No Designer Paper?!

I'm popping in with a card for this weeks Sweet Stampin' challenge, made for hubby's birthday.  This week we are challenging you to make a card without using designer paper.  I decided to go the route of sponging, masking & blending using inks from SU & TH, trees from Stampin' Up's Lovely as a Tree and birds from Verve. 

We're sponsored by the very lovely Emma at Flat Friends so why don't you come & show us your no dp creations.

Joining in with the following fabulous challenges:

Amusing Challenges - Anything Goes

Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes + Sentiment

Fashionable Stamping - All about the Men

Papertake Weekly - Not Square

Simply Papercrafts - Anything Goes

Sister Act - Anything Goes

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Sweet Stampin' B/W with a POP!

As I am three days late for the Sweet Stampin' challenge this week, lets look on this as a mid week reminder (tee hee!).

This week we want to see your black & white cards but with just a 'pop' of one other colour.  For me it was the perfect combination to make this card:

Of course it also gave me the opportunity to test out those new dies that landed on my doormat recently....how that happened is anyone's guess?! Oh, and the spotty stamp to co-ordinate with the dies just *might* have landed on the mat too...oops!

I'd love to join in with the following fabulous challenges:

Craft for the Craic - Big Occasion

Crafty Catz - CAS

Sister Act - Anything Goes

Simply Papercrafts - Anything Goes

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Sweet Stampin' Birds and/or Bees

Here we are on another sunny (ha!) bank holiday Monday, There is baking going on in my house today, starting off with a quiche & following it up with a Battenburg cake, yum!

Now I must have made this card on a sunny day Spring day, look how bright & cheery he is for the Sweet Stampin' challenge of Birds and/or Bees this week.

It's a gorgeously adorable hedgie from Penny Black (that was one of my very first & most loved stamps), teamed with papers from American Crafts Neapolitan pad & topped off with a Verve sentiment.  How is it, no matter how many birthday sentiment stamp sets I own that there's never quite the right shape or size?!

I'd love to join in with the following challenges:

Allsorts - Happy Birthday
Aud Sentiments 132 - Cute + Sentiment

Amusing - Birds & Bees - TOP 3

Come and Get it - Tic Tac Toe (Designer Paper, Sentiment & 2 +Layers)

Craft for the Craic - Wings

Crafty Catz - Kids

Fashionable Stamping - Old Favourites (Old/Forgotten Stamp) SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT
Penny Black at Allsorts - Dies /Punches
Penny Black Saturday - Trees/Nature

Sister Act - Anything Goes

Enjoy your day folks, I might even find time to visit a few blogs while The Deputy bakes!

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Sweet Stampin' CAS

Hi folks, i'm back again, don't fall off your chairs!  I love a bit of CAS so knowing that was the theme for team Jacky at Sweet Stampin' this week got me joining in.  That and my stock of cards needs serious rebuilding.

In the spirit of this years personal quest to use up my stash, I dug out this Papermania set of stamps. It must have been in my collection for 5+ years & never even been opened, shocking I know!  There's a rectangular frame too & I couldn't get a nice impression from it for love nor money.  Going to try filing it and if it doesn't improve it's being binned. This one however...perfect first time.

I'm playing along in the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps - CAS

Simply Papercrafts - Anything Goes/CAS

Sister Act - Anything Goes

Hope to see you playing along & have a great day.

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

CASS - Cute Christmas

Just dropping by to let you know we have a new challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin'.  Now's as good a time as any to start getting organised with those Christmas cards so dig out your CUTE images & join us.  I used an LOTV image paired with some Tim Holtz papers.  If i'm not careful, it will be Christmas before I blog again lol!

I was inspired by the great sketch at Aud Sentiments & a few other challenges:

Aud Sentiments - Sketch TOP 3 WIN!
Brown Sugar - Layers
Ooh la la Creations - Use a pre coloured image
Sister Act - Anything Goes
Winter Wonderland - Oh Christmas Tree

Thanks for popping by,

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Inky Layers

Despite having a crazy busy first half of Feb & a bleurgh second half I've done pretty well with using up some lingering old stash.  So what went?

1. A set of very dimensional baby girl buttons - Had these forever, got them in a sale & I still have the boy version to use up....
2. Last image on a sheet of Penny Black Stickeroos.
3. The last on a sheet of Fabric stickers (yeah!) Think I only bought these because they were a bargain lol!
4. Last image on a sheet of Dufex stickers....

This month hasn't been so hot on one layer cards though, I managed 3.  Two of which I have to confess are the same design but in different colourways.  

Now as well as my rambles which of course you love....I dropped in to let you know about the new challenge at Sweet Stampin'.  We want to see your all or nothing cards, so one layer or lots of layers.  Unusually for me, I went with the lots of layers option:

This resulted from a very inky session I had making backgrounds & actually has 9 layers!

Some of my favourite challenges:

Brown Sugar #135 - Anythng Goes

Craft for the Craic - Birthday or Anniversary

Crafty Catz #268 - Use Dies/Punches

Papertake Weekly - Take Your Pick....Cool Colours

Sister Act #95 - Anything Goes

Have a great weekend.

The Genius (Occasionally!) xx

Total one layer cards to date: 9