Strike Up The Band for New Year

Hello.
I'm excited today, to be joining the amazing team at CAS on Friday, as a Guest Designer.
This is such a great blog, and my 'go to' for CAS inspiration and a fun challenge.
I know it's a busy time right now, but I hope you'll manage to carve out some crafting time
and play along with the Happy New Year theme.

Here are my band bunnies, playing in the New Year. I love these guys and they have been such a versatile stamp set. They're getting a bit yellow, and have lost their sticky now, so I need to take extra care of them. Have you ever had to replace a much loved stamp set?

I know it's supposed to be CAS, but it is for New Year, so I couldn't resist some tiny stars, with a touch of stickles glitter.

CAS On Friday

Big thanks to Janneke and the rest of the DT for the chance to join them  xxx

Theme this week - Happy New Year

• my favorite things - strike up the band
• my favorite things rectangle scallop edge die
• copics
• winnie and walter big bang confetti stamp
• stickles glitter
• avery elle - merriest sentiments

Friends With Fins

Hello. This was one of those cards, where we almost came to blows o:)
I had several attempts at that circle background, and then, just when I though I had it right, I stamped the sentiment - and dropped it! And - it bounced! Argh! 
I had sentiment echoes all over the card. 

This was my fourth attempt....

I'm glad I persevered, cos I think it came out kinda cute.
I used a stencil for the bubble background, stamping a few fish here and there. The big fish were stamped, die cut, and coloured with Copics.

Freshly Made Sketches

• my favorite things - friends with fins / basic circles stencil
• sentiment - hero arts - I'm a puffer for you
• distress ink - tumbled glass, salvaged patina
• pink fresh studio - diagonal stitch rectangle
• copics.  clear dots

Deck The Halls

 Isn't this bear cute? This is one of those stamps that has really stood the test of time. I bought him back in 2010, and here he is, getting his annual inking up o:)

I followed along at Freshly Made Sketches, just flipping the sketch and making one edge a little softer.
After inking, I splattered some water around, and then overlaid a star/snow stencil and used some white paste. The little bear is stamped and coloured with copics.

It's hard to tell on these photos, but I raised that middle panel onto foam tape, so it's much more 3D IRL

Freshly Made Sketches

• Lili of the Valley bear stamp, coloured with copics
• distress oxide - salty ocean
• spellbinders all the stars stencil, with white embossing paste
• sentiment from colorado craft company - on the lookout

Driving Home For Christmas

Will you be driving home for Christmas?
We are lucky this year. With our house move in August, we are now only 5 or 10 minutes away from all the family and they will be coming to us for Christmas dinner. Perfect chaos :o)

I loved using that bright pop of red on this van.
It can be a bit tricky to line up this stamp, so once the red was done (and the brown lines) I coloured the top in with a copic marker. Then I added the tree, garland, and front and rear bumpers.

CAS on Friday Challenge

CHRISTMAS

• the greetery - christmas care-a-van
• sentiment from concord & 9th - tiny trees
• mft inks - poppy, sour apple
• copics / white gel pen

Gnome For The Holidays

Ok, hands up if you have no idea what you're doing with a white, gel pen.
Somewhere, in a parallel universe, there must be a white, gel pen diploma course. I need that course!

I was hoping, when I bought this fall gnome set, that I would be able to use them for Christmas cards. And here they are. I stamped some extra gnomes, so that I could cut out their hands and stick them over what they are carrying.

Inspired By Challenge

• spellbinders - fall gnomes
• candy cane from sugar pea designs -  hey winter
• lights from mama elephant - decorate the tree
• pinkfresh studio - diagonal stitch rectangle
• mft dienamincs - stitch scallop edges and snow globe sentiments
• ecoline brush pens and copics

Holiday Reindeer Vibes

Hello.
I love this cute, floral stag set, but it does take me forever to put it together. It seemed crazy to just make one card, so I had a little production line going. There was a scary moment, when the dog nearly knocked over my tray, full of tiny die cuts, but I saved it just in time and managed to make four cards.
          

I started by die cutting all my pieces and then assembled the stag and flowers. Then, I used a combination of tape, glue and foam pads to add the stag and floral bouquet onto the die cut panel.

Challenge

Moving Along With The Times

• spellbinders - floral stag
• pinkfresh studio - stitched diamonds coverplate die
• sentiment - wplus9 - heartfelt holidays
• copics / stickles glitter

When The Snow Lay Round About

Hello.
Today's Tip : don't underestimate a set of brown inks. They might not be top of your wish list, or your most exciting purchase, but they are oh so useful. I use mine for everything from little critters, cakes and pastries, to antlers, tree trunks and plant pots - and all sorts in between.

Here, I've used them for my trees and animals.

This is a stamp set I have had for ages, and it's always lovely to get it out again. I stamped the trees on a background panel and then added a 'snowy' hillside. The deer, rabbit and birds were stamped and die cut, then popped up with foam tape. 

Freshly Made Sketches

I rotated the sketch, but hopefully you can still see it.

• wplus9 - winter woodland
• pinkfresh studio inks - warm buff / doe
• distress ink - festive berries
• lawn fawn stitched hillside borders

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Hello. Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween. It rained here - of course it did - but it didn't put off those trick or treaters.

Today I'm sharing this cool 'go girl' card, for a new teenager. 

This was a quick make. It's mostly die cuts, but I did just have to fussy cut and colour, the neck and head. Then I stuck them together and popped my girl up with foam tape. 

Less Is More Challenge

I now there's a big pop of yellow in there, for the hair, but I figured I could get away with that as a 'necessary neutral' Ha ha!

• waffle flower - go girl
• distress ink - salty ocean / festive berries / pickled raspberry
• mama elephant - labeled messages
• copics
• glossy accents

Oh, the weather outside is frightful

Well, I can see from Instagram that some of you crafters have snow already.   I'm jealous.
I hope we get some in Yorkshire this year - but only when I don't need to leave the house :o)

Here's my card for the 'cold' theme at Inkspirational

I stamped the cute bunny and robin image, and then masked it with a circle die and inked up a sky background. After colouring, I added some water splatter, and then some white 'snow' splatter. I don't know what I do wrong with splatter, but it never really comes out great for me - so I added a few snow drops with a white gel pen.

Inkspirational Challenge

• colorado craft company - christmas presents / on the lookout
• copic markers
• distress ink - salty ocean
• circle die  

Christmas Trees

 Argh! I can't believe I've missed the deadline for Freshly Made Sketches - AGAIN!
It seems I have a mental block for the end of the challenge. Next time, I will write it on my forehead :o)
Anyhoo... it's another card for the Christmas pile.

This was a very simple card. I stamped and die-cut the trees and popped them up on foam tape. I used just 2 similar colours to make it even easier. Then I added some stickles glitter on the trees and some gold, heat embossed stars.
Can you spot my deliberate mistake? I forgot to add glitter on one of the middle tree's 'baubles'.

Challenge

Freshly Made Sketches

(missed deadline)

• concord and 9th - tiny trees
• distress ink - salvaged patina, peacock feathers
• wow gold embossing powder
• stickles glitter, gold

Ghostly Greetings

Hello.
Today I'm sharing another ghostly greeting with you.
I stuck to a 'moon' background - have I mentioned I'm obsessed with the moon :o)

This time I got my Copics out for the background effect. I started with a yellowish moon, and then used pale lilacs and purples, blending a little as I went. I'm not great at this sort of technique, but I'm chuffed with how it turned out.
I stenciled some grass at the bottom with distress ink, added a few bats, some splatter and the sentiment, and popped up the ghosts with foam tape.

Inspired By Challenge

favorite things - ghostly greetings / grassy edges stencil

distress ink - hickory smoke

copic markers

Art Deco Christmas

 I'm not going to lie - I struggled with Time Out's 'vintage' theme. I googled  - a lot! Thank goodness my grandson had an extra long nap :o) Eventually I decided on something a bit different - maybe not what you would typically think of as vintage, but I hope it works.

I went for an Art Deco pattern and colour palette, with this stitched, cover plate die. I also mounted it on gold, glitter paper for a touch of decadence.
I think the 'sending' font has that Art Deco vibe too - I'm just annoyed I didn't attach it further up! Oh well.

Time Out Challenges

• spellbinders - stitched fanfare with various threads
• spellbinders - sending you stamps and dies
• gold glitter paper

 

It's time to get SPOOKY

Hello.
Well, it may be autumn here, but no-one has told the weather! Here in Yorkshire, I haven't even got my big coat out yet ;o)
Halloween is fast approaching though - so here's another ghostly greeting.

The trickiest part of this card was those damn letters. They nearly went out the window! I die cut them in black foam with some ds tape stuck on it. Then attempted to stick the orange die cuts on top. They stuck to my fingers, the end of a pen, my craft knife... anywhere but where I wanted them. I am so annoyed that I couldn't get them to line up perfectly. Ah well..

Four Seasons Challenge

Anything Goes - FALL

• my favorite things - ghostly greetings
• neat and tangled journalling alpha dies
• distress inks - shaded lilac, dusty concord, hickory smokoe
• my favorite things - grassy edges stencil
• copics

If you've got it, haunt it.

 It's spooky season! Time to let those ghosts out...

I inked up my card panel with some clouds at the bottom, and a circle die-cut, to mask a moon. Then I used a star stencil with some embossing paste over the top.
My ghosts were a bit lost on the background, so I die cut them from black card, and just offset it a little, so they stand out better. 

I completely forgot to leave a space free for the sentiment, so I had to get creative.
I ended up covering those inky clouds with some vellum, and the heat embossed sentiment.
How on earth do you attach vellum?? I used a few glue dots, but they don't keep the vellum as flat as i would like, and they do show through.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge

• my favorite things - ghostly greetings
• distress ink - salvaged patina (it's a pale greeny colour, I don't know why it looks blue on the photos)
• cloud stencil - but I ended up covering those clouds up :o)
• spellbinders - all the stars stencil, with white embossing paste
• time for tea designs - ocean waves die (because I don't have a cloud die)
• versamark and white embossing powder
• copics

Fa La La La La, La La La Woof

Hello.
I'm so behind on my Christmas cards this year! This is my first. Eek!
How are you getting on with yours?
I usually make all mine different, but I can see that this year I might have to pick one design and get a production line going.

This was a simple make though. The dogs (all one stamp) were stamped onto a card panel and coloured with Copics. There is a faint little, blue dot background around them, but the camera hasn't really picked it up. I was too scared to make it more bold, in case I totally messed up after all that colouring.

Did you know that the 1st class postage has gone up? £1.25 now! So, I will also be cutting back on the layers and embellies for those that have to be sent out.

Challenge

Less Is More

• clearly besotted - howl it's christmas
• copics
• lawn fawn stitched rectangle die

Hello Harvest Moon

I'm obsessed with the moon, and we've seen some amazing super moons this year. Not least of all, was this weekend's brilliant, harvest moon. Did you see it?
It's no surprise then, that when I saw this week's sketch, at the freshly made challenge, I instantly thought of the moon.

I used a die cut circle to mask my 'moon' and distress inked the night sky.
Then I added my fall gnome and his harvest, coloured with copics, and popped up on foam pads. 

(This little set was a bargain in the Spellbinders sale, and I'm hoping to use the gnome on some Christmas cards).

Challenge

Freshly Made Sketches

• spellbinders - fall gnomes
• circle die
• copics 
• distress ink - salty ocean, stormy sky, faded jeans

Just a Little Note to Say Hi

Hello.
I managed to carve out some free time in my craft room this morning, and made this card to play along with the Inkspirational challenge, where they would like to see a CAS style.

I die cut the rainbow and coloured it with Copics  - choosing those colours took me the longest time!
Then I stamped and fussy cut the bears and popped them up with foam pads. 
At the last minute I added some sequins - I know - it's supposed to be CAS -  but they were calling to me from inside a drawer!

Inkspirational Challenge

• the stamp market - bear hugs / rainbows and greetings / little rainbow die
• copics

It's the Little Things

Thank you to everyone here and on Insta, that sent their ideas for getting back into the craft room. The general consensus seemed to be, just relax, go with the flow, don't put yourself under any pressure and do what you love.

I love die cutting and creating simple scenes, with little critters. So, that had me reaching for my Clearly Besotted stash.

I fussy cut these cute critters, and popped them up with foam pads against some die cut pumpkins.

I almost added an inky background, but, as this is for the Less Is More Challenge, I stopped myself just in time ;o)

Challenge

Less Is  More #492  Celebrate

• clearly besotted - ring around autumn
• spellbinders pumpkin from holiday haul
• lawn fawn - stitched rectangle
• copics