Hey, Chick

 I was really pleased to see that the Hey Chick stamp set has been brought back along with another similar set and some dies.  I acquired this set as a free Sale-a-bration gift (at least I think so) but it was a few years ago 🙂.  I think it is quite a good idea to have some fun and quirky cards to send in these difficult times to raise spirits and make people smile.  I've gathered together a few scraps of card to tone with my background paper and this is my smile card for today.  I added a random watercolour wash to the white background piece for added interest.

Stamps -  Hey Chick set from Stampin Up, matching dies now available
Sentiment - Die cut label from Art Gallery set Stampin' Up
Background - printed from a Crafter's Companion CD from some time back
Colouring - using Inktense pencils

Another Donkey

 These donkey stamps seem to be pretty popular and they are certainly fun.  Today I've gone for the one which is frolicking around, starting by deciding what size of square he would be on and then working out the text on the computer.  The donkey and balloon were stamped and fussy cut.  I then used a splat die to make myself a stencil so that I could ink through to give him a bit of background, finally adding more splodges using a stamp.

Donkey - from Darling Donkeys set Stampin' Up
Balloon - stamp from Balloon Celebrations Stampin' Up
Words - produced on the computer to fit the square
Square - die from Phill Martin
Inky background - stencil made using Sizzix Splat die
Extra splodges - stamp from French Foliage Stampin' Up

Love You Always

 I treated myself to a Stampin' Up mini class from Stacey Marsh which uses items from the Love You Always Suite of products.  The designer papers are all monochrome although of course colour could be added but Stacey designed the four cards to be monochrome.  I've made three of them so far using the items in the class kit but I've chosen to adapt the designs slightly to fit my preferred square card format rather than the A6 format which seems to be the norm for Stampin' Up card designs.  I have quite a bit of the DSP left over so I'll be able to make some more cards to which I will probably add colour.  The die cut elements were supplied in the kit; and as I don't have the stamp set, the smaller words were printed on the computer and all the flowers were fussy cut from the DSP.  I've enjoyed making these cards and these classes act as a sort of 'taster' for the products.

Another Share

I've been steadily making cards ever since lockdown (and before of course) but I've not shared them all on my blog.   Today's card is one which I made some time ago but which should serve as a reminder that Spring is just around the corner and there must be some warmer days coming along.  The temperature has gone up a little  bit today because it is raining steadily which is a good excuse for hiding in the craft room making even more cards once I've cooked myself something for lunch.

I die cut a stitched rectangle of white card, sponged with some ink and also stamped some little dotty accents. This was layered onto a green stitched rectangle before the tulips were added.  Some of them are stamped in the background and the remainder stamped and cut out before being layered up with the addition of a strip of spotted ribbon and a tiny tag for the sentiment.  In the background is a white piece of card embossed with a text design and also sponged with matching ink.

Embossing Folder - from Crafter's Companion
Tulips - Timeless tulips stamp set from Stampin' Up