Happy, Happy Birthday

Hello again. I have a birthday card to share using some new products from Spellbinders:

There are a couple of challenges calling for Spring themed cards, so I used the new dies from Spellbinders which included these bluebells and pansies, and some bright card stock off-cuts I have handy.

I first cut and layered the pansies, then the bluebells, adding the stalks. The bluebell stalks hold one flower, but I layered three together to create several which dangle from the same stem.

The background panel was created using an older SIzzix 3D embossing folder and trimmed down slightly.

The bottom light brown/Kraft section was cut, and then the border added so it looked like a window box.

The flowers were arranged, then stems tucked beneath the brown section, with 3D foam behind each flower head.

The sentiment is from Pinkfresh Studio – stamped then die cut – and two of the spare bluebell flowers attached to the side.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Seize The Birthday – birthday and Spring Garden

CYHTP – embossing folder with option of blue on blue not taken

Cut It Up – die cuts and colours of Spring

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and birthday/anniversary

Mixed Media Butterflies

Hello everyone. I am here to announce the new challenge starting at The Alphabet Challenge. We have reached the letter ‘Z‘, and Deborah has chosen the theme of:

Z is for Zoology

Here is my card:

As you can see I chose butterflies, which – according to Google – are classed under the order of Lepidoptera.

I started by grabbing the Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous red rubber stamp set called ‘Flutter‘ and chose to go down the mixed media path.

I first grabbed my Distress Pencils, some water, and then coloured each butterfly stamp with the wet pencil nibs in a selection of colours, applied a spray of water to that, then stamped.

This gave a water-colour pattern, not precise, which is what I was going for. After that had dried, I fussy-cut them out…..yep, me, fussy-cutting…….!!

Now for the background panel.

This was created with a piece of Distress watercolour card, some script stamps, Distress pencils – using the same wet pencil to stamp technique, and stamped a couple of times.

This was left to dry whilst I hunted out more stamps I could use, and found a label stamp on which I used a light purple Distress pencil – same technique – wet nib then spritz.

Once the panel was dry, some splatters applied and left to dry – again.

I then used a stencil from Finnabair ‘Gothic’ script and some clear embossing paste – you can see a slight shine in some parts on the background.

Once everything was dry, I attached the background panel to a white card base, created a little curve in the butterfly wings and attached with glue – 3D foam under each wing to maintain dimension.

The foiled sentiment was added – silver on black – and little black gems stuck down as you see.

I hope you can come and join us with your projects following our theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Just Add Ink – inspiration & colours – pink, brown – light and dark, white,

Addicted to Stamps & More – die cuts and/or stencils – stencil on background

Stamping Sensations – stamping and inspired by nature

Triple B – birds and/or butterflies and/or blooms

Ellibelle’s Corner Garden Party – anything in or from the garden

When it rains – look for rainbows

Hello there. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. Sue J is hosting, and she has chosen the theme of:

April Showers

Here is my card:

I decided to go slimline with this card to get more umbrellas on there, so I created the background panel using a Clearly Besotted stencil, Versamark ink, and silver embossing powder. I had to move the 6 x 6 inch stencil to cover all the background panel – but it worked out well.

The rainbow umbrellas were created using a Spellbinders die set, ink blending a slightly darker colour for the under-side of each umbrella, and adding the lacy layer – ink blended to be slightly darker – for a little more interest and dimension.

The sentiment is from an older Avery Elle stamp set – stamped then cut into a rectangle.

I hope you can come and join us with your creations following our theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Addicted to Stamps & More – die cuts and/or stencils (both used)

Ellibelle’s Corner I Spy – Spring flowers or Spring showers

All White Christmas

I have a card to share which took me a while to make – going back to my die-cutting roots of more than 10 years ago. This is the kind of card I used to create all the time – lots of die cutting, lots of movement, lots of dimension – and large. I usually had to make boxes for these cards to go into.

I followed the current theme at 52 CCT – the theme is ‘All white‘. I wanted poinsettia dies – of which I seem to have quite a few – and used Honey Bee Stamps ‘Winter Bouquets‘ for the flowers.

I die cut the flowers out of white and also out of a white glitter card stock from Pink Frog Crafts – a local crafting shop. I created three poinsettia – alternating white and glitter card for the layers – slightly curving the petals on each layer before sticking them together.

Then for the card base – an 8 inch square ‘ice white’ card, matted with glitter card, then a frame die cut from Sue Wilson square dies. This frame has three layers for added dimension, then glued onto the glitter card.

I arranged the flowers, then thought about foliage and the sentiment.

The foliage is die cut from other Sue Wilson die sets using white card. The sentiment is from Concord & 9th – the shadow layer from white card stock and the words from glitter card.

I first arranged how I wanted everything, then glued the base of each of the foliage die cuts which would under the flowers, then stuck the flowers down with 3D foam – that way the foam could also ‘catch’ each the base of each of the foliage layers, leaving the other end of each to have flow and movement.

The sentiment was attached with a glue and 3D foam, then the finishing touch was to add some white gems – from Phil Martin – which I have had for ages. The larger of the three sizes for the centre of the flowers. with the medium and small gems for each corner of the frame.

I enjoyed going back in time to create this card – lots of dimension and movement……

I shall be entering the following challenges:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown – Christmas and all white

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Mix It Up – anything goes with option of die cuts taken

Peace On Earth – anything goes Christmas

12 Months of Christmas Link-Up – anything goes Christmas – option of Nordic Noel not taken

Christmas Crafts All year Round – Christmas with G or H – G is for Glitter

Thank You For Being You

Hello there. I have a card to share using a pale pink and pale blue:

My starting point for this card was to use the images from Pinkfresh Studio, products from the recent SCT event. The stamp set is called ‘Delicate Whispers‘ and comes with four of the floral images in one stamp, so I stamped twice using a brown Gina K ink instead of black for a softer outline.

Once stamped, I ink blended the light pink and light blue Pinkfresh Studio inks, then die cut with the matching die. I die cut another layer to place behind for more stability – each floral image layered twice.

I wanted to place several of the images on a card front, so I then used the Waffle Flower ‘Postage Collage Blocks’ stencil to shade each block with both of those colours.

The sentiment was stamped – from the same Pinkfresh Studio stamp set – then the panel adhered to a white card base with 3D foam.

Each of the images was glued down, and then some light blue sparkle gems from Spellbinders added here and there.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

(PIN)spirational – pale pink and pale blue

Allsorts – in the garden

A Cut Above – die cuts option of pastels

Triple B – birds and/or butterflies and/or blooms

Ellibelle’s Corner Garden Party – anything in or from the garden

Patterned Paper Play

Hello once again. I am stepping out of my comfort zone to play with some patterned papers from 49 & Market. I have had these – along with many more – in my stash for absolutely ages, and I was in the mood to play yesterday. I created 3 cards:

I think that these collections from 49 & Market are best suited to folios, but I have never tried one – maybe that is another comfort zone exit for the future…….

I created 6 x 6 inch card bases in the colours I thought would match the images, and matted a slightly smaller layer onto them.

I cut apart the images and strips from the collection, played around with mats and layers until I was happy, then either glued or used 3D foam to put everything together.

There are lots of images and papers left over, and I may explore different card styles and folds over the next few days, maybe even some folio pages – I found a folio in my stash when tidying up a little – who knew I had one of those……?

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Craft Rocket – layer it up

Crafts Galore – anything goes

Love Those Pretty Patterned Papers – patterned papers – option of spring flowers

Cupcake Birthday

Hello everyone. I’m a little late posting this card, as I had to wait for some of the items to dry. I was inspired by the current challenge at Time Out – the theme is ‘Sweet Treats‘. Here is my card:

I started by creating the cupcake, and using products – again – from the recent SCT event. This cupcake die is from Pretty Pink Posh. I die cut the base of the cupcake in a light pink, the blue layer from a textured blue card stock, and the topping from brown – chocolate must have been on my mind…

I used a little ink blending around the edges of each die cut, and even across the middle of the topping layers to create some dimension. These two layers were applied to the cupcake base with 3D foam. The cherry is also from the same die set, die cut from light pink, ink blended around the edges, assembled, then glossy accents applied for a little shine.

Whilst drying, I die cut the sentiment – from a Simon Hurley/Spellbinders die set – the banner out of dark blue, the letters from the sentiment were attached – each individual piece of each letter – using the other piece as a template to get the spacing right.

The background is a lilac piece of card stock, and run through with a Spellbinders embossing folder, and white pigment ink gently swiped across the top to try and pick up some details. You can see that more on the banner sections of the background.

Another addition was to splatter some Lawn Fawn ‘Liquid Stardust’ across the background panel, and across the cupcake.

The background panel was adhered with glue, the cupcake and sentiment were adhered with 3D foam.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Time Out – Sweet Treats

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Craft Rocket – layer it up

CAS Hello

Hello again. I have a card to share for my next voyage into the CAS realm.

This card was created by using a Spellbinders stencil, selective masking, and ink blending.

I took the stencils and decided which part of the whole image I wanted to put down into the bottom left corner. This was done directly onto a white Neenah 110lbs card base, used some low tack tape to mask off areas I didn’t want, and used Pinkfresh Studio inks.

This did take a little planning, and initially I didn’t want the two buds on there, but when it came to ink blending the uppermost flower and the leaf and stem, I realised that there would be gaps – so I went back in with the relevant stencils and joined everything up to my liking.

The complete image takes up most of an A2 card, with a total of three flower heads and 4 buds, but as you can see I ink blended two flowers and two buds, moving the stencil down further past where it should be so they were coming off the edge.

The stamped ‘hello‘ is also from Spellbinders, and the same monthly release.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

CAS on Friday – CAS Botanical

Simply CAS – CAS – option of baskets not taken

Dragonfly Dreams – CAS

Stencil Fun – stencils – option of rainbow colours not taken

A Little Birdie Told Me….

I have a card to share created using more products from the recent SCT event – this time using a die and stamp set from Scrapbook.com:

The current challenge at Color Hues is to use the colours Navy and Fuchsia, and these colours were my starting point. Certain neutrals are allowed also.

The birds were die cut with white for the base of each, and then navy and fuchsia card stock for the layers. The blue and pink pieces were ink blended a little to create some dimension, then the layers glued together. The wings were added with a small piece of 3D foam, the beaks were die cut from gold card stock, and the eyes are little black gems.

The background navy panel was cut slightly down, and run through my die cutting machine with a Spellbinders embossing folder, attached to the white card base with glue.

The sentiments and musical notes were stamped, then die cut with the matching dies, two more layers also die cut and glued behind the sentiments instead of using 3D foam.

To put this together, I added the sentiments first, then attached the two birds with 3D foam, making it look as though they were perched on the sentiments. The musical notes were glued flat to the card panel, and some ombre gold gems added – from Pinkfresh Studio to tie in with the gold beaks – and because I love to use them….. :)

I love how these two colours work well together, and am really pleased with how it turned out.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Hues – Fuchsia & Navy

Addicted to Stamps & More – any occasion

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and birthday/anniversary

Triple B – birds and/or butterflies and/or blooms

ABC Challenge H & I

Hello everyone. The new challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge has started. Fabiola is hosting, and the Christmas themes for this month are:

H is for Hats, I is for Image only

Here are my cards:

For my first card, I used a stitching die from Spellbinders. This hat came in their Stitchmas 2025 box and was die cut with light blue and white sparkle card stock, then stitched as required with dark blue thread. I also added a couple of pearl gems to the hat.

The background was created by dry embossing a piece of dark blue card stock and a Spellbinders embossing folder, cutting the panel down slightly to leave a white border on the card base.

The sentiment is also from the same Stitchmas box, and die cut from the same white glitter card, adhered flat. More of the pearl gems added.

For my second card – I is for image only – I thought that a stand-alone Santa would be a good way to go. For that, I turned to a Simon Hurley/Spellbinders die set, cutting out the layers – of which there are plenty – and some very small elements (definitely what I enjoy doing most) and assembled him

The background is using the same Spellbinders embossing folder and the same dark blue card, but this time I ran a white pigment ink gently over the top to catch the raised areas.