Altenew Pansy Cards.

(Catchupmageddon Post) Very pleased to have an Altenew layering flower stamp set to play with! This Pretty Pansies Stamp Set was one of the few I had my eye on, it's proving hard to find the ones at the top of my list.  I chose a couple of layouts and made a simple 7 card set using all the more successful colour combos I tried with the stamps.

Most of the time I used distress oxides or inks with versafine black outlines. I also printed out some photos of real pansies to get some inspo for which colour schemes to try out. Background made using a stencil and distress oxides.

I spot other people get to use their washi tapes on their cards so I had a go too! I used a Hero Arts "messages with flourish" sentiment stamp for most of the "happy birthday" banners.

Some geometric papers from a magazine with a folded corner detail. I like how staples look but I don't think I ever get them quite right, lol! 

Some funky papers I have been saving for something "special" but that time never arrived, decided I needed to use them before they became old fashioned! lol. Sentiment was a freebie set from Making Cards Magazine, it stamps up really nicely.

I think these two came out the best, I really liked the colour schemes. I had a go at making my own background paper using the leaf from the Pretty Pansies set but only used a small piece of it in the end.

Added stickles to the centres of the flowers to make them a bit more special.

And just because it made a colourful photo I thought I would share one of the wrapped up gifts that I added a pansy card too.

Invading Pandas

(Catchupmaggedon post again) On the theme of Pandas (see yesterdays post) I remembered I also used the Little Panda Agenda Stamps from Mama Elephant for a Get Well Soon Card.

I really enjoyed an excuse to finally use some of my oriental stash. I bought a lot of it when I first started to craft but I found only crafters really liked it as an aesthetic and no-one ever commissioned a card where it would be suitable to use it. I have tonnes of lovely origami papers, the dark background paper is one from my stash.

I've used this layout before with vastly different colours and a normal bunting die over the left corner. To replace the bunting element, I wanted to make a more lanternish look, with the little pandas inside. The pandas were coloured with copics.

On a second card I also tried a way of linking the panda bunting/lanterns with just hessian string because I wasn't sure how well the golden rope and bling worked on my first card. I preferred the second version.

The sentiment stamp is from Hero Arts called Messages with Flourish. Used some fancy edged scissors for the wobbly bits, lol.

If you're feeling a bit cruddy today, I hope you feel better soon too!

Seventies inspired "Thinking of you" cards.

Hi again! Quick post today, I had to make up a batch of Sympathy/Thinking of You Cards for my own use. I like to have some in stock so I don't have any delays in sending them, it seems a thing you should be prompt about.  

I decided to go with a bit of a seventies retro flavour and this is the set I made.

I masked off a column on the left hand side of the topper and then stamped with distress oxides,  Gathered Twigs, Fossilized Amber, Spiced Marmalade and Aged Mahogany.

The stamps I have used for the columns and the single flowers/seedheads are from Elusive Images, quite ancient and I'm not sure where you'd get them other than ebay, or old shop stock sales! (I have a feeling that Elusive Images was absorbed by, or became, Chocolate Baroque, but let me know if you know different please. I can't remember for sure!)

I used the "thinking of you" sentiment from the  Messages with  Flourish set from Hero Arts, one of my favs! I think they might have re-released it with a bit of an upgrade, it's still in their shop despite me having had it for a looonnnng time.

The stamp behind the sentiment is from the stash and I haven't labelled it so cannot offer more clues. If I spot it I will add a link in here. It's a retro 70's art type set.

I mounted the greetings on pearlescent brown and terracotta cardstock from the stash. I stamped and cut out a few of the elements from the Elusive Images set to use separately on the right hand side of the card. Did something different on each card.

Ended with a few gems, pearls or glitter pen on each card, just a little bit to make them special, but not too blingy to be distasteful for sympathy occasions.

Simple Sympathy Cards

Two more commissioned sympathy cards. This time I used Sheena Douglas, A little bit floral - Magnolia as the main flower on the card after previously trying ideas using the Iris version.

I stamped the flower in Dewdrop Moonlight White Ink and then heat embossed using Stampendous White Embossing Powder. I coloured the flowers using my Gansai Tambi Watercolour paints.

In black ink I stamped the greeting which is from Hero Arts "Messages With Flourish" set. I then used a black pen to draw in a black frame around the card.   I actually made one with the flower raised using 3D mounting foam, and the other where the flower is actually single layer along with the other elements. I added a little shadow to give it some dimension too. Sequins added at the end.

Pix's Favorites.

Helen very kindly stamped me some of her new Mama Elephant set, Pix's Favorites. They were great fun to use and colour, I went with copics and tried a new colouring style, but I find it hard not to keep adding shadow! :)

I also tried a few new background techniques with the distress inks. I used water directly onto a blended background but moved the water to resemble clouds. The middle one is just a blend over a Memory Box Birch Trees stencil, and in the third one I filled in the background, then used the stencil and removed ink rather than added it. Makes a kind of spooky background I like! :)

So this is the watercolour cloud background, the grass is Grass Border by Lawn Fawn.

This is using a stencil in a more traditional way, tho oddly I don't think I have ever used a stencil like this before, normally I use it for paste and sprays.

Final spooky background. The sentiments on all the cards are from Hero Arts and are called "Messages with flourish". (CL738)

Love these stamps, they are so cute! :) Nice to have the chance to make some cards just for fun, and not for an order, don't get the chance much these days :)

Thinking of You Balloons!

Had a commission for a batch of "Thinking of You" cards so decided to go all balloony! I had some gorgeous free digis from Imagine That Digistamps that I wanted to use in a card for their January Link Up so I thought this was an ideal time to try them out.

I also had a set of balloons from Lawn Fawn that are less fancy, so I thought they might make a good male and female version of the card! I think the Imagine That balloons should have been printed out a bit bigger but they do seem to make a more cheery card!

Imagine That - Love Lifts You Set
Lawn Fawn - Blue Skies (LF511)
Cloud Stencil by me
Distress Ink : Stormy Sky
Coloured with Copics
Greeting from Hero Arts, Messages with Flourish with Staz On Ink.
Enamel style bling from stash.
Used Blue and Green Vellum, that I really need to restock but haven't seen any for ages!