CAS Joy To The World

It may seem strange that on a very warn day here in the UK – and Easter as well – I have created a Christmas card. I was so inspired to use a new die set, from a company based in Germany – that it just had to happen…..

I chose to use the Perfectly CAS theme for this card, which I feel works quite well. It’s hard to photograph a card with glitter and sparkles, and sometimes the white doesn’t look crisp – but I assure you this is a very crisp cut in real life.

I used white card stock for the house die – it’s meant to be a panorama die, but this time I also die cut a gold glitter card with a circle juts slightly bigger – to create a gold border around the die itself – and the background for the houses.

For such an intricate die – all those little windows – it cur very well in my Sizzix fold-away – but I did cut with the die facing upwards just in case.

The sentiment is gold heat embossed using a stamp from a Clearly Besotted stamp set.

I liked this simple design so much, I created several more with different colours of glitter card – black, silver, pink – and they all look lovely. I will change the sentiment up on those, and have them ready for later in the year.

xx

ABC Christmas Challenge – Ho Ho Ho, or Inky

We have started a new challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge. H is for ‘Ho Ho Ho’ and I is for ‘Inky‘. As long as they are Christmas/Festive related – then you’re good. Here is my card:

I attached the patterned paper onto a white card base. The words are from an MFT die, die cut out of white glitter card, and layered several times with plain white card to create some dimension.

Santa was stamped coloured with Copics, die cut with the matching die, and some white gel pen added.

I wanted him to overlap the letters, so he has been raised with 3D foam squares.

I hope you can come and join us with your Christmas/Festive makes – following the themes – and increase the stash ready for the end of the year. I look forward to seeing your creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Peace On earth Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Colour Crazy Challenge – week 14 – anything goes with colouring

Cards Galore Challenge – anything goes

Hay There – You Goat This…..

The Alphabet Challenge has started at the beginning of the alphabet, and this time Meg has chosen the theme of ‘A for Animal Antics‘. Here is my card:

I used the Lawn Fawn circle stitching dies to create circular frame in the patterned paper. Into this I adhered another circle – going for bright and fun colours.

I then stamped, coloured and die cut all the images – playing around with placement for quiet a while, then settled on what you see here.

Once these were stick down, I added the grass and flowers, layering and snipping as needed.

The sentiment was and adhered in a crooked manner to add a little more whimsy.

I’ve already sent this to my sister-in-law who is going through some stuff at the moment – hopefully it will brighten her day a little.

I hope you can come and join us with your ‘Animal Antics‘ creations – I look forward to seeing you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Addicted To Stamps – make your mark

Colour Crazy Challenge – anything goes colouring – week 13

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with a critter

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Cardz 4 Galz – Fun Fold

Hello once again. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. This time we want to see your ‘fun folds’. It doesn’t have to be a card, but it does have to be papercraft related – a card, tag, layout – I decided to go with something a little different to my usual makes, and created a gift card holder:

I virtually attended the recent ‘Maker Mania 5’ and this was one of the projects on that intensive few days – a ‘Craft Along’ projects by the only UK company to be part of this event – Sir Stampalot, based in Peterborough.

I made the project using some different papers and embellishments, but the instructions and video were so easy to follow – I can see that I’ll make for little pressies in the future. It could be for any kind of gift card, so I’ll have to stock up on them

Following the written instructions – and watching the video yet again – I added all the paper layers to the base project.

The flowers are from left-overs from a previous card ‘Hey There’ snipped and added as you see.

The shabby ribbon is from my stash, bought ages and ages ago and used to tie the gift card holder together.

The gold embellishments were also part of the Maker Mania 5 kit – to add a little bling.

I hope you can come and join us with your ‘fancy fold’ creations – I look forward to seeing wat you create. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

A Bit More Time To Craft Challenge – anything goes

Crafty Gals Corner Challenge – add a flower

Arty Divas – anything goes

Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenge – anything goes with patterned paper

Thanks A Bunch

I fancied doing some Copic colouring today and created this card:

I started by stamping this oldie but goodie stamp from Clearly Besotted. I then chose some Copics to create different coloured tulips, and die cut with the matching die. Clearly Besotted don’t do matching dies any more, and my Scan-n-cut comes into play with the newer stamp sets.

The patterned paper was a freebie with their current and new release – yep, I ordered it all!! – and I thought was a perfect background layer for these flowers.

I wanted a vase for the flowers, so turned to the Honey Bee die set I have, and used vellum……which doesn’t really show up very much, so I outlined it in white.

To get the ribbon on the bunch of flowers to come out of the top of the vase, I had to snip a little – but I think it works.

I then used my Xyron for the vellum – a handy tip from Daniel West on one of his classes – then stuck this down, and added 3D foam under the bouquet itself.

The dots are from a previous Crop and Create event from Doodlebug, and the sentiment is from the same Clearly Besotted stamp set.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Creative Crafters Challenge – anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Easter/Spring (colours and flowers)

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Inkspirational – photo inspiration

The Four Seasons Challenge – anything goes Spring (spring flowers and colours)

Crafty Friends Challenge – Spring Colours

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and tic tac toe (first left column – at least 2 layers, yellow, flowers)

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