Halloween Birthday

... Good morning!! I'm on a bit of a roll! I'm here to share a birthday card with you. Ben, my son, asked me to make a birthday card for a friend of his - the fun it is that her birthday is on 31 October - a genuine Halloween birthday. Ben wanted a cute Halloween card, and this is what I made:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - Boo and Friends, Peek a Boo Sentiments; Lawn Fawn - Simply Celebrate Fall; Avery Elle - Inside Birthday Greetings

Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx, In the Navy, Blue Denim, Dark Orchid, Passionate Pink, Tangerine Twist; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Versmark

Dies: Gina K - Master Layout 8; WMS - Witch; Lawn Fawn - Simply Celebrate Fall

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Tangelo Twist; Sheer Shimmer Spritz - Frost; Copics; White & Clear Embossing Powder; Gansai Tambi Opal Paints - #634 Pink, #695 - Gold, #663 - Blue; Nuvo - Clear Aquashimmer Brush

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Birthday Challenge - HLSBC#10 where it's always anything goes.

I decided to make a 5" x 7" card to give the cute witch ghost plenty of room to fly!! I made the cardbase from orange cardstock. I created the night sky by blending Gina K inks - they blend beautifully and dry to a lovely smooth finish. I used a stitch edge die to cut out the panel and added some 'stars' by splattering shimmer paints onto the background. Once dry, I added a bit more shimmer with a frosty shimmer spray all over. Sadly, Waltzingmouse Stamps closed up shop some years ago, but they are still among my most favourite stamps sets. I love this cute witch ghost. I used my Misti to stamp her on white card, removed the image and coloured with Copic markers. I returned the image to the MISTI, restamped and heat embossed with clear powder. I used the matching die to cut out the image. As you can never have too much shimmer on a card, I added some clear shimmer to the ghost with a clear aquashimmer brush. I also stamped a row of cute pumpkins, coloured with Copics and cut out with the matching die. I adhered the images to the panel and finished by stamping a fun, pun sentiment in Versamark ink and heat embossed with white powder. I adhered the whole panel to the front of the 5" x 7" notecard. Inside I kept things simple. I edged the white panel with a dark grey marker, stamped a birthday greeting in bright orange ink and added a fun greeting below. I finished by adding some small stars.

You can't see the shimmer in the photo above, so I took a close-up to try and show it - not entirely successful, but you can see the blue and pink 'stars'.

That's all from me today. I'm so pleased to be back making cards. Which is fortunate, as I've got lots of Christmas cards to make, so I'd better get started on them soon. See you soon.

Belated Birthday Card

... Good morning!! It's been a while - my creative mojo has been AWOL!! However, it finally came back last weekend and I made Kat's birthday card. This card is very late - Kat was 22 years old in September, but I was away at a creative weekend at Art from the Heart in Harrogate, so I sent a - shock horror - shop bought card. It wasn't good enough and Kat insisted I make her a card - so it's taken a while, but here it it at last:

Stamps: Waffle Flower - Postage Collage, Postage Collage Fall; Mama Elephant - Inside Birthday Wishes; Avery Elle - Handwritten Notes

Inks: Gina K - Lipstick; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Waffle Flower - Postage Collage Die

Accessories: White & Red Card; Various Images from Internet; Gina K Stencil - Fizzy

I'm submitting this card to Seize the Birthday - STB#270 where they use one die cut and use it multiple times, and to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#55 - the Waffle Flower postage die and associated stamps.

This is a large card - 8" square. I used the postage collage die to cut out three sets of 'stamps'. Instead of using the matching stencils (I'll be using them soon) I found images of various pop stars and groups  that Kat enjoys. I sized the images to fit the 'stamps', cut them out and adhered them to the 'stamps'. There two 'stamps' on the card that feature Kat with the group New Year's Day - one of her favourite bands. Kat is a huge Taylor Swift fan now, so most of the images on the front feature Taylor. I added some postage details with the matching stamps. I used a stencil to add some interest to the front of the card. I opted for the colour red - a title of one of Taylor's albums, and featured the number 22 - a title of one of Taylor's songs. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of red card and on the white panel I stamped a birthday greeting, added a verse and a couple more 'stamps'.

I had so much fun making this card. I love the postage collage die and will be using it to make some Christmas and Halloween cards soon - the co-ordinating stencils are adorable. Before I go, here's a picture of our beautiful daughter - Kat:

That's all for today. See you soon. Bye for now.

Sympathy Cards

.... Hello again! Yesterday I shared some sympathy cards I've had to make. Today, I'm sharing some more. This is the first:

Stamps: MFT - Deepest Sympathy; Gina K - Fancy Feathers

Inks: Gina K - Lovely Lavender, Ocean Mist, Soft Stone; Versafine Claire - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Fancy Feathers, Master Layouts 8, Lots of Dots

Accessories: White & Black Card; SU Card - Smoky Slate; Silver Satin Mirri Card

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#09.

This card was inspired by the card Gina K made in a five minute video using the Fancy Feathers die. I changed up the colours, the feather used, the direction of the dots and the stamps used. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I stamped two of the smaller feathers and added a simple greeting in black.

This is the second:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - Fine Feathers; Waffle Flower - With Sympathy Duo

Inks: Gina K - Lovely Lavender, Ocean Mist, Stormy Sky; Versafine Claire - Nocturne

Dies: WMS - Fine Feathers

Accessories: White & Grey Card; Gina K Stencil - Lush Leaves; Silver Thread; Crystal Gem; Copic Marker

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stamper Stencil Challenge - HLSSC#09.

I started by stencilling a background pattern onto white card - I simply used the ink left over on the brushes. I trimmed the panel to size and added a black border to the top and bottom with a black Copic marker. I stamped the message in black ink and added some wings below with a tiny gem in the middle. I finished the front by adding two feathers - one stamped in blue and one in lilac. The stamp set and dies from WMS are both discontinued. For the inside, I cut a piece of white card which I edge with a black marker. I then stamped a simple message and added another of the feathers to the corner of the panel.

And this is the final card:

Stamps: Gina K - Bold Bloom, So Many Sentiments; WMS - Frame It

Inks: Versafine Claire - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Master Layouts 2

Accessories: White & Black Card; Copic Markers; Sakura Stardust Pens

I'm submitting this card to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#54 - this is the first time I've used that beautiful flower.

I used my MISTI to stamp the image on white card, removed it and coloured it with Copic markers. I returned the image to the MISTI and restamped with Versafine Claire Nocturne ink - such a deep black. I used a stitched edge die to cut out the image, stamped a sentiment below, adhered it to a black mat and glued it to the front of an A2 (US size) white note card. I added a touch of sparkle to parts of the flowers and leaves with Sakura Stardust pens. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I stamped a simple sentiment and added the flower in the corner.

I mentioned yesterday, that these have been the hardest cards I've had to make. They were all for my family. My lovely cousin, Neil, died on Monday 18 September - he was only 57 years old. 

Neil was such kind man and much loved by all the family. Neil's passing has left a huge hole in our hearts.

A Trio of Sympathy Cards

... Good morning! The cards I'm sharing this morning are amongst the hardest I've ever had to make. I used a technique that Gina K demonstrated last week - to use paper, stamps, and card. Here are the cards I made:

Stamps: Altenew - Dot Botanicals; Waffle Flower - With Sympathy Duo; Gina K - Sympathy & Love

Inks: Gina K - Fresh Asparagus, Black Onyx; Versafine Claire - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Master Layouts 2

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Soft Sea Foam, Pear Pizzazz, Gumball Green

I'm submitting these cards to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#54 - I've had the stamps for a while, but never used them!!

The technique that Gina showed us is brilliant. I picked three shades of green card and cut the strip to ½", although you could use more colours and have thinner or thicker strips. Once each panel was assembled and stamped with the message, I used a stitch edge die to cut out the panel and adhered each to a black mat layer and then added them to the front of an A2 (US size) side-opening white note card. On the inside of each card I cut a mat layer of green card and on the white panels I stamped the dot leaves in pale green and added different sympathy messages in black ink.

Two of these card have been sent to my cousins; their brother passed last week. And that's why these were so hard to make.

That's all for today. See you again tomorrow. 

Special Celebration

... Hello! Somehow this slipped through the net - I should have shared this card several months ago. I made it for one of my favourite craft designers - Dyan Reaveley. Dyan's 60th birthday was in March and I know that I'm safe to share it now. It's a tag card:

Normally I list all the products I use when making a card, but I used so many Dylusions products on this card that the list would be very long!! I used Dyan's inks, paints, stamps, stencils, collage, and words - it was a joy to make. I used Copic markers to colour some of the stamped images. I'm going to share this card to the Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#76, where the theme is always anything goes.

That's all from me today. The sun is shining, it's dry and warm. I'm going to take mum shopping. See you all soon.

80th Birthday Celebration

.... Hello, good morning!!! It's been almost two months since I posted on my blog - we've had a busy summer and, while I've not made many cards, I have been busy in my craft room doing a bit of reorganisation and working in my dyalogs. However, today, I'm sharing a couple of birthday cards that I made for my uncle Ian, who celebrated his 80th birthday last weekend. Here's the first card I made:

Stamps: Simon Hurley - Candles; Cas-ual Friday Stamps - Shenanigans

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Sweet Mango, Applemint, Key Lime, Jelly Bean Green, Grass Green, Christmas Pine; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Green Oasis

Dies: Stampin' Up! - Large Numbers

Accessories: White & Black Card; Glossy Black Card; Sakura Stardust Pens; Clear Embossing Powder; Simon Hurley - Layering Candles; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge - HLSSC#09 where is Anything Goes.

I used my MISTI to stamp the candles in Versafine black ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I added colour by ink blending through the matching layering stencils. I checked with my uncle to find out his favourite colour - green!! Yea, mine too!! I started at the top of the panel with light, bright greens and shaded down to darker greens at the bottom of the stencil. I used the next stencil to colour the flames. Next, I added sparkle to the candles and flames with Sakura Stardust pens in co-ordinating colour giving a subtle shimmer. I trimmed the panel to size, layered it onto a black mat layer and added the panel to the front of a 5¾" square white card. I cut the numbers from black glossy card and white card; I layered them together for dimension and stability and adhered them to the card. I finished the front with a bold sentiment stamped on white card. I used dimensional tape to add this to the card. Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel, I added a fun birthday greeting, stamped the candles at the bottom and coloured them with Copic markers. This is the card Jonathan and I gave to Ian.

Next up is the card that I made for my mum to give to Ian, her baby brother:

Stamps: Visible Image - Brother Definition; C&9 - Beautiful Words; Winnie & Walter - The Big, The Bold, and The Happy; Stampin' Up! - Made with Love; Uniko - Classic Numbers

Inks: Gina K - Powder Blue; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Versafine - Onyx Black

Dies: SU - Word Bubbles; Gina K - Today & Shadow

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Blueberry Bushel; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder; Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Happy Birthday

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#09.

There's a story behind the design of this card. Ian's, mum's brother, always teases her by calling her "his older sister". So, when I asked what she'd like on Ian's card - mum smiled and said "the words 'baby brother'". I went one step further by adding a cute blue babygro with the number 80 on the front 😁. I made the note card from dark blue cardstock. I used a very old, but perfect for the theme, embossing folder from Cuttlebug, I lightly inked the edge and glued it to the front of the note card. I stamped the babygro and number on white card, embossed with clear powder, coloured it with Copic markers and then fussy cut it out and glued it to the card. I die cut the word bubble from white card and made the sentiment by mixing words from several stamp sets. I finished the front by adding the die cut word 'today'. Inside, I cut a piece of white card onto which I stamp the brother definition - absolutely perfect. I kept the 'baby brother' theme going by adding a cute duck and teddy, along with a row of alphabet letters in pale blue ink.

I am happy to report that Ian thought that both cards were just brilliant. Mind, he wasn't too keen on the thought of 80 candles on his cake!!! This is the birthday cake that my aunt had made for him:

It was a good birthday party with all the family there to celebrate - including some very distant cousins that I hadn't seen in years!! 

That's all for now. I'm going to publish this post and then go down for a cool glass of water. The weather this week has been nuts!! July and August were not the best summer, and then the first week of September is blazing hot!! See you soon.

Our Graduate

.... Hello again! The first of the special family events taking place this week is our daughter's graduation tomorrow at the University of Nottingham. We are so proud of Kat - she's graduating with a 2.1 in Politics and American Studies. Here's the card we are giving her (it's safe to share now, as Kat doesn't look at my blog):

Stamps: Gina K - Hats Off; Dare 2B Artzy - Wise Owl, Graduation

Inks: Archival - Forget-Me-Not, Vibrant Fuchsia; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versafine Clair - Nocture; Gina K - Stormy Sky

Dies: Gina K - Master Layouts 8; Hats Off

Accessories: White & Black Card; Clear Embossing Powder; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to Addicted to Stamps and More - ATSM#450, and to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#07.

This is a large card measuring 5" x 7". I created the background panel by stamping the smaller mortar board image in blue and pink (the colours from the BA hood that Kat will be wearing). I used a die to cut out the panel and layered it onto a black mat panel and added it to the note card. I stamped the larger mortar board image in Versafine ink, embossed with clear powder and used the matching die to cut it out. I did the same for the scroll, and the word 'grad' - I coloured the letters with Copic markers. I also cut the die cut pieces in black card, which I used to give dimension to the pieces. I stamped a sentiment directly onto the background panel and adhered the die cuts. Inside, I cut a black mat layer, and on the white panel stamped a greeting along with 'class of 2023' and another mortar board.

Next is the card that I made for my mum to give to Kat:

Stamps: Dare 2B Artzy - Graduation; Gina K - Hats Off

Inks: Gina K - Lipstick, Tangerine Tango, Wild Dandelion, Lucky Clover, Turquoise Sea, Wild Wisteria, Passionate Pink; Versafine - Onyx Black

Dies: Gina K - MLO2

Accessories: White & Black Card; Gina K Stencil - Fizzy; Clear Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge - HLSSC#07.

I placed the stencil onto a US A2 card and blended a rainbow of inks across in a diagonal. I die cut a piece of white card onto which I stamped a number of images to make the greeting, this was embossed with clear powder and layered onto a black mat and added to the card. Inside, I cut a black mat layer and on the white panel stamped a bold greeting and a bright pink mortar board.

That's all for now. I'll share some photos from the graduation later on. Take care.

Diamond Wedding Anniversary

... Hello!! It's been quite sometime since I last posted on my blog. I've not been making many cards, instead I've been working in my art journals (will share some of them later). However, this week we have two big family celebrations. The second one is my in-laws 60th wedding anniversary - that's a heck of an achievement. We'll be getting together for a family dinner to celebrate. I've made two cards for them, the first is the one from Jonathan and me:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Number of Years; Lil' Inkers - It's Today, Right?

Inks: Delicata - Silvery Shimmer; Versafine Clair - Morning Mist

Dies: SU - Large Number Framelits

Accessories: White Card; Tim Holtz Alcohol Card - Silver Sparkle; TH Stencil - Sparkle THS132; Su Design Paper - Granite Grey

I'm submitting this card to CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#516 - I've flipped the sketch, and to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#07.

This came together so quickly. I placed the stencil onto the card and brushed on silver shimmer ink (sadly you can't see the shimmer in the photo, but it's pretty!). I trimmed a piece of the silver card to size and adhered it across the card. I die cut the numbers from silver card, and several from white card too. I layered the numbers together to give dimension and adhered them to the card. I finished by adding a simply greeting in grey ink. Inside the card, I cut a piece of design paper slightly smaller than the note card, and on the white card I added a greeting and cute couple. This card measure 6" x 4½".

Next is the card I made for my mum to give to Madeline and Simon, it's also a 6" x 4½" card:

Stamps: Lil' Inkers - It's Today, Right?; Avery Elle - Sentimental Too; Mama Elephant - Easy Sentiments

Inks: Delicata - Silvery Shimmer; Versafine Clair - Morning Mist

Dies: SU - Large Number Framelits

Accessories: White Card; SU DP - Granite Grey; TH Alcohol Card - Silver Sparkle; Gina K Stencil - Harvest Flourish; Taylored Expressions - 6 x 6 Masking Stencil - Oval

I'm submitting this card to Addicted to Stamps and More - ATSM#450, and to Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge - HLSSC#07.

I placed patterned stencil onto the card and added the oval mask stencil over the top. Then I inked with silvery shimmer ink. I die cut the number from silver and white card, layered them together and adhered them into the oval. I finished the front by adding a bold, simple greeting. Inside the card, I cut some design paper for the mat layer, and on the white panel I created the greeting from two different stamp sets. I like doing this. 

That's all for now. See you soon.