Amazingly Amazing!

Hello all!

It's Thursday so it's time for our new challenge at CAS-Colours and Sketches, and as it's the fifth week of the month, it's a double!! 

I have used our sketch this week to make a card for my wonderful Mike, just to let him know how much I appreciate him!

I used Work Of Art for the zig-zags and the sentiment from Painted Petals. The sentiment is exactly what I want to say to him!

I finished with a couple of dots punched using the 1/4in punch, which is in the Weekly Deals this week, reduced from £8.25 to £6.19...what a bargain!

What are you making this week? We can't wait to see! :)

Did you get any snow last night? We actually did! Well, as I write this post and schedule it to publish this morning, we had about 2 inches...snow day! Hope you have a good one, whatever you are doing :)

A lacy, sparkly butterfly Birthday!

Hello!

Wow I had such a positive response on Facebook to yesterday's card from so many lovely people; demos, friends and customers alike, so thank you so much!

I have used the same Something Lace stamp set as I used yesterday, but this time I made a birthday card with it...

I stamped the lacy background in Wisteria wonder before adding to my Perfect Plum card blank. I then stamped my sentiment from Remembering Your Birthday and die cut with one of the Chalk Talk Framelits.

How gorgeous is this butterfly?? It is the medium one from the Butterflies Thinlits Dies, die cut in Elegant Eggplant, which I then covered in Versamark ink and heat embossed with Iridescent Ice Stampin' Emboss. I love how sparkly it is in real life! 

I really have fallen in love with this Lacy stamp....so elegant and it has a world of possibilities! 

The weather is dreadful here today, so I am (hopefully) finishing the decorating over the next 2 days. I just have some white walls to do, then I can sit back and enjoy for a year or so! (or until grubby hands muck it all up again!)

I hope you have a lovely Wednesday!

Something borrowed...

Good morning everyone!

I hope you had a good weekend! I had a lovely time with my girlies, but not much time for crafting! So last night, I popped into my craft room and made this...

I have used the gorgeous new For The New Two stamp set, which is perfect for all those wedding cards you'll need to make this year! I stamp my sentiment in Gold Encore onto Vellum cardstock, then I heat embossed it with clear Stampin' Emboss. I find it gives a softer look than the Gold Stampin' Emboss.

I stamped the beautiful background with the new Something Lacy background stamp in gold Encore ink...isn't it lovely?? I punched a heart with the Sweetheart punch and also stamped the same background. I looped some Linen Thread around the back of the heart before adding it to my card.

See this gorgeous embellishment?

It's one of the Something Borrowed Embellishments, which are beautiful and sparkly, and a little bit vintagey! Before I threaded the Sahara Sand Lace Trim through it, I rubbed it with a little gold encore just to dull the silver a little and make it even more vintagey (it is a word!) Doesn't it look pretty!

Hopefully I will be back tomorrow if I feel up to it...this cold is sending me to bed early! Have a lovely day!

Singled colour Lotus Blossom

Good morning all!

As promised on Wednesday, here is the final card we made at my craft class last Friday...

We used the gorgeous free Sale-A-Bration Lotus Blossom stamp for this one, and also did it in two colourways.

These are made in Calypso Coral and Coastal Cabana, with a Pear Pizazz stem.

To get the lovely shading in the flowers, I actually used the stamps in the reverse order to the recommended. (each of the 3 stamps has a number order in which to use it printed in the packaging).

I inked up and stamped off stamped the number 3 stamp first (the full flower), then stamped it in place on my card. I then used number 2, then number 1 and got this lovely subtle tone on tone effect, with one ink cartridge. 

Which colour is your favourite? The jury's out on this one for me!

To get your free stamp, simply spend £45 on Stampin' Up! products with me, and you can choose from this, or lots of other gorgeous products! Check out my online shop link in the sidebar >>>>

So I have a girly weekend with som very good friends this weekend, so I may not be around much...it depends how much crafting I get done tonight! I hope you have a fun weekend planned too! Have a good one! :)

New Baby for CAS-Colours and Sketches

Hi everyone!

It's Thursday so it must be time for another challenge at CAS-Colours and Sketches....

I was very organised with this card...I made it in December for Mike's daughter on the birth of her daughter.

I used the really sweet Baby We've Grown stamp set for the little shoes, which I added to my computer printed sentiment, die cut from Labels Collection Framelits, and pierced using the Festive Paper Piercing Pack.

I think the paper piercing gives a lovely border, don't you? The designer paper was printed from MDS...it was always one of my favourites as it's perfect for baby cards, so I was thrilled to find it as a download!

We had such a lot of gorgeous entries into last week's challenge...we're going to have a tough time choosing our top 3! I hope to see as many entries again this week!
Now go get creating! ;)

Emboss resist butterflies

Good morning and happy Wednesday! 

So, did you have lots of snow last night? We didn't and I am very disappointed! No snow day here!

Anyway, today I am carrying on from yesterday with the spring theme with these beautiful cards, one of which already has a home for Keiran's Grandma's Birthday today!

These are also cards that we made in my Craft Class last Friday, using a technique the ladies hadn't used before.

I have used the stunning Butterfly Basics stamp set and matching Frameits, and the Resist Emboss technique for these cards.

I first stamped the ferns in Versamark onto Naturals White card, then heat embossed using clear Stampin' Emboss. I then gently sponged the card with Sof Sky ink and a sponge, from the edges, up the ferns and outwards, building the colour as I went. I also very gently sponged the Butterfly. I then stamped more ferns in Soft Sky before adding the sentiment in Basci Gray and adding the butterfly, complete with a Basics Rhinestone.

I tried it in a different colourway too...

This one is Pear Pizzazz with a Calypso Coral butterfly. I love both of these, but which one is your favourite??

I will be back with my DT card for CAS-Colours and Sketches tomorrow, and my final class card on Friday. If you would like to join one of my classes, please check out the tab at the top for details. And if you would like to buy any of the products, please click on the links on the right >>>>

Have a fabby day!

A little bit of spring!

Good morning!

I don't know about where you live, but it has been freezing here...literally! We have highs of 1 degree C...I know a lot of you are reading from much colder places, but it's cold for us!

So this morning, I am here to brighten your day with spring flowers! These are samples of the cards we made in my craft class on Friday. If you would like to come along next time, you can find details of future classes on the tab at the top of this page :)

I have used the beautiful Painted Blooms DSP as my background, on a Hello Honey card base. I'm not one for using DSP much, but I really do love this one! Isn't it beautiful?!

I stamped the two step flowers and sentiment using the matching Painted Petals stamp set. I using Stampin' Write Markers so I could ink up different parts of the stamp in different colours. I finished with a little Basic Pearl.

I made two similar cards as I need to build my stash a bit, and this is a great way to do that, without making 2 the same! Which one do you prefer?

I really love this set...it is totally full of spring and colour! At least when I get up in the morning, it is sort of getting light, so I'm starting to look forward to spring! :)

If you would like to order any of the products I have used, please do click on the links to the right to browse the catalogues or buy direct from my online shop :) >>>>>>

I hope you have a lovely day!

Pinkies Spring/Summer blog hop!

Thank you for joining us on another Pinkies Blog Hop! We're showcasing lots of gorgeous projects using products from the new Stampin' Up!® Spring/Summer Seasonal Catalogue. Simply use the buttons at the end of each post to keep hopping!

There are so many wonderful new products available in the brand new catalogue that I found it really difficult to choose what to use for this blog hop! As you will know if you visit me here often, I like to create home decor items, and I am also in the process of 'refreshing' my home, (in fact, I have gloss all over my hands as I type this!), so I decided to craft myself something to brighten up my newly painted hallway...

I decided to use the gorgeous Butterfly Basics Bundle to fill some frames I bought ages ago! I simply die cut the 2 filigree butterflies and glued them to the front of the glass in the 2 smaller frames. (I took the back mounts out to leave them see through).

On the larger one I stamp the flowers and sentiment directly onto the glass in Versamark, then heat embossed with Smoky Slate Embossing Powder. I then added a little colour to the flowers with my Blendabilities....not very clear here I'm afraid. I finished with some of the tiny butterflies stamped in Rose Red (stamped off first).

Here is a picture of them on my wall...

As you can see, the frames are actually white and work really well with the stamp set! I really love how these came out...I can see me making more similar things as my home gets updated!

What are your favourite things from the new catalogue? Why not make something and share so I can come and see what you made?

I hope you enjoyed my project and now it's time for you to visit Sarah's blog to see her wonderful creation!

Enjoy the rest of the blog hop and I hope to see you again soon!

Irresistibly Groovy Love

Good morning all!

It's Thursday, (or 'the third day' according to Joey from Friends...I've been watching it a lot whilst decorating!), which means it's time for a new challenge at CAS-Colours and Sketches, and this week is a colour challenge...

I almost forgot to make my card this week, due to having been so busy with the painting, but I managed to pull this together at the last minute last night!

I decided to make a Valentine's card, and given the colours, I thought a male card would work well. I used some of the gorgeous free* Irresistibly Yours DSP from Sale-A-Bration as my background, on a Crumb Cake card base. I punched out a heart using the Sweetheart punch, then stamped one of the hearts from the Groovy Love stamp set inside the aperture.

I stamped 'you' from Happy Watercolor and 'me' using Simply Serif, both in black Stazon. I used Stazon as the stripes on the DSP would resist water based inks. I finished with a little heart punched from Cherry Cobbler using one of the Itty Bitty Accents punches.

*Irresistibly Yours DSP is one of the items you can choose free with each £45 spend!

It was lovely to see so many more entries to last week's challenge and we are looking forward to many more this week!

Very Bright and Beautiful Stars!

Hi all! Wow it's a cold one out there today isn't it? I hope you don't have any disruption due to the weather.

Now I know that there are some stunning new products now available in the Spring/Summer catalogue, but did you know that quite a few of the items from the Autumn/Winter catalogue have carried over too?? I have used one of these sets today...

This is the gorgeous Bright and Beautiful stamp set and I stamped it and heat embossed it in Wild Wasabi powder onto Pumpkin Pie cardstock. This is one of those unusual coloured cards I was asked to make!

The sentiment was coloured using my Stampin' Write Markers before stamping onto my card.

There are quite a few Autumn/Winter stamp sets and punches/Framelits still available, so if you thought you had missed out, the good news is you didn't!

I have more decorating to do today...glossing...oh joy!

Have a lovely day!

A card made from freebies!

Good morning crafty peeps!

I hope you're having a good week so far...I spent the day yesterday decorating my living room, and refreshing walls and paintwork throughout the rest of the house. I still have a lot of glossing to do, but I will get there slowly but surely! 

I do have a card to share with you today though...

I have used the lovely new Lotus Blossom stamp that I got free for spending £45 in Sale-A-Bration! I stamped it in Rose Red, Primrose Petals and Pink Pirouette, starting with the darkest colour. This is a 3 step stamp, and it is available in Polymer so it is really easy to line each part up!

Have you seen that gorgeous Irresistibly Yours DSP in the background? Well guess what? That is free too! It is a beautiful, white, embossed, thick paper, and there are 6 different designs, including stripes, stars and polka dots. It is perfect for sponging, as I have done here, or spritzing, or any other different styles of colouring. It is basically the emboss resist technique made easy!

I mentioned that I got the stamp and paper free? That is because it is currently our Sale-A-Bration promotion, and you can choose any product from the brochure free £45 spend! That means if you spend £90, you get 2 free items! And there are lots of lovely things to choose from, including and embellishment kit and even Blendabilities!! Yes, you can get all the Blendabilities absolutely free! (I am currently working on getting them all!)

If you would like to get your freebies, or would like any more information, feel free to get in touch, or use the links on my sidebar >>>>>

Right, I'm off to work, then I may try a spot more painting....or maybe crafting.... ;)

Have a lovely day!

Was Mike right??

Hi everyone!

How is your weekend going so far? I didn't post anything yesterday because myself, Mike and Keiran had a bit of a 'family' day...we went to the park (and it was freezing!), then went and did a bit of food shopping, and finished off going for coffee and egg custard, before heading home for tea and telly! It was a really lovely day!

When Mike arrived at mine on Friday evening, I was in the middle of making the card I am about to show you, and I was sat moving sequins around the card as I couldn't decide where to put them!

Come have a look at the card...

I used one of my new stamp sets from the Spring/Summer catalogue...one that appears to be quite popular with my customers...I have already sold quite a few of these sets! It is Painted Petals and it was the first set that caught my eye. It's a two step stamp set, where you get to 'build' the flowers just how you want them. It's is another set that is available in all 3 stamp materials...Clear Mount, Wood Mount and Photopolymer, as well as a digital download for MDS!

I used Rose Red for the flowers, and Pear Pizazz for the stems. I embossed the card blank with the Spring Flowers Embossing Folder, then I added the Bermuda Bay Baker's Twine on my stamped panel, and that's where the faffing with the sequins started! Then Mike walked in and just popped them under the twine! Just like that!! Anyway, I rather liked them there so thanks Mike! What do you think? Would you have put them elsewhere?

Have you had chance to take a look at the new catalogue, or the Sale-A-Bration brochure yet? If you haven't, and would like a copy, please do get in touch...I'll happily pop one in the post for you. Or if you can't wait (like I couldn't!) then just click on the links over on my sidebar on the right >>>>>

I shall leave you to your crafting/browsing now, and finish watching Indiana Jones with Keiran. Enjoy your Sunday!

Free Blendabilities anyone??

Hi everyone!

We have had a little break over the Christmas period, but CAS-Colours and Sketches is back for the new year, and we're starting with this fab sketch!

Now I got ahead of myself and made my card before Christmas, so I'm afraid it's another Christmas card! I do love this stamp, Bearing Gifts, but this was the only time I used it!

I stamped it in Memento Black and coloured it with Blendabilities and Stampin' Write markers. I really enjoyed colouring this in...it had been a while since I coloured anything but it was very relaxing.

That little banner of DSP is from All Is Calm...I totally loved this paper!

Here's a tip for you...why don't you get your Blendabilities for free? Yup you heard! You can choose any one of the sets for free as part of the Sale-A-Bration promotion! What a great way to start/add to your collection! For more details, click on the brochure over there on the right >>>

I think today's sketch is a nice one to get us under

way in the new year, don't you? We're looking forward to seeing your creations! :)