UC - Anything Goes ....

.... Morning!  Winter has finally arrived in Michigan.  After a very slow start, with December being almost entirely snow free and much warmer than normal, this past week has seen WINTER!!!  In fact I didn't go out of the house on Monday and Tuesday, but stayed inside.  I have to admit that I didn't get too much crafting done - I was out shovelling the snow off the drive and paths!  Hey ho!

It's time for the first Uniko Challenge  - USC#28 of the year.  We've kept things nice and simple for the first challenge with a theme of ANYTHING GOES, but if you want, there's also the option of "LOVE".  I went for the AG option and made a sympathy card - I seem to have none left in my stash.  Here's my card:

Stamps: Uniko - Nature's Treasures 1, Flower Power #1
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Baja Breeze, Coastal Cabana, Pistachio Pudding; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Rectangles #5
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Black; Tim Holtz Watercolour Paper

I used a couple of challenges in the making of this card.  At Happy Little Stampers CAS - HLSCAS01 the challenge is to use the 'smooshing' technique and I've picked the colours from the current House of Cards Challenge - HOC01-16.

I die cut a piece of watercolour paper as the smooshing technique works so much better on this than my normal card!  Guess you'll know how I found that out ;)  This technique is so easy.  I pressed a small acrylic block on the ink pad, lightly spritzed it with water and then pressed it on the watercolour paper - I love the random effect it gives.  Once the ink was dry I stamped the fern image in Versafine ink and used the second impression to give a shadow.  Next I stamped the sentiment.  I finished by matting the paper on black card.  On the inside I cut another mat of black card and on the white panel I added three ferns using the green inks.

Do visit the Uniko blog to check out the inspiration cards from the rest of the team.  And, as always, there are prizes - full details on Bev's blog.  Have fun!

Birthday Boy ....

.... Morning!  No card this morning, just a quick post to wish my wonderful son a very Happy Birthday.  This is very photo heavy.

Just before his first birthday - Ben enjoying Christmas - love this one - he's so happy!

Messing about in the garden!

At school in Northop Hall - summer show.

On holiday in the Lake District.

Learning out to play with this thing!  At the Acoustic Festival.

At Island Lake, Michigan - Ben's first visit to the United States.

Visiting the States - this time bringing his girlfriend, Sophie.

Take last October in Plymouth - my son and me.

Finally, a photo of my family - Kat, Jonathan and Ben.  Taken October 2015.

Ben - from baby to man.  I can't quite believe just how fast these past 20 years have gone.  Love you so very much.  Have a wonderful birthday and look forward to seeing you soon.  Mum xx

Simple thanks .....

.... Morning! I've a thank you card to share with you this morning - we always need a supply of thanks cards:

Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Dandelion Dreams, Sweet Little Sentiments, Everything Changes
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Smoky Slate, Calypso Coral; Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Dies: Clearly Besotted - Everything Changes
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Calypso Coral; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear; Glitter

I combined several challenges to make this clean, simple card:

• Colour Throwdown - CTD#374
• AAA Cards - AAA#55 - to add real glitter to your card
• Inkspirational - INK#99 - to make a thank you card with something new
• CASology - CAS#179 - cue word SIMPLE

I cut a panel of white card slightly smaller than the base and, using my MISTI to ensure everything was where I wanted it, stamped these pretty dandilions.  I stamped the butterfly on a scrap of white card, cut it out with the matching die and coloured with Copic markers.  I added sparkle to the wings with a clear Wink of Stella brush.  I used a glue pen to dot around the dandilions and added real glitter.  I attached the buttlerfly with dimensional tape and finished the front by running a Copic marker round the edge.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of coral card and added another dandilion and butterfly, along with a greeting on the white panel.

Inkspirational wanted us to use new stuff - well all the Clearly Besotted is new, I got it for Christmas. Dandilions are simple clocks; I remember as a little girl blowing the seeds away to count the time - not terribly accurate, but fun!

I'm going to finish with a couple of videos - we woke to the news from Radio 2 that David Bowie had died.  It was a real shock and I still can't quite believe it - he was amazing and I think my favourtie song is Life on Mars:



And Space Oddity:



The sounds from my teens.  Rest in peace David and thank you for the music.

Uniko - Revisit & Blog Hop ....

.... Good morning!  So pleased you stopped by today as it's time for the first Uniko Design Team Blog Hop of the year.  If this is the first time you've come across Uniko - here's some information for you.  Bev "normally" releases new stamps every other month, and in the "off" month we revisit one of Bev's older sets - and have a play.   It's not long until Valentine's Day, so Bev decided we'd all revisit - Always and Forever.  Before we get to my card, we also have a new member to the Design Team - Lindsey from Doodlings is joining us, so please do say hi.  And now, here's my card:

Stamps: Uniko - Always and Forever, Beautiful Blooms 1, Background Builders Lattice, Time
Inks: Versamark; Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Melon Mambo, Blushing Bride
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear

I had so much fun creating this card.  I combined several of Bev's sets with the wonderful flower heart being the focal image.  The colours are from this week's Colour Q - cQc#323 challenge.  I started by making a base from Crumb Cake card and stamping  the smaller flower from Beautiful Blooms in Versamark to create a tone-on-tone look.  In the small gaps I stamps one of the sentiments from Always and Forever.  I cut a panel of white card and stamped this pretty lattice border on a diagonal and coloured it with Copic markers.  I stamped a birthday sentiment above the lattice and then carefully cut along the border.  I stmaped the flower heart in bright pink - I used my MISTI so was able to stamp the image twice to give really good definition to the image.  I then carefully cut it out and adhered it to the card with dimensional tape.  Prior to adding the heart to the card I used my clear Wink of Stella brush to add some sparkle to the coloured parts of the lattice and also to the white flower in the heart, sadly you can't see it in the photo!  On the inside I cut another white panel and added another flower along with a simple greeting.

Now, I mentioned earlier that this is a Design Team Blog Hop.  You should have come here from Bev's blog and the next stop is Jane, but you can follow along by clicking on the links below:

Bev - Uniko

Deborah (that's me!)

Jane

Lindsey

Sarah P

Here's a quick look at the stamps in Always and Forever:

Before I go I should mention that we have a wonderful GIVEAWAY too.  Simply comment along the Hop to be in with a chance of winning this featured set along with an eGift certificate for £10 to spend in store.  Or, if you win and already own this set, an eGift certificate for £15 will be awarded. You have until midnight (GMT) Sunday 17th Janaury to comment, and the winner will be announced on Monday 18th January.  That's all for now!

CIC - Colours ...

...  Morning!  I hope you're all having a good weekend.  Mine has been spent crafting and I only got this card finished yesterday morning.  Our challenge at Cupcake Inspirations - CIC#342 this week has been inspired by the lovely colours in the cupcake graphic.  Here's my take:

Stamps: Woodware - Doodle Flower Basket
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Basic Grey; Copic Markers; Glitter

This card is really clean and simple.  I made the base from grey card and cut a white panel slightly smaller.  I used my MISTI to stamp the image, stamping it a few times to get really black lines.  Then I had fun colouring - I used all my lilac and lavender Copic markers to colour the image.  I finished the front with a sprinkling of glitter around the image.  As I've included glitter on the card, I'm submitting it to the current challenge at AAA Cards - AAA#55 to use glitter.  On the inside white panel I stamped a simple birthday greeting and added a single flower, which I cut out from another image.

Our sponsor for this week's challenge is Inspired by Stamping and the winner will receive a $24 gift card.  Don't forget to visit our blog to see more inspirational projects from the rest of the team.

I told you yesterday that we were going to Plymouth to check out the Ice Festival, well, we didn't go. We both slept in and by the time we got up the temperature was already 7C (44F), so we decided to give it a miss.  I think that the sculptures would have been dripping!! The upside is I got to play in my craft room instead!!  Win!

52CCT - Sketch ....

.... Hello! I hope everyone has settled back into their normal routines.  I'm still not quite back to normal - somehow I lost days last week, but I'm getting there.  I'm hosting our challenges over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT01-16 this month.  Our aim is to give you inspiration to build your Christmas card stash, so that you have time to relax in December.  As normal, our first challenge of the month is a sketch and I had lots of fun coming up with this one.   Here's my card:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Alpine Christmas, Vintage Postcards, Off Beat Backgrounds, Vintage Circles Small; Stampin' Up! - Sheltering Tree
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; SU - Soft Sky, Marina Mist, Smokey Slate
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Smokey Slate; Glitter

I used the colours from CAS - Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#155 as they seem just perfect.  I'm also submitting this card to the current Jingle Belles - JB:16:01 challenge where they would like us to use something brand new along with something old from our stash.  The new is the Vintage Postcards stamps (not brand new to me, but never used before) and the old is the rest!

I'm very pleased with this card; I wanted to challenge myself to make a one-layer, collage style card and I did it!  I used my MISTI to make sure that I got all the stamps straight, and I was able to stamp the tree a number of times to make it slightly darker then the stripes.  I finished the front by adding some sparkle to the dotty circle.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of grey card and on the white panel I stamped another tree and a Christmas greeting.

Don't forget to visit our blog and see the inspiration cards from the rest of the team.  You've got plenty of time to join in, deadline for submission is midnight (GMT) Friday 15th January (that's 7.00pm EDT).

This weekend is the Plymouth Ice Festival.  It started yesterday evening and runs through until Sunday.  Jonathan and I went last year when it was so, so cold with temperatures well below freezing. Which is just the kind of weather the organisers would like.  However, the forecast for today is rain showers this afternoon with a maximum temperature 7°C (45°F), which is not great!  We're going first thing in the morning, when it should still be cold and hopefully the sculptures won't have started melting!  That's all for now - have a great weekend!

TMR - Theme ....

.... Hello!  I'm running late with my DT card for the new challenge at The Male Room - TMR#26.  I don't quite now how, but I lost track of the day and thought that today was Tuesday!!!!  Heyho, better late than never.  For the next couple of weeks our challenge at The Male Room is ANYTHING GOES, but it must have a masculine style.  Here's my card:

Stamps: Waffle Flower - Calendar; Happy Little Stampers - Fun Birthday Sentiments; Clearly Besotted - A Little Sentimental
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Crumb Cake, Soft Suede; Tip Top Taupe
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Crumb Cake; Kaisercraft DP - Attitude!; Snap Stickers - Carpe Diem; Project Life - Corner Punch; Copic Markers

I used a couple of challenges to make this card:

• Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#218
• The Paper Players - PP#276 - to include numbers on your card

I made the base from kraft card and cut a panel of white card slightly smaller to go on the front.  I used papers from Attitude! - a very masculine pack of papers - cutting stripes to go at the top of the card.  I rounded the corners with my Project Life corner punch.  I stamped the calendar frame on the lighter design paper and realised that I needed to make the smaller stripe darker, so I added some colour with a neutral Copic marker.  I stamped the month of January on white card and used the little circle stamp go highlight the important date.  I stamped a birthday greeting above the horizontal stripes and finished with some transparent stickers that emphasis the day.  On the inside I cut a panel of white card, added stripes of the design paper at top and bottom, and finished with a birthday greeting.  

This card is already in the post to the UK - I do hope that Ben likes it.  He'll be 20 on 13th January - but it only seems like yesterday that he was my sweet little blond haired boy!  Do drop by The Male Room to see more inspiration for the team.  Bye for now.

CIC - New Sweetie .....

..... Hello!  I've been keeping a secret, something that I find really difficult, but I can tell you all about it today.  I'm now a Sweetie at Cupcake Inspirations.  I was invited to join the team last year and naturally I said yes, but it's been so hard to keep it a secret.  I'm thrilled to be joining such a talented team.

Now that we have all recovered from the long holiday break, it's time for our new challenge at Cupcake Inspirations - CIC#341.  Each week we provide a cupcake to inspire you to create a card or other craft project following our theme or colours.  This week our theme is Elegance.  I made an elegant birthday card for someone special:

Stamps: Sparkle 'n' Sprinkle - Ballet Shoes; Happy Little Stampers - Fun Birthday Sentiments; Stampin' Up! - Making Spirits Bright; Uniko - Classic Numbers
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - Tuxedo Black; SU - Blushing Bride, Calypso Coral
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Rectangles #5
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Grey; SU DP - Whisper White Bridal (discontinued); Green Card; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear; Clear Embossing Powder

Picture - Champagne Cupcakes

Our sponsor this week is Sparkle 'n' Sprinkle and the lucky winner of this week's challenge will receive a $15 gift certificate towards some of their fabulous digital images.

For my card I used these lovely ballet shoes - so pretty, so elegant.  I printed the shoes on white card, coloured them with Copic markers, carefully cut the shoes out and added lots of sparkle with a clear Wink of Stella brush.  I tried to make the shoes a soft creamy colour - like the frosting on the cake.  I cut a couple of mat layers in dark grey and dark green (also from the graphic) and on top I adhered a piece of white patterned paper.  I stamped the sentiment in Versafine and heat embossed with clear powder.  I attached the ballet shoes in the corner and added a shadow with my Copics.  I love the elegance of the paper and the lovely shoes.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of dark green card and on the white panel added a birthday greeting along with a couple of champagne glasses toasting the birthday girl!!

Do check out our blog to see more elegant inspiration projects from the rest of the team.  Have fun!