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Amour!

It's one layer week over at Less is More with the theme of "Love". This was a really quick & simple card involving a Stampin' Up! stamp heat embossed in white, a mask cut with a Spellbinders heart die & Hero Arts Pale Tomato Shadow Ink sponged through the mask.

I'm entering this into the following challenges:

Less is More - One layer "Love"

CASology - "Love"

Addicted to CAS - "Mask"

Hugs & Kisses

The latest challenge over at Addicted to CAS is Hugs & Kisses; I liked the new sketch over at Tuesday Morning Sketches so I decided to play along there for the first time. The only image stamp I had which fitted the hugs part of the challenge was this old Forever Friends one.

I stamped the image in Memento Toffee Crunch onto Limetree Crafts card, then dug out my Promarkers for the first time in a while. I used Oatmeal, Vanilla & Ivory for the fur, Sand Dune for the noses & envelope, Oasis & Cornflower for the gift. The sentiment, by Francoise Read for Woodware, was stamped in Hero Arts Pastel Blue Shadow Ink. The backing paper was a Forever Friends one from my stash.

Key to my Heart

Wonders will never cease - two cards in one day, and a week early for Valentine's day rather than my usual last minute rush! A very quick card for my husband using some recently-purchased Clearly Besotted stamps.

As with my first card of the day this is based on the sketch over at Case this Sketch. The stamps were simply inked in Memento Tuxedo Black & Love Letter; using dewdrop ink pads made it easy to ink the "key" in the sentiment a different colour to the rest. A strip of backing paper which has been in my stash for ages, plus a strip of textured black cardstock kept it CAS, and I carefully covered the padlock in Anita's Clear Gloss.

Happy Birthday Less is More!

One of my favourite challenge blogs, Less is More, celebrates its 4th birthday so what better way to mark the occasion than to make them a birthday card? The theme is pink & grey, and I've combined this with the current sketch over at Case this Sketch.

Two things about this card are unusual for me: one, I knew exactly how I wanted it to look and two, I was able to devote enough time this morning to making it! I started off with the Clearly Besotted "Full of Surprise" present & balloons. The present was stamped in Hero Arts Soft Granite, the balloons in Picked Raspberry Distress Ink. I then painted the ribbons to match. 

The number 4 (by Kirsty Wiseman for Personal Impressions) and the greeting (maker unknown) were stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black. The paper by Teresa Collins was fussy cut, then I painted one of the stripes in Picked Raspberry, and the edge in Wink of Stella which unfortunately doesn't show up in the photos. I finished off with a black sequin in the centre of the bow. 

Happy Birthday Less is More - long may you continue!

I Heart Fuchsias

Another day, another challenge! At the moment I'm trying really hard to use up some of the stash I've accumulated over the last few years but never touched, also mixing it with some of my newer acquisitions. This card is based on the sketch over at I {Heart} Card Sketches although it can't be entered into the challenge there as I didn't use one of their images.

This card uses the Clearly Besotted stamps free with this month's Simply Cards & Papercraft magazine, stamped in Memento Bamboo Leaves & Angel Pink. The backing paper, flowers & jewelled brad have been in my stash for a very long time. I added a touch of Wink of Stella to the main fuchsia, which I hope you can see in the picture below.

Crackle Flower

I'm determined to use up some of the (many) patterned papers I've hoarded for a very long time, and the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches seemed like the ideal way to do that. If I'm not too late this will be my second entry for the current challenge over at CASology where the cue card is "birthday".

I'm not sure who the papers are by, but I added a subtle touch of bling to some of the stripes & diamonds with my Wink of Stella. The greeting is by Paula Pascual & it's stamped in Lulu Lavender. I'm also not sure who made the chipboard flower, but I added a little bit of texture to it by painting it with Distress Crackle Paint and added a jewelled brad by My Mind's Eye.

Snippets & Sparkle

I loved the simple sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch this week but I also wanted to go over & join the fun in the Snippet Playground. With this card I've managed to do both, and as it's a birthday card I'll enter it into the challenge over at CASology, too, where the cue card is "Birthday".

The snippet of paper has been in my stash for ages, I'm not sure of the maker. You can't see it in the photo but I added a touch of Wink of Stella sparkle to some of the stripes. The chipboard flowers have also been in my stash for years; I painted them with a couple of coats of gesso then once that had dried, coloured them with Mulberry Promarker. I found some Crackle Accents and decided to see what that looked like, so here's a close-up:

To be honest the flowers didn't turn out as I'd imagined at all but I really quite like them - I think they look a bit weird in the photo but trust me, they look much better in real life!

The greeting by Clearly Besotted was stamped in Memento Lulu Lavender, and the Happy Birthday was given the Wink of Stella treatment, too.

Sweet Sunday Sketch

I needed a quick card & I liked the sketch over at Sweet Sunday Sketch challenge, coming up with this:

The card base was from my stash; the patterned paper is from the Teresa Collins Urban Market pad, and the stamps were by Papertrey Ink & Paula Pascual  for Personal Impressions, inked up in Memento Paris Dusk. The embossing folder is by Papermania.

New Beginnings

The challenge over at Less is More this week is "New Beginnings" & as some stress-relieving crafting was required I put my thinking cap on. This is what I came up with:

The words were computer-generated; the butterfly stamp is by Papermania & the buddleia stamp is by Unity Stamps, coloured using Cotman watercolours with a very pale watercolour sky to set the scene.

Best Dad!

Another card for my husband's birthday tomorrow, and this time I decided to play along over at Stamplorations as I really liked the current sketch. A really simple card, and very quick to do.

Card recipe:
Cardstock - Limetree Crafts, Crafters Companion Kraft
Stamps - Papremania, Woodware, Kirsty Wiseman for Personal Impressions
Inks - Memento Rich Cocoa
Promarkers - Promarker Caramel
Embossing folder - Sizzix Alterations Wood Planks
Screw brads - Creative Expressions

Golden Oldie

It's my husband's birthday on Sunday but as he never looks at my blog I'm quite safe to post his card here! A looming Ofsted inspection at the school where I'm a Governor has kept me too busy to craft just lately so I decided to stick to quite a simple card, although it seemed to take a long time to put together. The "record" consists of simple Spellbinders circles cut on my Cuttlebug and is in fact a pocket, in which I'll be putting some tickets to a concert I've bought him tickets for - if they arrive in time!

The notes were either cut on my Sizzix Eclips or stamped in Memento Lady Bug. The black sentiment using Anna Marie stamps was stamped in Versafine Onyx Black, the "golden oldie" was cut in gold mirri card on my Eclips using Penultimate Light.

I'm hoping I'm not too late to enter this into this week's challenge over at Less is More where the theme is black, metallic & one.

Sketch Saturday #341

A quick post for what was not a quick card!

A lovely neighbour of my Mum's passed away early on Christmas Day; Connie had been like a second grandmother to my family, often babysitting for us when we were young. This card is for her family.

I liked the simplicity of the sketch over at Sketch Saturday so I decided to play along, tweaking the sketch slightly to suit.

I started with a "twinchie" by Magenta Crafts which was bare chipboard. I used a couple of coats of gesso to provide a base for Distress Inks in Salty Ocean & Peacock Feathers. The stamped image is by Papertrey Ink from their Round & Round set. The background strip was made by playing with an Imagination Crafts stencil, the same Distress Inks & some water. I used the same stencil with some Black Soot Distress Ink for the leaves then kept the sentiment (again by Papertrey Ink) simple as I thought there was already enough going on.

Christmas Wrap-up

A picture-heavy post to finish the year's Christmas cards. First, the card I'm probably most proud of: the one to our son who adores West Highland Terriers but unfortunately this is the nearest he's ever likely to get to owning one!

The Westie, coloured using cheap coloured pencils from W H Smith, is a free download from Bird's Cards, which is an amazing collection of free resources for cardmakers. The reason I'm so proud, though, is that although I'm not an artist I in fact drew the tree by hand after watching a Youtube video! 

My second card is the one for my husband, the word art having been cut on my Sizzix Eclips:

The kisses were drawn in white gel pen and the stamped "Husband" is from Little Claire. Next up is an image from Mo's Digital Pencil, coloured in Promarkers with a sponged Memento Summer Sky background:

And last, but by no means least, the one to my father-in-law which uses Perfect Pearls on a stamped image from IndigoBlu, a chipboard word which I've coloured in gold & added some Anita's Clear Gloss. The remainder of the greeting is also from the IndigoBlu set. I'm entering this one into the current "Family" challenge over at Less is More:

Christmas Hugs

My 15 year old son now towers over my tiny Mum, but they both love their hugs! So when I saw the Family challenge over at Addicted to CAS I immediately pictured this card in my head, and decided to combine it with the One-Layer Snow challenge over at Less is More. I'm also going to enter it into the challenge over at CASology, I hope the fact that this post is 2 days old won't disqualify me!

In essence this is a really simple card, and was very quick to make. The sentiment was computer-generated (Candy Round BTN font) and the card is by Limetree Crafts.The stamps are an old set by Woodware and I hand-drew a few matching stars then dotted Quickie Glue Pen over them.

The "snow" is embossing paste - a.k.a. One Strike Filler - applied with a tiny trowel, which wasn't easy as the filler didn't want to stick. I then liberally sprinkled it & the stars with Crystal Glamour Dust. The polar bears were subtly coloured in Powder Blue Promarker.

CAS(E) #102 times 2!

Wonders will never cease - two entries for one challenge! This card is based on the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch and was very quick to do. I stamped a free snowflake stamp in Memento Rich Cocoa onto kraft cardstock, then highlighted some of the detail with white gel pen. I stamped the greeting (again, free) in white ink then embossed it with clear powder. The frame was hand drawn to finish.

Turquoise Trees

One card, two challenges: this card is inspired by this week's sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch combined with the colour challenge over at Less is More. Other than turning the sketch upside down, I stuck to it pretty literally. I must apologise for the photographs because it's so wet & miserable here today it was impossible to get a good photo.

The tree stamp is one from the  Penny Black set free with a magazine, repeat stamped in Versamagic Turquoise Gem & Aquatic Splash. I then used a Spellbinders die to emboss, but not cut, the frame and stamped the greeting (by Paula Pascual) in Versamagic again.

Although you can't see it, I added some Wink of Stella to some of the bigger "leaves" then mounted the image on a Bazzill cardstock card. Although I'm not unhappy with the finished card I think it's lacking the "wow" factor so this will probably have some bling added before I send it off.

Congratulations MA!

To gain a Masters degree takes a great deal of hard work; to do so whilst holding down a more than full time job as a busy parish priest, serving the local community on more than one school governing body (and in a myriad of other ways) is a huge achievement. It was a pleasure to make a card to celebrate this as the man concerned is, quite simply, thoroughly likeable and great to work with.

This was also one of those rare cards which turned out exactly as I envisaged it! I "drew" the mortar board in the Ecal software then cut it & the letters out on my Sizzix Eclips then stamped the "congratulations" in Versafine Onyx Black, going over the letters with Wink of Stella to add a tiny bit of glitz which I couldn't manage to capture in either photograph. The tassels were simply made from black twine.

I'm entering this into the 200th challenge over at Less is More.

Oh No the Big 40!

My husband's cousin celebrates his 40th birthday this week. I'm sure it makes him feel old, but it makes me feel REALLY old because I've known him since he was 8! This week's sketch over at Clean & Simple Stamping appealed to me so I used it as a basis for this card:

I started by taking some chipboard numbers, colouring them with a black Promarker and then embossing multiple times with black embossing powder then ultra thick embossing powder. They proved very difficult to photograph because of reflections but you can see them a little better here:

The zigzags are from the Chevron set of stamps by Uniko Studio, stamped in Versamark then embossed in Wow Detail Clear embossing powder. The greeting, a long-retired stamp by Elzybells, was treated in a similar way. There seemed to be too big a gap under the greeting so I filled it with a plain black brad.

Celebrate the Wonder

I don't normally make many Christmas cards, and the ones I do make are usually last minute. This year is a little bit different: I'm not last minute! Although I haven't made lots of cards, making even one is an improvement on my usual effort. This latest card involves a stamp by Crafty Impressions called Wise Men by Sue Dix, which to my eyes was just begging to be brightly coloured:

I stamped it in VersaColor Charcoal then embossed it with clear embossing powder to make the colouring easier. I used lots of different Promarker colours & finished off with gold & silver gel pens for some of the details.

I finished off with a Penny Black stamp (free with a magazine) embossed with Wow Neutral Ultra Shimmer Embossing Glitter. I'm going to make this my second entry for the Christmas challenge over at Less is More.