltry to get back in to good blogging habits and come back tomorrow!

Sharon x

All that glitters is not gold....

Or in this case, all that is gold does not necessarily glitter!

In this case I have gone for a matt gold, rather than a glittery gold effect......quite unusual for me as I usually like to add a bit of glitter at every opportunity!

For this card I have coloured in one of the new Teddies from Stamp Addicts, using my Spectrum Noirs.

I then die cut and oval in to my base card  and attached the bear at the top and bottom. He was meant to be hanging free, but he kept twisting round for some reason, and, since the back is not as attractive as the front, I had to make sure he was secured properly in place!!

The gorgeous gold die cuts are from a lovely Marianne die, and I can't believe how beautifully embossed they have come out.

I have a few challenges which Iwould like to enter this card in to........

Crafters Companion - Gold
Make in Monday
Spectrum Noir Challenge - Holidays

Thanks for looking.

Sharon x

Feeling Blue

Feeling blue - not in a down hearted way, but wanted to use these lovely NitWits papers which are lovely shades of lilac and blue.

I decided to follow a sketch from the Tuesday Morning Sketch blog - once again it's a fairly clean and simple onw, which really sits my style the best. I have used  one of the lovely Stamp Addicts bears once again and coloured him blue owth Spectrm \noirs to match the theme.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges:

Tuesday Morning Sketch
Make it Monday
Little Miss Muffet - Anything Goes
Totally Papercrafts - For a Child
Stamping for the Weekend - Feeling Floral

Thanks for looking.

Sharon x

Sketch Saturday

I do like a relatively simple sketch......nice clean lines and not too many layers, so the sketch on the Skretch Saturday Challenge was right up my street.

Here's the card that I made using one of the lovely new teddy stamps from Stamp Addicts,and coloured him in with my Spectrum Noirs and used some NitWit backing papers. (Sorry - I printed them off but can't for the life of me think which set they were on!

So just a couple of challenges to enter today:

Sketch Saturday
Make it Monday

Thanks for stopping by today.

Sharon x

Still thinking about that 'Awwww' factor

 

Since Papertake put up their challenge last week, I have come to the conclusion that a little bit of 'Awww' is good for the soul, and, on that basis, here is my second card with a little bit of Awww factor thisweek.

I just love this stamp - it's quite a good size - as you can see, it takes up a reasonable amount of space on a 6x6 card......and it really doesn't need all that much embellishment.

For this card I stamped direct on to the base card and coloured with promarkers. I followed with a stamped greeting in the opposite corner and finished off with a bit of doodling.

Don't you think that it's amazing that an artist can draw a circle with two dots in such a way as to make a cute and endearing face? I wish I had such a skill!!

In the meantime, I'm going to share the 'Awww' by entering in to a few challenges:

Papertake - things that make you go Awwww
Make it Monday
Passion for Promarkers - Clean and Simple
My Time to Craft - All white except the image

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope you get to enjoy lots more 'Awwww' moments this week.

Sharon x

Things that Make You Go Awwwww....

That's the title of the Papertake challenge this week and, since I am a fan of all things cute, it seemed like the perfect challenge for me.

So here's my card for today, mixing up two of my favourite things - Cuteness and Christmas!!

 

These guys have come from Stamp Addicts and I really like them. The reindeer on the left is actually leaping, but it looked to me more like he was kneeling..........also, the two hearts that you see are actually paw prints. So much for my interpretation of the rubber!!!!

 

Well, whether they're leaping or kneeling, I think these two definitely have the 'Awwww' factor so I am going to enter this card for the Papertake of course, plus a few others......

 

Bearly Mine - Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday - Christmas in September

Totally Papercrafts  - Use your favourite stamp

J and C Creations - Cute Christmas

 

Thanks for stopping by today.

 

Sharon x

I'm going to be a demonstrator!

This is just a quick post to let you know that I am going to be a demonstrator at the Stamp Addicts demo day, coming up on Saturday 29th September.

I am really looking forward to the day as it will be another first for me on my Crafty Ambitions list. If any of you happen to be in the vicinity of Bedford on the day, I would love it if you were to drop by and say hello!

Also, coming up on 13th September is a Stamp Addicts Birthday Bonanza on Create and Craft. Sadly, I wno't be appearing on TV but hopefully some of my card sampples will be!

Sharon x

Mr and Mrs........

Mr and Mrs...............Claus!

Here's a card that I have made  using the lovely Santa Claus set from Stamp Addicts.

These are such cute little characters and really fun to colour with my promarkers. For this card I've added a little bit of doodling around the edges for extra interest.

And now to enter a few challenges.......

Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly Challenge
Stampin for the Weekend
The Squirrel and the Fox

Thanks for looking.

Sharon x

Is there such a thing as a Reinephant?

Or maybe an Eledeer??? I guess that if you can have an elephant dressed up as a Reindeer, then there is indeed such a thing......and here it is!

How cute is this image??? I just love the way rhat the two little elephants are looking at each other as if they're not really sure what to make of it all.....

So this is my second Christmas offering for today. A Humphrey's Corner Christmas stamp once again, but this time the gorgeous backing papers are from a First Edition Paper set. I don't know if you can see too well on the picture but the Bauble paper is glittered - it's just lovely and I am amazed that I have been able to part with it (still got a couple of sheets left though!!)

Once again, there are lots of lovely challenges out there, so I'm entering this card in to the following:

Make it Monday
Secret Crafter - Animal Antics
Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
Anything Goes - Early Christmas
My Mums Craft Shop - Anything Goes
Papertake - Anything Goes
Stamptacular Sunday - Sketch

Well that's it for me today!

PS - Quick announcement - look out for the next Stamp Addicts show coming up on 13th September on C&C......

Sharon x

All creatures great and small

Well it's back into Christmas mode for me today......partly because I was dying to try out the gorgeous new Marianne Designs holly die that I recently got my hands on!

As you can see I have used one of the beautiful Humphrey's Corner Christmas stamps, coloured in with Spectrum Noirs and a little glitter added for good measure.

I have added Pearl berries to my holly and mounted the whole thing on to some lovely backing paper from the Hunphrey's Corner Christmas CD.

There are lot's of lovely challenges that I can enter this card in to, so here they are:

Make It Monday
The Ribbon Girl - Just Add Pearls
Secret Crafter - Animal Antics
Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
Anything Goes - Early Christmas
My Mums Craft Shop - Anything Goes
Papertake - Anything Goes

So that's post number one for today.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon x

Animal Antics

Well, here we are at Sunday evening once again - with another busy week ahead to look forward too! I had hoped to have a bit of crafting time this weekend, but sadly to no avail.... I seem to have got caught up in a whole lot of nothing, and lost track of time!

The good news is though that I managed to get 25000 paces on my pedometer (we are doing a team fitness challenge at work for a six week period) I am trying my best to think a little more about fitness....which is OK while the challenge is on.....but I am wondering if I will be able to keep up my new healthier lifestyle afterwards!!

Anyway - back to the crafting.

Here's a card that I made a while back, but never got round to blogging:

The cute little stamp is from Stamp Addicts, and I reckon it would be a good one to use for halloween if you want to get away from all the creepy stuff, as it could easily be a little kiddy all dressed up for Trick or Treating.

I coloured him with promarkers and used a Stamps by Judith pawprint stamp to stamp out the backing paper before mounting on to a black stepper card and finishing on to a black stepper card.

I would like to enter this for the following challenges:

Make It Monday
I Love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Catch the Bug - Anything Goes
Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Animal Antics

Right - time for less blogging and more crafting I think!

See you soon!

Sharon x

The boys are back in town!

On this lovely sunny Saturday afternoon I thought it was time to put a 'boy' card on my blog once again as they really are too few and far between!!

This one is made from a digi stamp and backing papers all from the Polkadoodles Pretty Tuff CD - my one stop shop for anything boyish!

I followed a Sketch from an old challenge for this particular card and coloured the image with a combination of Promarkers and Flexmarkers.

Here are the challenges that I would like to enter today.....
Hooked on Craft - Cards for Men
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
I Love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Gem of a Challenge - A Boy Thing
By the Cute and Girly - Boys
Bugaboo - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sharon x

Anything Goes

There are plenty of 'Anything Goes' challenges out there this week, so I thought I would enter this card that I made a while ago, using some lovely Gnome stamps from Stamp Addicts.

Not much to say about this one really except that everyting is coloured with Promarkers and the papers are all from Do Crafts.

Looking at this now, I guess that, with a few colour changes, this image could easily be used for a Christmas card as the little guy could easily be one of Santas Helpers with the naughty or nice list!!

Anyway, here are the challenges that I am entering today.....

Make it Monday
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
I Love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Natalie and Amy - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by today!

Sharon x