Kool Kitty Musings

Hanging in there....

Well it has been a funny old time.

I've not been feeling creative at all for the past few weeks and it's been a bit up and down with work. :-\

I'm also just getting back to normal after pulling my back at the weekend when I twisted funny after playing on the floor with my niece. The joys of getting old.

But I do have an new-ish card to share now that has reached its recipient. :)

Paper: Crate Paper
Stamps: Altenew - Painted Flowers, WPlus9 - Valentine's Wishes and Fresh Cut Florals
Dies: Lawn Fawn, Avery Elle
Other: enamel dots

Really enjoyed using a mix of Lawn Fawn dye inks to fill in the floral stamps in this Altenew set - they are a lovely fresh shade and very cheerful. I paired them with greetings by WPlus9 and have to say I'm still loving this combo of square dies that have a decorative edge. They're great especially when you need to send non-bulky cards in the mail as they create interest without going 3D with foam tape. :)

Crate Paper - Fourteen - 6 x 6 pad	Altenew - Painted Flowers stamp set	WPlus9 - Valentine Wishes	WPlus9 - Fresh Cut Florals stamps
Avery Elle - Double Pierced Squares	Lawn Fawn - Large cross-stitched square stackables	Lawn Fawn - Bubblegum ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Ballet Slippers ink pad
Lawn Fawn - Celery stick ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Freshly Cut Grass ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Black Licorice ink pad	Altenew - Coral Berry Crisp Dye Ink
Lawn Fawn - Manatee ink pad	My Mind's Eye - Sugar Plum - Enamel Shapes	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner	MISTI precision stamping tool

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Blooming marvellous

It's quite nice to get back into the crafting groove - my new stash purchases are really helping. :)

I've bought some lovely stamps and versatile dies that were put on my wishlist due to an enabling crafty pal.

Here's the finished item my new square dies went into the making of...

Paper: Simple Stories
Stamps: Concord and 9th - Flourish
Dies: MFT - Happy Birthday to You, Avery Elle - Double Pierced Squares, Lawn Fawn - Large cross-stitched square stackables
Other: dye inks, Misti, 3D foam tape

The Happy Birthday to You die is a perfect fit for some decorative square dies (ideally they need to be at least 4" square to comfortably fit in) and I love how the Flourish stamps from Concord and 9th really fill out that space. I used layered die cuts to add dimension to the sentiment with a dark piece of cardstock matted on the back of the stamped panel to make the cut-out areas really pop. :)

Lots of lovely ink shades went into the stamping of this card but I think you could really make it pop even more using one colour for the leaves and one for the flowers but simply changing the intensity of the shade.

And speaking of inks, I spent a lovely afternoon yesterday while binging on Netflix and recovering from Saturday evening's festivities organizing my new craft purchases which included a great deal on the 12 Distress Oxide inks - purchased the bundle from Joanna Sheen when the back in stock e-mail arrived in my inbox! They've flown out of stock again but definitely worth setting up the e-mail notification as it is a very good saving if you can be patient.

There's something rather therapeutic about just sorting and organizing a little and allowing your brain to empty of tired ideas so that new ones can develop. :)

 

Simple Stories - Sunshine & Happiness - 6x6" Paper Pad	Concord & 9th - Flourish stamp set	MFT - Die-namics Happy Birthday to You die	Avery Elle - Double Pierced Squares
Lawn Fawn - Large cross-stitched square stackables	Lawn Fawn - Celery stick ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Freshly Cut Grass ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Lemon Tart ink pad
Papertrey Ink - Harvest Gold ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Aqua Mist ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Hawaiian Shores ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Sweet Blush ink pad
Papertrey Ink - Hibiscus Burst ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Raspberry Fizz ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Melon Berry ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Berry Sorbet ink pad
Lawn Fawn - Wild Rose ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Lobster ink pad	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape	MISTI precision stamping tool
Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner

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Back with a little creative project

Well it's been a while... I've gone through a bit of a creative drought the past few weeks and just not been able to make anything I've been happy with.

But thankfully Sharon's dare for this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge had me thinking a bit outside of my comfort zone... I mean using just 2 colours on your card - in total!??

Hm, but after deciding that grey would be one of my colours I went off to create a tone-on-tone stamped background then the next evening I needed to pull it all together!

Here's the finished article:

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp - Look for the Miracles
Dies: MFT - Cause for Celebration, Mama Elephant - Sew Fancy
Other: grey and blush pink cardstock, dye inks, 3D foam tape, Misti, pink crystals

It might be one of the shortest supplies lists for this card - just one set of stamps, a few dies, 1 pink ink pad, 1 grey ink pad, light and dark grey cardstock and 1 piece of light pink cardstock.

So yeah, the grey background got stamped one evening, but the next evening when it came to assemble my card I thought it was missing something with just a plain background behind it. So I set about recreating the pattern I'd stamped in grey on the pink cardstock - thank heavens for the Misti in enabling me to line up most of the stamps I'd previously used. Note to self, next time I try to do this I'll just stamp the two pieces of cardstock at the same time as I go! lol

The die cut words were cut into the floral grey panel - then I cut the words 4 times from the same pink cardstock I'd used for the background and layered them up in the apertures... you can see the dark cardstock peeking through in the image above and also the dimension created from stacking the die cuts below:

And of course there had to be a little pink bling to make things pop!

I really like the end result for this one - I'm not one to stamp backgrounds or use outline stamps much, but I think they really work nicely in this tone-on-tone design. No colouring in necessary! :)

Anyway, fingers crossed the crafting drought is over and I can get down to some more creativity soon.

Remember to pop on over to the Daring Cardmakers blog to see the two-colour inspiration from the rest of the design team!

Happy crafting!

Simon Says Stamp - Look for the Miracles stamp set	Mama Elephant - Sew Fancy die set	MFT - Die-namics Cause for Celebration dies	Lawn Fawn - Manatee ink pad
My Favorite Things - Bubblegum ink pad	MISTI precision stamping tool	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner

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May elemental inspiration

It's the first Friday of a brand new month so it's time to head on over to the Daring Cardmakers blog for a brand new elemental inspiration challenge!

Here's this month's image:

While I was away at a crafty weekend I had the chance to play with someone else's lovely collection of inks and stamps - including the new Distress Oxides!

For this challenge I went with the colours, the butterfly, and in the absence of other metallic/jewel elements I used gold Nuvo embellishment mousse as we didn't have any silver or similar with us.

Stamps: Paper Smooches
Dies: MFT
Inks: Hero Arts Ombre and Distress Oxide
Other: wink of Stella pen, Misti, blending tools, 3D foam tape, Nuvo embellishment mousse

Those oxide inks were pretty fun to play with. After I'd created the background and added a smattering of water and left it to dry, I inked up the butterfly stamp on the Misti with the ombre ink and then stamped it onto the background. The ink being wet created a slight reaction with the Ombre dye ink - it started to go lighter as it blended with the Oxide. So I inked up more Ombre ink and stamped again and just left the image to dry. It's a much more subtle look and I really like how the dye ink behaved on the Oxide background.

The gold embellishment mousse is quite textured here - I ended up applying it with my finger and just tapping at it to get the texture. It really does glisten in the light.

Also for added sparkly I applied Wink of Stella to the sentiment I'd cut from dark grey card.

Well, it's always a joy playing with someone else's supplies - the only difficulty is resisting adding things to your shopping list... more on that next time!

In the meantime, remember to hop on over to the Daring Cardmakers blog to see the fantastic interpretations of this challenge. :)

 

Paper Smooches - Graceful Beauties stamp set	MFT - Die-namics Thanks dies	Distress Oxide ink pad - Wilted Violet	Distress Oxide ink pad - Broken China
Distress Oxide ink pad - Cracked Pistachio	Hero Arts - Ombre ink pad - Pool to Navy	Tonic Studios Nuvo Embellishment Mousse - Indian Gold	ZIG - Wink of Stella clear brush pen
MISTI precision stamping tool	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape

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In a super duper mood...

Well the long BH weekend is almost upon us here in the UK. :D

And before the relaxation commences it's just time for me to share the dare I set for this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge.

It happens to be National Superhero day over the pond today, so I thought it was the perfect excuse to celebrate super heroes and caped crusaders (in any form) on a card. It's also a great time to make a card to celebrate the heroes in your life.

I used the lovely Super Kids stamp and die set from Lil' Inker Designs as the hero element for my card.

It was my first time playing with this set as I hope to use it for future birthday cards. There are some cute elements in it and although my water-colouring came out a little chalky from the paints I used (these paints are much better suited to making backgrounds and colouring solid die-cuts) I had fun stamping the background with my lovely Lawn Fawn ink cubes (waiting patiently for them to release more of their colours in cube format here!).

Paper: Simple Stories
Stamps: Lil' Inker Designs - Super Kids
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs - Super Kids, Spellbinders, PTI
Other: watercolour paints, 3D foam tape

I'd really like to try colouring in the main characters in this stamp set with just grey tones next time. But my colouring skills would require serious improvement! lol

Don't forget to pop on over to the Daring Cardmakers blog to see all the Super cards from the design team this week - there are some real corkers!

 

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Simple Stories - Sunshine & Happiness - 6x6" Paper Pad	Lil' Inker Designs - Super Kids stamp set	Lil' Inker Designs - Super Kids die set	Spellbinders - Nestabilities - Classic squares large
Spellbinders - Nestabilities - Classic scalloped squares large	Papertrey Ink - Double-ended banners dies	Small watercolor brush pen	Angora Watercolor 36 pan set
Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner	Lawn Fawn - Black Licorice ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Merman ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Sunflower ink pad
Lawn Fawn - Manatee ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Freshly Cut Grass ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Doe ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Lobster ink pad
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape	MISTI precision stamping tool

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Patterned papers galore

Over on the Daring Cardmakers blog this week Miri has set a fab challenge - to use at least 5 patterned papers on your card.

Well I always love an opportunity to use patterned paper - but my card went in a very minimal paper direction for this one, most unlike me!

Paper: Pink Paislee
Stamps: Winnie & Walter (Sending You)
Dies: Mama Elephant (Rainbow High), Lawn Fawn (Hearts)
Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh
Other: Watercolour paper, watercolour paints, 3D tape, MISTI, Wink of Stella

So it was the first outing for these lovely Sending You stamps by Winnie & Walter - I've been after a "Sending you..." stamp set for a while that was going to work for a few types of cards. And the font is lovely too... I also wanted the Wishing you set but it's been out of stock everywhere for a while. One day... ;)

This was also the first outing for the fabulous rainbow die from the Mama Elephant Rainbow High die set. Now, you know I love my MFT rainbow die - I've been using it for many years. But the rainbow die was actually not what drew me to this new die set, it was the clouds and the balloon outline... well, let me tell you this rainbow die is going to get used a lot!

I love the fact that it doesn't cut out all the arcs individually. It cuts almost to the bottom of the rainbow so all you need to do to colour the individual segments is slot a piece of scrap paper through your die-cut to mask off the arcs you are not colouring. Very simple. :)

The watercolour paints were out again - really enjoy using these to colour in rainbows.

Most of the paper I used for this card was on the backgrounds - but the little scraps I had left over from other projects were used to cut the tiny hearts.

Don't forget to pop on over to the blog to see how patterned paper has been celebrated!

Until next time, happy crafting!

Pink Paislee - Fancy Free - Paper #10	Pink Paislee - Fancy Free - 6x6" Paper Pad	Winnie & Walter - Sending You stamps	Mama Elephant - Rainbow High dies
Lawn Fawn - Hearts dies	Pretty Pink Posh - Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix sequins	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape	Small watercolor brush pen
Tim Holtz - Distress Watercolor Cardstock	Angora Watercolor 36 pan set	ZIG - Wink of Stella clear brush pen

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Spring florals are in bloom

Morning folks!

Happy Easter weekend. :D In celebration of spring time Kathy's dare over on the Daring Cardmakers blog this week is sure to be popular!

We're focusing on spring in the garden and showcasing spring blooms. :)

Paper: My Mind's Eye, Pink Paislee
Stamps: Altenew - Tulips, Waltzing Mouse Stamps
Dies: MFT
Other: enamel dots, various inks, MISTI

So yes, it's another Easter card - I certainly haven't managed to make the cards I wanted to this Easter. Not even managed to get my Happy Hatchling dies from Lawn Fawn snipped apart ready for use. But at least here is another one to add to the slim pickings that were written and sent out.

I mean when the challenge calls for spring florals, how can you not use it as an excuse to create something for Easter? ;)

The lovely Tulips stamp set from Altenew had it's first outing - I had a little splurge earlier in the month from Seven Hills Crafts:

I used New Leaf green ink from Papertrey Ink as the main ink for the leaves with Adirondack Oregano for the darker highlights. I wanted to keep it all light and airy so used some of my favourite colour combos for layered stamping - and yes Adirondack Salmon ink did feature, but I find it so hard to ink with the Adirondack pads on the MISTI as they have a very shallow felt bed for the ink and inevitably to get full coverage I end up getting ink on the hinged lid of the MISTI too. That's why I am loving stamping with ink cubes more and more. I just need a company to release the same shade of salmon pink in a handy ink cube. :D

Mind you it's not like I am short on ink... hehe

I briefly shared my rather uninspiring Easter card offerings on Instagram as I'd had fun experimenting with using the MISTI to make patterns with the WPlus9 Easter Greetings mini stamp set which features different egg styles.

A bright and bold ombre of colours:

Some pastel rainbow shades:

And some random stamping:

Anyway, hope you have a lovely Easter/BH weekend! Make sure you check out the wonderful projects from the design team here.

Happy crafting!

My Mind's Eye - On Trend 2 - Minted Gold Foiled Paper	Pink Paislee - Fancy Free - 6x6" Paper Pad	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock	Altenew - Tulip stamp set
Waltzing Mouse - Compact Sentiments stamps	MFT - Die-namics Fishtail Flags STAX dies	MFT - Die-namics Fishtail Flags Layers STAX dies	Hero Arts - Charcoal mid-tone shadow ink
Papertrey Ink - New Leaf ink pad	Adirondack dye ink - Oregano	Distress inkpad - Tattered Rose	Adirondack dye ink - Salmon
Adirondack dye ink - Mountain Rose	Papertrey Ink - Lemon Tart ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Harvest Gold ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Sweet Blush ink pad
Altenew - Cotton Candy dye ink	My Mind's Eye - On Trend 2 - Enamel Shapes	MISTI precision stamping tool

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Christening celebrations

We celebrated a very special day at the weekend - and in glorious style too!

My little niece's Christening day. :D And of course, it called for a special card.

Paper: Crate Paper, Bella Boulevard, Simple Stories
Dies: Mama Elephant, Lawn Fawn, MFT, PTI
Chipboard alpha stickers: Basic Grey
Other: typewriter, twine, sewing machine, watercolour paints, sequins, Nuvo Crystal Drops

I had lots of fun water colouring the letters and balloon I die-cut from watercolour paper. In fact it is such a nice way to get the shades you want without having to cut individual letters from different cardstock shades.

Crate Paper - Little You - Little Nose Paper	Bella Blvd - Love and Marriage - May Eighteenth paper	Simple Stories - Sunshine & Happiness - Total Crush Paper	Tim Holtz - Distress Watercolor Cardstock
Basic Grey - True Love - Chipboard alpha	Mama Elephant - Rainbow High dies	Papertrey Ink - Tiny Tags die	Lawn Fawn - Finley's ABCs alphabet dies
MFT - Die-namics Fishtail Flags STAX dies	Pretty Pink Posh - Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix sequins	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Bubblegum	Hemptique natural hemp cord
Angora Watercolor 36 pan set	Small watercolor brush pen

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I was also honoured to be asked to be Godmother and one of the gifts I gave was the beautifully illustrated "My Little Picture Bible" from DK. It is just perfect - the illustrations, the length of text is just right for bedtime reading, and there are little activities on most of the pages. :)

The little lady herself was so well behaved the entire day, like she is most days, and took the celebrations in stride!

All the adults required a few days to recover... hehe The garden beanbag got dragged out for its first outing of the year:

We also had some fun story time this past week:

April elemental inspiration

Morning all!

This month it was my turn to pick our elemental inspiration dare over on the Daring Cardmakers blog.

And here's my pick!

We're full on into Spring right now and well, I am rather embarrassed to admit this, but I hadn't even started making my Easter cards yet!

This needed remedying straight away, so I used the prompt above as my spring board - pardon the pun...

I've gone with inspiration from the florals, the little blue eggs, a spring animal (I know it's not a duckling, but bunnies will do right?), the mix of buttery yellow with floral tones, and instead of a next I made a spring wreath:

Paper: Pebbles
Stamps: Avery Elle, PTI
Dies: WPlus9, Simon Says Stamp
Other: Nuvo embellishment mousse, Nuvo crystal drops, watercolour paper, watercolour paints, MISTI

As you can see I went a little symmetrical stamping crazy! My Misti came out to do all the hard work in getting the bunnies and Easter eggs lined up to create a circular repeat pattern.

Then to fill the middle I cut a couple of wreaths from watercolour paper using the WPlus9 Spring Wreath die set - I use this so much for Easter cards it's not funny!

I used a few shades of green and a little yellow from my Gansai Tambi paints to add a splash of colour. This is so quick and much easier than trying to find the right shade of green cardstock, plus with the small water brush I got in a Simon Says Stamp card kit last year there's no hassle of getting brushes and water out on my desk. Just a few drops of water in the pans and away I went painting.

The greeting is also cut from watercolour paper and painted with a nice buttery peach shade.

Tonic Studios were kind enough to send me a couple of items to try out that had been on my wishlist - one of them was the Indian Gold embellishment mousse. I'd seen some great videos online that showed just how quickly this stuff dries. I always liked the look of gold inked edges but no matter what ink I tried to set with my heat gun it'd still be tacky and wet and ultimately smudge somewhere. This mousse is a great alternative and I love the added dimension of the texture. It's such a lovely rich shade when it catches the light.

I also had a new addition to my Nuvo Crystal drops collection with the Buttermilk shade - perfect for adding the centres to those pink flowers. :)

I now kind of wish I'd done a few repeats of this card while I was making it as I've still got a good few Easter cards left to make... and time is ticking! One down...

Hey ho, more bunnies and eggs in my future this Sunday I think!

Remember to pop on over to the DCM blog to see the fab cards the design team were inspired to make!

Happy crafting!

Pebbles - Spring Fling - Scattered Daisies Paper	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock	Tim Holtz - Distress Watercolor Cardstock	Avery Elle- Happy Spring stamps
Avery Elle - Fabulous Florals stamps	Papertrey Ink - Embellished Elegance stamp set	Simon Says Stamp - EASTER die	WPlus9 - Spring Wreath die
Tonic Studios Nuvo Embellishment Mousse - Indian Gold	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Buttermilk	MISTI precision stamping tool	Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese watercolour paints (36 colour set)
Small watercolor brush pen	Lawn Fawn - Manatee ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Celery stick ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Freshly Cut Grass ink pad
Lawn Fawn - Merman ink pad	Altenew - Cotton Candy dye ink	Altenew - Mango Smoothie dye ink	My Favorite Things - Peach Bellini ink pad

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Wrap it up!

This week over on the Daring Cardmakers blog, Enfys has set us the challenge of reusing the packaging from grocery or household items to make a card rather than it going straight in the recycling box!

I was really pondering what I could take out of the recycling and put to good use, until a certain new reed diffuser was purchased in Next that had the most lovely design on the box:

In fact, it's such a nice design I really think they should have used it on some kitchen towels or table mats... they would have gone nicely in my home!

But hey ho, the yellow graphic print and the grey linen effect of the box from the diffuser on the left made a great backdrop for my card:

Card: Next reed diffuser packaging, Bazzill Cardshoppe, Distress Watercolour paper
Dies: Lawn Fawn, Lil' Inker Designs, MFT
Flower: Wild Orchid Crafts
Sequins: Pretty Pink Posh
Other: 3D foam tape, needle and thread

With such a busy print and the colours being so bold, I didn't really want to add too much else to the card other than the greeting and a focal accent. The mulberry paper flower needed to stand out a little more so I used the larger Silly Stitches circle die to create a little border around it and also attached it to the card by hand sewing it in place.

The card I made is also my interpretation of the Primrose Yellow colour palette for the April Pantone card challenge prompt:

{Pinterest pin}

I was definitely inspired by the above image when combining the elements for my card. :)

Hopefully this card will brighten someone's day as it's extremely gloomy out there right now! Make sure you check out the other inventive projects over on the Daring Cardmakers blog!

On a separate note, the lemon and bergamot fragrance is just lovely for spring into summer. ;)

Here's to a sunnier weekend!

Next - Lemon & Bergamot diffuser	Tim Holtz - Distress Watercolor Cardstock	MFT - Die-namics Cause for Celebration dies	Lawn Fawn - Stitched scalloped borders
Lil' Inker Designs - Silly Stitched die set	Mixed color mulberry paper cherry blossom stem flowers	Pretty Pink Posh - Sparkling Clear Confetti Mix sequins	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape

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Mother's Day card

Well, the weekend flew by in the blink of an eye with lots of Mother's Day celebrations on both days.

Here's the card I made for my mum:

Paper: Crate Paper
Stamps: Avery Elle, WPlus9
Dies: Avery Elle, Simon Says Stamp
Other: 3D foam tape, dye inks (see below), Nuvo crystal drops

I had great fun trying out some new product for this card - it was the first proper outing for some of my new Lawn Fawn ink cubes and the first outing for the lovely WPlus9 Whimsy alpha stamps that I purchased while I was working long days and enjoying crafting vicariously through the medium of online shopping! Ha!

I also took out my Avery Elle Laurels stamps and dies from their underused state and added some florals and the pink bow as finishing touch.

And speaking of finishing touches, I found that the Duck Egg Blue Nuvo Crystal drops by Tonic were the perfect complementing colour to go with all those bright shades. :)

Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Bloom Collection - Little Bird paper	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes Bloom Collection - Wonderful paper	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock	WPlus9 - Whimsy Alpha stamps
Avery Elle - Handwritten Notes stamps	Avery Elle - Laurels stamp set	Avery Elle - Laurels die set	Avery Elle - Scalloped Frames dies
Simon Says Stamp - Dot Scallop border die	Hero Arts - Charcoal mid-tone shadow ink	Lawn Fawn - Mermaid ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Manatee ink pad
MFT - Pink Lemonade ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Sunflower ink pad	MFT - Grapesicle ink pad	Lawn Fawn - Plastic flamingo ink pad
Altenew - Cotton Candy dye ink	Lawn Fawn - Celery stick ink pad	Altenew - Mountain Mist Crisp Dye Ink	Lawn Fawn - Merman ink pad
Lawn Fawn - Peacock ink pad	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Duck Egg Blue

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Up in the air!

And down to earth with a bump...

The light finally arrived at the end of the tunnel for me and the nose-to-the-grindstone work bubble has eased up a little.

Which means I've had a chance to do some crafting just in time for this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge which comes from Svenja!

The challenge is to make a card with a sky of flight theme.

Well I couldn't resist a chance to feature some rainbows and clouds.

Paper: Crate Paper
Dies: PTI, MFT, Lawn Fawn
Other: enamel dots, typewriter, 3D foam tape, Gansai Tambi watercolours

For a bit of a twist on the usual way I use the rainbow die from MFT, this time I cut it from watercolour paper and used my Gansai Tambi paints and a water brush to colour in the different colours. It gives a more delicate look to the rainbow than when I've used markers in the past, plus I like the variation in the shade you get with this way of doing it.

The little cat is from one of the journaling cut-out cards from the Little You line and my trusty vintage typewriter was the perfect way to add the custom greeting. I definitely don't have anything else in my stamp or sticker collection that would have worked. Believe me, I looked!

I don't think I'll ever get sick of using these lovely papers from Little You for many projects, they backgrounds are just so versatile. In fact I've not bought any new paper since Christmas as there doesn't seem to be much that is new but will work with older product. But that's not such a bad thing as I have plenty of lovely paper still in my stash that has been curated over the years! hehe

In the meantime I'll keep using what I have (plus a few new ink, stamp, and die additions)...

Another new purchase I made were a couple of Photo Boards from www.photoboards.org - I've not got much natural light that I can use for my project photos or a neutral background, and I'd been looking for a while for backdrops that would work for close-up detail but weren't huge to store and were durable and solid. So I ended up getting the 60x60 Whitewashed woodgrain board and the 40x40 Bali green wood board for a shot of colour. So far so good! I am hoping to add to my collection as new 40" boards are released. :) Hopefully these boards will help a little with my poor light conditions for photography.

Make sure you go check out the other wonderful cards from the design team over on the blog!

Happy crafting!

Crate Paper - Little You - Adorable Paper	Crate Paper - Little You - My Sunshine Paper	Crate Paper - Little You - Little Nose Paper	My Favorite Things - Die-namics rainbow die
Lawn Fawn - Hearts dies	Papertrey Ink - Cloud 1 & 2 die collection	Tim Holtz - Distress Watercolor Cardstock	Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese watercolour paints (36 colour set)
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape

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Going geometric

I've ventured out of my work bubble to share my card for this week's Daring Cardmakers Challenge that has been set by Leo.

We've been challenged to create our own geometric print - and not rely on patterned paper to do the job for us.

Well, after much pondering I finally found a triangle stamp in my stamp stets (I really do need to invest in that fab SOHCAHTOA stamp set from Altenew or the Scandinavian prints Christmas set by Neat and Tangled which Laura Fedora has used to great effect.

But in their absence the triangle I used came from an old Papertrey Ink Christmas set. :D

Here's what I made with the aid of the MISTI for straighter positioning than I will ever achieve freestyle!

Die: MFT
Other: 3D foam tape, MISTI, inks listed below

You can see a bit of the dimension here. Sadly Bazzill Cardshoppe card was not the best idea for this project - I really should have stuck with a smoother cardstock for the stamping as some of the inks just didn't take well to the card and were still splotchy the next day. It was my Adirondack inks, which aren't the easiest to ink stamps with on the MISTI - cubes are much easier, but they were the shades I was after and I didn't have anything else that close...

But hey ho, my lovely birthday die from MFT had it's first outing and I used some "neutral" cardstock that wasn't white/cream/grey for a change - this is actually a charcoal brown shade of Bazzill Cardshoppe and I love it for a bit of contrast.

Triangles look to have been a popular theme with the design team - go check out all the fab inspiration here.

Happy crafting!

Papertrey Ink - Holiday Tree Stamp Set	Adirondack dye ink - Watermelon	My Favorite Things - Bubblegum ink pad	Hero Arts - Orange Soda ink pad
My Favorite Things - Peach Bellini ink pad	Hero Arts - Butter Bar ink pad	My Favorite Things - Lemon Chiffon ink pad	Adirondack dye ink - Citrus
Memento dye ink - New Sprout	Altenew - Ocean Waves Crisp Dye Ink	My Favorite Things - Sno Cone ink pad	Hero Arts - Tide Pool ink pad
Altenew - Mountain Mist Crisp Dye Ink	Hero Arts - Grape Juice ink pad	My Favorite Things - Grapesicle ink pad	My Favorite Things - Cement Gray ink pad
Altenew - Morning Frost Crisp Dye Ink	Altenew - Puffy Heart Crisp Dye Ink	MISTI precision stamping tool	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner

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Mirror, mirror...

Better late than never, I've finally had a moment to share the card I made at the weekend for this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge, where Sharon has challenged us to create a card that has a mirror-like element to it.

I went with the option of foiling. :)

Paper and ephemera: Pebbles - Spring Fling
Dies: Simon Says Stamp, Lil' Inker Designs, Spellbinders
Other: 3D foam tape

Time for a little sunshine and bright colours to return to my blog - the weekend was absolutely dismal weather-wise, but the last few days have been lovely. I'm sadly going to be chained to my work desk the rest of this month, but it's nice to see spring is in the air!

Until next time, happy crafting!

Pebbles - Spring Fling - Celebration Paper	Pebbles - Spring Fling - Spring Fling Paper	Pebbles - Spring Fling - Ephemera Die Cuts	Simon Says Stamp - Dot Scallop border die
Lil' Inker Designs - Silly Stitched die set	Spellbinders - Nestabilities - Standard circles small	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape

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Happy Galentine's Day!

If you're not familiar with Galentine's Day, well it all comes from that wonderful show, Parks & Recreation...

I'll let Leslie explain what it is:

So with any luck my Galentine's Day creation has reached a fellow Parks & Rec gal-friend in time. :D

I found a wonderful free Printable at Brit + Co. that was perfect for the occasion - Brit + Co. appear to love Parks & Rec as much as we do. :)

Printable: Brit + Co.
Paper: Pebbles, Crate Paper
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs, Lawn Fawn
Other: pompom trim, heart button, 3D foam tape

This was the perfect project to use up some Valentine's Day stash - I usually love scrapbooking releases for Valentine's Day as they have a great mix of pinks and often a nice shot of aqua. So also the perfect stash for Galentine's Day!

I also made this card as my interpretation of the February Pantone card challenge prompt for "Flame".

Until next time - and in the words of Donna Meagle - Treat Yo' Self this Galentine's Day! :D

 

Pebbles - We Go Together - UR Sweet	Pebbles - We Go Together - Sending Love	Crate Paper - Kiss Kiss - Love Rocks Paper	Lawn Fawn - Put a Bow on It die set
Lil' Inker Designs - Silly Stitched die set	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape

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February elemental inspiration

Well we've reached the first Friday of a new month, so it's time for a new elemental inspiration dare over on the Daring Cardmakers blog!

This month's image has been chosen by Svenja. :D

The three elements that inspired me were the hexagons, the metal timepiece, and teal/aqua as the pop of colour.

Paper: MME
Stamps: PTI, MFT
Dies: PTI, Lawn Fawn, Essentials by Ellen, Cheery Lynn
Frame: K & Co.

Who knew some of my very oldest stash would come in handy for this week's dare - I have a little drawer that is packed with metal frames and hinges bought many years ago when I planned to do some heritage scrapbooking. So here's one of those early K & Co. Life's Journey frames in action. I also used papers from an old 6x6 pad from MME. :) It wouldn't have been complete without the trusty Cheery Lynn doily die. :D

Pop on over to the DCM blog to see the fab creations from the rest of the design team and play along. :D

Happy crafting!

My Mind's Eye - Follow Your Heart - Be Amazing - 6x6 pad	Papertrey Ink - Mega Mixed Messages stamp set	My Favorite Things - Just My Type dies and stamps	Cheery Lynn - French Pastry Doily die
Papertrey Ink - Double-ended banners dies	Essentials by Ellen - Stitching Lines die set	Lawn Fawn - Stitched scalloped borders

InLinkz.com

2017 Pantone card challenge - Niagara

Well, just sneaking in before the 11th hour and the clock ticks into February to share the card I made for January's Pantone card challenge prompt focusing on Niagara:

{Pinterest pin}

I ended up combining Niagara with white and green, plus I had to still include a little of January's alternate Pantone colour: Island Paradise.

The solution to finding the right shade in my stash can often be found in my ink drawer! :)

Sadly, this last day of January was a gloomy one so the photographs are a bit darker than I'd like, but you get the gist!

Paper: Cocoa Vanilla Studio
Stamps: Concord & 9th, PTI
Die: Essentials by Ellen
Other: HA, PTI, MFT, Lawn Fawn, and Distress inks

The lovely Flourish set from Concord & 9th is perfect for assembling your own colour palette - my MISTI came in very handy here for getting some even coverage with some ink cubes that were drier than others and it's always nice to see the splotchiness of dye ink stamping even out when it is finally all dry.

So all that remains is for me to go and prepare for the February prompt that I'll be sharing tomorrow!

 

Cocoa Vanilla Studio - Free Spirit - Word Jumble Paper	Concord & 9th - Flourish stamp set	Papertrey Ink - Mini Blooms stamp set	Essentials by Ellen - Stitching Lines die set
Hero Arts - Soft Pool ink pad	Hero Arts - Pool ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Enchanted Evening ink pad	My Favorite Thinks - Sno Cone ink pad
Distress ink pad - Faded Jeans	Lawn Fawn - Black Licorice ink pad	Papertrey Ink - New Leaf ink pad	Adirondack dye ink - Meadow
Hero Arts - Charcoal mid-tone shadow ink	MISTI precision stamping tool	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner

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Just add more...

This week over on the Daring Cardmakers blog, Miri has challenged us to express what we want more of in 2017 on our cards!

Well, I would be very happy for 2017 to have more colour, brightness, and love in the world!

From a crafting point of view, you know how much I love my inks so I am looking forward to adding to my rainbow of ink cubes and ink pads and still holding out hope that one day WPlus9 will offer their ink pads (and hey perhaps even ink cubes?) for wholesale purchase so those of us in the UK can get to enjoy them too! :D

In the meantime, here's my offering using some beautifully colourful papers from 2016 and a technique I've been wanting to do again with the MISTI after updating my ink swatch file with all the dye inks I now own.

Paper: Pink Paislee - Fancy Free
Stamps: PTI, WPlus9
Die: Spellbinders
Other: Hero Arts, PTI, MFT, and Lawn Fawn dye inks, 3D foam tape

So after trying to get a card made every evening this week but being work-related issues preventing it, I finally managed to get in the zone last night and made this card while also watching Finding Dory! I don't know if the film provided more creative influence than had I been watching Taken 3 (my other DVD rental at the moment) but who knows. ;)

A total of 16 shades of ink went into the stamping of that heart image - I've listed all the shades in order starting at "12 o'clock" down in the Inlinkz bit at the end of this post.

So it's been a while, but I finally used my beloved PTI Heart Prints stamp set for something other than updating my ink swatches! The greeting is from the lovely Valentine Wishes set by WPlus9.

I really do enjoy repeat stamping techniques like this one with a positioning tool, where you rotate the paper at each stamp position to get a perfect circle of impressions. I could never do this by eye-balling it, that's for sure!

Head on over to the DCM blog to see the fantastic cards from the design team and check out their wishes for 2017!

Happy crafting!

Pink Paislee - Fancy Free - Paper #09	Pink Paislee - Fancy Free - Paper #04	WPlus9 - Valentine Wishes	Papertrey Ink - Heart Prints stamp set
Spellbinders - Nestabilities - Classic scalloped squares large	MISTI precision stamping tool	Lawn Fawn - Black Licorice ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Raspberry Fizz ink pad
Adirondack dye ink - Red Pepper	Hero Arts - Pale Tomato ink pad	Hero Arts - Orange Soda ink pad	Hero Arts - Butter Bar ink pad
Papertrey Ink - Limeade Ice ink pad	Hero Arts - Green Hills ink pad	Papertrey Ink - New Leaf ink pad	My Favorite Thinks - Sno Cone ink pad
Hero Arts - Cornflower ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Enchanted Evening ink pad	Hero Arts - Mint Julep ink pad	Hero Arts - Tide Pool ink pad
Hero Arts - Passion Flower ink pad	Hero Arts - Grape Juice ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Hibiscus Burst ink pad	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape

InLinkz.com

Stitch it!

Happy Friday everyone!

Well done if you have survived the week because there were moments there where I didn't think I would! Yikes!

This week over on the Daring Cardmakers blog it's my turn to set the challenge and I have been inspired by seeing more and more stitchy products appearing on my wish list.

In fact I was taken back to a wonderful piece of patterned paper I used last year from Paige Evans' first collection for Pink Paislee.

So I thought stitching would make a wonderful theme this week!

You can use a needle and thread, drag out the sewing machine, stamp or die-cut stitched designs or draw your own - they just need to be a focal point on your card. :D

Here's my take:

Paper: Pink Paislee
Dies: Simon Says Stamp, Neat & Tangled
Layered sticker: Pink Paislee
Other: 3D foam tape, embroidery thread, enamel dot

I spent a rather pleasant evening in front of the Saturday night telly sewing all the different stitches and thread colours on this piece of the 12x12 paper. In fact it took me one episode of the voice and a whole episode of Taboo to do, but that might have been because my attention was glued mostly to the screen for Taboo!

I do love this combination of colours and I would love for this style of paper to be released again this year as it's just so fun. So many companies manage to recycle their designs and change up the colours or size so would be nice for Pink Paislee to do the same for this design. ;)

I'm not sure how easy it is to see, but the blue frame has an ombre colour effect to it - I cut it from white cardstock first then from the blue paper in the 6x6 pad so it's a bit sturdier.

The layered accent sticker also needed a pop of extra colour so I cut the heart and circle from the paper in the 6x6 pad that has scaled down blocks of different colours and patterns. :)

Hope you check out the other stitched projects from the design team - there are some fab examples over on the blog!

Happy crafting!

 

Pink Paislee - Fancy Free - Paper #02	Pink Paislee - Fancy Free - 6x6" Paper Pad	Pink Paislee - Fancy Free - Layered Stickers	Simon Says Stamp - Birthday Wishes Frame die
Neat & Tangled - Scored Shapes dies	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape	Teresa Collins - Family Stories enamel dots

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Giving something new a try

Over on the Daring Cardmakers blog this week, Kathy has set us the challenge of creating a project using a technique that is new to us....

Well, I had many, many attempts at trying new-to-me techniques out but to no avail, the results were NOT good.

But I have managed to cobble something together with a background I made using the embossed impressions technique shared by Jennifer McGuire in this video:

 

So basically it's a technique where you use detailed dies to create an embossed image that you also heat emboss. :)

One of the dies I used for my attempt at this was the Stitches Cover Plate die from Essentials by Ellen and well, the end result gave me wintry and festive vibes, so yes, it's another Christmas card this week!

Paper: Crate Paper, Elle's Studio
Dies: Essentials by Ellen, Lawn Fawn, PTI, Lil' Inker Designs
Other: Versamark ink, white embossing folder, enamel dot

It should be a bit clearer to see the embossed impressions in this shot. So in addition to this being a new technique for me to try, the stitches cover plate and also the scripty word die are having their first ever outing. :)

There are some seriously amazing techniques and styles being shared over on the blog by the Design Team so definitely check them out and play along! :D

Happy crafting!

Crate Paper - Peppermint collection kit	Elle's Studio - Joyful - Making a List Paper	Essentials by Ellen - Stitches Cover Plate	Lil' Inker Designs - Holly Jolly dies
Papertrey Ink - Tag Sale #10 die set	Lawn Fawn - Fa la la la la border die	My Mind's Eye - Kate & Co - Cambridge Court - Enamel Dots

InLinkz.com

Elementally inspired

The Daring Cardmakers are back to welcome you into a brand new year of weekly challenges!

We're sticking with one of our favourite challenges where on the first Friday of a new month one of the Design Team picks a photo where we need to use three elements on our card creation. Any colours used count as one collective element so you need to look further into the image for inspiration that you can translate to a card. :D

This month the lovely Sharon has chosen this wintry but cosy scene:

After December, I have zero Christmas cards in my box so while we're still in the winter months I'm hoping to build up my card stash ready for December 2017... It's rather daunting...

But here's the first card to make it on the pile:

Paper: Crate Paper, American Crafts
Stamps: WPlus9
Dies: Concord & 8th, Essentials by Ellen, Lil' Inker Designs, PTI
Other: watercolour paper, watercolour paints, Stickles, 3D foam tape, Wink of Stella pen

So my elements were the general colour scheme of an off-white background, the wood letters (including a touch of woodgrain), the little house for my wintry scene, plus the pine branches and pine cones.

It's my first time using the lovely Home & Hearth dies from Essentials by Ellen:

I ordered these along with some stitching dies that I have wanted for AAAAAGES and the Black Friday discount made me take the plunge - it was a definite now or never moment. And to make the most of the postage limit I added this little die set.

Sadly Essentials by Ellen dies are only available directly from that Ellen Hutson, so I am glad I had promised Christmas money to spend which dulled the pain of the exchange rate and customs charge a little.

But anyway, I think they'll be great for Christmas cards and the little houses and hearts will be a lovely new home cards - plus the stars and hearts are very handy for just about anything!

I'm not snipping this die apart just yet - so it was very easy to run it through with a piece of watercolour card. Initially I painted the houses but the colours were too jarring against the blue sky so I ditched those and cut the houses from soft stone PTI cardstock.

Also the time I spent between Christmas and NY switching over to Jennifer McGuire's ink swatch system was well spent:

As I easily found which colours I wanted to use for the pine branches and cones. I've still got the sheets where I've stamped out my inks by manufacturer, but it's so much easier to see all the nuances of shades when they're in these wallets. :) It doesn't mean new ink is off my wishlist... no way. I just wish it was possible to buy cubes especially for MFT dye ink individually in the colour families you really want. And of course I would love it if WPlus9 would sell their ink wholesale so we could easily get it in the UK - I am sure there are some shades there that I don't have! ;)

But anyway, the first Christmas card is done and all I need to do now is stamp a greeting inside and pair this card up with an envelope so it can go and live happily in the Christmas card box!

Remember to check out the Daring Cardmakers blog for some exciting news and to see all the lovely projects from our designers!

Happy crafting in 2017!

 

Crate Paper - Peppermint collection kit	American Crafts - 12x12" Woodgrain Textured Cardstock - Chestnut	Tim Holtz - Distress Watercolor Cardstock	WPlus9 - Merry & Bright stamps
Concord & 9th - JOY die	Essentials by Ellen - Home & Hearth dies	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Circles die set	Papertrey Ink - In the Meadow Die Collection (set of 2)
Kuretake Gansai Tambi Japanese watercolour paints (36 colour set)	Ranger Stickles - Frosted Lace	ZIG - Wink of Stella clear brush pen	Hero Arts - Cup O' Joe ink pad
VersaFine - Smokey Gray ink pad	Papertrey Ink - Pinefeather ink cube

InLinkz.com

 

2017 Pantone card challenge - Island Paradise

Morning!

I'm offering up this card for my interpretation of the Island Paradise prompt in this year's Pantone-inspired card challenge.

Here's a reminder of the prompt for this lovely light blue tone:

{Pinterest pin}

And here's my interpretation:

Paper: Crate Paper and Simple Stories
Stamps: Altenew, PTI
Dies: Altenew, Pebbles, PTI, Lawn Fawn
Other: glitter paper, 3D foam tape, enamel dots

I think I'll always be a fan of pairing up aqua blue tones with pinks and blush colours - they just complement each other so well. :) I had a lot of fun combining a number of inks in my collection to create the roses and leaves.

I'm also hoping to make a card using the darker blue shade of Niagara as my inspiration as well.

Crate Paper - Little You - Adorable Paper	Simple Stories - Sunshine & Happiness - Total Crush Paper	Simple Stories - Sn@p! Color Vibe - Grey Dot/Stripe paper	Heidi Swapp - Marquee Love - 8.5" x 8.5" Glitter Paper Pad
Papertrey Ink - Stylish sentiments: Birthday stamp set	Altenew - Vintage Roses stamp set	Altenew - Vintage Roses die set	Papertrey Ink - By the numbers die collection (set of 9)
Pebbles - Jen Hadfield Cottage Living - Polaroid Die Set	Lawn Fawn - Put a Bow on It die set	Papertrey Ink - Double-ended banners dies	My Mind's Eye - Sugar Plum - Enamel Shapes
Lawn Fawn - Black Licorice ink pad	Tsukineko Versamark ink pad	Distress inkpad - Tattered Rose	Adirondack dye ink - Salmon
Adirondack dye ink - Mountain Rose	Adirondack dye ink - Red Pepper	Adirondack dye ink - Lettuce	Adirondack dye ink - Meadow
Adirondack dye ink - Pesto	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape	MISTI precision stamping tool	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner

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