New Little Claire stamps out in January 2011

Little Claire are launching two more great stamps in January 2011: 'Georgia' and 'Birdcage'.

It is so much fun to work with these versatile girly stamps that can be used for projects in so many different styles and colour combinations - from modern to vintage, from monochrome to bold colours. I hope you like them as much as I do.

Georgia

Georgia

Birdcage

Birdcage

I'll be there for you

In January Little Claire are launching another adorable elephant stamp 'I'll be there for you'. And the title of the stamp is also included as sentiment stamp.

So many people like elephants. And their elephant stamps take not only care of great and just lovely images, but the stamps are also such a joy to work with. Their clear stamps are made out of nice and firm material, so they provide clear impressions and never smudged lines like so many really soft clear stamps.

Here are two cards that I created with this new set, which I can now be pre-ordered on the Little Claire website. I hope you like them.

Blog Award

I have received this lovely award from Maria (Inkymits). Thank you so much Maria. And also at the same time my apologies that it took me a while to get it onto my blog. It has been so busy recently.

I now need to pass on the award to 15 deserving blogs, which everything but easy.

1. Georgina
2. Rozzy
3. Linda
4. Ellen
5. Mei
6. Kim
7. Julie
8. Karen
9. Tracey
10. Anne
11. Yvonne
12. Louise
13. Jane
14. Fiona
15. Pam

Blog Award

My fellow Little Claire design team member Louise was so kind to give me this award. Thank you so much Louise.

The rules for this award:

I need to state 8 things about myself. Then I have to pass the award on to 4 bloggers and let them know that they have been chosen by me.

Here are the 8 things about me:

1. I have been crafting since I can remember.
2. Over the years I have made my way through a variety of crafts including crochet, knitting, cross stitch, mosaics and ceramics.
3. Years ago I used to design and make my own jumpers.
4. My stamps are my most treasured craft items.
5. I am attending courses at the Edinburgh College of Art on a regular basis.
6. I love reading.
7. I am not going anywhere without my iPod.
8. When it is getting busy or even hectic I just need a cup of tea.

And I am passing on this award to:

1. Sarah
2. Karen
3. Maria (Inkymits)
4. Nicki

Ring for the index finger

For years I had looked for a ring suitable for an index finger, but somehow I found that they were all hindering me when handling items or carrying out daily tasks. Now I created one at college - and it is so comfortable to wear and feels really really good.

It is a bold statement ring that is open with rounded corners. It is made from gold and silver sheet.


As this is my own design, please do not sell or publish reproductions and do not enter them into competitions.

A place in the sun

Little Claire are launching a great new stamp 'A place in the sun' that features a part of a house front at the beginning of January. It is so useful for new home cards or scenic cards. Stamped in one colour, watercoloured or with ProMarkers it looks really good. And it is just brilliant for the use with FlowerSoft.

Good embellishments for this image can be created with the Tim Holtz Texture Fade featuring the brickwork and the QuicKutz antique key die.



The stamp also comes with two text stamps un can be pre-ordered on the Little Claire website.

My Pride and Joy

Time has been flying by and my current art college course is slowly but surely nearing its end. And one big project is finished.


I created this project from scratch using metal sheet and wire. All the sawing, filing, use of emery paper and soldering was time consuming, but it was such a good feeling to finally hold the finished piece in my hands.

Our tutor also deserves a big thank-you for all the things she has taught us and for the guidance she provided whilst we were working on our own projects. She has such a wealth of knowledge and experience and is just a star.

And yes, I am hooked and more jewellery making/silversmithing courses will definitely be on the way.

Please note:
As this is my own design, no reproduction should be sold, published or entered into a competition without my prior written permission.

Little Claire Club Stamp December 2010

Have you already seen the set of super cute stamps that form this month's Little Claire club stamp? They feature their so adorable elephants and are an absolute joy to work with.

It was so lovely to play with the stamps and get some nicer thoughts - something that does not evolve around snow, ice and low temperatures. They worked as real 'pick me up'.

The stamp is now on the Little Claire website. And in the gallery are again many more project ideas for this stamp set.

A Little Bird Told Me ...

The Little Claire club stamp for November is out. And it is not only great for Christmas cards, but for wintery cards in general. Colourd in with ProMarkers this fabulous image - with or without sentiment - is perfect for so many occasions.




The Little Claire website is worth a closer look and also contains galleries for the individual stamps.

Little Claire Club Stamp October 2010

The new Little Claire club stamp is out and now available on their website! This month it is another lovely Christmas stamp: 'Owl Gate'.

Here are two projects created with the owl gate stamp. The images on both cards are coloured in using ProMarkers.

For the first card I also used label nesting dies, Distress Stickles in clear rock candy for the snow and card candy.



For the second card, which contains an acetate front, I used dies from Marianne D and QuicKutz and also added a bow made from red Woodware organza ribbon.

A Giraffe for Christmas

Not a real one, but a very cute one on Christmas cards. I love this image, as it is so adorable and also not one of those typical Christmas images that can be seen anywhere.

For the cards below I used the the Christmas Giraffe stamp from Little Claire, dies from QuicKutz, Marianne D and Spellbinders, ProMarkers and papers from the Dovecraft Let it Snow paper pack. The centres of the poinsettias in the first card are small drops of Liquid Pearls in gold. The second card is embellished with adhesive pearls. The 'essentials' were textured cardstock in various colours, white Southfield linen card and white glass smooth card (200gsm) from Southfield as well as a black Memento ink pad.

Noel Christmas Collection

I am conscious that I have not posted on my blog for a few days. Apologies for that, but work on the crafting front has, of course, continued.

In the meantime I created some projects for Trimcraft using their new Christmas products. For the following cards I used papers from the Dovecraft Noel collection as well as the clear Dovecraft stamps 'Festive Flourishes' and 'Greetings Galore'.

Detailed instructions and full products lists are - as usual - in my Trimcraft gallery.

Blog Award

Thank you so much to Mary for giving me this lovely award. It is much appreciated.

You can see my answer to the question and the blogs that I selected for this award in my post of 3 September 2010.

Night Owls

Tonight I had a wee play with the new night owls stamp from Little Claire. I coloured in the stamped images with ProMarkers and combined them then with one of my favourite cutting dies, the little owl die from Little Claire.

For the card below I also used textured card in various colours, smooth white card for the stamped panel, dark blue pearlescent card, oval and scalloped oval cutting dies, brown ribbon, dark blue card candy, 3D foam and Pinflair glue. I created the dots with a Quickie Glue Pen and black glitter.

Christmas Hedgehogs

Today I enjoyed a bit of quality crafting time.

I want to share one of the cards for which I used the Little Claire stamp' Happy Christmas from the Gang!' with you. I used textured white and light blue cardstock, small pieces of red, blue and silver mirri card and plain blue card that I enhanced with silver Spray & Sparkle from Crafter's Companion. The image is stamped onto glass smooth white card from Southfield and then coloured in with ProMarkers.

For the snow I used Distress Stickles in clear rock candy, which gives it a bit of an icy finish. All the die-cut shapes are made using QuicKutz 2" x 2" and cookie cutter nesting dies. The embossing is done with a snowflake embossing folder from QuicKutz. The 7mm organza ribbon is from Woodware.

Blog Candy on the Cats Whiskers Blog

Jacqui D has got some amazing blog candy with a Martha Stewart punch, Tim Holtz papers, 2 stamps and loads of flowers on offer. But hurry, if you are also keen to win it because entries are only taken until midnight today.

Click here to go to Jacqui's blog.

Little Claire Club Stamp for September

Little Claire have brought out a fabulous stamp set as their club stamp for September. The individual stamps open up so many opportunities for different styles of cards that I will use it a lot for Christmas cards this year. And the penguin is just so cute that I cannot resist that individual stamp anyway.

Here are two cards which I have created using the new stamp set:

Blog Award

Thank you so much to Linda for giving me this lovely blog award. It is such a nice surprise at the start of the weekend and much appreciated.

So why did I start my blog?

Reason for starting the blog was that I wanted to share my work with other crafters and also with my regular and potential customers. But it was also with my personal development in mind by taking a first step into publishing information on the Internet.

Since then the blog has become a great way of communicating with like-minded crafters, sharing ideas and inspiration and - in combination with other forms of communication - forming friendships.

And now to the difficult part ... forwarding the award to 10 of my favourites blogs. My chosen blogs are:

http://www.littleclairesdesigns.blogspot.com/

http://craftinghelen.blogspot.com/

http://inkymits.blogspot.com/

http://kaardvark.blogspot.com/

http://martinaskaartjes.blogspot.com/

http://thecraftygoatgirl.blogspot.com/

http://susiescardmakingadventures.blogspot.com/

http://justtracys.blogspot.com/

http://leannchiverscraft.wordpress.com/

http://www.crafty-lou.blogspot.com/

Matilda

After coming home from a workshop at the Edinburgh Book Festival I fancied a play with some of my dies.

I created the card below with textured cardstock in a variety of colours. I used the Matilda's Hat die from Little Claire, the Marianne D designer doily die, a QuicKutz 4"x 4" die for the flourishes and QuicKutz 2" x 2" dies for the flowers. For the centres of the flowers I chose card candy.

Cherry On Top Blog Award

A big thank you to Maria for this lovely blog award. It is very much appreciated and has made my day.

This award is linked to a few rules:

1) Thank the person who gave you the award.

2) Put the award on your blog.

3) List 3 things about yourself.

4) Post a picture you love.

5) Tag 5 other people for the award.

1) and 2) are done.

3) I just cannot bypass an Ian Rankin book. /

I can fully understand Maria's phobia about shower curtains. I do not like them, either - especially when they are a bit older and are getting grubby ... /

I prefer tea to coffee any time although cappuccino gets a thumbs up.

4) I took this photo at Stirling Castle - one of those historic and magnificent places in Scotland. I love it there, and we have been monitoring all the work that has been going on there over the last couple of years (including the weaving of some great tapestries).

5) I am passing on the award to these 5 talented crafters:

Betty

Nicki

Louise (pinkpuppy)

Mei

Anne

Books, Books, Books, ...

Not many things manage to drag me away from my craft stash - but the Edinburgh Book Festival is definitely one of them. I just love this annual spectacle, which is so much calmer and quieter than other festival locations, and can be found there each and every year.

Over the last days I visited some great events and stocked up on some new reading material. Yes, I admit it, quite a few promising books. But as reading is educational, it cannot be such a sin. I just hope my OH sees it the same way when he gets sight of my growing collection of books ....

And now I have got a few days without festival events, so crafting time is on the agenda.

Christmas Stamps with Cats and a Dog

Part of the Little Claire Christmas range are also the cute stamps 'We Three Cats' and 'Warmest Wishes'. These stamps are so cute and put a smile on my face when I was working with them.

I hope you like the projects, which I created with these stamps.

Do You Like Polar Bears?

Today I would like to share with you two projects that I created with the new Little Claire stamp 'Star of Wonder'. The stamp is part of their new Christmas range.

The two polar bears are just adorable, and I am sure that I will use the image for many of my Christmas cards.





The stamp is now available on the Little Claire website.

Dovecraft Christmas Fancy

Trimcraft have brought out a number of lovely Christmas products.

Here are two projects that I have created with the Christmas Fancy collection. I really like the fresh and modern colours. And it is so nice to be able to make Christmas cards in a number of completely different styles.





Lists of all products used and step-by-step instructions for both cards are again in my Trimcraft gallery.

I Need Some Cupcakes ...

I have created two more projects using the Dovecraft Piece of Cake collection for Trimcraft. These yummy items have really become my 'feel good' and 'pick me up' products.

Product listings and full step-by-step instructions can be found in my Trimcraft gallery.

I hope you like the cards.

Ready for another teaser?

Here is another teaser from the new Little Claire Christmas stamp range:



It was so much fun to work with the cute snowman and dog stamp. And as not the entire image needs to be coloured in, it is very useful for effective yet relatively quick Christmas cards.

Christmas without a Reindeer? No way!

Little Claire are bringing out a cute reindeer stamp called 'Deck the Horns!' as part of their new Christmas collection. It is a stamp that just makes one smile, and I really enjoyed working with it.

Here are two projects as a wee teaser:





The new Christmas stamps will be on the Little Claire website soon.

New Little Claire Christmas Stamp 'The Most Wonderful Time of the Year'

Yes, it is once again time to start thinking about those Christmas cards. And Little Claire are bringing out a great range of new Christmas stamps.

The quality of the stamps is great. They are nice and firm clear stamps and are producing clear images every time.The stamps are a real joy to work with.

Here are two cards that I created with the new stamp 'The Most Wonderful Time of the Year'. For both cards I have coloured in the images using Derwent Coloursoft pencils.




All stamps of the new Christmas range will be available on the Little Claire website soon. And watch out for more projects that will get added to this blog over the next days.