Snow

The theme at Daring Cardmakers this week is snow - a few flakes, a blizzard, a snowman or peaceful snowy landscape - anything as long as it features snow!

I've gone retro with a bit of recyling thrown in for good measure (tomato paste tube metal is great for embossing and makes lovely metal embellishment dots if you dome out circles with a stylus). I’ve used an embossing folder that suggests swirls and some die cut flakes to finish.

Supplies:
Metal from a tomato paste tube
Retro Circles embossing folder
Gesso
Snowflake die (Waltzingmouse stamps, no longer with us)
Brilliance ink by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Memento Luxe ink by Tsukineko (Love Letter)
Crop a Dile and small circle punch
Pinflair glue gel
White and chocolate brown card stock

Thanks for stopping by!

November Card Chain

It's the last Card Chain Challenge of 2018 and my card this month has gone to Marga in Spain.

From the options for the month I chose the colours and the theme of baubles. Sticking with my strategy of one layer cards for air mailing I did some masking. Since I also chose to heat emboss that was a little bit tedious but I like the effect of the single image being made into a group.

The front ornament has clear Wink of Stella for some sparkle - it just looks a bit odd on the photo!

Stamps:
Holiday Ornaments (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukineko

Other:
Detail embossing powder (gold)
Memento markers (Lady Bug, Rhubarb)
Gold gel pen
White paint pen by Posca
Wink of Stella pen (clear)
Micro Glaze
Brusho pignment powder (Emerald Green)
Joy Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts)
Corner Chomper

There's a little Christmas break while the Card Chain Challenge folk catch their breath so there's no December challenge but if you fancy making and receving a hand made card each month, why not subscribe to e-mail updates at Card Chain Challenge so you can sign up when January's challenge goes live?

Thanks for stopping by!

Stars up above

Daring Cardmakers is seeing stars for this week’s challenge - whether it’s a single star guiding the three wise men or a whole sky full of them, let's see some stars!

Retro Rubber is celebrating its 100th Challenge with a tic-tac-toe board and I’m playing along there too. I chose the middle row: ink smooshing, confetti, die cut or punched shape. I hope die cut confetti fits the bill, I don’t have any other sort in my stash. The larger star is punched.

The dancing snowman has been in my collection since 2009 and I thought the sentiment suited him!

Stamps:
Dancing snowman (Cornish Heritage Farms, sadly no longer with us)
Sentiment from Festive Foliage (mine is the original Waltzingmouse Stamps set, the same design is now available from Gina K)

Paper:
Bristol board
Silver glitter card

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers)

Other:
Copic markers
Confetti die by Mama Elephant
Star squeeze punch by Fiskars
Black fineline marker

Thanks for stopping by!

Tag time

We have another of our Christmas run-up challenges over at Daring Cardmakers this week - tags, toppers or labels, whatever you use to make your packages personal!

These cute tags are a simple assembly job with just a few white pen highlights for extra character. I was inspired by some lovely wooden tag ornaments I saw online - they had brightly coloured "woolly" hats and fabulous wonky smiles. I gave my snowmen black bowler hats - I am English after all - but the smiles were too adorable to resist going that way rather than the traditional coal dots!

All the punched circles have been domed with a stylus for a bit of dimension.

Supplies:
Stitched tag die (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Festive Greenery strip die (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Small circle punch
Pink chalk
Black fine line marker
White Posca paint pen
White, green, red, orange and black cardstock
White pigment ink
Crop-a-dile (to make dots used as berries)
Corner Chomper 

Thanks for stopping by!

Festive foliage

We have another of our challenges in the run up to Christmas over at Daring Cardmakers this week - we’d like to see winter flowers and foliage on your cards this time.

Of course the prompt made me think of my Festive Foliage stamp set so I’ve used that for a CAS design with an eclipse sentiment. I used markers to ink up the stamp and the MISTI to stamp multiple times to build up depth of colour. I used two shades of green and two of brown.

The sentiment has been given subtle sparkle with Wink of Stella and a few tiny gems add a bit extra festive glimmer.

As Retro Rubber has an “anything goes” theme for #rrcb99 and I’ve had this stamp set for at least six years I'm hooking up there and my card also fits this month’s Fan Club Christmas Challenge at Splitcoast - join us to find out how if you’re a Fan Club member!

Stamps:
Festive Foliage (mine is the original Waltzingmouse Stamps set with 2010 copyright, the same design is now available from Gina K)
Peace Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Memento markers (Bamboo Leaves, Cottage Ivy, Rich Cocoa)
Zig Clean Colour marker (Dark Brown)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Die from Peace Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts)
Copic marker
MISTI
Nail art gems
Clear Wink of Stella pen
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

November elements

Alarmingly we're into another month already! As Christmas is fast approaching, our challenges at Daring Cardmakers are starting to have a bit of a festive theme. The mood board for this month could lend itself to other things though if you don’t celebrate Christmas or are still in avoidance mode!

As usual with a “elemental” challenge, just chose at least three elements from the inspiration picture to kickstart your project. I chose the silver ribbed bauble,  NOEL sentiment on separate tiles and the colour scheme. I used a piece from my scraplings pile for the card base.

The bauble is embossed with silver powder on silver mirror card - I think it turned out with quite a stylish look.

Stamps:
Holiday Ornaments (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 
Silver mirror card

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Pumice Stone)
Versamark by Tsukineko 

Other:
Silver detail embossing powder
Square Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Silver gel pen
Corner Chomper 

Here’s our inspiration this month:

We’d love to see which elements inspire you!

October's link in the chain

I joined in again with the Card Chain Challenge for October.

From the options for the month I chose the sketch and the theme of clocks and made this one layer card which has gone to Cat. A one layer card is ideal if you're airmailing something, I find!

I stamped the top leaf and masked it, then the second leaf and the sentiment, masked those and stamped the clock. Lastly I masked clock and the edges of the card and sponged with Antique Linen before stamping the flourishes in the same colour for a tone-on-tone effect.

Fineline marker pen defines the sentiment strip and Copics add colour to the leaves and drop shadows to the various elements to give it some illusion of depth. I added a bit of sparkle with some Wink of Stella on the leaves, too.

There are still a few days to sign up for the November challenge (the last one of the year) if you fancy being a link in the chain. It's lovely to get a special hand-made card as well as sending one you've made.

Stamps:
Time to Stamp (CHF, sadly no longer with us)
Falling Leaves (Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous)
Vintage Flourish and Dinkie Vintage Flourish (Indigo Blu)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Copic markers
Low tack tape
Brown fineline marker
White paitn pen by Posca
Clear Wink of Stella pen

Thanks for stopping by!

All that glitters...

Svenja has set the challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see us sparkle - add some glitter! Any kind of glitter is fine!

I used some glitter cardstock and some Glamour Dust on my slightly minimalist-looking Christmas card! The loose glittter is on lines of PVA glue to make some sparkly ground for the deer.

I sponged the edge of the moon with some blue ink for a bit of depth, I think that's just about visible on the photo. I used my cereal packet "diffuser" to emboss the card and leave a smooth area at bottom left for the sentiment.

Stamps:
Noel (mine is the original Waltingmouse Stamps set, the same is now available from Gina K)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Blueprint Sketch)
Versfine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Reindeer Flight die (Time Holtz/Sizzix)
Confetti die (Mama Elephant)
Circle Nestabilities (Spellbinder)
Softly Falling embossing folder (Stampin' Up!)
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Apple day!

It's my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers and as October 21st is Apple Day here in the UK, I'd like to see us celebrate the humble apple! If you don't have apple-themed stash, show us some other tree fruit instead (pear, plum, peach etc).

Although nobody likes to find wriggly critters in their apple for real, these little guys are cute enough to raise a smile on a card, I think!

These are stamps from a clear set - they're separate so it's easy to combine them in different ways. I thought the raised face of the big catapillar made it look like he might be greeting his friends in the apple.

Stamps:
Hetty's Garden Animals by Marianne Designs
Paper:
Bristol board
Chocolate brown
Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Other:
Copic markers
Tracing wheel
Phrases set 1 dies by Spellbinder
Nail art gems
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas cat

Shabneez is setting this week’s challenge over at Daring Cardmakers and she'd like to see pets featuring on our cards - cats, dogs, goldfish, guinea pigs... any domestic pet will do!

I’m playing for the first time at Retro Rubber too - the idea is to use stamps that are at least a year old. Challenge #rrcb97 is a tic tac toe; I’ve used the bottom row of the grid - animal, window, circles. The cat was one of my early stamp purchases (about 11 years ago) and the sentiment is even older!

I wanted the stone wall texture in the corners of the card but the folder wasn't wide enough to send it through the Big Shot and have it cover the whole width of the card front and use "diffusers" so I used a rubber mallet and did one corner at a time.

Stamps:
Festive Cat (Tanda Stamps, long since closed its doors - stamp is 11 or 12 years old)
MSE sentiment set

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Memento markers (Lady Bug and Rich Cocoa)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Christmas Window die (Die’sire)
Dry stone wall embossing folder (Crafter’s Companion)
Confetti die (Mama Elephant)
Clear Wink of Stella pen
Gold gel pen
Corner Chomper
Misti (a great help in getting the cat in the right place!)
Pinflair glue gel
Rubber mallet!

Thanks for stopping by, we'd love to see you at Daring Cardmakers with your pet-themed cards!

Hello pumpkin!

It's the first Friday of the month so of course that means an "elemental" challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. Dawn has chosen the lovely inspiration picture this month, you'll find it at the end of this post if you didn't arrive here from DCM. Just choose at least three elements from the picture to kick-start your project.

I chose the colours, pumpkin, woodgrain and script style hello sentiment.

The pumpkin and splattery colour was done before I decided I wanted some woodgrain texture on there. Because the pumpkin is quite detailed, I didn't want to emboss the texture over it and risk obscuring the detail. I tore up some cereal packet and glued together a couple of layers to make a sort of "diffuser" for the embossing folder so I could get the impression on just part of the square.

Stamps:
Vintage Seed Packet (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Pool and Stream)

Other:
Copic markers
White paint pen by Posca
Pine Planks embossing folder (Stampin' Up!)
Hello die (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Tracing wheel
Corner Chomper

Here's the lovely autumnal inspiration Dawn has for us this week:

Are you inspired? We'd love to see you over at DCM if so!

Thanks for stopping by!

Food chain!

I’m joining in again at the Card Chain Challenge which had plenty to choose from this month. I picked two elements again: the sketch and the theme of food. My circle element is a wee bit smaller than I would have liked but I couldn’t resist using this cute stamp once the idea popped into my head!

“Table cloth” and pizza are all one layer, masking and shading with marker give it a bit of depth.

My card has gone to Betty in Nebraska this time, I hope she likes it even if she doesn't like pizza!

Stamps:
Discover Italy: Food (Scrapberry)
Fine Gingham Backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms, sadly no longer with us)
Say It All (Hero Arts, retired I think)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Memento by Tsukineko (Love Letter)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Posca white paint pen
Memento marker (Rhubarb)

There are a few days left to sign up for the October chain (closes 6th October) if you fancy joining in!

Beady fish!

Miri has set the challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to see us using a bead or beads on our cards.

I found some tiny seed beads in my stash and this background was lying on my desk and the colours seemed to go. To me it said "seascape" so that's what happened. The beads are providing a bit of texture and sparkle - they're just sprinkled onto some Glossy Accents.

The fish have glittery scales if you get the light right - courtesy of clear Wink of Stella pen. I've left it with no sentiment so it can be an all-purpose card!

The background is one I made for a mixed media challenge at Splitcoast a few weeks back that's a slight twist on the old shaving foam marbling technique. Details here if you fancy a go!

Stamps:
Under the Sea (Darkroom Door)

Paper:
Smooth white
Oxidised shaving foam background (on premium weight copy paper)

Ink:
Brilliance (Graphite black, Pearlescent Ivy)
Distress Oxide (Cracked Pistachio)
Distress reinkers (Broken China, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch - for the background technique)

Other:
Seed beads
Glossy Accents
Wink of Stella (Clear)
Fineline marker

Thanks for stopping by!

Emboss it

Ruth has set the challnge for us over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like us to use any sort of embossing on our projects.

I decided to heat emboss rather than use a folder, using white powder on a kraft base.

The clear Wink of Stella has made the petals look a bit murky on the photo but it's a pretty effect in real life - a bit of shimmer over very simple shading.

A very simple card, even the embellishing dots are stamped/embossed (there are three sizes of circle stamp in the Hero Arts set) and the tiny ones added with a white pen - light, flat and easy to post!

Stamps
Rose Bloom by Stampendous
Happy Stamp & Cut by Hero Arts

Paper:
Kraft
White

Ink:
Versamark by Tsukninko
Brillance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Detail white embossing powder
Copic markers
Clear Wink of Stella pen
White  paint pen by Posca
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain

Visiting the lovely Jo's blog a while back I noticed a post about the Card Chain Challenge. It struck me as a such a lovely idea I signed up for the August chain.

From the options for the month I chose fruit and stencilling. I've recently got hold of an old Stampin' Up! set called Sun Ripened, primarily for this lovely rapsberry image. Raspberries have always been a family favourite and my folks have always grown them so when I saw a card made with this stamp, I just had to have it!

My card has gone to Janet in Mauritius - I have no idea whether raspberries seem very ordinary and pedestrian there, I'm thinking fruit might be quite different!

I’m not sure you can tell from the photo but the berries and leaves are slightly raised - I put the card on a piece of craft foam and used a fine tipped stylus to draw round the image then flipped it over and used the line to show me where to push the image out with a bigger stylus.

Stamps:
Sun Ripened (Stampin' Up! - long retired)

Paper:
Ribbed kraft

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Adirondack pigment by Ranger (Snowcap)

Other:
Copic markers
Prismacolor pencils
White paint pen by Posca
Cressida stencil (Memory Box)
Phrases 2 dies (Spellbinder)
Corner Chomper
Charcoal pencil

Thanks for stopping by! The sign-up for the September chain is open for a few more days - details here if you fancy taking part!

Travelogue

Kathy is setting the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she’s sending us on a travelogue! Anything to do with travel whether that be aeroplanes or suitcases, cars or compasses - what does “travel” say to you?

I’m sharing a card I actually made for an event at Splitcoast Stampers recently since my skills of organisation have gone to pot! I can’t tell you what the challenge was there but I thought it fit the travel theme so here it is!

I think my adventurer has gone for a swim in a beautiful lake - let’s hope those boots are still there when he gets back!

There’s a useful tutorial here to help if you fancy stretching your stamps and putting them into watery or icy settings!

Stamps:
Combat Boots by Deep Red Stamps
Sentiment from Essential Messages by Hero Arts (I think it's retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Vintage Photo, Peeled Paint)

Other:
Copic markers
White paint pen by Posca
Corner Chomper
MISTI to help me get the sentiment straight!

Thanks for stopping by!

What’s cooking?

It’s my turn to set the challenge over on Daring Cardmakers this week. I’d like to see images of food or see you use something from the kitchen to make your project. Extra brownie points if you manage both, a food image and use of a kitchen item!

I raided the kitchen for food colouring and washing up liquid and had some fun making bubble backgrounds. I guess I could count the disposable plate, too!

I had some black food colouring that has been in my pantry forever (it had a best before date in 2003!) and I guessed it might look either grey or brown used for this technique. I think it turned out quite a stylish colour and I made a little stack of prints on different sorts of paper so I've got some to use in future projects.

The pear I chose for my food image is one of the very first stamps I bought and is a “no name” design. I used neutral Copics to keep the colour palette quite masculine, cut it out and stuck it down with gel glue so the leaves are a bit raised. A die cut and stamped sentiment and a doodled frame finish it off.

If you fancy having a go at bubble backgrounds you just need a colouring medium with plenty of pigment (ink, watercolour or acrylic paint, or food colouring should all work). Add it along with a bit of water and a generous squirt of washing up liquid onto a plate (I used a disposable one so I didn’t have to worry about staining) and stir it up. Use a straw to blow into the mixture and make plenty of bubbles - be careful not to suck! Then gently swipe paper over the bubbles so that they pop against the surface. You can repeat the blowing of bubbles as many times as you like and keep layering the prints until you have the effect you want. Every piece will be unique.

Stamps:
Pear (unnamed maker)
Happy Stamp n Cut and Essential Messages (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Black food colouring
Washing up liquid (that’s dish soap to my American friends)
Copic markers
Brown fine liner
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by!

Life on the ocean wave

Shabneez is setting the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers today and she'd like us to go nautical.

A few years back my hubby spotted some interesting printing blocks on a  stall in Covent Garden and bought a couple for me including this ship. I'm not sure how they're intended to be used but I found that with a little bit of jiggery-pokery it's possible to run them through the Big Shot as a kind of letterpress. The printing lines are etched into a metal plate so you can't just use it like a rubber stamp, it needs some pressure.

I've added just the slightest hint of colour around the ship using dots of Copic marker that get more widely space as they get further out. I thought the plank embossing could represent the ship's deck.

Supplies:
Printing block
Sentiment words from Say It Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Bristol board
Versafine by Tsukienko (Onyx Black) 
Memento Luxe by Tsukineko (Love Letter)
Copic marker
Silver mirror card
Pinewood Planks embossing folder (Stampin' Up!)
Rectangle Nestabilities by Spellbinder
White Enamel Accents by Ranger
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

August Elements

It's the first Friday of a new month so that means an elemental challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. It's my turn to provide the inspiration picture this month - you'll find it at the end of this post if you haven't arrived from the DCM blog.

I chose lemon slice, raised and self-coloured writing (inspired by the tonic bottle), gold accents and bubbles.

I thought this would be a fun card for a G&T-drinking friend!

The lemon slice is from a bundle of vintage botanical images I got from a seller on Etsy. They'd be ideal for vintage work as they're "raw" scans from very old books so they have background colour but you can do some digital clean-up or get the scissors out and use them for collage etc. At under £4 for over 500 images I decided it was worth a punt!

I printed the slice and coloured it with Copic markers and a white paint pen, cut it out and popped it up slightly. Gold lines are done freehand with a glue pen and covered in MegaFlake once tacky. The gold "bubbles" are metal from a tomato paste tube, punched out with the two sides of my Crop-a-Dile. Rest the circles on some craft foam and dome with a stylus for cheap and cheerful embellishments!

Supplies:

Vintage printable (Botanicals from Etsy seller)
Happy Stamp & Cut and part sentiment from Essential Messages (Hero Arts)
Copic markers
White paint pen by Posca
Wink of Stella pen (clear)
Metal from tomato paste tube
Flitter Glu and Chariot of Fire Mega Flake (Indigo Blu)
Sakura Quickie glue pen
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper

Here's our inspiration picture this month.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hello and welcome!

It’s Svenja’s turn to challenge us over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she’d like us to focus on welcomes - a new baby, new colleague, new neighbour etc.

I’ve gone clean and simple with a scrapling (I’m determined to make a dent on the pile of scrapling-sized trimmings I have!). We live right on the edge of an area that still has red squirrels even though the greys are making inroads into the territory. We’re encouraged to report sightings of greys and one of our neighbours is a squirrel warden!

All of which made this stamp a perfect choice for a card to say “hello, welcome to the neighbourhood”! I’m sure he’s a red squirrel as he has those lovely little tufty bits on his ears and the greys don’t have those! Sadly I don’t have a die to cut the word welcome so I settled for stamping it on the inside.

Stamps:
Squirrel by Carabelle Studio

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Black fineliner 
Phrases 2 dies by Spellbinder
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Summertime

Miri is setting the challenge for us this week at Daring Cardmakers - she’d like us to take advantage of the summer weather and get outdoors. Picnics, sunbathing, tennis, waterskiing, a stroll along the prom with an ice cream... what would you choose to do?

I’ve opted for a spot of beach combing with some stamped shells and die cut netting. A piece from my scraps pile provides a splashy blue background and a smattering of sequins finishes it off.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Say It All by Hero Arts (I suspect both sets are retired)
Seaside by Crafty Secrets (no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Unidentified inky piece from scraps pile!

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Netting die cut (Marianne Design Craftables)
Sequins
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

A sporting chance

Kathy has set this week's challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. She's like us to be inspired by the summer of sport happnening and make a card with a sporting theme.

I'm possibly the least sports-oriented person ever. DH's grandsons, however, play football, cricket, ice hockey etc and I have a nephew and friend's son who do martial arts so kids card it was...

The football was simple clip art, I shaded it with Copic markers, cut out with a circle die and popped up slightly with gel glue. Other than that it's just a bit of inking on the green panel and a heat embossed sentiment.

Supplies:
Clip art football
Sentiment from Essential Messages (Hero Arts)
Green cardstock
Bristol board
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Peeled Paint) 
Versamark by Tsukineo
Detail white emobssing powder
Copic markers
White gel pen
Black fineliner

Thanks for stopping by!

July elemental

Enfys has chosen the inspiration for the first challenge of July over at Daring Cardmakers which is our usual "elemental" dare. Just choose at least three elements from the inspiration picture as the basis of your project.

I chose the colour scheme, the black and white stripes of one of the vases and the eggs.

A hand-drawn wonky square coloured with Copic markers and bordered with a fineliner combined with a stamped image and some glitter card shapes.

This started off as a much more clean and simple design but I mis-stamped some chicken footprints under the sentiment and ended up using the "embesllishment opportunity" to add stars rather than start again! I'm not quite sure about the result but maybe it will grow on me!

Stamps:
Farm Chicks (Craft Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 
Glitter paper (local £1 shop)

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Fiskars squeeze punches (stars)
Copic markers
Black fineliner 
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper 

Here's the inspiration picture - check out what the other DT girls were inspired by. We'd love to see your take on it, too!

Thanks for stopping by!

Tying the knot

It’s that time of year and Ruth is getting into the wedding mood on Daring Cardmakers this week - our challenge is to make a card with a wedding or anniversary theme.

I needed a card for a friend’s civil partnership - the couple in question has been together over 20 years! At the start of their time together they wouldn’t have been allowed to marry so at least we can say hurray for progress in that department.

With two grooms I didn’t want anything too flowery and since one is Irish and “tying the knot” is something we say to mean getting married I thought maybe a Celtic knot would do the trick. I embossed black cardstock, cut out the central knot from the bigger design and gilded with some silver Rub n Buff wax.

Some Brusho splatters and a simple stamped sentiment are the only other things going on here. I think it’s suitably understated (they were keen to keep the whole thing low key)!

Stamps:
Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper:
Bamboo Mixed Media by Hannemuhl
Smooth black

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Brusho crystals (Turquoise)
M-bossabilities folder by Spellbinder (Celtic Knot)
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)

Thanks for stopping by!

Wonderful world

Kathy has set the challenge for us at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like us to be inspired by the words of the song What a Wonderful World - pop over to the blog to see all the lyrics!

I've done a super-quick scrapling this week with inspiration from the blue sky and green trees mentioned in the song. I inked the trunk in brown and the foliage in green before stamping then added some Distress inks as watercolours - it really was a super-quick process since you can randomly dab in a couple of shades of green and get a lovely tree canopy in full summer leaf!

I die cut the word from the card front as well as a couple of extras from scrap card for an integrated look.

Stamps:
Lovely as a Tree (Stampin' Up)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Ivy, Coffee Bean)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain)

Other:
Hello die (Waltingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Zig Clean Colour marker (light blue)
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

ABW!

It's my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and I'd like to see ABW - anything but white! I've fallen into the habit of using white as my card base so I thought I should challenge myself at least.

Of course, being a last minute minnie it had to be a father's day card. I was in the mood for texture so I decided to emboss rather than stamp this week.

I swiped charcoal grey ink onto the folder before embossing some mid grey cardstock and then rubbed silver ink and two shades of Perfect Pearls over the large shell.

The embossing is deep enough that it's really easy to reseat the piece in exactly the same place on the folder so I swiped the inkpad around the large shell area again and put it back through the Big Shot to redefine the inking after adding the pearl effect.

The die cut word has the same Perfect Pearls and silver ink treatment and the rest of the sentiment is stamped onto the torn vellum strip to finish it off.

Stamps:
Happy Stamp & Cut (Hero Arts)

Ink:
Delicata by Tsukineko (Silver Shimmer)
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Charcoal)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Paper:
Stormy Medium (an ancient Prism papers one!)
Vellum

Other:
M-bossabilities folder by Spellbinder (Shell Beauty)
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Blue Patina and Blue Raspberry)

Here's a close up that shows the depth and detail of the embossing a bit more clearly.

We'd love to have you join us with your ABW creations - just have a look at the lovelies the rest of the team came up with if you're looking for ideas to get you started!

Totally tropical

It's Shabneez's turn to set the challenge this week at Daring Cardmakers and she'd like to see us go tropical - bright colours, clashing patterns, tropical motifs - just right for summer!

It's a quick one layer creation from me using hot colours and a silhouette style hibiscus image in two sizes with a glittery die cut and stamped sentiment and a few tiny gems to finish it off. I think I might have been happier with a darker colour for the “happy” - maybe I’ll try it out and see but I’d run out of time for Friday deadline!

I’ve held out against Distress Oxides until now but I caved and bought a few this week. The orange here is a first play with one of them, I like the way it layered over the pink (which is regular Distress).

Stamps:
Emerging Hibiscus and Emerging Dragonfly (both Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Hero Arts Essential Messages

Paper:
Bristol Board
Green glitter card

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink (Picked Raspberry)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink (Carved Pumpkin)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Happy Stamp & Cut by Hero Arts
Corner Chomper
Nail art gems

Thanks for stopping by!

Paper roses, paaa-per roses....

Sorry, since seeing Dawn’s challenge for Daring Cardmakers this week I’ve been singing the Osmonds in my head! The challenge is not limited to roses though, Dawn would like to see hand made paper flowers of any kind on our projects - you could use dies, punches, freehand shapes, roll them, sculpt them... just make a paper flower, however it takes your fancy!

I opted for a crepe paper number made with circles - alarmingly the first one I made was back in 2010 using this video tutorial. I ran a pale pink Copic marker round the petal edges for extra definition and then used various bits that were lying around on my desk (background, bird, clock) to make a sort of collage feel card. I didn’t include a sentiment so it’s an all-purpose card.

Stamps:
Bird from Spring Bird and foliage from Bird Paradise (Bloom Art Stamps)
Clock from Time To Stamp (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bamboo mixed media paper by Hannemuhl
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Memento Luxe by Tsukineko (Olive Grove)
Tim Holtx Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Juniper reinker)

Other:
Black fine line marker
Pinflair glue gel

For the flower:
Heavyweight crepe paper 
Spellbinder circle dies (large and small used here - the two smallest dies from the large set and the "in between" one from the small set)
Copic marker
Elmers glue 
Glamour Dust Crystal glitter 
Velvet brad 

Thanks for stopping by, we’d love to see your flower creations if you have time to join us!

Waving goodbye

Svenja has set the challenge for us this week at Daring Cardmakers - she'd like us to take time to say goodbye (retirement, leaving a job, sympathy, flying the nest, bon voyage etc).

This is actually a card I made during my time on the Splitcoast Stampers Dirty Dozen but this week has gone a bit pear shaped in terms of making anything and I thought the idea of saying farewell as someone sets off on a trip fit the theme so I decided to share this one.

The background is a piece that had been in my scraps pile forever. I thought it made a nice vibrant backdrop for the boots - a bit like a weird landscape and stormy clouds!

I stamped the image on the panel and then again on a scrap of white card, cut it out and popped it up just slightly with some gel glue.

Stamps:
Combat Boots by Deep Red Stamps
Sentiment from Journey set by Crafty Secrets (no longer with us)

Paper:
Hot press watercolour
Smooth white

Ink:
Graphite Black Brilliance by Tsukineko
Tim Holtz Distress reinkers by Ranger (Spiced Marmalade, Dusty Concord)

Other:
Fine line black marker
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by!

Talk to the bees

Enfys is setting the challenge for us at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see anything to do with bees.

There's so much wonderful folklore surrounding bees in many cultures around the world. They're really important pollinators and our food chain depends on them so the fact they're in danger should worry us all. Any chance to celebrate the bee is a welcome one in my book!

I needed an anniversary card and thought bees might be appropriate - they cooperate to build a thriving home and that's proably what we should all be striving for. I had a piece of background that's been lying on my desk since before Christmas that was made with red and orange toned inks and gold/copper Perfect Pearls. I added some Wild Honey in places for a warm glow and put a die cut piece over the top.

The little bees have just a touch of Copic colouring - they're stamped on the panel and then again on scrap card so I could cut out the wing and body section to stick over the top (meaning they can overlap edges and die cut holes but without having to think about legs and antennae).

Stamps:
Queen Bee (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Sentiment from Putting on the Ritz (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Bamboo Mixed media paper by Hannemuhl

Ink:
 Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Wild Honey and various reinkers for background)

Other:
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Perfect Gold, Copper)
Copic markers
Mixed Media I dies by Tim Holtz/Sizzix
Square Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Spica glitter pen (clear)

Thanks for stopping by!

Let's talk about the weather

Miri has homed in on a quintissentially English quality for this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge - she'd like us to talk about the weather! Feature anything weather related on your card - sun, rain, snow, wind...

I opted for sunshine and promptly obscured most of the effect of the rays coming out from a central sun by stamping my island over the top! I think the tropical sun is still shining through though!

This is a quick and simple all-occasion card, basically just stamps and ink.

Stamps:
My Island (mine is the original Waltzingmouse Stamps set, the same is now available form Gina K) 

Paper:
Bristol board
DCWV textured white core

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Sunshine Yellow, Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Spiced Marmalade)
Versafine by Tsukinko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Corner Chomper
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by!

Blooming birthday!

My mum is celebrating a round number birthday this year - this is the card I managed to make for her after suffering a severe inspiration bypass. I’m kind of happy with it, I just wish it had come about more easily. The important thing though is that Mum liked it!

The flowers are coloured with a mixture of Distress ink, Clean Color markers, Copics, pencil and gel pen. The green dots are stamped with the little circles in the Happy stamp set and I used some textured gold cardstock and sequins for a bit of added glamour.  

Stamps:
Roses in Bloom by Waltzingmouse Stamps (no  longer with us)
Happy Stamp & Cut by Hero Arts (die cut sentiment as well)
Say It All by Hero Arts (because I wanted “birthday” a bit bigger than the Happy set one)

Paper:
Bristol board 
Gold linen textured

Ink:
Memento Luxe by Tsukineko (Rosebud, Pear Tart)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Picked Raspberry, Shabby Shutters)

Other:
Tim Holtz/Sizzix dies (Mixed Media I)
Zig Clean Colour markers (pink and light green)
Magenta coloured pencil
Copic markers
Gold gel pen
Tracing wheel
Sequins
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by!

Blue skies

It's Friday so it must be Daring Cardmakers day - Nat is setting our challenge this week and she'd like to see us being inspired by the colour blue. We finally seem to have some blue skies so perhaps those will inspire!

This is not the card I set out to make - that one ended up in the circular file in the craft room. This clean and simple affair makes use of a scrap of background from another project and an elegant silhouette of spring blossom.

The background piece is just reinkers dribbled onto wet watercolour paper with a bit of white acrylic paint sponged through circles once dry for a sort of bokeh effect.

Stamps:
Spring Bird by Bloom Art Stamps
Say It All by Hero Arts (retired)

Paper:
Bristol board
Watercolour

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Various Distress reinkers

Other:
White acrylic paint
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by, have a lovely weekend!