PEARLY SPARKLES - #115 - USE PATTERNED PAPER

Happy New Year and welcome back to another year of creativity and crafting with Pearly Sparkles.  We hope you play along with us all year.

Our first challenge for you is to use patterned paper.  Now for some this may not be a challenge but it is for me as I rarely use it anymore preferring to create my own backgrounds.  I do have a load of papers which need using up but they mostly get used for my scrapbooking.

I chose a piece from Paper Favourites called Blue Ephemera.  I loved the script on it and thought it would go well with a new stamp set I have from Studio Light called Vintage Roses.  I love the book stamp.  I simply added the stamp to a tag and layered the tags and the paper.  The Hello sentiment is from an old Colorado Craft Company set. 

ADDICTED TO STAMPS AND MORE - #499

Welcome back to another challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More and our Any Occasion challenge.  I thought this card might help cheer up someone who needed a pick me up.  

I love this little set from Anita Jeram for Colorado Craft Company called Paint Town.  I stamped the little guinea pig first and then masked them completely to create the background.  The city scape is a stencil from Sizzix called Cosmopolitan #2.  I added a night sky with Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide ink and some ink splatters for stars.  I used all Tim Holtz Distress inks for the other colours.  

I'm adding this into the following:

Creative Inspirations - AG 

Ellibelle - Wednesday - AG 

The sisterhood of crafters - card of encouragement 

Shopping your stash - hot hot hot red 

Allsorts - Animals 

Sweet Stampin - use a stencil 

Cards4galz - create a scene 

Craft Rocket - animals 

STencilfun - AG 

SNOWY WISHES

Playing with the lovely set from Anita Jeram called Snow Happy from Colorado Craft Company.  I love her whimsical drawings.  The sentiment is from Tracy Evans. 

I'm adding this into the following:

Peace on Earth - moodboard 

Allsorts - Cute and Cuddly 

Inkspirational - Seasonal 

My time to craft - winter animals 

KRAFTY CHICKS #696 - ALL OCCASIONS

This is my last week for being Guest Designer over at Krafty Chicks and it's been a pleasure to be part of their team for a month.  Our final one is All Occasions. 

I used this gorgeous mouse from Anita Jeram from the Colorado Craft Company.  I chose to do a Thank You card ready for all those cards needed for January to thank you for my Christmas gifts.  I stamped the mouse first then masked him off and added a Tim Holtz stencil behind him. 

I'm adding this into the Stencil Fun challenge 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS CC415

We have a lovely soft colour palette for you this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  My card uses a new stamp by Francoise Read for Woodware Craft Collection called Three Butterflies.  I used three of the colours for the butterflies and kept the Petal Pink for a soft water coloured background.  I added the sentiment from a set from Colorado Craft Company called Olive Branch and popped it on dimensionals and added a co-ordinating bead to finish it off.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Love to Craft - AG 

Crafting Happiness - AG 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - SC413

Welcome back to another challenge from Hand Stamped Sentiments with our sketch for you this week.

Over on my Facebook group the Joy of Sets our challenge this month is to use something in your stash you have never used.  With this in mind I decided to use this little stamp and matching die from Anita Jeram and Colorado Craft Company.  It's called Watering Can mini. 

 I simply coloured the image in with Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  I stencilled the flowers in the background with Bundled Sage and a very light dusting of Lumberjack Plaid.  I added some Washi Tape from Aallandcreate which was in my stash and which I also haven't used yet.

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #412 COLOUR CHALLENGE

Another colour challenge for you this week from Hand Stamped Sentiments.  These are some of my favourite SU colours and I have them all which doesn't often happen for me lol!  

It's been a while since I used this beautiful stamp set from Colorado Craft Company called Olive Branch of these gorgeous olives and I thought the colours would work.  I was really happy how they turned out. Most of the olives are flat to the page apart from the bottom cluster which is layered just to give a bit more interest.  I added some sequins and some old SU embellishments to finish off the card.  The sentiment is from the same set and I used Cosmic Shimmer White embossing powder. 

I'm adding this into the following

A Place to Start - AG 

Stamping Sensations - AG 

We love stamping - AG 

Allsorts - AG 

Addicted to CAS - garden 

Inkspirational - CAS 

Stamping Sensations - Guest Designer

I'm delighted to be a Guest Designer over at Stamping Sensations this week.  Their theme is anything stamped with the theme of floral or fauna.

I chose to use the lovely stamp set from Colorado Craft Company with those gorgeous olives. These are fast becoming some of my favourite stamps.  I love the way the olives hang from those leaves and how colouring them can make them look realistic.

I made a background with my gel press and some Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Inks.  I then added some stamped images from Tracy Evans stamp set Friendship Florals and an old text stamp I have had for years.  I even found a little ladybird stamp in my stash.

The olives were stamped and some were fussy cut and layered. I used Tri-Blend from Spectrum Noir to colour in the olives.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Make My Monday - Spring 

Allsorts - Favourite stamps/dies 

Cardzforgalz - Food and Drink

Cute Little Stamp

I recently bought this cute little stamp and matching die from Colorado Craft Company called Mini Watering Can.  This is its first inking!

I was inspired by the sketch challenge over at Sunday Stamps for my card.

I started off by using my gel press and some Old Paper Distress Oxide Ink mixed with Spiced Marmalade and a stencil to make the background.  I used just the Old Paper Distress Oxide and the same stencil for the little circle.  I added some washi tape from my stash to the background and a text stamp.  The cat was coloured with Tim Holtz distress Inks and a touch of Spectrum Noir sparkle pen. I added a touch of thread behind the circle for added texture.

I'm adding this into the following:

Sunday Stamps - Sketch SS280

Through the craft room door - AG 

Tuesday Taggers - spring colours 

SUYP - AG Cat

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes with Optional Twist of Watercolour

Our optional challenge at 613 Avenue Create this month is watercolouring.  I love these new sets of stamps by Anita Jeram with Colorado Craft Company for their water colouring abilities.  This is a new set to me called Thank You and as an avid cat lover I just had to have this set.

I started off with some watercolour paper and stamped the cat in VersaFine Clair in Acorn - a little softer than a black colour for the outline.  I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks to colour her in. I added a blue colour wash to the background and stamped the sentiment in the same VersaFine ink.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

TTCRD - AG 

Lemon Shortbread #14 - AG

Creatalicious - AG 

Simon Says Wednesday - AG

Crafty Catz - AG 

A perfect time to craft - AG 

Happy Little Stampers - Watercolour

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - Watercolour

Crafter's Castle - AG 

Crafty Animals - AG 

SUYP - Cats

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS SC362

We have a great sketch for you today over at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I started off by using some retired SU DSP Botanical Prints Product Medley.  I found some in my stash of papers and had to ask the girls on my SU Facebook Page The Joy of Sets to remind me of it's name!  I chose the black and white side of the paper and coloured it in with some Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Wilted Violet.

The image of the mice is from a set of stamps by Anita Jeram from the Colorado Craft Company - this set is called Birthday Wishing.  I masked off a circle and coloured it in with Distress Inks in Wilted Violet and Milled Lavender and simply used black Archival ink from Ranger for the image of the mice.  I added some Tri Spectrum Sparkle pen to the present.

COLORADO CRAFT COMPANY - ANITA JERAM STAMPS

I just love these stamps - I don't normally do cute but I do remember her book as one I used to read to my children when they were little.  I first saw these stamps being used by Sandy Allnock and thought I'd never get them here in the UK - I was delighted when I found them on Seven Hills Crafts website and had to treat myself.

They are lovely stamps for doing gentle watercolouring with - and I've been having a play with them all weekend.  

Today I've used the mice for the challenge over at TGIF using their sketch as inspiration.

I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks for the colouring and a stencil for the leaf background on the cardstock.  I've kept it simple so as not to detract from the lovely little stamps.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Crafty Catz - AG - optional three favourite colours - mine are green, brown and red 

Just Add Ink - shades of green

Creative Knockouts - Birthday Wishes 

Cute Card Thursday - Celebrate

Fusion - Green 

Seize The Birthday - three shades of green - I've used Distress Ink Rustic Wilderness, Crushed Olive and Mowed Lawn

Inspired By - Green 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday - A bit of Green 

Crafty Gals - Green