Alcohol Ink Lift...

Hey,

Happy Monday!

I hope you had a good weekend.

I have spent most of the time either cleaning my closet or playing with digital scrapbooking - new to me, but lots of fun and I am enjoying cherry-picking which photos I want to scrap. I am not into doing entire years - I just don't have the patience for that!

A while ago I was trying out the alcohol lift technique. My results were not too bad. The actual alcohol ink panel didn't come out so well as you can see, but the lift result was lovely and I made the pretty thank you card that you can see in the photo.

If you fancy giving this a go, I suggest watching this video - Jennifer McGuire does a much better job of explaining this than I ever could.

I am going to keep practicing and see if I can improve the results on the ink panel.

Cx

FMS: Birthday Bear..

Hey,

Happy Saturday!

Continuing with the challenge theme I've got going for this week.

I tell you after all this wfh / isolation is done, my apartment is going to be knee-deep in cards!

Anyway!

I am playing along with the Freshly Made Sketches Sketch today.

I already had the Bear coloured and ready to go, as he was coloured as part of the #dailymarker30day colouring challenge. He is from one of my all-time fave sets by MFT 'Beary Special Birthday'.

I started by die-cutting the background pink spotty panel and then I dit-cut coordinating circles in plain and floral and layered them up, I hung them slightly off the edge of the spotty panel and trimmed off the excess.

The sentiment banner is by Taylored Expressions and is one of their genius simple strips stamps / die combo - if you don't have this, you need to check it out.

I popped the sentiment and bear up using foam tape.

I love the cute card I ended up with, making a nice addition to my birthday card stash.

Today I am going to attempt to clean my closet (UGH) and then as a reward I can play with Alcohol inks!

Cx

CAS Colors & Sketches: Mmmm chocolate..

Hey,

More challenge loveliness for you today,

This time I am playing along with CAS Colors & Sketches.

I love sketches..

I know I always say this, but when I saw this sketch I knew exactly what I was going to do with it.

I love Monster stamps and this sketch felt perfect for one of my fave Monster stamps by Your Next Stamp from their 'Silly Monsters Chillout' set. I think YNS make some of the best Monster stamps and I have nearly all of them now :)

I used the Monster and the mug stamp from the set, stamped, coloured and cut him and I stamped and cut out the matching sentiment too. I cut a piece of white card stock and popped up my Monster and the sentiment using foam tape.

This card was obviously very simple to make and it makes me SUPER happy just looking at the Monster eyeing up the Hot Chocolate.

I know, I know, I am a giant kid!

Cx

4 cards, 1 stamp set: Making Cards Mag Freebie

Hey,

So having a little challenge gap day today :)

I wanted to show you x4 cards that I made using a freebie stamp set I got in the UK.

I love the stamps, they are a great addition to my stash.

I stamped x4 of the girls onto watercolour paper and used distress inks to colour them.

I decided that I would cut the main stamped images as tags and go from there.

I had a LOT of fun, I used so many scraps from my stash - including all the ribbon. Basically I never ever buy ribbon, I just save it from gifts I get given and recycle it in my crafting!

Fun cards that came out even better than expected.

Cx

CASology: Tea-Rex...

Hey,

I'm on a challenge roll this week, lots of time on my hands that I am putting to good use!

I haven't played along with a CASology challenge in a while, the current cue card made me smile and immediately think of the awesome Newton's Nook 'Tea-Rex' stamp set.

I CASEd one of the samples that Newtons Nook posted, by Tatiana, because I loved the layout, but I varied it by not adding a few of the elements, so it was more in keeping with the CAS nature of the challenge.

I stamped, coloured and die-cut the Tea-Rex. Then I stamped a row of the cute mugs from the Pink Fresh Studio 'Itty Bitty Elements' set (no longer for sale on the PFS site).

I added the sentiment, popped up Mr Rex and voila! Finished card. So wonderfully easy and very CAS.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #131.. Tic Tac Toe..

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

I hope you are all safe and well. My company is WFH across the globe for at least another couple of weeks.

I do hope everyone is finding ways to keep sane, during this period of enforced isolation, in one sense it is very hard and odd, but in another it means we have to find other ways to be social. The RR team are going to have an online date next weekend, it is the first time in our history that we will have seen each other 'face to face' - how awesome is that. Trying to find a silver lining is very important right now.

This time we have a fun tic tac toe board for you.

These boards are always such fun, because you get such different interpretations of each line.

I chose the bottom row - Easter / Pastel Colours / Pattern Paper.

I decided that I wanted to use the cute bunny from the Unity Stamp Co 'Bunny Hugs' set (I've had it since 2016) and built my card around her! I stamped, coloured and fussy cut my bunny. I used all soft pastel colours to colour her - including a super pale lilac (BV0000) for her fur.

I stamped, coloured and die-cut some Easter eggs from the Neat & Tangled 'All the Bunnies' set (now retired) - one of my fave Easter sets from last year.

I wanted to layer up some papers to create the background, so I chose x3 papers from a random 6x6 pad that I have, the soft pink worked really well as a backdrop for my bunny and the little eggs.

The sentiment is also from the Neat & Tangled set.

Love how it all came together pretty much as I had envisioned and now I have another card for my little pile of Easter cards. I like to send Easter cards, I am not sure why maybe it's because I get to use all my bunny stamps!!

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

Challenge ends April 3.

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

CAS(E) This Sketch: Age is Just a Number..

Hey,

I decided that I had to do a second post today, because the minute I saw the sketch for CAS(E) This Sketch, I knew I had to play along!

I used the long edge of the card for my version of the sketch, so my card would be landscape, as the stamp I wanted to use is rather long.

The number stamp us by Hero Arts w/Studio Calico from their 'Please Note' set and I only bought it because I had to have this number stamp, however the rest of it has been used!

I coloured my stamp using Copic markers in rainbow order - it's SO pretty, I don't know how I'm going to part with it..

I added a sentiment from the Concord & 9th 'Happy Day' set. To match the sketch, I stamped another '3' on some yellow cardstock and fussy cut it and popped it up. However, you can't really tell I did that in my main photo (sigh) so here is a close-up for you.

I also added a few enamel dots in coordinating colours as a final touch.

I love this super quick and easy make, I love sketches, so inspirational.

Cx

Fab Friday: Happy Easter!

Hey,

Happy Monday!

Hope you managed to stay sane, whilst on lockdown this weekend.

I was ridiculously prolific at my craft desk..

Including my card for the Fab Friday challenge.

I love a sketch and I was so happy at how my card came out, I made another one!

I stamped the Concord & 9th 'Confetti Turnabout' stamp, I am totally obsessed with their turnabout stamps (now that I understand how to use them!

I then die-cut it out using a square stitched die and I used a slightly bigger size to cut out the other square. I cut a coordinating panel using a stitched rectangle die and layered up my squares, adding a bit of gold glitter washi tape and a small sentiment banner, that I stamped onto.

The bunny sticker is hilarious and from a set from Hema that I believe JT gave me at least 2 years ago. It was so nice to use them and make these quirky cards.

Hubby thinks the bunnies look guilty about something! What do you think?

Cx

The Paper Players: Monster Birthday..

Hey,

Hope you are all safe and well.

Being at home permanently means much more quality time at my craft desk.

This can actually be a bit overwhelming, so I have been turning to challenges.

First up for me this week is The Paper Players.

It's a sketch challenge and I LOVE sketches, so versatile AND it's by Claire Broadwater - I love her work and her general happy spirit, she's totes a craft crush.

I decided to rotate the sketch, I felt it worked better for me and what I had in mind.

I love Monster stamps and I am a huge fan of the ones by Your Next Stamp, so I used their 'Silly Birthday Monsters' set here.

I stamped, coloured and die-cut the cake monster and used one of the fun sentiments from the set.

I went with a mix of patterned papers for my layers and I love the bright funky look that it achieved.

Now I'm off to find a few more challenges I want to play with this week.

Have a great Sunday (inside!).

Cx

TicTacToe: Thanks for Always Being There...

Hey,

Happy Saturday!

Hope you are all safe and well, wherever you are.

Today I am going to be having a skype playdate with JT, I think we both need a distraction, because this is not the normal WFH situation!

I am playing along with the current TicTacToe challenge..

The current board was created by my Retro Rubber teammate LeAnne and randomly, I didn't look at her card until after I created mine - wouldn't you know it, we chose the same row!!

Blue, Umbrella, Designer Paper.

I chose x2 great Mama Elephant sets to work with. The sentiment and the Bunny with the Flower Umbrella are from the collab with Simon Says Stamp from Stamptember 2017 'Rain or Shine'. The cute Bunny holding a cupcake is from their 'Little Bunny Agenda' set.

Pretty simple card really, I die-cut a circle from the gorgeous gingham paper by American Crafts and figured out where I was going to position my bunnies and then stamped the raindrops. I popped the bunnies and the sentiment up using foam tape.

Such a cute card that will be nice to send to a friend.

I love the fact that my chosen umbrella is a bit unconventional, but I guess if I was a bunny, it would make sense to use a flower as an umbrella right?!

Have a great weekend.

Cx

The Paper Players: Floral Mother's Day Cards...

Hey,

Despite all the virus craziness it is still going to be Mother's Day in the UK on Sunday.

I wanted both my Mother and my MIL to have cards that were bright and cheery and full of flowers, which they both love.

Handily both of my cards fit the current Paper Players challenge -

But I think the one for my MIL (on the right), is way more CAS and so fits the challenge better. This card uses a Studio Katia set 'A Cup of Thanks' and the sentiment is by Hero Arts.

I love the Studio Katia set and it gets a lot of use, here I kept it super simple and stamped onto watercolour card, and using distress inks I watercoloured the image and then added lots of shimmer with Sakura glitter gel pens.

The card for my Momma on the left uses Taylored Expressions 'Shiplap Background' and Concord & 9th 'Wonderful Florals'.
The Concord & 9th set is so stunning, so many possibilities for using it, I am itching to try out more ideas, as this was my first inking of it. I stamped it and coloured it using Copic Markers and Sakura glitter gel pens. I die-cut it out and using foam tape, mounted it to the panel that I had stamped the Shiplap background onto. Final touch was the sentiment.
I love how it came out and the colours are perfect for my Momma.

Two lovely floral cards, very different, for very different ladies.

Cx

Alcohol Ink Congrats...

Hey,

Sometimes you just need a giant sentiment!!

I have wanted large alpha dies for as long as I could remember.

I finally got this amazing set of dies from Amazon, thanks to my in-laws and their birthday gift last year.

I wanted to make a card for an arty friend, so I took some ready to go alcohol ink coloured yupo sheets and die-cut 'Congrats' using the giant dies.

The letters are so large I had to create a bespoke card blank, because nothing I had was long enough.

I love how it came out, the different colours in each letter, play off of each other and every time you look at it you see different colours.

Simple to do, but so effective.

Cx

Connecticut Road Trip..

Hey,

Happy Monday!

Hope you are all staying safe and well. Hubby and I are now WFH for the next few weeks.

At the end of Feb, Lisette and I went on a little road trip to Connecticut to do Jenn Shurkus classes at the Papercraft Clubhouse.

I love Tracie's store and it's always a great space to do classes.

We did both classes on the Saturday, so we ended up with x10 cards. I always love Jenn's classes, she is a great teacher and I also get to play with all the Lawn Fawn. I loved playing with the flipbook style die and the magic iris die. I am considering buying the flipbook die..but we'll see.

Obviously, Lisette and I did a fair amount of shopping at the store after x2 months of no-craft supplies diet.

We had an absolute hoot on the Saturday night, as we hit our fave local Michael's - it has the most amazing sale section, we were in there for quite a long time!

Our plan on the way home on Sunday was to hit the Outlets at Foxwoods - we ended up getting there so early that we hit the casino at 9.15am!! Which was cool, as we both won some money, aiding the outlet shopping!

I included a photo of my $57 haul from the Cosmetics Store outlet - to put it into perspective, the Tom Ford palette is $88 regular price..

Fun road trip, love a craft road trip.

Cx

Underwear and a Crown..

Hey,

Happy Friday!

CV-19 = crazy times. Both my UK and the US offices are now WFH for the next few weeks. I hope everyone will be safe and continue to observe the rules around handwashing etc, but lets remember not to panic buy and ensure everyone can get what they need.

Now onto nicer things.

Don't you love it when you find a 'new to you' craft company?

When I was back in London in Feb, I bought a craft magazine and they had a feature that included a stamp by AALL & Create (stocked in the US by various online stores, check their website).

I loved them immediately, the style is very similar to PaperArtsy and Carabelle.

I had to buy myself a few of their stamps including 'Pineapple Queen' that I used today.

It was a great opportunity to use the Taylored Expressions 'Shiplap background', which I stamped in soft grey, so it is barely visible. I stamped the girl and the Pineapples directly onto the background and then coloured them using Copics and Sakura glitter gel pens. I decided to stamp the crown onto a piece of patterned paper and fussy cut it out.

I wanted the sentiment to stand out, so I used the same gingham paper as the crown and die-cut it using a fancy scalloped circle die.

It came out so well, I am super pleased with the new set.

I made this card for my friend Jen, who is recovering from surgery and can't craft right now, so I wanted to make her smile and send her a stamp set for use when she is better.

The card arrived and Jen's message to me about it make me laugh she said 'imagine my husband's face if he came home to find me in just my underwear and a crown. LOL'

And that for me is the beauty of cardmaking, send some happy mail to someone, in return you get a message that makes you happy too.

Cx

Shifter Stencil..

Hey,

Potty mouth alert!

I don't ever apologise for using swear words on my cards, I have a potty mouth, my friends know this and it's my blog.

I have a great collection of the Unity Stamp Co 'after dark' stamps. The one on today's cards is one of my faves.

I wanted to have a proper play with some of my shifter stencils - by Tim Holtz. These stencils are pretty clever, you get the normal open part of a stencil, but you also get a closed shape too, so you can shift your stencil over and use a different colour or medium without the risk of getting it onto your first colour. Watch this video for a better explanation!

I decided that I would stencil over the great sentiment, first I used distress oxides and then instead of another colour I used x2 different mediums. For the purple card, I used Indian Gold Nuvo Mousse and for the green card I used Gina K Glitter Gel.

They both came out really well and I am head over heels in love with the shifter stencils.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #130 Sketch time..

Hey,

Welcome to another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

We have a sketch for you this time

You know how much I love a sketch!

I made a card that I really wasn't a fan of, so I decided to start again and I love the end result!

I rotated the sketch, meaning the sentiment is on the bottom and the 3 boxes are above it. I dug out two older sets that made me smile - Gerda Steiner Designs 'Llama Tell You' - for the sentiment and I have had it since 2016 and the 3 little Monsters are by Sweet Stamp Shop, from their 'Eye See You' set, that I have had since 2017 (which is now retired).

I stamped the sentiment and then carefully lined up the Monsters and stamped them above it. I had to add the little 'hi' from the Sweet Stamp Shop set, it just worked so well!

I coloured the Monsters with Copics and Sakura starburst gel pens.

It's so kooky and CAS, love it.

Now it's your turn to 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 March 20th.

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

Fairytales..

Hey,

Happy Monday!

Hope you had a good weekend?

Hubby and I had a fun staycation here in NYC and a really nice relaxing weekend hanging out together.

Today I am sharing a card I made a couple of weeks ago for a colleague.

I loved the 'Midnight Shoe' stamp by Crafter's Companion the minute I saw it when I was in London last.

I love the fact that it's making me question Cinderella's story now LOL - I mean was she just tipsy and lost her shoe?!

Anyway, I stamped it onto white card and die-cut it using a Spellbinders nesting fancy shape die. I wanted to use one of these random neutral card-blanks that I have, so I coloured the shoe to match and added gold metallic pen dots to it for some shimmer.

Very happy with the end result and my colleague loved it too.

Cx

Sunday Stamps: Colourful Mask..

Hey,

I cut it close, but I made it!!

I really wanted to play along with the current Sunday Stamps challenge.

I made Top Cup at the last Sunday Stamps challenge, which was awesome and I was super pleased, this is one of the reasons I wanted to play along again. It's always nice to play along after a win or a mention, that's what makes the challenge community so nice.

The colours and the image really spoke to me and were a perfect match for one of my fave stamps sets - Mardi Gras by Avery Elle.

I heat embossed the mask onto purple paper, weirdly I thought I had some darker purple in my stash..I don't - mental note to buy more purple paper lol. I love Liquid Platinum embossing powder by Ranger, it is my fave - you get such a smooth finish. I die-cut the feathers out of gold and green glitter paper.

I have seen a lot of people recently creating backgrounds using strips of paper, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. I didn't want too much gold, so used more black strips.

I decided to add a Tim Holtz sentiment strip and I think it worked out really well.

I am pleased with the end result, it came out exactly as I pictured it.

Cx

Monsters: Repeat Stamping..

Hey,

Welcome to March!

You must all know by now that I LOVE Monster stamps!

A few weeks ago, I decided to pull out a couple of Monster stamp sets that haven't been used in a while and I chose Flonzcraft Monsters and Microbes and Jane's Doodles Monster Squad.

I thought a bit of repeat stamping would be fun.

The main photo uses the stamps by Flonzcraft, these are too much fun and were a gift from Lisette. I decided to just use x3 colours and x3 of the stamps - you get approx 20 stamps in this set!

I love how fun and bright it came out and it really pops against the orange mat, my sentiment pops more IRL.

Next up is my fave Jane's Doodles monster - I think I love him because you can use a large googly eye! The background for this card was created using an arrow stamp that came with the Monster set and I stamped it using Altenew inks - I have the Shades of Purple set - I LOVE their inks.

Super easy and fun monster cards.

Cx