ASTM Holiday Challenge ...

Are you getting ahead with you Christmas cards? What about Halloween? or Thanksgiving? If you haven't made a start yet and need a reason then why not join this week's challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More as it is all about holidays!

As I'm still trying to get ahead with my Christmas cards that is the holiday I'm celebrating ... I know it is only June but we are half way to Christmas!!

A very CAS design - a stamped image coloured with markers and a die cut sentiment.  I would like to say that it was quick to make (something I always look for in a Christmas card) but it seemed to take ages!

I used:

Sheena Douglas - Christmas Visitors Stamp Set

Creative Expressions - Happy Christmas Die

Lawn Cuts - Stitched Rectangles

ZIG Clean Color Real Brush Markers.

I hope you'll find the time to join in with the challenge.

Enjoy!

STAMPlorations 4th Birthday Blog Hop ... Day One!

I'm so excited ... I'm joining in with celebrations for STAMPlorations 4th Birthday!!  Do you fancy joining in?  There are prizes to be won and lots of new products to delight and tempt! The blog hop lasts for five days so it is worth checking back to see what other inspiring projects the design team have created.  Here are the details:

 

This is my card:

It's a shaker card ... my first!!  I used the new  Shaker Balloons #2 Stars dies to cut the balloons from a piece of card coloured using alcohol inks. I also cut the open star from fun foam to add depth for the shaker element. I used small seed beads for the shaker element. I added some gold thread to create the balloon strings.  I suspended the 'congrats' sentiment from the strings.  The congrats sentiment is a new matching stamp and die set - I stamped and heat embossed it and then die cut 3 extra sentiments and adhered them all together.

Fancy some more inspiration?  How about my second card:

Another simple design but STAMPloration products just speak for themselves!  This card combines a new stamp set Bold Sentiment - Beautiful (there is a matching die) with the "Amazing" and "Awesome" dies from an earlier release.  I stamped the "beautiful" using Zig markers in the colours of the rainbow!

I hope that you will join in with the blog hop I know you will not be disappointed at what you see ... and you never know, you just might win!

Enjoy!

AAA All About the Words ...

Good Morning ... it's time for a new challenge at AAA Cards ... are you ready to play?!  As the title of my post implies we are focusing on words for this challenge.

I have to confess that I don't always include a sentiment on my cards ... very often because I don't think about it until it's too late or I just don't know where to put it!!  Clearly for this challenge I had to think about the words first!!

The panel was created using a Gel printing plate and a selection of acrylic paints.  I stamped the quote using versafine onyx black ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder to intensify the blackness and add a little shine.  I doodled a frame around the panel to add some more interest.

I used:
Kaisercraft - Pretty Little Things
WOW Clear Embossing Powder
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
CUTplorations Stitched Rectangle

I hope you are inspired and will join in with the challenge.

Enjoy!

Fancy a cuppa? ...

Good evening! I don't have any profound thoughts or exciting news to share so I'll get straight down to business.  This is the evidence of a couple of hours creating:

I stamped and masked the cups and mugs before water colouring using distress inks.  I then fussy cut the spaces between the cups to add further interest. I created and stamped the sentiment and then adhered the panel on to a card base using foam adhesive to add dimension.  

I used:
STAMPlorations - Coffee Petites Stamp Set
Lawn Fawn - Milo's ABC
Distress Inks - Carved Pumpkin, Candied Apple, Mustard Seed, Twisted Citron, Salty Ocean and Wilted Violet.

I'm entering the following challenges:

"Less is More" #334 Sketch




Coffee Loving Cardmakers - 2017 Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop


STAMPlorations June CAS Challenge



Enjoy!

A card for a friend ...

Well I'm delighted that the working week has finally finished for me ... it's Friday!!!  I've had such a busy week that I've had little energy for crafting ... I did manage to create a card this afternoon for a special friend:

I used:
STAMPlorations - ARTplorations Botanical Lush Stencil
UNIKO - Originally Organic
Texture Paste
Distress Inks - Twisted Citron, Carved Pumpkin
Sizzix Heart Die

I'm entering the following challenges:

"Less is More"  #333


STAMPlorations June CAS Challenge without the twist


STAMPlorations Never-ending Anything Goes


Enjoy!

ASTM Anything Goes ...

Another week whizzes by and it is time for a new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More ... this time it is Anything Goes>

Why not get out your card supplies and create a card for the challenge ... hopefully my card will inspire you to have a go.  Need more inspiration? then pop over to the blog and check out the brilliant cards from all the design team.

It is unusual for me to use a coloured base for my card but I felt that the flowers worked well on the softness of the Kraft card.  I wanted to use some black embossing paste through a stencil as a backdrop and sometimes black looks very harsh against a white background. The flowers were created by inking the back of a stencil with distress inks and then spritzing with water before placing on some water colour card - when this was dry I stamped the matching images with versafine onyx black ink.

I used:

STAMPlorations - Bloom Sketches Stamp Set

STAMPlorations - Dots all Over and Daisy Dance Stencils

Dreamweaver - Matt Black Embossing Paste

Distress Inks - Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Marmalade and Carved Pumpkin

Clearly Besotted - Notebook Edge Die

I hope you will join in with the challenge and look forward to seeing your creations.

Enjoy!

All about dies ...

It's amazing what you can achieve when deadlines are looming ... it's Father's Day in the UK on Sunday and I needed to get two cards made ... and I did!!  One design, two colourways ...

I forgot to add a red heart before I photographed this one!

I used:
X Cut - Cogs and heart dies
PoppyStamps - Stick Frame die
CUTplorations - Alpha plate
UNIKO - Simply Said sentiment stamps

I'm entering the following challenges:

UNIKO #41
 

Happy Little Stampers June Challenge
 

Enjoy!

Artist Trading Cards ...

Another busy day ... ironing, gardening, cooking and, of course, crafting!  As I mentioned in an earlier post, I'm over run with cards so I've been trying my hand at new paper based art. Today it has been all about Artist Trading Cards - ATCs for those in the know!  I have created one before but not shared it on my blog ... today I've created two cards so I thought I would let you all have a look,

These were both made with a print created on my gel printing plate with acrylics and stencils. Then I used Tim Holtz dies to add interest and detail.

There aren't many challenges for ATCs specifically but Kylie at Happy Little Stampers has launched a challenge this week ... so I might just pop over and enter these!



I've really enjoyed creating these and will no doubt be creating more ... they take up so little room.

Enjoy!

First Post for AAA Cards ...

How exciting is this ... I've joined the design team at AAA Cards!  I'm delighted and honoured to join such an amazing team of designers ... now all I need to do is design and inspire you all to join in with the challenge!

Today's challenge is:

I chose to use heat embossing as a resist and then smooshed the panel with distress inks.

I adhered the panel to a white matt using fun foam to add some dimension and then added some splatters to the card base before adding the focal point.  Close up you can see how the heat embossing resists the distress inks.

I also added a piece of vellum for the heat embossed sentiment.

I used:
UNIKO - Doodle Flowers Background Block
            - Simply Said
Distress Inks - Squeezed Lemonade, Carved Pumpkin and Ripe Persimmon
WOW - White embossing powder
Lawn Cuts - Stitched Rectangle

Why not pop along and join in with the challenge ... remember it is a CAS challenge, the following explains what we mean by CAS.

Enjoy!

Sweet things ...

I hope you are all having a good weekend ... I was until I wanted to write this post and my laptop decided that it wouldn't see my wireless network ... technology is wonderful until it decides not to work!!  I've had to resort to plugging it in to the router ... at least I had that option!!

Today's post is all about this week's "Less is More" one layer challenge - "Sweet Things".

A simple card ... once I remembered the one layer element!!

I used:
Distress Inks - Spun sugar, Fired Brick, Wilted Violet, Twisted Citron, Picked Raspberry and Tea Dye,
Clearly Besotted Sentiment
Simply Homemade Magazine free stamp set
CUTplorations Stitched Rectangle
Glossy Accents for the cherry

I'm entering the following challenges:

"Less is More" #332


Penny Black and More June Challenge - Anything Goes


Before I go I need to say a great big thank you to the design team at "Less is More" - they've SHOWcased one of my cards this week.  Thank you so very much I consider it a real privilege to be chosen.  This is the card they liked:

I'm off now to try and sort out the wi-fi ... I could be away for sometime.

Enjoy!

Mixed media fun ...

What do you do with all the cards that you make?  I've made so many cards that I don't know what to do with them ... I love making cards and I love sending cards but I seem to have quite a surplus and still I keep making them!!  But not tonight ...

... tonight I have created a small piece of 'art' ... using an index card for the base (actually it is a piece of card the same size as an index card).

The background is from a print I made on my gel printing plate using acrylic paints and stencils ... I stitched this on to the card base to add another texture and also applied some black texture paste through a stencil.  I stamped the butterfly twice and then fussy cut them out.  I layered some strips of printed tissue, old book paper and a small piece of the background paper to provide a base for the butterflies.  One butterfly is adhered flat to the card and the second one is stitched into place through the middle.  I added the quote/phrase and called it done!!

Some of the supplies:
STAMPlorations - Trendy Butterflies Stamp set, Dots all Over Stencil
Tim Holtz Chit Chat stickers

I'm going to enter the following challenges:

The Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #37
I have chosen #36 Put a Stamp on It



STAMPlorations June Mixed Media Challenge


Enjoy!

Bunch of flowers ...

A quick post to share this card:

I started by creating some background paper using distress inks and a small gel printing plate and a number of stencils.  I then die cut the flowers from the background paper, kraft card and white card.  I created the bunch of flowers and tied them with a bit of twine.  Die cut a couple of tags and stamped the sentiment on one of them.

I'm entering the following challenges:

"Less is More" #331 Colour Challenge


TIME OUT #84  - Flowers and Friends make life a garden

Enjoy!