Monster Stripes...

Hey,

So last week  I had a play using the Stampin' Up brushstrokes stamp, distress inks and a spritz of water.

I love stripes.

After I made the backgrounds, I was rummaging around in my big box of random craft crap and came across a pack of misc Monsters!!

Where did they come from? No idea, but they made me laugh and I thought they co-ordinated perfectly with the stripey backgrounds and the Unity Stamp Co 'You're weird' stamp.

With this card, you can see that the stripes are not as vibrant. I don't re-ink the stamp, I just keep adding water to use what is left of the ink and it means you get a lot of variation in the backgrounds.

I added googly eyes to this Monster, because we all love a googly eyed monster :)

Cx

Retro Rubber #46.. Its Critter Time..

Hey,

It's time for another fun challenge over at Retro Rubber. 

This theme asks you use a critter -

I love this theme, I have WAY too many critter stamps..I can't resist them..

Now get ready because I am going to show you how I made this card, end to end, so there are a few photos;)

I made this card for my Ma for her birthday, not only did I dig out older stamps (Mama Elephant Three Amigos from July 2015), but I also dug out an ancient folding tag card blank - I bought this from the Little Claire stand at a craft fair I went to with JT in 2012!!

I started by adding texture paste to my card through a Tim Holz 'scribbles' stencil, which I swear looks like roses -

Next put the stencil back over the paste and add 2 colours of distress ink over it (once dry) - 

Then stamp, colour, die-cut and stamp the critters and add them along with the ribbon to the card..stamping before mounting onto the card is best (yes a few critters were lost..) - 

Pretty cool right? The little patterned paper piece that the card is balanced on is actually the custom envelope I made for the card using my Martha Stewart scoring board.

Here is the final panel -   

I wrote my greeting on the 'plain' side, so it wouldn't show and then Momma can frame it, if she wants to. She really loved it, so I am super happy :)

Seems complicated, but it was super easy to do, partly because the card blank was already cut to size and shape...

Show us your critter makes, but first go over to Retro Rubber and view the great makes by my teammates.

Challenge ends on September 9th. Don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us about it that's part of the fun. Also, please limit your entries to 10 challenges including ours.

Cx

p.s As of the 3rd of Sept I will be in Mexico, so the fabulous RR ladies will be commenting and voting for me :)

Tag You're It..

Hey,

Happy Monday and Happy Bank Holiday to my English peeps..

It's been a long time since I played along with Tag You're It and I saw the current challenge and really wanted to join in.

I loved the featured artist tag..I love the technique that Michelle used.

I opted for a different technique, I blended my background using 3 different distress inks (Peacock Blue, Stormy Sky and Tumbled Glass) and then laid a stencil down over the background and sponged water onto it, you get the impression of the stencil..it's a cool technique.

Once it was dry, I die-cut it using Xcut Tag dies (a gift from JT).

I used a Stampin' Up bird builder punch for the leaf and their Petite Petals stamps and punch for the flowers. The centres were made using my new Nuvo drops.

The sentiment is by Hero Arts and the ribbon is American Crafts.

Super simple tag, I love the background, I made a few more of them whilst making this card, so easy to do.

Cx

Dragon, Love, Happiness and Joy...

Hey,

So when I was home last JT bought us this crazy die set by X-cut -

We love a lucky waving cat, so there is going to be a lot of sending each other random cards with this set..I have already received my first one from JT!

I have an Aunt who loves Dragons and when I saw the set had a Dragon die, I thought it would make an awesome card for for her.

I dug out some Chinese word stamps that I got as part of a freebie set last year and created my own background.

I die-cut it using a Simon Says Stamp stitched square and mounted it using foam tape onto one of the mini kraft blanks that JT gave me - LOVE these..

I die-cut the Dragon from a scrap of red paper and mounted him onto the word background.

Pretty damn cool..even if I do say so myself!!

LOL.

Cx

Oops...

Hey,

So today's card I made a couple of weeks ago..

I love this new-ish set Large Desert Bouquet by MFT..

I love the bold, bright combos you can create with the flowers.

I used primary colours here and it worked out pretty well, until I dropped the sentiment stamp..ugh, hence the big ugly die-cut covering it up and ruining my beautiful card..sigh

No matter, add some bling to the flower centres and it's good to go..

Only I will know that the shape shouldn't be there..well I guess you know now too :)

Cx

Constellations....

Hey,

Happy Friday.

I thought I would show you some fun things I made last weekend.

I had a fun time CASEing the wonderful cards that Debby Hughes made using the August Simon Says Stamp cardkit -

I ADORE Debby's work, she is so talented and I have learnt a lot watching her tutorials and reading her blog.

This cardkit threw me a bit, so having inspiration was helpful.

The technique to create the circular blue constellation pool looks like it would be complex, but it was infact very easy.

I punched a large circle out of a piece of scrap paper, I figured that this would help me decide where the blue circle should go and would help me stay circular when painting.

I pretty much followed Debby's instructions - heat emboss the stars in white onto my white panel, so they resist the blue watercolour. Like Debby I used Chipped Sapphire distress ink for the blue and I dug out an ancient silver watercolour pan to create the accents.

I kept drying and pooling more ink into the circle until I achieved the look I was happy with. Also because my silver watercolour is shimmery, the whole circle has a shimmer to it close-up - accidental bonus!

I don't have a white gel pen that I like :( so I used a white chalk marker to add little dots and I stamped stars in a Versafine Majestic Blue ink, so they were visible, but not leaping out at you.

I finished 3 of them in a similar way to Debby, by using a kraft background paper, twine and a star.

This one I finished differently -

I thought because of the heart constellation it would make a nice unusual Anniversary card and so I used a sentiment from Unity Stamp Co. and just rounded the corners of the white panel and the card blank - simple.

I love them all, they were so easy to make, yet look like oodles of time and effort went into them..more of these..

Have a great weekend, I will be packing..1 week until MEXICO!!!!

Cx

Just a nautical note..

Hey,

I fell in love with this week's sketch over at Retro Sketches -

I decided to stick with the nautical theme implied in the sketch and some of the DT makes.

I wanted to break out a new (on sale) stamp set by Clearly Besotted 'Best Dad II', it has 3 great sailboat stamps and a die.

I stamped it using Majestic Blue ink by Versafine and die-cut it out..it came out so perfectly, I had to stare at it for a little while..

I embossed some grey card using an Anchor folder and dug out two ancient pieces of pre-printed Pink Petticoat digital papers (stars and seashells) for my layers.

The large banner die is by Simon Says Stamp and is from the first ever stitched set I bought, I over use the stitched rectangle from the set :) I wrapped a piece of pale blue / lavender paper twine around the top.

For the sentiment I punched a scrap of the grey cardstock using the Washi Tape punch by Stampin' Up and added a Jillibean Soup sentiment..

I love how it all came together, the colours are so soothing.

I have to confess that I did spend about 25 minutes trying different papers from my pre-printed Pink Petticoat box..but it was totally worth it.

Cx

Concord & 9th Class...

Hey,

So FINALLY a week later, I have got round to writing this post about the class I went to at The InkpadNYC last Tuesday.

Taught by my friend and mentor Cheiron we used Concord & 9th stamps and dies..Which of course led to a whole new batch of purchases :)

The main card today sums up the little 'lady squad' that we have at the Inkpad..These ladies have been so awesome to me, encouraging me, inspiring me and supporting me on my craft and personal journeys..

We are having our first group playdate on October 15th, so look out for the no doubt hilarious post that will follow that day of boozing, eating, gossiping and crafting!

We made a whopping 6 cards in class!!! It was fierce...

Here are the other 5 in no particular order -

Aren't they gorgeous and despite us all making the same thing, no 2 cards were identical, which is cool.

I bought the You're My Person (has the gang stamp..) and Eat Cake and Celebrate sets..I really want the Wildflower set that we used on the 'Thank You' card.

Cx

Small Gang...

Hey there...

Sneaking in a very early morning post, as I REALLY wanted to enter the running for the Concord & 9th Design team..

I really love their stamps and I'd be so honoured to be part of their first ever design team.

My Instagram Crush Jessica Frost Ballas is hosting the call.

I really like Concord &9th stamps, I was introduced to them by Cheiron and the Pop Art Pineapple set is one of my faves..

I made my card using a sentiment and dot stamp from the 'You're My Person' set.

I love this set because, I have a small gang of crafty friends and so this stamp reminds me of them and makes me happy.

My stripes are a stamp by Stampin' Up called Brushstrokes and I inked them up with distress inks and spritzed with water before laying my paper down on top of the stamp.

I mounted the stripey panel onto a piece of orange card and then mounted the whole thing onto my card blank. I added the dots randomly on top of the stripes, before positioning my sentiment and I added a green enamel dot as a finishing touch.

Love it. Simple and fun.

I'd love to make the team, but if I don't  congrats to those that do, I'll be playing along for sure.

Cx

Retro Rubber #45..Still time to get your sketch on

Hey,

There is still time for you to play along with the latest challenge over at Retro Rubber. 

It's a sketch challenge - 

Show us your interpretation of the sketch, but first go over to Retro Rubber and view the great makes by my teammates.

Challenge ends on August 26th. Don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us about it that's part of the fun. Also, please limit your entries to 10 challenges including ours.

Cx

Colourful Birthday Bear...

Hey,

Happy Monday...

I had a fun weekend, hanging out with Hubby and playing at my desk.

I decided that I wanted to enter the MFT colour challenge -

So I used the colours on a card I made for a friend using my new MFT Birthday Bears set.

It was super simple.

I stamped the bear holding the presents onto my white panel, then I stamped 3 of the presents around him. I added the party hat to my Bear and coloured everything using Promarkers that matched the colours (Bright Orange, Summer Sun, Emerald, True Blue) and a brown for the Bear.

The sentiment is also from the set and I stamped it using green ink, so it would tie in with the colours.

I mounted the white panel onto a fun patterned orange card blank and added an orange enamel dot to finish it off.

I am loving this new haul of MFT stamps and I played with them a lot over the weekend, so you'll see more fun makes over the next few weeks.

Cx

Hey Buddy....

Hey,

Hope you are having a good weekend so far.

Today I am entering the Paper Smooches Monthly Challenge..I loved the challenge image -

Ha ha - excellent.

The challenge is all about friendship.

I am hoping that I am still eligible as I went with 'Hey Buddy'...

I love the fun card I ended up with, I used Distress Stains through a sunburst stencil by Clear Scraps and then spritzed it with water and dried it.

I used two Paper Smooches sets for the sentiment and hearts (Simply Said and Kudos Two) I heat embossed the sentiment and the hearts in black, so they would stand out more.

A really simple card that went to a friend who needed it..

Cx

Sweeter than Fiction...

Hey,

Hope you are having a good weekend.

Recently I bought a big batch of goodies by My Favorite Things and so I thought it would be fun to play along with their current sketch challenge -

I combined the very cute Pure Innocence Cupcake Day stamps and dies with the papers and stickers from the April Simon Says stamp cardkit.

This sketch was great to play with and I got to break out the new-ish Stampin' Up banner punch..

I coloured the girl and the balloon using Promarkers and Wink of Stella.

I think the sticker sentiment works really well here, breaks up the cuteness a bit :)

Cx

Space stencil....

Hey,

Happy Friday..

I can safely say I am ready for the weekend, it has been a LONG week...

When I was home recently I bought a big batch of stencils by Dutch Doobadoo, I had never heard of them, but saw a load of their cool stencils in a magazine...

The one I used on this card is called 'The Sun'..I thought it looked kind of like space / the galaxy..

I used x4 different colour distress inks through the stencil directly onto a whopping 5x5inch card...

I die cut out the middle of the stencil using a Simon Says Stamp stitched circle die.

I then stamped and coloured the Gerda Steiner spaceship and Alien.. I had to mask off the ship to stamp the Alien inside.

I fussy cut it out, added some thread and mounted it to my card, so the ship would be half in and half out of the circle..

For the final touch I stamped the fun 'Happy Birthday Human' sentiment onto a banner from the same set and fussy cut it out.

The stencil is blowing my mind a bit..

Fun card, that is in the post and winging it's way to a little boy that I think will love it!

Have a great weekend, I am going to craft, workout and eat...

Cx

Moving Along With The Times..CAS

Hey,

Welcome to another fun challenge with the Moving Along With The Times Team.

Our hostess this time is my wonderful friend and teammate Sue B, her theme is CAS (Clean and Simple) - my fave!!!

I really wanted to break out a set by Lawn Fawn that has not seen any ink yet (naughty, naughty) and it seemed a perfect fit for this challenge.

I started by die-cutting the white panel, so that I could create the 'coffee' rings, actually they are ink applied to the bottom of a spray bottle and spritzed. They come out so well though.

I then stamped my sentiment and added my stamped, die-cut, coloured coffee cup, so it looks like the sentiment is coming out of the cup.

To add a bit of interest I added some of the hearts from the stamp set and a couple of blingy stars (from JT) keeping it all very CAS, but fun.

I love CAS cards, they are a really great way to showcase something.

Now it's your turn to show us your CAS makes, but first go over to MAWTT and see what the rest of the team got up to.

Challenge ends on 31st August.

Cx

40th Florals....

Hey,

Last night I went to class at The InkpadNYC (taught by Cheiron more over the weekend) - always fun and fab to meet the ladies before hand and have an early bird dinner.

We have also booked in to do a playdate together in October - yay!

I made today's card fro Jamey who is one of my Inkpad buddies, so I thought I'd share it with you today. Jamey was 40 over the weekend and had a fabulous dinner party.

I used my brand new MFT Large Desert Bouquet stamps and dies and I LOVE them. I love the fantastic colour combos and possibilities, I feel a bit of overuse about to happen.

I watercoloured a splodge of pink onto the white layer and then splattered some navy blue ink around. The leaves I stamped onto the card, because I don't have the dies for the leaves and I did not want to fussy cut.

The die-cut Happy is by Tim Holtz and was a gift from JT - so handy!! I stamped the rest of the birthday sentiment and added a big red pearl to one of the flowers for a bit more oomph!

LOVE IT!!!

I have Richard to thank, as he made so many stunning cards using MFT floral sets and I got mad stamp envy.

Cx

Retro Rubber #45..Get your sketch on...

Hey,

It's time for another cool challenge over at Retro Rubber. 

I'm pretty pleased and humbled as my teammates selected my sketch for our latest sketch challenge - 

I'm a big fan of a sketch challenge, I like having a 'form' to follow and my imagination goes wild with a teeny bit of structure :)

I decided to use another great Simon Says Stamp cardkit, this time from July 2015. I used the sentiments, waves and boat from the stamp set. 

I stamped the waves using Blue Breeze Kaleidacolor ink - if you haven't used these yet, you have to try them, they are awesome. I fussy cut the waves to create the central border. I used the Kaleidacolor ink again for both sentiments - the stitched circle die is by Simon Says Stamp and the label punch is by Stampin Up.

I stamped, coloured and fussy cut the boat to work as the 'star' part of the sketch.

I am super pleased with how it came out, the waves are a big win, I can't stop looking at them :)

Your turn to show us your interpretation of the sketch, but first go over to Retro Rubber and view the great makes by my teammates.

Challenge ends on August 26th. Don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us about it that's part of the fun. Also, please limit your entries to 10 challenges including ours.

Cx

Have a Monster Birthday...

Hey,

Happy Monday...

I love this Monster set by Lawn Fawn and recently I got my hands on the dies, they have been out of stock forever it feels like (but they are quite old).

I've been seeing lots of things stacked up on cards lately and I really wanted to try it.

I loved stacking these little monsters and I even die-cut the 'batster' and popped him out -

Cute right?! In the close-up shot you can see the marks where I dropped one of my stamps as I was stamping the sentiment - ugh! But no re-doing..I reserve that for disasters, not oops moments!

I added some googly eyes because everyone loves a googly eye!!

I'm entering this card into the current I Love Promarkers Challenge - Birthday, I used Heatwave, Bright Orange, Emerald, Lime, Baby Pink, Ice Grey 4 and 5, Cyan and Berry Red promarkers.

I am also entering it into the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Let's Go Wild..because a Monster is totally a wild animal right?! LOL.

This is for the Son of my friend, he apparently loves 'Mummy's foreign friends cards' so I always feel like I have to 'up' my game to live up to this reputation I have..this is why I am not a parent..

Cx

Housework can't kill you...

Hey,

Hope you are having a fun weekend so far.

I am off to a birthday dinner this evening - looking forward to that, as it is in Hoboken and I don't go there often.

I recently discovered that I had won my second Papercrafters Corner Magazine Cover Challenge #153) - how fun is that!! AND it was the 2nd one in a row - yay!

I love this week's cover and there is just enough time for me to squeeze in an entry to this weeks challenge -

For this make I am using one of my new watercolour postcard blanks.

The pink tones really inspired me, so I used those to create my background. I decided that the retro stencil kind of reminded me of the records on the cover..tenuous?

I love the 'Elks' bold font and colour, so used that as the inspiration for my sentiment. This was my first attempt at hand lettering, it's not perfect, but practice is good..

The 'housewife' stamp was a freebie from Creative Stamping magazine last year, I coloured her as close as I could to the lady on the magazine cover using promarkers.

Final touch is to spray the postcard with fixative, so it doesn't get ruined in the post!

I am very pleased with it, it's cracking me up and winging it's way to Momma.

Cx

Here comes the bride...

Hey,

Happy weekend to you!!

One of my fave blogland buddies Cara of Crafting Bunnies, is on the design team for Penny's Paper-crafting Challenges and I thought it would be fun to be supportive and play along with the current challenge.

The current challenge is 'Anything Goes' and one of their sponsors is All Dressed Up.. I really like the digital stamps by All Dressed up, so it seemed like a perfect time to break out my new The Gorgeous Bride stamp.

I have absolutely no need for a wedding card, but I love making them and someone always needs one..

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and kept the colours soft and all tonally the same. I wanted to keep the background soft and so used a die-cut piece of patterned vellum that a friend sent me. Here is a close-up because you have to see this gorgeous vellum..

Randomly, I found a scrap of pale pink spotty ribbon on my desk (my desk is a hovel right now) and thought it worked really well on my card.

I love the sentiment, by American Crafts, it fits the image so well, as this card feels more like a girlfriend to bride on her Wedding Day or Shower.

Both the bride and the sentiment were die-cut using MFT stitched dies (regular rectangles and rounded rectangles).

I am super happy with my finished card, it came out exactly as I had pictured it in my head - well bar the additional piece of ribbon..anyway that totally never happens, so it felt good!

Cx

Freezer Paper Watercolours..

Hey,

Happy Friday!! I am looking forward to a nice quiet weekend at my desk and a birthday dinner of a good friend.

Recently a friend asked me to make her a batch of these cards -

I thought - oh wow I haven't played with this technique in a while..

So I went to town and made TONS of them..these are only a few of them..

Super easy to do.

1) die-cut freezer paper shiny side down
2) Iron on to your watercolour card-stock (I cover with a sheet of printer paper to prevent any marks on the card-stock)
3) add a little bit of water to your paper
4) add colours around the freezer paper words, keep the paper reasonably wet, but not too much.
5) dry with a heat tool and freezer paper will lift and you can peel-off.

Try it, if you don't have freezer paper like this and you are UK based, message me and I'll mail you a piece :)

Cx

Supplies used:
Lawn Fawn - Scripty Love and Thanks Dies
Distress Inks - Multiple colours
Neat & Tangled - Awesome dies and stamps
Winnie & Walter - Birthday die