Stamping Sensations July Challenge

Another month at Stamping Sensations has flown by! We had some stunning entries for June, but now it's time for a new challenge, in which we would like you to

* * * * * FEATURE A CREATURE * * * * *

Show us your projects featuring a creature (or creatures!) of land, sea or air!

Please do remember that as we are a stamping challenge, your entry must include some stamping if you wish it to be considered for our prize or Top 3 positions. It would be a shame to miss out, as our sponsor this month is once again Little Claire Designs, who have very kindly given us a most generous £35 voucher for the lucky winner to spend on their website.

As soon as I saw our topic for this month, I knew which creatures I would feature! The fabulous owls on Little Claire's Silhouette Owl Tree.

Background papers from my stash were used to create a landscape, over which  the Owl Tree was stamped in Memento ink. It was cut out with a Spellbinders die and the base of the tree design was extended a little to either side to fit the square, using a Memento pen. It was then matted and layered on to the base card, which had first been stamped twice with the Owl Tree, in opposite corners. A suitable sentiment (Woodware), cut out by hand, completed the card.

I love the thought of a treeful of owls, just sitting there, watching, ready for their close up!



However, I'm looking forward to seeing all types of creatures in your entries this month, and of course remember you can enter up to three times with any type of cards or projects. The DT have featured some simply adorable creatures in their samples, so do go over to the Challenge Blog and have a look at them.

I'll leave you with a picture of a recent visitor to our garden, who seemed to be having a very earnest conversation with a hoverfly!

I'll do anything....

And so, we hope, will you! It's a nice and easy February Challenge at Stamping Sensations,  where our theme for the month is

* * * * * ANYTHING GOES * * * * *

We're delighted to welcome back the fabulous Little Claire Designs as our sponsor, and the prize which they have generously donated is a fantastic £35 gift voucher to spend on their site.

I've used stamps from Little Claire's "Hot Air Balloons" set for my card. The balloons and the ground are all separate stamps, giving scope for an endless variety of designs. 

Having first made a background with my ink dusters, I stamped all the stamps on various patterned papers (Basic Grey), cut them out and paper pieced them to create my design. This was then diecut with Spellbinders dies, mounted on to another Basic Grey paper, matted with a yellow border on to a 7" square card and embellished with a ribbon and sentiment (Craft Stamper magazine freebie). 

As always, you'll find plenty of inspiration on the Challenge Blog, and we'll look forward to seeing all your amazing creations!

Christmas? No, it's ages away yet! Isn't it??

After a brief chilly spell a couple of weeks ago, the weather has turned so unseaonably mild again that it doesn't seem possible that Christmas is just around the corner. But it really is only a few weeks away! So to get us in the mood, the November Challenge at Stamping Sensations is simply

CHRISTMAS!

If, like me, you've hardly even thought about making any cards yet, now's the time to get going and show us your festive creations. Our lovely sponsors for November are the wonderful Little Claire Designs, who have generously donated a £35 voucher for the lucky winner to spend in their store.

Now of course, I don't do cute, but I make exception for some of the gorgeous Little Claire stamps, especially their Owl designs, one of which I've used for my card. This is the Christmas Owl Tree.

I stamped the owl tree, coloured it with Promarkers, cut it out with a Spellbinders die and sponged green pigment ink around the edge while the card was still in the die. 

The base card was stamped with the Classic Holly (Hero Arts) and the sentiment (freebie from Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine). The Owl Tree was matted on to patterned paper (Hot Off The Press) with foam pads and adhered to the base card. Oh, and the photo bombing (or should I say card bombing!) character in the corner who couldn't resist getting in on the act (and who for undisclosed reasons I'm calling Steve!) is from another Little Claire owl stamp, the Little Owl Family!

As always there is plenty of gorgeous inspiration over on the Challenge Blog, so do go and have a look. For more details of each project, click the name link above the relevant photo to go to my teamies' individual blogs. I look forward to seeing all your Christmas creations!