Pink and Black

I had a lovely, crafty evening to myself yesterday, and here's what I made.  The stamp was a magazine freebie from a few months ago but I hadn't got round to inking it up until now.  Isn't she just the sweetest?!  She been coloured with Promarkers and Flexmarkers, then I glittered her wings and the topper edge with Star Dust Stickles.  The sentiment is from the same freebie stamp set as the fairy.
The patterned papers are mag freebies too, which I've teamed with black card, pink mirri and pink satin board.
Both the border punch and the punch around the page set are Martha Stewart and the flowers and leaves were made with Marianne dies.
A black organza bow and a few gems finish my card off.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges -
Crafty Bloggers - #2 - pink and black
I Love Promarkers - #132 - anything goes
Sketch 'n' Stash - #95 - sketch
In the Pink - #2 - things with wings
My Mum's Craft Shop - #72 - all the threes - I used 3 roses, 3 large pink gems and three black gems
Bearly Mine - #50 -anything that glitters

Boofle Gift Bag

Here's my Monday night project from this weeks craft session.  We started our evening with tea and home made mini ginger cakes and then set to work decorating gift bags.  The brown paper bags are actually lunch bags from Poundworld, you can't complain at ten for a pound!  They're not the strongest bags in the world and benefited from some extra glue on the handles and some card stuck inside along the bottom, but hey, it's for gift wrapping and they'll do the job just fine for that, although, if I decide to give ninja death stars in them, I'll have to wrap them well in bubble wrap!!
The Boofle papers and decoupage are from the new Docrafts goody bag, which I picked up yesterday and couldn't wait to play with!  The bag is filled with lots of Christmas crafty goodness, all very usable stuff.
I made the bunting with my much used Stampin' Up punch and added Papermania cardstock letter stickers and some red buttons between the flags.
A matching tag was die cut from kraft card. and decorated with a Boofle sticker and a red bow before being attached with paper raffia and edged with Star Dust Stickles.  I also backed the tag with white card to make reading a handwritten message easier.
I'm sure I'll be making a few more of these gift bags as Christmas approaches!

I'm entering this project in the following challenges -
Tuesday Alchemy - #29 - bee, guitar, lunch - I used a lunch bag
Allsorts - #169 - it's a gift
Crafty Ann's - #72 - Christmas

Time for Cake

I was lucky enough to win three Limited Runs digis recently and I just had to play with this one.  My mouth was watering as I got busy with my Promarkers!
I've gone with neutral shades again, I seem to be having a brown phase!  The papers are ancient Papermania ones, I've got the blues ones with the same designs too, I must use them more because I still really like them even although they're geriatric.  I teamed the Antique Cream papers with kraft core Core'dinations and some Papermania textured cardstock on a 5x5 kraft blank, an inch smaller than my usual size.
The sentiment was a Papermania mag freebie and the flower was made with Xcut dies with a Card Candi centre.
A bow and some gems finish it off.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges -

 Sweet Sketch












Love to Create - #30 - handmade flowers
Tammy's Scrappin' Corner - #25 - lots of layers
Crafts 4 Eternity - #86 - food
Emergency Crafters - tea and cake
Pixie Dust Studio - food
Emerald Faeries - #30 - dies and punches

Quirky Crafts GDT Card

I'm delighted to have been chosen as a guest designer for the Quirky Crafts challenge blog for their current challenge which starts today.  The theme is "Farmyard with a Recycled Element" and was lucky enough to be given this lovely Limited Runs digi to play with are they are the sponsor for this challenge.  My recycled elements are to kraft card which is made from recycled paper and the buttons which are from a favourite blouse which recently fell apart.  Luckily, it had had donated it's body to science and I was able to remove the buttons before laying it to rest!
I coloured the image with Promarkers and stamped the sentiment with a stamp from a Personal Impressions set.
The papers are positively geriatric, a Dovecraft stack I've has since the dawn of time, which I've teamed with kraft, scuffed edges, rolled corners and twine for a rustic look.  The horseshoe charm was left over from making some wedding stationary, I thought it was the perfect embellishment to go with the cute horse image.
The border punch is Martha Stewart, the flowers were made with Nellie Snellen punches and the foliage with a Marianne die.  A few gems finish it off.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges -
Great Impressions - animals
One Stitch at a Time - #128 - use a digi
The Crafty Pad - twine
Come and Get It - 3D flowers
A Gem of a Challenge - #53 - animals or teddies
Sweet 'n' Sassy - #68 - photo inspiration, I used the colours
I Love Promarkers - #131 - transport (horseback is my favourite way to travel, I can't drive but I can ride!)

All Aflutter

It was my lovely crafty buddy, Alison's, birthday on Friday and this is the card I made for her.  It's another gatefold stepper, this time using Prima Sun Kiss papers. The panel at the back was made with a Kanban stamp which was stamped in Rich Cocoa Memento ink.  I then coloured the butterflies with Promarkers, glittered with Stickles in Yellow and Aqua, and, once that was dry, glazed with Anita's 3D Gloss.  When the glaze was dry, I added some colour with Distress Ink in Scattered Straw and Wild Honey.  Finally, I gave it a spritz with a gold Cosmic Shimmer spray, wiping the butterflies clean.
The other butterflies were fussy cut from the paper and the sentiments are Papermania from the Tulip range.

A close up of the main panel.

The back where a message can be written.

The card closed.  I made the flower with a Woodware punch with Flower Soft in the centre.  The leaves were made with a Spellbinders die.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges -
Crafty Catz - #147 - ribbons and bows
Pattie's Creations - #51 - birthday
The Poodle's Parlour - winged things
Dare to be Sassy - #139 - decorate the inside
The Paper Shelter - #78 - anything goes
Flourishes - #183 - butterflies, bees, spiders
Creative Stamp Friends - #58 - unusual card shape 

Fussy and Fancy DT Card

Today sees the start of a new challenge over at Fussy and Fancy, this time our theme is "Back to School".  The schools in Inverness have already been back a fortnight, it'll be the October holidays before we know it!
I've gone a bit left field with my card, choosing to steer away from bright colours and cartoon style kids, opting for a vintage feel instead .  I've had this lovely image stored on my computer for a while now, waiting for the right project to come along, so I was delighted to print her off and play with her.  The image is from Free Vintage Digital Stamps and has been coloured with Promarkers, including some of the new Autumn limited edition ones.  I then went in with Old Paper and Antique Linen Distress Ink to add some age to my bright white cardstock.
The scrummy papers are Prima Botanicals, a recent magazine freebie, and are just divine, I love the soft vintage colours.
The lacy border strips were made with a Martha Stewart punch and given a hint of Walnut Stain Distress Ink.  The flowers were made with Nellie Snellen punches and the leaves with a Marianne die.
Some ribbon, a bow, some pewter pearls and a scattering of blobs of Pearl Pen provide the finishing flourishes.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges -
Digi Haven - days gone by
Crop Stop - #86 - back to school
Digi Stamps 4 Joy - #49 - back to school
Digi Doodle - #122 - use pearls
Inky Impressions - back to school
Simon Says Stamp - back to school
Raise the Bar - back to school
Simply Create Too - #20 - back to school

Pink and Brown

I haven't had this sweet Gorjuss stamp out for a while, I think she might be my all time favourite Gorjuss girl as she's so versatile, so I dug her out for a play.  When I saw the challenge over at Passion for Promarkers, which is "Mono with Contrasting Hair", it sounded fun so I decided to have a go.  I love challenges for getting me to try something new!  I went for neutral browny shades with pink hair.  I was tempted to go wild and whacky with the colours but eventually settled for soft tones.  She has, of course, been coloured with Promarkers.
The papers are Papermania Capsule Collection in Lincoln Linen, I love these collections, as you may have guessed, as I use them a lot.  I added in a bit of kraft for matting and the leaves.
The flower was made with Spellbinders Poinsettia dies, the old ones from a few years back.  They're quite versatile for making all sorts of flowers, not just poinsettias.  I cut three medium and three small flowers from kraft core Core'dinations, giving them all a scrunch and a good sanding before shaping and layering.  The stamens were made with a Nellie Snellen punch.  The finished flower was then lightly dabbed with PVA and sprinkled with Glamour Dust for a touch of sparkle.  The punched strips were made with a Martha Stewart punch from the same card as the flower.
The sentiment is from a Personal Impressions set, and has been die cut and edged with Platinum Stickles.
Ribbon, bow, pearls, done!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges -
Passion for Promarkers - #163 - mono with unusual hair
The Paper Shelter - #78 - anything goes
Lollipop Crafts - #87 - anything goes
Tammy's Scrappin' Corner - #24 - anything goes
The Pink Elephant - #162 - make your own embellishments, I made the flower and bow