Chocolate Birthday Cake

.... Hello again! I'm here to share another birthday card that I've made:

Stamps: Gina K - Birthday Bash, Big Birthday

Inks: Gina K - Sandy Beach, Dark Chocolate, Sea Glass, Applemint, Blue Denim, Wild Dandelion, Red Hot

Dies: Gina K - Birthday Bash

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Early Espresso; Gina K Stencil - Fizzy; Copic Markers

I'm submitting this card to AAA Birthday - AAAB#45 where it's 'anything birthday goes', and to Inkspirational - INK#281 where the word prompt is 'new'. I've had these Gina K stamps and dies for a while, but this is the first time I've used them on a card!! I plan on shopping my stash this year, rather than buying new stuff. We'll see how that goes 😉

I used brown card from my stash to make an A2 note card. I placed the stencil on white card and used my blue, green and teal blending brushes to add colour - I didn't add any ink to the brushes, just used what was left!! A lot it seems. I trimmed the stencilled card to 4⅛" x 5⅜" and adhered it to the note card. The birthday cake is made from a solid stamp in the lighter colour, with the layers in darker ink. My cake is chocolate with coffee frosting!! I stamped a candle and flame, and used the co-ordinating dies to cut them all out. I adhered all the pieces flat to the card. I finished the front with a bold birthday greeting in dark blue ink. On the white panel inside the card, I stamped a large greeting and coloured the letters with Copic markers.

We woke up to a blanket of snow this morning - about 3" deep! That's a lot for around here. I've been out this morning and shovelled the snow off our drive - reminds me of being in Michigan. The sun is shining and should melt any snow off the cars and the last bits off the drive. Here are some photos of the snow - it always looks so pretty!!

This was our garden last night - I only realised that it had snowed when I went to bed. My neighbour had his garden lights on - so I got a good photo!

The photos above are two views of the garden just as the sun was rising. The sky was so pretty and the garden looks just lovely. It's a perfect day to stay in the house, keep warm and play in my craft room. That's it for today. See you soon.

Teenage Kicks

.... Hi! I hope everyone is having a good day. It's lovely here today - bright sunshine, blue skies and an icy wind!!! Kat asked me to make a birthday card for her to give to her boyfriend, and this is what I've made:

Stamps: Visible Image - Teenage Kicks, Grunge Tones, Happy Birthday

Inks: Gina K - Sandy Beach, Soft Stone, Light Lilac, Powder Blue, Keylime; Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Versafine - Onyx Black

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake; Clear Embossing Powder

I'm playing along with The Paper Players - PP#623 - it's a colour challenge this week, cool, frosty colours, just right for this time of year!

I stamped the brick wall along the bottom of the card - using two inks to give some texture to the wall. I used my MISTI to stamp the legs (twice to give good coverage) directly onto the card in Versafine black ink and heat embossed it with clear powder. I stamped a simple birthday greeting on the 'wall' and finished by adding some grungy texture in blue, lilac and green. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer in kraft card and on the white panel I simply stamped the grunge texture stamp diagonally across the card. I didn't add a verse - so there's plenty of space for Kat to write her message.

It's been a busy day - I took mum to the garden centre this morning - she had some Christmas vouchers to spend. Mum got a couple of nice blouses and a new dark purple hellebore for the garden. I got a lovely table runner and napkins for Christmas - 50% off. I love a bargain!! That's all for now. Keep safe and warm. See you soon.

Grunge Birthday

.... Hello! It's a dull, wet and cold day here in Northop Hall, so I'm spending the day playing in my craft room. Last year, I wasn't able to make many cards - the various cancer treatments made me quite tired. However, I'm at last beginning to feel much more like myself!! And I intend to get back to making lots more cards. Here's the first:

Stamps: Visible Image - Nothing to Wear, Set the Tone, Happy Birthday; MFT - Bitty Birthday Wishes

Inks: Gina K - Plum Punch, Cherry Red, Keylime; Versafine - Onyx Black; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Gina K - Master Layouts 1

Accessories: White & Black Card; SU Card - Cherry Cobbler; Visible Image - Count Me In Stencil; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder

One of my favourite challenges is CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#501, and I've used their colours on this card - however, I do realise that this is not entire clean and simple!!! I'm going to link to the challenge anyway and do better on my next card. I'm also playing along with Seize the Birthday - STB#253 where the topping is 'winged things', but I'm playing with the 'anything birthday goes'.

I'm continuing my intention to make more cards with coloured bases; I used Cherry Cobbler to make the note card. I placed the stencil over a piece of white card and brushed on purple and red ink, making sure to blend them well where they met in the middle. I used dies to cut out a mat layer of black card and the stencilled panel and glued them together. I put the piece into my MISTI and stamped a simple birthday greeting in the bottom of the panel. I used the MISTI to stampe the t-shirt image onto white card, removed it and coloured with Copic markers. I returned the coloured image to the MISTI and placed on the skull, and stamped the t-shirt and skull again in Onyx Black ink which I heat embossed with clear powder. I then carefully fussy cut out the t-shirt. I edged the image with a black marker and adhered it to the stencilled panel. I added the whole piece to the front of the note card. For the inside, I cut a mat layer in black. On the white panel, I stamped a dotty background in lime green ink and finished by adding a birthday greeting.

This card is for Kat's boyfriend, Kobie. He's a lovely young man - he loves green and purple, so I think this works perfectly for him. I safe to share it here as neither Kat nor Kobie look at my blog!! Gotta love your kids! Now that I've finished this card, I'm off to make another for Kobie - this one will be from my mum!!

That's all for now. See you again soon.

SHC - More Birthday Cards

.... Morning! I'm here with my Seven Hills Craft blog post. January is a busy month for birthdays - there are ten in total. I spent the weekend making cards for three of them!! Here's the first card:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Happy Rays Turnabout, All the Birthdays; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Birthdays

Inks: Versafine Clair - Verdant, Warm Breeze, Paradise, Nocturne; Stampin' Up! - Pineapple Punch

Dies: C&9 - Happy Rays Dies

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Pacific Blue; Silver Holographic Mirri Card

I'm submitting this card to AAA Birthday - AAAB#45 where it's anything birthday goes.

I used my MISTI to stamp the turnabout image in bold, vibrant colours. I used the sunray die, from the co-ordinating die set, to cut the dotty pattern on the image. I then trimmed the panel and layered it on silver holographic card. I adhered the whole piece to the front of an A2 landscape note card. I finished the front by die cutting a circle of blue card and stamping a simple black birthday greeting on it. Inside the card, I cut a piece of white card onto which I glued the left-over piece of the turnabout image. I completed the panel by adding a birthday greeting. This card is for our son, Ben, he is 27 years old today!! I can't work out how he got to be 27 so quickly 😊.

My next card is for our niece, who had her birthday last Wednesday:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Kaleidoscope Turnabout, All the Birthdays; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Innocent Pink, Dusty Rose, Bubblegum Pink, Passionate Pink; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: C&9 - Kaleidoscope Dies

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Petal Pink; Gold Vellum

I'm submitting this card to Color Hues - CH#55 - such pretty colours!

I stamped the turnabout image in four shades of pink and used the matching dies to cut out sections. I used the dies to cut out several plain white layers too. I layered each section up to give depth to the finished card. I used the circle dies to cut the gold vellum frame too. I finished the front of the card by stamping a birthday greeting. Inside the card, I cut a mat layer from gold vellum. On the white panel I stamped a birthday greeting. I took a side view photo to show the depth from the layers.

Next is a card for my friend Annette:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Kaleidoscope Turnabout, Yay for Birthdays, All the Birthdays; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Wild Dandelion, Key Lime, Turquoise Sea, Blue Raspberry, Tranquil Teal; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Granny Apple Green

I'm submitting this card to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#46 - this is a site to showcase stash that you've not used before!!

I used cool colours to stamp the Kaleidoscope pattern this time and added a bold birthday greeting right across the centre of the image. I adhered the panel to a green A2 notecard. I cut a piece of white card for the inside, stamped a fun greeting and added some smaller images for decortion.

My final card is for Ben - this one is from his Nanna:

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Happy Rays Turnabout, All the Birthdays, Yay for Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Lemon Drop, Wild Dandelion, Sweet Mango; Stampin' Up! - Pineapple Punch

Dies: C&9 - Happy Rays Dies

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Mango Melody; Gold Vellum

I know the stamp is called happy rays, but they remind me of sunrays, so this time I stamped in bright, sunny colours.  I trimmed the stamped panel to 5" x 3¾", being sure to keep the panel symmetrical, and adhered the panel a gold vellum mat measuring 5¼" x 4". I glued the whole piece to the front of an orange A2 note card. I finished the front by using the matching dies to cut to circles - one in gold vellum and one white. On the white circle I stamped a birthday greeting. For the inside, I cut a piece of white card to 5¼" x 4" and stamped a greeting along with some confetti decoration.

I had so much fun making these cards. I posted them early - just in case they get caught up in the postal backlog. That's all from me for today. See you again soon.

SHC - Elegant Birthday

... Hello, Happy New Year!! It's time for my Seven Hills Craft blog post. This week I've made an elegant and simple birthday card:

Stamps: MFT - Sassy Pants Birthday Greetings 3; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite Birthday

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocture; Gina K - Pinks

Dies: Altenew - Radial Circles Cover Die

Accessories: White Card; Gold Design Paper; Pink Flower Gem

I'm submitting this card to a couple of challenges. The first is AAA Birthday - AAAB#45 where it's Anything Birthday Goes, and the second is Color Hues - CH#55 where the colours are gold and light pink.

I started by cutting a piece of gold design paper slightly smaller than an A2 note card and adhering it to the front of the card. I die cut a piece of white card, removed all the little circles (which I could have kept to use on other products, but didn't!!), and used my pink blending brush to colour the card. I didn't add any additional ink to the brush, just started at the large circle and blended the pink ink to the edges of the panel. I stamped a black birthday greeting in the large circle and adhered the panel to the note card. I finished the front by adding a simple pink flower gem. Inside the card, I cut the gold design paper for a mat layer. On the white panel I stamped a fun birthday greeting and, using the blending brush, added a touch of pink ink around the edges of the panel.

January is a busy month for birthdays in our family - there are nine!! Good thing this card was quite quick to make! That's all from me for now. See you again soon.

Calendar Prep

... Hello! I hope everyone has had an enjoyable holiday period. We had a good time. It's always fun to be with family. At this time of year, I spend time getting my Filofax, calendars and Dyalogs ready for the new year. Today I've been working on my January calendar page:

Stamps: MFT - Festive Fireworks, Champagne Sentiments

Inks: Gina K - Passionate Pink, Red Hot, Blue Raspberry, Sweet Mango, Wild Dandelion, Bubblegum Pink, Ocean Mist, Blue Lagoon, Grass Green, Key Lime, Lovely Lavender, Applemint, Wild Wisteria; Versafine Clair - Nocturne, Summertime, Glamorous, Paradise, Verdant, Charming Pink, Blue Belle, Purple Delight, Fantasia

Accessories: 2023 Calandar Blank

I'm submitting this to Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#45 - it's all brand new!!

I had so much fun creating the firework background. I stamped the larger fireworks first, layering the stamps is quite easy and even if not perfect, they still look fab. I then added some of the smaller fireworks and finished by adding lots of little fireworks/stars. I finished by adding a message to the new year. 

I sincerely hope that 2023 is a better year for our family, as this year has not been the best! That's probably an understatement of things, but we are all better now and moving forward. That's it for today. See you soon.

SHC - Happy Birthday

.... Hello! It's time for my Seven Hills Craft blog post. Today I'm sharing a birthday card:

Stamps: Stamping Village - Happy Birthday Greetings; Avery Elle - Inside Birthday Greetings

Inks: Gina K - Sea Glass, Turquoise Sea, Tranquil Teal; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Concord & 9th - Stitched Polka Dot Card Front, Simply You; Altenew - Just a Number

Accessories: SU Card - Bermuda Bay; White Card; Silver Textured Mirri Card; Imagine - Sheer Sheer Frost; Copic Markers; Nuvo - Clear Aquashimmer Brush

I'm submitting this card to Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies - HLSAGD#12, and to AAA Cards - AAA#230 where they have a mood board - I've picked the teal colour from the board.

I used dark teal card from my stash to make an A2 US size note card. I cut a piece of white card to 4¼" x 5½" and put the stitched polka dot die plate on it and ran it through my Big Shot. I then used a scallop edge die to cut out the centre of the panel. I inked on several shades of teal ink to emphasise the scallop edge and define the polka dot pattern. I adhered the panel to the front of the note card. I used a die to create the birthday greeting - the shadow from dark teal card and the words from silver textured mirri card. Prior to adding the words to the card, I spritzed the front with a clear shimmer spray. Inside the card, I cut a piece of white card slightly smaller than the note card. I inked the edges of the white panel to match the front of the card. I used my MISTI to stamp the balloon greeting, removed it and used Copic markers to colour the balloons. I replaced it in the MISTI and stamped again in dark black ink and added a smaller birthday greeting below it.

This card is for my niece Georgia, she's 22 years old tomorrow. Fortunately, I don't have to post it to her. Her parents are coming to our place tomorrow for an early Christmas celebration. It's been so cold here, but we've been lucky and had no snow. It might even snow for our celebration!! That's all from me today. See you soon.

SHC - Birthday Flowers

... Good morning!! It's been a while since I posted here - life got very busy and I simply ran out of time to make a card. However, I'm here today with my Seven Hills Craft post and I've made a birthday card:

Stamps: Altenew - Calming Cluster; C&9 - Yay for Birthdays; The Greetery - Sentiment Suite - Birthdays

Inks: Gina K - Soft Stone, Wild Dandelion, Dusty Rose; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: Altenew - Calming Cluster

Accessories: White Card; Concord & 9th - Confetti Dots Turnabout Stencil; Copic Markers; Gold Embossing Powder

I'm submitting this card to a couple of challenges - Happy Little Stampers Birthday Challenge - HLSBC#12 where it's Anything Goes, and AAA Birthday - AAAB#44 - where the theme is Embossing.

I used my MISTI to stamp the large flower cluster onto white card. I removed the piece and coloured the image with Copic markers. I returned the coloured imaged to the MISTI and stamped with Versamark ink and heat embossed with gold powder. I used the matching die to cut out the finished piece along with two white pieces. I layered these pieces together to give the flower image stability and dimension. On a  white note card measuring 4½" x 6¼" I used the Confetti Dots Turnabout stencil to add a subtle grey background. I adhered the flowers to the card and finished the front by stamping a simple vertical greeting in black ink. Inside the card, I cut a piece of white card slightly smaller than the base. On this panel I stamped a fun two-step greeting in pink and yellow, and finished by adding two smaller messages in black ink.

This card is for my friend Cheryl - she lives in Florida, so I'm sending it now. Postal strikes permitting, Cheryl should get the card on time!!

It's very cold here in North Wales - we've had our first frosts of winter, but yesterday was gorgeous with bright sunshine too! That's all from me today. See you soon.