Inkylicious - Daydreamer

All the stamps on this card are from an Inkylicious set called Daydreamer.  I found that Versafine Onyx Black ink worked better for me than Archival on the main image.  I still had to touch up a little with a black marker as the card stock is slightly corrugated.

The photo corners are from an old EK Success punch,

Dreamweaver - Zig Zag Xmas Tree

Not sure if other crafters do this but I have little plastic bags with border punch left overs in.  It comes in handy when you need circles like these or eyes on a punch art figure.  So, I am unable to tell you where the circles on the Xmas tree came from other than from my little bag of circles !

This Dreamweaver stencil LL595 - Zig Zag Xmas Tree was sponged using Distress Inks onto cardstock which I got in the left over bin of an art supply store.  They make up piles of offcuts and sell them for next to nothing.  Most of my card toppers use these offcuts.  The border punch used on the red cardstock is an old, un named EK Success one.

Peachy Keen PKSC-11 November 2012

This Peachy Keen set is very cute with a number of  different faces for the elves and reindeers.  I coloured the image in with aqua pencils and a blender pen.  The sentiment is from the same set.  The border punch used on the right hand side of the card is EK Success Plaid.

Penny Black - Easter Basket

Why am I doing an Easter basket when Xmas is coming up ?  I had this Penny Black Easter Basket stamp which I had not used and needed a change of season.  One less Easter treat to make for next year !

The box is 109 mm x 159 mm.  On the longer side score at 50 and 150 mm and on the shorter side score at 40 mm in from both edges.  Make up the box.  The handle is an EK Success Linked Circle Chain border punch with a strip of cardstock backing it.  To fasten it to the box I punched small holes in both the box and handle and inserted brads.

The large circles are from Go Kreate Plain Circles and Scalloped Circles.  The top image is the Penny Black Easter Basket one and it was coloured in using aquarelle pencil crayons and Stampin Up crayons with a blender pen as well as a couple of markers.  The image on the reverse side of the basket is Peachy Keen PK265 Bunny Dolls with the grass being from the PK286 set called Easter Patch.  This image was also coloured in using pencil crayons and a blender pen.  The grass was stamped with Versacolor Sage ink.  I did decorate the sides of the basket with SU stamp set Eggcoutrements which where die cut with Spellbinders Circles.

Kraftin Kimmie - Gaia

I have had this stamp for quite a while and thought it would be perfect for a friend's birthday card.

I stamped the image onto Cryogen paper using black Momento ink.  The Copics used to colour it in are :
Skin - E000 / E0000
Hair - C3 / C5 /  C7 / C9
Globe - sea B00 / B000 and land E30 / E31
Dress - RV 91 / RV 93 / RV 95

The grape coloured background paper is from Creative Memories Storybox Pastel and is stamped with Hero Arts Happy Definition using Momemto Lulu Lavender ink.  The ovals were made with Sizzix Ovals and the blue trim on the side is an EK Success border punch called Dotted Scallop.  The sentiment is Flourishes - Taglines and is die cut with Spellbinders Ribbon Banners.

Cottage Cutz - Elegant Favor Box

I do enjoy the Cottage Cutz dies and this Elegant Favor Box is no exception.  You have to cut the die out 4 times and I learnt from the first run through that if it is not too easy to push out the card stock from all the holes then you need a shim the next time.

The snowman is from the Peachy Keen set PK 329 - Chill Baby Chill Snowman set and I stamped it with Momento ink on Copic card stock.  The Copics used for the red parts were R39 / R37 / R35; the nose was done with YR18 / YR16; the boots were E77 / E74 / E71; the hat was N8 / N6 / N4; for the waistcoat I used BG15 / BG13 / BG11 and the broom head was done with E51 / E50.

The sentiment is a Stampin Up one from a set called Sincere Salutations and I used the Go Kreate Concentric Tags #1 to die cut it.  The "snow" around the base of the box is from an EK Success border punch.

Whimsy Stamps - Hot Air Balloon Die

With so many different companies offering dies I find it difficult to focus on which ones I will use - I want them all !! 

This Whimsy die is another which is different and allows the crafter decide on what to do with the balloon part.  I opted to use a patterned piece of paper then I must admit I did struggle a little to stick the strips in as the main die was cut using cardstock and the balloon was cut using paper.  It would have helped if I had used the same thickness cardstock for both.

I stuck the balloon onto a Spellbinders Labels 18 which I edged with Antique Linen Distress ink.  Next came a Spellbinders Oval, matted onto a rectangle.  Both the yellow and the burgundy paper are from Creative Memories.  The photo corners are an EK Success punch and the border top and bottom are from a Martha Stewart border punch.



House-Mouse Designs - Birthday Cake

Although I have a couple of House-Mouse stamp sets I cannot recall having used them.  Their designs are very distinctive and I am not sure whether or not I like them.

For this stamp I decided to use Copics to colour it in only because I was wanting to fade the pink on the waterlily leaves - the outer row under the water.  I used Distress Ink for the water.  The image is framed with a Nestabilities Labels Four die and then matted onto a Labels Seventeen die in pink cardstock.  Under that is a Martha Stewart border punch in cream.  The background paper is from my stash and was a little too bright so I toned it down with a layer of vellum.  The corners are from an EK Success punch, the flowers are from my stash with the leaves being from a Martha Stewart punch.  The sentiment is from a Clear Dollar set called Something to Crow About and it was punched out using a SU punch called Word Window.

Moulin Rouge - Tim Holtz stamp set

Although I am a Tim Holtz fan I am not really attracted to his range of stamps.  When I saw this Stampers Anonymous French Market Place set which included the Moulin Rouge image I could not resist it.  You see, I spent a very special evening at the Moulin Rouge in Paris for one of the celebrations for my 21st birthday (many moons ago !) plus I hold a fascination with all things French.

The background to the stamp is sponged with Distress Ink and I then stamped the image using Archival Ink.  This was then matted onto a piece of paper punched with an EK Success border punch.  The background paper is CM and the tag at the top of the card is a SU punch called Round Tab.