PLAIN AND SIMPLE

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a Happy Friday!!!  Gosh wasn't that a quick week!!  I am sure they lasted much much longer than this in the past.  They definitely did when I "went out to work" !!!

Today's card was made early doors for the Moving Along With The Times Challenge where the theme is "Black and White Only".

My offering is plain and simple (a bit like me really) .. .. but I love it!  Made early, but no chance to photograph and post until now.

Not everyone's favourite colour combo .. .. in fact I have some customers who never want "any" black on their cards .. .. but personally I love it!!  For me a touch of black makes a card "pop".

So here we go

This used:

Image:  Woodware Clear Stamps Set "JGS300" Going to Seed (love this stamp sooooo much!)

Sentiment:  Clear Sentiment set from Digistamp Boutique (sadly no longer trading boo hoo!!!)

Backing Papers:  Craft Sensations "Mix and Match Basics"

Unbranded stitched rectangle die from Ebay

White Embossing Powder

Before I go I would like to say thank you for all your lovely comments on my previous post.  It was interesting to read your opinions on the two types of distress inks .. .. and how some of you favour the old distress inks to the oxides.  Just shows how people's creativity is influenced differently, and how we all feel comfortable using different things!  After all if we aren't liking what we are creating with then we will never have a finished project we a feel good about will we?  It is really disappointing though if we have invested our hard earned cash into something only to find we "just don't like it or get on with it".

I think for me one of the biggest disappointments comes when you buy a paper stack because you have seen papers in it that you really really love .. .. but to have those you have to accept that there are some pretty ugly ones in there too that you just know you are going to be stuck with (but can't throw away because that is wasteful).  Perhaps I need to force myself to use them "somehow".

Anyway after that ramble I will love and leave you.

Have a lovely weekend everyone .. .. I hope you find some crafty time for yourself at some stage.

DISTRESS VERSUS OXIDES

Hi Everyone

Happy Wednesday . . . . . whatever you might be doing!  If the predictions were correct I would take a guess that it is raining!!

I am here with a scheduled post today to share a couple of cards I made for a Masterclass Commission for Papercraft Inspirations.

The commission was to compare the original distress inks with the newer distress oxides and alongside all of the writing these are the cards I had fun creating.

The first one made with the original distress inks and the second using the distrress oxides.

The magazine is on the shelves already and alongside it is a free kit for making rosettes.  I am quite looking forward to having a play with that little kit.  

My normal scoreboard doesn't have score lines at regular intervals unfortunately which makes using it for rosettes really awkward .. .. so this one should be much more user friendly.  I will let you know!

As you read this I will no-doubt be tying wedding ribbons and printing for England!  

Things are hotting up on the wedding front with invitations to do for those August/September weddings .. .. save the dates for the spring weddings next year .. .. and thank you cards for weddings that have already happened this year!  

Need to get on with all of those, and not look at the new toys I want to play with that are sitting on my craft desk  LOL!!!

Catch you again soon.

TEENY, TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday, I hope you all had a lovely bank holiday weekend.

Not quite the weather we enjoyed over the Easter bank holiday, but never mind .. .. it was brightened by Harry and Megan's baby arriving .. .. and hubby's football team making it through to the playoffs!!

I had quite a productive time on the crafting front which was nice, and come Sunday I installed myself downstairs with Mr Heart to start prepping for two wedding orders.  

Shock horror!!  I even caught up with all the dreaded washing and ironing.  

So this morning, before I plunged into those weddings I tidied up my craft pod "just a little" and created today's little "teeny, tiny creation" .. .. which to anyone new to my blog is a whole 3.5 inches square.

I designed it to fit into the CAS Stencil Challenge for May where the theme is to stencil over a coloured background.  Every month I intend to join in this challenge (along with its three sister challenges) but time always seems to run out before I get there.  Must try harder.

Anyway, I have at least made the stencil challenge and here is my offering:

This used:

Bleeding Tissue offcuts to produce the background (I squirrel away the tiniest of pieces LOL!!)
Stencil:  Free on the front of a magazine
VersaMark Embossing Ink (pressed through the stencil)
Gold Embossing Powder
Sentiment:  Digital Download LOTV Block Sentiments - coloured with a ProMarker
X-Cut Heart Dies
Flower Punch
Nail Head
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is me for today.

Coffee break over, along with a quick post and linking session .. .. ..  now back to the wedding work.

NUMBER 25

Hi Everyone

I hope you have had a lovely Sunday.

I have been chipping away at wedding stationery samples for prospective new "happy couples" today and once finished I turned my hand to this week's Christmas make using a beautiful die I was very fortunate to win from Pixie's Snippets Playground .. .. .. and my fingers have been itching to play with it since it fell through my letterbox.

This evening I had chance to free the die from it's package and I used it to make this little card.  Not a teeny tiny one but not much bigger .. .. this measures 8.5 x 12cm.

This used:

Die:  My Favorite Things "MFT-1429" Christmas Tree Window

Backing papers :  From my Christmas paper snippet box

Sentiment:  Computer generated

Sequins

Acetate

Dimension Tape

I am taking my creation over to Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge to share what I have done with my wonderful prize.  Thank you so much Di.  I am going to enjoy using this die very very much.

So that is Christmas card number 25 into the box.  Woo hoo!

SOCIAL BUTTERFLY

Hi Everyone

Happy Saturday!!!  

I hope your week has been a good one and that you have something nice planned for the weekend.

Lots of birthday cards needed here this month so I had a quick search for a challenge to give me inspiration .. .. .. I settled on Color Throwdown Challenge #541 and teamed it up with sketch number Twenty Five from my sketch library.

Then as I used a beautiful Penny Black butterfly image I am also entering the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.   The theme as always is "anything goes - as long as it features Penny Black" and there is an optional theme of "make your own background" .. .. but I didn't do that.  Perhaps next time if I get to play again.

So with most of the decisions already made, all that was left was for me to actually create something .. .. and this is what I came up with:

This used:

Image:  Penny Black Clear Stamp Set "30-116" Social Butterfly
Sentiment:  Lili of the Valley Clear Stamp Set "Sentiment Tags"
Backing Papers:  Craft Sensations "Sweet Candy"
Die-namics Die Set:  Blueprints 14
Brilliance Pigment Ink "Moonlight White"
Crystal Glamour Dust
Flat Backed Pearls
Ribbon
My Trusting Sewing Machine

These are the colours I was challenged to work with: 

Pale Pink  -  Brown  -  Black  -  White

and as my eyes were drawn to the spotted curtains in the inspiration picture I thought my spotted social butterfly was quite fitting.

This is the sketch I picked to work with .. .. .. I turned it clockwise 90 degrees.  After all every sketch has four ways of being used.

If you would like to use any of my sketches, you are more than welcome to do so .. .. you will find them on the tab at the top of the blog.

Enjoy the rest of the day (and the bank holiday if you are in the UK).  

I will catch you again tomorrow with this week's Christmas creation.

TEENY, TINY TUESDAY

Hi Everyone

Happy Tuesday!

The last day of yet another month!!  I have a feeling that 2019 is going to be a super quick year!!

I am at home all day today hopefully putting together wedding samples for sparkly new happy couples who have  recently appeared on the scene.  That is if the deliveries I have been promised for today arrive! 

I guess the good side of doing weddings is your work is seen by lots of people with the potential that some of them may also be on the verge of planning their own wedding.  Nearly all of the couples I have gained so far this year have been to weddings that I have  previously done the stationery for.  Some as long as 3 or 4 years ago!!!

So before the day was swallowed up by wedding work I indulged myself in a little play session and made one of my teeny, tiny 3.5" creations .. .. tailoring it to fit into the Penny Black Saturday Challenge where the theme for the remaining few days of the challenge is "anything goes" with the option of also including "fresh spring colours".

I looked out of my kitchen window and these are some of the colours I could see .. .. but sadly I couldn't actually see any heart shaped topiary happening anywhere LOL!!

This used:

Image:  Penny Black "2551H" Sending Love!
Sentiment  My Favourite Things "LJD-23 Birthday Greetings"
Backing Papers:  Simply Creative "Floral Lace" Purple
ProMarkers
Gossy Accents
Flat Backed Pearls
My Trusty Sewing Machine

and that is it!

Hopefully catch you again soon.

NUMBER 24

Hi Everyone

I hope you have had a good weekend.

Definitely not the glorious weather we had last week .. .. .. but at least the gardens received some of the rain they are needing. 

Here with my Christmas make for this week.  Just the one this time as there is a lot happening here at the moment and even one card was a bit of a stretch .. .. hence the late night posting!!

This used:

Image:  Lili of the Valley Digital Image"Skating Bunny"

Sentiment:  Computer Generated

Backing Papers:  Free with a magazine "ages and ages ago"

ProMarkers

White Gel Pen

Glamour Dust

Snowflakes from my crammed full snowflake box

Metallic Ribbon

Creative Expressions Aqua Dazzler Circle Embellishment

My Trusty Sewing Machine

My card is for sharing with a couple of challenges:

The Christmas Kickstart Challenge .. .. where the theme this fortnight is "Christmas Bunnies"

and

The Rudolph Days Challenge for April .. .. .. where anything goes as long as it is Christmas

This now brings my Christmas card tally to 24!  Woo hoo!!!  Building up nicely!

Catch you again soon.

MASKING FLUID RE-VISITED

Hi Everyone

Hope you all had a fabulous Easter .. .. .. wasn't the weather just fabulous? 

I have never known a bank holiday like it!  Wall to wall sunshine. 

Mr Heart has returned to work today and I have had my nose to the grindstone trying to get back on top of the crafty "must do list".

You may remember my first attempt at using my bottle of masking fluid here .. .. .. where I ended up creating a Christmas card .. .. which was bordering on being more of a "blizzard" rather than a snow flurry!  LOL!!

Well I was super excited to be asked by a magazine I hadn't worked for before .. .. Cardmaking and Papercraft .. .. to create some cards for them showcasing the masking fluid technique.  I used the fluid in different ways though .. .. not a blizzard in sight!! 

The magazine is now on the shelves so I am sharing just a couple of my creations  .. .. gosh I have been cramming so much in that it seems like a lifetime ago that I created these and they make me want to get that bottle open and have another play:

This card used the fluid to mask off stamped butterflies and the tops of some of the flowers
prior to adding the inky background.  The butterflies were coloured last.

For this card the masking fluid was used through a stencil to
create the chevron background prior to painting on inks.

So that is me for today .. .. .. you must at least be happy to not be seeing a Christmas card as that seems to be all that has been appearing on my blog recently LOL!!

Have a good week everyone!

TEENY TINY CHRISTMAS

Hi Everyone

I hope you have all had a good day .. .. I am just flying in quickly with this week's Christmas make .. .. or should I say makes .. .. some little teeny tiny ones!

I must admit my teeny tiny makes are high up the list of being my favourite ones to make, and being just 3.5 inches square they are just perfect for using up some of my huge stocks of snippets.

So here we go .. ..

These used:

Image:  Whipper Snapper "BY802" Let it Snow Snowmen (just part of the image was used)
Sentiment:  Penny Black "3535F" Snowflakes
Distress Inks:  Tumbled Glass, Iced Spruce and Faded Jeans
ProMarkers
White Embossing Powder
Diamond Stickles
Waste Dots from a Silver Peel Off Sheet

I am taking my little makes over to "Pixie's Snippets Playground" where we are encouraged to use up our "leftovers" and also to the "Christmas Kickstart Challenge #8" where the theme this fortnight is "Frosty and his friends".  Not sure which of my snowmen is Frosty .. .. but he certainly has lots of friends!!

So that is me for today with a total number of 23 Christmas cards in my box now!  Woo hoo!!  At this rate I might be looking at a much less stressful run up to the big day this year. What a lovely thought.  It does encourage me to keep going with them that's for sure.

Take care everyone and I will catch you again soon.

CHRISTMAS FORFEIT

Hi Everyone

I hope you are all well and your week has got off to a good start.

All super busy here .. .. which seems to be a regular thing at the moment.  Invitations sitting waiting for pick up and other work packaged up and ready for the postman tomorrow.

Something that isn't for the post yet though are these little creations that I have been working on in little stages all week  .. .. my forfeit for not managing to keep up with my weekly Christmas card new years resolution.

This little influx means I am actually a bit ahead of the game now:

These used:

Sizzix Alterations Stamp and Die Set "65937" Holiday Joy"

Sentiment  "Docrafts" Urban Stamps " Christmas in the Country Tags

Backing Paper: Pink Petticoat

Tiny Snowflakes from my snowflake box

My Trust Sewing Machine

Sparkly Gems

and that is it.

Flying over very quickly now to share these with the Christmas Kickstart Challenge where they are looking to see Christmas dies used on your work .. .. .. and I need to get there before the challenge closes .. .. which will be very, very soon!!  Eeeekk!!  Poor show when you have the work done but no time to photograph it and post it to your blog.  

So my forfeit has given my Christmas box a nice little treat and my total is now up to nineteen. Woo hoo!

Catch you again soon .. .. I hope .. .. as that will mean things are calming down a little.  But for now the ironing board is calling!  Oh I know how to "live it up" on a Monday evening.

Thank you for all your lovely comments regarding my Mum on my previous post.  You are all  so very kind!