Clearly Besotted All in Onesie Easter card

 

Hello friends,

Spring has been a long time coming for me this year, but we are coming up to the Easter weekend, and the daffodils are in full bloom despite the rain. I made a little Easter card for my Granddaughter that fits our new Any Occasion theme at Addicted to Stamps and More.

I don't have many Easter stamp sets, but I found this gorgeous NBUS Clearly Besotted set called All in Onesie: Easter, and happily stamped, coloured with Copics and die-cut the cute duck, sheep and rabbit.

They needed somewhere to sit, so I die-cut a scalloped rectangle and placed an oval mask on it to ink the sky and grass, then stamped a few clouds and some grass detail. I finished off with a little die-cut chick and a greeting.

My talented design teammates have some great inspiration on the ATSM blog, and you can join us in the challenge anytime until 14th April.

I'd like to join in on

Allsorts Challenge #846 - It's Springtime

Star in my pocket challenge #80 - Furry Friends

Dream Valley Challenge #358 - Spring has Sprung

I hope you have a lovely Easter,

Thanks for stopping by,

Hugs,

Carol x

The Greetery Holiday Frames and Winter Crest Christmas card

 

Hello everyone, and welcome to the new Christmas Challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.

I used some NBUS stamps from the Greetery and came up with this card.

I cut the background mats with the Spellbinders Stylish Oval dies and embossed the white one with a snowfall e/f from Sue Wilson.  The rest of the items are from the Greetery Winter Crest collection

The design team has some great inspiration for you over on the Addicted to Stamps and More blog, and you can add your entry there if you decide to join us.

I'd like to play along at

A Cut Above: September Challenge - anything with a die cut

Peace on Earth Challenge #96 - anything Christmas goes

Crafty Calendar Challenge September - lots of layers

CRAFT Challenge #764 - Christmas

Creative Inspirations Challenge September- Christmas

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge #192 - anything Christmas Goes

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

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

Creative Expression Christmas Rose and Lawnfawn Hap-pea Christmas cards

 

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

We have some new designers joining the team this month and it is lovely to have them with us, so it would be great if you could visit them and leave a welcome.

Our challenge this time runs until 5th March, and our host is the lovely Wilma

Our themes this time are:

C - Clean & Simple

and/or

D - Distressing

I came up with  C for CAS

I used the Lawn Fawn Hap-pea stamp and die set for this card to stamp, colour and die cut the peas, then added some Christmas hats from a Clearly Besotted set to make them Christmassy. I love how you can personalise the peas with the cute faces in the stamp set. The tree is from a Happy Little Stampers set, and the die-cut sentiment is from the Lawn Fawn set. 

D for Distressing

For this card, I cut the Penny Black Paper Scroll die and inked it with three distress inks to age it, and then stamped the sentiment from the Creative Expressions Christmas Rose stamp set before splattering a little ink.

The flowers and leaves are from the Creative Expressions Christmas Rose die set. I simply cut the flowers in white card, inked the centres, and then snipped through each petal so I could shape the flowers and add the flower centres. After die cutting the flower centres (can't think of the right name!), I sent them through the die cutting machine again with an embossing mat so it made them look like there is a little pollen ball on each end. I die cut the leaves from watercolour card and then sprayed them with a few colours of spray ink (blue, green and brown) until they had an authentic leafy colour. I added some Nuvo Drop berries to finish them off.

I'd like to play along at

Lawn Fawnatics Challenge # 118 - CAS

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge #9 Anything Christmas

Penny Black Saturday Challenge February - anything goes

Winter Wonderland Challenge - All I want for Christmas is You

12 Months of Christmas Challenge #85 - anything goes

My Time to Craft Christmas # 27 - CAS

You'll find lota of inspiration over on the ABC blog and you can link up your entries there too.

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Pinkfresh Studios Hanging Florals Birthday card

 

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog. 

Do you ever think that you need to press a reset button on your crafting habits? I have been giving it some thought lately because I've got into the habit of letting other things take precedence and that leads me to feel less creative when I get around to taking some time for crafting. I often only sit down to make a card when I have a DT deadline and have to apply my bottom to the seat because I hate to renege on a commitment. This gives rise to a pressured and rushed session that leaves me feeling unsatisfied. It isn't as if my time is being spent in other ways that feed my soul. I'm usually busy and love seeing people again, but find that this tires me much more than it used to after staying home so much in the last 18 months. And I've been following watching/listening/reading the news much more than is good for me with all the horrific things that are happening to my fellow human beings and the planet we all share. Don't get me wrong - I think it is important for me to be informed about what is happening so I may help where I can and place my vote where I think it should go. However, it is not helpful to feel overwhelmed by things I have no control over, and it is time for me to reconsider how I am choosing to spend my time. So, I need a new start where I include the things I want to do in my day like crafting, reading, and walking. September always seems like a good time for starting again - I suppose that's a throwback to starting a new academic year, and I hope the enjoyment and relaxation of these activities will return when I prioritise time for them again. After all, at one time it was hard to get me to do anything else lol - and that was a whole different issue! 

Anyway, I'd like to share my card for the new ATSM challenge - and this time we are looking for your birthday ideas.

I needed a card for a friend who is about to celebrate a big birthday, so I turned to this lovely Pinkfresh Studio stamp and die set called Hanging Florals. I cut 3 sets so I could stack them and just coloured the top one with Copic markers.

I used a Sue Wilson die set called Classic Adorned Squares for the backing layers and used the embossing die to add a little extra interest. The sentiment used Pinkfresh Studio's Perfect Sentiments stamps and dies.

You'll find lots of inspiration from the Design Team over on the ATSM blog and I know the team would love it if you visit them.

I'd like to play along at

International Art and Soul Challenge #116 - birthday

The Paper Players #556 - tic tac toe - I used the left row down

Sweet Stamping Challenge - lots of layers

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge #323 - All things feminine

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Sue Wilson Stained Glass - Poinsettia Christmas card

Hello and welcome to another challenge at ABC Christmas Challenges 

Our challenges this time are

S for Sparkle

and

T for Texture

I went for S for Sparkle but the glitter also gives texture so I think this one covers both.

I started by cutting a stitched rectangle from white card before cutting the die from Sue Wilson's Festive Collection Stained Glass - Poinsettia from the centre. I then cut the die again from red card before colouring the leaves and flower centres with Copic markers. I used adhesive film behind the die cut and paper pieced the pieces back in before coating the negative space with blue glitter.

I embossed the red panel with the Creative Expression Falling Snow e/f and die cut a frame using the Sue Wilson Stitched rectangle dies. The sentiment is a Papertrey Ink one and I embossed it with white embossing powder.

If you go to the ABC Christmas Challenges blog you will find lots to inspire you from my talented teammates, and you have until 30th September to link up your entries. I hope to see you in the gallery.

I'd like to play along at

Dies R Us Challenge #128 - nature

Sparkles Christmas Challenge #104 - winter wishes

12 months of Christmas Challenge # 57 - anything Christmas goes with an optional twist

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs

Carol x

Creattive Expressions, Happy Little Stampers and Hero Arts thinking of you card

Hello everyone,

I hope you had a good Bank Holiday weekend because we have to wait until Christmas for the next one! To take your mind off that, we have a new challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More, and this time we want you to Make Your Mark.

In case you are new to our challenges, here are the rules for this one

Make your Mark - your entry MUST contain the use of anything that can make a mark - Stampin' Write, Copics, Promarkers, Painting, Chalks, Watercolours, Sponges, Stencils, Masks etc etc

Well that leaves a lot of scope, and I came up with this card

1 )Die cut a stitched rectangle from some white card and stamp the Creative Expressions Heart and flowers stamp with Versafine black ink and emboss with clear powder.

2) Colour the image with Spectrum Noir Illustrator pens.

3) Stamp the Happy Little Stampers sentiment For Your Special Day at the top right of the heart in pink ink and the thinking of you sentiment towards the bottom of the panel in yellow ink

4) Wrap some twine around the panel and add a bow before matting the panel onto some pink card and raising it onto the base card with fun foam.

5) Finish off by adding glaze pen to all the little circles and putting a little pink gem onto the bow.

I hope you will make your mark and join us this time. You can find lots of inspiration over on the ATSM blog and link your entry up there.

I'd like to play along with

The Crazy Challenge - Bingo - flower, twine and circle

Stella Says Sketch Challenge #513

Aud Sentiments Challenge - Thinking of you

Thanks for stopping by.

Hugs
Carol x