Hi everyone!! Well, we have moved down to Level 3 in New Zealand and I'm back gardening. Yesterday was my first day back and it was wonderful to be in someone else's garden, although after doing it for 6 hrs I was so sore and tired. It was a nice exhaustion though, if you know what I mean!!
We have this photo to inspire you for the current TIME OUT challenge, which is one of my favourite ones to do. There is so much to design with in this photo, the colours, the patterns, the scene itself.....and its totally up to you what you use!!
Our Sponsor for this challenge is Uniko and they are giving the winner an in-stock clear stamp set of their choice. Going to be very hard for them to choose!!
For my card I was immediately drawn to the black/white stripes but also to the swirly patterns with yellow. And I found the perfect Uniko stamp set to use too:
This wasn't the easiest to fussy cut around but it was so much fun to colour in while watching Netflix!!
I started off by stamping the largest image from the Uniko 'Marvellous Mehndi'
stamp set on some white CS, using Versafine Onyx ink and clear heat embossing with SSS embossing powder. I then set myself up in front of the tv and coloured with my Altenew Artist Markers, and then moving to my Faber Castell pencils to add some more details and shading. I then spent quite a while fussy cutting out.
After adhering a panel of black CS to the card front I cut a piece of patterned paper from Rosies Studio 'Flourish' and popping it up on white foam. I then did the same with the coloured image. The sentiment (from SSS 'Beautiful Flowers') was simply stamped with the same black ink on a strip of white CS, backed with black CS and put on foam tape, along with some Studio Katia pearls.
I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.
You have until Wednesday May 6th to link your projects to the TIME OUT challenge. And if you need any help with ideas pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team and our fabulous Guest Designer Ana of Ana ArtDisplay have created for you. Look forward to seeing your designs in the Gallery!!
Take care and stay safe!
Shona
xxx
Hi there!! I'm a bit late posting my cards today. I've been quite busy going to the chemist and supermarket. I also have been contacting all my gardening people to see if they are happy for me to come back.
We moved to Level 3 today which means you can go back to work as long as its 'contactless' or you can keep a 2mtre distance from others at all times. 85% of the time I don't see anyone when I'm working but I do have a few older people who like to tell me what they need in the garden etc. I'm a bit hesitant about seeing the older ones as they are most at risk with the virus but they are all happy for me to come and can't wait to have their gardens looking much better. We have also been down to single digit new virus cases each day, so fingers crossed we can keep it that way.....
It was also a beautiful 23 degrees celcius today which is so strange for the end of April. The sunshine was glorious, so took Bella for an extra long walk. Although I've just seen the weather for tomorrow and its going to be the same BUT only about 4 degrees in the morning. Its going to be hard enough to get out of bed early, let alone have it be cold!!
I've got two more Rainbow cards for you today but with a little added extra:
For these cards I did the same 'rainbow strip' technique but this time I white heat embossed some floral images for a bit of pizzazz!!
I glued the strips to a piece of white CS and then trimmed down to be smaller than the card front. For this card I heat embossed floral images from Simon Says Stamp 'Delicate Flowers' before putting on a piece of white foam and adhering to the card front. The sentiment die (also from Simon Says Stamp) was die-cut from white and also purple CS. I glued the purple piece to a scrap of white CS and inlaid the white letters. This was put on some white foam along with Studio Katia pearls.
For this second card I did the same technique as yesterdays card. I glued the long strip first on some white CS and then all the little strips in the opposite direction. Once it was cut to a smaller size, I heat embossed floral images from The Stamp Market 'Botannicals' before putting on the card front with white foam. I die-cut the 'hi' (also from The Stamp Market) 3x from white CS and once from some Creativ Gold paper. I glued two white ones together with the gold on top. The white top layer was then added slightly higher to show off the gold underneath. This was glued to the card along with Neat and Tangled sequins.
I'm going to link the first card to the SSS Flickr Challenge #148 where their theme is 'Let's Encourage each other'. This will be my third entry.
Better go to bed soon. I don't know about you but my 'going to sleep' time has become quite late with lockdown. I usually nod off around 2-3am after watching LOTS of Netflix or YouTube, and then not getting up till 9am...sometimes 10am!!! Its so bad so not sure how I'll get on in the morning, will probably end up not sleeping at all. Wish me luck!
Take care and stay safe
Shona
xx
Hello there!! We are up to Day 6 of my Rainbow Week and back to rainbow colours. Speaking of rainbows we certainly haven't seen many this year. Its nearly May and we haven't had a whole day of rain since last year....isn't that amazing??!!
We had one day last month were it was very overcast and there were moments of drizzle but not rain, apart from some downpours for 10-15mins in the middle of the night last month. Its quite incredible how long its been since we've had decent rain and its the longest we've ever gone without it. By this time of the year I don't normally have to worry about watering my garden or pots but I forget and my plants are looking very droopy. At least I have plenty of time to water my garden at the moment. It takes forever, would love to have an irrigation system one day.....
For today's cards I was inspired by the fabulous @erica_cacacraft from Instagram. She also has a YouTube channel with lots of cool videos. I've been following Erica for YEARS and its so exciting to see how popular she's become. She has especially become known over the years for her 'rainbow strip' cards, where she will cut 100's of cardstock strips and glue together to create gorgeous backgrounds. I've seen many people try this out and thought it was about time I gave it a go too:
This was the first card I made. I decided to try out a 'diagonal' design which worked out well because some of my scrap pieces of CS were much shorter than others.
For this card I adhered them one by one using Gina K Connect Glue (which gives you a chance to move them around) on a piece of white CS. Once it was dry I trimmed it down so it was smaller than my card front and adhered to the card with a piece of white foam. The sentiment die is from Waffle Flower 'Rainbow Thank You'. I die-cut the solid piece from white CS and then letters from dark pink, which I glued in place and then put on foam tape. The rest of the sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp 'Kind Flowers', which was backed with black CS, put on foam tape and attached along with Neat and Tangled sequins and Studio Katia pearls.
For this card I had some really long pieces of blue CS, so I glued that on first and then added each strip randomly. Some of them don't match up perfectly but I'm fine with that. I cut it down so that it was smaller than the card front and put on a piece of white foam. The sentiment die is from Simon Says Stamp, the larger piece die-cut from white CS and the words from black CS. They were glued on and then put on foam tape. The rest of the sentiment is also from SSS 'Kind Flowers', backed with black CS and put on foam tape, along with Studio Katia Pearls.
I'm going to link this second card to the SSS Flickr Challenge #148 where their theme is 'Let's Encourage Each Other'.
Its incredibly windy today so won't be finishing off my gardening. I do have a card that needs to be made, which requires some colouring, so will set myself up in front of the tv and watch some old movies. I'm in the middle of watching Mississippi Burning which is such a hard movie to watch and so well acted. It hurts my heart to see how the African-American's are treated in this movie and I would like to think that racism has come a long way but when I read stories in the media of people being mistreated and killed, it shows there is still a very long way to go.....
Take care and stay safe!!
Shona
xxx
Hi everyone!! I don't know about you but my lockdown of five weeks has gone really fast. I've been just as busy cleaning up after my kids and husband, catching up on other cleaning jobs, doing gardening etc.....I've never been bored, which is rather incredible. However I'm pretty sure if this extended for another couple of weeks I would start to feel cabin fever creeping in.....
I can't believe I'm already at Day 5 for my Rainbow Week. Its been quite good doing something like this as it gives me something positive to look forward too each day, instead of our 1pm media briefing every afternoon on tv telling us how many new cases of COVID-19 we have in the country and any deaths, which is just heartbreaking.
Today's cards are theoretically 'rainbow' colours themselves but I've used a variety of colours on each one and given you another idea on how to stretch your dies:
I have three cards for you today, all with this same background and format. It uses a large 'U' die from The Stamp Market which I've had for a while but never used. I fiddled around with it for many days, figuring out how I could use more than one but not make it too bulky. What do you think??
Basically what I did was die-cut the 'U' 6x using shades of pink and purple (for this card). Using Gina K Connect Glue I glued them together in opposite directions and they were glued on each 'middle' strip of the 'U'. Its a bit hard to explain, if anyone needs it I could always do a quick video showing how they go together. Its a bit fiddly and you glue them to a panel of white CS at the same time (any they aren't exactly perfectly straight either....) but it makes such a cool geometric backdrop.
The white panel was cut down close to the die-cuts at each end. I adhered a panel of the same light coloured CS to the card front and then put the die-cut panel on a piece of white foam. The 'Love' die (from The Stamp Market) was die-cut 2x from white CS and once from black CS and glued together to show the black underneath. It was put on foam tape, along with the sentiment (from The Stamp Market 'Just Wonderful'). And I added some Neat and Tangled sequins and Studio Katia pearls.
For this card I did the die-cut background with shades of blue and turquoise and added pale blue to the card front before putting the die-cut panel on white foam. The 'Thank You' (also from The Stamp Market) was again die-cut twice from white CS and once from navy CS, and glued together so the navy showed underneath. This was glued to the card along with the sentiment (from The Stamp Market 'Just Wonderful') and some Neat and Tangled sequins, and Studio Katia Pearls.
This last card is my favourite!! I did the die-cut background with yellow, oranges and peach colours. I then used a panel of light grey on the card front. The 'joy' (from The Stamp Market) was die-cut once from white CS, once from dark peach CS and once from Creativ Gold Metallic Paper. I glued them together so each colour peeked through and put on foam tape. The sentiment (from The Stamp Market 'Holiday Greetings') was backed with a frame of the same gold paper (which unfortunately looks more black in this photo) and the same light grey CS. I then finished off with the same Neat and Tangled sequins and Studio Katia pearls.
Whew, that was one big post, well done getting thru it all!! I thought about putting them all in separate posts but since they all use the same technique for their backgrounds, it didn't seem right. I hope its given you some ideas on how to use other large-letter dies. I've still got a few ideas up my sleeve for this one, will probably never be used as a 'U' on a card!!
I'll see you back here tomorrow when we are back to rainbow colours and lots of encouraging sentiments.
Take care and be safe
Shona
xxxx
Hi everyone!! Its been an exquisite day today weather-wise and still quite warm now at 8pm. Very unusual since we are in the second month of Autumn but I'm not complaining, I'll take Summer lasting as long as it can!!
I'm back with Day 4 of my Rainbow Week. So glad many of you are liking my cards, thanks so much for the comments and support. I've even had some comments from Laura Bassen herself on Instagram, which is giving me huge 'fangirl' moments!!
Today's card is another 'geometric/rainbow' design inspired by Laura. This is one of those cards that started out in one direction, then took a complete turn halfway through:
So yesterday I shared a card using the other half of these strips. I actually started off with the idea of having them come from the edge of the card in gradual steps and doing the same on the other side but it just didn't look right. So I cut this out and adhered to the middle of the card!!
These strips are all from large rectangle die-cuts (by Neat and Tangled) which have a smaller rectangle die-cut glued on top. I then cut them in half lengthwise. These were glued on a piece of white CS and then put on a piece of white foam. The card front was covered with a panel of black CS and then a smaller one of white CS and the steps glued on top.
The 'hello' sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp, which I die-cut twice from white CS and once from black CS and glued together slightly off to the side to show the black underneath. It was put on foam tape along with the sentiment stamp (also from SSS 'Beautiful Day') which was stamped with Versafine Onyx ink on white CS and backed with black. And as always I finished off with Studio Katia Pearls (which I must get more of.....).
I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge #148 where their theme is 'Let's Encourage Each Other' which is rather a fabulous theme with whats going on in the world right now.
Time to put on my pj's and get settled on my bed. I've got a diamond art picture I'm about to finish and I started watching a series on Netflix 'Kingdom' which is a dubbed Chinese series about zombies that I'm totally addicted too. I also have a few Peanut M&M's tucked away to snack on.....snack food and tv watching goes together like peanut and chocolate!!
See you back here tomorrow with more rainbow craziness!!
Stay safe
Shona
xxx
Hi there!! Its another absolutely gorgeous day today. I'm about to go out and trim some bushes that probably don't need it but I want to spend time in the sun. I was thinking about sitting out there and colouring but would probably nod off in the heat......
I'm back with my third day of Rainbow Week, where I'm spending seven days (just saying that in my head reminds me of The Ring movie.....) celebrating rainbow colours and showing you all the many rainbow/geometric cards I've slowly made while in lockdown.
Today is yet another card inspired by the fabulous Laura Bassen and her very funny and creative YouTube videos. I used the same rectangle dies as my card yesterday (from Neat and Tangled 'Triangle Box Dies') but this time I cut and arranged them differently:
So for this card I paired up light and dark of each colour. I glued the lighter, smaller rectangle die-cut (which is the same length but slimmer in width) in the middle of the larger rectangle. Once they were all dry I cut them all down the middle length-ways.
After once-again spending forever working out a design, I glued each piece in this pattern on a piece of white cardstock and cut carefully around the edges. It was then put on a piece of white foam on the card front. I wanted to keep the rest of the card clean so used this stamp from The Stamp Market 'One of a Kind' which was the perfect shape for a corner. I stamped it a few times with Versafine Onyx ink and then finished off with my Studio Katia Pearls.
So glad you've been enjoying these rainbow cards and maybe they've inspired you to make some too. If so I would love to see them. My instagram is: shona.chambers and you can email me too on shona.chambers@orcon.net.nz if you'd like me to see a blog post.
I'm off out into the sunshine, enjoy your day and please stay safe!!
Shona
Hello there!! Thanks for coming back for Day 2 of my Rainbow Week!! In case you missed yesterdays post, I've spent a lot of time watching crafty YouTube videos during lockdown and been inspired by the likes of my favourite lady Laura Bassen to go thru my piles of cardstock scraps and create some rainbow and geometric designs.
I'm using the same Neat and Tangled die set 'Triangle Box Dies' which has so many different sized die shapes that come with it (unfortunately you can't buy it anymore....). This time instead of using triangles I got a big creative with some rectangular shapes:
Once again it took me many days and many photos to work out the design but I'm so happy with how it turned out. And I'm sure many of you would have these shaped dies in your stash to do something similar.
As I already had my cardstock all in colour families, I once again grabbed pairs of light and dark and cut the small rectangle from the lighter and the dark from the larger. All I did then was glue the small one on top. To make this design I realised I would need to cut them all in half.
I decided to do blue's, green's and purples on one side and then pink's, oranges and yellows on the other. I glued them on pieces of scrap white CS and then cut around the edges. That way I could then put them on white foam to adhere to the card front.
For the sentiment I got really out of my comfort-zone and spent ages trying to find something that would fit in the middle gap. This one from MFT Stamps 'Sassy Pants Best Friends' was perfect as it was the right size and as this isn't a 'normal' design, fitted the card theme. I cut the stamp up into three and stamped with my MISTI, using Versafine Onyx ink. I then of course had to finish off with my Studio Katia pearls.
I've always loved finding new ways to 'stretch-out' my stamps and dies to get my monies worth. Hopefully this idea will get you thinking about your own, especially if your sitting at home in lockdown and its been extended!!!
I'll be back again tomorrow with yet another rainbow/geometric design using the same dies but in a completely different way.
Stay home and stay safe!!
Shona
xxx
Hi everybody!! Hope lockdown is treating you well wherever you are in the world and that you haven't been too affected by the virus. We have had 13 people die in our country (New Zealand) and all of them elderly, which is so horrible. I can't imagine what it must be like for those of you that have lost friends and family (not only to the virus) at this time and not being able to have a proper funeral. My heart goes out to you.
Even though its been my dream to have weeks of crafting time for years, I actually haven't made as many cards as I thought I would. So many things to think about, its hard to concentrate I find.
However, all I can say is THANK GOODNESS for the internet and social media, as I've seen many things that have made me laugh, made me embarass myself (learning Tik Tok dances) and helped with my basketball skills. I've also been catching up on YouTube videos by some of my favourite crafters and was inspired to go thru all my cardstock scraps and get 'rainbow creative'!!
So over the next week I'll be sharing cards that have taken me 4 weeks to put together. I've had coffee cups filled with cardstock strips all over the lounge room for a month and vacuumed countless times because of my mess. I've enjoyed the long process though and hope you like what I've come up with!
Laura Bassen of Doublestick Heaven has always been the 'rainbow' and 'geometric' Queen to me.I love every single one of her designs and still want to be her when I grow up! I've watched so many of her videos over lockdown and been inspired to get creative with some scraps:
I've always had a love affair with geometric shapes, especially triangles. No idea why but they tickle my fancy. So I knew after watching Laura's videos I had to find some triangle dies.
These dies are actually from the Neat and Tangled 'Triangle Box Die set' and they are for cutting paper etc to put on the front of the box. I put my scrap CS into colour sets, making pairs of light and dark. I cut the lighter colours with the smaller triangle, darker colours with the larger. I then just glued the little ones on top.
I spent FOREVER working on this design, taking a million photos of the shapes, layout etc but finally decided on this. I glued the triangles to white CS scraps first, cut out closely to the edges and then adhered to pieces of white foam. These were glued to the card fronts and the over-hang cut off. All I had to do then was stamp the sentiment (from The Stamp Market 'One of a Kind'), which fitted perfectly in-between, and glue on some Studio Katia Pearls.
Rainbow patterns always make me smile and I really hope this does the same for you. Its a gloriously sunny day here so I'm off to practice my basketball skills again. Might even get the kids to video my new trick I've been working on every, single, day......
Please stay home and stay safe!!
Shona
Hi everyone!! We got exciting news on Monday afternoon from our Prime Minister telling us we are moving from complete lockdown Level 4 to Level 3 next Tuesday. This means that some businesses can begin again, as long as they are contactless but they still want people to work from home if they can. It also means we can start shopping online, which couldn't come sooner for me as I'm about to run out of white cardstock, liquid glue, double-sided tape and foam tape....which is something I would use for EVERY SINGLE CARD!! So just need to stretch it all out till next week.....
This week the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps April New Release became available and the Design Team have been showing off some projects using these each day. Unfortunately my package didn't arrive in time but I had two of the stamp sets. So today I can show off the new 'Coffee'isms' set:
Fingers crossed my parcel will arrive soon and I can put these two new products together on a card. In the meantime I decided to 'spill some coffee':
Thank goodness I had decided to make a messy card because I got brown marks everywhere and not all on purpose!!
In the last few weeks I've been making some panels of rainbow colours using cardstock scraps. I used one to die-cut the cup from the 'Coffee Cup Fri-Dies'. The oval piece which shows the inside of the cup, I actually just flipped it over and held it in place with double-sided tape.
After adhering a panel of black CS on the card front, I cut a smaller panel of Bristol Smooth CS. After working out where the cup would sit, I mixed some water with Distress Ink 'Gathered Twigs' and used a big brush to create a 'spill' and coloured the inside of the cup. As I had accidentally gotten brown water marks in the wrong place, I decided to go with it and splatter the rest of the panel. I dried it with my heat gun, glued on a piece of black foam and adhered to the card front.
Using some Versafine Onyx ink I stamped the sentiment (from the new set) 3x and then immediately clear heat embossed with SSS embossing powder (I should have done it before putting on the card but I forgot.....). All I had to do then was glue on the cup, as well as some Neat and Tangled sequins.
All of the New Release products are available right now and if your going to do some shopping, please use my special code to save yourself some money (every dollar counts especially at the moment!!).
Don't forget to check out the CFS Blog to see what the rest of the Design Team created and there might be the chance to win a few goodies.....
Take care and stay safe!!
Shona
Hi there everybody and thanks so much for stopping by!! Have you all been crafting up a storm while in lockdown?? I haven't as much as I thought I would, so many things going thru my head my mojo 'left the building' but if our lockdown is relaxed a little later this week and I can go back to gardening, what's the bet I'll be dreaming of an 'all-day craft session'!!
Its April Release Day at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps and we have all sorts of new products to share with you. Unfortunately, like many of you around the world, my parcel hasn't arrived with most of the new products. Luckily I had already received two of the stamp sets but that means I can only share cards made with those. Its very disappointing but totally understandable as everything slows down to get rid of this virus. So, when the goodies finally arrive, I will inundate you all then with my ideas!!
Today is Day 1 of previews and we are introducing the stamp set 'Rainbow Bridge':
But not only that, we also have for you 'Pawprints Chipboard' and 'Pawesome Stencil':
These all go together perfectly for so many projects and can't wait to get my hands on the stencil and chipboard. For my card I had so many ideas but thought I would start with something simple to show off the stamp details:
This is such a sweet set and its nice to have something like this to pass on your sympathy for losing a pet. They really are part of the family and its lovely to have them acknowledged in this way.
I think this love stamp is so cute with all the little pawprints and I wanted to show you how well it stamps. I used Waffle Flower inks and a navy Hero Arts ink to stamp the hearts on a panel of white CS. I cut it down slightly smaller than the card front and put on a piece of white foam.
Light grey looks so good with pastel colours, so I adhered a panel to the card front and glued the stamped panel on top. The sentiment was stamped 2x with Versafine Onyx ink and immediately clear heat embossed with Simon Says Stamp Clear Embossing Powder. I backed the strip with the same grey CS and then put this on foam tape, along with some Studio Katia pearls.
Don't forget to check out the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have created with all the new products. There may even be a chance to win some goodies......And if your in the mood to do some shopping, all the New Release products are available right now and you can save yourself 15% by using my code.
Please look after yourselves and I'll be back here on Day 3 with another new stamp set.
Stay home and stay safe
Shona
xxx
Hi everybody!! Have you got 'cabin fever' yet from being in lockdown?? I'm pretty good so far but my family and I aren't exactly 'social' people so its like an extra long weekend. However I do miss shopping online and popping into the supermarket whenever I like, I'm sure those days will return soon...
The theme for the current TIME OUT challenge is the above phrase. Being a gardener I couldn't live without being able to get my hands dirty and even though I don't read books as much as I used too, there is nothing better than sitting down with some snacks and a pile of magazines to make me relaxed. You can create your project around this phrase anyway you like, maybe focusing on one word or just how it makes you feel....totally up to you!!
Our Sponsor for this challenge is Newtons Nook and they are giving a $25 gift voucher to the winner. Lucky them!!
When I saw the theme for this challenge I knew exactly which stamp set I was going to use and you can see why:
This reminds me of when I was around 8-12yrs old, I read ALOT of books and going to the library was one of my favourite things to do. I still remember my all time favourite book was 'The Crumb' by Jean Slaughter Doty. I desperately wanted a horse which we couldn't afford, which was like the girl in this book. I must have read it about a thousand times.....
I started by stamping all the images from the Uniquely Creative set 'Read Past your Bedtime' with Gina K Amalgam Black ink on white CS and colouring with my Altenew Artist Markers. After fussy cutting them out I added foam tape to their backs.
I wanted to add a 'garden' element to the card too, so I stamped this floral image from Funky Fossil Design 'Blooming Birthday' with the same ink across a panel of white CS and added a touch of green with the markers. I die-cut it with a stitched-rectangle die from Uniquely Creative 'Round Branch Window Dies' and added a piece of white foam to the back. I wanted more green so adhered a panel of green CS to the card front and then glued everything into place.
To finish off I white heat embossed the sentiment (from the same Uniquely Creative set) on black CS and put on foam tape, along with some Studio Katia pearls.
You have until Wednesday 22nd April to link your projects to the TIME OUT challenge. And if your struggling with ideas, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have created for you.
I also wanted to say that our Design Team 'Team-mate' Anita of My Papercraft World has decided to step-down from the team. I got to know Anita when I first started blogging and we both joined the TIME OUT team at the same time in September 2014. I will miss her dearly and want to thank her for helping to make this challenge so much bigger than it was. She is an incredible card maker and if you haven't been to her blog yet, your missing out!
Take care and please stay safe
Shona
Hi there!! Well, we've just entered our 4th week in lockdown and there is a chance we might be changing to 'Level 3' next Thursday. To be honest I don't think the country is ready, I would rather take longer, although our new case numbers each day have gone down significantly, there are still new cases, so it does worry me. So glad I'm not our Prime Minister, that is one hard decision to make!!
I'm popping in today to remind you all about our current theme at The Flower Challenge. Its all about 'Spring/Autumn' designs. Its Autumn here in New Zealand and the leaves are starting to change and fall which is pretty but messy!!
Our Sponsor for this challenge is Bugaboo Digi Stamps and they are giving a $12 gift voucher to the winner, which is around 4 stamp images. And they have so many to choose from!
For my card I wanted to use the same Bugaboo digi image that they gifted to our Design Team. I definitely needed to colour it differently and decided to move it around a bit too:
This is the image I used from Bugaboo Digi Stamps, its the '4 Block Tulip Square':
For the colouring I decided to use my Altenew Artist Markers but use the same colours within each square, giving a monochromatic look for each image. Once I had finished I cut each square apart. Next came the tricky part....
I wanted each square to have a frame, so I cut a panel of black CS the same size as the card front and was lucky enough to find a square die (from Uniquely Creative 'Square Stitched Nesting Dies') that fit perfectly around each image. I die-cut it 4x from the panel. To work out where to adhere each image, I had to hold the black panel over-top and move the image around, which took a very long time. Once they were in place I went around each image with a black marker pen as some of them didn't line up correctly. I then glued the black panel over-top.
For the sentiment I die-cut the 'love' from the Uniquely Creative 'Love and Hugs' die set 3x from white CS and once from some Creativ Gold Metallic Paper. I glued them all together and then to the card front. I also gold heat embossed the sentiment (from Uniquely Creative 'Sweet Sentiment Builder') and put on foam tape, along with some Neat and Tangled sequins. I also added some white gel pen highlights to the images.
You have until Saturday 25th April to link your projects to The Flower Challenge and if your needing any inspiration, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team and our amazing Guest Designer Trina of Phamtastic Design have created for you. I can't wait to see your floral ideas in the Gallery!
Please stay safe and crafty!
Shona
Hi there, thanks for stopping by!! Its another gorgeous sunny day here and I have nothing to do outside, my garden is completely up to date. So I've started painting the outside of the house, the front door is done and now I've moved on to the windows. Unfortunately though the paint for the window sills is now bubbling so looks like I'll have to strip it off which I have plenty of time to do but don't really want to do it........will see how bored I get.....
I'm on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog today with this sweet little card:
As you may know I don't actually drink coffee but I can just imagine how much coffee has been consumed around the world with everyone stuck at home....its a wonder there isn't a shortage!! As long as I have Coca-Cola I'll be fine.
I started off by stamping the dog from the Little Huggables stamp set on white CS with Gina K Amalgam black ink, colouring with Altenew Artist Markers and die-cutting with the matching Little Critters Fri-Dies.
I wanted the doggies' picture on a mug so I die-cut the cup from the 'Coffee Cup Fri-Dies' from light blue CS and twice more from white CS, gluing them all together. I needed some interest in the background so I used the 'Curtis Stencil' with some 'Tumbled Glass' Distress Oxide ink as it was similar to the blue CS. I also coloured the oval piece which is the inside of the coffee up with markers and held in place with some washi tape. The cup was popped up on the card front with foam tape with the doggie glued on the front.
To finish off I die-cut the 'coffee' (from the same 'Coffee Cup Fri-Dies' set) with navy CS and twice more with white CS, glued them together and then to the card. The sentiment (from the 'Coffee Talk' stamp set) was white heat embossed on a strip of the same navy CS and put on foam tape, along with some Neat and Tangled sequins.
CAS-ual Fridays Stamps is still able to post out purchases, it just may depend on your postal service as to whether it may take a bit longer or not. So if you do find yourself doing some internet shopping from home, feel free to use my code to save yourself 15% off your total!!
I'm about to go to the supermarket. It makes me so very nervous, its only my 3rd time going since the lockdown and not everyone stays away while your wandering around the aisles. I must look like an idiot plastering my body up against the canned goods but I'd rather do that than bring the virus home to my family. So wish me luck and stay safe!!
Shona
Hi there, have just gotten back from the supermarket and have a splitting headache. I had the same when I went last Saturday. I never get headaches but find it so stressful going and being around people, I've forgotten half the stuff on my list (even though it was written down). I also wore disposable gloves for the first time and got all confused as to when I was supposed to take them off!! So to relax I thought I'd share a card with you all.....
February seems like years ago with everything going on these days. Uniquely Creative released the Stamp and Colour Kit - Oriental and being someone who loves anything to do with Asian culture, I immediately fell in love with it. The kit had a lot of blue/teal coloured papers so I just had to make a card with that combo:
I've always loved the idea of crane's being good luck. One of my all-time favourite shows is 'The Big C' and in one of the episodes the main character is in a hospice. Her room-mate has hundreds of cranes above her bed and it looked so beautiful. Her husband was Japanese and was hoping the cranes would cause her cancer to go away. It was so sweet....
This was really simple to put together. I cut a panel of the blue CS in the kit and adhered to the card front. I then cut a smaller rectangle from one of the papers and glued that in place. I used one of the 'Cross-stitch Rectangle Dies' on some white CS and popped it on the card front with a piece of white foam.
I stamped the crane from the kit stamp set 'Lucky You' with Gina K Amalgam black ink on white CS, coloured with Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cut out (there is a matching die available). I also did the same with the water-circles from the Add-On 'Best Wishes' stamp set. They kind of reminded me of clouds so I glued them to the white rectangle and put the crane on top with foam tape. To finish off I white heat embossed the sentiment (from the same 'Best Wishes' Add-On stamp set) on a strip of black CS, put on foam tape and glued on some 'Starry Sequins'.
Its such a warm afternoon. All the animals are asleep, Max is gaming and Dave is helping Phoebe re-arrange her bedroom for the millionth time. I think I might find a spot outside in the sun to do some colouring before someone calls out my name ....'Mum???'
Take care and stay safe
Shona
Hi everybody!! We have just passed two weeks in lockdown here in NZ and our new cases each day have gone down a lot (although today they jumped up a little again) and we have only just had our second death, so fingers crossed we will be getting back to normal sooner than we think.....
I wanted to pop in today to let you know that Funky Fossil Designs are having an Easter Sale!! You can get 20% off all stamp sets by using the code STAMP20 at checkout. They have just had a New Release of stamps and I'm using one of them on my card today:
The look on this cats face looks like she can do whatever she wants and has no problem ruining your things with muddy footprints if she decides too. So I created this card for all those 'snooty' cats in our lives...
I started off by stamping the cat from the New Release 'Cattitude' stamp set with Gina K Amalgam black ink on white CS, colouring with Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cutting out. I also did the same with the snail from the 'Plant a garden' set. I blended Waffle Flower 'Coffee Loves Milk' ink along the bottom of the card front for dirt and then stamped the the plant and butterfly from the same garden stamp set.
Using some Altenew 'Dark Chocolate' ink I stamped the paw-prints from the same 'Cattitude' set in a random pattern across the card front, as if she was walking all over it. I then glued on the snail and popped the cat up on foam tape. The sentiment (from the 'Cattitude' set) was white heat embossed on strips of black CS and put on foam tape, along with some Studio Katia pearls.
The Funky Fossil Designs sale will run till midnight Monday 13th April so make sure you don't miss out!! I hope your all still well and not going too crazy being in lock down. I found my husband watching Anne of Green Gables today (he usually watches car shows) so he must be getting really bored. I even suggested playing Trivial Pursuit and he said yes, so if nothing else at least we are getting to hang out.
Look after yourselves and I'll be back again soon with some more card ideas.
Stay safe!
Shona
xxx
Hi there!! I've just been outside working on my basketball skills with Max. I must look so ridiculous trying to get the ball off him while playing one-on-one but its fun, he can practice his skills and gives people driving past something to laugh at!!
Yesterday I shared with you a card I made using the Simon Says Stamp 'Storybook Sloth Die'. I used natural brown colours but thought that in this day and age, who says you can't have a pink, blue or yellow sloth??:
Good grief I have ALOT of cardstock scraps!! Might have to make some more rainbow strip cards or have a look at Laura Bassens You Tube Channel for some inspiration!! This was really simple to put together but was just fiddly die-cutting all the different colours. I now have enough leftover's to make this card three more times!!
I gathered some CS in dark and light tones and die-cut the sloth die repeatedly from black CS for the eye's and nose area, and also just the bow-tie area for the blue sloths one. I glued them all together on black CS so they have a backing and fussy cut around them.
I adhered a piece of black CS to the card front and then a panel of white CS slightly smaller on a piece of white foam. The sloths were all popped up on foam tape. The sentiments (which I just noticed aren't all completely straight...whoops....) are all from the SSS 'Beautiful Day' stamp set and white heat embossed on black CS. These were put on foam tape too, along with some Studio Katia pearls.
I'm getting a little worried as I don't have much foam tape left, so using it very sparingly.....thank goodness I purchased two sheets of black and white craft foam from the $2 shop just before lockdown or I'd really be screwed. It would have to be the one thing I use the most and would be lost without it.
Time to get the washing in and take Bella for a walk before I attack dinner. Boy do I miss takeaway meals......
Take care and stay safe
Shona
Hi everyone. We are just finishing up Day 12 of our nation-wide lockdown in New Zealand. They seem to think that we might be starting to see a flattening of our new virus cases which is hopeful but we are definitely staying in this lockdown for at least another 2.5 weeks. We have only had one death so far but are up to 1035 cases which is a lot more than I would have thought but it could have been so much worse if we hadn't acted straight away. I feel so awful for those countries where they are losing hundreds of people every day. Hopefully they too will be facing less deaths and cases in the coming weeks. We will get thru this!!
As I am now completely broke and can't see myself buying any new stamps or dies for months (at least) I'm using my time (when I can get it) to finally use products I've purchased months ago. Its quite fun to go thru the pile, almost like getting them in the mail again as some of them I forgot about.
Today I was using two dies I purchased from Simon Says Stamp in early-December last year but they took until mid-January to arrive. Nice to have a break from colouring and get some exercise with my Cuttlebug:
I fell in love with this SSS 'Storybook Sloth' Die when I saw Laura Bassen use it on this card and was able to purchase it when I won a SSS gift voucher.
I started off by die-cutting the sloth from some dark brown, beige and black CS. I glued the pieces together on a piece of black CS to hold everything in place. I wanted a pink tie so I just die-cut that end of the die over pink CS. The Sloth die only comes with his head and bow tie attached. I wanted him to have a body so I die-cut the SSS 'Storybook Panda' die from the same CS colours and glued them together.
The SSS 'Lined You' die was die-cut from blue CS and then twice more from white CS. I glued them all together and then to white foam which I also die-cut. I wanted some interest in the background so I stamped the SSS 'Center Cut Kaleidoscope' stamp with SSS 'Fog' die on the card front. I then adhered the 'you' with the sloth over the 'O'. To finish off the sentiment (from SSS 'Kind Flowers') I white heat embossed it on a strip of black CS and put on foam tape, along with some Studio Katia pearls.
I made this card (along with another one I'll share tomorrow) while watching the Mad About You reboot. It was my favourite programme (along with Seinfeld) in the 90's, I've seen every episode a million times so I was worried that this would have lost its spark. Well, I wasn't disappointed and I've loved every episode. Paul and Jamie are exactly the same, just older!!
Look after yourselves!!
Shona
Hi everyone. Its an absolutely beautiful day here and I've been outside weeding my garden along with the two cats and dog, who follow me everywhere!! I'm about to go and practice some basketball in a minute. We are lucky to have a basketball hoop in front of our garage and even though its along the footpath, we just move away when people walk past. Max can walk along and bounce the ball between each leg as he walks and I'm determined to do the same!!
I've been so busy doing cleaning etc that I haven't had much time to make many cards. However last week I was playing around with the Funky Fossil Designs New Release stamps and created a few cards to share with you. This first one is using the new Funky Florals set:
As you can imagine this set is one of my favourites and the flowers are so good to practice my colouring.
This was super simple to put together. I stamped all the single flowers with Gina K Amalgam Black ink on white CS and coloured them with Altenew Artist Markers. I also added some details with a white gel pen. When I had finished I fussy cut them out and spent time arranging them on the card front, finally gluing them with Gina K Connect Glue and double-sided tape.
For the sentiment I cut a strip of black CS and put it on black foam. I then stamped the sentiment from the Plant a Garden set with Versafine Onyx ink on a strip of white CS, backed with some light blue CS and put on foam tape. And of course I added my favourite Studio Katia pearls.
I've got another card to share with you but will save that for a few days. I'm off to play basketball but I also have laundry to hang out, brownies to make and vacuuming to do, so you can see why my crafting time is very low......
Take care and stay safe!!
xxxxx
