August 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.

I used the colours, layout and also used the theme of friendship and the product/technique options of stencilling and paint.

I started by choosing my colours (all Catherine Pooler, but I can't remember which ones) and inking them through a Uniko ink and flip stencil called delightful diamonds. Then I used one of my Craft Addiction slatted hexagon dies to cut out the centre of the panel. The hexagon was backed with a piece of orange card and mounted onto the embossed background (Spellbinders). I trimmed the panel and inked the edges. I am pretty sure that colour is flirty fuchsia (one of my favourites). The leaf die was painted with iridescent gold acrylic paint by Golden. It has a lovely shine in real life. The sentiment is foiled and was already in my stash.

Having cut the centre out of my stencilled panel I was left with the remaining bit so cut another hexagon from white card and inlaid the pieces left from the first card. The die cut leaf was enclosed in a previous CCC card. I am so sorry that I can't remember who it is from, but I inked it with my dark ink (possibly sangria) and added it to my card front. The sentiment die is from Altenew and I used one of the smaller hexagon dies (there are 4 in the set) for the insert.

I got 2 for the price of one. 

I was very lucky to receive this gorgeous card from Daja in Germany

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. 

So Many Stars

Today I thought I would quickly share this card I made for my grandsons 12th birthday back in March. I have quite a large collection of cards that I haven't shared yet and when I saw the topping for the current seize the birthday challenge I realised it was time for this one to see the light.

Whilst I made this card, I can't really claim any credit for the design. I think I found it on pinterest, but have been unable to find it again, so my apologies to the designer. I have used one of Tonic Studios Stamp Club stamp and die sets called shoot for the stars.

I don't have any large number dies so I cut the numbers out of vellum with my scan n cut. It was very pleased to be used, as it mostly sits on my shelf gathering dust!

I followed this tutorial by  Sarah Trebilcock to create the pop up element inside the card. She uses butterflies in her example, but it was simple to use stars instead. I die cut loads of stars in blue and yellow card and had fun arranging them on acetate strips so that they jump up when the card is opened.

Seeing the no flowers theme made me realise how the vast majority of my cards have at least one flower on them. I am conscious that I have only been posting my DT cards and my cards for the card chain challenge recently. Just doing that seems to eat up all my available time. As time has gone on I don't seem to have got any quicker and life still seems busy.

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

We Love Stamping August Reminder

Today is the 18th so time for a reminder for the current challenge over at We Love Stamping. The challenge where we love to see you using your stamps. 

I have chosen our theme this month:

**Flowers**

OR

**Anything Goes**

This card uses one of my new Uniko stamp sets called originally organic flower garden. I blended the background and then stamped and clear heat embossed the flowers and leaves, but before I did all that I chose my colour palette from my new colour cubes (bought with birthday money). I knew I didn't really need them, but when I saw they were being stocked by AALL & Create in the UK, I couldn't resist. Now I have them I need to use them and I do have to say that it has made choosing a colour palatte a whole lot easier.

All though I say it myself, I think I did a pretty good job of matching the colours in this one and I am pleased with how the finished card looks. The leaves and flowers have been coloured with Gelly Roll sparkle pens and I splattered a little water on the background to give a little texture. The frame die is by AALL & Create.

As usual I put a little decoration on the insert and the envelope using the additional stamps from the same set.

Our prize this month is a £25 store voucher from Personal Impressions (inc pps, winner meets costs of any additional spend). Personal Impressions is one of the UK’s leading brand managers/wholesalers/distributors in the arts and crafts industry, specialising in mixed media, papercrafts, card-making, scrapbooking and journaling. PI are proud to represent over 70 brands from global, recognisable brands to small, niche and new.

I hope I have inspired you to join us this month, all you have to do is ensure stamping (including digi) is seen somewhere on your card front, it no longer needs to be the main focus. Please also mention the products used. It would be great if you could join in with our theme, but anythings goes is always an option if you are out of ideas. The challenge will close at noon (UK time) on Wednesday 3rd September.

I am looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

I am also sharing this at:

Allsorts Week 830 - Something beginning with B - blooms

Beautiful Blossoms #32 - Mood Board

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

We Love Stamping August Challenge

Today is the first Sunday of the month so time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping. Where we love to see you showcase your stamping.

I have chosen our theme this month. There are no prizes for guessing what I chose:

**Flowers**

OR

**Anything Goes**

My star of the show flower is a stamp by Altenew called wonder flower. I stamped and coloured it with watercolour markers and after cutting it out with the matching die I clear heat embossed it all over, giving it several coats so it was lovely and shiny. I then stacked it 3 times. The sentiment stamp is by Uniko from their simply said stamp set and I gave it the same treatment as the flower.

The frame is a press plate and matching die from Pinkfresh studio called decorative frames. I discovered that it is one of those where it is quite a challenge to get the die lined up properly, but am hopeful that the misalignment is not really noticeable!

To make the background I cut a piece of grey card to fit inside the largest frame and masked the edges. I then used some Simon Hurley  solar Paste (crocodile tears) through a petal stencil by Sweet Dixie. This was my first time using solar paste and I really like it. It goes on really smoothly and has a wonderful shine. It also picks up the colour of the underlying card whilst retaining the subtle colour of the paste. Very clever.

For the insert I used the press plate with memento London fog ink. you can see it in the first photo.

Our prize this month is a £25 store voucher from Personal Impressions (inc pps, winner meets costs of any additional spend). Personal Impressions is one of the UK’s leading brand managers/wholesalers/distributors in the arts and crafts industry, specialising in mixed media, papercrafts, card-making, scrapbooking and journaling. PI are proud to represent over 70 brands from global, recognisable brands to small, niche and new.

I hope I have inspired you to join us this month, all you have to do is ensure stamping (including digi) is seen somewhere on your card front, it no longer needs to be the main focus. Please also mention the products used. It would be great if you could join in with our theme, but anythings goes is always an option if you are out of ideas. The challenge will close at noon (UK time) on Wednesday 3rd September.

I am looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

There is a lot happening in my life at the moment so I shan't be around so much on line. My apologies if I miss some posts. I hope that normal service will resume in a week or so. Today I am heading to Birmingham to my daughters house and will visit the Festival of Quilts at the NEC on the way. On Monday I will be driving to Felixstowe with my grandkids for a few days stay in a caravan by the sea. I am really hoping that the weather stays fine.

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

July Card Chain Challenge Reveal

Today is 2nd of the month so time for the Card Chain Challenge big reveal. This month 21 card makers took part and I sent my card to Brenda in the UK.

I used the colour option, the product of mirror card and the theme of friendship.

I have recently purchased some of the slatted shape dies from Craft Addiction UK. I have to say that they are really good value and quite addictive. The turquoise and olive are Catherine Pooler colours and the smoke is some grey card by Concord & 9th.

I started by cutting my grey card to size. I am still using up some ready made square card blanks. This one is just under 6 inches square. I cut the central square from the grey card before embossing it with a Spellbinders folder. I cut a piece of white card with the slatted die and then coloured it with the turquoise ink. I then inked the cut out white strips with the olive ink and wove them between the turquoise strips. This was rather fiddly and a pain to get even, but I stuck with it. The square was backed with some silver mirror card. The little doily die is by My Favourite Things. I inked one with the olive ink.

The sentiment is a die by Altenew that I cut from the grey and backed with mirror card. On the first photo you can see the insert. I cut 2 slatted square inked them with turquoise and olive and then rotated one 90 degrees. Much easier than weaving but not quite the same effect.

I was very lucky to receive this gorgeous card from Chris in Illinois. Isn't it a beauty? Thanks Chris.

Here it is closed:

 

 and open:

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

On the 31st July, I made my annual trip to the RHS Hyde Hall Flower Show and thought I would share a couple of photos with you. If you ever get a chance to visit the RHS Gardens they are well worth it and even better when there is an event with loads of stalls. Of course I had to buy one or 2 things, but thankfully didn't break the bank.

This is an Aeonium Halloween, what a beauty.

This is a view of the dry garden, which covers a hill with a cafe at the top. The photos make it look like quite a grey day, but it was actually really warm and the sun kept coming and going.

I will be back tomorrow with my August we love stamping post.

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

We Love Stamping July Reminder

Today is the 18th so time for a reminder for the current challenge over at We Love Stamping. The challenge where we love to see you using your stamps. 

Emma has chosen our theme this month:

**Sun, Sea, Sand**

OR

**Anything Goes**

My fishy stamp set this time is from Woodware and it is called swimming fish. I stamped and heat embossed the 3 fish, fussy cut them and coloured them with Gelly Roll sparkle pens (I seem to be into them at the moment!). I made the background with a stencil by The Crafters Workshop and some sticky mat glue and gilding flakes. I thought it was a complete mess at first, but decided to stick with it and use it for a background for the fish. I think it adds to the quirkiness of the fish.

I used a sentiment ready made in my stash. It is a hotfoil plate by Alex Syberia as used on my fist DT card this month. The stencil was 6x6 so I used the left over bit on the insert.

I think this card is quite quirky. I wasn't too happy at first, it is quite different for me, but it is growing on me. I didn't like the way the gel pen marks show, but then I thought perhaps it would make a good card for a child. Then I was happy.

Don't forget there is always a prize to be won and this month we have a lovely set from Lisa Horton Crafts called Petal Flourish bundle, embossing folder and coordinating stencils. Why don't you head over to the challenge blog to check it out? The prize winner is selected randomly and in addition the DT will choose a top three for special mention.

I hope I have inspired you to join us this month, all you have to do is ensure that stamping (including digi) is featured somewhere your card. It would be great if you could join in with our theme, but anythings goes is always an option if you are out of ideas. The challenge will close at noon (UK time) on Wednesday 30th July.

I am looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

I am also sharing this at:

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

We Love Stamping July Challenge

Today is the first Sunday of the month so time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping. Where we love to see you showcase your stamping.

Emma has chosen our theme this month:

**Sun, Sea, Sand**

OR

**Anything Goes**

This theme is definitely not one of my favourites, but I had a search through my stamps and found 2 sets that including fish. So I decided that they would be my theme for both my DT cards this month. The stamp I have used today is called something fishy by Pink Ink Designs. In addition to the stamp it has 2 matching dies so the fish can be cut out.

I started by heat embossing the stamp onto some Strathmore vellum paper. I masked the edges and then used Catherine Pooler inks to watercolour the background. When it was dry I spritzed it with silvery cosmic shimmer spray and coloured the frame with a Gelly Roll sparkle pen. I stamped and heat embossed the image again so I could cut out the fish. They were also coloured with my sparkle pens and stacked before adding to the panel. The sentiment was already made and is from an Alex Syberia hotfoil plate.

The finished card has a lovely shine and sparkle. I am so sorry that you can't see that in the photos.

Don't forget there is always a prize to be won and this month we have a lovely set from Lisa Horton Crafts called Petal Flourish bundle, embossing folder and coordinating stencils. Why don't you head over to the challenge blog to check it out? The prize winner is selected randomly and in addition the DT will choose a top three for special mention.

I hope I have inspired you to join us this month, all you have to do is ensure stamping (including digi) is seen somewhere on your card front, it no longer needs to be the main focus. Please also mention the products used. It would be great if you could join in with our theme, but anythings goes is always an option if you are out of ideas. The challenge will close at noon (UK time) on Wednesday 30th July.

I am looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

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

Fun with a Stencil

Today I am sharing a card that I am really happy with. I think it is proving to be one of my favourites, and as I have seen several challenges using stencils, I thought it was time to share it. I suspect it has that favourite status because it's green!

I have used a circular stencil by Funky Fossil and embossing folder by Spellbinders, Gina K texture paste and a circular thank you die by Dress My Craft, which was a lovely gift. I hadn't used my various pastes for a long time so I had a little session and discovered that this gina K paste takes water very well. It had got a bit dry so I added some water and it became lovely and smooth and went through the stencil perfectly.

I cut out the stencilled panel with a circular die and also used the same die to cut out the centre of the background panel before I embossed it. I didn't want to cover up the stencilled area too much so I used some vellum behind the thank you die, just to help the words stand out. I used some green ink through the stencil for the insert and envelope, which you can just see in the first photo.

I am sharing this at:

Just us girls week 782 - Die week. Unfortunately I missed stencil week, but I have used 2 dies on this card and the flowers are summer things.

Stencil Fun July Challenge - Anything Goes

NBUS #76 - The thank you die is NBUS

Darnell's Ideas Challenge - Week 5 stencils

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

June Card Chain Challenge Reveal

Today is 2nd of the month so time for the Card Chain Challenge big reveal. This month 19 card makers took part and I sent my card to Wendy in Ireland.

This month I used the sketch (unusual for me), the theme options of gingham, something begining with TU (tulip), friendship and the technique option of rip it up. I can't quite believe it myself, but I actually have torn edges on my card, albeit quite neat ones!

I made my panel with 3 pieces of card. I tore the edges of the gingham and plain green card and tucked the white debossed leaf piece in behind the torn edges. The tulip die (a gift from Gundi) was cut from a gelli print panel which had gold paint on it. I backed it with vellum and used left over bits to cut the sentiment (a Concord & 9th die).

I think this is a bit different for me and I rather like it. I am glad Wendy did too.

I was very lucky to receive this gorgeous card from Mia in Greece. It's a beauty, thanks Mia.

Of course Mia being Mia, I didn't just receive a card, but a whole parcel of goodies. Double thanks Mia.

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.