Sympathy Card

... Good afternoon! I've had a fun day in my craft room. I need to rebuild my card stash - I didn't make many cards last year, and I've worked my way through all my stash. So, today I made a start on a sympathy card. I used lots last year and I sincerely hope that I don't need any this year, but it is always so much easier to make them when you don't actually need them. So here's my card:

Stamps: Waffle Flower - With Sympathy Duo; PTI - Random Stripe

Inks: Kaleidacolor - Cappuccino Delight

Dies: Marianne Design - Forest Branch LR0150

Accessories: White & Brown Card

I'm submitting this card to Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#256 where the keyword is 'monochrome'.

Last week I started going through my old stamps and dies. I found the PTI stripe stamp set and used it for a clean, simple birthday card. I like this set, so I used it again today. I stamped the 'barcode' style image directly onto a white A2 note card. I used shades of brown. The sentiment I picked has a clean, crisp font and works perfectly with the stripe image. I finished the front by die cutting the forest branch (a very, very old die) in brown shimmer card along with two white dies. I layered them together and then added them to the card.

Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of the shimmer brown card - it's a bit smaller than I'd normally do, but I was running out of card! On the white panel I added another sympathy sentiment. The stamp set has lots of mini sentiments which can be added when needed.

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

Drip, drip, drop little April Shower

.... Good afternoon! The title of this post is entirely appropriate for the weather we've been having. And, it works as there are lots of challenges with rain/rainbows/sun as the theme. Indeed, on Tuesday I shared a rain themed card, but you can never have too many, especially in the UK!! Here's my card:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Bootiful Occasions; PTI - Scattered Showers

Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Powder Blue

Dies: PTI - Scattered Showers

Accessories: White Card; Dylusions Stencil - Raindrops Sm; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to four challenges:

Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#255 - Rain

Just Us Girls - JUGS#722 - Rain

Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#631 - Sketch

Inspired By - IB#284 - Photo

I embossed a raindrop stencil onto white card and trimmed it to slightly smaller than an A2 note card. I brushed the edges with blue ink and adhered it to the car. I used my MISTI to stamp the boot and sentiment, took the image out and coloured it with Copic markers, put it back in the MISTI and restamped with Versafine ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I carefully cut out the boot with the smallest white margin. I had some umbrella dies left over from Tuesday, so I stamped a bright yellow brolly and adhered that to the card. I used dimensional pads to adhere the boot. I finished with the sentiment. I've left the inside blank for my own message.

I took a close-up photo of the background to show the embossed raindrop detail - you can just about see it in the photo above, but it's much clearer here:

I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a brighter day as I plan on taking my Mum to the local garden centre. She wants to get a new Acer for the garden, so we're garden shopping!! That's all for now. See you soon.

Barcode Birthday

... Hello again! A quick post with another clean, simple card. This time I've made birthday card - probably for one of my nephews.

Stamps: PTI - Random Stripe, Rock On

Inks: Kaleidacolor - Caribbean Sea; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: Black and White Card

I'm submitting this card to Time Out Challenges - TOC#260 where the theme is striped.

Going back to older stash, I found this fabulous barcode style stamp which I think works perfectly for a teenage boy. I stamped the image on a strip of white card using a multi-colour stamp pad. I trimmed to size and layered the image onto a black mat layer and adhered it to the front of an A2 white note card. I finished the front by stamping a funky birthday greeting.

Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card and on the white panel I stamped another greeting along with a cute guitar and some musical notes.

This is going into my stash until I need it. That really is all for now - I'm off to make dinner. See you soon.

Chase the Gloomies Away

.... Afternoon! It's feeling like autumn here today - so much rain, so cold and so windy. And there are lots of challenges in blogland with the general theme of rain, rainbows and sunshine. So I made a card:

Stamps: Papertrey Ink: Scattered Showers, Scattered Showers Additions

Inks: Gina K - Stormy Sky, Wild Dandelion; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: PTI - Scattered Showers

Accessories: White & Black Card; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to Just Us Girls - JUGS#721 where they have these wonderful bold, bright colours, and to The Paper Players - PP#684 where the theme is rain, sunshine and rainbows.

I've been shopping my stash and realise that I've not used my Papertrey Ink stamps and dies for ages, so I have the perfect sets and I've made a clean, simple card. I stamped the raindrops (second generation impression) directly on the note card. I die cut three white umbrellas, stamped on the image and coloured the panels with Copic markers. I finished the front with this cute message - believe me, the gloomies are very present in North Wales today!!!

Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel I added a fun greeting - well, after the rain, it has to be sun. And I stamped a bold, bright yellow sun in top corner.

This card will be in the post tonight - my aunt needs cheering up! Bye for now.

Birthday Argyle

.... Morning! Hope you had a good weekend. Storm Kathleen seems to have mostly missed our area, we did have some high winds, but fortunately not too much rain! However, in order to be 'safe' I spent most of the weekend playing in my craft room. I shared one of the cards I made yesterday, and today I'm sharing the card that we're sending to Simon:

Stamps: Lawn Fawn - Happy Happy Happy; Stampin' Up! - Half Full; Taylored Expressions - Argyle Stamp & Stencil Combo

Inks: Gina K - Blue Denim, Red Hot, Kraft; Versafine Claire - Nocturne

Dies: Taylored Expressions - Diamonds Piercing Plate; MFT Die-namics - A2 Rectangles Set 1 # 10, A2 Stitched Rectangles Set 1 #8; Lil' Inkers - Dad

Accessories: White & Black Card; Glossy Accents

I'm submitting this card to Cardz 4 Guyz - C4G#344 where the colours are navy, red and kraft, and also to Addicted to Stamps and More - ATSM#465 - stencils and/or dies.

I love the Arygle stamp and stencil set - you can make so many different patterns, ones that work for women, and this one, which I think is particularly masculine in look. I cut a piece of white card to 5½" x 4¼" (the size of an A2 note card). I used the layered stencils to add colour. After creating the diamond pattern, I stamped the black lines and then used the piercing plate to add more detail. I used a stitched edge die to cut the main panel and layered it onto a black mat. I added the panel to the front of an A2 note card. To finish the front, I stamped the words 'happy birthday' on white card and trimmed to size. I die cut the word 'D@D' three times from black card, layered them together and added to the card. I finished by adding glossy accents over the word and set it aside to dry.

Inside, I cut a mat layer of black card and on the white panel I stamped a greeting a row of wine glasses. My father-in-law enjoys a glass of good red wine!!

On a totally different subject, there's a total eclipse of the sun today. This will be visible (weather permitting) over a large area of the States. If we're incredibly lucky, we might catch it at sunset tonight. In reality, of course, it'll be cloudy and sun won't be visible!! That's all for now. See you all again soon.

Birthday Dots

...  Hello, good afternoon. I've had a fun morning in my craft room making birthday cards for my father-in-law. This is the card my Mum is sending to Simon:

Stamps: Gina K - Birthday Cheer Mini, Stuck on You

Inks: Gina K - Sea Glass, Jelly Bean Green, Tranquil Teal; Versafine Claire - Nocturne; Versafine - Onyx Black

Dies: Gina K - Stuck on You

Accessories: White & Black Card; Taylored Expressions Stencil - Big Circles; Clear Embossing Powder; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to Color Throwdown - CTD#787 - love these colours, Addicted to Stamps and More - ATSM#465 - die cuts and/or stencils, and to The Male Room - TMR#185 - embossing.

I placed the big circles stencil on white card and used blending brushes to add colour to the circles. I trimmed the panel to be slightly smaller than a US A2 size note card. I edged the panel with a dark grey marker and stamped a bold birthday greeting in black ink, which I embossed with clear powder. I added the panel to the front of the note card. I finished the front with a fun die cut cactus, which I'd stamped, coloured with Copic markers, re-stamped and heat embossed with clear powder. 

Inside the card, I cut a piece of black card for the mat layer. On the white panel I stamped a greeting and added another cute cactus.

That's all for today - I'm off to make dinner. We're having duck for a special treat. See you soon.

Shaking it all about with AAA Birthday

... Good morning!! I am delighted to say that I'm Guest Designer at AAA Birthday for their April challenge. The challenge this month is 'Shaker', and I have to admit that this caused me some concern. You don't see many shaker cards on my blog - and there's a reason for that. So, I spent a few weeks watching various tutorials, and this is the card I made:

Stamps: Gina K - On the Inside, Sweet Sentiments

Inks: Versafine Claire - Nocturne; Gina K - Bubblegum Pink, Passionate Pink

Dies: MFT Die-namics - Happy Birthday Block; Lil' Inkers - Stitched Squares #7

Accessories: White Card; Acetate; Brutus Monroe DP - Galaxy; Sequins & Gems from stash

I thought this would be a breeze. It was mostly. I cut some design paper to fit on a 5¼" square white card. I die cut the Happy Birthday block in white card and adhered some acetate to the back of the die cut. I then carefully went around the edge with dimensional tape. At this point I realised I needed to add some dimensional tape to the edge of some of the letters, otherwise the whole lot would collapse. Once I completed that, I filled the inside with a mixture of sequins and gems and added the card to the shaker panel. And I'm delighted it turned out so well.

I kept the inside, quite simple. I cut another piece of the design paper to make the mat layer and on the white panel added a birthday greeting along with some pink flowers.

I do hope you get time to join in with this month's challenge. I'm very much looking forward to seeing what the design team make and to visiting you all this month. I may even have another go - it was fun. I'd like to thank the DT for inviting me to join them this month. Bye for now.

Lacey Floral Birthday

...Hello, good afternoon. I hope everyone has had a good weekend. It's been a quite one here, mostly I've been working in my craft room. I've made a birthday card and been working on my dyalog (more of that later this week). Here's the birthday card:

Stamps: Gina K - Lovely Lace, Modern Roses, Let's Celebrate

Inks: Versafine Clair - Morning Mist, Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Modern Roses, Master Layouts 1

Accessories: White & Black Card; Copic Markers; Sakura Stardust Pens

I'm submitting this to Color Throwdown - CTD#785, Addicted to Stamps and More - ATSM#464 where it's Any Occasion, and to Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#254 where the word is 'bloom'.

Using my MISTI, I stamped the large floral image onto white card, removed it from the MISTI, and coloured the image with Copic markers. I replaced the image in the MISTI and restamped with Versafine Clair grey ink - I like the softer look with grey ink. I added some shimmer to the image with Stardust pens. I used a die to cut out the panel and layered it onto black card and added to the front of an A2 note card. I finished the front of the card with a bold birthday greeting which I stamped in black ink and cut out with the matching die. 

Inside the card, I cut a mat layer of black card. On the white panel, I stamped a simple birthday greeting and added some flowers.

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

Easter Simplicity

.... Good afternoon! It's been a lovely day here in Northop Hall - blue skies and sunshine, but a cold wind. I've been doing my usual - working in my craft room. I finished my last Easter card - this one is for our son, Ben. Here's the card:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps (closed) - Free Spirit Boy, Compact Sentiments; Gina K - Handmade Holidays

Inks: Versamark; Gina K - Blue Raspberry, Blue Denim, Key Lime, Lucky Clover, Soft Stone; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Spellbinders - Nested Eggs (S4-264) #2; Gina K - Handmade Holidays

Accessories: White Card; Clear Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#533 - they have a sketch this week, and to CAS on Friday - CASOF#279 - where the theme is Easter.

I was having a bit of struggle trying to decide what to make for Ben's card, then when I saw the sketch, I knew that it would have to be six funky Easter eggs. I stamped the large Free Spirit circle image in Versmark ink and embossed with clear powder - I did two images. I coloured one with blue inks and the other with green inks. I used a small Easter egg die to cut out three of each and added them to a plain white A2 note card. I finished the front with a simple Easter greeting in black ink.

For the inside, I cut a couple of pieces of white card. On the larger piece I lightly brushed on blue ink. On the smaller piece I stamped the large circle image in soft grey ink and added a bold greeting in black ink. I layered the panels together and adhered them inside the card.

The Free Spirit Boy stamp set is from Waltzingmouse Stamps and is one of my all time favourite sets. I've used it often to make cards for Ben. 

On my last post, I mentioned that I was going to have some blonde highlights in my hair and promised a photo. Here it is:

I'm so pleased how the colour has come out. I love, love the bright blue, pink and green that I had over Christmas, but it takes so much to keep it looking nice (and it's expensive too, so it was time to go back to more 'normal' colours. That's all for today. Bye for now.