A TRANSPARENT CHALLENGE AT ADDICTED TO CAS!

Thank you to all the talented crafters who submitted some wonderful entries for our Fall/Autumn challenge - it was so difficult to choose the winners. 
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The Code Word for the new challenge at ATCAS , chosen by the very talented Christine , is ........... 

Our generous sponsor this fortnight is Nicecrane Designs.
The prize for our CAS Perfectionist is a $20 Gift Voucher to spend in the fabulous Nicecrane Designs online store.
To qualify, your card must be CAS, with plenty of "white space".

My DT card ~ closed and open! 

Recipe:-
I removed a narrow panel from the front of my card, and replaced it with a strip of acetate.
A strip of grey and white spotty paper (from Pink Petticoat)
was attached to the back panel inside the card.
The Memory Box Gwyneth Flourish was adhered to the card only, so there was no glue on the acetate. 
A tiny  Hero Arts sentiment was stamped with SU Smoky Slate ink.
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Look forward to seeing more of your amazing creations!

Happy Crafting ~

CIRCLES AT ADDICTED TO CAS!

Hi there lovely bloggers - thanks so much for visiting!
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At Addicted to CAS, we have a another super challenge for you! 

 The Code Word, chosen by my lovely Teamie Marie,  is CIRCLE(S)!  

Lots of scope with this one! Do pop over to the blog to see what the talented DT have been creating!  
Our Sponsor this fortnight is Paper Makeup Stamps. They are offering a prize of a $15 voucher towards a digi purchase in their store.

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My Card Recipe:-

Dotty circle stamp - Artemio.

Inks - Tattered Rose DI, and Celadon VersaColour.

Sequin waste used as a stencil for the small inky circles.

Linen Thread - SU.

Poppy die - Cuttlebug.

Top layer of flower petals - smallest die from Tim Holtz Tattered Florals. 

Sentiment - Hero Arts, inked with Memento London Fog.

Buttons from stash.

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Happy Crafting ~

ADDICTED TO CAS, AND SOME NEWS!

Hi lovely bloggers - it's good to see you!

My card today is for the current fortnightly challenge at Addicted to CAS. 

The Codeword is "RAINBOW", and you can interpret this in any way you wish.  
There are several days left if you would like to join in, and you can find  some beautiful DT inspiration on the Challenge Blog.
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Now - onto my News snippet!  
I was thrilled when Kylie, from Addicted to CAS , asked me to join her Design Team, and of course it was a big fat Yes from me!  My new Teamies are a very talented group of ladies, and I am so happy to be working alongside them.

So here I am with my first ATCAS  DT project - I hope you like it!

Recipe:

Aperture and frame cut with Nestabilities Classic Squares.

The rainbow was inked onto the cut-out square, then attached through the aperture, onto the inside of the card.
Distress Inks applied with TH Inkssentials ink applicators. 
Chipped Sapphire, Indigo, Faded Jeans, Peeled Paint, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Fired Brick.

Butterfly - SU Elegant Butterfly punch.

Sentiment - Hero Arts.

Look forward to seeing you soon, at Addicted to CAS!
Have a happy weekend

Hugs, 

PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR MY BLOG CANDY ! 

FRIENDS AT LESS IS MORE

Hello lovely bloggers, friends and followers - hope you are all coping with the snowy weather, and keeping warm and cosy. 

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My card today is for the challenge at Less Is More, which this week is all about FRIENDS. (Just hope I remember to link it up, unlike my "entry" last week)!!

Please tell me I am not the only blogger who has entered a challenge and forgotten to link their card back to the Challenge blog!! 

This gorgeous LOTV image is called "Swing Time". 

I coloured it with Copics , mainly greyish shades, which was a challenge in itself as I have very few grey Copic pens! 

The sentiment is from a very old stamp set by Hero Arts. 
I created a banner, curved it, and added a couple of grey brads.

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I am also entering the "Friendship" challenge at Stamping Sensations.
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Thank you to my friends for popping by!

A HUGE THANK YOU FROM "IN THE PINK"!

Hello Pinkies  and bloggers everywhere - hope your week is  going well ?
  
WOW -  you certainly turned out in your dozens to enter our very first challenge at IN THE PINK!

A huge thank you to everyone who took part, and to those who helped to spread the word on their blog.  Christine and I have been overwhelmed by your support and kind messages.   
Choosing the Perfect Pinkies has been extremely difficult, as there were so many stunning entries.  

You can find out who the Perfect Pinkies are, by clicking the link above!  Details of next fortnight's challenge can laso be found there.  
I hope you will  share more of your  fabulous creations with us - you have two weeks to create something wonderful!   Our theme for this fortnight's Challenge is "THINGS WITH WINGS" (and plenty of PINK!)  and here are my two inspiration projects - (it just had to be fairies for me)! Hope you like them!

(Please click the pics. to see the detail)

The easel card was created with Nestabilities  Circles (Scalloped and Standard).
The gorgeous image is "Talking With The Moon" from A Day for Daisies, coloured with Copics.  
Edges and background inked with DI - Tattered Rose and Spun Sugar.
Lots of glitter on this  one! (SU Dazzling Diamonds).
Sentiment - Crafty Individuals
Pink pearls - Hobby House.
Starry pink paper on the easel base - Kaisercraft.

This is another fabulous image from A Day For Daisies - "Morning Dew Fairy".

Image printed onto watercolour paper then painted with Distress Inks - 

Tattered Rose, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Old Paper, Bundled Sage and Peeled Paint.

Background sponged with Tattered Rose and Spun Sugar.

Other items:-  

Nestabilities Lacy Squares. 

Memory Box Wrought Iron Fence cut from Rose Red SU card.

Base card - Pink Pirouette, also from Stampin' Up.

Hero Arts sentiment.

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Love to all ~

DOES ANYONE HAVE A CRIMPER?!!

Good morning peeps - hope you are well and enjoying the Olympics?
   
The amazing photo Steph has chosen for us at this fortnight's  For Your Inspiration Challenge,  is a night-time view of  Cologne Cathedral  -love the turquoise  and gold!

and here is my take on the photo - a very clean and simple design, inspired by the architecture and the colours.

Recipe:

Cream cardstock.

My Minds Eye, Stella Rose spotty papers.

A paper Crimper was used on the ovals to replicate the lines on the bridge.

 It's the first time I've used this crafting tool for years!  What ancient craft tool have YOU got hidden away, unloved and unused? I would love to know!

I used  two sizes of Nestie Ovals, and the Lacy Squares die.

Corner rounder punch.

The banner was cut by hand, sentiment an old favourite from Hero Arts.

Tim Holtz brads and Distress Inks to finish.

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 Have a great weekend - 

Love and Hugs  ~

HOW CAN YOU RESIST DISTRESS INKS!

Hello peeps - sorry I haven't had anything to share with you during the last couple of weeks, but at last, another Post - my DT project for the For Your Inspiration Challenge. The colours of the inspiration photo were the starting point for my card, but you can interpret the image in any way you wish - hope to see lots more of your fabulous designs. You have plenty of time to enter - two weeks, so get out those inks and papers!

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Recipe:-

White cardstock

Hero Arts Clings stamp - Blooming Meadow, stamped onto white card with Versamark ink, then heat embossed with  white embossing powder.

Distress Inks applied over the image -  Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Bundled Sage and Peeled Paint. Surplus ink removed from the image with tissue paper. (As I'm sure you know, this is the  "Resist" technique - so called, as the embossing resists the ink).

Perfect Pearls Heirloom Gold was spritzed over the ink, but the shimmer doesn't show on the photo! 

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The double panels were not part of my plan  - I just chopped a bit off to make the large panel narrower, so it would fit on a smaller card.  When I saw them side by side on the table, I had a light-bulb moment and somehow ended up with this!!

Panels are layered onto  Stampin' Up Certain Celery.  
Linen Twine also from Stampin' Up.

Sentiment from Penny Black.

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And here is the amazing inspiration  photo which Steph has chosen for you to work with ~

I would like to enter my card into the folowing challenges:-
THE STAMP MAN- Summer Colours.
FASHIONABLE STAMPING - Let's Get Messy and Inky!
July 31st - Update - in the Top 3 at Fashionable Stamping. Thank you ladies !
Update, August 3rd - Won Top Prize at The Stamp Man - wow!
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Apparently we are going to have some warm dry weather in the UK over the weekend - I do hope it reaches your part of the world.

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Sending lots of love to all ~

RED WHITE AND BLUE!

Good morning from a rather wet and dreary West Yorkshire - a perfect day for crafting! 

Hope you all enjoyed the Queen's Diamond Jubilee celebrations?  Going along with the Jubilee theme is the current challenge at LESS IS MORE where the lovely Chrissie and Mandi would like to see RED WHITE and  BLUE on our projects.

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I decided to do something with bling on my card, after being inspired by a handbag I saw in a shop window a couple of days ago. 

The red and blue sequins came from a local craft store, and the pearls are from my stash.

Sentiment - Hero Arts, inked with Versafine Majestic Blue, Princess Crown from stash (sorry I didn't have a Queen one)!  Some gems added to the crown, and a dry-embossed border around the "flag".

It took tons of glue and patience, but it was great fun to make!!
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I would also like to enter my card into the following challenges:-
CCC - Red. White and Blue.
Top Tip Tuesday - Sparkles Galore for the Jubilee.
One Stop Crafts - Crowns or Diamonds plus Red White and Blue.
Scrapbook Sisters - Red. White and Blue.

Lots of love to all ~
Update - June 13th - My card won the Challenge at Scrapbook Sisters! Whoo-hoo!

MASKING THIS WEEK AT LESS IS MORE ..........

Hello lovely bloggers everywhere - hope your week is going well?
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Just popping by to share my make for this week's challenge at LESS IS MORE. Our lovely LIMette Leaders, Chrissie and Mandi, would like us to do some Masking, so I decided to use a technique which involves three stamps.
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 I am sure lots of you will know how to do masking with three stamps, but for those of you who would like the details, I will pop them below.
Update - March 30th - My card has been ShowCASed - whoo-hoo! 
Thank-you Chrissie and Mandi !

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 1. Stamp the Torn Aperture onto a piece of cardstock.

2.Stamp again onto a piece of paper (larger than the cardstock).

3. Cut out the aperture centre only. (mask #1).

4. Place mask over the image you stamped onto the cardstock.

5. Stamp a suitable image over the mask (I used Hero Arts Gracious Lady). 

6. Remove mask. 

7. Stamp aperture once more onto paper, then cut around the image. Do not cut out the centre.(mask #2).

8. Place  mask #2 over the entire image which you stamped onto cardstock.

9. Stamp a background image (I used Inkadinkado Lace 90355).  Remove mask. 

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I would love to know if anyone else has used this Artifacts "Torn Aperture" stamp in the past?

Here it is (looks a bit strange doesn't it)!  I bought mine several years ago, but I've checked and it is still available from The Stamp Bug online shop.

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On my card I also used Versafine ink pads -  Crimson Red and Smokey Gray.  Copics here and there to give some shading.

Red Bazzil cardstock.

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The Anna Griffin sentiment stamp was also masked - the full wording is Forever and Always, so some cellotape over the unwanted bits before inking does the trick! (Remove cellotape before stamping - but I'm sure you know that)!!!

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Apologies for the looooooong Post!
Enjoy the rest of your week ~ love to all  ~

PREDOMINANTLY PURPLE !!

Hi lovely peeps - this is a very quick post tonight, as we are dashing out to babysit, so musn't be late!

This is a card for the PREDOMINANTLY PURPLE CHALLENGE at Less Is More.. 

I have inked one side of an acetate strip with Alcohol Inks - Wild Plum, Raisin, Denim and a touch of Stream and Butterscotch, with a sprinkling of gold leaf flakes here and there.
Acetate attached to the white card with black brads.
A black line drawn onto the card along both long edges, using a Pilot Hi-Tecpoint Extra-fine pen -  a very handy little crafting tool.  

The Chocolate Baroque stamp on the front is from the Floral Bouquet set, and inked with Black Staz-on.

Sentiment from Hero Arts (must buy some new sentiment stamps - I keep 

using the same old stash - sorry)!

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Evening indoor lighting isn't the best for photographing acetate - may try again in the morning!

Hope it doesn't look TOO bad!
Friday Update - have changed the photo - it's a bright sunny morning so managed to take a picture I'm happier with! 

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I would also like to enter the following challenges:-
CRAFT ROOM - Clean and Simple.
CRAFTY CARDMAKERS - No Floral Embellishments.
Update - Jan. 30th - my card won the Craft Room Challenge - thanks ladies!
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Bye for now - love to all ~

LET IT SNOW!

Hi lovely Bloggers - hope you are all having a happy week?

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LET IT SNOW is the theme chosen by Chrissie and Mandi this week at 

LESS IS MORE,  and guess what -  we woke up to a thin coating of the white fluffy stuff in this part of West Yorkshire this morning, and very pretty it looked too. 

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This gorgeous Hero Arts Penguin is another of my all-time favourites!  

I masked the central  image, and then there were three!

Images stamped with Jet Black Archival Ink.

Lightly coloured the hats and scarves with Copics. 

 SU Dazzling Diamonds glitter on the "snowy" ground and hat bobbles. 

Sentiment from Lili of the Valley.

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I would also like to enter the following Challenges:-
Oldie But A Goodie - Christmas Animals (image must be over 6 months old - my Penguin is 3 years old)!
Paper Minutes - Clean and Simple, not much colour but lots of white!

~ Love to all ~ 

A POSH PENGUIN - ALWAYS WITH A HEART!

Hi lovely blogging friends - this is just a quick post tonight as I want to make sure I don't miss entering Jules' snippets this week (Week 32).   If you haven't joined in the fun yet , you can find Jules' lovely blog at Always with a Heart HERE. If you have lots of leftover crafting snippets, then why not try it out!

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I seem to be in a blue mood recently - no idea why as I have always been more of a "pink" girl!  I think this little Penguin looks very posh in his (or maybe it's a her) ornate frame and pink woollies!!

Anyhoooo here is my card recipe:-

White cardstock - SU Whisper White

Pink layer - SU Pink Pirouette

Found this piece of blue and white dotty paper in my leftover box - it's a digi but I don't know where it came from - sorry!

Pink ribbon leftovers.

Nestie Fancy Tags 2  - I've been longing to use this and it was perfect for 

the gorgeous Penguin stamp from Hero Arts - bought him last year and I love him!

I paper-pieced the hat and scarf with a tiny leftover of dotty pink paper from the Prima Sweet Fairy paper stack, and attached them with silicone glue.

Sentiment from LOTV.

Love to all, and a warm welcome to my new followers - Debby and Gail - thank you so much.

HERE COMES SUMMER AT MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES!

Hi lovely blogging friends!  It's great to be back home after a few days away for my birthday.  Had a brilliant time - the architecture, the galleries, the shops, the hot weather, the food - all of it fabulous, so why is it so good to be back home?!!

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So peeps, onto this week's challenge at MAWTT - "HERE COMES SUMMER", chosen by the lovely Lisa. The winner's prize is 4 digis of your own choice from our talented sponsor, Beth at Squidgi Digi.

This is Beth's fab. Beach Huts image.

Recipe:-
Base card - white Bazzill (I know - it doesn't look white does it)!
I printed the Beach Huts twice, cut out and decoupaged the roof section to create dimension.
Image lightly coloured with Copics
White ric-rac, coloured with Copics
Cuttlebug heart cut from Nitwit paper, edges inked with Broken China DI
Sentiment - Hero arts
Shell and twine from stash
I would like to enter the following Challenge - Take Time For You - Summer, Sun, Beach and Sea.
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As always, a huge thank you to all you talented crafters out there who entered last week's Challenge - hope to see you again this week!

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~ And finally, 3 of the 200  photos taken in Venice ~

Love to all ~ have a happy day

CLEAN AND SIMPLE AT MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES!

A very good morning to you all - if Mr Blogger is behaving himself today you will be reading this, if not - well, you won't!! This post was scheduled for 10.00am today, by which time I shall probably be eating ice cream, and singing "O Sole Mio"  (not both at the same time though - I never sing with my mouth full) - can you guess where I am peeps??!!!

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This week at MAWTT the challenge theme is "Clean and Simple",  chosen by the lovely Hazel
(A card with clean lines, minimal elements, areas of white space, and few or no embellishments).

My DT card Recipe:-
Ink - Kaleidacolour Creole Spice, applied with a brayer onto a rectangle of white card. 4 holes punched down one edge.
The images were stamped with black Staz-on onto a Stampbord rectangle after brayering with Creole Spice. Some of the coloured ink was removed with a scratch pen to let the white surface show through. The stamps are by Leigh Hannan, available from Impression Obsession.
Stampbord edges inked with Gold Krylon, then layered onto black card and mounted.
Sentiment from Hero Arts.

There is a fabulous £10 gift voucher for this week's winner, from our lovely Sponsor - Crafty Emma.

 See you all soon ~

MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES - A SKETCH!

Update - 31st May

Wow - I'm doing star jumps today!!

My card won 1st prize in this month's  Sir Stampalot Challenge Thank you so much DT! 

Anyhoo - onwards and upwards, and onto this week's DT card for another fab. challenge at MAWTT.
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This week the "sketch" challenge has been chosen by the lovely Hazel , and our Sponsor is Stitchy Bear Stamps and they are giving $10 of digi stamps to the winner!

http://stitchybearstamps.com/shop/
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The DT have used digi images available from Stitchy's on-line shop, so do pop over to see their fab. creations!
I chose this beautiful "Mermaid" image from Sylvie's Stamps (available at Stitchy Bears) for my DT card, coloured her with Copics, added a sprinkling of Glamour dust on the bubbles, and pearl gems on each corner. Weathered Wood DI applied around the edges.  The patterned backing paper is from the gorgeous Kaiser Craft "Magic Happens" paper pad which I won in Mina's Candy several weeks ago (thanks Mina)! The design is what I imagine it to look like on the sea-bed, with floaty deep-sea plants, though I've never been diving so what do I know!!!
The 3 rectangles are also cut from the same pad and embossed on the CB.
The tiny sentiment is from a set by Hero Arts (I think)!, circular punch from Woodware, and black circular border is a CB die which is exactly the right size for the punch!
Black cardstock from SU.
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Look forward to seeing more of your amazing creations, and thank you for all your fabulous entries last week.
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I would like to enter this card into the following Challenge -
Sir Stampalot - Magical Worlds.

ANYTHING GOES AT MOVING ALONG WITH THE TIMES!

Hi lovely blogging friends - hope your weather is fabulous. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the sun will shine on the happy Royal Couple tomorrow ~  and isn't is great to have something joyful happening in the world.

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Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun last week with the recycling challenge at MAWTT - there were some really amazing projects!
This week at MAWTT the Challenge theme is Pami's choice - "Anything Goes" - Yaayyy I hear you all shout!!  I know I did (thanks Pami)!! because I decided to indulge in a messy inky-fingers kind of day, and get out those Alcohol Inks which I love, but rarely use. So, here is my DT card:-

The Lavinia fairy has been stamped onto acetate with Black Staz-on, and only the image has been inked on the reverse with Alcohol Ink, with a little Glamour Dust here and there. 

The background was created on a second piece of acetate,  with more alcohol inks, then placed behind the main image piece. These were then layered onto white cardstock and secured with inked brads.

The black and green layers are SU card.  

The Toadstools and  branches at the base of the card are also Lavinia stamps.

The cream lace has been lightly coloured with Distress Inks.

Sentiment - Hero Arts.

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So peeps - let's see your fabulous creations - the prize this week is a beautiful floral Hero Arts stamp set  from our lovely Sponsors -

The Stamp Man

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I would like to enter my card into the following Challenges:-
Sparkles Forum Challenges - Anything Goes.
Joyful Stamper -  Anything Goes.
The Artistic Stamper - "Build it Up" (Layers).
Simon Says Stamp Challenge - Anything Goes, plus a BLOG HOP to celebrate their 2nd Anniversary!
Love to all ~