Seize the Birthday - Surprise Party Guest! (Week 3)

Hi there

I'm back with another installment for my Surprise Party Guest role over at Seize the Birthday challenge.  Birthday cards are the one occasion card I send more than anything else so this is proving to be a great opportunity to build my stock of cards.

Every week over at Seize the Birthday is Anything Goes as long as it's a birthday theme.

And some weeks there are also optional Toppings

And this week's Topping option is...

Vellum

Here's my card using a vellum overlay and die cut...

This was super simple to make.  I started by die cutting a piece of patterned paper using a stitched rectangle die.  I then die cut a piece of vellum with a fishtail flag die and heat embossed the sentiment in white.  I then die cut the butterfly, once from a piece of co-ordinating cardstock and then again from vellum after stamping and embossing with the co-ordinating stamp.  These were then adhered, the vellum along the top so that it wouldn't show, and I manipulated the vellum butterfly wings using the handle of a paint brush.

Materials used:

• Patterned Paper: Free with a publication a long time ago
• Vellum: From stash
• Stamps: Stampin' Up - Stacks of Wishes; Clearly Besotted - Elegant Butterflies
• Ink: VersaMark
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangle Stax, Fishtail Flag Stax; Clearly Besotted - Elegant Butterflies
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White

Challenge entries:

CASology - Week #242 - Text
AAA Cards - CAS Game #86 - Die Cuts
Happy Little Stampers - March Anything Goes with Dies

Thanks for stopping by today.  I've been having a little blogging break for a couple of weeks so apologies for being quiet.  I'll be back with regular blog posts again now :)

Seize the Birthday - Surprise Party Guest (week 2)

Hi there

I'm super excited today to have my second spot as a Surprise Party Guest over at Seize the Birthday challenge.  

If you are unfamiliar with this challenge, basically every week is Anything Goes as long as it's a Birthday theme...

and then some weeks have added optional 'Toppings'...

And this week's optional 'Topping' is...

Colour Splash

(Black and White and one other colour of your choice)

Here's my card using this week's Topping...

I stamped the balloon strings background stamp onto a panel of black cardstock with VersaMark ink and heat embossed in clear.  This was adhered to the card base together with a strip of pink polka dot paper.  I die cut the bow from the same patterned paper, adhered it at an angle and finished by stamping the sentiment in black.

Materials used:

• Stamps: MFT - Balloon Strings; Paper Smooches - Bold Buzzwords
• Ink: VersaMark; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Cardstock/Paper: Papermania - Textured Black; Lawn Fawn - Let's Polka
• Die: Frantic Stamper - Small Solid Bow

Challenge entries:

Seven Hills Crafts - March Tic Tac Toe Challenge - I chose the diagonal option: Patterned Paper / Big Words Letters / Bold Shades

So glad you popped by today, I'm grateful for each and every one of your visits.

Balloon Shaker Card....and a little about my Photos

Hi there

Just popping in to share a card I made for my Sister-in-Law who celebrated her birthday earlier this week.

I love using this stitched window die for shakers and have used it twice before, here and here.

I started with a panel slightly smaller than my card base, die cut the window and stamped the sentiment below.  I then marked the card base, through the window with a pencil so I knew where the stamping area would be.  Some acetate was adhered to the reverse of the window.  I then simply stamped some balloons, sprinkled some shaker bits over the stamped area, added some foam strips to my panel and then adhered to the base, trapping the 'bits' inside.

Materials used:

• Die: MFT Die-namics - Peek-a-boo window
• Stamps: Altenew - Beautiful Lady; Papermania - Relations (serif); Clearly Besotted - Let's Party
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Peony, Lagoon Blue, Hyacinth
• Shaker Elements: Cosmic Shimmer - Glitter Jewels in Iced Snow; mini silver stars from stash

My Photos

You may have noticed a couple of additions to the photos in this post.  I've been wanting to add some staging to my pics for a while to make them a bit more interesting so have recently bought a few props.  For some time now I've been looking out for a wooden board of some kind to stand my cards on and finally found one last weekend, just by chance when I was in Dunelm Mill of all places.  I've also now bought a selection of artificial flowers and mini succulents so hope to start using those soon.  These photos just have the wooden board and a mercury glass vase with some artificial hydrangeas which I have in my lounge.

This is where I take all my card photos, on a cupboard in an alcove of my lounge using my wallpaper as a background as it's a neutral colour and has some texture to it.  I use a daylight lamp for all my pictures as I mostly craft in the evenings and this takes away the 'yellow' of the artificial light.  I have recently bought an LED desk lamp for illuminating my work area but it's a pain to keep moving it so will probably continue using my existing one for my photography.

So, nothing fancy, and I don't have an expensive camera nor would I know how to use one.  All my photos are taken using my Samsung mobile phone and I use free online software, PicMonkey to tweak any exposure issues and add my watermarks.  It works for me and hopefully with the help of my new props I can make my photos better.

That's all for today...Happy Sunday!

Less is More Week #319

Good morning, crafters

It's time for the challenge that gives many of us sweaty palms!  That's right, it's One Layer week over at Less is More and this time our theme is leaves.

I managed three cards for you this week and had fun making all of them! The leaves theme/one layer week combo actually works really well.

Ok, here's my first, although I was having a nightmare with the lighting.  I had to use my daylight lamp but this one looks completely washed out.  Photography isn't my strong point!

I used my Mini MISTI for the stamping on this card as I knew I was going to need to re-stamp.  The top and bottom images were done one at a time as I had to leave the stamp in position.  So I stamped once in white pigment ink.  Once dry I coloured in some details with a blue coloured pencil and then restamped in the white ink to re-establish the detail of the image.  The sentiment was stamped in a co-ordinating blue shade and that was it.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Magnolia Blooms; Altenew - Thinking of You
• Ink: Hero Arts - Unicorn; Versa Color - Atlantic

Challenge entry

CAS-ual Fridays - Challenge #169 - Off the Edge





I used one of my favourite layouts for my next card, masking is a great way to add a sentiment strip to a one layer card...

I adhered some masking tape across my card and then blended up and down from it with some Distress Ink, gently fading it out.  With the tape still in place I stamped the leaves and flourishes.  The mask was then removed and the sentiment stamped in black.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Marion Emberson Designs - Just Because; Altenew - Thinking of You
• Ink: Distress Ink - Dried Marigold; Versa Color - Evergreen, Green Tea, Split Pea, Lauren Leaf, Cement; Versafine - Onyx Black

Challenge entries:

Stamping Sensations - March Challenge - Close to Nature

For my final card I added some interest by embossing my card base with a die...

I embossed my card base with an oval die using a rubber mat with my Big Shot.  I then cut the same oval from a scrap of cardstock and used this as a mask so I could blend the background.  I used my heat gun to ensure the ink was dry, and used some anti static powder before stamping the sprig of leaves in VersaMark and heat embossing in gold.  I then added a little water to the berries with a paint brush and blotted away the colour to make the berries appear lighter in colour.  Finally, the sentiment was stamped below in black.

Materials used:

• Die: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Classic Ovals
• Ink: Distress Ink - Aged Mahogany; VersaMark; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Stampin' Up - Simply Sketched; Altenew - Beautiful Day
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #232 - Make Your Mark (sponged ink blending)

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  And if you have the time, why not take a little hop around my teamies' blogs for more inspiration, I'm sure they would love a visit from you.

Have a great weekend!

Muse #206 - If Friends Were Flowers...

Hi there

It's my turn to be your designer over at Muse this week.

My card today is a little different for me but I hope you can get some inspiration from it.  I bought a couple of stamps from Imagination Crafts at a show last year and still hadn't used them so I put one to use on this card.  I love how the stamped part is the background rather than the focal images.

I started by stamping the image in black ink off the edge of a white panel and then embossed it in clear embossing powder.  I then used Distress Inks to watercolour the flowers.  I tried to stay true to the colours of echinacea flowers (also known as coneflowers), although never realised they can also be yellow, white and orange (thanks Google!).  The sentiment was stamped in black before being mounted offset over some orange textured cardstock.


Materials used:

• Stamps: Imagination Crafts - Echinacea Field; Clearly Besotted Stamps - Pretty Petals
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Ink - Picked Raspberry, Ripe Persimmon, Rusty Hinge
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Coloured Cardstock: Papermania

Challenge entries:

The Flower Challenge - Challenge #6 - Anything Goes
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - No Designer Paper
Stamping Sensations - March Challenge - Close to Nature
Time Out - 3rd Birthday Challenge - Love/Friendship (optional twist of spotlighting) - no optional twist for this one




Thanks so much for visiting me today.  I hope you'll fee inspired to play along at Muse this week.

Glamorous in Mint

Hi guys

Well, this morning I just wanted to have a play and make something for a challenge rather than one for my design team roles.

I saw the new challenge at AAA Cards which is to create a card inspired by the fashions on the Oscar red carpet.  So, after a little internet search I knew exactly what I wanted to do.

My card is inspired by a dress I loved when I saw it a few years ago...little did I realise it was from 2003!  So, here's my card, I'm a bit disappointed that the camera didn't pick up just how sparkly this is in real life...

And here's the gorgeous dress that inspired me, Jennifer Lopez's Valentino gown...

I took my inspiration from the diagonal sweep of the dress.  I stamped some flowers, leaves and flourishes in VersaMark ink and heat embossed in clear.  I then fussy cut around the images to create the edge to echo the design of the dress.  I adhered the panel to a card base and stamped the sentiment in mint pigment ink.  I finished off by adding some glitter to the outline of the images and the flourishes, and a few gemstones.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Flowers for Design; Altenew - Celebrate
• Ink: VersaMark; Versa Color - Mint
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Frost - Frosty Dawn; Hobbycraft - 2mm silver gemstones

Challenge entries:

AAA Cards - CAS Game #85 - Oscar Red Carpet

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - No Designer Paper

The Flower Challenge - Challenge #6 - Anything Goes

Simply Create Too - Challenge #125 - Lots of Green

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #231 - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for popping by, I hope you all have a lovely Sunday.

Less is More Week #318

Good morning

And as it's Saturday we're back with a new challenge over at Less is More.  And the first challenge of the month signifies a Colour challenge and this week we would like to see...

And we have a fresh new sponsor for the month of March which is Dies to Die For, so we would love you to play along this month for a chance of winning a prize.

I only have one card for you this week, and I'm gutted as teal/turquoise/aqua are my absolute favourite colours but this week has just been crazy busy for me so even this one was made in a frantic rush.  

I've used a decorative corner die from a set I bought towards the end of last year and also added a few gold touches as I think it looks lovely with teal, I hope you like it...

I started by die cutting and stamping the flowers and leaves all from the same set by Wplus9 using shades of teal, and heat embossed a few accents in gold.  I blended a corner of the card base so that it would show through the panel which I have die cut with a corner collage die.  I stamped the sentiment in a teal shade, adhered the panel to the base and then arranged and adhered the cluster of flowers and leaves.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Wplus9 - Fresh Cut Florals; Marion Emberson - On Your Special Day
• Ink: Altenew - Emerald, Lagoon, Volcano Lake, Mountain Mist; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich
• Dies: Wplus 9 - Fresh Cut Florals; Memory Box - Distressed Addington Collage

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #231 - Anything Goes

The Crafter's Cafe - Challenge #168 - CAS

Thank so much for stopping by.  My LIM teamies have created some beautiful cards this week so please do pop by the challenge blog and follow their links for more information, and more inspiration.  

I have a feeling the gallery is going to look stunning this week!

Happy Little Stampers March 2017 CAS Challenge

Good evening

The March challenges are starting to get into action over at Happy Little Stampers and today marks the start of the CAS challenge for this month.  This week, on your clean and simple creations we would like to see...

And once again there will be a prize up for grabs from the Happy Little Stampers store, as with each of the monthly challenges!

I decided to ink up the HLS set called Simply Said and made a wedding card...

On a spare piece of white cardstock I stamped the stitched heart from the set multiple times in VersaMark ink, overlapping the images.  I then heat embossed these in white before blending over with Distress Inks.  I used a stitched heart die to cut out a section and then adhered the die cut 'congrats' over this.  Before adhering the heart to the base I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment, also from the set, in silver.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Simply Said
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Cracked Pistachio, Shaded Lilac, Worn Lipstick
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Heart Stax; Clearly Besotted - Congrats Word Die

Challenge entries:

Inkspirational - Challenge #129 - 'Connect' (wedding - two people connecting)
Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #231 - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for popping by.  And don't forgot, you've got the whole of March to play along with your dies, just remember to keep them CAS for this challenge.  I hope you'll join us.

Seize the Birthday - Surprise Party Guest!

Hi there

I'm super excited today to share the news that for the next two months I will be your Surprise Party Guest at Seize the Birthday!

I love playing along with this challenge when I can and was so thrilled to receive the email from the lovely Nancy and would like to say a huge thank you to her and her magnificent Design Team for inviting me to join them.

Every challenge at Seize the Birthday is Anything Goes as long as it's a birthday theme and some weeks there are optional Toppings. This time the challenge is purely Anything Goes.

I wanted to use one of my new stencils recently purchased at a craft show so decided to go with the ghosting technique in zesty lemon and lime shades...

On a panel of cardstock I blended from top to bottom on one side with three shades of Distress Inks.  The ghosting technique works perfectly with Distress Inks so I laid my stencil over the blended area, spritzed with water, left for a few moments and then blotted away the colour with a paper towel, leaving the stencil pattern behind.  I die cut the 'you' and blended with the same colours, stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in white on a strip of black card, and stamped the 'to' onto the inked panel.  This was then adhered to the base using fun foam.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Squeezed Lemonade, Twisted Citron and Lucky Clover; VersaMark; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stencil: Dutch Doobadoo - Flower Swirl
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Twice the Thanks
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Sentimental Type
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White

Challenge entries:

Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Green
Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #231 - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for visiting today and I do hope you'll play along at the Seize the Birthday challenge.  I'll be back in a few hours to introduce this month's new CAS challenge over at Happy Little Stampers.