Twofer - CASE(E) this Sketch #129

Hi Everyone - it's a scorcher here in Somerset.........and I spent most of the morning cleaning windows!!!  Idiot or what?  Still I'm glad they're done - when the sun shines it shows everything up.  Mind you don't think I would have been so keen to do it if I didn't have my Karcher machine - it's one of the best things I've bought; windows are sparkling in a fraction of the time it takes normally.

Anyway, that's not what you've popped in for eh?  Loved the sketch over at CASE(E) this Sketch #129 this week so thought I'd have a go and, in fact, ended up with two cards.......first one I wasn't that happy with but really liked the result of the second card.

Here is the sketch:

This is my first card - printed out a digi image from A Day for Daisies called Hepburn Dress.  Coloured with Copics.  The sentiment is computer generated.  The card was cut using XCut large rectangle and scalloped rectangle dies.  I embossed the edge of the card but as the e/f doesn't have anything on it I can't tell you the make etc.

Here is my second card - leaves and fuchsias are Clearly Besotted used with the matching dies.  The sentiment is from the same set and I've added some Liquid Pearls.

Thanks for dropping by - enjoy the weather.

Happy crafting.

CASE-ing Christmas #25

Two days, two posts!!!!!  Can you tell the weather is rubbish?  hehe

Over at CASE-ing Christmas their challenge is to case Ellen's card and here it is:

And here is mine:

I started off by embossing some blue cardstock with my Swiss Dots e/f by Couture Creations which I matted onto a square silver card base.  I then took my Christmas Sparkle stamp set from Clearly Besotted and heat embossed the snowflake Christmas Tree using silver e/p.  I did the same with the trunk for the tree and the sentiment.  I then cut the tree using the matching die and matted it and the sentiment onto holographic silver card.  Although the cardstock I used is a dark navy it seems to look black in the photo.  There was also a little snowflake stamp in the set and I used Tsuneiko Delicata Silvery Shimmer ink to add a few snowflakes over the dotty background.  Final touch was to add some diamond gems.

Thanks for dropping by.

Happy crafting.

Just us Girls Colour Week #298, Craft Stamper June Challenge, Happy Little Stampers June Challenge and Addicted to Stamps Clean & Simple

Hello everyone to a wet and miserable Somerset Monday!  You can tell it's Glastonbury this week eh?

There are a few challenges out there which my card fits into hopefully and they are the Just Us Girls Colour Week Challenge #298 (Autumn Colours),  Craft Stamper Take it Make it Challenge for June which is Texture, Happy Little Stampers June Challenge which is Spray/Mists and Addicted to Stamps and More and they have a ton of fab prizes up for grabs.

For my card I used my Special Touch Distressed Dots stencil and sprayed some Sweet Poppy colours through the stencil.  When it was dry I then added Glass Beads Texture Paste on top, removed the stencil and set it aside to dry.  The ivy spray is Joanna Sheen and the butterfly is from a stamp set called Elegant Butterflies by Clearly Besotted and die cut using the matching die set.  The sentiment is also Clearly Besotted from a stamp set called Fresh Flowers and cut using a SU punch.  Butterfly was heat embossed using Judikins Iridescent Sparkle e/p and coloured using Wink of Stella pens.

Thanks for dropping by.

Happy crafting.

CAS(E) this Sketch #113

Hi Everyone

Just a quick post before driving down to Southampton to celebrate my great nephew Charlie's 3rd birthday.

CAS(E) this Sketch have a new challenge.  Here is the sketch:

Here is my card:

I stamped the bluebell stem from Clearly Besotted's Fresh Flowers set and used the matching dies to cut it out.  I coloured using Imagination Crafts Vintage Pearly paints.  The mat is die cut using Die-namics stitched rectangles.  I added three pieces of ribbon in a matching colour and the sentiment (from a free set) was stamped using Versafine Purple ink and cut out using an EK Success label punch.

Thanks for dropping by today.  Your comments are always very welcome.

Happy crafting.

CAS(E) this Sketch #111

Hi everyone.  Hope you all had a great weekend.  Weather here in Somerset was not brilliant with lots of rain and wind but intersperced with some sunshine and blue skies.

Thought I'd pop by to show you the card I've made to enter the latest CASE(E) this Sketch challenge.  

Here is the sketch:

As you can see from my card I switched the sketch around and came up with this:

There is also time to enter this card into Addicted to CAS Challenge #57 where the code word is MASK.

I stamped the flower from my Clearly Besotted  Friends Forever set using Versamark and then white embossed it.  I have the matching set of dies to go with this stamp set so I cut a mask for the flower and then I die cut another mask using a Die-namics Pierced ovals die.  I placed the flower mask over the stamped image and secured the negative of the oval die mask over the whole piece.  I then inked and stamped my SU En Francais to give a background to the flower whilst leaving an oval edge.  This was then die cut using the Die-namics oval die and I left that in place and sponged over some colour.  I've used the same set of dies for my sentiment which is from SU Ovals All (luckily they fit perfectly) and die cut two banners with the Die-namics Banner dies using b/p from my stash.  I then added some faux pearls using Liquid Pearls (they look really dark but are, in fact, green).

Thanks for popping by.

Happy crafting.

Addicted to CAS Challenge # 41

Morning everyone

Well it's the start of the weekend and a new challenge at Addicted to CAS.  This week it's the supremely talented Loll of Stamping with Loll to host and the code word she has chosen is:

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

who is offering 7 digis to the winner of this challenge

 We are lucky to have Karen (snippets-karen.blogspot.ca) joining us once again as Guest Designer.

I was a bit stumped with this code word as the one thing I didn't have was a sun die or stencil........hmmmm! Anyway, sitting on my desk was this lovely little Cityscape die from Clearly Besotted.  So I took a piece of blue cardstock and die cut a circle, added a piece of green card to the bottom half and then placed my die across the join.  Behind the die cut circle I have added some mat gold cardstock and then added some pan pastels onto the Cityscape for the sun shining on the buildings.  The sentiment is computer generated.

Can't wait to see what lovely creations you come up with.  Please pop on over to the ATCAS blog to have a look at all the wonderful cards the DT have come up with as inspiration.

Have a great weekend...........happy crafting.

Edited to add...........

Wouldn't you know it!  The die I was waiting on arriving for this challenge arrived today in the post, so couldn't resist making another quick card for the challenge.

Very simple - I've used Die-namics Sun Ray and Fishtail dies.  The sun ray was backed by some mirri card (as if you didn't guess!!! lol).  The sentiment is computer generated and die cut using the fishtails for a mirri card mat and the topper itself.  The addition of a gem was a finishing touch.  Think this sun ray would be good to use as a stencil as well so must give that a go.  (Sorry for the reflection on the mirri card but there wasn't a lot I could do!)

Our wonderful leader Kylie has decided that she has far too much free time on her hands and created a wonderful craft forum called HAPPY LITTLE STAMPERS.  Pop over and have a look and join in, there definitely is something for everyone in this wonderful new crafting community. Good luck Kylie I'm sure this is going to be a great success.

Christmas Card Club - Challenge # 6, Completely Christmas #3 and Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge March Extra

Hello everyone.  It's a brand new challenge over at the Christmas Card Club and this time it's Christine who has chosen the theme which is:

Let's see some wings (angels, fairies, birds)

Soooo, probably like some of you I have some NBUS (never before used schtuff!!!) in the Christmas department and thought I needed to use this cute stamp which is Woodware Clear Magic Christmas Hoot.

I stamped this little fella using black Memento and coloured in Flexmarkers.  He's been cut out using my Lil'Inkers Stitched Square dies.  The b/p was from my stash. I'd been using my Clearly Besotted Make a Wish dies for the card I posted yesterday and had some blanks lying around...........and what do you know - yep, the sentiments that come with this stamp set actually fit on the balloons! Lucky or what??? I added some bakers twine to the balloons and tied them together under the wings and popped them up with d/s foam pads.  The corner dies are Cheery Lyn (the die cut pieces didn't come out fully on the first pass, but thought they looked good with them in so just glued the entire corner piece to the card), the chevrons are Die-namics Chevron Stripes and the flowers are Heartfelt Creations stamps and die, gold embossed onto red vellum.  Final touches were some fluffy stuff for hat and boots and Glossy Accents for his eyes.

I'm also entering this card into the following two challenges:

Completely Christmas #3 Anything Goes and Craftyhazelnut's Christmas Challenge Extra.

Hope you're having a good weekend.

Happy crafting.

Addicted to CAS - Challenge #34

Hello all.  It's time for another challenge over at Addicted to CAS and your hostess is the delightful Sandie of London Days and here is the code word she's chosen for you:

Our Sponsor for this challenge is

The prize will be a pack of her rubber stamps called "It's all about You".

We also have the very talented Karen as our Guest Designer so please pop on over to her blog to say hello.

Must admit I had to sit and think about this one as there were several ways you could go but in the end plumped for this.............come and look what I made.

I have used the dies from Clearly Besotted's Make a Wish set to cut three apertures in a piece of card and then used the same dies to cut out some multi coloured glitter card.  I used Pinflair to pop these up over the apertures, tucking a piece of bakers twine under each balloon which were drawn together with a small bow.  The greeting is from Stampin Up Sincere Salutations stamped in Kaleidacolor Pastel ink. I then added three gems.

Pop on over to the Addicted to CAS blog to see what the rest of the DT have come up with to inspire you.

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.

Less is More - Week 139 Sketch #10

Hello All - well it's Friday afternoon and I've just managed to get my entry done for the Less is More challenge - cutting it fine eh?

This week's challenge has been set by Jen and it's a sketch:

For my card I've used a combination of my Tonic Decorative Wreath Rings Verso die set, my new Dee's Distinctively Bell Floral Collection dies and Clearly Besotted's Basic Banners stamp and die set.

I've cut the flowers out of two coloured vellum and the leaves out of green cardstock.  I then ran a piece of white card through my Ebosser using the outer ring and next sized decorative die so I could use the main card with the aperture popped up over the decorative die cut card which had another piece of vellum behind it.  The sentiment was stamped using DI Dusty Concorde and I sponged around the decorative die cut using DI Spun Sugar.  All the corners were rounded using my Corner Chomper.

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

Addicted to CAS # 23

Hello all - can you believe it's been two weeks since our last challenge?  We had some amazing cards - thank you everyone.  Now it's time for a new challenge which is hosted by the very talented Sylvia.  This is the code word she's chosen for you:

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

The prize will be a $25 gift voucher!

Here's my card for the challenge:

 

I've used my Dee's Distinctively Pine Sprigs die to cut out some sprigs from white card.  I then sponged them using Kaleidacolour Autumn Leaves.  The acorns are from Clearly Besotted's Autumn Flowers stamp and die set.  I stamped them in the Kaleidacolour Autumn Leaves and die cut them before arranging on the card using Pinflair Glue Gel.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set and punched using a Stampin Up label punch.  This was tied on using Baker's Twine and added some Liquid Pearls.  Final touch was using some Crystal Lacquer to the acorns.

Thanks for dropping by.  Don't forget to pop over to the Addicted to CAS site to have a look at all the yummy inspiration the DT have made for you.

Looking forward to popping over to your blogs to see what delights you come up with.

LIM 136 Colour, Clearly Besotted #4 & Club Samples (photo heavy!)

Hi Folks

Gosh where does the time go?  Things have been pretty hectic over the last few weeks with lots of visitors staying, people coming to dinner etc.  So here is my offering today.  A card for the Less is More Week 136 Colour Challenge and this also matches the Clearly Besotted Challenge #4 Creating your own Background.  I've also added in some photos of my sample cards for the two projects we did with the girls at our club night on Wednesday.  Grab yourself a cuppa and come and see.

The Less is More challenge this week is a colour theme using two colours rust and green.  The Clearly Besotted challenge wants you to make your own background for your card. 

I've used my Clearly Besotted Autumn Flowers stamp and die set for this card which is NBUS (never before used schtuff........).  I've used my Kaleidacolor Autumn Leaves ink pad which has lovely rusts and greens in it.  I've used an A5 pearlised card and cut down a sheet of matching card stock slightly smaller to pop on the front.  When I inked my stamps I stamped onto copy paper before stamping directly onto the card to get a lighter impression.  Some leaves are in the rusty tones and some in the green.  I then stamped the largest leaf and two acorns using first generation inking and die cut these.  They were then popped onto the card using d/s foam and then Crystal Lacquered.  The sentiment is from the same stamp set.

We did two projects at club on Wednesday.  The first was a lovely parchment card which can be used for all occasions be it birthday or Christmas, depending on the colours you use.  After completion the outlines have been traced in a Quickie glue pen (or in my case a Martha Stewart glue pen as all my Quickie glue pens refuse to work!!!  I've got about 6 and none of them work despite trying everything I can think of..........so any suggestions would be welcome!!!) and then glittered.

The second project was a three step card and my cards show a left and a right hand step card and also a four step card.  Must admit these aren't the easiest of cards to make and adding the backing paper inside is pretty fiddly, but they do look nice.

 

On these cards I've used a variety of materials from Kanban Steampunk die cuts, Stampin Up Language of Friendship and Papillon Potpourri stamps and punches and a Sizzix stamp and die set 657780 (not sure of the name as it's not stated on the packaging but it's the Reindeer and Christmas Tree set).

Right, that's enough from me for today but don't forget to pop by tomorrow to see what the latest challenge at Addicted to CAS is.

Hope you all have a great weekend.........weather forecast in Somerset doesn't look great and we have a huge Fun Day fund raiser on Sunday so think we will be dripping as we're cooking the BBQ!!!

Happy crafting.

Clearly Besotted Challenge #3 - Colour Inspiration

Well at last I've managed to join in with a Clearly Besotted challenge (this is the third one so far) and here is the colour inspiration that Stephanie has given us:

For this month's Clearly Besotted challenge, I have a very pretty colour palette to hopefully inspire you to join in, I'd love to see you use some, or all, of the following colours on your projects (pretty please!)....

For my card I've used the lovely Twinkle Toes stamp set and matching dies and one of their Background Builder stamps.  I've stamped the ballerina in three colours (which are actually very close to the ones given here but you know what photos are like!!!) and die cut them.  I cut a piece of card using a nestie to mount them onto and threaded a pale pink organza ribbon through the outside.  I scored two lines in the middle of the card blank and then stamped the music background builder across the card.  The two sentiments come from the same Twinkle Toes stamp set and I've used Petite Labels 1 to die cut them; I then sponged some DI Spun Sugar around the dies.  The card candy was just punched out of white card, coloured with the same green ink and then I used an embossing tool and foam mat to shape them.

Thanks for dropping by.  I'll be back on Saturday with a new challenge at Addicted to CAS (although I'll be winging my way up to Daventry for my Crafty Little Getaway with Oyster Stamps).