More Toadstools

 I've made another card with toadstools but this is nothing like the one I made the other day.  This time I've rummaged into my smaller snippets and die cut a selection of toadstools and other bits and pieces because I wanted a card for the latest Snippets Playground Challenge.  Everything came from my snippets mountain apart from the base card blank.  I embossed the oval background to add a bit of interest and then built up the arrangement of ferns, berries, toadstools etc.  The ladybird was stamped onto a small snippet of red and clear embossed to give it a shine.

To celebrate the Jubilee there are double prizes this fortnight but you have to be quick to catch the first one as it ends on Saturday 4th - read all the details by following the link to the Playground and if you enter,  good luck!!

Toadstools and Ferns etc - Funky Foliage die set from Sizzix
Ladybird -  Bugs stamp and die set from Sizzix Tim Holtz
Ovals - from Tonic 

Allsorts Challenge #678

 Allsorts Challenge this week is **anything but birthdays** so I've made a cute Anniversary card using a pair of otters..  I stamped the otter twice and then masked them off to add the watery background.  I then used oval dies to cut them out, placing this onto a toning piece of background paper.  A sentiment, two punched hearts and a scattering of gems and there you have it an 'unbirthday' card 😉.  Lots of great inspiration from the design team and prizes to be won.  

Otters - Awesome Otters stamp set from Stampin' Up (retired)
Colouring - done using alcohol markers
Hearts - tiny heart punch Stampin' Up
Sentiment - from my favourite freebie sentiment stamp set
Ovals - dies from Tonic

Water Birds

 I said I'd be using a whole piece of the beautiful Horizons DSP and I've been inspired by seeing some of the cards made by Lesley HERE.  My card is a 'CASE' of one she posted a few days ago and if you visit her blog and scroll down four or five posts you will see her version.  I've used a different paper and added some stamped birds as well as a lady from a long retired stamp set, stamped coloured and fussy cut.  Thank you Lesley for this idea 😍.  Only one sheet of the paper was used here - I expect you know this trick of cutting a square from the middle and layering with a slightly larger piece of card.

Paper - New Horizons DSP Stampin' Up
Waterbirds - Wetlands stamp set Stampin' Up (long retired)
Girl - stamp from Beautiful You set Stampin' Up (again long retired)
Sentiment - stamped and fussy cut

New Horizons

 I managed to get my hands on some of the beautiful scenic designer papers which fall into the 'too nice to use' category but I have made myself use some of it at least 😉.  This DSP comes at 6" square and for a start and in the interests of making them last I cut one sheet into four smaller squares and have made some cards - this is just one of them and I will post the others at some point.  I've added some stamping and die cutting to these small landscapes using stamps and dies from various sets in my stash, finally finding papers and card to build them up onto larger card blanks (this one is 7" x 5"). I might even persuade myself to use some of the other designs in their entirety, watch this space.

DSP - New Horizons from Stampin' Up
Everything else - from my stash and/or scrap boxes 

SOS #471 - Make Mine a Tall One

 This title explains my card for today which I'm taking along to Shopping Our Stash for their current challenge which as always encourages the use of items already in the stash to make cards for their various themes. You may have guessed that the theme is **a tall slim card**.  I've been digging deep for this one and the tree stamp used dates back to 2009 from Elusive Images which is now known as Chocolate Baroque although I don't know if the set is still available. I produced the background piece using a geli plate and some Distress Ink pads which I've had for more years than I care to count - most of them still work too which is great. The sentiment stamp is not quite that old but, again I've had this set for a few years, also still going strong even though it was a freebie given with a magazine.. Why not go 'shopping your stash' - you could get a nice surprise at what you unearth 😉

Stamp - Tall Trees Set Elusive Images 2009 (now known as Chocolate Baroque
Sentiment - from my favourite freebie set

Toadstool - and the Rest

 I  sometimes wonder if any of you have a favourite card making technique and when I tried to decide which was mine I came to the conclusion that I don't have one, but just like to lose myself in making cards with no particular favourite.  I would say that the only thing I really don't like doing is to 'batch-bake'  or production line making - definitely not for me.  I do occasional have a run of doing lots of die cutting or perhaps stamping and at the moment I've made several cards in what I call 'Lavinia' style using the geli plate, stamps, inks et al - great fun and no two cards are alike.

The one I'm sharing today was made by cutting a piece of white card the same size as my DL geli plate, inked using a roller and then added some stamping on the edges of the plate before pulling a print.  Once this was dry I had a rummage amongst my stamps and selected some I thought could build into a pleasing scene.- no particular plan in mind - just let the overall image build up as I went along. What you might call 'winging it' but I must say the morning just whizzed by and I even forgot to have my elevenses cuppa😉.  

Inking - all done using Ranger Distress inks and Versafine Clair
Stamps - Lavinia Stamps with some other silhouette foliage stamps (mainly magazine freebies)

A Fun Birthday Card

 I probably make more birthday cards than any others and today's is a fun one featuring some airborne sheep. Started off by using a cloud mask for the sky followed by stamping, colouring and die cutting the three sheep.  I then found a piece of green card and die cut the top edge for grass, adding a fence and some colourful balloons.  It so happens that Allsorts are asking for **anything birthday related** to celebrate their 13th Blog Birthday so I will be popping over there with this card. Lots of great ideas from their design team 😀

Stamps and Dies - from various Stampin' Up sets ( mostly retired)