N is for Night

Hello everyone. The Alphabet Challenge has started a new challenge. We have reached the letter ‘N’, and Pamela has chosen the theme of:

N is for Night‘ with some ideas such as clouds, moon, sleeping image, stars etc

Here is my card:

I decided to break out my Copics to colours this scene – I’ve not used them in a while.

The images is from Clearly Besotted, stamped with alcohol friendly black ink. I use Gina K Designs Amalgam for this.

I then used a range of tones for the colouring of the image, before stamping again and fussy-cutting around the sky line – yes – me – fussy-cutting!! – to create a mask. This mask was placed over the image and another small circle of the masking paper created for the moon.

I used some Distress Oxides and ink blended the sky, darker at the top edge. The moon mask moved during one of my swiping of the blending brushes, and some of the ink got into the moon area – but that was certainly a happy accident as it made the moon look more realistic….

Once ink blended and the masks removed, I used a heat tool to dry completely ( so I thought) and used the star detail stamp and used a white sparkle embossing powder……another happy accident was that I hadn’t actually full dried the moon area, so some sparkle landed on there – again, I liked the look of that so left it as it was.

I created a rectangle frame using a couple of dies, one with a stitching detail, then glued the coloured image and the frame to a white crad base.

The sentiment was stamped as you see.

So – a card with a couple of minor hiccups – but all came out good in the end….

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafts Galoreanything goes

Ellibelle’s Corneranything goes

Crafters Café anything goes – option of Christmas not taken

Ally’s Angels anything goes


Wishing You A beautiful Day

Hello everyone. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the letter ‘Q‘ and the theme this time round is:

‘Quick and Easy’

Here is my card:

I rarely do what I consider this to be – a Clean and Simple card. I tend to always like layers and dimension, but I do think this is enough. It doesn’t need anything more.

I glued a black A2 sized panel onto a card base. then cut a slightly smaller piece of white card.

Onto this I placed the Gina K Designs ‘Masked Oval Stencil‘ – the outer part, leaving the oval free. I then ink blended a green and a blue – Pinkfresh Studio inks – nice and gently, and softly (I am a heavy handed blender!), and not quite getting them to meet in the middle – or very little meeting anyway.

Once that was dry, I stamped the Gina K designs image, and then the sentiment.

This was then glued down onto the black panel.

I hope you can come and join us with you ‘quick and easy’ makes. xx

You’re So Tweet

Hello again. Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge has started another challenge. This time the theme is ‘Tropical‘. Here is my CAS Tropical card:

For this card I used an older stamp, stencil and die set from Catherine Pooler. I first used an oval stencil on a white card base, then placed a piece of masking paper across the bottom to create the straight line, then added the leaves stencil on top of all that.

I used two colours of Distress Ink to create an ombre look.

Whilst this was drying, I stamped the images, coloured them with Copics, then used the matching dies.

Before sticking them all down, I stamped the sentiment – I remember this time to do this before I had virtually finished the card!

I played around with placement of the images until I came up with what I liked – some snipping of the leaves so I could put them under the branch a little more.

I hope you can come and join us with your CAS cards following the theme. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challengeanything goes

Colour Crazy Challengeweek 12anything goes with colouring

MMM Challenge use a stencil

Perfectly CAS CAS die cuts – one third or less

Addicted To Stamps make your mark

The Alphabet Challenge – ‘Y’

Helen is hosting the new challenge at The Alphabet Challenge. Having reached the letter ‘Y’ we want to see ‘Your Favourite Colour Combination’. Here is my card:

I didn’t really think I had an absolute colour combination, but looking back through my cards, I do seem to trend towards more green, blue, and red – and for this card I also used a spot of yellow.

Onto a white card base I used my oval mask created myself using some mylar. I then took the Lawn Fawn cloud stencil and some blue Distress Ink and worked my way down the oval. I then stamped the sentiment from the same stamp set in the top right corner.

The image is from Clearly Besotted, stamped, coloured with Copics, and cut using my Scan-n-cut – always a little nerve-wracking when the colouring has already been done……!

The Design Team has come up with lots of very colourful creations, I hope you can come and join us using your favourite colour combination.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – add some green

Promarkers Challenge use markers and CAS

Lil Red WagonCAS

Colour Crazy Challenge week 9 anything goes with colouring

Inkspirational – word prompt – CURVE

Let It Snow Deer…….

Hello yet again. The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has started a new challenge – anything goes Christmas/Festive. Here is my card:

I seem to be masking a lot recently – I blame Gina K! She showed us how easy it was when she taught on the Crop and Create at the beginning of October. I even went so far as to buy some mylar and create my own masks for shapes I will use again and again – like this oval shape……and therefore I also have the oval itself as well to use as a mask if I so wish.

I used a piece of Strathmore card stock, cut it bigger than I need – I’m always smudging stuff so I thought I’d try it that way – and placed down the piece which had the oval cut out of it.

I then decided where I wanted this gorgeous border stamp from Uniko, stamped that onto a piece of masking paper, cut out the wavy bottom bit, and stuck that down on the top of the mylar – then ink blended.

I didn’t want the ink blending below the border and this worked perfectly well – and no smudges!

Whilst the homemade stencil was still in place, I added some white ink through a dotty/snowy stencil. That didn’t work very well – the white ink was a little too juicy – so I added some white ink splatters and some additional water splashes. I think it turned out lovely:

I let this panel dry before I stamped the deer and tree border in black – having the stamp three times using my Misti (thank goodness for this tool) to get a darker and more solid image.

The sentiment is also from Uniko – some masking here too. The sentiment was too long for this card, and so I centered to have two ‘Let It Snow’ visible, and then covered the part of the stamp I didn’t want – inked it – then remembered to remove that from the stamp before stamping it on the card. Now that would have been traumatising if I had forgotten!

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafty Animals Challenge anything goes with an animal

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge anything goes Christmas

Creative Fingers Challenge anything goes

Allsorts Challenge anything goes – option vintage – not taken

Cards Galore Encore anything goes

Jingle Belles Rock Challenge – Christmas Creatures

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Snowy Scene

Hello, After a couple of days away. I have come home to finish this card:

I used a couple of Purple Onion Designs stamps. When I first saw that these stamps aren’t mounted – and being completely spoiled by mounted red rubber stamps – I hesitated getting some. However – I’m glad I did get them. All I did was add some low tack tape-runner to the back of the stamps so they stuck to my Misti – worked a treat.

I first stamped the snowman and critters, then fussy-cut a mask for them, then stamped the cabin. I also cut a mask for the cabin, and ink blended – Salvaged Patina Distress Ink – for the sky. Before removing the masks, I add some water splatters.

I chose Distress Ink on the Neenah 80lb card stock, as I didn’t want the full-on solid ink blending you get with Distress Oxides.

I coloured the images with Copics, adding a cool grey to the outline of the snowman, and created some snowy looking lines pn the rest of the white area.

I purposely didn’t colour the trees – I thought there was already enough turquoise, and I wanted to stick with the colours for the current Color Throwdown Challenge – which doesn’t include green!

I was going to cover them with some glitter……..but decided not to, because I would have had to add glitter virtually all over – and I wasn’t in a glitter mood! This way, I think the colouring and masking is effective enough…

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – Turquoise, Brown, Kraft, White

Colour Crazy Challenge anything goes colouring (week 40)

Pink Gem Challenge anything goes

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge anything geos Christmas

Addicted To Stamps and More Make Your Mark

Colour Crazy Craft Challenge
Gem of A Craft Challenge
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Snowy Season’s Greetings

We are starting a new challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. The theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas/festive’. Here is my card:

This stamp is from Pink Ink – and is quite large……so the card ended up being a substantial size – but fun to make.

I stamped then heat embossed the image, then stamped another to make a mask for the top portion – the tree and top of the card.

I then ink blended the background with Distress Inks, before water-colouring my image. Some of the smaller details I coloured with Copics. Once it had all dried, I splattered some Copic Opaque White all over – I mean all over – to get a blizzard effect – the snowman is still taking this tree home despite the weather!

I decided it needed a frame, so I used die-cut a frame using some stithced rectangle dies, then ink blended with Distress Inks to match the background.

I quite enjoyed using the variety of medium to create this card and will definitely have a play again.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Colour Crazy Challenge anything goes colouring

Krafty Chicks Challengeoccasions

Mix It Up Challenge anything goes mixed media

Christmas Craft Creations anything goes Christmas

Avenue 613 anything goes with optional twist of water-colour

Colour Crazy Craft Challenge
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Snowman and Santa

Hello. The ABC Christmas Challenge has reached the letters ‘N’ and ‘O’ and the themes for each letter are:

N’ for North Pole, ‘O’ for Off To One Side

Here are my cards:

‘N’ for North Pole

‘O’ for Off To The Side

The North Pole card is using a stamp set from Taylored Expressions, a little masking, and then coloured with Copics. I used some small snowflake stamps for the sky and Concord & 9th ink, adding some little spots of glitter, and then Lawn fawn Prisma Glitter.

The second card is using a stamp set from Newtons Nook, stamped, coloured with Arteza watercolour brushes, then die cut. The sky is using a stencil from MFT which was not slimline, but I made it work, and ink blending.

The snow bank is using Lawn Fawn slimline dies – and more glitter!

I was inspired to make cards for both the themes this time round – that’s what happens when you have not been able to craft for a few weeks – overflow of ideas…..

I hope you can come and join us with your Christmas/Festive makes following our two specific themes. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

North Pole card:

Colour Crazy Challenge anything goes with colouring

Christmas Crafts All Year RoundChristmas with N or M (North Pole)

Here Is A Place To Start Favourite Holiday/Celebration (Christmas)

Sparkles Forum Challenge Christmas and snowflakes

Snowman card:

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge anything goes Christmas

Country View Challengeuse a stencil

Crafty Calendar Challenge anything goes

Comfy Christmas

Hello there. A new challenge has started at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge, and we have a new Design team member, another Shona – so she has been christened ‘Shona E’.

As always, the theme is anything goes Christmas. Here is my card:

Both of these images is from a Simon Says Stamp set. I first stamped the comfy chair, masked one side of it, and then stamped the bag of presents – so it was kinda hidden behind the chair.

I coloured the images with Copics, and added some white gel pen for some interest. For some reason I couldn’t stop using the white lines – so there may be more than there should be – but I was having fun!

I love that these three critters are laying together in perfect harmony, and it just makes me smile…..

The sentiment is from the same stamp set.

This panel was die cut with a stitched rectangle, then placed on some red shiny Lawn Fawn card, and then adhered to a top folding card base.

I hope you can come and join us this time round – I look forward to seeing what you create. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks – stamp act

Colour Crazy Challenge – anything goes with colouring

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Cards Galore Encores – anything goes

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Colour Crazy Craft Challenge
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You’re Sweet…..

Hi there. Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge has started a new CAS theme. This time we want to see:

Here is my card:

I ended up creating a one layer card, using Simon Says Stamp ‘Sweet Truffles’ which just arrived here and is part of the February 2021 card kit. This kit usually gets to me middle of the month – and usually after I have paid – or opted out of – the next months kit.

I started by stamping the middle chocolate, then masked it and stamped the other two. I used a brown Gina K amalgam ink this time – not so harsh, and perfect for using the chocolatey colours, I think.

I used Copics to colour the images, and the sentiment is from Clearly Besotted, and also stamped in the same brown ink.

There some amazing inspiration from the Design, and all sorts of different takes on the theme – I hope you can come and join us with your creations – don’t forget to follow our theme and keep it CAS. I hope to see you there. xx