Purple flowers

Hello lovely crafters. 
Here we are on the other side of the mid-winter festival of washing up. I'd forgotten how bad it gets, as soon as you finish a load, 6 more mugs arrive. (I did insist that everyone had a go, without complaint, I should say).

After the washing up was done and the house had a fewer occupants, I was able to reclaim my crafty space and make this card. 

I started with a couple of inkings I found in a folder. I can't tell you when or why I did these but I know they are brushos on watercolour paper. 

The flowers were die cut from the purple end and the leaves from the green. I decided against using the leaves in the end and used a flourish instead which was also a snippet. 

Die cut flowers, a cut away edge and added inky piece, a little stencilling and a tiny bit of stamping. 

I've got some more flowers and leaves cut from the first sheet so am working on another card with those. I'm still fiddling with it or I would have shared it here. 

I wanted to add some tiny bees or insects so if anyone knows of any very small insect stamps, please let me know. Thank you! x

I'm sharing this at the Snippets Playground where there is a very special prize on offer and the theme is 'Anything but Christmas'. 

And also Allsorts Challenge where the theme is CAS

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x

(Almost) Time for Presents!

 Hello lovely crafters!

It's time for a new challenge over at Shopping our Stash and this time we are asking you to use presents. 

Time for Presents - use presents on your card or make a Thank you card for gifts you received. 

As is often the case this started off as one thing and finished up as something quite different. 

I knew I had some little present stamps so I dug through my stash until I found them. 

Once I started stamping, I got carried away - stamped the centre and then all around the outside too. I've use various stamps from Card-io and Leane Creatif plus the unknown brand presents. 

I wish I'd embossed the mice with clear powder like I did with the greeting but I have many good ideas when it's way too late!

Why not dig through your stash and join in our challenge. You have two weeks and if your Christmas cards are all done and dusted then you'll probably be needing a Thank you card sooner or later. 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x

Those naughty mice

 Hello lovely crafters. 
Here is another one of my Christmas cards. Most of them are safely in the post now though who knows when they will arrive. 

The mice are Card-io stamps which I am really enjoying. 

I'd like to enter this into the Allsorts Challenge - Let it Snow.  My little mice are very happy playing in the snow. 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day and stay warm x

Snippet catch up

 Hello lovely crafters. 

I hope everyone is warm and looking on the bright side. We've had a little snow which is very unusual here in December. 

I started this crafting session (which lasted 3 days) by thinking I'd make a quick card with an odd piece of pretty red inked card. Inspired to use a star die, I fished them out and found lots more stars in the bag already cut out so hence several more cards. All the stars used here were pre-cut. Who knows why I had that many?

Greeting from the same red card and white leafy boughs from snippets. I was sure I had a little red bow and found it in my exploding ribbon box. 

I wanted something just behind the star. I tried partial embossing but that went wrong and resulted in the creation of a new snippet. 

Finally I inked Versamark through a starry stencil and dusted on some Perfect Pearls. It's very subtle but just what I wanted. 

Mark II. A white and silver star with Perfect Pearls on the star and in the background. 

Mark III I was pleased to find that I had a bow die and could use more of the red scrap. 

Top tip, don't lean over your concertina file looking for scraps of green paper while holding a die. You'll drop the die and have to go through the whole file looking for it. 🙄

Think I've done well but still can't quite throw it away 🤷

I'm skipping over to the Snippet's Playground to admire the Christmas lights and see what mischief is about. As well as the stars and red scrap, I've used white snippets for all the branches and part of a shiny green envelope. That is why we save them...

Oh, Christmas Tree

 Hello lovely crafters

A quick post to show this card which was made on watercolour paper. The image stamped with distress ink and then again with water. I nearly rejected in as it wasn't perfect but never leave a card behind. The all count at this stage in December. I'm not sure what I was thinking, probably that it was too blobby in the middle. 

I love the sky, I hope you do. 

I'm linking this to Stamping Sensations Must use stamping, Anything Stamped with the option of Winter Wonderland. 

plus

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x

Green boughs

 Hello lovely crafters.

How are your Christmas cards going? Our new challenge at Shopping our Stash might help with inspiration. Challenge #485 - Holly and Ivy - Use Christmas plants and greenery (trees, boughs, poinsettia, mistletoe). 

Here's my card.

I blended some blue ink over some water colour paper for a bright sky. Then I used a stamping tool to stamp the branches one at a time. Inking first with green and brown, stamping and then spritzing the stamp with water and stamping again. Adding a little water means you get a bit of pooling and spreading of ink. 

Then of course, a bit of glitter. It is edible glitter, no microplastics here!

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. 

Green bauble

 Hello lovely crafters

I've just realised that this is the last day of November. It certainly looks like November outside, grey and murky but with some gorgeous Autumn colour. 

Luckily the sun is always shining where I'm going!

I've made this card entirely from snippets so I'm off to the playground. Where the challenge is (almost) always - Anything goes with Snippets. 

The green is from a left over Gelli plate print. I die cut the bauble and then, after gluing it to the print, I cut round it. I die cut the square green frame and added a few stamped boughs behind. 

I managed to make gold splatters with a drop of liquid pearls and some water to dilute it. Then just a gold bow to finish. 

There didn't seem to be any room for a greeting so I'll add that on the inside. 

I just need a few more Christmas cards and now I have the green square from the inside to use up in a similar way. Who has finished their Christmas stack? 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x

Twinkly lights

 Hello lovely crafters!

I'm sure I'm not alone in finding Christmas a bit of a trial at times. However I do love all the lights and decorations. I find it quite distracting to drive around in December seeing houses lit up with fairy lights. 

I chose lights for this new challenge at Shopping our Stash. 

# 484Shine Bright Like a Diamond  - Bling it up and/or use something which gives light (candle, light bulb, sun) 

From my stash I've used a Leane Creatif stamp set for lights and leaves, Giotto glitter pens for the lights (gift I've hardly used, naughty) and gold Liquid Pearls. Woodware greeting. 

Then right at the end I went in with a small blending brush and a little yellow ink to add a glow. I could have ruined it but I was gentle and it worked ( I think). 

Hop over and see what my teammates have come up with this time and join in with our challenge. It's perfect for Christmas if you need a few more cards. 

I'm also taking this over to Stamping Sensations where the theme this month is Christmas Celebrations.

 

And also We Love Stamping where the theme is also Christmas. Thank you Brenda for pointing that out. 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x

Golden snowflake

 Hello lovely crafters

While searching for inspiration today I found some papers I'd forgotten I had. I know every single one of you reading this will identify with that (for papers also read - stamps, dies, inks, stencils, pens, ribbon, gems, glue, paint and I could go on).

And that is the point of the Shopping our Stash challenge. Let's use what we have!

This week we are asking you to use: SOS #483 - Buttons and bows and...

'Little things mean a lot! Dig deep into your stash and create with old-school favourites like eyelets, brads, ribbons and/or buttons.'

The first thing I found was this snowflake. Previously die cut and then embossed in gold. I added some of the rediscovered papers, gold ribbon, a button and some gold thread. A simple old favourite greeting and it's done. 

I don't often use papers to create with, preferring to start blank and create with ink so it begs the question, why did (do) I buy them? Answers on a postcard...

Lets see what you've been hoarding. Join in our challenge which runs for the next two weeks. Come and see what the rest of the team was inspired to create. 

I'm also hopping over to the Snippets Playground for a run around and maybe a sneaky drink in the treehouse. 

Everything I've used here is snippets or stash. 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x

I only have eyes for you.

 Hello lovely crafters

Here is a card I made for our Shopping our Stash challenge - I only have eyes for you - Use Googly eyes on your project or anything with eyes. 

I hope you like these cute owls. 

From my stash I've use an Inky Doodles Stamp set 'Caroline's Owls', brushos, watercolour paper, Prismacolour pencils and scraps for the owls which are cut out and stuck on. Plus a base card which already had been discarded from a previous project. 

I know I have some googly eyes somewhere but they are well hidden. I'm sure I'll find them tomorrow. 

SOS #482 

Remember to use those things you are hoarding. Dig through your stash and see what you have to offer. You have two weeks to join in. 

Thanks for visiting enjoy your day. x

Little winter bird

 Hello lovely crafters

I need to crack on with my Christmas cards. I have a little stash but I'm sure not enough. Here is one I made after watching Laura Wenn for Card-io on The You Tube. This is my version using different stamps. 

I've used this branch stamp from the Oriental blossom stamp countless time. The bird is new from the Amiable Abodes set. After inking the sky, I added the red berries (in a somewhat blobby way) and some snow with a gel pen. 

The frame is made with a Clearly Besotted set which I won in the Snippets Playground so I'm off to show my homework there. 

The stamped panel and the frame are snippets, only the base card was new. 

I'm also popping over to the NBUS challenge

I've used a few new things including the Card-io bird, red liquid pearls and snowy edge stencil. 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x

Autumn Leaves

 Hello lovely crafters

It's time for another challenge at Shopping our Stash and this one perfectly reflects the season change here to Autumn.

SOS 480 Leaf me alone -

Create a project featuring a leaf or leaves. 

Of course there is no need to have an autumn theme, check through your stash and use any leaf  products you can find and join in the fun. 

I did use Autumn colours.

I used my very favourite technique of iron off embossing. I chose a Hobby Art Set of leaf stamps and stamped and embossed in clear, on a strip of watercolour paper. 

Then I spritzed the whole card and dropped Brushos on in brown, yellow and orange. I used a brush for a small amount of 'helping' and left to dry. 

When dry comes the fun part. Place the card between sheets of clean paper and iron on hot. The embossing powder melts onto the paper leaving you with the gorgeous inkiness. 

In the end I didn't add a greeting as I wasn't sure what occasion I'll be using it for. Of course it doesn't necessarily need one but it's good to have multipurpose cards in stock.

I think white on black when I do add one.  

I'm skipping over to Just Us Girls with this one. Checkout all the gorgeous leafy cards. 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy  your day. x

Summer wreath

 Hello lovely crafters.

I hope everyone is well. We're at a change in the season here. So hot a few weeks ago and now actually chilly on occasion!

Here is a recent fun card I made. I don't need much encouragement to get out my Card-io stamps and I saw some inspiring cards on the card-io Facebook group so off I went. 

As usual I pencilled in the circle and used that for the rough shape. I stamped the flowers first and then the leaves and greenery. 

The colours were so soft that I thought Thinking of You was best. At first I wasn't so keen on the darkness of the butterfly but I've got over that and think it's ok. 

You can see I added some Pearl Effects to the centres. Not too blobby 😁

I'm sending this one over to Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge. 

As usual no fancy folds here. I just used Wisteria and Wild Blue Yonder colours, and the butterfly, of course. 

I'm off to a craft fair next week where I'm sure I will buy more. 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x

Watercolour wreath

 Hello lovely crafters. 

A quick post from me as I really should be doing something else right now.

Here is a Christmas card I started before we moved all the furniture around. Progress is being made but I'm still travelling from room to room looking for things. 

I stamped this wreath on watercolour paper then 'painted' in the leaves and berries using water with some Perfect Pearls. 

Looking for a greeting, I found this on which seemed perfect for the CAS Christmas Card Challenge this month. Sparkle and Shine. So I stamped and embossed with green embossing powder for some extra shine. It's quite subtle but there is definite sheen. 

Thanks for visiting, enjoy your day. x