Birthday Wishes ....

... Hello, good afternoon!  After a wonderful Bank Holiday weekend we now have rain - it's still warm, but really damp!!  I'm here to share a birthday card:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - Alpine Christmas, Teeny Trees, USA 1776
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx, Innocent Pink, Sweet Mango, Red Velvet, Fresh Asparagus; Versafine Clair - Twilight, Morning Mist
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Nuvo Clear Aquashimmer Brush

A couple of days ago Kat asked me if I had an volcano stamps and sadly in my vast collection of stamps I didn't have a volcano, and I didn't have time to order one of the many cute volcano sets.  So, I checked through my catalogue and found some stamps from Waltzingmouse that I could use to create a volcano.  I stamped the mountains from Alpine Christmas in Versafine Clair ink. Then I masked the mountains and used the firework explosions from USA 1776 to make the exploding magma. I finished the card by adding some trees in the foreground and a simple birthday greeting.  On the inside, I kept it simple, just adding some more firework bursts.  I did add some sparkle to the "magma" with my clear aquashimmer brush, but you can't really see it in the photo.  And the reason for this request, Kat is going to a birthday party tonight and her friend loves volcanoes!!

I'm submitting this card to Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#166 where they want a one-layer card, and also to Seize the Birthday - STB#172 where they want birthday cards.

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post.  I've been busy spending time with the family.  Kat had her AS level results on 15th August, and I'm a very proud mum - she got 4 B grades.  This is excellent as Kat has coped with so much in the last year - a move from Michigan back to Northop Hall, settling back into the UK education system and making new friends - Kat is a star!  We had a long weekend in London to celebrate - such a fun time.  Work is continuing on the garage conversion. The new bathroom is going in, we've moved some plumbing and next week the underfloor electric heating goes in. Hopefully on a few more weeks and Mum can move into her new accommodation.

Anyway, that's all for now. 

Namaste ....

.... Morning! I was checking various challenges yesterday and was thrilled to see that my grunge musical guitarist was selected as one of the Top 3 cards over at Cardz for Guys. It was such a nice surprise as it's been a while!! Anyway, I was busy yesterday tidying some of my paperwork and late in the afternoon, I made this cute little card:

Stamps: Stampendous - Frog Yoga
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! DP - Pear Pizzazz; Scan 'N' Cut; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to The Paper Players - PP#454, to Happy Little Stamers CAS Challenge - HLSCAS#08, and to Time Out Challenge - TOC#141.

This is a mini card, measuring 5" × 3½", know as 4 bar in the US. I got this set of stamps just before we moved back to Wales. This is the first time it's seen ink!! I stamped two of the cute frogs onto white card, coloured them with Copic markers and used my Scan 'N' Cut to cut them out. I cut a panel of green design paper for the bottom of the card and for a mat layer inside. I stamped a simple greeting on the front and, on the inside, I added a fun sentiment and another frog.

That's all for now. I'm off to Mold with Mum - it's market day so there should be lost of goodies about. See you soon.

Edited to add:  Looks like I'm not the only one to think that these cute frogs work well for the Paper Players challenge.  Check out Dena's card - so cute!!

Floral Birthday ....

... Hi! It was another miserable day yesterday, so I made a card and worked on some paperwork. Here's the card I made:

Stamps: Uniko Birthday Wishes; Altenew - Exotic Tulips
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx, Lemon Drop, Sweet Corn, Wild Dandelion, Innocent Pink, Dusty Rose, Passionate Pink, Lovely Lavender, Wild Wisteria, Wild Lilac, Applemint, Lucky Clover; Distress - Spun Sugar, Mustard Seed
Dies: Altenew - Exotic Tulips
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Gina K Card - Innocent Pink; Uniko Stencil - Party Confetti

I've made several masculine style cards recently, so it was time to make something a little more feminine! One of my favourite flowers is the tulip and this new set from Altenew is just wonderful. It was fun layering the images and cutting them out with the matching dies. I used a stencil from Uniko to make a soft, fun, party background and then adhered the various tulips. I used some dimensional pads to attach the yellow tulip. I finished the front with a simple birthday greeting. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of pale pink card and on the white panel I added a greeting and finished off with another tulip.

I'm submitting this card to Colour Throwdown - CTD#555 where I got the colours, Seize the Birthday - STB#171 where the topping option is flowers, and finally to Uniko Studio - USC#54 where the theme is flowers with the option of using dies.

It's going to be a busy day here. Work is starting on the downstairs bathroom and work is continuing on Mum's new flat. We're hoping to see the designs for Mum's fitted bedroom furniture and her kitchenette. That's all for now. See you soon.

Relaxing ....

.... Hi! Yesterday was so weird! It poured with rain, the wind blew a gale and the sun came out - it felt more like autumn than summer. The positive was that I spent the afternoon in my craft room catching up with challenges. I made a fun card:

Stamps: Impression Obsession - Have a Seat
Inks: Gina K - Black Onyx
Dies: Die-namics - Fishtail Flags Layers Stax #1
Accessories: White Lustre Card; K-ology DP - Addison; Copic Markers

The theme at Time Out Challenges - TOC#141 is Relaxation. I think there is nothing more relaxing than sitting in a comfy armchair with a good book in front of a roaring fire. Well, there's no fire here at the moment, but I plan on that comfy chair and book later today. The layout is loosely based on last week's CAS(E) this Sketch - CTS#333 and the colours are from Global Design Project - GDP#201.

I had a rummage through my stamps and found this old set from Impression Obsession. I stamped the armchair on some old design paper and fussy cut it out. I used my Misti to stamp the large sentiment, coloured the letters with Copic markers and restamped it with bold black ink. I die cut two fishtail banners and added a couple of sentiments. On the inside I cut a white panel and added a border of the design paper to the edge. I finished with a simple word - Relax!!

It's been a quiet weekend - Kat went over to her friend's house yesterday for a movie session - all night! I have to pick her up later today. Mum has been watching her favourite animal/garden TV programmes and I've just been playing. Feels so good to be back.

Music Birthday .....

... Morning! I had planned to put up a project yesterday but I got busy sorting through paper work. I did have some time in the afternoon to make another, much needed, birthday card for my stash:

Stamps: Visible Image - Rock Out, Music Speaks; Uniko - A Gift for You
Inks: Distress - Dried Marmalade; Gina K - Turquoise Sea; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Gina K Card - Turquoise Sea; Clear Embossing Powder; Tim Holtz Stencil - Concerto (THS067); Turquoise Fountain Pen

I got the theme from Cardz 4 Guyz - C4G#225 where they want to see music related cards. The colours are from Less is More - LIM#401. CAS on Friday - CASOF#162 want us to use a stencil on our cards. And finally, this is a masculine birthday card, so I'm submitting it to The Male Room - TMR#117 for the birthday theme and also to AAA Birthday - AAAB#04 where they want cards for boys.

After masking the right side of the card, I stencilled the musical background using tangerine distress ink to form an ombre from dark to light. I used a turquoise fountain pen to ink in an aqua border. I stamped the grunge guitarist using Versafine ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I finished the front with a simple birthday greeting in aqua. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of aqua card. I stamped an oscillogram image at the bottom of the white panel. I left the rest blank for my own message.

That's all for now. We have a weather warning for high winds in North Wales, so I don't plan on going out. Perfect excuse to spend more time in my craft room - it's so nice to be back!!!

Happy Birthday .....

.... Morning!! Over the past year I've used up most of my card stash and I really need to make some new cards, especially birthday cards. Here's a fun card I made yesterday:

Stamps: Lawn Fawn - Stuck on You, So Much to Say; Newton's Nook - Cuppa Cactus
Inks: Distress Oxide - Victorian Velvet, Shabby Shutters, Twisted Citron, Crushed Olive, Mowed Lawn, Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Gina K - Black Onyx
Dies: Newton's Nook - Cuppa Cactus Dies
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU - Basic Black; BoBunny DP - Garden Party; Copic Markers; Nuvo - Aquashimmer Brush; Visible Image Stencil - Two Tone

I used several challenges to create this card. The theme of cacti comes from Cupcake Inspiration Challenge - CIC#475, from Your Next Stamp - YNS#119 I got the idea to add Lots of Squares, the layout is based on the sketch from last week's Paper Players - PP452 challenge. I'm also submitting this to AAA Birthday - AAAB#04 where they want birthday cards for boys.

I made the card base from black card. I cut a panel of white card onto which I stencilled lots of squares using several shades of green Distress Oxide inks. On the smaller white panel I stamped a number of different cacti using Distress Oxide inks; they blend so beautifully. On a scrap I stamped the cacti in cups, coloured them with Copic markers and cut them out with the matching dies. I used dimensional tape to add the cups to the card, you can see the dimension in the photo below. I used a scrap of design paper from my stash and finished by adding a simple, bold birthday sentiment. On the inside I cut a panel of white card and added another cactus. I left the panel blank for writing my own message.

That's all for today. I'm really enjoying being back in my craft room!! See you soon.

TMR - Birthday - 6 Years ....

.... Hello! I hope this is not too much of a shock. It's been a really long time since I've actually posted anything card related. I am thrilled and delighted to be Guest Designer at The Male Room - TMR#117 for this special birthday challenge. It is an honour to be joining the team to celebrate the challenge's 6th birthday. Here is my card:

Stamps: My Favourite Things - Gift Card Greetings, Bitty Birthday Wishes; Lawn Fawn - Simply Celebrate
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Blue Breeze; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Gina K - Black Onyx
Dies: Lawn Fawn - Simply Celebrate; Die-namics - Wonky Stitched Circles #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Blueberry Bushel; Copic Markers; Nuvo - Aqua Shimmer Brush

I used the sketch from Fab Friday - FABF#169 for the layout. I stamped the row of cute candle on white card, coloured them with Copic Markers, cut them out with the matching die, and added some sparkle with a clear aqua shimmer brush. I found the HB2U greeting on an old My Favourite Things set, stamped it with blue Kaleidacolor inks, and cut it out with a stitched edge circle die. I cut a panel of blue card and used foam tape to attach it for some depth. I finished the front by adding the stamped circle and the blue candles. On the inside I cut another panel of blue card, and on the white panel I stamped the row of candles in blue and finished with a simple, clean sentiment.

Moving back to the UK from Michigan, and all the renovation works going on in the house, has meant that it's almost exactly a year since I sat down to make a card. In fact, I need to restock my card stash. So I made another card - very similar to this one, just switching up the colour and the sentiment in the die cut circle:

Stamps: My Favourite Things - Birthday Sentiments, Bitty Birthday Wishes; Lawn Fawn - Simply Celebrate
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Fresh Greens; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Gina K - Black Onyx
Dies: Lawn Fawn - Simply Celebrate; Die-namics - Wonky Stitched Circles #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Wild Wasabi; Copic Markers; Nuvo - Aqua Shimmer Brush

I'm submitting this one to Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#37 where the theme is Anything Goes. I think I'm going to make a few more cards based on this layout, just switching up the colours.

I'd like to thank Jane for inviting me to join the design team and celebrate The Male Room's 6th Birthday. I had lots of fun making these cards, and it was just what I needed to get me back into my craft room. Do drop by and check out what the rest of the team have made.

That's all from me today, but now that I've started making cards - you'll start to see more regular posts. Bye for now.