Take Time to Smell the Flowers

Hi everyone.  I have a card today for a birthday and I know by the time it reached her it will have been very late...I had a few to make when that spell of hot weather hit and I just could not get my head round doing any of it in that heat, even with a fan on in the room.  I am using a recently acquired set of stamps which came with Creative Stamping Magazine 162 designed by Françoise Read, with a sort of mixed media/ephemera look to them and they are a bit different to any other stamps that I have and the set also comes with two stencils which work together for a postage collage look which I haven't used yet.  This is one of the four big stamps.  

I needed to keep it relatively simple as time was of the essence, so I did an acrylic block background using Peacock Feathers and Cracked Pistachio Distress Ink and luckily I had a block which was exactly the right size.  I lay the inks down on it and then spritzed and added it to a piece of white card to fit a 5" x 7" card base.  I did it several times varying the amount of each ink to get good coverage although I think there is still more of the blue then the green but still OK.  I then stamped it using Versafine Smokey Gray ink and then I used some of my Lyra pencils to colour the flowers and leaves and also to add a bit more blue to some of the images.  I then added the sentiment which is also one of the stamps in the set again using the Smokey Gray ink and heat embossed it using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.   When I had mounted it on the card I decided to give the flowers, bird and hands on the two clocks a bit of sparkle with my Clear Wink of Stella brush pen as a finishing touch, the recipient will appreciate this touch I think...lol.

This card has been waiting for its turn for rather a long time but better late than not at all..lol.  Thank you for coming to visit me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Aug. '26 Summer Blooms/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 855 Colours of Summer/Anything Goes.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 523 Birthdays.

AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 88 Flowers.

Simply Clean & Simple Challenge - Aug. '26 Anything Goes.

Trio of Trees

Hi everyone.  This was a quick card made this evening to enter the Addicted to CAS challenge which only has a few hours left.  I have been wanting to enter this challenge the last few times and for one reason or another I have left it too late, but I was determined not to miss it again this time as I do love trees.  I used this Crafty Individuals stamp which I have had for some time, and also a leafy stencil which came with an Indigoblu Mixed Media Magazine Issue 11 and being used for the first time.  Being good I didn't get it when it first came out but when I had a closer look later on I was wishing I had, but by waiting I managed to get it for half price which was great.

I decided to use a 5" x 7" card and cut the mat to fit it..I did cut it down more when I was ready to add it to the card.  In my rush to take the photo and get it up I forgot to cut a bit of excess card from the bottom as it is a little unbalanced but too late now...lol.  They are actually winter trees but I wanted to make them in leaf.

I inked the piece of card using the stencil and two Distress Inks - Stormy Sky and Bundled Sage keeping it light, and then used my stamp positioner and some Staedler Watercolour Brush Pens straight to stamp and added a little water but lost quite a lot of the detail.  I then stamped over it with a Versafine Sepia Ink and then added a bit more of the water colour pen straight to the paper, and using a waterbrush I moved it around and softened it by removing some of the ink with a piece of kitchen towel.  Not sure that it totally works but it was a quick card.  I finished with the sentiment which came with the magazine stamped with the Vintage Sepia Ink.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Addicted to CAS Challenge - No. 313 Trees.

We Love Stamping Challenge - Aug. '26 Summer Blooms/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 855 Colours of Summer/Anything Goes.

Stencil Fun Challenge - Anything Goes/CAS Design Style.

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Happy Birthday.

NBUS Challenge - No. 89 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I.D.E.A.S. Calendar - Week 1- Ink/Color Mediums.

CAS Mix Up - Aug. '26 Stencilling over Patterned Paper

Hi everybody.  We're back at CAS Mix Up with a new challenge and this month it's hosted by Viv, and a technique I have never actually done before, using patterned paper as the base to stencil onto.  I also used a set of Torn Edge Stars from Creative Craft Products still available on Etsy at the moment.

               

Sorry, after many tries I couldn't get the photo any better...not easy when using mirri card.  It does look much better in real life, and it does at least show off the stencilled texture paste with the glitter over it.

I have quite a lot of papers from the different magazines I have bought and I'm afraid I don't get them out very often, but I had a sift through and found a few quite neutral looking papers which I thought would make good backgrounds to ink over.  In fact I decided to use some white texture paste through a snowflake stencil from Crafter's Companion Magazine Box Kit No. 6.  I also used some Pergamano Perga-Glitter Hint of Silver bought a while ago but only just being used for the first time. 

I cut the piece of patterned paper which was a lovely blue which I thought would be fine as I didn't intend to ink so being darker was not a problem.  I taped the stencil onto the paper and using a palette knife I added the white texture paste and then sprinkled the Perga-Glitter over it and it has given a lovely sparkle to the snowflakes.  I then left it to dry for several hours..it did warp a bit but I decided to cut it with a square stitched die and actually this seemed to sort the warping out.  I then stuck this down onto my white 6" square card.  I thought it could do with some sort of extra image over the top, and I decided on a Torn Edge Star set of dies from Creative Craft Products using three sizes. and cut them from silver mirri card and stuck them at different angles.  I decided at this point to add the sentiment using Versamark and heat embossed with WOW Silver Metallic Embossing Powder.  Finally I added the star to the centre and raised it up with some thin foam tape. 

Please come and visit the challenge which is open until the 31st August and there is a link to a video and also some brilliant cards from the rest of the team to inspire you.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - No 69 Anything Christmas Goes.

Sparkles Christmas Challenge - No. 187 Clean and Simple.

Peace on Earth Challenge - No. 117 Anything Christmas Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

First Christmas Card of the Year

Hi all.  I have looked back and this is the first Christmas make of this year and in very hot temperatures..not the best for creating,  I am so pleased that CAS Christmas Challenge has returned and this month the theme is a Snowman.  I have dug out an old Serendipity stamp which has three fun snowmen.  

I found a white stitched square that I had put in my bits box and I decided to embellish with a bit of embossing using just part of a folder from Crafter's Companion called Touch of Winter, but in order to get the snowmen on it without stamping over the embossing I did a small portion top and bottom, although I could have been a bit more generous with  the bit at the bottom.  I stamped using Versafine Smokey Gray ink and then coloured using my Lyra Pencils and also added a little bit of Wink of Stella to the white fur and bobble/tassel on their hats and the falling snow and balls of snow on the ground, and also the hoop of gold stars held by one of the snowmen.  I also stamped the sentiment with the Smokey Gray ink and backed the topper with a piece of foam for some dimension.  

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

I am entering the following challenges:

CAS Christmas Challenge - July '26 Snowman.

Rudolph Days Challenge - Christmas in July.

Pearly Sparkles Challenge - No. 121 Christmas in July.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 854 At the Seaside/Anything Goes.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 522 Christmas.

Can You Handle the Pressure Challenge - July '26 Anything Goes/Celebration.

Group of Cardmakers - Adding Dimension to Die Cuts

Hi everyone.  I have a masculine birthday card today following the design technique this month over at the Group of Cardmakers which is adding dimension to die-cuts.  I have used a couple of dies I bought a while ago at Temu but which are getting their first outing and also a music stamp from The Artistic Stamper which I won in a challenge ages ago..they don't do that now.  I bought the dies with one of our friends in mind as he has started playing the saxophone.  Unfortunately he has already had his birthday this year but I will put it in my box and leave it there for his birthday next year, unless someone else I know starts playing a sax..lol. 

I started the card by covering a snippet of white card with the music using Versafine Satin Red Ink.  I had to add a partial second row to make it wide enough as it need to be square and allowing the music die to overhang a little.  After I had stamped the piece I cut it out with a stitched die and then cut a circle aperture in the middle.  I then cut the music die at an angle across this stamped piece and made sure I kept all the pieces intending to fill in the shape around it when layering it up but I soon realised that the die had far too many pieces and the filling in would be an absolute nightmare.  

I carried on by adding a piece of black card just a little smaller than my 6" square base card, and wide enough that the music die would be contained by it when mounted across the music background.  I then glued the black card down on the card.  I decided to inlay the piece of die cut music where it had cut into the background above and below and added some tape behind the spaces so I could get it to stay together whilst I added it onto the black background.  I actually was pleased that I didn't inlay all the stamped layer pieces as it does stand out better against the black.  I did cut three of the die cuts using snippets of white card to give more dimension, and I cut the same amount of the sax player from more snippets of white card and then glued it across the die cut music.  I finished by adding a die cut sentiment to finish the card using another snippet of white card. 

I hope you visit us and also make a card and add it using the Linky at the bottom of the page so we can all enjoy seeing what you've made, and there are various videos showing different versions of the technique for inspiration and more wonderful inspiration from Loll.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Color Hues Challenge - No. 137 Black and Red.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 854 At the Seaside/Anything Goes.

A Cut Above Challenge - July '26 Anything Goes with a Die Cut.  (congrats on your 2nd Anniv.)

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 537 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Make Your Own Background.

The Male Room Challenge - No. 212 Hobbies.

NBUS Challenge - No. 88 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I.D.E.A.S. Challenge - Week 4 'A' = Anything Goes.

Ebb Tide

Hi everybody.  This is the card I made for hubby's birthday which was nearly a couple of weeks ago...I have been extremely slow in catching up with posting the cards I've made as I got behind during the hot weather..fortunately a bit cooler now.  It's a stamp from a set by Sheena Douglass which is another from her A Little Bit Sketchy range called Just Chilling, from quite a long time back.  I decided to give my post a different title which more suited it I think.  My hubby said when he saw it that it was'an old wreck for an old wreck', which was not my intention when I made it, but it made me laugh.   I also used a Torn Square Die from a set from Creative Craft Products over at Craft Stash, unfortunately not available now.

I used Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink to stamp the image, and then my Distress Inks with a waterbrush to add the colour and finished with the birds stamped with the Nocturne Ink, which are part of the same set, and then added the sentiment using the Nocturne Ink heat set with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I finished by adding this onto a navy blue piece of card and then die cut a larger mat in a lighter blue using the Torn Edge Square Die set and added this onto a 6" square card.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - July '26 Summertime/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No, 854 At the Seaside/Anything Goes.

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge - No. 388 Summer Theme.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Make Your Own Background.

Seize the Birthday Challenge - No. 331 Square Card and Non White Base/Anything Goes.

Heart Full of Bunnies

Hi everybody.  Recently hubby and I celebrated our 44th anniversary and I made this card for him.  Not totally a masculine look but I couldn't resist making a card using  a bunny which I recently won which was part of a lovely prize over at The Snippets Playground and being used for the first time, and as a background I used a Sizzix Making Hearts Embossing Folder and a set of Torn Edge Hearts which came from Creative Craft Products over at Craft Stash which is no longer in business.

I decided to use a 6" square card as the base and cut a mat a bit smaller and the background was made by inking part of the negative side of the EF opened flat, spritzing with water before pressing the paper down onto it to get this impression of the heart design.  I dried it with a heat tool and then added the second colour by pressing the pad onto the card...I used Blueprint Sketch first and then added Spun Sugar Distress Inks.  The Spun Sugar is a very soft pink so I didn't water it down for that reason.  I then cut two of the hearts from snippets of white card to make a frame, and then using more snippets of white card I cut two lots of the rabbit die, four in total, so I could double each one up.  I put the card together and before adding the bunnies I coloured them using pencils adding blue stripes and added grey to the ears for the boy, and then a pink cap sleeved top with pink cheeks and inner parts of the ears on the girl, and lead pencil to add emphasis to the eyes on both and some pink for the lips.  This bunny has its head to the side a bit and only has one eye but I did pencil in a second one too.   Hubby and I do sing and each belong to choirs and I thought they do look by the shape of the mouth that they could be having a little sing together..lol.  Am I becoming a little silly in my later years, probably..lol.

That is all from me today and thank you for dropping by and I'll be back soon. 

I am entering the following challenges:

A Cut Above Challenge - July '26 2 Year Anniversary - Anything Die Cut Goes.

The Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 536 Where we use our Snippets and card etc.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 854 At the Seaside/Anything Goes.

Critter Crazy Challenge - No. 112 Anything Goes with a Critter(s).

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Fun With Paint.

NBUS Challenge - No. 88 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I.D.E.A.S. Calendar - Wk. 2 Dies.