PANDA CARD

Another new challenge I've found is Try Stampin' On Tuesday - well its Wednesday today but I'm sure that doesn't matter lol!  Their challenge is a sketch with a Motherly Love option.  Sadly I don't have a mum to give a card to anymore - I lost my dear mum nearly 8 years ago next month.




I have a new set of stamps I actually got from ebay called Cherry Blossom and there is such a gorgeous panda stamp in the set and when I saw this big circle I thought he was perfect for popping in there but then what do I do with him?  I quite fancied turning it into a birthday card and needed a Welcome sentiment but I didn't have one so I went with a birthday card.  The little Hey sentiment is from Stampin Up's Jar of Love and the Happy Birthday is from Feather Together.  I've used SU Lemon Lime Twist here - and some Lemon Lime Twist Ombre ribbon at the top of the card.

 

RETRO - GOING BACK TO 2004!

As nice as it is to start using new stamps, there is a special relationship with old stamps that maybe we have forgotten to use for a while.  This was my thinking behind starting my Facebook group - The Joy of Sets where we celebrate all stamps, not just Stampin Up, old and new.

The challenge over at Retro Challenge #rrcb84 this week is a photo image :




The challenge over at Inspired By is also very similar 




This one had me scratching my head thinking I didn't have anything that was old enough to do with rain or showers.  And then I remembered a little set I've used recently for an inchy swap which has a cute little umbrella in it.  This one hails from a Stampin Up Set called A Little Love from 2004!

I've used a retired SU embossing folder and some retired ribbon also.






 

FAVOURITE FLORAL

The challenge over at SUO challenge this week is to showcase your favourite floral stamp from the SU Catalogue which is about to retire.  My favourite were the flowers in the lovely set Floral Phrases - only two stamps in the set but what wonderful stamps.  I think they are sadly on the retirement list too which is a shame.

I've used SU Grey cardstock for my base layer and some of the Delightful Daisy DSP for the background and the little butterfly.  I've rough edged the white layer and inked it to give it a softer more vintage feel as befits this rose.  Some Wink of Stella on the wording and a touch of ribbon finishes it off.  I've added a few dots from the Watercolor Wings stamp set just on the outer edge of the gray in Versamark.

CATS AND MORE CATS

New challenge over at Fab Friday is this sketch.




I've chosen to go with Stampin Up's  Pretty Kitty card again and using the little image of the cat all tied up in the wool and that sweet little sentiment.  I've used a retired embossing folder for the hearts in Powder Pink and the cut out hearts are from a framelit from Jar of Love.  The little ball of wool is some blue thread I had.  I've edged the white with a touch of Powder Pink ink just to soften it.

This is the little cat that was on my mind while I was making this card - she's my latest charge - I volunteer to look after poorly cats for our local charity.  This little girl came in last week after having undergone surgery for an amputated front leg.  Look at her little face - she's such a brave little thing and we have called her Lucky.  She and I are naturally forming a close bond as she is quite nervous but lets me stroke her and I really can't see me giving her up - I'm just wondering if she could cope with three legs, my two cats and my two dogs.  Time will tell and I'll keep you posted.

 

BUBBLES

A great little challenge over at Addicted to CAS #134 this week - bubbles. Now I didn't think I had anything which would remotely fit this theme - it just goes to show what you can find when you rummage.  And this is what I managed to come up with:

The bubbles came courtesy of an old Cherry Pie stamp - I've used SU Bermuda Bay Ink and card stock, SU Tangerine Tango and SU Pear Pizzazz for the inks.  The fish and the grasses and the sentiment come from Jar of Love and one of the little fish has been cut out with its matching framelit and popped on a dimensional.  I've just added some ribbon to match and then left it alone to keep it as CAS as I could.  There is a bit of Wink of Stella on the bubbles to make them shine.  I also used a very old crafting tool I found in the cupboard to make the paper wavy as if it's under the sea.

GLOBAL DESIGN PROJECT - 133

It's been a while since I joined in with the Global Design Project challenge - this week their challenge is a colour challenge and I only just sneaked in with a few hours to spare.





I love this colour combination - Tranquil Tide has never really been one of my go to greens even though I love the colour green so I am partial to a challenge that makes me use it.

There are a ton of inspirational cards out there for the Stampin Up Colourful Seasons set and although I love this chair which comes with the matching framelits I haven't used it an awful lot.  I've used it here in Tranquil Tide with a wash of Wink of Stella.  I've used the stamp for the background inks from Painter's Palette.  The Crumb Cake was stamped off so it looks a little softer as my Night of Navy ink is actually over 10 years old so not quite as bright as it should be! 

 I've used the little stamp from Bookcase Builder to make the grass at the bottom of the chair and the little dots from the same set to stamp around the outside.  The sentiment from Colourful Seasons is stamped in Crumb Cake and some rhinestones finish it off.  I'm not a lover of sayings finishing in a full stop which a lot of Stampin Up ones seem to do so I nearly always cover it with some sort of embellishment.  The butterfly is one I had in my stash that had been punched out with one of the SU butterfly punches, now retired.



 

I'M ALL ABOUT THE CATS

My life at the moment seems to be all about cats! I am a volunteer cat fosterer for a national charity for cats in the UK. That means I have some cat pens in my garden and I look after cats that find themselves without a home until one can be found. I've only been doing it since January this year and have had 7 cats come in and out of my pens and found homes.


My latest cat in my care though is going to give me problems in that I can see I won't want to give her up.  She came to me last week after she had just had major surgery to amputate her front leg.  We don't know her history or how she got the injury.  She has no owner, not name - we have called her Lucky.  She is such a cute little cat and, although very nervous which is hardly surprising, she and I are forming a close bond.  How on earth can I give her away?  I have two cats and two dogs already - I'm not sure how a Tripod Cat, which I found out is what they are called, would fit in with my brood.  But for now she is in my care whilst I nurse her back to health, strength and life!


So my card today for another new challenge I've found had to be cats.  The challenge is called Twofer Card challenge  and going by the fact that their challenge is #4 I'm guessing they are quite a new challenge.  What a great idea - take one stamp make two different cards!  A great way to add cards to our ever growing pile of them! I'm also adding this into Daring Cardmakers - which are asking for Animal Antics 

I've gone with Stampin Up's Pretty Kitty and, I think you could say, they are quite different.

The first one is all about the pinks - Melon Mambo, Powder Pink and a touch of Berry Burst.  The Embossing folder is non SU which I picked up in a local craft shop yesterday for only £1.49!!!  I love it!  I've used the Hey sentiment from Jar of Love adn the other one is from Pretty Kitty.  I've coloured it in with marker pens and used Wink of Stella and some rhinestones.  Stitched Framelits were used for the sentiment.

The other card is all about the greens - my favourite Lemon Lime Twist to be precise.  The background paper is non SU - I've used the Stitched Framelits again for the image and the sentiments. They say Thank You...My Friend - and are from a retired set called Mini Messages Two Step Stampin from 2004.

 

WHAT A CHALLENGE

What a challenge sketch over at TGIF Challenges #tgifc155




Going through some old SU stamps I suddenly had a Eureka moment of what I wanted to do - but I'm not sure its actually turned out as I hoped. Nevertheless here it is  - constructive criticism welcomed.

I started off with a very old set of letter stamps called Collage Alphabet - this is one of my favourite SU alphabet sets and I've had it years.  It's great for scrapbooking also.  I chose SU colours Rich Razzleberry and Island Indigo for the cards and u sed my SU 1" punch and 1 1/4" punch for the circles in contrasting colours to the stamped inks.  

The Birthday sentiment comes from Feather Together and the butterfly is from Bold Butterfly Framelits.  I inked a piece of cardstock with both the ink colours and cut out the butterfly.  I added some Wink of Stella and some basic pearls.  A touch of non SU coloured stones at the bottom and the background paper is also non SU.

What do you think?  Does it work?



 

LET'S GO BACK TO 2005

What a fabulous challenge over at Less Is More - I went all out for this challenge - rummaging in the back of the craft cupboards - finding old friends and trying to remember how to use old craft tools!  So here is their Challenge - Bring Something Back.  Well we do this on a regular basis over at my Facebook Group The Joy of Sets so I'm used to playing with old sets - but embellishments etc is something new.







So whilst I was rummaging I came across this - and thought wow let's do a CASE of a card from this Mini-Catalogue from 2005!  This was from when I still lived in Houston, Texas and first found out about Stampin' Up.  My Demo then was Diana Hooyman and I believe she is still crafting.

I actually didn't have any of the stamps shown in this mini catalogue so I improvised - I chose to do this page and CASE this project - the stamp set was called Wing Things.

Amongst my stash I found these old retired products - probably back from 2005!  Some Ribbon, Eyelets, Brads and felt flowers.  I decided they all needed an outing.  The ribbon is actually Mellow Moss and I still have the ink.  Keep a thing long enough and it comes back into fashion as I see it's one of the new colours!  My ink is still going strong since 2005 - which sadly is more than I can say for the inks I bought last year which are already dry.

I also used some retired inks - Regal Rose and Not Quite Navy.

So here's my card - I've used the sentiments from Feather Together and the butterflies from Watercolour Wings and Bold Butterfly framelits.

I had such fun making this card and it really did take me back down memory lane to warmer climes of living in Houston, the fun evenings stamping with everyone which you just don't get so much of here in the UK.  It set me on my path to stamping and cards which before hand I only did scrapbooking.  So thank you Less is More for that trip down Memory Lane.

CAS(E) THIS SKETCH #267

Do you find that different style of stamps make you create different cards?  I'm having another play with my new Cherry Blossom stamp set from Clear Impressions and I seem to be doing slightly different cards - maybe its the theme of the stamps - I'm not sure.

I'm joining in with the Sketch Challenge at CASe this Sketch which gave us this sketch




If you are a regular to my blog you will know I really challenge myself with CAS cards as I always want to add more and I'm never really sure how CAS my cards are.

I used what I think is a type of lotus flower for my main image - and coloured it in with SU coloured pencils in just two colours, Melon Mambo and Rich Razzleberry washed over with a Wink of Stella just on the Razzleberry parts.  I've used Melon Mambo cardstock for the banner and clear embossed the stamp image.  The Joy sentiment is a lovely old SU one I have called Small Script.  I've added a few enamel dots in contrasting purple to finish the card.






 

TIC TAC TOE ZEN CARD

I'm having a play with my new stamps - I could challenge myself to make something with every single stamp on this new set called Cherry Blossom - so often stamps in sets get forgotten.

Tic Tac Toe has a great challenge this week - 



I chose to go for the top horizontal row - Water, CAS, Trees.  I was delighted to see something that would fit the bill in this new set of stamps.

To keep with the water theme and the Asian theme to the stamps I went with SU Pacific Point for my ink and as it is CAS I've kept it simple.  There is a touch of SU Pool Party ink for the water and the bamboo gives us the tree element.  I've gently sponged round the edges with Pool Party and just added some glitter enamel dots.  I love the lettering for this Happy Birthday sentiment too.  A touch of Wink of Stella on the bird finishes off the card.

Thank you for stopping by my blog - I love to hear from you.


 

TAKING TIME OUT.....

I'm taking time out from some Stampin Up stamps - to use a gorgeous set of stamps called Cherry Blossom from Clear Impressions. A fabulous set of 18 polymer stamps I can't wait to start playing with - I loved the blossom, the little panda, the sentiment and the fact that there are some fish here as my husband and daughter are keen fly fishermen/woman.  And at only £2.60 including postage they were a complete bargain.

I chose to first have a play with the gorgeous cherry blossom branch and the flowers and I loved the sentiment.  It seems quite fitting.  I used just one layer using SU Very Vanilla cardstock as the base.   I used SU Early Espresso for the branch.  I inked the flowers up with SU inks - Sweet Sugarplum, Flirty Flamingo and Peekaboo Peach and the sentiment was inked up in Lemon Lime Twist.  A few enamel dots finished it off with some Wink of Stella on the flowers.

I'm entering this one into Time Out challenge this week which has the challenge of Spring with the added twist of one layer.

 

FRIDAY'S FACEBOOK MUSINGS

Two cards from me today for different Facebook Challenges. One is for a challenge on Joy of Sets - my own Facebook Group which celebrates all things SU - retired and current.  I've challenged everyone to Case the Catty before it goes.  I've chosen to do Bookcase Builder, especially as I see it is retiring - I don't think this little set got the love it deserved!  My card is from Page 105 of the outgoing catalogue 2017/2018.  I've had this set quite a while and only from looking at the image in the catalogue did I realise what the small dots were for - keeping the shelves together - Doh!

I'm also entering this one into Watercooler Wednesday's challenge this week which is All About Occasions.

My other card is for a new FB Group I have just joined called Colour Inkspiration  #C131- and their challenge was to use the following colours:

Old Olive, Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry Tempting Turquoise

I opted to go with Feather Together for this one - another set I believe is retiring.  I don't have the framelits to go with this set so had to just cut out the feather for the layering.  I used marker pens for the sentiment.  The ribbon is non SU but it goes so well.

 

RAIN, RAIN GO AWAY

That's exactly how many of us feel in the UK as Spring is really taking its time coming and we are all desperate for some warm weather.  My card today reflects that.

The challenge over at Addicted to CAS #133 is rain and the challenge over at Inkspirational 158 is a photo image.



I've used SU Night of Navy as my base card stock and for the layers - the stamp set is Beautiful You and the little umbrella is from a very old set called A Little Love.  The background paper is non SU.  I've also used an old non SU stamp for the splatters which you can just see on the squares.  I've used SU stitched framelits to cut out the various squares - I was inspired by the photo above to use lots of squares on the card.  There is a touch of Wink of Stella on the umbrellas and the girl to give a bit of a sheen.

I hope you like my card and thank you for visiting my blog.


        

USING MARKER PENS

There are times when only a marker pen will do!  That's especially true if you want to join in with a colour challenge and the only colours you happen to have are in marker pens.

 Ahem - that's me this week with the TGIF challenge - their colours are last year's In Colours which I must admit were not my favourites.  I was lucky enough to win a set of marker pens at Convention but I never did follow up on buying the full ink pads.

The challenge over at Addicted to Stamps this week is also using Marker Pens so my card can double up.

I've kept my card quite CAS (clean and simple) and I've used an old SU set which I've been using lately for some inchies for a swap I've organised on my Joy of Sets Facebook Page.  It;s called A Little Love.

These colours do seem to scream sweets or ice cream and I thought this little sweet dispenser was the perfect stamp.  I've used the Stitched Framelits to layer the little squares and kept the colours as block colours.  The sentiment is from an old Project Life set called Remember This.

 

AUTUMN DAYS

Well, it should be spring here in the UK but it feels more like Autumn -and not a good Autumn at that! Dull, wet, miserable, the dark days of winter are hanging around far too much. Maybe that's what drew me to doing a more autumnal feel to my card today.


This is the challenge over at As You See It  #173 for this week - a wealth of possibility.




I decided to use a very old SU set - Autumn Days.  I started with inking the background with Tim Holtz Distress Inks in Antique Linen, Old Paper, then added some SU Pear Pizzazz and Crushed Curry.  The sentiment stamp is a very old one from Laura Ashley of all people.  It's a word stamps which says - 

"Find your inspiration anywhere, roaming the English countryside, gathering wildflowers, reading a cherished gardening book, watching birds flutter in the sky, following their trail that leads through the woods, sipping tea and watching the sun rise, strolling through the garden amongst the roses, sitting on a swing built for two and watching the world around you."

How idyllic is that imagery.  And just as I was reading it our local Cockerel Pheasant made himself known with that raucous cry they have and there he was in the garden.  The dogs, being gundogs, go mad when they hear him cry but they don't scare him - not one bit.  So there really was no other alternative than to put him on this card for today.

After stamping the word stamp in Tranquil Tide I heat embossed the pheasant with SU brown embossing powder.  He was then coloured in with SU Markers in golds, greens and reds.  I stamped some of the grasses from the set in stamped off SU Crumb Cake and added some Burlap Ribbon and enamel dots.  The sentiment is from Thankful Thoughts and is cut out with Banners Framelits.


Thanks for stopping by - I appreciate reading your comments.