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2 new techniques

Hell there. I have been trying two new techniques – well – new to me. I have never used alcohol markers to colour and image, and I have never used the ‘spotlight‘ technique. So I combined the two together.

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This flower is the not yet released ‘Beautiful Heart’ from Altenew. It was given to all of us who attended the Daventry day recently, and so were the four blue alcohol markers.

I watched some You Tube videos on alcohol marker colouring, and set to it. I coloured the whole flower – I didn’t realise how long this type of colouring takes. You really have to take your time and blend, don’t you?

I did this small flower in three separate stages, as I didn’t have the patience to do it all in one go. Maybe in the future – when I finally get my full set from Altenew from my sister – I’ll make sure to plan ahead with the colouring, and make more time. I am more of an instant kinda girl……

I stamped the flower onto a white base card using Versafine black onyx, then masked part of it so I could stamp some leaves. Then I die cut the centre of the coloured flower, and stuck it down – trying very hard to match the lines etc.

I also did it again after I had stamped the flower properly using all the layers and a yellow and orange ink from Catherine Pooler:

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So those are my two new techniques. Alcohol marker colouring, and spotlight stamping.

Whilst I had the stamp set out, and the masks cut to size, I decided to keep going and created some more birthday cards:

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I didn’t stamp all the layers of the leaves, but I am liking this orange and yellow combination.

The first blue card will be entered into the current challenge at Back To Basics and Beyond Challenges to use the spotlight technique, and the current Altenew July challenge.

The second birthday card will be entered into:

4 Crafty Chicks – birthday challenge

Seize the Birthday – birthday +/- sequins (no sequins)

Altenew Folksy Florals

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Hello there. I have a bright and cheerful one layer, clean and simple card for you today. I was playing with this new stamp set from Altenew – ‘Folksy Florals’ – and decided that these stamps are just crying out for bright and vibrant colours.

As some off the stamps are solid, I turned to my Catherine Pooler inks, as they give great coverage from the get-go.

I played around with the colours, and just swapped and changed for each flower, leaves, and stem. The sentiment is also from the same stamp set, just mixing around the multitude of words and phrases you are supplied with. Who says you can’t have blue, purple and orange leaves?

I didn’t actually follow their guide for stamping and adding the different bits to each flower, and just went with the flow. It was actually quite hard to stop myself, so much so that I carried on and created some backgrounds with this set – I just kept stamping and stamping.

I shall be entering the current challenge at Addicted To Stamps, with the theme of ‘clean and simple‘.

Have a great day, and I’ll catch up with you soon – but not until I have watched the England match this afternoon!

Sweet Rose Bouquet

Hello everyone,

I have a couple of cards to share today, a variation on the same theme. Smaller photos don’t do these cards justice, so please bear with me putting three larger photos here:

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I used the Altenew ‘Sweet Rose Bouquet’ onto a blush card for the first, and white card for the second. Both the sentiments are cut from a Tonic gold card which was part of the most recent Tonic craft box.

The embossed impression on the second card is from a die set from Sue Wilson ‘Greek Island Background’ for some additional interest in the corners.

Putting these together took some thought as to placement of the flowers, and the placement of the gold card, but I am pleased how they turned out. I have another two pieces of card I stamped these flowers onto – I suppose they are going into my ‘bit box’. I really must stop adding to this box, and start using the items in it.

I did some cards previously as part of another challenge, and I still haven;t got around to using what I left out…….perhaps this weekend?

I shall be entering the following challenges:

The Card Concept – photo inspiration – using flowers and gold

Watercooler Challenges – atg feminine

The Library Craft Challenge – The Rose Garden

Aud Sentiments Challenge – flowers and a sentiment

Altenew Cherished Memories

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Hello again everyone. I have a card to share inspired by the current sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches, and using the colours from Color Throwdown.

I stamped and gold heat embossed the leaves from the new Altenew Cherished Memories stamp set onto a piece of navy card, and adhered that to a white card base.

I stamped the flowers onto a blush Creative Expressions card base – even though it looks white here, it is a blush colour card – then die cut, and arranged as per the sketch.

I didn’t want the flowers completely in a straight line, slightly out of line, but still giving the over-all impression following the sketch. The sentiment is from the same stamp set, stamped in navy onto the same blush card, and using a little corner rounder punch.

I then took a gold gel roll pen – still using the freebies from the Altenew day the other week – and dotted the middle of the flowers, so they matched in a little more with the background.

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Bye for now

Bit Box items

Hi there. I am joining the current challenge at Simply Less Is More. The challenge is to use items you have ‘saved’ for another time and have yet to use. Here is one of my bit boxes. I say one of them – I also have one with larger items like embossed card, and larger die cut shapes.

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So I delved through this box – goodness, there was loads of stuff for a small box. Even an ink blending sponge or two!

This is what I created:

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I took the piece of card I had stenciled onto with my Distress Oxides, and die cut the ‘Big Hugs‘ from Neat and Tangled. I die cut it several times and stacked the sentiment up for just a little dimension.

I then found one of my ‘Lovely Piggies’ from Mama Elephant. When I created the ‘Lovely Piggies‘ card at the beginning of June, I actually stamped, water-coloured, and die cut the whole set – twice!

Here are some of the other items I found in that box – I shall be making some more cards with these.

A good idea from Less Is More, as I certainly didn’t realise how much good stuff I had put to one side.

I shall also be entering this into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – anything goes.

Majestic Blooms and a Bear

Hello again. I have found time to craft again. Once I start, I seem to keep going – and going – and going!

The first card is inspired by the current challenge at CASology and AAA cards:

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I used the MFT Safari Party, and coloured the bear using my zigs. I framed him in the MFT stitched wonky squares – cutting two squares closely together for the frame – and raised everything with foam pads.

The second card is completely different:

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I wanted this card to be quite large, as the Majestic Bloom flowers are large, and I wanted to put three of them on. To save a little on the white space, I used the not yet released Needlework Motif stamp (yes – freebie from the Altenew Daventry crafting day) and heat embossed in clear on the white card.

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I then took the cover plate die – yet another freebie on the day – cut it out in white card and used that almost like a trellis to put my flowers onto.

After stamping the flowers using the colours from the current challenge at Color Throwdown, I arranged them as you see.

This card will also be entered into the Moving Along With the Times challenge – flowers as main focus – and June Inspiration at Altenew.

Furry Friends

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Hello everyone. I did some more tidying and sorting in my craft room yesterday, and came across a whole stack of Stampin Up designer Series paper – goodness knows how long I’ve had this!

I decided to use some of it as background for this card, which was inspired by the sketch from Hand Stamped Sentiments. This is quite a large card – an A4 folded into two, just so I could get four of my little animals in there.

I used the Concord and 9th ‘Furry Friends’, and actually stamped and die cut them all out, in all their various forms, and decided to go with the ‘friends’ I have here.

The circle die is also from Stampin Up, with the sentiment being from MFT – my usual ‘go to’ sentiment set.

I shall be crafting again later, but I am going to see my mum and dad – he is 80 years of age today. I’ve got to go ans give him the card I made and posted on my blog yesterday. They only live 20-30 minutes away, so a mere jaunt in the grand scheme of things.

I shall be entering the following challenges with this card:

Hand Stamped Sentiments – sketch

Just Us Girls – anything goes

Birthday card for dad

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Hello everyone. It’s been a week since I last posted, as I have been busy, busy, busy. You know I went to the Altenew day in Daventry last Saturday, especially if you follow me on Instagram – I sent a couple of photos of that day. Absolutely brilliant, and great meeting at the team and fellow enthusiasts.

When I arrived home, I still had my Ikea purchases to put together, and then sort out my craft room – I’m nearly there – but then I was at work the rest of the week. As most of the stuff I had to sort out was on my craft table, it wasn’t until today that I had even a little smidgen of space to be able to create…….that table is still a work in progress – but I had to put this card together for my dad.

He is 80 tomorrow……80……which means I am getting older too……time flies…..! He had some health issues this year, but he is brilliant at the moment.

I thought I would add a little quirkiness with the elephant, and a little glitter with the embossing powder, just because I can.

I followed the current sketch challenge from CAS Colours and Sketches for the layout, though I did flip and rotate the sketch.

The little red balloon was attached to the elephant with a drawn blue string. The word ‘dad’ is die cut several times using the Altenew bold alphabet die (my capitals set is with my sister in Canada until she arrives here with them……goodness knows when!!!), then stacked together for some dimension, with the top letters embossed with glittery white from WOW!.

Hopefully, I can continue to sort out my craft room, and craft at the same time, as there is a lot of inspiration out there I am wanting to use for cards.

Challenges I shall be entering with this card:

CAS Colours and Sketches – sketch

Seize The Birthday – anything goes birthday

Aud Sentiments Challenge – anything goes with sentiment

Hello Lovely…

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Hello everyone. I have one card to share with you today – and at the end of the post a photograph of my car boot after an Ikea shopping trip……!!!!!!

This card is the first one layer card I created without any smudges, without trying to get it done at least twice, so I just had to post it.

I used Altenew ‘Simple Shapes XL‘ stamp set, and Catherine Pooler inks. These stamps are quite large solid images, and Catherine Pooler inks just make life so much easier for this kind of stamping. I didn’t stamp any of the shapes more than once – and I hadn’t even used most of them before, so they were brand new. I have had them for ages, but never used them!

I did use my Misti – just in case – which again makes life easier, and just played with the different shapes. I didn’t have a plan for them, I just knew I wanted a rainbow effect with the colours. I arranged the inks around my mat, started with the pink at the bottom left, and just went with it.

As the colours are bold, I used a bold and black sentiment from The Ton ‘Peony Notes‘ as that was on my desk from the other day. A large sentiment, and I used Catherine Pooler ‘Midnight‘ ink to get a dark black and crisp image. I did need to stamp that a couple of times with my Misti, but I think it’s because I didn’t let the other inks dry enough.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

AAA cards – CAS geometric

Addicted to CAS – CAS rainbow

Now – for the Ikea shop. Ikea opened in Sheffield last year, and this is the first time I’ve been. I’m trying to organise and sort out my craft room. It’s a fairly small room, and at the moment there is stuff everywhere – in boxes, disorganised on shelves…….this shopping trip should help!!! :) Thank goodness it all fit. I don’t think I’ve put the back seats down before. Maybe I should have taken the Transit van……but perhaps that would have too dangerous! (not that this wasn’t bad enough!) I’ll let you know what hubby says…….

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Oh My Stars!

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Hi there. A quick card for you today, without any die cutting. I know – after the past couple of postings, I was kinda all die cut out……so I made this card with stamping only. I was going for a clean and simple look – which I believe I achieved.

I used the small three star stamp from Concord and 9th ‘Shine On‘ stamp set, stamping the outline in Catherine Pooler ‘Midnight’ ink, then filling-in with an Altenew orange ink.

The sentiment is from a Uniko stamp set, again stamped in ‘Midnight’ ink.

There’s not much more to say about the card, so I’ll leave it at that – except to say I will be entering the following challenges:

CAS(E) This Sketch – sketch

Inkspirational Challenges – use small stamps

Addicted to Stamps Challenge – black and white and one colour