Sending hugs

My card today has been inspired by two challenges - Inkspirational which ask for Cosy and the sketch over at CAS Colours and Sketches. 

I remembered I had a Clearly Besotted stamp which featured a bear all rugged up in her blanket.  It's called Pawly Pals.  I coloured her in with some Graphite pencils and Lime Otter pens.  The embossing folder is from Stampin Up and is the epitome of cosy.  The sentiment is from another Clearly Besotted set.  There is a touch of glitter pen on her little blanket.

Butterfly Tag

I was inspired by one of Tracy Evan's videos to get out the Gel print again and play along.  I kept to a palette of Versafine Clair Verdant and Warm Breeze for my main colours with just a touch of Distress Ink in Mustard Seed.  I used one of Tracy's stamps called Flutter.  Once I'd made my gell print background I pressed the stamp on to it and then took my image.  It looked great - the only thing was the words and numbers were all a mirror image.  Note to self - don't use stamps with words or numbers lol!  As it's just in the background you can't really see that they are all reflected.

I stamped the image again and added a Tim Holtz butterfly die cut out of the spare gelli print paper.  I added string behind and some Nuovo drops. The spring stamp is a very old Stampin Up one.   A touch of green washi tape from my stash and some very old SU o'rings finished off the tag.

I'm adding this into the following challenges:

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - Gelli Print 

Creative Knockouts - Die Cuts

SSS Wednesday - AG 

Shopping our Stash - Dies 

AAA Birthday - 2 favourite colours 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #CC381

Welcome to another colour challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments.  Don't these colours just give you the idea that spring is right around the corner?  Well, perhaps in some parts of the world.  My colours came out quite dark for some reason.  I'm on a mission to use up a lot of my stash before I start buying any new stuff and one of the things I want to use up is all my scrapbook papers and old SU DSP.  A lot of them I have been cutting up and using for journal pages.

This is some old SU DSP I had and I liked the idea of colouring it in with the above colours.  The yellow got a bit lost so I layered it onto some Daffodil Delight card stock just to try and bring out the yellow.  The butterfly is from an old SU die cut and I cut and layered it three times on yellow, white and pink.  The sentiment is from a Wendy Vecchi stamp set.  I added some pearls to finish it off.

BIRD TAG

I had a lot of fun making this tag.  I started off with cutting out the tag with a Tim Holtz die from a piece of packaging to give the tag added texture.  I used lots of inks and texture paste for the background and added layers with some Tim Holtz 3d embossing folders - I love these - they are so versatile.  The stamps are all from Tracy Evans set - I stamped the hat for the bird twice and popped it on dimensionals to give a bit more height.  The twig is from the garden with some added twine.  The extra bits are all from my stash.  

I'm adding this into the following challenges - 

We Love Stamping - theme of Wings 

Simon Says Stamp Monday - theme of birds/insects 

Sisterhood - colour blue

IA&S - Get Inky 

We love2 Create - AG 

USE YOUR STASH

I'm joining in with TGIF challenge #tgifc351  and their sketch which allows us to use up some scraps of paper.  I've also used an old Stampin Up stamp set  - I'm in a bid to use up all the craft supplies I have rather than buy any more for a while.  Seriously - I don't need any more stuff!  I had a great sort out yesterday - after the move I still had some crafting supplies to be sorted so yesterday was the great sort out.  Any old scrapbooking papers I cut up and added it to my stash for journaling - any quotes or pieces that could be made into embellishments also got cut up and added to my journaling stash.  It certainly made the pile of things never used a lot smaller and felt quite liberating.

Anyway I digress - on to the card I have created today.  I started with my favourite Stampin Up Embossing folder - ever!  Painted Texture 3d!  I added some Distress Ink to the folder and then spritzed it with water before running it through the folder - that adds a light touch of the ink whilst you emboss.  I used some Perennial Essence scraps I had found during my sort out - and layered them and added some Rik Rak and some Washi Tape.  I cut out the flower from Floral Essence three times and inked it in Fresh Fig and added a touch of Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink.  The flowers were inked in Versafine Clair Shady Lane and Crushed Olive.  The sentiment is from Tim Holtz.

MORE WATERCOLOURING

I'm still in a bit of a watercolouring phase - do you get like that with your crafting?    I fancied having a go at the As You See It Challenge and could just see a water colour background for their sketch. 

I used four Tim Holtz Distress Colours - Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, Peacock Feathers and Mustard Seed.  I don't use a lot of yellow really in my crafting as I'm more about the earthy grungy tones but I thought these colours inspired by Kristine Werner would give me the colour background I wanted.

I smooshed them on to the Tim Holtz mat and spritzed with water until I got the effect I wanted. 

I added a very thin strip of old Stampin Up DSP tapering it off to the outer edge.  I used Stampin Up Botanical Prints stamp for the flower and coloured in just the flower with the Picked Raspberry and Seedless Preserves.  I gently edged the circle with the Peacock Feathers.  The sentiment is from Tim Holtz. It is going to be my phrase for 2022.  I have a new home back home in my beloved Wales and life has turned a corner for my hubby and I and we are loving every minute of it. 

I used Tim Holtz watercolour paper to stand up to all the water.  I added some drops of Nuovo Crystal Drops in Wedgewood Blue.

I'm also adding this in the CAS Mix up again 

QKR Stampede- AG 

A Bit more time to Craft - AG 

Creative Crafters - AG 

Snarky Stampers - Ink

Inkspirational - GOAL - my sentiment is my phrase for the year 

Creative Fingers - AG 

Watercolouring

I'm joining in with the CASMix Up card challenge blog - a new one I've just found.  Their theme is Loose Watercolouring and I fancied getting the Tim Holtz Distress Inks out and having a play.  My first card uses the inks added with a water brush - splodged onto the Tim Holtz mat - the stamp is one from Anita Jeram.

The second cards uses those same inks but these time they had been spritzed with water so as not to waste them and the card was swooshed into the ink.  I hope you like my swoosh word lol!  I've used another of the Anita Jeram stamps here - they really lend themselves to watercolours.

I'm adding these into the following challenges:

Shopping our Stash - Something beginning with S - for Stamps 

SUYP - Cats 

We love stamping - anything stamped 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #SC380

Welcome back to my blog for another year's crafting adventures for 2022.  I have cut right down on my commitment to some of the Design Teams I was on but remain with Hand Stamped Sentiments for as long as they will have me.  I find my crafting is going in different directions with journaling and mixed media pulling me in that direction at the moment - but cards and scrapbooking will still be part of my crafting.

This week we have a great sketch for you - I always admire those who design sketches - I must admit it's beyond me to be able to get the computer to design it for me.

I've used some Visible Image stamps called Break Free and their number stencilv for my card and Tim Holtz Distress Inks.  I love this number stencil from VI and have used it a lot already.  The background for the flower was embossed with one of my favourite Stampin Up embossing folders which is the Painted Texture 3d folder - I coloured over it with some inks.  I added two lots of the flowers and popped them up on each other to add a bit more dimension. The touch of gold on the flowers is from Liquitex Acrylic Ink.  The quote is a Tim Holtz stamp.

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS #IC379

How wonderful are these images for your inspiration this week from Hand Stamped Sentiments.  Do you still have enough time to make cards or tags?  Even though I start early I still seem to find I don't have enough time to do all the crafting I would like to for Christmas.

I chose to do a tag for my project this week. I started off by stamping the wonderful moon from Stampin Up's To The Moon in Going Gray - a very old ink but still going strong.  I then blended around the moon with four or five Tim Holtz distress inks using Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire, Tumbled Glass, Iced Spruce.  I used Peeled Paint and Crushed Olive for the greens at the bottom of the tag.

I used the lovely little set Here Comes Santa from Sunny Studios for the Santa image and the trees.  I stamped the trees in Versafine Clair Shady Lane.  I added some Distress Grit Paste in Snowfall for the snow at the bottom of the tag.  The tag was cut out of a Tim Holtz tag die.  Some splatters of gesso for snow finished off this little tag.  The sentiment is from Visible Image stamp set Sentimental Christmas. 

I would like to wish you all a healthy and happy Christmas and New Year.  Thank you for visiting my blog over the past year - I think crafting has kept a lot of us sane during these difficult times and I know I've been very grateful for it.

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes -optional Holiday/Christmas - and farewell

This is my last post for 613 Avenue Create - after a house move and a complete change in life style recently I find I just can't commit to all my Design Teams at the moment - crafting has taken rather a back seat as I am busy settling in.  However, my favourite time of crafting is always Christmas things and I had to finish the year off with a Christmas Tag - my favourite things to make at this time of year.

The background was made with Stampin Up Dry Brush stamp and various Tim Holtz stamps and dies for the poinsettia.  I added some Liquitex Gold ink to give it a shimmer.

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a safe and peaceful New Year.

SPARKLES CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE - NON USUAL CHRISTMAS COLOURS

Sadly this is my final post for Sparkles Christmas Challenge - as mentioned previously life has got a bit hectic in a good way since my house move and my crafting is taking a back seat at the moment especially for blogging.  It's been wonderful to have been part of this Design Team for so long and I urge anyone who needs inspiration to see if they can join one - it really keeps you motivated.  Our final challenge for this year is to use colours not normally associated with Christmas.  Here I've used pinks and greys which is not my normal colour palette as I'm strictly a green and red girl but I do love how this turned out.  

I used all Tim Holtz products for the stencils, dies, inks and words and the ribbon and lace is from my stash.  

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - #378

A colour challenge for you this week from Hand Stamped Sentiments.  As most of you know I am not a SU demo so don't always have the colours but I'm lucky that I'm allowed to use similar ones and so can you.  Choose the closest you have to the challenge in your stash.  I have used Tim Holtz Distress Inks for the green using Rustic Wilderness and Speckled Egg for the blue.  I do have Merry Merlot so I used that for the watercolour holly on the right hand side of the tag.

When I say watercolour - I inked the stamp directly with the green and red ink and then did a very light spray over it before then adding it to the paper.  It gives this lovely watercolour effect which is very soft.  I used some Tim Holtz die cuts  for the holly and wanted to do some holly stencilling but didn't have a stencil.  So I used the negative from the die cuts and lo and behold I had a stencil.  I used the wording from Tim Holtz Tiny Text Christmas stamps and cut them to suit.  I am currently doing a set of 25 numbered Christmas Tags so this one had the number 4 added to it.

I'm back crafting....

It's been a long six weeks but I'm finally back crafting after moving home from England to a mountain in Wales and with no internet for about four weeks.  I had to make the decision to cut back on most of my obligations to Design Teams but wanted to continue with Hand Stamped Sentiments and am so pleased Genny was pleased for me to stay.

So I finally made it into my craftroom to make something for this week's challenge.  Here's our sketch we are working with.  I chose to do a Christmas card for mine as it's getting near that time of year and I just love making Christmas cards.

I started off by masking the part in the middle and used some Distress Ink in Antique Linen from Tim Holtz to cover the panel. I then took a Tim Holtz stencil which has fir cones and leaves on it and stamped over it in Pumice Stone. For the panels at either side I used some Tim Holtz Collage Paper in Holly.  I added some Washi tape from my stash.

I used a Tim Holtz wreath die for the wreath in the middle.  I first covered a piece of card stock in the same Collage Paper and then cut it out with the die cut.  I used Liquitex Matte Medium for the collage paper.  I used some SU card stock for the bow and added some white dots with a white gel pen.  The Christmas Wishes banner was from my stash.

613 Avenue Create - Anything Goes with optional twist of Thanks

Our challenge this month at 613 Avenue create has an optional twist of Thanks.  I wanted to use this gorgeous toadstool stamp from Visible Image for my card.  the set is called Totally Toadstools. I started by using a Visible Image stencil for the background and some Tim Holts Distress inks.    The stamp was stamped over it and coloured in with Distress Inks. 

SPARKLES CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE - PRESENTS

Our challenge this month at Sparkles Christmas Challenge  is presents.  Years ago I remember doing a card which had presents as pop up's inside the card and wanted to do it again and managed to find some instructions on youtube.  

I started off the front of my card using some Tim Holtz christmas wallpaper and used the same papers throughout for the presents.  I added a panel on the front of the card which has been embossed with holly and added some paper shapes for the presents and added string.  The sentiments are from Clearly Besotted.

Inside the card there are three pop up presents which are really easy to do but they look so effective.

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY - #TSOT530

Embellishments 

This will be my last Design Team entry for TSOT.  It's been a great few years and I'm grateful to Kaylin for giving me the chance to be on her team.  As mentioned previously a house move and a whole new life means I don't have as much time for crafting at the moment so until I get my routine sorted I need to give myself some time off.

Here's our sketch for you this week from Try Stampin on Tuesday #TSOT530 with the added option of Embellishments.  A lot of my craft items are packed as I recently had a big house move from England to Wales and couldn't have access to any embellishments so went just with the sketch.  

I used two Tim Holtz tag dies for my tags.  The larger one was covered in Stampin Up Silver Embossing paste using an SU stencil.  I loved how it came out on the black so added some black Washi tape for the word and some torn silver Washi tape for the bottom of the tag.  The smaller tag used Distress Oxide in Spun Sugar and Dusty Concord with an old Tim Holtz stamp for the words.  I added some SU Silver Edged ribbon in Berry Burst.

The background uses the same Spun Sugar ink and the stencil and another strip of the washi tape down the side of the card. 

SWEET STAMPIN - HALLOWE'EN AND FAREWELL

Our challenge for Sweet Stampin this week is Hallowe'en.  This will be my final entry as a Design Team member for this fabulous challenge blog.  I have recently had a big house move from England back home to Wales and my new life is going to be a lot busier than my old one in many good ways.  It means I have less time for crafting and sadly my commitments to Design Teams for challenges is going to have to be something I give up... at least until I get myself into more of a routine.  Being on a Design Team is a great motivator and being part of a team to regularly create can be a real help when your mojo goes missing and I can thoroughly recommend it if you get the chance.

I'm also finding I'm not crafting like I used to and cards are not my number 1 go to now when I craft.  I guess we all change and develop as we explore new ways.

So I leave you from Sweet Stampin' with this card.  Hallowe'en is a special time for me and I do despair sometimes when I hear all the negative press it gets mainly from people's perceptions of it and how Hollywood has portrayed it over the years.

I'm a Celt from Irish Celtic background and now Welsh and for my ancestors this time of the year was a sacred time.  It was a time to remember those who had passed before us, lay the table for them to come and sit with us one more time for a meal - hence the trick or treat which became trivialised into sweets and candy.  I have lost many close family members and my table would be overflowing with places for those who are no longer with me.  The idea of pumpkins being carved came from people going to bonfires to celebrate the old year and they needed lights - at the time they used swede's or turnips which were the vegetables we had in this country thousands of years ago.  They cut them to allow a candle to give them light and hence the pumpkin as we know it was born. 

I wanted to try and express how sacred this evening really is and for people not to fear it.  I've used stamps here from Visible Image, I love how that bird is flying out of the tree.

May you have a peaceful Hallowe'en.