Have yourself a fabulous birthday

A short while ago I drew a sketch for the Facebook CAS Card Making Group, (where I am a moderator) using this card as the model. It is so similar to the sketch at Just add Ink, that as I haven't previously blogged this card, I thought I would do it now!

This is the sketch from Just Add Ink.

I was using up scraps to make this card... even the die-cut flowers are from very old Cuttlebug dies. There's something about kraft or this neutral shade and white which I find particularly pleasing. The ring is mounted on foam tape to add a little dimension.

The sentiment is by Personal Impressions.

 

Stille Nacht

Recently I have discovered quite a few new (to me) craft store websites in Europe and love the purchases I have made. The trouble is I get them muddled as to what came from where... so the sentiment and church  fall into that category. 

I prefer to sing this carol in the original German, it just seems more evocative somehow, so I was delighted to get the die of it. Many years ago we visited the little chapel in Austria commemorating the composing of this carol and although not exactly like it, (I believe that one has a domed roof,) the image on the bauble is to represent it.

Christmas Card Throwdown

Colours and Sketches

Addicted to stamps and More

 

Just a note

It seems that I have been AWOL from my blog for a while so I thought I should remedy that. Here is a card made using part of a stencil, which I masked and inked with Hickory Smoke Distress Oxide ink. It was applied with a blending brush, using less colour the further up the stencil I went, to give an ombre effect. I added a couple of birds, stacked several times to give definition and a simple sentiment from Personal Impressions. I believe the birds are Memory Box.

CAS on Friday - Stencil

Happy Little Stampers - Anything Goes with Dies

Addicted to CAS - Animals

Thanks

It seems that I haven't blogged for quite some time, so I want to put that right.

This card came about after looking at a couple of blog challenges.

CAS on Friday  - Flowers 

and 

Freshly Made Sketches

I took a little 'artistic' licence with the sketch I'm afraid, I turned it through 90 degrees and squished the panels closer to each other. The coloured card was from some stencilling using Nuvo Shimmer powders. I made this video on using them and achieving a similar effect using Brushos and mica powder.

https://youtu.be/gBzh8sz8Q7w

 

Merry Christmas Ribbon

For this card I took the layout from Freshly Made Sketches and the colour theme from The Card Concept

I used a card made made from ivory hopsack weave cardstock.

The poinsettia die is from  Britannia Dies and I don't remember where the ivy came from. I coloured the flower with alcohol pens and the leaves with Distress Oxide inks. The sentiment is from My Favorite Things. The ribbon is by East of India.

 

merry CHRISTMAS

I spotted the sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches and thought I would have a go!

I've had this little holly stamp by Stampendous for ever and never tire of using it. I simply coloured it with a few shades of Copic markers and arranged it to fit behind the window in the little panel. I've also had the little Memory Box or Poppy Stamps sentiment (can't remember which) for ages too and love that just as much!

It's really, really simple but that appeals to me! I just love making Christmas cards as I know they will get a recipient, unlike many of the cards I've made over the years, which sit in a box until I cart them off to a charity shop!

 

Christmas Greetings

I combined a few challenges with this card.

Addicted to CAS - Circle

ABC Christmas W = Whimsical or X = Xerox 

whimsical

/ˈwɪmzɪk(ə)l/

adjective

• 1.playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way:"a whimsical sense of humour"
  
  
  
  

After looking up the definition of whimsical as opposed to what I thought it was, (which in fact happened to be the same) I decided that a gnome with a pair of skis was quite a whimsical thought! So here is a little chap from SSS dressed in mulberry paper.

The sentiment EF was free with a mag I believe

AAA Cards

 

Thanks so much

Recently I acquired some watercolor images which I think will be really useful for lots of occasions. I managed to find some free and some I purchased. I decided to do the under over technique here, I printed two images, one on the card front panel and another to die cut. After cutting the tag I superimposed one over the other after adding another tiny tag. (if looked at straight on the images do line up)

The embossing was done with a strip embossing folder which I believe was free with a mag some time ago. In order to avoid the telltale pressure lines from either side of the folder, I substituted a rubber mat for one of my cutting plates, I did have to add a shim to get just enough pressure, but the effect I wanted was achieved... no lines.

It's based on the sketch at AAA CARDS

 

Although a reversed the side of the focal point because of the angle of the foliage. No gnomes this time, but I may do another to include one!

 

The holly and the Ivy

Today I had a go working with the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches

I began by die-cutting the front panel with a stitched rectangle die from SSS, which I have to elongate a little to accommodate British card sizes. then I took two of the dies I have which make a frame and cut two normally and then cut another piece with the shorter one, shortening it even more to make the smallest stripe.

Next a couple of simple die cuts in deep, deep green and white for the holly and the ivy and then a tiny tag with an added star. Actually I think that the star is the centre of a flower from one of my wreath dies. The sentiment was computer generated in Are you serious font.

Today we were without power for a while, whilst our gas and electricity meters were changed. They will now apparently read themselves and the small smart display will scare us with how much power we are using during the day!

Hey Ho Progress!

 

Joy to the World

A card for a few challenges. I began with the sketch from Christmas Card Throwdown

Just realised that I put the sentiment in the wrong place... can we put it down to a little artistic licence?

I used the colours from Color Throwdown

 the theme of decorations from CAS Christmas

and the hanging decorations from the photo  inspiration at Christmas Kickstart

Starting with the sketch I cut the front panel together with the little Christmas dies in the arrangement of the sketch... if I had thought things through a little more I would have altered the placement slightly so as to accommodate a) hangers for the two top shapes and b) threads to hang them up with... maybe another card will emerge for that. It's always fine to be wise after the event!

I believe that the dies are a bit of a mix and match, I just raided my box of Christmas dies!
I think I may have to have another go at this one!

 

I love you

I had fun messing around making this card this morning. I saw this sketch over at the Paper Players and thought I would have a go.

This cute bunny is by Alexandra Renke and comes with a little three legged stool, but today I thought I would let him have a go on the swing. I found a scrap of wood texture card and used that for the seat. In order to give some perspective I used a die which actually makes one quarter of a frame, I've had it for a long time and have no idea where it came from. It's from a set which makes different sized frames. I merely punched holes in each end and threaded through some twine.

The rectangle is actually dry embossed with clouds etc, but being white on white is scarcely visible!

This bunny reminds me of Anita Jeram's Little Nut Brown Hare in Guess How Much I Love You....hence the sentiment.

The seat and the bunny are stacked.

AAA Cards 

I'm sorry you can't really see the clouds, but I did emboss them!

Addicted to stamps and More

 

Get Well Soon

I saw this sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and thought I would have a go.

I found a piece of scrap card which I had smooshed with Distress inks and some Inka Gold. It didn't look incredibly exciting so I over-stamped it with some script and a few splodges. The flowers are by Memory Box and I simply added a few tiny die cut circles as their centres. They are the waste from a border die (the holes)

This month I am the Guest Designer at Just Us Girls and this week's challenge is Script, so I think I'll add it to that as well!

 

Have a lovely day

Here's another go at using a home made stencil. I made this one some time ago before I discovered Mylar sheets. I used acetate and cut the design with my Silhouette Portrait.  I kept the die-cut in the die before I used the stencil, so that I would have a narrow white border around the balloon. The first one I tried, had some of the long bars of the stencil right next to the die, which masked and gave an odd shape to the balloon, so I tried again and positioned the stencil so that there would be a little colour all around the edge, even if it was only a touch; it outlined the balloon more definitively.

CAS Mix Up

CASology - Outside

Fab Friday

Addicted to stamps and More

 

Congrats

 I really love the large background stamp (from Simon Says Stamp), which I used to make the panels for this card. I embossed a piece of black card using WOW Pale Gold EP and then cut it into three strips. The sentiment, (which is die cut and popped up on dimensional pads) is from Stampin' Up!

Addicted to Stamps and More

Colours and Sketches

I am getting a little concerned about letters not arriving when posted at my nearest post box. A card I posted last Friday to Portsmouth with a first class stamp, still hasn't arrived at its destination. Several packages of masks I made and other mail posted there also have gone astray. Something very odd is going on! I may have to pursue the matter further!

 

Merry Christmas

I saw a Tic Tac Toe challenge from Christmas 24 and spied that one of the choices was to use DP. Since settling on CAS as my preferred card style, I still have a reasonable amount of papers lurking around. I have taken lots to a charity shop, but still some remains. Here I used a piece that I would otherwise never use to make this card. I used some fort he clothes and some for the backdrop. The sketch is from Freshly made Sketches

I used Die Cuts, pearls and DSP

The die cut figure is from SSS and I coloured a piece of ribbon with an alcohol marker to match the paper.

The figure is mounted on dimensional pads and I thought that I had committed the unforgivable error of sticking it on before adding the sentiment, but using my stamping platform, I managed to get a neat impression of the stamp for the sentiment, without having to rip the gnome off!

 

Merry & Bright

This morning I joined a Zoom session of crafters from around the world, who all contribute to a weekly blog hop called WOYWW (What's On Your Workdesk Wednesday). Folks take a pic of their crafting space and share it for others to have a snoop around. In fact it was how  met Mandi, the lady I began the challenge Less is More with back in 2011. Julia, the host began it and 600 sessions later it's still going strongly!

Anyway whilst the session was live I made this card, using the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches

I do love a simple sketch to follow and this is lovely one! The gnome is from SSS, the sentiment from SU and the snow embossing folder from Sheena Douglass.

52 Christmas Card Throwdown

April 2020 White  Red

There's to be another Zoom session in a couple of hours where I hope to be able to see a friend from the US, connections permitting!

Technology is great, a) when it's working and b) when you understand what on earth is going on!

Take care everyone!