Citrus Celebration

Hi guys

Just a flying visit this afternoon to share a card I've made using Vicki Dutcher's inspiration card at Muse.

When I first saw Vicki's bright and bold creation I thought 'great, an opportunity for me to make a masculine card'....but as usual, I ended up going down the feminine route AGAIN!  When will I ever manage to make some masculine cards for my stock?!

Anyway, here's my card...

I used the colours and layout of Vicki's card (see below).  I used stamps from four different Uniko Studio stamp sets here!  On a panel of white cardstock I stamped the flower border three times in three different colours.  Then, after ensuring the ink was dry and static free, I stamped the stem and flower head in VersaMark and heat embossed with black embossing powder.  I was going to use black ink but wasn't sure if this would cover the previously stamped pigment ink.  I then stamped the sentiment and popped the panel up on 3D foam strips.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko Studio - Background Builders Flower Power, Flower Power #1, Flower Power #2 and Fontiments Birthday
• Ink: Versa Color - Marigold, Orange, Green Tea; VersaMark, Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Powder: Stampin' Up - Black

Here is Vicki's fab creation.  I have now realised I don't have any number dies in my stash, more to add to the wishlist!

I am also linking my card up here...

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #123 - Anything Goes (Let's Celebrate)

Crafty Catz - Challenge #278 - CAS

Loves Rubberstamps - Challenge #150 - Anything Goes

Crafty Cardmakers - Challenge #138 - Make Your Own Background

Thanks for popping by!

Less Is More - Guest Designer (week three!)

Hi there

Well, here I am again, back to help out the lovely ladies at Less is More while some are sunning themselves in exotic places!  Thanks for all your fabulous entries over the last couple of weeks, I have thoroughly enjoyed visiting you all :)

We have a new challenge just starting and we are back to the (dreaded by many!) One Layer Week!  So, this week's challenge is to...

Make a One Layer Card with the theme 'Water'

Please visit the Guidelines page here if you are unsure of the rules.

Here's my card.  After trying to think of an idea using watercolours or a water technique I ended up going in a completely different direction and used this bathtime digi!

I printed this image, 'Lola Rose Bubbly' by Pink Petticoat and coloured it with ProMarkers.  I then, of course, added some Wink of Stella to the bubbles.

And, as she's showing off her teeth in this image I went with this funny sentiment, from the 'Laugh Out Loud' set by Clearly Besotted, and it fitted perfectly under the bath!

I'm going to link this card up at the following challenges:

I Love ProMarkers - Challenge #268 - Anything Goes

Crafty Catz - Challenge #278 - CAS

Passion for ProMarkers - Week 295 - Keep Calm and Chill Out

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #122 - Anything Goes Feminine

Inkspirational - Challenge #81 - Word Prompt - Space (lots of white space here!)

So, why not have a go and join in the fun with your One Layer Water creations.  It will be great to how this theme can be interpreted.

Take care and I hope to see you again soon.

A Little Note with A Little Gold

Hi there

Today I'm sharing a clean and simple card I made last night for a few challenges.

I've had this stamp set from Clearly Besotted for ages but never inked it up, it's really great for some quick cards like this one...

I took a panel of white cardstock and die cut a hole using the flower die.  I then adhered some gold mirri card to the back of the aperture.  On the die cut piece I stamped the co-ordinating flower, first in black, then after using my embossing buddy to remove any static, stamped the flower centre in VersaMark and heat embossed with gold powder.  I then stamped the stem and again, after removing any static, stamped the leaves in VersaMark and also heat embossed these in gold.  The die cut flower was then adhered over the gold aperture, but rotated so the gold would show through.  The sentiment was then stamped and the panel was adhered to the card base using 3D foam.  I usually shy away from metallic cardstock as it reminds me of my early days of cardmaking when my creations were, quite honestly, shocking!  But used in minimal amounts I think it can look great.  I knew I kept it in my stash for a reason!

Materials used:

• Stamps and Die: Clearly Besotted - Pretty Petals Plus
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; VersaMark
• Gold mirri card from stash

Challenge entries:

Addicted to CAS - Challenge #62

Happy Little Stampers - May CAS Challenge

AAA Cards - Game #38 - There's a Hole in my Card

Thanks so much as always for visiting.

Spare Hugs!

Hi guys

This afternoon I found a lonely little 'hugs' die cut on my craft table which was leftover from when I made this card, the original die cut taken from the ombre panel, so I decided to use it up on a new card.

Here it is, with no stamping this time!

I dry embossed a white panel with a striped embossing folder and adhered this to the card base.  I then cut small panels from two patterned papers and used a corner punch to round the bottom corners and then adhered these together in line with the top of the card.  I then swirled around some white thread, laid this over the papers and used the die cut word to adhere the thread in place.  A little Doodlebug Sprinkle was added to finish.

Materials used:

• Embossing Folder: Darice - Stripe
• Patterned Papers: My Minds Eye - Quite Contrary Summer Papers; Avery Elle - The Brights Collection
• Die: Lawn Fawn - Scripty Hugs
• Inks: Distress Inks - Spun Sugar, Seedless Preserves
• Accents: Doodlebug Sprinkles - Cupcake; Thread from stash
• Tools: Tonic Corner Rounder Punch

Challenge entries:

Happy Little Stampers - May CAS Challenge - Die Cuts/Punches

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #122 - Anything Goes (Feminine)

CAS(E) this Sketch - Challenge #121

Time Out - Challenge #30 - Home Sweet Home - inspired by pink/teal/flowers/stripes

Card Concept - Challenge #34 - inspired by pink/aqua/flowers/stripes - I think my card would fall in the Clean and Layered category

Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 175 and 176 - hugs die cut and patterned paper offcuts


I think that's it for today now, I need to tidy my craft table before I can even contemplate making anything else! haha

Hope to see you again soon :)

Gold Fancy Flowers

Hi there

Before the deadline tomorrow I wanted to create a card for this week's Muse challenge.

This week's Muse is the wonderfully talented Chrissie Stokes of Simply One of a Kind, who is also the owner/co-creator at Less is More.

She has created a gorgeous card in black, gold and red, see further down in this post.  I really struggle to create such vivid designs as Chrissie's but I've taken the gold embossed flowers, and the red and black as my inspiration for my card...

I stamped the flower image (first inking for this beauty!) in VersaMark and heat embossed with gold embossing powder.  I then used two Inktense pencils, red and orange to colour the blooms, using a little water on a small brush to gently blend out the colours.  This is only smooth cardstock so I didn't want to saturate the surface too much.  These pencils blend with very little water anyway as they are very highly pigmented.  I cut the panel down and mounted onto a black cardstock frame and adhered to my card base.  I then used the same black cardstock to make the sentiment strip, choosing to use the flagged ends to echo the pointed petals.  The sentiment was also heat embossed in gold.  To finish I added some Wink of Stella to the blooms, you can see this better below, and applying this also blended the colours a little more.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Honey Doo Crafts - Fancy Flowers; Clearly Besotted - Sentimental Type
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along
• Coloured with: Derwent Inktense Pencils - Poppy Red and Tangerine
• Accents: Wink of Stella - Clear

Here is Chrissie's vivid design...

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

613 Avenue Create - Challenge #122 - Anything Goes - Feminine
Brown Sugar - Challenge #144 - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes


Before I go, while on the subject of Muse I'd like to let you know about a new challenge blog, Muse Christmas Visions...

Ardyth Percy-Robb is currently introducing the fab new Design Team and the first challenge is due to go live on 6 May!  I for one could certainly do with another Christmas challenge to try to encourage me to make my Christmas cards ahead of time ;)


Thanks for dropping by, it's so great to know you've visited and thank you for your supportive comments.

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