InStyle Stamps Valentine Blog Hop

Good morning and welcome to InStyle Stamps Valentine's blog hop. The theme this month is Valentine's, and there is a $25 goodie bag up for one lucky person who votes for their favourite project on the InStyle Stamps blog. 

If you have arrived here from Cathy's Blog you are on the right path...  if not, you need to go back to the start of the hop on the InStyle Stamps blog. 

For my project I made a Sweet Notes box for my daughter. I used the cute Rapunzel image from the Fairy Tales collection {she picked the image ;) } 

Next up on the hop is Taylor.

Box Template: Splitcoast Stampers
Image: Rapunzel by InStyle Stamps
Papers: Rose Garden by Papermania
Tools: Copic sketch markers, MS scoring board, Classic & Scalloped circle Nestabilities
Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts
Butterfly: Prima
Ribbon: Stash

Thanks for visiting me today. Have a wonderful Friday! xx

Sandie

PaperPlay Challenges & a Whiff of Joy GDT

Good morning! I hope your Thursday is going well. It's a bright & sunny, yet chilly, day here. 

This week's PaperPlay Challenge is Layer it Up and we would love to see loads of layers on  your creations. I made 2 cards for this challenge as I just love layering my papers :D We are being sponsored by Bunny Zoe Crafts and the prize is a cool $10 store voucher.

On this first one I used another Fairy Tales image - Alice - by Instyle Stamps. Now I'm not usually a fan of all things blue when it comes to girls, lol, but I really like the colour scheme for this image. 

My papers are a mix of Basic Grey and Pink Paislee. The co-ordinating ribbon came wrapped around my little man's pj's when I bought them.. definitely a case of recycling here :) The flowers and crystal drops are from Wild Orchid Crafts. 

Challenges: 

Kaboodle Doodles - Bling it up

Crafty Pad - Girly

Craft Your Passion - Use 2 patterned papers

Top Tip Tuesday - fabulous flowers

My next card is also my entry into Whiff of Joy's colour combo challenge which is Chocolate, Teal & Cream. LOVE this colour combo!!!! The image I used, Ben, is one of the Valentine releases but I made a Birthday card. Works well, yes? lol. 

The papers are Graphic 45 Steampunk - who'd a thought you could make these papers 'cute'? haha!! The green & brown seam binding.. hmm.. I paid a sweet fortune for this on Etsy a while back before it became popular and easier/cheaper to get.. *sulking*. lol. Still, I love the distressed effect on it and am hoarding it like nobody's business :D 

The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley.

Ben has been coloured using copics - 

Skin: E21, 51, 00, 02

Hair: E53, 51, 50

Pants/Shoes: E44, 43, 42

Sweater: BG13, 15, 18

Shirt/Tie - E41, 40

Gift -  BG0000, 10, 11

Rose/Ribbon: R32, 35, 37

Challenges: 

Gingersnap Creations - coffee and cream

Paper Pretties - sewing

Penny's Paper-Crafty  – anything goes

Everybody-Art-Challenge - my favourite thing

Wild Orchid Challenges - Let's Get Sentimental

Copic Creations - Something New

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog today. Be sure to pop over to the PaperPlay blog and leave my teamies' a little love :) Have a great day!!

Sandie

xXx

Inky Impressions Challenge - Embossing & one for The Sugar Bowl

Hi everyone. This is my 2nd post today, if you're looking for my WMS Birthday Hop Waltz card click HERE.

This week on Inky Impressions our challenge is Embossing - heat or dry - it's up to you :)

My image is called All Bundled Up Lili and I've coloured her using Copic sketch markers -

Sweater - RV91, 93 95. 

Socks/Gloves/Scarf - G24, 82, 85, 

Boots/Pants - W3, 5, 7 ,9. 

Skin - E00, 02, 21, 51, 

Hair - E41, 43, 44

My papers are Cosmo Cricket Mitten Weather. I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder on my white card. 

Be sure to check out the Inky Impressions challenge blog to see what me teamies have created. Remember, to be in with a chance of winning a fabby prize pack you must play along with each challenge this month. 

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My next card is one I  made for the Sugar Bowl Challenge, which is a sketch by Kiki. These Sassy images are just fantastic to colour up an the one I've used on my card, Hippy Chick, is among my favourites - of course there are new ones released now and I've already got a wishlist going, lol. 

How pretty is she??!!??

Simply Sassy are also having a guest DT call. If you want to be in with a shot then you must use a Sassy image and create a card in your own style. All the deets are HERE.

Again, I've used copics to colour her - 

Skin - E00, 02, 11, 21, 51

Hair - E44, 43, 42

Top/Hairband - R81, 83, 85

Leg Warmers/Socks? - BG0000, 10, 11

Shoe - W3, 5, 7

Flowers - Y15, 18. BG05, 07. R35, 39

Eyes - BG05, 07

The papers on this card I've had FOR.EV.ER!! They are Rose Garden by Papermania. I've matted them with rose pink cardstock and some dark brown paper from BG Stella Ruby.

The chipboard circle behind my image has been painted with Adirondack acrylic paint. dabber "Shell Pink" and the brads are from Whiff of Joy. My flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts and the adage ticket is from Tim Holtz Idea-ol-ogy range.

Challenges:

Everybody-Art-Challenge - My Favourite Thing {flowers!!}

My Time To Craft - embossing

Top Tip Tuesday - fabulous flowers

Crafty Cardmakers - Floral

Stamping Scrapping Central  - Winter

Woodware USA  - Anything Goes

Crafty Pad - Girly

Copic Creations - use something new plus Copics
Paper Pretties - sewing
Penny's Paper-Crafty – anything goes
Little Red Wagon - lace

Thanks for swinging by!! Have a great day :)

Sandie

xXx

Three squeaks for the Birthday Girl!!

Good morning!! Today the Waltzingmouse DT are having a very special BIRTHDAY blog hop, for a very special person - Ms. WaltzingMouse herself -  Claire, owner of Waltzingmouse Stamps is celebrating her birthday today. 

Over the past number of months not only has Claire been a fan.tas.tic 'boss' but she's become a very good friend to me and I am truly blessed to have 'met' her. I know every member of the WMS DT feel exactly the same and that's why we wanted to do something special for her....

So each of the DT, The Mischief makers and some friends have made a birthday card for Claire... and we've used her wonderful WMS stamps too.. ;) 

If you've arrived here from Lisa's blog then you're on the right path.. if not then you need to jump back to Claire's blog {which Lisa hijacked for the occasion, lol}

I've used Very Vintage Labels 10 stamped out using Victorian Velvet distress ink and a sentiment from Tiny Trees stamped with Tuxedo Black Momento along with Magnolia design papers, distressed seam binding and a beautiful 2-tone white/pink rose.

The little tag has been inked and stamped with a tiny bird from the Tiny Trees collection, using the Victorian Velvet and a touch of Brushed Cordoroy. The border has been punched out using Martha Stewarts Vintage Lace punch and then inked to co-ordinate. All of my papers have been machine stitched. 

Well that's it from me.. Your next stop on this hop is Mona, and I'm pretty certain that she will bowl you over with her wondeful creativity.

I hope you will all join us in wishing Claire a very very very happy Birthday!!

Sandie

xXx

Waltzingmouse Stamps/Grand Calibur Event Day 3

Good morning!! Welcome to Day 3 of our Waltzingmouse/Grand Calibur event, celebrating our brand new Grand Calibur machines, which were a gift from the wonderful guys at Spellbinders

So that you don't miss any of the activities make sure you check out Claire's blog for all the deets on how you could win some WMS goodies!!

First things first.. what do I think of the Grand Calibur??..

 

...well let me just say that I LOVE my little Cuttlebug. I have a Big Shot which sits prettily in it's box because I bought it thinking the world would stop if I didn't have it, but I loved my Cuttlebug too much to even think about betraying it.... so when the Grand Calibur landed on my doorstep I was thrilled beyond belief to get it BUT I was in no hurry to open it. Of course to participate in this event I HAD to open and USE it... and I can honestly say, with hand on heart, that it's AWESOME!! So much bigger than my little green friend, it's so easy to crank, it's quiet, the suction cup is so great that it actually sticks to the table with a vice like grip.... and it's PINK!! But I think the BIGGIE for me is both the size of the cutting area and the fact that the embossing mat is included. As long as I have my Cuttlebug I've never gotten around to purchasing the embossing mat.

I made 3 things to share today and I cut out all my Nestabilities shapes for them in one go. 

For this card I used the Bountiful Baskets Additions with both the Classic Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities. I've coloured my image using copic sketch markers and shaded the background with Brushed Cordoroy distress ink.

The papers are Prima "Annalee". I've matted them with a teal-green cardstock and machine stitched them all. The distressed seam binding is an Etsy purchase, LOVE it! To embellish I've used some Wild Orchid Crafts roses and Kaisercraft pearls.

The sentiment, stamped onto the tiny tag, is from the Seasons of Love stamp set.

I also made a little card/gift set. The cake slice template is by Waltzing Mouse and can be found HERE. It's very easy to assemble and it's perfect for that little extra special touch. I've made this one for my son who's birthday party is today. It's been filled with some tooth decaying goodies and I know he's gonna love it. 

For the co-ordinating card I used the Seasons of Love - Tags stamp set and both the Hearts and Scalloped Hearts Nestabilities. My papers are from the Cosmo Cricket "Mitten Weather" collection.

Be sure to check out the other design team members showcasing their WMS/Grand Calibur projects today. You won't be disappointed!!

Here is what our event includes:

• Folks who purchase anything during the 3-day event (8.00am this morning 21st Jan to midnight Sun 23rd - all my time) will be entered into a draw. One person will be randomly picked at the end of the 3 days to receive their shopping basket free!

• We will also draw one random winner per day from comments left on one of the DT blogs just like we do for regular releases (only there will be three days of winners rather than just one!). Each winner will receive a free stamp set of their choice!

• We will also be holding a special challenge after the party. At the end of the event, we will invite all you folks to CASE a card/project from the 3 days. You will have one week to link your entries to the WMS blog post and then we'll pick a random winner for a prize. You may enter as many times as you like. One random winner will receive a set of Grand Nestabilities Dies - Grand Labels 4 and a set of stamps of their choice!

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

GDT Whiff of Joy - Love Letter

Hi everyone, just a very quick post from me today. I'm preparing the house and everything else for my little man's birthday party on Sunday. Have you seen the Valentine release stamps from Whiff of Joy?? Well they are just too cute for words. The cutie I used today is called For My Tweetheart and it goes perfectly with the sentiments from the Happy Mail Collection.

I kept it pretty CAS and added just a pop of lime ribbon. 

I really have no clue what brand my papers are. They are from a matt stack given to me as a gift but there was no cover on them. I used the Martha Stewart vintage lace punch for my border work and machine stitched all my papers.

Challenges: 

AiFactory - anything goes

Cute Card Thursday - recipe 1-2-3

Do You Stack Up? - pink

Crafty Creations - birds, polka dots, green

 Fab 'n' Funky - animal magic

Freshly Brewed - love or Valentine's themed

Penny's Paper-Crafty  – anything goes

Stampin' Royalty - anything with wings

Thanks for dropping in. Don't forget there is a guest DT call currently running on Whiff of Joy. You can find all of the details HERE. Good luck! 

Sandie

xXx