New Men's Stamps by Little Claire - Final Day

There is now only one more stamp left in the current blog showcase dedicated to the new collection of men's stamps by Little Claire: 'Going Out'.

It is again a very versatile stamp that is not just suitable for male cards. What about using it for home related cards, for somebody who is about to go on holiday or perhaps even for a colleague who is moving on?

One of you has the chance to win a 'Going Out' stamp. All you need to do is to leave a comment on the Little Claire blog before midnight today. Just click here to go directly to the post.

And the stamp can, of course, also be ordered via the Little Claire website or by calling the team.

For my card I opted for textured cardstock in white, blue, black and grey. I placed the blue cardstock into the centre of an A6 embossing folder and ran it through the die-cutting machine before finishing the piece with an inverted corner rounder. The grey cardstock was cut into shape with the help of a square label die. I stamped the image onto smooth white cardstock, coloured it in with Spectrum Noir pens and some ProMarkers with ultra-fine nibs, rounded the corners and mounted it onto black cardstock with rounded corners before fixing it onto the card with those fantastic large 3D foam squares by Dovecraft. All that was then left to do was to add Candi in black and white as embellishments.

I hope you have enjoyed this week's Little Claire showcase. And good luck to everybody, who is leaving a comment on the post on the Little Claire blog today!

New Men's Stamps by Little Claire - Day 4

It is time for another image from the new collection of men's stamps by Little Claire. Today the spotlight is on 'DIY'. The image is perfect for house moves, DIY fans and many male cards.

For the card shown in this post I coloured in the image using Spectrum Noir pens and ProMarkers with ultra-fine nibs. And if you think that the paint tray is standing on a bit of newspaper ... well, it really is.

I stamped the section onto a bit of old newspaper, cut it out and fixed it to the image. The paint tray and the wee puddle are stamped separately onto smooth white cardstock, cut out, coloured in as usual and then added to the main image. So there is even a bit of paper piecing included in this project.

The background paper is from a Back to Basics II pad by Dovecraft. The tool shaped brads are by Woodware.

Please remember that you can leave a comment on the Little Claire blog up until midnight today to be in with a chance to win one 'DIY' stamp. And those less lucky can purchase it via the Little Claire website or by calling the team.

New Men's Stamps by Little Claire - Day 3

Today the Little Claire blog preview is dedicated to the new stamp 'In a while ...'. It is again one that is brilliant for cards for male recipients, but is not exclusive to them (there are also sporty ladies with short hair). And it could make a great image for a keen gardener, but also for a less enthusiastic individual who enjoys the breaks more than the actual work in the garden.

Here is the list of 'ingredients' that I used for the card above:

• Little Claire stamp 'In a while ...'
  
• Kraft card
• Core'dinations cardstock
• Watercolour card
• AquaMarkers (applied with a damp brush)
• Black VersaFine ink pad
• Marianne Design dies
• Raffia
  
• File for slight distressing of the birds
• Manual die-cutting machine
• Toolbox essentials
  

And yes, one lucky crafter can again win the stamp featured today. Just click here to go the Little Claire blog, leave a comment before midnight and then keep your fingers crossed.

The stamp 'In a while ...' is available on the Little Claire website. There is currently also a special offer - all six men's stamps for just £29.

Good luck to everybody, who is entering today's competition!

New Men's Stamps by Little Claire - Day 2

Today the Little Claire blog is showcasing the new stamp 'Sunday Morning'. And it is actually one that is not just suitable for male cards. I could also see it turned into a more feminine project. Even we would love to make use of a sign 'Gone back to bed' now and again, wouldn't we?

One lucky winner can again secure a stamp by just leaving a comment on the Little Claire blog before midnight. Just click here to add your text.

And this stamp is now also available on the Little Claire website, so that you can use it for your own creations soon.

For the card above I coloured in the image with Spectrum Noir pens, mounted it onto Core'dinations cardstock and a then with 3D foam onto a die-cut frame created with a Spellbinders die. I added a lilac piece from a Dovecraft coloured paper pack to a white square card blank with rounded corners. Embellishments are silver-coloured nailheads, which I placed into some of the eyelet holes of the die-cut frame.

New Men's Stamps by Little Claire

Little Claire have just launched a new collection of stamps, which are great for cards and other projects for male recipients. And from Monday to Saturday this week one of the new stamps will be introduced in more detail on the Little Claire blog on a daily basis. And there is even a chance to win one of the 'stamps of the day' by just leaving a comment on their blog.

Today's stamp is 'Man Tree', which I also used for the monochrome card above. I combined the image with black Candi, a football die-cut created with QuicKutz 2x2 dies and a decorative border, for which I used a Tonic Studios Simplicity Pattern Punch 'Celtic Border'.

All stamps are now also available on the Little Claire website - including a special multibuy offer, if want to get hold of the full set. But you can, of course, also order over the phone.

Little Claire Monthly Challenge #17

It is time for a new monthly challenge at Little Claire's - the first one for 2012. And to get everybody's juices flowing the topic is 'Anything But A Card'.

Gift boxes, albums, calendars, altered items, anything really you can think of can be entered into the challenge - just no cards. You can enter up to three new projects by 18.00 on Friday, 10 February 2012. Just click here to go directly to the Little Claire blog.



For my DT project I created a milk carton gift box from an A4 sheet of pearlescent cardstock with a die-cut flap made using Spellbinders labels dies. The flap can be closed with the help of a piece of Velcro.

I decorated the gift box with a coloured in image of Cutie Patooties Chimney Sweep (Spectrum Noir pens and ProMarkers were my trusted assistants for this), adhesive gems and paper flowers. For the centres of the flowers and the swirls I used Crealies dies.

I hope you are all enjoying this challenge with a difference and look very much forward to seeing all your wonderful projects.

Happy New Year

All the best for a great, healthy, peaceful, successful and creative 2012 to all of you! And I hope you enjoyed a brilliant start into the new year.



And with a new year it is also time for a new Little Claire club stamp. This time club members are getting the 'At Home' stamp set, which includes an image and three sentiments. The set has many uses but is, for example, great for cards for home movers and buyers.

For my above card I coloured in the image using ProMarkers. I combined it with patterned paper from my stash and card form the Tim Holtz & Ranger Distress Collections pack by Core'dinations. For the border I used a Tonic Studios Simplicity Pattern Punch. Embellishments are Candi and a tag cut out from kraft card.

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.

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.

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 ...