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Sunday, December 3, 2023

Christmas Going Around..

Welcome

Thank you for taking the time to visit -
I will not be 'around' the internet for the next week or so as we are moving next weekend, and there is still a lot to be done, as well as a farewell and three Christmas 'Events'...

This card is for the start of the new, December Challenge at We Love Stamping,
where the challenge is to use Winter flowers or foliage.

There is also some other information to share:
A change to selecting Guest Designers as often those selected by the DT do not make contact, so in future anyone interested in being considered for a GDT spot should add GD against their name when entering. A Guest Designer will be selected from those entries and the Design Team will of course still select their Top 3.



I started by brushing the stencil (discontinued) with the ink that was on my brush

I then stamped the wreath (a magazine freebie) three times, moving it slightly between stamping - 
I used Memento inks in Cottage Ivy, Bamboo Leaves and New Sprout


The ornaments were stamped on a snippet of card in the Cottage Ivy ink, painted with Twinkling H2O paints and trimmed out, before I coated them with Glossy Accents.
These I placed in various spots on the wreath and stencilled swirl.
The sentiment was from another freebie set, and stamped in Cottage Ivy
I ran the edge of the panel over the dark green ink pad to give definition, and did likewise on the insert. 


The insert was stamped with the wreath in Bamboo Leaves, and then I painted with gold and red paint - and you can see why I stamp, don't draw my images :)


The envelope was similarly stamped and painted, but using all three inks for the wreath.

Saturday, November 25, 2023

Feminine Steampunk

Welcome

We have a date for moving, so it will be packing, not cardmaking and blogging that will occupy me for the next few weeks. 

This card was made for my NZ swap group, where the theme for the month was steampunk.


The beautiful image is from Gecko Girls, I sized and printed it, then distressed and brushed the edges with Aged Mahogany and Vintage Photo D.I.s.


I layered some lace that was on my desk onto the bottom of the feature panel, after adding ink and some gold mica spray to it


The cogs were cut from gold card using some (old) dies from Marianne Crafts, tucking some under the panel, and some on top.

The sentiment was embossed on a scrap of ink smooshed card, as when I stamped it directly onto the card base I did not get a good impression - oops.  After die cutting it, I inked the edges to match. By cutting it with a circle die, it fitted better with the cogs. 


The layer between that panel and the base was coloured with Lindy's Mica Powers - Cuckoo  Clock Cardinal and Bratwurst Brown, spritzed with some Grab a Guy Gold, and embossed with an old Spellbinders EF.
That, and the focal panel, were then mounted on some cream card, edged with both the DI's also.



Thursday, November 23, 2023

Birthday Candles x2, or is it x3?

Welcome

I made these cards much earlier in the year, as a result I am unsure of the inks that I used...


The base of both cards is what I call a 'mop up' sheet, where I spray any ink on my work surface with water, and then splat, press, and drag my cardstock through it... It looks as though I also sprayed this sheet with a gold mica spray


The happy birthday was a white die cut I had prepared when house sitting for another stamper last year, coloured with ink and then 'glittered' with some stickles.


The candle fronts were cut from snippets of sparkle card, and the backer from a larger snippet of gold paper, then they were layered together.  
The lace was white, and I coloured it with the same ink as the die cut.


I finished the inside with some toning washi tape..

The second card differs only in colour - same background and composition, but the theme colour  is pink.


The three year olds are girl cousins,  born within hours of each other... 
the cards were for a family member to give to them.


I am linking these to:

(the sparkle  card and gold paper were the snippets)



Saturday, November 18, 2023

We Three Kings...

Welcome

This card is  for the mid-month posting for We Love Stamping, November Challenge, with the optional theme of Christmas Characters

Before I get onto my card, there are some changes to the challenge...

With immediate effect we have relaxed our rules and will now require you to have 'At least one stamped element on the front of entries'Of course if you are a seasoned stamper then we will still love seeing your fully stamped creations and the Design Team will continue to share their love of stamping.

My card is as follows

I 'coloured'  this card front solely with silver heat embossing, 
using two sets of Christmas stamps from Sweet 'n' Sassy Stamps


The image of the three kings, and the sentiment are from the We Three Kings Set


The stars are all from the O Holy Night Set.
I would advise that you stamp all your card front before embossing - I had to do some creative 'shielding' of some areas while I heated other areas... 
I also embossed the edges of the dark blue panel with the same silver ep.


The image on the inside was stamped with Memento Paris Dusk Ink


The envelope was stamped with the same ink.

The prizes this month are:
 
I am linking this to:


Tuesday, November 14, 2023

Heart Anniversary

Welcome

This card was made some time ago, but I have not had time to blog it until now - 
as I am house-sitting, I thought I would have a lot of time for such things, not so, it turns out :)


I started with the base design paper, which I was very pleased to find in my stash - I have banned myself from buying more, as I rarely use it now, and all my pads are likely out of print.


The background die cut used the Urban Grunge die by Uniquely Creative, cut from kraft card
The hearts are an old (bought on clearance) set by Whimsy Stamps, cut from red sparkle card


The two gold strips came from a set of gold adhesive stripes I bought years ago - 
yes, I am trying to stash bust!


The sentiment stamp is a magazine freebie, embossed with red EP - again a very old powder, in an unmarked container!!  I think it may have been from a local equivalent of K-mart..


The inside had a couple more hearts from  Whimsy Stamps


To decorate the envelope, I used the negative from the die cut hearts as a stencil to form a border.

The card was well received by the couple.

I am linking this to:


Sunday, November 5, 2023

GDT Christmas

Welcome

And a special welcome to my newest follower, Helen Nile. You can see her fabulous cards here

A final post before I go into hiatus for a while - this was made some weeks ago.
I was offered a Guest Designer spot for Dragonfly Dreams for this month's challenge, where there was an inspiration photo to follow. 




I took the colours, the ornaments and the stars on the ribbon as my starting point


The images are from the recently released Uniko Mid Century Modern Baubles set, and the star clusters from an older Sweet'n'Sassy set, Oh Holy Night.

I stamped and embossed all the elements, including inside the baubles, before fussy cutting them and 'suspending' them on fine silver cord.


The sentiment is from the same set as the Baubles, silver embossed onto blue, and mounted with a border of silver mirror card - the same card I used under the corners of the focal panel.


The inner was stamped on the left side with the third bauble in the set, and I drew in the silver 'cord'.


Tuesday, October 31, 2023

3-D Leaves and a Funny Bone

Welcome
I also wish to extend a very warm welcome to my newest follower Cheryl Hollingsworth.

I am about to pack up my craft room (plus) ready to move in the middle of next month, so you may not see me much over the next four weeks ... I am so looking forward to the move into my own suite, attached to the extensively extended and renovated house of my daughter and family.

This card was made for a gent in my extended family.


I started with a piece of pale green card and the Altenew 3-D Embossing Folder, Floating Foliage.
I generously inked the folder on one side with Memento Cottage Ivy ink, and ran it through my Cuttlebug - and then repeated - that was a bit nerve wracking, but it worked.


The sentiment panel is a gold edged 'visiting card'. and the sentiment is a Riley Funny Bone one, that I stamped twice in the same green ink, then in Versamark ink before clear embossing.  


To add some subtle interest and give the card a bit of a masculine vibe, I split some string down to one ply  - it gives the strand a bit of a fuzzy look and it has a an interesting crimp to it


Sone green gingham washi finished the inside