Die cut number background

Good morning crafters.

I'm back again with another masculine card for the new challenge at Cardz4Guyz.

This week our theme is -

DIE CUTS

So we would like to see your masculine cards that feature die cuts as the main focus of your card.

Here is my card design using nothing but die cut elements.

This uses die cut numbers and a layered Happy Birthday die and that's it!

I took a panel of white card and using my STAMPlorations number die plate, I cut two sets of numbers. I then arranged them over a card made from the same white card and glued them down, trimming any overhang off. 

My happy birthday was cut twice first in green card then from blue fun foam. I chose a contrast colour for this layer so that the blue would show slightly from behind the green. You could mix up the design by choosing a different background colour and die cut sentiment, you could even change it into an anniversary card by adding a different sentiment. 

A simple design that could easily be replicated for different recipients.

Who said masculine cards were difficult!

For more die cut inspiration check out the team here.

I'm joining in over at:-

Spring has sprung, the grass is ris!

I wonder where the daisies is.
Spring has definitely arrived here. The last few weeks have been very pleasant, the lambs are frolicking and the blossom is out in the hedgerows. Birds are twittering and the flowers in the garden are starting to break their winter sleep. Yet there is no sign of daisies, I was only talking about this with the OH a few weeks back, where have the daisies gone? As a child and even when our own were young there were lots of daisies around to be picked and made into chains on warm days whilst sat on the grass.
Anyway, enough of questions I here to share a card for the start of this month's Perfectly CAS challenge.

As most of the daffodils are past their best and the tulips are starting to show some colour, I thought I would look out my 'Tulips' stamp from STAMPlorations. It is already a group of tulips but I decided to create a sweep of them by masking the first image and adding extra blooms to the left and right but altering the height.
As I wanted to use watercolour to colour, I added some semi dull EP to the stamped image before heat embossing and then masking.
I was going to create a rainbow of tulips but in the end kept to just pink for the blooms, greens for the stems and leaves, with blue for the sky. When my watercolouring was dry, I trimmed the panel down and mounted it on a top fold note card.
A simple strip sentiment from Mama Elephant completes.

For more masking inspiration, please check out the rest of the team here.

I realized I hadn't shared any of this years lambs so here are a couple the OH took.

Update:- I found some daisies!!! They were 4 little heads on the hillside where sheep have not been for awhile so perhaps that is the reason, they must taste too good to the sheep. Still that doesn't answer why the lawn is bereft.

Joining in over at:-

    

Altenew's April Challenge

Morning all.

Hope you've had a good Easter so far, the weather has been great, even if we have to stay home to enjoy it. In fact the sun has been so hot here that I had to escape into the house to shelter from the strongest of the mid afternoon rays. 

I don't know about you but my craft mojo has been missing recently and I couldn't settle to anything but I made the effort to get messy after seeing the latest challenge over at Altenew.

I watched the video by Nicole on how the background for the inspiration was created and decided to have a go, mixing Copic refill inks on Yupo paper with isopropyl alcohol and adding some platinum fine EP whilst still damp. I loved the way the EP left a textured look, very reminiscent of the lava rocks in the photo.

So here is my take on this month's theme.

On top of my panel I used the largest poppy bloom from Poppy Garden and the smaller sprays from the set, coloured with Copic markers. I stamped and embossed with platinum EP some sprays of foliage from Wildflower Garden, fussy cutting all the elements before arranging them in the corner of the panel which I attached to an A6 note card. The sentiment Hello, free in a mag, was stamped and embossed with clear EP before being fussy cut and then added above my sentiment strip.

The photo of the stacked rocks put me in mind of some the OH took on the beach near Brid a good few years ago. He got very artsy with this example!

Mine was a bit more prosaic!

On another note, the swallows arrived in the farm yard last week, only 3 so far but they are certainly making their presence felt, chattering as they fly around. We have a pair of wagtails nesting in the planter by the patio doors and the birds are singing in the hedgerows, so nature is getting on with business as usual. We are so lucky to be able to wander our fields but if you aren't, please enjoy your gardens or window boxes and stay safe!

Joining in over at:-

    

                                                     AG

Fisherman's Wharf

Good morning all.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

With so much time on my hands these past few weeks and the mojo not particularly functioning, I had a tidy up of my stash and it reminded me of a couple of stamp sets that had sat there unloved for nearly a year.

One of them was perfect for the new challenge at Cardz4Guyz.

ON or BY THE SEA

Here is my card using the NEBUS stamp Fisherman's Wharf by Creative Endeavours.

I spotted the stand at last years Port Sunlight Happy Stampers fair. The samples were stunning, more like paintings than other stamps and I was immediately drawn to them. I could have blown the bank but instead I kept it to just three stamp sets!

This example is a really large scene one and I decided to take a leaf from the ideas at the show and kept the design very simple, allowing the stamp to shine.

First I took a square panel of watercolour paper and stamped the wharf with black ink and then quickly embossed with a semi dull clear EP. I then masked the edges with painter's tape and added the sky and exposed sand with washes of DI. To give a sense of depth, I added Tea Dye to the foreground and then washed in some Mustard Seed over the top.

For the sky I first added plain old water and then washes of Salty Ocean and Blueprint Sketch to the top. The clouds were lifted out with a piece of kitchen roll to soften the edges.

I left the busy row of houses and quayside plain as I quite liked the look. Once dry I removed the tape, added a black border and mounted it on pads over a large 8 x 8 white base card, that has been in my stash since I started card making over 10 years ago.
There is no sentiment as I didn't want to detract from the image but the inside could be stamped with one for all sorts of occasions, birthday to retirement. It would also looked good framed and mounted as a gift.

So what will you find in your stash to use for this theme, we'd love to see, so why not join us here.

Joining in over at:-

     


Something Old - the card base
Something New - the stamp
Something blue - the sky!

Don't let life ruffle your feathers

Good evening peeps.
Hope you are all well and keeping cheerful in these troubling times.
As a crafter, I tend to retreat to my room and immerse myself in making to take my mind off all the negative news.
I know it might be considered trivial compared with what is going on out there in the world at the mo, but it gets me through the day!
How about you? Why not escape to your craft room and join us for this month's challenge at HLS CAS. Here's my card.

Sorry about the photo but the sun was too bright and casting shadows in my usual spot!

This month our theme is -



I combined a coupe of challenges for my inspiration, AAA Cards and Time Out.
This is a quick one layer card made by stenciling and stamping.
I first stenciled a few feathers using a free stencil with Wilted Violet DI, then added some texture to the foreground feather by stamping the matching feather with Versamark and clear gloss EP.
The photo doesn't really show it but in reality there is quite a bit of texture there.
A simple sentiment from the set was added to complete.
So how will you interpret the challenge, there's more inspiration by the rest of the DT here.

Joining in over at:-