TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY -

A mix up challenge today from Try Stampin on Tuesday #TSOT399

I don't have any cactus stamps but chose to use the colours shown to make my card.  I used this set of what I like to think of a folk art images - inspired by that bowl of succulents with all the lovely colours.

I'm still on the fence about investing in some copic markers for colouring but I think I may just have to try a few and see what I think - as the more I do colouring the more I think I'd like to get some!!





 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - IC310

Some gorgeous spring images for you to work with for this week's challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments. 




My card uses two stamp sets - Colourful Seasons and Timeless Textures.  I sponged some Powder Pink Ink on to the middle of the white cardstock and added some stamps from Timeless Textures - the blue ink is from Kaisercraft called Lagoon.  I also used Berry Burst for the flowers.  I added some clear butterflies and added some pearls in pink and blue.  Some ribbon and the sentiment in the same Lagoon finishes off the card.  

I'm including this in Inkspirational's Challenge using similar colours and a chair instead of a bed!

 

COME RAIN OR SHINE....

At the moment in the UK we have both - the weather can't make up it's mind and it's not even April yet - this set from Clearly Besotted is well named though - April Showers.  I'm using it for my card for the Freshly Made Sketches challenge this week - 

I started off with some of the new Gingham paper from Stampin Up.  I cut two circles out of some white cardstock with a stitched circle framelit and then quite liked the idea of using this as a mask and inking direct onto the gingham.  I then cut another one and added that in the middle with dimensionals.  I added some Spectrum Noir glitter pen to the umbrellas for some sparkle and some sequins.  





 

SWEET STAMPIN - PANCAKE DAY/MARDI GRAS

You have the option on our challenge today at Sweet Stampin to choose Pancake Day or Mardi Gras.  After deciding I really couldn't think of anything to do with pancakes - I trawled through my stamp collection and found this very old stamp I bought years ago.  I have only ever been published in a magazine once and it was with this stamp - back in 2008 when I used it for an ATC - it was featured in Artful Blogging.  The magazine is still going strong too I think. Looking back on what I did then to what I've done with it now it's interesting to see how styles change and evolve.

As the stamp is so big and old - I wasn't sure whether it would completely ink so I started off with first embossing it in SU 's Copper Embossing Powder.  I used my new Tri Blend pens from Spectrum Noir for the colouring.  They are great in that they have three colours in one pen but I'm still not convinced on their blending abilities - hmm - maybe Copics is the way to go!  I added some purple ribbon and layered into onto black card stock and then some purple DSP I had in my stash.  I turned it into a square card which is not a shape I often use but it suited the stamp.

And here's a look back to 2008 when I was published in Artful Blogging! What a difference!





 

MORE HIPPOS!

I'm really liking this little set from Clearly Besotted called Hello Cupcake - and I don't usually go for cute images but there's something about this one. Global Design Project has the following as its theme this week and I thought this set was just perfect.



I used the sunburst stamp from SU Kinda Eclectic in Daffodil Delight on plain white card stock.  I then added an extra layer of card cut out with the thinlet from Colourful Seasons.  I inked the hippos and used SU watercolour pencils to colour them in.  I used SU marker pens for the icing on the cupcakes and covered the top with Glossy Accents.  I then cut them all out and added them with dimensionals.  The little sentiment and the raspberries is from the same set.

 

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY - SKETCH CHALLENGE #398

We have a sketch challenge for you over at Try Stampin on Tuesday #398 - with the added option of Monochromatic if you're feeling extra brave!

I had this stamp set from Clearly Besotted that I had yet to ink up.  It's not often that I have uninked stamps - I don't have hundreds and do tend to use them as soon as I get them but somehow this little one had yet to be used.  Cupcakes are not really my thing - especially as being gluten and dairy free I rarely get to eat them - but I just adored this little set and I thought it would be perfect for this sketch.

I used a Stitched Framelit for the circles and used SU Very Vanilla - the hippos were coloured in with SU water colour pencil in Grey.  The cupcakes were coloured in with my new Tri Blend spectrum pens from Spectrum Noir.  I'm still not sure about these - with three blending colours in one pen they are a bargain compared to Copics but I'm still unconvinced about the blending ability to see the three separate colours.  Maybe I need more practice.  

The background papers were some from my stash from Docrafts - a really lovely selection that I will be using lots.  I added some ribbon at the bottom and a few little pearls.  I also added some Glossy Accents to the top icing on the cupcakes to make them shine.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you all do - thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment - I love to hear from you.






 

STAMPIN UP ONLY CHALLENGE - COLOUR CHALLENGE #SUOC218

We have a colour challenge for you today at Stampin Up Only #SUOC218 challenge

Color Combo - Granny Apple Green, Pool Party, Lovely Lipstick (& optional Mango Melody)


I've used Colourful Seasons for my card together with the matching framelits.  The butterfly is from a retired set Nature's Perfection and the butterfly fits the retired butterfly punch - I was so happy when I realised that!

Spring is just starting to show its lovely head here in the UK and I wanted to try and make a soft flower card - I can't wait to see all the blossom on my apple trees - it is my favourite flower.  My niece has just had a baby and called her Blossom - how delightful! 

I look forward to seeing what you all do with these colours!



 

JAR OF LOVE

Global Design Project #GDP178 has a sketch this week - I quite fancied doing some layering with die cuts for this one and the only real set I have is Jar of Love so that's what I used.  It needed some love anyway as it hasn't been used for a while.




My colours were inspired by a card I had seen on Pinterest using greys and I don't really usually use grey much so I thought I would challenge myself.

I used a stitched circle framelit for the grey circle and cut out a heart out of the middle.  The tiny heart is made with the new foils as are some of the flowers.  Some of the leaves I used the framelits to cut out - the others were fussy cut.  I used an old SU colour Regal Rose and Berry Burst for the inks.  A touch of Timeless Textures in old SU Going Gray added the dots in the background and the sentiment, which is from Cottage Greetings.  I added some liquid pearls and some Wink of Stella.

I'm also adding this into the Watercooler Wednesday challenge - WWC210 - All About Occasions


 

#JOSTTT003 - TIC TAC TOE CHALLENGE

It's the first Saturday in the month and that means another Tic Tac Toe challenge over at  Joy of Sets Tic Tac Toe.  Our grid this month was chosen by Design Team Member Jane Allmark and this is what she chose for us:

I chose to do Sparkle, Layers, Pearls.  I started off with a retired piece of DSP from Stampin Up and used some Soft Suede ink around the torn edges.  I added a pearlised doily.  The banner in the middle was embossed with SU Vintage Wallpaper and inked over the top with Regal Rose - an old SU colour.  I used the Jar of Love set and its matching framelits as this hasn't had an outing in a while - the flowers are all sparkly with Spectrum Noir glitter pen.  I added some stitching around the edge of the grey cardstock, some lace ribbon and some pearls and that finished off the card.

I'm so looking forward to see what you all do - don't forget you get the chance to be our Guest Designer for the following month.


 

SWEET STAMPIN - DRAGONS - ST DAVID'S DAY

Sweet Stampin's Challenge is Dragons!  A challenge right up my street as the Welsh are known for their dragons. 1st March was also St David's Day - Patron Saint of Wales - In case you haven't guessed it - I'm Welsh!

My card uses some stamps I've had for years - they were made by a Scottish company who sadly are no longer in business.  The background shows the map of Wales and the Fleur de Lis - but the main image obviously shows that proud dragon coloured in Red in all his glory.  The words say Happy St David's Day in Welsh.





 

SPARKLES CHRISTMAS CHALLENGE - VINTAGE CHRISTMAS CARD

Firstly as it is the 1st March let me wish you a Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus which is Welsh for Happy St David's Day. 1st March is our Patron's Saint day and there will be lots of celebrations throughout Wales for this special day. Pop back to my blog tomorrow to see a special card.


Another month has flown by and our challenge for you at Sparkles Christmas Challenge #98  for this month is a Vintage Christmas Card - this is right up my street as I love vintage.

I started off with some Very Vanilla cardstock from SU and used the Timeless Textures stamp for the images. I tore the edges of the paper and inked it up with some Crumb Cake.  I added an SU doily and some ribbon.  The little tag is made with a very old stamp I have -it's so old it's starting to lose its impression but I love it so much.  I embossed it with some copper embossing powder and added some embossing thread behind it.

Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to seeing all your lovely Vintage cards.

 

ALL ABOUT THE CATS

I found another new challenge site on my journey around blog land - this one is called Crazy for CAS  and they have a sketch for us to work with - 




Now - when I first saw this site I must admit I thought it said crazy for Cats - which I am !!  So I think this influenced my card design! 

I used some gorgeous papers I have in my stash from Do Crafts I think as the background piece  - I used the Fluffy Furball stamp set from Clearly Besotted. I stamped and cut out the little ginger cat and gave her a fish to drool over!  This was then added to a stitched framelit - a simple sentiment and some butterflies punched out of the same paper finishes off the card - I hope it's CAS enough.

Whilst I had this set out and I was clearly in a cat mood I decided to change the breed of cat to Siamese!  I cut each cat out (I think there is a matching framelit set but I don't have it) and coloured them in with SU watercolour pens.  I added some Glossy Accents to their eyes to really make them pop.  The background paper is from the same stack as the one above.  I added a bit of SU ribbon and the sentiment is from another Clearly Besotted set Thanks a Bouquet.  The button was from my stash.

I'm adding this one into the following challenges I've found recently:

Everybody Art Challenge - Animals

Papercraft Challenge - Critters

ONE LAYER CARD

My card today is for two challenges - Less is More  - they are celebrating their 8th birthday so my card is for them to say thank you for all their hard work.

and CAS Colours and Sketches 

I used some SU Very Vanilla card stock for my base.  The sentiment in the middle is from SU Thankful Thoughts inked in Fresh Fig. I used Mint Macaron and Crumb Cake inks to add the flourishes at the top and the bottom with the Timeless Textures set.  A few sequins just finished off the card.  

I like trying to make one layers as over at my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets we have a RAK group and we send cards to our crafting friends all over the world - the one layer's mean less postage and less damage to the card.


           

TRIPLE LAYER STAMPING

They say nothing is new in the crafting world and that may be so but I think there are still new things you can discover.  For  me it was triple layer stamping that I saw an old video of 6 years ago on You Tube by DO Stamping.  Now you know I'm all about the old and the retired and I'm not very good at keeping up with trends and I use stash that may be considered out of favour but I like to still keep on using it.  So I don't know if this style is 'old fashioned' but I liked it.

I took my inspiration for my card from the sketch over at The Paper Players - rather than just use DSP for the layers I chose to do this triple stamping.

  

I used a stamp from Timeless Textures (that gorgeous filigree flower one) inked in Crumb Cake on to Whisper White.  I then went over it with Mint Macaron with a stamp from a retired set Nature's Perfection (I just love this set!)  If I were to do another one of these, and I surely will, I would make sure that the bolder stamp was a solid image - The one I chose wasn't and it didn't look right so I grabbed a blender pen and coloured the images in which makes it look a lot better.  I used the butterfly from Natures Perfection and added this as my 'shape' for the challenge.  The sentiment is from Watercolor Wings and I added a strip of Crumb Cake ribbon.  The butterfly has a touch of Spectrum Noir glitter pen to make it shine.

I was also inspired by the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps - Anything but a Square
TGIF - Butterflies
Inkspirational - Use Your Stash
Addicted to stamps and more - photo image - the colour blue






 

TRY STAMPIN ON TUESDAY AND RETRO RUBBER COMBINED CHALLENGE #TSOT397

We are joining forces with Retro Rubber Challenge blog again this week at Try Stampin on Tuesday -





As you know I'm all about the old stamps so I loved this one.  I used a retired SU Set called Yay You - I love this set and don't seem to see it used much.  It has some really great sentiments.  I started by using the leaf stamp lightly stamped with Pear Pizzazz as a background.  The little felt flowers were also SU very old in their own little tin box - I wonder who remembers those?  The bird was stamped and cut and added with an embellishment and I used some retired Washi Tape for the banners at the top.

 

HAND STAMPED SENTIMENTS - COLOUR CHALLENGE #CC309

We have our Colour Challenge for you today at Hand Stamped Sentiments - As usual you can use the exact colours if you have them or as close to if you don't!



I used the new First Steps stamp set which came out in the Spring Catalogue - I'm to be a Grandma for the first time this year so I think this little set is going to come in very handy!  I used the retired cable stitch embossing folder for the background using Crumb Cake as I don't have Soft Seafoam - I inked the edges up with Highland Heather.  The hearts were simply cut out using stitched framelits, stamped and layered and a metal pearl added.