Say it with love

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to another Thursday at the Tic Tac Toe Challenge and another board full of card inspiration! Just look at the fabulous elements Elizabeth has come up with for today's board:

 

 

I chose the left hand column, Heart/Red/Stitching and used it to make a bold valentine.

 

I began by watercolouring a piece of white card with a variety of pink and red inks. When it was dry I used a stitched rectangle die to cut it into strips, glued it to a piece of paper and cut it with a X Cut heart die. I cut another couple of red hearts the same size, glued them together and attached my stitched medallion over the top for some nice dimension.

 

The stitched medallion was stamped with a leafy stamp from Stampin' Up's Season's Blessings and then topped with a sprig from The Greetery's Wildflower Mix die set, with tiny hearts added instead of flower heads. I spelled out the word LOVE using the Slim Alphabet Dies, also by the Greetery. The medallion was mounted onto a red panel and then attached to a card front inked round the edges with green ink.

 

 

Okay, it's over to you! Which column or row takes your fancy this week? Or are you going for one of the diagonals? Whichever you choose, do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe Challenge blog and check out the cards my team mates have made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation with us. Have fun!

CHALLENGES

I was very much inspired by the beautiful graphics at Inkspirational and at Double D Challenge where the theme is Hearts, so I'm linking up there.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

At the weekend I joined my daughter and her Maid of Honour on a hunt for the perfect wedding dress. It was a wonderful day, full of fantasy gowns, bubbles, laughter and feasting (as always in our family!!) I can't show you the dress that my daughter has chosen yet, but I can show you the interior of the boutique she made her selection from...

 

 

... a riot of pink and roses and femininity!

Sending hugs,

My precious

Hello, crafting friends!

It's time for another fun challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches and this month's host Bhavya has designed a great sketch to inspire you this week.

I've been waiting for the right moment to use a beautiful set called Precious Trimmings I got in a clearance sale at Clearly Besotted and now is that moment!

I used a neutral card stock (Sahara Sand by Stampin' Up) to create a card base and stamped four of the gemstones and a sentiment down the centre of the card front, using a stamping platform to get everything lined up.

The gems were coloured with coloured pencils and I added detail with a Posca white acrylic paint pen. That's it! A very simple card that was great fun to make :)

Are you inspired by this fabulous sketch? There's lots of inspiration as always from my teamies at the CAS Colours and Sketches website. Do check it out and you'll  find the Linky Tool there too so that you can link up your own card with us. Remember that we are a clean and simple challenge, so do keep your creations uncluttered with plenty of clear space - and above all, have fun!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Addicted to Stamps and More where there's a Make Your Mark challenge and we are asked to get out our colouring tools; I'm also joining in with Retro Rubber where Anything Goes using stamps at least a year old (Precious Trimmings was released November 2018); I shall also share this card at Darnell's NBUS challenge where it's all about using our Never Before Used Schtuff!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I think it's appropriate to leave you with a picture of my most precious gem...

,,, my golden treasure!

Sending hugs,

Valentine wreath

Hello, crafting friends!

I have always loved the creativity of crafting. Just because a product is designed to do one thing doesn't mean it can't do something else as well! 

My friend lent me Stampin' Up's Wreath Builder die set for the weekend and I've had so much fun with it! The set features two wreaths that you can use separately or layer together. But instead of looking for ways to step things up, I prefer to look for ways to pare things back and this card features one of the wreaths cut in half and attached to a thin circle cut with a circle punch and a circle die. I love the effect! I embellished the half wreath with some of the pretty flowers from the die set, that emboss as they cut.

To display my wreath, I masked off the top and bottom of a good thick card base and stamped Hardwood, a retired Stampin' Up background stamp, into the gap. I finished the card with a popped up sentiment from MFT's Floral Focus, stamped in dark grey ink and fussy cut, and a sprinkling of clear gems.

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

I was so pleased that this card won Top Pick at As You See It!

CHALLENGES

It was Jan's colour palette at As You See It  and Karren's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches that started me off with this card, so I'm linking up there; I'm also joining in with Just Us Girls, where Valentine is the word prompt, and Allsorts, where Love Is... is the theme.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

We had dusting of snow last night but it has a very different feel from January's jolly, snowman-friendly snowfall. It is bitterly cold and you daren't take your gloves off for too long for fear of losing a finger or two (I may be slightly prone to exaggerating...!) I took mine off for long enough to capture this fair snow princess :)

Sending hugs,

Sending love

Hello, crafting friends!

I think it's safe to say that 2020 won't be topping anybody's list of favourite years anytime soon. But we are still human beings and so of course people are continuing to live and love, and celebrate weddings and anniversaries. Today, I'm spreading a message of love round the world!

This card started with a homemade heart stencil - I folded a piece of paper in half, drew half a heart, cut through both layers and then opened it out to reveal the heart-shaped hole. This was taped over an offcut of white card stock. 

Out came three red inks, Poppy Parade, Real Red and Cherry Cobbler, and a (retired) stamp set, Painted Petals, all from Stampin' Up. I sponged Poppy y Parade ink into the stencil and then, without removing the mask, I stamped some flowers and leaves using the darker two inks. Once the stencil was removed, I  cut the heart out and added detail with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers.

Next, I cut a card panel with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodles. The heart was glued onto a circle punched out of vellum and the edge trimmed with the same rectangle die so I could line it up with stitching on the panel. The panel was then glued to a card base and the card finished with a sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Just For You and some coloured gems.

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

What a lovely surprise to find this card was one of Retro Rubber's Top Picks!

CHALLENGES

The Rainbow Card Challenge's theme this month is Radiantly Ruby and that's what set me going with this card; I'm using a retired SU stamp set, Painted Petals, released in 2015, so I'm also linking up with the Anything Goes challenge at Retro Rubber; the layout is from this week's gorgeous sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

You know that feeling when you're just n the wrong side of the door...

Sending love from Eva and me,

Magic Moments!

Hello crafting friends!

There are two different kinds of creating for me: one is grabbing some inks and stamps, maybe some markers and dies, and making a quick card; the other is having an idea, then mulling it over for hours, sometimes days, until it finally comes together. Today's card was the second kind! Come and see:

I'd been thinking about the fairy tale about the princess whose brothers had been turned into swans by an evil enchantress. There's a swan on the Riverbank stamp set by the Craft Consortium but, when I got it out, I saw it also features frogs and was distracted by The Princess and the Frog!

To make my scene I sponged a sky and some water into a circle stencil. I used gold embossing powder to heat emboss a crown from a long ago retired Stampin' Up set called Tiny Tags, and some magical stars and dots from another called Celebrate Today. The frog and the lily pad from Riverbank were stamped, coloured with alcohol markers and fussy cut before arranging on the water. I finished my scene with some tiny stars and dots punched out of shiny gold card with the Stampin' Up Twinkle punch.

I cut the scene out with a circle die and attached it to a card base, and added washi tape to the top and bottom of the card front. This would make a good anniversary card I think but I've left it without a greeting - after all, it's not clear whether this prince has just turned into a frog or whether the frog is about to turn into a prince!

CHALLENGES
It was CASology that set me thinking about fairy tales and enchantments with its Magical cue card; I'm also linking up with CAS(e) this Sketch which provided the sketch for this card; and am joining in with the Allsorts Challenge which is celebrating its 11th birthday with an Anything Goes theme.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
Talking of fairy tales, my little princess turned into a complete and utter toad this morning:

Hmmm. Totally unrepentant too!

I know lots of you will be celebrating Mother's Day today, albeit in a different way to usual.
Sending hugs to you all,

My faithful valentine

Hello crafting friends!

I know I said there would be no more valentines here but then I suddenly realised I'd missed out someone VERY important! Come and see:

She is an absolute sweetheart who has stolen my heart, and she is the most beautiful (floofy) girl in the world!

The golden retriever stamp is by Dimension Stamps who are sadly not trading any more. I stamped the dog with light brown ink, adding pale yellow watercolour and white craft ink for the coat and black detail around the eyes, muzzle and nose.

The grass is from Stampin' Up's Enjoy Life - I knew that would come in handy! I've given my dog a tuggy toy heart to retrieve, made with a punched heart with some twine threaded through it, which I also threaded through the dog's mouth and knotted the other side. The dog has been trimmed to the edge of the card.

To finish the card, I stamped a couple of sweet sentiments from Clearly Besotted's Fresh Flowers. Of course this card isn't really for my Eva - she'd only eat it! - but it would make a great valentine for anyone, male or female, who loves dogs, or even a valentine FROM the family dog!

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD
So pleased to be Honourably Mentioned at CASology with this card!

CHALLENGES
I'm linking this card up with:
CASology, where the cue card is Sweetheart; The Male Room where they're looking for masculine 'Heart You' cards; The Allsorts Challenge, where they'd like us to add 'At Least One Heart' to our creations; CAS on Friday, where the theme is Love; and AAA cards, where we are required to use up to one third of the card front, and with an optional twist of Hearts.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
The inspiration for today's card was a conversation I had with a lady yesterday. She has a beautiful golden retriever and told me her husband had given him to her. The pup had a ring and a tag tied to his collar with ribbon and the tag said 'Will you marry me?' How romantic is that?! Now, I want to be quite clear, I don't approve of people using puppies as a means of proposing but this couple had been together for a long time and had already talked about getting a dog together. Also, it's a good thing my husband didn't propose like this as I would have burst!!!

Did you have an unusual proposal or do you know someone that has? I'd love to hear about it!

Hugs,

A minimilist valentine

Hello crafting pals!

I've gone VERY clean and simple for today's card. Are you ready?

What do you think? I used two of my Heffy Doodles stitched rectangle dies to make a tag, replacing the cut out panel in the centre so that the stitching looks embossed. Let's zoom in a bit:

The sentiment is from a lovely Uniko set called You Are, Yes You. I used my stamp platform to stamp the word 'amazing', masking off the dot on top of the 'i' and then removed that stamp and lined up the words 'you are'.

The tiny hearts are from Stampin' Up's From Our House To Yours and I've used them to replace the dot over the 'i' that I'd masked off. The larger heart was stamped in pink and the smaller in dark red over the top. I finished the card with a single gem.

CHALLENGES
I'm linking my card up with Less is More, which is challenging us to use Less on our cards with its Less (Tiny and Few) theme. Can you believe this challenge is 9 years old?! I remember being so excited when it first started up and being an avid LiMette every Saturday, as it was a weekly challenge then.
I shall also link up with Festive Friday, having chosen Hearts, Red and Pink from their list.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
So we've seen January off! I am embracing February - the month of love and pancakes! What are you looking forward to in February?

Hugs,

A Man Valentine

Hello crafting friends!

The people in my life who love a pink and white lacy valentine can be counted on zero fingers! So here's an idea for those who prefer a 'less is more' approach:

I found this Knit Pattern embossing folder on sale in Hobbycraft earlier this week and tried it out on a snippet of grey card stock. A couple of days later, I had the idea of colouring the raised areas with a white watercolour crayon and suddenly it was worth using on a card!

I die cut a small Sizzix heart in it and glued a snippet of red card stock to the back. As an extra detail, I used one of my Heffy Doodle stitched rectangle dies to cut into the panel, then replaced it, to create the effect of an embossed frame.

To finish the card, I stamped a sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Spring Daffodils onto a tiny strip of card stock (a stamping platform is essential for this!) and cut the end into a flag. Of course, if I'd HAD a sentiment that said 'Cose up with me you gorgeous old thing' I would have used it!

CHALLENGES
I was very much inspired by the photo as well as the colours in the current Colour Throwdown challenge so I'll be joining in there; I shall also link up with the Time Out Challenge where the theme is Affectionate; and last, but not least, this card was made with snippets except the card base, so I shall be scampering along to play in the Snippets Playground.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
This card reminds me a bit of a Jammy Dodger - you know, those biscuits that used to make an appearance at children's birthday parties. They always looked fun but, to me, they tasted like someone had glued some sawdust together with some added chemical flavouring!

Do you remember them?

Whatever you're up to this weekend, have a happy one!