With Sympathy

Hello

Just popping in quickly to share this white on white card at can you handle the pressure where their twist is all white. I recently needed a sympathy card and saw this one on Pinterest that I really liked, so I searched through my stash for appropriate dies.

At first I tried to make it fir a metric A6 sized card, but it just wouldn't work, so I tried it on a 7x5 inch card and hey presto, much better. The embossing folder is an old one by Darice and the dies are a mixture including Concord & 9th and Positively Papercraft. The sentiment is actually a foil plate by Whimsy Stamps that I just pressed into the card. I used 4 strands of twine to create the bow and a score board to emboss the panel edges.

What do you think. Just for once, I am quite pleased.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today, I really appreciate it. 

January Card Chain Challenge Reveal

Today is 2nd of the month so time for the Card Chain Challenge big reveal. This month 26 card makers took part and I sent my card to Gail in Norway.

From all the options available I used the colours, layers and friendship.

I used 3 Catherine Pooler inks called bellini, chiffon and terracotta. The dies and the central stamp are new. I bought them from Clarity Crafts in their recent sale. I really like the frame dies from Clarity and used a different set that cut out for the insert. I coloured the card with the ink before cutting it and stamped the sentiment in terracotta before clear heat embossing it. The leaves are dies that I coloured with terracotta ink and then did multiple layers of clear embossing to make them all lovely and glossy. I have used up most of my stash of ready made cards now, but still have a pack of these scalloped edged 5 inch cards. I also have a pack of giant 8x8 inch cards, which I very rarely use, so I expect they will be hanging around in my stash for a few years yet. I have no idea what possessed me to buy them in the first place!

I was very lucky to receive this gorgeous card from Julia in MA USA. Sadly, the colours look a little washed out in this photo. I am happy to say that they are gorgeous and vibrant in real life. I liked the cover plate that she used so much that I had to buy it.

If you would like to take part in the next card chain challenge, you have until 6th to sign up here

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today, I really appreciate it. 

Just For You

Hello, I realise that I have been absent in blogland for several weeks, but I am glad to report that I have finally got some time back and am able to return. My husband managed to break his elbow before Christmas, which was very traumatic for us both and meant I had to step up to the challenge of supporting him and taking on all his household chores. I have to say that it has definitely made me appreciate just how much he does, and it has also made me admire people who live on their own even more. Thankfully he is now on the mend and I am getting a bit more time for my hobby again. I hope to be able to visit you all more now too.

I recently found a number of foiled pieces that hadn't been made into cards, so decided to put that right. Here are 2 of them. This little basket of flowers is a hotfoil stamp by Couture Creations. After foiling I cut it out with a circle die and matted it onto a circle of metallic card. The white panel was diecut and embossed with a stitched square die. The sentiment, by Uniko, is stamped and clear heat embossed.

You can see the shine on the picture below:

The second card is made in exactly the same way, but I didn't have a piece of the blue glittery card big enough for a full mat so I just placed strips at the edge. I think it works.

I am sharing the first card at:

CAS on Friday #326 - Monochrome

I am sharing the second card at:

Inkspirational challenge 359 - shades of blue

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today, I really appreciate it. 

Card Chain Challenge December Reveal

Happy New Year, it will take me a while to get used to it being 2026, but as today is 2nd of January it is time for the Card Chain Challenge big reveal. This month (December) 20 card makers took part and I sent my card to Patricia in Texas. I signed up behind Patricia when I realised she has sent to me twice and I have never sent a card to her. Time to change that.

Our options this month were to use something NBUS, our 3 favourite colours and an animal, flower or fruit. I decided to get my December card made early and as luck would have it, I had just taken delivery of several dies and stamps from The Greetery.

Here is my card:

My favourite colour is green, so I have included various shades and also a touch of red and gold, just to help the green shine!

In order to soften the glare of the white card in the middle, I created a mask with one of the smaller dies from the set and lightly inked the area with wintergreen ink by Catherine Pooler. I then used an ALL & Create stencil to add some interest. The flower die is a paperwhite and the Greetings die is by A Pocket Full of Happiness. I cut the filigree border and the flower centres from mat gold card. I used the stencil to decorate the insert and the envelope. I also have the bitty holiday botanicals stamp and stencil set, so I was able to add a small paperwhite to the insert.

I was pleased with this one. I hope Patricia was too. It did take it's time to find Pat in Texas, but I am pleased to say that it arrived before the end of the month, although not in time for Christmas.

I was very lucky to receive this gorgeous card from Daja in Germany. My picture doesn't do it justice as it is an easel card and has some lovely shine on it. She also very generously enclosed some little gifts. Thanks Daja.

If you would like to take part in the next card chain challenge, you have until 6th to sign up here.

Life has been chaotic here recently so my time in blogland has been severely restricted. I hope that will change soon.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today, I really appreciate it. 

Craftlandia 25

Today is the 22nd of December so time for the final Craftlandia Challenge of the year. It is also my final challenge as a member of the design team. I am finding it hard to believe that I joined the team 2 years ago. Doesn't time fly?

This time our theme is:

SNOWFLAKES

and our sponsor is:

Conjurer Of Dreams

Prize: 4 sets of your choice

That is a very easy theme for this time of year, so I hope you can find time to join us. I suspect that most of the Christmas preparations are done now, so plenty of time!

I thought these snowflake images were so wonderful that I didn't want to cover them up, hence my simple design. I printed the image onto glossy photo paper and then found 2 matching colours from my supply of Adorable Scorable coated card from Hunky Dory. I die cut a strip of the same card as the base and heat embossed the sentiment (Uniko) in white. I have used a snowflake stencil by Clarity for the insert and the envelope. I made it larger than my normal cards, just to help showcase the snowflakes. It is 7x5.

I liked the images we were given so much that I made another card from a second image. I made it in exactly the same way but heat embossed the sentiment directly onto the panel this time.

You can see that the card is glossy on the upright photos as there are reflections showing.

You can find all the details and the linky over on Mia's blog here.

I have enjoyed being part of the Craftlandia family for the last couple of years. It has helped me get out of my comfort zone and use digital images more. Guess what? They really aren't as scary as I thought they would be! Thanks Mia.

Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog today, I really appreciate it.