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!

3 colours for Less is More

Stamps: Basic Borders (ME); Scripty Sayings (PS)

Ink: Soft Pool (HA); Tangelo (Memento)

Dies: Borders 1 (PS); Stars (MFT); Tag-a-long (Clearly Besotted)

Inspired by this week’s CAS(E) This Sketch & the colour challenge at Less is More, I came up with this card for one of my son’s teachers.  

Can you tell I’ve got a new toy? Yup, have finally succumbed to the temptation the is Wink of Stella.

Edit: have just realised 3 colours in the top third also make it eligible for CFC31.

Linking to:

Less is More: Week 170 ~ 3 colours

CAS(E) This Sketch#74
CAS-ual Fridays: CFC131 ~Three Thirds

Cheers

Stamps: Lots of Dots (SSS)

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Dies: Birthday Words (PS); Stitched Mats Squre (Lil' Inkers)

Hi Folks.  I nearly gave up on this idea.  I first tried it with vellum glasses.  DIS-AS-TER.  No matter what I tried, all I could see was glue splodges (any tips gratefully received).  So I slept on it, & remembered some frosted vinyl I had lying around.  Perfick.  The wine glasses were cut on the Silhouette, using an image I found on line.

 

Capturing my masterpiece on camera proved to be another obstacle.  Turns out that vinyl is as camera-shy as glitter.  Who knew?

Linking to:
Paper Smooches Sparks: Anything Goes
CAS(E) This Sketch: CAS(E) this Sketch #67

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

 

 

 

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

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

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

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

Fusion Challenge #2

Stamps: Basic Borders (Mama Elephant); Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)

Ink: Pear Tart (Memento); Versamark (Tsukineko)

Dies: By the Numbers (MFT); Snowflakes (Provocraft)

Other: Washi tape (PaperChase); clear embossing powder (WOW!)

Hurrah.  The kids are back at school; the ironing's done; the house is tidy (ish!) so at last I can steal an hour or two for crafting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loving the inspiration on the Fusion Challenge this week.  Thought long & hard about this one.  Had a few ideas that started to get VERY complicated & had to go right back to the beginning again.  Am even now sitting on my hands (metaphorically, you understand, else typing would be a little awkward...) to prevent a sentiment creeping in there, but I will be strong!

 

Linking to:

Fusion: Hypothesis #2

CAS(E) This Sketch: Sketch #23

UR awesome

Stamps: Headline Alpha (SU); Fanciful Flowers (Elzybells)

Ink: Pale Tomato (HA); Lilac Posies (Memento)

Paper: Citrus Stack (DCWV)

Other: Spotted e.f. (Provocraft); Aharoni font; Silhouette SD; tracing paper

Well this is one design I won't be repeating in a hurry!  All those stamped flowers, never mind coaxing the letters out of the chevrons where my Silhouette blade is going blunt.

I've had the idea for the 'awesome' chevrons for a wee while now, but never had the opportunity to use them.  Initially I was going to try to make them with the Parker Alphabet, but the letters were just too big, so I dusted off my Silhouette.  The tag was inspired by this week's CASE This Sketch, & the tracing paper prevents the background making the letters look too busy.  I like the contrast of the flowers against the grey masculine chevrons - they soften the whole effect.

 

Linking to:

CAS-ual Fridays: CFC97 ~ Chevrons & Flowers

CAS(E) This Sketch: Sketch #22

CFC94; CTS#19; ABNH#22; A2CAS#8

Stamps: Bitty Bird (PTI); It's Your Day (HA)

Ink: Stazon, Versamark (Tsukineko)

Dies: Parker Alphabet (Memory Box)

Other: paper tape (PaperChase); white e.p. (WOW!); yellow corner chomper

Following this post from Liz at Pink Petticoat, I visited our local PaperChase at the weekend.  I can't believe I have never thought of buying paper there!  Doh!  Came away with some lovely thick tracing paper for printing out digital papers & a packet of 6 rolls of washi tape.

And so the above card was born.  The aqua chipboard is packaging from a cuttlebug embossing folder.  In case you were wondering, I used the 'g' from the Parker Alphabet as the 'a', but cut through from the other side.

 

Linking to:

Cas-ual Fridays: CFC94 ~ Chipboard

CAS(E) This Sketch: Challenge #19

A Blog Named Hero: Challenge#22 ~ Freestyle

Addicted to CAS: ATCAS#8 ~ Wings

CAS(E) this Sketch

Stamps: Nordic Winter (WM)

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Dies: Cuttlebug flowers (Provocraft); Small Madison Window (PoppyStamps)

Other: circle punches; swirl embossing folder; MS scoreboard; scallop scissors

Phew!  Just writing the ingredients list has worn me out.  Would be easier to list what I didn't use.

 

As soon as I saw this week's sketch, I thought of a wreath on a window or a door, but the complete idea has taken a while to crystallise.

 

The wreath is cut form a few scraps of patterned paper, using some of the original 'fat' Cuttlebug dies that haven't seen the light of day in maybe a year or more.

The blind in the window was dry embossed, with a scalloped fringe, then a bit of yellow paper added for light.

I don't have a brick embossing folder so  just went to work with my scoreboard.

Tried it with & without a sentiment, but it looked a bit bare without.

 

At last the sun has deemed to shine here again & my conservatory is a pleasant place to be for the first time in ages.  Seems a bit foolish that I'm using it for Xmas card photography but never mind!

 

Linking to:

Cas(E) this Sketch: Challenge #17

Epic Eleven

Stamps: Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)

Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)

Dies: Parker Alphabet (Memory Box); Snowflakes (Cuttlebug)

Other: unknown ribbon; clear e.p.; silver card

The more I look at this card, the less CAS it becomes.  The thing is, it looked a little too stark in its original incarnation, so I added the embossed dots.  Then there was too much space over the 11, so I put in some bling.  Having tried to balance it, I think it is now certainly teetering on the brink, if not tumbling over the edge of the cliff...

 

The 11 was cut out using my Silhouette, & the bling was cut from silver card then coloured with Sharpies.

 

Linking to:
CAS-ual Fridays: CFC91 ~ Hi Ho Silver
CASology: Week 32 ~ FlameAddicted to CAS: Challenge#7 ~ Masculine
CAS(E) This Sketch: Sketch #16

 

 

 

 

CAS(E) this sketch

Stamps: Folk Art Flurries (WPlus9); Polka Dot Basics II (PTI)

Ink: Rosebud, Tangelo, Danube (Memento); Turquoise (Versamagic)

Font: Worstveld Extra Oblique, Century Gothic

 

Hi there.  I got the Folk Art Flurries set just before Christmas & have played about loads with scrap paper, but this is my first bona fide card.  I love the gradation of snowflake sizes, so decided to combine it with my 'duvet' colour scheme from earlier in the week. 

I stuck very closely to the challenge sketch, with a freehand curve inspired by the tendril.  When I ran out of snowflakes, I had to do some judicious inking with my polka dot background set.  Needless to say, this card is not the first off... A few gems from a nail art set add the required winter sparkle.

As ever, didn't have a suitable sentiment, so had to bash one out on the printer. 

 

Linking to:

CAS(E) this sketch #10

CASology: Week#26 ~ Winter