Kool Kitty Musings

70th Birthday Wishes

I hope you've all had a lovely Christmas break otherwise a relaxing few weeks. :)

Before the year is out, and the decade in this case, I'd like to share my last card project of 2019. And it's a rather Polish affair:

Stamps: Agateria - Napisy na każdą okazję
Dies: Altenew - Polish Papercuts 3D, PTI - By the Numbers, Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels

I reached for one of my favourite supplies of 2019 - the 3D Polish Papercuts dies from Altenew.

I wanted to pair the white die cuts with some pale pink and champagne tones.

I used cardstock from Bazzill and also blended Blush ink onto the die cuts cut from Pale Rose cardstock.

The Alpaca grey cardstock has a more purple tone to it than other grey shades in my collection and it really provided a nice background for the white, pink, and champagne tones.

Here's to plenty more happy crafting in 2020!

 

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Agateria - Napisy na każdą okazję stamps Shop at: MISC	Altenew - Polish Papercuts 3D dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC	PTI - By the Numbers dies Shop at: MISC	Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels dies Shop at: SSS
Altenew - Blush dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Altenew - Red Sunset ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Alpaca Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Pale Rose Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Pretty Pastels

Well here we are, we've reached the final DCM countdown to Christmas challenge and the last DCM dare of 2019!

This week you can make any project featuring pretty pastels, and well I had one last Christmas card to share using some lovely supplies from this year's WPlus9 Holiday release:

Stamps: WPlus9 - Most Wonderful, WPlus9 - Snow Scenes, Simon Says Stamp - Pinecone Background, Hello Bluebird - Typed Christmas
Dies: WPlus9 - Most Wonderful, WPlus9 - Scalloped Joy Tag, MFT - Sentiment Strips 2 (r)
Other: Distress Oxides

I've been patiently waiting all these years for someone to release a nice multi-step snowman stamp set, and I have it at last! :D I think next time I might try some Distress Oxide ink dauber stamping with that set to see if I can get more subtle colour transitions. But I love how it came out with just dye ink stamping in a few shades.

The snow banks and trees in the background are really effective. A bit of Wink of Stella adds extra dimension too in real life.

The scalloped tag is also a perfect size and will get used all-year round.

And once again, those Christmas sentiments from Hello Bluebird are just the perfect finishing touch. Lots of nice sentiments in the set that were new to my collection.

Make sure you check out the lovely projects from the rest of the design team and play along if you get chance.

Happy crafting!

 

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Hello Bluebird - Typed Christmas stamps Shop at: SSS	WPlus9 - Most Wonderful stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	WPlus9 - Snow Scenes stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	Simon Says Stamp - Pinecone Background stamp Shop at: SSS
WPlus9 - Most Wonderful dies Shop at: EH | SHC	MFT - Sentiment Strips 2 dies (r) Shop at: MISC	WPlus9 - Scalloped Joy Tag dies Shop at: EH | SHC	Altenew - Limestone dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Broken China Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Tumbled Glass Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Carrot ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Pumpkin Spice ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Lawn Fawn - Sage Leaf ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Storm Cloud ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	PTI - Aqua Mist ink pad Shop at: MISC	PTI - Hawaiian Shores ink pad Shop at: MISC
PTI - Hibiscus Burst ink pad Shop at: MISC	PTI - Raspberry Fizz ink pad Shop at: MISC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC
Lawn Fawn - Woodgrain cardstock - Neutrals Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Neenah 80 lb smooth Desert Storm cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
Hero Arts - Liquid Watercolor - White Shop at: EH | SHC	Zig - Wink of Stella glitter brush pen - Clear Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH
EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ
Sponge daubers Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Royal Langnickel - Zen watercolour round wash brush set Shop at: AZ	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Oh Christmas Tree...

This week's challenge for the Daring Cardmakers Countdown to Christmas doesn't need to be a card, it could be any craft project.

But it must feature trees!

I recently made some stitched Christmas tree projects and shared them here.

Here's one as a reminder:

They use a die by The Stamp Market that adds a pattern of dots ready to stitch your design.

Well, I have an upcoming crop that I wanted to pack light for and thought this would be a good project for that evening.

I decided to start by cutting lots of trees from various left-over cardstock pieces that I thought would work on a card.

And here are the first three that I stitched one evening:

Ready to appear on Christmas cards next year! :D

After that experiment, I've ordered more embroidery thread online in mixed colours ready to stitch some more trees at the crop. :)

Check out the lovely tree projects from the rest of the design team here!

Happy crafting!

DCM - December elemental inspiration

Morning!

Over on the Daring Cardmakers blog, it's time for the last elemental inspiration challenge of 2019 and it's a good one! :D

I loved the natural and Scandi style of the elements in this photo, but I ultimately focused on the neutral/kraft/red colour combo, pine cones, and tag:

Paper: Simple Stories - Merry & Bright - Sparkle and Shine (r)
Stamps: PTI - Peaceful Pinecones, Agateria - Zestaw do napisów na każda okazję 3
Dies: PTI - Tag Sale #3, PTI - Peaceful Pinecones

I love the busy patterned paper and the fact there's a little deer in there too (one of the elements in the challenge photo), but the main event is the tag.

I used an older PTI stamp set for the pine cones and added some Platinum Stickles for extra sparkle.

The sentiment is from a Polish set and fits nicely in the tag space.

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

Happy crafting!

 

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Agateria - Zestaw do napisów na każda okazję 3 stamps Shop at: MISC	PTI - Peaceful Pinecones stamps Shop at: MISC	PTI - Peaceful Pinecones dies Shop at: MISC	PTI - Tag Sale #3 dies Shop at: MISC
Lawn Fawn - Noble Fir ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Walnut ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Simple Stories - Merry & Bright - Sparkle and Shine paper (r) Shop at: SBC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

2019 card challenge - November card take 2

Sneaking these cards just under the deadline, for the November card challenge - I'm back with more pink trees!

This time featuring some stitching.

I started off though creating some blended backgrounds with various colours of Distress Oxides (plus a little Fossilized Amber in the second background.

The backgrounds were also sprayed with Mister Huey mists.

And then I got on with cutting the Dotted Tree dies from The Stamp Market out of pink cardstock to do some stitching:

Stamp: Agateria - Napisy na każdą okazję
Die: The Stamp Market - Dotted Tree
Other: Distress Oxides

First I had a go at chain stitch with mixed success - I certainly need practice on something a little simpler, but I really like the look and a perfect way to use some of my sequins and seed beads.

I finally have two sets of sentiment stamps in Polish so it's nice to be able to send some festive cards this year to Poland that have the right greeting on them!

 

For my other tree I went with a simpler stitch:

Stamp: Agateria - Napisy na każdą okazję
Die: The Stamp Market - Dotted Tree
Other: Distress Oxides

And I really like how the oversized sequins in my stash look layered up like this.

You can also see in this shot the shimmer from the mists and the Platinum gold metallic embossing. I may need to make more of this design - perhaps some stitching in front of the telly on these cold winter nights.

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Agateria - Napisy na każdą okazję stamps Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - Dotted Tree dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Scattered Straw Shop at: EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Spun Sugar Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Tattered Rose Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Worn Lipstick Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS
Lilac Lane - Bridal sequins Shop at: SBC | SSS	Ranger - Liquid Platinum embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Blizzard (r) Shop at: SBC	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Opaque White (r) Shop at: SBC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Simply White Shop at: AZ | EH	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ	Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Shining Lights

This week's Daring Cardmakers countdown to Christmas challenge is all about light: whether from candles, fairy lights, or the winter sky.

I decided to focus on stars for my card, as I hadn't yet used the Star Turnabout stamps from Concord & 9th and I thought they'd make a nice starry sky winter background.

Stamps: Concord & 9th - Star Turnabout, Hello Bluebird - Typed Christmas
Dies: Concord & 9th - Christmas Cottage, PTI - Seeing Stars
Other: Distress Oxides

I first stamped the Turnabout stamps in Versamark and heat embossed with a sparkly clear rainbow powder from a past card kit.

Then I blended several shades of blue and used Picket Fence Distress Ink in the centre to create a glow for the main event - a dimensional star.

I wanted to keep everything else very subtle so simply cut the Cottage dies from white cardstock and layered them up a little, adding only glitter paper to the roof and behind the windows.

Then finally I stamped a very fitting sentiment from Hello Bluebird.

Make sure you check out the wonderfully illuminating projects from the rest of the design team here.

Happy crafting!

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Concord & 9th - Star Turnabout stamps Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC	Hello Bluebird - Typed Christmas stamps Shop at: SSS	Concord & 9th - Christmas Cottage dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC	PTI - Seeing Stars dies Shop at: MISC
Distress ink pad - Picket Fence Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Broken China Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Chipped Sapphire Shop at: EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Faded Jeans Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Tumbled Glass Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Hero Arts - Liquid Watercolor - White Shop at: EH | SHC	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Blizzard (r) Shop at: SBC	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Opaque White (r) Shop at: SBC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Concord & 9th - Original turnabout jig Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ	Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Natural, Gold & White

This week's Daring Cardmakers Countdown to Christmas challenge focuses on a really classic look for winter and the festive season.

You can make any project, but it must feature natural, gold and white as the colour palette.

I had a specific idea in mind of stamping white on kraft and well, I'm rather pleased with how it turned out (despite the poor natural light conditions this time of year):

Stamps: Simon Says Stamp - Pinecone Background, The Stamp Market - Merry & Bright, The Stamp Market - Lovely Labels
Dies: The Stamp Market - Lovely Labels, Sizzix - Tim Holtz - Mini Holiday Greens

I started off stamping the SSS Pinecone Background on Neenah desert storm cardstock and embossing in white. Wow is this a cool background stamp. It stamps very nicely and I can see it being a great option for tone-on-tone looks as well as heat embossing.

For my sentiment I used gold and black embossing powders with The Stamp Market Merry & Bright set on cream cardstock.

I used blush ink for the frame for a very subtle hint of colour - I think that contrast really brings out the other colours too.

The winter foliage is cut from off cuts of the desert storm cardstock which I then painted here and there with Hero Arts white liquid watercolour and dabbed with glitter.

Finally, when everything was dry I assembled my card and used some gold bells I'd kept from Easter Lindt rabbits to tie onto the card.

I have another pinecone panel that I stamped at the same time and need to come up with a project for it.

I'm thinking my new WPlus9 winter release may get used. ;)

Make sure you check out the wonderful projects from the design team - so many fab ideas!

Happy crafting!

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The Stamp Market - Lovely Labels stamps Shop at: EH | SBC	The Stamp Market - Merry & Bright stamps Shop at: MISC	Simon Says Stamp - Pinecone Background stamp Shop at: SSS	The Stamp Market - Lovely Labels dies Shop at: EH | SBC
Sizzix - Tim Holtz - Mini Holiday Greens dies Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Altenew - Blush dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Butter Mints Shop at: AZ | EH
Neenah 80 lb smooth Desert Storm cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Tim Holtz - Distress Glitter - Vintage Platinum Shop at: AZ | SBC	Hero Arts - Gold embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Wow! - Primary Ebony embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH	Hero Arts - Liquid Watercolor - White Shop at: EH | SHC	Stampers Anonymous - Glitter Duster Shop at: SSS
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

2019 card challenge - December card

So, I've finally had chance to try and photograph the cards I've made for this month's card challenge prompt. :)

I was immediately inspired by the trees in the image and pale pink.

It was the perfect opportunity to try out a few new supplies, namely the Mod Trees background stamp from Simon Says Stamp and the Joy, Love and Peace die from MFT to make four cards from one sheet of pink card.

First up it's (Altenew) blush pink on pink to make a shaker card.

Stamp: Simon Says Stamp - Mod Trees Background
Dies: MFT - Joy, Love, and Peace, Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Rectangles

Before constructing the shaker element, I die-cut the stitched frame on the front panel.

It's a bit hard to tell in the photos, but there are silver seed beads in all the letters, but the icons also contain small sparkly sequins for extra interest.

To keep the elements separate I cut the die from 7 or 8 pieces of white cards and built up the layers. I then mounted Butter Mint cardstock behind the panel as that went nicely with the blush pink tones.

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Next up another experiment of pink on pink:

Stamp: Simon Says Stamp - Mod Trees Background, The Stamp Market - Candy Cane Christmas
Dies: MFT - Joy, Love, and Peace, The Stamp Market - Candy Cane Christmas, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles

This time I wanted to try the bubblegum pink for a darker look, but I had trouble getting a solid result so had to stamp it several times - the trees are darker than I'd have liked originally, but they still work with this Mod tree style.

Before mounting on my card blank, I cut the panel with a Hero Arts Infinity rectangle die.

I finally added silver glitter paper and stamped the holly and berries from The Stamp Market Candy Cane set to add a bit of extra festive cheer.

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For the next two cards I first clear heat embossed the background stamp on the pale pink cardstock and then it was time for some blending experiments:

Stamp: Simon Says Stamp - Mod Trees Background, The Stamp Market - Candy Cane Christmas
Dies: MFT - Joy, Love, and Peace, The Stamp Market - Candy Cane Christmas
Other: Distress Oxides

This card mainly uses Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide with a little Spun Sugar in places. I needed to keep some cards flat for postage, so the extra pop comes from the white glitter paper peeking through and the sprig of holly.

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I went with warmer pink tones for this background:

Stamp: Simon Says Stamp - Mod Trees Background, The Stamp Market - Candy Cane Christmas
Dies: MFT - Joy, Love, and Peace, The Stamp Market - Candy Cane Christmas
Other: Distress Oxides

It's the same process as the previous card, but this time I used Worn Lipstick around the edges and Tattered Rose in the middle for a little colour variation.

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The Stamp Market - Candy Cane Christmas stamps Shop at: MISC	Simon Says Stamp - Mod Trees Background stamp Shop at: SSS	The Stamp Market - Candy Cane Christmas dies Shop at: MISC	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Mats: Rectangles dies Shop at: MISC | SHC	MFT - Joy, Love, and Peace die Shop at: EH | SHC	Altenew - Blush dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Spun Sugar Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Tattered Rose Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Worn Lipstick Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	The Stamp Market - Bubble Gum ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	The Stamp Market - Cactus ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC
The Stamp Market - Cherry Kisses ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Butter Mints Shop at: AZ | EH	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Pale Rose Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Crafter's Companion heat-resistant acetate Shop at: AZ	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH
EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Festive songs and carols

This week's countdown to Christmas challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog is inspired by festive tunes, songs, and carols.

In the interest of using up pieces from Christmas card projects on my desk (in this case half a blended sky and one skiing rabbit) I thought it might be good to get the Pinkfresh Studio Skiing By stamps and dies out again:

Stamps: Pinkfresh Studio - Skiing By, Flora & Fauna - Holiday Word Party
Dies: Pinkfresh Studio - Skiing By
Other: Distress Oxides

For my super festive earworm, I found the perfect match for the scene: Let it snow... let it snow... let it snow.

The sentiment is from Flora & Fauna – I am really digging these smaller typewriter style sentiments right now as they just fit nicely in open spaces on my card design without covering anything up.

Also I'm not sure you can tell, but Wink of Stella was a perfect choice for this card - I covered the mountain tops with it and also created snow drift accents on the slopes. Plus I am definitely reaching for my white pen a lot for these projects. It adds just the perfect detail to make elements pop.

Make sure you check out the fab projects from the rest of the design team, and get your festive playlist started for some cardmaking! :D

Happy crafting!

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Flora & Fauna - Holiday Word Party stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	Pinkfresh Studio - Skiing By stamps Shop at: EH | SBC	Pinkfresh Studio - Skiing By dies Shop at: EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Iced Spruce Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Spun Sugar Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Worn Lipstick Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Gina K Designs - Obsidian Amalgam ink pad Shop at: EH | SSS	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Bazzill Cardshoppe - Butter Mints Shop at: AZ | EH	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Blizzard (r) Shop at: SBC	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Opaque White (r) Shop at: SBC
Uniball Signo White pen Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Zig - Wink of Stella glitter brush pen - Clear Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ	Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

Festive Mr Fox

Morning all!

I've got a project that has been stuck in drafts for ages because I wasn't all that thrilled with the end result. But hey, it's one more Christmas card on the list.

This card is an example of something made using just off-cuts left over from other projects plus a few stickers.

 

Paper and stickers: Pebbles - Winter Wonderland (r)
Stamp: Mama Elephant - Scripty Xmas

That's right, all those paper elements were already die-cut or just needed trimming to size, and I had that sentiment banner left over from another project but the embossing wasn't so great. But because it's on a dark grey background I think it at least has that blackboard/chalky look.

The enamel dots were the last two of that colour on the sheet and well, I don't think I'll ever finish the Winter Wonderland sticker sheet at this rate!

But there are now fewer elements and scraps left in their respective storage pockets, so that's a plus!

Here's to a crafty week all!

x

DCM - Baubles and Bows

Hello all!

It's the next challenge in the Daring Cardmakers count down to Christmas series.

This week the project can be of any type, it doesn't need to be card. :)

But since I'm still adding to my Christmas card series and I'm not sure I've neared my target yet, a Christmas card it is from me!

As the name suggests, whatever you make needs to focus on baubles and bows.

I already had the stamps and die I wanted to use in mind before starting. That always saves time and prevents procrastination...  ;)

Paper: Crate Paper - Falala (r)
Stamps: The Stamp Market - A Little Something For You, The Stamp Market - No Peeking, Flora & Fauna - Holiday Word Party
Die: The Stamp Market - A Little Something For You

I thought it was high time I got my box of Christmas papers out and used one for a background, my paper collection has been rather neglected of late.

So what better background to my "parcel" than the very versatile "Evergreen" paper from the Falala collection by Crate Paper. It's a few years old now, but it probably has some of the most usable designs for cardmaking.

Next I created the gift bow and "ribbon" by stamping and embossing onto pink cardstock.

Finally, I needed a bauble. So I did some bold stamping with the bauble from the No Peeking set in Tropic Teal, finishing off with Flora & Fauna sentiments in Emerald Isle and the ampersand in Party Pink.

I don't have any dies for that stamp set so a little fussy cutting was required, then the Crop-a-dile came out to create a hole for the pink baker's twine, and hey presto my card was assembled! :)

Make sure you check out the fab projects from the rest of the design team and play along if you get the chance!

Happy crafting!

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Flora & Fauna - Holiday Word Party stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	The Stamp Market - A Little Something For You stamps Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC	The Stamp Market - No Peeking stamps Shop at: MISC	The Stamp Market - A Little Something For You die Shop at: MISC | SBC
The Stamp Market - Emerald Isle ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	The Stamp Market - Party Pink ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	The Stamp Market - Tropic Teal ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC
Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	PTI - Sweet Blush cardstock Shop at: MISC	Crate Paper - Falala - Evergreen paper (r) Shop at: MISC	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

Stitched rainbow birthday wishes

It's time for a short break from the Christmas card makes. :)

I made this card for a very special young lady who celebrated her 16th birthday last week:

Stamp: MFT - Big Birthday Wishes (r)
Dies: The Stamp Market - Dotted Rainbow, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles
Stickers: KI Memories

I started off by stamping the main sentiment so I could line up the rainbow die properly before getting to work with my small collection of embroidery floss and sequins.

I have some vintage stickers on here too, not that much younger than the birthday girl herself - it's KI Memories for the numbers and name!

I found with the stitched dot dies you need to double up your embroidery floss - so use all 6 threads and then double up when threaded through your needle.

I bet that rainbow will look pretty in ombré pink shades too... Might have to try that next time.

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MFT - Big Birthday Wishes stamps (r) Shop at: SHC	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	The Stamp Market - Dotted Rainbow die Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC	Altenew - Jet Black dye ink Shop at: EH
Altenew - Green Fields ink cube set Shop at: EH | SHC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	PTI - Raspberry Fizz cardstock Shop at: MISC	Lilac Lane - Bridal sequins Shop at: SBC | SSS
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

Skiing by with Christmas wishes

Happy weekend all!

Today's card is definitely new favourite. As soon as I saw this stamp and die set revealed by Pinkfresh Studio in their recent blog hop, it went straight onto my wish list!

I'm also a big fan of Lizzie Mackay's designs and illustrations, not only for Pinkfresh Studio, but her past seasonal lines for Sainsbury's (I bought a lot of those gift bags and wrapping paper). :D

So here's the first outing for these stamps and dies:

Stamps and dies: Pink Fresh Studio - Skiing By
Other: Distress Oxides

I'd been experimenting with Distress Oxides to make some pink background panels, and this is one I had left over from that inky session. Once again the colours have been toned down by applying white and shimmery mists.

I only used the top of this panel so have the rest of it still available to use on another card. :D

My blending brushes have been put to good use to colour in the mountains with Pumice Stone ink and once again I tried to add highlights to those fun skiers with a white pen.

I still need practice there!

But overall, I love the end result. :D

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Pinkfresh Studio - Skiing By stamps Shop at: EH | SBC	Pinkfresh Studio - Skiing By dies Shop at: EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Pumice Stone Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Spun Sugar Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Tattered Rose Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Worn Lipstick Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Gina K Designs - Obsidian Amalgam ink pad Shop at: EH | SSS	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Strathmore Bristol cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Blizzard (r) Shop at: SBC	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Opaque White (r) Shop at: SBC
Uniball Signo White pen Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ	Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - November elemental inspiration

So here we are, the first Friday of a new month means a new elemental inspiration challenge on the Daring Cardmakers blog, and what a lovely one it is to kickstart the countdown to Christmas challenges we have lined up!

I immediately had ideas whirring around in my mind when I saw that image, but you know what won out for me. ;)

 

Stamps: PTI - Sentiment Staples: Christmas
Dies: Simon Says Stamp - Village, Essentials by Ellen - Home & Hearth, Pinkfresh Studio - Skiing By
Other: Distress Oxide inks

I started off blending the background with Tumbled Glass ink, adding a little Broken China to the mix and finally Peacock Feathers around the top. I went back in with Broken China and some Picket Fence Distress Ink to add a white glow like the moon in the village image.

Once I was happy with my blended colours, I used my two "winter-friendly" Mr Huey sprays to add that snowy, frosty finish. They actually dull down the vibrancy of the background which can be great as I sometimes feel the background looks darker than I want, but once the mist goes on that creates the perfect balance. :)

I used a mix of village-style dies to assemble my scene and the stars were perfect to add where there were glows of white ink.

The front layer with the sentiment is popped up on 3D foam tape to add a little extra depth and bring everything nicely together.

So to recap, my elements were the village scene, blue as the predominant colour, and a scripty sentiment.

Make sure you check out the fab projects from the rest of the design team - we hope you enjoy the challenge!

Happy crafting!

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PTI - Sentiment Staples: Christmas stamps Shop at: MISC | SSS	Pinkfresh Studio - Skiing By dies Shop at: EH | SBC	Essentials by Ellen - Home & Hearth dies Shop at: EH	Simon Says Stamp - Village dies Shop at: SSS
Distress ink pad - Picked Raspberry Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Broken China Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Peacock Feathers Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Tumbled Glass Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Lawn Fawn - Hippo ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Blizzard (r) Shop at: SBC
Studio Calico - Mister Huey's color mist - Opaque White (r) Shop at: SBC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ	Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

Sweater weather cards

This post might as well be entitled The Epic Christmas Card Assembly Project because it sure took some time to complete!

It all started weeks ago when I went to make this card (and 3 of the same design while I had my supplies out):

Stamps: Avery Elle - Starry Scene, Simon Says Stamp - Critter Sweaters, WPlus9 - Holly Jolly Christmas
Dies: Avery Elle - Starry Scene, Simon Says Stamp - Critter Sweaters

The main reason for this design was so that I could try out my new The Stamp Market ink colours, and what better way than to do some solid stamping for my background elements and some rainbow stamping for the Bear's sweater.

I was pretty happy with how it all turned out and thought it would be a great template for another run of multiple card makes... It was 4 cards down, but just how many more could I make?

Coincidentally the following Friday was our local evening crop and I wanted to pack light and just do some step-by-step tasks that were just perfect for that scenario.

Well, this plan required some military preparation:

• All my A2 background panels were cut to size from coloured cardstock
• Every element that needed die-cutting in my Sidekick was cut down to fit those cutting plates
• I bagged up everything I needed for the individual steps and threw in a couple of extra tweaks for the design

Armed with just 1 bag of supplies I got down to work - interrupted only by our Chinese takeaway meal and a bit of chat. ;)

Boy had I underestimated how long it would take me just to stamp the stripes! I needed to double stamp all the main background elements to ensure smooth and solid results (it seems to be the norm with a lot of ink-heavy projects I do) so I wasn't quite on track.

But it was all good, by the end of the evening my background panels were done, the sky was stamped and ready to die cut, the cats and rabbits had been cut and stamped, the mountains were stamped, die cut, coloured in and had a Wink of Stella applied.

I just needed to cut all the trees, do a bit of ink blending on them for extra pop, find the perfect sentiment, die cut the sky and assemble everything.

That ended up taking me a whole extra day (aided or hindered by watching a new show on Amazon Prime that I really enjoyed, called Modern Love).

And finally.... finally I had this small stack of cards to show for it:

As you will see, the tweaked design includes the perfect-fit sentiment from the WPlus9 Holly Jolly Christmas stamp set (it's the same set I used for all those stripes) plus die-cut trees from the Neat & Tangled Scandinavian Prints Christmas set (it's officially discontinued but this set is fantastic for trees and is still available in some stores).

Here are the main products used for this design:

Stamps: Avery Elle - Starry Scene, Simon Says Stamp - Critter Sweaters, WPlus9 - Holly Jolly Christmas
Dies: Avery Elle - Starry Scene, Simon Says Stamp - Critter Sweaters, Neat & Tangled - Scandinavian Prints Christmas (r)

I used the same ink colours for all the sweaters, here's a quick list:

• Rabbit: The Stamp Market - Emerald Isle and Fresh Pink inks
• Cat: The Stamp Market - Party Pink and Tropical Teal inks

And here's a breakdown of the individual colour variations:

Background: PTI - Sweet Blush cardstock and The Stamp Market Blush Pink ink
Sky: Altenew - Sea Glass ink

Keeping with the pink background I did a darker stripe:

Background: PTI - Sweet Blush cardstock and The Stamp Market Bubblegum ink
Sky: Lawn Fawn - Minty Fresh ink

The grey mountains stamped in Altenew Limestone ink and coloured with a Promarker in Warm Grey stand out nicely, and I used a white pen for extra detail. A very quick effect that was welcome in the overall process!

Then I moved into bluer tones:

Background: PTI - Aqua Mist cardstock and The Stamp Market Emerald Isle ink
Sky: Altenew - Blush ink

And finally more subtle tone-on-tone stripes:

Background: PTI - Aqua Mist cardstock and The Stamp Market Tropical Teal ink
Sky: Altenew - Blush ink

Don't ask me which is my favourite! ;)

I like them all for different reasons, but boy have all the stamps and dies used in this series paid for themselves now!

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Avery Elle - Starry Scene stamps Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Simon Says Stamp - Critter Sweaters stamps Shop at: SSS	WPlus9 - Holly Jolly Christmas stamps Shop at: MISC | SHC	Avery Elle - Starry Scene dies Shop at: EH | SHC
Neat & Tangled - Scandinavian Prints Christmas dies (r) Shop at: AZ | SHC	Simon Says Stamp - Critter Sweaters dies Shop at: SSS	Altenew - Blush dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Jet Black dye ink Shop at: EH
Altenew - Limestone dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Sea Glass dye ink Shop at: EH	Distress ink pad - Peeled Paint Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Minty Fresh ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
The Stamp Market - Blush Pink ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	The Stamp Market - Bubble Gum ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	The Stamp Market - Cactus ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	The Stamp Market - Cherry Kisses ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC
The Stamp Market - Emerald Isle ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	The Stamp Market - Party Pink ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	The Stamp Market - Sea Glass ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC	The Stamp Market - Tropical Teal ink pad Shop at: EH | MISC
Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Altenew - Cool Summer Night ink cube set Shop at: EH | SHC	Altenew - Green Fields ink cube set Shop at: EH | SHC	Altenew - Red Sunset ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC
Altenew - Rock Collection ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Neenah Classic Crest 80 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SSS	PTI - Aqua Mist cardstock Shop at: MISC
PTI - Sweet Blush cardstock Shop at: MISC	Uniball Signo White pen Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Zig - Wink of Stella glitter brush pen - Clear Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Back to Black

This week's Daring Cardmakers challenge comes from Svenja, and we're going back - Back to black!

I rarely use black as a prominent colour, but I do love it for blackboard style backgrounds and also when someone's designed striking papers on black.

Like say Basic Grey, back in the day!

Paper: Basic Grey - Juniper Berry (r)
Stamps: Avery Elle - Comfort & Joy, Avery Elle - Laurels (r), Flora & Fauna - Mini Pine Branch
Dies: Flora & Fauna - Pine Branch, Avery Elle - Laurels (r), Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle

So first step - the greeting. I stamped this on some black patterned paper from Simple Stories and heat embossed te sentiment in white. To really get that blackboard look I blended Black Soot Distress Ink around the edges.

I needed a pop of colour to get it to stand out further, so I used some pink cardstock in my stash but matched the pink in the paper better by blending Lawn Fawn raspberry around the edges of the circle mat.

Then it was time to cut lots and lots of pine branches from the Flora and Fauna die. I had hoped to do this in my sidekick, but the die needed the precision plate on my Big Shot and it cut fine when fed in diagonally. :)

I created a wreath behind the sentiments, adding fussy cut pine cones stamped with the Mini pine branch stamp set and finally used my new inks from The Stamp Market to add a festive bow.

Another Christmas card for the box. :)

Make sure you check out the beautiful cards from the design team, and play along if you get the chance!

Happy crafting!

 

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Avery Elle - Comfort & Joy stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	Avery Elle - Laurels stamps (r) Shop at: MISC	Flora & Fauna - Mini Pine Branch stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	Avery Elle - Laurels dies (r) Shop at: MISC
Flora & Fauna - Pine Branch die Shop at: EH | SHC	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Distress ink pad - Black Soot Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Raspberry ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Lawn Fawn - Soot ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	The Stamp Market - Bubble Gum ink pad Shop at: EH | SSS	The Stamp Market - Cherry Kisses ink pad Shop at: EH | SSS	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC
Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ	Ranger - Mini round ink blending tools Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

Winter sunset cards

So Christmas card production is in full force for me.

If I'm making a card, it's going to be a festive one.

Over on the 2Peas Refugees forum there's a Card-tober challenge that was the inspiration for this particular design.

A photo of a winter sunset.

Interpreted in card form with the aid of Distress Oxides:

Stamps: Mama Elephant - Scripty Xmas
Dies: Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Woodgrain cover-up, Memory Box - Countryside Circle, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circles, Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels
Other: Distress Oxides

For the sunset, I initially did the blending with the Ranger blending tool. But when I placed the aperture over my background to check the alignment the colours were a little muddy. I went back in with sponge daubers to get more definition and would probably just use sponge daubers with the Memory Box die in the future. :)

They're very handy for blending small areas.

As with all of my Christmas projects at the moment, I'm trying very hard to make multiples of designs when I make one card.

So here's a variation on this one with the Stitches cover plate instead of the Woodgrain one.

Stamps: Mama Elephant - Scripty Xmas
Dies: Essentials by Ellen - Stitches Cover Plate, Memory Box - Countryside Circle, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circles, Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels
Other: Distress Oxides

Once again this year, I'm really liking the Scripty sentiments from Mama Elephant. They look great on charcoal cardstock embossed in white...

I ended up making 5 of these cards in one session. :) So I'm happy with that!

Until next time!

Happy crafting. :D

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Mama Elephant - Scripty Xmas stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	Essentials by Ellen - Stitches Cover Plate Shop at: EH	Lil' Inker Designs - Stitched Woodgrain cover-up die Shop at: MISC | SHC	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Memory Box - Countryside Circle die Shop at: SSS	Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels dies Shop at: SSS	Distress Oxide ink pad - Fossilized Amber Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Squeezed Lemonade Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Worn Lipstick Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Simon Says Stamp - Fog cardstock Shop at: SSS
Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Ranger - Mini round ink blending tools Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sponge daubers Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Use up your scraps

This week Miri has come up with a great challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog.

If you have any paper pads, left-over sticker sheets, pre-stamped images, backgrounds, etc. that are lying around just waiting to be used up on a project, this challenge is for you!

I immediately had something in mind and got straight down to work. No procrastinating this week!

Earlier this year when I purchased some makeup blending brushes on amazon to try out with ink blending, I made a couple of blended Distress Ink panels on light blue cardstock ready to make Christmas cards later in the year. The inks used for those were Black Soot, Chipped Sapphire, and Broken China. I was pretty pleased with the results, but wasn't in the Christmas mood yet or ready to make anything further with them.

Well, those panels sat around for a while until I purchased the Foliage Frame stamp and die set by Neat & Tangled and used the main frame stamp to test out the Wow Platinum embossing powder in my stash.

The embossed panels were just right for this challenge, I just needed to turn them into cards!

Stamps: Neat & Tangled - Foliage Frame
Dies: Neat & Tangled - Foliage Frame, WPlus9 - Snowflake Trio (r)
Other: Distress inks

So all that remained for this challenge was to use the coordinating dies to cut out the centre aperture, add the "Joy" sentiment from the stamp set on some aqua paper, and cut the WPlus9 Snowflake Trio dies from Silver glitter paper for an extra frosty accent.

I added metallic thread to the snowflakes and finished off with some clear Nuvo drops.

________________________________________________________

I'd also had a go at a Distress Oxide blending combo using Black Soot, Evergreen Bough, and Old Paper and this was a great candidate for trying out Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder with the Foliage Frame set.

Stamps: Neat & Tangled - Foliage Frame
Dies: Neat & Tangled - Foliage Frame, WPlus9 - Snowflake Trio (r)
Other: Distress Oxide inks

This time I used ivory glitter paper for the snowflakes and a snowflake background paper in a closer colour to the blended ink tones.

I mounted all the panels on the back of some very old top-folding DCWV A2 card blanks that have a scallop gatefold at the top of the card. It's a different way to use these cards up, but I liked how this also followed the spirit of the challenge. :)

Make sure you check out the other projects from the design team, and play along if you can!

Happy crafting!

 

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Neat & Tangled - Foliage Frame stamps Shop at: EH | SHC	Neat & Tangled - Foliage Frame dies Shop at: EH | SHC	WPlus9 - Snowflake Trio dies (r) Shop at: SHC	Distress ink pad - Black Soot Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress ink pad - Broken China Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Chipped Sapphire Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Black Soot Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Evergreen Bough Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Old Paper Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Ranger - Liquid Platinum embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Wow! - Platinum Sparkle embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Morning Dew (clear) Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH
EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ
Ranger - Mini round ink blending tools Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - October elements

Morning all!

It's the first Friday of a fresh new month, so of course we have a nice elemental inspiration challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog.

As December is nearing at quite a pace, I'm also switching my sights to festive card projects.

So behold the inspiration for this week:

 

And here is my festive take on it - and fair warning I've used some old but great supplies:

Paper: Crate Paper - Bundled Up (r)
Stamps: WPlus9 - Holiday Hugs (r), Mama Elephant - Holiday Messages (r)
Dies: WPlus9 - Holiday Hugs (r), PTI - In the Meadow Silhouettes, Avery Elle - Season's Greetings (r), Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles, Hero Arts - Wood Frame Infinity, Mama Elephant - Landscape Trio border, Memory Box - Country Landscape (r), Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels
Other: Copics

The elements I went with were someone in a hood, a furry creature, woodgrain, and a bit of knitwear.

Since I'm playing catch up on my festive projects this year, I am hoping to make multiples of the same card where possible. So for this card design I used different papers from the Bundled Up 6x6 paper pad, but I also tried out different colour combinations for the cuddly bear and little girl.

Here she is with red hair and a teal jacket:

Brown hair and a blue coat:

And a cheery red jacket with coordinating stripy pink tights:

I tried to use a white pen for highlights, and though not very good at the whole shading thing with my limited Copic Ciao colours, the little white pen details really brought the images to life.

This was also the first outing for my infinity woodgrain frames. I think they will be rather handy for framing little winter scenes, you know how much I love those! LOL

The other little details include some glitter paper for the snow, Nuvo dots for the holly berries, and using some Forest Moss Distress Ink on the die-cut trees for extra depth.

Make sure you check out the fantastic projects from the rest of the design team, and play along with the elements if you can. :D

Happy crafting!

 

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Mama Elephant - Holiday Messages stamps (r) Shop at: SHC	WPlus9 - Holiday Hugs stamps (r) Shop at: EH | SHC	PTI - In the Meadow Silhouettes dies Shop at: MISC	WPlus9 - Holiday Hugs dies (r) Shop at: EH | SHC
Avery Elle - Season's Greetings dies (r) Shop at: SHC	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Hero Arts - Wood Frame Infinity dies Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Mama Elephant - Landscape Trio border dies Shop at: SHC
Memory Box - Country Landscape border die (r) Shop at: SSS	Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels dies Shop at: SSS	Distress ink pad - Forest Moss Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Gina K Designs - Obsidian Amalgam ink pad Shop at: EH | SSS
Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Red Berry Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Uniball Signo White pen Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Cosmetic blending brushes Shop at: AZ	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC
Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - World Tourism Day

This week over on the Daring Cardmakers blog, Shabneez is challenging us to join in with the celebrations for World Tourism Day.

My project is, of course, taking you to Poland! Yay!

Another outing for my very traditional Polish paper cut dies. They're fun to use, but oh... the process is still a labour of love and best enjoyed with a Sizzix Sidekick on your desk while you watch Netflix at the same time. ;)

 

Dies: Altenew - Polish Papercuts 3D dies
Stamp: Altenew - Wonderful Wycinanki

I once again raided my bountiful collection of cardstock packs from American Crafts - I've had these for years and the Tropical and Brights packs are particularly good for these sorts of designs.

I think the bright colours really pop against darker backgrounds. I still had some charcoal grey cardstock left from a similar recent project, so I used that again and then heat embossed the sentiment in white on black cardstock, adding a few final paper flourishes.

Make sure you check out the jet-setting creations from the rest of the design team, and play along if you can! :)

Happy crafting!

 

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Altenew - Wonderful Wycinanki stamps Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC	Altenew - Polish Papercuts 3D dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Got your number

I'm starting to feel better and managed to get a little crafting done, still in time to play along with this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge!

It's all about featuring numbers on your project and how timely, because I had a birthday card to make for my god-daughter.

Paper and sticker: Crate Paper - Willow Lane (r)
Stamps: PTI - Birthday by the Numbers (r)
Dies: PTI - By the Numbers, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles, Mama Elephant - Dainty Bow

My Sudafed addled brain had a little trouble getting this card to work. I really wish I'd matted the pink stamped background before sticking it down so it wouldn't be so lost against that purple floral paper. But too late!

The teal glitter paper worked a treat for cutting a "balloon" number, and I used the Dainty Bow dies from Mama Elephant (they've seen a lot of use over the years and are still available individually from Mama Elephant directly otherwise as a bigger set from other stores) to add a little navy detail, bringing the colours together more.

Hopefully a balloon loving panda in a tutu will go down well with the birthday girl. :)

I'm sure you've seen the fab card projects from the rest of the team over on the Daring Cardmakers blog, but if not head on over there and play along with us! :D

Happy crafting!

 

 

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PTI - Birthdays by the Numbers stamps (r) Shop at: MISC	PTI - By the Numbers dies Shop at: MISC	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Mama Elephant - Dainty Bow dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC
Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Blossom paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Cherish paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC
Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Flowerpatch paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Sweet Rose paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Standouts (r) Shop at: SBC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Special thoughts

Morning everyone.

It's been another whirlwind of a week and I have been burning the not-quite midnight oil to carve out some crafting time amongst it all.

This week's dare has been set by Dawn and is a beautiful tribute to her very special dad. It's all about remembrance for those who are no longer with us, but also an opportunity to let those who are near and dear to us know they are in our thoughts and in our hearts.

My inspiration for my card project came from a beautiful card that Aga shared back when Altenew released their amazing Polish papercut dies last month. I just love her cards, but this one really spoke to me - the white papercuts reminded me of some extremely old papercuts my Lwów-born paternal grandfather (who died before I was born) had created for a London exhibition back in the 1950s. I wish I could have seen them in all their glory, but the delicate white paper and all that handcutting just set me off wanting to try the same with dies. Aga's project nudged my memory and I borrowed a good few ideas from her original project, which is quintessentially Polish in every regard. Thanks again for the inspiration Aga!

Dies: Altenew - Polish Papercuts 3D, Neat & Tangled - Skinny Strips
Stamps: Memory Box - Big and Little Words

I wanted to keep things clean and simple and have been on a grey background kick of late. Simon Says Stamp Fog cardstock does the job really well, and I had some Bazzill Taffy cardstock already precut with my Skinny Strips dies from Neat & Tangled that were perfect for my sentiment.

I cut all the papercut elements from Bazzill Marshmallow and used some diluted Lawn Fawn ink in Deep Sea to apply colour to some of the layers with a paintbrush.

3D foam tape can really make things pop and teasing up the ends of the papercuts also adds extra dimension and texture.

I hope you can visit the blog and see the lovely projects from the design team, and join in with the challenge.

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Memory Box - Big and Little Words stamps Shop at: SSS	Altenew - Polish Papercuts 3D dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC	Neat & Tangled - Skinny Strips dies Shop at: SHC	Lawn Fawn - Deep Sea ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Taffy Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Simon Says Stamp - Fog cardstock Shop at: SSS
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Distress Sprayer Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Ranger - Artist brush set Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - September elemental inspiration

The first Friday of the month means a brand new elemental inspiration challenge over on the Daring Cardmakers blog.

Here's the image we're working with for September:

 

Lots of possibilities there!

And here's my take on the inspiration image:

Paper, frame, ephemera: Crate Paper - Willow Lane (r)
Stamps: PTI - Tiny Tags
Dies: PTI - Tiny Tags, Lawn Fawn - Put a Bow on It, Sizzix - Funky Floral #1

So the elements I went with were: a bird, pink, shimmer (in the form of Nuvo gold mousse), an initial, and flowers (resin flower and the paper pattern)

The Willow Lane collection is one I really liked and did think of my niece a bit when buying the items I did, but goodness me did that ephemera pack come in handy with its majestic swan. Perfect for this soon-to-be three year-old who loves her "Wan" watering can...

I must confess the 1970s typewriter purchased from a friend also came into its own again this year for the custom sentiment. I seem to use the typewriter mainly for cards and gifts for this particular recipient. But it's just so handy to type exactly what you need and cut a sentiment strip.

I do fear I'll be needing new ribbon for it soon and really it could do with a proper service, but it's hanging in there!

I wanted to create a storybook style cover for this card, so the touch of Nuvo gold mousse was perfect down that edge. It's been a while since I opened the mousse and it has really shrunk and dried badly. It's now the consistency of drying boot polish, but at least I was able to pry some out to rub down the edge with my finger.

I've heard it can be revived with distilled water, but it's definitely not up to being used on stencils.

Just glad I didn't decide to buy more colours! Hey ho...

Anyway, all's well that ends well in the case of this project! I hope the birthday girl likes it and here rather artistically hand-picked birthday presents, that Auntie Taya (aka me) will be looking forward to trying too! ;)

Make sure you check out the fab projects from the rest of the design team here.

Happy crafting!

 

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PTI - Tiny Tags stamps Shop at: MISC	PTI - Tiny Tags dies Shop at: MISC	Lawn Fawn - Put a Bow on It dies Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Sizzix - Funky Floral #1 dies Shop at: AZ | SBC
Hero Arts - Charcoal ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Ballet Slippers ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Minty Fresh ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Darling paper (r) Shop at: SBC
Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Meadow paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Spread Love paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Sweet Rose paper (r) Shop at: MISC | SBC	Crate Paper - Maggie Holmes - Willow Lane - Ephemera (r) Shop at: SBC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Fiskars 12" reinforced paper trimmer Shop at: AZ | EH
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

Wycinanki-inspired thank you card

I cannot tell you how happy I am to now have a way to make my own Polish papercut or Wycinanki designs for card projects.

I've loved this style of folk art since I was a child and we luckily picked up some beautiful paper cut art works in Poland in the 80s and also have some before. Those pictures hang in the hall at my mum and dad's - protected from sunlight and at eye level perfect for appreciating all the details.

When Cepelia was still open near my relatives in Poland I used to be able to pick up the odd hand-cut item (greeting cards and a few wall hangings), but the wall hangings in particular weren't a patch on the earlier art work. The materials weren't as high quality and they were covered in plastic laminate so you couldn't appreciate all the paper layers.

The vintage paper cuts are seriously something to behold.

I'm just very happy to see Polish paper cuts being appreciated by a wider audience and that there are now dies and stamp sets that I can use to try my hand at it. I really appreciate all the hard work and skill that goes into creating the original Wycinanki!

Anyway, here's my first creation after sitting at my desk sifting through the cardstock sheets in my AC Tropical and Brights collection packs for suitable colours to cut.

Dies: Altenew - Polish Paper Cuts 3D, MFT - First Place Award Ribbon (r)
Stamp: Memory Box - Springtime Typewriter Sentiments

Let me just say, the Sidekick is a great thing to have for dies such as these. I listened to my favourite Saturday morning radio show (Alan and Mel), chortling away and singing along, as I cranked the dies back and forth through the machine and then finally piecing everything together and working out the layout.

I also needed to make those colours pop even more, so chose a dark grey background for the florals and used Azalea cardstock from Hero Arts for the stamped greeting.

I'm so happy with how this turned out. I just need to give the coordinating stamp and die set a go next, but I think I'm going to use these 3D dies the most.

Here's hoping Altenew expands on this line and releases more 3D papercut dies. ;)

 

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Memory Box - Springtime Typewriter Sentiments stamps Shop at: EH | SSS	Altenew - Polish Papercuts 3D dies Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC	MFT - First Place Award Ribbon dies (r) Shop at: MISC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC
Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

2019 card challenge - September card

This must be a record, creating a card for the challenge so early in the month. :)

But I had good reason to make a Thank You card and use some new product while I was at it.

For the elements from the challenge prompt I went with a geometric print inspired by stripes, touches of yellow, and the grey background.

Stamps: The Stamp Market - Diamond Tile Background
Dies: Sizzix - Funky Floral #1, PTI - Tiny Envelope, Simon Says Stamp - Thank You Script
Other: Distress Inks

I tried a technique using scrap pieces of white cardstock I'd seen online: watercolouring die-cuts with Distress Inks.

Well this works a lot better on some cardstocks than others. I hadn't realised until attempting to paint the various florals and leaves that I had Neenah mixed in with my scraps, so the ink doesn't actually blend into the cardstock properly, where you put it is where it stays!

Thankfully the other pieces of white card were Bazzill Marshmallow, so the inky watercolouring was much more fluid, creating even coverage.

I went with some end-of-summer shades and tried to incorporate warm yellow tones and a hit of blue!

I also found the perfect paper in my stash to get that mustard yellow look when creating the tiny envelope. It's hard to tell but I also made a grey liner for the envelope as the white looked quite stark in contrast.

The sentiment was cut from a piece of Hero Arts cardstock from the sampler pack I picked up (finding that sampler quite useful for sentiment strips and indeed full sentiments). The colour is Adriatic and is a lovely peacock blue in real life. It's a bit hard to tell in today's lighting conditions.

Oh and the tone-on-tone background stamp is simply Pumice Stone Distress Ink on Taffy cardstock. Really liked the combo and the ink took very well to the cardstock and stamp after conditioning with a microfibre cloth.

So there we go! First card of autumn made. ;)

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The Stamp Market - Diamond Tile Background stamp Shop at: EH | SBC	PTI - Tiny Envelope die Shop at: MISC	Simon Says Stamp - Thank You Script dies Shop at: SSS	Sizzix - Funky Floral #1 dies Shop at: AZ | SBC
Distress ink pad - Chipped Sapphire Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Crushed Olive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Forest Moss Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Mermaid Lagoon Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress ink pad - Mustard Seed Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Peeled Paint Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Pumice Stone Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Stormy Sky Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress ink pad - Wilted Violet Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Taffy Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS
Marvy Jewel Picker Shop at: AZ	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Sizzix - Sticky Grid sheets Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC
Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Resist!

Guess who got to set the challenge for this week?

That's right!

Me. :D

You've probably seen on here and Instagram that my projects these days have tended to use a lot more heat embossing than before and even some watercolour/inking techniques.

Well this one is a favourite: the resist technique.

For my take I went with an oldie but goody, heat embossing in white and then creating a watercolour background brushed over the stamped image:

Stamps: WPlus9 - Coming Up Roses (r), Concord & 9th - Herringbone Background, Memory Box - Big and Little Words
Dies: WPlus9 - Coming Up Roses (r), Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels
Other: Distress Oxides

 

And yep, the ink daubers had their first outing for this project.

I started off by stamping the Herringbone Background in versamark onto ivory card. I used a Sticky Grid to hold my cardstock panel in place when I stamped it (I'm still using the first Sticky Grid sheet from the pack and just store it with its backing sheets in place under the foam pad of my Misti).

Once embossed in white I diluted some Lawn Fawn Minty Fresh and Merman ink on a mat with a few spritzes of water and took a number 6 round brush to go over the tiles. I repeated this a few times as the layers dried to get a subtle ombré effect.

I left the panel to dry properly in the sunshine and it crinkled up a bit at the edges, but I really don't mind that look for this particular card. :)

While all that was happening it was time to select some colours and stamps to try out layered ink blending with my daubers and Distress Oxides.

I wanted some autumnal but still August-friendly colours to go with that blue, so I layered up Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed and Wild Honey for the floral spray, Peeled Paint for the branches, and two tones of blue to stamp the vase: Tumbled Glass and a bit of depth from Broken China.

These Coming Up Roses stamps from WPlus9 are sadly retired now, but they've been a great purchase and well worth picking up if you see them for sale somewhere still. I love the multi-step stamping designs that Dawn creates for her florals. You can get so much detail from them in dye ink, but I love how this layering with Oxides allows you to take that a step further.

I finished off the card with some twine on the vase and a simple greeting in Wild Honey original Distress Ink to bring everything together.

Make sure you check out the fab creations from the Design Team and play along if you can! :) Click on the image below to find out more. :D

Resistance is futile... ;)

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Memory Box - Big and Little Words stamps Shop at: SSS	WPlus9 - Comping Up Roses stamps (r) Shop at: MISC	Concord & 9th - Herringbone Background stamp Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC | SHC	WPlus9 - Comping Up Roses dies (r) Shop at: MISC
Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels dies Shop at: SSS	Distress ink pad - Wild Honey Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress ink pad - Wilted Violet Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Broken China Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Mustard Seed Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Peeled Paint Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Squeezed Lemonade Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Distress Oxide ink pad - Tumbled Glass Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Distress Oxide ink pad - Wild Honey Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Merman ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Minty Fresh ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC
Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Ranger - Multi-Medium Matte adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sponge daubers Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Distress Sprayer Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Ranger - Artist brush set Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Sizzix - Sticky Grid sheets Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC
Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - I'd like to be, under the sea...

Morning all!

This week's Daring Cardmakers challenge is full of marine fun!

Svenja has challenged us to head below the waves and explore the beautiful briny sea. I really wish I had some octopuses and co. in my collection, but the nearest I could come was a tiny little whale from an old stamp set by PTI who is bobbing along...

Paper: Crate Paper - Poolside
Stamps: PTI - Tiny Treats: Birthday (r), Avery Elle - Swell, Memory Box - Big and Little Words
Dies: Mama Elephant - Sew Fancy, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles, Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels

I went pretty old school on my supplies: I had an old Poolside paper block from Crate Paper which has some great wavy patterns in it and the only cardstock I could find to match the colour tones was Aqua Mist and Ocean Tides from PTI.

Everything else was full on blue and clashed so badly with this aged look Crate Paper used for its design.

I stamped my little whale with Memento and coloured it with Copics - I've recently redone my copic colour chart as the one that used to hang up has faded over the years and I was getting a shock at how different the colours were when I went to use them vs what I thought they'd look like. While I was at it I recoloured my Promarker chart (there are a few pens I need to replace) but the Promarker colours were otherwise doing very well.

I added some white pen highlights to the image and used my Avery Elle background stamp to tie in the waves and marine look. I used the Sew Cute dies from Mama Elephant to create a porthole aperture and finally heat embossed the PTI greeting. Thankfully I could mask off another greeting from the Memory Box set to complete the sentiment.

Oh and I forgot to mention, I'm trying to make my stockpile of UK card sizes and envelopes go further, so I used a 5x7 card blank that I then shortened in height to get the proportions right when using the Infinity Rectangles from Hero Arts. It still fits fine in the envelope due to the 3D foam tape so it's not sliding about. Just a good way to marry my US rectangles and frames with what's easily available in the UK, because heaven knows A2 envelopes of good quality are difficult to get in say packs of 20 or more.

To see the rest of the lovely creations from the design team and play along, click on the image below which will take you to the challenge:

Happy crafting!

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Avery Elle - Swell stamps Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Memory Box - Big and Little Words stamps Shop at: SSS	PTI - Tiny Treats: Birthday stamps (r) Shop at: MISC	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Mama Elephant - Sew Fancy dies Shop at: SHC | SSS	Simon Says Stamp - Sentiment Labels dies Shop at: SSS	Hero Arts - Charcoal ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Memento - Tuxedo Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	PTI - Aqua Mist cardstock Shop at: MISC	PTI - Ocean Tides cardstock Shop at: MISC
Simon Says Stamp - Slate Gray cardstock Shop at: SSS	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Uniball Signo White pen Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (maxi) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

DCM - Splish, splash, splosh

This week over on the Daring Cardmakers blog Joanne has challenged us to go wild with watercolours, inks or paints.

I had a technique already in mind, but had little success with it initially - ink smooshing using a cut up piece of plastic office filing wallet or acetate is such a great and easy way to make "watercolour" backgrounds, but man, the right cardstock makes all the difference.

I initially tried it on two pre-cut pieces of Neenah and wow, what a mistake. The colour just bled into one big mess, but with Bazzill Marshmallow card shoppe it was a whole other look:

Stamps: Altenew - Vintage Flowers, Memory Box - Big and Little Words
Dies: Altenew - Vintage Flowers, Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles

So I started out smooshing Adirondack Salmon ink (discontinue but still one of my favourite peachy pinks) on a piece of plastic wallet from my old office supplies. I spritzed it with water then brought the plastic to the surface of my card and proceeded to smoosh it about on the surface and repeated.

I then blitzed with my heat gun to help it dry and repeated the same technique with a little MFT Grout Gray ink smooshed here and there.

Again, once blitzed with the heat gun I used a water brush and stamp block to splatter the two colours of ink over the background.

I left everything to dry and then cut the background panel to size using an Infinity rectangle die.

I decided the card needed a floral focal point, so out came an old favourite: Altenew Vintage Flowers.

I stamped the pink tones from darkest to lightest: LF Peachy Keen, Adirondack Salmon, Altenew Blush, MFT Insulation Pink.

For the grey leaves I realised (almost too late) due to the staining on my stamps it would be easier to go from darkest to lightest again: LF Narwhal, MFT Cement Gray, MFT Grout Gray. Cement Gray was also used for the branch.

Finally I found the perfect understated sentiment in my now very much used Memory Box Big and Little Words stamp set - I just love the size and font used for these sentiments. :)

This one was stamped with HA Charcoal ink.

I mounted the background panel on Bazzill Taffy cardstock and the left over flower and leaves are used inside the card rather than being put in the stamp pocket or bin.

Make sure you check out the blog for more ideas and play along if you can. :)

Happy crafting!

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Altenew - Vintage Flowers stamps Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Memory Box - Big and Little Words stamps Shop at: SSS	Altenew - Vintage Flowers dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Rectangles dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Adirondack dye ink - Salmon (r) Shop at: SBC	Altenew - Blush dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Hero Arts - Charcoal ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Narwhal ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Lawn Fawn - Peachy Keen ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	MFT - Cement Gray ink pad Shop at: SHC	MFT - Grout Gray ink pad Shop at: SHC	MFT - Insulation Pink ink pad Shop at: SHC
Altenew - Red Sunset ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Marshmallow Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Bazzill Cardshoppe - Taffy Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI precision stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Distress Sprayer Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

With heartfelt sympathy

Here's the sympathy card I made this past weekend. I hope it will provide some small comfort for my friend to know we're thinking of her during this awful time. <3

Stamps: Memory Box - Big and Little Words, Sunny Studio Stamps - Everything's Rosy, The Stamp Market - Lovely Labels
Dies: The Stamp Market - Big Botanicals, Sunny Studio Stamps - Everything's Rosy, The Stamp Market - Lovely Labels

I started making this card by cutting lots of the botanical branches from the set by The Stamp Market from white cardstock. I then dipped them in diluted Iced Spruce Distress Ink to get that mottled look and splattered them with the ink too. The branch stems are very delicate when wet, so I had to leave them to dry overnight before I could continue.

The next day I stuck down the branches onto the front of the card, rotating them to make sure the end result looked organic. I had a couple of branches left over, and I had a good idea what I wanted to do with them.

Once again I had to leave the card to dry before I could trim off the branches hanging over the card edge.

Next I created the sentiment label using a combination of sentiments from Memory Box and the Lovely Labels frame and matching die from The Stamp Market. I stuck some of the branches on the back of the label and attached it with 3D foam tape.

A pop of colour was definitely needed and I used the lovely Sunny Studios Everything's Rosy for this.

To bring it all together I added a matching enamel dot and teased the branches behind the label so they stand up more and aren't lost against the background.

 

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Memory Box - Big and Little Words stamps Shop at: SSS	Sunny Studio Stamps - Everything's Rosy stamps Shop at: EH | SBC	The Stamp Market - Lovely Labels stamps Shop at: EH | SBC	Sunny Studio Stamps - Everything's Rosy dies Shop at: EH | SBC
The Stamp Market - Big Botanicals dies Shop at: EH | SBC	The Stamp Market - Lovely Labels dies Shop at: EH | SBC	Altenew - Bamboo dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Emerald dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC
Altenew - Galactic Stream dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Lagoon dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Moss dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Mountain Mist dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC
Altenew - Olive dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Parrot dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Volcano Lake dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Distress ink pad - Iced Spruce Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Hero Arts - Charcoal ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Versafine - Onyx Black ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Altenew - Sea Shore ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Altenew - Sweet Dreams ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC
Altenew - Tropical Forest ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH
Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI creative corners Shop at: EH | SBC	MISTI precision stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Distress Sprayer Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Stampers Anonymous Splat Box Shop at: AZ | SBC | SHC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

2019 card challenge - August card

I had some of the Summer Stems I'd stamped out the other week left over and begging to be used on another card.

So another card I made - this time inspired by the August card challenge but also the Simon Says Stamp August Instagram challenge:

Stamps: The Stamp Market - Summer Stems, The Stamp Market - Confetti Background, The Stamp Market - Diamond Design Background
Dies: The Stamp Market - Summer Stems, PTI - Medium scallop border

Interestingly I'd already stamped out the background patterns in different grey inks in preparation for using them on a card somewhere down the line. And hey presto, they proved to be the perfect backgrounds for this card.

I just needed to do a little die-cutting and also cut and stamp a sentiment strip to finish off the card.

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Avery Elle - Simple Sentiments stamps Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	The Stamp Market - Summer Stems stamps Shop at: EH | SBC	The Stamp Market - Confetti Background stamp Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC	The Stamp Market - Diamond Design Background stamp Shop at: EH | MISC | SBC
The Stamp Market - Summer Stems dies Shop at: EH | SBC	PTI - Medium scallop border die Shop at: MISC	Altenew - Blush dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Crimson dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC
Altenew - Grass Field dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Limestone dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Mountain Pine dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Altenew - Rouge dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC
Altenew - Warm Sunshine dye ink Shop at: EH | MISC	Hero Arts - Charcoal ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Carrot ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Versamark ink pad Shop at: AZ | EH | SHC
Altenew - Green Valley ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Altenew - Red Sunset ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Altenew - Rock Collection ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC	Altenew - Summer Afternoon ink cube set Shop at: EH | MISC | SHC
Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Neenah Classic Crest 80 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SSS	Hero Arts - White embossing powder Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Oyster Grey Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	EK Success powder tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC
MISTI precision stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Sizzix - Sidekick machine Shop at: AZ | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC

Hey friend, sending love

Another card for a friend going through a tough time, in hopes that a heartfelt message and bright florals would help lift their spirits. <3

Paper: Crate Paper - Little Bo Peep
Stamps: WPlus9 - Southern Summer Florals 1 & 2, Simon Says Stamp - Tiny Words
Dies: Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circles, MFT - Wonky Stitched Square STAX

I decided to try and make a lush floral spray using the Southern Summer Florals stamp sets from WPlus9 with the aid of the GinaK wreath builder. What I really could do with, as I found, is a wreath builder template that helps you stamp 3 of something in a triangle... Perhaps I will work out the magic formula one day, but in the meantime it'll be 4 of everything when wreath building.

To break it up a little I die cut the middle out to insert a sentiment. Those infinity circles from Hero Arts are most handy. I even dragged out the Crop-o-dile (had to blow the dust off) to punch a hole for the twine.

Once again I finished off with some Nuvo drops and even an enamel sticker.

I layered on some coordinating paper from a very old Crate Paper 6x6 pad which was perfect for the job.

And off this card went in the post.

 

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Simon Says Stamp - Tiny Words stamps Shop at: SSS	WPlus9 - Southern Summer Florals 1 stamps Shop at: EH | SHC | SSS	WPlus9 - Southern Summer Florals 2 stamps Shop at: EH | SHC | SSS	Hero Arts - Infinity Nesting Circle dies Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
MFT - Wonky Stitched Square STAX dies Shop at: EH | SHC	Distress ink pad - Frayed Burlap Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Lawn Fawn - Ballet Slippers ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Black Licorice ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC
Lawn Fawn - Bubblegum ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Butter ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Carrot ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Celery stick ink pad Shop at: EH | SHC
Lawn Fawn - Freshly Cut Grass ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Jalapeño ink pad Shop at: EH | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Merman ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Lawn Fawn - Peach Fuzz ink pad Shop at: EH | SHC
Lawn Fawn - Sunflower ink pad Shop at: EH | SBC | SHC	Neenah Classic Crest 110 lb smooth Solar White cardstock Shop at: AZ | EH | SSS	Tonic Studios Nuvo Crystal Drops - Bubblegum Blush Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	Tonic Studios Nuvo Deluxe Adhesive Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
3M Scotch double-sided foam tape Shop at: AZ | EH	Gina K Designs - Wreath Builder Templates 3 3/4" and 4" Shop at: SSS	Lawn Fawn - Stamp shammy cleaner Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC | SHC	MISTI precision stamping tool Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC
Sizzix - Big Shot machine Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Thermoweb iCraft - Purple tape for die-cutting - 1 1/2" Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC	Tim Holtz - Tonic guillotine trimmer (small) Shop at: AZ | EH | SBC