Another new home card...........

Yet another set of friends and neighbours have moved out of the village........that's two couples in one week which is very unusual for such a small village.  However they have only downsized and moved to the next village so will still see them.  Here is the card I made for them.

I die cut two Poppystamps Grand Gothic Iron Work and two Grand Gothic Windows and attached them with acetate in the back.  I have again used my Chocolate Baroque Home Sweet Home stamp set and stamped on the waste part of the Grand Gothic window so it looks like the landscape continues through the two windows.  I masked the houses to put in the background using DI's and they were coloured using Flexmarkers.  I've used an Anna-Marie's 8x8 scalloped card and cut a piece of her pearl card a little smaller than the base card so I could put it through my eBosser using Creative Expressions Basket Weave e/f.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set punched using my SU Modern Label punch.  The ivy is Joanna Sheen's Ivy Flourish and Ivy Corner dies.  Flowers and ribbon from my stash.

Thanks for dropping in and taking the time to leave your comments.

Happy crafting.

New Home, Peppa Pig and Deer.............

Hello everyone - thought I'd pop by to share some cards I've recently finished.  The first one is for good friends of ours who are moving to West Sussex next week - we have been friends and neighbours for 17 years and we will be really sorry to see them go.

I used Britannia Dies Lattice Edge and Open Window for the front of the card.  I cut the Open Window twice so I could sandwich acetate inbetween to act as the "glass".  I stamped the house which is from Chocolate Baroque on the base card and coloured with Flexmarkers.  I then shaped the front to give the appearance of a bow-fronted window.  The sentiment is computer generated and printed on my laser printer, then foiled and die cut with a Spellbinders Labels die.  Flowers and butterflies from my stash.

The next two cards are commissions from a friend.  The first is for her granddaughter who will be three and loves Peppa Pig and the second is for Darren who has started running his own deer herd.  Maria had seen a card I'd made earlier using my Taylored Expressions Birch Tree and accessory dies and thought it would be perfect for him.

So the first one is Peppa Pig - not something I had in my stash so had to go hunting to find some colouring pages etc.  Luckily I found a few so took them into CraftArtist and used them along with a digikit which had zoo animals in it. I decoupaged up the bunting and the characters to give a bit of dimension, added Diamond Glaze to the "sausage shaped" balloon and then made up a circle sentiment which was die cut with circle nesties and popped up on a scalloped circle.

The last card is the deer card.  I started off layering up the trees - there are actually about four layers starting with light trees and coming to the fore with darker ones sponged with DI's.  The deer are a combination of the Taylored Expressions deer and my Memory Box deer trio die.  They have been weaved in and out of the trees, again with some in the background.  They were all diecut from kraft cardstock and sponged with DI's. The signpost is part of the TE accessories set, as is the birdhouse, owl and bird.  I diecut Darren's name using Die-Versions Editor in Chief font.  I finished off using Clearly Besotted's grass die and Poppy Stamps Leafy Tree Border.

Thanks for popping by.  Hope you all have a great weekend.

Happy crafting.

New Home card

Morning everyone - from a much cooler Somerset.  We were forecast to have torrential thunderstorms from about midnight last night but got NADA!!!  However about 10 miles away they got the deluge.............luckily I watered the garden last night.

Thought I'd share a new home card I have just made for friends of ours who moved yesterday.  I've used the lovely Lattice Edge die and Open Window die, both from Britannia Dies.  The flourish is Harrington Vine by Simon Says Stamp!

I used the Lattice Edge die at the ends of a landscape piece of A4 card and then die cut the window.  I diecut a separate window and added some acetate for the windows before adhering to the back of the main window.  I ran this piece through my machine using a Tim Holtz Alterations embossing folder to give the texture of brickwork.  I cut the A4 card down to size to match up with the lattice edges.  I then stamped the image of the house and the word Home (Chocolate Baroque) and coloured in Flexmarkers.   I then took another piece of A4 and cut it to the same size and lined up one lattice edge and glued that to the bottom and then I bowed the front enough to get my flowers in the window and glued the other end to the back of the card.  All the flowers and ribbon are from my stash.  The sentiment is computer generated and die cut using nesties.  The Home Sweet Home is from the same stamp set and I used my SU labels punch to cut it out.

I made a box to hold the card and covered with d/p.  The name label on the top was computer generated and die cut with Spellbinders Majestic Elements.  I then added more flowers and ribbon.

Thanks for dropping by.

Less is More - Week 117 - Sketch

And back round to Monday we come........hope you all had a great weekend.

This week's challenge over at Less is More is a sketch challenge that has been drawn by Jen:
 

Sketch #9

This week we have a sketch for you drawn by Jen.

It's simplicity itself, so to add a little constraint, we ask that the card stays in this orientation.  Remember we still want to see plenty of white space.

 

 

Here's my take on the challenge.  I am just loving this technique, I think it looks so nice.  The stamped elements are from a Chocolate Baroque stamp set called Breath of Spring and I have used the main hydrangea flower and one of the corner stamps.  Inks used were Stampin Up Perfect Plum and Always Artichoke.  The alphabet dies are Memory Box Large Classic and the border die is Cheery Lyn Lace Light Deco Border.  I actually cut the words directly out of the stamped image and then cut two more layers out of plain card to give it dimension and then just popped the letters back in their holes......much easier than the original way of doing it!

Thanks for visiting and hope you all have a creative week.

Less is More - Week 93 - One Layer - Houses

Afternoon everyone - hope you're all well.  This week the lovely Chrissie has been joined by "first to the post" Jen!!!  lol  I'm sure she will be great at supporting Chrissie whilst Mandi is busy beavering away at her new business - and if Jen's card samples are anything to go by we're in for a treat.  Pop over and see them on the Less is More blog.

I think this is the first time I've ever posted a LIM card on the first day but I'm trying to get things clear as we're decorating again so need to supervise...........! 

So this week's challenge is the dreaded ONE LAYER and the theme is HOUSES.

I've used a Chocolate Baroque set called Home Sweet Home.  Stamped directly on a 5" square card using Memento ink and then masked, using a cut out of Spellbinders Exquisite Circles, and sponged around the edge with Distress Inks. 

The image has been coloured using Flexmarkers and a little Spica Atyou glitter used on the windows of the house.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set.

Have a great weekend.  Thanks for dropping by to visit.

Addicted to Stamps & More! Sketch Challenge #3

Hi folks

Welcome to another Wednesday and another challenge over at Addicted to Stamps & More!  This week it's a sketch challenge:

I've used an 8x8 square card base and then taken some Christmas b/p from my stash which I've backed with a piece of gilded vellum.  I then ran this through my Joy using a square nestie with the embossing plates so I had a guide through which I could cut my diagonals.  I cut very carefully using my craft knife diagonally from corner to corner to enable me to fold/roll back each section showing the vellum.  I then attached each corner to the main piece using a gold brad.  I thought it was lacking some definition so I added a gold border around the aperture.  This was then matted onto another piece of gold card and attached to the main card.  I've used two corners in red using my Memory Box

Foiled border

snowflake corner.    The flowers have been made using my two sizes of Nellie Snellen Poinsettia cut and emboss punches and I've added gems to the centres; the holly leaves are die cut from Marianne LR0244.  For the bottom border I place a piece of red liner tape across the card and then put gilding flakes on top.  The sentiment is from a Chocolate Baroque set Pears & Baubles (which I was lucky enough to win), gold embossed and matted and layered.  I've added some gems to the corners to finish.

Thanks for coming to visit.  Hope you've enjoyed your stay.  Please pop over to the ATS&M! site to see all the amazing inspiration provided by the talented Design Team.

Less is More - Week 81 - Theme

Well, looky here...........I might not have got my first card posted very early for this week's Less is More challenge but here I am again with another one!!!  lol

Just to remind you, this week's challenge set by the lovely ladies is TEARING ........ and it can be as easy or complicated as we wish.  So yesterdays card was pretty simple so I thought I'd have a go at tearing my paper for masks and also tearing some backing card as well.

Now a really strange thing happened to me - I decided to use my Pan Pastels on a piece of Clarity coated cardstock, so I tore my paper masks and started off using blue for the sky - beautiful, then I used an ochre shade for the furthest hills - again no problem.  BUT........ when I went to use a green for the nearest hills nothing happened!  So I tried again, and again, and again..........still nothing.  It sponges very well onto normal paper but where the other colours came out really well on the coated cardstock the green absolutely refused to even minutely colour the card!!!  Now if anyone out in Blogland can help me with this I would be really interested to know why this happened.  So determined to carry on I had to use Distress Inks to finish off the background.  Then I have used a mixture of stamp sets from Chocolate Baroque (Eastern Grasses and Tall Trees).  For the trees in the distance I just masked and stamped the top of the trees in the foreground after taking off some ink so it appeared to be further away.

I used a silver edge marker pen around the scene and matted it onto some ribbed black cardstock which was torn on two sides.  I've mounted this onto an 8" square card blank and added the ribbon.  The sentiment is from Heartfelt Expressions (HCPC 3474) and stamped directly onto the base card.  The final addition was some matching pearls.

Thanks for dropping by.  I love reading all your comments and popping over to your blogs to reciprocate.

Birds...............

Sorry for the lack of posting but I've been busy making sample cards for our club night next Wednesday.  However I knew I wanted to take up the current challenge at Make My Monday this week; the theme is Nature and this week's challenge is Birds.  Also over at Judith's blog Forgotten Friday  the theme is Winter Wings.

I decided to make a card from A3 pearlised card - not sure of the correct name but guess it's a stepper card without the "centre or side"!!!  I cut the A3 card lengthways at 5 1/2" and then scored at 5 1/2", 11" and  13 3/4" which basically gives you a 5 1/2" square card which will fit into a 6x6 envelope.  The papers are from a Chocolate Baroque set called Pretty Birds. I printed out one of the backing papers and then two of the main page with the blue tit on it.  I cut the piece to size and mounted onto matching pink and blue card and edged this with lace.  I then cut out the bird from the other sheet and decoupaged over the first bird.  I then used my Memory Box branch die to cut the branch for the bird to sit on.  The front "step" has more backing paper and lace and I've computer generated the sentiment onto a spare piece of the Pretty Bird page and die cut using my Spellbinders Fancy Tags 3 set.  I cut out a flourish using a Marianne die and then added some pretty flowers and leaves.

Thanks for taking the time to drop by.

Less is More - Week 33 - 1000 challenge Anything Goes CAS

This week the lovely ladies at Less is More are trying to get 1000 submissions for this challenge partly to see if Blogger goes down!!!  lol  I do hope they achieve this figure.  It's a CAS challenge again this week so I've taken an A6 red card blank and stamped up my Christmas tree and Joy sentiment from the Chocolate Baroque Steampunk Christmas set.  Stamped with Versamark and heat embossed with gold detail embossing powder.  I've added some gems and a "faux" ribbon bow at the top.

Thanks for visiting me today.

Take 3 and Faux Postage Challenges

This week Mandi and Chrissie over at Less is More have given us a recipe challenge as follows

Take 3 Challenges

We want you to choose 3 from any of our previous 29 and combine them in your design.

I am also going to enter this into the challenge over at Rainbow Lady where Chocolate Baroque are sponsoring a Faux Postage challenge.

Now giving us a challenge is fine but expecting us to choose three out of the last 29 challenges goes a bit far!!!  lol  For my card I have chosen Week 4 Three Squares, Week 15 Embossing and Week 19 In the Frame.

I've taken an A5 card blank and stamped my Judikins Square Postage Frame.  I then masked off the outside, punched a circle for the sun/moon and then brayered using Big & Juicy Foliage.  I removed the punched circle and then moved onto the other two postage frames in turn.  I then inked up my Judikins African Safari cube stamp and stamped an image inside each of the frames.  To finish the card off I used my Hougie Board to add some embossed lines.

Thanks for dropping in.

Purple Poppies - A colour challenge - Chocolate Baroque

Glenda's just issued a challenge over on her blog which originated from beautiful poppies seeding themselves in the gravel where they park their cars.  They are such an unusual colour she has issued the challenge based on their colours.  As I've been off line all day due to problems with BT I thought I'd play along with this as the colours are gorgeous.......

I started off with the Artylicious Essence of Nature CD and printed out some background paper and a tag.  I then found some lovely circle frames which I also printed out.  I've then taken an 8x8" scalloped card blank and matted on some purple card which had the top and bottom edges punched with a Martha Stewart edge punch.  The background paper was matted onto some pewter mirri and black card and I then criss-crossed some purple ribbon over.  The main image is a Penny Black stamp called "Flying Stars" which I inked with Distress Inks and clear embossed.  I then used a Quickie Ink Pen and added glitter.  I cut out the circle frame using my EK Success circle cutter and added some acetate behind the aperture.  I used some shaker tape around the frame and added some more glitter to the image and mounted on top of the background papers.  The sentiment and tag were from the Essence of Nature CD and I then added some flowers.

Thanks for stopping by - please leave a comment as they are always appreciated.

You need a bit of humour when you reach 70...................

My friend and neighbour Annie had been hunting round the shops for a card for her friend's 70th birthday but couldn't find anything appropriate. So she asked me if I could make one and when I said what type she started off mentioning floral etc etc but then said her friend had a sense of humour so I knew just where to go with this one.

I made a stepper card and used backing papers recently received from Chocolate Baroque as part of my renewal of membership to the Guild. I then got out my set of "The Wrinklies" stamps from Dimension Fourth and stamped the lady with the turban and coloured with Promarkers. The sentiment is also from the same set.  I have used my Grand Nesties Book Pages for the mats, added some gems and a ribbon.  The circle sentiment was made using CraftArtist.

Thanks for dropping by.

Less is More - Week 19 - One Layer "In the Frame"

This week the challenge over at Less Is More is for the LIMettes to design a one layer card using a frame as inspiration. 

I die cut an aperture using a nestie in a scrap piece of paper and laid this over my base card.  I then sponged Tumbled Glass Distress Ink around the edges moving in towards the middle.  I then stamped the mushrooms and fairy using Versafine black ink.  These stamps are from a set by Personal Impressions Fairy Silhouette.  I cut a circle aperture for the moon and sponged Faded Jeans D/I through.  The foliage is from Chocolate Baroques Teeny Weeny Meadow set and these were again stamped using Faded Jeans D/I.  I used a Quickie Glue pen on the fairy's wings and the fairy dust and used Glamour Dust Crystal over the top.

Thanks for looking.

Less is More - Week 11 Acetate

This week the LIMettes have been challenged to make a CAS card incorporating acetate.  There are some great DT cards on their blog so pop over to have a look.

For my card I have stamped a butterfly from an Elusive Images set called Patchwork Butterfly (they are now Chocolate Baroque) onto the acetate using Versamark ink and then heat embossed the image using detail silver e/p.  On the back I have used alcohol inks to add the colour and then cut out the butterfly.  The flower stamp is by Hero Arts and called Real Dill.  The sentiment is from a Stampin Up set called Flight of the Butterfly.  I then used silicone glue to add some dimension to the butterfly.

Thanks for dropping by.