STAMPIN UP ONLY CHALLENGE - #SUOC248

Our challenge this week at Stampin Up Only is birthdays. It's my birthday at the beginning of May and I was really hoping that the lock down in the UK would be lifted by then so I could see the family, especially my little grand daughter - but sadly it looks like it will just be hubby and I.  I hope you are all coping and staying safe where ever you are - thank goodness for crafting I say!

I think I'm still in embossing mode from last week as I grabbed the SU Embossing paste and the pretty medallion mask.  I haven't used this yet so it needed a pasting!  

I don't have a great many colours of re-inkers and a lot I have are for retired SU coloured inks I have had for many years.  I grabbed these three - Rose Red, Island Indigo, Elegant Eggplant just using a tiny amount of ink for each.  As the paste is so decorative and shiny I decided it just needed a simple greeting so I used a retired framelit and added Happy Birthday from That's the Tag in white embossing powder.

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - #SC338

Our sketch challenge for you this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments is so pretty. I hope you have fun using it as inspiration.

I started off with an SU mask and used it as a stencil for the background on the cardstock and with the embossing paste on the panel card.  I kept the paste as the white for a nice contrast.  I love that this paste has a shimmer to it.  The stamp set is from Kaisercraft and is called Native Breeze.  I don't know what sort of flower this is - I'm guessing its indigenous to Australia?  I'm not even sure if this is the colour the flower goes but I fancied using it as a red flower.  I used the Tri Blends from Spectrum Noir to colour the flowers and leaves and then fussy cut them out and added them with dimensionals.   The sentiment is from the same set and is so relevant right now with the world on lock down.  I added some rhinestone gems to finish off the card.

Over at my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets we have a RAK group - Random Act of Kindness and we send cards out to each other all over the world.  This is a little bit on hold at the moment as some of the ladies don't have Post Offices open - but luckily ours still is and I have stamps so this card was sent out to one of my ladies this week.  I hope she likes it.

 

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY #TSOT

Here's our challenge for you this week over at Try Stampin on Tuesday  For this challenge show us your favourites...could be colour, stamp, die, technique. The possibilities are endless and we want to see and hear about your favourite things. This challenge is also a throw back challenge. This week we are throwing it back to Challenge #65.

I've used some of these Tim Holtz stamps which are my favourites - the Crazy Birds From Bird Talk and  the cats from Cat Chat.  Both stamp sets come with the matching dies.

I've used a mask from SU for the bricks - on the card stock I've used it as a stencil with some Tim Holtz Distress inks.  On the inside panel I've used it with some SU Embossing Paste coloured with Chocolate Chip ink.

  The bird and the cat have been coloured with SU water colour pencils.  I've used a framelit from Colourful Seasons for the layer at the bottom using some retired DSP.  The sentiment comes from the Cat Chat stamp set.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:
 Inspired By Challenge for their Critters 
Retro Rubber which is anything goes 
Try It On Tuesday - Stencils

Delighted my card was chosen as a Top 5 on Try it on Tuesday

 

SWEET STAMPIN - BLOOMIN WONDERFUL

We are all about the flowers at Sweet Stampin this week - as Spring starts in the UK the flowers are slowly coming to life - such a lovely time of the year.  For those of us with gardens stuck at home during the current crisis they have become our lifelines!  

For the last few years Hubby has been treating me to Flowers Friday where he brings me a bunch of fresh flowers home every Friday.  Obviously with lockdown and not being out of the house for nearly a month this little treat has stopped. 

I choose to do some spotlight colouring on my card today - this is an old flower stamp from Altenew I think - I'm not sure as I found it in my stash and there was no name with it.  Oops!  I stamped it twice - first on the background paper and again on some scrap ready to colour. I used Tri-Blend pens by Spectrum Noir in Vintage Blends to colour in the flowers and a touch of SU Soft Sky watercolour for the background. I then used a heart framelit to cut it out and fix it with some dimensionals onto the card.  I added a dotted line around the backgroudn to match the heart.

The sentiment is from Kaisercraft stamps called Curiosity and has been stamped in Ranger Archival Ink in Cobalt - such a gorgeous colour blue!  I then layered it all onto some Night of Navy cardstock from SU.

I'm looking forward to seeing all your lovely flower creations to cheer us up at this time.

I'm also adding this into the Flower Challenge - 
Allsorts Challenge
Colour Crazy Challenge 


 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - #IC337

What lovely cheerful images we have for you today as inspiration from Hand Stamped Sentiments. We've had a lot of birthdays in our family recently - my husband's was 1st April and sadly because of lock down we were unable to see the children or go out for a meal - he had to be content with me all day lol! Luckily he's quite happy with my company even after 40 years!

I've used a couple of stamp companies for my card. I chose to use Hello Cupcake from Clearly Besotted - these little hippos with their cupcakes are so cute and the nearest thing I had to an animal!  I stamped them first and then masked them off.   I used a cloud stencil which I had in my stash sponging with  SU Soft Sky as the ink.  I added the balloons from Visible Image stamp set Stay Weird - the only set I had a balloon in! I used three different Ranger Archival inks for the balloons - Faded Jeans, Mermaid Lagoon and Cobalt.  I added a touch of Spectrum Noir sparkle pen to give them a shine.  I used a grey SU watercolour pencil for the hippos and a blending pen.  The cupcakes were coloured with TriBlends by Spectrum Noir and a touch of sparkle on the pink icing.  The grass came from SU High Tide - the Happy Birthday sentiment is from Kaisercraft and the Treat yourself is from the Hippo set by Clearly Besotted.  Phew!  

 

STAMPIN UP ONLY CHALLENGE - EMBOSSING

I hope you are all staying safe and well during these difficult times - crafting really does help doesn't it!  Thank you for continuing to find the time to join in with challenges - the Design Teams really appreciate it.  

Our challenge over at Stampin Up Only this week is embossing, whether it's dry, heat or paste.  I've recently embraced the paste embossing and purchased some SU embossing paste and some of their masks.  

I used the clouds one for my background together with a touch of Soft Sky ink with the paste.  I then sponged over it with some Soft Sky ink.  I used Waterfront stamp set using Basic Grey and black for my mountains and Mellow Moss and Tranquil Tide for the trees and the grass.  I thought the sentiment was very apt for the times we are in - we hear so many acts of kindness people are doing and they far outweigh the bad things we hear.  We really should focus on the positive.

I layered the card onto some black and then on to Soft Sky.  A few retired black faceted gems finish off the card.  I love the sparkle that you get from the paste.  If you haven't tried using it yet I would encourage you to - it's great once you get going.

         

A BUNCH OF TULIPS

I was inspired by a number of challenge blogs for my card today.  

I decided to ink up some of these beautiful tulips from Clearly Besotted called Spring Tulips.  Sadly I don't seem to have much luck with growing tulips - I've tried them in the ground and pots and I never seem to end up with a crop.  

I started off my sponging my background with some More Mustard Distress Ink and then edging it in SU Tangerine Tango.  I stamped the script stamp from SU Background Bits in Soft Suede as the background and the same with the tag.

The tulips were coloured in with a water colour brush using SU Crushed Curry and Tangerine Tango, with Pear Pizazz and Wild Wasabi for the leaves.  I used some Crushed Curry twine for the top of the tag and a Tangerine Tango heart for the tinier tag.  The sentiment is from the same set.

I'm adding this into the following:

Global Design Project - Case the Designer #GDP236 
Fab Friday - Sketch 
Make My Monday - Spring Flowers
Inkspirational - Spring 
The Flower Challenge - Spring
Time Out Challenges - flowers and words
Addicted To Stamps - Clean and Simple



 

JOY OF SETS BLOG HOP - APRIL 2020 - BIRTHDAY FOLD

Thanks for joining us on another Joy of Sets Blog Hop organised by the fabulous Angie McKenzie. Our theme is Birthdays with the added interest of a different type of fold.  Once again I was inspired by the Queen of folded cards in my estimation Dawn Griffith and her pop out folded card.  

I've used some of the lovely Magnolia Designer Series Paper coupled with Blushing Bride and Always Artichoke cardstock.  My Meerkats  from The Gang's All Meer are water coloured with SU water colour pencils.  I've added an extra one for the front which has been fussy cut out with some of the cacti.  

The inside has a panel of the same DSP and another cute Meerkat.  I loved making this fold card and it was so easy to do following Dawn's instructions. 

Thanks for joining us on the hop - click on the button below to be taken to Gez's blog 

Here's the complete list for you all to follow

Angie McKenzie

Fiona Whitehead - you are here

Gez Carpenter

Jill Chapman

Libby Fens

JoAnn Pollock

Tricia Butts

Jennifer Arent

Susan Webster

Rebecca Jo Unwin

Rochelle Laird-Smith

Brenda Nelson

Sue Allen

Annette Ball

Alejandra Gomez

If you would like to join in with our next monthly hop - click on the button below to join my Facebook Group.

 

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY - #TSOT452

Our challenge this week at Try Stampin on Tuesday has the added optional theme of flower power.

I started off with a stencil from The Crafter's Workshop called Mini Honeycomb and sponged it with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Mustard Seed.  I then stamped the branch of flowers from Kaisercraft Stamps Summer Breeze and coloured them in with Tri Blend Spectrum Noir blending pens.  I used some of the See a Silhouette DSP from SU and cut out four of the hexagons.  I used the same papers for the butterflies using some retired SU butterfly punches and added some gem stones.  The sentiment is from Kaisercraft Curiosity stamp set stamped in Ranger Archival Ink in Monarch Orange.

 

JOY OF SETS TIC TAC TOE - APRIL 2020 #JOSTTT016

Another Tic Tac Toe grid for you this month from Joy of Sets Challenge Blog - all the Design Team have been working hard to still be able to commit to our challenge during these difficult times. What would we do without crafting?

I've chosen to go with Flowers, Oval, Die Cut and started by using this tulip die cut I found in my stash and which I've never used before.  It cuts the edge of the paper and then I added some SU retired DSP Garden Impressions as I loved the spring colours.  I used a Clearly Besotted set called Spring Tulips for the tulips and kept to the same colours.  I also sponged over the tulip die cut.  

 

SWEET STAMPIN - THINGS WITH WINGS - TAG CARD

Our challenge over at Sweet Stampin this week is Things with Wings.

I have a new stamp set from Kaisercraft called Summer Breeze - well it's new to me it may not be a new set.  It has a very cute image of a bird cage and luckily for me the birds are outside the cage - I'm not a lover of birds in cages.  They are meant to fly freely!  

I got my inspiration for my card from Dawn Griffith who had received one from SU celebrating her $2M sales - you can't even comprehend selling that much craft stuff can you!  I couldn't anyway.  I really enjoyed making this card which I think she called a Tag Card and am going to be making a few more.  I started off with some Calypso Coral card stock as the base and layered a piece of Pool Party over it which had been embossed with a leaf pattern.  I had stamped my image and cut round it and edged it with some coral sponging.  I used SU pencils to colour it in.  The banner is from Clearly Besotted and the ribbon is retired SU.

And then on to the inside which as you can see has four tags in it.  These are one piece of paper folded, concertina'd and then the sides are cut out with a scissors to create the tag effect.  I used some of SU's DSP Bird Ballad for the two of the inside tags.  I cut out one of the cages for the first tag and restamped the birds and the flowers from the stamp set and added them with dimensionals.  On the third tag I stamped the flower branch from the same Summer Breeze set and fussy cut out one of the birds from the DSP.  

 

I CAN SING A RAINBOW.....

All over the UK people are putting rainbows in their windows for children to see as they go for their walks to help them with the fear they may be feeling during these strange times.  The challenge over at TGIF is also rainbows.

I grabbed some watercolour paper and some Watercolour Pastels I got from Hobbycraft that I haven't used much and set about creating a rainbow of colours.  I then used a Heart framelit to cut it out. 

I made a gatefold card and attached the heart to one side.  I also added some DSP in rainbow colours from Stampin Up.   I chose to use the sentiment from Visible Image stamps from their set Stay Weird.  I'm sure that is not what they had in mind when they wrote that Always Wear Your Invisible Cloak but I'm guessing a lot of us would like one at the moment! I also added some of the bubble stamps and added some Spectrum Noir sparkle to give it a bit of lift.

The inside also uses one of the stamps from this set - the little pot of flowers and the sentiment and background stamp is a retired set from Stampin Up called Painter's Palette.

I'm also adding this into the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge.


 

BUTTERFLY WINGS

There is that famous quote that says a butterfly flaps its wings in the Amazon and the rest of the world turns into chaos - I'm paraphrasing a bit but you get the gist.  Well that certainly seems to be what has happened in the world right now.  In the UK we are on day 8 of a lock down and how surreal it all is. How paranoid everyone has become and how fearful.  Every day the news is filled with horror and to be honest I have stopped watching.  I look instead for the news of all the good people are doing - sadly that doesn't seem to make the headlines as much as the horror stories.

With all this in mind - my card today features a gorgeous butterfly.  I took my inspiration from the As You See It challenge#222 which has a recipe for us to follow. I really liked this sort of challenge.  



I started off with some Crumb Cake card stock from Stampin Up. I added some of this gorgeous background paper from Kaisercraft from their Enchanted collection.  The butterfly die cut is from Stampin Up and I used a piece of wrapping paper from Paperchase to cut it out!  It was such a lovely piece of wrapping paper and I had some left which I didn't want to throw out and I knew it would come in useful one day.  

I added some SU ribbon and cut out some die cut flowers, sponged them in Island Indigo Ink from SU and added the sentiment from Watercolor Wings.  Some turquoise gems on the butterfly and the flowers finished off the card.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Try it on Tuesday - The Beauty of Nature
Pinspirational Challenge - I used the flowers and the lovely blue colours
Crafty Cardmakers - Spring
Use your Stuff - spring



 

SPARKLES CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE - #111 - CRITTERS

Are you in Christmas mode? I know it's hard when the Spring is just around the corner but it really does help to get a start on all those Christmas cards you'll need at the end of the year. And with a lot of us staying indoors due to world conditions, what better way to make a start?  To help you achieve your goal is out Sparkles Christmas Challenge - this month we are showcasing Critters.

I chose to use this delightful little penguin stamp from Clearly Besotted from the stamp set Let It Snow II.  I stamped them off first and then masked them and then used some Tim Holtz Distress Inks for the background.  The colours I used were mainly Blueprint Sketch and Chipped Sapphire with some white gel pen dots for snow.  The snowy background was made with Pumice Stone.  I used some Stampin Up water colour pencils to colour in the penguins and some Marker pens for their hats.  I added some Glossy Accents to their eyes.