Just For You

Look at me...............I'm back again with another post!!!  It won't last - lol!!!

Today I thought I'd share a card that I created a lot earlier in the year for my demo at The Glitter Pot before they closed their doors - do you ever get the feeling that I spell 'death' to our local craft shops!!!  (They all close on me!!!!)

Anyway here is  one of the cards that I did for this demo using a fabulous Penny Black cling stamp called Divine for the main image. The supporting imagery came from a Penny Black clear stamp set called Sprigs and the little words and butterfly are from another Penny Black clear set called Snippets which is just full of really handy small sized font words - just perfect for squeezing into little spaces!!

The colouring was done using a combination of Copics and Distress Markers - I just love the texture that can be created by combining them.

For added interest I cut up a Flourish die by Penny Black and glued little pieces of it where I felt I needed some decoration and that's it!!

See you next time.............

May Class at The Glitter Pot

Hi everyone. Just thought I'd let you know that I will be taking a class at The Glitter Pot on Saturday 16th May using the same colouring techniques that I was demonstrating at the weekend.

Originally I was going to be using the same Penny Black stamps that I was demoing with but unfortunately they all sold out! Ao the imagery may not be the same as the card above but the colouring techniques will be exactly the same :)!!

The Glitter Pot's 2015 Spring Spectacular

Oh goodness I just don't know where the days go!!

I've been super busy creating all sorts of things just lately but this weekend it is The Glitter Pot's Spring Spectacular. I'll be there both on the Saturday and the Sunday showing how to create cards like these using a few of the new Penny Black stamps along with  Copic markers and Distress markers.

I also have an all day class coming up at The Glitter Pot on Saturday 16th May where we will be creating a card or two just like the ones above if anyone fancies it!

Last minute cards!!

Helloooo!!!  Last Saturday I stepped in at the last minute to cover a Copic Colouring class at The Glitter Pot. Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to make my coloured images into cards as there just wasn't enough time but since then I've popped them onto some cards - although most of them are VERY simple I thought I'd share them with you anyway!

First up is the more involved card. For this one I used an embossing folder and some dies to decorate the plain pearlescent Bazzill card. The stamp is a new one by Penny Black called Make a Wish! which was coloured using Copic markers. I distressed around the image with Tumbled Glass. The embossing folder is a Crafts Too one (Sweet Flowers)and the dies are by Memory Box - Puffy Clouds and Grand Oak Tree.

 Here's a bit of a closer look at the colouring for you.

Next up is a very simple card of the same image just stuck onto Crafter's Companion watercolour card and edged with a black marker.

Here's the same image again just distressed with Tumbled Glass distress ink with Stampendous Shabby White embossing enamel added for interest and texture.

Next up is another new Penny Black image called Carrot Collector again coloured with Copics and mounted onto Crafter's Companion watercolour card.

And lastly here is that same image this time distressed with Bundled Sage distress ink with Stampendous Shabby White embossing enamel added.

I have another Copic based class coming up at The Glitter Pot on Saturday 11th April - this time using Copics with Coloursoft pencils which enables you to create softer images with more detail!

In The Garden

Hi everyone :)  I am such a bad blogger as it's been a little while again hasn't it!!

Today I have a Penny Black card to share with you as I am a guest designer this month for Penny Black and More!!

Very appropriately the Penny Black girl is actually called Garden Assistant so this seemed to be the perfect choice for Penny Black and More's August Challenge which is called 'In The Garden'!!

I created my own background setting for the girl by applying distress inks to a white panel, then stamped trees (Hobby Art/Open Tree) using a light inkpad and coloured them with Copics to give them a 'springtime' feel.

The die-cut trees (Memory Box/Grand Oak Tree) were coloured using the same Copic colours as for the background trees.

And of course Copics were used again to colour the girl, dog and flowers.

Don't forget to hop on over to Penny Black and More to see all the other wonderful creations that the DT have made and to find out how to enter the challenge.

I'll be back again soon!!!..................

Pretty In Pink

Helloooooooooooo!!!!  See, told you I'd be back ;)

Today I thought I'd share one of the cards I made for The Glitter Pot's Spring Spectacular - I think that this one was my favourite out of all the cards that I made for the weekend!!

All products used came from The Glitter Pot.
Paper by Basic Grey (from the Knees High collection)
Stamp by Penny Black - Fashion Leader
Dies by Memory Box - Grand Oak Tree; Cityscape Nightline and Spellbinders - Grand Labels One
Punches by Martha Stewart - PATP Cherry Blossom; Monarch Butterfly
Wording by Craftwork Cards

Panel coloured using my trusty Copics. Plus if you look closely on the card and panel you will see some subtle sparkly flowers which was achieved using Imagination Crafts Diamond Sparkle Medium and their Apple Blossom stencil.

And talking of Imagination Crafts, Sue is back on QVC this Thursday 11th July at 10pm - I for one can't wait to see what lovely new products they have!!!

I'd like to enter this card into a couple of challenges - Penny Black and More July Challenge - Dies and Punches and Allsorts Challenge Week 214 - Favourite Things, with my favourite things being pretty papers, dies, punches, copics and my new favourites of Sparkle Medium and stencils!!!

Hope you like the card and I'll see if I can return again soon as I have loads to share with you :)

CAS Penny Black Girls

Helloooooooooooooooooo!!!!  As promised here I am back again to show you some of the many card samples that I've been busy creating whilst I was sooooooooooooo quiet here in 'blogland'.

Today I thought I'd share with you three cards that I created using some of the latest girl stamps from Penny Black.  These cards are my attempt at keeping them 'clean and simple' - VERY hard for me, I might add!!!

So here goes-

First up is Fashion Leader which was stamped, coloured with Copics, cut out and mounted onto the front of a card that I had stamped with the Hobby Art Open Tree and traced around the Memory Box Cityscape Nightline die-cut. I'd like to enter this card into the Penny Black and More CAS Challenge and also the current Allsorts Challenge - Here Comes The Girls.

 Here's a closer look at the colouring for you. I then sketched in the ground using a fine black marker.

Next, is Garden Assistant which again was stamped, coloured and cut out. The background was kept simple just by stamping the Hobby Art tree several times in black ink.

And lastly we have Fluffy Passenger with the same background as the previous card.

These are a totally different style for me and it was soooooooooooooo hard not to go adding more to them!!!

Anyway I hope you like them!!  All products used on these are available from The Glitter Pot.

And lastly a HUGE thank you to all of you who stopped by my table at the weekend.  It was lovely to see you all :)

I'll be back again in a few days to share some more cards with you :)

Wintery Scenes

Oh no!!!!  It is almost Christmas and I had such good intentions of regularly posting all the Christmas card designs that I've made.  Where did the time go??????

Anyway below are two cards that I made a few months ago now  - both using the Penny Black cling stamp Dashing Through The Snow, the wooden stamp Winter Berries and the clear stamp set A Bright Tomorrow.

On this card I used Distress inkpads for the background along with Memory Box dies - Swirly Tree, Frosty Border and Puffy Clouds. I'd like to enter this card into the Penny Black & More at Allsorts Challenge blog for the It's Your Choice  challenge.

The main card was made from Grand Labels One. I sponged Metallic Silver paint around the edge of the card to give a 'frosty' feel to it.

The girl and sleigh were coloured using Copic markers and Spicas.

With this card I chose to make the main card using a PATP Martha Stewart Snowfall punch set, combined with the Memory Box Winterland Tree die and a Craftwork Cards sentiment. I'd like to enter this card into the Penny Black & More at Allsorts for the It's Your Choice challenge and also the Allsorts Week 185 Oh Christmas Tree.

Again I used a Metallic Silver acrylic paint around the edges of the card.

And of course coloured the girl using Copic markers along with Spicas.

All products used on these cards came from The Glitter Pot.

Just incase I don't get around to blogging again before the big day HAPPY CHRISTMAS  to everyone and a MASSIVE  big thank you for visiting me this year.

HAVE A GREAT CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!

Summertime

Hi everyone.  I thought I'd amaze you all by not leaving it too long this time before showing you another card!!

This is one that I made a little while back using a cute stamp by Penny Black along with some swirls and wording from my Fancy Flourishes stamp sheet. Thought this would be quite an appropriate card to load up as the sunflowers are just beginning to come out now even with the distinct lack of sunshine that we've been having recently!!

The image was coloured using Copic markers, (What else - lol!!) and the background stamping was done using a Versamark inkpad and Crystal embossing powder.

Penny Black stamp and Prima flowers from The Glitter Pot.

Fancy Flourish stamp sheet from The Glitter Pot or The Stamp Man.

Don't forget that if you fancy picking up a bargain to check out The Craft Barn's half price Summer Sale!!

I'd like to enter this card into the Flower Power challenge at the Penny Black at Allsorts Challenge blog and also into the Allsorts Free and Easy Challenge Week 112.

A Summer Snooze

Hi everyone.  Sorry that I've been missing for so long but things here are a little challenging at present!!

Anyway today I thought I'd share another card with you that I made using that Penny Black Make A Wish clear stamp set.  (As I think a lot of you already know I just love this set and so I thought I'd enter this card into the Penny Black at Allsorts June Challenge.)

The background paper is by Basic Grey, the wording came from my Fancy Flourishes stamp sheet and the imagery was coloured with Copics.  And talking of  'Copics', I am now
Copic Certified!!!  Hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here's a closer look at the main panel for you.

I also added some subtle sparkle to the dandelion heads using the Clear Spica pen. Hopefully you can see it a little clearer here!!

All products and materials used on this card came from The Glitter Pot.

Hope you like it!!

Having Fun?

Hi everyone.  First of all many thanks to those of you who left me such lovely comments on my last post - I truly appreciate each and every one of them so THANK YOU!!

Today I thought I'd share a card with you using one of my favourite clear stamp sets by Penny Black called Make A Wish.  There are quite a lot of stamps in this set and they all interact with one another really well.  For the background swirls and the 'best friends' wording I used my Fancy Flourish stamp sheet.  The paper is from my stash and is an old Basic Grey one from the Kioshi collection.  I distressed around the edges of some of the panels using a brown inkpad.

I used three separate stamps to create my focal panel which I stamped with a black Memento inkpad onto Craftwork Cards smooth Digital White cardstock and coloured using Copic makers.

Here's a closer look at the colouring for you.  Hope you like it!

I'd like to enter this into the Teddy Bear's Picnic challenge over on the Allsorts Challenge Blog. (After all with all the fun these cuties are having they must have packed their picnic basket - it's just not in view!! LOL!!)

All products used came from The Glitter Pot.  Talking of which don't forget that it is their Spring Spectacular weekend coming up next weekend on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th May and then the weekend after it is The Craft Barn's June Extravaganza weekend (Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th June) and this time they have 24 demonstrators to show you lots of different techniques and products.  Most definitely a date for your diaries!!  Click here to find out more about the Extravaganza. Unfortunately, much to my chagrin, this time around I am unable to be at either event but I know that they will be super weekends!!

Playful Pepper

Hi guys.  Today I thought I'd share a card with you that I made for a very good friend of mine.

I stamped and embossed the background using that lovely Scrolling Along Penny Black stamp again. (See told you this was one of my favourite stamps!!)  The happy birthday is also a PB stamp too and the dog (Pepper) came from a Helz Cuppleditch clear stamp set.

It's been a while now so can't remember whose DP I used but it did come from The Glitter Pot as too did the clear stamp set and PB stamps.  For some interest I used my Floral Lace MS edging punch and the EK Success swirl punch.

I stamped Pepper with black Memento ink and coloured him with Copic markers, die-cut him with my Deckled Rectangles Nesties and added faux stitching with a white opaque pen.  The flowers are Prima and the pearls are from my stash.

As this card was for a special friend I went ahead and decorated the inside of it too using those Deckled Rectangles Nesties again along with that same flourish punch and another MS punch Doily Lace Trim (from The Craft Barn).  The wording stamp is by Penny Black and is such a lovely sentiment.

Here's a closer look at Pepper and the bee.  Hopefully you can make out that I stamped that Scrolling Along stamp around Pepper with Versamark Dazzle to add some soft decoration around him.

I hope you like it!!

I'd like to enter this card into Sir Stampalots All Creatures Great and Small Challenge as with Pepper being after the bee it seems quite apt!

Say It With Flowers

Morning everyone!  Now I know I said that I would show you the rest of Mum's snowflakes but I thought I'd hold onto them for a bit and wait to see if we get any more snow and post them up then so that it is 'seasonal'!!

So instead I've got a flowery card for you today which I thought I'd enter into the Penny Black At Allsorts Say It With Flowers challenge.  I used one of my favourite Penny Black stamps called Clusters and used another favourite PB stamp - Scrolling Along to decorate around my main image and the background panel. 

I stamped the burgundy panel with Moonlight White Brilliance ink and the Mince Flourish stamp by Judikins.  I'm afraid that I can't remember whose the 'Friends Always' stamp is but the 'Birthday Wishes' is a Craftwork Cards Oh My Words! Message.

The flowers were coloured using Coloursoft pencils and then glittered using Stickles.

Have a great weekend everyone.

A Couple of Challenges!!

Hi everyone.  I have two cards to share with you this time as I thought I'd play along with a couple of challenges before the time is up!

Now as some of you already know my Mum loves to do quilling but she never actually does anything with the pieces she makes up.  Ages ago I did promise her that I would have a go at making some cards up for her if she quilled some snowflakes.  I had no idea that she would then go absolutely beserk and quill an enormous amount!!!  I ended up making 9 cards for her using her quilled snowflakes - each of them based on the same layout but all slightly different.  I will show you the rest of them next week as all the snowflakes that she quilled were individual and no two were the same. (She did actually quill a whole lot more than 9 so I have some more cards to do for her when time allows.)  I thought it might be fun though to enter our shared card into the current Sir Stampalot challenge - A Winters Tale.

So without further ado here's the card I've chosen to submit for this challenge!  I created the background using the Papermania snowflake embossing folder along with an Inkadinkado Winter Trails stamp set, Silver inkpad and Stardust embossing powder.  The 'winter' wording came from a rather old Impression Obsession wording stamp set.

Here's a closer look at Mum's marvellous snowflake that she did out of strips of white paper.  As you can see I simply stuck the snowflake onto nestabilities die-cuts before sticking it to the main card.

Onto the second card and I would like to enter this into the Penny Black at Allsorts challenge - All You Need Is Love.  Ok I realise that this isn't a traditional lovey dovey stamp but it is VERY sweet and they do look as if they are almost kissing so I think this counts - lol!!  This particular stamp is called Hedgy Gift which I coloured using Copic markers.  The flourishes and wording came from my Fancy Flourishes stamp sheet and the lacey edging was done with the Doily Lace Martha Stewart punch.

Here's a closer look at the colouring for you.  Can't remember the colours off-hand that I used but I'll see if I can find my notes and edit this later for you!

I'll be back on Friday with The Stamp Man's latest challenge so hopefully see you then!

Allsorts Free and Easy Challenge

Morning everyone.  Bet you can't believe this can you - two posts in two days!!  Well today is  my last stint as guest designer for Allsorts and I'm sure you are all going to love this challenge as it is called Free and Easy!  As always to find out how to enter and what prizes are up for grabs simply click here to go to the Allsorts Challenge blog.  Whilst you are there you'll see the fabulous artwork that the Allsorts DT have created for you.

Without further ado here is the card that I've created for this one.  I couldn't believe how long it took me to colour this so I definitely wouldn't recommend creating this as a last minute thing!  The backing papers came from The Glitter Pot but I don't have any of them left now and can't recall whose they were!  All the stamps used on the card are by Penny Black (Gift of Giving, Winter Whites and Greens and Snow Scroll) and again came from The Glitter Pot.  I started by sticking the papers together and then stamping Snow Scroll along the top and bottom using Moonlight White Brilliance.

For the main panel, I stamped Gift of Giving with black Memento ink and coloured using Copic markers.  Then I created a background around the girl and sleigh using my Watercolour Resist technique with Copic markers. (See the December issue of Craft Stamper on how to do this.)

The snowflake embellishments are a mixture of Martha Stewart Glacial Snowflake and Woodware's Snowflake with a 5mm self-adhesive pearl coloured  with a red Copic to match the red in the image.

Here's a closer look at the colouring for you.  The white detail on the coat, hat and ribbons was done using a Ranger Inkssentials White Opaque pen - just love this pen as it is great for adding detail such as this over dark colours.

You won't believe this but I actually thought it would be lovely to recreate this card to send out as my Christmas cards this year - however once I realised how long it took me to do this card I soon re-thought that idea!!

Last Minute Christmas Challenge

Good morning everyone.  Here I am again with my second card as my stint as guest designer for Allsorts. This time the theme is Last Minute Christmas so for this I chose to go with a favourite Penny Black stamp of mine called Christmas Park. Because this is a Brushstroke stamp it is really quick to do as you just colour the stamp with waterbased markers, stamp it out and hey presto you've got a lovely coloured image already for you to mount up!

For the rest of the card I simply tore a piece of Magnolia paper (one of last years designs) and stuck it to a white landscape card and added some scraps of co-ordinating card along with tiny punched out snowflakes.  The wording is also a Penny Black stamp but I omitted the word 'Merry' and just inked up 'Christmas'.  Then of course with it being a Christmas card I added lots of stickles glitter glue!

Here's a closer look at those trees for you.

As you can see I inked them up with blue and purple coloured water-based pens (Tombows) to give a frosty/icy feel to them.

Don't forget to nip on over to the Allsorts Challenge Blog to see the rest of the wonderful cards that the DT have created and also to find out what you can win if you enter!  Have a great weekend!

Light Up The Night

Hi everyone.  I bet you can't believe that I am actually doing two posts in two days!!  Well the reason for this is because I have been asked to Guest Design this month over on the Allsorts Challenge Blog!  So without further ado here is the card I made for the Light Up The Night challenge theme using the very sweet Popcorn Bear stamp set.

This particular set is called Beary Merry Christmas (from The Glitter Pot). The wording and the pine branches that I've stamped around the background paper using sepia ink are both Penny Black stamps - again from The Glitter Pot. The background paper is by Bo Bunny from their Winter Joy range and the snowflakes are Martha Stewart punches - Glacial Snowflake and Himalayan Snowflake.  I think I got the ribbon from Fantastic Ribbons at one of the stamp shows.

This is actually quite a large square card as it is roughly 8x8 inches in size so here is a slightly closer look at the main panel and the surrounding area.  The white dots on the wording and main panel were done with white Liquid Pearls and I used self-adhesive rhinestones for the centres of the snowflakes. (The Hobby House) I edged the punched out snowflakes with Tiara glitter glue so that they really catch the light and sparkle.

For the main panel, I began by stamping the bears with Tuxedo black ink and coloured them using Copic markers - I did this a little while ago now so I'm afraid I can't remember the colours for them but I think for their fur I used E35, E33, E31 and E50. For the blue hat and scarf I used B97, B95 and B93 and I think for the pink scarf it was RV34 and RV10.  For the sky area I used B63 and B60. Once I'd done all my Copic colouring I stamped the music notes using Starlite Black Brilliance and stamped the snowflakes using a light blue chalk inkpad then finished off some areas with the Clear Spica Copic pen and lots of Stardust glitter glue.

So if you fancy joining in with the Allsorts Light Up The Night challenge click here to visit their blog and see what gorgeous creations the rest of the DT have made to inspire you and find out what you can win if you enter.

Enjoy your weekend and stay warm!!  Unfortunately my class today at The Glitter Pot had to be cancelled due to the amount of snow, so I'm sure I won't be straying very far from our log burner today!

What A Great Weekend!

Hi everyone.  Sorry that I've been missing for a bit but I'm currently having to limit my time on the computer!  I won't bore you with all the details as to why!!

Anyway I've found a bit of time to pop on here and I must say I had a lovely weekend (just gone).  No, it wasn't because I was at The Glitter Pot on Saturday - although of course that was VERY nice.  It was actually because Take That were on the TV on both Saturday and Sunday and I got to see all my boys back together again!  (I know I'm VERY sad!!)

Talking of The Glitter Pot...............I was there on Saturday taking a couple of classes and my thanks go to all the ladies who joined me for them.  At the end of the day I didn't leave empty handed and came away with a new crafting toy which I just had to have!!  Can you guess what it is???  Can you??  Can you????  CAN YOU??  Unfortunately I haven't had time to play with it yet though :(

Onto my card for today and I thought I'd enter this into the It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas challenge over on the Penny Black at Allsorts Challenge Blog.  As you can see I used that same Watercolour Resist technique for the pine needles!!  Just love this technique and it really is so easy to do. (Still not going to tell you how to do it though - you'll just have to look in the Dec issue of Craft Stamper!!)

All the stamps used on this card are by Penny Black - the main image is called Gift Of Giving, the pine needles and wording come from the Winter Whites and Greens clear set and the flourish is called Snow Scroll - all came from The Glitter Pot.

The paper came from The Glitter Pot as well but can't remember whose it is now and the snowflakes are a Martha Stewart punch called Glacial Snowflake.

I stamped Gift of Giving in black Memento and then coloured her using the Copic markers.  I used Copics for the pine needles too. (I think this makes such a lovely wintery scene!)

Copics used -
Skin - E11, E00, E000, R20
Hair - E99, E35, E50
Clothes and holly- E49, E47, E43, E41, YG67, YG63, G40, R59, R37, R32
Gifts - YG67, YG63, G40, YG95, YG91, R59, R37, R35, R32
Sleigh - E47, E43, E41, R37
Background - E47, E43, YG67, YG63, G40, BG11, BG10, W3, W1, 0

Hope you like it!!  Don't forget to let me know if any of you give the Watercolour Resist background a go!!