Sunday Stuff

I was up early scrapping today, it's been so hot and sultry at night that it's difficult to sleep. so a little scrap therapy was just what I needed. Today's page is going into Stuck?!Sketches second June Challenge. Here's the sketch:

And here's my way of interpreting it:

I started by making a heart mask and stamping all over it with a wood grain stamp.

Next I placed the main elements.....

.... and then added in the detail.

Both the card and the other small word elements were out of a Pocket Letter I received from my Australian friend Helen. She's always so clever at including bits and pieces that I love to incorporate onto my scrap pages.

Supplies:
Paper: Bazzill Basics cardstock & scraps from my stash
Stamp: SU, Hardwood
Ink: SU, marina mist
Embellishments: Simple Stories bloom & grow enamel dots; wooden stars from my stash 

Thanks for looking tody, I'm so pleased to have had your company.  And keep crafting!

Saturday Slot

Thought it was about time to get those brushos out and get inky - and messy - so I've made a card for this month's HLS Watercolour Challenge and Craft Stamper Magazine's Anything Goes Challenge.

   

For this background I sprinkled a couple of colours and then blasted them with my water sprayer. Then I added in a third colour and watched. I'm so impatient I usually get carried away and add more colour too soon, but today I sat on my hands!

While the inks were drying - another part of using watercolours that has me champing at the bit - I stamped the large Uniko lily onto mask paper and cut it out. Then I stamped it in the bottom right hand corner of the card and added the mask before stamping the smaller lily and the bud stem.

I finished off by adding the sentiment, colouring those pollen stamens - you know the bits that go everywhere and stain things on a real lily -  and matting the whole thing onto white cardstock.

Supplies:
Stamps: Uniko, Pure Florals: Lily
Inks: Brusho, yellow, leaf green, turquoise; Memento, tuxedo black
Promarker: burnt orange

It's been a pleasure sharing your company today, thanks so much for calling in.  And keep crafting!

Thursday Thoughts

I'm here today to share a masculine card that I created for one of my grandsons and I'm entering it into the Stamplorations CAS Card Challenge.

I know that men like all colours and that blues are a bit traditional, but that's what I plumped for anyway with a bit of balck and grey thrown in too.

I might have said this before, but I'm reckoning if I can't remember then neither will you, but I've never made a card using HLS Mix Mash that I wasn't pleased with. The difficulty is knowing when to stop adding more bits!

Supplies:
Stamps: HLS, Mix Mash & Bold Birthday Sentiments
Inks: Memento, tuxedo black; SU, tempting turquoise, pacific point, smoky slate

And don't you just love all these flat photos that are popping up all over blogland? Think I prefer them to the stand up card photos. Just need to invest in a couple of bits to hang over one of the corners.

Thanks so much for looking at my blog today, hope you liked what you saw.  And keep crafting!

Wednesday Words

Finally found time to play along with another Less is More Challenge. This week is one layer and the cue card is Sweet Things.

When you see my card you would be forgiven for thinking I made it for their last challenge which was neopolitan. Well I just loved that idea and was disappointed not to have got round to making a card, so I thought I'd use the colours for my sweet things card to compensate a little.

In true neoplolitan ice cream tradition I masked off and inked up the three stripes of colour to act as a sort of shelf to hold my sweet treats.  Next best things to ice cream are cookies and cupcakes in my opinion.

Supplies:
Stamps: Clearly Besotted, Recipe For Love
Inks: SU, baked brown sugar, sweet sugarplum, so saffron

Short and sweet today - need to go and get my real life sweet things fix now! Thanks for looking and keep crafting!

CAS Colours & Sketches #227

This week's sketch at CAS Colours & Sketches has been created by Bev. As you'd expect it's a good one and it's easy to stay CAS when you use it!

Here's my card:

I chose to stick with just two colours and showcase some more Uniko stamps.

Supplies:
Stamps: Uniko, Beautiful Blooms II, Simply Said, Background Blocks Halftone
Inks: SU, rose red, smoky slate
Die: MFT Die-namics, peek-a-boo circle window
Embellishments: Nuvo drops, rhubarb crumble

So what will you create with Bev's sketch?  Be sure to pop on over to the CC&S blog and be inspired by the rest of the DT creations.

Huge thanks for visiting today. And keep crafting!

Uniko June Revisit Blog Hop

So pleased you've dropped by today as I'm sharing cards made for Uniko's revisit of a previous stamp set release. Well actually it's a stamp set and it matching die.

Here's the details ........
Prize: Originally Organic clear stamp set AND the Originally Organic Designer Dies. Or a £15 Gift Certificate if you already own the prize! You have until Midnight GMT 18th June to get your comments in. Winners announced Monday 19th June.

I'm kicking off with a couple of tags made using the stamps and their matching dies..

So easy to make, just stamp, colour, die cut and pop up onto pads for dimension. I also die cut my tags, but it would work just as well with ready made tags which can be purchased at most newsagent shops.

Supplies:
Stamps: Uniko, Originally Organic, Originally Organic Additions & Simply Said
      
Inks:Memento, tuxedo black
Pens: Spectrum Noir Colorista, sorbet, magenta, pear green, hot pink, gold
Dies: MFT Die-namics, Stitched Rectangle Word Window, Stitched Traditional Tags 


My next share is also a pretty quick and easy one to create. I stamped the flowers onto watercolour paper as I like its texture and then stamped on top straight from the little distress ink pads to add colour.

The stamped strip was trimmed and matted onto black card and a sentiment from Originally Organics Additions was added at the bottom of the card.

Supplies:
Stamps: Originally Organic & Originally Organic Additions 
      
 Inks: Ranger distress, picked raspberry, spiced marmalade, mustard seed, peacock feathers; Versafine, clear
Embossing: Ranger superfine, black


My final card for today took a little longer, but is still nice and clean looking.
 

I stamped the heart formation from Originally Organics Additions and coloured it in shades of grey with just a miniscule amount of red on the tiny circles. Then I placed a stitched die over the top and cut it into a circle, intentionally knowing some bits of my stamping would be trimmed off. I die cut a matching circle on the base card and then popped the stamped circle into the hole.

I finished off by stamping a sentiment from Originally Organic in red ink right into the centre of the die cut circle. I'm thinking this card looks super cool and elegant - what do you think?

Supplies:
Stamps: Originally Organic & Originally Organic Additions 
         
Inks: Versafine, onyx black; SU, cherry cobbler
Promarkers: cool grey 1,2,3,4,5, crimson
Die: MFT Die-namics, inside/out stitched circle stax

Well I hope I have given you some ideas to ponder on, but of course there's loads more inspiration to be had by visiting the rest of the DT blogs.  Remember to comment as you go and then you'll be in with a chance to win those fabulous stamp sets! Here's the blog order:

Bev

Deborah

Jane - that's me

Lindsey

Rahmat

Sarah G

Sarah P

Good luck and happy hopping!

Mega thanks for visiting today, your time is much appreciated.  And keep crafting!

AAA Cards - #92 Resist Technique

Lots of excitement today over at AAA Cards as we start a new challenge and introduce six new team members! YAY!

I have a bit of a thing for messing up when I use heat embossing, but it always looks so cool on cards I see around blogland that it's a technique I'm working on improving.

Here's my card with a quote thats seems very relevant:

I made sure I used one of those dusting pads before I stamped the quote using versamark ink and heat embossing it in sparkling white.  At the same time I stamped and embossed the flower and stem. The technique might have been out of my comfort zone, but to compensate I stuck with my favourite colours and smooshed distress ink over the embossing.

I then die cut the whole thing with a stitched rectangle, but changed my mind and re-cut it with a smaller rectangle, if you look carefully you'll see the double row of stitching on the left that this caused. I then used a small spiro circle die for the flower head and raised it on pads for a little dimension.

Supplies:
Stamps: Visible Image, Thank You set & Take Chances
Inks: Ranger distress, picked raspberry, wilted violet, cracked pistachio; Versamark, clear
Embossing: WOW!, Sparkling Snow
Die: Lil'inker, stitched mats rectangles; Xcut, spiro circle 

Want to see more fabulous resist technique creations? Well of course you do and this is where you'll find them - AAA Cards. And you'll be spoilt for choice this fortnight with our increased Design Team!

Huge thanks for visiting today, I really appreciate sharing your time.  And keep crafting!