House of Cards - October Challenge

We've got a lovely colour and texture challenge to share with you over at House of Cards this month.

Just look at this beautiful autumn colour palette: isn't this a season when Mother Nature simply out does herself??! 

I made my card for my friend and colleague, Jayne. She's our Dance/PE teacher and if there's ever laughter to be heard in the school where I work she is usually close by. Here's Jayne celebrating her birthday on Roald Dahl Dress-up day being a fantastic Fantastic Mr Fox and coordinating beautifully with her HOC card. 

Doesn't she look great? Jayne roared with laughter when she opened her card and enjoyed this Art Impressions Inc. stamp and sentiment combo every bit as much as I hoped she would.

The HOC girls are a very talented bunch and there's a fabulous selection of cards on offer to celebrate this stunning season over on the blog today. There's also a great tutorial from Mynn you really shouldn't miss and a beautiful card from our October Guest DT member Paula for you to enjoy.

Naughty or Nice Challenge #20 - Feeling Witchy!

Something Witchy comes this way! 

Yes, we're celebrating all things Halloweeny, Spooky and Witch-related this month over at Naughty or Nice Challenges. Unbelievably this is our 20th challenge ( I know!) and once again Danielle has created a fun graphic that you are welcome to include with your entry.

Here in the UK when we're not obsessed with the fake tans and sequins of Strictly Come Dancing we're indulging our love of cakes, loaves and all things baked with the Great British Bake-Off.          With this in mind I couldn't resist a little punning to go with this sweet Some Odd Girl witch and the contents of her cauldron.

I really enjoyed colouring this digi and am quite pleased with both the look of the cauldron and the reflected glow of the potion on her face.

I enjoyed this challenge so much that I made a second card which you can see over at the Naughty or Nice blog. Once again, my fellow Troublemakers had a blast with this fun challenge and I know you'll love their fabulous witchy creations. And just to spice things up a little the lovely and very talented Danielle has created some gorgeous flair buttons as prizes for our winners.

So break out those witch stamps and/or witch-y sayings and come join us!

Mom's birthday card...

Shhhh, don't tell my Mom but I'm sharing her card ahead of her birthday on Monday!

I've got so much to do during the week plus my regular DT posts will be up in the next few days, that I thought I'd share this card today.

I can't stop colouring Some Odd Girl images at the moment. They are so cute and quirky and beautifully drawn and I love 'em! I was delighted to discover this little card appearing on the September Spotlight post over at the SOG blog... What a great way to start the weekend!

The MFT Cityscape was a gift from a Card Chain Challenge friend. I was delighted to receive this die-cut but wasn't sure how to use it. Then I remembered a card I'd seen over at Donna's blog and knew I'd be 'borrowing' her colouring technique for my card.

The sentiment was generated on my PC and the banner was cut using a combination of rectangular and square dies to achieve the pennant shape. The card base looked too plain when I began to assemble the card so I randomly stamped with the beautiful Hero Arts Winter Tree Pattern and embossed with WOW embossing powder to achieve some texture and interest. I have to say this gives a brilliant look to the card and I know I'll be using this technique again to give some added 'ooomph' to future cards.

This week the toppings at Seize the Birthday are Border Punches or Die-cuts so I'll do a little happy dance and link-up up with their current challenge!

Have a great weekend everyone!

August Card Chain Challenge Reveal

It was back down to earth with a bump today as I returned to work after the Summer break. Six weeks of crafting, relaxing and holidaying... All gone by too fast. So it's been a real pick-me-up to come home, turn on the PC and take a look at another truly lovely Card Chain Challenge round-up.

I sent this card to LesLee in California:

I have to say I really enjoyed using Deborah's suggested colour palette with my little Bella stamp as I'd have never picked these colours myself.

I was blown-away to receive this card from the amazingly talented Kelly 'Lovin the life I colour' Booth.
I loved the outside...

And fairly whooped with cardmaking joy when I saw this pop-up wonder on the inside.

I know: laces and glitter and inking... Oh, my! If you love fabulous cards with a little pop-up fun just take a look at Kelly's blog and get the lowdown on how she created this card. No wonder this lady is one of my long-term cardmaking idols.

To see the rest of the reveal you can go here and to sign-up to play along with the September CCC go here.

House of Cards September Challenge - Stitch it up!

We've a brand new challenge over at HOC and it's all about sewing... Faux, hand or machine sewn its all good and we're looking forward to seeing some bewitching stitching on your creations this month!

As you can see I went the machine stitched route for my simple little card with my current favourite flower image from Wplus9. I appear to have set myself a mini-challenge to see how many different ways I can use this pretty stamp! It really is so versitile. The beautiful sentiment is from Reverse Confetti purchased from Make the Day Special.

I was trying for a feminine and fairly homespun look with this card and am pleased with how pretty the white embossing looks against the kraft cardstock. I coloured with my water brush and Distress Inks.

Yet again the HOC girls have created some beautiful projects so why not head on over, take a look and join in...

Naughty or Nice Challenge #19: Ribbons and Bows

It's all about ribbons and bibbons and bows this month over at Naughty or Nice Challenges!

We thought it would be fun to pull out one of our favorite embellishments and feature it on our cards. You can go big and tie it up with a huge bow or go small and just add a bit of ribbon as an embellishment or a flag. 

Once again, I've worked with this gorgeous Wplus9 stamp called Botanical Bunch: isn't it a beauty? I love how many different card styles it's possible to achieve with this stamp. This look is fairly sophisticated and was great fun to make as its so different from my usual style. I've another card using this stamp on my workdesk but I'll leave it a few days before sharing it.

I wasn't sure if I had any ribbons for this challenge and was amazed, when I opened my ribbon tin, at just how many ribbons and lengths of lace I actually possess. The design was already in my head and all the elements chosen before I even put ink to paper and so the card was finished in record time.

My fellow Troublemakers have worked their usual creative magic, so why not drop by over at the NON blog and take a look at how they have interpreted this theme.