Hello everyone - I'm so happy that it's the weekend!  I'm dropping in to let you know that we have a new challenge for you at Sweet Stampin'.  This week we'd like you to use a non-white card base, please!

I know that I very often reach for a plain white card base (and why not) but I do like to use coloured card, especially when I don't want any pattern in my background.  This time I used some Simon Says Stamp cardstock in Schoolhouse Red to create my card

I used what is possibly now my favourite stamp, the Altenew Lily.  This is a layering stamp and it works beautifully with Altenew Inks - definitely my favourite die inks and I can't wait for the next lot of new colours to be available over here.  The sentiment is from another Altenew set which has a birthday theme comprising lots of sentiments and a layered balloon (can't remember its name).

So, a fairly clean and simple card with the only embellies being some dots of Pico from Simon Says Stamp.  I love this stuff!

I do hope you can play along with us at Sweet Stampin' this week.  We're being sponsored by Funky Kits so you know that there will be a cool prize for our prize draw winner.

Enjoy your weekend!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Make a Scene

There's a new challenge starting today over at Sweet Stampin'. We have more of a technique theme for you this time as we'd like to you create a scene on your project.  You could combine stamps and/or dies to do this although you'll have to stamp somewhere on your project if you want to be entered in the prize draw.  Check out what the Sweeties have made here to help you along.

I went with masking and stamping to create my scene:

I stamped and masked Tilda with the Magnolia Beach Huts stamp and coloured everything with my Copics.  As the image is quite big I kept everything else fairly plain, so just some Echo Park DP to pick up the colours in the beach huts and a doily mat for the image.  The little starfish were in my stash - I'm pretty sure I got them at Live and Love Crafts.

We're giving away a Sweet Stampin' Goodie Bag to our randomly chosen winner, so I do hope you can play along.

Have a great weekend!

Tracey xx

Festive Décor

The nights are drawing in here and I'm counting the weeks to the October holidays (I know we haven't been back at school that long but it already feels like a lifetime!).  Time to seriously start thinking about getting my Christmas cards made...

Three cheers for Christmas at Sweet Stampin' for making me get organised as by the time Christmas comes around I'll have at least 11 cards done and dusted. Not many, I know, but better than none!

We're starting a new challenge today with the theme of Festive Décor, giving you plenty of scope to create a card in whatever style you prefer.

Here's my DT creation

 

 

 

 

My goodness, did I have trouble taking a photo of this.  I shouldn't complain about having sunshine here for once, but everywhere I put my card it was either too dark or too bright for a decent picture.

 

I used a Clearly Besotted set to stamp and die cut my wreath.  Instead of adding the stamped embellies in the set, though, I opted for various sizes of enamel dots from Teresa Collins, Papermania and Papertrey Ink.  The sentiment, also Papertrey Ink, was stamped with Versamark and sprinkled with platinum embossing powder for a bit of festive sparkle.

 

Unfortunately I won't be sending this card, at least, not without a little surgery first.  The sentiment was originally stamped directly on the card base and I managed to make a right pig's ear of it.  Rather than chuck the card, I cut another piece of black cardstock and re-stamped the sentiment on that.  It was only when everything was stuck down, including the wreath, that I realised that I had stuck everything to the WRONG SIDE of the card, so the dodgy sentiment is still clearly visible on the back of the card :o(

I hope you can join in the fun with us at Christmas at Sweet Stampin' this month.  The lovely Emma of Flat Friends is kindly giving away 2 of her brilliant digi images to our lucky winner, so why not play along?  The CaSSettes have some brilliant inspiration cards to show you over on the challenge blog, so do check them out.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Hugs

Tracey xx