Christmas Kickstart - Snow Days

Over the weekend, I managed to sneak a few happy hours in my craft room and create a card for the Christmas Kickstart Challenge theme, Snow Days. I started with one card, but once it was finished, it felt more wintry than Christmassy. So, using the same snowflake embossing folder, I had another go and came up with this festive version.

For the Christmas card, I started with a square panel and ran it through with an old freebie snowflake embossing folder. It may be from years ago, but it still creates such lovely, deep impressions and makes a beautiful snowy background.

Penny Black’s Snowy stamp and die felt like the perfect focal point. I stamped and die cut the image, coloured it, and then added Kindyglitz glitter glue to the pompom and hat for a little festive sparkle. To finish, I added a small red die-cut sentiment from a Sizzix die set.

This the first card I made using the same embossing folder, along with the stamp that originally came with it. I stamped the image first in blue ink, clear embossed it, and then added the embossed snowflake background.

To bring in some extra shimmer, I added sparkle pen details and white Nuvo Drops, then finished the design with a blue snowflake die from Scrapbook.com coloured with sparkle pen. I really liked how this one turned out, even if it felt more like a winter card than a Christmas one.

Craft Roulette #324 - Butterflies, sweets and purple

This weekend’s Craft Roulette parameters were nice to us crafters, and I had fun bringing them together in this sweet little easel card. I decided to go with a 4.25-inch square design, which gave me just the right amount of space to play with layers, texture, and a cheerful mix of cakes and sweets, butterflies, and purple accents.

 

To start, I folded the card base and created the top panel. For my table element, I used a Journalsay sticker featuring a table full of cakes and sweets—I placed the sticker onto white card, then did a little die surgery with a Waffle Flower deckled die to cut it into a panel. A purple mat helped the image stand out beautifully, and I added a Journalsay butterfly sticker in the corner for a delicate finishing touch.  I always love finding something Purple when I'm in a craft store!

For the sentiment, I die cut a “Hello” from my stash using the same purple card, then stamped the sub-sentiment from Altenew’s Fabulous Florets set with Catherine Pooler Royal Treatment ink. To create the stopper for the easel card, I used a Martha Stewart punch to cut a lacy purple panel, then layered two more pieces of card behind it to give it extra thickness. It ended up reminding me of a pretty lace tablecloth, which tied in so nicely with the sweet table scene.

I finished the card with another butterfly and a few dot embellishments, and I love how all the little details came together. The cakes, lace-inspired stopper, soft butterflies, and purple accents made this such a fun card to create.

Bright and Cheerful Stenciled Card

This month, Maxine set a fun challenge for our NZ Swap group: “Use a stencil.” It was such a great prompt, and I decided to make something bright, cheerful, and full of colour. For my card, I created a bold, stenciled background that really became the feature of the design.

The background stencil is a large one from Kmart, and while I didn’t quite manage to fit every rainbow colour onto the panel, I loved the colours that made it in. The bright rainbow blend gave the card such a happy feel. To add a little extra interest, I stamped some black sparkle details using the Big Bang Bling stamp set from Walter and Winnie.

For the focal point, I used the Perfect Gift stamp, die, stencil, and embossing folder combo from Altenew. I stamped the flower, added colour with the coordinating stencils, die cut it, and then ran it through the embossing folder for extra texture. To finish the card, I added a sentiment from the Simon Hurley/Spellbinders Must-Have Sentiments hot foil set. I used silver foil on white cardstock, then ink blended over it with black ink so it would tie in beautifully with the sparkle details.

After two weeks the card finally made it's way south to Jude.   Happy it finally arrived. 

Can't wait to see what Carol comes up with for July's challenge!

Craft Roulette #322: A 1970s-Inspired Postcard Card

It’s my second week in a row joining in with Craft Roulette, and I’m really enjoying the challenge. I watched the replay on Sunday and immediately felt inspired by the parameters the wheel spun this week.

As soon as I saw the challenge, I knew exactly which stamp I wanted to use: the Hero Arts Big Postcard woodblock stamp. I’ve had this stamp in my stash for such a long time, so it felt good to pull it out and give it some love again.

For the colour palette, I searched for 1970s colours and found plenty of inspiration in warm, earthy tones. I settled on browns, burnt orange, maroon, and avocado green — such a classic retro combination.

The card came together really well. I embossed a kraft-coloured panel with Altenew’s Organic folder, which added the texture I wanted and worked perfectly with the 70s feel. I then used the Simon Says Stamp Circle Loops die to cut a kraft circle for the wreath. The flowers and leaves were cut from different coloured cardstock using the Sizzix Spring Foliage set, and I added Copper Penny and Rhubarb Crumble Nuvo Drops for a little extra detail. For the pre-printed element, I used a sentiment from Paper Rose.

I actually finished the card on Tuesday, but Wednesday threw me a bit of a curve ball, so I didn’t get a chance to photograph and submit it until this morning. I’m glad I still managed to get it entered — and even happier to have another much-loved stamp back in use.

Creating a Peanuts-Inspired Card

Last week, I was lucky enough to get my hands on Creative Stamping issue #156, which included a fabulous freebie stamp set called Positively Peanuts. The set features lots of lovely images from the Peanuts gang, and I was so excited to start creating with it. Here in New Zealand, UK magazines usually take around six months to arrive, so this one felt like a real treat. After a quick look online, I discovered just how popular this issue has been—it has sold out on the CraftWork website and in many other places around the world.

To get some inspiration, I joined a Facebook group dedicated to using this stamp set.  There are so many talented makers out there, and I loved seeing the beautiful designs people were sharing. It was the perfect way to spark ideas before starting my own project.

Here’s the card I created using this adorable set.

I decided to use a square panel and a heart aperture die for the design, backing the panel with black card to make the shape stand out. For the main image, I chose Snoopy and Charlie Brown. I first stamped the image directly onto the panel so that it overlapped the heart opening, then stamped it again onto a scrap piece of white card. After colouring the second image, I carefully fussy cut it, trimming away the fine outline lines, and layered it over the original stamped image for extra dimension.

To finish the card, I added a few red die-cut hearts around the image and included a sentiment from the stamp set. I’m really happy with how it turned out, and this project was such a fun way to use this fabulous magazine freebie. My friend, Carol, saw this one on Facebook and has let me know she got the last one at her local bookstore too!   

A Masculine Mixed Media Card for Sweet Stampin' Challenge

If I’m honest, masculine cards are probably one of the hardest things for me to make. I always seem to drift toward flowers, pretty layers, and all the softer details, so coming up with something for a guy usually takes me a bit longer! But this fortnight’s Sweet Stampin’ Challenge gave me the perfect excuse to step out of my comfort zone and have a play with a more textured, mixed media look.

I’ve been watching quite a few mixed media videos on YouTube lately, and they’ve inspired me. All those grungy layers, bits of texture and slightly industrial details had me wanting to try something a little different. It also gave me the chance to use one of my newer buys—an All & Create stamp set called Dynamics—which felt just right for this kind of project.

So here’s how the finished card came together.

I started with a mid-grey square card base and blended Evergreen Bough and Lost Shadow Distress Oxide inks over the background. From there, I built up the texture by stamping with the Dynamics set in black ink, Lost Shadow, and Vintage Photo Distress Oxide, which gave it that nicely worn, layered look without making it feel too busy. After that, I added some texture paste through Tim Holtz’s Clockwork stencil, and I loved how it picked up hints of the green and brown underneath. To finish it all off I added a dark grey die-cut clocks (another new purchase from my local bookstore) and splattered on some grey and white Dina Wakely acrylic paint for a bit more grunge, then added a pre-printed sentiment from Paper Roses.

I’m really happy with how this one turned out, and it’ll soon be heading off to a friend for his birthday. It’s always nice when a challenge pushes me to try a style I wouldn’t normally go for, and this card certainly did that. I’m sure it won’t be my last.

Monet Colours and a Craft Roulette Surprise

Friday, Suna and I were chatting about the Craft Roulette show, and it reminded me just how much I enjoy playing along. I haven’t joined in for quite a while, mostly because of the timing—the live show airs on a Saturday morning, which usually clashes with my grocery run. This weekend, though, I managed to catch the replay on Saturday afternoon, and as soon as I saw the four parameters, I was inspired to create.

The prompt for Monet colours instantly took me back to our visit to Claude Monet’s cottage in Giverny many years ago. The lily pond there is absolutely stunning, and his Water Lilies paintings really inspired me. Those soft blues, greens, yellows, and touches of pink felt like the perfect palette to bring that memory into this project.

My card began as an A2 design, but after making my Crinkle Inkle background with a smooshing tool, I realised I had trimmed the panels to 4.25 inches long instead of 5.5 inches. Rather than starting over, I switched gears and turned it into a 4.25-inch square gatefold card—an “Ardyth” square size, which felt especially fitting since Ardyth was the guest designer on Craft Roulette this week. At first, my natural element was going to be a daisy, but then I saw that Ardyth had used one too, so I changed direction again and chose a butterfly instead. As luck would have it, a new butterfly die had arrived that very morning, so it all came together perfectly. In the end, this card involved a couple of happy surprises and last-minute changes, which made it even more fun to create.

Entering this into Darnell's NBUS challenge as this was my first time using the butterfly die. 

Celebrate with Two Cards for Die Cut Divas

It’s the last day of the month, which means it’s time to share my card for the final day of our challenge at Die Cut Divas. This month’s theme is Celebrate—a wonderfully open prompt with so many creative directions to explore, from birthdays and weddings to milestones and holidays.

Our wonderful sponsor this month is Poppy Stamps.

For today’s post, I have not one but two cards to share.

First up is a Christmas celebration card.

For this card, I chose a cream card base and matching panel. I have a few small edger embossing folders, and one of them features this sweet snowflake design that decorates the top of the panel. The ornaments were created using the Poppy Stamps Clarissa Ornament Outline die, cut from shiny silver card. Because I don’t have the matching background die, I adhered the ornaments to blue cardstock and then fussy cut them. I found the perfect sentiment in a Rosie’s Studio stamp set called Hearth + Home and heat embossed it directly onto the panel in silver. To finish, I used a fine silver gel pen to add the ornament strings. There’s just something so lovely about a blue and silver Christmas colour combination.

 My second card celebrates a birthday.

For this card, I used the Poppy Stamps Intricate Leaf Square Frame. I first cut the frame, then used a Spellbinders square die to create an aperture in the card. Behind the aperture, I added patterned paper and layered the frame over the top. I also used a die set from an old magazine to cut two decorative elements, which I backed with the same patterned paper before fussy cutting them. The finished panel was mounted onto a 4.75” square card base, and the sentiment comes from a Woodware stamp set.

Come and join us at Die Cut Divas with you Celebration card - just remember to use your die cut machine