Stamping Sensations July Challenge

For a change we have a sketch for you this month at Stamping Sensations, designed by our very own Tracy, and also we would like to see summer colours. You can combine the sketch with summer colours, or just follow the sketch, or just use summer colours, it's up to you!

Our lovely sponsor for July is the very popular Little Claire, who have generously donated a bumper prize, including some of their newest stamps!

I've used a Little Claire owls stamp (which just happens to be my all-time favourite owl stamp!) for my card. Or should I say part of the stamp. To make it fit with the sketch, I masked off the two outer owls before I inked it up.

The owls were coloured with Promarkers to match the colours in the background paper, which is from the Shades Of Summer Background Papers pad by Crafty Individuals.

 The circles (plain and scallop) are Spellbinders dies, the scallop border die is by Die-namics and the leaf punch is by Leone Em. A ribbon and some little pearly flowers provided the finishing touches.

I am really looking forward to seeing this month's entries! If you'd like the chance to win those gorgeous goodies from Little Claire, do pop over to the Challenge Blog, where my talented teamies have come up with some beautiful samples to inspire you. It's amazing how they are all so different considering we have all followed the same sketch!

More Fur and Feathers at Stamping Sensations

Just a quick reminder that our theme at Stamping Sensations this month is Fur and Feathers. Entries are coming in nicely, but there's still plenty of time to enter if you haven't already. I've made a couple more cards on the theme to show you.

For the first one I tried to think outside the box and came up with this Art Deco lady with her feather headdress.

She's a stamp which came free with DoCrafts Magazine, and I coloured her with Promarkers and cut her out with a Nestie die. The feather stamped on the base card is one I've had in my stash for many years. I found it in an oddments bin in a shop somewhere. There are no maker's details on it. Until now, I had never used it! Each time I've had a clearout over the last few years I've decided it could go and then changed my mind at the last minute, thinking that just maybe I might have a use for it one day. That day came. Finally, my hoarding of stash is justified!

The dark BP was free with Making Cards mag. The sentiment is by Hero Arts, stamped on a Nestie label, with real feathers, photo corners and feather charm from my stash. I added a couple of stick-on gems to her headdress and sash for a bit of bling.

I went back to the obvious for my second card, which I've called Mysterious Forest!

The birch trees are made with a Crafter's Workshop Mask (it's called Aspen Trees, but I reckon they're birches!). I sponged the background through the mask, and then shaded the trees to give them a bit of dimension. You'll find several little creatures hiding amongst the branches. A Little Claire's owl (small part of a large stamp), a Lindsay Mason squirrel, a Hobby Art deer, and a Crafty Individuals butterfly, again a (very tiny!) part of a stamp. The foreground grasses are by Inkylicious, and the sentiment is from IndigoBlu. The badger (mounted on Stix2 foam pads) is by Personal Impressions.

 There are lots of gorgeous cards entered for the challenge so far, and I think it's going to be very difficult for us to choose a winner! I wonder if it will be yours.......