Papertrey Ink Stationery card and envelope

Hello everyone,

I decided I need a chill out day today and wandered into my craft room, thinking I would have a potter, when I saw the date and realised that it is the Papertrey Blog Hop day! I didn't get time to look at the Stamp a Faire videos so I didn't want to miss the hop too. I was so pleased when I looked up the challenge to find that it was to make a simple stationery card with a pop of colour and decorate the envelope too. Just up my street. I used my Silhouette Cameo to cut the base card and mat out of white and Hawaiian Shores card, and stamped it with a flourish and oak leaf from the Mat Stack 1 Collection

I decorated the back of the envelope with the same flourish and added an envelope liner which was stamped all over with the oak leaf and acorn.

For the front of the envelope I added a bow string from the Simon Says Stamps Envelope Sentiments set.

This is such a clean and simple notecard that can be used for sending a note just to say hello or for a formal thank you, and I'm sure I'll be pleased to find it in my stash. Come to think of it a bunch of them would make a lovely gift with a 'Thank you' sentiment stamped on.

I'd like to enter this into

Addicted to Stamps and more - CAS

and

Ladybugs Crafts - CAS

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the hop.

Hugsa
Carol x

Clearly Besotted Thank you card

Hello everyone,

Welcome to another weekend and in England it is our last Bank Holiday Weekend until Christmas:(  We have plans for a busy one, going out tonight, to friends for dinner tomorrow and family round for dinner on Sunday, so I hope Bank Holiday Monday will give us some down time and I'll get chance to play.

Sadly the Online Card Classes Stretch Your Stamps 2 class has finished but I am still playing catch up and this is a card I made for Day 6 of class where the wonderful Laura Bassen showed us how to use outline stamps off the edge so they are cropped on the design. I came up with this card which was a thank you card for the wedding we recently attended.

I cut a Papertrey Ink Mat Stack 1 out of aqua mist card and stamped the orchid from the Clearly Besotted Thinking of You stamp set in Versamark ink, which I then embossed with white embossing powder. I stamped off the mat and tried to get the flower to frame it. I coloured the flowers with Copic markers and stamped and embossed the sentiment on the same panel. I placed the panel onto the larger white mat and then onto a rectangle cut from the Lil'Inker Stitched rectangle dies. The word 'thanks' from Clearly Besotted was die cut several times and stacked together to make a bigger impact on the card. A few pearls on the flowers finished it off.

What I learned:-

Cropping the images gives a very different look to stamps and means that you can use them on smaller projects.

Stacking die cut words gives a really bold effect but is a very sticky business!

Not to be afraid of cutting up sentiments so they will work for a particular card. The 'so much' on the mat was part of a long 'thanks so much' stamp that I cut apart, but I can always stamp them together again next time if I want.

I must put stamps back on the carrier sheet as soon as I have used them or I may have to spend an hour looking for them and then find them stuck to my elbow after I have given it up for lost!

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges

Simply Create Too - monochrome madness

Addicted to Stamping and More - CAS

Sister Act Challenge - anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Hugs
Carol x

Christmas Card for Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge

Hello everyone, and a very warm welcome to Desire Flourie from South Africa who joined us as a new follower this week. Desire is a gifted cardmaker who creates for many different Design Teams, and she also finds time for photography, gardening, hiking and scrapbooking as well as going to work!  She must get her energy from the sunshine and all the chocolate she likes to eat!  Thank you for joining us Desire.

Today is time for another challenge over at the Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge where we are asked to make a card that has 3 of something, 2 of something and 1 image.

We are kindly sponsored this time by

Oak Pond Creations

and 

Eureka Stamps

                  

I came up with this card that has 3 papers, 2 sentiments and 1 image

I have been taking part in the Online Card Classes Stretch Your Stamps 2 class, and Day 3 was all about using alphabet stamps. I pulled out this Monogram Alphabet from My Favorite things and stamped the Be Merry in red down the side of the panel. I then stamped the Christmas Fairy from Woodware Fairy Delight by Francoise Read and coloured her with Copic Markers, adding some polka dots to her dress. I embossed the panel with my favourite Canvas Impression Plate from Papertrey Ink and then covered her wings with Wink of Stella Glitter Brush. I added the strips of paper at the side, then mounted the panel onto the base card with foam tape, but it looked a bit stark, so I went in and covered the panel with a tiny snowflake stamp and some glitter to finish it off.

What I learned

I found it hard to get a good impression with the new alphabet stamps and my beloved PTI Red Poppy Ink. I tried stamping lots of times to get the stamps to take up more ink and I also tried using Versamark as a base but I still wasn't terribly happy with the results. I normally get great impressions with this ink so I don't think the ink was the problem. Perhaps the stamps just need a bit more 'seasoning'.

I need to look beyond the big images on my stamp sets. The tiny stamps that come with lots of stamps sets can be very useful, and this little snowflake stamp made a really big  difference to the end result.

I originally just had the red stripey paper on the edge of the panel but adding the strip of green somehow made the tree and crown pop.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges.

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge - favourite things. Mine were red poppy ink, canvas impression plate and Wink of Stella Glitter.

Sparkles Christmas Challenge - snowflakes

Sweet Stampin - Christmas in August.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.

Hugs
Carol x
 

Papertrey Ink Thank You card

Hello everyone,

I hope you are looking forward to pleasant things this weekend. This morning I am off to see the house that my son and his girlfriend are hoping to buy  - such an exciting thing to buy your first house!

I'm still following along with the Online Card Class when I can, and today I have a card to share from Day 9. Jennifer demonstrated a card using muti-coloured stamping of flower stamps, so I delved into my stash to see what I had. I found a pretty stamp set called The Sweet Life from PTI and came up with this card.

I also used some stamps from WPlus9 Fresh Florals and PTI Harvest Berries. The background stamp is from Obsession Impression - whoops that should be Impression Obsession, and the sentiment is from PTI Wet Paint. I finished it off with one of the PTI Clip Tips dies that I cut down to fit, and stamped and embossed with a stamp from Tiny Tags.

What I learned

Using a background stamp like this is very new to me, but I like the result and will be trying it again. I do think it needs a paler ink though and I did not have one in my stash. I would usually just use 2nd generation ink but this wasn't easy with a large stamp.

You can take scissors and modify die cuts such as the Clip Tip one, and the Craft Police don't jump out to arrest you!

I didn't have enough pink card left to make a mat so I cut a square,from it, cut the square on the diagonal, and tucked it under the left hand corners - a little like photo corners and I like the effect.

Mixing stamp sets and manufacturers is great fun.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges

Pals Paper Arts - use pink, green and black

Milk Coffee Challenge - use stripes.

In the Pink Challenge - Anything Goes.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Carol x

Clearly Besotted card

Hello everyone,

We have been having some wet and windy weather around here, but it is settling down a little now. It gave me some time to get on with class so I'd like to share another card  made for the Online Card Class Stretch Your Stamps 2. I'm cheating a little because I'm still playing catch up but I decided to go straight to Day 7 and catch up with the others as I can. Day 7 was all about using graphic images on a card and as I had the Clearly Besotted Geometric Style 2 stamp set sitting in my basket of 'not yet used stuff', I though it was the ideal time to show it some ink.

I used some Papertrey Ink in Summer Sunrise, Hibiscus Burst and Aqua Mist to colour the diamond shapes and I lined them up in pairs on my block to stamp them in lines. The sentiment is from the PTI Happy For You stamp set and I stamped this in black. I wanted to keep the graphic feel of the card so I layered it onto some black card and set the panel off to the right on some foam tape. Some flower sequins in the same colours softened the look and finished it off.

What I learned

It is really hard to line up small shapes and stamp them in straight lines - even with clear stamps. Don't ask how many attempts ended up in the recycling bin lol!

Layering the sentiment over part of the image is a really nice look.

Adding the black card really framed the panel and gave it a more finished look.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges

Muse card Challenge - I was inspired to try the black frame, have a white card base and keep the image to the right.

Ladybug Crafts Challenge - CAS

Crafting When We Can - Use bright Colours

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Carol x

Masculine birthday card

Hello everyone,

I hope you are having a good weekend. We went to a lovely wedding yesterday and the weather stayed pleasant for the whole day. We were ferried by vintage buses from the church to the reception venue and given snack packs of sparkling wine and pretzels to sustain us on the short journey. It was such fun going on one of the old buses again and passers by were obviously pleased to see them too, because we had lots of people waving to us. I was tempted to sing 'We're all going on a summer holiday' but luckily I hadn't had enough to drink so I restrained myself!

I'm slowly catching up with the Online Card Class 'Stretch your Stamps 2 and for day 2 we were asked to use background stamps again. I chose to try the perfect pearls technique and came up with this card which will be for my DH's birthday next month. I'm not very good at masculine cards but I was pleased with how this one came out and it is so apt for him because he is frequently to be found sitting around reading with a cup of tea, and I always pop a new book in with his present.

I stamped the My Favorite Things Wood Plank Background stamp onto a panel of brown card with Versamark ink and brushed on 4 different colours of Perfect Pearls before buffing it with a clean brush. I cut a hole in the panel with the Papertrey Ink larger Mat Stack 3 die and also cut some rustic cream card with the smaller mat stack die. I stamped the die cut with the leafy stamp from The Mat Stack 3 Collection, and Versamark ink before adding green and copper Perfect Pearls. I added one of  the images from All Booked Up which also had the Perfect Pearls treatment and I cut it with a circle punch and popped it on with foam tape to add a little dimension. A sentiment from the same set finished it off. I love the glow that the copper and green Perfect Pearls give - it really adds to the cosy image and will be perfect for his birthday that comes at the beginning of autumn.

What I learned

I tiny amount of Perfect Pearls goes a long way.

After applying  the Perfect Pearls it is good to buff it with a clean brush to remove the excess powder and burnish on the shine.

Perfect Pearls look great on dark card, but I was surprised by how lovely they look on the cream panel.

I really need to step out of my comfort zone and try some more masculine cards.

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:-

Stamplorations - use stamps and die cut.

Kitty Bee Challenges - masculine birthday.

Stamping Royalty - use a background stamp.

Simon Says Stamps Monday Challenge - in the family for my husband


Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Carol x

Papertrey Ink birthday card

Hello everyone,

I hope you are enjoying your week and if you are taking the latest Online Card Classes 'Stretch your stamps 2' class that you are being a better student than me.I always start these classes with good intentions of following class each day and getting my homework done quickly, but alas, life always has other ideas and I fall behind. These classes are great for people like me, as you can catch up at any time you want because you have access to them for ever. Well I managed to complete Day 1 which was all about using background stamps and I came up with this card

The background was created by stamping and embossing the background stamp in white ink and then colouring the image in a variety of colours. I used pan pastels for this because they blend so beautifully. I cut a strip of the background and matted it onto black card before die cutting the Papertrey 'Birthday' die and raising it on the card with some clear foam tape. I die cut the little gift ribbon from some more of the background paper and covered it in glossy accents to add some shine.

What I learned

I really need to look more carefully at my background stamps. I have a tendency to think they are just for making big background panels, but I can use them in smaller pieces to add more variety.

Pan pastels blend beautifully but some colours sink into white embossing and colour the lines whilst other colours don't.

Versafine Onyx Black in gives fabulous crisp results for sentiment stamps.

I'd like to enter this into the

Little Red Wagon Challenge - use wet or dry embossing

The Stamping Royalty Challenge - use a stamped background

The Shabby Tea Room Challenge - Rainbows and Raindrops

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Carol x

Bugaboo Christmas Card

Hello everyone and specially warm welcome to Sharon who is a gifted Scrapbook artist and is on several Design Teams. Her blog is full of wonderful photographs of  her family and friends, and she comes up with fabulous layouts to showcase them.

Thank you for all your well wishes, - they must have worked because I'm feeling so much better now, and we had a really nice weekend. We had a lovely family get together and went to see an outdoor multi media First World War Commemoration event called 'Honour' at Media City in Salford. This was so moving, and included actors, poetry, dancers and a 350 voice choir who sang a specially commissioned piece of music. It started at 10pm and was so atmospheric with the lighting effects after dark. I have learned so much about the First World War that I didn't know over the past 6 months, and when the finale included pictures of thousands of falling poppy leaves, I can tell you that I wasn't the only one blubbing. Its so sad that all those young men going off to war in August had been persuaded that they would be home again by Christmas!

On a lighter note, it is time for another challenge over at Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge

and this time you are asked to make a card using non traditional colours. Our sponsors this time are 

                                           

                                                                 Limited Runs Stamps

                                                                             and 

                                                 

                                                                      Bugaboo Stamps

I used a Bugaboo stamp and sentiment and came up with this card

I love the Bugaboo Stella, with her miserable face and tart way of expressing herself! I coloured the image, cut it with the Tipped Tops Dies by Papertrey Ink and added some glitter to make her a little bit festive! I used a tiny star stamp to to give a background paper effect in two shades of ink and called it done.

Why not pop over to the HJCC blog to see what my lovely Teamies have for you.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Silhouette Cameo Christmas Card

Hello everyone,

It's Friday, and the start of another weekend, so I hope you have something fun planned. We are having a family get together tomorrow night and I'm looking forward to that, but I'm hoping to get some crafty time in too and also try to get round to see what you've all been up to while I have been taking a rest.

I'm a bit sad today because this is my last post for Silhouette Challenges DT, but I have really enjoyed my time with them and would like to thank Nana for her kindness and superb organisation of the challenges. I learned so much about my Cameo and feel tons more confident with using it. I mean who would have thought that I would ever try glass etching???? So without more ado

It's the time for another challenge over at

Ch# 16 "Create a Shadow using the Offset Feature"

Begins: Friday, August 1

Ends: Sunday, August 31

A blog dedicated to the Silhouette Cutting Machines.

You MUST use a Silhouette somehow in your project.

Sponsor this month is:

My Crafting Channel

Silhouette 25-Pack Chipboard

I decided to make another Christmas card and as this challenge was to use the offset feature of the Cameo, I took a wreath image from the store, offset it and cut that to be a physical shadow or mat for the wreath. I cut the shadow in white so it would highlight the wreath, and then die cut lots of little hearts rather than using berries.

I also used a door image from the store to hang the wreath on. I stamped and embossed the word 'Be' on the lower door panel and then added a PTI die cut of the word 'merry'.

I used 2 different bows cut from images from the store and then layered them up, before painting some glossy accents onto it, and the hearts to add a little shine. It looked a little stark somehow, when I had finished, so I added a couple of die cut banner tails to the top of the wreath which gave the card a more finished look. 

Head in over to see what the DT has created for you inspiration and link up today.

Click HERE

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend.

Hugs
Carol x