Tuesday 29 September 2015

Autumnal Breezes

I think that, despite the recent warm weather here in the UK, we can definitely feel autumn creeping up on us...those chilly nights, the wind blowing through your hair and the rustic colours appearing in the trees. It is a lovely time of year to take a look around and observe the wonders of nature, and it is all these lovely things that have inspired me to to make this card.
I have coloured my card using Chameleon pens. I like how they give you light and shade, I just wish the had a broader colour palette.

Anyway, not too much time today, so I am going to get straight on to the challenges, and here they are:

http://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-18.html
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-7.html
http://littleclairesdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/

/09/monthly-stamp-challenge-61-autumnal.html
http://pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-145-autumn.html
http://sweetstampinchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/use-non-white-base.html
http://sketchsaturday.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/week-380-with-bugaboo-stamps.html
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-79.html
http://deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-113-autumn.html
http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/take-your-pick.html
http://craftygirlzchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks for visiting.

Sharon

Friday 25 September 2015

A little snip and a little glitz


Sometimes there are days when you just feel like snipping away with the scissors and this  card, using a Thomas Kinkade decoupage set from the Joanna Sheen CD rom , was the outcome of just one of those days!

I wanted to make she very traditional Christmas cards for some members of my family and this seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

There are lots of layers on this card and just look at the feet matching paper wotht the lovely deers on there.

This is an A5 card and there really wasn't much needed as the image speaks for itself. My only enhancement was to add glitter to make that snow really sparkle.

Wouldn't you just love to visit a place like this? I know I would!!

So, on to some lovely challenges that I would now like to enter….

http://christmasstampin.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/christmas-stampin-all-year-long_18.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-280-always-anything-goes.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-280-always-anything-goes.html
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-78.html
http://asnowflakespromise.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-6.html
http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/it-will-soon-be-here.html
http://4craftychicks.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/4-cc-challenge-265-sparkle-shine.html
http://creativeknockouts.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/108-glitter-it-up-paper-shelter.html
http://wagsnwhiskersrubberstamps.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-162-glittersparkle.html
http://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-18.html
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-7.html

Thanks for visiting today.

Sharon x

Wednesday 23 September 2015

The kind of 'Tweet' that I understand

I am back again with news of a new challenge over at Fab n Funky and the theme this week, chosen by Helen, is one of my favourites......cute critters.

This week we are being sponsored by Doodle Pantry and, when I visited their website, I was blown away by all the cute little creatures on there, but I really took a shine to this little guy.
He comes in black and white and coloured versions, with a bunch of sentiments included, so I also used one of them on my card, which I really liked for those 'just because' sort of cards.

I have coloured my bird in Spectrum colours and, for once I have noted down the colours, so here they are for you:

CT1, CT3, CT4, CR1, OR1, OR2, TN7, TN8, CR3, CR6, CR5, LG2, LG3, LG4, LG5.

For my backing papers I have used the Nitwits One birdie lane collection (how appropriate!) and finally I followed a sketch from Friday Sketchers to create my design.

I'm really looking forward to seeing all of your cute critters, so I hope to see you over at Fab n Funky.

And here are some other challenges that I would also like to enter:

http://fridaysketchchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/sketch-100.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-280-always-anything-goes.html
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-78.html
http://cinspirations.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-328-something-sweet.html

Bye for now.

Sharon x

Monday 21 September 2015

Downton Abbey Mania

Hi all.

Did you manage to catch any of the Downton Abbey shows today on Create and Craft? It seems that all you crafters out there are mad for the stuff and it was literally flying! I am pretty sure tat it won't last for the planned 4 days, but I hope it stays in stock a little while so you can at least get to see some of the lovely demonstrations.

Meanwhile, here is one of my samples that appeared on the shows today....and I am very chuffed to say that Nigel May thought this card was 'wonderful'......whahooooo....praise indeed!  :-) That makes me a very happy girl, particularly as I am not normally a vintage crafter.


You can see a good selection of the papers here and of course some of the lovely stamps which I coloured with my Spectrum Noirs. Believe it or not, because of the built in shading, I hardly had to use any colours to get this effect......here's a list for you:

EB2, GB8, GB10, DR2, DR6........nice and easy!!

I am so pleased that I jumped out of my comfort zone in using these products and now I would like to enter a few challenges:

http://a-step-in-the-darkness.blogspot.co.uk/
http://carabbiemomentsofcraft.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-77-anything-goeskids-ruleback.html
http://craftingforallseasons.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-110.html
http://polkadoodle.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/week-38-crafting-challenge-at.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-280-always-anything-goes.html

Thanks for coming to visit today, and don't forget to watch out for those shows on Create and Craft.  :-)

Sharon x


Saturday 19 September 2015

It's time for tea at Downton Abbey

For those of you crafters out there who watch Downton Abbey......you are going to love this!!

Crafter's Companion have secured the licence to produce Downton Abbey craft items and they are launching the range on Create and Craft next week. The range includes all sorts of things including stamps, CDs, embossing folders and dies, so there will be something to suit every type of paper crafter.

I was very lucky to be able to play with some of the stamps and CDs, and here is one of the items that I made....a tea bag gift box.
The idea is that the tea bags kind of pop up when you open the lid, so this is what it looks like open.
How do you like the pattern on the box? These are papers from one of the CDs. It is basically broken down in to a category for each character and they each have their own paper range - beautifully coordinated, as you can see. The added bonus is that the male character are included too, so there are some lovely 'man' papers in there, not to mention the usual embellishments etc.
So my stamps of choice for this sample were from the Downton Abbey Stamps, A Moment in Time and Time for Tea sets. Check out the clock.....so detailed but very easy to colour because all the shading is already in there.







I love this tea pot too.........

So I am sure you will be wanting to see some more inspiration ahead of the shows, so check out these facebook pages for some sneak previews.........

@Crafters Companion UK ( http://www.facebook.com/CraftersCompanion )

○ @Spectrum Noir ( http://www.facebook.com/SpectrumNoir )

○ @Sara Davies ( http://www.facebook.com/SaraDaviesCC )



○ @Fiona Clayton Crafter’s
 
Companion ( http://www.facebook.com/FionaClaytonCraftersCompanion )

○ @Create & Craft TV ( http://www.facebook.com/CreateandCraft )

○ @Downton Abbey ( http://www.facebook.com/DowntonAbbey )

Finally, here are some challenges that I would like to enter:



Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy the samples and the shows next week.  :-)

Sharon x

 



Thursday 17 September 2015

A little bit of horsing around

I thought I would post one of my first attempts with aqua markers today just so you can see how easy they are to work with!

I made this card when the Crafter's Companion Thelwell set first came out, and it was for my sister's birthday as we were both very much involved with horses when we were younger.

As you can see, I didn't have any proper water colour card at this time, so I opted for a linen card called Lana Laid, which I happened to have in my stock at the time. As you can see it worked quite nicely, but the paper does tend to ball up a bit as it gets wetter, so I definitely think that a good quality water colour card is well worth the investment.

So I printed on e of the digi scenes from the CD and matched it with some complimentary papers, in order to make a large 8 x 8 card.

I think the bit that took the longest was making the rosette embellishment!

I would like to enter a few challenges before I leave you today, and here they are:

http://withoutwordschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/september-for-boys.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/please-welcome-our-newest-dt-members_16.html
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-77.html
http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/animal-magic.html
http://carabbiemomentsofcraft.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-77-anything-goeskids-ruleback.html

Thanks for visiting today.

Sharon


Saturday 12 September 2015

Take one very small mouse…….

Hi all. I am back once again with a Christmassy theme today. To be honest, I couldn't wait to show you what could be achieved with one of those little'incidental' stamps that you often get on stamp sheets.

On this occasion I was stamping a larger house mouse image and this little guy was one of the additional stamps. He is only a few centimetres tall but so darn cute that I just had to stamp and colour him. The question was…what to do with him????


So i had the idea of placing him inside a wreath……cue one of my favourite dies at the moment…the Tonic Christmas Wreath die. I love this one because you can cut it twice, layer in and add berries with pearl drops…..ad that's exactly what I did.


My little mouse fitted perfectly in to the wreath and hey presto, one very cute card.

So it's time for my little guy to start his travels around blog world, so here are some challenges to enter:

http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-76.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-278-always-anything-goes.html
http://asnowflakespromise.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-5.html
http://a-step-in-the-darkness.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-29.html
http://pennyschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/welcome-to-pennys-challenge-244.html
http://trimmiescraftchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-328-10th-of-september.html
http://asyoulikeitchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/favourite-die-and-why.html
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-6.html
http://graphitmarkers.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/wk-37-christmas-colours-graphit.html
http://craftyhazelnutschristmaschallenge.blogspot.co.uk
http://housemouse-challenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/house-mouse-challenge-202-back-to-school.html
http://gruffiesandguests.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/ch21-make-it-fruity.html

Thanks for visiting today  :-)

Sharon x

Wednesday 9 September 2015

A little bit shabby

 Well it's Wednesday once again which means it's time for a new challenge over at Fab n Funky, and this week the theme is Shabby Chic.

Now I have to be honest in that this theme was not something I have really tried before and I wasn't really sure what to do! In the end I came up with this card, which I am not sure if it is shabby or vintage.......or are they both the same thing.....I really don't know.

Anyhow, once I had figured out what I was going to do, I had a blast making this card...I distressed all the papers with scissor baldes and inked them up to make them all look a bit tattered. I even'dirtied up my lovely white neenah card!



Now on to the main image which is a gorgeous Sherri Baldi stamp. Again, I have departed from my usual plans and coloured this entirely in pencils. Once again it was a really enjoyable experience and the colours came out so much bolder than I had expected.

I'm going to be entering this card in to a few challenges, but I hope that you will come and join us over at Fab n Funky and teach me a bit more about Shabby Chic.  :-)

http://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-291-anything-goes.html
http://thepencilcases.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/wk1-anything-goes-craft-challenge-at.html
http://craftycalendarchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/anything-goesand-meet-our-new-calendar.html
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-76.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-278-always-anything-goes.html
http://mybestiesuk.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/my-besties-uk-challenge-anything-goes.html
http://bestieschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/challenge-18-always-anything-goes-with.html
http://a-step-in-the-darkness.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-29.html
http://cinspirations.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-326-vintage.html


Thanks for stopping by.

Sharon x

Saturday 5 September 2015

Howdy Pardners!


Hi there everyone.

I thought I would post one of my very first designs as a Spectrum Noir DT member, using the gorgeous Scruffy Little Kitten stamps.

This little guy actually started life as a girl, but I gave him a bit of a haircut and he was transformed in to something resembling the Milky Bar Kid!

I used the CD ROM to print out some large letters for the name and I then edged them with a Spectrum Noir pen and distressed them with some ink to give them a bit of depth and rustiness.

My little cowboy was coloured with Spectrum Noir pens and cut out before mounting using silicon glue so that he stands proud.

I hope you like my little busy.  :-)

And here are the challenges that I would like to enter today………

http://deepoceanchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/challenge-111-for-boys.html
http://papertakeweekly.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/anything-goes.html
http://a-step-in-the-darkness.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/challenge-28.html
http://pennyschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/pennys-challenge-241-winners-and-top-3.html
http://cinspirations.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/challenge-325-warm-colours.html
http://graphitmarkers.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/wk-35-anything-goesbackgrounds.html
http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/week-327-lots-of-layers.html
http://craftycalendarchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/anything-goesand-meet-our-new-calendar.html

Thanks for visiting today and a happy weekend to you all.

Sharon x