Good Times... Sketch Saturday Week #311 :)

Morning everyone!! :)

Well, it's time for the fourth and penultimate of my GDT posts for Sketch Saturday... this month is really flying by!! :) This sketch is really very me and I was excited to sit down to create with it... somehow still found myself slightly flumoxed by the number of layers, though, so kept things as simple as possible by sticking pretty much exactly to the sketch!! lol

I actually made this several weeks ago... I was trying to get ahead knowing that I wouldn't have much time or energy for crafting with my friends staying... but I made a mistake with the sketches and thought this was the second week's so had to go back and get another one made quick-smart when Jen set me right!! Luckily we realised we were talking at cross-purposes about design ideas while on Skype!! lol Anyway... when I made this, Jen had just brought me my first ever packs of SU! cardstock and I was just dying to have a play... such scrummy colours!!!! :)

I'd also been itching to use this CBS bike stamp and the sketch was just perfect for it... I used one half of the flowery tree from the Design A Tree set to come out of the bike's basket and then added a few butterflies from Good Times, too... love how it all came together!! :) I also kept things simpler by avoiding using any patterns and making one of the strips on the sketch a layer of vellum :)

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - White Plain; Stampin' Up! - Perfect Plum, Coastal Cabana

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Good Times, Design a Tree

Dies - Clearly Besotted - Scalloped Edge Die Collection; MFT - Fishtail Banners

Inks - Hero Arts Shadow Inks - Soft Granite, Soft Purple, Soft Pool, Soft Pink, Soft Blue; VersaMark

Papers - Forever Friends - Springtime 6x6" Pad; DoCrafts Anita's - Vellum

Tools - Cuttlebug, Heat Tool

Embellishments - Docrafts Anita's 3mm gems

Finishing Touches - Wink of Stella Clear; Stickles - Frosted Lace and Crystal

Extras - Embossing Powder - Crafter's Companion White

This week's sponsor at over at Sketch Saturday is Bugaboo...

... and here's the sketch...

I hope you'll join in and please stop by the SS blog to see what the rest of the DT have come up with!! :) Hope you're all well and have a lovely weekend!! :)

Also, thank you so much to the lovely folk who've left comments recently... I'm sorry I've not been making it back around to visit people but I am still having to take things a bit easy after my friends' visit and in preparation for some work on the house starting in the next week or so... but I'll try and get round to people asap!! :)

Summer Butterfly... Sketch Saturday Week #308 :)

Hello!! :)

So... a while ago, Jen asked me if I would like to be a Guest Designer for the month of May over at Sketch Saturday... and- funnily enough!- I said 'Yes!!'... so here I am today very happily sharing my first GDT card using a fab sketch by Jen... which is also a birthday card for a wonderful and butterfly-loving crafty friend...

This is a simple card... just a piece of DP, one die cut butterfly and some vellum- with a touch of sparkle and a few pearls added, of course!!- but I was really pleased with how it came out... I have shied away from sketches recently but felt like my layouts were getting a bit stale, so I'm glad Jen's offer gave me a push to try something different :)

Told you there was 'a touch' of sparkle... the butterfly was cut from a glittered paper... but I still added several coats of amazing Wink of Stella to the rest... and then couldn't resist adding a bit more to the background piece, which was also already glittered!! lol

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill - Pale Turquiose Smooth

Stamps - Clearly Besotted - Dandelion Dreams (sentiment)

Dies - Clearly Besotted - Elegant Butterflies Die Collection

Inks - Hero Arts Shadow Inks - Soft Pool

Papers - First Edition - Summer Breeze; DoCrafts Anita's - Vellum

Tools - Cuttlebug, half a broken pair of scissors for distressing edges, Heat Tool, my teeny-tiny sewing machine

Embellishments - Flat-backed Pearls

Finishing Touches - Clear Wink of Stella

Extras - Embossing Powder - WOW! Clear Semi-Dull

This week's sponsor over at Sketch Saturday is Whimsy Stamps...

... and here's the sketch for you...

Whew... I'd forgotten how much more there was to add to DT posts!! lol I do hope you'll join in, though, and you should definitely pop over to the SS blog to see what Jen and the rest of the regular DT have come up with!! :)

Flowers for Mum...

Hello everyone!! :)

Just popping in to share the card I made for my mum for Mother's Day this year... I was pleased with this for several reasons- I had fun making it; I liked the end result; it was finished a week before Mother's Day (a record for me and very helpful to the stress levels!! lol); I managed to use no less than four stamp sets/dies from my SMS Challenge drawer on this one card (Go me!! ;D ); and last but definitely not least... my mum loved it, too... which is the most important thing, but the others help, too!! lol

Anyway, here it is...

A pretty, springlike card... perfect for Mother's Day :)

I borrowed the sentiment from Jen when she was over here the weekend before M's Day and it was the perfect centre piece on one of my new Nesties with a bit of texture from my amazing PTI Linen Plate. The stunning flowers are from WMS and I can't quite believe they have been in unused 'til now :S But I used the newly released matching die set, too, and it worked out just as I was hoping... always a bonus!! lol

I also decorated the insert as this was a special card for a special person!! :)

{The List}

Cardstock - A6 top-fold blank - Papermill Direct - Pink Smooth, White Plain

Stamps - Waltzingmouse Stamps - Funky Flowers; SU! - 'Happy Mother's Day' (don't know the name- sorry!)

Dies - Waltzingmouse Stamps - Funky Flowers Die Set; Spellbinders - Nestablities Labels 16; PTI - Linen and Canvas Impression Plate

Inks - Hero Arts Shadow Inks - Soft Purple, Soft Blue, Soft Pink; VersaMagic - Thatched Straw, Aloe Vera

Tools - Cuttlebug, one half of a pair of broken scissors to distress edges

Finishing Touches - Clear Wink of Stella Brush Pen

No challenges for this one, I just wanted to share :) I'm not sure how much I'll be around in the next few weeks as I have friends coming to stay next week and so don't expect to have much spare time or energy... I am so excited to see them- last time they came, they were only able to pop in for a few hours, this time we get several days!! :) I will, however, have a couple of scheduled posts going up for a fun GDT stint during May!! :) If I can remember how to do a DT post after so long, that is!! ;) Thanks for stopping by today... have a lovely week everyone!! :)

Elegant Butterflies... and some not so elegant stitching!!

Hello everyone!! :)

Panic post from me as I've just remembered I wanted to get this entry in for the CBS challenge... and I have less than an hour and a half!! :/

These are the simplest of simple cards, remarkable only for three things... the stunning, stunning, stunning CBS Elegant Butterfly stamps I used being the main one, along with some exceptionally pretty new inks and- finally!- my first ever attempt at machine stitching on cardstock... which is *very* obviously a first attempt... I swear I was not under the influence of drink or drugs (only the prescription variety around here but they have to be pretty potent!! lol) at the time!! lol But, dodgy, wibbly-wobbly (timey-wimey) lines aside, I was soooo excited to try this at last... and am really hoping practise makes perfect!! lol

Anyway, here are the cards...

My favourite... for a friend... I seem to need an unending supply of thirtieth cards this year... how I am surprised by this after my own at the end of last year is a mystery!! ;)

The second card with the wonky stictches... very wonky!! lol

I just love the colours in this purple card... the little snippet from LOTV's Timeless Victorian pad (cut around a die as my desk was too messy to get out my 'bug!!) just goes perfectly with my shadow inks :)

My Wink of Stella made another star appearance too!! :)

These are some little A7 one-layer cards I made very quickly and simply for a stall Mum and I are doing at her church's Easter Market event at the weekend... and you thought it couldn't get any simpler!! lol

Stella!! *sigh* it's soooo preeeetty!! ;)

And a group shot :)

{The List}

Cardstock - Papermill Direct - White Plain, Lilac Smooth and Pink Smooth

Stamps - Clearly Besotted Stamps - Elegant Butterflies; Sentiments - Assorted CBS sets

Inks - Hero Arts Shadow Inks - Soft Pool, Soft Purple, Soft Pink, Soft Granite

Papers - LOTV - Timeless Victorian

Tools - Sewing Machine

Embellishments - Auroura Borealis Gem stone from stash

Finishing Touches - Wink of Stella Brush Pen :)

Challenges: CBS - In Flight :)

Right, I'm off to link up while I still can!! :) Hope you're all well and I hope to be back soon-ish!! :)