Sketch Saturday #54 and Party box Winner!!

Hi folks!!

Lots to share with you today... grab yourself a cuppa and some biccies. First things first, thank you to everyone who entered my Sketch Saturday Birthday Bash Box Candy. It was so much fun to visit you all. The winner is....(drum roll please...)...... Jennifer!! Congratulations Jennifer. Please email me (craftysandra.d@googlemail.com) with your details. Here's Jennifer's winning entry.

It was my turn to choose the Guest DT for weeks 54 and 55. No prizes for guessing who I asked... my good friend, and uber talented, Christine Dark. Her card is absolutely stunning for this weeks sketch. Can't wait to see what she conjours up for next week. The sketch was created by Mandy(*thanks Mandy*) as it's her DT week.

For my card I have used one of my new Kadoodle designs being launched today at The Craft Barn Extravaganza, Lingfield. Christine and I will be there demoing amidst 17 more demontrators (see here for all the details). I have used backing papers by 'three bugs'. The embossed and sanded panel is Co-ordinations whitewash. The corners and sentiment are Quickutz and Cuttlebug dies. The flower brads are by Making Memories and the ribbon was a freebie from a mag. I have coloured the image using my Prismacolor pencils, Sansodor and paper stumps.

Have a great day. Ciao for now!

Sandra x

Cutie Sunday and Top '5' at Cupcake Craft Challenge

Hi Folks!

Blogger is not playing ball with me today so only managed to upload one piccie of this card.  I'm sure you can imagine all the lovely layers and textures I have used.  I followed the sketch over on the Cutie Sunday challenge, it was a fun one to use.  The papers are from Cosmo Cricket.  I have used my Nestabilities, Quickutz corners and Go-Kreate Alphabet dies.  The Velvet ribbon is by American Crafts.  The image is a Hanglar stamp that I coloured with Copics and a touch of glitter for the 'Shampoo' in the glass. I used the 'off-cut' wire from the paper roses and twirled them around my pricking tool to create the coils.  I've just remembered.... the scalloped card is from Craftwork Cards.  This was a commission for one of my work colleagues.  Hope she likes it!

Ciao for now!

Sandra x

In my haste I forgot to add........ my card made the top 5 at the Cupcake Craft Challenge!!!!  I can't believe it!!  Thank you so much Donna, I'm so thrilled you liked my card.  Your sketch was a real pleasure to work with.  What an amazing week I am having ;o)

 

Sketch Saturday #51 another Hanglar Wedding

Hi folks!

It's Saturday and time for another one of Jo's fabulous sketches on Sketch Saturday.  This week we are sponsored by All That Scraps, I wish I could enter there is a smashing prize up for grabs.  Our sparkly new Guest Designer for the next two weeks is Janneke.  Janneke and the rest of the team have come up with beautiful designs to inspire you.

For my card I have used DCWV papers; my Fiskars swirly embossing folder; my Martha Stewart doily border punch; my Nestabilities to cut the circles, rectangles and scallops; my Woodware leaf branch punch; a mixture of Prima flowers and paper roses and finally my Quickutz Phoebe, skinni mini, alphabet for the monograms.  The cute wedding couple are a Hanglar & Stanglar stamp and I have coloured them with distress inks.

This card is a commission for my friend who received my previous Hanglar Anniversary card....and it has turned out curiously similar ;o)

Hope you enjoy your weekend!

Ciao for now!

Sandra x

Hi folks!

There are lots of birthdays in May...I made this card for one of my DT buddies who celebrates her birthday today! HaPpY bIrThDaY *Kim*

I followed the sketch over on Papertake Weekly and am entering this card to the Spoon full of Sugar Challenge who have asked for 'touchy-feely' cards. I have used Imaginisce papers. The red and white polka dot paper has a lovely glossy sheen to it. In contrast I have die cut (Quickutz) fuzzy velour decorative corners. There is also some satin ribbon on my design and lastly a soft layer of mulbery paper behind the main image. The rubber stamp is my own design, 'Home Sweet Home', and is available exclusively at The Craft Barn. I coloured the image with Koi water colours and finished it off with some glitter for Loupy Lou's fairy wings.
Ciao for now!
Sandra xx

Sketch Saturday #50, Birthday Wishes

Hi folks!

A different sized card than my usual square card today. This one is an A5 card and I made it for my fellow DT Buddy *Wendy* who celebrated a special birthday yesterday.

The sketch is by the talented Jo for The Sketch Saturday Challenge. There is a smashing prize up for grabs. A $25 voucher for Simon Says Stamps could be yours if you are the lucky winner. Don't forget to check out all the fab crafty makes by the Sketch Saturday Design Team.

For my card I have used papers from the huge Cosmo Cricket set from QVC. The stamp is a Penny Black, I have coloured it in with my trusty Koi water colours. I have used a Martha Stewart border punch and the scallop blade for my carl trimmer to create the ornate border. The sentimement is Hot Off The Press. I finished off the card with some paper roses with green ribbon looped and adhered to suggest leaves. The ornate corners are die cut Cuttlebug shapes. You can hardly see them but I squeezed some three dimensional pearl paint onto the teddy's neck lace and the girls buttons.

If you would like to see some more detail to my cards then feel free to click on the picture to enlarge it.

Ciao for now!

Sandra x

Thank Heaven for You....

Hi folks!

Phew, what a weekend.... lots of working and driving kiddies to and from grandparents.  What would I do without m'Ma & Pa??  Hope you all had a lovely weekend and the weather didn't spoil your plans too much.

My card today is a multi-challenge card.  The Sketch is by the lovely Bev for Just Magnolia challenge,  the Saturday Challenge wants to see Flowers, Charisma Cards has a theme of 'Thank You' this week and Cute Card Thursday would like us to use something shiny for their 'Mirror, Mirror' theme.

I know I have only recently made a card with these Imagininsce papers, they were still on my desk and crying out to be used on this card.  I have also used my Nestabilities, Martha Stewart border punch and Doodlebug paper frills.  The swirl in the corner is an adhesive sheet, die cut with a Quickutz revolution die and sprinkled with glitter.  I added flower gems and leaves.  I coloured the cute Tilda Magnolia image with Copics, Koi watercolours and glitter.  The sentiment is from a Precious Moments angel set that I have.  There are lots of 'shiny' bits to this card, the glitter, the gems and the mirri card.

Hope you like it.

Ciao for now!

Sandra x

Sketch Saturday #49

Hi folks!

Just nipping on quickly in between horrendously long shifts at work this weekend to share my Sketch Saturday DT card with you.  This week is Debbie's DT week and she has come up with a fabulous sketch.  Our fab new GDT for the next 2 weeks needs no introduction as it is the talented Jacqui whom we all know and love.  If you are craving more inspiration then check out my fellow DT as they have all come up with stunning cards following Debbie's sketch.  There also a prize up for grabs with this weeks challenge, so hop on over to the blog to see what you could win.  When I saw there was a lovely circle on it I new exactly which stamp I was going to ink up...

I wanted to try something a little bit different with this card and I'm sure you have already noticed that I have not used any patterned papers.  I stamped the base card with a swirly stamp using a stamp & stick glue pad ( have had it for ages so am quite surprised that it still works) and sprinkled over some glitter. I used my Nestabilities to cut the circle for the aperture on the next panel.  I also used the Circle Nestie as a template for the rounded edges.  (You can actually see the next step better on the top picture.)  I die cut some small stars.  Glued two together and stuck to the panel (for height) repeated this until I was happy with the number of stars.  Then, using wet glue, I adhered dark blue mulberry paper over the whole aperture panel gently rubbing around the stars with an embossing tool.  I used my latest Martha Stewart punch for the scalloped boarder and Quickutz die for the corners.  The stamped image is one of my favourite Hanglars.  I have coloured him using koi watercolours and glitter for his star.  As you can imagine the whole card glistens a lot more than I have managed to capture in the photo.

Hope you are all enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend....have some fun for me!

Ciao for now!

Sandra x

Sketch Saturday #43, An Award & Kadoodle Candy

Hi folks!

Hope you are enjoying this glorious Saturday morning. It's time for another one of Jo's fabulous sketches over on Sketch Saturday. This weeks sponsor is Dream2Stamp who have offered some really cute stamps for the prize (I wish I could enter... they are gorgeous). We are also lucky enough to be joined by Dawn who has agreed to be our Guest DT for the two challenges. Check out her stunning card and those of my fellow DT over on the blog.

For this card I printed out some background sheets onto linen card from my new Crafter's Companion Flower Fairies Friends CD rom. The final square panel is Vellum as I didn't want to loose all the beautiful detail from the card underneath. The large swirl under Rosabella is a We R Memory Keepers adhesive rub on that I covered in glitter (it's much more sparkly in real life) The leaf tags and tiny dragonflies and butterfly are Quickutz and I have cut them in Vellum. I added some glittery dewdrops to their tiny bodies and some rub on sentiments to the tags. One says 'loving' and the other 'butterfly kisses'. Rosabella Wish is one of my Digi Stamps available here. I have coloured her using Copics, Koi watercolours and glitter.

An Award

I am honoured to receive this award from the talented Ruby over on Ruby 2 Shoes. (Thanks Ruby!!) and would like to pass it on to... All My Followers!!!! So if you are one of my fabulous followers then grab this award, and thank you dearly for all your support and comments.

There is new Candy up for grabs over on the Kadoodle blog. This week it's one of Carol Staple's designs... 'Pa Iggly'. Curious? then hop over and have a look.

The Design Team call for Dare U 2 Digi Stamp is open until 24th March. Details on how to enter are here.

So sorry for the looooong post. Had lots to share with you today :o)

Ciao for now!

Sandra xx

Multi Challenge Birthday Card

Hi folks!

I made this card for a friend of mine over on the Crafttelly forum and had fun following lots of challenges to complete it. The first being Sketch and Stash who have a wonderful Sketch up this week. It's the first time I've inked up this Whiff of Joy stamp and I've had it such a long time. Next is Papertake Weekly Challenge who have asked for something edible. The Pink Elephant wants to see buttons on our creations this week. It's Gems for a Spoon Full of Sugar and lastly a request for flowers from the ABC challenge.

The papers for this card are made by 'My Mind's Eye'. As mentioned above, the image is by Whiff of Joy and I have coloured her using Coloursoft pencils, Sansador and paper stumps. The Flower is punched, inked, curled, glued and finished off with a blue gem. The vines, decorative corners and faux buttons are all Quickutz. I have threaded and knotted some sheer ribbon through the button holes. The Scalloped strip is from the Doodlebug range.

Thanks for stopping by,

Ciao for now!
Sandra xx

Loupy Lou and Bobo are finally here!!

Well.... they are finally here!! Introducing Loupy Lou and Bobo you can find my little fairy and elf collection here at The Craft Barn. Hop on over and you can see the rest of my designs. While you are there check out the designs by the newest Kadoodle designer Carol Staples. Many of you will know Carol as she has been a tutor at The Craft Barn for many years. Carol had drawn 'Ma & Pa Iggly'. They are such great characters for humorous cards. I laughed until my sides hurt when she was telling me about the Iggly's so go and check them out!

For this card I followed last weeks sketch over on The Saturday Challenge. The designer papers are 'My Mind's Eye'. I cut the square and the scalloped square using my Nestabilities and the photo corners are Quicktuz. The stamp is 'Home Sweet Home' from my new collection at The Craft Barn. Here I have stamped and coloured (with my Koi watercolours) the image a few times and decoupaged some of the elements. I finished it off with a self adhesive pearl for the door knob. It's a simple card but I quite like it.
I do hope you like Loupy Lou and Bobo.
Hugs
Sandra xx

Gorjuss Girls

Hi folks!!

I know, I know.... I don't do yellow... normally, but I just love these hot and spicy shades in the K&Co Mira kit. For this card I followed the sketch on the Truly Scrumptious Challenge blog. I am also entering this card to Cute Card Thursday and Charisma Cardz Challenges as they have both set the theme of animals.

I have already mentioned the papers I used for this card. The oval and scalloped oval were cut using my Nestabilities. The flower, which is made of tiny beads and has a resplendent jewelled brad in the centre, the leaf branch and the sentiment are all K&Co embellishments. I cut the photo corners using a Quickutz die. The black ribbons and red brads are from my stash mountain. I coloured my Gorjuss Girl and kitty with Koi watercolours. I know the combination and shades of colours may not be to everyones' taste... but I think they are cute ;o)

That's all for now folks!
Hugs
Sandra xx

My New Kadoodle Designs Available Soon!

Introducing Loupy Lou and Bobo, my New Kadoodle rubber stamp designs that will be available exclusively at The Craft Barn. This collection will be launched on Saturday 28th February with free demos by Lexie Wilson at The Craft Barn.
This stamp is aptly named 'huggles' I thought it would be perfect for this weeks Charisma Cardz Challenge which is 'Hugs and Cuddles' and also the Cute Card Thursday Challenge of 'Signs of Spring'. I followed the wonderful sketch over on Cutie Sunday.

The designer papers are by 'My Mind's Eye'. Such gorgeous colours, I think you will agree. The circle and scalloped circle are cut using my Nestabilities. The embossing has been created using my Cuttlebug. I cut the flowers from some of the patterned paper. I added MM brads after shaping the flowers. The flourishes are Quickutz Revolution dies. All the elements are adhered using dimensional glue gel. I coloured the characters using my trusty Koi watercolours and a touch of Art institute glitter for Loupy Lou's wings. I finished off the card with a few faux pearls in the corners.
Hope you like Loupy Lou and Bobo... lots more of these stamps in the range.
Hugs
Sandra xx

A Multi Challenge Card

Hi folks!
For this card I have followed the sketch over on Friday Sketchers and incorporated the theme of 'Spring has Sprung' which can be found on The Saturday Challenge blog. I thought this little Hanglar girl would be perfect for the theme, and so the card evolved. It Also had a lot of Glitter and is quite 'blingy' so I thought it would be perfect for this weeks 'All that Glitters' challenge over on The Pink Elephant.

The papers are DCWV, from Nana's kids stack. The design had some really cute little pink ladybirds on it. The papers are glittered and quite sparkly but I couldn't catch that on the photo. I used my Nestabilities to cut the oval and scallop. I then embossed the oval with my Cuttlebug.
The flowers are Prima with some added punched flowers in the middle and finished off with a brad. The flourishes off the flowers are a Quickutz revolution die.

I coloured the little Hanglar with mixed media. For the flesh and green tones I used Promarkers, her cheeks are chalked, the pink tones are koi watercolours but I felt they looked a bit flat so I covered with translucent glitter. All except for the pink heart and the black dots to which I added glossy accents. The Key is coloured with a silver galaxy marker and I made the highlights with a white uni-ball signo pen.

I finished the card off with a Papermania butterfly (freebie from magazine) and some pink gems.

You should have seen the state of my craft table when I had all that lot out!! :oO

Have fun crafting!

Hugs

Sandra xx

Sid meets the Colour Create Challenge

Hi Folks!
There's a great challenge over on Colour Create this week. Hop on over there to see their inspiration photo. The scheme this week is red, white and blue and the option is 'Holidays & Travel'.

A union flag beach towel instantly sprung to mind when I saw this challenge and the large backdrop is just that. I also thought my image of Sid relaxing in his deckchair would also fit the bill. He has been coloured using my Koi watercolours. Hope you can see from the photos that I used quite a bit of red on his skin - I think Sid had been out in the sun for too long! The bucket, spade and seagull are all Quickutz dies. They have also been water coloured.

I added glossy accents to Sid's shoes and the bucket and spade. The Stamped sentiment is from my stash (think it 's either HOTP or Heidi Grace) It's been matted onto silver mirri board and adhered over some knotted string... from my kitchen!

The bottom right hand corner looked a bit plain so I hunted through my stash and surfaced about an hour later with this sandcastle sticker. It's a transparent sticker so I stuck it to some white card and adhered with glue gel to add dimension.

It made a refreshing change not to use a square card. I realise I've used more colours than red, white and blue... but they we're my main inspiration.

Hope you like it.

Hugs

Sandra xx

Hanglar & Stanglar - Love

Hi folks!

It's been ages since this little beauty has been inked. Isn't she adorable! I followed three challenges to make this swirly girly card. The Sketch is from Ismaki, A Spoon full of Sugar is calling for 'Doodle-do's' or swirl stamps and the first challenge over on The Pink Elephant is 'Pink, Black and White' I'm sure they won't mind some flesh tones and hair colour too.

The papers are from Basic Grey Two Scoops range. I have used my Nestabilities to cut the centre rectangle and scalloped rectangle. I have also embossed the white panel using my Cuttlebug. The swirl stamp was a freebie from a magazine. I have coloured the image with my Koi watercolours and highlighted the heart with glossy accents and sprinkled some glitter on. Hopefuly on the second picture you can see that I have decoupaged her arms and heart. I tried this out having been inspired by the talented Debby. You need to hop on over to her blog, her creations are amazing. I think maybe I should have decoupaged the little Hanglar girl's face and hair, but I'm pleased how it turned out. The letters are a Quickutz alphabet and I finished off the design with some black brads.

Thanks for looking.

Hugs
Sandra xx