Holiday treats

Just finishing off those last minute Christmas cards!  Here is one I made with those gorgeous SugarPea Designs goodies...

This only took me 10 minutes to make!  I used the sweet stamps and sentiment from the Sweet Treats – Christmas set, the stitched circle die from the Layered Treat Label – Sugar Cuts Die and the banner from the Gift Tag – Sugar Cuts Die.  Here's a look at the sets...

I could do a production lines of these and finish all of my Christmas cards in one evening!  So, I'd better get off and do that right now.  Toodle-oo!

Join the Lili of the Valley design team - moi?

Yes, I have some fab news - I've been invited to join the Lili of the Valley design team - woo hoo!  I love their sweet, sweet stamps but haven't really used them much as I have so much else to play with.  But when I was asked to make some samples with my CAS style I enjoyed playing with them so much that I was happy to then be invited to join the very talented team!

 

Today is my debut and we are also holding a Lili of the Valley design team blog hop to celebrate the launch of their gorgeous Pretty Vintage stamps.  Vintage, you say - but I thought I had joined for my CAS style!  Well actually I think I managed to keep to my style and still loved playing with them!  There are 26 new sets and they will be available to buy on the website from midnight (12am) on Wednesday 12^th June (UK time) 

The prize is a full set of the Pretty Vintage stamps...

That’s 26 A5 sheets, one each of all the new designs, and it’s worth a massive £325

 

Pretty impressive, huh?!  So, for a chance to win this fabulous prize you need to visit everyone on the hop and leave a comment along the way.

 

 I really did enjoy playing with the stamps, so much so that I not only made one card, but three!  And I have more half made that I'll be able to share with you over the coming weeks!  So you may want to get a cuppa while I show you my makes!  So without further waffle, here is my first make....

 

I am really pleased with how this one turned out.  I used the butterfly and leaf stamp from Grunge Elements, a sentiment from the Pretty Grungy Good Times set and the papers are the LOTV Petal Fresh collection. I used a selection of Versamagic inks to give a softer look and added a bit of texture for interest.

 

For my second card I used a stamp from the Vintage Background Script set (using Versafine Smokey Grey ink), the leaf and corner stamp from the Grunge Swirls set, the butterflies and postage stamp from the Grunge Elements and a sentiment from the Quotables Go For It set.

My last card is probably to more natural CAS style.  I simply used the True Love sentiment from the Statements Congratulations set against some grungy floral, gingham paper and topped on foam pads for depth.

 

I hope you like my first makes for LOTV!  You should have come from sweet Lou and you now need to hop off to the lovely Mindy.  If you need to start from the beginning or get lost along the way, go to the LOTV blog Ideas to Inspire.  Don’t forget to stop by the Ideas to Inspire blog tomorrow evening when you can find out who the lucky winner is of this fantastic prize

 

 

Day 3 of the Lil' Inker Designs new release hop!

It's the last day of the new Lil' Inker Designs release showcasing new stamp sets and matching dies with a blog hop!  Here is my card using the new Circles and Diamonds stamp set that works with the matching Circles and Diamonds stitched die and the Connected Circle die...

I love how this came out - it's quite a different style for me!  I used various VersaMagic inks and my ColorBox Frost White ink.  I also used the Stitched Square Mat for the layering and teeny tiny heart and flat backed iridescent pearls randomly so it didn't look too flat.  I used Sahlin Studio papers for the card base.  I am entering my card into the Simon Says Stamp anything goes challenge.

Back to the hop - make sure you comment as you hop long - the more you comment, the better your chance of winning!  We'll be giving away prizes for two $10 store credits!.  You should have come here from sweet Jen Carter and you now need to hop off to the lovely Jen del Muro.  You'll then want to pop off to the store here to see all of the new goodies!

 

Day 1 of the Lil' Inker Designs new release hop!

It's time for a new Lil' Inker Designs release and we are going to showcase new stamp sets and matching dies over a three day blog hop!  And of course what's a blog hop without prizes?  Make sure you comment as you hop long - the more you comment, the better your chance of winning!  We'll be giving away prizes for two $10 store credits!  You'll definitely want to hop!

Before I  get onto my make, just wanted to announce the new designer to our team - Suzanne Dahlberg of The Card Yard!  Welcome Suzanne - you are a fab edition to our team!

For my first project today, here is my card using the new Circles and Diamonds stamp set that works with the matching dies...

I loved playing around this set!  It's so satisfying creating your own background rather than rely on designer papers.  I used various VersaMagic inks - these give such a gorgeous chalky look and it's so opaque too.  For the white I used ColorBox Frost White which I think is the best opaque ink out there!  I also used the Stitched Square Mat for the layering and a touch of twine to finish it off.

So back to the hop!  You should have come here from sweet Jen Carter and you now need to hop off to the lovely Sarah Jay.  You'll then want to pop off to the store here to see all of the new goodies!

See you tomorrow with day 2 of our hop! 

 

SCACD Susana Loves Stamps new release blog hop!

Hi all!  I have something a little different for you today - not my usual style!   Susana Loves Stamps release from SCACD has a new style - mixed media!  And to showcase this gorgeous release, we are having a blog hop!  So, never having done mixed media before, I thought I'd go all out and see what I could create without any particular design or plan - very scary for me!  Here is what I came up...

I'm quite pleased with it although I think more practice is required to be comfortable with this messy style!  This beautiful lady is called Profiles from the "The Blank Canvas Collection" set and the sentiment is from the Self Words set.  I also used the new gorgeous corner dies.  I found this this type of creating quite liberating, although my craftroom needs a clean up now!  The paper is from the Glitz Design French Kiss pad and I used VersaMagic Brilliance ink to create the toned effect.  In real life she really shimmers!  Here's a closer look at the gorgeous detail of this stamp and the corner die...

You can see the new dies in the Quixotic Paperie shop here and the Susana Loves Stamps section at Quixotic Paperie shop here.  For US/Canada readers, the new stamps and die collection are available from the SCACD store.

 

Wanna see more gorgeous mixed media art?  If so, join the hop!  If you're already on the hop, you should have arrived here from the lovely Lori and you now need to hop off to gorgeous Crystal!  If you want to start from the beginning, go to sweet Danni's!

And before I go, Elaine is celebrating the Jubilee weekend in style for you in the Quixotic Paperie shop!  Starting from today, there is 10% off storewide and goes through to midnight on Tuesday!

Okay, that is it from me now!  My internet appears to be behaving itself for me today so I'll be round to visit you all!  Thanks for visiting!

I am entering my card into the following challenges:

• Sassy Cheryl's Show Me Thursday
• Waste Not Wednesdays - using up that bit ofwhite  material (I have no idea where I got this from!)
  
• Penny's Paper-Crafty - anything goes
• Kraftin Kimmies - get sentimental
• Bunny Zoe's - anything goes
• Scrapbook Sisters - anything goes
• Crafting For All Seasons - many layers
• Simon Says - anything goes
• Divas By Design - anything goes

 

I miss you

Well, a "hoppy" Easter weekend to everyone! I have been sooo looking forward to having a lie in today as it's been another looong week at work! I managed to sleep right through to 7am this morning - normally it's 6am, so it IS an improvement!

Anyhoo, I'm sure you are not interested in my silly sleeping habits! But I just wanted to say how much I have missed blogging this week - you gals (cos let's face it, there's only been one man visiting my site!) are so wonderful to connect with! Ok, onto the card! Here it is...

I didn't use any challenges as I was just loving using my Stampin Up products! I wanted to make a pastel card and thought this set would give a light airy feel (just like how Spring should be, but instead it's grey, grey, grey and wet - again! Must stop moaning about the weather....). It looks a bit wonky, doesn't it?! Hey ho, in real life I think I can get away with it!

Anyway, off to do some more blogging now and visit all my virtual friends! ttfn, xxx

Papers/cardstock: Bazzill kraft cardstock
Mediums: Versamagic ink
Stamps: Stampin Up Good Neighours stamp set

Accents: ribbon from stash
Tools: Martha Stewart border punch

Happy Monday everybody! And a cake

Hi all. Well, am I in a good mood for a Monday! Why you ask? I'm not really sure, but I was very, very productive at work! And I didn't get home until late and I still managed to make a card! I'm sure my poor husband is feeling a bit neglected - even the Labradors are getting more attention! Anyway, here is my card that I am submitting for this week's Our Creative Corner sketch challenge and Curtain Call Color challenge Act 23.

Well, that's it for tonight - need to go to bed early to get up early!

Papers/cardstock: Bazzill kraft, pink and black cardstock

Mediums: Versamagic ink, Memento Tuxedo black ink

Stamps: Stampin Up On a Pedestal stamp set
Accents: ribbon from stash, iridescent pearls

Tools: Martha Stewart border punch

Smooch!

Phew! I managed to make my hubby's Valentine's card at last. He doesn't really appreciate cards (let along handmade ones!) and he's not the romantic type either so I always struggle to make him cards! He does have a great sense of humour though so I thought I'd do something less soppy and more in keeping for what I like getting from him - kisses!

As I always find it so hard to make cards with clean lines (always look so unprofessional!), I decided to use a lot of texture - clear embossing powder on the dotted side border, embossed black matting, white linen cardstock for the background and hearts AND used Diamond Glaze on the lips. And of course my fav foam pads behind the heart in the foreground and the lips. This card took me ages!

I am entering this card into three challenges this week. Firstly, Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #60 (which I didn't think I'd be able to manage as it looked so difficult!)...

Secondly, Crazy for Challenges #23 "Be My Valentine" and, lastly, By the Cute and Girly February challenge to make a card themed around "love" (just found this blog!).

Papers/cardstock: Papermania white linen cardstock, red and black smooth cardstock, red foam sheet

Mediums: Versamagic Red Magic ink, Versamark ink, clear embossing powder, Diamond Glaze (on lips)
Stamps: Inca lips, Hero Arts dots background stamp
Accents: Stampin' Up ribbon
Tools: Woodware heart punch, Cuttlebug houndstooth embossing folder, Quickutz Neat Freak alphabet dies, Wizard die cutter

Sparkle Creations challenge - how square can you go?!

Have you seen Sparkle of Sparkle Creations yet? I love her style - her cards are always really interesting yet keeps them fresh and fun. I especially like the way she uses embellishments. I struggle to get the right balance with mine so I always keep them to a minimum - I'm sure I could do better though as I often think my cards lack that extra "zing" (think of a whitening toothpaste advert!).

Anyway, in her Christmas Card Challenge week #48, you need to use multiple squares. Here is my entry...

I used 1mm foam pads under the squares to give them a little lift otherwise it looked flat and boring. I tried using gems and dew drops but I couldn't make it work (again!) so left it pretty plain with just the ribbon. Overall, I think I like it! And did you notice that it's NOT square? Yay, I managed it!!

Cardstock: various Bazzill cardstock, BasicGrey Eskimo Kisses

Stamps: Gel-a-Tins Holiday Mail

Mediums: various VersaMagic inks

Accents: Maya Road Trinkets Season ribbon

Tools: Martha Stewart New Scallop border punch

Happy Birthday Mum Take Two!!

I'm going to keep this one short after all my waffling yesterday! As I said then, I just wasn't happy with the card I made for my mum's birthday (yesterday's post here). After some cogitating I came up with this version instead...

And here it is front on...

I much prefer this! I think the balance is better and I prefer the less fussy flower arrangement. Now just to create an insert to go with it. And to find someone to give the other card to!

Papers/cardstock: various Bazzill cardstock
Stamps: K&Co Amy Butler Lotus Floral stamp set, sentiment from Hero Arts Great Flourishes Messages
Mediums: Versafine Onyx Black, VersaMark Dazzle in Frost, for the butterfly VersaMagic in Purple Hydrangea, Perfect Plumeria and Eggplant
Accents: ribbon and flowers from stash, button from BasicGrey Wisteria
Tools: sewing machine, Fiskars Upper Crest border punch, Spellbinders Label Four

Happy Birthday Mum!

Luckily my mum is IT illiterate and wouldn't know what a blog was if it was staring right at her! So I can upload the photo of the card I made for her birthday (this coming Friday) and I won't spoil the surprise. Because it's for my mum, I obviously wanted this card to be as special as possible. I'm still not 100% happy about the end result, but I have some time to experiment and improve it before Friday! Anyway, for this card I had three "wants":

1. To create a card purely from my own imagination and not to rely on any sketches or challenges
2. To use my sewing machine that she bought me last year and I only learnt to use it a couple of weeks ago (see here)!
3. To use my DCWV Far East papers as my mum originated from Hong Kong

I failed on the last one. No matter how much I played around with the Far East papers, I just couldn't get any inspiration! I still wanted to stick with the purple shades in there though and ended up creating this...


What do you think? I don't think it's too bad overall, but I don't like the flower arrangement - there's something not right about it but I'm not sure what it is!! It doesn't balance with the sentiment properly either. And I think the satin ribbon is too thin. Will have a think on that...
I do like the butterfly though! It's from the K&Co Amy Butler Lotus Floral stamp set. It wasn't easy to find in the UK, but I managed to buy it from Charmed Cards & Crafts (scroll down half the page via the link). I haven't used it before because I wasn't sure how to make the best of it and what I eventually did was to colour it with three varying shades of purple ink and then used a character shaper and moulding mat (normally used for floral punch craft) to make it pop - I think it worked quite well. You can buy the tools from Crafts U Love here. I also wanted to give the butterfly a slight sheen to it too. You can't see it in the photo, but I used a VersaMark Dazzle in Frost and stamped it directly onto some white thick card. I then dried it with my heat tool and then stamped the inked butterfly onto it. Originally I stamped the butterfly and then the Versamark ink on top but it diluted the colours too much. I then cut out the butterfly and stuck it on with PVA glue.
I used to be rubbish at cutting, but I found micro serrated scissors and now it's easy peasy! Before my cut outs looked messy, but now they look like professional die cuts! Well, perhaps not that good, but pretty close!
The other thing I wanted to mention is that I've eventually done some research into improving how I photograph my cards. I found some very easy cheap solutions but in reality it's really hard to buy the lighting and spend less than £70. Does that sound a lot or not? It's probably not, but I've read on blogs that they've done it on the cheap so I'm reluctant to spend any more than I need too! Anyway, what I did was to create the background using a white A4 folder, thick white paper, double sticky tape (lots of it!) and a cheap £20 desktop adjustable lamp. I haven't yet sorted out a full spectrum bulb but thought the results with the energy saving bulb (11 watt, equivalent to a normal 75 watt) that came with the lamp worked quite well. Here's how it came out on this first experiment...


Not too bad, but I had to crop the photo to focus just on the card and still had to use auto correct as it was still a little too dark. The big plus was that there was no yellowing that I got from my normal home lighting and I didn't even use a full spectrum bulb. The cheap lamp I got was really wobbly too which could be dangerous! It's definitely going back for refund and looks like I'll be spending that £70 afterall.
I don't know about your parents, but it's always really difficult to buy for mine. Firstly, they own everything they really want or need and, secondly, they don't want me to spend money on them - sound familiar?!! Instead of buying something my mum will just go and get a refund for, I thought I would make her some Christmas cards she can send this year. She seems to love my creations (even takes them into work to show them off! Talk about rose tinted glasses!) so I think it will go down well and we won't end up with our usual argument about "wasting money on her"! I don't mean to make her sound ungrateful - she just prefers me to put my hard earned cash towards my mortgage - what great mum!
Anyway, I'm waffling now. Must be the reduced champagne we got from Morrisons! ;)

Papers/cardstock: various Bazzill cardstock
Stamps: K&Co Amy Butler Lotus Floral stamp set, sentiment from Hero Arts Great Flourishes Messages
Mediums: Versafine Onyx Black, VersaMark Dazzle in Frost, for the butterfly VersaMagic in Purple Hydrangea, Perfect Plumeria and Eggplant
Accents: satin ribbon, paper flowers, heart pin, string - all from stash, button from BasicGrey Wisteria
Tools: sewing machine, Fiskars Upper Crest border punch, Spellbinders Label Four