Super Stamping

Another busy weekend for me but a little bit of crafting squeezed in as usual! Tried to get a few cards done as I might not get any crafting done next weekend- the ladies football team I play for has our first ever match next Sunday so my usually calm crafty day will instead be a sweaty, active day! We have been promised a post-match team talk in the pub though, so I think I'll survive!

Anyway, here's one of my makes from this weekend...

I am creating more simple, 1 layer, cards recently and this is another example of that style. I love CAS cards and I think this definitely fits into that type of crafting.

I started with a 6x6 white card blank, masking a panel across the middle with a piece of scrap paper. I then used 2 flowers and a leaf stamp that have been in my stash for years (they are very small purple rubber stamps, that I think were called SeeD's by Papermania/Anita's- they are similar to the sort of stamps now sold by Majestix- but not clear) and randomly stamped using just 1 pink and 1 green ink pad. I used 2nd generation stamping to achieve the different shades of colour.

I wanted to add a sentiment to the central panel of the card but was a bit too scared to stamp directly onto my cards base! Instead, I cut a piece of raspberry pink card to slightly smaller than the white strip and then stamped and embossed my message onto that instead. I finished the card by adding liquid pearls and stickles glitter glue into the centre of the flowers (doesn't show up very well on the picture unfortunately!).

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Crafty Calendar 'add a sentiment' 1.5
Craft Your Passion 'anything goes' 19.4
Quirky Crafts 'flowers' 26.4
Papertake Weekly 'words, words, words' 21.4
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenges 'for the girls' 21.4
Crafting for All Seasons 'milestone celebrations' 27.4
In the Pink 'make it sparkle' 29.4
Creatalicious 'embossing' 14.5
Crafty Catz 'girl thing' 23.4

Christmas in March

Here is my Christmas card for March-

Can't quite believe I'm still managing this- though I suppose 3 months isn't many is it?

It's another really quick and simple card which is great for me when I do need to make 20 Christmas cards in one night- hopefully not this year though!

Both the backing paper and topper came from a Papermania 12x12 paper pack that I had completely forgotten I had! The topper was from a sheet that had 9 different squares on it so 9 cards in an instant!

I started with a 6x6 card blank, added the cut down backing paper, mounted the topper onto red mirror card and added that to the opposite corner to the corner detail on the backing paper. Done!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
The Pink Elephant 'anything goes' 2.3
Crafty Cardmakers 'stripes' 8.3
Craft your Passion 'anything goes' 1.3
Clear it out 'animals and stripes' 3.3
Cute Card Thursday 'fancy corners' 4.3
Crafty Hazlenut's Extra 'anything goes' 31.3
Crafty Hazlenut's Xmas 'cut it up' 6.3
That Craft Place 'anything goes' 14.3
Crafts Galore Encore 'anything goes' 31.3
Christmas Card Challenges 'winter hues' 7.3

Pink & Green

I've managed to get in the craft room again today and have made another card. It's certainly not as CAS as my last one but was still pretty quick to put together when I'd finally chosen what it was that I wanted to use- far too many things to choose from!!!

I started with a 6x6 white card blank and the topper. I wanted to pick out the pink and green elements from the topper and bring that into the rest of my card. I took the spotty paper from Papermania 'spots and stripes pastels' pack but it didn't look right being put straight onto the base card (because of the white on white) so I mounted it onto some pink 'bling' cardstock before adding it to the card. I gutted the middle of the bling card so that I could use that to mount the topper instead of needing another piece. I layered up all of the papers/toppers and then started to embellish.

I added a Craftwork Cards striped paper bow, buttons and the green sticky ribbon to finish off the card.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Cute Card Thursday 'floral' 25.2
In the Pink 'cute as a button' 4.3
Creative Inspirations 'buttons' 24.2
Pennys' Paper Crafty Challenges 'spots & stripes' 24.2
Digi Choosday 'pastels' 3.3
Papertake Weekly 'bingo- ribbon, die-cut & buttons' 24.2
Ooh La La 'green' 1.3
Catch the Bug 'girls just wanna have fun' 21.2

Why Mr Darcy...

I've not had too much time for card making this weekend as I've had sewing projects for work to start but I've managed to make another card using one of the brilliant 'word collage' designs from the Cricut Explore!

This one uses the Jane Austen themed words which matched perfectly to a Pride & Prejudice themed decoupage topper that I've had for years (no exaggeration!).

I started with an 8x8 base card and a sheet of new Papermania 'Eau de nil' paper. I got the cricut to draw with a silver marker straight onto the backing paper which was surprisingly easy to line up. I trimmed the backing paper to size and mounted it onto the card. The topper I had already decoupaged so I simply attached this to the card with double sided tape. The two extra toppers came with the main decoupage so I added these with 3d foam to finish the card.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Catch the Bug 'anything goes' 14.2
Crafty Calendar 'anything goes' 1.3
CRAFT 'decoupage' 11.2
Creative Inspirations 'love is in the air' 10.2
Paper Shelter 'be my valentine' 10.2
Cute Card Thursday 'crazy in love' 11.2
Clear it Out 'anything goes' 10.2
Papertake Weekly 'anything goes' 10.2

Flower Power

I haven't managed to make many cards this weekend as I've finally got back into my Kit & Clowder colouring class and have managed to complete the first lesson on colouring skin. I can already see an improvement in what I'm doing and strangely seem to have found the advanced technique easier than the basic one- I never have done things the easy way!

After practising my skin technique, I decided to colour up one of my Polkadoodles Work & Play 2 images (florist) to have a try. I'm not overly happy with the hair but I haven't got to this part of the class yet!

Here it is made up onto a card

I started by colouring up the image using a whole host of Spectrum Noir pens. I hand cut the digi into the shape using a Kanban mat as a template and then used a slightly larger version to cut a mat from a 12x12 DCWV 'timeless textures stack' paper. I chose 2 different 'rose' patterned papers to pick out the roses in the digi. The dark one came from a 6x6 Papermania paper pack (freebie with the DoCrafts Creativity magazine) and the larger one is from a Creata A5 paper pack. I trimmed the papers slightly to fit onto the 8x8 card.

I tried out lots of different layouts before settling on this one- I liked the idea of making the smaller darker paper sit at an angle but my brain couldn't deal with it- it was much happier with a nice straight line!

The ticket sentiments also came from the Work & Play 2 collection so I simply cut them out, inked them with 'worn lipstick' distress ink and attached them to the card with a small piece of double sided tape. the top right hand corner looked a little bare so I added the 3 pale pink gems just to finish it off.

It's a bit more fussy than my usual style but still fairly CAS considering it's got 3 different papers on it!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
The Paper Shelter '3+ layers of paper' 3.2
Creative Inspirations 'roses' 3.2
Cute Card Thursday 'stamping mad' 4.2
Polkadoodles 'flower power' 13.2
Crafts Galore Encore 'stamp/digi' 28.2
Crafty Hazlenut Patterned Paper Challenge 'anything goes' 28.2
The Pink Elephant 'photo inspiration' 9.2
Craft Your Passion 'anything goes' 8.2
That Craft Place 'anything goes' 14.2

Christmas in January

Last year, I had a plan to make at least 1 Christmas card each month so I didn't have a mad December rush. I think I managed about 3 months before it went pear shaped! Maybe this year will work better!

Here is my January Christmas card-

This card was really simple to make and uses some old stash and some new goodies too. I started with a 6x6 white blank card and added a Dovecraft patterned paper to the bottom half. The paper is from a monochrome set that included papers, ribbons buttons etc. from The Range and was a great deal. The snowflake dies are also new but the mirror card I used to cut them out of has been in my stash for years(no exaggeration!)

Before attaching the die cut snowflakes, I used double sided tape and glitter to add an extra sparkle to the join between the card base and the paper. I attached the snowflakes and then used a fine black pen to draw on the strings. I finished the card with a really simple peel-off greeting.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Crafty Hazlenut's Extra 'xmas'- 31.1
Country View 'use something new'- 31.1
Crafty Cardmakers 'old and new'- 25.1
Love to Create 'snowflakes'- 18.1
Papertake Weekly 'all new'- 20.1
Penny's 'anything goes'- 20.1
Paper Shelter 'punches and/or dies'- 20.1
Creative Inspirations 'anything goes'- 20.1
CRAFT 'Xmas'- 21.1
Creatalicious 'winter'- 14.2
Crafty Catz 'new beginnings'- 22.1

All aboard...

Over Father's Day weekend, I am going to a local 'Town & Country Fayre' with my cards, bags etc., hoping to make a few pennies to buy some more crafty goodies with! With that in mind, I've been busy making some cards that I think will suit the kind of people that would attend that sort of event. There are going to be people displaying their vintage cars and tractors so I've dug out the 'men' box and gone a bit mad.

This is one of the cards I've made-

I didn't want to make anything too simple but the obvious rules of chucking glitter at a card can't really work here, so I had to think outside the box.

I started with the pyramaged train topper which is from a Kanban set and then chose the other elements to go with it. The topper is quite large so I went for an 8x8 square card that I covered with a piece of kraft cardstock. Before attaching the kraft card to the base, I stamped 2 corners with a Kanban gear stamp in Walnut Stain distress ink. I took a piece of Papermania vintage travel inspired map paper (from a set I believe is called All Aboard) and ripped the edge to give it a vintage look. I then also inked the edge of the map paper using the Walnut Stain ink. I attached my various items to the card, completing it with an old cigarette card and a piece of Anita's sticky ribbon.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Crafts Galore 'stamp/digi' 30/6
Craft Your Passion 'rip it' 9/6
Digi Choosday 'men' 17/6
Crafting Musketeers 'stamp/digi' 30/6
Crafters Cafe 'masculine' 11/6
CRAFT 'male' 11/6
Stampin' for the Weekend 'anything goes' 19/6

Beautiful butterfly

I've set myself a challenge to try and make at least one card using items from each of the boxes in my craft room. I've made a list of the boxes and there are 41 so, my challenge is to make 1 card from each box. Here's the first,

It's in my usual CAS style and was nice and quick to make. It uses papers and a topper that have been in my stash for ages and a butterfly cut from the new Cricut Explore.

I started by choosing the topper and then finding a backing paper and cardstock to match it. The backing paper is from a DCWV 'blossoms and butterflies' stack. I chose a dusky pink cardstock that matched the colours in the topper and used it for the base card and to mount the topper. I then cut an intricate butterfly from pale yellow card and attached the body to the card leaving the wings free to fly!

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Craft Room Challenge 'things with wings' 9/6
Crafty Catz 'anything goes' 5/6
Love to Create 'happy birthday' 8/6

Present time!

I'm still doing quite well in my Christmas Card quest for 2014 and have managed to make another one today. It's a CAS style card and was very quick to make.

I started with the topper (pre-coloured image from Lili of the Valley) and mounted it onto silver mirror card. I then chose a blue snowflake pattern paper from the Forever Friends Kraft Notes range and mounted them all onto a white 6x6 card blank. To finish the card, I used a bow and 3 buttons, all from the Papermania Festive Spots & Stripes collection.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Christmas Card Challenges 'anything goes' 1/2
Catch the Bug 'photo challenge- penguins' 1/2
Crafty Hazlenut's Christmas Challenges ' trees' 31/1
Craft Room Challenge 'water' 3/2 (ice is just frozen water after all)
Cutie Pie Challenges 'cute blue' 1/2
Love to Create 'buttons' 26/1
Creative Inspirations 'ribbon' 28/1

art deco- red & black

I know that the run up to Christmas is going to be absolutely manic for me both at work and at home, so I'm trying to make the most of half term this week by making as many cards as I can. Over the next couple of months there are nativity plays, pantomimes & everything Christmassy at work and then various shows (so I can buy lots of new goodies) & craft fairs (so I can hopefully sell a few bits & bobs too)!

I was also lucky enough to win a £100 Create & Craft voucher in a Pinterest competition, so I'm doing my best to spend it (suprisingly not that difficult!) and this card uses 2 of the new things I've ordered.

I started with a decoupage topper from the Papermania 'Art Deco' Ultimate Die Cut & Paper pack, which I mounted on to some bright red mirror board from Creata (one of my freebies!). I then took a sheet of black A4 card and folded it to make the base card. I attached the layered topper to the corner of the card and added the 3 Hobby House gems to the corner. I completed the card by adding the paper bow to the corner which is from Craftwork Cards Paper Bows pad (another C&C freebie). The bows are all white/gold & black- so I coloured it with Barn Door & Festive Berries distress ink to match the card better. I attached it to the card and then edged it with 'xmas red' stickles.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Creative Card Crew 'sun, moon & stars'
Paper Shelter '2 colours'
Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenges 'anything goes'

New Grandparents

A friend of mine at work, has just become a grandma/nan for the first time so I've made a card for her this weekend that we can all sign for her and her husband. Her daughter had a little girl, so I've gone a little pink mad!

I started with an 8x8 white square card as I wanted it to be large enough for 15 people to sign. I then chose the topper (from a Lili of the Valley pre-coloured topper set) and the word/message topper (from Kanban). As the word topper had the scalloped edge, I decided to make each corner of the other aspects all different so I used a scallop corner on the other topper before mounting it onto silver mirror card to match the Kanban topper. I then chose 2 pink patterned papers from the Papermania pastel spots & stripes 6x6 paper pack and again, gave them 2 slightly different size of rounded corner. I layered the papers on to the base card, and then added the toppers using double sided tape for the word one and foam pads for the image. I then chose 2 heart buttons for the white spaces and added the peel-off message.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Love to Create 'pink'
Papertake Weekly '2 by 2' (2 toppers, 2 papers, 2 buttons)
Stampin' for the Weekend 'anything goes'
Catch the Bug 'think pink'
Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'
Totally Gorjuss 'wings & things' (the word topper talks about angels- hope this is enough to fit the theme)

home to nest

This is the second card I've made using the Papermania 'home to nest' decoupage pack and was one of those cards that just sort of happened without realising what I was doing almost!

I really loved the egg design backing paper so wanted to use it in some way. I chose an A4 card sheet that had a matching brown shade and folded it into an A5 card. I then found a matching egg design die-cut that had the bird house in the corner but was otherwise plain. I cut the middle from that die-cut to make a frame, mounting it onto the matching brown card with 3d foam to raise it. I then placed the decoupage topper inside the frame, placing the blue tit (I think!) onto the frame and the topper. I used a message from the set, mounting it again on the matching brown card and then punching a hole & threading with some raffia.

I am entering this card into the following challenge & DT call:-

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge Blog 'birthdays'

gardening great

Here in the UK it will soon be Father's Day (I'm not sure if it's the same day everywhere else in the world?) but for me, more importantly, it's my grandads birthday. He loves gardening so the new Papermania 'home to nest' range is perfect. This is the first card that I've made from the kit and will more than likely be his card.

I started with a sheet of A4 green card that I folded into an A5 card. I then trimmed and mounted a backing paper from the 'home to nest' A4 decoupage pack. The decoupage topper came from the same set and I mounted it onto the same green card as the base card and then a dark brown layer. Before mounting this onto the card, I wrapped some raffia around the topper and tied it at the front of the card.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

Love to Create 'special guy'

Crafty Cardmakers 'father's day'

Shore Thing!

Last week I bought some of the new 'Ahoy There!' papers from Papermania thinking that they would go really well with the Michael Powell seaside stamps I got last year. Here's the first card I've made using both the papers and the stamps.

I started with a white 6x6 card blank which I had rounded the corners of with a corner punch. I then took one of the Ahoy There! 6x6 papers and trimmed it to fit the card before also rounding the corners of it. I stamped the 'shore thing' stamp onto white card using a black Versafine ink pad as I was planning to water-colour the image. I used my distress inks to do the watercolouring, sticking to the 3 main colours of red, yellow & blue. I used 'squeezed lemonade, 'barn door', 'chipped sapphire' & 'tumbled glass', putting some ink onto an acrylic block and then picking it up with me water brush. This allowed me to control the amount of colour I used and therefore the shading of the image. I trimmed the image leaving a small white border and again rounded the corners before mounting onto the card. I completed the card by adding the 3 white buttons which I threaded with red, yellow & blue twine from the Dovecraft 'London Line' range to echo the colour pattern of the beach huts in the main topper.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-
Stampin' for the Weekend 'buttons'
MayzyArt 'for the boys'
Pink Elephant 'male birthday' (I haven't put the message on yet as I sell cards to many non-English speakers who want a message in their own langauge)
Here Come the Boys 'buttons'
Totally Gorjuss 'water'
Crafty Catz '3-2-1' (3 buttons, 2 layers, 1 topper)
Polkadoodles 'spring colours/pastels'
Paper Shelter 'anything goes'
Challenges 4 Everybody 'anything goes'

Practically Perfect

Here is my latest card for the Card Makin Mamas Design Team. The main topper comes from the brilliant Sassy Studio Designs and the theme is 'Happy Birthday'.

I am also entering this card into the following challenges:-
The Pink Elephant 'Love is in the Air'- as I love Mary Poppins and she is, of course, in the air with her umbrella! Love to Create 'Feelin the Love' and Digital Tuesday Challenge 'Up, Up & Away'.

As soon as I saw the fabulous Mary Poppins image, this card was in my head. It is my most favourite film of all time & I knew that I had lots of things in my crafty stash that would match the theme.

I started with a 6x6 scalloped edge card blank (not sure what I used before these came out!) and a 6x6 sheet of DCWV cloud patterned paper. I used my cricut 'Elegant Edges' cartridge to cut the paper with a cloud style edge. I inked the edge of the paper with 'Chipped Sapphire' distress ink and stamped Big Ben (Kanban stamps) using 'London Fog' memento ink, before attaching to the base card with double sided tape. I then printed the digi stamp onto white card and coloured it using a mixture of Spectrum Noirs & Promarkers. I carefully cut around the image leaving a small white border and then used foam pads to put it onto the card. I used the DoCrafts Digital Designer software & the Portobello Road design disk to make the message topper, again attaching with 3d foam pads.