Wet

We have been treated to some very wet weather the last few days - occasionally heavy downpours but mostly just steady drizzle ⛆ which always makes the world look very grey!
I've been doing my Christmas cards - I can't say writing 😶 cos I only print out the greetings on a sticky label for the inside! Now though have the darn envelopes to address......... a job I hate😡! If I got more organised I could probably print them too - but then I wouldn't have anything to complain about!
Anyway here's my share for today -

A devil of a job to photograph in the light today.
The snowflake background stamp is I think by Viva Decor (package long gone!) and it gets used every year!

White heat embossed then blended some Tumbled Glass ink.
Used an angled stitched die and mounted it onto a the card base.

The snowflake die cut from some sparkly paper which was a really good match for the background colour and finished it all with a sparkly gem and a suitable sentiment!

Sharing over at
Crafty Cardmakers - No Patterned Paper
Int Art&Soul - Christmas with no Image
Joy of Sets - (Top Line) CAS/Winter/Heat Embossed
Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas/Winter

More Mono...

If you read my last post you will know that I have been playing with stencils and Monoprinting.
2 cards made began their lives as 'practice' pieces for CAS Stencil - but they turned out OK so I used them up!

They are almost identical except for the sentiments - but have grown my Christmas stash to more than I have ever had by this time of year so am happy, despite the fact that it is very unusual for me to make 2 cards the same.

Chipped Sapphire, Weathered Wood, Blueprint Sketch and Stormy Sky inks used.

The sentiment on this one was also an experiment.  I used a blue ink first then moved the paper slightly then white heat embossed. In real life it does look like a shadow but it was very difficult to photograph. Mounted the stencilled piece onto white card.

Here's the second card

Chose to simply use a full piece of mixed media paper so this one is one layer - unusually for me, I managed to keep the back of it free of ink!

This sentiment simply stamped with Chipped Sapphire.

I have become rather hooked on monoprints - I think probably because they all turn out different even if you use the same stencil and they have this artsy random soft look about them - satisfies my messy side!

Sharing over at

TIOT - Cold, Cold, Cold
Cardz4Guyz - Icy Cold
Creative Inspirations - Winter Blues
Stamplorations Stencil - A/Goes

CAS Stencil - November half way reminder

Half way through November and halfway through our  challenge at CAS Stencil.  This month our host Linda has chosen the theme of 'Stencil Monoprint'.

I had some fun with this challenge and made quite a few monoprint backgrounds which are now in a neat pile waiting to be used up!

I had two attempts using a snowflake stencil. One was perfect and I have used the monoprint in it's entirety on a card front.

The other attempt was the second pass and a little too patchy for my liking but I did manage to cut out some circles!

The sentiment was done using Pearlescent Ice Blue ink.

Do pop over to the blog and  have a look at the lovely examples done by my team mates and our Guest designer Lucie 

We'd love you to share a make with us in the gallery this month.

If you've not tried this, it's not as difficult as you think! Honest!!

The CAS Stencil team are having a little break during December so we will be back in January with a brand new challenge.

I hope though you will continue to visit me during the next few weeks and that you also remember to check the blog at the end of the month to see who our Top Picks are!

To all of you who have joined us at CAS Stencil this year we wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and look forward to seeing you all again in 2020. x

Mid Month at Stamping Sensations

Not long to go now till Christmas and here's my mid month reminder card for our November challenge at Stamping Sensations, which this time is 'Traditional Christmas Colours' - so we want to see creations made with the colours - Red/Green/Gold - any or all!
I have gone for a relatively quick CAS card which I have batch made in different colours - I made a similar one some time back using blue and silver and this time went for red and gold.

I randomly stamped pine branches and ferns using Gold Encore Ultimate Metallic ink.

Once dry I took one of my really old stamps from a flower collection (no idea who's it is or how old it is!) - and stamped the stems in the same ink and quickly added some gold embossing powder. The photo doesn't show it very well but the flower stems stand out really well!

Re-aligned the piece in the Misti and used Crimson Red Versafine for the flower heads.

The die cut sentiment has to be one of my faves - and it looks really nice embossed!

We have the fab Chocolate Baroque as our sponsors this month - full details over on the blog.
Please remember though we have to see STAMPING as the focal point of your entry for you to be eligible for the prize!

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

Two cards- one post

I made this card a couple of weeks ago just before the Monochromatic challenge at CAS Watercolour started. As I am trying to expand my watercolour skills I wanted to have a go at this months challenge and also to continue my promise to myself that I would try and enter each month.

I thought twice about linking it when I saw the wonderfully talented Birgit, this months Guest Designer, had produced another wonderful watercolour for her DT spot which makes mine pale in comparison!!!
It was only when I realised that I would maybe not have time to do another that I made the decision to post.

So continuing with my entering the CAS challenges here's one made for the CAS Christmas challenge which has the theme of 'Warm and Cozy'.

I hereby announce that it is official - I am RUBBISH with digi stamps! I have never really got to grips with them although I must have amassed hundreds of them over the years.

I never seem to get the sizing right and so it proved on this card which maybe doesn't have enough white space - but am sharing it anyway to show that I tried!

Little Scottie is from A Day For Daisies and I paper pieced him a plaid coat to keep him warm and added a little sparkly ribbon collar.
Some light ink dusting and some secondary stamping using a Uniko pine branch and then stamped the sentiment.

Both these challenges are half way through so there is still time to enter!

There's also still time to enter the CAS Stencil challenge and I will be back tomorrow to share my mid month DT card. Pop over and get out your stencils!!

Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Twofer and more!

I took advantage of the Twofer Challenge rules being relaxed a little this month as we can make 2 different cards for the same occasion instead of different occasions with the theme of Holiday Greenery.

I used a Penny Black tree stamp from the Peaceful Winter set (30-450).

The square one uses 2 different tree stamps in varying shades of green, with one topped with a punched out gold shiny star and a sentiment from the Merry Up set (30-622).

The larger card on the left had the 'sky' inked with Chipped Sapphire and Seedless Preserve and the snowdrifts done with Tumbled Glass and Weathered Wood.  White embossed the tree, stamped the sentiment and spattered with acrylic paint before mounting it onto a stitched die.

As well as the Twofer challenge I am also linking up to -
PB&More  -  Christmas
Holly & Ivy - Anything Christmas
Christmas @ Sweet Stampin' - Trees

Thanks for looking and if you've left me a comment I really appreciate it. have a lovely day whatever you're doing. x

Inks and Powder

Blue skies and sunshine (but cold) here today after all the rain yesterday - mad when you think just across the Pennines 40 minutes drive away they once again are experiencing floods. Although one of the downsides of living so high up on the top of a moor means you experience high winds 💨and snow ⛄ the upside is at least you don't get flooded out💧⛆🌊!

Because the weather was so bad yesterday I spent a very nice cosy time in the craft space doing what I do best - making messy!

I have never tried hot glue embossing but continuing with my decision to try out new techniques and re visit old ones and after seeing a similar card to this on Pinterest the small piece of metal left on the desk from my card here seemed to say 'Use Me'! - So I did!

I ran the metal through an embossing folder and then dropped some Alco Inks on it and simply let them run.

Out with the glue gun! Confess don't use the glue gun a lot (cos I am VERY messy), but am really pleased that I only managed to get the glue where I wanted it and not all over everywhere else!
A few blobs, then gently heated again to make warm, added some gold embossing powder and heated again.
Once finished I matted it onto an off cut of gold card before putting on the card base and stamping the sentiment.
Another 'man' card I think?

Liked doing this technique so the glue gun is still out........😏😏

CAS Stencil - November

Time for another challenge at CAS Stencil and this month our host Linda has chosen the theme of 'Stencil Monoprint'.

If you've never done a stencil monoprint before I promise you will be hooked once you try it. There are some video links on the challenge blog to give you some tips and instructions, and whilst you're there have a look at the lovely examples done by my team mates and our Guest designer Lucie 
So here's my card -

Love these colour combos - Fossilized Amber, Peacock Feathers, Mermaid Lagoon for the monoprint frame.
Once dry I cut out the inside frame with a stitched die.

The background behind was done by smooshing the colours on my craft mat with a small piece of watercolour card.

I used a tiny 'circles' stamp (and it WAS tiny) inked in Salty Ocean.  It reminded me of bubbles.

A simple white die cut anchor and a sentiment stamp finished it off.

 I really enjoyed this challenge and hope that you will find time to make something using one of your stencils and share it with us in the gallery!

November Challenge at Stamping Sensations

Our November challenge at Stamping Sensations, is  'Traditional Christmas Colours' - so we want to see creations made with the colours - Red/Green/Gold - any or all!
Another great prize on offer from our sponsors,  Chocolate Baroque - pop over to the challenge blog and see what you could win!
I have been enjoying myself with some 'new to me' stamps which someone else has pre loved and I am loving all over again!

This make is a mix of a Pine Branch stamp (old one - make unknown!) and a 3 bauble stamp ( new to me - 'Adornments' by Penny Black).

Started by stamping the pine branch first, inked up just one of the baubles on the stamp, spritzed it lightly and using the Misti stamped it, then just kept adding more depth of colour until I was happy.
I drew a line with a black pen for the hanger.

A soft watercolour wash for the sky and watercoloured the 'snow' before adding the sentiment and spattering some acrylic paint.

This is very much a learning process for me and I am enjoying it a lot, not least because I was really happy with how this turned out!

Sharing over at -
PB&More - Christmas
Dragonfly Dreams - Christmas/Winter
CHNC - Anything Christmas
MIUCB - Christmas/Watercolour
Country View - Hand Stamped

Metal

CAS Mix Up has the challenge of 'Oxidized Metal' this month.

I wanted to try a 'new to me' technique using ink refills on mirri card  - as I have tons of it which I don't use - but don't have many ink refills as I usually just buy new pads when they dry out!
When I went to find the refills I possess 2 were empty and the other had dried up! So it was back to a tried and trusted technique using a thin flexible metal bought when I was doing a lot of mixed media and now a little neglected.

I had it in my head to do a 'man' card too as I so rarely make them.

I took my piece of copper metal and dry embossed with a 'Cogs' folder  then used my clear embossing pad on it.  Gold, Silver and Copper embossing powders sprinkled on top. I re did this a couple of times until I got the effect I wanted.

Once dry I swiped a Stazon Ink pad across the top.

I fiddled about with layouts and frames for a while but in the end I chopped up my metal piece into 2 strips!
Simply matted onto black card before placing on the card base and stamped the sentiment.

To be honest I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed messing about with metal  - so whilst I had the metal pack out I embossed a couple more pieces and have made my hands very very messy using alco ink on them without gloves.....😒😒

As well as CAS Mix Up, I am also sharing my man card at
Rainbow Card Challenge - Magically Metallic
Sisterhood of Crafters - CAS