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