Muse Challenge #290 - Teal with Texture

Hi there

There's a new challenge just starting over at Muse and it's my turn to be your designer.

A super clean and simple design for you this time, with a little added texture...

I stamped the heart, sentiment, balloon string and balloon on a panel of white cardstock, double stamping the balloon with a darker shade to add some depth.  I like how the balloon string followed on perfectly from the end of the sentiment.  I then used an embossing folder to create the subtle wave texture.  It was then simply popped up on 3D foam and some silver enamel dots were added to finish.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Hello Gorgeous set (free with Creative Stamping magazine), Clearly Besotted - Let's Party
• Ink: Altenew - Volcano Lake, Lagoon, Emerald; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Embossing Folder: We R Memory Keepers - Next Level Wave
• Enamel dots from stash

Thanks so much for popping by, and I hope you can find some crafty time to join in with the challenge this week.

12 Days of Christmas with Kylie and Friends

Hi there

I'm super thrilled today to be joining my gorgeous friend, Kylie for Day 3 of her 12 Days of Christmas, so if like me you're way behind with your Christmas cards (again!!) this will be a great place to find lots of inspiration from lots of different cardmakers.

Each day until 12 November, Kylie along with a crafty friend will be sharing their Christmas makes, and by joining in and linking up you'll be in with a chance of winning a randomly chosen prize.  If you missed Days One and Two you can find them over at Kylie's blog, here.

So, onto my card.  I recently made a tag, here, using vellum with white and silver embossing, along with aqua cardstock.  I loved the result so much that I decided to use the same colour palette and theme for today's card, using different stamps.  Here it is...

I began by adhering a panel of aqua cardstock flat to my card base.  I then took a panel of vellum and die cut the bottom edge with a bracket edge die.  Next I stamped the floral spray and the mistletoe in VersaMark and heat embossed in white.  I then stamped the sentiment and heat embossed in silver.  The vellum panel was then scored about a centimetre from the top edge and folded over and secured on the reverse.  To finish I added a little sparkle with a shimmer pen, which can be seen more clearly in the photo below...

Materials used:

• Cardstock and vellum from stash
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Bracket Edges Die Collection
• Stamps: Happy Little Stampers - Merry Kissmas
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White and Metallic Silver

A big thank you to Kylie for inviting me to be part of this great little series once again, and don't forget to check out her card too, along with the rest of the great Christmas makes coming up every day until 12 November!

Thanks so much for visiting.

Happy Little Stampers November 2018 CAS Challenge

Good evening, guys

Honestly, where are these months going?  Can you believe it's time for more new challenges over at Happy Little Stampers?! 

The Watercolour challenge is already up and running, today is the turn of the CAS challenge, and the rest of the regular challenges will follow over the next few days. 

So, for this month's CAS challenge, here's the 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!

I will admit, I did struggle with a limited stash for this 'fantasy' theme, but I got there in the end and combined some bits in my stash with a sentiment from Happy Little Stampers...

This fairy stamp is from a set that's been in my stash for many years.  I wanted the silhouette to be the main focus so only added a small amount of colour.  I did this by masking off the bottom and right edges of my card front and gently faded out the blend of two Distress Inks.  I removed the masks and stamped the fairy and sentiment, using my MISTI to ensure great coverage.  To create the stars I masked off a section at the top of the card using post-it notes which had been cut with curves, then repeatedly stamped a small star cluster stamp using VersaMark to fill the space and heat embossed in silver.

Materials used:

• Ink: Distress Ink - Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron; Versafine - Onyx Black; VersaMark
• Stamps: Lindsay Mason - Magic Happens; Happy Little Stampers - Thinking of You; Stars from free 'Away in a Manger' set free with Creative Stamping magazine
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Silver

There is more inspiration for this challenge from my fabulous teamies over at the main challenge blog, here.  And plenty of time to link up with this challenge and the rest of the HLS November challenges, as the linkies will be open until the end of the month.

Less is More Challenge #383

Good morning

I'm back today to introduce the new challenge just starting over at Less is More.  This fortnight we have a Recipe challenge and here's what we'd like to see...

Our October sponsor is the fabulous Uniko so please do continue to play along for a chance to win our monthly prize.

In between a couple of super busy and tiring weeks at work I've managed to make just one card for you this week.  I'm so behind with my Christmas cards so I chose to create a winter scene and hopefully I've manage to capture some dimension.

I started by creating my top panel with an aperture, using some stitched rectangle dies.  I marked through the aperture onto the card base with pencil so I could identify the area where I needed to create the scene.  I cut some scrap paper into a curve to use as a mask and blended the skyline with two shades of pigment ink.  I then stamped the trees, some with second and third generation stamping to create the illusion of distance.  I added a little shading of ink before stamping the fence image, although I think my photo is a little too bright to see this.  For the foreground snowdrift I die cut some cardstock with a curved die and then ran it through my Big Shot in a wave effect embossing folder.  Before adhering this on some slim 3D foam I blended a little ink to create some depth.

Before adhering the top panel I stamped the sentiment in black ink and popped the frame up on 3D foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals Poinsettia; Card-io - Christmas Scenery 1, Mini Tall Trees
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versa Color - Neptune, Heliotrope
• Dies: MFT Die-namics - Snow Drifts; Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Embossing Folder: We R Memory Keepers - Next Level Wave

Challenge entries:

Fab 'n' Funky - Challenge #413 - Christmas (first time playing along here)

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies October Challenge

Happy Little Stampers - October Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes (not using optional twist this time)

Don't forget, the challenge runs for two weeks so there's plenty of time to play along and link up, and more inspiration from my teamies over at the main Less is More challenge post.

Thanks so much for stopping by, enjoy your weekend :)

Wonderful Mum

Hi there

Today I'm sharing the card I recently made to send to my wonderful mum for her birthday.

After making this card recently, I still had the pot of texture paste on my desk so thought I'd make another using texture paste, ink and a stencil.

Here it is...

I placed the mandala stencil onto a white cardstock panel and then squished three shades of Distress Ink onto my blending matt and mixed each, one by one, with matte texture paste and spread it through the stencil.  I absolutely love how the white paste completely changes the colours of Distress Inks.  The pink in the centre is in fact Wilted Violet, the lavender shade is Blueprint Sketch and the minty green in Lucky Clover!

Once dry I die cut the panel with a stitched rectangle die.  I was worried the paste would flatten going through the Big Shot but the die must have taken the majority of the pressure so there is plenty of texture left on the surface.

I embossed the sentiment in white onto a vellum panel which I wrapped around the panel and secured on the reverse.  The 'wonderful' was die cut three times and stacked up, the top layer being white fine glitter cardstock.  I then finished by popping up the panel on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Stencil: Studio Katia - Mandala
• Embossing Paste: Dreamweaver
• Ink: Distress Ink - Wilted Violet, Blueprint Sketch, Lucky Clover; VersaMark
• Stamp: Papermania - Relations (serif)
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Dies: Reverse Confetti - You're So; Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Vellum and cardstock from stash

Challenge entries:

Time Out - Challenge #120 - Colourful (pastels can still be colourful, right?)

Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Thank you for visiting, I may be back later today with another make.  And hopefully I'll be sharing more soon as I really need to get a wriggle on and make some Christmas cards!

Less is More Challenge #382

Hi there

There's a brand new challenge just starting at Less is More so I'll get straight to it with the cue card for our Theme challenge for the next fortnight...

(This can be standalone tags or tags attached to your project, and clean and simple of course)

Uniko is our fabulous sponsor for the month of October so remember that by playing along you're in with a chance of winning the monthly prize!

I've been fighting to find time to craft lately so I only have one sample for you this time.  I wanted to create a double layer tag using vellum and I'm really pleased with the result.  Here it is, using stamps from our sponsor...

I used a tag die set to cut the two tags, first from aqua cardstock and again from vellum.  I then used another die from the set to die cut the curved edge on the vellum layer.  I stamped the sentiment on the aqua tag and heat embossed in white, then stamped the holly leaves on the vellum, also embossed in white, and stamped the berries and heat embossed in silver.  I've captured the shine from the embossing in the next photo...

I die cut the tag hole strengthener ring from the same aqua cardstock to create a more finished look, then threaded through with some silver organza ribbon tied with silver twine.

Materials used:

• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along Die Collection
• Stamps: Uniko - Winter Foliage, Simply Said Christmas
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White, Metallic Silver
• Cardstock, vellum, ribbon and twine from stash

Challenge entries:

Happy Little Stampers - October Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Happy Little Stampers - October Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes (Ribbon)

Creative with Stamps - Challenge #31 - Halloween or Leaves

Thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate your visits.  There's two weeks to play along, and if you need some inspiration please do pop over to the main Less is More challenge page where my teamies are sharing their fantastic makes.

Have a great weekend :)

Skull and Cross Buns - Santa's Workshop

Hi guys

I've been itching to share these makes.

There is a brand new clear stamp set for Christmas over at Skull and Cross Buns called Santa's Workshop.

Emily has been extremely busy since the launch on Create & Craft last weekend but this new stamp set is now live on the website, along with four co-ordinating stencils: Geometric Tree, Christmas Stockings, Elf Stockings, Stars and Sparkles.

I had a play with the stamp set and the stockings stencil.  For my first card I couldn't resist the super cute little gingerbread man...

I started by stamping the gingerbread man a number of times and then masked them.  A little tip for you, stamp the image onto a few layers of post-it notes, then you can cut through a few at a time.  I then used a pine needle stamp from my stash to create the effect of a Christmas tree in two green shades.  I removed the masks and coloured the little images with Polychromos before drawing the ornament hangers with a gold pen.  I stamped the sentiment and heat embossed in gold, before die cutting the panel with a stitched rectangle and popping up on fun foam.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Santa's Workshop, Merry Christmas; Uniko - Winter Foliage
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black; Altenew - Evergreen; Memento - Cottage Ivy; VersaMark
• Coloured with Faber Castell Polychromos pencils
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Rich
• Dies: Create a Smile - Double Stitched Rectangles
• Accents: Signo Uniball - Gold

Challenge entry:

Allsorts - Challenge #488 - Trees and/or leaves

Next up, a super simple card using the co-ordinating stockings stencil to add colour...

I stamped the Merry Christmas, you can find it here, in VersaMark and embossed in silver.  I then stamped the stockings from the new set, as if hanging from the sign and also embossed these in silver.  I think the stocking hanger and the double lines on the stocking design co-ordinate so well with the sentiment stamp.  The stockings in the new Christmas Stockings stencil are exactly the same size as the image in the stamp set so I laid the stencil over the embossed images and added colour by blending with Distress Inks.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Merry Christmas Neon Sign, Santa's Workshop
• Ink: VersaMark; Distress Inks - Carved Pumpkin, Squeezed Lemonade, Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers, Wilted Violet, Picked Raspberry
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Silver

Challenge entry:

Sweet Stampin' - Use a Stencil (stockings were ink blended through a stencil)

For my final card I used the stocking as part of the sentiment...

The wreath was die cut from some white glitter card and adhered to a die cut green cardstock panel.  I stamped the stocking, coloured with ProMarkers and fussy cut it out to create the 'J'.  The remainder of the letters were die cut, coated in VersaMark and embossed in gold glitter powder.  I added some twine to hang the stocking from the wreath.  It was finished by heat embossing part of a sentiment stamp heat embossed in gold onto a strip of red cardstock.  The sentiment strip and stocking were both popped up on 3D foam

Materials used:

• Dies: Tonic - Wreath; MFT Die-namics - Happy Birthday To You; Create a Smile - Double Stitched Rectangles
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Santa's Workshop, Merry Christmas
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Sparkle, Metallic Gold Rich
• Coloured with ProMarkers
• Accents: Hemptique Twine - Emerald Assortment
• Cardstock from stash

Challenge entry:

Always Fun Challenges - Challenge #78 - Dies and Punches

You can find more examples from my teamies using the rest of the stencils along with the new stamp set over at the Skull and Cross Buns Rubber Stamps Scrumptious Group over on Facebook.  I hope to have more makes using this set soon.