Best Buds ....

... Good morning!  Here's a card that I made yesterday, and it's not a Christmas card!!

Stamps: MFT - PI  Little Gardener
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Rectangles #3
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Poppy Parade; SU DP - Lucky Limeade; Copic Markers; Cuttlebug EF - Floral Fantasy; SU Circle Punches - 1" and 1¼"

I've been making so many Christmas cards recently that I thought it was time to make something a little different.  I used the sketch from My Favourite Things Wednesday Sketch Club - MFTWSC#201 for the layout and the colours are from Colour Q - cQc#266.  The colours could be used for a Christmas card, but I've made a card for a friend in the UK.  I stamped the image, coloured it with Copic markers and cut it out with a die.  I used the same die to cut another panel in lime green paper.  I decided to add some texture by embossing the white panel with a floral pattern to match the theme and layered it onto red card.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of green design paper and added a sentiment.

I've been really busy in my craft room working on cards for upcoming design team posts - I plan to have all the cards made and the post scheduled so that I'm free to spend time with Ben when he arrives next Saturday!  I'm so excited!!  We all went to the cinema yesterday to see the new Disney movie Big Hero 6 - it was absolutely fabulous!  By turns funny, moving, sad and full of action packed fun - it's a great family film.  Both Kathryn and I were in tears a couple of times.  I highly recommend it.  That's all for now - I'm off back to my craft room to finish of a few more cards.  See you soon.  Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

52CCT - Colours ....

... Hello all!  It's time for our new challenge at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown and Jacqueline has some great colours for us to play with - RED AND GREEN, with either SILVER OR GOLD.  I had such fun with this challenge that I made two cards:

Stamps: Simon Says Stamps - Ugly Sweater, Sweater Words & Appliques; Waltzingmouse - Elf Made
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black
Dies: Spellbinders - Crown Ovals (S4-303) #3; SSS Dies - Sweaters; Impression Obsession - Christmas Lights (099K)
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Real Red, Garden Green; Gold Mirri Card; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella Brush - Gold

I think you can see from the pictures that I opted to go with Red, Green and Gold.  When I was a kid we often had new sweaters just for Christmas, usually with a particularly Christmassy image and that was the idea for these cards.  I could have done lots more, but decided on a red sweater with a Christmas tree and a green one with Santa's face.  I stamped them on scrap card, coloured them with Copies and cut them out with the matching dies.  I stamped the face and tree separately, coloured them, fussy cut and adhered them to the sweaters.  I decided to layer them on these fun ovals and added a row of Christmas lights.  I finished the front with a fun sentiment.  On the inside I cut a mat layer to mat the sweater colour and stamped a simple Christmas greeting.

For more inspiration cards using our colours of Red and Green with either Silver or Gold, check out the blog to see what the rest of the team have made.

Don't forget that we're still running the DT Call.  If you want to be considered you need to play along with all the challenges this month, add the initals DT after your name when you link up!  That's all for now.  Have fun.

Non-traditional Christmas ...

....  Good morning!  This is my fourth attempt at making a card for this week's challenge at Less is More - LIM#196, where the team would like us to make a Christmas card with non-traditional colours.  Here's my take:

Stamps: Woodware - Christmas Date; Waltzingmouse - Elf Made#
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Up! - Pumpkin Pie
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Tempting Turquoise; Copic Markers; Signo White Pen

Why is this the fourth attempt?  Well the first attempt was the card I posted on Monday, it's certainly non-trad colours, but includes lime green!  The second and third attempts are images that I coloured earlier this week, only realising at the end that I'd added red on one and green on the other!  Silly me!!

I CASEd Kath's card (she entered our 52CCT stash challenge), I really liked the stamp she used, so I got it.  Instead of Kath's traditional red and green, I went wild with colour.  I used Copic markers to colour the whole image.  Initially I used the colourless blender to remove the blue from the snow, but it wasn't very clear, so I used my white pigment pen to colour the snow.  I cut it out, edged it with a black marker and adhered it to the card with dimensional tape.  Before attached the image, I drew a frame by hand, to echo the frame on the image.  On the inside of the card I cut a mat layer of turquoise card and stamped a simple sentiment in orange on the white panel.

Not only have I been busy with card making, but I've also been editing photos from shoots that I did earlier this year - much earlier!!!  I'll share a few photos soon.  That's all for now - see you soon.

ASM - Photo inspiration ....

... Good evening!  Well, we're in November, our clocks went back at the weekend, so the evenings are dark now - a real sign of winter.  But I'm here to tell you about this week's challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!  This week we have an inspiration photo - here's my take:

Stamps:  Stamp Art Designs Digi - Tulip Umbrella; Lil Inkers - Darling Diamonds
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Real Red
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Squares #5
Accessories: Neenah Solar White Card; SU Card - Real Red; Gold Mirri Card; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear; Sequins

I've taken the colours from the photo as my inspiration.  I used Real Red to make the card base.  The image was printed on Neenah Solar White (which I got when I did the Copic colouring class) and coloured with Copics!!  I cut it out with a die and layered it onto some gold mirri card.  I added some sparkle to the flowers with my clear Wink of Stella brush, and finished the front with some sequins.  I decided not to add a sentiment to the front of the card.  On the inside I cut a panel of white card and added a simple greeting.

Our sponsor this week is StampArt Design and the winner of the challenge will receive 5 free digi images.  Check out the blog to see what the team has made based on the inspiration photo.  That's all for now - see you soon.

Cute Christmas and some news ....

.... First the news!!!  Yesterday the new members of the Rick St Dennis Elite Design Team and Rick's Facebook EDT were announced.  I am delighted to say that I've been asked to join the blog EDT - I'm so excited.  I only found Rick's images earlier this year and I just love them.  So, as my way of celebrating joining this team of very talented folk, here's a Christmas card I made yesterday:

Stamps: Rick St Dennis Digi - Star Kids Trio; PTI - Wet Paint Holiday; Waltzingmouse - Flurries
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Bermuda Bay
Dies: Spellbinders - Petit Ovals Sm (S4-140) ; PTI - Wet Paint Holiday
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Melon Mambo; SU DP - Pumpkin Pie; Copic Markers

I used the sketch from the new challenge at House of Cards - HOCNov for the layout.  I printed the cute kids on white card, coloured them with Copic markers and then cut them out.  As I've used non-traditional colours on the card, I'm also submitting this to Less is More - LIM#196.  I cut some strips of bright pink and white card to make the vertical panel.  I made the backing oval from orange design paper and white card and attached the completed image to the oval frame.  I finished the front of the card with a simple sentiment made up of die cut and stamped words.  I coloured some white card to match the blue Star Kid and cut out the word "Christmas", cut several more glued them together and ended up with a homemade "chipboard" diecut.  The hardest part of making this word was cutting the dimensional tape into small pieces - took ages!!!  I attached it with dimensional tape.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of orange design paper and stamped a very simple greeting on the white panel.

I had Jonathan at home with me yesterday, he really wasn't feeling well.  I know that Jonathan's really ill when he (a) goes to bed really early on Sunday, (b) sleeps fitfully and (c) spends of the day in bed too.  He's still not 100%, but is much improved.  Why is man flu so much worse than flu?  And today is election day, Kathryn's school is a polling station, so she has the day off.  A full house here.  Well, that's it for now.  Do come back later and check out details of our new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More! - see you then.

Elf made ....

.... Good morning!  The clocks went back at the weekend and I really hoped that I'd sleep in on Sunday.  I woke at 7.15am - great result, sadly, that was old time and it was actually 6.15am!  The one thing I really hate about going back to winter time is the dark evenings - ugh!  Anyway, enough of that, I've got a fun Christmas card to share with you today:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Elf Made, Flurries
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black, Grey Flannel; Stampin' Up! - Lucky Limeade, Bermuda Bay, Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder
Dies: WMS - Stitched Tag #1 and #2
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Bermuda Bay; Copic Markers; Cuttlebug EF - Ice Crystals; Glitter; Sequins

I've used the sketch from this week's CAS(E) this Sketch - CTS#98 for the layout, but I've turned it through 90° to make a portrait style card.  I used the colours from our Waltzingmouse Fanatics challenge - WMSFC#30, and I was going to submit it to Less is More, but I just realised that it has some green in it!!  As there's a tag on this card, I'm also submitting it to the current Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#51 challenge where the cue word is Tag!  I embossed the background with ice crystals and adhered the panels directly to the card.  I stamped the little elf girl (my new Waltzingmouse set) on white card, coloured her with Copic markers, then cut her out and attached her with dimensional gel.  She actually has a bell on her hat and is holding mistletoe, but it's tough to cut around them so I cut them off!  I die cut the tag and stamped on the details, and then layered it onto a smaller turquoise tag.  I finished the front with some sequins.  On the inside is a mat layer of turquoise card and on the white panel a greeting and another elf girl.

That's it for now - see you soon.

Thanksgiving Wishes ...

.... Good morning!  We had our first snow of the season on Friday night - just as the kids were off out trick or treating, and then on Saturday, while cold, the sun came out and it was lovely.  I spent the day tucked up nice and warm in the house.  Today's card was made using a few challenges:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Wondrous Wreath; My Favourite Things - Primitive Pumpkins
Inks: SU - Brocade Blue, Crushed Curry, Tangelo Twist; Memento - Peanut Brittle, Tuxedo Black
Dies: Die-namics - Primitive Pumpkins, Jumbo Fishtail Banner STAX #6; SU/Sizzix - Wondrous Wreath Framelits
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Black; Cuttlebug EF - Autumn Type

I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#160 for the layout, the colours are from Colour Throwdown # CTD#316 and the idea for the wreath is from Just Us Girls - JUGS#265.  I cut the big banner in white, embossed it with autumnal words and then lightly ran the blue ink pad over the top.  I adhered the banner and black panel directly on the card.  The first layer of leaves were made by inking the stamp with Tangelo Twist, stamping off and then immediately inking with Crushed Curry to give a slightly yellow orange colour.  I adhered the wreath using dimensional tape at the top and glue it flat at the bottom.  The pumpkins were adhered with dimensional tape.  On the inside I cut a simple mat layer of black card and on the white card stamped a greeting a some more pumpkins.

I did make a few more cards yesterday, but you'll have to wait a while as they are DT cards.  I've got to get ahead with my cards as Ben and his girlfriend are coming over to the States to spend Thanksgiving with us.  I'm so excited, it's been nearly a year since we saw Ben.  I just hope that the weather doesn't get too cold before he arrives.  That's all for now, see you soon.

WMSFC - Colours ....

....  Hello again.  I'm back with my card for our Waltzingmouse Fanatics Challenge - WMSFC#30 - we have a colour challenge for you.  Here's my take:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Pic-Nic Patterns, Offbeat Backgrounds, Sewing Box Hugs, Spring Baskets; Stampin' Up! - Endless Birthday Wishes
Inks: SU - Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade, Concord Crush; Memento - Tuxedo Black, Grey Flannel
Dies: Spellbinders - Squares Lg (S4-126) #3, Squares Sm (S4-128) #3
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Lucky Limeade, Bermuda Bay; SU DP - Melon Mambo, Wisteria Wonder; Copic Markers

Our colours this week are teal, lilac, bright pink, lime green and purple - you don't have to use them all, but I managed!!  I used the sketch from this week's Mojo Monday - MOJO#369; it's been ages since I played along with them.  I used the dimension they provided, 5½" × 7" and score at 3½" to make a 5½" × 3½" card (still fits an A2 envelope).  I didn't want a solid purple, so I made my own paper by stamping the polka dots in purple and then stamping the flower on top.  I stamped the flower several times and fussy cut to get the layers I needed.  As I need to send this through the post, I kept the flowers flat.  I die cut some square to layer behind each flower.  I stamped the trellis pattern in pink and used that behind the squares.  I finished the front with a stamped stripe, paper bow and simple sentiment.  On the inside I cut a mat layer in Melon Mambo design paper and a white panel for my message.


For more inspiration with our fun and bright colours, check out the blog to see what Tara and Kathy have made.  Hopefully, you'll have more fun with this week's challenge - you didn't much like the Halloween theme!!!

Don't forget you MUST use at least one Waltzingmouse stamp, sentiment or digi on your project.  You have until Thursday 13th November 10.00pm GMT (5.00pm EST) to play along.


That's all - see you soon.

52CCT - Sketch ....

... Good morning! Well it's November now and almost time to be sending out the cards we've been busy making all year.  Now, if you haven't made any yet, you still have about 6 - 7 weeks in which to get some made.  Jacqueline is our host at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown for November, and she has a super sketch for us to use this week, here's my take:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Tis the Season, Warm Fuzzies; Stampin' Up! - Endless Wishes
Inks: SU - Sahara Sand, Crumb Cake, Early Espresso
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Rectangles #4; WMS - Folk Art Snowflake, Snowflake #2
Accessories:  White Lustre Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake; SU DP - Early Espresso; String and twine

I'm submitting this card to the Merry Monday challenge - MM#123 where the team would like us to use snowflakes, dry embossing and neutral colours - done!  I cut the panel from Crumb Cake card using a Lil Inker stitched rectangle, dry embossed this huge snowflake and wrapped it with twine and string.  I stamped the sentiment in dark brown, added a few more stamped snowflakes and then adhered the panel with dimensional tape.  I finished the front with one more snowflake - this time die cut from design paper.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of Early Espresso design paper, stamped more snowflakes and a sentiment on the white panel.

For more inspiration using this sketch - check out the cards from the rest of the team.

Now, before I go, we've got some exciting news.  We are looking to add some people to our Design Team.  If you would like to be considered you must play along with all our November challenges and simply add the initials DT after you card on the inlink submission.  Good luck!  See you soon.