forecast

 hello crafters!

I'm joining in today with two challenges - snarkystampers challenge #249 F is for Fold It, and Inkspirational Challenge "Fold".

I don't make fun fold cards often. Well that's not true - this would be the first. Sorry not sorry. After watching several YouTube vids to get the gist, I decided on a z-fold card thinking "I got this". 

Four days and several iterations later, I managed to actually finish the card.  And no-one told me they are a nightmare to photograph cos they just don't want to stay flat.  Now I need to lie down...

The background was watercoloured with distress oxide ink then sprinkled with water, white splatters and stamped with tiny white snowflakes. The snowman die had his first outing and his nose was paper pieced, scarf and beanie die cut from ink smooshed card. 

I love these tiny house dies and couldn't resist adding them, complete with 'illuminated' windows and snowy roof! The sentiment is a Tim Holtz small talk sticker which I thought was perfect for a snowman who no doubt naps all the time... made me giggle.

Thanks for stopping by today!

   

• dies: Gummiapan snowman, trees, mini houses, MFT clouds
• stamps: MFT cool day

cupcake

 hello lovely stampers!

It's a rainy, stormy day today which gave me crafty time :) so I'm joining in with a couple of challenges. Timeout challenge #260 has a 'striped' theme and the paper players have a tictactoe challenge. I chose the right column of ribbon, embossing, pastels.

I wanted a subtle background so inked up a few little stamps in soft colours. I've recently got a few of the teensy tiniest stamps from Gummiapan which you can see top right, going downwards. The sentiment is also from Gummiapan which makes me giggle! The icing was die cut from ink blended card then the outer part was clear heat embossed for shine. The cupcake was die cut from pastel pink card stencilled with darker pink stripes.

Since a few of the stamps are new, I'm also posting this to Darnell's fabulous blog, NBUS. Sending hugs, Darnell, hope you're well! 

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

• dies: Paper Rose cupcake, Memory Box mini butterflies
• stamps: Gummiapan hello, surprise, enjoy the little things, sentiment, Kaisercraft script, MFT take shape
• stencil: MFT radiating rays
• inks: picked raspberry, spun sugar, ground espresso, lost shadow distress oxides

     

happy birthday

  hello lovely crafters!

I'm playing along with a couple of challenges today - inspired by the latest sketch at freshlymadesketches #fms605 and used the colours from the colorthrowdown #ctd762. 

I used a cutout from some packaging that I thought looked like tree rings, and began with that! The leaves were die cut from ink smooshed card and backed with rust coloured card. The acorns were die cut from Kraft then lightly watercoloured to give them an interesting colour. The sentiment was stamped then clear heat embossed. Thanks for stopping by today!

• dies: gummiapan acorn and oak leaf, MFT infinity circles
• inks: candied apple, vintage photo distress oxides

just for you

 hello stampers!

I'm joining in with this week at just us girls where the challenge #681 is to make a CAS card with a silhouette. 

The background was watercolored using wilted violet distress oxide ink - all the lovely pinks come out of the purple colour! The leaves and flowers were stamped using Lavinia stamps foliage stamps with chipped sapphire and squeezed lemonade distress oxides with a little unicorn white ink. The moon was shaded with lost shadow distress oxide. The fairy from paper rose was die cut and adhered with foam squares. The sentiment from Honeybee stamps was inked with wilted violet distress oxide, and the panel was finished off with chipped sapphire and black soot inking around the edge, and a few dew drops.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

happy birthday

 hello crafty stampers!

I'm playing along today with the latest challenge at tictactoe #206. Elizabeth has put together a terrific board and I couldn't resist! I chose the diagonal down: flowers, yellow, gems. I also notice the challenge at the paper players is a tictactoe this week as well! I'm entering their challenge also and choosing bottom diagonal up: sparkle, die cut, embossing.

I began by ink smooshing a card panel with scattered straw distress oxide ink and letting it dry. This formed the lovely yellow background. Several mark stamps were used in both scattered straw distress oxide and also white heat embossed for a bit of shine. Then layers of die cuts were assembled, and the panel was finished with some sparkly dew drop gems.

Thanks so much for stopping by and spending some time with me today!

 

• inks: scattered straw, mustard seed, carved pumpkin distress oxide inks
• dies: gummiapan happy birthday circle, gummiapan flowers, gummiapan hearty twig, paper rose little vases, paper rose flying birds, MFT fab foliage, altenew burlap texture die, hero arts infinity circles
• stamps: MFT take shape, lavinia stamps mini dots

 

happy birthday

 hello stampers!

I'm joining in today with the terrific challenge at tictactoe #tttc201. I chose to use the diagonal: gems, embossing, butterfly.

The trees were embossed using SU woodland embossing folder, then I gently ink blended with mowed lawn and twisted citron distress oxide inks. I made sure to leave a lighter section in the centre to look like sunlight shining into the woodland. Another card panel was embossed using SU subtle embossing folder, cut a little larger than the inked panel and adhered under the inked panel.

The butterfly was die cut using Sizzix brushstroke butterflies with the fancy sections die cut from ink smooshed card scraps, and adhered with foam squares. Three gems were adhered to the butterfly body. The sentiment is from Gummiapan.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

get well soon

 hello stampers!

I'm joining in today with a couple of challenges: the paper players has a CAS theme with 'get well', and the current tictactoe challenge #197. I followed the left column down CAS, stencil, flowers.

I began by die cutting the letters from patterned paper using MFT bitty banner die set, adhered them to a black card panel and fussy cut the sentiment.  I used darkroom door small circle stencil, overlaid craft giraffe circle stencil ST1026 and gently ink blended across the centre of the larger circle. Then the circle shape was stamped with various stamps from paper rose solid flowers and leaves stamp set. I matched the colours in the paper with the ink colours. Tiny hearts, circles, and stars were die cut and adhered, around the adhered sentiment. Lastly the panel was backed with a red panel, then adhered to the card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by!

 

*Edit: Thanks so much to the team at tictactoe challenge for picking my card as the weekly designer's choice! And also to Joanne at the paper players for choosing my card as her fave. I'm thrilled!

 

a little birdie

 hello crafters!

I'm joining in today with the talented team at the paper players where they have a colour challenge this week: balmy blue, crumb cake, petal pink, so saffron.

I used a darkroom door small circle stencil to mask off a circle then used MFT rolling clouds stencil to lightly blend balmy blue ink. The birdhouse was die cut using paper rose birdhouses die set from crumb cake card, then I used darkroom door woodgrain texture stamp to stamp with crumb cake ink over the birdhouse. The roof was die cut from a scrap of pale yellow card. The bird was die cut from the same paper rose set from petal pink card, and popped up on a tiny foam square for dimension. The sentiment from Gummiapan was stamped using crumb cake ink, adhered to the panel and tied with some twine.  Finally the panel was adhered to a crumb cake card base.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

thanks

 hello stampers!

I'm joining in today with the team at tictactoe challenge. I chose the top row: die cuts, gold, and stencil.  For a change, I veered away from a CAS card. But not only that, I also tried out a technique I hadn't tried before - using embossing paste through a stencil!

As I have no embossing pastes, I mixed up my own using aquadhere glue, baby powder and acrylic paint. I thought it would be clever to use 'rich gold' paint but it actually didn't turn out gold, just brownish. It reminded me of autumn leaves so I thought that's what I'll go with! I used the Hero Arts Fall Leaves stencil. After stencilling the texture paste and letting it dry, I lightly blended some red, orange and yellow distress oxide inks over the stencil again, to add some lovely autumn colours to the leaves. 

The Altenew Fancy Thanks die was die cut from gold card and stacked twice. The hexagons were die cut using Hero Arts Infinity Hexagons. The butterfly from the Sizzix Brushstroke Butterflies set was die cut in white and the details were die cut from gold. The final touch was a few tiny die cut gold hearts.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

happy birthday

 hello stampers and happy February!

I wanted to join in with the team at just us girls as it's been a while. They have a CAS challenge this week with the theme 'birthday' - perfect! The paper players also has a sketch theme this week so I used that to lay out my card.

I've had some new little seaside dies from Gummiapan for a little while so thought I'd try them out! I ink smooshed a couple of panels of card with different colours of distress oxide inks, then die cut the seahorses from one, the crab from another and the shells and sentiment from a third. The net was die cut from white card then adhered to a circle die cut from the last inked card panel. The crab and seahorses were adhered with foam squares. Sentiment was stacked 3 times. Love those seahorses' curly tails! 

Many thanks to Chrissie Stokes for the inspiration for this card! Since this was the first time using these dies, I'm also linking up my card to Darnell's fabulous blog, NBUS! Thanks so much for stopping by!

  

warm wishes

 hello fellow stampers!

I'm joining in today with a couple of challenges that I haven't played for a little while. I'm ready to get back into the swing of regular crafting if for nothing else than to regain my sanity after the xmas madness!

The talented team at justusgirls have a colour challenge this week and the sketch challenge is from the awesome ladies at freshlymadesketches, so combining the two works a treat.

I ink blended the background using blueprint sketch, chipped sapphire and black soot distress oxide inks then cut the rectangle shape. Another panel was ink blended with just tumbled glass and the Gorgecraft trees die cut from this card, the smallest tree adhered with foam squares. The little Gummiapan snowman was die cut and a tiny length of cotton was wrapped around him for a scarf. The sentiment from MFT Cool Day was stamped on an ink blended panel then cut to size, adhered with foam squares, with the snowman adhered to the piece. How funny that the snowman and sentiment on their own represent the sketch!

I must say it's ironic sending 'warm wishes' atm as it's 33oC here today but they are such gorgeous winter colours! Thanks so much for stopping by!

     

one little baby

 hello lovely stampers!

I'm joining in today with the sketch challenge at CAS colours & sketches #495 drawn by the talented Cécile. 

I wanted to do a baby card for my cousin who is expecting in the new year as I realised I haven't any baby cards! who knew? The giraffe from Gummiapan was die cut from kraft, and layered on a couple of hexagons from Hero Arts Infinity Hexagon die set. One was cut from kraft and embossed with Kaisercraft Mountains embossing folder. The other was die cut from inked card, embossed by hand using the Fiskars Hearts texture plate and popped up on foam squares. The sentiment stamp from Gummiapan was inked directly onto the card panel. Such a cute sentiment!

Thanks so much for stopping by!

merry christmas

 hello lovely crafters!

I have been busy with christmas cards and today I have another classy little one ready to send out. I'm joining in with this week's sketch challenge #493 at cascoloursandsketches.

The background uses a lovely silver paper cut into strips and adhered in the corner. The presents are die cut from the Gummiapan Christmas Presents die set from navy card and ribbons from the same silver paper. The back ones are adhered and the front ones are popped up on foam squares. Sentiment from a very old stamp set is stamped and clear heat embossed for more shine.

Thanks so much for stopping by today!

*Edit: Thanks to the lovely team for choosing my card among the winners!