Snowman

... Hello! I hope everyone has had a good weekend.  I was busy this weekend, more of that below, and I made a card too - another for my Christmas stash:

Stamps: Funstamps - Scribble Snowman; Winnie & Walter (W&W) - Winter Wonderland, Sentimental Wishes

Inks: Gina K - Blue Sky, In the Navy; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Accessories: White Card; Gina K Card - In the Navy; Gina K Stencil - Glacier Lace; Copics; Glitter

This was fun to make and I'm entering the following challenges:

CAS on Friday - CASOF#325 - where they want a Snowman

Time Out Challenges - TOC#304 - they want to see glitter

Colour Hues -CH#125 - blue and white

ABC Christmas Challenges - ABCXMAS#01 - (A) Anything Goes

I started by stencilling an icy background directly on the A2 note card. I stamped the snowman on white card and used Copic markers to add colour. I stamped a few extra snowmen, then fussy cut the focal image along with the spares and layered them up for dimension. I stamped the greeting directly onto the card and adhered the snowman above. I finished the front by adding some glitter to the snowman's hat. On the inside, I cut a mat layer of dark blue card. On the white panel I stamped a Christmas greeting in dark blue ink and added some soft stencilling at the corners of the panel. I took a close-up photo of the hat to show the glitter.

So, I said above that we were busy this weekend. Jonathan had a photoshoot at the house with Bobbi; she's a bundle of fun! I watched some craft videos, caught up with the European Ice Skating Championships, which came from Sheffield, and read a bit. We also went to the cinema to see 28 Years Later The Bone Temple - it was silly and lots of fun and very bloody too!

It's been a fun weekend. That's it for now. Thanks again for stopping by to see my cards and for all the lovely comments, they are much appreciated.

Christmas Hot Chocolate

.... Morning! Today my card has a Christmas theme; I really want to get ahead this year. 

Stamps: Pink & Main - Christmas Mugs

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: PF - Ornate Trellis; P&M - Christmas Mugs

Accessories: White Card; SU Card - Early Espresso; PF Press Plate - Ornate Trellis; Copic Markers

This card has the same background pattern as yesterday's card. This time I used copper foil in the Glimmer machine, and cut it out with the matching die. I made an A2 note card from brown card and adhered the foiled panel.  The focal image is a fun mug of hot chocolate. I stamped the image, coloured it with Copic markers, and used the matching die to cut it out. I layered the coloured image onto three other die cuts for added dimension and strength. I stamped the greeting in black ink, trimmed the end and glued it to the card. For the inside, I cut a piece of white card onto which I added a greeting, and I stamped the mug to one side.

I'm submitting this card to the following challenges:

Caffeinated Christmas Card Challenge - CCCC#49

A Cut Above - ACA#0126 - anything goes, but must feature a die (s)

ABC Christmas Challenge - ABCXMAS#0126 - 'B for Bright'

It's been ages since I played along with Caffeinated Christmas and ABC Christmas challenges, I'm so pleased to be back. And, A Cut Above challenge is another one that's new to me. That's all for now. Bye!

Rainbow Birthday

... Good Afternoon! I've got one card to share today. Last year I finally jumped on the press plate bandwagon. I got plates from Pinkfresh Studio, Spellbinders and Altenew. I had fun making several backgrounds and I've finally started making them into cards. This is a birthday card:

Stamps: Gina K - Blooming Sunflower; Mama Elephant - Mixed Wishes Greetings

Inks: Versafine Clair - Nocturne; Gina K - Soft Stone

Dies: Pinkfresh Studio (PF) - Ornate Trellis; Gina K - Blooming Sunflower

Accessories: White & Black card; Rainbow Foil; Copic Markers; PF Press Plate - Ornate Trellis

One of the things I discovered is that press plates work really well in a Spellbinders Glimmer machine!! I foiled the design onto black cards and used the matching die to cut it out - the shine is spectacular. I adhered the panel to an A2 note card. I used my MISTI to stamp the floral image on white card. I removed it and coloured the image with Copic markers, keeping the colours soft so as not to compete with the rainbow background. I stamped a simple birthday greeting in black ink. I used the matching dies to cut out the images as well as a number of black die cuts. I layered up the black die cuts and topped each with the focal images and adhered them to the front of the card. Inside the card, I cut a piece white card slightly smaller than A2, stamped the floral image in soft grey ink and added a simple birthday verse in black ink. I edged the panel with a black Copic and glued it into the note card.

I'm entering this card into several challenge one of which, Colorful Options, is new to me.

Colorful Options - CO#0126 - where they have either a colour theme or rainbow

Seize the Birthday - STB#318 - where it's either the topping option or birthday theme

Inkspirational - INK#358 - the word prompt is 'shine/shiny'

Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#82 - to use new, or never-before-used, stash

I'd like to thank you for the comments on my cards and welcoming me back to the blogland!! It's so good to be back making cards. Drop by again tomorrow, where I have a Christmas card to share - using the same pretty background. See you soon.

First Christmas Card of 2026

... Good morning! It's a really dull, dark morning in North Wales with rain, so perfect for staying in my craft room and playing. I didn't make any Christmas cards last year - no mojo!! But this year I've decided get started early and join in with as many Christmas challenges as I can. So, here's my first Christmas card of 2026:

Stamps: Gina K - Let Your Light Shine, O Christmas Tree

Inks: Gina K - Red Velvet, Tranquil Teal; Lisa Horton - Cloud 9 Solid Gold; Versamark

Dies: Gina K - Let Your Light Shine

Accessories: White Card; Lawn Fawn Embossing Powder - Gold; Christmas Wrapping Paper

I'm entering this card into the following challenges:

Jingle Belles - JB2601 - where they want us to use recycled gift wrap

Merry Little Christmas Challenge Blog - MLCCB#66 - anything Christmas goes

Inkspirational - INK#358 - word prompt 'shine/shiny'

Never-Before-Used-Schtuff - NBUS#82 - Darnell encourages us to use that never-used-schtuff

I saved the holly gift wrap from one of my gifts in December. It's so pretty that I decided to use it for the background. I trimmed the gift wrap to be slightly smaller than an A2 (US size 5½" x 4¼") card base and adhered it to the card. I stamped the greeting and stars in Versamark ink and heat embossed with gold powder, I used the matching dies to cut out the images. I also cut out a number of white pieces which I used to layer up and give the images dimension. Inside the card, I used another scrap of the gift wrap as the mat layer, and on the white panel I stamped a simple greeting in colours to match the paper and added some gold stars which, in real life, have a lovely shimmer.

It's quite tough getting decent photos in such dull light, but I think these have turned out okay! It's so nice to be getting back into making cards - I used to love sharing my cards with Mum, but I'm sure she's watching from on high!! It's good to have some mojo back 😀

That's all for now. I've got some new inks that I need to swatch and add to my collection. See you again soon.

MCM Birthday

... Hello again! I'm on a bit of a roll. Here's another birthday card I made. This is one for my stash. I've gone for a more masculine look.

Stamps: Uniko - Background Blocks Mid Century Modern, Bauhaus Blocks; Altenew - Just a Number

Inks: Memento - Rhubarb Stalk, Nautical Blue, Bamboo Leaves; Gina K - Soft Stone; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: MFT - Square STAX Set 2 -  #2

Accessories: White Card; Uniko Stencil - Layering Bauhaus Blocks

I'm playing along with several challenges. They are:

Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#718

CAS Colour & Sketches - CASC&S#576 - I do like these colours

Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#508 - Birthdays

I started by picking three of the square images from the Layering Bauhaus Blocks stencil and inked them up with the three colours. I used a 1" square die to cut out the images. Next I stamped the graphic background in soft grey ink over a piece of white card. I trimmed off a section and adhered it to an A2 white card base. I used a marker to draw in a thin black line to define the panel. Next, I stamped the simple birthday greeting in black ink and finally I adhered the colourful blocks to the card front. Simple and graphic. For the inside, I cut a piece of white card onto which I stamped the graphic background in the centre of the panel. I finished by adding a fun greeting in black ink.

It's good getting back to making cards - I'm very slow and out of practise, but the objective is to enjoy myself and end up with a nice stash of cards ready for me to use.

That's it for now. I'm going to make a start of a couple more cards today and hope to be able to share them in the next few days. See you soon.

Winter Birthday

... Good morning! I'm here today with a card that I made for my aunt - she was 80 years old last Thursday. Sadly, we missed her birthday party, but she got this card from us:

Stamps: Gina K - Peaceful Poinsettia, Essential Greetings; Altenew - Just a Number

Inks: Gina K - Sea Glass, Ocean Mist, Cadet Blue, Light Spruce, Med Spruce, Dark Spruce; Versafine Claire - Nocture

Dies: Gina K - Peaceful Poinsettia

Accessories; White Card; Gina K Card - Blue Lagoon; Gina K Stencils - Peaceful Poinsettia, Winter Bliss; Grabie Glitter Pen; Clear Gems

I'm submitting this card to AAA Colourful - AAAC#23 - such perfect colours for a winter card, Addicted to Stamps & More! - ATSM#508 where they want birthday cards, and to Seize the Birthday - STB#318 where the topping is to make a snowflake background.

This is a non standard size card. I started by stencilling a snowflake background directly onto an A2 card. However, I decided I wanted the card to be a bit bigger. I cut a piece of blue card to give a ¼" border around the snowflake background and then added it to a custom size white card. I used my MISTI to stamp the poinsettia onto white card, I used the matching stencils to add colour to the flower, and then put the image back into the MISTI and restamped with black ink. I cut out the flower and some extras using the matching dies. I layered up the poinsettia flowers to give depth and adhered it to the front of the card. I completed the front with a simple greeting and some clear crystals. On the inside of the card, I cut a piece of blue card onto which I layered some white card. I stamped the poinsettia in a teal ink and added a fun greeting.

I love poinsettia flowers, well they're all leaves really, but they do look so beautiful. 

Well, that's all from me today. It's been fun making some cards. I still have lots to make. There are 9 family birthdays in January. Thank you for stopping by.

Birthday Boy

... Hello! It's been quite a while since my last post. I really thought I'd got it together, but it turned out not to be the case. However, I'm determined to get back to making cards - I've got hardly any left in my stash! So, today I'm sharing a card that I made for our son, Ben. Ben is 30 years old on Tuesday - I'm safe sharing it now, as he doesn't look at my blog!! Here's the card:

Stamps: MFT - Bitty Birthday Wishes, Sassy Pants Birthday Greetings

Inks: Gina K - Red Velvet, Stormy Sky; Versafine Clair - Nocturne

Dies: SU - Large Number Framelits

Accessories: Waffle Flower Stencil - Layered Triangles; Graphite Grey Mirri Card; Gina K Card - Red Velvet; White Card

I'm submitting this card to Color Hues - CH#124, great colours for a guy, AAA Birthday - AAAB#81, Winter birthday theme, and Inkspirational - INK#358, where they want shine.

This stencil is great for a masculine card. I did the first layer in red and the second in grey. I trimmed the panel to be slightly smaller than an A2 (US size card) card. I stamped a simple birthday greeting in grey, and finished the front with a bold, shiny number 30. I die cut two numbers from mirri card (so hard to photograph), along with several in white card which I layered up to give the number some depth. On the inside, I used what was left of the ink on the stencil to make a second generation image. On top of that I stamped a fun birthday greeting.

I've posted the card to Ben and, hopefully, he should get it by Tuesday. It's hard to believe he's 30 years old.

Before I go, I'd just like to wish everyone a Happy New Year - I'm sure this will be the latest one in the year. See you soon.