SHC - Magical Day ....

..... Morning! I can't quite believe we've reached the last week of January, this month is flying by!! Anyway, it's time for my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. Today I'm sharing a bold, floral birthday card:

Stamps: Altenew - Hello Hydrangea, Striped Circle, Birthday Builder

Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Memento - Angel Pink

Dies: Altenew - Hello Hydrangea, Featured Sentiments

Accessories: White Card; Kaisercraft DP - A Touch of Gold; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder 

I'm submitting this card to Festive Friday Challenge - FF#0076. This is a new to me challenge. To take part you have to use at least three items from the inspiration list they provide - I've used flowers, gold, foil paper and red.

I adore hydrangeas and just had to get this new stamp set from Altenew. The flower is BIG - it pretty much covers the front of my 6¼" x 4½" card. I used my MISTI to stamp the flower. I stamped it, removed it from the MISTI, coloured with Copic markers, restamped with Versafine black ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I love the clean, crisp finish you get with this technique. I used the matching die to cut out the flower. In my stash I found this super dotty gold foiled paper and used that to cover the card, I edged it with a red marker before attaching it to the card. The sentiment come from Striped Circle. I stamped the two parts in black ink and used a die to cut out the smaller words, and fussy cut out the word 'magical'. On the inside, I used another piece of design paper for the mat layer and on the white card I stamped the hydrangea in soft pink and added a bold birthday greeting in black.

That's it from me today - thanks so much for stopping by and leaving comments, I really do appreciate you taking the time. See you soon.

A Twofer Flowers ....

... Good evening! It's been a bit of a day here in Northop Hall. I woke early to see falling snow - not too much, but we're really not geared up to handle snow in the UK. I did a quick trip to Tesco for the weekly groceries, and I've spent the rest of the day working in my craft room. I've made a couple of cards for the current Twofer Card Challenge - TCC#34 where Darnell wants to see us use Flowers:

Stamps: Dare 2B Artzy - Flowers for Mom, Blissful Blossom; MFT - Whimsical Greeting

Inks: Hero Arts - Unicorn; Versafine Claire - Nocturne; Versafine - Onyx Black

Dies: Dare 2B Artzy - Joyful Flowers D42; Lil Inkers - Dual Dotted Rectangles #5

Accessories: White & Black Card; Dare 2B Artzy DP - Fields of Joy; Copic Markers; Sakura Stardust Pens; Clear Embossing Powder

I'm so pleased to play along with the Twofer challenge, I always have good intentions, but run out of time. I've had the D2BA design paper, matching stamps and dies for quite some time and it's the first time I've used them, so I'm going to submit them to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#22. I'm also submitting the cards to Dare 2B Artzy - D2BA#01 where the January challenge is Anything Goes.

I started by making the Mother's Day card. I used the D2BA die to cut out the flower from the design paper. I cut out several flowers. I used a large dotty rectangle die to cut some design paper to cover the card. I cut a couple of plain white rectangles, rounded the corners and on one I stamped the greeting and some outline flowers, on the other I adhered the die cut flower. I adhered them both to the front of the card. On the inside, I cut another piece of the design paper for the mat layer. On the white panel I stamped a lovely greeting and added another of the die cut flowers to the corner. I'm submitting this card to Just Add Ink - JAI#538 as I used their sketch for the layout of the card.

My next card is a clean, simple birthday card. This time I stamped the flower image on white card, coloured it with Copic markers, restamped with Versafine black ink, heat embossed with clear powder and cut it out with the matching die. I added some sparkle to the flower with Sakura Stardust pens. I cut a strip of black card onto which I stamped a birthday greeting in white ink and embossed this with clear powder. On the inside, I kept it simple with a greeting in black and added one of the die cut design paper flowers. I'm submitting this card to CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#402 - I used their colours, and to The Flower Challenge - TFC#52 where they want us to use Embossing (heat or dry).

I had lots of fun making these cards - same materials, but looking so different. Here are large versions of each card.

Before I go, here are all the challenge graphics:

It stopped snowing earlier this afternoon and the sun came out, so some has melted, but it's going to be cold tonight, so I expect it's going to freeze!! Ugh! Oh well, it means I'll play again tomorrow. Bye for now.

SHC - Going Dotty ....

.... Hello and good morning! I'm here with my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. I've been playing with my new Altenew stamps and dies (I went very slightly mad when the new release came out). I'll start with a card that Kat has nicked to send to her best friend.

Stamps: Altenew - Friends Forever, Dots & Boxes

Inks: Kaleidacolor - Cappucino Delight

Dies: Altenew - Friends Forever

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake; Copic Markers; Kaisercraft DP - Curiosity; Nuvo - Midas Aquashimmer Brush

I'm submitting this card to Cardz 4 Galz - C4Glz#138 where they want to see cards that feature Cocktails, Wine or Coffee; mine's got coffee! What else??

I used kraft card to make the card base. Next I stamped the large dotty grid background using a Kaleidacolor inkpad. I slightly offset the image to the upper right, to give a narrow clear border. Next I stamped the large coffee mug onto white card, I cut it out with the matching die. I stamped the mug band part again on a scrap of design paper, cut it out and adhered it to the mug. I stamped one of straws, the hearts and the outline BFF letters onto white card, used Copics to colour them, and cut them out with the matching dies. I adhered the coffee mug and straw to the left of the card front and added the letters at the bottom. I used a golden tone aquashimmer brush to add sparkle to the hearts and letters. On the inside of the card, I cut a panel of white card slightly smaller then the base. I stamped one of the sentiments from Friends Forever, added another coffee mug, edged the panel with an orange marker and adhered it to the card base.

My next card is a masculine birthday card:

Stamps: Altenew - Dots & Boxes; Mama Elephant - Birthday Messages

Inks: Memento - Paris Dusk; Stampin' Up! - Night of Navy, Soft Suede; Gina K - Sandy Beach

Dies: Altenew - Burlap Texture; Concord & 9th - Birthday

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake, Night of Navy; Nuvo - Midas Aquashimmer Brush; Glossy Accents

I'm submitting this card to Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#54 where it's always Anything Goes, and to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#01.

I stamped the dotty grid background in navy on a craft card base. Next, I used the burlap die to cut a navy panel for the centre of the card. I decided not to have any stamping on the front of this card, so I made the greeting with an older Concord & 9th die set. I die cut the words 'Happy Birthday' and the banner several times. I layered up the letters and word to give dimension and adhered them on top of the burlap panel. I added a couple of birthday banners to the top of the card and finished by adding sparkle with a gold shimmer brush. I also added some glossy accents to the word 'birthday'. On the inside, I cut a panel of white card onto which I stamped the dotty background, this time in a soft kraft colour. I finished with a sweet little birthday greeting in navy.

You can actually see the gold shimmer in these photos.

Well, that's all from me today. Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comments, they are always much appreciated. Take care and be safe.

Snowy Birthday ....

... Hello! I've got into a bad habit of not making enough cards and then having to rush to make them when I need one. So today, I'm sharing a snowy birthday card - I've lots of birthdays in the months from November to February - so this is perfect for my stash.

Stamps: MFT - Simply Snowflakes, Sassy Pants Birthday Greetings 2, Bitty Birthday Wishes

Inks: Stampin' Up! - Balmy Blue; Gina K - Powder Blue; Memento - Summer Sky, Paris Dusk; Hero Arts - Unicorn

Dies: MFT - Stylish Snowflakes

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Night of Navy, Balmy Blue; Holographic Card; Gem

I'm submitting this card to Just Us Girls - JUGS#567 (use blues), Fusion - FUSION#0121 (I used the sketch), and Cardz 4 Guyz - C4G#262 (where it's Let it Snow).

I randomly stamped some snowflake images on the background using three shades of blue ink. I cut two thin strips of blue card and stamped a birthday greeting in white on the navy strip. I adhered them flat to the card. I finished the front by die-cutting a silver holographic snowflake, adhered it to the blue strips and added a simple blue gem in the centre. I used the sketch from Fusion for the card. On the inside, I cut a panel of blue card for the mat layer and on the white layer added a fun birthday greeting in dark blue, along with several more blue snowflakes.

That was fun! I think I'm going to spend a bit more time today making a few more, much needed, birthday cards for my stash. That's all for now. See you again soon.

C24C - White on White ....

.... Morning! Well, you really enjoyed our Anything Goes challenge. It's time for our new challenge at Christmas 24 Challenge - C24C#26. We want to see your Christmas creations - the theme is WHITE ON WHITE NO OTHER COLOURS, apart from black for your sentiments. Here's my card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Magnolia Wreath; Colorado Craft Company - Frosty's Hat

Inks: Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black; Gina K - Lipstick; Stampin' Up! - Soft Sea Foam

Dies: Concord & 9th - Magnolia Wreath

Accessories: White Card; White Gloss Card; Clear, White and Kaleidoscope Embossing Powders; Cuttlebug Embossing Folder - Winter Wonderland; White Ribbon

I'm submitting this card to Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog - MLCCB#30 where it's Anything Christmas goes.

I find White on White a real challenge, but then that's why we do this!! For me, it's important that there are lots of different textures on this type of card. I started by embossing a piece of white card with some lovely big snowflakes (it's been ages since I've used my embossing folders). Next, I stamped the large magnolia wreath in Versamark on white card and heat embossed with white powder. I stamped the next layer in Versamark and heat embossed with kaleidoscope embossing powder for some sparkle. I used the matching die to cut out the wreath. In the stamp set there is a leaf branch which I stamped four times in Versamark, embossed two with white powder and two with kaleidoscope powder. I used the matching die to cut out these leaves. I adhered these branches to the wreath, wrapped some white ribbon round the wreath and attached it to the embossed panel. I then adhered the whole panel to the front of a card. I cut lots of little branches and berries from white gloss card and added them to the wreath. I finished the front by stamping the greeting in bold black, heat embossing with clear powder and fussy cutting the sentiments out. I used dimensional pads to attach them to the front of the card. On the inside, I cut a white panel and added a Christmas greeting. I also stamped the leaf branch in soft green and added some red berries.

I'm really pleased how this turned out. I don't think I'll be mailing this card though, there is quite a bit of dimension, so this will be hand delivered!

Don't forget to visit Christmas 24 Challenge to see more lovely white on white cards from the rest of the design team. That's all from me today. See you again soon.

Speedy Recovery ....

... Good morning! I really should make sure I have enough get well/speedy recovery cards in my stash. My great-nephew was born with club feet and had to have surgery yesterday to fix them. I made this card specially for him - I think it's cute and I think he'll find it's funny:

Stamps: Lawn Fawn - On the Mend

Inks: Gina K - Soft Stone; Versafine - Onyx Black

Accessories: White Card; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder; Nuvo - Clear Aquashimmer

I'm submitting this card to Color Throwdown - CTD#625 (love these bold, bright colours), Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#396 where they want us to make our mark, and to CAS on Friday - CASOF#196 where the theme is Feel Better.

I used my MISTI to stamp the background of cute little plasters in a soft grey. I then stamped several more on white card, coloured them with Copic Markers, put them back in the MISTI and restamped with Versafine ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I then carefully cut them out. I edged each smiley plaster with a black marker pen. I adhered three plasters to the front of the card and added sparkle to each one - which, for a change, you can see in the photo above. I finished the front with a strip of white card, edged it with a black marker and stamped a greeting and adhered flat to the card. On the inside, I cut a panel of white card, edged it with black and stamped another message along with a cute little tortoise.

Nico-Lewis (guess his parents favourite sport 😊) should be going home today (provided there are no problems. He'll have a huge plaster on for at least two weeks, but hopefully after that things will improve a lot. Provided the Covid-19 vaccination programme goes well, we might be able to see him this year!!

I used a spare plaster on the envelope:

That's all from me today. See you all soon.

SHC - Birthday cards ....

... Hello, I'm typing this post in advance (actually on Saturday 9th). It's a glorious day, the sun's shining, the snow's melting and I've been playing in my craft room - as I said perfect!! I'm here with my weekly post for Seven Hills Crafts. I've made a couple of much needed birthday cards for my stash. Here's my first card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Snail Mail, Cuddles & Hugs; Altenew - Geo Frames

Inks: Gina K - Soft Stone, Red Velvet; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Altenew - Geo Frames

Accessories: White & Black Card; Concord & 9th - Retro Petals Turnabout Stencils Pack

I'm submitting this card to AAA Birthday - AAAB#21 where they want use to use a Stencil Background, to Just Us Girls - JUGS#566 where they want us to use a stencil, and to Color Hues - CH#09.

 

I started by making the stencil background. I used a Concord & 9th turnabout stencil, inking alternate diagonal rows in red and grey, and repeating the process to give a finished panel of diagonal red and grey stripes. I cut the panel to fit the front of an A2 card. I used a die to cut a white rectangle and added a black frame from the matching stamp set. Then I had fun playing with the super Snail Mail stamp set. I used several of the word stamps to build up the message in the rectangle and finished by adding the cute snail. I stamped the snail on white card and fussy cut it out. On the inside, I simply cut a panel of white card, stamped a birthday greeting and added another snail along with a snail trail!

I was having such fun with the Snail Mail stamp set that I decided to decorate the envelope too:

My next card uses the strip of left over stencil background.

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Cuddles & Hugs

Inks: Gina K - Soft Stone, Red Velvet; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White Card; Concord & 9th - Retro Petals Turnabout Stencils Pack

I'm submitting this card to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#22. I've had both the stencil pack and Cuddle & Hugs for a long while, but this is the first time they've been used for cards!! My bad!

I used my MISTI to stamp the big, bold word 'hugs'. I stamped it a couple of times to make sure that the image was really black and crisp. Next, I edged the left over stripe of card with a black marker pen and adhered it flat to the card. I repositioned the card in the MISTI and stamped the word 'hugs' again to make it show on the strip. On the inside, I simply stamped the rest of the greeting and added some softly stencilled petal pattern.

That's all from me today. See you again next week. Keep safe.