Birthday

Another Blooming Birthday

Hello again. I haven’t posted for a few days, but I have been playing in my craft room. I have done a little mixed media project from a virtual event last weekend, and I will show what I have made at some point, but for today I have this card to share:

The background panel was created by adding some diagonal yellow strips of card, then dry embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder. This way, the embossed pattern ran across the whole panel.

The layered flowers are from a die set from Waffle Flower, and I used some older Altenew ombre card packs to create them, colouring the centre parts with a Copic marker.

Once they were layered, I decided to add a white layer beneath the teal/aqua flowers, so they stood out a little more from the background.

I chose a dark green for the leaves to make them really pop.

I was going to go with just the teal/aqua flowers, but decided to add the yellow ink blended flower to complete the trio.

The foiled sentiment was added, and as I chose a black foiled strip, I added some black gems, also from Spellbinders.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Pinspirational – embossing

Give A Crafter A Cookie – birthday

Dragonfly Dreams – use a die

Color Throwdown – yellow, green, aqua

Krafty Chicks – occasions

Here Is A Place To Start – anything goes – option to add flowers taken

Tic Tac Toe – left hand column – flowers + embossing + gem/embellishment

Birthday flowers

Hello again. A little time to craft today to create this card:

Using the colors for the current Color Throwdown Challenge, I used some new layering stencils from The Greetery. The inks are from Pinkfresh Studio, the same colour but stamped a couple of times to create a darker colour, and the centre of the flowers was using some gold Tonic Studios paste.

This panel was then cut down slightly layered with a blue card stock, then adhered to the card base.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – red, gold, navy

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – stencil it

Cupcake Inspirations – flowers

Addicted To Stamps and More – make your mark

Triple B – birds and/or butterflies and/or blooms

Stencil Fun – use a stencil – option Spring/flowers taken

Beautiful Blossoms – flowers

Spring Flowers

Hello there. I am hosting the new challenge at Cardz 4 Galz, and I chose the theme of:

‘Spring Flowers with dies and/or punches’

Here is my card:

This die set was part of the Concord & 9th ‘In The Classroom’ virtual event I attended last year. Big and Bold is the name of the set – and they certainly are big and bold flowers.

There is a die which you use for the background to place stitch marks on a panel, then you use the other dies for the flowers and leaves. You can use the flowers alone, but as you can see, the flowers are cut to perfectly line up with each other.

I die cut quite a few extra of the florals and leaves, and added them round and about the main big flowers, adding some matching enamel dots in places.

I hope you can come and join us with your projects following our theme. I look forward to seeing you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Make My Monday – Spring

Everybody Art – Spring

Ellibelle’s Corner – anything goes

Die Cut Divas – anything goes with die cuts

Here Is A Place To Start – anything goes – option of ‘hip to be square’ not taken

Beautiful Blossoms – flowers

Birthday Roses

Hello. I created this card with some new products from Honey Bee Stamps:

I first die cut all the elements from the die set out of white, so I could see where everything went in this layering die set. I also went on Honey Bee Stamps web site where there is a layering guide.

The leafy background was then die cut again from Concord & 9th parsley card stock. I wanted a bright and vivid green. The details on the leaves weren’t as obvious as I wanted, so I ran it through again with the silicone mat to emboss those details a little more deeply.

For the two larger flowers I ink blended some peach colour tones from Pinkfresh Studio inks onto each layer – darker for the bottom, and getting lighter to the top.

The smaller buds I went with yellow flowers, and chose the make the top layer green for leaves, and a lighter green than the parsley card stock so it stood out more.

Once I had laid everything on tp of the leafy background piece, I glued the initial white piece behind it to give it more stability,

A white card base seemed to wash out the colours, and wasn’t quite dramatic enough, so I chose a black card base which I think works better.

All the elements were glued down, a foiled sentiment added, and some clear dew drops also added.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Everybody Art Challenge – birthday

Color Throwdown – peach, yellow, green

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – beautiful blooms

Craft Rocket Challenge – birthday

The Crafty Addicts – anything goes

Krafty Chicks – occasions

Beautiful Blossoms – floral

Fringe Cake

Hi there. Happy Little Stampers ‘anything goes birthday’ challenge has started for August. Here is my card:

The cake die is from Spellbinders, and the layers of the cake die cut with a couple of colours from Concord & 9th. I love how the die cuts the fringe into the layers, and there is a row for stitching, for which I used a glitter gold thread, and a blue and white striped thread.

The candles and the cake stand were die cut from Spellbinders gold glitter foam.

I adhered a piece of patterned paper to the card base, cut slightly smaller to allow white edge, then assembled the cake as you see. The candles were the hardest part, as they are quite thin and fiddly, but the foam adheres very nicely once put into position.

I hope you can come and join us for the challenge, and I look forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Seize The Birthday – birthday – option of inspired by a book not taken

Creative Fingers – anything goes

Allsorts – anything but square

Love To Craft – anything goes

Mix It Up – anything goes – option of aperture not taken

Birthday Peony

Hello. I have a card to share using some die sets from Honey Bee Stamps:

I wanted to use the three colours for the current Color Throwdown Challenge and was stumped. I mentioned the colours to a friend of mine, and she instantly said ‘peony’…….I searched the Color My Life app for what peony items I had (quiet a few actually) and this die set just spoke to me.

I ink blended a panel of Distress White Heavystock with Spun Sugar Distress Ink – keeping it quite light, and not being too perfect – and die cut the leaf from that due set twice.

On another panel I die cut the flower layers first, then ink blended the Tattered Rose Distress Ink afterwards – I wanted to vary how strong, how blended, and how smooth I wanted the blending to be, depending on which part of the flower showed when all layered together.

I die cut three of the ‘Lovely Layers Heart Vine’ outlines and arranged them behind the rose and leaves:

Once I had the placement I wanted, I used some ‘Press’n’seal’ to pick the whole arrangement up and attach 3D foam to the back, and then stick down. The leaves were not stuck down any other way and left loose to give even more dimension.

I stamped the sentiment then used the matching die to cut it out, and arranged as you see.

I also added some enamel dots to the top right corner.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – blush, dusty rose, white

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – make your mark

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – anything goes

Krafty Chicks – occasions

Make My Monday – flowers

It’s Your Bird-day

Some messy in smooshing play this morning with Distress Oxides and Distress Sprays, in order to create this card:

I used the two pink Distress Oxides you see in the picture to create two panels from which I die cut the Simon Says Stamp bird. I layered the darker and the lighter pink to create some dimension.

The background is a Simon Says Stamp embossing folder, which I cut down and layered with a black panel.

The branch is die cut from an ink smooshed panel too – using Rusty Hinge Distress Ink – and the green branches are from yet another ink sprayed panel using Rustic Wilderness. The branches are from Gummiapan and Charlie and Paulchen.

The sentiment is from the Spellbinders Advent Calendar from last year, a debossed sentiment, which is difficult to see in the photo – better in real life – but here is a close up:

I’m trying out a way of photographing my cards to try and make them appear better. The card is raised on a Distress Ink pad to create some shadow, and I have added three of the items I used to make to card – a triangle as it were…I’m not sure if I’ve got the hang of it yet, but I’ll keep trying…..

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – pink, rust, green

Festive Friday – three items from the list – bird, birthday sentiment, embossing folder

Creative Fingers – anything goes

Cut It Up – die cuts and something starting with ‘B’ – bird, branch

CAS Birthday Bear

Hello. I have a CAS card to share using a Clearly Besotted stamp:

I stamped the image onto panel and coloured with Copics. I then stamped the sentiment in the same brown Gina K amalgam ink, cut the panel down to be slightly smaller than the card base, and adhered with 3D foam.

I decided the bear needed some grounding, so I added a little cool grey Copic shadowing.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

AAA Cards – CAS – bears

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – 4 legged animals

2 Crafty Critter Crazies – anything goes with critter as main focus

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

AAA Birthday – anything goes birthday

Sparkles Forum – friendship

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

Happy Birthday

I’m back from my holiday to Turkey – fabulous and sunny – even though I was hit with a heavy cold on my return……I now feel I can get back into the flow of crafting.

It is time for the October challenge at Happy Little Stampers ‘anything goes birthday’. Here is my card: