Sunday 31 May 2020

Dahlia Christmas wreath

Hello crafty friends! I'm popping in today with a Christmas card. I had almost forgotten about this month's Rudolph Days challenge but remembered just in time. And there's also a new to me challenge that I found through Darnell's blog, Christmas 24. Another fun challenge to encourage us to create our Christmas cards all year long.


I created my wreath using NBUS Dahlia turnabout stamp by Concord & 9th and several colours of CP ink.(Grass skirt, Eucalyptus, Spruce and Seafoam). I will need to practice a little more to get the dahlia/wreath lined out to perfection, but I don't think the recipient will notice it's slightly off this time.

I die cut my panel using a SSS stitched rectangle (Bundele of stitched shapes) and popped up the stamped and die cut sentiment (SSS Christmas word mix 1) with a gold thread nest and foam tape.

I'm linking up at:


Watercooler Wednesday - #273 All about occasions


NBUS - #14 Anything goes with NBUS


ATSM - #391 Anything goes


Christmas Kickstart - #31 Wreathed in Christmas smiles


Christmas 24 - #010 Anything goes (optional: Flowers)



Saturday 30 May 2020

Gnome much fun ...

I could not resist this sweet freebie image by JessicaLynnOriginal. I decided to use it to create a skinny card and pairedthe image with a sentiment from the Coffee Queen digital stamp set from Graciellie Design. I created a quick mask for the bottoms of the images and then used a NBUS MFT grass border stencil to blend some DIs along the bottom edge of my panel. I did some quick colouring using Copics.



I'm linking up my card at:



SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

Colour crazy - Wk 21 Anything goes with colouring

Inkspirational - #214 Funny sentiments


NBUS - #14 Anything NBUS goes


Spring/Summer Cofffee Lovers Blog Hop

Hello crafty friends! I've been so busy with work this past week that I did not have time to join in the fun of the Summer/Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop until now.

Earlier today, I printed out several digis that I had either purchased or downloaded for free, but I have only managed to create one card, using this wonderful floral mug freebie from STAMPlorations (by Shery Russ). I had intended to create a CAS card, but I had this inked up panel lying on my crafting table, so my card morphed into something entirely different.


I did some quick colouring on the image using Prismacolor pencils and then blended it out using odourless mineral spirits and a blending stump. The sentiment is from the SSS Birthday Word Mix 1 set.

I'm linking up my card at:



SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

Colour crazy - Wk 21 Anything goes with colouring

STAMPlorations - Never ending AG with STAMPlorations products



Sunday 24 May 2020

Blooming twofer

Hello crafty friends! I'm back with two cards that I created using a large NBUS background stamp from the February 2020 Love from Lizi kit. As is often the case, I was looking forward to inking up this stamp as soon as I saw the release video, but did not get around to actually do it until months later.


A few weeks ago, I sat down and inked up the stamp in different ways, and also stamped it in black to do some colouring with my coloured pencils. I finished colouring the background this past week, or at least a strip large enough to create today's card LOL.


I wanted to add a sentiment that did not distract too much from the colouring, and this circle sentiment from my NBUS Birthday Word Mix 1 set (SSS) fit the bill perfectly. I also have the coordinating dies, but in this case, it was quicker to stamp just the one sentiment onto a scrap of cardstock and use a circle die to cut it out. I used a larger circle die to create an aperture in my stamped panel and popped up both the panel (as well as the black mat) and the sentiment circle using fun foam.


For my second card, I went a different, and much simpler, route. I stamped just a corner of the background stamp onto my card base. I die cut a flower from the add-on set of the card kit using watercolour card, adhered a circle of cardstock at the back so as to keep all the inside parts in place, and then used my Arteza real brush markers and the Arteza water brush to add some colour. I stamped one of the sentiments from the stamp set and then popped up my flower using foam tape.

I'm linking up my twofer at:

Twofer Card Challenge - #27 Flowers






My birthday card is also playing at:

Seize the Birthday - #191 Anything goes



Colour Crazy - Wk20 Anything  goes colouring

Sparkles Monthly challenge - #128 Use a real stamp (no digi)



My Thinking of you card is also playing at:

Stamping Sensations - Say it with flowers

 Aud Sentiments - #251 AG with a sentiment




Layered stencilling

Hello crafty friends! Hope you all continue to be safe and healthy. Here in Greece, summer has started and we are preparing for some sort of normalcy, with restaurants, tavernas and such reopening as of tomorrow, and tourists (primarily from those European countries where the coronavirus appears to be under control) will be welcome again as of July, 1st. At this point it's uncertain, though, if all hotels and tourist accommodations will open at all this year.


As for my card, the starting point was this month's CAS Stencil challenge, which is hosted by Hilary, and she challenged us to do some layered stencilling on our cards.

I started by creating a smooshed background panel using Distress Oxide inks and then blended distress ink (scattered straw and rusty hinge) through two different mini stencils (Tim Holtz, 019 and 026 - as far as I know, I had not used the damask stencil before). After I had cut my panel to size (being inspired by this week's sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch), I blended a little more rusty hinge along the edges. I then added a few dark splatters using the TH Splatters stencil (THS009) in Ground espresso DI to balance out the black image and sentiment strip.

The elephant (NBUS Go Wild stamp and die set by Craftwork Cards) was die cut twice from black cardstock. I heat embossed one layer repeatedly using clear embossing powder and then adhered the two layers together before adhering them to my panel. The sentiment (from an older stamp set that came with Creative Stamping magazine #57) was white heat embossed onto a strip of black cardstock.. 

I'm playing at:

CAS Stencil - Layered Stencilling








Seize the Birthday - #191 Anything goes


STAMPlorations Stencil challenge - Always AG with stencils



Friday 1 May 2020

Combining old and new and a bit of upcycling

Hello crafty friends. I hope you are all staying safe and healthy! I combined some old and new products from my stash to create a quick Christmas card with an upcycled tag. I enjoy creating a few tags every now and then, especially with the Christmas tag challenges going on before Christmas, but I never actually use them. So they usually end up on cards one (or two) years later.


Today's card was inspired by the current sketch at Jingle Belles. The background was created with an old embossing folder, while the horizontal band was created using some glittery pinstripe peel-offs from a recent Love from Lizi card kit (the bigger stripe is from the band around the actual peel-offs (more upcycling/recycling, yay!). The Nuvo Chrystal drops were and add-on with the same kit.

I'm playing at:

Jingle Belles - Sketch



April Rudolph Days at Scrappy Mo's blog

Crimbo Crackers - #209 Use you old stash

CHNC - #487 Always anything goes Christmas