gems

Black & White Christmas

Hello again. The ABC Christmas Challenge has reached the end of the alphabet, and therefore this challenge is for the letters ‘Y’ and ‘Z’. The Christmas themes for these letters are:

Y is for Yummy (food) and Z is for Zebra (black & white or stripes)

Here is my card:

I obviously followed the black and white Christmas theme, creating what I think is quite a dramatic card.

I took an A2 panel and stamped some Gina K Designs snowflakes on a random pattern all over it, then cut it down slightly and matting with a piece of black card to create the edge.

The black banner/label for the centre is from The Greetery, and the die cuts out this filigree frame – but I decided I wanted all the details of the frame to stay in place, so I placed them all back in and applied some double sided tape to the back – keeping them secure.

The sentiment was stamped, then die cut with the matching die.

The final touch was to add some black gems to the snowflake centres, and a couple of smaller gems in some of the white spaces.

I hope you can come and join us for our final challenge of the year with your Christmas creations following one or both of our themes. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Cupcake Inspirations – let it snow

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Addicted to Stamps & More – Christmas

Fab ‘n’ Funky – Christmas

Peace On Earth – anything goes Christmas

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Poinsettia Season’s Greetings

Hello again. It is time for the new challenge at The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge. The theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas‘. Here is my card:

I wanted a dramatic and different look for this die card, with a lot of dimension.

The background panel is a piece of black shimmery card stock, and dry embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder.

The main image is a Pinkfresh Studio die and layering stencil set, and as the background was black and dramatic, I also went with a different colour scheme.

The layering stencils were ink blended using Pinkfresh Studio inks, then die cut with the macthing die set. I added a couple more layers to the flower image, then attached to the black embossed panel.

I also added gold gems to the centre of the flowers as they are my favourite embellishments to use, and there is rarely a card I make without some sort of gem or jewel around it somewhere. I feel they add a certain interest and detail which doesn’t take over the card.

The sentiment is gold foiled.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

As You Like It – favourite embellishment – gems/jewels/enamel dots

Stencil Fun – stencils – option to use some gold taken

Craft Rocket – Christmas/Winter

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

Beautiful Blossoms – florals – optional mood board


Build Me A Snowman

Hello again. Caz is hosting the new challenge at Cardz 4 Galz, and she has chosen the theme of:

Build Me A Snowman

Here is my card:

I wanted to try out the die set from The Greetery I had for a while, and finally managed to obtain a few of the honeycomb additions.

The snowman was die cut and assembled, then the honeycomb added. I used small black gems for the eyes. These honeycomb elements are fun, but I definitely have to hand this to the recipient…….

The background blue was embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder, the silver foiled panel was created by using a background toner panel – I think from Picket Fence Studio, but I may be wrong there. It’s the first time I’ve used the toner panels with my Gina K Fuse machine – how quick and easy is that? I did have to watch one of her YouTube videos just to make sure I had the correct heat setting, but I did play with several panels on this machine and therefore have a few on hand for future projects.

I cut the snowflake foiled panel with a Pinkfresh Studio die, and cut the centre out – the snowman kinda got lost without die cutting that centre out.

No sentiment, I think it’s pretty clear what time of year this is meant for….

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Addicted To Stamps & More – die cuts and/or stencils

12 Months of Christmas Link-Up – Christmas – option of sleigh not taken

Christmas Bingo – column O – no stamping – free – gems

Love To Craft – anything goes

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Greetings For This Holiday Season

I have another card to share after being in my craft room for a few hours yesterday – can you tell hubby has been away for a few days? Lots of crafty play time…..

I used quite a few Spellbinder products to create this card, but the skates are from Memory Box.

The card itself is a larger 5×7 inch as I knew I wanted to get more on it than usual.

For the colour scheme, I wanted a teal for the skates, and red for the cardinal and flowers, so I searched through my colour cubes to see what background colour would work with those colours. There were serval darker options, but I wanted a lighter background,

The background panel is a piece of sage card stock, cut slightly smaller that the card base to add a white border, bringing in some of the white on the other elements. This panel was then embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder.

I then set to die cutting all the things

The memory box skates were die cut using teal, white, and silver card stock, then layered together. I stitched red twine through the holes for the laces, then set them aside.

The sled was die cut in silver and white, then glued together, before turning to the flowers, foliage and the bird.

I used a combination of glue, 3D foam, and small pieces of spare card to attach all the elements, playing with the arrangement a few times.

The final addition was the sentiment, layered a couple of times for stability, then gold gems added to the centre of the poinsettia.

A lot of die cutting, but that is actually my favourite way to create.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Ally’s Angels – anything goes

Peace On Earth – anything goes Christmas

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and critters

A Cut Above – anything goes with die cuts

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

Christmas (Or Not) Bingo – column O – no stamping – free – pearls/gems/enamel dots

Merry Little Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Snow & Wreath

Hello everyone. I have a card to share that I have been procrastinating over for the past few days. I finally managed to decide on how I wanted the wreath to look:

The starting point for my card was the top row of the current challenge at Tic Tac Toe – wreath – foliage/leaves – stencil.

The background is using a Simon Hurley stencil received from a recent virtual event, and also using his Unicorn Horn Lunar Paste. Whilst this panel was drying, I searched through the CML app for foliage, branches, leaves, poinsettia and holly, and picked out three or four of the Spellbinders die sets I have.

I used a few shades of green for the foliage, a brown for the branch dies, red for the poinsettia layers, and I used silver glitter card for the holly leaves. Once all die cut, and the back panel was dry, I created a circle frame using some nesting circle dies and stuck that down, so I had something to follow when arranging all the elemnts.

The branches and leaves were glued down – just the tips so there was movement and dimension, then the poinsettias attached with a little circle of 3D foam, the holly leaves added lastly.

Silver gems were glued to the centre of the flowers, then the silver foiled sentiment from Lawn Fawn – stacked a couple of times – was glued down to the bottom of the card.

Lots of glitter and shine on this card, and I’m so pleased I actually managed to finish it…

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Tic Tac Toe – top row – wreath – foliage/leaves – stencil

Die Cut Divas – anything goes with die cuts

A Cut Above – anything goes with die cuts

12 Months of Christmas Link-up – anything goes Christmas – option of snowfall taken

Crafters Café – anything goes – option of Christmas taken

Making Spirits Bright

Hello everyone. The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge has started a new challenge – anything goes Christmas. Here is my card:

There’s a lot of glitter and shine with this card, and I’ll try and show you on the following pictures.

To begin, I started with the Pinkfresh Studio ‘Whispers of Poinsettia’ die and stencil set. I started by using the stencil and ink blended all the layers with different coloured inks, then used the matching die to cut it out.

To add more drama, I used a black panel and cut to an A2 card base size, then used another Pinkfresh die set to cut the frame out of black, and used an embossing folder for the cut out portion of the frame. The poinsettia panel was also die cut with the larger of the frame dies, placed behind the frame, the black embossed panel added behind, and then I added some splatters that with some gold shimmery acrylic paint from Liquitex.

When I say ‘some’ splatters – I kinda went to town with it….

A gold glitter card stock panel was cut, and all the layers added with wet glue.

I added a foiled sentiment and them some ombre glitter gems for the centre of the flowers.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Inkspirational – seasonal

A Cut Above – anything goes with a die cut

We Love 2 Create – anything goes mixed media

12 Months of Christmas Link-up – anything goes Christmas, option of snowfall not taken

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

Creative Artiste Mixed Media – anything goes mixed media

Crafters Café – anything goes – option of Christmas taken

Love Letters & Hearts

Hello again. The Alphabet Challenge has started a new challenge. Veronika is the host, and as we have reached the letter ‘L’, she has chosen the theme of:

Love Letters and Hearts

Here is my card:

I chose to use a Spellbinders die set for this card and wanted vibrant colours.

The dies set for the main heart and the flowers is called ‘Blooming Heart‘. I used a combination of Spellbinders card stock and Concord & 9th card stock to create the vibrant glowers and leaves, and added them to the dark blue background heart.

For the letters or handwriting part of it, I used a Spellbinders Letterpress plate twice – just moving it along to create the indents in the mustard coloured card stock behind the heart.

The sentiment was created using matt gold card stock, and of course, there had to be some addition of gems.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafters Café – flowers

Ellibelle’s Corner – anything goes

Colourful Options – any colour, any combination, any theme

Crafts Galore – anything goes

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

Mix It Up – anything goes – option of fancy fold not taken

Floral Birthday Frame

Hello again. I had time to play in my craft room using some flower dies from The Greetery I haven’t used as yet:

I used the current colour scheme from The Color Throwdown and a mixture of Spellbinders and Concord & 9th card stock.

I die cut all the elements in the ‘Embroidered Blooms‘ die set and set about arranging them. I didn’t use half of what I die cut, so I am sure they will be used on a future project.

As I arranged them, I decided to add a panel at the back embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder, and die cut a white frame using Pinkfresh Studio ‘art Deco Frame’. The fame was added using 3D foam squares in various places – I didn’t use foam strips as I didn’t really know if I wanted any of the foliage tucked underneath the frame as yet.

Once the frame was attached. I added the foiled sentiment strip at the bottom, then added the large flower with a few 3D foam pieces, and then arranged elements around and about.

The final step was – you might have guessed it already – adding some gold gems.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – sage green, yellow, coral

Die Cut Divas – die cuts and flowers

Aud Sentiments – sentiment with embossing wet or dry and/or flowers

Crafty Catz Weekly Challenge – anything goes with option of feminine birthday

Beautiful Blossoms – anything goes flowers/florals

Best Wishes

Hello there. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. Pamela is hosting and she has chosen the theme of ‘Embellishments’. Think gems, sequins, buttons, bows, etc. Here is my card:

The background panel is a purple card stock and dry embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder.

I die cut the frame from a Pinkfresh Studio die set out of brushed gold card stock, then added the washi tape blue roses – again from Pinkfresh Studio. I only used one of the multiple images from the strip of washi tape, the others are for another project.

The sentiment is heat embossed, and my nod to the challenge theme was to add multiple gems – some small sparkly gems and a few larger coloured gems.

I hope you can come and join us with your projects incorporating our theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafts Galore – anything goes

Tic Tac Toe – top left to bottom right diagonal – enamel dots – die cuts – dry/heat embossing

A Cut Above – anything goes with a die cut

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes

Beautiful Blossoms – anything goes with flowers/floral

Birthday Wishes

I had a chance to play with some new products from Spellbinders:

I cut a white panel and used a Spellbinders embossing folder to create the background, layered onto a white card base.

I then did some die-cutting – when I say ‘some’ die-cutting I really mean quite a bit. I was using the colours from the current challenge at Color Hues, and die cut the hexagons, flowers, and all the layers from white, teal, and lime green card stock. I had no idea when I began which colour I was going to use for which layer, so I played around until I found the layers that I wanted, then glued them all together.

I then played with the positioning of the hexagons until I was happy with the layout above, glued the floral images down, added some small gold gems to the flowers then thought about the sentiment.

I used a debossing sentiment – also from Spellbinders – and some of their gold card stock to match with the centre of the flowers.

I’m getting quite used to the small fiddly layering dies, and instead of dreading them I embrace them wholeheartedly….and the only thing I get just a little worried about are the colours for each layer, but with a colour challenge that is taken care of……

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Allsorts – anything goes – option of wings not taken

Color Hues – lime green and cyan

Creative Knockouts – birthday

Time Out – birthday

Everybody Art – birthday

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends – anything goes