Sketch Saturday #570 Paper Nest Dolls...

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you and welcome to the Sketch Saturday challenge.

Our sponsor this week is The Paper Nest Dolls and they are offering 3 digi's from their site.

As it is 5 week month, we get to choose which sketch we would like to use. I loved sketch #294

I thought it would work really well with the Mermaid Ellie w/Seahorse image.

I decided I would create a square card and I used an ancient piece of sparkly DCWV paper for the bottom half of my card and used a plain blue piece of scrap paper for the top. I stenciled in some dots to cover a tear that happened as I affixed it to the card blank. But I think that just improved my card :)

I coloured Ellie using Copics and Nuvo shimmer pens and die-cut her out using a rounded stitched rectangle die.

To match the sketch, I added a middle strip of paper - which is super shimmery and also ancient DCWV and I used two sets of bling instead of semi-circle's and I like how that came out.

The sentiment is by Market Street Stamps (no longer in business) and it was already on my desk as I had used another one from the set.

Love how sparkly and shimmery the card is in real life.

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

Challenge ends July 5th 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx

Be the Sunshine...

Hey!

Happy Friday.

Can't believe it is nearly July!!

This year is flying by.

Showing you a couple of cards I made recently using some newish goodies from Unity Stamp Co.

The main card today made me smile a lot! I sent it to a friend who, like me, loves a large glass of wine!! She saw the humour which is good.

I love this second stamp set, the image is gorgeous and I love the sentiment that comes with it.

I love the idea of being the sunshine..I have need to embrace that thought this week!

Have a great weekend, I am off to craft class tonight and then will be playing at my desk, gyming and sorting out my closet this weekend.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #113.. Anything Goes, still time to play...

Hey,

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

The theme this time is everyone's fave - Anything Goes.

Show us your cards and pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends June 28.

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

Lots of little birdies...

Hey,

Happy Monday!

I can't believe that it is nearly July!! This year is whipping by.

I have been a bit patchy with my posts recently.. SO much going on.

Today's card is a bit old and has been sitting waiting patiently to be posted..

I love this stamp set - it's by Scrapberry's and there is a whole set of them and someone sent them to me in the post?!

The birdies are all individual stamps and I stamped them all over to create a mini scene. The sentiment stamp is ancient and by Hero Arts.

I added little white dots to the scarf for a bit of extra detail.

I love a simple card like this and I think the sentiment means that the card could be used for a variety of occasions.

Cx

Background fishes..

Hey,

I realised recently that I have a lot of fish stamps and as I received a gift of lovely Dyan Reaveley ocean background stamps I thought it would be fun to play with them.

I stamped a mix of the background stamps onto white card and coloured them using copics, I added the sentiments and then die-cut them using a stitched rectangle die.

The fishes are by Avery Elle - from two different sets - That Bites and Sea-prise. I love Avery Elle stamp sets, they are always so fun.

I love how they came out and I have used them both already.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #113.. Anything Goes...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

The theme this time is everyone's fave -

I thought this was a great opportunity to bring out a set by CAS-ual Friday 'Ka-boom' (no longer available) that I have had since 2016 and to be honest it has had barely any use.

I also decided to use a fun technique that involves Pearl-ex powders (Perfect Pearls are the same). First I die-cut my black panel to size, then I dusted over part of the black panel using an embossing powder tool thingy (technical term).

Then I stamped the sentiment and the bomb from the set using embossing ink and dusted the gold Pearl-ex powder over the top to get that gorgeous shimmery gold stamping you see.

I tried to explain the steps here, but it kept sounding super complicated and it really isn't. I love this tutorial if you are interested.

I really like the look you get when using Pearl-ex or Perfect Pearls powders, give it a go if you have some of these.

Can't wait to see what you choose to make, also don't forget to pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends June 28th.

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 #568 Mmedel Illustrations..

Hey,

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

Our sponsor this week is Mmedel Illustrations and they are offering a fabulous prize of x2 digis from their store and a discount code.

Here's the sketch...

I love working with angles..

I loved the Towel Girl stamp, especially as it is Summer, so it's time for going on vacay and relaxing.

I printed and coloured the stamp, using Copics. Then I die cut the white panel using a stitched rectangle and placed it at an angle over the yellow panel and the smaller gold piece. Once I trimmed off the excess I affixed the whole thing to a card blank.

I added the little sentiment banner and I kept my sentiment simple, as I felt like this card could be used for a variety of occasions.

I ended up with so much white space that I added a giant piece of bling to anchor the whole thing a bit better.

Love how it came out, I love angled cards and the simplicity of this one works so well.

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 21st June 7pm GMT / 2pm EST.

Cx

Peek-a-Boo Thank You....

Hey,

Happy Friday!

What a week!!!

Don't you love it when you see a stamp set and an idea, buy said stamp set and it's even better than you thought it would be?!

I saw these x2 great new releases from Avery Elle - Peek-a-Boo Car and Peek-a-Boo Scary Pals.

I had to have them because I loved that the paws for the animals are separate so you can position them on the steering wheel - it's the small things with me.

For my first use of the two sets I made a thank you card for a friend and I LOVE how it came out. It worked really well with the MFT peek-a-boo dots cover-up background die.

I added a Lil Inker banner - which I got in a grab bag and is fast becoming my default die. The sentiment is by Stampin' Up.

Hope you have fun weekend plans.

Tonight I am going to see a friend who is a physical therapist to see if she can help me with the foot / ankle.

Cx

As You Like It: I'll be brief..

Hey,

Happy Saturday!

So.. I am back in the gym today after a 2-week pause because I broke my foot. I am more mobile now and off to craft class at The Inkpad NYC tonight..

To cheer myself up, I thought I'd play with some challenges and I came across the current As You Like It challenge.

The theme this time is to show a project using your fave stamp company and you have to explain why.

NOT easy at all. I love SO many companies LOL.

I love Lil Inker Designs - they are a small company and they make really great stamps, dies and papers.

I always fall in love with their new releases and Laura that owns Lil Inker is an absolute sweetheart - she tries really hard to help you if need something (aka me on a hunt for long retired dies..).

I chose to use the 'I'll be brief' set for this card as it always makes me smile and to be fair - who wouldn't smile at an Alligator in underpants!

I stamped one of the 'briefs' from the set to create a background and coloured them using Copic markers, I made a mistake with my choice of black ink, but it didn't smudge too much..

I added a little border strip to house the sentiment also from the sent and I stamped, coloured and die-cut the cute Alligator.

I love using this set, everyone I've ever sent one of these to always contacts me and asks me to make them a little batch.

That is one of the reasons I love Lil Inkers, the cards I make using their products are so well received and that always feels so nice.

Cx

p.s if you ever get a chance to get a Lil Inker grab box BUY ONE - they are such good VFM and check out their annual Black Friday blowout sale, it's ridiculous!

CASE: Sooo many candles...

Hey,

So I saw this great card in the gallery when I entered a challenge and I had to CASE it -

It's by Ishani (aka Quillish) and I thought the idea was so clever, that I had to CASE it.

I went on a hunt for a stamp set that had candles and a die - I settled on the Concord & 9th 'Eat Cake & Celebrate' set.

I stamped some of the candles onto the base of my white panel and I also stamped some onto a scrap piece of paper, so I could die-cut them and mount them with foam tape. It give the card such great dimension.

I added a cheeky sentiment from the 'Fun Birthday Sayings' set which is from Scrapbook.com's own range of stamps.

A little bit of bling finished the card off nicely. I KNOW I'll be making this card a lot!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #112... Buttons and Bows...

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we are looking for buttons or bows on your card.

The minute I saw this theme, I knew which sets I would be pulling out of the archives ;)

First I created the background, by blending x2 shades of blue distress ink through a fave Andy Skinner bubbles stencil.

I stamped, coloured and die-cut the shoes from the Waffle Flower First Step set (I've had it since 2016). I decided it would be fun to use spotty papers for the bows, so I stamped one of the bows from the set on a spotty scrap and die-cut them out.

I added the shoes to the background panel and die-cut the entire panel using a stitched rectangle die.

I stamped the sentiment from The Ton Shoe Wardrobe (I've had this since 2017), I thought it suited the shoes perfectly.

Great use of two stamp sets that have been really neglected.

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

Challenge ends June 14th.

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

Shaker 40th...

Hey,

Happy Monday!

Can you believe it is June already!!

This year is rocketing by.

This year is also the year of the 40th Birthday in my world (including Hubby next month).

I am flexing my cardmaking skills making all different kinds of 40th cards.

Today's card was made for one of my close friends, she is a designer and I like to go to town on her cards.

I used one of the great sequin pouches that I bought at Tuesday Morning earlier this year. They are actually Christmas themed, so all the colours are red and green, but I thought that I could make them work for other occasions.

I die-cut the 40 from sparkly glitter paper. I thought that it would be fun to add some stickers to build the sentiment.

I decided to use a spotty card blank. I was worried it might be too fussy, but I think it works really well.

Cx

Sketch Saturday #566 All Dressed Up....

Hey,

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

Our sponsor this week is All Dressed Up and they are offering 2 images from their store.

Here's the sketch, created by me this week!

I love the Play Day image and I thought it worked so well with my sketch ;)

I coloured the image, using all purple/blue tones. I then chose scrap papers in matching colours.

I love the end result, especially the pop of yellow in the girl's boots and the paper framing the image.

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 June 7th 7pm GMT / 2pm EST

Cx