To My Amazing Mother & Friend

Happy Sunday, lovely crafters

This morning I'm sharing a card I made for my lovely Mum for her birthday earlier this month.  I used stamps and a stencil that were new to my stash, bought from a show I visited last month.

I started by stamping the flowers from this beautiful Altenew set, stamped using Altenew Inks.  I then inked through a daisy background stencil with some grey pigment ink, dabbing through with a sponge blender tool, avoiding the floral area (which could be seen through the stencil).  I then stamped the sentiment, from the same stamp set, die cut it with a stitched rectangle die and popped up on 3D foam.  For a little interest I added a few trios of Nuvo drops, and also to the flower centres, which you can see more clearly below.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Altenew - Extra Special
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Altenew - Puffy Heart, Purple Wine, Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades; Versa Color - Sky Gray
• Stencil: Imagination Crafts - Daisy Diamond
• Die: MFT-Dienamics - Stitched Rectangle Stax
• Accents: Nuvo Jewel Drops - Grey Mist

Challenge entries:

CASology - Week 272 - Cherish

STAMPlorations - October Theme and Sketch Challenge - Stamps and Two Colors
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for popping by, and I hope you're having a lovely weekend.

Less is More Week #352

Good morning!

And this morning I'm introducing this week's new challenge over at Less is More which is a Recipe challenge.  This week we want to see...

Any stamp layering will do, you don't have to use stamps specifically designed to be layered.

I have two samples for you today, both using stamp sets designed to be stamped in layers to add dimension...

This was super easy.  The leaves and flowers were stamped onto a panel of white cardstock cut slightly smaller than the card base, and were then overstamped with the sentiment in black.  I popped the panel up on some fun foam and finished by adding some trios of Nuvo drops.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Wplus9 - Watercolored Anemones; Clearly Besotted - Brushed Greetings II
• Ink: Altenew - Lavender Fields, Midnight Violet, Deep Iris, Forest Glades, Evergreen; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Accents: Nuvo Crystal Drops - Silver Lining

Challenge entries:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

CAS on Friday - Challenge #119 - Flowers

ETA:
Thanks to my teamie, Nonni, I'm linking up to Time Out challenge where their theme is Sympathy.  Not sure how I missed that one!

Next...any excuse to make another Christmas card to fit the challenge as I'm still so far behind this year!

On a panel of white cardstock I stamped the layered tree, the first three layers in varying shades of green, then finishing with VersaMark and heat embossed in white to resemble snow.  This panel was then die cut with a stitched rectangle die and I then wrapped around a strip of vellum with the sentiment heat embossed in gold.  This was then popped up on foam over a card base covered with pattern paper.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Hero Arts - Color Layering Christmas Tree
• Ink: Altenew - Forest Glades, Moss, Evergreen; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Altenew - Pure White; Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Wonky Stitched Rectangles
• Patterned Paper: My Mind's Eye - Oh What Fun
• Vellum from stash

Challenge entry:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Monochrome

For more inspiration please do pop over to the challenge blog to view my teamies' projects this week, and click on their links where you could find even more makes this week.

Thanks so much for stopping by, I so appreciate your visits and comments.

Have a lovely weekend.

New DT Role!

Hi guys

WARNING - Long post, please do grab a comfy seat and a cuppa! :)

I wanted to drop by today to announce some exciting news.  I've been lucky enough to be invited to join the Design Team for Skull and Cross Buns Rubber Stamps!

Huge thanks go out to my fabulous blog friend, Monika Skinner of Tinker Cards who initially put my name forward.  And after researching this lovely company I discovered that they are based in South Devon, my very own home county.  There are so few craft outlets that I'm aware of in the South West so it's an honour to be part of this.

Skull and Cross Buns is run by the lovely Emily Fox and as well as the main website, you can find her designs at Etsy and Not On the High Street.  She stocks a wonderful collection of hand-carved wood mounted stamps, artisan grey rubber stamps and clear photo-polymer stamp sets too.

I'm excited to be a member of this Design Team along with these great designers:

Teresa Morgan

Geraldine Carruthers

Alison Markham

Maxine Hole

Danielle Bigland

Leila Gregory

So, without further ado, here are some of my creations using some of the current Christmas stamps.

First up are the gorgeous Pinecone  and Merry Christmas Script stamps...

For this card I used the emboss resist technique, first stamping in VersaMark and then shifting slightly and stamping in colour pigment ink before heat embossing with clear powder.  The clear embossing then traps the white of the cardstock giving the impression of snow.  I blended over with Distress Ink, heat embossed and die cut the sentiment in silver, and added some score lines to the card base for interest.  You can see the embossing more clearly in the photo below...

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Pinecone and Merry Christmas; Clearly Besotted - Autumn Flowers (pine foliage)
• Ink: VersaMark; Versa Color - Pinecone, Evergreen; Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss, Metallic Silver
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Double Stitched Circles, Stitched Rectangles

My second card features this great Geometric Stag stamp...

This stag was one of the first stamps that grabbed my attention on Emily's website.  Here, I stamped it in VersaMark and heat embossed in white before blending over with Distress Ink.  On another piece of cardstock I used Ink Dusters to brush the colour through the geometric stencil which I think pairs up brilliantly with the design of this stamp.  Both panels were then die cut with stitched rectangles.  I finished by stamping a sentiment, also embossed in white, onto a vellum strip which was wrapped around the two panels.

And I have to give a little shout out to my new photo prop friend, I found this little deer in The Range and couldn't resist his cuteness! lol

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Geometric Stag; Clearly Besotted - Many Mini Messages
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Candied Apple, Pine Needles
• Stencil: MFT - Abstract
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Vellum from stash

Next up is the very festive Christmas String of Tree Lights stamp...

I stamped the lights in Memento ink and coloured with ProMarkers.  Below I stamped the layered tree in greens and heat embossed with some gold.  The doves were then stamped in VersaMark as if carrying the lights, and embossed in gold, along with the sentiment.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Christmas String of Tree Lights; Clearly Besotted - Peace on Earth; Hero Arts - Color Layering Christmas Tree
• Ink: Memento - Cottage Ivy, Bamboo Leaves; Altenew - Forest Glades; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich

The next two cards feature the beautifully designed Scandi Snowflake stamp...

I love the effect I achieved here but it was a nightmare to photograph!  I chose some cream pearlescent cardstock for my base and panel.  I then stamped the snowflakes in VersaMark, using my MISTI to help with alignment, and heat embossed using some white pearl powder, which I didn't realise would look exactly the same colour, but I went with it!  I wanted the snowflake background to be the main focus here so I just cut a strip of patterned paper, and some more with a bow die set to adorn the corner of my panel and added a simple tag with the sentiment stamped in green.  The panel was then popped up on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Scandi Snowflake; Personal Impressions - Butterfly Kisses and Christmas Wishes (sentiment)
• Ink: VersaMark; Versa Color - Winter Green
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - White Pearl
• Patterned Paper: Lawn Fawn - Knit Picky
• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Tiny Tags Die Collection; Frantic Stamper - Small Solid Bow

And I went with some masking, blending and stamping on this one using one of my favourite layouts...

I started by masking the horizontal strip with Post-it notes.  I then blended above and below with lilac ink before stamping the snowflake in various pigment inks.  I then removed the mask and stamped the sentiment.  To finish I added some tiny accents with Nuvo Drops.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Shaded Lilac; Versa Color - Orchid, Heliotrope, Smoke Blue
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Scandi Snowflake and Merry Christmas
• Accents: Nuvo Crystal Drops - Silver Lining

As this one is the most simple I'm going to link this one up to the Clean and Simple Challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More.

If you've made it to the end of this post, thanks so much for taking the time.  And do check out the Skull and Cross Buns products, you won't be disappointed.

Thanks so much, as always, for visiting.

Less is More Week #351

Good morning

I'm here to introduce the new challenge at Less is More and we're back with a Theme challenge this week.  And we have a fun one for you...

And throughout this month our fab sponsor is Uniko so why not

play along for a chance to win our monthly prize.

Just the one card from me this week but I had great fun making it...

I started by stamping, colouring with ProMarkers and then die cutting the characters with their co-ordinating dies.  I die cut a circle from a panel of white cardstock and stamped the sentiment below.  I then masked the area on the card base which would appear through the aperture before blending with Distress Inks.  I started with three colours and then gently blended over the top with black, enabling the colours to still show through to create a galaxy effect.  I then added some water splatters which I blotted, and then added some stars with a white pigment pen.  The panel was then popped up on 3D foam and the little guys adhered within the aperture.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Out of this World
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Inks: Picked Raspberry, Blueprint Sketch, Twisted Citron, Black Soot
• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Out of this World die collection; Hero Arts - Circle Infinity Dies
• Coloured with ProMarkers

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #264 - Clean and Simple

AAA Cards - CAS Game #101 - Inspired by a Film (Monsters, Inc.)
Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Thanks so much for popping by today, and you can find more inspiration from my fab teamies over on the main challenge blog.

I'll be back later today with some exciting news!

Less is More Week #350

Good morning, crafters

At Less is More this week we have that absolute favourite challenge...yes, you guessed it, it's One Layer week once again!  And here is the theme we want to see one your OLCs...

And we have the fabulous Uniko sponsoring our challenge throughout the month of October, and the lovely Bev is joining us as a Guestie again this week :)

I don't know what came over me recently but I've managed three card samples for you this week, and on one layer week too!

The photos look a bit washed out this time, apologies.  My lamp seemed to make everything super bright and I'm trying to get to grips with a different photo editing software.


Anyway, here's my first, and another to add to my (still very small) stock of Christmas cards...

I started by placing a stencil over my card base and blending the starry background with Distress Inks.  With the stencil still in place I masked off most of it, just leaving the three large stars.  I then spread some Nuvo Glimmer Paste over the stars.  You can see the shimmer of the paste better in the net pic...

Once dry, all that was left to do was stamp the sentiment.  Other than having bits of post-it notes in all directions for the masking stage, this was quick and easy to make.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Imagination Crafts - Starry Trail
• Ink: Distress Ink - Tumbled Glass, Shaded Lilac; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Stamps: Uniko - Simply Said Christmas
• Accents: Nuvo Glimmer Paste - Moonstone

Onto my second, and a super CAS purely stamped one layer...

First I stamped the sentiment, then the balloon string, followed by the layered stamping star balloon.  The small clusters of star, although you can't really see in this pic, were stamped in silver pigment ink.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Twinkle Toes, Let's Party Too; Uniko - Balloon Bash
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Altenew - Volcano Lake, Lagoon; Versa Color - Silver

I'm linking this one up just for fun over at Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge where this month's challenge is One Layer - I'm on the DT so can't actually enter but don't forget you can link up your OLC star cards there too :)

And my third, another Christmas card, uses stamps which were recently free with a magazine...

I started by using a die to create the de-bossed landscape at the base of the card.  The star was then stamped in VersaMark and heat embossed with glittery gold powder.  The sentiment was then simply stamped in black.  I think this is my favourite of the three this week but, unfortunately, the camera really hasn't picked up the sparkle from the star.  But I love the embossed detail, I think I'll be making a few more of these.

Materials used:

• Die: Memory Box - Quiet Cabin Landscape
• Stamps: Wild Rose Studio - Away in an Manger (free with a publication)
• Ink: VersaMark; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Sparkle

Challenge entries:

Inkspirational - Challenge #145 - One Layer Card

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #263 - Holiday

Thanks so much for visiting today, I love to know you've popped by.  And please don't feel daunted by one layer cards, with a little pre-planning I can assure you they aren't scary at all!

Have a lovely weekend.

Less is More Week #349

Good morning

We're into a fresh new month and that means it's time for our regular Colour challenge at Less is More.  We have a fun one for you this time...

Our fabulous Sponsor for the month of October is Uniko and we have the lovely Bev joining us as our Guestie for a couple of weeks so please do follow the link and say hi.

I have two cards for you this week, my first using Uniko stamps...

I wanted to create a kind of wreath design so on a panel of white cardstock I made four pencil marks above, below, and either side of where I wanted the circle shape, just to help when eyeballing the stamp positioning.  I then stamped the images, four of each in a repetitive pattern to create the wreath.  I erased the pencil marks and die cut the panel using a stitched rectangle and adhered to my card base.  I finished by heat embossing the sentiment in white on some metallic copper cardstock, die cut with a stitched sentiment strip.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Natures Treasures I and II, Flower Power #2
• Ink: Versa Color - Topaz, Paprika, Pinecone, Orange, Marigold; VersaMark
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Wonky Stitched Rectangles, Stitched Sentiment Strips
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Copper cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

CAS on Friday - Challenge #118 - Fall / Halloween

Penny Black and More - October Challenge - Close to Nature

Stamping Sensations - October Challenge - Autumn Glory

Uniko - Challenge #43 - Autumn/Fall

I'm really pleased with my second card, the result was exactly as I pictured it, and that doesn't happen often...

On a scrap of cream cardstock I started by adding a minimal light blend of Mustard Seed Distress Ink before adding a small circle mask to create my sun.  I then used sponge blending tools with various other Distress Inks to create my sunset.  Then, instead of using black I used dark brown pigment ink to stamp the tree and birds.  The scene was then die cut using a stitched rectangle die.  On a cream card base I stamped the sentiment, also in dark brown before popping the panel up on 3D foam.

I really do love this off centre design and another of my cards some time ago, here, used the same layout and is also one of my favourites.  I think I might make a few sets of cards like this :)

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Mustard Seed, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Fired Brick, Aged Mahogany; Versa Color - Pinecone
• Stamps: Card-io - Vintage Christmas (tree); Kanban - Spring Meadow (birds); Clearly Besotted - Time to Relax (sentiment)
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangles

Challenge entries:

Crafty Catz - Challenge #387 - Anything Goes with optional twist of CAS

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #262 - Make Your Mark (sponge blending/masking)

I usually reach for what I call pretty colours but I really enjoyed using these tones this week, perfect for the season too.  Please do pop over to the main challenge, there is some great inspiration there from my teamies this week.

Thanks so much for popping by.

Happy Little Stampers October 2017 CAS Challenge

Good evening

And welcome to the October challenges at Happy Little Stampers!  Today is the turn of the launch of the October CAS Challenge and our theme this month is one that may scare some of you...

I used to find creating one layer cards quite terrifying but they are now among my favourites to make.  They just take a little more planning and there is nowhere to hide, for instance you can't hide a blunder under a sentiment strip!

Please follow our usual CAS guidelines but for this one, minimal layers doesn't apply, the design must be on the card base with no additional layers added.

And as always, there's a $20 gift coupon to the HLS store for one lucky winner.

My DT card was so quick and easy and I really like the result...

I used some textured dusky purple cardstock for my card base (for some reason on my laptop it looks blue but on my phone the colour looks more true to life, purples and photography drive me mad!) and then chose to use a wisteria stencil for my focal point.  I bought this stencil a couple of years ago I think at a craft show and have been wanting to use it for ages.  I think wisteria is so beautiful and wanted to use the purple tone on my card but in reverse.  So I positioned the stencil with low tack tape and then pounced some white pigment ink through the stencil with a sponge tool, fading out the ink density at the end of the flowers and leaves.  I then used some anti-static powder before stamping the sentiment in VersaMark and heat embossing in white.  I finished by adding some teeny dots of white Nuvo drops.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Glitzcraft - Wisteria
• Coloured Cardstock: Bazzill Basics
• Ink: Hero Arts - Unicorn; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Accents: Nuvo Crystal Drops - Simply White

Challenge entries:

Penny Black and More - October Challenge - Close to Nature

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Darnell's NBUS Challenge #12 - First outing for this stencil :)

I hope you'll play along this month and there's plenty of time as the challenge will stay open until the end of October.  The Watercolour challenge is already up and running, and the remaining challenges will follow over the next few days.

Thanks so much for visiting today.

Muse Challenge #236 - Autumnal Thank You

Hi there

We're at the start of another month which means I'm your designer over at Muse.  As autumn has now taken hold here in the UK I thought I would create a card with a seasonal feel.

My card designs are predominantly CAS but every now and then I want to stretch myself and play around with more in depth techniques which is what I've done here, although the layout is still pretty clean and simple.  The idea at Muse is to take the designer's project and use it as inspiration for your own design.  You can use the layout, theme, colours, technique, etc.  Hopefully with this one there are lots of elements to inspire you.

For my main background panel I created the leaf pattern using layered emboss resist.  So I started with a piece of cream cardstock and stamped the first four images (the lightest images) using VersaMark ink before heat embossing  in clear.  I then blended over the whole background with Scattered Straw Distress Ink, revealing the first leaves.  This is quite a lengthy process as you have to ensure every ink layer is dry before proceeding to the next.  So I zapped the panel with my heat gun and then used anti-static powder to ensure it was ready to go again.  I stamped and clear heat embossed the next few images, trapping the Scattered Straw Ink underneath, before blending the next layer with orange and green.  I then repeated the process again, preserving the orange and green, and then finished with the brown tone.  This technique does take some time but you can get some really interesting results. 

I added some water splats to the panel, cut it down and then mounted it onto some copper cardstock.  I used the same copper cardstock to die cut the 'thank you' which I intended to adhere directly to the panel but it was getting a little lost in the background so I wrapped a strip of vellum around the panel and adhered the die cuts on this, and the leaf design still shows through.  The panel was then adhered flat to a cream card base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Altenew - Freeform Greenery
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Scattered Straw, Spiced Marmalade, Peeled Paint, Frayed Burlap
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Twice the Thanks
• Vellum and copper cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

Penny Black and More - October Challenge - Close to Nature

Stamping Sensations - October Challenge - Autumn Glory

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Autumn

Uniko - Challenge #43 - Autumn/Fall

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I'd love to see your creations in the Muse gallery this week. I'll be back this evening to share the next CAS challenge over at Happy Little Stampers.

Better Late than Never - Father's Day Feline

Hi guys

As promised, here's the other card that I made month's ago and forgot about, until just finding the photo in the depths of my laptop!

This was the Father's Day card I made for my boyfriend's dad back in the summer.  He loves cats so this image from a fab Katzelkraft set was purrfect! *groan :D

I started by stamping this cute kitty on white cardstock then adding some simple colour pencil detailing to this already sketchy image.  Above the image I stamped the sentiment inside another image of speech bubble.  These were then die cut with a stitched rectangle die.  On a kraft card base I stamped some paw prints in varying sizes in VersaMark ink to create a tone on tone effect.  The panel was then popped up on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Katzelkraft - Les Chats Russes; Clearly Besotted - Message Me, You Said It; Dovecraft - Paw Prints
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; VersaMark
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangle Stax
• Kraft cardstock: Neenah - Desert Storm
• Coloured with Faber Castell Polychromos

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #261 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

The Male Room - Challenge #70 - Anything Goes (not using optional theme this time)

Phew! Ok, I'm now up to date, there are no more photos of unshared cards.  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  I'll be back tomorrow with my card for the next Muse Challenge and then later in the evening, details of the October CAS Challenge at Happy Little Stampers.

I hope to see you again soon.