Leafy Medallion Thinking Of You - Craft For Life Card

This is a card I made for the Cancer Research UK Craft For Life campaign.  I used the gorgeous leafy medallion stamp from the Day of Gratitude set, inking it first in Pear Pizzazz and then rock and rolling the stamp in Crumb Cake.  I then edged lightly with Choc Chip ink.  I just love, love love this stamp!  I also stamped the medallion a few times as a background with VersaMark Dazzle ink so the background stamping has a subtle shimmer.  I added a Choc Chip strip, some Pumpkin Pie ribbon and a Pumpkin Pie strip edged with a border punch.  I placed a felt flower with a brad in the centre of the medallion and popped it up.

Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Day of Gratitude & Trendy Trees sets
CS: SU! Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Chip & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Pear Pizzazz, Crumb Cake, Old Olive & Chocolate Chip, VersaMark Dazzle Frost
Tools: Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace border punch
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Pumpkin Pie grosgrain ribbon, SU! Felt Fusion felt flower, brad, 3d foam pads

CAS Flourish & Flowers Just Because - Craft For Life Card

Monday's CAS103 challenge on Splitcoast Stampers was to use a flourish.  I used a stamp from the Inkadinkado Bold Damasks set as a leafy accompaniment to my trio of stamped flowers.  I used a Memento Dew Drop ink pad but I wanted to achieve a rock and rolled look but you can't rock and roll on a small ink pad!  So I inked the stamp, stamped off once and then went round the edges of  the image with the pointed end of the ink pad, that worked a treat! 

I still have Jan's oval Nesties on loan at home and I used them for my layers.  I sponged distress ink around the vanilla oval.  I cut 1/2" off the right side of my side opening A6 card and added a punched border and a plum strip.  I seem to be loving decorative edges to my cards these days!  To add some shaping and dimension to the flowers, I cut the petals deeper, placed them on a moulding mat and spiralled the thick end of an embossing stylus in the centre of each flower.  The petals pop up a bit then.  I've added gold self adhesive nailheads to each flower centre.  This card will be donated to the Cancer Research UK Craft for Life campaign.

Supplies:
Stamps: Inkadinkado Bold Damasks clear set, SU! Vintage Vogue set, Personal Impressions Mixed Sentiments clear set
CS: SU! Very Vanilla & Perfect Plum, Core'dinations Amazon
Ink: Memento Sweet Plum, Memento Bamboo Leaves, SU! Chocolate Chip, Tim Holtz Antique Linen distress ink
Tools: Oval Nestabilities dies, Martha Stewart Eyelet Lace border punch, embossing stylus
Embellishments & accessories: Self adhesive gold nailheads

CAS Snowman Season's Greetings - Craft For Life Card

Monday's CAS challenge on Splitcoast Stampers was a sketch based on a card made by resqbarbie.  I've not made a card where I've cut apart the image into tiles before so I thought I'd give it a go.  I decided to make a Christmas card to go to the Craft For Life campaign to support Cancer Research UK.  I've made a few Christmas cards this year and I'm currently enjoying non traditional colour schemes - not much red and green so far!

The card is A6 sized and made with SU! Kraft CS.  I stamped the lovely retro snowman image on Vanilla CS in Pearlescent Chocolate ink.  The snowflake and the sentiment are both stamped in Cosmic Copper ink.  You really can't tell from the photo but there's a nice subtle shimmer to the card.  I added a copper brad to the snowflake centre and the circle is popped up.

Supplies:
Stamps: Snowman from Inkadinkado Holiday Sentiments set, Season's Greetings from Hero Arts Winter Wishes set, snowflake from My Cute Stamps Let It Snow set
CS: SU! Kraft, Chocolate Chip & Very Vanilla
Ink: Brilliance inks in Pearlescent Chocolate & Cosmic Copper
Tools: 1 1/4" & 1 1/2" circle punches
Embellishments & accessories: Copper brad, 3d foam pads

CAS Cupcake Card - Craft For Life Campaign

Today's CAS challenge on Splitcoast Stampers is to make a card inspired by the word delicious. I immediately thought of my Hero Arts Cupcakes stamp set, one of my favourites! I used a favourite colour combo of pink and chocolate brown too.

The eyelet card was already die cut and waiting in my card blank stash. I added a strip of stripy grosgrain ribbon. I paper pieced the cupcake, sponged some Regal Rose ink around the icing, added some pink glitter and topped it off with a big pink jewel. The icing is popped up. I stamped the words on patterned paper, cut them out and popped the 'delicious' up. This card will be donated to the Craft for Life campaign to support Cancer Research UK.



Supplies:
Stamps: Hero Arts Cupcakes clear set
CS: SU! Chocolate Chip
Patterned paper: SU! Bella Bleu Designer Series Paper pack, SU! Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper stack
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip
Tools: Sizzix Bigx XL Card Fronts, A2 Eyelet & Ornate die
Embellishments & accessories: Pebbles Inc. ribbon, Art Institute 'Miss Muffet' ultrafine glitter, Doodlebug Cupcake jewel, 3d foam pads

3 Flowers Birthday Wishes - Craft for Life Card

This is the second card Joanne designed for us to make at our August SU! Stamper's 10 Make & Take evening. I've made mine slightly differently - Joanne used a white card base and SU! green glitter for her flower centres but I've made a Pretty in Pink card and I used silver glitter for my flowers. This card will be donated to the UK Cancer Research Craft for Life campaign.

The small flower stamp is from the Vintage Vogue set. The stems were hand drawn with a Mellow Moss marker pen. We rock and rolled the flowers, inking first with Pretty in Pink ink and then rock and rolling in Perfect Plum ink. We cut out the flowers and shaped them a bit by running an embossing stylus around the flower centre while it was in the palm of our hand. We added some doodling around the white panel with a Perfect Plum marker pen and sponged some Pretty in Pink ink around the edge. A sentiment and a bow for the flower stems finished off the card.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Vintage Vogue & Sincere Salutations sets
CS: SU! Pretty in Pink, Perfect Plum & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Pretty in Pink, Perfect Plum & Mellow Moss ink pads, Mellow Moss & Perfect Plum marker pens
Tools: Embossing stylus
Embellishments & accessories: Silver glitter, SU! Pretty in Pink taffeta ribbon, glue dots

CAS Trees Birthday Wishes Card - Craft For Life Campaign

Today's CAS80 challenge on Splitcoast Stampers is a sketch inspired by this fab card made by stampingout. I really liked the layout and thought I'd take the opportunity to make another masculine birthday card for the Cancer Research Craft for Life Campaign.

I cut a piece of A4 Old Olive card in half lengthways and then scored at the halfway mark to make a top folded A6 size card. I've used the SU! Funky Forest wheel stamp - but I use mine unmounted. I stamped the image in Olive ink and then I've gone in afterwards with my Choc Chip marker pen to add colour to the tree trunks. The shaped border was made with a Tim Holtz On the Edge die. To finish off, I tied some Choc Chip satin ribbon around the card in a knot.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Funky Forest wheel stamp, sentiment from SU! Wow Flowers set
CS: SU! Old Olive, Chocolate Chip & Whisper White
Ink: SU! Old Olive & Chocolate Chip ink pads & Chocolate Chip marker pen
Tools: Sizzix Tim Holtz On the Edge 'Brackets' die, metric Scor-Pal
Embellishments & accessories: SU! Chocolate Chip satin ribbon

Tree Trio Birthday Wishes - Craft for Life Campaign

Here's a masculine birthday card I made for the Cancer Research UK Craft for Life Campaign. My hubby Owen volunteers in our local Cancer Research UK shop and I gave him a bunch of cards to take in a couple of weeks ago. Owen checked the card spinner on Monday and told me I need to make some more as almost all of my cards have been sold!

I've used the SU! Trendy Trees set for this card, it's such a fun set to use. I love that the patterned paper from the Sweet Pea stack matches the stamp set! The middle tree circle is popped up.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Trendy Trees & Wow Flowers sets
CS: SU! Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Taken With Teal, So Saffron, Pumpkin Pie & Whisper White
Patterned paper: SU! Sweet Pea Designer Series Paper stack
Ink: SU! Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, So Saffron & Pumpkin Pie
Tools: Circle punches, EK Success Dotted Wave punch
Embellishments & accessories: 3d foam pads

Bubble Queen Card - Craft for Life Campaign

This is an A6 sized card I've made for the Craft for Life campaign to support Cancer Research UK. I love the SU! Bubble Queen set, this was such a fun card to make!

I knew I wanted to use turquoise, pink and white together but I needed another colour and I decided that just a touch of black added a bit of pop. I've coloured the image with Copic markers and added some sparkle by sprinkling glitter on the bubbles. I've embossed the turquoise panel with the Cuttlebug Tiny Bubbles folder - perfect for a bathtub Bubble Queen card!

I punched a small flower to add to the sentiment circle. I snipped the petals a little deeper, placed the flower on a moulding mat and spiralled an embossing tool in the centre which pops the petals up a bit. Then I added a nice pink girly jewel to the centre.



I also stamped and coloured an image for the envelope flap - love this gal with the cucumber slices on her eyes!



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Bubble Queen set
CS: Craftwork Cards Softies 'Alabaster', Bazzill Doodlebug 'Princess', Bazzill Orange Peel texture 'Teal'
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black, Copic markers & blender pen
Tools: Plain and scalloped rectangle Nestability dies, plain circle Nestability dies, SU! Boho Blossoms punch
Embellishments & accessories: Doodlebug pink jewel, 3d foam pads

So Glad We're Friends Card - Craft For Life Campaign

I recently bought an EK Success border punch and I kept the packaging as I loved the turquoise paisleyesque design and reckoned I could use it on a card. I decided to go with bright pink and black with the turquoise. A fun colour combo!

I cut a piece of A4 black card in half lengthways and then scored at the halfway mark so the fold is at the top of the card. I then used the Dotted Wave punch on a panel of Melon Mambo CS. The turquoise patterned panel had some text on it that I needed to cover up so I used a lush black Bazzill Bling flower with a turquoise brad centre. For the sentiment, I punched 2 circles the same size in Melon and black and offset them. This card will be donated to the Craft for Life campaign to support Cancer Research UK.



Supplies:
Stamps: SU! Best Yet set
CS: Black CS, SU! Melon Mambo, packaging from an EK Success punch
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Tools: EK Success Dotted Wave punch, circle punch
Embellishments & accessories: Bazzill Bling Black Tie flower, turquoise brad

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

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

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

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