Sending you sunshine

Quite a busy card for me. Several challenges are quite similar this week, but sparked different ideas (hopefully I'll get a chance to put the other idea together this evening!).

I shifted the elements on Retro Sketches #162 around a little, mainly because of an accidental splodge on the corner of the vignette. I used a rainbow of distress inks (Festive Berries, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Broken China, Dusty Concord and Seedless Preserves) to create the umbrella background.

Stencils (Umbrellas and sunray) and stamps (sentiment, tree and wee folk) are all from Clarity.

Retro Sketches #162
Time Out - Can't have a rainbow without rain
Simon Says Monday - Anything Goes

Golden Nativity

I love an opportunity to start making Christmas cards well ahead of time.

Last year I started making them about March, and tried to create around ten a month. I ended up with far more than I could use myself, and consequently sold some to friends, raising £60 for Cancer Research UK.

For this I fished out some Clarity nativity stamps I hadn't had a chance to use yet, paired them with a Clarity line sentiment, and dug down and found my very first pot of embossing powder (gold tinsel) and accompanying pad. I think they may both have come in a very old DoCrafts goody bag! I do like the added sparkle of the tinsel.

Tis the Season #40 - Sketch
Addicted to CAS #62 - Black, White and Gold
Shopping our Stash - Texture Me (oldest embossing supply)

Purple Alliums

I love alliums, and thought they'd fit nicely into a tag on a simple layout. I love their deep vibrant shades of purple, so picked Dusty Concord as my one colour.

Less is More - Use a tag
Freshly Made Sketches #183
CAS on Sunday - White plus one colour

Lovebirds

I rushed home to put an idea into practice today, particularly as I wanted to finish it in time to submit it for Colour Me's latest challenge - it seemed rude not to after I got a very unexpected honourable mention last week.

Both the Lovebirds and the sentiment are Clarity Stamps. I used a mixture of Adirondack (Butterscotch, Wild Plum, Denim) and Distress inks (Peacock Feathers, Black Soot, Worn Lipstick), painted for the birds, and brushed for the background.

Colour Me #68 Playful: Night of Navy, Lost Lagoon, Melon Mambo, Crushed Curry
Uniko #20 - Things with Wings
CAS(E) this Sketch #120 

A very special wedding

A good friend of mine is getting married next weekend, and I wanted to mark it with a special card.

I hope this fits the bill

Inspiration came from:

Clarity - Wee Folk
Mojo Monday #394
Simon Says Monday - "Due Date"
Simon Says Wednesday - CAS
Colour Q # 288 - Black, White, Kraft, Bermuda Bay and Kiwi Kiss
Friday Mashup - Umbrella and/or Polka Dots

Shaded birthday

Simple and effective I think, this one. A combination of three challenges, and I absolutely promise the idea of using a corner stamp came to me before I'd scrolled far enough down the page to see DT Stef over at CAS Colours and Sketches had the same thought!

CAS Colours and Sketches - Challenge #121 Sketch 
CASology - week 143 Ombre
Color Throwdown - #339 Black, White and Yellow

Up, Up and Away

I love the challenges over at Less is More, and I've missed too many fabulous opportunities to play along, so I made a pact with myself that I would make something to fit the brief of Up, Up and Away.

Also I saw DT Anne's comment about having made a card for the Lambourn yard where the recent Grand National winner is trained. Knowing the Valley of the Racehorse well, a bit of West Berks solidarity!

I finished around in my stash, and found this cute Clarity stamp, and whilst the birds and the butterflies and the balloons came out as well, this felt most apt, as little girl looks as though she's about to soar up into the sunshine. So, with time running out, I started this at 0630 and photographed it at 0700 to ensure I honoured my promise to myself.

Surprised and delighted

No card today, I rarely get time to craft during the week at the mo.

However, imagine my surprise and delight when I saw one of my cards had been selected as a Colour Connoisseur over at Colour Me

Especially chuffed as it was the 100th birthday card I made

Also today I've created a page which catalogues (mainly for my own benefit) the challenges that I'm trying to follow - too many! If you find it useful, let me know. Gives things like when they open and close, what type of challenge they are etc.

Sweet Humphrey

I've used this Crafters Companion Humphrey's Corner stamp a few times recently, but I stamped him out again and quickly recoloured him with Distress Inks to fit Colour Throwdown's current challenge.

He's such a cutie, and to my mind definitely fits CASology's 'sweet' brief, although I appreciate he's not as CAS as he might be.

My first From the Heart sketch challenge, as the simple sketch and 'quick' challenge was too good to pass up.

From the Heart - I heart sketches with a twist #105 (quick)
Color Throwdown #338 (Teal, Green, Kraft, White)
CASology - Sweet

Cornflower Blue

I love this card, so simple: one of those times something just seems to work, and a chance to use some stamps I'd wanted to try out for a while.

One of my main reasons for seeking out all these challenges is to encourage me to make things with all the craft supplies I've built up, but haven't got around to using.

Both stamps and sentiment are from Clarity - are you spotting a theme yet! A little bit of colouring in with a  single Spectrum Noir pencil.

Freshly Made Sketches #182
Colour Q #287 (Black, White, Grey, One spot colour - I choose blue for the Cornflower)
Allsorts - Quick and Simple (for UK readers - I had just 30 minutes before Poldark started!)
Sunday Stamper - Friends

Happy 100th Birthday

This will be a belated 100th birthday card.

A single layer card, using Clarity Gerbera stamps, and painted with distress inks (Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Bundled Sage)

When I scanned through my great long list of challenges for inspiration of what I could combine I came up with the first three below, and then just kept finding more!

ABC - H is for Happy Birthday
Nacho Average - Sketch 137
Colour Me #67 (Pistachio, Blush, Red)
Curtain Call - Bouquet (Inspiration)
Stamping Sensations - Pretty in Pink

Mill in the Middle

I hadn't realised it was quite so long since I last completed a challenge.

Life has got in the way and I've not been doing much card-making for a while, but got back to it in the last week, and after reviewing far too many ongoing challenges, picked some cues for myself.

Firstly - what I will confess is an adaptation of a Clarity New Design Club project.

Uses Clarity Old Mill stamp and a Clarity stencil, and only two inks Adirondack Lettuce and Butterscotch. It is a single layer, matted directly onto a card blank.

To my mind this nicely fits the brief for
Simon Says Stamp - In the Middle
Craft Stamper - Take a Technique: Colour (at least I think it's nice and vibrant!)