Actual bells

I am so fed up with broken heating, condensation and assosiated problems, and drainage issues that today I shut myself away with a fan heater and frequent cups of coffed to try and forget about it all for a while.
Here is a card I made:

                                                         

The current challenge at Merry Monday is Bells. I scratched around for ideas, not having any bell stamps or dies and plan a and b failed before I remembered that I have some actual bells. These are left over from a sewing project.  
I stamped this wreath in Meadow then added the pine cones in Espresso.  I mounted it on some green paper then glitterd around the edge using double sided tape. I can safely say that everything in a 1/2 mile radius is now covered in glitter too. 
I made the tiny double bow and then sewed on the bells with gold thread, stitching them right through the card so they will not fall off. The having the thread lying about, I twiddled some in the middle of the card too.  
After several false starts I finally had someting to show. Not one for posting though... 
The stamps are all from a set I received with Creative Stamper magazine.  
I'm also liking to Rudolph Days February challenge - make a Christmas card. 

Stems

Here I am nipping into the Less is More challenge at the last minute again. One day I'll get there early. 
The challenge this week is to Include a Stem. Should not be too difficult but it must also be one layer.

I confess this is the second card as I stamped the green at the top on the first one and then realised it would be better the other way around. I used ink on an acrylic block, ink and water spray for this.
 

I wanted to use this Kanban stamp which is one of the first ones I bought but have rarely used successfully. It is tricky to stamp as it is so intricate and you need to ink carefully and use a flexible acrylic block. Even here, trying very hard, I missed one petal! Grr.
Then I made an error of judgement and carried on when I should have stopped. Always the case with me. Finished up with blobs by the greeting so added some gems, which I had not really intended to do. 
I must get me a splatter/splodge stamp. I am not brave enough to splatter ink direct. 
Anyway, here it is. I hope you like it.

Birthday wreath

Wanting a quick card I reached for my old faithful Card-io stamps and stamped a wreath. I love stamping wreaths and often do Christmas ones but it is good to do flowery ones too. 
It is all made from snippets too. When I opened my ribbon box there was a purple ribbon right on the top. I suspect I cut it out of a piece of clothing recently. The ribbon was the fiddliest bit and glue was everywhere. 
I added black stickles in the centres of the flowers as it really helps them.
I like the purple and green.

 So I'm just running over the Pixie's Snippets Playground where Sarn is in charge while Miss has a lie down. I hear everyone is behavin' impeccably and there will be nothin' to report when she gets back!

I heart balloon you.

I've gone very clean and simple with this but I am not really sure about it, at all. 
I have made it for my husband and, while being very supportive and encouraging about (almost) all my cards, he does always think a bow is a step to far. So he will probably like it. 

(He also thinks it is a cheap hobby. I suppose it is compared to some. I don't disillusion him. He is very sweet, he says it gives pleasure to me and pleasure to others when they receive the cards so I should keep making them!) 

When other people make really simple cards they look great but when I do it they just look plain. 
I had meant to trim the square smaller but hadn't factored in the hanging string. Also at the last minute I stuck it on at an angle which I do quite like.
I held myself back from any borders, mounts or embellishments. Tell me what you think, I'd really like to know. I really much prefer things with more work in them.
I've used a Stamplorations balloon stamp, Dovecraft peg letters and Glossy Accents with a  little glitter sprinkled on. 
I'm linking this to the Stamplorations CAS challenge:

                                         
and Casology:

                                                     


All the cards are amazing at both of these challenges.








                                        

White poinsettia

I was suddenly inspired this morning with an idea for the Less is More - White on White birthday challenge. (Metallic accents are allowed). 
I was short of time and inspiration so thought I wasn't going to manage. I wanted to rush home immediately to make it.
They are celebrating 5 happy years of amazing challenges. Theirs was the first challenge I was brave enough to enter so I am happy to be able to join in this week.

Congratulatons.

                                             
                                   





Here is my card:

 The top layers of the poinsettia are stamped and embossed on crepe paper. I wasn't sure if that would work but it did. Then I just sewed on a button and held all the layers together with some silver thread. I left the ends and then added a couple more threads and glued it on. 
I've just learnt how to do this partial embossing and like the effect very much though I need to work on my technique. (You Tube videos again).
So I've made three Christmas cards this year and two of them have been white on white.  
Thanks for visiting. Enjoy your weekend, I hope you get some crafty time. 
 

S is for Stamping and Sapphire

I'm very excited to have been asked to be guest designer at Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge. 
                                                     
                                     

Exciting but nerve racking as I've never been asked to do this before. 
The Butterfly Challenge is two years old! Congratulations. I think I discovered the challenge about a year ago. The entries are so varied and inspiring.
We are starting the alphabet again and Mrs A has added a new twist. We will still have a theme starting with a letter of the alphabet but there will be an added optional colour challenge starting with the same letter and extra prizes!

I chose S which I am happy to report turned out to be for Stamping, I was worried it would be something I would really struggle with. 'Shoes and ships and sealing wax'.

The extra colour twist was Sapphire. Lovely.

I've made two cards, things never quite go to plan do they? Not for me anyway but it is fun along the way. So here's what happened:
 
I wanted the image to be circular and I chose my favourite Inky Doodles stamps and drew round a circle die to get a rough idea of where the design would be. 

Sapphire immediately said rich colours and jewels to me so I wanted to use embossing perhaps reminiscent of a brooch. I stamped a black one at the same time to try out different ideas. 

The way I have made these is by stamping the flowers and then painting in the colour using a brush, ink and water. I use the Big and Juicy ink pad squished onto an acrylic block for this as the colours blend so well. I mix with water to get darker and lighter shades. This pad is ancient but still inky.
To finish off each circle, I cut out them with a die and then made narrow frame using two dies together. 
 Here is the first card:

This one is stamped with back ink. 
Arrgh! When I started painting I realised that I had used a Versafine ink pad and that the black ink was sort of bleeding into the colour. 

I carried on painting anyway and rather like the shadow that this ink pad gives. It almost looks like batik or similar fabric. If you don't want the shadow, a dye ink is needed.
The frame for this one is coloured with a pro-marker. I mounted it on a circular card with a bit of thread knotted at the top.

I made this one first but there is not a speck of blue on it! I'm not sure what I was thinking when colouring as I really wanted to include the Sapphire. So I had another go and this is it:

I stamped the  flowers one at a time in Versamark then embossed in bronze. I wanted it to be covered in flowers so when each one was heat set I masked it and stamped the next one. Some patience was required but it didn't take too long. Then I coloured in shades of blue with green for the background. I embossed the frame as well by pressing it into the Versamark pad. 
A similar coloured Sharpie (other pens are available) is your best friend at this point. I always go round the edges to cover any white and if you happen to have missed any little bits you can touch up if you have a steady hand (or ruin the whole thing if you haven't).
My plan was to add a blue butterfly but, of course, it didn't really show up so brown was better. However I like this understated butterfly on the jewels.
This one is now winging it's way to an 80th birthday.

Phew, well done if you have made it to the end of this very long post! I really hope you enjoy the challenge and a new fluttery, alphabet year.

Undulating butterfly

I started out to make a swing card with a vague idea in my head but this wasn't it. I'm not sure how this has evolved but here it is:

I wanted to make a swing card as the theme at Mrs A's butterfly challenge is U for undulating or O for over the edge. So this is undulating. It nearly tipped me over the edge. 
I cut a piece of green card to use and then promptly scored it in the wrong place. Didn't have enough of the same left so I made it into a template for next time and used white instead. Supposing I can find it, of course.
I have used a wood effect embossing folder which I bought with a voucher I was lucky enough to win here at the butterfly challenge a few weeks ago. I also bought a hessian effect folder and a small lacy one (to make up the order and not pay postage!). I thought the wood effect might help with my boys cards.
I have fiddled about with this for days but it is finally finished, as usual taking the photograph was harder. I'd lost the light by the time I'd done it.

I embossed the wood effect and then smooshed Slate ink over it and then a little pink for fun. The I added some Card-io leaves up the right hand side having stamped some ink off first. 
I used the same leaves on the centre circles and some Inky Doodles flowers. These are coloured with Pro-markers.These circles are cut out and glued on. I wasn't brave enough to stamp direct.

The reverse. Very plain with just a ribbon and knot.

The sentiment is Hobby Art.
I like swing cards as they are really very simple but look so clever. I hope you like it too. 
As well as the Butterfly Challenge, I am jumping over to Pixie's Snippets Playground with this. I have used various snippets of white card and a snippet of ribbon.