Peacock Anniversary Card

Hello, today I have made an anniversary card featuring the My Favourite Things Playful Peacock stamp and die set.

I started with a 6" square pearlescent card blank and layered some pretty paper from the MFT Tiny Hearts Pastels paper pad. Then I die cut a panel using one of the MFT Stitched Tag-Corner Rectangle dynamics and stamped a sentiment from the MFT Together Forever stamp set. The two peacocks were stamped with MFT Tropical Teal dye ink and coloured with Copic markers. I used the co-ordinating dies to cut them both out and popped them onto the panel using some foam tape for dimension.  

These stamps were lovely to work with and I have lots of ideas for using the other images in the set too. Thanks for looking.

MFT Heart Tree cards

Hello, today I'm sharing a couple of cards that I've made using the lovely Heart Tree die from My Favourite Things. I've also used their Essential Fishtail Sentiment dies, Watercolour Wash Brights paper and sentiment stamps from the Essential Sentiments and From The Heart stamp sets.

After die cutting the tree I laid some green watercolour wash paper beneath it. Then I coloured the three hearts and the tree trunk using my Copic markers and inlaid them into the spaces in the tree. The sentiments were embossed in white onto velum.

I am entering these into the My Favourite Things sketch challenge number 427. Thanks for looking.

Altenew Beautiful Lady cards

Good morning! I'm back to share some more cards that I've made using Altenew's Beautiful Lady stamps and matching die. I found myself needing a lot of cards in March and April - and I didn't have a lot of time to make them all. So I came up with a basic design and made sixteen different cards by varying the colours, backgrounds and sentiments. All of the flowers were coloured with Copic Ciao markers. This post is rather photo heavy, but I wanted to show you all sixteen cards as they all have variations in spite of using the same set of stamps and die.

The first three cards were made in the same colourway, but I used different patterned papers for the background. The first had a stamped sentiment (all sentiments are from the same Altenew stamp set) on a Waltzingmouse stitched rectangle die. The next two had diecut sentiments by Spellbinders and the flowers were raised on foam tape.

My fourth card was a slightly different shade had an embossed hearts background and a stamped sentiment on a My Favourite Things stitched fishtail flag die.

My next card used the same hearts embossing folder for the background, but this time in a jade colour. The sentiment was stamped onto a Lil' inker stitched sentiment flag diecut. I love this little die and use it loads!

 

Next we have four similar pink cards, all using a Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Texture fades embossed background with various sentiments.

 

I also made four cards in a golden yellow and green colour combination. The backgrounds are made from a lovely green vellum with a gold sheen and were done using another Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Texture fades embossing folder. Two of the cards have Spellbinders diecut sentiments and two have stamped sentiments.

Finally I made three blue cards, this time using the Burlap Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Texture fades embossing folder for the backgrounds. Again Spellbinders dies were used for the sentiments. I found that the addition of some "Stick-It" to the back of the card before I cut the sentiments made it so much easier to adhere them to the card fronts - it's wonderful stuff!

I have to say that I am in love with Altenew's gorgeous stamps and dies, so you can expect to see a lot more made with their supplies here on my blog in future.

Lynn x

Seven Hills Crafts April 2016 Colour Challenge

Hello again! Today I am taking part in the Seven Hills Crafts monthly craft challenge - you can find all the details here. The April challenge is a colour one, with three inspiration photos to choose from, all including blue.

                                
    
  I opted to go for the third photo and chose the two shades of blue and the green for my three colours.

Here is my take on the challenge. I used a Sizzix Tim Holtz Alterations Texture Fades embossing folder for the background and layered it onto a darker blue card blank. The flower focal image is from Altenew's Beautiful Lady stamp set (available here), coloured with Copic Ciao markers and I used the co-ordinating die (available here) to cut it out . The sentiment is from the same stamp set and was popped up on some foam tape to add a bit more dimension. 

I'm really happy with how this turned out! Thanks for looking.

Lynn

A First Birthday

Today is our youngest grandson's first birthday, although it hardly seems 12 months since he arrived! Of course I wanted to make him a card and thought that bright and cheerful was the way to go.

I selected a cute stamp from Lili of the Valley for the main image and added the perfect sentiment with an old PSX stamp, Versamark ink and Denim Zing embossing powder. The design paper is from the "Candles and Cake" NitWit collection by Mary Fran for Lili of the Valley. I coloured the stamped image to co-ordinate with the patterned paper using Copic Ciao markers (R000, R00, Y11, B93, B95, YG03, RV29, R37, B99, C0, C1, C3, C7 & B12). The scalloped rectangle die that I used was from a really useful set by Waltzingmouse Stamps and the finishing touch was a number 1 cut using a Memory Box die.

Here is the birthday boy Lucas - looking a little bewildered as he had just woken up from his nap when I took this photo this morning. The photo below was taken earlier on when he was playing in his new birthday gift from his Mummy and Daddy. I think he likes his new house!

Thanks for looking,

Lynn.

Pink Roses of Love

Our lovely next-door neighbours celebrated their 49th Wedding Anniversary yesterday so I wanted to make them a card. I thought that the gorgeous Roses of Love stamp set from Make It Crafty would be perfect, as they love their garden.

I started with a pink card blank and added a background using tiny heart and flower stamps from Waltzingmouse stamps "Gift Card It" and Wendy Vecchi's Pink Peony embossing powder. The white card panel was also cut with a Waltzingmouse scalloped stitched rectangle die. I stamped the beautiful roses using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink and coloured the image with my Copic Ciao markers (RV10, RV21, RV23, RV13, YG11, YG03, YG23 and YG17). Finally the sentiment (from Waltzingmouse "Sweethearts" stamp set) was stamped in Versamark ink and heat embossed with Wendy Vecchi's Pink Peony embossing powder.  

This stamped rose image was an absolute pleasure to colour and I shall certainly be using it again! Make It Crafty also have it available as a digital download and they have loads of other lovely images for colouring too. 

Thanks for visiting.

2015 Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.

Hello and welcome! Today is National Coffee Day in the USA and the Coffee Loving Papercrafters are having a Blog Hop to celebrate. Although I'm usually a tea drinking Brit, I couldn't resist joining in with the fun! There are an amazing 42 sponsors for this hop, with lots of lovely prizes, so you may like to start at the Coffee Loving Cardmakers blog here. You will also find full details of how to take part and links to all of the inspiring artwork there.

Here is my first card for the hop. As always you can click on the photos to get a clearer view. I got carried away and actually made two similar easel cards in different colourways, but I think that this blue one is my favourite. My second card (below) uses the same supplies, but with a khaki coloured card base and I adhered the image and sentiment at a jaunty angle.

The pretty autumnal backing papers are from the "Enchantment" NitWit collection by Mary Fran for Lili of the Valley. The main image is stamped with "Monster Morning" by Whipper Snapper Designs Inc and was coloured with Copic Ciao markers. The sentiment and cute coffee beans are from the "Coffee Set" stamps by Waltzingmouse Stamps and I used Memento Rich Cocoa dye ink. Spellbinders "Leafy Squares" dies were used to mount the image and sentiment blocks. Finally I added a strip of white card inside so that there is space to write a message and I finished off with a couple of Fall Leaves Wood Veneer ornaments by Lawn Fawn, to act as stoppers for my easels (see below).

Both cards fold flat for mailing but I think that the easel style adds a little something extra! I have used quite masculine colours here, but it would be very easy to switch out the colours to make a more feminine version.

Thanks for visiting and enjoy the rest of the hop!

Two Turtles

Hello there. Just popping in to share a couple of belated birthday cards that I made recently.

I used the cute Lawn Fawn year two anniversary stamp set and  the co-ordinating Lawn Cuts dies. I stamped the turtle, gift and party hat using Tuxedo Black Memento dye ink and then coloured the images using my Copic markers (YG63, YG67, YG91, YG95, YG11, YG23, R32, R35, R20, Y21, Y35 and Y38 for those that are interested). Then I cut everything out with the matching dies - they make it so easy!

My first card just uses a simple green mottled card background to stamp the sentiment onto, then the turtle and accessories were added with clear foam pads.

For my second card I found a piece of yellow card in my stash which had already been stamped with a fine script background. I finished it off with a length of yellow checked ribbon to match my background layer.

I'm really pleased with these simple cards as they were just what I needed in a hurry! Thanks for looking and please call back in a day or two, when I should be taking part in the Coffee Loving Papercrafters Autumn Blog Hop. 

Lynn

Under The Sea

I recently treated myself to some lovely Clearly Besotted stamps, including the fun "Under The Sea" set, so I went about creating a couple of cards with a real underwater feel to them.

I started with a square of white card which I coloured by smooshing Tumbled Glass, Evergreen Bough and Scattered Straw Distress Inks onto an ink blending mat and spraying with a fine mist of water before dragging the card through the ink. I found that the card I was using tended to buckle when it was really wet with all the ink, so I decided to accentuate this by making several rough creased folds in the blue part of the card to represent waves. I distressed the edges of my panel and I then added some more Blue and Green Ink to my blending mat and dragged the folded parts and distressed edges through again until they were a shade darker. Finally I dried my panel thoroughly using my heat gun, before I stuck it to a 5" square white card blank.

The cute whale and starfish were stamped onto smooth white card using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink and then coloured with Copic Ciao Markers. I used a Copic blending pen to add some lighter highlights and then fussy cut them and added them to the card with foam pads. A small amount of Glossy Accents was used over the eyes and for the whale's water spout. Both sentiments were stamped directly onto the card.

I wanted to add some beach embellishments to add texture and interest and I knew that I had just the thing! A couple of years ago I discovered a wonderful range of tiny pots of sea themed treasures made by a company called Mudd Puddles. I bought mine online from The Carolina Stamper at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, but I understand that the owner has since retired and closed the shop, so now I need to find another supplier for when I have used up my ten little jars of beacheyness (is that even a word?)! Anyway I added a layer of "Malibu Beach" (actual golden sand suspended in a sticky medium) to the bottom of my card panel with a palette knife. When this was dry I added some "Mini Shells", "Beach Mini Pieces", "Beach Glass" and "Sea Glass" (all miniature sized real beach ephemera suspended in an adhesive medium). I absolutely loved the effect so I'm sure that you'll be seeing me using more in future!

In fact I liked it so much that I made a second card (above) - almost identical, except that the Distress Inked background has slightly more of a sandy pattern to it.

Thanks for looking,

Lynn

A Big Squishy Hug

Hello. Today I'm sharing a card that I made to cheer up a dear friend. I used her favourite colours and a lovely stamp that she had given me a while ago. It's called "A Little Hug" by Leanne Ellis for Sugar Nellie and I think it's really sweet!

I coloured the image with Copic Ciao markers and fussy cut extra images of the bird, rose and rabbit to layer up with clear foam pads. You can see the dimension that this added in the close - up photo below. The sentiment is from the "Gift Card It" stamp set by Waltzingmouse stamps and was just perfect to go with the main image! 

Thanks for looking!

Lynn

Leafy birdhouse card

One of my Aunties had her birthday yesterday and I made her the card below using several products from Imagination Crafts. I started with one of their 6" square pre-printed panels, which had a leafy shadows design in various shades of blue and green. I used masking tape to hold the leaf swirl border stencil in place, then added a thin layer of soft sage stencil paste with a palette knife. I removed the stencil and set the panel aside to dry for a few hours. The stencil paste was quite wet and seemed to leave a residue on the glossy card stock, so I think in future I would probably stick to using normal card instead, which would be more likely to absorb any excess moisture. Once the panel had dried I edged it with a jade coloured Copic marker to cover the white edges and provide a contrast against the white card blank beneath.

The stamped centre panel was made using a set from the Decoupage Stamp range. The centre of the leafy frame had a script background originally, but I decided to cut it out carefully with a craft knife, so that you could see the patterned card beneath. I stamped the main image three times using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink, then I coloured them using Copic Ciao markers (G000, G21, BG72 ,BG93, W1, W5, Y000, YG03 and B24). The layers were then carefully cut out and layered up on clear foam pads to add lots of dimension. There was an extra little bird stamp in the set, so I gave her the same treatment and popped her inside the hole of the birdhouse, so that she was looking out at her mate. You can see the 3D effect in the close up photo below.

I used the same stamp set to decorate the inside of the card - the sentiment is also included so it's great value. I really like this stamp set as it reminds me of the pair of blue tits that nest in the box on our shed each year. We love to watch them flying in and out, trying to keep up with feeding their hungry brood!

Finally, I'll leave you with a photo of a single climbing red rose, which I took in our garden yesterday. We have an arbour with climbing roses, which we planted in memory of my Dad and David's parents. Usually the roses only bloom in the summer, but it has been fairly mild here recently. I was still surprised to see this single beautiful bloom in November though! I think that it was very appropriate that it appeared on Remembrance day and I'm sure that it was a sign from my Dad to show that he is watching over us.

Thanks for looking.

Lynn.

Remember, Remember the 5th of November

Today would have been my Dad's birthday, so for the last few years I have felt sad on 5th November and always think of him when the fireworks are going off. However, last year our second grandson Joshua was born on 5th November - which was really lovely - so now it's a happy day again. 

Of course I had to make Joshua a birthday card to mark the occasion! I used an 8" square white card blank and added a layer of Core'dinations Tim Holtz Kraft-Core card from the nostalgic collection and some lovely script effect paper (from Kaisercraft's Pitter Patter collection). 

I chose the cute Baby Boy stamp from Lili of the Valley (ST 020) for the main focal point and stamped it onto smooth white card using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink. I cut the panel using a Spellbinders label die and coloured the image using Copic Ciao markers. The panel was then matted onto another Spellbinders decorative label diecut which was adhered to the card using foam tape. 

The "Happy Birthday" sentiment was cut from the same Core'dinations card using a Simon Says Stamp die and this was adhered to the card with a small amount of Ranger's Studio matte multi-medium. The letters were cut using the Memory Box Classic Upper Case alphabet dies, as was the number 1, which I cut seven times and then stuck them all together to add more dimension to the number. The final touch was some aqua and white bakers twine and a matching button. The photo below shows the image and number in more detail. 

The birthday boy had a party on Sunday and was suitably spoilt by the whole family! Here he is opening the present that we bought him ( a huge activity cube that is bigger than he is)!

This photo was taken as Joshua was about to blow the candles out on his birthday cake. He was a little unsure of this as after all he's never had to do it before!

Joshua was still grinning from ear to ear when we left, so I think he enjoyed his first party (we certainly did)!

Thanks for looking,

Lynn

Couture Birthday Card

I have just realised that I didn't share the twenty - first card that I made for my daughter back in the summer, so it's time to put that right! Jess is studying Costume as part of her University course - so what better papers to use than the wonderful Graphic 45 Couture collection?

A word of warning though - if you are a fan of clean and simple (CAS) cards please look away now! Clean and simple this is not! In fact I would go as far as to say that this is one of the most elaborate cards that I have ever made and it took me several days to complete. To give you some idea, there were a total of twenty - two different dies used on this card - some of them more than once!

I started off with an A5 card blank, portrait style, with a top fold. I added fleur-de-lis borders to the longer sides, which I had cut from black glitter card using a Spellbinders die. Then came a layer of turquoise pearlescent card, followed by several panels of the Couture papers by Graphic 45. The ric-rac border at the bottom of the card was cut using a Papertrey die and I used a white gel pen to add the faux stitching.

The next two photos show the top of the card, where I wanted to hang bunting to create a party feel. I used three of the dies from JustRite's Buntings and Button dies set with more of the lovely Couture papers to make the pennants and scalloped bunting. These were layered using clear foam tape then tied together with narrow black polka dot ribbon, forming six tiny bows. 

The top pelmet of turquoise hearts was cut from a Memory Box die and topped with a Spellbinders Fleur-de-lis in black glitter card. The photo below shows how I used several black foam dots to raise the centre of the pelmet to give it a curved shape. Two small ribbon bows were added to the ends to make it look like the ribbon had been used to tie up the bunting.

The main stamped image is one of the Prima doll stamps by Julie Nutting, which I stamped, coloured with Copic Markers, paper pieced and decoupaged. I heat embossed the dress portion of the stamp four times onto another of the Couture papers, fussy cut them and decoupaged the layers with clear foam pads at the bust and hemline. I also added some tulle netting gathered at the hemline to make it a real party frock! The party hat, bow belt and shoes were also decoupaged and I painted them with some Tattered Angels Tide Pool Glimmer Glam Glitter paint for added sparkle. Three turquoise gems completed the party crown and some narrow gold beaded trim made the perfect necklace and bracelet - every party girl needs a bit of bling!

The photo below shows the dimension achieved from all the layering on the skirt of the dress (sorry it's a bit out of focus).

The panel for the sentiment was cut from two more Couture papers using Spellbinders labels dies. I added a larger Fleur-de-lis to the top and bottom of the panel and mounted it onto the card with foam tape. The "happy" die cut is from a Simon Says Stamp die and the numbers and letters are all cut using Memory Box Classic number and alphabet dies (both upper and lower case).

The bottom right of the card was finished off with a bouquet of co-ordinating flowers. The white gypsophila, turquoise blossoms and variegated leaves were from Wild Orchid. I made the six other flowers myself using Spellbinders Bitty Blossoms dies and more of the Couture papers. I used a cocktail stick to curl all the petals before securing with glue, then I added either a tiny turquoise pearl or a gem to the centre of each flower. A couple of diecut flourishes completed the arrangement.

The photo below gives you some idea of the dimension added (sorry it's a bit out of focus again).

A final look at the finished card. I was so happy with how this turned out and my daughter loved it too!

Thanks for looking.

Lynn

Welcome Baby Lucas

Allow me to introduce our newest grandson, Lucas James. The photo below was taken when he was just one day old and was still in hospital. As you can see I am a very proud Grandma!

                            

I wanted to make a card as a keepsake for his parents, so I started with an 8" square white card blank and added a layer of Core'dinations Tim Holtz Kraft-Core card from the nostalgic collection and some lovely patchwork effect paper (Little One from Kaisercraft's Pitter Patter collection). 

I chose the lovely Starry Bunny stamp from Lili of the Valley (ST 374) for the main focal point and stamped it onto smooth white card using Memento Tuxedo Black dye ink. I cut the panel using a Spellbinders label one die and coloured the image using Copic Ciao markers. The panel was then matted onto another Spellbinders decorative label one diecut and additional layers were coloured, fussy cut and decoupaged with clear foam pads to add lots of dimension. 

The photo below is a close up of the partially concealed tag which I cut from Kaisercraft paper for the front and Core'dinations card for the back, using the largest of the Waltzingmouse stitched tags dies. I left enough space on the tag for details of Lucas' birth to be recorded. 

The Starry Bunny panel was adhered to the card on three sides with foam tape, leaving space for the tag to be inserted. Although the photo below is a little out of focus, you can see the extra decoupaged layers which really make the bunny and teddy stand out.

The Special Day stamp is also by Lili of the Valley. Here it was cut with a Spellbinders circle die and layered onto another Spellbinders scalloped circle diecut. I used a co-ordinating Copic marker to highlight baby's date of birth. The ivy leaf corners were cut with Signature dies and the flowers (all from Wild Orchid) were arranged around the date details.

Finally I added Lucas' name with letters cut with Memory Box classic alphabet dies. Although the card was very time consuming to make, I am very pleased with the finished result and it was well received. 

I am entering this card in the Lili of the Valley October challenge, which you can find here .

The photo below was taken earlier today when Lucas was enjoying his play mat. He is three and a half weeks old now and is as cute as a button! Of course I may just be slightly biased!

Thanks for looking.

Lynn