Altenew Leaf Medallion...

Hey,

I happened to have a long weekend a couple of weeks ago and so I pulled out a few things to play with that were 'kinda' new - aka, had one play.

One of those sets was this great one by Altenew 'Leaf Medallion'.

Altenew make great floral layering stamps, but I am waaay too lazy for that amount of effort, so rarely buy Altenew stamps. This one, however, grabbed me, as it comes with so many awesome sentiments.

I used the 3 smaller leaf stamps to create my cards and I used Altenew Inks (got them on sale, in love with them), I used 2 of the sets that I have - Deep Blue Seas and Cherry Blossom.

I love how they came out and the gradient of colour by using the inks dark to light is lovely.

I was originally going to go with the same sentiment on all 4 cards, but decided to go with 2 different ones.

Happy Birthday Wishes - Happy die is by Simon Says Stamp and Birthday Wishes is by Mama Elephant

You Are So Awesome - Stamp and die by Neat & Tangled.

Love exploring what I can make with one stamp set. I think I need to resurrect my 4 from 1 series...

Cx

A cup of thanks...

Hey,

Happy Memorial Day to you!!

It is a holiday here in the US and in the UK - whoop!

Today I am sharing a couple of cards I made a few weeks ago using Studio Katia 'A Cup of Thanks' stamps and dies.

This is a pretty new stamp set for me, I have only coloured it before now, I hadn't actually made anything using it.

I needed to make x2 cards - birthday and thinking of you. And I thought the flower-filled cup would suit both needs and suited the people that they are going to.

The thinking of you card, I die-cut the white panel first and then added splashes of yellow watercolour paint to create a fun background that coordinated with the colours in the stamp.

For the happy birthday card, I went with a spotty background paper, a touch busy, but I think it really makes the cup pop.

Both cups were coloured with Copics and Nuvo Aqua flow shimmer pens.

This stamp set ended up being way more versatile than I had expected, I'm looking forward to making more with it.

Cx

Happy Snail 40th...

Hey,

Happy Friday!

This week was pretty awful as a working week, but as a personal week it was a nice one.

About to get even nicer, as it is Memorial Day weekend here in the US, so no work on Monday WHOOP!!

And Hubby and I are going to an all day dance party tomorrow - double WHOOP.

Today I thought I'd share a card I made for a friend's 40th. A lot of my friends are turning 40 this year, so I am mixing up my ideas for what can be used as a 40th birthday card!!

I make this card over and over again in various forms. It started here as a CASE of a card by Marion Vagg - one of my all time craft crushes and now I blend a circle and add the cute little snail and the appropriate sentiment.

This time I used 'boy' colours as the card is for a male friend.

Super simple and a great use of the Avery Elle stamp that I just fell in love with years ago and had no plans for!

Have a great weekend.

Cx

I Miss You...

Hey,

Recently I wanted to send a quick card to a couple of friends that I haven't seen in ages.

I decided to look at what was on my desk - there is aways a die-cut or a stamped image hanging around.

I found one of the MFT 'Sunny Skies' die-cuts, one of the Mama Elephant 'Dos Amigos' Critters and both of the die-cut background panels on my desk.

Result!

So I cut another sun and critter and coloured the critters, stamped the sentiment and assembled the two cards.

Super quick makes, but so cheery and fun, a nice way to say 'I Miss You'.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #111...Tic Tac Toe...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

We have another great Tic Tac Toe board created for you by Jan.

Tic Tac Toe is so much fun, I love seeing what other people create with the same row as me!

I chose Cake-Flowers-One layer Card.

I pulled on my big girl pants and stamped STRAIGHT onto my card blank, so this would be a one-layer card - I NEVER do that. But it worked and I could stop sweating for a moment.

I coloured the cake - which is by Concord & 9th and one of my fave of all time stamp sets 'Happy Day', I used to borrow it from my friends all the time until I think Cheiron had, had enough of me pilfering it and sold it to me last year!

I am so pleased at how pretty the flowers came out - coloured with Promarkers and Spectrum Noir sparkle pens.

I added a sentiment and my card was complete.

I really need to be braver and make more one layer cards!

Which row will you chose? Pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things all the DT have made.

Challenge ends May 31st.

Don't forget to tell us the age of your stamp, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Bearing Gifts...

Hey,

Happy Monday,

I thought I would play along with Seize the Birthday this time, as their 'topping' is Balloons - Yay!

My card uses a Studio Katia stamp set 'Kobi Bearing Gifts'.

I saw this one and A cup of thanks on Instagram and had to have them!

I stamped and die-cut Kobi and the balloons (it is not all one piece) and coloured them using Copics and Spectrum Noir Sparkle pens. I also used a quickie glue pen on the balloons and dipped them in glitter for a bit of added detail.

The background paper is by Lil Inker and it was from a pad I got in the epic mystery box I bought from them. I love the ombre fade and it worked so well with this image.

I stamped the sentiment from the set first, so I would know where I could place my bear and the balloons.

Fun card for a little girl that I know LOVES gifts :)

Cx

Little Red Wagon Challenge: Happy Bird-Day...

Hey,

Happy Sunday.

As I am recovering from something nasty, I have spent some gentle QT at my desk this weekend. When I am feeling a bit delicate I like to turn to challenges.

One of my Retro Rubber teamies has been playing along with Little Red Wagon and so I thought I would look them up and I loved the current theme which is - Happy Bird-Day, use a bird somewhere on your birthday card.

EASY PEASY!! I love bird stamps.

I decided to go waaay back to a stamp that I neglect, but when I pull it out, I love using it so much that I make a bunch of cards (that happened this time too..).

The stamp set is 'The Flock' by Whipper Snapper Stamps. I stamped it onto watercolour paper and used distress inks to watercolour the birdies.

Then I die-cut the white panel and added the sentiment by Reverse Confetti from 'Toucan of Friendship'.

Super simple make, but so pretty, I love the rows and rows of brightly coloured birdies.

Cx

Sketch Saturday #564 Star Stampz..

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you and welcome to the latest sketch for the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is Star Stampz and they are offering a prize of 1 digital stamp from their store.

Here's the sketch...

I thought this stamp (Balloons and Ice Cream) was so cute and would work well with the sketch.

I printed and coloured the stamp using Copics. I die-cut it to size using a stitched rectangle die and used scrap papers from my stash to create the background to match the sketch.

I chose the sentiment because with balloons and ice cream how can life NOT be beautiful?

I hunted high and low for my photo corners punch, but couldn't find it, so created fancy corners using bling instead..I think I like that way better :)

I can't wait to see what you do with the sketch, but first check out what the rest of the DT have made over at Sketch Saturday.

Challenge ends May 24th 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

Colourful Challenge Combo part two..

Hey,

Happy Friday.

I will be glad to see the back of this week, having been so unwell..

I stumbled across another great challenge this week that involves colours, so I decided to play along and combine it with the current CASology challenge for a second entry.

AAA Cards do CAS challenges with a twist. This week this is what they have -

I love the idea of using just 1/3 of the card front to create a fun card.

I decided that I wanted to use repeat stamping to create a bold mini pattern. I used a coffee mug from the Pink Fresh Studio 'Itty Bitty Elements' set - a fave for creating backgrounds.

I coloured it in bright colours using Copics and added a simple sentiment by Waffle Flower from their 'Books and Coffee' set.

I die-cut the white panel using a stitched rectangle die and mounted it onto my card blank.

I love the simple feel of this, it will be great to accompany a gift card!

Cx

Colourful Challenge Combo..

Hey,

I have been rather unwell this week - AGAIN!! This time it has been diagnosed as strep - ugh.

So to cheer myself up I thought I'd try and make a card for both the Global Design Project and CASology challenges, which I thought would go together really well.

I really liked the idea of combining these two colour challenges.

I decided I would use the Avery Elle Peacock stamp - it is a fave of mine, because I think it is super versatile. I stamped and coloured it using my Copics and a Promarker for the Grape :)

Then I die-cut it out and added a touch of Nuvo Aqua Shimmer.

I then created a heart mask - I create these by keeping all the inserts from stamp sets and then I die-cut shapes out of them, creating the mask. Means you have a lot of cover, so you don't get ink on the rest of the card. I used the mask hanging slightly off the edge of my white panel and blended distress oxide Fosilized Amber into the heart shape.

I die-cut the white panel using a stitched rectangle die and mounted it onto a white card blank.

The sentiment is by Market Street Stamps (no longer in business) and I stamped it in a coordinating grape coloured ink, added my colourful Peacock and voila! Finished card.

Love how the card combines both challenges so nicely and I do love a slightly unusual Anniversary card.

Cx

Global Design Project: CASE the Designer..

Hey,

Happy Sunday to you.

I loved the idea of the current Global Design Project challenge -

You have to CASE the card shown above, in any way you chose.

What a fun idea!

I decided to use the flowers, gingham, blue and loosely the card layout.

My flower vase is by Paper Smooches (Best Buds) I stamped and coloured it using Copics and then die-cut it to size with a stitched rectangle die.

I layered gingham and blue papers to roughly fit the card layout and I added the die-cut flower panel with foam tape to pop it up a bit.

The sentiment is by Hot Off the Press.

My card ended up with quite a springy feel and I like it.

Cx

CASology: Mother..

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you!

I had a packed day off yesterday, doing all the fun things - gym, lunch, casino, GOT marathon and crafting.

I wanted to play along with the current CASology cue card -

It is Mother's Day here in the US tomorrow, but we have already had Mother's Day in Europe, so I thought that I would make a more generic card for my Momma.

I bought this amazingly glittery cardstock by DCWV when I was in London last month. I have never seen anything so glittery in my life! I die-cut a green (my Momma loves this colour) piece of it using a new to me die by Waffle Flower (Doily Square) - it came as part of a grab box that I bought from Cheiron.

I have a large stash of already die-cut letters from all of my letter dies - basically, when I was off sick in 2017 for 2 months I die-cut all of my letter dies LOL! So I fished out matching black ones by Tim Holtz that spell out 'Momma' and painstakingly added foam tape to them, so they would pop up.

Final touch was the sentiment banner by Mama Elephant (Occasional Labels).

I am really pleased with this card and I think my Momma will love it too.

Cx

The Paper Players: Friendship

Hey,

So today is my Friday, as I have tomorrow off!

To celebrate I made a card for the current The Paper Players Challenge -

I have been playing around with this card in my head all week, so it was really good to FINALLY make it.

I love the 'Fashionista - Party Girls' set by Unity Stamp Co. and I use it a lot to make cards for my friends, I've had it a long time, but it is a firm fave.

I kept the whole card super simple, just stamped the image, coloured it with my new Copics (my skin tones are improving thanks to Copics) and die-cut the panel using a stitched rectangle die.

The sentiment is one of two that comes in the set and I love it, it sums up how I feel about quite a few of my friends.

I stamped it onto vellum and affixed it to my card.

A fun make to ease me into the epic playtime I am about to have at my desk :)

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #110...Use Flowers...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have a fave theme of mine, use flowers on your card -

I have SO many flower stamps, so it was a hard choice here..

I chose a great stamp by Unity Stamp Co. 'Wishing you Joy' I have had it since 2015 and it got a lot of use when I first got it, so it was great to dig it out and have a bit of a play with it.

I blended Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry and Worn Lipstick all around the bottom of my white panel, then I stamped the pretty Unity flowers with some only peeking in. I die-cut the panel using a stitched rectangle die and added the sentiment by Studio G that I have had since 2014 and it gets SO much use.

I love the unusual bottom panel I created, it works really well and I've left the flower stamp out, so I can play some more!

I bet you all have a ton of flower stamps, which ones will you choose for your projects? Pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the flowery things the DT have made.

Challenge ends May 17th.

Don't forget to tell us the age of your stamp, that is part of the fun of our challenge and please only enter 10 challenges including Retro Rubber.

Cx

Sketch Saturday #562: Sheepski Designs

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you and welcome to the latest sketch for the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is Sheepski Designs.

Here's the sketch...

I loved the Curly image and I thought it would work really well with the sketch. I loved colouring him with my new Copics. I am really loving working with them. I die-cut my panel using a stitched rectangle die and then added a little stamped scrap to fit the sketch.

Getting the angled panel was a bit tricky, but I love how it came out. I added a simple gold sentiment banner, I thought 'one of a kind' was perfect for this card.

I can't wait to see what you do with the sketch, but first check out what the rest of the DT have made over at Sketch Saturday.

Challenge ends May 10th 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

Simon Says Stamp: Monday Challenge Tag It!!

Hey,

Welcome to May!

It has been AGES since I played along with a Simon Says Stamp challenge.

But my good friend Cheiron is on the design team for the Monday challenge and I LOVED her tag and it reminded me how much I love making tags.

In case you haven't figured it out, this week's challenge is Tag it.

As you can see from the main photo I got totally carried away and made x3 tags!

But my entry for the challenge is the middle one -

Bizarrely the actual tag I used here was a gift from Cheiron! I created the background by blending over the entire tag using Spiced Marmalade distress oxide ink and then I used a couple of the Tim Holtz layering stencils over the top. Clockwork in Chipped Sapphire and Schoolhouse in Black Soot.

I then stamped, coloured and fussy cut the weird Flamingo head and legs by Dylusions (Waddle Waddle) - I really love these weird stamps by Dyan Reaveley. I die-cut the body using a stitched arch die and a scrap. The sentiment is a fave and is also by Dylusions. 

It felt a bit flat, so I added a bit of washi-tape that I coloured with Dina Wakely scribble sticks and I added some stars using texture paste and a Tim Holtz stencil (Shifter Stars). When the stars were dry I coloured over them with Spectrum Noir sparkle pens.

I am SO pleased with the final tag.

The other two tags turned out great too and I am going to make a few more, now I am on a tag roll!

Cx