Cupcake card

Hello friends; I hope your Monday is going well and you had a brilliant weekend, although the weather here was decidedly un-summery!  Apologies for the long gap between posts but I'm back with a yummy cupcake card for you today.

Here is my card:

here is a close up of the cupcakes:

I needed a quick card for a friends birthday and already had this cupcake image stamped out so I coloured it with my promarkers.  I softly ink blended the background and then used a dotty stencil over top for some extra interest (I used the same purple ink but used a heavier hand for the stencilling).  I added the cupcake image with foam pads and then simply stamped a sentiment below in black ink.  I also added the panel to my card base with foam tape.  Just a few pearls to embellish and my clean-ish and simple card was done.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

MFT - sketch challenge #656

Krafty Chicks challenge - all occasion

Inkspirational challenge - use stencils

Seize the birthday challenge - inspired by a book (I saw this book on Amazon called 'cupcake celebration'.  I took my colours from the front cover image.) 

Addicted to Stamps and More challenge - make your mark (I coloured with alcohol markers)

Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks so much for stopping by.  

I'll be back tomorrow with my DT card for the AAA birthday challenge so perhaps you could pop back and check it out. 

Love and hugs, 

card ingredients:

MFT stamps - sweet birthday wishes (retired)

MFT - mini staggered circles stencil (retired)

Heffy Doodle - alcohol marker friendly card

Gina K Designs - wild lilac ink pad

Gina K Designs - rainbow pearl mix

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm smooth white card

Promarkers

Memento tuxedo black ink

Versafine onyx black ink

Sakura - white gelly roll 10 pen

Summer Crush Wednesday IG Hop week 6

Hello friends; I hope you are having a great day.  Today is the final week of our Summer Crush Wednesday IG hop 😢 organised by my good friend Kelly.  We have had lots of fun over the last 6 weeks using themes and techniques to hopefully inspire you to get involved.  Please hop along for one more time and this week our theme is 'sail-abrate'!  For this week we want to see all your boat themed projects such as boats, canoes, rafts, cruise ships, pirate ships etc.  Don't forget to use the hashtag  #scwcardhop23 to find all our projects and for us to find yours.  

Here is my boat themed card:

a close up of my super cute 'crew':

For my card this week I decided to try making a rocker card.  I've seen a few of them in blogland and wanted to try and make mine into a boat.  Most of it was trial and error and lots of trimming and re-cutting but I'm super happy with the finished result.  Most of the card was made with scraps from my scrap bin except from the rocker part which was cut with a large circle die.  I wanted some cute critters to 'crew' my boat so stamped and coloured these 2 cuties with my Promarkers and I used the matching dies to cut them out.  I wanted the back of my boat to look tidy so I backed my critters with plain white die cuts on the back.  I used 2 embossing folders - a wood-grain one for the bottom of the boat and a striped one for the sails.  I hand cut my anchor and coloured it with a black marker and used a scallop border die to resemble the waves.  Not sure about the sentiment, I thought it was funny because it was a rocker card, but now I'm not so sure; I may change it before I send it to someone 😃.  I do have a video of the card rocking but can't seem to add it to my post at the moment.  I may just add it to my stories on IG if I can't add it here.  A few clear raindrops and my card is finished.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - 4 legged friends 

Happy Little Stampers Birthday challenge - ATG

Crafty Calendar challenge - ATG

My Time To Craft challenge - summertime waterplay 

Scrapping4Fun challenge - birthday

Addicted to Stamps & More challenge - die cuts and/or stencils

Colorful Options challenge - red, white and blue (I've used white and blue plus neutrals)

Please pop over to IG to see what the other participants of the hop have created; and we cannot wait to see your sail-abrate creations.  Thanks for joining in for the last 6 weeks, it been a fun time stretching our supplies and using our imagination to come up with some fun cards. 

Enjoy the rest of your day and thanks for stopping by.

Love and hugs, 

Card ingredients:

MFT - missing you every single day stamp/die set (retired but still available here)

Promarkers

Clearly Besotted Stamps - scalloped edges die collection (retired)

Go Kreate - XL circle dies (no longer available)

Sheena - wood panel embossing folder (no longer available)

Sizzix/Tim Holtz - stripes embossing folder (no longer available)

Sentiment from magazine freebie stamp set

Little Things from Lucy's Cards - clear raindrops

Shark week part 2 IG hop

Hello friends; I hope your Friday has been fantastic so far.  The weather here in South Wales has been decidedly un-summery today; we've had torrential rain all day.  I've been happily watching the Wimbledon men's semi-finals so I didn't mind lol!

I have another card for Shark Week again this hop is organised by my good friend Kelly and today we have been given a prize by Newton's Nook to give away to one lucky winner.  

Everyone who leaves a comment on the hop will be in the running the win the prize so pop over to my Instagram and follow along the hop.  Luckily I had another shark image so here is my card for the shark hop no.2:

and a close up of my happy shark:

I stamped the cute shark image and coloured him with Promarkers, I cut him out with the matching die and put him to one side.  I used a fab piece of 12 x 12 patterned paper, which I thought looked a bit like waves and cut a panel 3 3/4" x 5".  I also cut a smaller piece the same width and about 2" tall but fussy cut along the 'wave' so that I could place my shark behind it.  I placed the panel onto a navy card cut to 4" x 5 1/4" and stamped some little fish at the top to create a scene.  I added my fussy cut piece at the bottom with foam squares and then tucked my shark behind, also popped up on foam tape.  The sentiment was white heat embossed onto the navy card and cut with a banner die with a flag only on one side and this was placed at the top right corner of the card.  I didn't feel I needed to add any embellishments as the paper was quite busy.  A really fun card, I hope you agree!

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Make My Monday challenge - birthday

Critter Crazy - ATG feature a critter (not sure if a shark would be considered a critter - delete me if not allowed)

Scrapping4Fun challenge - birthday

Addicted to Stamps & More challenge - die cuts and/or stencils

Little Bit of Rainbow challenge - shark week 

Dream Valley challenge - dies and/or punches

Cupcake Inspirations challenge - sea life

Thanks for stopping by.  Have a wonderful weekend. 

Love and hugs,  

Card ingredients:

Avery Elle - sea-prise stamp & die set

Promarkers

Gina K Designs - fine detail embossing powder & white pigment ink cube

The Works - fresh feeling 12 x 12 paper pad

MFT - blueprints 27 (for banner die)

Summer Crush Wednesday week 5

Hello again friends; I'm back as promised with this week's card for Week 4 of the Summer Crush Wednesday IG hop organised by my good friend Kelly.  The hop will run for 6 weeks (this is week 5) and we will have some fun themes and even some techniques I've never tried before!  If you would like to join us just use the hashtag #scwcardhop23 and we will find you (you can also see all the other participants of the hop using this hashtag).  This week is 'tropical vibes' so think bright colours, lush vegetation and hot temperatures!  

Here is my tropical card:

a few different views of my fun fold:

For my card this week I decided to make a double dutch fold card that I had seen on another crafters blog (you can see her card here).  I followed this tutorial that I found when I did a google search.   I began by stamping the toucans, leaves and branch and coloured them with Promarkers; I used the matching dies to cut them out.  I then followed the tutorial and made my card base using white card.  I found this tropical looking paper pad in my stash so cut all the layers with that and also decided to go with pink mat layers behind which matched the pink flowers.  I die cut a pink frame for the front panel of the card and placed a white panel behind it for my images to stand on.  Onto this white panel I stamped some leaves using the second generation stamping technique for a softer effect.  I stamped the sentiment at the bottom and added the branch, 2 leaves and a toucan above.  I also added a toucan, a leaf and a secondary sentiment on the inside.  It's a fun card shape but not one I think I will make a lot of.  Plus it was really hard to photograph lol!

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Daisy Chain challenge - summertime

Creative Knockouts challenge - finish the inside

Creative Inspirations challenge - feathered friends

Triple B challenge - birds, blooms or butterflies

Four Seasons challenge - summer

Crafty Animals challenge - ATG must include an animal

Critter Crazy challenge - ATG feature a critter

Please pop over to Instagram to see what the other participants of the hop have created; and we cannot wait to see what you make.  Don't forget to pop back again next week for the final week of our summer fun crafting.  

Enjoy the rest of your day and thank you so much for stopping by. 

Love and hugs, 

Card ingredients:

Time for Tea Designs - toucan do this (? retired)

Time for Tea Designs - A2 nesting frame die set

Gina K Designs - so many sentiments (for the inside sentiment)

Promarkers

Primark paper pad (must have been a gift as don't remember buying it)

Versafine onyx black ink pad

Memento tuxedo black ink pad

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm white smooth card

Shark week IG hop

Happy Wednesday friends.  I've got 2 posts planned for your today - the first one is for a card hop I'm participating in on Instagram to celebrate Shark Week.  The card hop is hosted by my good friend Kelly and today's hop will showcase some fintastic cards featuring all things shark to celebrate Shark Week. Thank you to Whimsy Stamps and Hero Arts for supporting our hop and for your fabulous prize giveaways for 2 lucky winners.  Check out all the details over on my IG account. 

Here is my card:

and a close up of my shark:

I began by stamping the shark and colouring him with Promarkers.  I fussy cut him out and added glaze to his eyes.  The background is a sheet of patterned paper but I added extra details from the stamp set.  The sea bed was stamped along with the sea grass and I coloured the lower part of the paper with a light brown Promarker to mimic the sand.  I also stamped some fish in the background for some added interest.  The sentiment was stamped onto navy card, white heat embossed and die cut with a banner die.  The paper was added onto a navy card panel and this was adhered to my card blank with double sided tape.  The shark and sentiment were added with foam tape.  For a final finishing touch I added a couple of clear rain drop embellishments to resemble bubbles.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Crafty Calendar challenge - ATG

Make My Monday challenge - birthday

Crafty Catz challenge - ATG option sparkle/shine

Critter Crazy challenge - ATG feature a critter (again delete if sharks not allowed)

Scrapping4fun challenge - birthday

Little Bit of Rainbow challenge - shark week

Cupcake Inspirations challenge - sea life

Before I go I thought I would share one interesting fact about sharks.  Long before dinosaurs roamed the Earth, sharks were swimming in our oceans. In fact, they’ve been around for over 400 million years. They don’t have bones (their skeletons are made of cartilage), though, so there are no fossils to be found.

Please swim on over to IG and give our sponsors some love then swim on back to see the amazing shark creations in the hop.  Don't forget there are 2 prizes up for grabs so comment on the hop for a chance to win.  

Thanks for stopping by.  I'll be back later with my card for Week 5 of the Summer Crush Wednesdays IG hop.  

Love and hugs, 

Card ingredients:

Woodware Stamps - Jaws stamp set

12 x 12 paper pad - fresh feelings from The Works

Promarkers

Tonic - Nuvo Crystal glaze

Little Things from Lucy's Cards - clear raindrops

MFT - blueprints 27 (for the sentiment banner die)

30th Anniversary card

Hello again friends; I hope the start of the week has been good for you.  I'm back to share the card I made for hubby to celebrate our recent 30th Pearl anniversary.  I cannot believe where the last 30 years have gone; although I think I deserve a medal for putting up with him for so long lol!  

Here is my card:

this one shows the glittery card better:

My husband is not really into fussy cards so decided to buy a die/stamp set to cut out the 30 and save myself the stress of trying to make something elaborate from scratch.  I die cut the base from navy card and then the 30 was die cut from a pearl glittery card that I've had in my stash for years.  The sentiment was also from the same set and I heat embossed it on the navy card with a glittery powder.  The husband word was die cut in the pearl card and also a dark red which was ever so slightly off set.  The hearts were also cut from the same dark red card.  The finished card is very dimensional as the 30 was added with foam squares along with the sentiment and hearts.  I think the finished result is perfect for my husband.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Color Hues challenge - merlot and navy

Moving Along with the Times challenge - wedding/anniversary

Shopping Our Stash challenge - celebrating by the numbers

Addicted to Stamps and More challenge - any occasion

Dream Valley challenge - dies and/or punches

Thanks for stopping by; I really appreciate all your comments and your continued support.  

Love and hugs, 

Card ingredients:

Creative Craft Products - numbers galore: flirty 30

Heffy Doodle - husband die cut

MFT - tag builder blueprints 6

card stock from my stash

Papermania - tinsel snowflake embossing powder

Summer Crush Wednesday Week 4

Hello and happy Saturday friends.  Apologies that this post is late this week; we went away at the beginning of the week for a couple of days to celebrate our 30th Wedding Anniversary and I've been playing catch up ever since!  Welcome to Week 4 of the Summer Crush Wednesday IG hop organised by my good friend Kelly.  The hop will run for 6 weeks (this is week 4) and we will have some fun themes and even some techniques I've never tried before!  If you would like to join us just use the hashtag #scwcardhop23 and we will find you (you can also see all the other participants of the hop using this hashtag).  This week is 'salt life' and this is a technique I've never tried before; water-colouring and using salt to create interesting and original backgrounds.  I hope you will give it a go as it's really fun.  

Here is my 'salt life' card:

here are some close ups of the salt effects:

and I had a small piece left so decorated the inside too:

I began by water-colouring my panel with my paints using pinks and purples.  I watched a tutorial on YouTube so that I knew what the process was when using salt and apparently the secret is that the paint has to be almost dry for the effect of the salt to be more dramatic.  I was pressed for time so blasted my background with a heat tool until almost dry and then sprinkled some regular table salt and some salt crystals onto my background.  Ideally I think you would leave it for quite a few hours or even overnight to react with the paint but again I was strapped for time so left it for 2 hours and then again blasted it with heat to make sure it was completely dry.  I then rubbed off the salt to reveal the reaction.  I was pleasantly surprised with the result and it looked really good.  I didn't want to cover up my background too much so decided to make a slimline card (which I don't do very often).  I die cut some flowers and a butterfly from black card and adhered them with liquid glue onto the water-coloured background.  The sentiment was a pre-made strip and I added that with foam squares.  A very simple card but I think it looks dramatic and perfect for a sympathy card.  I'm looking forward to creating more salt backgrounds in different colours.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Creative Knockouts challenge - finish the inside

Unicorn challenge - no design paper

Happy Little Stampers Watercolour challenge - ATG/option Christmas

Addicted to Stamps and More challenge - any occasion

Please pop over to Instagram to see what the other participants of the hop have created; we cannot wait to see what you create.  Don't forget to stop by again next week for more summer fun creating.  

Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by.  

Love and hugs, 

Card ingredients:

Sizzix/Tim Holtz - wildflowers #1 thinlits

Clearly Besotted - butterfly duo die collection (retired)

Gina K Designs - Mixed messages sentiment sheets

Gina K Designs - sentiment strips dies

Gina K Designs - so many sentiments (for inside sentiment)

Strathmore - Bristol smooth water-colour pad

Kuretake - Gansai Tambi water-colour palette

AAA birthday challenge - DT card

Good morning friends and welcome to July!  Another month has bitten the dust and we are bang in the middle of summer time now.  I'm back with my DT card for this month's AAA birthday challenge and this month our theme is 'butterflies' which has been chosen by Elaine.  Our guest designer this month is Janja so please pop over and say hello.  

For my card I am using a new to me stamp and die set from W Plus 9 and it is gorgeous.  I decided to make a shaker card and went very clean and simple on this one.  Here is what I made:

and a slightly closer look:

I began by die cutting the 'beautiful' word (which thankfully comes as one piece) from white cardstock and added acetate over the opening to make my shaker window.  I then took a sentiment stamp which actually said have a sweet birthday and masked off the bits I didn't need and stamped the words in Versafine onxy black ink.  I stamped the butterflies in Versamark and white heat embossed them and cut them out with the matching dies.  I also decided to soften them by die-cutting another of each butterfly in vellum and adding them on top.  I added foam tape to my white card panel and added the shaker mix before sealing it closed.  I finished off with some matching sequins and voila my card was done.  It turned out just as I wanted and I think the colours look really fresh.  

Please pop over to the blog to see the creations from the rest of the design team; you won't be disappointed.  

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:

Sweet Stampin' challenge - no designer paper (I stamped and heat embossed my butterflies before ink blending)

Addicted to CAS challenge - celebration (if my card isn't CAS enough please remove me)

Just Us Girls challenge - pastels

Shopping Our Stash challenge - sentimentally yours

Scrapping4Fun challenge - birthday

Papercraft challenges - girls, girls, girls

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - anything goes

NBUS challenge - new stamp/die set

If you give a crafter a cookie challenge - pastels

I really hope you can join us and cannot wait to see all your beautiful butterfly creations.  Please remember that we only accept birthday cards.  

I really appreciate you stopping by and leaving me such lovely and positive comments.  

Have a great day.  

Love and hugs, 

Card ingredients:

W Plus 9 - beautiful butterflies

MFT - sweet celebrations 

Heffy Doodle - white card

sequin mix from my stash (I think it was a freebie)