INSPIRATION STATION - MOODBOARD

How cosy does this image look from Inspiration Station this month? We are also joining Double Trouble so pop over there to see their brief.

I turned to my trusty stamp set from Sunny Studio called Mug Hugz to create the mugs in my card.  I first used the gel press to create my background and added some leaves from a stencil by Visible Image. The burlap behind the mugs is a new find and I love it as it's adhesive and makes adding texture with material so easy.  I used some die cuts leaves to add further interest.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Double Trouble - layers 

A cut above - die cuts and warming - my leaves are die cut and my drinks are warming 

Crafty Calendar - AG 

Cardz4guyz - Autumn 

Shopping our Stash - hot drinks 

Stamping Sensations 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - #IC373

We have such a gorgeous inspiration board for you this week at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  I just adore all these colours and Autumn is my favourite time of the year. 

 I used a set from my stash called Mug Hugs from Sunny Studio for the mugs.  I started off by masking off the background card and adding a leaf stencil in SU Cinnamon Cider ink.  I stamped the mugs and cut them out and added them to the top using marker pens to colour them in.  I added the sentiment from the same set in the middle.  There are some glossy accents on the heart on the one mug.

Today is my 36th Wedding Anniversary - in 4 days time my daughter gets married and three days after that I have a big house move from England back home to Wales.  This move has been nearly 9 months in the making with three sales falling at the last hurdle so I'm really hopeful this one makes it as I've been living out of boxes for 6 months and have limited craft stuff.  It will be like Christmas when I eventually get to open all my boxes.

INSPIRED BY.....

I was inspired by the new challenges over at Inspired By and thought I'd try and have a go at the Christmas one.  It feels like winter here in the UK anyway with dark skies and rain and I even had to put the heating on yesterday!

I realised that I really don't have very many Christmas foliage type cards or dies so had a hunt in my stash - most of it is in boxes ready for moving but I managed to come up with something which I think fits their sketch and the Christmas image.

I started off by using a Sunny Studio stamp from their Holiday Style set which is the lovely fir branch - I used Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Iced Spruce and Evergreen Bough and stamped it in a circle.  I used the Tim Holtz Wreath Die and some Holly dies from Mixed Media Christmas to create the holly wreath and the foliage behind.  The candy canes came from another Sunny Studio set called Mug Hugs which I cut out and tucked behind the bow, which I covered in Dazzling Diamonds. I added jewels as holly berries.

I added a Tim Holtz stencil with the Christmas Foliage in Peeled Paint and added an old sentiment stamp from my stash.  I layered it onto some kraft cardstock, 

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Merry Little Christmas - AG 

Addicted to stamps #142 - Christmas 

The sisterhood of crafters - use leaves 

Watercooler Challenges - Occasion

The Holly & Ivy Xmas - AG 

christmas Kickstart - Photo Inspiration

SirStampALot - Celebrate Christmas 

Excited to say my card was chosen as a Top Sister for The Sisterhood of Crafters 

My card was chosen in the top 3 at Addicted to Stamps

HUG IN A MUG

I love stamps with mugs on and this set from Sunny Studio called Mug Hugs is one of my favourites - I really must see though if they do matching dies - it would make life a lot easier.

The challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday was to make a slimline card - these are all the rage and I'm normally one that if it's popular I don't join in lol!  But I thought I'd have a go and use the mugs. I was delighted to be lucky enough to win the $25 voucher last week which gave me the chance to purchase with the shipping costs and now added tax costs (thanks to Brexit!!! don't get me started lol) covered by the $25.  So much to choose from on that website! 

I stamped the clear stamps with Ranger Archival ink and used Distress Inks Vintage Photo and Festive Berries and a paint brush to give the soft watercolour feel.  I did some doodling on the mugs to add a bit of interest as they come plain. I used a SU blending pen in Light Grey for the cream foam and the sugar cubes and added some Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen.

I used Distress Oxide Frayed Burlap and Distress Ink Festive Berries for the background.  I used a TH stencil in what looks like coffee stains and a baby wipe for the resist technique to remove some of the ink.  The bottom panel is some washi tape I had which fits perfectly.  I layered it onto some Neenah Desert Storm Kraft card stock.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

LilRed Wagon - Hot Drinks 

As You Like It - favourite stamp medium - I prefer to work with clear cling stamps as it's easier to see where you are stamping and easier to fix if you make a mistake.  I have so many wooden stamps now not being shown any love since clear stamps came out.

SimonSaysStampWednesday - slimline card 

Simon Says Stamp Monday - Resist

Audsentiments - Anything goes plus a sentiment 

Cardzforgals - Pink and Brown

Cupcake Inspirations

Time Out Challenges

Path of Positivity - Celebrate those you love - my card will be winging its way to a dear friend who I haven't been able to catch up with for a coffee and a natter because of Covid.  We can't wait until we can be together again and in the  meantime I hope she likes her card.

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - IC355

Happy New Year everyone and welcome back to Hand Stamped Sentiments where we will have another great year's worth of challenges for you to join in with. Here's our inspiration challenge for you for this week 

I got my inspiration from the girl in front of the trees holding the mug and the gorgeous colours of the fox. 

I started off by inking my cardstock with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Weathered Wood with a touch of Chipped Sapphire at the very top.  I then used one of his tree stencils and inked the trees in  TH Forest Moss. 

The mugs are from Sunny Studios stamp set called Mug Hugs. This set is quickly becoming one of my favourite sets with great sentiments as well as fab mug images.  Here I've used the coffee takeaway mugs - although mine just might have hot chocolate in it!   I coloured them in with TH Crackling Campfire and Vintage Photo.  I used a metallic distress crayon for the snowflake.  I cut them out and added them to some TH greenery dies coloured in Forest Moss and Pine Needles. 

I added some gesso at the bottom for snow and some Liquid Pearls in Pewter.  The sentiment is from the same set and I white embossed it and added some snow flakes with a white gel pen.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Everybody Art Challenge - Anything Goes 

A place to start - Anything Goes

Sir Stamps a Lot - Favourite Stamps

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR - SPARKLES CHALLENGE - HOLIDAY TREATS

I would like to start the New Year off by wishing you all a Happy New Year - let's hope 2021 does not prove to be as tough for everyone as 2020 was.

We have some treats for you over at Sparkles Challenge with our theme of Holiday Treats - this nearly had me stumped when I remembered my fab set called Mug Hugs from Sunny Studio. 

 I started off by stamping the mugs and the treats.  I added some retired Stampin Up Stamps Background Grunge for the details on the mugs stamping it in Ranger Archival Ink in Vermillion.  I then used a Tri-Blend pen by Spectrum Noir in Antique Pink blend to colour them in and add shading.  I used SU Grey Granite Stampin Blends for the cream and the marshmallows.  I used a Tri-Blend pen in Muted Brown for the cookies and the same pink and red for the icing - covering them in Glossy Accents to make them shine.  The candy canes were coloured in with Lime Otter watercolour brush pen and Wink of Stella was added over the pens and the cream and marshmallows to give them a shine.  I cut them all out by hand as I don't have the matching dies.... yet! 

For the background I used some Tim Holtz ink in Vintage Photo to distress the edge and used the coffee stain stamp from SU in TH Ground Espresso.  I used SU Chocolate Chip for the easel which is from the retired set Painter's Palette.  I used some embossing powder in white for the sentiment on the black card stock and added some hearts and snowflakes and then used a square die cut to cut this out and add to the easel.  

I'm also adding this in to the following challenges:

Winter Wonderland challenge which is also Sweet Treats 

The Holly and the Ivy challenge - anything goes.

Color My Heart Colour challenge 

Double Trouble - Warmth, Dies,

Merry Little Christmas  

 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - #HSSCC348

I'm loving this set by Sunny Studio called Mug Hugs and don't seem to be able to stop using it!  I thought it was perfect for our Color Challenge this week for Hand Stamped Sentiments.    I don't have Cinnamon Cider so had to rely on an old SU ink called Really Rust which is very similar.

I started off by using the very clever little plaid stamp from the Mug Hugs set to create the background - using Crumb Cake ink.  I continued this stamp on the piece of Mint Macron background paper that has been cut with a Spellbinders Elegant Twist Rectangle die.I stamped my mug and cut it out together with some of the coffee beans and doodled on to the mug to make some patterns.  I added some heart gems, the sentiment and a piece of linen thread.

 

SWEET STAMPIN - ANYTHING BUT A BIRTHDAY

Our challenge at Sweet Stampin this week is anything but a birthday - wow a great range of ideas you could use here.  In my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets we run a RAK group - A Random Act of Kindness where we send cards out to members all over the world. We are therefore often needing cards that aren't birthdays.

I went for the lovely Sunny Studio Mug Hugs set again - I can't seem to stop using this set.  

I started off using a gorgeous large stencil I have of old french lettering - it's a 12 x 12 stencil so for a card you don't get much of the writing but it's still usable. I then used a Tim Holtz script stamp to in fill with more writing.  I used a TH stencil for the coffee stains and all inks used are Tim Holtz Distress inks.

I used the coffee mug but added the whipped cream to it rather than the coffee lid and added some sparkle to the cream. I had the idea of using a milk jug for the sentiment and luckily found a die in my stash - I didn't even know I had one!  I used some fine linen thread to hang it from the top of the card. I cut out the little cookies and added some sparkle to them too.

 

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY - #TSOT472

Use a beverage

Our sketch this week at Try Stampin on Tuesday with it's added challenge of beverages couldn't be more apt for me as I've been playing with my new stamp set from Sunny Studio called Mug Hugs.

I started off with an SU embossing folder and used Crumb Cake card stock sponged around the edges with Early Espresso.  I used a stitched circle framelit for the mug and coloured it in with Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Peacock Feathers.  I used an SU blender pen in Light Gray for the marshmallows and added some Dazzling Diamonds to them.  The candy cane was coloured in with SU Cherry Cobbler and the heart added to the mug was coloured in with TH Picked Raspberry. 

 I was lucky enough to find a few bits of old SU DSP which had coffee stains on them to add as the papers.  The sentiment is from the Sunny Studio set.  I added some linen thread from my stash and mounted it all on to Early Espresso card stock.

I'm also adding this into the following challenges:

Just us Girls - Latte
Color my Heart Color Dare - Tic Tac Toe - Espresso, Ruby, Ivy