Monday, 24 August 2009

Launch of New Blog for Squiggle Stamps


No card to display today but just wanted to let you know some fabulous news.

Squiggle Stamps are planning to launch their Blog officially on 1st of September with some lovley blog candy and lots of projects for inspiration.

In the meantime they are looking for members to join their small talented Design Team - if you are intersted please e-mail info@squigglestamps.com with some information about yourself, a blog link and some examples of your work :)

You can find the blog Here

Here also is a little peek at the adorable new stamps which will be launched at the end of August - aren't they just fabulous?


I have also seen the draft copies of the September ones which are additions to the already launched Daisy and Oscar range and they are gorgeous.

I know that Tracy still has some of July Daisy stamps available, but you will need to be quick to snap these up Here.

Back tomorrow with my Spoon Full of Sugar card.

Karen x

Sunday, 23 August 2009

Midsummer Nutshells meets Friday Sketchers



On Saturday 29th August Nutcrafters will celebrate their first year of being up and running.

They have added lots of new ranges to thsir store, including their very own Nutshells designs.

To celebrate they are having a BIG BIRTHDAY BONANZA weekend from 28th-31st August, with lots of special offers and great deals!

Today I can share one of those with you, with a sneak peak of a new stamp set they are releasing on the 28th... Midsummer Nutshells. The set contains 10 individual stamps and is just fabulous.

I have already started colouring in some more of this set and will preview some more of them over the next week or so. I am sure you will love them as much as I do.

Front of card

The papers I have used are all by My Minds Eye and come from the Bloom and Grown and Wild Asapargus sets. The lovely sheer ribbon is also from A Minds Eye set. I have paper pieced the little dress so as to have it matching wih the papers.

I have followed the fabulous sketch on Friday Sketchers this week for the front of the card.

Inside of card

I have used the same image on the inside and carried the same papers through from the front.

Back of card

Please keep an eye on the Nutshells blog Here to see some more previews from the rest of the DT of these fab stamps and to read about the birthday weekend coming up.

I will be back on Tuesday with my Spoon Full of Sugar (another of this fab new set) DT card and also my ICS DT card.

Karen x

Wednesday, 19 August 2009

Copics Colour Challenge 27



Here are the colours for this week's challenge at Copics Colour Challenge, Toodles and Binks are our sponsor this week and you can read all about that and see what the DT have come up with using these colours Here


Here is my card for this weeks challenge. I was struggling a bit to use the grey colour, so have used this to outline the image. The cute image is Daisy with Flowers which is one of the Daisy and Oscar collection which is now available at Squiggle Stamps Here. These stamps are just soo cute and just a delight to colour or paper piece. Tracy has also uploaded pictures of the 4 new stamps that will be available very soon from a new artist to the website - so well worth looking out for. The DP is the Chick A Dee Collection from S.E.I. and the flowers are from my stash, sentiment from Stampendous.


I hope you have fun with these colours and look forward to seeing your cards.

Karen x

Tuesday, 18 August 2009

Inspirational Card Sketches - #30


It's Tuesday afternoon and time for another of Dawn's fab sketches at ICS. This certainly was a great one to follow and could be used with just about every image.
The challenge this week is sponsored by Paper Popsicles and the DT were all given a couple of these cute images to work with.

To read all about the prize on offer from Paper Popsicles and see what the DT have done with the images check out the ICS blog Here


As I mentioned earlier the image on this card is by Paper Popsicles, the DP is from the Flower Patch pad by Making Memories and the flowers are by prima.


Happy crafting and I look forward to seeing your creations using this week's sketch by Dawn.

Karen x

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Challenge 65 - Travel



Our challenge this week at A Spoon Full of Sugar is Travel. You could use a holiday theme or perhaps a card with some form of transport on it - anything that you can think of that fits the bill of travel.

My DT buddy on Dare U Digi Stamp, Sandra of Sandra Dry Digi Stamps is sponsoring our challenge this week and if you pop on over to the A Spoon Full blog Here you can read all about Sandra's fabulous prize and also see the beautiful cards that the rest of the DT have created this week.

I have gone for the holiday theme for my travel card this week and have used this really cute digi stamp from instyle stamps called Leila. My aunt in California spent much of her childhood in Hawaii and I will be sending this card to her as I think she will appreciate it. I have not put any particular sentiment on it so it could really be used for any occasion. I have used the sketch from this weeks Friday Sketchers and what a great one it is.


The papers for this card and also the flower were from another of the bargain price page layout packs that I picked up while on holiday and this particular one is by making memories.


I have just got all the washing and ironing done from the holiday and got back into the swing of crafting and now I have to head off with work for a few days. I am heading off to Edinburgh which should be really nice as the Festival is on at the moment and there should be a good atmosphere there.

Have a great week.

Karen x

Saturday, 15 August 2009

A couple of pics from the Wedding in New York

No cards to show you today as I am working on DT work for next week and trying to catch up after our holiday.

A few people has asked how the wedding went and I thought you might like to see a couple of photos from the wonderful day.



I am second in from the right on this one and Bob is far left. Laura's dad is next to me and Laura's mum next to Bob, the bridesmaids are Laura's sisters Karen and Sally. Brooklyn Bridge is just behind us.



Will be back with my A Spoon Full of Sugar and ICS cards on Tuesday, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Karen x

Friday, 14 August 2009

Dare U 2 Digi Stamp - Challenge 19 - Blue, Green and White or Cream


We have another great challenge today over at Dare U 2 Digi Stamp and the challenge is to make a card of project using Blue, Green and White or Cream - what a great colour combination. Our challenges are now fortnightly which gives you a bit more time to get an entry in and this is great especially during the busy school holiday period. The DT have come up with some fabulous work this week so do pop on over if you are looking for some inspiration.


I have used one of the adorable new digi downloads from CC Designs - I so love this collection and the papers are from a small page layout pack that I bought for $2 while I was on holiday in Boston and I think they are by Me and my Big Ideas. I have been a bit naughty and added a small amount of pink on the flowers just to lift the image a little and I have added small flatback pearls to the centres of the flowers.

I have used the fabulous sketch by Camilla at A Spoon Full of Sugar this week. I did not get back from holiday in time to get my DT card for this challenge, but wanted to use the sketch as it is a fab one - thanks Camilla.

I am slowly getting back into the swing of things after my holiday. We had a fabulous time at the wedding and I will post a couple of photos of the happy couple over the weekend.

Have a great weekend.

Karen x

Tuesday, 4 August 2009

ICS - Christmas cards


We have another great sketch from Dawn to follow over at ICS and this week we have the added element of making a Christmas Card.


These cute little reindeers are a download set from CC designs and the DP is Heidi Grace.

Hope you all have some fun making Christmas cards this week.

Karen x

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Flowers

The challenge that we have for you this week at A Spoon Full of Sugar is flowers - right up my street as I love to use flowers on my card.

I have used one of the cute summer stamps from Nutshells and also one of the new Nutshells background stamps that are just about to be released by Nutcrafters. There are a few cards made with these new backgrounds now on the Nutshells Blog which you can check out Here Dp is Butterflies and Blossoms by DCWV.

I am in Boston at the moment and we have having a great time. Had a bit of a hiccup when we arrived as our luggage did not arrive with us and we only had the clothes that we were wearing for the first 36 hours. All is fine now and the weather is just beautiful. I managed a trip to Michaels yesterday, so am now fully stocked up with flowers, ribbons etc. We head off to New York first thing Thursday morning.

Have a great week.

Karen x

Friday, 31 July 2009

Dare U 2 Digi Stamp - challenge 18 - distressing


Our challenge at Dare U 2 Digi Stamp this week is distressing. We'd love to see your torn edges, sanding or sponging whatever technique you'd like to try to create that distressed look on those pristine Digi Images.


I have used one of these cute Lily-Boo's Boutique images this week and coloured her with copics. I have taken the opportunity this week to use up odds and ends from my scrap box and these odd sized bit of DP were just perfect for tearing up. The flowers are by prima and the flower charm came from my friend Tracy.

I do hope you all get a chance to get distressing for this challenge. If you pop on over to the blog Here you can see all the cards from the DT this week which will hopefully give you some inspiration. We also have a couple of announcements these this week, firstly that our challenge will be moving to fortnightly so as to give people a bit longer to enter due to summer holidays, kids off school etc, and secondly to announce our first Guest DT member of the month.

I am heading off on holiday for a week tomorrow, but wll catch up with all your creations when I get back.

Have fun distressing.

Karen x

Thursday, 30 July 2009

Another Sweet Daisy Card


Squiggle Stamps

Here is another card that I have made using this fabulous new collection of Daisy stamps from Squiggle Stamps. They are just a delight to colour in and look adorable either on their own or combined with other stamps.

Front of Card

On the Front of the card I have used Daisy with Balloon and the papers are by Making Memories. The little flowers came in a bunch from Hobbycraft, ribbon from my stash and sentiment was a free one with a magazine which I have stamped onto the ribbon.

Inside of Card

On the inside I have used Daisy with Bunny and combined it with Bird on Flourish which is also by Squiggle Stamps as is the little bird on the right hand page which is one of the bird from the Two Tweet stamp.

Do pop on over to the website Here to check out all the Squiggle stamps and also see some more creations with these adorable stamps on the Gallery.

Karen x

Tuesday, 28 July 2009

Copics Colour Challenge #24 & Happy Birthday Sophie


For this week's challenge at Copics Colour Challenge I have taken the opportunity to make a card for our grandaughter Sophie's 8th Birthday - Happy Birthday Sophie, hope you are having a lovely day.
I have used this lovely Duda Daze stamp from Sugar Nellie and the DP is my favourite at the moment and is by Papermania and I just love these colours as they really are my favourite colours to work with. The flowers are by prima and the brads and ribbons are from my stash.

Front of card


Inside of card


This weeks sponsor is the truly wonderful Craft Barn. One lucky winner will receive a £15 voucher to spend in their online shop. The Craft Barn have such a wonderful selection of goodies, we are confident that the winner will be able to find something that they 'need'. You can find out all about this wonderful prize and see the cards from the DT this week Here

Karen x

ICS Sketch# 27

Here is Dawn's new sketch for this week at ICS and as usual it is a great one.


Onto our lovely sponsor for this week is DIGIMENTS. Michelle from Digiments is offering...
(2) $20 gift certificates to Digiments.
So that means we'll have two lovely winners to chose from. How exciting! So pop on over to the ICS blog to read all about these great prizes and also check out the beautiful cards from the rest of the DT this week.
I have used one of the Gorjuss set 2 girls for my card this week and I can't believe that this is the first time that I have used this one - how cute is she? The DP is by K&Co and the sentiment from this week's sponsor Digiments.


I hope you get a chance to join in with the challenge this week and I look forward to visitng your blogs to see what you are up to.

Karen x

A Spoon Full of Sugar Challenge 62 - Sketch by Caryn


This week at A Spoon Full of Sugar we have a fabulous sketch for you to follow which was designed by our talented DT member Cayrn - thanks Caryn it was a great one to follow.
You can check the sketch and the beautiful cards from the DT this week here and also the fabulous prize that we have this week from our own Nikki's webstore Bunny Zoes Crafts.

Tracy from Squiggle Stamps has asked me to do some design work for her new company and I have used the four new stamps from the Oscar and Daisy range which has only just been released this week and how cute are these.

Front of Card

This one on the front is Daisy with flowers, DP is by papermania and the brads by doodlebug. I have coloured Daisy in with copics and added a little stickles to the flowers.

Inside of Card

Same papers and theme in the inside and the stamps used here are Daisy sitting pretty and Daisy with Bunny.

Back of Card

I have finished off the card by using Daisy with Balloon on the back of the card.

Please pop on over to Tracy's website here to check out these fab new Daisy stamps and also to see the other stamps which Tracy has which will co-ordinate with this new range.

Have a great week

Karen x

Thursday, 23 July 2009

Dare U 2 DigiStamp - Challenge 17 - Sketch by Larissa


This week at Dare U 2 DigiStamp we have a fabulous sketch for you to follow which was designed by our talented DT member Larissa. You can check out what the DT have come up with this week Here


I have used Milly with Flowers from DigiStamp Boutique on my card for this challenge. I have coloured her with copics and the little flowers are by prima with a small half pearl for the centre. The DP is a 6x6 from Making Memories and the sentiment is one that came free with a magazine.


I have a completely free weekend coming up and am so looking forward to some quality craft-time and hopefully a bit of relaxation before I head off on holiday next Saturday - can't wait!!

Have a great weekend and I look forward to seeing how you use Larissa's sketch.

Karen x

Wednesday, 22 July 2009

Copics Colour Challenge #23 using Stamp Something Sketch


This week at Copics Colour Challenge we have another great sponsor for you - Toodles and Binks. Toodles and Binks are offering a rather lovely £15 voucher to spend on their stamps, and as they are already so competitively priced, the winner of challenge 23 will get a lot of goodies for their winnings! For those of you who haven't seen their amazing stamps before, where have you been?! Make sure you check them out as their designs are simply gorgeous.


To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, you just need to create 'something' with your Copics using the above colour combo YG63, YR04 and R35. You can make anything you like to enter, however, you must use your Copics. If you haven't got the right shades, just pick one that is 'near enough'!


I have used a couple of the new Manga Stamps from Sugar Nellie and aren't these just too cute. The DP is Making Memories Cheeky Abbie , buttons Stampin Up and ribbon from my stash. The sentiments are from a CC Designs sentiments set. The sketch that I have followed is the one at Sketch Something this week which I think is a great one with this image.


I have carried the same colours through to the inside of the card and this time have cut out the image.

I do hope that you get a chance to join in with us this week with these great colours.

Karen x

Tuesday, 21 July 2009

ICS Sketch #26 & Cute Card Thursday Xmas in July


Tuesday again already and time for another sketch from Dawn at Inspirational Card Sketches and another fab one to follow.
This week our sponsor Bunny Zoe's Crafts owner Nikki is giving away a fabulous prize to one lucky winner using ICSketches #26, a set of 7 Christmas Charms and Ollyfant Winter Skates Clear Stamp Set. What a nice prize to receive and you only have to create some kind of project using the sketch below. So lets see what you can do with it.


The challenge at Cute Card Thursday this week is Xmas in July so I have taken this opportunity to get another of my Christmas cards done and for this one I have used Snow Anya from the 2nd set from the Greeting Farm, the papers are by Craft House, glitter card by Doodlebug and the brad and ribbon from my stash.


Have a great crafting week and I look forward to seeing your creations with this great sketch.

Karen x

A Spoon Full of Sugar - Challenge 61 - Swirls


We have a nice easy challenge for you this week over at A Spoon Full of Sugar which is to use swirls on your cards. These swirls could be swirly papers, swirl embossed paterns, swirl stamps of chipboard swirls.


I just adore this little mermaid from CC Designs. The papers are by doodlebug and the swirls were cut using a Quickutz die. I have embossed the paper just behind the mermaid with a cuttlebug swirls folder, but I do not think that the embossing is showing up very well in the photo. The little charm came from my friend Tracy - thanks Tracy.


I have used the same papers on the inside of the card and used another one of these cute mermaids.

Our sponsor this week is Tracy from Squiggle Stamps. Squiggle Stamps are a new stamp company - launched June 2009. Their premiere collection of general occasion images are available now with the arrival of the very cute Oscar & Daisy due very soon!
As well as the two cute Daisy stamps Tracy is very generously giving the lucky winner a selection of 6x6 MM Abby papers, pebble stickers, assorted ribbon, trimming, flowers & gems. Thank you Tracy for this awesome prize! - worth checking out here

Have a great week.
Karen x