Tag-along (and ATC) challenge July

 Time for a new challenge at Tag-along (and ATCs) and the theme is 'In the Garden' or there is always the 'anything goes' option. .  For my tag I started with some partial stencilling and then stamped the Chinese lanterns and some foliage, finally adding some more ink around the edges and painting the lanterns themselves using Distress Oxide ink.  Finally a little 'sticker' which I produced on the computer. Some stickles and white pen used as highlights here and there.

 Stamps all from Lavinia
Stencil - also Lavinia
Tag - using a Sizzix Tim Holtz die set (largest size die)
Word sticker - produced using MS Word

Snippets Challenge #509

 I've just realised that I'd not made a card for the current Snippets Challenge.  No excuse really except that I'd been without a computer for a couple of days during the week and I'm afraid that being so out of touch really puts me all at 'sixes and sevens'.  Thankfully the update didn't take too long and it's all nicely back in place on my desk; also working more quickly which is great..   I did actually have to use some whole sheets of A4 card for this card because I've decided I will make my own card blanks for now and I also needed a couple of layers as well here.  All of the die cutting for this card was done using snippets of white card and I remembered to take a pic before throwing out the remnants.  

I started by die cutting the toadstools, colouring the caps with alcohol markers and then assembling them, popping the teeny tiny white dots back into the blank spaces.  This turned out to be very fiddly so I might have to rethink that procedure.  I lightly coloured the stems and some details on the little toadstool cottage. The next move was deciding how to design the layout and I settled for a slatted circle which was backed with a snippet of designer paper from my collection.  Tiny tags were used for the sentiment and a snippet of gold and white baker's twine used to attach them..

Picture of the scraps (snippets) left over after die cutting the toadstools and tags

Slatted Circle - Craft Addiction UK
Tiny Tags and Toadstools - Craft Addiction UK
Squares - Noble Pierced Square Nesting dies Creative Expressions

Rudolph Days Challenge

 The Rudolph Days challenge has caught me out yet again this month so it was a quick scramble to make a Christmas card before the end of month deadline.  I've chosen this time to make an eclipse style card using one of the slatted dies and an image from a pad of seasonal images which I've had for some years and is most likely now discontinued.  I selected two identical images and used one of the slatted dies to cut into the centre of one of them before layering them together for the effect.  A piece of toning card was used to cut a larger rectangle to back this and then it was adhered onto a 7" x 5" card blank.  A simple greeting was die cut and added and that's it - job done and my Rudolph Days card for June completed in no time.

Image from Lili of the Valley pad of seasonal images 
Greeting - dies from Britannia
Slatted dies - from Craft Addiction UK (squares)
Toning Card - Cherry Cobbler by Stampin' Up

Slatted Oval Background

 I got the idea for this card from watching a recent YouTube video by the talented Chrissie Stokes where she showed us a way of producing a slatted oval background without needing slatted dies (which I've not come across anyway).  This was achieved by using the largest of the square slatted dies (or the large circle would work as well)  and using the resulting piece to back a card design incorporating an oval cut out.  For my card I used an oval die with a floral design one one side where this actually cuts out the frame, which I was able to put back into the oval aperture before deciding what else to add.  I selected a dragonfly die which was cut from a piece of a Gelli print with a black layer for the body.  The sentiment was also cut from a scrap of the Gelli print.  Before it was assembled I decided to cut another layer of the oval frame to give the card a bit more dimension.  The dragonfly was brushed over with a glimmer pen for a bit of extra shine.  

Slatted squares die set - Craft Addiction UK
Oval Floral Frame - Gummiapan die from Easter Calendar 2025
Dragonfly - also Gummiapan die from Easter Calendar 2025
Sentiment - from Crafter's Companion (I've had this one a long time)

Allsorts Challenge #826

 Time for a new challenge at Allsorts and this time the theme has been chosen by Christine and it is either **The Beach** or the usual *Anything Goes*.  Prizes this time are from Grafton Crafts and you can see full details on the Allsorts Blog.

When I saw the theme this time I went straight to my collection of useful bits and pieces because I knew there were at least a couple of die cuts in there of some wooden posts, just waiting to be used and, as it happens I also came across a couple of seagulls and a handy clump of grass.  The seagulls and grass were already coloured and ready to go but the wooden posts were white so I set about colouring these with some Distress Oxide ink mixed with water. I then decided to go for a relatively CAS design using a couple of square dies and one of my slatted circles which I layered together, backing the circular area with a piece of a previously made Gelli print which is sea-coloured. Finally everything was adhered to a 6" square card - so far no sentiment has been added to the front of this card, which will probably be left blank because I find that people are often looking for cards in which they can write their own personal messages.

Slatted Circle Dies - from Craft Addictions UK
Wooden Posts and Gulls - dies from Gummiapan
Grass - from On the Horizon set Stampin' Up (long retired)

Inky Play

This card is the result of a bit of inky play and trying out the faux bleach or colour lift technique using a stencil and some water. First I smooshed some inks around onto a piece of white card which was slightly smaller than the card blank and once it was dry I used a damp sponge through the stencil in selected areas to lift some of the colour until I was happy with the result.  It was left to dry naturally although a heat gun could also be used if you are impatient (the results always seem to vary each time this technique is tried).  The stamped foliage was the final thing apart from a small die cut sentiment because I didn't want to cover up too much of the background.

Inks -Distress Oxides, Saltwater Taffy, Victorian Velvet and Wilted Violet
Stamp  and stencil - from Lavinia
Sentiment - a favourite free stamp, die from an ancient set of fancy dies by Sue Wilson 

Coffee Anyone?

I've made another drink related tag to take along to the Tag-along (and ATC) challenge. where the the theme is either Drinks or Anything Goes.  I don't have any small coffee or tea related stamps but a lovely blogging friend kindly stamped a few for me - thank you, you know who you are 😊.  This is quite a large tag so I was able to use one of my much larger set of stamps as a background.  I used a torn notebook die set to trim the edges of one of the smaller images I was sent and coloured and fussy cut the coffee cup from another to layer onto it, sponging the edges with brown ink.  The large tag was cut from an offcut (Snippet) of text printed paper.  Some toning baker's twine was used to tie through the hole in the tag and then everything was layered together.  I was inspired to come up with this design by the lovely prize this month.

Tag - Text printed paper from an old Prima pad, Tim Holtz tag die set with several sizes
Large Coffee Cup - from Caffeinated stamp set Aall & Create
Small Cup - from Tim Holtz small blueprint coffee cup stamp set
Torn Notebook Edges - unbranded die set

More Ducks

 I had a few die cut ducks left from a previous card so I rootled about amongst some of my older die sets and came up with the idea of using this gate, tree stump and some corn to build up a little scene.  I started by cutting a square of white card and brushed over lightly with some blue and green ink.  The ducks I already had and the die cut corn was found in my container of 'useful bits' so I just needed to cut the gate, tree stump, clouds and a couple of clumps of grass.  The sentiment was composed to fit one of my rectangular stitched dies using MS Word.    I find it interesting, and useful, to look back at older stamp and die sets to see just what can be pulled out to use with some of my more recent acquisitions - these dies came from several different sets 😉, all retired so no longer available.

 Ducks - unbranded die set
Gate - from Counting Sheep Stampin' Up
Corn and tree stump  - from Hey Chick also SU
Grass Clumps - from Elephant Parade also SU
Cloud - from Gummiapan (part of Easter Countdown special collection dies)
Sentiment - Stitched rectangle die set SU

Tag-along

 The theme for the current Tag-along (and |ATC) challenge is **Drinks**  so I've made a tag with wine glasses and a bottle. I started  by sponging some ink around the edges of the tag, adding a little stencilling, avoiding the area where I was going to place the wine bottle die cut.  There were also some faint fragments of text stamped near the top of the tag.  The wine bottle and glasses were die cut from some white pearl card and I also cut another one using red card, with the intention of placing all the red pieces back into the die.  Having tried that, I decided it was all too much so settled for just adding some 'wine' to the largest glass.

 

Stencil - came as a free gift from Craft Stash some time ago. Stencils  are rarely marked with a name
Wine Bottles and Glasses - unbranded die possibly from Temu
Text Stamp - came from a magazine gift set 

Naughty Step

 I reckon I may well be on the naughty step in the Snippets Playground because there is no picture of my left over snippets this time.  The main reason for this is that I've had a real flurry of making cards using my recently acquired slatted die sets which has entailed pulling out lots of my old stamps and/or dies in an effort to come up with a variety of ways to combine the old with the new..  Another dilemma was which card to choose to take along to the Playground for the current challenge and eventually these quirky birds won the day, closely followed by most of the remainder, which you will be seeing sooner or later.  Apart from the card blank, everything else came from my pile of snippets - mostly all white apart from the three little pieces used to back the circles to add a little colour. (pink, yellow and blue).  I die cut the three slatted circles from white card, using all three dies together so that I could back them with the coloured circles and then adhere to the main card background in a pleasing arrangement.  The birds were stamped, coloured and die cut, then placed onto their circle backgrounds.  A stamped sentiment from the set was added.

Slatted Circles - dies from Craft Addiction UK
Birds - Stamps with matching dies unbranded 
Colouring - Inktense Pencils with water Brush

Allsorts Challenge #825

 We are into another fortnight with a new challenge from Allsorts and the theme, which has been chosen by Gail is **What Makes You Happy** (stamps/dies/weather/flowers etc) so a wide choice and of course there is, as always *Anything Goes*. Two prizes this time of Penny Black stamps/dies. 

There are many, many things which make me happy so it was a difficult decision but eventually I decided that as I enjoy making cards, love nature and flowers, a floral card would be my choice.  I started by cutting a slatted circle into a square of white card and backed it with a Gelli print from my box of inky bits.  Next I die cut and coloured the cone flowers, cut the stem and leaves from green card and assembled everything, adding a simple sentiment.

Slatted Circle - dies from Craft Addiction UK
Flowers - a very old die, maker unknown
Sentiment - computer generated using MS Word

Butterflies

 It's taken me quite a while to get my hands on a set of the popular slatted square dies - I just couldn't keep up and missed the boat trying to order when I spotted they were back in stock.  However there is now a handy button on the website where you can request a notification email when 'sold out' items are back in stock.  This worked well and the dies arrived so I just had to have a quick play - this card is the result.  I die cut three butterflies from a snippet of inky card and the word from an even smaller snippet of purple cardstock.  I decided to add two of the smaller square dies in the corners to add a bit of extra interest. The large square was backed with a piece cut from a Gelli print.  There's some shimmer on the butterflies which, of course, doesn't show in the picture.

Butterflies - dies from Gummiapan (exclusive to their Easter Calendar 
Hello - die from Gummiapan
Slatted Squares - dies from Craft Addiction UK

Tag-along (and ATCs)

 The optional theme for the current challenge at Tag-along (and ATCs) is **DRINKS** and I was pretty sure I had nothing to use which would fit onto an ATC until I remembered I had a CD which came out back in 2010 containing images connected to wine.  I managed to resize one of the cartoons so here is what I've made - pretty simple really and not that much work once I'd fathomed out how to make the image fit the ATC.  The most difficult part was choosing which of the designs to use😊 

Image - CD 'The Wine Buffs' from Katy Sue Designs dated 2010. Images designed by Mike Payne.  I'm guessing this CD is no longer available

Masculine Card

 I don't often make cards which are specific to either male or female recipients but think this one would probably class as masculine.  A little while ago I was gifted a fun stamp which represents distressed corrugated cardboard and this is what I've used here.  Thank you, I love it and you know who you are 😍.  I've stamped it onto some kraft card and then fussy cut with scissors, combining this piece with a die cut clock face, some inking, stencilling and random background stamping.  There's also a die cut torn notebook effect which I like and some washi tape scraps which I don't especially like but when I tried to remove them, the surface of the background was being lifted so I had to stick them down again before the whole card was ruined 🙄🙄.

Stamp - Woodware FRS802 Torn Cardboard
Clock - die from a magazine boxed set from way back, Phill Martin
Torn Notebook die - unbranded
Stencil - Tim Holtz clock faces (quite an old stencil)
Background stamping - border stamp Aall & Create
Washi Tape - also A & C

Snippets Challenge #507

 Time to hand in my homework at the Snippets Playground and this time I decided to make what would probably be thought of as a masculine card although one of my granddaughters is into books in a big way so I know she would like it.  Everything on this card, apart from the kraft card blank and the large cream square, came from my Snippets mountain.  The large cream layer was embossed using an embossing folder featuring text and a smaller snippet of cream card was cut using a pierced square die.  Onto this I placed four fancy-edged text squares of  design paper.  These were from a box of such squares and other shapes which I came across recently at the back of a cupboard and which dates back to my very early days of card making.  It's a  large plastic storage box containing 2,000 fancy shapes in an assortment of designs and colours and to my shame I think most of them are still in the box, untouched 🤣.  I think it could take me a while to get through that many and I'm not sure if they count as snippets.  However more small snippets of kraft and cream card were used to die cut the books and the banner for the sentiment.  The actual sentiment was die cut from the last of a sheet of printed sentiments which I produced on the computer.

This pictures shows some of my snippets, not worth hanging onto these scraps

Embossed Layer - unbranded folder from Amazon
Smaller Square - Noble Pierced squares dies Creative Expressions
Small Squares - Large box of assorted shapes by Papermania from many years ago
Books - unbranded die
Sentiment - produced using Microsoft Word to tone with kraft card
Sentiment Banner - die from Creative Expressions 

Rudolph Days

We're moving through the year month by month and now it's time for the May Rudolph Days Challenge where the theme is Anything Goes just as long as it has something to do with Christmas.  I had an image in mind which I 'd decided to use but was unsure as to how; until I remembered that Jules (Always With a Heart) has a good selection of layout sketches on her blog so I decided to take a look.  I settled on using square sketch #2 and trimmed my image into a square and searched for some suitable background papers.  The two small white squares were cut and embossed with a snowflake pattern.  For the moment I've left the card without a sentiment as it speaks for itself and there will be one added to the insert anyway.  Taking part in this challenge is a good way of building up a stock of cards ahead of the end of the year so why not think about making something - you have until the end of the month to take part.

Image - from pad of seasonal images Lili of the Valley (dated 2013)
Designer Papers - by Stampin' Up (retired) dating back 3 or 4 years I believe
Snowflake die - Source unknown - it was just in the box with most of my Seasonal stash
Narrow strip of green card from my snippets box. 

Allsorts Challenge # 824

 Big celebrations at Allsorts Challenge this time because it is our 16th Birthday and the theme is *Anything Goes* or you might like to celebrate with us and make a Birthday card.  There are multiple prizes this time as well - details below.  Some for winners in the UK and some for entrants from 'across the pond'.  Full details can be seen on the Allsorts Blog post.

All & Create - several prizes 
Lawn Fawn - 25$ store voucher
Colorado Craft Company - three stamps
Gina K Designs - 25$ store voucher (Worldwide)

For my Design Team card I've chosen to make a birthday card and have stamped the image onto cream card as a change from using white which can sometimes be a bit stark.  Colouring was done using Inktense pencils with a water brush and the image was cut out using a square die with  pierced detail  - a  slightly larger square was used  to back it.  I added a small simple sentiment.  

Stamp - From a Coffee Themed set by A & C
Square Dies - Noble Pierced Squares from Creative Expressions (Sue Wilson)

Eclipse Style

 I've spotted a few different ways of using the popular slatted dies and one way seems to be using them to make eclipse style cards using two identical stamps or images - also spotted one which used plain black behind an image which had black as part of the design and I imagine this would also work if the slatted cut out was backed with whatever colour happened to be predominant in the picture.  Anyway I decided to have a go using my heart slatted dies with two images from an ancient pad of assorted designs because fortunately there were two or three of each  still remaining.  I centred the dies onto one image and cut them , adhering the resulting 'frame' onto the duplicate (uncut) one making sure it was lined up correctly..  Once the glue was dry I used a square die to cut out the whole thing, backing that with a slightly larger green square.  At this point I decided the slatted heart needed a bit of dimension so used the three dies together to cut another heart in white card so that I could glue it behind the patterned one before popping it carefully back into the aperture..  A die cut sentiment was added - job done!!

Image - from pad of images by Lily of the Valley dated 2014
Slatted Heart Dies - Craft Addiction UK
Square Dies - Pierced Noble Squares, Creative Expressions
Die Cut Sentiment - Britannia Dies 

...and Another Pair

 This time I have a pair of Artist Trading Coins to share, the making of which was triggered this morning by a number of things leading on from my usual Sunday morning visit to the Snippets Playground. Firstly I saw that Di had been busy making ATCs which you can see  HERE and on Sarn's post she'd used a long retired embossing die which I knew I had in my stash.  There was a Snippet of Gelli print on my desk which I thought would be sufficient to cut two 2.5 inch circles which is the size of the Coins - turned out I could only cut one full size and the other 1/4 inch smaller but that's fine as I glued it to a cream circle of the correct size.  I had a rummage in a box of dies and found the butterfly one I was looking for and with it was a similar one which cut and embossed a series of buttons so I thought 'why not?' and went ahead cutting the butterflies and buttons I needed along with a couple of little bows to go with the buttons because a song title had sprung to mind as soon as I saw the buttons 😉.  I decided to add some silhouette stamped foliage to one circle and some rows of stamped stitchery to the other before adhering the other components.  I turned to the computer to produce my own tiny text labels for one of the coins and that's an enjoyable Sunday morning done and dusted.

My original intention was to make a pair of AT Coins using the butterflies but that changed when I came across the button die although they do share the same Snippet of Gelli print background.  I'm popping along to  Tag-along (and ATC) Challenge blog where the theme for their very first challenge is 'Anything Goes'.  

Foliage Stamp - from a magazine gift set  dated 2015
Stitchery Stamp - from a magazine gift dated 2017
Butterfly and Button Dies - long retired Stampin' Up
Bow Dies - Gummiapan

A Pair of ATCs

 I have a pair of ATCs to share today for the new Tag-Along and ATC challenge which is just over half way through the first month.  It's amazing just how much detail can be incorporated in a small space and if you've not tried making these little pieces of art I'd certainly recommend having a go - you might be pleasantly surprised.  If you decide to go along with making tags, they can of course be larger, although there's nothing to say they can't be pretty small as well 😉. 

 For this pair I used a couple of images from a paper handkerchief - the packet was actually purchased not for blowing noses but because I'd thought the images would be ideal for ATCs or perhaps card toppers..  I carefully separated the layers of the tissue and used Mod Podge to apply the fashionistas to blank card (2.5 x 3.5 inches). The first one had some die cut 'sequins' and a bit of gilding added and the second  had some background text stamped carefully to add a bit of extra interest.  The words on both were produced on the computer and cut into little labels.

Images torn from tissue handkerchief, applied using Mod Podge
Words produced using Microsoft Word
Background Text stamp was a magazine freebie from a while back

Love a Duck!!

 There were a few ducks loitering on my desk, left over from a previous card so I brought out some of my snippets to cut a few more components to turn them into a card for the Playground challenge # 506.  I started with a fairly large snippet of patterned paper and added touches of green ink to turn it into more of a scene.  Dies from various sets were then used to cut items from some of my Snippets and there is a picture of a few of the left overs. As usual, apart from a card blank, everything else here came from my Snippets mountain.

In my head I rather imagined these ducks were maybe learning to fly by jumping off the bridge with the option of a safe landing into the water 🤣🤣.

                                                       

Ducks and Bulrushes - unbranded dies
Bridge, Tree trunk and Clouds - from Playing in the Rain Stampin' Up (retired)
Ripples in Water - die from Gummiapan Easter Calendar exclusive set

Why not have a rummage in your own Snippets collections to make a card for the challenge -

lovely prizes for the lucky winner

While we're talking challenges, I hope that the Playground management won't mind if I remind you that the next Allsorts challenge is a special Birthday Event with some great prizes to be won.

Allsorts Challenge # 823

The theme for the current Allsorts Challenge has been chosen by Lynne and is **Paper Piecing** with as usual the option of *Anything Goes*.  Prize this time  is  a voucher to spend at Personal Impressions. They stock a wide range of crafty goodies.

I really like this style of paper piecing and ended up making two cards because I was unable to choose between the two stamp sets which I pulled out as  being suitable for this technique..  In both cases the images were stamped onto the backgrounds and then again onto some Gelli prints using archival ink.  The Gelli print ones were carefully fussy cut using scissors and then adhered (paper pieced) in place to match parts of the stamping.

Acorn and Sentiment - Blueprint Sketch style stamp from Stampers Anonymous
Flowers - Abstract Florals by Stampers Anonymous collection
Sentiment - computer generated
Background on Second card - from a Prima paper pad (not recent)

Tag Along

 I have another project to share for the new Tag Along and ATC challenge which launched recently.  This time I've made a tag from a piece of corrugated pizza box which a kind friend let me have.  These were brand new pieces so no greasy remnants of cheese or tomato and they have nice fine corrugations.  I started by cutting the tag shape and then carefully peeled away some of the top layer to reveal the inside layer in places.  Distress Oxide was smooshed on and then a background texture stamp used to add some interest.  I then found scraps of cream card and stamped the chevrons, flowers, leaves and the word before cutting everything out with scissors ready to assemble into what I hope is a pleasing composition.  I'm quite enjoying this foray into making tags and ATCs as a change from the usual greetings cards.  Why not have a go yourselves - you might just discover a whole new interest.  After all variety is the spice of life, or so 'they' say 😂😂

Stamps - all from various Crafty Roo sets (sadly no longer trading)

Generosity

 Thanks to the generosity of a lovely crafting friend I now own a set of the hexagon slatted dies and my first card design is, I suppose, quite predictable in that I've chosen to use a bee die although there are many other ways in which these could be used - they come in varying sizes too which makes them very versatile..  I opted for a CAS style here, cutting the hexagon shape using all three dies taped together.  This was then backed with a yellow layer and adhered to a white card blank.  The bee was cut from yellow and black card, layered up and given some shine using Wink of Stella.  I deliberately used the slats on the diagonal as a change from either vertical or horizontal.  A simple computer generated sentiment has been added.

Hexagon Slatted Dies - Craft Addiction UK
Bee - Sizzix Bee #663852 (2 sizes)
Sentiment - produced using MS Word

Tag-Along Challenge

 A new challenge started yesterday and you can read all about it HERE.  This gives us an opportunity to make either Tags, AT Cards or AT Coins - all great ways of making Art, a change from greeting cards and, particularly in the case of the ATCs to work on a somewhat smaller scale.  Tags of course come in various sizes so plenty of scope there too.  

My share today is an ATC (measuring 3.5 x 2.5 inches) which I started by trimming a Gelli print to the correct size and adhering to the card blank to form the 'sky'.  A recent tidy-up and rummage amongst my pot(s) of useful bits and bobs came up with this city skyline just calling out to be brought into play.  I'd been racking my brains recently for ways of using the die cut drummer and the idea of a traditional marching band popped into my head.  This small die came along with a random selection of others when I purchased a 'mixed bag' of miscellaneous small dies with no idea of the contents.  I think I mentioned that I like the odd surprise even if it does tax my brain occasionally 🤣.  I simply stamped a few musical notes and added a 'sticker' phrase which I'd produced on the computer.  Time now methinks to work on some ideas for tags .

Cityscape - from a magazine give-away set ( from way back in 2018)
Drummers - mixed bag of small dies (unbranded)
'Sticker' - hand made by me using MS Word

Snippets Challenge #505

 I'm popping along to the Snippets Playground with the card made using the dies from Day 8 of the Gummiapan Easter calendar (the final instalment).  This was such a fun set of dies including a cat, a Vespa style scooter and a cloud.  Added to this there was a scarf and a really dinky crash helmet.  I delved into some of my older magazine give-away dies for a couple of bushes and a sun.  Also I remembered as I was stamping the sentiment that sometime in the past I'd received a mini scooter die as a gift from Gummiapan so brought that into play at the last minute.  Everything on this card came from my Snippets mountain and I must apologise for not thinking about saving the small remnants to take a photo before sweeping them into the bin.

Ovals - dies from Tonic which I use quite regularly
Sentiment - came with the magazine give away dies (bushes and sun)

Day 7

 I'm back today with day 7 of my Gummiapan Easter calendar.  There were three dies in this set and I've used two of them along with a technique which I'd not tried before.  This method was featured in a YouTube video by Lou Collins and it involves using copy paper to make delicate features such as flowers or butterflies etc.  Basically the image you require is either stamped and cut out or simply die cut and then embossed with clear embossing powder which gives a delicate appearance.  I die cut the butterfly and dragonfly in copy paper and then coloured before embossing.  The bodies were cut separately in white card and then coloured with a touch of Wink of Stella for shine.. I was lucky enough to have been gifted the hexagon slatted die set recently and two of the dies were used as a background.  Some waterlily leaves and bulrushes were added as a final touch.

Hexagon Dies - from Craft Addiction UK
Dragonfly and Butterfly - from Gummiapan Easter calendar 2025
Waterlilies and Bulrushes - unbranded dies
Background - a piece of patterned paper to show through the slats - paper from Clarity
Lou Collins Video link

Allsorts Challenge #822

 The theme for Allsorts Challenge #822 has been chosen by Sarah and she would like to see your designs **Inspired by a Song** or there is of course the anything goes option. Prizes this time are from In2Crafts

 I've gone back a good few years to 1945 with a song entitled 'Love Letters Straight from Your Heart' which featured in a film of the same name.  I really liked the look of the dies in the form of various letters and have used one of them for this card along with the slatted heart die set.  The letter die cut was easily snipped apart so that it could be layered and I sponged a little ink to give it the appearance of a bit of age. The pink backing to the heart was over stamped with some text and I added a die cut sentiment.

Slatted Heart - dies from Craft Addiction UK
Love Letters - unbranded die
Sentiment - die I've had a long time and I think it was a give-away with a magazine 

Rudolph Days

 A short break from the remainder of my Easter Calendar cards because suddenly it's Rudolph Days again - the months are certainly whizzing by.  I was, of necessity, having a bit of a tidy of my working space which had shrunk to almost nothing and as luck would have it I came across a few odds and ends of Christmas themed die cuts so I was able to put together this card fairly quickly.  The Santa wine glass was already assembled and I found the foliage and poinsettia flower to add a bit of interest.  I did have to cut the sentiment from a scrap of gold card.

Happy Rudolph Days everyone 😊

Wine Glass and Sentiment - unbranded die set
Poinsettia - Stamp from Crafty Roo (sadly no longer trading)
Foliage - I think Sizzix dies

Day 6

 Day 6 of the Gummiapan Easter calendar offered up some interesting dies to cut a distressed tag and a matching pocket.  I used various Distress Oxide inks to colour a piece of card which I then used to cut out the two pieces.  My next move was to use stamps from my box of miscellaneous backgrounds to decorate before assembling the pocket.  For the main image on both the tag and pocket I've used a flower stamp, which I then stamped again onto a piece of scrap card so that I could fussy cut the petals to layer up onto the outside.  Final touch was some baker's twine for the tag and there you have it - a project using the mystery dies from Day 6.  Only two more to share after this - I know it was only eight days but I do miss opening the little surprises with my breakfast - sad or what 🤣🤣.

 Flower Stamp - from Aall & Create (readable words also from this set)

Day 5

 I'm sharing the card for Day 5 of the Gummiapan Easter calendar today - I have actually made something with each set through to the eighth day so watch this space 😊.  The dies for this day were food orientated and it took me a while to think of a way of using them, finally deciding to bring out my postage style die to make this into a Thanks card which would perhaps be good to send in thanks for a dinner party or meal out.  As well as using the 'dies of the day' I also included a tall drink die (source unknown) and a couple of milkshakes which I think used a mini Gummiapan die which came in an order as a little thankyou.  The sharp-eyed of you will probably recognise the plates from Day 4 😉.  Cheese and wine anyone???

Postage die - unbranded
Sentiment - using a set of alphabet dies which were a magazine freebie eons ago

Day 4

The dies which came on Day 4 of the Gummiapan Easter calendar had me flummoxed for a while when I opened the packet - I could see that three of them were sweets or chocolates but couldn't immediately see what the other four pieces were.  I came to the conclusion that they should be assembled into  a three-tier cake stand, or in this case, a sweetie stand.  I also used the pretty patterned border die which came with the previous day's set to decorate the edge of the white layer.  So that's it - a CAS card with a birthday greeting on a fancy label shape.  The card blank is the same white as the tag layer but for some reason it appears to be grey 🙄.  I must say that assembling the stand and adding the sweets took me quite a while - all die cut in white and coloured with alcohol pens.  I can think of quite a few different items which could be perched onto this stand once I get around to playing.

Dies - from the Gummiapan Easter calendar 2025
Tag Layers - two dies from an unbranded triptych set
Sentiment - from a retired Stampin' Up set (stamp and die)

Day Three

 Today I'm sharing what I made using  some of the dies which were in the packet opened on Day 3 of the Gummiapan Easter Calendar - I couldn't really incorporate the other two - a little feather and decorative border into this card.  I did however use a wooden crate die which I've had in my stash for a while (can't remember where it came from).  I also went to the 'useful bits' pot on my desk and fished out some grasses and a couple of flowers 😊.The crate and bunny were coloured using Distress inks and alcohol pens; the eggs cut from tiny snippets of coloured card. and I smooshed some green onto the card to ground everything.  The sentiment also came from the pot - would you believe I don't seem to have an Easter sentiment.  I opened Day 6 this morning, leaving just two more surprises to come - I'm pleased I decided to treat myself to this calendar.

Easter Calendar Again

 This project was made using the dies which came as Day 2 of the Calendar and I decided to use them for a tag - something to get me back into the swing of tag making ready for the new challenge which starts on 1st of May HERE.  I started by die cutting a tag using kraft card and smooshed some Distress Oxide ink, adding some background stamping using various visual texture stamps from my collection.  The 'honeycomb' style heart die was part of the mystery , as were the flowers and leaves.  The larger cream heart, the golden bees and the little hexagon hole protector were cut using dies from my stash. It's onwards now to day 3 and Day 4 of the Calendar which are already no longer a mystery, with Day 5 to come tomorrow.  Watch this space to see what I manage to make next.  So far I've avoided seeing what other people have made with their dies until I've made something myself 😊😊.

 Tag - die set from Sizzix (Tim Holtz)
Heart, flowers and Leaves - Day 2 dies from Easter Calendar Gummiapan
Golden Bees - die from an old Tonic magazine give-away set
Background stamping - various stamps from my stash
Cream Heart - dies from Craft Addiction UK (Slatted heart set)

Easter Calendar

 I have a card to share today which uses dies which were the surprise for Day 1 of the Gummiapan Easter calendar.  This year they have come up with an idea similar to their Advent calendar but this one has just eight days of exclusive dies in the run up to Easter.  Two dies in this set - the pretty oval flower one and a tiny flying bee which is an embossing die although it could be snipped out with pointed scissors  and used without its flight trail.  I decided to go for a clean and simple style for my first use of the dies and cut the oval out of a square of white card, embossing the bee at the same time.  The oval and the centre 'waste' were popped back into the aperture before adhering the two squares together.  Two more ovals were cut, and the flowers coloured using Distress inks with a water brush.  One complete one was glued directly on top of the plain white oval and the two larger flowers snipped out from the third to layer on top for a bit of dimension.  A simple computer sentiment and that's it done and dusted.  I'm working an idea for Day 2 and Day 3 has been opened this morning.  I do love a bit of mystery 😉

Dies from Gummiapan Easter Calendar 2025

Snippets Challenge #504

 There's a new challenge published on the Snippets Playground blog and of course the usual lovely prize as well as the chance of your card featuring as a Top Pick.  I do like to create a scene now and again - that is when making a card, not as in 'throwing a tantrum'  think I'm probably a bit too old for that 🤣🤣.

Everything on my card, apart from the card blank itself, came from my mountain of white snippets.  I started with a white piece slightly smaller than the card and then selected a couple of other pieces which I inked and stamped randomly - one with greens and one with brown shades.  Once dry these were then used to die cut the bulrushes and the greenery surrounding the pond (a tiny sliver of blue was used for the water).  The ducks were die cut from white card and their beaks and feet coloured with alcohol pen. At this stage, after playing around with the components and arranging them I decided a little background was needed so some blue ink was stencilled onto part of the white square.  A simple sentiment was added (snipped from a partly used page of computer sentiments which  I 'made earlier')

Stencil - from Lavinia Stamps
Duckpond - from a Sizzix die set called Oliver
Bulrushes and Ducks - unbranded dies
Sentiment - produced using MS Word

Some of the leftovers

 

Allsorts Challenge # 821

 It was my turn to suggest a theme for the current Allsorts Challenge and I would like to see what you can make using stencils and/or masks in your designs and of course there is the usual Anything Goes option. Prizes this time are from Lisa Horton Crafts more details if you follow the link to Allsorts.

For my card I started by stencilling a partial background onto a square of white card to fit my card blank and I also used the same stencil on a spare piece of card and set it aside.  My next move was to die cut the two circles (one green and one white), using some hill masks to brush colour over the white circle to represent the sky and ground.  The fairy house was stamped onto a scrap of white card, coloured and cut out with scissors and once I'd decided on the position of the house I stamped the footpath using black ink, and then various first and second impressions stampings of foliage and grasses in green.  I then went back to the trees stencilled onto the scrap piece of card and carefully cut out three trees, again using scissors.  Final move was to arrange them and the cottage and stick them in place.  No sentiment has been added at present, that can be decided later.

Tree stencil - Lavinia Stamps
All Stamps - Lavinia Stamps
Mini Hill Masks - also Lavinia
Colouring done using Polychromos pencils

Daffodils

 I have another Spring flower card to share today which was made using printed elements from an ancient CD which I recently pulled out of retirement 😊.  It was quite simple to make once I'd printed off the background paper and a page of images.  The sentiment was stamped and cut out with a punch which I've also had for a while.  Much as I love having new crafty items to work with there is a certain satisfaction in using items which have lain neglected, sometimes for many years.

Background and Images - from Joanna Sheen Floral Fantasy CD  dated 2008
Punch - a long retired one from Stampin' Up

Snippets Challenge #503

 My entry for the Snippets Playground Challenge this time is entirely made from Snippets - in fact everything came from the pot on my desk which contains heaps of miscellaneous bits and bobs which are too good to throw out and which deserve to be used rather than just piling up.  I had cut the two circles from some inked and stamped snippets of card some time ago with the intention of making some Artist Trading Coins but somehow these two were left behind.  I had a further rummage and pulled out the birds on a gingko branch and also the white rabbit along with some flowers and leaves.  So two more ATCs were the result and a few more Snippets used up.  Sorry no photo this time of my left over scraps as all of these bits and bobs were produced some time ago.

For anyone who may not know, an Artist Trading Coin is circular and 2 1/2 inches across - a great way of using smaller pieces of card aka Snippets 😊

Don't forget the new Tag and ATC Challenge starting 1st of May because making tags and ATCs are both excellent ways of using up your Snippets.  I don't know if AT Coins will also be included in the brief for this challenge, but I guess it's a possibility.

Fairy in a Bottle

 I had a bit of fun recently trying to decide which of my many stamps would fit and look good inside a bottle and this is the result.  I cut a piece of white card to fit onto a  card blank and then used one of the fairly new Lavinia stencils to apply some ink for the bottle, adding a stamped cork.  I have to admit I felt a bit bad about actually enclosing her in this way but then thought that as she is magical, no doubt she'd be able to escape if she so desired 😊😊.  Mad I know but that's how my brain works.  Some foliage and a  'shroom complete the scene and a sentiment was composed using Word.  There was some second generation stamping of text to give a little interest to the background.

 

Sticker Stencil and Stamps - all from Lavinia

There's news today of a brand new monthly challenge and you can read all about it HERE - officially starting on 1 May so plenty of time to get your brains thinking along Tag and/or ATC lines

Allsorts Challenge #820

 The theme for the next fortnight at Allsorts has been chosen by Ellie, who would like to see some **Spring Flowers** or there is the usual *Anything Goes* option.  Prizes  are from Aall & Create. 

For my DT card I've chosen to feature snowdrops which I think are one of the earliest signs of Spring.  I started by cutting a panel of white card and a slightly larger one of light green.  A polyplate was used to stamp a 'streak' of green as a background, adding a few stamped grasses.  The snowdrops were stamped in grey onto a scrap of white card, coloured and die cut before adding to the card using thin foam pads.  The sentiment was prepared on the computer and die cut with a small stitched rectangle.  The snowdrop stamp and die set has been in my stash for many years and the other elements are more recently acquired.

Edit - it would appear I might have been misinformed about Clearly Besotted as it does appear that they are still trading - SORRY🙄

Snowdrop - magazine freebie from Clearly Besotted 2019 (sadly no longer trading)
Green Background - Polyplate from Crafty Roo 2025 (again sadly no longer trading after 1 April))
Sentiment - prepared using Microsoft Word
Stitched Rectangle - die from retired Stampin' Up stitched rectangle set

Rudolph Days

 Happy Rudolph Days for the month of March which is nearly at an end.  If you don't know how this works you can read all about it by following the link.  I've been busy in the garden whilst the weather has been nice rather than in the craft room so I had a little rummage in my pot of  'useful bits and bobs' and pulled out a couple of snowmen, some trees and a scattering of stars.  These were all a bit small to make much of a card so decided to put together an ATC using a snippet of gelli print and a torn scrap of white paper for the snowy ground.  It never ceases to surprise me just what you can actually fit onto a card which is only 3 1/2 by 2 1/2 inches 😃 and they are great fun to make.

  

Snowmen - stamps and dies, possibly a magazine freebie (I've forgotten, sorry)
Trees - from a long retired Stampin' Up Christmas set
Stars - possibly from a Tim Holtz seasonal die set