Saturday, February 28, 2015

Playdate Fun...

Hey,

So last Saturday JT and I indulged in an epic 3hr playdate....

We played with lots of fun stuff and chatted and caught up - it was fun.

We based some of the cards on a Bo Bunny stamp set I had bought for each of us (you might remember them from my Jan Tim Holtz tag..)-


We also used our gelatos. I gave them to JT because I knew she would love them, as she loves Crayons and Gelatos are seriously the next step up from crayons :)
We stamped with them, it's a totally super crazy messy fun technique.

I also threw in some random stuff that was on my desk - tags (shop bought) and ready made pinwheels.. I used a ton of scraps too.

Here are the cards -

The main card today uses gelatos stamped onto watercolour paper. You spritz the stamp and colour the gelato directly on to it. It's a touch random, but I really like it. I die cut a piece from my larger piece using a SSS stitched die. I added a tag (shop bought) from my desk and a scrap piece of ribbon.

1 - Bo Bunny stamps, ready made pinwheel, heat embossed sentiment

2 - Bo Bunny stamps, tag (ready made from TJMaxx) from my desk, orange gem



3 - Bo Bunny stamps, scrap papers and a SSS stamp, Versamark Brick ink and SSS white ink



Such fun to make and I know - only 4 cards in 3hrs?! But we also consulted on our DT makes, showed each other what else we have been making, gossiped, you know like when you are in the same room :)

It's always fun, but it's bittersweet as it makes me miss my girl JT even more..

Cx


Friday, February 27, 2015

Friendship has it's perks...


Hey,

Happy Friday.

So I was digging around for some inspiration for April card swap and I decided to pull out one of my Simon Says Stamp card kits.

They are great to work with and I am really enjoying using them - great investment!

I chose to use the October Stamp Kit -



You can go here and see all the fabulous cards people made...mine is there too.

I've used this kit quite a bit and there aren't many papers left ;(

The little mug die is one of my faves!

I decided to use the 'Friendship has it's perks' sentiment and based my card around that.

From the kit I used a pretty patterned paper that has foxes on it, the sentiment stamp, the die and the steam stamp. I also used navy blue paper and a glittery blue scrap from my stash.

I decided to heat emboss the sentiment using white ink and detail embossing powder, I like the almost opaque feel to it.

I'm pretty pleased with the way this turned out and it now has 4 friends to match and is sitting in the card swap box next to March :)

I've decided to enter it into this weeks Simon Says Stamp Weds Challenge - anything goes - seems fitting as it's all SSS loveliness.

Have a great weekend.

Cx

Thursday, February 26, 2015

Moving Along With The Times...Be A Sport...


Hey,

Time for Moving Along With The Times...Team B is up and it's Susan's turn to host. Her theme this week is 'Sport'

I toyed with a few ideas, before settling on my final card. I found a digital stamp that featured aerobics and as I have been working out this past year, it seemed fitting!

The sentiment was tricky, because of the image, so after consulting JT, I went with 'Perfect just the way you are' which works with the work-out theme!

All the papers are by American Crafts, I coloured the image using Promarkers, the stitched circle die is by SSS and the sentiment is by Bo Bunny.

I now need the 'perfect' person to send it to :)

Come and join in the sporty fun over at MAWTT - check out all the fab creations by my talented teammates.

Cx

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

Tim Holtz Tags of 2015...February...

Hey,

So I finally got round to starting AND finishing my February tag last weekend. And yes the photo is HUGE, but he's sooo gorgeous, I wanted to share him in full detail :)


So modge podge gave me some issues, thus it is time to invest in glue n seal!

I used all the technique's Tim used, but I substituted some of the items. My papers came from my scraps, the sentiment I stamped and then distressed.

I assembled the entire tag, following all the steps. I did not want to sew on my heart and looked at the other tags for inspiration - big thanks to Belinda Basson, her use of staples inspired me to do the same.

The die cutting felt was a new thing for me - believe it or not. Silly right!

I added some gold stars around the frame on my tag, I felt I needed sparkle! For the final touch I used a Navy mist to add splatter. I smudged some of it in, as it was a bit OTT..mists, still mystify me..

I broke my one new item rule - there are 3 here..sorry I just couldn't resist the President's Day sales.. So the arrow, heart and frames are new..sorry but I love a sale!

Here's a close-up -



I love how my tag looks, it feels feminine yet grungy - love it!

Cx

p.s Yes..'Tags' are male...

Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Retro Rubber #8....Eyelet Fun...............


Hey,

It's Team A's turn to show you our makes for the latest Retro Rubber challenge time - Eyelets..



Don't forget to use a stamp that is over a year old on your project.

At one point in my craft adventure I was head over heels in love with eyelets and my Crop-a-Dile..then I just neglected them..

But now they are back in action and starring alongside some fun up to date touches.

The fox stamp is a fave, I've had it approx 3 years, it was free with a magazine - Get Stamping, I don't think they publish it anymore. The thing I love about this stamp is the flaw, so you get a bit of a mark on the fox's body.

I stamped the fox along with the sentiment onto a tag. I wanted to layer the card, so I used a scrap of leopard print paper and a brown Papermania doily. I used a silver eyelet to secure it all to the backing paper.

It felt a bit bare, so I added teeny tiny eyelets to 2 corners of the card.

A fun way to use eyelets and rediscover a tool.

The challenge runs until February 27th.

Join in the fun over at Retro Rubber and get inspired by the fun creations from my lovely teammates.

Cx

Monday, February 23, 2015

Simons Says..Add a little texture..


Hey,

Hope you all had a good weekend.

I had a great one, skype playdate with JT, plenty of time at my desk and Hubby and I watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy!!

I saw the Simon Says Weds challenge this week was Add a little texture and I am totally loving texture this week. The DT also used SSS products.

I decided to make a tag instead of a card, I am sending something to a friend to say thank you and I thought wrapping the gift in a nice tag would be a great idea.

She's creative and so she loves it when I send her things that use different techniques.

I used a Tim Holtz tag die and stencil. I placed the stencil over my tag and used Wendy Vecchi textured embossing paste. I love this stuff, you get such lovely texture.

I wanted to use sparkly Thickers for the sentiment, so I mounted them on a sparkly vellum strip of paper. It's a bit wider than the tag, to give it a bit of dimension.

I die cut the circle, star and heart from a SSS stitched die bundle set that I love. I used all scraps for this. The ribbon is a scrap too, left over from wrapping JT's bday gofts :)

Here is a close-up so you get a closer look at some of the details.


I'm super pleased with my tag, I love all the little details and different textures.

Cx

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Over the hill....


Hey,

Happy Weekend everyone!!

I am most excitable today as I will be having a Skype playdate with JT - excellent.

Last weekend Hubby and I went and hung out with JT's folks in DTown, that was a lot of fun as always.

Today I thought I'd show the funny and insulting card I made for our Brother in Law. He is always being cheeky about people's ages, so I thought this was appropriate.

I used an ancient stamp set for all the little sentiments, I stamped them randomly and in 3 colours.

The number stickers are new and I got them in the sale at Joann's last weekend. So they popped on the card, I die cut a tag using an electric blue scrap.

I secured the tag to the card using mini staples.

Finally touch was some Glimmer Mist spray, the photo doesn't do the shimmer justice..it looks awesome in real life I promise!

Cx

Friday, February 20, 2015

Just for you...


Hey,

Happy Friday.

I made this card before we went to Israel and I have finally gotten around to showing it to you!

I have this box of NBUS (never before used schtuff) under my desk and I like to poke around in there when I need inspiration.

I found some Bo Bunny stamps (It Is Written) that I bought in the Joann's Black Friday sale and they sparked an idea.

I stamped the latin text stamp onto a piece of cream cardstock, I added a Just for you sentiment. There isn't a gap in the text, but the way that I placed the spiral gives the illusion of it.

The spiral was inspired by JT..she's been using a new die recently and I remembered that I got one with my Big Shot when I bought it.

I added some randomly placed black gems and inked the edges of the cream card, using a finger dauber with old paper distress ink.

It feels like an anniversary card - what do you think?

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Cx




Thursday, February 19, 2015

Erasers put to work..


Hey,

For a while now I have been eyeing this great pin and tutorial on one of my Pinterest boards -


I figured I could make this work as cards..

I die cut a star, a heart and a butterfly - all from nesting dies - this is important for later on. Don't use the biggest die. I rooted around and found some un-used pencils and acrylic paints.

I then used removable glue to stick the die cut shapes to Canson Mixed Media paper.

As my paints are seriously old and dry, I spritzed the eraser with water and dragged it across the hard paint!

Then I dabbed over the edges of the die cut, I did this until the paint ran out and then got a bit more paint and repeated this tons of times. Then taking the next size up die, I cut around the eraser dabbed shape.

Once you have the finished die cut, you might need to add some more eraser dabs. To tidy it up and fill in some of the white space, I inked around the edges of the die cut.

I mounted the shapes onto contrasting card blanks and added a sentiment.

Fun way to spend an afternoon..here are the rest of the cards.


Cx

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Paper Players...Feathered Friends...

Hey,

I have been meaning to play along with Paper Players for a while, but its been crazy!

Then I discovered that my Retro Rubber teammate Debbie Mageed is one of their guest designers and it's fun to support your teammates and see what else they are up to. So I kept my eye out for a week I could join in.

This week is that week ;)

I love the theme..


I decided to make an updated version of a previous card of mine - I like re-using layouts. I also wanted to make something for my bestie Lemon, she is now officially in the TA (UK reserve army) SUPER proud of her and all her hard work. So she should get something fun and unusual.

The cloud paper is gorgeous, but over powering, so I used a small square of it. I thought it would be framed nicely by the white square card blank.

I used several scraps to build the rest of the card - the yellow sun, the spotty border, the blue strip for the birdies and the blue paper for the congrats die cut.

I adore my Martha Stewart bird on a wire punch, I have had it for ages..

The sentiment die is by Simon Says Stamp, it always comes out so clean. I attach these fussier die cuts by running them through a Zyron..always best for fussy die cuts, they stick so well and no messy glue everywhere!

I am super pleased with my card, it's a bit quirky, just like my girl Lemon.

Cx

Update: Just realised it is supposed to be CAS..how did I miss that?! Sorry!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Retro Rubber Challenge #8..Eyelets...


Hey,

It's time to join in the fun with the latest Retro Rubber challenge.

This time around we are bringing you fun with a Retro Tool....Eyelets..

Fun times.

Join in the fun over at Retro Rubber and check out all the fun makes by Team B.

Challenge ends 27th February, don't forget to use a stamp that is over a year old.

I'll be back next Tuesday to show you cards by me and my lovely teammates.

Cx

Monday, February 16, 2015

Happy 4th Birthday Otis!


Hey,

Today is President's Day here in NYC and it is also my Nephew's 4th birthday.

Sadly I have not seen him in person since last March, but we skype often and he is growing up so fast..

I based his card around the boy in the alien costume digital stamp by Jellypark.

I coloured the stamp using Promarkers and then fussy cut it out, I added googly eyes to the alien for a bit of fun.

The paper is from a Recollections Monsters and Robots stack that I have.

I could fit Happy Birthday in the sparkly Thickers on the card, so I used a giant Woodware stamp instead.

Here is a photo of Otis and I - it's a couple of years old, but it's a fave of mine..



I hope Otis loves his card as much as we love him :)

Cx

Friday, February 13, 2015

Kenny K - Love Challenge...


Hey,

Happy Friday to you all.

Hubby and I are off to spend the weekend with JT's parents - always fun times with them.

I love a Kenny K challenge (pardon the pun) and I especially love it when I can make a Valentine's card.

The theme this time (#188) is always Anything Goes, but with a twist and the twist this time is Love..

I used Harley Rider, I love this stamp!

I decided to stencil the background - Memory Box stencil and Ranger distress ink. I used another one of the glittery strips of paper I have, as a kind of  ledge for Harley Rider..I then stamped a sentiment (by SSS) in random spots to give a graffiti feel to it.

I inked the edges of the backing paper using Electric Blue Studio G ink and mounted the whole thing onto a black card base.

Harley was coloured using Promarkers and fussy cut, then mounted using foam pads.

You can't really see it in the photo, but I sprayed the entire card with silver Glimmer Dust, so it's all nice and shimmery.

This little beauty is heading to Hawaii to my good friend Michelle.

Aloha!

Cx


Thursday, February 12, 2015

Moving Along With The Times - Inspired by your Fave TV Show



Hey,

It is time for another great challenge from Moving Along the Times and Team B.

This week Hazel is up with a great theme Inspired by your Fave TV Show

I had a few ideas, but then remembered about my as yet unused birthday gift from JT. A great Kenny K stamp that fit 'Nashville' really well.

I think she has the Country music glamour look.

I started out by colouring the image, using Promarkers and a Copic marker and a dsash of Stickles glitter glue. I am loving the new Copic skin tone marker..I might buy a few more..

The background paper is by American Crafts and I used a scrap of brown paper to make a kind of wall/shelf for her to sit on. Finally I punched a tag and stamped a sentiment by Simon Says Stamp. Securing it to the front of the card using a mini staple  worked well. Loving mini staples right now.

Now it's your turn to show us what TV show you are inspired by. Before you do that though, go and check out the fun creations over at MAWTT from the rest of my lovely teammates.

Cx


Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Less is more..


Hey,

I love the Less is more challenge..it pushes me to keep it simple!

This week is their 4 year anniversary and the theme is Pink and Grey.

I have had this modelling paste item just sitting on my desk..I made a few of them with different stencils a few weeks ago.

To fit the theme, I kept it simple.

Die-cut thanks in Grey using a Lawn Fawn die, then I lay the stencil back over the modelling paste and using a finger dauber I added some dark pink ink.

And of course some bling..

Voila! Less is more.

Fun.

Cx

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Retro Rubber Challenge #7...Still time to play...



Hey,

There is still time for you to join in the fun over at Retro Rubber with our fantastic Flashback Valentine challenge.

For more on how to play and to see the lovely DT creations, go to Retro Rubber.

Here's mine from last week -



Can't wait to see what you make.

Cx

Monday, February 9, 2015

Tag Valentine..


Hey,

Hope you had a good weekend. I had a fantastic time back at my desk, after a 4 week absence!

I wanted to enter a few challenges this week and I am starting with Tag You're It -


I decided to turn my tag into a feature for my Valentine's card for my parents.

I used a paper from the latest SSS card kit and die cut an oval from it. I stamped the XOXO along the bottom to create a border, the stamp is from the Paper Hugs stamp set by SSS and is also part of the current card kit.

I have this huge stack of glittery paper strips, so I dug a silver one out and used it as a kind of border between the stamped XOXO and the rest of the tag.

The final touches were adding a punched heart with 'Happy Valentine's Day'stamped on it and a little bit of randomly placed bling.

Super cute and very easy..hope my parents like it :)

Cx

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Happy Birthday Man...


Hey,

Today is the lovely JT's 30th Birthday.

I had great fun last weekend surprising her at her joint 30th Birthday party.

Fun to be able to celebrate with her and to be home for a short while.

I made her a fun card using the Silhouette..I wanted it to be a bit different for her.

I used American Crafts papers and sparkly Thickers numbers. On the inside flaps I put some things in that are special to JT and I.

Here's another photos showing you the card when it is folded flat.


I hope my lovely friend is having a wonderful 30th birthday and celebrating in style.

Cx

Thursday, February 5, 2015

Scraps say Thanks....


Hey,

Before I went on my speedy trip to London, I wanted to make a set of cards for a work colleague.

As my colleague is male, I wanted to make something that he might use..

I decided to use my new die by Lawn Fawn and as I had the blue scrap box on my desk the cards just came to life.

This was a great way to use some of my smaller scraps, as the die is quite small.

I rooted through my blue paper drawer to find plain blue papers that didn't need cutting into too much - no harming of full sheets of paper in this project!

I was going to emboss the backgrounds, but I tried it and it felt fussy.

Here are the rest of the set -


Cool right?

Always fun to make use of my scraps.

Cx

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Moving Along With The Times..Winner and Top 3 post..

Hey,

So I just wanted to wish my team mate and my very good friend Jessie (aka JT) a very Happy 30th Birthday this weekend. I flew to London as a surprise guest at her birthday party last weekend..it was fun and I got to see my parents and my bestie too :).

I really enjoyed choosing a winner and a Top 3 from last weeks Get Your Sketch On! challenge entries.

Thank you for all your awesome entries, so many great variations on my sketch. Very cool. 

This weeks winner and the winner of the great birdcage die is -

#11 PaperWhims


I just love the image and the use of the sketch. Well done WendyLynn, Please contact me at hamnmulenycDOTgmxDOTcom. And don't forget to collect your blinkie from the sidebar.

The Top 3 in no particular order are -

#4 LindyLoos

Fantastic card - love the beautiful flowers and the colour scheme.

#8 aNNies Style
The fabulous flowers in the top left were such a different interpretation of the sketch and suited the little butterfly princess image.

#15 Meg
The image is hilarious and fun, I love the wiggly middle bar too.

Well done ladies. Get your blinkie from the sidebar, for displaying on your blog.

Thank you so much to everyone for playing along with us last week. Hope you can join us all again this week - the lovely will be back tomorrow with all the details of the new challenge.

Our DT call is now closed, we are sorting through the entries and we will keep you posted.

Thanks again Claire and the MAWTT DT. Join us tomorrow for our next challenge with the lovely Hazel. 

Cx

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Retro Rubber #9..Tag You're it!



Hey,

Yes it is time for Retro Rubber#9 and Team B are up this week. 

Our challenge this time involves one of my 'new' faves - Tags...


For some reason I decided when I sat down to make this card that I wanted to feature multiple tags..

I used the papers from my SSS Feb Card Kit and die-cut them in different sizes using my Xcut tag dies. I layered them together, so you can see the pretty papers and secured them together with glue and a mini staple.

I then used an ancient (at least 3 years old) Fiskars stamp set for the sentiment and the heart.

To make my card I embossed a piece of red paper across the middle using a spotty embossing folder an adhered this to my card base. I added my tags to the card using foam tape for a bit of dimension.

Finishing touch is the giant blingy stick on brad thingy...

I love that this feels very 'love' but is actually a Thank You card.

Check out the fab makes by my teammates over at Retro Rubber and join in the fun.

Remember to use stamps over a year old and the challenge closes on March 13th.

Cx

Retro Rubber Challenge #7..Flashback Valentine...



Hey,

Today is my first day back after a whirlwind weekend trip home, to surprise my parents and JT.

It's also time for Retro Rubber Challenge #7..


This great theme gave me the opportunity to dig out a fave Stamping Bella stamp - 'Emily and Ryan under the umbrella'

I haven't used it in a long time and I thought it would make a fun Valentine for Hubby.

I decided that as I love Purple it would be great to use it as the main colour. I had fun using my Promarkers to colour in the stamp and for the first time ever I used the sentiment that came with it.

For fun I added the contrasting hearts in the top corner - mini staples are rocking my world right now.

Your turn to join in the fun. Pop over to Retro Rubber to see the wonderful Valentine's from Team A.

The challenge ends on February 13th and don't forget to use stamps over a year old :)

Cx