No Peeking

The theme at Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers this month is gnomes. As I got an idea in my head that I thought would work best with more than one gnome, I finally caved in and got some more gnome stamps. Pointy Hat Gnome has long been the sole representative of his clan and he's a bit too big for multiples to feature comfortably on a standard card! I picked up somebody’s crafty de-stash set on eBay featuring some of his smaller brethren.

They may not look threatening but gnomes can be a determined bunch — perfect for protecting the gift pile and making sure there’s no peeking before the big day! Gnomeland Security is a serious business and they’re not about to stand for any funny stuff. Head gnome Herbert is raised up a little (courtesy of some card scraps) just to reinforce his status, especially as he’s not the biggest gnome on the block.

 

I think this could work for Christmas or birthday as the gnomes are not in traditional festive colours. Funny how you see things on the photo that you’ve not noticed “in person” — I’m thinking I’ll go back in with a fineliner and make their little eye dots black since I stamped with a dark brown ink, I think it might bring a little more character to their faces.

 

Stamps: 

Christmas Gnomes (Paper Boutique) 

Funny Accessories (Katzelkraft, no longer with us) 

 

Paper: Bristol board

 

Ink: Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)

 

Other:

Copic markers
White paint pen (Posca)

Computer generated sentiment 

Corner chomper

Here’s the link to the challenge with all the details, there are still a few days to play: 

Robin in the snow

I’m delighted to be undertaking elfin duties at Christmas Kickstart this month, especially as the theme is right up my alley — thanks for inviting me Jo! I think bird images are beaten into second place only after florals in my stamping stash so Season’s Tweetings is perfect for me to don the pointy ears and elf hat and join Jo in celebrating birds in winter!

As the current We Love Stamping challenge is All Creatures Great and Small I’m joining in there, too.

I had a new robin image waiting to see ink for the first time so he came out to play. They’re lovely to see all year round but really come into their own in winter, supplying that little flash of vivid colour when everything can seem a bit drab and monochrome. 

Linda has been using some pretty ombre card bases recently — perhaps those were in my mind when I sat down to make this as I used some Pan Pastels to create a soft ombre winter sky for my robin. The gentle snow is just paint pen dots and splodges and I added a tiny bit of snow to the branch with the same pen. The robin is coloured with pencils and as I stamped in a brown ink I used a fineliner to make his beady little eye black. A nice big sentiment and my usual rounded corner finish it off. Light and flat for easy mailing!

Stamps:
Into the Wild (Katzelkraft, no longer with us)
Noel (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Memento Luxe by Tsukineko (Love Letter)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Pan Pastel (Pthalo Green Tint, Turquoise, Blue)
Paint pen by Posca (White)
Corner Chomper
Black fineliner

We’d love for you to join us with some wintery bird life on your cards, here’s the challenge link, it would be great to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by!

  

Link in the chain — April

It’s the 2nd of the month which means it must be reveal day at Card Chain Challenge — 22 card makers from around the world played along this time, sending happy mail to fellow crafters and finding their own happy mail on the doormat/in the mail box!

From the options on offer this month I chose two of the themes: long ears and spring. The wee pup has the longest ears I could think of in my collection and his egg-carrying pal is definitely welcoming spring. They’ve travelled across the ocean to the fabulous Linda where I hope they raised a smile.

I’ve stuck to my usual CCC aesthetic of a one layer card. I debossed the centre panel for a little extra interest and used low tack tape around the edges to keep the ink off while stencilling. Chick was stamped and masked first, pup stamped and masked second and the background stencilled over them. Everything had a base layer of Copic colour and then coloured pencil detail over the top. I added a few Enamel Accent dots, it’s been ages since I did white on white like that, I do quite like it as a subtle way to pull the eye to the sentiment here.

Stamps:
Les Chiens (Katzelkraft, no longer with us)
Spring Chicks and More (Tom Fun line at Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Copic markers
Coloured pencils
Enamel Accents by Ranger (white)
Strobes stencil (Visible Image)

Thanks for stopping by! There’s still time to sign up for the May challenge at CCC if you fancy making and sending one card and getting a card in return.

Thanks for stopping by!

A little gift?

The Katzelkraft cat and mouse Christmas card I made last year went down well so I decided to use the same set when making a birthday card for the gentleman of the household. This particular cat didn't get a look in then but the cheeky mouse is back -- looks like he might be in trouble once the song is over though, pusscat has his tail firmly under her paw. Perhaps he’s going to end up being offered as a gift?! Their cat is quite good at that although not as spectacular as her predecessor who had been known to offer up rabbits, including wrangling a live (full grown) one through the cat flap!

Jo's caroling cat prompted me to imagine a feline rendition of the birthday song, the double notes are stamped, the single ones are hand drawn. Stamping, masking, stenciling and a touch of Copic colouring with a tiny bit of pencil detail is as complicated as things got for this one. I realised I’ve also used the same stencil as Jo used for this challenge — as I said in my comment on her card, it’s quite possibly my most used stencil, it just seems to finish off so many things!

Stamps:
Les Chats Russe (Katzelkraft, no longer with us)
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)
Mini Memories (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper: Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Adirondack by Ranger (Pool)

Other:
Copic markers
Coloured pencils
Strobes stencil (Visible Image)
Black fineliner
Corner Chomper

The Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is looking for birthday cards this month so I’m linking up there

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain — March

It’s reveal day once again at Card Chain Challenge, lots of lovely and very diverse cards to admire as usual.

From the options on offer this month I chose the theme of gnomes. I started off with the sketch as well but things sort of evolved and the sketch got rather lost. Of course I also used the product option of stamps, it’s still a rare card from me that doesn’t feature stamping.

PH Gnome is full of the joys of spring and pleased to have an opportunity to show off a different outfit as he's usually masquerading as Santa. Having noticed the flowers pushing up through the grass at the base of his favourite tree, he couldn’t resist picking one to adorn his hat. 

The clouds on the chalked sky are hand drawn, everything is coloured with Copics and the embossed sentiment is a folder I’ve had for ages — it’s a set of three and this is the first time this one has been out to play. As my card was going to the lovely Jo this time, I thought some embossing was in order as a little nod to the glory days of the Let’s Squash It challenge. Joining in the “old supplies” vibe, that tree hasn’t seen ink for a very long time (maybe 2009?!) but I thought the whimsical style would work well with the gnome.

Stamps:
Pointy Hat Gnome (Lost Coast Designs)
Spring Trees (Kim Hughes for Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Copic markers
Sayings embossing folder (Darice)
Chalk
Zig sketching pen (dark brown)

I don't usually combine my CCC cards with other challenges but as Lost Coast is celebrating gnomes this month, I'll make an exception and link up there! 

Thanks for stopping by! There’s still time to sign up for the April challenge at CCC if you fancy making and sending one card and getting a card in return. And a whole month to play at LCD!

All together now...

This month Christmas Kickstart is inviting us to a sing-a-long - make a card inspired by a Christmas song or carol. I'd recently found this little sentiment stamp (it's so old I don't remember where it came from; it's grey rubber and I have a very faint bell in my head that says Elzybells but if anyone knows, shout out!). 

The sentiment was really crying out for an image with two or more characters and when I remembered this jolly little crew tucked down the side of the Christmas supplies box they seemed like good candidates.

We recently visited a National Trust property (Quarry Bank Mill in Cheshire, worth a visit if you're in the area) and they had some lovely cards in the gift shop that had a slightly debossed area for the image. I figured I should be able to do that to add subtle interest to a one layer card. Took me a while to work it out but I got there in the end!

I cut some lightweight chipboard with a rectangle die and used a bit of low tack tape to keep it centred on the card front then turned it over and ran a stylus round the edge. I did it on a blank card base so that if I messed up, I hadn't ruined a carefully coloured image!

Image is coloured with Copics and topped up with just a few pencil details and some copper gel pen for the stars on some of the packages. 

Stamps:
Holly Jolly (Penny Johnson/Stampavie)
Sentiment stamp unknown (possibly very old Elzybells)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers 
Black fineliner
Coloured pencils
Copper gel pen

 

 

Coffee companion

Kathy commented on the tea fairy card I made recently asking about the possibility of a coffee fairy. Tee-Hee was keen to prove her credentials as an accommodating sort (but points out she’s actually a pixie). As Kathy’s been doing battle with a nasty lurgy recently, I figured an easy cuppa might be just the job so Tee-Hee got her way and upped the level of caffeination!

Coffee bags are not something I’ve tried but thinking about whether they existed (they do, there’s one in this card in the same way there was a tea bag in the tea card) triggered the memory of little individual “over cup” filters in the first place I ever worked. Those had what was essentially a big round coffee bag in the base of a filter basket that sat on top of a cup — you filled the basket and let the coffee drip through. Totally wasteful plastic-wise but I guess every person got freshly brewed coffee. My 14 year old waitress self didn’t really appreciate the faff though!

The cup is the bottom one from a stacked tower. That meant I couldn’t do this as a genuine one layer card as it’s pretty much impossible to stamp that one cup so I fussy cut and stuck it in place.

I’ll add this to the January Lost Coast Designs challenge as my final entry this month.

Stamps:
TeeHee HLP (Lost Coast Designs)
Coffee and Tea (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Tea time (I think that's what it's called)(Crafter's Companion)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Coloured pencils
Wink of Stella pen
Gift card dies (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Corner Chomper

Tea fairy

It’s always nice when the tea fairy calls (i.e. someone else makes you a cuppa and delivers it to your elbow when you’re working). Failing that, just making time to sit for a few minutes with a nice brew can make a difference to your day. 

So, with that and the current Lost Coast Designs challenge (Winged Things) in mind, I made a little presentation card for a tea bag. I’ve had this tea fairy stamp for ages and never got round to using her before. She’s rather sweet even if she does look slightly mischievous! She’s got sparkly pink hair as well as sparkly wings, just because. I fully expected my Wink of Stella pen to have dried up as it must be several years since I used it but it delivered, no problem. 

I cut little tabs inside the card to hold a tea bag in a paper sachet with a die designed to cut them to hold a gift card. My sachet was slightly wider than the usual gift card so I modified by cutting one side, then shifting the die to cut the other.

Sending a special tea bag can be a nice way to say to a friend “I’m thinking of you, make sure you take some time for yourself".

Stamps:
TeeHee HLP (Lost Coast Designs)
Retro Women 2 (Tanda Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Coloured pencils
Wink of Stella pen
Gift card dies (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Corner Chomper

More kraftiness

I enjoyed colouring Sidoney the dog on a kraft card base a few days back so when I set out to make a card for cat-loving friends I decided to go the same way. The standing cat is coloured to look a bit like the all white one they have now, her curled up companion bears a passing resemblance to their previous cat. Neither of them would stand for the antics of that pesky rodent though!

I’ve used another of the fantastic Katzelkraft sets I bought recently. These are such fun to combine in different ways. I did have plans to use the wrapped gifts from the accessories set as my friend’s cat is an avid box fan, if there’s an open box, she will be sitting or standing in it without question. In the end though, I couldn’t resist a little scene with the cheeky mouse teasing his two opponents. 

I wanted a Christmas tree in the scene but didn’t have a suitably sized stamp in my stash so I decided to have a go at drawing my own. I sketched it on some scrap paper first to make sure my limited drawing skills were up to the task, then scribbled pencil on the back and transferred it to the card, drew over the faint pencil lines with a fineline marker and coloured with pencils. The garland (or string of tiny lights if you prefer to think of them that way) is just dots of paint pen. I think it turned out OK!

Stamps:
Les Chats Russe (Katzelkraft, no longer with us)
Sentiment from Foxy Christmas (Woodware)

Paper:
Kraft 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Posca paint pen (white)
Black fineliner
Corner Chomper

As my little mouse is definitely showing some sass, I’m playing for the first time at Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers where this month’s theme is “Cheeky Christmas” — click the image for challenge details!

Santa Sidoney

Another quick card for the pile of last minute Christmas cards (although the masking took much longer than it had any right to do, I’m out of practice!). 

Having only just got round to using these stamps, I ordered some more Katzelkraft in the That's Crafty Black Friday sale. I  subsequently discovered that Katzelkraft ceased trading in the spring so I went back and ordered a few more! I’m really sad, not only because I’ve not long started building a little collection of their stamps but because one of the reasons for the closure is the cheap knock-offs flooding some of the better known online shopping platforms  ☹️ If you know anyone tempted by such “bargains”, please try to talk them out of it, it’s killing genuine businesses, many of them small concerns run by passionately creative people who deserve to be properly rewarded for their time, energy and creativity.

So, with that off my chest — Santa hat from the accessories set stamped and masked, Sidoney stamped to suffer the ignominy of having to wear it and then everything coloured with pencils. Stamped sentiment with a few paint pen dots and my usual rounded corner to finish it off.

Stamps:
Chien Sidoney (Katzelkraft, no longer with us)
Les droles d’accessoire (Katzelkraft, no longer with us)
Sentiment from Foxy Christmas (Woodware)

Paper:
Kraft 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Posca paint pen
Corner Chomper

Why not join in at Christmas Kickstart if, like me, you’re playing catch up?! As Jo says — if it’s Christmassy, link it up!

Wheely good fun

I'm setting today's challenge at Daring Cardmakers— we’re having wheely good fun this week, featuring anything with wheels on our projects.

I’m still separated from my craft supplies so this is something I made earlier in the year. I hadn’t used my Copics in ages so I pulled out some shades of red and grey and went bright on this old CHF stamp (had to be car-themed to tie in with the gift of a driving experience!). Personalised registration plate is lettered with a fineliner and I did a little bit of masking so the car is coming out of the frame. 

Stamps:
Chevy Camaro Front View (CHF, no longer with us)
A&P Numbers (Ma Vinci’s Reliquary, no longer with us)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (various blues)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Time Tunnel Stencil (Visible Image)
Copic markers
Fineliner

Thanks for stopping by!

Cheers!

It's my turn to set our challenge at Daring Cardmakers and we’re raising our glasses to our shared hobby this week. Cocktail, mocktail, beer or orange juice — show us what you’re drinking!

My hubby is somewhat of a wine buff so this is the card I made for his birthday.   It’s one layer, no frills which is pretty much how all the men I make cards for like their cards!

Stamps:
Wine Corks (Spellbinder)
Ink Splats (Visible Image)
Celebrate (Letter It range by Ranger)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso, Cranberry)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Charcoal pencil
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Card Chain Callenge - May

It's reveal day at Card Chain Challenge where this month 30 participants sent and received hand made cards. Mine went to Karolina this time.

From the options on offer I chose the theme of men in hats and the product and technique options of stencil and scoring, sticking to my usual CCC aesthetic of one layer.

I masked the gent on the stamped image but not the background so the stencilling goes over that bit of the image and the rays come directly out of his head. There's a charcoal pencil drop shadow going on and some silver gel pen on the corner swirls in the image.

Stamps:
Dashing Gents (Darkroom Door)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch)

Other:
Strobes stencil (Visible Image)
Silver gel pen
Corner Chomper
Scor It

Thanks for stopping by!

M is for...

Rizwana is setting today's challenge at Daring Cardmakers and we’re focusing on the letter M.

I have Meerkats coloured with Markers on a Masculine card. I picked up these Katzelkraft stamps on eBay a while back (most of them unused), who can resist a cheeky meerkat?!

The recipient plays for a football team who have a red and black strip so I made appropriate “scarf stripes” with markers along the base of the card. The dancing meerkat has a chalk halo because it was a quick and easy way to add some colour there.

Stamps:
Surikats (Katzelkraft)
Celebrate (Letter It line by Ranger)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Copic markers

Thanks for stopping by!

Let's hear it for the boys!

Shabneez is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see some ideas for masculine cards.

I’ve gone for a teen boy card. He’s a guitar player (got his Grade 7 a few months back) and likes a bit of classic rock. It’s a one layer card, achieved with masking and reverse masking so the guitar could be stamped as a design on the shirt with ink blending and stencilling for the background. 

Stamps:
Nothing to Wear and Rock Out (Visible Image)
Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (various blues)
Hero Arts Shadow ink (Charcoal)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Corner Chomper
Play Guitar Stencil (Visible Image)

Thanks for stopping by!

Card chain challenge — May

It’s reveal day once again at Card Chain Challenge where 32 players made and sent cards for the April challenge. Mine travelled all the way to the southern hemisphere to the lovely Robyn. 

From the options on offer I chose the colour palette and the theme of food and drink. It’s the usual one layer aesthetic for CCC, particularly when I’m airmailing something it seems a good idea to keep it light and flat. The sentiment has doodled edges and drop shadows done with a charcoal pencil to give the illusion of dimension. 

The cups are embossed with silver which gave me some trouble with photography but I hope it’s good enough for you to get the idea. 

Stamps:
Tea Time (Crafters Companion)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Detail silver embossing powder
Copic markers
Charcoal pencil
Black fineliner
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Round and round

It's my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week — our theme is "circles". Feature circles or something that is made up of or contains circles on your project.

My froggy has circular puddles and a circular eye. There are even little circle elements on the stencilled strobe lines. 

I got this stamp set because I really liked the frog, I didn’t expect to use the Spanish language sentiment. A friend who has recently retired is making a concerted effort to improve his Spanish and went to Spain just before his birthday so I made this for his return — never write off a stamp is the lesson here!

Stamps:
Cosmos Frog (Stamperia)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Strobes stencil (Visible Image)
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Card chain challenge — March

It’s reveal day at Card Chain Challenge — 35 cardmakers signed up to make a card and send it off to the next link in the chain this time! Mine went to Viv so it didn’t have too far to travel.

From the options on offer I chose the sketch and the technique option of block and string stamping. I wanted to stick with the circular elements of the sketch so I actually used a cotton reel as my block and wrapped string through the hole to make a sort of sunburst pattern. A bit of extra inking through a circular aperture in my trusty piece of acetate accentuated the pattern. Gnomie is stamped and masked before adding the background elements. 

I thought green and orange would be good colours for spring and it was only afterwards it made me think of carrots (for the Easter bunny?).

Stamps:
Pointy hat gnome (Lost Coast Designs)
Say It Loud (Waltingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:

Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Cracked Pistachio)

Other:
Copic markers
String wrapped round a cotton reel
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

So square

The lovely Shabneez is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers today. She’d like to see squares — square cards, lots of little squares as design elements, however you feel like incorporating squares!

I couldn’t really get going with anything this week so decided to add a Christmas card to the stash. Jo’s Christmas Kickstart has a green theme this month so I chose to play along there too. 

Santa’s dachshund has put on his best green sweater to deliver his Christmas greetings. He has lovely green trees in the background, too (dog masked before stamping trees). He’s on a square card with an inner square that looks surprisingly dimensional! I drew round a square die with a fineline marker then added some smudged charcoal pencil in the corners. His sweater has some squares in its pattern, too. 

This cute stamp was one of the Katzelkraft bargains I got ages ago but I’ve only just got round to using him — he made my hubby smile when he saw the card waiting to be photographed. There’s a lady in our village who has a dachshund that loves a fuss, Betty (the dog, not her owner!) has the softest ears you’ve ever felt, they’re like very expensive silk velvet!

Stamps:
Chien du Pere de Noel (Katzelkraft)
Lovely As a Tree  (Stampin’ Up)
Sentiment from an ancient set (MSE)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Charcoal pencil
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)

Thanks for stopping by!

Card Chain Challenge — February

I’ve  been absent from the Card Chain for a few months but I’m trying to get back in to the swing of some paper crafting so I signed up for February to give myself a nudge. My card went to the lovely Hilary so it didn’t have too far to travel.

From the options on offer I chose the colours and the theme of flowers and revisited an old Hero Arts stamp, sticking to my usual CCC aesthetic of single layer. 

I stamped and masked then coloured one bloom with pencils and the background ones with grey Copics, added some charcoal pencil drop shadow and a fine border with a marker (drawing round the outside of a die makes it easy). Then of course couldn’t decide on a sentiment, took me ages to find one I liked in the space I had!

This took a lot longer to make than it should have done, I’m definitely out of practise, but it got there in the end. The colouring is richer in real life I think, the shading on the flower really didn’t want to photograph well but time was tight and it needed to go in the post  

Stamps:
Large Striped Flower (Hero Arts)
Sentiment from an old Cornish Heritage Farms set (no long with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Copic Markers
Charcoal pencil
Black fineliner
White paint pen by Posca

Thanks for stopping by. The sign up for the March chain is open until the 6th if you fancy making and sending one card, getting a lovely hand made card in return.