So Naughty..

Hey,

When a friend 'enables' you to buy Christmas stamps that you really don't need what do you do?

Make her a card using said stamps..obvs!!

The set in question is 'Naughty' by Kat Scrappiness.

I am feeling pretty smug about this card, it came out even better than the vision in my head.

Look at how the die-cut holes and glitter paper look like lights.. swoon..

Sorry, let me slow down and start at the beginning!

I coloured and fussy cut the awesome Reindeer lady by Art Impressions, I have had this stamp a few years and it gets dragged out every Christmas. I thought it would work perfectly with all the sentiments in the set my friend encouraged me to buy and I actually made 5 other cards using this combo. However they were not as detailed as this one.

I die-cut the white paper using the awesome snowfall die by GinaMarie Designs and added some glitter paper behind to get the twinkly look.

The fact that my die-cuts looks like lights shining through the sentiment is an accident..I forgot to stamp the 'naughty' first.

I love it and I believe it arrived and my friend loves it too!!

Cx

Christmas Card 2017: Simon Says Stamp Merry & Bright...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

I have had a fun weekend here in London, I got to hang out with JT and her Hubby. Hubby and I also went to lunch yesterday with his family.. always awesome to see our Nephew and Niece and of course the rest of the family ;)

After our fun lunch, I went and hung out with my parents, Ma and I even managed to sneak in a film (officer and a gentlemen).

I realised when I got back from Mexico, that I was running a bit behind with my Christmas card makes and so I dedicated a few evenings to 'churning' out some Christmas cards.

I've actually already posted a few of these 'churn' makes.

Today's cards were made using my December 2016 Simon Says Stamp cardkit, that arrived after all my Christmas cards were made last year.

I love the super cute Reindeer and I thought the fancy Gina Marie die worked really well here.

The banner and the sentiment came with the stamp set.

Really simple and this was the first make in my 'churn' sessions and they re-energised my Christmas card making and I love making cards in small multiples.

Cx

CASology..Candle..

Hey,

Happy Friday

I have been lucky enough to get a few Honorable Mentions over at the CASology challenge.

I hadn't played along before, I wasn't really convinced I was CAS enough..

I really love that under each DT make there is a line explaining why the card is CAS, it really helps me to see things differently.

This week's cue card is -

Judy's card and the definition (white space, doesn't have to be white!) inspired me to try something a bit different.

I'd normally use a white card blank, but thought the die-cut stitched scallop was so pretty it deserved to pop out of a colourful card blank!

The cake stamp is ancient and was a freebie from a magazine, when I used to get all my stamps from magazine's because I had no idea how to use them, so didn't want to invest..LOL if only that were true now my wallet would not have moths in it!

I coloured it with distress inks and an aquabrush and added some stickles for a bit of bling.

The sentiment stamp is by Simon Says Stamp and Hero Arts for Stamptember a couple of years ago.

I love the simplicity of this card, made a bit more interesting by the die-cut.

Cx

Flower Challenge..

Hey,

So one of my Retro Rubber DT buddies Maria is also on the DT at this new challenge - The Flower Challenge and as I have a rather large flower stamp collection I thought it would be fun to play long.

Their 2nd challenge is on right now and the theme is -

I decided to use a great stamp by Unity Stamp Co. I love their flower jar stamps, in fact I love flower jar stamps full stop!

I coloured it using Distress Inks and an aquabrush. The stunning stitched scalloped die is by Gina Marie Designs.

The sentiment I created using a Simon Says Stamp stamp and die set called Sketchy Banners, I don't think they sell the stamps anymore. I love this set and totally overuse it!

I thought it would be a great card to send to a friend who just got some good news.

Cx

Retro Rubber #47...Anything Goes...

Hey,

It's time for another awesome challenge over at Retro Rubber. 

I just got back from Mexico and so my fingers are itching to play at my desk...

This time we have a fave theme for everyone - Anything Goes..

No restrictions (bar using an older stamp..), just let your imagination and your stash run riot..

I dug out an old fave stamp of mine - Venetian Summer by Penny Black. I have had it since 2013 and I used to use it a lot more..

I normally colour her with distress inks, but I opted for Promarkers this time. I love colouring her to be more vibrant than the background, so she really pops out.

I used a mix of sentiment stamps by Jillibean Soup (2016) and Wplus9 (2014)..add a lime green enamel dot and I ended up with a bright fun card.

Link up and show us your fab Anything Goes make, but first go over to Retro Rubber and view the great makes by my teammates.

Challenge ends on September 23rd. Don't forget to use a stamp a year or older and tell us about it that's part of the fun. Also, please limit your entries to 10 challenges including ours.

Cx

Eat Cake....

Hey,

Just popping in today with a quick little card that I made for a friend's birthday.

I bought the cute little cake stand stamp from Unity Stamp Co a while back, this is it's first outing and I love it.

I used Gina Marie dies for the fancy stitched scallops and the pale pink embossed piece was a gift from JT, she has this amazing Houndstooth folder and embosses a bunch of them in various colours for me, so I don't steal her folder...

I decided that I was going to stamp a sentiment onto a Simon Says Stamp scribbly banner, so I went into the envelope to get the die and the sentiment banner you see fell out!!

If I die-cut and stamp things but don't use them, I put them back in the die envelope..it was meant to be here, love it when that happens.

I added some sequins and bling as a final touch.

Another simple quick card to make, I hope my friend likes it.

Cx

Let it snow...

Hey,

Happy Friday.

So despite the title of my post, I don't really want it to snow, I am loving being back in NYC in the sunshine.

A blog buddy of mine Cara has been playing along with 52 Christmas Card Throwdown.

I think its a great way for someone like me who doesn't love making Christmas cards to a) get enthused and b) explore my stash.

This week the theme is landscapes -

I had a lot of fun making my card.

I broke out a fun die by Gina Marie Designs - it's falling dots and looks like snow to me, I added a bit of Tumbled Glass distress ink to look like sky here and there. I combined it with a stitched hill die by Lawn Fawn.

I recently acquired a great set by Newton's Nook 'Snow Day' and I stamped and fussy cut the Winston Snowman / snowbear?!

I hunted through my stash for an appropriate sentiment and came up with 'Let it snow' by Unity Stamp Co.

This was so much fun to do and I am so happy with my card, it's kind of made me love Christmas Cards all over again.. I will be playing again!

Cx

Stains and Stencils...

Hey,

Happy Monday from London!

I had a great weekend, hanging out with my folks and my godsons - who have grown to epic proportions since I last saw them!

It's always nice to be in the office for a week or so and work with my colleagues in real time, but London isn't my home right now, so I always feel a bit out of sorts until I get back home to NYC.

Wonder how I will feel next year when we move back to London for good!

Anyway enough of that!!

I was having a little play at my desk before I left, as I needed to make some cards for my personal use.

I love using stains through stencils, because I am never sure if it will come out perfectly and if it doesn't is it usable?

This one was a bit splotchy, so I spritzed it to make it look like less of an accident LOL.

The scalloped die-cut is by Gina Marie Designs and I love these dies, I bought them because my friend showed them on her blog and I had to have them!

I love the sentiment stamps that I used, they are newish and they are already being overused!!

Fun easy card - I made a whole bunch of them in different colours - great stash booster.

Cx

Getting my teach on...

Hey,

Happy Monday.

Hope you had a good weekend, I had a fun, crafty, hilarious weekend, spent with Cheiron at Jenn's Loft Art Retreat. It was nice to get home to Hubby yesterday.

I am still off and I am teaching a cardmaking class at my local community centre..lots of elderly people and my friend's 10 year old Son LOL.

The cards you see here today are the ones I am teaching - with the flower I will let people choose which colourway they want to make. The more boy focused ones I made specially for my friends Son.

Fun times, I'm nervous, but looking forward to it, I hope it goes well and people enjoy it.

I will show you my cards from the retreat later in the week.

Cx

p.s lots of supplies used..

Paper Smooches flower jar stamp, Simon Says Stamp mixed sentiment stamps and banner die, Die Versions robot die, Neat & Tangled Everyday Labels stamps, Stampin' Up mixed sentiment stamps, Promarkers, Gina Marie stitched rectangle die, Hema starburst stamp, Hero Arts star stamps and Papertry Ink balloon dies..

Playing with Ferns.....

Hey,

I wanted to show you some things I've made using a new Fern background stamp.

The main photo today shows you the first card I made.

To create the background I inked up the stamp using two or three co-ordinating Distress Inks, then I spritzed it with water before laying my paper on top (this always stresses me out).

After rubbing the paper onto the stamp for a couple of minutes, I lift it off and dry it using the heat tool. The lift off moment is so nerve-wracking as I never know if I am going to get a inky wet mess or watercolourey perfection!

I decided to play around with the stamp a bit more to create backgrounds for some cards I am making as a gift for a friend.

Here are the finished cards -

I used word dies in similar colours, so it's a bit like camouflage.

I love the first card, the second batch, well I like them, but as JT would say, I don't love them..next time I'll use contrasting colour words.

Cx

Get well in warp speed...

Hey,

So today I am showing you a little package that I made for a friend's Niece who was recently hit by a car!!

Liz and I have been friends for twenty years and she lives in New Zealand, so snail mail is our friend.

I thought it would be nice to send her Niece care package as well as a get-well card. 

The card used my new Paper Smooches 'Space Cadet' stamps..I have wanted them forever and they are awesome. The stitched speech bubble die is new too, by Spellbinders..on sale $2 for 3 dies - had to be purchased.

I am loving the new square kraft card blanks, you will be seeing a lot of square cards LOL!

Here is a photo of the final package -

It is prettily wrapped in a Hema window envelope (Hema is in Amsterdam and I AM OBSESSED), inside it contains, one of my handmade notepads, a pencil and x4 mini cards.

Here's a photo of the notepad (sorry rough Instagram photo), essentially, I cover the mini notepads I get in sets of 8 from the dollar store and add loops / string for closing. Simples.

Final photo for today of the mini cards - love these, need to make more of the 'Hey' cards. The stamps are a mix of Avery Elle, Lawn Fawn, Simon Says Stamp and Recollections by Michaels.

A nice simple care package for a girl who needs a smile.

Cx

Cake and quilts...

Hey,

Hope you all had a great weekend.

I thought today I would share a card I made using some of my colouring from The Daily Marker colouring challenge last month.

It's been a 'let's eat cake' kind of weekend..we went to afternoon tea at a friend's house to meet her new Daughter - who is GORGEOUS!!

I managed to FINALLY finish her baby quilt -

I choose the Parisian Pooch fabric, because my friend and her Husband are big fans of Paris and I like all the baby quilts to have a touch of the parents incorporated.

Finishing this quilt gave me a new found love for my amazing sewing machine and it's super fast speed - meaning I got this bad boy done in under 3hrs...

This was an adventure for me, as I used flannel for the first time, it's a beast to sew, but gives superb results..

Back to my card :) The stamp is a freebie from a UK magazine, I love it, so pretty and versatile. I die-cut it using my new Gina Marie stitched scallop dies and the sentiment is by Simon Says Stamp and Hero Arts for Stamptember 2014. The best bit for me is the ancient paper from a dodgy craft expo that JT and I attended way back in 2012, it came in a huge pack and I am still working my way through it.

I am happy with the finished card and the baby quilt..

Cx