Penguins!

Catch up post again, a card I made as one of my christmas designs for 2019 using the Avery Elle - Bring on the Joy stamp set.

I love this set and enjoyed using it in my snow globe layout. (Which as later posts will show, I used with a few different stamp sets!)

I thought I would just do an ingredients list for this card, I used a lot of different things.

• Stamps - Avery Elle Bring on the Joy. (Coloured with Copics)
• Die cut trees from Joy called "Mery's Christmas Tree and House Border".
• Scalloped Background shape from the stash, coloured with distress oxides.
• Snowglobe die - Craft Emotions called Snowglobe with Houses.
• Papers from Making Cards Magazine. (I scanned them and have printed them back out many times since my initial freebies with purchase).
• Fairy lights from Paperchase. They were sold as present wrapping.
• Fonts are Daquoise and Freebooter Script.
• Bling from stash.

CUP

I have spent a bit of time creating a new Crafts U Print Gallery for my blog. Sometimes when I am struggling for new ideas, or want something straightforward in a kit format, I pop there and buy a few  projects.

CUP Gallery!

I always felt like using kits was a bit like cheating but tbh, they take a fair amount of time to make up, I often fully customise them so they fulfil my remit a bit better and sometimes I'm just paying for the artwork to use in my own way. 

So perhaps not as much cheating as up-cycling?

On CUP I struggle to find projects that suit my tastes, and may be like me you have been overwhelmed by the choice and difficulty in finding things you really like? Perhaps you will spot something in the gallery you like and it'll save you some time browsing on CUP, where I promise you, there are lots of nice things,  you just have to find them!

This post is not sponsored. lol.

Using Up Studio Light Spares!

Hi again, more of the catch-up post department! 

A couple of years ago I discovered the Studio Light Christmas Card kits. They are booklets with a suggested card layout and then all the parts to make it up. They also add a few extra and spare parts for every card and at the end of making up the sets (mainly as they proposed) I was left with a large bag of cool leftovers. This year I made 8 cards with leftovers from a couple of the official card kits.

Here is one of the cards that you are given a guide for. I make them up as suggested and then add some little extras, in this case, some wooden bling and a little wooden bunny.

These are the eight cards I made with the left over bits. (From two whole booklets).

The booklets always come with a central image for you card, so printing out some new central images was all I needed to make up a new design. I chose 8 photos and cut them out with circle dies and layered them onto card.

I have a few friends who like cats, so the first two were cat themed.

I have a friend who likes travelling so I printed out a snowy northern lights image for her.

For my SIL & BIL and my Nephew I  made two cards using photos of their dog Smudge (That I took from their facebook photos, oops!) and I gave them a blue hue to kind of look a bit more wintery? They seemed to like them at least, lol!

All the layering card and the backing papers are from my stash, luckily I have a lovely nordic 6x6 paper set that go well with the Studiolight colour schemes.

I did another dog card for my FIL. They used to have a lovely golden retriever called Chester, a long time ago now, so hopefully this meant happy memories!

My brother seemed to have opinions on appropriating non-Christmas animals for Christmas cards, but I don't think it matters what animal you pick as long as the photo has them in snow! This is a snow fossa for my brother, and I did my Mum a snow tiger!

So that was the set I made from the recycled bits! I love making these. I don't really mind if people don't think they are very christmassy, this year what was important for me was enjoying making my big batch of remaining Xmas cards. 

I've probably made over 100 Christmas cards using the StudioLight kits but never seem to have bothered blogging any before, so thought I would at least show these extras this year!

Penguin Baubles!

So part of the mahousive backlog posting session is going to include some non-cards! And I wanted to share with you a few pictures of the baubles I made my friends for Christmas! 

I made these using polystyrene balls covered in a layer of white needle-felted batt and then added details by needle-felting each of them some wings and cheeks and beaks etc. I think they were all different in the end, specials included a rein-penguin, a rudolpenguin, and a penguin with eyebrows.

I wrapped them all up in tissue paper and did them like a lucky dip on our coffee morning. Unfortunately they were a bit too bulky to send my online crafty friends, I need to find a flatter idea for next year! 

 Where I sourced things -

• Coloured (Carded Batt) felts from Fuzzie Wuzzie Felt.
• White felt from The Felt Box.
• Black Glass Eyes from Torque of the Town on Ebay
• Ribbon/Pins from stash
• Pink cheeks are made with a polychromo pencil.

Here is one that made it onto my christmas tree for a bit! I think a whole tree of them would look really cool, though I don't think I can stand making anymore for a bit, lol.

Thanks for joining me on catch-up day two! 

Happy 2020!

Happy 2020 everyone! Hope you had a lovely start to the year!

So I have a mahousive back log of cards I haven't got round to blogging, so I am going to do a whole load of daily catch up posts, I hope! :) This is the warning post! Cards are coming!

I bought this Avery Elle stamp set (Winter Woodland Wonders) for last years cards, but didn't use it that much in the end. I was keen to use it for some this year and I made this special first christmas card, as a commission.

The ribbon is holding it together because it's a twist and pop card! I love meddling with a bit of card technology! It folds pretty flat still, so even better. I used a blank ready made mechanism, though I moved it into a 6x6 inch card as the original is pretty tiny. And it's as simple as just gluing it into a bigger card, no hassle at all.

Here is a link to a video on how to make your own.

I used patterned papers from Making Cards Magazine, in most cases I scanned them, recoloured them to match my scheme and then printed them out on 160 gsm plain paper.

Backgrounds are made with distress oxides. The images are coloured using Copics. I added glossy accents and stickles at the end. Enamelish hearts are from WHSmith and Enamelish stars are from Paperchase. Ribbon and card stock from the stash.

Picture below so you can see a bit more of how the mechanics look!

Thanks for joining me on the catch-up posts!

The final panda of 2019

Hi again friends! I hope you have had a lovely festive period (if you celebrate it) and are looking forward to 2020? This is probably my final card and post for 2019 and I'm happy to be sharing the Cuddly Critters Panda from Dr. Digi's House of Stamps. I have added a speech bubble and he is saying "Hello!"

I don't know if you remember but I felted him earlier in the year and was quite looking forward to colouring him too!

Just an important bit of shopping enabler info, the Cuddly Critters Panda is also part of a bargain buy Cuddly Critters Set and it's a massive saving if you do fancy it. Just saying ;)

Here is the digi I used -

And here is my version of that digi -

I had a fair few disasters with him, colouring did not go smoothly! But I'm hoping they are not too noticeable!? Sometimes crafting can be a bit testing can't it? lol.

I printed out the topper on the computer, combining the digi with a silhouette of some bamboo and a speech bubble saying "hello". Does you smart phone do that thing where you can hold it over text and it converts it to your own language? I am still completely gobsmacked by it every time I do it! 

I coloured him up with polychromo pencils as usual and some white posca pen for the highlights in his eyes and on his nose. Background paper is from Making Cards Magazine.

Thanks for joining me today, and perhaps joining me throughout 2019. Hopefully see you in the New Year!

Jolly Old Christmas

Hi Everyone! Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas in my capacity as Dr.Digi Design Team Member!! I thought I would use Reginald (The Trainee Reaper) for a jolly Christmas card!

Here he is in the shop -

 And here is my version - 

 As usual he is coloured with polychromo pencils and white posca pen... oo and also a bit of white gel pen whilst I was experimenting with his cape pattern!

Not many other details to share however, the font is Deutsche Zierschrift and my backing card is Centura Pearl Cherry.

Thanks for joining me! Hope I have imbibed you with Christmas spirit, and in case I don't speak to you again before the big day, have a lovely festive season! xxx

Solitaire Saul

It's Dr.Digi friday again! And I have used one of Dr.Digi's latest digis - Solitaire Saul!

You may spot he is not playing Solitaire in my version, that's because I had in a commission for an 18th birthday card where the lad is into Python programming, so I altered what was on the screen! ( I also added a little Python logo to the cactus pot!)

I also slightly altered his clothes to make him look a bit younger! His Mum told me he often wore a black hoody (with stripes down the sides) and stone washed denim jeans! Didn't take much to do a tiny tweak on the digi so the clothes could be just right.

Here is the original digi -

And my version (you can see the changes were very minor) -

As normal I coloured him with polychromo pencils and just odd spots of white posca pen. 

I paper-pieced the computer screen so it seemed to be illuminant. I added some highlights with the white posca pen to try and capture the bits of the cat and Saul that would have been illuminated.

The background paper is from the (Dec 2019) Making Cards Magazine and I used a computery looking font for the greeting, hopefully replicating the Python coding language that was the theme for the card.

Thanks for joining me today and looking at (Not so) Solitaire Saul!

Why not check out the Dr.Digi Shop to see all the new digis since you last popped in?

Sqwirl!

My favourite Disney character (though I confess I am not really a Disney person, I love some Ghibli however) is Dug from the film Up! And why am I telling you this?? Because....

SQUIRREL!!!!

(Apparently, in personality I am far more like Dory! I am not sure that was a compliment...)

Here is the Dr.Digi Squirrel from the Cuddly Critters set! 

And here is what the digi looks like in the shop -

And here is my version -

I also added in some scenery, just some acorns and leaves. Thought it would make a nice change! Did rather a lot of experimenting on this piece, especially with the colouring.

This is (almost) all polychromo pencils on smooth kraft card (called Hessian Buff). I did add some white highlights with a white posca pen, but removed most of it too.

Font is Zolano Serif BTN. Background paper was a magazine freebie from the stash. It's pretty ancient!

For those of you that would like more of a colouring recipe. Here are all the colours in the squirrel.

101, 104, 108, 115, 121, 130, 132, 175, 177, 187, 190, 199, 232, 274

Thanks for joining me today! Hope you have a smashing weekend.

Elephantus Insecta

Happy Friday everyone! I am back today with  more Cuddly Critters from Dr.Digi's House of Stamps. Infact....I am back with the same critter from my last DT post - The Elephant!

I got the idea for this version whilst I was making the 3D felt version. It was way beyond my felting skills but I thought I might get it to work with pencils!

Here is the original image in the shop -

And here is my version with peacock butterfly ears!

((It would be remiss of me not to share that this Fant is part of an amazing money saving set with the whole critters range included. Follow this link to see.))

I had a bit of a research session on elephant skin, feet and trunks to grab some ideas for the textures I wanted to create.

 The background paper is a recent one from Making Cards Magazine. The bling is from the stash.

Thanks for joining me today! I'm really enjoying colouring up these critters, off to start on the next one!