Creative Craft Challenges who I recently came across via the blog of the  ever so lovely Cheryl of Cheryls Creative Art their challenge this week is to produce  a clean and simple card .

The second challenge is by the intriguingly named Four Crafty Chicks whose theme  is  ” Babies ” Now I can do a Cas card with the best of them ( well maybe that’s a little exaggeration ) but I have never made a childrens card let alone a babies ! so this is a first , so please be gentle with me now wont you !

For those of you who do not like the cute and sweet please look away now ! You have been warned !
For the braver bloggers here are a couple of cards that I made which I think fit both challenges perfectly,  although I do stand to be corrected by both of the DT members should they had differing opinions.

I should be sharing two more cards with you,  I did make the  ” Girl ” Version of the  first card and the male version of the second ( the male mouse was a little more macho I think he had a bigger tale  ! ) but for some reason blogger once again has interfeared  and wont let me upload them ! Most probably trying to protect you all from a sugar overdose ! Ah blogger works in mysterious ways !

Ah but your not getting off that lightly I have a back up ! but specifically for the Creative Craft Challenge as I don’t quite think it fits into the  ” baby theme ” for the  Four Crafty Chicks !

 

I think my little owl is quite minimalistic I hope the ladies at Creative Craft Challenges agree !

Why not pop over and see what both design teams have come up with to inspire you and maybe take part .  I have to say I quite liked creating these simple cards and if you don’t behave yourselves I might even show you the ones that got away at a later date.

Sorry for this higilty pigilty post ( no idea how to spell that ! ) but I am on a diet and my nerves are all over the place !

Take care

Marie

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and for those in the UK hope all of your pets nerves are back to normal after the Guy Fakes celebrations !

I just wanted to say a big big thank you to everyone who joined in our challenges 13 of them in total at Get Creative last month . We had a record amount of entries and the winners will be announced in the next few days boy its going to be tough there where some fabulous entries !!

A new month and the first challenge at Get Creative is a card challenge are illustrious leader Irini has asked us to make a card using two stamped images , but they must be different stamps .

Here are my DT cards

I have used my new set of Hero Arts and Sizzix die cuts stamps and embossing folders on this one. oops looks like i have used three stamps on this !!!!!!

Moving swiftly on and using only TWO stamps this time the centre image is Crafty Individuals which I have embossed with Ranger distress embossing powder and the swirly stamp is SU which I have stamped with Versamark watermark resist ink to give a tone on tone effect.

For this card I have used two Hero arts stamps and coloured the flower with Letraset markers ( my first attempt and probably my last ) I and markers do not mix !!  The sentiment is cut out using my Silhouette machine , which I have to say is feeling a little neglected of late !

This one is a variation on the first card using DP instead of the background stamp its a bit busy and I’m not sure if I like it but it begged me to be shown !!

Added this little butterfly to the inside of the card

Why not pop over to Get Creative  and see the beautiful inspirational pieces by my talented team mates and why not even take part. We are sponsored this month by Cherry Nest who are offering a free place in one of their on line classes  entitled Every day is Christmas Woo Hoo !!!

Nearly forgot to mention that the fabulous Lynn Stevens from Trash to Treasure is Celebrating her three year blog anniversary and is giving away some of her masterpieces to some lucky followers. I really didn’t want to post this as I am sure you will rush over there and my chances of winning of one her amazing pieces of art will be drastically reduced. The thing is  not only is Lynn an amazing artist but she is a thoroughly lovely lady so for once I will just have to put my greediness aside !

In the words of the great Mr Bugs Bunny

” That’s all folks “

Marie

Right moving along the bus after what seems like an eternity I am taking part in one of Just for Fun challenges their theme this week is ” use your favourite stamp ” well it only seems fitting that I should take part using my favourite stamp on one of my favourite sites challenges. Neet has chosen the theme for us this week. Although I have lots of favourite stamps I have chosen the one I ” go too ” more often than all of the others and looking back on my cards it has turned up on quite a few of them !  It may not be the most beautiful or unusual but it is the most used so therefore my favourite. Infact if you look at my new blog header the stamp has been used on two of the projects !

I have made three projects using it and here they are

Ok this is the before shot not my favourite stamp a wooden dish that I use for window displays in my shop .

So my favourite stamp is this Stampin Up text  script which I also have as an embossing folder. Here I have made my own tissue tape stamping the script all over with Stazon ink and then adhered it to the plate with Gloss and Seal. I then added Ranger crackle glaze and left it to dry I did also use a base coat of Gesso before I started the background. When it was dry I added distress ink over the crackle and then removed it in various places with my sanding block. I cut out four circles of card and followed the same procedure just using my sanding block on the edges.

The script stamp has this time been embossed with Hero Arts Gold embossing powder  a silk leaf added and using a S U beveled  windowpane placed an embossed butterfly underneath onto a piece of card that I have also stamped the script onto with distress ink.  Ribbon and a button for a little extra something somethin !

 

Here I have made a pocket sewing two pieces of DP together and making some leaves from grungeboard using my tattered florals die ,  coloured them with DI inks embossed them and then coated them with glossy accents and put them in the little pocket on the front of the envelope. Used my script stamp again and stamped onto velum with Stazon opaque white ink and then embossed it in a random fashion with DI embossing powder.  This fits inside the envelope  and a message can be written on to the back of the tag. Made a flower again with the aid of my big shot  and blah blah blah same technique as above and attached it to the leaves.

Do pop over to Just for Fun to see the fabulous inspirational pieces by the lovely ladies , Zoe, Neet and Von.

Thank you for popping by and for all of your lovely comments that you leave me I really do appreciate each and everyone !

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Marie

Over at Get Creative where I am a DT member,  during the month of october we were and still are having a card bonanza with each member of the design team posting their own challenge and offering a prize in their category. There are 13 challenges running all with a different themes !!!. Well in order to give everyone a fair chance of taking part as some of the challenges were posted close to the end of the month, the deadline has now been extended until the 5th November . Why not pop over to Get Creative with thirteen challenges running i am sure there is something to suit everyone’s taste !!

Did you notice my new banner and blog button !! It was created by the multi talented Cindy Adkins of Whimsical Musings . I have to say I think they are gorgeous even if it is based on my own work lol. Cindy was given free reign to choose and design them both and  think she did a fabulous job and so reasonable too ! She has chosen pieces that I  believe reflect my style and I  couldn’t be happier. For those of you that don’t know Cindy do pop over and visit as not only is she a fabulous artist, writer, designer but she also showcases many wonderful and talented designers on her blogs.

Last but least a little while ago I was lucky enough to win some blog candy from the fabulously talented Gerri Herbst of Its all Treasure. Well when I say some candy I mean loads and loads of candy !! The photo just doesn’t do it justice there are so many wonderful and interesting little treasure here I don’t know where to start ! but I know I will enjoy creating with them. Thank you so much Gerri for your kindness and generosity.

 If anyone would like to grab my gorgeous blog button please feel free !

Take care

Marie

Two new challenge blogs to me the first is Daring Card Makers whose theme is ” Use Felt ” well my previous post was filled with the stuff !!! Luckily enough I had some pieces that I didn’t post so I would like to share them with you.

Wont bore you all with the details the three panels are velum card and felt which I have embossed you can just make out the sentiment if you squint !!

For those of us with bloggers blindness have added a couple of close ups !

On this one I have made a tag card cut some leaves with the tattered floral die by TH and embossed them. Made a little felt flower and added a pearl.

As my regular followers will know am in a bit of a felt embossing frenzy at the moment !

 

I have double embossed here onto design paper so the paper actually shows through the embossing.  I used my brayer to add Versamark embossing ink onto the inside of my embossing folder and then ran it through the big shot, I then sprinkled the image with SU black embossing powder and heat set it. This gives the background a lovely shiny effect……..honest.  Die cuts are by Hero Arts added a little glitter glue and there you are !

Why not head over to Daring Card Makers and Fairy Fun Fridays and see the wonderful DT pieces am sure you will be as inspired as I was.

Take care

Marie

Today is the tenth challenge and it is my turn to choose the theme which is wet or dry ( heat )  embossing

Embossing can create fabulous texture on your projects and there are so many possibilities . Here are a few cards I made using both wet ( heat ) and dry embossing using a variety of materials, felt, vellum and card or whatever your imaginations allows and of course your embossing machine !

Here I  made a simple card using one of my Spellbinders nested die sets to cut the base card and the two layers of felt. The base and the larger felt layer I embossed with SU script embossing folder.The top layer of felt I double embossed. Using one of my favorite embossing Sizzix embossing folders and using my Brayer rolled ink onto the inside of one half of the folder placed the felt carefully inside and then passed it through the big shot. As you can see the ink has adhered only to the raised part of the design. One tip here if using felt ensure that you choose a light color and a dark ink for best results.

For this card I created a simple background with my brayer and various distress inks until I had reached the desired effect i.e. mess. Embossed the base card and some cut offs from my brayered background. The sentiment is Hero arts stamped with DI embossing ink and heat set. Distress embossing powders are non shiny and this  think suited this particular card.

You all still with me !!!! OK one more left to go !!

This card is only embossed on the inside I embossed the sentiment with my big shot and made a little pocket which i sewed into the card. Made a little tag which I only half embossed  leaving the rest blank for a handwritten message and used a little DI ink to lightly highlight the text.

the winner of my challenge will win a set of Sizzix embossing folders some Ranger Distress embossing Powder in Antique Photo and some Prima retro buttons.

For those of you that stayed with me thank you for your patience !


Why not pop over to GET CREATIVE and maybe take part in one of the ten challenges that are currently running all of which have some wonderful prizes on offer. There are also a few more to come right up until the end of the month.


So what are you waiting for ………come on and GET CREATIVE !!


Take care


Marie

P.S Blogger is being a so and so and has decided it wants to change the size of my font so for those of you who like myself who are visually challenged please forgive me for the tiny weeny letters !

 

Actually its a card and envelope together . My TH on the edge dies are getting a real work out lately if I’m not too careful they will become blunt !! Is it possible to sharpen them !?  Using various DPs from my stash I made a pocket and sewed around the edges and made another  little pocket for the front which could hold a little tag  . I used one of my Hero Art flower engraving stamps on the front and cut out the frame with my Silhouette.

 

 

P. S Do pop by on Monday when It is my turn to set the challenge at Get Creative there are some super prizes to be won !

The front of the card only has feline related words but if you open it…………………….

my little cat is sitting all proud ( as they do ) right on top of the sentiment ! Don’t  know if you can see what with my terrible photography but when the card is closed the rats tail can be seen protruding from the side . Hope this is feline enough for you Zoe !

Why not pop over to the The Craft Room to see the fabulous inspirational pieces by the DT whom I have to say are a rather nice bunch of ladies and all  of whom are very talented indeed !

While I was having a little nose around blog land I came across a fabulous and new to me challenge site,  Just Add Ink , I have to say I was very impressed by the DT who’s work was both beautiful and inspiring  and as soon as I have posted this I will be going back to take a closer look. Their  theme this week is ” Just add ……..a Die Cut ” I do love my inks but I equally love my die cuts too so I thought I would have a go here as well !

This card was a bit of an experiment in more ways than one.  I took an image from Designer Digitals and printed it onto parchment paper. I used my sewing machine to adhere the image to the card a first for me and it shows ! I then die cut some leaves with the tattered florals die by Tim Holtz , I embossed one and then dabbed  it with a little green distress ink to give it a little emphasis . I then placed  it inside the little pocket that I had created on the  front of the card  you can just about see the leaf  showing through. I used an eyelet and ribbon to close up the edge so that the leaf wouldn’t fall out ! I quite like the effect and have to say it looks a lot better in real life !

Have decided to throw caution to the wind and enter this card as well even though the photo is not perfect ! Here I once again used one of my Tim Holtz on the edge dies to create the borders and some DPs from my stash ( don’t know who’s they are the cover has come off ! ) I inked the edges with Ranger distress inks , a bit of embossing and another eyelet and some ribbon ( looks like I am going through an eyelet phase )  I took and old button and used some silver stickles on it and added it to the top of one of my trees , and there you have it. I hope the lovely ladies at Just Add Ink will like it too !  Please pop over and visit them I think you will be pleasantly surprised as I was by their amazing work.

Anyway that’s enough gabbing from me I do have a suitcase to pack you know !!

Take care

Marie

Over at Get Creative where I am a DT member our illustrious leader Irini Had one of her fabulous brainwaves in honour of National card making day on the 1st of October. Yes I know I am very late ! For the whole month  of October all the members of the Design team will be setting their own individual card challenges and also offering a prize for the winner in their group. You can enter as many times as you like and there will also be an overall winner at the end of the month. My fellow DT members have set some fantastic challenges and we have had a terrific response. My theme will be announced on the 24th of the month so you will just have to wait and see what it is !

Until then why not pop over to Get Creative to see if there is something that takes your fancy who knows you may even win a prize or two or three !

It is with a heavy heart that I have to announce that Sassy Lil Sketches challenge blog and forum as of the end of October will be no more ! I have had only a few short months with the team and was just begining to feel my way around when it was announced that it was closing. I would like to thank Cherie and Katie for giving me the opportunity to work with them and for being able to meet so many lovely and talented ladies.

As a send off for the blog Sassy Lil Sketches will be posting a new sketch every day from the 2nd to the 9th of October. The deadline for participants will be October 23 and the prize winners will be announced on the 24th. Further details can be found on the  Sassy Lil Sketches blog.

This is my DT take on the sketch. Simple embossing and die cutting with a stamped setiment and silver ribbon.  Hope you will join in and give Sassy Lil Sketches a lovely send off !

Just for Fun Anything but a Card !

One of my favourite challenge blogs has to be Just for Fun ! I used to be one of their very regular contributors even if I do say so myself, but of late I have really fallen by the way side ! Life has really gotten in the way and as any one who reads my blog will notice my posts are few and far between. I literally am only filling the requirements of my DT posts as I am literally back and forth to the UK.

This weeks challenge was for anything but a card a very interesting theme indeed  with lots of possibilities. The challenge ends tomorrow so I  am really cutting it fine , anyway I did it so I’m showing it !

This is my altered duck ! He is solid wood and I use him for window displays in my shop. I took the little blighter and gessoed him and painted him with green and blue Stazon inks , then added pink crackle paint which didn’t crackle AGAIN  ! Then I rubbed him all over with my little sander to give a worn effect. I added different DPs to the wings and tail which I also sanded and two black pearls for the eyes.

A couple of different angles none of which give a good reflection of the colours but there you have it. Do hope it is not too cute for you ladies at JFF . Do pop over and visit albeit at this late hour to see the fabulous DT inspirational pieces and the wonderful entries.

Am off to London on Monday  so hopefully I can catch up with you all  ( I do keep saying that ! )

Take care

Marie

 

This was the sketch we were given this month and I think you will agree it has endless possibilities !

 

Another easy peasy one !

Well they just get sillier and sillier now don’t they !

Do pop over to Sassy Lil Sketches to see the  inspirational DT pieces and why not take part.

                                                                 This months sponsor is

I will be leaving next week for London to be with my friend Dolly so for those of you I have not visited yet will try and catch up before I leave.

Take care

Marie