Pink and Brown Have Come to Town

Over at Polkadoodles this week they have a lovely challenge theme of pink and brown, and this was the starting for my card offering today.

I knew immediately which papers I wanted to use for this theme, and they are from the Polkadoodles Sundae of Seasons CD, which has some lovely generic patterned papers in lots of coordinating shades.

Next I picked this lovely LOTV bear with bird (actually a Christmas Stamp...but my Robin has contracted a strange disease which has turned him pink!) and used my Promarkers to colour them in to match my papers.

Finally I followed the Sketch n Stash challenge for the card layout, which I finally finished off with some Stickles glitter glue.

So there we have it...another card done......it's amazing what time I have for all this stuff when I am not having to go to work!

Here are the lovely challenges that I would like to enter with this card:

In the Pink - Let's Fly Away
Polkadoodles - Pink and Brown
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Totally Gorguss - Anything Goes with Sparkle
http://sketchandstashchallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/sketch-n-stash-top-3-for-challenge-110.html
Make it Monday
Bealy Mine - Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes

That's my first post for today.

Watch out for another 'Pinky' post coming up soon!

Sharon x

A Spoonful of Sugar...and no calories!

Hello all. I'm back today with a little bit of sugary sweetness in the form of this gorgeous Sugar Nellie stamp. I just love this image because it's cute, bit not TOO cute if you get what I mean, which means that it will appeal to a broad range of card  recipients!

Although this card is very simple, I went out on a limb a little bit with my colour choices and tried something a little different, in the form of apricot and lime, and I have to say, I am really pleased with the result. I think it has a bit more zinginess than my usual safe pastels, without being too in your face.

Also, colouring hair can be a bit hit and miss for me, but I think I did OK with this one....but definitely more practice required!

Time to enter a few challenges now, so here goes......

The Sugar Bowl - Anything Goes
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes
Make it Monday
Paula Holifield - Anything Goes
Cupcake Crafts - Raining Cats and Dogs
Bearly Mine - Anything Goes

Well as you may have guessed from my mid week posting, I am on holiday from work this week......so I'm off now to enjoy my freedom!

Have a good day all!

Sharon x

Bee Happy

After my little diversion to Christmas time on yesterday's post, it's time ti get back in to Spring today and what better way to do it than with some lovely Bees from Stamps by Judith?

You've just gotta love these little fellas...they are so simple, yet so effective. I know I've said it before but I find it so amazing that an artist can draw a circle , put to well placed dots on it, and create a charming little face with such character. I know that if I was to do  that I would just end up with something resembling a bowling ball!

As you can see, I have kept it really simple for this card. After all, when you're making a bunch of thank you cards you need to be able to knock 'em out quick!

I have coloured the bees very simply with my Spectrum Noirs and added stickler glitter to their wings for a bit of sparkle. The greeting is from my 'staple' greeting stamp set which I always keep close to hand...it's from Personal Impressions.

Finally I have done a bot of doodling to create a frame with a fine black marker pen.

Here's another similar card that I made using just one bee this time (sorry about the rubbish picture!)

So - on to today's challenges which are:

Stamptacular Sunday = Spring Fever
http://ppp-makeitmonday.blogspot.co.uk
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Card Crafters Circle - Bugs
My Time to Craft - Clean and Simple
Pink Gem - Animals
Allsorts - Spring has Sprung

Well it looks like Spring is still in town where I live today and the sun is making an appearance, so I'm off now to make the most of it while it lasts!

Have a lovely Sunday everyone.

Sharon x

Skating on thin ice.......

It seems to be a funny time of year to be making Christmas cards but then, with the weather we've been having lately, why not?

It seems that making this card may possibly have been a good weather charm as, since I made it, things seem to have warmed up a bit and we had an almost Spring like day today. It was lovely and bright with blue skies and sunshine and even enough warmth to go without a coat for at least some of the day. Just what we needed to bring us out of hibernation I think!

Anyway, on to my card for today which is based around a sketch that I saw on the Sunday sketch and Stamp challenge.

The lovely little skating boy is a Marianne Designs stamp which came free with a magazine, some time before Christmas, but unfortunately I didn't get the chance to use him before the big event.

I have coloured him him with Pro markers and used some nesties and my Marianne Christmas tree stamp  in the background , plus a scrap of old scrapbook paper for the snowflake strip.

Well I guess that is Christmas card number one out of the way then!

Here are the lovely challenges that I would like to enter today......

Sunday Sketch and Stamp

Natalie and Amy - Monochromatic

Christmas Cards All Year Round - Christmas Trees

I Love Promarkers - Favourite Colours

Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes

Make it Monday

Thanks for stopping by today. I'll be back soon with something a little more seasonal!!

Sharon x

Jumping for Joy

Well it's a very cold dull day again in my part of the world, and can you believe that we have had some flurries of snow again today? It feels more like we should be doing Christmas cards rather than Spring colours right now. Still we have a promise of some slightly warmer weather at the weekend, so we can but hope.

In the mean time, I have another lovely Easter image from Lili of the Valley to share with you today.

This happy little chap has been coloured in with my Pro Markers once again, including the appropriately named 'March Hare'  and the papers are from the Dovecraft Sugar and Spice set.

I enjoyed using something a little different to the usual Easter / Spring colours for this card, but hopefully it still gives a little bit of that 'Spring is Here' feeling!

As usual, lots of lovely challenges to enter so here they are:

Make it Monday
A Little Bit Crafty - Anything Goes
My Mum's Craft Shop - Easter
Creatalicious - Colour Pallette
I Love Promarkers - Favourite Colours
Stamptacular Sunday - Spring Fever

Thanks for stopping by today.

Sharon x

Confessions of a Card Maker

Today I thought I would post a card using a gorgeous stamp from Lili of the Valley and also take the opportunity to confess to a couple of card making bloopers which happened on this very card!

I started out by stamping and colouring the image with my Pro Markers which all went very well.

Mistake number 1.......I should have stamped the sentiment before I spent time on the colouring, in case the sentiment came out fuzzy or badly printed.......luckily it came out fine (heaves a sigh of relief)

Next I put the main image aside to dry whilst I put the base card together.

Mistake number 2.......for some reason I put the topper on the sofa next to me.......upside down!

So the card is all ready and I pick up my topper........horror or horrors - a nasty black smudge has appeared right under the word "Easter".........aaarrrggghhhh!!!

Mistake number 3 - I try to brush the smudge away with my fingers. Guess what - it doesn't work, and, to make matters worse, a little bit of ink residue must have been left on my fingers, so when I picked up the topper again, it left another, slightly fainter smudge on the left hand side of the card.

So after much grumbling, and contemplation, I cam up with the following fix ups:

1) A strategically place bow to cover up the smug under my sentiment.
2) A generous dose of distress ink with a dabber brush all around the edge of my card to disguise the secondary smudge.

And do you know what? I think I might just have gotten away with it......mission accomplished.

So it would be a shame to go to all that effort to save a card and then not bother to enter it in to any challenges, so here they are:

Pink Gem - Make it Cute

A Little Bit Crafty - Anything Goes

My Mum's Craft Shop - Easter

I Love Promarkers - Favourite Colours    Blue and Lilac

Stamptacular Sunday - Spring Fever

Make it Monday

Thank you for stopping by to read my ramblings today and I wish you an enjoyable week.

Sharon x

Springing in to Life

Well I think that Spring has sprung and left the planet if the weather outside my window is anything to go by! I have woken up on Easter Monday to a try dull, grey and cold day....so glad that it is officially Summer now! But I can't complain as it's a bonus day off work today and I have managed to spend some time doing some lovely things this weekend......crafting, going for nice walks and spending time with my family, so it's not all bad!

Also - I have had a lovely surprise as I made it in to the Top 3 on a Gem of a Challenge - so I am now proudly displaying a new blinkie on my side bar.

Back to the new cards though..........I went in to a bit of an Easter card making frenzy towards the end of last week as it suddenly hit me that there were only a few days left to the big event and, although I had made lots of 'rabbit' DT cards, I hadn't actually made any to give to people...no pressure then!!

Here's one of the cards that I made, using a lovely LOTV rabbit which I have had a for a few years now. He (I do think that this one is a boy!) is such a cutie that it was a pleasure to dust him off and colour him in once again.

For the colouring portion I have used my Promarkers, including the Spring limited edition, which appropriately included a colour call 'March Hare' - As you can see, the result was a lovely off white coloured rabbit, which I tried to make a little more fluffy by dotting with a blender pen.

The paper combination was from a freebie pack which I had in a magazine some time ago - very pretty papers I think!

So - on to my challenges for today:

A Little Bit Crafty - Anything Goes  A brand new challenge from Paula Holifield
Simon Says Stamp - Anything Goes
The Paper Shelter - Anything Goes
Ilove Pro Markers - Spring is in the Air
Delightful Sketches - Hippity Hoppity
My Mum's Craft Shop - Easter
Delicious Doodles - 1,2,3 recipe
A gem of a Challenge - Make it Cute
Di's Digi Challenge - Flower Frenzy
Make in Monday

Thanks for stopping by today and I hope that you all have an enjoyable Bank holiday.

Sharon x