You’re a Classic

Hi everyone, last week I was absolutely gobsmacked to win the top prize in the Visible Image FB 2nd anniversary ATC swap, which was a £50 VI store voucher … wow!! I nearly tripped over my own feet in my rush to claim it and to thank Mark and Helen from VI who had given such a generous prize, which enabled me to choose FOUR  stamp sets!! Here’s my first make with my new stash, using the set “You’re a Classic” which I deliberately chose to boost my supply of stamps suitable for masculine cards as most of my stash consists of feminine images!

This card really was quick and simple to make. I used some cream Lavinia multifarious card, which I bought on my visit to the Lavinia shop in March specifically to use for vintage and/or Steampunk style cards, and this is its first outing!! I dragged three different Distress Oxide ink pads over the card and spritzed with water, then stamped the car in sepia and dark brown ink - as it is meant to be a line drawing I didn’t think it needed colouring in. I then stamped sentiments in two corners, a couple of spatters in sepia, and grungy circles in grey. I then matted the finished panel onto dark brown card stock and my card base … job done!!

Stamps: Visible Image You’re a Classic (car and sentiments), Where Flowers Bloom (background circles), Sunflower Grunge (spatters);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Old Paper, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo); Versafine Clair (Pinecone, Morning Mist); Versafine (Vintage Sepia).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Country View Challenge (June) - Vintage

Double Trouble #139 - Masculine

Everybody Art #537 - Something For Men

Moving Along With the Times #155 - Man/Boy

My Time to Craft #509 - Masculine

{PIN}spirational Challenge #302 - Birthday plus Cars or Trucks

Sheepski #75 - For the Boys

Shopping Our Stash #498 - Let’s Hear It For the Boys

Try It On Tuesday - Make It Masculine - TOP 5

We Love Stamping (June) - Anything Goes with option CAS (2nd entry)

Happy times ahead playing with my new stamps (plus the couple of stencils I also bought at the same time, as it would have been rude not to!!🤣). 

I would also like to share a couple of fairly simple ATC's I made one day recently when I had a little spare playtime.

Sometime last year I won a $10 voucher over at Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, and I chose a set of 3 ATC background stamps. I have been getting round to using them ever since, and now was finally the time! I stamped, heat embossed in gold and cut out two of the portcullis stamp, then coloured each one with a vibrant colour of Distress oxide. I matted each one onto a standard black ATC base, and added a gold sparkly die cut flower. I couldn't decide what to do with the exposed black card on the top corners, so I delved into my rarely used folder of peel offs, and selected some gold corners, and while I was there i also added a little gold bee and ladybird that I found. I finished off with a Tim Holtz "Small Talk" sticker on each ATC.

Here's a closeup of one of them.

Stamps: Lost Coast Designs ATC Misc. Set 6;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers); Versamark; detail gold embossing powder;

Tools: Unbranded floral dies (Amazon);

Other: Tim Holtz "Small Talk" stickers; peel offs from my stash

Challenges I would like to enter:

Craft Rocket #104 - Use Dies

Crafting From the Heart #2 - Anything Goes (no cards)  (2nd entry)

Kraftin’ Kimmie Skrappy Challenge (June) - Anything But a Card 

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity #168 - Mini Me (2nd entry)

Pammie's Inky Pinkies #2322 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

QKR Stampede #466 - Anything Goes 

Simon Says (Monday) - Not a Card

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Flowers 

Word Art Wednesday #599/600 - Anything Goes

Take care, and thanks for visiting today.

Hugs,

Day of the Month Card Club Challenge #52 GDT - Happy Birthday to You Day!

Hi everyone,

I'm delighted to have been asked to be Guest Designer again for the Day of the Month Card Club June Challenge, as a result of being voted the winner in April.

This month our theme is 

🎶 🎶 Happy Birthday to You Day 🎶 🎶

"Happy Birthday to You" has been hailed by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most recognizable song in the English language, and has been translated into at least two dozen languages. 

June 27th is commonly celebrated as the anniversary of the song's publication, though it probably wasn't actually published on that date. In fact June 27th 1859 was the birthday of Mildred Hill who wrote the song's melody, which was originally written for a different set of lyrics - "Good Morning To All" (published in 1893) - a greeting song written by her kindergarten teacher sister to be sung to her class. 

The song gained in popularity over the following years, and the happy birthday lyrics began to be sung to the melody and were published in 1915. It started to appear in films in the early 1930s, resulting in it being copyrighted in 1934 with the authors credited as Mildred and Patty Hill, even though the writer of the song's lyrics is unknown. The copyright was owned by Warner Music and was supposed to last until 2030, meaning royalties had to be paid to use the song in films and TV, concerts or any public place - this earned Warner Music up to $2 million per year! However following a lawsuit to put the song in the public domain, Warner Music had to give up the copyright in 2016 and the song can be sung freely once more!

Here is my GDT card for the challenge.

Yes - it's my favourite A&C stamp set again, and I have tried to find another innovative way to use it. I cut a piece of black card stock, stamped the flower with Versamark and heat embossed with detail gold embossing powder. I then  coloured a couple of snippets with brushos spritzed with water, and when dry I stamped and heat embossed the flower head onto one of them, fussy cut out and attached. I cut another panel slightly bigger than the black card panel for matting, and stamped my circular "Flower" stamp onto another offcut. I cut a large piece of black card and stencilled the top corner with Versamark and then heat embossed in gold, before attaching the flower panel and coloured circle. I stamped and heat embossed the birthday greeting onto a small snippet of black card, then matted onto a tiny snippet from the brusho panel before attaching to the card. Finally I matted the finished panel onto a border of matt gold card and onto a 7" x 5" card blank.

Stamps: AALL & Create #904 Flower Journey, #531 Textured Florals; sentiment - Penny Black Salutations;

Media: Brushos (Gamboge, Vermilion); Versafine Clair (Nocturne); Versamark; detail gold embossing powder;

Tools: Visible Image stencil - Halftone.

Challenges I would like to enter: 

AAA Birthday #50 - Birthday and Watercolours

Beautiful Blossoms #5 - Anything Floral Goes (5th entry)

Crafts Galore Encore #112 - Anything Goes

Crazy Is Our Fame, Stencils Are Our Game (June) - Use a Stencil

Creatalicious #260 - Anything Goes with option Birthdays - TOP 3

Inspiration Station #50 - Inspiration Prompt

(I was inspired by the dramatic sunset colours)

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2322 - Anything Goes

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Triple B (June) - Birds, Butterflies and/or Blooms

We Love Stamping (June) - Anything Stamped with option CAS

I hope you can play along with the challenge this month - please link your entries here.

Don't forget to visit the Day of the Month Card Club June Challenge post to see more inspiration from the Design Team.

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Hearts and Flower

There is a new challenge over on Tracy Evans’ AALL & Create FB group where she is asking entrants to use a heart on their creations. This inspired me immediately to get crafting, as I recently bought the stamp set featuring silhouette hearts and flowers, and hadn’t got round to inking any of the stamps up yet! What’s more, I also bought the coordinating heart stencil, so I thought it was about time that saw some ink too!

I cut a piece of white stamping card 6.75” x 4.75” and created my background by dabbing Distress Oxide inks onto a large acrylic block, spritzing with water and then “stamping” on the card - I really love this technique! I then stamped the focal image with Nocturne Versafine Clair, and coloured the flower with Distress watercolor pencils and Spectrum Noir sparkle pen.  I softly blended more DOX through the heart stencil in opposite corners. I then stamped my bird and quills onto separate card, coloured with DOX, fussy cut and attached, and created some shadow by painting with watered down DOX. I stamped the sentiments onto an off cut that I had used to mop up my DOX from the acrylic block, cut out and attached. Finally I edged the panel in black, matted onto black linen card stock and a 7” x 5” card blank, and added Glossy Accents to the pen nibs.

Stamps: AALL & Create #896 Forget Me Not, #908 Quill Ends, #831 Sent With Love;

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo, Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade, Antique Linen, Hickory Smoke); Distress Watercolor Pencils (Mustard Seed, Picked Raspberry); Versafine Clair (Nocturne); Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen (clear); Glossy Accents;

Tools: AALL & Create stencil #156 Elongated Hearts. 

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #730 - Anything Goes with option Use a Stencil  (2nd entry)

Beautiful Blossoms #5 - Anything Floral Goes (4th entry)

Colourful Options (June) - Include the Colour Peach

Crafting Happiness #143 - Anything Goes

Crazy Is Our Fame, Stencils Are Our Game (May) - Use a Stencil (3rd entry)

Dream Valley #295 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Krafty Chicks #666 - Stamp Act

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Word Art Wednesday #597/598 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

I am also entering this into Tracy’s FB challenge for June/July (Use a Heart).

Hopefully we are in for some good weather this weekend in the UK, so I hope you enjoy it whatever you're doing. I am currently struggling with washing machine troubles, so suspect that most of the weekend will be taken up with sorting that out!! Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Funky Blooms

Hi everyone, today I would like to share a couple of ATC's I made with some leftover snippets/offcuts while I was sitting at my desk for a cardmaking session.  

I had previously created a brayered background for a card using two colours of Distress Oxide ink here, and mopped up my "run off" onto a snippet of white card approx 6" square, which I then cut down to make two ATC backgrounds. I wasn't sure where these ATC's would go, but I started by adding a bit of background stamping text and circles, and then decided to add these funky Woodware flowers. I stamped them onto the ATC background, then again onto separate small snippets of lighter weight card (Neenah Solar White), coloured them with Sakura Stardust pens, then fussy cut and attached. I finished off by stamping the wording onto a teeny offcut, cutting out and attaching, then matting onto a small snippet of black card stock. I'm actually quite thrilled to say that next time I use black linen card stock it will definitely NOT be a snippet, as Hobbycraft actually had some 12" square sheets in stock last week for the first time in many months - yippee!!

Here's a closeup of ATC 1  ...

... and an angled closeup of ATC2 to show the sparkle ...

Stamps: Woodware Blooming, Additions; unbranded background circles (Amazon);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Blueprint Sketch, Wilted Violet); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist); Versafine (Majestic Blue); Sakura sparkle pens (purple, blue, pink, green, clear).

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #11 2023 - Anything Goes

Allsorts #730 - Anything Goes

Crafting From the Heart #2 - Anything Goes (no cards)

Dream Valley #295 - Anything Goes

Lost Coast Portal to Creativity #168 - Mini Me

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Anything Goes

Snippets Playground #455 - Use Snippets

Use Your Stuff #495 - Anything Goes

We Love 2 Create Mixed Media #5 - Anything Mixed Media Goes

Word Art Wednesday #597/598 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

Thanks very much for dropping by today.

Hugs,

Sending Hugs

Hi everyone, I have another card to share using my (current) favourite new stamp set by AALL & Create - this time I have gone for a different more CAS look, and felt inspired to have a rare colouring session with my Promarkers so that I could enter Passion For Markers’ special 14th birthday challenge!

I cut a piece of Neenah Crest Solar white card (which I always use for colouring with alcohol markers), stamped the flower and then coloured with Promarkers and Flexmarkers. I added some white gel pen highlights, and stamped some additional spatters randomly with Distress Oxide ink. I added some sparkle by colouring over the circle with my Spectrum Noir sparkle pen, edged the panel in black and matted onto lilac card stock and a 7” x 5” card blank. Finally I stamped the sentiment onto separate card, fussy cut out and attached popped up on foam squares. 

Here is an angled shot to capture the sparkle.

Stamps: AALL & Create #904 Flower Journey; Visible Image Christmas Red Robin (spatters); Uniko Simply Said Blocks II;

Media: Promarkers and Flexmarkers; Tim Holtz Distress Oxide ink (Shaded Lilac); Memento ink (black); Versafine Clair (Nocturne); Spctrum Noir sparkle pen (clear);

Challenges I would like to enter:

Art Impressions #352 - Fabulous Flowers

Beautiful Blossoms #5 - Anything Floral Goes (3rd entry)

Double D - Flowers (3rd entry)

Little Red Wagon #706 - Flora or Fauna

Passion For Markers #691 - Anything Goes (14th Anniversary Challenge)

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Add a Sentiment (2nd entry)

Try It On Tuesday - Keep It Simple

We Love Stamping (May) - Anything Stamped with option In the Garden (2nd entry)

Word Art Wednesday #597/598 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Hope everyone based in the UK will enjoy the long Bank Holiday weekend ... the weather is supposed to be good, so fingers crossed!!

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Through the Mist

Hi everyone, today’s make is a birthday card for a male friend, which was inspired by Jo Rice’s recent tutorial, though I made a few changes by using Distress Oxide inks (as I don’t have Elements inks) and adding a reindeer and birdie into the picture .. plus of course a birthday sentiment! 

I cut a 6” square of stamping card, and stamped and heat embossed a reindeer in the corner.   I then placed a square stencil mask over the card and blended Antique Linen and Vintage Photo Distress Oxide inks round the edges, then created my sun with a circle mask and more Antique Linen  + Fossilized Amber DOX, and hills with a hill mask and Vintage Photo DOX. (On a previous attempt I inked my background square first, but you could really see it through the reindeer when stamped on top, so i discarded that one!!).  I removed the stencil and masked off just the base of the card, then stamped the fir trees using a mixture of 1st and 2nd generation in brown and black.  I stamped the birds and then the sentiment, which I coloured with Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Watercolor Pencils, then I replaced the stencil and spattered the coloured panel with water.  I “grounded” the reindeer with a watercolour wash of Hickory Smoke DOX, then added my wisps of mist using a white pastel pencil, then edged the finished piece in black and matted onto a 7” square card blank.

Stamps: Lavinia Fairy Fir Tree (small), Reindeer (large) , Birds, Bird Collection; Woodware Made For You (sentiment);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Antique Linen, Fossilized Amber, Vintage Photo, Hickory Smoke); Distress Watercolor Pencils (Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Pinecone); pastel pencil (white);

Tools: Crafts Too Press to Impress square stencil, Lavinia hill and circle masks.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #729 - Anything Goes (14th Birthday Challenge) (3rd entry)

Classic Design Challenge #5 2023 - Anything Goes 

Craft Rocket #103 - For the Boys

Make My Monday - Masculine

Simon Says (Monday) - Watercolour (2nd entry)

Simon Says (Wednesday) - Add a Sentiment

Stamping Sensations (May) - Anything Goes with option Use a Stencil (3rd entry)

We Love 2 Create #4 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday #597/598 - Anything Goes

This card was also custom designed to enter this month’s Lavinia Creative Challenge Through the Mist, so I am entering a version of it there without the sentiment as that is not Lavinia.

That's al for today - take care and thanks for looking.

Hugs,

Golden Rose

Hi everyone, today I would like to share another make using my new AALL & Create stamps - this time using the beautiful rose in set #831 Sent With Love.  The general concept of this was primarily inspired by the current Tracy Evans FB Challenge monochrome with a pop of colour, and I think this rose suits it particularly well.  

In my recent haul I also got a little background stamp half price which I thought would be very useful both for cards and ATC's ... what I really love about it is that amongst the script there are little dots which are actually tiny little hearts - so great for any romantic or love-related theme, and I thought it would make a perfect background for the rose.  Although the sentiment on this card doesn't say so explicitly, I am thinking this is an anniversary card.

I cut a piece of stamping card 6.5" x 4.5" and created a smoosh background with grey Distress Oxide ink spritzed with water. I stamped and heat embossed my rose, then stamped the background stamp in grey Versafine Clair.  I stamped the rose again onto separate card, coloured the flower head and circle with Cosmic Shimmer mica watercolour paint and Spectrum Noir clear sparkle pen for extra sparkle, then fussy cut out and attached to the base image. I stamped and heat embossed the birdie and quill pens, fussy cut out and attached (I think I'm obsessed with that little bird and quill!!), , and extended the "R" in the rose circle by masking the word "Rose" from the same set.  I realised I should have done this before colouring the circle with the Cosmic Shimmers as it went a bit smudgy, but I was in deep by this point so I kept going regardless!!   I stamped, cut out and attached my sentiment, matted onto black card stock and my card blank, and finished off with Posca pen spatters and Glossy Accents on the pen nibs. 

Stamps: AALL & Create #831 Sent With Love, #304 Heartfelt, #908 Quill Ends, #531 Textured Florals (sentiment);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Hickory Smoke); Cosmic Shimmer paint (Tropic Yellow); Versafine Clair (Nocturne, Morning Mist); Posca pen (white); Spectrum Noir Sparkle pen (clear).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #729 - Anything Goes (14th Birthday Challenge) (2nd entry)

Beautiful Blossoms #5 - Anything Floral Goes (2nd entry)

Crafting Happiness #142  - Anything Goes with option Flowers (3rd entry)

Double D - Flowers (2nd entry)

Get Creative #121 - Flower Frenzy (3rd entry)

Sheepski #74 - Flower Power (3rd entry)

Simon Says (Monday) - Watercolour

Triple B (May) - Birds, Blooms and Butterflies (3rd entry)

Word Art Wednesday #595/596 - Anything Goes (4th entry)

Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs, 

Sent With Love

Hi everyone, during the week I managed to bag three new to me AALL & Create stamp sets and a stencil in a flash sale at Create & Craft, and they were delivered a couple of days ago so I just had to have a play.  It was a bit naughty of me really to buy them as I haven’t yet played with all the stamps I bought from Tracy Evans’ April release .. but hey I do love a sale that enables me to build up my stock more than I could usually manage - who doesn’t?? 

I created a background by brayering two colours of Distress Oxide inks, then stamped my focal flower and coloured it with Distress watercolor pencils.  I did a bit of background stamping with another A&C stamp, plus some stamps from an unbranded grungy background set I recently bought from Amazon.  I stamped the ticket portion of the main stamp onto a separate piece of brayered card, edged with black and attached on top of the original image, then stamped a couple of sentiments (including one from my other newly delivered stamp set 😍), edged the card with pink DOX, spattered with white Posca pen and matted onto black linen card stock and my card blank.

Stamps: AALL & Create #753 Delight In Flora, #906 Art Notes, #831 Sent With Love; unbranded grungy background stamps (Amazon);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Spun Sugar, Kitsch Flamingo, Fossilized Amber); Distress Watercolor Pencils sets 1 and 2 (Picked Raspberry, Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint); Versafine Clair (Nocturne); Posca pen (white).

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #729 - Anything Goes (14th Birthday Challenge)

Beautiful Blossoms #5 - Anything Floral Goes

Crafting Happiness #142  - Anything Goes with option Flowers (2nd entry)

Double D - Flowers

Get Creative #121 - Flower Frenzy (2nd entry)

Path of Positivity #112 - Anything Goes Positive with option Inspired By Nature (2nd entry)

Sheepski #74 - Flower Power (2nd entry)

Sisterhood of Crafters - Flowers

We Love Stamping (May) - Anything Stamped with option In the Garden

Word Art Wednesday #595/596 - Anything Goes (3rd entry)

That’s all for today but I hope I’ll be back soon with a make using my other new stamps 🥰. Hope everyone is having a great weekend, whatever you’re doing. Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,

Regal Purple

Hi everyone, this month’s ATC swap over on the Visible Image FB page has the theme regal purple in a nod to the coronation of King Charles III  - you can only use the colours purple, gold, silver, black and/or white in your makes, plus of course only VI stamps, stencils and dies. It is the second anniversary swap with some great prizes for entrants, so I needed to get my thinking cap on to make the most of the VI supplies I have got. I came up with the idea of a 3D butterfly on a “butterfly ink” gold background, and here it is.

I cut a piece of stamping card 3.25” x 2.25”, stamped my background butterfly with Versamark and heat embossed in gold. I added a little background stamping in purple, then created a smoosh background using Wilted Violet and Villainous Potion Distress Oxides, which the heat embossed butterfly resisted. I stamped a small butterfly twice onto separate card, coloured it with a mix of Sakura Stardust and Posca glitter pens, fussy cut and stuck the 2 shapes back to back. I then attached to the main panel by the body only so the wings could “flap” and are stamped and coloured both on top and underneath. I stamped and heat embossed the word “Butterfly”, cut it into separate letters and attached. To finish I edged the card with gold Posca pen and matted onto purple glitter card, and added some random purple and gold gems.

Stamps: Visible Image VI Minis #1 (butterflies), Where Flowers Bloom (background), Butterfly Effect (wording);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Wilted Violet, Villainous Potion); Versafine Clair (Monarch); Versamark; detail gold embossing powder; Sakura Stardust pens (purple, clear); Posca glitter pen (yellow); Posca pen (gold).

Challenges I would like to enter:

A Gem of a Challenge #10 2023 - Anything Goes - TOP 3

Addicted to Stamps and More #446 - Make Your Mark

ATC Around the World - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Crafting From the Heart #1 - Anything Goes (no cards)

Creative Crafters #64 - Anything Goes

Dream Valley #294 - Make It Sparkle

Inkspirational #289 - Word Prompt - Mini

Kraftin’ Kimmie #668 - Glitter/Foil, Flowers and/or Purple

(I have used glitter card and purple)

Love To Craft #74 - Anything Goes - TOP PICK

Paper a la Mode (May) - Use Embellishments (no cards) - TOP PICK

Papercraft Challenges #94 - Things With Wings

Here is the matching card I made to go with the ATC.

The methods used were very similar to the ATC, except that the large background butterfly was made by sponging Versamark through the Butterfly Ink stencil and then heat embossing, I used a larger butterfly stamp, and I stamped the wording directly onto the card in purple.  My matting turned out a little different by necessity … my gold Posca pen broke part way through this project, so I edged in purple and matted onto gold card!!  here is an angled picture to show the 3D effect.

Stamps: Visible Image Butterfly Effect (large butterfly and wording), Where Flowers Bloom (background);

Media: Tim Holtz Distress Oxide inks (Wilted Violet, Villainous Potion); Versafine Clair (Monarch); Versamark; detail gold embossing powder; Sakura Stardust pens (purple, clear); Posca glitter pens (yellow, purple);

Tools: Visible Image Butterfly Ink stencil.

Challenges I would like to enter:

Allsorts #728 - Anything Goes with option Embellish It (2nd entry)

Cards 4 Galz #199 - Backgrounds

Crazy Is Our Fame, Stencils Are Our Game (May) - Use a Stencil (2nd entry)

Creative Crafting Uncles #41 - Butterflies (2nd entry)

Happy Little Stampers: Stencils (May) - Anything Goes With Stencils

Pammie’s Inky Pinkies #2319 - Anything Goes

Sparkles Forum #164 - Things With Wings (2nd entry)

Stamping Sensations (May) - Anything Stamped with option Use a Stencil (2nd entry)

Triple B (May) - Birds, Blooms and Butterflies

Word Art Wednesday #595/596 - Anything Goes (2nd entry)

Hope everyone has a great weekend, whatever you’re doing. Take care, and thanks for visiting.

Hugs,