Making Cards Magazine Bonus Projects (July Issue)

For those of you with July's Making Cards magazine I hope you are liking the papers and projects I designed for the summery issue, lots of ice lollies and deck chairs and cold drinks! You can see two of my cards on the front cover (center and bottom right)

Here are some bonus projects for you to get some more out of your papers!

Summers Day Collection

On the Beach Collection

All papers are free with the magazine or available from their website. All ribbons are from Crafty Ribbons.

There will be another fab card with these papers from Clare on the Challenge Blog tomorrow, so look out for that!

Sarah x

Some More Cards!

Well, thank goodness it's about 10 degrees cooler here today and we've had a big thunderstorm, yay! I'm back in London on Thursday and I honestly don't think I could have survived it in that heat again, phew!

So, today I had a million emails to catch up on as well as some illustration work, which I'm still working on now, proposal sketches for a potential book project - it's very exciting and a bit nerve wracking, wondering if the project will go ahead, if I'll be picked, when will it happen etc etc... so fingers crossed!

I also want to share a few cards with you, I made lots and lots for my recent meetings and projects so I will share them as I get time to photograph them, here are the ones I done today...

A very quick 5 minute card using the Lite Four Legged Friends catridge for my Expression - I wanted to test some of the cuts on this cartridge and this chihuahua just stood out - he's so cute I had to make him into a quick card - this took less than 5 minutes and was all cut from scraps!

And this one is using my Woodland Whimsies stamps coloured in with Promarkers. The branch I cut from kraft card, again this was super quick, probably about 10-15 minutes with the colouring in.

It's always good to have a few 'less than 15 minute' card ideas to hand for those moments where you forget a birthday or occassion - B always always tells me at the last minute before we are going somewhere so I have to make something in 5 minutes while I'm running a bath and finding a dress to wear!

I also have this little pile of lovelies waiting for me in my studio - I feel some late night crafting coming on - I'm working on an altered book project and I can't wait to finish it, waiting for the paints / inks etc... to dry in between stages is soooo frustrating! LOL

Speaking of dresses I have a few vintage beauties waiting for me on eBay so I better go and check my bids before I get back to the drawing!

Sarah x

Basically Bare sponsors Sketch Inspiration!

This week Basically Bare are sponsoring the Sketch Inspiration challenge - with $50 worth of Basically Bare goodies up for grabs this is not to be missed!

Here is my Layout for the sketch...

I used the Basically Bare felt banner and the chipboard flowers - which I distressed with crackle paint. To see the sketch, the other girls work and to enter the challenge please click here!

Today I spent the day in London (the hottest day of the year and I'm off and on trains and buses crammed against sweaty people - nice!) it was a fun day though! but now I am exhausted, my head is full of new things and I think I need an early night - lots of illustration work to do tomorrow!

Sarah x

A Ridiculously Good Special Offer & a Free Digi Stamp!!

As you know I've been celebrating this week, I will be able to tell you why very soon! but in the meantime as I'm in such a stupidly good mood I've decided to share my joy by offering you a fantastic special offer (if you've ever wanted to try CD crafting, now is the time!!) and a free Digi Stamp.

So, firstly, here are all the details you need for the special offer, just click here or on the picture to be taken straight to the special offers section of my shop where you can get your Woodland Whimsies CD's for just £5 each or £10 for the set!! (the matching stamps are also on sale!)

and a free digi stamp, some of you may have this one already from when I first launched Woodland Whimsies but I know a lot of you won't have seen it and I wanted to offer it again as it was so popular last time round (I was sent some lovely pictures of things you made with it, so thank you if you were one of those people!) Just click here or on the picture to get your free digi!

If you would like to share your makes with this or any of my products please feel free to post them on my Facebook page and leave me your blog link if you have one, I'm building an inspiration gallery of projects at the moment and you could be included!

Have a lovely weekend!
Sarah x

Quick Update

Just a quick update from me today!

Firstly, there are just afew days left to enter the handmade flower challenge over on the Challenge Blog - come and join the fun!

Secondly, I will be posting details of a super duper special offer tomorrow that will only run from midnight Friday to midnight Sunday so keep a look out here or on my Facebook page for all the details, you won't want to miss it!

Sarah x

A little Promarker Project

Yesterday I had a lovely day in London, a VERY exciting meeting, I haven't stopped smiling since! and tonight I have had a belated celebration with B, some pink champagne and a chinese takeaway - yum! I hope to bring you news of that very soon!!

I recently made this card with one of my favourite stamps, this time coloured with Promarkers - simple but I like it a lot!

I made good use of the blender pen here to create highlights, once you get the hang of the blender pen its fab for all kinds of effects! More on those soon too :o)

Sarah x

Some Oz Inspiration!

I should have posted this yesterday but naughty me stayed up all night Sunday night and ended up falling asleep about 8.30 last night! probably a good thing as I had to be up super early for a meeting today!

So here are some of my Design Teams projects with the new Oz CD to give you some inspiration and project ideas...

Clare

Clare made this gorgeous pop-up card using the Dorothy and Castle Digis and my cloud stamp from the Woodland Whimsies set

 

 Jaine

Jaine made this gorgeous 3D frame using the papers and digi stamps fromthe CD all coloured with Promarkers

 

Melly

Melly used the whole cast to make this gorgeous Oz card!

 

Tams

Tammy made this gorgeous card using the Glinda digi stamp adding stickles to her wings to make them sparkle!

Claire

Claire made this stunning canvas using the digi stamps from the CD along with some of the trees from the Woodland Whimsies CD - gorgeous work!! I want one!! :o)

If all of those gorgeous projects have inspired you and you want to get your hands on your very own Oz CD then click here!

Sarah x

Missing!

Apologies for the lack of blog post yesterday, I am still up to my eyes in prep for all the things I have happening next week and by the time I unburied myself from the pile of paperwork, samples, products and discarded DVD's (Desperate Housewives is getting me through!) Cups of Tea and Sweetie wrappers it was 4am, birds was singing and it was beginning to get light so I headed straight to bed, still covered in ink and paint!

So today I'm sharing a simple card I made using my favourite Basic Grey Basics paper (I got some more for my birthday from a friend - yay!) and some Basically Bare birdies, one felt and one chipboard. The pearls are also from Basic Grey and the seam binding ribbon is from Crafty Ribbons - I crumpled it first (I actually store these stuffed in a box and not neatly like my other ribbons as it adds to their lovely vintage look!)

I will be back soon with lots of the DT projects with the new Oz CD - there are some absolute beauties and I can't wait for you to see! All orders placed up til Thursday lunchtime have been despatched, so you should start receiving them soon - don't forget to come and share your makes on my Facebook page!

I hope you have a lovely weekend!

Sarah x

Echo Park Cards

I recently discovered 'Echo Park' and I love their ranges, they are so bright and colourful and fit totally with my style of crafting! Also they are constantly bringing out new things which is great (B and my bank manager may not agree with that! LOL)

When my first box of goodies arrived I made a ton of projects to submit to magazines so I havent been able to show any of the projects, but I found out this week that this set hasn't been picked up (oh, the rejection *sob*) so now I can show, yay!

 All three cards are made with the Summer Days range of papers and stickers and the dots and stripes paper, so bright and fun!

As much as I love to create vintagey inky / painty / messy pieces (and I really do, you can tell by the floor in my studio, LOL) I love to make things in bright, cheerful colours that are just pretty.

Sarah x

Derwent Inktense Pencils

Another late blog post, my apologies another manic day! I even roped in B to help me for a bit (and again tomorrow packing your Oz CD orders!!) but enough of that, I'm sure you're not here to read about my manic schedule or how tired I am and how much coffee is propping me up right now!! LOL sooooo, here we go with another project!

As you probably know by now, I just LOVE to colour in, Pencils, Pens, Paints, any medium at all really! because of that I get asked lots of questions about colouring in and colouring mediums. One of my favourite mediums is Colouring Pencils and one of the easiest ways to get the same professional vibrant finish you would get with Promarkers is to use Derwent's Inktense Pencils.

I first used these to do a base for an illustration for the Bologna Book Fair - I worked straight on my illustration without even testing them first - I'm kinda foolhardy like that, I always figure you can slap some acrylic paint or gesso over it if it goes wrong and start again! I started shading with them and honestly, I thought 'yeah, and?' but THEN I added water and they just *Pop* it reminded me of those colouring books you used to get as a kid that were just little dots and when you added water the colour appeared (I hope you know the ones I mean!)

Once they are dry they are like a permanent vibrant ink wash so you can add more shading over the top with other pencils / pens etc.... They are sooo bright and bold and give a perfect blended finish.

On this card I stamped my image (using a Staz-On pad as you will be adding water and, if you're anything like me, going over the lines a bit!) used my Inktense pencils to add the colour, blended with a waterbrush and then when dry I used a tiny bit of coloursoft pencil to the face and jeans to add some extra shading.

Thanks for looking!
Sarah x

Basically Bare

I have been dying to get stuck into the box of DT goodies I received from Basically Bare and I had the perfect opportunity while I was scrapping the other night to use the doll form (and I couldn't resist one of the banner pieces as well!)

I covered the bottom half of the chipboard doll form with one of the canvas doll form pieces (also from Basically Bare) you can paint ot colour / ink these canvas pieces but in this case I left it bare and stitched on some gathered tulle. I hid the stitching with some ribbon and a tiny bow made with cord from Crafty Ribbons. (All papers are Cosmo Cricket Material Girl collection.)

I also used one of the chipboard banner pieces at the top, covered it with paper and adding a thicker with Xena's initial

You can see the chipboard and canvas pieces a little bit clearer in this picture

This is some of the best quality chipboard I've used, it feels lovely and smooth (some I've used feels a bit cheap like a cardboard box and I want to cover it up, this looks nice enough to be left bare) and its nice and thick and sturdy (I had a sticky dots incident covering the banner piece and thought it would split but it done no damage at all, didn't even bend!).

I'm already working on my next project!

Apologies for the late post today, I think it will be pretty much like this for a week or so, this is one of the busiest times for me, I just have so much on, I hope to tell you more about it all by the end of the month!

I have also been answering some of your questions on Formspring as promised, so if you have a question please pop over and ask!

Thank you to everyone for the lovely comments about my papers in this months Making Cards magazine - I can't wait to see your makes!

Sarah x

Making Cards Magazine

The new issue of Making Cards magazine is out now! and I am the Guest Designer (yay!)

So quick, rush and out and buy your copy!! Or get it here online. Would love to see anything you make with my papers, come and share on my Facebook Page!

Thank you all for your Birthday wishes on Friday, I had a lovely day with B and Fuzzybutt and then drinks with friends in the evening followed by a fairly relaxing weekend (actually had little choice in that as I could barely keep my eyes open, ME relapse urgh!) but I'm starting to feel perkier which is lucky because I have SO much going on for the rest of this month - yay!

Also a big 'Thank You' to those who have already pre-ordered my new 'Oz' CD - the packages are here, all labelled, just waiting for the CD's to arrive so they can be packed and posted!!!

Sarah x

Happy Birthday (to me!)

Just a short post from me today, as it's my Birthday and I'm officially taking the "day off" ha! But I wanted to share with you this free Birthday Cupcake Digi Stamp.

Click on the picture or here to download!

Thank you to everyone for the many many birthday wishes on Facebook and Twitter - you're too kind :o)

And I'm so excited to say that over half of my first order of stock of 'Oz' previewed yesterday (see below) has already been pre-ordered - in less than 24 hours!!!!!! I think this will be more popular than Wonderland (happy happy!) so make sure you pre-order yours to guarantee your copy from this first batch.

Sarah x

**New** Product Release - OZ Craft CD

As promised, today is the release of my brand new Craft CD 'Oz' - I hope you will love it as much as I've loved creating it!

All the product information is below, and you can pre-order for despatch on the 17th June here!

The Cover

All the info...

The Characters

And some projects from the CD to give you a quick peek...

An Oz Card, a Wizard Tag

 Or you can even make Dorothy's Basket & Ruby Slippers!

 There will be more peeks and projects added here and on my Facebook Page over the next few days.

The CD contains all of the papers, embellishments and digi stamps (in colour and black and white) that you need, all perfectly colour co-ordinated, as well as projects for you to make, templates for shaped cards and other bits and pieces and all the sentiments you need to add to your projects.

I added the pre-order info to my Shop and Facebook Page about half an hour ago  and I'm already printing preorders, I think this one could be even more popular than Wonderland!!

I look forward to your comments :o)
Sarah x

A Quick Card and an Update

My allotted blogging time is about 2.5 minutes today as I have too much on and no time (eeek!) so just a very quick card from me today...

All papers and stickers are from October Afternoon's 'Modern Homemaker' range - one of my favourites! and the card was super quick to put together, ideal for a last minute thing! I love Teal and Red together, one of my favourite colour combos.

Now I have prep to do for tomorrows product launch, (the first peeks will be on my Facebook page) I'm trying to get together some nice previews and projects to show you, I hope you like it! :o)

Some of you kindly sent me messages today as you remembered that today was the start of the trial for the man accused of my Uncle's murder. unfortunately we were told this afternoon that the trial has been adjourned until the 8th July - so more waiting! Thank you so much for the messages, it was very sweet and they were all very much appreciated.

Sarah x

Getting Prepared!

There is so much happening this month that I'm spending all my days and nights e-mailing, designing, crafting, cutting out, colouring in, making things and just generally preparing for everything ahead! Last night, I took half an hour to make something I just *wanted* to make, another layout of Belle!

I used scrummy October Afternoon papers for this, I think the colours work really well, I've used the Starburst stamp from Scraprat again, its fast becoming one of my favourites for adding journalling, scraps or just on its own - you can get yours here!

On my post for the Punky Scraps blog hop (which you can see here if you're looking for it!) I was asked quite a few questions, I always try and answer when I can so here goes!

My favourite sprays are of course my own ones! which you can buy in my shop here. I also like the Spraypaque sprays from Crafty Notions.

I haven't found anywhere to buy my Basic Grey in bulk yet, there doesn't seem to be a lot of the 'Basics' paper about any more sadly but if I find somewhere I'll be sure to let you know!!

Fuzzybutt is a cross between a Yorkie and a Poodle :o)

I think thats everything!

I have now got a Formspring box at the side where you can ask me questions, I know some people email or ask me on Twitter or Facebook but if you're too shy to email me or contact me that way feel free to ask anything you like (politely! LOL) here.

Sarah x

Tips for Selling Your Cards!

One othe things I get asked a lot about is how to go about selling your handmade cards, so over the weekend I put together my 10 top tips for selling your cards, you can see them here on my Facebook Page. I will be doing some more of these articles regarding questions I get asked a lot, so if you have any special requests just let me know!

The card above I made today, with Crate Paper and Girls Paperie goodies. I took a couple of hours out to go and craft, I had a headache (silly me for having toast after a week of no carbs, ick!) and I was feeling grumpy so I took some time out, sometimes it's more productive to have a break! I also cut out lots of things with my Cricut for later (it's a bit noisy to use at night with OH trying to sleep next door!) I have lots of ideas already and can't wait to get started!

It was back into snuggly PJ's and fluffy booties today as it was cold and rainy (not that I'm complaining, much better than the icky heat!) I always feel more productive in the cold :o)

Now, I must get on, I'm finalising the last few things for a product launch this week - can't wait to show you more!

Sarah x

p.s. if you're looking for the Punky Scraps blog hop please see the post below!

Punky Scraps Blog Hop

Today I'm taking part in the Punky Scraps Blog Hop to celebrate their new Design Team! Punky Scraps is a super fun Challenge Blog that encourages you to think outside the box and get messy with inks and paints (how can you resist!). I was asked to join in their Blog hop after sponsoring their challenge last month.

We were all asked to make a layout using this sketch from Camilla...

And this is my interpretation...

I used my own brand of sprays on the Kraft Cardstock in Sepia and Chocolate Brown (available in my shop). The lined cardstock is from my favourite Basic Grey Basics (I need to bulk buy this soon, I'm nearly out!) which I edged with Claudine Hellmuth Paint in Sable Brown. The dotty paper is from October Afternoon and the Stamp is from Scraprat. 

I love this picture of Fuzzybutt in my studio - she just loves to be in there with me when I craft (mostly in case I drop some ribbon she can steal!)

You should have reached me from Camilla's blog (if not you can start at the beginning on the Punky Scraps blog) and from here you can hop over to Cheryl's blog to check out her layout. The blog lasts for a week and gives you a great opportunity to get to know the whole Punky Scraps team! So please hop around and follow everyone's blogs and leave a comment :o)

Sarah x

Birthdays & a Daisy Update!

There are so many Birthdays in May and June, I feel like I spend weeks just making Birthday cards! Here are a couple of recent ones to share....

Firstly, my mums birthday was last week, here is the card I made for her with October Afternoon and Crate Paper goodies...

 Then it was B's brothers birthday, I first made him this card using the Molly Bloom stamps that were free with a magazine recently (can't remember which one, sorry!) coloured with my promarkers. The papers are from some K&Co pads I've had for literally AGES! (I dont get to make many 'boy' cards)

 Then I remembered that the card I made for B's son he thought was too young had a cutesy character on, as his brother is older than Sam I thought he might feel the same way about this one (he actually ended up loving it!) so I made this more grown up Birthday cake card instead...

Again, the cake is a Molly Bloom stamp coloured with my Promarkers.

And finally, an update on Daisy! Daisy's op went well, she still has some pain but she is doing well. Kirsty has now drawn the lucky raffle winners so pop over to see if you're among them!

Tomorrow I'm taking part in a fun blog hop so pop back to join in!

Sarah x

What happened in May?

So much happened in the last month that its actually passed in a bit of a blur and felt like about 3 months! So here is a quick round up including some of my favourite instagram pics and projects...

I started the month with my ribbon tutorial videos - I have lots more tutorials coming soon, some just need editing and some I actually need to film! If there is something specific you'd like to see then let me know!

 

My papers and cards featured in Making Cards magazine - yay!

I spent lots of time in London for meetings (more news on those coming in June!) and with my crafty friend Emma - it's her birthday today so pop over and show her some birthday love!

I made these projects...

And lots more random things happened...

I was asked to join the Provocraft and Basically Bare design teams (squeee!) I released new products. I spent hours and hours on the phone, I bought vintage dresses and headscarves on Ebay, I ate loads of ryvitas and jam ignoring the fact that they aren't good for you anymore if you add an inch of lurpak to them. I was asked to design a range of greeting cards. I started reading Sweet Valley Confidential (I was obsessed with Sweet Valley High, of course I want to know what happened 10 years on!) I spent far too long snuggling Fuzzybutt (she's just too cute!) I cried a lot, laughed even more. I opened an Etsy shop. I've crafted away hours of insomnia re-watching Desperate Housewives and I've started planning my wedding and got distracted about 10 times. 

 

 

I'm hoping June will be just as varied and entertaining as May has been!

Sarah x