52 CCT Stash Challenge

Here is my DT card for this week's Stash Challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown and I am very excited about it!

There was no foil in the stash, which is surprising because everything else seems to be there! I wasn't too sure what to do, but then I found a wonderful kit by Tonertex. I stamped the tree image using a retired SU stamp called Evergreen, then drew over the branches with the glue pen supplied in the kit. You leave it for at least thirty minutes to dry. In my case it was longer because I watched Sport Relief Bake Off (and howled with laughter at David James' cake, because that's exactly what my effort would look like!) You then simply apply a piece of foil and rub it. Ta da! Even the left-over piece of foil looked quite attractive...

I had thought that foiling had to involve machines or laminators, but I was wrong! I am now going to go round applying foil to everything that doesn't move...

 

 

Over-excited blobby incidents with the glue pen were disguised with 'baubles' and then today, T.L and I have chased sunbeams around the house to try desperately to photograph my tree so that the foiling is even slightly visible. Here is the aforementioned member of the creative team!

 

 

 

I'm really pleased with how my little card turned out. I do hope that you will join us! April x



White on White Card

 

 I was inspired to make this card for the 'White on White' challenge over at Cards in Envy. You are allowed a tiny bit of colour, which is a good job because I was internally yelling at myself the whole time, "Add colour!" I haven't made a white on white card before and it was a challenge (I know that's the point!) It's interesting because it brings home to you just how many shades of white there are. That textured cardstock is white, not cream - really it is!

I think texture is pretty important when making a white on white card. I used some chevron embossing, textured card and glimmer paper to add some interest. I have also played with depth, by using the inlaid die-cut technique combined with dimensionals. I couldn't resist a tiny bit of pink courtesy of some enamel dots and a Hero Arts sentiment embossed with Donna Salazar embossing powder in chiffon.

I hope you like my card. It is off to a 13th birthday party tonight, so time was of the essence! It is also my second card of the week for Pixie's Snippets Playground because the very tiniest snippets of glimmer paper were deployed!

Finally, here is a member of the creative team post-snooze...

Happy Friday! April x

Wildflower Fields

 

 

 

 

Hello! Here are three cards that I have made this week using snippets of Wildflower Fields designer series paper. It is one of the products that you can get free with orders of £45 during Stampin' Up's Saleabration. I love it! The first two cards use the smaller flower from Birthday Blooms and the gorgeous chick is another sweet Saleabration stamp set - Honeycomb Happiness.

I'd like to send my first card to Di and Parsnip as my snippet card of the week - Pixie's Snippets Playground. Happy crafting! April x

Spring Workshop

It's definitely time for a workshop! I do hope that you will join us on Friday, 5th February at 7pm in Bebington.

 We will be focusing on heat embossing, decoupage and masking techniques to make four greeting cards. There will be a range of sentiments available for you to tailor your card creations to suit a range of different occasions. The Stampin' Up stamp sets we will be using are Timeless Textures, Birthday Blooms, Honeycomb Happiness and Circle of Spring.

The cost of the workshop is £12 and includes all materials, inks, embellishments etc. Please bring your own adhesive and dimensionals (these may be purchased from me on the day).  The workshop is suitable for all levels of crafting experience and beginners are very welcome!

Please note that bookings are not refundable. If you are unable to attend the workshop, I will supply you with a kit to make your cards. Please do let me know if you have any questions.

April x

52 CCT Theme Challenge

This week's challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown is to make a Christmas or winter card with the theme of candles or lanterns.



I have chosen a digi from Fred She Said called 'Christmas Poinsettia Lantern'. It comes with this text:

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John 8:12.

I sponged the background and stamped it with Gorgeous Grunge in Sahara Sand. The digi was coloured with Polychromos pencils (a pre-Christmas present!) and fussy-cut. I stuck it to the background and used a sponge dauber to create the glow effect.

I do hope that you will join us with your lanterns and candles! Happy crafting! April x

I is for Inks

There's only one thing better than a snippet and that's an inky snippet! I made the background by inking a piece of card with Distress ink (Twisted Citron) and then printed on a chevron embossing folder that I had inked with stripes of Abandoned Coral and Cracked Pistachio. There's also a bit of additional stencilling. The butterflies are die-cut from the piece of Kraft card that I was leaning on throughout my Funkie Junkie 12 Tags journey! There's everything there - ink, gesso, gold spray (probably cat hair?) I love the random effect of it! I painted them with a gloss medium, so in real life they look quite metallic.

Using embossing folders to print with is one of my favourite things in my crafty life. It reminded me of a Christmas card I made this time last year using the same method (and embossing folder!)

I'd like to enter Mrs A.'s Butterfly Challenge - I is for Inks and of course, Pixie's Snippets Playground because I have managed to combine ink, butterflies and some extreme snippetage in my card :-)

52 CCT Colour Challenge

We have a rather unusual colour challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown this week!

Deborah's colour choice will definitely cheer you up if you are experiencing grey skies and cold weather at the moment. I used a free digi from a papercraft magazine and coloured it with Copics. The sentiment stencil also came free with a magazine, so it's a bit of a bargain basement card! I sponged the edges of the scalloped square with Carved Pumpkin Distress ink.

I hope you will feel inspired by the rest of the DT's cheery and bright Christmas creations! Happy crafting, April x

Birthday Blooms

I love the Birthday Blooms stamp set from the new Stampin' Up spring/summer catalogue and I couldn't wait to make a card with it! I started off by stamping the image twice and then layering the flowers over the leaves to give it a bit of depth. All the colouring was done with a blender pen, using Blushing Bride, Delightful Dijon and Pear Pizzazz inkpads. I've added a snippet of Pool Party ribbon and backed it all on a Pool Party card.

I'm waving to Di and sending the flower to Parsnip (so he can wear it behind one ear) over at Pixie's Snippets Playground. I'm also going to have a cup of tea and a gander at all the lovely cards there!

Happy crafting! April x

52 CCT Sketch Challenge

We are back for another year of 52 Christmas Card Throwdown! We are welcoming two new DT members - Kaja and Jacqueline (who make beautiful cards) and we have a whole twelve months of new challenges ahead! Deborah is this month's hostess and we are starting off with a sketch challenge:

I have used a stamp from Tim Holtz's Mini Holidays that I have coloured with Copics. I've added some glittery Pool Party ribbon and sequins and backed everything on to a piece of Island Indigo dsp and a Chocolate Chip card base.

We can't wait to see your interpretations of the sketch. Having a pile of cards ready to go at Christmas made me a tiny bit more organised than usual!!

See you over at 52CCT! April x

Parchment Craft

 

 

Hello! As part of my new year craft chat with 'Too Much Glue' Sam, I decided to try some new crafty things in 2016. This is my first go at parchment craft. Bit of a steep learning curve, as it demands lots of precision and patience - not really my strong points! So I am going for a less precise, lazier interpretation instead and will just have to hope for the best.

This little flower is A Day for Daisies digi and I did the colouring with Polychromos pencils. I also used a piece of pink glitter card and tried to tone it all down a bit by backing it on a Chocolate Chip card base.

I would like to send my flower to Di and Parsnip at Pixie's Snippets Playground and the 'Anything Goes' challenges at A Day for Daisies and Inspiration Destination Happy crafting! April x

Xanthine

My first card of 2016! I was inspired by a playground visit to have a go at the Butterfly Challenge  The theme there is 'X is for Xanthine' - the yellow colouring found in some plants.

My butterfly is from SU's Watercolour Wings, stamped in Daffodil Delight, Summer Starfruit and Delightful Dijon. The patterned paper is from Basic Grey and was a snippet left over from making a tea light box. I stencilled the background with Daffodil Delight and added some yellow rhinestones - although they haven't shown up yellow at all!

It was nice to make a cheery, bright card on such a grey day (especially as we are in the rather stressful midst of homework left to the last possible day!) My flutterby is off to perch on Parsnip's head at Pixie's Snippets Playground. I hope his mum is having a rest after such a busy Christmas!

My Five Favourite Christmas Cards of 2015

Happy New Year! I've just found this great idea from Debby of A Scrapjourney - My Five Favourite Christmas Cards of 2015 via Pixie's Crafty Workshop. So here we go with my fave festive cards from the last year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bit of an animal/bird theme going on here, apart from Santa with his tree!

 

I'm still feeling very lazy after Christmas, but enjoyed an inspirational New Year's Day craft chat with Too Much Glue Sam over lots of lychee liqueur, toffee vodka and Panettone bread and butter Pudding (Yum!) We have decided on a number of new crafty enterprises this year, including Gilding, Brushos and Parchment craft. Very exciting! I do just need the mince pies to disappear first! 

 

Happy Crafting! April x