Meowy Christmas

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has started a new ‘anything goes Christmas’ challenge. Here is my card:

I first started by creating the acetate layer you see behind the cat. This is a technique demonstrated years ago by Sue Wilson – the ‘caught in crystal’ technique. I have tried it a few times and always like the result.

Onto acetate you squirt clear lacquer, spread it around, add Brushos or colour bursts. I also added some bits of glitter for a little sparkle, then add a layer of tissue paper – scrunch and spread that around so it all has contact with the colours and the lacquer – then let it dry. I left this overnight.

Meantime, I die cut the layer with curved rectangle dies, then die cut the ‘peeking cat’, adding some black gel pen to the eyes and nose.

I then heat embossed the sentiment you see.

When the acetate panel was dry, I die cut a circle to fit behind the cat, used red liner tape to adhere it, then used 3D foam to stick that down to a white card base.

I hope you can come and join us with your Christmas/festive creations. I look forward to seeing you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with a critter

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Crafting Happiness – anything goes

Stamplorations CAS challenge – CAS anything goes (option blue and purple not taken)

Hello There….

I used the colours for the current Color Throwdown Challenge to create this card:

I first turned to some ink smooshing onto Distress Heavystock Mixed Media card using Antique Linen for one piece, Bundled Sage for another couple of pieces, and then my first play with Villainous Potion – my goodness that purple is – well – purple! Such a strong and vibrant colour, which I thought was a perfect foil for the other two more subdued colours……

Once those pieces had dried sufficiently, I die cut the Birch Press Design Eucalyptus and Berries die several times – not yet deciding which colour I wanted for which element.

I knew I wanted the berries to be the cream, and the leaves green, but the stems I had a play and think about – deciding on what you see here – a mish-mash of both really…..the leaves and berries are layered dies to create dimension.

I die cut the purple with a circle die, but then die cut it again smaller so I could have more of the leaves and berries hanging over the edge.

The base cream card stock is embossed with the new Tim Holtz ‘Woven‘ embossing folder, and adhered to the card base.

The purple circle was adhered with 3D foam squares, and the leaves with a mixture of foam squares and glue.

The sentiment was stamped onto cream card stock.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – sage green, purple, cream

Krafty Chicks – anything goes

CYHTP – embossing folder, option to use green

INTAAS – include a circle

You’re So Tweet

Hello again. Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge has started another challenge. This time the theme is ‘Tropical‘. Here is my CAS Tropical card:

For this card I used an older stamp, stencil and die set from Catherine Pooler. I first used an oval stencil on a white card base, then placed a piece of masking paper across the bottom to create the straight line, then added the leaves stencil on top of all that.

I used two colours of Distress Ink to create an ombre look.

Whilst this was drying, I stamped the images, coloured them with Copics, then used the matching dies.

Before sticking them all down, I stamped the sentiment – I remember this time to do this before I had virtually finished the card!

I played around with placement of the images until I came up with what I liked – some snipping of the leaves so I could put them under the branch a little more.

I hope you can come and join us with your CAS cards following the theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – anything goes

Colour Crazy Challenge – week 12 – anything goes with colouring

MMM Challenge – use a stencil

Perfectly CAS – CAS die cuts – one third or less

Addicted To Stamps – make your mark

Just A Note…..

Hello there. Here is a card I created using a new stamp, stencil, and die set from Pinkfresh Studio:

I first stamped the image using Gina K Amalgam ink, then used the matching stencil to colour with green and orange. The matching die cuts all of the images – and separates them – in one pass, so I set them aside and worked on the background.

On a separate panel I stamped the image again, but didn’t use the stencil or die, and coloured the images in a Copic light brown – no shading, only one colour.

I then stamped the sentiment and heat embossed in brass onto vellum, then die cut using a circle die.

The brown floral panel was adhered to a card base, then the vellum circle was glued down – but only using dots of glue behind the letters – then edges were left unglued to enable me to place some of the floral die cuts around, underneath, and on top of the vellum. I snipped some of the images between the leaves to make this easier on some of the images.

I still have more than half of the floral images from the die cut left over to make another card – maybe two.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – orange, tan, green

Trimmies Craft Challenge – anything goes

Crafty Catz weekly challenge – anything goes

Tuesday Taggers Challenge – flowers

Cut It Up Challenge – spring project including die cuts

My Time To Craft Challenge – three or more layers (base panel, vellum, flowers)

Sending Cotton Hugs

The Alphabet Challenge has reached the end of the alphabet again. For the letter ‘Z‘, Caz has chosen the theme of ‘Zig-Zags‘. Here is my card:

The pink background is an Altenew stencil and pink Distress Ink, then framed by the Hero Arts infinity frame. The floral image is from Altenew, and lightly coloured with warm grey and cool grey Copics.
Once the floral images were coloured, I then die cut them with the matching dies, snipped a little, and arranged as you see. The sentiment is from the same stamp set.

The Design Team has a wide variety of inspiration using the ‘Zig-Zag’ theme, which I hope you will have a look at, and also hope you will join us.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Fab’n’Funky Challenge – hand coloured image

Here Is A Place To start – anything goes – option two of a kind

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Colour Crazy Challenge – anything goes colouring – week 11

Cardz 4 Galz – Spring Flowers

Hello once again. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge, the theme chosen by Caz is for ‘Spring Flowers for UK Mother’s Day or just ‘Spring Flowers’. Here is my card:

This took a bit of fiddling, but I’m pleased how it turned out.

The background is one of my many ink smooshing and playing backgrounds. I love to just play creating these, and this this colour-way was the perfect background to the the cover plate.

I die cut the cover plate in white card stock, then took some alcohol ink backgrounds and tried to die cut them so I could paper piece……however……these alcohol ink backgrounds are from a thinner kinda Yupo paper and it didn’t want to die cut. At all. No matter what I tried, how many times, against a precision base plate, another shim – nope. No way was it going to die cut….

So – as the impression of the tulip plate was in the paper – I just cut them with my scissors – which was easy – but ensuring there was no overlap, or extra bits sticking out – now that took a little fiddling…

The alcohol ink pieces were glued down behind the cover plate die cut – but the glue I was using went all over the white – so I just cut another and layered it on top…..

Phew – what a palaver!

Anyhoo – I hope you can come and join us with your spring flower creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Daring Cardmakers – anything related to Spring

Mixed Media Lovers – anything goes mixed media

Everybody Art Challenge – spring

Hand Stamped Sentiments – photo inspiration

A Bit More Time To Craft – anything goes

Crafty Gals Corner – add a flower

Crafters Café – use some flowers

Merry Poinsettia Christmas

The Holly and Ivy Challenge has started a new ‘anything goes Christmas’ challenge. Here is my card:

I first adhered some patterned paper onto a 5 x 7 card base.

The wreath, poinsettia dies, branch dies are from last years Concord & 9th ‘Holly Jolly’ virtual event, and the sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I used Concord & 9th card stock for the poinsettia leaves and the additional branches – as well as the shadow layer behind the sentiment.

The words are die cut out of glitter card stock – layered a couple of times with white card stock.

Some gold glitter drops applied to the centre of the poinsettia, the leaves curled slightly for dimension.

I hope you can come and join us with your festive creations.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge – anything goes – option to add sparkle/glitter

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Addicted To Stamps – dies cuts and/or stencils

Daisy Chain Challenge – use dies

Creative Fingers Challenge – anything goes

Hello There…..

Here is a card created using the colours for the current Color Throwdown Challenge:

I wanted to get messy and create an ink smooshed background, so I looked through my Distress Ink swatch, and found two colours which would represent the yellow and the tan colours – and played….

I actually liked how these two colours mixed well together I created a few of these backgrounds for future use.

Once this panel was dry, I stamped the sentiment onto the bottom using Versafine ink, then die cut it using an MFT stitched rectangle die and layered it with some foam at the back onto a white card base.

The leafy square is from Simon Says Stamp and die cut out of some dark grey card stock.

I played around with the placement of this square a little, and settled for it being where you see it.

I noticed when writing this post that the past few cards seem to have a theme running through them – hello, hi etc – it would appear my mind is turned towards ‘just because’ cards at the moment and not for specific occasions.

I’m already planning what to do with the other similar coloured backgrounds….. and I even did some using the same colours of Distress Oxide – but the inks are my favourite for this – well, at the moment, anyway.

Color Throwdown

Hi there….

Hello. Another card to share today, which is CAS – but took some fiddling:

I die-cut a panel using MFT wonky stitched rectangles. Into that rectangle I also used the MFT peek-a-boo square.

The square that came out of that, I stamped the image. The hat and face are part of the same stamp, so I stamped the hat, rubbing off the blue from the face part. Then for the face, I stamped ensuring no black was going to be stamped onto the hat.

The ears are another part of the stamp – it also comes with the bobble on the hat, but I didn’t want the bobble, so just stamped the ears.

The die-cut word is from Time For Tea Designs – part of a much larger cover die – fiddly to glue such small letters but managed using a precision point on my glue, and my Marvy jewel picker.

The base panel is adhered directly onto the card base, the square is raised using 3D foam squares – thinner ones to create some but not much dimension.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations – pets

My Time To Craft – animals

CASology – cue word HAT

Hello…….

Despite spending 8 hours crafting yesterday at the Taylored Expressions virtual event, I have spent a little time in my craft room today. I wanted to make something for the current challenge at Color Throwdown, where the colours are pink, grey, and lime green. Here is my card:

I die cut the Avery Elle ‘Diagonal Stripes’ die and adhered it to the card base. The Neat and Tangled ‘Flora Frames’ was stamped and die cut, then coloured with Copics – simple colouring, no shading, nothing -fancy, then stuck down onto the panel.

The word was die cut three times from grey card stock then layered together.

The grey enamel dots are from Time For Tea Designs.

I’m glad this came together quite quickly after the lengthy crafting yesterday. xx

Color Throwdown – grey, lime green, pink