Add a die cut with Sweet Stampin'

 It's new challenge time at Sweet Stampin'!  Our challenge theme this fortnight centres around using a die cut alongside your stamped designs.

I treated myself to this Concord & 9th stencil and die set so thought it would fit our challenge nicely.

I really like Concord and 9th stencils but I'll be honest and say that I found lining up the middle of the flowers a bit tricky - it took a bit of practice and some shifting mid-stencil to get a precise impression.  I got round this by using my Copics to fill in any gaps and I think it worked quite well.

I used the co-ordinating dies to create the mat for the sentiment, which is an oldie but much loved stamp from an Altenew birthday set.  To finish I mounted the main panel onto the card base with foam tape and added a few gems here and there.

We'd love you to join us, so please do hop over to the challenge blog here to check out the details and the lovely inspiration from my brilliant teamies.

Have a great weekend

xx

Use Stripes or Chevrons at Sweet Stampin'

 Hello!  A new challenge starts at Sweet Stampin' today and this fortnight's theme is to incorporate stripes and/or chevrons in your design.

I used a red rubber background stamp from Simon Says Stamp (it's a few years old) to create bold navy stripes on a white background 

I used a stamp and die set from Concord & 9th to create my sentiment and cut contrasting yellow flowers using dies from the same bundle as embellishments.

We'd love you to play along with us so do check out the challenge details and the inspiration makes from my teamies over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a great weekend xx

Christmas in July

 Over at Sweet Stampin' our new challenge theme starts today.  This one is always popular: Christmas in July.

I often go for bright or bold colours for Christmas but here I went for a more subtle look although I stuck with my favourite red and green. I used the Greetery's stamp and stencil combo for the Christmas flowers, stamping the leaves in Iced Spruce Distress Oxide ink and stencilling the flowers in a couple of Gina K reds.

I then cut the lattice pattern from Concord & 9th Pistachio cardstock using the Greetery's co-ordinating die.  This die cut is quite delicate and is a bit of a fiddle to get lined up but I like the end result.  There is also a stencil in the set to give a similar effect.

The sentiment comes from an old Simon Says Stamp snowflake border set.  I stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black onto a die cut banner which I curled up at the edges.

I hope this theme appeals to you and that you will play along with us this fortnight.  You'll find all the details here at the Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog.

xxx

Cards for men at Sweet Stampin'

 It's time for a new challenge at Sweet Stampin'!  This fortnight we'd like to see your take on masculine-themed cards: birthday, father's day, or any other occasion you can think of!

My card isn't perhaps obviously "male" but I hope it fits the bill nonetheless.

I used an Anita Jeram mini stamp for my image, which I coloured with Copics.  With so much white space, this clean and simple design was quick to create.

We love to see what you make, so do hop on over to the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog to check out the DT inspo and play along with us.

xxx

Things with Wings at Sweet Stampin'

 Another fortnight has flown by and it's time to start a new challenge over at Sweet Stampin'.  Our theme this time is "Things with Wings".

I chose a tiny Altenew stamp set to create my butterfly, one of their mini-delight range (I think that's what they're called!).  Rather than go for lots of white space around the image, this time I broke out my much-neglected embossing folders and opted for one which has quite a lot of detail.  I cut a panel of black cardstock to 4.25 x 5.5 cm and embossed the floral/diamond pattern onto this before adding it to a cardbase made from black cardstock.  The sentiment is from the same Altenew stamp set and to keep things simple I just added a couple of clear dew drops as embelllishments.

It would be great if you could join in our Things with Wings challenge Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog- we love to see what you make!

xx

Favourite Colour - Sweet Stampin'

 We have a new challenge starting today at Sweet Stampin' and our theme this fortnight is an easy one - use your favourite colour.

I can't honestly say that I have an absolute favourite colour, but I'm often drawn to red or deep pink.  I chose to use The Stamp Market's Raspberry ink with my Betterpress to create this image and I think it's a lovely, vibrant colour.

I managed to find some coloured cardstock in my stash which matches the ink quite well - I think it's one from MFT, which is sadly now discontinued, although if you're in the UK I believe Dies to Die For may still have some MFT cardstock left.

I used a Gina K die set to cut the sentiment mat and the scalloped layer; the sentiment itself is years old and is part of a big floral set from Simon Says Stamp.  All I really had left to do after sticking all the layers together was add some clear dew drops.

I love my Betterpress! I find it great for mass producing cards and so far I've found that all of my inks work well provided they are not too dry.  I made a few more using this particular plate while I had all the gear out:

The inks used for these cards were Stardust (Concord & 9th), Mossy (The Stamp Market)  and Blueberry (Concord & 9th).

Do hop on over to the Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog to check out the inspiration makes from my lovely teamies.  We'd love it if you' play along this fortnight.

Have a great weekend!

xx

Use gingham or plaid

 Sweet Stampin's latest challenge starts today.  This time we'd like you to incorporate either a plaid or gingham pattern in your design.  

My DT card uses patterned paper from my stash.  All my paper is now donkey's years old and I really need to use it up.  I chose to use the Stamping Bella image as the snowdrops are out and are looking beautiful just now.  My drive to work takes me past lots of woodland and the snowdrops look like a white carpet under the trees.

We'd love you to play along with our challenge this fortnight.  Head on over to the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog to check out our inspiration makes - you'll find the challenge details there, too.

Happy stamping!

xx