Hugs & Kisses

Hello again. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the letter ‘X’ and Dawn has chosen the theme of;

XOXO – hugs & Kisses

Here is my card:

I went with a little drama for this card by using a black background to highlight the soft and sketchy floral images.

The background panel was embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder which has little hearts on it.

The floral images are from The Greetery and have a sketchy look which I quite like. This way, even if the layers of colour are slightly out – it doesn’t really matter. It just added to the overall effect,

I stamped the outline and then lined up the other layers as instructed, then used the matching die set to cut them out. I arranged them on the background, leaving a little space in the centre whilst I decided on which sentiment to use – of course – this foiled sentiment was perfect for the challenge theme.

As this was a silver foiled sentiment, I added some silver sequins – you know I like my added embellishments – then adhered the sentiment across the width of the card.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Beautiful Blossomsflowers and optional mood board

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friendsanything goes

A Cut Aboveanything goes with die cuts

Mix It Upanything goes- option of layers taken

Love To Craft anything goes

Silent Night, Holy Night

Hello again everyone. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the final challenge of the year. We have reached the letter ‘S‘, and Melissa has chosen the theme of:

‘Silent Night’

Here is my card:

These houses were ink blended using a Simon Says Stamp stencil set called ‘Snowy Village’. There are 5 little stencils to create this scene, and I used all of them.

Pinkfresh inks were used for the houses and trees, gold paste for the windows, and Tim Holtz glitter paste for the snowy background. I obviously had to wait to allow the pastes to dry between those last two layers – patience is not one of my virtues when it comes to card making – but I managed…..

I stamped the sentiment – from an MFT stamp set – then layered that with a black panel.

The little village was die cut using a stitched rectangle die and again layered with black, and the next layer down was cut then dry embossed using one of my favourite embossing folders from Stampin’ Up.

I hope you can come and join us – I am looking forward to seeing your creations in our gallery. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Everybody Art Challengehouse/home

Tic Tac Toetop right to bottom left diagonal – metallic – embossing (wet or dry) – die cuts

A Perfect Time To Craft anything goes

Pinspirational anything goes

12 Months Of Christmas Link-Up – anything goes Christmas

Here Is A Place To Start anything goes with option Happy Holidays

Stencil Funstencil – option Winter/Christmas

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

Birthday Numbers

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has started a new challenge. Having reached the letter ‘N’, Dawn has chosen the theme of ‘Numbers’. Here is my card:

I chose to put my numbers on the background and use the emboss resist technique.

Onto w white panel, I used the large numbers from an LDRS stamp set received as part of the Crop and Create 2023. I arranged them on the panel, stamped with my Misti, then heat embossed.

Using a range of colourful ink pads, I gave my blending brushes a workout – and my arm.

Once colour blended, I used some smaller stamps of cupcakes and a little sentiment, as well as a tiny star, and stamped into the spaces using the same colour which is behind them – a tone on tone effect if you will.

This panel was cut down and a black layer added using Gina K Master Layouts dies, then attached to a white card base.

The sentiment is also part of the products provided by LDRS for this event, die cut a couple of times, and layered, then added to the panel.

I used the off-cut/outline of the black piece I had die cut the letters from to ensure they were straight and even.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends anything goes

Crafty Gals Corneranything goes – option of adding a ribbon not taken

Krafty Chicksstamps

Ally’s Angels anything goes

Love To Craft anything goes

Christmas (or not) Bingocolumn I – die cuts, free, stamped image

Addicted To Stamps and Morebirthday

My Ride Or Die

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the letter ‘M;, and Billie A is hosting and chosen the theme of

‘Masculine’

Here is my card:

I don’t make very many masculine cards – only if there is a theme for one of my design teams. This card was given to my husband for his birthday last month. We have recently watched some challenge programmes on TV, and this was the sub-title of one of the shows. I knew I had seen the sentiment in my stash and the Color My Life app made it easy to find it – from MFT….

The background panel was dry embossed using a Spellbinders embossing folder and attached to a card base.

The car stamp is from The Greetery – just the car outline stamped, then the solid colour, but I didn’t use the detail stamps for the rest of the image.

Stamped in the colours you see then die cut, arranged onto the embossed panel, then the sentiment stamped and added.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Fab’n’Funkybirthday or anniversary

Ellibelle’s Corneranything goes

A Cut Abovedie cuts – option of monochromatic not taken

Here Is A Place To Start anything goes

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends anything goes

Ally’s Angels anything goes

Thinking of You

Hello everyone. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge, and the new theme has been chosen by Debbie. We want to see your ‘squares, or a square card‘. Here is my make:

Starting with a square card base, I used the stencil you see and ink blended some light pinks to create more interest in the background.

The four squares are from a Uniko stamp set, stamped, coloured with Copics, then die cut with a nesting square die.

These squares were then added with a thin 3D foam tape, and a foiled sentiment added in the centre.

I hope you can come and join us with your creations featuring squares – or a square card base. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies anything goes

Ally’s Angelsanything goes

Time Out friendship/encouragement/support

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends anything goes

You Can Do Amazing Things

Hello. More crafty play today to create this encouragement card:

I followed the colours at Color Hues Challenge – yellow and orange – and ink blended some yellow Pinkfresh Studio ink on the top half of an A2 panel, and Lawn Fawn ‘carrot’ ink on the bottom half.

Whilst this panel was drying, I die cut the Pinkfresh Studio ‘Secret Garden‘ cover plate twice in white card stock. I then took a piece of orange and a piece of yellow card stock and die cut again to get the flowers.

The inked panel was dry, and I glued the first white die cut onto that, then inlaid the flowers – orange flowers on the yellow half, and yellow flowers onto the orange half. This was a little fiddly – all those itty bitty dots – but I managed to find all the pieces.

I then glued the second white panel on top – just in case there was some glue leaking out of those itty spaces. That was also a little fiddly – to get the glue everywhere, but worth it I think.

The sentiment was stamped in brown ink – a little less harsh than black – then die cut with the smallest Pinkfresh Studio ‘Dotted Fancy Frames‘ die – which came as part of the Create and Connect event this past weekend. The second layer behind the sentiment is also a part of that die set.

I added some iridescent gems – which pick up the yellow and the orange behind them.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

A Perfect Time To Craft anything goes

Ellibelle’s Corneranything goes

Color Huesorange and yellow

Triple Bbirds and/or butterflies and/or blooms (blooms)

Cut It Upanything goes with die cuts.

Soak Up The Sun

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the letter ‘H‘, and Helen has chosen the theme of:

H is for Holidays – summer or Christmas in July

Here is my card:

This die set and stencil were part of a virtual class hosted by Spellbinders, and I thought would suit the summer theme for this challenge. Though we haven’t had much of a summer in the UK, and it is still raining, it did give ne hope that we could have some warmer weather soon……

The background is ink blending through the stencil, a rainbow kinda look using only three colours of ink, but ensuring they overlapped to create a five colour look. This panel was cut down a little and glued straight to the 5×7 inch card base.

The elements for the glass and scene were die cut and glued down, and the umbrella and cherries and added. That’s why I chose a larger card base, as I wanted to get the height for the added elements.

I tried the glass against the background panel, and felt it got lost in the colours, so I added a plain white oval.

The sentiment was stamped then die cut using a stitched rectangle.

I hope you can come and join us with your holiday themed creations – summer or Christmas in July. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts summer fun

Just Us Girls summertime

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends anything goes

A Perfect Time To Craft anything goes

Crafts Galore anything goes

Stencil Funuse a stencil – option of shades of blue

Here Is A Place To Start anything goes

Shades Of Blue

Johanna is hosting the new challenge at Cardz 4 Galz, and she has chosen the theme of ‘Shades Of Blue‘. Here is my card:

Using a newer die set from Spellbinders, I created the openings using 4 different shades of blue card stock. There are a few of similar tunnel die sets from Spellbinders, this one is ‘Cloud Tunnel’.

It is very easy to place the dies in different positions on each piece of card to create the size and shape of the opening, and also the create as much or as little of each layer showing as you please.

The second darkest blue I layered with 3D foam, but the other layers were glued flat to each other.

The moon and stars are also from the same dies set, and I stamped an appropriate sentiment on the front piece.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

AAA Colourful Challengecolour board – mainly blue

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friendsanything goes

A Perfect Time To Craft anything goes

Crafts Galore anything goes

Here Is A Place To startanything goes

Love To Craftanything goes

You Are Simply Amazing

Hello everyone. Some crafty time yesterday created this card for a few challenges:

The background panel is a turnabout stamp from Concord & 9th. It was one of the many, many items received as part of their ‘Summer Camp’ virtual weekend. They always provide such a great number of items for this weekend event – and so many ‘camp counsellors’ which I know I regard in high esteem and watch many of their YouTube channels.

The first thing I did was the turnabout panel, using the colour scheme from the current Color Throwdown challenge. I used Concord & 9th inks, and their turnabout jig – which also came with the event – then cut that down to slightly smaller than an A2 card base.

I then stamped and die cut the separate flowers and leaves, and die cut ‘Jumbo Butterfly‘ from The Greetery, using the matching stencils to ink blend the colours on it.

The sentiment is also from the same event, and stamped into an oval, die cut from a Gina K Designs master layouts die set.

The oval was attached with 3D foam, the flowers and leaves added, then the butterfly, and some iridescent gem for the centre of the flowers – and some down towards the bottom right.

The gems are from Spellbinders, and reflect the colours around them.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – pink, green, purple

Lil Red Wagon layer it up

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge anything goes

Cupcake Inspirationsanything goes

Ally’s Angelsanything goes

Beautiful Blossoms – flowers