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 hello stampers!

I'm joining in with the paper players this week where they have a CAS challenge - my favourite! The challenge is to use a bird on your card.

I made a smooshed ink panel with several distress oxide colours and die cut a rectangle from it. A slightly bigger rectangle was die cut from white card, then embossed with the SU subtle embossing folder. The birdhouse from Paper Rose was die cut from an ink blended panel and adhered. The Gummiapan birds were die cut from the inked panel, stacked twice and adhered with teeny tiny foam squares. Sentiment from Gummiapan was stamped and clear heat embossed.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

happy birthday

 hello lovely stampers!

Today I'm joining in at CAS colours and sketches for their colour challenge #492 this week. They have chosen lovely colours which really go well together.

The background uses Sizzix Mini Foundry 3D embossing folder. This was embossed on a white card panel then swiped with pumice stone distress oxide ink, then rubbed with Tim Holtz Sterling foundry wax. This gives a lovely subtle shine while the neutral colour still shows through. 

The panel was mounted behind a die cut Hero Arts Infinity square with foam tape for dimension. The Gummiapan twigs and birdies were die cut and inked then adhered in and around the square aperture. The sentiment from paper rose tiny forest was stamped and clear heat embossed for more shine.

Such a pretty colour combination. Thanks so much for stopping by!

*Edit: Thanks so much for choosing my card this week!

Perfectly CAS October challenge #32

 hello stampers!

It's time again for the new Perfectly CAS challenge and this month the theme is: think pink. Remember to use only up to 1/3 of the card front for your design.

While pink is not my favourite colour to use, I think a card is improved by using more than one pink tone. Kind of makes it more interesting I guess?

I took my cue from some recent lovely cards by Chris Stokes and used a vase with flowers. The background is stencilled very lightly with distress oxide ink. The vase was die cut then embossed with an embossing folder to give it more texture, and stacked 3 high. The flowers and little bird were die cut then gently inked with various tones of pink. The sentiment was inked using 2 colours randomly, then clear heat embossed for shine.

We're looking forward to seeing your pink themed cards in our gallery. Thanks so much for stopping by!

• dies: paper rose little vases, paper rose little foliage, paper rose birdhouses, gummiapan hearty twig
• inks: spun sugar, picked raspberry, seedless preserves distress oxides
• stamp: penny black grown with love
• stencil: all & create lotza squares

drunk

 hello stampers!

I'm joining in today with the sisterhood - it's been a while and I felt like a good bit of snark was just what the doctor ordered. Edna has decreed challenge #219 D is for drunk.

I couldn't resist.

The background uses the darkroom door honeycomb stencil dipped into different watered distress oxide inks. The paper rose martini glass was die cut from inked card. Sentiment printed on my computer.

Here's to you - thanks so much for stopping by! 

**Edit: Thrilled to be crowned Princess for this card!

merry christmas

 hello crafters!

I'm joining in with the justusgirls challenge #653 this week where the theme is CAS. My favourite type of card, how could I not?

I began by die cutting the Gummiapan merry christmas circle. Then I cut out an inner circle using Hero Arts Infinity Circle dies. More larger and smaller circles were die cut with the circle edges stacked up 4 high then topped with acetate then topped with the merry Christmas circle. 

I used Kaisercraft mountains embossing folder with a swipe of weathered wood distress oxide ink then cut out the smaller circle to form the interior background scene.

The little tree from the Sizzix arctic bear die set was cut several times from inked card as well as the little house, and also some arrows from paper rose arrows die set. I love how the tree and house seem to float!

Another one to add to my christmas stash. Thanks so much for stopping by!

**Thanks to the lovely team at JUGS for choosing my card as the weekly winner. I'm thrilled!

hello

 hello crafty stampers!

I'm playing along today with the paper players challenge #591 where they've asked for a cas card with the theme 'house'.

I decided to use the paper rose bird houses die set for the house and the little birdies. I began by stencilling using scrap matts branches stencil and distress oxide inks onto the card panel and another card scrap. I die cut the bird house from the card scrap and adhered it over the card panel so the stencil shape was in place. A little white twine held up the bird house. The birdies were die cut from some ink blended card, as well as the house heart. The sentiment from altenew sentiment strips was inked with the same distress oxide ink. Some wink of stella on the bird house and a few dew drops to finish.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

hello

 hello stampers!

I have been inspired lately by the cas cards of Shayne Eddie and Chris Stokes and have been trying out some of their techniques on my cards recently. This weeks cas colours and sketches challenge #469 provided the perfect opportunity to practise some more.

I began by die cutting a square from a panel I had from a previous project where I used the leftover ink on the stencil, sprayed it and smooshed it onto a card. This gives such wonderful, soft forms and gentle colours. The seahorse was stamped in my Misti 3 times - onto scrap card, onto the inked square and onto the card panel. The scrap card was die cut with the coral shape.

The edges of the square were inked then it was adhered in place over the seahorse, the die cut was popped up on thin foam squares to allow the shape to sit up over the twine, with the other die cut tucked under the twine. The sentiment was stamped in a coordinating colour and the panel was finished with a few droplets.

I do love this Chris Stokes eclipse technique where the die cut is stamped and laid in place - it gives such interest and dimension!

Thanks so much for spending some time with me today! 

• stencil: paper rose small drops
• stamps: darkroom door under the sea, altenew ornamental bliss
• dies: mft flower silhouettes, hero arts infinity squares
• inks: tumbled glass, blueprint sketch, shaded lilac distress oxides

thanks

 hello stampers!

It's been a while since I played along with freshly made sketches so thought I would join in this week with challenge #534 where the awesome Cecile has a sketch for inspiration.

I began by die cutting the feather and then used the die cut negative as a stencil to ink blend the 3 colours. Then the die cut feather was adhered and the sentiment die cut 3 times, layered up and adhered on top. 

I think these are my new favourite colours!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

• inks: salvaged patina, pumice stone, stormy sky distress oxides
• dies: paper rose feather trio, altenew fancy thanks

hello

 hello crafty stampers!

I'm playing along with the talented team at cas colours and sketches #468 colour challenge.

I was inspired by a die cut overlay technique shown recently by Chris Stokes and thought I'd try it. The technique involves multiple copies of layered stamping then die cutting select parts for an overlay effect. 

The die cut butterfly is popped up on teeny tiny foam bits. The die cut hearts are adhered to the card for a more subtle effect.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

• stamps: altenew beautiful day, altenew ornamental bliss (sentiment)
• inks: tea dye, abandoned coral, vintage photo distress oxides
• dies: paper rose amaya butterfly, mft cool day

hugs

 hello lovely stampers!

The talented team at the card concept have a new inspiration pic to use for their latest challenge and I couldn't resist joining in.

I wanted to do a cas card for this one - life is a little busy atm and all those glorious flowers in the pic, while stunning, kept sending me off on tangents with a million ideas! So I went with a very simple layout. I was inspired by the window, the soft blue and bright green colours, and the beautiful fluffy Queen Anne's Lace flowers.

I began by white heat embossing the flowers using SU Queen Anne's Lace stamp set. Then the window was stencilled with distress oxide using Scrapmatts windows stencil. The stems of the flowers were then stamped. I decided the flowers needed more oomph so I white heat embossed them again, slightly offset to make them look bigger. 

The sentiment from Paper Rose Hugs Fine Script die set was die cut 3 times, once from ink blended card, stacked then adhered to the card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

be you

 hello lovely stampers!

I've just scraped in to the latest challenge for the color throwdown and how could I not join in with the current challenge for just us girls where they have an inspiration photo this week from fabulous Cecile. 

I used a Craftgiraffe Stones stencil with distress oxide inks to blend the background. The words were selected from Altenew Sentiment Strips, stamped then die cut using Paper Rose Arrows die set and MFT Petite Clouds die set. They were cut 3 times and stacked, then edged with a black sharpie.  The heart from MFT Cool Day was stamped with memento tuxedo black. Doodles were drawn using the black sharpie and a white gelly roll pen.

Isn't it funny how the colours matched up for both challenges - pure serendipity!

Thanks for stopping by today!

 

happy birthday

 hello lovely stampers!

I had some free time today so am playing along with the cas colours and sketches sketch challenge #465.

I began by stamping Darkroom Door Woodgrain texture stamp with dye ink in my MISTI several times. The leaf stem was die cut using MFT In Focus Florals from ink blended card. The flowers were die cut from the same set but a different die from ink smooshed card, then trimmed from the die to keep just the flowers. The sentiment is from Paper Rose Tiny Forest stamp set.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

forgot

 hello snarky stampers!

I'm thrilled to have been chosen as the sisterhood's Queen of Snark with this card! Queen gets to enjoy the absolute privilege of being guest designer for the next challenge.  Woo hoo! The theme for this challenge is L is for Layers.

I began by creating 3 base layers for my card: stencilled chipped sapphire distress oxide using Paper Rose Striped stencil, stamped the fish with peacock feathers distress oxide using Darkroom Door Under the Sea stamp set, and stencilled tumbled glass distress oxide using Paper Rose Small Drops. These panels were then cut to size and arranged on the card base. I die cut using Paper Rose Arrows die set from ink blended card many many arrows and arranged them onto a fourth layer, then trimmed and mounted that onto an ink blended card for the fifth layer.

Using MFT Cool Day I die cut the ice bergs, inked the edges and the details, then stamped and die cut the ice floe. The bear was stamped using Colorado Craft Company Sweater Bears stamp set and fussy cut. These were all mounted on foam squares. The sentiment from Tim Holtz small talk stickers was adhered onto ink blended card and mounted on foam squares. Whew!

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

Perfectly CAS April challenge #26

 hello crafty stampers!

The 15th is here again and we can't wait for you to join us in the Perfectly CAS challenge this month. This time the theme is: Gold.

I wanted to use the beautiful Paper Rose Amaya Butterflies die set and thought it would be whimsical to have the gold butterfly fluttering to a vase of gold flowers. The background was ink blended with distress oxide ink after masking off the centre third. The vase was die cut using Paper Rose Little Vases die set 3 times, and stacked, the top one was given a light blending of distress oxide ink. The flower and leaves were die cut using Altenew Leaf Mix die set die set using some gold paper adhered to a scrap of card, and some green card.  

The sentiment from Altenew Sentiment Strips was stamped in the same colour as the background. The butterfly was die cut 4 times, stacked with the gold cut on top and adhered to the top of the panel. 

We'd love to see your card in the Perfectly CAS gallery this month - just remember your design should be 1/3 of the card or less. Thanks so much for stopping by!

warm hugs

 hello stampers!

I've got a lovely card today to celebrate autumn! The leaves are starting to turn here, as the weather slowly cools. I'm playing along with the lovely team at Paper Rose who have an autumn themed challenge this month.

I began by ink blending over Paper Rose Leaves stencil with several colours of distress oxide ink. Lots of leaves were die cut from white card using Paper Rose Little Foliage die set, then watercolored. The sentiment was die cut using Paper Rose Hugs Fine Script die, edges inked, and backed with an ink blended die cut circle. The little word 'warm' was white heat embossed on a scrap of the ink blended card.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

donut

 hello crafty stampers!

I'm playing along with the paper players challenge for this week PP585 where the theme is 'laughter is the best medicine'.

I'm always one for a witty line and couldn't resist this challenge. I toned down the snark and made a very sweet card (get the pun there?) lol

I began by masking off a section of the card panel and ink blending with dye ink, then used Paper Rose Stripes stencil to ink blend the top part. Using the donut stamp from Stampabilities Trendsetter stamp set and scraps of coloured card, I stamped many donuts in coordinating ink colours. They were die cut using Hero Arts Circle Infinity die set and the centre punched out. The mug was paper pieced using MFT Cool Day stamp and matching die, some ink blended for a shadow, and popped up on foam squares. The sentiment from Tim Holtz small talk stickers was adhered to a pink card scrap. Lastly some white gelly roll pen was used for the shine on the donuts and mug.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

life is tweet

 hello again stampers!

I'm playing along today with justusgirls challenge #625 where it's photo week for inspiration.

I began using MFT Radiating Rays stencil with mustard seed distress oxide ink.  A scrap of white card was stencilled using MFT Rolling Clouds and a birdhouse from Paper Rose Bird Houses die set was cut from it. The birdie was also cut using the same die set. The MFT In Focus Florals die was die cut 3 times and stacked, then watercolored. The sentiment is from Stampendous Tweet Birdie stamp set.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

happy birthday

 hello crafty stampers!

Just a sweet little card today for the justusgirls challenge #624 where they have colour week.

The ivory card base was chosen and a scrap of Kraft was cut into a curve with my rotary cutter and adhered. The trees were die cut using MFT Tall Trees die set, sponged with bundled sage distress oxide and mounted under and over the Kraft shape. The birds from Paper Rose Bird Houses die set were die cut from rose pink card, 1 adhered and 1 with a tiny foam square. The flowers were die cut using MFT Cool Day die set from white and the pink card. The sentiment was stamped using Paper Rose Tiny Forest stamp set with bundled sage distress oxide and heat embossed with clear for some shine.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

here for you

 hello lovely stampers!

Playing along today with the addicted to cas challenge #216 - Water.

I've wanted to use this splash stencil from Paper Rose for a while and thought it would be perfect this time. The stencil was inked with distress oxides and splattered with water. The fish from Darkroom Door Under the Sea were stamped on ink blended card, fussy cut and popped up on foam. The sentiment is from Altenew Sentiment Strips.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

hugs

 hello crafty stampers!

I'm joining in today with the aaacards challenge for game 210 with a lovely card featuring my favourite colour.

The theme is a sketch and a silhouette. 

I wanted to use a new stamp set from MFT Flower Silhouettes and chose this tall slender stamp. I used MFT Circles stencil to ink the circle design with Altenew Dew Drops which gives a lovely soft aqua tone. The sentiment is from Paper Rose Hugs Fine Script die set, cut from matching ink blended card and also black card slightly offset to create a shadow effect. Lastly some wink of stella was applied to the sentiment for shine.

Since this is the first time using this lovely MFT flower silhouettes stamp set, I'm also entering this card in Darnell's NBUS blog.  Hope you're doing well, Darnell! sending hugs ;)

Thanks for stopping by!