SHC - Hang in There

.... Morning. It's time for my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. This week I have an ultra clean, simple card to share with you:

Stamps: The Stamping Village - Thinking of You

Inks: Gina K - Sea Glass, Blue Lagoon; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Memento - Tuxedo Black

Accessories: White Card; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to The Paper Players - PP#579 where they want a clean, simple card celebrating wildlife. I'm also playing along with Sunday Stamps Challenge - SSC#277 where they have a colour challenge. Finally, I'm joining in with AAA Cards - AAA#209 where they want us to use 1/9th of the card and an animal.

I masked off the central area of the card and blended two shades of blue ink to create a 'sky'. I stamped the sloth image directly onto the panel and again on a scrap of white card. I coloured the image on white card with Copic markers. I carefully fussy cut out the image, ran a black marker around the edge and then adhered it to the card. I decided not to add a sentiment on the front, but instead add the message inside - 'hang in there'. There's lots of space for my own message.

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

SHC - Lots of Love

.... Morning! It's time for my Seven Hills Craft blog post. This week I have a Valentine's Day card to share with you. I completely forgot all about Valentine's Day, so last Monday, while Jonathan was busy working downstairs I made a card for him:

Stamps: C&9 - Big On You, Say Thanks Turnabout

Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black

Dies: C&9 - Big On You, Say Thanks; Stitched Hearts Card Front Die

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Bermuda Bay, Mint Macron, So Saffron; Clear Embossing Powder; Nuvo - Clear Aquashimmer Brush

I'm submitting this card to The Paper Players - PP#578 where they have a colour challenge. Also to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#02, and to Cardz 4 Guyz - C4G#289 where the theme is love cards.

I made an A2 note card from dark aqua cardstock. I used the stitched hearts die to make pretty stitched hearts on pale aqua card. I trimmed the panel to size and adhered it to the note card. I stamped a bold 'love you' greeting in black on soft yellow card, heat embossed with clear powder and used the matching die to cut it out. I also cut out a large white speech bubble which I added to the card with dimensional tape. I adhered the 'love you' sentiment on top along with a smaller speech bubble and a tiny heart. I finished the front by adding lots of clear shimmer to the hearts. Inside the card, I cut a piece of white card small than the base. I stamped a small greeting and added another speech bubble and heart.

For a change you can actually see the shimmer in the hearts! I'm so pleased how this card turned out - it wasn't planned. I just happened to have the various stamp sets on my desk and realised I could make super Valentine card - clean, simple and fun.

Thanks for stopping by. That's all from me today. See you soon.

SHC - Box of Thanks

.... Morning! I'm here with my Seven Hills Craft blog post. This week I have something a bit different. I made a gift box containing eight thank you cards. This is a gift for my mum who is having a mastectomy tomorrow. I know that she'll have lots of flowers and cards, and I thought it would be nice for her to have some thank you cards ready to use. 

Stamps: Altenew - Illusion Diamond; C&9 - Big on You, So Happy for You, Polka Dot Turnabout, Petals & Pallets, All the Thanks

Inks: Gina K - Lipstick, Passionate Pink, Sweet Mango, Wild Dandelion, Lucky Clover, Powder Blue, Blue Lagoon, Wild Lilac, Soft Stone; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: The Greetery - Stationery Box; C&9 - Say Thanks

Accessories: White Card; Clear Embossing Powder; Basic Grey - Magnetic Disk Closures

I'm submitting this project to Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#66 where it is always Anything Goes. I'm also playing along with Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#02. The box was made with dies and there is a die cut thanks greeting on two of the cards too.

The box is so easy to make - full details are on the Seven Hills Craft blog - I think my finished box is very pretty and very elegant.

I had so much fun making this box - I can see me using the dies a lot more - such a nice way to give a gift of cards.

That's all from me today - I'll be back soon. Take care and keep safe.

Uniko 10th Birthday Celebrations

... I'm am delighted to join Bev and the DT to celebrate Uniko's 10th Birthday. 

As a Uniko Alumni I was asked to go through my makes and find one to CASE using newer products. I had such fun going through my old Uniko makes. This is the card I made with the new products:

Stamps: Uniko - Season of Beauty, Simply Said Birthday, Birthday Wishes

Inks: Gina K - Dusty Rose, Soft Stone, Stormy Sky, Slate

Accessories: White Card; Nuvo - Clear Aqua Shimmer Brush; Copics; Taylored Expressions - Rectangle Masking Stencil

I picked a card that I'd made for a Uniko Challenge in June 2016 - it was a baby card:

I liked the simplicity of this card. For my new card I changed the theme from baby congratulations to a birthday card. I also changed to a landscape layout. I kept the stamped and inked rectangle in the middle of the card and I kept the added element to the side. I decided to skip the sequins on my new card.

I used mask stencil to create the centre panel. I stamped the large outline flower and dots in grey ink and stamped the leaf images in pink ink. While I had the mask in place I lightly blended pink ink to define the rectangle. I stamped the birthday greeting below the rectangle. I used my MISTI to stamp the layered flower (which is actually a poinsettia). I added extra detail to the flower with Copic markers. I then fussy cut the flower and added it to the card with dimensional tape. I added some sparkle to the flower with a clear aqua shimmer brush - sadly you can't see the shimmer in the picture above, but it is so pretty in real-life. Inside the card I stamped a birthday greeting - first in pink, and then again in dark grey.

I'm submitting this card to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#35 - as this is the first time I've used the gorgeous Season of Beauty stamp set. 

While I had the stamps on my desk I decided to make another birthday card loosely based on the baby card. This is the card I made:

Stamps: Uniko - Season of Beauty, Birthday Wishes

Inks: Gina K - Innocent Pink, Peach Bellini, Sweet Corn, Slate

Accessories: White Card; Nuvo - Clear Aqua Shimmer Brush; Copics; Taylored Expressions - Oval Masking Stencil

This time I retained the portrait layout. I changed from a rectangle to oval centre. I used an oval mask and blended three inks to create an ombre oval. I removed the mask and stamped the silhouette branches in dark grey, along with a birthday greeting inside the oval. I stamped another of the layered flowers, cut it out and adhered it to the card with dimensional pads. I added lots of sparkle to the flower with a clear aqua shimmer brush. Inside the card, I stamped a large birthday greeting and the smaller silhouette branch in peach ink.

I did manage to get a photo of the sparkle on the flower - I've darkened it so that you can see (almost) the shimmer:

It is a real pleasure to join Bev and the DT to celebrate Uniko's 10th birthday. I was lucky enough to be a member of Bev's design team from December 2014 until December 2018, but I was a fan of her products before I joined the team. I think the first stamps I bought were The Hands of Time; Today, Tomorrow & Always Time; and Today, Tomorrow & Always Extra Time. And these stamps still come out to play. 

That's all from me today - thank you so much for stopping by. See you again soon. Don't forget to visit Bev's blog and join the fun.

SHC - Illusion Diamonds

.... Good morning! I'm here with my Seven Hills Craft blog post. I've made a couple of birthday cards and a Hello card - they all feature a new stamp set from Altenew - Illusion Diamond - it's fab! Here's my first card:

Stamps: Altenew - Illusion Diamond, Note for You, Enchanting Beauty, Just a Number

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Paradise Blue; Gina K - Blue Lagoon, Wild Wisteria, Powder Blue

Dies: Altenew - Enchanting Beauty; Gina K - Master Layouts 1

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Balmy Blue; Blue Mirri Card; Vellum

I'm submitting this card to Darnell's Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#35 - it's all new to me!! 

I used my MISTI to stamp this lovely diamond panel onto white card. I used a brayer to roll on three shades of blue ink for a blended look. I used a die to cut out the panel and added a birthday greeting at the top. I really like the elegant font used and it goes so well with the diamond pattern. I layered the panel onto blue mirri card and added it all to a blue A2 note card. I finished the front by stamping a beautiful leaf frond onto vellum. I dried the ink and once dry, used the matching die to cut out the image and adhered it to the front of the card. Inside, I cut a panel of white card onto which I stamped the leaf front and a birthday greeting. This card is for my aunt - she'll be 70 at the end of the month.

I used Distress reinkers on my next card:

Stamps: Altenew - Illusion Diamond, Note for You, Just a Number

Inks: Versamark; Kaleidacolor - Pastel; Distress Reinkers - Festive Berries, Carved Pumpkin, Mustard Seed, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean

Dies: Altenew - All About Wishes

Accessories: White & Black Card; Tim Holtz Water Colour Card; Nuvo Clear Aqua Shimmer Brush; Gems; White Embossing Powder; Frosty Spritz

I'm submitting this card to The Paper Players - PP#576 where they have a Tic-Tac-Toe board to play along with. I've used the top row - rainbow, sparkle, die cut. I'm also playing along with Happy Little Stampers Watercolour Challenge - HLSWC#02 where it is anything goes.

This time I stamped the diamond panel in Versamark ink onto water colour card. I heat embossed the image with white embossing powder. To reveal the pattern, I added drops of Distress reinkers along the side of the pattern and spritzed, liberally, with water and allowed the inks to run and blend. I love the effect this gives. I adhered the dry panel to a piece of black card and added it all to the front of an A2 note card. I finished the front by die cutting a birthday greeting from black card and added lots of little aurora gems. I used a clear aqua shimmer brush to go over the die cut words and finally spritzed a clear sparkle spray over the whole panel. Sadly, you can't see the effect in the photo - but it's so pretty in real-life. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel, I stamped a simple greeting and added a row of dots to match the colour of the front of the card.

My final card is a 'Hello' card:

Stamps: Altenew - Illusion Diamond, Note for You

Inks: Kaleidacolor - Pastel; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: C&9 - Everyday Sayings; Gina K - Master Layouts 1

Accessories: White & Black Card

I used a multicolor ink pad for this card and used a brayer to apply colour to the stamp. As I used a MISTI for stamping, I was able to stamp the image several times to build up the depth of colour. I used a die to cut the panel to size. I then die cut the large 'hello' from the centre of the panel. I adhered this panel to a black mat layer and added it to the front of the card. I also die cut two further plain black 'hello' dies and layered them together with the diamond pattern image on top. I used the in-laid die technique to add the die back into the card. I like the way this allows the pattern to star, but you can still see the greeting. Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I stamped a simple greeting and added a row of coloured dots.

That's all from me today. Thanks for stopping by. See you again soon.