Daffodils For Mum

Hello there. I hope you are doing well. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge, and the theme this time has been chosen by our esteemed leader – Caz – as ‘Mother’s Day (UK) or a card for a special lady‘. Here is my card:

Mother’s Day in the UK is 14th March this year, which is why I chose this theme. Mum’s birthday is also in March – but that card is already made.

Mum has always liked daffodils, they are her favourite flower – that yellow sunshine in the spring.

I used Altenew ‘Build-a-flower Daffodil’, Altenew inks, and layered them onto a wood grain effect piece of embossed card, once cut using the matching dies.

I went with the traditional daffodil colours – yellow with darker orange centres, and added a stamped and fussy-cut basket from Card-io stamps to ground them in. The sentiment is from a Catherine Pooler stamp set.

I hope you can join us with our chosen theme this time round – I look forward to seeing your creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

The Unicorn Challenge – use flowers

Addicted To Stamps – any occasion

Creative Fingers Challenge – anything goes

Wish You Were Here….

Hello there. I have another slimline card to share today, using a selection of Clearly Besotted stamps, a stencil, and some masking:

This card took a little planning and a little measuring before I even began adding the images. I picked the size of my card base, then measured the size of the window stamp to try and place this evenly across the bottom, marking with a pencil the outline of each window. I then stamped each of the jungle animals, created a mask for each of them, then stamped each window.

Before colouring, just in case I messed this part up, then masked each window off, and used a brick stencil to create a little wall scene.

I tried to keep the colours quite simple – varying between the flowers, the animal, and the curtains, to try and create some cohesiveness – the flowers being the same colour but slightly darker than the curtains, adding a strip sentiment once all was done.

I’m missing company, missing nipping round to someone’s house for a coffee and natter – and having them nip round to mine. Hopefully, we can start to do those things again in a few weeks – it’s the simple things like this which get to me more than actually going out and about…..

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Just Us Girls – slimline card

Crafty Sentiments Designs – anything goes

Aud Sentiments Challenge – anything goes with a sentiment

Pink Gem Challenge – anything goes

Santa’s Little Village

Hello. A new challenge has started at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge – here is my card:

For this card, everything except the dark teal card base – and the colouring – is from Heffy Doodle. The images from ‘Santa’s Village‘. Even though I stamped most of the images in the set, these four were the one’s I chose for the card. Once coloured with Copics, and die-cut with the matching dies, I set them to one side to create the base card and layers.

Very simply, the scalloped layer is from Heffy Doodle ‘slimline pull tab’ die set, and the white layer is Heffy Doodle ‘stitched slimline trio’. The base card is pre-cut and scored, from Papermill Direct, and having the scalloped layer being at that exact size length-wise meant there was no border at the sides, but a good border top and bottom.

I quite like the look, which is why I chose a darker more obvious base-card – instead of trying to hide it – we have to use our stash, don’t we?

I decided to keep the square die-cuts inside each window – not even raising them up or even raising the frame – liking the clean look it gives with just that pattern around each square. No ink-blending, no splatters – just a clean almost monochromatic look.

I went searching for a suitable sentiment – the correct size etc – but decided not to put one on the front, and left it as you see.

I hope you can come and join us – anything goes Christmas/festive – and I look forward to seeing you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks Challenge – Christmas

Colour Crazy Challenge – anything goes with colouring

Just Us Girls Challenge – Slimline Card

Winter Wonderland Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Looking At The Same Moon

Hello once again. A new challenge is starting at The Alphabet Challenge. Meg is the host and she has chosen the theme of ‘Woodland Flora or Fauna‘ as we have reached the letter ‘W’. Here is my card:

It appears I’ve been in an inky and messy playing mood…..

The image of the hare from Indigo Blu was my first thought for the challenge theme, and I feel lends itself to a more fluid and colourful background as opposed to a clean and simple card.

I used Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, and Peacock Feathers in the Distress Ink line – and just went for it! Once the ink was on the glass mat, I added some water, smooshing that card down in there. Sometimes I added water to the card, and sometimes I used a piece of packaging and added to the card that way, so I could control – just a little – where the colour went.

I tried to create some lines within each colour, but tried not to mix the three colours together too much – going for a grass and sky background – if you squint a little I think it works! :)

Anyhoo, once I was happy with the background, and it had dried completely, I then stamped the hare image – using my Misti as I had used the textured side of the water-colour card – and stamped it probably about 3 or 4 times to get a crisp and complete image.

I managed to find some green/teal card with some shine for one of the layers, and stuck them all together as you see.

The sentiment – love this sentiment – is from the same stamp set, stamped onto another piece of water-colour ink smooshing card I didn’t like the look of originally – and added with some foam squares.

I hope you can come and join us, following our theme of course, and I hope to see you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafty Sentiments Designs – anything goes

Creative Fingers Challenge – anything goes

We Love 2 Create – anything goes mixed media

Crafty Animals Challenge – anything goes with animals

Cardz 4 Galz – Pink and Brown

Hello there. A new challenge has started at Cardz 4 Galz, and the theme this time is to use Pink and Brown in your girlie creations. Here is my card:

As you can see – I have gone full-on girlie and also used a lot of die-cuts and embellishments:

On a white card base I added a brown card stock which has some shimmer to it – some may call it bronze…..which is a brown isn’t it?

I then layered a couple of pink patterned papers, and added a brown and pink spotted ribbon across the join – with some additional pieces for banner end thingies.

The flowers are from my stash – had them for ages – and the swirl die cuts are from using a Sue Wilson die – an oldie but one of my favourites.

The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp – fast becoming a favourite of mine – and I’m liking the bold font against a very feminine card.

I hope you can come and join us with your girlie pink and brown creations. We have a new Design Team member called Shell – known to us as Shell B – hopefully you will be able to check her creation out – and have a look at what the rest of our team have created. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Unicorn Challenge – use flowers

Mix It Up Challenge – anything goes – option fancy folds not taken

Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper Challenge – anything goes with patterned paper

Crafty Creations Challenge – anything goes

Please feel free to copy to your sidebar

Fa La La Penguins

Hello. Once again there is a new challenge at ABC Christmas Challenge. We are at ‘C’ and ‘D’ and we want to see your Christmas creations with ‘Christmas Carols‘ and/or ‘Diamonds’ (diamond, diamante, diamond glitter etc). Here is my card – ‘C’ for Carols:

I decided to go with a scene this time, using a lot of penguins. Once stamped, coloured and die cut, the little penguins were put to one side whilst I thought about the scene. I also used a Christmas tree from another stamp set, and that little ribbon with the bow? It’s supposed to be over a mantle, but I decided to use it for the two penguins to carry between them, heading for the Christmas tree.

Don’t you love how a person’s mind can work sometimes?

Using Lawn Fawn ‘Stitched Hillside Backdrop’ I kept it all white, and added to a grey card base, then attached each element as you see.

The sentiment is layered three times – not stamped, just the die-cut.

I had fun putting this caroling scene together, sometimes the mojo just happens.

I hope you can come and join us, we’d like to see your Christmas projects following our two themes – or both themes if you wish – I look forward to seeing your creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas – option of gnomes not taken

Crafty Sentiments Designs – anything goes

Crafty Gals Corner – Snow Much Fun

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with an animal

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

HLS – Love Is In The Air

A new CAS Challenge has begun at Happy Little Stampers. The theme for this month is ‘Love is in the air‘. Here is my card:

Quite a bit of thought went into this card. I wanted to make a slimline card, and knew I wanted to use the ‘Bots of Love’ from Heffy Doodle – I even stamped all three robot images and coloured them, thinking I wanted to add all three. Instead, I made what you see here.

The white base card and hearts were created by using Lawn Fawn ‘Scalloped Slimline with Hearts’, but creating a mask of the the three hearts – I just die-cut the masking paper.

Then, I stamped quite a few of the little cog and bolts images from the stamp set in a couple of Concord & 9th inks, then ink blended the hearts for them to show a little more against the white background.

When I had stamped the sentiment, I was playing around with placement of the robots, but found they covered quite a lot of the hearts, so I used the one you see – adding a spanner and a heart to him.

I hope you can come and join us, and I look forward to seeing you in our gallery – the team has made quite a few ‘loving’ themed cards. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Just Us Girls Challenge – masking

Simply Less Is More – CAS in a row

Aud Sentiments Challenge – sending love and a sentiment

Perfectly CAS – CAS, one third or less, stencils

Colour Hues – red and pink

Spelling The Season

Hello once again. I hope you are keeping well. A new challenge has started at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge, the theme is always anything goes goes Festive/Christmas. Here is my card:

The alphabet was stamped, Copic coloured, and cut out using my Scan’n’cut machine.

Once the letters were arranged on my slimline card, I thought it was a little too CAS, a little too plain, but didn’t really want to add a scene, or add anything into the background, or too many other layers so I turned to my Clearly Besotted stash again, and found these images.

Stamped, coloured, then cut out with my machine – and added to the letters so it looks like they are popping over them – they are called ‘pop-up’ Christmas after-all………

I think I’m getting the hang of this machine for cutting out my stamped images – as long as the images have a good outline, and in fact on the second photo – the snowman over the letter ‘a’ – you can still see a pencil mark I made to ensure the Scan’n’cut outlined the whole image – I will go back and erase that at some point – honest!

I was much happier with these characters and the letters – still CAS, but not plain – to me anyway.

I hope you can come and join us and get your stash ready for this next Christmas – hopefully a more family orientated Christmas…………I look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks – any occasion

Color Crazy Challenge – atg colouring

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge – atg Christmas – option gnomes not taken

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – atg Christmas

You Are Amazing…….

Hello, I have a floral monochrome card to share today, using one of my favourite layering stamp sets from Altenew:

I stamped and layered the inks using a grey ink set from Altenew – actually I used two grey inks sets – not sure whether I wanted a completely grey/grey or a more warm grey – and looking at this photo, they look a little browny/grey………………hmmm…….yet on the close-up photo they look different again:

Anyhoo – once stamped and die cut, I set them aside to think about my base layers.

The base card is white, with a darker grey layer – ‘mushroom’ from Concord & 9th – then when adding the flowers I felt they got a little lost, so I used the ‘Pocket Banner‘ from Altenew, and added some interest to the white of that with a stencil and some Altenew embossing paste.

I did toy with the ide of adding some grey ink to the whit paste – but I like the white-on-white look for this banner, letting the roses stand out more.

Once this had dried I started to place the roses and stamped leaves down – I didn’t like the look of the stamped leaves, so I turned to Altenew ‘Garden Picks 3D die set’ for the layered leaves, and some ‘Dove’ card-stock from Concord & 9th.

Once again, I left the sentiment until last, but this time I remembered to do the stamping and embossing BEFORE I stuck everything down – something I usually forget!

I shall be entering the following challenges:

The Rainbow Card Challenge – neutrals

Stamplorations Stencil Challenge – anything goes with a stencil (white background)

I Think You Are Blooming Marvellous

Hello once again. I have a couple of cards to share, made for a couple of friends who are blooming marvellous and achieved great things – even at this difficult time:

They have both been working full time and more, on the front-line, and have just both completed their Masters level to become Advance Nurse Practitioners – Whoop Whoop! They joined my team a couple of years ago, and to say they are an absolute breath of fresh air would be an understatement. Fabulous girls, both with such a positive attitude, they are a ray of light and it’s always a pleasure when I manage to see them.

I started with the grey card, and stamped the Pinkfresh Studio ‘Curvy Floral Vine‘ four times – I wasn’t sure how many of them I would need – and arranged three of them in a wreath. The vines themselves are stamped using Concord & 9th ink cubes – a grey for the vines – double stamping the centre of the vine to get a slightly darker grey, and the flowers were stamped with a light pink – double stamped for the flowers, then triple stamped the same colour to get the second layer of the flowers for some dimension.

The sentiment is from Heffy Doodle – big and bold – just so they get the message!

This was the card I was going to enter into the Color Throwdown challenge but I tried the light blue against the grey background with the vine – and it just didn’t seem to work – hence on to the white card base…….

The card with the white card base is using one of the floral vines, and I also added some light blue and light grey foliage from the same Heffy Doodle set which had the sentiment – again I went big and bold with it for dramatic effect.

I love when I have a good and positive reason to make cards for specific people – both the cards came together quite easily – maybe to mojo needs a reason to become active.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – pink, light blue, grey

Crafty Sentiments Designs – anything goes

Creative Knockouts Challenge – die cuts or punches

Creative Fingers Challenge – anything goes

loopyloocards

loopyloocards

Daffodils For Mum

Wish You Were Here….

Santa’s Little Village

Looking At The Same Moon

Cardz 4 Galz – Pink and Brown

Fa La La Penguins

HLS – Love Is In The Air

Spelling The Season

You Are Amazing…….

I Think You Are Blooming Marvellous