Peace on Earth

Hello and welcome to the blog today. I'm popping in with a Christmas card that I created using mostly items from my UFO box.

I combined my previously created galaxy panel, die cut snowflake (SSS) and strip of embossed vellum with a sentiment strip that I created by heat embossing one of the bold sentiments from the In a Word: Grand Merry stamp set by Winnie and Walter in Liquid Platinum embossing powder. I used white Stickles to add a bit more sparkle to the background panel and the snowflakes.

I'm playing at:

Jingle Belles - Snow

June Rudolph Days 

Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas goes

CHNC - #444 Anything Christmas goes (optional: snowflake(s))

Watercooler Wednesday - WWC227 All about occasions

SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

Fin-tastic birthday

I'm back with my last card for today. What can I say? I've had a crafty weekend. Yay!

When I was doing my smooshing for my previous card, I also did some smooshing onto a panel of Strathmore watercolour card. The result was not pretty, but I managed to salvage a nice part for this CAS card. I used snippets of blue Core'dinations card to die cut some waves using a SSS die and to create a mat and then layered everything onto my Soft stone (PTI) card base using thin foam tape behind the waves and the whale's tale, which was die cut from the same Centura pearl card as the dolphin on my previous card. The sentiment (HA) was stamped using Navy ink (HA).

I'm playing at:

CAS Mix Up - Ombre, stamping +

ink smooshing, die cutting

(Entry #3)

CAS Watercolour - Something blue (entry #2)

Watercooler Wednesday - WWC226 Masculine AG

AAA Birthday - #2 Use watercolours

Time Out - #138 Funny

I was so happy to have used some snippets, and then almost forgot 

to go and have a well-deserved play at the Pixie's snippets Playground #355 

Sending a wave on your birthday

I'm back with another card that I created for a couple of challenges.

I started with a panel of watercolour card and did some ink smooshing using CP inks and a piece of plastic packaging. The dolphin (outline) die and sentiment stamp are part of a set that came with a UK stamping magazine from Practical Publising. I die cut the dolphin from some Centura Pearl cardstock (Crafter's Companion) from a variety pack. I stamped the sentiment using Navy ink (HA). The panel was die cut using a stitched rectangle die (SSS) and matted onto dark blue card before adhering it to my white card base. I continued the sentiment on the inside of the card and added the birds.

I'm playing at:

CAS Watercolour - Something blue

AAA Birthday - #2 Use watercolours

Seize the Birthday - #168 Anything Birthday goes 

(no toppings for me)

ATSM - #346 Anything goes

HLS Watercolour - AG (option: Love)

Twofer Bees

I've been busy as a bee trying to create a few cards for some of my favourite challenges out in blogland. I had so many ideas buzzing in my head that it's a miracle that I actually managed to create these two cards featuring bees before the linky closes.

Since I needed a card for someone who recently moved house, I reached for the products from the Apple Blossom card kit that I purchased a while back. I had not used the kit yet, except for creating a few panels with the hexagon stencil that was included. I stamped the bee house using distress inks and then used the same inks and a Zig blender pen to colour it in. After fussy cutting the image out and placing it onto my panel, I decided I wanted a bit of a darker colour for added depth and achieved that using a Tombow marker. After die cutting my panel using a stitched rectangle die (SSS) and determining the placement of my little house, I added some splatters using Ground espresso DI). Once those were dry, I stamped the bees in Versamark onyx black and heat embossed using clear embossing powder. I coloured in the bees using a little ink and the Zig blender brush. For the wings, I used a tiny bit of Broken China DOI, to cover up the hexagons underneath.

I added my panel and tree using double-sided tape and then adhered my sentiment strip (from the papers in the kit) to a strip of cardstock and then popped it up using foam tape.

I created my twofer for the current Twofer card challenge

I'm also linking up my bee house at:

STAMPlorations Mixed Media - Anything MM with a stencil

Addicted to Stamps - For a boy/man

I wasn't sure what to do for the second card until I spotted the card that Mindy Eggen posted on the Neat and Tangled blog this weekend. I still had ombre inking on my mind AND the stamp set from the kit out, and so this card came together very quickly in the end.

I masked off the top part of my panel and then blended distress inks in Ripe persimmon, Carved pumpkin and Fossilized amber using make-up blending brushes. I used my MISTI to repeatedly stamp the small floral border from the stamp set and then stamped the bee 3 times. I die cut my panel using the largest of thet stitched rectangle dies (SSS) before stamping the sentiment, for which I usded one of the tiny sentiments from my new SSS stamp set. I though the uplifting sentiment went perfectly with the warm colours and dancing bees. I popped up my panel using fun foam.

I'm also linking up this card at:

CAS Mix Up - Ombre, stamping + 

masking, ink blending, die cutting

Stamping Sensations - Show your true colours

Penny Black and More - Blooms, butterflies and/or bugs

Inkspirational - #189 Garden

Ombre Christmas

Hello crafty friends! Are you aware that Christmas is only 6 months away? How did that happen?!
It does mean that I need to get serious about building up my Christmas card stack.

So here I am with another Christmas card.

After watching Lydia's video (through the link on the CAS Mix Up challenge blog) on ink blending methods, I was inspired to pull out my Clarity brushes and CP inks to do some very soft ink blending to create an ombre effect. It was amazing to see that even the smooth Neenah solar white cardstock shows some kind of texture when you blend inks this way. I started with Stone Blue and Daydream, and then carefully blended in some Juniper Mist along the top edge. I had purposely cut a larger panel than I needed for my A2-sized card, so that I could trim off any harsh edges. I used the strip that I trimmed off from the top to heat emboss my sentiment in gold ep and then die cut the sentiment strip using an MFT slider die, in 2 passes through my die cutting machine/

The sentiment die is by Christina Griffiths (Card Making Magic) and I die cut it from white glitter cardstock as well as white fun foam for added dimension. I popped up the sentiment strip using very thin foam tape.

I'm playing at:

CAS Mix Up - Ombre, stamping +

 ink blending, heat embossing, die cutting, glitter (cardstock)

HLS Christmas - Anything goes

HLS Anything goes with dies

CHNC - #443 Anything Christmas goes 

Sparkles Forum - #117 No patterned paper

Poppin' Over

I'm popping in today with a card using some of my new Create a Smile supplies as well as the current sketch at the Create a Smile challenge blog.

I started by masking off my card panel (Neenah desert storm) and blending white pigment ink through a stencil (Say it, Create Smile) using a make-up blending brush (which happens to work really well). I used the same cardstock to stamp my images (Poppin' over, Create a Smile) in Rich cocoa (Memento), coloured them in with coloured pencils (Prismacolors and Spectrum Noir). I fussy cut them and arranged them on my card, together with some of the ephemera from the Coffee Collection card kit.

I'm playing at:

Create a Smile - Sketch challenge

SSS Wednesday - Masculine

Addicted to Stamps - #175 For a boy/man

Cute Card Thursday - #585 Anything goes

Colour Crazy - #22 Anything goes colouring

Celebrate the Season

Today's card was inspired by Heather's May colour combo challenge at the Winnie and Walter blog.

I was inspired by the colours as well as the inspiration photograph below.

After masking off the bottom part of my panel, I used make-up blending brushes to blend my 3 colours of CP ink and then repeatedly stamped the trees from Scenery: Into the woods (W&W) in Versafine onxy black ink. I used the same ink to stamp the 2 small images from Happy Christmas onto a scrap of cardstock and heat-embossed them in clear before fussy cutting them out. The sentiment is from the Sentimental winter set. I die cut the panel using a stitched rectangle (SSS) and then adhered everything to my white card base.

I'm playing at:

W&W May colour combo with Heather

Crimbo Crackers - #186 Anything Christmas goes

Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - Anything Christmas goes

Stamping Sensations - Show your true colours (lots of colour)

HLS Christmas - Anything goes (optional: non-traditional)

Happy bee day

The current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches was just what I needed to create a CAS masculine card.

I used two of Uniko's hexagon stamps (Background builders: happy hexagons) to stamp my horizontal elements using CP inks (Stone blue and Daydream). For my popped up hexagon, I mixed and matched products from Creative Dies Designs (hexagon die and bee stamp) and Avery Elle (birthday sentiment from Party Animal). I stamped the bee in Daydream and then again in Versamark, so that I could heat emboss it in clear. I had snipped off the accompanying sentiment, because it was incomplete. Because the stamp and die set had several manufacturing mishaps, it was an absolute bargain to buy, but I figured the set would still be useful. The AE sentiment was stamped in Stone blue. I created my border strip by applying Daydream ink direct to paper. I butted the strip to my stamped panel, adhering them together with double sided tape, before trimming my panel down to the desired width and mounting it to my card base.

I'm playing at:

Freshly Made Sketches - #390

AAA Cards - #141 5th Birthday Bash

Uniko - #53

SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

Sending hugs

Hello crafty friends! I'm popping in with a quick and simple card.

I started by lightly blending purple ink (Grape crush, CP) onto my panel and then blending more of the same ink through my stencil (SSS), making sure to keep it lighter towards the middle. I adhered it to my white card base, leaving a white strip on either side. For my sentiment, I stacked two die cut Hugs (Winnie & Walter) and adhered them to my card using liquid glue. To finish off, I added a little sparkle to the sentiment using a Spectrum Noir glitter brush and also added a few irridescent white sequins (Darice). I love how these sequins pick up the colour of the background.

I'm playing at:

Tuesday Throwdown - #432 Stenciling

SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

Text and trees

I also have a Christmas card to share today. I followed in the footsteps of one of the lovely Jingle Belles, Stephanie, by digging out my patterned papers to create this text-based Christmas card.

Because I did not want to cover up the middle part of the paper, I used a stitched rectangle die (SSS) to cut it out and create an aperture for my current card. I stamped my Christmas tree three times using different shades of warm grey (Altenew). To ground the trees and give the impression of snow, I tore two strips of tissue paper (or rather: a left-over piece of baking paper) and adhered those using liquid glue.

I'm playing at:

Jingle Belles - Text me

May Rudolph days - Anything Christmas goes

ATSM - #343 Holiday

SSS Wednesday - Anything goes