Chrysanthemum Circles Happy Birthday for Jean - WMSC4

This is the card I've made for the Waltzingmouse Stamps Sketch Challenge 4. Here's the sketch:



If WMS get 100 players for this sketch there will be a prize - some lucky stamper will win a stamp set of choice - fab! So please play along and spread the word!

Hmmm, I must say I was a tad stumped by this sketch at first but I'm glad I persevered! My card measures 5 3/4" square and was made with SU! Not Quite Navy CS. I cut four squares for my background panels using two different patterns of Bashful Blue paper. I used the emboss resist technique for the chrysanthemums, stamping each small solid flower with VersaMark ink, embossing them with clear powder and then rubbing on Not Quite Navy and Rose Red inks. The flower circles are all popped up.

For the sentiment circle, I used the lovely dotty frame stamp from the Vintage Circles Small set and added the Happy Birthday from the Say It With Style set. I then punched a small flower, added some shaping and a pale blue crystal to the centre. I then added the crystals to each chrysanthemum centre and placed a row of 3 on the sentiment circle. Can't beat a bit of birthday bling! To finish off, I added Rose Red photo corners. This card will go to Jean, a lovely lady who comes to my monthly card group.



Supplies:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps Big Blooms Chrysanthemums, Vintage Circles Small & Say It With Style sets
CS: SU! Not Quite Navy, Rose Red & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! Bashful Blue Prints Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: SU! Not Quite Navy & Rose Red, VersaMark
Tools: SU! 1 1/4" circle punch, circle Nestability die, Sizzix Photo Corners #2 die, SU! Boho Blossoms punch
Embellishments & accessories: Clear EP, pale blue Swarovski crystals, 3d foam pads

CAS Flower Sending Happy Thoughts for Craft for Life Campaign

Today's CAS73 challenge on Splitcoast Stampers is a colour challenge - the colours are pale blue, pale green and orange. I put together a very quick and simple card which will be donated to the Craft for Life Campaign to support Cancer Research UK.

I used my metric Scor-Pal to score the lines on my 10 cms square card base, I used the 2 and 8 cms grooves. I stamped the flower and leaves and then cut them out. I punched out the orange flower with a 1/2" circle punch and I added a pale green gem to the centre. The flower is popped up with a 3d glue dot.



Supplies:
Stamps: My Cute Stamps 'Spunky Nature' set, sentiment from Hero Arts Sparkle Clear 'Happy Day' set
CS: Anita's textured white card blank, Personal Impressions white CS
Ink: VersaMagic Sea Breeze, Aloe Vera & Persimmon chalk inks
Tools: Metric Scor-Pal, SU! 1/2" circle punch
Embellishments & accessories: Hero Arts pale green gem, 3d glue dot

Thank You Card for WMSC3 & Craft for Life Campaign

I missed last week's Waltzingmouse Stamps sketch challenge and I didn't want to miss WMSC3 that was issued last Saturday but it got to Friday and I still hadn't got round to it, eek! Well, Friday is too late to submit to the challenge - oh well, never mind! I must try harder to be on time next week! The card I've made is simple and has only minimal stamping. I chose the piece of patterned paper I wanted to use first and based my CS and ink colours on what was in the paper.

The card is a standard A6 size card made with SU! Old Olive CS and I've added Rose Red, So Saffron and Pumpkin Pie as accent colours. I stamped the dotty stamp from the Off Beat Backgrounds set in Pretty in Pink ink and then stamped the Thank You from Say It With Style in Rose Red ink and used my SU! oval punches. I know I say it every time I use the Say It With Style set - I just love that gorgeous font! The sentiment oval element is popped up.

This is another card that will be donated to the Craft for Life campaign to support Cancer Research UK. More info about the Craft for Life campaign can be found in my blog post here.



Supplies:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps Off Beat Backgrounds & Say It With Style sets
CS: SU! Old Olive, Rose Red, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper stack
Ink: SU! Pretty in Pink & Rose Red
Tools: SU! plain and scalloped oval punches
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Old Olive grosgrain ribbon, 3d foam pads

Razzleberry Flowers For You Card - SC286

I checked out the SC286 sketch challenge today on Splitcoast Stampers and really liked the layout so I decided to make a card. I made mine a square card though, it's just a tad over 5 3/4" square.

I used my SU! Soft Summer stamp set a few days ago and I kept it out so that I could use it again, it's such a shame I've neglected it. I stamped on watercolour paper and used inks and a water brush to colour the image. I patted ink pads and scribbled markers onto a ceramic tile and then picked up the colour with the water brush. I then lightly sponged some Pale Plum ink around the image. I've added Crystal ultrafine glitter to the flower centres 'cos I love my flowers to sparkle!

The SU! Cottage Wall papers are just gorgeous, I love them and I am loving the Rich Razzleberry colour, especially paired with Old Olive. I really thought Melon Mambo would be my new fave SU! colour but Rich Razzleberry has won! The flower panel is popped up. To finish off the card I've added three candy dots. I love these embellies, the Spring Green Candy Dots from Pebbles Inc. are a perfect match to Old Olive, they're fabulous! I stock up on them when I visit the Glitter Pot.

Speaking of which, the Glitter Pot, my local stamping shop but really not THAT local to me, sent out an email with bad news and good news. The bad news is that they have had to close the shop with immediate effect - they're still accepting online and telephone orders though. However, the good news is that they will soon be opening a new, bigger shop - and it will be in Burgess Hill, the town where I live, - yay, I'm chuffed to bits!



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Soft Summer & Fresh Cuts sets
CS: Watercolour paper, SU! Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum, & Old Olive
Patterned paper: SU! Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: Memento Rich Cocoa, SU! Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive & Orchid Opulence
Tools: Rectangle Nestabilities dies, water brush
Embellishments & accessories: Crystal ultrafine glitter, Quickie Glue Pen, Pebbles Inc. Spring Green Candy Dots, 3d foam tape

Mars Bar Slider Pouch for Owen

I ordered some envelopes from Ideal Envelopes over the weekend. They were offering a 15% discount plus a free England Mars bar with every order. As I'm dieting Owen will get the Mars bar - he can munch away while watching England play on Wednesday! I thought it would be fun to make a quick and simple slider pouch to present the Mars bar in.

I used a 20cms x 16cms piece of SU! Sweet Pea patterned paper and used my Scor-Pal to score at 2cms and 9cms along the 16cms side. I applied Scor-Tape at the bottom and side to stick the pouch together. I then used the SU! Slot punch to make a hole through both sides of the pouch for the ribbon - you need quite a long length of ribbon, double the height of the pouch plus enough to tie a bow. Then I threaded the ribbon through the holes and pushed the Mars bar in and that pushes the ribbon to the bottom of the pouch. All the recipient has to do is pull the bow upwards and out slides the choccy bar.

For the "a little yummy for your tummy" sentiment, I stamped in Choc Chip ink on Taken with Teal CS, cut it out with a Labels Four Nestie die, added some Pumpkin brads and attached it to the pouch with a glue dot.

Dawn Griffith has a video tutorial here showing how to make a candy bar slider. I adjusted the size so the Mars bar would fit and didn't bother with crimping the end of the pouch.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Yummy set
CS: SU! Taken with Teal
Patterned paper: SU! Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper stack
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip
Tools: Scor-Pal, SU! Slot punch, Labels Four Nestabilities die
Embellishments & accessories: SU! So Saffron grosgrain ribbon, Pink Hedgehog Crafts Pumpkin brads, Scor-Tape, glue dot

CAS You're Fabulous!

Today's CAS challenge on Splitcoast Stampers was to follow a sketch based on this fab card by Diane. What a great layout and I loved the rounded top to the main panel!

My SU! Bubble Queen stamp set hasn't seen ink in a long time so I dug that out for today's card. The card measures just over 5 1/2" square. I stamped the image in Memento black ink on Craftwork Cards Softies CS and coloured with Copic markers. I then went in search of CS and paper that went with the image and settled on Barely Banana, Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery CS and Sweet Pea and Cottage Wall papers.

To get the rounded top of my Banana panel I used my Coluzzle circle template and just cut a semi circle. For the ends of the paper strips I traced a curve using a small Nestie circle die and then trimmed the rounded edge with curved scissors. I wanted to use my small corner rounder punch but it wouldn't co-operate with the width of the strips I'd cut!



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Bubble Queen set
CS: Craft Creations white hemp textured square card blank, SU! Barely Banana, Perfect Plum & Certainly Celery
Patterned paper: SU! Sweet Pea DSP stack & Cottage Wall DSP pack
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers & blender pen
Tools: Coluzzle circle template, circle Nestabilities dies
Embellishments & accessories: Black & white gingham ribbon

Three Stripey Cards - Inspired by Susan - for Craft for Life Campaign

I saw three fab cards on Susan's Simplicity blog where she'd used a stripe background stamp. SU! has a Solid Stripes background stamp in the UK mini catty and I can't decide if I like it - well no, it's more a case of not being sure I'll use it enough, I do like it! Plus I wasn't sure HOW I'd use it. Anyway, my crafty buddy Jan has come to the rescue yet again and has lent me her stripe stamp so I can play and then make my decision to buy or not. As soon as I saw Susan's cards I knew I had to CASE them!

Here's Susan's first card and here's my version. I loved the soft pink with the black and white and I also loved the bling. As well as blinging the dots on the butterfly border stamp, I dotted the i's in the sentiment with gems too.



Here's Susan's second card and this is my version. I tried a colour combo of SU! Melon Mambo, Always Artichoke and Chocolate Chip along with the white. I stamped the image stamp three times along the bottom of the card in Melon Mambo ink.



Here's Susan's third card and my version. I really loved the soft green with the black and white and I found Susan's tips about curves and angles so interesting. I decided to use a straight ribbon, keep the layers angular and then make my card curvy by using my Sizzix Ornate Card Fronts die. The sentiment has a nice curvy, flowing font to it too. I stamped the flourish in Celery ink after stamping off once first and then stamped the sentiment in black over the top.



All three cards will be donated to the Craft for Life campaign to support Cancer Research UK. I whiled away a few happy hours in my craft room this afternoon while hubby watched the footie games. All the time the World Cup is on I'll be making lots of cards LOL! Many thanks to Susan for the wonderful inspiration and for sharing her tips!

Supplies for first card:
Stamps: SU! Solid Stripes background stamp, Hero Arts Designer Butterflies clear set, sentiment also by Hero Arts
CS: Anita's 4" square textured white card blank
Ink: SU! Pretty in Pink, Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: PaperMania pink gems, Post It notes
Supplies for second card:
Stamps: SU! Solid Stripes background stamp, SU! Soft Summer & Whimsical Words sets
CS: SU! Melon Mambo, Always Artichoke & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Melon Mambo, Always Artichoke & Chocolate Chip
Tools: Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Chocolate Chip grosgrain ribbon
Supplies for third card:
Stamps: SU! Solid Stripes background stamp, SU! Vintage Vogue & Whimsical Words sets
CS: Craft Creations A6 hemp textured white card blank
Ink: SU! Certainly Celery, Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: Sizzix Bigz XL Card Fronts Ornate & Eyelet die, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig
Embellishments & accessories: Black & white gingham ribbon

CAS Flourish Thanks So Much - OLW9 - Craft for Life Card

This card was made for Susan's One Layer Wednesday challenge - this week we were to use a flourish on a card. This gave me the perfect opportunity to ink up a stamp from my long neglected Inkadinkado Bold Damasks set. This card will be donated to the Craft for Life campaign to support Cancer Research UK.

I used SU! Confetti White CS and cut my A4 piece into half length ways and then scored at the halfway mark to get an A6 size landscape card with the fold on the left. I stamped the flourish in Spanish Olive chalk ink and the flowers in Perfect Plumeria chalk ink. The small flower stamp is from a Hero Arts clear alpha set. I thought the Plumeria was a great colour to match some of the flecks you find in the Confetti White CS - plus I do love a berry and green colour combo!

For the sentiment, I inked it up with my full size Perfect Plumeria ink pad but I wiped away the ink from the brackets and then inked those with my Olive teardrop shaped pad.



Supplies:
Stamps: Inkadinkado Bold Damasks clear set, Hero Arts Thank You Messages clear set, Hero Arts Designer Alphabet clear set
CS: SU! Confetti White
Ink: VersaMagic Spanish Olive & Perfect Plumeria chalk inks

Stampers Ten June Make & Take Cards

These are the lovely cards we made at Joanne's June Stamper's Ten Make & Take evening on Tuesday. Another fab crafty evening and the cards were fairly straightforward - but what I did find hard was saying no to the Tunnock's Teacakes that were on offer LOL! I was a good girl though and kept to my low GI oaty biccies!

This first card uses the Greenhouse Garden set. We stamped the Amethyst piece randomly with one of the flower images in Amethyst ink and then used the Eyelet Border punch. For the main image panel, we stamped the flowers first and then cut out Post It Note masks to place over the flowers before stamping the stems. The flowers were stamped in Almost Amethyst ink and then the detail stamp used Lovely Lilac ink. Some corner piercing and white satin ribbon completed the image panel.

Joanne's card didn't have a sentiment but when I got the cards out at home on Wednesday I decided to add one. I used the 'for you' from the Fresh Cuts set, cut it out with a Labels Trio die and edged it with Amethyst ink.



This next card uses the Autumn Splendour set but a summery colour combo of Mellow Moss and So Saffron. The patterned paper is from the Sweet Pea stack and we used the Eyelet Border punch on the Saffron strip. All the leaves were stamped in Mellow Moss ink. After fussy cutting the two leaves stamped on Vanilla CS, we shaped them a bit before mounting them to the sentiment panel. The sentiment was stamped inside a frame from the Frames With a Flourish set and a knot of Choc Chip taffeta ribbon was added. I think this is a fab masculine card design!



Supplies for flower trio for you card:
Stamps: SU! Greenhouse Garden & Fresh Cuts sets
CS: SU! Almost Amethyst, Whisper White & Old Olive
Ink: SU! Almost Amethyst, Lovely Lilac & Old Olive
Tools: SU! Eyelet Border punch, piercing tool & SU! Mat Pack, Spellbinders Labels Trio die
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Whisper White satin ribbon

Supplies for leafy Birthday Wishes card:
Stamps: SU! Autumn Splendour, Frames With a Flourish & Sincere Salutations sets
CS: SU! Mellow Moss, So Saffron & Very Vanilla
Patterned paper: SU! Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper stack
Ink: SU! Mellow Moss & Chocolate Chip
Tools: SU! Eyelet Border punch
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Chocolate Chip taffeta ribbon

Sunset With Grass Masculine Birthday Cards

I saw this card on Dawn Griffith's blog and thought it was a wonderful masculine card design. It's an easy card to make too, with some sponging, masking and brayering - no tricky techniques involved! Click here to view Dawn's fab video tutorial. I had to substitute my Hero Arts grass stamp for the stamp that Dawn used on her card. I made one card very similar to Dawn's and made a second card slightly differently.

This card will go to Jan's hubby Alan for his birthday next month.



This next card went to our neighbour Jim as a belated birthday card as I just missed the date, oops!



Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Silhouette Grass, SU! Wow Flowers & Sincere Salutations sets
CS: SU! Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, More Mustard & Really Rust, Anita's A6 cream card blank
Ink: SU! More Mustard, Pumpkin Pie, Bravo Burgundy & Chocolate Chip
Tools: SU! 1 3/8" circle punch for the sun mask, SU! brayer, Spellbinders Labels Trio die, X Cut Pokey tool, SU! Mat Pack, Ellison Frame die, sponges
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Very Vanilla grosgrain ribbon, SU! Vintage brads, Making Memories gold brads, 3d foam pads

Birdie Pop Up Slider Birthday Card for Jan

This is the birthday card I made for Jan - using her Bird On a Branch stamp set I've borrowed, how cheeky! She is loving the fact that I didn't like this set when I first saw it in the Mini Catalogue but then I asked to borrow it from her! I really like it now I've played with it and I've ordered it this month so Jan can have her set back LOL! I decided to make a pop up slider card after seeing this lovely card on Joanne's blog. It reminded me I haven't made one for ages. I made one for Owen's birthday in 2007 and haven't made one since, I don't know why, they're a great design! I was inspired to use Melon Mambo with black and white and the popped up square in circle frame after seeing this post on Jenny's Stamping Moments blog.

Splitcoast Stampers has a tutorial for the surprise pop up card here. Also, Dawn Griffith has a video tutorial here.

I adjusted the measurements as I wanted to make a 5 3/4" square card. This photo shows the front of the card.



This photo shows the pull out slider part.



This photo shows the front of the card when the slider is pulled out.



I spritzed the black circle in square frame with Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint for a touch of sparkle. Here's a close up photo.



Finally, here's a photo showing how I decorated the envelope. I stamped a flower from the Greenhouse Garden set for the envelope flap - a set I also borrowed from Jan! I really expected to love the Greenhouse Garden set but after playing with both sets the Bird On a Branch set ended up as my fave.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Bird On a Branch & Greenhouse Garden sets, Hero Arts sentiments
CS: SU! Basic Black, Whisper White & Melon Mambo
Patterned paper: Doodlebug black & white polka dot
Ink: SU! Melon Mambo, VersaFine Onyx Black
Tools: Circle & square Nestability dies, EK Success Dotted Wave border punch, SU! Eyelet Border punch, circle punches, Sizzix Sizzlits Photo Corner #2 & Scribbles Swirls dies
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Melon Mambo dotted ribbon, SU! Champagne Mist Shimmer Paint, pink flower gems, Bazzill Bitty Blooms, black brads, 3d foam pads

CAS Bird on Branch A Note for You

Today's CAS challenge on Splitcoast Stampers is a Things That Fly theme challenge. I thought the SU! Bird On a Branch set was perfect for this challenge, huge thanks to Jan for the loan! I'm also using up another scalloped card blank from my stash, yay!

I cut out the white and Melon Mambo panels with a long rectangle Nestie die and have offset them. I used my SU! slot punch and threaded the ribbon through the slot. I've added a punched flower which I shaped a little bit and put a button in the centre. The bird is popped up with 3d foam pads. I'll use this card to send a note to a friend.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Bird On a Branch & Sweet Little Sentiments sets
CS: Bazzill Bubble Blue, SU! Whisper White & Melon Mambo
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, SU! Melon Mambo
Tools: Sizzix Bigz XL Card Scallop die, long rectangle Nestability die, SU! Slot punch, Woodware flower punch, embossing stylus and moulding mat
Embellishments & accessories: Black & white stitched ribbon, PaperMania button, 3d foam pads

Blue Heart Special Birthday for Craft for Life Campaign

This is another card for the Craft for Life campaign to support Cancer Research UK. More details about the campaign can be found on this post.

When I first got my Sizzix Scallop Card die I cut out loads of cards using various colours of Bazzill CS. Hmmm, I've got quite a few left so I'm on a mission to use a few of these cards up!

The solid heart is a Hero Arts stamp. I inked it in Tempting Turquoise, stamped off once and then stamped the sentiment over the top in Not Quite Navy ink. I cut and embossed the image panel with a rectangle Nestie die and layered onto Not Quite Navy CS. To finish off, I've added white grosgrain ribbon and silver dew drops to 3 of the scallops.



Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Solid Heart Background & Special Birthday
CS: Bazzill Orange Peel CS in Teal, SU! Whisper White & Not Quite Navy
Ink: SU! Tempting Turquoise & Not Quite Navy
Tools: Sizzix Bigz XL Card, Scallop die, rectangle Nestabilities dies
Embellishments & accessories: White grosgrain ribbon, silver Dew Drops

Greenhouse Garden Get Well - For Stamp With Us Theme Challenge

I've got my friend Jan's Greenhouse Garden stamp set on loan. I wasn't sure if I liked it enough to buy it myself so she's very kindly letting me have some playtime with her set. When I saw the Stamp With Us challenge I thought it would be a perfect set to use for a get well card.

EDITED TO ADD: This card made the Top Spot at Stamp With Us, I'm so chuffed!

The card measures 5 3/4" square and is made with the lush Razzleberry CS, I love this colour! I stamped the flowers in Pale Plum and Rich Razzleberry inks. With the smallest flowers, I stamped them again, cut them out and I've popped them up. I've added olive crystals to the small flower centres. For the sentiment I inked it in Razzleberry ink but wiped off the ink from the 'soon' and then inked it with my Old Olive marker. The sentiment panel is popped up over the strip of ribbon. I added a flat bow made with the plain side of the ribbon. To finish off, I added 3 green candy dots at bottom left which I think balance the bow rather nicely.



I always decorate envelopes to match my cards even if it's only a stamp on the flap. Occasionally I'll get a bit more fancy with them. I don't always decorate the inside of my cards though. As the World Cup has started and Owen was watching football downstairs I thought I may as well stay in my craft room and take the time to go the extra mile for this card! I may well be decorating more insides of cards over the next few weeks LOL! Here's the photo showing the inside of the card and the envelope flap:



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Greenhouse Garden & Sincere Salutations sets
CS: SU! Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive & Confetti White
Patterned paper: SU! Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: SU! Pale Plum & Rich Razzleberry ink pads & Old Olive marker
Tools: Plain & scalloped circle Nestabilities dies, SU! Eyelet Border punch
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Rich Razzleberry dotted ribbon, olive Swarovski crystals, Pebbles Inc. Spring Green Candy Dots, 3d foam pads

Happy Birthday Hearts Label for Embellish Labels Colour Challenge

Waltzingmouse Stamps are sponsoring the Embellish Labels Colour Challenge. The challenge is to use yellow, brown and coral and to incorporate a label into your project. I love pink but I rarely use coral, it's definitely not one of my go to colours! I really liked this colour combo though and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.



The card is an A6 sized textured white card blank. My label was stamped with an image from WMS Very Vintage Labels No. 4 set and die cut with Labels Four Nestie dies. The sentiment with that gorgeous font is from the WMS Say It With Style set and I added 2 small hearts which are from the WMS Sewing Box Christmas set. I added Plaid Dimensional Magic to both hearts so they're glossy and raised. I had a moment of panic when my cat Tingha decided to jump up to the exact spot where I'd left them to dry - thankfully, he narrowly missed them. The prospect of removing gloopy stuff from cat fur didn't appeal!

I used my fave new Dotted Wave punch on the Choc Chip CS and finally got round to using my elegant decorative corner die that I've had for a couple of months. This is another card to be donated to the Craft for Life campaign to support Cancer Research UK. Please read this post if you'd like more details of the Craft for Life campaign.



Here's a close up of the glossy, dimensional hearts:



Supplies:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps Very Vintage Labels. No 4, Say It With Style & Sewing Box Christmas sets
CS: Craft Creations A6 hemp textured white card blank, SU! So Saffron, Chocolate Chip & Cameo Coral
Patterned paper: SU! Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper stack
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip
Tools: Labels Four Nestabilities dies, EK Success Dotted Wave punch, Sizzix Sizzlits Decorative Corner #3 die
Embellishments & accessories: SU! So Saffron grosgrain ribbon, button, Plaid Dimensional Magic

Big Bright Chrysanthemum Best Wishes Card

I really challenged myself with colouring this big bloom! I've shied away from colouring large outline images with my Copic markers as I find it so intimidating. I watched Kay Carley colouring with Copics at a recent event at the Glitter Pot and so picked up some very helpful advice and some Copic colour combos and this gave me the confidence to have a go. I chose the very large outline chrysanthemum and big leaf from the Waltzingmouse Stamps set to work with.

Also, I tried using a different CS. Michelle from the Card Grotto uses Craftwork Cards Softies CS for her Copic colouring. Well, you can't argue with perfection, her colouring is exquisite! All the accepted wisdom seems to be that Copics need really smooth CS but the Softies is textured so I was curious as to how it would work. Anyway, I found some Softies CS in my stash so I tried it out - the blending was brilliant! Considering this is my first attempt at colouring a large outline image I'm fairly pleased at the result.

I ended up with a very vibrant bloom and leaves so I chose to use a white card blank and neutral grey accents rather than trying to match or co-ordinate with coloured CS. I used my much loved frame die for the sentiment - brackety shape again you see, just love them! A nice bright sheer ribbon and a green Doodlebug gem for the flower centre finished off the card. This card will go to the Craft for Life campaign for Cancer Research UK.



Here's a close up:



Supplies:
Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps Big Blooms Chrysanthemums set, SU! Sincere Salutations set
CS: White A6 card blank, SU! Whisper White & Basic Gray, Craftwork Cards Softies Alabaster CS
Ink: Memento London Fog, Copic markers RV04, RV10 & RV13, YG03, YG06 & G20
Tools: Ellison Frame die
Embellishments & accessories: Sheer pink ribbon, Doodlebug green gem

CAS Never More Than a Thought Away for Craft For Life Campaign

Monday's CAS70 challenge on Splitcoast Stampers was to use a greeting as the main focal point of the card. We were to choose a quote, verse or saying. I used a sentiment from the Whimsical Words set that I haven't inked up before.

I stamped the frame first and then added the sentiment using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig and then cut it out with a Label One Nestie die. I embossed after cutting. I also embossed a white strip of CS with a Cuttlebug border folder and glued that near the bottom of the card.

The flowers were made by punching 3 of the smallest flowers from the SU! Boho Blossoms punch in Really Rust CS. I snipped the petals a little deeper and then placed each flower on a moulding mat and spiralled a really thick embossing stylus in the centre to add some shaping and dimension. I then added half pearls to the flower centres. This card will be donated to the Craft for Life campaign - and I plan to make many more!

A few weeks ago I visited my local Cancer Research UK shop and I saw they had a spinner rack full of handmade greetings cards. They are selling handmade cards as part of the Craft for Life campaign supporting Cancer Research UK. Each card is sold for £1 and all proceeds are donated to the charity. I brought a pile of empty cellophane bags home and filled them with cards from my stash. I went in again yesterday and brought home another pile of bags so I can make more cards to donate. The cards must be A6 size, can be for any theme but they must be left blank inside.

My hubby Owen is currently volunteering in the Burgess Hill shop and he says the cards are selling well. Cancer Research UK is a charity close to both of our hearts as Owen suffered a cancerous brain tumour back in 1989. Thank goodness, he was lucky and the tumour was removed and the cancer was successfully treated! We are always happy to do our bit for this charity and here comes my charity appeal to you fellow UK cardmakers! If you have a local Cancer Research UK shop, please go in and pick up a few card bags and donate some cards. You can also sell cards to family and friends and either donate the money to your local Cancer Research UK shop or send a cheque made payable to Cancer Research UK to Craft for Life, Cancer Research UK, Corporate Partnerships, PO Box 123, London WC2A 3PX. Thank you so much!



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Whimsical Words set, Waltzingmouse Stamps Vintage Circles Small set
CS: White A6 card blank, SU! Whisper White
Ink: SU! Mellow Moss & Really Rust
Tools: Labels One Nestability die, SU! Boho Blossoms punch, Cuttlebug border embossing folder from Just My Type set, Stamp-A-Ma-Jig, embossing stylus & moulding mat
Embellishments & accessories: Half pearls

Chrysanthemum Just For You Birthday Card for Jan - WMSC1

Waltzingmouse Stamps launched a sketch challenge blog at the weekend and I decided to play along. It's a fabulous sketch!

Next Sunday is my friend Jan's birthday and her hubby Alan always asks me to make a card for him to give to her. I delivered this card to him today and I'm pleased to say he loved it!

The card measures just a tad under 5" square and was made with Old Olive CS. I embossed the Pale Plum layer with a Sizzix texture plate - those are great when a Cuttlebug folder is too small! I use a couple of pieces of CS as shims and spritz the CS with water before rolling the texture plate sandwich through my Big Shot and that gives me great depth of embossing. I used Nestie dies for the scalloped layer and the circle in square frame. I stamped the gorgeous circle frame from the Vintage Circles Small set in Rich Razzleberry ink. I paper pieced my chrysanthemum by stamping the medium and small chrysanths and two small leaves onto patterned papers and cutting them out. I've added an olive crystal to the flower centre. The olive circle in square frame is popped up with foam pads.

I chose the Just For You sentiment from the Say It With Style set for my Pale Plum banner. I've added a butterfly punched out of a piece of patterned paper. I placed the butterfly on a mouse mat and ran an embossing stylus down both sides of the body to pop the wings up and then I've added two olive crystals. To finish off, I added two Pale Plum decorative photo corners to the Olive frame.



This photo shows what I stamped inside the card. I stamped the flower after stamping off once to get a muted shade before adding the sentiment over the top.



This photo shows how I decorated the envelope:



Well, Alan likes the card, I just have to hope Jan likes it too! I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone else creates with this great sketch and to more great WMS sketches to come!

Supplies:
Stamps: WMS Big Blooms Chrysanthemums, Vintage Circles Small and Say It With Style sets
CS: SU! Old Olive, Rich Razzleberry, Pale Plum & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! Cottage Wall Designer Series Paper pack
Ink: SU! Rich Razzleberry, VersaMagic Tea Leaves chalk ink
Tools: Square and circle Nestabilities dies, Sizzix Ivy Flourishes texture plate, Sizzix Photo Corners #2 die, Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly punch, EK Success Dotted Wave punch, embossing stylus & mouse mat
Embellishments & accessories: Olive crystals, glue dots & 3d foam pads