Animal Parade - Mama Elephant

Hi!  As 2018 draws to a close and with all my Design Team work completed for the year I decided to make a few cards just for me and for the pure love of card making (not that I don't love everything I do when I do have my DT hat on you understand)!!!!



For this card I reached for Animal Parade by Mama Elephant which I have adored since I was first sent it by the lovely ladies at Mama Elephant.   I recently treated myself to the new Woodgrain Cover - Creative Cuts Die which makes exciting backgrounds a breeze to make!  I die cut an A2 panel of white cardstock and then ink blended it using Distress Ink in Antique Linen and then to deepen the very edges a little more I blended with a touch if Distress Ink in Brushed Corduroy.  I set this panel to one side.



I took some Bristol Smooth cardstock and stamped my images using Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil.  I watercolour painted them using my Kuretake Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pens then die cut each one.   I played around with my layout and once I had settled on one I adhered them into position using varying amounts of dimensional foam tape.



I highlighted some points with a Uni-ball Signo White Gel Pen and I decided the only embellishment needed to finish out this card was to use Nuvo Drops in toning colours for the penguins juggling balls (I stamped the image lightly first with Antique Linen so that I could apply the drops accurately).

I hope you like the card, I was going for a slightly retro and muted palette and yet keep it cheerful and current at the same time (talk about a juggling act)!!!!

Thanks for stopping by to read my blog today, happy crafting!

Nicky x

Angel Friends - Pretty Pink Posh

Hello!  Pretty Pink Posh has a special sale on this adorable stamp set Angel Friends and so I've made a card to hopefully inspire you - perhaps you already own this set.



This card features an ink blended panel where I used  Distress Oxides in Spun Sugar and Tumbled Glass.  I distressed this with a few splashes of water that I blotted up.  I die cut the panel to give it the faux stitched edge.  The snow flakes are from the Winter Wonderland stamp set and I stamped them using Versamark Ink and heat embossed in silver.  I also similarly stamped and heat embossed the sentiment from Holiday Greetings.  This panel was then adhered to the card base.



I die cut the three frames from Stitched Photo Frames and decided on a layout for them and then adhered them using dimensional foam tape.



On Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped my angel images with Archival Ink and then watercolour painted them using Kuretake Zigs.  They were then die cut and arranged into the scene and either stuck down or adhered with more foam tape.



The finishing touch was to grab my favourite bottle of Stickles in 'Crystal' and I glittered up the angel's wings and halos and some points on the stars and baubles and then I added a few Ivory Jewels as finishing accents.

Don't miss your opportunity to buy this little stamp set at a sale price - it is one that will endure for years.

Until the next time - happy crafting!

Nicky x

Frosty Littles - Hello Bluebird Stamps

Hello!  I have a new card for you today.  If you follow my card making journey then you know that I am totally into 'Slimline' cards right now.  I build scenes and love the characters I get to work with and therefore I like to cram as much into one card as I can!  An A2 card doesn't give you much real estate to work with and so with increasing regularity I'm turning to Slimline cards.  My card today scales new heights since I've adorned it vertically  - tall and slim - the supermodel of cards!



Finished card dimensions are 3 1/2" wide x 8 1/2".  From an A4 sheet of cardstock cut the length at 7 inches then score and fold in half (4 bar).  My panel is cut from the remainder of the A4 sheet and the dimensions are 3.2" x 8.2".  Worth writing those down for future reference!  For your coordinating envelopes just Google 'slimline envelopes' (this search yields the best results).  Sometimes they are referred to as 'invitation envelopes' and also '#9 envelopes'.



So, with the card form made I sourced everything I needed from my Hello Bluebird stash!  Front and centre are those adorable Frosty Littles.   They are perched amongst the banks of snow created using Hill and Dale Die and above them, high in the mountains that soar overhead are the Glacier Peaks Die cuts.  The word Noel is from the Christmas Words #2 Die.  Finally, the clouds are from Puddle Play Coordinating Dies.



My card was made by die cutting several snowdrifts using Hill and Dale and ink blending them very sparingly using Distress Oxide Ink in Cracked Pistachio - I just wanted a hint of mint!  I then die cut all 3 of the mountain ranges from Glacier Peaks.  For the back two ranges I also cut the snowy/glacial peaks.  I ink blended them with a hint of pale blue in the form of Distress Oxide in Tumbled Glass and adhered them.   I also ink blended the front of the card base with more Tumbled Glass again very sparingly to make the sky.



I layered all the die cuts together and stuck them down sometimes just with my tape runner and other times with a little foam tape behind a peak to give dimension.  On Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped all the images you see from Frosty Littles including lots of the trees.  I watercolour painted the images using a combination of Kuretake Zigs and Arteza watercolour brush pens.  I die cut all the images and began to layer them into the scene as imagined in my mind before I started.  Again some were directly glued down and some for dimension had a little foam tape added on the reverse.

The word Noel was die cut 3 times and each was adhered to the next and then I used a little more Tumbled Glass Ink and added a little blue to it then stuck it down.



Finishing touches time!  I made everything twinkle using Stickles in 'Crystal', I dotted in some pale gold dots with a gel pen through the 'minty' areas and the final touch was the mini wooden stars in the sky.

This card feels sturdy but since the weight is at the bottom it is stable when it stands and doesn't blow over when someone walks past!!!  I recommend 110lb Neenah cardstock for such a project.

Are you up for making a card that will stand taller than anything else on the mantlepiece?  Worth the effort I'd say.

Until the next time, happy crafting .....

Nicky x

Christmas Friends & Winter Wonderland - Pretty Pink Posh

Hello friends, I have a cheerful and fun Christmas card to share with you today featuring products by Pretty Pink Posh.  For this project I have mixed together stamps from Christmas Friends and Winter Wonderland - two of my all time favourites.



This is a 'Slimline' card which is to say that it has finished card dimensions that are 3 1/2" wide x 8 1/2" and so from an A4 sheet of cardstock cut the length at 7 inches then score and fold in half (4 bar).  My panel is cut from the remainder of the A4 sheet and the dimensions are 3.2" x 8.2".  A simple online search for 'slimline envelopes' will yield several results to make life easier for mailing off your creations!  If you encounter any problems please just let me know and I'll link you up but they are also known as #9 envelopes or Size 9 or even invitation envelopes!

I took my panel and ink blended it using Distress Oxide in Spiced Marmalade.   I made sure it was dry before repeatedly stamping it with the snowflakes from Winter Wonderland.  I used Versamark Ink for this and then heat embossed in white.  This panel was then adhered to the card base.



On Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped all of my images from the two stamp sets using Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil.  I watercolour painted them using Kuretake Zigs.  Areas were highlighted with a Uni-ball Signo White gel pen and I then fussy cut each image.



I decided upon an arrangement for my scene and used dimensional foam tape to adhere everything into position.  Once done, I took Stickles in 'Crystal' and glittered up various points on the card .... it is a Christmas card after all!

I decided the sentiment would be taken from Christmas Friends.  I stamped it with Versamark Ink and heat embossed in silver.  I fussy cut the sentiment and also applied it with dimensional foam tape.



The final touch was simply to apply a scattering of Sparkling Clear Sequins to add to the festive feel.

Hope you enjoyed the card and that you are enjoying making your own Christmas crafts this season.

Until the next time .....

Nicky x

Skating Together - Hello Bluebird Stamps

Hello!

I've got some inspiration for you today from the most recent Hello Bluebird release.  I'm using the new Skating Together stamp set with a background created using the new Skating Pond Scene Die



I stamped my Skating Together images onto Bristol Smooth cardstock using Archival Ink and watercolour painted them using Kuretake Zigs.  I highlighted some points and subtly glittered them using Stickles in 'Crystal'.  I then fussy cut them out and set them to one side.



My idea was that the characters are skating just as the sun is beginning to set in the early evening and the pink sky is tinging the snow pink!

To that end and with that vision in mind, I die cut an A2 panel of 110lb white cardstock using the Skating Pond Scene Die.  I ink blended some parts of the die cut pieces with a little Distress Ink in Victorian Velvet.  My Skating Pond portion was squished into a Versamark Ink pad thoroughly coating it in the sticky ink and then I heat embossed it using WOW! White Puff Twinkle Embossing Glitter for a lovely crusty and sparkling finish.



I ink blended the trees softly using Distress Ink in Pumice Stone then dabbed a little Versamark ink onto them and again heat embossed with the same embossing powder to make it look like the snow was stuck to the trunks and branches.   I then took a 110lb cardstock card base and I softly ink blended it again in the Victorian Velvet so that it would show through the trees when the card was assembled.  I joined all the pieces of the Skating Pond Scene back together on the reverse using a little tape then added dimensional foam tape and applied it to the card base.



I added more foam tape behind the 3 skating characters and applied them then stamped the sentiment to a little strip of cardstock with Versamark Ink and heat embossed in Antique Gold and added that too!  Card complete!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today to read, I'll see you next time!  Happy Crafting!

Nicky x

Elegant Holly - Pretty Pink Posh

Hi, thanks for swinging by my blog today to read about this slimline card featuring Elegant Holly by Pretty Pink Posh together with the Happy Holidays Script Die.



This is a 'Slimline' card which is to say that it has finished card dimensions that are 3 1/2" wide x 8 1/2" so from an A4 sheet of cardstock cut the length at 7 inches then score and fold in half (4 bar).  My panel is cut from the remainder of the A4 sheet and the dimensions are 3.2" x 8.2".  A simple online search for 'slimline envelopes' will yield several results to make life easier for mailing off your creations!  If you encounter any problems please just let me know and I'll link you up but they are also known as #9 envelopes or Size 9 or even invitation envelopes!



To make this card I cut my pieces of cardstock as per the instructions above.   I then used the Stitched Borders 4 Die and die cut the top and bottom long edges of the decorative panel.  Since this is a long card I die cut once then moved the die along and overlapped by one scallop and die cut again.  Next, I ink blended the panel with Distress Oxide in Spun Sugar and to complete the background I used my Uniball Signo white gel pen to dot in some 'snow'.



On Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped my holly images using Ranger Archival Ink in Black.  I watercolour painted them using both my Arteza and Kuretake Zig watercolour brush pens.  I highlighted some points again using the Uniball Signo white gel pen and then die cut each image.  I layered them into the scene partially sticking them down and partially lifting them up with dimensional foam tape.



I then took the Happy Holiday Script Die and die cut silver glitter cardstock once and then three further times with regular white cardstock.  I glued each layer to the next, finishing of course with the glitter layer on top and then stuck the sentiment down in the middle of the scene.

White craft foam was applied behind the panel and then adhered to the card base and the finishing touch was the application of Stickles in 'Crystal' to many points on the leaves and berries for that essential Christmas twinkle.

Hope you like the card!  See you next time!

Nicky x

North Star - Hello Bluebird Stamps

Hi!  As promised a 4th Day of cards featuring the new Hello Bluebird Stamps release.  This is North Star.



For this card I ink blended Bristol Smooth cardstock using Distress Oxides in Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, Broken China, Blueprint Sketch, Chipped Sapphire and Black Soot ..... yup, I pretty much used them all!  There's lots of overlapping of the blending and then coming back in with the lighter colours but this is, I believe, how to attain the best affect.



I stamped my 'stars' with Versamark Ink and heat embossed in white and then re-stamped just the Happy New Year portion with Versamark Ink and heat embossed in a twinkling embossing powder I have called 'Bridal'.  I wanted to build a real depth of 'stars' and to to that end I took a tiny pinch of white embossing powder and sprinkled it over the panel making sure none of it was too thick and then I heat set it by starting underneath the panel for a minute and then finishing with heat directly on top ....... otherwise you're going to blow the powder to the four walls!!!!!   I came back in with a Uniball Signo White Gel Pen and dotted in a few more stars again building depth.  I die cut my panel to provide the simple stitched edge.



On more Bristol Smooth I stamped my images with Ranger Archival Ink in Potting Soil.  I watercolour painted them using Kuretake Zigs then fussy cut the images and applied them with different depths of foam tape.  Just love those cute fluffy bums!  I adhered the panel to the card base.





Thanks for coming by to read my method today!  See you next time!

Nicky x