Hello Baby

A new year and a new challenge from The Male Room, and we kick off the year with the theme New Beginnings.

My card this morning is for a new baby, a boy of course, since we are a challenge blog for masculine inspired projects. I even managed to incorporate a ribbon on this one, breaking one of my own 'rules' of not using trimmings like ribbon on a a masculine card.
The images are stamped in Versamark onto pale blue card, heat embossed with Pearly Silver embossing powder and matted onto gorgeous, pearlised silver card. The stamps themselves are an eclectic mix of freebies and cheapies and I've given then the 9 square treatment- one of my favourite design layouts. This card kept evolving.... I then decided to make it into an easel card, using the teddy image to make the 'stand' element. I added a matching pearly silver card mat to the inside. Which is your favourite image here? I think mine are the tiny handprints, although I love the building blocks and the teddy bear.

I hope you have time to join in with the challenge. Over at Make My Monday they have the same theme challenge so I'm going to link up my card there, you could too!

Stars on the Tree

Happy 2015 to you all! I've had a couple of weeks without crafting, busy with family and friends at Christmas and New Year both here in the UK and in The Netherlands. Fun times! Back to it now with my first post of 2015, a Christmas card for  52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown. I always love making Christmas cards, even when Christmas is only just over. We have new team members on the DT and a brand new look to the challenge blog and we start with a fabulous sketch...

I loved the CAS look of this one and was inspired by the star shape, although you can use any shape you like. The embossing folder is a new purchase from the Sheena Douglas range. I've used lots of silver glitter card for layering and a star punch to puch out the little stars. I added a few star shaped gems too. Finally, I used the Christmas tree as a backdrop for my photo, sad to say I'll have to take it down soon :(

I'm going to enter The anything goes challenge at Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge

The Last Post (of 2014)

Oh, boy, was this urgently needed! Just realised that the deadline for my DT card for CAS Colours & Sketches was hours behind me, all my teamies had their cards up and ready and the post was live.
This is the final challenge for 2014 and is the third in a series of Pick A Previous, the delightful (or dreaded, depending on your point of view) double. This time round though we need to Make it Christmas. Deciding what to do was for me easy as I have done all three cards featuring the stamp set Ornamental Pine.

I chose a double from August 2013

I stamped the pine branch image onto the dark blue C&S, in Versamark, and then heat embossed in white before die cutting three circles. I cut up the image and used the larger size die cut circle to
make a mat in the lighter blue shade

Using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig allowed me to position the sentiment exactly where I needed it to be. I was in such a hurry that the Dazzling Details I added to give a bit of sparkle is still wet in this shot!

I am entering

Crafty Hazlenuts Christmas Challenge  for a urgently Needed Christmas creations, and I leave you for a few days whilst I celebrate Christmas and New Year with friends and family. Thanks for visiting my blog in 2014. I wish everyone a peaceful and happy Christmas time and a very crafty 2015

Pine Cone Aperture card

Sorry, it's taken me a while to write this post, even though my card for CAS Colours and Sketches went up on time over at the challenge blog. We are revisiting our sketches this week and to help there is an archive page on the blog so it's even easier. The theme for the challenge is Christmas (what else???)
Here is my card, which uses the sketch from August 2014, challenge #89

 
You my notice a sub- theme here for my cards-I have decided to try and use the same stamp set for these challenges, Ornamental Pine. Here I have sponged the background over the top of some torn paper and then cut an aperture. I used the die cut to then stamp the pine branch and added some fussy cut pine cones, one stamped in brown ink and the other heat embossed in gold.

I layered this panel on card stock inside the card and added a gold embossed sentiment to the front panel.

This is what the inside of the card looks like

One more challenge from CC&S before we take a Christmas break, so I will see you back here next Thursday. I am going to spend the rest of today putting up the Christmas tree and outside decorations...really starting to feel like Christmas now!

Retro Christmas

The last challenge of 2014 at The Male Room is, of course, to create a masculine project for Christmas. My card inspired me to create a second card for a colour challenge I found, over at The Colour Throwdown.
Let's take a look at the Male Room card first

I used my masculine standby stamp, Hardwood, stamped onto pale green card. I then over stamped
the MERRY from Seasonal Scatterings in white craft ink and embossed with tinsel white embossing
powder (I have previously found that the stamped ink dries rather pale unless embossed). I added the
Christmas, since I find men like you to be specific 😉

As its Christmas I've broken my two male card rules, there is ribbon and bling on this card!

The second card started in the same way, with the Hardwood stamp stamped in Lost Lagoon onto the pale green C&S, but then I used this gorgeously retro Christmas colour combination from The Colour Throwdown team...

I found some little wooded clothes pegs in my stash and decided to use those on my card 

Rudolph and Burlap

So here we are, December and just a couple of weeks or so until Christmas. Over at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown we've been crafting for Christmas all year long The DT are going to take a well earned break but are leaving you with one long challenge open until 19th December. we want you to pick any previous 2014 challenge and there are archives on the blog to help you decide on a sketch, a colour combo or a theme. I've gone with a theme which I choose back in June ...Rudolph and/or reindeer

I started with this gorgeous red burlap ribbon and a couple of sheets of DP. Kraft, white and red is my favourite Christmas combo this year. I layered up the two papers, colouring ink the noses on the White and Kraft paper to look like Rudolph. I added a tag which I sponged with white ink and added Dazzling Details for a bit of sparkle. The majestic deer die is from Memory Box.

As you can see from this photo I don't think I'm going to be able to get this one in an envelope, never mind sending it through the post! Family card I think.

Glittery Pinecone

We are feeling Christmassy at CSS Colours & Sketches for the next three weeks, with a series of challenges based on previous colours, sketches and doubles with the theme of Christmas. This will help if you have just a few more cards you need to make or just to get you in the holiday mood! Our first one is

...and I have picked a colour combo which I chose back in September, black, white and Hello Honey.

This is such a CAS combo and was very popular at the time, let's see what you can do with it for Christmas

I inked the corner of my card, then stamped Ornamental Pine in black, adding the pinecone just where I wanted, thanks to my Stamp- a - Ma-Jig. The sentiment was also placed carefully to add balance. I know we are all CAS but I had to add a bit of glitter, well, it is a christmas after all!