Cheers to wine

Isn’t this stamp and die set gorgeous? I have had this stamp set for quite a while, from Honey Doo Crafts, and then bought the matching die several months ago – at yet another local craft show! I have played with it a little before, and have a blog posting from ages ago using this stamp, but I got the inspiration from the ‘Addicted to CAS’ challenge, with the theme of ‘cheers’.

I also have a stamp set with Prosecco and glasses and sayings, but I just love the way this came out. I first stamped the glass, bottle, and small grape bunch with Versafine black onyx, and coloured with my Stampin Up markers. I coloured them actually dotting the colour down, as I didn’t want solid colour on the grapes or leaves, as I thought small white areas within would give some impression of dimension.

I die cut the three images out after colouring them, and then placed them on several different sizes of card base. I thought a square card base would leave too little white space, so I went with this size. Then to decide where the sentiment was to go……all those choices.

I stamped it alongside the glass and bottle, as I thought elsewhere on the card would be cutting down on the white background, and in fact I am quite pleased how it all came together. The added bunch of grapes to the side of the glass just adds a little something, don’t you think?

I also photographed the card in two different areas. One outside in full summer sunshine, and one inside with natural light – but not direct sunshine. I was only experimenting, and quite like the sunshine look with a hanging basket of flowers giving some shade, and of course the card itself giving some shade and dimension.

I shall be entering this card into the following challenges:

Addicted to CAS – cheers

Aud sentiments challenge – bingo and sentiment – die cut/markers/favourite colour (black)

 

 

Copper card

Good morning all, I have another card inspired by several challenges.

I started by using a piece of Narwhal card from Lawn Fawn, and stamped some flower images from the new Catherine Pooler Stamp of Approval collection (I said I was going to play with collection this weekend). I laid them out on the card and used my Misti to pick them up, stamped with Ranger Perfect Medium, and heat embossed using Cosmic Shimmer ‘Ancient copper metallic’ embossing powder. They are quite solid images, so I thought the embossing would stand out very nicely on the grey card.

Once I had covered the piece of card in the flowers and completed heat embossing them, I added some smaller flower and leaf images from previous collections, to fill in the gaps, and added this piece to a background of orange card. I have no idea where this orange card came from, but I like the way it seems to match and enhance the copper embossing.

The sentiment is also from a Catherine Pooler Stamp of Approval box, but one I had bought previously – the Lovely Notes Collection. The ‘thank you’ stamp comes in three varying degrees of the word image, and I used the main solid image – stamped with Perfect Medium, and heat embossed with the same copper embossing powder.

I cut the sentiment out with one of my ‘Wonky rectangle’ dies from Lawn Fawn, and added it to the card with some foam pads.

I found the most difficult part of this card was where to place the sentiment. I placed it at the very bottom, near the top, off to one side…………and eventually decided to place it as you can see it, which left a lot of the copper background visible.

I shall be entering this card into the following challenges:

Just Add Ink – photo inspiration

Addicted to stamps – flowers and stamping

Hand Stamped Sentiments – photo inspiration

 

Sketch Inspiration

Hi there, everyone. Despite it being very, very hot here in Chesterfield, UK, I have been in my craft room. I am not really a sun-bathing fan, except when on holiday somewhere with a beach, pool/sea, and a bar, so I have been in my cool room playing.

This card was inspired by the sketch from CAS Colours and Sketches, and I took the opportunity to use my new Catherine Pooler Stamp of Approval stamps. There is one huge stamp set with lots of different medallions on it, which all can be used individually or that quite a few of them fit inside one another.

I also used the Catherine Pooler inks ‘Lime Rickey’ and ‘Aquatini’ – love those colours.

The two circles are two stamps from that set, and I used a circle to mask the larger image when I stamped the smaller image to give the effect of one behind the other. The three smaller flowers are also from that same stamp set, with the sentiment using two words from separate stamp sets in that collection.

As I stamped the words in black, I added a strip of black paper from Stampin Up I had laying around.

I shall be entering this card into the following challenges:

CAS Colours and Sketches – sketch

Brown Sugar Challenge – anything goes

Crafty Catz challenge – anything goes

 

 

Inkspirational challenge

Good morning everyone. So – this is it – my first card as a guest designer. For the Inkspirational challenge. I am honoured to have been asked to do this, and hope very much you can play along.

Here is the challenge picture:

Challenge137

I decided that the settee/sofa looked very much like a window box to me, and the flowers were growing out of it. I started with a 6 inch square white card base which I splatted/sprayed some blue ink onto. I didn’t go down the Brusho route, though I did think of it, and restrained myself with just some ink splats.

I embossed the Spellbinders ‘Lene Lok’ die, not cutting it out, just embossing, making that look like cushions and buttons on upholstery, using the same blue card as the flowers as an extra layer to make the window box stand out, and raised that with foam pads only to the bottom and sides.

I die cut the flowers using Creative Expressions/Sue Wilson ‘Scribble Flowers’ and also stamped and die cut the Altenew ‘Amazing You’ flower stems to which some flower heads were added, inserting them behind the ‘sofa/window box’.

The sentiment is from The same Altenew stamp set, again with some inks splats.

Thank you for having a look, and enjoy the challenge. :)

I will be entering this card into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp – emboss

Dara and Diane challenges – blue and white

Monochrome Magic – anything goes monochrome

 

 

 

 

Color Layering Koala

Hello there, everyone. I am now back from London. Quite a few days with no crafting – definitely suffering withdrawal symptoms. And guess what was waiting for me when I got back? The new Catherine Pooler Stamp of Approval box. Ordered and delivered within 8 days. Fabulous. I will be playing with them over the weekend.

Another thing which I am highly excited about – I am guest designer for Inkspirational Challenges for the challenge which starts tomorrow morning!! (Saturday) I know………..OMG! The first time I have been asked……so excited and nervous! Please check it out tomorrow, it’s a great inspiration photo – trust me!

For the card today, I had a little cute moment. Aren’t the koalas cute?

I started by stamping the tree from Altenew ‘Birch Land’ to one side of a plain white piece of card. I then stamped the koala and the baby, from Hero Arts ‘Color Layering Koala’ using Versafine ‘Black Onyx’ as an outline, stamped off once for the base of the koalas, then direct after inking for the next layer, for the two different brown looks using the same ink, cutting them out using the matching die set.

For the leaves I used Catherine Pooler ‘Aquatini’ and Stampin Up ‘Night of Navy’ – artistic license for the eucalyptus to be those colours!

For the grass, I used Catherine Pooler ‘Lime Rickey’ and rubbed it along a piece of plain white card, then cut it out with the Lawn Fawn ‘Simple Grassy Hillside’ dies, stuck it to the base card, and cut the whole thing using my Lawn Fawn ‘Wonky stitched rectangles’.

Once I had that base card, I realised the pointy edges of the grass were not stuck down, so I placed my two koalas under the edge of the grass, adding the die cut eucalyptus leaves. The base card is a navy card from Creative Expressions – love their foundations card.

I shall be entering this card into the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – Navy, Aqua, lime green, kraft (used brown)

Addicted to stamps and more – anything goes

Colour Crazy Challenge – anything goes

I hope to see you tomorrow morning when the Inspirational Challenge goes live…………..

 

 

 

Two-fer

Morning all. Today I shall be posting two cards, as I am not sure if I can post anything else during the week. I have a few days in London on business, but it is up-in-the-air how many days, and how long for. That’s the way the cookie crumbles, sometimes.

This first card is obviously monochrome, and in my favourite colours. Black is a colour, right? Whether it is for the stamping, or for the sentiment, I do like using black on my cards somewhere – unless the card is sweet and cute – then I have to resist the instinct! However, I can still stamp the outline in black, can’t I?

I used the Birch press layering dies again, cut all three layers in black, with a white base card. The sentiment is a stamp from an Altenew stamp set, cut out with the Lawn Fawn wonky rectangles die set.

This second card is using my Brushos – I bought some new colours last week – and a stamp from Visible Image. I stamped and embossed the face and whiskers and heat set with black, then used the resist technique and my Brushos. Can you believe this Brusho is the black. Only the black. No other colour added………what a true burst of colour in what is called ‘black’. How amazing is that?

I then added some green to the eyes, and went over some of the white areas in the eyes with a white gel pen to bring a little more life to them.

I shall be entering the black and white card into the following challenges:

Creatalicious challenges – favourite colour

Allsorts Challenge – use two or more dies (used 4)

I shall be entering the cat card into the following challenges:

Just Us Girls – use powdered dyes

 

 

 

 

Three colour card

Good morning all. I know this looks like a very simple and easy card, but I like that about it. I took inspiration from a couple of challenges with the colours and the theme, but in general I really like how this flower turned out.

I have used the Altenew stamp and die set ‘Extra Special’. (Yep – another new buy from Doncaster Dome/Which Craft show from last Sunday.) For the first card, I stamped onto a piece of white card in Versafine black onyx, then stamped the solid base layer for the flowers in yellow, using a Catherine Pooler ink. I added the second layer of the flowers, not with the layering stamps, but with a Zig marker.

The leaves I did the same way – layered with the solid stamps, then added further green with a Zig marker.

I die-cut the flowers with the matching die, and added to a piece of plain white card I had die-cut with my MFT Die-Namics ‘Wonky Stitched Rectangles’, raising the flower with some small foam pads, and adding the whole panel to a white card base.

For the second card, I stamped and coloured onto some water-colour card, as I didn’t know which way I was going with the colouring, but in the end I went with just the stamp and colour. Nothing fancy, and cut that panel out sticking directly down onto a white card base.

I haven’t added a sentiment, because I didn’t really know what sentiment to add. I like it as it is – plain, no sentiment, ready to be sent. For any occasion. Perhaps as a little note card. I may make several of these and package them together in sets of four.

I shall be entering into the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – Green, Yellow, Coral (all the three colours used)

Time Out challenges – photo inspiration (flowers)

Crafty Catz – anything goes (optional dies/punches)

Colour Crazy Challenge – anything goes

 

Colourful sketch

Hi everyone. A short Saturday night posting from me today. I have been playing with the sketch from Hand Stamped Sentiments, and created the card above, which could be used in either direction. I think my preference is for the card with the heart on the bottom left.

I started with a new Concord and 9th stamp set I bought in Doncaster Dome last week, called ‘Cuddles and Hugs’. I stamped the heart with my Misti, just to be sure, and then masked this off and stamped a little cluster of hearts multiple times around it. I wanted it to look like the smaller hearts were underneath the bigger heart and kind of exploding from it.

To keep in with the sketch, I stamped a sentiment round two sides of the card, to look like the layer on the sketch, as I didn’t really want to add another layer.

I will be entering this card into the following challenges:

Hand Stamped Sentiments – sketch

Colour Crazy Craft Challenge – anything goes

 

 

 

Colourful inspiration

Good evening all. For today’s card I have been playing with loads and loads of inks. Can you tell? I have been ink blending and creating Brusho backgrounds, and die cutting. Quite a bit of playing and fun I had.

For the base card, I used a piece of Crafters Companion water-colour card, and blended colours from Lawn Fawn. These inks are wonderful and blend very, very nicely. I will definitely use them again for this technique. I also did some water splashes to create some added interest to the background.

I actually tried to emulate the colours from the Daring Cardmakers challenge with the middle bottom image being of what I saw as sea and sun-setting sky.

You had to use three elements from these pictures, so I continued to create another ink-blending background, from which I cut small strips – to match the top middle picture, and laid those down in a criss-cross pattern just off to one side.

The third element I used were the flowers. Well, I couldn’t just put one or two on, could I? I started by creating a Brusho background with one of the blue colours, added some yellow, added some purple. I just kept adding until I liked the colours.

I then stamped the flowers from the Altenew ‘Adore You’ stamp set onto that background with Versafine Black Onyx and die cut them with the matching stamp set.

I glued everything down flat, and I used a glue I haven’t used before but bought at Doncaster Dome craft show this past weekend – Tombow multipurpose liquid glue. My goodness that stuff is strong, isn’t it? It may take over from my usual favourite glue from Creative Expressions – Cosmic Shimmer. I really like the Tombow….

I will be entering this card into the following challenges:

Daring Cardmakers – June Elemental challenge

Crazy 4 Challenges – at least three of something (strips, flowers)

 

Happy Birthday

Good morning everyone. I am not at work until this afternoon, so I thought I would finish the card I started yesterday. As always, I gain inspiration from challenges, and – as always – I leave it to the last minute on many of them.

I have had the colours from Color Throwdown and the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches in my head since they went live……and yesterday got down to making the card. Well, after I had spent a good few hours at a craft show in Doncaster Dome, and bought even more goodies.

I started with a 6 inch square white card base, and added a slightly smaller navy layer, which I embossed with my Crafters Companion Textures folder ‘Rain’. I then die cut some pale pink card from Creative Expressions with  a Sara Davies Signature Collection die – an edger die from the ‘Together Forever’ range, which added the curved intricate edge.

After sticking that down to the top of the blue embossed layer, I added another blue layer which I had die cut the ‘Happy Birthday’ panel. Again – from Crafters Companion Create-a-card range. I think the light pink makes the sentiment stand out quite nicely.

I was thinking of gold for under the sentiment, but then I bought the Altenew stamp and die set yesterday – ‘Extra Special’ – and decided to heat emboss the main flower onto blue card with gold embossing powder, to act as the downward tag part of the sketch.

I then added some gold speckle dots – couldn’t resist – and stuck them all down on the card base. I stuck them all flat, with very little dimension, apart from the layers themselves.

So different from the most recent card of mine, as very little stamping – just the main flower element.

I photographed the card outside again – in-between rain and rain and rain – but still natural light. I’m not sure if the card came out very effectively, but I wanted to ensure you could see the shine of the gold embossing.

I was Skyping my sister in Quebec yesterday, and we were talking about backgrounds and natural light, and as it is summer (apparently) and natural light is here for longer in a day, I may try more techniques in the future. Perhaps adding some extra interest with dinner plates, or pieces of wood………or some of the items I have used to make the card.

I will be entering into the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches – sketch

Color Throwdown – navy, light pink, white, gold,

4 Crafty Chicks – Birthday

Just Us Girls – Die-cuts