S is for...

Well, Kathy over at Daring Cardmakers thinks S is for September - our challenge this week is to include at least three things beginning with S on our cards. Extra brownie points if you can manage six or even seven things!

I decided S was really for Santa so I could use the opportunity to add another Christmas card to my barely-started stash. I managed Santa in Silver Specs, a Stamped Sentiment with Snowflakes and some Sequins so I earned the extra brownie points for seven Ss while still managing to keep it CAS!

The Cool Yule dies were on sale recently and I found myself unable to resist, mostly for this Santa and the fabulous reindeer head in the set (which will make a debut soon, I'm sure).

The sentiment comes from a set I was lucky enough to win in Rudolph's Random Raffle over at Christmas Kickstart a while back - thanks Rudolph (and Jo!). 

Supplies:
Cool Yule dies (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Fine frames circles die (Altenew)
Bristol board
Silver mirri card
Copic markers
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)
Memento Luxe ink by Tsukineko (Love Letter)
Sequins
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Say cheese!

Miri is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she's given us a "picture perfect" theme, so a camera, picture frame, polaroid layout or a real photo would all fit the bill.

I needed a card for a 50th wedding anniversary - this camera is pretty much exactly what a 1970 one would have looked like and one of the recipients worked in the family’s camera shop so this seemed just right for the job. I added the 50 by hand in the blank part of the image and stamped the anniversary sentiment on a second Polaroid cut out and stuck under the first.

Stamps:
Say Cheese (digi by Dr Digi)
Sentiment from a Waltzingmouse Stamps set (no longer with us)

Paper:
Copy paper (to print digi image)
Bristol board
DCWV textured

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Black fineliner 
Stitched square frames dies (Paper Rose Studio)
Fine Frames circle dies (Altenew)

Thanks for stopping by, hope you are keeping safe and well.

August elements

It's the first Friday of a new month so over at Daring Cardmakers that means an "elemental" challenge - just use at least three elements of the inspiration picture to kickstart your project.

It’s my turn to provide the picture this time and I put together a little montage of objects to photograph. I intended to make something light and summery but my supplies had other ideas!

In the end the elements I chose were white line art on a black background (from the book at the bottom), leafy stem, two circles (inspired by cup and saucer) and rectangle (inspired by the books). The leafy stem is die cut from a piece in my scraps pile that had Brusho colour on it. 

Stamps:

Sketchy leaf from a set by Sheena Douglass

Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:

Black

Bristol board 

Brusho coloured scrap

Ink:

Versamark by Tsukineko 

Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:

Embossing powder by Wow (Bright White)

Tim Holtz/Sizzix Wildflowers 1 dies

Altenew Fine Frames circles die

Fineline marker

Here's the inspiration picture, we'd love to have you join us over at DCM!

June's Elements

It's the first Friday of the month and over at Daring Cardmakers that means it's an "elemental" challenge - just choose at least three elements from the inspiration picture to kickstart your project.

I chose the soft greens from the colour palette, the fern type leaves, a skinny metallic circle (framing the flower in the inspiration) and overlapping squares.

The squares are simply the ink pads pressed directly onto the card base - I used a bit of tape to mask the lighter one at the front when I pressed the darker pad onto the card.

Supplies:
Back to Nature dies by Sizzix
Fine Frames die by Altenew
Tim Holtz Distress ink (Bundled Sage)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide (Evergreen Bough)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate) 
Versamark by Tsukineko
Perfect Pearls (Sour Apple, Green, Patina Green)
Sentiment from Say It All set by Hero Arts (retired)
Bristol Board
Silver mirror card
Dark brown card
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper

Here's our inspiration picture this month, we'd love to see you play along!

Time to create

Sylvia is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers  this week and her theme is “a moment in time” - it could be clocks or watches or something like story time or tea time!

I've used an astronomical map as well as a traditional clock on my card - light years count, right?

I played with the circular Gel Press Petite here, pulling text from an old book page then adding a subtle dotty white layer using an embossing folder to texture the paint on the Gel Press. Background stamping, die cut frames, sequins and a punched star add to the mixed media credentials!

Stamps:
Reach for the Stars and Time to Stamp (both Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Small stars from Merry Cut and Stamp (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol boarp
Premium weight copy paper 
Silver mirror card
Silver glitter card

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Gel Press Petites
Acrylic paints
Old book page
Gently Falling embossing folder by Stampin Up
Fine frames dies by Altenew (rectangle and circle)
Star squeeze punch by Fiskars
Sequins
Fineline marker

Thanks for stopping by!

Bingo!

The lovely Dawn is setting our challenge this week at Daring Cardmakers and in a nod to her mum's love of bingo she's given us a board to choose our elements from. You can go up, down or diagonal with your line or even try to get a full house!

I managed the middle row and bottom left to top right diagonal. 

The onesie is stamped on watercolour paper so that's something different than the card base and has a slight textile texture which seemed appropriate. Die cuts for the circles, the tiny heart and stars as well as baby's initial. That's the middle row covered!

It's a clean and simple card and the onesie is heat embossed on the watercolour paper so that's the diagonal covered too!

Stamps:
Little One (Altenew)

Paper:
Bristol board
Watercolour

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Salty Ocean)
Versamark by Tsukineko

Other:
Detail white embossing powder
Fine Frames circle die (Altenew)
Confetti die (Mama Elephant)
Font 1 dies (Spellbinder)
Mega Flake (Indigo Blu - Sheffield Steel)
Corner Chomper

Here's the bingo board, we'd love you to come and join us at DCM to see what you make of these elements! There’s a great range of inspiration on display from the team, too!

Raspberries for Mum

Nat is setting the challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers and she'd like us to celebrate special women. It might be a card for Mother's Day but equally it could be something to mark a special friendship, an acknowledgement of an inspirational woman or any other way you can dream up to celebrate special women.

I made a card for my mum featuring a favourite fruit. Right from being a little girl we always had raspberries in the garden and once I was old enough to understand that they squash easily I helped Mum with the picking!

Stamps:
Sun Ripened (Stampin' Up! retired)
Happy Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol Board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Stonewashed)

Other:
Copic markers
Coloured pencils
Fine Frames die by Altenew
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Oak leaves

I was lucky enough to be chosen as a favourite at the Retro Rubber Challenge a while back and so I'm joining them as a guest designer on the current challenge which has just gone live here.

The idea at RR is to show some love to stamps that are at least a year old so it's a great chance to look back over your stash for toys you might have ignored for a while!

It's a tic-tac-toe challenge this time, see the end of this post or visit the Retro Rubber blog for the grid if you'd like to play along! I chose the middle column of the grid: sparkle-leaves-heat embossing.

I embossed the sentiment with a detail white powder and then smooshed on some ink using a piece of acetate. The oak branch stamp has acorns on it which means it always seems to be an autumnal kind of image but I thought that if I coloured the leaves green and only used part of the image it would be more suited to spring and summer. The sparkle comes courtesy of my "go to" embellishment when I want just a touch of glitz: nail art gems.

Stamps:
Oak Branch (Beeswax Stamps - I've had mine since 2012)
Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Versamark by Tsukineko
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Detail white embossing powder
Copic markers
White paint pen by Posca
Fine frames die by Altenew
Nail art gems
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper

Here's the tic-tac-toe grid, why not head over and play?!

Thanks for stopping by!