4 cards, 1 stamp set: Taylored Expressions..

Hey,

Well, I lied.. there are actually 5 cards!

And I am essentially entering ALL of them into the current Use Your Stuff challenge - which is 'Anything Goes'.

Basically, I have been hoarding the papers that you see, all from a 6x6 DCWV stack that I have had a few years.. naughty, naughty.

I bought the awesome Taylored Expressions 'B is for Birthday' set early on in 2019, but never used it. So I decided to break it out along with the DCWV papers and do another one of my 4 from 1 posts.

I love how the cards came out and I got lucky, because I didn't plan my colour choices when colouring, but fortunately found papers in the stack that coordinated really well.

My 'recipe' was pretty simple, I used Copic sketch markers to colour the stamped images and I added some details using a white gel pen. Then I die-cut them out using either a circle or small rectangle stitched die. Added a teeny bit of glittery washi tape to make the white panels pop a bit and voila! 5 finished cards.

Cx

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

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

Spring has sprung...

Hey,

Happy Wednesday!

Today I thought I would show you some NBUS!

I loved this Impression Obsession Sunflower die - one of my Retro Rubber colleagues used it a while back and I fell in love and bought it.

It has languished in my NBUS bin for a few months now and I finally broke it out..

It die-cuts like a dream and used a wonderful piece of ancient gold / yellow DCWV shimmer cardstock. I blended a bit of green distress ink directly onto the card blank and then I affixed the Sunflower die-cut over it.

Because I wanted to frame it, I pulled out a MFT stitched scalloped rectangle frame die and die-cut that in yellow and affixed it over the Sunflower.

The happy birthday banner I bought in a pack on super bargain sale. I know I can stamp these things, but sometimes I like pre-made banners.

I love this springy card, it made me super happy.

Cx

CASology: Glisten..

Hey,

This week's cue card over at CASology is an interesting one...

I bet Glisten means a lot of different things to everyone!

I have this amazing glittery paperstack by DCWV that I have had for years, I use it very sparingly. It is so glittery that to me it glistens. Whenever I use it, people say that it looks like I went over it with glossy accents.

So for my card today, I dug out a small bronze piece to use. I have been making lots of thank you cards whilst I have been off, to thank people for all the kind things they have done for me following my surgery.

I decided to use a Docrafts stamp at the top of my white panel and I stamped it in gold and heat embossed it with Ranger Gold Sparkle embossing powder, to add a little extra glisten.

Here is a close-up -

Final touch was a couple of pieces of co-ordinating bling.

I really liked using the top 1/3 of my 'space' felt very CAS and was something I don't do that often, I am totally a middle, bottom or bottom right kinda girl - I wonder why that is?

Cx

Retrosketches..You're Pure Magic..

Hey,

I really liked the sketch this time from the Retro Sketches team -

It made me think of a new stamp set that I just bought..it's a bit of a reveal, I bought it for JT and I, but she doesn't know about it...so when she reads this the jig is up!

She bought us both these wonderful dies on my last trip home -

JT said she really liked the 'magic' die and so I had to buy the Avery Elle 'Pure Magic' set for us to compliment the dies..yes that was my 'logical' thought process..

My card was simple to put together. I cut the stitched square in white, added red spotty washi tape and the die-cut magic, which I die-cut out of a scrap of glittery paper. Once the word magic was in place I stamped the sentiment from the stamp set.

It took a while to get my top hat bunny positioned right, but once he was in place I added black pearls and red blingy gems.

I love it! I have JT to thank, I kind of CASEd her thoughts....is that weird yet?

Cx

P.s anyone looking for a WOYWW post - ducking out this week, due to my workload...see you next week

Online Card Class - Stenciled - Day 3 - Working with Pastes..

Hey,

So this weekend I decided to spend part of Saturday doing Day 3 of the Stenciled Online Card Class.

It was really enjoyable and stretched my stencil / paste knowledge.

The only thing that was tedious was that because you are working with pastes they take a while to dry..so some things had to be finished on Sunday!

I'll list all my supplies at the end - so many things used!

The day divided into 3 parts -

The basics - showing you how to achieve different effects with different kinds of pastes...
The main photo today used Ferro Metallic paste in silver, I love this stuff, it's so grainy!

also made this one with white texture paste...but I didn't realise that the mist wasn't dry and so ended up with a blue-ish paste - oh well..

 Translucent paste - showing you how to achieve different effects with translucent paste...

Use as a resist with distress inks - I used Warm Honey and Festive Berries..

Leave it 'nude' for a clear effect on a dark background..

Adding to pastes - showing you how to add various things (inks, glitter, etc) to your paste.
I added alcohol ink to my modelling paste -

I am really pleased with all of the cards, but my least fave is the last one, I think I'll stick to adding glitter to my pastes :)

Hope you like them.

Cx

Supplies used -
Card 1 - Wendy Vecchi texture paste, K&Co chipboard embellishments, Dollar store flower, perfect pearls, Heidi Swapp navy mist, technique tuesday hello die, xcut butterfly die, sizzix swiss dots embossing folder, Midnight Sky Dew Drop Ink. Card blank from my stash.
Card 2 - Ferro Metallic texture paste, vellum, white embossing powder, heat tool, Bo Bunny stamps, Simon Says Stamp Grid Stencil, Hero Arts Stencil, Staz on black ink, grey textured paper.From my stash card blank and sentiment
Card 3 - Wendy Vecchi translucent paste, distress inks, ink tool, Simon Says Stamp Stencil, Simon Says Stamp Congratulations Stamp, Vellum, White embossing powder, heat tool, detail scissors, American Crafts ribbon, DCWV glitter paper. Card blank from my stash
Card 4 - Wendy Vecchi translucent paste, distress inks, ink tool, Neat & Tangled Sentiment block stamps, Recollections kraft paper, Sizzix flower dies, Papermania brad, Sizzix nesting square dies, Tim Holtz stencil. Card blank from my stash
Card 5 - Pebeo Modelling Paste, Alcohol ink, Heidi Swapp Stencil, Paper Smooches Handsome Stamp, Bahamian Blue Dew Drop Ink, Card blank, washi tape and star from my stash

Friday Kitty Kat Fun...

Hey,

Happy Friday.

I am super excited today as tonight I am off to a Mixed Media card making class - the teacher is the super talented Cheiron Brandon and it is being held at The Inkpad NYC.

The last class I did (Jenn Shurkus loft art retreat) introduced me to Newton's Nook stamps..so I decided to enter their latest challenge..

What a fun sketch!

I made an absolute mess of my first card (still hungover..), so was very pleased with this version :)

It was super simple to make.

I used one of my newly made card blanks and all the papers including the die cut square are scraps by Recollections and DCWV.

I kept my banners thin and positioned the square towards the bottom of the card.

The stamps are from the Newton's Day Dream set. I coloured it with Promarkers and Stickles.

I love it, so cute and I think it will make an excellent Birthday card.

Cx

2nd Anniversary....

Hey,

Bit late today, but today is special because Hubby and I have been living in NYC for 2 years and we've been celebrating!

Can't believe how fast it's flown by!

To celebrate a bit more.. I am entering the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge this week - Anything Goes!

Yay!

I decided to make cards for my June Cardswap using the SSS May card kit. I used papers, a stamp and the ink from the kit.

As luck would have it, I just got some Stampin' Up embossing powder in the same shade as the card kit ink - whoop whoop!

I found some co-ordinating DCWV papers and used them as the backing and the grey strip.

I heat embossed the sentiment, using the Pale Blush Pink ink and  Blushing Bride embossing powder. I finished off with a fun bronze coloured Candi supplied by JT.

It all came together really nicely and I've finished all 5 now for my cardswap.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend.

Thanks

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #13...Anything Goes (with a retro stamp)..

Hey,

It's time for another awesome Retro Rubber challenge.

This time we are asking you to flex your creative muscles with an Anything Goes challenge..

Don't forget to use a stamp older than a year on your project.

As it's Anything Goes this week, I thought it would fun to combine my card with another challenge and I really liked the current one over at Crafty Cardmakers..Dots.

My card was fun to make. The Panda is so cute, I can't believe I've hardly used him. I really enjoyed digging through my stash to combine all kinds of fun things...

I used -
Papers - DCWV spots and glitter stacks
Dies - Simon Says Stamp stitched rectangle and dot line dies. MFT stitched rounded rectangle
Stamp - Panda from free set with Get Stamping 7
Sentiment - SMASH! label maker
Ink - MFT Hybrid Ink - Black

You have until May 8th to join in the fun - what can you do with Anything Goes?

Pop over to Retro Rubber to see the fun creations by my team mates and to enter.

Cx

Christmas with the silhouette portrait...

Hey there!

It's been a VERY busy week - we did the biggest launch in my Company's history this week and whilst I am tired, I feel a great sense of achievement :)

I spent yesterday at my desk, getting Christmas cards ready to go into the post. I had x2 special cards I needed to make (can't say for who as they read my blog), so I decided to enlist the Silhouette.

Inspired by JT's card, I wanted to use some of the papers from a difficult stack we both have, that has velvet accents...looking closely it's the same piece of paper - how in tune are we!!

As you can see this card is my main photo today, I added the Silhouette die-cut reindeer (or should I say Snazzymoose?) and used a free stamp for the sentiment.

I love this card, it's so festive, but modern.

The second card uses a Silhouette die-cut card template - I don't often use these templates in their entirety, usually I just use parts of the card.

Cut with a Silhouette Portrait

I added a red liner, so you can see all the die-cuts.

Gorgeous right?! And simple - as it's essentially a bit of a cheat as the Silhouette did all the work! I used the same free sentiment stamp as before.

I love using the Silhouette, it's great and I have stopped beating myself up for not using it all the time. Now I bring him/it out when I'm inspired to - he gets an airing about 4 times a month, which works for me :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cx

Squirrel tag...

Hey,

I skipped a post yesterday..not like me..but I had to work on Sunday and it kind of confused me!

No matter, here I am with a little challenge entry ;)

It's the second time I am joining up with Tag You're It! The inspiration piece is gorgeous -

The main card today is my second attempt at it! I managed to salvage the DCWV Squirrel - its from a Woodland box of chipboard with Bears, Beavers, Owls, trees, frames and other goodies - I love them all and use them sparingly - I got the box on sale :)

The tag, background paper and Leopard print tab are all from the same paper pack by Recollections. I really love the backing paper, I like the way it has a distressed feel to the edges. I die cut the tag using a Sizzix Tim Holtz die.

I smudged some white ink onto the backing paper, so my sentiment would pop out better and I am pleased with the result. The sentiment stamp is by Technique Tuesday. I added a brown pearl, because I love even lo-key bling!

In the end the whole card came together really quickly, which is often the way with a second attempt!

Cx

Patchwork Owl....

Hi,

This weekend should be fun. It will be my first one back in the gym since the broken foot (teeny bit nervous). We also have really good friends in town and we are off to brunch with a friend who has recently become a neighbour. Action packed..

I am also hoping to find time at my desk for some craft therapy, this week has been LONG..

I started my therapy last night by making a card for Freshly Made Sketches #153 -

I was inspired by JT's take on the sketch. I had originally planned to do her combo with CDT, but changed my mind.

The stamp is a freebie from a magazine when I was home in August, JT loves Owls and so when I saw the stamp, it seemed perfect for the challenge as she was my inspiration. I coloured him with Promarkers - love the patchwork, so sweet. I added some papers from the DCWV Latte stack, some Papermania sparkly purple ribbons and some bling. Final touch was the simple sentiment by Hero Arts stamped in purple.

Very pleased with the result of my mini therapy session. This one is for you JT. you see craft buddies are amazing..even long distance :)

Cx

Super quick playdate...

Hey,

Hope you are all having a good Sunday.

All is well here in NYC. JT and I had a brief playdate today. We had planned on making a challenge entry and had something specific in mind, but changed direction on the call!

We went with Color Throwdown and Freshly Made Sketches -

I am really happy with my card, the simplicity pleases me, as do the colours. I really love the SSS hey friend stamps. The papers are all by DCWV, the frame is by Dovecraft and the bling is from my stash.

What you can't see is the slight mistake...I made my card the wrong way round, so it opens incorrectly..no matter..I am sure it will make the recipient smile.

As I am heading home next week, JT and I will get to see each other, but we won't be having a real life playdate..there just isn't enough time sadly.

JT has been working with her Big Ben stamp and as she gave me a scan of it, I am going to have a play too.

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.

Cx

Simon Says Stamp...July Card Kit...

Hi,

Yesterday during WOYWW I showed one of the cards I have made using parts of the SSS July card kit.

I am currently away with work.hiking or something (Sadface)..I will be home later tonight, then I can comment on WOYWW.

My main photo is one of a batch of cards I made for OWH using the envelope and sentiment stamps from the set. I stamped the envelopes on scraps and then cut them out. Aren't they pretty!

Little Stack of Envelopes

I played with the layouts a LOT, finally I settled on placing the envelopes in the right place, stamping the sentiment - checking it a million times and THEN sticking them in place :)  I raised one envelope on a foam pad for a teeny bit of dimension.

Here's a different layout..

Portrait green envelopes

Because of the colour of the scraps I chose, I decided to make the focus colour of the cards either green or pink.

I love the sentiment stamps from this set, they are so elegant.  These were fun cards to make..I am loving this kit, it was made for OWH.

They both feel like Happy Mail :)

Cx

Moving Along With The Times - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Hi,

Well wasn't that Birthday Blog hop fun last week!!

Congratulations to all the winners over on the MAWTT blog.

Thanks for all your lovely comments, I put all the people that commented on my blog in a hat and got Hubby to pull the winners..drum roll please...

The winners are Carmen M and Becky - congratulations ladies. Email me at hamnmulenyc@gmxDOTcom and I will get your prizes out to you.

Ok, so now it is time for Team B again over at MAWTT..

The theme is Girls Just Wanna Have Fun..hosted by the lovely Janice.

This is the perfect theme for one of my favourite Stamping Bella stamps..Victoria and Juliette's Night out.

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and added touches of glitter glue, the backing paper is Pink Petticoat's tiny leopard paper, the black sparkly paper is by DCWV and the letters are foam glitter Thickers. Tammy used a great photo corner die on a Team B challenge and so I hunted down a photo corner punch - for a bargain $4 and I think it is a great accent detail here.

To join in the fun and see all the other great Team B makes..go to MAWTT.

Have a great 4th of July if you are in the US and celebrating..I am heading to a boat party tonight with Hubby and friends, to get the weekend started right!

Cx

WOYWW #256....using that new haul....

Hey there WOYWWers..

Hope you are all good - can't believe how quickly this week has gone, partly because my Bestie Lemon arrives tomorrow to celebrate her 40th birthday with Hubby and I :) Atlantic City here we come!! It seems like we have been planning it for ages and now it's time already!

Before we move on to my desk - which is busy this week. Let's talk about WOYWW shall we? For those of you still in the dark, join Julia our wonderful hostess over at her blog Stamping Ground for the weekly chance to coo and fuss over other lovely desks from all around the world.

My desk is busy, obviously because I don't have enough to do I took 20 orders for Mother's Day cards from my work colleagues (11th May here in the US) and now I am racing to get them done before the arrival of Lemon. You can see one standing up, some more on top of a box of cards that I was too lazy to move! Another one in progress, my ATG, foam tape, buttons for the cards, paper twine, pencil, scissors, mouse, tweezers and my coffee cup.

Last week I had a big haul of new stuff on my desk, so I thought I'd show you the 2 cards I have manged to make so far with some of this booty -

Hippo Birdie to you

Ha ha love the sentiment and my friend Kerry will love it too, so it will be heading her way very soon. The stamps and dies are by Lawn Fawn, coloured with Promarkers and I used my new distressed chevron stamp by Bo Bunny. I also used new Simon Says STAMP! inks..which are yummy.

This card is actually for OWH, hence the lack of bling :)

You Tickle my Fancy

The stamp and sentiment are by Technique Tuesday and the spotty card base is by DCWV..I recently realised that the DCWV boxes of patterned cards work wonderfully for OWH.

Sorry for the long post..but if you knew me, you'd know chatting is something I could get a gold medal at :)

Cx

p.s Hubby and I went to our first Baseball game last night..it was good fun.

Simon Says - Get your glitter on...

Ha ha well not quite, but the challenge this week over at Simon Says Stamp is Glitter It..

I love a glittery card and as I haven't been feeling very well, making something sparkly seemed appropriate!

I used a new Stamping Bella / Jane Davenport stamp that I have been lusting after for AGES. I coloured it with Promarkers and added a touch of glitter glue to the dress. The backing paper is by DCWV and it was part of a prize. It's got a lovely foiled effect and I used glitter glue on some of the foiled stripes.

The sentiment that comes with the stamp is the same as the one I used, but too big for this card, so I used one by Hero Arts.

I am pretty pleased with the end result..bar the fact that I think my image has bled a bit...I am trying new paper..it is not ink friendly methinks.

Cx

A big heart...

Hello!

I am still in no challenges mode, which is quite nice, as I am finishing off some things for my Ma, packing for the trip home and having a general play with my stash!

The main card today is an Anniversary card for my friends. It was actually going to be slightly different, but I stumbled across some of the Pink Petticoat sentiment ribbons and it became what you see today :)

I love the wood backing paper and the heart strip is glittery and part of my precious Hippie Chick papers by DCWV. The heart came from Paper Presentation here in NYC, they are normally extravagantly expensive, but they had a sale on a while back and I acquired these brown ones and some green ones.

I'm a bit disappointed with my photo - but I have a new lamp in the craft room and I am still adjusting to the light settings...

Have a good day.

Cx

Love is in the air...

Well it is nearly Valentine's Day!

The KennyK challenge for this fortnight is "Anything Goes + Love"

I wanted to have some fun and make a card that would work for both Valentine's and maybe an Anniversary.

I chose my fave KennyK stamp SexyCupid and coloured her to contrast with the backing paper - which is part of the All about Girls Stack by DCWV. I cut the frame using my Silhouette and punched some co-ordinating hearts with 2 different Woodware punches. I added little touches of glitterglue here and there.

The sentiment was white, but I coloured it pink to match, using the same Promarker as Cupid's dress - getting brave now!

I love it, it's all glittery and fun and love.

Cx