Krafty Chicks challenge #833 - Christmas

Good morning lovely friends, I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you're all doing ok. It's time for a new challenge over at Krafty Chicks challenge and this week we are on Week 2; as always the theme is 'Christmas' and I am your hostess. We are slowly adding to the Christmas pile, which really takes the stress off later in the year. We hope you will come over and join in the fun with us.

I dug into the latest Gina K Designs 'Christmas in July' card kit for today's card.  I used some non-traditional colours and kept it fairly clean and simple but I'm really happy with how it turned out. I hope you like it too. 

Here is my card:

A closer look at the details:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by cutting a white panel 4" x 5 1/4" and used the 'snowy' background stamp and some pink ink to create my fun splatter effect background.  I stamped the image onto alcohol marker friendly card and coloured it in with a combination of spectrum noir and Promarkers, also adding some white gelly roll pen highlights.  I used the coordinating die to cut it out (plus 3 more from plain white so that I could stack them).  I stamped the sentiment onto white card using black ink and again used the matching die to cut it out (plus another 3 from white to stack them up).  I adhered all the die cuts together using liquid glue.  As the sentiment was slightly too long for my card I fussy cut between the words so that I could them as two separate words.  I added the bauble image in the upper half of the card and the sentiments in the lower half of the card using liquid glue. I finished off with some black pearls.  I added some scrap white card behind my panel and adhered it to my card base using double sided tape.  For the inside I cut another white panel 4" x 5 1/4" and added some of the snowy background in the bottom third of the panel using the same pink ink.  I stamped, coloured and die cut one more image as before but decided to cut it apart and just use two baubles in the bottom right corner, using liquid glue.  I stamped the sentiment in the centre with black ink before adding my panel to the card base with double sided tape.  As I had part of the second image left over I decided to decorate the back of my envelope and added it with liquid glue.  

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

ABC Christmas challenge - P, Q & R - (R for rectangle)

As You Like It challenge - favourite colouring medium (I have primarily used Promarkers for over 15 years and like how easy they are to use; no refilling and mine are still going strong)

Cut It Up challenge - add a sentiment + must use a die cut

Girlz and the Art of Letters challenge - Letter G (garland, girly)

I Love Promarkers challenge - in the pink

Merry Little Christmas challenge - anything Christmas goes

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.

Thank you so much for stopping by; I will be back in a little while with my DT card for the Just Us Girls challenge.

Love and hugs,

card supplies:

Gina K Designs - joyful borders stamp & die set (kit is sold out but will be available individually next release)

Gina K Designs - snowy background stamp

Gina K Designs - dusty rose ink pad

Gina K Designs - black, gold & silver metallic pearl mix

Limetree Craft - 280gsm silky smooth white card (not available but other options are here and here)

Limetree Craft - 300gsm smooth white card

Versafine - nocturne ink pad

Memento - tuxedo black ink pad

Heffy Doodle - alcohol marker friendly card (store now closed)

Promarkers

Spectrum Noir tri-blend markers (bright pink blend & lavender blend)

Sakura - white no. 10 gelly roll pen

I now have an Affiliate Link for the Gina K Designs store. If you are considering making a purchase I would appreciate you using my links as it will earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Thank you x

Krafty Chicks challenge #832 - birthday

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 this week is Week 1, our theme is 'birthday' and our hostess is Leanne. We always need birthday cards, gift packaging and decorations so I'm sure you will find this week a breeze!  We hope you will come over and join in the fun with us.

My new kit from Gina K Designs had just arrived so I used the gorgeous mini incentive set which has these gorgeous butterfly images and sentiments.  I used a few different GKD dies and a clean and simple layout and I think it turned out so pretty.  I hope you like it too.  

Here is my card:

A closer look at the details:

Plus I decorated the inside:

I began by stamping the butterfly images using memento ink onto alcohol marker friendly card.  I coloured them with Spectrum Noir tri-blend markers for a change and used the coordinating dies to cut them out.  I also added some white gel pen highlights.  I die cut the scalloped rectangle (from master layouts 4) and the circle windows plate from white card.  I took the inner part of the circles and ink blended one of them pink, one yellow and one orange using the ink left over on my blending brushes .  I adhered the circles panel onto the scalloped rectangle using liquid glue and then replaced the circles into their spots again using liquid glue.  I stamped the sentiment onto the yellow circle using black ink.  I added the butterflies onto the circles using foam squares just under their bodies so that their wings can be lifted up a little.  I also went around the circles with my white gel pen to add some faux white spatters.  The panel was then adhered to my card base using double sided tape.  For the inside I die cut another scalloped rectangle from white card, ink blended some of the yellow and orange inks in the right hand corner and added a pink butterfly over top.  I stamped the sentiment using black ink and added the panel to my card base using double sided tape.

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

Allsorts challenge - colours of summer

Colour Dare challenge - surprise colour challenge - I used pink, yellow & orange

Critter Crazy challenge - ATG with a featured critter

Daisy Chain challenge - animals

Heart's Quest Celebrations of Love challenge - BEWAS (birthday)

Moving Along With The Times challenge - feminine

NBUS challenge - new or unused stuff (my butterflies are new)

Simply Clean & Simple challenge - ATG CAS optional theme nature

Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge - happy birthday

Tic Tac Toe challenge - board #298 - butterfly, free, border

Triple B challenge - birds, blooms or butterflies optional mood board

Try It On Tuesday challenge - make it colourful

Unicorn challenge - layer it up 

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

Thank you so much for stopping by; I appreciate your lovely comments.  I'll be back in a little while with my card for this week's Just Us Girls challenge. 

Love and hugs,

card supplies:

Gina K Designs - courage to fly stamp (current incentive will in store next month)

Gina K Designs - master layouts 04

Gina K Designs - circle windows plate 

Gina K Designs - perfect posy mini stamp (for inside sentiment) (Bumbleberry's)

Spectrum Noir - tri-blend markers - orange blend, citrus blend & bright pink blend

Sakura - white no. 10 gelly roll pen

Limetree Craft - 280gsm silky smooth white card (not available but other options are here and here)

Limetree Craft - 300gsm smooth white card (for my card base)

Versafine Clair - nocturne ink pad

Memento - tuxedo black ink pad

Heffy Doodle - alcohol marker friendly card - store now closed

I now have an Affiliate Link for the Gina K Designs store. If you are considering making a purchase I would appreciate you using my links as it will earn me a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

Thank you x

Winter Wonderland IG Hop - Week 4

Hello friends; I hope your day is going well and you've had a great start to your week.  It's Wednesday so that means it's time to share my card for this week's Winter Wonderland IG Hop which has been organised by my lovely friend Kelly.  Can you believe this week is week 4 already!  Each Wednesday we will be sharing our cards with a winter theme.  

This week is the lovely theme of Santa!  I always reach for cutesy images so I thought I would mix it up this week and go for a traditional/vintage style image and actually used a red rubber wood mounted stamp!!  Here is my card:

a close up of the image:

I decorated the inside:

I apologise for the photos today but it's quite gloomy here and I struggled to get anything better, but they are better than horrible (maybe!). 

I began by stamping the gorgeous Santa image in Memento London Fog ink which is a lovely light grey.  There wasn't much colouring to do, I coloured his face, beard and glasses with a mix of Promarkers and SN Tri-blend markers and then went over the beard and snowflakes with some glitter glue.  I put the image to one side to dry and then created my background with a snowflake stencil using red ink on a white panel cut to 3 3/4" x 5".  I made an A2 card base from red cardstock and I adhered the stencilled panel with double sided tape.  I used a strip of white card and stamped my sentiment in Versafine Clair morning mist ink.  I added this strip onto a slightly larger strip of same red card as my card base and adhered this with double sided tape.  Once the image panel was dry I used a rectangle die and cut it out and then used the matching scalloped die to cut a red mat panel.  I added this to the card with foam tape.  I decided to add some glitter glue to the snowflakes in the background for some extra sparkle and finished off with 3 small sequins under my sentiment.  It really does look much nicer in real life and really sparkles when it catches the light.  

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

Allsorts challenge - Christmas time

Craft challenge - Christmas

Colourful Options challenge - red

Creative Knockouts challenge - lots of layers

Daisy Chain challenge - Christmas/winter

Inkspirational challenge - seasonal (obviously I've gone for Christmas)

Mix it Up challenge - ATG option stamping

My Time to Craft challenge - got to be Christmas

Scrapping4Fun challenge - traditional Christmas colours

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - make it sparkle

Stamping Sensations challenge - get ready for Christmas

Sweet Stampin' challenge - use red

Tic Tac Toe challenge - sparkle/free/monochromatic

We hope you will be able to join us over on Instagram and follow the hop.  Please use the hashtag #winterwonderlandcardhop2023 to find all our creations and, if we inspire you and you decide to join in, we can find yours too.  

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

Love and hugs, 

Card ingredients:

Rubber Stampede - Santa collage wooden stamp (very old and probably no longer available)

Spellbinders - classic rectangles large & classic scalloped rectangles large

Spellbinders - colour essentials sequins - scarlet smooth disc

Funky Fossil Designs - snow flurry stencil

Stickles glitter glue - crystal 

Versafine Morning Mist ink pad (for sentiment)

Memento London Fog ink pad (to stamp image)

Gina K Designs - red velvet ink pad 

Paula Pascal - Christmas messages

Promarkers

Spectrum Noir Tri Blend markers

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm smooth white card

Stampin' Up! - red card from brights selection pack (again very old!)

Winter Wonderland IG Hop - Week 3

Happy Hump Day friends; I hope you're having a great week so far.  I'm back with Week 3 of the Winter Wonderland IG Hop which has been organised by my lovely friend Kelly.  Each Wednesday in November we will be sharing our cards with a winter theme.  

This week is a fun one - pink Christmas!  I love traditional colours for Christmas but it's nice to step out of our comfort zone from time to time and have a play with different colour schemes.  I had lots of ideas for my make this week but finally settled on CAS and super cute!  Here is my card:

a close up of my cute penguin:

I also decorated the inside:

I used mostly Promarkers with a couple of Tri-blend markers:

I began by stamping the cute penguin image with memento tuxedo black ink and coloured it with mostly Promarkers but I did use 2 x Spectrum Noir tri-blend markers too (I'm actually liking these pens a lot as they take away the stress of colour blending as there are 3 colours in each pen).  I don't have the coordinating dies so fussy cut him out and put him to one side.  I then cut a white panel of card 3 3/4" x 5" and used a stencil and some pink ink to make my background.  I found some hot pink card in my scrap bin and used that as my mat layer behind my white panel.  I cut a 2 1/2" strip of the hot pink card and used a scalloped edge die to cut a decorative border on the top and bottom.   I then added a white strip on top with double sided tape.  Before adding to the card panel I stamped my sentiment.  This was then adhered to the card panel with double sided tape.  The penguin was added with foam squares and I added 5 small pink pearls as a finishing touch.  I did forget to add some white gel pen highlights but I'll do that before I give the card to someone.  The panel was then added to a white card blank with foam tape.  I decorated the inside in my usual way - a small strip of the stencilled card added to the bottom and a sentiment stamped in black ink.  A really sweet card and I think once you've settled on the idea it's really easy to mass produce.

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

Crafty Animals challenge - ATG include an animal

Crafty Gals Corner challenge - dots and/or stripes

Creative Inspirations challenge - contemporary Christmas colours

Creative Moments challenge - winter

Critter Crazy challenge - ATG with a featured critter

Daisy Chain challenge - Christmas/winter

Cut it Up challenge - layer it up (must use a die cut)

Day of the Month Card Club challenge - candy day

Double D challenge - stripes and/or dots

Dream Valley challenge - occasions other than birthday

Krafty Chicks challenge - Christmas

Moving Along with the Times challenge - Christmas animals

Pearly Sparkles challenge - Christmas/winter

Stamping Sensations challenge - get ready for Christmas

Stencil Fun challenge - anything stencil goes - option leaves

Unicorn challenge - Christmas

We Love Stamping challenge - Christmas characters

Wow lots of Christmas themed challenges around at the moment (understandably)!  I believe I checked all the rules but if I've entered too many challenges and broken your rules I apologise and just delete me.

We hope you will be able to join us over on Instagram and follow the hop.  Please use the hashtag #winterwonderlandcardhop2023 to find all of our creations and if you decide to join in too we will be able to find yours too.  

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

Love and hugs, 

card ingredients:

MFT - sweet holiday penguins

MFT - diagonal stripes stencil

Clearly Besotted Stamps - scalloped edges die collection

Concord & 9th - Boughs and holly stamp (for sentiment)

Gina K Designs - bubblegum pink ink pad

Gina K Designs - pearl mix rainbow

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm white smooth card 

pink card from scrap bin

Promarkers & Spectrum Noir tri-blend markers

Paula Pascal - Christmas message (inside sentiment) (I've seen it on eBay)

Versafine onyx black ink pad

Memento tuxedo black ink pad

Heffy Doodle - alcohol marker friendly card

Dragonfly Dreams challenge - Guest Designer card

Good morning and happy Sunday lovely friends.  I hope you are all doing ok and finding lots of time to get crafty.  

I am delighted to be a guest designer over at Dragonfly Dreams challenge this month and they have a lovely theme of 'dragonflies'.  I used a stamp set that I think I won in a competition years ago.  I've had it in my stash but never used it, so this was the perfect time to dig it out!   Aren't the dragonflies just adorable?  I love their big googly eyes lol! 

Here is my card:

a closer look at the cute dragonflies:

plus I decorated the inside too:

I began by stamping my dragonflies and coloured them with a combination of Promarkers and Spectrum Noir tri-blend markers.  I don't have the matching dies so fussy cut them out.  I decided to white heat emboss the background onto a grey coloured card using a brick pattern stamp; I also stencilled some grass and clouds onto this once it had cooled down.  I used dies to cut out my panel and also a black matting panel.  I white heat embossed the sentiment onto black card and also fussy cut that out.  I finished my card by adding some smooth disc sequins around the dragonflies.  I had a small piece of the embossed background left over from when I die cut it so used a strip on the inside of my card.  I always try to decorate the inside of my cards, even if it's just a stamped sentiment.  Do you do anything on the side of your cards?  

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

Krafty Chicks challenge - stamp act (focus on stamping)

Inkspirational challenge - use stencils (I used 2 in the background)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - summer

Stencil Fun challenge - use stencils option butterflies

Double D Challenge - ATG option use stencils (I used 2 in the background)

Moving Along With The Times challenge - emboss wet/dry (I heat embossed my wall stamp)

Critter Crazy challenge - ATG but feature a critter

Tic Tac Toe challenge - use a stencil/birthday sentiment/blues & greens (in my background)

I hope you can join in with this fun challenge.  Please pop over to the blog to find out all the details and to check out the Design Teams gorgeous creations too.  

I hope you enjoy the last bit of your weekend and thanks so much for stopping by.  

Love and hugs, 

Card ingredients:

Your Next Stamp - dancing dragonflies (they are closing so grab a bargain as everything is reduced)

MFT - english brick wall stamp

MFT - mini cloud edges stencil

MFT - grassy edges stencil

Simon Says Stamp - fog card

Limetree Crafts - 250gsm smooth white card 

Gina K Designs* - jelly bean green and sea glass ink pads

Gina K Designs* - detail white embossing powder and white pigment ink cube

Gina K Designs* - master layouts 2

Spellbinders - black smooth disc sequins

Promarkers

Spectrum Noir Tri-Blend Markers

Memento tuxedo black ink

*I link directly to the Gina K Designs store as that is where I bought my items but they are also available in the UK at Bumbleberry Crafts and Dies to Die For

My sister's birthday card

Happy September friends.  I don't know what happened to last week - it went by in a blur.  I was home from work on annual leave from Wednesday on but I still don't know where it went even though I had more time to craft and chill out lol!  It was my sister's birthday last week so I thought I would share the card (and matching envelope) I made for her.  

Close up of the card:

Card & envelope together:

I stamped the gorgeous image onto a white card panel and coloured it with Promarkers.  I stamped the sentiments (which are from 2 different sets) in Versafine onyx black ink and matted this onto a green panel.  I then added this to my card front (which was 7x5 in size) with foam tape.  I finished off with a few sequins for some bling.  I made the envelope with the same green cardstock and stamped the image again using Versafine Clair morning mist ink and coloured them with pencils for a softer look.  

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

Penny Black and More challenge - say it with flowers

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge - anything goes

Krafty Chicks challenge - all occasions

I will try and be a bit more organised this week and share another card in the next few days.  Have a wonderful week and if your children/young adults are going back to school and university I'm sending you my love.  It's a stressful time normally but everything is that little bit 'extra' at the moment isn't it. 

Take care and stay safe.

card ingredients:

Taylored Expressions - doodle flowers background

Ranger - Letter it - birthday (for large HB sentiment)

Clearly Besotted Stamps - happy birthday all (for the smaller sentiment)

Promarkers

Little Things by Lucy's Card - sprinkles: crystal circles

Heffy Doodle - white cardstock

green card stock from stash

Versafine onyx black ink pad for sentiments

Memento tuxedo black ink pad for floral image

envelope ingredients:

green card stock from stash

We R Memory Keepers - envelope punch board 

Taylored Expressions - doodle flowers background

Versafine Clair morning mist ink pad

Spectrum Noir 'essentials' coloured pencils