Happy Birthday

When I saw the challenge at the Male Room, I realised that I had posted the perfect card for it the previous day, so I went about making another in a similar vein. 

My previous card has a knot on it and so I thought I would do another with a similar knot, but not exactly the same. This took me back to my Guiding days and this knot is called a sheet bend.

Here's how to do it!

The sentiment is by Gummiapan and the posts from Memory Box, the anchor was a freebie from a magazine. The source for the seagull escapes me, but that may be Memory Box too!

The only source of colour is the seagull's beak and legs!

We're off to our grandson's Speech Day today on his last day of school for the academic year. There is a to be a picnic in the grounds so it should all be great fun!

 

Ahoy!

Recently I was fortunate enough to win a challenge at CASology and was subsequently invited to be a Guest Designer and now is the time for that to happen!

The challenge is WINDY

My very first thought was of a stamp that I have of a boy with a kite, but despite taking it off the wood block, I still couldn't get a clear image of every part of the stamp, so out came this old SU stamp... also on a block, but it worked rather better. I also found the little quote  stamp in a set I had with no name printed on the carrier sheet (I hate that). I remember that I bought it on one trip to Ally Pally. 

I had a fancy for doing one of these flat knots as an embellishment, I always think they look rather nautical and they also lie pretty flat for mailing. I think I may have to try to do a video to show how they are done.  

Here is the video

The twine I selected to use was somewhat off white and looked dreadful against white cardstock, so I opted for this ivory hopsack textured card from Papermill Direct.

My son loves sailing... I have used this image a few times for cards for him!

 

Just a note

It seems that I have been AWOL from my blog for a while so I thought I should remedy that. Here is a card made using part of a stencil, which I masked and inked with Hickory Smoke Distress Oxide ink. It was applied with a blending brush, using less colour the further up the stencil I went, to give an ombre effect. I added a couple of birds, stacked several times to give definition and a simple sentiment from Personal Impressions. I believe the birds are Memory Box.

CAS on Friday - Stencil

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies

Addicted to CAS - Animals

Noel

It's funny how a card develops... this started with a colour and a circle. The colour is Speckled Egg Distress Oxide ink, although it looks a tad dark in this picture. 

I stamped some splatters in Versamark and then heat embossed with clear EP. Then I dabbed on the ink, trying to get it as deep a colour as possible. I used the tree aperture die from Simon Says Stamp, together with a Presscut circular die which was just a tad bigger in order to make the frame. In fact I cut two and stacked them. I embossed just the lower section of the front panel with part of an embossing folder and  added a few stars which were the waste from a previous card and were still on my desk. The simple one word sentiment was stacked three times with the top layer in the blue, but it was overpowering and didn't go with the white frame of the image, so I cut another one in white and added it over the blue... you can just see some of the blue from some angles.

CASology - One word sentiment, one focal image!

Happy Little Stampers - Christmas

I don't think duck egg blue is a traditional Christmas colour!

 

Always in our thoughts

I just saw a sketch which really appealed to me at Colours and Sketches

I love the gentle inky look to it even though it's really only a diagram, but I wondered if that was the effect that the artist was thinking of when drawing it.

SO.... I found a scrap of foam sponge and simply dabbed a background with Pumice Stone Distress Oxide ink, I then used the same ink to stamp some splatters and a couple of leaf sprays from Clearly Besotted, which I cut with the matching die.

The sentiment is from Avery Elle.

 

JOY

Here is another card for the challenge at CAS Christmas, where the prerequisite this time is PLAID!

I found this scrap of digital paper in my scraps drawers and simply used some dies to make the focal point and the sentiment. One thing which surprised me somewhat was how 'off' the design looked when the dies were not placed appropriately on the paper. By that I mean that the smidge of pattern looked dreadful if it wasn't centralised and aligned in the two cuts. Maybe I have a touch of OCD! This was the third try with the word JOY, but I'm satisfied with this placement. Bothe the tree and the sentiment are popped into dimensional strips to add a little dimension.

Merry Little Christmas  - Anything goes

 

Celebrate

I saw the sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches

the theme at CASology

and the Trend at Just Us Girls

...and came up with this card.

I didn't have a stamp with a a mask apart from a racoon who looks like he's wearing one, so I grabbed a couple of free clipart images and cut them with my Silhouette Portrait machine. I didn't have a sentiment of the right weight or size in my dies or stamps so wrote this one and also cut it with my Silhouette in Hello font.  This font flows beautifully when welded.

I did try cutting a few of the masks and stacking them, but preferred the look of the single cuts!

Big Hugs

I began this card by following the layout of the sketch as Fab Friday

Having decided to keep the colour palette to monochrome, I looked for scraps to use up. I had the remnants of some newsprint card, which I had used some of for a Paper Anniversary card, some music manuscript left over from a birthday card, some bits of plain white and black card plus a sentiment which is a negative image. It looks a little busy, but maybe the recipient will spend some time looking closely at all the elements, trying to work out what they all are!

I have some Golden Wedding Invitations to make, I'd better start getting creative!

 

Thanks

These fish were cut from some of the shaving foam prints as on my previous card.

I took the sketch from CAS Colours and Sketches and played with it a little.

PS Just realised I missed the boat on this one!

The Card Concept

I took the sea theme from this photo!

The seaweed escaping from the frame were unintentional, but somehow a tiny smidge of ink found its way on to the card! SO rather than make a new frame (I had to fiddle around extending the length of one die cut) I decided to disguise the boo boo on this one!

 

Merry Christmas

This is rather an unusual colour choice for a Christmas card, but I am rather partial to lots of shades of kraft card and so when I saw that the challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown was to use this colour, this is the card I came up with. 

In fact I decided to combine it with the challenge at CAS Christmas , where the theme this time is Foliage and Berries.

The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Goes

I  used an ivory base to complement the kraft die cuts. The foliage is from a die called Silverdale from Memory Box. It is stacked 3 times and mounted over a frame cut with Framelit and Presscut dies. I stamped this in Versamark using a wood plank stamp from IO. I lightly brushed a little Empire Gold Gilding Wax from Pebeo onto some edges of the leaves and the sentiment panel and added some Nuvo Crystal drops to the berries. The sentiment is from Memory Box.

I just discovered that Amazon Music has compiled my own personal playlist from tracks that I have chosen to play frequently... it's brilliant... all my favourites without having to keep selecting! I'm obviously not too old to keep learning new things!

 

Merry & Bright

This morning I joined a Zoom session of crafters from around the world, who all contribute to a weekly blog hop called WOYWW (What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday). Folks take a pic of their crafting space and share it for others to have a snoop around. In fact it was how  met Mandi, the lady I began the challenge Less is More with back in 2011. Julia, the host began it and 600 sessions later it's still going strongly!

Anyway whilst the session was live I made this card, using the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches

I do love a simple sketch to follow and this is lovely one! The gnome is from SSS, the sentiment from SU and the snow embossing folder from Sheena Douglass.

52 Christmas Card Throwdown

April 2020 White  Red

There's to be another Zoom session in a couple of hours where I hope to be able to see a friend from the US, connections permitting!

Technology is great, a) when it's working and b) when you understand what on earth is going on!

Take care everyone!

Sending you love

I really enjoy working with a good CAS sketch and today I found one this one at Freshly Made Sketches

Looking through the Design Team's examples I saw one from Kim. I have always admired her work enormously and her card reminded me of a small envelope die which I've had for ages but can't remember ever using before.

SO with the Sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and the idea of envelopes from Kim my card evolved.

I found some scraps of DP to line the envelopes and cut a whole bunch of little hearts to spring out of them. I rummaged through my sentiments to try to find something suitable and thought this went perfectly. It's from Clearly Besotted. I thought that the postage stamp type edging for the front panel was also in sympathy with the feel of the card. I had to elongate the die cut a little as the dies are sized for American dimensions rather than ours.

Stay safe everyone!

Merry Christmas to you

For ages I had thought that Distress Oxide inks were probably just a bit of a fad and what did I need them for when I had just about all the shades of Distress Ink! Anyway eventually I caved after seeing SO many people using them and now I can't imagine why I haven't been using them for ages! I didn't realise how well they stamped (knowing how hit and miss regular Distress inks are for stamping), how well they can be used as a painting medium, what great depth of colour you get from them and how well they blend. SO far I have invested in about a dozen, but I have a way to go to get the colours I would like. Then there is the problem of where to keep them!

Getting around to this card, I stamped the green panel with Versamark then just left it to dry.

After stamping the mistletoe onto some white card using Bundled Sage DO ink, I dabbed some more onto my glass, together a couple of dabs of Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint Distress Oxide inks. Then with my water brush, I used these shades to colour the leaves. For the berries, I used some Pumice Stone DO ink watered down considerably, and applied just to one side of each berry to the appearance of dimension.

To finish off the card I added some Nuvo Crystal Glaze to the berries and some clear Wink of Stella to the leaves. I did drag a gold ink pad along the edge to the green panel before adhering it to the card.

The stamps are from Memory Box Merry and Bright Mistletoe set.

I made this card with the challenge at CAS Mix Up in mind, which this time is a watercolour challenge.

There are a few 'off the edges' to choose from here.

Stay safe and well everyone!

Hope your Christmas is Amazing

I saw the challenge at Shopping our stash where this time there is a tic tac toe. A couple of lines immediately jumped out at me. Vertically I saw Plaid, string and neutrals and diagonally I saw kraft, stamp over 5 years old and neutrals.

SO here I have a card using kraft card, a Hero Art, block mounted, distressed stripe stamp (over 5 years old) and some thin twine. I actually thought I had a plaid background stamp, but being unable to locate it, I used this stripe stamp both horizontally and vertically to make the plaid. I cut out the Impression Obsession tree line die and masked the lower part before stamping the stripes with Versamark and embossing with WOW Sea foam white EP. The sentiment is from SSS.

It also fits with the challenge at CAS Christmas where non traditional colours are to be used.

I must confess that kraft is a 'go to' colour for me at anytime!

This is a variation on the theme, using a lace background stamp this time for the trees.

I wonder which version you prefer? I'm not sure!

 

A couple of Christmas Cards

Here are another couple of cards for my Christmas supply, each for a different Christmas Challenge.

The first one is home-made, white embossing paste applied through part of a Sweet Poppy Stencil. I added WOW Metallic Embossing glitter and heat set it. This paste spreads really easily, I just hope that I can recreate it when this lot has been used. The sentiment is from Tim Holtz.

It's for the Glitter Challenge at CAS Christmas

 

This next one is for the challenge at Christmas Kickstart

"Dachshund through the snow"

Naturally they would love to see a pooch!

  

Well I have a dog and there is snow, so hopefully it will fit the bill!

.

The tree line die was a freebie from a mag and the dog  is a die from an All Occasion Dies set. The embossed snow is from an embossing folder from Sheena Douglass but sadly is not available at the moment.

Noel

Here is another contribution for the CAS Christmas Challenge, which this time is to use Glitter.

I made some embossing paste, but I think that the recipe could do with a little more glue in it than I used this time... the Gitter didn't adhere to it as much as it would have done to a commercially produced embossing paste. I guess I could just put some more glue in and see what happens. However, I don't mind the result.... in fact I was just pleased that the embossing paste worked out at all as it was the first time that I had tried making it!

I used a Sweet Poppy Stencil for the tree and a Sizzix die for the sentiment! As that is popped on dimensional pads like the tree I layered it to make it a little more robust.

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Goes

Just Us Girls - Circles

Circles

The Challenge at Just us Girls this time is Circles

I used a die by Alexandra Renke for the focal point,  cut from kraft card and gently shaded with a little Distress Ink around the edges. The sentiment is part of stamp from Altenew... I masked off the last couple of words (to you) as it was too long for the card. I had a bit of a struggle to make the die extend far enough to encompass the words, but managed on about the third or fourth attempt.

I thought that the hessian and the rough string complemented the kraft card quite well. I added a few random dark brown pearls (more circles) for a little interest.

Happy Little Stampers 

Anything Goes with Dies

HELP PLEASE!

I have recently bought a Magnetic Platform for my Big Shot Plus die cutting machine, but find that particularly small dies, like the one used to cut the sentiment on this card, don't stay where they are placed on the platform but jig around as though the magnets are pushing them rather than attracting them. Has anyone else come across this phenomenon? I have written to Sizzix but not received any response to date. I'm not sure if this happens with all Sizzix Plus platforms or whether mine has a problem!!!

Any comments would be appreciated!

Happy Birthday Handsome

 

Here is another contribution to the CAS Stencil Challenge.

This time I opted to use translucent embossing paste on dark card stock, with the addition of Gold Glamour Dust.

The stencil is from The Crafter's Workshop.
I thought that the image was a good choice for a chap, which is why I went with this sentiment which was a freebie from a magazine.
The twinkle on this image is really very pretty, but I'm afraid that my photographic expertise isn't sufficient to show it off to its full potential!

Our grandkids have arrived for the weekend so my crafting time is over for the moment!