Merry & Bright

Stamps: Be Merry (Clearly Besotted)

Ink: Aquamarine (AE); Versamark (Tsukineko)

Dies: Ampersand (MFT); Finished Frames (AE)

Other: silver embossing powder; patterned paper (AE); Pale Turquoise card (Papermill Direct)

Can you tell I have made an effort with the photo today?  Trying to channel my inner Debbie Hughes!  Hmmnnn, think it needs a bit more work...

Love the new 'quiet' release from Clearly Besotted.  It meant that there were actually a few items still in stock when I finally got round to deciding what I wanted.  I managed to elongate the AE frame so that its aspect ration fits a UK card size, & have kept the 'outside' piece to use as a template for this in the future.

Have just seen this week’s CAS(E) this Sketch. Talk about serendipity!

Deck the halls with...

...cardboard reindeer.

Not a particularly new idea, but I like it.  I scaled up this template to make the head as large as possible on A4, then printed out on computer paper.  This was temporarily adhered to kraft card & cut out.  I used  only 3 sheets of card for this chap.

 

The antlers & nose were coloured with pro-markers & the moustache was a leftover party prop which I think it rather suits him.  Tried googly eyes but they were insufficiently regal (unlike the facial hair...), so will have to keep thinking.



Deck the halls with...

...wrapping paper.

Yup, plain old red kraft paper from Ikea.  Cuts like a dream on the Silhouette (had to cut into A4 sheets first).  The S & J are A4 size, the rest scaled to look right next to them.  The fonts are Narkism & Halohandletter. And yes, it does owe a more than a little inspiration to a PTI sentiment!  The snowflakes are basics that came with the Silhouette Studio software.

 

 

The whole lot is stuck to the wall using a temporary adhesive.  I used the one from Pritt.  It proved a little too temporary to begin with (we spent many happy hours searching for a missing letter only to find it safe & sound on the sole of my husband's slipper) but a second application took us right through the festive season last year.

 

I love this because it was quick, cheap & made a big impact on the porch wall - an area usually bare of anything other than grubby fingerprints.

Let it SNOW

Stamps: Tag Its #8(PTI)

Ink: Espresso Truffle (Memento)

Die: Framelits Instant (Sizzix)

Hurray! Less is More are doing a festive challenge today, so I can start to share some of my cards for this year. It also works for the upcoming Papertrey Bloghop on 25th of the month, which has a snow theme.

Inspired by IKEA

Have you seen these birdhouses at IKEA?

Look cute enough here, but way too big & heavy in real life. Not sure where you are supposed to hang them, but surely not on a Christmas tree - it would bend the branch right down!

But I do like the idea, so I decided to make a knock off version out of cardstock:

Trouble was, I found I couldn't stop at just one! I had to see what they looked like with other colours or different roofs (side note - I always thought the plural of roof was rooves; turns out it isn't), so I made some more. Now I see them enlarged on the screen, I also want to try out stars & hearts as entry-ways. Can you guess what my friends will be getting for Christmas this year?

Here is my template for you to use:





Merry Muse

Dies: Small Circle Burst, Alphabet Soup (Memory Box)

Font:  Bookman Old Style Bold Italic

Inspired by Marion Vagg at Muse this week, I chose to concentrate on the large grey sentiment & the sun rays.  This MB die is the closest I possess to sun rays & I nearly lost my sanity fitting all those tiny dots; not to be undertaken lightly!

 

 The alphabet soup letters are cute but terribly hard to handle & line up - as you can see.

 

Apologies for the more-dreadfull-than-usual phot, had to use my tablet as the camera has had a nasty accident.

Less is More ~ Use 2

Stamps: Be Jolly, Jolly Wishes (Technique Tuesday)

Ink: Soft Pool (HA); Golden Glitz (Delicata)

Hi there.  Long time no blog.  No reason, just doin' other stuff. But today the planets are all in alignment, the sun is shining & the mojo is back.

Less is More want 2 of something on a card this week, but only one layer. I've got 2 baubles, 2 colours & used 2 stamp sets.  Tried for a long time to get red on here as well, before realising that gold & aqua get along just fine together without a third party interfering!

More sparkle

Fonts: Trocchi, Gasoline Alley, Cafe & brewery

Die: nested squares (QuicKutz)

Other: Aurora ep; glitter (lots); gloss (even more...)



Continuing to take inspiration from Festive Friday, I just can’t look away from the frame over the mantel.

 

I told you there was more mileage in that sentiment too.  Feel free to save it.

Using texture for The Card Concept

Fonts: Narkism, HaloHandletter

Other: Buttons die (MFT); 1.5" & 2" circle punches

The Card Concept this week is all about texture, using this photo for inspiration:

I chose to use the colours & white woodwork for my card. 

 

The wreath didn't start out like this. I spent a long old time winding the twine tightly around the ring before deciding it was too staid & boring.  So I spent what seemed like even longer unwinding it again.  I then applied adhesive to both the front & back, then made as if to wind but trimmed to the right length instead. That wasn't quick either!

 

Periodically things began to look a little more shaggy than intended, so some impromptu shearing took place as I went.

 

The 'woodwork' is simply strips of card laid down at intervals.  I used the corner of my scoreboard to ensure that everything lined up square (having spent a while making sure it had all been cut squarely in the first place... NOT a forte of mine).

 

 

And yes, the sentiment does bear more than a passing resemblance to a PTI greeting but I don't have it as a stamp, so had to improvise.

 

Given yesterday's definitions, I think this would fall in the 'clean & layered' camp.

Linking to:
The Card Concept: Challenge #2 ~ Use Texture
Festive Friday : FFC 23 ~Photo Inspiration
 

New Year, new (ish) challenge

Hello folks (if there is anyone still out there) & a happy new year to you.  Not quite sure what happened to December, things sort of ran away with me.  It didn't help that my craft room is used as a dumping ground for all the last-minute-tidying-away-before-the visitors-arrive.  That's going to take a while to excavate.

 

Which is why this post is purely digital.  These cards were created using Silhouette Studio (free to download - you don't have to buy a Silhouette machine), along with Pink Petticoat papers.  The reindeer is a freebie, here. I used the trace feature to get the deer outline, then subtracted it from a square & used the result to crop the papers.  Any simple outline or font could be used.

 

Using dottie paper in crimson from the Fairy Lights collection

Using berries paper in willow.

 

 

Using vintage stars paper in soft silver.

The cards are sized so I can print 3 out on one sheet of A4,  all one layer, easy to send.  I also used this image for some of my Xmas decor this year - printed on photo paper & hung in simple frames from Ikea that usually carry other pictures:

 

 

If you know the your friends' colour schemes, you could send a card to match!

 

Linking to:

One-Layer Simplicity Challenge: #1 ~Re-stocking the shelves

 

 

OLW165 ~ Christmas without red or green

Stamps: Be Jolly (Technique Tuesday)

Ink: Soft Pool, Wet Cement (HA)

A teeny tiny card today, from an off-cut on my table.  Colours are more pastel IRL, more of a soft grey than brown.  Would like to blame Picasa, but think it's more likely to be me.  Please ignore crumpled backdrop in photo-tent.  Crafting or ironing?  No-brainer.

Linking to:

One Layer Wednesday: OLW169 ~ Holiday cards (no red or green)

Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

Make It Monday ~ Stamped Square Frames

Stamps: Rustic Branches (PTI); Be Jolly (Technique Tuesday)

Ink: Pear Tart, Bamboo Leaves, Lady Bug (Memento)

Other: Tag-a-Long die (Clearly Besotted)

A quick square frame combined with my current favourite stamp set, Be Jolly.  I have soooo many more ideas for using these baubles.

 

Linking to:

Make it Monday: #139 ~ Stamped Square Frames

Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps & More: Challenge #69 ~ CAS

Less is More Week 144

 

Stamps: Be Jolly (Technique Tuesday)

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other: Cropadile, 1/4" & 1/8" hole punches; white e.p.

I've been toying with this idea all weekend, but wasn't sure how to go about it, so I decided to make a template first.  I used a SpellBinders banner to draw a triangle, then randomly punched a variety of hole sizes.  Using this as a stencil, I then marked where the hole should go in the dark card. 

Top tip: find out how far in your hole punch can go before deciding you need a hole right there.  Ask me how I know...

 

PS I had some 'help' with this photo:

 

 

 

Linking to:

Less is More: Week 144 ~ dark with a splash of colour

Simon Says Stamp: Anything Goes

CAS(E) this Sketch: Week #52

 

 

 

You knew it was going to happen...

Stamps: Bitty Banners (WM); Elzybells

Ink: Pear Tart, Bamboo Leaves (Memento); Wet Cement (HA)

Other: tree die (Impression Obsession)

Yup, another 4 trees card.  This was actually the very first one I made, which inspired the others (here & here).

Linking to:

Less Is More: Week 142 ~ Trees

Simon Says Stamp: Christmas / Happy Holiday

Less Is More ~ Trees

Stamps: Basic Borders (Mama Elephant)

Ink: Rich Cocoa (Memento)

Other: Tiny Hearts Die (SSS); Liquid Pearls (Ranger)

Made this card a few weeks ago as an experiment.  Didn't like it at first, but it's funny how you view things differently over a few days. 

Super simple to make.  Created the sentiment with a variety of fonts (in Silhouette Studio) then just added in the final details.  Great for batch production!

fonts moving down are:
SNF Lollihop

Narkism

Sunshine Poppy

QumpellkaNo12

Zag Bold





Linking to:

Less Is More: Week 142 ~ Trees

Simon Says Stamp: Christmas / Happy Holiday

 

White on White 2 ~ too close for comfort?

Stamps: Elzybells

Ink: Soft Pool (HA)

Other: die (Impression Obsession); Swiss Dots folder (Provocraft); aqua bakers twine (Divine Twine); tiny hearts die (SSS); aqua promarker; vellum

Question: when does an idea cease to be original?  This card is quite clearly a re-make of this card here, so does it count as an original challenge entry?  I made them both, so it should be OK, but I'm not sure.

 

Anyway. To get the embossing on the trees only, I cut a second line of trees & chopped the tops off, then arranged these in the optimum place in the embossing folder & stuck them on top of the originals.  I cut out the heart from one of these extras as well, & stuck the vellum behind it before adhering to the original too.

 

Completely terrible photo, but have tried all things & can't get one that does the card justice.

 

Linking to:
Less is More: White on white, Christmas

White on white Christmas

Stamps: Folk Art Flurry (WPlus9); Elzybells

Ink: Wet Cement (HA); Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other: various circle punches; white e.p. (Wow!)

After yesterday's endeavours, I wanted a similar effect but without the fiddle factor.  The snow flake is adhered to the vellum, with a punched out circle behind & a frame in front.

Not sure if you can make out the tiny embossed snowflakes on the front & the rock candy stickles on the die-cut.  I can, but only 'cos I know they are there!  White on white a double challenge - making the card, then getting a photo that shows off your best efforts!

Linking to:
Less is More: White on white, Christmas

 

 

Woven winter wishes

Stamp: Elzybells

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other:Tag-a-long die (Clearly Besotted); Tiny Heart die(SSS); white ep; white gel pen

Cracking on with my Christmas cards this week.  (Liking the alliteration there?).  Simple strips woven together, nice & easy I thought.  Hmmnn.  Took a lot more thinking about than I anticipated.  In the end I made 2 template banners - one with 4 vertical hearts at measured intervals, one with 4 horizontal hearts - & used those to make sure my hearts were in the right place.  Only THEN was it simple!

The woven part is adhered to the card base with differing thicknesses of sticky pads, to accentuate the texture.

Linking to:
Simon Says Stamp Challenge: Use something sold in SSS store (Tiny Hearts die)
CAS(E) This Sketch: Challenge #46

Christmas wreath

Stamps: Text Style (PTI)

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other: Breezy Wreath (PoppyStamps); Liquid Pearls; white gel pen

I love a wreath, don't you? This wreath die is great, but I find it does require a fair amount of depilation!  I think I've got all the whiskery bits off then, just as I go to stick it down, another one pops up.  Quite frustrating to use.

To get the berries nestled in the leaves, I used the die-cut negative & made a template, which I pierced where I wanted the berries to be.  Then I marked through the pierced holes with a pencil & added liquid pearls.

When I had finished, I realised that the text stamping is upside down.  Sshh.  Perhaps no one else will notice.

 

Linking to:

Papertrey Ink: September Blog Hop

CAS(E) #45 ~ Merry & Bright

Stamps: Bitty Bird (PTI)

Ink: Espressoo Truffle (Memento); Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other: clear embossing powder; Cosmic Shimmer paints

Here's a second card for CAS(E) This Sketch.  Inspired by all the lovely cards shown in the latest PTI release, I made a sentiment with the ampersand as centre stage. 

The 'phone cord' squiggle from Bitty Bird takes on a whole new lease of life as Christmas lights, when filled with Cosmic Shimmer paints.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linking to:

CAS(E) This Sketch: CAS(E) This Sketch #45