A Christmas Song

Good morning!  I hope that you're all organised for the Christmas season - unlike me!  I've still got cards to make and write, a tree to put up etc.  I don't know where this year has gone.

I'm stopping by to let you know that we have a new challenge over at Christmas at Sweet Stampin'.  We're being sponsored by All Dressed Up who have digis to give away to our lucky winner.  The challenge theme is a nice, easy one too - Singing or Inspired by a (Christmas) Song.

The lovely Dressies kindly let the CaSSettes have some digis to play with and here's what I made with mine:

I picked out some card scraps to match the Magnolia DP and coloured the sweet image with my Copics.  I've added plenty of Glamour Dust and Rock Candy glitter for some Christmas sparkle.

I hope that you can find some time to join in the fun with us this month.  If you feel like you're out of Christmas card inspiration, do check out what my lovely teamies have made here - their lovely work is sure to give your mojo a kick start!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Christmas Anything Goes

Hello crafty friends.  Yet another month has gone by and we're fast approaching the festive season. Don't panic about that list of cards waiting to be made - we have a new challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin' which we  hope will inspire you to get out those crafty Christmas supplies!

Our theme this month is Anything Goes, but do bear in mind that as a Christmas challenge, your make (card, layout, altered design, whatever) does need to be a Christmas project.

I decided to show a little love to a much neglected Tilda image

I'd almost forgotten how much I love colouring these older Magnolia images.  Just Copics and glitter, nothing fancy but soooo enjoyable!

I do hope you can join us at CaSS this month.  Check out the lovely inspiration projects the CaSSettes have made - you'll find the DT makes and all of the competition details here.

Take care and hopefully I'll be able to post something new soon.

Hugs


Tracey xx

Glitz and Sparkle

I'm counting the days to the October holiday as I'm at the point in the term when all I want to do is lie down in a darkened room.  However, I managed to get my act together sufficiently to be able to make my DT card for our latest challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin' - our theme is Glitz and Sparkle.

I've neglected my Lili of the Valley stamps for too long so I felt it was only right and proper to bring out this little beauty - I really do love the older stamps and never tire of colouring these images.  I added some  Magnolia paper behind the image, cutting each of the layers with a Go Kreate die.  I used both bright white and soft white glitter on the image for my sparkle and created some baubles for the tree with a red glitter pen.  I don't know whether it really shows up in the photo, but I put some clear Wink of Stella on her skirt - it looks so pretty irl!

Hope you can get your glitter out and join us at CaSS this month!  You can check out the challenge details and the DT makes right here.

Have a fabulous week!

Tracey xx

Use a (Christmas) die cut

Hello, it's me, back again after weeks of not being able to post (or even make) anything.  However, as it's time for a new challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin', I thought I'd better get my act together and add another card to the Christmas box.

Our theme is to use a die cut and as we're a Christmas challenge it gives me the perfect opportunity to wheel out these lovely dies from Simon Says Stamp:

I cut the houses and trees from white Bazzill cardstock and used Mama Elephant stitched landscape dies to create the hills.  I used my Simon Says Stamp snow stencil and Ranger embossing paste (yes, I know, AGAIN!) to create the background.  I cut the aperture in the front of the card base with a Lil' Inkers stitched circle die.

Our sponsor this months is

 who are giving away sticky goodies to our lucky winner.  I'm a big fan of their adhesive tape  and believe me, if you want something stuck, Stix2 is the stuff you need!

I hope you can play along with us this month.  If you're stuck for inspiration do check out the lovely  projects the CaSSettes have made here.

Have a great day.

Tracey xx

Snow People

It's been ages since I last posted anything and I'm certainly missing crafting.  Hopefully things will get back on track here before too long but in the meantime I need to let you know that we have a new challenge starting at Christmas at Sweet Stampin' today.

Our theme is Snow People and believe me, here in Scotland it's not too far of a stretch to be thinking of winter snow.  It's freezing!

We're being sponsored by Robyn's Fetish who are giving away digis to one lucky winner.

Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More is proud to sponsor this challenge.

Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More, a division of I Did It Creations, was created and is

owned by Robyn Weinrib. Robyn offers a wonderful variety of digital stamps and digital papers, designed to meet the needs of all digital paper crafting addicts for every occasion.

Robyn’s Fetish Digital Stamps And More is happy to award 3 digital stamps of the winner’s choice to the winner of this challenge.

 This Hot Cocoa Snowman image was fun to colour and can be found here.

The CaSSettes have made some fabulous creations to inspire you so why not grab a cuppa and check them out.

Hope you can join in with us this month.

Hugs

Tracey xx

Casing Sandy Allnock

Brace yourselves - this is photo heavy!

There hasn't been much time for crafting this year - more on that later - but watching this Sandy Allnock video inspired me to get out the Copics and work on my colouring.  I took some photos of the colouring process but here's a card I made using one of the completed images:

It's not a patch on Sandy's, which you can see on her blog post here, but it was so relaxing to colour when I had 5 minutes without feeling under pressure to finish the thing!  Looking at it now I wish I'd blended out some of the darkest edges a bit more although in real life they don't look quite so pronounced.

Stamping in a colour close to your chosen Copic shades makes a big difference, as you'll see when you look at the red and purple samples.  I tried a few colour combinations so I still have some colour work on the go.

This is the pink-red combination - you can see where I've been playing about with different colours before I settled on RV25, RV29 and R39.

I still working on the red-orange combo, having eventually opted for R24, R29 and R89 although I'd like to try a more orange base using R08.  Next time I'll use second generation stamping so that the red ink doesn't show through the colouring so much.

Here's the yellow version using Y13, 15, 17, 19 and some 35.  As you can see from my notes, the jury is out on whether Y17 has too much orange in it!

Now for the purples.  I struggled to find a true purple combination as so many of the Copics seem too pink or too blue or grey.  Quite a few of the stamped images went in the bin as I tried the different purple/violet combinations, which is why there aren't any colouring notes on this sample.  In the end I went with V17, V09 and V99.  I used black for the stamping on this one as I don't have a Copic friendly purple ink.

So that's what I've been up to crafting-wise over the last few months (yes, months!).  I'm not going to be able to post very much for the next few weeks as life has served up yet another mini-crisis and I have my parents moving in with us for a while.  Mostly I think I'm pretty lucky to have the life I have, but over this past 12 months it's been one thing after another.  Thank goodness for the BW and my lovely pals for keeping me going :)

The Boy Wonder and I are heading off to Italy next week for a much-needed holiday.  Looking forward to soaking up the culture, seeing some sunshine and eating lots!

Hugs to you all

Tracey xx

CaSS Anything (Christmassy) Goes

It's time for another challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin' and we have a nice and easy theme for you this month: Anything Goes at Christmas.

We are being sponsored this month by Ppinky Dolls Art  who have kindly given the CaSSettes digi images to play with.  Here's my DT make

I printed the image out in grey-scale (printer problems mean that it's either that or green ink, for some strange reason!) and the end result is an attempt at no-line colouring.  I used some much neglected LotV paper and WOC flowers and added Picket Fence Stickles for some sparkle.  The image is called Winter Walk and can be found here https://www.etsy.com/listing/210355593/instant-download-digital-digi-stampsby?ref=shop_home_listings 

Ppinky Dolls Art are letting our winner  choose 3 digi images from their Etsy store, so I hope you can play along with us this month.  Do take a look at the CaSSettes' inspiration makes over on the challenge blog.

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Tracey xx

Warm Winter Clothing - Seriously!

For those of you in the UK who have been enjoying the warm and sunny weather, I apologise for what might seem an odd theme, but it is for the latest challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin'!

We're being sponsored by All Dressed Up who are giving away digis to our lucky winner.  They were also kind enough to give some lovely images to the CaSSettes for their DT makes.  I went with this one which is called Time for Walkies:

I used a combination of Magnolia papers for my background and coloured my image with Copis.  Sparkle in the form of sequins, Stickles and some Wink of Stella was liberally applied along with some bobbly ribbon.

I hope you can play along with us at CaSS this month.

Hugs

Tracey xx

Hello, it's me...

I finally managed to make something for the first time in ages so I thought I'd do a quick post to let you know that although the blog is rather quiet, I'm still here.  Hopefully in the summer holidays I'll be able to get back to posting a bit more regularly.

I hadn't coloured any hAnglar & StAnglar images for quite a while so I decided to remedy that.  I coloured the image with Copics and die cut it with a stitched rectangle die.  I was going to use a plain card base but remembered a Jennifer McGuire video where she had created tone on tone backgrounds using Versamark ink.  It just adds a bit of interest and I confess I got hooked - I now have a number of ready-made tone on tone card bases ready to go!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Winter Fun at CaSS

It's time for a new challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin' and our theme this month is Winter Fun.

We're thrilled to be sponsored by Little Miss Muffet  who kindly gave the CaSSettes some digi images to play with.  I went for Polka Dot Pals Noeleen, which you can find here.

I printed out the image and coloured her with Copics.  Not sure why I went with lime green but, hey, it's good to try something new.  I used my Simon Says Stamp Falling Snow stencil to add some snow in the form of texture paste and I used Glamour Dust to create an icy patch for the little girl to skate on.

Little Miss Muffet Stamps will be providing the following prize:


LMMS will award one $6.00 Gift Certificate for the winner of this challenge. The Gift Certificate can be used towards anything in the LMMS Store, including Digital Stamps, Rubber Stamps and/or Metal Dies.

The CaSSettes have used a variety of images so check out the CaSS challenge blog for some LMMS inspiration.  Hope you can play along with us this month!

Have a lovely day.

Tracey x

Winter Animals at CaSS

It's time for another challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin' and this month it's all about animals - as it's a Christmas challenge, we're looking for a wintry/festive take on the animal theme.

Here's my fairly CAS interpretation using stamps which have barely seen the light of day until now:

We're being sponsored by All Dressed Up who are giving digis away to our lucky winner.  Do hop over to the challenge blog and check out the lovely designs the fabulous CaSSettes have made to inspire you, although if the weather where you are is anything like the weather here, it won't be too much of a stretch to imagine yourself in the middle of winter!

Hugs

Tracy xx

Happy Easter

I made this card ages ago and had intended to make a few more but events at work have meant that I had to put crafting on hold for  a while.

I used a variety of die cuts - quite unusual for me that there's not a stamp or a sequin in sight - and chose soft blue and white Bazzill card as I wanted a subtle/serene/peaceful look.

Hopefully now that the school inspection is over (a horrible experience thanks to the ASN "specialist" who had members of my team in tears - why do these people think it's OK to do that?), I'll have a bit more time to get crafty again.  I've really missed it!

I've booked our summer holiday - the Boy Wonder and I are heading off to Verona in July and I'm so excited.  We're hoping to get a day out at Lake Garda and are planning to get the train to Venice, too, so we'll be busy soaking up the culture and stuffing our faces with delicious food - not to mention the occasional glass of vino for me!

My heart goes out this Easter to the families of those who have lost their lives in Belgium this week. I wouldn't normally use my blog to voice my opinions on current affairs but it breaks my heart when innocent people going about their everyday lives have to suffer because of a total stranger's misplaced hatred.   I asked Gregor if he still wanted to go abroad this summer and his response was that he wasn't going to let anyone make him afraid to live his life.  Although I've spent part of this afternoon grumbling at him because I managed to hoover up his school tie (don't ask), my boy makes me proud.
Wishing you all a happy and peaceful Easter

Tracey xx

Cute Christmas

Hellooooo!  First of all, apologies for my lack of posts.  We're having a full school inspection this month, right in the middle of practical exams and final assessments.  By the Easter holidays you'll no doubt find me lying in a darkened room in a pool of gin...

Anyhoo, I'm here today to let you know that we have a new challenge starting over at Christmas at Sweet Stampin'.  The theme this month is Cute Christmas and for my DT card I used a CC Designs stamp that I "had" to have at the time and then didn't use...

I coloured the image with Copics and added some pearls for berries.  The sentiment is from a Lili of the Valley set and is a go-to when it comes to Christmas cards.

I hope you can play along with us this month.  You'll find all the details, plus the fabulous inspiration projects created by my talented teamies, right here.

Have a great day!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Mothers Day

As it's Mothers Day in the UK next weekend we thought it would be a good theme for this week's challenge at Sweet Stampin'.  I'm lucky enough to have a mum, a mum in law and a grandmother (who will be 95 in a couple of months!) and so have 3 cards to make.  MIL and Nan both like bold designs (my mum is more into pastels and/or cute images) and it's the bold version that I'm sharing as my DT card today.

I used a Wplus9 and Simon Says Stamp collaboration set to stamp the design, using white pigment ink to tone down some of the really bright purples.  The die cut sentiment is actually a mid-tone purple although it looks black here; it was cut with an Altenew die.  The little sentiment is from Lawn Fawn and I've added lilac and clear sequins for a bit of bling - both of the recipients are known to love a bit of sparkle!

Sadly, this is my last post for Sweet Stampin', although I'm staying on the Christmas at Sweet Stampin' monthly challenge DT.  It's been a very hard decision to make, but some of you will know that work has been horrendous for a number of  months and isn't set to get any easier in the short term.  I'm also conscious of the Boy Wonder only having another 18 months at home before he heads off to college or uni and I need to make the most of my time with him.

I've loved being part of Sweet Stampin' over the last 5 years and have made some friends for life there.  I wish all of my teamies, past and present, the very best of everything and will continue to check in on their blogs as often as I can.

Have a lovely weekend.

Tracey xx

CAS at Sweet Stampin'

Hello!  It's time for a new challenge at Sweet Stampin' and our theme this week is Clean and Simple.

As I've mentioned previously, unusually for me I've made a couple of heart-themed cards this year. Here's the second one, which I made for our CAS challenge:

The hearts image was made with a older Magnolia stamp; I coloured it with Copics and added some clear Wink of Stella for a bit of subtle sparkle.  Apart from this and the red cardstock mat, there's just lots of white space with room for a sentiment if I need to add one later.

I do hope you can play along with us this week.  Our sponsor is Bunny Zoe who has a voucher towards a wee bit of crafty shopping. Sadly Bunny Zoe will be closing soon but there's a store-wide 30% discount at the moment, with bargains galore to be had.

The Sweeties have made some fabulously CAS designs to inspire you, so why not pop over to take a look?

Have a lovely weekend!

Hugs

Tracey xx

Snowflakes!

No snow here so far this winter, but that's mostly because we've had almost biblical amounts of rain for weeks now.  But I'm not actually here to tell you about the weather... I'm popping in to let you know the theme of our latest challenge at Christmas at Sweet Stampin'.

Yes, we have a snowy theme this month at CaSS.  I've gone for a more modern look for my DT card

I love that red! It's Simon Says Stamp cardstock and it's just lovely to work with!  I used SSS stamps as well, stamping with Versamark and embossing with Hero Arts white embossing powder.  The die cut panels were made with  Papertrey Ink dies and they leave a perfectly sized opening for the LotV sentiment.

I hope you can play along with us at CaSS this month.  Our fabulous CaSSette, Gail, is very kindly sponsoring us this month with a goodie bag for our winner.  Do check out Gail's blog here - she's one very talented (and very lovely) teamie!  Anyone who knows Gail will be aware of the thought and care she puts into her comments, which are always guaranteed to encourage and motivate.

Hope you are all having a great week and I'll catch up with you at the weekend.

Hugs

Tracey xx

xxx Valentines xxx

Helloooo!  I'm scheduling this post in case storm Gertrude plays havoc with our little town again. There are still businesses which haven't been able to reopen since the last flood and as we left school tonight the Search and Rescue pickup truck was turning into the car park by the river... not a good sign :o(  

Anyway, we have a new challenge starting today at Sweet Stampin' and it's all about Valentine's Day. No sooner is Christmas done and dusted and we have another excuse to make cards!  I'm not one for sending Valentines really, but I've made a couple this year that will probably be transformed into Thank You cards.  This is one of them

So, where's the stamping?  The pattern behind the die cut hearts is courtesy of a Hero Arts stamp which I inked with different colours of pigment ink.

The Sweeties have made some lovely inspiration projects so why not pop over to Sweet Stampin' to take a look.  We're being sponsored by Crafty Ribbons, so there's lovely prize to play for!

Stay cosy and safe and have a lovely weekend.

Hugs

Tracey xx

Things with Wings

There's a new challenge starting over at Sweet Stampin' today!  Our theme is Things with Wings and as we're being sponsored by Crafts and Me, I thought I'd use one of the digis that happened to "fall" into my basket a wee while ago!

I really need to practise my colouring of hair, so this image gave me and the Copics a good workout! I used papers from Basic Grey and MME, adding a couple of doilies under the image for some contrast.  I even added some much neglected flowers!

I do hope you'll join in the fun at Sweet Stampin' this week.  The Team Abi Sweeties have some fabulous inspiration projects to give your mojo a jump start, so why not take a peek here?

Hope you're managing to keep warm if you're on this side of the globe - it's freezing here!

Have a lovely weekend.

Tracey xx

Ribbons and Bows

Good morning!  I'm popping by to let you know that the first challenge of the new year for Christmas at Sweet Stampin' starts today!  You know it's never too early to start on those festive cards (a fine example of "Do as I say, not as I do"!).

We're being sponsored this month by Robyn's Fetish who very kindly provided the CaSSettes with some gorgeous digis, perfect for this month's theme of Bows.  Here's what I made

I so enjoyed making this card!  I printed out the image several times so that I could cut up and layer some of elements of the bow.  You can't really see the dimension too clearly in the photo, but irl the 3D effect is lovely.  I coloured the image with Copics, colouring and cutting out multiple copies of the knot of the bow and the longer tail of the ribbon, placing the knot as the top layer.  The berries were covered with Glossy Accents for some shine but apart from that, no other embellishment was required!

I do hope you can play along with us this month.  Why not hop over to the blog and check out the lovely creations (and RF digis) that my teamies have made?  

Hugs

Tracey xx

Something New

Happy New Year!  I hope that you have all had a happy, restful Christmas and New Year.  Our little town was hit by the floods on Wednesday, which has been a real blow to the small privately owned shops which struggle to stay in business at the best of times.  Here's hoping that 2016 brings better luck to all those who have been affected by the terrible weather conditions.

We have a new challenge at Sweet Stampin' today and as it's the start of a new year, we have a "New" theme - you can either use new stash or create something to celebrate a new event.

I used my new stash and yes, it's a Christmas card!  I was desperate to get my hands on this MFT set when it was released but in spite of my best intentions, didn't get the opportunity to ink it up.  So, I'm making up for it now and at least I'm already ahead with my Christmas card list for 2016 :o)

We're giving away a Sweet Stampin' Goodie Bag to our randomly chosen winner, so grab a cuppa and check out the Sweeties' inspiration projects here.

Have a great weekend!

Tracey xx