A couple of sketches ... and several parties!!

What a day ...I haven't been working during the day as Beth is under the weather again and we have been back to the doctors ... again. Now she needs urine and blood tests as they are not sure what is going on - great!!! Doing the urine test won't be too bad, but they are talking about sending her to hospital for the blood test and she is very aware of the hospital having had a few visits there.
Anyway it has meant that I have been able to make a card and get two I made last night uploaded!
I'm not sure what was going on when Ellie and Beth were born ... but lots of their friends are celebrating birthdays in the next 6 weeks!!! So far we have 9 party invites ... so that 9 cards, 9 presents!! I thought I would get started on the first two, one on Thursday and one on Sunday so I am not rushed at the last minute LOL!!
This is for a little girl called Molly who both Ellie and Beth have been at pre-school with. She is very into pink (and ponies, but not going there LOL!!) and candles!
I used the Sunday Sketch and Stamp for the layout.
I adore these Tina Wenke Critters (available from Secret Crafter) and have coloured this cutie in using distress inks and stickles. Its a bit pink isn't it - hopefully the yellow tones it down a bit! The dp are Making Memories.

This card is for Madison and she is very girly so this is PINK!! I followed the Friday Sketcher sketch for this one, and used DCWV Nursery Stack.
Again another Tina Wenke Critter image and its been watercoloured and stickled. As the papers are rather busy I didn't put any flowers on it.

Finally after a day and half this morning I decided to get creative with the Stamp with Fun sketch, and as I love the colours, another go at Stampin for the Weekend.
I watercoloured Tilda and distressed the image using antique linen, dried marigold and vintage photo. I stamped the swirl stamp down the edges using sepia ink. I stamped the design papers using the same stamp. The papers are patterned, just very delicately (MME Everyday Tango). I distressed both the papers and cardstock and inked the edges. To add a bit of texture I used natural raffia (Bunny Zoe's shop) and added flowers that I spritzed with walnut gold glimmer mist. The bracket is coloured using vintage photo ink and then spritzed with walnut gold glimmer mist ... here it is close up ...
Its come out really well, but not the colour I expected!!!
I have used the colours and a sketch so I am entering this into the Roses on Paper challenge, and don't forget they do have a DT call at the moment.

Sketch and Stash #21

Yet another fabby sketch from Becky - although I do confess to be slightly challegned by the wonky layered papers ... how come when it needs to be wonky I can't do it, and yet normally I have no problems with wonky LOL!!
I won this adorable stamp off Lorraine's blog and couldn't resist stamping it up. I stamped it in sepia and watercoloured it, before 3d glossing the baubles. I used green organza ribbon and some layered flowers ... no sentiment yet .. still hunting the Christmas sentiments! The papers are new as well.
DO check out the other DT members blogs.
Recipe:
Stamp(s): Stampabilities Foot loose and fancy free
Colouring Media: distress inks
Papers: Forever Friends
Embellishments: Prima flowers, brads and ribbon from stash

Where does the time go?!

I can't believe it is already Sunday afternoon ... where does the time go? I have finished off a couple of cards I started last night - hubby's finally got round to placing a light in my craft room so I can colour properly - well I would be able to if my water brush was behaving!!!
We took the girls to a miniature railway yesterday, as it was Dave's big boss's retirement do ... just a round trip of 6 hours on the train!!! The girls loved it as they got to go on 4 trains (we had to go into London and out) and they could colour and draw, unlike being trapped in the car for hours!! Here's a pic of them and a little train!! Beth loved going on the trains and Ellie spent her time catching fairies in the woods ... we now apparently have 12 living with us. I wonder how good they are at ironing, washing up ...!!!
I made it into my craft room last night and coloured the images for the two cards I am going to show, and chose the papers.

The first is for the following challenges:
Just Magnolia - sketch
Roses on Paper - orange, brown and green, plus sketch
Stampin' for the weekend- orange, brown and leafy green (glad you're back girls!)
Stamp Something - Brown plus

OK in the sketch the image is circular, but Tilda didn't look right so she's oval!!! I watercoloured her and distressed the background. I used my favourite autumnal papers and matted them onto green and brown cardstock. Rather than used flowers I stamped some leaves and gold embossed them, and cut them out.
Roses on Paper are doing a DT call if you are interested.

The second card is for Alison Acton (one of Whiff of Joy's artists) as sahe and her husband are expecting their first baby really soon. Katharina would like everyone to send her a card and there is candy up fro grabs.
I used the Penny Black Saturday Challenge, Buttons and Bows, Cute Card Thursday's Charms, and the Papertake Weekly sketch.

I used this gorgeous PB image as I love it for baby cards and watercoloured it. I matted the dp on yellow cardstock and added some ribbon, buttons and an ickle flower. The sentiment is from WoJ's baby sentiments.

Recipe:
Stamp(s): Magnolia Tilda with Basket, autumn leaf; Penny Black Baby Hammock, WoJ baby sentiments
Colouring Media: Distress inks
Papers: Basic Grey Mellow; DCWV Nursery Stack
Embellishments: ribbon, buttons, flower, charm from stash

Trick or Treat

I don't really do Halloween cards, but I have made Ellie a bag for our Halloween trick or treat treasure hunt (Beth's is in the pipeline!!)
I used a few challenges to help me along the way ...
Simon Says Stamp - halloween
Allsorts - halloween
Colour Create - red, yellow, black, white, and the optional flowers (sorry no checks!)
Cute Card Thursday - Charms
Sketch Saturday - sketch rotated

So here's the bag ...

and a close up of the front ...
I made the backing paper using my Tim Holtz mask and weathered wood and black soot distress inks. Its been a while since I did any masking and I really like this fence. I would have liked Wilma standing behind it, but my printer doesn't like the card I use for my bases and the paper I use for digi images is not very distres ink friendly - so Wilma is floating slightly LOL!! I stamped the swirls at the top using versafine and ran the cardstock through the cobwebs CB folder. I distressed them in weathered wood and black soot. I added the ribbon, fab hat charm (from Bunny-Zoe's shop) and flowers. Finally I added a bit of stickles to the stars on the hat.

I'll be back later with some pics of the girls - we had a day out yesterday and hopefully another card- off to craft!

Recipe:
Stamp(s): Wilma Witch; swirl stamp from Katzel Kraft
Colouring Media: Promarkers
Papers: cardstock and coredinations
Embellishments: ribbon, charm, punched flowers and brads from stash

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge #53

It's Debby's turn to set the challenge this week, and she has chosen Autumn colours. To me autumn is full of oranges and reds, golds and browns.
I love this image, and she reminds me of autumn breezes. I watercoloured her using orange and brown distress inks and then distressed the edges. Mellow has to be my favourite set of autumn papers, so they out they came! I used some leaves from last year's Magnolia Autumn kit and stamped over the cardstock in versamark and heat embossed them using gold embossing powder.
Here's a close up of them.
Do check out the other DT members' blogs to see theiur interpretations.
Recipe:
Stamp(s): Sugar Nellie Windswept; Magnolia autumn leaves and sentiment
Colouring Media: Distress inks
Papers: Basic Grey Mellow
Embellishments:

Dutch Dare Challenge 62

This week's challenge is a recipe:

2 different colours of cardstock

2 different pieces of Patterned Paper

2 flowers

2 brads

2 gemstones/buttons

I adore this stamp, and have to use it at Christmas. I watercoloured the image, and glittered and glossed the berries. I matted the patterned paper onto green cardstock, and embossed a piece of red cardstock using my baubles folder. I layered up a prima flower and attached it using a small brad. I added a big brad to the opposite corner of the image. A couple of red gems finish it off.

Do have a peek at the other DT cards.

Recipe:
Stamp(s): Penny Black Holly Jolly Christmas
Colouring Media: Distress inks
Papers: Forever Friends
Embellishments: Prima flowers

Halloween

I am not a big Halloween card maker ... don't really send Halloween cards. However one of the little boys I mind is a big fan of the spooky night and can't wait for the trick or treating. So I have made a card just for him!!
I have made the card using the following challenges:
Everybody-Art-Challegne - sketch (rotated and shapes altered slightly!)
Passion for Promarkers - any colours, 3 shapes, 2 papers and 1 ribbon
A Spoonfull of Sugar - Halloween
Creative Card Crew - Celebration

Isn't he a cutie!!! I coloured him using my promarkers and then used my nesties to cut out the circles to create the moon. I used the ickle bat that is part of the download on the sentiment.
OK I confess I was having a senior moment and have ended up with 4 shapes - perhaps the square is a squashed rectangle or the oval a stretched circle!! But I really like it so I'm not altering it now LOL!!!

Off for a quick coffee and a bit of blog hopping before collecting the girls from Pre-school - hopefully the rain will go away this afternoon!

Nikki and Lacey are launching a new range of stamps, Wags 'n' Whiskers stamps, on October 9th with a fab blog hop. Look here for more details. They also have some fab candy on offer.



Recipe:
Stamp(s): Digital delights by Louby Loo download
Colouring Media: Promarkers
Papers: Papermania and freebie download
Embellishments: cord from stash

Whiff of Joy challenge

Just a quick post before I give up on the day!! We have spent the late afternoon and early evening in Blackpool with my parents. We have had some scrummy fish and chips, tram rides and seen the illuminations. The girls loved it all, especially the fish and chips!! The downside was the wind - it was really strong so we couldn't go on the beach. The girls are now tucked up in bed and I can share a card I made earlier today.

One of my friend's is expecting her 4th baby, and two weeks before it is due the scans are still saying it is going to be a girl ... their 4th girl!! So here goes the jinxing!
I have coloured Willow in using promarkers and copics, a new thing for me, as I normally stick to my distress inks with these stamps. I used these gorgeous Nursery papers by DCWV and have kept the details simple. As the handmade flowers I made this morning worked so well I had another go ... I used 3 sizes of nesties and stamped swirls over the circles using tattered rose distress ink, and it was all going well until I let Ellie do the glimmer misting ... not so misted as soaked!! All the curling went ... well flat!! I added pearls to the centre of the flowers, organza ribbon and a charm.


Katharina has 2 of her Winter Stamp kits up for grabs. The pre-order for the Kit is open until October 23rd. It includes 6 brand new, never before seen, main character stamps, 1 large accessory stamps, 3 small accessory stamps designed by Elisabeth Bell and 4 text stamps. The blog candy ends 22nd October.

Recipe:
Stamp(s): WOJ Willow with Baby; WOJ sentiment; WOJ swirl
Colouring Media: promarkers and copics
Papers: DCWV Nursery
Embellishments: ribbon, charm pearls from stash

Girly

The girls and hubby are having a fab time picking all the conkers up in the back garden ... so I made a card!!
I used this week's Friday Sketcher sketch, rotated, hand made flowers from Just magnolia, decoupage from Charisma cards and finally Simon Says Stamp girly.
I coloured my image using promarkers and decoupaged it up. I cut the mat out using my nesties and used worn lipstick distress ink to stamp the pattern on it. I made the flowers, following Michele's fab tutorial, but as I didn't have the die she uses I used my circle nesties and only used 3 circles per flower. I stamped onto the circles and inked the edges.

Here are my flowers ...
and the decoupage ...
Simon Says Stamp ask that you send your card either to Paige or to a sick child ... I am going to cheat and give it to one of the children I mind as she is 9 next week. She has quite bad epilepsy and is gutted that her medication isn't controlling the daily fits, so now needs yet more tablets. So I hope this counts.

Recipe:
Stamp(s): Magnolia Swing Tilda; Cuddly Buddly sentiment
Colouring Media: Promarkers
Papers: DCWV Nursery stack
Embellishments: raffia and pearls from stash

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge 52

WOW I can't believe the SCSC has been going a whole year!!

Wendy has chosen this week's theme ...

CELEBRATION

We have four prizes up for grabs this week.

Digital Delights have sponsored us with $10 to spend in their store

Sketching stamper have sponsored 4 images

Wendy will be putting together a crafting goody bag

We will be offering a DT place

For my card I used Butterfly Caller from Sketching Stamper.

I coloured the image using my promarkers and inked the edges. I used these butterfly papers from a K and Co pad I have, and matted the dp onto blue cardstock. I distressed the edges a little to soften them. I added purple raffia and attached a butterfly charm to a heart brad.


Recipe:
Stamp(s): Sketching Stamper Butterfly Caller
Colouring Media: Promarkers
Papers: K and Co
Embellishments: brads, raffia and charm from stash