Happy 15/10...

Hey,

Hubby and I are currently in Mexico to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, but if you have read my blog before then you know that yesterday was the anniversary of our first date - making this 15 years that we have been together!

I have written SO many posts about Hubby and our relationship over the last 10 years that I have had my blog.

My fave post is this one I wrote to celebrate our 10/5 year anniversary and I can't top that. I also decided not to use one of our Wedding photos for this post. The one I have used is from a friend's wedding last year and I love it, as it's SO us.

So today, I'm just going to show you the two cards I made Hubby for both anniversaries - I am a cardmaker, after all, so he always gets two cards!

I bought this amazing set by Ellen Hutson when it was on sale, especially for this occasion, as I refer to Hubby as Otter Boy - too personal for this blog ;) AND Hubby really hates all my punny cards, so I love to wind him up by giving them to him..

But also Otters mate for life and when they are in the Ocean or the River, they hold hands/paws at night, so that when they sleep they don't drift apart.. We have always thought that this is the sweetest thing ever and the set had two Otters holding hands/paws making this set perfect.

The first card is the one for our 15th Anniversary -

Gorgeous right! I started by stamping the Otters and masking them off before stenciling over them using a fave heart stencil by Dutchdoobadoo. The bottom half is a Clearly besotted stencil and I added the sentiment from the Otter set along with some Tim Holtz stickers to complete it. To hide the join, I added a glittery blue strip.

Here is a close-up of the sentiment - 

Here is the card for our 10th Wedding Anniversary.

This card is SO sparkly IRL, as I added Wink of Stella everywhere!!
I started by stenciling in the waves using a MFT stencil, then I added the sunburst, using a Clear Scraps stencil.
I stamped, coloured and die-cut the Otters and added a sentiment from the set.

Really happy with both cards - especially the mad puns!

Happy Anniversary Hubby, so glad that we are 15/10 in and continuing to have fun together, here's to the next 15/10 of fun, laughter, love and adventure. You will always be my Otter boy.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge.. Let's get 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 (by me) for you.

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

Challenge ends November 1st.

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


Cx

Simon Says Stamp: Stamptember Critter Crowd..

Hey,

Happy Monday (from Mexico).

I love Stamptember over at Simon Says Stamp, there are always so many fun collaborations.

This year I bought two sets, one of them I used on today's 'Critter Crowd' - the other set, you'll see soon.

I started by stamping and watercolouring the critters and the balloons. If you follow me on Instagram, you will have seen my little video about this step - I am attempting to make videos, they are a bit janky right now, but practice makes perfect ;)

I then stamped the Happy Birthday and created a little mask for it, so I could blend over it to create the pretty pink and orange background you see. I watercoloured the sentiment too and then added my critters and the balloons, all popped up using foam tape.

Such a pretty card, I can't wait to play with this stamp set a bit more.

Cx

The World is full of Beautiful Things..

Hey,

You might have noticed that I have been posting a lot recently.

I had a bit of a mental health break from my blog this year and decided to not put so much pressure on myself!

Recently I have made so many fun things that it felt right to share them, that's really what my blog is about. For a couple of years I made myself post almost every day and that was so time-consuming and not as much fun as this is supposed to be!

I made today's card a long time ago... it has been sitting in my 'to be blogged' folder patiently waiting it's turn!

I love digital stamps, they were my go to when I first starting crafting and I was still nervous about physical stamps and inks. That has obviously changed, but I still love digi stamps.

A company I discovered this year is Graciellie Designs - I love their digital stamps and I believe they do physical rubber ones in conjuction with Unity Stamp Co. (who I also love).

I bought their 'Tea for the Soul' set on sale because I loved it and one of the sentiments 'When life gives you lemons make tea' - you can see it here.

I fussy cut the stamp out after colouring it with Copics and because I chose to make the fruits Limes, I went with a kind of green theme.

The mini cover-plate die (Scalloped Stripe) is by Reverse Confetti and it is an all-time fave of mine. I die-cut it out of green cardstock and mounted it onto my card blank.

I cut my cardblank down to a kind of 4bar size. The excess that I trimmed off I used to stamp and heat emboss my sentiment which is by Hero Arts and then I fussy cut that to size. I hate to waste a decent sized scrap!

I love how bright and cheerful this card is and it has long since left to make a friend smile.

Cx

Desk Crap..

Hey,

So whilst I am sunning myself in Mexico, I thought I'd treat you to a super long post about some desk crap I found a few weeks ago!

I had this box on my desk that I have been dumping stuff into - oops. It finally gave up all pretence of standing and collapsed. So I threw out a bunch of stuff and the main photo shows some of the useful things I found (elephant dies I have been searching for, for months).

The watercolour tag pack was a great find and that inspired me to use as much of the crap as I could to make x10 cards using the watercolour tags.

So first I watercoloured the tags - just a basic colour wash -

Then I set to work making cards. It was a LOT of fun - there are x5 photos to follow with all the cards. Way too many products used to give you a full list, leave me a comment if anything particularly grabs your eye.

The Peep sticker, is actually an action wobble!

The sparkle tag was made using perfect pearls and is super shimmery, the holiday bauble card, I cut down the embossed heart from my main photo.

The card on the left uses a great Unity Stamp Co after dark stamp and was not part of the desk crap.

This is a bonus photo as I wanted to show you how anything in your craftroom can be used to create. The lines on a lot of the panels were created using the corrugated card from the watercolour tag packaging. I just added ink and 'stamped' it directly onto the panels.

I love all of these cards and they are now nearly all gone!

Cx

Cards for Colleagues..

Hey,

Happy Friday!

Tomorrow Hubby and I leave for Mexico - WHOOOP!! So excited, can't wait to feel the sun on my body again. Summer seems to have gone by so quickly.

I thought I'd show you a batch of cards I made a while ago for a few of my colleagues in the London office.

The first one was a leaving card and the colleague in question loves a Llama. I forgot all about the great wooden Llamas that I had bought in London earlier this year and it seemed like the perfect time to use one. I kept the card simple. The sentiment is by A-Muse Studio.

The next card is for a colleague who got promoted, she has a French Bulldog, so I thought she would appreciate the headphone wearing dog. Again, kept super simple with a negative die-cut out by Tim Holtz.

The final card was also for a colleague that was leaving - yes you guessed it, she likes Cats! The stamp is from the same set as the dog above and I added the great self-adhesive sunnies! The sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp.

3 really simple, but impactful cards.

Have a great weekend. I know I'm gonna!

Cx

Perfectly CAS: Happy Birthday Bridge..

Hey,

Today I am playing along with a new challenge Perfectly CAS.

The idea of the challenge is to use one-third of your card, alongside the theme.

I love a CAS card and the idea of using just a third of the space on my card appeals to me.

I used this as an opportunity to pull out an older stamp set that I haven't used in a while 'Wherever You Go' by Stampin' Up - sadly no longer for sale.

I started by putting my stamp onto my white cardstock and marking where I wanted the blue panel to go.

The Wendy Vecchi 'Make Art Stay-tion' came into it's own when I was doing this, as I could hold my panel and the masks down firmly (I use post-it's for masking).

I blended x3 distress ink colours from left to right - Tumbled Glass, Broken China and Faded Jeans. The paler Tumbled Glass, kind of got absorbed by the Broken China..

I am so happy with how this came out, the blend is pretty much the ombre I had envisioned - how rare is that!

I stamped the bridge from the set over the blended panel and then added a simple Happy Birthday sentiment at a slight angle.

Then I just had to die-cut it using a stitched rectangle die and affix to my card blank.

Perfectly CAS = me perfectly happy.

More playing along with this challenge.

Cx

CAS(e) This Sketch: Cheers...

Hey,

So I was really happy to have made the favourite's list over at CAS(e) This Sketch last week.

I was going to play along with this week's sketch anyway, but then the sketch featured a hexagon (swoon).

For some reason I LOVE hexagon's, I have no idea why, I just do.

So I broke out my fave Spellbinders nesting hexagon die set and went to work :)

I had an idea, as the 'Cheers' die by Winnie & Walter, was sitting on my desk. So I die-cut two hexagons in black and purple cardstock and die-cut the cheers out of a scrap of Lawn Fawn plaid paper.

I bought the Waffle Flower 'Currently Drinking' set on a whim 2 years ago, as I thought it would be handy and honestly it is one of the most used things in my craftroom.

I used x3 of the stamps from the set to create a little background on my purple hexagon.

I affixed the black one to the card blank and popped up the purple one and the cheers.

To finish it off I added some adhesive green pearls.

Fun card, suitable I think for both men and women.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #122.. Get Sketchy..

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

Last sketch of the year for you, created by me!

I love sketches, they always make me use my imagination!

Whilst this challenge is live, I will be in Mexico with my Hubby celebrating 15 years as a couple and 10 years as a married couple. I can't believe we have been together so long - it feels like just yesterday that I saw him across a crowded room and decided he was the one for me (true story).

I love the 'Hot Chick' set by Avery Elle, I have had it since 2017 and it always makes me smile, I use it a lot, as I have friends that like to workout too and it makes a great birthday card for them.

I stamped and coloured the Chick and then die-cut it out using a stitched circle die and used the next size up to die-cut the second backing circle.

I recently realised that I didn't have a good set of banner dies and so bought a set from Avery Elle and they are getting a lot of use.

The background paper is interesting, because it has flecks of white and grey in it, that haven't photographed so well. AND I have had the paper since approx 2011 and it moved to NYC with me from London and this is the penultimate piece.

Fun card, that I can add to my punny card set I am making for a friend.

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

Challenge ends November 1st.

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

Christmas Card 2019: Merry Wishes..

Hey,

Happy Monday!

I have had a really fun weekend.

My Sister-in-Law brought our Niece and Nephew on their first ever trip to NYC!

We did SO much stuff - Grand Central Station, Intrepid Museum, Carousel in Brooklyn, East River Ferry, Statue of Liberty, Highline, Hudson Yards... phew!

Here is a little collage of photos.

As there hasn't been much time for desk action or photo retouching, I thought I would share a super simple Christmas card that I made a while ago.

Simple to do.

Mask off a circle and use watercolour paint to create the circle.

Let it dry, stamp some leaves and add your Robin and sentiment!

My leaves and the Robin are from the Pink Fresh Studio 'December Days' stamp set and the sentiment is by Lawn Fawn.

Super simple and I made a bunch of these.

Cx

CAS(e) This Sketch: Happy Birthday..

Hey,

It's been a while since I played along with CAS(e) this Sketch.

This week's sketch immediately sparked an idea -

I had the Simon Says Stamp 'Brush Stroke Messages' set out on my desk and I thought one of the brushstrokes would work really well.

I stamped the smallest brush stroke in x5 colours of Dew Drop ink - these and Altenew are my fave inks.

I masked off part of one of the sentiments from the set to stamp 'birthday' and then added the Happy die-cut - the die is also by Simon Says Stamp.

Super quick and easy card to make.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #121 Tic Tac Toe - 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 a fab Tic Tac Toe board, choose one of the rows.

Which row will you choose? Link up with us over at  Retro Rubber and also get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends October 18th.

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

Watercooler Wednesday: Halloween

Hey,

Happy Friday!

I wanted to play along with a new to me challenge - Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.

I love the theme - I am ALL about Occasions.

My wedding anniversary is actually Halloween! And this year we celebrate 10 years of marriage, so I really wanted to send a bunch of Halloween cards to our friends.

I loved this great set 'Mr Bones' by Tim Holtz that I bought from Michaels (you get stamps, dies, embossing folder) - it's a bit scarier than I would normally go, but I just fell in love.

I made a TON of these.. I used the embossing folder that came with the set with both black and orange papers to mix it up a bit. The awesome 'jagged edge' came from the Tim Holtz speckled edge dies.

I stamped 'Mr Bones' and used clear embossing powder over him to add that shine you can see, it wasn't necessary, but it felt like a nice touch to add.

I kept the sentiment simple, I punched a bunch of the little sentiment banners in orange and black and added an ancient Clearly Besotted 'Happy Halloween' to the banners.

I only realised whilst I was writing this post HOW many techniques I used - go me!

I am super pleased with how they came out. I figure this set will now be a fave.

Hope you have a great weekend, I am off to an all-day class tomorrow - super excited, I will be carving my own stamps - whoop!

Cx

The Paper Players: Grateful..

Hey,

The theme over at The Paper Players this week, meant I could bring out one of my fave stamp sets.

It was my birthday recently and I am super grateful for all the amazing people I have in my life, that took the time to think of me, come hang with me, send me cards, gifts, and lovely wishes. So this card and post are for them.

I used the 'So Very Grateful' set by Unity Stamp Co. I LOVE their flower jar stamp sets and I think I have them all now.

I stamped the flower jar onto watercolour paper and used distress inks to watercolour, I didn't really use fall colours, but I think that's ok. I love watercolouring these jars.

I am loving adding sentiments stamped onto vellum right now! So I did it again here.

Super simple make.

Cx

Mr & Mr...

Hey, 

So around the middle of August my work colleague, Emma asked me to make her a Mr & Mr card.

I immediately knew what I wanted to do as I had just bought the awesome 'Furry Friends' set by Concord & 9th and had seen this idea -

So with a few modifications I CASE'd it - LOVE how mine came out, it was so fun to make and the stamp set is so versatile.

I was so happy with it all that I made JT and her Hubby their anniversary card using the same premise.

The background papers that I used for both of the cards are by Pink Petticoat (no longer open) and are digital, so I just had to print off a sheet of each colourway - it comes in 48 colours - amazing!

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #121 Tic Tac Toe..

Hey,

Welcome to another fun Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we have another great Tic Tac Toe board from Jan..

I went with the bottom row - die-cut / monochrome / birthday.

I really wanted to use the Concord & 9th 'Dotty Turnabout' stamp that I have had since 2017, because I have always struggled to use it correctly and recently did a tutorial and it changed everything for me!

I stamped it here in black and white ink - obviously, you can't really see the white ink, so I used the outline circle stamps that come with the set to highlight my white circles!

I die-cut the great Boxed-up Happy Birthday die by Lil Inker in black and so that it would stand out from the background I added a piece of vellum.

Really simple card and actually quite masculine..well it better be, as it left in the post already to a male friend :)

Can't wait to see which row you will choose to use. Pop over to Retro Rubber and get inspired by the things the DT have made.

Challenge ends October 18th.

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

MONSTERS!!!!

Hey,

So the Labor Day sales gave me the opportunity to buy some Monster stamps I have been longing for.

First up is the awesome Ink Blot Shop 'Party Monster' - HOW amazing is he?! I love his teeny tiny little hands, they crack me up every time I see them.  The stamp is pretty big, so I didn't have to do a lot here, stamp and colour the Monster and add the sentiment!

The card below features a Taylored Expressions Monster from their 'Party Monster's' set.

Again another card that was super simple, this time I combined two sentiments, as I thought this little Monster looked like he was ready to party ;)

Cx

CASology 353: Feathers...

Hey,

Happy Saturday to you!

Hubby and I got approved for our Green Cards yesterday!! Can't believe it, after all this time and paperwork, needless to say I feel slightly jaded today..

Today I wanted to play along with the current CASology challenge -

I have a few feather stamps, but I thought I'd add a little twist and use the fabulous 'Mardi Gras' set by Avery Elle (sadly, no longer in stock).

I started by die-cutting the black panel using a stitched rectangle die.

Then I stamped the mask from the set (using Versamark embossing ink), slightly off of the edge of the panel and then heat embossed it using my all-time fave embossing powder Liquid Platinum by Ranger.

I stamped the feathers from the set onto a piece of red card and again heat embossed them using the same powder and then die-cut them out.

After much rearranging of the position, I FINALLY settled on a place for the sentiment and used the same methods as above to heat emboss it.

I affixed the entire panel to a black card blank. Then I arranged the 3 feathers and added them to the corner of the mask.

It felt like it was missing something, so I added a super shimmery Neat & Tangled gold enamel dot.

CAS can be 'black' space too ;)

Cx

p.s Happy World Cardmaking Day!!!

Flora & Fauna: Mini Toucan...

Hey,

Happy Friday to you.

Today is a big day for Hubby and I, we are going to our Green Card interview - EEK!! So nervous and excited...

A while ago we did a class at The Inkpad with Cheiron and she used a bunch of Flora & Fauna products.

I loved the 'Mini Toucan' set and bought it, but I hadn't had a chance to use it.

Then when we did the not quite Florida playdate Cheiron made a card using it and I loved it, so I CASE'd it and added some Reverse Confetti sentiments.

Super simple, but very elegant, I love how pretty and bright the Toucan is and I wouldn't have thought to add white gel pen for feathers!

Always learning new stuff from Cheiron.

Cx

Christmas Cards 2019: A mix..

Hey,

Welcome to October!!

My Christmas card making is actually complete - WHOOOP!! I just have special cards to make now (parents, hubby, etc).

So I'm showing you cards that have been made for over 4 weeks!

The main photo actually shows a batch of cards I made during a playdate with JT.

The top row uses a Pink Fresh Studio set 'December Days' and I found all the stamps you see on the cards ready to go (coloured and die-cut) in the stamp pocket - WIN! So I decided to see if I could get x3 cards out of what I had. Worked out pretty well I think.

The second row uses the great 'Party like Santa's not watching' stamp that I bought for JT and I at Michaels for $1 - YES!! 

The card on the left with the Monster was a challenge from JT to make a Christmas card on the playdate that combined non-Christmas items with a Christmas one to make a card. 

Of course, I defaulted to using a Monster stamp! I love the Your Next Stamp Silly Monsters and this stamp is from the 'Silly Rockstar Monsters' set.

A great batch of cards in a 2hr gossip, drink, gossip session.

The cards below were a CASE of a great idea I saw on the Avery Elle instagram page, so I immediately bought the stamp 'Holiday Skates'.

These cards took a LOT of prep / work, but they are SO worth it.

I was originally going to blend the backgrounds, but then when I realised I needed x4 leaves, x2 candy canes, x2 skates and x2 berries for each card, I was like NOPE. So I die-cut a circle out of blue paper and used glitter snow paste through a stencil to create the background.

Love this little batch of cards and you can see that making in batches means I get them done quicker. This year I started as planned on 1st August and I was done by the 5th September - 110 cards in 5 weeks, pretty impressed with myself.

Cx