A little bird...

I was playing around with my embossing folders and loved the results of inking this Nellie Snellen 3D embossing folder with  SU River Rock ink.

I mad this video to illustrate the process.

The tiny birds, from Charlie and Paulchen are popped up onto foam tape to add a little definition.

The sentiment was computer generated in Are you freakin serious font.

The code word this week at Addicted to CAS is Birds so this is for that challenge!

 

Congrats

 

Today's card was made with a couple of challenges in mind.

Addicted to CAS

and AAA Cards

I used an old Cuttlebug folder for the embossed dots, and a Memory Box butterfly, cut from some Nuvo Shimmer background. The stacked sentiment was cut from part of an Altenew frame die-cut.

We had some fun last night with a 'Come and Sing' performance of HMS Pinafore. G&S is not something usually tackled by my choir, but this was great fun. My husband took the part of Captain Corcoran and I was little Buttercup! All that followed by a meal with a bunch of friends made the perfect day!

Thanks

Today I saw the sketch at Freshly Made Sketches and I loved it so thought I would make a few cards using it. This is the first of those.

I made a quick video showing a couple of ways to attach intricate die cuts to projects.

I think that the Micro Dots are a great idea.

The embossing folder is by Nellie Snellen and the sentiment by Penny Black.

 

Noel

 I just received another package of goodies from Simply Graphic and this little chap was in the mix! I think he's really rather splendid! I cut one in kraft card and one in white and coloured his hat and his nose with Copics. I began with the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches and went on from there.

I cut the square window and  added some dry embossed snow from a retired Sheena Douglass folder as a backdrop, and added a stand of die cut trees, popped the gnome in front as used a sentiment from Clearly Besotted. I love the mix of these colours!

Let it snow

Sometimes you make a card and it pleases you... this is one of those. I've had it in my mind for some time and had cut the two snowbanks, but didn't get any further. Today I saw that the challenge at Christmas Card Throwdown was to use any previous challenge and as one such was Winter Sledges, I went ahead and finished the card. The dies are by Memory Box. I added the cord, which in fact is supposed to be thread for a needle, but I have used it for so many purposes! The snow EF is retired, but by Sheena Douglass, 

AAA Cards 

CAS on Friday - Christmas

 

Another Merry Christmas

This die by Alexandra Renke is called a snow globe but to me it looks more like a bell, so I added some thread and a bow to suspend it. The scene inside this time uses a freebie tree line die-cut and a couple of Memory Box deer. The sentiment is a new acquisition this week also from Memory Box. The embossed snowflakes in the background are from The Creative-Depot. 

I began by making this card all white but it looked decidedly lack lustre, mainly I think, because it is a very flat, matt finish cardstock, so I added the kraft layers to the deer and the Merry Christmas. 

I didn't really check the size of this sentiment die before I bought it and was a little surprised by how big it is, but I got it on sale so I'm happy and looking at it now I think it's rather splendid!

CAS Christmas - Christmas Critters

 

Christmas Greetings

I combined a few challenges with this card.

Addicted to CAS - Circle

ABC Christmas W = Whimsical or X = Xerox 

whimsical

/ˈwɪmzɪk(ə)l/

adjective

• 1.playfully quaint or fanciful, especially in an appealing and amusing way:"a whimsical sense of humour"
  
  
  
  

After looking up the definition of whimsical as opposed to what I thought it was, (which in fact happened to be the same) I decided that a gnome with a pair of skis was quite a whimsical thought! So here is a little chap from SSS dressed in mulberry paper.

The sentiment EF was free with a mag I believe

AAA Cards

 

Let it snow

This card was a bit of an experiment. I just bought the Snowflake Wire die from Memory Box and somehow I envisaged a different texture for above and below it. I have an old Snow embossing folder from Sheena Douglass, which I absolutely love, but which is sadly no longer available. I wanted to use this embossing folder for one part of the card. SO I die cut one of the wires and then placed it onto a piece of thick cardboard, traced the upper edge and cut it out. I made three layers and stuck them together, which made them about the same thickness as a single cutting plate from my Cuttlebug.

I put my card panel into the folder and placed it on the base plate of the machine, then I added my Heath Robinson diffuser (taped to the folder to keep it still), then added the top plate and ran it through the machine. Only the part which had the pressure from the diffuser was embossed.

I tried the sentiment (Stamplorations) in white but it looked better in silver to link with the wire.

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps and More - Christmas

The Holly and the Ivy - Anything Christmas

 

Good Luck

Another week, another challenge at Stamps & Fun = Creativity and another occasion for me to be a Guest Designer.

The theme this time is Lantern! I guess that at this time of year most people would think of a Halloween lantern... a pumpkin hollowed out and card to make a face, but I don't generally make Halloween cards so I thought I would do a Chinese lantern instead.

To make this one, I heat embossed a WOW background stamp in Gold onto a piece of red card and then I die cut an oval and put it through my paper rippler or corrugator or whatever the piece of kit is called. Actually I think it's called a crimper. Then I grabbed two tiny rectangles from a small part of a complicated die for the top and bottom of the lantern and then added a loop at the top. I didn't have any black thread, so I coloured a piece of stripy thread with a black marker.

I cut two fish tail banners and dry embossed the top one. The sentiment, from Clearly Besotted was also heat embossed in gold.

Despite all, I think it does look quite like a lantern!

 

Let it snow

I had a fancy for using this tiny reindeer for my card for CAS Christmas this time. The challenge is to use the colours Grey and Red.

I dug out two shades of grey paper and a scrap of red. This little Memory Box deer doesn't actually have a nose per se so I used one from the waste of a holey border die cut. The trees I believe are from SSS or maybe Memory Box, sometimes there seems to be a bit of a cross over of the same dies from different companies. Rudolph is stacked a couple of times and the snow was embossed with a Sheena Douglass EF which is sadly no longer available!

The sentiment is from Stamplorations.

In fact the card started out with a different sentiment, but I looked at it and looked at it and decided it had to go... I really didn't like it. This was the original version.

The big old sentiment takes too much attention away from the little image...IMHO!

Would you agree?

CASology - View

 

Celebrate

This is a celebratory card for a couple of special occasions. 

The 5th birthday of the The Flower Challenge

and AAA Cards

who are celebrating their 200th game.

CAS on Friday  CIRCLES

I used Memory Box embossing circles, a small background stamp and 'celebrate' die from Stamplorations plus some crocuses by Alexandra Renke. 

I made a puddles of colour on my glass mat with Distress inks and water and flapped the die cut flowers into them, adding a little Wink of Stella when dry. The sentiment was stacked a few times, with one fewer layer under the 'c' where  it overlaps the stems.

 

Danke Sehr

This is the second in the series of Guest Designer spots that I am undertaking for the challenges at 

Stamp & Fun = Creativity

As this is a German site, I tried to find a German link and this stamp from Lawn Fawn just fit the bill.

The challenge this time is  Colour of Autumn

For this card I dropped splodges of alcohol ink onto photographic paper and when dry, die cut the foliage sprigs. I dry embossed a twiggy image for a base panel and added the simple sentiment.

Job Done!

It would be great if you could join in the fun. They'd love to see you there!

Addicted to CAS - Autumn

Dies R Us - Anything Goes

 

CAS Mix Up Autumn Colours Reminder

There's still time to join in with the watercolour challenge at CAS Mix up!

Here I used matching stamps and dies from Clearly Besotted. I added lots of Distress Oxide colours one by one to the stamps, using my stamping platform and cleaning my stamps between each addition! When I had finished, there was still evidence of the lines which the edge of the stamp pad had left so I lightly spritzed the images with water to diffuse the colours. I used a base of dry embossing from a Cuttlebug folder and added a tiny sentiment from Personal Impressions. I don't know if the small leaf had a matching die or not, but I couldn't find one, so I just fussy cut that one.

 

Peace on Earth

I found trying to get a decent picture of this stark white card really difficult. I tried different backdrops but just couldn't seem to get anything right. For now this will have to do!

I fancied making a white on white card and had a couple of challenges in mind.

Christmas 24  - Add some holly

Merry Little Christmas - Anything Goes

I began with this sketch in mind, but deviated somewhat along the way|!|

52Christmas Card Throwdown

The bauble was made with a freebie die plus a smaller circle die plus a Sizzix holly embossing folder. I began to emboss the horizontal element of the sketch but then got carried away and did the whole width of the front panel. I will quite understand if this is totally ineligible for the challenge!

I'm not sure where the holly die came from, that may well have been a freebie too!

The sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp.

It's time to begin preparing Sunday lunch if we want to eat any time soon!

 

You make me happy

Here I used dies and stamps from Simply Graphic, stacking the leaves and smooshing with Distress Oxide inks and water to add the colour. I added just a little Gilding Wax to the butterfly's wings. The sentiment was heat embossed in white.

TIME OUT - coloured card base

I love the products from this French company, they seem to fit my style of cardmaking perfectly!

 

Thanks

I have done it again... found new die companies with dies that I love! The flowers here are from Creative-Depot and have come very quickly from Germany! I coloured them by daubing with a little Distress Oxide Ink and then spritzing with water to diffuse the colours. I over-stamped with a splatter stamp in the Prize Ribbon shade and also with a little silver gilding wax, finishing with a touch of Distress Glaze.

The de-bossed hearts in the circle are also from Creative-Depot, it looks like a die, but doesn't cut, it merely embosses. Sentiment by The Ton.

Tuesday Morning Sketches

The Flower Challenge

 

Merci

Here is a card I made today using Simply Graphic dies. 

The colours and flowers remind me of this inspiration Photo from Just add ink.

This colours are really similar in this inspiration photo from Fusion

To make the card I scribbled with some watercolour pencils onto some absorbent card (it actually wasn't watercolour card) and then spritzed liberally with water.  The colours moved around and mixed beautifully and when dry I was able to die cut this SG Nordic Trio of dies.

The back panel was a little random, I had a left over circle from an aperture card and there was a little square die left on my desk, so I die cut a part of the circle, somewhat off centre, dry embossed it and then after raising the circle onto foam tape I popped the square back into the circle, onto the card base. I arranged the blooms, tied them with a little twine and added a simple sentiment.

Support

I have made a card similar to this before, using this MFT die set. The insert of the bra is just plain, but I wanted to give a lacy effect, so I looked through my embossing folders to see if I could find one which would give that lacy look. I have used a different one previously, but discovered that this one of Small Flowers from Nellie's Choice fit the bill admirably.

The die set is called Support Hope and I think was intended to support women with breast cancer, but this sentiment, which was shown to me by a friend who was going through another sort of cancer, expressed just how important the fellowship and strength of friends are when times are tough!

I generated the sentiment on the computer in Formal 436 font, which I thought matched the black bra well.

CASology

 

Happy Birthday

Here I used a little more of the distressed shaving foam technique print, (which I used on the card in my last post) but sadly picked a background stamp to emboss over the top which was too busy, so you actually can't see too much of the blues beneath...But I thought I would use it anyway!

I took a strip of card and die cut the tips of the butterflies' wings from it then dry embossed it. I cut two butterflies from the blue/gold embossed card and popped them into the gaps, adding bodies and a sentiment.

AAA Cards

Do butterflies count as critters? I guess they might!

Here is another card made with a similar layout, similar shaving foam print and similar technique of partially inlaying the dies. This is my attempt at the Photo inspiration at Just Us Girls.

I think it's quite a tricky one! The DT inspiration is awesome... do take a look!

This card base is one of the two different types of linen-y card that I'm using to try to replace the one that Paper Mill Direct has ceased producing... much to my chagrin. This one is from Amazon.