Read Me Tag

Hi guys,

So I have something a little different to show you this time. I made a bookmark tag for the AEIHeartU Tags Challenge using the Avery Elle Alice & Friends Stamp set. Hope you like it!

I started by die cutting a peice of white card stock and a peice of patterned paper, from the Pebbles Garden Party 6x6 paper pad, using one of the Paper Smooches book mark dies. I adhered these together. I stamped the white rabbit and Alice designs from the Avery Elle Alice and Friends stamp set onto a variety of patterned paper, using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I then fussy cut each of the layers and paper peiced them. I added rosy cheeks with Spectrum Noir markers. I also used the scrolled banner and letters from the stamp set to create my 'Read Me' sentiment. I stamped this using Versafine in and fussy cut the image.

Next I created bunting using pink bakers twine and more patterened paper from the Garden Party paper pad, punched using my Stampin' Up banner punch. I added more twine and and ribbon to the top of the tag. I completed my tag with Aquamarine, Pink Blush and Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

Clicking on the link below will take you to the challenge post so you can enter to. You can also see all the fab DT inspiration:

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:

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:

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:

Lobster Birthday Card

This birthday card was made for my little brother - he loves fish and anything to do with the sea so I thought this card would be great for him (I also thought he'd enjoy the daft joke!). I started out with a kraft notecard from Hobbycraft. The striped patterned paper in the background is from Crate Paper. I stamped ink splotches using an old Kaisercraft stamp set and clear emobossed them using Versamark ink and Papermania clear embossing powder, for a distressed effect. I tore one edge to create a sea foam effect next to the seablue paper. The wood effect paper is from the Crate Paper DIY Shop collection. I cut several pieces and distressed the edges with my Stampin' Up distress tool - I hoped to create the look of driftwood you might find on the beach. The wave effect on the right edge of the card was created using my Cricut Explore and the First Few Years. It was cut from blue and cream solid smooth cardstock from Papermania. The lobster was also cut on the Cricut, this time from the Brooklyn Iron-on cartridge. I matted and layered cream and yellow polka-dot scraps from my stash and adhered the lobster over the top. I only applied glue to the centre of the lobster, allowing the pincers and tendrils to move freely, creating texture and dimension. I stamped the sentiment with Dovecraft mini alphabet stamps and Stampin' Up Pacific Point and Early Espresso inks - I love how inexpensive these mini stamp sets are but they're a bit fiddly and I managed to smudge a couple of letters. As luck would have it, I really liked how this turned out, even stamping a few letters back-to-front, inkeeping with the distressed overall look of the card.

lobster card

There isn't much to show you on the inside, just some more stamping and that great Crate Paper wood effect patterned paper - but I couldn't tell you half the joke and leave you without the punchline now could I ? :-)

Thanks Card

This card was very quick but also very pretty. I made it for my friend mum after she looked after my guinea pigs while I was away for the weekend. Firstly I ran a plain white notecard through my Cuttlebug and a Stampin' up embossing folder called Delicate Designs Textured Impressions - I love how it creates a lace effect. The sentiment was die cut using a Paper Smooches die and a scrap of blue cardstock. The flowers were stamped and die cut from the Wplus9 More Fresh Cuts set. I used Hero Arts shadow inks in shades Butter Bar, Passion Flower, Green Hills, Forever Green, Mint Julep and Soft Sky. I also used Pumpkin Pie and Pool Party from Stampin' Up.  I used Dovecraft silicone glue to adhere the flowers to create lots of dimension.

Welcome Baby Card

This card was made for friends on the birth of their son. Firstly I stamped a Neat & Tangled Sunburst in Hero Arts Soft Vanilla ink. The kangaroo image from the Critters Down Under stamp set from Lawn Fawn was stamped using Momento Tuxedo Black ink. I then coloured it using Spectrum Noir blendable pencils and blended with paper stubs and blending fluid. I created a faux-bokeh appearance using circle stamps from various stamp sets in my stash and Papermania gold embossing powder. I then added sequins and completed the card with  Stampin' Up gold bakers twine.

Bunting Congratulations Card

I made this simple card for a friend on her baptism this Easter. I used patterned paper from the Fresh Cut 6x6 pad by Basic Grey. I used the banner punch from Stampin' Up and pink bakers twine from Dovecraft Riverbank Revels collection to create the bunting and attached it to the card with the Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher. I then used sequins and stamped a sentiment from the Stampin' Up This Day Forward stamps set, embossed with Versamark ink and Papermania gold embossing powder.

Floral Birthday Card

This quick but pretty card was a birthday card for a friend. The design was inspired by my 2013 Christmas cards. The base for the card was a Hobbycraft 5x5 white notecard. I used an Xcut square nesting die to emboss a border around the edge of the card. I cut a peice of patterned paper from the Fourteen collection by Crate Paper down to 4x4. I distressed the edges a little with my Stampin' Up distress tool. Next I adhered a small peice of Neenah Solar White cardstock to the centre. I stamped the sentiment from Stampin' Up's Morning Meadow stamp set, using Versafine black ink. I stamped the flower and stem images separately onto another piece of Neenah white cardstock using the Avery Elle Petals & Stems stamp set. I used Momento London fog ink for the stem and leaves and Stampin' Up Strawberry Slush ink for the flower. I then die cut the images using the coordinating dies which I ran thrugh my Cricut Cuttlebug. I adhered the die cut pieces to the card with Dovecraft silicone glue to add dimension. Before adhereing my patterned paper to the notecard, I wrapped around a piece of green bakers twine from the Dovecrafts Riverbank Revels collection. I finished the card using the My Paper World Paper Pens in yellow and moss green. I use these as a cheaper and more flexible alternative to enamel dots. The only disadvantage is that, unlike enamel dots, you have to wait for them to dry.

Bright Leaf Thank-You Card

This thank-you card was made from a Hobbycraft 5x5 white notecard. Firstly I adhered a piece of green polka dot patterned paper from the Amy Tangerine Sketchbook 6x6 paper pad. I used the scallop blade cartridge from my American Crafts paper trimmer to create a decorative top edge and a Tonic Simplicity border punch to create a decorative bottom edge. Next I adhered pieces of Stampin' Up Crushed Curry chevron ribbon to the top and bottom of the patterened paper. I then cut another piece of patterned paper from the Amy Tangerine Sketchbook 6x6 paper pad. I used my Cricut Mini and the Cindy Loo cartridge to die-cut the thank-you sentiment. I then adhered the die-cut paper to the front of the card. I completed my design using dark brown twine, a clear button from Hobbycraft and a wood veneer heart from Studio Calico.