WLS Aug #1 - Summer Blossoms

Good Morning everyone and hello August.

As a scheduled post I hope this is 8am August 2nd UK...I don't doubt blogger just the human hitting the buttons😃

Its the first sunday of the month so time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping where the theme for August is

SUMMER BLOSSOMS

My card today uses an old paperartsy mini stamp and an old set of sizzix dies

 

Approx size 5x5.25"

I made my card base from cream linen card and the largest die, then cut next size down from more cream card and embossed with a lacy floral 3d embossing folder, i cut a 'faux' mat from teal card by drawing around the die and cutting out with scissors.  Ive done the same for my topper panel, only difference being that i adhered sepia washi stickers before embossing, these are like inky blots with floral theme text.  I then adhered the topper panel to the card front towards the top.

I stamped the vase of flowers onto more cream card in teal ink and coloured with alcohol markers, cut out and adhered to the topper panel with glue gel. I added touches of diamond stickles glitter glue to the flowers for a little sparkle. Stamped sentiment in the same teal ink,  cut out and added to the bottom

Showing it side on, its stands and balances nicely.  Using the dies like this gives me a bit more interest, versatility and a larger area to work on

and a close up of the flowers, you can see the washi stickers better here too with the text on them, they blend in lovely to the background and embossed well too, i was given them for Christmas

Items Used:

Paperartsy stamps JOFY mini22 & JOFY11 

Sizzix embossing folder by Eillen Hull 'Crochet Magdala' #665915

Sizzix Framelit dies '#658204'

Alcohol markers

Versafine Clair ink 'warm breeze'

CraftUk ltd cream linen 300gsm card

Teal card

? washi stickers ?

Ranger Stickles 'diamond'

We have this lovely prize on offer this month supplied by buddlycrafts so hop over to We Love Stamping to join in with your Summer Blossoms stamped makes

Thank you all for stopping by once again, I really do appreciate it.  I may be a bit tardy commenting as having a few issues but will get around to you all in time.  Big hugs Emmax

June WLS #2 - Sports and hobbies

 Good Morning everyone

Time for some mid month inspiration for We Love Stamping Where the theme is 

SPORTS & HOBBIES

Once again I've gone down the hobbies route and this time a masculine card.  The men in my family have hobbies including wood and metal work and one brother likes nothing better than tinkering with engines and building things out of metal - he's made some amazing sculptures over the years out of scrap metal, nuts, bolts, cogs and old cutlery and dad can fix pretty much anything which is very useful! This card is ideal for both my dad and brother.  The stamping is the background.

Card size 6x6"

See last photo for how i made my stamped cog background. 

I then die cut the offset scalloped edge die from the front of the card - with the spine at the top so tent fold.  I then die cut the cog background to fit and a matt of black card, adhering to the front ensuring that the scalloped edge lined up each time.

As you cut a piece off the front of the card you can see inside of the card so to this i added more black card and cog design so that when the card is closed it is part of the design - photos below show this better.

I inked up a scrap of white card with the same blue and green distress inks used for the background and then die cut my alphas to spell 'Mr Fix It' matted onto white and then black card.  Cogs die cut from snippets of silver and blue mirror card and the screwdriver and spanners die cut from dark green mirror card scraps and then all arranged in a cascade down the front of the card, some flat and some with glue gel.

Showing the card stood up open, the point at the front holds it up nicely. 

Showing it side on

And from the opposite side.  

and onto my stamped background

My stamped cog background

I started with A4 white cardstock and this cog stamp. This is an A7 (4.1x2.9") stamp so i stamped it multiple times in black rotating it as i went so they weren't all facing the same way.  Once the black was completely dry i then over stamped the same cog stamp with distress inks salty ocean and evergreen bough, this added some nice colour to the background and broke up all the black.

Items Used:

aall&create stamp set #664 'Multilayered cogs'

MFT scalloped edge die

Cheerylynn cog dies

Tool dies (?brand)

Alpha dies (?brand)

Distress Inks 'salty ocean' 'evergreen bough'

Versafine Clair black ink

Black and white cardstock

We have these stamps from Visible Image as the prize this month so do hop over to We Love Stamping to join in, we do also have the anything goes option if sports and hobbies not for you but it must include stamping.

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Id love to enter the following:

https://pinspirationalchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/06/pinspirational-challenge-338-june-blue.html

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https://craftingacutabove.blogspot.com/2026/06/june-challenge-and-july-anniversary-news.html

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https://dragonflydreamschallenges.blogspot.com/2026/06/june-challenge-masculine.html

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https://girlzandtheartofletters.blogspot.com/2026/06/challenge-29-de-letter-van-c-van.html -

  C for COGS

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https://sweetstampinchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2026/06/sweet-stampin-something-for-boys.html

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https://craftycalendarchallenge.blogspot.com/2026/06/crafty-calendar-june-challenge-all.html

 

WLS May#2 - All creatures great and small

 Good Morning everyone

Time for some midway inspiration for We Love Stamping where the theme is 

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

I went with one of the smallest creatures (mouse) last time so this time its one of the largest creatures and this fabulous whale stamp from aall&create, this is another one thats been neglected for a while too so good to get it out.  I have teamed it up with one of my brusho/pixie powder backgrounds - I have a draw full of backgrounds as I often have sessions making them when i don't feel like properly crafting... plus I make such a mess using brushos that its good to get lots made at once and then one lot of clean up!

Card Size approx 5x7" die cut from navy blue cardstock, I felt the rounded corners on this die set picked up on the curve of the whale nicely. I die cut my brusho & pixie powder background to fit the card front, then stamped the whale stamp with blue versaclair ink and then used a circle embossing folder - this to pick up on bubbles in the water. I then lightly inked over the top with chipped sapphire distress ink to just help the embossing stand out a little bit more - not too heavy as i still wanted it to be in the background.  I used posca paint pens on the background stamping to add a little bit extra colour, using yellow and white on some of the hexagons.

I then stamped the whale onto a pinky patterned paper which is not a very realistic colour I know but a nice contrast to the background!  I added some white pen highlights, curved her body and adhered into place with glue gel.

I then die cut some seaweed bits from green holographic card off cuts that were on my desk.  Sentiments stamped onto white with the same blue ink and adhered into place - these sentiments come from a ZinskiArt mermaid set but fit well i feel.

You can make out the mica of the pixie powders in the background better here and the holographic seaweed, both shimmer & dance when the light hits them like the sparkle of sunshine on the water.

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and version 2 which is more muted

Made almost the same way as the first one but this time i started with a background made using oxide inks so very muted.  I die cut an old tim holtz holey die into the background and matted onto silver holographic cardstock.  The whale was stamped onto card that had been sprayed with blue & purple ink and bright pink mica spray.

Hard to really show off the holographic but you can make it out more on the bottom of the photo, with the matt finish of the oxide background it really shimmers and dances - i went with this to give the effect of bubbles in the water

Items Used:

aall&create stamp #390 'sea life'

Funky Fossil 'ZinskiArt' stamp set 'Making waves'

Funky Fossil stamp set 'weird fish'

Sizzix circle embossing folder (very old!)

? Nesting dies

Dawn Bibby die set DBC0371 'Into the deep' embellishment set

Brusho Powders

Cosmic shimmer pixie powder

Chipped Sapphire distress ink

Distress Oxide - shaded lilac, cracked pistachio, tumbled glass & iced spruce

Versafine Clair ink 'Medieval blue'

Silver & green holographic card from Aldi

Navy cardstock

We have these lovely stamps from aall&create as the prize this month so hop over to We love stamping to join in, as well as the all creatures great and small theme we always have the anything goes option as long as you include stamping.

Id love to enter card one into the following:

https://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-136-not-square.html

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https://2craftycrittercrazies.blogspot.com/2026/05/critter-crazy-challenges-110-anything.html

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https://craftyanimals.blogspot.com/2026/05/challenge-105.html

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https://creativefriday.blogspot.com/2026/05/creative-friday-411-jedes-tier-ist.html - all animals permitted

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WLS March #2 - Wildlife

Good Morning everyone

Time for some mid way inspiration for We Love Stamping with the theme this month

WILDLIFE

I have lots of stamps suitable for this theme but decided to go with an old pink ink one that hasn't been used in a while - this magnipheasant pheasant and stamped a feathery background for him too

8x8" card made from dark green cardstock and nesting dies.

I cut a smaller die from Ivory linen card and using my ombre ink pads stamped the feathers all over it, this i then die cut into frames using the same nesting dies - just because i can and it adds interest and breaks up the solid background.  The outside frame i adhered with 2mm foam tape, the next size down with 1mm foam tape and the middle section i adhered flat.  The green of the backing card peaks through which helps frame and draw the eye to the pheasant.

I then stamped the pheasant onto the same ivory linen cardstock.  Many of you know I dislike colouring in, so this time I decided to use the same ombre inkpads I used to stamp the feathers and small blending brushes and just picked up the colours on the brushes and blended onto the image....I was quite pleased with the outcome and was soooooo much quicker, of course in this case it helped with open areas and nothing too technical to pick out and the linen card adds texture! I added some white gel pen highlights and cut him out.

I stamped some larger feathers from an old SU set, cut out and added these behind him.  I adhered him into place with pinflair glue gel.

Stamped the greeting from the set with brown ink, cut out, matted onto some of the green card and added.

A close up on Mr Pheasant

As the nesting die set I used is round and I didn't want it rocking I cut a small sliver off the bottom of the back panel so it stands up straight.  This works well and then doesn't affect the aesthetic of the front

Just showing the ombre ink pads i used, ive had these for years and years, must be 8+ and they are so useful.  They have a lever that you click when you want to use them so they join together and then when you are finished before storing you unclick it and they separate so that the inks don't bleed together - very clever really.  Ive used them quite alot so they are now beginning to run out a bit and sadly I don't think you can get them any more.  A Co-incidence but i used the brown one of my first card for this months wildlife theme too.

Items Used:

Pink Ink designs

Stampin up 'fine feathers'

Creative Craft nesting dies 'stretched circles'

Kaleidacolor ink pads 'carribean sky, cappuccino delight & desert heat'

Unbranded nesting dies

CraftUk ltd ivory linen card

dark green card

White gel pen

We have lovely wildlife themed prize from aall&create this month

So hop over to We Love Stamping to join in, if wildlife isn't your thing we always have the anything goes option as long as you use stamping 

Thank you for stopping by once again.  Its scary how fast the weeks are passing at the moment. I hope you are having a good month of March. Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://craftrocketchallenges.blogspot.com/2026/03/challenge-134-no-design-paper.html

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https://paperfundaychallenges.blogspot.com/2026/03/march-2026-challenge-85-anything-goes.html - fur or feathers

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https://neglectedstuff.blogspot.com/2026/03/neglected-stuff-march-2026-challenge.html - pink ink pheasant stamp  & stampin up feather stamps not used in a few years

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https://movingalongwiththetimes.blogspot.com/2026/03/challenge-187-birds-andor-bees.html

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https://craftyanimals.blogspot.com/2026/03/challenge-103.html

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https://dd-tripleb.blogspot.com/2026/03/march-2026-tb-challenge.html