Christmas Penguins

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has started the new ‘anything goes Christmas’ challenge. Here is my card:

I used a slimline card base and die cut the Mama Elephant frame. The inner part was ink blended with Distress Oxides, and some glitter paste was added through a stencil and then out to one side to dry.

The penguin and igloo images from a Time 4 Tea Designs were stamped, coloured with Copics, then die cut with the matching dies.

I also created a silver glitter card strip using a stitched wavy die – and even though it wasn’t long enough for this card, I cut the strip first, then die cut twice to get the wavy stitching at the top.

The ink blended panel was now dry, so all the elements were added with either glue or 3D foam.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Creative Fingersanything goes

Shopping Our Stash any wild animal

Crafty Animalsanything goes with an animal

Creative Artiste Mixed Media challenge anything goes mixed media (Copics, ink, paste)

We Love 2 Createanything goes mixed media (Copics, ink, paste)

Die Cut Divas anything goes with die cuts

Hope Your Birthday Is On Point…

Hello once again. The Alphabet Challenge has reached the letter ‘H’ and Billie has chosen the theme of ‘H is for Humour’. Here is my card:

I decided to use a Tim Holtz die set to create the cactus, and Concord & 9th card stock in various shades of pink. I made the flowers more colourful for some contrast.

The background was created using a Clearly Besotted stencil and Lost Shadow Distress Oxide.

This was attached to a grey slimline card base, and the cactus attached with 3D foam.

I found some pink heart embellishments in my stash and added them around the heat embossed sentiment.

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

I shall be entering the following challenges:

MMM Challengebirthday

Addicted To Stamps and Moredie cuts and/or stencils

A Perfect Time To Craftanything goes

Crafting Happinessanything goes

Ally’s Angelsanything goes

Mix It Up Challengeanything goes – option of aperture not taken

Hello Friend Tag

Hello. A slightly different direction from my usual makes. This time I have turned my hand to a tag……

I used the products from the most recent ‘Let’s Stamp Together’ from Scrapbook and Cards Today. This time round it was Spellbinders. Even though I haven’t done the actual class yet, I have been playing with the products.

The tag was created from a stencil and glitter paste onto some light green card stock, then die cut using an MFT tag die. After running it through the die cutting machine, the glitter paste was more debossed than embossed, which I thought was a different look.

The flower stem was die cut from a light brown card stock, the flowers were die cut, then stitched. Before I adhered the flowers, I die cut some leaves which came with the set and stitched them, but they didn’t match the leaves on the stem, so I die cut the stem again, and just snipped the leaves off to add to the brown branch.

I then added the flowers, some faceted gold gems for the centre of the flowers, then added this to the tag.

Some green sequins for even more interest and dimension, and a previously foiled sentiment.

The ribbon was added after punching and adding the eyelet. I don’t have pink or light green ribbon, so I used this dark green ribbon. I have a stash of this ‘wrinkled’ ribbon, I forget where from now, and think that the tattered edges and wrinkles make for an interesting addition.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Cut It Updie cuts and make a tag

Mix It Upanything goes option embossing

The Crafty Addictsanything goes

Ally’s Angelsanything goes

Hello Friend

A change in craftiness with this card – I wanted some messy crafting:

I started by creating the background panel. This is a Spellbinders stencil from a recent class, and I masked off the centre oval shape, then ink blended the two Distress Inks that you see. I added some brown around the edges for some darker contrast.

I then ink smooshed a couple of card panel – Distress Mixed Media Heavystock – with darker browns on one panel, and lighter browns on another. Once they were dry I used the Tim Holtz ‘Merry Moose‘ die, as I haven’t used him for quite a while. I wanted to enter a challenge where the theme was ‘deer’ – and then had to Google if a moose was a deer or something quite different – thankfully, a moose is part of the deer family – phew!

A simple white foiled sentiment to complete the card.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

FarmQuest deer

Just Us Girlshello

2 Crafty Critter Craziesanything goes with a critter

Crafty Animalsanything goes with an animal

Here Is A Place To Startanything goes

You Are LLamazing

The new challenge theme at Cardz 4 Galz has been chosen by Johanna – backgrounds. Here is my card:

My background was created using a stencil from Time For Tea Designs, and ink blending with Distress Oxides. I used three colours, but the overlap between each colour created two more, so I achieved almost a rainbow effect.

The images are from Heffy Doodle – stamped, coloured with Copics, then die cut with the matching dies.

I tried a different way of colouring – dotting instead of the usual solid colouring – and I think this creates dimension in their coats. I may well be doing this technique again as I like the effect.

I wasn’t going to use all of the llamas, but I just couldn’t resist.

I hope you can come and join us with your background themed cards. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

2 Crafty Critter Craziesanything goes with a critter

Crafty Animals – anything goes with an animal

Crafts Galoreanything goes

The Crafty Addicts anything goes

Cutie Pie Challengecute and four legged friends

Love To Craft anything goes

Birthday Cocktails

Hello everyone. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. Dawn is hosting this time round, and she has chosen the theme of ‘cocktails’. Here is my card:

I die cut the Pinkfresh Studio deco frame, leaving the inner part intact. Onto that piece I used a Lawn Fawn stencil to create some pink interest, then also used some glitter paste for a little sparkle.

Whilst that was drying, I die cut the MFT dies – from several sets – to create the cocktail glasses, inner drink from an ink smooshed panel, and also the garnishes – which were extremely fiddly – but satisfying once completed.

Once layered, I played with which garnish to go with which drink, stuck them all together, then had a play with placement onto the now dry stencilled background.

The glasses were stuck down with 3D foam, then sentiment stamped and added, and then I decided to add some additional sparkle with these coloured sequins I found in my stash.

I also added some glossy accents to some of the garnishes.

I hope you can come and join us in your cocktail themed creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Allsortsanything goes – option to create your own background taken

Seize The Birthdaybirthday and alcohol – drinks or inks

MFT Stamps Challenge colour challenge

AAA Birthday birthday with multiple layers

Stencil Funstencil – option patterns

White and Gold Christmas

A new challenge has started at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge. The theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas’. Here is my card:

The three circle dies are from a kit through Scrapbook and Cards. I found out about these kits from another online card making course. The kits ship every two months, and combines a stamp set, die set, and a class with different people/companies. I believe the next one is with Gina K – but I haven’t received that yet – it takes a little more time to get to me here in the UK.

This die set was from LDRS Creative and I decided to make baubles.

I first created the dotty background with a Spellbinders stencil and gold paste. I left that to dry for 24 hours – just in case – and prepared the ‘baubles’.

I die cut the base circle from Spellbinders gold card stock, die cut the main decorative circle from white card stock, then layered. I used another die set for the bauble topper – adding with 3D foam.

Onto the slimline card base I added a gold base layer – I ‘gutted’ this layer to preserve some of that fabulous card stock – layered with the gold dotty panel, then added the baubles.

The sentiment was die cut from the same gold with a white shadow layer.

I decided to add some matt gold gems – kinda hard to stop when you get started.

I hope you can come and join us with your festive/Christmas makes. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Cut It Upanything goes with a die cut

Creative Fingers anything goes

Most Magical Time Of The Year anything goes Christmas or Halloween

Creative Knockoutscelebrations

Merry Little Christmas Challenge anything goes Christmas

Prost – Happy New Year

Hello. I hope you are well. I am having a small group of friends round tonight for a New Year’s Eve get-together – some drinks and nibbles and we usually play some games. I thought I would create a card for them all for the occasion.

I used a previously created background panel – a black piece of card, a Spellbinders stencil, and some gold paste.

I then die cut the white oval using a Gina K Designs Master Layout die as a base for the main images.

The bottle and glasses are from Charlie and Paulchen, and I die cut the bottle out of white, then the bottle top and label out of shiny gold card stock, and the glasses out of a matt gold card stock.

I like how the word for the bottle label has ‘Prost’ embossed into it, and the details on the bottle cork and glasses are really very effective and detailed. I can see I will use this die set more in the future for celebrations and birthdays.

I wish you all the very best for the New Year…… xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge party time

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge party

Krafty Chicksanything goes

The Inspired By Challenge photo inspiration

Allsorts Challenge CAS

Cut It Up Challenge Happy New Year with die cuts

Cherish The Season

The new challenge at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge has begun. The theme is always ‘anything goes Christmas‘. Here is my card:

Onto a slimline card base I added a strip of embossed card layered with some gold.

The holly leaves from hero Arts were die cut from a previously created mixed media panel. This panel was ink smooshed in a dark green, then a stencil laid on top, some grit paste added, and once dry, I gently brushed some gold wax over the top.

Once these were adhered to the card base, I added some gold facetted gems, and the foiled sentiment.

I hope you can come and join us with your Christmas creations – remember- it’s anything goes Christmas. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Krafty Chicks anything goes

CYHTP embossing folder – option leaves

Shopping Our Stashleaf/leaves

Mix It Up Challengeanything goes – option ink smooshing

We Love 2 Create anything goes mixed media

Most Magical Time Of The Year anything goes Christmas or Halloween

Special Delivery

Hello once again. Cardz 4 Galz has started a new challenge. This time, Dawn has chosen the theme of ‘Baby Girl’. Here is my card:

I rarely – can actually never remember the last time – I made a card with this theme. It certainly challenged me to sit down and create it.

I used a Clearly Besotted stamp set and stamped the baby, then masked the baby and stamped the balloon, then masked the balloon as well as the baby, put a mask down – that strange shape – then used stencil to create the layers of clouds using a Distress Ink.

I liked the look of that irregular shape through which you would be able to see the clouds, baby and balloon – something different.

I then coloured the baby and the balloon, stamped the banner and the sentiment, and die cut that panel with a stitched rectangle, to add to the card base.

I would love to see you join us with your ‘baby girl’ themed creations. xx

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge stamp it

Lil Red Wagon cute

TTCRD anything goes

Inkspirational repetition (cloud stencilling)

Lil Patch Of Crafty Friends anything goes

Crafts Galore anything goes