CAS

Watercolour florals

Hello again. I have another card to share today, featuring water-colouring:

I stamped the Catherine Pooler ‘One in a million mom’ in the bottom corner of a piece of water-colour card, heat embossed, masked it, stamped again, and again a third time to fill in some gaps.

I then used two Catherine Pooler inks to water-colour the flowers and leaves, and added a grey Zig marker for some background. I did less watering down in the middle of each flower, to keep it a little darker, but generally just went for it.

I did originally have the grey going further out, and was going to attached the whole panel to a card front, but I didn’t like how it turned out. So – I took the matching die for the floral spray – then realised I had to do some clever partial die-cutting……nerves of steel today!!

Once I had decided where I wanted to image to be, I stamped and embossed the sentiment on the base card – as I said – nerves of steel!!

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crazy for CAS – grey, aqua, peach

Lil Red Wagon – Flora

Case this Sketch – sketch

Crazy for CAS

CAS(E) this Sketch!

CAS buds

Hello again – I think my mojo is back! Back with a vengeance! This card – two cards actually – was inspired by several challenges:

I have had the sketch from CAS Colours and Sketches in my head all week. I knew I wanted to go CAS, but couldn’t really get my head around what images to use for this layout.

Then – the new challenge at Less Is More raised it’s head – bingo! I got my images, I had my layout, I knew I wanted CAS – so this is what happened.

Then – I read again that the Less Is More Challenge was for a one layer card. Ooops. As you see above, this card isn’t one layer. So – what’s a crafter to do? I went back up to my craft room, and did another:

This is definitely one layer. I had to change the sentiment, because the ‘Hope’ in the first card is a die-cut. This sentiment is from another stamp set, but all stamps and all inks are from Altenew.

I hope you will forgive the poor lighting – but it’s quite dull here today, and even when the sun does come out – the wind is just too much to be able to take good photographs outside.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

CAS Colours and Sketches – sketch

Less Is More – one layer card, theme is buds or petals

Always Fun Challenges – CAS

The Alphabet Challenge – ‘C’ for CAS

Ocean Scene

Hello there. I have a card for you today which is CAS – different to my recent cards:

I saw the theme for the current challenge at CASology – Ocean – and knew I had a layering stamp set somewhere, by someone, and it took me a few minutes to remember this was from The Ton – a golf course layering stamp set.

I had forgotten how to stamp and layer this, so I turned to YouTube – and found an amazing video from June 2018 – link HERE – where Effie from The Ton used the waves stamp several times, the technique for not getting any lines whilst mixing and merging the stamps – and basically you ended up with a beach scene. Just keep stamping the waves bottom layer again and again, in different places – and the effect produces a deeper and longer waves layer…..as above……

The initial stamps create the layer you see above with the darker waves, and the waves below that are just using the base stamp over and over again – varying the placement.

My first few attempts I got a few lines where I didn’t wipe the edges enough – but if you check the video out – it really is quite simple once you get the hang of it (she says – laughing – tongue in cheek!!)

Once I had the ocean stamped, I then used the current from the current challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches, die cut a circle – and placed as you see.

I also added some muted grey clouds from that same stamp set – two layer clouds, but in the lightest grey inks from Altenew.

Combining a theme, colours, and sketches really helps me to create a more balanced card. trying to put together colours fazes me sometimes – so many colours – so much choice, and where to stamp and put my die-cuts? That’s why I like to combine challenges.

Sometimes I start with a them, sometimes with the colours, but the sketch challenges certainly help me with the layout.

I shall also be entering this challenge into the current Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge – where the theme is CAS.

Sparkly deer

Hi there. I have a quick posting for a card today, to enter the current challenge at CAS Christmas Cards:

I took this very intricate deer from X-cut, and cut it out of glitter card from Crafters Companion, after sticking some double-sided sticky sheet on the back of it. I knew the deer was intricate, and didn’t want to glue it, as I generally get some glue leaking around the edges.

I used the Crafters Companion Gemini Junior to cut it – and that took several passes through the machine – which is very unusual. I even used the metal plate too…….

The blue/green rectangle is Distress Oxides, which I blended through an aperture I masked off. The sentiment is from a Concord and 9th stamp set. I thought the sentiment was suitable for a peaceful looking deer.

So – a quick posting, as I was at the computer buying the newest Catherine Pooler release…………which will take 2-3 weeks to get to me!! I am sure you will know when I have it, as there will definitely be some cards made very soon after receiving it…….. 🙂

CAS Wild Ferns

I seem to have lost my posting about this card, but have found it via a challenge link. Hopefully it works now……….and it hasn’t posted twice!! 😦

Hi again. I have a simple card to share today. I have spent the past couple of days playing with some intricate techniques and cards – see previous post – so today I wanted to go a little more clean……….

I actually made another with out the sequins, and matted and layered slightly differently:

The idea behind these cards, was for a couple of guys at work who have just been through some exams, and I wanted to give them a card which is not my usual more feminine style – obviously – so these are what I came up with. A clean and simple – yet effective – card.

Who says a guy can’t have sequins on a card? Not me……….

I used the Altenew ‘Wild Ferns’ stamp set and went with a simple stamped image using three of the Altenew green inks.

This layout is one I have used for a previous challenge where the idea was to use just one third, or just the top part of the card. I find going back to previous challenge sketch layouts gives me an idea about my design.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

The Male Room – Male and green

The Card Concept – Photo Inspiration

Addicted to CAS – green

Stitched Blooms

Hi there. I created another card yesterday, and waited for today to try and get some natural light to take the photo – there is plenty of light – but outside is sooooo windy that I daren’t take the card out for the photo.

Here it is anyway:

I used the newly purchased – and restocked at Seven Hills Crafts – MFT ‘Stitched Blooms‘. I have been waiting for these to come back in, and when I received the email to say there were in stock – off I went to order them (and some other stuff) 🙂 🙂 and I’m not disappointed in them.

I die cut the whole lot out of white card stock, then coloured with my Copics. The colours used were for entry into the current Color Throwdown Challenge – orange, light blue, brown – and the layout is for the current MFT Sketch Challenge.

A clean and simple card, which actually took a lot of preparation – die-cutting, colouring, sticking the flowers together……and yet it looks so simple……I am sure to be crafting over the weekend, so I will catch you at some point, I’m sure.

Hello Spring…..

Hi there everyone. So – in the midst of snow flurries and windy/icy conditions yesterday – I made a card for Spring. I know – but that’s how my mind works……..! Maybe it was wishful thinking…….

Here is my card:

I have been ‘trying’ to sort out my stamps and dies – putting them in pockets, sorting alphabetically by company (O.C.D. much!) and came across this stamp set I have never used. I don’t have the matching dies for this set, so I started by trying to create a one-layer-card…….then realised Copic colouring just doesn’t work with one-layer-cards – too much seepage through the card. So – I matted it onto a card base.

I stamped the images as you see, then masked the bottom of them to stamp the little floral/grass arrangement repeatedly across the bottom. The Copic colouring I kept to the same colours, to kinda join the image together. I did a little shading, but with these images, a solid block of colour works quite well, I think.

One thing about the middle little bunny – I didn’t realise until colouring her that the stamped image has a sad kind of look, so I took an Artliner pen and drew a smile………….but I think I added a moustache instead……what do you think?

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches – sketch

Addicted to Stamps Challenge – anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – create a scene

AAA Cards – sentiment + 3 = sentiment + stamped image/colouring pens/one matted layer