CAS Christmas - October (Part 2!)

My Christmas cards are coming along - I am still  needing a lot more but I am currently away visiting my friend in a nice warm country🌞 (and attending meetings about an event we are running next year - so it's not all sun and pool lounging!). Unsurprisingly I really can't get my head round snow and ice at the minute. No doubt when I get back in a few days the British weather will soon change that.
I made these before I left when I was in Christmas card mode! It's very rare that I make 2 cards that are almost the same, and to be honest that was not the intention with these - the one on the left was a 'practice run' and I full expected to at least smudge it - but although I made a few changes when I came to do the second one as I looked at the first I thought it wasn't too bad- so onto a card it went!

I used the solid branch stamp from an Altenew layering set called Cherry Blossom, partly inking and adding bits of it to main branch in Versafine Smokey Gray.
The sponged background is Pumice Stone DI liberally splattered with water and once dry added my two Inklylicious birdies stamped in Crimson Red.

I used Iced Spruce on the base of the first card (not happy) and Tumbled Glass on the second - (much happier) before adding a little bit of glitter.
The 'snow' on the branches done differently too - the  left one had Nuvo Crystal (too thick) and I used a white gel pen on the second one!

Sharing these into the gallery at CAS Christmas where the theme is 'Winter Scene'.
Thanks for looking today - will catch up with you all in a couple of days when back home with the heating on! x

CAS Christmas - October (Part 1)

Even though I didn't manage a make last month, taking part in the CAS Christmas challenge as often as I have been able this year has managed to give me a few more cards than I usually have at this time of year. I'll still be panicking come the start of December as that has now become part of my normal build up to Christmas!

This month the challenge theme set is a 'Winter Scene'.

I have actually made a couple of cards for this challenge and will pop them in the gallery when I can but thought I'd share this one first.

I bought this stamp over 10 years ago - and as with a lot of my stash, think I used it once!

Stamped and watercoloured and a liberal amount of glitter on the chimney top and roof.

Oh and I used the tiniest blob of Nuvo Crystal drops on the reindeer's nose! And I am a little pleased with myself 'cos it looks cute!

Thanks for looking - have a great day! x

October Challenge at Stamping Sensations

This month our Stamping Sensations challenge fits in nicely with Autumn as it is -  'Trees and Leaves'.

We are sponsored by Stamp Addicts and full details of the wonderful prize are shown over on the challenge blog - please follow our rules so you can be in with a chance of winning!

My card has been inspired by the colours from 2 other challenges -
(Pin)spirational (pic shown here on the right) and Colour My Heart Dare #362.  (Photo at the end of this post)

Using a piece of bright white card, I heat embossed the leaf stamps (which are from the Altenew Spring Bouquet set) before inking over it.

After inking the background I spattered some water drops and mixed some gold Perfect Pearls with some water and spattered a few tiny drops.
This has given a little shimmery effect to the tiny gold spots.

Matted it onto black card before fixing it to the white base card.

I added a white heat embossed sentiment from Technique Tuesday.

Hoping that you can come and join in with us this month at Stamping Sensations.

Have a great day! x

CAS Watercolour October Challenge

CAS Watercolour is celebrating their THIRD Birthday🎂🎂🎂 this month (time has certainly flown!). Loll is hosting and she has set the challenge of  'Maple Leaves'. 

So here's my card!

I coloured some watercolour card with Distress Inks in shades of Rusty Hinge, Fossilized Amber and Spiced Marmalade and then die cut 3 maple leaves.

A stitched frame over another piece of watercolour card (a scrap but I thought the colour blended OK) and then arranged 2 leaves and cut the third up and tucked it behind the frame.

The die cut and the stamped sentiment is from Technique Tuesday

If you play along this month you will be in with a chance of winning a prize and all you have to do is create a card with a watercoloured Maple Leaf ( or Leaves) and make sure to keep your design CAS (clean and simple) with lots of open space.  Simples!


There's a few Autumn themed challenges about so am sharing my card at -
Die Cut Divas - Fall Colours
HLS (Watercolour) - A/Goes/Botanical
Stamplorations October CAS - Shades of Orange

Thanks for looking today - have a great weekend! x

CAS Stencil - October

Our challenge at CAS Stencil this month is 'Patterned Paper' and has been set by Loll.
Loll seems to think that we all have patterned paper mountains lying about.. have no idea where she gets that idea from...............😄😄
So here's my DT card -

I recently had a mass purge of patterned paper and got rid of a lot but I did keep some odd sheets from pads which I knew I would definitely use!

I used a small hearts stencil and heat embossed - white ones first leaving the centre red one till last.

Placed onto a die cut piece of black card.
I heat embossed the die cut sentiment and it is really shiny in real life! (Saving this card to give to my other half!)

Stencilling onto patterned paper was another first for me and I hope that will have a go and join in with us this month - 'cos I know you're all now looking at your paper pads!!

Lots of inspiration over on the challenge blog too - my talented teamies have so many wonderful ideas!
AND - we have a wonderful guest designer this month - Gundi- who has made a fantastic card showcasing her stencil and patterned paper!

Am sharing my make over at -
CHNPP - A/Goes
The Male Room - CAS
CAS on Friday -  Masculine

Back

I had a terrible job of dragging myself away from the wonderful warm sunshine and beautiful sandy beach that we have enjoyed for the last couple of weeks.... home to wind, rain and the heating on!😢

I have a make to share though -  a card made for the stash box  and out of leftovers!

The 3 stitched rectangles were the middles from some frames I cut out for other cards.

I stamped and white heat embossed the leaf ( from the WOW Flights of Fancy set) on some other scraps and simply watercoloured.

Layered them to the rectangles then layered the rectangle to the card base.
A quick make!
 
The dew drops are maybe a little large? But they're all that I had so they will have to do!

Popping into the Playground to see what everyone has been up to whilst I've been away and also linking to -
SOS - Dream the Embossable Dream
Crafty Gals Corner - Fall Colours
Cardz4Guyz - Trees or Leaves

Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog today - hope all is well in your part of blogland! x

CAS Stencil - Mid month reminder

It's time for my CAS Stencil little mid month reminder!

Julia set the challenge of using Baby Wipes with your stencils - a simple technique but really effective for backgrounds!
My first DT card this month (if you haven't seen it) is here - and here's my reminder card!

One for a rather sad occasion but there's no getting away from it - we all need sympathy/condolence cards at some time.

Watercolour card inked with Peacock Feathers DO.

The leaf stencil ( a bargain buy from The Range), placed over and the baby wipe used to reveal the design.

A simple die cut frame for my leaf sprig die cut and a sentiment stamped in Smokey Grey ink.

There's lots of lovely ideas and inspiration  on the challenge blog and also a couple of links to video tutorials.
Hope that you will join us this month - we love to see our gallery full of amazing creations!

By the time you read this I will have just arrived on Day 1 of my holiday - warm sunshine and a complete relax -and no doubt the odd long cool drink on occasions!! (Purely to be sociable 😇😇😁)

Thanks for looking today - whatever you're doing and wherever you are, I hope your day is a good one. x

Mid Month - Stamping Sensations September Challenge

A reminder that our challenge at Stamping Sensations this month is 'Anything Goes with Flowers'

Bee Crafty are our sponsors and there's details of the prize over on the challenge blog.
(Please read our rules before submitting your entry)

This was a reasonably quick make as I have not had much time - (holiday looming! - in fact by the time you read this I shall be on my way ✈⛱🌞)

Stamp heat embossed in black and watercoloured.

A simple die cut sentiment and job done!

Would love for you to join us this month - grab your flower stamps and get making!

Hope the weather is as nice for you as it is where I'll be!! Happy Crafting. x

Opposites Attract!

I managed to grab some time in the craftie space in between the ironing and packing - we're off for a 'celebratory holiday' in a couple of days (our 20th anniversary)  - then when we come back we're only home for a week and we jet off again - this time to visit our friends who live overseas who are also celebrating a big anniversary - double ours!!

But I couldn't go away without a fix of inkiness and paper - I made a couple of cards similar to this last year and when I saw the challenge at CAS Watercolour I remembered that the colour combo fitted -
The orange and blue hues are opposite on the colour spectrum and I think they go really well together.

I used watercolour card and my paints and once dry I stamped the bullrushes and the birds. 
No sentiment on it yet - originally I thought it might work as a Sympathy card  but think it would be suitable for other occasions - so will keep it plain until I use it!

Thanks for looking and leaving any comments - I really DO love to hear from you. x

Leaves

Autumn is here in the north west of England - we have had really strong winds overnight and it's still blowing a gale this morning - had to rescue a few of my pots on the patio which had been battered by the wind. The weather as always though gives me the perfect excuse to shut myself in the craft room - and that's what I intend to do!!
So here's today's share -

A simple and quick birthday card - and it's one layer too, so not too fat for posting!

I fixed my leaf stencil over the card and masked off the bottom using masking tape.

I used Twisted Citron and Peeled Paint Distress Inks and using a baby wipe I pressed the colour through the stencil.
Using a wipe instead of a sponge gives a lighter and more delicate colour impression which I really like.

Am popping this into the gallery at CAS Stencil where our theme this month is to use Baby Wipes!

Cut 2 leaves and before removing from the die pressed the inky baby wipe through the die.

Stamped the sentiment, fixed the leaves adding a teeny bit of twine and job done.

Desperate for masculine makes in my stash box so this is the first one done!

Sharing my quick CAS card over at
AAA Birthday - Use a Stencil
APTS - Masking
Dragonfly Dreams - Happy Birthday

Thanks for stopping by - have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Inchie

Made a couple of cards today - both for the same challenge but will just share one for the time being!

CAS Mix Up has 'Inchies' as it's main challenge - so one single Inchie, a tiny bit of stamping, some die cutting and a little watercolouring make up my required elements for this first card.

I used my small cone flower die and cut it out twice,watercoloured then snipped off the smaller flower stem from each (as there wasn't enough room!) - not wasted them though - have glued them on the inside!

Embossed a frame round the Inchie and then die cut using a cross stitch die.

The sentiment stamped in Smokey Grey ink.

Our weather has turned distinctly Autumnal the last couple of days - seems this summer has been one of extremes - with red hot days then rain of monsoon proportions - and as always the nice weather was over far too quickly.
That said I have managed to get all my washing dry today! (Ironing is the problem......😡😡!)
Linking to these other Challenges
Flower Challenge - Anything Goes
Sheepski - Dies
MMM - Use a Shape

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

CAS Stencil September Challenge

Julia is hosting our CAS Stencil challenge this month and she would like to see us using Baby Wipes with our Stencils to make CAS cards.

There are some links on the challenge blog showing a couple of techniques, so if you're unsure of how to mix a baby wipe with a stencil, pop over and have a look!

The idea for this card has been swimming round (no pun intended!) in my head for a little while. But several attempts to make it look like I imagined it (using a Bokeh technique) were unsuccessful - this month's challenge though gave me an opportunity to have a re-think as to how to achieve what I wanted.

The Oyster stamp was a mag freebie. Heat embossed with Platinum EP and coloured with Cosmic Shimmer powders. The pearl was done using Nuvo Crystal with a teeny bit of Pearl Cosmic Shimmer scattered over it then when dry added a layer of Glossy Accents. I was rather pleased with the way it turned out as it stands proud of the shell and kinda 'glows' -  even dear husband said it looked like a pearl!!

Blended Salty Ocean, Fossilized Amber and Mustard Seed DO onto watercolour card and stamped some 'sandhills' and a starfish.

My 'wavy bubbles' stencil I have had for a while and never used but I kept fingers crossed it would work and turn out like the idea in my head!
I used the baby wipe and very carefully removed the colour by GENTLY rubbing across the stencil, it worked better in some places than others but having messed up a couple of pieces by pressing too hard when trying out this technique I learnt my lesson - only LIGHT pressure is needed!!

The sentiment also from the same freebie set simply heat embossed in white onto black card.

I hope you will try out this simple technique and share your makes in our gallery. We have a great Guest Designer too this month - Sarah and the rest of the CAS DT would love to hear what you think of their cards too!
Thanks for looking - hope I have inspired you to have a go! Happy Crafting. x
Sharing over at
Crafty Cardmakers - Pearls
Country View - Under the Sea

Stamping Sensations September Challenge

I needed a retirement card so this seemed a good opportunity to use this lovely sentiment stamp from Bee Crafty, who are our sponsors this month at Stamping Sensations.

Our September challenge is - Anything Goes with Flowers - so I also used Bee Crafty's pretty Dandee Border!😁😁

Started with a blended ink background in lilac and blue shades.
The Dandee Border stamp and the sentiment stamped in Versafine ink.

The large dandelion is one of the first stamps I ever bought and ranks amongst my favourite stamps EVER!
(Now removed from it's wood backing so haven't a clue which make it is?)

I sponged some Black Soot DI round the edges to soften them before matting onto black card then layering onto lilac.

Hope you will join us this month - please pop over to the Stamping Sensations blog and check out our rules before linking your entry!
The DT have some fab examples and they would also appreciate a comment! Thanks for looking and have a great day. x 

In the Garden

It has been a week where I have felt that I have been incredibly busy but looking back I don't appear to have achieved very much at all!

I have been catching up with all the 'bitty things' - actually assembling rather than being creative! 

Here's one that I finished this week

 This Stempelglede Vintage Garden stamp ranks amongst those that I like a lot but it doesn't see ink often enough.

And look 😲😲 I even made a matching envie! Unheard of!

Stamped onto watercolour card before painting and I used one of the flourish stamps from the set randomly round the edge before matting onto black card. 

The sentiment is from Altenew.

Sharing over at   

MAWTT - Wings

A2S+M - A/goes.  

TIOT - In my garden there is...... 

Thanks for visiting today - I hope your week is going well! x

Winter

It seems very odd to be making a winter card when we have amazing temperatures and glorious sunshine!

I like the sun but it has been very hot today so I escaped to the craftie space for a little while  - the weather has been a nuisance really as I bought some pre loved PB stamps from a crafting buddy and have been itching to try them - but as most of us here in the UK feel that we have to make the most of the sunshine as it doesn't appear very often!

I am very much a novice when it comes to colouring these beautiful stamps and welcome any tips/techniques to make me improve!

My first attempt with this PB Hidden Lane stamp was in Autumn colours (saved for later). Didn't turn out too bad and will share at some point.

Flushed with success 😊😊, I thought I would try a wintry scene which involved some masking and I used another PB tree on the right side of the card.

I am really happy with how this turned out considering I am not very confident! I have left it without a sentiment for the time being - need to have a think about it!

I am sharing over at PBSC - where the theme is A.Goes with the option of watercolours.
The DT over there are incredibly talented so they may give me some constructive criticism or pointers which I am happy to take on board! 

CAS Watercolour

I had several tiny pieces of smooshed card mounting up - they were about to see the inside of the waste bin as really they were too small to be of any real use and I am trying to continue in my  quest to keep the desk tidy 😇😇- but then I remembered I had a small butterfly punch that might fit some of the odd pieces.
 So that was the basis for this card!

The die cut squares were also left over from other things so I am feeling rather pleased with myself that I managed to make this from scraps!

The smaller die cut was already smooshed with Stormy Sky DI and I just added a few spatters in Picked Raspberry.

The chrysalis on the branch is a very old (and small!) clear stamp and I coloured with my watercolour pens and added a teeny bit of sparkle. .

The sentiment is from SU's Butterfly Basics.
I painted the bodies of the tiny butterflies then just layered it all up.

CAS Watercolour's August challenge is Colourful Butterflies.

It's also been a little while since I have managed to go to The Playground, so am sharing my make over there too.

And at TIOT the challenge is - In My Garden there is....... ! 

We have had such a wet few days - sunshine one minute then heavy rain the next. Not what we want during August which is supposed to be our summer!
Thanks for taking the time to look today, wherever you are I hope your weather is better than mine! x

CAS Stencil - Mid Month!

I'm here with a reminder that the CAS Stencil challenge is mid way through this month -  and the challenge that Robyn set us was to use sprays with your stencils.

At the beginning of the month I used a spray I had made up myself using Brushos in the usual way of simply spraying through a stencil - if you've not already seen my card, it's here.

I watched a couple of videos and rather liked the idea of mixing an Ink Mist Spray with embossing paste to create texture and colour  so thought I'd have a play with paste and get messy!

The spray I used was a Cosmic Shimmer Ink Spray Mist called 'Paradise Pink' and the stencil is 'Beautiful Baroque Swirls' by Hunkydory.

Using a palette knife I scooped some white embossing paste onto a craft sheet, added a few drops of the ink and mixed them together thoroughly.
I layered this through the top of the stencil then added a few more drops to darken the colour, repeating twice more and applying through the stencil, ending up with an ombre effect.

Before the paste dried I sprinkled a teeny bit of Glamour Dust down the centre - doesn't show up very well on the pic but it looked very pretty in real life!

The die cut sentiment was triple embossed.

My thanks go to Svitlana for inspiring me to have a go at this technique and I hope I have inspired you to do the same and join us if you haven't already! x

Sharing at
Creative Knockouts - Sparkle and Shine

Mid Month - Stamping Sensations August Challenge

Here's my mid month reminder for you for our 'Things with Wings'  challenge at Stamping Sensations.

The butterflies are from an SU stamp set stamped in Versafine Crimson red,  fussy cut and popped on with foam pads for a bit of dimension.

The script stamp and leaf stamp are from my stash and are that old I have no idea what make they are!

If you've not joined us this month there's still plenty of time - the challenge runs until 28th.

And the prize from out great sponsors Rubber Dance is DEFINITELY worth having - Go to the blog to see!  Please read our challenge rules carefully before submitting your entry - we are a STAMPING challenge!
 Also sharing over at -
Alphabet Challenge - K for Kind Thoughts
Cardz 4 Galz -  Wings

Thanks for looking! I'll be back later today with my reminder for CAS Stencil! x

On a Roll!

So I wait 8 months to make a Christmas card and in the space of 48 hours I have now made 2!

I have been having fun with paper towels again - and so on an odd bit of watercolour card I placed another piece of ink soaked paper towel and sprayed with water.

I ended up with a lovely pale green and pink background piece that I thought may provide a good backdrop for my die cut holly.

Turned out not too bad at all I don't think!

Here's a close up of the glitter on the berries.


Very schparkly!!
(And so's my desk......  no idea how a teeny miniscule tub of glitter has managed to pervade every corner of my desk  - and the floor and beyond😞)

Again there's not a lot of glitter on the card but there IS a bit so this will be my second card for this month's CAS Christmas challenge!

It still seems weird to be making Christmas cards when there are 36 sleeps to go to my holidays (not that I'm counting you understand.......😏😏😎)


Hope you're having a nice day and thanks for stopping by. xx

Bring out the Bunting!

Been a little while since I last posted - the National Championships are in full swing so have spent a few days there, came home for a few days and off again later this week.
BUT.....
BRING OUT THE BALLOONS🎈🎈, SET OFF THE FIREWORKS🎆🎇, TRUMPET FANFARES PLEASE🎺🎺.......................
I HAVE MADE A CHRISTMAS CARD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Please don't faint!!
Here it is - for the challenge at CAS Christmas. 


OK - there isn't a lot of glitter but there is some!

A VERY CAS card but I quite like it so probably will make a batch of smaller ones.

The sentiment was silver embossed and added a few sparklies for a bit more glitter.
The die for the snowflake I'vr had for a while and no idea who's make it is.
A snippet of glitter card which I found in a drawer came in really useful!
Quick and easy!

Don't know about snow but we've had some really weird weather over the last few days - torrential downpours, thunderstorms, bright sunshine - nothing like our summer as I remember them!
Today we have a stiff breeze and white cloud  - perfect for drying the washing but not warm enough to have a cuppa outside!

Sounds to me like a perfect excuse to sit in the craftie space for the rest of the day (only whilst the washing is drying you understand..... 😉😉 )
Have a great day whatever you're doing! x

Mop Up Your Mess!

I have been saving the paper towels I use for mopping up my mess for a little while (there's a lot 'cos I am VERY messy😁😁), because I saw a technique to reuse them to make backgrounds.

And that is the challenge at CAS Mix Up this month.
(If you've not done this technique before there are some videos over at the challenge blog!)

So here's my card -  

I had a small piece of watercolour card left over from a previous make so I took my dried paper towel, laid it on top and liberally spritzed it with water.

Pressing down on it the colour transferred onto the watercolour card - I was more than a little pleased with myself  when I lifted it off and was left with this soft pastel background in shades of yellow and pink.

The die cut was another scrap piece of watercolour card and I coloured with Distress Inks. I adore cherry blossoms - you know that once they flower spring is here.

A square card for this make, as the die seemed to look better inside the circle aperture.
A stamped sentiment and a few sequins to finish.

Here's my paper towel!
Mostly Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade and Fossilized Amber  (I think!).

Am also sharing over at Uniko, the Playground, the Flower Challenge  and Make My Monday this week.
Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog today and if you have left me a comment, I am really grateful!
Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

CAS Stencil - August

Robyn is hosting our challenge this month at CAS Stencil and she has set us the task of using Sprays.

If you're like me you may have an odd one or two which you hardly use for your cards - I tended to use them for canvases and other mixed media projects so this was a first for me.
Having looked at the few colours I possessed I decided I would have a go at making up my own.

I bought some small spray bottles to fill with holiday essentials and had a couple left so I got out the Brushos and made some sprays up in a few colours to stretch my stash without buying!

I used 'Leaf Green' for this - and yes I know it's NOT a bamboo but you will just have to use your imagination!
(And anyway Pandas eat other leaves not just bamboo.... according to Google!!)

My green leaves were done on watercolour card then placed inside a die cut frame.
The panda stamp is from a 'panda panel' from Woodware and I just cut him away from his fluffy friends.

There's lots of things you can use to make up a spray colour - all you need is a spray bottle of some sort (a mini mister is fine), some water and whatever colour/type of powdered pigment you have. - Oh and you need a cardboard box (or similar) with high sides to put your stencil in  before you start - that way the spray doesn't decorate your desk, your walls and your clothes, as well 🙈🙈

There's a couple of videos on the challenge blog which may give you some help too - and while you're there have a look at the amazing designs from my talented teamies and our wonderful Guest Designer Amy and pop over to their blogs for more inspiration!

Thanks for looking today - happy crafting. x

August at Stamping Sensations

Hello Crafty People!

August already! And the Stamping Sensations challenge is ' Things With Wings' - so  a lot of scope there - please remember though you MUST stamp and have the 'thing with wings' as the FOCAL point of your entry.

I had a bit of fun with a few stamps and ink!

Stamped the butterfly first then masked off.

The diamond background stamp is from Kaiserkraft and I just inked it with a few co-ordinating Distress Ink colours and stamped away on the background. Used an old circle stamp from a textured collection and randomly stamped a few circles.

Sentiment came next

Sponged the edge and matted onto green card before popping onto the card base and done!

We have a great prize for you again - our sponsors this month are the fabulous 'Rubber Dance' - pop over to the blog to check it out - and visit my wonderfully talented teamies - they love comments!