Happy Winter Acetate Card

Hi Guys,

I had so much fun creating this critter-ful winter scene for the Lawnscaping Challenge no. 90: Critters Galore this week. It feels a bit wrong making Christmas cards in September but I've decided to go with individually designed cards for my closest friends and family this year so I've got to start pretty early! I used some of my favourite cute critters from the Critters in the Snow and Critters in the Arctic stamp sets from Lawn Fawn. I decided to make the card using acetate to keep things interesting and give a icing feel to my design. 

Hope you enjoy looking at what I've created xx

As I've already said, I used acetate as the base of my card. I created the look of falling snow by flicking Windsor and Newton white ink onto it using the end of a paintbrush. I created snow drifts on the front of my card using the Mama Elephant Landscape Trio dies and Neenah Solar White Cardstock. I took advantage of the transparent acetate and used the Lawn Fawn Forest Border die to cut a background which I adhered to the back of the card, for extra dimension. 

Next I stamped images from several Lawn Fawn stamp sets onto more Solar White cardstock using My Favorite Things Black Licorice Hybrid Ink. I used the moose image from the Critters in the Arctic set, the polar bear, penguin and seal images from the Critters in the Snow set and the gingerbread house, lollipop and candy cane images from the Sweet Christmas set. Next I coloured them with Spectrum Noir pencils and blending solution. I added freckles and highlights using a Uniball white gel pen. I added the look of snow to the roof of the house and several of the sweets using WOW! White Puff embossing powder. I adhered the images to my card using a mixture of foam squares and silicone glue to add plenty of dimension to my design.

I used Peppermint Twine from Lawn Fawn to add interest to the top of my card. I die cut a banner from Lawn Fawn Snow Day patterned paper using one of the Dotted Ellements dies from Avery Elle. I stamped one of the sentiments, also from the Critters in the Arctic stamp set onto the banner and adhered to my card with more silicone glue. I completed my card with a peppermint twine bow and a wood veneer snow flake (this one's for you MC!) from my stash!

This close up shows that great embossing powder from WOW! - it puffs up when you heat it rather than just melting and going smooth which I thought was perfect for adding a light dusting of snow to my scene.

Clicking on the image below will take you to the Lawnscaping Challenge post, including all the other great entries and DT inspiration:

Red Riding Hood Hello Card

Hello again,

So, my card for today is a simple one which I made for the AEIHeartU Clean and Simple Challenge. I just love the Avery Elle Red and Goldie stamp set and this challenge gave me the perfect opportunity to pair it with the Xcut Woodland Shadow Box dies once again. In contrast to my Goldilocks and the Three Bears Hello Card, I only used one of the dies to create a much simpler look, but I like if just as much. I also love these great glittery enamal dots from My Minds Eye - hope you like the card!

To create this card I started with a piece of Neenah Solar White Cardstock cut and scored to A2 size. I used one of the die from the Xcut Wooden Shadow Box Dies set to create an aperture for my characters to peek out of. To create them I first stamped the Red Riding Hood and Wolf Dies from the Red & Goldie stamp set onto more Neenah Cardstock with Black Licorice Hybrid Ink from My Favourite Things. I then used a selection of Spectrum Noir and Copic Markers to colour my images. I'm still working on my alcohol marker technique and I'm hoping the Online Card Class I've signed up for will help when it starts in just over a week…so excited!!

I stamped the Hello sentiment, also from the Red & Goldie set, onto the front of my card with Versafine ink. Finally I completed my design by adding 3 enamel dots from the My Minds Eye Jubilee collection. 

Clicking on the image below will take you to the challenge post and all the other fantastic entries:

You Melt My Heart Card

Hi Guys,

Hope you like my latest card which I made for the Moxie Fab World Foxy Foxes Challenge. I really enjoyed creating textured fur for my little foxes with coloured pencils. The sequin 'snow' was lots of fun to create also.

I used a Pebbles polka-dot note card for the base of my card. Next I used a piece of Neenah Solar White Cardstock and Peacock Feathers Distress Ink to create a background. First I create a wash of ink and then I splashed water over the top to create a pattern. I then adhered the cardstock to the note-card.

Next I selected a piece of patterned paper from the Fancy Pants Nautical 6x6 paper pad. I then stamped the tree images from the Lawn Fawn Joy to the Woods stamp set directly onto it using Stampin' Up Crumb Cake Ink. I then fussy cut the trees and adhered them to the card using foam tape. I stamped the sentiment from Lawn Fawn's Here's The Scoop stamp set in Versafine Ink.

The two fox images are from the Joy to the Woods and Critters in the Woods stamp sets from Lawn Fawn. First I stamped them onto some more Neenah Cardstock in Hero Arts Soft Vanilla Ink. I wanted to create a textured look to give the impression of fur so I used my Spectrum Noir coloured pencils to colour my images. I then fussy cut them and adhered them to my card with foam tape. The speech bubble were die-cut using the Polaroid Fun die from Mama Elephant. I then stamped the heart image from Lawn Fawn's Hello Baby stamp set in Calypso Coral Stampin' Up ink.

I completed my card using sequins to create the the look of snow. I used 6mm and 4mm Sparkling Clear and 6mm Snow sequins from Pretty Pink Posh. I also used several Snow-flake shaped sequins from the Neat and Tangled Winter Wonderland Sequin Mix.

Clicking on the link below will take you to the Moxie Fab World Blog for the latest challenge and lots of great inspiration:

Hi There Pelican Card

 Hey Guys,

My latest project is a simple notecard for any occasion. I made it for the Make The Day Special September Sketch and Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes Challenges. I used lots of white space, distress inks and the Paper Smooches Surf n' Turf stamp set to create it. I just love the little pelican with his wonky eyes, and I was so pleased I could let him take centre stage on this card - hope you enjoy it xx

I started with a plain white A2 notecard from Papermania. I then die cut a piece of ranger watercolour paper using the scalloped rectangle from the Mama Elephant Femme Frames set - I love how this die is the perfect size for an A2 card and the scalloped edge just adds a subtle prettiness to a card! To create the background to my design I simply mixed Peacock Feather and Salty Ocean Distress Inks with a litle water and flicked them over he watercolour paper with a paintbrush. Next I wrapped a peice of Lawn Fawn Natural Twine around the paper and adhered it to the card base with foam tape.

The circle behind the Pelican was punched from another piece of watercolour paper using my Fiskars 2 inch circle punch. I created a watercolour effect using water and more Salty Ocean and Peacock Feather Distress Inks. I allowed the colours to blend a little before drying with my heat gun. I adhered this to my card with more foam tape and stamped the "hi there" sentiment from the Lawn Fawn Critters on the Savanna stamp set using Versafine ink.

The Pelican image was stamped onto Neenah Solar White Cardstock using Black Licorice Hybrid Ink from My Favourite Things. I stamped the image a second time onto paper and pussy cut this to create a mask. I then used the log from the Lawn Fawn Critters in the Forest set to create something for my pelican to stand on. I coloured both images with Copic Markers in shades E35, E37 (wooden post), Y02, Y06 (beak and legs), Y00, E00, 0 (body) and BG10, 0 (eyes). I've only just started a collection of these markers which I hope to build on over the next few months. I've also booked myself into the online Copic Marker class with Jennifer McGuire and K Werner so that I can really get the most out of them! 

Next I fussy cut the image and added a piece of natural twine tied into a bow. I adhered this to the card using more foam tape and my card was finished.

Here's a close-up of my Copic Marker colouring:

Clicking on the image below will take you to the Make The Day Special Challenge post and all the other great entries:

Clicking on the next image will take you to the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes Challenge and all the amazing entries there:

You can get to the Paper Smooches store by clicking on the link below:

What's Up With Dave? Card

Well this card, which I made for the Lawnscaping One Layer challenge was just that - a massive challenge! I'm used to using lots of dimension and embellishments to create interest in my cards so using just one layer took a bit of getting used to. I decided to take the opportunity to sneak in a cheesy joke - well, if I can't use sequins then I have to have fun somehow! Hope you all like it xx

I used a piece of Neenah Solar White Cardstock as the base for my card and rounded the corners with my WRMK Corner Chomper. I created my design by stamping images from several Lawn Fawn stamp sets - Critters Ever After for the frogs, Hello Baby for the lilypad, reeds and grass and Joy to the Woods  for the log. I stamped each of the images in Soft Vanilla Shadow Ink from Hero Arts. I stamped the images a second time onto paper and adhered these using temporary adhesive to create masks for the images I wanted to remain uppermost in my design. I coloured over the Soft Vanilla ink with Spectrum Noir pencils, paper stubs and Blending Solution. I added freckle details to the frogs using a Uniball white gel pen and pupils and a sentiment with a Uniball black gel pen.

Clicking on the picture below will take you to the challenge post with the fantastically inspiring DT creations and all the other amazing challenge entries:

You're My Universe Card

Hello everyone,

Well after a very busy and, at times, quite painful week at work, I was definately ready for some crafty time to take my mind off things. I enjoyed makng the background for my space card last week i decided to have another go, this time for a valentines or anniversary card. I just love these cute Aliens from the Paper Smooches Space Cadet stamp set and I really enjoyed using them to create this card for the Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes Challenge. Please do let me know what you think xx

I used a grey polka dot notecard from Pebbles as my card base and adhered a piece of Ranger Watercolour paper to the front, which I die cut using one of the stitched rectangles from the new Lawn Fawn die set. I created the background galaxy effect in the same way as last weeks card, this time using Spun Sugar and Milled Lavendar Distress Inks for a more suble coloured effect.

I used a piece of gold glitter paper from the DCWV Glitz Pastel 6x6 paper pad as the base for my aliens and astronaut to stand and wave on. I stamped several images from the Paper Smooches Space Cadet set onto Neenah Solar White cardstock using Black Licorice Hydrid Ink from My Favourite Things. I coloured the images with Spectrum Noir Pencils, paper stubs and blending solution. I then fussy cut them and adhered them to the card with foam tape to create dimension. I used speech bubbles and hearts stamped in Spun Sugar Distress Ink for extra cuteness.

I used my Fiskars 2 inch Circle punch and some paper from the My Minds Eye Jubilee 6x6 paper pad to create the planet. The sentiment banner was made from more Solar White cardstock, black Licorice ink and a sentiment stamp from the Space Cadet set. I finished the card with Sparking Clear and Pink Peonies sequins from Pretty Pink Posh, green and yellow sequins from the Neat and Tangled Spring mix and a gold Sequin from my stash.

Click on the image below to see all the other great entries for this weeks challenge:

Clicking on the image below will take you to the Paper Smooches Shop where you can buy all their amazing stamps and dies, including the Space Cadet stamp set: