Bah Humbug week 40

The challenge at Bah Humbug for week 40 is glitz and glitter and I've done a fairly simple card using Artylicious background paper.  I used a tree stamp from the fat robin Christmas set by Chocolate Baroque stamped onto some of the backing paper with Versamark and embossed with Ranger Queens Gold embossing powder, cut out the image and mounted it onto a piece of gold card.  The glitzy snowflake was made with 2 Marianne dies.

St Luke's Charity challenge 3

The St Luke's challenge  this month is 'come fly with me' - anything which flies and they are aiming to reach a target for online entries so do take a look and see if you can help them.  My card has a fairy which is a Polkadoodles stamp and comes with an optional butterfly stamp designed to be used to turn the girl into a fairy if you so wish (I stamped the wings on some pearlescent vellum).  Background paper is by Artylicious from my stash and the image was coloured with Copics and a touch of pencil here and there.  The flowers  and toadstools were also on the same set of stamps and I added a ribbon bow coloured with Copics to match.  The fairy was mounted onto two Nestability shapes brushed with Distress ink while the die was in place, one of which was embossed using a special touch mask .

Bah Humbug Challenge 19

This week seems to be disappearing rapidly - some weeks seem to be like that but I've managed to make a snowflake card for the Bah Humbug challenge. Background paper is from Artylicious Seasons Greetings CD and the message was also printed from there as well.  I added a border of dark blue card which was embossed using a cuttlebug snowflake folder and then sprayed with some Glimmer Mist (I also added a few touches of Stewart Gill shimmery blue with a paint brush).  Snowflakes were cut from glitter handmade paper using a Marianne die.

Vellum Butterfly

I don't often make A6 cards but these cut and emboss folders from Papermania are that size so I decided to go along that route with this one.  The card used is Chocolate Box Core-dinations card which I have sanded back to show the core colour and backed it with paper printed fron an Artylicious CD (although not much of it is actually showing).  I had printed a sheet of vellum using the same design and cut the Marianne butterfly from both layers together because sometimes vellum is a bit flimsy if cut on its own with some dies and I felt that putting the two toning layers on would give some dimension to the butterfly.

Forgotten Friday 10

The stamps used for this Forgotten Friday challenge were a really lucky find for me last week at the charity shop in our village so I guess they must have lain neglected by someone else before finding their way there.  They are from a sheet of unmounted by The Stamp Man which I don't think have been used because they were only very roughly cut out and not mounted on cling foam.  The background paper was printed on pearl paper from Artylicious Seasons Greetings CD which is not just for Christmas as there are some great designs which can be used all year round.  The block of text was one of the stamps from the set and the image with the butterfly was stamped onto card which had been coloured with alcohol inks - the butterfly was stamped on the same card but  in green and embossed with silver pearl and was layered slightly offset to give a shadowed effect.  A few swirls were added around the edges of the background.

Bah Humbug Challenge 11

The challenge this week on Bah Humbug is 'metallic' so all sorts of scope here.  I settled on colouring some glossy card with alcohol inks, stamping using Elusive Images Klimt Baubles and embossing with gold powder. The background paper is from Artylicious Seasons Greetings CD and I printed it on some beautiful metallic gold paper which I've just discovered is no longer available - sad or what.  Fortrunately I still have a small amount left so will reserve it for 'special' printing like today when I felt it went along with the  theme. The sentiment is also from the same set of Elusive Images stamps and I even went to my sadly neglected stash of peel-offs for something to 'hang' the baubles.

By the way - while I had my alcohol inks out I noticed that the mixatives (the metallic ones) had well and truly settled at the bottom of the bottles and it took me ages to get them mixed again.  I tried shaking vigorously to no effect and  resorted to tapping the bottles smartly on the table several times which eventually loosened the little ball from the sludge at the bottom and now they are well mixed again.  I must remember to give them a shake every now and then even if I'm not actually planning on using them at the time.

Forgotten Friday 9

Forgotten Friday comes around very quickly and Judith has made a lovely card using a set stamps which were lying unused - her blog is well worth a look anytime.  My card uses a couple of stamps from a set called Studio Sketch which was a hostess gift from Stampin Up a while ago and I think I only used one or two of them once when I got them first - it's a good thing that I have to keep tidying up and reorganising all my 'stuff' because it certainly reminds me of what I've not used recently and that in turn is handy for this challenge.

I used background paper by Artylicious, a piece of card embossed using a Cuttlebug folder and a couple of Marianne Die cuts.  The image and greeting were stamped on kraft card which is a favourite of mine at the moment. The two buttons were dug out of my huge button box which lies neglected nowadays because I don't do dressmaking now and rarely knit garments either to use them up. I don't think I'm likely to run out of buttons even if I put some on every card I make!!

Inspiration

This card was inspired by an article in the March issue of Craft Stamper.  Alcohol inks were used on silk card which was then run through a Cuttlebug embossing folder - the soft ribbon was also dyed using the same inks.  Background paper is from artylicious Essence of Nature collection and the flower stamp is from Papermania Hampstead set - stamped onto watercolour paper with Adirondack dye ink and cut out with a Nestability die.  The corner was cut using a Marianne die and the stamped sentiment punched with a Stampin Up punch mounted onto a smaller 'Nestie' die shape.

Bird Cage

Last year a friend bought one of my cards with wording on to send to one of her friends and this year asked for something similar but with a different verse so I stamped off all my suitable words and let her choose.  This Elusive Images stamp was her choice and I used backing paper from Artylicious Echoes of Italy collection, overstamped around the edges with some swirls (also EI stamp).  The birdcage and bird were stamps from Papermania from a set called Tweet which is being sold with a donation of £2 per sale going to Cancer Research UK.  The addition of some cream lace and a computer greeting complete this card - I do hope she likes it!!

Forgotten Friday 4

Yes, I know I put FF 1 last week but wasn't sure how many of these Judith had put up last year and anyway it was the first one this year - my excuse anyway!!  My forgotten item this week comes from a sheet of Stickeroos by Penny Black which has been lingering in a storage box for quite a time.  I've combined this with some Artylicious background paper, punched paper and card, some cream lace and a punched corner made using two punches.  The butterfly was also on the sheet of stickers and I stuck it onto black card and cut out, adding some glitter and a few matching pearls to finish this card off. Nearly forgot - the greeting was stamped with an Elusivise Images stamp.

Blossom

Whenever I make cards I always seem to end up with left over bits and pieces on my desk and I really am making an effort to use them up as I go along.  This time I had a  random die cut which I'd made when I got the die just to try it out and a few circles cut from old book pages which had been coloured (why do I always make too many?) so I scrunched these up and made another flower.  Although there were also oddments of papers and card lying around nothing was the right colour so I went through my stash and took out a new sheet of backing paper (Artylicious), found some matching cardstock which I embossed and touched with some glimmer paint.  I then stamped the wording and assembled the card - now of course I have the remnants of card and paper left from this one. I really don't think my work space will ever be clear - never mind - I'm sure I read somewhere about tidy people not being creative!!

Flower Card

A flower card this morning using Marianne dies and a stamp by Wendy House.  Background paper is from Artylicious and some stamped and punched butterflies were added (Stampin Up).  A fairly quick and easy card once I'd managed to persuade the larger die cut out of the die without damaging it!!

Birthdays are Good for You

The stamp used on this card is one of a set from Elusive Images and one of my favourites - when people say to me that they don't like getting old I always say that I reckon it is preferable to the alternative!!  Background paper is from  Artylicious Echoes of Italy and I made a frame using Nestabilities and simply added ribbon, a couple of swirls and a few flowers which I think have produced a cheerful effect to counteract the dull dark days although the sun did actually make a brief appearance yesterday and the sky this morning looks promising too.

Fuchsias

My friend Anne (Stamps and Paper) recently used a PSX botanical stamp on a card which reminded me that I have a couple of these which I've had for years and neither have seen the light of day for absolutely ages. I coloured the flowers with pencils and simply mounted  onto toning card, background paper is Artylicious and I used some Stampin Up ribbon, a SU punch and some card candy to complete this simple any occasion card.

Thinking of You

I thought this elaborate die cut by Marianne only really needed a simple sentiment to make it into a card.  Background paper is by Artylicious and the flower was made from the pages of a paperback book which was falling to pieces. The layers of the flower were cut using a Nestabilities die and then coloured using distress inks and some Glimmerz paint - a brad was popped through the centre and the whole thing was scrunched up and left to dry.  The swirls under the flower were in the same set of dies as the main shape.

Flower and Bee with Text

The flower and bee on this card are from the Blooming with Beauty set by stampin Up.  Background paper is from Artylicious Essence of Nature and one piece has been stamped with a large text stamp also from SU.  Colouring was done with pencils and a touch of Glamour Dust was added to the wings of the bee. I also used Nestabilities and a Martha Stewart punch.

Birdsong

A quick post this morning - I'm giving myself a day off after the two days demonstrating which were great fun but quite tiring.  Tomorrow I will have to put all the 'stuff' back into my craftroom - I've not unpacked it yet!! This card is another of the samples I made using the Big Shot to cut out the shape and the branch with blubirds using Sizzix dies and embossing folder. Background paper is from Artylicious essence of Nature collection and the wording is an Elusive Images stamp.

Two Busy Days Ahead

I have two busy days ahead demonstrating and a wonderful excuse to play all day and chat to lovely crafty people.  A quick post this morning before I set off - everything packed but the kitchen sink so hope I've not forgotten anything vital.  I will be using my Big Shot and this is one of the cards I made using Tim Holtz tattered flowers die, cutting the flowers from the pages of an old dictionary and colouring them with Glimmer Mists. Background paper is by Artylicious, Nestabilities scalloped square has been embossed with a crafts Too folder and the wording is an elusive Images stamp on another Nesties shape.

Floral Card

I bought this Penny Black letters and flowers stamp a while ago and realised it had been sitting around unused - maybe a sign that I have too many stamps?  I used Adirondack dye ink and cut out with a Nestabilities die, inking the edges with the same ink which was also sponged onto the Tim Holtz 'on the edge' die; background paper is by Artylicious; ribbon and sentiment from Stampin Up.

Song of Love

This is another golden anniversary card, this time using stamps from Elusive Images, background paper by Artylicious and a mirri card die cut heart embossed with Sizzix three dots folder and then distressed slightly to tone it down a little. The sentiment was computer generated and cut using a nestabilities die.