Uniquely Creative - October Mini Stamp and Colour Kit - Naughty or Nice

 Hi there!! Blogging twice in one day...whats going on?? Even though I haven't been making any where near as many cards as I used to lately, I do have a pile of cards sitting beside my computer waiting patiently to be shared with you all.

This months Mini Stamp and Colour Kit 'Naughty or Nice' from Uniquely Creative has been incredibly popular and already sold out but you have the option to be notified when its back in stock. I totally understand why everyone loves it, the colour scheme is gorgeous, as are the stamps and added extra's. This card uses some items from the kit along with one of the extra stamp sets:

Gotta have some sparkle on your Christmas cards and this silver glitter cardstock is even more spectacular in person!

I started off by stamping the image from the optional extra stamp set 'O Christmas Tree'  on white CS using Gina K Amalgam Black ink and colouring with my Altenew Artist Markers. I then used the 'O Christmas Tree Fussy Cutting Die' to cut it out.

To create a background for the tree I used the largest frame from the 'Frames Die Set' with patterned paper from the kit. I also die-cut it another two times from white CS. I glued the frames together with Gina K Connect Glue and then used the die again on some American Crafts Silver Glitter CS. I glued the frame to the card front and then inset the glitter panel. The tree was popped up on foam tape, as well as the sentiment which is from the sentiment sheets in the kit. I also used a 'Clear Sparkle Brush' to add some more glitter to the tree star and bows on the presents.

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

I have a few more cards to show you from this kit, so will be back to do that soon. Enjoy your weekend (when it finally arrives) and hope you get some time to craft!

Take care

Shona 

Funky Fossil Designs New Release!!!

 Hi everybody!! I've made it to the weekend but unfortunately so has the rain. We didn't have rain for weeks and now it seems we can't get rid of it. I need to work this weekend as I'm so behind but as I walked out the door this morning the rain started to fall. So now I'm home to do the housework (and make the odd card hopefully....) instead.

We have a new release available at Funky Fossil Designs which consists of 5 new A5 stamp sets. And there is something for everyone!

See what I mean? Something for the flower lovers, cute animal lovers and the space cadets out there. And with them all being A5 there is a lot of bang for your buck! I wanted to share with you a card using the 'Hello Gorgeous' stamp set:

 I saw a card recently where the person watercoloured with Distress Oxide inks and thought to myself I haven't done that for at least a year, so decided to get them out.

I stamped the large image using Gina K Amalgam Black ink on normal white CS. Using a minimal amount of water I used a rainbow of Oxide inks, using the light colours first and then adding some shading and details with a darker colour. To finish off I added some highlights with a Sakura Gelly Roll white pen and coloured in the tiny circles around the flowers that are part of the image and added some more.

I die-cut the image using a die from Winnie and Walter. I adhered a panel of black CS to the card front and put the floral panel on a piece of black foam. The sentiment (from the same set) was white heat embossed on black CS, fussy cut out 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', this is my second entry.

I've got lots of other cards using these new stamp sets, so will be back soon to share them with you. Enjoy your weekend and hope your weather is kind to you.

Take care

Shona

 


 

Reminder: TIME OUT Challenge #173

 Hi everybody!! I've had the craziest week with a million appointments for the kids, rainy days and so much wind its a wonder all my trees are still standing!! Hopefully will get some gardening done today after Phoebe's orthodontic appointment (yes, she still has her braces, will be 4 years in Feb 2021....), will be nice to get a bit dirty.

We have this photo to inspire you at TIME OUT and it offers so many ideas for your projects! You could use the colours, the plants, the wood or maybe the mandala itself......the possibilities are endless....

The Sponsor for this challenge is Altenew and they are giving a $20 gift voucher to the winner. Talk about a fabulous prize!

I was so excited when I saw this photo because it was one of those rare times when I knew EXACTLY what stamps I could use:

 I didn't get too carried away with ideas, I knew I could re-create the photo itself with stamps I had on hand and I love the finished result.

To start off I went thru my paper pads and found some woodgrain paper from Rosies Studio 'Twig and Twine'. I then heat embossed the mandala from Uniko 'Marvellous Mendhi' with Ranger White Embossing Powder. I created a white card base 4 1/2 x 5 inches and popped the paper up on a piece of white foam.

For the succulents in the photo I stamped these images from Studio Katia 'Cactus Hugs' on white CS. I kept the pots white (like the photo) and used Altenew Artist Markers to colour the plants themselves. I cut a strip of gray CS for the shelf and put it on the card front with foam tape. After fussy cutting the plants I glued them to it. To finish off I white heat embossed a sentiment (from Studio Katia 'Birthday Greetings') on black CS, backed it with white CS and put on foam tape, along with some pearls also from Studio Katia.

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

You need to link your projects for the TIME OUT Challenge by Wednesday 4th November. And to see some other inspiring projects for this challenge, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team and our very talented Guest Designer Rahmat of Cards and Cooking Corner have prepared for you. Look forward to seeing you in the Gallery!

Take care

Shona 

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - Girl Friday Post #2 for October

 Hello there!! Its the start of a long weekend here in New Zealand (Monday is a Public Holiday) and its usually the official start of 'get your garden ready for Summer' time. I have LOADS to do in my garden after sorting out everyone else's. The weather this week has been like Summertime and the weekend is supposed to be even hotter, so I better start doing my hedges early in the morning!!

I've got my second card of the month for CAS-ual Fridays Stamps to share with you. I was actually inspired by my friend Coni of Which Craft? who does the most amazing splatters on her backgrounds. Its something I don't think of doing very often, as I like a lot of control and 'clean lines' with my cards but I decided it was time to dip my toe in the 'uncontrolled' pond. So thank you Coni for your amazing inspiration:

I tell ya, this background scared the c**p out of me as I went a long. I loved it and hated it at the same time but the splatters over top made me fall in love with it.

I started by stamping the large dragonfly from the new 'Everyday Dragonflies'  set with Versafine Onyx ink on Strathmore watercolour cardstock. I did this 3x and then immediately clear heat embossed. I then used a fine brush and my Schmincke Aqua Drop 'Cyan Blue' which is INCREDIBLY strong. You only need a teen tiny bit mixed with water. I coloured different images on the dragonfly using differing amounts of water to darken or lighten the effect. I then did a light wash over the rest of the area. Once this had dried I die-cut with the 'Dragonflies Dies'.

Since I was going to do some splattering, I decided to go the whole hog and do some 'smooshing' as well. I added the same watercolour to a clear stamp block, sprayed on some water and smooshed onto a panel of watercolour CS. I did this a few times, drying with a heat gun in-between and even moving the ink block around. Once it was dry I used a brush to flick over some Gansai Tambi 'Blue Gold' and 'Black' paint. I also added some touches of gold to the dragonfly flowers. I cut the panel down and added to the white card base with a piece of white foam. 

To add some definition to the dragonfly, I die-cut some black CS with the large dragonfly die and glued it behind the painted one but slightly down so show the bottom edges. It was popped up on foam tape and the sentiment (from the same stamp set) was gold heat embossed on black CS using WOW 'Metallic Gold Sparkle Embossing Glitter'. I backed it with white CS and put on foam tape, along with some Studio Katia Gold Pearls.

I hope this has inspired you to get 'messy' with your crafting this weekend and maybe try a technique that you've always been scared of too. If you love the stamps/dies and embossing powder I used today, you can use my special code to save 15%. AND you can also use it with all the Clearance Items too on top of already slashed prices...how cool is that!

Thanks so much for stopping by, enjoy your weekend and I'll see you back here very shortly with some more card ideas.

Take care

Shona

Reminder: The Flower Challenge #49

 Hi everyone, this is one very late blog post. It was supposed to have been published a few days ago but life got in the way and then I spent the weekend with my Mum, so finally have a chance to sit at my computer. Was really nice to hang out with her and we talked ALOT. I did manage to make a few cards but didn't go crazy like I normally do when I stay. Good to be nearly all up to date and take some of the pressure off.

Our theme this month at The Flower Challenge is 'Circle/Circles' and you can incorporate them however you like into your project as long as you have a main floral image.

Its also our 4th birthday and there are loads of prizes to be won. We already have some stunning projects in our Gallery and always room for more!

Our Sponsor for this challenge is Alex Syberia Design and she also has a prize for the winner. Her digital images are so incredible and she has come a long way in the past year. So excited to be sharing another of her designs with you:

 This is one of the first digital designs that Alex released and I thought it would be perfect for this particular challenge card. I spent ages colouring it in while catching up on tv shows. I'm obsessed with Family Guy at the moment, I've seen nearly every episode numerous times but they still make me laugh. Some of their jokes push the limits of humour but I just love it.

I started off by printing this image on to some white CS. I quickly coloured it first with Altenew Artist Markers and then spent a long time adding shading and depth with my Faber Castell Polychromo pencils. Once I had finished I fussy cut it out.

To incorporate the 'circles' I remembered I had this background die from The Stamp Market. I die-cut it from a similar purple coloured CS and glued to the card front with Gina K Connect Glue. I popped the flower up on foam tape as well as the sentiment from Studio Katia 'Birthday Greetings', which was white heat embossed on a strip of black CS. And to finish off I added some Studio Katia 'Amethyst' pearls.

You have until Sunday 25th October to link your projects to The Flower Challenge and pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team and our talented Guest Designer Colleen of Irish Rose Creations have created to inspire you. Can't wait to see you in the Gallery!

Take care

Shona 

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - Girl Friday post #1 for October

 Hello there!! My weekend is just finishing and I'm home from spending the weekend with my Mum. Unfortunately I had to race off early Saturday morning as poor Phoebe had a migraine (luckily the Emergency Room was really busy, so they were able to just give her the usual anti-nausea injection and send us on our way) but I was back with Mum by lunchtime and we watched loads of movies while I coloured stamp images for the rest of the weekend. I haven't stayed with her for nearly six months, so it was so good to talk as much as we wanted without me having to race off to work etc.

I have a card on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog today and its a special one:

 October is 'Breast Cancer Awareness Month' and Michele (the owner of CAS-ual Fridays Stamps) is very passionate about making sure we are doing breast checks and reminding others to do so. An early diagnosis can make such a difference and it only takes a few minutes to do the check yourself. She has many stamps and dies that can be used to offer support to loved ones, especially those with cancer.

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are also Sponsoring the current challenge at 'TIME OUT' and there is a $25 gift voucher up for grabs!! So with also being on the 'TIME OUT' Design Team I thought this was a great opportunity to tell you about the challenge and also remind you to check those breasts!!

For this card I started by using the smaller rectangle die from the new 'Pinked Slimline Dies'  with some dark pink CS. This was adhered to the front of a top folding white card base. I used the pinked-circle die (from the same set) with some light pink CS and glued these in place. I then used the circle die (again from the same set) with some white CS. I used three different shades of pink to stamp the ribbon (from the 'Heart Ribbon' set) on each circle and then pop them up on foam tape.

The sentiment (from the 'Supercalifragilistic' set) was white heat embossed on black CS and put on foam tape, along with sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

I hope this not only gives you some ideas for your cards this weekend but also encourages you to do a breast check yourself AND talk to your friends and family about doing it too. Maybe you could make a party out of it!!

Take care, look after yourselves and I'll see you back here again very soon.

Shona

 

The Flower Challenge #49

 Hi everyone!! Its a very exciting month for us at The Flower Challenge, its our 4th birthday and we are celebrating with LOTS of prizes!!!!! I can't believe four years have gone by since we started this challenge, its quite scary how quickly time goes by, must be because we have so much fun each month not only making our own cards but seeing all the incredible entries too. I'm honoured to be part of this talented team and here's to many more years to come.

Unfortunately we had Rachel and Karen leave the team recently (they are sorely missed), however we now have a new member the fabulous Loll Thompson of Stamping with Loll.  She is very well known and loved in card making circles and we are so happy to have her with us. 

Our theme for this month is 'Circle/Circles' and you can incorporate them however you like into your project with floral images being your main element.

Our Sponsor for this challenge is Alex Syberia Design and she is generously giving the winner of this challenge a $10 voucher to spend in her Etsy store. Lucky them!!

And because its our birthday we also have SIX more prizes to give away this month. Photos of the prizes and all the details are on the blog.

For my card I was very lucky to come across an image I had printed months ago from the very first release Alex did with her digital floral images. And it even has a circle in it so it couldn't be more perfect:

This 'You are Amazing' digital image was so easy to print out and couldn't be more perfect for colouring with lots of different flowers and leaves. If you haven't already I really encourage you to check out her Etsy store, the images will blow you away!

I started by quickly colouring the flowers and leaves with Altenew Artist Markers, not worrying too much about blending etc. I then went back in with my new Faber Castell 'Polychromo' pencils and spent ages adds more indepth shading. Once I had finished I found a die (from Uniquely Creative 'Cross-stitch Circle Frames Dies') that fit perfectly around the image to cut it out.

I needed a background but didn't have anything that suited that had circles incorporated into it. So I used some patterned paper (shock, horror!). I found this one from Rosie's Studio 'Flourish' 6x6 pad, adhered it to the card front and then popped the circle on some white foam. I then finished off with some Studio Katia pearls.

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

You have until Sunday 25th October to link your projects to 'The Flower Challenge' and we will be back on the 15th with some more 'circle' ideas. Good luck with winning a prize and can't wait to see your designs in the Gallery!

Take care

Shona

 

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - New Release - Day 4

Hi there and thanks for popping in! Its nearly the weekend for me and I'm not gardening tomorrow. Taking Phoebe to get her septum pierced (hopefully she won't be too scared, she's been wanting to do it for ages.....) and then taking the kids out for lunch as its the school holidays. Really looking forward to it as we used to do it a lot when they were little but as teenagers they usually aren't available (or maybe they don't want to be seen with their Mum....).

 

Its been fabulous sharing all the New Release products from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps with you over the last few days and we have one more sentiment die to show you. Introducing 'Birthday Fri-dies':

These are such a good size for a card and go perfectly with the 'Happy Birthday' stamp set. For my card I got all girly and pink:

 See what I mean about the size of this die? And the two words aren't connected so you don't have to cut them apart to use them separately.

I used the large dragonfly from the new 'Everyday Dragonflies'  stamp set. I white heat embossed them on white CS and then blended Distress Inks 'Spun Sugar', 'Picked Raspberry' and 'Worn Lipstick' along the wings to create an ombre effect. Once finished I used the matching 'Dragonflies Fri-dies' to cut them out and glued them to the card front.

Using a circle die from the 'Ornament Tag Fri-dies' set I die-cut some light grey CS, adhered to some white foam and glued to the card front. I die-cut the 'Birthday Fri-dies' twice from light pink CS and once from dark pink CS and glued them together so the darker pink showed slightly underneath. I glued them to the circle, covered them with Wink of Stella and then added a coating of Glossy Accents. And of course I had to finish off with some pearls from Studio Katia.

All of these New Release products are available right now from the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Shop and you can even use my code to save yourself 15% on them and any other products, even the Clearance Section where a HUGE amount of products have been just added.

Thanks again for joining me this week and I'll see you back here very soon with some more card ideas.

Take care

Shona 

Reminder: TIME OUT Challenge #171

 Hey everyone!! Been a very busy day today and the weather has been wonderful, with no wind at all. Just me and the kids tonight as Dave has gone on a trip up to Auckland to see his Mum, so we will just chill with a movie and take-aways for dinner.

We have the above phrase to inspire you for the current TIME OUT  challenge. You could chose one word to inspire your design, or maybe it reminds you of something you could use....the possibilities are endless and its totally up to you!

Our Sponsor for this challenge is Stamplorations and they are giving a $25 voucher to the winner....lucky them!

 Shery (the owner of Stamplorations) is always so generous with our Design Team at TIME OUT. The products I used for my card were provided by her by way of a voucher, which I'm so grateful for. She is such a sweetheart and its lovely to be able to show off her products to you all:

 

I had so much fun colouring in this cup. Yellow and brown aren't colours I use very often, so was nice to do something different with shading etc.

I stamped the cup from the Stamplorations 'Coffee Joy' stamp set on white CS using Gina K Amalgam Black ink and coloured with my Altenew Artist Markers. I then used my new Faber Castell 'Polychromo' pencils to add some more details and dark shading. I fussy cut it out (including between the handle) and went around the edges with a black pen.

For the background I used the Stamplorations 'Peeking Sunflowers - ARTplorations Slimline Stencil'. It has flowers at each end of the stencil but I used just the one end and blended Distress Inks 'Gathered Twigs', 'Squeezed Lemonade' and 'Mustard Seed' over top. My card base was my normal 4 1/4 inches wide so I cut it down to match the stencil width.

All I had to do then was pop the coffee up on some foam tape. The 'Coffee Joy' stamp set comes with sentiments and a banner outline stamp, so heat embossed them both with Ranger White embossing powder on black CS. I cut it out and put on foam tape, along with some Studio Katia pearls.

There is also an amazing blog hop going on right now for National Coffee Day and Stamplorations is one of the Super Sponsors. If you leave a comment on their blog post HERE you have the chance to win some prizes. For all the details on the hop and all the Super Sponsors go to the Coffee Loving Cardmakers Blog. 

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

You have until Wednesday 7th October to link your projects to the TIME OUT  challenge and if your needing some more inspiration, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have created for you. Can't wait to see your projects in the Gallery!

Take care

Shona

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - New Release - Day 3

Hi everyone! I don't know what happened to our lovely, hot Spring weather but I'm sitting here typing this in my Winter pj's and socks, thinking I might light the fire. There was a big frost this morning and supposed to be another one tomorrow (yuck) so will garden a bit later in the morning so things can thaw out. By the weekend we are back to hot sunny days, so no wonder people have been getting sick, so many temperature fluctuations!!

We are on to our third day at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps showing you all the New Release. Today we have a new stamp set with two sentiment dies. Introducing 'Hooray Fri-dies' and 'Sassy Celebration' :

I've used the stamp set and one of the dies from the 'Hooray Fri-dies' set. There is also a 'Celebrate' die included. I wanted to make this a bright, shiny 'party' card and think the stars really set the scene.

I started by using the rectangle die from the 'Pinked Slimline Fri-dies' with some white CS. I then grabbed the 'Stars Fri-dies'  which has 3 different sizes. Using some gold CS from Craft Smith I die-cut the biggest star 4x. I then die-cut the middles of them with the next size star and then die-cut the smallest star from the same gold CS. I used the middle star die on some blue glitter CS and die-cut the smallest star from the middle. This gave me four big stars with a blue and gold star in the middle.

Using Gina K Connect Glue I adhered the stars to the white CS rectangle die-cut and cut off any overhang. I then glued those cut off pieces here and there to carry on the pattern. The panel was adhered to the white card base. I die-cut the 'Hooray' die from a similar blue CS and then 3x from white CS. These were glued together and then to the card. The sentiment (from 'Sassy Celebration') was heat embossed on the same blue CS using 'WOW! Metallic Gold Sparkle' embossing glitter. I backed it with the same gold CS and put on foam tape, along with Studio Katia pearls. And gave it more sparkle with Wink of Stella over 'Hooray'.

All of the New Release products are available to purchase now from the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Shop and even though these are brand new, you can still use my code to save yourself 15%!

I also wanted to mention that there is a blog hop going on right now for National Coffee Day. The hop details are on the Coffee Loving Cardmakers Blog. CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are one of the Super Sponsors and if you visit their blog post HERE and leave a comment, you have the chance of winning a coffee prize pack!!

 

I'm off to light my fire before I freeze to death! I'll see you back here tomorrow to show off the last product from the New Release.

Take care

Shona