Birthday Card

The Christmas crafty stuff is mostly packed away now until next year and this time it is more organized than in the past in that it has been kept together.  This is something I mean to do every year and this year I actually achieved it, putting seasonal dies in one box and stamps in another (both boxes fairly large I have to confess) and this saves so much time looking through everything to find something specific.  I still have some paper and card to sort out but that ought not to take too long. 

Anyway I've now got myself back into making some cards for general occasions and here is a birthday card starting with a piece of watercolour card which was stamped using three shades of Distress Oxide ink and a dictionary page stamp.  The next move was to add some shabby borders, marching up the colours.  Another piece of the card was sponged with the same three colours and used to die cut a flower and also one layer of the sentiment plaque.  Found three matching gems and that's it - back into the card making swing again.

Dictionary Page - stamp from Stampin' Up
Edges - Inkspirational Borders stamp set Phill Martin
Flower - from Tim Holtz wildflower set
Sentiment Plaque - Sue Wilson Rhodes from Greek Island Collection
Distress Oxide - Fossilised Amber, Spiced Marmalade and Aged Mahogany

Greetings

I'd like to wish all my followers and anyone else who spots this post a very Happy Christmas and very good wishes for the New Year.  Thanks you for all your visits and comments, all much appreciated and hopefully I can keep up to date with visiting and commenting in the months to come.

As this card is made entirely from snippets I'm going along to the Playground with it for the latest challenge and this is the bumper Christmas one with several opportunities to enter into the draw for a selection of seasonal prizes.  The lovely and generous Di has written a clear description of how to set about taking part in this event and if you are lucky enough to be chosen by 'Mr Random' you should have something to start you off on making cards for next Christmas.  Well worth popping along to see what is on offer starting with a very pretty card showcasing prize A.

As I said this card is made of snippets of mostly white card apart from the trees and the little deer.  I started with a snippet of white card which I coloured using two shades of blue Distress Oxide; next step was to find a larger snippet of white pearl card from which I cut an oval aperture before embossing with a snowy embossing folder.  The snow slopes were cut from more snippets of white pearl and the deer from a small piece of kraft card.  Most of the trees and the white snowflakes were left from other cards and I managed to use them up here; found a narrow strip of matching green to die cut the words.  I thought it just needed something else and the snippet of baker's twine just did the trick - everything was then assembled and glued together before putting it onto a white 6 x 6 card.

Comments

I wonder if anyone else is having problems posting comments - sometimes they work quickly as usual and at other times they just will not send for some reason so apologies if I appear to be ignoring some of you.

Freebies

Many of my Christmas cards this year have been made using various freebies (stamps and or dies) either from this year or previous years and which have been used often in combination with each other or with purchased items.  This is one such card made using a set of dies and stamps designed by Phill Martin which is from this year's selection along with some bows from a set from last year and an embossing folder which I purchased.

The baubles were stamped onto some red card using Versamark ink pad and embossed with fine detail white powder.  The sentiment was done in the same way and then the dies were used to cut out the two baubles and the red oval.  The baubles were then popped onto a background of pearl card embossed to give a nice texture.  Finally two gold bows were die cut and some red gems used to 'suspend' the baubles.

Baubles - freebie die and stamp set by Phill Martin given with magazine this year
Bows - die from s set given away last year with a magazine
Embossing Folder - from Craft Stash

Seasonal

I made a start on tidying away my seasonal bits and pieces but as usual got sidetracked into making 'just one more' - at least I already have a few cards in hand for next Christmas now which can't be bad.  I started by stamping a group of snowy trees onto some white card using green ink before placing the die onto a suitable part of the design to cut the top layer of the tree.  I then cut the bottom layer using card in the same colour as the ink used for stamping.  Some glue was applied to the snowy parts of the image and covered with Glamour Dust but this doesn't show up well here.  I then found some background card, baker's twine and a scrap of plaid paper to finish off the card. Some tiny foam pads were placed behind the 'lift up' parts of the top tree and a silver star placed on the top.

It is a thoroughly miserable and very wet day here today so spending time in the craft room seemed the way to go.  Now it is back to the tidying and trying not to become sidetracked yet again - no promises though.

Background - wood effect card/paper from The Works, tartan from my scraps box
Oval - Tonic die
Tree - Stampin' Up die
Sentiment - from Woodware stamp set
Star - SU punch

Quick Card

This was a fairly quick card to make once I'd coloured the piece of white card using Distress Oxide inks in two shades of green.  I found a suitable piece of background paper and a stray die cut star along with a piece of toning ribbon and put it all together.  The trees were stamped onto the inky layer and a rectangular die used to cut out and as luck would have it I'd come across some Stickles which I've had for YEARS and which I was afraid would have dried out but they are fine and free flowing so I added some to each of the baubles on the trees.  Hopefully I've now made enough Christmas cards and I can put things away, have a tidy up and then make a selection of everyday cards for a change.

Stamps used - Woodware trees and sentiment
Baubles decorated with Stickles

Christmas Wreath

I find that making cards such as this Christmas wreath card  a good way of using some of the smaller scraps of card which I can't bear to throw away.  The background was made by running a piece of white card through a wood grain embossing folder and then using some Distress Oxide ink as a wash to give it a bit of uneven colour, finally brushing on a darker shade to bring out some detail.  This produced a suitable background for the rustic style of wreath with a selection of die cut sprigs and flowers.  The 'berries' on the sprigs were made with liquid pearl drops and left to dry thoroughly before making up the card.  A die cut sentiment and that's another Christmas card done and dusted.

Wood effect - embossing folder by Sizzix for Stampin' Up
Wreath and Flowers - Sizzix die set
Berries - added to sprigs with liquid pearl drops
Sentiment - Britannia dies

Pixie Snippets Playground #341

Time to visit the Playground again for the latest challenge and today I'm taking along two cards but of course they will count as one entry into the challenge - Mrs indecisive here couldn't make up her mind which one to use!!  The reason I actually made two cards, which incidentally is my nod to a sort of 'batch making' which as I said yesterday I don't really do, is because I'd cut four gingerbread men and quite a few holly sprigs and only used three on the initial card.  While I still had all the snippets ready to hand I set about making another similar card to use the lonely little chap flanked by a couple of Christmas trees from the same die set.  Apart from the base cards both of these are made entirely from snippets, some of which are really tiny.

I started by stamping the sentiment direct onto the card - the Misti helped with positioning - then trimmed a snippet of patterned paper which was left from a sheet which I'd printed recently, backed with some red card.  The ovals were die cut from scraps as were the gingerbread men and the little holly sprigs; these had punched red berries (really small snippets here!).  This was repeated for the second card once I'd die cut a couple of Christmas Trees with punched stars.

The lovely Di has made a beautiful wedding card and the prize of course is on this theme - a very pretty collection which will prove so useful for the lucky winner. 

Ovals - Stitched shapes dies by Sizzix for Stampin' Up
Men, Trees and Holly - all from free die set which came with a recent magazine
Holly berries and Stars - punches used
Sentiment - from a seasonal stamp set Stampin' Up.

Another Snow Globe Variation

When I got the snow globe  set I stamped and die cut four of them and have gradually been making them into cards of slightly varying design.  I admire people who can happily 'batch make' cards all the same but that method isn't really favourite with me and I hardly ever knowingly repeat a card design.  For this one I again stamped the bottom part of the globe onto coloured card, die cut as a whole and then fussy cut the base.  I have quite a few odd circles of card which are left over from die cutting frames and so on and the white one has been embossed with snowflakes,  Some background paper was printed onto lustre white heavy paper and a sentiment was die cut with more of my scraps of matching card.

Background - printed using Crafter's Companion CD free with their magazine
Snowflake - Cuttlebug embossing folder
Snowglobe - stamp and die set from Studio Light
Sentiment - Crafter's Companion dies

Still in Seasonal Production

Well I'm not sure where the week has gone since I last posted here but here is a quick look at another card from my Christmas collection for this year.  It's another version of the snow globe with a different scene and this time I stamped the base of the globe onto coloured card and cut it out rather than colouring the base with pens - quicker in the long run I found.  I added a banner and a die cut poinsettia along with a simple greeting.

Snow Globe - die and stamp set from Studio Light
Poinsettia - from set of free dies with magazine last year
Circles - Sizzix stitched circle dies
Banner - Creative Expressions die, snow embossing folder Sizzix for Stampin' Up

Christmas Gnome

I know Santa has elves as helpers but I'm not too sure about gnomes.  However I've used a free seasonal stamp and die set from last year and it definitely features gnomes aka tomte.  The signpost and toadstool 'workshop' were stamped and coloured with alcohol pens, as was the gnome but the gnome was the only stamp which had a matching die so the other two were cut out with scissors.  I then die cut some snow layers and a few Christmas trees, finally stamping Santa sailing across the sky being towed by his reindeer team.  I really enjoyed making this cheery card and it certainly helped to brighten up a really wet and windy day when I decided staying indoors was probably the best option.

Sky - printed from Artylicious Season's Greetings CD
Snow - dies from Lawn Fawn using Centura pearl card
Trees - dies from Crafter's Companion and larger ones from unknown source
Santa in sky - free stamp given with magazine
Gnome, signpost and toadstool - from set of stamps/dies free with magazine last year

Playground challenge #340

It is well worth a visit to the Playground just to see the really amusing card which Di has for us this time around and of course the stamp set is the prize on offer to whoever is lucky enough to be drawn out of the 'hat'.  My snippets card this time is seasonal but I'm gradually catching up with the Christmas cards so that's a good thing because as we all know time flies when we are having fun.The only thing which isn't a snippet is the blue snowflake paper which is a sheet I printed - I do have a few snippets of that one left for another time though!  The birch trees were die cut from Centura pearl card and the circles from bits and pieces of blue with scraps of kraft used for the deer.  Sentiment is one which I downloaded and resized before printing off a sheet so that they could be punched out when needed.  The layering of the various circles, trees, deer and the frame required a bit of juggling but it came right in the end.

Snowflake paper - printed from Season's Greetings CD Artylicious
Birch Trees - die which seems to have lost its packaging, sorry
Circles - Sue Wilson Noble Pierced circles die set
Deer - Sizzix die set
Sentiment - download from Netty's Cards

Snow Globe

Despite knowing that I really didn't need anything else to make Christmas cards I was tempted when I spotted cards made by my friend Anne using a matching stamp and die set - a snow globe with three little scenes to stamp.  The images were stamped onto white stamping card (Misti came in very handy here to line them up) and then coloured with Copic pens.  Having die cut the globes I then had to decide how to compose a card to use one of them so I found a piece of background paper which I'd printed recently and some scraps of blue and kraft card to cut the circles.  Greeting was die cut from a small scrap of the left over white card and also some small snowflakes were punched.  I felt it just needed a little something else so scrabbled in my box of random die cuts where  luckily I found some greenery and fir cones.

I have three more globes ready prepared to make more cards so it is thinking cap on - miserable day today and getting a bit dark to do much more now.  I reckon I should make a warming cuppa and sit down for a 'think'!!!!  Some people sits and thinks but some just sits - I will try to do the former.

Background - printed from Seasons Greetings (Artylicious) onto iridescent white paper
Circles - Spellbinders and Creative Expressions dies. Stampin' Up embossing folder
Snow globe - die set with matching stamps from Studio Light
Foliage and Fir cones - used freebie dies
Sentiment - Britannia dies

Penguin Family

I'm still ploughing on with Christmas cards and I must make sure I keep up to date with the inserts and envelopes as well because this isn't one of my favourite jobs and I hate it when there is a huge pile to do.  I die cut this penguin family and assembled them all which does take a bit of time and involves a bit of snipping with scissors to add the feet, hats etc but worth it I feel.  The background paper was printed from a CD and I then die cut some 'snow' for them to stand on,  Sentiment was stamped using the Misti which is so handy for good placement.

Background - printed from Seasons Greetings CD Artylicious
Snow - stitched hillsides from Lawn Cuts
Penguins - die set from Tonic
Greeting - free stamp from a Christmas set given with magazine

Snowflakes are ...

The die used here is quite large and it has a stamp set to go with it not much else is needed to make a card.  I cut the word from Centura pearl card and the rectangular layer from a dark red pearl card.  The little sentence was stamped onto some matching white card before cutting out a banner shape.  I simply added a die cut snowflake and backed everything with a piece of snowflake design paper which I printed from a CD which I've had for many years.  My collection of Christmas cards is growing which has to be good.

Background printed from Season's Greetings CD Artylicious (no longer available I imagine)
Rectangle die - Wonky stitches rectangles from Creative Dies
Snowflake Word - die and stamp set by Creative Expressions
Snowflake - Docraft die
Banner - Creative Expressions die Sue Wilson

Christmas Wreath

Yesterday I spent some time die cutting a selection of seasonal bits and pieces so that they are ready to hand to make a few cards today.  In the end I only had time to make the one because I had the offer of being taken out shopping - nothing exciting, just food but it was an outing.

I started by cutting a square on which to put the wreath - doubled up one in brown and one in kraft - then I assembled some of the flowers and leaves before adding a bow and the sentiment.  One more card for the box but still plenty more to make.

Square - Noble pierced squares die by Sue Wilson
Wreath and most of the flowers/leaves - Sizzix die
Bow and a few odd small flowers - a freebie die and some punched 'waste' from a border die
Sentiment - from Netty's cards on punched shapes by Stampin' Up.

Christmas Joy

I've settled into making some Christmas cards mostly using up pieces of backing paper which I've had for some years and of course delving into my boxes of snippets.  I was rather caught by surprise when I die cut this large holly sprig because when I bought it I'd not realised that it cut the leaves out with separate outline, veins and the inner parts of the leaves.  However I found another shade of green to cut out another one so that I could mix and match and helpfully the berries are separate as well.  I had thought the whole thing would cut with maybe embossed details for the veining - that will teach me to look more closely in the shop!!  The 'joy' die was much more straightforward to use.  A piece of paper with music and holly sprigs was used as a background and I've kept the whole thing fairly flat for posting.

Background - paper from Craftwork Cards a while ago
Dies - from The Works

Nativity Scene

I decided I should get on with some Christmas cards as the season is fast approaching and could well overtake me if I'm not careful.  As this one has used up a few of my snippets I'm taking it along to the Playground where Di has made two floral cards using the stamps which are the prize this time around.  The die set for my card came as a magazine freebie and with the camel and palm trees could be used for occasions other than Christmas - think holidays in the sun.

I started with a snippet of purple card which had Pixie powders applied (they work just as well on dark card as they do on light), then found more snippets of grey and kraft.  These were cut using a circular die before cutting with the nativity scene dies.  A larger circle was then cut along with a kraft frame into which the various layers were placed.  The word 'peace' was stamped onto a snippet of cream card and I felt this was all this card needed.  The image and frame were popped onto a square card and I nearly forgot to mention my rummage through the metallic card snippets box where I found the tiniest piece of shiny copper to die cut the star

Circles - Noble Pierced circle dies from Sue Wilson
Scene - freebie die set from Simply Cards and papercraft magazine
Stamp - from a freebie set, punched with Stampin' Up small oval punch

Pixie Snippets #338

I'm just making a quick dash into the Playground - between the raindrops and falling leaves - such a rough night and today isn't much better here.  As always there is a lovely prize on offer and Di has made a great card for inspiration as well as giving us updates about the newest furry playmate.

My card uses a piece of rather garish background paper which I toned down with some gesso before over stamping with various swirls.  The rest of the card is made from snippets of card which have been die cut and the flowers utilised a two stage stamp set which I particularly like.  The fancy shape only comes in one size as a die so I cut the darker one in half vertically before popping the pieces  carefully behind the stamped layer.

Swirls - various stamps from Creative Expressions
Flowers - stamp set from Stampin' Up
Border - die from The Works
Flower panel and sentiment - dies from Stampin' Up

Apologies for Being Missing - Again!

I'd not realised just how long it is since I last posted a picture on here until a friend pointed out it was five weeks - how bad is that eh???  Anyway I made a rare visit into town yesterday and of course had to glance at the magazines - in fact I picked one up, put it back and then would you believe picked it up again but it does have a handy set of Christmas dies even though I don't actually NEED any more seasonal 'stuff'.  As there are lots of small dies in the set I was able to use up quite a few of my snippets to take along to the Playground which I've missed for a couple of times so I'm not sure if I'll be allowed in. As usual there is a great card for inspiration and a super prize on offer for a lucky person.  If you love dogs it is worth a visit because there is a new cute furry friend who has arrived to live at the Playground - aaahh!!!

I started by finding a snippet of blue card and a smaller one of white pearl which I die cut into a snowy hill to add to the blue layer.  I then used the jar die to cut out an aperture which was backed with another white snippet (embossed with falling snow design).  The jar has an outline die and an inner one so I was able to cut a silver frame to pop into the aperture.  I then set about cutting out some gingerbread men, snowman, trees, a label with wording and holly all using some really tiny snippets which were a fiddle to glue into place and, being out of practice, has taken me most of the morning but at last it is finished!!

Snowy Hill - die from Lawn Fawn
Embossed snow background - Sizzix die for Stampin' Up
All other Dies - from set given free with Die Cutting Essentials magazine

A Little Birdie...

...told me.  Actually two little birdies chatting together on this quick birthday card using up various scraps of card and paper just lying around.  The birds were stamped onto watercolour paper and coloured using water based pens before being cut into an oval shape.  A second, larger oval was die cut to match the odd piece of card which had been coloured with Pixie Powders - this in turn was layered onto some matching paper which was a magazine freebie.  The sentiments were stamped onto the 'Pixie' layer and all stamping was made so much easier by using the Misti positioning gizmo.

I felt I needed a break from the stitching efforts of the past couple of weeks and a bit of stamping and colouring just did the trick.  I knew that if I didn't immediately put the birds onto a card they would join the other 'stuff' just loitering around waiting to be used!!

Birds - Crazy Birds Tim Holtz
Ovals - Tonic dies
Wording - free stamps from a magazine gift from way back

Pixie Snippets #334

Time to visit the Pixie Snippets Playground again and there is a lovely card to see which Di has made using the current prize on offer.  The card features a fox and rabbit gazing at a starry sky - there is the usual detailed explanation of how it was made including some of the finer details which make all the difference to the finished card.

My Snippets contribution this time around features fabrics from my stash - left overs from several different projects and yes, you've guessed, I have a fabric mountain as well as the card/paper one!!  It has been a bit like a sweat shop here this last week or two trying to finish off some quilts -  UFO's which have been lying around for longer than I care to admit, just waiting to be layered up, quilted and finished off.  It is actually quite satisfying seeing these completed at long last.

I don't think I  need any more quilts for the moment but another thing which I really enjoy is making bags in various sizes and styles and yesterday I had a go using a pattern which I bought at the Exeter Quilt Show back in the Spring.  I quite often work without using patterns when making bags, sort of making them up to suit available materials. Rummaging around amongst my fabrics I found some toning fabrics to make the 'Quilt-as-you-Go' panels for the front and back of this bag with sufficient to make a matching lining with six pockets inside. There is a triangular flap with a magnetic clasp and this echoes the triangle which is at the top centre of each panel. I must say there was quite a bit of work involved in getting this completed so I might just have to keep it to add to my own bag collection although I suppose having followed the pattern once it should come easier another time.

Get Well

I've done a bit of stamping and colouring and one of the images has been used on this bright Get Well card.  An odd piece of background paper has been used and I found some scraps of coloured card to match before cutting shapes using a set of dies which I've had from the very early days of die cutting - needless to say they've not been used in ages but I thought the wonky shapes suited this card (good job I have a good memory as to what is in my stash!!).  The wording was composed on the computer using three different fonts, printed and die cut into a banner to complete this fairly simple card.

Image - Tim Holtz Crazy cats and dogs
Shapes - Wonky squares die from Spellbinders
Sentiment - composed on the computer, printed and cut out with Sue Wilson banner die

Snippets Challenge #333

I'm taking this card along to the Snippets Playground this week and if you pop along for a visit you will see a great card which Di has made to inspire us and of course to showcase the prize which will go to the lucky winner in the draw.  I've used various snippets of card left over from some of my inky play sessions using Pixie Powders and probably some Distress inks as well (I should make notes really when I play, but always forget).  The larger square piece was embossed while some stamping was done onto the narrow strip and the circle.  The dragonflies were punched from some other scraps at some point and were living in a 'scraps pot' on my desk..  The main background was an odd piece of paper which I thought went well colourwise.  The floral images were built up using a selection of small stamps from a set called Stamp Soup - great fun to use for fantasy floral effects.

Embossed Panel - Sue Wilson embossing folder
Sentiment - from a magazine freebie set of stamps
Floral images - Stamp Soup stamps Polkadoodle

More Flowers

When I was digging out the stamp set I used yesterday I came across another of my once favourite sets, also wood mounted and also double stamped images so here is a card using some of the flowers which I stamped and fussy cut with scissors.  The background is a piece of card embossed using one of the all occasions EF's in my stash and I die cut some leaves along with banners and sentiment circles to complete yet another floral birthday card.  I have to say that floral cards are usually much quicker to make these days using die cut flowers but I quite enjoy a bit of fiddly and leisurely cutting out for a change.

Background - 'that' embossing folder which came free with a magazine
Flowers - Greenhouse Garden stamp set Stampin' Up (discontinued)
Sentiment - download from Netty's Cards
Banners - dies by Sizzix for Stampin' Up
Leaves - Sizzix leaves die set
Circles - SU punches and stitched circle die

A Rose is a Rose

Yesterday I spotted a card posted by my friend Anne and she had used some flowers stamped with this set (discontinued) from Stampin' Up.  Now at one time this was one of my favourite stamp sets and was well used but seeing the card reminded me that I'd probably not inked any of these particular ones for maybe a few years - how bad is that??  I decided to challenge myself to use up a die cut shape which has been lying around amongst my many 'saved to use later' collections and set about stamping some of the roses, buds and leaves in colours to tone with it.  The rose set is one which has to be double stamped to get the effect and of course all images have to be cut out using scissors (no thoughts of matching dies around when these were issued).  They are wood-mounted stamps too so no chance of using the Misti for lining them up although I did use a Stampamajig (another item not used for ages). I stamped a sentiment and die cut a larger shape to back the 'found one' before running this through an embossing folder which I'd inked for the letterpress effect.  Finally I found a piece of suitable paper for backing and assembled my card.  A real 'blast from the past' I'd say but I did enjoy making it.

Background - Vintage Shabby paper by Tim Holtz
Die Cut Shapes - Sue Wilson dies
Embossing Folder - Embosalicious roses design inked before using
Sentiment - Stampin' Up wood-mounted stamp
Roses - discontinued SU set A Rose is a Rose, cut out using scissors
Inks used - Distress Oxide Picked Raspberry and Aged Mahogany also Mowed Lawn for leaves

Anniversary Cats

I had a smallish scrap of watercolour paper which had been coloured using various Pixie Powders and it was just enough to die cut a circle and a banner.  Next I found some pink card which matched nicely and from this I die cut the wording, a larger circle and then punched a small heart.  A scrap of black came into play for the entwined cats.  The pretty background paper was from a selection which came with a magazine some time ago.  Luckily this was separate from the actual magazine so it is of reasonable weight - such a shame that some magazines only give away papers within the pages and the paper just doesn't come up to standard really for using on cards.  This fairly quick anniversary card will fill a gap in my box of 'ready to send' cards and has used up a bit more of my scrap mountain!

Background - paper given free with magazine
Heart - punch from Stampin' Up
Circles - Sizzix dies stitched circles
Banner - Sue Wilson die
Words - Crafter's Companion dies
Cats - unbranded die

Freebies

I've certainly not been buying as many magazines with freebies recently, mainly because the reduction in our bus service means I don't get to the larger newsagents as frequently and the supermarket with magazines right next door to the fruit and veg which I used to frequent is 'out of bounds' to me.  However I went out of my way to get my hands on an issue of Diecutting Essentials which was giving away what I thought looked like a really good value set of dies with houses, skyscrapers, a circus and various trees, clouds and hills/grassy slopes.  I've only just got around to using some of them to build this little scene - a bit on the fiddly side because I decided to hand cut some yellow paper to pop behind the tiny windows and the row of houses was cut in a few colours so that I could trim some of them to make a multicoloured row.  I still have a selection of houses ready cut for another scene when the mood takes me.

Brick Pattern - embossing folder from Crafter's Companion
Scene - built using some of the dies in the magazine freebie die set
Grass at Base - Die-namics grass die
Sentiment - freebie from Netty's Cards resized to fit a punch from Stampin' Up

Two Challenges Covered

My card today should cover two challenges one of which is the Rudolph Days which is running a little later than normal and of course the Pixie's Crafty Workshop Snippets fortnightly challenge.

The blog has been a bit neglected for a few days, partly due to the fact that while we had a short spell of slightly cooler weather I tried to catch up with some of the domestic tasks which had gone by the board when it was so very hot.  Now of course we have a return of the hot and humid conditions which isn't really good for so many people and of course plays havoc with gardens, crops in the fields and the wildlife.

Anyway back to the reason for this post which is to show the card which I made initially for the Snippets challenge and then realised that I was still in time to pop along to the Rudolph Days as well.  I started by embossing a piece of white card having first applied some ink to the actual embossing folder using a brayer.  I then found some snippets of kraft card to cut the two deer; some green for the grass; had a rummage around in the little containers littering my desk and found some spare leaves, berries and a stray flower before assembling everything together.  A seasonal greeting was added popped onto an odd red circle which I  also 'found'.  It is amazing just how many 'left overs' there are sitting around just waiting to be used.

If you follow the links above to visit the two blogs you will find plenty of Christmas inspiration and the chance of a prize on Rudolph Days and I defy anyone not to raise a smile when they see the super amusing card which Di has made for us this time using some of her snippets and the stamp set which is the prize on offer - she certainly sources some really inspiring and unusual items for us.

Background - embossing folder by Sizzix for Stampin' Up
Deer - Sizzix dies
Grass - Die-namics
Leaves etc - oddments which were littering my desk!
Sentiment - freebie from Netty's Cards resized and printed

Brighter Days

For today's card I've used stamps from four different Stampin' Up sets to make this summery scene.  I started with a wash of colour using distress inks on watercolour paper; over-stamping some detail for the sea and sand before adding some birds and grasses.  The girl and balloons were stamped and cut out - the strings were added using a black fine line pen.

Sea, Sand, Birds in Sky - High Tide stamp set Stampin' Up
Birds on Beach and Tall Grasses - Wetlands stamp set SU
Girl and Sentiment - Beautiful You stamp set SU
Balloons - Balloon Celebration stamp set SU
Distress Ink Pads - Scattered Straw and Tumbled Glass

Challenge #331 in the Playground

It seems there is no let up in the heatwave for the moment - unfortunately the heat doesn't really suit me and I don't function particularly well under these conditions.  However I have managed to make a card for the current Playground challenge which as you will see is a Christmas one in readiness for the cooler weather at the end of the year.  It doesn't seem possible that we will no doubt soon be complaining about the cold weather.

You certainly need to visit the Playground this week to see something new and interesting which the clever Di has sourced to show us and of course as usual there is no need to guess what the prize will be for one lucky participant.

I found a suitable piece of seasonal background paper, then used snippets of various colours to die cut the wreath and the decorations.  Using the wreath as a guide I stamped the wording into the centre of the background using the Misti which certainly helps me to keep things straight.  The wreath was then stuck into place and the various flowers and leaves were arranged around.  I have to say that die cutting all these really tiny elements was a bit of a faff as the dies are all individual and so tiny (mostly the size of my little finger nail or smaller) and of course I will have to be really careful not to lose any of them.  Luckily I had a snippet of magnetic sheet which was just the right size to fit into the packet so all dies are now safely packed away until I need them again.

Background - paper from Craftwork Cards
Die set - Pretty Wreath from Sizzix

Card for a Male

Coming up with something different for a card to send my brother each year always requires some thought - just what to make which isn't football or drinking??  I'd not realised quite how far we are into July until today so this one had to be made quite quickly and I've resorted to some papers with graphics and some stamped and die cut feathers, simply adding some raffia.  I used a text background, followed by two die cut circles, one in kraft card and one in a different text paper.  The feathers were stamped and die cut and a simple greeting added.  Just about time to show it on here before I dash off to the postbox.

Graphics papers - Prima Marketing
Feathers - Stamp set with matching dies, Four Feathers from Stampin' Up
Greeting - Tim Holtz, Sizzix

Pixie Snippets Challenge #330

It is another bright and sunny Sunday morning here and time to visit the Playground for another challenge.  It does sound churlish to complain about the heat but I would actually prefer slightly cooler temperatures - when I get hot sitting still I'm afraid it's too much for me but maybe Parsnip will have the paddling pool out!!

I was lucky enough recently to win the  Snippets prize so that's what I've used in the main for my card this week together with some 'sequins' die cut using a prize won quite a while ago.  Every fortnight the lovely Di makes a card using the current prize for our inspiration and of course to show us what we could own if our name comes up in the Random Number draw.  This time there is a super get well card featuring a poorly pooch using just one of the themed stamps in the set and of course we all need to wish someone well now and then don't we.  Why don't you raid your snippets and visit the playground with a picture of what you make to be in with a chance.

Anyway for my card I found a fairly large snippet of text patterned paper and chose suitable colours of Distress ink to sponge onto one of the resist cards which were part of my win - details below.  I then found a snippet of black card to cut out a phrase from the other part of the prize which was a set of word dies - again details below.  I cut a square from the inked card, added the words which I actually cut twice and layered up for strength and a bit of dimension, before popping it onto the background at a jaunty angle.  Finally I die cut some 'sequins' from a scrap of gold card and scattered them randomly.

Resist Square - Everyday Tintables from Concord & 9th
Words - Fabulous Phrases also Concord & 9th
Sequins - dies from Die-namics
Distress Inks - Mustard Seed, Rusty Hinge and Aged Mahogany

Trees - or Are They????

Before putting away my parchment 'stuff' I decided to make a card using yet another of the  Groovi Club plates.  This one is a feather design but as you see they can also double up as trees.  I've  incorporated some picot cutting into this one and the design is layered up onto some decorative backing paper.  Again I've made a frame to help with mounting the parchment and added a simple sentiment stamped on a strip of card. The colouring was done using watercolour pens.

Now I really must do what I intended this morning - tidying away all the parchment bits and pieces...until the next time anyway.

Image - Groovi Design Club Feather plate and landscape/sun and moon plate
Frame - Sue Wilson Noble Pierced frames dies
Sentiment - freebie stamp on punched banner (SU punch)

Groovi New Home

I decided to use the latest Groovi Club plate to make a new home card but with a bit of a difference in that the parchment panel was popped behind a 'brick' layer which of course solves the problem of how to attach parchment to a card.  Glue is a bit of a no-no for parchment and I don't always want to use brads.

The design was traced to fit a certain size circle  with some hills added using another plate, then coloured using pencils.  The brick wall effect was done using an embossing folder after I'd cut out the circle from the piece of kraft card.  I also cut a frame using the same die set.  Once assembled I thought it needed a little something extra so as well as a sentiment I also added a little picket fence, a lucky black cat and a dog.  They do seem to be facing each other out but hopefully they are friends!!

House Design - Groovi Club Plate for June, hills from a basic landscape plate
Brick Panel - Embossing folder from Crafter's Companion
Colouring - Polychromos pencils
Sentiment - downloaded and resized (Netty's Cards)
Dog - X'cut mini die Docraft
Cat - dies from Impression Obsession
Picket Fence - Sizzix die

Rudolph Days for June

Each month there is a challenge to produce Christmas cards from 25th to the end of the month - find details HERE.  There are some great inspiration cards from the design team and considering the Shopping channels seem to be well into Christmas I decided to make a quick card using a stamp which I won a few months ago.  The image was stamped using Versafine and coloured with Distress ink markers scribbled onto a tile and picked up with a wet brush.  Oval dies were used to cut out the image and the card was finished with some leaves and a Bow and Star diecut all of which were in one of the 'pots' on my desk where I keep such things until they come in handy.  I'm afraid I can't remember where the bow and star came from and a quick look amongst my dies didn't unearth the die.  The background paper came from my stack of odd pieces of paper and the sentiment was a download.  A couple of gems were added for mistletoe berries.

Image - House Mouse stamp
Ovals - Tonic nesting ovals dies
Leaves - die from a set given with magazine last Christmas
Bow and Star - die unknown as it was from my oddments cut a long time ago.
Sentiment - download from Netty's Cards

Pixie Snippets Challenge #329

Sunday morning again which means another visit to the Playground with a Snippets card and this time the lovely Di has made a bright and colourful floral card showcasing the items which will be the prize this time for a lucky someone and of course using lots of her snippets along the way.  My card this time started with a large snippet of card which had been coloured using Pixie Powders and it so happened I had a die cut frame left over from another project.  Various snippets were used to cut out some swirls, a bird, a branch and some blossom.  I then raided my pot of 'waste' which has lots of tiny scraps from either die cutting or punching - there I found some matching tiny flowers for the centres of the blossom on the branch.  Never throw anything away, that's me!!!  Using the Misti I stamped the sentiment onto the background.  The Pixie Powders give a lovely sheen to the background which doesn't really show here.

 
Bird - from Birds and Blooms framlits die set Stampin' Up
Swirls - from Swirly Scribbles die set Stampin' Up
Frame - Sue Wilson Noble Pierced squares die set
Sentiment - Free clear stamp from magazine gift
Blossom - punched using Stampin' Up punch
Flower Centres - waste from a floral border punch

Meeting Friends

On Monday I was meeting some old school friends in town for coffee and of course I couldn't pass up an opportunity to pop into the large newsagents nearby just to glance at the crafty magazines.  As you've probably guessed by now I was tempted by one of the magazines on offer which had an embossing folder, some stamps and matching dies as their free gift.  I'm sure many of you will remember what came to be known as 'that embossing folder' which proved to be so popular about two years ago (I think) that there was even a Facebook group formed in its honour!  Well the folder I got this time was one from the same family which is great because I've so enjoyed using the original one over the years and it is nice to have a different one.  The dies and stamps are mainly floral too - very useful - and there is also a curvy die which matches the curve dividing the patterns on the folder.

I cut a piece of watercolour card to size and embossed before brushing two colours of ink lightly to define the different patterns.  The curvy strip was die cut and one of the sentiments stamped using the Misti for positioning.  I then stamped and die cut some flowers and flourishes, colouring the flowers with the same colours of ink.  The flower centres were some tiny punched flowers  finished with a pearl drop.  The magazine came with lots of really interesting ideas for using the embossing folder, dies and stamps and I will certainly be trying some of them as well as ideas of my own.

Embossing Folder - free with magazine, Apple Blossom (Craft Stash)
Stamps and dies - free with magazine, Apple Blossom (Craft Stash)
Flower centres - small flower punch Stampin' Up
Ink - Distress ink Wild Honey, Tumbled Glass

Twofer Card Challenge #6

I decided to have a go at this Twofer Card Challenge and if you follow the link to their blog you can see what this is all about and maybe have a go yourself.  I hope I've interpreted the rules correctly.  The theme is 'trees' and the idea to use the same stamp/stamp set or die/die set to make two cards for different occasions.  There are some really imaginative ideas from the Design Team whereas mine seem to have turned out pretty simple but then I was aiming for a fairly CAS style here. (clean and simple).  Both of the cards have to be submitted in one photo.

For one of them I stamped the bare tree and bicycle then stamped the branches onto a die cut circle and the wheels onto a scrap of card before cutting them out with scissors. These pieces were then popped into place with foam pads and a sentiment was stamped onto a strip of card and added in the same way.  For the second card I added some blossoms to the tree and some grass underneath (all part of the stamp set).  Again a simple sentiment was stamped onto a strip of card.

Stamp Set - Sheltering Tree from Stampin' Up
Sentiments - stamps from my words collection probably magazine freebies

Purrfect!

I'm afraid I was tempted by a set of quirky cat stamps offered as a free gift with a recent magazine and there was also a selection of  reasonable quality papers inside as well.  I've used just one of the cat stamps and one of the sentiments to make this brightly coloured birthday card.  The image and words were stamped onto a die cut shape (using the Misti really helped here) and the cat was coloured using watercolour pens.  All that remained was to choose three of the papers and use them to complete the card along with a banner made using a scrap of black card and three card  candi dots. There are more cat images and words which can be combined to make cards for several occasions.

Image - from a set of stamps given free with Making Cards magazine
Papers - also free with the magazine
Banner - strip of card with pointed end punched (Stampin' up punch)
Die cut shapes - set of dies from The Works
Embellishment - card candi from Craftwork Cards
Colouring - watercolour brush pens

Love You Tons

I don't think I dare admit to how long ago I spotted this matching stamp and die set on a blog and felt I must have it, I do know it was a long, long time ago and to my shame this is the first time it has been used.  Most of you will know how dangerous it can be reading blogs and seeing items which  other people are using - items which really should come and live with me as well!!  I am trying to curb my enthusiasm somewhat because I've accumulated so much 'stuff' over the years but we've all been there haven't we??

Anyway I thought I'd make an Anniversary card with these dinky elephants using the words which came along with the stamps.  Doing this I'd say has made an 'our' anniversary card rather than a 'your' one but I'm sure someone will spot it in my box and decide it is just for them.  The elephants were die cut and stamped before popping them onto a die cut stitched label and stamping the words; finally adding a punched heart and a banner underneath with a sentiment.  I did a few spare elephants while I was cutting and stamping and I'm sure they will appear sometime on a different card - I don't think I've ever knowingly made exactly the same card twice; not into batch production!

Elephants and Love Words - matching stamps and die set from Lawn Fawn
Labels - stitched label die set from The Works
Anniversary Words - free stamp set given with magazine
Banner and Heart - using Stampin' Up punches

House Mouse

I was just visiting a few blogs before writing this post and spotted that there is a House Mouse Challenge blog  which I'd not seen before so I decided to pop along there because their theme is 'anything goes'.  I came across this stamped and coloured image whilst having a bit of a tidy up - not quite sure why it was never used at the time.  Anyway I also had a few bits and pieces of matching papers around so thought it deserved to be made into a card.  The colouring was done with pencils.

Image - stamped and coloured using coloured pencils
Sentiment - download from Netty's Cards
Papers - oddments in my stash including one from Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby

Pixie Snippets Playground #328

It is that time again when we sneak into the Playground with our cards to be in with a chance of maybe winning the featured prize and there is the usual inspiration from the lovely Di.  For  my offering this week I've used up a few of my white snippets, starting with a reasonable sized one which has been coloured using a mix of Pixie Powders and Distress Oxide inks splattered around followed by a bit of detail using a stencil.  I then die cut a selection of flowers in white and found a few scraps of  toning green for the centres and leaves.  The sentiment was stamped using the Misti of course to position it nicely.  I found another larger snippet  in darker green and popped the inky panel onto it before adding to a 6" square white card.

Sentiment - from a set given away free with a magazine
Flowers and leaves - Stampin' Up Botanical Builder Framelits dies

Butterfly Challenge #101

It is time for another challenge on the Butterfly blog and this time the letter on the wheel is 'M' and we have a choice of three themes and three colours as usual and of course a butterfly should be included.  For the themes I've chosen 'musical' and 'metallic' with the colours of medium blue, mint green and moss green but as sometimes happens my scanner seems to have changed the colours slightly but in real life the butterfly is mint green and blue!!  All three colours are incorporated in the background which is the result of an inky play a while ago with Distress Oxides and a stencil.  The music and metallic come into play with the copper panel which was embossed and I couldn't resist adding a treble clef.  Music also features behind the butterfly.  There is some great inspiration from Mrs A and of course some lovely prizes on offer so why not have a go?

Background - Distress Oxide inks
Copper Metallic Panel - Cuttlebug embossing folder
Circle - Sizzix dies
Butterfly - Sizzix dies
Treble Clef - Marianne die
Sentiment - downloaded from Netty's Cards resized using My Craft Studio

Engagement

I've long been a fan of LOTV images (Lili of the Valley) and thought that this one would make a good congratulations card for an engagement.  I found some scraps of patterned paper and a piece of dotty ribbon for the layout, die cut the image and a larger circle.  I then re-sized another of Annette's sentiments  (she has a selection to suit most occasions) so that it would fit a punch and finally punched a couple of tiny hearts as extra embellishment.

Image - from Lili of the Valley
Papers - from my stash
Sentiment - download from Netty's Cards, resized using My Craft Studio

New Home Card

It is a very warm day today so once I'd done a few essential domestic things I decided to stamp and colour some images to give myself a rest.  I have a set of house stamps from Chocolate Baroque although I think they might well have been from way back when they were known as Elusive Images and I'm not sure if they still even have these stamps.  Stamped onto watercolour paper the image was coloured using Polychromos pencils before being die cut along with a larger layer to go behind.  Searching through my box of browns/oranges/yellows I found a piece of brick patterned paper large enough to use as a background here with another strip left for a second card which you might see another day. A scrap of patterned paper was added for interest and a die cut key completes this card. The sentiment is another one available from Annette.

Image - from Chocolate Baroque (Elusive Images as was)
Key - die from Couture Creations
Sentiment - free download from Annette (link above)

Hearts

I'm still wading through various bits and pieces of card and paper to top up my box of cards to sell for charity and/or to send to friends and family. I started with a piece of paper from an ancient Tim Holtz Vintage shabby paper pad and I dread to think how long I've had this. From my many scraps of cream card I found enough along with some pink to die cut the various layers of the hearts and the two leafy sections; two small flowers left over from another project were brought into play with extra pink centres added and finally a sentiment was stamped onto another scrap to complete this card which could be for Wedding, Anniversary or maybe Engagement.

Background - Tim Holtz Vintage shabby paper pad
Hearts - Tonic Dies
Leafy Swirls - Sue Wilson Dies
Sentiment -  free set of stamps from magazine

Baby Card

I've made two more baby cards for the box and this is the boy version in blue.  Is it just me or does anyone else have problems trying to source - and match up - what I call true blue papers and card.  I find that such a lot of the card around seems to be more of a pale turquoise rather than baby blue.  This in itself would be OK but patterned papers seem to come in quite different shades of blue and are so difficult to put with the card.  I've just found that pinks can be just as difficult to match papers to card - lots of card seems to be peachy rather than pink - sigh!!

Anyway after much trawling through my stash I've managed to find enough card and paper which goes together to produce this card.  The background papers are actually from a free book of  double sided papers which came with a Christmas magazine and the blue card was a small card blank which has been lurking in a box for more years than I care to admit.  The rocking horse was a lucky find in The Works - well worth taking an occasional look at their selection of dies at very reasonable prices and they do cut well. The little teddy was punched out of the final scrap of the blue card using a punch I'd quite forgotten was in the drawer - does anyone still use punches nowadays I wonder??? I added a sentiment which was a free download from the generous Annette who has lots to offer on her blog.   Do pop along and visit her blog to see some of her so lovely and beautifully coloured cards - she is a dab hand with Distress Re-inkers for colouring!!

 Having been card making for some years it is interesting to look at my stash and see just how things have moved on from the early days when it was 'punches and peel-offs', no such thing as all the wonderful dies and machines which we have available these days.

Rocking Horse - die from The Works
White panel - free embossing folder from magazine on Centura Pearl card
Sentiment - free download from Netty's Cards
Background papers - free from magazine

Monochrome

My little collection of inky backgrounds was still on my desk so before tidying them away I selected one to use for a card and would you believe I actually had to cut into a whole new sheet of toning card for the die cuts - this of course has resulted in more snippets for the oddments boxes!!  I had thought that the dies would fit nicely onto a 5 x 7 card but they are just too wide so I juggled them a bit to fit my  favoured 6" square card  blank instead.  The inky background was a bit pale in places so I added a touch of darker ink so that there was more contrast between the layers and I managed to find a fairly large scrap of a darker tone to frame everything.  The flowers were cut from the left overs of the background and they have a dot of Stickles in the centres.  The card looks a lot brighter on my screen but in fact it is more subtle in real life.

The weather has been fine and sunny (also quite warm too) for a couple of days despite the forecast saying that we were in for rain and thunder storms all over the Bank Holiday - I hope you've all been lucky with the weather too and enjoyed the break.

Die - With Love Die Set from Tonic - a good 5" wide
Card Used - sheet of Pool Party from Stampin' Up
Inky Background - mix of Pixie Powders and Distress Oxide inks (I think)

Two Challenges Covered

I have a card to share today which covers two challenges - Pixie Snippets challenge #327  and the Butterfly Challenge which has reached # 100.

Firstly this card for the Playground uses quite a lot of snippets, some very small if you look at the multi-layered flowers.  The dies used came as a set with a recent Die-cutting magazine and my card is based on one of the ideas within the magazine, so not entirely original!  The die set contained a circular die (I've just used part of it to form the 'sun' in the top corner) and a selection of butterflies, tiny flowers and leaves.  I used another snippet of green along the bottom so that the flowers had somewhere to be 'planted'.  The sentiment was stamped using a freebie stamp from a set I've had for quite a while  The only thing which isn't a snippet is the base card.  I'm writing this post on Saturday so I've not yet seen what the lovely Di has to share with us this week but rest assured her blog will be well worth a look and whatever was used to create her card will be offered as a prize to a lucky entrant.

Now onto the Butterfly Challenge where of course the card must have at least one butterfly and there is a wheel from which to choose from three colours and three themes starting with the letter 'H' and you can select one or all of them - there are also prizes on offer here as well if you check out the blog (just follow the link).  I've selected the three colours of hot pink, harvest gold and hunter's green.  Some of the layers in the tiny flowers are hot pink, the sun is harvest gold; the strip across the bottom is green but not too sure if it is dark enough to class as 'hunter's green' but at least I have three butterflies fluttering over the scene.

Flowers, Leaves, Butterflies and Sun - free dies from Die-cutting Magazine
Ground - Stitched scallop basic edges from My Favourite Things
White square - Sue Wilson Noble pierced squares die

PS - I was right there is a great prize on offer in the Playground, in fact a bumper one this time and of course a selection of prizes from the Butterfly Challenge dependent on how many sections of the 'wheel' are used in your creation.