PEARLY SPARKLES #110 - UNDER THE SEA.

Our challenge for you this month at Pearly Sparkles is Under the Sea.  I really don't have many sea themed crafts and really should have a look for some new ones.  In the meantime - I've fallen back on my old favourite from Kaisercraft. 

I created the background using Tim Holtz Distress Oxides and the gel press and then added a bubble stencil over the top.  The images were simply stamped over the top and some shine added to the coral pieces.

I'm adding this into the following:

The paper players - by the water 

Outlawz - critters

Critter Crazy AG 

CHRISTMAS CRAFT CREATIONS - DESIGNER SERIES PAPER

Our challenge for you this month at Christmas Craft Creations  is to use some Designer Paper on your card.  This was quite tricky for me as I don't tend to use papers on my cards any more preferring to make my own backgrounds.  A hunt through my scrapbooking papers found this much loved series of papers from Kaisercraft called Wonderland Collection.  I only have a few bits of it left as it was one of my favourites for scrapping with.

I used the paper that had these lovely trees on it but had to jazz it up a bit.  I added a little chipboard tree I had in my stash and coloured it with Tim Holtz Distress Oxide in Chipped Sapphire.  I used a piece of Tim Holtz Idealogy for the 25 and the sentiment came from Kaisercraft from the same pack.  I added a Tim Holtz deer die in the same paper and edged with the distress ink.  I added some lace paper at the bototm and some star embellishments on the trees.  I covered the trees and the 25 with some Spectrum Noir sparkle as it is a Christmas card and needs some glitter lol! 

Don't forget to add your graphic if you join in with us for a chance to be our winner. 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #IC352

Look at our gorgeous images to inspire you this week from Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I've been releasing my inner mixed media vibe lately and this card was no exception and I was inspired by that Santa and the tree behind him.

I started off by using some Tim Holtz Distress Collage Medium in Vintage and covered my cardstock and added some of the lovely Tim Holtz Christmas Collage papers. I also added some free papers donated by the lovely Shawn Petite on her website.  The music paper at the top and bottom is from TH  Christmas sticker book.

The Santa and the tree are from Kaisercraft and I added some glitter to the tree.  Tucked at the bottom is one of Tim's new deer dies.  The sentiments are from the sticker book and Tim's new stamps Tiny Text Christmas.  The Dec 25th wooden embellishment is from my stash - covered in Distress Ink Festive Berries and a touch of glitter.  I added some suede ribbon from Stampin Up and one of Tim's metal embelishments - with a touch of white Distress Crayon which helps to make the numbers pop.

I think we can safely say this has a real nostalgic feel to it - maybe it's the sign of the times at the moment.

 

SWEET STAMPIN - FAIRIES AND FANTASY

Our challenge for you this week at Sweet Stampin is Fairies and Fantasy.  I knew just the stamps I wanted to use for this.  The Enchanted collection by Kaisercraft has the stamps and the matching papers which I've used here.  The stamps include the lovely toadstools and the sentiment.  I also used a new layering die cut from Spellbinders.  The fairy image is from Lavinia stamps, fussy cut out with some sparkle on her wings.

 

SPARKLES CHRISTMAS FORUM - CHALLENGE #114 CHRISTMAS CARD RECIPE

A great challenge for you this month at Sparkles Christmas Forum with a Christmas Card Recipe:

 1 image,

 2 background papers

3 jewels/gems/pearls

Well it might as well be winter here in the UK at the moment - the weather can't make up its mind which season we are in - one day we are melting in plus 30 degree heat - the next its cold and wet.  Somewhere in between would be nice.

I loved the idea of this receipe - I have these lovely Christmas papers from Kaisercraft 6" paper pad called Christmas Collections.  They are double sided and I love the vintage feel to them.  My Santa is from Visible Image stamps called Santa Claus. I coloured him in with Tri Blend pens from Spectrum Noir and added the banner and some SU sparkling gems.  I also added a lovely piece of red velvet ribbon behind

I look forward to seeing what you do with this recipe.

I'm adding this into the following challenge:
Merry Little Christmas - Anything Goes

 

SCRAPBOOK LAYOUT

I came across a new challenge the other day called More Than Words and it looked really interesting.  I chose to do a Scrapbook Layout of my son through the years.  I love the idea of the doors and the word Hello in the challenge.  Here is their challenge:

The papers are from Kaisercraft and I cut out those lovely doors from one of the papers from the Kiasercraft kit - the sentiment about the doorways to a life is my own. I found some lovely quotes from Tim Holtz Clippings Sticker Book which really suited the photos - especially the bottom one where it says "He Could Make it on his looks alone" while he is pulling a funny face - it makes me smile!  I added some keys and a little padlock to the doors - as a child you often wonder how your children will grow and what they will do.  My son is now an archeologist and we are very proud of him.  

I'm adding this into the More Than Words challenge 





 

JOY OF SETS BLOG HOP - JUNE - SPLISH SPLASH

Thank you for joining us on another Joy of Sets Blog Hop - with members of the Joy of Sets Facebook Group started by me over 3 years ago. Our blog hop is organised by the very talented Angie Mckenzie who keeps us all on our toes even though we are all over the world! Don't we just take technology for granted these days?  We would not have been without it during these pandemic times of most of us being in lockdown.

I decided to do a scrapbook page for this month's hop.  2020 would have seen us off to Greece for another week of bliss but sadly as the world is on stop we cannot go.  I did two pages and couldn't decide which one to show so I'm showing both!  They are both taken on Greek Islands and they are two of my favourite with Paxos just edging out in front.  Skopelos is famous for being the Mamma Mia island but luckily it hasn't become spoiled due to the success of the film.

I've used Kaisercraft papers and embellishments on both pages.  I've used a stencil to add waves to the Skopelos one.  Both of the cut outs of the Greek Islands came from a small UK based craft company Sunshine Scrapbooking- I was amazed to find them on there.

Skopelos was in 2018, it was our second time here, and this year our son came with us - I love it that at 24 he still doesn't mind coming on holiday with mum and dad!

2019 saw hubby and I return to Paxos for our third time.  It was early in May and the weather wasn't always brilliantly warm and sunny but it was still very relaxing.  We would have gone back this year but sadly as the world is on stop Greek holidays may have to wait not until next year. Luckily I still have some Ouzo!  

To hop along to Mo's blog next  click on the button below:

Here is a list of the full hop just in case you get stuck.

Tricia Butts

Libby Fens

Vicki Milyard

Brenda Nelson

Narelle Fasulo

Alejandra Gomez

Sue Allen

Fiona Whitehead

Mo Rootes

Susan Webster

Jill Chapman

Rochelle Laird-Smith

To join our Facebook Group click on the link below - maybe next month you could hop with us.

 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #IC340

I hope you are all still doing well and managing to carry on crafting. We have an Inspiration Challenge for you today at Hand Stamped Sentiments.

I used some old Kaisercraft Stamps for my image.  I used some Tim Holtz Distress Inks to sponge the background and used Ranger Archival Ink in Library Green to stamp the flowers.  I then used some new watercolour brushes from Lime Otter to colour them in.  The die cut is from Crafters Companion and came as a freebie when hubby bought me the Gemini electric die cut machine for my birthday - I'm still playing with it and working it out!  























 

OPEN BOOK EASEL CARDS

I love it when I come across a new technique. This one was shown to me by one of my members of my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets.  Called the Open Book Easel Cards there are a few tutorials on You Tube to discover - I came across one made by Tina Zinck and her enthusiasm for this type of card is quite infectious.

I used some old Kaisercraft papers called Take Note for my pages.  I really liked the one that had the words which was very apt for a book.  My flower is also from Kaisercraft from the Rosabella set. I coloured it in with Tri Blends by Spectrum Noir in Vintage shades and cut them out.  The sentiments are from Stampin Up A Special Someone..  The butterflies were cut out with old SU butterfly punches and some tiny pearls added. 

I love how this turned out and have caught the bug - I've made a few more which I will be sharing on my blog in the very near future.

I found a great challenge on my travels which suits this - called A Vintage Journey and their theme is flowers.  
I'm also adding this into Creative Moments - Anything Goes
Creative Fingers - Anything Goes
Simply Create Too - Use Flowers
Craft Rocket Challenge - Shaped Card
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Butterflies




 

JOY OF SETS BLOG HOP - MAY 2020 - FLORAL

Welcome to another Joy of Sets Blog Hop.  The Joy of Sets is a Facebook Group which I started nearly three years ago - we have nearly 3,000 members world wide and have lots of crafting things going on in our busy little group from RAK's to swaps to challenges to blog hops!  We are not all about Stampin Up and not all members are Demonstrators.  We celebrate all things paper and stamping!  See the blurb below if you would like to be part of our next blog hop!

Once again a big thank you to Angie Mckenzie who organises this hop for us and keeps us all on our toes.

I've used Kaisercraft Tea Party stamp set for my images.  The pretty flower on the cup matches the flower stamp that comes with the set.  There is also a tea pot but I ran out of room! 

I used some retired SU DSP for the background with those cute spoons on them then added a stitched framelit, an SU doily and fussy cut out the flowers and the tea cup.  I've also added one of the SU gold sticker spoons. I must admit I'm not a sticker kind of girl but these were sent to me and this is the first time I've had chance to use them.  They were called Team Room copper vinyl stickers.

I used Tri Blends by Spectrum Noir to colour in the flowers.

Do hop along to Brenda's blog by clicking on the link below.

Here is the list of all 20 of us in the Hop:

Angie McKenzie

Annette Ball

Rochelle Laird-Smith

Tricia Butts

Fiona Whitehead - you are here

Brenda Nelson

Libby Fens

Susan Webster

JoAnn Pollock

Jill Chapman

Gez Carpenter

Vicki Milyard

Alejandra Gomez

Kaylin Krawczyk

Rebecca Jo Unwin

Narelle Fasulo

Sue Allen

Sandra Mastello

Andrea Tracy-Tucker

And don't forget if you would like to be part of our next hop you will find my group The Joy of Sets on Facebook.  You have to be part of the group to be in the hop.  We are not all SU demonstrators and the hop is not really about showcasing SU but showing you inspiration from dedicated crafters.  Click on the link below to be taken to the group.  We have all sorts of fun things happening - not just monthly blog hops!

 

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY #TSOT456

What a challenge we have for you at TSOT this week.  I have to apologise right away that I failed with the shaker card bit!  I'm not very good at shaker cards and couldn't make one this week as I didn't have any of the foam.  And as all our shops are still shut and we are still in lock down in the UK there was no where I could get some.  I suppose I could have done on-line ordering but that means someone else has had to put themselves at risk to prepare and ship my order - fine if it's food or medical or essential supplies but not for crafting bits! So that's my excuse and what a valid one it is lol! 

So on to my card - I've used the gorgeous new Kaisercraft papers called Amethyst - luckily I got these before lock down started.  These butterflies are just so beautiful and the colours of these papers are stunning.  I teamed it with one of the flowers from Stampin Up's Floral Essence and used some Tim Holtz distress colours in Dusty Concord and Tumbled Glass to try and replicate the colours.

The little butterfly thinlet is an old SU.  It has had some embossing paste over the top of it to add some sparkle and some glitter dots down the middle.  The Just for You is from SU Watercolour Wings embossed in white embossing powder. I added a touch of the lovely ribbon at the bottom and some blue rhinestones at the top.

 

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!  

 

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.  

 

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



 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #SC335

Here's our sketch for you this week for Hand Stamped Sentiments - #SC335

I've used Stampin Up's Dandelion Wishes for my card.  I started off by cutting out a circle with a framelit and used this for a mask.  I sponged with some Tim Holtz Distress Inks and stamped the dandelion with Early Espresso.  I then took a smaller stitched framelit circle and alternated the colours with the dandelion stamped in Old Olive and the background sponged in Crumb Cake and edged in Early Espresso.  The smaller circle was added with dimensionals. 

I added some Washi Tape for a bit of interest and a touch of DSP Magnolia Lane at the bottom.  The sentiment is from Kaisercraft and was inked in Ranger Archival Ink in Monarch Orange.  I added some linen thread behind it and some bronze embellishments.