Margate Craftathon 2017: Part Three..

Hey,

Back with Part Three of the Margate makes..

I took all of my Distress Inks with me, so that JT could have a play and I wanted to get some more practice time with them.

To make all of these cards I created the backgrounds first, I smooched the paper into some Cracked Pistachio and Broken China Oxide ink and added some some water to get a fun background. 

Then I used the Picked Raspberry Oxide through a couple of different Tim Holtz stencils.

I really loved the effect I got on the main card, so I used a few offcuts to make the Hipster cards below.

The stamping over the backgrounds comes out really crisp. I am starting to love the Oxides a bit more.

The sentiments are Tim Holtz stickers, JT brought her's with her, so I used some appropriate ones for the imagery.

Cx

Margate Craftathon 2017: Part Two...

Hey,

Part Two of the Margate makes..

I loved the Waffle Flower 'The Season' set from the minute I saw it.

MERSANTA!! Are you kidding me!!

So JT and I had a little play..

The background stamp belongs to JT and I used it with Broken China Distress Oxide Inks.

I kept it all simple and added a couple of fishes behind MerSanta and stamped the sentiment.

I am looking forward to making more Christmas cards with this set.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #70.. Back to School

Hey,

It's time for another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a Back to School theme for you..

I am not playing along, as I will be in Mexico from Saturday (whoop whoop) and this week is crazy at work, so I thought I'd have a break instead of fluffing my commenting rota..I hate doing that.

Go over to Retro Rubber and check out the fun things the DT have made.

Challenge ends September 8th. Don't forget to use a stamp over a year old and tell us the age of it, that is part of the fun of our challenge. and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Sketchy Baubles..

Hey,

Happy Monday.

Today is a BH in England, so my work day will be nice and calm, as the London team are off enjoying themselves ;)

I could not resist this awesome stamp by Woodware when I was home..I already have way too many Christmas stamps, but these baubles really wanted to come home with me.

Yesterday I stamped and watercoloured 6 cards - all the same.

I love the end result, the sparkly Nuvodrops really make them come alive.

I love super quick Christmas makes that I can make a big batch of. Also the MISTI comes in super hand for this kind of tedious repeat stamping. I stamped the image and the sentiment in one go - result!!

Cx

Margate Craftathon 2017: Part One...

Hey,

Happy Sunday to you!

I am having a fun weekend hanging with Hubby watching NFL pre-season games and of course the boxing..

I figure it is going to take me several posts to show you the Margate makes..which is cool as I am heading to Mexico on Sautrday and so will need to schedule some posts.

Today's post is a mix, because I used some new things in Margate that came in the post 2 days before I left from my friend Jen. So the main photo is the thank you card I quickly whipped up using Lil Inkers Cat Treats set and a Concord & 9th sentiment stamp.

I LOVE Monster stamps, I think most people know that and to be honest I do come home to little surprise parcels with Monster stamps a lot more than I should...I am a very lucky girl.

Here is the little haul I got from Jen - 

Awesome right?!

So it made sense to shove them into my case and take them with me.

The first card I made on Friday was based on a card JT and I were using as inspiration to get us started. I used the Hero Arts 'Eat Cake All Day' set from Jen -

Super simple card to get me started. I love the monster he looks so happy..The sentiments in the set are fun too, I really like 'I could eat you up' ha ha ha.

I have actually wanted these Paperartsy Monster stamps for a while, but never got round to buying them..

I thought it would be fun to make a set of cards, using four of the stamps from the set. They were all coloured using Distress inks and the sentiment is by Clearly Besotted.

Sketch Saturday #478.. Fabulous..

Hey,

Welcome to the latest sketch for the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is Bugaboo (one of my faves) they are offering a prize of 4 digi stamps from their store.

This week the sketch is by our wonderful leader Kel..

I decided to rotate the sketch, because I really wanted to use the fun 'Ruby Fabulous at 40' stamp.

My card was a beast to photograph, as the sparkly paper strips kept giving me lens flare!

The sparkly paper and the leopard print papers are ancient, I think the sparkly stuff came from Poundland (like the dollar store) and the leopard paper is a digi by Pink Petticoat.

I was actually a bit brave and printed the image directly onto the leopard paper, so pleased that it worked out!

I coloured Ruby using Promarkers and Spectrum Noir sparkle pens and instead of twine or ribbon, I used a line of sparkly nuvo drops!

I love it and now I have a bonus 40th card in my stash!

Your turn to show us what you make with the sketch, but first check out what the rest of the DT have made over at Sketch Saturday.

Challenge ends 1st September 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

Margate: Craftathon 2017...

Hey,

Happy Friday..

So I guess the title of my post makes it seem like I actually went to an 'organised' craft thing.

Nope.. last weekend JT and I hired an Airbnb in Margate and humped all manor of craft goodies in two suitcases (one with a big shot and one all the way from NYC) and got our private craft on. We decided that it would be more fun to create our own craft retreat. That we way, we made the rules..of which there were none..

As well as crafting we had lots of fun in Margate - mainly involving food and pushing 2p's in the arcade (hard to explain to my American friends).

Here is a little collage of us and the weekend..

You can see from the main photo that we managed to make a ton of cards - 46 to be precise!!! It was oodles of fun to play with JT again face to face, I miss my buddy A LOT. Not just because of the crafting side of things, but because she's my family.

I can't wait to show you close up photos of my makes, hopefully I will get to do that this weekend.

But for now, here is a selfie of JT and I that we took on Margate Beach on Saturday afternoon, shortly after we had finished snarfing Cockles and Whelks..

Looking forward to Craftathon 2018..

Have a great weekend, I will be mainly smooching Hubby and hanging with him, because we have been apart for so long, I missed him something silly!

Cx

Flamingo Thanks...

Hey,

So I am back in NYC, back at work.

I had a great time, back to reality now...for 9 days before Mexico!!!

Recently a friend sent me an awesome Flamingo shirt -

She said she hated it and wanted it to go to a good home..me me me...

I love it and I thought it was only fitting that I send her a Flamingo thank you card.

The Flamingo stamp is by Unity Stamp co and the sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp, as is the Flamingo background stamp.

Super easy, super quick make, but a fun way to stay thanks for a wonderful gift.

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Merry Christmas Stars...

Hey,

So I am heading home to NYC today.

I have really enjoyed being here in London, working in the office was awesome I got SO much done and then hanging with JT in Margate (post to come) and hanging with my family and friends was fun times.

A pet hate of mine is Merry Christmas dies that give you two pieces 'Merry' and 'Christmas' pedantic I know, but...

After a big hunt I found one by Lil Inker Designs and I love it, so I wanted it to be part of a fun card.

I die-cut the white panel first and then stamped the Unity Stamp Co star background onto them all in a random fashion. I die-cut the Merry Christmas and really wanted to use a silver shape to make it pop off of the background.

Yep, cue 1hr faffing session before deciding the star was the best option.

I am really pleased with these, very simple and easy..except the faff!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #69 Sketchy...still time to play

Hey,

There is still time for you to play along with the current Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a sketch for you.

Show us your interpretation of the sketch and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things that the DT have made.

Challenge ends August 25th. Don't forget to use a stamp over a year old and tell us the age of it, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Joyeux Noel...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

I am back from the Margatecraftathon with JT, but this is a scheduled post, so you'll have to wait until Weds to hear all about it :)

As I start making my Christmas cards so early, the first batch usually has a few elaborate makes.

Today's card might not look elaborate, but trust me there was a fair amount of work involved!

Both the tree and Joyeux Noel dies are by Simon Says Stamp and I bought from Cheiron in her big destash.

Once I had die-cut the tree and the sentiment, I thought they would look nice on my fave mini kraft cards, but how to affix them, without a traumatic glue adventure?

I decided to go with mini staples. Cue much fiddling around trying to place the tree and the sentiment and hold them with one hand, whilst using the stapler..

Totally worth the effort, but I don't feel like there needs to be more than 2 of them!

I added some new fuzzy dots for a bit more interest.

Today I am going to Lunch with a friend and then hitting the pub for a big old reunion with my people.

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Avery Elle Presents..

Hey,

So today's Christmas cards were made using an Avery Elle stamp.

I bought it late last year, it was sold out when I was in the midst of my 2016 Christmas card making..

Another super simple card, made even easier thanks to the MISTI. I stamped the sentiment and the image at the same time.

I die-cut one of the white panels first so I knew what space I had to work with, then I lined up the sentiment and image stamps and stamped all 4 cards - love the MISTI for repeat makes.

I coloured the image using Distress Inks and a paintbrush - I bought some new detail paint brushes, I actually prefer to use paintbrushes and water than an aquabrush, I can control the water flow better. A bit of stickles here and there adds a little bit of shimmer.

The card blanks are by PaperSource and as they are a discontinued colour, they were super cheap. They are actually pretty big, so I cut them down to make two mini cards - excellent vfm!

I'm a bit over excited today, as JT and I are off on our Margatecraftathon tomorrow - whoo hoo!!

Cx

Happy 40th Birthday Girl...

Hey,

So my friend Mel turned 40 a couple of weeks ago.

As I am in London I am seeing her tonight to celebrate.

As she is a designer I wanted to make her a bit of a chic / edgy card.

I decided to use Bo Bunny glitter paste through a fave Dutch DoobaDoo Stencil (which is in my bag for the Margate adventure this weekend).

It came out WAY better than I expected and I decided to just go with simple giant numbers and no words.

Loving these giant number dies, they are so useful.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #69.. Get your sketch on!

Hey,

As you know I am in London this week, but that doesn't mean I am not joining in with the rest of the DT for the latest fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a sketch for you -

As you know I am a big fan of sketches. I rotated this one, because I wanted to use one of the stamps from the Unity Stamp Co 'Today I am Happy' set - from May 2016..

I messily watercoloured the girl and die-cut her to fit onto my card blank, I die-cut an embossed panel with the same size die to create the other panel - I don't think my photograph shows it terribly well!

The sentiment is a new one from a batch of Market Street Stamps that I bought second-hand, I heat embossed it in white, so it would pop a bit.

Again another super simple make.

Your turn to show us your interpretation of the sketch, but first pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things that the rest of the DT have made.

Challenge ends August 25th. Don't forget to use a stamp over a year old and tell us the age of it, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Festive Robins...

Hey,

Happy Monday from London.

I had a great long weekend with my parents, yesterday was bittersweet as we had a family football match for my Uncle that died recently. He would have loved the turnout of the old guard with the new, it was a great tribute to him.

So I have kicked off my annual Christmas card making.. I start at the beginning of August, as I love to send Christmas cards, so need around 160 cards - A LOT I know, but it's my fave happy mail of the year.

I used to make them all the same, but I have such a large Christmas stamp / die stash it seems silly not to use as much of it as I can.

I managed to make about 21 cards during the first week of August, so this week, whilst I'm in London and scheduling my posts, I'll be showing you most of my makes.

Today's cards were so easy to make, I think I'll be making a few more of these.

The stamp is by Lil' Inker Designs and it comes with various sentiments to use in the banner.

I watercoloured my cards using Distress Inks and an aquabrush and kept the rest of the card simple using a red mat and stitched rectangle dies by MFT.

I added some Nuvo Crystal Drops to the Robin's hat.

Simple, but so pretty!

Cx

Sketch Saturday #476..I miss that face..

Hey,

Welcome to the latest sketch for the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is Star Stampz and they are offering a prize of 3 digi stamps from their store.

This week, the sketch was drawn by me - YAY!! Hope you love it too..

I loved the My Sweet Sunflower image and toned all my elements to match the Sunflower.

The stamp was so much fun to colour! All the papers are actually super old scraps, that I made excellent use of here. The hilarious sentiment is by Hero Arts and I added clear droplets by Pretty Pink Posh to spice it up a bit!

I love it and I know exactly who it will be going to :)

Your turn to show us what you make with the sketch, but first check out what the rest of the DT have made over at Sketch Saturday.

Challenge ends 18 August 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

Happy Birthday Bermuda Style...

Hey,

Happy Friday..semi-live from London.

I think I am still in the air as this posts!!

It was my friend Jen's birthday last week and I didn't realise..how bad is that.

I wanted to make her a fun card that pulled in some of the elements of Bermuda where she lives. Then I remembered I had this cool un-inked stamp by Sweet Stamp Shop that would work perfectly.

The stamp is called Hello Florida! It is so much fun to colour and I used watercolour paints here.

I added some fun patterned paper and MFT label sentiment stamps to complete my card.

Hope that Jen likes it - bringing her a gift from the UK, I thought that would be fun.

Have a great weekend, I am gonna be hanging with my Parents, before I head to work on Monday.

Cx

Repeat Resist..

Hey,

So today I am showing you the final card from my playdate with JT 2 weeks ago.

JT had seen this idea of a repeat resist with a watercolour overlay, you can see her awesome take on this technique here - I love the Seahorse that she used for her repeat.

I used an ancient Papermania Happy Birthday stamp for my resist - it is quite long, so I only had to stamp each row and heat emboss them in white.

I watercoloured over the top of the heat embossed text and wiped off the excess with a paper towel.

The cake stamp/die is by Concord & 9th and is one of my faves.

I love resists, you get such awesome results.

I am leaving for London tonight, so for the next 14 days my posts will be scheduled. I have a few days off whilst I am in London and JT and I are having a Margatecraftathon LOL. We have hired a teeny tiny place and are taking a ton of crafting supplies and spending 3 days having a real playdate.

Cx

Monster Birthday...

Hey,

Today I am showing you a card I made on my last playdate with JT.

This great stamp set, 'Monsters, Microbes and Aliens' was a surprise gift from Lisette.

The first time I used it I did pretty much the same thing and created a background panel.

This is a birthday card for a friend's son and I didn't want to lose the background, so mounted one of the fun stickers from Hema (that JT gave me) onto vellum.

I love this stamp set, it makes such fun cards!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #68 ... Colour Me..there is still time to play..

Hey,

There is still time for you to join in with the current Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a colour / photo inspiration challenge for you -

Show us what the photo inspires you to make, but first pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things that the rest of the DT have made.

Challenge ends August 11th. Don't forget to use a stamp over a year old and tell us the age of it, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Happy 30th Birthday..

Hey,

Happy Monday.

I wanted to make a fun card for JT's sister to celebrate her turning 30.

I made the card when JT and I were having our playdate a week ago.

The cover plate I used is new-ish and is by Avery Elle. I stamped a piece of white card using a Hero Arts tiny heart background stamp before I die-cut it.

I am loving the new Papertry Ink number dies that I got from Cheiron, they are proving to be most handy.

I also needed a gift card holder, so I pulled out my Silhouette to see what I had in my library and I came across this fun Pineapple gift card template.

Isn't it fun? It was super easy to put together and adds a touch of fun to a boring old gift card.

Hubby is back tonight..FINALLY and I am very excited to see him - sad that it's only for 3 days, as I leave for London on Thursday.

Cx

ICAD17: Week9..the end for now..

Hey,

So ICAD17 is over. It has been so much fun.

I have played with so many different techniques and mediums, all on this tiny little surface. They are like mini journal pages and I can't wait for next year.

Big thanks to Daisy Yellow Art for organising and inspiring us all.

My fave this week was Autumn. The leaf stamp is by Neat and Tangled, it also has a wonderful lacy leaf die and I love the watercolours, they work so well on index cards, such a pleasant surprise.

I think index cards are here to stay in my world and to think I didn't love it when I tried it a while ago.

Prodigal Husband returns tomorrow, I am most excitable to see him, even if it is only for 4 days before I leave for London.

Cx

Belated Happy Birthday Momma Bear...

Hey,

Happy Friday.

This is the 2nd Friday in a row that I have been to the gym at stupid o' clock!! I think it was easier to do that when I was on vacay last week!!

Last Friday I showed you Lucy's birthday card that I made using parts of a Stampin' Up cardkit, I used the same kit to make my Ma's birthday card.

Here is what the card looks like when it is in the kraft sleeve -

Ma has been busy losing weight (super proud of her) so to keep her motivated I gave her one of my older fitbit's and made this bag to put the card and the fitbit in.

This is something I do a lot - basic plain muslin bags and then stamp onto them. The recipients are ALWAYS impressed.

Have a great weekend.

Cx

ICAD17: Week 8

Hey,

So here is week 8 of ICAD. This was a hard week for me, with the loss of Archie and the last thing I made before all of that was the Adjective card..

Bizarre summed up my week at that point, little did I know :(

I was torn between the Zombies card and Sepia as my faves..but ended up going with Sepia. 

I love this card, it's so not my style, but I really love it and the 'Sepia' tones you see I created with bronze distress paint and a baby wipe!

I'll show you week 9 over the weekend, but if you want a sneaky peek go here and look at all 61 of my cards.

Cx

ICAD17 - Week 7

Hey,

It's been a tough couple of weeks, so ICAD is now over and I still have 3 weeks to show you.

Today I am showing you Week 7.

I had a lot of fun making Week 7, especially Day 43 - which I chose as my fave.

I love the Guns 'N' Roses Appetite for Destruction album and Night Train is my fave song off of the album and possibly of all time, its the only song I know all the lyrics to off by heart..

I really enjoyed grunging up the card once I had printed my lyrics onto it. I probably should have had a more 'night' sky, but I liked this version of it.

Check out all 61 of my index cards here.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #68..Colour Me..

Hey,

This time with a card!!!

Yes, it is time for another fun Retro Rubber challenge - today is also my Ma's birthday - Happy Birthday Momma!

This time we have a colour / photo inspiration challenge for you -

I love Paper Smooches Best Buds set, I use it a lot, I have had it since January 2016.

I kept my whole card super simple, two stitched oval die-cut panels, one in red gingham to match the photo inspiration. I stamped and die-cut the banner from the Best Buds set, the sentiment is also from the set.

I coloured the banner using Promarkers and a clear Wink of Stella pen.

I am really happy with it's understated elegance, perfect for a thank you card.

Show us what the photo inspires you to make, but first pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things that the rest of the DT have made.

Challenge ends August 11th. Don't forget to use a stamp over a year old and tell us the age of it, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx