Snail Mail

 There's nothing like having something different to play with for boosting the mojo and I've received another class in the post from Stacey Marsh.  This time we are using elements from the Snail Mail designs with the usual generous pieces of designer papers, card etc with which to make up the cards Stacey has designed.  Couldn't wait to have a play so I've fussy cut one of the snails, a couple of toadstools and have added a few bits and pieces of my own to produce a card.  Background paper is from the kit and I knew that I had some 'postage stamp' style dies from way, way back so these were dug out and I cut some 'stamp' layers.  Also remembered that I should have a punch (again from way back, before die cutting was available to us) which will make small envelopes.  Success - I'd not given that punch away so I made two envelopes, one open with a 'letter' and one closed with a heart.  Two of the toadstools were fussy cut from the DSP and two were die cut.  A birthday greeting was added along with a scattering of pink gems and that's it - my first Snail Mail card made.  Now I must get onto making the cards in the class.

Snail, toadstools etc - fussy cut from Snail Mail DSP, Stampin' Up
Sentiment - Stamp and die from Art Gallery set Stampin' Up
Red Toadstools - from Sizzix die set Funky Foliage
Envelopes - punch which I've  had for many years
Layers - 'stamp' die set from Spellbinders, years old

Butterfly Challenge #152

 I came across this pretty cream die cut shape while I was having a bit of a tidy up of my craft space and thought that it would come in nicely for the 'ivory' part of the latest Butterfly Challenge.  I've added a green layer and inked some stamps to make a  little scene, finally layering it all onto a light blue background which on my screen does appear to be more light mauve than the blue specified 🙄.  If you pop over to the challenge page you will be able to see a very interesting 'inside out' card style together with an excellent tutorial.  I decided this time just to stick to the ivory, pale blue and pale green with of course a butterfly.  I'm not sure if the stamping counts as ink. 

 Stamps - from a magazine freebie set
Green circle - Tattered Lace die
Ivory shape - possibly a Marianne die - piece has been in a pile on my desk for a while!!

Playground Challenge #397

I'm taking another 'Chick' card along to the Playground for this challenge, mainly because I've used lots of miscellaneous snippets to stamp and cut the various elements of this farmyard scene.  Mind you they are mostly very small pieces so not much of an impact made on the scrap boxes.  There is the usual lovely card from Di showcasing the prize this time - a great stamp set.

For my card I've gone for a DL format and simply built up a scene using the various elements, adding a die cut birthday sentiment.  I do enjoy building up little scenes so this was a fun card to make.

Stamps - Hey Chick from Stampin' Up with matching dies
Fence and Tree - dies from Sizzix
Sentiment - die from Joanna Sheen

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