Halloween review ....

... Morning all!  This is just a quick review of some cards I made a few years ago.  I recently had an email from Jenny who creates papers for our crafting passion.  Sometime in 2011 I got some of the papers she'd designed free with one of the British craft magazines and I used them to make Halloween cards for Waltzingmouse Blog Hop.  Jenny has kindly showcased my cards on her blog - so I thought I'd share them again:

I really like the bold patterns on the paper and the colours were perfect for Halloween cards - indeed they were the basis of the colour scheme.  You can see full details of these cards on my original post here.  These make a nice break from all the Christmas cards I've had lately!  And now, I'm off back to my craft room to finish off a few last minute Christmas cards, along with a few birthday cards for January!  See you soon.

Card storage ...

.... Hello!  Earlier this week I mentioned re-purposing a recipe box that I'd made last year to store cards.  I promised a few photos, so here they are:

I removed the previous label, which read "From my kitchen" and stamped the frame on to white card, die cut it with the matching Spellbinder die and added a lock and key.  

Here's a close up of the label - it's very slightly blurred as I had to cover the image with matte media and because the inks aren't permanent, they moved a bit!  Still, overall it's fine.

For the inside I made some labels to cover the numbered index file dividers.  This really makes it much easier to find cards that I've made.  It also revealed some big gaps in my card stash!!  There are no Christmas cards in this box - I keep them in a separate box as, by the end of the year, I hope to have about 140 cards ready for dispatch.  For details of how I made the cover for the lid - check out the Friendly Feature on WMS Blog.

Next month is Jonathan's 50th birthday and we are having a big party for him.  I was originally going to have it based on a Dr Who theme; Jonathan is a big fan.  But when I was talking about invitations, Jonathan suggested a Hawaii Five-O theme.  I set about creating a logo based on the Hawaii Five-O TV show logo and I'm really pleased how well it turned out.  I used Publisher to create the invitation cards, double-sided the printing, cut them to size and then finished off the cards by stamping the surfer dude and an island on the reverse.  Here are views of the front and reverse of the invitation - I've blanked out the details.

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - North Shore, My Island
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Island Indigo, Pool Party

The invites measure approx 4" × 5".  The main logo was created in Publisher and I printed it off several times to match it as closely as possible to Island Indigo - it's close!  I added the dashed border to help me when I cut out the cards.  On the reverse I printed all the party details:

Hopefully, by the time of the party spring will have arrived and the tropical Hawaiian theme will not be out of place!!!  For the next few weeks I'm going to be organising food, drinks, tables, chairs, tents and, of course, the cake!  I'll share photos of the party later.  Oh, by the way, here's the Hawaii Five-O logo:

I think I got quite close - the hardest bit was getting an O the right shape and size!  That's all for now - enjoy the rest of your weekend!

ASM - Holiday .....

Good evening everyone!  Are you enjoying the Olympics?  I am!  So much so, that I seem to have lost days in the last week and am running very late with my card for this week's Addicted to Stamps and More! challenge.  Our challenge this week is HOLIDAY - and while we are still surrounded by so much snow, there was only one holiday card I could make.  Christmas:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Festive Foliage; Reverse Confetti - Bring on the Merry
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Real Red, Gumball Green; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card

This is just about as clean and simple as it gets.  I based the layout on this week's CAS(E) This Sketch - CTS#64 and I used holly which is the theme at this week's Merry Monday Challenge - MM#96.  When I saw the snowman image on the CTS layout I just thought about a holly sprig!  I stamped the holly directly onto the card and used my stamp-a-ma-jig to position the word Merry.  I stamped the word Christmas in red on some scrap, cut it out and attached it with dimensional tape.  I've not done the inside yet, but will add a photo once I've completed the card.

Edited to add a photo of the inside of the card:

I'm babysitting for a friend's daughter today, so won't get chance to finish it until later this evening and will photograph it tomorrow!

We are sponsored this week by StampArt Design and the winner of our challenge will receive 5 free digi images.  Our guest designer for the next couple of week's is Cathy of Cathy's Card Spot, she and the rest of the Design Team have some wonderful inspiration cards to share with you - all based on a holiday theme.  See you soon!

Purple Christmas V2 .....

.....  Hi!!  Back again, with a variation of my earlier card.  I was thinking about the card while out at lunch and realised that it would probably work really well using purple card and white embossing powder.  Here it is:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - 2011 Holiday Ornaments; Stampin' Up! - Sassy Sentiments, More Merry Messages
Inks: SU - Concord Crush; Versamark
Dies: Spellbinders - 2011 Heirloom Ornaments (S4-334) #3
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Concord Crush; Avec Thread; White Embossing Powder

This is for the following challenges:

• CASology - CAS#80 - cue word "PURPLE"
• Keep it Simple - KIS#32 - square
• Festive Friday - FFC#24 - photo inspiration

I made the card from Concord Crush (so sad that this was discontinued).  I made the panel by cutting it an inch smaller than the card, stamping the sentiment in Versamark and heat embossing with white powder.  Then I die cut the ornament shape.  I stamped the ornament onto the card base, embossed it and added some thread.  The inside is the same as the previous card here.  I'm not sure which is my favourite; what do you think?

That really is all now - I'm going to be spending most of the rest of the day in my craft room.  There is very little on TV tonight - all usual programming has been changed as it's the Super Bowl this evening.  I might find time to watch the adverts though!!  See you all soon.

Purple Christmas ....

... Afternoon everyone!  Just a quick post with a card for a few challenges:

• CASology - CAS#80 - cue word "PURPLE"
• Keep it Simple - KIS#32 - square
• Merry Monday - MM#93 - Christmas Ornaments
• Festive Friday - FFC#24 - Photo inspiration

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - 2011 Holiday Ornaments; Stampin' Up! - Sassy Sentiments, More Merry Messages
Inks: SU - Concord Crush
Dies: Spellbinders - 2011 Heirloom Ornaments (S4-334) #3
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Concord Crush; Avec Thread

I know that a lot of people have been saying that Purple is not their favourite colour, but it most definitely is one of my favourites.  I kept this really clean and simple.  I cut a white panel an inch smaller than the card base, stamped the sentiment in the corner and then cut the ornament shape, going slightly off the edge.  Using my stamp-a-ma-jig, I positioned the ornament image and stamped it in purple.  I attached some thread to the bauble and wrapped some around the top layer, then adhered it with dimensional tape.  The inside has a mat layer in purple and on the white panel I stamped another ornament along with a sweet sentiment.

I'm really pleased that I've managed to combine so many challenges - the card is square (KIS), purple (sadly now discontinued - CASology), and Christmas ornaments (MM and FFC).  That's all for now, see you soon.

52CCT - Sketch ....

.... Hello everyone!  It's February!!  Oh my goodness, I can't quite believe how quickly we got through January, but if you've been playing along with us each week you already have four Christmas cards in your stash ready for the end of the year.  Jacqueline is our host this month at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown, and our first challenge each month is a sketch and here's my take:

Stamps: Uniko Studio - Wonderful Washi Christmas; Stampin' Up! - Ornament Keepsakes; Waltzingmouse - Seasonal Flourish, Alpine Christmas
Inks: Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black; SU - Crumb Cake; Memento - Grey Flannel
Dies: SU - Ornament Keepsakes; Spellbinders - Mega Scalloped Ovals Lg (S5-024) #3 &4, Mega Ovals (S5-023) #3
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Black, Gold and Silver Card; Vellum; Basic Grey - Candy Buttons; Gold and Silver Tinsel Embossing Powder; Ribbon

The theme at this week's Merry Monday - MM#93 is Christmas Ornaments, and as I love them on cards just as much as on trees, I decided to go with them for my card.  I made my own washi tape by stamping onto vellum and embossing with both gold and silver; I kept the gold and silver theme for the ornament which I cut out with the matching die.  I made the gold and silver mat layer from four bits of scrap.  I added gold and silver enamel dots, a big silver bow and finished with a simple sentiment.  Inside I cut a mat layer in black and on the white panel stamped a lovely sentiment and some snowflakes!

For more inspiration with our sketch do check out the cards from the rest of our Design Team - as always they are just stunning.  You will notice that we have new members of the team - please welcome Fabiola, Asha and Gill.  That's all for now.  I've a fun day lined up - we're off out to a photo shoot.  I've put a few of my photos up under the "Non Crafty Photos" tab is you fancy checking them out!  See you soon.

ASM - Photo Inspriation ....

.... Hello!!!  It's so bloomin' cold here, that the only thing to do with my time is stay indoors and play in my craft room - well, apart from when I'm out clearing the snow off the drive and paths!!!!

Here at Addicted to Stamps and More! it's time for our last challenge of January and this week we have photo inspiration.  Our Guest Designer this week is Karen (May by Meadie) and our sponsor is Deedee Digis.  I've used one of Deedee's lovely images on my card:

Stamps: Deedee's Digis - Gingerbread Holidays; Waltzingmouse - Frame-It; CAS-ual Friday Stamps - Shenanigans
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Pastel
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! DP - Chocolate Chip; Copics; Glitter

I've used the sketch layout from this week's Less is More challenge - LIM#156.  Don't you love the inspiration photo?  I used Deedee's cute gingerbread house, but made it into more of a Candy House by using more pastel colours like in the photo.  I added a touch of glitter to suggest sugar frosting (although it could just as easily be snow)!  To make the sentiment panel I coloured some scrap card with a brown copic to match the house and then the top panel is coloured to match the house.  I stamped the fun sentiment in Kaleidacolor pastel to match the sweets!  For the inside I cut a mat layer in brown DP and on the white panel stamped a bold sentiment.  I finished off the inside with a few little cupcakes, with the icing rainbow colours to match the sentiment.

I also took a close up of the cute little house so that you can see the details.  It's a really sweet image.

For more ideas based on the inspiration photo, check out the cards from our Guest Designer, Karen and also the rest of the team.  I'm really looking forward to seeing your creations.  See you soon.

One for the stash ...

.....  Morning all!  Just a quick post showing a card that I made with the left over bits from my Waltzingmouse Fanatics post.

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Big Day - Today
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Memory Box - Chloe Stem
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU - Basic Black; WMS Digital Paper - Celtic Lunettes

I had a sheet of grey digital paper left after I'd made my WMSFC cards.  I adhered the paper to some scrap white card and then die cut the flower.  I attached the grey layer to a mat of black card, cut another flower in black and then in-laid the black flower.  I finished the front with an elegant, but simple sentiment.  On the inside I cut a mat layer in black and adhered the grey flower to the white panel.  I left the inside blank.  This one is for my stash.

That's all for now folks!  See you later!

WMSFC - Sketch .....

.... Hello again!  It's time for our new challenge at Waltzingmouse Fanatics.  This time we have a sketch for you to play with - I liked it so much that I actually made three cards!!!!  Here they are:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Folk Art Medallion, Frame It, Say It Loud; Uniko Studio - All Occasion Sentiments #3
Inks: Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - Grey Flannel
Dies: Memory Box - Forget Me Knot Stem, Prim Poppy, Chloe Stem; Die-namics - Fishtail Flags Stax # 3 & 4
Accessories: WMS Digital Papers - Celtic Lunettes; White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Basic Black; White Embossing Powder

I think this sketch is lots of fun and I decided to focus on WMS digital papers.  I printed several sheets of the Celtic Lunettes pattern in grey, blue and pink, sized just a bit bigger than the card base.  I also printed off several copies of the sketch to use as a template.  I trimmed all the papers to size and then used temporary adhesive to stick the sketch pattern over the top of the design paper and cut the panels.  Using this method to cut the panels means that the lunette patterns line up.  Ask me how I know this?  Well the first card was a mess with misaligned patterns all over the place!!!  I used  dies to cut out the flowers and banners.  I inked up the sentiments in Versamark and heat embossed with white powder.  I turned the last card to make it horizontal - that's because I needed to cover up the point which was a bit messy on this card!  Here are photos of the inside of each card.

For more inspiration with this sketch - check out Tara's card.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what you create with this sketch.  As always, you can make a card, scrapbook page, or 3D project, but whatever you make must include at least one Waltzingmouse image or sentiment.  You've got plenty of time to play along, the deadline for submission is Thursday 6th February 5.00pm GMT (that's Noon EDT for those of us in the States).   That's all for now, see you soon.

52CCT - A recipe ...

...  Good morning everyone!  Welcome to 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown,  Mynnette has provided us with a recipe to follow this week:

Monochromatic, CAS, ribbon and a rhinestone

Stamps: Chocolate Baroque - Christmas Flourish; Waltzingmouse - Festive Foliage; Stampin' Up! - Sassy Salutations, More Merry Messages
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Fresh Greens; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: WMS - Holly Die; Die-namics - Fishtail Flags Layers Stax #3
Accessories: Green Hammered Card; White Lustre Card; Vellum; Clear Embossing Powder; Ribbons; Gems

I love monochromatic cards, it's fun to pick a colour and play; I've gone for greens on my card.  For the layout I used this week's Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#119 challenge.  I made the base from some dark green hammered card stock that I've had in my stash forever for a while!  The background holly flourish and holly spring were stamped in Kaleidacolor Fresh Greens.  I cut a strip of vellum for the sentiment as I didn't want to hide the pretty background stamp.  I stamped the sentiment in Versafine and then heat embossed with clear powder.  To adhere the vellum I used Invisi Dots over most of the length, but left the end unstuck.  I found some ribbons in my stash, cut fishtails in each, attached to the card and then used dimensional gel to adhere the holly spring.  I cheated a bit with the rhinestones, Mynnette's recipe is for a single stone, but it would have looked strange to have a single stone, so I went with three green gems.  For the inside I cut a panel of white card and used the flourish stamp to create a border all the way round the card, finishing with a Christmas greeting in the middle.

Do you remember that we had a Design Team call last year, well from this week we are being joined by our new teamies.  Do make them welcome!  I must also give a shout out to Mynnette - you might notice that some of us have swanky new 52CCT logos for our cards - all designed by Mynnette!

I have to say that I'm really getting fed up with winter, we've got even more snow here today.  I know that we don't have as much as some, but I'm over it.  I'm so glad that our new snow blower arrived last week.  I assembled it on Thursday and it's already cleared the drive a couple of times.  So much quicker than doing it manually!  Well, that's all for now - I'm really looking forward to seeing your creations with the recipe!