Simply Stampin' Challenge week 66

The team at Simply Stampin' this week are asking for a CLEAN AND SIMPLE card which is a bit outside my comfort zone but always willing to have a go I've come up with this.  I've used the label shape from Everything Eleanor, words from Happiest Birthday Wishes and a flower from the Mixed Bunch set with a couple of petals removed and hey presto a butterfly!! The colours used came about because I'd not put away the ink pads from my previous projects - something I must do shortly so that I actually have space in which to work later. In fact once I'd decided what I was going to do this one didn't take too long to make and for once I managed not to get any inky smudges on that huge amount (for me) of white space.

Addicted to Stamps Challenge Week 2

For this second challenge the team on Addicted to Stamps have given us a bingo card as an aid to making a project - the idea being to choose any three items in a line and you will see they've been kind and given us a 'free' choice in the middle.

 I opted for the flowers, free (I used scoring) and stamps line and have 'CASED' a card from Jenny's blog and also made a matching gift box for a birthday which is next month although not sure at the moment what the gift will be but will need to fit into the box!! I chose a different colour combination for my items (Perfect Plum, Pale Plum and Cream) and changed the design of the card somewhat using Nature Garden paper from Prima overstamped to add interest and this paper was also used on the box.   The stamps are from Stampin' Up Everything Eleanor set and there was quite a bit of cutting out of shapes and flowers, the sentiment was produced on the computer and punched using SU punches. Matching paper was added to the box and the rosette was made using their new Scoring Board with the diagonal board being used to add scored lines to the cream layer. This board is brilliant, especially with the diagonal insert and the lines are in 1/8th inch incremennts which are so useful.  Since taking the photograph of the box  I've added pearls to the centre of the flowers (the card was scanned which has made the colours look different but the two items do match).

Do check out the two links to see which bingo lines the DT chose for their cards and to see lots of great Stampin' Up ideas and classes on Jenny's blog.

Simply Stampin' Week 65

The challenge this week on Simply Stampin' is another colour combination and the only one I had was the bashful blue so I've substituted another SU green and soft suede - the white was easy of course.

Backing paper is from Funky Hand and is a piece left over from a recent project and luckily it seems to be a good colour to go with the challenge ones.   I used some scraps to stamp and punch a bird on a branch and some little flowers, cut a Top Note in soft suede and used a Nestability die to cut a bashful blue layer which was embossed using a Crafts Too folder.  The bird and leaves were popped onto a white oval.  The sentiment was built up from various stamped and punched shapes (all SU) and I just had to use a piece of the gorgeous pleated ribbon and a few pearls.

If you follow the link it will take you to the blog to see what the Design Team have made this week.

Simply Stampin' Challenge 64

We've been given a sketch for the challenge this week on Simply Stampin' and I've used the Bright Blossoms stamp set which was a gift from Jenny at her recent SU Extravaganza Day (a fabulous day with so many inspirational projects).  Everything used on this card is from SU apart from the Nestability die used to cut out the embossed central panel and a dotty embossing folder used on the scrap of card across the centre.  Having a set of tiny stamps like this has helped me in my campaign to use up scraps too.

Make My Monday week 52

The main topic this month at Make My Monday is EVENTS associated with JUNE and as the birth stone for the month is PEARL they are asking for a birthday card with pearls.  I'm afraid I just had to break into a new sheet of paper for the background on this one but the rest of it all came from my scrap boxes.  The flower is a stamp from Imagination Crafts and has been coloured using Coloursoft pencils, background paper is from Prima  with added strips of card embossed or punched.  The border strip was punched with a Martha Stewart punch and Stampin' Up punches were used for the sentiment and the piece with pearls at the top. If you follow the link you will see  some great ideas from the Design Team.

Simply Stampin' Challenge week 62

There is another colour challenge on the Simply Stampin' blog this week and these are the colours we've been asked to use

Luckily I had scraps of all these in my stash and also matching ink colours to stamp up the Funky Four designs (three of them anyway). Shapes were cut with Nestabilities and punches and Sizzix embosslits die used for the butterflies.  I don't think I would have considered putting these colours together but they've certainly produced a bright and cheerful card.

Still Using Scraps

Well the sunshine seems to have disappeared for the moment - probably because the holiday weekend is coming up.  Today's card is made from some more of my scraps and I've realised that working in this way it takes longer to produce a card than starting with new pieces of card and paper and also requires some ingenuity and brain power but I will persevere.  Backing paper here is from Stampin' Up; the Top Note shape was cut using a Sizzix die and stamped with a Wisteria stamp from Chocolate Baroque; bird bath was made from punched ovals and the bird was the Bird on Branch punch from SU.  The flowers had been printed from a CD (forget which one) and I'd cut out quite a few and stored away (a good job to do sitting comfortably in front of the fire when the weather was cold); leaves were cut with a Marianne die; a scrap of cream embossed card and punched greeting complete this card.

Simply Stampin' Challenge 61

On Simply Stampin' challenge this week there is a sketch to use as inspiration - also lots of great ideas from the Design Team so well worth taking a look. At risk of being boring I'm still using leftovers as much as possible although the 'mountain' doesn't seem to be decreasing in size yet!!.  The Stampin' Up  backing paper was a piece cut to size for a previous project but not used because it didn't  look right and all of the die cut and punched, stamped shapes were cut from odd bits and pieces.  Flowers were stamped with Posy Punch, cut with the matching punch; leaves punched using the Bird on a Branch; layered shapes were die cut Nestabilities and the long strips used the Dotted Scallop ribbon punch.

Simply Stampin' challenge week 60

The theme this week at Simply Stampin' is MONOCHROME with a splash of COLOUR.  I used the SU Silhouette Sentiments stamp set to build up the image, stamping just one of the flowers in a bright pink for the splash of colour against the monochrome.  Background paper is from my stash - again a pad which has lost its cover so not sure of the source, a Memory Box die cut, some ribbon and a stamped sentiment complete this card. Do take a look at some of the lovely creations from the design team.

Lucky Win

I was so lucky last week and excited to hear that I'd won a set of Glenda's latest stamps - Lace Fragments available from Chocolate Baroque.  There is also a great Haberdashery set as well which tempted me as I can see great potential for these sets working so well together.  For my first try with the finely detailed lace stamps I decided to go for black and make a sympathy card, often difficult to make but sadly necessary from time to time.  Backing paper is from Tim Holtz Vintage Shabby collection, overstamped with some of the lace with the addition of some black ribbon.  The main image was stamped and embossed onto paper from the same collection and layered with Nestabilities.  A computer sentiment was all I felt was needed to complete this card.

Enjoy your Bank Holiday Monday whatever you are doing and I hope you are having better weather than here where it is raining steadily and looking very dismal and grey.

Funky Hand Challenge - Sentiment

Good morning and yes you are on the right blog - I've changed my template again.  I liked my recent change particularly the black background with white text which I found easier to read and thought it showed up the pictures nicely.  However there have been very mixed reactions from my readers - a bit like Marmite they seemed to either love it or hate it!!  I'd like to have a really pretty background but not entirely sure I could set it up successfully so have been sticking to the Blogger standard offerings so far. At least it isn't raining on my screen now although the day looks very grey outside at the moment; well it is Bank Holiday weekend after all.

Over at Funky Hand blog this month they are asking for the sentiment to be the main focus of the card.  My sentiment is stamped with one of Stampin' Up's birthday stamps onto white card and it has been framed with a Spellbinders die.  The paper used for the background is from Funky Hand Craft the Year Away collection and other papers from the same set have been used with a Nellie Snellen punch for the little embossed flowers.  The leaves are a Marianne die cut.

Relax

A quick card this morning - couldn't resist this cat sprawled on the bed (as they do given half a chance).  Background papers are from Papermania, sentiment produced on the computer and is on a punched oval (Stampin'up) with a Spellbinders fancy tag behind.  It is raining steadily yet again so I reckon the drought must be officially over by now.

Make My Monday - Time Theme

As Monday was the final day of April the team at Make My Monday are still looking for something suitable for Men and Boys but with the added theme of TIME.  I've really enjoyed this month of thinking up ideas for male orientated cards and this week was no exception, particularly as I seem to have quite a selection of suitable stash.  Background paper was from Papermania Horology printed onto kraft card, the cream layer was put through a Tim Holtz Alterations clocks embossing folder and the layered clock was cut using a TH Ornate Clock with hands die using black card and some TH kraft resist card.  The black centre and hands have been given a touch of Treasure Gold. The words were from a Stampin Up Sense of Time set and are on a TH Tattered Banner.  A clock charm has been added with another small tattered banner.

Simply Stampin' Challenge 57

The theme this week on Simply Stampin' is PERFECT PAIRS, something which certainly had my brain ticking over until I decided to have a go with two owls using the brilliant SU owl punch.  Eventually the ideas came together for this Anniversary card. Background papers are from the mini catalogue which I think finishes today and I've used a Sizzix die cut shape embossed with flowers; a branch die also from Sizzix - this was coloured using Copic pens;  little flowers were punched with SU punch; sentiment produced on the computer. A while ago a came across some 'goggly' eyes with eyelashes so took the opportunity to use them on Mrs Owl while Mr. Owl has the usual kind.  Do take a look at the Simply Stampin blog to see lots of other great ideas for perfect pairs.

Simply Stampin' Colour Challenge 56

Again I've had to improvise a bit with the colours for this Simply Stampin' Challenge this week (I had the soft suede card).

Background paper is from Stampin' Up and their cupcake stamp set and matching punch have been used along with a Sizzix (SU) tag die and SU punches for the greeting.  The pink border is a Martha Stewart punched strip which has been layered onto some soft suede card.  The large die cut shape is a Sizzix (SU) topnote die which has been embossed with some gems added.

Bluebird

I've been keeping an eye on the Tim Holtz tags of the month and at last I've actually got around to having a go.  This one is based on his April one and you can see the details on the blog section of his website here.  As usual I didn't quite have all the items he used so a bit of improvisation was necessary.  The background text stamp on the tag is En Francais from Stampin' Up, the little bird is from a set by Chocolate Baroque and the 'dream' ticket is a stamp by Creative Expressions.  The background paper on the DL card is from Papermania  and has been sponged to match the colours on the tag - ribbon was also dyed with the same Distress colours. The embossing folder used and the tree branch die are from Sizzix.

Simply Stampin' Challenge week 55

The Simply Stampin' team have provided us with a sketch this week for their challenge.  I used a flower stamp and word from the Bloomin' with Beauty stamp set and a piece of SU backing paper from my stash.  The flowers were coloured using Polychromos pencils and the centre one was cut out and layered up for a bit of dimension.

Simply Stampin' Challenge

The challenge at Simply Stampin is ALL THINGS EASTER but as I didn't really need another Easter card I haven't actually put a sentiment on this one but have included some eggs and small tattered flowers which hopefully look a bit like seasonal daffodils.  The stamp is from Nature's Nest set (Stampin' Up), coloured with Promarkers and cut out using Nestabilities. I was reminded about pricking detail by my friend Anne so I dug out a pricking and embossing template which I've not used for such a long time that I'd forgotten how long it takes to prick all those holes!  Background paper is from my stash and the corner motifs were cut with a Cuttlebug die.  Small tattered flowers were made with a Sizzix die and the swirls were from a Marianne die. As the pricking template has been lying unused for such a long time this card will also qualify for Judith's Forgotten Friday challenge.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend - it is grey and damp here at the moment so I guess a day in the craft room will be the order of the day.

Simply Stampin Colour Challenge

My second post in two days - hiope I can keep up now - the dull weather does help as I don't feel the urge to get outside!! This week the team on Simply Stampin have set us a colour challenge which is always fun.  As is often the case I don't always have exact colours but I did have the Wild Wasabi and White so had to improvise by using Pumpkin Pie and So Saffron for the other two.

I decided to use a two step flower stamp from Fast and Fabulous, some SU backing paper from my stash and card in the colours suggested.  The lacy border was cut with Spellbinders border dies.  The greeting was from SU Birthday stamp set and is mounted onto a Nestability label.

Wheels

I've not actually made a card for almost two weeks so today I really made the effort and tried to get back into the swing before I forget how.  I've missed some challenges along the way too so apologies, I really will try to keep up from now on..  There is a new challenge on Make My Monday and this month it is all about Men and Boys with an extra theme this week of  WHEELS.  I printed some background papers from a steampunk CD, die cut a top note shape which was embossed using a Cuttlebug cogs folder and then used Marianne dies to cut out the lampost and the old car.  The greeting was stamped onto a punched label (Stampin Up) and two screw head brads were added to this.  I've just realised that the car dies have been sitting in their unopened packet for some months so this card should also qualify for Judith's Forgotten Friday challenge this week. The little 'splodge' showing on the car is not on the card - I did clean my scanner glass but obviously not as thoroughly as necessary.