Pearlescent Christmas Tag Cards

Good evening

More of my Christmas card multiples for you today.  

No stamping on these, just die cuts cut from pearlescent cardstock and jacquard-effect papers.  I made eight of these, four in each colourway...

When I make cards I usually start with a piece of cardstock and cut and fold it myself to create the card base but I have a small stash of cards and envelopes which I'm trying to make use of so these ivory pearlescent card bases were my starting point for these.

I've also had these Merry Christmas papers in my stash for as long as I can remember, they were part of a Christmas kit I bought about fifteen years ago!  They look like jacquard fabric and are kind of pearlescent so worked perfectly with these bases.  

The blue and pink version...

I die cut the tags from the patterned paper, and also the bows from a different shade of the same paper collection.  I used a spare card base to die cut the cabin landscapes and then used the bottom part of the same tag die to trim these down, before adhering together.  Before adhering the tags I added three vertical score lines to the bases, just to add a little extra detail.  The bows were then adhered to the top of the tags.

Here's the red and green version...

The process was exactly the same but here I used a poinsettia die to create the die cuts which were adhered across the tags.

The four landscape tag cards...

And the four cards with the poinsettia die tags...

Materials used:

• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along Die Collection; Poppy Stamps - Poinsettia Ribbon; Memory Box - Quiet Cabin Landscape
• Pearlescent cardstock and patterned papers from stash

Thanks for taking the time to visit, I'll be back soon with more.

Skull and Cross Buns - September 2020 - Selection Three

Good morning

I'm back with more makes for Skull and Cross Buns.  Some Christmas ones for you this morning.

For this first card I've used the new Christmas Jumper stencil and a sentiment from the new Contemporary Sentiments set, along with the Elf Stockings stencil already available...

Lots of masking was involved to ink up this background.  I masked off alternate sections of the Christmas Jumper stencil so I could use the two colours, and the same principle was applied to the Elf Stockings stencil where I've just inked up one section of it for my focal image.  I finished by stamping and heat embossing the sentiment in gold sparkle and added two gold glitter enamel dots.

Materials used:

• Stencils: Skull and Cross Buns - Christmas Jumper, Elf Stockings
• Stamp: Skull and Cross Buns - Contemporary Sentiments
• Ink: Distress Ink - Candied Apple, Lucky Clover; VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Metallic Gold Sparkle
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Pierced Square Stax
• Enamel dots from stash

For this next card I combined two of the existing stamp sets, Christmas Baubles and Scandi Christmas...

I began by stamping and heat embossing the baubles in white on red cardstock and fussy cut them out.  I die cut a frame using two stitched rectangle dies and popped this frame up on 3D foam, adhering to the card base whilst trapping some red twine at the top.  The baubles were then popped up on foam as if hanging from their strings.  I finished by stamping the snowflakes in silver and the sentiment in red, and added some sequins to the baubles.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Christmas Baubles, Scandi Christmas
• Ink: VersaMark; Versa Color - Silver; Altenew - Crimson
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White
• Dies: Create a Smile - Cool Cuts Double Stitched Rectangles
• Accents: Red twine and sequins from stash

Finally, I've used the Christmas Santa Workshop set, along with the Stars and Sparkles stencil and the new Contemporary Sentiments set to create a gift tag...

The elf was stamped and coloured first then I created a mask to enable me to then ink blend the background and ink the stars through the stencil.  The sentiment was then stamped and the reinforcement ring and ribbon added to the tag.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Christmas Santa Workshop, Contemporary Sentiments
• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Stars and Sparkles
• Coloured with Copics
• Ink: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Distress Ink - Stormy Sky, Chipped Sapphire
• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along

I'll be back with my final few makes, more than likely this evening.  All these products by Skull and Cross Buns will be showcased on Hochanda TV at 7am this Saturday, 5 September 2020.  

Skull and Cross Buns - Hochanda Showcase Selection 1

Hi guys

As I mentioned in my last post, the lovely Emily of Skull and Cross Buns will be showcasing some of her lovely products in her very first show on Hochanda TV on Thursday 5 September at 4pm.

The Design Team have been crafting away behind the scenes to create some samples for the show and I'm sharing some of mine in this post and over the next few days ahead of the show.

There will be clear stamp sets, stencils and mini embellishment sets (mixes of acrylic and some wood) which co-ordinate with the sets.

I won't lie, because of my clean and simple card making style the embellishments did scare me at first, I had absolutely no clue what to do with them!  They are great for all types of crafting, scrapbooking, mixed media projects and journalling, etc. but by using them sparingly I managed to incorporate them into my CAS makes too.

So here you go, my first make is actually a tag, as I wanted to use one of the wooden embellishments...

I couldn't think of a way to use the 'handmade with love' on a card so I thought it could be used for a tag to add to a handmade gift.  These acrylic and wooden additions are from the Crafting Is My Super Power Embellish! Set which co-ordinates with the Crafting Is My Super Power clear stamp set, which I've used here for the stamped words.  I die cut two blue tags so I could adhere them back to back for a cleaner finish.  The words were stamped multiple times diagonally across the tag using grey ink.  I punched a hole in the top of the tags and tied the wooden element on using some jute twine.  I then finished by adhering two of the silver glittery acrylic embellishments.  I've found the best way to adhere these is by using Glossy Accents, once that's dry it's going nowhere!

Materials used:

• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Traditional Tag Stax
• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Crafting Is My Super Power
• Ink: Memento - London Fox
• Accents: Skull and Cross Buns - Crafting Is My Super Power Embellish! set

Challenge entry:

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #356 - Anything Goes

And secondly...

I began with a piece of bright pink cardstock slightly smaller than the card base and stamped various hearts from the Brush Hearts clear stamp set using VersaMark ink, for a tone on tone effect.  I then used a heart die to cut two apertures.  I adhered the panel to the card base then adhered a few elements from the Brush Hearts Embellish! set.  Some of the acrylic elements in these sets are smooth and others have designs etched into them, like the lips and 'love you' here.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Skull and Cross Buns - Brush Hearts
• Ink: VersaMark
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Hearts
• Accents: Skull and Cross Buns - Brush Hearts Embellish! set

And finally for this post...

I die cut a heart from some tan coloured cardstock and blended some slightly darker Distress Ink in from the edge.  I then used the fabulous Leopard Animal Print Large Stencil and blended through it over the top with black Distress Ink.  Before adhering to the card base I added some triple score lines for a little background interest.  To finish, I adhered two of the elements from the Brush Hearts Embellish set, the heart and the 'mwah', these both being smooth black acrylic.  So, still very CAS and not really any different from using stacked die-cuts :)

Materials used:

• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Hearts
• Ink: Distress Ink - Tea Dye, Black Soot
• Stencil: Skull and Cross Buns - Leopard Animal Print Large Stencil
• Accents: Skull and Cross Buns - Brush Hearts Embellish! set

Hopefully this gives you a taster of a few products Emily will be bringing to Hochanda next week.  I'll be back with more samples very soon.  Enjoy your weekend, whatever you're up to :)

(AD - some products kindly gifted for design team purposes)

Less is More Challenge #382

Hi there

There's a brand new challenge just starting at Less is More so I'll get straight to it with the cue card for our Theme challenge for the next fortnight...

(This can be standalone tags or tags attached to your project, and clean and simple of course)

Uniko is our fabulous sponsor for the month of October so remember that by playing along you're in with a chance of winning the monthly prize!

I've been fighting to find time to craft lately so I only have one sample for you this time.  I wanted to create a double layer tag using vellum and I'm really pleased with the result.  Here it is, using stamps from our sponsor...

I used a tag die set to cut the two tags, first from aqua cardstock and again from vellum.  I then used another die from the set to die cut the curved edge on the vellum layer.  I stamped the sentiment on the aqua tag and heat embossed in white, then stamped the holly leaves on the vellum, also embossed in white, and stamped the berries and heat embossed in silver.  I've captured the shine from the embossing in the next photo...

I die cut the tag hole strengthener ring from the same aqua cardstock to create a more finished look, then threaded through with some silver organza ribbon tied with silver twine.

Materials used:

• Dies: Clearly Besotted - Tag Along Die Collection
• Stamps: Uniko - Winter Foliage, Simply Said Christmas
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Wow! - Opaque Bright White, Metallic Silver
• Cardstock, vellum, ribbon and twine from stash

Challenge entries:

Happy Little Stampers - October Anything Goes with Dies Challenge

Happy Little Stampers - October Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes (Ribbon)

Creative with Stamps - Challenge #31 - Halloween or Leaves

Thanks so much for stopping by, I really appreciate your visits.  There's two weeks to play along, and if you need some inspiration please do pop over to the main Less is More challenge page where my teamies are sharing their fantastic makes.

Have a great weekend :)

Weight Loss Motivation Jars - Take Two!

Hi guys

Something a little different to share with you today.

After years of struggling with my weight and on/off yoyo dieting I'm back to where I started again, my yoyo keeps getting stuck in the up position!

So, I'm trying to get going again and decided to get my motivation jars back out and I've given them a facelift with some new tags.  Instead of the pretty designs that co-ordinated with my kitchen accessories that I created last time, I've decided to go with a more fun theme this time.

One jar holds glass pebbles, each representing half a pound, then these get transferred into the second jar as the weight loss increases (hopefully!).  Yes, there are a lot in jar number one which I need to shift - please don't try to count them, lol!

So here they are...

The first jar is to remind me to stop being a little piggy oinker!  The truth is I eat too much, and usually the wrong choices.  I'm back at Slimming World now so the tag on my loss jar is to remind me to eat more of the good stuff.

These tags literally took me about fifteen minutes to make.  I cut one tag from pink striped paper and another from aqua, then stamped the basic images.  I cut two more tags from white cardstock and adhered them offset together to add a little strength to them.  These were then tied around the jars with some co-ordinating organza ribbon from my stash.

Materials used:

• Patterned Paper: Avery Elle - The Sorbet Collection
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted - Full Steam Ahead Additions (pig), In Print (oink!), Fruit Salad (fruit); Skull and Cross Buns - Quirky Sentiments (you got this!)
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Rounded Tag Die

Challenge entries:

Inkspirational - Challenge #163 - Use Small Stamps

Addicted to Stamps and More - Challenge #296 - Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations - June Challenge - Anything Goes

Cut It Up - Challenge #150 - Anything but a Card

Thanks so much for stopping by today, hopefully I'll have more to share very soon.

Vintage Rose Save the Date Tags

Hi guys

I've got something a little different to share with you today.

I was recently asked by a friend to make some Save the Date cards for her wedding next year.  They had seen some online that they liked that were in the form of a luggage tag so they wanted to go with that design.  Based on the colour scheme she gave me I made some mock-ups with different fonts and images for them to choose from.

This was the final design...

I printed the wording onto some cream cardstock before die cutting with the stitched tag die.  The fonts I used were called EcuyerDAX, Elegant Typewriter and Typewriter Condensed.  I think these work really well with the rose design.  Then came the time consuming part.  When I showed them the vintage rose design I didn't imagine how much time these would take.  Of course, the roses and the leaves are separate stamps and it is also a three-step stamping set, so each tag has twelve separate stamped images on it! Unfortunately, my printer won't take very thick card so the card I used was fairly thin, so I die cut more tags and adhered them back to back (my poor Big Shot was very tired, as was my arm!).  This also covered up the rough side of the die cuts and gave a better finish.  I then punched the holes with a single hole punch and tied some jute twine to each one.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Altenew - Vintage Roses
• Ink: Versa Color - Vanilla, Sand Beige, Umber
• Die: MFT Die-namics - Stitched Tags
• 2-ply jute twine

I would like to link these up at the following challenges:

The Challenge - Challenge #48 - Weddings

Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Dies and/or Punches (used both here)

The Friday Mashup - Challenge #232 - Leaves

Crafty Catz - Challenge #299 - Let's Tag It

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

I'm now putting together some ideas for the wedding invitations using the same theme and will share these at a later date.  

Thanks so much for visiting today.  Have a great day whatever you're up to.

Weight Loss Motivation

Hi there

This morning I have something a little different to share with you.

I've had a constant battle with my weight for as long as I can remember so anything that can give me a little more motivation is very welcome.  I wanted something that would allow me to see my weight coming off.  After a disastrous few months I'm back to where I started, AGAIN, so I thought now was a good time to make something that would be visually appealing.

I bought two clip top jars recently for this purpose but they looked a little bare and boring.  And as I now have a nice sparkly new kitchen I decided to decorate them to co-ordinate with my kitchen textiles (as close as I could!)

The jar on the left has a tag saying 'Empty Me, Slowly but Surely' and is filled with glass nuggets, each one representing half a pound of the weight I need to shift (yes, I have a mountain to climb!).  After years of yo-yo dieting I know that 'slowly but surely' is the way to go so thought I would use this as a reminder.  Hopefully, each week I will be able to put at least one nugget into the other jar.

To make these I printed the two statements onto white card using a font I downloaded called 'Frosting for Breakfast' - haha not a good idea in these circumstances!  I then die cut four tags, two from the printed statements, and two from kraft cardstock.  I then stamped the flowers and leaves in colours to co-ordinate with my kitchen textiles.  I adhered the stamped tags onto the kraft tags at an angle and then finished by tying these around my jars with some red organza ribbon.

Materials used:

• Stamps: Paper Smooches - Reflections
• Ink: Memento - Lady Bug and Rhubarb Stalk; Versa Color - Olive, Evergreen and Pine Cone
• Die: Clearly Besotted - Rounded Tag Die
• Cardstock: Anna-Marie Designs - Super Smooth Printer Card; Neenah - Desert Storm
• Ribbon from stash

Challenge entries:

Paper Smooches SPARKS - April 5-11 Challenge (Wk1) Anything Goes

The Paper Players - Challenge #239 - To 'Die' For

Crazy 4 Challenges - Challenge #276 - Put a Bow On

Fingers crossed I can make progress this time.  Matt and I decided not to buy Easter eggs this year so at least I won't be eating up chocolate for weeks!

Thanks for your visit today, I hope you have a lovely Easter Monday everyone.