Make My Monday - Tea or Coffee

Our challenge this week at Make My Monday is to make a project on the theme of 'Tea or Coffee'.

I stamped and heat embossed the cups stamp (Stampington) onto vellum. Then I used a stylus to emboss white highlights onto the cups.  I punched a border on the vellum and layered it over a card blank covered in patterned paper. The sentiment is a rub-on.

I hope you'll join us at Make My Monday. 

I'd like to enter:
Just us Girls  embossing
Stempelgarten embossing
Stamps and Stencils  3 of a kind
Crafty Hazelnuts Patterned Paper 
Craft Your Passion anything goes 

Fox Thanks

Having recently had a 'milestone' birthday, I'm in the lucky position to be having to send out lots of 'thank you' cards.

This one was made with Distress Inks, fox stamp (Fiskers), trees (Stampscapes) and sentiment (Clearly Besotted).

I'd like to enter:
Natalie and Amy  animals
Red Rubber Inspirations  give thanks
QKR Stampede nature
Country View Challenges  Simply Scenic
Clear it Out  anything goes

Inkspirational Challenge - Recipe

This week we have a 'Designer's Choice'  chosen by Shauna  and it is a 'recipe' challenge -

Recipe - Use at least 3 of these 4 elements:

 Distressing, Flowers, Embossing, Pearls

For my DT card I made a background using torn kraft card, acrylic paint and sprays, then 'distress-stamped' (did I make that term up?) a text stamp (Sarah Hurley). I stamped a vase and flowers ( several Paper Artsy sets)  and coloured them in with red acrylic paint with different levels of dilution.  I stamped and cut out another vase, embossed it with an embossing folder and highlighted some of the embossing with gilding wax. 

We'd love you to join us at Inkspirational for our recipe challenge. 

I'd like ot enter:
Crafty Cardmakers  make your own background
Stamping Sensations  flower power
Little Red Wagon  distress it 

Paper Artsy sprays

We love to Create mixed media 

Dandelion

I love it when a few challenges collide and inspire me.

I had been thinking about entering the photo inspiration challenge at Crafty Creations , remembering my dandelion stamp set (Stampendous?). Then I saw the colour combo at Crafty Catz - I had seen this exact 'mood board' photo somewhere else recently and pinned it on Pinterest,intending to use the colours. I decided to use a resist technique ( Mod Squad) and the big Hero Arts Friendship words stamp ('F for Friendship' Alphabet Challenge ) .

The dandelion looks less yellow in real life - I embossed it in white pearl and I think the pearl makes it look more yellow when photographed in artificial light.

I'd also like to enter the challenge at Simon Says Stamp , as that is about coral, my main colour.

Creative Cutting Challenge - Mothers' Day

Our new theme at Creative Cutting Challenge is 'Mothers' Day' .

For my DT project I used Daisy in Pot  svg by the Creative Pointe.  I made it into a Silhouette 'print and cut' using a digital version of Cosmo Cricket Earth Love, (which is one of my favourite ever paper ranges. )

The pot would be a perfect place to put a Mothers' Day sentiment , but I decided not to do that as I'm English and our Mothers' Day was back in March.  In fact, the strangely grimacing child in the photo is my own dear son, so the mum who will be receiving this card is...me.

To join in our challenge, all you need to do is create a 'Mothers' Day'  project using an svg (electronic) cutting file. Hope to see your project at Creative Cutting Challenge. 

I'd like to enter:
Another Freaking Scrappy Challenge flowers
QKR Stampede mothers day
Creative Corner Challenges for mom
Incy Wincey   moms the word
Silhouette Challenges  anything goes

Make My Monday - Tree or Leaves

I chose this week's challenge at Make My Monday . We get a lot of this type of challenge in autumn, but I wanted the chance to use fresh green leaves and to see some of the amazing range of different styles of trees and leaves out there.

For my DT card I cut some very stylised trees from patterned paper, using Lettering Delights cut files. I played around with lots of different layouts and in the end decided to keep it simple and stay focused on the shapes.

I hope you'll make a project using trees or leaves and join us at Make My Monday.

I'd like to enter:
Perfectly Rustic  3 of something
That's Crafty  keep it simple
Silhouette Challenges  anything goes

Flying By

I've just been doing a Google Images search to see if I can identify the brands of some of the stamps I've used here. But apart from the Lawn Fawn (sentiment and trail) ,  they must be too old to come up in the search. There are so many fabulous newer travel-themed stamps ..(smacks hand to prevent herself from going shopping).....

Anyway the cloud and plane were from one set and the 'passport control' stamp was from another.

I'd like to enter:
Casology  flight
Cards 4 Guyz flight
Retro Rubber anything goes
Fashionable Stamping Challenges things with wings
Quirky Crafts  quirky journey 

Happy Days Gift Card Card!

When I saw the picture at Fusion  it reminded me immediately of the Papermania Happy Days collection which I have a digital version of.  I decided to also use the Fusion sketch  and make a card with a pocket for a gift card. The gift card here is posed by a model! (Didn't happen to have a spare one on hand!).

As well as Fusion, I'd like to enter ABC Challenge (I for Inspire us) and Scribble and Scrap (anything goes) .

Tulips and Hearts

I hope that bird doesn't try to get into the birdhouse as he's sure to get stuck!

The tulips, birdhouse and bird are all Sarah Hurley stamps although I think they are from two different sets. I made the background with a Kaisercraft dots stamp . The sentiment was free with Craft Stamper magazine. I've been getting Craft Stamper for about fifteen years and , although this stamp was from more recent times, I think I've used it more than any other freebie stamp.

I'd like to enter:
Craft Stamper  take a stamp
Addicted to Stamps  make your mark
Little Red Wagon  b = birdhouse, bird
Chocolate Coffee and Cards  spring has sprung
Craftyboots  wings

Empty Box Project #18 - Carnaby Street

I was thinking about how I could join in with the 1960s Retro challenge at Try it on Tuesday  when I remembered some Art Journey stamps I had in my empty-box-project box, the woman and the dots/circles top left (and more faintly in the background).

Just to recap:

On New Year's day I revealed my stamping shame - a big box of unused stamps - and started my Empty Box project. My aim is to work through the box , one stamp/ stamp set at a time and see if I can use them. If I can't use them, I will dispose of them. The aim is to finish with an empty box.

While I was playing with my ideas for this I was watching the Paper Artsy sprays video and that inspired me to get my sprays out. 

I inked some card with coral ink and then stamped the woman and masked her with a post it note.  I stamped the spotty stamp several times also in coral.  Then I got playing with two colours of sprays and  two stencils. 

Finally I added the 'have fun' rub-on . I really don't know why I keep using rub-ons - they always let me down. It's like a bad marriage that you've invested so heavily in, you just can't walk away...

As well as Try it on Tuesday and Paper Artsy, I'd also like to enter:

Simply Create Too Pretty Woman