Friday Focus

Halloween Greetings to you!

But it's another Christmas card today, but this time for a new to me challenge - Let's Get Shabby.  It's an inspiration picture challenge and here's the picture:

So I picked up on the lady, the umbrella, the falling dots and the colour red. My lady is a Christmas girl using an umbrella to catch snow and I coloured the pattern in red. I turned the dots into falling snow and - yes - used that stamp again! A bit of sparkle was added to the coat's fur trim and some random snowflakes with Wink of Stella - and honestly it does glisten in real life!

And here's a closer look at the image. Love the robin with holly in its beak - can't tell you how many times I've reached for this stamp for a birthday and then realised it's a Christmas image.

Supplies:
Stamp:Sugar Nellie, Winter Wonderland; SU, gorgeous grunge, endless wishes
Ink: Memento, tuxedo black, London fog
Promarkers: crimson, marsh green, cocoa, caramel, cool grey 3 & 4, blush, dusky pink
Embellishments: Wink of Stella

So pleased you dropped by my blog today, many thanks.
 

Thursday Thoughts

Another brilliant challenge over at Uniko Studio and I just had to enter, well it would seem rude not to after my wonderful guest spot for their last challenge!

I'm beginning to want to make more Christmas cards now - slightly feeling I've had them on hold too long and might just regret not starting much earlier. So obviously I had to make these colours fit!

The texture bit was easy to achieve using a favourite Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I was inspired by Sarah's card here for the layout and echoed her scalloped edge and tied twine.

How lucky was I to find a matching coloured star in my stash!

Supplies:
Stamps: Uniko Studio, Jolly Christmas & Background Builders Christmas
Ink: SU, Bermuda Bay
Punch: X Cut, scalloped edger
Embossing: cuttlebug
Embellishments: doodlebug, star jewels; twine from my stash

Great to have you visit today, thanks so much!

Wednesday Words

The challenge this week at Less is More is to use newsprint and I made another Christmas card for my box.

I wanted to make a really simple card with tiny elements reminiscent of the Christmas stamps I can remember from when I was younger.

I started by stamping the script onto a piece of scrap card and then die cut it into a stamp shape. I stamped and coloured the bird and then fussy cut it before mounting onto foam pads.

I kept the sentiment small and simple in line with the rest of the card.  I'm thinking this might just become my mass produced card this year - it's quick and easy to make and I'm rather taken by the birds in this stamp set.

Supplies:
Stamps: Lawn Fawn, Winter Sparrows; Inkylicious, Elements 1; SU, Endless Wishes
Ink: Memento, London fog, tuxedo black; SU, cherry cobbler
Die: DoCrafts, postage stamps
Promarker: crimson

Thanks for looking today, your visit and time is much appreciated.

Tuesday Talk

Another Christmas card for my box today. I used the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch replacing the butterflies with snowflakes.

I made the white die cut strip first, just placing the die halfway across on each side.  Next I die cut the two purple snowflakes and placed them inside the matching die cut on the white strip.

I then matted this onto silver mirri board to help the snowflake pop, especially from the white strip which I considered mounting onto pads but as I really liked how snug the snowflakes looked tucked inside I left it flat. 

Finally I added the sentiment and matted the whole thing onto a white card base. I know this has added another strip that's not in the sketch, but the whole left hand side in mirri board was just too much!

It was impossible to get a photo of the detail without catching me and my camera's reflection in the mirri board. But hey that's one of life's happy little accidents and I actually love this shot and how it highlights the die cut in the white card.

Supplies:
Stamp: SU, Endless Wishes
Ink: Memento, grape jelly
Die: Crafter's Companion Die'sire, snowflakes
Card: silver mirri board & purple glitter card from my stash

So pleased you dropped by today, thanks for yur time.

Monday Moments

Another Christmas card for my box, beginning to get on a bit of a roll now! Today's card uses the colours from Color Throwdown, the theme from CASology and the layout from Freshly Made Sketches.

       

I remembered this Molly Bloom's Christmas home stamp that I thought would suit the colours as well as the theme. So I got busy stamping and colouring and sparkling it up.

I embossed some vertical lines to add a bit of interest to the right hand side of the square from the layout sketch and then die cut a spiro circle to stamp the sentiment and some snowflakes. This I popped up on foam to add dimension.

I'm liking how this house reminds me of gingerbread and cookies - home is where the heart is and the way to a man's heart is supposed to be food and I've plenty of men in my family! This card is earmarked for one of them.

Supplies:
Stamps: Molly Blooms, MB0263L; SU, Endless Wishes
Inks: SU, crushed curry, pistachio pudding; Memento, potter's clay
Promarkers: terracotta, satin, tulip yellow, grey green
Die: Xcut, spiro circle

Thanks for dropping by my blog today, your visit is much apprecitaed.

AAA Cards Game 26 - CREATE

And this week at AAA Cards it's another Halloween themed card we're after, but this time it has to be CAS!

I know there are a few definitions of CAS out there, but I thought I'd just share what mine is:
a card that has empty (white) space, with minimal layers and embellishments, one main image and a general tidy unfussy look.

So I started with a black panel and stamped the spider and its web in white. This was mounted onto two thin mats of orange and purple - seems they're essential colours for Halloween.

I stamped the sentiment banner, added another spider web and then handcut it before mounting onto pads.

So some layers, but still lots of empty (white) space and a simple design to keep it CAS.

Supplies:
Stamps: Clearly Besotted, Fright Night & Halloween Spirit
Inks: SU, whisper white

Thanks for your time today. Remember to pop over to AAA Cards and look at the wonderful creations by the rest of the team.

Unscripted Sketches Game 8

Today sees the launch of Game 8 at Unscripted Sketches - hope you'll pop over and join in.

I used this Summer stamped card as the base for my PL card and picked up on the colours from the letters for my additions.

I stamped a favoutite quote and then framed it with stars and brackets.

And here's the completed page, journalling added, where it is slotted in.

Supplies:
Card: Elle's Studio, Summer Lovin' tags
Stamps: SU, PL Point & Click; Kaisercraft, Life Sentiments
Inks: Memento, Paris dusk; SU, real red, Bermuda bay
Embellishmants: SU, baker's twine island indigo, wooden elements; Simple Stories, Legacy heart sticker; ep, A Walk in the Park heart sticker

Friday Focus

I needed to make a card for the daughter of one of my husband's nieces and was so taken by the Colour Q inspiration photo and colours that the beginnings of a suitable card quickly formed.

 

The colours and her age made this Manga girl stamp come to mind and so I was off to a great start. I adore this stamp and used it quite a bit when I first bought it, but now it's been gathering dust and was long overdue for some love.

I chose this bold sentiment because it's modern simplicity matched the image so perfectly. And the stripes down the side of my card not only set off the Manga Girl but also picked up on the stripy stockings from the inspiration image.

Supplies:

Stamps: Sugar Nellie, Manga Girl #1; uniko Studio, All Occasion Sentiments #2, Clearly Besotted, Diagonal Stripe

Inks: Memento, tuxedo black; SU, pumpkin pie

Promarkers: lilac, leaf green, spice, cool grey 5

Great to have you drop by today, thanks so much.

Thursday Thoughts

Today's card uses the sketch from Sketch Saturday and the theme from Less is More - little creatures.

                                                                                

                                                                                                    
I bought these hedgehog stamps the other week when I went to the Sincerely Yours craft show at Newark. I think they are so cute and I meant to save them for Valentine's day, but then this challenge appeared and I knew I'd have to use them.

I embossed a grassy background for the hedgehogs and then stamped and coloured them with a few hearts sprinkled.

The sentiment went on another piece of card and I rounded the top corners to echo the curve of the hedgehog backs.  The little banner and a sprinkle added and I was done.

Supplies:
Stamps: lawn fawn, hedgehugs
Inks: SU, cherry cobbler; Memento, rich cocoa
Flexmarkers: saddle brown, nutmeg, dusky pink
Embossing: magazine freebie
Embellishments: doodlebug sprinkles, day to day asst.

Thanks for looking today, your visit is much appreciated.

Wednesday Words

Halloween has hit The Male Room for their current challenge and so I get to share another Halloween card that I made over the weekend.

I decided to go a bit more subtle with this card and create something a bit more teenager/adult themed. I used my ink dusters to make a background and then stamped the tree, bird, bat and sentiment on top.

Don't you just love this scary looking crow sitting menacingly on the branch? 

I added a little wink of stella glitter to the bottom of the moon, just to add atmosphere!

After I'd stamped the sentiment I did wonder if I should have gone with something a bit more grown up, but as I quite liked the rest of the card I decided to leave it.

Supplies:
Stamps: Clearly Besotted, Fright Night
Inks: Adirondack, purple twilight, meadow; Memento, tuxedo black; SU, pumpkin pie
Embellishment: Wink of Stella, clear

Tuesday Talk

I always try to include at least one Autumn layout in my yearly scrapbook album and this year I used the new sketch challenge at The Memory Nest as my starting point.

Two weeks ago we were at Belton house for the greyhound walk and we decided then that we would return when the trees had changed. So off we went and yes there was a big difference, so glad we went back before the winds arrived.

The twist to this layout challenge is to add stitching - not a problem. I love how stitching looks on scrapbook pages and cards but don't always remember this - so it's great to have a little push.

I made my three banner tags using part of the photograph that I'd trimmed off the bottom, just felt I needed a square photo. For some reason I always feel guilty trimming photos, so it was really good to find a use for these bits.

And have you spotted those stamp sets again?  Now they've made it onto my scrapbook pages I ought to do a little journalling about how I can't stop using them - a new page idea? Maybe!

Supplies:
Paper: A very old left over piece from a pad.
Stamps: SU, Gorgeous Grunge & Kinda Eclectic
Inks: SU, pumpkin pie; Memento, rich cocoa
Alphas: Bella Blvd, Sophisticates
Embellishments: Simple Stories, sweater weather; Scrap 365, wooden shapes

Thanks so much for looking today. Hope you like what you've seen and will come back again another day.

Monday Moments

So pleased CAS(E) this Sketch is having an extended challenge, means I got time to play with their lovely sketch and create a bright sparky card.

My starting point was punching the right hand border in hot pink. I then considered colours to stamp that gorgeous grunge and plumped for bright yellow as a lovely clashy contrast to the pink.

I was so taken by Deanne's DT card and was very influenced by her placing of elements to the left of the vertical border.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU, Gorgeous Grunge; Uniko Studio, Flower Power #1 & #2
Inks: SU, daffodil delight & melon mambo
Punch: tonic border
Embellishments: sequins from my stash

Thanks for looking today, so pleased to have you visit.