die cutting

The Alphabet Challenge – ‘Z for Zodiac’ – Best Fishes

Hello once again. We have reached the letter ‘Z’ on The Alphabet Challenge. I am hosting this time round, and the theme is ‘anything related to the Zodiac’ There are lots of options for this challenge – any of the animals, girl/woman, weighing scales, water, air etc. Here is my card:

This layering set of dies if from Hero Arts, one of the Looking Glass’ die sets. I struggle with these, despite watching YouTube videos time and again – it just doesn’t stick in my head – but it doesn’t stop me buying and using them……I just go with what works for me.

All of the layers were die cut from white card stock, then each layer coloured with tones of blue or teal. The fishes were coloured with orange Copics.

The background is a Hero Arts stamp, a blue ink onto a light blue piece of card stock.

I hope you can come and join us – I’m looking forward to seeing all the variations on this theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Creative Knockouts – add a sentiment

Crafts Galore – anything goes

Avenue 613 – anything goes – option CAS

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

‘Tis The Season…..

The new Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has now gone live, and the theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas/Festive‘. Here is my card:

I had quite a bit of messy fun creating this card – ink smooshing, die cutting, ink blending – and I like the outcome.

The background panel is a piece of ink smooshed card stock, with pink and blue Distress Inks, and when that was dry I used a Pinkfresh Studio background die.

I adhered that whole panel to the card base, then turned to the die cutting…….

The two critters are from Tim Holtz, and each piece die cut pout of an ink blended or smooshed panel. If I didn’t have the colour I wanted, I created one.

Before adding each layer, I did some more ink blending on them to make them different. All the brown pieces are from the same panel, but I ink blended a darker brown on them to create different shades – the antlers for instance.

The sentiment is also from Tim Holtz, stamped onto the same brown smooshed panel, cut out, then ink blending.

I adhered all of them with 3D foam.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Jingle Belles – Christmas and card stock – no patterned paper

Creative Fingers – anything goes

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

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

My Time To Craft Christmas – Christmas and something beginning with ‘R’ (red, reindeer)

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

X is for ‘XOXOXO’

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the letter ‘X’, Dawn is hosting, and we want to see your ‘XOXOXO – Hugs and Kisses’ cards. Here is my card:

Onto a Distress white heavy-stock panel I ink blended some pink Distress Oxides – I find I can blend them better than the inks – then splattered with metallic acrylic paints in gold and silver.

I took another white panel and ran through through s Spellbinders embossing folder, adhered it to a card base.

Once the ink blended and splattered panel was dry, I used a Time For Tea designs ‘Stitched Hearts’ cover die – I think you can just make out the stitched hearts around the pink edges – and also used inner rectangle to cut out the middle.

Out of that pink cut-out piece, I die cut two hearts and added them to the card as you see, and also cut out the x’s and the o’s, after putting the strip onto double-sided sticky tape, then adding them to another white strip – trying very hard to keep them aligned……

I hope you can come and join us. I’m looking forward to your take on the theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Inspiration Station – photo inspiration – inspired by love and hearts

Here is a place to start – anything goes – option to pick a palette not taken

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Crafty Gals Corner – add a heart

Papercraft Challenge – hearts

A Golden Hello

Hello there. It seems I have a thing about creating cards with birds at the moment. My two previous posts are with swans, and now I have a card with a golden dove:

Onto a white card base I adhered a red layer, then a blush pink dry embossed panel,. using a Spellbinders embossing folder. I die cut the central label shape using a Gina K Designs ‘Master Layouts‘ set, the same blush card, and layered with the same red card. I fiddled around to ensure that the central label embossing matched the background embossing – a little fiddly but I achieved what I wanted to do.

I then began die cutting……..

I used Spellbinders floral dies, and die cut them all in the blush card and white card, then decided to cut them again in a brushed gold from Spellbinders, played around with which colour for which layer, and then decided I needed a darker pink card for some of the buds on the floral pieces – and you can see what I ended up with. There was a lot of die-cutting and assembling the different colours and the different layers until I was happy.

The bird is from The Greetery, die cut using the shiny gold card from Spellbinders, and I also used the shiny gold for the sentiment, but also added three layers of white behind it to make it more substantial.

Using two different types of gold, and two different pink tones seems to work quite well – the bird still stands out as it is shiny…..

I even added some more bling using Trinity Stamps gold embellishments….

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – red, pink, gold

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – fun with dies

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Creative Fingers – anything goes

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and add some gold

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

Snow Sweet

Hi, I hope you are doing well. I have a card to share using a technique from a virtual class by Hero Arts and some Spellbinders products:

The background red panel was created during a virtual class run by Hero Arts. Jennifer McGuire dry embossed a foil plate – after inking the plate……..to say I was amazed and astounding is putting it lightly.

I inked the foil plate with red ink, and ran it through by die cutting machine to create this debossed panel with red ink in the grooves – it makes the detail stand out more. She also suggested white ink – I have a couple of those panels to hand for the future.

The vellum has white ‘snow’ on it, and I die cut with a bauble die from Hero Arts – the one that matches the foil plate – and attached it with a small 3D foam square through the bauble ‘hole’ at the top – so it swings just a little.

I put the snowman together by die cutting two circles which had double sided tape on them, placing them behind the snowman body and head, paper-piecing all the little light blue shapes into the belly, and paper-piecing the little black dots for the eyes and mouth. The carrot nose is a separate die which I die cut from a little piece of card I coloured with an orange Copic marker.

The hat has a little cut to insert the snowman head – very well thought out – and then I added the scarf, and actually added an extra scarf piece around the base of the hat.

Once the snowman was adhered to the vellum, I thought some more detail was needed, so I took some white glitter card stock – a new white shimmery card from Pink frog Crafts here in the UK – and used a BG Copic to colour the glitter card – then die cut some snowflakes, adhering them as you see.

The sentiment is from the same snowman die set from Spellbinders – a black banner in the back, the light blue in the front with the words die cut out of it.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

52CCT – snowflakes

Fab’n’Funky – Christmas

A Perfect Time To Craft – anything goes

Cut It Up – Christmas – include die cuts

TTCRD – anything goes

Dream Valley – Christmas

Crafty Gals Corner – Tis The Season

Merry Christ-mouse

Hello once again. The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has started it’s last challenge for the year. As always, it is ;anything goes Christmas’. Here is my card:

I used quite a few Spellbinders die sets for this card – loving the die cutting and assembling of all the elements. I must have been in a finnicky mood that day…..

I first took the white card base and added some black splatters, and whilst this was drying I turned to the post box, envelope and mouse, cut out the elements, and assembled them.

Once I had put the post box on the card base, added the mouse to the front, I slotted the envelopes in as you see, then decided that there was something missing – so I die cut those hearts and arranged them around and about.

The sentiments are from a previous foiling session.

I hope you can come and join us for the last challenge of this year – we will certainly back in the New Year – creating Christmas cards for our stash. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Mix It Up Challenge – atg – option to use a technique (splattering, foiling)

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

2 Critter Crazies – animals as focus

Here Is A Place To Start – anything goes with option happy holidays

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

The Alphabet Challenge – R for Reduce

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has started a new challenge, and as we have reached the letter ‘R’, Veronika has chosen the theme of ‘Reduce – make it clean and simple‘. Here is my card:

I used a frame from my stash – I forget the maker – and stuck a piece of patterned paper onto the back – then trimmed around the frame.

I stuck this down onto the card base with a strong glue.

I think the tree was a pre-cut piece from a kit, to which I added three gold strings, and then placed some gold facetted gems on top of the ‘loops’ of the string, adding a larger gem onto the top of the tree.

I’m looking forward to seeing your CAS cards in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

TTCRD – anything goes

Lil Red Wagon – glitter, glitz, gleam, glow

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – anything goes

Fab’N’Funky Challenge – die cuts or embossing – no stamped image

Love To Craft – anything goes

Just……..Hello…..

I have a CAS card to share which incorporates several of my favourite techniques – ink smooshing, die-cutting, and using embossing folders:

I dry embossed a white panel and stuck to the card base with 3D foam.

The Tim Holtz flower (Holiday Brushstrokes) was die cut from a previously created orange ink smooshed panel – the different small layers had some extra ink blending on the edges to make them a little darker – and glued together. The yellow centre is from another panel using mica sprays.

I also die cut the leaves in that die set from a brown card stock, then adhered these with a mixture of 3D foam and wet glue.

The sentiment if from Lawn Fawn, die cut three times in white, then a brown die cut on top.

I added some red enamel dots as extra accents.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

TTCRD – anything goes

Krafty Chicks – CAS

Creative Knockouts – anything goes

Color Throwdown – red, orange, brown, yellow

Mix It Up – anything goes – option to use a technique

U Got This…..

I have a card to share today using lots of bright colours and die cuts:

The base panel is a previously created panel when ink smooshing and mixing some bright colours, then I embossed it with a Stampin Up embossing folder. I splattered this some black acrylic and set it to dry.

I then turned to die cutting all the pieces from the Tim Holtz die set – choosing bright colours – and using more previously created ink smooshed panels from my stock. I also found some black glimmer card which I had used some glimmer polish on so thought that would be ideal for the eyes.

Once all the pieces were die cut, I played with layout and decided to go with the face as you see, sticking down with a combination of 3D foam and glue.

The sentiment is also from Tim Holtz – using the letters which fell out of the metal die – a big ‘U’ instead of the full word as I felt it wouldn’t fit in and look right……

A bright and cheerful encouragement card – I have someone in mind – with a lot of fiddly work – but I like the result.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Cut It Up Challenge – big image or sentiment – include a die cut

CYHTP – embossing folder – option orange and black not taken

Time Out Challenge – cancer awareness/friendship/encouragement

Creative Fingers – anything goes

Allsorts Challenge – add a sentiment

Addicted To Stamps and More – die cuts/stencils

We Love 2 Create – anything goes mixed media

Cardz 4 Galz – Forget-Me-Not

The new challenge theme at Cardz 4 Galz has been chosen by Debbie. She wants us to create a card ‘for a cause’. Here is my card:

My mum passed away earlier this year from the effects of Alzheimer’s Dementia, and so I chose to use forget-me-nots for my card, which is the flower associated with this dreadful disease.

I used the die set from The Greetery to create this bunch of flowers. Firstly, I ink smooshed some blue and some green inks onto some Distress Mixed Media card stock – trying to get some variation in the colours – but not too dramatic.

Once die cut, I assembled the flowers – I must have had some patience to do this – but maybe it was that I was inspired by the reason I was doing it – so very fiddly – but it came together quite quickly.

The sentiment is from Pinkfresh Studio, and I realise as I type this that it is very emotional, such a short time since I lost her, and I will always be thinking of her……she is the one who got me into card making in the first place too……

I hope you can come and join us with your creations following our theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Creative Fingers Challenge – anything goes

Ally’s Angels Challenge – anything goes

TTCRD – anything goes

Mix It Up Challenge – anything goes – option ink smooshing

Love To Craft Challenge – anything goes