Rudolph Day

 Well a quick scramble this morning because Rudolph Day has caught me completely by surprise with no card made for the challenge. I know that time flies but it seems to have been particularly speedy this month.  Fortunately I already had some die cuts stashed away - thanks to a very kind friend who loaned me her Santa Wineglass dies recently, so all I needed to do was assemble one and find suitable background and sentiment to make this quick card.  If you follow the link you will see  super cards for inspiration made by guest designers Bunny, Pauline and Darnell and of course Helen.

Happy Rudolph Day 😊

Background - retired snowy DSP from Stampin Up from a few years back
Wineglass Santa - unbranded die
Snowflake - die from my Christmas stash SU I think
Words - also a die from my Christmas stash (unbranded)

Allsorts Challenge #790

 The theme for the current Allsorts Challenge is **Flowers** or of course there's also *Anything Goes** to be in for a chance to win from a selection of lovely prizes..  I've opted for the floral theme but with just a single flower.  I started by stamping the flower image onto a piece of card to fit my card blank and stamped the flower head and leaf onto a Post-It so that I could cut them out to use as masks before adding the stencilling and also the text stamping and a couple of small 'splodges' as background.  Masks removed, I then coloured the flower head and leaf., adding a simple sentiment to this small, tall, slim card.

Flower - stamp from Crafty Roo
Stencil - from Lavinia Stamps
Other stamping - using stamps from various magazine freebie sets (not current)
Colouring - Inktense pencils and water brush

Playground Challenge #485

 Time for another Playground challenge and in honour of Dudley's birthday the prize this time is doggy themed.  Those of us who follow this challenge will be well aware that he is an important member of the team and we love reading about his various exploits.  He is six years old today 😉 Happy Birthday Dudley.

My card this time is just a bit of silliness really with an odd bird built up using a selection of abstract die cuts.  I've watched some YouTube videos made by Deb Hallett who has come up with some really fun (and whacky) characters.  HERE is a link to her channel, well worth a watch - you might like to make yourself a cuppa before you sit down though 🤣  My effort isn't a patch on hers and I need lots more practice but I did enjoy trying to make it look halfway decent, just need to get my imagination working.  All the components of the bird were cut from some of my many small snippets and the wording was printed on the computer. I wasn't sure quite how to 'ground' the bird so he is perched rather precariously on a miniature stool !!   I also remembered to take a pic of the left over scraps before they were swept into the bin.

Stool - die from Gummiapan
Bird - dies from Abstract Elements, Sizzix

Texture Paste

 A bit of mixed media to share today using home made texture paste and a stencil.  There are recipes/tutorials available online - instructions for almost anything we'd ever need or want to do seem to be available if you search 🤣.  I started by cutting a panel of card slightly smaller than the actual card and smooshed it around in some inks, also adding some visual texture with a small text stamp before applying the paste through a stencil over part of the area.  Leaving that to dry I then stamped the flower onto a scrap of white card and coloured it .  This was then fussy cut and placed over the textured area using thin foam pads.  A simple computer sentiment and that was it,  job done.

Stamp - from Aall & Create
Stencil - one I've had a long time

Sympathy Card

 This is one type of card which I'm sure we none of us really want to send any time soon but I do always like to keep a small number handy  as it's the sort of thing which deserves a bit of thought and is better not rushed in the making.  For this one I've used a poly plate which is manufactured using the same sort of polymer used for making good quality stamps and  they come in quite a few different shapes and sizes - this one has a 'broken up' area at the bottom which gives a bit of added interest.  It was inked using different colours of Distress ink and by its very nature, gives unpredictable and interesting results.  I've used a single tree stamp and a sentiment stamp which is all that is needed in my opinion. Ideal crafting weather at the  moment but not so good for people who are on holiday 🙄.

Background - Fall Away Polyplate from Crafty Roo
Tree - stamp by Lavinia
Sentiment - from a favourite set of sentiments which came free with a magazine years ago

Round in Circles

 Going around in circles today and not quite as 'last minute' this week for the latest Allsorts challenge for which the theme is **Use Circles** or of course there's always the *Anything Goes* option.  I pulled out some circle dies and used three varying sizes to cut round windows into a piece of white card which I then backed with a layer of blue, layering up with some scraps of thick card behind for some dimension rather than using foam which tends to make cards a bit thick for posting - and let's face it I have loads of scrap card to use up 😊.  I then looked through my collection of previously die cut and coloured bits and pieces and sorted out a selection of fun chicks.  The sentiment was die cut using a scrap of the same blue card as I used for the bottom layer.

Circles - die cut shapes die set from Stampin' Up (retired)
Chicks and Sentiment - stamps and dies from Stampin' Up (also retired)

Allsorts Challenge #788

 Just about made it to catch up with the latest Allsorts challenge where they are looking for **Romantic Occasions** but my card this time will be an *Anything Goes* option.  That said, I do think that these two owls could well be used for any romantic occasion with a suitable sentiment.  I cut a square of cream card slightly smaller than the card  blank and then cut off the lower section using a curvy die.  This section was then embossed which gives a 'grounding' effect for the two stamped and die cut owls.  The words were added using a stamp set which I've had for many years

Owls - stamps and matching dies from Gummiapan
Sentiment - from a Joanna Sheen owl stamp set
Curvy die - Lawn Fawn
Embossing - unmarked embossing folder from my stash