The Weigh In

Time for another challenge at Stamping Sensations and this month the theme is 'FEATURE A CREATURE'. (Don't forget that stamping has to be the main focus of your entry!)
Our sponsors are the terrific Be Creative who are offering another fab prize of £35 worth of embossing crystals!.

Do you remember every single stamp you have? This House Mouse stamp was tucked away into a drawer of wood backed stamps that I very rarely look at! Found it whilst looking for something else. Had completely forgotten I owned it and as I don't possess many animal stamps I can't understand why I'd not remembered it.

Stamped image and coloured with Promarkers. The background was rubbed with pastel chalk and sealed.
I think the background paper must be at least 5 years old!
The sentiment was from TLC and the cupcake was cut from a snippet left in an old paper pad.

I used a Fiskars leaf punch on the odd bits of card left over from the matting and layering. (Playground for me then!!)
A simple band of cream grossgrain ribbon and some dark bronze pearls finished the front and I used the same papers on the inside.

Hope you will have a go with us this month!

Other challenges -
Crafting With Dragonflies - Animals
Stamping Boutique - Furry Friends
Aud Sentiments - A/Goes with Sentiment

Enjoying some glorious sunshine on my few days rest at home - hope it stays!x

Blogger Blues.

Have been travelling since my last post and so tired at the end of the day even when I could get internet connection I couldn't stay awake long enough to post anything! A lovely week though (even if cold and (Tuesday) very very wet in the South ( so much so on Tuesday we had to abandon ship and play indoors!!), but the week was spolit a little by two things -
1.  The 6 and a half hour drive home last night - entry slip onto M6 shut so stayed on M1, then the M1 closed at the junction with the M62. NIGHTMARE.
2.  Mr Blogger didn't publish my GDT post for CAS on Sunday. NOT HAPPY!

So I am posting it now and I apologise to the lovely people at CAS on Sunday on behalf of Mr Nasty Blogger for it not being shown on the day their challenge went live.

The theme for the challenge is SPARKLE. So we had to add some bling!
This card is definitely another quick one but I was quite happy with the result.

I used a stamp I have had for a while and simply gold embossed. Some little sparklies added and a torn strip of vellum also gold embossed with a greeting. Finished!

Challenges -
Addicted to Stamps - Anything Goes
The Crafty Addicts - Anything Goes with Bling

Thanks for looking. Will be back later to catch up with you all - but right now the washing needs to be done! x

Quickie!

A very quick post with a share as I am making my way down to the South Coast for a trip to the Isle of Wight this weekend followed by a couple of days in mainland Hampshire! (Weather here in the North is not very nice so hoping southern climes may at least be dry!)

So in keeping with sun sea and sand, here's a little effort made with a scrap of sandpaper after being inspired by a talented lady from SCS called Darlene.

Just an inky panel (Tumbled Glass for the sky and Salty Ocean for the sea)

Bit of sandpaper stolen from dear husband's tool box and my fave little birdies from the Wetlands set by SU.

Loved it when I saw Darlene's make and am happy with my copy!

As I used a left over piece for my inky panel I am paying a quick visit to the Playground (wonder if my 'stolen scrap of sandpaper counts as a snippet too???!)  

Challenges -
Fab n Funky - No designer papers
Sisterhood of Crafters - No designer papers
ATS&M - CAS

Have a great weekend everyone!

Finally!

Followers of my blog will know that a couple of weeks ago I was asked if I could make a Wedding card. Well who doesn't like a wedding???? The answer is ME. Because as soon as I said 'Of Course I can', I was given a list of very specific instructions as to what I had to include!!
I started the card without much enthusiasm I confess. As I tried to work out how to incorporate everything my already low enthusiasm diminished even more.
But my Mum always said that you should never give up  - so I didn't and think now I have presented something reasonably passable.
Instructions - 1. " One of your 'stand-up' cards (hope she meant Easel LOL), 2. Te couple are in their 50's so no 'young brides or grooms' (???), 3. He likes trains  4. She's a musician  5. Please add their names too
SIMPLES......................................................... not.
So here's the finished article. A front view and a stand up view

I used the brick embossing folder on the bottom to try and make it look like the couple were dancing towards the vintage train - they are raised up from the card so it does have a perspective effect in real life. I think the bride's head-dress has a vintage 20's feel to it so hopefully that counts as 'not young'!!
The clouds folder was a mag freebie and I rubbed some pale blue pastel chalk to give the sky a bit of colour.
I put the same grey shiny (not mirri) card behind the die cut train (the left over from the matting piece used) and punched out a few musical notes for steam.
The 'Just Married' sign was PC generated and hung with some embroidery thread. The card is in fact bright white so I mustn't be very good at pic taking as it looks quite dull here! 
Used the same musical notes punch for the base and added another sign with the couple's names secured with a silver heart brad.
Heaved a sigh of relief when this was finished - can only hope the person who ordered it thinks it is OK!

Challenges -
Allsorts - Vintage
Crafting with Dragonflies - Wedding
CFAS - Embossing
Creative Moments - Black/White and Grey
Crafty Catz - Dies and Punches


Thanks for visiting - have a lovely day whatever you're doing. x

TEN DAYS????????

Cannot believe I have been away from my blog for 10 days! Are you all still out there???
I am really sorry that I have not come calling - real life has caught up with me. Situation not made any better by dear husband deciding to injure his back last Thursday. We were supposed to be going on the current President's tour to Cornwall this week - but here I am at home having to do most things as he is laid up. Chiropractor Monday, again on Thursday and then we hope he will be feeling a bit better and able to get about.
So consequently, no time to craft but in true 'Blue Peter' tradition here is one I made earlier!

I didn't have a lot of man cards in my stash and am not very bright when it comes to layouts and designs so I say a big thank you to Beverley who provided the inspiration for this card.

I have been trying to use up the coloured cardstock and be a little more adventurous with stamping in colours other than black and brown. I am still not 100% sure I like using coloured card as bases but have to use it up somehow!

The stamps were all inked with Adirondack 'Stonewashed'. It's that long since I used this ink pad it has now nearly dried up - I only just managed to get a decent impression with it (as you can tell from the sentiment stamp) and it has now been firmly placed in the bin.

I used a lot of snippets for this card too so will be away to the Playground as it's been such a long time since I visited.

I think if I did this card again I would stamp in a darker blue - although it looks OK in real life.

Challenges -
PB & More - Anything Goes
Fussy & Fancy - Birthdays
Stamps + Fun - Male
OSAAT - Vintage

I intend to spend tonight visiting you all and getting on with a commissioned card - in between seeing to the 'patient'!
Thanks for coming to see today - appreciate it. x

Birthday!

For my DT card this month at Stamping Sensations, I made my friend a birthday card.

Our challenge is Anything Goes which I know will be a favourite with everyone - please remember though - WE ARE A STAMPING CHALLENGE!!! This means that the focal point of your project has to be stamped!

My friend likes soft green colours and likes vintage as long as it's not too 'over the top'!

had fingers crossed that this was just right - and happily for me she loved it!

The clock stamp is by Anne Marie, cut with a nestie label and coloured with Distress Inks.

I sponged some Peeled Paint DI round the edge as it was a near enough match to the polka dot paper and used a script stamp from the same set randomly stamping on both polka dot paper and the nestie.

 
The sentiment stamp is from the Sweet Paris set.

A lot of odd scraps used here - the lace across the diagonal, the hand dyed green seam binding and the organza rose are all odd bits from the scraps box

The heart button and the little tab are from the Sweet Paris collection and I added some green pearls to finish the front and continued the theme inside.

Other challenges -

OSAAT - Vintage

CWD - Vintage/Shabby

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - A/Goes

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

Where is Spring?

Woke up this  morning to a covering of snow outside. Does the weather not know this is almost MAY??? Yesterday we had hailstones and thunderstorms and this morning snow. Ridiculous!
So dreaming of sunnier times I made this -

I had a small piece of watercolour card left over so used it!

Smooshing with Spun Sugar and Picked Raspberry DI's with a teeny bit of Squeezed Lemonade which hasn't shown up very well in the pic but is very subtle on the actual panel.

The stamps are Inkylicious 'Humming Bird Garden'.
Matted onto black then onto the already matted base card with 3d pads.
The sentiment is (as those of you who follow me regularly will know!) one of my bestest bestest favourites!

Heating is on and I may have to venture out for food... (cos there's none in the kitchen!) - other than that I ain't budging from the craftie space!
(Apart from a quick visit to the Playground to see if Sarn has some warming soup or even better some hot choccie topped with cream and marshmallows!)

Other Challenges -
Sweet Stamping - Pink and Girlie
OSAAT - A/Goes with Wings
Crafty Creations - Black/White/Colour
Simon Says Stamp - A/Goes
Crafty Gals Corner - A/Goes

Thanks for having a look today - Hoping you are all warm and dry wherever you are! x

Sunny Days?

We have had almost a week now of sunny skies - all change yesterday afternoon when it became really cold again and this morning we even had a snow shower!  Thankfully it didn't last nor did the snow stick!

Perhaps inspired by the sunny skies I was prompted to make a 'summery' card.
(I have a vague notion that this may have been similar one seen somewhere else so if it is I thank you for the idea!).
I make my own card bases so am sometimes left with odd sized pieces which are too small when folded to make note cards - I try to use up those pieces for stamping and layering and for trying out inky colour sponging! 

This piece was masked off with the post it notes (whatever did we do before them!) and inked with a Versamark ink called Key Lime. (The dark shadow on the right of the panel was an accident - I think there was some ink on the recycled post it hence the smudgy bit - but I thought it looked OK so just carried on!

The Indigo Blu script stamp was inked with Memento Pear Tart as was the sentiment.
The Queen Anne Lace stamps were inked in SU's Calypso Coral and I ran DI pen Shabby Shutters over the top along the stems - hence the different stem colours!
Matted it onto some other left over coloured cardstock and added a lime green shoestring knotted ribbon.

Challenges -
CAS on Sunday - Floral/Stamp/Ribbon
Creative Corner - Words
Aud Sentiments - Anything Goes
Classic Design Team -  Ch#1 Anything Goes

I was requested yesterday to make a card for a wedding. Sounds fine doesn't it? Until the next sentence was - they are in their fifties, he likes model trains and she is a musician who plays several instruments so please incorporate those elements? I have visions of a groom driving a train on a musical note scale railway track and the bride sitting on the train engine whilst playing the violin... only problem is I have no idea how I am going to achieve this!!!! Oh Joy.....
Have a great day! xx

A Quickie!

I found a scrap piece of card obviously leftover from something else -can't remember what! - just shows how tidy this desk is doesn't it? It could have been there for the best part of year or more - it was tucked away under a box of coloured cardstock which I bought last year!

Anyway I quite liked the colours I'd used to sponge it so decided to use it up.

The challenge at Less Is More is to use 3 stamps or the same stamp 3 times. Well I obviously used the same stamp and more than 3 times - BUT I did use 3 different coloured inks (White embossed, Forest Moss and Crushed Olive) so am hoping that counts - if not then I hope I will be forgiven!
The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted.

Had a lovely day out today at the amazing Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens in Ripon. Weather here has been glorious - warm and sunny and it must have been warm cos dear husband took off his sweater and walked round in his shirt sleeves!!
Was really nice to see some blue skies too!

Other Challenges -
AAA - Anything Goes
Pixies Snippets Playground Week 225

Weather forecast is for another sunny day tomorrow so hope to get out and about once I've done the washing! Hope the sun is shining where you are. x

Friday!

The stamps in the SU 'Easy Events' set are small but are really good for making quick small notecards. Instead of making a small 3" square card like I intended I somehow ended up with this!

I had a little play with the flower 'thank you' stamp.
Stamped it several times in a line along a sheet of card  and coloured it using Cracked Pistachio DI.

Loaded the brush and flicked the paint across the card to get the tiny blobs.
Cut out the squares with a nestie then matted before layering onto the base card.
Greeting also stamped with Cracked Pistachio DI.

This must have looked OK cos when one of my friends saw it she took it straight away to put into her 'just in case I need one quickly' drawer!!

Instead of chopping up the stamped panel next time I think I will have a line of these cheerful little petals perhaps stamped onto an inked background...... and should I have highlighted one of the flowers on each of the tiles with some glossy accents???
(Just thinking out loud!!!)

Challenges -
Creative Corner - Spring Flowers
CRAFT - CAS
MAWTT - Spring Flowers
C4AS - Bingo (Flowers/Stamp/Girly)
Paper Shelter - Flowers everywhere

Had some reasonable weather this week and we have managed to get out and about a couple of days. Today however we are back to the usual grey skies and rain!
Hopefully the weekend will be drier! Enjoy your weekend! x   

Sunshine!

My worst fears were not realised thankfully and yesterday was a lovely bright and sunny day - even though it was cold!
 My blog followers will remember me saying that I didn't have any sympathy cards in my stash when I needed one and I have made quite a few since my tiled effort here.

Sharing another one today and I have now got a small obsession with white embossing and watercolouring - so there's likely to be a few more in a similar vein!

There was something quite therapeutic in making a card which I hope is all about serenity and simplicity.

The stamp is one of the very first sets I bought and am not sure if the company is still in existence.
It's seen ink only rarely which is a shame as it could be used for lots of occasions not just condolence (note to self - make a batch of CAS note cards with this stamp set!)

I used Dusty Concord Distress Ink for the SU sentiment and watercolour pastels for the flower.
Can I say that I like it? I do like it! (Although my watercolouring of the leaves mightn't be the best!!!)

Challenges
CAS on Sunday - Flowers
CASology - Key Word 'Sprout'
Just Add Ink - Sympathy
Allsorts - Purple Passion
Stampin Boutique - Flowers
Simply Create Too - Purple + Green

Thanks again to everyone who visits and leaves comments. Really appreciate you all! x

April snow!

Was a lovely morning then suddenly at about 6pm it began to ..... SNOW!!! Can't believe it - it's the Club's SUMMER Opening Day tomorrow and we had snow tonight! Thankfully it didn't stick but I wish Spring would hurry up and show it's face.

I am a bit of a 'lurker' at a challenge blog called 'The Card Concept'. I love the inspiration given by the DT who have a diverse range of styles and limitless ideas!

I have occasionally entered their challenges - this week I wanted to enter 'cos not only is it their 2nd Birthday but also because I really liked the photo!

So keeping the music script and the blingy in my mind I set to and made a card based on another I had made as a commission for a friend some time ago to give to a pianist friend who was going through a bad time.

The stamp set is I think by Hero Arts and I have had it for years!
Just kept clean lines and sufficient white space to satisfy the CAS look I think.
 I used white linen card for the base and the blingy is from my stash.
The original photo is here and hope I have done it justice!

As I used up odd bits for the stamped large spotty circle and the smaller script circle and a larger off cut for the music paper I am sneaking into the Playground after lights out and seeing if there's any mischief I can get up to then blame someone else!

It's been nice having this time at home recently. I had forgotten how therapeutic it is sitting here cutting up bits of paper and opening ink pads!

Am making up for the summer months and me being absent again by posting as often as I can now!
Thanks for looking today! x  

Maybe not CAS enough?

Have had a week of doing lots of bitty stuff.... and feeling like I haven't really achieved anything! Made inky messy and a few background panels but then Mr Mojo went walkabout so they're all here piled on the desk looking very sad!
Made a Birthday Card last night for a friend tho' - so will share it.

First Confession - I do not like yellow!
Second Confession - I think this looks OK!
Third Confession - I wanted this to be CAS but am not sure it is CAS enough!

Used SU's Daffodil Delight ink for the wood stamp (also SU), for the flower heads (Clearly Besotted) and the greeting.
Green stems/tiny leaves inked in Certainly Celery.
Some twine and a couple of pearls - all done!


Even better, I used up some yellow card which has been laying about for ages!
I am trying to be a little more adventurous with using different coloured inks for stamping and to everyone out there who has given me inspiration to leave the black ink alone and do something different - thank you!

Challenges
Cardz 4 Galz- Springtime
Double D - Yellow
CASology - Cue Word 'Sprout'
CAS on Sunday - Flowers

It actually feels like Spring here today - some blue sky for a change (although the temperatures are not up to much!). Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

White Space but not white!

Just lately I have made and posted a card only to find a couple of days later that it would have fitted the challenge theme at Less Is More! And then to compound my frustration I haven't any time (or ideas) to make another one!!
Happened again this week when the challenge posted was 'white space but not white' and my grey tiled effort HERE posted on Thursday would have fitted!
But this week I did found a spare hour to make one to submit

This really IS a CAS card, inspired by Pinterest and made in super quick time. I have already started on a couple more with different coloured bases and may bundle them together for note cards, hence the absence of any sentiment.
The textured coloured cardstock in my stash has been very much neglected in favour of white and cream so this challenge was a good opportunity to dig it out!
I used a flourish embossing folder across the centre of the card to break up the expanse of black.
The little 'tile' was made using odd scraps of white and aqua card.
The white piece was stamped with an Indigo Blu script stamp in Versafine Smokey Gray (stamped onto another scrap piece first to remove some of the ink). I used Versamagic Oasis Green for the butterfly stamp (found amongst a pile of old stuff but just the right size!)
Just layered the stamped bit onto the aqua then onto a scrap of black and mounted with foam pads.
Quick, simple and am happy!
Calling into the Playground with my make and also making a call to Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. x
 

For the Girls

This months challenge at Stamping Sensations is 'ONE FOR THE GIRLS' and we have PDA as our sponsors who once gain have offered a great prize - £40 to spend at their online store!
Get out a stamp and come and join us!
I have done a shabby vintagey girly card as my DT offering this month -

I decided it was time to get out the sewing machine again and stitched the layers of papers from the Sweet Paris paper pad.
The stamp used for the focal point of the card was (I think) a free one with a magazine. Coloured it with Distress Inks.
The wooden frame was also coloured with DI (Victorian Velvet).
I stamped the Tower and fussy cut. The doily, lace and pins were all from my stash and I finished it off by adding a metal frame and a couple of pearls.
Inside decorated to match.

Other Challenges -
AYLI - Bingo board (Fussy/Lace/Pearls - cos I like vintage and shabby!)
MTTC - Girly
CCCE - Paris
ABC - E is for Everything

Thanks for looking - have a great day! x  

Sponging and Stamping

I went to the card stash this week and found that I didn't have a single sympathy or condolence card - you can't believe it can you - all the cards I make and not one sympathy one left when I need one.
To be fair, I DID have a few but I suppose people take them to have in 'just in case'.

I don't often use grey backgrounds for cards but having seen something similar on Pinterest thought I would give it a go. I think the card that inspired me was done by girlgeek who uses a lot of inchie tiles in her projects.

I am quite happy with the way this turned out - using grey pearlised cardstock gave a lustre  and more interesting finish instead of a flat one.

The 3 'tiles' were odd bits of white card and I sponged Tumbled Glass, Squeezed Lemonade and edged the bottom of each tile with a little Peeled Paint before cutting them to same size rectangles.

The stamps are mostly from SU's Silhouette Sentiments. I used Versafine Smokey Grey ink as I though black may look too harsh and I wanted a softer effect.
The sentiment (also from an SU set) simply embossed with silver.

Challenges -
Addicted to Stamps - Make Your Mark
CCC- CAS
Crafty Gals Corner - Anything Goes
The Crafty Addicts - Anything Goes/Springtime
Penny's Paper Crafty - Anything Goes

We've had quite a nice day here for a change - the lawn got a haircut this morning and so did I! Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Two in two days!

I go AWOL for a couple of weeks then here I am sharing another make - post number 2 in 2 days - must be a record for me!
We are in the middle of thunderstorms and heavy rain/sleet and I got fed up catching up with the ironing so sat down at the crafty desk...

The lovely Loll is so encouraging (but sickeningly talented!!!!!) and her takes on the 'smooshing' technique made me want to have a go.
You may remember that when I posted my first effort HERE I said I had made a mess with another piece using different colours.

The 'spoilt smooshy' was left on the desk and today I chopped off the 'bad bit' which left me with this piece big enough to go on a 5 inch square card! 

The pretty Cosmos stamp is from Technique Tuesday and is NBUS so am showing this to Darnell!

Embossed with white then coloured using a mix of Mermaid Lagoon and Cracked Pistachio DI's, adding a bit of Golden Malachite and Golden Pear Cosmic Shimmer to the inks as I went along - the finished result is lovely and shimmery which doesn't quite show up in the pic - but am pleased with it (for a change!!)

I used the 'Thinking of You' sentiment as I thought it could perhaps be used as a sympathy/condolence card as well as a general note card.

Challenges -
4 Crafty Chicks - CAS
Addicted to CAS - Delicate
Fantasy Stampers - In the Springtime (I think Cosmos are Spring flowers??? LOL)
Addicted to Stamps - A/Goes
OSAAT - A/g with Embossing


Hope you are all enjoying Easter, thanks for calling in - appreciate any comments you leave. x

Returned!

Arrived back after a brilliant couple of weeks on the Bowls England President's tour in Cyprus (my turn next year to sort one of these out heaven help me!). 85 people - bowls, drink, food and laughs.. oh and some sun too!

Thought that I had better post something though as it's been ages since my last share. 

This was a commissioned card and was one of several golden wedding cards ordered by the same person for several of her friends who were all celebrating anniversaries in the same year!
Consequently I had to resort to using a layout I have used before and inspired by Debby many moons ago!

The banners were all embossed and die cut from oddments of  cream linen card. The stamp is from the Stempelglede Vintage Garden set and  I like it a lot.
I cut out the butterfly then simply swept it across the ink pad and gold embossed - I didn't want a thick solid effect and I was happy with the way this turned out.

I hand made the rolled roses using a die (think it is a Marianne one but don't quote me!), punched out a couple of leaves and a gold mirri card die cut flourish. I added a pearl and gold wire stem for more blingy and the sentiment is from LOTV.

The pic background has a bit of a bluish tinge to it - should be white so obviously I had the camera on the wrong setting! Card has gone now so can't re-take it!

Using up the snippets means I can pop into the Playground this week - won't be able to hang about long as the washing machine has been on overdrive since we got home and I need to make a start on the dreaded ironing!
I will catch up with you all over the next few days and hope all is OK with you all in blogland!

Challenges -
Allsorts - Wings
Alphabet - B for Butterflies
Jade's Sparkling Butterflies - Use Die Cuts

Kindness

A non crafting friend bought me a complete Santoro Glitter Decoupage Book and some matching papers last year which were in a 'bargain bin'. She hadn't a clue what they were but thought that 'you could make some quick cards for your charity box and they might make a couple of pound"!
I thanked her very much and didn't like to say that I am not normally a decoupage type person - mainly because I am rubbish at cutting out - so imagine my relief when I saw that these were already pre-cut!

Shamefacedly I must say though that it was a while since I attempted to make any cards with the contents but can now announce that to date I have done 3!

They weren't bad to make either and I only had to add some fancy embellies.
I used some peachy vintage lace, hand dyed and scrunched up seam binding tied it into a bow and added a resin rose in the centre.
Popped on a few pearls and card finished.  Although I don't think I will ever become a completely decoupage card person I confess that because I didn't have to think too much it was quite nice making these up.

(Whether I do the whole book is another matter - but think they will be good to use when Mr Mojo disappears!).
Still away from home - hoping you're all having a nice day whatever you're doing. x

That 'Perfect' stamp again

Does anyone know if stamps wear out? I'm just wondering how long I have left for this sentiment stamp which is definitely the most used one I possess!


Another card for the stash box and one which I enjoyed colouring.

The bird image is from SU Moon Lake. Because we had a big garden with lots of trees in our old house we were blessed by visits from many blue tits - it has been something I missed since moving here - as we are so open there's not many trees near - hence no visits from these lovely little birds.
So I tried to capture the colours of those that used to visit us when colouring the stamp.

The houndstooth check DP was an old left over piece as was the scrap used for the scalloped frame - I think they were both from Basic Grey. I know I used the papers a lot as they were this lovely lime green with pinks and browns.
I added a sequin and a few teeny gems after stamping the sentiment.

Am still on tour so again hoping that Mr Blogger behaves himself and publishes!
Catch up with you all soon. x

Spots and Scraps!

Had a bit of a mooch about in the 'box of leftovers' recently and found several pieces of spotty card.

Strangely enough they were all roughly the same size - so I tidied the edges of four pieces and used them as a background.

I used up a pile of white snippets too so am feeling quite smug with myself!

Sorry the pic is not the best - no idea why.

A few odds and ends of ribbon, some pearls and a butterfly punch and these have to rate among the quickest cards on record - (hope they don't look like it!) - all done and dusted in less than half an hour.

Looking at the darker pink one am now not sure if the ribbon might have been better placed straight rather than on an angle... but too late now!

Snippets Playground for me I think - if I can get an internet connection long enough to link it up this week - (am away on tour)!

Thanks for having a look today. Have a great day whatever you're doing.x

Smooshed

Having been inspired (on more than one occasion) by the very very clever Loll who is another 'Queen of the CAS' style I really wanted to try and perfect the 'smooshing' technique. 
Tried a lot and failed miserably - too wet, too dry, not enough ink, blotchy rather than a lovely swirly colour finish etc etc etc!

However, practice makes perfect so I persevered and finally managed two pieces of smooshed background that I was happy with.

The first was a lovely blue/green combo then I stamped a sentiment on it and made a mess. It wasn't only the paper that had a blue background - the air saw it's fair share!

Here is the second piece using Fossilised Amber, Abandoned Coral and Squeezed Lemonade DI.
Thankfully the stamping and white embossing of the sentiment went unhindered this time.
Added a few teeny blingy gems to the Chloe stem die cuts and mounted onto white cardstock.

Not too bad... and am determined to try and rescue the other piece - even if it means it's only a very small background piece or I use it to cut out a flower with!
The only annoying thing is I tried this and am getting better then Loll comes up with 'smooshing with acetate' and I now have to practice that!
Loll and Bonnie have a new Challenge Blog called CAS Mix Up so as my card featured the 3 things required Smooshing (Watercolouring), Stamping (Sentiment), Your choice (Die Cutting) am paying them a visit.
Also the smooshy piece and the die cuts were from odd scraps so it's the Playground for me too - (if I can get my head through the gate cos Miss Di selected my poppy card amongst her top picks last week - and I'm told she picked it without having any of Sarn's hooch either!!)

Challenges -
LIM - Citrus
Dragonfly Dreams - Use a Die Cut
CUYL - Use a Die Cut

Thanks for looking - appreciate any tips and comments! Have a nice day whatever you're doing. x

Bring On Spring

The challenge at Stamping Sensations this month is Flower Power! Our sponsors this month are the terrific    'be Creative!     and they have given us a great prize to offer - pop over to the Sensations blog and have a look!  I hope you will share all your floral themed creations with us this month!
I got out an old and rarely used stamp set for this card - but Ranunculus relate to Spring so the stamp set got an airing as hopefully Spring IS just round the corner. They are gorgeous blooms in real life and I love the upright stems and pretty flower heads.

I opted for a CAS card as I didn't want to detract from the flowers.
I still have the eebie jeebies when stamping direct onto card - this one only took 2 attempts and then as you can see I ended up making one layer into a couple anyway!
After stamping I coloured with Distress Inks - Picked Raspberry for the flower heads and Mowed Lawn for the leaves. Mounted onto a coordinating pink card before wrapping round the pink grossgrain ribbon, then layered onto the base card.
I added a couple of pink sparklies (as a girl has to have a bit of bling somewhere....)
Finished with the sentiment - which I think rates amongst one of my faves.
Other Challenges -
Gem of a Challenge - Spring
Crafty Friends - Floral
Suzy B's - A/Goes with a spring twist
The Pencil Case - New blooms/spring flowers
Just Us Girls - Flowers

Hope you can find time to join in with us this month - and if you can't think of anything to do please have a peek at my teamies makes - am sure you'll be inspired there! x

Missing?

Have had a week of doing 'bitty' stuff since I came back from the Men's National Presentation (was a nice weekend and of course I stepped up another rung on the Presidential ladder to Senior Vice President!)
Strange though I feel I have been busy without accomplishing a lot.. and as usual when I am in this type of mood Mr Mojo is hibernating.
I felt that I had to make SOMETHING - so ended up 'caseing' a card which was inspired by the amazingly talented Birgit.

My fave white linen textured card with the centre panel from the snippets box! I inked the edge of the centre panel with Pumice Stone DI, then positioned the die onto it and sponged inside the die to create the shadow.

Odd scraps of red and green card used for the poppy die, glued the poppy heads over the green stems.

Used Glossy Accents on the poppy heads and once dry put the die on top of the sponged shadow.
The sentiment was stamped using Shabby Shutters DI.
Randomly stitched round the edge of the panel before mounting onto the base card.
Some red pearls to finish.

Challenges -
Snippets Playground - week 218
Crafting By Designs - A/Goes
Creative Moments - A/Goes with sentiment on front
Unicorn - CAS

Thanks for calling in today - now have a coffee so will be in blogland for an hour or two!
Have a great day whatever you're doing and here's the Senior Vice Presidential pic - can't believe it is a year since I was elected onto the Presidential Team!

Another one for the Christmas Box!

Am surprising myself as I have managed to make a couple of Christmas cards - what's the betting though that I still won't have enough by the time December comes?!

Anyway, it's 25th of the month so that's Rudolph Day at Scrappy Mo's.
Here's mine -

I coveted this Penny Black stamp for a long time and finally got my grubby mitts on it just before Christmas!
Cream base card, gold mirri mat and some gold embossing powder! Job done - so made a couple for the box.
The sentiment stamp is an old wooden one I have had for a while. My stamping wasn't as sharp as it could have been with the sentiment.. there's a few tiny flicks of gold where they shouldn't be! LOL

Other challenges -
CCC- Anything Goes
ABC- D is for Don't Overdo It

I am off to Coventry tomorrow until Sunday, so wishing you all a great weekend and catch up with you soon. x

Been Tango'd!!

Wet, windy cold and miserable here and am away later today until tomorrow night on a course so am hoping the winds ease down a bit for the drive.

I have looked at those who use bright card stock on Pinterest and their own blogs so effortlessly with envy and have kept saying to myself this is a way of using up that tons of coloured card you posses instead of just using it as matting for images and patterned papers. So yesterday I took the plunge and CASE'd a card I saw a couple of years ago, making it with one of the brightest colours I have.

Talk about 'you've been tango'd'!!

(Think I might do a purple one next - as I have a friend who simply loves purple and it means another sheet of card used up.)

The image and sentiment from SU Bloom With Hope set, stamped and white embossed, a small scrap of grossgrain ribbon in the same colour as the card and a couple of teeny pearls. Finito!

I resisted the temptation to put more blingy bits around the flower heads! Quite pleased with this CAS effort although still a long way to go to convince myself that some cards DO NOT NEED lots of embellies!!

Challenges -
Allsorts - Birthday Wishes
Crafty Catz - CAS
Choc, Coffee & Cards - Anything Goes
RRR - Celebrate

Thanks for taking a look - and thanks for any comments/tips you leave me. Have a great weekend. xx

Fly

Lots of CAS and case'd cards likely over the next few posts I think!

Have long tried to perfect CAS type cards - mostly because without lots of embellies like flowers and bows they can be posted!  And there's something about minimalist stuff that just at this moment in time appeals to me more than anything else! That's not to say I'll abandon fussy and fancy completely, just that I have a bit of an urge to CASE those clean and simple perfectionists I have long admired. Loll, Birgit, Lisa, Sarah, Hannelie and a host of others too numerous to mention all make CAS look effortless - don't they annoy you?? LOL

Made this card with leftovers of my fave white linen card so shall go across to the Playground to see if they're all behaving themselves in  Miss Di's absence - likely I shall be counting Sarn's grey hairs 'cos I bet there's more than last week......

The wood background stamp is by SU and I used Versafine Smokey Grey ink.
The butterfly MAY have been a freebie - watercoloured and fussy cut after stamping, then lifted with silicone glue to give a bit of dimension.
The sentiment stamp definitely WAS a freebie!
Rounded off the bottom corners and added a few sparklies in different sizes. Job done.

Other Challenges - Sweet Stampin - CAS,  Bunny Zoes - Wings,  OLLCB - CAS, HIMCR- Super Scraps Saturday.

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

Friday Blues

Weekend almost here and I have spent this week coughing and spluttering and generally feeling sorry for myself!! Trouble with colds is they make you feel so damned MISERABLE!!! But it has made me feel grot and not feeling like doing much - which explains why the wash bag is full and the ironing pile is untouched for a week.... (no change there then really!)

I was lucky to win a challenge recently and spent the voucher on 3 Kaisercraft stamp sets! So of course, even with the cold I had to stamp.
This fountain stamp is called 'The Lake House'. All the papers are from Raspberry Road's 'Country Picnic' set. Stamped the border stamp round the edges then distressed and used Weathered Wood DI.

Coloured it using Promarkers, adding some Perfect Pearls for the flower centres.
The sentiment was from another of the Kaisercraft sets called 'Enchanted Garden'. Distressed the same then stamped the rose border along the background card, just adding a little blue pearl. 

A few more pearls, a bit more distressing and some broderie lace finished it off! Papers also carried on into the inside.

Challenges -

Time Out - Inspired by Words (Flower)
Butterfly Challenge - Stamping/Sapphire
I Love Promarkers - Bingo (Sentiment/Free/lace)
Passion for Promarkers - Papertastic

Have a great weekend everyone. x

Love is all around!

I don't do Valentines. Never have. Think it's a load of tosh!! Why should there be one designated day dedicated to showing someone else you care???? Do it all year round you loveless lot!!
Valentines Day = Money Making Exercise in my book!  Rant over.
Going to now spread a little LURRRVE with this card!!

I really liked this image from Mo Manning and have used it many times over the last couple of years.
Coloured it using Promarkers and then rubbed some pastel chalks for the sky and ground - merely to take off the stark whiteness of the card as the papers have more of a creamy background than white.
I think the papers were originally from a Christmas Paper Pad but they seemed to fit OK for the 'love' theme!

I followed the sketch from this weeks challenge at 'Card and Scrap' HERE and based the colours on the pic at Cupcake Inspirations HERE.
Sentiment is from SU 'Good Greetings' set, cut the oval with a nestie, matted onto red and punched out a couple of little hearts.
The ribbon was a challenge win from eons ago and I added a red button secured with some twine.

Challenges -
Fan-tastic Tuesday -  A/G. Twist - Sweetheart
OSAAT - Love is in the Air
Dragonfly Journeys - Queen of Hearts
Eceltic Ellapu - Love Actually
Come and Get It - 1 image, 2 papers, 3 embellies (ribbon, button, punched hearts)
Corrosive Challenge - Love, Love, Love
DP2 - A/G with Mo image

It's a wild day here! Perfect for sitting up here listening to the wind and rain! Thanks for taking the time to pay me a visit today - have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Feathers

We have an 'Anything Goes' theme set this month at Stamping Sensations and as our sponsors are the fab Visible Image, I have done a remake of a card I made a couple of years ago, using some of their awesome stamps!

I steered away from my usual linen card and went for a white leather look textured card instead and layered the bits onto black.
I considered an all over inky bright coloured background and may yet do a couple of small notecards with this wonderful bird before it goes back into it's file, but I wanted a stark card with impact so the basic white and black with a touch of cream it ended up.

I stamped the feathers with Versamark - one onto an old dictionary page and the other just straight onto dark cream paper and fussy cut them both.

The bird  and sentiment were stamped twice - once onto the main panel and then again onto a scrap piece of the card. Simply cut with a nestie and positioned on top with foam pads
The feathers were glued at the top near where I tied the twine into the bow.

Quite pleased with this - stamping onto the textured card was a bit tricky as it is quite thickly embossed but overall the stamping hasn't turned out too bad!
Please call in at the Stamping Sensations blog and check out what the rest of the DT have done this month - and then get stamping and come and join us - you might win!!

I have been away in Norfolk this week with two really good friends and the other half...- look what we got up to.....

 WINNERS WINNERS CHICKEN DINNERS!!!!!!

Linking up to these other challenges - Allsorts - CAS, Crafty Friends - Birds, LOC - Wings, Addicted to Stamps - CAS and as I used a couple of snippets for the circle and the panel am going to have a nosey in the Playground!

Thanks for popping in, will be round to see you all - have missed blogland this week! x

What happened to this week?

So the weekend almost upon us and I have no idea where this week went. Am away from Sunday next week but hope I will be able to access the internet at some point.

Have done a few CASE'd cards this week as Mr Mojo steadfastly refuses to show his face so to all you lovely talented bloggers out there I thank you for the inspiration as without you I would have had a week of just sitting looking at the craft mat vacantly.

 The spotty background papers I have never used - bought  on a trip to a craft show several years ago. Now that they are on the desk I may well start to use them up.

The grey base card is from SU.
I used up some leftover Christmas red card for the flower heads. They are not from the same die set.The larger one may be Marianne?

 The leaves are a Memory Box die, and again just an odd bit of pale green card lying about found it's way into the machine!
The sentiment was stamped onto a left over piece of vellum and heat embossed with WOW Fine White.
Added a few blingy gems and another card which won't need a mortage to purchase a stamp to post I think.

Nipping quickly into the Playground  - no swings or hooch today tho - PJ's and sofa for me for the rest of the day I think - had a bit of a bug the last few days which I am hoping will subside before the 6 hour car journey on Sunday.
Challenges -
Crafting By Designs - Add a Flower
Crafty Gals Corner - A/Goes
Crafty Girls Creations - A/Goes
Incy Wincy - Rhinestone/Red/Flower

I hope the latest storm we are having is giving you all a perfect excuse to venture no further than the Craft Room Door! Have a great weekend. x

One month on.......

and 11 more to go!! Of course it's Christmas I'm talking about! Have decided to try and do as many cards as possible during the year (well - that means before May cos once May arrives I only just have time to BREATHE never mind anything else....).

And I really did feel bad about not supporting Mo last year and her 'Rudolph Day' challenges so over the next couple of months am going to try my best!

Did a couple similar last year so as Mr Mojo has gone AWOL this morning, the only thing I could come up with was the same kind of design.

There is also a sketch here at Sunday Stamps so this is my interpretation and a similar one here at Sketch Saturday which I tuned upside down!

This was quick and easy and now I've said that it doesn't give me an excuse not to make more Christmas ones during the year does it?

A die, some spotty cardstock, a sentiment stamp and some glamour dust - what could be easier???

Other Challenges -
AAA - Winter Wonderland
Eceltic Ellapu - Use a die
CCC - Anything Christmas

Have a great day and thanks for looking! x

Keep trying!

After a dry start today it is now absolutely throwing it down! It's also ridiculously warm - can't believe it can you - beginning of the week we had 2 inches of snow!
Have done several CAS cards this week (most are inspired by others) and I have been trying to go back to techniques that I am not very good at!

 So here's the offering for today and as they say Practice Makes Perfect!

I mixed some Stormy Sky and Weathered Wood Distress inks onto the mat and sprayed with a little water.

Normally I use too much water - I don't think I used enough here!

Pressed the card down onto it, then repeated with Crushed Olive and Peeled Paint for the ground.
The stamp is from a clear set and have no idea which make they are!
Simply used Versafine Black for the big tree and Smokey Gray for the smaller ones.
I then dipped and dragged a wet paintbrush at the base of each tree trunk with some of the DI left on the mat.
Layered onto white linen card and my all time fave sentiment stamp - done!

I am reasonably happy with this - and at least I am trying to become better at stuff that previously I have struggled with!

Challenges -
Less Is More - Silhouettes
Craft Rocket - CAS
Addicted to Stamps - Make Your Mark
Seize the Birthday - CAS

Thanks for looking and thanks for any comments you leave - I love to hear from you.x

Vintage

Am feeling quite pleased as I have managed a few CAS cards the last few days - but needed a fix of frilly and also needed to do some DT ones for forthcoming challenges!
So here's a frilly one using up some of the leftovers from one of the DT makes -

Cream base card and Sweet Paris papers. Distressed and stitched all the layers and added a pale green doily.
The pink and green braid is from my stash.

The wooden frame was embossed with Weathered White embossing powder as was the sentiment which was stamped on another scrap which fortunately for me fitted inside the frame!

I stamped a couple of odd bits with a postcard and script stamp and tucked them behind the frame at the top adding a couple of pearly pins.
 Flowers and dyed seam binding and an Eiffel Tower charm to finish with the papers used on the inside too.
This is a rather fussy make and in stark contrast to what I've been doing just lately - change is as good as a rest!!!
Off to the Playground with all my odd bits to see if there's anyone about.

Challenges -
Fantastic Tuesday - A/Goes with a girly twist
SOS - 3, 2 1 (3 flowers/pins, 2 braids/trims, 1 Frame)
Paper Shelter - Rough It Up
Fab n Funky - Buttons or Bows
CFAS - Ribbon and Pearls

Thanks for looking in today - off for a trawl round blogland and Pinterest as I need some more CAS inspiration I think! Have a great day whatever you're doing. x 

Blues

Everywhere here stark white this morning! Quite a lot of snow last night and it's still here!
A 'Man' card to share today as the 'man' stash is really low so made a couple of train/boat/plane themed ones this week for the card box.

A blue colour scheme for this one as the ship's wheel background paper I have had for a long time and never used.
The other paper was just an odd leftover bit but was big enough to use to cut a circle and a couple of banners.

The stamp was inked with Versafine Majestic Blue and I lightly sponged round the edge of the white card before distressing and layering onto the blue base.   

The charm secured with some blue/white twine and the sentiment stamp just tucked behind.

Challenges -
Fantasy Stampers - All About the Boys
Just Us Girls - Light/Dark Blue and White
Sparkles Monthly - January Blues (Monochromatic)
Glitter n Sparkle - Mono
Craft for the Craic - January Blues

Used up a few bits too so over to the Playground with my woolly hat and furry boots to make a snowman!
Have a great day whatever you're doing. x

Sparkly Blue

The title of the post is the colour that the sky was today! Thank goodness for some bright blue instead of the drab greyness - it was a typical PROPER winter's day - crisp, bright, cold and clear.
I made this a couple of days ago - it is simply eons before I have joined in at Less Is More but am continuing in what limited free time I have to doing quick plain cards to swell out the stash a bit - so here's another.

It's one layer week which I dread but tried to get stuck in!  

This card looks so much better in real life. (sighs). 

I took the pic on one of the aforesaid grey days and was intending to re-take today - but by the time I remembered it was dark!
The theme is flourish and I was tempted to re-create the vellum effort below onto a one layer card but decided instead to use this stamp.

Simple plain black card and white embossing powder. A few sparkly blue gems and an embossed sentiment - job done!

This may end up being chopped and layered onto a pale blue and black background yet.. still worrying about things being TOO CAS!! Or maybe a white border done in white gel pen? Or both???!!

Other Challenges -
Addicted to Stamps - Anything Goes
Stampin' Royalty - One Layer
Cards and More - One Layer
Muse Challenge #148 - Inspired by the flourish and flowers on Neet's gorgeous card HERE

I hope the sun has shone for you today wherever you are and thank you for taking the time to pay me a visit. x 

Tuesday!

Today I realised it is almost a week since I posted - and I have no idea why as I don't seem to have done anything since last Wednesday that prevented me from adding to my blog!

I made this in a hurry for someone to give to a young couple who have set up their first home together.
The Mo Manning birdies I think are really cute and the couple in question are described as a couple of 'love birds' so a quite fitting image!

I coloured it with Distress Inks and used basic bright white card.
The sentiment was PC generated and I just added a small silver key charm.
I was a bit bothered when I'd done as I thought perhaps it was a little too CAS... if there is such a thing (???) - but the sender liked it and the 'love birds' adored it I'm told so everyone's happy!


A super quick card and a super quick post  - I want to have a few hours in the craft room today! Thanks for looking - and I hope you all have a lovely day whatever you're doing. xx

Challenges -
Cute Card Thursday - New,
Crafting When We Can - New,
Crafting from the heart - A/Goes,
Craft your passion - A/Goes 

Sparkle

Been for a little walk this morning and enjoyed seeing some blue sky for a change - it's not going to last but nice to see all the same!
Have a share for today which started off as an idea after seeing something similar done for Christmas Cards - so out with the embossing powders and some vellum and am happy to see it turned out OK and just like I imagined it would in my head.

I used gold and silver embossing powders.
The flourish stamp was a freebie and it stamps beautifully.

The dandelion head stamp I have had for a long time and I love it.
I embossed first in gold, adding a few lines with an embossing pen along the stem.
The dotted the embossing pen over the seed heads and embossed again in silver.

It's really effective in real life and I am chuffed that I finally managed to create something that was how I imagined!

A few sparkly gems and one of my all time fave sentiments to finish it all off.
3 stamps and some embossing powder - simple!
I don't use vellum very much mainly because I always have trouble fixing it to base card - all glues seem to show through so with this one I just dabbed a little Collal glue behind some parts of the embossed bits (like where the stem joined the flower head) and thankfully it worked!

Challenges -
Stamplorations - CAS/Silver
House of Cards - Emboss
CASology - Simple
Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes
Fantastic Tuesday - Anything Goes
Crafty Addicts - Anything Goes
Creative Inspirations - Florals
Crafting By Designs - Anything Goes
Craft Stamper - January Challenge

Hope you too have blue skies - enjoy the rest of your day!x