BasicGrey Hey Girl and Bo Bunny Family is Cards...

Howdy Everyone!

I truly hope you have enjoyed visiting our little party today. I know I've enjoyed seeing all the wonderful projects that the Clare Curd Crafts Design Team have come up with! A true inspiration! 

Firstly, before I get onto my projects, I would like to say a HUGE thank you to all the design team members for putting all the hard graft in, for coming up with the projects, for taking the photographs and for writing the instructions. And a VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU goes to Melanie Marshall, our design team leader, for answering questions, staying up till stoopid o'clock to sort out stuff, helping the design team, keeping me informed and keeping me in line! I couldn't have done it without you Mel. xx

So, here are my projects. I have 9 to share with you. I know....I don't post a card for like 18 months, then 9 come along at once! My post won't be as super detailed as the other DT members, but I hope the pictures will speak louder than words. 

If you would like to win these 9 cards, all you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post. The winner will be randomly chosen from these comments on Tuesday 27th August. Good luck!

Firstly, onto The cards made with mainly the BasicGrey Hey Girl Collection, a great new range which is so fun to use...

I had such fun putting this one together! This card features some interesting matting and layering, and even though this was the first card I made, it would be great for using up your scraps of patterned papers. This card features BasicGrey Hey Girl Paper 6 x 6 paper pad. Oh no! I've just spotted that the 'Thanks' is skewif! Arrgghh! Anyhoo, I used the BasicGrey Sticker pack alphabets for this. You get 6 sheets of alphabets in 6 colours and they're great value!

I love these cute element stickers from BasicGrey 'Hey Girl' Collection. They're a veritable bargain at just £1.34 (with your 10% off) for a whole sheet of yumminess! Check them out here!

Supplies: BasicGrey Hey Girl 6 x 6 Patterned Paper; Hey Girl Element Stickers; BasicGrey Capture Sticker Pack - Alphas; Craftwork cards Elegant square card pack; Circle cut from an old sheet of embossed paper, but you could die cut a circle then emboss. 

Here's a fun card using the BG Hey Girl Chipboard Embellishments. You get oodles of these in the pack and they're self adhesive so you can stick down easily or use with 3D foam pads for more dimension. Again I've used the BG Hey Girl papers but I've introduced the BG Hey Girl Micro alphabet stickers (which come in an awesome font) along with BG Hey You Canvas Adhesive Alphabet stickers. These are real canvas letters in a neutral colour for both card making and scrapbooking. 

I've also added a flower from the Clare Curd Crafts Perfect paper Flowers Collection, and some black checked ribbon. 

Supplies: BasicGrey Hey Girl 6 x 6 Patterned Paper; BG Hey Girl Chipboard Embellishments; BG Hey Girl Micro Alphabet Stickers; BG Hey You Canvas Adhesive Alphabet; Craftwork Cards Scalloped square cards; Clare Curd Crafts Perfect paper flowers mini open rose - lime; Checked ribbon in black.

Please excuse me for saying but I LOVE this card. I just love the colours and the little touches. I've used a Darice Honeycomb embossing folder on kraft cardstock for the background, then I added vintage photo distress ink to the edges. In fact I added distress ink to most of the paper edges. BG also do a great  6.5 x 9.5 paper pack in the Capture Collection which has all different kinds of ledger paper, old book papers, I LOVE it and I used it as the base for my greeting. 

 I've also used some of the Chipboard embellishments again (they're SO useful) along with a couple of buttons, ribbon and epoxy hearts. 

Supplies: BasicGrey Hey Girl 6 x 6 Patterned Paper; BG Hey Girl Chipboard Embellishments; BG Hey You Canvas Adhesive Alphabet;  BasicGrey Capture Sticker Pack - Alphas; Darice Embossing Folder - Honeycomb; BG Capture 6.5 x 9.5 paper pack; Tim Holtz distress inks in Vintage Photo; Heidi Grace Printed Epoxy Hearts; red and vanilla buttons; kraft cardstock.

I really do LOVE this paper pack. Again this card uses the BG Hey Girl 6 x 6 paper pack, and this time I've covered the card base with one of the amazing patterned papers. Then I took another patterned paper, added one of the Clare Curd Crafts delectable doilies to the top left corner, then used a ticket corner punch on the....yes, you guessed it, punched the corners and added vintage photo distress ink to the edges. 

A little ribbon, chipboard embellishment (oo they get everywhere!) Paper rose and a few drew drops finish the card perfectly. 

Suppies: BasicGrey Hey Girl 6 x 6 Patterned Paper; BG Hey Girl Chipboard Embellishments; Clare Curd Crafts Perfect paper Flower open rose in white, Clare Curd Crafts ravishing ribbon double sided satin - moss green; Clare Curd Crafts delectable small doilies; Tim Holtz distress inks in Vintage Photo; Clare Curd Crafts dew drops of fun - Azure and Tangerine 

I made this card really with the idea in mind to show you a few of the different patterned papers in the BG Hey Girl paper pack. I inked the edges of each square with Distress ink in Vintage photo before sticking down to the base card. I then simply added ribbon in two widths, and topped this off with a BG Hey Girl chipboard embellishment an a Cherry blossom flower in ivory.

I finished the card with an acetate butterfly from the BG Hey Girl die cut and transparency pack which is literally FULL of fun!

Supplies: BasicGrey Hey Girl 6 x 6 Patterned Paper; BG Hey Girl Chipboard Embellishments; BG Hey Girl Die Cuts and Transparencies; Clare Curd Crafts Perfect paper Flowers cherry blossom in ivory; Tim Holtz distress inks in Vintage Photo; Clare Curd Crafts Ravishing ribbon in burgundy - 6mm & 10mm.

Have you guessed? Yes, another card made with BG Hey Girl papers...I just couldn't stop myself! This is very simple but I think that's where the beauty comes from. I also used the BG Hey Girl Element Stickers, Chipboard Embellishment, and the BG Hey Girl Garlands which are amazing! These are double sided and have fine thread stitched through each one so that they hang like a genuine garland. I also used the BG Capture ledger paper pack again with a circle punch. 

Supplies: BasicGrey Hey Girl 6 x 6 Patterned Paper; BG Hey Girl Chipboard Embellishments; BG Hey Girl Garlands; BG Hey girl element Stickers;  BG Capture 6.5 x 9.5 paper pack, Red self adhesive gems. 

And now for something completely different! You'll be pleased to know that I've moved on now from BG Hey Girl (but I'll never give her up!) On this collection of cards I've used a new Brand to Clare Curd Crafts...Bo Bunny! In particular I've used the Bo Bunny Family is 6 x 6 paper pack I just love this collection and it scream "Use me and abuse me!" as soon as I unpacked it from the the box! Again another great layout for using up scraps. As you can see I also added some of those gorg Heidi Grace Epoxy hearts again. 

I used one of the Hero Arts Frame Cuts Die sets  to create the scalloped oval panel. These dies are used to die cut Hero Arts stamp designs, but of course you can use them on their own, which makes them very versatile. The stamp is from the Hero Arts Many Birthday Messages Stamp set which is absolutely fantastic and I can see me using this one again and again.

Supplies: Bo Bunny Family is 6 x 6 paper pad; core'dinations cardstock in grey; Hero Arts in the Frame die Scalloped Frame,Hero Arts Clear Stamps Many Birthday Messages; Green and red pigment ink; Heidi Grace Printed Epoxy Hearts;

If you like a card with pattern, then this one's for you! Here I've used a Darice embossing folder to create the background on kraft cardstock, then I used a white inkssentials pen to add definition to the raised edges.

 I used the Hero Arts Many Birthday Messages stamp set again (LOVE this!) onto a panel cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 25. I drew around this with a black fine line pen whilst the die was still in place. When I stuck it down onto the card I raised the middle section more than the outer edges with 3D foam pads. I finished the design with Bo Bunny 'Family is' Chipboard stickers. ribbon and a few well placed gems. 

Supplies:Bo Bunny Family is 6 x 6 paper pad; Bo Bunny Family is Chipboard stickers;  Hero Arts Clear Stamps Many Birthday Messages; Spellbinders Nestabilities labels 25; Darice Embossing folder - circle in circle; warm yellow polka dot ribbon; kraft card stock; white cardstock; clear gems.

And last but not least is this pretty little number, which nearly ended up on the cutting room...or should I say craft room floor! Again, great for scraps! You'll be pleased to know that this doesn't need so much explaining!

Again I used Hero Arts Many Birthday Messages (snap these up as I don't think they will last long!), and a little seam binding I had left over from another project. I've also added a heart from the Bo Bunny Family is Chipboard stickers.And that's it!

Supplies: Bo Bunny Family is 6 x 6 paper pad; Bo Bunny Family is Chipboard stickers;  Hero Arts Clear Stamps Many Birthday Messages; Seam binding; Navy ink. 

Anyhoo, on to the giveaway. If you would like to win these 9 cards, all you need to do is leave a comment at the bottom of this post. The winner will be randomly chosen from these comments on Tuesday 27th August. Good luck

Digi Freebie Monday and Digi Challenge #2!

Hi There!

Well, it looks as though this is going to be a Monday Evening Challenge doesn't it. Why did I pick Mondays?! ~ well, the reason was that we all need something free to look forward to after the weekend, but I didn't count on the hecticness {is that a word?}that Monday's bring. I'm sure once I'm more organised I'll be posting at 6am...yeah, right!

So what FREEBIE do I have for you tonight. Well Matthew{?}, being Father's Day and all this Sunday coming, it would be rude not to at least help you out a little, wouldn't it. AND I have not just one freebie.....oh no! I have but FIVE FREEBIES!!! Well, I got a little carried away, and it would just be a waste not to give them all.

These are all available to download *here*.There are two of all of them apart from the ticket design with the tree. I've also designed the circular greetings to fit into a 1.5" circle punch perfectly! I would love to know what you think to these and what else you would like to see available so please *let me know*.

I've made this card with the first in our line up, and I will be showing cards I've created with the other digital images every day this week.

Supplies: Free Digi Image: Clare Curd Crafts; Papers and Cardstock:Core'dinations cardstock in shades of blue and white, Basic Grey Cupcake~make a wish, Archaic; Tools: X-cut heart punch {for scalloped edge), Pokey tool, Embellishments: Orange Polkadot grossgrain ribbon.

I really hope you like it! I've used a sketch from a challenge blog called Sweet Stop Sketches, brought to my attention by Sarpreet, Thank you!So with that in mind, I would like to enter the card into that challenge:

• Sweet Stop Sketches, SSS112

Now onto the challenge. I would Absolutely ♥ ♥ ♥ to see what you do with this image! So all you have to do is make your creation, then add your name and the URL of where your creation is into Mr Linky! I will judge the winner on Monday 20th June at 10am, so...what are you waiting for?

Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge - Have a Happy Day!

All I did yesterday was cut, cut , cut, and I nearly lobbed my thumb off with the guillotine! After a while I was getting a little complacent with the placement of my hands, and probably rushing a little, didn't realise I had my thumb over the finger guard and came down right on my thumb. I have now experienced the reason for having nails - as I cut straight through the nail to the bed, but this made me realise I was cutting more than card. Ouch! Oh well, at least I'll not be known in crafting circles as half thumb Clare from now on.

I thought to alleviate the monotony of measuring and cutting I'd actually make a card. I really wanted to do the Mojo Monday sketch last week, but never got around to it, so I was determined this week would be the week. So this is done with the Mojo Monday Sketch Challenge #77 in mind. For this card I've used those edible scrummy papers from BasicGrey (Eva) and some delectable Doodlebug Limeade Daydream sugar coated cardstock. I've coveted this Eva courtier paper for ages now, taking it out and stoking it from time to time, but never getting a chance to use it. This was my chance!

The gorgeous stamp is also from BasicGrey, from a bitsy stamp set called - you guessed it - butterfly! I simply inked it up with three colours and embossed with holographic powder for a little sparkle. I used silicone glue to give it that 'flying off the page look'. The greeting stamp is from the Clare Curd Signature Range Sentiment set, I just bent it a little to created the curved effect. I created the scalloped effect around the circle by punching out lots of mini circles, attaching them to the back of the larger circle

Deets of the supplies: Stamps & Inks: BG Bitsy Stamp set Butterfly/b2, Clare Curd Signature range Sentiment stamp set; Colorbox Eye Queue Jelly Beans, Rich Rustics and Orchid. Papers and Cardstock: Doodlebug limeade Daydream sugar coated cardstock; BasicGrey Eva courtier paper, burgundy paper from Eva range; white core'dinations. Embellishments: mini Circle punch, Heat it up! Holographic powder, BG Sultry brads, silicone glue, rotary circle cutter.

Well, here's hoping you like it! better get back to cutting, lets see how many more finger nails I can lose! Thanks for coming to visit today.

Love, Clare x

Not Long Now!

I'm more or less sorted now for Q-Day tomorrow, and now everything is sorted I'm really looking forward to it. I suppose because I've done it once before I kinda know what to expect, but it's going to be a long day tomorrow because we're setting off at 9am so arrive with lots of time for something to go wrong (so of course it won't, but now I've said that it probably will!) Sheila is coming with me to help and to provide support and a friendly face. Not that people aren't friendly at QVC, they are all incredibly welcoming and helpful, but you know what I mean. Oh dear, I'm waffling now. Must be my brain going at 1000 miles an hour.

It really would be lovely if any of you would like to call in and speak to me or send in a text (so I know someone is watching at such an hour!). I hopefully will get a print out of any texts sent in even they don't get showed, and they will be greatly appreciated, let me tell you.

Before I go and collapse in front of more crafting work, I just wanted to share this little gift that I made for my friend Dawn, ready to give her tomorrow. I got the inspiration to decorate a candle from Beckie Dreyer's blog, and thought I would put one together too. I've used BasicGrey Offbeat papers and Core'dination cardstock, which I put though my paper crimper. If you are doing this remember to cut your card a little longer than you need it, as it will shrink a tad when its crimped. How do you think I know that? Yup, cut the card strip too short first off! The wide organza ribbon is from my stash. I used my favourite paper piercing around the edge of the offbeat paper too for some decoration.


The box/bag is made from a 9 x 9 inch square of core'dinations. I divided it up into nine 3 inch squares and scored the corner squares on the diagonal. I then folded on the diagonal and straight score lines to form the box. The sides are secured with a large eyelet. The brown ribbon is from the packaging of clothes I think. The scallop punch and stamp is Stampin'up. Hopefully you can understand the way I made the box, as I'm no good at drawing illustrations on the computer, and I don't have a scanner. The box could have done to be a little bit bigger, as the candle is making it bulge a little, but it fits the purpose.

Hope you like it! Well, better get back to it! Hopefully, I'll kinda 'see' you tomorrow!

Love, Clare x

Clearly a Friend

I have been dabbling again - I couldn't help myself with these gorgeous papers from BasicGrey. They are from the new Offbeat collection I just absolutley adore those colours, and together they are a knockout combination.

I started with the papers and the design came together from there. I used the Cup of Stuff stamp set again from Pink Poison - you can never get bored of this set, with such beautiful sentiments too, suitable for all sorts of occasions.

Again, I coloured the stamped image with Letraset Promarkers and then used Anita's 3D Clear Gloss to achieve the shiny raised effect. I decoupaged the flowers and the cup (but only because I'd coloured the cup and I didn't like the colour!) I added a faux stiched effect to the border of the DP by pricking holes and using a white gel pen. I tore the Montego Bay Core'dinations cardstock to reveal it's cheeky hidden core, and then stamped my sentiment with white ink and embossed with Heat it up! Seafoam White embossing powder. The little brown domed circles at teh end of the torn panel are Chocolate Drops from Craftwork Cards. They come in all sorts of different colours, and there must be hundreds in a pack for just £1.00!

The acetate I used to make the card is from Papermania - this acetate is amazing! It's so lovely and thick, it's great to use as a card base, but still folds easily with the help of a bone folder. To cover up the adhesive on the reverse of the card, another panel of card can be fixed that is the same size as the front, and a panel can be added to add any message.

Just in case you were wondering, here are the deets of the Supplies:

Stamps: Pink Poison Stamp Set: Cup of Stuff

Papers and Cardstock: BasicGrey Offbeat Collection (unexpected); Snowflake and Montego Bay Core'dinations

Colour: Colorbox black pigment ink, clear embossing powder, Colourbox Frost WhitePigment ink, Heat it up! Seafoam white embossing powder Letraset Promarkers

Accessories: Papermania plain acetate, brown twill/ribbon (think I got this from some packaging!)

Hope you like it! Thanks for visiting today.

love, Clare x

Borrow a Cup of Smiles

Hi there!

Well, how has this Sunday been for you so far? I don't know if I mentioned it Yesterday, but David and Joe went to David's Mum and Dad's to help with tiling the Kitchen, and that's no place for a crafter, right? So I stayed here and dutifully cleaned the house, making sure there was still time to craft!

I meant to have a soaky soaky bath with candles and everything, but got so carried away crafting and watching X-Factor that I forgot! (BTW, go Alexandra, her second song just stopped me in my tracks and made me cry! I know she's your typical singer and nothing different that they're looking for, but no one can take away from her that her talent stands about a billion miles forward of the other contestants). I went to bed about 12.15 with my book and a cup of tea, and woke this morning at 9.30 am, feeling more than guilty! whenever I have a Lye in, I always feel bad, like I've wasted the day or something. So then it was straight into my craft room again for another bout of heaven.

I would like to share this card with you today. I used the sketch challenge over on SCS and it was such fun to enjoy using the project without having to stress too much about the layout. Again, I did this earlier in the week, and Pink Poison's 'A Cup of Stuff' is muscling in on the action for the second time. How cute is this little man? When Joe saw this card he said "Oh how funny Mummy, a mouse in a cup!" Bless him.

When I saw the little china cup I just knew instantly which papers I wanted to use for this project. So, out I pulled BasicGrey Sugared DP (designer paper), which remind me of fine bone china, and got to work. I stamped the mouse three times, once onto Burgundy Core'dinations, once onto DP and once onto white cardstock all with black ink and heat embossed with clear powder. Then once I'd added some colour using Letraset Promarkers to the cup on the DP and the Mouse head on the white card I cut them out and layered onto the burgundy cardstock. I then distressed and added pricking to the edge of the core'dinations before mounting onto the same DP as used for the cup, and Nightfall core'dinations.

For the base of the card I used Amazon Core'dination and again distressed the surface by bending and creasing before sanding with the fantastic BasicGrey Precision file set. A little layering, a touch of ribbon and a few brads and voila! And how cute is that sentiment - Borrow a Cup of Smiles? Perfect for anyone who needs a little pick me up.

Here are a list of the supplies:

Stamps: Pink Poison stamp set 'A Cup of Stuff'.

DP (Designer Paper) and Cardstock: BasicGrey Sugared: Charming and Attractive, Core'dination in Burgundy (COR 232), Amazon (COR 142) and Nightfall (COR 256)

Accessories: Papermania large brads in Red, Organza ribbon from my stash.

Letraset Promarkers used: For Mouse: Satin, cinnamon, burnt umber, cocoa, pastel pink (for cheeks and ears.) For Cup: Maroon, olive.

Tools: Papermania Pokey tool, BasicGrey Precision filing set.

I really hope you like this card, I loved making it! Hopefully, I will be back tomorrow with another card, have a great Sunday.

love, Clare x

Love Blooms all Year Long!

Well, I've finished the hoovering and so now I have some time to craft! However, before I do, I want to share a card with you that I did a few days ago, but because my daylight lamp bulb was broken I couldn't get a good picture. Now I have a new buld, I can craft to my hearts content when it gets dark, which at the moment is the middle of the day!

I made this card using an image from a Pink Poison stamp set called `Cup of Stuff`, but for a different twist, I used the image for a Christmas card. I still think the Greeting fits for this occasion, and will be perfect to give to my husband for Christmas.

I stamped the mouse lovers three times onto white card, then coloured using Letraset Promarkers before decoupaging. This is one of my favourite techniques to use with stamps, it really makes them come to life!

Here are the deets of the supplies:

Stamps: Pink Poison Cup of Stuff Stamp Set
Papers: BasicGrey Wassail, Core`dinations
Colour: Colorbox Black Pigment ink, Letraset Promarkers
Accessories: BasicGrey Buttons (sorry, can't remember which collection), String

I really hope you like it! The BasicGret wassail Papers are just gorgeous, and the great thing is that that there are some papers in the collection that would work for all year round.

See you tomorrow for another card!

Love, Clare x

A Topiary Christmas!

I just wanted to share these cards with you that I did after I'd been to the Hobbycrafts exhibiton. Sheila and I got back from the show, and were itching to make something, so this is what I produced. We had only taken a few things to the hotel with us, and so I added things I had bought at the show.

The cards are 4 inches square, and I really enjoyed making them. I stamped twice onto patterned paper (BasicGrey Figgy) and twice onto white cardstock using black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. I then did some paper piecing, on the first card layering the patterned paper on top of the cardstock with 3D foam pads, and on the second card, layering the white cardstock onto the patterned paper, which I then coloured in. I then layered complementary patterned paper and cardstock and finished with a greeting. Simple but effective! I really hope you like them.

Here are the deets of the Supplies:

Stamps: Magenta Christmas unmounted stamps, Penny Black Crystalline Clear Stamp Set.

Papers and Cardstock: BasicGrey Patterned Paper, Papermania cardstock.

Ink: Colorbox black pigment ink. Letraset promarkers

Thanks for looking!

Love, Clare x