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Joy And Wonder

The Alphabet Challenge has started a new challenge. Having reached the letter ‘S‘, we want to see you ‘Snow’ themed creations. Here is my card:

I used a background panel from Pinkfresh Studio to create a white on white detailed layer on the card base. I cut a thin gold glitter strip for one edge.

The snowflakes are from Pinkfresh Studio also – cut from a red mirror card and a red glitter card and layered.

The sentiment is gold heat embossed onto vellum, and die cut using the matching die, with three gold gems added for accents.

I’m looking forward to seeing your ‘snow’ themed creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – ice cold

Lil Red Wagon – use transparency or vellum

Cupcake Inspirations – happy holidays

Inkspirational – prompt word – gold

Craft Friends – traditional Christmas colours

As You Like It – anything goes Christmas

Use Your Stuff – anything goes Christmas


Cardz 4 Galz – Fun In The Snow

Hello there. Cardz 4 Galz has started another challenge. Caz has chosen the theme of ‘Fun In The Snow’ Here is my card:

I stamped the image onto some Neenah card stock in amalgam ink from Gina K design, then coloured with Copics. I feel these two characters are having a fun get-together and chat in the snow – my take on the theme.

I then used a stitched rectangle to cut the panel, layered with black, then adhered onto a white card base.

The sentiment is a previously foiled strip – I’m beginning to run out of those and I feel a foiling session coming on soon…….

I hope you can come and join us with this challenge – I look forward to seeing you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations – happy holidays

Tuesday Taggers – Santa

Crafting Happiness – Christmas

2 Sisters on the Blog – Christmas and Holly

TTCRD – anything goes

Dream Valley Challenge – Christmas

ABC Christmas Challenge – Y and Z

Hello yet again. ABC Christmas Challenge has reached the end of the alphabet for this year. With the letters being ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ – Wendy is hosting and the themes are ‘Y is for Youngsters (for or featuring a child and/or ‘Z’ is for Zoom (mode of transport). Here is my card:

I stamped the image from Newton’s Nook onto Distress water-colour card, and used the Distress water-colour pencils to colour it in.

The best way for me to use them, is to take a wet brush and touch that to the pencil nib, then move the colour around each part of the image. Once this was dry, I used the matching die set to cut it out, and set it aside to create the card base.

I took a white panel, die cut a Hero Arts bauble shape then dry embossed that panel with a Simon Says Stamp embossing folder.

I created some hills with white card stock, and found a previously created blue ink smooshed panel. I fiddled with the placement of the panel, the hills, and the bauble until I was happy, then adhered this to a card base.

I added the van at a jaunty angle, then also added some dots of glue to the blue sky, parts of the presents and the tree on the van, and along the edge of each hill.

The sentiment is a previously foiled strip.

I hope you can come and join us with your Christmas makes – following our themes – and I look forward to seeing you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Beyond The Blue – winter holidays

Allsorts Challenge – anything goes with option let it snow

Cupcake Inspirations – happy holidays

As You Like It – anything goes Christmas

Use Your Stuff – anything goes Christmas

Merry Christ-mouse

Hello once again. The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has started it’s last challenge for the year. As always, it is ;anything goes Christmas’. Here is my card:

I used quite a few Spellbinders die sets for this card – loving the die cutting and assembling of all the elements. I must have been in a finnicky mood that day…..

I first took the white card base and added some black splatters, and whilst this was drying I turned to the post box, envelope and mouse, cut out the elements, and assembled them.

Once I had put the post box on the card base, added the mouse to the front, I slotted the envelopes in as you see, then decided that there was something missing – so I die cut those hearts and arranged them around and about.

The sentiments are from a previous foiling session.

I hope you can come and join us for the last challenge of this year – we will certainly back in the New Year – creating Christmas cards for our stash. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Mix It Up Challenge – atg – option to use a technique (splattering, foiling)

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

2 Critter Crazies – animals as focus

Here Is A Place To Start – anything goes with option happy holidays

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

Joyeux Noel

Hello – I have a card to share using the Honey Bee Stamps cardinal die set again:

I first put together the cardinal using reds and blacks – and a little white gel pen for the eye. I then put him to one side whilst I stenciled the mistletoe arches, using the three layers for the leave and the red berries, and used the matching die to cut it out.

I white dry embossed a panel for the background, adhered the arches, and added the cardinal.

I thought I would die cut the feet again and prop him onto the sentiment strip – almost like he is perching there.

I added the red gems to each of the berries – you know when you start something and then realise just exactly how many of those berries there are? Well – it took me a little while – but I like the effect. I also added a couple of larger gems to the sentiment strip because- well – why not?

I think I’ll have a go with the other bird in the die set at some point this week – watch this space……

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – holiday cheer

Krafty Chicks – Christmas

Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge – anything goes

Allsorts Challenge – anything goes – option of ‘let it snow’ not taken

Crafty Friends Challenge – traditional Christmas Colours

Stencil fun – anything goes with stencils

As You Like It – anything goes Christmas

Poinsettia and Holly

Hello. I created this card using Spellbinders dies, using colours from a previous challenge – but I liked how the colours worked together so I played with them again:

Behind a die cut square aperture, I placed a dry embossed panel which had been splattered with a copper acrylic paint from Liquitex.

I then die cut the poinsettia – putting more layers with it for a fuller look, die cut some ferns from green card stock, and the holly leaves and mistletoe from gold card stock.

I played around with the arrangement a little, and glued when I was happy.

The sentiment is a previously gold foiled one from Spellbinders.

Here is a picture of the shine from the foiling and gold card stock:

I am absolutely loving the gold card stock from Spellbinders at the moment, and can’t seem to stop using it. You have to make sure that your cutting plates are quite new – you do get some marks on the card if the die cut is large and plain enough…….ask me how I know….!

As an aside – I mentioned on a previous post that the ‘Color My Life’ app – which I used to catalogue my stash – was broken for a few days. It now works, the updates have been sorted and I can see and search from this again – I was really quite shocked how dependent I was on this app. I search for things for challenges – colours, or animals, or tags I have inserted myself. It has saved me buying the same thing twice a few times, but just the ability to be able to ‘look’ through my stash for items I know I have – but forget who made them, or where I’ve stored them – it really is a great way to organise electronically.

Now – to continue with the card – I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – holiday cheer

Creative Fingers Challenge – anything goes

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Shopping Our Stash – Christmas greenery

A Perfect Time To Craft – anything goes

Crafting Happiness – Christmas

2 Sisters On The Blog – Christmas and Holly

Winter Wonderland – anything goes Christmas

Cardinal Christmas Greetings

Hello. I have been playing in my craft room today, and wanted to use the Honey Bee Stamps ‘Winter Birds’ die set. I created this card:

I used three different red card – and black – for the cardinal, and set him aside whilst creating the card base and aperture,

I cut a panel slightly smaller than the A2 card base, die cut a circle, then dry embossed the snowflake pattern.

I then cut a gold circle slightly larger than the aperture, also due cut a piece of snowflake acetate and glued together…… and then realised I should have used tape instead of glue because it kinda went where I didn’t want it to – towards the centre of the circle.

Having to think more about how to cover it – or to die cut again – I decided to add more foliage around the circle than originally planned – but I think it works…..

The foliage, mistletoe and poinsettia are from various Spellbinders die sets, and some gold faceted gems added to the centre of the poinsettia.

The sentiment is also from Spellbinders – but not using the shadow layer.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge – It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – holiday cheer

Crafters Café – use dies/punches

Color Throwdown – red, black, green, gold

Fab’N’Funky Challenge – dies cuts or embossing – no stamped image

The Sisterhood Of Crafters – Christmas/Winter

Peace On Earth Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Winter Wonderland Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Floral Framed Birthday

Hello yet again. Happy Little Stampers anything goes birthday has started a new challenge – and we’ll be taking a break for a couple of months after this. Here is my card:

The background was created using a Spellbinders stencil, paste, and then sprinkling glitter over the paste and let it dry.

I added A Pinkfresh Studio deco frame, and layered the flowers and twigs around the edge.

I added some gold gems to the flowers, the corners of the frame, and each end of the foiled sentiment.

I’ve forgotten which die and stamp set I used for the floral and leaves elements, and with the Color My Life app having some issues at the moment I couldn’t search it – and didn’t fancy trawling through my stash – when the app works again I’ll edit the post to let you know.

I hope you can come and join us for our last challenge of the year – it would be great to see you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – anything goes

Dream Valley Challenge – lots of layers

Crafters Café – use dies/punches

Mix It Up Challenge – anything goes – option to use a technique – stencil, paste, glitter

The Alphabet Challenge – R for Reduce

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has started a new challenge, and as we have reached the letter ‘R’, Veronika has chosen the theme of ‘Reduce – make it clean and simple‘. Here is my card:

I used a frame from my stash – I forget the maker – and stuck a piece of patterned paper onto the back – then trimmed around the frame.

I stuck this down onto the card base with a strong glue.

I think the tree was a pre-cut piece from a kit, to which I added three gold strings, and then placed some gold facetted gems on top of the ‘loops’ of the string, adding a larger gem onto the top of the tree.

I’m looking forward to seeing your CAS cards in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

TTCRD – anything goes

Lil Red Wagon – glitter, glitz, gleam, glow

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – anything goes

Fab’N’Funky Challenge – die cuts or embossing – no stamped image

Love To Craft – anything goes

Birdie Birthday

Hello once again. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. This time round Dawn S has chosen the theme. She wants us to create a project which incudes anything from ‘The Twelve Days of Christmas’. Here is a reminder of the lyrics:

On the Twelfth day of Christmas, My true love gave to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves
And a partridge in a pear tree. 

There are a lot of options here to choose from – I went with ‘four calling birds’:

I took a break from Christmas crafting, and went with a birthday theme. To be able to arrange everything on the card, I went with a 5 x 7 inch card base.

First of all, I dry embossed a white panel, layered it with a black panel – to match the sentiment strip I was going to use – and adhered to the card base.

The birds are from Simon Says Stamp – all die cut using 4 different colours and mixing and matching tp create the four birds. These were adhered to the embossed panel with 3D foam, as was the previously foiled sentiment strip.

I added some die cut musical notes, deciding not to stamp the actual notes within the die cuts, and stuck them around the birds, with some silver gems also dotted around the spaces – silver to match the foiled sentiment.

I hope you can come and join us – I look forward to seeing a wide variety of projects and themes in our gallery – and you can see it doesn’t have to be Christmas themed at all. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

TTCRD – anything goes

CYHTP – embossing folder – option of thanks not taken

Dream Valley Challenge – lots of layers

Crafters Café – use dies/punches