Reminder: TIME OUT Challenge # 146

Hi everyone!! It has been a glorious week here with weather. We had an incredibly hot long weekend and this coming Sunday its supposed to be 31 degrees celcius, which is ridiculously hot for the beginning of November!! I've been sweltering while gardening but at the same time its been so lovely being surrounded by peonies, roses and iris flowers....

We have this phrase to inspire you for the current TIME OUT Challenge and there are so many ways you could use it on a card.

Our Sponsor for this challenge is Uniko and they are giving the winner an in-stock stamp set of their choice!!

For my card I decided to go with 'Give Love' from the phrase as its always good to have a few 'love you' cards up your sleeve to send out:

This card is so sugary and sweet with a peppermint pink, white and mint colour combo. Don't think I'll be sending this to any 'dudes' I know....

To start off I cut a panel of The Stamp Market 'Color Crush Solids' pink paper and glued to the card front. I then die-cut the 'Big U Die' (also from The Stamp Market) from some mint paper from the same 'Color Crush' set. 

To create the background I stamped the 'Diamond Background' stamp from The Stamp Market with Waffle Flower 'New Fish in Pond' on white CS and cut the panel down till it was smaller than the card front. It needed something else against the pink so I adhered it to some black CS and cut a tiny frame of it. This was glued to some black foam and then to the card front.

For the sentiment (from Simon Says Stamp 'Beautiful Flowers') I white heat embossed it on the same pink paper and used foam tape to adhere to the 'U'. I then used more foam tape to pop up the 'U' and glued on some black pearls.

I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.

You have until Wednesday 6th Nov to link your project to the TIME OUT Challenge and if your needing help with ideas, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have created for you. Look forward to seeing your projects in the Gallery!!

Take care
Shona
 

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - October New Release - Day 4

Hi everyone, such a fabulous week and we are already up to Day 4 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps  October New Release!!

Today we have the cutest stamp set to share with you 'Hearty Horse': 

The horse image is quite large and perfect for colouring. And I've always loved this font for the sentiments as it has teeny tiny hearts among the letters. For my card I actually didn't use the horse, I was inspired by the little hearts in the set:

You knew I had to fit some rainbow colours on at least one of my New Release cards!!

I started by cutting a panel of light grey CS and adhering to the card front. I find its a great neutral for bright colours. I then used the 'Ornament Tag Fri-Dies' to die-cut two circles from white CS. This is where it took quite a long time....

As the little heart is solid and I wanted to make sure I got a good stamp impression, I used my MISTI to stamp each of these hearts twice each. I used my favourite Waffle Flower inks and just eye-balled each time I moved the stamp, trying to get them close together and to the outer edge of the circle. Its not perfect but love the effect.

All I had to do then was adhere the circles to some white foam and stack on top of each other. The sentiment was white heat embossed on black CS, fussy cut out and put on some foam tape. And for a bit of bling I glued on some Studio Katia pearls.

I hope this gives you some ideas on how to use your smaller stamps as we tend to forget about those. All of the new release stamp sets are available to purchase right now and you can use my special code to save yourself 15%!!

Thanks so much for stopping by and don't forget to check out the CFS Blog where you'll find lots more inspiration and have the chance to win one of seven $15 gift vouchers!!

Take care
Shona
 

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - October New Release - Day 3

Hi everyone, so glad you've been enjoying the New Release products from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps.  We still have three days of ideas to share with you as we give you a closer look at each new set.

Today its all about 'weddings and anniversaries' with the 'Ever After' stamp set:

I don't actually own any stamp sets for weddings so was super excited to see this one. The sentiments and fonts are so beautiful and it can be used for lots of other occasions as well.

For my card I was thinking back to my own wedding, which was 16yrs ago.....can't believe we haven't killed each other yet??!! It was very small and our colour theme was lilac and white, so decided to include that on my card:

The part I remember the most about organising our wedding was that we wanted to make little bags of purple jelly beans for our guests but couldn't buy that colour on its own. So a few times a week for a month we would go to our local supermarket and pull out all the purple jelly beans from the self serve area. It took forever but it was really fun doing it together.

To start off I heat embossed the 'Heart to Heart' stamp set on white CS using WOW! 'Metallic Gold Sparkle Embossing Glitter'. It is so sparkly in real life, just couldn't capture it with my camera. I fussy cut around the edges and added white foam to the back. I measured a piece of lilac CS that was slight wider than the hearts and adhered to the card front and glued the hearts on top.

For the sentiment I heat embossed it with the same embossing powder on white CS and backed with the same lilac CS, putting it on white foam as well. And to finish off I glued on some Neat and Tangled sequins.

If you haven't shopped already for any of the New Release stamp sets, don't forget to use my special code to save yourself 15%, even on the new products or anything that's on sale!!

And don't forget to visit the CFS Blog to see what the rest of the 'Girl Fridays' have made with this new set. And you also have the chance to win 1 of 7 $15 gift vouchers if you leave a comment, so make sure you do!!

Take care
Shona
 

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - October New Release - Day 2

Hi there and welcome to Day 2 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps October New Release!!

We have 8 new stamp sets to share with you this week and they are all available to purchase RIGHT NOW!! Yesterday was all about 'angels', today is all about encouragement. Introducing 'Doing Great':

This is the perfect size to fill a card front and to send to anyone who needs some support and to remember that they are going to get thru!! For my card I wanted to make the sentiment the star with a soft frame to make it pop:

 

I started by cutting a panel of black CS and adhering to the card front. I then cut a panel of white CS slightly smaller than the card. In the middle of it I stamped the sentiment 3x with Versafine Onyx ink and immediately clear heat embossed with Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Powder. 

I wanted to frame the sentiment but not have a harsh line around it. So I put the 'Tin Roof Stencil' over top and held in place with washi tape. As I wanted an ombre effect with Distress Oxide Inks, I started first with 'Spun Sugar', doing it slowly and carefully so I didn't get too close to the words. I then used 'Picked Raspberry', leaving some of the softer pink showing near the sentiment. I then finished off with 'Candied Apple', adding only to the outer edge. 

Once the ink was dry, I glued the panel to a piece of black foam and adhered to the card front. And instead of sequins I added small spots of Nuvo Crystal Drops in 'Ebony Black'.

As I mentioned all of the new stamp sets are available to purchase now and if your going to do a spot of shopping, don't forget to use my special code to save yourself 15%!!

Don't forget to visit the CFS Blog to see what the rest of the 'Girl Friday's have done with this new set and make sure you leave a comment for a chance to win one of 7 $15 vouchers!!

I'll see you back here tomorrow for Day 3 and another new stamp set.

Take care
Shona

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - October New Release - Day 1

Hello, hello everybody and welcome to Day 1 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps October New Release!!!

There are 8 new stamp sets being released this week and over the next six days we will be sharing ideas using them all.

Today its all about Angels- Flower Angel and Angel Hugs:

 I think everyone needs or already has an angel in their life, and these ones are absolutely beautiful. They will be wonderful to send to anyone on a card to lift their spirits or let them know how much they mean to you. I loved creating my two cards and made them with particular people in mind:

 

As soon as I saw this 'Flower Angel' image I imagined it in white, showing off all its detail. So I white heat embossed it on some plain vellum. Using the second largest 'Bubble Box Fri-dies' I die-cut it from the middle of a panel of white CS. I then stamped the 'Full-on Floral' stamp set over the panel (using Waffle Flower 'New Fish in Pond' ink), once over the bottom half and then the top half, making it look like it was one big stamp image.

To make the embossed image stand out, I blended Distress Oxide ink 'Peacock Feathers' over the card front and then popped the panel on some foam tape. I white heat embossed the sentiment on some aqua CS, put on foam tape and glued on some white and clear sequins from Neat and Tangled.

For my second card I got all girly with pink. I cut a panel of light grey CS and adhered to the card front. I stamped the 'Full-on Floral' stamp set on some white CS (using Waffle Flower 'Safe Choice' ink) and die-cut using a Couture Creations circle die. I then die-cut some pink CS using the larger circle from the 'Ornament Tag Fri-Dies'. I glued the floral circle to the card front and then put the pink circle on white foam.

I stamped the 'Angel Hugs' image with Gina K Amalgam Black ink on white CS, coloured with my Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cut out. I white heat embossed the sentiment on a strip of the same pink CS and put it on foam tape, along with the angels, and glued on some Neat and Tangled sequins.

All of the New Release products are available RIGHT NOW for purchase and if you use my special Girl Friday code you can save yourself 15%!!

Thank you so much for stopping by and don't forget to check out the CFS Blog to see all the cards created by the Design Team, and I'll see you back here tomorrow with another new stamp set to share!!

Take care
Shona
 

Uniquely Creative - October Stamp and Colour Kit - Fairy Lights

Hi everybody!! Its Thursday afternoon and I'm so very tired. I'm been working very long gardening hours this week with it being mega windy every day. I feel like I've nearly eaten all the hair off my head with it being constantly blown in my mouth. And my face gets so dirty with the dirt etc being blown against it, I actually end up with my hair-line going grey!! So much to do and the weeds know I can't garden 24/7!!

I wanted to let you know that I'm on the Uniquely Creative Blog this week with this card:

The new 'Reindeer Pals Stamp and Colour Kit' has been released and it is so very cool. It has some incredible stamps and dies available to purchase with the kit itself or with add-ons. 

I love pastel colours on Christmas cards and if you pop over to the blog you'll see exactly how I put this card together.

Thanks so much for stopping by and cross your fingers for a calm, sunny gardening day for me tomorrow!!

Take care
Shona
 

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Entry #5

Hi everyone. Its been a beautiful day weather wise, so great to be in the garden. However we had to take our cat Scribbles to the vet for tests as she has been losing lots of weight while still eating the same amount, and she is constantly hungry. Its not looking good but just waiting to hear the results....

This is my final entry for the current Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where the theme is 'Halloween'. I decided to create a Halloween card for every day in October (this is Day 20) and so far so good. I've been sharing them on my Instagram account and the comments are really funny. Some people are shocked but then when I share a card that isn't covered in blood etc, they are asking for the gore!! So far I haven't offended anyone (well, I don't think I have.....) and most people see the funny side of the cards.

This card is one of my favourites. I remember when I was a little kid seeing the trailer on tv for the first Alien movie. It absolutely petrified me as it was 1979 and I would have been 6yrs old. I can't remember what age I was when I finally saw the movie but thought it was incredible. And I've really enjoyed every single sequel that's come after that too. So this is my 'homage' to one of the greatest horror movies ever made:

What would I do without this Ellen Hutson 'Leading Lady' stamp?? She is the perfect shape for so many of my Halloween cards. Thankfully they have liked the cards and not banned me from buying anything more from them!!

To start off I needed to create an 'indoor' scene', so I adhered a piece of Modascrap 'Let Your Soul Bloom' patterned paper on the card front for the wallpaper. For the floor I used a piece of wood veneer paper.

I stamped the Ellen Hutson 'Leading Ladies - Binge Watching Lady' on white CS with Gina K Amalgam black ink, coloured her with Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cut her out. I also did the same with the Kindred Stamps 'Bursting Love' alien. 

If you haven't seen any of the 'Alien' movies, the 'face alien' is like a parasite that comes out of an egg, attaches to your face and impregnates you with an alien in your chest which bursts out when its ready to be born, killing you in the process. I needed an egg so I went online looking at 'egg' images from the movies and sketched this shape. The egg is kind of oval and splits at the top, peeling back with four flaps. I coloured it with my Altenew Artist Markers, trying to work out how to make it look darker on the inside of it. I am not an artist AT ALL and can't draw to save myself but.....it doesn't actually look too bad...you'll have to let me know what you think!!

I adhered the egg and lady in place on the card front. I then glued the 'face alien' to her face and added lots of Glossy Accents to it, dripping it on to her shirt etc, and putting lots on the egg and floor, to show how gooey it is inside of it. Now I needed a sentiment and what could be better than this one from Neat and Tangled 'Better Together'. I white heat embossed it on black CS and popped on foam tape. I wonder what Sigourney Weaver and Ridley Scott would think of this???

I'm also going to link this to The Cats Pajama's Challenge #362 where their theme is 'Fall' which includes Fall activities like Halloween, Thanksgiving etc.

Better take the dog for a walk and sort out something for dinner. Luckily we have loads of leftover roast chicken from last nights dinner, so that makes it a little easier......

Take care
Shona
 

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Entry #4

I've had such a busy day!! It was so beautiful and warm outside, so caught up on some of my own gardening. Did lots of laundry, vacuuming and all the other boring things. I then cooked a roast chicken and vegetables for dinner which always takes forever, especially the dishes afterwards. I'm about ready for bed!!

Before I climb into my bed with my iPad and Netflix, I wanted to share my Day 19 'Halloweenfest' card with you. And since the theme for this weeks Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge is all about 'Halloween', this is my fourth entry. 

Time to bring back a bit of blood and gore:

I have so many animal stamps I really wanted to use more of them for a scary card. This one was inspired by the image of the three cats. They look like they are looking over or out of something and seeing something crazy, so I thought a dog eating a human would be crazy in their world!!

I started by stamping the cats from Your Next Stamp 'Scratch Pad', the dog from MFT Stamps 'Furever Friends' and the boy from Neat and Tangled 'Better Together' with Gina K Amalgam black ink on white CS, colouring with Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cutting out. 

I needed to show the outside of a house and used this paper from Modascrap 'Let your Soul Bloom' by adhering to the card front. I then die-cut the Studio Katia 'European Window' from white CS, glued the cats behind it and then a piece of Rosies Studio 'Arabesque' paper behind them to be the wallpaper inside the house. This was then glued to the card front.

I used a grass die from MFT Stamps on some green CS and glued across the bottom of the card. I cut the leg off the boy (giving it a ragged edge) and after working out where that and the dog would be, added lots of red 'blood' with an Altenew Artist Marker, also adding to the images. I glued them in place, along with the sentiment (from MFT Stamps 'Furever Friends') white heat embossed on a strip of black CS popped on foam tape. Ta Da!!

I'm also going to link this to The Cats Pajamas Challenge #362 where their theme is 'Fall' and all the activities in Fall like Halloween.

Hopefully this hasn't freaked you out too much and you can see the humour in this card. For me they are just a bit of fun and I love coming up with different scenes and 'punny' sentiments that would normally be used for more lovely cards. You'll be glad when November finally comes around!!

Take care
Shona
 

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Entry #3

We've just had the weirdest Saturday weather wise. It rained all day yesterday and into around 9am this morning. Then all of the sudden the sun came out and it was so incredibly hot. At 2pm though the clouds appeared and the temperature dropped around 10 degrees which was a real shock. The rest of the afternoon was all cloudy and then it started raining again with the sun coming out. Talk about Mother Nature being undecided!!!!

The theme for this weeks Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge is 'Halloween' and its time for Day 18 of my 'Halloweenfest' where I've been showing off a different Halloween card each day. No blood and gore for this one you'll be pleased to know:

This card makes me laugh, it makes me think of a Mummy ghost and her three little baby ghosts. Someone has been picking on them at 'ghost school' and she is going to confront the bully and scare some sense into him.....

I started by die-cutting the Mama Elephant 'Winter Forest Cover' die from black CS 2x and gluing them together with Gina K Connect Glue. I also adhered a panel of black CS to the card front. I really wanted some sparkle to the night sky so covered the card front with my Uniquely Creative Shimmer Pen, going over it a few times. I then glued the cover die over top.

The ghosts (from The Cats Pajamas 'Faboolous') were stamped with Gina K Amalgam black ink on white CS, coloured with Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cut out. I did the same with the pumpkins from MFT Stamps 'Witch way is the Candy'. These were adhered with double-sided tape. The sentiment (from MFT Stamps 'Fab-Boo-Lous Friends') was stamped on white CS in black, backed with a piece of white CS coloured with Distress Oxide ink 'Spiced Marmalade' and popped on foam tape, along with some Persimmon coloured pearls from Studio Katia.

Will also link this to The Cats Pajama's Challenge #362 where their theme is 'Fall' and Fall activities like Halloween.

I was hoping to watch two new Netflix scary movies with Phoebe tonight but as the afternoon wasn't very pleasant outside and I was busy doing housework/groceries etc, she watched them without me!! She kept coming out and telling me how scary it was and how gross some of the scenes are in the 'Tall Grass' movie, so now I DEFINITELY need to watch them tonight!!

Take care
Shona
 

Funky Fossil Designs - October 19 Release Day and Giveaway!!!!

Woo hoo, its finally release day at Funky Fossil Designs!!  The four new stamp sets are available to be purchased from the Funky Fossil Designs Store:

To celebrate, Sarah (the owner) is offering everyone 10% off their purchases this weekend until midnight (UK time) 21st October when you use the code: OCTOBER10 at checkout....yippee!!

There is also the chance to win your choice of stamp set from the Funky Fossil Design blog post AND from each of the Design Team Release Day blog/Instagram posts....its so exciting!! All you have to do is leave a comment on each of the Release Day posts by midnight (UK time) 26th October for a chance to win!!!!!

For my card today I just had to share with you a design using the new 'Plant a Garden' stamp set:

As its coming into Spring in New Zealand I'm flat out each day battling all the growing plants and weeds that are coming out of hibernation. And with all the sunshine and rain we've been having, they are going rather crazy. Its tiring work but I love it and definitely consider myself having a 'superpower'!!

I started by stamping all the images with Gina K Amalgam Black ink on white CS, colouring with Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cutting out. I wanted a background with some type of foliage, so used the 'Leafy Mandala' stencil, blending Distress Ink 'Mowed Lawn' in the middle and 'Twisted Citron' towards the leaf tips.

All I had to do then was adhere the images in place and stamp the sentiment (from the same stamp set) with Versafine Onyx ink. I then glued on some Seafoam pearls from Studio Katia for a hint of shine.

Don't forget to leave a comment for a chance to win one of the new stamp sets (your choice) and links to all the other Design Team blogs are on the Funky Fossil Design Blog. 

Thanks so much for stopping by and supporting a small craft business, I know Sarah appreciates you all and I can't wait to share more of her products with you.

Take care
Shona

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Entry #2

I'm back with Day 17 of my Halloweenfest card. I'm trying to show you all one Halloween card every day for the month of October, I'm a day behind but hope to catch up tonight!!

The current theme at the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge is 'Halloween' and you can enter 5x so still have the chance to share three more horrible cards with you....aren't you lucky??

For this card I was inspired by the horror movie 'Pet Sematary'. They recently did a remake which I really enjoyed but nothing beats the original with cute little Gage and his scalpel. I based this one on the pets themselves:

This took so long to put together but really happy with how it turned out!!

I wanted the scene to be at night, so I blended Waffle Flower 'Coffee Loves Milk' ink along the bottom to be the dirt. I then blended Distress Inks 'Squeezed Lemonade', 'Seedless Preserves' and 'Black Soot' down from the top of the card front to give the impression of the sun setting. As its a 'sematary', I used a stencil from Funky Fossil Designs 'Gothic Graveyard' over top, blending it with 'Black Soot' Distress ink.

While that dried I stamped the animals - the dog is from MFT Stamps 'Furever Friends', the pig from MFT Stamps 'Hog Heaven', the cat from MFT Stamps 'Cool Cat' and the racoon from Mama Elephant 'Rowdy Racoons' - using Gina K Amalgam black ink on white CS, coloured with Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cut out. I used an Artline 0.1 pen to try to create some wounds and used lots of grey markers to make them look dirty (as they would have crawled out of the ground....).

The 'pet sematary' sign was hand-written with the same pen on white CS, I cut the edges roughly and blended some of the same ink I used for the dirt all over it. I glued it in place and put the animals on foam tape. The sentiment (from MFT Stamps 'New Best Friend') was stamped in black on white CS, backed with black CS and put on foam tape, along with some black pearls.

Will also link to The Cats Pajamas Challenge #362 where their theme is 'Fall' which includes Halloween.

 

There are so many new scary movies on Netflix at the moment, hopefully I get a chance tonight to sit down and watch them. My Mum has seen them already and loved them, so that's a great review!! See you back here tomorrow with some more blood!

Take care
Shona

Funky Fossil Designs - October 2019 New Release - Preview Day #2

Hi everyone and welcome back to Day 2 of the Funky Fossil Design October New Release. 

We have two more super cute stamp sets to share with you today - Sew Lovely and Plant a Garden:

 I can't sew to save myself but know many talented men and women who are wizards with a needle and thread. I'm a gardener for a living, so this gardening set totally speaks to me and I can see it will get a lot of use!!!

For my card I wanted to make it 'pretty in pink' and add some needlework-type touches as well:

When I was little I loved to play (even though I was probably not allowed....) with a very old sewing machine (similar to this one) where it would be a table one minute and then  it would flip over and there was the machine. I was fascinated with the gold painting on it (it was black and the stand was all black with fancy metal work) and how it hung upside-down under the table. Really wish it hadn't been sold....

For this card I stamped the sewing machine image on some white CS with Gina K Amalgam black ink, coloured with my Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cut out. I wanted to have stitching in the background so I used a Couture Creations circle die on some white CS. I then grabbed two stitching dies from MFT Stamps and die-cut them across the circle.

On the card front I used my new Funky Fossil 'Knitted Background Stencil', holding it in place with washi tape and blending over Distress Oxide ink in 'Spun Sugar'. The stitched circle was adhered to some white foam and then to the card front. And the sewing machine was put on some foam tape for dimension.

I gold heat embossed the sentiment (from the same stamp set) on white CS and gently blended the same Distress Oxide ink over top before popping on foam tape and gluing on some Neat and Tangled sequins.

I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge where their theme is 'All things Pink'.

I hope you've fallen in love with all these new stamp sets as much as I have and I'll be back soon with a chance to win your choice of one of these sets as we celebrate the sets being available to purchase!!

Take care
Shona
 

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Entry #1

Its me again!! I've been blogging and Instagramming quite a bit lately, lots of New Releases and DT cards to get out to you all. And I also decided to create a Halloween card each day for the month of October, so been up to my eyeballs in blood and guts. Its been really fun though and have some doozies to share with you over the next few days.

I've been putting all my Halloween cards on my Instagram account (shona.chambers) but this week the theme at the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge  is 'Halloween', so you'll be seeing a scary blog post from me each day for the next five days (you can enter up to 5x), so I hope your prepared!!

I'm a bit late with this card, I should have put it on my IG last night as Day 16 of my 'Halloweenfest' but life got in the way so here it is now:

This one is probably more cute than scary but I'm trying to ease you into the gore.....

I started by stamping the mummy (from Kindred Stamps 'The Horror'), the big tombstone (from MFT Stamps 'Fab-boo-lous Friends') and the smaller tombstones (from Lawn Fawn 'Spooky Village') on white CS using Gina K Amalgam black ink. I coloured them with my Altenew Artist Markers, die-cutting the small tombstones with the matching die and fussy cutting the rest.

For the background I used The Cats Pajamas 'Round Tree Dies' on some black CS for the tree design and the plain circle die on white CS. Using Distress Inks 'Salty Ocean', 'Seedless Preserves' and 'Black Soot' and my mini-blender, I created a night sky on the white CS. I glued the black tree's on top with Gina K Connect Glue and used a white gel pen to make some stars.

I adhered the circle panel to some black foam and glued to the card front. The mummy and tombstones were then fixed in place. I white heat embossed the sentiment (also from the Kindred Stamps set) on black CS and put on black foam as well.

I'm also going to link this to The Cats Pajamas Challenge #362 where their theme is about 'Fall' including Fall events like Halloween.

 

I'll be back again soon with another Halloween card, this one will have a bit more blood on it, so get ready to peek thru your fingers.....

Take care
Shona