SHC - Caffeine Inspiration ....

... Morning all! I'm here with my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post, and today I've been inspired by the current Autumn/Winter Coffee Lovers Blog hop. It's been such fun getting out some of my many coffee themed stamp sets. Here's my first card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Coffee Blend Turnabout; Altenew - Forever Friends, Birthday Builder; Sugar Pea Designs - The Perfect Blend; Waffle Flower - Coffee Cup Sentiments

Inks: Gina K - Sandy Beach, Kraft, Warm Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Turquoise Sea; Versafine Clair - Pinecone

Dies: Altenew - Forever Friends

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Early Espresso; Copic Markers; Nuvo - Clear Aquashimmer Brush

I'm submitting this card to Seize the Birthday - STB#227 where the toppings option is Beverages. Done!!

You all know that I love C&9's turnabout stamps and this one is extra special as it's about coffee!! I stamped the image in four shades of brown ink. I trimmed the panel to 5¼" square and layered it on to a 5½" brown square and adhered it to the front of a 5¾" white notecard. I stamped the coffee mug on white card and used the co-ordinating die to cut it out, along with three extra white cups. I coloured the stamped image and on one of the other mugs stamped the label area, coloured it with Copic markers and stamped a birthday greeting. I fussy cut out the label, adhered it to the stacked mug and added it to the centre of the card. I added some sparkle to the label with a clear aquashimmer brush. Inside the card I cut a mat layer of brown card. I kept it simple on the white panel and simply stamped a greeting and added a few coffee beans for decoration.

I decided to have a go at making a mini-slimline card:

Stamps: Altenew - Forever Friends; Sugar Pea Designs - The Perfect Blend

Inks: Gina K - Cherry Red; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Versamark

Dies: Altenew - Forever Friends; Gina K - Master Layout 7

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Real Red; Nuvo - Clear Aquashimmer Brush; Lawn Fawn - White Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to Just Us Girls - JUGS#610 where it's Trend Week and that is to make a mini-slimline card.

I cut a piece of white card 6½" by 6¼", and scored it at 3¼" on the longer edge to give a card 3¼" x 6¼". I used a stitch edge die to cut the white panel on to which I stamped the word 'coffee' and a verse in red ink. I layered the stamped panel on red card and adhered it to the notecard. To finish the front I stamped a coffee mug on white card and on red card. On the red mug I stamped a row of hearts in Versamark ink and embossed with clear powder. I fussy cut the red label, adhered it to the mug and used dimensional pads to add it to the notecard. I finished the front with a bit of sparkle inside the hearts. Inside the card, I kept things very simple. I stamped a row of red coffee beans and added a fun greeting.

My final card is ultra clean and simple:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Coffee Blend Turnabout; Sugar Pea Designs - The Perfect Blend; MFT - Itty Bitty Basics, Coffee Break

Inks: Gina K - Blue Lagoon, Stormy Sky; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: MFT - Square Stax Set 1 #1

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Bermuda Bay; Copic Markers; Glossy Accents

I'm submitting this card to AAA Cards - AAA#203 where they want us to keep everything, including the sentiment, in a one-inch space. I think my design also fits with the optional twist of masculine theme.

I stamped the Coffee Blend turnabout image once in black ink and used a square die, slightly under an inch, to cut out the mini coffee mug. I found a tiny 'hello' that fit perfectly by the side of the mug and stamped it in green ink. I layered the tiny square on to some scrap green card and cut it to exactly one-inch square. I adhered the square towards the top of an A2 notecard. I coloured the heart and added some shine with Glossy Accents. Inside the card, I kept things equally clean and simple. I stamped a fun greeting in green ink and added some coffee beans for decoration.

I had lots of fun making these coffee themed cards. 

I'm so pleased that I've been able to join in with the Coffee Lovers Blog Hop - it's been a while!! That's all from me today. Keep safe. See you soon.

SHC - Birthday Rose ...

... Hi. It's time for my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. Today I've a pretty, feminine birthday card to share:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Painted Rose; Altenew - Birthday Builder; Avery Elle - Inside Birthday Greetings

Inks: Gina K - Peach Bellini, Sweet Mango, Tangerine Twist, Tomato Soup, Warm Cocoa, Dark Chocolate, Charcoal Brown; Versamark; Versafine Clair - Acorn

Dies: C&9 - Confetti Card Die, Quilted Card Front Cover

Accessories: White Card; GK Card - Tangerine Twist; Lawn Fawn - Gold Embossing Powder; Shimmer Spray

I'm submitting this card to Color Hues - CH#29 where they want us to use orange and brown.

This was fun to make. I used orange card to make the base note card. I used a pinked edge die to cut out the panel of white card and added the quilt detail with another die. I adhered the panel to the front of the note card. I stamped a birthday greeting in the bottom corner of the panel. Next I stamped the large outline rose in Versamark ink onto water colour card. I embossed the image with gold powder. I spritzed with water and used a brush to add several shades of orange and brown inks to the rose. I allowed the water to do its magic and blend the inks, and once dry, I fussy cut out the rose. I spritzed the finished image with a gold shimmer spray - you can't see it much on the photo, but it's fabulous in real-life. I used dimensional pads to add the rose to the card.

Inside the card, I cut a piece of white card slightly smaller than the base. I stamped the outline rose in pale orange ink and added some birthday greetings with brown and dark orange inks. 

This card was made for Tara - it was her birthday on Monday and, while it was most certainly late getting to her, Tara should have received it by now. I hope you had a super day.

That's all from me for now. See you soon.

SHC - Masculine Birthday Card ...

... Hello, it's time for my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. This week I have a masculine theme birthday card:

Stamps: Altenew - Birthday Builder; Concord & 9th - Birthday Stacks

Inks: Gina K - Turquoise Sea, Jelly Bean Green; Memento - Tuxedo Black

Dies: C&9 - Stitched Strip Card Front, Say Thanks

Accessories: White & Black Card; SU Card - Pacific Point, Costal Cabana, Pear Pizzazz; Sakura Stardust Pens; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this to Seize the Birthday - STB#226 but I'm not playing along with the topping, I'm just doing Anything Goes Birthday.

This is a fun card to make. I cut three pieces of coloured card to fit on the cover plate and ran them through my Big Shot. The die cut a spaced out, double stitch pattern diagonally across the card. I decided to cut out the strip of stitching and make my own background pattern. I adhered the thin strips diagonally across a piece of copy paper, and then adhered the whole panel at the bottom of an A2 note card. Next I stamped some birthday pennants across the top of the card and coloured them with Copic markers to match the cardstock. I used glitter pens to add small details to the pennants. I finished the front of the card with a large speech bubble. I die cut a white bubble, stamped the greeting inside, and layered it onto a black shadow piece of card. I made the shadow by drawing round the outside of the bubble die and cutting it out. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I stamped more birthday pennants and a birthday greeting in coloured ink.

I have some die cut pieces of card left, but ran out of time to make more cards. Perhaps I'll share them next week. That's all for now. See you again soon.

SHC - Floral Birthdays ....

..... Good morning! I'm here with my weekly Seven Hills Craft blog post. I've got a couple of floral birthday cards to share with you today. Here's the first:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Buds & Blossoms, Yay for Birthdays; Altenew - Birthday Builder

Inks: Gina K - Peach Bellini, Sweet Corn, Sea Glass, Ocean Mist, Jelly Bean Green, Passionate Pink, Innocent Pink, Tangerine Twist, Sweet Mango, Slate

Dies: Concord & 9th - Buds & Blossoms

Accessories: White Card; Stickles

I'm submitting this card to Sunday Stamps Challenge - SSC#257 where they have these gorgeous colours, and to Seize the Birthday - STB#214 and I've used the optional twist to make a bouquet of flowers.

Mum asked me to make her a card for one of her friends - so I thought a floral card would be just right. I die cut several flowers and leaves using the Buds & Blossoms dies from white card. I kept the negative space card and put that in my MISTI, positioned the matching solid images in the space, picked them up with the MISTI door and then put the white diecuts in the space and stamped. Once I'd done the solid images I stamped the outline images.  I worked out where I wanted the flowers and leaves to be on the card, and then stamped the birthday greeting. I adhered the outer flowers and leaves flat to the card and used dimensional pads for the yellow, peach and pink flowers. I finished the front by adding some Stickles glitter to the flowers. Inside the card, I cut a piece of white card slightly smaller than the card. I stamped a couple more flowers on the corners and finished by adding a fun birthday greeting. I edged the panel with an aqua marker.

I had a couple of die cut flowers and some leaves leftover, so I made another card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Polka Dot Turnabout Stamp, Buds & Blossoms; Altenew - Birthday Builder

Inks: Memento - Lady Bug; Gina K - Slate

Dies: Altenew - Geo Frames; Concord & 9th - Buds & Blossoms

Accessories: White & Black Card

I'm submitting this card to The Paper Players - PP#541 where they want to see Polka Dots, and to AAA Cards - AAA#190 where they're celebrating their 7th Birthday.

I started by stamping the polka dot background directly on the card. I used the Polka Dot turnabout stamp and only stamped it once in bright red to match the flower. I used a hexagon die to cut the white panel, to get the black mat layer I simply placed the die on black card, drew round it and cut it out. Makes the perfect size mat. I stamped a simple birthday greeting on the hexagon. I finished by adding the multi-headed flower - this has been layered onto three other die cuts to give dimension and stability. Inside the card, I cut a piece of white card onto which I stamped a greeting and added the last of my left over flowers and leaves.

That's all from me today - see you soon.

SHC - Happy Birthdays .....

.... Good morning! I'm here with my regular weekly post for Seven Hills Crafts. Today I'm sharing a couple of birthday cards that I've made. My husband, Jonathan, and his sister, Charlotte, share the same birth date - 30 April, just seven years apart! I'll start off with the card I made for Charlotte:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Let's Party Turnabout, Tiny Tagalongs, Yay for Birthdays; Altenew - Hello Hydrangea

Inks: Gina K - Soft Stone, Wild Dandelion; Delicata - Silvery Shimmer; Memento - Gray Flannel; Versamark; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Altenew - Hello Hydrangea

Accessories: White Card; Copic Markers; Lawn Fawn - Silver Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to Color Hues - CH#16 where the colours are yellow and grey - the Pantone colours of 2021. 

I started by stamping the Let's Party turnabout background in two shades of grey, silver and silver embossing. Next, in my MISTI, I stamped the lovely hydrangea flower on white card. I removed it and coloured with Copic markers. I know that a totally yellow hydrangea like this doesn't exist in nature, but I wish it did!! I returned the coloured image to the MISTI and restamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with silver embossing powder. This is still one of my all-time favourite techniques. I used the co-ordinating die to cut out the completed flower along with two more plain white card die cuts. I layered the die cuts together to give some diemension and strength to the flower and adhered it to the front of the card. I finished the front by stamping a simple birthday greeting in black ink. On the inside, I cut a piece of white card slightly smaller than the note card. I stamped another birthday greeting, this time overlapping the words. I added some little flowers to decorate the inside, edged the card with a yellow marker and adhered it. All done!

While I had the Let's Party turnabout in the MISTI I made another background using shades of blue, green and teal for Jonathan's birthday card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Let's Party Turnabout, Oh Snap!, All the Birthdays; Altenew - Birthday Builder

Inks: Gina K - Key Lime, Powder Blue, Ocean Mist, Jelly Bean Green; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Memento - Grey Flannel

Dies: Concord & 9th - Oh Snap!

Accessories: White Card; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#25 - the Let's Party stamp is quite new, but I've had the Oh Snap! set for a while - it's the first time I've used them both!

After stamping the background, I turned to the focal image. Jonathan loves to take photos. While he doesn't use a Polaroid camera anymore, I'm sure he did once upon a time! I had to find some photos of these old polaroid cameras to work out how to colour it. I was very happy to see that they had a rainbow on them, so I added that to my completed camera. I used the matching die to cut out the camera and also the little slit where the photo comes out. I stamped the photo image on white card, used the die to cut it out and then added a birthday message in the centre along with a little 'pull here' message on the photo tab. Once assembled, I used dimensional tape to (a) hold the photo in place and (b) adhere it to the front of the card. Inside, I cut a piece of white card onto which I stamped a birthday greeting and decorated with photos stamped in various colours.

I think that they will both like their cards. Charlotte is celebrating her 50th, and Jonathan will be 57 years old (my toy boy!). I am going to make a special fruit birthday cake for Jonathan - his favourite.

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

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.