4from1: Flora & Fauna

Hey,

It's been a bit crazy in my work world, so my posts have had to take a back seat.

But today I thought I would share 4 great cards that I made using a mix of Flora & Fauna 'Llama Garden' (now retired) and Taylored Expressions 'Whole Llama Love' - which is a sentiment set.

I started by creating the backgrounds for each card. Two of them I created a fun masked, blended circle, One is a full blended panel and the final one was blended around the edges and I stamped flowers and leaves for a bit of interest.

I used the flower/leaf edge technique on one of the circles too.

The backgrounds came out so well, it was then really easy to add the Llamas to them and the fun sentiments. I am really loving adding glittery accents to my cards using Sakura Gelly Roll Starburst pens - they are SO glittery and they work really well on blended areas, meaning you don't need to colour the whole stamp/image.

I often find it easier to start cards by creating a focal point or a background, then I can decide which stamps I want to use.

I also tend to make cards in fours, it means I get a lot of use out of a stamp set in one go. I have forced myself more and more to use all the little stamps in a set, not just the bigger ones that made me buy the set in the first place.

Cx

4from1: Craft Smart time to party...

Hey,

Hope you had a nice long weekend? 

Today Hubby and I go back to work after a week off - ugh!

I finally got around to inking up this stamp (by Craft Smart from Michaels) during the first weekend of our vacay.

I bought it mainly for this giant sentiment, that I thought would make fun CAS cards and I think I was right!

To add interest I inked the stamp using minimum of 3 colours, sometimes to create a vignette and others just for the solid colour. I used Memento Dew Drop inks for this, as I wanted to use a mix of colours, smaller pads are better for this technique.

Simple and easy. All they needed was some coordinating enamel dots and bling and they were done. Very very easy makes.

Cx

4from1: Scandinavian Prints..

Hey,

Happy Monday!

I am not working this week - Hubby and I are doing an epic de-clutter.

For today's card I used the great Neat & Tangled 'Scandinavian Prints' set.

I used pretty much every stamp from the set to create these x4 fun backgrounds.

I used all different stamps and techniques for the sentiments. I love how the heat embossed pineapple came out - I love WOW! embossing powders.

Sometimes it's great to pull out a set like this and just make a bunch of backgrounds and if you don't add a sentiment they will be ready for when you need to make a quick card.

Cx

4from1: Avery Elle Hot Dog!

Hey,

A few weeks ago Avery Elle had a great offer on their site and so I bought a few things, always feels nice right now to support a small business, especially one I am super fond of.

Today I am showing you my x4 cards made from the 'Hot Dog' set - I don't have the dies yet and I am a super reluctant fussy cutter, so no dimension on these cards. I used BG10 instead to create shadow and the illusion of dimension ;)

I had a bunch of white panels all ready die-cut on my desk, so I just utilised these for my cards, hence the variety of sizes.

I stamped all 4 cards including their sentiments in one big batch! I knew I wanted to heat emboss the sentiment for the top right card - what I didn't know is that my heat tool would overheat (and effectively die) mid emboss and leave me with a patchy mess. I try not to waste things, so I fixed it as best I could with a white gel pen. It's not perfect, but it's not in the trash.

All the cards are pretty similar, coloured with Copics and Sakura Starburst glitter gel pens. They have a nice mat behind them and are either on A6 or 4bar card blanks.

They are so pretty as a set!

Cx

4 from 1: Flora & Fauna Critter Valentine..

Hey,

So I have been a bit blog absent the past few weeks. BUT I am not going to get upset about it like I used to. I vowed in 2019 and beyond that my blog would go back to being a thing that made me happy and not a chore!

Now I post when I want and not based on the silly objectives I created for myself (sometimes it is hard being a project manager IRL).

Anyway today I am back with a fun set of x4 cards using the Flora & Fauna 'Critter Valentine' set.

I really wanted this set for a while and it was on sale, including the dies for a super bargain price at F&F, so I had to have it.

I have been planning on using it to create wedding and/or anniversary cards.

I think the first x4 came out really well.

The main photo shows the anniversary cards I made - LOVE the little critters in the VW-esque van.

I masked off a circle (I create my own masks using the card backing that comes with stamp sets and I cut them to A6 and then die-cut shapes out, so I can lay them over the paper I am using and I don't get ink where it shouldn't be) and then I stenciled hearts in the circle, using my fave Dutchdoobadoo heart stencil.

The rest of the card was pretty easy, stamp, colour and die-cut the van and x2 critters for each van.

The next x2 cards used backgrounds that I already had in my stash and when I made these I only had a die-cutter big enough to cut this mini size (my big shot died after x8 years). They are both made using different texture medium. The one on the left uses Nuvo Mousse in Indian Gold and the one on the right uses blue glitter paste (not sure where from, can't find it now).

I decided to make these ones 'Hello Friend' and I really like how backgrounds can just change the feel of a card.

Have a great weekend.

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

4 cards, 1 stamp set: Neat & Tangled..Fresh Blooms

Hey,

I have been going through some of the things I made and photographed last year and I realised that there is a lot of blog gold in there!

So I am going to try and post as much of it as I can, mixed in with some new makes.

Today's cards continue my 4from1 series.

If I pull out a stamp set to have a play, I like to make multiples!

I got the Neat & Tangled 'Fresh Blooms' set, secondhand from Cheiron and I had this idea, that I could create fun floral cards using the flower stamp from the set and watercoloured splotches.

Here is one of the cards in progress..

My fave new tool of 2019 is the Wendy Vecchi Make Art Stay-tion. If you don't have one, get one, they are no more than $20 and worth every penny.

I add a sheet of white paper to mine, so I can stamp off the edge and not ruin the Stay-tion. I love that I can hold a piece of paper or stencil firmly down whilst I work - genius!

Anyway, back to my cards.. I created x4 different backgrounds, die-cut them to size using a stitched rectangle die and added big bold sentiments, stamped on coordinating scraps of paper. The sentiments are by Market Street Stamps - they are sadly no longer in business.

Really easy to make cards and I love using different mediums to make cards a bit more interesting.

Cx

Pretty Pink Posh: Hummingbird Cards

Hey,

Do you ever get a new stamp set, but are at a bit of a loss as to how to use it?

I fell in love with Hummingbird Thanks by Pretty Pink Posh, but I struggled a bit with ideas. So I did a google search and came up with the idea for my main card, which is a CASE of a card by Umichka (Anna).

I love masking and I thought her card was gorgeous and it inspired me.

I stamped all the Hummingbirds first, then using die-cuts, I masked them off and blended over the panel using Distress Oxide inks. I coloured the Hummingbirds using Promarkers and added some white gel pen like Anna to their wings.

I added a piece of tracing paper, a die-cut word and a sentiment banner to finish my card off.

LOVE the end result.

I made three more cards, using a simple formula - masked circle, Hummingbird die-cut or stamp and a large sentiment (all from a Freebie set that was a gift from JT)

A great 4 cards from 1 set solo playdate and has given me food for thought with some other stamp sets.

Have a great weekend.

Cx

4 Cards, 1 Stamp Set: Pink Fresh Studio

Hey,

It has been a while since I did a 4 cards, 1 stamp set post.

Before we left for Atlantic City, I pulled out a new Pink Fresh Studio stamp set ' Lovely Borders 2' for a little play -

I really liked this quirky set, I thought the borders would make simple fun cards.

I die-cut watercolour paper and stamped four of the borders, each with slightly different spacing. I watercoloured all of the borders using distress inks and a paintbrush.

The sentiments got pulled from a variety of stamp sets.

They are so CAS, I really like them and they were super easy to make, which is always nice!

Cx

4 cards 1 stamp set: Wplus9 Happy Birds..

Hey,

So today is fun, as I am linking up with my friend Jen to show you the cards we made using the Wplus9 Happy Birds set.

Before we get into the cards, let me talk a bit about Jen.

She has been one of my online craft crushes for a long time. Then last year she reached out to me via my blog and BOOM huge friendship - she is awesome and her messages / emails make me howl with laughter. She is totally my kind of people. Thank god for the internet. We get to meet face to face in 4 weeks - OMG so excited I am wiggling as I type this.

You might remember her being mentioned here before as she sent me the Monster stamps I so desperately wanted! Anyway, check out her blog, she is wickedly talented, has the most excellent sense of humour and is an all round sweetie pie.

I used this stamp set recently and mentioned that I wanted to do 4from1 with it and she said wanted to do it too - hence our linked posts.

I did something a bit different for me and stamped, coloured and cut all the birdies first. It meant that I had to think about what I was going to do with them and so they were all coloured to suit their cards. I used distress inks and an aquabrush to colour them.

My fave of the whole batch is the one that became and anniversary card for my in-laws (45 years!!). I thought it was romantic enough to work, but not so girly that my FIL would be all eye rolling!

Just going to show you one more, so this post doesn't become war and peace!!

I chose the french fry card - I love the sentiment, I added a bit of texture paste to the white panel, so the bird stood out even more. The 'Happier' stamp is by Neat & Tangled  - awesome set, comes with so many fun sayings.

Confession time, it took me WAY too long to realise that the bird is holding a fry (DUH!!)

I can't wait to see what Jen has made.

Watch this space we'll be back with another 4from1 soon.

Cx

4 Cards, 1 Stamp Set: Avery Elle..

Hey,

Recently I have been inspired to pull out stamp sets and make 4 cards using the 1 set.

I plan on doing this a lot more and I have pulled out some older items so they get a bit of a new lease of life.

This time I used Hogs & Kisses by Avery Elle -

This is a reasonably new set for me, but I love it and have already used it a couple of times..

I'm pretty pleased with all 4 of my cards, but my faves are these two -

Cracking myself up with the floating Cow.. Balloon dies by Papertry Ink, gift from the wonderful Darnell

Background created using a Prima Floral background stamp with distress inks and water

All of the background were either previously made or papers. I coloured everything with a mix of distress ink, Zigs and Promarkers. All the panels were die-cut with MFT stitched rectangle dies

I am thinking I might leave these as a set and gift to a friend.

Cx