Winter Postage Collage

Hi all.  I have made a couple of cards using a Globleland Postage Collage die which came in a set with a stencil and some stamps, but used on its own here.  I used an upcycled card front which had a pretty winter scene on it, and I cut the die from kraft card.

There are some inner stitched mats but I opted to cut using just the outer die for the background frame and I also cut the scene from this as well and cut into six pieces, and then cut each piece down a little smaller on all sides to fit inside the outer frame.  I then added the sentiment using Versamark and heat embossed it with WOW Metallic Copper Embossing Powder.  The white card measures 5" x 7".

With This first card I am entering the following challenges:

Christmas Kickstart Challenge - No. 93 If It's Chrismassy Link it Up.

52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge - Dec. '24 Pick a Previous Colour Challenge

(I chose Oct. '24 Challenge - Shades of Brown).

Peace on Earth Challenge - No. 78 Anything Christmas Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 811 Lots of White/Anything Goes.

The second card done in the same way was cut from Silver card and the paper was a piece from an old paper pad I have had for some years.  I finished this card with a Silver embossed sentiment and I added an upcycled snowflake taken from another old card and I partially coloured it with a red alcohol pen and used a Clear Wink of Stella Pen over this and also over the black and white snowflake covered paper.  I then mounted it onto a piece of red card before adding it on to another 5" x 7" card.

** Before I sent it I managed to remove the central snowflake without damaging the paper as I decided it looked better with just the pretty snowflake paper on its own.

Thank you for joining me here today and I'll see you again soon.

French Braid and Holly

Hi everyone.  I'm sure you must be getting a bit bored with my French Braid die, very similarly used as here and here, but I did decide to turn it to a landscape format to give it a slightly different look and I used a holly stamp from a Creative Stamping Magazine with stamps from Highlight Crafts and this is being used for the first time here, and it did have a little robin too, but in this instance I decided to lose the bird and just have the holly branch.   I don't have many Christmas papers and for this I decided to use a couple from a freebie set found at Craftworld which may originally have been downloadable with a Die Cutting Essentials Magazine I think quite a while ago, and I haven't used any of the material until now.  I also used a holly embossing folder which came with a recent kit from John Next Door and used on this card here.

I started with the embossing folder using a piece of white card and I managed to extend it to fit a 5" x 7" base card, and I decided to leave it white.  I then cut the French Braid die using a snippet of dark green card for the backing for the braid and then cut the braid frame from another green snippet and stuck it together, and then cut the two different papers using the frame die.  I changed the configuration a little from previous card alternating the green and white spot with the patterned holly.  I then moved on to the holly and stamped it onto a snippet of white card using Versafine Olympia Green ink and coloured with alcohol markers, and I managed to fussy cut it out...a bit time consuming and in the process a couple of leaf stems were cut accidentally but I managed to stick them back in the right places afterwards...lol.  The tiny little bits of the bird that remained I covered with Tipp-Ex and then put some lines back in with a fine Micron Pen.  Luckily I did manage to fairly well cover the two little white areas with the alcohol pens.  I finished by adhering the holly onto the French Braid and added the embossed background and this to the card base, and finished with a sentiment stamped onto another snippet of white card using Versafine Satin Red ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and cut into a fishtail banner shape.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - Where we use our snippets of paper and card etc.

We Love Stamping Challenge - Dec. '24 Winter/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Dec. '24 Anything Goes/Winter.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 810 It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas/Anything Goes.

ABC Christmas Challenge Dec. '24 'Y' and 'Z' Your Favourite Colours/Zoo Animals (my favourite colours for Christmas cards are green and red).

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge - No. 77 Anything Christmas Goes.

NBUS Challenge - No. 69 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Tone on Tone Anniversary

Hi everyone.  This is the last anniversary card I need this year and I decided to make it using this month's technique from the Group of Seven Cardmakers which is Textured Backgrounds using Die Cuts and I decided to keep it mostly white on white.  I used a very old set of Nellie Snellen dies and another Nellie Snellen set, also ancient which are scalloped circles, and I did emboss the four plain hearts in each of the corners using a Leonie Pujol Embossing Folder called Dotty Heart.  

I decided to add the die cuts straight onto the card front as I needed the full space in order to fit the hearts onto this 6" square card.  I wanted to make the four central hearts look like a flower and the scalloped circle used for the sentiment to be the centre of the flower, and also added the four smaller hearts which were embossed with the Dotty Heart EF.  I also looked through my container with some useful bits of throwaway pieces out of dies, and I found these red hearts so decided to use these to embellish the card for a bit of added colour, and used a Versafine Satin Red ink for the sentiment and also added a smaller heart next to that.  

Thank you for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon.  

I am entering the following challenges:

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes Embossing/Winter Fun.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 810 Anything Goes/It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas.

Love to Craft Challenge - No. 83 Anything Goes.

Mix It Up Challenge - No. 74 Anything Goes/Paper Piecing.

Diamond Stair Stepper Card

Hi all.  I have something a bit different for me today and I started this ages ago as a birthday card and I never finished it, and when I came across it again sitting under a lot of other things I thought I would carry on and finish it.  I had got as far as making the base red card and each of the different sized squares which sit point upwards, and I thought I would finish it as a Christmas card instead.  I used some digital papers from a set which I downloaded as freebies ages ago, and I thought the holly and the green and white spotted papers went well together and would look fine on the red base card.  I also used a holly stamp from the John Next Door Box Kit Magazine No. 10, the first time I have used any of the stamps from that kit, and the Mistletoe stamp and embossing folder used here.  

I saw this shaped card used on several sites and it was so long ago that I can't remember whose exactly but I think it may have been a Stamping Up video, but I have measured the piece of card which is 11" long by 5 1/2" wide, and it is creased at 3", 6", 7 1/2",  9" and 10", and the toppers are 2 1/2", 2 3/4" and 3" square.  I ended up using a couple of toppers from papers which came with a Crafter's Inspiration Magazine No. 6 from which I used the Mistletoe EF.   I picked a sentiment and the candles with holly and to make them a bit more interesting I embossed them using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.   I added the sentiment on the front panel and decided to add some holly from a set as mentioned above, and it is a silhouette stamp so stamped with some distress inks straight to stamp and cut out putting the the two pieces together.  I then added the candles on the middle one and I embossed a piece of green card to fit on the largest panel inside which I will put the sentiment.  I then stamped the mistletoe in Olympia Green Versafine Ink and cut it out and added it to the green panel and then onto the red.  I have a close up of this panel as it is the main one.  It looks a bit strange as I had to put the other two sections forward to see it better.

I decided to cut two small strips about 1" each which have a valley, then a mountain and then another valley fold at 1/4" intervals, and when creased the outer two pieces are stuck to the front and back of each of the first and middle steppers which keep the steps from opening out too much, so the card takes up less space when stood up and keeps the diamonds more upright so they stand equally apart.  I did find a video by Sam Calcott, but I had already used another, but she explains how to make it really well, and you will find it here.  I'm not sure whether her measurements for this card are the same as mine but it looks much the same.   I finished by adding some gloss on the holly and mistletoe berries.  

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon. 

I am entering the following challenges:

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - No. 59 Anything Christmas Goes.

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge - No. 76 Anything Goes/Inspiration Board.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Nov. 23rd Anything Goes/Winter Fun.

Rudolph Days Challenge - Nov. '24 Anything Goes.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 808 Ribbon or Twine/Anything Goes.

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Nov.'24 Anything Goes using Pretty Papers.

I am also entering Darnell's I.D.E.A.S.. a challenge she has set herself but has said that anyone can join in.

This is Week 4: Anything Goes.  

French Braid and Mistletoe

Hi everybody.  I have another card using the Spellbinders French Braid die set, and a leaf and berries embossing folder from Crafter's Inspiration Magazine No. 6, and a mistletoe stamp from Creative Stamping Magazine No. 138 a fairly recent one and using this stamp for the first time. 

I started with a snippet of white card which I used to emboss the mistletoe as the background for the card, and then I used some snippets of gold mirri and green plaid paper some of which I used on this card here, plus some striped pieces which I didn't use last time to make the braided topper.  After I had stuck the pieces in place I decided to cut it down a bit as this EF is only 6" x 4" and the proportions of the French Braid Topper were a bit too big.  I then stamped the mistletoe using some Versafine Olympia Green ink and coloured it with a couple of different green alcohol pens, and I searched out a Tattered Lace Bow which came with a wreath die which I got with a magazine several years ago, and I cut it twice from another white snippet to make it more substantial, and coloured it with a couple of red alcohol pens.  I finished by mounting the pieces onto a 7" x 5" card, and I stupidly took the photo without the sentiment, which I have now added using a die and another snippet of gold card.  I also added some Clear Wink of Stella onto the bow, and some Glossy Accents on the mistletoe berries.  

Thank you for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - No. 59 Anything Christmas Goes.

Peace on Earth Challenge - No. 75 Anything Christmas Goes.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Nov. 9th - Anything Goes/Coffee, Cocoa, Warm Drinks.

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 493 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

NBUS Challenge - No. 68 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but says anyone can join in.  This is Week 2: Dies.

Glittered Poppy Heart

Hi all.  I have something different today, for me anyway, as I used some glitter on this Indigoblu Poppy Heart stamped on acetate.  This Painting on Acetate technique is being used this time over at the Group of Seven Cardmakers, and so I thought I would go out of my comfort zone and give it a try.  I have made the photo larger than normal as it was a really dull day and I had to take the photo so the card could be posted, and making it larger does make the detail better I think.

I found a piece of embossable acetate and using my stamp positioner and Black Stazon Ink I stamped the poppy heart onto it and then heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I went through my cupboards and found some freebie packets of glitter which came with a plastic tray eons ago and which have never been used, and now is it's their time to shine..lol.  I used my Pinflair Bookbinding Glue which I do use as my go to glue, and started with one of the flowers and a pink and purple colour of glitter on the reverse side from the heat embossing which will be the front when mounted on the card.  I thought I would leave it until it was dry to check that the glue would go clear, which it did, and so I carried on, bit by bit filling in all the flowers using the purple near the centres and the pink over the rest, and then added some green on the leaves.  I decided to colour the little flowers and a couple of poppy seed heads and also the centres of the poppies with alcohol pens.  The blue flowers show up well, but the centres of the poppies and the two poppy heads which are in an orangy brown colour do not show up clearly in the photo.  The glitter is not in pots but in little plastic bags which once opened are difficult to close again, and my patience level with the glitter had definitely been reached, and I felt three opened bags with glitter leaking everywhere was probably sufficient..lol.  

I cut a piece of white card to fit this 5" x 7" card blank and cut the heart aperture using the largest die from a set by Sweet Dixie, and also stamped the sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then fixed the glittered piece behind it using red double sided tape around the edge of the aperture and cut off the excess to make it neater and put the card together.

I needed an anniversary card and this is a very pretty stamp which I haven't used for a very long time, but perhaps a more simple design might have been better, but contrary to everything I have said, I was pleased with the result which does look much better in real life, and I am glad I gave this technique a try.  Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - Week 805 Magic of the Season/Anything Goes.

We Love Stamping Challenge - Nov. '24 Christmas/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Nov. '24 Anything Goes/Make it Magical.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 480 Die Cuts and/or Stencils ( I have a die cut aperture..hope this fulfils the theme).

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - No. 22 Anything Floral Goes/Optional Mood Board.

Triple B Challenge - Nov. '24 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (one, two or all three...mine is Blooms.

NBUS Challenge - No. 68 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff...i.e. the glitter.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but says anyone can join in.  This Weeks is November Week 1: Ink/Colour Mediums.  

Fragmented Anniversary

Hi everyone.  I am having another go at the fragmented card design that I did here, but using a square piece in the diamond shape position as the centre, and decided to use a piece of paper from a magazine quite a long time ago and I am not sure which one now, and also I used an embossing folder called Dotty Heart by Leonie Pujol.  I also cut a couple of hearts from a very old die set by Nellie Snellen call Multi Frame Hearts, and a stitched square from a set bought a long time ago from The Works.  

I cut a piece of white card to build up the fragmented piece onto and placed the white stitched square in the middle.  I then cut some 1/4" white strips and worked out the shapes of the pieces to be added (two from the pink patterned paper and two from the Dotty Hearts embossing folder cut from white card).  It was a lot simpler which is why I decided to give this one a try as the pieces have two straight edges and when stuck down only need trimming around the edges.  I placed the piece before adding the strips over the top and then I decided to die cut two of the scalloped hearts from the leftover piece of the Dotty Hearts and ink blended them in pink using Adirondack Pink Sherbet Ink, and then I added them over the central square.  I finished the card by adding a sentiment using Versafine Crimson Red with a layer of Satin Red over the top to brighten it a bit stamped in my stamp positioner of course, and then cut it into a fancy shape and added it over the hearts backed with a piece of foam for dimension.

Thank you for joining me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes/Pumpkins.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 804 Anything Goes/Cute and/or Cuddly.

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Halloween Colours/Papers.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge which she has set herself but says anyone can join in.  This is Week 4: Anything Goes.  

Snowglobe Winter Scene

Hi all.  This snowglobe came as a freebie with PaperCrafter Magazine issue 112, and it must be a few years ago, and I realised that I had never used it.  I also used an image from a Creative Stamping Magazine Issue 90 called Winter Wonderland and also a Simon Says Stamp Snowfall stencil.  

I started with the snowglobe itself and I cut it in white.  It did have some little birds attached to the inner edge but I decided to cut them off.  I found some silver foil in my stash which has a sticky back and I liked the textured surface which I thought suited the globe, so I cut the globe again from this and very slowly and carefully applied it over the white one having first cut off the birds from this.  I then die cut a circle from white card, and also an acetate circle, and cut them both to fit.  I added the acetate circle to the back of the globe and then using Memento Teal Zeal Ink I stamped and heat embossed the image onto the circle of white card and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I decided to use some Wink of Stella to highlight the snowy scene and then glued it together.  The globe does have 'Merry Christmas' embossed into the surface, and I used a blue fine line pen to highlight the letters but unfortunately it didn't seem to want to dry on the surface of the foil, so I rubbed it off and luckily it did get ingrained into the surface and seemed to make the letters clearer to read.

I made the background using the Snowfall stencil which I ran through my machine and embossed it on a piece of white card.  I then placed the stencil back over and using Versamark I added WOW Sparkling Snow EP and heat set it.  I didn't worry about lining it back up as I thought it would just add to the snowy look of it.  I finished by adding the background onto the 6" white card, and then stuck the globe over that.

I did think about adding some white microbeads for some snow inside the globe, but to be honest the edge of the globe is so thin that I couldn't see how I could make a good enough cut of the foam tape which would have been far to wide as it was, and just adding them inside as the globe is now would not have given the beads enough room to move around inside, so decided to leave it.

Thank you for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon.  

   

I am entering the following challenges:

Rudolph Days Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Christmas Goes.

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge - No. 74 Anything Goes/Inspiration Board.

We Love Stamping Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Autumn.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Autumn Colours.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Christmas.

NBUS Challenge - No. 67 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Bee Nice

Hi all.  Bees are nice and very necessary for pollination and of course the yummy honey they produce.  I have lots of papers which I had with a magazine quite a while ago and had not been used, and I have seen this fragmented card technique a lot lately so thought I would combine the two.  The magazine was the first in a series called Diary of an Edwardian Lady and also has quite a few stamps, a few dies and an embossing folder, and it hasn't been used very often, in fact the little added bees were having their first flight...lol.

I started with the papers choosing two different ones from the pack which I thought went together well, and I decided on a 6" square card and the central piece a hexagon for a slightly different look, cut from a snippet of green card.  I have seen several versions on Pinterest using a hexagon and just a single piece for the background, and this card by Di on her blog here using snippets in two different patterns, for which she used a die, made me decide to try a version from scratch, and thought that by placing the hexagon on the piece of card and laying down the strips temporarily I would be able to take the edge of one of the papers and mark the shape with a pencil, adding a bit on for safety.  This is basically what I did but I didn't want the different pieces to overlap one another so there was a lot of extra pencilling and cutting to get the shapes butted up but still covered by the green 1/4" strips..these were snippets too.  After finally cutting all the pieces I put the card together, and I decided to add a second green hexagon over the top from another snippet of green card, and before placing it I added the sentiment heat embossing it with WOW Metallic Gold Embossing Powder.  I then decided to stamp and cut out two of the little bees to embellish it and I also used snippets of white card for this.  I stamped them with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and coloured them with my alcohol pens ( you should use Memento with alcohol pens but as this was minimal colouring it was OK) and added some Clear Wink of Stella Pen on the wings for a bit of sparkle.   I then added a little foam square on the back of each to give them a bit of dimension.

In conclusion, I enjoyed the challenge but can see the worth of buying a die to do this as it was very time consuming and I nearly gave up several times, but having spent a lot of time on it I was determined to finish it.  I think that if I could make templates for the shapes for this card with the hexagon in the middle so that it simplified the marking and cutting it would be easier, but for a different shape and position of the centre, and a rectangle not a square, it would mean starting from scratch again and frankly life is too short for it to be worth the effort.  The only way I would do another from scratch is if it was just one piece of patterned paper with the shaped centre and added strips over the top. 

I am entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No, 491 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.  (All the green card and some white for the little bees were snippets).

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Halloween Colours/Papers.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 802 Anything Goes/Magical, Myths and/or Legend.

NBUS Challenge - No. 67 Where we us our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but says anyone can join in.  This is Week 2: D = Dies. (Just the hexagon shape in the centre, actually doubled up so cut twice).

Turtley Terrific

Hi everybody.  This is a card for a terrific couple Chris and Marianne who have just completed a journey around the globe which has taken more than four years in a small motorhome which they call Trudy, and whose adventures we have been following via there Youtube channel.  Since their return they have had various meet ups so that anyone who has been following them and would like to meet them in person could do so, and they were having one not that far away from where we live so we thought it would be lovely to meet them. 

This card with a turtle is significant in that not long after they set off from Ironbridge in Shropshire the pandemic struck and they were in Turkey for more than a year until things began to open up again and they were able to continue their expedition.  They did a lot of travelling round Turkey in that time and they met a lady who with her son was trying to protect the turtles that nested on a local beach.  She had given up her job and every day went up and down the beach picking up rubbish, marking the nests and putting up signs and was trying to alert the locals to the plight of the turtles as unfortunately some locals and tourists were driving their cars right onto the beach and lots of the nests were damaged and the baby turtles were being killed, as well as the mother turtles as they laid their eggs at night, and also the loggerhead turtles are considered to be vulnerable and the green turtles endangered, so they need all the help they can get.  Chris and Marianne decided to set up a charity funding page to help raise money to set this lady up with an observation centre on the beach, so she could invite the local children along to teach them about the turtles and also general conservation of the beach area including plants which grow there, and they have now raised more than £40,000 which is amazing and the local authorities have got on board with it and no driving on the beach is now allowed.

I stamped the Pink Ink turtle using Versafine Smokey Gray Ink and coloured with a few Distress Inks including Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Spiced Marmalade and Peeled Paint.  I then cut it out, and turned my attention to the background.  I used Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo, Crushed Olive and Mustard Seed applied with blending brushes.  I also used my finger and dabbed some water on it, along the bottom and then some bits further up to remove some ink then applied a bit more of the green and brown and blue over it and also added some first and second generation stamped underwater foliage using the green, and coloured some but not all of it.  I finally used a fan brush to make a few smaller white marks, more at the top of the piece to give the impression of light shining through the water.  I finished by adding it to a 7" square card and then added the turtle using Glue Gel.  

P.S.  We have since been to the get together and found them to be just as lovely a couple as we thought they would be and she loved the card, and kept touching the turtle which has lots dimension with the glue gel used behind it.  Marianne sends out an online weekly newsletter to subscribers, and much to my surprise considering we were only there yesterday, it was included in this week's copy with a lovely thank you.  Their website is called Tread the Globe and they have links to their Facebook, Instagram and Youtube on there.  If anyone would like to see the work done by Seher out in Turkiye here is the link to DEKAFOK and there is a link for donations there too if anyone feels inclined.  

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Autumn.
Stamping Sensations Challenge - Oct '24 Anything Goes/Autumn Colours.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 802 Anything Goes/Magical, Myths and/or Legend.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Add Some Texture.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but says anyone can join in with.  This is Week 1: Ink/Colour Mediums.  

Autumn is here

Hi everyone.  A more autumnal card today using a Lavinia stencil called Laurel and using the Stencil Monoprint technique which is the theme of this month's Group of Seven Cardmakers, and also featuring a leaf print which I made using a real leaf.

I started with the background and the stencil monoprint which means that you ink the stencil itself rather than inking through it, which in this case meant the leaves were inked but if inking through the leaves would have been white and the surroundings coloured.  I decided to ink it up with a set of Lyra Aqua Brush Markers and a couple of different greens.  When I had got ink over the whole stencil I spritzed it with water and turned it over onto a piece of white card with a piece of kitchen towel over the top to mop up any leakage from under the sides of the stencil which helps to get a clearer print.  I was happy with the coverage, there were a few areas where it could have done with a bit more water but fine, and I cut it down to fit a 5" x 7" card.  

I then turned my attention to the leaf.  I had collected several leaves when out on a recent walk, and I decided to experiment with inking the leaf to get a print.  The leaf was still green and I wanted a more autumnal look, so I used the same Lyra Pens and used a green, orange and red pen to give the look I wanted.  I then spritzed it and placed it down onto another piece of white card and again put a piece of kitchen towel over it and rubbed it well.  It actually was a better print than I expected but there were some gaps.  I wanted to cut it out so I placed the leaf back down and pencilled around the shape and fussy cut it out and finished by ink blending over the areas where the ink coverage was a bit thin using Mowed Lawn, Ripe Persimmon and Walnut Stain Distress ink applied with a brush, and glued it down over the leaf background cutting it to fit as it was a large leaf.  I finished the card with the sentiment stamped using Versafine Vintage Sepia Ink and placed it over the leaf for a different look, and the background being less busy it shows up better.

Thank you for coming to visit my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Stencil Fun Challenge - Oct. '24 Anything Goes/Halloween.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 801 Falling Leaves/Anything Goes.

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Autumn Magic.

We Love to Create Challenge - No. 9 Anything Goes.

Seize the Birthday Challenge - No. 292 Celebrate.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself and has said that anyone can join in.  This is Week 5: Stencils.

Cogs Galore

Hi all.  I have a masculine card today using some cogs which I recently bought as they are great for male cards and I didn't have any cog dies at all, and this is their first outing.  I decided to do something a bit mixed media with them and this is the result.

I started with a piece of white card and decided to colour it with Brushos in Sea Green, Moss Green, Orange, Brown and Black, and sprinkled some of each onto a piece of white card and spritzed with water, using some kitchen towel to get rid of any excess water.  I added bits of different colours as well as a sprinkling of gold mica powder which I then spritzed so that it mixed in with the colours and it did give a lovely shimmer to it.  I must admit that it did end up with a mainly golden glow and not much of the other colour was noticeable, but it was a good base to put the die cut cogs onto, which I did, glueing then down in a random pattern. 

Next I got out a set of metallic acrylic paints in gold, silver, bronze and copper and using a brush I painted these onto the cogs including the silver as I had eliminated the silver and decided to put some back..lol, and I also used a green which had the colour of verdigris and also some black for shading round and in some of the spaces in the cogs themselves, and also around the edges of the piece.  I wasn't sure whether the paint would come off so I sealed with some Matt Modge Podge. 

I was going to leave it in one piece but decided to cut it into three and to make the dimensions easier to calculate I ended up cutting a little off the outside edges and cut it into three pieces, each 1.25", though the last piece does look a smidgen less.  I then placed it onto a piece of black card which measures 4.25" square, and I decided to add a couple of gold cogs over the gaps placing them towards the top and bottom, and I finished with a gold die cut sentiment. 

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon. 

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - Week 800 Anything Goes.

Seize the Birthday Challenge - No. 292 Celebrate/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

We Love to Create Mixed Media Challenge - No. 9 Anything Mixed Media Goes.

NBUS Challenge - No. 67 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Ring Out Those Bells

Hi everyone.  I have a Christmas card today and it is the Rudolph Days Challenge which runs from the 25th to the end of each month, and this is my card made using this die cut Bell which came with the Crafter's Inspiration Magazine No. 6 which is getting its first outing.  Every time I went to the supermarket I saw this magazine but couldn't decide whether to get it or not, and on the third visit when it was still there on the shelf I knew it had been waiting for me to slip it into my trolley..lol.  I also used the embossing folder from the set and some dies which I have already used on a couple of card from a magazine by John Next Door, and also some papers which came with that magazine which I haven't used before.

I found a snippet of silver mirri and cut the bell, and then I found a snippet of blue and cut it from that too.  The pieces all stayed in it luckily as I wanted it like that but I just added several pieces of the blue over the silver to highlight bits of it. 

I decided to use a round card which I was going to use as the base of my last card but in the end decided against it so thought I would use it here.  I laid the largest circular die I had over the join placing it at the top, and then when cut I cut a small piece off the bottom to make it stand properly  

I got out one sheet of the paper which had strips of the different patterns on it and cut the strips and decided to make a sunburst pattern with them so cut each strip in half and cut diagonally across each of the strips.  I decided to work towards the middle with each strip and found when I got to the last one that the space was a little narrower than the strip so had to overlap this one a bit but it looks OK.  I then found another snippet of a lighter blue card and cut a circular mat with it and embossed it with the leaves and berries EF.  I then cut the leaves from more snippets of white card and added a bit of silver gilding wax to highlight them a bit.  I finished it with the die cut sentiment cut from another snippet of silver card.

I haven't tried the sunburst pattern before but it is a great way of using up papers, and these John Next Door ones are quite pale and are perfect to add a bit of interest without being too much.  

Thank you for joining me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am also entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 489 Where we use up our snippets of card and paper etc.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - Anything Goes (congratulations on your 800th challenge).

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - No. 58 Anything Christmas Goes.

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge - No. 72 Anything Goes.

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Sept. '24 Anything Goes

NBUS Challenge - No. 66 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Join the Party

Hi everyone.  I have a card today for a family member who will be 17 shortly, and I was a bit stumped as to what to make for her, and then I remembered I had some Penny Black stamps which I was lucky enough to win quite a few years ago, and they were on wood but storage of these is difficult so I took them off the wood a year or more ago and they have been forgotten about, and this particular one I have never used.  The stamp has 2010 on it so obviously not one that is around any more, and is called Join the Party.  I decided to frame it using an Altenew Doily Frame stencil which I have had for a while and also has never been used..tut tut!

I cut a square to just under 6" and using a brush and some Salty Ocean Distress Ink I inked up the frame, with the central piece in place, on the piece of white card.  I then stamped the PB image and unfortunately it did overlap the frame just a little top and bottom, but I carried on and coloured it with my Lyra Pencils hoping the colours would be strong enough to cancel out the blue background, and fortunately I think there is a hint of it but not enough to spoil it.  I finished by adding the sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

I then decided that perhaps it would look more interesting cut into a circular shape before adding it onto the card, so taking a deep breath I very carefully cut around the shape.  I did start with my small decoupage scissors, but realised that it would probably be easier using larger scissors that I could keep moving round the curves to get a better finish, and luckily this worked pretty well.  I finished by using some foam on the back for a bit of dimension.  A simple card really, and just hope she likes it.

Thank you for coming to visit my blog today and I'll see you again soon.  

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Sept. '24 - Hand Coloured Image/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Sept. '24 - Anything Goes/Animal Magic.

Stencil Fun Challenge - Sept. '24 - Anything Goes/Fall Frenzy.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 798 - Something Fishy/Anything Goes.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Make Your Own Background.

Vellum Mix

Hi all.  I have another card using vellum.  I decided to colour and dry and heat emboss it, and another card to join in with the Group of Seven Cardmakers who are focussing on this technique this month.  I also used an embossing folder called Tied Together by Couture Creations, and also a Pinkfresh Studio butterfly stamp and die which came with Creative Stamping magazine quite a while ago but one I have only just got around to using.

I started with a piece of quite heavy weight vellum and I coloured it with my alcohol pens using a coral pink and a mid blue.  I scribbled on the vellum and moved the ink around with some alcohol and then I embossed it with the Tied Together EF.  I read somewhere that adding a piece of copy paper under the vellum helps to stop it cracking.  This one I used is an ordinary folder so less likely to crack the vellum, but I did put a piece of paper in with it anyway.  I decided that perhaps the ink did not show up well enough on the back of the vellum so once again used the two pens and some more alcohol and I think because of the embossing it did stick to it more and was brighter.  I couldn't make up my mind whether to use the other side, but in the end decided to go for the side with the embossing which has a whiter look.  

I then die cut the butterfly using a piece of white card and stamped the front layer on another piece of vellum and heat embossed it with WOW Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder.  I was going to leave it all white but felt that the whole card could do with a bit more colour so used the coral coloured pen to colour the under layer and added some pink gems down the body of the butterfly.  I thought maybe this made the butterfly too bright, but it is toned down by the vellum top layer so OK I think.  Finally I cut a piece of white card to fit the 6" square card and cut a circle aperture and placed the vellum beneath it, and finished the card with a sentiment using Faded Jeans Distress Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss EP.

Thanks for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Sept. 24 Hand Coloured Image/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Sept. 24 Anything Goes/Animal Magic.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 797 Autumn Colours/Anything Goes.

AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 65 Background Focus.

Triple B Challenge - Sept. 24 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (any one, two or all three).

Simply Clean and Simple Challenge - Anything Goes/Signs of Fall.

NBUS Challenge - No. 66 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.DE.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but has said anyone can join in with.  This is Week 2: Dies.  

Owl Amongst the Autumn Leaves

Hi everybody.  I decided to get out this Craft Stash Text(ures) Spring Awakening Wildlife set of stamps and used the little owl which was the only image of the three not to have been inked, and also used a heat embossed vellum background to join in with Group of Seven Cardmakers who are focussing on embossing on vellum this month.  I am also using a set of leaf stamps from Chocolate Baroque called Nature 1, and also a leaf die which is part of the John Next Door Christmas Premium Magazine No. 10 which I have used already on a couple of recent cards. 

I started with a leaf stamp from the Chocolate Baroque set and cut a piece of fairly heavy weight vellum to fit inside this rectangular aperture which is 4.25" by 2.75", and the card is 7" x 5".  I also cut a piece of white card a little smaller than the base card and cut the above rectangle, taken from the remainder of a piece of A4 card which I used for the last couple of cards I've made.   I embossed the large leaf branch stamp several times over the front of the vellum using WOW Metallic Brass Embossing Powder, and then using two of the smaller stamps and my stamp positioner I inked up the stamps several times with several colours to fit the autumn theme including Lucky Clover, Candied Apple, Abandoned Coral, Carved Pumpkin and Ground Espresso, and heat embossed these as I went along using WOW Clear Gloss EP.  I then blended some of the Carved Pumpkin ink over the top of this to take the whiteness off the vellum.  As you can see, when I came to add the vellum behind the window I thought the embossing on the front was a bit overwhelming and so I turned it the other way round and liked it much better and that is how I placed it.   

I then found a snippet of white card and stamped the owl with Versafine Vintage Sepia and heat embossed with the Clear Gloss EP.  I then added a little colour to it with my alcohol pens in a couple of brown shades.  I die cut the leaves from another small snippet of white card and decided to make them green, but then added some more orange and browns to them to make them look as though they were beginning to change colour, again using alcohol pens.  I added the sentiment also using the Vintage Sepia ink clear heat embossed.

Thank you for coming to see me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Sept. '24 Hand Coloured Image/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Sept.'24 Animal Magic/Anything Goes.

Snippets Playground Challenge - Where we use up our snippets of card and paper etc. 

Allsorts Challenge - Week 797 Autumn Colours/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Stamp It.
Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 476 Make Your Mark.

Try It On Tuesday Challenge - Make it Colourful.

NBUS Challenge - No. 66 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge which she has set herself but says anyone can join in with.  This is September Week 1: Ink/Colour Mediums.

French Braid and Foliage

Hi everyone.  Whilst browsing on the computer I saw a set of dies by Spellbinders which I thought would be great to use up all those scraps of paper that we all have..one called French Braid and the other Hexagon and there are two dies for each.  I think they actually came out about a year ago and were a series of dies with a quilting theme.  I found a set of these and they were much reduced from the original price, so that sealed the deal..lol.   I also used a Crafters Companion 3D Poinsettia Embossing Folder and some leftover pieces of holly and a poinsettia from my last Christmas card, and some other bits of die cut foliage I found in a pot, as well as some ancient Christmas paper snippets.

I began with the background and I used the Poinsettia EF and cut it to fit a 5" x 7" card.  I then die cut the French Braid Die from the snippets of Christmas paper, two different designs, holly and a green tartan, and then cut the squares down the centre of the die from gold mirri card.  Finally I cut the whole thing from a snippet of white card to get the die frame, and finally cut the back plate layer from another snippet of gold card.  When I had assembled that I added the die cut poinsettia and bits of foliage which I had coloured with my alcohol pens as a centrepiece, and added the 'joy' which I received from a lovely blogger tucked in a card at Christmas and which had been sitting in a pot waiting to be used.  It was white so I heat embossed it with WOW Metallic Gold Rich Embossing Powder, doing a couple of layers to build it up a bit, also added a bit of gloss and sparkle with some clear Wink of Stella.  Actually after I had added it I noticed the gold mirri was a much brighter colour than the embossing powder, and actually I had debated using a Metallic Brass EP which does have a slightly redder gold tint, but I won't try to change it now.  

Thank you for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Rudolph Days Challenge - Aug. 24 Anything Christmas Goes.

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 487 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 796 Getting Sentimental/Anything Goes.

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - No. 168 Anything Christmas Goes.

52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge - Aug. Technique - Embossing.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes Embossing/Leaves.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Aug. 24 - Anything Goes/Summertime.

NBUS Challenge - No. 65 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but has said that anyone can join in.  This is Week 4: Anything Goes. 

Terry Toucan

Hi there.  I was lucky enough to win this Aall & Create stamp set No. 563 Follow Your Own Path over at Stamping Sensations and this is its first outing.  I also used some Brushos and Distress Inks.  I find it difficult to find interesting post titles, and the name of the set to me doesn't seem to go with it terribly well, so I decided to give him a name and Terry just popped into my head, so that is my name for this funny little chap.

I decided to do a DL card and I cut a mat just a little smaller then the card and got out a couple of Brushos, haven't used them much lately, and chose Sea Green and Orange, and added them trying to keep the colour in different areas of the background, and then added water to spread them out, blotting to keep the colours from mixing too much as inevitably that leads to a 'muddy' look, not nice...lol.  I then added some of the words stamps using Distress Inks in similar tones to the Brusho colours, and chose Lucky Clover, Ripe Persimmon and Spiced Marmalade using first, second and in some areas third generation stamping, and then also one of the hearts in several places.

There are a couple of large bird images and the one I thought I would use was this Toucan and the chevron shaped accompanying images with some postmarks, numbers and words.  I decided to stamp them with Versafine Nocturne Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and then I cut them out.  I coloured them with the same three DI colours as I used on the background using a waterbrush, and the Toucan is obviously a bit of a fantasy bird as not normally this colour..orange beak, yes, but let's just call it artistic licence.  

I put it together and finished with a sentiment again stamped and embossed with the Nocturne Ink and Clear Gloss EP.

Thanks for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon. 

I am entering the following challenges:

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Aug. '24 Anything Goes/Out in the Garden.
We Love Stamping Challenge - Aug. "24 Anything Goes/Focal Sentiment or Quote.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 795 Delightful Animals/Anything Goes.

AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 64 Critters.

Triple B Challenge - Aug. '24 Using one or more Birds, Butterflies and Blooms.
NBUS Challenge - No. 65 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but she has said that anyone can join in with it.  This week the theme is Embossing/Wet or Dry.

A Slice of Pie

Hi everybody.  I saw a Spellbinders Serve A Slice die used somewhere on Pinterest recently, and as I hadn't seen it before although it has been out for a while, I found it at a reduced price and I thought it would be something a bit different for a masculine card, or prettied up feminine too and I certainly don't have anything like this already in my stash, and this is its first outing.  I also used a Sweet Poppy stencil called Plaid Back Plate and an Xcut oval die.

I started by cutting it from white card and I did use most of the pieces in the set to make this cherry pie.  I used alcohol pens and made the crust and latticed top first, it ended up looking quite dark...been in the oven a bit too long...lol.  I then did the filling with a couple of colours but decided to take some of the ink away with the blender to give a bit more variation of tone and this is how it ended up.  I finished the top with the cream and highlighted it a little as cream is not dead white, but it does look a bit orange.  The colour I used was called raw silk but I think a soft yellow would have been better, but did use the blender over it which bleached out some of the rather peachy colour, and I finished with the cherry which I used some gloss over.

I then tackled the background.  I decided to use the stencil with some Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink and made a 'V' shape fading it out at the edges, a bit like a cloth hanging over the edge of a table..it does look rather pale in the photo but is deeper colour in real life, and then I cut and added the sentiment using the same ink but heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I also added the oval die cut as a plate for the pie, and I originally added some Blueprint Sketch around the edges, but decided to strengthen the look with a blue alcohol pen in a similar colour which I think looks OK.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Stencil Fun Challenge - Aug. '24 Anything Goes/Summertime.

Simply Clean and Simple Challenge - Aug. '24 Anything Goes/Off Centre.

Addicted to CAS Challenge - No. 265 Blended.

Allsorts Challenge - Weeks 793/4 Anything Goes/Summer Days.

NBUS Challenge - No. 65 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but says anyone can join in with.  This is Week 2: Dies.

Season's Greetings with Flowers and Holly

Hi all.  So far this year I have made no Christmas cards, so I thought that maybe it was time to start.  To give myself a kick start I saw this John Next Door Box Kit Magazine No. 10 with an embossing folder, stamps, dies and papers and thought it looked as though there were quite a lot of possibilities for interesting cards, so true to form it dropped in my basket..lol.  I used the embossing folder, one of the stamps and several of the dies and all on their first use.

 

I started by embossing the holly and berries folder which is 5" square onto white card, and then inked up the design with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink using a blending brush.  I then inked all the berries using a Cardinal Red alcohol pen.  I didn't want to get too much ink on the background and thought the holly leaves needed more colour so I used my coloured pencils in a couple of different greens and went over each of the leaves and the stems which gave a stronger look to it, and I finished by adding some Mowed Lawn around the edges.   

I then moved on to the sentiment for which I cut the two oval dies which come with the set, and added the holly frame and one of the sentiments which are made to fit the smaller oval, and inked it with Versafine Satin Red Ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then cut the flowers..the die comes with a large and two smaller flowers on the one die, but I just used the smaller ones cutting twice as the middle flower is double layered, and then coloured them with three of the reds that I have in my set of alcohol ink pens including the Cardinal Red I used on the berries, and a couple of darker colours to add depth.  I then added the little yellow gems using three on each of the flowers.  I also cut one of the stems of holly which is double ended with berries in the middle, but I just cut the berries away and this made two pieces.  I also used another leaf stem and cut this three times.  I coloured the holly with a mid green and the other leaves with a lighter brighter green alcohol pen for a bit of variation.  I didn't add any dimension with foam tape because I was afraid that it would be far to thick to get in an envelope..as it is I think it will just about pass the postal slot test.

Thank you for coming to visit me here today and I'll see you again soon. 

I am entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 486 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.  I used snippets of white card for the two oval mats, the flowers and the leaves. 
NBUS Challenge - No. 65 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - No. 166 Anything Christmas Goes.
Peace on Earth Challenge - No. 69 Anything Christmas Goes.
Merry Little Christmas Challenge - No. 57 Anything Christmas Goes.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes/Wheels.

I am also entering Darnell's I.D.E.A.S., a challenge she has set herself but has said anyone can join in.  This is August Week 1: Ink/Color Mediums.