Engagement Card, Pears, Congratulations

 I love my Memory Box and Poppystamp dies.  But you already know that, don't you?
They take up well over three quarters of my collection and get used a lot...  but I'm not brand loyal to any one company (is anyone..?) so if I see something I like, I buy it.  Simple as...  My only caveat (other than can I afford it?) is that it has to compliment my existing collection OR I know that I will use it a lot.

Speaking of simple, there's just something about the old Quickutz dies that I love.
Yes, I know...  they aren't trendy or popular and most of you probably have a neglected stash somewhere or other.  But I haven't been crafting for that long compared to most of you and missed the boat when these may well have been 'in'...  so I'm making up for lost time with a collection that currently totals about fifty.  And I still have a few more to go!

As I'm trying to 'use' rather than just hoard my stash, (I've borrowed this phrase from the very lovely Jeanne Jachna), I've paired this Lifestyle Crafts/Quickutz 'Pears' die with a ring I made from a tiny Poppystamps die, a sequin and a gem stone.
One other die for the hearts, one for a decorative strip running left to right, an embossing folder for the bow, a stencil, some watercolours and shaving foam (used to create a very 'clean' looking marbling technique), 3D glue gel, the use of a paper tearing ruler, a stamped and heat embossed sentiment...  and this card was done.

I've included a close up or two of the ring as I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.  Using embossing powder on the band makes such a difference, don't you think?  I so love adding dimension...

Now I'm seriously not a fan of messy techniques, so playing along at CAS Mix Up this month was a real challenge for me.  As it is, I've already been working (again) on my issue of using black for this challenge...   AND I've started using my husband's very intimidating looking camera for my blog posts.

(Still a long way to go on that one)! 

Baby steps.

This works for me.

Recognising what I don't like to do (craft wise), then just giving it a few teeny tiny tries.  I guess it's a bit like aversion therapy although seriously, it'll never work for me when it comes to spiders!

We had a HUGE, sprint running beastie in our house the other evening.  My poor husband gets the honour of depositing them outside.  Don't laugh, but after he's caught them I make him take them out the front door and across the road!  It may well be ridiculous, but it makes me feel better!

So...  a 'clean look' marbling technique with minimal shaving foam and paint it was.  It won't win any prizes, but at least I gave it a shot.  

 Do you think I would prefer it if I bought some alcohol inks and floated them in water instead?  Maybe I should investigate that thought before buying as I refuse to buy what I will never use...  which is obviously very different to bought but just haven't got around to using yet!!!

I'm sure you understand...

Oh, and just before I forget...  I should probably mention that although you can't see any evidence of it in the photo's I did actually use two black inks on the stencil.  Bottom layer Brilliance 'Starlite Black' and top layer Tsukineko/Memento 'Tuxedo Black'.  By putting on a thick bottom layer and dotting on a second lighter layer you get the depth of a darker black with some added shine from the Brilliance Ink underneath.

Supplies Used:

Dies:

Quickutz/Lifestlyle Crafts 'Pears'

Poppystamps 'Paper Chains'

Paper Smooches 'Tiny Hearts'

Impression Obsession 'Tied Line'

Stencil:

Crafters Workshop 'Butterfly Collage'

Ink:

Brilliance 'Starlite Black'

Tsukineko/Memento 'Tuxedo Black'

Ranger 'Perfect Medium'

Embossing Powder:

Ranger 'Liquid Platinum'

Stampendous 'Clear Detail'

Embossing Folder:

Spellbinders/Celebrations 'Fabric Weave'

Other:

Crafter's Companion/Spectrum Noir AquaTint Inks 'Essentials'  - Black and Gold

Stamp from stash

Sequin

Gem Stone Embellishment

Shaving Foam

Paper Tearing Ruler

3D Glue Gel

Challenges I'm Entering...

CAS Mix Up

Pixies Crafty Snippets Challenge

(Large scrap of white used, plus tiny snippets on pears, ring and hearts).

Curtain Call Challenge

Aud Sentiments

Challenge #163   'Anything Goes + A Sentiment'

Allsorts Challenge

Week 380   'Anniversaries and/or Special Occasions'

CAS-ual Fridays

CFC #156 Dimension & Bling

Enjoy your weekend...  and thank you so much for taking the time to stop by.  It really is appreciated far more than you know.

Donna. x

Triptych Card, Summer Theme, Flowers + Strawberries

I made this card specifically for the latest Poppystamps Challenge.

It's very busy, isn't it?

A busy card for busy bees...  that's my excuse!

 As I'm not keen on yellow (or any bright colours really), this card was a real challenge for me to make.  But as it's Poppystamps first ever Tic Tac Toe challenge I had to at least give it a try.  

Plus I've missed playing along with them...  

That's what happens when you have lots of half finished projects to work on, stamps to reorganise, etc.

Plus hay fever season does no good thing for my histamine levels...  

(I have histamine intolerance). 

I won't go into details.  After all, anyone vaguely interested can do a quick search online and find out all there is to know.  But the tiredness and dizzy spells are no fun, let me tell you...

I've included the Poppystamps Tic Tac Toe grid so you can hopefully see which elements I chose to play along with...

...but if you can't (Goes off to cry in a corner knowing that I failed abysmally) I chose Flower, Yellow and Twine).

Supplies Used:

Dies:

Poppystamps (Triptych) 'Dogwood Bloom' 

Poppystamps 'Meadow Clover'

Poppystamps 'Berry Best'

Memory Box 'Butterfly Heart'

Memory Box 'Blissful Butterfly Border'

Memory Box 'Jolly Bumble Bees'

Embossing Folder:

Cuttlebug 'Snowflakes'

Other:

Brushos 'Lemon'

Tim Holtz Distress Paint 'Picket Fence'

Tim Holtz Distress 'Splatter Brush'

Twine 'White' 

Challenges I'm Entering...

Poppystamps

Challenge #21  'Tic Tac Toe'

(I chose Flowers, Yellow and Twine)

Pixies Crafty Snippets Challenge

(A whole card made from snippets - yay!)

Allsorts Challenge

Week #368  'How Does Your Garden Grow'

Cuttlebug Mania
'Midsummer'   Use Flowers and/or Wreaths

I have a second card to post for the latest Poppystamps challenge in the next day or so.  Trying something new again...  and so not my usual colour scheme.

As always. if you have the time I would appreciate your feedback.  I find it a real challenge sharing projects I'm not too sure about...

Take care.

Donna...

Sunset Aperture, Birds in Garden, Female

Eek...  I haven't posted in ages, have I?

I've been having some ongoing health issues that are a huge inconvenience more than anything else...  they kill my energy, make my eyesight blurry at times and make me oh so very dizzy (among many varied other things).  Not conducive to 'playtime', hey?  Still...  it could be worse :)

My card today was specifically made for the latest Poppystamps Challenge, but as I've taken so long to get it finished other challenges have popped up along the way that also tie in perfectly.  I guess that's one advantage to being so S L O W...  spotting other challenges and tailoring the card to suit them all :)

Dies used...

Poppystamps 'Resting Birds'

Poppystamps 'An Apple A Day'

Poppystamps 'Garden Step Ladder'

Poppystamps 'Serendipity Bird Frame'

Poppystamps 'Grassland Border'

Poppystamps 'Bushel Basket'

Stencil...

Tim Holtz 'Bricked'

Stamp...

Kaisercraft Edges 'Texture'

Here's my card...

Believe it or not, this was originally going to be a CAS (ish) design that featured the Grassland strip section (minus the far left bird) paired with a sentiment.  I kind of changed my mind on that idea, but will use it again someday!

I'm entering this card into the following challenges...

Poppystamps

Simon Says (Wednesday) Challenge

City Crafter/Week #280  ('Fall Has Arrived')

Creative Card Crew/Challenge #96 (Fall)

Pixie's Crafty Snippets Challenge

Use Your Stuff/Challenge #192 (Fall Theme)

With the exception of the Grassland borders, all other dies used were from my 'snippets' card collections.  I still have many, many more to use up...  so I'm so glad I found a happy challenge blog where some mischief is allowed...  as well as my many teeny, tiny offcuts :)

Not sure if 'grunging' it up like this has worked or not.  Part of me says 'yes', but the other part thinks CAS would have been the better way to go.  

What do you think? 

Don't know what I'm going to make next...  but something far less 'busy', I think...

Take care...  and if you are popping in from 'The Playground',  here's a *Wave* just for you :)

'Bye...

Cherries on Branch, Aperture, Female

Poppystamps have a challenge running right now that's just coming to an end...  and I've chosen to take a little 'artistic license' with my design this time around :)

Can you see the elements I've used to put this card together that all tie in with 'A Day In The Park'?

The bird, flowers and tree bark 'look' are obvious choices, I know...  but I've also included a brick wall stamp and some cherries. 

Why?  

Because in my head I had this idea of one of those gorgeous, stately park gardens that you can walk around from time to time...  and I pictured cherries growing in the trees, architectural brick work...  Get the idea?

Here's a quick peek at the inside...

This is a teeny, tiny 'mini make' that would make for a lovely Notelet or Thank You card.

How did I do it?

Cut four 8cm x 8cm squares out of white cardstock.  Place two to one side.

Cut an aperture out of the two remaining squares using the Memory Box 'Snow Globe' circle, then emboss one square using the Crafter's Companion 'Textures' Woodgrain embossing folder.

Distress the edges of the embossed square with a Paper Distressing Tool, then use Memento (Tsukineko) 'Rich Cocoa' to ink up the edges.

Take a 9cm x 9cm card blank and cut a hole slightly larger than the aperture out of the front panel.

Glue the embossed aperture square to the front of the card and attach the other aperture square to the back of the front panel.

Using the Bo Bunny Wall To Wall Textures Clear Stamp with Memento (Tsukineko) Rich Cocoa, print a partial brick wall image onto the third 8cm x 8cm square.  

(To print a partial image, use a piece of scrap card to cover the section of stamp you don't want to see printed before inking up).  

Once dry, glue to the inside of the card. 

Then glue the fourth blank square to the back.  (This is just to add a little extra stability to the card as well as it being the space to write your short message on).

Once the card base is all set, arrange the dies as shown in the pictures above.  (For the list of dies used, see below)...

Poppystamps - A Cherry on Top

Memory Box - Woodland Branch

Marianne Design Collectables - Birds

Elizabeth Crafts - Bunch of Flowers

Add jewel embellishments to the centres of the flowers and you are all done :)

I don't normally make cards where you are supposed to write on the back of them, but in this case I made an exception...  and snuck on an extra jewelled flower and bird :)

Other challenges I'm entering this card into...

House of Cards
July Challenge...  Food &/or Colour Inspiration

As always, if you have the time, I would love to know what you think of it.

Take care...

Donna

*********************

PS...  I've FINALLY got my Google Friend Connect site up and running.  (You would not believe the aggravation this has caused me).

 BIG APOLOGIES to those of you I've only just been able to add my name to.  

Apple Tag, Stamped, Thanks

If you've seen my previous post you'll see the similarities between this tag and that one immediately.  

Same colours, same stamp...  it's just that this time around I've used hammer card rather than flat, matt card.  It really has made a huge difference, hasn't it?

 

For those of you who haven't seen the previous post, I've used a Tsukineko (Memento) 'Lady Bug' and a Stampin' Up 'Gumball Green' Marker Pen, scribbled onto an acrylic block, spritzed with water and stamped directly onto hammer card.  

Once dry, I simply stamped on the image (Stampers Anonymous Schoolhouse Mini Cling Stamp Set) with Stazon Black Ink, added a sentiment from Inkadinkado, three clear sequins and some twine :)

I may try and squeeze one more tag design in before the deadline.  I've had a bit of a blitz on them recently, have you noticed?

Yet another entry for the latest Tag You're It challenge...

Hope you're having a good day :)

Donna.

Apple Tag, Stamped, Thank You

With the end of the final school term fast approaching, I realised I needed to make one final apple tag for a man...  So this seemed like the perfect excuse to try out the apple from my newly acquired Stampers Anonymous Schoolhouse Mini stamp set :)

As I've also been wanting to try out a very quick and simple technique I read about many months ago that involves scribbling onto an acrylic block, spritzing with water and then stamping onto card, I've combined the two into one.  Trouble is...  I couldn't decide on what kind of card I wanted to stamp onto, so I've ended up with two tags (other shown on the next post)...  both very different despite their similarities.

I've used a Tsukineko (Memento) 'Lady Bug' and Stampin' Up 'Gumball Green' Marker Pen for my apple colour combination and paired that with the 'Thank You' punch by Martha Stewart.  Can you see that I've layered a black layer over white to create a shadow effect?

I wanted more black in this design, so I added a plain black second tag (with a second white layer glued behind for writing on) and some black and white twine.

Quick to make...  and it will look good tied around a bottle of Whiskey for my daughter's SENCO :)

I'm also adding this tag to the current Tag You're It challenge.

'Bye for now...

Donna.

Double Tag, Apples & Leaves, Thanks

This is the second of my apple tags I've made to join in with the newest Tag You're It challenge, and as you can see there are some similarities to my shaker tag posted yesterday.

Once again, I've used the PaperSmooches Tags 2 set.  I always cut two for my base and glue them together as I like the added durability it gives to the tags.  I've also used the Poppystamps 'An Apple a Day' set again, mounting the smaller one on foam pads for added dimension and again using my Stampin' Up Chalk Marker for the highlights.

This time around however, I cut and glued together five of the 'Thanks' sentiments instead of four as I knew that I was planning on overhanging the tag a little.  Five seems to give enough durability that I don't have to worry about the sentiment tearing or bending.

Maybe it's just me, but I so love this little Jigsaw die.  I have so many ideas on how to use it...  but like all things that depends on time!!!  It's by an online company called Crafter's Companion and is part of their Die'sire Essentials range.

The leaf stamp has been used with black ink on both the white and the red tag.  To finish off and carry across a little more of this colour I weaved together some strands of black raffia to secure the two tags together.

Just in case you haven't seen my earlier post, here's the design tag inspiration picture once again...

I'm also entering this tag into the latest Poppystamps challenge...

Hope you're having a good day :)

Donna.

Shaker Tag, Apples, Thanks

This is my first ever attempt at a 'shaker' of any sort...  and my thanks goes to Jeanne Jachna for her easy to understand tutorial on A Kept Life  :)

I'd also like to thank Tracey McNeely, Owner/Designer of Tag You're It among many other things.  She very kindly answered my query in detail and I appreciate her kindness in doing that - especially as I've just been on her blog (In My Creative Opinion) and read about how much she has going on right now.  Thank you  :)

So...  How did I make my Shaker Tag?

I've used the largest tag from the PaperSmooches Tags 2 set and cut it three times (one for the top, two glued together for the base).  I bought this set specifically for making shaker tags as my other tag dies are much smaller by comparison.

The aperture was cut from my Spellbinders (Small) Deckled Rectangle set, the 'Thanks' (I cut four of these and glued them together) is by Papertrey Ink (Wet Paint Cuts) and the apples are all from An Apple a Day (Poppystamps).  Before I forget, the highlight on the big apple was done using my Stampin' Up Chalk Marker  :)

Can you see the tiny apples inside the shaker tag with the green leaves on?  I must confess that the smallest leaves from the Poppystamps die were just too big for these, so instead I cut and 'pruned' some Ieaves from the Impression Obsession 'Leaf Cluster'.

I used a re sealable bag for my shaker...  and an acetate front sheet, securing it all together with double sided tape and mini foam pads.

As much as I love making tags, I really do struggle with the finishing bow/string/ribbon piece that threads through the hole at the top :(  In the end, I settled on a luggage tag ribbon look and threaded the red peg through.

Take a look at the design inspiration...  So CAS and so pretty...

Can a shaker card truly be CAS?  I'm guessing probably not, but I honestly don't know.

If you can spare the time I would really love to know what you think.  I've done my best to keep a minimalistic feel to it, either way!

Thanks for stopping by...

Donna

Strawberry Tag, Thank You, Bees + Flowers

Have you seen the latest challenge over at Tag You're It?
I so had to play along with this one  :)

The guest designer's tag features strawberries, red, white and green colouring, gingham...  and it's a double tag.

I couldn't help myself.  I had to make a strawberry shaped tag for this challenge...  and a matching mini treat box.  I was sorely tempted to go the whole hog and make a mini basket for the My Favourite Things (Die-Namics) Berry Box.  I still might, you know!

My tag started off as a Memory Box Grand Heart Die, embossed using a Cuttlebug Swiss Dots folder and inked up a little using Tsukineko (Memento) Rhubarb Stalk.  I cut and embossed two of these, gluing them together to hide the brad fasteners from the Memory Box Fancy Blossoms 'strawberry flowers'.  Once dry, I cut a little from the bottom to make a more natural looking strawberry shape.

The strawberry 'leaf' is in fact a Stampin' Up Large 5 Petal Flower Punch, inked up using Tsukineko (Memento) Olive Grove.  I've also glued on a second wooden green leaf (it's really a wooden green flower!) for one of the bumble bees to sit on.

I just love the Memory Box Jolly Bumble Bee.  These guys are so fiddly to make, but when shaped I think they look fantastic.  I love nature themed dies, anyhow...

The Thank You is from a punch by Martha Stewart, cut from Kraft card and coloured using a Stampin' Up Chalk Marker.  I've scored between the 'N' and the 'K' because I think it looks better that way.

The smaller strawberries are one of my newest dies from Poppystamps, called Berry Best.  I embossed them using yet another different strawberry die from a set by Sizzix (Thinlits/Sweet Strawberry).  The tag is also from this set, with a faint gingham design stamped on to echo the original design inspiration (see below).

I've left the beige strawberry tag blank except for inking up the 'leaves' as I did for the front one.

Some natural twine to tie the two together...  and finished just in time to post before the end of the challenge  :)

PS...  I forgot to mention that the treat box can be tied to the tag if so wished.  I chose not to for the sake of the photograph, but would tie them in reality.

Half term's over here so back to an early start tomorrow.

All the best...

Donna

Circular Tag, Bird, Cherries

Apologies for not posting for a while...  I'm still getting over a virus that's stolen my energy as well as my mojo  :(

Didn't stop me from coveting some of the latest craft releases though!!!

Anyhow...  Before I was ill I had been having a go at making some 'hanging' aperture cards, using my Memory Box Large Snow Globe for the 'cut out'.  (I was foolish enough to try and persevere with these whilst ill.  It did not go well)!  I've used two of these 'left over' globe pieces, glued back to back for this circular tag.

However, just before I post my take on the Tag You're It featured design, let me make a disclaimer... I didn't set out for my embossing paste to have a bird on it!  Honestly, I didn't...  At the time I had no idea I would be using a bird.  The original plan was for the splat to have the cherries on it!  Really, I swear...   and I didn't even notice the 'oops' until a few hours later...

Now I have quite a cheeky tag to find a home for...  Still, it should get a laugh or two!!!

I chose the Carte Postale stamp (Stampers Anonymous/Tim Holtz) rather than a newsprint or script, adding Splatters (Tim Holtz) using my embossing paste.  As I don't own any burlap I went for lime green Spider Web instead.

Several layers of Papertrey Ink Wet Paint Cuts glued together made the word 'enjoy'.   Then it was simply a case of adding A Cherry on Top (Poppystamps) and the bird and twig pieces from Frantic Stamper's, Bird on a Pussywillow Branch.

Some green and cream twine to compliment the colour scheme...  and I was done  :)

Here's the featured tag design...

You'll notice that this is the closest I've come to sticking to the original inspiration tag so far.

Hope you have a good day!

Donna...