Two of my favourite things............

That would be colouring.....and chocolate!  And what better way to combine both than with this lovely Winnie image from Polka Doodles, along with the perfect sentiment - also from the Winnie CD.

I love, love, love Winnie and I couldn't wait to get colouring with her, so I thought I would go for it with my Spectrum Noir Blendable pencils and this is the result. I am not very good a blending with the pencils alone, so I always opt for the blending oil and paper stumps which really seems to bring out the vibrancy of the colours.

I used some backing papers from the same CD and coloured my image to match. I love how Nikki provided framed characters as well as the full body images and they make a really nice change...particularly as this one was kind of egg shaped!

So, it's a very quick post from me today but I hope you like it.

Bye for now and I hope you are enjoying the extended weekend.

Sharon x

Challenges:

http://polkadoodle.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/week-12-polkadoodles-crafting-challenge.html
http://pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-165-easter_19.html
http://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-30.html
http://thepencilcases.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/wk-16-p-peculiar-colouring-challenge.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-305-always-anything-goes.html
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-105.html

The Easter Bunny is Here!!!

Happy Easter to all my blog friends!! xx

A cracking good digi....

Hi there. i am back again...this time with a fun Easter card, which I made using  a Digi Stamp Boutique image, plus some Card-io majestic stamps.

This was such a quick and simple cad to make, plus it is bright and cheery....just the job as i understand we have yet another dull and rainy Bank Holiday to look forward to here in the UK.

As mentioned, my main image was from DSB. I imported it in to Serif to resize it and to position the lovely sentiment right underneath.

I printed the image twice so that I could cut and decoupage the egg shell and I then flat coloured the whole lot with my pro markers. (ha ha - you thought i was going to say Spectrum Noirs didn't you? well on this occasion I broke the mold as I found a particularly good eggshell colour in my pro marker stash!)

Now on to the background. The lovely little eggs and hearts are from Card-io, and I decided to go with some really bright and vibrant colours, stamped directly on to the card base. The little dots that you see are one of my desert island stamps (i.e. can't live without it) it is a Stamps by Judith stubby, but there are lots of other stamps pot there which will give you just the same effect.

Finally a scrap of Nitwits digital paper to create a mat...from memory I think this might have come from the Just Hatched FQB.......how appropriate!

Sometimes it is just so nice to sit and colour in an uncomplicated way, rather than thinking about light, shading and composition, and that is exactly what this is. I guess eggs are good for me after all!

Thanks for coming to visit today.

Sharon x

Easter on a more serious note

Whilst I am more likely to focus on Spring Chicks, rabbits and chocolate eggs at Easter time, there is of curse a much more serious side to the celebration, and I think that probably applies regardless of whether you are religious or otherwise.

Either way, in the business of card making, chicks and bunnies are not everyone's cup of tea and this stamp by Sheena Douglas is the perfect solution, I think!

I first got my hands on this stamp a little while before Christmas and immediately set to surrounding it with holly, bells etc.

But when I thought about it, I thought that this would be perfect for Easter too. The trees are bare on the image, but when I look around me I see exactly the same thing in nature right now. In fact the Church near my home is very similar to this and, although there a daffodils on the ground, the trees are very much in a winter state, so this looks very similar to my home environment.

It's a BIG stamp - this is an A5 card - so you can really make the most of it as a focal point and just get down to some scenic colouring.

For my card I stamped on to water colour card and used my Aquablend pencils to colour it in. There are loads of colour choices in the set, but actually you don't need that many as you can get lots of shades of light and dark just by varying the amount of  water that you apply.

I did the same things with the leaves which were from one of Sheena's perfect partners flower sets...there are lots of different ones so you can have your pick of foliage.

Other than that, this card is very simple. Hope you like it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Sharon x

Featured in Crafters Inspiration Magazine

I was very lucky to have four pages of samples in the latest Crafter's Inspiration magazine and, I had to keep them secret for so long, that I forgot to blog them!

So to make amends for that, here is one of the cards that I made using the papers and digi stamps that come free with the magazine.

Everything that you can see on the card is from Crafters Companion, including the lovely centura pearl card and of course the colouring which was done with my Spectrum Noir pens.

I hope you like my post for today.

Thanks for dropping in.

Sharon x

Challenges:
http://littleclairesdesigns.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/monthly-blog-challenge-67-anything-goes.html
http://sirstampalotchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/march-challenge-flower-power.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-304-always-anything-goes.html
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-104.html
http://thesistersofcraft.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/sisters-of-craft-march-2016-anything.html
http://creativeladybirdscreations.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/march-challenge-13.html

Is this guy called Scooty Doo??

Hi there. It's time for another challenge at Fab n Funky and this time the theme is Spots and Stripes. We have been sponsored by Gerder Steiner and this is one of her images, called Dog on a Scooter.

Now you might understand why I think he might be called Scooty Doo....maybe a  distant cousin of Scooby???

Anyway......back to my card.....

I coloured my image using my Spectrum Blendable pencils which give a lovely blend, but also a bit of texture at the same time. For once i made a note of the colours and they are:086 090 094 117 119 120 112 064 063 068 044 and 059.

The papers are scraps of various digital papers that I had previously printed. I ma very proud of myself for digging through my pile and finding three unrelated papers that work together!

So that's my card for today. I hope you will now scoot along to Fab n Funky and join in with the fun.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Sharon x

Christmas is never far from a Crafter's mind!

No matter what time of year it is, my mind often wanders towards Christmas, especially in the realms of card making! There are so many wonderful images out there, that it seems a shame to only colour them during the festive season when, with the best will in the world, it is easy to succumb to Christmas over load!

So with that in mind, here is a card I made recently, for the launch of the Spectrum Aquablend pencils.

This is a really big image but it took no time at all to colour with my pencils as just one colour will give varying degrees of light and dark depending on how much water you add.

It is a really gratifying feeling to just start 'scribbling' around the edges and then get the magical shading effect just by moving the colour about with a damp paint brush.

Fr my card i also had to delve in to my Nitwits stash of digital papers, and this also gave me the lovely mistletoe and the decorated trees too.

Much as I love Sherri Baldy characters, my favourite thing on this scene would have to be the little ballerina mouse.....how cute is she? She is worth a stamp all on her own!

Thank you for visiting today, and I hope you can forgive me for bringing winter back in to our lives on such a lovely sunny day!

Sharon x

Challenges:
http://christmasatsweetstampinchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/cute-christmas.html
http://4craftychicks.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-289-7-layers.html
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-16.html
http://coloritcreateitshowitoff.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/my-besties-colour-it-create-it-show-it.html
http://bestieschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/welcome-to-my-besties-international.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-303-always-anything-goes.html
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-103.html
http://mybestiesuk.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/my-besties-uk-challenge-anything-goes.html

A flight of Fantasy

Oh dear - despite the best of intentions I have been absent from my blog for yet another week! I will try to make up for it today, with a couple of posts, and here is the first one from the amazing an etherial 'Flights of Fantasy CD' from Crafters Companion.

I have to admit that when i first got my hands on this CD, I wasn't really sure if it was my thing...as you know I were towards the cute with my colouring. However, if you just want to sit down an colour for a while, these images really fit the bill and they are so absorbing and not as hard as they look.....you just need to have a little time.

I coloured my image with Spectrum Noir pens, but I think these would work well with any kind of artist pencils too, because you can get that pencil lead in to all those little nods and crannies.

The backing papers that you can see are also from the CD and I absolutely love them because they are so delicate and beautiful. I kind of want to spray them with Lavender or something so that you can smell them as well. .....or is that just weird on my part??!

Finally I have used quite a selection of dies on this card. The circle die is from tattered lace, the green sprigs are from Marianne Designs, and the lovely flowers are from Tonic (the are in the middle of the day trellis die).

To get an exact match on the flowers I cut them all from white card and then coloured them with my pens and I have to say, I just love them.

Well post number one done and dusted...watch this space to see if post number two appears later!!

Thanks for stopping by today, and I hope you all enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Sharon x

Challenges:

http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-102.html
http://craftyourpassionchallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-302-always-anything-goes.html
http://sisteractcardchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2015/08/challenge-120.html
http://creativeladybirdscreations.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/march-challenge-13.html
http://pennyschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/welcome-to-pennys-challenge-268.html
http://thepapershelter.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-239-away-with-fairies.html
http://creativeknockouts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/132-dies-cutspunches-stamping-boutique.html
http://4craftychicks.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-289-7-layers.html
http://sirstampalotchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/march-challenge-flower-power.html
http://addicted-to-stamps-challenge.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-122.html

Mothers Day - done.......next stop .....Easter!

Wow - those celebration days seem to be coming upon us thick and fast don't they?

I am suddenly in a bit of a panic as I realised that easter is just around the corner! Easter themed cards are some of my favourite cards to make as you can get away with cute and incorporate a bit of Spring.....which I always need at this time of year!

I wish I could say I had already started on my Easter cards......I haven't!.....but in two Blue Peter fashion, here is one I made earlier, but never got round to blogging.

Bebunni is just made for Easter...especially if he is holding a lovely Spring Flower.

I kept this card fairly simple, using a scrap of digital paper, and colouring my main image with Spectrum Noirs. A few little dots of pearl paint to give al little lift and this card was done!

Hope you like it. Hope to be back soon with some of this year's Easter cards. I'm kind of hoping it rains this weekend now, so I have an excuse to craft!

Thanks for dropping in.

Sharon x

Challenges:
http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/challenge-15.html
http://graphitmarkers.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/wk-8-brights-colouring-challenge-with.html
http://pinkgemchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/happy-saturday-everyone-we-have-new.html
http://wagsnwhiskersrubberstamps.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-173-spring-fun.html
http://ribbongirls.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/ribbon-girl-card-challenge-springeaster.html
http://sirstampalotchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/march-challenge-flower-power.html
http://lilpatchofcraftyfriends.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-29.html
http://craftingfromtheheartchallengeblog.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-102.html
http://thesistersofcraft.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/sisters-of-craft-march-2016-anything.html
http://papercreatorscrafts.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/challenge-45-challenge-winner.html
http://digichoosday.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/week-10-easter-challenge-crafting.html

You have to kiss a few frogs before you find your prince....

 It's challenge time once again at Fab n Funky, and this week we are being sponsored by The Paper Shelter.

The theme this week is 'love' and I think this image is a nice humorous take on the subject. The digi is called I Love you baby and you can find it right here.

For my card I opted for water colour car and Aquablend pencils. I have kept the layout nice and simple so that the focus is on the image.

I needed to photograph this quickly, ready for the challenge, but the finished card will be spending a day or two under a pile of heavy books to flatten it out a bit. Because you are applying quite liberal amounts of water when blending, the paper can curve a bit and, given that the water colour card is very heavy, it will make any other card bend to it's shape rather than the other way around.

Thanks for visiting today and I hope you will come and join us at Fab n Funky this week.

Sharon x