MCM Birthday

... Hello again! I'm on a bit of a roll. Here's another birthday card I made. This is one for my stash. I've gone for a more masculine look.

Stamps: Uniko - Background Blocks Mid Century Modern, Bauhaus Blocks; Altenew - Just a Number

Inks: Memento - Rhubarb Stalk, Nautical Blue, Bamboo Leaves; Gina K - Soft Stone; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: MFT - Square STAX Set 2 -  #2

Accessories: White Card; Uniko Stencil - Layering Bauhaus Blocks

I'm playing along with several challenges. They are:

Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#718

CAS Colour & Sketches - CASC&S#576 - I do like these colours

Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#508 - Birthdays

I started by picking three of the square images from the Layering Bauhaus Blocks stencil and inked them up with the three colours. I used a 1" square die to cut out the images. Next I stamped the graphic background in soft grey ink over a piece of white card. I trimmed off a section and adhered it to an A2 white card base. I used a marker to draw in a thin black line to define the panel. Next, I stamped the simple birthday greeting in black ink and finally I adhered the colourful blocks to the card front. Simple and graphic. For the inside, I cut a piece of white card onto which I stamped the graphic background in the centre of the panel. I finished by adding a fun greeting in black ink.

It's good getting back to making cards - I'm very slow and out of practise, but the objective is to enjoy myself and end up with a nice stash of cards ready for me to use.

That's it for now. I'm going to make a start of a couple more cards today and hope to be able to share them in the next few days. See you soon.

Monochromatic Birthday

..... Hello again!! This is a quick post sharing a black and white birthday card:

Stamps: Uniko -  Background Block Swiss Dots; Gina K - Mr Fix-It, The Great Outdoors

Inks: Gina K - Stormy Sky;  Versafine - Onyx Black; Versafine Claire - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Mr Fix-It

Accessories: White Card; Clear Embossing Powder; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#701, and to Seize the Birthday - STB#312 - using the colour option this time.

This is a 5" square white card. I stamped the dotty background in grey ink directly on the card. I stamped the tool images onto white card, added some subtle colour, restamped with Versafine black ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I used the matching dies to cut out the images, along with some plain white diecuts which I layered up for depth. I finished the front with a simple birthday greeting. Inside the card, I stamped a birthday message and added some small images for fun.

This post has taken me longer than normal as I normally edit my photos in Lightroom. However, yesterday it appears that Lightroom did an update and now it's not working on my PC. I hate technology sometimes. 

 

That really is all for today. I'm off to try and work out why Lightroom isn't working properly. And if that doesn't work, what I'm going to use instead!! Bye for now.

Happy 80th Birthday ....

..... Good morning! I'm sharing a couple of birthday cards I've made for my father-in-law, Simon, who is 80 years old today. He's not much for celebrating birthdays, so I decided not to put a number on his cards, but you I think you can tell it's a special birthday! Here's the first card:

Stamps: Impression Obsession - Umpteenth Birthday; Concord & 9th - Yay for Birthdays; Waltzingmouse Stamps - Woodgrain

Inks: Gina K - Sandy Beach, Dark Chocolate, Soft Stone, Barely There; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Memento - Summer Sky, New Sprout

Dies: Spellbinders - Contemporary Squares

Accessories: White Card; Scrap blue and green card

I'm submitting this card to The Male Room - TMR#149 where the theme is wood. I've used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#480 for the layout, and I'm also playing along with Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#04.

I thought I had some real wood card in my stash, but I couldn't find it, so I stamped a woodgrain image on white card using two shades of brown and a soft grey. I used a Spellbinder die to cut out the swoosh of contemporary squares. I adhered the outline piece to the front of an A2 card. I used some scraps of blue and green card to cut out the 'squares' and adhered them inside the outline. I finished the strip by adding the square of 'wood' card. I completed the front with a fun birthday greeting, which I'm sure Simon will like! On the inside, I cut a piece of white card slightly smaller than the base. I stamped a fun birthday cupcake in soft tones of blue and green and finished with a fun sentiment.

The card above is the one that mum sent to Simon. I also made one for Jonathan and I to send to Simon:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Best of Birthdays; Concord & 9th - Birthday Stacks

Inks: SU - Merry Merlot, Mossy Meadow, Daffodil Delight; Versafine - Onyx Black

Accessories: White Card; Visible Image Stencil - Two Tone; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder; Nuvo - Clear Aqua Shimmer Brush

I'm submitting this card to CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#414, Perfectly CAS - PCAS#13, and to Seize the Birthday - STB#211 where the toppings option is Squares.

I started by masking the card to create a central panel onto which I stencilled lots of little squares in burgundy, yellow and green. Next I stamped this cute cake topped with loads of candles and a fun sentiment. I coloured the image with Copic markers and fussy cut it out. I added lots of sparkle to the cake with a clear aqua shimmer brush. I used dimensional pads to adhere it to the front of the card. Inside, I cut another piece of white card, slightly smaller than the card. At the bottom I stamped a line of bold birthday candle which I coloured with Copic markers to match the central panel. I embossed the candles and finished with a bold, simple birthday greeting which finishes off the message.

While travel restrictions have been relaxed in the United Kingdom, it is not possible for us all to get together to celebrate. However, we will be having a Zoom get together for a quiz and to chat later this afternoon. So looking forward to when we can all meet in person!!

That's all from me today - have a good one. See you soon.

C24C - Snow People ....

... Good morning! It's April 1st - can't quite believe how it got to be April so quickly!! Hey ho! It does mean that it's time for our new challenge at Christmas 24 Challenge - C24C#31. We want to see your Snow People on your Christmas cards. Now, that can be snowmen, or just people enjoying the snow - your choice! Here's my take:

Stamps: Bugaboo Digital - Scene It Snowmen Fun; Lawn Fawn - Winter Scripty Sentiments, Simply Celebrate Winter; Colorado Craft Company - Frosty's Hat

Inks: Gina K - Stormy Sky; Versafine Claire - Nocturne

Dies: Spellbinders - Mega Rectangles Lg (S4-142) #4

Accessories: White Card; Carta Bella DP - Snow Fun; Copic Markers; Glitter

I'm submitting this card to several challenges. I've used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#479, the colours are from Fab Friday - FABF#210, and the theme at Addicted to Stamps and More - ATSM#402 is Christmas.

I love this fun image from Bugaboo Stamps - it's a digital image so you can print it whatever size you need. I printed it on white card and used a rectangle die to cut it out. I coloured the image with Copic markers and edged it with a dark grey marker pen. I used a strip of dark grey design paper down the side, adhered the image on top and finished with a fun sentiment that matches the image. On the inside, I cut another piece of the design paper for the mat layer. On the white card I stamped a Christmas greeting and another line of cute little snow folk!

That's all from me today - don't forget to visit our Christmas 24 Challenge blog to see more inspiration cards from the rest of the design team. Have fun and I look forward to visiting your blogs to see your creations. See you soon.

C24C - Santa Claus ....

.... Morning! Wow, this month is flying by - we're already half-way through. However, that does mean it's time for our new challenge at Christmas 24 Challenge - C24C#22 where we want to see your cards feature the main man - SANTA CLAUS. I've made two cards, here's the first:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - Around Christmas Time

Inks: Gina K - Sea Glass, Red Velvet; Versamark

Dies: Die-namics - Circles Stax 2 # 7

Accessories: White Card; Copic Markers; Silver Embossing Powder; Stardust Clear Glitter Pen

I'm submitting this card for CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#396 and to The Colour Throwdown - CTD#619. It's been a while since I played along with any challenges, so this feels good.

The card was super easy to make. I used the MISTI to stamp the lines on the card - that way I made sure they were straight! I stamped the Santa circle on white card, colour the hat red (of course) and added some colour to his face and to the words. I repositioned the image in the MISTI and stamped in Versamark ink and embossed with silver powder. I used a circle die to cut out the image and adhered it to the front of the card. I added some sparkle to the little bell and added a simple greeting in red. On the inside, I simply added another Christmas greeting.

Here's a close-up of the Santa image - this one has always been a favourite of mine:

My next card is a slightly different take on Santa - this one features Santa's footprints:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - Secret Santa; Concord & 9th - All the Merrys

Inks: Gina K - Soft Stone, Red Velvet; Versamark

Accessories: White Card; Copic Markers; Silver Embossing Powder; Stardust Clear Glitter Pen

I'm submitting this card to Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#461 and to Time Out Challenges - TOC#174 where the theme is Festivals - Christmas is a biggy!!

I positioned the large shoe print stamp in the MISTI and it on white card. I removed the card and coloured the lines with Copic markers, repositioned the image, stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with silver powder. I carefully cut out the embossed image and edged it with a soft grey marker. I cut a panel of white card onto which I stamped a row of Santa's footprints up the side and then adhered the large embossed shoe print. I edged the panel with red ink and adhered it to the front of a 6¼" × 4½" card. I finished the front by stamping a greeting in red. On the inside, I added another greeting and a 'approved by' stamp on the corner.

I took a close-up photo of the shoe print so that you can clearly see how the colour appears:

I think this is a fun challenge and I look forward to visiting your blogs to see your creations. Don't forget to visit our Christmas 24 Challenge blog to see more cards from the rest of the design team. Bye for now.

Two for one ....

Good morning everyone! It's the start of another week of lockdown, although here in Wales we are now allowed to go out for exercise more than once a day. And there's the possibility of some garden centres opening. Anyway, I'm here this morning to play along with Darnell's Twofer Card Challenge - TCC#27 where she wants us to use Flowers. Here are my cards:

I really enjoy this challenge, but I struggle to play along. However, this time it was easy. One of my favourite flowers is this large chrysanthemum from Uniko and I'm pleased to be able to play along this month. Full details of each card can be found below.

Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals - Chrysanthemum; Altenew - Bad Days Happen
Inks: Gina K - Ocean Mist, Soft Stone; Delicata - Golden Glitz
Dies: Spellbinders - A2 Matting Basics A (S5-131) #1, A2 Matting Basics B (S5-132) #1
Accessories: White Card; Gina K Card - Blue Lagoon; Gold Linen Effect Foil Card

I'm submitting this card to Colour Throwdown - CTD#592 and Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#434.

I stamped the large chrysanthemum in pale aqua ink in opposite corners of the card. I cut a strip of dark turquoise card and adhered them to the card. I stamped the sentiment in soft grey on white card and used a die to cut it out, and layered it on some gold linen effect foil card which had also been die cut. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of dark aqua card and on the white panel added a greeting and a smaller, gold, chrysanthemum. I think this card is perfect for the very strange times we find ourselves in - and it's going in the post today.

My next card is very clean and simple and is a birthday card:

Stamps: Uniko - Pure Florals - Chrysanthemum; Gina K - Birthday Greetings
Inks: Gina K - Dark Chocolate; Delicata - Golden Glitz; Versamark
Dies: Uniko - Chrysanthemum
Accessories: White and Cream Card; Gold Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to Less is More - LIM#419 where they want us to use White and Cream, and to CAS on Friday - CASoF#179 where they want us to use our favourite flower.

I stamped the large chrysanthemum on cream card in Versamark ink and heat embossed with gold power, and die cut with the matching die. I made the card from cream stock and cut a panel of white card slightly smaller onto which I stamped a birthday greeting in dark brown and gold. I adhered the panel to the card base and used dimensional pads to attach the large flower. On the inside, I cut a panel of white card onto which I stamped a birthday verse in dark brown and added a small gold chrysanthemum.

I'm so glad that I finally got to play along with Twofer. That's all from me today. See you again soon.