Big Birthday Wishes

I made this card for a friend's 'Special Birthday' using one of my 'go to' dies for male cards.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     My Favorite Things 'Big Birthday Wishes' , Memory Box 'Classic Numbers' and Xcut 'Star' dies
     Snippets of white matt card, dark, medium and pale blue textured card

I trimmed a snippet of white card to 6" x 4" and die cut the sentiment from the centre before attaching it to the card blank.  I cut two narrow strips of dark blue card and attached them down each side.  I die cut 'BIG' from dark blue card and inlaid the letters.  The rest of the sentiment was die cut from medium blue card and inlaid into the panel.  I die cut the stars from dark, medium and pale blue and attached them to the card.  To finish I die cut '70' from pale blue card and attached it to the dark blue star.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Shades of Blue
     Cardz 4 Guyz - Clean & Simple
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
     Snippets Playground - Challenge 500 'Celebrate'
     The Male Room - Monochrome

Kath x

Flourish Reindeer

I've recently bought a collection of Impression Obsession dies (I do like IO dies as they always cut so well) and this lovely reindeer was amongst them.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Impression Obsession 'Flourish Reindeer' and Creative Expressions 'Festive Collection - Season's Greetings' dies
     Joy Crafts 'Earth Bloc' paper
     Snippets of brown pearlescent card and bright blue shiny card

I trimmed the paper, layered it onto brown card and attached it to the card blank.  I die cut the reindeer and sentiment from brown pearlescent card and attached them to the lower edge of the card.  To finish, I die cut the reindeer's eye from a tiny snippet of bright blue card and inlaid it.

I am entering the following challenges:
     ABC Christmas Challenge - D for Die Cuts
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Cardz 4 Guyz - Clean & Simple
     Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
     NBUS - Challenge 71 (my new Flourish Reindeer die)
     The Male Room - Monochrome

Kath x

Winter Woodland

I was delighted when my Sweet Nature Note Card was the winner on the CAS on Friday Sketch Challenge and the team invited me to be Guest Designer on the 'Winter' Challenge.  I made this card using one of my favourite winter dies which had been a cover gift with a magazine many years ago.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Creative Dies 'Woodland Scene' and My Favorite Things ' Inside & Out Stitched Square Stackables STAX Die-namics' dies
     Snippets of white matt card and blue paper

I used the largest stitched square die to emboss a square on the front of the card blank.  I die cut the Woodland Scene from a snippet of white card and removed the small tress from in front of the deer as it made the scene look a little too fussy.  I then cut the scene again with a stitched square die to match the embossed border.  I trimmed a snippet of blue paper, attached it behind the Woodland Scene and then attached the panel to the front of the card.

I am entering the following challenges:
     AAA Cards - Anything CAS Goes
     ABC Christmas Challenge - A for Anything Goes
     Crafty Calendar Challenge - Add a Die Cut
     Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
     The Male Room - Clean and Simple
     Try It On Tuesday - Feeling Blue

Kath x

Happy New Year

I made this card for the CAS on Friday 'New Year' challenge using an old Woodware stamp that was one of the first stamps I bought when I started to make cards many years ago!  I thought it would be perfect to give to Steve at the start of 2025.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Woodware 'Champagne Celebration' and Clearly Besotted 'Cheerful Christmas' stamps
     Versafine Imperial Purple ink
     Promarkers
     Diamond Stickles
     Wink of Stella
     Snippets of white matt card and red mirri card

I stamped the champagne glasses onto a snippet of white card with purple ink and then added the sentiment to the bottom of the card.  I coloured the hearts and ribbon with a red Promarker and the champagne glasses with a cream Promarker.  The panel was trimmed, layered onto red mirri and attached to the card blank.  I added Diamond Stickles to the champagne bubbles and a Wink of Stella to the hearts.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     CAS on Friday - New Year
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - All Occasions
     Little Red Wagon - New Beginnings
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes
     The Male Room - Clean and Simple

Kath x

Upcycled Pengins

As always, my final Christmas card of the year is the one I've made for Steve.  Whenever he buys me a card he chooses one that he knows I'll upcycle.   Last Christmas he sent me a lovely tunnel card with cute penguins.  I've made this Christmas card for him using the image from the card but inserted the layers into a die cut frame.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white hammer card blank
     Upcycled Christmas card
     Lawn Fawn 'Outside In Stitched Square Stackables' and Crafter's Companion 'Gemini Expressions - Husband' dies
     Snippet of white hammer card, thin white card and gold mirri

I cut the snippet of white hammer card so it was slightly smaller than the card blank and die cut the stitched square from the centre.   As I was going to insert two layers of card into the aperture and wanted the bottom layer flush with the front of the card, I cut a snippet of thin white card so it was slightly smaller than the panel and die cut a square from the centre.  These panels were layered and attached to the centre of the card.  I die cut the snow and sky panel from the original card and inlaid it into the aperture.  I then die cut the penguin image and inlaid it into the lower section of the aperture.  To finish I die cut 'husband' from a snippet of white hammer card and the frame from gold mirri.  These were layered and attached to the lower corner of the image.

I am entering the following challenges:
     ABC Christmas Challenge - Z for Zoo Animals (my cute penguins)
     As You Like it Challenge - Anything Christmasssy
     Cardz for Guys - Christmas Card
     Crafty Calendar Challenge - Christmas
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - Christmas
     Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
     The Male Room - Anything Goes

Kath x

Happy Holidays

I made this card for one of my neighbours who doesn't like traditional Christmas - I thought this Funky Fossil stamp would be perfect for him.

To make this card I used:
     5" x 5" white card blank
     Funky Fossil 'Joy' stamps
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics' die
     Versafine Vintage Sepia ink
     Cosmic Shimmer Clear Detail embossing powder
     Copics - R23 & R29
     Gold gel pen
     Snippet of gold foiled kraft card

I trimmed the craft card so it was slightly smaller than the card blank and attached it to the front of the card.  I stamped the wreath with brown ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I then used the largest stitched circle die to die cut around the image.  I coloured the pine cones with a light brown pen and the letters and berries with a red pen.  I attached the wreath topper to the centre of the card with a circle of a thin foam sheet, cut slightly smaller than the circle of white card, to give the card a little dimension.  To finish I used a gold gel pen on the small dots around the wreath.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas
     Alphabet Challenge - R is for Round (I have a round wreath and die cut)
     Christmas Kickstart Challenge - If it's Christmassy, Link It Up
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - Stamps
     Stamping Sensations - Winter
     The Male Room - Anything Goes
     We Love Stamping - Winter

Kath x

Steve's Anniversary Card

It's our wedding anniversary next week and this is the card I made for Steve.  The lovely green paper has gold foiled swirls and hearts and was in a wallet of mixed craft papers I bought in a charity shop last year, unfortunately it doesn't show too well in the photograph.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Classic Hearts' and Crafter's Companion 'Gemini Expressions - Husband' dies
     Snippets of green and gold heart paper, gold mirri and white matt card

I trimmed the white card to a 5" x 5" square and die cut the heart from the centre before embossing the edge of the heart with my tan embossing mat.  I layered the panel onto a snippet of gold mirri and attached it to the front of the card.  I die cut the heart from the green and gold paper before embossing the edge and inlaying it into the aperture.  I die cut the husband background from a tiny snippet of gold mirri and husband from a snippet of the green paper - these were layered and attached to the bottom of the heart with a narrow strip of foam tape.

I am entering the following challenges:
     As You Like It Challenge - Feminine or Masculine (and why) - I normally prefer making feminine cards but I enjoy making cards for my OH - making masculine cards takes me out of my comfort zone!
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - Anything Goes
     Pearly Sparkles Challenge - Celebrate
     The Male Room - Valentine/Use a Heart

Kath x

Action Time

I made this card for my youngest great nephew's birthday using the last image from my Lili of the Valley 'Action Time' Art Pad.

I trimmed a snippet of brown textured card so it was slightly smaller than the card blank.   I die cut the precoloured topper with a stitched circle die and set it aside.  The wood effect paper was attached to a thin piece of copy paper to make it the same thickness as the LOTV topper.  The paper was trimmed so it was slightly smaller than the dark brown mat layer before a stitched circle was die cut from the centre.  This paper was layered onto the brown card and attached to the card blank before the topper was inlaid into the circle.  I die cut two medium stars and eight small stars from snippets of brown card.  '7' was die cut from the centre of one of the larger stars before being layered onto the plain star and attached to the top of the card.  I die cut '7' from the wood effect paper and inlaid it into the star.  To finish, I layered the smaller stars and attached them around the topper. 

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Lili of the Valley 'Action Time' Art Pad
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics' , Xcut 'Nesting Stars' and Memory Box 'Classic Numbers' dies
     Snippets of brown textured card and Papermania 'Wood' paper

I am entering the following challenges:
     Crafty Calendar Challenge - Anything Goes
     Happy Little Stampers Birthday Challenge - Anything Goes
     Snippets Playground - Challenge 443
     The Male Room - Transportation

Kath x

Joy, Hope, Peace, Believe, Christmas

I send several Christmas cards to male friends each year so have made a few of these CAS cards.

I die cut the Christmas tree from a snippet of dark blue pearlescent card and attached it to the centre of the card blank.  I used a gold Tombow brush pen to colour the star (the pen has a water-based die which doesn't bleed through the card) and then added Diamond Stickles to give a little bit of sparkle to the star.

To make this card I used:
     5" x 5" white matt card blank
     Creative Expressions 'Festive Collection - Christmas Tree Greetings' die
     Tombow ABT gold brush pen
     Diamond Stickles
     Snippet of dark blue pearlescent card

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Happy Little Stampers Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes
     Just Us Girls - Clean & Simple
     Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
     The Male Room - Clean & Simple

Kath x

Vintage Boy

A friend saw the 'Vintage Boy' birthday card I recently made and asked me to make one for her father.  I didn't have the same image, but I used another image from the Art Pad.

I die cut the precoloured image with a rectangle die, die cutting from both ends so I could elongate the shape.  I then die cut 'DAD' from the upper corner and set the pieces aside.  I trimmed a piece of wood effect paper so it was slightly smaller than the card blank and attached it to a thin piece of white card.  I then die cut an elongated rectangle from the centre, ensuring it was the same size as my topper.  I attached the frame to the card and inlaid the image.  I die cut 'DAD' from a snippet of the wood effect paper and inlaid it into the card.

To make this card I used:
     7" x 5" white matt card blank
     Lili of the Valley 'Vintage Boys' Art Pad image
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Rectangle STAX Die-namics' and Creative Expressions 'From the Heart - Male Relations' dies
     Papermania 'Capsule Elements - Wood' paper
     Snippets of white matt card

I am entering the following challenges:

     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes
     The Male Room - Wood

Kath x

Reindeer and Stacked Lines

This card was made using another new stencil from Funky Fossil.  The stencil  has four stacked lines but I used just one to make a band across the bottom of the card.

I trimmed a piece of white card so it was slightly smaller than the card blank and stencilled the stacked lines across the bottom.  I placed the card into my MISTI before stamping the reindeer and sentiment.  The reindeer had got snowflakes on his back which allowed the stripes to show through, so I used a fine paintbrush and black ink to paint the snowflakes so they blended with the back of the reindeer giving a clear silhouette.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Hot off the Press 'Reindeer' and Clearly Besotted 'Cheerful Christmas' stamps
     Funky Fossil 'Stacked Lines' stencil
     Versafine Onyx Black and Deep Lagoon inks
     White card

I am entering the following challenges:
     AAA Cards - Up to One Third
     CAS Christmas - Silhouette
     Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Such a Deer
     Happy Little Stampers Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes
     Perfectly CAS - Stencils
     The Male Room - Animals

Kath x  

Happy Birthday

I used the same sketch as yesterday's Snow Friends Christmas card to make this quick card for a friend's birthday.  

I trimmed the white hammer card so it was slightly smaller than the kraft card blank and die cut the circle from the upper corner.  I layered the dark teal paper behind the card before attaching the panel to the card front.  I then die cut the sentiment from berry textured card and attached it in the circle.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" kraft card blank
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics' and Crafts Too 'Happy Birthday' dies
     Marianne Design 'Wintertime' paper
     White hammer card

I am entering the following challenges:
     CAS(E) this Sketch - Sketch 385
     Just Us Girls - Colour Challenge - Kraft, Dark Teal & Berry
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes 197
     The Male Room - Our 7th Birthday

Kath x

Rainbow Happy Birthday

 As part of my continuing effort to reduce my snippets mountain I've made this CAS snippets birthday card for a few challenges.

I trimmed a piece of white hammer card so it was slightly smaller than the front of the card blank.  Using the smallest fishtail flag I die cut strips of card in rainbow colours.  The die wasn't long enough for my strips so I cut from the flag to almost the end of the die before moving it down the card, lining up the dots and cutting the rest of the strip.  Following the sketch I attached these rainbow strips across the card.  All my snippets of black card were quite thin, the sort I use for matting, so I cut 'Happy Birthday' three times and layered them before attaching the sentiment across the rainbow strips.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white hammer card blank
     My Favorite Things 'Fishtail Flags' and Crafts Too 'Happy Birthday' dies
     Snippets of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet textured card, white hammer card and black matt card

I am entering the following challenges:
     Freshly Made Sketches - Sketch 448
     Seize the Birthday - Rainbow Colours
     The Male Room - Our 7th Birthday  

Kath x

Happy Birthday

I made this birthday card for a friend's birthday using papers from Funky Fossil's 'In To The Blue' paper pad that I recently bought with the gift voucher I won from AAA Cards.

I trimmed a piece of pale blue paper attached it to the card, leaving a small margin around the edge.  I die cut the sentiment from dark blue paper and attached it across the bottom of the card.  The inlaid letters were cut from a sheet of beige/pink paper.  I die cut and embossed two hot air balloons from the same sheet of paper, using different parts of the paper to give different effects.  One balloon was attached directly onto the card and the darker one was attached with foam pads.

To make this card I used:

     6" x 6" white matt card blank

     Memory Box 'Grand Happy Birthday' and 'Beautiful Balloon' dies

     Funky Fossil 'In To The Blue' paper pad

I am entering the following challenges:

     AAA Birthday Card Challenge - Tic Tac Toe (I chose Masculine, Die-Cuts, Patterned Paper)

     Allsorts - Make it Masculine

     Just us Girls - Travel

     NBUS - Challenge 17 (I used my new paper pad)

     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

     The Male Room - Our 7th Birthday

Kath x

4 Today!

I made this card for my youngest great-nephew's birthday. I can't believe he's going to be four - where has the time gone?

I trimmed the football paper, layered it onto blue card and attached it to the card blank.  I resized the digi and printed it onto white paper (as my elderly printer refuses to print on card) and die cut a square before colouring it with my Promarkers.  The image was layered onto blue card and attached to the centre.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Lili of the Valley 'Football Crazy' digi stamp
     Lawn Fawn 'Outside In Stitched Square Stackables' die
     Promarkers 
     Wild Rose Studio 'Man About Town' paper
     Dark blue card

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - I Spy With My Little Eye Something Beginning with B (Boy)
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
     Cutie Pie Challenge - Delightful Digi Stamps
     The Male Room - Sport

Kath x

Mega Happy Birthday

I was lucky to win a £20.00 gift voucher at AAA Cards for an online store of my choice.  I chose Bumbleberry Crafts  and added a little extra money (as you do!) to buy some Altenew Mega stamps and dies.  I made this super quick card for one of my teenage great nephews.

I trimmed the turquoise star paper, layered it onto black textured card and attached it to the card front.  I die cut 'happy' three times from black card and embossed one of the images.  I layered the die cuts with the embossed one on the top and attached them across the card.  I stamped the sentiment onto white card and used the end of the fishtail flag die to cut around the edge.  The sentiment was then layered onto black card and attached below the die cut 'happy'.

To make this card I used:
     7" x 5" white matt card blank
     Altenew 'Mega Happy' and My Favorite Things 'Fishtail Flags' dies
     Altenew 'Mega Greetings 2' stamp
     Versafine Onyx Black ink
     Lili of the Valley 'Galaxy Stars' paper
     Black textured and white matt card

I am entering the following challenges:
     NBUS - Challenge 15
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
     The Male Room - Use Die Cuts

Kath x

I am not over the hill ...

My first card today is one I made for a friend's 60th birthday.

I resized the Bugaboo digi stamp and printed it onto white card before colouring it with Promarkers.  I trimmed the panel, layered it onto red card and attached it to the card front.  I then die cut '60' from red card and attached the numbers to the lower corner.

To make this card I used:
     7" x 5" tent fold kraft card blank
     Bugaboo 'Gus Over The Hill' digi stamp
     Memory Box 'Classic Numbers' dies
     Promarkers
     Dark red textured card

I am entering the following challenges:
     The Male Room - Make me Laugh

Kath x

Oh Christmas Tree

Another Christmas card for a new challenge that I've recently discovered - Fezzwig's Festive Frolics.

To make this quick card I die cut the Christmas tree from black self adhesive glitter paper and attached it to the centre of the card.  It doesn't get much quicker or easier than that!  I do like unfussy cards to send to the men in our family and this one is perfect for a friend who supports Exeter Chiefs.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white hammer card blank
     Creative Expressions 'Festive Collection - Christmas Tree Greetings'
     Xcut black self adhesive glitter sheet

I am entering the following challenges:
     Fezzwig's Festive Frolics - Oh Christmas Tree
     The Male Room - Team Colours (Exeter Chiefs)

Kath x

Joy

Whilst making my red 'JOY' card a few weeks ago, I used some snippets of blue paper and card to make this version.  It's also perfect for the new challenge at The Male Room 'Team Colours' - a Christmas card for a friend who supports Chelsea.

I trimmed a piece of white hammer card so it was slightly smaller than the front of the card and die cut 'JOY' from the centre.  I rounded the corners before attaching the panel to the front of the card.  I attached snippets of blue checked paper onto thin white card and die cut 'JOY'.  The letters were inlaid into the card.  I die cut the fancy 'JOY' from dark blue textured card and attached it over the top.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 4" white hammer card blank
     Creative Expressions 'Festive Collection - Joy' die
     Woodware regular corner rounder punch
     Snippets of dark blue textured card, white hammer card and white matt card, blue checked paper

I am entering the following challenges:
     Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge - Use your Favourite Technique (for me, that's die cutting)
     The Male Room - Team Colours
     Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes Tribute Challenge

Kath x

February Rudolph Day

My first card today is for the February Rudolph Day Challenge and I have used both wet and dry embossing (embossing is my Rudolph Day theme this year).

I embossed a piece of white card with the holly embossing folder and trimmed around the edge.  Using my MISTI I stamped the sentiment in the centre with green ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I trimmed a piece of dark green card for my matt layer, but it looked rather 'flat' against the shiny embossed sentiment.  To give the green card some shine I applied Versamark around the edge of the card panel and embossed it with clear embossing powder.  I layered the holly panel onto the green matt and attached it to the centre of the card.

To make this card I used:
     5" x 5" white matt card blank
     Woodware  'Festive Verse' stamp
     Apple Blossom 'Holly' embossing folder
     Versafine Olympia Green ink
     Versamark
     Stampendous clear embossing powder
     Dark green and white matt card

I am entering the following challenges:
     Moving Along With The Times - No image - sentiment/quote as focus to your card     
     Rudolph Day - February challenge
     The Male Room - Use Embossing
     Winter Wonderland - Anything Christmas Goes Tribute Challenge

Kath x