Allsorts Challenge # 816

 The theme for the current Allsorts Challenge has been chosen by Gail who would like to see **Romance/Music notes/Instruments** or of course there is the *Anything Goes* option.  There are prizes from Aall & Create.

I've made a card which would be good for a Valentine; maybe a wedding or anniversary; or just to send  some love.  I cut a piece of pink card slightly smaller than the card base and another white one smaller again.  The hearts were die cut from this layer followed by stamping the little mice and the music notes.  A die cut sentiment added within the swirl of hearts - job done - a fairly CAS card to suit the theme.

Swirl of Hearts - unbranded die from Amazon
Stamping - Stamps from Lavinia
Sentiment - die which was a magazine gift a while ago
Squares - die cut using Creative Expressions Noble Pierced squares nesting dies

A 'Borrowed' Design

 The Mojo is still being somewhat elusive here but when I spotted this card made by Miss Di for the recent Playground challenge I was reminded that I have the Birthday version of the die which she used and I have to agree that it's not the easiest of dies to use which is probably why I didn't go for the Christmas one as well.  I do, however, really like the size and format of the wording and just happen to have the tall parcel die and stamp set as well so, with her permission, I decided to 'CASE' her ideas (copy and share). I've had the sentiment die for probably well over a year and despite being a tad troublesome, it does deserve to be seen more frequently as it's quite versatile.  Fortunately the tall parcel stamp and die set is a dream to use and I certainly have plenty of Snippets to make use of both dies.  Thankyou Di for the inspiration which encouraged me to try again with the sentiment die 😉

Birthday Die - unbranded
Parcel - Stamp and die set from Gummiapan
Sequins - Die-namics die set which was a challenge lucky win a few years ago
Card Layers - DL nesting die set from Creative Craft Products (Craft Stash)

Happy Rudolph Days

 I was very lucky recently to win a bumper bundle of Christmas related items in one of the Snippets December challenges so I thought what a great idea it would be to use one of the die sets to make a card to celebrate the January Rudolph Days.  I started with a pile of green and red card snippets to die cut all the pieces from the set.  These were then assembled and the flower was painted with Wink of Stella, which sadly doesn't show in the photo.  Next move was to bring out a die set which I've had for many years to make a background on which to mount the floral spray.  This in turn was mounted onto a piece of suitable design paper and a sentiment was stamped and added.  That's it - I've started on my cards for this year - entering a challenge such as this on a regular basis will build up a nice collection of cards for later on so why not see what you can find to make something for Rudolph Day each month.

Background paper - printed using a download from Buddly Crafts
Background shapes - die set from Sue Wilson, Creative Expressions.  Probably no longer available
Main Motif - Die set from Sizzix Holiday Brushstroke #3
Sentiment - Stamp from Contempo Christmas, Stampin' Up (retired)

Snippets Challenge #498

 There's an optional theme on the Snippets Playground challenge this time to make something incorporating hearts, bearing in  mind that Valentine's Day will soon be here or of course an anniversary card could be made. I've used various snippets to make my card which doesn't really feature hearts although I did notice that the little leaves on the sprays are vaguely heart-shaped 😊.  Everything apart from the card blank has come from my snippets collection and I've included a photo of the smaller remnants.  The design is loosely based on a card made by Chrissie Stokes who posts a video  on You Tube most days showing her latest makes and giving lots of useful hints and tips along the way.

I started by embossing a snippet of cream card using a text E/F using a plain strip with embossed edges to give it some extra interest (one of Chrissie's tips).  I then die cut two sprays of leaves in gold along with a cream vase, which I've just noticed has cut-out hearts at the top.  Finally the sentiment was die cut in gold. As usual there is a great prize to be won so why not sort out some snippets and have a go.

Leaves - die from Gummiapan
Vase - die from retired Stampin' Up set Boho Indigo
Sentiment - Die from retired Stampin' Up Hey Chick
Embossing Folder - unbranded from Amazon

Allsorts Challenge #815

 The theme for the current Allsorts Challenge, chosen by Brenda, is **Close to Nature** (animals/trees/flowers etc) or of course you can always choose the *Anything Goes* option.. Prizes this time are from Aall & Create.  For my card I decided to use a stamp featuring a hedgehog and baby which came with a matching die.  Stamped and coloured using Polychromos pencils before die cutting.  I used some green inks and random stamps to colour a scrap of white card before die cutting some grasses so the hedgies had somewhere to sit.  A simple sentiment was added, making this a relatively CAS card with everything being placed onto a tattered edge square die which is slightly smaller than the card blank.

Tarttered Square - die from Gummiapan
Hedgehogs - Stamp and Die from Gummiapan
Grasses - unbranded die
Sentiment - Stamp and Die from a retired Stampin' Up set

Mystery

 I occasionally treat myself to one of the regular monthly mystery stamp sets from Crafty Roo and this card has been sitting in my draft file since  last year so I decided I'd share it with you.  I started by stamping the main background image onto a square of white card using Versamark ink and embossing with clear embossing powder to act as a resist..  This was followed by inking the background using yellow Distress Oxide and finally a few droplets of water for a bit of visual texture.  The remaining stamps in the set were the 'splats' and tiny numbers texture stamps.  A butterfly was then stamped, coloured and fussy cut, popped on top to form a focal point.  A stamped sentiment and that was it - job done

.All stamps from Crafty Roo

Apologies

 I'm afraid I've not ben too active on my blog recently but fortunately I still have a few cards which were  made last year and tucked away in my draft file.  I've not been particularly productive so far this year - along with quite a few other crafters Mr Mojo seems to have deserted me but at least I've tidied away most of the Christmas 'stuff' and should be ready to get back into the swing shortly.  The cold spell of weather hasn't helped - making cards with cold hands isn't the easiest 🙄. Excuses, excuses - anyway here's one I made earlier as the saying goes.

I've used a sticker stencil and some Distress inks before stamping the flowers, foliage and a bee.  A little colour was added to the bee and Wink of Stella on the wings.  The stopper for the jar was also stamped.  I decided to add a sentiment to the inside rather than detract from the image on the front.

Sticker stencil - Lavinia Stamps
Flowers, foliage, bee and stopper - all Lavinia stamps using Versafine Clair ink