Layers of warmth

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Happy Saturday and welcome to another fun challenge at Addicted to CAS! Nancy is our charming hostess for the next fortnight and the code word she has come up with is Layered.

 

 

I confess I was stumped by this at first as Layered and Clean and Simple crafting seem to be worlds apart! But actually a small area of layering with lots of white space to show it off can be perfectly CAS. I didn't go that route though; instead I concentrated on the upcoming cold weather and thought of the layers of clothing we will be wearing!

 

I reached for a favourite Concord & 9th set called Winter Wear and used it to stamp a lady muffled up in a scarf and hat. I coloured her with alcohol markers, adding the suggestion of a coat in the background. When I had finished I tied everything together with a fine-nibbed black fine liner pen to give the impression of a pen and ink drawing.

 

I trimmed the panel with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle then stamped one of the curving sentiments from The Greetery's Catching Snowflakes set around my toasty warm lady's head. The panel was attached to a card front and I added a navy enamel dot to focus the eye on where to start reading :)

 

Right! It's over to you now. What does the word Layered make YOU think about? Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge blog where my team mates have pulled out all  the stops to inspire you. You will find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and can use it to share your own creation when you're ready. We can't wait to see what you make - but don't forget we are a clean and simple challenge so make sure there's plenty of lovely clear space on your card!

CHALLENGES

I couldn't resist the lovely warm colour palette at The Color Throwdown this week so I'll be linking up there; Also joining in with the Anything Goes challenge at Retro Rubber where we are required to use a stamp one year old or older (Winter Wear was released in 2018.) The theme at Allsorts today is Add a Sentiment and I thought this card would work well with its curved one; The theme at Stamping Sensations is All Things Autumn so I'm also linking up there.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Here is another young lady wearing a warm coat in the autumn:

 

Just pausing to give the squirrels a sporting chance*

*In fact there is no chance whatsoever that she is fast enough to catch a squirrel!!

Sending hugs,

Knitted character

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I am so thrilled to be the surprise party guest at Seize the Birthday for January and Februar and now I know we're partying, I'm bringing some salty snacks and some fruit punch! Do come and join us! So, what's the Topping at the challenge this time?

 

I couldn't decide whether to go for dry embossing or the shiny kind so in the end, I opted for both!

 

There are only two embossing folders in my stash, but this Knit Pattern one, a bargain from Hobbycraft, was perfect for a winter birthday. For extra embossed detail, I trimmed it to size with a Crimped Frame die from the Greetery and mounted it onto a card base ready for my other elements.

I stamped one of the girls from Concord & 9th's Winter Wear, drew a general body shape and added a cosy hat and scarf from the same set. Everything was coloured with alcohol markers, cut out with paper snips and attached to the knit panel and I added an enamel star to the hat for a bit of detail.

 

Finally, the birthday sentiment from Pinkfresh Studio's Perfect Sentiments was stamped and heat embossed to glossify it then it too was attached to the panel.

So now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Seize the Birthday challenge blog and admire all the fabulous samples the design team has created to inspire you. When you're read, you can upload your own creation using the Linky Tool you'll find at the bottom of the post. And remember, if you're not into embossing, you can always go for the Anything Goes option - but do remember it must be a birthday card. Have fun!

 

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up at Watercooler Wednesday where Dawn is hosting the All Occasionzs challenge; I'm also joining in with the Make Your Mark challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

It's been very icy here in the mornings with beautiful clear blue skies. Yesterday Eva and I met a funny old gent walking down a path in the park. He cautioned us to be extra careful as it was very slippery. "You don't want to end up doing a Torvill and Dean!" he said.

I think he may have been referring to the bit at the end of the dance!

Sending hugs,

Warm woolly hugs

Hello, crafting friends!

It's been a day of crafting between wrapping up warm for walks today - and that may have influenced my card a little! Come and see:

This lovely lady from Winter Wear by Concord & 9th is all bundled up in her winter woollies, but I think you can tell she's a bit of a fashion icon because of those snazzy lenses in her specs! All the elements in Winter Wear come separately, which I love because it means you can get creative. I stamped her hair, the glasses and the scarf and from there it was easy to fill in the lower part of her face and a jumper.

Everything was coloured with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. To give the card a bit of depth, I used two stencils from Funky Fossil: Knitted, which I stencilled over the top of my jumper, and Fancy Trellis, for a hint of background. The sentiment is from my well-used Simply Said Blocks set from Uniko.

CHALLENGES

I was inspired by some of my favourite challenges: Less Is More, where the theme is Fashion and/or Accessories; Just Us Girls, where the challenge is to Just Use Stencils; Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where anything using stencils goes; and Allsorts, where they want us to use our favourite colour (mine are greens, yellows, oranges, but I've gone for mainly green here.)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

One of my favourite gifts I received at Christmas was a set of Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. My family tend to steer away from giving me craft items because they know that I am quite specific about the things I buy.  But this year, my son had casually admired my display of markers, triggering a conversation about how much I loved using them and how I was building up my collection. He had snuck back to the display afterwards and made a note of all the pens I already had (quite a task!) and ordered a pack that had no duplicates in it. Cunning huh?! But also SO thoughtful!

Sending hugs,

Snuggle up warm!

Hello, crafting friends!

I love the autumn when the weather is bright and warm enough to dispense with a coat. The young lady in today's card has added a hat and scarf, so presumably her day is a bit chillier, but she looks ready to scamper through piles of leaves doesn't she!

My girl was made up of elements from Concorde & 9th's Winter Wear and I scribbled in the illusion of a sweater. She was stamped on a semi coated card stock, trimmed with a Heffy Doodle stitched rectangle die, and coloured with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers.

To  finish the card, I swooshed ink pads over a piece of scrap card stock and used dies from Mama Elephant's Botanic Envelope to cut leaves from it. I added a suitable sentiment from Clearly Besotted's Warm Wishes and attached the panel to a card front.

CHALLENGES

I'm using the gorgeous autumn colours from CAS Colours and Sketches because they were irresistible! And I'm also linking up with Just Add Ink where they're going back to basics with just Ink, Stamps and Paper - just how I like it!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I took Eva down to the fields behind our house the other morning and was amazed by the scene - it didn't seem cold enough for frost! I knew there was something up when Eva didn't cast herself to the ground and have a good old roll as she normally would in frosty weather! Have a look at the close up...

Isn't that extraordinary! A million little webs draped over the grass and hung with dewdrops! What astonishing beauties there are in nature if we take the time to look!

Sending hugs,

Winter Wear lady dons mask!

Hello, crafting friends!

When I saw the Doodles challenge at Less is More yesterday, I let out a happy little squawk because it gave me the perfect opportunity to get Concord & 9th's Winter Wear stamp set out again! The ladies in the set have half faces because they're designed to peep over things but I've been enjoying doodling in the rest of the faces!

Today though, I've gone all topical and doodled a mask! The lady is stamped with Memento black ink and coloured with Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. The doodling was done with a water-based black pen. When I'd finished doodling and colouring, I masked my lady (no pun intended but while we're here we might as well enjoy it!!), placed the Brick Wall stencil from Funky Fossil over the top and sponged SU's Soft Sea Foam ink into it. I love the way the colour sings with my lady's beautiful red hair! 

I've seen this sentiment going around Blogland and it's perfect for this card, but I don't have it. So, in the spirit of the whole doodling thing, I just wrote it with a fine liner! The panel was cut out with a Heffy Doodles stitched rectangle die and attached to a card base with dimensionals.

And here's the stamp that was the starting point for this card. 

CHALLENGES

I'm joining the LiMettes at Less is More with this card. Happy doodling!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

The cooler weather has brought out all the instincts of the huntress out in Madame de Floof! 

Me: Quick Eva, there's a squirrel...!

Eva: Where? Where'd he go?!

Me, in a pantomime voice: It's behind you...!

Hope you're having a lovely weekend!

Sending hugs,

Winter Wear for summer - part 2

Hello, crafting friends!

Remember when I made this summery little card using Winter Wear by Concorde & 9th? Well it was so much fun that I set myself the challenge of doing the same with the other girl in the set! Come and see:

The girls are designed to peek over something - scarves, coffee, signs etc - so they only have the upper parts of their faces, but I figured that a little bit of doodling would result in a more versatile girl! The first one was easier because I only had to fill in the bottom of the face and neck; this one needed the top of her hair filling in too because she would normally wear a woolly hat.

But it was surprisingly easy as the style she was designed in is quite loose. She's a little bit wonkyy but hey, aren't we all! I did the doodling with a waterbased marker and coloured her with alcohol markers, giving her a pretty floral frock to wear stamped with the chubby little flowers from Stampin' Up's Under My Umbrella.

She looked a bit pensive so I set her against a cloudy background and stamped it with a reassuring  sentiment from Stampin' Up's Today's Tiles. The background was made with textured blue card stock, cut with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodles, and the clouds were cut with one of the Puffy Cloud Borders dies from Lawn Fawn. 

Here are the girls together with the stamp set:

CHALLENGES

It was Inkspirational that set me going with this card with the word prompt Face. Thank you lovely ladies for all the fun!

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I can't tell you how much fun it was making these cards - I just want to make a whole classroom of girls now, like the paper dolls I used to make for my daughter when she was small! Once I made her the twelve dancing princesses out of the fairy tale. They were dressed in Tudor style and my daughter loved them. She had her favourites and one in particular was played with so regularly that her head came off. Rather appropriately I thought!

Sending hugs,

Winter Wear for summer

Hello, crafting friends!

When I bought Winter Wear by Concorde & 9th, it was an indulgence. I knew I could make winter woolly Christmas cards with it, but I like my stamp sets to work harder than that! Well, it turns out that with a little doodling, it becomes a very versatile set indeed and one that has given me HEAPS of fun!

The ladies in the set are the top part of a face with beautiful hair, and they are designed to be used to peep above a sentiment. But it really doesn't take much artistic skill to doodle in the bottom half of the face and some shoulders - the mouth is the trickiest bit. I stamped the specs that come with the set and turned them into sunglasses, coloured my lady with alcohol markers and cut her out.

It's her birthday, so I gave her a pair of pearl earrings. She needed a beach to lounge about on so I masked a square shape on a card base and sponged in a simple sky, sea and sand. I thought she could do with a treat while she's waiting for her pals to bring the cake, so I stamped her a cocktail from Clearly Besotted's Raise a Glass. Cheers!

I'm having a bit of fun combining sentiments from different sets at the moment, and this one uses the banner from Concorde & 9th's Hello Sunshine Turnabout, 'wishing you a happy' from WPlus9's Silver Bells and 'Birthday' from Uniko's Wild. For a little tropical flavour, I decorated the banner with some tiny flowers from Raise a Glass.

CHALLENGES
I'm going to link up with Double D Challenges where there's a fabulous beachy mood board and the theme is Let's Go To The Beach; Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Summertime; Seize The Birthday, where I'm sticking to the Anything Goes challenge; and a new-to-me challenge site Challenge Up Your Life where the theme is Vacation Mood.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
If all this beach talk is making yyou feel like a nice cool dip, you're not alone...

... the beach may be out, but Eva and her pal Jasper are happy with a river party :)

Hope you are all keeping safe and well.

Hugs,

The bookish birthday

Hello, crafting friends!

Have you seen the The Library Challenge yet? They show a book cover every fortnight and the challenge is to create a card based on the cover, the title or the actual book. This month's cover is so fabulous it sent me scuttling off to rummage through my stamp collection! Come and see:

The image on the left is the book cover and the one on the right is my card. I used the pretty lady from Concorde & 9th's Winter Wear, doodling in a mouth, a lower face and a simple shoulder shape. I knew when I bought it that this would be a versatile set!  I turned the spectacles from the set into funky sunglasses too.

I stamped the lady onto white card stock with a book from Waffle Flower's Books and Coffee. Everything was coloured with alcohol markers and the whole thing fussy cut.

For the background, I drew some black stripes on white card stock, butted it up against some coral card stock and cut it into a panel with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodles. The lady was stamped again, directly onto the coral part of the background so that you can see the wispy bits of her hair when the fussy cut piece was glued over the top. To finish, I added a doodled title for the book and a die cut sentiment by Lawn Fawn.

CHALLENGES

As well as The Library Challenge, I'm joining in with another new-to-me challenge - Crazy 4 Challenges, where the theme is Your Favourite Summer Activity - and I've chosen reading outside in the sunshine. I'm also linking up with Seize The Birthday, where I've opted for the Anything Goes theme.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
The lockdown rules have relaxed a bit in the UK and my lovely daughter has come to stay for the week. I haven't seen her since March and I can't tell you how delighted I am to see her.

The sassy sisters!

And I'm not the only one! Eva greeted her with the little crying hen noises she always makes when one of the family returns after an absence. So cute :)

Hope you had a good weekend and are staying safe and well.

Hugs,

Snuggle up warm!

Hello crafting friends!

When I buy stamp sets, I usually think carefully about how versatile they're going to be. I like my stamp sets to work hard for their place in the Craft Square Metre! But the set I'm using today was bought for the sheer pleasure of it - it reminded me of the paper dolls my daughter played with as a child. Come and see:

The set is Winter Wear by Concorde & 9th - and I believe there are a couple more sets that coordinate with it. The girl has a choice of scarves, hats, hairstyles etc and I love it to bits!

Just LOOK at her! Isn't she the cutest little bean?! I gave her a pair of jazzy green specs and snuggled her up in a gorgeous chevron scarf :)

The set has sentiments based around the words 'warm' and 'cozy' spelled the American way. But after wielding a pair of sharp scissors, I'm happy to just be sending warm hugs rather than warm and cosy ones!

I liked the idea of everything being black and white except the glasses and scarf.  The scarf was popped up on dimensionals for extra interest.

CHALLENGES
I'm linking this card up with the Allsorts challenge where they're asking us to Make It Girly; Addicted To Stamps And More, where it's a Make Your Mark challenge, so it's all about colouring; the colour inspiration came from the gorgeous palette at CAS on Sunday.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
When my daughter was very young, I used to make paper dolls for her with a selection of fun outfits. And then we realised there was a whole rich source to be tapped online and we were kept busy printing them off. Then SIMs came along, a computer game, where you could make your own characters, deciding what they looked like and selecting from a whole wardrobe of clothes. Fast forward to today and that love of putting outfits together has never left my creative girl who now sews her own clothes!

I'm guessing many of us crafters can date our love of colour, pattern and style back to our colouring, glueing and sticking days as children. Is that true of you?

Hugs,