30 March 2013

Lucky Dip. Use Scallops

As March is a month containing 5 Saturdays, once more we have a Guest Designer for our Lucky Dip Challenge!
We have chosen 
SCALLOPS
as our challenge and
as our Guest Designer.
Lizy has scarcely missed a challenge and is often the very first to submit a card each week. Her work is simply super and we're sure you'll congratulate her on being chosen.


 Please pop over to her blog and check out more cards Lizy has made using scallops for this week's challenge.


For this card, I dry embossed a scalloped Nestie square directly onto the card base and surmounted this with a square of card embossed with a Stampin' Up folder.
The butterfly is from Memory Box using some squished flower background for the base and plain white card for the top layer. I glued the whole of the base layer, adding the filigree top layer and covering the rest with Glamour Dust. The sentiment is computer generated.


Here is another Anniversary card. 
I used my new Fiskars interchangeable punch, bought at the NEC, for the daisy border, threading it with some ribbon. The card and ribbon were coloured using a Promarker. The scallop border and the embossing were done with Stampin' Up products. The little flowers on the sentiment panel were cut from the border punchies and once more, the sentiment was computer generated.

Jen


For my first card I used a hostess only set from Stampin Up and stamped it onto off white card in dark brown ink.  I then cut a scalloped edge using a memory box die.  It's finished off by stitching around the edge and some early expresso ribbon tied simply in a bow.  The sentiment is also from Stampin Up.

For my second card I die cut the base of a black card with a large spellbinders scallop die.  This is then mounted onto a strip of dp from Stampin Up.  It's finished off with some ribbon and a simple tag sentiment.
It's quite an easy challenge this week, so we'd love to see lots of lovely scallops from you all!


29 March 2013

ShowCASe Week 111 Frame It


ShowCASe Week 111 - Frame It
Wow we had some amazing entries for our frame it challenge.  
Here are this weeks ShowCASe winners.



Love how the girls sit on the frame



Stunning Inking



Stunning poppies

And finally...



The Queen of frames


We're sure you'll agree that these are all stunning, inspirational examples.
Congratulations ladies.
Please take the Showcase badge from the page at the top to display on your blogs. 
Join us tomorrow for another CAS challenge!

23 March 2013

Week 112 Recipe - Use Beads

Our challenge last week was very popular with some fantastic cards and inventive use of frames emerging.  This week may be a little more challenging but we know you will come up with some fabulous ideas.  The recipe this week is...
USE BEADS
We want to see beads somewhere dotted around on your creations this week ...  Don't forget to check out the challenge rules..

Jen


My first card uses DP from Stampin Up and Twine from the Ribbon Girl with beads wrapped around the card.  It's finished with a simple sentiment also from Stampin Up.


My second card is also Pool Party and I paper pierced the heart using a Stampin up template and then hand stitched it with clear seed beads.  The sentiment is also from Stampin Up. The back ground embossed.

Chrissie
This card has a simple flower, stamped on kraft card with Soft Suede ink and clear embossed, which was then bleached and a few beads added to the centre.
This is set in a frame and backed with some French Script from Hero Arts.
Here is a favourite layout, with a little butterfly from SU 's Papillion Pot Pourri set, with some antennae made from wire and embellished with a couple of red beads. The background is stamped with one of the SU Confetti set.
I have had a busy week, including visiting Mandi on the Isle of Wight . She sends her best wishes to you all, it was lovely to see her again! Her shop is looking amazing!
We have also signed up to Blog Lovin to give you the option to follow all of our posts via this in preparation for Google reader closing on 1st July.  Just click on the link below to follow us....

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Do join to ensure receiving info about our challenges!
This week's  is  tricky, but we're sure you won't be defeated by it!
We're waiting to see  your submissions!

22 March 2013

ShowCASe 110


One Layer Card ShowCASe.
Some fabulous use of spots and stripes in our one layer challenge
Here are our choices for week 110

Ardyth



love the bright colours and layout

Mynette


fabulous blend of colours

Lynne



lots of nice white space

We're sure you'll agree that these are all stunning, inspirational examples.
Congratulations ladies.
Please take the Showcase badge from the page at the top to display on your blogs. 
Join us tomorrow for another CAS challenge!



16 March 2013

Week 111 Theme

Week 111
We have a theme for you this week.
Whilst keeping your card Clean and Simple we would like you to
Frame it!
Some part of your design should contain a frame of some description, it could be stamped, drawn,  doodled, die-cut or whatever your imagination dictates.

This card employs a bleaching technique.
The black paper was stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with black embossing powder, I then applied neat bleach to the design which I left to dry. This gradually removed the colour from the paper leaving it a close match to Stampin' Up's Sahara Sand card, which I used for the card base and the frame.
It's necessary to test the colour which results after adding bleach, as some card ends up a nasty colour. For me, black card didn't work, whereas  black paper worked beautifully.
Both of these images are from Blockhead Stamps. This one was coloured and then covered with Glossy Accents before framing with a simple, broad frame. 
I used a Spellbinders die for the aperture, adjusting the size to fit the image. I made it slightly longer and then hand embossed the edge of the frame (which was cut with a trimmer) to match the effect left by the die.
I will be going to the NEC on Thursday. If anyone else plans on being there I'd love to say Hi!
Should you want to meet up, email me and I'll send you my mobile number!

Jen

I made it at last...
Here is a simple card with inspiration from my trip last week...


I've use Tim Holtz stamps and very basically cut out a square from card and mounted it on top. The sentiment is from a really old sizzix set and twine from the ribbon girl.


My second card uses a cute stamp from The Alley Way Stamps and I masked off a square using post-its.  I then doodled around a frame using a fine liner and filled in bits with a flexmarker.  The sentiment is from PI.

We hope to see lots of different frames this week, but please don't forget that all important White Space!

15 March 2013

Week 109 ShowCASe

Colour Inspiration ShowCASe.
What a beautiful set of colours we had to work with and the submissions were equally stunning.
Here are our choices for week 109

Wonderful collage.

Love the simplicity!

Good enough to eat!

Wonderful mix of pattern and texture.

We're sure you'll agree that these are all stunning, inspirational examples.
Congratulations ladies.
Please take the Showcase badge from the page at the top to display on your blogs. 
Join us tomorrow for another  CAS challenge!

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09 March 2013

Week 110 One Layer

It's a really tricky one this week girls!
Not only is it 
ONE LAYER
but we are also asking you for 
SPOTS and STRIPES
If we could use papers it would be easy, right? 
We know you'll come up with some fabulous designs and are really looking forward to seeing what appears.

Jen

So as you read this I'm either at the airport or in Paris for the week so I'm sorry I won't get to visit you all... Here are my cards for this week


So I did use papers... digi papers that is... they are perfect for the one layer card if you manipulate them a little in word or print over part of a card.  The first card is stripes from Pink Petticoat printed as a rectangle on A4 then cut down the middle to give the tent card.  I then stamped the spots from Paper Smooches gently over the top.  The sentiment is Kirsty Wiseman and I've doodled round the edges


For the second card I cropped pink petticoat paper again over A4 using word and then printed the same sheet with the sentiment.  It's finished off with stripes of black twine from the ribbon girl and a embosslit butterfly from Stampin UP

I spent some time looking through my stamps for evidence of spots or stripes and found this freebie from a magazine which I believe is Hot off the Press. There was just a striped deck chair and a plain one, to which I added the  necessary spots and coloured with Promarkers.
The sentiment is made with a set of Sizzix alphabet stamps.
This one is a simple collage of stamps. The spots and stripes are Tim Holtz stamps, overstamped with the plant image from Unity.
I began by stamping the spots in Bundled Sage distress ink and then clear embossing it. This was followed by the stripes in Iced Spruce DI, which I simply let dry. The final stamping was done in Pine Needles DI, which again I clear embossed. Job done!
Your spots or stripes could be dry embossed too...what can you show us this week?

08 March 2013

Week 108 ShowCASe

Paper Piercing ShowCASe
It's curious that each time paper piercing is mentioned, invariably there are some people who confuse it with Paper Piecing. 
Our challenge in week 108 was no exception, but we saw some wonderful examples of  Paper Piercing and without further ado, here are our ShowCASe choices.

Delicate piercing and a fabulous leaf!

Piercing as the main feature!

Beautiful embossing highlighted by the piercing.

Beautiful treatment of a fabulous stamp.

Amazing style.

All wonderful!
Thank you ladies. Do please take the ShowCASe badge from the page at the top to display on your blogs.
Don't forget to check back in the morning everyone, to see the subject of our One Layer Challenge!!

06 March 2013

February Winner

February Winner
We are so delighted that Liz from Pink Petticoat  agreed to be one of our sponsors.
February Sponsor
 We have chosen our winner for February, a crafter who never fails to inspire and who has been generous in offering fabulous sentiments which she has created to anyone visiting her blog.
She is of course...
Hannelie
Thank you for your superb submissions !
If you could confirm your email address with us Hannelie, we will let LIz know so that she can arrange  for you to receive your prize.
Very many Congratulations from us all!

02 March 2013

Week 109 Colour Challenge

A New Month, a New Sponsor
We are delighted to have the Ribbon Girl

as our sponsor  once more  this month.
Mary stocks such fabulous embellishments, do check them out!
Colour Challenge
We have a wonderful inspiration picture for you this week from Design Seeds!
What are you going to do with this lucious colour combo?
We just love it!
donut dreams

Chrissie
I carried the paper piercing technique over from last week to surround the gingham squares. I had forgotten that I had holes for paper piercing in my Tim Holtz ruler, so I used it here. The hearts were stamped and die-cut with Stampin' Up's Hearts a flutter set, and inked with various shades of Cat's Eye  Chalk inks. The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp.
NO stamping at all here... this utilises a die from W PLUS 9, with a Pink Petticoat paper and a couple of other shades of pink card. The embossing folder is from Sizzix.

Jen


The first of my cards uses a selection of pink petticoat papers and one of the new sentiments. I'm not a huge orange fan but I really love this colour combo.  The butterfly is a punch from Stampin Up.


For my second card I used much bolder shades by using stampin up markers, and used a stamp set from CAS-ual fridays.  the sentiment strip was supposed to be stitched but the thread came out of the needle so it's piercing for a second week.

Do join us with this delicious colour combo!


01 March 2013

Week 107 ShowCASe

There were some fantastic and imaginative entries for week 107 ...  Here are our choices for the ShowCASe for Up In The Air



Very inventive and perfect execution



Perfect CAS and great sentiment



So simple yet fabulous

Thank you everyone for showing us your fabulous creations, we look forward to seeing them each week. 

If the ShowCASed ladies would care to take the badge from the page at the top of the blog we would be delighted for you to display it on your blogs.
Hope you can join us tomorrow for the March colour challenge...