Sail Away

I was so pleased when Steve's Christmas card was a Top 7 at the Allsorts Challenge and I was invited to be Guest Designer on the 'For Men or Boys' challenge.  I made this card for a friend's forthcoming birthday.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics' die
     Clearly Besotted 'Sail Away' and 'Modern Calligraphy' stamps and coordinating dies
     Impression Obsession 'Ocean Border' and Clouds' dies
     Versafine Majestic Blue ink
     Cosmic Shimmer clear embossing powder
     Copics
     Snippets of blue textured card, white matt card and pale blue vellum

I cut two pieces of white card slightly smaller than the front of the card and die cut a stitched circle in the centre of both pieces (I used two layers of card so the inlaid scene would lie flat inside the aperture). I layered the panels before attaching a piece of pale blue vellum to the rear of the aperture and attaching the panel to the card front,  I die cut two waves from snippets of blue textured card and die cut the bottom of each with the stitched circle so I could inlay them into the aperture.  

I used dark blue ink to stamp the sailing boat onto a snippet of white card.  This was coloured with Copics before being cut with the coordinating die.  I attached a tiny snippet of white card to the back of the sails and then slipped the bottom of the boat between the two waves - the tiny piece of card on the back of the sails made the boat stand out from the vellum background.  

I took the 'Happy Birthday' sentiment and masked the 'birthday' before stamping 'happy' onto a snippet of white card and then embossing it with clear embossing powder.  This was die cut with the medium cloud die.  I also die cut a small cloud from another tiny piece of white card.  I stamped 'birthday' onto white card and embossed it before using the coordinating die to cut the sentiment.  I then cut two more sentiments from more snippets of white card - these were trimmed down and attached to the back of the stamped sentiment so it would lie flat across the aperture.   The clouds and 'birthday' were then attached to the card.

I am entering the following challenges:
     A Cut Above - Anything Goes
     Addicted to Stamps and More - Birthdays
     Alphabet Challenge - S is for Square
     Daisy Chain Challenge - Use Dies
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Kath x

Flourish Reindeer

I love this Flourish Reindeer die - the curly antlers make it perfect for this month's Christmas Kickstart Challenge 'Just Add Antlers'.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Impression Obsession 'Flourish Reindeer' and 'Hills'  dies
     Funky Fossil 'Snow is Falling' stencil
     Versamark ink
     Cosmic Shimmer Clear Detail embossing powder
     Snippets of white matt card, broze mirri card and teeny tiny snippet of gold mirri

I used the Versamark ink to stamp the snowflakes onto white matt card before embossing them with clear embossing powder.  The panel was trimmed, layered onto broze mirri card and attached to the card blank. I die cut a hill from another snippet of white card, trimmed it and attached it to the bottom of the card.  I die cut the reindeer from bronze mirri and attached it to the front of the card.  To finish I die cut the reindeer's eye from a snippet of gold mirri and inlaid it.

I am entering the following challenges:
     A Cut Above - Anything Goes with a Die Cut
     Allsorts - Christmas Cards
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - CAS
     Christmas Crafts All Year Round - Run Run Rudolph
     Christmas Kickstart Challenge - Just Add Antlers
     Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes

Kath x

Love

When I made my Have a Wonderful Birthday card, I embossed an extra panel and decided to make it into an anniversary card.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Lisa Horton 'Pansy Corner' 3D embossing folder
     Impression Obsession 'Love' die
     Snippets of white matt card and red pearlescent card

I trimmed the white matt card so it was the same size as the front of the card blank and placed the Pansy Corner embossing folder on top so I could see where to die cut 'Love'.  I removed the folder and cut the sentiment before embossing the Pansy Corner.  The panel was then attached to the front of the card blank.  I die cut 'Love' from a snippet of red pearlescent card as I was originally going to inlay it in red, but decided I didn't like it so I inlaid the white sentiment and the small red heart.  I then die cut another 'Love' from another snippet of white card and attached it to the top.  The two small white hearts from the sentiments were than attached to the card front.

I am entering the following challenges:
     A Cut Above - Anything Goes with a Die Cut
     Allsorts - Pretty Flowers
     Can You Handle the Pressure - Anything Goes
     Cardz 4 Galz - Wedding or Wedding Anniversary
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - CAS
     Triple B Challenge - Birds, Butterflies & Blooms (I have chosen Blooms)

Kath x

Merry Christmas Tree

I've had this Christmas tree die for a while, but this is the first time I've used it.  I thought it would be perfect for a quick CAS Christmas card.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" kraft card blank
     Impression Obsession 'Merry Tree' die
     Snippets of kraft card and white matt card

I trimmed a snippet of white matt card to 5" x 5" and then a snippet of kraft card to 4.75" x 4.75".  I die cut the Christmas tree from the kraft card before layering it onto the white card and then attaching it to the card blank.  I die cut the tree again from a snippet of white card before inlaying the white tree and the small infill snippets of kraft card.

I am entering the following challenges:
     52 Christmas Card Throwdown - Kraft and White
     Addicted to Stamps & More - Die Cuts and/or Stencils (I've used die cuts)
     Alphabet Challenge - C for Christmas Tree
     As You Like It Challenge - Clean & Simple or Fussy & Fancy (my favourite is always CAS - if I do make a fussy card I'm never happy with it as they tend to look messy!)
     Christmas Crafts All Year Round - Rockin' around the Christmas tree
     Cut It Up Challenge - Starts with a 'C' (I've chosen Christmas)
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - CAS
     NBUS - Challenge 73 (my new, to me, Christmas tree die)

Kath x   

Flourish Reindeer

I've recently bought a collection of Impression Obsession dies (I do like IO dies as they always cut so well) and this lovely reindeer was amongst them.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Impression Obsession 'Flourish Reindeer' and Creative Expressions 'Festive Collection - Season's Greetings' dies
     Joy Crafts 'Earth Bloc' paper
     Snippets of brown pearlescent card and bright blue shiny card

I trimmed the paper, layered it onto brown card and attached it to the card blank.  I die cut the reindeer and sentiment from brown pearlescent card and attached them to the lower edge of the card.  To finish, I die cut the reindeer's eye from a tiny snippet of bright blue card and inlaid it.

I am entering the following challenges:
     ABC Christmas Challenge - D for Die Cuts
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Cardz 4 Guyz - Clean & Simple
     Merry Little Christmas Challenge - Anything Christmas Goes
     NBUS - Challenge 71 (my new Flourish Reindeer die)
     The Male Room - Monochrome

Kath x

Darling Friends

I received a lovely card from Linda for the February Card Chain Challenge last year which had this cute cat in a hot air balloon and a sun.  After keeping the card for a year, I thought it was time someone else could enjoy Linda's lovely colouring so I carefully removed the hot air balloon and sun from the card to make this birthday card for my great niece.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     Upcycled Simon Says Stamp 'Darling Friends' images from Linda's card (Linda had coloured the images with Copics and a white gel pen and added a gem decoration)
     Impression Obsession 'Hills' and 'Clouds' dies
     Clearly Besotted 'Modern Calligraphy' stamps and coordinating dies
     Versafine Smokey Gray ink
     Cosmic Shimmer Clear Detail embossing powder
     Snippets of blue and green textured card and white matt card

I trimmed the blue card so it was slightly smaller than the card blank and attached it to the front of the card.  I die cut two of the hills from green card, using darker green for the background hill and a brighter green for the front hill.  These were attached to bottom of the blue panel.  I attached the hot air balloon to the front of the card using foam pads behind the balloon to give some dimension to the card.  The sun was attached to the top corner of the sky.  I die cut the small and medium clouds from white card, the medium cloud was tucked behind the hot air balloon and the small one attached above the hills.  I used grey ink to stamp the sentiment onto a snippet of white card before cutting 'happy' with the coordinating die and trimming around 'birthday'.  These were then attached to the card.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Krafty Chicks Challenge - Anything Goes
     Little Red Wagon - A for Anything Goes
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Kath x

Love

I've made another anniversary card for the AAA Cards 'Follow the Leader' challenge using some more white snippets.

To make this card I used:
     C6 white matt card blank
     Impression Obsession 'Love' die
     Snippets of white matt card and red glitter card

I die cut 'Love' three times from white matt card.  I layered the die cuts before attaching them to the bottom corner of the card.  The three small hearts that had been cut from the heart on the sentiment were attached to the card.  To finish I die cut another small heart from the red glitter card and inlaid it into the 'Love'.

I am entering the following challenges
     AAA Cards - Follow the Leader
     Crafty Calendar Challenge - Add a Die Cut
     Cut It Up - Have a Heart
     Litlle Red Wagon - Can You Feel the Love Tonight
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes
     Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
     Simply Clean and Simple - Anything Goes

Kath x

Golden Wedding Anniversary

I made this card for a friend's Golden Wedding Anniversary using lots of snippets.

To make this card I used:
     5" x 5" white hammer card blank
     Impression Obsession 'Heart of Hearts' and Lawn Fawn 'Outside In Stitched Square Stackables' dies
     Snippets of white hammer card, gold mirri card and gold sparkle card

I cut the largest stitched square from a piece of white hammer card and die cut the 'Heart of Hearts' from the centre.  The panel was layered onto gold mirri and attached to the front of the card blank.  I die cut the heart from snippets of gold mirri and gold sparkle card and inlaid them into the panel.

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Ally's Angels - Anything Goes
     Crafty Calendar Challenge - Anything Goes
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes
     Love to Scrap - Anything Goes
     Pearly Sparkles Challenge - Clean and Simple
     Snippets Playground - Challenge 471 (Celebration)

Kath x

Happy Birthday

I made this card for a friend's birthday using lots more snippets.

I cut two pieces of white card slightly smaller than the front of the card and die cut a stitched circle in the centre of both pieces. I layered the panels before attaching a piece of pale blue vellum to the rear of the aperture and then attaching the panel to the card front,  I die cut two waves from snippets of blue textured card and then die cut the bottom of each with the stitched circle so I could inlay them into the aperture.  The reason I had attached two white panels to the front of the card was so the front would lie flat when I inlaid the two waves.  

I used dark blue ink to stamp the sailing boat onto a snippet of white card.  This was coloured with Promarkers before being cut with the coordinating die.  I attached a tiny snippet of white card to the back of the sails and then slipped the bottom of the boat between the two waves - the tiny piece of card on the back of the sails made the boat stand out from the vellum background.  

I took a Happy Birthday sentiment and masked the 'birthday' before stamping 'happy' onto a snippet of white card and then embossing it with clear embossing powder.  I die cut a medium sized cloud with 'happy' in the centre and then die cut a small cloud from another tiny piece of white card.  I stamped 'birthday' onto white card and embossed it before using the coordinating die to cut the sentiment.  I then cut another couple of sentiments from more snippets of white card - these were trimmed down and attached to the back of the stamped sentiment so it would lie flat across the aperture.   The clouds and 'birthday' were then attached to the card.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white matt card blank
     My Favorite Things 'Inside & Out Stitched Circle STAX Die-namics' die
     Clearly Besotted 'Sail Away' and 'Modern Calligraphy' stamps and coordinating dies
     Impression Obsession 'Ocean Border' and Clouds' dies
     Versafine Majestic Blue ink
     Cosmic Shimmer clear embossing powder
     Promarkers
     Snippets of blue textured card, white matt card and pale blue vellum

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Masculine
     Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies - February Challenge
     Love to Craft - Anything Goes
     Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge 396
     Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes

Kath x

Happy Birthday to my Husband

It's Steve's birthday today and as he liked the sailing boat card I recently made I made a similar card for his birthday.  This card uses the striped boat instead of the spotty one.

I covered the front of the card blank with blue paper leaving a border around the edge.  I die cut the waves from both blue textured card and white matt card, layering the blue onto the white to create the white tops of the waves. Thankfully I had got my MISTI to stamp the sentiment onto the wave as it was three separate stamps and they took a bit of fiddling around to get them lined up.  I stamped them several times to get a good depth of colour as I was stamping onto textured card - even so, there were some stamped bits missing on 'husband' so I filled them in with a black pen!  These strips were trimmed and attached to the card - the top layer was only attached along the bottom so I could slip the boat between the waves.  I stamped and embossed the boat before using the coordinating die to cut it.  After colouring the boat with Promarkers I attached it to the card with a foam pad behind the sails.  I die cut three clouds,  the largest and smallest were attached to the card with glue and the medium cloud attached with a foam pad.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 4" white matt card blank
     Clearly Besotted 'Sail Away' stamp and die set, Impression Obsession 'Ocean Border' and 'Clouds' dies
     Hobby Art 'General Greetings' stamp
     Versafine Majestic Blue ink
     Promarkers - Chestnut, Forest Green &Ivory, 
     Snippets of pale blue paper, blue textured card, white matt card and white hammer card

I am entering the following challenges:
     Pearly Sparkles Challenge - For the Boys/Men
     Seize the Birthday - All About Summer

Kath x

Happy Birthday to You

I've been asked to make some more male cards, which is always a challenge for me!  This card is made with card and paper from my snippets box.

I covered the front of the card blank with blue paper leaving a border around the edge.  I die cut the waves from both blue textured card and white matt card, layering the blue onto the white to create the white tops of the waves. I used my MISTI to stamp the sentiment onto the wave, stamping it several times to get a good depth of colour as I was stamping onto textured card.  These strips were trimmed and attached to the card - the top layer was only attached along the bottom so I could slip the boat between the waves.  I stamped and embossed the boat before using the coordinating die to cut it.  After colouring the boat with Promarkers I attached it to the card with a foam pad behind the sails.  I die cut three clouds,  the largest and smallest were attached to the card with glue and the medium cloud attached with a foam pad.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 4" white matt card blank
     Clearly Besotted 'Sail Away' stamp and die set, Impression Obsession 'Ocean Border' and 'Clouds' dies
     Hobby Art 'General Greetings' stamp
     Versafine Majestic Blue ink
     Promarkers
     Snippets of pale blue paper, blue textured card, white matt card and white hammer card

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Anything Goes
     Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies - May challenge
     Pixies' Snippets Playground - Challenge 378

Kath x

Heart of Hearts Shaker

I'm slowly working my way through my box of die cuts - all sorts of things that I cut to make a card and then never used.  This card makes use of a couple of die cuts, plus some snippets and some confetti I found in a charity shop to make a shaker card.

The red mirri frame was from my die cut box.  I layered it onto a snippet of red mirri card and attached it to the card blank.  The 'Heart of Hearts' had already been die cut from white hammer card and cut into a stitched square.  I attached a piece of acetate behind the panel and added foam tape around the edges.  I removed the backing from three sides of the tape and attached the panel to a snippet of white hammer card.  After adding the red heart confetti I removed the backing from the tape at the top and secured the shaker.  The panel was then inlaid into the red mirri frame.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white hammer card
     Impression Obsession 'Heart of Hearts' and Lawn Fawn 'Outside In Stitched Square Stackables' dies
     Snippets of red mirri and white hammer card
     Tesco Red Heart Confetti

I am entering the following challenge:
     Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies - April challenge

Kath x

Ruby Wedding Anniversary Card

My final card today is a Ruby Wedding Anniversary card using one of my favourite heart dies.

I die cut a stitched red pearlescent frame and attached it to the card blank.  I die cut a stitched square from white hammer card and then die cut the 'Heart of Hearts' from the centre of the square.  I put the small hearts to one side before inlaying the square into the frame.  I die cut the heart from red pearlescent card and inlaid the red and white hearts into the card.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white hammer card blank
     Lawn Fawn 'Outside In Stitched Square Stackables' and Impression Obsession 'Heart of Hearts' dies
     Red pearlescent and white hammer card

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Add a Heart
     Crafty Calendar Challenge - Use Die Cuts/Punches
     Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies - February Challenge
     Pearly Sparkles Challenges - Include Some Red

Kath x

Gold Heart of Hearts

I made this card for a Golden Wedding Anniversary using one of my favourite dies to inlay the hearts.

To make the card I die cut a stitched gold mirri frame and attached it to the card blank.  I die cut a stitched square from white hammer card and then die cut the 'Heart of Hearts' from the centre of the square.  I put the small hearts to one side before inlaying the square into the frame.  I die cut the heart from gold mirri and inlaid the gold and white hearts into the card.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white hammer card blank
     Impression Obsession 'Heart of Hearts' die
     Gold mirri and white hammer card

I am entering the following challenges:
     Allsorts - Add Some Gold and/or Silver (I've obviously chosen the gold option!)
     Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes With Dies - October Challenge

Kath x

Heart of Hearts

I made this card to send to friends on their wedding anniversary, using the colours for the HLS CAS Challenge.  I love this 'Heart of Hearts' die as it always looks so different depending on the colours I've used.

To make this card I die cut a square of white card and die cut the heart from the centre. This panel was layered onto grey card and a pink stitched die cut square before being attached to the centre of the card.  I die cut the heart from both grey and pink card and inlaid the pieces.

To make this card I used:
     6" x 6" white hammer card blank
     Impression Obsession 'Heart of Heart' and Lawn Fawn 'Outside In Stitched Square Stackables' dies
     Snippets of white hammer, pink textured and grey pearlescent card

I am entering the following challenges:
     Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge - Pink and Grey
     Pixie's Snippets Playground - Challenge 360

Kath x

Twofer Hearts

It's time for the second Twofer Card Challenge and this month the challenge is 'Hearts'.  I've used my Impression Obsession 'Heart of Hearts' die to make an anniversary card and a birthday card.

Onefer - Happy Anniversary

I'm also entering the Die cut Divas 'Love is in the Air' and Crafty Cardmakers 'Love and Romance' challenges. I'm also dashing across to the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop with my snippets.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white hammer
Stamp: Hobby Art 'General Greetings'
Die: Impression Obsession 'Heart of Hearts'
Ink: Versafine Crimson Red
Snippets: White hammer, red pearlescent and red mirri card

I die cut the Heart of Hearts from white hammer card and set aside the small hearts for my Twofer card.  I trimmed the card and stamped the greeting below the heart.  This panel was then layered onto red pearlescent card.  I die cut the heart from snippets of red pearlescent and red mirri card and inlaid the small hearts.  I placed a piece of paper over the panel before running it through my Cuttlebug to make sure the inlaid hearts were flat and then attached the panel to the card front.

Twofer - Another Year Flies By

I made this birthday card using the hearts I had set aside from my Onfer card.  I'm entering the Butterfly Challenge 'Spin the Butterfly Wheel with the Letter P' (I have chosen Purple and Patterned Paper) and the Cuttlebug Mania 'Colour Challenge' (I have chosen Purple, Lilac and White),

Card blank: 6" x 6" white hammer
Stamp: Ultimate Crafts 'Another Year Flies By' (magazine freebie)
Dies: Impression Obsession 'Heart of Hearts', Memory Box Kaleidoscope Butterfly, Spellbinders Nestabilities Standard Circles Large & Classic Scalloped Circles Large
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Versafine Imperial Purple
Card: Purple pearlescent

Paper: Lili of the Valley 'Timeless Victorian' 
Other: Wink of Stella

I glued the hearts around the edge of the card front (I noticed there was a smudge of glue by one of the hearts and used the Sand Eraser I won from Di to remove it - it worked a treat and there's no sign of the mark).  I die cut and embossed a circle from a snippet of purple paper and using my MISTI I stamped the sentiment on the paler part of the paper.  This was layered onto a die cut and embossed purple scalloped circle and then attached to the centre of the card with foam tape.  I die cut a Kaleidoscope butterfly from purple card and attached it to the top of the circle.  To finish I highlighted the sentiment with a Wink of Stella.

Kath x

Birthday Wishes

This is another card I've made for Darnell's NBUS Challenge using a NBUS stamp I've had for a while but never used before.  I'm also entering the Alphabet Challenge 'O for Oval', A Gem of a Challenge 'Birthday Card' and Seize the Birthday 'Anything Goes' challenge

Card blank: 6" x 4" white silk
Stamp: Impression Obsession 'Girl Swing', Woodware 'Salutations'
Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Ovals Small'and 'Classic Scalloped Ovals Small'
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Ink: Versafine Onyx Black
Card: Black matt
Paper: Wild Rose Studio 'Blackberry Lane'

I stamped the sentiment in the lower corner of the card and then die cut and embossed a scalloped oval above it.  I die cut a scalloped oval from a piece of black card and attached it to the rear of the scalloped oval.  I stamped the girl onto a piece of wildflower paper and attached it to the rear of the aperture.  To finish I covered the inside of the card with a piece of white card to cover the papers and card.

Kath x

Heart of Hearts

This is the card I made for my OH to celebrate our Silver Wedding Anniversary.  I'm entering Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge 'Die Cuts', Alphabet Challenge 'Z for Zero Embellishments', Dies R Us 'Something New' challenge (I used my new Heart of Hearts die that I bought to make this special card) and Sparkles Monthly Challenge 'Love'.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white silk
Die: Impresion Obsession 'Heart of Hearts'
Card: Silver mirri, silver pearlescent, white silk
Other: Computer generated sentiment 'Harrington' font

I printed the sentiment in grey onto white card  and then die cut the heart.  This was trimmed before being layered onto silver pearlescent and silver mirri card.  I die cut the heart from both the silver pearlescent and silver mirri card and inlaid the pieces.  The completed topper was then attached to the centre of my card blank.

Kath x

Love

Darnell's NBUS challenge this week has an optional theme of 'Hidden Word' or 'Camouflaged Word' -a new technique for me - my NBUS is the Hexagon dies.  I'm also entering A Gem of a Challenge 'Hearts and/or Flowers' (I've obviously chosen the hearts theme), Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge and Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies challenge.

Card blank: 6" x 4" white hammer
Dies: Impression Obsession 'Love' and Spellbinders Nestabilities 'Hexagons'
Embossing: Kars tan embossing mat
Card: White hammer
Paper: Wild Rose Studio 'Always and Forever'

I attached the heart paper onto white card before die cutting and embossing a hexagon.  I die cut part of the 'Love' die and set it aside before attaching the hexagon to the card blank.  To add dimension I die cut four words from white card, three were layered and attached to the card. I attached the section of the 'Love' die I had set aside and then trimmed and attached the fourth white 'Love '.

Kath x

Love

I made this card using a lovely die that Di sent me as one of my playground prizes last week.  The card is from my snippets drawer so I'm heading into the playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop to show Di what I've made!  I'm also entering A Gem of a Challenge 'Love and Romance, Cuttlebug Mania 'Wedding' challenge, Happy Little Stampers Anything Goes with Dies challenge and ABC Challenges 'J for Just as You Like It (Anything Goes)'.

Card blank: 6" x 6" white hammer
Die: Impression Obsession 'Love'
Paper: Wild Rose Studio 'Always and Forever'
Snippets: Red pearl card

I trimmed the love birds paper and layered it onto red pearl card.  I die cut 'Love' from the top corner before attaching the panel to the card front.  I die cut 'Love' from another snippet of red pearl. This, together with the heart and centre of the letter 'e' from the original card front, were inlaid.

Kath x