Simon Says ,,,, Stars and Stripes :-)

Hi all :-) ,,,, well is just goes to show we all love a bit of sparkle and shine ,,, just not when it means going around the furniture with a bottle of Mr sheen :-) We had loads of lovely sparkly creations to see and although sparkle is notoriously diffy to photograph you all did a fabulous job :-)

This week we thought that with the 4th of July being only a few short weeks away we would have a STARS AND STRIPES theme :-)

As always we are sponsored by the lovely Heidi at Simon Says Stamp and one lucky entrant will win a $50 spree to the store !! :-) They have some fab new goodies just arriving too so loads of choice !! :-)

For my card I used one of my fave Gruffies ,, this one is called Red Roller Racing,, I love the expression on his face ,,, Woahhhh !!! I coloured him with Copics and stuck him underneath a black frame from a Lawn Fawn ‘Say Cheese’ set, this was stamped with White Stazon ink. the papers are My Minds Eye from the Fly a Kite paper pad. I made the banner using Hero Arts stamps from the Friendly Flags set and I made a Happy Birthday strip using a Martha Stewart punch. The stars and arrow are from a Tim Holtz Grungeboard Elements die cuts. I did some real and faux sewing and stamped the sentiment from the same Lawn Fawn stamp set

So for a chance to win this fab $50 spree to the wonderful Simon Says Stamp Superstore ,,, just join in !! :-)

For lots more fabulous inspiration and more chances to win fabulous prizes then please pop by the Simon Says Stamp Blog and our sister challenge the Simon Says Stamp and Show Challenge :-)



Thanks for looking :-) Christine ,, our lovely designer in the spotlight and the DT have made some fabulous cards for your inspiration so please hop on over to the Simon Says Stamp Challenge blog to see them

Challenges :

Lexi’s Creations ,,, Stars and /or Stripes

Stamptacular Sunday ,,, BEARnecessities

Top Tip Tuesday ,,,At least 2 stamps ( the gruffie, the frame, sentiment, banner )

My top tip, before layering the DP onto the layering card, in this case black card, cut out the card you will need for layering the image using either a die cut/ nestie shape or a craft knife from the middle of the piece of card. This saves on the amount of card you use and the hole will be hidden by the paper

Tuesday Throwdown ,,,, Stripes

ABC Christmas Challenge ,,,,, K for Kids + Kraft

Hi all ,, I have done a Scoopy and lost a week !! Where did that go ?? I thought we still had another week to go before posting this challenge !! ,, oops ,,, !!

This time the theme on the ABC Christmas Challenge is chosen by the lovely Lacey and she chose

K is for Kids card or Gift Card Holder using KRAFT card stock.

Lacey has done a fab gift holder tutorial so hop on over to see it, I am going to make one too !!

We are sponsored by 2 fab Digi companies this week ,, Digital Delights and Karens Doodles, both are offering a choice of 3 digi images :-)

For my card I just HAD to use my brand new House Mouse St Nick Mouse stamp. I coloured the image with Copics and inked the edges with Stormy Sky distress ink. I used SU Crumb Cake card, which is their Kraft,, (I asked) and Cherry Cobbler, the papers are from an Echo Park Merry Christmas pad. I paper pieced the sack using a Kraft paper bag and the presents using paper from the paper pack front ( the designs are printed really small on the cover ! ) I stamped several snowflakes using sand memento ink and punched a border using a EK Success punch, this had tiny confetti flakes so I stuck a few of those on too. The big snowflake was punched with a Martha Stewart and a Woodware punch, I added a red card candy to the center The sentiment is from Hero Arts set and I just finished with loads of Star Dust stickles

Our fab GD’s Heidi and Carol and the DT have made some gorgeous cards and gift cards for your inspiration so please hop on over to the challenge blog to see them ,,, AND Lacey’s fab tut !

Challenges :

Ladybug Crafts ,,, Animals

Party Time Tuesdays ,, Animals

Christmas Inspirations , Card for Kids

Totally Gorjuss ,,,,, Water or anything wet,, snow is frozen water !

Phindy’s Place ,,,, Christmas in May

Winter Wonderland ,, Christmas + P ,,, for Paper Pieced Presents !!

Papertake Weekly ,, Pale and Pretty Pastels

As you may know I have 7 cats and a dog ,,, we now have added a bird to our menagerie !! The smallest cat, Phoebe is a terrible hunter ,,, terrible in that she has caught several birds lately :-( She has a dingly collar on but she is just so fast !! Anyway, this morning there was a beautiful greenfinch hopping around my yard ,,,,, luckily we saw him before any of the cats !! He can't fly so I am now just going to the pet shop to buy a cage and food ,, and hopefully we can save this one until he is big enough to fly away safely. I will back later with photo's ,, at the moment he is in a cereal box,, poor thing !!
sad update ,,, the poor little thing didn't make it, I contacted the local birdlife rep yesterday and followed his advice ,, but sadly he died :-(

Anyway ,, it's now time for a new theme on the Papertake Weekly Challenge

PALE AND PRETTY PASTELS :-)

We are sponsored by Digital Delights so 3 fab digi images on offer this week :-)

For my card I followed the fab sketch on the Sketch Saturday Challenge. I used this very cute Penny Black Flowers for Mimi, coloured with Copics and inked the edges with a light turquoise pigment ink. The papers are from an Echo Park Springtime pad and layered with pale pink hammered card. The sentiment clip and flower are made using Crealies dies from Joanna Sheen . I used a Martha Stewart leaf punch and a Basic Grey button with a little ribbon bow and lots of Star Dust Stickles to finish

Thanks for looking, our GD’s Ula and Meera and the DT have made some gorgeous cards for your inspiration :-)

Thanks for looking :-) I really appreciate your comments so please leave me one :-)

Challenges

Sketch Saturday ,,,,, Sketch

Penny Black Saturday ,,,, Fussy and Fancy

Cheerful Stamp Pad ,,,, Colour My World

Paper Sundaes ,,, Pop It Up

CES,,,,,, Embellish It

ECP ,,,,Pretty Pastel Colours

Crafts 4 Eternity ,,, Recipe, Flower/Ribbon/Bling

Charisma Cardz ,,,, Birthdays in Pink

PaperPlay ,,,, Sparkle Galore

Cooking it up with Katie ,, Recipe + for a child

Creative Card Crew ,,, Cute and Girly

Fab n Funky,,,, Make your own Blooms

A Spoonful of Sugar ,,,, Things with Wings

Karla's First Giveaway Candy

Karla aka Mia's Creations is new to blogland and has filled a beautifully decorated box with loads of yummy goodies to give away !! Click on her name or the piccy to go to her blog :-)

Good Luck to all :-)

CAS card for FUN :-)

Hi again :-) I have just bought some fab Unity stamps and instead of trying to get ahead with DT cards I just felt like a time out to make a fun card just for me :-) When I went to check the All Things Unity Challenge I saw that I am a featured stamper !! woo hoo !! :-) Thanks for choosing me !! The theme this week is to use a new/unused stamp ,, so I am !! :-)

I made this card following the fab sketch on the Clean & Simple Challenge, I stamped my new Sending My Love Unity stamp with memento ink and coloured with Copics. I layered the post box and added an extra handle which I attached with a brad so it can open and close . I inked the background with Stormy Sky and Vintage Photo distress inks and I used some SU Soft Suede card some Kraft card and a little bit of Basic Grey paper.
The tag was made using a Go Kreate die that I bought at the NEC and the border punch is from SU, I added some American Tag twine and a red button, I thought it would look like a document with a wax disk ?? . I added a few dabs of Star Dust stickles here and there and Platinum stickles around the edges for bling :-)

Challenges :

All Things Unity ,,, Unused Stamp

Clean & Simple ,,, Sketch

CAS-ual Friday ,,, CAS + Bling

Thanks for looking :-) I really appreciate your comments so PLEASE leave me one :-) x x

House Mouse and Friends Monday,,, Football Crazy Challenge :-)

Hi All :-) We had some fabulous entries to our may Flowers challenge and one or 2 newcomers too , thanks to everyone who joined in :-)

This time it is Stacy’s turn to choose the theme and she chose …

FOOTBALL FRENZY

Inspired by the Super Bowl winning team, Green Bay Packers (Green and Yellow) Stacy is a huge fan and America supports the losing team so a bit of friendly teamie rivalry going on here lol :-)

We can use any stamp and include green and yellow as the main colours ,, and/or a football theme :-)

Don’t forget you MUST use a House Mouse, Happy Hopper or Gruffie image to enter :-)

We are sponsored by Di’s Digi Downloads so a fab choice of digi images for one lucky winner :-)

Teamie Sue K also has some HM blog candy on her blog if you would like to mosey on over :-) She is offering a fab HM Lemon Squeezed Jokester and sentiment stamp, When Life Hands you Lemons , ,, fabby candy !! :-)

I bought this SUPER CUTE Big Foot stamp specifically for this challenge ,,,, any excuse eh !! :-) I had a few sleeps on this before having a lightbulb moment !! I have had a mirror image stamp on my shelf since I first stared making cards ,, thanks to my lovely friend Alison who gave it to me :-) , you could also use a solid background stamp for this too ,,, same thing !!

I inked the stamp with Memento ink, then stamped it onto the mirror image stamp, and then onto the card. Then I re-inked the stamp, stamped it onto some scrap paper before stamping onto the card so that the images look similar,,,, the mirror stamp retains some ink so it doesn’t stamp as intensely ( my tip ). I then coloured the image with Copics and inked the edges with Stormy Sky and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The papers are a download from Sassy Designs, all the paper packs are on sale at only $1,, bargain !! The banner are made using a Spellbinders Banner die and the letters were made using a Do crafts die, the footballs are from a Papermania set too ,, edited , these were smothered in glossy accents :-)

Thanks for looking , our GD’s, Esme and Nancy,and the DT have made some fabulous cards for your inspiration so hop on over to the House Mouse and Friends Monday Challenge to see them

Challenges :

Allsorts ,,,,, Birthday + Photo inspiration + 2nd Birthday blog hop,, I went with colours :-)

Craft Us Crazy ,,,, Something New and/or fave embellie ,,, new stamp

My Time To Craft ,,, Toybox Treasures ,,, Footballs

Top Tip Tuesday ,,,,, One for the Kids ( my tip is in the write up )

Tuesday Throwdown ,,, Baby/Child

Less Is More Challenge ,,, Butterflies :-)

Hi all :-) hope you're all enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon :-) The weather here has been awful this weekend ,, gale force winds bringing the Sahara desert sand and plonking it in my yard ,,, then a few spots of rain to turn it into mud and everything is filthy :-/

Anyway ,, I decided to close the windows and leave the weather outside and make a card for fun :-)
This is for the Less Is More Challenge, Mandi and Chrissie have challenged us fellow Limettes to make a card with butterflies. Mandi and Chrissie’s cards are fabulous and I had a quick look at the thumbnails to see what everyone else had been making ( I will be round soon for closer look see’s :-)) and everyone has made stunning cards ,,,, no pressure then !!!

I have been playing with my Tim Holtz stamps and goodies for an upcoming challenge and while they were still out I thought I would use them again :-)

The butterfly is actually a Judikins one that I have had for ages and only inked once !

I started with a base card of SU Crumb Cake ( bought from Mandi )and used black card and Basic Grey Kraft paper. I inked the paper with Vintage Photo disress inks and masked a couple of areas with a Tim Holtz mini flourish mask. ( top left and bottom right) I then stamped a flourish stamp from the Anthology set using Tea Dye Distress ink which was spritzed with water to give a softer outline. I then stamped the butterfly and a tree from the Mini Ornates set ,, I would have preferred an Eiffel Tower but the 2 stamps I have were too small ,,,:-/ I always associate Butterflies with France ,,, Papillon ,,, The sentiment is from a Wild Rose Studio sentiment set.

So ,,, what do ya’ll think ?? and please be honest Thanks for your comments, I really appreciate you taking the time to leave me one :-) x

Challenges :

Word Play Weekend ,,,, Wings

Alphabet,,, C for Clean and Simple

Raise the Bar ,,, Sympathy Cards

incy Wincy Clean and Simple

Stamp Something ,,,,, Beachy Colours + Candy Winner :-)

Hi All :-) WOW we had a fabulous response to the Stamp Something 3rd Anniversary Challenge and hop. We had well over 500 entries woo hoo !! :-) Thanks to everyone who left me comments too, I really enjoyed reading them :-)

The lucky winner of the lovely Hero Art Stamp set from Simon Says Stamp is ,,,,,,

Here are your random numbers:

91

Timestamp: 2011-05-20 07:36:51 UTC

Congratulations Tracy :-) Please email me so I can pop the stamps in the post to you :-)

This week the theme is ,,,

BEACHY COLOURS ( sun, sea, sand)

We are sponsored by Funky Kits and this week they are offering 4 fabulous stamps for one lucky entrant !! Woo Hoo !! :-)

For my card I used this lovely ‘Rory’ stamp and a brolly stamp from a Simon Says Stamp exclusives set. I stamped the brolly and masked it to stamp Rory underneath, then decoupaged the brolly ( no need to have masked really !! ) I coloured the image with Copics and inked the edges with Stormy Sky and Spiced Marmalade distress inks. The papers are from American Traditional Designs, Beach Fun and I added a Whimsey ticket, stamped with a LOTV sentiment, a Basic Grey button, some twine and a few Robins Nest Dew Drops and a bucket brad to finish.Of course there is a dab or 2 of my compulsory star dust stickles here and there too :-)

Thanks for looking , the DT have made some gorgeous cards for your inspiration so hop on over to the challenge blog to see them

Challenges :

Stampavie and More ,,,, Summer

Truly Scrumptious ,,, Anything Goes

Top Tip Tuesday ,,, For a Child, my tip, cut the metal bits off the back of brads and attach to cards with pop dots or silicone dots ,, much easier than poking holes in cards and easier to reposition if you get it wrong

My Partner In Crafting Crime ,, String, Jute or Twine

CES ,,,, Holidays ( summer )

Crafty Sentiments ,,,, Children's cards

Some Odd Girl ,,, Create a Scene

Crafting for all Seasons ,,, Anything Goes ,, 1st challenge ( thanks Dawn x)

Totally Papercrafts ,,,,, Don’t be Square :-)

Hi all ,, hope all is well and you’re looking forward to a nice weekend :-)

We have a new theme this week on the Totally Papercrafts Challenge chosen by the lovely Caroline ,,,

DON’T BE SQUARE,, easy enough to understandy :-)

We are sponsored by Robyn’s Fetish this week so some fab digi images on offer :-)

For my card I used this very cute ( but neglected) House Mouse Feeling Rosy stamp. Coloured with Copics and the little tag was decoupaged , I inked the edges with Vintage Photo distress ink. The circle was made using a Spellbinders beaded circle and inverted scalloped dies. I added a ribbon and tea rose and the sentiment and gems are from Hero Arts

Thanks for looking :-) the DT have made some fabby creastions this week !! check em out !!

Challenges :

Crafts and Me ,,,,, Anything Goes, optional Kraft

Creative Craft World ,, Anything But a Square

My Mum’s Craft Shop ,,,, Anything But Square

Penny’s Paper Crafty ,,, Anything Goes

Truly Scrumptious ,,,, Anything Goes

Everybody Art Challenge ,, Tag ( on the cup)

Ooh La La ,,,, Fancy Folds

Colour Create ,,,, White /Cream/Brown

Stamp Insanity ,,,, Fancy Folds

Simon Says ,,,, Sparkle and Shine :-)

Good Morning all !! We hope you are all fit, well and happy :-)

Thanks for all your gorgeous baby cards and creations last week ,,, all of them so very cute :-) If you would like to post a card to Heidi and Jason for the birth of their darling baby girl, Abigail, please email us for the address :-)


This week the theme is

SPARKLE AND SHINE !!!

The DT have been using products from Tattered Angels,, loads of glimmer mist this week :-)

As usual Heidi will be giving one lucky entrant a $50 voucher to her FANTASTIC Simon Says Stamp Superstore !! See the NEWEST stuff on the All New Just In Page For fabulous tutorials, inspiration and candy you should keep an eye on the Simon Says Stamp Blog too !!! :-)

For my card I decided to make a Joy Fold,,, I love these !! I used one of my new HM stamps ( sshh ) this one is called Basket of Friendship, I coloured the image with Copics and inked the edges with Stormy Sky distress ink. I made the papers using Slate and Chianti Glimmer Mists, the glimmer doesn’t show up on the piccy’s but they are gorjussss IRL

I added some faux pearls using a Viva Magenta pen and a Prima Athena flower, sprayed with glimmer mist, and some Martha Stewart punched Frond leaves.

For the inside I used this cute HM Mudpie Holds Jelly Beans stamp. I coloured the jelly beans to look like berries ,, this can also work for coffee beans ,,,, very versatile stamp !! The sentiment is also a HM stamp

So for your chance to win this fabulous $50 spree ,,, join in with our Simon Says Stamp Challenge !! :-)

Thanks for looking :-) Christine and the DT have made some gorgeous card for your inspiration so hop on over to the Simon Says Stamp Challenge to see them

Challenges :

ABC ,,, Unusual Folds

Paper and Such ,,,, Birthdays

Ooh La La ,,,, Fancy Folds

Paper Sundaes ,,,, Birthdays