Coral and Blue

The current challenge at Less is More is "Living Coral and True Blue" using the 2019 and 2020 Pantone colours of the year. The butterfly was die cut in white and coloured with Promarkers to give a deeper tone towards the body, getting paler out towards the wing tips. It is mounted on a die cut stitched square of blue card.  The gloomy winter daylight means I had to use flash to take the photo, so the coral has come out looking lighter and the dark blue card darker - it is actually almost exactly the same shade of blue as the stamped sentiment below it!

A winter walk

Although this isn't a Christmas card, all the stamps except the sentiment came from a Christmas set that came with a recent issue of Creative Stamping magazine.

I made the background by blending distress inks with a mask in place for the sun/moon  then stamped all the silhouettes and sketched in the distant horizons. The post-Christmas period often means we need to send Thank You cards so this winter scene is very suitable for the occasion.

I am sharing this with

Sweet Stampin - attitude of gratitude 

The Library Challenge - Where the Red Fern Grows   - inspired by the cover

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers challenge #151 - H is for Headache

Our latest challenge at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers is H is for headache.

I hope you've all recovered from your post-festive-season headaches now, and that the clashing colours of my card don't give you a new one!

I stamped the woman - a VLV stamp - then masked her and the edges of the card and sponged and stencilled the background over the whole thing. The sentiment is a Tim Holtz sticker.

Guest designer at Twofers

I'm over the moon to have been invited to be a guest Designer at the Twofer Card Challenge where this month the theme is Hearts.

If you are not familiar with  this challenge, the task is to use one stamp, die or stencil to create two cards for two different occasions and using two different layouts. I've used a Sizzix heart die for my two cards: 

My first card is for Valentine's day. I've made a border across the card with the die cut three times, using 3D adhesive to raise the central one above the other two. 

I am sharing this card with Country View Challenges - Love 

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For my second, I've treated the hearts as the leaf-lets of a four leafed clover or a shamrock, so this card would be great either as a good luck card or, if you celebrate St Patrick's Day, a card for that. 

I am sharing this with Fab'n'Funky - No Designer Paper 

I'm looking forward to seeing what you all create.  

To gnome you is to love you!

When I posted this card on Sunday,  I suggested that it wouldn't be long before the other stamp sets from the bundle saw ink, after sitting around as neglected NBUS for so long. Well, it turned out to be sooner than I expected for this little cutie:

All the stamps and dies came from the set (and I STILL can't remember the brand) and were coloured with Promarkers, and the grass is a strip of very handy grass-patterned washi tape.

I am sharing this with

Shopping Our Stash - Gnome Sweet Gnome 

A Place to Start - Anything Goes/Clean and simple 

Proud as a peacock

I'm usually pretty good about remembering what I have and not doubling up on stash, but I somehow managed to do that with peacock dies  and I've ended up with two similar in size and pose yet not quite identical. For this card I cut both then played around to see which worked best, so expect another peacock based make from me soon using the other one.

For the peacock (s) I painted splodges of blues, greens and purples onto watercolour card, letting the colours blend at the edges, then die cut the images once dry.

I used a kaleidacolor pad in matching colours to stencil the quarter-mandala onto the base card then stamped the sentiment over it - a very suitable sentiment for a peacock! - then attached the die cut with 3-D adhesive.

I am sharing this with

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - anything goes with a creature 

CAS watercolour - cool colours 

Don't worry, bee happy

I've had this stamp and die set, and two others from the same series,  for about a year now but this is the first time I've used them. I'm afraid I don't remember the brand, there isn't space for packaging in my overcrowded storage system! The dies are pink, which makes me think Heartfelt Creations, and yet they are soooooo much not typical Heartfelt Creations style. And as they were a gift I can't even search out the invoice. Anyway, all three sets had never seen ink until today - and I've enjoyed making this so much I think the other two will be along soon. 

I used a stencil to make the background and coloured the images with Promarkers.

So, despite the stamps and dies being a year old, they were NBUS and I reckon that counts as new!  Hence I am sharing with

Alphabet Challenge - try something different

Sweet Stampin' - New Stash 

Little Red Wagon - use your NBUS

Tales from the Craft Room - something new