Cottage Cutz - Spring Chick-a-dee

A couple of days ago I suddenly realised Easter was nearly upon us and I had not done any projects.

I looked on the internet and found a template for this bag at Mel Stampz blog (Flat Top Purse)  and used SU cardstock with a pink basil trim made from Edgeabilities Classic Scallop.  The label is a Boss Kut tag and the punch art is the delightful Cottage Cutz Spring Chick-a-dee.  This time I used white cardstock for all the pieces except for the hat and coloured them in with Copics.  A good idea except for the tiny pieces which ended up being quite fiddly.

The recipient of this gift is allergic to chocolate, as I am, so I had fun filling the bag with carob sweets - at least I could pinch a couple.

Penny Black - Enjoy Life

Another card using the masking technique from Heather Telford's blog called Bits & Pieces.  This time I blocked off the sections and used Distress inks.  I then used a wooden Hero Arts script stamp on the blue and the green section after which I stamped the tree from the Penny Black set Enjoy Life.  Cannot remember where the sentiment came from. 

Marianne D - Classic Boats die

With having a fair stash of paper and cardstock I am trying to use up the sheets I have already cut. Problem is I never know the name of the paper.  Most of my stash is bought locally which limits it to a few suppliers like Bo Bunny, Fab Scraps and Kaisercraft.  On this card I also use a left over piece and to it I added the Marianne D Classic Boats die, shaded with Distress Inks.

The waves are an old Fiskars border punch, the stitching is with a white pen and the sentiment is from a Stampin Up set.

Inkadinkado stamp set

I have a number of different coloured cards which I bought a long time ago on eBay which I thought I should start using.  I think this one is from SU cardstock and it came with a spare piece of the same colour which was much appreciated.

The background paper is another leftover from a project and I cut it into 3 parts.  Truth be told, it was a bit too small for the card so I thought I would make it fit.  The bird and foliage stamp is from an Inkadinkado set I bought years ago and it has no name on it.  I used a SU white craft inkpad for the image which I matted onto a Tim Holtz Artist Trading card die.

Flourishes - A Season of Celebrations

You may be wondering why on earth I am posting a Christmas card in March !  Well, I am making up a set of cards as a gift for a friend and decided to pop in a couple of Christmas cards as well.  They will all be the same type of card - see the wonderful blog of Heather Telford - Bits & Pieces for her inspirational cards using a sponging and masking technique.

For this simple card I masked off an area with Post-it notes and used a brayer and Archival Ink for the background.  I then stamped the image from the Flourishes A Season of Celebrations set using Black Archival Ink.  I used Spica pens for the dress and lights just to add a little bit of colour.  The sentiment is from the same set.

The brayer works better on a smooth cardstock.  I will also be trying this technique using sponges on my preferred surface of a linen card.

Hero Arts Sizzix Classic Frame die

I am loving the new Hero Arts dies and when I realised that the Nellies Rectangle die fitted into the Hero Arts Classic Frame one I was well pleased !

The background paper is also left over from a recent project and the sentiment is from a Gina K Designs set called Inside and Out.

Hero Arts - Remember

The background paper on this card was leftovers from a project.  I just added a brown Hero Arts / Sizzix Scallop Frame die and a beige Rectangle Frame die.  The sentiment is also Hero Arts - Remember stamped in Archival ink Coffee and the edge has been Distress inked.

I seem to be using a lot of Hero Arts lately - it is because we are able to get their products here in Cape Town, from Ronita at Simply Creative.  I am loving their new stamp / die combination sets - lots of potential.

Hero Arts - Type

I was after a masculine birthday card and have recently seen a number of Stampin Up sites using a typewriter stamp.  As I have a Hero Arts typewriter stamp set I thought I could use that instead.

The background paper is from a large pad I bought ages ago, the circles are cut from Spellbinders large and small circle dies.  The sentiment is from the same Hero Arts Type set and I handmade a banner for it.

Hero Arts - Simple Things - Mountain Card

A while back I managed to get a couple of templates at a craft show in the UK.  This one is called Stencillos Mountain Card Template.  Yes, I know it is fairly easy to go online and fathom the card out but to have a template makes it just so much easier.

The house is from the Hero Arts set called Simple things coloured in using Distress ink, markers and paper piecing for the blinds.  The clouds are a die from CC Designs, the fence is a Cottage Cutz die called Picket Fence, the grass is a Magnolia Doohickey die (no name on the packet) and the dog is a Kaszazz stamp called Flat Out.  The sentiment is a Go Kreate die - Caption #2 Happy Birthday.  This time I got clever and cut the sentiment out of sticky back paper - no fiddly glueing !!

Apologies for the break in posting but we had floor tile problems which meant loads of cement dust everywhere.  More mess to come this week, makes me want to run away !

Hero Arts / Sizzix Stamp & Emboss - Postage & Frame Set

I recently bought this new Hero Arts concept from Simply Creative here in Cape Town.  I do like the idea of a stamp and emboss combo and Sizzix seem to have gotten the embossing folder correctly lined up unlike some of the Cuttlebug cut and emboss folders.

Using Sepia Archival ink I stamped the image and then embossed it.  I lightly went over part of the image with a couple of Distress inks and popped the sentiment stamp in the label area.  The sentiment is from Kaisercraft - Life's Sentiments and reads "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step".  I thought it was a fitting sentiment for the stamp.

Flourishes - Medallion Motif

Working off another page map idea I thought I would use this Flourishes stamp set.

The background is from a free paper pad by Stampin up and I tried to match the ink by using SU Brocade Blue.  Not sure if it was the right choice.  I cut out part of the image and matted it onto 2 circles made using the Creative Memories cutting system.  The middle circles are from Spellbinders and the sentiment is a Clear Dollar one called Birthday Wishes.