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.

Born Today - Cricut

Good afternoon!

It's been a couple of weeks since my last post. A few things have been happening in my life and unfortunately the blog took a back burner, but I'm back now.

A very dear friend asked me to make a birthday card for his husband. I went through the Cricut design store and found a perfect image. I kept to the colours used by Cricut as I found them to be quite clean, fresh and masculine.

Here is the card...

What you need...

Cricut image: 

Someone I Love Was Born Today (#M8B6A72E) - Let's Eat Some Cake set

Card stock: 

navy, teal, coral, white

Embellishments: 

Droplets Crystal Clear Hearts - Little Things From Lucy's Cards

What you do...

1 Purchase and download the images to your canvas.

2 Re-size to fit your chosen card blank. I used a 15cm square blank.

3 Send to cut in the colours of your choice.

4 Assemble onto the card blank and secure with adhesive.

5 Add some heart shaped droplets to finish.

I think this was such a lovely card to send to a male as men are so difficult to make for sometimes. You could also change up the colour scheme to make a card for a female recipient.

Handy tip: I cut the whole design out first in a scrap of card. I used the negative to help place all the final coloured pieces onto the blank. This helped keep the lovely heart shape and spacing of the little hearts.

If you haven't got access to a Cricut, then you could get a similar look by using die cut words/hearts or stamps from your stash.

So there we have it, a simple card that uses a beautiful image and colours.

I am going to sign off for now, thank you for popping by and I'll hopefully be back soon.

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!

Poppy Thanks

Hello there!

I hope you are all keeping well.

I'm back with another card to share with you. This one I made for some dear friends to thank them for the birthday goodies they gave me.

I decided to go elegant with a beautiful stamp set by Altenew called Poppy Garden. I also used the co-ordinating stencil and mask set. I created the background with Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink in Candied Apple. The photo doesn't really do the colour justice as the red in real life is a very bright true red. The centre of the poppy was highlighted with dimensional gloss by Nuvo.

So without further ado, here it is...

What you need...

Stamps:

Poppy Garden - Altenew

Stencils/masks:
Poppy Garden Mask Stencil - Altenew

Ink pads:

Extreme Black - My Favorite Things
Candied Apple Tim Holtz Distress Oxide - Ranger

Die:
Thanks - Paper Smooches

Dimensional medium:
Morning Dew Crystal Drops - Nuvo

Glitter Spray:
Sparkle Sheer Shimmer Craft Spray - Imagine Crafts

Embellishments:
Droplets - The Stamp Market

What you do...

1 Stamp the poppy towards towards the lower right corner of white cardstock 10cm x 14cm. Mask off and stamp several leaves.

2 Keeping the masks in place, apply the Candied Apple ink with a blending brush (or sponge). Blend so that the colour gently fades towards the top of the piece of card.

3 Spritz the panel with the shimmer spray, when dry remove the masks and trim the card to 9.5cm x 13.5cm. 

4 Die cut the 'thanks' several times in white card and once in black. Stack the layers finishing with the black one on top. Add to the panel just above the poppy.

5  Mat onto a white top fold blank 10cm x 14cm with foam tape.

6 Add some Nuvo drops to the centre of the poppy and attach a few droplets around the poppy to decorate.

This is another card that is a little different for me, but I so enjoyed playing with the ink and masks. It got quite messy at one point and with the ink being bright red it looked like I had massacred someone.

I love the subtle sheen that the shimmer spray gives to the background. I also like it when you get a few larger droplets of it.

I'm going to have another play with this stamp set and masks and maybe create a card where the poppies are coloured and the background is left white.

Thank you for stopping by, keep safe and well and I'll be back soon. 

Ketchup

Hello there!

I hope you are still keeping well. 

I am so off the plot at the moment. It was my birthday yesterday and I didn't realise it was coming up until the other day, plus normally today we celebrate Mayday in the UK, but I only remembered earlier today that this year it has been moved to Friday the 8th to celebrate VE day. I really need to leave orbit and come back to earth!

Anyway, on with today's card. I was going through my lovely Paper Smooches stamps sets and decided on this cute little fellow.

What you need...

Stamps:

Vegtastic - Paper Smooches
Picture It - Avery Elle

Dies:
Vegtastic - Paper Smooches

Ink pads:

Extreme Black - My Favorite Things

Patterned paper:
Highline 6x6 Paper Pad - Basic Grey

Copic:
Cool Gray C-1, Cool Gray C-3, Salmon Red R05, Cadmium Red R27, Green Bice YG01, Acid Green YG07

What you do...

1 Stamp the photo frame and cut out along with the inner section. Add Cool Grey 1 and 3 to add definition.

2 Back the inner section with a piece of the yellow patterned paper from the Basic Grey pad.

3 Stamp the 'Washi' tape strips, colour in and cut out.

4 Stamp the tomato, colour and cut out using the matching die. Fix the tomato to the patterned section of the photo frame.

5 Stamp the 'comment' section to the frame and the speech bubble with the 'We must ketchup' sentiment. Cut out the speech bubble.

6 Attach the photo frame to a white top fold 10.5cm x 14.5cm blank. Add the 'Washi' strips and the speech bubble.

After the lockdown has ended, this would be an excellent card to send to a friend to arrange a coffee and a good catch up chat.

Sadly the Picture It set is no longer available, however there are other stamp sets featuring Polaroid style frames by other brands out there. There are some dies available too. Alternatively you could create your own picture frame by cutting a rectangle with rounded corners and snipping out a section from the centre. There are also lots of stamp sets out there with speech bubbles.

I hope you like my cute little make. I've never seen such a happy tomato! 

I'm going to sign off for now. Thanks for popping by and I'll be back soon.

Slightly Distracted

Hello there!

I hope you are all keeping well.

I'm back with another card featuring a cat with attitude. This chap is taken from the Tim Holtz Snarky Cats set by Stampers Anonymous and is packed with hilarious cats and sarcastic sayings. A perfect match I think.

What you need...

Stamps:

Tim Holtz Snarky Cats (CMS392) - Stampers Anonymous

Ink pads:

Onyx Black - Versafine
Celery - Avery Elle Pigment Ink

Washi tape:
Black/white striped - MT

Embellishments

Glitter dots

What you do...

1 Mask off a diagonal section across the bottom of a 10.5cm x 14.5cm blank and blend Celery ink evenly over the area.

2 Remove the masking and apply a length of the Washi tape following the top line of the inked section.

3 Stamp the cat just above the Washi tape.

4 Stamp the sentiment just above the cat at the top left. Decorate with a few glitter dots.

I have a couple of rolls of Washi tape that I don't want to use on my makes, so I use them to mask off areas and hold things like dies in place. It means that they don't just sit there for years gathering dust and as Washi isn't as sticky as some tapes, it's perfect for masking without ruining your card. 

This stamp set is just so me, especially this sentiment! Ha! This card is perfect for a male recipient or a cat loving friend that can cope with funny sarcasm. I really like the black and white and I think the bit of green really makes the card pop.

I'm going to sign off now and make a coffee. Thank you for popping by and take care.

Peas Love Happiness

Hello there!

Well I'm back with another make. I am still going through some of my old stamp sets and of course some of my faves are Paper Smooches. The 'Vegtastic' stamp set is just so cute, I used it in my last post with the carrot card. At least with this stamp set you are getting one of your five a day!

Without further ado do here we are...

What you need...

Stamps:

Vegtastic - Paper Smooches

Embossing folder:
Swiss Dots - Cricut

Ink pads:

Extreme Black - My Favorite Things
Sea Breeze - VersaMagic

Alcohol markers:

Nile Green G07, Apple Green G14, Green Bice YG01, New Leaf YG23, Sugared Almond Pink RV02, Tender Pink RV13 - Copic

Gel Pen:
Signo White Broad (UM-153) - Uni-ball

Dimensional medium:
Glossy Accents - Ranger

Card stock: 

White, Pale Aqua

Masking paper:
Stamping Mask Paper - Inkadinkado

What you do...

1 Stamp the peas onto white card stock with the little heart above. Stamp the images again onto masking paper and cut out. Lay the masks over the original stamped image.

2 Use a blending tool to blend the Sea Breeze ink around the images and remove the masks.

3 Colour in the images and add the sentiment underneath. Trim the image to 7.5cm square.

4 Emboss a 10cm square piece of white card with the Swiss Dots.

5 Cover a 12cm square blank with pale aqua card. Then layer the embossed panel followed by the stamped panel.

6 Add some highlights to the heart, pod and peas with gel pen, apply Glossy Accents and allow to dry.

I did notice that the Glossy Accents can affect the gel pen a little, so you need to be careful when applying it that you don't move it around too much, but you can't really notice on the card.

I still have quite a few rainbow themed cards to post up, but I'm trying to spread them out a little so you are not overloaded!

I'm going to sign off for now and have a coffee and maybe a shortbread or two (yum) whilst enjoying the sun in the conservatory. Plus I can see what the chickens are up to!

Thank you for popping by and I'll be back soon. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Thrilled To Be Picked

Good afternoon!

I hope you are all well. I have a cute little card to show you today. It is an adorable little carrot design from a stamp set by Paper Smooches. I have wanted to use this little chap for a while and I finally got round to it.

What you need...

Ink pad:

Onyx Black - Versafine

Embossing powder:
Detail Clear - Stampendous

Stamps:

Vegtastic - Paper Smooches

Dies: 
Vegtastic Icons; Clouds - Paper Smooches
Square Small - Gina K Designs

Copic:

Yellow Green YG03, Grass Green YG17, Celadon Green YG25, Cadmium Orange YR07, Chinese Orange YR09, Caramel YR14, Blender 0

Card stock: 

White, Kraft, Pale Aqua, Dark Brown

What you do...

1 Stamp the carrot with Onyx Black and whilst still wet apply embossing powder. Heat to set. Die cut the carrot.

2 Cut the medium frame once in pale aqua and once in dark brown. Cut the dark brown piece in half to form a 'hill' and stick to the pale aqua panel.

3 Secure the medium frame within the large frame with masking tape and cut in Kraft card three times and stick together. 

4 Create a small 9cm x 11.5cm Kraft blank and attach the frame to the top. Insert the pale aqua/dark brown panel inside.

5 Add the carrot and two small clouds die cut from white card.

6 Stamp the sentiment underneath the frame with Onyx Black along with a small heart at each end of the sentiment.

Is he cute or what? It would also be good with a different sentiment such as 'For You' and then a packet of seeds could be popped inside to give as a little gift for a keen gardener.

Paper Smooches stamps are always a joy to colour in, I think it's because they have lovely bold outlines. I wish craft shops over here would start stocking the new collections.

Anyhoo, I'm going to have to sign off for now. I hope you like this little make and thank you for stopping by.

Keep safe and well xx