TLC463 & CAS254

I love my Monday mornings because I can look on the Splitcoaststampers site and see what todays challenges are all about, there are two categories on a Monday, "Try a New Technique" and "Clean and Simple", I like them both!!! but todays challenges gave me the opportunity to combine both of them together. The TLC463 challenge was to make a circle flower with 6 little circles, fold the edges, similar to a kite shape, then arrange them in a circle. The CAS254 challenge is to use snowflakes on your project, so..... I stamped snowflakes on some card, cut out 6 circles, made my circle flower, added a die cut snowflake in the centre then added the SNOWFLAKE rubber stamp from Hambo Stamps in the centre of the die cut.  WOW!!! I really have started my Christmas cards early this year!!

Somebody wake me up!!!

I found out a while ago that I was chosen to be on the design team for  Craft Stamper magazine!!! It is only the UKs number one stamping mag!!! lil old me!!! somebody wake me up cos I must be dreaming!! I mean.... have you seen the amazing talent that contribute to this mag!!!! absolutely awesome designers, amazing work, such creativity, I bow down in awe at their work.
One of my cards is featured in this months February issue under the Ready Set Stamp section, to make a card that can be completed in roughly 20 to 30 minutes. Here is a sneek preview of my card..

I feel so excited and so proud to be chosen to join this team, it is such an honour. follow me and check back to see my next work.....eeeeeeekkk. :)

Portrait of Jack

 This weeks hoedown challenge theme is all about "Animals", create a project with animals included, I adore cows, sheep, and especially pigs....(not in real life, but cute little images!!), and they don't come cuter than each and every one of the Hambo pigs, so today I have used the ARTIST PIG digital image, and the easel from the PAINTER digital image.

After printing off my images, coloring them, and cutting them out, I created my own background with acrylic paints and a bit of drywall tape, I cut out a photo of my grandson Jack after altering it in paper artist, then stuck it to the easel, trying to make it look like the piggys painting, isn't he just the cutest thing ever!!

Just Pigcause!!

Firstly...Happy New Year to you all !! secondly... it is a new challenge at the Hambo Hoedown, and this week the challenge is to use animals on your project. The design team have all chose a different Hambo Stamps piggy images to play with to show just how cute they really are. I chose the SWEETHEART PIG rubber stamp, along with the "just pigcause" sentiment from the floating pig clear stamp set, and the "I love you" from part of the mower love rubber stamp. So join us in this fun animal inspired challenge, there are prizes up for grabs!!

Have you all made your NY resolutions?? I haven't!! why bother....sigh!!

You Move Me!!

Still staying with the Kraft card theme for the Hoedown Challenge at Hambo Stamps.... I have made this quirky card, the two chess pieces are taken  from a full digital image set called quite appropriately...CHESS SET!!! I think it is kinda cute, and a great card to send to some budding Garry Kasparov or Bobby Fischer. I must admit I am a rubbish chess player, always on the defensive, never take risks, don't think too far in front!! they say that chess brings out your true personality!!! they got that one right..LOL.

Oh... and I almost forgot....MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL, I hope you all have a fabulous time, lots of turkey (mine is in the oven as we speak.....is that burning I can smell!!!! gulp) must dash...

Snow friend like you!!

Yippeeeee, It's time for a new challenge at Hambo Stamps and the Hoedown challenge this week is to use kraft card for your project!! Kraft card is fabulous stuff, rustic and fresh, I love it, it goes great with white, and as I am still enjoying using my acrylic paints I thought it would be a nice idea to have snowflakes with my winter scene, at first I was going to stamp them on, but as the trend at the moment is splatters and drips and splodges, I splattered the slightly watered down white acrylic paint onto my kraft card, I love the effect, so random, and perfect on the kraft colored background. I then printed off the SNOWMAN-BIRD digi image, colored his hat and scarf with promarkers and painted his body with the same acrylic white paint I had used for the snow, I know, he was already printed on white cardstock, but I wanted to add glitter to him, I then fussy cut him out.....cos that's what I do best!!!  I gave the torn paper snow on the bottom the same paint/glitter treatment, it is such a shame that you can't see how glittery it is in real life.

Sooooooo...get your kraft stash out and join in the hoedown fun. i would love to see your projects!!

Whee.............

I have made this card for todays CAS251 bling it up challenge. The photo doesn't do the blinginess of this card justice, it is really sparkly with all those gems on.... lovingly placed on one by one.... phew!!, the blue background paper has irridescent spray on it, the girls fur is glittered up, and the snowflake is silver glitter card, so.... Blinding!!, who doesn't love a bit of bling, especially at this festive time of year!!
I have used the SKATER GIRL rubber stamp by Hambo Stamps,
This is actually the first Christmas card I have made this year, what with my gorgeous Grandson being born last week, I have not been able to concentrate on much else, so I think it is me that is going to have to get my skates on!!!

And here is a photo of my beautiful Grandson, Jack Douglas France, having cuddles with his loved up Grandma ...Oooooooh I could just eat him up!!

"Life is a story"

The Hambo Hoedown is still on with the current challenge to make a bookmark, so I have made another one to show you this week using the READING BOY digi image. I got the sentiment from somewhere on the internet and thought it fitting for this.  The bookmark actually started offf life being a piece of kraft card, I went a bit crazy with the acrylic paint....mostly from covering up strokes I didn't like!! until i have obliiterated any sign of the kraft card. I have started using acrylics to stamp with, and love the grunginess of it all. I colored the reading boy with promarkers though. I hope you can join in the challenge, there are freebies up for grabs!!

Forever Friends!!

Today is the start of a new challenge over at the Hambo Hoedown, to make a winter bookmark. I used the SNOWMAN BIRD on one side, and the BOOKMARK-DISCLAIMER digi images. I am really getting into my acrylic paint effects at the moment so I decided to paint my own background, it is so much fun.  Here is a step by step of how I achieved this..

I started off by sponging Docrafts Lagoon acrylic paint onto my cardstock with some cut n dry foam.

Then I added some baby blue, blending it into the lagoon as I went down, then I sponged some white on the top and bottom, again blending lightly as the colors merged.

Next I stamped the TINY SNOWFLAKE with the pearl ice blue paint.

And finally gave it a spritz and a couple of flicks with the white paint,

I left my paper to completely dry then run it through the printer to print the bookmark disclaimer words, made my bookmark, added the painted paper to the reverse side, stuck on my colored snowman bird digi image, a die cut snowflake and some ribbon...et voila!!

Acrylics and paint effects are my new favorite..(this week!!)

SCS CC455

The colors for today's color challenge over at Splitcoaststampers is wild wasabi, daffodil delight, and gold, the dessert is to fussy cut something on your card....Well!!!.....right up my street, after all...I haven't got the "fussy cut Queen"  title for nothing!!! I have used the GERANIUM digi image from Hambo Stamps.

Under the Sea..

It is week two for the Hambo Hoedown interactive card challenge. I have used two digital images this week, Ocean Bottom and Snorkel Boy. Once again I have used an action wobble,......but I will give you a huge tip..... make sure that your image is bigger than the action wobble mechanism!!!! I went to put it on my snorkel boy, only to realise it was actually bigger than the image, so I had to make my own, two small pieces of card, make a spiral by winding some wire round a pencil, and adhere each end to the cards, done. not as effective as a real action wobble, but not bad, I dont have a video to prove it moves so you will just have to take my word for it!! but if you pop over to Lyn's blog you will see her video that demonstrates just how fabulously cute her wobble card is. So join in with this weeks challenge, I guarantee you it is sooooo much fun!!

The Cutting Queen strikes again!!...

....or as my lovely DT friend Lyn, called me "the cutting guru"!! ... and I think that I have earned the title after all the cutting out I did for this card!! This week is the start of a new hoedown challenge at Hambo Stamps and the challenge is to make an interactive card. I have so much fun doing these kind of cards and I have to say that I got my initial inspiration for my card from the very first Hambo image that I saw, I adored it straight away, the card was made by the uber talented Irene Rhodes (dandl93) using the very cute BOAT digi image, and so my love of Hambo Stamp images began there and then, I ordered the image, started joining in the Hoedown challenges and  not too long after I was beyond thrilled and very proud to be asked to join the DT,  and lovin it!!....so it is all down to Irene and her amazing card, and she still inspires me with her fabulous work, so thank you Irene, I owe you big time.
So back to my card for this week, I have made an interactive side stepper card, and just like Irenes card, the BOAT has an "Action Wobble" thingy on the back which makes it not only wobble but rock from side to side, I knew I wanted to put something else in the boat with him, so I stacked up all the possibilities, printed them off, and set about cutting them out......and in Judy's words "Jeez"!!, Yep... I went way "overboard" here,  I do love cutting out and I am a bit of a perfectionist in that department, I think it stems from when I was a little girl and in the magazines there would be a girl and you had to cut her out and cut out her clothes with tabs on, can anyone remember what I am on about???  so.... yes I am proud of this card, not just for the cutting out but for the fact that I used EIGHT separate Hambo images, fifteen in total....Pheww!! Great challenge, hope you can join in, I would love to see your creations.

The digi images I used are BOAT,  KANGAROO,  BIRD BALLOON,  BIRD EGG,  the two different fish are from the SNORKEL BOY set,  the ELEPHANT and BIG GIRAFFE are rubber stamps.