Weight Loss Motivation Jars - Take Two!

Hi guys

Something a little different to share with you today.

After years of struggling with my weight and on/off yoyo dieting I'm back to where I started again, my yoyo keeps getting stuck in the up position!

So, I'm trying to get going again and decided to get my motivation jars back out and I've given them a facelift with some new tags.  Instead of the pretty designs that co-ordinated with my kitchen accessories that I created last time, I've decided to go with a more fun theme this time.

One jar holds glass pebbles, each representing half a pound, then these get transferred into the second jar as the weight loss increases (hopefully!).  Yes, there are a lot in jar number one which I need to shift - please don't try to count them, lol!

So here they are...

The first jar is to remind me to stop being a little piggy oinker!  The truth is I eat too much, and usually the wrong choices.  I'm back at Slimming World now so the tag on my loss jar is to remind me to eat more of the good stuff.

These tags literally took me about fifteen minutes to make.  I cut one tag from pink striped paper and another from aqua, then stamped the basic images.  I cut two more tags from white cardstock and adhered them offset together to add a little strength to them.  These were then tied around the jars with some co-ordinating organza ribbon from my stash.

Materials used:

• Patterned Paper: Avery Elle - The Sorbet Collection
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Full Steam Ahead Additions (pig), In Print (oink!), Fruit Salad (fruit); Skull and Cross Buns - Quirky Sentiments (you got this!)
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Rounded Tag Die

Challenge entries:

Inkspirational - Challenge #163 - Use Small Stamps

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #296 - Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations - June Challenge - Anything Goes

Cut It Up - Challenge #150 - Anything but a Card

Thanks so much for stopping by today, hopefully I'll have more to share very soon.

Less is More Challenge #373

Hi there

It's new challenge day over at Less is More and we're back with a Theme challenge for you for the fortnight ahead.  I'll get straight to the cue word...

Our sponsor for the month of June is Uniko, and one lucky winner will receive an in stock stamp set of their choice, so be sure to play along this month to be in with a chance!  And Uniko's lovely lady, Bev, is joining us as a Guest Designer this week so please do pop over and say hi.

I've got two sample cards for you using the Friendship theme, here's the first using a sentiment from Uniko...

I recently bought a few Distress Oxide ink pads (yes, very late to the Oxides party!) so wanted to give them a go with the ghosting technique.  On a panel of white cardstock I blended three colours together from the bottom corner, fading them out.  I then laid a floral stencil over the panel, spritzed with water, removed the stencil and blotted with a paper towel to remove some of the colour.  I love the subtle effects you get with this technique and it works great with Oxides as well as regular Distress Inks.  Once dry I prepped the panel with anti-static powder before stamping the sentiment and heat embossing in white.  The panel was then adhered to the base on 3D foam before adding some little trios of Nuvo drops. 

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Oxide - Shaded Lilac, Salty Ocean, Cracked Pistachio; VersaMark
• Stencil: Dutch Doobadoo - Flower Swirl
• Stamp: Uniko - Originally Organic Additions
• Embossing Powder: Altenew - Pure White
• Accents: Nuvo Jewel Drops - Key Lime; Nuvo Crystal Drops - Caribbean Ocean, Crushed Grape, Morning Dew

Challenge entries:

The Flower Challenge - Challenge #21 - Use a Previous Challenge (I chose Challenge #14 - CAS) 

CAS on Friday - Challenge #134 - Embossing

For my second card I chose a cute image from Clearly Besotted:

On a panel of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped the image and then watercoloured with my Zig markers.  The image was then masked to blend the grass and sky with Distress Inks, and I used a stencil to create some subtle clouds.  I stamped the sentiment, trimmed the panel down and adhered it to a green card base.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Best Friends
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress Ink - Mowed Lawn, Tumbled Glass
• Stencil: MFT - Cloud
• Water coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers
• Green cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

Stamping Sensations - June Challenge - Anything Goes

Creative with Stamps - Challenge #27 - Cute Animals

My teamies are sharing some lovely makes over on the main challenge blog if you need some more inspiration.

I hope you can play along over the next two weeks, it's always lovely to have cards for friends in your collection...just because :)

Muse Challenge #269 - Hello Friend

Hi there

The designers' baton is back with me which means it's my turn to create a card for you for this week's Muse challenge. 

I've been itching to use a couple of dies I bought last month at the Sincerely Yours Papercraft Show so I've used them together on this card.  Hopefully there are some elements here you can take as inspiration to play along.  You can choose any element(s) as a starting point, e.g. colours, layout, technique, etc.

Here's my card...

I cut a piece of patterned paper with an ombre sky effect to a size just smaller than the card base.  I then die cut the floral border and adhered this to the paper along the bottom edge, trimming to the same size.  Next I die cut the words from some white glitter cardstock to add a little bling.  I decided to single out a couple of the teeny flowers along the base and coloured these yellow, and die cut another to use as the dot on the 'i' of friend.  You can see the glittery cardstock a little better in the next photo.

All that was then left to do was adhere the panel to the card base, which I did with fun foam.

Materials used:

• Patterned Paper: Docrafts Papermania - Capsule Elements Pigment
• Dies: Memory Box - Broadsworth Floral Border; Pretty Pink Posh - Hello Friend Script
• Coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker
• White glitter cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #294 - Clean and Simple

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and I hope you can find some time to play along with us at Muse this week.

Happy Little Stampers June 2018 CAS Challenge

Hi guys

Can you believe we're at the start of yet another month, this year is just flying by!

So, Happy Little Stampers are launching their June challenges this week and today is the turn of the next CAS challenge.  Here is your cue card...

The winner for this challenge will receive a $20 coupon to spend at the shop! Check out all the details HERE.

IF YOU USE STAMPS BY HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS AND YOU ARE THE RANDOM WINNER, YOUR PRIZE WILL BE DOUBLED!

Here's a little inspiration for you in the form of my DT card, using the HLS Smile! stamp set...

I had the idea to create a smile shaped shaker so I used a curved die here and die cut it twice, one above the other, and then used a craft knife to join the two cuts.  Before creating the shaker part I stamped the 'Smile' using two shades of pigment ink, blended in the centre and stamped using my MISTI, then stamped the remainder of the sentiment below the opening.  

To finish the shaker I added seed beads and backed the shaker window with some silver cardstock.  The top panel was then adhered to the base on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Smile!
• Ink: Versa Color - Orange and Magenta; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Decorative Edges Shallow Die Collection
• Shaker filling: Little Things from Lucy's Cards - Seed Beads 'Fairground'
• Silver cardstock and acetate from stash

You have the whole of June to play along and link up, and please do pop over to the main challenge blog for more inspiration from my HLS teamies, they have some great projects for you this month.

That's all for the moment, thanks so much for visiting :) x

Clearly Besotted June Release Teasers: Flutter By Me & Brushed Sentiments - Guest Designer!

Good morning!

And welcome to the final day of teasers ahead of the Clearly Besotted June Release!

I have two more cards for you today, using two more new A6 stamp sets.

And if you love butterflies you're going to adore Flutter By Me.  The images in this set are so pretty and quite different to a lot of butterfly sets I've seen before...

I masked a white cardstock panel to create a horizontal strip and blended with Distress Oxide inks in Picked Raspberry, Wilted Violet and Mermaid Lagoon before splattering with water droplets and blotting with a paper towel.  Once completely dry I stamped the butterflies in Versafine Onyx Black ink, and also the sentiment which is from this new set.  The panel was then popped up on 3D foam and to finish I added some silver Doodlebug Sprinkles.

Challenge entry:

Allsorts Challenge - Week 469 - Insects, Bugs, Bees and Butterflies
Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #294 - Clean and Simple





I couldn't stop at one card using these beautiful butterflies so I made another, and this one also uses a sentiment from another new A6 set called Brushed Sentiments, a fabulous mix of greetings and sentiments in lovely mixed fonts.

And I waited until today to share this card as it has hopefully made its way to Canada to the lovely Trina, my teamie at Less is More, who is celebrating her birthday today.  Happy Birthday, Trina! x

You'll be forgiven if you think I've become an awesome watercolour artist, but this is in fact a fabulous sheet of patterned paper from DoCrafts Papermania capsule collection called Elements Pigment.  I stamped the butterfly in VersaMark ink over the patterned paper and heat embossed it in white using Altenew Pure White embossing powder, and I paired it with a leaf image from another CBS set called, Magnolia Blooms, currently half price in the clearance sale.  I thought these images worked really well together.  The paper was die cut using a Wonky Stitched Rectangle die by MFT and popped up on 3D foam.  I then finished by heat embossing the sentiment in white onto a strip of black cardstock.

Challenge entries:

AAA Cards - CAS Game #116 - The 4th Big Birthday Bash
CAS-ual Fridays - Challenge #200 - 8th Birthday Celebration
Seize the Birthday - Patterned Paper




So there you have it, I think you'll agree that this is a fabulous release.  And if you're anything like me you're purses will be a little lighter after tomorrow evening!  The release will be available to purchase from 8pm BST on 1 June 2018 from the Clearly Besotted store, here, and from Simon Says Stamp.

Please following the link to the Clearly Besotted blog, here, where the full release will be shared, and also to catch up with the awesome Design Team who have been sharing lots of teasers.

All that remains is for me to say a massive THANK YOU to Jenny and Stephanie for inviting me to Guest Design using these fabulous products, I've had a ball :) xx

Clearly Besotted June Release Teasers: Pawfect Plushies & That's Genius - Guest Designer!

Good morning!

...and I'm still over the moon to be able to Guest Design and share the Clearly Besotted June Release teasers with you.

So, onto Teaser Day Three!  And today I'm sharing sneak peeks of two of the new A6 stamp sets.

First up is a cuter than cute set called Pawfect Plushies featuring adorable kittens and puppies and a great mix of sentiments and add-on images...

As a kitty mum I had to ink up one of these adorable cats and I kept this card super simple.  On a panel of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped the kitten in Versafine Onyx Black ink then masked and stamped the cushion, this from a previous CBS set called You're Purrfect (currently retiring and in the sale!).  I stamped the sentiment below, also from the Pawfect Plushies set and then watercoloured the image with my Zig markers.  To add some interest to the white space I scored some horizontal lines across the background at regular intervals and then adhered the panel flat to the card base.

Challenge entry:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #294 - Clean and Simple




Next up is another of the new A6 sets, That's Genius, another cute set great for teacher cards, exams, graduations, etc...

I stamped this little guy in Memento Tuxedo Black ink and coloured him in with ProMarkers.  I then masked him and inked through this great Altenew stencil called Warp Speed with Distress Oxides in Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio.  The sentiment from the set was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black before popping the panel up on 3D foam and adding some Glossy Accents to his specs.


Thanks so much for popping by and I hope you're loving these new sets so far.  The wonderful CBS Design Team are also sharing teasers and you can find them linked, here.

I'll be back tomorrow with my final day of teasers, ahead of them launching at the Clearly Besotted store at 8pm BST on 1 June 2018 and at Simon Says Stamp.

Clearly Besotted June Release Teasers: Cooling Off - Guest Designer!

Hi there

Welcome to Day Two of the Clearly Besotted June Release Teasers!

Today, I'm sharing a sneaky peek of another of the upcoming mini A7 sets, this one is called Cooling Off and is soooo cute!

I couldn't decide which of these cute little hippos to use so I used them all, so not really a sneaky peek is it!  In this fab little set you get these little guys and a few little add-ons...

I started by stamping these cuties onto some Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock using Versafine Onyx Black ink and then watercoloured them with my Zig markers.  Oh how I'd love Copics (one day!) but I'm really pleased with how these came out.  On a panel of white cardstock I die cut three square apertures using a die by MFT and then adhered some striped paper to the reverse from the Lawn Fawn Let's Polka paper pad.  I then fussy cut the images and adhered over each window.  The whole panel was then popped up on 3D foam.

The full June Release will be available to purchase from the Clearly Besotted store from 8pm BST on 1 June 2018 and also from Simon Says Stamp.

And don't forget to see more teasers from the fabulous CBS Design Team, follow the links here.

I'll be back with more teasers tomorrow morning, I hope you'll join me again :)