Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Cowgirl/Cowboy

Good morning my bloggy friends.

OMG it's Sweet Stampin' time, and yay nearly time for my holiday to Alaska!!! And yes, I'll post lots of photos on here when I return, especially of all the lumberjackes.....erm, I mean huskies.  :)

This week's theme is Cowgirl or Cowboy- so I thought I would go all 'tag' lol. Yee Haw!!!

 

Here's What I did
I cut out 2 tag shapes from stiff cardstock for the base, and covered one of the tags with patterned paper, and distressed the edges with ink. I scored the top of this tag and attached it to the back one using strong tape (red tape). I stamped and cut out my Prima Doll 'Becky' and coloured her with Copic markers, I then stamped different sections of her onto patterned papers, added some shading to the pieces and cut them out - all the components were then glued onto the doll shape. Patterned paper, die cut shapes and a flower were added to the tag front, together with the finished doll. To finish off I placed cut out sentiment around the tag and used a little glitter on her hat, skirt and the banner.

Here's everything I used:

Stamp: Prima Doll 'Becky' 

Paper/Cardstock (CS): Papermill Pearlised CS, Pink, Brown & Cream CS, Gingham Paper (from an old kit)

Copics:  Skin - E0000, E000, E00, E11 / Hair - C1, C3, C5, C7, 100 / Skirt - RV10. RV13, RV34 / Shirt - RV10, RV13, Boots & Hat - E11, E15

Dies: Xcut 'Petal Posy', Zig-Zag Die (not sure of the make), Sizzix 'Stars'

Other:  CraftArtist2, Button, Glitter, Distressing Inks, String

So why not drop by the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog and check out what my fab Design Team girlies have made to inspire you. So come on why not join in with the fun and enter your card/project into our Cowgirl/Cowboy challenge we'd love to see you. 

 

REMEMBER you must include a stamped element on your card!

This week's sponsor and prize is from Crafts U Love.

I look forward to seeing what you create.

Challenges entered: 

Hugs

Janine x

Sugar Nellie - Picket Post Lane

- Hello Sugar Fans -

 

Well hello and good morning to you all. It's Thursday and it's Sugar Nellie time!

I thought for this week I'd use another one of our new 'Furry Friends' digi stamp because I just think they're soooo cute.  This beautiful stamp is called 'Picket Post Lane' and it's available from Funkykits in digital format.

Here's What I Did
I really just wanted to play with this gorgeous digi stamp. So I decided to print out a large copy of it onto watercolour card, and colour it with distressing pens and inks.  I decided to frame it for my daughter's bedroom - so I bought a 8" x 10" inexpensive frame from a local discount store. I did cut out my own mount to go inside the frame using white cardstock and my Silhouette, but if you wanted to create something similar you can buy pre-cut mounts quite cheaply. I used a few pencils to added more depth to the picture. To finish off I added a little glitter to the parcels and envelope.

This was such a simple project to do and the image looks great in a frame, as will all the Sugar Nellie stamps. 

Here's What I Used

Stamp: 'Picket Post Lane' available Sugar Nellie at Funkykits
Paper/Cardstock (CS): White CS, Watercolour CS
Distressing Ink & Pens - Bear's Fur, Bird, Ground - Tea Dye, Vintage Photo / Cheeks - Worn Lipstick / Sky - Tumbled Glass, Faded Jeans / Fence - Peeled Paint / Grass - Forest Moss, Pine Needles / Parcels & Envelope - Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar / Birdhouse - Scattered Straw, Mustard Seed / Stones - Pumice Stone

Other: Frame, Glitter, Silhouette Machine, Kanban Stamp, Pencils
 

To see more Sugar Nellie creations made by my fab Sugar Nellie DT buddies why not drop by the Sugar Nellie blog, or join our Facebook page (just search for the Official Sugar Nellie Group)

Thank you for dropping by - why not leave me a message I'd love to hear from you.

Don't forget about our 'Furry Friends' competition - we're offering a fabulous prize of a Kit & Clowder colouring class to the winner.  So come on and get entering, all the details can be found on the 'Competition' tab on the Sugar Nellie blog.
 

Challenge Entered:
613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes - Yay!  I got an Honourable mention. Thank you everyone!
 

Hugs
 

x Janine x 

Inky Chicks - Fairies and/or Angels

Good evening everyone!

I know it's a strange time for me to post, but this is my first Design Team card for Inky Chicks. I was asked by the lovely Lisa if I would join their lovely team - and of course I said YES.

Inky Chick's challenges run every fortnight (starting on a Tuesday evening at 7pm) and always have a fab prize up for grabs. I'll be posting a card/project once a month for them --- so watch this space!

So here's my make for this month -- the theme is Fairies and/or Angels.

Here's What I did
I made my own circular card base using my grand scallop circle dies. I also die cut a green circle mat, and a larger scalloped circle using some LOTV patterned paper. I then printed out this gorgeous little fairy called Maya onto Neenah CS, which I die cut it into a circle. I coloured the image flat with my Copic Pens using the colours in the paper so everything co-ordinated together. To finish off I punched out some butterflies and added a touch of glitter to her wings.

Here's everything I used:

Digi Stamp:  Maya by Wee Stamps

Paper/Cardstock (CS): LOTV 'Bonnents & Bowties', Papermania CS, Neenah CS

Copics (C) / Flexmarkers (F): Skin - Ivory , Blush Dusky Pink (FM), Cheeks - R30 (C), wings - BG000, YG11, YG03 (C) / Flower, Jacket & Dress - BG000, BG01, BG05, B000, B05 (C) / Leaves & Stem - YG11, YG03, YG09, G07 (C) / Grass - YG01, YG011, G07 (C)   

Dies: Spellbinders Grand Scallop Circles, Tonic Layering Circles and Scallop Circles

Other: Glitter, Butterfly Punch, Distressing Ink

 

So why not drop by the Inky Chicks Challenge blog, and check out what my fab Design Team girlies have made to inspire you. So come on why not join in with the fun and enter your card/project into our 'Fairies and/or Angels challenge this week..

This week's sponsor and prize is from Crafts And Me.

I look forward to seeing what you create.

Challenges entered: 

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes

 

Hugs

Janine x

Sweet Stampin' - Photo Inspired

Good morning my dear friends.

Sorry for the lateness of my post - blogger and I had a bit of a falling out. For some reason my post appeared 2 days before I wrote it. It could be 'user' error but it's easier to blame Blogger. LOL Hopefully we're all sorted now. (Quick Update) Thanks to Christine who spotted my error in the 'Here's What I did' section, thanks hunnie I owe you one! Hopefully I've written everything up properly now. -- phew I've had a nightmare!!!

 Anyhoo ------- it's that time of the month ---- it's Sweet Stampin' time. Yay!!!

This week's theme is Photo Inspired - so it's all about using the gorgeous colours in this wonderful photo. 

In my little card I used lilacs, blues and greens from the photo to create a 'New home' card. To be honest I made the card for my new neighbours --- but I didn't actually give them it (oops how bad am I!!). The stamp I used is one I've had for ages, it was part of a mag and stamp kit from Polkadoodle's Pen & Paper Circle. It's the first time I've used it but it won't be the last - it stamped brilliantly and it's so sweet and wonderful to colour.

Photo to be inspired by

Here's What I did

I used a 5" x 5" white scalloped card base and matted it with pretty LOTV patterned paper. I stamped the cute little cottage onto Neenah CS and die cut it into a circle. I coloured it flat with my Copic Pens and used a little pan pastel for the sky. I punched out a border strip and die cut a scalloped circle from the same coloured cardstock and layered everything up. To finish off I die cut a few little clouds and added a touch of glitter.

Here's everything I used:

Digi Stamp: 'Cottage' by Polkadoodles

Paper/Cardstock (CS): LOTV 'Promises', Papermania CS, Neenah CS

Copics: Various (Sorry I still can't find my notebook with all my colour lists)

Dies: Spellbinders 'Circle and Scallop Circle', Joy! 'Clouds'

Other: Tonic Border Punch, Glitter, Pan Pastel

So why not drop by the Sweet Stampin' Challenge blog and check out what my fab Design Team girlies have made to inspire you. So come on why not join in with the fun and enter your card/project into our 'Photo Inspired' challenge we'd love to see you. REMEMBER you must include a stamped element on your card!

This week's sponsor and prize is from Hobby House.

I look forward to seeing what you create.

Challenges entered: 

Hugs

Janine x

Sugar Nellie - Words From The Heart

- Hello Sugar Fans -

 

Good morning, it's Thursday and it's Sugar Nellie time! So in light of our 'Furry Friends' stamp launch and Blog Hop on Saturday I thought I would create another card full of furry sweetness. This little cutie is called 'Words from the heart' and it's available from Funkykits in digital format.. 

 

 

Here's What I Did
This is a really simple card to  make. I used a 6" x 6" white card base and matted it with Kraft and coloured CS. Then I printed my digital image directly onto another piece of Kraft card and coloured it with pencils. This was then cut to size and added to my card.  To finish off I added some faux stitching around the edge, tiny buttons and some die cut mini tags.

Here's What I Used

Stamp: 'Words from the heart' available from Funkykits. 
Paper/Cardstock (CS): Kraft, Papermania Coloured CS,
Pencils - Lyra Polycolour (PC), Prismacolour (PS), Derwent Coloursoft (D): 

Cat Fur, Nose and Paws - White (PC) / Belly - White (D) / Pen - Carmine Red (P), Crimson Red (P), Silver (P) / Paper - Cream (PC), Lemon Yellow (PC), Canary Yellow / Writing - White (P), Black (P)
Dies: Die-namics - MFT Blueprint '8'
Other: Buttons, Fineline Pen
 

To see more Sugar Nellie creations made by my fab Sugar Nellie DT buddies why not drop by the Sugar Nellie blog, or join our Facebook page (just search for the Official Sugar Nellie Group)

Thank you for dropping by - why not leave me a message I'd love to hear from you.
 

Challenge Entered:
 

Hugs
 

x Janine x 

Creative Bloggers Hop

I was asked by the fabulous Fiona if I'd like to join in with the Creative Bloggers Hop. It's a continuous hop every Monday with a host of creative and inspirational bloggers taking part every week. I know Fiona from the Sugar Nellie and Sweet Stampin’ Design Team; she's such a talented lady and makes fantastic cards (I'd spot her famous doodling anywhere!).  We are also great Facebook buddies - who chat away until the wee hours.

So onto the questions and answers bit ----

1.  WHAT AM I WORKING ON AT THE MOMENT? 

I’m currently working on a few Design Team cards, one for the Sweet Stampin’ challenge that goes live on Saturday (9th Aug) and one Sugar Nellie which I has to be ready for Thursday (7th Aug).  I always intend to get ahead with my cards but for some reason I never do!  Mmm, maybe it’s because I get so distracted with Facebook and Pinterest (which I love!).  Plus I've just joined Kit & Clowder's Skin & Hair colouring course - I enjoy learning new things and developing my skills. So I reckon this will keep me busy for a while!

2.  HOW DOES MY WORK DIFFER FROM OTHERS IN MY GENRE? 

I’m not sure it does really, but I do like to use different mediums eg Copics, water-colouring pens/inks and pencils.  I probably use my Copics more than the others – and I like to think I’m improving all the time. I do like to use my water colour pens/inks when I can because it’s great practice, plus I’m trying to make the night classes I took years ago pay off.  Quite a lot of the time I use digital images which I print off, colour and then fussy cut out, I just think it gives them more life.

I also like to stretch myself and my imagination by doing something different, whether it’s trying a new style, colour combos or medium.  I think this it's important, especially as I’m on a few DT and I don’t like things to be too samey.

3. WHY DO I WRITE/CREATE WHAT I DO? 

In a nutshell – I love it!  I adore being creative and feel the need to craft everyday when possible. I’ve always enjoyed all forms of arts & crafts and have always been crafty since I was a little girl. I have experimented with all types of things eg flower arranging, face painting, calligraphy -- to name a few. I eventually found my way to cardmaking, which I’ve done for the past 9 years since making my daughter’s 18^th birthday invites.  I love it because you can make your pieces of art as simple or elaborate as you like, either physically or digitally. ATM I'm also attempting to draw my own characters to turn into digital stamps - but it's a slow process --- maybe one day!

4. HOW DOES YOUR WRITING/CREATIVE PROCESS WORK? 

It depends really!  If it’s for a Design Team project I’ll usually pick the stamp  first (rubber or digi) but sometimes I'll have to select the colour scheme first, to be honest it depends on the theme, Next I decide on the layout and card shape (I 'm really into square cards at the mo), from this I'll pick out my patterned papers and cardstock. Sometimes, I have to do the whole thing in reverse - it really depends on the theme and/or the stamp I'm using.  But no matter which way round I do it I always pick out my pens or inks that co-ordinate with the paper and card I'm using. 

Tip -  never colour or pick out an image first before finding your patterned papers and cardstock - it never works out ---- believe me. Seriously you can spend hours trying to find something that matches - I know because I've tried it. LOL!  

If I ever find the card I'm making isn’t working (which happens a lot) and I’m not happy with it, I walk away from it for 10-20mins and do something completely different. I usually end up mooching around Pinterest (I love it, it’s so inspirational) or on Facebook.  Then if that doesn't work I'll send a picture of the offending card to my daughter who lives in London, and she'll tell me straight what's wrong with it. She's not a card maker but she has an excellent eye,. Then if she's not available I'll go and ask my hubbie - who's brutally honest anyway and he'll tell me whether it's a yay or a neigh. LOL

Anyhoo, onto the 2 amazing bloggers I’ve picked to carry the Creative Bloggers Hop

baton for next Monday ---

There should be 3 crafty blogger in total, but unfortunately  everyone I asked to be my #3 have either been asked already or were unable to do so due to prior commitments. But I'm pretty sure you'll be more than happy with  lovely ladies I asked, and who kindly accepted my request.

MARIE 

Marie is a fabulous lady who I had the pleasure of being a Design Team buddy with earlier this year.  She is such a talented lady who makes the most fantastic cards with the most amazing backgrounds.  As well as this, Marie has created brilliant video tutorials on a variety of colouring and crafty topics which are all available to watch on her blog.   

 SHIRLEY (AKA SQUIRREL)

Squirrel is a wonderful lady who I constantly bump in to (well not physically of course) on my blogging travels. She makes the most gorgeous cards - her colouring is amazing.  I especially love her cards coloured with distressing inks they're fabulous, and so are her tutorials which can be found on her blog  - I personally found them really useful.

Well that it's it from me for the Creative Bloggers Hop, it's now down to these lovely ladies

for next week! 

Thanks for dropping by.

Hugs

Janine xx

Furry Friends Blog Hop - Sugar Nellie

Whoo hoo it's Sugar Nellie's blog hop day!!!

Hello, well here it is the official launch of Furry Friends from Sugar Nellie and our blog hop day. So come on and check out my fab Design Team buddies who are showcasing some of our brilliant new stamps. If you feel inspired why not grab them now, they're all available as digital stamps - so you can get your hands on them instantly. There's special launch price which is only available this weekend.

 

To onto our hop!

You should have hopped HERE from the lovely Fiona's blog.

Here's my 'Furry Friends' hop card - I hope you like it and it inspires you to buy this cute little fella.

Here's What I Did
I've used Furry Friends 'High Flyer'. Does he look a little familiar! Yep, I used him to create the Blog Hop banner on our Facebook page and on the Sugar Nellie's blog.  He's such a dream to colour in and sooo cute!

On my card I wanted to give him a little extra dimension so I printed him out a few times onto Neenah cardstock, and coloured different sections in, these sections were then fussy cut out (this is my favourite thing to do!). The sections were then layered up using foam tape to form the final picture.  The same image was printed directly onto pale blue card, then the cat, plane, clouds and banner was glued directly onto this. To finish off my card I added hand cut hills and trees, plus a few punched out flowers. Everything was then matted and layered onto coordinating cardstock.

Here's What I Used

Stamp: Furry Friends 'High Flyer' available from Funkykits. 
Paper/Cardstock (CS): First Edition 'Spring Drops', Papermania Coloured CS, Neenah CS

Copic Pens: Various (Sorry I've lost my notebook with all the colours written in - when I find it I'll add the pen colours) 

Other: Punch, Glossy Accents, Fineliner Pen, CraftArtist2, White Pen, Silver Pen
 

Before You Hop Away

If you decided to purchase 'High Flyer' the banner is empty, this is so you can add your own text either digitally or by stamping inside it. I personally added my text inside the banner using CraftArtist 2, and I have written up an instructional sheet for you - this can be downloaded and/or printed out. You can find it on my Tutorials, Tips & Hints page (the link is at the top). Text can be inserted into or onto digital images using MS Word, so if you would instructions on how to do this let me know in your comments. 

Furry Friends Competition
There's a fabulous competition starting tomorrow (Sunday).  You need to purchase a 'Furry Friends' image, coloured it and make up your card then post it on your blog along with our competition banner.  Full details are given on the Competition page (the link is at top of the Sugar Nellie Blog). There's a fabulous prize on offer - a Copic colouring class with Kit & Clowder.  Plus there's a Guest Designer spot up for grabs. So come on what are you waiting for ---- get entering!

Your Next Hop
Next you need to hop to the gorgeous Christine's blog.

So good luck everyone and I hope you love our new stamps. 

Have fun in our blog hop.

Hugs

Janine x