Happy Birthday

Some time ago I was fortunate enough to have a card selected as the winner over on the Male Room Challenge, following which I was invited to be a Guest Designer for one of their challenges and this is it!

Needless to say that this theme is just up my street!

My card was made following our recent holiday in Antigua, where we stayed in a super little cottage in Cocobay, with Adirondack chairs on the deck overlooking our pool and the sea. We spent many happy hours on those chairs, reading, enjoying the the weather and the view. As soon as I got home I searched to see if I could find a die of an Adirondack chair and found this one from Impression Obsession. It is triple stacked, adhered over a patch of  'sand'  from a stamp from Stamplorations and embossed with some old Distress Embossing powder, which melts to a rough, matt finish.  I don't believe that it is still produced.

The seagull is by Memory Box and the sea elements from Charlie and Paulchen.

I hope that we can return to Antigua before too long, the people are so welcoming, we loved it!

 

 

 

Happy Birthday

When I saw the challenge at the Male Room, I realised that I had posted the perfect card for it the previous day, so I went about making another in a similar vein. 

My previous card has a knot on it and so I thought I would do another with a similar knot, but not exactly the same. This took me back to my Guiding days and this knot is called a sheet bend.

Here's how to do it!

The sentiment is by Gummiapan and the posts from Memory Box, the anchor was a freebie from a magazine. The source for the seagull escapes me, but that may be Memory Box too!

The only source of colour is the seagull's beak and legs!

We're off to our grandson's Speech Day today on his last day of school for the academic year. There is a to be a picnic in the grounds so it should all be great fun!

 

Happy Birthday

Here is a new die from Charlie and Paulchen, which is a circle with a few seagulls. I printed a piece of blue paper and cut one circle from that and another from white and inlaid the white seagulls into the blue sky. The lighthouse is a freebie die from a mag and I extended the cut slightly as the lighthouse was positioned on the right of the land and was in the way of the seagulls. The starfish is also by Charlie and Paulchen and the stamped sentiment by Avery Elle. The circle and square dies for the panels are from Presscut. Looking at this makes me feel calm somehow!

Seize the birthday - Ocean Creatures

The Male Room - Animals 

I hope the starfish and gulls count as animals!

Addicted to stamps and More any occasion 

 

Christmas tile

Minimal or what!

The challenge at AAA cards is an INCHIE and only an INCHIE, so I tried to put a lot into a very little space.

To make the tile, I cut the square and coloured it with Barn Door Distress Oxide ink and spritzed with water. I then added a little Inka Gold, stamped a couple of times with a tiny script stamp in gold and then black, added a couple of tiny die cut holly leaves and then heat embossed about three times. After the final embossing and while the melted powder was still molten, I stamped another small round script stamp in Gold Brilliance ink, which left both an image and an impression.

I added a couple of tiny pearls for berries and it was done... mounted on a little foam tape to add just a touch of dimension!

I think this card would be OK for a chap too!

 

Happy Birthday

A dear friend of ours will be having a birthday very soon... I never know what to make for him but it usually has a link with music somehow or other. He is a musician, a composer, a singer and all round great fun chap. Here the reference is from a stamp by Artemio and a random quaver... or should I say eighth note for our friends across the pond. Years ago when we lived in Virginia for a while, I had to get used to all sort of different musical terms when we joined a local choir.... including all the names of the notes and measures instead of bars!

The Male Room - Black & White

 

Happy birthday

Having not made a skinny card for ages, I now find that I have made two in practically as many days, but both have been in response to challenges.

Color Throwdown

and  Freshly Made Sketches

The Male Room 

Nature's bounty -  I'm referring to the wood, which is indeed a bounty of nature!

Watercooler Wednesday - All things masculine

I found a scrap of designer paper, (it was lucky as I don't use it much these days and have sent most to the charity shop) which toned with the chosen colours for the challenge and simply added a die cut sentiment. I don't remember the make of the alpha dies. I tried every colour for the word birthday and it took me ages to make a decision... in the end I stacked two of the colours I had cut out together.

 

 

Formal Birthday

I entered a challenge some time ago and was asked if I would like to do a Guest Designer Spot, so this it the first of those occasions at Stamps, Fun = Creativity!

This week it's 

ANYTHING GOES

This card came about because I was asked to make a card for someone who is always very particular about his appearance and is always smartly dressed even at breakfast. I have made a dinner suit card once before and it was tricky trying to remember what I did! Basically I cut a couple of black rectangles and scored and folded and trimmed until I had the lapels. I cut a strip of double stitched white card for the button placket and used a die to cut the bow tie. The waste (holes) from a border die gave me the buttons.

 

Hope your day is Fabulous

It's already week four of my Guest Designer Spot at Just Us Girls.

There is a picture for inspiration this time and the theme feels decidedly Nautical!

I chose the colours, some elements and the stripes as inspiration for my card.

My son's birthday is upcoming, he is very fond of boats and all things nautical so I think that this card may be finding its way to him!

Do join in  with the fun over at Just Us Girls, we'd love to see your creations.

 

Happy Birthday

I was having fun with the Shaving Foam technique the other day, after I discovered that if you leave the foam mixed with the colour for a few hours before taking a print a different effect appears. Rather than the traditional marbling, a looser more bubbly print is achieved. I grabbed all sorts of scraps of paper and card and popped them onto the foam to take prints and they are all slightly different and I really like the range of effects which occur. I rather thought that this looked like swirls of water, hence the little fish. I have so many prints from the one plateful of foam, that I'll be making watery cards for a while methinks.

Inkspiration - Maritime

Addicted to Stamps and More - Birthday

 

Nautical Birthday

Here is a card made with a new die from Simply Graphic. I love this company and would love to buy heaps more products, but I must pace myself! 

It is reminiscent of The Great Wave of Kanagawa a woodblock piece of art by Katsushika Hokusai. I tried doing a watercolour version in a class onboard Queen Elizabeth on our cruise from Japan to Vancouver. I didn't do very well! This doesn't have Mount Fuji in the distance or the boat riding the waves, but I find it quite a calming image, despite the ferocity of the sea.

After cutting out the die I water coloured the sky using little Stormy Sky Distress Oxide ink mixed with water, creating the clouds by dabbing a piece of dry paper towel into the wet paint. I coloured the other sections of the die cut with deepening shades of Distress Oxides towards the bottom. and added some speckles for the foam with Dr Phil Martin's Bleed Proof White.

Since having my new kitchen, the induction hob has been not quite right. When I pressed for the front right zone to be used, the back right zone would be selected. I could alter it to the correct one, but it was irritating that it wasn't working as it should. After a second visit by an engineer, today it was finally fixed! Hurrah!

Seize the Birthday

Watercooler Wednesday - All things masculine

Thank you

Since choir rehearsals ceased following the introduction of Covid restrictions, we have been forced to rehearse via ZOOM. It's really not good singing on your own... we all have to have our microphones muted, as with internet time differences the cacophony would be hideous. However, with the slight easing of restrictions it meant that 6 of us could meet together to join the rehearsal.

Last night we joined the conductor of our choir, his wife, together with another couple for the practice. It was wonderful to sing and hear others at the same time. It was better for the others joining in too apparently, as they were able to sing along with us instead of singing with a recording.

Afterwards he treated us to a fabulous curry supper out in the garden, (he is an amazing cook as well as a brilliant musician). 

We also met his adorable dog Eddie who is a Brittany... and about these colours, so this is a thank you to him for a fabulous evening!

Let's hope we can all get together properly very soon!

Simon  Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

2 Crafty Critter Crazies

Little dog die SSS!

 

Happy Birthday James

For the past few months, my daughter has been enduring radical extension and renovation work on her house. It will be amazing when it is finished,  but putting up with the mess, dust and general inconvenience is quite an ordeal. The whole situation has been eased enormously by the ministrations of her 'significant other', who has worked tirelessly, project managing and being a general dog's body during the build. SO when it came to deciding what image I would use for his upcoming birthday card... a house seemed the natural choice. These processes rarely go without a hitch, but they have overcome all obstacles to date and hopefully will continue to do so until completion.

I hope it won't be too much longer until they can enjoy the fruits of their labours! 

I spotted that  challenge #257 at Cardz 4 Guyz, was cards for an adult male. So I shall submit this there!

 

Sunday Morning

 

Today we have been invited over to a neighbours for something to eat at lunch time and so without Sunday lunch to prepare I have a little time in my craft room.

This card is based on the challenge at TIMEOUT

         

I love the bold pop of green in the picture and I used a piece of photographic paper which I had sploshed some shades of green alcohol inks onto, for the die cut leaves in my card.  The stripes were from a SU stamp, which I was considering taking off the block in order to get a clean image using my MISTI, but the second stamping, peculiarly, was really pale until I realised I had used Versamark instead of Versafine  (made a mess of the ink pad  too with the black ink from the previous stamping). SO I decided to sprinkle on some black embossing powder and use that instead.

The Hello is triple stacked from a Stamp Market die.

Just US Girls Stacking die Cuts

This is another card using the freebie Crafter's Companion stamps and die, from Simply Cards and Papercrafts Magazine.

Once more I cut the sentiment from the wreath to use separately. The only thing I added was a Memory Box die cut of hanging mittens, but I put the stamped and heat embossed mittens from the freebie set on the string instead of the die cut ones.

Christmas Kickstart Scandinavian Holiday

Here is a simple card using a leaf which I die cut and coloured sometime ago. I used distress inks and a little mica spray.

I heat embossed the Clearly Besotted sentiment and added both it and the leaf to a piece of hessian.

The Male Room Autumn

More die cuts

A quick card for a couple of challenges.

Simple die cut dog and cat and a stamped  sentiment from Altenew, all popped onto a raised panel. 

Make it Monday - Friendship

AAA Cards Make it in Minutes

This one is for the challenge at The Male Room where they are having a celebration to commemorate 6 Years... quite an achievement! Congratulations girls definitely worth raising a glass or two!

Bit of a die cutting bonanza today!

For a guy

I bought these shoe dies on the  internet some time ago and haven'y got around to using them until now. It's a little odd in that there is a right and a left for the top part of the shoebut the other parts... the sole and the front, there is just one piece, so that after cutting, I had to run it through the Big Shot to flatten the edges of the diecut to use it in the opposite orientation. I used an embossing tool to go around the edges of the die cut too, to try to make it look a little more like the one cut in the correct way.

I laced a little skinny ribbon (the ones I cut out of blouses and sweaters etc) through the eyelets and popped the shoes up onto dimensional pads.

The sentiment was computer generated.

Make My Monday For A Guy

Watercolour Tilley

My son has a birthday approaching and I never know what to get him. This time he gave me a hint. For many years he has had a Tilley hat, to which he is enormously attached. Although it looks a though it is on its last legs he wants to keep it. (It could be exchanged for a new one as they have a lifetime guarantee, but he's just too sentimental about his old one to lose it.) SO his present this time is a spanking new one... just the same model as the old one, but more presentable! So for his card I decided to do an image of his hat. I drew this one and watercoloured it ... I think it looks reasonably like the real thing!

The theme at Addicted to CAS is Heat so this image is definitely for that!

The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted

Bridge Card

The other day I watched a video of Jennifer McGuire making a card with this different fold, which she called a Bridge Card and I thought I would like to try it out. Being in the UK I had to work out sizes to match our card and envelopes, so after a little experiment with a bit of scrap paper, I managed to work it out.

Despite being 3 Dimensional, it still folds flat for mailing.

I am often asked for cards with specific references, by members of my choir, . This one was for an old Naval friend with whom the choir member had served in submarines many years ago. He was to be having his 68th birthday and he was a Scot. The tartan he wears for formal occasions is the Ancient Lamont. So here is a card with the Lamont tartan, a picture of a submarine, his age and his name. I hope it will do!

My friend sent me a picture of the tartan which I printed out to use as the background. I used a  clipart submarine ( I thought it better to have a cartoon type image rather than risk getting the wrong class of submarine).

I made the name element with my Silhouette, mounting it on an offset and covering with a layer of Glossy accents.

 Seize the birthday  - Topping - Cover the card

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge
Vacation - Travel

Sentiment Only

The theme for the CAS Challenge at Happy Little Stampers this month is to simply have a sentiment with no other image!

I went for a bold look with a black card base and a gold die cut sentiment from Memory Box. I toyed with the idea of putting a smooshed background behind the circle but then thought that a few tiny stars might just do the job instead!

I think that this might be a design suitable for a chap!

Do join us with your CAS design!

Happy Birthday Handsome

 

Here is another contribution to the CAS Stencil Challenge.

This time I opted to use translucent embossing paste on dark card stock, with the addition of Gold Glamour Dust.

The stencil is from The Crafter's Workshop.
I thought that the image was a good choice for a chap, which is why I went with this sentiment which was a freebie from a magazine.
The twinkle on this image is really very pretty, but I'm afraid that my photographic expertise isn't sufficient to show it off to its full potential!

Our grandkids have arrived for the weekend so my crafting time is over for the moment!