Kool Kitty Musings

DCM - Midsummer

Morning!

This week over on the Daring Cardmakers blog, Jenny is challenging us to make a card inspired by Midsummer.

For my take on midsummer I went with wildflowers and lush greenery, against an azure sky (not that you can see the colour variations and sparkle very well in the photo there)...

Stamps: The Greetery - Opposites Attract
Dies: The Greetery - Opposites Attract, The Greetery - Opposites Attract Script, Honey Bee Stamps - Wood Frame Builder, The Greetery - A Side of Greens, The Greetery - BotaniCuts Wildflower Mix
Other: Distress Oxides

I started out by die-cutting the Side of Greens and BotaniCuts Wildflower Mix dies from The Greetery out of Marshmallow Bazzill Cardshoppe cardstock, ready for painting with an array of ink refills from The Stamp Market's original release of Color Crush inks.

While all those elements were drying on some kitchen towel, I got on with ink blending the sky background, which is actually much more defined in real life, going from Tumbled Glass at the bottom, then Salvaged Patina to Mermaid Lagoon at the top.

I added some pearlescent watercolour paint splatter along with water droplets for some texture and interest, but it's not that obvious in the photo.

Next, I assembled the frame and added the Side of Greens borders to the inside of the frame, with a few leaves poking out and over the edge.

I then attached the frame to the card base and started adding in the flowers and later my stamped sentiment, so I could arrange the last few elements around it and add a few crystals for good measure.

The Nuvo Drops were a good idea at the time, but they soaked up the colour of the ink on the flowers and changed colour, unfortunately.

Oh well, will have to remember that for next time!

Make sure you check out the wonderful projects from the rest of the design team here, and play along if you can!

Happy crafting!

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The Greetery - Opposites Attract stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Opposites Attract dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Opposites Attract Script dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Honey Bee Stamps - Wood Frame Builder dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC
The Greetery - A Side of Greens die Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - BotaniCuts Wildflower Mix dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	Distress Oxide ink pad - Mermaid Lagoon Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Salvaged Patina Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Tumbled Glass Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	The Stamp Market - Blush Pink ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Leafy ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Melon Orange ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Mossy ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Party Pink ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Sea Glass ink pad Shop at: MISC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Kuretake Gansai Tambi 36-pan watercolour set Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Bubblegum Blush Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Party Pink Shop at: EH | SBC
Tombow - Mono-Multi liquid glue Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC	Craft blending brushes Shop at: AZ (UK)
Taylored Expressions - Blender Brushes Shop at: MISC	Tim Holtz - Distress Sprayer Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC | SHC (UK)	Waffle Flower - Mini Media Mat Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
Ranger - Artist brush set Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC

DCM - Life's a Beach

Better late than never!

I was finally well enough this morning to get a photo of my card project for this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge. :)

Miri has challenged us to make a card inspired by the beach and seaside, so just in time for Father's Day I used a great set from Avery Elle that fit the bill perfectly:

Stamps: Avery Elle - Swell
Dies: Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle, Honey Bee Stamps - Wood Frame Builder

I started out by heat embossing the Swell background stamp in white on navy cardstock.

I then created the life buoy with circle dies to showcase the Father's Day sentiment from the Swell set.

It was already looking quite nautical, but the Wood Frame builder dies from Honey Bee Stamps really add the perfect finishing touch, especially when inked with Walnut dye ink to really bring out that woodgrain look.

And there we are, one seaside-themed card complete. :)

Make sure you check out the wonderful projects from the rest of the design team here, and play along if you can!

Happy crafting!

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Avery Elle - Swell stamps Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Honey Bee Stamps - Wood Frame Builder dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC	Altenew - Desert Night dye ink Shop at: MISC
Lawn Fawn - Walnut ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC | SHC (UK)	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Altenew - Cool Summer Night ink cube set Shop at: MISC | SHC (UK)	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
Concord & 9th - Assorted cardstock pack Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC (UK)	The Stamp Market - Lipstick Red cardstock Shop at: MISC	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Tombow - Mono-Multi liquid glue Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC
EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC	Craft blending brushes Shop at: AZ (UK)
Taylored Expressions - Blender Brushes Shop at: MISC	Waffle Flower - Mini Media Mat Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC

A note to say hello

Well, I have unfortunately succumbed to the dratted summer flu. Thankfully my recent Covid test was negative, but ugh, I hate summer head colds and feeling unwell this time of year. Apparently we had a mini heatwave the other day, but I couldn't tell it was any hotter than usual. Which is most unlike me, as I don't do well with heat.

Anyway, I had this project prepped a while ago, so will share it while I'm down with the flu and unable to photograph my current project for this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge.

Stamps: The Greetery - Opposites Attract, The Greetery - Print Shop: Garden Goodness, The Greetery - Written in Ribbons
Dies: The Greetery - Opposites Attract Script, The Greetery - Written in Ribbons

I was inspired by one of the projects showcased in the video for The Greetery's Garden Goodness print shop set, which was all in blue tones. Really lovely!

But I wanted to incorporate some contrasting fiery tones for this card - I will definitely try my hand at a monochromatic project with this set in future, though. :)

All the inks I've used are from The Stamp Market, and I even stuck to the darker blue tones for the sentiments.

And that's it - lots of inky goodness, but no other flashy elements. I really like how this one turned out. :)

Until next time, happy crafting!

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The Greetery - Opposites Attract stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Print Shop: Garden Goodness stamps and stencils Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Written in Ribbons stamps Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Greetery - Opposites Attract Script dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG
The Greetery - Written in Ribbons dies Shop at: SHC (UK) | TG	The Stamp Market - Breeze ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Cherry Kisses ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Cobalt ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Golden ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Melon Orange ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Navy ink pad Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Ocean ink pad Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Sunshine ink pad Shop at: MISC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: EH | MISC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC

DCM - Pearls of Wisdom

Good morning!

Inspired by the gemstone for June, Joanne is challenging us to feature pearls on our projects for this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge.

Like many a crafter, I have quite the stash of adhesive pearls from back in the day when this product arrived on the market in many, many colours and was a big trend.

But then came along enamel dots, and well... my stash of adhesive pearls got overshadowed.

However, for this week's challenge, I went with a very clean and simple design that can be embellished with just a couple of pearls, gems, or indeed enamel dots!

Stamps: Avery Elle - Simple Sentiments, Concord & 9th - Brighter Days
Dies: Pinkfresh Studio - Diagonal Stitched Squares, The Stamp Market - Little Rainbow

The Little Rainbow die from The Stamp Market cuts 6 arcs in one pass, so 6 colours = 6 cards...

I started out by backing the 6 pieces of cardstock with Stick It to make it easier to assemble the rainbows later on.

What a time-saver!

I then die-cut all the other pieces - the rainbow outline piece, the square backgrounds, and also cut and scored the card bases from grey cardstock.

Once the rainbows were assembled, I checked my Evernote inventory for some sentiments that would work.

One is the "Have a beautiful day" sentiment from Concord & 9th Brighter days, the others come from the ever-versatile Simple Sentiments set from Avery Elle. I use this set so much, as the wording is always great and the font and size is just right.

Once all that was done, I just needed to assemble the cards (using the offcuts of cardstock to add dimension instead of using foam tape), and add those finishing touches with pearls, gems, and enamel dots.

Six bright and cheery rainbow cards added to the card basket! :)

Make sure you check out the pearly creations from the rest of the design team here, and play along if you can!

Happy crafting!

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Avery Elle - Simple Sentiments stamps Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	Concord & 9th - Brighter Days stamps Shop at: MISC | SHC (UK)	Pinkfresh Studio - Diagonal Stitched Squares dies Shop at: SBC	The Stamp Market - Little Rainbow dies Shop at: MISC
Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	The Stamp Market - Fresh Pink cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Golden cardstock Shop at: MISC
The Stamp Market - Julep cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Melon Orange cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Minty cardstock Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Rosy cardstock Shop at: MISC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Stick It Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC | SHC (UK)	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC (UK)	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: EH | SBC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ (UK) | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ (UK) | EH | SBC