Basic Grey & CES Challenges

Morning!! I'm so thankful it's the weekend. No school runs, uniforms, lunches, finding lost shoes, lol.. etc. etc. etc... My only gripe for this morning is that I have 2 littlies wanting breakfast in bed, and yes, I am making it for them!!

This fortnight the challege on Basic Grey Challenges is Wings, while this week on C.E.S Challenges it's St. Patrick's / Good Luck.

Have you seen the fabulous Gnomes from Whiff of Joy?? They are just the bees knees, I  love them. So fun and a joy to colour.

My papers are Basic Grey Origins matted with brown cardstock. I coloured Good Luck Gnome with copics and added a little star dust stickles to the shamrocks. The sentiment is from the Fancy Phrases set by Waltzingmouse Stamps. 

I punched out the butterflies using MS punch, inked the edges and added some stickles to them. Love how the stickles soaks in the colour of the ink. The ribbon is from an old Raspberry Ribbons kit. The doily and pearls are from my stash. 

Challenges:

Friday Sketchers - Sketch

Card Makin' Mamas - something green

Fairy Knoll feeing a little green (use green)

Crafty Purple Frog - things with wings

Rubber Cafe - faux or real stitching

Cooking It Up With Katie - Spring, yellow, flowers

Thanks for visiting. Don't forget to pop over and leave my teamies a little love on their blogs. 

Have a wonderful day!

Sandie

Basic Grey & CES Challenges

Good morning and happy Saturday! I have 2 DT cards to share today. First up is Basic Grey Challenges and there is a fabby sketch by the very lovely Heather.

I just had to ink up one of Whiff of Joy's February release stamps, called Nora with Ducks  and I've used Basic Grey Archaic Papers, matted with brown cardstock. I cut out my image with classic oval nesties, but I trimmed out around the puddles first, then I used the scalloped oval nesties to matt it. 

The lace, pearls and flowers are from my stash.

Challenges -

Charisma Cardz – Spring has sprung
Copic Creations - Use Warm Colors Copics

Simply Create - bold & bright

 Samuel Taylor's Challenge - use Copic or Promarkers

Next up is CES Challenges, and again I used a Whiff of Joy stamp and this one is called Skater Ben

The papers are Whiff of Joy's Spring Paper Pad and I've paired them with kraft cardstock. I made the SK8 tag using the kraft card, a flossed button and pink paislee's alpha stickers. All of my papers have been machine stitched. To finish off I added some more flossed buttons, my favourite 'boy' embellishment :) The pom pom trim is from my stash.

Challenges -

Crafty Catz - one for the men/boys

Do You Stack Up?  - Dots

Aud Sentiments Challenge  - add a trendy saying

 Paper Pretties - card for a child

Simon Says Stamp - make your own embellishment (sentiment tag)

Stars and Stamps Midweek Throwdown - masculine card
ECP Challenges - Something for the boys
Really Reasonable Ribbon - Spring

Well that's it from me for today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. Be sure to check out my teamies' blogs and say Hi! 

Sandie

xXx

CES and BG Challenges

Morning!! Today I have 2 cards to share with you and both of the 'lurrrrrve' kind :) 

First up is CES Challenges and our theme this week is Red & Romance.. self explanatory really, lol. 

I've used sweet Henry Mouse with Love Balloon by Whiff of Joy. Check out the 'coming soon' section on CES for upcoming WOJ stamps, MME and Prima paper pads.

Challenges:

Wild Orchid Challenges - Love Is.... 

7 Kids College Fund Challenge: I {heart} you

Simon Says Challenges: Love is in the Air

Whiff of Joy Challenges - Love is in the Air

Card Makin' Mamas  - Valentine

Fairy Fun Fridays – For aSweetheart

Mami Doodles – Magic of Love

Raise The Bar - hearts

Sew Many Cards - Anything Goes

C.R.A.F.T. - In the Roll of a Die (use die cut)

Do You Stack Up? - Red Hot

Image: Whiff of Joy "Henry with Love Balloon"

Papers: Pink Paislee "365 Degrees"

Tools: Copic Sketch Markers  - E31, 33, 35, 37. R24, 27, 29. 

Classic Circle & Scalloped Circle Nestabilities. Cuttlebug. MS deep edge punch

Butterfly: Prima

Flowers & Adage Ticket from stash. 

Basic Grey Challenges - ♥Hearts♥

We would love to see you use at least one heart on your submission this week. Oh what an excuse to finally ink up the one of the hAnglar stamps I won from Jak's blog candy a while back. I had missed this set on Ebay and was so thrilled to win them :D 

  

My papers are Basic Grey Bittersweet, and I'm just down to the last of them.. how sad :( They are truly such romantic papers. 

The ticket is from Making Memories and I've had to cut off the bottom half to make it smaller. 

Challenges:

Simply Create  - Give your Heart Away

Stampin With The Dragon – Anything Goes

Tellen's Place  - Hearts

 Sassy Studio Designs - Love is in the Air (use hearts)

Creative Craft World  - Love

Just Magnolia - Anything Goes (ribbon optional)

Image: hAnglar & stAnglar

Papers: Basic Grey Bittersweet

Ticket: Making Memories

Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts. 

Pearls: Kaisercraft. 

Thanks so much for popping by today. Have a wondeful weekend!!

Sandie

xXx

A Trio of Challenges.

Good morning. I do hope you've grabbed a coffee and are sitting comfortably - this is a long one!! I have 3 challenge cards to share today. 

First up is the Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge. This is the card I mentioned earlier in the week - the one I made using scraps I was given, with the challenge to make something from them. I think getting 2 cards out of them was doing quite well.. now where's my prize?? LOL. 

I love these Cosmo papers.

Papers: Cosmo Cricket "Togetherness"

Card: PM Kraft

Stamps: Seasons of Love-Tags

Distress ink - Brushed Cordoroy

Sewing Machine & white thread

Do pop over to the blog to see the sketch and what my wonderful teamies have created. 

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Next up is my guest designer card for Basic Grey Challenges. The theme this fortnight is Flower Power and the prize up for grabs is a store voucher from Simon Says Stamp. 

I had totally forgotten how much I loved these papers. I matted them on pink cardstock and machine stitched them.

Papers: Basic Grey - Stella Ruby

Card - Bazzil

Image: Magnolia Tilda

Flowers & Lace: Wild Orchid Crafts

 Copics used:

E00, 02, 21, 42, 43, 44, 50, 51, 53, 57 - R81, 83, 85 - G82, 85

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Last but by no means least - CES Challenges. This week our theme is Angels & Fairies. 

I received this stamp from the guys over at Wild Rose Studios a while back and have only just now got to ink her up. I coloured her using copic markers and added a little Frosted Lace stickles to her wings. 

My papers are, again, Basic Grey but this time they are Perhaps - another collection I'd forgotten about. An oldie but a goodie!! I machine stitched them all down and added some white lace & flowers to embellish. 

Copics used - 

E00, 02, 18, 21, 51 - RV91, 93, 95, 97 - BG0000, 10, 11 - YR21, 31 - G82, 85

Challenges -

Simply Create - Use your Punches

Pile it On - Anything Goes

Just Magnolia/hAnglar - Sketch by Donalda

Fairy Tale  - flowers

Phindy’s Place - lace & pearls

Simply Create  - use your punches

Raise The Bar - N.E.W. (Nestie/Embellishments/White)

Stamp Something - cute somethings

Wags 'n Whiskers - use a fairy or an angel

Digi Doodle Shop's Best - anything goes

Do You Stack Up? - pink

Meljens Designs - pink & red

Penny's Paper-Crafty – anything goes

 Stampin' Royalty - anything with wings
The Corrosive Challenge - Lace & Pearls

Now I gotta run.. Little Man's birthday party tomorrow and he's insisting on having a chocolate birthday cake and blue balloons that tell everyone he's 7 {he's so proud of being 7!!}.. eeeek.. the kid knows how to make me work!! 

Have a great Saturday and I will be back tomorrow with my Grand Calibur/Waltzing Mouse party dance! 

Sandie

xXx

Basic Grey Challenges & CES Challenges

Good morning! My post is a little bit late today as I'm having broadband issues again.. I think the weather is affecting my signal. We have our winter wonderland back again and it's just lovely to look at. I'm sure not everyone shares my enthusiasm for the snow though, lol. 

I have a couple of cards to share today but first some happy news :D... 

I received a very unexpected email this week, inviting me to join in with the girls on Basic Grey Challenges as GDT member. I'm not sure why, as I never use Basic Grey,.. HA, as if!!! I am thrilled to have been asked and am looking forward to working with these fabulous ladies for the next few weeks!

The theme for this fortnight is DOTS or SPOTS! and the prize for this challenge is $25 store voucher for the Simon Says Stamp Store.

I used BG Marjolaine papers, love them!! My image is called Angel Charlotte and she's from Whiff of Joy. I've coloured her with copic markers, trimmed her out and mounted her on pop dots. 

 There is also a DT call open for the next 2 challenges so  if you are interested in joining the Basic Grey team you have a month to apply. Details on the blog.

Papers: BG Marjolaine

Image: Angel Charlotte
Tools: Nostalgia Border Die

Flowers - Wild Orchid Crafts
Cornflower Blue Scrappers Floss & tag from my stash
Pearl Brads
Copics: E21, E51, E00, E02. BG05, BG07, BG0000. YG21, YG23, YG25. Y21, Y26, Y28. E41, E43, E44

Challenges:
Charisma Cardz (3 entries) – birthdays and celebrations
Moving Along With The Times (3 entries) – use old stash along with new stash {Old = stamp. New = pearl brads}
Creative Cottage (2 weeks) - something new
Fab 'n' Funky - anything goes
Little Red Wagon - use a doily
Stars and Stamps - NO GLITTER, thinking of you
Flourishes - Flowers
Claudia & Co – use a tag

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CES Challenges

Our theme this week on CES Challenges is All Creatures Great and Small. We want you to use any type of creature on your project. 


I used an extremely cute image from Wild Rose Studios called Fergus. 

Again, I used BG papers - this time "Olivia". I coloured Fergus with copics and used the MS Cornice punch on each side of the image. I love the 'frame' effect it gives. When the card was finished I thought it looked a little bit plain so I made some photo corners and it finished it off nicely :)

 Papers: Basic Grey Olivia
Image: Fergus with Bouquet
Tool: MS Cornice Punch, MS Deep Edge Trellis Punch
Ribbon - American Crafts
Pearl Topped Pins
Copics: RV91, RV93, RV95. R30, R32. E93, E95. YG03, YG05, YG06, YG11.

Challenges:
Paper Take Weekly - Anything Goes- Optional: Lace
Craft Your Passion - Anything Goes
Delicious Doodles - try something new or use something new
Cute Card Thursday - use some old stash {unopened ribbon - have it for about 2yrs}

 Well that's all from me for now. Apologies for such a long post, I'm a bit chatty today, lol.
Don't forget to visit my teamies' blogs as they work so hard to bring you plenty of inspiration.

Oh.. and I will be sharing some layouts on my Scrappy Blog tomorrow. I was among some very lucky ladies who were fortunate enough to be asked to contribute to the Sketches2Scrapbook iPhone/iPad/iTouch App :)

Have a wonderful weekend!
Sandie

CES Challenges - Anything but a Christmas Card

Happy Saturday!! 

So, who's got their Christmas shopping done?? I only started it yesterday and have quite a bit to go - lastminute.com, that's me, lol!! 

This week on CES Challenges we want to see anything but a Christmas card. I know I've made so many xmas cards that I'll be putting some up for next year!! haha. 

Here is my take on it... 

I've used another new release from Whiff of Joy, called Happy New Year Ben. My papers are Basic Grey Marjolaine and they are matted with dark brown and green card.

I've coloured Ben using copic markers

Skin: E51, 21, 00, 000 & E02{cheeks}

Hair/Shoes: E53, 51, 50

Suit/Top hat: E44, 43, 42

Sash and hat trim: Y28, 26, 21

All of my papers have been distressed using Brushed Cordoroy and I've added some luscious brads and pearls to 2 of the corners. The sentiment is also from Whiff of Joy. I did the border work using the Nostalgia border die.

Thanks for popping in today, be sure to visit my teamies' blogs to see what they've created. 

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Sandie

xXx

CES Challenges - Vintage Christmas

Good morning. We have SNOW!! Well it's only a sprinkling but we still have some :D It's so pretty to look at but man is it cold. The kids asked me to light the fire as downstairs is so much cooler than upstairs in this house, lol. I'm thinking it's a movie & crafty day :D

  This week's challenge on CES Challenges, as chosen by Jen, is

Vintage Christmas

Vintage really used to take me out of my comfort zone but I am slowly learning to LOVE it. 

I used a mix of papers - My Mind's Eye "I Believe" and Pink Paislee "Father Christmas". All of my papers have been distressed with my scissors and inked with Antique Linen .

The beautiful ribbon is by East of India. I just adore their ribbon, the quality is second to none. Unfortunately I'm almost out and the store I used to get it from no longer carries it :( So I you know of somewhere that does carry it AND ships to Ireland please do let me know!!

I also made this card to enter into Cardz n Scrapz forum challenge, which ended yesterday. They wanted to see Lace, Paper Pleating and Distressing. I think I got them covered, lol. And I'm entering the Simon Says Stamp challenge - "Let it Snow"

The prize for this challenge is a set of ''Father Christmas'' 6x6 papers by Pink Paislee.

Have a wonderful Saturday!!

Sandie

xXx

Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge & CES Challenges.

Hi!! OMGosh, what a busy day I've had.. fun, but busy :) This blog post was supposed to publish at 8am this morning but it was after midnight when I typed it up and I changed the date to the 31st.. haha, blonde moments - gotta laugh at them.

I have 2 cards to share today.....

First up is Waltzing Mouse Sketch Challenge #21.

I distressed all my papers with my scissors and then inked them with Antique Linen. I made a pocket for the front using a little piece of patterned paper, and stamped the sentiment & scrolls on it - both are from Compliments of the Season. To finish off I added some little roses and paper pleated a border for the bottom. 

Next up in my CES Challenges card. It was my turn to set the challenge and I chose CHOCOLATE CARAMEL. I love using shades of browns, but you can interpret the theme how you please. Check out some of the great ideas the rest of the team have come up with.

On my card I'm using Ronnie Says Cheers image by DigiStamp Boutique  to raise money for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Ronnie is available to buy HERE

Papers are Bo Bunny and I've distressed and inked the edges.  I coloured my image using copic markers and used star dust stickles for the froth on the drink. My flowers are a mix of Wild Orchid and Prima. 

Thanks for popping in today. Have a wonderful Saturday :)

A little bit of catching up..

Good morning! I'm playing catch up today, I felt so awful on Thursday night and yesterday, I just couldn't face doing a blog post. Happy to say I feel a lot better this morning. Apologies in advance for the loooooooooooooong post.

So first off today a quick reminder that the Waltzing Mouse Blog Waltz threads are up in the Waltzingmouse Forum - Playroom:Blog Waltzes for you to link your blog if you are joining us for the waltz on Sunday. As always there will be fun and prizes :)

Crafty Emma's Store

The challenge for this week is Male Birthday card - which 90% of us struggle with, lol. 

These Greeting Farm stamps come to my rescue every time I get a male birthday challenge - they are just perfect for teenagers. 

Most of the supplies I used on this card are available over @ Crafty Emma's Store and right now there is 10% off of everything in store!!

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Stampin' for the Weekend

Our challenge this fortnight is Halloween/Fall. Fall can be anything that represents this time of year - harvesting, fall colours, colder/wetter weather.. the choices are endless. We are being sponsored by KLM Designs and the prize is $10 to spend in store. My cards today both have KLM Designs images. 

Challenges:

Oh la la - Nothing Floral

Crafts and Me Challenge - Halloween
Creative Cottage Challenge - Halloween
Stampin' Royalty - halloween
Everybody-Art-Challenge - halloween
Aly's Sunday Challenge  - halloween

Stamp Something - Halloween Somethings

Paper Sundaes - Change of Season

Pixie Dust Studio - fall theme
Simon Says Challenge - Recipe

I hope I kept that short enough that you're not bored silly by the time you've got this far, lol. 

Please do pop into my teamies' blogs to see their wonderful creations. 

Have a great weekend, remember to join me back here tomorrow for the Waltzing Mouse Blog hop!! 

Sandie

xXx

CES Challenges - Get ahead, Get a Hat & WCMD Candy

Happy World Card Making Day!! I have plans to get loads of crafty time in today {but can't say that out loud in case the kids hear!!}. Hubby is on childminding duty so we'll see how that works out, lol.  What are your plans for today?? Leave a note telling me what you have in mind for today and I send a little something to a random commenter.

This week's CES challenge is all about hats... you can use any image you like as long as there's a hat somewhere on your card. I used another oldie Maggie that I bought and have rarely inked her up. I've used copic sketch markers to colour her {listed at the bottom of the post}

 I cut her out using the Dahlia nesties and sponged the background using Brushed Cordoroy. I've recently been asked how I get the white edge on my image, this is done very simply by leaving the nestie die on while sponging. 

My papers are Memory Box Fernbrae and matched the autumnal feel to the card perfectly, so much so that I didn't use any layering except for the ribbon & lace. To embellish I added 2 hat pins, and I made a couple of photo corners to take the bare look off the top half of the card.

Copics:

Skin: E21. 51, 00, 000 & E02(cheeks)

Dress & Hat: YG93, 95, 97

Boots & Basket: E42, 43, 44

Leaves: YR18, E53

I'm also going to enter this card into Simon Says Stamp Challenge which is Autumn photo inspiration and another for Just Magnolia which is Anything Goes

Thanks for popping in today, don't forget to leave a note telling me what you'll be doing for World Card Making Day. 

Sandie

xXx

CES Challenges Baby Bonanza & Tag it for SFTW

Good morning!! I have 2 baby cards to share today.. one for a {late} Stampin' for the Weekend and the other for CES Challenges. 

I'll start with CES Challenges and our theme is BABY BONANZA.

I am also entering this card in to the Waltzing Mouse Sketches challenge. 

My papers are Pink Paislee 'Cupid' and they've been inked with Antique Linen distress ink. I used both lace and pale pink sheer ribbon - I love how lush they are together!! I made the tag myself and stamped a Studio G sentiment on it. The image stamp is one from a huge box of wooden stamps I bought on QVC aaaaaages ago!

The prize for this challenge is a set of gorgeous fabric brads and ribbons by My Mind's Eye.

Next up is Stampin' for the Weekend and our challenge this week is TAG IT. Quite simply, use a tag on your creation. 

We are being sponsored by Meljen's Designs and my cute image is called Cuddle Cloud Baby. I've coloured it using copic sketch markers. My papers are MeLody Ross 'Homespun Chic' and they've been distressed with Victorian Velvet. To embellish I've added some Wild Orchid Crafts flowers, some pearl spray and a butterfly that's been punched out using the X- cut 3D punch.

I'm also going to enter this into a few challenges:
Cute Card Thursday's challenge - A tweet and a flutter.

Secret Crafter - Anything Goes

Stamp Something - Use A Digi

Well that's it from me for today. I have promised my kiddos I'd bring them to the play centre this morning and hopefully it will tire them out so that I can have crafty play time this afternoon.

Thanks for visiting :)

Sandie

xXx