One for the (baby) boys...

Hello, I was having a sort out of my cards recently and realised I had a very limited selection to congratulate someone on the birth of their baby. I seem to get one made and then need it; the joy of having worked with a great group of youngsters.

I already had a spare card to hand for a baby girl, so thought I'd better have one for a little boy on stand-by! The main stamp set I used is called Made with Love, another set that had been languishing on my shelf for a while. It's also another of my retired sets.

As I've been working with masks recently, I thought I'd extend it slightly. I took my inspiration from a card on Pinterest, I really struggled to find the original post but think it is from an idea attributed to Barbara Grey.

Bermuda Bay

Daffodil Delight

Rich Razzleberry

Pacific Point

Tempting Turquoise

First I created my own mask by die cutting various sized holes on a piece of scrap paper. I then laid it over some Shimmery White card stock cut to size before stamping my images; this ensured they were in the right place. I then masked them off so that they didn't get coloured as I was inking the background.

Using circular movements, I sponged my colours trying to blend the colours together. I have to admit some seem to blend better than others.

Same design, different colours

You might have noticed I haven't included the text with the stamped images of the kitten and fawn. My handy tip today is to place sellotape over any part of a stamp you don't want in your finished image. Ink up the stamp as usual and then remove the tape.

The images were coloured using Promarkers - I don't often use them but sometimes they really come into their own. I've noticed that I even have a few that match my Stampin' Up ink colours which is handy.

I added just a little loop of ribbon and silver metallic thread behind the sentiment, which was raised using dimensionals. I hope you like it.

Have you Scene the Delicate Ornaments?

Hello, have you started your Christmas projects yet? Normally, in spite of all good intentions, I leave my Xmas cards to the very last minute. Oh each year I say it will be different next year but usually it isn't. That is until now. I have started my Christmas cards; I've made a few, started them in July! I think I may need to lie down due to shock.

Now I know some of you will be wondering why I'm not using products from the new Autumn/Winter catalogue. Here's the confession, I actually made this card at the end of July, before my new crafty stash had arrived. I know, it's September already but I've been crafting and scheduling blog posts since I'm on the 7 week Summer break from work. Yes, working in education does have some bonuses. I've gone from posting once a week to scheduling 3 times a week as I've created so much. I only hope this time that once I'm back to my day job I can keep up.

I haven't taken Delicate Ornament Thinlit dies off the shelf until now. I was so disappointed it was retired in January. For this project I decided to combine it with Lovely as a Tree and Holiday Home.

Night of Navy

Whisper White

Silver Foil

Using the "onion" die, I cut an aperture and created a winter scene behind it.

As I wanted my sentiment to be heat embossed but in a colour that that Stampin' Up don't do I followed a tip by Sam from Pootles. First of ink up your chosen stamp in Versamark and then your chosen ink colour before stamping. Sprinkle clear embossing powder over it, remove excess and then heat until set. It really does work.

I still feel this needs a little extra, maybe either a sprig of holly and berries or other greenery around the hook. Chris, my friend suggested some snowflakes dotted around. What do you think? If you have any thoughts, please leave a comment below. Thank you for looking today.

The Joy of Sets Design Challenge 6 (Letter T) - Summer by the Sea under a Sheltering Tree

It's no secret that I adore the retired stamp set, Summer by the Sea. So far though I've only used the girl gazing into the distance; I'm sure that will soon change though.

For the Joy of Sets Challenge Blog, I chose to combine this gorgeous set with with a current one, Sheltering Tree with the sea stamp from High Tide and the dog from Sitting Here. I loved making this card.

Lovely as a Tree - again????

Hello again, while the Lovely as a Tree stamp set was out I thought I'd make a second card with it. Luckily it was still visible under the mess on my desk. Normally I try to have a tidy up at the end of the day but I've been so inspired recently that ideas have flowed thick and fast. Now this doesn't always happen, sometimes I can sit staring in space for a while before a glimmer of an idea comes to the fore. I'm certainly not complaining about my messy desk, as it means I'm working; long may it continue - as long as there are a few inches of space to work on.

This really is such a classic set, I can't think there will ever be a time it retires. Once again I chose a white on white design, using only 3 other colours although Very Vanilla would also look great for the base colour.

Garden Green

Early Espresso

Whisper White

This time I made a tent card. I masked off an oval and created my sponged background, using Soft Sky and Garden Green. I stamped my trees across and the stamped the larger tree so that the majority was on white space. Sadly I didn't take photos of the process. I really must learn to take them as I go along. I then took a 2nd piece of Whisper White which was the same size and die cut an oval, this one was just very slightly smaller. It took a little time and effort to make sure it was in the right place. I then stamped the large tree again, this time on the card with the aperture, matching up as closely as possible to the tree on the background as some of the branches showed through.

Handy tip; cut the oval first and place it over the card you're going to sponge on then draw around it so you know where the ink needs to be. This card evolved as I hadn't originally planned to add an extra layer!

I wrapped some Linen thread around the top card, securing from behind with a couple of glue dots before using dimensionals to adhere to the sponged card. This in turn was secured to the base card, I added a sentiment and to create some balance coloured and stuck a wooden embellishment in the opposite corner.

I hope you like it. I decided to add to my collection of male birthday cards but depending on the sentiment you choose, this is suitable for many occasions. 

Spotlight on Lovely as a Tree

If you've read any of my previous posts, you'll know that I like a stamp set to be versatile so that it earns it's keep. Well, there is one set, Lovely as a Tree that can be used for almost any occasion, either on it's own or in conjunction with other sets. Had you thought of using it for Christmas though?

I decided that I'd make a Christmas card using the negative spotlight technique and Lovely as a Tree. As with many of my cards, it's simple and uncluttered. I often feel that with cards less is more.

Whisper White

Night of Navy

As you can see, I only used 2 colours. First of all I stamped the row of trees onto both Whisper White and Night of Navy using Versamark ink and then heat embossed in white. It immediately had a wintery feel to it. I also took some stars from the Star of Light set and stamped randomly  for a twinkly sky on the navy card. These were also heat embossed for a cohesive look.











A circle was cut out of the navy card, I used a die although a punch would work just as well. I very lightly sponged the area of white that would be revealed through the hole and used dimensionals to layer both pieces of card. It took a little while to line up both images as there is so much detail on this stamp. I do think it's worth the effort though.

A little silver metallic thread was wrapped around my fingers to loop it and place on the base card. I used a couple of glue dots to hold in place. My design was then mounted onto white card before adhering to the navy base card, allowing the silver thread to show diagonally, top and bottom. I took a sentiment from Star of Light and once again stamped and heat embossed it.

Whilst playing with this technique, I also made a second card, this time with no heat embossing. It uses the same spotlight method but with a coloured background. Another male oriented card I think. I'm so pleased I managed to get the Sky is the Limit; this one was so much easier to line up!

Summer Silhouette

Hello, do you find it difficult to create cards to express sympathy for someones loss? Crafters can be quite divided on what is and isn't suitable; should you use colour, what about a touch of bling? A while ago I saw a stamp set called Summer Silhouette, it had already retired, but I thought it would be perfect for many different projects including sympathy cards.

This stamp set sat on the shelf for a while before I finally had a play with it. In fact it only came down as I was struggling without my precision press. I know I frequently use it however I hadn't realised how much I relied on it. I chose a soft palette of colours as I really don't like stark black and white.

Blushing Bride

Crumb Cake

Whisper White

 I started by stamping the stem in Crumb Cake, adding the flower head in both first and second generation Blushing Bride onto a rectangle of Whisper White card stock. I also added the leaf in Crumb Cake.

This was then mounted onto Blushing Bride with just a narrow border showing. Linen Thread was wrapped around the lower edge. Is this where I should confess that I wanted to cover up a little of the leaf stem? Anyway, it turned into a happy accident.

Having used washi tape recently at Coffee and Cards, I decided to break out my own stash again. I thought it went well with the splodges in both Crumb Cake and Blushing Bride and created a softer background. I wouldn't add rhinestones to this type of card but wanted some subtle bling so sorted out my embellishments to find the pearls.

Now I'm normally rather decisive when it comes to how my cards should look. I am still toying with the idea of adding a small butterfly though. With or without, what do you think?

Nailed It with Jar of Love, well almost!

Hello again, as soon as I saw the Nailed It bundle it reminded me of a friend that stored his nails, screws, nut and bolts in old coffee jars. Since I also have Jar of Love it just had to be done! I adore the Jar of Love stamp set and corresponding dies; they are so versatile. I know, I say it every time but it's true so I'm really pleased they are in the new catalogue, released on the 1st June. I was disappointed though that Nailed It was retired as it makes creating cards for men so easy.

Oops, did you spot the lids?

To be perfectly honest, I started this card several months ago, putting it to one side as I wasn't happy with the original results. A friend did happen to point out that I'd managed to stick the lids upside down but even placing them the right way round still didn't solve the problem. It just looked dull; I love the idea of it but in reality it doesn't work for me.


So, what to do? Well, I've changed the colour of the lids and screwdriver handle. Any better? A little but not much. Should I just scrap it? Like I say, I love the idea.... then I had a thought. Why can't I just show that sometimes we all have cards that don't quite work for one reason or another? It's only time, a bit of card and adhesive that's wasted so not the end of the world. And really it's a learning curve, I might not be able to work out how to improve this card, but at least I know what doesn't work on the next one! Who knows,  someone else might see it and love it.



On reflection, I think that the problem may have been the use of Pool Party card stock; I was trying to get an effect of painted and slightly distressed wood but it looks too heavy. Maybe using white card and giving it a light colourwash would have worked better. I think maybe another day I'll have to make some time to experiment with some background techniques. All that remained was to add a sentiment, I think it managed to lift the colour a little in the end