Tag Archives: challenges

Dynamic Duos #43

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More gorgeous colours for this week’s Dynamic Duos challenge:

And as always, so many ideas came to mind!  This time I chose to use them to make a card for a colleague who is having a baby boy soon.

I think the “peek-a-baby” image is just too cute, it comes from the Hostess stamp set called “Happy You” and the greeting is from Baby Prints.  The patterned papers come from the gorgeous Sycamore Street DSP which is available from the Sale-a-Bration catalogue but only until the 22nd March.
For some reason the photo has made the card look a little lop-sided, but I assure it isn’t really.
Lots of inspiration from the rest of the Design Team as always, and we look forward to seeing all your wonderful creations.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Dynamic Duos #42

Posted in Cards, Masculine by

 

The first thing I thought of when I saw these colours was yellow flowers and green leaves, and then decided that was a pretty obvious choice so wanted to do something different, and decided I would continue with my masculine themed cards, although this particular technique could definitely be used on any cards.

The different pieces of cardstock have been punched or cut out and then stuck onto the base piece using either glue or double sided tape, and then the whole piece has been run through the Big Shot using the Square Lattice Embossing Folder.  It looks like the pieces are embedded into the background piece, a little like patchwork.
I have used the Teeny Tiny Sentiments stamp set for the greeting on each card as I wanted them to be small and insignificant in relation to the geometric shapes.
Here are the cards individually:

 

 

 

 

Lots of inspiration for you from the rest of the Design Team again this week.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Dynamic Duos #41

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This week’s Dynamic Duo‘s colours are:

Yum… another gorgeous combination!
The colour reminds of a beautiful clear ocean, so I made my card using the new By The Tide stamp set.

I have also used the French Foliage set to add some “bubbles” in the background along with the Square Lattice embossing folder and some sponging around the edges, and paper piercing and faux stitching of course! 🙂

You can see what the rest of the Design Team have done with these colours here.  Please join us and share your wonderful creations.
Happy stamping!
Chris

 

Dynamic Duos #39

Posted in Cards, Uncategorized by

Gorgeous colour combination this week, one that I just love…. Pink Pirouette and Pool Party – yes of course, lovely girly colours 🙂

Too many ideas came to mind with this combination so it’s probably a good thing that it has been a busy week and I haven’t had much time to make the hundreds of different ideas I had!  I did, however, once again use Everything Eleanor again for this week’s card.  I do apologise for my current obsession, I promise to try to use something different for next week’s creation.

I have used the embossing folder called Holiday Frame (not currently available, but you never know if it might be in the future….) which is supposed to be a Christmas one, it has a little Christmas tree, but if you turn it side ways and cover up the Christmas tree with leaves, no one would ever know!  I just think it is really pretty and works well as an oval frame.
I have then used the oval from the Designer Frames Folders in Pool Party which has been cut out by hand.  The greeting is from You Are Loved and punched out using the large Oval Punch.  Flowers from Everything Eleanor have been cut by hand and layered.  Some lovely seam binding ribbon, leaves and a gorgeous Vintage Brad and for some reason I am still not entirely pleased with how this card turned out.  Oh well, lots of other ideas running around for these colours, so I can always make something else 🙂

Make sure you check out the inspiration from the rest of the Design Team, and please share your creations with us, we love to see what you have come up with.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Still AddINKtive Challenge #3

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This week’s challenge from Still AddINKtive is to use the colours River Rock, Pink Pirouette and Soft Suede.

Not quite sure how I feel about this combination, that is until I saw all the beautiful samples using these colours – lots of gorgeousness…. 🙂
So my card uses the Framed Tulips Embossing Folder on the Soft Suede layer, and then the Elegant Bouquet Embossing Folder on the white layer.  The stamp set is the Everything Eleanor set, the swirls stamped in River Rock and the flowers in Pink Pirouette, and then hand cut.  To add a little shimmer and interest, I have used a dab of Frost White Shimmer Paint, which I have added using a paint brush, and looks much prettier in real life.

I’ll be back with more soon!
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Feeling Sentimental

Posted in Cards, Masculine by

I’ll be the first to admit that I love making cards that are girly – pinks, purples, ribbons, lace and vintage in style, but I also really enjoy making masculine cards.
A lot of people have commented that they struggle with making cards for the men in their lives, so this year I plan to share with you lots of tips and ideas for male cards, and hopefully some inspiration too 🙂

This particular card uses the new Sale-a-Bration stamp set called Feeling Sentimental, and it is great for masculine cards.  I am also going to enter this card in this week’s Paper Players challenge #129, which is a sketch challenge.  Pop on over to their site, lots of inspiration for you!

So, my first tip for making masculine cards is, don’t be afraid to use patterned papers, as I have done in this card.  I have used the Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP here, which is perfect, but don’t forget to look at the packs of papers you already have.  Stampin’ Up! are fabulous when it comes to incorporating all sorts of possibilities, so have a look through those flowery papers and look for stripes, spots, even what may seem like a girlish pattern, could be cut so that it changes it’s look. How about some of those Christmas papers?  Red or green stripes or spots or patterns could easily be turned into a background for a tree or other masculine image.
Let’s see if I can give you an example…. The Twitterpated DSP is a lovely flowery, pretty pack of papers, but have a look at the reverse side of each paper.  Green and blue checks… stripes…. geometric designs in grey, and a red geometric pattern that could easily be cut to look masculine.

For my card, I have die cut the patterned paper using the Window Frames Collection, and then layered that over my stamped image.  This particular patterned paper is only available for a few more days, so make sure you get in quick if you want to get hold of some!

Happy Stamping!
Chris

Still AddInktive Colour Challenge

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I had the great pleasure of spending a few hours stamping yesterday with my lovely friend Deb Fearns.  She was kind enough to let me have a bit of play with some stamp sets that will be available from the 1st of Feb, so I thought I would give you a little sneak peek at one of the cards I have made using this set called Dapper Dad.

This card is also a very last minute entry for this week’s colour challenge over on Still AddINKtive.

Summer Starfruit is still not a colour I like very much, and as such, this was a good challenge for me.

Hope you are having a crafty week!  Happy Stamping!
Chris

Dynamic Duos #36

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Time for another colour challenge at the Dynamic Duos blog, and this week is Real Red and Basic Black with the option of a Valentine Theme.

I have to admit that my Mojo is well and truly MIA at present, so nothing is easy when it comes to creating!  Lets hope it returns real soon….

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I also struggled with trying to make this photo work – I have used the flocked window sheet out of the Candlelight Christmas Specialty papers, and of course it reflected everything that was behind me…
The card didn’t really turn out how I had intended it and then I didn’t know what to do with it, so I hope you will find some inspiration in the fact that I am human and have my “off” days too  🙂  I would love to see what you can do with this challenge, so please share with us at Dynamic Duos, and while you are there, check out the gorgeous work from the rest of the Design Team.

Happy Stamping!
Chris

Dynamic Duos #35

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Gorgeous colours again this week for the Dynamic Duos challenge, and here is the third card in my Bordering on Romance set that I shared in my previous post.

I have used mostly So Saffron with just a hint of Certainly Celery on the leaves.

The sprays of flowers have been cut out by hand and then lifted off the card with dimensional tape.  And this time, instead of lots of faux stitching, I have just done lots of paper piercing 🙂 it does create a completely different effect.  The greeting is from the Perfectly Penned stamp set.

Lots of inspiration from the rest of the Design Team, which you can see here.
Hope you are having a crafty and productive weekend.  I know I am! 🙂
Happy stamping!
Chris

 

A New challenge

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If you are a follower of my blog, you will know how much I love a challenge… whether that’s a colour challenge or sketch challenge, or any other challenge for that matter!  So I love it when I find a new challenge site, especially one which is being run by two very talented stampers, Bronwyn Eastley and Kathy Tanner.  So of course, I just had to take part in the first challenge at Still AddINKtive which is both a sketch and colour challenge.  Love it!

I have made a card for a friend whose birthday is later this week, and since she loves stitching, and I love doing it on my projects, I added lots of  faux stitching!

My card uses the Betsy’s Blossoms stamp set and some patterned papers from Floral District Designer Series Papers. Add to that a greeting from the Itty Bitty Banners set and some pretty pearls, and that’s it!  Quite simple really.
This is such a pretty colour combination, why don’t you give it a go?

Happy stamping!
Chris

I am thrilled to let you know that my card was chosen as a Top Pick for this challenge, and I also won a prize!  I am feeling very lucky! 🙂  Thanks Bronwyn and Kathy.

Top Pick Badge 1