Summer Soiree Card Making IG Hop - Week 7

Hello friends; I hope you've had a great start to your week.  Apologies for the lack of posts this past week but Wesley is dominating my time so much that I don't have any time to myself!  He is a bundle of fun, but a little terror at the same time lol!  He's been enjoying the gorgeous weather we've been having this week and loves being outside.  

Anyway enough of my waffling let's get down to the real reason you are here.  It's week 7 of our Summer Soiree IG card hop, which has been organised by my lovely friend Kelly. This week is all about 'summer bugs' so we want to see all your cute and fun critters. 

I wanted to use this cute stamp set from Clearly Besotted (this is the same set that I got the fun bees from that I used on my World Bee Day card a little while ago).  They are such adorable images and fairly simple to colour too.  I hope you like it.

Here is my card:

A close look at the cute images:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by cutting a panel of 8 1/2" x 5 1/4" kraft card and stamped my own background paper using 2 leaf stamps from the stamp set and versamark ink for a tone on tone look.  I cut 2 panels from the background measuring 3 3/4" x 5".  I stamped the images onto alcohol marker friendly ink and coloured them with Promarkers before using the matching dies to cut them out.  I stencilled a background using a stencil and die cut it out with a circle die.  I stamped the sentiment in black ink and used a sentiment strip die to cut it out.  I took some alpha dies and cut out the word 'bugs' from green card and inked the bottom half with a slightly darker green ink.  I added the circle onto the background with foam tape, the caterpillar was also added with foam tape and the dragonfly was added with liquid glue.  I tucked 2 leaves behind the circle, adding them with liquid glue.  I also added the sentiment and words with liquid glue.  The panel was added to the card base with foam tape.  For the inside I cut a white panel 3 1/4" x 4 1/2" and stamped a sentiment in the centre with black ink.  I lightly ink blended the bottom and added another cute bug and 2 leaves with liquid glue.  I adhered the white panel onto the kraft panel with double sided tape and this was added to the card base with double sided tape.  A really fun card and I love a good punny sentiment lol!  

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

Addicted to Stamps & More challenge - birthdays

The Crafter's Cafe challenge - ATG twist include some balloons

I Love Promarkers challenge - ATG/masculine

Make My Monday challenge - colouring mediums (I used alcohol markers)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - ATG

The Cutie Pie challenge - beginning with B (bugs)

Try It On Tuesday challenge - in the garden (bugs)

If you would like to follow the hop over on Instagram please use the hashtag #summersoireecardmakinghop2024 to find us or alternatively visit my profile and you will find the list of participants on my post.  We would love it if you would give the summer soiree challenges a try and again use the hashtag and we will find your projects.  

I'll be back tomorrow with my card for the Krafty Chicks challenge but until then enjoy the rest of your day and thank you for stopping by. 

Love and hugs,

Card ingredients:

Clearly Besotted Stamps - cute as a bug stamp & matching die set - retired

Promarkers

Clearly Besotted Stamps - a little sentiment stamp set - retired

Clearly Besotted Stamps - around about stencil

Gina K Designs - sentiment strips dies

Gina K Designs - perfect posy stamp set (for inside greeting)

Gina K Designs - ink pads - sea glass, ocean mist, lucky clover, grass green

Lawn Fawn - Henry's ABC dies

Tonic Studios - circles layering basics dies

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm silky smooth white card

Heffy Doodle - alcohol marker friendly card - store now closed

Crafter's Companion - desert storm kraft card

Versafine - onyx black ink 

Memento - tuxedo black ink

Versamark - embossing ink 

Krafty Chicks challenge #726 - All occasion

Good morning lovely friends.  I hope you're all doing ok and having a great week so far.  It''s time for a new challenge over at Krafty Chicks challenge and we are now on Week 4 which means Lori is our hostess and our theme as always is 'All Occasions' which couldn't be easier.  So come over and join in the fun with us. 

My mother needed a last minute birthday card for a friend so this challenge was perfect timing for me.  I went fairly clean and simple and only used card, ink and stencils (apart from a few sequins) so it didn't take any time at all to make.  The finished card is 5" x 7".  I hope you like it. 

Here is my card:

A close up of the stencilling:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by cutting a white panel 4 1/2" x 6 1/2", grabbed my lilac ink pads and a gorgeous lotus layering stencil and created this gorgeous design.  I stamped the sentiment in black ink and basically the card front was finished.  I added a black mat panel with double sided tape and added the whole panel onto my card base with foam tape.  For a final flourish I added 5 clear sequins for some extra interest.  For the inside I cut another white panel, masked the stencil so that I only ink blended one of the flowers in the right corner and stamped a sentiment in the centre in black ink.  Again I cut a black mat panel and adhered them together with double sided tape.  I also added it to the card base with double sided tape.  I love layering stencils as they make your cards look like you took ages colouring and adding depth with shading but it literally takes 10 minutes and you are done!  

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

Addicted to CAS challenge - code word: nature

Addicted to Stamps & More challenge - birthdays

Allsorts challenge - flowers

Beautiful Blossoms challenge - anything floral goes optional mood board

Creative Friday challenge - no patterned paper

Double D challenge - basketful of posies (baskets or posies or both)

Halloween & Other Occasions challenge - always birthday

Just Us Girls challenge - ATG stencil week

Scrapping4Fun challenge - birthday

Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - add a sentiment 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - beautiful blooms

Stencil Fun challenge - ATG use a stencil optional twist - shades of blue

Triple B challenge - use a least one bird, bloom or butterfly

Try It On Tuesday challenge - in the garden

I hope you will be able to join us for our 'All Occasions' challenge and I cannot wait to see your creations in our linky.  Please leave some love for my fellow chicks - Leanne, Diane and Lori and also our guest designer Rachelle.  

Thanks for stopping by. 

Love and hugs, 

Card ingredients:

Gina K Designs - tranquil lotus layering stencils

Gina K Designs - ink pads - light lilac, medium lilac, dark lilac, jelly bean green, fresh asparagus

Gina K Designs - spring floral background stamp (for sentiment)

Gina K Designs - clear quartz solid sequins

Honey Bee Stamps - inside: birthday sentiments (for inside sentiment)

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm silky smooth white card

Hobbycraft - A4 black card

Versafine - onyx black ink pad

Summer Soiree Card Making IG Hop - Week 6

Hello friends; I hope you've had a great start to your week.  The weather is very changeable here at the moment and we can't seem to string two days together; it's showery today but it was lovely and sunny yesterday.  We did however take Wesley for a walk today around the local lake this morning.  It's gorgeous up there and they even have a cafe so you can have a coffee and a bite to eat if you want.  He really enjoyed himself and was really brave meeting dogs for the first time.  He wasn't too sure about the water though.  

Anyway enough of my waffling let's get down to the real reason you are here.  It's week 5 of our Summer Soiree IG card hop, which has been organised by my lovely friend Kelly. This week is all about 'Christmas in July' so we want to see all your festive images but of course if you don't celebrate Christmas we would love to see your winter creations too.  

I've been having fun rediscovering my wooden stamps and I'm really going to try and make an effort to use them more.  I found this cute Hero Arts stamp and I remember using it lots years ago but it's been neglected for probably 15 years so I thought I would show it some love.  

Here is my card:

A close up of the cute kitty:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by cutting a white panel 4" x 5 1/4" and did an ombre ink blend from left to right using my ink pads and blending brushes.  Using the same inks I stamped some trees in the background and added some gold dots using a metallic pen and white highlights using a gelly roll pen.  I managed to squish one corner of my panel so decided to cut it out using a postage die.  I stamped the kitty image onto alcohol marker friendly card, coloured it with Promarkers, added some white highlights and then fussy cut it out.  I stamped a sentiment under the ink blended strip towards the left side using black ink.  I added the panel onto my card blank with foam tape and also added the kitty with foam squares.  For the inside I again did an ombre ink blend but this time at the bottom of my panel and stamped two trees using the same inks.  I added more gold and white highlights and stamped my sentiment with black ink.  I used the same postage die to cut it out.  I added this to my card base with double sided tape.  A very simple card but I think it's really super cute.  I hope you like it too.  

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

AAA Cards challenge - sketch ombre

Alphabet challenge - H is for Holidays - summer or Christmas in July

Christmas Crafts All Year 'Round challenge - anything Christmas or winter holiday goes

Christmas With The Cuties challenge - clean and simple Christmas cuties

CRAFT challenge - Christmas

Crafty Gals Corner challenge - ATG optional twist Christmas

Creative Knockouts challenge - Christmas in July

Daisy Chain challenge - Christmas in July

Day Of The Month Card Club challenge - National US postage stamp day

Dragonfly Dreams challenge - Christmas in July

A Blog Named Hero July challenge - color my world (I coloured my image with alcohol markers and ink blended my background)

Kat Scrappiness Christmas in July pick 3 challenge - die cuts/stamps/mainly red & green

My Time To Craft Christmas challenge - woods (like a forest, small grove of trees)

My Time To Craft challenge - clean and simple

Papercraft challenges - holiday time

Pearly Sparkles challenge - Christmas in July

Show Us Your Pussy Cats challenge - ATG must include a cat

Simply Create Too challenge - Christmas in July 

Stamping Sensations challenge - ATG optional twist Christmas in July

Tic Tac Toe challenge - die cut/free/any sentiment

Wow so many Christmas challenges around at the moment!  

If you would like to follow the hop over on Instagram please use the hashtag #summersoireecardmakinghop2024 to find us or alternatively visit my profile and you will find the list of participants on my post.  We would love it if you would give the summer soiree challenges a try and again use the hashtag and we will find your projects.  

I'll be back tomorrow with my card for the Krafty Chicks challenge but until then enjoy the rest of your day and thank you for stopping by. 

Love and hugs,

  

Card ingredients:

Hero Arts - Winter kitty E4841 wood stamp - ? no longer available

Promarkers

Lawn Fawn - winter village stamp set (for trees)

Catherine Pooler - notecard postage dies

MFT - itty bitty holiday stamp set (for sentiments)

Gina K Designs - ink pads - key lime, jelly bean green, fresh asparagus

Heffy Doodle - alcohol marker friendly card - store now closed

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm silky smooth white card

Sakura - white no. 10 gelly roll pen

Kuretake - Zig writer gold metallic pen

Versafine - onyx black ink pad

Krafty Chicks challenge #725 - CAS

Hello again lovely friends.  I hope you're all doing ok and having a great week.  I'm a little late with my post again this week but it's Thursday so that means it's time for a new challenge over at Krafty Chicks challenge.  We are now on Week 3 which means Diane is our hostess and our theme as always is 'CAS (clean and simple)', so come and join in the fun with us. 

I wanted to make a cheerful get well soon card for a friend who is currently in hospital after surgery.  I only used SIP (stamps, ink & paper); no dies were used at all - shock horror!  

Here is my card:

A closer look at the stamping:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by cutting a white panel 4" x 5 1/4".  I grabbed a striped background stamped and masked each stripe so that I could stamp them a different colour (I did have some slight bleed from my orange into the pink but I don't think it looks too bad).  I then stamped the flower in black ink and arranged the sentiment along 3 of the stripes, again stamping in black ink.  I was just about to add foam tape to the back when I noticed an ink smudge at the very bottom (luckily) so I trimmed my panel a tiny bit smaller.  I added foam tape to the back and added it to the card base.  For the inside I used the same background stamp and again masked each stripe but did it on an angle in the left corner.  I once again stamped the flower in black ink and added a sentiment in the centre, again stamped with black ink.  I added this panel to the card base with double sided tape.  The thing that took the longest in regards to this card was the masking of the stripes, apart from that it was really quick to make (for me anyway lol!).  I hope you like it.  

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

AAA Cards challenge - anything CAS goes optional twist summer colours

Addicted to CAS challenge - summer (I used summer colours)

Beautiful Blossoms challenge - anything floral goes optional mood board

Crafts Galore Encore challenge - ATG

Dream Valley challenge - summer colours

My Time To Craft challenge - CAS

Triple B challenge - use at least one bird, bloom or butterfly optional mood board

I hope you will be able to join us for our 'CAS' challenge and I cannot wait to see your creations in our linky.  Please leave some love for my fellow chicks - Leanne, Diane and Lori and also our guest designer Rachelle.  

Thanks for stopping by. 

Love and hugs, 

card ingredients:

Uniko Stamps - background blocks horizontal stripe

Uniko Stamps - flower power 10 (for flower)

Uniko Stamps - simply said stamp (for outside sentiment)

Uniko Stamps - flower power 6 (for inside sentiment)

Gina K Designs - ink pads - bubblegum pink, passionate pink, tangerine twist, sweet mango, wild dandelion, lemon drop, key lime

Limetree Crafts- 250gsm silky smooth white card

Versafine - onyx black ink pad

Summer Soiree Card Making IG Hop - Week 5

Hello friends; I hope you've had a great start to your week.  I'm still playing catch up with my posts as Wesley is occupying most of my time at the moment.  He is chewing everything he can find and doesn't know what to do next; I'm sure (insert hope!) he will calm down soon.  He is full of fun though and very loving and cuddly.  

It's week 5 of our Summer Soiree IG card hop, which has been organised by my lovely friend Kelly. This week is all about 'summer gardening' so we want to see all your gardening images i.e. flowers, wheelbarrows, veggies, spades etc.  

I made a clean and simple card this week, as I had to take make the most of puppy naps, and used a image from LOTV which features two cute critters, a wheelbarrow and some apples, which I thought was ideal.  I hope you like it.  

Here is my card:

A close up of the cute image:

I decorated the inside:

I began by stamping my image onto alcohol marker friendly card and coloured it with my Promarkers; adding some highlights with a white gel pen.  I stamped a sentiment below the image in black ink.  I wanted to keep my card fairly clean and simple so use a scallop die to cut a piece of red dotty paper, a smaller green piece of card and also the image panel so that they would all line up when I adhered them together using liquid glue.  I added the layered panel to my card base with foam tape.  I didn't add anything else as I liked it as it was.  For the inside I cut a white panel 4" x 5 1/4" and added a strip of the dotty paper and green card to the bottom with double sided tape.  I stamped just a small part of the image above the border and coloured it with Promarkers.  I think it looks really cute with just a tiny part of the image showing on the inside.  I didn't add a sentiment inside as I thought the outside was quite generic so could be used for multiple of occasions and I would add one later.  

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

Aud Sentiments challenge - bookmarks and/or hobbies + sentiment (gardening)

Birthstone challenge - ruby/peridot optional twist thank you

Crafty Animals challenge - ATG must include an animal

Crafty Catz challenge - ATG option make it cute

Critter Crazy challenge - ATG with a featured critter

I Love Promarkers challenge - ATG/masculine

Inkspirational challenge - feature products from 2 different companies

Love Those Pretty Papers challenge - ATG must use patterned paper

Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - lots of layers

The Cutie Pie challenge - beginning with B (bear, bunny)

The Paper Funday challenge - ATG option critter crazy

If you would like to follow the hop over on Instagram please use the hashtag #summersoireecardmakinghop2024 to find us or alternatively visit my profile and you will find the list of participants on my post.  We would love it if you would give the summer soiree challenges a try and again use the hashtag and we will find your projects.  

I'll be back tomorrow with my card for the Krafty Chicks challenge but until then enjoy the rest of your day and thank you for stopping by. 

Love and hugs,

 

card ingredients:

LOTV - beary happy A5 polymer stamp set

W Plus 9 - sunshine layers die set (for scalloped die) - sadly now closed

Elzybells - sentiment stamp set - sadly closed many years ago

Echo Park - dots & stripes Valentine 6x6 paper pad - retired

Heffy Doodle - alcohol marker friendly card - sadly now closed

Promarkers

Sakura - white no. 10 gelly roll pen

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm silky smooth white card

green card from scraps bin

Krafty Chicks challenge #724 - Christmas

Hello again lovely friends, thank you so much for popping by.  It's time for a new challenge over at Krafty Chicks challenge and we are on to Week 2 which means I am your hostess and our theme as always is 'Christmas'.  So anything festive goes, whether you stamp, die cut, use ephemera, we want to see it.  So grab your festive supplies and come over and join in the fun with us. 

I grabbed one of my old Penny Black wooden stamps for my card today.  They are so cute and never go out of style.  You can't beat a PB hedgie image I don't think.  I was really pushed for time so my card ended up being very clean and simple.  I hope you like it.  

Here is my card:

A close up of the cute hedgie:

I decorated the inside (albeit very simply):

I began by stamping the image onto alcohol marker friendly card and coloured it with my Promarkers.  I cut it into a rectangle and stuck this directly onto my card blank.  I cut a white panel 3 7/8" x 5 1/8" and cut a rounded rectangle from the centre.  I cut a thin strip of patterned paper and added that to the left edge of the panel and stamped a sentiment in black ink in the bottom centre.  I added foam tape behind the panel and placed it over the coloured image so that it looks the image is peeking out of a window.  I debated adding embellishments but I liked it as it was.  For the inside I cut another white panel and simply stamped a sentiment in the centre with black ink and added another strip of the patterned paper to the bottom.  I then added the panel to my card base with double sided tape.  It's surprising how much time it takes me to make design decisions, even on simple cards like this one; I hope I'm not the only one who dithers for ages and then goes back to the original idea lol!

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

Addicted to Stamps & More challenge - Christmas

Alphabet challenge - H is for holidays - summer or Christmas in July

Birthstone challenge - ruby/peridot optional thank you 

Christmas Crafts All Year Around - anything Christmas or winter holiday goes

Christmas Kickstart challenge - festive frames

Colorful Options challenge - flags (I was inspired by my home flag - Wales - red, white & green)

Crafty Animals challenge - ATG must include an animal

Crafty Calendar challenge - add a sentiment (3rd entry)

Crafty Catz challenge - ATG optional twist make it cute

Critter Crazy challenge - ATG with a featured critter

Cut It Up challenge - Christmas in July 

Daisy Chain challenge - Christmas in July

Dragonfly Dreams challenge - Christmas in July 

I Love Promarkers challenge - ATG/masculine

Moving Along With The Times challenge - CAS

Merry Little Christmas challenge - anything Christmas goes

Peace on Earth Christmas challenge - anything Christmas themed optional mood board

Pearly Sparkles challenge - Christmas in July 

Penny Black Saturday challenge - ATG option food 

Simply Clean and Simple challenge - CAS optional use a heart

Simply Create Too challenge - Christmas in July

Stamping Sensations challenge - ATG optional twist Christmas in July

The Holly & Ivy Christmas challenge - anything Christmas goes

The Paper Funday challenge - ATG optional twist critter crazy

Wow!  Lots of Christmas themed challenges around at the moment!

I hope you will be able to join us for our 'Christmas' challenge and I cannot wait to see your creations in our linky.  Please leave some love for my fellow chicks - Leanne, Diane and Lori and also our guest designer Rachelle.  

Thanks for stopping by. 

Love and hugs, 

card ingredients:

Penny Black - xmas kiss 2754H wooden stamp - 

Promarkers

Uniko Stamps - Christmas wishes stamp set (for sentiments)

MFT - stitched rounded rectangle stax dies - retired

Echo Park - dots & stripes valentines 6x6 paper pad - retired

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm silky smooth white card

Versafine - onyx black ink pad