Anything goes...

Hello my lovelies!

I don't know if it's the same for you, but all of my friends seem to have birthdays in September/October/November - myself included - which means I should be ready for it each year, but invariably I'm not!  So I've been busy making birthday cards galore!!  This, at a time when I should be making a large dent in the Christmas card making list - oh well!

Here is one of the cards I've made recently;

It's a super simple card, but I quite like it!  A bit of emboss resist and a rainbow, loads of white space and a slightly sparkly sentiment - job done!

I have a leftover strip of the honeycomb rainbow - I'll have to put that to good use on something else soon :)

I did make this card for two challenges - one being STAMPlorations - Anything Goes, and the other was CAS(E)This Sketch #98, but as per usual, I missed the deadline!  The card was made, I just did not get the time for the photographs, posting etc...!  I enjoyed making it though, which is the whole reason we do this, right?!

This is just a short post today, maybe I'll get a chance to play along AND post some cards for challenges that are still live!!

Enjoy the remainder of your weekend guys, thanks as always for taking the time to stop by ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct- White Super Smooth
Stamps:  WOW! - Sexi-Hexi; STAMPlorations - Celebrate
Ink:         VersaMark; Papermania - Red, Yellow; Distress Ink - Wild Honey, Broken China, Dusty
                     Concord; VersaColor - Green, Old Rose
Other:     WOW! - Black Glint Embossing Glitter, Bright White Opaque Super Fine Embossing Powder 

Blog Hop Fun!!...

Hello, hello!!

Over at WOW! Embossing Powder this week we have a special event going on - a collaboration with 3L Scrapbook Adhesives.  Today is Day 2 - if you missed yesterday then you need to get over there and check out the talent!  Don't forget to pop back in each day this week to see all of the DT's projects :)

Here are my cards using a combination of 3L's awesome adhesives and WOW!'s wonderful powders - what a match...made in heaven!

For this first card I embossed the background using the Vintage Wallpaper stamp and Metallic Gold Rich powder. I then die cut the trefoil pieces for the 3L 3D Foam Creative Sheets and used Metallic Gold Rich and Metallic Copper powders to create the central embellishment.  It gives a really lovely effect - it's so tactile and full of texture - I don't know why I hadn't tried it sooner!

Here's a wee close up...

I also made this second card...

I don't think I will ever need to buy embellishments again!!  I was really pleased with how well the 3L Dodz took the heat embossing.  I have experimented with opaque and the more translucent powders - they both give a fantastic finish.  The opaque powders create a more matt finish, akin to enamel dots, whereas the translucent powders give a higher shine and you can still see through the dots partly, like glass beads - awesome!

ETA - Completely forgot to add that this card was made based on the CAS(E) This Sketch sketch!  Doh!  Well, I've remembered now, better late than never!  (seems to be a recurring theme lately?!)

Thanks so much for stopping by!  ;)

Supplies - Card One

3L Adhesives - 3D Creative Foam Sheet

WOW! - Vintage Wallpaper Stamp

WOW! - Express Yourself Stamps

WOW! - Metallic Rich Gold Powder

WOW! - Metallic Copper Powder

Spellbinders - Fleur-De-Lis Motifs, Parisian Motifs

Card - Paper Mill direct - White Super Smooth, Teal, Pale Turquoise

Ink - Versamark

Supplies - Card Two

3L Adhesives - Dodz

WOW! - Primary Apple Red Powder

WOW! - Opaque Primary Mandarin Powder

WOW! - Opaque Primary Sunny Yellow Powder

WOW! - Fluorescent Green Powder

WOW! - Opaque Pastel Blue Powder

WOW! - Earthtone Grape Powder 

Spellbinders - Classic Edges Two, Classic Decorative Inserts Three

Ink - Windsor & Newton - Black

Happy experimenting...

Get this - twice in two days!!

Hello people!

I'm here today with a card for CAS(E) This Sketch.  When I saw the sketch I thought it was really wide open to interpretation, but then what happened?  I sat down to make a card and would you believe...my mojo did a runner!!  How typical!  I had the whole of Saturday evening to myself to make cards and could I come up with anything - NO!!  I was beyond disappointed  :(

Then I stopped TRYING to make a card and just started experimenting and this is what happened...

I started by splodging some Distress Ink onto one of my acrylic blocks and then spritzing it with water and squishing it onto some card.  It didn't turn out quite how I thought but I'm happy with it!  

Then I wanted something else to go with it and I saw the roll of scrim on my desk and thought 'hmm?!' For those of you who don't know what scrim is (sorry if I'm being patronising!) it's the tape plasterers use to place over the joints between plasterboards before they skim.  It's like a sticky back nylon mesh.  I took a piece and stuck it to my acrylic block and then inked it with Versamark and stamped it onto the front of the card.  I was in a particularly impatient mood, so I had dried the Distress Ink smoosh with my heat gun already :)  I then heat embossed the scrim stamping with WOW! Ebony powder.  The sentiment is embossed in WOW! Black Glint, but you can't really see that in the photograph - sorry!

I like how my makeshift scrim stamp turned out!  And considering I had exactly ZERO mojo, I think this is OK  ;)

Again. last minute Larry is off to enter this into the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge before the deadline closes!

Thanks for stopping by ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Black, Smooth Grey
Stamps: Stamping All Day - Art Deco Birthday
Ink:        Distress Ink - Broken China, Crushed Olive; VersaMark
Other:    WOW! - Ebony, Black Glint e/p; Scrim; rhinestones

CAS(E) This Sketch meets Fusion...awesome!

Hi guys!

How are we all?  I hope you've all had lovely weather like we have today.  We took a trip to the coast and had a very tasty roast dinner and an ice cream on the beach...how very British!

I'm here today with a card for a challenge medley I absolutely could not miss!  I have been making cards for both the CAS(E) This Sketch challenge and the Fusion challenge over the past few weeks, none of which have been making it onto this blog...time is way too sparse!  However, this evening DOH has gone visiting a friend of our and so I have ten minutes to myself and so here I am :)

I had the general idea for this card before I began, however, it did evolve somewhat and became a lot more 'flowery' than I expected.  It looked a bit plain with an un-embossed white mat, so I embossed it and the embossing folder I chose was a little more fussy than I bargained for (you'd have thought I would've noticed before I used it, but I was FaceTiming my brother at the time and maybe not concentrating as much as I could have been :)) Luckily, it worked quite well!

I don't actually know anyone who is getting engaged, but the sentiment was the best suited!  I'll just keep this card on standby until someone decides to get married :)

Here are the combined challenge inspirations...

Too pretty not to play along with wouldn't you agree?!

Thanks for stopping by, I wish you all a fabulous week ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White; Gold mirror card; tracing paper
Stamps:  WOW! - De-Vine; Clear Impressions - Cherry Blossom; Waltzingmouse Stamps - Big Day
                    Additions
Ink:         Versamark
Other:     WOW! - Metallic Rich Gold e/p; Craft Concepts - Cottage Florals; gold thread

Birthday wishes...

Hello, hello!!

Tomorrow is my Dad's birthday and I've made him a card based on the fabulous layout at CAS(E) This Sketch this week.  I know I always say it, but those guys never cease to amaze me with the jaw-dropping, show-stopping sketches they come up with week after week!  I should be used to it by now, but they always wow me!  ;)

My Dad is a really plain/non-fussy kinda guy so I'm hoping this is simple enough for him.  I know it seems pretty simple, but that background pushed me out of my comfort zone a little bit!  It's a new-to-me WOW! background stamp called Sexi-Hexi and I inked up part of it in a random 'splodge' and embossed it using WOW! Platinum powder and then again in a more horizontal pattern using WOW! Silver Super Fine embossing powder.  The contrast between the silver and the platinum powders is subtle enough to not look too messy but still enough that it notices in real life :)  

The sentiment panels are there to give a bit of a pop of colour and the lime banner is popped up on foam adhesive to add a bit of interest and dimension, especially as there's no bling because it;s a boy card!

Here's the sketch...

Thanks so much for stopping by ;)  

I am hoping to get round and see you all this week as I'm working an early shift which should, in theory, give me a little bit more time of an evening this week - fingers crossed!!  :)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Black, Ocean Blue, Lime
Stamps: WOW! - Sexi-Hexi; Stamping All Day - Art Deco Birthday
Ink:        VersaColor - Silver; Versamark
Other:    WOW! - Ebony, Platinum, Silver Super Fine e/p

Last Minute Larry!...

Hello!

Here I am again, 'Last Minute Larry', with an entry for CAS(E) This Sketch!!

Another super awesome, super versatile sketch...I could've done so much with this, if only I had the time!!  I think I'm going to have to give up this working malarky...it gets in the way of my crafting ;)  He he!

My card was another Mother's Day card for my friend's Mum, apparently she really liked it so that's always a bonus!

I have to say, I have never met the recipient of this card and as my friend is a boy, he was useless when it came to finding out what his Mum likes - colours, style, whether she is a floral person...nothing!  So I kinda had to wing it and make something that was pretty generic but hopefully suitable for a Mother :)  

I thought about adding pearls, but as I don't know whether she's a girly-girl or not I thought it best to refrain...although now I kinda wish I'd added a little bling!

Here's the sketch...

This sketch reminds me of Christmas, I may keep it for some inspiration for my Christmas cards this year :)

I just wanted to say thank you so much to all of you for all the support you continue to give me even though my posting has become a little intermittent and my commenting has been all but non-existent!  It really means a lot to me to know that you're all still in my corner even though I haven't been around to show my appreciation for you all :)  I am a very lucky girl :)

Thanks so much for stopping by ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Black
Stamps:  Verve - Kind Words, One Person
Ink:         Ranger - Perfect Medium; Distress Ink - Barn Door, Wild Honey
Other:     WOW! - Ebony e/p

Birthday cheer!...

Ok, last one for today, I promise!!

This card still uses the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch, however it's a different theme...

I was lucky enough to win over at STAMPlorations last month which meant I got to choose TWO stamp sets!!  Can anyone say 'excited'?!!!  Anyway, I couldn't choose just two, so I ended up buying another one while I was there...when in Rome and all that ;)  This card is made solely using STAMPlorations stamps - I love them!!  

How beautiful are those Art Deco cubes?!  I'm a bit of a sucker for flourishes, swirls and details and even more of a sucker for symmetry - how could I resist these bad boys?!  

Everything on this card is heat embossed.  It was a bit tricky to get all of the rainbow colours onto the sentiment before the ink dried too much, but I had already planned which colour was going where before I stamped so I had a head start :)

I'm pleased with how this turned out and I'm hoping that it counts for The Card Concept challenge that is currently ongoing to create a birthday card.  I haven't used the image as an inspiration, but this is undeniably a birthday card!  It's also CAS, in my opinion so if it doesn't count then at least I know I was most of the way there!

Sorry about the rambling, but I am at the end of my posting spree now you'll be pleased to know :)  Hopefully I'll be back soon, and a little bit more spread out, with some more creations ;)

Thank you for sticking with me! ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Black
Stamps: STAMPlorations - Art Deco Border Builders, Chevron & Arrows
Ink:        Ranger - Perfect Medium
Other:    WOW! - Ebony, Apple Red, Mandarin Orange, Flourescent Yellow, Flourescent Green, Pastel
                     Blue, Grape, Pastel Purple e/p

Mothers part II...

Hello, back again!

Here is my Mother's Day card for my DOH's Mother, maybe one day my Mother In Law...I'm working on it ladies and gentlemen!  ;)

As you can see, it's very similar to the card I made for my Mother, however I went with brighter rainbow colours and a white background this time - I like this one too!  ;)  I wasn't sure all the colours were going to work, but they work well enough for me, I just hope MIL likes it :)

Here's the sketch again from CAS(E) This Sketch...

Such a stunner!  

Thanks for stopping by  ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Black
Stamps:  Verve - One Person
Ink:         Ranger - Perfect Medium
Other:     WOW! - Super Fine Silver e/p; coloured threads

Mothers!!...

Hello people!

How are we all?!  I can only apologise for my prolonged absence...I have been rushed off of my feet!!!  What with the new job and then DOH's 50th birthday and all of the other things life throws at you when you'd really rather be doing something else, I feel like my feet haven't touched!!  Anyway, that's enough moaning!

I am here today with THREE cards!  They will, unfortunately for you guys, be posted on three separate posts as I have made them all using the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch and would like to enter all three ;)  Sorry guys, I know it's not really blog etiquette to not post anything for ages and then THREE posts on one night, but that's just how I roll!!  ;)

Ok, so the first card I have to share is a card I have made for my Mother to celebrate Mother's Day this coming Sunday...

My Mummy is a big fan of monochrome, which is probably where I get my love for it from...so hopefully she's going to like this :)  As I've mentioned before, she's also the one who got me into all this stitching malarky with her beautiful pictures she used to create...the one that sticks in my mind most is a swan that she did, it was stunning.  So, this is a little homage to my Mum on Mum's day ;)

I am also going to take this opportunity to apologise for any typo's that may occur in my posts this evening and for the shortness of my posts as I currently have matchsticks holding my eyes open and still have dinner to do!  I am so sleepy that I have just knocked red wine over an insert I had just written for my friend's birthday card (that is coming on another post this evening!) so now I have to write it out again...honestly, if brains were dynamite...!  ;)

So, here's the gorgeous sketch that has inspired me three times over - I just can't get enough of it!!

GORGEOUS!!  I now need a stamp like that in my life, it's official!  ;)

Thank you for coming back to visit me after my unacceptably long absence, I just hope you stick with me through the rest of my posts!

Love to you all,

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - Black, White
Stamps:  Verve - One Person
Ink:        VersaColor - Silver
Other:    WOW! - Super Fine Silver e/p; silver thread

WOW! Wood...

Hey there!

I'm here today with my take on this months challenge over at WOW! Embossing Powder where the theme is 'Wood'.  I was a bit stumped (pardon the pun!) to begin with but then that light bulb moment came and I was off!

Lolly sticks of course!!  I used a few strips of scrap card to join the sticks together - it was either that or glue each edge.  Having done this previously, I wasn't about to do it again!!  (I'll share that project later in this post)  As you can see, I then stamped and embossed this Dandelion with rogue 'fluffy' bits in WOW! Primary Ebony Super Fine powder.  I don't know the name given to the bits on a Dandelion - on a flower they'd be petals...maybe I'll have to look that up?!  Well, I've just looked it up and the best explanation I can offer is that they would just be called seeds.  I suppose the fluffy part is a parachute for the seeds?!  It's not really relevant to this post, so I'll try and get back on track!!

I made this into a sympathy card, not because I needed one luckily, but because I had the sentiment issue again!  It was the only one that suited the card...and it's always good to have one in your card stash I think, just in case you become to bleary eyed after an event to make a card...that may just be me...

I based this layout on the CAS(E) This Sketch sketch from last week, but never got around to posting it...c'est la vie!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you're all having a good week ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Black, Buff
Stamps: Clear Impressions - Wild & Free; Bo Bunny - Sentiments
Ink:        VersaColor - Black; Ranger - Perfect Medium
Other:    WOW! - Ebony e/p; twine; pearls

Purple pots...

Hello there peeps!

And welcome to more new followers - it was a nice start to my Monday to find some more of you have joined me!  ;)  

I hope you all had a good weekend?!  Mine went from having no plans to being jam-packed full!!  I had a wee bit of a headache on Saturday (it was ENORMOUS!), so suffice to say that the impromptu night out on Friday was enjoyable  ;)  Sunday was then filled with laughter and the company of good friends...friends who were responsible for my fragility the previous day I might add!  I also saw my friends' little boy who is just the most gorgeous 3 year old you have ever seen, and he's so polite...I am going to convince him to live with me one day!  Too cute!

Anyway, back to business!

I have recently had an influx of commissions - when I say influx, it's not on the scale of Carol's Valentine-A-Thon, but a lot for me considering I only get requests from my Mum usually!  So, I am having to be a bit proactive rather than leave cards to the last minute like I normally do!!  I think I must have an issue as I only seem to be able to produce under pressure when there's no time for procrastination!?  

Today's card is a Mother's Day card...here in the UK it falls on 30th March so I thought I'd get a head start by using the sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch.  It's quite a detailed one for the CTS team this time around and I have to admit to not straying from it in the slightest!  That's a rarity for me as you well know...I don't like playing by the rules ;)

This is for my friends' Mum and I know that she likes purple...guess what I went with?!...

It's not often I go for landscape card...I much prefer a portrait orientation, I'm not sure why?!  Maybe it's because I'm short!!  ;)

That's a pretty literal interpretation, eh?!!  I heat embossed the pots/vases in WOW! Grape embossing powder and cut them out with my trusty scissors...they could do with a sharpen actually...  Then I stamped the snowdrops in black and attacked them with a few watercolour pencils!  I do realise that snowdrops are meant to be white, but they looked a bit bland so I coloured them in!  I think it's called artistic license?!  The sentiment is hand written, as I can see is glaringly obvious now that I'm looking at it in the photograph...maybe should've let myself wake up a bit more before I attempted the writing - might change that later if it's imperfections continue to bug me!  

This is another card that I'm not quite sure about...hmmm...maybe another grower?!

I'm also hoping that this counts as a floral for The Card Concept's challenge...you got it, the theme is floral!  There are lickle flowers on the pots/vases and obviously the dyed snowdrops are flowers too!  I'm not sure what style this is...I would hazard a guess that it would come under Clean and Layered as there's a crap-load of foam adhesive hiding under there!!  I do not know what I'd do without foam adhesive...I'd never be able to make another card again I don't think!!?  ;)

How pretty is that picture?!  I'll definitely be back for another stab at this one!  

ETA:  Thank you Ardyth for pointing out that my card is very similar to the Muse inspiration this week too!  It's even purple!  I'll be popping this in over there too  ;)

Thank you for stopping by guys, I hope this week treats you all well ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Grape, Lilac
Stamps: Clear Impressions - Wild & Free, Cherry Blossom
Ink:        Ranger - Perfect Medium; Windsor & Newton - Violet
Other:    WOW! - Grape e/p; rhinestones; watercolour pencils

Baubles!...

Hi guys!

Happy Valentine's Day to you all!!  I hope you all have some wonderful plans for this evening - whether that be spending time with those you love or sitting with a glass of wine and a box of chocolates at your desk getting your craft on!!  ;)

It's nearly the weekend - whoop!  My brother and his partner are coming to visit for belated birthday celebrations - it was my brother's birthday yesterday.  Yep, he was nearly a little baby cupid, but instead was born on Friday 13th - you can't win 'em all!  ;)

Today I made a card for the Festive Friday challenge and CAS(E) This Sketch.  I thought it only fitting as the sketch had a Christmas theme to go with it :)  I missed the first Festive Friday challenge of the year, but I am aiming to participate in the rest of them...I could do without the December card rush and it'll keep the spirit of Christmas alive all year long :)  The inspiration image for this fortnight is GORGEOUS!!

Ok, less blathering, more pictures...

I got my needle and thread (and patience!) out again for this one.  I used the Spellbinders Labels 24 dies to get the nice round shape to these baubles by cutting the 'corners' off and sticking two of them together to make this shape.  Not a very good explanation that is it, but I can't think of another way to describe it!?  

Do you see what I'm getting at?!

Those little red rhinestones were a Christmas present from my sister and it's the first time I've used them - they're gorgeous!  Super sparkly, which is what Christmas is all about as!  ;)

Here's the CAS(E) This Sketch sketch...

...and the Festive Friday inspiration...

I really enjoyed making this card as for the first time for a while, it actually went right!!  And it went right first time too which makes a nice change...I love it when a plan comes together!  Hopefully this shall continue :)

ETA:  I have also been made aware of this fabulous challenge over at STAMPlorations - Stamps and Stitches so I am going to enter this card over there too - thanks for the heads up!!  ;)

Thanks so much for stopping by ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Bright Red
Stamps: Penny Black - Crystalline
Ink:        VersaColor - Silver
Other:    WOW! - Silver Super Fine e/p; thread, rhinestones

Pink, pink, pink!...

This is my second post today...I would love if you'd have a little peruse of the first one too ;)

Hello, hello!

Get me, two posts in one day!!!  

I have managed to make a card to play along with two of my favourite challenges and a NEW challenge!  The new challenge is The Card Concept.  I'm pretty sure most of you have seen it around, despite the fact it's only into it's third challenge it has a MASSIVE presence already!  Well done guys!  I did mean to play along from the beginning, but we all know what happens to even the best laid plans... but anyway, I made it this time which is kinda strange as the challenge this time around is monochromatic pink.  Now, me and pink, we have a love hate relationship.  I'd love to love it, and it is growing on me, but it's definitely not a go-to colour for me.  That said, this card came to me seemingly out of nowhere whilst sat at my desk trying to make a completely different card!  I'm don't know exactly what that says about my brain, but I am sure that Freud would have had a field day!

Yes, I attacked this card with ink pads!  I thought this was going to be a real QACAS (Quick and Clean and Simple - as coined by the ever so masterful with words Darnell :) ) but it took me an AGE to decide on the sentiment!!!  It was actually ridiculous how long it took.  I went through every single sentiment stamp I own...which in fairness doesn't take that long!  I have seen you guys and your stamp collections and it makes me super jealous!  I can fit every stamp I own into a drawer 10cm x 23cm (about 4" x 8" for those of you over the pond!) I need to work on that, once I've won the lottery!

I had fun making this little chap (chapette as it's all pink?!) and it's as close to a one layer card as I think I'm ever going to get :)

The other challenges that this card is heading off to are;

CAS(E) This Sketch #83

and CAS-ology #82 - BOLD

This is the inspiration image for The Card Concept - I wish I could do that shabby chic thang!  Until then, picking out the different shades of pink will just have to do :)

Thanks for stopping by, especially if it's the second of my posts' you've been subjected to read today! ;)

Supplies
Card:      Paper Mill Direct - White, Raspberry Pink
Stamps: Clear Impressions - Wild & Free; Debbi Moore - Congratulations
Ink:        VersaColor - Peony, Magenta, Old Rose; SU! - Classic Black
Other:    None