Thursday 30 January 2014

On yer bike

Hey, everyone. I am still struggling to make cards for men/boys,
especially in the CAS style,
but here's one I managed to put together for my nephew.

 I came across a great challenge site which had somehow managed to escape my attention.
The sketches are created by the DT and their ethos is clean lined and fresh!
I hope I've managed to achieve that.


I'd also like to enter my card at Moving Along With The Times - Birthday Boys
and Shopping Our Stash - Cabin Fever


Supplies:
Sizzix/Hero Arts Bicycle Stamp and Die  Clearly Besotted Tree Stamp 'Home Sweet Home' and Die
Personal Impressions Sentiment Stamp    Memento Dew Drop Ink, Tangelo
DP - Fancy Pants 'It's the little things'       Brad from Freckled Fawn      
Copic coloured gem and Sequin


Sunday 26 January 2014

Monkey Business


Afternoon everyone - 
hope you're enjoying the weekend.
We've had a few snow flurries here, but so far nothing has settled.

Here's a card using this week's sketch at Less Is More.


I fully intended to use a stamp on my card, until I came across this cute, monkey paper - 
how could I resist?
The paper is used in a negative kind of way - with the white card, top and bottom,
popped up on foam pads.
There was a little gap in the monkey dp, on the right, so I flipped the sketch
and added my tag there.
 
 
Challenges.
Less Is More - #156 Sketch
Totally Papercrafts - One For The Boys
Crafty Hands -  #6 Put A Tag On It

Supplies:
DP - Basic Grey, Oliver
Hand Cut Tag.  Nestie Pennant Die. Star Punch. Sequins & Gems
Sentiment Stamp - Penny Black


Wednesday 22 January 2014

Dream in Blue

Ok you guys, you can all have a laugh at me. 
I tried three times to emboss this chandelier, 
before I discovered that I'm using the wrong ink.
I need slow drying pigment ink.
Duh! I told you I was new to this inky stuff.


I played along at Seize the Sketch
The hardest part of this whole card was the little banner.
The white pieces were die cut, but I had to cut the blue card freehand.  
Top of my list is a new, all singing, all dancing banner die.

As you can see below, the chandelier and little bird
are die cut and popped up on foam pads.


If anyone can recommend a cheap set of inks that work
for embossing, that would be great.

Challenges.
Deep Ocean Blue - Birthday
Shopping Our Stash - Winter Blue

Supplies
Hero Arts Chandeliers Stamps and Dies     Memento Inks - Summer Sky, New Sprout
Whimsy Stamps - Circle Postmarks           Gems. Pennant Die, Embroidery Thread.


Monday 20 January 2014

Can you handle one more candle!

Afternoon everyone...
today I'm sharing with you a bright and cheerful,
but oh, so simple card.



When I made this card I had in my head the CAS-ual Fridays challenge, which is Colour Blocks.
But, now I've popped back over there, I see that just about everyone has used actual 'blocks' of colour on their work.
So.. this is my interpretation of colour blocks -  **wink**



Challenges
CAS-ual Fridays - Colour Blocks ( hello DT   :-)   if you don't think this fits your challenge, just delete my entry, no worries).
Aud Sentiments - Use Any Sentiment
Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes

Supplies
Stamp from Simon Says Savor Sweet Cupcakes Set
Sentiment Stam - Hero Arts Bicycle
Memento Dew Drop Ink in Tangelo, Bahama Blue, Rose Bud, Pistachio and Dandelion
Gems, coloured with Copics.

Wednesday 15 January 2014

Je t'aime


I am NOT an inky person.
My cards consist mainly of stamping in Memento Black and colouring with Copics.
So, it's high time I stepped out into the scary world of coloured inks
and inky techniques.
Here's my first attempt at emboss resist


 I kinda like it, but to a neat and orderly Virgo like me it's going to take some getting used to.

I stamped my hearts in white ink and heat embossed them with white embossing powder.
Then I used pieces of sponge to apply a couple of different shades of ink.
Finally, I stamped my sentiment and added a couple of gems.


I can't say I've caught the inky bug yet, but I'll definitely try this technique again.

Challenges.
Less Is More - One Layer (Hearts)
Simon Says - Emboss it

Heart Stamp - Catslife Press.   White Ink - Ink It Up.    Embossing Powder - Personal Impressions.
Coloured Inks - Memento Dew Drops 'Angel Pink' and 'Rose Bud'.
Sentiment Stamp - Penny Black 'J'aime Paris'.    Gems.

Saturday 11 January 2014

Embrace the blooms

Ta-da !
Look at this people...   flowers!
You know I am florally challenged,
so this year's aim is to embrace those blooms.
Ha-ha!  I'm feeling pretty damn good about my first attempt ;-)


 For a little help and inspiration I turned to this week's Seize the Sketch
and used my new flower stamps and dies.
To add a bit of interest, one bloom is popped up on foam pads.
The colours are a bit wishy washy on my photos,
irl they are bolder, especially the green stems.
 

Hero Arts/Sizzix - Floral.      Memento Ink - Dandelion, Rose Bud and New Sprout.
Sentiment - Wild Rose Studios.    Gems and Sequins 
 

Friday 10 January 2014

Hangin' with your Gnomies

I have brain freeze!
I've been staring at a blank post for about 15 minutes.
My body is in shock!
The juicer came out this morning and we had fresh juice for breakfast. 
Can you imagine? Not a chocolate orange or a twiglet in sight!

Here's a card for Annabel's b/f 
Gnomes have featured heavily this Christmas
(it's a long story).


My card looks a bit flat in the picture above,
but, you can see better below, that the right hand side is popped up,
and so are the gnomes.



Challenges.
Papertake - Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps - Make Your Mark 

Digi StampWhimsie Doodles - Hanging with my Gnomies, coloured with Copics.
DP Woodgrain - Pink Petticoat
'Have a great day' sentiment - Hero Arts Bicycle
Gems.

Monday 6 January 2014

And we're off...

Aaaarrgghhh!!
It's been one of those days today - where nothing has gone right. 
On top of everything, my printer has gone on the blink and
Mr Kiss has spent the whole day trying to fix it. 
He is far more patient than I am - 
if it was up to me the damn thing would be out the window by now!

So, here's my first card of the new Year -
it's the best I could do!!!

Challenges
Keep It Simple - Anything Goes
Addicted to CAS - Die Cuts

Hero Arts, On the Go Stamp and Die Set.
Memory Box Letter Dies.   Gems and Glitter Dots

Wednesday 1 January 2014

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone and all the best for 2014
Hope you all had a lovely time,
with not too many sore heads this morning!!!

Here's another snapshot of my Pinterest Christmas makes.

These Minky blankets were my favourite make.
The material wasn't cheap, but it was definitely worth using minky fabric on both sides -
it's so ridiculously soft and snuggly.
  

I found the fabric easier to sew than I expected, 
but then I took the advice of 'real' sewers 
(that doesn't look right, does it?)
people who sew... lol*
and used about a thousand pins to hold it all in place.

I also got out my sewing machine manual and managed to
make a little personal tag for each blanket.



Hessian Placemats

Mine are a bit rough around the edges,
but were cheap and easy to make  :-)

I used my Memory Box letter dies to create a template for the sayings,
then a black Sharpie to fill it in.


Hand Warmers 

Again - these were very easy to make.
Simply cut out some squares of pretty fabric
and stitch around the edge.
Leave a small opening so you can fill the pouch with rice,
and then stitch closed.
Use pinking chears on the edges, to prevent fraying.

 As usual, these handwarmers got the 'tied up with string' treatment.
If you don't use them as handwarmers, they make  pretty Christmas decorations.


xxx