The Magic of Baubles….

Hello – after a little hiatus, the Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge is back with a new challenge. The theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas‘. Here is my card:

I used a stamp and stencil set for the baubles – heat embossing the outline with gold, then using the matching stencils to colour them in. I wanted a soft look to them, as I knew I was going to add quite a bit of gold.

Once the baubles were coloured and die cut, I also heat embossed, coloured, and die cut the foliage, adding some shading the the leaves by varying the pressure when blending.

The background is a piercing cover plater, and added the frame with some strategically placed foam strips. I then added the foliage and the baubles, tucking them into the frame, and lastly added the heat embossed sentiment.

I hope you can come and join us with your Christmas creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Cut It Up die cuts – add a sentiment

Peace On Earth Christmas Challengeanything goes Christmas

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Ellibelle’s Corneranything goes

Merry Little Christmas Challengeanything goes Christmas

You Are A Wonderful Friend

Hello everyone. I have a card to share inspired by some challenges:

The background is a dry embossed panel using a Spellbinders embossing folder – one of my favourites – and Spellbinders ‘Fog’ card stock, adhered flat to a card base.

The frame is from Pinkfresh Studio, and is actually a square die set, but I did some partial die cutting to make it a rectangle, big enough for the A2 card base.

The flowers – also from Pinkfresh Studio – were stamped in a grey ink, then ink blended using the matching layering stencils, Pinkfresh inks, and then die cut with the matching die set.

I played around with the layout of the flowers until I was happy, and added them with a mixture of glue and 3D foam.

I added the foiled sentiment with 3D foam strips and some iridescent gems, as the foiling is iridescent.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdowngrey, magenta, aqua

Crafty Gals Corner anything goes

CYHTPembossing folder, option of feminine taken

Fab’n’Funky embossing

Festive Friday three items from list (4 for this card)- grey, flowers, pink, foiling,

Car Shaker

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the letter ‘C‘, and Billie A has chosen the theme of ‘Cars‘. Here is my card:

The shaker element was created using Spellbinders ‘Stylish Ovals’ dies – two dies together to create the frame – cutting the shape several times in white, then a top layer of a light blue/teal. I prefer to use die cuts for the walls of the shaker instead of 3D foam as I think it keeps the edges neater.

Once the white layers were stacked together, and glued to the card base, I added the sequins, then added the top layer to which I had adhered the acetate.

I used a Spellbinders die for the car, from the Spellbinders Advent Calendar 2023, assembled all the layers, then glued that down to the acetate – slightly overhanging the lighter blue/teal as though this was the road……

A foiled sentiment was added for completion.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafty Gals Corner anything goes

Seize The Birthdaybirthday – option off the edge not taken

Ally’s Angelsanything goes

Classic Design Challengeanything goes – option birthday taken

A Perfect Time To Craftanything goes

Crafts Galoreanything goes

Halloween (and other occasions) Craftsany occasion

It’s Just A Bauble…..

Hello everyone. A new challenge was due to start at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas is our theme – as always, but our leader has been unwell, so there won’t be a challenge for this next two weeks.

I have decided to still post my card for some challenges:

This bauble was created using a Spellbinders die set. There are two baubles in the set, but I chose to use just one of them for this card.

The background is embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder and blue card stock, then a blue ink blended around the outside to create an almost glowing centre.

The bauble and all the elements were die cut out of red, navy, blue, and silver glitter card stock, then all placed on the main background piece as you see. And – yes – all those itty bitty silver hearts were inlaid back too……a little fiddly, but I think worth it.

I adhered the background panel to a card base, then added the bauble with 3D foam, also adding some silver twine behind the top of it- I failed doing a bow soooo many times, that I decided the twine was good as it looks here.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge anything goes

Cut It Updie cuts – something starting with B (bauble)

Creative Fingers anything goes

CYHTP embossing folder, option feminine not taken

Ally’s Angels anything goes

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 Cookiebirthday

Dragonfly Dreamsuse a die

Color Throwdown yellow, green, aqua

Krafty Chicksoccasions

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

Tic Tac Toeleft 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 Throwdownred, gold, navy

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challengestencil it

Cupcake Inspirationsflowers

Addicted To Stamps and Moremake your mark

Triple B birds and/or butterflies and/or blooms

Stencil Fun use a stencil – option Spring/flowers taken

Beautiful Blossomsflowers

Stained Glass Bird

Hello again. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the letter ‘B’, and Debbie has chosen the theme of ‘Birds’. Here is my card:

This cute little bird is a die and stencil set from Simon Says Stamp. I ink blended the bird areas, masking off some parts so there was no contamination between the areas, adding some darker shading to some of the areas. I then die cut the white stained glass portion several times, adhering all but one of them to the ink blended image.

I then went in with some glossy accents, let that dry, then added the final white layer. I then added a black gem for the eye.

The background panel was created using an embossing folder from Spellbinders, using their sage green card stock and cut down slightly so there would be a white border on the card base.

The scalloped circle was cut, and dry embossed with another embossing folder.

The floral images are from Concord & 9th, stamped then die cut, and I made sure I made a lot of them in similar colours to the bird, so I could put as many down as I wanted.

I then added the bird, and slotted the floral images all over the bottom of the circle, adding some gold gems in the centre of the flowers and some around the edge of the circle.

A foiled sentiment to complete the card.

I hope you can come and join us with your projects incorporating a bird/birds. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Ellibelle’s Corner anything goes

CYHTPembossing folder – option of weather not taken

Tic Tac Toe stencil, die cut, critter

2 Crafty Critter Crazies anything goes with a critter

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

We Love 2 Createanything goes mixed media (ink, foiling, glossy accents)

Creative Artiste Mixed Media anything goes mixed media (ink, foiling, glossy accents)

Triple B birds and/or butterflies and/or blooms

Stencil Funuse a stencil – option spring/flowers taken

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challengestencil it

Congratulations Duck….

Hello once again. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. Helen has chosen the them of ‘Cute Animals’ Here is my card:

I just had to use this cute little duck again, so I die cut the elements and layered them together, leaving a little piece under the wing unglued to add the balloon string.

The balloon was die cut several times to get all the colours to layer.

Once the duck and balloon were sorted, I used an embossing folder to create the background – I wanted a bright and colourful card, and thought the little duck would stand out from this colour.

The sentiment is foiled and added somewhat as a grounding for the duck.

I am from an area in England where we call everyone ‘duck’ – a term of affection – to strangers and friends alike. I believe this is sometimes a little difficult for people to appreciate if you aren’t from the Sheffield/Yorkshire area – but if anyone from England calls you ‘duck’ – then take it as a friendly greeting……xx

I hope you can come and join us with your cute animal themed creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Everybody Art Challenge – farm animals

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

CYHTP – embossing folder – option of birds taken

Ellibelle’s Corner – something yellow

2 Sisters On The Blog – farm animals

A Flurry Of Snowflake Kisses

Hello there. The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has started a new ‘anything goes Christmas‘ challenge. Here is my card:

For the background panel I used a piece of Distress Kraft and sprayed with Distress Oxides, splattering a little but liking how the brown Kraft came through in some places.

Whilst that panel was drying, I die cut the snowflakes using Heffy Doodle dies and Concord & 9th glitter card stock, and used the same glitter card stock to die cut the Pinkfresh Studio frame.

I adhered the snowflakes towards the top of the purple panel, die cutting more smaller ones to fill the gaps, and then adhered the frame on top.

I added the foiled sentiment and decided not to add any more bling as the card is very glittery in real life.

I hope you can come and join us – I look forward to seeing you in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks occasions

Creative Fingersanything goes

Ally’s Angelsanything goes

Sparkles Forum ChristmasChristmas and non-traditional colours

Jolly Cow Greetings

Hello. A little crafty fun and playing with the cow dies from Elizabeth Craft Designs:

The theme at ‘Everybody Art Challenge‘ is Farm Animals. I knew I had a cow die and decided to have a play.

I die cut all the layers out of white card stock and coloured them with Copics. I wanted a brown cow with darker brown splotches so this is what I created. The hooves and the splotches are individual die cuts, coloured and glued on. The eyes are small black gems from Spellbinders.

The background is a stripe of sage card stock from Spellbinders, and the middle white panel was a fall-out from a previous die cutting session, dry embossed with an old Darice embossing folder, and adhered with 3D foam.

The flowers were created using dies from the recent Concord & 9th ‘In The Classroom – Spring Edition‘, layered and assembled.

Once I decided on the layout, I attached each piece with a combination of glue and 3D foam squares, then added the previously foiled sentiment.

I may have to play with this cow die a little more, maybe create a whole herd of different coloured cows – maybe even rainbow cows…..hmmm……brain working overtime now….

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Everybody Art Challenge farm animals

Here Is A Place To Startanything goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge emboss it

Lil Red Wagon animal antics

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge anything goes

Creative Fingersanything goes

Crafty Gals Corneranything goes