CASology Guest Designer

Hi Everyone,

I'm very excited today as this is my first ever guest designer post and it's for the very awesome CASology blog. Their theme for this week is:

This got me thinking about all my favourite mushy sentiments and a particular long-time favourite of mine comes from a Mama Elephant stamp set called Love Quotes and I used this as the focal point of my card.

It's been a lovely sunny weekend here in the UK and, as the sun streamed through the window of my craft room, I feel inspired to create something bright and colourful. I still wanted to keep it CAS though so I opted for a crisp white card base with Neenah Solar White cardstock cut to A2 size. I rounded two of the corners for a more interesting shape.

I masked off the different lines of my sentiment stamp and used a different coloured pigment ink for each. From top to bottom I used Avery Elle Magenta, Avery Elle Strawberry, Avery Elle Fizz, Avery Elle Lemon Grass, Mama Elephant Pacific Blue and Mama Elephant Egg Plant. I tried to match the colours as closely as possible to the patterned paper I used from the 6x6 Fruit Stand paper pad from Doodlebug Designs.

I stamped the speechbubble image onto more Neenah cardstock using Tuxedo black ink and second generation stamping for a muted look. I then fussy cut this and drew around it onto the back of my patterned paper and fussy cut that also. I die cut a small heart from the white speech bubble to let more of the patterned paper peek through (as well as to highlight to word 'you' since that it the title of our challenge!) I layered the two shapes and adhered them with foam pads.

I completed my card by die cutting a couple more hearts from patterned paper with my Simon Says Stamp Mini Heart Dies, and adhering a few colourful sequins. The sequins I used were (clockwise from the top left corner) Pretty Pink Posh 4mm Pink Peonies, Pretty Pink Posh 6mm Amethyst, Neat and Tangled blue sequin from the Spring Mix, Neat and Tangled mint sequin from The Spring Mix, a clear sequin coloured orange with a copic marker and Pretty Pink Posh 6mm Raspberry.

I love getting comments from you all so please let me know what you think xx

Suns{Hi}ne Card

Hello again,

This is my second Paper Smooches card for this week and I'm entering this one into the Paper Smooches Sparks October Picture Perfect challenge. I was realy excited when I saw the inspiration photo because the colours reminded me of my favourite paper collection at the moment - Fresh Cut from Basic Grey. I picked out the pink colours in the main image for this card, from the Paper Smooches Royal Cuteness stamp set. Hope you enjoy seeing the finished card:

I made the base of this A2 size card from Neenah 110lb card stock. I then die cut a scalloped rectangle of cardstock using one of the Femme Frames dies from the Mama Elephant set. I then adhered peices of patterned paper from the Basic Grey Fresh Cut 6x6 paper pad over the top in a starburst design.

To create the focal point for my card I first die cut pieces of vellum and white silk paper using the Paper Smooches Clouds dies. I then layered these onto my card with images from two Paper Smooches stamp sets. The sun image is from the Spectrum stamp set. i stamped this onto white cardstock using Blushing Bride Ink from Stampin' Up. I then stamped the castle image from the Royal Cutenes stamp set using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I coloured the image using Spectrum Noir markers and fussy cut it. I adhered all the peices using various thicknesses of foam pad to create a castle in the clouds effect.

Next I cut a one inch thick strip of vellum and stamped the Sunshine sentiment from the Spectrum stamp set onto it using Avery Elle white Pigment ink. I sprinkled over Wow! Sparkle embossing powder and heat set it.

To complete my card I added 6mm and 4mm Sparkling clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and added subtle shimmer to the sun and castle with my Zig Clear Wink of Stellar Pen. 

Clicking on the inspiration photo below will take you to the challenge post with all the other great entries and, on course, amazing inspiration from the Paper Smooches Sparks Design team:

Clicking on the Paper Smooches badge below will take you to the Paper Smooches website where you can buy all their awesome stamps and dies:

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:

You Make Me a Happy Camper Card

Hi guys,

It's been a busy crafty bank holiday weekend for me and this is the last of the cards I've been making. I made this card for the Avery Elle AEIHeartU Challenge No. 14  and Paper Crafting Challenge No. 17  sequin challenges. I don't make many cards with a lot of white space so this is something a bit different for me. I used paper piecing and a little stamping to make this card using the Avery Elle Happy Camper stamp set and one of my new favourite 6x6 paper pads from the Crate Paper Notes & Things collection - enjoy!

I used a grey polka-dot notecard from Pebbles for my card base. I then die cut a scalloped rectangle from Neenah Solar White Cardstock using one of the Mama Elephant Femme Frames dies. 

Next I used the lake stamp from teh Avery Elle Happy Camper stamp set and stamped it nto the reverse of the cardstock rectangle using Hero Arts Soft Vanilla Shadow Ink. I used a Fiskars craft knife to cut the outline of the image from the cardstock to use as the aperture for the shaker element of my card. I stamped the cloud images directly onto the white cardstock using Pool Party ink from Stampin' Up. I also stamped the tree images using Pear Pizzaz ink, also from Stampin' Up. 

Next I stamped the mountains, trees, canoe and fox images onto the reverse side of several patterened papers from the Notes & Things 6x6 paper pad from Crate paper. Again I used Hero Arts Soft Vanilla ink. I then fussy cut the images - believe me this was pretty fiddly and time-consuming! - and adhered the to the front of my card using small pieces of foam tape. 

I stamped the sentiment from the Happy Camper Stamp set onto the front of my card using Hero Arts Charcoal Midtone Ink - this gave a little softer effect than black ink.

I adhered acetate behind the lake aperture and carefully lined the edge with foam tape. I then placed sequins where I wanted my lake to be and glued the front of my card to the card base. I used 4mm Sparkling Clear sequins and 6mm Aquamarine sequins from Pretty Pink Posh, as well as a few others from my stash. Finaly I completed my card by adhereing a few more sequins to the front. 

Clicking on the badge below will take you to the challenge post and the rest of the great entries for the 14th Avery Elle challenge:

Happier Than a Pig in Poop Card

Hello everyone,

So this week I've taken the plunge and gone for a more professional look to my photographs. Rather than taking the photo on a shelf in my craft room (and having to rely on the pretty dismal British weather to provide enough light!) I bought daylight lamps and made a light defuser box. I'm really pleased with the improvement in image quality so far and I'm sure I will achieve even better results with a bit more practice. Anyway, I hope you like the card and that you're able to see what I've been up to that little bit clearer now.

My card base was cut from a peice of Neenah Desert Storm cardstock. Next I layered a peice of pink heart patterned paper from the Dear Lizzy Daydreamer collection 6x6 paper pad. I used a thin strip of coordinating paper from the same collection to die cut a scalloped edge which I adhered to the top of the first peice of patterned paper. I used a Paper Smooches scalloped edge die from the Borders 2 set. 

Next I trimmed a small piece of Ranger Watercolour paper and die cut the top edge with the notebook paper edge die, also from the Paper Smooches Borders 2 set. I wanted to create a messy watercolour background to make it look ike the pig had been splashing around. I did this using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and plenty of water. I dried the backgrond with my heat gun and adhered it ti the card using foam tape, to create dimension. 

I stamped the happy little pig image from the Green Acres stamp set by Paper Smooches, twice onto patterned paper using Hero Arts Mid-tone ink in Cup O' Joe. I then fussy cut the images and paper peiced them, using the second image to add dimension to his nose. I adhered the images to the background using foam tape.

Next I trimmed a strip pf wood grain patterened paper from my stash and die cut he top edge once again with a die from the Borders 2 set. I used the stamp edge die to create the look of fencing. I then die cut three small hearts from the patterened paper using the Simon Says Stamp Mini Hearts die. I adhered the patterened paper to the card with foam tape.

The word "happier" was die cut using my Cricut Explore and adhered to the card using silicone glue. The remainder of the sentiment was stamped using a "create your own" label stamp from staples. I really love the tiny font and how I can quickly and esily create any sentiment I like.

I completed the card using several pink sequins from the Neat & Tangled Spring Mix sequins. I also used a couple of 4mm Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

Clicking on the image below will take you to the Paper Smooches Sparks August Anything Goes challenge:

And clicking on the image below will take you to the fabulous Paper Smooches website:

Cheer Up Grumpasaurus Card

Hey Guys,

I made this card for my Vicar who has been a bit sad recently. I really love the sentiment from the Paper Smooches Cuteasaurus stamp set and I thought it would be perfect for this card. I wanted to enter the card into this weeks Paper Smooches Sparks Challenge and the design is inspired by their photo.

The card base is a Pebbles notecard from their Garden Party Collection. I then die cut a piece of vellum using the scalloped edge frame from the Mama Elephant Femme Frames set. Next I used the inner frame from the same set to create a stitched rectangle of Neenah Solar White cradstock. I stamped the Hero Arts Galaxy wood block stamp with Stampin' Up Smokey Slate ink onto this. I then used a piece of woodgrain paper from the Dear Lizzy Daydreamer 6x6 paper pad and die cut it into to a speech bubble using the Mama Elephant Speech Trio dies. I die cut some tiny heart shaped windows into it using  Simon Says Stamp Mini Heart Set Craft dies and stamped the sentiment from the Paper Smooches Cuteasaurus stamp set in Hero Arts Charcoal ink. The dinosaur images are from the same Paper Smooches set as the sentiment and i stamped and paperpieced them using more 6x6 paper from the Dear Lizzy Daydreamer collection. The flowers that the dino on the right is holding are tiny images from the the Mama Elephant Honey Bunny stamp set which I painstakingly stamped and cut from scraps of pink patterned paper - good job I enjoy fussy cutting! I adered each of the layers with foam tape to create dimension and completed the card with twine from my stash and 4mm and 6mm Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

I tried to take as much inspiration from the Paper Smooches photo as possible. The colour scheme of pale pink, pale aqua, white and grey is taken from it. I also used pink flowers and woodgrain inspiried by the wooden paintbrushes. The sparkling clear sequins were inspired by the glass jars and bottles.

Below is the photo that inspired my card. Click on it to go straight to the challenge post on the Paper Smooches Sparks website:

Clicking on the Paper Smooches badge below will take you straight to their website where you can buy all their awesome stamps and dies:

Goldilocks and the Three Bears Hello Card

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to share this card I made for the Avery Elle Kraft Challenge - although in the end I missed the deadline for submission, (the whole different time zone thing got the better of me…oops!) I didn't really have anyone in particular in mind when I made it, I just wanted it to be fun and cute.

I started with a 5x7 card base which I made from Neenah Desert Storm Cardstock. I then layered a piece of polka dot patterned paper from a Stampin' Up Saleabration freebie from this year. The centre piece of the card was made using more Desert Storm cardstock and pattered various shades of green patterened paper from the Amy Tan Yes Please collection. I used the Xcut Woodland Shadowbox Dies to create the layers of the forest scene. I separated the layers with foam tape to create dimension. I then used the sentiment, characters, toadstools and tree stump stamps from the Avery Elle Red & Goldie stamp set. I stamped them in Black Licorice Hybrid ink from My Favourite Things.

I stamped the three bear figures onto Desert Storm cardstock and coloured the mama and papa bears in a darker shade of brown with Spectrum Noir coloured pencils, blending solution and paper stubs. I coloured the cheeks and ear tips of the baby bear pink in the same way and added freckles with a Uniball white gel pen. I used the moustache, top hat, tie and bow stamps from the Mama Elephant Honey Bunny stamp set to accesorise each of the bears and fussy cut each of them. The goldilocks, toadstool and tree stump were stamped, coloured and fussy cut from Neenah Solar White cardstock in a similar way. I adhered them to the card with silicone glue. The sentiment was stamped in Stampin' Up Crisp Cantaloupe ink.

I used my Zig Wink of Stella clear brushpen and Ranger Glossy Accents to highlight certain areas of the card such as the toadstool and sentiment. Finally I adhered various sequins for extra sparkle. I used 6mm and 4mm Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh and 8mm salmon pink ones from my stash.

To create the inside of the card I first used the Hero Arts Galaxy wood block stamp and Stampin' Up Pool Party ink. I then used another cute bear image form the Avery Elle stamp set to complete my card.