Tree of Dreams

 The September Challenge at We Love Stamping begins today, 

the theme for September, chosen by Emma is 

Trees and Leaves 

or Anything Goes.

 

2 prizes, $30 store voucher from Taylored Expressions and Penny Black stamp set and stencil from Buddly Crafts (photo's not to scale).

My first thought was to make something with autumn leaves and colours but looking through my Lavinia stamps I came across this beautiful tree stamp and this is what evolved. 

I stamped the tree, Annie and Edward with black Versafine Clair ink onto a square of white card, then stamped and white embossed the stars around the branches. Scattered Straw an Dusty Concord  distress inks blended over the top. The Winter Magic words stamped several times around the edge and a couple of snowflake stickers (which might have been a mistake!) 

There's lots to see over at We Love Stamping, beautiful inspiration makes from all the lovely ladies, and full details of how to play along with our challenges.

Thank you for visiting

Chris

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Late Summer vibes at Crafty Calendar

 Good morning Crafty Calendar Challenges are back after the summer break,

 the theme for September is SUMMER. 

What a summer it's been, day after day of sunshine- sometimes a bit too hot! No rain for weeks on end, it's still pretty warm here in the South East but thankfully we are getting some rain again, it's much needed. 

So our theme gives you a chance to bring out those lovely sunshine-y summer creations before autumn really sets in.

This card is for Emily, my 12 year old granddaughter, their summer break involved a few days camping in Cornwall, enjoying lots of beach time in the glorious weather- surf boarding was the order of the day, then they headed off to N. Italy, driving through Switzerland to Lake Garda, where amongst many other activities, the girls discovered the joys of paddle boarding. I thought this fun Krista Smith digi would remind her of the wonderful summer she's enjoyed. Image is coloured with Copics, fussy cut and placed upon the 'waves'. DP is from the Works, and the die cut sun rays are a Moonstone Die. I added a couple of stamped sentiments.

There's plenty more inspiration from the rest of the team over at Crafty calendar, we'd love to see your memories of the summer too so hope you can join in this month.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

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Guest Design for C.R.A.F.T. Challenge

Good morning, I was delighted to be invited to Guest Design for this fortnight's challenge at C.R.A.F.T. thank you ladies.

The theme is Back to School or Anything Goes sponsored by Sheepski Designs

Not needing any Back to School cards I went for the Anything Goes option  using the first Sheepski image I owned, I've coloured this beauty (Butterfly Hair) so many times and still enjoy doing the process. I printed and masked the image, added the stencilling and some splatters, coloured her up with my Copics using sepia tones. I added a stamped sentiment and a few tiny gold gems to finish. 

Please check out the CRAFT Challenge Blog for some lovely inspiration from the Design Team.

Thanks for stopping by, have a good day

Chris

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Challenge entries:

papercraft #133

cdsunday # 191

creativeinspiration #42

dreamvalley #367

September Challenge at Fab'n' Funky

 Good morning, Fab'n' Funky Challenges are back after the summer break. There are some changes- we are now a monthly challenge, starting on the first Wednesday of the month. 

The theme for September is 

MORE THAN ONE FOLD

I made a triple stepper card base from shimmery grey card stock and decorated it using some beautiful woodland themed papers I bought online (unbranded). I had to cut them around quite a lot to get the effect I wanted, The fairy image is from Maremi's Small Art Collage Ephemera...it was really difficult to make myself cut into this book, but I was brave! . The large butterfly is also fussy cut from one of the sheets of paper. I inked the esges of everything as I didn't want any white gaps, then added a fine gold line with a metallic pen. The sentiments are stickers. It's not very often I make a card without any stamps, stencils or die cuts but I did quite enjoy the process although there was more work in it than I thought there would be when I started.

There's more inspiration from the rest of the team over at Fab'n' Funky, where you will also find updated details of our challenges and rules.

Hope you can join us this month.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

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Challenge entries:

unicorn #124

aplacetostart August Challenge

lilpatchofcraftyfriends #284

HQFCB #54

Creative Creases #118

paper-rocks-scissors. #20

conjurerofdreams Sept. Challenge

girlzcreativefunartofscrap. #25

GDT AAA BIRTHDAY- Use Pattern Paper

Good morning, following a recent win at AAA Birthday Challenge I was invited to Guest Design for their September Challenge- Use Pattern Paper

Like many card makers I have a huge stash of patterned papers- no matter how much I use it seems to keep growing! Apart from the 'fence' patterned paper all of this was made using left over scraps that have been lurking, unloved, for years. The little House Mouse is part of a Stampendous  stamp set, again had it for several years, only one stamp from it used before, so time it got used again! The swirly bow die, Memory Box,  is an old favourite, there was a time when it appeared on nearly every card I made, still love it. I cut this and the frame around the image several times and stacked them together for strength and  dimension- the bow was very tricky!!!

Please do check out the AAA Challenge Blog for some fabulous inspiration from the DT.

Thanks for visiting

Chris

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Challenge entries

HMFMC #473 (ATG option)

allsorts #857

polkadoodle. #8

addictedtostamps #524

PFM #853

critter crazy #114

MAWTT # 193

Happy cows are smiling

 Good morning, it's been a busy week here, along with having our front doors and windows painted- inside and out- which took a lot longer than I thought it would, it was GCSE results day. My second granddaughter was hoping to get the grades she needed to secure her provisional place in the 6th form of her choice and I'm delighted to say she smashed it! One very happy girl as she opted to change schools and the one she wanted is always over-subscribed. Added to this she's managed to get herself a little part time job, so difficult for the youngsters these days compared to what it was like when I was her age, Saturday jobs were very easy to come by then. 

My card today is my DT make for this fortnight's challenge at Sweet Stampin', the theme- nice and easy- ADD A DIE CUT.

The cute image is a digi from Polkadoodles, I printed it out and masked it, adding the stencilled hearts through a die cut, which I think is Sissix. I coloured the image with Copics, adding loads of Wink of Stella to the hearts and also to the little hearts cut with the die. The sentiment is from a very old set (possibly Woodware?)

There's a story behind this choice of image, it was for my sister and BIL who celebrated their anniversary a couple of weeks ago. My BIL is usually the most patient and good tempered man but coming back from holiday a couple of years ago the traffic was awful, they were bumper to bumper for miles, he was stressed and tired and very grumpy. They passed (very slowly!!!) a field of cows and my sister said, trying to make him laugh, - 'Look at those cows, they're not cross, they are happy cows and they're smiling, smiling at you!' It was so silly he had to give in and laugh, since then it has been a family saying whenever someone is grumpy at something 'The happy cows are smiling' - so silly but it works. So some smiley cows for their anniversary.

There's more inspiration from my lovely teamies over at Sweet Stampin', hope to have you join in for this challenge.

Thanks for visiting, have a lovely weekend- a long one for us in the UK.

Chris

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Challenges entered:

digichoosday #9

lilredwagon #873 (3 die cut hearts)

allsorts #857

Fairy Sweet

Good morning, a quick reminder of our August Challenge at We Love Stamping, 

the theme is Summer Blooms or Anything Goes.

I made a fairly (or should I say 'fairy') CAS card using a Penny Black stamp from a set called Fairy Sweet, a set I've had for years and only inked up one of the stamps before. I stamped the little fairy onto a scrap of white card, coloured with Copic markers and added loads of glitter to her wings. the frame is several die cuts stacked together. The border panel is an old TH die (one of those big fat ones that don't need a platform) . I marked the position on the card panel and stamped the tiny flowers (from a Polkadoodles set), coloured them and then stuck the die cut in place. Sentiment is a LOTV stamp. 

There's loads of fabulous inspiration from the rest of the DT over at WLS, where you will also find full details of the lovely prizes from Buddly Crafts and instructions for how to play along.

Thanks for visiting

Have a good week- hopefully with some rain (in this part of the world anyway)

Chris

x

Challenge entries:

aperfecttimetocraft. #8

classicdesign Aug/Sept

Creative moments #285

audsentiments #340

HQFCB #54

asyoulikeit -

My favourite colouring medium is alcohol markers, a huge range of colours and easy to blend.

PFM #851

dreamvalley #366