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!