Cards for Sad Thoughts

Good Morning! In November, once the foreworks and bonfires are over in the UK we usually turn our thoughts to Remembrance Day, the 11th day of the 11th month. I rather lik the fact that the whole of the country stops at the 11th hour for a two minute silence, even in the busy high school where I work. My husband  and sons also attend the Rembrance service in church on Rembrance Sunday, as members of the local counting group. All that said, I went with a sympathy card for the new challenge at The Male Room.

I love Lovely As A Tree, it's so versatile...here it makes a muted sympathy card. First job was to cut the aperture. After stamping the image in grey, directly on the front of a card blank, I inked up another piece of white card with a selection of sunset colours, just blending and mixing pale pink, oranges and yellows. I cut a similar sized circle from this inked up card.

Using the stamp positioning tool, I lined up the circle underneath the acetate sheet in the correct position and stamped the tree image on top.

Then it was just a matter of popping the circle into place, which I did, through the cut aperture.

 I added a scored border and a generic With Sympathy sentiment. On the photograph below you can see how well the stamped images match up.

After a tip off from fellow DT member,Rocky, I will be entering this card in the challenge at House Of Cards, a new to me challenge blog where the theme for November is a stamped and cut window technique.

Sad, but uplifting was the idea behind this card. I have already had to use it, as a friend of mine lost their Mother in between me making this card and writing the post, it's always useful for me to have one or two of these cards ready to go as I rarely feel like crafting when I get sad news like this.

I made two, the second card using Wetlands and one of those glossy inked up and cling filmed backgrounds

The stamping of the sentiment was not really good enough to use this one as the DT ample but I'll keep it in my stash.

Autumn Retiform

Back to my roots this morning, with some good old-fashioned stamping.

I first saw this technique when a friend posted a card on FB and mentioned that she used the 'retiform' technique. I googled "retiform technique" and there were some excellent tutorials on YouTube. The theme this week at The Male Room is Autumn or fall, so I used my Autumn Days stamp set, which hasn't seen the light of day for quite a while. I added images from Simply Sketched, French Foliage and Lovely As A Tree.

 

I started by masking off areas of the card using More Mustard ink and in this way formed the 'grid'. Then by masking of the individual panels using post-it notes, I stamped the connected images using Tangelo Twist, Chocolate Chip and More Mustard. I made the sentiment attachment using an oval die and the birthday greeting from Simply Sketched. My biggest problem was keeping the ink in the
right place, stamping cleanly and selecting the images moor each panel. Other than that it was a breeze!
Going to link up with the challenge at Make My Monday, haven't played over there in such a long time and I see that they have an Autumn colours challenge.

Spooky As A Tree

Happy Thursday to you all! On Thursdays I post my DT card for the newchallenge at CaS Colours &Sketches and today I have a colour challenge card for you.

This time I used the colours to create a small scene which, centred on a white card blank. Lovely As A Tree was sat on my table, I just LOVE this stamp. It was my first SU set and it's timeless, versatile and stamps perfectly every time.

This time I've created a background by swiping the ink pads over white card stock. This gives a great effect, different every time you do it, and the new juicy ink pads work so well. I cut the part of the image I wanted to use and then added the bats.The dark stamping of the trees, bats and sentiment has all been in Chocolate Chip. To keep it CAS I did not use a colour mat, just adhered the scene to the card blank. The tiny sentiment also allows lots of white space.

Can you spot the Wild Wasabi? Probably not, as I used Certain Celery, but any light green will be fine for the challenge, and mine is hidden by an over swiping of the Lost Lagoon. This allows the foreground to appear different from the sky. Take a closer look..

I promise you it is there, but it was too light on its own for a night scene. the little bats and the greeting are from Holiday Home. I really like it when you can take an essentially non-CAS technique and make it clean and simple by your design. This is probably only the third Halloween card I've made,like ever, but it is my favourite, I probably overstating it but  it feels like art!

Sam's Christmas Card

I am well into my hosting month at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown and this Saturday it is a theme challenge. This is Sam, our much loved rescue cat, who joined our family five years ago as a very mature, streetwise gentleman looking for some loving care in his old age.

So he was my inspiration for today's challenge..

I have had this stamp forever and it only took a few moments to colour it ginger, using my Promarkers. I stamped the tree first, from Lovely As A Tree and added some sparkly bits with three colours of stickles

Once dry, I added my fussy cut cat and created the sentiment using you Little Furball and Ornamental Pine

Last Christmas I even found Sam his own pair of antlers

..doesn't he look happy!!

Oak Tree Reflections

Good morning! There is a new challenge at The Male Room this morning. Over there we are looking for your craft projects for the men in your lives and this time the theme is Leaves and Trees.
I reached for an old favourite stamp set, as I'm sure many more of you will too, Lovely As A Tree and created this card

I used the new hardwood background stamp, which I finally got around to ordering, some twine and the tab is a punch. I used the reelection technique for the grand old oak tree, sponging in the sky and 

water. I've added just a touch of dazzling detail to get some reflective quality into the water. Last bit of detail is t he oak leaf, stamped in Gumball Green and fussy cut to add to the frame. Could be a Fathers Day card or a family birthday card,either fits the simple sentiment.

Bluebells on The Malverns

This morning I have a card inspired by the challenge at Make My Monday and a photo posted by a friend on Facebook. Where I am lucky enough to live there are millions of bluebells, flowering right now, carpeting everywhere in blue, have a look 

The challenge is for seasonal flower colours, I have used three shades of blue, two shades of green and yellow

I used the acetate block print technique to make my grassy background. I added Lovely as a Tree, stamped twice and some 'sprinkles' from Create A Cupcake to add the flowers in the distance. The 

sky is sponged and the flower heads punched out, curled and a tiny yellow centre added, the greeting is also from the cupcake set.

A Box of Trees

For the stash Challenge at 52CCT Deborah, our lovely hostess for April is going out in style, glittery style that is, as we want to see you Christmas projects with glitter. (don't you just love glitter!) We have all got some, I'm sure and once you've made your card the whole family will be sporting some in their hair, clothes etc, even the cat! Guaranteed! Well, that is what will happen in my house

After my twisted easel card, earlier in the month I got carried away with more complex card designs and, thanks to a workshop from my good friend and fellow teamie, Jacqueline, I came up with this. These cards in a box are everywhere on the blogs right now and they are really quite simple to make 

Mine is a glittery forest of Christmas trees in a box, which all fold flat for easy posting.

All the trees are dusted with glitter and one special tree in the middel(can you spot it?) is loaded with baubles and ornaments with a golden star on the top  (bling to you and me). The box is made from a single A4 sheet and I've added embossed facing panels to look like a forest in the snow.  I had so much fun making this, I'm going to make more.  Better late than never, I entering the challenge at Completely Christmas again, where Anything Goes.
 I already made another box card for Mothers Day, which I gave to my Mum (the original from the workshop) and I've seen some fabby Easter ones on the internet. There's more of these to come.!

Bring On The Bling

Do you remember back in the beginning of the month I told you that I had made a card for the sketch challenge, which I decided didn't quite fit the bill? You'll be pleased to hear that I didn't waste it, oh no, I upcycled it for today's 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown challenge..bling it up!

Can you see all that bling?  There's a glitter border, pearls, a silver embossed border, green Stickles on the trees 'outside', snow on the window sill, gems on the bauble, which hangs freely by the way.  Can you see why I started this card from the sketch ? I stamped the tree from Lovely As A Tree, over the top of some white card where I had cut this strips of post-it-note to form the window frame. Love the result this gave me.  There are more trees from the same set stamped in basic grey at the back to add depth to my scene.
I'm going to enter my card in a few challenges too. Firstly, at Christmas Cards All Year Round the theme is getting ready for Christmas - At Christmas time I always hang red baubles from the curtain rail in front of our large french window, at various heights, so this reminds me of that Then I'm also going to enter the challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Christmas/Holiday creation and finally at Korttikarkuri -Let's get Inky where cards must feature stamping.

The Great Outdoors (in 4 stamp sets)

The third challenge at The Male Room is The Great Outdoors.  This is going to mean a lot of different things to different people.  My original thoughts were of nature, but I  needed to be a bit more adventurous so I thought of camping and activity holidays, but I really don't have the right stamps for that.  I do however have a bicycle stamp and so I've adapted it to fit in with the theme. My bicycle stamp has a basket on the front, not very masculine I feel, so I carefully inked up the stamp with a marker, avoiding the basket part of the image.

I have combined several stamps sets here, Lovely as a Tree in the background, the leaf from Autumn Days and the bicycle from Pedal Presents. Some of the leaves are fussy cut and popped up to add layers, more of a feel of rustling through the autumn leaves. My card is actually an easel card, which you can see below

Here's the detail from the 'stand' - another stamp set - this time Vintage Verses, for the sentiment.  This card is for my husband for our wedding anniversary, so the words are just right. More fussy cut leaves - one almost blowing off the card!

I do hope that you will join in our challenge again, remember you have two weeks to come up with a masculine card on the theme of The Great Outdoors. There are some other ideas by the DT over on the blog - do take a look.
Happy Crafting!

Glitzy Trees

To start off the month of December (Yey, Christmas is nearly here now!) the DT at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown have a sketch for you to follow - looks simple doesn't it. The other members of the DT have made some gorgeous cards but I actually found it quite hard to stick to the layout, without adding too much. I know, I know, that's why it's called a challenge!
Some of you will recognise SU's Lovely As A Tree stamp at work again here, but this time I've coloured it using mica powders, trying to get a frosty look using silver and green.

To keep with the glitz of the title I matted the image onto green mirri card and then silver glitter card.  I made a matching sentiment, heat embossing the sentiment from Sassy Salutations in silver. After a few experimentations I decided that the whole thing looked much better on a black cardstock base. I am also going to enter this card in the Frosty Winter challenge at The Cupboard Trilogy challenge Blog.
This will have to be a quick post as I've so much to do..shopping, wrapping, opening the Advent calendar..

Autumn Tweet Leaves

There's a great challenge that I haven't done for ages...shame on me, but today I have made a card that I think fits the bill quite nicely.  The challenge blog is Make My Monday and the challenge is Autumn with Kraft and twine.

I made the background with kraft card which I stamped with an oak leaf from my Lovely as A Tree, a favourite set -first use of the leaf though. Then I stamped the Tweet Leaves image using a variety of autumnal coloured inks, I sponged the edge and mounted onto the Kraft background. I stamped a little 'for you' sentiment and cut it out in the shape of a tag.  Stamping some more leaves, this time from Autumn Days I fussy cut them and popped them up on dimensionals.  Finally I added a twine bow and yes it is orange twine, straight from the garden centre. I used Naturals White card stock for the card base and all the stamped images - it's the best  thing in my stash right now! I will also enter this card in The Cupboard Trilogy Challenge, as over there the theme for November is Autumn or Halloween.
November 19th Update - just looked over at Make My Monday and my card has been picked for Top 3! Chuffed!

An Elegant Christmas Tree

The colour challenge which the DT at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown have for you this week definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. Nothing difficult about it - Green, brown, cream and metallic gold but for me it's a combination which I don't often use, although don't those golden acorns look gorgeous?

I am sure that lots of you will be able to create something fabulous with these.  My card features Lovely As A Tree, stamped and embossed in gold and then stamped again in green onto cream card stock.  I have constructed a double frame around the stamped image with some retired DSP Christmas Wishes, I think and added some stars and large green pearls at the corners.  The finishing touch is a double bow with some wide organza gold star dotted ribbon, topped with a smaller bow from Chocolate Chip scalloped edge ribbon.

Christmas Robin

The challenge over atCAS-ual Fridays is Birds this week.  Now, I do like birds on cards, they are very versatile I think and one of my favourites is this little bird punch from SU.  You can use him in all sorts of ways and here I've made him into a little robin with the addition of a touch of red. The trees are from Lovely As a Tree, stamped in versamark and embossed with snowflake white. I've added a greeting in the corner. Sorry to be posting Christmas cards in May!! Still, the sooner you start.....