A Special Birthday Card

Hi everybody.  Today I'm showing the card I made for hubby's birthday which was actually yesterday.  I am using a set of dies from Globleland featuring a frame of books and which also has an open book which I have amalgamated into the frame and which I am using for the first time.  I am also using a set of dies from Spellbinders called Balloons and Birthday Wishes and which I am also using for the first time.  I have also used paper from a pad bought from The Range, and an embossing folder from Creative Expressions which I have had for ages.

I started with a piece of blue card and embossed it using the folder and cut it to fit a 6" square card, and then I cut the book frame from silver mirri card and I removed a section of the books from the bottom of the frame and then backed this with a piece of lighter blue card and added the open book to the gap at the bottom of the frame raised up a little with a piece of  3D foam tape behind it and added this to the card.  I then die cut the balloons from white card and the strings from the same card as I used for the embossed background.  I found an appropriate piece of paper from the pad which has the look of alcohol inking in shades of blue and I used different parts of the sheet to get a variety of looks for the four balloons and cut and adhered them to the white ones.  I then heat embossed them using Versamark and WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and did this twice to build up the shine, and I added a string to each and added them one at a time using bits of the foam tape behind them to make a nice bunch and cut the string to fit behind the frame at the bottom.  I finished by adding the birthday sentiment in white which I cut twice to give it more rigidity...there are a set of sentiment plates which you can add then onto, but this time I just added them without, and then finished with the white numbers on the balloon. 

On the face of it seems a very straight forward card, but I had left it rather late making it as I at first was not sure what to do but I settled on the book frame because he does love to read and I thought the balloons and sentiment sat over it nicely and were a fun look.  I had put it together and was adding the sentiment and somehow glue go spattered onto it and the air was blue, but luckily I wiped it off immediately and it didn't mark..phew!!  Our son wanted to do something special for this milestone birthday and so has arranged a lovely venue and we have some family and friends coming along in a week's time to have a lovely lunch.  It is a very old manor house with a barn in the grounds which we have the use of, and we have someone to cater, so all we need is a nice day so we can sit outside in the grounds and enjoy the lovely surroundings, and Stewart has now arrived from Australia and is here until the end of the month which is great. 

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 827 For A Child/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Emboss It.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes/In The Sky.

NBUS Challenge - No. 76 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Two Little Wrens

Hi all.  I have made an anniversary card for my hubby featuring a die of a little wren which came with Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady Magazine Box Kit No. 1.  I cut two sitting on a leafy branch and placed them over a slatted heart die from Craft Addictions being used for the first time, although I have had it for a while...tut tut! It was our 43rd on Thursday, and I can't believe that we've been married that long..maybe hubby might think differently..lol.     

I cut the heart which can be used just to cut into the card but also cut out with the added outer die..it also has a stitched frame which impresses the pattern but doesn't cut but can be added to the mix.  I also added a piece of red card behind the slats.  I then cut the birds twice, once from red and again from white and shaded the red one a little with a red alcohol marker, and the white one with pencil though this doesn't show in the photo really, and also cut the branch and some leaves from the red card..all using snippets.  I added the heart to a 6" square white card, just a little above the centre, and arranged the birds on the branch and added the leaves.  I then decided to add a couple of clusters of little white hearts each side of the central heart and finished with a red sentiment using a mixture of Versafine Satin Red and Crimson.  I used my stamp positioner and just added each colour until I was happy that it went with the red card I used.

Just as an aside.  The Craft Addictions Hearts die set (it has two duplicate heart sets) which I got soon after they started doing dies and I found that some of the metal pieces that hold the dies together were impossible to totally remove as they were in a curve at the top and bottom of the die which made them impossible to get at with the pliers I have, and I cannot used the stitched aspect of the die because the little bits of metal leave marks/holes in the paper after running it through my machine.  I just wondered if anyone else had problems and has managed to remove these with snips/pliers and could recommend some that would work.  I believe that since this first run they have rectified the problem which is good.  

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

I am entering the following challenges:

CAS on Friday Challenge - No. 312 Botanical (the birds are on a leafy branch..hope this counts).

Simply Clean and Simple Challenge - July'25 Anything CAS Goes/Beachy.

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 509 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.  (I have used snippets of white and red card throughout).

Cut It Up Challenge - No. 333 Critters.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 827 For A Child/Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge No. 76 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Color Hues Challenge - No. 113 Red and White.

Group of Seven - Generation Stamping

Hi everyone.  Another month has whizzed by and it's time for this month's technique over at the Group of Seven Cardmakers, and it's using generation stamping.  This is not a new technique but one perhaps that over time we do forget to include in our cardmaking and it can certainly be very effective.  For this card I have used a hill mask by Lavinia...one of a set, and also a stamp by Crafty Individuals called Wild Flowers and Fern Silhouette.  

I masked a panel on a piece of card 51/2" square and ink blended the hills and sky using a Lavinia mask and Peeled Paint Distress Ink at the bottom followed by Lettuce Adirondack Ink and then Crushed Olive DI, and for the sky Shaded Lilac and Tumbled Glass DI's.  I then removed the mask strips and added the flowers inking with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink, and then stamped again onto a spare piece of paper before stamping on the card for the second generation ones, and a little lower and two the right...I used a stamp positioner which is why I used a piece of paper placed in my Misti to remove some ink.   I finished by adding the little birds using a Black Micron Pen, and stamped and heat embossed the sentiment again using the Nocturne Ink, and I then added this to the 6" square white base card.  This is quite a simple card but I think the second generation inking of the flowers does add a bit more interest.  I did debate whether to try stamping the flowers again for some third generation ones but decided not too.  I have to keep telling myself that less is more...lol.

I hope you'll give this a go, and if you do there is a Linky at the bottom of the GO7 post where you can add your cards for us all to enjoy and get inspiration from.  You will also find great inspiration from the other members of the team and there are several videos you can look at too.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 826 Seaside/Anything Goes.
We Love Stamping Challenge - June'25 Nature/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - June'25 Our Furry Friends/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Simply Clean and Simple Challenge - Pretty Pinks/Anything Goes.

AAA Cards Challenge - No 293 Anything CAS Goes.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. Calendar - Week 4: A = Anything Goes.

Floral Flourish

Hi everybody.  I found a technique on line which I just had to do, sorry that I can't remember precisely where, but it involves masking to leave a white edge and then ink blending and after using an embossing folder over the whole thing dragging a contrasting ink pad across the raised areas just where the masked colour is.  I used a Lisa Horton 3D folder called Floral Flourish which I was lucky enough to win fairly recently and am using for the first time, and also Distress Inks in Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Peacock Feathers and Faded Jeans, and I used Hero Arts Unicorn as the contrasting ink.

I started with a piece of white card cut to fit the 6" square embossing folder and I then masked equally around the edges and applied the ink with a brush and blended well.  I then heat set the inks and ran the piece through the EF and then I cut back the edges a bit on each side to fit nicely on a 6" square white card.  I re-masked it and added the white ink over the coloured area.  Unfortunately the white seems to have picked up the underneath colour, especially over the green and the white ink pad which is new has acquired a green tinge.  I have rubbed the pad across a piece of kitchen towel a few times and it is better, but just hope that when I next use it the ink still comes through white.  I finished it with a white die cut bird found in my bits box and a die cut sentiment cut twice from white card to give it more substance and coloured using a Sharpie silver marker.  I should perhaps have put the sentiment onto a mat to make it stand out more but c'est la vie...lol.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 826 Seaside/Anything Goes.

Triple B Challenge - June '25 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (using one, two or all three).

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything Floral Goes/Optional Mood Board No. 30.

AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 74 No Stamping.
The Flower Challenge - No. 103 Add Embossing (Heat or Dry).

NBUS Challenge - No. 75 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also playing along with:

Darnell's June I.D.E.A.S. Calendar - This is Week 3: 'E' = Embossing /Wet or Dry.

Twirling Tulips

Hi all.  I have card today featuring a Spellbinder's 3D Embossing Folder called Twirling Tulips which I got in a recent sale and I decided to try an inking technique which I haven't done before which entails colouring on the debossed side and then dragging a dark ink pad over the top which colours the raised areas which in this case is the background and any raised details on the tulips and leaves...this is often called the blackout technique, although there maybe a proper name for it which I don't know..lol. 

 

I used my Lyra Aqua Brush Markers in yellow and orange on the flowers and a mid tone green for the leaves.  When I had finished this I used a Versafine Majestic Blue ink pad swiped very carefully over the top to colour the background.  I usually drag it vertically and then horizontally and I think this ink pad must be drying out a bit as it took a while to achieve a deep colour.  There are some raised areas of detail on both the flowers and the leaves which get covered with the blue ink which adds depth to them, but inevitably some of the blue got onto the leaves and so they look a bit green in places, but overall I was really pleased with the results.  I suppose the look of it is rather like the Joseph's Coat technique.  You can also ink the embossed side of the folder with the ink before running it through your machine which you would probably have to do a few times to build up the depth of colour, but I think I prefer this way of doing it.

The embossing folder is quite large about 8 1/2" x 5 3/4" so I decided to cut the piece in half and us it on a DL card.  I placed it on a white mat and then adhered it to the card.  I decided to cut a bit off the width of the card just to even it up a bit, and I then added a sentiment strip to finish using the Majestic Blue Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 825 What Makes You Happy?/Anything Goes (getting inky and trying new techniques make me happy).

The Flower Challenge - No. 103 Add Embossing (Heat or Dry).

AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 74 No Stamping.

I made this second card using another part of the leftover blackout embossed piece cut into a circle and matted onto a slightly larger circle and then framed using a stitched inverted scalloped circle die from a set by Crafters Companion called Inverted Stitched Lace Circle...each of the three scallop dies in the set comes with a plain circle die so you can have it cut into or cut out of the card.  I have had this for a while but am only now using it.  I finished it by adding a stamped sentiment using Majestic Blue Ink and heat embossed with the WOW Clear Gloss EP.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

Cut it Up Challenge - No. 331 Anything Goes.

CAS on Friday Challenge - No. 310 Embossing.

Addicted to CAS Challenge - No. 284 Floral.

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

Hello, Pinky Inky

Hi everyone.  This is a card for for our son Stewart in Australia and I have to allow about three weeks to be sure that it arrives in time, which it did...haven't always been lucky though.  This is a fun octopus by Pink Ink Designs and the way I have designed the card it looks as though it's emerging into the light curious to see what's going on.  A bit fanciful but they are very curious and apparently as cephalopods go quite intelligent...lol.  I have also used a set of circles from Creative Craft Products which I am using for the first time.  I got the idea of the circle apertures and bits of the creature emerging through them from this YouTube video by Deb Hallet which you will find here.  She does come up with some great ideas and I have used this octopus instead...I do love that toad though.

I started by stamping the octopus using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and then heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and cut it out.  I coloured it using my Distress Inks and a waterbrush using Fossilized Amber, Carved Pumpkin, Abandoned Coral, Brushed Corduroy and Pine Needles, and used a white Posca Pen to highlight the suckers and the white of the eye.  I then moved on to the background using a piece of white card just a little smaller than the 7" x 5" card, and my Brushos in Sea Green, Ost. Blue and Turquoise and then cut out the three apertures with a set of circle dies by Creative Craft Products which I am using for the first time, using a larger one for the centre aperture and one a size smaller for the other two.  I decided on the position of the octopus and then stuck it to the background adding the circles behind over which I decided to ink blend some Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans DI to make it look as it if it is appearing from a darker space, and then finished by adding the sentiment using Versafine Majestic Blue Ink.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - June '25 Nature/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - June '25 Our Furry Friends/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 824 Happy 16th Birthday/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

The Male Room Challenge - No. 198 Under the Sea.

Cut it Up Challenge - No. 331 Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge - No. 75 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Darnells I.D.E.A.S. - Week 1 Ink/Colour Mediums.

Group of Seven - Batik

Hi everybody.  This month over at the Group of Seven Cardmakers it is all about creating the look of Batik on cards by using an emboss resist technique.  I used a fern from a set called Grasses by Art Journey and a couple of different leaves from a set by Chocolate Baroque called From Nature 1.  I also used the Torn Edge Oval dies from Creative Craft Products and a Crafter's Companion set of leaf dies called Thankful and Blessed - Forest Floor.

I started by ink blending some different colours onto a piece of white card cut to fit a 6" square base card using Ripe Persimmon, Salty Ocean, Mustard Seed and Blueprint Sketch Distress Inks.  I kept the coverage quite light and then covered the piece with the fern and leaves using Versamark Ink and heat set with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, first making sure the background inking was perfectly dry and I also dusted it with an anti static bag.  In between adding the various stamped and embossed leaves I added a bit more colour so that some are paler and those added later were a bit darker as the strength of colour beneath the embossing was heavier.  I felt that there were still too many big gaps and perhaps needed a flower stamp, and I had the Spellbinders Bold Blooms out and I decided to make a stamp from one of the smaller flowers using craft foam, and I die cut one and then cut it twice more from a bit of white card and layered them together with the craft foam on the top.  I then inked it with the Versamark and tested it out on a scrap of card and it worked well, so I used that a few times to fill the gaps.  I then inked over it all with the first three colours but the images still did not seem to stand out enough so I used the Blueprint Sketch DI over the whole thing to give it more definition and it just darkened the background sufficiently to make the images pop a bit more.  The last step was adding the creases to the card with a bone folder, and at random intervals and slanted rather than straight across the card I think looks best, and I then inked again with the Blueprint Sketch to add ink into the creases.  I did also run the bone folder over the back of the piece to flatten it out a bit which made it easier to add onto the card but didn't spoil the look of the creasing.

I finished the card by adding a Torn Edge Oval sentiment plate and inked and heat embossed the sentiment quite lightly with Versafine Majestic Blue with a bit of the Salty Ocean ink over the top to keep it a bit lighter, and clear embossed with WOW EP, and a little Salty Ocean left on the brush added around the edges, and also added three gold die cut leaves using the Crafter's Companion set and having its first outing, and then added this all onto a 6" square white card.

You can also add just one colour on the background and then stamp and emboss the images and also if you prefer you can stamp and emboss straight onto the white card and then add some colour over the top and then the images will be white, and also instead of stamps you emboss through a stencil which works well too.  If you want to see more do go and visit the GO7 blog and you will find lots of wonderful examples of ways of doing this technique and also a link to a video, and if you make something there is a Linky at the bottom of the page where you can add it for us all to see and enjoy.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 824 Happy Birthday/Anything Goes.  How great to have reached 16 years!

NBUS Challenge - No. 74 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 493 Birthdays.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

A Sweet Little Tag

Hi all.  There is a new challenge in Blogland being run by Brenda, Lynn and Pinky featuring Tags and ATC's, and I wish them lots of luck with this fun new challenge.  I must say I don't make many tags and I have never made an ATC but it's good to challenge oneself so here goes.  I used a set of stamps by Chocolate Baroque called Honey Bee, and I have never used these particular two stamps before so time I did.  

I cut the tag from white card and it is 31/2" x 6" and I stamped the beehive and flowers using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and I added the cloudy sky using Salty Ocean Distress Ink and a cloud shape as a mask which I had in my bits box and not sure where it came from but I thought it was a good size for this tag,  and ink blended using a brush.   I kept it light as I didn't mask the top part of the stamped image.  I then added the grass using Mowed Lawn DI to the bottom half.  I coloured the image using a set of pencils by Lyra and finished the scene by adding some yellow Posca pen to the centres of the flowers and a white Posca to add some flower to the Queen Anne's Lace on the right and also on the wings of the little bees.  I decided to add a larger bee also in the Honey Bee set and again stamped it with the Nocturne Ink and then cut it out..the legs of the bee were rather fine and one or two legs lost little bits but I cut the corresponding leg down to even them up..lol.  I then found a piece of string to loop through the punched hole at the top and I decided to add the bee to the bottom of the strings as a little further fun effect.  

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Tag-Along (and ATC's) May Challenge - Anything Goes.

We Love Stamping Challenge - May '25 Four Legged Friends/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - May '25 Feminine/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Things with Wings.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Things with Wings.

NBUS Challenge - No. 74 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Chess Art

Hi all.  I have a masculine card today using an old Aall & Create stamp No. 115 called Chess Art, and a set of DL Torn Edge Dies.

I used an offcut of white card big enough to fit on a DL card and stamped it in Black Stazon ink having tried my Versafine Clair and Archival black inks.  I'm not sure why it was so difficult to get a good clear image as I used my stamp positioner but as you can see it is a very detailed stamp, and I eventually got there.  I then coloured it using Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink and a waterbrush.  I then used some Fossilized Amber DI to watercolour the background and I cut it using a DL Torn Edge die, another new set and being used for the first time.  I got a few different sets of these over at the Craft Stash sale as I just love the look of them.  I finished the card with a sentiment stamped with Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  

I am entering the following challenges:

Color Hues Challenge - No. 109 Blue and Yellow.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 822 Inspired by a Song/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 73 Anything Birthday Goes (congratulations on your 6th birthday).

NBUS Challenge - No. 74 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also linking this over at Darnell's blog:

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

Group of Seven - Gilding Flakes on Acetate

Hi everyone.  A new month starts over at the Group of Seven Cardmakers, and we are shining a light on using gilding flakes on acetate.  I don't think I have used acetate with gilding flakes before so something new.  This card uses the Cosmic Shimmer Autumn Leaves Gilding Flakes with a bee stamp from Art Journey called Honey Bee, and a background made using a Tim Holtz stencil called Honeycomb and some DecoArt White Modelling Paste.

I started with a piece of acetate and covered the bee stamp with Zig glue with a wide flat nib applicator which makes it easier to spread the glue over the stamp, and having made sure all the stamp looked amply covered I stamped it using my stamp positioner for more accuracy and if an extra application of glue should be needed.  I did apply the glue again and stamped once more and then very quickly laid it on some paper and covered it with plenty of gilding flakes and pressed down making sure they made good contact with the glued image and then left them like that for a few minutes before very carefully brushing away the surplus flakes with my fingers, and then I used the scoochy to burnish it.  I won't say it was a perfect outline but I had already decided to cut the bee out and I refined the edges as I cut it, especially on the legs where the flakes had spread so I did cut the outlines back a bit looking at the photo on the front of the stamp to see how it should look, and I did scratch off the flakes where I thought the eyes should be and added a bit of copper Sharpie pen over those.  Then I went on to stencil the honeycomb onto the centre area of a piece of square white card cut to fit a 6" square card base with a fairly narrow border.  I coloured the paste with some yellow and and orange Brusho powders and then used the paste in the centre trying to keep the edges a little rough, and then left it to dry.  I finished the background with a sentiment stamped with Versafine Vintage Sepia and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and I also added some foam tape down the centre of the bee to raise it up a little.

I am entering the card above in the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - April '25 Anything Goes/Favourite Stamps.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - April '25 Birds, Animals, Flowers and Nature/Anything Goes.

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

For my second card I thought I would used a set of Creative Craft Products Torn Edge Stars and a Crafts Too Stars Embossing Folder which I have had for quite a long while and it is only now being used for the first time.  I used one of the stars to cut an aperture in the centre of a piece of white card cut to fit a 6" square card and then used the Stars EF over it, extending it as it is an A6 size, and this worked well.  I then cut a smaller star to fit inside the aperture using some acetate.  I did intend to use some glue through a star stencil and then add the gilding flakes, but this did not work well and I tried several times but the small stars looked extremely blobby although I used a blending tool with a good covering of glue added to the sponge which I thought was the best way to do it.  I then decided instead to cover the whole star with glue and then cover it with the flakes.  I then backed this acetate star with another star cut from black card and then put the card together.  I added a banner sentiment across it stamping with Versamark ink and heat embossed with WOW Metallic Brass Embossing Powder. 

I am entering the above card in the following challenges:

Addicted to CAS Challenge - No. 281 Star.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 822 Inspired by a Song/Anything Goes (Catch a Falling Star by Perry Como.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - April '25 Anything Goes/Weather.

Rudolph Days Challenge - Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge - No. 73 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge - April '25 Technique: Stamping.

Peace on Earth Challenge - April '25 Anything Goes.

My last card is not made using the acetate but I will show it anyway as it is mounted onto the acetate instead.  I used up some remnants of some very old gilding flakes covering a piece of white card with some adhesive sheet and then added the gilding flakes over this and then die cut some Spellbinder Bold Bloom flowers and leaves being used for the first time, and added these to the piece of acetate.  I added a Reverse Scallop die cut frame from Crafter's Companion, also being used for the first time, and coloured it with a copper Sharpie pen, added a piece of blue card behind the acetate and a die cut sentiment which I cut from a piece of white card heat embossed with WOW Metallic Copper EP.  On reflection I think the Metallic Brass I used on the last card would have matched a bit better but it does look a lighter colour in real life.  This was mounted onto a 7" x 5" white card. 

I am entering the above card in the following challenges:

Seize the Birthday Challenge - No. 304 Anything Goes/Stencilling.

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - No. 28 Anything Floral Goes.

Triple B Challenge - April '25 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (using 1, 2 or all 3).

I have to say I don't think acetate and I mix terribly well..lol, and I think that the Flitter Glue from Indigoblu is the best one for using with stamps for a good clear outline and I have used this in the past and it did work well with the flakes but I don't have any at present, and they do say you can use any glue but the other glues I have did not work so well for me.  I think my last card has the look of the technique but was a bit of a cheat, but nevertheless I was pleased with it.  The other ladies over at the GO7 have produced some beautiful cards so do take a look and if you give it a go there is a Linky at the bottom of the post for you to add your cards for us all to see.

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

Flying Pelican

Hi everyone.  I have a masculine card today using the Pink Ink Pelican and I used the smaller silhouette image which I haven't used before.  I also used a Sea Green Brusho, an orange alcohol marker and a white Posca pen.  I watch a lady called Deb Hallet on YouTube and she did a card yesterday which inspired me to make my version of it as I thought it was a clever idea.  If you are interested the link to it is here.

I started with a piece of white card cut to fit a 6" square card and sprinkled the Brusho powder from the bottom right hand corner up towards the middle of the card, spritzed it with some water and then dabbed away where it pooled around the edges and left it to dry.  I then stamped the silhouette pelican using Versafine Clair Nocturne ink and took my white Posca pen and gradually covered the black image with the white making it thick enough to cover nicely.  I then went round the outline with a pencil instead of a black Micron pen just to define it as I thought the black might be a bit heavy.  I then added the orange alcohol marker over the bill and the feet.  I finished by splattering the white Posca over the sea area, and inevitably it did go a bit further than I intended but it gives the impression of spume off the water, and I also quite lightly added a little on the waves too..I decided less is more and I did cover the pelican and the very bottom corner before I did it.  I then added the sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.   

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Colour Hues Challenge - No. 107 Orange and Teal.

We Love Stamping Challenge - April '25 Anything Goes/Favourite Stamps.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - April '25 Birds, Animals, Flowers and Nature/Anything Goes.

Triple B Challenge - April '25 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (using one, two or all three).

N.B.U.S. Challenge - No. 73 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. - Week 1 Ink/Color Mediums.

First Christmas Card for 2025

Hi all.  I decided to make a Christmas card this week inspired by the GO7 theme this month of pastes, and for the background I used some DecoArt white paste coloured with Brushos and added through a Crafter's Companion stencil which came with Box Set No. 6.  I also used a die set from Spellbinders called Winter Evergreen Foliage and Lady Bugs, and also a set of Creative Craft Products Torn Edge Stars both being used for the first time.

I coloured the paste with Turquoise and a little Ost. Blue Brusho and used it through the stencil.  I then went on to die cut three pieces of foliage using some snippets of white card and two of the dies from the set cutting two of the die which had little spaces on the stems to add the berries.  I decided to colour them in a bluey purple more like juniper, and I found a die which came as part of another set of Spellbinder dies called Balloons & Birthday Wishes which was a small round centre for one of the flowers and seemed to be the perfect size for a berry, so I cut lots of those from more snippets of white card and shaped them on a foam mat with a ball tool before colouring them with my alcohol pens and then added them to the already inked branches...again various greens and a brown used to give a more varied look to them...mind you I don't think the brown stems are very visible.  I finished by glossing the berries using Glossy Accents.

I decided to make a bunch of the foliage and cut a star again using a snippet of white card and my newly acquired set of the Torn Edge dies and inked the edges using Broken China Distress Ink and then added the foliage on top.  I then found a piece of silver embroidery thread using all the layers and formed a bow which I stuck at the top of the bunch of foliage.  I finished by adding the snowflake background and then used some very thin foam on the back of the star and also the sentiment strip placed across the star, cut from another snippet of white card, and which I had heat embossed using WOW Metallic Silver Embossing Powder. 

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 503 Where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

Merry Little Christmas Challenge - No. 61 Anything Christmas Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 820 Spring Flowers/Anything Goes.

Stencil Fun Challenge - April '25 Anything Goes/Patterns.

NBUS Challenge - No. 73 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I.D.E.A.S. Challenge - Week 1 - Ink/Colour Mediums.
Group of Seven Cardmakers - March Technique - Using Embossing Paste.

Group of Seven - Embossing Paste Product Focus

Hi everyone.  Another month has rushed by and this month over at the Group of Seven we are looking at embossing paste and what you can do with it.  This is not something that I have used very much before but it does add an extra something to your stencilling, adding texture and with lots of different finished looks using pastes with shimmer in them, or adding glitter or embossing powder or things like fibres or micro beads, and waiting until it's dry to heat emboss the powder, or whilst wet to give a more puffed up look to it.  You can also add colour to white paste using any water based medium for endlessly different looks, mixing it in or adding it after it is dry.  For my card I chose a shimmery relief paste with a titanium coloured finish to it, and I used a Crafter's Companion heart stencil which came as part of a set of three different designs and called Love Hearts and being used for the first time.  I also incorporated a few die cuts from a Spellbinders set called Bold Blooms the rest of which I have yet to use, and ditto another Spellbinders set called Balloons and Birthday Wishes.

I cut a piece of card to fit a 6" square base card and then added the paste through the taped down stencil masking off the rest of the card.  I used a small palette knife to spread it, and it worked quite well, though I do think that I found it easier the few times I have tried this before by using an old plastic store card at a slight angle to pull the paste across. When dry I decided to add the extra hearts placed on the ends of some flower stems and balloon strings.  I cut off the branches on the flower stems to give one long stem, and they were a bit shorter, and I also used the balloon strings from the other set but as they were rather thin and seemed a bit flimsy I glued two back to back on three of them..not the easiest thing, but they look OK I think.  I also used the stencil and pencil marked around one of the larger hearts cutting two with my small decoupage scissors which I doubled up for more dimension.  I then found various little die cut hearts which I keep in a pot and used some in three different sizes and I coloured them with a couple of pink alcohol pens.  I used a lighter pink then decided to darken them a bit so added another colour over the top of each.  I then added a heart to each of the stems, and I decided at this point to add some Glossy Accents to all of them for a bit of pretty shine.  I also used some of the Glossy Accents as a glue over the right hand heart and stuck the heart stems down to it before adding the double layer pink heart over the top and used it behind each of the hearts to stick them down to the card..it is good for something like this as it sticks extremely firmly.  I didn't like the look of the stems beneath the heart so I cut them off so that they emerge from under the heart, and I also added the sentiment heat embossing with WOW Metallic Silver Embossing Powder, and added the five tiny hearts around it.  The titanium colour of the paste does look more silver in reality than it does in the photo which has given it a more beige tone for some reason, so the silver embossed sentiment does look a better match than it appears here.

I hope that if you haven't tried this you will be encouraged to give these pastes a go as they do give the card a bit of a 'wow' factor, and I think mine could have been smoother but not too bad considering I haven't done this technique much before.  I have seen some pastes used over an open embossing folder and left to dry, and I did give this a try with a normal folder using one that I got years ago and which if ruined would not be the end of the world.  This paste didn't release from the folder very well, but I may not have spread it quite thick enough I think, but I have another paste which has a thicker consistency which is a modelling paste made by DecoArt and this did work better and released well..again would have looked better if it had been applied a bit thicker, and I will perhaps give it a proper go during the month and put the card up on the GO7 post.

If you do give this a try do come and add your card to the Linky which you will find at the bottom of the post so we can all enjoy them, and you will also find some wonderful cards made with this technique there from the other ladies, and explanations of how they made them over on their own blogs.  

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Stencil Fun Challenge - Anything Goes/Splatters.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

N.B.U.S. Challenge - No. 72 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.
Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. - Week 4 - A = Anything Goes.
Simply Clean & Simple Challenge - March'25 Anything Goes/Shades of Green.

Birthday Squirrel

Hi everybody.  This is a masculine card featuring the same squirrel stamp used on my last card here, and this was supposed to be on the card but I decided this darker shade of blue didn't look right so it was left sitting on my table.  I also used the set of Torn Edge Squares..I'm a bit obsessed with these at the moment..lol, and also a Lavinia stencil called Laurel.  I'm still keeping it simple at the moment.

I began by die cutting the piece of card with the squirrel on using a smaller Torn Edge Die and then added the sentiment using the same Versafine Majestic Blue Ink..both the squirrel image and the sentiment have been heat embossed using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then die cut a larger one from the set, about 5" square and then dry embossed the leaves onto it.  I accidentally did it wrong and got the raised leaves on the reverse of the die cut but decided that I would leave it like this and I ink blended using several green Distress Inks to highlight the stencilling, namely Twisted Citron, Lucky Clover and Pine Needles.  I gradually darkened the look until I was happy as I wanted to make sure that the leaf shapes showed up sufficiently which I think they now do, but without making it too dark wanting to keep the fresh spring colours.  I put the 6" square card together and raised up the central mat with some craft foam for added dimension. 

Just before I finish I have noticed that over the last few weeks my follower numbers have dropped, only by a few and maybe they have just decided to leave, but then within the last day they dropped by two more which does seem a bit odd.  I wondered if others have notice that suddenly the number of followers has changed.  Maybe this is down to blogger so I had a look at a few of the ones I follow to compare and all seemed OK, so it is a bit of a conundrum.    

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

We Love Stamping Challenge - March'25 Hello Spring/Anything Goes.
Stamping Sensations Challenge - March '25 Hello Spring/Anything Goes.
Allsorts Challenge - No. 819 Feminine/Anything Goes.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Have Fun With Stencils.
Stencil Fun Challenge - Anything Goes/Splatters.
Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Spring Fling.
Darnell's I.D.EA.S. - Week 3 Embossing.

Spring Flowers

Hi all.  I was lucky enough to be a randomly picked winner of a couple of Aall & Create stamps and this card today features one of them. The title of the stamp is The Best You Ever Had, not sure why this title, but to me they look like crocuses so hence my title of Spring Flowers..I did though use a bit of artistic licence as I don't think that crocuses are every coral pink, but was one of the colours on the package which I thought looked quite pretty.  I decided to keep it simple as my hand is still not back to full strength, but is a lot better than it was, and I just added the double mat using a recent purchase of these Oval Torn Edge Dies from Creative Craft Products which were in a recent sale and I do love the look of these so they inevitably slipped into my basket..lol, and this is their first outing.

I did find that stamping this very detailed stamp came out a bit dark with black ink so I tried again with Versafine Smokey Gray which was better.  I then coloured using my alcohol pens, but perhaps should have chosen lighter colours or maybe watercolour or coloured pencils, though my hand is still not keen on using pencils, but which may have made the finished effect a bit lighter and brighter.  I did also add a bit of blue grey to shade a few of bits of the dotty grid in the background, but I don't think it shows up very well.  I also used a black fine micron pen to add in the stamens and then used a white gel pen for the stamens themselves which worked OK.  I just finished it with a birthday sentiment  and added it to 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 - March '25 Hello Spring/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - March '25 Hello Spring/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No.  818 CAS/Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge - No. 72 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - For A Lady.

Triple B Challenge - March '25 Using Birds, Butterflies or Blooms (one, two or all three).

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything Floral Goes/Optional Mood Board No. 26.

Darnell's I.D.E.A.S.  - Week 2 - Dies.

AAA Cards Challenge - No. 285 Anything Goes.

Group of Seven - Floating Frames

Hi everybody.  I'm back with this month's technique over at the Group of Seven Cardmakers and have made a card using a new lower case alphabet set from Card Making Magic and also a squirrel stamp from a set called Christmas Animals by the RSPB both being used for the first time.  This set of stamps is very versatile as the animals are woodland creatures so not merely something to use on winter/seasonal cards.

The floating frame gives lots of dimension and I merely cut the letters for 'happy birthday' out twice and coloured one set using Salty Ocean Distress Ink blending with a brush, and added these randomly over the frame which I had cut using two sizes of a set of Torn Edge Squares which I've used on a couple of fairly recent cards.  It is also useful to have some Press-n-Seal so that when you have laid out the images on the card you can place a piece of this over the top and it holds everything down in place whilst you die cut the frame, but I decided that my card is 300gsm and with the extra pieces of alphabet also cut from the same card my machine would not handle that thickness well, so I decided to cut the frame and then add the letters onto the frame keeping them in place with the Press-n-Seal so that I could then turn the letters over still stuck to that whilst I then stuck the dimensionals to the letters and then placed that down onto the frame all in one go to stick it all down at once when I had it in the correct postion, lifting it away from the letters when stuck firmly down on the card frame.  I then infilled around the letters with bits of the white alphabet just to fill in some gaps.  In fact there weren't that many gaps as the letters I used were quite large and close together, and with hindsight perhaps slightly smaller letters might have worked better, and unfortunately I had to cut most of the tails off the two 'ys' so they do look rather like 'vs', but would have been much more fiddly to stick, as even this size of letters took quite a time to fix in place.  I did make it more difficult for myself with partial letters which I had to cut to fit the torn edge, and in future I think I would stick to using a straight edge to line up with.  I finished by adding the sweet little squirrel onto a separate piece of card stamping with a coordinating blue ink and then heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and I then glued this in place behind the aperture.

This technique is quite effective and you can of course stamp and colour some images and then cut them out with a corresponding die, or fussy cut by hand which would be more time consuming, but at present I am still hampered by my sore hand and wrist which is improving but still aches when I'm using it a lot, and I did add a bit of extra darker colour to the squirrel using a pencil as I decided the inked outline was a little pale, but having to press down when colouring is still not comfortable so kept that to a minimum.

There are a couple of videos to watch over at the Group of Seven and also the other ladies have made some wonderful cards to take a look at and you can find out more from their own blogs too, and there is a link so any cards you make using this technique can be added for us all to enjoy.  

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

I am entering the following challenges:

The Male Room Challenge - No. 195 Monochrome.

NBUS Challenge - Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

CAS Valentine

Hi everyone.  With my present wrist and hand problems I had not thought I would manage to make a card for hubby, but last night I did think that maybe a fairly straightforward card would be OK, so I set to.  I used a medium sized heart die from a set by Sweet Dixie, and some papers from The Works which I bought back in the summer but this is the first time I have used any of them, and I also used a 'love' die which I got at The Range a long time ago.

I started with a piece of white card cut to 51/2" square, and then decided where to place the heart taking into account that I wanted to place the 'love' over part of it, so put it over to the left a bit.  After cutting the aperture I then cut the heart from one of the papers which had tones of red and grey and I attached this to the white heart which came out of the aperture in the white card, just to give it more substance and to keep it level with the surrounding card when placed back in.  I then cut the 'love' out of the white layer with the heart kept in the aperture, and as it was quite thick it did take a few goes twisting the piece and running it back and forward to cut through, but eventually I got there, and I made sure to keep the spare pieces of the paper as well as the white piece to fill in the 'e'.  I decided that I would mat the white piece onto a piece of black card and after doing that I stuck the heart in the aperture and put the black 'love' into place, adding in the little pieces to finish the design...done!

I was pleased that I gave it a go as it is the first time that I have made anything since I fell over, and although my hand did ache a bit I managed it, so onwards and upwards as they say.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Feb. '25 Anything Goes/The Color Red.

CAS on Friday Challenge - No. 302 Valentine.

Simply Clean and Simple Challenge - Feb. '25 Anything Goes/Love and/or Hearts.

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Romance.

NBUS Challenge - No. 71 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Daisy Bouquet and Beautiful Bee

Hi everybody.  I recently had a bit of a tumble when I tripped and fell whilst out on a walk around the village where we live as I have been a bit of a couch potato and thought it was time for me to try and get fitter..lol.  I pitched forward and my glasses pressed into my nose and above my right eye so I don't look too good at the moment, and unfortunately also hurt my right hand which was very swollen and bruised and although it is a lot better than it was I still don't have the full use back, so doing any cardmaking has been a no no...such a pity it was on tarmac and not grass as I would probably have faired better.  

I have been looking back through my drafts and I have come across this birthday card using Tattered Lace freebie dies from several years back, and also this pretty die cut frame of flowers and birds which doesn't seem to be available now.  Not sure why I never got around to showing it but thought now might be a good time.

I started by cutting the frame from white card and it did take a bit of cutting as it is quite intricate.  I then die cut two of the flower stems and one of the bee and coloured them with my blending tool using some Distress Inks - Mowed Lawn, Wilted Violet and Scattered Straw.  I decided to make them symmetrical so obviously one is coloured on the back and they don't look quite the same but I decided this was OK.  I then blended some Mustard Seed on to a small piece of white card and cut it to fit behind the main piece of the bee for the stripes.  I did use my waterbrush and a black Inktense Pencil for the body of the bee as I definitely didn't want to get any black on the wings which I made sparkle using a Clear Wink of Stella Pen, and I added some Glossy Accents to the body of the bee.

To finish I found a piece of paper from a 6" square pad by Craft Consortium called Grunge - Light Tones to which I added background hills using a mask and some Stormy Sky Distress Ink, and I also blended a little Mowed Lawn underneath.  I then added this to my 7" square card (a bit larger as I didn't have to post it) and placed the white frame over the top and glued the two flower stems just under the edge of the frame and used some Pinflair Glue Gel under the flower heads and the body of the bee, and the white wings have some added Wink of Stella   I then stamped and clear heat embossed the sentiment using Versafine Deep Lagoon Ink and WOW Clear Gloss EP.

I am going to try to finish a card I started before I got into my present state and hopefully I will then put that up...wish me luck.

Thank you for visiting me here today and I hope to see you again soon.                                                                          

I am entering the following chalenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 816 Romance and/or Music/Anything Goes.

Triple B Challenge - Feb. '25 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (using any one, two or all three).

Love Those Pretty Papers Challenge - Feb. '25 Anything Goes/Red using your papers,

Floral Heart Anniversary

Hi there.  I suddenly realised that I had some freebie digital stamps from Uniko which I found when looking through some stuff on the computer and have never used before, and thought I would use this heart shaped  floral for an upcoming anniversary.  

Unfortunately I can only use fairly lightweight paper in my printer as it is one which turns it to bring it out the way it goes in and this means I can only colour with pencils or use very little water if watercolouring and inevitably it usually cockles a bit.  I decided to try my alcohol pens this time and it wasn't bad but there was some bleeding in a few places which meant that I had to fussy cut rather than leave a bit of white around the edges.  It was very fiddly but I got there in the end with just one cut where there shouldn't have been one..lol, but I managed to glue it all in place on the white background card using a Zig Two Way Glue Pen with a wide nib to spread it on as it does not wet the paper too much, but if you take too long it becomes repositionable which is probably what happened as I spent quite a bit of time going back over the bits that didn't stick properly but I got there in the end.

I finished it with a matted layer which I coloured round the edges using one of the green alcohol pens I used to colour with, and I added a sentiment in the centre of the heart using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I also used a fine Black Micron Pen around the edge of some of the image where I had cut it a bit tight and lost the black edge..I think it just cleans it up a bit.  

Thank you for your visit today and I'll see you again soon.     

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - No. 816 Romance and/or Music.

CAS on Friday Challenge - No. 301 Flowers.

Digi Choosday Cardmaking & Crafting Challenge - Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge - Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.