Scrappy Happy Weekend

Over the weekend I continued with the plan to use up more of my card and fabric scraps to make some more cards. I got a bit carried away and made the following four cards plus blocks to go on future cards.

I forgot to take photos of my scraps before I started and I've completely used up some of the patterned paper scraps but I had a little bundle like this put together at the start of the weekend with fabric, card and even envelopes from bills.

My favourite die from WPlus9's Quilt Cuts 2 set is the star die and I used it and the inlaid die cut technique for all of my cards. For the first two cards I used some rainbow coloured fabric which I had left over from a quilt I made years ago.

Dies - Quilt Cuts 2 (WPlus9), Scalloped Squares (Spellbinders), Tags & Bookplates (Docrafts)
Stamp - Everyday Sayings (Hero Arts)

Die - Quilt Cuts 2 (WPlus9)
Stamp - It's Your Day (Hero Arts)

I love greens and blues so I have loads of scraps in these colours left over from other projects. In my stash of plain card scraps I have lots of kraft and white so used a combination of patterned and plain scraps to make the following cards.

Dies - Quilt Cuts 2 (WPlus9), Scalloped Squares (Spellbinders) and Thanks Stamp & Cut (Hero Arts)

Dies - Quilt Cuts 2 (WPlus9), Bundle of Stitched Shapes (Simon Says Stamp) and Tags & Bookplates (Docrafts)
Stamp - Everyday Sayings (Hero Arts)

Whenever I can I like to use recycled materials on my cards and now, thanks to the blue and white patterned insides of envelopes which came with bills, I have some blocks lined up for another card. At least there's some upside to bills;)

Playing with Plaid

It was such a scramble before Christmas trying to make all my Christmas cards so I've decided to join in on the Merry Monday Christmas Card Challenges as much as possible this year.

Since I had a bit of time to make a card I decided to join in on the challenge this week. The challenge is Plaid.

Well I searched high and low to see if I had any plaid items like paper, ribbon or even stamps that could be used to make a plaid pattern, and I came up with nothing! Then I remembered this rag quilt I made last year

and after a little hunt for scraps of leftover fabric, I came up with some bits and pieces for my card. Now what to do with them! In the end I decided to make a cosy hat a scarf for a cute Hero Arts snowman and also use the fabric for borders. Thanks again to my friend Linda for giving me the the snowman stamp and die sets:) She's another big fan of the Merry Monday Challenges and first introduced me to the Merry Monday Challenges.

Stamps - Frosty Wishes (Hero Arts) and Polar Set by Lia (Hero Arts)
Die set - Snowman Die Cuts (Hero Arts)
Embossing Folder - Snowflakes (Cuttlebug)

I started by heat embossing the sentiment on a panel of card and added an embossed snowbank which has touches of diamond stickles on the snowflakes. Sorry the photo isn't great - it's a really dull day here today. Then I stamped and cut out the snowman, did a little colouring with Promarkers and added the die cut plaid hat and scarf. To finish I frayed a couple of strips of fabric and used them as borders.

As I had a variety of plaid strips left over from the quilt I also die cut hats and scarves in a couple of other colours. I hope to make another couple of snowmen cards during the week to get a good start on my Christmas card stash.

Cow Wrangler

I wanted to join in on a couple of Simon Says Stamp Challenges - the Make it Masculine Challenge and Flickr Challenge #20 with this cute and summery inspiration photo:



The greens in the inspiration photo made me think of the cows here out on the lush green pastures during the summer and the smiley sun in the photo inspired the cartoon cow and circular window. For masculine cards I usually try to keep things fairly plain and simple but like to throw in some humour and texture at the same time.



Stamp - Birthday Farm Animals (Simon Says Stamp)
Dies - Bundle of Stitched Shapes (Simon Says Stamp), Grassy Border (Lawn Fawn) & Circles Nestabilities (Spellbinders)

I die cut the card face using the rectangle die from Simon Says Stamp's Bundle of Stitched Shapes and then die cut the circular window. The die cut grass was layered behind the window and I used a piece from an old pair of jeans for the background. After stamping and colouring the cow I paper pieced the sentiment in orange because it's so often used for stitching and tabs on jeans. Once the cow was complete I nestled him in the grass and adhered the card front to a kraft card base.

ATC Trade with Jutta

Recently for an ATC swap over at the Hero Arts Group on Flickr I made a couple of ATCs and ATC backgrounds to swap with Jutta.

Jutta picked a theme (shabby chic or vintage collage), I picked a theme (favourites) and we were to make a background for the other to complete. I ended up making two backgrounds and was undecided about which one I should send to Jutta, so ended up sending both.

For the shabby chic ATC I embossed the image on cream card and applied a mix of distress inks (shabby shutters, broken china and tumbled glass). Then I embossed the butterfly on cream card and applied antique linen distress ink. After that I just added some Hero Arts lace ribbon and lots of pearls to hopefully give the card a shabby chic look.

Stamp (Hero Arts) - Greetings

Next up was the favourites theme and I had fun with some fabric from my stash and sticky back canvas that my friend Linda gave me - thanks again, Linda:) I stamped the Old Letter Writing on Fabric and after stamping the flower on sticky back canvas coloured it and cut it out. To add a little more texture, I lightly frayed the edges of the image. Some stickles and a gem were added to the flower centre. The sentiment was also stamped on sticky back canvas - love that stuff!

Stamps (Hero Arts) - Old Letter Writing, Flower Text and Be Happy

Next up are the two backgrounds I made for Jutta to complete. For the first one I again used some fabric (which I think in real life looks nicer than in the photo!) and embossed the flowers in copper.

Stamp (Hero Arts) - Exotic Bloom

For the second background I used a gorgeous set called Together that Laura had sent me as part of her scramble prize - thanks again, Laura:) I applied distress inks (broken china, faded denim and dusty concord) to white card and spritzed with water. After the background was dry I stamped a couple of images from the set.

Stamp set (Hero Arts) - Together

Jutta sent me this fabulous set of ATCs using a wonderful mix of images. Thanks again for swapping with me, Jutta:)

ATC Trade With Marilyn

Recently over in the Hero Arts Flick group I came across some fabulous ATCs that Marilyn had up for trade. Needless to say I jumped at the chance to add these beauties to my ATC collection and was delighted when Marilyn said she'd trade with me. Marilyn, a great big thanks yet again for swapping with me:) For a little bit of extra fun we decided to make an ATC background for the other person to complete. Apologies in advance for the photo heavy post, but I forget to photograph the ATCs and backgrounds in groups before I sent them to Marilyn! I haven't made ATCs in quite a while but now after making these ones I'm itching to make more!

For my first ATC I used a flower set I love from Penny Black.



Stamps - Party Petals (Penny Black) & Woodland Wreaths (WPlus9)

I made a background with glossy card and alcohol inks and then embossed flowers and leaves from the Penny Black set. After applying distress inks I layered the flower and added lots of diamond stickles and a gem to finish.

One of my newer stamps which I hadn't used before is the Large Petal Background from Hero Arts. For its first outing I decided to emboss it and colour a portion of it with ProMarkers.

.

Stamp (Hero Arts) - Large Petal Background

I must have been in a sparkly humour that day because I ended up adding diamond stickles to lots of different areas on the ATC. It's nice and shimmery in real life but hard to capture in a photo! I'm submitting this ATC into a2z Scrapbooking How Does Your Garden Grow linky party.

If you've seen my last two posts you'll know that a certain funny moose has become a firm favourite of mine so of course I had to include him on one of my ATCs!



Stamps (Hero Arts) - Missing You & Sew Artsy

I used a couple of fabrics for the background and added lots of machine stitching. The moose was coloured with ProMarkers and I added some dots with a white gel pen and glossy accents to the eyes. Stitching is the theme for Virginia's View Challenge #3 so I'm submitting this ATC into Virginia's fun challenge.

I'm submitting the two floral ATCs into Simon Says Spring Flower Challenge.

Next up are the backgrounds. We were only going to swap one background, but I made three and couldn't decide which one to send to Marilyn, so ended up sending the three of them. They were made by applying distress inks to white card and stamping with water instead of ink.



Stamp (Hero Arts) - Watch Gears



Stamp (Hero Arts) - Tiny Star Background



Stamp (Hero Arts) - Time to Stamp


I'm really looking forward to receiving Marilyn's ATCs and her mystery ATC background which I know will be great fun to play with! It looks like we're in for a bit of a soggy day here today but I suppose that's always a good excuse for doing a bit of stamping;) I hope you have a fun and inky weekend!

Fabric Card & Pastel Christmas Tree Set

One of my favourite Christmas stamps from this year is Shari's Tree No. 3. When I first saw it it made me think of a Christmas tree that could be appliquéd onto a quilt. So out came the fabrics and I ended up using them for the whole card front, with some card used as backing for a bit of firmness.


Stamp (Hero Arts) - Shari's Tree No. 3

I stamped the tree on fabric, added another layer of fabric at the back, and stitched the outline using a machine. After cutting out the tree I gently frayed the edges back to the stitching and added some buttons. For the background I used a white fabric with a white design and the "snow" is a piece of batting. A piece of red fabric was used for the card front. After die cutting both of these pieces I also gently frayed them around the edges to give a fuzzy look.

As I had the tree stamp out, I decided to go ahead and make another card by stamping on various pieces of pastel coloured card. In the end as I had to stamp four trees anyway, I made a set of cards changing the sentiments on each.


Stamps (Hero Arts) - Shari's Tree No. 3, Very Merry Christmas & Special Delivery

I die cut the kraft panel pieces, stamped the tree on them and then added some stitching.



After that I embossed the sentiments and lightly applied white ink around the edges.



I paper pieced the trunks and popped the branches up on foam pads for dimension.



For the background I embossed snowflake panels.



I can't believe I made five cards today - must be a record for me, lol! I'm submitting these cards into the current Hero Arts Challenge (A Few of my Favourite Things category as I love stamping on fabric and also love paper piecing) as well as Simon Says Stamp's Anything Goes Challenge.

Enjoy

Until today I hadn't blogged in nearly a month and now I end up with two posts in the one day - I certainly enjoyed some stampy time today! So this time I wanted to play along with Hero Arts’ new Stamp Your Story contest. The challenge is to stamp your story through a card, layout, journal page, mini booklet etc using at least one product from the fab new catalogue. To start with I thought I’d stick with something I make most often – a card.

Part of the story behind this card is my love of fabrics, lace and buttons. If I have a chance, I love to incorporate any or all of these into my cards.


Stamps (Hero Arts) - Number Pattern & Picnic

I usually don’t talk about feelings here on my blog (lol I’m sure you’re glad of that!) but I presume none of us has a perfect day every day. If I’m having a not so great day, I’ll always try to make sure to enjoy something from that day. It could be a walk, fun times with family/friends, the beautiful scenery, chatting with friends/family near or far away, a good book or even savouring a little bit of chocolate or a cuppa! So I tried to pull these aspects into my card – hope my story isn’t too much of a jumble!

I picked the Number Pattern from the new catalogue to represent dates and time. The panel was embossed and dried marigold distress ink applied. Then I used a bit of fabric to make the bottom part of the panel and flower. The lace on the flower and one of the lace layers on the main panel is Hero Arts lace ribbon – love that stuff! Big thanks has to go to my good friend Linda for the yummy buttons and rhinestone:) The buttons set Linda sent me triggered the colour scheme for the card.

Hope you'll play along with Hero Arts and stamp your story!

Happy Happy Birthday

I wanted to make a feminine birthday card incorporating some exquisite lace that my friend Linda had sent me – thanks again Linda:) So I decided to ink up the pretty Leafy Vines stamp and make a fabric flower and leaves for the card.


Stamps (Hero Arts) – Leafy Vines & Birthday Messages

For some shimmer, I embossed the Leafy Vines image with enchanted gold embossing powder. Then I added Linda’s lace to the panel and embossed the sentiment in gold on peach card.



The flower was made with a shimmery fabric and some netting. I used the same type of shimmery fabric, in a darker colour, for the leaves and just added some machine stitching up the centre of them. Then to tie in with the lace, I added some pearls to the flower centre. I must go shopping for some pearls as I seem to go through loads of them in no time - it's a good excuse to go to my lss again!

I’m submitting this card into the current Hero Arts Challenge as well as Simon Says Stamp Happy Birthday Challenge.

Scrappy Birthday Card

I just love the Tuesday Trigger over at Moxie Fab World this week.



I made a card inspired by just about everything in the photo - all the gorgeous felt, the yummy colours, the pretty buttons and beautiful stitching. To start with I dug into my heap of fabric scraps and button jars.


Stamp (Hero Arts) - It's Your Day

Then I die cut away to my hearts content using Hero Arts Geometric Shapes dies and circle and star Nestabilities. As there is a little touch of red in the Trigger photo, I just added a splash of red too on the stitched sentiment piece, by stamping and hand stitching the sentiment, and having the tips of the red star peeking out from behind the sentiment circle.



Sorry for the blurry photo but my camera doesn't seem to like doing close ups! I am also submitting this card into the Simon Says Stamp Happy Birthday Challenge which is in celebration of Simon Says Stamp's 4th birthday.

ATCs Swapped with Libby

Last week I blogged about the fabulous ATCs I received from Libby in a swap organised over at the Hero Arts Flickr Group. Now Libby has finally received the ATCs I sent her. Unfortunately, this set was made in bit of a hurry as I mislaid the set I had originally made for Libby, so please ignore the dodgy bits on the ATCs! Libby came up with the great idea of making the ATCs based on what we love, so here are some of the things I love:

1. Family and home & 2. Gardening and butterflies


Stamps (Hero Arts) 1. House with Plant & Right at Home 2. Leafy Vines

On the first ATC I just applied distress inks to a piece of paper from a book and coloured the house with markers. For the second one I embossed the vines, applied mowed lawn distress ink and spritzed with a mix of perfect pearls and water. The tiny layered butterflies were punched out.

3. Sewing/fabric & 4. Ireland



Stamps (Hero Arts) 3. Sew Artsy & Be Happy 4. Postcard Collage

For the sewing ATC I embossed the machine, cut out the image and added some thread. Then I frayed some fabric for the background, stamped the sentiment and hand stitched over it. On the Ireland ATC I just stamped the map on some kraft card, distressed the edges and used markers to colour the map of Ireland.

5. Hillwalking & 6. Glendalough/historical places



Stamps (Hero Arts) 5. Be Happy 6. Scattered Leaves & Magical Background

On the hillwalking card I rummaged through my fabrics for a mix of colours, shades and patterns and tried to make a background that looked like a lake and mountains. The sun was stamped on card with distress ink applied. Then on my last ATC I framed a photo from Glendalough in a die cut window and added it to a background which had been covered with distress ink and stamped with the Magical Background and leaves.

I had so much fun making these little cards and really enjoyed my swap with Libby.

Wedding Card in Card Creations Vol. 11

Today I have a card that I made back in October but can finally share here, as it was recently published in Card Creations Volume 11.


Stamps (Hero Arts) - Lace Background & Warmest Wedding Wishes

Besides playing with paper I just love playing with fabric so, whenever I can, I enjoy combining both on a project. On this wedding card I tried to achieve a pretty, romantic look, so started by making the satin and organza flower which dictated my colour scheme and then I just went to town on the card with embossing, lace and pearls.



Card Creations Volume 11 is such a big magazine packed full of wonderful cards and ideas. I love the way it’s divided into sections for every imaginable occasion and I know I’ll be dipping into it again and again for inspiration.

We’re enjoying an extra long weekend this weekend with a bank holiday on Monday. This morning I can see blue skies and am hoping the weather forecasters are wrong with their predication of showers for St Patrick’s Day. Hope you have a wonderful weekend wherever you are!

Happy fingers, happy feet and a chance to win a trip to Ireland

My fingers are orange and green but, as always, I've had great fun playing with distress inks!

I made this card for the Focal Point Challenge in the Moxie Fab World, Paper Crafts September 2012 Gallery Challenge (natural elements) and the current Hero Arts Challenge (fall feast).



Stamps (Hero Arts) - Earth Flowers, Blossom Art, Designer Woodgrain & Everyday Sayings

On the card base I stamped the woodgrain using antique linen distress. Then I die cut a piece of fabric and stamped the Earth Flowers with tea dye distress ink. The flower and leaves were white embossed and I applied distress inks (spiced marmalade and forest moss). To add some more natural elements I added some raffia and a wooden button.

So you've heard about the happy fingers and now on to the happy feet with some photos from a recent hike in Glendalough. We started the walk from the far side of the lake you can see way down in the valley. You can probably tell from the photo our walking boots have enjoyed quite a few rambles!

On some parts of the trail these railway sleepers have been put down, mainly to protect the mountains but they also provide a good grip on what can sometimes be slippery slopes.

Wish I could capture in photos just how beautiful it is in the mountains,

especially on gorgeous sunny days.

The heather is in full bloom.

But it looks like we were a bit late to try the sweet, juicy fraughans (bilberries) that can be found there.

Coming down through the forest we can across foxgloves. A bee was hovering around them but in each photo I took he had disappeared into the flowers or ended up blurry.

Here we are back down at the lake again and up to the left is where we had been.

I just thought I'd mention a place where I came across a chance to win a trip to Ireland next year from the US. A year long event called The Gathering celebrating Ireland and all things Irish is being held next year. It sounds like it's going to be a brilliant fun filled year. Anyway on The Gathering's Facebook page there is a chance to win the holiday here. Good luck!:)