This is it, our final day showing off the last of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps New Release products. Its been such a fantastic week and we are definitely ending on a high!!
Today we are showcasing the 'Tin Roof Cover Fri-Die':
This is so gorgeous and covers a card front perfectly. And because its so big you can die-cut other shapes from it, just like I've done here:
I thought the cover die pattern would be so beautiful for Christmas ornaments and with lots of heat embossing, they almost look like I drew them on with a glittery gel!!
I started off by die-cutting the circle shapes with a die from the 'Ornament Tag Fri-Dies' from white CS. I then blended Distress Oxide ink 'Tumbled Glass' over the three of them. Using silver CS I die-cut the ornament tags. I also die-cut the 'Tin Roof Cover Fri-Die' three times from white CS. I was then able to die-cut circles from each panel, making sure I had the pattern in the middle.
For the heat embossing I used WOW! 'Clear Sparkle' embossing powder and did it three times on each. This was then glued to the front of the ornament circles, along with the silver ornament tags using Gina K Connect Glue.
I made an extra long card base from white CS and popped a smaller panel of white CS on top with a piece of white foam. The ornaments were adhered with white foam as well. For the sentiment (from 'Snowy Sayings') I heat embossed it with silver embossing powder on a strip of white CS. I adhered it to the same silver CS, cut a frame around it and put on foam tape, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.
All of the New Release products are available for purchase right now and if you use my special code you can save yourself 15% off your total purchase. Saving money is always good right??!
Thank you so very much for coming by this week, I hope I've inspired you with some ideas and to do some shopping. Don't forget to check out the CFS Blog for more projects from my team-mates and also the chance to win the giveaway. Enjoy your weekend!!
Take care
Shona
Hi everyone and thanks for popping in!! We have two more days of inspiration projects and ideas to share with you for the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps New Release. This release has been all about stencils and dies, which if you've been following my blog for a while, you'll know I love nothing better than a fiddly die-cutting session. So this has been such an enjoyable and fun release for me.
Today we are showcasing the 'Just Breathe Fri-Die':
I love this font so much. The size is perfect for a card front and I'm very happy that the letters for each word are joined together. I wanted to show this off with a cool background and whats better than a rainbow flower:
I told you I loved die-cutting and once again not a stamp in sight!!
When the new 'Huggable Critters' die set turned up in my letterbox, I was blown away by all the little dies that are included. The different shapes are fantastic and I knew I could use them to make other things, hence the flower was born!
I started off by using one of the oval-stitched dies (which is for the feet) and die-cutting it 10x from white CS. I then gathered rainbow colours of Distress Oxide ink and blended over the petals with a mini-blending tool. I also used the small curvy edged die with some black CS, this would be the middle of my flower.
After arranging all the petals, I pressed some washi tape strips over top to hold it together, flipped it over and put on strips of double-sided tape. I pressed a scrap piece of white CS to it which helped keep all the petals in place. I used some scissors to cut away any of the back piece that you could see beyond the petals and put it on a piece of black foam. I cut a panel of black CS slightly smaller than my card front and adhered with glue tape. I then adhered the flower on foam and glued on the centre of the flower.
For the sentiment I die-cut the 'Just Breathe' 3x from white CS and glued two layers together. The third layer was heat embossed 3x with Altenew Golden Peach Metallic embossing powder. This was glued to the other layers slightly askew so you could see the white underneath and then glued to the flower, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.
All of the New Release products are available right now in the CFS Store and you can save yourself some money by using my special code, even on the new release!!
I hope this gets you thinking of different ways to use your dies. There are more ideas on the CFS Blog and you can also enter a giveaway!!
Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you back here tomorrow for one more day of inspiration!!
Take care
Shona
This has been the most amazing week being part of this months CAS-ual Fridays Stamps New Release. So many incredible new products to share with you all and its so nice to hear how your loving the release as well. Hope you've been doing lots of shopping!!
Today we are showcasing the new 'Noteworthy Fri-Dies':
These are such a cool design and perfect for making little notebooks, pads etc. Of course you can also use them to decorate your cards, here's what I came up with:
My paint chips stash is starting to get a little low as I've used them so much of late. Will have to pop down to the hardware store this weekend and act as if I'm painting my house like a rainbow so I can get some more!!
I started off by gathering some paint chips in pastel rainbow colours. Using the die with the circles, I die-cut twice from each colour so I had plenty to play around with. I cut a panel of white CS the same width as the die-cuts and glued them to it with Gina K Connect Glue, trying to line up the circles as much as possible. Once the glue was dry I used my Tim Holtz/Tonic Paper Trimmer to cut it to size.
To make the colours pop I added a panel of black CS to the card front and then put the die-cut panel on top with a piece of black foam. I die-cut the 'Best Day Ever Fri-Dies' 3x from black CS, glued them all together and then to the card front. To give them some shine I covered them with lots of Glossy Accents. And I added some Pretty Pink Posh Iridescent Jewels in matching colours.
Really hope this gives you some new ideas on how to use your dies and if your planning on buying some of the New Release products, they are available right now in the CFS Store. And to save yourself 15% you can use my special code, even on the new products!!
Thanks so much for joining me the last five days and we even have two more to go. Lots more ideas and inspiration coming your way!
Take care
Shona
Yesterday it rained all day, which was glorious. Our third rainy day this year, what a treat!! So I stayed home and cleaned, and cleaned and cleaned until my hands hurt. It was very cathartic though and nice to get it all done. And it meant that I could treat myself to a little card making after dinner....
The current theme for the Poppystamps Challenge is 'Clean and Simple' which as you all know is right up my alley!! I have one Poppystamps stamp set that hasn't seen much ink so I thought this would be the perfect chance to take it for a spin:
I was trying out a new watercolouring technique yesterday, so was in a painting mood for this card!!
Using a circle die from Memory Box 'Stitched Maple Circle Frame' die-set, I die-cut a circle from some Reeves watercolour CS. Using my MISTI and different shades of Distress Ink, I stamped images from Poppystamps 'Little Kindness'. I started first with the large leaf image and then added the smaller ones, making it up as I went along. I also stamped the large flower separately on some watercolour CS and fussy cut it out.
Once I finished stamping, I then used a small brush and some water to colour the images, drawing colour from the image edges and adding some extra Distress Ink when needed. Once it was dry I adhered the pink flower in the middle of the circle.
The die set I used also cuts a larger circle frame with stitched detail, so I cut it from some black CS. I glued this to the card front and inlaid the painted circle. The sentiment (from the same stamp set) was stamped on some of the same watercolour CS with Versafine black ink and immediately clear heat embossed. I fussy cut it out and adhered over the flower. I then glued on some Neat and Tangled sequins for a bit more shine.
I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.
Will also link to the Kat Scrappiness March Challenge where their theme is 'Rainbows', which is the range of colours I used on my card.
Its nearly dinner time so better get myself organised. One more day to go and its the weekend, its been a very busy week so really looking forward to it. I'm tempted to go and see the movie 'Us' on my own but feel bad because Max really wanted to go but its R16, so maybe I'll wait till its out on DVD. That way we can be scared together. I'll definitely go and see Pet Sematary on my own though, that will be amazing on the big screen!! Hurray up April 10th!
Take care
Shona
Boy this week is going fast!! Which is bizarre because the nights have been incredibly long of late. We are approaching the end of March and yet we are still having very hot, sticky nights like January. Its the weirdest thing and I'm sure we are going to suddenly get a shock of freezing cold weather soon that will put us all back in our flannelette sheets!! Until then, its glorious and I'm very happy that the warm weather is continuing, especially during the day.....
Over on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog we are celebrating Day 4 of the March New Release. And today we are introducing the 'Trellis Cover Fri-Die':
You know how much I love die-cutting so I'm super excited about this cover die. Its the perfect size to cover a card front and there are so many things you can do with it. Here's my idea:
This was so much fun to put together and didn't take much time at all. Just think of all the different colour combos you could do!!
Firstly I die-cut the Trellis Cover Fri-Die from white CS and also a teal/aqua coloured CS. After die-cutting them both out I added Glad 'Press n Seal' to the back of each to keep all the pieces in place. I laid the white die-cut down face up and inlaid the blue pieces around the outside edge and the middle of the die. I carefully turned it over and added strips of foam tape behind the blue pieces and adhered to the card front.
The 'friend' die (from the new 'Sweet Friend Fri-dies') was die-cut twice from white CS and once from a dark pink CS, glued together and then to the card front. I then added lots of Glossy Accents for shine.
The sentiment (from 'Pretty Posies') was stamped in black on a strip of white CS, put on foam tape and added along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.
All of the New Release products are available in the CFS Store right now and you can use my code to get 15% your purchase which includes all the new products too!!
I hope your enjoying all the cards this week and over on the CFS Blog there are some incredible projects from my team-mates and also a giveaway!!
Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you back here again tomorrow!
Take care
Shona
I'm back with Day 3 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps March New Release. So far we've shown you the 'Huggable Critters Dies' and the five new Stencils. And my team mates have wowed you with their gorgeous projects using the new products on the CFS Blog.
Today we are showing off a new set of word dies 'Sweet Friend Fri-Dies':
I love the font of these so much and they are the perfect size for cards and scrapbooking. In fact I love them so much I just had to use them over and over again:
This was inspired by one of my wonderful crafty friends who adores the colour yellow (you know who you are.....) and it will be winging its way to her very soon!
Thank goodness for paint chips!! I don't own much in the way of coloured CS, so being able to create an ombre look with the slightest difference in colour is so handy with these chips, all free from a local hardware store!! I gathered up five shades of yellow and die-cut them with the new 'hello' fri-die.
To create a background I die-cut some grey CS with the largest 'Bubble Box Fri-Dies' and trimmed down the sides. Using Gina K Connect Glue I glued on the 'hello' die-cuts, starting with the palest colour first and then slightly overlapping them as they got darker. I then adhered the panel on the card front with a piece of white foam.
The sentiment (from 'Bushy Tailed') was stamped in black on a strip of white CS and popped on foam tape, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.
Hopefully this has given you another idea on how to use your word dies. All of the New Release products are available right now from the CFS Store. And if you haven't purchased any of these new products yet, don't forget to use my special code to save yourself some money!!
The rest of the Design Team have some incredible projects on the CFS Blog using these new word dies and there is also a giveaway!!
Thanks so much for coming to visit and I'll see you back here tomorrow with a look at more of the New Release!
Take care
Shona
Hi everyone and welcome back to Day 2 of the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps March New Release!!
I'm so happy to hear how you all love the 'Huggable Critters' die set that we shared with you yesterday. There are so many different things you can make with them. Today we have something completely new to CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - Stencils!!
There are five stencils available, all relating to products and patterns associated with CFS products. For my card today I used the 'Tin Roof Stencil':
I don't have any Easter cards and don't actually own any Easter stamp sets etc. But when I saw the body die from the 'Huggable Critters' die set, I immediately thought it looked very much like an egg and wouldn't the 'Tin Roof Stencil' be the perfect decoration!!
I started off by die-cutting the 'egg' from white CS and putting the stencil over-top. Using a variety of 'rainbow colours' of Distress Inks, I blended them over the stencil. To add a bit more 'bling' to the egg I tied some yellow ribbon around it and also glued clear jewels from Studio Katia to the middle of the stencil flowers.
The bunnies (from the 'Somebunny' stamp set) were stamped with Gina K Amalgam black ink on some white CS and coloured using Altenew Artist Markers. I fussy cut them out and glued on a pink heart to one of their paws from the 'Heartboard Fri-Dies'.
A piece of white foam was adhered to the back of the egg and it was glued to the card front. I was then able to tuck the bunnies underneath the foam. No need for a sentiment, I think the egg and the bunnies speak for themselves!!
If you haven't visited already, pop over to the CFS Blog to see how the rest of the 'Girl Fridays' used some of the other new stencils. Their cards are amazing!! There is also a giveaway too!
All of the New Release products are available right now in the CFS Store and don't forget to use my special code to save yourself 15% on all products, even these new ones!
Thanks so much for stopping by today and I'll see you back here tomorrow with a new product and a new card!!
Take care
Shona
Hi everybody, I'm so excited you've stopped by because its going to be an exciting week!! We have a New Release at CAS-ual Fridays Stamps and today is Day 1. Over the next seven days we have so many new, amazing products to share with you. And over on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog there will also be a giveaway, along with lots of inspiration from the 'Girl Fridays'. So let's get started!
Today we are introducing the new Huggable Critters Fri-dies. This is an incredible set where you have all the dies to create a Bunny, Bear, Cat and Puppy. All the details for the set are on the CFS Blog.
I got a little carried away with my 'critter' and show that you can also create other animals:
This is probably the most artistic card I've ever made in my life!! I'm terrible at drawing and it took so much gumption to start doing the tiger stripes because I was so worried they would look stupid. Its not perfect but everyone tells me he looks like a tiger and he makes me smile, so I'm very happy!!
To start off I searched Google for images of tigers, getting close up photos of their faces, paws and chest area. I saw straight away that their ears aren't pointed like a cat so I die-cut two extra paws for them. I then die-cut the body and the facial features, all from white CS.
Using the photos as a guide, I used a finger sponge dauber and Distress Ink 'Spiced Marmalade' to colour the paws, making it lighter towards the claws which I drew on with black gel pen. For the ears I put the orange around the edges and more towards the bottom. The inside of the ears are black and white with hairs, so I rubbed the side of a black pencil in that area. I also used the black pencil around the top part of the ear edges too.
For the body I started using the Distress Ink from the forehead down, creating the bridge of the nose but leaving the nose and mouth area white, as well as the eyes. The chest is usually quite white so I carried the orange down the sides of the body only. Using a black and brown Altenew Artist Markers I coloured the eye die-cuts black and the middle parts brown. I also coloured the mouth black and made the nose pink.
I glued on the mouth and nose part, going underneath the nose with black gel pen and glued on the eyes. I used the black pencil to add some black dots where the whiskers would be. Using the photos as reference again, I started at the top of the head, making random stripes with the black pencil, making sure the lines were jagged and not perfectly straight. I carried them on down the side of the face and put a lot across the chest.
I glued the ears behind the head and the paws to the body. I then die-cut a 'Coffee Cup Fri-die' from black and white CS. I coloured the white 'coffee liquid' part brown and inlaid it before gluing to the paws. I then glued the whiskers in place, added foam behind the tiger and adhered to the card front, cutting off the extra at the bottom.
All I had to do then was die-cut the 'coffee' (from the same 'Coffee Cup Fri-dies') 3x from black CS, glued them together and then to the card front. The sentiment (from ''Coffee Talk' ) which I thought went so perfectly with a 'tiger', was heat embossed in white on a strip of black CS and popped on foam tape. So much going on with this card there is no need for any sequins AT ALL!
Wow, I don't think I've ever written out such long instructions for a card before. Hopefully it makes sense and gives you an idea on how to create your own critters with these new dies. The possibilities are endless!!
All of the New Release products are available in the CFS Shop RIGHT NOW, so if your off to do some shopping don't forget to use my special code to save yourself 15% on your purchase!!
Thanks so much for stopping by and I'll see you back here tomorrow with another new product and some inspiration for how to use them!!
Take care
Shona
Hi everyone! Have just come back from seeing the movie 'How to Train your Dragon - The Hidden World' with Max. We watched the first two movies last night to refresh our memories and this one was just as good, maybe even better! I definitely recommend it, lots of laughs, cuteness and I nearly cried but managed to keep it together.
Its also incredibly hot, especially for this time of year. Its around 28 degrees celcius and here I thought we were heading into Autumn!! Its wonderful though, especially for people like me who work outside and tomorrow is supposed to be the same, so can't wait.
I'm popping outside shortly to do some pruning but thought I would share this card with you for the CAS Christmas Card March Challenge where their theme is 'Deer'. I don't actually have many 'deer' images which is a shame but I do have this one set that I purchased a few years ago that I still can't get enough of:
This Stamplorations set is 'Yuletide Deer - Dee's Artsy Impressions' and it has the most modern deer images I've ever seen. I highly recommend it if you like triangles and geometric images.
This was super simple to put together. I stamped the deer using Gina K Amalgam black ink on white CS. I coloured it using Altenew Artist Markers and then die-cut with a rectangle die from Couture Creations. To make it pop more against the white card base, I used the next sized rectangle die on some black CS, popped it up on some black foam and used white foam behind the image panel.
For the sentiment I did the same thing. I stamped the wording (from the same Stamplorations set) using Altenew 'Dusk' ink on white CS, cut it out and backed it with black CS. This was popped on black foam, along with some neat and Tangled sequins.
I'm going to link this to the Stamplorations CAS Challenge - March where I didn't use the optional twist.
And I'm also going to link to the Stamplorations - Never-ending Anything Goes Challenge which is for projects using their products.
Right I'm off out into the sunshine!! I'll be seeing you a lot this week as we have a New Release coming out from CAS-ual Fridays Stamps. Its a doozy and I have so many cards to share with you, I can't wait!!
Take care
Shona
Hi everyone!! This TIME OUT challenge is a very special one for us, as its our 5th birthday! I can't believe five years has gone by. It just seems like the other day that I received an email from Sandie (our Illustrious Leader) asking if I would like to join the Design Team. I still have that email and can remember how excited I was as it was my first DT position since I had started card making.
I joined in September 2014 and have loved every minute of it. Sandie and Nonni keep everything so well organised with the blog etc. We have a few changes with the DT every now and then but every single member has been a joy to work with. I'm very fortunate to be a part of this supportive team and they will never get rid of me!!!
We have these words to inspire you for this challenge. You might choose just one word or go with the whole kit and kaboodle for your project. Its totally up to you!!
Our Sponsor for this challenge is Stamplorations and they have been with us since the very beginning. Shery (who is also part of the Time Out DT) is so generous with the team and also with the prizes she offers too. So its very fitting they are Sponsoring this challenge and they are giving a $50 gift voucher to the winner!!!!!
For my card I wanted to keep it CAS (as the first TO challenge I won was with a very CAS card) and use my favourite colour:
I love this colour blue so much. I actually just purchased a pair of Adidas Campus shoes in this colour and white. They are so perfect I've actually owned them for two weeks and haven't worn them yet because I don't want to get them dirty!!
To start off I die-cut the Stamplorations 'Zen Coffee Cup Layering Dies' from white CS. For the patterned die-cut I pressed it on to my Versamark ink pad and then heat embossed with WOW! embossing powder in 'Pastel Glacier Mint'. I wanted it to have a shiny 'ceramic' look, so I did this two more times. It has so much dimension and shine in real life!
I covered the back of the patterned die-cut with Gina K Connect Glue and pressed on to the plain coffee cup die-cut. I then added foam tape to the back of it.
I wanted a very soft background for the cup, so I blended some Distress Oxide Ink in 'Tumbled Glass' in the middle of the card front. To add some interest I flicked on some water and dabbed it away with a tissue. The cup was then placed on top.
The sentiment (from Stamplorations 'Balloons and Banners') was simply stamped in black on a strip of white CS and put on some foam tape. All I had to do then was glue on some light blue and clear sequins from Neat and Tangled.
I'm going to link this to the Stamplorations Cutplorations March Challenge with my coffee cup fitting in perfectly with the coffee in the inspiration photo.
I'm also going to add this to the Stamplorations CAS March Challenge where I didn't use the optional colour twist.
And lastly I will link to the Stamplorations Never-ending Challenge which is for any projects using Stamplorations products.
You have until Wednesday 27th March to link your projects to the TIME OUT Challenge. I really hope you have a chance to join in our birthday celebrations. And thank you so much for all your support over the last five years, without all the entries the challenge wouldn't be what it is today!!
Take care
Shona
