Sketch Saturday #88: Whimsy Summer Day Emma

Happy Saturday!

Today over at Sketch Saturday we have another wonderful sketch by Jo, and this week we are being sponsored by one of my fave online craft shops, The Craft Barn:

I decided to use my Whimsy Stamps Summer Day Emma stamp - isn't she gorgeous?  Sorry for the orangey piccies, but try as I might I couldn't edit this photo to represent how it looks in real life (it's supposed to be a coral pink)... but you get the idea!

Do pop along to Sketch Saturday and have a look at my wonderful team-mates' fabulous cards - you won't be disappointed!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. A Spoon full of Sugar ... Challenge 88 Freestyle : Anything you like!

2. Creative Card Crew ... Challenge 43 Punch It : I've used - MS Butterfly punch (new!), SU Scallop border punch, Woodware Daisy punches, Woodware corner rounder punch

3. Copic Colour Challenge ... Challenge 49 - E00 E33 R02 : I used E00 for her skin and E33 for her hair, and R02 for her blush.

4. Creative Inspirations ... Challenge 45 Feminine : To make something feminine!

5. Quixotic Challenges ... Challenge 11 Flutter By : Incorporate butterflies - I've added a punched out butterfly, plus I have butterflies on my image!

6. Cute Card Thursday ... Challenge 97 Blooming Gorgeous : To include flowers - my stamp and paper include flowers, plus I have added some handmade daisies!

7. PaperPlay Challenges ... Week 4 Pink, White & Green : Even though my pink looks very 'coral', I have used pink, white and green for this card!

8. Sweet Stampin Challenge ... Challenge 11 Scallops : I've used my SU Scallop border punch, plus my scalloped circle nesties!

Sorry this is short, but things are rather hectic here at the moment!

Thanks for popping by and have a great weekend!

Hugs,



Ingredients
STAMP: Whimsy Stamps Summer Day Emma
COLOURING MEDIA: Copic Ciaos (E00 E02 E21 R20 R02 R32 RV21 E51 E33 E35 YG11 G21 G99)
PAPER: K&Co 'McKenna' 6x6 pad
CARDSTOCK: Core'dinations ColorCore 12x12 (RR010 & RR020)

Whimsy Stamps Blog Hop: Snowball Fight!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Whimsy Stamps 'Snowball Fight' BLOG HOP! The DT have some wonderful new Whimsy stamps to show to you today from a brand new range called 'Snickerdoodle Kids'.  These new stamps are available to buy from today in the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites!

If you'd like to participate in the hop, and you didn't arrive here from the wonderful Ann's blog, then click here to return to the start of the blog hop, as you don't want to miss these fab new releases!

The hop starts today (Sunday 24th January at 12noon EST) and ends on Saturday 30th January at 12noon EST (that's 5.00pm for us Brits!).

As always here at Whimsy, we have a fab grand prize for you to win at the END OF THE HOP! One winner will be randomly chosen from the Whimsy site Mr Linky entries to receive a $50 gift certificate to shop at Whimsy!  And that's not all - three random DT members (even we don't know who they will be, so be sure to leave a comment on every blog along the hop!) will be giving away one of the new stamps from the Snickerdoodle Kids Collection.

Also be sure to pop over to our Whimsy group at SNR after you've finished the hop, as we'll have a game to play and a chance to win a prize.

For my blog hop/new release card I have used this wonderful stamp called 'Sledding with Marty and Max':

When I saw this stamp, I just knew I wanted to use my Imaginisce 12x12 papers (the one with the trees), and although I scoured blogland for a sketch to follow for my layout (.. and I found some great ones!), this card evolved on its own and I ended up using my own very simple layout, LOL!  I intially had the idea of creating a homemade 'punch around the page' effect with my MS Lattice Arch punch, but I decided that it looked better with just a border at the top and the bottom of the image plate.  I tried so hard to add embellies ... pearls, gems, buttons, flowers, snowflakes, punched-out shapes, swirls, charms, brads, twine ... but nothing looked 'right', so I conceded and left it as it is - clean and simple!!

So now it's time for you to throw a snowball and follow it to wonderful Maddy's blog ... but of course I'd love it if you left a comment first!! ;o)

Thanks so much for hopping along with us today!

Hugs,

Sketch Saturday #87: Whimsy Wings of Hope for Haiti

Happy Saturday!

Today over at Sketch Saturday we have another wonderful sketch by Jo, and this week we are being sponsored by Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps:

For my card, I have used a very special brand new digi stamp from Whimsy Stamps called "Wings of Hope".
This special "Wings of Hope" digital stamp, illustrated by Crissy Armstrong, is being released by Whimsy Stamps and will only be available to purchase in digital form from now until the end of February. This "Wings of Hope" image will be sold for US$4 and all proceeds from the sales of this digital image will be sent to the American Red Cross for disaster relief efforts in Haiti.



Please CLICK HERE to purchase this gorgeous limited edition digi stamp and help us to help the people of Haiti.

Apologies for the not-so-good photos of my card.  By the time I had finished, it was well and truly dark, so this is the best I could do using my mini tripod and without a flash!  I'll take another photo in the daylight tomorrow and update so you can see the gorgeous Shimmerz Angels Wings paint I have applied to the horse's wings and hooves!

I'd like to enter this card into the Colour Create Challenge #36, which is to use the colours of KRAFT, BLUE and WHITE.

Please pop over to Sketch Saturday and check out all the talented DT's wonderful work.  And of course, it would be fabulous if you would like to purchase this "Wings of Hope" digi stamp.  If you do and you make a card, please pop back here and leave me a link to your blog post as I would love to see what you've created!

Have a great weekend!

Hugs,

Whimsy Stamps: New Release Blog Hop Sneak Peek!

Hey everyone!

I've just popped on to let you know that on Sunday 24h January, Whimsy Stamps is releasing some brand new stamps from a brand new range by our wonderful illustrator, Crissy Armstrong.  To celebrate, we're having a Blog Hop!!

Here's a little sneak peek for you of the creation I'll be posting on Sunday as part of the blog hop.

Be sure to join me and the rest of the DT at 12 noon EST (so that's 5pm for us Brits!) on Sunday for the hop!  It's going to be fab!

Hugs,

Your Next Stamp BLOG HOP

Hello everyone, and welcome to the Your Next Stamp 'New Release' Blog Hop! The YNS Starlets have some brand new Fhiona and Fhinn stamp sets show to you today - Aloha Fhiona, Surfer Fhinn, Rock Star Fhiona, Rock Star Fhinn!

If you'd like to participate in the hop, and you didn't arrive here from Amy's blog, then click here to return to the start of the blog hop, as you don't want to miss all the fab new releases!

The hop starts today (Thursday 21st January) and ends on Monday 25th January at midnight EST (Tuesday 26th January at 05:00am GMT).

We have a fab grand prize (randomly drawn) for one lucky winner, who will receive the entire new release stamps as their prize - yes, that's right, all 4 stamp sets! To qualify, you must comment on EVERY blog along the hop.

Also for the duration of the hop, Your Next Stamp is having a HUGE sale!!  For 5 days only, there will be a whopping 25-55% off selected stamps!!! WOW!!!!!  I know I will certainly be checking it out!

For this hop, the Starlets were challenged to create 2 cards/projects with one stamp set, and to use different stamps on each card (thus showing you how versatile the sets are!).  I used Surfer Fhinn for my creations, which is a set containing 4 stamps - Surfer Fhinn, Surf Dude sentiment, Palm Tree, Gecko.

Surfer Fhinn (1)

[using 'Surfer Fhinn' and 'Surf Dude' stamps]

I used SU Pumpkin Pie and Core'dinations ColorCore 'Nightfall' cardstock, and the fabulous Teresa Collins 'Boardwalk' 12x12 double-sided papers.  Surfer Fhinn was coloured with Copics and then stuck onto some orange card (which I'd reverse embossed with my Cuttlebug 'Divine Swirls' embossing folder).

I stuck Fhinn straight onto the orange embossed card and then used 3D foam pads to pop up the surf curl, which you can see a little better in the pic below. [I also used some of my Anita's 3D Clear Gloss on the surf curl (deliberately not popping the tiny bubbles), which looks really cool in real-life, but you can't see it in the photo!]:

Finally, some SU Linen Thread (love this stuff!) and 4mm flat-back pearls to finish:

Surfer Fhinn (2)

[Using 'Palm Tree' and 'Gecko' stamps]

I used paper from my Basic Grey 'Mellow' 6x6 pad and Core'dinations ColorCore 'French Roast' cardstock for this card.  I wanted to go for a different colour theme and feel to this card, to show you how versatile this stamp set really is.  [You could make a really cute surf 'scene' with all the stamps in this set, but also use them individually.]

As our hop is beach/music themed, we came up with a fun idea - for each Starlet to share their favourite vacation destination or favourite rock band and a little info about why.  So ... my fave holiday destination has to be New Zealand.  No, not because of the fab Peter Jackson LOTR movies, but because I went 'on holiday' to New Zealand one summer...met my husband...and then stayed, got a job, got a house and got married and had our beautiful daughter!!!!  (We are now back in the UK, but plan to emigrate back to NZ some time in the distant future!).  Here are a couple of snaps from our time (sorry about the rubbish piccies, they were taken with an old-fashioned camera rather than digi and then scanned with our dinosaur of a scanner!!):

The above pic was taken looking out onto Lake Taupo from our hotel room.  Taupo is a town on the shore of Lake Taupo (the biggest lake in New Zealand) in the centre of the North Island.  Although we only visited Taupo once, we have many happy memories, not least spending a really fun evening in Finn MacCuhal's (Taupo's Irish pub!).

This is a picture of Hanmer Springs, taken from the top of Conical Hill (yes, I was knackered after getting to the the top!!).  Hanmer Springs is a very small town in the South Island of New Zealand built around a hot spring.  My fondest memories of Hanmer are not the hot springs, but playing mini golf and the piano in the restaurant at The Heritage hotel (though not at the same time!).  We used to live in Christchurch (South Island), and so Hanmer was a regular weekend haunt for us .... aw, I have so many happy memories!!

Okay, so I am the last stop on the hop, so this is where you enter the prize draw!  One lucky winner (randomly drawn) will receive all 4 of the new release stamp sets!!

To enter the grand prize draw, add your name and blog URL into Mr Linky below (but don't forget to leave a comment too!)

If you joined in with the 2nd part of our Blop Hop Blinkie Contest by publishing a post on your blog with a picture and explanation of your favourite vacation spot or rock/pop band/person, then you have earnt yourselves a 2nd entry into the grand prize draw!  Please add your name with the words "2nd entry" into Mr Linky below with a direct link to your Blog Hop Blinkie Contest post on your blog.  All links will be checked, and any that do not follow the rules will be deleted to make it fair to everyone participating.

If you do not have a blog, then you can still enter.  Please leave a comment on the post and include your email address (so that you can be contacted if you win).  Then add your name to Mr Linky below.  As you don't have a blog, please add http://ynschallenges.blogspot.com/ as your URL.

Thanks for popping by - we hope you had fun hula-ing, surfing and rocking-on with YNS!!

Hugs,

** Entries to this contest are now closed. Click here to see entries for this contest **

Your Next Stamp Challenge #8: Anything that Sparkles!

Hello everyone!

Today we have a brand new challenge for you at Your Next Stamp Challenges! It's Karen's turn to set the challenge this fortnight, and she has chosen the theme of 'Anything that Sparkles'.

For my challenge card, I decided to use my Rainy Day Fhiona stamp:

As the challenge called for sparkle, I added as much as I could, LOL!  The papers that I used are called 'Sparkly Sweet' by K&Co, but as they came from the 6x6 pad, they didn't have any glitter accents.  So ... I got out my slightly neglected glitter glues and glittered-up random circles of the backing paper.  I also glittered Fhiona's star and buttons, plus added a glittery border to the image plate (instead of my usual Versamagic Dew Drop inks).

I found my only piece of glittery ribbon ... but it was white!!  No matter, I took a purple Copic and coloured it in, which turned it into a purple piece of glittery ribbon!

I added some self-adhesive lilac gemstones to a purple Prima flower, and then glittered-up a Craftworks Card Candy and popped it in the middle:

Finally some gemstones along the bottom border (I used clear gems and coloured them with a Copic Ciao to match).

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Friday Sketchers ... Challenge #85 : I've followed Jacque's wonderful sketch (in it's mirror-image).
2. SophistiCat Challenge ... Challenge #18 - Spring : What better signifies Spring in the UK that the pretty spring colours plus the good ole British rain!! LOL!
3. A Spoon Full of Sugar ... Challenge #87 - Lots of Layering
4. Creative Card Crew ... Challenge 43 - Punch It : I have used my SU scallop border punch, my Woodware inverted corner rounder punch, and my EK Success Retro Flower punch on this card!
5. Simon Says Stamp ... Punch It : (see the punches listed above!!)
6. Charisma Cardz Challenges ... Challenge #2 - Anything New : I have used my new and never-before-inked Rainy Day Fhiona stamp!
7. One Stop Craft Challenge ... Challenge #63 - Fancy Edges or corners : I have used my SU border punch to create my 'fancy edge'.

Remember, you can enter our challenges using ANY stamp, but if you do choose to use a YNS stamp, then you will be entered into the prize draw TWICE!  And you have 2 weeks to enter this YNS Challenge so why not hop on over and join us!

Oooo, and don't forget, our amazing new release YNS Blog Hop starts tomorrow - I promise that you won't want to miss it!

Thanks for dropping by!

Hugs,

Sketch Saturday #86: Squiggle Stamps Lilliputs

Happy Saturday!

Today over at Sketch Saturday we have another wonderful sketch by Jo, and this week we are being sponsored by our very own Emma Lockley:

I decided to showcase one of the new Lilliputs stamps from Squiggle Stamps, and this one is called 'Arty Girl'.  (NB I added the floor paint splats myself, using a Letraset fineliner, so please note that they aren't part of the original stamped image).

I'm definitely going to put the rest of the Copic Ciao Markers on my wishlist for my birthday, or at least a list of colours I can't do without), as I am severely lacking 'blonde hair' colours. I have the 36A and 36B (or 72A) sets of Copic Ciaos, and whilst I have all the pens I need for colouring brown hair, I want some honey-ish colours, as the yellows just don't look right for me!

In fact, if you're a Copic girl and you have a certain set of colours you use for blonde hair, I'd be really grateful if you could let me know the numbers.  I'm quite happy to buy sketch markers if I can get the right colours, as one of my fave online shops now stocks them - yay!!

Thanks for popping by - have a great weekend!

Hugs,

Ingredients
STAMP: Squiggle Stamps 'Arty Girl' (Lilliputs)
PAPER: Basic Grey 6x6 paper pad 'Euphoria'
CARDSTOCK: Core'dinations 12x12 Colorcore - V020 Dahlia and GG010 Grassroots
COLOURING MEDIA: Copic Ciaos (0 C1 C3 E00 E02 R20 R59 YG11 YG03 RV02 RV04 BG01 B05 BV02 BV04 Y00 Y02 Y06 Y08 Y017)

ASFOS Challenge 86: Guest Designer!

I was over-the-moon when I received an email from my Squiggle Stamps DT sistah Karen asking me to be the guest designer at ASFOS for challenge 86 which starts today!  Thanks so much for asking me hun, I'm truly honoured! 

The challenge this week is a recipe challenge - 3 pieces of DP, 1 piece of ribbon, 3 flowers and 3 buttons. 

I used Mina's fab sketch over at Truly Scrumptious as it worked SO well with the recipe.  I took ages rifling through my papers before finally deciding upon my neglected MME 6x6 Wild Asparagus paper.  I then took another age looking through all my stamps (which are stored rather haphazardly in a couple of boxes!) to find one to match the DP.  I really wanted to use an uninked stamp, but Rose Tilda was calling to me and as she goes so well with the paper, I just couldn't refuse, LOL!

It was extremely difficult to edit the photos to show exactly how the colours are in real-life.  The 'red' cardstock and ribbon is actually a deep burgundy/pink colour with a more blue tone, but as I don't have any fancy photo editing software, this is the best I could do!!

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Truly Scrumptious ... Challenge 23 : I've followed Mina's fab sketch (which I know I'm going to use again very soon...!)
2. Cupcake Craft Challenge ... Challenge 73 Going Girly : They want to see a girl card/project.
3. Crazy 4 Challenges ... C4C19 Birthdays : I have made this card for someone's birthday - I don't want to say who until she's received it, but as she reads my blog, she can probably work out it's her, LOL!!!
4. Simon Says Stamp ... Hot Chocolate : Use hot chocolatey images or brown and pink colour combo - I have used a pink/brown colour combo!
5. Quixotic Challenges ... Challenge 8 Hot Chcolate : I've interpreted this as a colour theme - brown for the chocolate, cream for the milk/cream and pink for the marshmallows!
6. Charisma Cardz Challenges ... Colour Combo : Pink, Brown, Cream, Toffee

Finally, I'd like to give a little shout-out to Debbie, Coco and Shary from the ASFOS DT - the super-talented Debbie and I are both Whimsettes (my home-made name for Whimsy Stamps DT sisters!), the wonderful Coco and I are both on the Sketch Saturday DT, and I used to be on the Inky Impressions DT with the lovely Shary.  Blogland is such a small place, LOL! Hi girls!!

Well, that's it from me for another day!

Thanks for popping by!

Hugs,

Ingredients
STAMP: Magnolia Tilda with Rose
COLLOURING MEDIA: Copic Ciaos
PAPER: MME 6x6 Wild Asparagus paper pack
CARDSTOCK: Coredinations 12x12 Colorcore 'Red Rose' (RR040)
EMBELLISHMENTS: SU Linen Thread, Buttons from stash, Prima flowers, 6mm organza ribbon, Versamagic Dew Drop 'Wheat' (GD-82), 4mm flat-back white pearls (coloured to match)
TOOLS: Paper trimmer, scissors, PVa glue, 3D foam pads, Cuttlebug, Nesties Circles & Scallop Circles, Woodware Grass punches

Sketch Saturday #85: Wild Sprout Annika

Happy Saturday!

Today over at Sketch Saturday we have another wonderful sketch by Jo, and this week we are being sponsored by Simon Says Stamp:

I have decided that before I buy any more stamps or stash I must use all my uninked stamps at least once and crack into my unopened papers!  So, for today's card I used my uninked TGF Wild Sprout 'Annika':

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Anyone for Anya? ... Anything Goes : Anything you like!

2. Club Anya ... Monday Mania : Monochromatic

3. Roses on Paper ... Challenge 28 : Colouring with you favourite medium/s (I have used my beloved Copic Ciaos!)

Sorry this is a short post, but I'm crazy-busy at the moment, plus I'm STILL having trouble with my teeth (...don't ask, but in a month's time I'm going to be £500 poorer!!!)

Have a great weekend, and don't forget to pop on over to Sunday Sketch & Stamp tomorrow for our new challenge!

Hugs,



Ingredients
STAMP: TGF Wild Sprout 'Annika'
COLOURING MEDIA: Copic Ciaos (E00 E02 E21 R20 G00 BG15 BG09 YG11 YG03 YG06)
PAPER: October Afternoon 'Ducks in a Row' 12x12 double-sided paper - Peek-a-Boo
CARD: Coredinations 12x12 Colorcore 'Montego Bay' (VB020) and 'Meadow' (GG020)
EMBELLISHMENTS: Versamagic Dew Drop 'Tea Leaves' (GD-60); Prima Ice Got Flowers 'Sea Jewel' (#712297); Prima Sweet n Sassy 'Princess' (#514068); 4mm Aqua gems; 4mm Olive pearls; 12mm Olive Green Satin Ribbon (RR-00063)
TOOLS: Paper Trimmer, Scissors, PVA glue, 3D foam pads, Martha Stewart Scallop Dot border punch, Woodware Corner Rounder punch, Spellbinders RIbbon Tags Trio (S3-150)

Your Next Stamp Challenge #7: Embossing

Hello everyone!

Today we have a brand new challenge for you at Your Next Stamp Challenges!  It's YNS Starlet Maylee's turn to set the challenge this fornight, and she has chosen the theme of 'Embossing'.

I was going to use one of my CB embossing folders, but when I was riffling through my papers to decide what to use, I found some fab already-embossed paper in my MME Bloom & Grow 6x6 pad (the green spotty paper).  It's a bit difficult to see it in the pic, but if you click on the photo to enlarge it, you'll get a better idea!

I decided to use my YNS Birthday Princess stamp, as I really wanted to do some paper piecing (my fave technique!). The stamp set comes with loads of accessory stamps, but as you can see, I didn't have room to use them this time around, LOL!

I coloured in my flat-back pearls to make them more of a cream that white colour, plus I used my slightly neglected Sakura clear glitter pen to draw a little trail for the butterflies!

Finally, I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

1. Create 4 Fun Challenge 23 ... Sketch by Bev : I folowed Bev's fab sketch - thanks sweetie!
2. Crazy 4 Challenges ... C4C18 Polka Dots : My green embossed paper is spotty!
3. Pollycraft Challenge 31 ... Winter Birthdays : I suppose this doesn't really look very wintery, but I made it for one of my daughter's friends, who turns 9 on Sunday ... so her birthday is a winter's birthday!!
4. Sophisticat Challenges 16 ... Fancy Borders : I've used my MS border punch to create these!
5. ABC Challenge ... L is for Layering : I definitely think I qualify for this, LOL!

Thanks for popping by! Remember you have 2 weeks to enter this YNS Challenge, and you can use any stamp you like, so why not hop on over and join us!

Hugs,

Quixotic Challenges: Fave Card & Candy!

Quixotic Challenges are giving away a Happy New Year Candy ... a mystery gift pack worth £40 - WOW!!!

To be in with a chance of winning the prize, we have to create a post on our own blog with details of this candy and a link to the Quixotic Challenges blog, and post our own favourite card of 2009.

So...my favourite card that I made in 2009 was:

I chose this card because (a) it's Miss Anya! (b) I used my original colouring media Whispers Pens, the pens that taught me how to shade, (c) Desperate Housewives is one of my fave TV shows, and so the BG Wisteria paper is a nod to the gals of Wisteria Lane, (d) I find purple the hardest colour to work with (although I love it), and (e) this was my very own sketch!

Thanks for dropping by!

Hugs,