Its a very exciting day today as I get to be a Guest Designer for the Addicted to CAS challenge!! The theme word for this challenge is:
I'll be honest, when I saw the word 'plaid' I immediately thought of Laura Bassen and her stamped plaid patterns but then I realised I don't actually have any stamps that would work for that. So it was on to Plan B, some patterned paper:
We are supposed to be in the midst of Autumn at the moment in New Zealand but we have had week after week of hot, sunny weather, so the allure of a hot chocolate will have to wait for the cold weather to finally arrive!!
I die-cut the cup from some plaid patterned paper. I also die-cut the whipped cream and marshmallow from white CS and the chocolate pieces and hot chocolate from brown paint chips. I glued them all in place and then to the card front. The sentiment was stamped in black and I added lots of Wink of Stella to the whipped cream.
All the products I used are from My Favourite Things, the stamp set is 'Hug in a Mug' and the dies from the 'Hot Cocoa Mugs' set. The patterned paper is from Echo Park 'Everyday Eclectic'.
I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.
You have two weeks to link your projects to the Addicted to CAS challenge and please pop over to the blog to see what the Design Team have created to inspire you.
Thanks to the Addicted to CAS Team for having me for this challenge and I will definitely keep joining in each fortnight!!
Take care
Shona
Hi everyone and welcome to my second CASology 'Featured Designer' post.
Over on the CASology blog, I have a photo of my computer area and a bit of information about how I work etc. I mention in the post my dining table area where I craft and this is it:
Good grief, I've just realised how dirty my windows are!!!!!
I see so many photos from people showing off their craft areas and they are all so gorgeous. My area may not be fancy but it gets the job done and I can watch tv and talk to the family at the same time, so all is good. It actually gets really cold in this corner for some reason, so when Winter really hits, I drag what I need over to the fireplace and craft in front of it. Surrounded by the dogs and cats as well......
I took a photo of something else I thought you might find funny. I love all the folders, envelopes etc that you can buy to store your stamps and dies. Unfortunately that sort of storage system is WAY beyond my budget so I store my stamps and dies this way:
This is so embarassing but funny at the same time!! I use Snaplock Sandwich bags to put my stamps in and separate each brand by a piece of cardboard (usually cut from Nutragrain cereal boxes). Ah how the other half lives!!
I wanted to share with you today as well, a photo of the first card I received an Honorable Mention for from CASology. It was Challenge # 93, so about two years ago:
I've looked at a lot of my cards from when I first started making them, and many of them are so awful!! This one I'm still really happy with and I can see where my CAS style started taking shape.
Final photo I promise!! I managed to make a card for this weeks CASology challenge 'Sprinkle':
We are desperate for rain where I live and all we've had in the last three weeks in a little 'sprinkle' one night. So that inspired this card.
I cut a panel of white CS and used my mini-blending tool and Distress Inks 'Mermaid Lagoon', 'Salty Ocean', Peacock Feathers' and 'Cracked Pistachio' to create a 'watery coloured' background. I then flicked droplets of water over the panel with my fingers and used a tissue to remove the liquid. I used a waffle-edged frame to cut the panel and then cut another frame from white CS and put them both together with some washi tape at the back. It was then adhered to the card front.
The umbrella and handle were die-cut 3x from white CS, glued together and then to the card front. I then stamped the sentiment in black and added some blue and clear sequins.
The waffle frame is from Pretty Pink Posh, as well as the sequins. The umbrella die is from Paper Smooches and the sentiment from Create a Smile 'Bad Day'.
I hope you enjoyed this sneaky peek into my crafting zone and that it gave you a bit of a giggle. Next week I thought I would share some of my favourite CAS creations, so hope you will join me here and on the CASology blog.
Take care
Shona
Well, we up to to Day 5 which is also the final day of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps New Release week.
For this last day we are introducing the 'Tin Roof' stamp set and 'Smile Fri-Die' from the 'Smiling Fri-Dies' set:
The 'Smile Fri-Die' works so perfectly with the 'Sassy Smiles' stamp set and the 'Tin Roof' patterns can be used in so many different ways.
For my first card I wanted to show off the 'Smile Fri-Die' and make it the star of the card:
I started off by stamping the smaller image from the 'Tin Roof' stamp set, across the card with grey ink. I then used the larger die from the 'Funky Square Tag Fri-Die' set with some white CS and cut off the top tag piece. I stamped the larger 'Tin Roof' image across the square and heat embossed in silver. This was then popped up on foam tape on the card front. After die-cutting the 'Smile' from a pale blue paint chip, I also die-cut a few more from white CS and glued them all together. This was adhered to the square along with some clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.
For my second card I wanted to show what an incredible background you can create with the 'Tin Roof stamp set:
I cut a piece of black CS and adhered to the card front. I then cut a piece of white CS slightly smaller and heat embossed the larger 'Tin Roof' stamp set in white. To do this I had to stamp it across the panel three times, matching up the pattern each time. I then used my mini-blending tool and Distress Ink 'Picked Raspberry' to create the ombre colouring. The panel was then adhered over the black.
After die-cutting the 'Friend Fri-Die' three times from black CS, I glued them all together and glued it to the card. I also heat embossed the sentiment (from the 'Girlfriend' stamp set) in white on a strip of black CS and attached it to the card along with some pink and clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.
So what do you think of these?? I still have so many ideas on how to use the 'Tin Roof' set and the 'Smile' die will be wonderful to use for some uplifting cards. If your going to purchase these I would love to save you some money, so please use my Girl Friday code to save yourself 15%!!
Please pop over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog to see the amazing projects from the rest of the Girl Fridays. And you may have a chance to win some prizes too!! Thank you so much for joining me for this New Release week, I hope you enjoyed my creations and that I've inspired you to do a bit of shopping!!
Take care
Shona
Hi everybody, welcome to the last Friday of April and a new challenge at Just Add Ink. For this challenge we have a fantastic photo to inspire you:
The colours are so gorgeous and I love the chevron pattern. Its totally up to you how your inspired by this photo and I can't wait to see what you create!
Luckily as soon as I saw this photo I knew what I could do and I had just the perfect die in my drawer somewhere:
I rummaged thru my paint chip box to find the right colours and die-cut them all twice using a stitched-chevron die. I kept them all together with washi tape on the back and then added foam tape. To keep the vertical feeling going, I cut a strip of white CS and adhered it to the card front. The chevron piece was then put in place. I die-cut the 'awesome' three times from white CS, glued together and then adhered over top, along with some co-ordinating sequins.
The 'Awesome' die is from Waffle Flower. The stitched-chevron die is from Pretty Pink Posh, as well as the clear and aqua sequins. The peach coloured sequins are from Neat and Tangled.
I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.
You have until next Wednesday to link your project to the Just Add Ink challenge and if you need any help with inspiration, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have created for you!! Look forward to seeing you in the Gallery!
Take care
Shona
What a fantastic week its been and we are up to Day 4 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps New Release Week!!
Today we are showing off the new 'Bravo' stamp set with a matching 'Bravo Fri-Die' from the 'Smiling Fri-Dies' set:
This is such a fantastic set to celebrate someone's achievements and the font's are gorgeous!
For my first card I wanted to show off some of the stamps in golden glory:
I cut a panel of gold CS and adhered to the card front on a slight angle. I then cut another panel of white CS and gold embossed some stars from the 'Twinkle' stamp set. After blending some 'Salty Ocean' Distress Ink over top, this was then attached to the gold CS. I stamped and heat embossed the stamps from the 'Bravo' stamp set on some white CS. I cut the 'hip hip' into a strip and fussy cut the 'hooray'. Both of these were popped up on foam tape with some gold sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.
For my second card I wanted to show off the 'Bravo' die with a more CAS design:
The 'Bravo' was die-cut from a pink paint chip once and then twice more from white CS. They were then all glued together to give the die some height. I stamped the flowers from the 'Truth Is' stamp set in green. I then stamped the flower heads on some water colour CS using Distress Ink 'Picked Raspberry' and then used a wet brush to colour them in, pulling the colour from the stamped image. I used the 'Truth Blooms Fri-Dies' to cut them out and popped them up on foam tape. I then glued on the 'Bravo' die, along with some gold sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.
So what do you think? This will be such a cool set to celebrate your family and friends. And you can save yourself 15% off your purchase or any CAS-ual Fridays Stamps purchase by using my Girl Friday code.
There is one more day to go, with one more die and stamp set to share with you, so I hope you come back tomorrow. And if you pop over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog you will see what the other Girl Fridays have created as well as have the chance to win some goodies for yourself!
Take care
Shona
Here we go, we are up to Day 3 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps New Release!! We have already released two new stamp sets and one die set, so hope your ready for even more!!
Today we have for you the 'Thanks' stamp set with a co-ordinating ''Thanks Fri-Die':
I love the different sentiments this set offers and the different fonts and 'dot' details are fantastic!
For my first card I wanted to showcase the stamps with the block letters and 'dot' details:
I grabbed five different coloured ink pads from Hero Arts Shadow Ink 'Mid-tone' and very carefully stamped them across the card front, keeping the colours the same but trying to alter where the stamps were on the card. This is where a Mini-Misti would have been so handy!!!
I then used the 'Thanks' die to cut some black CS three times and also one from white CS. The black ones were all glued together with the white one on the bottom, slightly offset. This was adhered to the card front along with lots of Glossy Accents on top and some gold sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.
For my second card I wanted to show the size of the die negative, so a shaker card was in order:
I started this one off by stamping the flowers from the 'Pretty Posies' stamp set in yellow on the card front. I then die-cut the larger tag from the 'Scallop Tag Fri-Dies' twice from some white CS. The 'thanks' was die-cut from one of the tags and a piece of acetate added behind it.I then added lots of foam tape to the back, especially around the letters to hold in the beads. I poured in some clear and pale yellow seed beads from The Ton and pressed on the other tag to hold the shaker together.
The rest of the sentiment was heat embossed in white on a strip of black CS and glued to the tag. A ribbon bow and some yellow and clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh finished it off.
I love making thank-you cards so this die and stamp set are going to be used a lot to create those. If your planning on purchasing this die or stamp set, or any CAS-ual Fridays Stamps products, don't forget to use my Girl Friday code to save yourself 15% off your purchase!!
We have Day 4 for you tomorrow, so I hope you come back to see some more of the new release. Pop over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps blog to see what the rest of the Girl Fridays created and you have a chance to win some goodies yourself!!
Take care
Shona
Hi everybody and welcome back to Day 2 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps New Release!!
Today we are introducing you to the new stamp set 'Dream then Do':
This set has the most inspirational phrases and I like the swirly font with the aged block letters. I love the largest sentiment stamp from this set and wanted to make it the star of the card:
I used the largest die from the 'Tag Buddies Fri-Dies' set on a panel of white CS slightly smaller than the card front. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment from the 'Dream then Do' stamp set in gold on the card front. I then used my mini-blending tool and Distress Inks 'Picked Raspberry', 'Peacock Feathers', 'Spiced Marmalade' and 'Mustard Seed' to create the colour over the embossing. The die-cut panel was then popped up over top using some foam tape.
So what are your thoughts?? This set will be wonderful for sending some up-lifting cards to your family and friends. And if you use my special 'Girl Friday' code, you can save yourself 15% on any of your CAS-ual Fridays purchases.
If you haven't already visited, please pop over to the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog to see what the rest of the Girl Fridays have created, you will be blown away. And there might even be a chance to win a prize.....
I hope you'll join me tomorrow for Day 3 and more amazing new release goodies!!
Take care
Shona
Yay, new release week has arrived at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps and we have so many gorgeous new products to show you this week!!
Day 1 is starting off with a 'floral' bang as we release a floral stamp set with matching dies:
Say hello to Pretty Posies and Posies Fri-Dies!! These are the most fabulous doodle-like flowers, perfect for colouring and coming with sentiments for any occasion. And to have the matching dies is a huge bonus, so no fussy cutting needed!!
For my first card I wanted to show the stamps on their own so you can get an idea of how they stamp:
I cut a panel of white CS slightly smaller than my card front and randomly stamped the flowers and leaf in black ink. I then used my mini-blending tool and Distress Ink 'Picked Raspberry' on the card front to create the ombre effect. The panel was then popped up on foam tape. The sentiment was heat embossed in gold and I added some pink and gold sequins from Neat and Tangled.
For my second card I wanted to show how well the matching fri-dies work with the stamped images:
I started off by stamping the flowers and leaf on some white CS and colouring with my pencils. I then cut them all out using the matching fri-dies. I used the larger die from the Scallop Tags Fri-Dies set with some white CS and cut out two tags. I used the Posies Fri-Dies to cut into one tag with the three flower sizes and glued the other tag behind it. That way I could inlay the purple, blue and one of the small pink flowers into the tag.
I adhered the leaves behind the tag and two more pink flowers on top, and then popped the tag up on foam tape on the card front. The sentiment was stamped in black on a strip of white CS and I added some co-ordinating sequins from Neat and Tangled.
So what do you think?? I love both of these sets and can see them being used a lot for many of my cards. And don't forget, you can use my Girl Friday code to save yourself 15% on your CAS-ual Fridays Stamps purchases.
If you haven't already been, please pop on over to the CAS-ual Fridays blog to see what the rest of the 'Girl Fridays' have created using these new sets. Their creations are incredible!!!
Hope to see you back here tomorrow for 'Day 2' of our New Release week!!!
Take care
Shona
Have just been for a fantastic bike ride with Dave and the kids. Its another gorgeous Autumn day, so we rode to the park and then into town. And of course we had to stop for ice cream on the way home!!
I'm squeezing in with a few hours to spare to The Challenge. I absolutely love the inspiration photo and had to make sure I joined in! I knew straight away which die I wanted to use, which is always a great way to start:
I cut a piece of water colour CS and used Distress Inks to create a rainbow effect. I used the hearts die to cut the rainbow hearts and then on some white CS to create the heart frame. I glued the frame to the card front and then each heart in order. The 'hello' die was cut 4x from black CS, glued together and added to the card. I covered it in Glossy Accents to give it a shiny look. And I just realised that I didn't do any stamping at all on this card!!
The heart die is from Simon Says Stamp 'Stacked Hearts' and well as the 'hello' die.
I'm also going to link this to the Little Tangles Challenge # 67 where their theme is:
I need to go take the dogs for a walk now, they are dying to get going and have been hanging around me while I type this post. Its never a chore to take them out in the sunshine and they love it so much!! And sometimes I come up with the best card designs while I'm watching them hunt for rats. So its good for everyone!
Take care
Shona
Well, I received a very exciting email this week from Melissa at CASology asking if I would like to be their Featured Designer for the next four weeks?? What a fabulous invitation and of course I said yes straight away!!
Over on the CASology blog today there is a photo of me and a bit of information about my family, how I started card making and some other little bits and pieces.
One of the things I mention is our house which is 106yrs old. I'm not sure if I've shared photos of the house before, so thought you might like to see where I live:
This is our old house which we are about three quarters thru with renovating. When we purchased it you couldn't see it from the street and the whole front yard was filled with huge, overgrown trees and bushes.
This photo was taken from the front deck showing some of my roses and garage. Oscar is waiting patiently by the front gate for his walk.
This is the other side of our front yard with the huge trampoline that gets used nearly every day, even by me! And its great for the dogs to get some shade too.
I'm going to be on the CASology blog for the next three Fridays, so I hope you will join me! Next week I'm going to show you my craft space, which gives me a week to tidy up. And will show you some of my favourite CASology entries from over the years.
To finish off, this is the first card I entered into a CASology challenge. The word was 'Rain' and it was in April 2014. How funny that two years later I am a Featured Designer and still a huge fan of this challenge!!
See you next Friday!!
Shona
I can't believe that another two weeks have whizzed by and its time for another challenge at TIME OUT.The theme for this challenge is:
CELEBRATIONS with optional twist of fussy/die cutting
So this means any type of celebration you like i.e. birthdays, new baby, new house etc. And you can also use the optional twist of having something die-cut or fussy cut on your card.
The Sponsor for this challenge is CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. They have a $25 gift voucher for the winner of a random draw of those you decide to use the optional twist!!
Our Guest Designer for this challenge is the fabulous Elizabeth Stewart of Paper Sweetness. Elizabeth has a wonderful clean, modern style and seems to be able to design for any occasion. I really encourage you to pop over to her blog to have a look!!
If you've followed me for a while, you will know how much I LOVE die-cutting. My skills with a pair of scissors is nothing to write home about and the fact that I'm desperately needing my eyesight checked certainly doesn't help. So my Cuttlebug get's used everyday and I couldn't not use some dies for my design:
I never have enough birthday cards, so wanted to add to my stash!! For this I started off by die-cutting the criss-cross pattern from the card front and also from a dark pink paint chip. A panel was adhered behind so I had something to inlay the criss-cross part on to. I used a paint chip in a lighter shade of pink to die-cut the hearts and X's. The X's were glued directly to the card front and the hearts popped up on foam tape.
I needed a birthday sentiment small enough to fit in the middle square, so I stamped and heat embossed it in gold and cut away the words I didn't need. This was then put on foam tape as well.
The products I used are all from CAS-ual Fridays. The sentiment stamp is from the 'Bold Wishes' stamp set and the heart, X and criss-cross dies are from the 'Tic Tac Toe' Fri Dies set.
I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Make it Girly'. I can't imagine giving this card to a man for his birthday......
You have two weeks to link your projects to the TIME OUT challenge. And the rest of the Design Team have prepared some cards on the blog to give your imagination a boost!! I can't wait to see what you come up with in the Gallery!!!
Take care
Shona
