Three little girls

I did some birthday cards yesterday for 3 little girls' up and coming birthday .. .so pink had to be involved :(
 

 This is one of Sugar Nellie's new releases, Best Day Ever, and she is coloured using distress inks.  The dp is Tilda and co and I added some seam binding and some punched flowers with pearls at their centre.

This is another of Friday's Sugar Nellie release, Birthday Princess, and again she is coloured in distress inks.   I used cardstock, and embossed the white panel with my sizzix folder.  Some more seam binding, a layered flower and some pearls. I put glossy accents on the balloon. This is going to be the little girl I mind's 2nd birthday card.

Finally one of my favourite Sugar Nellie's Rosie, again coloured in distress inks.  The cardstock is embossed using my d'vine swirls and sizzix folders. I added some gingham. punched flowers and pearls.  The wings and rose are stickled using rock candy stickles.

Challenges:
Bunny Zoe - photo inspiration
Ribbon Girl - blue and pink
Sentimental Sunday - ribbon
Stamptacular Sunday - texture
Pollycraft - ribbon, sparkle and flowers
make it monday
Charisma Cardz - Happy Birthday
Winter Wonderland - birthday wishes

inky inky

 Much as I love my images and pens, I do like to get inky and messy too ... so I thought I would have a go at combining the 2!!  I love the effect I got the other night from combing orange, red and black to create a card using TH stamps (you can find it here), so I had another go, but this time rather than using a sentiment stamp I used a Sugar Nellie image.

 I used Goth Girl and coloured her using my promarkers. I used spiced marmalade, fired brick, aged mahogany and black soot DIs to create the background on the image and card blank.  The stamps are from a TH set, and I added gingham and satin ribbon, and a heart covered in fired brick distress stain and rock candy crackle paint.

Challenges:
The Stampman - use red
Simon Says Stamp and Show - red letter day

 And as my messy mat was still out this morning, I thought i would do a bit more inking ...

I masked off the card blank and then created the sky using tumbled glass, faded jeans and chipped sapphire DIs.  The bird stmap is from a TH set and I added some flat backed pearls.  No sentiment yet, partly as I am not a sentiment person, very rarely add them to my cards, and only then when I know who I am sending it to, and partly as I can't think of anything appropriate at the mo!!

Challenges:
Crazy4 challenge - monochrome in blues
Less is More - birds
Secret Crafter Saturday challenge - anything goes with blue

Hug a 'shroom!!!

 This week's Sweet Stampin' challenge is glitter, sparkle and bling and we are sponsored by The Emerald Fairy Garden. who are offering 2 digis.

 This adorable fairy (or is it a pixie ... you wouldn't believe the discussions we have had in our house about what kind of magical creature this is!!!) is called Ebony, and I coloured it using my prisma pencils. I just love her hugging that mushroom, you can feel the love!!!! The dp is MME and I stitched and distressed it all.  I added some raffia lace and then some adhesive gems.   Now the sparkle doesn't show, but I glamour dusted the wings and dolloped a load of frosted lace stickles onto the mushroom and spread it out.  I real life it really sparkles, trust me!!

Challenges:
The pixie Cottage - stitching
Simply Create - layers, layers, layers

Totally Papercrafts Challenge

 Wooohhhooooo its Friday!!  Roll on tonight and the weekend!  Its also time for another otally papercrafts challenge and it is Caroline's turn to choose the challenge ... a nice easy one ...  Spots an Stripes.  

 I used a Gorguss girl I haven't inked up for ages and paper peiced her dress, colouring the rest in using promarkers.  The dp are digi papers and I added some faux stitching, a PB sentiment, and some card candy.  The white panel is embossed using my CB Swiss dots folder.  Finally some white card candy to finish.

Challenges:

Allsorts - paper piecing
Paper Take Weekly - die cute
For Fun - anything goes
I love Promarkers - cute and cuddly

My mum's craft shop - here come the girls

Simon Says Stamp - spots and stripes

Pixie Cottage - sketch and stitching

Paperplay - in stitches 

Moving along with the times - spots and stripes 

Molten Tones

I love Design Seeds and have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to my favourite colour combinations from Design Seeds.  Yesterday this was one of the colour combinations posted ...

How cool is that photo and colour combination??  I just had to go and create with those colours in mind ... and this is what I came up with ...

 I inked up the tag using weathered wood DI and then stamped the TH sun ray effect in versafine and heat embossed it.  I then added fired brick and aged mahogany DI over the the tag.   before I stamped the grungey scratchings and the flourishes I misted the tag to created a splotchy effect. The edges were inked over in black soot and then distressed using my trusty TH distressing tool. The hearts are painted in fired brick stain and then crackle painted in rock candy.  Finally I added the sentiment and stained some seam binding to match.

This tag is very similar ... I used the same colours and the background is created pretty much the same way. The TH flourish swirl is stamped in versamark over the weathered wood and then heat embossed.  The butterflies were stamped using the same technique to create the resist.  The wish is a sizzix die and it is spayed in red pepper colour wash and then covered in rock candy crackle paint.  I added some black and red flat backed pearls and stamped the dream text on.

Finally I card ... i went more orangey for this one!  I used dried marigold, fired brick and aged magohany to create the background.  The stamps are all TH ones,  and I edged the sentiment in black soot before popping it onto 3d pads.  I added some black grosgrain ribbon and orange organza ribbon, some flat backed pearls and a spare heart that I had from the previous tags.

Challenges:
Simon Says Stamp and Show - red letter day
Creative inspirations - pearls and swirls
Try it Tuesday - resist technique
Crafty Creations - something new (all the TH stamps were a Christmas present and this was their first inking up!)

The Sugar Bowl #75

 Erika has set the sketch over at the Sugar Bowl challenge this week, and the optional extra is a Birthday card.

One lucky winner of this challenge will have their choice of 4 stamps (or 6 stamps, if we reach 100+ entries) either from the new release or any stamps from the Sugar Nellie range at

 I used To and Fro from the Home Grown range, and coloured her using my prisma pencils.  The dp is a mixture of leftovers from my scrap tray (I think some are MME) .  I added some lace, some vines and little flowers with pearls popped into their centres.  The sentiment is a Penny Black one, and a bit larger than in the sketch!!

Whats on Your Workdesk Wednesday ...

Its Wednesday and time for the ritual snoop around blog land checking out everyone's crafty space, led by the amazing Julia. 

So here is my desk as it was left yesterday ... I went out to pilates last night so didn't get round to doing any crafting.  So on my desk as 2 cardstock sqaures covered with TH tissue tape ... I am really beginning to love this stuff!! ... and distressed in a couple of colourways.  Now need to add the stamps, but not sure what to add!!  And a tag that is out ... a prompt to remind me to get on and make the tag I promised for a friend.  That will be my early morning job this morning!  Yes I craft first thing in the morning after hubby has gone out and before the girls are up ... only time I get the craft room to myself!!!!

A few cards

I have been creating, but not quite finishing anything ... so last night I did a "finish it off" session.  But before I show you those cards, I want to share a card I had a go at very early this morning.  I was really lucky to in an online classes CAS course, and day 2 was an OLC card.  I was really inspired by Amber's card, and thought i could adapt it using Waltzing mouse stamps (offbeat set I think).

 OK I am absolutely rubbish at masknig off for stamping large areas so its not prefect, but not bad for a first attempt at this.  I cut a square out using my nesties and then laid the 3 patterns I wanted on my block.  I inked them in Purple Twlight and stamped them using a mouse mat ... needed a bit more pressure at the edges.  I love this effect and think in the right colours it would make a fab masculine card.
Challenges:
Less Is More - predomniately purple

 Ragged Princess was coloured at the weekend and she has sat on my desk waiting for the mojo todo something with her!!  She is coloured using promarkers and flexmarkers and the I cutout and layered  onto digi papers (Raspberry Road I think) and a paper doilly.  I added a rose to her hand and some flowers.
Challenges:
Kreative Stamp Friends - Winter (well winter colours!)
Stamps&Fun=Creativity - sketch
Addicted to Stamps - January Blues
Anything Goes - Anything Goes
Passion for Promarkers - inspired by a song (where the Wild roses grow by Kylie Minogue and Nick Cave ... she looks so like I image Eliza to look!)

And finally Pippi from Sugar Nellie ... Elaine has a bit of a thing about Pippi, and after threatening my stamps with a curse I finally inked her up last week.  While I was at it I inked her twice, and so this one got coloured in on Sunday.  I used warm grey promarkers to colour the image and the dp is created using a Tattered Angels screen and pumice stone DI.  The cardstock is distressed using my TH distresser.  Some dyed seam binding and a layered flower to complete it.  I used the Sugar Bowl sketch and theme ... jsut a couple of days before the new challegne to get your cards done.
Challenges:
Samuel Taylor - distressing
Craft Your Passion - mythical creatures
Everybody Art Challenge - shabby

Crafting Time DT ... Purple and Green

I was very lucky and got selected for the Crafting time design team.  There is a fab crafty shop, and a blog to go with it.

 This week's theme is Purple and green. I have had a chipboard folder for ages that i have been meaning to alter and use as a crafting file ...

 So after a busy crafting session the folder now looks like this ...

I sprayed the chipboard folder with Lettuce colorwash, let it dry and lightly painted over it with Snow cap acrylic dabber. I wiped sections of paint off with a damp towel to reveal the green.  I created the 'inspire' text by making a mask using the sizzix die 'inspire', stamping onto the folder using versamark and then clear embossing powder.  I repeated the stamping and embossing using a stamp from 7 Gypsies Lille set.  I then went over the folder using distress inks, drying between each layer, and then stamped inspire using shabby shutters distress ink.  I added some ghosting again using a stamp from the Lille set.  The 'inspire' and bird cage were cut out of grungeboard andpainted in white acrylic paint and then crackle painted.  I cut another 'inspire' out and covered in adrinodack ink (eggplant) and shadowed it behind the grungeboard one.  Finally some TH butterflies and punched butterflies, cut out of glassene paper treated with alcohol inks, some pearls, text stamps and charms to finish.

Now I just need to make the pages to go in it!!

Products used:
Ranger Color wash (lettuce)
Ranger Adrinodack ink (eggplant)
Ranger Alcohol inks (purple twilight, meadow, silver)
Tim Holtz Distress inks (peeled paint, dusty concorde)
Ranger actrlic Dabbers (snowcap)
Tim Holtz crackle paint (rock candy)
7 Gypsies Lille Stamp set
Sizzix die - inspire
Tim Holtz Mover and Shapers tray
Tim Holtz Movers and Shapers Butterflies

Glassene paper, grungeboard, pearls, punched butterflies, TH movers and shapers birdcage from stash

A Tag

 A very quick post this morning .. I have a freezer disaster going on :(

 I tried using tissue tape to cover tags and cardstock a couple of weeks ago and lovd the effect. Not sure why I hadn't thought of using it in this way previously!!  I gor quite a few new stamp sets for Christmas, and the car and ticket were in one of them.  I am trying to get a small scrapbook together of hubby and my time in France and Paris and I thought I might use tags within it.  I made one a couple of weeks ago that I quite like (you can find it here), but its a bit girly, so I thought i would try something more masculine!
I covered the tag is TH tissue tap and then inked over it using aged mahogoney and vintage photo. I stamped the post card stamp directly onto the tag and then stamped the car (a Christmas present :))) and eiffel tower, both of which were cut out and distressed.  Finally I added a stamped ticket.  I think it needs something else, hubby says not .... hmmmmm ...

Challenges:
Make it Monday
Cupcake Craft - Something New - Tim Holtz stamp set