October Card Chain Challenge Reveal

This is my second post today as the 2nd November is also the first Sunday in November so scroll down for my November we love stamping post.

Right now it is time for the October Card Chain Challenge big reveal. This month 26 card makers took part and I sent my card to Chris in Illinois.

From the choices this month I have used the options of trees, friendship and splats. I used 2 dies to create this. The trees are a die by craft addiction UK and the reindeer scene was a gift last Christmas. I cut the trees 3 times and stacked them to give some depth. I chose a square kraft cardbase to showcase the trees and masked the edges before I made a paper stencil with the die and used a brown ink to add the illusion of depth to the forest. I used white acrylic paint for the splatters and heat embossed the sentiment with a dark brown ink. It was a bit too dark as it came out looking black, which is not what I intended. The reindeer were cut from the same white card and added behind the aperture.

I suppose this design would work as a Christmas card, but I hope Chris doesn't see it like that. I intended it just to be a wintry scene.

I was very lucky to receive this gorgeous card from Pat in Texas. This little fairy has very sparkly wings, which don't show in the photo. It is very pretty.

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

I am also sharing this at:

NBUS #80 - the tree die and sentiment are NBUS

Moving along with the times #183 - A winter wonderland

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

November we Love Stamping 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.

Anesha has chosen our theme this month:

**Anything Christmas**

OR

**Anything Goes**

To make this card I started with a piece of hot pressed water colour paper and covered it with a water colour wash made using a blue and a red. I only wanted to use a small strip so I cut my panel into 3. My stamp is by Uniko. I used Catherine Pooler something borrowed blue ink to stamp all the elements, but it looks darker on the reindeer and trees because I had to repeat stamp several time to get a good impression. I then heat embossed it with clear powder. I did that several time too as I wanted a good coverage and shine.  The snow was stamped in embossing ink and embossed with white embossing powder. The let it snow strip was also embossed. I mounted the strip onto a mat that I had coloured with the same blue ink.

As I had 3 pieces from my panel I made 2 more using black versafine and CP mardi gras ink. I didn't think the snow showed up terribly well in the first one so I stamped it in white pigment ink and then embossed with white powder. That made quite a difference. I must try and remember that!

Which is your favourite?

Don't forget there is always a prize to be won and this month there are  2 prizes each of two stamps/sets from Stamp Addicts. 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 3rd December.

I am looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

I am also sharing this at:

Merry Little Christmas #64 - Anything Christmas goes

Moving along with the times #183 - A winter wonderland

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

We Love Stamping October 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. 

This month our theme is:

**Anything Autumn**

OR

**Anything Goes**

I chose to go with autumnal colours again for this challenge and got out one of my Concord & 9th turnabout stamps. This one is called harvest wreath.

I really must work out a strategy for recording the ink colours that I use. I tend to write them on the card I have stamped, but of course they get lost when the card is made up. Anyway, after searching my colour swatches I think I used the following Catherine Pooler colours: rockin red, sauna, orange peel and martini. In retrospect the 2 orange colours are quite similar, but I still like the look.

I have used 2 dies to showcase my panel. The scalloped circle is by Craft Addiction UK and the inner cut out is a Clarity Fresh Cut Die. I also used this set to cut into the insert, which you can see on the first photo. The sentiment is stamped in rockin red and clear heat embossed. The panel was mounted on a square kraft card base

Don't forget there is always a prize to be won and this month there are two prizes of Lavinia Stamps and stencil. 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 29th October.

I am looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

Of course, as you will know by now,  I didn't just make one. Once I have spent the time lining up a turnabout stamp I will generally make several cards and as a bonus this particular set has 2 turnabouts in it.

The colours used here are macchiato, rockin red, buttercream and martini.

The second stamp in the set creates a wreath. The colours here are macchiato, sea breeze, merlot and lilac. I was able to use just the leaves on this stamp to decorate the inserts and envelopes.

This time I inked a second panel, cut with the scalloped die, with 2 of the colours so they show through. The colours are bellini, mandarin spice, hot tub and shea butter.

Mandarin spice, green tea, ginger and sauna.

Thank you for sticking with me to the end.

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

We love Stamping October 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.

**Anything Autumn**

OR

**Anything Goes**

I used my colour cubes to choose the colours. I love the brown and orange, very autumnal. This stamp is called Island Blooms by Creative Expressions. I stamped it in a golden brown ink and then coloured it with Polychromos pencils. The sentiment was stamped and clear heat embossed and the image was fussy cut.

The image was mounted onto a dark brown panel that I debossed using an Altenew debossing plate and cut with a scalloped edge die. That panel was matted onto coloured card before attaching it to a white cardbase.

Don't forget there is always a prize to be won and this month there are Two prizes of Lavinia Stamps and stencil. 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 29th October.

I am looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

My session with this stamp resulted in 2 more cards. I am pleased with how different they all look.

This one was coloured with my Zig watercolour pens and mounted onto an embossed background.

This one was stamped in black and heat embossed before watercolouring.

I am pleased with how different they look considering the card design is the same.

I have been quite busy recently, so my apologies if my visits to you are a little sporadic.

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

September Card Chain Challenge Reveal

Today is 2nd of the month so time for the Card Chain Challenge big reveal. This month 32 card makers took part and I sent my card to Jo in the UK.

I have used the options of foil, silhouette and friendship and created my card with a Spellbinders BatterPress plate called bloom wildly. It is quite large so this card is 7x5 as I didn't want to cut off the image. I used some rose gold satin foil onto some white coated card. I find that coated card takes foil much better than ordinary card. I get it from Papermill Direct and it comes in different sizes and 2 different weights.

I didn't want to detract too much from the image so I just roughly blended some ink round the image and finished it off with a few sequins and a foiled sentiment. Even though the foil isn't really shiny, it does still glow nicely as you can see in the picture below. I also used the plate to press the image onto the insert and the envelope. I don't think I use blue like this on my cards normally, but I am rather liking it today.

I was very lucky to receive this gorgeous card from Lucille in the USA. Love those colours, thanks Lucille.

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. 

Craftlandia 24

Today I am joining the lovely Mia for Craftlandia 24. Our theme this time is Fairy Tales and our sponsor is Ghecko Galz. The prize is a very generous $25 to spend in the Etsy Store.

I chose my image from a set called Wonderful Wonderland

I couldn't resist this wonderful flamingo as my central image. I know that in Alice in Wonderland the flamingos are used as croquet mallets, which is very challenging for poor Alice. This flamingo looks very regal with his crown. I printed the image onto glossy photo paper and then framed it with some gold ric rac ribbon. I decided to mount it onto a glossy black card panel and used the checker board die (from Craft Addiction UK) as a background. I like the way it matched in with the picture background. The panel was mounted onto a 7x5 card base and a white die cut sentiment (Concord & 9th) finished it off.

I used another die cut as a stencil to decorate the insert and the envelope flap.

What do you think? I hope you like it and will find to join us for Craftlandia 24 where the theme is Fairy Tales and the prize if from Ghecko Galz

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

We Love Stamping September 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. 

Mervi has chosen our theme this month:

**Make it Cute**

OR

**Anything Goes**

This is my second attempt at 'cute'. This time I found a Penny Black stamp set called smiling. It features these rather cute little bears (just realised that my first card featured bears too). This cute little bear was stamped and clear heat embossed and coloured with alcohol markers. I used sparkle pens on the flowers to give some shine.

I used some nesting oval dies to cut the image and a mat, then I spent some time working out what to do for the background. I eventually decided on this thin plaid die by concord & 9th. I cut it from glossy black card stock, backed it with some pale green coated card and then mounted it onto a deep purple coated card base.

The sentiment (from the same set) was stamped and heat embossed in white onto the same black coated card. I managed to get a few little dots of white where I didn't want them so I used some silver gems to cover the worst. A few little black gems finished it off.

I stamped the envelope and the insert with other images from the set.

Don't forget there is always a prize to be won and this month there are 2 prizes of 2 House Mouse stamps. 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 anything goes is always an option if you are out of ideas. The challenge will close at noon (UK time) on Wednesday 1st October.

I am looking forward to seeing you in the gallery.

I am also sharing this at:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - September Anything Goes

The Dream Factory #143 - Anything goes in mainly purple

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

We Love Stamping September 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.

Mervi has chosen our theme this month:

**Make it Cute**

OR

**Anything Goes**

I am afraid this is another theme that is out of my comfort zone. I don't often do cute, but I remembered that I had a set of rather cute bear stamps by Sunshine and Bee Designs. I also had a friend who was celebrating her 80th birthday, so decided to see if I could bring them together for that. This is what I made:

I stamped and clear heat embossed the bear before colouring with alcohol markers and fussy cutting. The star dies are from Craft Addiction UK and for the large star you get both the cut in and cut out dies. I cut into the white square panel and then laid the cut out star on top. I backed it with some orange card and then I used black to add another thin mat.

 The little flower that the bear is holding was also clear heat embossed and fussy cut. It was coloured with a sparkle pen so it shines in the right light. I cut a little slit in the bear to poke the flower through. The 80 is cut from glitter card and the other small stars are from the same die set. I used the seated bear for the insert and stamped the message "I picked this flower for you" onto another star that I coloured with gold sparkle pen. I also stamped the envelope.

Don't forget there is always a prize to be won and this month there are 2 prizes of 2 House Mouse stamps from Oakwood. 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 anything goes is always an option if you are out of ideas. The challenge will close at noon (UK time) on Wednesday 1st October.

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 Stencils

I recently purchased the bitty botanicals stamp and stencil set from The Greetery even though I am not supposed to be buying anything at the moment. Somehow I clicked onto the website of one of their UK stockists and I just couldn't resist it. Oh well, at least I got on and used it immediately.

The set consists of a cling rubber stamp for the plants and a stencil for the flowers. There are matching die and stencil sets called diamond ribbons, that I also bought. Once I had stamped and inked the flowers I used the stencil with old paper distress ink to create the background. I also inked the edges. The ribbon bows were cut from white card and coloured with the same ink as one of the flowers, CP flame, I think. The sentiment is by Altenew, the paper was inked with CP martini ink and the letters inlaid. I used some of the other stencils to decorate the insert and envelope.

A while after this card was made, I noticed a rather strange mistake. I have no idea how I did it, but it remains on the card and I hope it isn't too noticeable. Seen it yet? The ribbon die above the sentiment is put on back to front so the rough back of the die cut is on display! I hope the recipient (whoever that might be) doesn't notice.

Of course I didn't stop there, I also made a card using the cover plate ribbon die:

The set also has a matching die for the stamp. I don't have that yet, but hope to receive it soon. I just thought there are so many possibilities with those little flowers that I had to get hold of it.

This time the sentiment die is from a set by A Pocket Full of Happiness called framed flowers. The brand is new to me and is now stocked in the UK by Seven Hills Crafts.

I have another busy time coming up, so apologies if I don't manage to keep up with my commenting.

I am sharing the first card at:

Just Us Girls #790 - Stencil Week

September Stencil Fun Challenge - Optional Theme Nature

NBUS 78 - Everything except the sentiment on the first card is NBUS

Addicted to stamps and more #500 - Stencils and die cuts

 

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