WLS Dec #2 - red & green

Good Morning everyone

Its the 1st sunday of the month so its time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping where the theme is 

RED & GREEN

Very apt for the season but you don't have to make a Christmas card, just use these 2 colours but of course we still have the anything goes option as long as you use stamping

I came across a pack of small tags in my stash that are eons old, they came as a mix of kraft card and white so I decided to make an effort to use some of them.  At the same time had this stamp set arrive which I got in a sale from aall&create.  So a batch of CAS Christmas cards were made.  

4x6" card blank which I made for white double sided pearl card and embossed the front with a swirl EF, being 350gsm the card front holds its integrity well even when embossed with a 2d embossing folder, don't think it would work so well with a 3d folder.

I took the white tag and dipped into distress oxide inks id spritzed with water.  Once dry i stencilled on holly leaves with the same ink.  Then i stencilled on snowflakes with cosmic shimmer silver glitter paste which is very shimmery in the light.  I added this tag to the card front - after playing around I found off centre worked better for me.

I stamped the santa onto white, watercoloured with distress inks and cut out.  I added him to the front with glue gel for a little dimension, i also added a little curve to his body for a little shape.  Sentiment stamped onto a small die cut tag and tucked in behind santa to finish.

You can make out the shimmer of the glitter paste snowflakes better here.  I also added frosted lace stickles to the fur on his hat so with that, the glitter paste and pearl card this really shimmer and shines in the light.

Version 2, Made the same but I used the kraft tag as the starting point so used kraft card for my base card as well. Holly embossing folder here.  This one i also rounded the corners on to pick up on the rounded bottom of the tag - I couldn't decide if i preferred them rounded or not so of the 12 versions i made half have rounded corners and half dont!   

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And smaller set of cards using the smaller tags & stamps in the sets 

Dinky 3x5" kraft card.  Made the same way as the bigger ones, just using them landscape and the dinky little santa stamp.  I die cut merry christmas from white pearl card. 

Holly embossing folder - its been lovely digging out my very old embossing folders again.  Being 2d they don't warp the card front too much.

Pearl white version

You can see the shimmer of the glitter paste better here

Im very chuffed with myself to make such flat cards with just the santa added with glue gel for a little dimension.  Hopefully the different textures and finishes add enough interest.  I made 12 bigger ones and 12 smaller ones....personally I find batch making therapeutic as I concentrate on each element of the design once Ive made the 1st version.  This Christmas Im glad I got ahead and made Christmas cards earlier in the year when I was feeling better! 

Items Used:

aall&create stamp set #1216 'Santa's workshop wonders'

Funky Fossil snowflake & holly stencils

Cosmic shimmer glitter paste

Sizzix embossing folders - all very old

papermania kraft & white tags

CraftUK ltd kraft card

White pearl card

Distress Oxide ink - cracked pistachio, evergreen bough

Distress Inks - Fired brick, lucky clover, wild honey, salty ocean, black soot

Hop over to We Love Stamping to join in and be in with a chance of winning this lovely prize by Visible Image

Thank you for stopping by once again.  Last week was very wet, wild and windy here in Cornwall so hopefully the coming week is much calmer weatherwise for us all to venture out for that Christmas shopping😁   Whatever you get upto I hope its a good week for you all. Emmax

Id love to enter my first card into the following:

https://cyhtp.blogspot.com/2025/12/anything-goes-with-twist-of-celebrate.html

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https://inkspirationalchallenges.blogspot.com/2025/12/inkspirational-challenge-356-use.html - ive used snowflake stencil with glitter paste 

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https://sweetstampinchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2025/12/its-christmas.html

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https://scscards.blogspot.com/2025/12/december-2025-reds-and-greens.html

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https://tuesdaytaggers.blogspot.com/2025/12/its-all-about-santa.html

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Blue frog ATC trio - Sept Creative Artiste

Good Morning everyone

September has started so time for a new challenge over at Creative Artiste where the theme is anything goes MIXED MEDIA - we need at least 3 different mediums

I decided for a change to make a trio of ATC's.  I used this fab frog stamp set from aall&create and what I had left on my desk.  So we have a blue tree frog as I had scraps of this pale blue dotty paper.  I had a piece of inked background with shades of green, blue and pink which made my bases.

Each atc is 3.5x2.5" in size

I started by cutting my inked background to size, I then inked through a circle stencil with pearl white dora paint and through a dotty stencil with glossy glaze.  I added some text stamping in grey and a dotty mark stamp with green.

I stamped the lily pads onto lemon inked card which was on my desk but a good contrast to the blue.  I stamped the dragonflies and waterlily onto white card and coloured with alcohol markers in pink - this picks up on the touches of pink in the background. 

Stamped the words onto more of the dotty paper, cut out and arranged  to finish.  See below for each individual atc

You can make out the pearl stenciling better here.  I used a yellow paint pen to add colour to the frogs spots.

Photos don't show it well, but the bottom left corner you can just make out the glossy glaze dots.  I inked over them with stormy sky distress ink and the glaze resists it, also inked all the edges with the stormy sky.

For this happy chappy - by that expression he must be feeling croak😆, I torn a scrap of white card, inked blue and added to the bottom to 'ground' him & added a few doodles with a fine liner to give a water like effect.  I had a die cut piece of foliage left over which i added behind him.  

Heres the background before adding the extras, you can just make out in the light the shimmer of the white dora paint on the bigger stencilled circles and the glossy glaze with the small dotty stencil...also some of the ink sprayed background was pearlised so when the light hits them they shimmer and dance with the different finshes

Items Used:

Aall&create stamps #521 'Be hoppy'

Cosmic shimmer airless misters - green, pink & pearl teal

Cosmic shimmer glossy glaze

Cadence Dora paint 'white'

Distress Inks - stormy sky, picked raspberry, wild honey, lemonade

Posca paint pen - yellow

Stencils - circles & dotty

Patterned paper scraps

Do hop over to Creative Artiste to see what the rest of the DT created and to join in with your multiple different mediums projects

Thank you for stopping by.  Due to the vertigo and nausea Im not getting much serious crafting done so thankfully I was very well prepared with my DT projects, still hoping to get my 'new' eyes soon! So I apologise for not keeping up with comments on your projects but about 5mins of screen time is all i can manage before having to lie down again.  Big hugs to you all Emmax

Id love to enter the following

https://tag-alongandatc.blogspot.com/2025/09/september-things-with-wings.html

 

Easter egg cards

Good Morning everyone

Today im sharing a batch of Easter cards I made using these fab bird images again, I made a little shaped card with my oval dies for an egg like effect and dug out some lace and feathers. 

Card size approx 4x5"  I cut 2 large ovals from kraft card, on one i scored a line half an inch from the top and adhered that bit to the back of the 2nd oval, thus making my card base. 

I die cut a piece of white with gold foiled marbling into a fancy oval, added a little stencilling with chalky actylic paints in some teal & yellow and then added to the card front.  About a third of the way up i added some feathers - glued in place with pinflair glue gel and then added a strip of lace over the top which helped hold the feathers in place, hides any glue and gives somewhere for the birds to sit.

I then added the birds with glue gel and a stamped sentiment to finish.

Version 2

Version 3

Version 4

Version 5

Version 6 - I actually made 12 varieties, all slightly different colours and birds.  These digital birds come looking one way but I reversed them in my graphics program so that I could have them facing both ways. They were printed onto Craft Master digital card from Highlight crafts.

Items Used

Digital bird images from double helix digitals on etsy

Spellbinders grand plain ovals & grand fancy oval dies

Clearly besotted sentiment stamps 'seasonal sentiments'

Various patterned papers

CraftUk ltd kraft card

Feathers

Papermania lace

aall&create diamond stencil

Sunflower stencil

Plaid Folkart chalk acrylic paints

Thank you all for stopping by once again.  I hope you have a lovely weekend. Emma

Id love to enter card #1 into the following:

https://fabnfunkychallenges.blogspot.com/2025/04/challenge-614-think-spring.html

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https://daranddiane.blogspot.com/2025/04/double-d-easter-challenge.html - 2nd entry

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https://creativecraftinguncles.blogspot.com/2025/03/63-spring-and-or-easter.html

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https://dd-tripleb.blogspot.com/2025/04/april-2025-challenge.html - 2nd entry

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https://thesisterhoodofcrafters.blogspot.com/2025/04/4925-springtime-designer-paper.html

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https://theoutlawzchallenges-friday.blogspot.com/2025/04/festive-friday-challenge-4-april-2025.html - Easter & Birds themes

 

WLS April fav stamp

Good Morning everyone

The first sunday of April so its time for a new challenge over at We Love Stamping

The theme this month is

FAVOURITE STAMP &/or RIBBON OR LACE

adding ribbon is now optional - boy did i struggle to add it in!!

or you can always go with the anything goes theme as long as its using stamps - physical or digital

Now this is a difficult theme -  choosing a favourite stamp - I have so many that are favourites for different reasons but my first choice was these 'thistlehogs' from Pink Ink Designs as each time I see them they just make me smile and lift my spirits.  

I have a garden full of hedgehogs and who knows a few of these tiny thistlehogs may come out at night with the fairies, these guys are like the moths just flittering around in the dark😁

A5 white card blank.  I first stamped and watercoloured the thistlehogs with distress inks.  I then raided my stash and found this fab autumn skeleton leaf paper. So that the thistlehogs stood out more, I toned it down a bit by dry brushing antique white chalk paint over the top and added a little stencilling with pale teal chalk paints.  I cut it to size and matted onto pearlised teal card and then wrapped with my pale teal lace and peach satin ribbon and then added to the cardfront.

I added a bow from the same peach satin ribbon so that there was no question on the adding ribbon part! lol  Years ago i added ribbon to everything before i got into stamping, my style has changed alot since then.

I curved the bodies of the thistlehogs and added with pinflair glue gel.

I then raided my stash of chat stickers and came up with 

'Sprinkle a little Happiness every where you go'

I had to make it up out of random left over chat stickers - hence it being every where as 2 words not one! I adhered them to white card, outlined with black pen and then arranged on the front.

You can see the dimension better at this angle.

I had stamped the thistlehogs onto the leaf paper as well so that i got all the extra swirly bits around them, these i added colour to with posca paint pens in peach and teal

I added a little diamond stickles to the wings so they sparkle in the light. 

Every time i see one of 'my' real hedgehogs they make me smile, they have been out of hibernation for a couple of weeks now and it seems several have made the winter which is great......I had 6 trying to get at the food bowl in the porch.......I obviously need a bigger bowl for them😁 

Items Used:

Pink Ink designs stamp 'thistlehogs'

Patterned paper 10+ years old

Tim Holtz Chit chat stickers

Stencils

Distress Inks ' evergreen bough, cracked pistachio, dried marigold, wild honey.

Plaid 'folk art' matt paint - #515 'vintage white' #6458 'ocean view'

Posca pastel paint pens

Papermania lace & ribbon

Ranger stickles 'diamond'

Do hop over to We love stamping to join in the fun and have a chance to win a lovely prize

Prize from fairy hugs

Thank you all for stopping by and also your amazing comments on my birds nest project last week.  Spring is in the air as the birds are busy nest building at the moment......including the seagulls on our roof.

I hope you all have a good week whatever you get upto.  Hugs Emmax

Id love to enter the following:

https://mytimetocraftchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/04/mttc-557-theme-is-rectangle-shaped.html

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https://craftygalscornerchallenges.blogspot.com/2025/03/challenge-265-fill-in-th-blank-fairy.html - tiny little thistlehogs fly among the fairies

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https://paper-rocks-scissors.blogspot.com/2025/04/april-3-challenge.html - background paper, scissors to cut out the images

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https://craftycatzweeklychallenge.blogspot.com/2025/04/crafty-catz-challenge-691.html

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https://daisychainchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/04/challenge-95-not-square.html

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https://sweetstampinchallengeblog.blogspot.com/2025/03/female-cards.html

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Goat birthday

Good Morning everyone

I made this card for my mum to give dad for his birthday.  Its using this goat stamp from aall&create - his horns are magnificent and he actually looks very much like my dads ram(sheep) 'Duncan' 

A6 (4x6") white card base.  I first stamped the image  three times onto white with blue ink and watercoloured 2 of the goats with distress inks and cut out

I found this old paper pad in my stash that matched the colours id coloured the image perfectly.  I added a yellow tone paper to the base and added a little stripe of the red & blue paper across the middle having matted onto white.

 From the uncoloured image i die cut with a rectangle frame die.  I added the frame to the card front with 2mm foam tape and adhered the goat image flat into the middle.  I then decoupaged the coloured goat on top with glue gel so it looks like he is bursting out of the frame.

Sentiment added to finish

Showing it side on

Items Used:

aall&create stamp #619 'Mountain goat'

Very old kanban paper pad (13+ yrs)

Distress inks ' wild honey, vintage photo, aged mahogany, tumbled glass, evergreen bough'

Versafine clair ink 'medieval blue'

MFT frame & nesting dies

birthday die

aall&create stencil #167 'organic orbs'

Altenew stencil 'leaf burst'

Thank you all for stopping by once again. Hugs Emmax

Id love to enter into the following

https://neglectedstuff.blogspot.com/2025/03/neglected-stuff-march-2025-challenge.html - the paper used is 13+ years old, frame die 4+ yrs.

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https://aaabirthday.blogspot.com/2025/03/game-71-masculine.html

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https://craftyanimals.blogspot.com/2025/03/challenge-92.html

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https://daisychainchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/03/challenge-94-animals.html

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https://unicornchallenge.blogspot.com/2025/03/challenge-107-boysmen.html

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https://lovethoseprettypapers.blogspot.com/2025/03/atg-using-pretty-patterned-paper-march.html