Skull and Cross Buns - Emboss Resist Baubles

Hi guys

Back to share the last of my makes from yesterday's crafty afternoon using stamps by Skull and Cross Buns.

On this card I used two of the Christmas stamps - Christmas Drop Patterned Bauble and Christmas Bauble.  The Christmas Bauble design (the round one) is currently reduced as part of the Black Friday Weekend deals so please do pop over if you want a bargain.

Here's my card...

On a panel of white cardstock I stamped the two baubles in VersaMark ink and heat embossed them in white.  I then used the emboss resist technique and blended over with three shades of Distress Ink.  I cut the panel down using a stitched rectangle die and then pierced through the top of the baubles and added some twine, securing on the reverse.  I added a sentiment in black ink and adhered the panel to the card base.  I finished by adding two die cut bows from white cardstock, and added to these some clear Wink of Stella for some shimmer.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Christmas Drop Patterned Bauble, Christmas Bauble; Paula Pascual - Christmas Messages
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Cracked Pistachio, Salty Ocean, Wilted Violet; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangle Stax; Clearly Besotted - Ornamental Style
• Twine: Hemptique - Vintage set
• Accent: Wink of Stella - Clear

Challenge entries:

AAA Cards -CAS Game #104 - Christmas

Crimbo Crackers - Challenge #146 - Anything Goes

Uniko - Challenge #44 - Christmas

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #269 - Clean and Simple

I still have lots of cards to share that I made while I was away at the Craft Retreat and the week that followed.  I'll be gradually sharing these very soon.

Thanks again for all your visits and support, I read and appreciate every one of your comments.

I hope to see you again soon :)

Less is More Weeks #353 & #354

Good morning, lovely crafters

Well, from the post title you will note that I've included two week numbers.  That's because the new challenge just starting over at Less is More will run for a fortnight.  A few of the DT, including myself will be away having fun at the Happy Little Stampers Craft Retreat next week so we thought it would make more sense to have a two-weeker, and that will also give you more time to create, or of course create more than one entry if you like. 

As usual our first challenge of the month is a Colour challenge and here's our cue card...

Fireworks or firework colours are fine for this challenge,

just remember to keep your projects clean and simple.

And for the month of November our fabulous sponsor is Dies to Die For, so don't forget to play along throughout November for a chance to win the monthly prize.

Our September winner, the super talented Birgit is joining us as Guestie this week, so please do pop over to her blog and show her some love.


Just one card from me this time, using ink blending and emboss resist.  Unfortunately my camera doesn't show the vibrancy of the colours too well here, but hopefully you get the idea...

I began by blending different areas on some white cardstock with different coloured Distress Inks.  Once dry and treated with anti-static powder, I stamped the floral background with VersaMark before heat embossing with clear powder.  I then blended over the entire background using black ink, which revealed the floral pattern, trapping the colour underneath.  I then mixed some white mica powder with a little water and splattered over the design.  I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in silver sparkle on a vellum strip which I wrapped around the panel, before mounting on some silver glitter card and adhering to the card base.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Picked Rasperry, Wilted Violet, Squeezed Lemonade, Carved Pumpkin, Salty Ocean, Candied Apple, Black Soot; VersaMark
• Stamps: Wow! - Chrysanthemum; Clearly Besotted - Sunburst
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss, Metallic Silver Sparkle
• Mica Powder: Honey Doo Crafts - White Opal
• Glitter card from stash

Challenge entries

Creative Inspirations - Challenge #283 - Sparkle

Simply Create Too - Challenge #133 - CAS

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #266 - Anything Goes

AAA Cards - CAS Game #102 - Ink Blending

My teamies have created some great cards this week so please do pop over to the main challenge blog for more inspiration.

Thanks so much for visiting today, and I'm looking forward to the gallery for this one.

Happy Little Stampers February 2017 CAS Challenge

Hi guys

Today I'm here to introduce the next CAS challenge over at Happy Little Stampers.  This month we have a colour challenge for you which is...

As with all the HLS challenges there's a prize up for grabs so why not play along with us.

I'll get straight to my card and for this one I've used three sets by Happy Little Stampers...

I created an emboss resist panel by stamping the images and heat embossing in white before ink blending with shades of blue in an ombre effect.  I then used the watercolour lift technique by painting the images with clean water and blotting away the colour.  I then used a stitched border die to cut my panel and adhered it to the card base.  The Thanks sentiment was once again heat embossed in white onto some black cardstock, cut with a die and popped up on 3D foam with the remainder of the sentiment stamped in black below.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Doodled Flowers, Simply Said, Thinking of You
• Ink: VersaMark; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Distress Ink - Blueprint Sketch, Mermaid Lagoon, Salty Ocean and Broken China
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Rectangles; Mama Elephant - Landscape Trio

Thanks so much for stopping by.  My teamies have made some lovely blue creations so please do follow the link above and visit the main challenge blog.

This challenge, along with the rest of the HLS challenges, some of which will be starting in the next few days, will run until the end of the month so plenty of time for you to play along :)

Sending Lots of Love at Christmas

Good morning and Merry Christmas, everyone!

Well, yesterday turned out to be busier than I first envisaged and passed by a lot quicker so I didn't find the time to share more projects as promised.

But as it's now Christmas Day I just wanted to share another festive make and send you all very best wishes for a fabulous day with your nearest and dearest and hope that you all have a wonderful time (or perhaps already have, depending on where you are in the world!)

I also want to send you a massive THANK YOU for your visits and such uplifting comments.  Crafty blogland is a wonderful community to be part of and I appreciate each and every one of you so much.

So, on to my card for today.  I love seeing winter scenes with deer so here's one of my last Christmas makes for this year...

I stamped the birch trees in VersaMark and heat embossed in clear.  I then placed a post-it note, handcut with a slight curve, across the bottom to create a mask before using the emboss resist technique to blend the sky with Distress Ink.  I then stamped the deer in black.  I use a stitched rectangle die to create the panel and then used a Quickie Glue pen to add a little sparkly glitter to the snow at the base.

I then used a white pigment pen to add the falling snow, mounted the panel on 3D foam and stamped the sentiment below on the card base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Birch Trees and Eat, Drink, Be Merry; Card-io - Festive Scene
• Ink: VersaMark; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Distress Ink - Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Clear Gloss
• Accents: Cosmic Shimmer Diamond Frost - Frosty Dawn; Signo Uniball pen

Challenge entries:

Crafty Creations - Challenge #331 - Any Holiday
CAS-ual Fridays - Challenge #163 - Christmas and Hanukkah
Creative Inspirations - Challenge #264 - White Christmas
A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #184 - Anything Christmas Goes
The Male Room - Challenge #50 - Christmas/Winter Wishes/December Celebrations

Sending lots of love and I will be back over the Christmas break to share a few more projects but all that's left to say for now is.....

Twelve Days of Christmas Cards Challenge with Kylie and Friends!

Hi there

Today I'm excited to be sharing a card as part of Kylie's Twelve Days of Christmas Cards Challenge.  

For twelve days Kylie is sharing a different handcrafted Christmas card and has some friends from blogland joining her each day along the way.  I'm delighted to have been asked to join her today, which is Day 11.  So please do click back through Kylie's posts if you've missed the previous posts with some wonderful inspiration.

Kylie is my 'boss lady' at Happy Little Stampers (and also at Addicted to Stamps and More where I was previously a DT member).  I also had the pleasure of meeting this wonderful lady back in July at the Happy Little Stampers Craft Retreat, she's an absolute star.

Ok, back to the challenge, you can enter as many times as you like and there are prizes up for grabs too! The linky tool will be open until 12pm on the 17th of December (AEST).

$20 Gift Certificate

$20 Gift Certificate

20€ Gift Certificate

So, onto my card, and I've used one of the new sets from the latest Happy Little Stampers release, Christmas Joy...

On a panel of white cardstock I masked off the top half and firstly stamped my holly images in VersaMark before heat embossing in white.  I then used the emboss resist technique to blend over three different green shades of Distress Ink before removing the mask.  I then used the watercolour lift technique by adding water to the leaves and lifting the colour away with a paper towel.  I stamped the sentiment in black and adhered the panel onto the card base using 3D foam.  I then added some Stickles in pink....after looking for red Stickles which I don't actually own! lol

Materials used:

• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Christmas Joy
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Ink - Forest Moss, Pine Needles, Lucky Clover; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Accents: Stickles - Pink

Challenge entries:

A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #184 - Anything Christmas Goes
Dream Valley - Challenge #146 - Christmas
Fantasy Stampers - Challenge #77 - CAS Christmas
AAA Cards - Game #79 - Christmas
Inkspirational - Challenge #123 - CAS with Sparkle

Thanks so much for joining me today.  I hope you'll play along by linking up your Christmas creations.  We would love to see them and you might even win one of the fantastic prizes up for grabs.

Bye for now