The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers Challenge #221 - H is for Halloween

 

It's Spooky Season over at The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers as we play H is for Halloween. The team had great fun with this challenge, but Edna probably isn't such a fan.

I inked up my favourite Gerder Steiner bat and created a natty batty background for him to fly across. I never tire of this little guy - I think it's his expression that does it!

Wanna see what the sistahs and our fabulous guest star, Fran, have created? Then please fly on over and take a look... 

Cat Lover's Blog Hop 2022

The end of October beckons and this can only mean one thing: Janis's Cat Lovers Hop!

I do not know how Janis pulls this one together each year, but I'm sooooooooo glad she does. Well done, Janis, you are amazing!

I'm in full-on Christmas card mode right now so here's what I made...

Don't you just love this little kitty from Oddball Christmas Pets by Stampingbella! So cute and great fun to colour. The sentiment is from The Ink Road and the embossing folder is an eBay find.

I need very little excuse to re-share this pic of my hubby and the late, great Mr Custard.

These two were such an item and this photo sums up their relationship perfectly. 

I'm going to grab a coffee and take a look at all the fabulous entries over at My Peaceful Garden as I do love a little kitty cardmaking fun!

Let's Squash It! Challenge #25 - Reminder

 

This month we're all about Trees and Leaves at Let's Squash It! and we're delighted to have the very talented Joanne with us as our guest.

For my second card for this challenge I made this...

The gorgeous EF is a Sizzix 3-D Texture Fades folder by Tim Holtz called Acorns. 

The sentiment is from Hero Arts set Zen Messages. This particular set is currently sold out, but there are plenty of other sets in the HA messages series that would look great on this or a similar card.

You still have until the end of the month to play along with this challenge and it would be great to see more cards in the gallery. I think this theme would work well for Halloween and Christmas cards, so why not come and join the fun?

Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Reminder post for Challenge #67

It's Reminder time over at Christmas Kickstart and this month we have a fabulous guest and a fabulous theme as we play...

in the company of the lovely Janet from Swanlady - Impressions.

Janet created a gorgeous card to kickstart our challenge, which you can see by clicking here. 

For my inspired by card I hunted through my stash and found a Woodware Poinsettia background to work with. Janet's cards are beautifully CAS and I loved how she had so much white space on each design. I 'borrowed' the black sentiment on a white space and surrounded the central design with the background. The card just didn't look right until I stamped, coloured, fussy cut and added two additional poinsettias to soften the centre of the card. Again, I was inspired to do this because of the dimension Janet had achieved with her cards. 

This is so different to my usual style, but I enjoyed the challenge of working with a stamp set that wouldn't otherwise have seen the light of day. 

There are currently twenty-three amazing cards in the gallery. If you haven't got a poinsettia stamp then any Christmas florals will be just fine and Janet and I look forward to seeing yet more beautiful flowery creations before the challenge closes at the end of the month.

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers Challenge #220 - P is for Pink

 

Edna is certainly looking in the pink for our new challenge over at The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!

Each October we go PINK at the sisterhood as a reminder to all us gals to check them chest pumpkins and attend to our breast health. You can find helpful information concerning breast care by clicking here. 

Genius design from BertinoQuilts

I made this card using a VLVS pin-up and a fun sentiment from MFT. The background is stencilled in Distress Inks and if I ever find the packaging for the stencil I'll drop in the manufacturing details!

The sisters have created some awesome pink cards, so please come visit and take a look!

Let's Squash It! Challenge #25 - Trees and Leaves

 

Anyone else got a drive full of leaves? Thought so!

Our theme for Challenge #25 over at Let's Squash It! is Trees and Leaves - a perfect challenge for this time of year.

We have the super - talented Joanne with us for October and I know you'll love what both Joanne and Gail have created for the challenge.

Here's what I made...

The background was coloured in bands with Distress Inks before I got busy with an EF. Unfortunately, I can't give any details for the folder as I bought it on eBay without any packaging. However, I can tell you that the Celebrate die is from MFT and the beautiful leaves are from my dear blogging friend Linda W over at Scrappin', Stampin', Singin'.

Joanne, Gail and I all hope that you'll come and play along with this fun challenge!

Christmas Kickstart Challenge #67 - Poinsettias and Posies

Happy October, everyone! The Festive Season is getting closer and no mistake.

It's time for the Christmas Kickstart October Challenge and I'm thrilled to be joined by the very talented Janet from Swanlady - Impressions. 

Our theme, chosen by Janet, is Challenge #67 - Poinsettias and Posies and I know you'll love what Janet has created to inspire us this month.

Here's my take on the challenge - a little embossing folder fun and some heat embossing in copper. This folder comes in two different sizes, so it's best to check the measurements before ordering.

While I quite like my first card, the jury is still out on this one:

This large bauble stamp is by Woodware and the sentiments are included in the set. 

I can honestly say that this challenge really hauled me out of my comfort zone and no mistake, but then isn't that why we all love challenges? I'm very grateful to Janet for picking such a fab theme.

The handsome Rudolph has chosen a great little prize for his Randon Raffle this month.

I hope you'll head on over to Christmas Kickstart and come join the fun!

Card Chain Challenge Reveal - September 2022

It's time for another fabulous Card Chain Challenge Reveal!

This month, Gail and I, were thrilled to see 26 participants exchange cards across the globe. Which, somewhat crazily, brings our total number of cards exchanged thus far by Card Chain Challenge participants to a truly impressive 3,766. I know!

 

All the cards exchanged this month used at least one of the following options:

 

Colour Palette Option

or

Sketch Option

or 

Theme Options: Music/Things beginning with or including the letter Z/Friendship

or 

Product / Technique Options: Burlap or Gauze/Iris Folding

My recipient this month was Suze in New Zealand, and this is what I sent:

I used the colour combo and played around a little with the sketch. The background was created with Distress Inks and my little Kirtsie Allsop Cuttlebug border folder called Swiggles. This is such an oldie that I doubt it's available to purchase from anywhere except as a lucky find on eBay - which is how I came by it. The sentiment is from a great little set produced by Hero Arts called Zen Messages and the little jar of Mojito is from Happy Hour by Jane's Doodles.

My sender was the lovely Kath in UK and just look what she created! Kath makes such good cards.

If you've never played CCC before why not take a look at some past Reveals to get an idea of how things work. I always think of CCC as a little like being on a DT, but without having to apply to join and minus the monthly commitment: some of our participants come and go after playing for a month or two, while others stay and become regulars. Everyone is just so friendly and it's a real joy to be part of 

Here's hoping I'll see you in the next sign-up, which is open until October 6th. Take care and happy crafting! 

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #219 - D is for Drunk

 

Another fabulous Edna from Sister Lee ushers in another great challenge theme from The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers!

It seems strange that a group of ardent teetotallers such as the sisterhood should pick this theme, but despite our pledges of total abstinence we thought this might make for an amusing challenge. The gals have put aside their lack of familiarity with alcoholic beverages to create some awesome cards.

I've heard that people can be prone to imbibing considerable amounts of the demon drink during the festive season, so made this card...

I wanted the sentiment to take centre stage, so created a splashy, inky background in blue tones. I really do love this Stamp set from W Plus 9 called Merriest Snowflake. It's one of my favourite Christmas sets and I wouldn't want to be without it. The sentiment comes from MFT set Sassy Pants Holiday too: great fun and just perfect for our theme!

We hope you'll come and join the fun!