Goofy Ghosts Unleashed

Today is the day that the GOOFY GHOSTS set get unleashed released over at Bugaboo. I fell in love with this image as soon as I saw it. He's going to be great for Halloween gifts! I have used my sizzix XL die to create these goody bags:

I used the bags with scallops die to make the die cuts but cut off the scallop lid. I think the scallop is what has put me off using this die so much as I found it harder to decorate. Not a probelm anymore. The backing panels have been stamped with a web stamp from Elzybells and then embossed with clear embossing powder to give a subtle look. The sentiment has been printed on the computer and then punched and layered.

Now the other day I mention I got a hold of a load of metal clips at a really good price to use on a project. I needed one but have over thirty. I said I didn't know what to do with them. Well I found an answer! Not only do they keep these bags shut but they look good too.

If you like these then make sure you have a look HERE to enter my blog candy. The items needed to create these are included in the prize.

I'm also entering these into 2 Challenges:
Cupcake Craft Challenge ~ Lets Get Digital (digi Ghost image)
The Shabby Tea Room ~ Old Meets New (my old XL die meets the new Bugaboo Images)

One Stitch At A Time

The One Stitch at a Time challenge this week is Girlie. I have used this angel digi image (found in the Wee Ones collection) from Bugaboo to create the card and so am going to also enter it into Bee Crafty's Anything Goes challenge (but you must use a digi).

Oh Alice is also having a challenge to create a 'Little Girl Card' so I'm entering it there too. The paper is from SU's Pink Flamingo pack matched up with Pretty in Pink card and some linen white from my stash. The sentiment is from my new Papertrey Star Prints set.

I did some blog hopping on some challenge sites this morning and was so shocked. Do you remember my Skelekinz Rock Star card I made a few days ago? Well it came Top 3 at One Stitch at A Time. Amazing enough, but it also got Top 3 with Charisma cards too - a double whammy! If you missed it, here it is again with a fab One Stitch at a Time border added (I like the way they do this to their images)

Catch The Bug Challenge ~ Dog Days of Summer

Can you believe the Summer is coming to an end (well did it actually arrive at all?). Well this week at Catch The Bug, the Bugaboo challenge blog, there's the challenge of:

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

The challenge is to create a project with an ANIMAL on it (doesn't have to be a dog) and to use only neutral colours plus one other of your choice.

My neutral colours are brown and cream and my chosen colour is pink. I chose to use this great cupcake bear as my image. This colour combo enables the card to be entered into the Just Cute Bears' Pink and Brown Challenge.

I used a load of the star die cuts (made using my Sizzix folder). Lots of doodling too. I even attached an extra star on the inside. 

So, do you fancy joining in with the challenge? If so, head on over to CATCH THE BUG for all the details. As usual, we have our regular prizes of Bugaboo images of your choice, but also we have a sponsor. Stampin Dragon Designs are offering 4 images to a lucky participant.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge - Make a start on Christmas

I was working on this card yesterday and finished it off this morning when I saw that Secret Crafter's challenge this week is to make a start on Christmas. This is such a fun image! It's from the JJ range (she can be found in the Christmas Cheer set and is called Wrapped Up) from Bugaboo. I think it strikes the right balance of being a bit 'cheeky' without going too far.

All the papers and card are from SU - Choc Chip, Real Red and Old Olive. I also used my SU stamp and punches for the sentiment. I think this image is so versatile because you could use any colour for the ribbon - think I may try a turquoise Christmas card next just to see! Wonder if it'll work?

Play Day!

I haven't got a card or project to you. Do you ever just have a play day? Just play around with things with no intentions? Well that's what I had today! I made a quick card yesterday which I shared here on my blog but today was experimenting day. This week I got my Papertrey order and a Stampin Up one and so just messed around all day. So now I have plenty of embellishment etc to use up.

I've been having a play with creating backing papers using my A Little Argyle set. I have 4 ATC cards ready to decorate now.

I hadn't really noticed this damask type star in the PTI set until I opened my SU Christmas backing papers and spotted the Garden Green one and thought they were a great match. What do you think?

I bought this great sentiment set that has loads of handwritten style wishes. I stamped a load to see which would fit in my oval punch. The answer - LOADS! I'm all sorted for Christmas sentiments now!

And I had to make a few more cars using the die and stamp set. Really liking the Rich Razzleberry colour right now.

Well back to play. Wonder what'll happen next?

Also, being a Friday today, it's time for a FRIDAY FREEBIE over in the Bugaboo shop. There's a new set of images out today - none other than STELLA. They're a sewing themed set and best of all, you can pick one up for FREE today! Go on, go and have look.

Passion for Papertrey - Polka Dots

Oh my goodness! Yesterday saw my first ever Papertrey order arrive! I have been looking at these stamps for ages and have been wanting to try them so badly. I bought a few sets and a die. It was the Argyle set that pushed me into making the order as I love the background it makes. I also wanted to try their die/stamp combos and so got the car set! I'm going to be brave and show you my first ever try with them. It's not perfect by a long shot. I was using a grid lined acrylic block but the lines seemed to obscure my view for lining up the diamonds etc. Am going to use a plain one next time.

I have also found out that I need to stamp the first stamp on scrap paper and re ink to get a better result - the second one came out better as you can see on the top of the card. I'd love to try some of the card from PTI but the weight makes the postage a tad steep so I think I'll have to stick to SU supplies for that. I've used melon mambo and chocolate chip for this card.

I really like the car here. The die and stamp work so well together and it was really quick to make. I have also purchased the star stamp set and am now waiting for a star punch to match. I love it when all these gadgets make things easy!

Well even though it's my first ever PTI, I'm able to enter it into the Passion for Papertrey challenge. They have set a Polka Dot challenge. I made the polka dot backing using a row of the dots from the Argyle set. The melon mambo ribbon is also polka dotted (if that is even a word).

Skelekinz Rock Star and Bugaboo New Release News

I went a bit die cut crazy on this card! These sizzix stars are brill. Why did it take me so long to use them??? I've coupled them up with the Skelekinz Rock 'Star' from Bugaboo to create a boy card. I made it for the Making it with Meslyn challenge which was to create a boy/teenager easel card. I'm also going to enter it into Charisma's die cut challenge (well I did use 12 of them this time!). I'm also entering it into One Stitch at a Time's challenge which is Say it with Shapes. I guess all the stars on this card make it qualify.

Today also sees a NEW RELEASE over at Bugaboo. There are some Baseball images available. Now I have to admit I struggled with this one as baseball isn't that big a sport over here. It was a challenge but sometimes it's good to be pushed out of your comfort zone. This is what I came up with.

I'm entering this card into a couple of challenges too. The first is for the Digi Doodle Shop challenge and it is Anything goes (well, no excuses there but I have used a digi!) and the second is Stamp Something's Digi Day Challenge.

Please remember that every effort is made to put them up on time but there may be a delay at times. Jodie the owner and artist is a one woman band and I honestly don't know how she manages at times - running Bugaboo, running the family and moving house all at the same time. She is a wonder woman. So basically, if they are not up yet, just keep checking back.

Howdy!

Look who's come out to play again! It's the Bugaboo Cowboy. Isn't he just fantastic?

I wanted to play with the Charisma Challenge this week which is to use Die Cuts. Now, a confession, I've had this stars sizzix dies for a few years and it has barely been used. I thought this challenge would be a brilliant reason to get it out and get it cutting. Well I think It'll be used plenty more again! I really like how these layered stars turned out. I used them on Mellow Moss and Soft Suede cardstock and DSP. The Mellow Moss DSP was from the hostess gift section.

The DSP at the top of the card is just a small piece which was scrap from another project. The stars have also been cut from scrap bits too. This means I can enter it for Digital Tuesday's 'use your scraps' challenge.

The sentiment is from SU, stamped using Chocolate Chip ink so that it is darker and matches all the doodling. I like how the doodling adds to the stars, they looked a bit bare without it.

Expect to see more stars soon!

Just Cute Bears #12 ~ Pink and Brown

Aren't these new Teddy release from Bugaboo amazing? Here's the second one I have showcased this weekend. This is teddy with cupcake and the card has been made for the Just Cute Bears Challenge which is to use Pink and Brown as your colour scheme.

My Cuttlebug embossing folder has made a long awaited appearance! The inside has been decorated with matching panels to the front in the two shades of pink. You can just about see it here:

Addicted to ATCs

These are my swaps for the Addicted to ATCs swap. The theme was Make a Splash. I've used my Bugaboo Turtle digi image to create this set.

I am entering these into the One Stop Craft Challenge as they want 'anything but a card'.

Gift Tags

What's the challenge over at Allsorts right now? Well, it's to create something smaller than 3". I decided to make some Christmas gift tags ready for the festive season using some Cuddly Buddly downloads. It's been far too long since I've used these.

I simply printed and decoupaged. These are great to use as they are fun and already coloured in, making them quick and easy.

Beary Nice

I wanted to showcase some of the recently released Teddy images from Bugaboo and so looked at Just Cute Bears to see what their latest challenge was. The chosen theme was Buttons and Blooms. Well it had to be this teddy, didn't it!

Just look at the blooms he's holding. There's a great range in this digi set, well worth a look. The one with the cupcake is brilliant! I made this set of ATCs using some Elzybells (no longer trading though which is a shame) Chocolate Brownie Cardstock and co-ordinating buttons.

FORE!!!

I was inspired today by the Digital Tuesday challenge which is 'Use your Scraps'. I created a card and a matching small gift using scrap bits of paper and card. Being a digital challenge, I have used a Bugaboo image from the A Kids View Men section.

 The border of the card was made using 1 inch squares to create a border. All the papers used are from the Stampin Up Chocolate Chip paper pack. I use so much of this colour that I had lots of small scraps that I trimmed down.

I printed out a few extra copies of the golfing image and decoupaged it up. Decoupaging is the theme this week at Cards for Men so I'm going to enter this card into that challenge too.

Here's a quick and easy topper made to fit onto an ATC bag! Again, I used scraps to complete this project. The 'golf balls' inside are actually sweets found at a Sugarcane.

ATC Bundle

Another month has passed over at ATC Swappers and what a great month it was. It was an open theme so the variety was vast. Here are the 12 ATCs I now own in my collection. Normally we only swap 4 but this month was different and you were able to swap up to 3 sets of 4. Make sure you check out the blog to see the rest too.

Big thanks go to, in no particular order, (exactly as if you were X Factor contestants) Sue E, Catherine, Jan, Helene, Sue D, Andrea, Ali, Poppet, Julie and Angela.

This month we have a Sporting Summer theme and there's still plenty of time to join in as there's an extra week to get your ATCs in as I'll be away in Crete for the first week of September. Seeing some of these beach and sun ATCs are whetting my appetite already. So don't hesitate, get on over to the ATC SWAPPERS BLOG right now to find out more. HERE's a direct link to the current swap info post.

Kenny K Challenge 6

It's a Sunday which means it's Kenny K challenge time and this week the theme is BOLD AND BRIGHT. I've used some summery SU papers with the Miss Thang image.

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge have a girlie theme going on too so I'm entering that too.

I'm still working on matching the turqoise card with some Promarkers. I like the colours here on the image but still think it's a little dark. Will carry on playing and see what happens.

Catch The Bug Challenge ~ Back to School

I know it's a while again before we go back to school on this side of the pond but that is the theme for this week's challenge at Catch The Bug, the Bugaboo digi image challenge. The challenge, should you wish to accept it is to create a Back to School project using Primary Colours. I have used the Turtle from the More Turtles set to create these two treat holders.

When I saw Sarah's post over at CARD OASIS and saw her little treat holder, I started to think. The mechanism looked similar to my door hanger treat holder, so I set about experimenting. This is the result:

I simply extended the piece of card I started with to create a flap to come over the top. As Sarah says. a Cadbury's Freddo bar is a perfect fit. 

 

Isn't it great when you can alter a previous project and make something new!!! I have made both the treat holders to show you. If you'd like to have a go at make the door hanging treat holder then check out my tutorial HERE. I've been trying out more chocolate in the holder, for scientific reasons of course, to see what fits. Latest find - CHOCOLATE ORANGE BARS - MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

To see the rest of the Design Team's work, head on over to Catch The Bug.Remember, if you join in with our challenge, you could win some Bugaboo Digis of your choice, 7 for 1st place, 5 for 2nd and 3 for 3rd. The bonus is, if you use a Bugaboo digi on your project, you can enter your name into the draw TWICE!

Rudolph Rides Again

Charisma Cardz this week are asking for Easel Cards for their challenge. It's been ages since I made one and really enjoyed it. Seeing as it was such an open theme, I looked for another challenge to give be a bit of a lead and inspiration for ideas. I went to Christmas Stampin' All Year Round who were asking for 2 Designer Papers.

I used some SU DSP for the large panels in Old Olive and Chocolate Chip (yep, I like these two colours and they are staying too yippeeee). Paired it up with Bugaboo's Rudolph image. If you like this Rudolph, and how could you not, then head on over to the Bugaboo Shop HERE and while you're at it, have a look at the new Sunbonnet set that's released today and even grab one of them for FREE!

Leaving Card

Tonight I'm going to a leaving dinner for a friend who is moving to Germany. Wanted something clean and simple (and quick!). Had decided to use the Stampin Up Trendy Trees set as I made some small little ones when I first had the set and liked them. Paired them up with a SU sentiment too which sums up the reason for the card. I couldn't believe it when I saw that Cute Card Thursday had the theme of TREE-mendous! One scary coincidence!

Have teamed up Kraft card with Plum card from SU. Have edged the Kraft with chocolate chip ink and used the choc chip for the stems and sentiment too.

Hope I've managed to hit 'sophisticated and elegant' without being dull and boring!

My Time To Craft Challenge

FARM FEVER is the theme for this week at My Time To Craft. I have used the Bugaboo sheep image which actually comes in the Nativity set from the A KIDS VIEW series. I have created a small little note card from scraps of card and paper I had left over from another project that I'm working on - it's unfinished and so not posted yet! The sentiment on the outside was added using Wordart on the computer.

The image has been repeatedly monted on nestie cut outs. The paper and card is from SU in Tempting Turquoise. The sentiment on the inside is a SU stamp stamped using Tempting Turquoise (which has also been sponged around the border of the white.

And in other news, today is the first NEW RELEASE at Bugaboo since Jodie has moved (we had a break last week whilst she did all the heavy hauling!). Today's release is a set of fantastic TEDDY BEARS. Head on over HERE to have a look at them all - they're sure to be a hit. There are male and female ones which is always a bonus. Here's a glimpse of one in her Rose Hat