Sizzix - Victorian Carolers

It was a bit of a mission to get my hands on this die as I could not find it anywhere in the UK and ended getting it from the US.  I used it this Christmas to mass produce cards.  I teamed the figures up with a Marianne D die for the lantern (bottom half trimmed off), Creative Memories background paper and a sentiment from a Peachy Keen set.

La Pashe Flippin Stamps - Golfer

DH needed a birthday card for a fellow golfer and retired vet so I thought I would give this stamp another go.  I have previously struggled to get a decent image having tried many different ink pads.  Since I now have a Misti it makes it a lot easier and quicker.  I used Momento Tuxedo Black ink on special Copic card which I purchased from Flourishes a long time ago.

The colouring in was done using Copics.  The cats are from an Impression Obsession die and the dog is an Art Impression stamp.  The background paper is from my large stock of old Creative Memories and the 'window' was made using 2 dies from Spellbinders Rectangles large.

Stamping Bella - Big Guy Golfing by Mo Manning

 DH commissioned this card for a golfing buddy who has not been well.  I have a few golfing images but thought this one would be better suited to a senior golfer.

The background paper is an old Creative Memories one.  The sentiment is taken from an old Cuttlebug alphabet die using Stampin Up Certainly Celery card stock and the image is a stamp from Stamping Bella - Big Guy Golfing by Mo Manning.  To colour the image I used a variety of Distress Stains and markers sometimes mixing a couple of the colours.  For the skin I used a combination of Letraset Aquamarkers Mocha and Eggshell with an aqua brush.  I normally struggle with skintones but this time I managed to get it right.

Cottage Cutz - Duck w/egg

Well, I needed a card for a friend's birthday and found I did not have a suitable one in my stash.  This card was thrown together in super quick time which should teach me a lesson to not spend hours looking for just the right background paper or stamp.  With most of my craft stash still in boxes it takes forever to find things !

For this card I used Cottage Cutz Duck w/egg die.  It is just so cute !  The background paper is an old Creative Memories one and the sentiment stamp is from the Hero Arts set called Message Bubbles.

Sizzix Big Shot Pro Die - Popcorn Box and Treat Cup

I was searching through my Big Shot Pro dies for a large box and could not find anything suitable to hold the biscuits I planned on baking for a donkey charity fair.  This was, of course, a good excuse to look for a new die and I am very happy I did.  I think this is a die which will be well used now and in the future.

The card stock is from an old Stampin Up pack and is thick (around 300g or so) which is necessary for this large box.  The punch art donkey is my own design made with punches and dies which appear to be no longer in production.  The ears are a Stampin Up punch (some sort of petals), the oval used for the face is a tag from an Ellison die, the muzzle is a Spellbinders rose die, the tuft of hair is a Creative Memories punch and the nose and eyes are Fiskars punches.

Whimsy Dies - Anchor

As I do not have much in the way of masculine cards I thought this one might work.

The die, Anchor, is  from Whimsy and all the papers used are part of an extensive old Creative Memories stash that I have.  The background stamps are from Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Air Travel and Stampin Up The Open Sea.

Cottage Cutz - Old Fashioned Phone

Thought this would make a good birthday card for my brother.  We often chat on the phone and I thought this was more of a masculine card.

The telephone is a Cottage Cutz die called Old Fashioned Phone, the background papers are from my extensive Creative Memories stash and the sentiment is from the Lili of the Valley Simply Sophisticated set.  I also used Distress inks for the shading on the die cuts.

Glitz Craft - Puppy stencil

This photo is not the best but as we are moving house (again) I have already packed the card so cannot take a better picture.

The background paper is Creative Memories and the stencil, Glitz Craft Puppy, was stencilled using Distress Ink Vintage Photo and a stencil brush.  I also bought this stencil at the craft show I recently attended and I was amazed at the amount and variety of stencils available.  Perhaps the next time I use a stencil I will try the glitter frosting paste which I bought last year but have not used.

MFT - Let's Toast

Going through some of my dies the other day I found the MFT (My Favourite Things) die called Let's Toast.  This die set includes a label which slots over the neck of a wine bottle and various dies of glasses plus you can also buy a stamp set with sentiments.

I find it better to die cut the label out of fairly thick card stock otherwise the score line just below the cut out circle can sometimes cut right through.  The background paper is from my Creative Memories stash, the sentiment is from the Let's Toast stamp set and it was die cut using Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles.  To finish off I decorated the label with a wine glass.

Patchwork Christmas Card

I was browsing through Pinterest for Christmas card ideas and came across this one from Scrap Happens.  I thought it would be one I could mass produce but after taking so long to match up the little squares, I think not !  Sometimes colour co-ordination can just be too hard.

The scalloped edged red card was purchased in a pack from Hobby Craft, UK.  The embossing folder is a Cuttlebug one and the three quarter inch squares are from an old Creative Memories punch.  For the sentiment I used two Britannia Dies word sets numbers 041 and 042.

Hero Arts - Timely Bird

Apologies for not posting for a while but we moved house, again.  Hopefully, this will be the last move for a while !

On a recent shopping trip up to Camden in London we bought a some items from an Asian store and they came wrapped in a really interesting couple of sheets of handmade tissue paper.  I decided to experiment with it and used 3 colours of Carole's Craft Shimmer Magic spray misters for the background.  I then used Versafine Onyx Black ink for the Hero Arts Timely Bird stamp and wrapped the tissue paper around a square piece of card stock.

The black die cut is from Go Kreate 6 x 6 Frame Wavy #1 and the decoration at the top of the card is a Marianne D Anjas Vintage Decoration die out of CM Storybox Everyday paper.  With still being a little upside down in the craft room I could only find a blue lid to photograph the card on, not sure it was the right thing to do !!

Inkylicious - Bird on a Wire

This is a Hero Arts card with score lines top and bottom.  The dies are from the Spellbinders set Resplendent Rectangles with the orange paper being a scrap from a Creative Memories pack.

The Inkylicious stamp Bird on a Wire was purchased at a recent craft show here in the UK and I will say it was not a good idea to stamp it onto watercolour paper.  I think a smoother surface would do the stamp more justice.  I coloured the birds in using Distress Ink and a blender pen.  The sentiment is one from Gina K Designs Purr-fectly Delightful.

Form-A-Lines Christmas Kit 7 - Carol Singers

Another Form-A-Lines card kit in which I used a multi colour thread for the carol singers.  The lamp was done in a silver thread with the 'light' stitched in gold.

The sentiment is from the Penny Black Christmas Cheer set inked in Brilliance Pearl Poppy.  The deckled edge to the topper was made using a Creative Memories cutter and blade.

Whiff of Joy - Magical Wishes

Yet another clean and simple card.  I used a card map from Card Positioning Systems blog and pulled out my Creative Memories wavy trimmer (not sure of it's proper name) to cut out the blue "waves".

The balance of this card is made up of Spellbinders Circles Small with Spellbinders Wonky Rectangles and Whiff of Joy - Magical Wishes for the sentiment.

I will try to post some cards for the next 2 weeks but I will be away helping move animals (lions, tigers, jaguars, leopards, pumas etc - 45 of them) from one animal sanctuary to their beautiful new one about a 2 hour drive away.  Not going to have too much time to create !  Be back around the end of the month.

MFT - Let's Toast

I love this MFT Let's Toast die and stamp set.  It is quick and easy to put together and looks good on a bottle of wine being used as a gift.

I found a scrap of Creative Memories paper to decorate the label and used a circle from the MFT Sweet Stack Labels die.  The sentiment is from the Let's Toast stamp set.  The wine glass is also part of the Let's Toast die set and I added the 'wine' part by cutting out another die shape in maroon and trimming it down.

Cottage Cutz - Eiffel Tower, Lamp and Poodle

The background striped paper is from a local store and is very thin, almost like tissue paper.  The vertical dies are MFT Fishtail Flags cut using Creative Memories paper.

The sentiment is Gina K Designs Enjoy the Sunshine also die cut with MFT Fishtail Flags.  The grey card stock die is from Cottage Cutz Eiffel Tower, Lamp and Poodle.

Peachy Keen - PKSC 13 January 2013

This cute bear is from the Peachy Keen set PKSC - 13 January 2013.  He was coloured with Distress inks and a paint brush.  The sentiment is Kaszazz Lucy's Stamps Happy Birthday, the background paper is from Creative Memories and I cannot for the life of me remember where the embossing folder is from.  In fact, I can't even find it.  It will appear one day, together with all the other items I have misplaced over the years !

Easter card

For this small card I used Creative Memories background paper, Spellbinders circle and Petite Scalloped circle to frame the image.  I have had this image for ages in my box of uncompleted projects and although it is probably a Stampin Up stamp I am afraid I am unable to find out which set it comes from.

Tim Holtz - Artful Muse / Old Jalopy

Another small card this time using a Tim Holtz embossing folder in a Spellbinders Circle trimmed down.  the background paper is from Creative Memories, the sentiment is from the PKSC - 04 April 2012 set die cut with Sizzix ovals.

Art Impressions - Birthday Whoots

Starting from the bottom layer - Creative Memories Storybox Jewell, the Sizzix Tags Rounded, 2 green Marianne D Branch Forest, Art Impressions Birthday Whoots set coloured in with aqua pencil crayons and markers.  The sentiment is Clear Dollar Something to Crow About punched out with Stampin Up Word Window.