Little Claire Weekly Blog Project

Apologies for the recent lack of updates. I have been doing quite a bit of work in the background lately. But slowly one project after the next one can be revealed. And over the next few weeks you will find quite a few ideas for cards and links to projects here, so watch this space.

So lets get started with the first new project:

I just created the weekly blog project for Little Claire - their last blog project for 2011. It is a desktop calendar in the shape of an easel card with an exchangeable calendar tab. You can find a list of required products and tools as well as step-by-step instructions with photos on the Little Claire blog.

I hope you like this project and are inspired to make some calendars yourself.

Enjoy Hogmanay and have a great start into the year 2012!

Little Claire Challenge #16

This morning the new Little Claire challenge went live. This time the topic is 'Family Christmas'.

You can enter up to three new projects by 18.00 on Friday, 6 January 2012. To participate please leave a link to the post with your challenge project (not just to your blog) on the Little Claire blog. And you can, of course, also add a comment in case you want to tell us more about your card or the special recipient.

The winner will receive a £10 Little Claire gift voucher. The top three entries using Little Claire stamps will get a badge/blinkie for their blogs.



For my design team card I used the cute polar bear family depicted in the stamp 'Not Long Now', which I coloured in using Spectrum Noir pens, as well as a round sentiment stamp from the Red Gingham - Christmas Text set. The snowflakes are created using Marianne Design dies. For the snow and the centres of the snowflakes I used a DecoArt Snow Writer.

I hope you will all enter your wonderful creations.

Henny Penny

This week the Little Claire team has launched another new stamp: 'Henny Penny'.

The image is great for quick and easy cards like those last minute birthday cards when one is yet again too busy and nearly forgetting about essential dates (oh yes, I so know that feeling) ... Or what about starting already with some Easter cards?

The image is not too detailed and can be coloured in quickly. And for the two cards in this post I have just combined it with coloured cardstock and dotted organza ribbon.



I hope you like the two cards and the Henny Penny stamp.

Little Claire Club Stamp December 2011

Can you believe that it is already time for the last Little Claire club stamp of the year 2011??!! When the next one is getting launched it will already be 2012 ...

But back to December. This month's stamp set is 'Winter Aga' and consists of a lovely, homely kitchen image and a round sentiment stamp, which is so nice for the cold time of the year. It is now available from Little Claire.

For the above card I used a cream linen textured card blank and cream glass smooth cardstock by Southfield, Core'dinations Tim Holtz cardstock with a kraft core, a Tim Holtz embossing folder, patterned paper from my stash and a simple piece of string from a supermarket. The image is coloured in with ProMarkers.

Neighbourwood Hedgehog

The weather over the last few days was so bad (dark, wet, very windy and cold) that I needed to cheer myself up with those cute and adorable Neighbourwood products by Trimcraft. And they really managed to put a smile back onto the face.

For this diamond fold card I put together a product list and step-by-step instructions, so that you can re-create the card. You can find the details in my Trimcraft gallery.

And perhaps a bit more information in case anybody wants to source items I used: The swirl dies are from a set of Marianne Design dies. The ribbon roses are from Hobbycraft.

Why are weekends so short?

What happened to this weekend? It only seems to have started and is already over again. And next weekend promises to be pretty hectic ...

I just cannot wait for my long Christmas break, so that I can properly catch up with everything.

Here is one of the cards I made this weekend.


I used the Little Claire stamp 'Cutie Patooties Boy Catapult' and coloured it in using ProMarkers and Spectrum Noir pens.

For the background and the mat I used Core'dinations cardstock in two warm grey tones plus a piece of patterned Laura Ashley paper. For the decorative corners I used a Marianne Design die. I mounted the boy with the catapult onto the card using my favourite large 3D foam squares by Dovecraft (I would be lost without them). I then finished the card off with Card Candi that I attached with a bit of Pinflair glue gel.

Neighbourwood by Helz Cuppleditch

I think I am in love with craft products. The images of the new Neighbourwood products by Trimcraft are just too cute. I should perhaps get everything twice, so that I can make cards with one set and keep the other one for admiring and stroking puposes ... LOL

Acetate card

I hope you like these cards. Full product lists and instructions for all of them are in my Trimcraft gallery.

And more Neighbourwood projects will follow soon.

Little Claire Challenge #15

After the massive response to the Little Claire Christmas challenge (thank you so much to everybody, who entered projects) it is now time for the new monthly challenge. The topic for challenge No. 15 is 'Shaped Cards'.

You can enter up to three new projects by 6pm on Friday, 9 December 2011. The winner and the Little Claire top three projects will then be announced on Saturday, 10 December 2011. So there is plenty of time to get the creative juices flowing.

For my DT card I opted for a diamond fold and used the Cutie Patooties Girl stamp, which was launched recently and is currently also part of the Little Claire November club stamps. I coloured in the image using ProMarkers and Spectrum Noir pens. The embellishments are paper flowers, Dovecraft adhesive gemstones, Woodware organza ribbon and die-cuts created with Marianne Design dies.

Little Claire Blog Hop

Swirly Whirlies Little Tammy
in combination with Red Gingham Super Six Sentiments
and Little Claire Gingham Peel-Offs

Welcome to the first ever Little Claire blog hop! The entire Design Team is sharing lots of gorgeous cards with you, all made with the new Red Gingham stamps which you can find on the Little Claire website.

The lucky winner will receive a full set of the new designs!

This is what you need to do to take part in the blog hop:

1. Visit each of Design Team members’ blogs (you can find all the links on the Little Claire blog) and leave a comment on all posts about the blog hop. You also need to leave a comment on the post on the Little Claire blog.
2. Each Design Team member will include a letter in their post. Once you have all the letters, you need to rearrange these to form a word.
3. Once you know what the word is, send your answer to the e-mail address in the main post about the blog hop on the Little Claire blog – PLEASE DO NOT POST YOUR ANSWER IN ANY OF YOUR COMMENTS!
4. The blog hop will close at midnight on Sunday, 13 November 2011. The winner of the stamps will be announced on the Little Claire blog on Tuesday, 15 November 2011.

My letter is: T

Swirly Whirlies Little Tammy

Good luck everybody!

More Cards with Swirly Whirlies

Swirly Whirlies Tortoise

Have you had already a closer look at all the gorgeous Swirly Whirlies stamps on the Little Claire website or even treated yourself to some? Perhaps during a craft shopping spree at the NEC?

Here are some more cards that I created with these beautiful stamps. I hope you like them.

Swirly Whirlies Poppies
in combination with an X-Cut die and Marianne Design corner dies

Swirly Whirlies Cats

Swirly Whirlies Cats
in combination with Little Claire Gingham Peel-Offs

More Cutie Patooties

Here are now a few more cards made with the brilliant new Cutie Patooties stamps by Little Claire. They are just such a good starting point for cards and keep the imagination flowing.

I hope you like the projects I show you today.

Cutie Patooties Splashing Girl

I created this card using Nestabilities label dies, a Woodware sakura flower punch, a Crealies die for the leaves as well as a Marianne Design die. The colouring is done using ProMarkers. The card is completed with Dovecraft adhesive gemstones and a Viva Decor Paper Pen, which I used for the centres of the flowers.

Cutie Patooties Chimney Sweep

Here I used a sheet from an older Dovecraft paper pack, Spectrum Noir pens, Candi chips coloured in with Spectrum Noirs, a Marianne Design corner die and a QuicKutz die for the toolbox.

This stamp is also one half of the November club stamp that has just been launched by Little Claire.

Cutie Patooties Girl

For this card I used Spectrum Noir pens, oval and scalloped oval cutting dies, a Marianne Design border die, thin gingham ribbon and Crealies daisy and leaf dies. The centre of the flower is made with a Viva Decor Paper Pen in 'sand'.

This stamp is also the second part of the Little Claire club stamp for November.


All of these stamps are now available from Little Claire.

Little Claire Sneak Peek - Day 5

The preview week at Little Claire's is being rounded off with the 'Cutie Patooties' stamp 'Boy Catapult'. This cheeky chap is great for cards for the younger and the young at heart boys.

For the above card I also used

• Spectrum Noir pens and ProMarkers
• Black Memento ink pad
  
• Core'dinations Black Magic Cardstock
• Gemstones cardstock in orange
• Smooth white cardstock
• White textured card blank
• Black textured cardstock
  
• Orange Candi
• Darice 'Argyle' embossing folder

The stamp is now available from Little Claire. Please remember that you can call the team to order over the phone and/or to process a debit or credit card transaction.

Swirly Whirlies

Swirly Whirlies Owl Family
(created with the help of Spectrum Noir pens, X-Cut label dies, Crealies flower and leaf dies)

Instead of a sneak peek you are getting a taster of some more Swirly Whirlies images today, as the stamps are already available! :)

This post is dedicated to ideas for cards created with the Swirly Whirlies Little Harry stamp and the Swirly Whirlies Owl Family. Soon there will also be galleries for these stamps on the Little Claire website, i.e. plenty of additional inspiration is on the way.

Swirly Whirlies Owl Family
(created with the help of ProMarkers, a Marianne Designs die and Candi)

Swirly Whirlies Little Harry
(created with the help of Spectrum Noirs, Candi, a border punch by X-Cut
and Spellbinders dies)

You can order the stamps with immediate effect by calling the Little Claire team, via their website or, of course, at forthcoming craft shows like the one at the NEC.

Swirly Whirlies Little Harry
(created with the help of ProMarkers, Nestabilities and
a Dovecraft Sugar & Spice glittered decopage and paper pack)

Further projects with Swirly Whirlies images will follow very soon.

Blissful Rocker Card

This week I had the honour to create the Little Claire blog project. I opted for a rocker card that can be achieved with craft items and tools most crafters will have amongst their stash (even if the dies or punches might be a bit different). And it was an opportunity to work again with one of my all-time favourites, the 'Blissful' stamp by Little Claire.

If you would like to re-create this rocker card or give it your own twist, you can find a product list and step-by-step instructions including photos on the Little Claire blog. I would love to see your rocker card designs. And in case of questions, just give me a shout.

Have fun playing!

Little Claire Sneak Peek - Day 3

Here is another sneak peek on the new 'Cutie Patootie' stamps by Little Claire.

For today's card I coloured in the image with Spectrum Noir and ProMarker pens. I also used oval and scalloped oval nesties, a decorative lace border die by Heartfelt Creations, a Marianne Design butterfly die, Woodware organza ribbon and white adhesive pearls.

You can find again more inspiration on the Little Claire blog and on the blogs of my fellow design team members (links to those are on the left-hand panel of the Little Claire blog).

And more will follow tomorrow ...

Another Little Claire Sneak Peek

It is time for another sneak peek for the brand-new Little Claire stamps that will be launched at the NEC next month.

Today is dedicated to a stamp from the new Red Gingham collection. This poppy stamp is great all year round, but is it not just perfect for the month of November?

And there is again loads more inspiration on the Little Claire blog and the blogs of my fellow design team members (links to those are on the left side panel of the Little Claire blog). Have you already entered the competition to be in with a chance to win a set of the six new 'Cutie Patootie' stamps?

I hope you will pop along again tomorrow for another sneak peak.

'Cutie Patooties' Sneak Peek

Little Claire will launch some gorgeous new stamps in time for the NEC. Up until Friday you will get daily sneak peeks on the Little Claire blog and on the blogs of all design team members (i.e. also on this one).

And even better, Little Claire have also launched a competition where the lucky winner can win the full set of six 'Cutie Patooties' stamps. So why not click here to go to the Little Claire blog and find out more.

I created the card above with the help of oval and scalloped oval nestabilities, a Darice embossing folder, Crealies dies and a geared Tonic border punch. Further embellishments are Dovecraft adhesive gemstones and a Tim Holtz adage ticket. I coloured in the image using ProMarkers and Spectrum Noir pens.

I hope that you enjoy the new images just as much as we do and that you will look out for further sneak peeks over the next days.

Little Claire Challenge #14

Would you like to win these craft goodies?


This is the prize for the 14th Little Claire challenge. The topic is 'Christmas'. You can enter up to three new cards by 18.00 on Friday, 11 November 2011. The winner and the top three entries using Little Claire images will then be announced the following day.

Here is the card that I created with the stamp 'We three Kings ...' as design team project for the Christmas challenge. I used white and dark red pearlescent cardstock, white grosgrain ribbon, white card candi, a Tim Holtz embossing folder and a Marianne Design corner die. The image is heat embossed using white embossing powder.


To get more inspiration through the projects by my fellow design team members or to enter the challenge just go to the Little Claire blog.

By the way, have you already seen the great products in the Big Sale at Little Claire's? There are some great bargains in form of stamps and cutting dies available. By clicking here you can go straight to the sale section on the Little Claire website.

And the new stock in form of First Edition paper pads and Trimcraft Neighbourwood products, which are designed by Helz Cuppleditch, are also worth a closer look.

Little Claire Club Stamp October 2011

Gosh, now it is already October and we are back to those cold, wet, windy and dark days - at least here in Scotland's central belt. On the other hand it is really nice to leave the bad weather outside and to just dig in at home with a nice cuppa and some craft stuff.

But that also reminds me that I really need to make some time for the Christmas cards for our own use ...

Are you still looking for a special image for your Christmas cards? If yes, then the new Little Claire club stamp 'Christmas House' for a lovely wintery scene might be just the thing for you. It is now available from the Little Claire website or by calling the team on 0844 800 4376.

Chain Maille Bookmarks

As a horrible appointment with a dental hygienist is awaiting me at the beginning of the week, I am in serious of distraction this weekend. So I thought that I would dedicate some time to fiddly chain maille elements, which require my full attention.

For the shown projects I used bookmark hooks, 5mm and 7mm silver coloured jump rings, coloured jump rings, eye pins, silver coloured spacer beads, glass beads and cat's eyes beads.




And it is good for me to get some more practice when it comes to chain maille, as I am already saving up for materials for a precious metal chain maille bracelet. But it will probably take me ages to complete that one LOL.



I hope you like these makes.

Ever so lovely

The 'Ever so lovely x' stamp in combination with patterned paper, raffia ribbon,
silk flowers and swirls created with QuicKutz dies.

Have you already spotted the brand-new outdoor inspired stamp that has just been brought out by Little Claire? It is called 'Ever so lovely x' and gives a nice spring-like and summery feel, so it is ideal for a break from making Christmas cards.

The 'Ever so lovely x' stamp in combination with patterned paper, die-cut shapes
created with Spellbinders Nestabilities and Marianne Designs dies, paper flowers
on crackle paint in 'picket fence', adhesive gemstones and a die-cut
Red Gingham sentiment.

The Red Gingham die-cut mixed sentiments also work well with this stamp and are a nice and quick way of personalising a card.

This new stamp is now available from the Little Claire website. There you can also find the die-cut sentiments. But you can, of course, also order over the phone.

More Fizzy Moon Christmas Cards

Fizzy Moon's Snowman

Are you ready for two more Fizzy Moon projects created with those cute products from the Festive Fun Christmas collection?

I have again prepared product lists and step-by-step instructions for you, which you can find in my Trimcraft gallery. If you have any questions, just leave a comment with your query here or in my Trimcraft gallery and I will answer it in return.

Fizzy Moon - Waiting for Santa

I hope you will enjoy trying out some of the Fizzy Moon projects or working your magic and giving them your personal touch.

And I think I will now treat myself to two days with non-Christmas craft projects. ;)

Fizzy Moon all loved up

I promised you further Fizzy Moon projects - and here is already the next one. It is called 'Fizzy Moon - To the one I love'.

My intention for this project was to use ribbon in a different way. I opted for laced up ribbon due to the decorative value, but also as an innocent sexy hint for a very personal and emotional card.



A full list of required products and setp-by-step instructions are again in my Trimcraft gallery.

I hope you like the card and find the inspiration useful. And please watch out for more Fizzy Moon projects. Yes, there are still more to come. :)

Fizzy Moon

It was once again time for a bit of Christmas crafting. And I just had to pick up my Fizzy Moon Festive Fun products again. It is just such a cute bear that puts a smile onto your face.

Here are two already finished cards. Full product lists and step-by-step instructions for both projects are in my Trimcraft gallery.

Fizzy Moon Christmas - Im Here!

Fizzy Moon Christmas - Time for Presents

I hope you like the cards.

More Fizzy Moon projects will follow soon.

Pink Owl

Today I wanted to try out a decorative border with a die-cut border, ribbon and a flower. My 'victim' was a cute owl image from a Trimcraft First Edition Sweet Owl paper pad. It was really fun to just play for a change and to create such a girlie card with loads of pink tones.

And it is actually a style that is nice and quick, i.e. great when a card is needed at short notice.

Here are the materials I used:

• White card blank
• First Edition Sweet Owl paper pad
• Marianne Designs border die
• QuicKutz 4x4 die with swirls
• Satin ribbon
• Fabric flowers
• 1 brad
• Dovecraft adhesive gemstones (pastels)

I hope you like the card.

Little Claire Monthly Challenge #13

The new monthly Little Claire challenge is now up and running. And this time the theme is 'Black & White', so there are again a wide variety of projects and occasions possible.

You can enter up to three new creations up until 6pm on 7 October 2011. Just go to the Little Claire blog and link the blog post with your entry.

Here is the DT card that I created for the theme 'Black & White'. On the Little Claire blog you will also find projects of my fellow design team members for even more inspiration.

And what is this month's prize for the winner?

4 x Christmas bauble paper (6x6)

4 x Jingle Bells paper (6x6)

4 x crimson Bazzill (6x6)

4 x pine Bazzill (6x6)

1 sheet of handmade stickers

1 sheet of Red Gingham die-cut Christmas sentiments

1 Little Claire stamp 'Poinsettia Corner'

I look forward to seeing all your challenge entries. Good luck everybody!