Pearlescent and Pink

Hi guys

This card was made for a friend who wanted a card for a wedding tomorrow where she is a bridesmaid.

The bridesmaids' dresses are pale pink so I incorporated that on this card, as well as a request for the names of the bride and groom, and the date of their special day.

I recently purchased some pearlescent embossing paste and I was itching to use it so I die cut a heart from some scrap cardstock which I then used as a mask and applied the paste through a stencil.  I printed the names and date and cut this out with a tag die, together with another tag from pale pink vellum which I adhered offset behind.  I adhered the tags and then added a sequin and some twine, which I adhered with Glossy Accents to ensure they wouldn't shift.  I die cut the word love from some pale pink cardstock and adhered this across the stenciled heart, and finished off with some silver gems.

Materials used:

• Dies: Xcut - Nested Hearts; Clearly Besotted - Tag Along and Love Word Die
• Stencil: Memory Box - Scraped Paint
• Embossing Paste: Dreamweaver - Pearlescent
• Twine: Hemptique
• Sequin: Doodlebug
• Gems, vellum and cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

Just Us Girls - Week #291 - Twine

Brown Sugar - Challenge #144 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Anything Goes
613 Avenue Create - Challenge #121 - Anything Goes


Thanks for popping by.  I now have a week off work so hopefully I'll find time for more crafting than I have of late.  I hope you have a wonderful weekend, and even better if like me you have a bank holiday on Monday :)

Less is More - Guest Designer (week two!)

Hi guys

Well, I'm super excited to be back for my second week as Guest Designer at the fabulous Less is More!

Some of the Design Team are off on their jolly holibobs so they need a little helping hand to keep things running while they are a little thin on the ground.  So, without further ado, here is this week's brand new challenge.

Week 222 is Colour week and we would like you to use:

Opposites on the Colour Wheel

Here is a colour wheel to help you with your choices...

I decided to go with red and green and immediately thought of Christmas but decided to try another theme.  Sympathy cards are the ones you never want to make when you need to, so it's always handy to have a few in stock...

I masked off a horizontal panel and stamped the script background in pale green.  I first stamped the stems, and then the two-step flowers in two shades of red.  The sentiment was stamped in the same green ink as the stems and then, after removing the masks I scored double lines above and below the inked panel to add interest to this one layer card.  I know, one layer!  I do surprise myself sometimes! ;)

Materials used:

• Stamps: Stampin' Up - En Francais and Too Kind, Woodware - Salutations
• Ink: Versa Color - Safe, Olive, Old Rose and Scarlet

I'd love to see what colour combos you choose and how you use them, so I hope to see you in the Less is More gallery.

Elmo Update!

Thank you to those of you who have been asking after my little cat, Elmo, it's been lovely receiving all your kind comments.  He's doing ok at the moment, the vet was happy with how he was healing and his stitches came out of his tummy earlier in the week.  He's not his old self and that's understandable given all that's going wrong in his little body, so he can't jump up on things and run around like he used to but he's perky and eating well and isn't in any pain.  Fingers crossed it stays that way and he'll remain with me for some time to come :)

Thanks for stopping by as always x

Addicted to Stamps and More #142

Hi guys

It's that time of the week again where we have a brand new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.  This week we're back with another challenge where we would like you to...

Make Your Mark

Please use materials such as markers, paints, watercolours, chalks, sponging, etc. to make your mark on your project.

This week's sponsor is the fabulous A Day for Daisies and the prize for one lucky entry will be a $12 gift certificate!

Here is my DT card using one of our sponsor's digi images called Flowers In My Garden...

I've not used my ProMarkers and FlexMarkers for a while so I enjoyed colouring in this image.  I decided to layer up the image against the left side of the card, no idea why, I just went with the flow! Before adhering everything I first stamped the sentiment at the base of the patterned paper panel and heat embossed with white embossing powder.  Then to finish I added a few Doodlebug Sprinkles.

Materials used:

• Digi Image: A Day for Daisies - Flowers in my Garden
• Stamp: Paper Smooches - Sentiment Sampler
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Patterned Paper: Avery Elle - The Sorbet Collection
• Cardstock: - Bazzill Basics (pink)
• Coloured with ProMarkers and FlexMarkers
• Accents: Doodlebug Sprinkles - Lily White

I'm linking this card up at the following challenges:

My Time to Craft - Challenge #289 - Spring Flowers

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge #370 - Clean and Simple

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Anything Goes

Brown Sugar - Challenge #143 - Anything Goes

Why not pop on over to ATSM to see what else my teamies have to inspire you this week.  There are lots of ways to Make Your Mark so I hope you'll join us for this week's challenge.

Ombre Hugs

Hi there

I've got a really quick post for you this evening.  I made this card this afternoon to combine a few challenges.

This is only the second time I've used my Distress Inks and I think I'm getting the hang of this blending business as I'm really happy with how this one turned out.  I'm desperately waiting for pay day as I NEED to add some more colours to my collection of ink pads!

On a panel of white cardstock I masked off a horizontal panel and used my mini blending tool to blend two pink inks to create an ombre effect.  I then used a word die to cut out the word hugs from the panel.  Originally I was going to just inlay a second word die but I decided to stack them so I didn't really have to cut it out after all!  The top word die is cut from another panel of blended cardstock but with the colour fading in the opposite direction, from bottom to top instead of top to bottom.  The panel was adhered to my card base using 3D foam and I added an epoxy heart sticker to finish.

Materials used:

• Cardstock: Anna Marie Designs
• Ink: Distress Ink - Spun Sugar and Seedless Preserves
• Die: Lawn Fawn - Scripty Hugs
• Accent: Stampin' Up - Itty Bitty Accents Epoxy Stickers

Challenge entries:

CASology - Week 143 - Ombre
CAS on Sunday - Challenge #57 - White and one other colour
Happy Little Stampers - April Sketch Challenge

That's all for now, thanks so much for visiting.

Less is More - Guest Designer!

Hi there

Eeeek...I'm very excited this morning as I recently received a happy email and I've been invited to be a Guest Designer at Less is More!

I absolutely love this challenge as it was one of the very first I discovered in blogland and I try to enter as often as I can so I'm absolutely honoured to be joining Chrissie, Sarah and Anne this week.

So, without further ado, this week the challenge is...

Add a Tag

Here is my card...

I stamped the flower on vellum and heat embossed in white before fussy cutting it out.  I then drew some sketchy lines on the reverse using a white Inktense pencil.  I then used the same vellum to die cut the leaves.  The tag outline and sentiment was also embossed in white on kraft cardstock and die cut with the co-ordinating tag die.  I cut a kraft panel and punched out some notches before wrapping around with some thin green twine.  Next the elements were layered up with more twine and the flower was adhered with silicone glue so the adhesive wouldn't show through.  A scattering of gems were added to finish.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along; Uniko Studio - Beautiful Blooms II
• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along and Leafy Accents
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Derwent Inktense Pencil - Antique White
• Cardstock: Neenah - Desert Storm
• Twine: Hemptique - Vintage
• Gems from stash

There are lots of ways to incorporate tags into your projects so we would love for you to join us and can't wait to see what you come up with.

A Thank You

Before I go I'd like to say a massive thank you to all of you that sent lovely messages about my little fur baby, Elmo.  He came home later on last Sunday and is recovering well from his surgery, it's amazing how quickly animals bounce back from medical procedures. Nothing was done during the surgery but he was given antibiotics and anti-inflammatories to calm down whatever was causing him the pain.  The vet said there's lots going on that doesn't look good so, unfortunately, there isn't much that can be done other than taking biopsies of various organs that are abnormal and giving him treatment which might not even help him, or possibly harm him elsewhere.  He also has a lymphoma and treatment for that is highly likely to be unsuccessful, not to mention extremely expensive. So, as long as he's pain free, that's my main priority right now.

He's been having lots of gentle cuddles.  I need to be careful as he has lots of stitches in his tummy which will be coming out next week.  Apart from being a bit tentative about climbing up on the bed and sofa, etc. he doesn't really seem bothered about the wound at all.  I find it amazing how resilient he is!

I'll leave you with a little pic...here he is, back in his favourite spot on my bed, such a brave boy xxx

Thank you so much for popping by today, I hope to see you again soon.

Christmas Silhouettes

Hi guys

I was hoping to have a crafty weekend as I had no real plans this weekend but that all changed on Friday night when my little kitty, Elmo was taken ill.  The painkillers he was given only lasted through the night so I whisked him off to the vet again yesterday morning where he did some X-rays and carried out an internal investigation yesterday afternoon.  He's a very poorly boy with lots wrong with his little body so it's not looking good.  Any healing vibes you can send his way will be great right now :(

I didn't sleep well last night and was up really early this morning so I decided to make a card to try to take my mind off things.  I've managed to combine a few challenges with this little Christmas card (I know....making Christmas cards in April!)

I used Michele Ferguson's card from this week's Muse challenge as my starting point (shown below) but went for a completely different theme as I also wanted my card to fit in with this week's challenge at Less is More which is 'Up, Up and Away'.  I was looking through my stamps for things like balloons and aeroplanes and then 'bingo', I found Santa's sleigh.  This may be a bit busy for Less is More but I'm hoping the snowbanks provide enough white space!

So, after lots of masking and blending I managed to create this little scene.  I love this little bunny on its hind legs, such a cute image.  After matting the panel on blue cardstock I then added some fine glitter to the snowbanks.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Card-io - Winter Walks, Greenery 1 and Christmas Scenery 2
• Ink: Versa Color - Indigo; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: Xcut - Nested Circles (used as a mask for the moon)
• Cardstock: Papermania Premium (blue); Anna-Marie Designs (white)
• Glitter: Stampin' Up - Dazzling Diamonds

Here is Michele's card where I took the colours and landscape panel as inspiration...

I am also going to enter my card into the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge - Challenge #225 - Something beginning with F (festive, foliage, Father Christmas)

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #120 - Anything Goes with option of Diamonds (I used SU Dazzling Diamonds!)

ColourQ - Challenge #287

That's all for now, thanks so much for visiting today x

Addicted to Stamps and More #140

Hi there

Well, I'm back with my regular late night post which can mean just one thing....it's time for a brand new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!  And for this week's challenge we've whooshed back around to a...

Photo Inspiration Challenge

Please take your inspiration from any element of the fab photo below

(e.g. a specific item, colours, theme, etc.)

We have two fab sponsors this week:

Bugaboo Digi Stamps - offering a prize of 7 digis!

Rosey Hearts - offering a prize of 5 digis!

Here is my DT card

I was inspired by the diamond pattern of the table, the white and putty grey colours, and the pink flowers

I stamped the stitched diamond pattern on white cardstock and cut this down before matting onto some grey/putty coloured cardstock.  I then stamped and die cut the vase and lots of elements from the Fresh Cut Florals set (first outing for this one...I love it!) and arranged these before individually adhering to the stamped panel.  The panel was adhered flat to the card base before stamping the sentiment below.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Visible Image - unknown name; WPlus9 - Fresh Cut Florals; Clearly Besotted - Flower Arrangement (vase)
• Dies: WPlus9 - Fresh Cut Florals; Clearly Besotted - Flower Arrangement
• Ink: Versa Color - Chateau Gray, Peony, Petal Pink, Opera Pink, Orchid, Sage, Olive, Green Tea

I'd like to enter this card at the following challenge blogs:

Virginia's View - Challenge #14 - Layers and Dimensions

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - April Showers and/or Spring Flowers

A Gem of a Challenge - Challenge #142 - Spring is in the Air

AAA Cards - Game #37 - It's Springtime

My fellow teamies at ATSM have created some great cards this week, all inspired by the photo in different ways.  So, why not pop over for some inspiration, and leave some love too.

I'd love you to enter and see how you interpreted the photo this week.