Stamping stamps!

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Back in the summer, I was so busy I had no time to craft and even less time to blog! I did, however,  find time to buy the Waffleflower Postage Stamp Collage die which made my heart beat faster on its release! Of course I only took it out of its wrapper in December (can anyone relate?!) and it has not disappointed. I had so much fun making this card and I think it might have been my favourite of the year!

 

There are stencils you can get to go with this die but I just used the die itself as a stencil, sponging blue ink into the stamp shapes, and it worked perfectly well! Then came the fun bit: I used a couple of new-to-me Greetery sets (Pretty Postmarks and Pine Blossom) to design my own postage stamps, adding script and other images for a collage effect. The Christmas Blessings sentiment came from Uniko's Peace on Earth set.

 

American frame dies are made for US A2 cards, but I usually just trim a bit of the height of my cards to make them work. On this occasion, I had a little lightbulb moment! I remembered a retired Stampin' Up set (Butterfly Basics) that had an airmail pattern stamp on it, and stamped it in red as a frame around three sides of the card base.

 

 

I was really pleased with that final touch - and isn't it amazing how many stamps and dies from different eras and different companies work perfectly together!

CHALLENGES

The die set and two of the stamp sets are Never Before Used Schtuff, so naturally I will zoom over to Darnell's NBUS challenge to share. PS. I'm very proud to have a card from last month showcased there! I'm also joining in with Stamping Sensations where we are asked to use Favourite Colours - I love all colour but this is a favourite Christmas combination; We Love Stamping has a Winter Flowers and/or Foliage theme so I'm also linking up there.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I've always loved hearing the sound of the letter box before Christmas! There are always some exciting cards to open or parcels containing gifts that need to be wrapped. After a few unhappy incidents when Eva was a puppy and chewed up the post, I taught her to gather up the mail and bring it to me. She was rewarded handsomely for this and has been a keen helper ever since. But his year, we've had another pup in the house of course! Eva wasn't prepared to give up her task but Lulu watched carefully and then decided her job would be to give a wuff to alert everyone to the fact the post has arrived. Oh dear, this is NOT something I feel should be rewarded! I have a long list of training that will begin in the new year!

Sending hugs,

Wedding doves and flowers

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Why should doves only come out at Christmas? I thought one day while rifling through my stamp sets. These doves are from Uniko's Peace on Earth set but I imagined a pair of them would look just right cooing at one another on an autumn wedding card!

 

 

I decided to stencil one end of a slimline card base with The Greetery's Always in Bloom layering stencil set, and then mirror the stenciling on the other end. This worked well and left me with a space in the middle for a focal point.

 

I did a bit more stenciling using isolated parts of the stencil to bring the two halves together, then blended some pale yellow ink into a circle stencil before stamping a sentiment from a long-ago retired Stampin' Up set. Finally, I added the doves, stamped in pale blue, shaded with an alcohol marker and fussy cut.

 

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at the Stencil Fun Challenge where the Orange is the optional twist this month; I'm also joining in with Lynn's Autumn Colours theme at Allsorts

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

We are having a beautiful autumn here. The hedges are full of berries and the leaves are taking their time to turn completely. The mornings are damp and misty but by lunchtime, the skies are glorious blue and the sun is warm enough for shirt sleeves - no jumper or jacket required! The golden girls and I are taking full advantage!

Sending hugs,

Texture and sparkle wreath

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Thursday has come around again and with it comes a whole bunch of inspiration courtesy o the Tic Tac Toe challenge! Felicita had Thanksgiving on her mind when coming up with this board but, as usual, the suggestions work brilliantly for other occasions too.

 

I chose the right hand column for my Christmas card - Any Shape Die/Wreath/Gold Foil or Glitter. This card was created mostly from embossing and die cuts with only the sentiment being stamped.

I partially embossed a square panel with a Honeycomb embossing folder from Hobbycraft, then layered a die cut wreath from Stampin' Up over the top.

 

The wreath was decorated with glittery gold baubles and red berries cut from snippets of paper and I added a die cut bow from a cocktail set by MFT.

 

 

The card was finished with touches of gold glitter glue, white highlights on the berries and a stamped sentiment from Uniko.

 

Right! It's over to you :) Which row or column will you choose this week? Or will you go for one of the diagonals? Do hop over to the Tic Tac Toe challenge site and check out all the fabulous inspiration from my team mates. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to link up your own creation. Have fun - we can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at the Snippets Playground where we are invited to make cards with snippets: m card panel was from a spoilt card base,  and all the die-cut and punched items were cut from off-cuts. I'm also joining in with Let's Squash It where the challenge is Make a Christmas Card, and Can Yyou Handle The Pressure where Anything Embossed Goes with optional theme of Wreaths. The challenge at Sparkles Monthly Challenge is to Use Dies and Punches so I'm joining in there, and I'm also playing along at Happy Little Stampers Die challenge where Anything Using Dies Goes.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I love a wreath and my whole world was rocked when my sister showed me how to make one with just bits and pieces from the garden! Here's one of my favourite photos of my youngest son admiring my (slightly wonky) creation a few years ago!

 

My sister and I enjoyed making wreaths together so much we decided to make it a regular run-up to Christmas event :) Do you have any annual rituals as the festive season draws nearer? Do share in the comments below!

Sending hugs,

Peace and joy... possibly

Hello, crafting friends!

 

It's time for another fun challenge at Addicted to CAS and the talented Toni has come up with the cue word this time:

 

 

I might be a dog person but I love cats too and I had an idea for a festive card especially made for a friend who is owned by a beautiful black feline called The Lady Dora.

 

I created a background for my cat by sponging blue ink into the Arched Window stencil by Funky Fossil. After clapping wet hands over it to create falling snow, I added smaller dots with a white Posca acrylic paint pen once it had dried. To create the window sill, I just masked of a small area under the window and sponged pale brown ink into it.

 

I used Funky Fossil's Cat Silhouettes stencil for the cat, choosing one of the images and drawing round the inside of the stencil with a black fineliner pen. The cat was coloured with alcohol markers to look like Dora - her ladyship has trainer socks on her front paws and knee highs on her back legs! I fussy cut my cat and set her on the window sill so she could complain about the birds!

For a bit of balance, I thought I'd decorate the window. This graphic leafy image comes from Uniko's Peace and Joy and I liked the way it sort of echoed the shape of the arched window. I added a red enamel dot and stamped a sentiment from the same set to finish the card. (The sentiment made me smile as it would probably be the last think on The Lady Dora's mind while watching those birds!!)

So now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge site and admire all the amazing inspiration from my team mates. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and can use it to upload your own creation. Have fun!

 

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with Jingle Belles' Frosty The Stencil challenge; also at Peace on Earth where I was inspired by the snowy window on the mood board; Addicted to Styamps and More have an Any Occasion theme going so I'm linking up there too.

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I thought you might like to see a photo of The Lady Dora:

She is telling me she requires stroking and I'm afraid I've fallen rather short of her expectations. She is prepared to let me off this time however, as she rather enjoyed the Sheba I served at breakfast, but she hopes I will pull my socks up in the future. Indeed, she hopes she will not have to speak to me about my behaviour again.

Sending hugs,

Let there be peace

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to the final challenge of the year at CAS Colours and Sketches and a milestone for us as we celebrate our 450th challenge! There are some prizes to be won so I hope that you can take a little time to have some fun with it!

 

This is a bittersweet challenge for me as I have decided to step down from the team after life suddenly became a lot busier for me. I could have picked any of my talented teamies' sketches or colour palettes but Bhavya's challenge 434 really stood out for me as a sketch I'd want to use again and again.

To  start, I repeat-stamped a 'peace on earth' sentiment on a card panel using Uniko's Peace on Earth stamp set and a stamping platform for even spacing. I trimmed the panel to size with  one of The Greetery's Nordic Frame dies and glued a panel of dark blue card to the back of it so it would show through the frame design.

The dove is from the same Uniko set and although there is an olive branch-style stamp in the set, I doodled in a larger one, coloured everything with markers and then cut the dove and the branch out together using sharp paper snips. I attached this to the card panel with dimensional pads and finally glued the panel to the card base.

 

And now it's over to you! Do hop over to the CAS Colours and Sketches blog and check out the previous challenges my teamies have chosen - and there are some bonus cards from the wonderful new team members too! You'll find all the previous challenges at the site and can choose your favourite to turn into a festive card. We can't wait to see what you make!

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with Happy Little Stampers Die Challenge, where Anything Goes; also Allsorts challenge where Ellie has chosen a theme of Wings and/or Tails; also CAS on Sundayy where the theme is Christmas; and We Love Stamping where Anything Goes with the option of CAS.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! The decorations are up, most of the cards are posted and I've started to wrap presents including a couple of small toys for a certain floofy young lady to open on Christmas day! 

This plushy tree trunk was a big hit last Christmas and has continued to be a favourite throughout the year. It is hollow and contains a squeaky squirrel, owl and bird that Eva can pull out - and I sometimes hide treats in there for her too!

Sending hugs,