Looking Sharp

Hi there!

I hope everyone is keeping safe and well. 

I mentioned in my last post that I have been making a few cactus themed cards lately. The card I want to show you today is a mix of stamping, ink blending and Nuvo Glimmer Paste. So, without further ado, let's get to it.

What you need...

Stamps:

Multi-step Cacti Stamps- Reverse Confetti

Stuck on You (ST-18-42) - Avery Elle

Dies:

Multi-step Cacti Dies - Reverse Confetti

Stencil:

Square Extraordinaire - My Favorite Things

Ink pads:

Honeysuckle - Concord & 9th

Parsley

Sea Glass

Sprout

Walnut Stain - Tim Holtz Distress

Carved Pumpkin

Onyx Black - Versafine

Glimmer paste:

Moonstone - Nuvo

Card stock:

White

Extras:

Black/white Washi

Adhesives

Tools:

Big Shot - Sizzix

Stamping platform - MISTI

Media spatulas - Nuvo

What you do...

1 Create a top fold white blank 4¼"x 5½" (11cm x 14cm) and place the stencil onto the blank, securing with some low tack tape. Blend the Sea Glass ink within the stencil so it is darker at the top and fading to wards the bottom. Allow to dry.

2 Spread the Moonstone paste over the blended area, allow to dry. (Remove the stencil immediately and place in a bowl of water or wash, along with the spatula). 

3 Stamp the solid parts of  the three cacti onto white card along with the flower. Over stamp the detail with black ink.

4 Stamp the outlines of three pots. Blend some of the Walnut Stain and Carved Pumpkin together to create a terracotta colour, add some water and paint the pots.

5 Die cut the cacti, pots and flower and assemble. Attach to the card blank overlapping the Moonstone section.

6 Add a strip of Washi across the base of the blank and add the sentiment above, towards the right.

I had such fun making this little cutey. It was great building up the cacti. You can add as much or little detail as you wish to each cactus.

I do have some more cacti themed cards, these are slightly different in that they are created using the Silhouette Cameo, so stay tuned for those.

I am going to enter this card into the Crafty Creations Challenge #420 - Anything Goes. Click here to take you to the challenge.

I am also going to enter it into the Creative Finger Challenge #206 - Anything Goes. Click here to take you to the challenge.

Thank you for popping by and I'll be back soon!

Sparkly Hello

Hello there!

As promised I'm back the second of three cards made using the Moonstone Glimmer paste by Nuvo. The card is very similar to the Hey! Friend card but it uses a different colour scheme and sentiments. Well, without further ado...

What you need...

Stamps: 

Loads of Hello ST-21-11 - Avery Elle

Dies:

Loads of Hello D-21-11 - Avery Elle

Stencil:

Rectangle Trio - My Favorite Things

Ink pads:

Picked Raspberry - Tim Holtz Distress Oxide

Tumbled Glass

Wilted Violet

Onyx Black - Versafine

Glimmer paste:

Nuvo Moonstone - Tonic Studios

Card stock:

White

Embellishments:

Crystal Confetti - The Stamp Market

Extras:

Adhesives

Die cutting machine - Sizzix

Blending brushes - Picket Fence

Nuvo Media Spatulas - Tonic Studios

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card 10.5cm x 13.5cm, place the stencil towards the top and secure in place with low tack tape.

2 Start at the top of the stencil and blend Picked Raspberry ink, Tumbled Glass followed by  the Wilted Violet. Allow the ink to dry.

3 Using a spatula, spread some of the Moonstone paste evenly over the stencil. Scrape away the excess and place back in the pot. Remove the stencil. Put the lid back on the pot and wash the stencil and spatula immediately. Allow the paste to dry.

4 Stamp the 'hello' and 'just a note to say' with black ink. Die cut the 'hello' and die cut again twice more in white card. Stack the die cuts lining up each layer. Trim the 'just a note to say'.

5 Create an 11cm x 14cm top fold blank and attach the stencilled panel onto it either with foam tape or some layers of scrap card stock. Attach the 'hello' with the 'just a note to say' above, to the left. Finish with some of the Crystal Confetti.

And there we have it. Another super sparkly card. I have one more in this set which again uses a different colour scheme and wording.

I am going to enter this card into the Creative Fingers Challenge #205. Click here to take you to the challenge.

Thank you so much for popping by, take care and I'll be back soon.

If You Were Milk - Snarky Cat

Hello there!

I'm back with another card. This one is very quirky and snarky. I have used the oh so funny Snarky Cats by Tim Holtz. The cat I used in this one went perfectly with the sentiment, its face says it all.

What you need...

Stamps:

Tim Holtz Snarky Cats (CMS392) - Stampers Anonymous

Stencil:

Circle Extraordinaire (ST-122) - My Favorite Things

Ink pads:

Dried Marigold - Tim Holtz Distress

Squeezed Lemonade

Twisted Citron

Tuxedo Black - Memento

Embellishments:

Midnight Mix Sequins - Little Things from Lucy's Cards

Washi tape:

Black/white houndstooth - MT

Card stock:

white

Extras:

Adhesives

Masking paper - Inkadinkado

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card stock 4"x 5¼" (10.5cm x 13.5cm) and position the stencil so it sits central. Use the stencil to get an idea where you want the cat to go. 

2 Ink up the cat and stamp so it sits near the lower right corner. Stamp the cat again onto some masking paper and fussy cut out. Place over the original cat.

3 Replace the stencil and blend the inks, starting with Dried Marigold followed by Squeezed Lemonade and finishing with Twisted Citron. Remove the masking paper.

4 Add a strip of Washi tape across the bottom of the panel so it lies at an angle and immediately under the cat.

5 Stamp the sentiment at the top left of the circle.

6 Mat the panel onto a white 4¼"x 5½" (11cm x 14cm) top fold blank. Add some black sequins to decorate.

I always use a quick drying dye ink to stamp the image onto the card panel and masking paper otherwise it can smudge when you ink blend over it. If you have a stamping platform, keep the cat stamp on the platform and after removing the mask, stamp over the cat with a crisp, rich ink such as Onyx Black by Versafine. This will really make the original stamped image pop with the risk of smudging.

Sometimes if you don't use a quick drying dye ink on the original image, the masking paper can pick up some of the ink and transfer it onto your card panel if you have to reposition it. Not good.

I hope you like my snarky little card, I have the Christmas version too, so I'm looking forward to playing with that one.

As always, thank you for stopping by and take care. 

Hey! Friend

Hello there! I hope you are all keeping well.

Nuvo Glimmer Paste! Why, oh why didn't I play around with this stuff when I first purchased it? It's been in my stash for some time and I don't know whether I was a bit frightened of it or just didn't have the inspiration. I'm in love!

I recently purchased the Avery Elle Loads of Hello stamp and die set and thought that these large words would look great over a stencilled background, but with some extra sparkle. This gave me the kick start I needed. Hence, I got on a roll creating a few cards using this wonderful stuff.

What you need...

Stamps: 

Loads of Hello ST-21-11 - Avery Elle

Dies:

Loads of Hello D-21-11 - Avery Elle

Stencil:

Rectangle Trio - My Favorite Things

Ink pads:

Dried Marigold - Tim Holtz Distress Oxide

Picked Raspberry

Wilted Violet

Onyx Black - Versafine

Glimmer paste:

Nuvo Moonstone - Tonic Studios

Card stock:

White

Embellishments:

Crystal Confetti - The Stamp Market

Extras:

Adhesives

Die cutting machine - Sizzix

Blending brushes - Picket Fence

Nuvo Media Spatulas - Tonic Studios

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card 10.5cm x 13.5cm, place the stencil towards the top and secure in place with low tack tape.

2 Start at the top of the stencil and blend Dried Marigold ink, followed by Picked Raspberry then Wilted Violet. Allow the ink to dry.

3 Using a spatula, spread some of the Moonstone paste evenly over the stencil. Scrape away the excess and place back in the pot. Remove the stencil. Put the lid back on the pot and wash the stencil and spatula immediately. Allow the paste to dry.

4 Stamp the 'hey!' and 'friend' with black ink. Die cut the 'hey!' and die cut again twice more in white card. Stack the die cuts lining up each layer. Trim the 'friend'.

5 Create an 11cm x 14cm top fold blank and attach the stencilled panel onto it either with foam tape or some layers of scrap card stock. Attach the 'hey! with the 'friend' underneath to the right. Finish with some of the Crystal Confetti.

I am so proud that my photo captured the beauty of this shimmery surface, of course it still isn't as wonderful as in real life. 

It's important that you close the pot of paste and wash your stencil and spatula straight away. This stuff dries quickly and rock hard and will damage your stencil and spatula. I placed a small piece of Press & Seal over the top of the pot before adding the lid. Cling film could also be used.

I am definitely going to use this paste for Christmas cards.

I hope you like my card, I will be back soon with the others I created, two use the remaining large words from the stamp and die sets in a different colour scheme and the third uses some cute cacti stamps.

I am entering this make into the Crafty Creations Challenge #419 - Anything goes. Click here to take you to the challenge.

Keep safe and well and thank you for stopping by.

Mwaahaahahaaa!

Good morning!

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend. The weather here in Norfolk was beautiful and I finally managed to get out in the garden and do some tidying up. I did have a lot of help from my chickens. They had a field day. they just constantly followed me round and scattered all the leaves I had raked up. It's so funny to watch.

As promised, I have another Halloween card I made for a friend, I just adore this one.

What you need...

Stamps:

Ghoulfriends - Paper Smooches

Spooky Sweets - My Favorite Things

Ink pads:

Picked Raspberry Tim Holtz Distress - Ranger

Ripe Persimmon

Seedless Preserves

Onyx Black - Versafine

Masking paper:

Stamping Mask Paper - Inkadinkado

Stencil:

Circle Extraordinaire (ST122) - My Favorite Things

Embellishments:

Crystal Confetti - The Stamp Market

Sparkle Crystal Clear - Spectrum Noir

Glossy Accents - Ranger

Card stock:

White

Extras:

Adhesives

Foam sheet

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card to measure 4¼" x 5½". Lay down the circle stencil onto the card and secure in place with low tack tape.

2 Stamp the ghoul in the lower right of the circle. Stamp the ghoul onto masking paper, cut out and place over the original image.

3 Start to blend the Distress inks within the stencil working from Seedless Preserves to Picked Raspberry ending with the Ripe Persimmon.

4 Remove the stencil and mask. Use the stars from the Spooky Sweets set to create a cluster of stars in black ink above the ghoul. Highlight the stars with the Crystal Clear Sparkle.

5 Stamp the 'Mwaahaahahaaa!' below the image panel.

6 Trim the panel to 4" x 5¼", back with a smaller sheet of foam and attach to a 4¼" x 5½" white blank. Add some of the Crystal Confetti to decorate.

The Sparkle Crystal Clear doesn't photograph very well and gives the black a dull greyish tinge. In real life it looked great.

As with a lot of my makes I try and use some older stamps sets such as the Ghoulfriends and newer ones such as the Spooky Sweets. I think it's fun to go back and look in your stash and as there is now more choice now of inks, stencils, dies and embellishments you can give those old stamps a new lease of life.

I have one more Halloween card to share with you and then it is onto the ol' Christmas cards.

Thank you for stopping by and I'll see you soon! 

Moonlight Deer

Good afternoon!

I'm back with another Christmas card. PaperCrafter asked some of its designers about their Christmas card makes for a feature in the current issue (#152). At the time I was working on a lovely card featuring some reindeer, a gorgeous moonlit sky and snowy background.

What you need...

Dies: 

Delightful Deer - My Favorite Things

Birch Trees - Mama Elephant

Stitched - Paper Smooches

Circles - Sizzix

Stamps:

Christmas Sampler

Ink pads:

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Blueprint Sketch - Ranger

Tim Holtz Distress Oxide Salty Ocean

Onyx Black - Versafine

Masking paper:

Masking Magic - Gina K

Card stock:

Brown

Tan

White

Embellishments:

Itty Bitty Stars Rainbow Delight - Little Things from Lucy's Cards

Gel pen:

White UM-153 - Uni-ball Signo

What you do...

1 Cut an 11cm square of white card. Cut an 11cm square of masking paper and die cut a 9cm circle in the centre. Place over the white card stock.

2 Die cut a 2.5cm circle of masking paper and place within the circle.

3 Blend the Blueprint Sketch and Salty Ocean inks within the circle making it lighter around the inner circle. Remove the masks.

4 Create a 12cm x 14cm white blank and mat the blended panel centrally at the top.

5 Die cut three birch trees in white. Place one at the left. Use the curved stitched die to create a snowbank approximately 5cm deep and attach to the bottom of the blank. 

6 Add some snow in the sky with the white gel pen.

7 Die cut the two reindeer and assemble.

8 Add the two remaining birch trees and one of the reindeer.

9 Create another smaller snow bank and fix to the bottom of the blank along with the remaining reindeer.

10 Add a sentiment to the bottom left. Finish with a few stars.

I'd taken some extra photos of the process in case they wanted them for the feature, so rather than waste them I thought it would be a good idea to use them in these instructions.

I was so pleased with this card and the colour scheme is crisp and fresh.

Also in the magazine I have an adorable reindeer card. This one showcases a spin element where several reindeer dance around Rudolph sitting the middle. This is featured in my monthly Step by Step tutorial, where you can learn a technique in 9 steps. It is simple to make and such fun to play with.

PaperCrafter issue 152 is out until 15th October. For more ideas, free templates, projects and inspiration why not pop over to the PaperCrafter website?

Well, this has been quite a long winded blog post. I normally don't do posts about my magazine makes but I just wanted to share this adorable reindeer spin card with you.

Thank you for popping by and I'll be back soon with another make.

Rainbow Heart

Hello there!

Sorry I haven't been around for a while. I recently went away for a few days with some friends to a remote cottage up in the Lake District. We did lots of walking and laughing! After getting home, I had to get a few projects done for the magazines, so sadly the blog had to wait.

Well I'm back now! I have a lovely little heart/rainbow themed card to share with you. I hope you like!

What you need...

Stamps:

Positive Strokes - Paper Smooches

Dies:

Hello Love - Paper Smooches

Ink pads:

Bluebird - Wendy Vecchi

Buttercup

Tiger Lily

Peony Purple - Impress

Sour Apple - My Favorite Things

Melon Mambo - Stampin' Up!

Gems:

Black

Card stock:

Black

White

What you do...

1 Trim a piece of white card 10cm square. Stamp the brush strokes vertically down the left hand side in rainbow colours.

2 Cover a 10.5cm square blank with black card and mat the rainbow panel onto it.

3 Die cut the heart several times in black card (I did five) and stack together with wet adhesive.

4 Attach the heart towards the right of the blank. Add some gems to decorate.

I love the bright rainbow brush strokes against the white background and the black just makes the whole thing pop.

Stacking several die cuts really makes the image pop. You can get the same effect by cutting the image once in your chosen card and then once in craft foam. A great technique.

Well, that is all for now. Thank you so much for stopping by and I'll be back soon with another make. It won't be long now before I start posting Christmas makes up - yikes!

Take care!

I Wet My Plants

Hello there and happy Saturday!

I've been really busy of late with lots of work for the magazines, so I now have a bit of time to update my blog and share with you another cute make.

This one uses my fave, Paper Smooches! I teamed up Paper Smooches stamps with dies to create a lovely little scene with an adorable bear and some colourful flowers.

What you need...

Stamps:

Chubby Chum Pals - Paper Smooches

Twiggy Florets - Paper Smooches

Perky Plants

Dies:

Stitched - Paper Smooches

Copic:

Cerise R006

Fuchsia RV09

Lilac V04

Violet V09

Acid Yellow Y08

Lemon Yellow Y13

Pale Celestine B0000

Chrome Orange YR04

Cadmium Orange YR07

Toast E34

Chamois E35

Brick White E40

Pearl White E41

Ink pad:

Extreme Black - My Favorite Things

Gel pen:

White UM-153 Signo - Uni-ball

Card stock:

White

Lime

What you do...

1 Cut a piece of white card 10cm x 14cm, stamp three flowers and the sentiment from the Twiggy Florets set, some bees from the Perky Plants set and colour in.

2 Stamp the bear onto white card, colour in and cut out.

3 Die cut the curved stitches onto lime card, trim so it measures 10cm wide and approximately 4cm high. 

4 Attach the lime section below the plants and then adhere the bear in front of the plants with foam tape.

5 Adhere to a 10.5cm x 14.5cm white blank and add some detail to the plants with the white gel pen.

There you have it. I think the sentiment is hilarious. I bought the stamp set solely because of that one sentiment. Have you ever done that? Bought a stamp or die set just for one image or sentiment.

I hope you like this cute little make. I'm off now to go and sort the chickens out, they are after their afternoon corn!

Thank you for dropping by and hopefully back soon.

Sweetie Pie

Hello there!

I'm back with another card to share with you. This one is in my usual style of clean and simple with oodles of cuteness!

I used stamps from one of my fave companies, Paper Smooches. This is quite a small card, 8.5cm x 12.5cm which makes it ideal for a quick note card or a 'just because' card.

What you need...

Stamps:

Bee Mine - Paper Smooches

Boob Tube - Paper Smooches

Ink pads:

Extreme Black - My Favorite Things

Sky Blue #38 - Versacolor

Promarkers:

Berry Red, Champagne*, Ice Grey 3, Lipstick Red, Raw Sienna, Sandstone

Masking paper:

Stamping Mask Paper - Inkadinkado

Card stock:
White, Kraft

*Limited Edition

What you do...

1 Stamp the pie, steam and three hearts onto white card in black ink.

2 Stamp them again onto masking paper and cut out. Place the masks over the corresponding images.

3 Use a blending tool to blend Sky Blue ink over the image, focusing the depth of colour over the actual pie.

4 Remove the masks and colour in the images.

5 Stamp the sentiment underneath the pie.

6 Trim the image to 6.5cm x 9.5cm and mat centrally at the top of a Kraft blank 8.5cm x 12.5cm with foam tape.

There you have it! A cute little note card. Mixing and matching your stamp sets makes them go a lot further with infinite possibilities and they don't have to be the same brand.

I'm going to sign off now, Thank you for popping by and I will see you next time.

Howdy Friend

Good afternoon!

How are you? We are having some lovely weather here in Norfolk at the moment. I am not one to sit out in the sun, but it's great being able to have doors and windows open and let all that fresh air into the house.

I was so exited to be able to get hold of one of the turnabout stamp sets by Concord & 9th along with a co-ordinating die set. Finding these stamp sets in stock is like trying to find hens teeth!

I fell in love with the cactus themed stamps and dies called 'To the point'. I went with a lovely colour scheme of pool, pink, peach and lime.

A stamping platform is needed to use the turnabout stamp set. This will help to create the perfect lined up background.

What you need...

Stamps:

To the Point Turnabout - Concord & 9th
Surf & Turf - Paper Smooches

Ink pads:

Key Lime, Peach Bellini, Sea Breeze, Bubblegum Pink - Gina K
Extreme Black - My Favorite Things

Dies:
To the Point - Concord & 9th

Glitter pen:
Sparkle Crystal Clear - Spectrum Noir

Basic supplies:
Card stock, adhesives, foam sheets

What you do...

1 Use a stamping platform to create the cactus background using Key Lime, Peach Bellini, Bubblegum Pink and Sea Breeze inks. Trim away a 4.5cm x 14.4cm section.

2 Cut a piece of white card 5cm x 14cm and use the Bubblegum Pink ink pad to colour down the vertical sides. Mat the cactus panel onto this piece and adhere to the right of a 10.5cm x 14cm white top fold blank.

3 Use the ink pads to colour some white card stock. Cut the cactus from Key Lime, the pot from Sea Breeze, the heart from Bubblegum Pink and the flowers from Peach Bellini. Die cut the 'Howdy' and the trim from black card.

4 Die cut the cactus, pot and heart from foam and assemble the cactus as shown. Attach to the left of the stamped panel. Add the 'Howdy' to the top right of the blank and stamp 'Friend' from the Surf & Turf set below.

5 Highlight the cactus flowers with Sparkle Crystal Clear.

Colouring white card stock with ink pads is a great way of matching card to stamped images. These Gina K ink pads give lovely, vibrant and even coverage. Plus, as they are dye based they dry really quickly and don't smudge.

I can't wait to do this card in another colour scheme, maybe using shades of greens and blues.

I want to give this card to a friend when I see her to thank her for my birthday goodies, and for just being there for me now that I am on my own.

Thank you for popping by, I am now going to have some tea and I will be back soon with another cute make.

Hello Honey

Hello there!

I hope you are all well.

So, I'm back with another make. This one being really cute. It mixes up two sets from Paper Smooches, Bee Mine and Blossoming Buds.

What you need...

Stamps:

Bee Mine - Paper Smooches
Blossoming Buds - Paper Smooches

Ink pads:

Extreme Black - My Favorite Things

Dies:
Bee Mine Icons - Paper Smooches

Promarkers:
Pink Pearl*, Cool Aqua, Mandarin, Sand Dune*, Yellow, Sunflower, Lime Green, Ice Grey 1
*Limited Edition Colours

Embellishments:
White pearls

What you do...

1 Stamp the floral cluster onto white card stock and colour in. Stamp the bee onto white card stock, colour in and cut out.

2 Add the bee to the floral panel with foam pads and trim to 10cm square. Stamp the sentiment in the top left corner.

3 Mat onto a 10.5cm square lime card blank. Decorate with some pearls.

I've had my Promarkers for quite a few years now and when Letraset did the limited edition sets I collected them all. It will be a shame when they run out as they are not around anymore. I keep hoping that Winsor & Newton will bring them back.

I like to use both Copic and Promarkers. Even though I have the full range of colours in both brands, there are some shades of colours in one brand that the other doesn't have. I find that when I do use both, they blend together really well. 

I love this little card, it's so bright and cheery. It's perfect to send to someone in these lonely times just to let them know that you are thinking about them.

I don't know what it is about Paper Smooches stamps, the images always bring a smile to my face. They are also a dream to colour in.

Thank you so much for popping by and I'll be back soon with another card. Take care and stay safe!