Two crafty friends just happen to have a birthday on the same day, and I actually managed to get a card out to both of them on time - in fact about a week before the date. Seriously, that just never happens! So here they are:
First up is Steph. I've linked to her YouTube channel because you need to check our her pencil colouring videos. On account of those coloured pencil videos, I've coloured in this beautiful Clearly Besotted floral stamp with Polychromos pencils. Pencil colouring takes quite a bit of time, but it is so worth it to see the layers build up. I'm hoping she will forgive me the mistake in colouring two leaves as petals instead! And then there's Natalie, who I was lucky enough to meet up with in October at a nearby stamp show. Always lovely to see some one you've only ever chated to online. Natalie is superb at Copic colouring and loves Stamping Bella, so that's the inspiration for this card - been dying for the right card for this Edna stamp. A very very happy and crafty birthday ladies and happy crafting everyone else!
Hi Everyone - only 10 days to go until the end of this challenge - oh and Christmas as well! Ordered the turkey/chicken/ham? Thinking of last minute gifts? How about these that I made for this Flower Challenge reminder post?
Bookmarks! Really simple, really effective and pretty quick to stick together. They are made using the Avery Elle bookmark die and some scrap embossed red paper that I found in my stash. They were embossed with the Floral Fusion die from MFT - I aim to get my money's worth out of it as I've used it a lot this year.
I always make my bookmarks double sided, so on the other side I stamped the book carrying lady onto some white card stock and one of the quotes (Dr Seuss, guess which one?) onto the other.
I like to add these into cards that I send as they are thin and practical gifts that don't add too much to the postage. Can't wait to see what you make. You have until 25th, so stop ordering presents and get making them instead :) Happy Crafting!
Hi Everyone. So in my last post, I was a bit smug and said I felt like I was on top of things - not any more. I'm moving into panic mode now as I try to work out if I have enough Christmas cards. The answer was no, so I got out the fabulous Block Party Christmas stamp set from Uniko and had a good play for well over an hour. The result is 5 cards from 1 set - and you could easily do lots of multiples with this set - and a video showing all the different types.
I always say that if I get 5 cards out of one stamp set it's been well used (I'm working through my NBUS, I promise!), so this has been well used indeed.
1. Copic Colouring
2. One colour stamping
3. Emboss resist
4. Stencil Overlay (Distress Oxides)
5. Paper Piecing
Hoping you are all getting on well with Christmas prep - I have ordered the chicken from the butchers, so we are good to go there.
Hello again Everyone, how are you all getting on with Christmas preparations?? I must admit to be slighty more organised than I usually am and think I may manage to get my cards finished before the last posting date and even parcel up some presents - this does not happen often, I can assure you! Speaking of parcels, take a look at challenge #83 for the Card Concept. It's our last one for the year and all I can think of is brown paper packages tied up with string! I shall spare you singing :)
So, I've gone with a simple clean and layered design picking up the red, blue and white of the string and the brown paper of the parcels.
Some kraft card blanks I've had for ages came in handy for the parcels, which I cut out using some stitched square dies. I added the twine to make them look like those brown paper packages. The layering paper has some texture as they are scraps of Bazzill 12x12 paper I've had for ages and ages and it feels nice to use them up! I've decided to make this a Thank You card as I always forget about those and then need about 10 at once for all of the presents the girls get.
I look forward to seeing what you make. As always, happy crafting!!
How did it get to December? I'm actually convinced it's still September..... This month at the Flower Challenge we are making Anything But a Card. That means anything - as long as it's got a flower as the main focus - from tags to fancy boxes.
I'm also thrilled that Michelle Short from The Card Grotto has agreed to be this month's guest designer. If you don't already know Michelle's beautiful work, take some time to look through 10 years of her makes on her blog. I've decided to try something I saw on a YT video by Made Everyday. It combines my love of card making and my love of sewing. It's a mini journal.
I started by taking a piece of orange Simon Says Stamp card stock and folded it in half. I like the US sizes as they are a nice easy size to fold in half being 11 x 8.5 inches. I then used my Precision Press to heat emboss the image from The Ton which I've had for a while and have been looking for the right kind of project. I then took 3 sheets of plain white paper and folded them in half. I had to trim them to fit as they are UK sized.
I then clipped it together it with my quilters clips and sewed down the middle and then gently folded it over to make my book. This was so simple and it looks so good, I may start making these and sending to friends.
As always you have until 25th - in between cooking the turkey and that sherry you can get one done ;) - and I look forward to seeing all your projects. Happy crafting!
I love seeing all your inspiration on our challenge blog. Really you always pull out all the stops for us and that makes me so happy.
We are still on Challenge #14 which is all about CAS. So that's white space and limited embellishments. Does white space actually have to mean it's white? I don't think so, I just think it needs to be one colour, so I've gone with black this time and coloured my stamped image in with my Gansai Tambi Pearl Colours. Although it's not watercolour paper, if you're careful with it, it won't buckle.
I simply mounted it onto a white card base and added the heat embossed sentiment popped up on foam pads on the bottom. Can't wait to see what you make, so keep adding them to the Linky. Happy crafting!
Well, there's no let up from me with the Christmas cards, I just can't seem to stop, and this fortnight's Card Concept Challenge #82 Retro Holiday is the inspiration for this one.
When I saw the inspiration photo, all I saw was pink and silver and sparkle, so this card is definitely going all out with that.
I saw one of
Justine Hovey's videos a while back showing how to make this layered
card. I've used a beautiful stamp that came with Simply Cards and Papercraft issue 169 and some seriously sparkly sticky backed paper
which I stuck on top of some white card stock. The embossing is in some
Papermania silver on MFT black cardstock.
I hope this gives you some inspiration to play along and join in and get even more Christmas cards made :) Happy Crafting one and all!
Hello! How are you all getting on with Christmas cards? I know some of you have been making for a while, but I've still got quite a few to make and so I'm taking advantage of some challenges to get me going. This was inspired by two challenges about Snow. The first was Lisa's challenge for the IG Crafty Crew easy challenge 'Let it Snow' and the current Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge (thanks Tracy!).
I started by making a panel with home made glitter paste and my MFT snow stencil. I then cut out three frames from the MFT scalloped rectangle die and layered them up. I adhered them to the stencilled panel when dry and trimmed it to fit. I found some old patterned paper I'd got with a copy of Quick Cards about two years ago and used it to cover a card base, I then placed the stencil panel on top and my Reverse Confetti moose and tree on top with foam pads. I'd pre coloured them with Copics when I was in Edinburgh with Kathy and Debby. I added the sentiment at the bottom - it always makes me laugh! Thank you for stopping by, and happy crafting, Christmas card or otherwise :)
Hi Everyone! Despite my craft room being in a bit of a mess for much of September and October, I have still managed to buy a few bits and pieces here and there, so I have a haul video to share with you today. I've ordered some online at Seven Hills Crafts, but I also had some purchases from my September Copic class with Dies to Die For Pop Up shop, a trip to Stamp Magic in Doncaster with the lovely Natalie, and popping into my local Hobbycraft.
Thank you to all of my lovely YouTube subscribers, as I'm almost at 200! I know there are lots of people out there with a load more, but 200 is quite a milestone and I just want you to know you are all very much appreciated for popping by and watching and leaving me such nice comments. Happy Crafting Everyone - I'm off to make more Christmas cards :)
Thank you all so much for joining in with our anniversary challenge last month. It was so lovely to see all your beautiful cards and have you so enthusiastic about our challenge :) This month our challenge is all about CAS - Clean and Simple - so we want to see flowers as the main theme, with lots of 'white' space and minimal embellishment.
Do you remember the card I made last month with ink swiping? I had two panels I didn't use, so I've used it up here and simply drew a flower using one of my Uni-Pin pens and fussy cut it.
I stamped the sentiment from Clearly Besotted (Brushed Greetings II) onto a white A2 card base and adhered the flower on with foam tape.
I love CAS, so I can't wait to see what you all come up with. You have until 25th to play and I'll be back with some more inspiration on 15th. Happy crafting everyone!
Now that Hallowe'en is over, it's time for me to start more Christmas cards in earnest. My friend Lisa posted up a tag on Instagram that she had entered into the 25 Days of Christmas Tags challenge and I saw that the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge was involved and decided I should play along It's been ages since I actually joined a challenge! I'm not great at tags really, but Andreea commented on Lisa's post that if you start making a card, a tag then follows, and that's exactly what happened here.
I bought some Black Soot Distress Ink some time ago as I've always wanted to try making a galaxy background. Honestly it looked like a right hot mess when I started and right up until the end it still looked pretty awful. I added some splatters with my white gouache, and I still didn't like it much.
I die cut the nativity scene from Sugar Pea Designs and adhered it with foam tape. This makes a really lovely silhouette against the background and that's when I really started to like this design. Having made the card (sentiment is Stamping Bella Gingerbread Chicks), I then made another galaxy background and cut out two tags from it. I die cut another nativity scene and then cut out the pieces I wanted to adhere to the bottom of the tag. I stuck them on with double sided tape and then trimmed it with some scissors before stamping the sentiment (Paper Smooches A Blessed Christmas) using VersaFine Onyx Black. I added some twine at the top to finish them off - not much use if they don't have something to attach them to a gift!
How are you getting on with Christmas cards? Have you made any yet? Did you finish in July? I'm definitely now in the mood as the evenings get darker.
Thank you so much for visiting today and as always, Happy Crafting :)
After a little hiatus, I'm back on the Card Concept and #81 is based on this gorgeous Christmas table.
I was struck by the colours and just loved the green and red and as I
have very few Christmas cards so far, I went with a simple CAS design I
could mass produce - the key to Christmas cards for me at least!
These were simple to produce, just an old Lawn Fawn bauble set stamped in distress oxide and Versa Magic chalk inks I've had since I first started crafting. I wanted to use these to check what the difference was with basic stamping for the Oxides and the chalk inks - they seem pretty similar for just stamping, but I have yet to have a good play with the Oxides for other techniques, so the jury is still out for me with them.
To add some interest and texture as in the photograph, I cut the bauble panel down at the side to 3.75inches. I then took my WRMK Next Level embossing folders - gemstone - and embossed some coloured panels I'd cut to A2 size (US). I adhered them to my card bases and then the bauble on top. Simple, but effective and bold like the inspiration photograph.
Thank you so much for visiting today and I hope this has given you some inspiration to play along. Happy Crafting Everyone!
I generally don't make Hallowe'en cards, but just before we moved house, this super cute set came out from Sugar Pea Designs and I couldn't resist. I've made 5 cards with it, but I'm showing you these three.
I Copic coloured all the images and fussy cut them out. I just had to have this set when I saw that cheery looking Dracula - I mean, he's not that cheery in the films unless he's just eaten. What a guy! The backgrounds for Frankenstein and the Mummy are made with a new stamp set (I'll have a haul and craft room tour in one coming up on my YouTube channel soon!) from Uniko. I have ordered from them before, but I met them at the last stamp show I went to in Doncaster a couple of weeks ago and they are so lovely and had some new things I couldn't resist. With Frank I used some LilyPad Ranger ink and I heat embossed Mummy with WOW! White Bright EP. With Count (remember Count Duckula? I loved that show!) I masked off a rectangle on the front of a red card base and splattered on white gouache, red and clear sparkle pen. I adhered all of them with foam tape and just added a simple sentiment at the bottom.
Thank you so much for taking the time to visit me today. Hope you have a very Spooky Hallowe'en and happy crafting! *** Apologies for those of you who subscribe and saw I'd linked this up to a challenge. I hadn't realised it had closed on Sunday, so I've reedited it and am sharing the cards anyway! So out of the loop!!***
What do Copics and moving house have in common? They have a great deal for me. Back in February I took the first two classes in the European Copic Colouring Programme with Faye Wynn-Jones. You can read all about it in my post for Copic classes One and Two. The following day, I decided to broach the subject of moving house with my husband. Fast forward 8 months and the week after we moved house, my friend Dawn and I travelled to a venue outside Leeds for Copic 3! Thankfully for my husband, nothing dramatic has happened.... so far... Dawn is wonderfully kind and takes me in her car. I truly HATE driving round the outskirts of Leeds and Bradford. Junction and roundabout Hell.
Having found the venue and after a quick catch up with our old colouring buddies and a quick whizz round the Dies to Die For Pop Up shop. That was a welcome addition - new goodies. Copic 3 is all about folds and pleats and practicing feathering and blending quite different colour combinations.
Since getting hooked on Stamping Bella, this has been the most useful one by far. I was prepared to feel horribly overwhelmed as I had convinced myself that folds are really hard, but, like everything, it just takes practice. Do not be put off! In three hours I had begun to understand the basics and am itching to get my SB stamps out and do some more dedicated folds and pleats. It makes such a difference to me to have someone there to encourage and
also put me back on track. Faye is a superb teacher and I find I learn a
lot and it makes me want to practice more. She is wonderfully
encouraging and has given me some tips on colour combinations for the
future.
Next April Faye returns to do Copic 4 and I will be there with bells on. It's in my planner so no one, but no one, can stop me. Quite possibly my husband will then breathe a sigh of relief that they are all over...
If you've any questions, please drop me a comment. I am a zealot for this course and think it's worth every penny I've spent on it and the markers! As always, happy crafting!
Hi Everyone! We are half way through this challenge, where we would love you to use your favourite flower. I've been loving seeing all your cards so far.
Don't forget that this is part of a fabulous prize giveaway, with some amazing prizes from some fabulous companies, so read the instructions and join in!
I used my favourite stamp again from Clearly Besotted, and this time I coloured it with my Polychromos pencils, which was nice as they don't often get an outing.
I then took a piece of white card stock and drew outlines of these arrows from a stencil in different coloured pencils and coloured a few. I took a white A2 card blank and distressed the edges with some wilted violet and cut the stencilled panel down so there was a small border. I popped the die cut iris out using the matching die and atached it with foam tape on top. A simple sentiment from the Clearly Besoted Many Mini Messages set and a few sequins is all that was needed to finish it off.
Hope you will feel inspired to join us. There are some amazing prizes up for grabs and I would hate for you to miss out! Thanks for popping by and Happy Crafting :)
And then there's Natalie, who I was lucky enough to meet up with in October at a nearby stamp show. Always lovely to see some one you've only ever chated to online. Natalie is superb at Copic colouring and loves Stamping Bella, so that's the inspiration for this card - been dying for the right card for this Edna stamp.
And then there's Natalie, who I was lucky enough to meet up with in October at a nearby stamp show. Always lovely to see some one you've only ever chated to online. Natalie is superb at Copic colouring and loves Stamping Bella, so that's the inspiration for this card - been dying for the right card for this Edna stamp.
