Cardz4Galz

Good morning and welcome to a post to share the start of a brand new challenge over at Cardz4Galz.

Our first challenge of the new year is -

ATC's

ATC's are not something that I have really got into but one of the attendee's at last summer's HLS retreat suggested that we exchange them. I had some free time so I had a go and this is one of the sets I made.

I went with a theme of travelling to meet friends and relaxing, just what I anticipated doing.

Using my favourite colours which happen to be the colours over at Colour Throwdown this week and a selection of stamps and die's, as well as embossing and stenciling, I went about making the ATCs.

Starting with 2 panels of card I inked one with Picked Raspberry DI and one with Twisted Citron. I over stamped in the Picked Raspberry on the pink piece with an assortment of butterflies, splashed it with some water and lifted off some of the colour, then cut out 4 pieces roughly ATC size. The green panel I stamped in a darker blue green DI and did the same trick with the water and cut them out the same. On the leftover scraps I stamped some butterflies from Kaisercraft along with some text, embossing some and leaving some plain. 

On the pieces I wanted to be on top I die cut a pattern using a Tim Holtz set and added the text, pattern, butterflies and some extra embossing around some of the edges. After fussy cutting the large butterflies I added them over the stamped images so that the fine parts such as antennae showed up.

I glued the top to a contrasting bottom and then trimmed to size and added a back panel with all my details on.

As I was in the groove, I made another set, this one was in a more pastel hue, using some DP as the background along with die cuts and stamps.

I was quite pleased with the results, seeing as I had never done anything like these before and it was rather more mixed media than my usual style.

Go on have a go and see what you can come up with, then link up your projects, we'd love to see what you come up with.

I'd like to join in over at -

Anything Goes with Dies

Get Better at Warp Speed

Morning all.

I know lots of people went back to work today here after the Christmas holidays, my daughter included but us retirees need a calendar to keep up with the days of the week. Over the last week, my husband has been convinced it was a Friday on a Wednesday and a Monday when it was Saturday! I agreed that I was floundering as my normal benchmarks of DT obligations were on holiday too!

Anyway we are back to normal more or less apart from the large tree in the lounge which will come down either later today or tomorrow as it will take a good while to remove all the decorations it took an afternoon to put on!

Over in blogland its time for a new challenge at Cardz4Guyz.

This week we have chosen the theme of -

UP, UP and AWAY

Lots to get your teeth into there, balloons, kites, planes and anything else you can come up with.

I went with a rocket for my card.

A friend of mine has gone into hospital today for a hernia op so I sent this to cheer him on to a speedy recovery. Not a great way to start the new year but necessary! I hope it has got there but what with all the holidays, post is somewhat delayed, so sorry if it doesn't get to you before this post.

I liked the idea of the sentiment from this Space themed set from Paper Smooches and instead of the stamped exhaust, I added a vellum one over my galaxy background. This is the first time that the set has been inked up since I bought it  and I can see me using it quite often in the future.

After making the panel I realised that it was smaller than the base card bit rather than cut it down I added a strip of linen effect gold card, I rather like the overall effect.

OK, that's about it from me for today.

Why not have a try, challenge yourself to make a masculine card, we'd love to see what ideas you have. If you need more inspiration check out the rest of the team here.

I'm joining in over at -

Something New

Anything Goes

Stemmpelsonne - Anything Goes

Favourite cards of 2016

As the old year draws to a close most of us think back to what has been and what is to come.

2016 has been a bit of a shocker, in that many famous names have left us. For some it was after a long and successful career, others were plucked far too soon, surely 2017 cannot be as bad.

On a more frivolous note, having already listed my favourite Christmas cards, I set to looking through my file of cards again. Its a bit difficult to choose just a few but the following cards made me smile and represent a cross section of techniques and styles.

Some were acknowledged by others and some, well, I loved them.

The first of my choices was made in a bit of a rush if truth be told. I needed a card for a DT commitment (here) and I was running out of ideas.

The theme was pink and brown and in my rush to complete I did add some green! Too late to make another I left it as is and in the end it worked out OK. Plenty of others liked it too, it was recognised at CAS(e) this Sketch and at the Paper Players and it is one of this years most pinned! I used Altenew's Painted Flowers and an ancient Cuttlebug die plate for the raised sentiment.

I love LOTV images, they are so cute and a joy to colour, so for my next card I chose this.

I love making cards for the men in my life, just as well as I'm on the Cardz4Guyz DT! This was for our Dig it Challenge and won over at the Cutie Pie Challenge. I have a stash of DP in the cupboard but I always seem to revert to my favourites like this cloud DP from NitWits. I like to fussy cut my Copic coloured images rather than have them just on a panel and here I framed him with a simple white mount.

My next choice introduced me to a new technique, Faux Mother of Pearl. It was the CAS challenge over at HLS that asked for us to use it in a project. After a bit of research I worked out what was involved then had a go and this is the end result.

The ladies at LIM had a Citrus colour challenge so that is why I used these colours. I made three different panels and used them to create the coloured elements using another of my favourite styles, die cuts.

Do you watch the crafting channels? I do sometimes but usually the presenters annoy me so I tend to record the odd one or two programmes that interest me and whizz through the presentation, otherwise known as the big sell! Anyway I caught a session that interested me because they were using Brusho for painting. So I recorded it and settled down with the hoofer doofer on hand to fast forward.  I was fascinated by the demonstrator and had to have a go myself. I produced a few panels and these are two of them.

The first features a poppy I drew and coloured with DI in a watercolour manner with Brusho in the background and the second I stamped STAMPlorations daisies in DI then masked them and added the Brusho background. Find more details here and here

My next cards are made from dies of various kinds, one feminine and one masculine, more details (here) and (here).

  

The first uses my favourite Gardenia die, it was so popular when I took it to Swindon on the HLS retreat, that at one point there were none to be got anywhere in the country! The masculine one uses MFT's zipper die set.

I do love to use die cuts in my cards and when Kylie asked for DT applicants for a dedicated die challenge over at HLS I had to apply! Luckily I was accepted.

This next card also uses die cuts but ones I coloured with Copics rather than cut them from coloured card. I think you get a more dimensional feel. 

I made this card for a GD spot over at Less is More, so honoured to be asked. I've made another one similar for the launch of Kylie's stamps, more details here.

My final card mixes my favourite styles, CAS, die cuts and colouring images with Copics.

I used a layout from Sketch Saturday, another of my favourite ways to create, especially when the little grey cells aren't firing and a DT commitment is imminent! Find all the details here.

So that's it. A run down on my favourites of 2016, hopefully 2017 will not be quite as traumatic out there in the world.

Altenew's Year End Review

Afternoon folks.

We are in what some wag at Radio 1 has nicknamed Chrimbo Limbo! You know that period twixt Christmas and New Year. It's also a time when although you have time on your hands and lots of Christmas goodies, the challenges are very quiet, for good reason I may add. Anyway I needed a card for my SiL's 70th birthday and I wanted to use my new Zig markers that my gorgeous son bought me for Christmas, he even got me the full set, despite me only asking for the 40 pack! So, I was looking for inspiration when I remembered the Altenew's year end challenge.

Here is my card.

I used the Beautiful Day set for this and the colour choice from July.

I used the sentiment from this set , again adding 'TO' to it. I love the sentiment but I can't help being a grammar nerd, so people at Altenew please think about  us sad pedantic folk, the same goes with the lower case Christmas sentiments I bought and never used because they don't start with a capital letter! There must be a way round this, I've a feeling there might be a stamp set of capital letters!

OK, enough of the rant, here's what I did.

Using a Crafters Companion die I cut a jali panel in the middle of my top panel, which I made by extending a MFT stitched rectangle to just a tad under 5 x7, then stamped, coloured, and fussy cut the flowers, arranging them in a corsage in the bottom left. The stamped banner was slotted under the flowers and that was it complete.

On another topic, its been a really weird day weather wise. The forecast was for a frosty start but overcast later. This was the view from my window first thing this morning.

However, just 20 minutes later the previously frosted over cars in the front were dripping in water as the mist descended and persisted until I closed the curtains and saw the glorious sunset about 1/2 an hour ago, sadly too late for a piccy! 

I'm joining in over at -

Anything Goes option of a sketch ( no sketch for me)

Favourite Christmas Cards of 2016

It's that time of year again where we all sit back and take stock. In past years Debby of Debby4000 has hosted favourite cards of the year but this year she has decided not to.

So I thought I would share some anyway, starting with my favourite half a dozen Christmas cards of the year.

First cab off the rank is this card influenced by MUSE Christmas Visions.

A really old freebie stamp, heat embossed with silver on linen card then mounted on a panel of red.

I couldn't resist popping a small red diamante on the end of his nose.

My second card is based on a layout from Sketch Saturday. I really loved this sketch and I have used it for lots of cards since.

I loved the idea of a Christmas card using a non traditional colour and of course my Marianne Christmas tree landscape die cuts layered up.

My third card was another MUSE inspired card.

I love this Memory Box die and have used it many times but never before with black card.

The background has a soft blended sunset with the starlight reflecting off the roof tops.

I do love LOTV stamps and this snowman family is no exception, they are so cute and jolly.

I used a layout that I did over at my craft class at the Craftbox in Elsecar. They are a great set of ladies, always up for a laugh as well as a good natter while we craft. The fab Kaz tries to keep us in order. I tend to gravitate towards the simple A6 top fold style, so it was good to go with a different shape for once. Copic coloured snowmen were fussy cut before gluing the bottom of my scene to the base card.

My next card is also based on a LOTV stamp. Love this cute teddy with the robin.

A scrap of NitWits paper and ribbon strips and some Cosmic Shimmer white glue for snow come together on this cute Sketch Saturday layout. The greeting, handwritten because I lost the stamp, grrr, mounted on a snowflake and another cut up and coloured green as festive foliage.

Finally I'm sharing a card made with a fab stamp from Bev at Uniko. I bought it at the stamp festival at Port Sunlight last October. My bloggie friend Sarah (Sazzle Dazzle) was helping out on the stand, so after a bit of a catch up I browsed the stamps and was immediately drawn to this set and I've found the sentiment greeting elements so useful, as well as this fabulous and stunning stamp image. You don't need anything else as the image takes center stage.

I simply stamped and embossed the flower with gold EP and washed in some DI. Nothing more was required.

Anyway hope you all had a fab Christmas with the ones you love, I know I did.

Edited 26/12/16     I would also like to link up at -

If I can only choose one then I will go for the last one, poinsettia on white OLC