Anything Christmas Goes!

 It's exam time at school and the quarter finals of Strictly take place tonight but I feel like the usual signs of the Christmas countdown have eluded me this year.  I really need to get a move on with my cards and shopping if I'm going to get everything done in time.

We're winding up our crafty year at Sweet Stampin' with the theme of Anything Goes at Christmas, so as long as there is stamping on your creation, anything Christmassy can be entered into the challenge.

I loved making this card, so much so that it lessened the guilt of paying a silly amount of postage to buy the stamp from  Simon Says Stamp in the USA.  I stamped the red rubber image onto Hero Arts black watercolour paper using Versamark ink before heat embossing in with Lawn Fawn gold powder.  I used a variety of glittery paints including Gansai Tambi  and some lovely ones I got on Etsy, plus some glitter brush pens.

The sentiment is one of my better efforts at hot foiling.  The hot foiling, it's fair to say, isn't going well with most of my attempts being tossed into the wood burner.  However, this one gave me some hope that I can eventually master this particular art.

I made an A2 card base from black cardstock and adhered the image and sentiment to cover the whole front.  Job done.

I really hope you can join in this final challenge of 2021.  All of the details are over at the Sweet Stampin' blog and you'll also find lots of lovely inspiration from my wonderful teamies.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.  Stay safe.

xxx

Happy Birthday Sweet Stampin'!

 Hello!

It's our birthday week at Sweet Stampin' so both Team Wends and Team Susan are sharing inspiration cards for this fortnight's challenge.  Our theme, of course, is birthdays so here's what I made

I used a Stamping Bella image that I've had for ages and coloured her with Copics.  I kept everything really simple with just a plain purple mat, a bit of Sakura Glitter pen on the cake  and some purple adhesive dots for a bit of bling.

I do hope you can help us to celebrate our birthday by joining in with our challenge.  You'll find lots of inspiration and the challenge details over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a wonderful weekend!

xxx

Use Red at Sweet Stampin'

 Happy Saturday!  The realisation that in 7 weeks it will be Christmas Day has hit me this morning.  I've done little to no crafting since I moved house 3 months ago so once again my colleagues at work will be getting cards courtesy of John Lewis or M&S.  Hopefully I'll be able to get a couple more cards made for family and besties over the next weekend or two. 

As luck would have it our new challenge at Sweet Stampin' is a lovely colour one which is perfect for Christmas - Use Red. I sometimes have to challenge myself not to use red when I'm colouring Christmas images, so this theme suited me down to the ground.

For the background I used a much-loved stamp from Wplus9 with Speckled Egg Distress Oxide ink.  I loaded up the ink quite thickly hoping that I would just have to stamp it once. At first I thought I'd have to re-do it as it gave a very uneven finish, but as it dried the ink started to look like a frosty window pane.  I do like a crafty happy accident!

I coloured my MFT skater girl with Copics using R32, R35, R37 and R39.  I wanted to keep the palette quite limited, so I went for red all over her clothes and added some detail with a white Posca pen.  A bit of silver glitter pen on the blades of her skates and I was done.

I hope you can join our challenge this fortnight over at Sweet Stampin'.  You'll find lovely inspiration projects from my Team Susan teamies over at the blog here.

Have a fabulous weekend and if the weather with you is anything like it is here, stay cosy!

xxxx

Halloween at Sweet Stampin'

 Morning!  I'm joining Team Wends' challenge at Sweet Stampin' this fortnight because our challenge is Halloween and I love Halloween stamps!

I don't "do" Halloween. Even when the Boy Wonder was little, we didn't go trick or treating or anything like that.  But I love some of the Halloween images so much that I always end up making cards in spite of the fact that they are rarely sent.

I think this Lili of the Valley image is so sweet. The joy of a digi stamp is that you can re-size it and  I wanted a big focal image to colour with my Copics.  I kept everything else very simple - there is some glitter on the stars but it isn't showing up in the photo.

It would be great if you could play along with our Halloween challenge.  You'll find lots of fab inspiration plus the challenge details here at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a fabulous crafty weekend!

xxx

Add a Button

Are you one of those crafters who, when you get new goodies stamp/colour/die-cut loads of times because you just love them?  And do you then end up with a box of "spares"?  Not just me then!

It's new challenge time at Sweet Stampin' and this fortnight we'd like you to add a button to your project.

Thank goodness for my coloured-but-not-used box (along with the die-cut-but-not-used box)! I'm in the middle of trying to create a craft area/office in the space under the stairs, so I had to delve into these boxes for my DT card as I can't get to any of my stamping stash.

This hAnglar and StAnglar image must have been sitting in my box of spares for ... let's just say a good few years.  I was trying to get to grips with painting with Distress Inks at the time and did quite a few practice pieces.  Some I used, some I didn't - this is one of them.  Fortunately my die-cut-but-not-used box is bursting with paper going back donkey's years.  I'm pretty sure these papers are Basic Grey - I loved their designs.

And the button?  I have a button box but have no idea where it is at the moment, so this one has been cut off a jumper I've been wearing to do the decorating 😂.

I hope you'll be able to find a button and play along with our challenge.   You'll find lots of lovely inspiration and all the challenge details over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a great weekend.

xxx

Christmas in September

 Good morning!  We're fast approaching the end of September and for many of us who haven't been making them all year round, it's time to start thinking about starting our Christmas cards.

To give you a bit of inspiration, our new fortnightly challenge theme at Sweet Stampin' is Christmas in September.  I can't resist making a Christmas card, so I'm joining in with Team Wendy this week.

I love colouring Stamping Bella's Bundle Girls and decided to experiment with dark red and dusky blue Copics this time. I kept everything pretty simple, with just a few tiny gems here and there for some sparkle.

I hope you'll be able to join in the fun over the next couple of weeks.  You'll find lots more inspiration, plus the challenge details, over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a great weekend.

xxx

Colours of Autumn

 So... I moved house after 20-odd years.  There are boxes everywhere while I try to figure out where on earth I'm going to put all the stuff I've accumulated but in spite of this, the place already feels like home.  There's some work to do in the bathroom and kitchen but the rest is just cosmetic, so I'm going to take my time and think about what I really want.

On top of this, the Boy Wonder has headed off to Edinburgh to go back to uni after taking some time out.  He's been working for Aldi who have been amazingly supportive and they've even arranged a transfer to another branch so that he can continue to work part-time while he's studying.  

Lots of changes, then, but it's the start of an exciting new chapter.  Onwards and upwards!

Talking of new, today is the start of a new challenge over at Sweet Stampin'.  Our theme is Colours of Autumn so in addition to your stamped designs we'd like to see those rich autumn hues on your projects.

I had so much fun making my DT card.  I used a Papertrey Ink kit which is donkey's years old (we're going back to the time when you could occasionally afford to buy their stuff here!).  The kit includes linen effect cardstock which has printed spaces for you to stamp and stencil the images.  I used a mixture of Gina K and Altenew ink cubes to blend and stamp the flowers, berries and leaves.  The sentiment is also from Altenew; I heat embossed it in silver and popped it up with foam pads.

I hope you can play along with us this month. You'll find lots of inspiration and all the challenge details over at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a fabulous week and stay safe!

xxx

Sweet Stampin' - Feature an Animal

 Hello again!  We're starting another challenge at Sweet Stampin' today and we'd like you to feature an animal on your projects.

I chose one of the adorable Anita Jeram stamps from Colorado Crafts for my image, which I coloured with Copics. I layered up various papers from my scrap drawer and added some adhesive pearls to complete the design. Apologies for the photo quality - the colours in the papers and pearls are actually very similar to each other in real life!

It would be great if you could play along with our challenge this fortnight.  You'll find my lovely teamies' inspiration projects, plus the challenge details over on the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a brilliant weekend!

xxx

Create your own background

 Hello!  We are starting a new challenge today at Sweet Stampin' and this fortnight we're asking you to create your own background.

I've been bitten by the stencil bug this year so this was the perfect opportunity for me to put one of my new purchases to good use.

I went with the Pretty Pink Posh Layered Bokeh set and used blender brushes to apply different shades of yellow. I took a tip from my lovely friend Faye and tried Catherine Pooler inks for blending and I loved them! 

The cute image is a Birdie Brown/MFT stamp which I coloured with Copics and Sakura pens, with some clear Wink of Stella on the balloon.

I hope you can play along with us this fortnight.  You can check out the challenge details and see the amazing inspiration projects my Team Susan teamies have made right here.

Have a lovely weekend xx

Something beginning with B

 Hello and happy Saturday!  It's time for a new fortnightly challenge at Sweet Stampin' and our theme this time is "Something beginning with B".  Plenty of scope there!

I went with B for Band (and birthday) and used the Birthday Band stamps and dies from MFT to make my card.

I stamped, cut out and coloured the mice with Copics and Sakura glitter pens.  The background of the shaped card is some Maya Designs paper I've had for ages, over which I stenciled a city background.  In the foreground I added some cream Bazzill cardstock which I had stenciled to create  the idea of brickwork/paving.

The card folds in on itself for posting, so the finished size is that of a standard A2 card.

I hope you can play along with us this fortnight.  You'll find some fabulous inspiration projects as well as the challenge details over at the Sweet Stampin' Challenge Blog.

Have a lovely weekend!

xxx

Tags!

 I don't know why it has taken me quite so long to get into making my own tags.  I've made the odd one or two over the years (usually for a DT challenge) but it's only really been in the last couple of years that I started making my own Christmas gift tags.  Nothing fancy, just a die cut tag and some nice stickers from Simple Stories or Echo Park.  

Which leads me to our new challenge at Sweet Stampin'... our theme is Tags and I was delighted to have the opportunity to use this new, super-cute, perfect-size-for-a-tag stamp by Anita Jeram for Colorado Crafts.  

These tags were so quick and easy to make. I simply stamped and coloured the image using Copics before cutting out with the co-ordinating die.  I could have left the tag background plain but decided to use stamp from Altenew to help the image pop.

In fact, I had such fun making these that I made a couple more, using a stencil for my background

 It would be great if you could play along with our challenge this fortnight.  You'll find lots of inspiration plus all the challenge details here at the Sweet Stampin' challenge blog.

Have a lovely weekend!

xxx

Things with Wings

 It's time for another challenge at Sweet Stampin'!  

This fortnight our theme is "Things with Wings" - a good, open theme for whatever part of the world you are living in.  

I went with one of the very first hAnglar and StAnglar stamps I ever bought and still couldn't part with.  I do like dusting off my "vintage" (red rubber) stamps when I get the chance.

The image is quite big which makes it really nice to colour.  I used Copics R81,83, 85 and a tiny touch of R56 for the pinks, C0-3 for the greys and my usual skin colours E000, E00, E21 and R20.  I added a sprinkle of Glamour Dust for some sparkle on her wings and the heart on her dress.

I layered up the image with some paper from my scrap drawer (MME, I think) and a die-cut scalloped retangle.

I do hope you can join us over at Sweet Stampin' this fortnight.  You'll find the usual challenge details plus Team Wends' fab inspiration projects here.

Have a lovely weekend!

xxx

No Squares!

 Good morning!  It's a lovely, sunny day here in SW Scotland so before I head outside I need to let you know about our new challenge at Sweet Stampin'.

Our theme this fortnight is "No Squares" - perfect if you've recently caught the slimline card bug!

For my card I opted for a shaped card base and a monochromatic colour scheme:

I coloured the Lili of the Valley image with Copics W0-8, apart from the hair which was coloured with Copics in the E50 range.

The papers are from Maya Designs and I've had them for years.  I'm trying to use up as much of my older stash as I can bear to part with but frankly there's an almost embarrassing amount of the stuff!

I hope you'll be able to join in our latest challenge.  You'll find all of the challenge details plus the lovely DT projects my teamies have made here.

Have a fabulous weekend!

xxx

Bold and Bright

 I've got another Alex Syberia card to share with you today.

This was a joy to colour! I was inspired by similar images which had been coloured using really bold pinks and decided to give it a go.  Although the finished article doesn't seem quite as vivid as some I've seen, it matches the Stamp Market cardstock perfectly, so I'm happy with that!

With my Copics I started by putting down a light base of  RV000.   I then broke out  RV04, RV06, colours I don't think I've ever used more than once or twice.  For the shadows I went in with RV17, RV66, RV19 and RV69, blending out with the lighter RVs including RV02.  My absolute favourite Joanna Sheen Elegance Satin white cardstock held up really well to all the layers of ink - I can't recommend this cardstock nearly enough!

The flower centre was coloured with Copic YR12 and YR15 at the base and Y04 on the stamens.

I kept the sentiment simple, just white heat-embossing on black cardstock.

This will be an image I'll definitely use again - suggestions for colour combos would be most welcome!

Take care xxx

For You With Love

Today's card features a Pretty Pink Posh heart wreath stamp. This stamp is a life-saver when you need a quick and easy card, as the image is super-speedy to colour. 

I used a combination of Copics and Sakura glitter pens to colour the image and added some Glossy Accents for a bit of extra interest.  I wish I could remember where the sentiment came from!  I think it's from an Altenew mini stamp set...

That's it from me today - aiming to tick off yet another job on the to-do list before the surveyor arrives!

xxx

Happy Spring Birthday

 As it's the Easter holidays I thought I'd schedule a few posts to show some of the cards I made before I had to pack away most of my stash.

This first card is a very simple one, just an Alex Syberia digital stamp, some Copic colouring and a heat embossed sentiment.  

I stayed with a palette of Spring yellows using Copics, starting with the lightest (Y00) all over to get some colour down.  I then used Y11, Y13, Y15 and Y17, starting where the petals would be darkest and gradually fading out to  Y11 at the tip of each petal.  Y19 and a bit of Y38 helped to deepen the shadows where necessary.

I heat embossed the sentiment from Altenew's Birthday Greetings set on some black card which I then die cut into a slim fishtail strip.

I'll admit to treating myself to a few of Alex Syberia's digi stamps lately.  I like the fact that I can make them any size and they're not cluttering up the kitchen if they're on my computer!

Hope you're having a great start to the week.

xxx

Happy Easter

Just popping in with an Easter card that I made with one of the lovely Colorado Crafts/Anita Jeram stamps.

Apologies for not being around much at the moment - the house is going up for sale and it's all hands to the pump to get the place spruced up.  This also means keeping my crafty stash tidied away, as I do my crafting in the kitchen.  Hopefully it will all work out quickly and smoothly - I keep telling myself it's an exciting time but I'm still at the "anxious" stage at the moment.

I'll do my best to visit when I can and in the meantime I'll wish you all a Happy Easter/Spring/Weekend!

xxx

Special Woman

 Happy weekend!  Today we have a new fortnightly challenge over at Sweet Stampin' and the theme is "Special Woman".  Mothers Day is still to come in a number of countries but the theme includes any stamped project you have made for a female friend or relative and, of course, if you are in the UK and you haven't yet posted a Mothers Day card, you're now safe to do so!

Here's my make

I used a sweet Lili of the Valley digital stamp for my card and coloured the image with Copics.  I don't know whether it's the card or the printer, but I'm finding that certain colours (the very pale ones) are smudging the printer ink slightly, even though I don't ever colour a digi on the day I print it.

The background paper is from my stash.

Do grab a cuppa and take a look at the lovely inspiration projects my Sweet Stampin' teamies have made.  You'll find all the details here.

Have a lovely weekend!

Tracey x

Shabby Chic

 Hello!  I'm back to let you know that a new fortnightly challenge is starting over at Sweet Stampin' today.  Our theme this time is Shabby Chic and it was the perfect kick up the posterior for me to dig out some of my older stamps which haven't been used in a while.

I used to make this style of card a lot a few years ago so I quite enjoyed revisiting some techniques I now rarely use.

I started with a hAnglar and StAnglar red rubber stamp and coloured the image with  Copics in mostly muted tones (RV and C numbers).  I still have some Maya Designs paper in my stash so I was able to pick out 2 complementary patterns to cover the card base and the image mat.  I used my Tim Holtz distress tool along the edges of the papers and then applied brown distress ink to give a grungy look.

Next I raided my ribbon storage, something else that has been gathering dust. I found some lace and some velvet ribbon which toned with the papers, so I attached these across the centre of the card bae.  I used some foam tape to pop up the image mat over the top and added a few tiny roses as embellishments.  Finally I added a die cut heart which I had "shabbied up" with crackle paint and distress stain.

The lovely CaSSettes have made some brilliant inspiration projects and you can see them, plus all the challenge details here.

I do hope you can play along with us this fortnight.

Have a lovely weekend xx

Sweet Stampin' - Love or Valentines

 Hello from a bright but chilly south-west Scotland.  We've had some horrendous weather recently so it's nice to have seen some sunshine today as I schedule this post.

We have a new challenge starting today at Sweet Stampin' and our theme is either Love or Valentines.

I'm not a Valentines person so I've gone with a broader "love" theme for my DT card.  This gave me the opportunity to use a stamp that hasn't seen the light of day for a long time.  I really want to use my older stamps and dies more this year as it's such a waste to have them sitting in a drawer when I can't bear to part with them.

I coloured this Tilda image with Copics and added some Sakura glitter pen to the hearts.  The image itself was quite small and as I didn't die cut it properly it was off-centre.  Things like that drive me mad, so I cut a frame and was able to centre the image behind it.

I used foam tape to pop this up on top of a scalloped die cut mat and adhered the lot to a light red card base.

I hope you can join in with this fortnight's challenge.  You'll find all the challenge details plus lots of fabulous inspiration over at the Sweet Stampin' blog.

Have a lovely weekend.

xxx

Thank you!

 I'm joining in with Team Wends today over at Sweet Stampin'. We have a new fortnightly challenge and our theme is Thank You.  

I went with a CAS look for my card

I used the Altenew Blossom Wreath stamp and die set to make the floral design, using soft Spring colours of ink. The thanks sentiment comes from a set whose name I have forgotten!

I do hope you can play along with our Thank You challenge.  It's the perfect opportunity for you to share those cards you made after Christmas!  You'll get the full challenge details plus some fabby inspiration here.

Have a great weekend!

xxx

Happy New Year!

 A new year and a new challenge over at Sweet Stampin'.  Our theme is "New" so that could be anything you like: new year/home/baby, new stash, new technique... the choice is yours.

Here's my make

I coloured this Stamping Bella image with Copics.  It comes with the word bubble outline stamp and I was very brave, cutting up my sentiment stamp so that the words would fit. I was able to more or less match some enamel dots with my Hero Arts Cherry cardstock and with just a little sparkle courtesy of some clear Wink of Stella, the card was done.

I've had this stamp set for ages but probably have only used it once, so this is also part of my goal to use what I have more often.  

I hope you can play along with us at Sweet Stampin' this fortnight.  You'll find all the challenge details plus some fab inspiration from the Sweeties here.

Wishing you all a very happy and healthy 2021.  

Thank you so much for stopping by.

xxx