LOTV Die Cut & Stamp!

I had a little play last night with my new LOTV Sentiment Stamps and LOVE THEM!

I worked out they stamped better when using 'Rock-a-Blocks', that's probably something to do with my lack of ability to evenly distribute my weight!

I worked to a couple of challenges with this card and they are listed below.

This image isn't a stamp I've coloured - it's a Die-Cut! People keep complementing me on my colouring when I use these - I wish!!!

The flowers are of course from WOC and the papers are my 'new-found' favorites 'First Edition - Desert Blooms'

Challenges I'd like to enter my card into...

LOTV - Circles

Simon Says Stamp - Coffee & Cream

Dutch Dare - Sketch

Pollycraft - Diamonds & Pearls (Pearls on necklace!)

Less is More!

I am loving playing along with the Less is More Challenge Blog - I am in heaven when I'm trying to find the simplest of layouts that still looks as if you've thought about what you're doing - I don't know if I've managed it - but I quite like them ;)

The theme this week is 'Spring' and I just love quotes on these C&S cards, so searched for 'Spring Quotes' and came across this one by William Shakespeare. I put it into Word and played around with text boxes and fonts till I came up with this!

The Daff and Snowdrop (my 2 most favorite flowers I must add) have had a touch of colour added to them with my Watercolour Pencils....couldn't use my Prisma's for these as I took them into work to colour in my lunch hour! I took 4 in to colour but had finished all of them in 10 minutes!

Hope you like my C&S cards this week - Thanks for popping by :)

Top Tip Tuesday #23

Good Top Tip Tuesday Morning to you all :)

 

Wasn't the sewing challenge great last week - I hope you all dusted off your machines (or got out your faux stitching tools) and had fun - I did!

Pop over to Top Tip Tuesday now to see if you are one of our lucky winners!!!

This weeks Tutorial is brought to us by the wonderful Maggie - she is showing us some ideas to dress up the INSIDE of our cards - From Inserts to fabulous Aperture Cut Internal Designs to brighten up the inside of our cards. We take so much time and effort to make the front of our cards look nice, it really takes it to the next level when the inside is just as good - and some I see out there in Blogland are totally amazing!

So pop over to see Maggie's tutorial now and then join us in our 'Bling It On!' challenge.

This week we are sponsored by 3 fantastic companies...

*Wink *Wink  Ink

and

 

and

So to be in the running for a prize from our fab sponsors this week upload your 'Bling It On!' challenge card to Mr Linky over at TTT - Max 3 entries and don't forget to link back to TTT - or post a Top Tip in the comments section of this week's post.

Have fun!!!

 

Went to town on this one!!!

This was only s'posed to be a 'quick' Good Luck card for someone in work - but by time I'd looked at a few challenges to incorporate, and then got the sketch all wrong so had to ditch that....it had turned into this....

For the gorgeous SugarNellie image I used my Prisma Colours and blended with Sansador. I'm quite pleased with how easy it is to get a half decent result with these pencils EVERY time!

The Flowers are of course from WOC and a few of them have been Tinklet'ed! The swirls were a RAK that I changed the colour of with some Distress Ink, a few headed pins and sticky backed Pearls to finish off.

I made the lace flower with the bit left over after I'd framed the image and sentiment and added a gorgeous button in the middle.

The brown and gold ribbon came off a posh box of chocs that my darling Hubby bought me today (well yesterday actually) for our Anniversary!

Some challenges I'd like to enter my card into...

Simon Says Stamp - Make your own embellishment - My lace flower!

Truly Scrumptious - Swirls and Pearls

Dutch Dare - Sparkle, Glitter, Bling!

Stamping For The Weekend - Monochrome

Arty Farty Cherub Crib

1st one of these I've done for ages! I just love making them and always find something different to do for each one!

I'm waiting for the details to put on the name plate that I put on the outside foot of the cot...Name, Weight & Date

Some more details....

Inside, head of Crib

Inside, foot of Crib.

I use Art Straws for the bars and add an extra folded piece over straws to take the width of them, even tho they are squashed! (you can see it right hand side of pic above)

I add lace to 'bulk' up the gap that would be left top and bottom of straws too.

I used to sew a padded quilt for these - but that just takes toooo long - so now I add a 'paper' quilt...this one is Gemstones Cardstock.

The darker pink corners on the outer edges of the box are to give it a bit of definition - also to hide a score mark where I slipped!!!!

4th Anniversary Card

Another LOTV Die Cut Image used here - My colouring skills have not improved THAT much!



This card was made for a friend in work to give to her hubby.

It was their 4th Wedding Anniversary and I wasn't inspired by the tradition 'Flower/Vegatable' theme that is given when you search for Anniversaries by years!!!

The sentiments were done on the PC, one is his name and the other says '4 Wonderful Years'

I'm sure I made this to a challenge sketch (I don't usually come up with layouts like this without one!), but can't find it - maybe it was an older one???

The papers are from the gorgeous stack that I am using loads of lately - please tell me I'm not the only one who finds papers they love and then uses them to death!!! - 'First Edition - Love Letters'.

The edges are distressed with my Making Memories Distressing tool and a little TH 'Old Paper' Distressing Ink added. I'm so pleased that my distressing has evolved from my first few attempts that I re-named  'traumatising'!!!

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend and those of you in the UK who are having more snow (sorry but the sun is shining here in South Wales!) stay in and craft - perfect excuse!

A couple challenges I'd like to enter....

Ellephantastic Challenges - Distressing with Love!

ABC Challenge - O is for 'Old Fashioned'

Lili Of The Valley - My Favorite Colours.....Purple and pink. Well Purple and anything really! - I just LOVE purple!

50th Birthday...

Evening all :)

Here's a card I made for a friends 50th Birthday.

I've used another of the retired LOTV Die-Cut Images (I bought LOADS of these when they were mega reduced last year). I need to get a file and Poly Pockets to store them in as they are still in the envelope they arrived in and they're going to get a bit dog-eared the amount of times I'm taking them out and then trying to get them back in!

I've cut the image with a deckled Nestie leaving the balloon floating out of the frame. The papers are more of the First Edition 'Desert Blooms' - these stacks are fab, half of the sheets are glittered and the other half are double sided.

The sentiments were done on the PC and of course the flowers are from WOC.

The balloon and cake icing have been 'Crakle Glazed'.

More Twinklets on the flowers, although on this one I only added it to the edge of the petals and I don't like it much. A sprinkling of Twinklets added to the balloon too.

Thanks Vicky for the tip on using Glossy Accents for the Twinklets - I will try that!

The Kraft backing piece is one of my recycling favs - it's the board piece from one of those 'Do Not Bend' type A4 envelopes!!!

A couple of challenges I'd like to enter my card into...


Bunny Zoe's Monthly Challenge - Spring Flowers, Everywhere!

Pollycraft Challenge - Special Birthday

Top Tip Tuesday #22

Good Top Tip Tuesday morning to you all :)

We had some gorgeous 'Frame It' cards this week - thank you to each of you that entered one - pop over to TTT now to see if you are one of our lucky winners!!!

This week we have 2 gorgeous sponsors again....

Stash Books

and

...and a fantastic Tip Tutorial from Anne all about using STITCHING on your cards - some great tips she is sharing with us too.

So this week we want you to include some stitching on your card or project.

Don't forget to follow our simple rules to be in the running for one of our great prizes

Max of 3 entries

Link back to TTT in your post

Follow the weeks theme!

Don't forget you can also leave us a tip in the comments section to be in the running for the 'tippers' prize too!

This week Limited Runs Digi's gave us a few images to use, but I fell in love with the Freebie they have on their site at the moment.......isn't he beautiful - and you should see the sentiments to go with him!!!

I tried a new technique here too - painting with bleach, it didn't quite work as I'd envisaged - the Kraft card wasn't quite dark enough. I added bits of colour with my wonderful new Prisma's and then went over bits with a putty eraser - makes him look a bit furry me thinks!

Of course I added some stitching to my card for Anne's tutorial.

(and followed one of her tips when I messed up at the top of this piece...hence the flower!)

Some actual stitching done on the machine and some faux stitching (well, hole'ing really) done with my most bestest, favoritist NON card crafting product ever............

A sewing 'Tracing Wheel'

This is not a pic of mine but looks the same - mine came in a little sewing kit I picked up in Sainsburys many moons ago - and since I've started using it on cards I've picked up a few more kits!

Challenge(s) I'd like to enter...

ABC Challenge - N is for Neutrals

I've discovered CaS!!!!

....I wonder each time I write it.........should it be CAS, should it be CaS or even C&S???

Whatever it is I LOVE Clean and Simple!

And a HUGE thanks to the wonderful twosome who have bought us the Less is More Challenge Blog! They have opened my eyes to a completely new way of card making and I'm loving experimenting....although a few more do now go in the bin (...or just get cut up or stuck over!!!)

I wasn't able to find the time last week to join in with their first challenge - well to tell the truth I was a bit busy with all the experimenting and the only ones I got to look half decent weren't in black and pink!

But this week I found everything at all Flower or Tree related and played!

Daffodils are my favorite flower and this is the first time I've used my Prisma's properly too - haven't I had a good weekend!

Everything is printed/coloured directly onto the kraft card blank.

My colouring will take a little more practise to get somewhere near as good as I'd like - but I quite like the effect - although hubby still thinks it's an awful lot to pay for 'pencils'!

...I think he pays an awful lot for a bicycle too ;)

(mind you, I did buy the full set of 132!)

Here's a set I want to show you too (...yes, 'set'), they are all made with some gorgeous digis I bought only yesterday from Digital Stamp Boutique - aren't they sweet!

Challenges .....

Simply Less is More - One Layer and a Flower or Tree

Thanks for visiting and hope you like my CAS/CaS/C&S cards!

Public Apology

I feel the need to write this as I have inadvertently upset someone I considered a friend.

I have just received a reply from an e-mail I wrote them (I thought a very friendly and tactful mail) to enlighten them to a spelling mistake on a card they'd done.

I have done this in the past - always via a private e-mail, never in comments - as I'd feel awful ignoring it and would also hope others would do the same to me as my spelling is not the best.

However this time the recipient was not happy with me and it appears I have upset her. I do hope she sees this and accepts my apology - I would never intend to offend or upset anyone.

Maybe I shouldn't do it anymore!

Sorry!

Exploding Box...

Really quick post....................

Here's the Exploding Box I mentioned in my previous post - off to deliver it now :)

Stamped 'Cloud 9' quote matt & layered onto the lid

Cropped and printed photos on each 'page' decorated and message in centre

3 layers of photos

 

I'd like to enter my Exploding box into.....

Simon Says Stamp - Anything but a card!

Some Valentines

Morning all,

A day off work today ....yah! :)

I'd booked the day to wait in for my new washing machine ...don't we take these appliances for granted when we have them - I've not done any washing since Sunday and I'm sure we'd all be walking around in our PJ's all day if it were to continue!
Luckily the delivery man phoned at half 7 to say he'd be here in 10 mins - so my new washing machine is now waiting to be attached the the water and power - hubby is home at 4 so that gives me a little while to read the bumf and work out what programmes I will be using! Washing machine will be earning its keep this weekend!!!


On to some cards I've done over the last day or 2....

I fancied trying a more CAS design and printing directly onto the card ....I always print onto cheapy copy paper first to work out the placement on the card.

The quote is from 'Cloud 9 and' has been heat embossed, the corner and scroll are Papermania Vinyl Stickers - they are pretty cool too!

This card was made for my friend and her 9 month old son to give to her hubby so I had to bear in mind that it was for a dad too!
The verse inside read....'To the World you are someone, to us you are the World'... I made it a little different to the original version but I felt my adapted version was more suited ;)



I'm going to spend the rest of the day finishing a Valentine Exploding Box for another friend to give her fella - may be able to show you later ;)







Some challenges I'd like to enter (either of) my Valentine CAS cards into.....


Saturday Secret Crafter - Valentine

Allsorts - Love, Love, Love

Sentimental Sunday - Valentine

Stamptacular Sunday - Hearts gone Wild!
(1st card, as that is the one with stamping on it too)

Dutchdare - 'Love is in the Air' and/or Red, Pink and White

Top Tip Tuesday #21

Good Top Tip Tuesday morning to you all :)

Didn't we have some amazing entries to last week's 'Girly' themed cards - and wasn't that Ribbon Banner Tutorial by Dawn fabulous - no excuses for those oddments of ribbons mounting up now!

Pop over to TTT now to see if you are one of this weeks lucky winners :)

We have 2 fantastic sponsors again this week...

Digi Sparkle

and

Robyn's Fetish

This week our wonderful Vee is sharing with us a fantastic tutorial that she has called

'Out of the Frame'

 

Have you ever wanted to have part of your image just overlapping your Nestie

(or other Diecut frame),

like this gorgeous image from Robyn's Fetish.......

...Vee will show you how!

Pop over to TTT to see her other sample 'Out of the Frame' cards

You can join in this week by including a frame on your project (max of 3 entries) and linking it to Mr Linky over at TTT or leave us a comment in the Top Tip #21 comments section.

Please don't forget only 3 project entries each, NO baclinking, You MUST add a link to TTT in your post and please, please, please consider turning off Word Verification if you have it on - it's HORRID!

So come on then, 'Frame it' and get entering this weeks Top Tip Tuesday challenge.....