Coffee and Friends are a Perfect Blend

I just love me a nice cup of coffee - are you a coffee lover or prefer a nice cup of tea ?  I like both but especially love coffee in the mornings.   I knew as soon as I saw this set of stamps from Lil Inkers Designs that I just had to have both the stamp set and matching dies.  I'm so pleased with them and can see me using them a lot in the future. 

The new challenge starting today over on I ♥ Promarkers has the theme 'Dots and Stripes' and this weeks prize is sponsored by Joanna Sheen. 

I've used my new stamps and dies together with kraft card from a Papermania 12 x 12 pack and some dotty paper from my stash.  I created the layer under the image using a scrap of kraft card and small lengths of ribbon, which I attached with staples to make stripes.  The image is coloured with Promarkers and was stamped using Memento Rich Cocoa ink.

I cut the image layer out using a nestie, then distressed the edges with Old Paper Distress Ink.  The sentiment is from the stamp set and makes this card perfect to send to one of my pals. 

 Hope you've enjoyed today's card, thanks for dropping by. 

Back from Sunny Spain

I'm back home after a couple of wonderful weeks in sunny Spain with my two Grandsons.  I hesitate to call it a holiday with a 14 year old (who's already 6'4") and an 8 year old (going on 38 !)  but Hubby and I did have a fabulous time.  It was so good to feel some sun on my skin and we all spent a lot of time swimming and walking in the fresh air and, of course, I ate far too much wonderful food !

I'll share a few piccies once I've downloaded them from my camera, but I just wanted to post something up today particularly to thank all my Followers for continuing to visit and leave me lovely comments whilst I've been MIA and also to welcome my new Followers, who signed up during my absence - thank you so much for honouring me and my crafting journey by following my Blog.

Just before I left to go on vacation I made this small batch of cards using the 'direct to paper' technique I love using at the moment, this time with another new TH Distress Ink called 'Mown Lawn' - it's one of the Summer Limited Edition colours and it's a great shade of green. 

I was busy putting together a few items to send to some SMASH* Book pen pals and thought that I'd put in a handmade gift card rather than just scribble a note on a Post-It - yeah.. I know... I should have been concentrating on the packing, but as you know, I am a totally addicted Crafter and once the idea popped into my head, I just had to sit down and make the cards.  The CAS/DtP style is just perfect when you need a card in a hurry.  I used a stamp from an Inkadinkado set to overstamp the design in black ink.

It seems an age since I was able to do any crafting and I didn't even take some knitting with me this trip as I just knew I would have my hands full looking after the boys.  I've started a couple of SMASH* pages since I got home and finished off a card I'll be sharing with you here on thursday as it's my DT project for the next Cute Card Thursday challenge, so I'm feeling a little less craft starved now !

I'm off now to try and catch up on all the posts my online crafting pals have been Blogging in my absence.   Have a great day.

Fancy Sun Bonnet....

That's the name of the digi image by Bugaboo Stamps which I've used on my DT card for this week's challenge on Cute Card Thursday.   Our theme this week is 'So Distressing' and our prize sponsor this week is Bugaboo Stamps.

I used Copics to colour this little cutie and for the design I used SU! cardstock and punches, Spellbinders dies and nesties.  The bp was a magazine freebie and I distressed the edges of all the layers using a distressing tool, then further distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink brushed on with an Inkyliscious Duster Brush.  The red half-pearls where from my stash and the sentiment from a set of stamps by Lil' Inker Designs, which I recently acquired, stamped with Memento Rich Cocoa ink and cut out using a SU! punch. 

I hope you like today's 'Distressed' card, thanks for dropping by. 

Every Possibility begins.......

Well, Saturday has rolled round again, it's scary just how fast the year is passing by don't you think. 

Today I'm sharing another Clean and Simple (CAS) design with you.  Yet another of my 'direct to paper' technique cards.

For this design I used the limited edition 'Squeezed Lemonade' Distress ink and a great sentiment stamp from a set by Stampers Anonymous. 

Simple but effective I think, hope you like it.

Fairy Nice !

Gooood.... morning and welcome to Thursday, which means there's a new challenge over on Cute Card Thursday.  This week our theme is 'Fairy Nice' - interpret that as you will !  Our prize this week is sponsored by Whimsy Stamps.

For my DT card I've chosen to use this fabulous Prima image from Mo's Digital Pencil.   I've coloured her with Copics and cut out using a nestie die.  I stamped a Lili of the Valley sentiment in the bottom right of the image layer and used a small dandelion stamp from a set by Inkyliscious to stamp randomly around the edges in pale pink (which I think you can just about see in the pic). 

I used some bp's I received in a Goody Bag, they were in just the right shades of pink and grey I wanted to match the colours I used on the image.   I added the image layer over a slightly larger layer cut from pink pearl card, and used the same card to cut fancy scrolls and seed heads with a couple of Memory Box dies.   I used the scrolls to create a frame effect around the main image. 

The strip of lace at the bottom was from my stash, as were the paper roses.

That's it from me today, hope you've enjoyed my Fairy Nice card.

A Bit of Sparkle

Happy Wednesday folks, yes it's that time again, time for a new challenge on I ♥ Promarkers and the theme this week is 'Fireworks or Sparkle'.  Our prize sponsor is Digi Downloads.

For my DT card I opted for 'Sparkle' and used this adorable stamp by Nellie Snellen to create a sparkly Christmas card.

I've coloured her with Promarkers and cut out the image layer to fit in the centre of the frame.  The frame was cut from holographic card using a Spellbinders frame die.   I used Marianne's poinsettia dies and more of the purple holographic card to create the flowers, and the leaves were cut with another Marianne's die from silver holographic card. 

The trims on her jacket were sparkled up using Glossy Accents and Glamour Dust and I added Gold Glamour Dust to her wand and stars on the parcel.   Here's a close up view which shows the sparkle more clearly. 

I've used purple Stickles around the edge of the image layer and the bp, plus there are touches on the snowflakes on the bp. 

A very sparkly card to share today, hope you like it.  Well, a girl can't have too much sparkle and bling in her life after all !

Putting Pen to Paper.....

I've pre-scheduled this to go live today, hope it works !! 

Today's project is another of my Clean and Simple (CAS) designs, using the 'direct to paper' technique again.   I've used one of the limited edition Distress Inks - this one is 'Shaded Lilac' and I love the colour.

After applying the DI direct to the base card, I overstamped using black Versafine ink and the pen nib stamp from a set by Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz.  The row of stars underneath is also from a Stampendous/Tim Holtz set. 

I didn't add a sentiment to this one as it would have spoiled the balance of the design and also means the card could be used for virtually any occasion.

I hope you are enjoying my CAS/direct to paper designs as much as I am enjoying creating them.  This is a great technique when you need a few cards in a hurry or are batch making.

Have a great day, whatever you have planned.

Like Sunshine You Brighten My Day

Happy Thursday, I do hope there is a little sunshine in your life today !   If not, I hope today's project will bring you a little ! 

I've got a fun little project to share with you today, it's my DT card for this week's challenge over on Cute Card Thursday.  We have a sketch to follow this week and our prize sponsor is Whiff of Joy Stamps.  Why not pop over to the blog and check out the fantastic work from the other DT members and get the details of the sketch. 

The image I've used is by Penny Black and I've coloured her with Promarkers and Fleximarkers.  The floral bp was a magazine freebie and I created some patterned card for the other layers.  Using SU! cardstock I stamped a background design and brushed gold Perfect Pearls over to give a very subtle pattern (which may be a little too subtle to show up in the photograph !) .  I brushed Picked Raspberry (one of the Summer Limited Edition colours) Distress Ink around the edges of all the layers and attached the image layer over a scrap of darker pink cardstock - to make it pop a little. 

Although not really visible, I attached a pretty tag to the top right corner, which I cut using a Marianne's die before attaching a large paper flower from my stash.  To finish off the flower I've added a big bright pink button with yellow thread tied through the centre.  The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley and I added this over the top of a scalloped layer stamped with the Raspberry DI and punched out using a SU! punch. 

Some teeny tiny buttons and Stickles around the outside edge of the image layer, touches on the sentiment, her shoes and flowers and my card was 'all done and dusted'. 

Hope you've enjoyed this whimsical little number, thanks for taking time out to visit today.

Circles, Circles....

Circles is our challenge theme this week over on I Love Promarkers and the prize sponsor is NitWit Collections.  I've used papers and elements from their Crabapple Lane Kit and Crabapple Too for my design and these cute kitties are from a set of NitWits stamps.

I coloured the kitties with my Promarkers before cutting them out using a circle punch from Stampin Up!.  I then attached the images over layers cut with an SU! scalloped circle punch from Early Esspresso SU! cardstock.  The sentiment was generated on my computer and I stamped the little pawprint from the stamp set around the wording before attaching it to a layer cut using a scalloped circle nestie.

As all the papers and elements are from the same kit, all the colours co-ordinate beatifully and the buttons look very realistic, especially popped up on some PinFlair glue. 

That's it for today folks, I'll have another new project to share with you tomorrow, hope to see you back again real soon.

It's All Perspective...

Happy Sunday !  It really is SUN-day in my little corner of Cornwall today, so lovely to look out the window and see blue sky.  It started out a little damp first thing this morning, but there's a nice breeze which I think has blown away the cloud cover we had.  I hope everyone in the areas still affected by heavy rain and flooding risk are all keeping safe and dry.

I'm sharing another one of my Clean and Simple (CAS) cards with you today, again I've used the 'direct to paper' technique with Bundles Sage Distress Ink.  After applying the DI to the base card, I overstamped the skyline image from a set by Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz using black Versafine ink.  The sentiment is also from a Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz set of stamps.

So, nice and simple design and this card could be used for many occasions and would make a great card for a guy - and we all know how difficult men's cards can be !

Thanks for taking time off from watching Wimbeldon and/or the Grand Prix to visit and check out today's project.

Need to Dance.....

Here I am again, posting twice in one day what's going on I hear you ask !  Well, I couldn't wait until tomorrow, just had to share the latest page in my Art Journal with you today.  I'm also entering it for the Pan Pastels UK Challenge which asks us to use a digi this week. 

I've used Pan Pastels to create the background and to colour the image - which is a digi by Mo Manning and I just couldn't resist when I saw it on the website, isn't she awesome ?

To create the background page design, I used a couple of Stampendous Cling stamps and one from The Artistic Stamper (the dotty one).  Stamped using Versamark and coloured with Pan Pastels.

I wrote the words using a Versamark pen then added Pan Pastels, doodled around each word with a black pen and cut each one out.  I wanted my Prima Donna to have some 'bling' so added clear gems to her tiara and gave her a 'diamond' earring.  The lilac star gems were in my stash, so I thought I'd just add those too - I do love a nice bit of 'Bling' !

The current Bronte and Bella Challenge is 'Anything Goes' using a Mo Manning image so I'm entering my page for that too.

Gardener's World

Good morning and welcome to Thursday.  We've got a new challenge starting today over on Cute Card Thursday, our theme this week is 'Gardener's World' and our prize sponsor is Love to Stamp. Why not hop over to the CCT blog and check out the amazing creations from the rest of our Design Team.

For my DT card I've used this cute gardening bunny from the Buttercup set of stamps from Bloom and Grow.  As I'm working through my stamp stash cataloguing them all, I'm having great fun finding stamps which haven't been out to play for a very long time !  This set hasn't seen ink for a while but was perfect for the theme this week, don't you think?

I coloured the image using my Copics, created the sky effect using Pan Pastels and cut the image layer out using a nestie die.  The papers were magazine freebies and I've used SU! cardstock, ink, and punches.  The 'plant' growing in the pot was cut using a Marianne's leaf die and the sentiment is from Lili of the Valley.  Touches of Stardust Stickles (you know how much I love Stickles !) dots of Glossy Accents and my design was finished.

Hope you've enjoyed today's card, do drop by again real soon.

Dance to the Beat.......

Wednesday has rolled around again and that means another new challenge starting on the I Love Promarkers blog.  Our prize sponsor this week is Joanna Sheen and the theme is "Music".

For my DT card I've taken an 'off the wall' approach to the theme.  I had been puzzling for a couple of days as to which image and design to use for this challenge.  I woke up one morning and knew exactly which image I wanted, problem was it's one I've had since I first began rubber stamping a few years ago and it was buried deep in my stash.  I am sorry, I don't know the manufacturer but if anyone recognises it and can enlighten me, please do I hate not knowing who's stamp it is ! 

The sentiment was the first part of my design process, the phrase 'Dance to the Beat of the Music of Your Heart' kept going round in my mind, not at all sure where it came from, but hey... it fits my design ! 

I stamped the ballet shoes image on to smooth cream cardstock and coloured with my Promarkers before cutting out using an oval nestie.  I created the sentiment on my computer then turned the  background layer into a music theme by first brushing Old Paper Distress Ink all over a piece of white cardstock, then stamping musical notes randomly all over using the same DI and a set of HOTP small stamps.  I then used a Martha Stewart border punch to add a decorative edge to the bottom of this layer.  Finally I brushed a little Barn Door DI just around the edges of the layer and attached it over a slightly larger layer cut from SU! Cherry Cobbler cardstock.  The narrow ribbon is also from SU! and matches the cardstock perfectly.

The image was attached over a slightly larger scalloped oval mat, cut with a nestie, from more of the Cherry Cobbler cardstock.   The green background paper was a piece I found in my box of bits and I used a little of the same shade of green Promarker on the insole of the ballet shoe to tie the design together.   The pale green pearls were from my stash and just finished off the bottom edge.

Why not hop over to the ILPM blog to check out the fabulous projects from the rest of the Design Team.  Thanks for taking the time to visit my bloggie, it's lovely to see you !

It's Your Day

Another Clean and Simple (CAS) style card to share today.  I am loving the direct to paper technique for this style of design, using a Distress Inkpad.

For this card I used the Peacock Feather DI and a set of stamps by Stampendous Tim Holtz designs.   It's a nice simple design which would be ideal as a birthday card for the menfolk in our lives. 

I may duplicate this design and make a batch of them to add to the packs of cards I'm putting together as gifts. 

Have a great day !

I Love Cake !

   

Happy Sunday everyone.  I'm sharing a couple more pages I've completed in my SMASH* Book. 

Recently I've taken a few pix of food I've cooked which looked attractive enough to photograph, as I had in mind to do a food related page.  Last friday as I was unpacking the food shopping, the pile of vegetables on the countertop just begged to be photographed and included in my page.

I found some great cooking related bits and pieces in a set of magazine freebie papers by NitWit, so cut out utensils, oven gloves etc to add to my layout and my design turned into a double page spread.   The pages already in my SB had images of cutlery all over which was perfect for my food theme.  

I hope you are enjoying my journey of discovery in the Wonderful World of SMASH* I know I'm having lots of fun !