World Card Making Day 2019 - Trying to get Christmas cards done!

Running a small business has left me with little time for card making of late - you can see my last blog post was way back in June - but at the end of September I took the time to go to another of Faye's colouring classes as it gives me the opportunity to a) get out of the house on my own; b) colour in peace and quiet and c) learn from an expert. I'll share my colouring when I've finished them off and made a card from the images!

I took some of my hard earned cash from my Etsy shop and made the most of  Dies to Die For being there by having a good rummage. I decided upon two stamp sets for Christmas cards. I've been feeling a need to colour some Christmas cards and get a bit ahead of myself. Plus Lisa told me she's already made 20 so I know I need to catch up!! Lol!

I love Stamping Bella images and this polar bear is just adorable. I decided to try a technique I did a couple of years ago after watching Elaine Hughes' video on how to colour the Northern Lights. You can tell I need a lot of practice, but I really enjoyed myself with my markers. I'm getting to that stage where I need refills now though!

I started with the bear and stamped him out onto some Make It Colour! card and coloured him in with E41, 42 and 43 with R81, 83, 85 and a bit of RV34 for his scar. I love that I can use the colouring on the stamp packet for inspiration. Oh and the picture has bleached out the colouring I did for a shadow to ground him. He isn't just floating I promise you!

I then decided to cut him out for some reason. Don't you love how cards evolve? I didn't really need to!

But anyway, I took another piece of Make It Colour! card and got colouring. It took me a fair amount of time to get anywhere near a decent blend and it still looks fairly messy to me, but I cut it to the size of a C6 card and stuck it on. I then trimmed the bear piece to fit on the bottom and popped him up on foam pads - well actually, it was the left over bits around a pack of foam circles. Always reusing and not wasting!

I feel pretty good I was inspired to try this again. It had been a long day on a school trip with 60 eight year olds (they were all excellent) and my brain needed something creative to do just not sewing....

Happy World Card Making Day! Hoping to get inspired to do some more very soon so I'm not rushing in November like always. Happy Crafting Everyone!

Uniko Stencil Sunday

I'm back with another GD post for Uniko's Stencil Sunday spot and this time I've decided to get at least one card ready for Christmas. I always always struggle with Christmas cards. I need so many, so when I saw the Let It Snow stencil in the gift pack Bev sent me, I knew it would give me a quick, easy and effective way to get at least one under my belt!

I took a card blank and masked off the edges. I then took the two shades of blue Distress Oxides that I have in my stash (I feel I need more of these!) and started blending the darker (Blueprint Sketch) on the top of the card, before adding Mermaid Lagoon to the bottom. I blended until I got a smooth blend where they met, sort of half way and sort of at an angle.

I then placed the stencil on top and with a lightly damp cloth, I dabbed it through to remove some of the colour. It spreads a bit under the stencil, but I never mind this as I think it gives the impression of melting - at least with this stencil.

I kept the stencil on and with some white pigment ink dabbed it through as well on top, to give the snowflakes a bit more definition.

A few sequins and a very simple sentiment popped up on foam tape and that is my first Christmas card done. Definitely one to try again - maybe in different colours? 

Thank you so much to Bev for having me all through this month and thank you for joining me! Happy Crafting Everyone!

Christmas Cards with Stencils and Copics - VIDEO

I'm staying on the theme of Christmas cards for the time being, and mass production, but unlike my last video, I've done a bit more colouring and added in some stencilling and die cutting. I've still kept it fairly clean and simple.

This is another of the cute angels from Pretty Pink Posh (you can get them in Dies to Die For in the UK). I've used a cloud stencil on the background, die cut the top panel with an MFT stitched window die and added a simple sentiment. I've popped up the die cut panel over the clouds and added in the Copic coloured and fussy cut angel with some foam pads.

You can see more of the process in my video either below or over on my YouTube channel (this is an external site and will have cookies). 

I'm also only 1 away from 300 subscribers! I know this is peanuts compared to some of you, but for me this is a huge leap, so thank you to everyone who stops by to watch and support. You are all appreciated more than you know!

I find with mass production as long as you have a clear production line, even more complicated cards can be pretty quickly done.

I'm pretty busy with getting my Etsy shop up and running and have an Etsy mentor who is making me do lots of inventory and work on my processes and make up as many bags as possible.I'm hoping that in the next three weeks, I'll have some more in the shop. Watch this space!

As always, thank you for stopping by and Happy Crafting :)

Very Simple Christmas Cards - Pretty Pink Posh - VIDEO

So I'm back and with a video too - yay! I'm finding that I have time on Fridays now to do a bit of mass producing and with Christmas coming up, the best kind of mass production are Christmas cards.
 


I try to keep mine super simple when mass producing and these are the superest simplest you can possibly get. Card blank, some patterned paper (Lawn Fawn Let's Bokeh in the Snow which I've had for ages), and a plain stamped image on the front. 

I've even managed to make a video of the process, so I hope you enjoy this little foray into my mass production of Christmas cards, which you can watch below (please note this links to a third party, YouTube, which may require Cookies) or via my YouTube channel. If you like what you see, would love to have you as a subscriber.

Wishing you a splendidly happy and crafty day, thanks for stopping by :)

Llama tell you that Christmas is coming!

I'm a bit sad not to be going to Happy Stampers this weekend (6th October), but since I'm still working through the products I got back in May when I went, and I recently purchased from Dies to Die For at the colouring class a couple of weeks ago, maybe it's not such a bad thing! I aim to get away in May when I've had a chance to have another destash, and save up as well.

Anyway, Christmas is actually less than 3 months away now, which is slightly worrying as I have yet to get really going on my Christmas cards. Given a large amount need to end up half way across the globe, it's about time I started. So today I'm sharing this cute card I made with the Taylored Expressions Llama set I got from that trip to Happy Stampers back in May.

I do like mass producing Christmas cards, and this stamp set, which includes the dies, is rather good for that. Stamp, colour, cut and add to background, which was simply made using a snowflake stencil and a bit of scrap green card and a grass die. Both of those products were given to me by friends which makes them really lovely to use :)

I've made a set of these for my sister, so I am feeling good at having given this stamp set a really good play!

I'm hoping to get into Christmas card mode now it's October, hopefully she says....hopefully!

Thanks so much for popping by today. Happy Crafting Everyone!

5 cards, 1 stamp set - Uniko - VIDEO

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.

I'm linking this up to the Uniko challenge for this month, #44, which is Christmas.

Also Pixie's Snippets Playground weeks 311 and 312 as I used a lot of scrap white card (salvaged from cards that didn't make it) and patterned paper scraps. 

Happy crafting everyone!

Card Concept #82 & Magazine Makes #8

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!

Merry Christmoose!

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 :)

25 Days of Christmas Tags - Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

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 :)

The Card Concept #81

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!

There's a Moose Loose....

Hello there! I hope you've all had a good weekend? I thought I'd start the week with this cheery moose from Reverse Confetti. I am so glad I popped him into my basket over at Seven Hills Crafts back in October as he's proving a lot of fun.

I took some watercolour card (this is Arches Cold Press) and stamped my images, with some masking of the moose for the trees in archival ink. I then did some wet on wet water colouring with my Gansai Tambi paints. I love the slightly messy look and have been watching a lot of Debby Hughes' videos lately.

Once it had dried, I stamped the sentiment on the bottom - don't you just love that pun?? Now the observant of you will notice there is a mark over the word 'time'. Did I boob and squidge my ink? Nope. Once I'd taken the stamp off my block I noticed an extra piece of photopolymer on it. Thankfully it wasn't actually attached to the word, as I managed to peel it off, but somehow during the printing process, it had rolled on top. I will now check my stamps thoroughly before I use them!

A very simple piece of grey twine was attached at the top and I then adhered it to an A2 card base with foam tape.

I've decided to call him Kristoff, and I do hope he and Sven will get on! I'm also linking this up to The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge.

Here is a list of the supplies I used on this card. I have signed up to affiliate links on some products (at present only through Simon Says Stamp). If you purchase any item after clicking on an affiliate link, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps to support the cost of running my blog and your support is much appreciated :)

Reverse Confetti Merry Christmoose

Hobbycraft Clear Acrylic Stamping Blocks 2 pack

Ranger Archival Ink Jet Black

Arches Not Sheet 185gsm 56 x 76cm Multipack

Kuretake Gansai Tambi 24 pan set

A4 Super Smooth White Card - 250gsm - 100 Sheets

Tonic Studios Maxi Guillotine

Martha Stewart Mini Scoreboard

InLinkz.com

Thank you so much for visiting me today. I hope you have a great week :)

O Holy Night - Seven Hills Crafts Monthly Craft Challenge - November

Hi Everyone! This month the theme for the Seven Hills Crafts Challenge is your favourite Christmas movie, song or carol. When it comes to Christmas Carols, that is hard for me, because I love singing and I love belting out a good carol - especially if I know the descant line and can sing as high as I can go with gusto. 

What I love is a good cheesy one, and for that it has to be Adolphe Adam's O Holy Night, or Cantique de Noel in it's original French. If you have no idea what I'm on about, here is one of my favourite singers, Juan Diego Florez, doing what he does best in a decidedly cheesy video.

So, onto my card! As I love music, it was natural for me to want to incorporate it into the card itself, so instead of butchering up my own copy (yes, I do occassionally accompany myself in a little sing song on the piano), I found one online that was free for sharing and printed it out.

I took some white card and glued the first page of the sheet music onto it and once it was dry, die cut out the scene from my new Sugar Pea die so that the words would be visible.

I then attached a panel of water colour card which I'd previously covered in my Infusions powder to the top of a side opening A2 card. Then once I'd trimmed my die cut panel to fit, I attached it with foam tape.

I took the star and covered it in Sparkle pen and then a top coat of glossy accents, which as always, never shows up as well on the picture!

This was very quick and simple to make and I think will be mass produced with some other carols - Silent Night would be a good one - as it can be made in stages without too much trouble.

Here is a list of the supplies I used on this card. I have signed up to affiliate links on some products (at present only through Simon Says Stamp). If you purchase any item after clicking on an affiliate link, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps to support the cost of running my blog and your support is much appreciated :)

Nativity Scapes SugarCuts	Sizzix Big Shot Die Cutting Machine	Tombow 88 oz Mono Multi Liquid Glue	Paper Artsy Infusions - A Bit Jaded	Tonic Studios Maxi Guillotine	White Adhesive Foam Pads 25 x 12 x 2mm 40 pieces	A4 Super Smooth White Card - 250gsm - 100 Sheets	Martha Stewart Mini Scoreboard
Ranger Glossy Accents	Spectrum Noir Sparkle Pens - Clear

InLinkz.com

Thank you so much for visiting me today, have a great weekend when it arrives :)