A Winter's Tale

Hello.

Vellum, is the challenge at Less Is More this fortnight. Hmm... it's not something I use often, so I went off down a Pinterest rabbit hole - and ended up none the wiser ;o)

In the end I opted for a very simple, vellum overlay, very pretty IRL, but a bit of a bugger to photograph!

This is one of those cards where a stamping platform really comes into it's own. It allows you to make sure that you're images line up perfectly.

• die cut 2 panels. 1 in white card, 1 in Vellum
• stamp both with Versamark ink and white heat emboss
• colour the image on the white card (I used Zig watercolours for that soft effect)
• stamp a sentiment
• line up both panels onto your card base, punch a hole through the layers and add a brad

 The Vellum panel pivots on the brad to reveal the soft, watercoloured image below.

Challenge

Less Is More

One main image with lots of clean space
Minimal layers
Minimal embellies

Quick and easy

• woodware stamp - a winter's tale
• wow white embossing powder
• zig clean color real brush markers
• brad

One Frosty Morning

I am so behind today.

I should have been doing the washing and ironing,

but I got sidetracked.

Fed up of rubbish photos of my cards, I decided to play with the white balance on my camera.

3 hours and hundreds of photos later, I think I might be getting the hang of it!!

Can you see a difference?

The answer you're looking for is 'yes'  ;-) 

 This is my take on this week's Sketch Saturday.

I cut out a circle, and created a snow scene with my landscape die

and some dp.

I sprinkled some glamour dust on the landscape and then added a felt reindeer, a little sentiment, some bling and twine.

Challenges. 

Sketch Saturday - #286

Make It Monday - #168

Sentimental Sundays - Winter Wonderland + A Sentiment

CAS on Sunday - Winter Theme

Memory Box Landscape Die.   Circle Nestie Die.   Glamour Dust.

Sentiment from Woodware 'A Winter's Day' Set

Red Felt Reindeer.  Pearl, Sequins, Gems

Little Robin Redbreast

Today I'm showing you a really simple Christmas card.

I did intend to put a bow above the image, which is why it's not quite central, but it just didn't look right.

From all the Christmas cards I make, I usually pick 3 or 4 designs that I like the most and then make more of those. 

I think this CAS style is a winner, it's quick and easy to make and flat enough to cost me less to post!!    ;-)

The sparkle is gorgeous IRL, just so difficult to photograph.

Challenges.

Less Is More - Things That Move.

Card Ideas - Anything Goes

Secret Crafter - Create A Scene

Crafter's Companion - Glitter and Glitz

Sir Stampalot - Whatever You Fancy

Supplies.

6 x 6 Card Blank and Glamour Dust from Crafty Emma's

Woodware Stamp Set 'A Winter's Day'.   Copics.

One Frosty Morning

I so wanted to try this challenge over at Winter Wonderland.
I thought that using
'NO DESIGN PAPER'
would be easy.... silly me!!
This took me ages!

I was going to pick a couple of my fav Xmas card designs
and make more of them nearer the time.
I think this one will be good to use -
it won't take long to run a batch of these off and I could
always try it with a different stamp.

I would also like to enter this for Stamp Something's
'CHRISTMAS IN JULY' Challenge.

Stamp - from Woodware 'A Winter's Day' set - coloured with Copics
Stickles Glitter 'Crystal' added around the edges of the papers and on the stamp
Large Silver Pearls from Crafty Emma's Store
Ribbon from my stash.
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Have yourself a merry little Christmas!!!

I started this card yesterday..
and I can't stop singing this song..
'have yourself a merry little Christmas'
I am getting some strange looks, I can tell you!!

This was my favourite stamp last year,
so it was great getting it back out.
I didn't have Copics the first time around,
so I will have to get used to the new way of shading it..

I have the cutest little family of Robins in my garden,
so I can just imagine looking out of the window,
onto this scene, in the winter.
I made the window, using a rectangle nestie,
but haven't quite lined it up perfectly,
so I need to practice that.

I would like to enter this card for the following challenges -
Sketch & Stamp - a great sketch by Ger
Papertake - 'In the garden'
Fab 'n' Funky - 'It's Christmas in July'

Robin scene, from the Woodware set - A Winter's Day,
coloured with Copics and stickles glitter.
Text Stamp - from Penny Black, Christmas Critters
Design Paper - GCD Studios, Ella Blue
Lace punch - Fiskars
Adhesive pearls.

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Where did the weekend go??

Is it Sunday night already?
Where did the weekend go?
It wouldn't surprise me if David Cameron has made Saturday one of his 'cuts' !!

Having come across the fabulous, Just Us Girls, last week,
I thought I would join in with their challenge again.
This week it's a great sketch to follow and their sponsor is
JustRite.
If you can include a JustRite stamp on your card,
you will also be entered into a second draw.

I don't have any of their stamps,
but that could change if I win this week...
fingers crossed!!
lol**

I went for another 'guy' card,
'cos I need to build up my stock of them,
and chose this cute Forever Friends stamp,
coloured with Copics.
I also made use of those cute Woodware Tool Brads
that I picked up at my local craft store.
I chose the spanner and saw,
but the packet also includes scissors and a hammer!!

Stamp - Forever Friends, coloured with Copics.
Design Paper - Papermania Hampstead
Text Stamp - from the Papermania 'Stamping for Him' set.
Woodware Tool Brads
String, button and card candy from my stash.

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Totally Papercrafts DT and Challenge

I am so excited to let you all know that I have been asked to join the DT over at
Totally Papercrafts
It's my first time as a DT member and I am thrilled and terrified at the same time... lol*
They are a fantastic bunch of ladies over there though, so I hope I can do the job justice.
If you haven't been to the blog yet, then please head over there and check it out,
and if you enter the challenges you could win some lovely prizes from their sponsors.

This week's challenge, set by Sue, is 'Monochrome' and Simon Says Stamp are offering the cute
Greeting Fram Stamp, Cheeky Rockabilly to the lucky winner.

I needed a card for a teenage boy, so I thought that different shades of black would be perfect.
This cute stamp is from the Woodware, Playtime set and is coloured with Copics.
I didn't have the black card candy that I wanted so I coloured some white candy with a black Copic. ( I did try colouring a brown candy first, but that came out a weird dark green colour!)

Recipe -

• Stamp - Woodware, PLaytime, coloured with Copics.
• Design Paper and Ribbon from the Papermania Capsule Collection, Mono.
• Sentiment and Card Candy from Craftwork Cards
• Button from my stash
  
  
  

Animal Thank Yous

Sorry about the Bank Holiday weather guys. I think the rain is my fault - I bought a new BBQ last week!!!
Never mind.. we have had a film day and I have even managed to get some crafting done.
When my daughter saw the little Anya Thankyous ( previous post ) she wanted a set, but she asked for animals. She looked through my stamps and chose this cute little giraffe and sweet elephant.
I made the cards with my largest, scalloped, rectangle nestie and made a little envelope decorated with a strip of design paper.
The box for the cards is a little pizza box. You can see Bev's great tutorial for one here
I did have to alter the dimensions for mine, as I used rectangle cards, as opposed to Bev's squares. It's easy to change, but if it helps, my measurements were the same as for my Anya box.

I am going to enter this little set into 2 challenges..
1. Allsorts Challenge, where the theme is 'Animals' and
2. Sketch Saturday, where I have rotated Maya's sketch and used it on the lid of my Pizza Box.

Recipe :
Elephant Stamp - from the Simon Says Stamp, Elephant Love Set.
Giraffe Stamp - from Woodware, Clear Magic, Jungle Pals set.
coloured with Copics.
Design Paper DCWV, Nana'a Nursey, Baby Boy
Peel off 'Thank you'

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Christmas Robin

Have you ever made a card without any backing paper?
That's the challenge over at
Charisma Cardz this week,
and I found it a tough one.
If you want to play along, check out the fab DT work
and don't miss out on the chance to win
one of the Popcorn Bears CD's,
from this week's sponsor
Donna's Den of Crafts

Sorry about the pics,
it's been a dark, rainy day here,
but I hope you can make out all the added sparkle on my card.
I die cut a circle on the front of my card stock
and added stickles glitter all around the edge.
Then I stuck my image to the back of the card,
so it has a little depth.

Recipe:
Stamp - Woodware, Winter's Day,
coloured with copics and stickles glitter.
Snowflakes - Xcut Punch
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.
Blooms, ribbon and sticky pearls from my stash.
xxx

Winter's Day

Have you seen Elizabeth's images at Softpencil Digital Stamps?
Elizabeth is this week's sponsor at
A Spoon Full Of Sugar.

I haven't seen her work before,

but it is just sooo cute.

I definitely want to be in with a chance of winning some of
her adorable images.
So, here is my entry for their sketch challenge.
Check out the DT work, who have had the chance to play with
some of the images.

Recipe:

Stamp - Woodware, A Winter's Day,
coloured with copics
and sprinkled with Polar White Flower Soft.
Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist.
Punched snowflakes, covered with Diamond Dust.
Sentiment from Craftwork Cards.
xxx

Have fun, Jamie

Here's a card I have made for a friend's little boy - Jamie.
I am entering it for this week's

Secret Crafter challenge,

where the theme is 'Celebrations'.

I think this cute little set of Jungle Pals
from Woodware, are just perfect for kids cards.

Besides the images above, there is also a giraffe,
pawprint, bananas, leaf, and even the little sayings are included.

I have coloured the stamps with copics.
The design paper is My Mind's Eye, Bloom & Grow.

'Jamie' is stamped with MSE - Adrienne's clear stamps.
xxx

A Winter's Day

I think I'm getting faster...
it only took me 2 hours to make this card this morning!!
;-)
This follows a lovely sketch, by Heather, over on

Truly Scrumptious.

I do like those sketches where you can use your larger stamps
and make them the main focus of the card.
The extra challenge this week is to use a minimum
of 3 stamps.

The 3 stamps I used were all from the Woodware,

Winter's Day set.
I stamped the robin in the foreground,
and then masked him, to stamp on the watering can scene.

My third stamp was the 'A Winter's Day' sentiment.

Recipe:
Stamps, as above, coloured with watercolour paints
and sprinkled with Polar White Flower Soft.
Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist
Snowflake border and sticky pearls from my stash.

xxx

Jungle Pals

Afternoon everyone,
hope you are all enjoying the bank holiday weekend.

My daughters have gone off to festivals,
one is at Leeds Fest and the other is at Creamfields;
hubby is playing golf,
so I have had lots of time to craft.

Here is my entry for this week's

Stamp Something challenge,
where the theme is 'Animals'.

The challenge sponsor is Digital Delights

where you will find lots of cute digi creations.

Check out the fab DT work and you can get some idea
of what's on offer.

Recipe:

Stamp - from the Woodware, Jungle Pals set,
coloured with watercolours and whispers pens.
Design Paper - My Mind's Eye, Bloom & Grow
Card candy and sentiment from Craftwork Cards
xxx

Back to Skool !!

I know I'm not the only one that has been struggling with
this week's 'Back to School' challenge, over at

Simon Says.

Then I remembered that this set of stamps contained
a little backpack that was just perfect.

If you're struggling too, you could always take

Lorraine's advice and make a bookmark, or a covered notebook.

Check out the DT work for some great ideas.

What is it about me and buttons??

I see them on other people's cards
and they always look fab.

They just don't seem to look right when I use them.
I tried these all ways - with ribbon on top, underneath,
with brown thread, with string...

but in the end I got so frustrated I just stuck them on
without anything!

Recipe -
Stamp, from the Woodware Playtime set,
coloured with whispers pens.
Paper - My Mind's Eye, Wild Asparagus.
Letters cut with Sizzix die.
I made the 'Back to Skool' sentiment on my comp.
xxx

Cookies and Cards

Afternoon everyone,

I have a couple of things to show you today.

First a scrummy plate of melting moments.

I thought they would look great in cello bags,

tied with ribbon,

but they aren't going to last that long!!

lol*

And second a card for this week's
Simon Says 'Christmas in August' challenge.
There's still time to take part in this week's challenge so go and
check out the DT work.

Heidi is offering a generous prize of a $25 shopping spree in
the Simon Says Stamp Store,
which is jam packed with goodies.

I had lots of fun with this card.

It's one of my new stamps and I have been dying to try it out.

I couldn't get the colours right with my whispers pens,

so I attempted to watercolour it.

I found a small set of cheap watercolour paints that
the girls must have had when they were younger and
for a first attempt with them, I am quite pleased with the result.

It's also the first time I have used Flower Soft

and it makes a very pretty snow effect.

Recipe:

Stamp - from the Woodware 'A Winter's Day' set.
Design Paper - K & Co Peppermint Twist
Polar white flower soft.
Brad, card candy and sentiment from my stash.
xxx