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

 

 

Chevrons & Sequins

Stamps: Gingham & Co (WM); Christmas Tags (Elzybells)

Ink: Soft Poll (HA); LadyBug (Memento)

Other: chevron fie (PTI); tiny hearts (SSS); photo frames (Sizzix)

I am exhausted.  This card has taken the best part of 4 hours to put together!  Too fiddly by far.  It was inspired by this card here, & by all the fab 'suspended tree' cards in the latest SSS release.  Part of the card front folds down to allow the chevron tree to hang in the middle of the card.

 

 

 

I tried a number of different methods to get the chevrons to dangle independently.  The most successful (& most fiddly...) was to make individual links out of thread.  I must have used about 5 metres of thread just to get these few links.

By sheer dumb luck, among the very few sequins in my possession were a handful that just matched the Soft Pool ink.  Hurray!  I strung these on (yet more) gold thread & held them in place on the line by a tiny dot of glossy accents.

The photo frame is an adjustment of the Sizzix dies.  I cut a piece of card the right width first & then put the die half way through twice, once from each side.  Hope that makes sense.

 

Linking to:

CAS-ual Fridays: CFC116 ~ Chevrons & Sequins

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: We're going dotty

 

 

 



Girlie birthday

Stamps: Big Deal Alphabet (SU); Flower Friends (SSS)

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other: Aurora e.p. (Cosmic Shimmer); square punch

NOT what I intended to do with my day when I woke up this morning, but it's dull & wet here so I needed to brighten things up a little.  Small disaster almost caused by over inquisitive (wet) cat at a crucial stage of embossing, but that's why there are 2 sides to a piece of card, right?

 

Inspired by this photo from Pinterest, which I initially took to be tins of paint, but is actually cake mix!

 

Linking to:
Simon Says Stamp: Anything goes

Pinspired Challenge

Stamps: Circus Animals (My Cute Stamps); It's Your Day (HA); Fanciful Flowers (Elzybells)

Ink: Lilac Posies, Rose Bud, Tangelo, Morocco (Memento); Versamark (Tsikineko)

Other; By the Numbers Dies (MFT), glossy accents, diamond stickles (Ranger); white e.p. (Wow!)

I've kept an eye on Pinspired Challenge for a while now, but have never actually participated before. I need a card for a little girl soon, so took this as my inspiration.

 

As ever, this wasn't the idea I started out with, but I saw the scrap paper I had been testing my inks out on, I preferred it to the original.  And no, that 8 wasn't part of the plan either, but it does conveniently cover the single imperfectly stamped image sitting in pole position!

 

Linking to:

Pinspired Challenges: Challenge #18

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

 

 

CAS(E)ing myself

Stamps: Folk Art Flurries (WPus9); Gingham & Co. (WM)

Ink: Danube, RoseBud, Tangelo (Memento); Turquoise (VersaMagic)

Die: Tag-a-Long (Clearly Besotted)

Font: Sevillana, Aharoni 

I am determined to finish all my Christmas cards before December strikes this year, so I can actually enjoy doing it, not feel rushed & wondering why I put myself through it.  Sound familiar??

This is a new take on a card from January.  I ws inspired by this week's CAS(E) this sketch:

& my new dies from Clearly Besotted.  The long banner is fabricated from 5 separate die cuts all bodged carefully crafted together.

Linking to:

CAS(E) This Sketch: CAS(E) This Sketch #45
Clearly Besotted: Challenge #4 ~ Stamp your own background

Muse Challenge #34

The children are back at school, the village fete is done & dusted & the temperature is a good 10 degrees cooler than it was last week, so I have returned to my craft room.  Hurrah!

Stamps: Bitty Banners (WM); Christmas Tags (Elzybells)

Ink: White Pigment (WPlus9)

Die: Impression Obsession

This was inspired by Therese's card over at Muse this week. 

 

 

I reversed the colour combo, & used trees in place of her wooden houses.  I did toy with a tag, but couldn't make it work for me.

I tried this with white embossing at first, but prefer the softer contrast that the white ink gives.  This WPlus9 is the best white ink I have found, but being pigment I still have trouble stamping really fine detail.  You can see a bit of the 'squashed' effect on the sentiment - a build up of ink at the edges of the letters, less in the middle, where it should be.  I guess I need more practise!  Any tips for improving on this would be gratefully received.

 

Linking to:

MUSE: Muse Challenge #34

Closet Inspiration

Stamps: Littly Bitty Bird (PTI); Teeny Trees (WM)

Ink: Nautical Blue (Memento); Pale Tomato (HA)

 

This week Heather invites us to look to our wardrobes for one-layer inspiration.  I have a vest top with tiny dandelion sprigs in blue, with an even tinier amount of coral stitching. I masked off the edges of the card before stamping, to give a white frame, mimicking the edging on the neck & arms. 

 

Linking to:

One Layer Wednesday: OLW149 ~ Closet Inspiration

 

 

Banner card

Stamps: Flower Friends (SSS); Basic Borders (Mama Elephant); It's Your Day (HA)

Ink: Rose Bud (Memento); Soft Pool, Wet Cement (HA); White (W+9)

Other: Happy Die (SSS)

Firstly, I hope you can see the picture above.  I had to upload using Picasa because Blogger is messing around today, & I have had trouble with this method in the past.

This is a one-layer card for Less is More, any shape but a rectangle / square.  I promise, it is only one layer: I cut out the happy & re-fitted a grey version, then painted glossy accents across the back to make sure it stayed in place.

You may guess I have just had a delivery from Simon Says Stamp, so expect to see more from these products in the next few weeks.

 

Linking to:

Less is More: Week 128 ~ Not Square or Rectangular

Shades of grey

Stamps: none

Ink: none

Other: Silhouette SD

The inspiration for this came from a Hollister T-shirt I saw someone wearing last night, & since then I've been itching to get into the craft room.

I can't believe I've never created an ombre background on the PC before.  Doh!So simple in Silhouette Studio to fill a rectangle with graduated colour.  For the rest, I found a seabird image online & 'traced' around it, then added lines to follow on with the bird's natural curves. 

I like to think it looks as if the gull is just dipping over the waves.

 

Linking to:

Less is More: Week 127~ Shades of Grey

Addicted to CAS: ATCAS 17 ~ Water

 

Casology Guest Designer - Fireworks

 

 

Stamps: Artemio

Ink: Tangelo (Memento); Tumbled Glass (DI)

Font: Sunshine Poppy

Other: Aqua Promarker; Diamond Stickles

 

I found it hard to come up with something this week.  In the UK, fireworks are generally confined to Bonfire Night & New Year - not what I want to think about in the summer!

 

I started off by playing around with a couple of the standard shape in Silhouette Studio.  Having printed the sentiment & stamped the 'firework' circles, it still looked a bit bare.  I tried various colours of ink splatter on scrap paper, before committing to the card.  The centre of the aqua starburst is stuck directly on the orange backing, with just a few foam dots under random stars to make some pop out more than others.

Papertrey June Blog Hop Challenge

 

Stamps: Lovely Layers, Boxes Bags & Tags, Tin Types (PTI); It's Your Day (HA); Basic Borders (ME)

Ink: Tangelo, Morocco, Rose Bud (Memento); Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other: 2" circle punch; white & gold e.p. (WOW)

This card is for PTI's June bloghop "A Touch of Gold".  To make the medallion, I scanned in my Lovely Layers set, then used Silhouette Studio to trace, replicate & rotate a particular image 3 times.  I then welded these together  & added an offset outline.  I cut it out, stamped & embossed it, then wound gold thread around to create the 'net' pattern.



 

My favourite part of the card, however, is the glossy faux brads.  The small ring stamp from Boxes, Bags & Tags was stamped in versamark & embossed with gold.  I coloured it using a blender pen with the same inks as the medallion, then punched it out with a 1/4" hole punch.  After sticking in place on the card I added glossy accents for the final touch.  The embossed rim enabled me to spread the gloss around with a pin without going over the edge.

 

Am also entering this for Less is More this week, although I'm not entirely sure it's quite 'less' enough!

 

Linking to:

Less is More: Week 125 ~ Happy Birthday Jen

Papertrey Ink: June Blog Hop ~ A Touch of Gold 

Birthday fishes

Stamps: Tremendous Treats Valentine (PTI)

Ink:Pear Tart, Bahama Blue, Tangelo, Morocco (Versamark); Versamark (Tsukineko)

Font: Migraine Sans

Other: Spots embossing folder (Cuttlebug); White ep (WOW); aqua promarker; Diamond Stickles; tracing paper

Today's offering was inspired by this Make It Monday video.  I had hoped to enter, but on closer inspection you must use flowers.  Fish don't count.

EDIT: have seen other crazy wild rule breakers have entered non-flower cards, so am giving it a go.

Linking to:

CASology: Week 49 ~ Fish
Make It Monday: MIM 121 ~ Coloured Vellum

What do you see?

Stamps: It's Your Day (HA)

Ink: Aqua (Ranger Adirondack); Blue Danube, Lulu Lavender, Lilac Posies, Espresso Truffle (Memento)

What pattern do you see in the above?  Stars?  Stacked boxes?  Hexagons?  Mostly I see the boxes.

 

I have made a great discovery this morning.  Tracing paper makes the best stencils.  I created an overlapping hexagon pattern with Silhouette Studio, & cut it out of tracing paper.  I then sponged over the stencil with a variety of inks.  The stencil gave nice crisp lines, no bleeding & no soggy bits - I'll be able to use this one again.  I also like the effect of the sponging on the linen textured card stock.

 

Linking to:

Less is More: Week 124 ~ Hexagons

Father's Day

Dies: Stars (MFT); Pennants (Spellbinders)

Font: Ecuyer Dax, Stars from their Eyes

Eek.  Father's Day on Sunday & nothing suitable in my stash.  Quick - to the laptop.  The ombre HAPPY was a direct CASE from this week's Make it Monday at PTI.  (My son was looking over my shoulder at the time: "I know where you got THAT from Mum").  Printed out twice.  Die cut the spare & coloured with promarker.  No coincidence that this week's CASology is YELLOW.  Stick it all together, take a terrible photo, & there you have it.  Easy to replicate for the fil, too.

 

Linking to:
CAS-ual Fridays: CFC104~ Banners & Flags
CASology: Week 48 ~ Yellow

Snail mail

Stamps: snail (Elzybells)

Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)

Font: Special Elite

Less is More want speed this week.  Slow is a speed.  My children's favourite.  This also fits in with Susan's One Layer Wednesday call for bugs.

I found the letter image with Google & printed that out with the sentiment.  After stamping the snails, careful gentle colouring with promarkers to ensure no bleed through to the inside.  I added the'harness' with a fineline marker.

2 posts in one day.  Hurray!

 

Linking to:

Less is More: Week 123 ~ Need for Speed

One Layer Wednesday: OLW143 ~ Bugaloos
Simon Says Stamp & Show: Letter S

Birthday Banner

Stamps: It's Your Day (HA); Tin Types (PTI)

Ink: Tangelo (Memento); Versamark (Tsukineko)

Dies: Banners (Spellbinders); Parker Alphabet (Memory Box)

Promarkers: Cool Aqua, Buttercup, Honeycomb, Bluebell

Isn't it amazing how positioning the centres of letters to one side or the other turns a sober & serious font into a quirky one?  Discovered through ineptitude, as per usual.

 

Linking to:

CAS-ual Fridays: CFC104~ Banners & Flags

CAS(E) This Sketch #28

Stamps: Tiny Treasures (Pink Petticoat); Elzybells

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other: Silhouette SD; glitter; white e.p.; promarkers

When I saw this week's CAS(E) This Sketch, all I could think of was snowballs.  Hence the penguin card was born.

 

 I copied the sketch into Silhouette Studio & traced the circles (although I can now see I appear to have missed one...), then added & traced the penguin digital stamp.

 

I cut the front piece out, then printed the design again on white paper so I could colour & add glitter. The top is popped up on foam squares.

 

Linking to:
CAS(E) This Sketch: CTS#28

Embellished birthday card

Stamps: Gingham & Co., Fancy Phrases (WM)

Ink: Wet Cement (HA); Espresso Truffle (Memento)

Other: Parker Alphabet dies (Memory Box); button die (MFT); button twine (WM)

I think it's quite easy to see where the inspiration for my Fusion Challenge entry came from:

I found this tutorial for string flowers a while ago, & have been waiting for the right opportunity to come along...  Add a faux button & there you have it.  Simples.

 

Linking to:

Fusion Card Challenge: Hypothesis #7

Addicted to CAS: ATCAS #13 ~ Birthday

Pencil thanks

Stamps: Star Prints, Just a Note (PTI)

Ink: too many to mention! (Memento)

Other: 3/8" corner chomper

I was inspired by the pencils on Laurie's MUSE card this week, which also gave a very timely reminder for teachers' thank yous.  We don't need them quite as soon here in the UK - not until the middle of July - but it doesn't hurt to be prepared.

I used the same idea as for this card, with closer spacings.  The in between colours were created by inking up the stamp with 2 colours before applying to the paper.

Have realised now that as these pencils are hexagonal in x-section, I can also enter it into CASology.

 

Linking to:

Muse: Challenge #16

Casology: Week 43 ~ Hexagon

Addicted to CAS: ATCAS #12 ~ Rainbow

7th birthday card - stripes & bling

Stamps: It's Your Day (HA); Fancy Phrases (WM); Basic Borders (Mama Elephant)
Ink: Rosebud, Lilac Posies, Tangelo (Memento); Versamark (Tsukineko)
Other:By The Numbers die (MFT); silver card; white e.p.; Diamond Stickles
 

Inspired by the sketch on this week's Fusion challenge:

I stamped the long stripe first, then applied the mask before stamping the other stripes, spacing them using the grid on my stamp press.

The number was die cut, then carefully fussy cut for just an outline.  Stickles were applied once it was stuck in place on the card.

Have realised is also fits a tic-tac-toe line for this week's CAS-ual Fridays ~ dies, bling, birthday.

Off to enjoy the sun now - gotta catch it while you can...

 

Linking to:

Fusion Card Challenge: Hypothesis #5
CAS-ual Fridays: CFC100 ~ Tic-Tac-Toe

2 for the price of 1

Good morning.  Isn't that always the way?  No cards for a week & then 2 burst out of you all at once.  In a good way.  Not like in Alien.



Stamps: Bitty Banners, Teeny Trees (WM)

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other: Trees die (SSS), circle punch; white enamel accents (Ranger)



The first card is for CAS(E) This Sketch.  Who knew that the Simon Says Stamp tree die would fit so well on Spellbinders Banners?  Well, I guess they probably made it to, but it never occurred to me to try it before now.  The scalloped snow was stamped with WM's Bitty Banners, embossed with sparkly stuff then punched out - perfectly fits a 1.5" circle punch.  A bit of a to-do with the enamel accents - don't dry cards vertically that have big blobs on.  Gravity will win!

 

Stamps: Little Bitty Bird (PTI); Nordic Winter (WM)

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Other: White e.p. (WOW); diamond stickles (Ranger); Cosmic Shimmer paint

And for my next trick... cosmic shimmer paint & diamond stickles.  A match made in heaven.  Embossing the image first means the paint is contained, so stays where it's told to.  A quick blast from the heat gun before applying the stickles.  I used a paint brush for these too - I couldn't squeeze for long enough to do all those leaves!

 

Before I forget: Kegbo, the font was Migraine Sans.

 

Linking to:

 

CAS(E) This Sketch: CTS#25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Less is More: Week 117 ~ Sketch #9