I am popping in this morning to remind you that you still have time to join in our photo 'Home Sweet Home' challenge at TIME OUT.

Here is the photo we have to inspire you:

This time I decided just pick up on the pinks and greens in the picture but have gone for slightly different shades plus I loved fellow DT member Bev's idea of using the curtain as inspiration. I picked up on the curtain hoops. I got the idea of the hoops as soon as I saw the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch. 

I was also inspired when I was looking for ideas at the Iron Craft Challenge. This time I went for the collage of stamps. I liked the sentiment set from Winnie and Walter where you can mix and match sentiments. And the logo at the top also caught my eye. I have used a sentiment builder set here from STAMPlorations.

You still have until next Wed to play along at TIME OUT Challenges. Check out our blog and see some more cards to inspire you plus see if you were a winner in our last challenge!

Time to take some TIME OUT and join in the fun!

               

Its time for our 'Make your Mark' challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More. That means you need to use some kind of marker, pencil, paint etc on your project. This week I stepped outside the box and had a go at some 'real painting'...well I say 'real'!!

I decided I wanted to have a go at drawing my own flowers and then water colouring them. Now I really can't draw but this one afternoon for some bizarre reason I wanted to leave the stamps aside and have a go!

I looked to utube for inspiration and came across this video and just went right ahead and gave it a go!

These flowers were hand drawn first in pencil then I used water colour paints to create the background. I then used a mixture of paints and water colour pencils to colour the flowers. This was my first attempt and I really kinda like it. I am going to try this again when I learn to draw something else!! The sentiment is from Stamplorations

We are sponsored this week by Eureka Stamps. Check out their fab store here.

And don't forget to visit our main blog and see all the awesome projects our team have come up with.

I am going to enter this into the Iron Craft Challenge-inspiration 1-trends. My card is inspired by the water colour paints photo.

I used the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch for my lay out. The challenge photo this week at Fusion inspired my red polka dots and the striped circles was inspired by the challenge photo at Just Us Girls. And finally as my two clock hands are die cuts I will enter this into the challenge at Less is More.

I thought this card looked quite masculine and we all know it is handy to have a few 'guy' cards in our stash!

I am very excited as tomorrow my crafting buddy and friend Nonni is flying over from Finland to stay with me in London for the week. We have never met IRL so it is all very exciting. We have a bit of shopping, theatre and I am sure some crafting all lined up. I am sure we will have a few photos to share with you later in the week.

Enjoy the rest of your day x

       

Its time for a new challenge at Addicted to CAS and this week we the very creative and talented Vicki is a host. It is very apt that Vicki is our host as it was her Birthday this week and I am dedicating this card to you Vicki-Happy belated Birthday! She has chosen the following code word for us:

When I saw this word a while ago I thought of using felt, copper sheeting or wood grain embossed card and was sure I would have plenty of ideas so didn't think too hard on it. A few days before the challenge I was stuck! I couldn't think how to use all my ideas so had to think in a different direction. First I will show you my card then if you want to you can read how I came about creating it.

I decided to show you my favourite way of adding texture to a CAS card and that is using my linen embossing plate. I love the texture this gives and many of you know this is probably my most used crafting tool! I added some cork just for a touch more texture. All subtle ways you can add texture to your project.

 I got the idea of this from a few challenges. Firstly the colours come from the latest challenge at Uniko Studios and here I have chosen a Uniko stamp set that my blogging friend and owner of Uniko, Bev, gave me as a pressie for my Birthday. I am for the first time entering the The Iron Craft Challenge that I found through Virginia's blog-this is for the Inspiration 2-memories. When I saw this collage it reminded me of when Kylie came to visit me and we crafted together-the photo of the 2 girls laughing reminded so much of our time together.

And finally the Flower challenge at Casology helped to focus my idea.

This week at Addicted to CAS we are sponsored by Scribbles Designs-check out their store here. And we are lucky enough to have the lovely Darnell as our Guest Designer. See her and the other Design Teams' fabulous projects here.

If you have made it to the end of this blog...Congratulations! But I have one more announcement before I leave you alone!! Over at Stamplorations we are having a little party for Vicki's Birthday-why not join us!!

Happy Saturday my crafting friends.

We had some fabulous entries for our last challenge at Inkspirational. It is going to be tough choosing our favs!

This week we have a code word to inspire you to create and that word is 

BLOOM

What a great word for this time of year and I decided to go with the obvious flower theme and used some Uniko Stamps to create this CAS card with my fav combo of enamel dots, sequins and gems. I finished this off by using my linen impression plate-I so love the texture this gives to CAS cards.

This week our Guest Designer is the very talented Julia who has made a couple of outstanding cards inspired by our code word. Plus our newly expanded DT have some awesome inspiration for you to check out-take a peak here and then get your get inky and have some fun.

I will enter this into the following challenges:

CASology -flower

House of Cards-using 3 of colours and a CAS card

Our Guest Designer this week is Christine. You can see how she and the DT were inspired by this photo here

Now it is your time to take TIME OUT and join in and mine to rest my brain so I don't delete anymore posts!

Have a fun weekend  x

At Addicted to Stamps and More we are starting our 'Anything Goes' Challenge. This week we are sponsored by Rick St Dennis Digital Stamps-check out their great store!

I decided to use a couple of challenges to inspire my card this week. I got the idea for the lay out from the sketch this week at CAS(E) this Sketch and the colours from the latest challenge at Clearly Besotted Stamps.

And here is what I came up with:

I apologise for the poor photo but the light was not good when I took this and it was the only time I had free.

Our team have lots to inspire you this week. Take a look here to see what they have made for you this week. Then get stamping my friends x

               

I have used Sentiment Builder HAPPY, Vignette-Trendy Feathers, mini mixed media background-all from STAMPlorations and then added the circle stamps from Uniko Studios. One of the feathers has been fussy cut, scattered with glitter and popped up on foam pads.

This week Debbie is our fabulous Guest Designer. Check out here blog Indy's Design to be inspired! And then take a look here and see the fab collection of projects our team have made using this sketch.

If you need some more encouragement to join in the fun, we have prizes!

PRIZE

A TWIST IN OUR CHALLENGES

Good Morning crafting friends,

Today I am here with a card to remind you that our 'Inspired by Words' challenge is still up and running at TIME OUT Challenges. Our words this week are:

'Time Flies, Love Lasts'

Today I have used bird charms to represent 'flies' and a glossy heart to represent 'love'. You can choose any word you want from this phrase or be inspired by the whole phrase.

I think this might be the first time I have used charms on my card but I have always admired how my crafting friend Pia uses them on many of her cards. So I decided to give it a go when my sister gave me these adorable wooden charms.

I am going to enter this into the 'ribbon or twine' challenge at Crazy for CAS

You still have a week to enter our challenge at TIME OUT, so why not take some TIME OUT for yourself and join in the fun x

It time time for our photo challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More and this week we have this photo for you:

Lots here to inspire you to create! I went with the flowers and branches but instead of pink went with the colours from this week's photo at Fusion Card Challenge. And followed the sketch at CAS on Sunday-see below-using the sentiment as part of the sketch. And here is what I came up with using Uniko Stamps

I think the yellow and black make for a dramatic combo but decided to stamp the sentiment in orange and I wanted an extra colour plus there was already enough black on the card.

This week we are sponsored by Stitchy Bear Digis and you could win 3 digis from their fabulous store.

Don't forget to take a look at the inspiration from our DT HERE

I will enter this into the Fusion card challenge-using the photo.

And the sketch challenge at CAS on Sunday

 And the One Layer Simplicity Challenge-fabulous flowers

Have a fun day x

This week at Addicted to CAS our host is the very talented Marie and she has chosen the following code words:

And this is my take using the sketch this week at CAS(E) this Sketch (I flipped it)

Used my Clearly Besotted Stamps and dies-they are getting some use this week!

We are very happy that our Guest Designer for this challenge is Darnell. If you are not aware of Darnell then you really should visit her blog Djkardkreations as not only is she a very talented but her posts will brighten your day...check them out and you will see what I mean!

We are sponsored by Stamp Art Designs who have a great store-check it out here.

If you pop over to our main blog here you will see all the different and inventive ways our DT have interpreted 'off the edge'

Can't wait to see what you come up with-Enjoy!

When I saw the photo I was going to go with a silhouette and sunsets but some how ended up with this card! I think it was something to do with some new 'Happy' dies and the stamp set 'Up and Away' from Mama Elephant that arrived recently (these are actually for my friend Nonni who is coming to stay soon but she let me play with her new stamps!)

I used glitter paper for the die and one of the balloons. I used my copics for the balloons and added a touch of white gel pen on each one. The buttons are a 'desgin elemnet,' as we like to say, when using something to cover up a colouring mistake...but I think it worked out o.k and would you have known if I hadn't fessed up!!

Our new expanded DT have come up with some amazing and varied interpretations of this photo, take a look here and then get stamping and have fun!

I will enter this into the 'button' challenge at Catered Crop

Happy Friday Eve and you know what that means??? Yep it is time for you to take some time out to craft and join in our new challenge at TIME OUT Challenges.

This week we have our 'Inspired by words' challenge and this week we have this phrase for you

'Time Flies, Love Lasts'

You can be inspired by the whole phrase or just one single word. For example you might want to use 'Love' or 'Flies' and make a paper crafting project inspired by just this word....butterflies comes to mind and we all love them! 

I went with the whole phrase and this is what I came up with:

I chose the whole phrase as when my parents celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary I gave them some champagne flutes engraved with these words. 50 years is long time and I am not so sure they will say it has all flown but the love has lasted and that is a very special!

This week at TIME OUT we have one of my favourite card makers as our Guest Designer, Karen. Her blog Made By Meadie is well worth a visit as her designs are so inspiring and we are very honoured to have her join us this week.

Our DT have all interpreted our phrase in their own unique way, so please pop over to our blog and take a look here. Then get inky my friends and the winner will be offered the chance to be a Guest Designer for us in a future challenge.

Have fun!

These are all Clearly Besotted Stamps and dies.

I will enter this into the 'button' challenge at Catered Crop and the photo challenge at (Pin)spirational Challenges-here is their photo:

So glad you can join us in the STAMPlorations Stamp Release Blog Hop! The other STAMPlorations girls and I are sharing projects we've created that feature the 5 sets released this month. Visit all the stops on the hop and leave a comment for a chance to win 1 of the new stamp sets!

FIVE (5) lucky hoppers randomly drawn from the designers' blogs will each win a stamp set and TWO (2) lucky hoppers randomly drawn from the STAMPlorations blog will win a stamp set of their choice. You have until Sunday, May 11, 11:55 p.m. PDT to comment here and on my fellow designers' posts for a chance to win. Winners will be announced on the STAMPlorations blog on Monday, May 12.

I used the grunge floral stamps like washi tape. I chose this sentiment for this card as I tried a new to me technique I saw on Karen's blog Snippets. You use an embossing folder, distress inks and water (I used glamour spritz) on water colour paper to get the background. I was a little apprehensive about trying this so I thought the sentiment very apt for this card!

Now it is your turn to hop and don't forget to leave a comment on each blog!

*** The stops in the hop *** 

STAMPlorations Blog | Cornelia | Debra  | Monika

Nonni | Sandie | Shery | Shirley | Vicki

I will enter this into the water colour challenge at Keep it Simple

Enjoy!

Time for my favourite week at Addicted to Stamps and More. It is our Clean and Simple Challenge.

The card I am sharing with you today was for my Dad's Birthday a few weeks ago. I made this when our lovely team leader Kylie came to stay with me and we got some time to craft.

Our sponsor this week is StampArt Design. Their store is full of some wonderful designs so don't forget to go and check them out here.

This week we are having a DT call. You will find details on our main blog here-do hurry as it is only for this challenge! While you are there check out the designs from the rest of our team. Then get inky!

This week we are very lucky to have the very talented Mynnette joining us as our Guest Designer. Check out her fabulous card and all the inspiration from our DT on our main blog here

 You have until May 18th to join in.

Yes, we have prizes for this challenge!

PRIZE

The sketch challenges are sponsored by our sister shop, All About Scrapping. The winner gets to pick 3 DIGITAL products from the shop — any combination of printable sheets, Photoshop templates, and digital paper packs. The winner will also be invited to be a Guest Designer in next month's sketch challenge.

I will enter this into the '3 colour' challenge at less is more

Enjoy!

A very happy Friday my crafting friends.

It is time for our new monthly challenge at STAMPlorations and this month we are going with 'Stamps and Flowers'

What a great theme for this time of year. Your project can be any style as long as you use some kind of stamping and we some flowers!

Here is my card for this month using STAMPlorartons eclectic florals and our soon to be released sentiment builders 

This card was actually inspired by a card I got in the post from Anita at My Paper Craft World-see her card below. I loved Anita's design and she very kindly agreed I could CASE it for my DT card this month-thank you Anita x

This month our Guest Designer is the very talented Sue and to see what she has created for us check out our blog here. This is also where you will see what all the DT have made to inspire you to play along.

Need a little more motivation? How about some prizes?

The winner will get to choose 2 clear stamps set from our shop here and will be asked to be our Guest Designer for a future monthly challenge. 

If you take part in all 3 challenges at STAMPlorations in May you will be entered into the random draw for this prize:

Cloud9 Design Epoxy Accent Stickers, K&Co. Blue Awning Die-Cut Cardstock Tags, Elle's Studio Day to Day Tabs,Bella Blvd Crochet Flowers, The Card Co. Funky Lipstick Paper Flowers, and Heidi Grace Printed Flowers.

I will enter this into the 'photo' challenge at Pinspirational Challenges-I loved the colours of the flowers in the gorgeous little basket

 I will also enter this into the 'three thirds' challenge at CAS-ual Fridays as I have used 3 flowers, 3 enamel dots.

Plus One Layer Simplicity Challenge is having a 'Fabulous Flowers' month, so this card is entering there!

 Here is Anita's card: that inspired me.

Have fun playing along with us, you have all month to stamp!

Over at Time Out challenges we are announcing our winners of all those lovely goodies from Uniko Studios. Just pop on over to our site here to see if you are a winner!

I wanted to make another card for our current challenge here which is to CASE the fab card Virginia made for us (see her card at the bottom of my post). I challenged myself to make a more CAS version this week but keeping to Virginia's lay out and this is what I came up with:

This was made by masking off the strip and then using 2 different circle stamps from Uniko Studios to make my pattern, masking each one as I went-took some time but I liked the effect.

I came up with this by hunting around blog land. I found 2 photos that inspired me to create this card.

First off this photo from Just Us Girls inspired my use of yellow and green and patterns.

And then this photo from Crazy for CAS inspired my use the black and white stripes and circles.

I will also enter this into the 'three thirds' challenge at CAS-ual Fridays as I have used 3 stars and 3 colours.

I hope my card has inspired you to take some TIME OUT and play along at TIME OUT