A Nice Cuppa

The card I am sharing today is made with one of my favourite colour combinations of the Stampin' Up inks - Lost Lagoon, Melon Mambo and Soft Suede.  Sadly Lost Lagoon is retiring at the end of the month, along with the Nice Cuppa stamps and its co-ordinating dies.

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - A Nice Cuppa, Endless Thanks, Gorgeous Grunge
Ink pads - Lost Lagoon, Melon Mambo, Soft Suede
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card, Melon Mambo
Dies - Cups and Kettles, Banners
Other - Stampin' Dimensionals

Vintage Leaves

Hello my crafting friends!  Today I have made a card suitable for both men and women, all year round - spring and summer, autumn, thanksgiving, and these leaves could also be paired up with some flower stamps or punches to make a pretty card.  

On some of the leaf images I inked the stamp in the lighter colour ink, then inked some of the edges up with a darker/different colour to give a two tone effect.  I think this would work well with the baby wipe ink pad technique and ink refills to create a lovely blended image - maybe I will try that out soon!
 
Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp sets - Vintage Leaves, Guy Greetings
Ink pads - Tangerinr Tango, Old Olive, Soft Suede
Card - Whisper White thick card
Other - Neutral Candy Dots
Other supplies - masking paper

Christmas Joy

This card is really quick and simple.  Some easy stamping straight onto a scored piece of Whisper White thick card stock, two stamped trees which are punched out with the co-ordinating punch and stuck on with Dimensionals.
 
Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp Set - Lots of Joy
Ink Pads - Old Olive, Real Red
Card - Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - Stampin' Dimensionals, Tree Punch

Sheltering Tree

Today's card is all about stamping, and I have used just one stamp set - Sheltering Tree which is very versatile and can be used all year round.  I wanted to make something that looked like cherry blossom as I have seen so many beautiful blossom photos recently - but yes I know this does not look like cherry blossom, but its still pink and pretty!


Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp set - Sheltering Tree
Ink Pads - Rose Red, Blushing Bride, Sahara Sand, Old Olive
Card - Rose Red, Whisper White, Whisper White thick card
Other - Dazzling Diamonds glitter, fine tip glue pen

 

Balloons... Where?

Hi!  Today I thought I would share with you a flower card made with the Balloon Celebrations stamp set - who says a balloon stamp has to be a balloon! :-)

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp set - Balloon Celebrations
Ink pads - Melon Mambo, Mossy Meadow
Card - Whisper White
Designer Series Paper - Brights paper stack
Punch - 1" square 

No Bones Aboout It

Welcome to my second "Masculine Monday" blog post - I have to say this was not how the card first started out, but in the end I quite like it.  Just proves that one masculine card a week is definitely going to be a challenge!

I used the No Bones About It stamp set - such fab stamps for all those little (and big) men you know that love dinosaurs.

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp set - No Bones About It
Ink Pads - Old Olive, Tangerine Tango, So Saffron
Card - Old Olive, Whisper White, Whisper White thick cardstock
Dies - Tags & Labels framelits
Punches - 1/4" circle punch

Floral Wings

Stampin' Up! have some gorgeous butterfly stamps and dies, and for this card I used the Hostess set Floral Wings along with the co-ordinating butterfly die.  The black and white strip is some washi tape stuck onto card and cut out, I have stamped an image from Gorgeous Grunge a couple of times, added a sentiment and a few gems - simple! :-)

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp Sets - Floral Wings, Gorgeous Grunge, Butterfly Basics
Ink Pads - Melon Mambo, Sahara Sand, Basic Black
Card - Whisper White thick cardstock
Dies - Bold Butterfly framelits
Other - Everyday Chic washi tape, rhinestones

A 50th Birthday!

I made this card for a lovely friend of mine who had her 50th birthday this week - still not quite sure if she was happy to be reminded of the number :-)

Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp Set - Number of Years
Ink pads - Mint Macaron, Old Olive, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Blushing Bride
Framelits - Large Numbers
Card - Whisper White thick cardstock, Mint Macaron card
DSP - Birthday Bouquet
Other - Metallics sequin assortment

Water Colour with Best Thoughts

Hmm.. watercolours... it is definitely something that I would love to be better at.  So please join me on my journey of blog posts dedicated to watercolouring - to start with they will be monthly, but hopefully I might just get good at this and will be able to share my efforts with you more often!  I love this medium, but have a lot to learn, so I hope I can make the mistakes, discovers some tips and techniques along the way so that you too can enjoy trying your hand at watercolouring!
 
Stampin' Up! Materials Used:
Stamp set - Best Thoughts (this is a hostess set - you can still get this until the end of May if stocks last)
Ink Pads - Rich Razzleberry, Old Olive
Card - Rich Razzleberry, watercolor paper
Other -  Aquapainters

Masculine Monday - Sea Street

Hi, I hope you are enjoying the long Bank Holiday weekend - I have to say the weather has been very changeable here this last week - sunshine, rain, high winds and even some sleet and snow! Come on Spring where are you?!
Today I have a quick man's card to share with you.  Do you struggle with cards for men?  I know I do, so I have set myself a challenge to make one male themed card each week for a weekly blog post called "Masculine Monday" so wish me luck!
 
Stampin' Up! Materials Used: 
Stamp sets - Sea Street, Something to Say 
Ink pads - Night of Navy, Pacific Point, Real Red 
Card - Whisper White, Night of Navy 
Other - Circle framelits and punch, dimensionals

Everything Eleanor

Happy first of May, and happy Sunday!  Today is the start of one of my new weekly blog posts - Simple Sunday - showcasing a project that is quick and simple to make!

I made a bunch of these pretty cards using two quick stamped images, a small piece of Designer Series Paper (DSP) and some sequins.  I have used the gorgeous Everything Eleanor stamp set which is sadly retiring at the end of May, but you still have chance to add this to your collection.

Stampin' Up! materials used
Stamp sets - Everything Eleanor, Butterfly Basics
Ink pads - Soft Suede, Mint Macaron, Lost Lagoon
DSP - Botanical Gardens
Other - metallics sequin assortment 

Butterfly Basics

I had great fun with the Butterfly Basics stamp set and some butterfly dies and other bits n bobs!  I made several cards, some just in a different colour scheme, others with slightly different elements (ribbon, die cuts, jewels, pearls...)  but I love this one as the colours are just so pretty/vintage/ice-creamy!

Yet again I have used one of my favourite pinks - Melon Mambo - only downside of that one (and Blackberry Bliss) is that the inks do make a mess of your fingers! And they also stain your photopolymer stamps, but as long as you clean them properly this does not affect the colours you stamp next.

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - Butterfly Basics, Gorgeous Grunge
Inks - Melon Mambo, Early Espresso, Sahara Sand, Old Olive
Dies - Bold Butterfly framelits, Butterflies thinlits
Ribbon - Mint Macaron dotted lace trim
Card - Whisper White A4 thick cardstock
Embellishments - pearls 

What I Love

I love this stamp set - it is one of the Sale-A-Bration sets available for a limited time, and of course I used one of my favourite inks - Melon Mambo!

Stampin' Up! materials used:
Stamp sets - What I Love, Rose Wonder
Ink - Melon Mambo, Old Olive
Card - Whisper White notecard & envelopes

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

Today I have a card using heat embossing and watercolouring using a couple of stamp sets from Stampin' Up!

I heat embossed with white embossing powder, then used some ink pads with water to add colour around the stamping.  This is a technique that I have seen a lot on YouTube and Pinterest and wanted to give it a go - and I will definitely be doing it again!

Materials Used:

Stampin' Up! stamp sets - Watercolor Words, Crazy About You

Stampin' Up! inks - Rose Red, Melon Mambo

Stampin' Up! watercolour card stamp; white embossing powder

Simon Says Stamp - sequins 

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #259 - More Than One Fold

It's time for another challenge over at Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge, and this week the theme is cards with more than one fold.
 
There are two fabulous prizes this week, so pop on over to http://pennyschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ and join in:
Bugaboo Stamps - 7 digi images  
Sami Stamps - $12 gift certificate
 
Materials Used:
Bugaboo - Revel digi image
Copics - 
Core'Dinations - orange card
Craftwork Cards - white card

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to you and welcome 2016!

A quick digital make for you today as I have not had much time recently for crafting, but I am hoping to change that over the next few days as I have lots of ideas of things to make!

I made this card in Serif Craft Artist, which I use now and again to make a quick digi card, and I always use it to print out my digi stamps as its so easy to use!

Wishing you and your families a happy, healthy and safe 2016!

I look forward to sharing more crafty makes with you this year!
Mandy x

Materials Used:

Serif Craft Artist Professional - digi kit, basic shapes and lines

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

I have been a little quiet blogwise throughout December - sometimes life just gets in the way... But I will be back after the New Year with more cards to share with you.  In the meantime I would like to take this opportunity to say thanks for popping over to my little piece of blogland throughout the year, and wish you and your families a wonderful Christmas and New Year.

Mandy x

Materials Used:
Tim Holtz stamp sets - Bird Crazy, Crazy Things, Crazy Talk
GraphIts - 8110,, 8220, 8250, 5120, 5215, 5220, 2780, 9101, 9102, 9501, 9502, 0000
Copics - E50
Sakura - fine line pen

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #256 - Anything Goes

It's time for another challenge over at Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge, and this week the theme is Anything Goes!
 
There are two fabulous prizes this week, so pop on over to http://pennyschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ and join in:
Art By Miran - 3 digi images  
Imagine That - $10 gift certificate

Materials Used:
Art By Miran - Hello Mr Snowman digi
Copics - E00, E01, E02, E42, E44, E47, E53, B000, B91, B93, B95, B97, YR14, YR16, C1, C2
Core'Dinations - orange card
Hunkydory - white card

Lacy Sunshine #72 - Sweet Dreams of Christmas

Its time for a new challenge over at Lacy Sunshine, and for this challenge the theme is Sweet Dreams of Christmas.

Please pop on over to Lacy Sunshine and join in the fun for the random draw  - there will be 2 winners: 1st prize - 5 digi images, 2nd prize - 3 digi images of choice from the Lacy Sunshine Crafters Candy Shoppe.

We have a gorgeous Challenge Digi for you, which you can get for a special discounted price of $2.00 for the duration of the challenge from the Lacy Sunshine Crafters Candy Shoppe, or for free if you used a Lacy Sunshine digi in Challenge #71 (see details on the Challenge Blog).

I am adding this to: 
Just Keep On Creating - Anything Goes November 2015 

Materials Used:
Lacy Sumshine - Sugi Fairy Godmother digi
Copics - E00, E01, E02, E42, E44, E47, E50, E53, R85, Y17, YG63, B91, B93, B95, B97, B000, C1, C2, C4
Core'Dinations - blue card
Hunkydcory - white card blank

Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge #254 - Anything Goes

It's time for another challenge over at Penny's Paper-Crafty Challenge, and this week the theme is Anything Goes!
  I chose to use this gorgeous image from Lacy Sunshine, even though I always struggle with red as I find that all alcohol markers in red bleed a lot - any one else have that problem?
 
There are two fabulous prizes this week, so pop on over to http://pennyschallenges.blogspot.co.uk/ and join in:
Lacy Sunshine - 3 digi images  
Bugaboo Stamps - 7 digi images

I am adding this to: 
Just Keep On Creating - Anything Goes November 2015
 
 Materials Used:
Lacy Sunshine - Minty Mer digi image
Copics - E00, E01, E02, E40, E42, E44, E47, R83, R85, YG61, YG63, R14, R17, R27
Core'Dinations - red card
Hunkydory - white card blank