SHC - Birthday Wreaths

.... Good Morning!! I can hardly believe it's already 1st June!! Time is flying by. It does mean, however, that it's time for my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. This week I've got three birthday cards to share with you. I've been doing the Spring Card Camp from Online Card Classes, and these cards are based on Laura Bassen's wreath technique. I'll start with the large square card:

Stamps: Altenew - Hello Sunshine, Beautiful Inside; C&9 - All the Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Key Lime, Sea Glass, Powder Blue, Lovely Lavender, Innocent Pink, Lipstick, Peach Bellini, Slate; Versafine - Onyx Black

Accessories: White & Black Card; Clear Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to The Paper Players - PP#593 where they have a tic-tac-toe grid - I've picked the diagonal - birthday, floral & circle. I'm also playing along with Fusion Card Challenge - FUSION#1122 - I've used the rainbow colours from the photo.

For all my cards I used my MISTI stamp position, although Laura says you can do this technique with blocks!! I cut a piece of white card 5¼" and drew diagonal, horizontal and vertical pencil lines on the card - with all lines crossing in the centre. I placed the card into the MISTI and put my first flower image on the top most vertical pencil line and stamped in yellow ink. I turned the card 90° and repeated the process, and continued until I had the horizontal and vertical flowers stamps. I returned the card to the MISTI with the yellow flower at the top, repositioned the flower image onto the diagonal pencil line between the yellow and teal flowers and stamped in lime green. I repeated the process above until I have a complete wreath. I repeated the process to add some more smaller star flowers. Next, I stamped a bold 'happy' in dark grey ink. I heat set all the ink before stamping the scripty 'birthday' in Versafine ink and heat embossing with clear powder. I adhered the finished panel to a black mat layer and added the whole lot to the front of a 5¾" square white card. Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I created a birthday greeting and finished by adding a couple of flowers.

My next card has a more masculine feel:

Stamps: Altenew - Parrot Paradise, Happy Dreams, Floral Sprig, Beautiful Inside

Inks: Gina K - Prickly Pear, Honey Mustard, Jelly Bean Green, Fresh Asparagus, Blue Lagoon; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White & Black Card

I'm submitting this card to Seize the Birthday - STB#239 - I'm playing along with the Anything Goes option.

I used the same technique as outline above, but this time I made an A2 side-opening card. I cut the white card to 3¼" × 4½", drew in the pencil lines and then picked leaves and darker colours for a masculine feel. I finished the front with a birthday greeting in black - love this font. I layered the panel onto a black mat and added to the front of the card. Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card and on the white panel stamped a birthday greeting and another fun leaf.

My final card is another rainbow card:

Stamps: Altenew - Beautiful Inside; C&9 - All the Birthdays, Lucky

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Key Lime, Sea Glass, Powder Blue, Lovely Lavender, Innocent Pink, Lipstick, Sweet Mango; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White & Black Card

I'm submitting this card to Less Is More - LIM#465 where they have a rainbow colour challenge.

I used the same technique as outline above. I kept this card reasonably simple - I picked a group of stars, stamped them in rainbow order and finished with a bold black birthday greeting. As before, inside has a black mat layer and a greeting and decoration on the white panel.

For me June is a busy birthday month and I realised that I'm almost out of birthday cards in my stash, so it's been good to make a few. I still need more!! That's all for today. See you again soon.

SHC - Autumn Leaves ...

... Morning! Surprise, I'm a day early with my Seven Hills Craft blog post - I swapped with Terri. I've got three autumn leaf cards to share with you today, all have the wonderful Triple Step Autumn Leaf from Concord and 9th. I'll start with a clean, simple, sympathy card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Triple Step Autumn Leaf; Altenew - Sweet Gingko, Beautiful Inside

Inks: Gina K - Dark Chocolate, Blue Lagoon, Honey Mustard, Kraft

Dies: C&9 - Triple Step Autumn Leaf

Accessories: SU Card - Naturals Ivory; Cream Card; Various card scraps

I'm submitting this card to Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#206 where the cue word is Leaf, and to The Paper Players - PP#559 where the challenge is clean and simple Fall Fun.

I got the idea for this card from the brilliant Jennifer McGuire where she showed how to make some super cards with this stamp set. To make the leaf I first put double-sided adhesive on a piece of white card and used the outline die to cut a white leaf. I then put the outline die and inside piece together and cut another leaf from white card. I removed all the little bits, took off the adhesive covering and placed the die-cut leaf on the sticky leaf. I then die cut the leaf from various bits of scrap card on my desk. Next it was simply a case of putting all the little bits from the coloured card into the white leaf. I layered the complete leaf on two more white die cut leaves. I used a brush to add some ink around the outside of the leaf. I made the note card from ivory card, adhered the leaf and finished with a simple sentiment. Inside the card, I cut a piece of cream card slightly smaller than the note card. I stamped a verse and added a leaf. 

As a result of making the card above, I had four die cut leaves left over, and I made a card with them:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Triple Step Autumn Leaf; Kids are Grand

Inks: Gina K - Dark Chocolate, Blue Lagoon, Honey Mustard, Kraft

Dies: C&9 - Triple Step Autumn Leaf

Accessories: SU Card - Naturals Ivory, More Mustard; White Card; Various card scraps

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

I used cream cardstock for the notecard. I adhered the four leaves to the card front, cut off the parts that hung over the edge, and used them to fill in the gaps. I finished the front with a simple greeting stamped on a strip of cream card. Inside, I cut a mat layer of mustard card. On the white panel, I stamped a birthday greeting and some falling autumn leaves.

My final card is clean, simple and rather sparkly!!

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Triple Step Autumn Leaf; Bold Butterflies, Harvest Wreath Turnabout

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Sweet Mango, Red Velvet; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: C&9 - Triple Step Autumn Leaf

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Riding Hood Red; Gems

I'm submitting this to Just Us Girls - JUGS#602 where they have a colour challenge.

This time, instead of using the die to cut out the pattern inside the leaf, I used the triple-step stamps. I layered the finished leaf on three more white leaves and adhered it to the front of a white card. I finished the front with a simple greeting and lots of pretty clear crystal gems. Inside, I cut a mat layer of red card. On the white panel I stamped a greeting and added a tiny butterfly coloured to match the leaf.

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

SHC - Christmas in July 3 ....

... Wow! Summer has finally arrived, it's been baking here in North Wales. And I've been continuing with my theme of Christmas in July for my Seven Hills Craft blog post. I have three more cards to share with you today. Here's the first:

Stamps: Altenew - Majestic Mistletoe, Beautiful Inside, Warm Blessings

Inks: Gina K - Innocent Pink, Dusty Rose, Key Lime, Jelly Bean Green, Grass Green, Christmas Pine; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: MFT - A2 Stitched Rectangle Stax Set 2 #9

Accessories: SU Card - Shaded Spruce; White Card

I'm submitting this card to Cardz 4 Galz - C4Glz#151 where the theme is Christmas in July - check!!

This card started out as a one-layer card. I used my MISTI to stamp the multi-layer mistletoe leaves in shades of green at the corners of the card. One of the leaves has spaces for berries, so I added them with pink inks. I then filled in the gaps with the smaller mistletoe leaf and some berry images in pink. I stamped the greeting in the centre of the card. I then decided to use a stitch edged die to cut out the panel and adhered it to the front of an A2 dark green note card. Inside the card, I used the stitch edge die to cut a piece of white card onto which I stamped a scripty greeting and a verse in black ink. I also added another small mistletoe leaf in green ink.

My next card is cleaner and simpler and has a non-traditional colour theme:

Stamps: Altenew - Majestic Mistletoe, Beautiful Inside, Warm Blessings; Concord & 9th - Mistletoe Messages

Inks: Gina K - Peach Bellini, Tangerine Twist, Sea Glass, Turquoise Sea, Tranquil Teal

Dies: Gina K - Master Layout 2

Accessories: SU Card - Bermuda Bay, Island Indigo; White Card

I'm submitting this card to Sunday Stamps Challenge - SSC#261 where they have these gorgeous colours, and to Less is More - LIM#447 where their theme is Christmas in July.

I used the MISTI to stamp the multi-layer mistletoe leaf and berries. I used shades of teal and orange for a non-traditional look. I used a stitch edged die to cut out the panel and adhered it to a mat layer of dark teal card. I finished the panel by stamping the word 'noel' in bright orange. I adhered the whole panel in the centre of a side opening A2 light teal card. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of dark teal card and on the white panel I stamped another mistletoe leaf, along with a scripty greeting and a verse in black ink.

My last card features a big bunch of mistletoe leaves:

Stamps: Altenew - Majestic Mistletoe, Beautiful Inside, Warm Blessings; Concord & 9th - Mistletoe Messages

Inks: Gina K - Dusty Rose, Red Velvet, Key Lime, Jelly Bean Green, Sea Glass, Ocean Mist; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: MFT - A2 Stitched Rectangle Stax Set 2 #9; C&9 Mistletoe Messages

Accessories: SU Card - Pool Party, Island Indigo; White Card; Vellum; C&9 - Summer Glitter Pack Lime Green; Red Glitter Card

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#07 - where the theme is Anything Goes.

I started by making a top folding A2 white note card. I stamped a selection of mistletoe leaves, berry branches and small poinsettia over the front to make my own background. I then used a stitch edged die to cut out a piece of vellum which I adhered over the front of the card. I used the large mistletoe leaf die to cut three pieces - dark teal, light aqua and lime green glitter card. I adhered these pieces to the front of the car. I finished the front by adding a red glitter bow and a greeting which I adhered with dimensional pads. Inside the card, I cut a piece of dark teal card for the mat layer and on the white panel I stamped a leaf and scripty greeting.

That's another three cards ready for Christmas. I'm really enjoying making these cards.

When this post goes live, we will be at the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. My mum loves flower shows and, as we're now back in the UK and things are opening up, we thought it would be a great day out. That's all for now. See you soon.

SHC - Winged Things and More ....

... Good Morning everyone! If you're in the UK I hope you all had a good Mother's Day. I'm here with my regular weekly post for Seven Hills Craft blog. Last I tried out Jennifer McGuire's Gel Plate Lift technique and I shared a couple of cards that I'd made. Well, I made lots of backgrounds and today's cards are all made from them. They mainly feature images from Colorado Craft Company's Big & Bold range of stamps, with other images from Altenew and Concord & 9th. For my first two cards I used the Big & Bold Honey Bee stamp set. I embossed the huge bee onto white card, emboosed with clear powder and used three shades of yellow ink to build up the background colour. I ended up with a darker positive image and softer negative image. My first card is bold and bright:

Stamps: Colorado Craft Company - Big & Bold Honey Bee; Concord & 9th - Beautiful Butterfly

Inks: Gina K - Lemon Drop, Wild Dandelion, Sweet Mango, Soft Stone; Versamark; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Basic Black; Clear Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to Love to Challenge Craft Blog - LTCCB#56 where the theme is Anything Goes.

My first card uses the positive image. I cut the panel to 4” x 5¾”. I added a simple sentiment from Concord & 9th’s Beautiful Butterfly in bold black ink. I layered the panel on black card and adhered the whole piece to a US A6 (6¼” x 4½”) card. Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I stamped the large honey bee in yellow ink, added some soft grey hexagons and finished with one of the sentiments from the Honey Bee stamp set.

I was having such fun with this stamp set that I decorated the envelope too. I add a bold yellow bee on the front of the envelope and added a message, created from the stamps, on the envelope flap. I like the 'save the bees' message - bees, for some reason, seem to be declining in number.

My next card uses the softer negative image. 

Stamps: Colorado Craft Company - Big & Bold Honey Bee; Altenew - Hello Hydrangea

Inks: Gina K - Lemon Drop, Wild Dandelion, Sweet Mango, Soft Stone; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: MFT - A2 Rectangles Stax Set 1 #11, A2 Stitched Rectangles Set 2 #9

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Basic Black

I'm submitting this card to Darnell's Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#24 - it's the first time I've used the lovely big honey bee stamp!

This time I used an US A2 (4¼” x 5½”) card. I cut a piece of black card just smaller than the blank and used a die to cut the honey bee image. It’s such a lovely image that I kept the greeting quite simple and used the vertical ‘hello’ stamp from Altenew’s Hello Hydrangea stamp set. Inside on the white panel, I stamped the little hydrangea buds from Hello Hydrangea, and the solid bee and words from Honey Bee. I layered this onto black card and adhered the whole piece inside the card.

My next two cards feature some of the leaves from Colorado Craft Company’s Big & Bold Brilliant Beetle stamp set. Using the same technique, I have a bolder positive image and softer negative image.

Stamps: Colorado Craft Company - Big & Bold Brilliant Beetle; Concord & 9th - Beautiful Butterfly

Inks: Gina K - Key Lime, Grass Green, Fresh Asparagus; Versamark; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: MFT - A2 Rectangles Stax Set 1 #11, A2 Stitched Rectangles Set 2 #9

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Basic Black

The first card, using the bold positive image, is a US A2 card. I stamped a butterfly from Concord & 9th’s Beautiful Butterfly stamp set, coloured it with Copic markers, restamped with Versamark, heat embossed with silver powder and fussy cut it out. I used a strip of the left-over green card the long sentiment from Big & Bold Brilliant Beetle, embossed with silver powder and cut it out. I layered it onto some scraps of card for dimension and adhered it to the card. I used dimensional pads to add the butterfly. I kept the inside white panel very simple. I stamped another of the butterflies from Beautiful Butterfly and added some leaves and a words from Brilliant Beetle. I layered the panel onto black card and added to the inside of the card.

My last card for today is for my stash. I think it’s always important to have some sympathy cards on hand, but they are so hard to make. So, I tend to make them as I go and have them ready. This one uses the softer negative image.

Stamps: Colorado Craft Company - Big & Bold Brilliant Beetle; Altenew - Fresh Freesia, Beautiful Inside

Inks: Gina K - Key Lime, Grass Green, Jelly Bean Green, Fresh Asparagus; Memento - New Sprout; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Basic Black

The card is a US A6 and I simply cut the mat layer and image panel to fit the card. I added a simple sentiment from Altenew’s Fresh Freesia stamp set in black and called it done. On the inside, I stamped a verse from Altenew’s Beautiful Inside stamp set – the words are lovely. I finished by adding a few leaves from Brilliant Beetle.

It was fun learning this technique and I recommend watching Jennifer's video, click this link and it will take you to her post. I love the velvety look you get on the positive images - the inks blend beautifully and are so smooth. I think I might come back to this technique. 

This turned out to be an exceptionally long post – thanks so much for sticking with me to the end. I hope you liked the cards. I had fun making them. I can’t make up my mind which image I prefer – the bold positive or the softer negative. What do you think? See you soon.

Edited to add: Jonathan and I had our first Covid-19 vaccination today - we had the Oxford Astra Zenica one. Second vaccination in about 12 weeks. Feeling great :)