WLS Jan #1 - something new

Good Morning everyone and welcome to 2026

I hope you all had a good Christmas and wishing you all a Happy & Healthy New Year.   All those months of build up to Christmas and its over in a flash

Its time for the first challenge of the year over at We Love Stamping and the theme is fairly simple 

SOMETHING NEW

So could be new baby card, happy new year or in my case a new stamp set

I bought this stamp set purposely as the girl looks exactly like my oldest niece Sophie, she is super tall and legs like bean poles with long flowing hair so I thought the image would be perfect for her birthday card.  She was 14 in December.

Card size 6x5"     I found a funky paper pad in my stash that is perfect for a teenager and predominately Sophie's fav colour of greeny blue.  To make the most of the papers I decided to do a fancy fold.   

Black card base - I simply folded the front of the card in half back on itself. I cut the papers to size for each panel, edged with a black pen, matted onto solid teal paper and then the black card base. I added border strips of the paper across the front to break it up a bit.

 I stamped the girl onto white card, one of the pink papers and one green paper and paper pieced the top and skirt onto the white version.  I coloured her hair with alcohol markers and used a satin alcohol marker for her skin - Sophie has very very pale skin - like me - they used to say Id been moon bathing!😁. I then cut around the image leaving a white edge, which I don't normally do but in this case felt it would help the image stand out a bit against the busy patterns.

Die cut the sentiment from pink paper and added a drop shadow die cut from the black, this i matted onto a vellum circle.  Gel heart stickers added to the corners to finish.

Here she is...Sophie is expressive with her hands also so loved that the image had attitude with her hands

I used a vellum circle to add the sentiment as it just softens the busy pattern enough to help the sentiment stand out but doesn't actually hide any of the paper.  Sophie likes writing affirmations so the paper is ideal for her....I knew Id kept this paper pad 10+yrs for a reason....eventually the perfect occasion comes along😁

And the back of the card a place to write, I took a piece of solid pale pink paper and stamped the sentiment and added off cuts of papers used on the front to the bottom to tie it all together.

Items Used:

 Jane Davenport stamps CEJDCS003 'Dreamy days'

woodware birthday sentiment stamp

Birthday sentiment die

Circle dies

6x6 Paper pad My Minds eye 'Jubilee - wild berry' (very old!)

Vellum

Black cardstock

gel heart gems

We have these fabulous prizes for the lucky winner

Various dies from Tonic - may vary to picture

A voucher for overseas winners

So hop over to We Love Stamping to join in with your stamped creations and be in with a chance of winning.

Thank you for stopping by. Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://girlzcreativefunartofscrap.blogspot.com/2025/12/challenge-17.html

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https://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/01/challenge-132-something-new.html - my stamp is new

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https://kraftychickschallenge.blogspot.com/2026/01/krafty-chicks-challenge-801-birthday.html

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https://lovethoseprettypapers.blogspot.com/2026/01/atg-using-pretty-patterned-paper.html

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WLS Sept#1 - Cute

Good Morning everyone

Time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping where the theme this month is 

CUTE

So right out of my comfort zone , if cute is not for you, you can always go with the anything goes option as long as you use stamping

Looking through my stamps I don't have many that are cute, but found this cute mouse image that a friend had stamped and sent to me which is called Ballerina Mouse by Pink Ink designs.  I thought it would be ok for my niece Charlottes birthday.

6x6" card which I made from acetate.  After colouring the mouse with alcohol markers i went searching for a paper and found this one with rainbow tones which also picked out the pinks, purples and blues in the colouring.  I folded it and adhered inside the acetate card so that is shows through. 

I die cut a frame from teal and white card and added to the front with foam tape, i die cut circles from the same colours and adhered flat in the middle, to this I added the mouse on a 'wobbler' so she dances around.  I then computer printed the sentiments die cut into fishtail banners and added to the front with glue gel.

2 pink glossy hearts added to the sentiments and glitter glue added to the wings to finish.

(After finishing and looking at it a while I realised that if I had thought it through I would have cut the backing paper so the circles were more even on each side.... which I could have done as it was a 12x12 paper but Im sure my niece won't even notice that)

The wobbler gives lots of dimension

Whenever I make an acetate card and added a paper insert, i will always add the frames and such to the front first as i then add the glue behind these to hold the insert in place, therefore no glue shows through the acetate.

Charlotte decided she wanted a recorder for her birthday so we all needed ear plugs! lol 

Items Used:

Pink ink stamp 'ballerina mouse'

Spellbinders and MFT circle dies

Fancy square nesting dies

MFT fishtail banner dies

Alcohol makers

Make & Create Patterned paper (the works)

hunkydory acetate

CraftUk ltd white linen card

Jellybean teal pearl card

Wobbler

Heart gel stickers  

We have this fabulous prize of house mouse stamps this month kindly supplied by oakwood so hop over to We Love Stamping to join in and be in with a chance of winning.  Get as creative as you can with your stamping and have fun.

Thank you all for stopping by once again. Crafty hugs Emmax

 

Playing card birthday card

Good Morning everyone

Today im sharing the 2nd card I made for my niece Alice's 10th birthday with a playing card theme which is unusual for a 10yr old but she loves playing cards especially after school with her nan & I to unwind, or on a train journey so its the perfect theme for her.  Id kept this mini playing cards set from a Christmas cracker years ago - knew it would come in useful one day! 

8x8" card die cut using fancy circle dies.  I then cut smaller layer from red and black polka dot paper and then a smaller white layer.  I then adhered the cards randomly, some flat and some on foam pads.  I computer printed the sentiment, die cut and matted onto a larger circle die cut from the black polka dot paper and adhered to the front with pinflair glue gel.

I took the 10 of spades card and matted onto red polka dot paper and added just off the sentiment with glue gel to finish....spades are her 'fav' suit at the moment!

Showing it stood up side on.  I cut a sliver off the bottom of the back panel so it stands up nicely and doesn't rock. 

I had started doing a 'clock patience' lay out with the cards on the card front as she plays that alot too, but i soon realised that wasn't going to work as had 13 numbers and usually the king goes in the middle where i wanted the sentiment so I added them randomly after that😁

and the inside, i cut some of the red polka dot paper and then a smaller white die cut with my stamped greeting

Items Used:

Creative craft dies - stretched circles

Woodware sentiment stamp

Anna Marie red & black polka dot card

mini playing cards - mine came out of a Christmas cracker

CraftUk ltd smooth white 300gsm cardstock

Thank you for stopping by. Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://dreamvalley2.blogspot.com/2025/08/challenge-342-shaped-cards-no-squares.html

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https://craftingacutabove.blogspot.com/2025/08/august-challenge-time.html - used several nesting dies 

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https://theoutlawzchallenges-monday.blogspot.com/2025/08/august-4th-monday-greetings-challage.html - use polka dots

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https://neglectedstuff.blogspot.com/2025/08/neglected-stuff-825-challenge.html = the red and black polka dot paper is over 8yrs old....just waiting for the perfect project to come along😁....great to use the mini  playing cards too after 10 yrs in the drawer.

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Alice is 10 - cats & books

Good Morning everyone

My middle niece Alice is 10 this month.  She loves reading and cats so ive combined the two with these fab katzelkraft stamps and made a tri fold card which contains 2 bookmarks to Alice to use

The front of the card.  Its A4 folded 3 times so each section is 4x8.25" .  I stamped the cat images onto white card and coloured with alcohol markers.  I stamped the sentiment and then lightly stenciled on pawprints with cracked pistachio oxide ink, I then die cut into a panel and matted onto rainbow printed cardstock. 

I founded a printed paper in my stash that had a subtle blue pattern, matted onto blue holographic and then the card front.  I tied a double bow from the 2 ribbons ive used on the bookmarks.

I used blue holographic for my mat layer as when the light hits it it is rainbow colours to tie in with the image and every girl loves a bit of sparkle.

Showing the card opened up.  I made the bookmarks the same way as the front topper, this rainbow card is double sided so looks as great on the back of the bookmark as the front.  

I made pockets for the bookmarks using the same paper as the background and adding foam to the sides and bottom, leaving the top unstuck so the bookmark can slide in and out

So that when the bookmarks are removed it still looks good I stamped the cats a 2nd time, coloured in with alcohol markers and cut out, I adhered them to the pockets to line up with the bookmarks.

I doodled a line under the books with fineliner and shaded with grey alcohol marker to 'ground' the books and stop them floating in mid air

and the bookmarks front and back.  This rainbow card came in a pack from Lidl and is nice and stiff so ideal for bookmarks, I haven't laminated them as you know how childrens tastes change yearly but I know Alice will enjoy these bookmarks for as long as they do last.  I added stamped cats and pawprints to the back of the bookmarks for a little interest.  Punched a hole at the top and threaded with ribbons.  

Items Used:

Katzelkraft cat stamp set

Creative craft stamps 'fur babies'

Clearly besotted birthday stamp 'something to say'

DL stitched edge dies

Pawprint stencil

Oxide ink 'cracked pistachio'

Alcohol markers

Rainbow cardstock from Lidl

Blue holographic card 

Thank you all for stopping by.  Emma

Id love to enter the following:

https://craftyanimals.blogspot.com/2025/08/challenge-97.html

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https://2craftycrittercrazies.blogspot.com/2025/08/ccc-101-return-to-regular-theme-of.html

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https://girlzcreativefunartofscrap.blogspot.com/2025/07/challenge-12-new-challengeblog.html

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https://dragonflydreamschallenges.blogspot.com/2025/08/august-challenge-lots-of-layers.html

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https://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2025/08/challenge-829.html

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https://showusyourpussies.blogspot.com/2025/08/challenge-114.html

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https://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.com/2025/08/challenge-128-animals.html

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Kitty-Bea bunting

 Good Morning everyone

This week my 2nd youngest niece is 7.  At the moment she is really into garden birds so instead of a card I made some bunting with her name on and lots of lovely birds. 

Trying to get a decent photo of this not been so easy.  This is it hung up - ive left the ribbon long on one end so that they can adjust it if need be for hanging up, then they can trim the excess.

As Kitty-Bea has an unique name its always nice to make something with her name on it.  She also has an abstract art style so the funky colours of these digi birds are ideal for her. 

They are Mixed Media Birds clipart from etsy shop Double Helix digitals   I printed onto digital printer paper, cut them out and sealed with mod podge.  I flipped some of them before printing and printed at different sizes so that i could have them looking at each other like a pair etc...

I made a box using feather printed kraft card and used a tag I had left over from the bunting

I used a couple of beads on the ends of the bunting for some interest. I die cut the cross stitch effect fishtail banner dies from 350gsm kraft card.  I found a very old paper pad in my stash which has some of Kitty-Beas fav colours and went well with the birds. These i die cut into a smaller banner and adhered to the kraft card.  Circles die cut from the off cuts and alphas die cut from white and kraft card, matted together with a drop shadow and covered in glossy accents to give an enamelled finish. 

As well as the panels with the alpha's on I added a blank panel each end so i could add a bigger bird.  I added bronze effect eyelets and used organza ribbon to join it all together. 

Ive used different birds on each panel.  Although they aren't real to life colours you can easily tell by the shape and stance of each bird which type they are based on.  Kitty-Bea is lucky that where they live they get alot of different garden birds.

I added a small touch of stickles glitter glue to each bird just to add a little sparkle as what little girl doesn't love sparkle

Items Used:

Double Helix Digitals - Mixed Media birds clip art

MFT Xstitch fishtail banner die set

Stitched circle dies

Memory box Alpha dies

Very old paper pad from create&craft

Craft UKltd kraft card

Ranger glossy accents

Stickles 'diamond'

Thank you for stopping by once again and all your previous comments, I really do appreciate them all.  I hope you have a good week.  Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://lovethoseprettypapers.blogspot.com/2025/02/love-those-pretty-papers-february-2025.html

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https://theoutlawzchallenges-saturday.blogspot.com/2025/01/the-outlawz-anything-goes-in-card-free_02003369360.html   

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https://cutitupchallenges.blogspot.com/2025/02/cut-it-up-challenge-324-tie-it-up-use.html - have used ribbon

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https://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2025/02/crafty-catz-challenge-688.html

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https://movingalongwiththetimes.blogspot.com/2025/02/challenge-175-feb-2025-things-with-wings.html

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https://neglectedstuff.blogspot.com/2025/02/kick-off-challenge-225.html - all papers are from a pad that is 10+ years old

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https://do-allkreatives.blogspot.com/2025/02/98-mit-flugel.html - with wings

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