Happy New Year 2016

Wishing all my crafty friends and followers a very

'Happy New Year'

 

 

Thinking of Others

Hello there,

It seems like an eternity since I last posted but as we all know, Christmas is a time to being with the ones we love. 

I'm sad to say that my wonderful Sister-In-Law lost her Dad just before Christmas and my heart goes out to her.  I lost my own Dad at Chrismas and although there is never a good time to loose a loved one, it's especially hard to put on a brave face at this time of year.  My eldest Brother had major surgery on the 21st and is now recovering, albeit very slowly.  He's been in hospital now for six weeks and during that time, he's suffered a very personal loss too, so my love,  thoughts and prayers are with him and his family at this time.

As it's a time for reflection and for thinking of others that are less fortunate than ourselves, I want to share with you a card that I've made.

 Hope to be back with you soon. x

Winter Trees on Kraft Card

Hello to all my lovely crafting buddies.

I'm here with my last card before Christmas and it's one that I've made for the 'Vintage Stamping  Challenge.'  Their theme this month is 'Winter Trees.'   I've really enjoyed using Kraft card for the first time over the last couple of months and I love the results that can be achieved by just using white ink, water and heat embossing.  Here's the card that I've made:

It's a simple card where I started by masking and creating the snow drifts with white Memento ink and dusting with pink to give a sense of depth.  I masked the snowdrifts and then stamped on the trees and heat embossed them with a white embossing powder.  I used a piece of accetate with a circle cut out to make the moon and then dusted around the edge to give a misty effect.  I also dusted over and around the trees with white ink to create clouds and then over the top again with pink and blue to give a little contrast.  The stamps that I've used are by Inkylicious.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, Sandma x

I Have An Announcement To Make

Hello there to all my friends, followers and passers by.

I'm really pleased and excited to announce that I've been asked to join the Design Team over at the 'Fashionable Stamping Challenge.'  I didn't hesitate to accept their kind offer and I'm really looking forward to the challenges ahead.  Long before I started blogging earlier this year, their challenge has been on my favourite's tab but never in my wildest dreams did I ever image that one day I would be joining them as a Design Team member.  Needless to say, I'm over the moon and it's lovely to finally share my good news with you all.

Here's the card that I've made for this month's challenge which is 'Make Your Own Background.'  Avril chose the theme this month and I'm so looking forward to seeing all of your fabulous entries.

I've used Silk Art Card for this project and I started by heat embossing the main focal image with a clear black embossing powder.  This was to ensure that the image was sharper and that it wouldn't smuge once I started adding the various inks.  I gently dusted Adirondack Lemonade all over the card before masking off the moon with a cut out circle.  I then used the following colours to create my background:
Impress - Tangerine
Impress - Slate Grey
Adirondack - Butterscotch
Adirondack - Raspberry
All the stamps that I've used are by Inkylicious.
I started with the paler colours first and then used a stencil before dusting over it with the Raspberry.
Once I was happy with the blending, I then used a Caligraphy stamp to add the background writing.  As I wanted the writing to blend with the background, I stamped it twice onto copy paper first to give a more faded look. As it now just needed the finishing touches, I used a branch which I heat embossed in gold to add texture and contrast.  I also added the birds which I heat embossed in black.

I mounted the completed image onto purple card to match the Raspberry and then onto gold for a touch of luxury, then finished by mounting on black card.

Thank you for joining me today and I hope that you can join us in this month's challenge over at 'Fashionable Stamping Challenge' where one lucky winner will recive a $20 voucher to spend online with our fabulous sponsors at 'Flonzcraft.'

Take care of yourselves and enjoy the week ahead. x

 

Krafty Christmas

Hi there,

Just a really quick post today with few more of the Christmas cards that I've made using Kraft card. I really love the effect of using white ink on Kraft card and it seems to be really popular at the moment.

Traditional Christmas

Hello there,

Well, after my 'Blonde' moment with the 'Festive Flowers and Foliage' post, I'm here to redeem myself with some actual stamping!  Fortunately for me, since the post was made, I've managed to purchase the Creative Stamping Magazine which has some fabulous stamps in and I've used them on the card that I'm sharing with you today:

I've gone all traditional on this card and I started by using one of my favourite stamps which is by HamptonArt.  It's not a brand that I'm really familliar with but I purchased it from the PaperMill shop a few years back.   It's a stamp that comes out time and time again and I love it.
Once Santa was in place, I then set about stamping my border with the free stamps from the magazine and a pointsettia  Rubber Tapestry stamp.  The inks used were:

• Impress - Olive Green
• Impress - Emerald
• Memento - Northern Pine
• Memento Rich Cocoa 
• Adirondack - Red Pepper
• Versafine -  Black Onyx

I coloured Santa's hat with a red Stickles glue and made a pompom for his hat out of cotton wool to give dimension.  I then followed the waves in his beard with Ice Stickles to add a little sparkle.
I decided to mount the finished image onto a traditional red card but the edges looked too bare so found out my old wrought iron corner punch which I think has worked really well.
I then used Marriane Pointsettia and Britannia Ivy dies with snippets of card and foil to add some foliage.  I opted for gold, rather than green for the Ivy to give my card the red, gold and green colours of Christmas and to add a touch of luxury. The card was finished by adding a red silk ribbon.

The photograph was taken on my desk in natural sunlight, without a flash and I love the way that it's picked up all of the glitter and the glint of sun on the foil.

 

Winter In Paris

Hello there, 

Before I start, I'd just like to welcome my new followers and say thank you for joining me on my crafting journey.  I really appreciate the time that all of my followers so kindly spend leaving such lovely comments on my blog, it really means a lot :)

The card that I'm sharing with you is one that I've made for this month's 'Fashionable Stamping Challenges' and their theme this month is 'Winter In Paris.'

I don't really have many Parisian stamps so I decided to use one that I've had for many years by Stampendous. When I think of winter colours, it's the cool colours such as blues and purple that come to mind and so I chose to use Distress blueprint Sketch and Memento Lulu Lavender as the background colours.
I started the card by stamping the main image in the center of the card using Versafine Black Onyx.  I then masked off the word Summer and stamped in the word winter to make the sentiment appropriate for the challenge. I  decided that instead of just blending the colours for my background as I usually would, that I would try something a little different to give the card more of an 'Arty' feel.  I tend to stick to making cards that are in my comfort zone but I feel that it's definitely time to try some new techniques so I used a stencil by Stamposaurus which I bought at the Doncaster show a few weeks back. I'm wishing now that I'd bought a snowflake stencil as that would have worked perfectly on this occasion but the one that I've used sort of gives the feel of looking through a leaded  glass window and I quite like the end result. I had originally planned to colour the flowers in blue but I felt that it needed some contrast from the background so I water coloured them with Distress Fire Brick and used a Marvy marker pen to darken the centers.  Using a Twiggy Branch stamp by Inkylicious, I stamped some black branches and then used a Crystal embossing powder to give them a frosty look.  I then used the same branch and used a white embossing powder to look like snow on the branches.  I finished the card by tearing some strips of white card and adding them to the bottom of the card to give the effect of fallen snow.

I'd just like to say thank you to those who asked about and sent good wishes for my Granddaughter.  I'm pleased to say that she's on the mend, still looking a little washed out but she's back to her happy little self which is a great relief to us all. x

Festive Flowers and Foliage

UPDATED  20/11/2015
I've only realised today that I entered this card into a stamping challenge but it doesn't actually have any stamping on it!  I can only put this down to my age or a very 'Blonde' moment and I've now asked for the card to be removed from the challenge as it doesn't match the criteria. The words 'Stamping Sensations' should have been my first clue! :)

This card was made using the Jane Shasky (Heart of the Garden CD) from Joanna Sheen.  I decided that I would make a shaped decoupaged card and here it is:

I finished by adding some die cut Ivy to both sides of the card.  Although it took ages to cut the different  layers out, I'm happy with the end result.

I'm sorry that I've fallen behind this week with my comments as my little Granddaughter's not been very well but I hope to catch up with you all on your blogs over the weekend.  Sandma x

Feeling Blue

Hello, I hope that you're all keeping well.

I'm here today to share with you a card that I've made for Country View Challenges and their theme this month is 'The Colour Blue.'  I've been spending most of my time lately making Christmas cards so It's been nice to have a break and do something a little different.

I coloured in the sky and water with Ink Dusters and then masked of the mountains. once this had been done and the reflections had been created, I then stamped my main images in black. Inks used were:

• Distress = Blueprint Sketch
• Distress - Stormy Sky
• Adirondack - Denim
• Memento Paris Dusk
• Versafine - Black Onyx

All the stamps that I've used are by Inkylicious.

I finished the card by using a white gel pen and stickles glitter on the water to add a little sparkle.

Contemporary Snowflake

Hi there,

I don't know about you but I just cant believe how quickly the weeks are whizzing by.  Now that all the Christmas ads are on telly, there's no getting away from the fact that Christmas is well and truly on it's way.  I've done quite well this year, getting ahead with my cards and here's another one to add to my stash:

I started off with a white base card but everything just looked lost so I decided to use black instead.  I know it's not a traditional colour but I'm reasonably happy with the end result as it looks quite contemporary.
I used a snowflake embossing folder on pink pearlised card for the sash and the silver snowflake has been made by using is two Sue Wilson dies.  The small pink snowflakes are made by a die from the same set, which I've used liquid pearls on. I finished the card with a sentiment by Inkylicious which I heat embossed.

Silent Night

Hello, I hope that you've all had a lovely weekend.

I'm well and truly into the swing of making my Christmas cards now and I'm loving having the time to make them, rather than rushing at the last minute as I usually do.  I've seen a few cards on the Inkylicious Facebook page using white ink on Kraft card and really liked them so I think this will be my main theme for this year's cards  I missed the demo at the Doncaster show as it was too crowded,  so it's just been trial and error but I'm happy with the end results.  I've made my own apertures out of acetate and used them as my templates, using different shapes to have a little variety.  I'm just posting one of them today but I may show more over the next few weeks. Here's my card:

I placed the aperture over the Kraft card and used an Ink duster to cover the oval with the white pigment ink.  I then stamped on my Winter Log Cabin with Memento Rich Cocoa.  I used the natural line at the bottom of the cabin stamp to water colour the snow.  Once it was dry, I used a white gel pen to add snow to the trees and to form the mounds of snow in front of the cabin. I added Fluffy stuff and heated it to give dimension around the cabin roof and to make the snow look heavy.  I drew around the edge of the oval with Stickles glitter glue and added the sentiment using white embossing powder to make it stand out more.  The card still looked a little bare so I added snowflakes using a Versamark ink pad.

Enjoy the rest of your evening and I hope to be back with you soon. x

Joy To The World

Hello there,

I hope that you're all keeping well and happy and finding time to craft. 

I'm here today to share with you a card that I've made for this week's 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown.  It's a Technique challenge this time of 'Emboss Resist' and here's the card that I've made:

I decided that I wanted my finished card to conjurer up images of Christmas morning,  so I started by stamping the sentiment and the snowflakes with a clear Versa Mark embossing ink and then heat embossing over a clear detailed embossing power to create the 'Resist Technique.'  I then set about creating an early morning sky by colouring with various inks using my Ink Dusters.  Inks used were:

• Adirondack -  Butterscotch, Peach Bellini and Denim
• Impress - Old Rose, Slate Gray
• Memento Lulu Lavender, Tuxedo Black

All the stamps that I've used were freebies from a 'Simply Cards & Papercraft' magazine that I bought a couple of weeks ago and I used a Versafine Black Onyx to stamp in the houses at the bottom of the card as I find that it gives the best coverage. I felt that the finished image was still missing something and so I used a white Jelly Roll pen to dot on some snowflakes.  I mounted the finished image several times, including on a white embossed snowflake background to give the card a little more dimension.

I have to admit that I had several attempts at this challenge before finally settling on one that I was vaguely happy with.  Ordinarily, I would create a scene and then use white embossing powder to give the detail that I wanted but it's much harder stamping with a clear ink when you can't really see where you're going with it, or where you've already been!

Hope to be back with you all soon x

Evening in Africa

Good morning,

Are you like me and just love weekends?  It's fabulous having time to play, especially when I have so many new stamps that I need to try out.  It's like doing a 'Big Shop' as Peter Kay would say and not knowing what to eat first!  I'm absolutely loving the new Serengeti stamps by Inkylicious.  I bought both sets when I went to Stamp Magic at Doncaster last Sunday and I can really see me getting lots of use out of them, especially for masculine cards.

Here's a card that I've made:

I decided to use all three colours as these would be perfect to use with my new stamps.  I gently dusted over the card with a Lemon ink and then masked off the sun.  Next, I gently sponged around the sun with Adirondack Mountain Rose to give more depth and to give the effect of a setting sun.  I was brave enough to spray my Ink Dusters with water and then drag them over the card to give a different effect, although it doesn't show too well in the photograph.  I just got away with it; but you have to be really quick when using a matt white card as I've done,  I did this with Impress Tangerine Ink.  I masked off the mountains and then dusted and sponged them with Memento Lulu Lavender ink.  All stamps used and been stamped with Versafine Black Onyx.  Once I was happy with the card, I then dusted around the edge of the card with the purple ink to bring it all together.

Birds On A Wire

Hello there,

Just a quick post today with a card that I've made for this week's 'Less is More' challenge which is a sketch.   When I saw the sketch, I knew that my birds on a wire stamp would be perfect for this challenge and here's the card that I've made:

 Here's the sketch that I've used:

I knew that I would be water colouring the birds and so I heat embossed them with a detailed black embossing powder.  This provides a barrier for the paint and also gives the image a nice, crisp outline.

The stamps that I've used are all by Inkylicious and the inks that I've used are:

• Versafine - Black Onyx
• Impress - Lemon Yellow, Mustard, Pale Aqua, tangerine
• Distress - Fire Bricked Red

Enjoy the rest of your evening and I'll be back with you again tomorrow with more of this weekend's makes. :)

Serengeri Sunset

Hello again.

I've been having a play with some of my new stamps and I've made a card to enter into this week's Less is More challenge, their theme is Masculine. 


I started by using a circular mask and then colouring it with Ink Dusters to create the sun.  The inks that I used were Impress Lemon Yellow and Adirondack Mountain Rose.  I also sponged a little of the Mountain Rose around the edge to give more of a definite shape.  The stamps that I've used are new from Inkylicious and are from the Serengeti 2 set which I bought at the stamp show earlier today.  The sentiment stamp is also by Inkylicious.  I mounted the cream card onto black to match the silhouette stamps that I've used on the main image.  Enjoy the rest of today and I wish you all well, Sandma x

The Wild Woods

Hello, I hope that you're all enjoying a relaxing weekend.  I've had a lovely weekend which included a trip this morning to the 'Stamp Magic' show at Doncaster, needless to say, I bought lots of goodies which I hope to share with you soon.

The card that I'm sharing with you today is one that I've made for this week's 52 (Christmas) Card Throwdown which is called 'The Wild Woods.'

I decided to create a wintry scene and then use my Memory Box deer as the animals in the wood.  I used a winter branch stamped with various shades of green at the top of the card to give the feeling of being in a wood and then used a 'Jack in the Green' stamp as a creature unseen.  It's a stamp that I bought from 'Make Your Mark' in York.  I've had it for many years now but not really had the opportunity to use it before.  I finished the card of by giving it some dimension using an Ivy die which I bought today.  I used gold gilding wax on some of the leaves to give some variation in colour, I also think that green and gold work together beautifully on a Christmas cards.  I quite like the fact that it's turned out quite different from a traditional Christmas card.

The Jack in the Green stamp is from Make your Mark in York and all other stamps used are by Sheena Douglass.  The Ivy die is by Britannia.

Inks used on this card are:

• Memento - Northern Pine
• Impress - Olive Green
• Impress - Emerald
• Distress - Stormy Sky

Blue Christmas

Hello my crafty friends, I hope that you've all had a lovely weekend.

I'm here today to share with you a card that I've made for 52 (Christmas) card throwdown.  Their theme this time is a colour challenge to use blue or purple and a metallic colour.  I think that blue works really well on Christmas scenes and so this was my choice.

I started by masking the moon and hills with acetate and then sponging them with Adirondack Denim.  This is the only colour that I've used  on this card.   Once the hills were in place, I then stamped in the trees and log cabin.  The stamps that I've used are by Stampin Up, Lindsay Mason and Inkylicious.  I finished the card by adding silver peel off stars to give my metallic element.

Colours of Autumn

Hello there,

I'm here today to share a card with you that I've made for this month's challenge over at 'Stamping Sensations' and their theme this time is the 'Colours of Autumn.' 

I started by stamping onto peach card with a Big and Juicy (Spice) ink. The stamps that I used for this are by Chocolate Baroque and I especially love the fern stamp which creates a lovely bold print.  As a contrast to this, I wanted to give the main focal image a sense of space by using just a single image in the middle and leaving lots of open space around it.  The tree and sentiment stamps are both by Inkylicious and I've stamped them using the same Big and Juicy ink pad to keep the colour consistent.  After trying various colours to mount the card on, I felt that the deep red worked best of all.

Winter Cabin

Hello on this misty Autumn morning.

As the days and weeks seem to be whizzing by, I though that it was time to get out my Christmas stamps and make a start.  It's always fun to join in card challenges and so I'm sharing a card with you that I've made for this week's challenge over at '52 Christmas Card Throwdown.' See the sketch below.

I started by taking a piece of square white card and used circular dies to cut out an aperture and to make a frame for the image.  The Stamp that I've used is a new one from Inkylicious called Winter Cabin which fit perfectly into the aperture.  I stamped over a background which I had previously made using pastels and I then used Stickles and Fluffy Stuff to create the snow. The sentiment is also by Inkylicious. The embossing folder that I used to make the border was a freebie out of a Card Making and Papercraft magazine that I bought a couple of weeks ago. I dusted over the pattern with Distress Broken China and then around the outer edge of the card with Memento LuLu Lavendar.  I finished that card by adding a Poinsettia that I made using a Marianne Die.  

Tic Tac Toe

Good Afternoon.  It's a lovely sunny day here in Yorkshire and I hope the sun is shining wherever you are.

I'm here today to share with you a card that I've made for the 'Tic Tac Toe' challenge over at Vintage Stamping.  This is a new thing to me but I thought it was I great idea to be able to choose the different options, although in some ways it was harder to make the final decision.  In the end, I chose: People, Metal Brads and Blue and Brown.  
I think that blue and brown are a fabulous colour combination and so my first task was to make the background,  I used Ink Dusters to give a gentle dusting of Memento Teal Zeal over the white card and then used various stamps from Inkylicious' Elements1 set to create my background design.  I used the Teal Zeal, Memento Rich Cocoa and Distress Tea Die to do this. As the background is quite busy, I decided to make the tag quite simple.  The face is also from the Elements 1set and the sentiment is Oriental Awakening by Inkylicious.  I made the flower by using my Spellbinders Delicate Asters stamps and dies.  I used the same blue colour to continue the theme and then finished the card by adding brass brads to each corned and a diamond brad to the center of my flower.  It was still missing a little something and so I used a couple of die cut brown swirls to give me card the completed look.  Here's the finished card:

I'm also entering this card into the following challenges:

Words

I'm here with my third and final card of the day.  I realised earlier today that I had entered my Autumn Leaves card into the Fashionable Stamping challenge as it had a lovely verse on it, unfortunately, I had missed the rule that stated all words must be stamped.  As mine were computer generated, I have now deleted that entry so here's my new card (All hand stamped! :)

Inspiration for this card was taken from a tutorial by Sally Holmes.

All stamps are by Inkylicious and inks used on this card are:

• Impress Lemon Yellow
• Impress - Slate Gray
• Adirondack - Red Pepper
• Distress - Stormy Sky
• Versafine - Black Onyx

I used Ink Dusters to create the background and I'm really pleased with the finished card.

Nature

Hello again,

I'm having a lovely relaxing day in my craft room and here to share with you my second card of the day.  While we were on holiday, I found a lovely craft shop in Kendal where I bought a Clarity stencil which I've used to frame this card. I coloured my sky with Ink Dusters using Distress Stormy Sky, I then put in my hills using some pieces of acetate that I've cut out.  These are great to use and you can just wipe them over and start again.The ink used on my hills is Impress Olive Green. I used my Big and Juicy to shade in the sunlight over the hills.   I masked out the setting sun by sponging round a cut out circle in the Stormy sky and then stamped on some birds.  I felt that the picture was too bare with just a white surround so I stamped in some branches at the top and grass at the bottom of the card.I then dusted over the outer edge with Impress Slate Gray to give more of a Dusky feel.  All the stamps that I've used are by Inkylicious and the Deer are die cuts by Memory Box.

Dream

Good Morning my crafty friends.

I'd just like to say 'Hello and Welcome' to my new followers and a big 'Thank You' to my followers, both old and new for taking the time to visit my blog. It makes my day reading all your lovely comments and I just want you all to know that I really appreciate your support. :) x

I'm having a crafty day today and trying to catch up with some of the challenges that I've missed recently and so here is my first card of the day:

As the theme for Addicted to CAS is 'Dream,' I wanted to give my card an ethereal look and so I decided to use a blend of ink, rather than just a single colour.  I used a Big and Juicy (soothing Sunset) to stamp the main image and then I used Ink Dusters to colour around the moon. The Dream sentiment is stamped with Impress Pansy. The stamps that I've used are by Inkylicious.

Have a wonderful day x

Sew Special

Hello my friends.

We've just arrived back from a lovely week in the Lake District.  The weather's been varied but we managed to make the most of it.  Our Daughter, her Husband and our little Granddaughter joined us mid week which was wonderful.  

I'm just posting a card that I've made for this month's 'Stamping Sensations' challenge, their theme this time is  'Sew Special.'

The stamps that I've used are by Inkylicious and Indigo Blu and inks are Impress Old Rose, Distress Broken China and Fire Bricked Red  The images were stamped with Versafine Black Onyx.  I decided to stamp different sewing elements and then made a border with the tape measure stamp.  I finished by adding some dusky pink braiding the to top and the bottom and then mounted it onto a Burgundy card.

I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening x

Autumn Leaves

Hello there, I hope to find you all well and happy :)

I'm here today with a card that I've made for the 'Fantasy Stampers' challenge and their theme this time is 'Autumn Leaves.'  I absolutely love Autumn and I always think of it as Mother Nature's last throw of colour before Winter sets in. Here's the card that I've made:

I started by printing off the 'Tree of Life' poem on the computer and then stamped on a tree by Crafty Individuals using a Big and Juicy ink pad (Spice). Next, using the same ink pad, I stippled and sponged over the tree. I then masked off around the edge and then stippled and stamped with leaf stamps to create a narrow border.
I took the Big and Juicy ink pad and pressed it down onto my craft mat.  I then spritzed with water used a piece of peach card which I coloured with the wet ink. After drying the card with a heat gun, I took the stamp that I had used for the main image and stamped it all over using the same ink pad. I mounted the main image onto cream card and then on the coloured peach card.  This gave me the wonderful Autumn colours that I'd hoped to achieve. I then matted and layered several times, finishing with red.
Working on the colours of Autumn, I cut out different shaped leaves in red, gold and green and then mounted them around the edge of my card.
I think the poem, stamp and colours work together beautifully and I'm happy with the finished card.

'Owls is a Nice House'

Good morning,

I'm back with you today with a card that I've made for the ' My Time To Craft' challenge' and their theme this week is 'Owls.'  I've made this card for a friend who's moved into her new house this week.

The stamps that I've used were free with issue 26 of Creative Stamping Magazine.  This issue features cards made by the very talented Sally Homes.  Sally makes amazing cards she's an absolute wiz with an Ink Duster.  You can check out Sally's blog at:

http://sal-utations.blogspot.co.uk/

I made this card by running an embossing folder through my Big Shot and then rubbing over it with Distress Tea Dye ink. This gave me the wooden effect background that I needed.  I cut out a round aperture and also created a brown circular border to make a frame for the aperture and featured stamps. I stamped the image in Versafine Onyx Black and coloured it with chalks and Marvy markers.  The sentiment was computer generated and and then placed on a Spellbinders ribbon tag.

Wishing you a Wonderful Day

Evening All!  Oh dear, showing my age now ;)

Here's the card that I've made for this week's challenge over at 'Less is More.' It's time for a one layer card and their theme this time is 'Wishing.'
 
All the stamps used on the card are by Inkylicious and the background is created with Ink Dusters.  Inks used are Memento Paris Dusk and Lulu Lavender, Distress Stormy Sky and Versafine Black Onyx.
I apologise for this post being so brief but I've been spending time with my new Grandson.  I hope to be back with you again soon. x

Dreams Come True

Hello my friends, followers and passers by.

Inkylicious have just released several new stamps on their web site and they are so fabulous that I just had to have them.  I'll be having a play with them over the next few week and I hope to then share them with you.  The one that I just couldn't wait to have a play with is called 'Dreams Come True' and here's my latest creation:

I started by ink dusting the whole card with Adirondack Lemonade and Peach Bellini and then I masked off the sun. I then dusted around it with Peach Bellini and Mountain Rose and used Egg Plant around the outside of the card.  When I was happy with the colour and blending, I then stamped the main image at the base of the sun and stamped the sentiment above.  I absolutely love this stamp and I decided that I didn't just want to make a plain card with it and so I decided to embellish it.  I mentioned in a previous post about making some 'Peace Roses' with my Spellbinder Rose Creations and so this is what I did.  I added them to opposite corners to give it balance; and then added the gold leaves to match the gold frame around the card.  The gold also stood out beautifully against the black background card. I'm really happy with how the card turned out and can't wait to have another play with the stamp using different colours. I hope that you like to too :)

Butterfly Spray

Hello again my blogging friends and visitors.

I'm here with my second post of the day with a card that I've made for this week's challenge at 'Less is More.'  Their challenge this week is: Sprays/mists and here's my contribution:

I started by dabbing different shades of pink inks onto my craft mat and then spritzing it with water. I then took a piece of pale pink card and soaked up the mixed colours.  After drying the card with my heat gun, I then used punches and dies to create my various butterflies.
I took a paintbrush and dipped it into my Starburst Stains (Sweet Violet Purple Teal) and then splattered it onto a piece of white card to create a spray.   The butterflies were then placed in their required positions and the card was finished with a Stampin Up sentiment. The card was originally just mounted onto pink card but didn't look quite right and so I mounted it again on a piece of white card which did the trick.

Beside the Seaside

Good morning on this lovely sunny Sunday.

I'm here today to share with you a card that I've made for the latest Fashionable Stamping Challenge and their theme this time is 'Seaside or Beach.'

I was lucky enough to win the Stamping Sensations challenge in April and as part of my prize, I chose a set of stamps by Crafty Individuals called 'Beside the Seaside' I though that they would be just right for this latest challenge.

I started by stamping; and then masking off the lady before masking off the sea. I used Ink Dusters to colour the sea using Impress Sky Mist and then going over it with Adirondack Lake mist.  I then sprayed my Ink Duster with a fine spay of water and dragged it across the sea to add movement.
I Gently coloured the sky with Adirondack Lemonade and then masked off the sun before dusting and sponging around the edges with more yellow and Peach Bellini. The rest of the sky was then dusted with Impress Lavender. As I wanted to give the effect of the tide rolling in, I coloured a separate piece of card with Memento Desert Sand and then tore it ruggedly to leave a white edge.  This was then glued to the bottom of my card. The grasses and shells on the sand are all stamps by Inkylicious.  The card was then finished by adding the two seagulls and the Seaside sentiment stamp at the base of the card.  I'm always really nervous at this point as I've ruined more cards than I dare to mention by a wonky sentiment or a smudged bird! I'm happy to say that on this occasion, it all went to plan. I then coloured the seagulls with a a Brownish grey Marvy marker.

Tree of Wonders

Good morning my crafty friends.

Still no news on the baby front I'm afraid, so I'm still waiting here patiently but I know that he'll be well worth the wait.

When I saw this weeks card challenge on Cardz 4 Guyz, I loved the theme which is Myth & Magic' but I was a bit stuck for ideas as I don't have any stamps that are suitable.  I got to thinking about any images I might have and I then I remembered a Josephine Wall CD that I bought from Joanna Sheen.  Most of the images on the CD would be suitable for feminine cards but the was just one image which I thought would work perfectly for a masculine card and it's called the 'Tree of Wonders.'

I printed the image out and then wondered what I could so with it to make it more interesting. As we are moving into Autumn, I knew that I wanted to use Autumnal colours; so I started by taking a piece of orange card and stamped extensions of the tree branches using my Inkylicious Bare Trees stamps with Memento Rich Cocoa.  Once I had mounted the image, I then dusted around the edge of the card with Memento Northern Pine to frame the card. The card was finished by adding some green leaf stems that I had cut out and using some ready made leaves.

The thing that I love most about card challenges is that they will often take you out of your comfort zone and I have to say that this challenge has done this for me!

I'm hoping to be back with you over the weekend but if I'm not, then I hope that you all have a wonderful, relaxing weekend.  Thank you for stopping by x

CAS Thinking of You

Hello,

I'm here today with a quick post with a card that I've made for this week's challenge at Less is More.

The ivy is coloured with Impress Olive Green ink and the stamps are by Flower Soft. The sentiment stamp is by STAMPS HAPPEN and I've used Versa Fine Black Onyx to give a nice clear impression.
The butterfly is one that I've printed and then cut out.  The card is CAS and I hope that you like it.

Here's a picture of the LIM sketch:

Roses

Hello my crafting friends.

The main focal point of my card is a stamp that I've used by ALLNIGHTMEDIA which I believe is an image by Anna Griffin. I stamped the image with Versa Mark and then embossed it with a fine black embossing powder. The Rose itself was coloured with Spectrum Noir markers and I've coloured the leaves by starting with a pale water coloured Impress Olive Green and then I've gone over it with Marvy LePlume markers to vary; and to give a greater depth of colour. I then dusted around the edge of the image before mounting it on various Spellbinder dies, alternating from red to white to give the card contrast.  I finished by creating a bouquet of Roses.  I created the largest Rose and the leaves myself and the other Roses we ready made. The birthday greeting is by Stampin Up.

I look after my Granddaughter through the week and we spend a lot of time at our local park which has quite a large Rose garden.  Here's a photograph of a 'Peace Rose' that I took last week, it's definitely one of my favourites. I took the photograph as I hope to replicate the colours with my Spellbinder Rose Creations in the near future.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and I hope to be back with you soon with some exciting news as our Grandson is due to be born this week :)

Added Later
Here's my attempt at a 'Peace Rose.'  I'm happy with the Rose but I need to work on the colour.  I used Lemon and Pink but it's turned out more peachy!  :)

Summer Flowers

Hello my friends.

I hope that life's been treating you kind.  I've been lucky enough to have a few spare hours today and so I spent them in my craft room doing what makes me happy :)

The card that I want to share with you today is one that I've made for this month's Penny Black and More challenge which is 'Summer Flowers.'  I've pondered over this one for the last week or so as I have so many flower stamps and wasn't really sure where to start.  When I think of Summer, I think of Summer colours which are the sunshine colours......yellows, oranges, and reds; and so this is where I started..............

I started my card by using Ink Dusters to colour the whole of the white matt card with Impress Lemon Yellow.  I then masked off the sun and dusted yellow and orange ink around it.  I pinched the Ink Duster to make shadows across the sun and in the rest of the sky.  I knew that I wanted to make a statement with the red poppy and so this was the first flower that I stamped.  I then replicated the stamp using fine detailed black embossing powder and coloured it with Spectrum Noir markers. Once I was happy with the colour, I then glued it on top of the original Poppy stamp. I then went on to stamp various wild meadow flowers in Memento Rich Cocoa along the bottom of the card. I thought that stamping in brown, rather than black would give a more subtle effect and blend in better with the yellow and oranges. Once this was done, I dusted orange and red ink along the base of the card to give it some depth.  I finished the card by adding a Tortoiseshell Butterfly which I printed off and then cut it out to give a more realistic effect. I also stamped on orange card and cut out a stamped image to make the words 'Live, Laugh and Love' which I think are perfect Summer sentiments.  The base card was cream and so I mounted the image onto a vibrant orange card to match the butterfly.  I'm really happy with how the card turned out and for me, it does conjour up images of Summer; and of Summer flowers.
Stamps used are by Inkylicious and Lavinia; and inks are by Memento, Adirondack and Impress.

Orange and Brown

Good Morning to all my crafting friends on this lovely sunny day.  I hope that the sun is shining wherever you are.
I'm here today with a card that I've made for the 'Cardz 4 Guyz' challenge and their theme this week is 'Orange and Brown.'

I started by taking some peach card and masking off the water which I then coloured with Adirondack Lake Mist. I then masked off the sun and sponged round it with Impress Tangerine ink. Once the background was finished, I then stamped the boat, grasses and birds with Memento Rich Cocoa. I used Ink Duster to add orange around the edge of the card to frame the card.  All the stamps that I've used today are by Inkylicious.  The card was mounted on orange card and then on brown.

Sewing Mends The Soul

Well, I can safely say that it's been a lovely relaxing weekend for a change and I've had chance to get my stamps and inks out again today :)
The card that I've made today is for a favourite of mine, the 'Stamping Sensations' challenge.  Their theme this time is:

August challenge - Anything Goes with a stamp and a die and here's the card that I've made:

I started by stamping the main focal image and then coloured it with Spectrum Noir markers. The image was then cut out with a Spellbinder Labels Eight die and then mounted again on a Spellbinder Decorative Labels Eight, which I coloured around the edge with the same colour as the corset.
Next, I stamped border of thimbles and stamped the other elements on the card.  As the corset had red flowers on it, I decided to ink round the edge of the card with a similar colour and I think this works quite well as it seems to give the card more dimension. I still felt that the card was missing something and so I made a rose using Spellbinder Rose Creations. This tied in nicely with the red on the main image and the red around the edge of the card and I'm happy with the end result.

Stamps used:

• Stampendous - Corset
• Thimbles and Sewing mends the soul - IndigoBlu
• Other three stamps - Inkylicious

Inks used:

• Memento - Rich Coccoa
• Distress - Fired Brick Red
• Black Onyx - Versafine

I hope that you've all had a great weekend and I look forward to seeing your wonderful works of art. Take care, stay happy and I'll see you again soon x

Cats Just Want To Have Fun

Hello and good afternoon to all my lovely blogging friends and visitors. I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately but it's been a really busy couple of weeks with one thing and another.  Although I haven't made many new posts myself, I've still enjoyed visiting your blogs. I've had some free time today and so took the chance to go straight to my craft room and get my inks out :)
The two cards that I've made them are for a brand new card challenge blog called 'TWOFERS' Their very first theme is 'Cats,' and here is my contribution:

All stamps with the exception of the cat on the first card are by Inkylicious.

I've masked off the sun on the first one before colouring the background using Ink Dusters and then stamping the various different elements:

The second card was created in the same way and then the birds on the wire were water coloured using inks.

I've enjoyed making the cards this morning and I wish Jane, Christi and Zoe well in their new venture.
Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of your day x

L is for Lavender

Hello, I'm here today with a card that I'm entering in the Alphabet Challenge Blog. Their latest challenge is 'L for Lavender.' It's a birthday card that I've made for a friend of mine.

The main focal point is decoupaged to give depth to the card and then mounted on Spellbinders Ovals. It's quite a simple card but I think the colours are just right for the challenge.
Take care, have a lovely weekend and I hope to be back with you soon x

Kimono Card

Good morning all, I hope that you've all had a wonderful weekend so far and that the sun shines for you today.
I'm here today with a card that I've made for Ruby's Rainbow card challenge and their theme is 'Asian.'

I used a clear embossing pad to stamp the kimono stamp onto black card and then heat embossed it using a gold glitter embossing powder.  I then cut out the image and mounted it on to red card to give a good contrast. Unfortunately, I'm not sure who the stamp is by as I bought it as part of a job lot on eBay a long time ago. I've kept the card in red, black and gold to give an Asian feel.
Enjoy the rest of the day and I'll be back later in the week to share the card with you that I've made for our Granddaughter's 1st birthday :)