Rainbow Sparkle

.... Good morning!! I'm getting on so well making birthday cards that I need. Today I'm sharing a pretty birthday card for a friend of mine. We've know each other for some years 😁 I made this card yesterday, when it was cold, dull, and very grey - I think a rainbow card is much needed at this time of year.

Stamps: Gina K - Birthday Greetings

Inks: Gina K - Red Velvet, Tangerine Twist, Wild Dandelion, Lucky Clover, Turquoise Sea, Blue Raspberry, Wild Lilac; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Master Layout 4

Accessories: White & Black Card; Gina K Stencil - Tranquil Lotus; Taylored Expressions Stencil - Bokeh; Sheer Shimmer Spray - Sparkle; Waffle Flower - 8½" x 8½" Grip Mat

I'm submitting this card to Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#618 - it's been a long while since I joined in here. I'm also playing with AAA Birthday - AAAB#57 - where they want rainbow colours, and with Just Us Girls - JUGS#709 - where they want sparkle. For a big change - you can actually see the sparkle on the photo above!!

Last year I treated myself to a couple of the new Waffle Flower Grip Mats. They are just brilliant. They make stencilling so, so easy. I put my card in the centre of the grip mat, placed on the first layer of the lotus flower and added ink, with a light hand, in rainbow order. I followed this with the second layer and repeated the colours using a heavier hand. Finally, I added the stems. I used a fancy die to cut out the panel, stamped a birthday greeting in black ink and layered it onto a black mat layer. I finished the front of the card by spritzing it with Sparkle shimmer spray.

Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. I wanted to add some colour to the white panel, but didn't want to repeat the flower, so I used one layer of the Bokeh stencil, and then stamped a birthday greeting in black.

I posted this card today, so Annette should get it in plenty of time for her birthday next week. 

I hope everyone has a good day. I'm taking my mum into Mold today - she has a weekly appointment at Cherise Amore - our local hairdresser. It's always fun. And after that we have a quick trip to the local garden centre for coffee and cake - the best Victoria Sandwich in the area!! That's all for now. See you again soon.

Christmas Sparkle

.... Good afternoon! I've made my first Christmas card of the year. Last year, I was so behind making Christmas cards, that I've decided to get a wiggle on and start now. Here's my card:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Delightful Decorations; Waltzingmouse Stamps -Teeny Trees; Uniko - Simply Said Christmas; Mama Elephant - Easy Xmas Greetings

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Soft Stone, Stormy Sky; Versafine Clair - Morning Mist

Accessories: White & Grey Card; Kaisercraft DP - Glisten; SU Punch - Delightful Decorations; WRMK Floss - Snowflake

I'm submitting this card to 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT24-01 - for the sketch layout, Just Us Girls - JUGS#709 - where the word is 'sparkle', and to Cupcake Inspirations Challenge - CIC#585 - for the colours.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who has lots of stash, so this year I've decided to revisit some of my old stuff - there's nothing new on this card!! I used the sparkly silver dot design paper for the background, and layered it onto a grey mat. I stamped this lovely ornament in bright yellow ink and used the matching punch to cut it out, along with three white ones which I layered together to give some dimension. I stamped a simple greeting on grey card, and adhered the strip to the panel. I found some silver floss in my stash and used this the 'hang' the ornament on the card.

Inside the card, I cut another grey mat layer and on the white panel I stamped some fun Christmas greetings and I added some dotty circles too.

That's all for today. See you soon.

Birthday Boy

.... Hello! I'm here this morning to share the card I've made for our boy, strictly that should be man, Ben. He'll be 28 years old on Saturday and I'm struggling to work out how so many years have gone by so quickly. Here's his card:

Stamps: Gina K - Birthday Greetings

Inks: Gina K - Powder Blue, In the Navy

Dies: Gina K - Master Layout 1; Altenew - Just a Number

Accessories: White & Navy Card; Waffle Flower - Layered Triangle Stencil; Pale Blue Satin Card; Gem

I'm submitting this card to two challenges. I got the colours from the current Color Hues Challenge - CH#78 - blues are perfect for a guy. I'm also playing along with Darnell's Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#58 - I've had the stencils for a while, but this is the first time I've inked them up - so bad of me.

I used the required pale and navy blue inks on a piece of white card. Once stencilled, I used a dies to cut out the panel and a mat layer of navy card. I adhered the whole lot to the front of an A2 side-opening note card (US size). I die cut the greeting from navy card for the mat layer, pale blue satin card for the top and two white pieces to stack, and then glued them to the card. I lost the little dot for the i, so I used a tiny blue gem.

On the inside, I cut a mat layer of navy card and kept the white panel very simple. I stamped a navy blue greeting and added a verse in pale blue ink. 

It's a beautiful bright and sunny day here in Northop Hall - mind, it's blooming cold. It's perfect weather for my next job, which is a quick trip to the recycling centre to get rid of lots of old cardboard and paper. That's all for now. See you soon. BTW - I'm perfectly safe to share Ben's card here now - he neve looks at my blog!! Kids, eh!!

Rainbow Birthday

.....  Good afternoon. It's been a lovely day here in Northop Hall - bright, sunny, clear and cold!! But no rain, yea! I've been playing in my craft room. For me, January, is a very busy month - I have 9 family birthdays. I've made a bright and fun card for my niece, Anne, who will be 40 years old on 11 January. I can share the card here as Anne doesn't look at my blog:

Stamps: The Greetery - Pinwheel Party, Sentiment Suite Birthday, Birthday Blooms

Inks: Gina K - Passionate Pink, Red Velvet, Tangerine Twist, Wild Dandelion, Lucky Clover, Turquoise Sea, Blue Raspberry, Wild Lilac; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: The Greetery - Pinwheel Party, Birthday Blooms

Accessories: White & Black Card; The Greetery Stencils - Pinwheel Party; Gina K - Flat Sequins; Rainbow Gems

I'm submitting this card to several challenges - AAA Birthday - AAAB#57 where the theme is to use a rainbow or rainbow colours, The Paper Players - PP#671 where the team want us to make a birthday card, and to AAA Cards - AAA#256 where we have a sketch to use.

I had considered making a card with a big '40' on the front, but decided instead to make a chain of pretty rainbow pinwheels. This is a large card measuring 5" x 7" and I've put it in landscape format so that I can get the whole rainbow of colours across the front of the card. It's been a while since I've used these fun pinwheels. I used the dies to cut out lots of white pinwheels in all sizes (I still have a quite a few left). I used the co-ordinating stencils to add colour and made each pinwheel two-tone. I started with pink/red, then red/orange, orange/yellow, yellow/green, green/teal, teal/blue, and blue/purple. I adhered four of the pinwheels flat to the card and used dimensional pads to add the other three. I added rainbow gems to the centre of four pinwheels and flat sequins to the other three. I stamped the word 'happy' directly on the card. I stamped the word 'birthday' on card and used the matching die to cut it, and two other out. I layered them together and added it to the card. I love the simplicity of this card and the bold, bright colours.

On the inside, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel, I stamped a birthday greeting in black ink. I added three more pinwheels which I stencilled directly onto the card. The stencil kit comes with the masks, so it was easy to layer the two smaller pinwheels.

It's so nice to be making cards again. My mojo took a long trip away, and it's only recently that I've got it back. Thank you for stopping by and for your comments. I really do appreciate you taking the time.

See you soon.

New Year FIreworks

... Well, hello! No post yesterday - more of that below. So, it's a post today and I'm sharing my January calendar page:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - USA 1776; Gina K - Party Time

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Bluebelle, Green Oasis, Charming Pink, Summertime, Medieval Blue, Verdant

Accessories: A4 Wire Bound 2024 Calender Blank

I'm submitting this to Love to Craft Challenge Blog - LTCCB#78 where the theme is always, Anything Goes - you can make anything.

The calendar layout has changed a bit this year - the month and year used to be at the centre top, but is now just above the month. That actually works better - more space to fill. I guess these are not the fireworks you were expecting. I started by stamped the words, from Party Time, in bold black ink. Once done, I used my all time favourite fireworks stamps from Waltzingmouse Stamps (sadly now closed) designed by the brilliant Claire Brennan and stamped using Versafine Claire inks - so bold and bright. And that's it done for the month. I guess most people put photos in the space, but I enjoy making each month different.

The reason I didn't manage a post yesterday is that I was driving our son to Crewe railway station to get his train back to Hastings. Not a journey that Ben enjoys, but, when I heard from him about 2pm the journey was going well. Unfortunately, due to the effects of Storm Henk, the second part of Ben's journey to Hastings was totally ruined. There was a tree on the line from Tunbridge Wells to Hastings, so all the passengers had to change and get a train from Ashford to Hastings. Ben finally made it home by 9.30pm. I'm so proud of Ben - he has a fear of crowds, he has ADHD (so hates change), and he's overcoming agoraphobia - so Ben could have had a complete meltdown, but he made it. So, so proud of him. 

I'm heading back to Weight Watchers today - I need the accountability of the weekly weigh-in. So, that's all from me today. See you soon.

Happy New Year

.... Good morning all! I hope those of you who stayed up to enjoy the New Year celebrations had a wonderful time and are feeling okay now. I thought I'd start the year as I mean (hope) to continue, with a regular post in my blog. Today is simply to wish all my family and friends a Happy New Year.

Whatever you're doing today - be safe, be happy. See you soon.

Christmas Greetings

... I'm taking a break from the computer today as I'm going to be cooking a big meal!! So, I thought I'd like to wish all my crafting friends who celebrate Christmas a very Happy Christmas. 

This is a photo of our back garden, and, no, we haven't suddenly had snow in time for Christmas. This was taken in January when we did have a couple of days of snow. See you in 2024.

Peace, Love, Joy

... Good morning! It's the last day of my Christmas card reveal, and for Day 7 I have two sets of 8 cards each:

Stamps: Gina K - Holly Jolly Mini

Inks: Gina K - Powder blue, Passionate Pink, Key Lime, Jelly Bean Green, Fresh Asparagus, Christmas Pine, Lipstick Red, Red Hot, Cherry Red, Plum Punch, Sea Glass, Turquoise Sea, Blue Lagoon, Tranquil Teal, Stormy Sky, Applemint, Medium Lilac, Wild Dandelion, Tangerine Twist, In the Navy, Blue Denim; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Peace Love Joy Coverplate, Master Layout 2

Accessories: White & Black Card; Gina K Polyglaze Sheets - Tiny Dots, Celebration, Flurries, Winter Snow; ToW - Black Toner Sheets; Gina K/ToW Deco Foils - Amethyst, Silver Sequins, Glimmering Gold, Sparkling Silver, Rainbow Shattered Glass, Glass Slipper, Gold Sequins

I'm submitting these cards to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#12, and to The Male Room - TMR#181 where the theme is Christmas.

Despite these cards being the last set I'm sharing with you, they were actually the first set made. I picked four Polyglaze designs and, taking two of each design, I foiled them in my Minc. I then used the left-over foils on eight black toner sheets - so I now had 16 panels. Next, I blended Gina K inks over the foiled panels - this was such fun, the inks blend so easily and smooth out beautifully. Once completely dry, I used the Peace, Love, Joy die to cut out the panels, along with eight plain white panels. I used colour card from my stash to make the A2 notecards. I layered the foiled panels onto a black mat layer, and adhered the white panels directly onto the coloured notecards. I then spent a couple of hours, carefully inlaying all the letters on the front of the cards. I love the simplicity and elegance of this design. Inside the cards is a plain white panel onto which I stamped a bold greeting in black ink and added some snowflakes.

And that's it - all 52 of this year's Christmas Cards shared with you. They were so easy to make - and so quick too. But next year, I'm going back to my usual method of making at least one card a week - that way I'll have lots of different designs. Thanks again for stopping by. See you soon.

More Graphic Christmas Trees

.... Morning!! Only a week to go before Christmas day - and time is simply flying by. Day 6 of my Christmas Card reveal. Today I have a set of three cards:

Stamps: Gina K - Graphic Tree, Holly Jolly Mini

Inks: Gina K - Key Lime, Tranquil Teal, Christmas Pine; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Graphic Tree, Master Layout 2

Accessories: White Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Lucky Limeade, Lost Lagoon, Tranquil Tide; Gina K Polyglaze Sheets - Tiny Dots, Winter Snow; Gina K/ThermoWeb Deco Foil - Glimmering Gold, Sparkling Silver, Silver Sequins; Frost Shimmer Spray

I'm submitting these cards to Time Out Challenge - TOC#253 - where the theme is sparkly, and to Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - HLSCC#12 (skipping the optional extra).

I used coloured card from my stash to make the A2 size notecards and spritzed them all with a frost shimmer spray. I used the left-over die cut pieces of foiled toner cards, layered them onto a white mat and added them to the front of each card. I used dimensional pads to add the Graphic Christmas trees and finished each card with a die cut sentiment. On the inside, I cut white panels to size and stamped a bold Christmas greeting in black and added a few snowflakes stamped in matching colours.

The photos above really don't show the shimmer and shine very well at all; they are so pretty in real-life. That's all for now. See you again soon.

Ornamental Trees

... Hello again! I'm on something of a roll and am enjoying sharing my Christmas Cards. So, Day 5 of my Christmas Cards reveal, and I have two sets of 4 - all based on the same theme:

Stamps: Gina K - Snow Much Love, Under the Mistletoe, Graphic Tree, On the Inside - Christmas

Inks: Gina K - Key Lime, Jelly Bean Green, Blue Raspberry, Ocean Mist, Blue Denim; Memento - Cottage Ivy; Versafine Clair - Blue Belle, Green Oasis, Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Ornamental Trees, Master Layout 2

Accessories: White Card; Blue & Green Mirri Card; Crystal Glitter

I'm submitting these cards to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#12, to Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - HLSCC#12 (skipping the option), and to The Holly & Ivy Christmas Challenge - H&ICC#153 - where it's always anything Christmas goes.

I used my MISTI to layout the snowflake stamps and then, using greens and blues, stamped directly onto white A2 notecards. I cut out eight different Ornamental trees in green and blue mirri card, put them through my Xyron machine to make them self-adhesive and put each tree on a die cut panel. I stamped a greeting and layered the panels onto green or blue mirri card mat layers. As there was some adhesive in the spaces on the trees, I added fine crystal glitter, burnished it in and dusted off the excess. For the inside, I cut white card inserts, stamped on a Christmas greeting in black along with some matching snowflakes.

Thank you for stopping by and your comments - always gratefully received. I have two more posts to come - and that'll be the end of my 52 Christmas cards this year!! See you soon.