Penny Black Tulip birthday card

 

Hello all, and welcome!

Despite the droopy hot weather, we're back with a new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More,

and this time we are asking you to make your mark with any colouring medium you fancy.

I came up with a landscape shape card for a change.

I used my new Penny Black tulip 3d embossing folder and die, and then used the accompanying stencils, to colour the image with pink, purple and green inks.

I used the Spellbinder Essential Petal dies to cut the layers and coloured the bottom one with the same ink. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink. I'm sorry the photos aren't very sharp - I'm not sure what I did wrong here:-(

We had some great entries last week, so thank you if you joined us, and there's lots to see on the ATSM blog if you'd like some inspiration.

I'd like to play along at

Stencil Fun Challenge July 2025 - anything goes with a stencil

A Perfect Time to Craft Challenge July - anything goes

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - anything goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

The Greetery Diamond Ribbons birthday card

Hello everyone, and welcome to the die-cuts and/or stencils challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

I've been itching to use my new supplies from the Greetery, which fit this challenge, so I pulled them out and had some fun.

The set is called Diamond Ribbons and I stated by stamping the plants image onto white card. I then used the stencil to colour the flowers and edded some details like the flower shading and centres with fineliner pen.

I used my favourite bluey teal colour scheme and found some toning card that has a subtle shimmer, which I cut with the ribbon die. 

The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink, and I stamped it on the PTI Limitless Layers oval dies. To finish off, I added some tiny leftover die-cut circles that were waste from another project, and then applied Nuvo Crystal Glaze to them. Sadly, my glaze became a bit cloudy and flattened out as it dried. Have you had this happen? I'm not sure if my technique is faulty or if they are just getting a bit old.

My clever Team Mates have some great inspiration for you over on the ATSM blog. I hope you join us this time.

I'd like to play along at

A Cut Above Challenge - June, anything goes

Outlaws Challenge - Greeting and flowers

Night Owls Challenge #49 - stencils and die cuts

We Love Stamping June Challenge - nature

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #30 - anything floral goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

 

The Greetery and Avery Elle candle Christmas card and music Christmas card

Hello everyone, and I hope you are well and happy. How can half the year have gone by so quickly? We are at our mid-year challenge at ABC Christmas Challenges, and this time we have 

L for light

and/or 

M for Music

Helene is our host this time, and she has a lovely prize for the randomly drawn winner

 

This is what I came up with for my Light card

I cut the window (The Greetery) in white card and coloured the frame with grey ink to resemble an old church window. I inked the panes in blue and yellow before placing them back in the frame.

The candles come from an NBUS stamp and die set called Candlelight Christmas, and I coloured the images with Copic markers. I layered the branches over the candles and topped it all with the pretty bow before adding the sentiment from the same set. I then added the window to a scallop-edged stitched rectangle die-cut, which I had blended with the same blue ink.

My M for music card also used some products from the Greetery.

I began by using a Spellbinder Press Plate called Lest Us Adore Him, and passed it through the Betterpress after inking. I then cut the card with one of the Nordic Frames dies and layered it onto silver card.

The Music clef and notes come from the Greetery, Let Heaven and Nature Sing dies, and I finished off by adding a trio of die-cut circles.

You can see the shine a bit better in this photo.

As always, the design team have some great inspiration cards for you on the ABC blog, and we'd love to visit if you decide to join us this time. 

I'd like to play along at

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #89 - anything Christmas goes

Jingle Belles Challenge - Music

Fab n Funky Challenge #618 - use your dies

NBUS Challenge #75 - my candle stamps and dies are NBUS

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #186 - anything Christmas goes

The Crafty Calendar Challenge June - add a sentiment

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs

Carol x

Lawn Fawn and Creative Expressions Easter egg card

 

Hello everyone, and welcome to the next challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

This time we have our Any Occasion Challenge, and, even though Eater has passed for this year, I have the Easter card I made for my granddaughter to show.

As soon as I saw this Lawn Fawn Easter Egg Backdrop die, I had to have it, and I'm so pleased with how it turned out. I cut the die in white card first, and I love the fact that it has a stitched edge that gives a framed effect. I added some Crafter's Companion paper behind the eggs, and backed the flowers with coloured card bits from my box.

The large egg and sentiment were cut with Sue Wilson dies from Creative Expressions, and it fit perfectly in the aperture. The panel was then stuck onto an A2 card base.

The design team has some great inspiration for you on the ATSM blog, and it would be lovely to have you join us.

I'd like to play along at

NBUS Challenge #75 - my egg die is NBUS

Unicorn Challenge #110 - not a square

A Cut Above Challenge June - anything goes with die cuts.

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #225 - - anything goes

A Perfect Time to Craft Open Challenge June - anything goes

Mix it Up Challenge #77 - anything goes

Have a great week, and thanks for stopping by.

Hugs,

Carol x

Poppystamps and John Next Door birthday cake card

 

Hello everyone, and welcome to a new challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

This time we are looking for birthday cards, and I came up with this card for a friend's 80th birthday.

I used the John Next Door Leaping Stag Circle Dies for the frame, which I cut in white and laid over some silver mirri card. Next came a die-cut circle, embossed with a star embossing folder from Creative Craft. I then cut the Poppystamps cake easel card die. On this occasion, I only used the large cake, cut in brown as a chocolate cake, and cut the icing from pink glitter card. The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink, and the tiny banner is from my leftover box. I toyed with putting the number on the card but decided against. I know some people like to celebrate the number, while others would rather forget it, so I only use the numbers for younger people these days.

The design team has some great inspiration for you on the ATSM blog, and you can enter your card over there if you want to join in the fun.

I'd like to play along at

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - food and/or drink

Can you handle the pressure challenge - anything goes

The Alphabet Challenge - c is for circles

My Time to Craft Challenge #560 - use a square card base

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs

Carol x

Altenew jingle bells card and Creative Expressions Papercuts Christmas card

 Hello everyone, and welcome to a new challenge at ABC Christmas Challenges.

This time we have 2 themes, and they are

J for Jingle Bells

and/or

K for Kraft

These are my contributions

J for Jingle Bells

I used an old Altenew Magazine kit for this card, stamping and die-cutting the bells and bows first. I put the bells on a sponge mat and used an embossing tool on the back to give them a bit of a curve as they looked a bit flat without. A lick of Wink of Stella also gave a little sparkle.

I stamped the background with the sprigs in a few shades of green and then used an embossing plate from Papertrey Ink to add a little texture.The sentiment is also PTI. I finished by inking some white card's edges to create a layer and adding a few die-cut dots leftover from another project.

K for Kraft

For this card, I used an old Creative Expressions Paper Cuts Reindeer die, cutting it in kraft and white, and then paper piecing within the frame. I stuck the kraft frame directly to the card base rather than stacking it because I liked the embossed look it gives. The sentiment was from my bits box, and waste not, want not, I added a couple of the fallout stars to the banner.

I am sad to say goodbye to our lovely Teammate, Marie, who is leaving us this month, and I wish her all the best for the future. The rest of the team has some great inspiration for you, and you can see it at the ABC Challenges blog 

I'd like to play along at

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #184 - anything Christmas goes

A Cut Above May Challenge - anything goes with die cuts

Neglected Stuff Challenge May25 - use neglected stuff (Creative Expressions reindeer dies)

Girlz Creative Christmas Challenge #124 - use die-cuts or punches

52 Christmas card throwdown May Colour Challenge - red and green

Jungle Belles Challenge - Christmas bells

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs

Carol x

Crafters Companion and Penny Black Christmas card

 

Hello and welcome to another challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More

We have our Christmas Challenge this time, so I came up with this card.

I used an old and underused Crafter's Companion snowflake embossing folder and inked one side with distress oxide ink. This left the snowflakes white, and I was quite pleased with their texture after embossing them. On this occasion, I used heavy watercolour paper and I'll try that again, but I made the mistake of die-cutting the stitched rectangle after emossing, which flattened the snowflakes a little.

The sentiment is from Penny Black. I cut it several times in white card and once in navy and stacked it to give a chipboard effect. I  pressed a Versamark inkpad over it and triple clear embossed it, which gave the glossy finish I wanted. The camera didn't pick this up well, but you can see it better in the small photo at the top. 

We're continuing to have wonderful weather in my neck of the woods but my gardening husband is concerned that the lack of rain is affecting the lawn and plants in the garden. I wonder if we need to consider more drought-tolerant plants if this trend continues. That would be a big change for Manchester's reputation of being a rainy city!

As always, my talented Design Team friends have inspiration cards for you to see on the ATSM Blog, and you can link up your entry there, too.

I'd like to play along at

A Cut Above Challenge May - anything with a die cut

Neglected Stuff Challenge May - anything goes - Neglected embossing folder

Girlz Creative Christmas Challenge #123 - anything Christmas goes

Peace on Earth Challenge May - - anything Christmas goes

Christmas Crafts All Year Round May - - Please have snow

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #184 - anything Christmas goes

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x