Inspirational Card Sketches DT call

I just noticed yesterday that there was a Dt call for Inspirational Card Sketches and I thought I'd give it a try!
I've used the "Orchid" stamp from my newly released A Passion for Stamps range and you can find the details in my sidebar.
I coloured it with Promarkers and used Glossy accents to highlight the stripe on the plant pot.
The papers are Core d'inations (Cuttlebugged) and Jesse Edwards Boutique. The beautiful turquoise flower and the pin were sent to me by Tara and the gems are from my stash.
I've used the Martha Stewart doily border punch on the corners of the image again as I love the lacy effect.

See you later with some great news!!.....

Gentleman's Card

I've been doing some work for a very charming gentleman for a few weeks and when I realized it was his birthday tomorrow I knew just which card would "suit!" I had seen the tutorial for this card on Melz blog and if you have never visited her before you'll be amazed at what you find there!
I do realize that my card doesn't have the classy look that Mel achieved but I did my best!!
Next time I'll have to have the pinstripe paper to do it properly.
I do hope he likes it!

Tara's card

This time Tara has made a beautiful card with my "Kitten at Wall" stamp fromA Passion for Stamps and isn't it just gorgeous?
I think the beauty is in the detail...the little paw prints in the flowers and the way she has stamped the ribbon etc.Poor Tara is not too well at the moment so it is a surprise that she was able to make this at all.
The card has now pride of place on my mantlepiece as she sent it to me ..

Sketch Saturday DT Call

There is a DT call over on Sketch Saturday so I thought I'd give it a go. I follow their sketches almost every week and love the cards of the existing DT anyhow..
It's been a while since I really enjoyed making a card as much as this one!! I took the sketch to work and thought about it and drew it out at lunchtime.This is also how I actually drew the original sketch of the kitten! It came to life on my sketch pad over lunch at work,too...
I used the "Kitten at Wall" stamp from my newly released range A Passion for Stamps which you can find in the side bar but made a Christmas present in place of the "wall" and coloured it with Promarkers.
The papers are from the Kars X-mas collection and Jesse Edwards. I have added little bits of glitter paper to catch the light.
The corners of the background have been rounded with a Martha Stewart doily border punch and the grey card from the Paper Mill shop has been run through the Cuttlebug with a Swiss Dots folder.
That's it..I'm off to work now and have my pencil and paper at the ready for lunch time!!

For Him

It seems like ages since I posted a card of my own! Things have been more hectic than usual with a family wedding,work,back to school for my sons etc. so I haven't even had time to make a card until now.
This one is for Sketch Saturday and also for Allsorts where this week's card is "something for the boys".
Well this time I've used the top half of my "Jonny" stamp from my Passion for Stamps range which you can find in the side bar.
The papers are Papermania/Jesse Edwards and I've used a Woodware leaf punch.

I thought the stamp was versatile enough to use either whole or just the top half...what do you think?

New Challenge

Georgia is starting a wonderful new challenge which will run once a month and she is looking for DT members.You have until Sept 15th to apply and can find all the details here.

Tara's card

Well this one just left me wondering if I should ever make another card.......isn't it gorgeous? This time Tara has used my "Morning Glory" stamp and made a better card with it than I ever could.
I'd never have thought of using black for the flower but it looks great - the petals look like velvet.
This looks great and I'm so chuffed at what she has come up with this time again!!
Those Nesties are fantastic,too and show off the image so well.

Erin's Card

I must apologize for the delay in posting this card. Sorry,Erin!
This week Erin has made a beautiful card for the ABC challenge using my "Jenny at the Beach" stamp.
She has done a wonderful job,the whole card is so bright and cheerful. Jenny has been coloured beautifully and the colours she has used are just gorgeous.I really love the yellow of the Martha Stewart punched paper on top of the turquoise.The flowers are scrummy,too.
Thanks again,Erin,you've done a great job,it's beautiful!

Winner of the stamps

Sorry this post is so late, but better late than never!
Without further ado, the winner of the free stamps is Kathleen.
So if you could please email me your address and which stamps you would like I'll post asap!
Sorry I can't stop to blog hop as I've had a manic few days and am trying to get my head back together! I hope to visit you all tomorrow,Ruth x

Free Stamps!!!

This post will stay at the top of my blog till Aug 31.

As you know I have just released a range of stamps for sale of some of my own drawings.You can find the details on A Passion for Stamps

I have come up with 4 different themes(animals,flowers,male/female,my "Jenny" images) and hope to add more to each theme through time.You can see lots of cards made with these images by scrolling down this blog.

I'm offering 2 free stamps of your choice (either two of the single images or one of the double image set).

So....what I would like you to do is

a)Become a follower of this blog

b)Post on your blog a little about the new stamp range with a link to this blog

c)Put my blinkie in your sidebar if you can...
and finally.........leave me a comment here to let me know you have been.

I will choose a winner at random and post the winner on Tues 1st September,
Ruth x

This is the first time I've made a card for the Basic Grey challenge (Hi Martine!) because,believe it or not,I've never had Basic Grey paper until now. Obviously now that I've used some I know I "need" more!
I've made the card using the layout from The Pink Elephant and one of the stamps from my new collection ( You can see the details in the sidebar)

The paper is Basic Grey/ Stella Ruby and I hope it fits the bill (brown,pink and yellow)
I've used my "Kitten at wall"stamp and doodled in some stones on the wall.
The grass punch is by Carl Crafts,
flower punch......X-cut
stems and leaves...X-cut impress border punch used in the Cuttlebug
and the large flower is from Ikea

New DT member!!

Tara's Card...........

I have some very exciting news tonight!!!
Tara has very kindly agreed to become a designer for my new stamp range.
I'm truly flattered to have her on board and just can't wait to show you her fantastic creations.
Tara has been an inspiration to me since long before I started blogging when she very kindly gave me lots of help and advice on my colouring techniques. I have to say she has also cost me a small fortune by introducing me to Promarkers!!

This is her first card made with my "Jenny at the Beach" stamp and I have to admit that I just sat wide eyed looking at it earlier when she sent it to me.
It is absolutley amazing and I am so proud of what she has done with it!!
Just look at the detail - I love the sea effect and the sand,the beach hut,everything ,in fact!!

I feel honoured to have both Tara and Erin on my design team and hope you will enjoy seeing all their wonderful work!

Friday Sketchers

I'm having a little break from finishing off some Orders of Service and thought I'd make a card for Friday Sketchers bacause the layout looked so adaptable.
Again, this is one of the stamps I designed for my new collection and details can be found on the sidebar.
Recipe;
Papers.........................Regency and Blueberry Hill by Papermania
Image..........................Morning Glory from my Passion for Stamps collection
Gems...........................Jewellery Seal
Flowers........................from a florist friend and coloured with Promarkers to match
Scallops........................Nestabilities
Colouring.....................Promarkers (rose pink and moss )

Must get back to the wedding stationery as it needs finished asap!!

Jenny at the Beach

We are still enjoying the summer here- the weather is not great but it's lovely to still have our sons off school for another couple of weeks.
This week's card fits a few different challenges. I've used the colours from the Colour Create challenge with the layout from Sketch Saturday and combined this with the theme of "summer" from The Pink Elephant challenge.
This is "Jenny at the beach" which I designed for my new stamp collection and you can find details of how to buy this stamp (or any of the others) at the side of my blog.

The Tall Ships were in Belfast last week and we spent as much time there as work would permit!! I was in hospital having my first son the last time they were here(18 years ago) so I didn't want to miss them this time!
Tall Ships on Belfast Lough

The Bounty from Pirates of the Carribean.


You can see the cranes of Harland and Wolff where the Titanic was built in the background.

Erin's card

I have another beautiful card made by Erin to show you today .This time she has used my Orchid stamp and I'm sure you'll agree she has made a wonderful card. It's lovely for me to see how she uses the stamps differently from me! Ruth

Double Challenge

I've managed to combine the great sketch from Mojo Monday with the colours from The Pink Elephant to make a card today.
I wanted to use two of my stamps from my new collection and they went together in this sketch.
I've used Papicolor paper........Flora
Two stamps from my Passion for Stamps collection coloured with Promarkers
Cuttlebug embossing folder.........Victoria
Woodware flower punch
Ribbons from my stash

Please have a look at the post at the top of my blog!!

The Tall Ships are in Belfast for a few days so if I can get a couple of photos I'll put them on here soon.We had a look last night and the boats were beautiful with their masts all lit up reflecting on the lough.

Truly Scrumptious

My friend Mina came up with a lovely sketch this week for the Truly Scrumptious challenge and asked for a bit of "bling" to be added.
Well, I followed the sketch but maybe added too much bling.........
I tried something a little different for me using a Cuttlebug folder in an unusual way;
I haven't used any DP but made up for this by colouring some Cuttlebugging .I used a Victoria folder and shaded it with a Marsh Green Promarker.It takes a bit of time and patience but the result is that it looks like flocking(better than in the photo!)
The orchid image is one of the new stamps from my own collection a Passion for Stamps
I'm in a rush to get out now but will add more detail later if I can,Ruth

Mina's Card

I'm delighted to be able to show you another gorgeous card..........this time made by Mina. I've spent many hours on Mina's blog and Docraft site oohing and ahhing at her amazing talent.
She has used my "Jenny in Bed" stamp and created a wonderful Get Well card.
I feel very honoured to have both Mina and Erin make such beautiful cards using these images!
Thanks so much,ladies !!

New Designer!!

I'm really delighted to say that Erin has very kindly agreed to become Designer for A Passion for Stamps!!!
I've been a follower of Erin's blog and watched her wonderful creations on Docrafts for quite a while now so I'm really chuffed to have her on board. I wanted to have someone who could make the best possible cards with the stamps , so here she is...
She is very enthusiastic about card making and has a great chatty style in her blog which really appeals to me.
Erin has created a beauty for her first card using my new Bunny Bathtime stamp. I will be posting all her beautiful cards on my blog and look forward to seeing what she makes next.....