Monochrome - Well Almost!

This started out as an idea for a monochrome card but in the end I couldn't  resist adding a bit of colour to the ladybird.  The bugs were stamped using pigment ink and heat embossed so they are shiny.  I then die cut them which requires some care to make sure the die is lined up correctly and I had to have more than one attempt at that.  They were then adhered to a piece of white card which had  been stamped using a dictionary page stamp and this was in turn added to a script background and a circle of grey patterned paper from a pad I've had in my stash forever.  I'm still on a mission to make a few more masculine cards although this could be sent to anyone unless you knew they hated 'bugs'.

Bugs - Entomology stamp set with matching dies by Tim Holtz
Dictionary - stamp from Stampin' Up
Papers - from my stash
Sentiment - Tim Holtz stamp

Masculine Cards

I have a good supply of cards made but noticed that I'm a bit short on ones suitable to send to men so I'm on a mission to redress the balance.  For this card I've used lots of items which I've had for some years apart from the wood grain background paper which is a recent acquisition.  A scrap of card was embossed with a clock embossing folder and highlighted with copper gilding wax. A clock face has been stamped on another piece and backed with a circle in a colour to match the embossed panel.  The cogs were cut from a scrap of card which had been coloured with spritzes of copper  spray.  Finally a sentiment was stamped on yet another scrap.

Clock Face - stamp from Stampin' Up Sense of Time
Embossing Folder and sentiment stamp - both by Tm Holtz
Cogs - dies from Papermania (Docraft)
Background - pad of paper from The Works

New Challenge

I've been sent in the direction of a new challenge called 'Christmas Kickstart Challenge' with the aim of making a seasonal card each fortnight to avoid the last minute rush when December comes around and you have loads to make and very little time.  I'm sure lots of us start out with good intentions of starting early but fail somehow!!  The rules are simple so why don't you pop along and take a look.

The theme this time is to incorporate deer and this is my card ready to add to the small number I had left in the box after Christmas.  It uses an image which I'd downloaded at least a couple of years ago so I printed off some of them to use.  Image was layered onto a piece of holographic card and then I sorted out a couple of white scraps of card; one of which was embossed with snowflakes and brushed over with blue ink while the other was stamped with a greeting before die cutting it into a banner.  A snowflake background sets it all off and I simply added a holographic snowflake.

It was the lovely Jules who gave the information about this new challenge and she has made a gorgeous 'Rudolph' card.

Pixie Snippets #343

Congratulations to the Pixie snippets Playground which is 8 years old - it was originally started by Jules whose blog is HERE and Di took it on some seven years ago.  I am sure there are so many people who appreciate all the hard work which goes into maintaining this sort of thing so a huge 'thank you' is in order.

Now it is onto the latest challenge and this is the card I've made this morning using up some small snippets along with a couple of larger ones and as usual I still have a few bits left over from this card as well - never ending snippet collecting!!!  It's just as well that I decided not to make any resolutions for this year because if I had, one of them would have been broken when I called at the newsagent to pay my paper bill on Friday.  You've guessed it - I was tempted to glance at the crafty magazines, which to be fair are just inside the door so can't be avoided.  I couldn't resist getting one which had a stamp and die set featuring a cute owl with some great little sayings alongside the pictorial stamps.  There were only two dies, one for the owl outline and one for a wing (only one).

I started with a piece of green card slightly smaller than my base card and embossed with a leaf design.  Next I stamped the owl onto a piece of fawn coloured card and added a little colour to beak, eyes and feet before die cutting.  When it came to the wings I obviously had to die cut two and then they had to be stamped afterwards so that there was a left and a right so one was stamped on the front and the other on the reverse side.  The leaves and bunting were stamped onto scraps of white card and cut out carefully using scissors.  The next move was to stamp the branch onto some white card, carefully placing an oval die over it to cut out the shape, then I resorted to using the Misti to place the wording and the bunting stamp in the right place.  Finally the coloured bunting, leaves and owl were all put into place with foam pads before adding a larger oval layer and a birthday greeting to the card.

Coincidentally there is a great article in the magazine written by Jules who has made a fabulous cork board project using wine corks - if you visit her blog you will see that she didn't actually have to drink that many bottles of wine to get the corks!!!

Background - Creative Expressions embossing folder
Ovals - Tonic dies
Owl Scene - stamps and die set free with Papercraft Inspirations magazine (current issue)

Birds

I do like to have a few cards ready which aren't for any specific occasion and this is one which I made yesterday using dies which I have to admit hadn't  been out of their packet since I received them -  although I must say in my defence that wasn't too long ago! 

A piece of purple card was cut to size before embossing and the elaborate birds and flowers were cut from some white pearl card.  There are actually two dies which make up the circle and there is no outer cutting edge as such so once cut I then used a circular die slightly larger to form a frame.  There is also a small bird die in the set which I used as well and another die (not in this set) was used to cut the wording.  The circle was backed with some patterned paper cut out with the plain circle die and a border punch used with scraps of that paper to get some tiny flowers which I glued in the centres of the die cut flowers to add some interest.  The flowers are actually the 'waste' if the border die is used as intended and I usually rescue them whenever I punch a border but there were none of the right colour in my little 'pot of waste' which lives on my desk.

Circle Die - Noble pierced circles from Sue Wilson
Birds and Flowers - die from Crafter's Companion
Tiny mauve flowers - 'waste' from Docraft border punch
Sentiment - die from Crafter's Companion
Embossing - folder by Sue Wilson, pin point floral I think it is called

New Year

Here's wishing everyone a happy, healthy New Year.

I don't really make resolutions but I aim to try and keep up to date with my blog and also visiting and commenting as much as possible on the ones I follow although unfortunately other things do sometimes have to take preference as we all know.  Anyway I've started making to top up my box  of cards which I sell for charity and some categories need a few extras to give people some choice.  I dug out a couple of die sets and cut the couple and heart using pearl card before finding some suitable background paper.  The next move was to go through my scrap boxes for some toning purple card to finish off the shapes and to die cut the wording.  A length of purple ribbon and a couple of matching gems complete this anniversary card. 

Dies - from two sets of dies by Tonic
Words - dies from Crafter's Companion

Birthday Card

The Christmas crafty stuff is mostly packed away now until next year and this time it is more organized than in the past in that it has been kept together.  This is something I mean to do every year and this year I actually achieved it, putting seasonal dies in one box and stamps in another (both boxes fairly large I have to confess) and this saves so much time looking through everything to find something specific.  I still have some paper and card to sort out but that ought not to take too long. 

Anyway I've now got myself back into making some cards for general occasions and here is a birthday card starting with a piece of watercolour card which was stamped using three shades of Distress Oxide ink and a dictionary page stamp.  The next move was to add some shabby borders, marching up the colours.  Another piece of the card was sponged with the same three colours and used to die cut a flower and also one layer of the sentiment plaque.  Found three matching gems and that's it - back into the card making swing again.

Dictionary Page - stamp from Stampin' Up
Edges - Inkspirational Borders stamp set Phill Martin
Flower - from Tim Holtz wildflower set
Sentiment Plaque - Sue Wilson Rhodes from Greek Island Collection
Distress Oxide - Fossilised Amber, Spiced Marmalade and Aged Mahogany