Card Chain Challenge — February

I’ve  been absent from the Card Chain for a few months but I’m trying to get back in to the swing of some paper crafting so I signed up for February to give myself a nudge. My card went to the lovely Hilary so it didn’t have too far to travel.

From the options on offer I chose the colours and the theme of flowers and revisited an old Hero Arts stamp, sticking to my usual CCC aesthetic of single layer. 

I stamped and masked then coloured one bloom with pencils and the background ones with grey Copics, added some charcoal pencil drop shadow and a fine border with a marker (drawing round the outside of a die makes it easy). Then of course couldn’t decide on a sentiment, took me ages to find one I liked in the space I had!

This took a lot longer to make than it should have done, I’m definitely out of practise, but it got there in the end. The colouring is richer in real life I think, the shading on the flower really didn’t want to photograph well but time was tight and it needed to go in the post  

Stamps:
Large Striped Flower (Hero Arts)
Sentiment from an old Cornish Heritage Farms set (no long with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Copic Markers
Charcoal pencil
Black fineliner
White paint pen by Posca

Thanks for stopping by. The sign up for the March chain is open until the 6th if you fancy making and sending one card, getting a lovely hand made card in return. 

Whatever the weather

Kirsty is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see all things weather-related.

I'm hoping I’ve gone for something unseasonal as I’ve chosen snow! I know it’s been unseasonably mild just recently and I hope we’re not going to pay for it with the sort of weather we had with the “beast from the east” a few years back. That was late February…

My stash of Christmas cards was almost nonexistent for 2023 so I’m determined to try to make a few more throughout the year this year. With that in mind I’m also joining Jo’s Christmas Kickstart where Gail is this month’s elf and the theme is “out on a limb” — things you’d find on a tree. My little birdie is literally out on a limb. She has a coating of Spica glitter pen for subtle sparkle too. 

Stamps:
Merriest Christmas Wishes (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Memento Luxe by Tsukineko (Bahama Blue, Love Letter)

Other:
Copic marker
Spic glitter pen (red)
Snowflake die (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Thanks for stopping by!

What's the (typewritten) word?

I’m mixing fonts and challenges today! Nat wants to see typewriters or typewriter font for this week’s Daring Cardmakers challenge and the current Hero Arts challenge wants the focus on sentiments.

My typewriter font is taking a bit of a supporting role but it is there! I know Father’s Day was a couple of weeks back but I was holding off on blogging this until this week’s DCM went live!

I used several shades of blue ink and repeatedly stamped the word to make a background and then used the matching die to cut one that got coated in Glossy Accents and tucked in around a little label with the rest of the sentiment. 

Stamps:
Happy Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (I lost track!)

Other:
Glossy Accents
Stitched rectangles dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Corner Chomper

She sells sea shells...

It's time for a new challenge at Daring Cardmakers and this time Rizwana would like to see shells on our projects.

I was away on holiday last week so of course I suffered the usual syndrome of a couple of false starts on your first crafty session but I eventually managed something half way decent by sticking to clean and simple.

Shells from one of my all time favourite stamp sets, a bit of basic masking, watercolouring with Distress inks and my usual rounded corner and call it done.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts, retired)
Big Day Today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Watercolor

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black, Vintage Sepia)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Peacock Fathers, Tumbled Glass, Black Soot)

Other:
Corner Chomper

Sea shells make for a great summery projects - why not check out the rest of the design team's ideas and come join us?

 

Birds of a feather

Nat is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week — she’d like to see feathers or something feathered.

Birds are probably second only to florals in my stamp collection so that seemed to be the way to go. I decided to play along at A Blog Named Hero as well and use the HA colour layering stamp for my bird, making her a restful combination of blues. As April is their blog birthday month, HA want to see birthday cards this time.

Going white on white for the sentiment seemed right for a light and airy feel. The lovely die was gifted to me — thanks Margot! — and gives a beautifully crisp cut. 

Stamps:
Bird and branch colour layering (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Twisted Citron)
Momento by Tsukineko (Bamboo Leaves)

Other:
Happy Birthday Poe Script die (Poppystamps)
Strobes stencil (Visible Image)
Corner Chomper

Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero — They Say It’s Your Birthday

Little ones

Miri is setting our challenge today at Daring Cardmakers with the theme of “little ones” — make a card for the little ones in your life or think small in other ways!

I’m also playing along with Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero — this month’s theme is “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”. I really got the Beach Please set for the umbrella image so of course the first thing I use is the cocktail glass! I don’t often get matching dies for stamps but I’m glad I had them here — these little glasses would have been a horror to fussy cut and the option to cut them out and pop them up is great. 

I’ve gone for the slightly lateral interpretation at DCM as I don’t have any babies or small children to make for. I lined up some little cocktails in rainbow colours, courtesy of Distress inks, for a clean and simple card. The glasses are stuck on with gel glue for a bit of lift and there’s Wink of Stella on the ice cubes, only obvious if you catch the light just right!

Stamps:
Beach Please Stamp & Cut (Hero Arts)
Big Day Today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Black

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Barn Door, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Blueprint Sketch, Mowed Lawn, Wilted Violet, Weathered Wood, Black Soot)

Other:
Clear Wink of Stella pen
Pinflair gel glue
Corner Chomper

Hero Arts — Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Elements for March

Miri has chosen our inspiration picture for the "elemental" challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week — as ever, just choose at least three elements from the picture to kickstart your project.

The spiral shape of the caterpillar made me think of this lovely shell stamp and I ended up going down a sort of naturalist’s sketch book route (after quite a lot of playing with ideas that didn’t work out). Other elements are flower, butterfly and some of the colours. 

The butterfly is stamped directly on the panel, the other images are cut out and stuck on with gel glue for some differences in height. I had intended more muted colouring, not quite sure what happened there!

Stamps:
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts, retired)
Magnolia (Stampendous)
Big Day Today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

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

Other:
Copic markers
Square dies (Presscut)
Fineliner
Pinflair gel glue

Link in the chain - February

It’s reveal day at Card Chain Challenge. There were 33 players for February and my card has gone to Mia in Greece this time.

From the options on offer I chose the theme (hearts) and product (gauze) ones. I wanted to do something a bit different with my gauze so I used black acrylic paint to stick it to some card, let it dry and then highlighted with some gilding wax. 

I think my Delicata ink pad has started to separate out, or maybe it was the painted surface, either way I couldn’t get the little hearts to show up clearly so I used a gel pen to draw round the inside of the stamped shape.

The butterfly is stamped, coloured and cut out and glued on along with some die cut rings and a sentiment strip.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Delicata by Tsukineko (Golden Glitz)

Other:
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Copic markers
Fine frames circle die (Altenew)
Acrylic paint
Gauze
Rub n Buff (Gold Leaf)

There’s still time to sign up for the March chain if you fancy it — just make one card and receive one from the next link in the chain, it’s a lovely way to spread a little hand crafted love around the world. 

Waxing Lyrical

My turn to set the challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week and I’d like to see wax incorporated somehow, further details on the blog.

As ever when you set a challenge, it proves to be harder than tackling somebody else’s! To help me along a bit, I looked for extra inspiration and found it in the current Hero Arts challenge where the theme is “animal crackers” — use any sort of creature. That gave me the perfect excuse to pull out the lovely detailed octopus and make a watery scene. 

I started by splashing melted candle wax* onto my paper and giving it a minute to harden. Then I brushed on a few shades of blue and scraped off the wax (an old credit card is perfect for this) to reveal the splashy resist pattern. It was only after stamping the octopus I decided I’d like something extra so I stencilled carefully to avoid going over the white bits. 

*It probably goes without saying but if you’re doing this, do be extremely careful with a lit candle in your craft space — all those papercrafting supplies are very flammable!

Stamps:
Layering Octopus (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Hero Arts (Soft Granite, Charcoal)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Salty Ocean)

Other:
Tea light
Fibres stencil (Visible Image)
Enamel Accents by Ranger
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)

Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero — Animal Crackers

Around the house

It’s my turn to set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and we’re looking “around the house” this time. Either use something from around the house to help in making your creation (e.g. foil from the kitchen, scrape a design in paint with the prongs of a fork) or feature a household object (e.g. TV, food mixer). You could even do both if you’re feeling brave!

I went for using something from around the house and used dry wall tape to stencil a patterned stripe on my card base. I used a bit of low tack tape as well so I could create solid borders and then added a fineliner edge for even more definition. The hearts are simply stamped, fussy cut and the front one is stuck on with gel glue for a bit of dimension.

I’m also playing along at A Blog Named Hero where this month’s theme is “crazy little thing called love” since my trusty HA hearts came out to play.

Stamps:
Unnamed Hearts (Hero Arts, maybe retired?)
Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board
Textured black

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves)

Other:
Dry wall tape
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
White Enamel Accents by Ranger
Fineliner

Big on backgrounds

It’s Nat’s turn to set our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week and she’d like us to bring backgrounds into focus — stamp it, stencil it, blend it, whatever takes your fancy. 

I remembered that the current challenge at Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero is “merry everything” and decided to play there too. I used a background stamp for a light and flat, easily mailed festive card. I stamped the stripes, added a double layered die cut “merry” and stamped again to get a sort of eclipse sentiment without cutting into the base layer. The stamp is square which gives the opportunity for a quick composition with interest on a standard rectangle card base. I did doodled lines to close off the top and bottom of the square. 

The completion of the sentiment is heat embossed in white then swiped with the red ink to match the stripes. A few of the stars from the set are heat embossed in gold for embellishments and I added some Glossy Accents on the die cut word and that’s about it.

Stamps:
Canvas stripes  (Hero Arts)
Merry Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Memento Luxe by Tsukineko (Love Letter)
Versamark by Tsukineko 

Other:
Gold detail embossing powder
Glossy Accents
Stitched rectangle dies, A6 size (Paper Rose)
Fineline marker
Copic markers
Gel glue

Link in the chain - July

It's reveal day at Card Chain Challenge — mine has travelled the short distance to Kath this time.

From the options on offer I only managed the theme of birds but it only takes one to play! I did manage to make my birds summery though as a nod to the season.

Hopefully these gulls are not gearing up to swipe the chips or Cornish pasty of the holiday-makers who are undoubtedly sitting just out of the frame. I considered giving them some soft colour with chalks but in the end decided I liked the crisp contrast of the white gulls and frame with the colourful waves and beach.

The waves are a lovely layering stamp set, you can change the look quite drastically with different ink choices. I coloured the beach area with a couple of watercolour paints, dotted a little white pen for breaking foam and stamped the greeting with sandy colours for that stick-written look!

Stamps:
Layering Waves (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versacraft (Pale Aqua)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Sandal, Stream)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Salty Ocean)

Other:
Beachfront Seagulls dies (Memory Box)
Watercolour paints by Winsor and Newton
Stitched rectangles A6 size (Paper Rose)
White paint pen by Posca

Thanks for stopping by — there are still a couple of days to sign up for August's chain if you fancy it, details are here.

Stencil it

Nat is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see us using stencils. All the details here.

I decided to try out some Oxide ink on a black background. I'm not sure the colour survives particularly well if you apply them with brushes — it may be better if you stamp — but I quite liked the effect, I think this would be a good masculine card.

Supplies:
Bristol board and smooth black cardstock
Alphabet Sprinkle stencil (That Special Touch)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxides by Ranger (Cracked Pistachio, Evergreen Bough)
Happy Stamp n Cut and Essential Messages stamp set (Hero Arts)
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Bright white embossing powder by Wow!
Versamark by Tsukineko

Thanks for stopping by!

Life's a beach

Miri is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week — Life's a beach. Sea, sand, flip flops, surf boards, palm trees or a bucket and spade — what do you associate with the beach?

I made a masculine card with one of my all-time favourite stamp sets, some card that made me think of sand and a die cut net. 

The shells have the tiniest touch of sparkle, courtesy of Spica glitter pen.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts, retired)
Father’s Day Centers (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Kraft selection pack

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Spica glitter pens (gold and turquoise)
Stitched rectangle dies
Netting die cut
Gel glue

Thanks for stopping by!

Two hearts

As we’re fast approaching Valentine’s Day, Dawn couldn’t resist giving us a Valentine theme at Daring Cardmakers this week. 

I’ve combined with the current challenge at Lost Coast Designs who are in the pink. I’m not usually good with pink so I’ve tried to keep things clean and simple to help me get over the “prettiness” problem that’s the root of my issues!

Retro Rubber has the theme of love for the current challenge and as I’ve had the Hero Arts heart stamp set since 2014 I’m linking up there, too.

I smooshed a bit of Kitsch Flamingo onto the card base using a piece of acetate then stamped the first heart with Picked Raspberry, masked it and stamped the second heart with the Flamingo ink. As the smooshed ink is diluted with a spritz of water, the stamping has enough extra intensity to show up (I did use the MISTI so I could stamp a couple of times to make sure though).

Stamps:
Untitled Hearts (Hero Arts, retired — I’ve had mine since 2014)
Key Expressions (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukinkeo (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Kitsch Flamingo, Picked Raspberry)

Other:
Corner Chomper 

Thanks for stopping by!

    

Flying high

Daring Cardmakers is sending us Up, Up and Away this week - Enfys wants us to feature balloons on our cards.

I opted for a hot air balloon rather than the party sort and made a clean and simple birthday card. I stamped the image over the stencilled background and then stamped again on a scrap of card, coloured in the round part of the balloon, cut out and stuck on with a bit of gel glue. I could have just cut out the whole image but I wanted the background to peek through the strings!

Choosing a hot air balloon lets me play along at Lost Coast Designs who want us to fly high for their current challenge - use rubber stamps to feature something that flies.

Stamps:
Old Times (Hero Arts)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Speckled Egg)

Other:
Fibres stencil (Visible Image)
Copic markers
Sequins
Gel glue (Pinflair)
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain - July

It's reveal day at Card Chain Challenge. My card went to Janis in Idaho this time.

From the options on offer I chose the themes of summer and snacks (although I do wonder whether three scoops counts as a meal!).

Bright, citrusy colours seemed to go with a summer vibe and I couldn't find a suitable stamp with the word "summer" so I ended up using die cut lettering for that bit. There's Spica glitter pen on various elements for a bit of subtle sparkle. The cone is cut out and popped up with some gel glue.

Stamps:
Layering Ice Cream (Hero Arts)
Birthday (Lettering range by Ranger)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress and Oxides by Ranger (Twisted Citron, Spice Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Tea Dye)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Sunshine Yellow, Sunset Orange, Latte)

Other:
Typewriter font dies (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Brown fineline pen
Spica pen (Gold and Turquoise)
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain - June

Time for the June reveal at Card Chain Challenge - mine has gone to LaVon in Illinois this time. 

From the choices on offer this month, I chose the sketch, the colours and the theme of things that fly to put together a clean and simple design. I didn’t quite stick to my one layer principle for CCC cards as I did stamp the ballon separately, cut it out and pop it up on a bit of gel glue. The sentiment got similar treatment. The cloudy sky is created with ink applied with a blending brush over a torn edge. 

Stamps:
Past Times and Essential Messages (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Stonewashed)

Other:
Copic markers
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Sequins
Pinflair glue gel

There are still a few days to sign up for the next chain if you fancy it

June’s elements

It’s the first Friday of another month so our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week is an elemental one - choose at least three elements from Rizwana’s lovely summery mood board to inspire your project. 

I chose ice cream in a waffle cone, blue background inspired by the clear summer skies and script style sentiment. As my ice cream cone is a set dated 2016 I’m also playing at Retro Rubber where there’s an “anything goes” theme at the moment. 

I smooshed blue ink onto the card base with a piece of acetate, stamped a double cone and cut it out, then decided it really should be a triple and stamped the yellow blob and tucked that in behind. Then for good measure I did the green blob again, cut it out and used glue gel to stick it on so the whole shebang has some dimension. A few stamped dots extend the background out a bit. The layering stamps do a great job but I did add a tiny bit extra shading with a couple of Copics.

Stamps:
Color Layering Ice Cream (Hero Arts, 2016)
Birthday (Lettering Range by Ranger)
Dots from Believe in Unicorns (Visible Image, 2017)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Latte, Espresso)
Jenni Bowlin ink by Ranger (Lemon Drops)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Salty Ocean, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Bundled Sage, Mustard Seed)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Cracked Pistachio)

Other:
Pinflair glue gel
Wink of Stella pen (clear)
Copic markers 
White paint pen by Posca
Corner Chomper 

Here's our insipration pic this month - click through to see what my teamies were inspired to make!

 

Link in the chain - April

It’s reveal day once again over at Card Chain Challenge - my how time flies! My card has gone to Nelleke in the Netherlands this time. 

From the options on offer I chose the sketch and the colour palette (oh, I used a die cut too!). I did try for a one layer card but I couldn’t get the embossing quite as I wanted it so I ended up cutting the embossed panel (with four “planks” to reflect the sketch) and sticking it to a card base. I used a fineline marker around the edge. The butterfly was stamped, coloured and cut out, the leaf sprig is die cut and coloured with a couple of Copics and the whole lot is assembled with some gel glue.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings, Say It All (both Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Walnut Stain)

Other:
Pinewood planks embossing folder (Stampin Up)
Back to Nature dies (Sizzix, I suspect they're retired)
Copic markers
White crochet cotton
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Brown fineliner