A spooktacular challenge at Polkadoodles!

Good morning, we've got a fab new challenge starting over at Polkadoodles this morning, as always there's a fab prize for our lucky winner and some amazing inspiration from my lovely teamies so do pop over and find out all the details. For my project I've altered a  plain brown bag, sorry the pic isn't too good, I'm a useless photographer lol

I've used one of the gorgeous images and several of the backing papers from the gorgeous download bundle 'Witchie Witchie' from Polkadoodles. I've added some black pompom trim, some seambinding, little doodle dewdrops and a halloween idea-ology tag. The image is coloured with Graph'It Markers

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

CRAFT: autumn/Halloween

Hanna and friends: Halloween

Moving along with the times: spooktastic times

Paper Pretties: Halloween

Well I'm still feeling yukky with this horrible cold so I'm planning a lazy day. Sorry if I haven't visited for a while, i'll catch up with my visiting when I'm feeling better

thanks so much for popping by today, have a good day

Claire xx

Winter Edges from Chocolate Baroque

Good morning friends, I've got a few days off work and guess what? I've got a cold, boooooo! Not a happy chap but I suppose its a good excuse to avoid all the housey jobs and play in my craft room. Before I go and get stamping, I've got another Christmas card to share, this time featuring one of the gorgeous stamps from Winter Edges, one of this months new releases from Chocolate Baroque

I created the background with PanPastels and stamped in the Edge stamp but instead of using it as one stamp I inked up part of the stamp and stamped part of the image at each side of the card with Sepia Versafine ink. I added the gorgeous large reindeer from Damask Reindeer and watercoloured with distress inks. I added some paper roses dusted with some glitter, some leaves from my stash and some brown organza ribbon.

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps: create a scene

Bearly Mine: ribbon/string/twine

Eureka Stamps: anything goes

Moving along with the times: anything goes

Through the craftroom door: anything goes

Thanks so much for stopping by, have a lovely day

Claire xx

Gecko Galz Guest Artist: Christmas decorations

Good morning folks, my last day at work before 5 days off yippppeeeeee! Today I'm sharing a project made as part of my Guest Artist spot at Gecko Galz, I fell in love with these gorgeous images from the scrummy new Holiday Jewel Its  and thought they would make wonderful Christmas decorations.

I love to make altered microscope slides and the images from the Holiday Jewel Its really captured my imagination. I used Maimeri Glassy gel to adhere the images to the slide, the images were slightly smaller than the slides so I backed them with some white card stamped with tiny snowflakes from the Winter Spruce stamp set by Premium Art Brands. I swiped the edges of the slides with versamark and added silver embossing powder to seal them. I added little crow charms at the top with some narrow red ribbon to hang the decorations. At the bottom, I attached some metal filigree corners and then added some charms, silver bells and beads from my stash

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:
ABC Christmas: transparent
Christmas at Sweet Stampin: Santa Claus
4 Crafty Girlz: anything goes
Crafty Ribbons: anything goes with ribbon
Crimbo Crackers: embossing

Thanks so much for visiting today, hope to see you again soon
Claire xx

Wowser what a fab giveaway!!!

Hi there folks, you're not going to want to miss this! We've got some amazing candy up for grabs at Premium Craft Brands PanPastel Challenge in fact there's £120's worth of gorgeous crafty goodies for our lucky winner!!

In the candy is a fantastic Pan Pastel set including a palette tray and Sofft Tools, 3 Maimeri Mediums/Gesso. 2 Stencils/Masks and 4 Stamp sets (A6) - all fantastic products you will love and use over and again!

All you have to do is pop over and follow the challenge blog, leave a comment and share the candy on your blog, facebook etc. Anyway pop over here and find out all the details

Good luck everyone

Claire xx

Reindeer Landscape from Chocolate Baroque

Good morning my lovelies, today's card features the gorgeous new Reindeer Landscape stamps from Chocolate Baroque

I began by stamping the focal image with Timber Brown Stazon ink, next I stamped the trees to either side of the image. I extended the hills with a dark brown Graph'It Marker and added some depth and shadow with distress markers in Tumbled Glass and Pumice Stone. I added some platinum stickles to the baubles on the tree and once that was dry I used distress inks in Tumbled Glass, Broken Chine and Walnut stain around the edge. I matted the image on white card, then dark brown card and popped it on an 8x8 card blank

I'm entering this card in the following challenges

CRAFT: Pets/Animals

Crafts Too: Create a Christmas Scene

Holly Jolly Christmas: No patterned paper

Speedy and Friends: Make a snow scene

thanks for popping by today

Claire xx

Feminine Beauty at Flonzcraft Vintage Stamping Challenges

Good morning my lovelies, I've got my mardy cardi on this morning as I was meant to be on leave this week but I've got to go in for a couple of days boooooo!! Anyway enough of my moaning, as its the first Monday of the month, we've got a new challenge at Vintage Stamping Challenges and this time our theme is Feminine Beauty. As always we've got a fab prize from our generous sponsor Flonzcraft so ink up those stamps and play along! My teamies have got some gorgeous projects to share so if youv'e got a minute do pop over to the challenge blog and check them out.

For my dt project I've used a shaped card from Which Craft? and some gorgeous Prima papers. I've stamped the focal image on some patterened paper and layered it up on a sizzix die cut. Isn't she a stunner? She's from Flonzcraft (of course) and she's been embossed with Black ep and I've added some tiny pearls for a necklace. I got a bit carried away using these scrummy papers and added some more in the form of rolled paper roses. I also added some pretty lace, red seam binding ribbon and a little eiffel tower charm. The  sentiment is cut from one of the papers, I thought it was perfect with my lovely Flonzcraft lady.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Art Impressions: fun folds

Crafting by Design: anything goes

Creative Belli: ribbon and pearls

Sister Act: anything goes

thanks so much for visiting, hope you're going to play along with us this month

Claire xx

A fab new challenge at Premium Craft Brands Challenge!

Good morning my lovelies, I hope you're having a fab weekend with lots of crafty playtime. We've got a fab new challenge starting at Premium Craft Brands (aka PanPastel land) with a fab prize, some scrummy blog candy and my talented teamies have created some amazing projects too so pop over and have a wander round. Make sure you're following the blog too as there are lots of exciting things up our sleeves and you're not going to want to miss out.

For this weeks challenge I've made a card with a background created with PanPastels in shades of blue using the A5 Delicate mask. I stamped the scene (using Sheena Douglass stamps) and watercoloured with PanPastels, adding some drops of Maimieri Glassy Gel for raindrops. I gave the fishy a coat of Glassy Gel too and popped him on some foam pads. The sentiment is from Chocolate Baroque and to finish off I've added a little oriental coin charm and a tassle.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Crafty Catz: anything goes

Creative Craft Challenge: anything goes

Happy Campers: show us your flowers

Left of Centre: Water

Moving along with the times: anything goes

As its Sunday I've got a ginormous pile of ironing to tackle so I'd better go and show willing

Thanks for visiting, have a lovely day

Claire xx

Use a Mask/Stencil at Fashionable Stamping Challenges

Helloooo, its time for a new challenge at Fashionable Stamping Challenges and this time around the lovely Ellie has chosen our theme which is 'Use a Mask/Stencil' As always there's a fab prize up for grabs from Flonzcraft and my teamies have created some stunning projects to inspire you so pop over to the challenge blog if youv'e got a minute. 

I had a lot of fun with paint, ink scraps of paper, masks and Maimeri Mediums creating the background for this tag. I added one of the Flonzcraft Urban Landscape stamps, some red lace and of course seambinding ribbon topped off with a button and a twine bow. I've paper pieced one of the gorgeous Prima Doll stamps by Julia Nutting using scraps of Prima paper and added some colour with my Graph'It Markers. To finish off I've added a paper flower and a computer generated sentiment.

I'm entering this in the following challenges:

As you like it: Favourite not a card and why

(mine is tags, quick and easy  and great for trying out techniques)

Creative Card Crew: Tags

Creative Fingers: anything goes with ribbon/lace

DL ART Thankful Thursday: Scraps and pens

Milk Coffee: Paper Piecing

Penny's Paper Crafty: anything goes

Sisterhood of Crafters: Tag you're it

Word Art Wednesday: anything goes

Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely day

Claire xx

Angelberry Gift Easel Card

Good morning, its a lovely sunny Saturday morning here but don't forget that Christmas is sneaking up on us, can you believe its only 80  days to go?? If you're planning on making some Chrissy cards, make sure you check out the gorgeous clear stamps from Premium Art Brands, designed by the lovely Nikky Hall and on special offer at Polka Doodles at the minute. For this little easel card I've used Angelberry Gift, you can find here and the other new stamps here

I've coloured the little cutie with Graph'It Markers, I've always struggled to colour red but the Graph'It reds are fab, so easy to shade with. I've die cut the image with nesties and made a little shaped easel card. I've added a sentiment from the Winter Spruce stamp set:

and to finish off some little paper flowers, tiny berries, a seambinding bow topped with a button and some twine. 

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Chocolate Coffee and Cards: flowers

Crafty Ribbons: anything goes with ribbon

Delicious Doodles: shaped cards

Holly Jolly Christmas: No designer paper

Nutcrafters: colouring

Winter Wonderland: buttons and bows

well thanks for popping by, have a great day and hope to see you again soon

Claire xx

Spooky goings on at Graph'It Challenge Blog

Good morning folks. thank goodness its Friday!! I do love my job but I much prefer to stay home with my fur babies and family and do some crafting lol. As its Friday we've got a fab new challenge starting over at Graph'It Colour Challenge and this week our lucky winner will receive a really fab prize of a set of 6 Graph'It markers and a Mix'It Palette! you don't have to use Graph'Its to enter, any markers will do.

I had loads of fun colouring this gorgeous Witch from  the Polkadoodles Witchy Witchy download bundle, the cat, cobwebs and papers are also from the same set.

Colours used: skin: 4180, 4155, 4115, 4125.

 Hair and cat 9909, 9507, 9502, 6110

Greens: 8280, 8260, 8250, 8220

Purples: 6170, 6140, 6120

Orange: 2180, 2150, 1250

I added lots of Seedless Preserves distress ink, some black lace, lime ribbon and a paper rose to fiinish off.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

2 Creative Chicks: Halloween

Animal Friends: fall or Halloween

Bearly Mine: Halloween

Created with Love: Halloween

Cutting and Stamping: Halloween

Emergency Crafters: Halloween

Really Reasonable ribbon: Fall/Halloween plus ribbon

Well I'm scooting off to work now, have a great day and thanks for popping by

Don't forget to stop by the challenge blog and check out my teamies gorgeous projects

Claire xx

Fantasy theme at SplodgeAway and a Giveaway!!

Good morning my lovelies, a very quick post from me today as I've got to be at work early. This week, as well as a giveaway we've got a fantasy theme at SplodgeAway so make sure you pop over and enter!  I've used the Fairy Dust mask from SplodgeAway for my shaker card. 

I've used 'Cheshire Cat Illusion' one of my favourite Sweet Pea Stamps, coloured with Graph'It Markers. I embossed the mask in my grand calibur and them applied versamark and embossing powder. I cut the aperture for the acetate with nesties and added a bow, a crystal button and some twine to finish off.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Card Mania: at least one button

Designed to Colour: use a die

LEJ designs: things with wings

Live and Love Crafts: use pink

Loves rubber stamps: anything goes

Turtle Soup: using transparencies 

Don't forget to check out the fab giveaway over on the SplodgeAway blog

Thanks so much for popping by today, hope to see you again soon

Claire xx

Gecko Galz Guest Artist: Christmas House

Hello my lovelies, I'm sooooooo excited and so proud as a while ago I received an email from Leanne asking if I'd be a Guest Artist at Gecko Galz! Of course I said yes in a heartbeat and was lucky enough to be able to design with all the gorgeous new products available at Gecko Galz this month. As well as a gorgeous collection of vintage ladies called Beautiful Dreamer, there's a whole array of gorgeous Christmas Collage Sheets, digital stamps and papers! As soon as I received them, I got carried away printing and then couldn't decide which of the beautiful images to use lol. I decided to alter a little chipboard house so I could include lots of images, talk about spoiled for choice lol. 

The house was painted with acrylic paint and I added tissue stamped with music to the back of the little rooms. Then the fun started, I had a blast cutting all the images out and arranging them in the little house to see where they would look best. All the images got a coat of Maimeri Glossy Gel medium to give them a little shine and to protect them. While they were drying I had a lovely rummage through my stash for lots of bits and bobs to add to the little house. Here are some more pics:

As you can see, I used everything but the kitchen sink lol! The images are from 4 of the collage sheets released this month: Whimsical Christmas, Santa Claus Lane. Christmas Children and Altered Christmas.

I also added some Tattered Angels Glimmer chips coloured with distress inks, tiny Christmas Baubles, some little bells, stickers and some Sizzix die cuts that I'd triple embossed. To finish off I made my own 'snow' using a Mixture of Maimeri Glossy Gel, Maimeri White gesso and a little modelling paste, I applied this with a palette knife and added a sparkly mixture of glitter, mica flakes, Stampendous Shaved Ice, tiny stars and white flock! Phew :-)

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

Crafts Too: Texture add something shiny and glittery

Drunken Stampers: die cuts

Totally Gorjuss: Traditional Christmas Colours

Thanks so much for stopping by today, I'd love it if you'd pop over to the Gecko Galz blog and visit there too, if you sign up to the newsletter you get a gorgeous freebie image sheet too so its well worth a visit!

Claire xx

Blog Candy Winner!!!!

Hello my lovelies, well the time has arrived to announce the winner of my blog candy! How exciting! Thanks to everyone who entered, I'll be popping along and saying hello and joining your followers as soon as I get a minute as work has been a nightmare for the last few weeks. Anyway I'd better stop rambling on and get to the important stuff, with the help of random.org the lucky winner is 

number 21: Kym (http://kyms-crafty-cards.blogspot.co.uk/)

Congratulations Kym!!! Email me your details and I'll get your goodies in the post to you:-)

I wish I could give you all a prize but I am planning another blog candy very soon as I'm having a bit of a sort out in my craft room so if you like stamping keep popping back as I'll have some lovely goodies up for grabs

Claire xx

Sew much fun :-)

Good morning, back to work for me this morning so I'm not a happy bunny, I just wanted to share this card made using an image and paper from The Paper Shelter, I love this cute image, she's adorable isn't she? Sorry about the crappy photo, of this one. the colours are all bleached out and its soooo blurry,  I'll never make a photographer will I lol??

I coloured the image with Graph'It markers, here's a better pic of the image:

The backing paper is also from The Paper Shetler,, I've added seam binding ribbon, paper flowers, buttons, pearls and lace from my stash. I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

ABC: Very cute

Crafts and Me: lovely lace

Di's Digi Designs: colouring

The Paper Shelter: Stitching real or faux

Really Reasonable Ribbon: Shabby Chic and Ribbon

Totally Papercrafts: Stitching

Well I'd better go and earn some pennies, have a good day and thanks so much for popping by. I'll be back later to announce my blog candy winner!! 

Claire xx

Exciting times in PanPastel Land!

Oh my goodness, its all happening over at PanPastel UK, , in fact Berni is stocking so many fab new products we're having a new name 'Premium Craft Brands'. We've got a whole host of talented new teamies joining us and a gorgeous new look blog  too!!! Of course we've got a new challenge with a fab prize from the lovely Berni at Premium Craft Brands too so grab a cuppa and pop over to find out all about it.  Before you go, my DT project is a little card and gift box made using PanPastels (of course lol)

I've recently treated myself to a gelli plate so I decided to have a play. I applied Magenta Tint PanPastel  to some white card and then had some messy fun with Maimeri Acrylic paint and a gorgeous pronty mask create some backgrounds. I made a little card, I didn't want to cover the background up so I simply stamped the sentiment and added some brown seam binding and a rose made with tattered florals and more magenta tint PanPastel:

The little gift box is actually a PanPastel box, painted with acrylic paint and then covered with pieces of my gelli plate background. I added another rose and more ribbon to finish off.

I'm entering this project in the following challenges:

Altered Eclectics : Alter something

Chocolate Coffee and Cards: flowers

Crafting Cafe: altered art

Everybody Art: Roses

Inky chicks: pretty in pink

Kitty Bee Designs: flowers

Thanks so much for visiting today, 

Claire xx