Layered Blooms

Hello again,

I haven't been able to play along with Freshly Made Sketches for a while so made this card using the colours from Colour Throwdown and the prompts from Time Out (pastel and floral):

I don't use pastels often - I much prefer brights and bold colours so this is about as 'pastelly' (is there such a word?) it gets. Lots of older products on this from PTI and W Plus 9. 

I'm also popping it over to Seize the Birthday where the topping is 'layer it' - I love a few layers and layered the card stock and flowers to fit the challenge. 

Apologies if you've left a comment recently - I've got family over from the UK and looking for a new job which is a full time job in itself! I will get there eventually.

Happy stamping!

Claire

Just Us Girls - Stencil Week

Hello folks!

Here's a simple card for Just Us Girls' stencil challenge and the Tic Tac Toe challenge:

 

I'm still playing with my new gel plate but I'm definitely finding that less is more and prefer the more muted backgrounds. When they're too vibrant and busy I just haven't a clue what to do with them!  The one above is the second pull (see, even learning the lingo) which left more white space. 

I stamped over the stencilled print (stencilled with Funky Fossil's Forest Foliage) with Altenew's Leaf Clusters - I really like how the stencilling still shows through the stamped image. The sentiment's from Ink to Paper. 

I've used the centre, horizontal line over at Tic Tac Toe - the sentiment's embossed and there's a scattering of gold sequins on the leave. 

Happy stamping!

Claire

Three Challenges - One Card!

Hello inkers!

There's some lovely fresh, Spring inspired challenges out in blogland at the moment - The Paper Players has a clean and simple flower challenge,  The Card Concept has an inspiration photo and Just Us Girls has a mood board with very similar colours and themes:

 

I have to admit this should be cleaner and simpler than it actually is but I managed to smear green ink all over my nice clean card - I seem to really struggle to keep my cards clean! I saved it by adding a white panel and gave it some dimension using dimensional tape. For the vertical stripes I used embossing paste with Altenew's Beach Towel Stripes Stencil.  The Just Add Ink blooms have been stamped with pigment ink and embossed using holographic glitter EB.

I was inspired by the colours over at The Card Concept and the middle left pic in the JUG's mood board. When I saw the clean, horizontal strips of the wood panels I immediately thought of the Altenew stencil. 

Thanks for popping by!

Claire

The Card Concept #186

Hello folks, happy weekend!

Love the colours over at The Card Concept this week - not ones I'd ever think of putting together which shows how good it is to enter challenges and get out of your colour comfort zone!

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Blooms and frame from Ink to Paper and PTI with a sentiment from MFT and leafy die cuts from my local craft store.  I think I'll put this one in the Classy and Elegant category.

Happy stamping!

Claire

Paper Players Sketch Challenge

Hello again,

I made things difficult for myself with this CAS card - I liked the sentiment placement in this week's sketch challenge over at The Paper Players but really struggled to work out which stamps to use. Add a pastel colour palette from Sunday Stamps and it really had me stumped! In the end I opted for some pretty blooms from Ink to Paper:

I added some simple stencilling with embossing paste and a sentiment from Poppy Stamps, then painted the edges of the blooms with some Wink of Stella to add some sparkle. It looks far more sparkly IRL!

Happy stamping!

Claire

Tic Tac Toe!

Hello again,

I love a good Tic Tac Toe challenge so had to join in with The Paper Players this week:

 

I've gone for the diagonal with this one featuring some pretty blooms and birthday sentiment from Ink to Paper and a Cheery Lynn flourish die cut which has been used so often now, I surprised it's not blunt!

This ones also going over to Time Out again for their quote challenge and I've used the colours from Sunday Stamps. 

Happy stamping!

Claire

Alex Syberia Blooms

Hello folks,

Only a week to go until 'Freedom Day' for Sydney - there's light at the end of the lockdown tunnel! It's the little things I've missed...just to go into a shop and browse, have a drink at a bar and catch up with friends. We take so much for granted!

Here's another card featuring one of Alex Syberia's pretty Digi stamps called Dog Rose:

I've used the colours from Colour Throwdown, coloured the blooms with Copics and stencilled a distress ink panel splashed with a little water. The sentiment's from Just Add Ink.  It's also going over to Time Out's Inspired by Words challenge and Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge where 'anything goes'.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Claire 

Alcohol Inked Leaves

 Hello folks,

Here's a quick, CAS card for three challenges - Addicted to CAS (code word - leaf), The Card Concept (photo inspiration) and CASology (cue card - 'one' so I've used one leaf die):

I took an alcohol ink background class a couple of years ago so I've got lots of bright, alcohol inked panels but I've never really known what to do with them. The colours in the Card Concept pic are almost identical so I used a simple leaf die and used the sprigs to make a CAS card - the sentiment's from Ink to Paper. 

I think less is more when it comes to alcohol ink backgrounds - especially when the colours are this bright - I almost need sunglasses to look at it!

Happy stamping!

Claire

You Had Me At Hello

 Hello again,

Another post, another card for four different challenges - Time Out  for their movie theme challenge (with optional glitz/glitter), Sunday Stamp's sketch challenge, Color Throwdown and Just Us Girls for their Word Week Challenge (script):

Can you remember the movie with the line 'you had me at hello?' It's from Jerry Maguire and it inspired me to ink up a newbie from CAS-ual Fridays, aptly named  Hello. I love the bold script style of the stamp and added a good slathering of clear glitter to the 'h' to really make it pop. The purple border stamp is an oldie from Waltzingmouse and the flowers are from Ink to Paper. 

Thanks for popping by again,

Claire

Dotty Birthday

Hi folks,

Here's a CAS card for 4 different challenges - AAA Cards birthday challenge, combined with the gorgeous colours over at Sunday Stamps, using the sketch at Less is More and the polka dot theme at The Paper Players. 

I started off by stencilling a rectangle, then stamped the polka dots over the top with Mama Elephant's Basic Border stamp. I wasn't thinking of having the sentiment in the corner, but since the dots were difficult to line up, it was perfect for covering up the error in my alignment. The added bonus was that the sentiment fitted perfectly. Don't you just love it when that happens? The stamped bloom and sentiment are from Ink to Paper's It's a Sign: Birthday Sentiments.

Thanks for calling by!

Claire

Freshly Made Sketch #476

Hello folks,

I'm still in a flowery kind of mood with this little card inspired by the latest Freshly Made Sketch, using the soft colours from The Color Throwdown:

I've used Altenew's Beautiful Day and a sentiment by Ink to Paper. The Zig Zag stamp is from CAS-ual Fridays.  I'm also throwing into the The Paper Players Spring themed challenge.

Happy stamping!

Claire 

Snow in a Row!

Hello folks,

It's only January and I've made two Christmas cards - must be a record! This very CAS card is for four challenges: Addicted to CAS where the code word is 'snow', Less is More's 'in a row' challenge, Addicted to Stamps and More's Christmas challenge and CASology,  where the cue card is 'unite.' What could be more united than family and friends at Christmas time? (Unless of course we're in the middle of a pandemic and we're not allowed to 'unite' at all!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I used Ink to Paper's It's a Sign: Holiday Sentiments, with a simple row of three snowflakes, stamped in three different colours and with the sentiment stamped over the top. I might just have found 2021's Christmas card design...

Happy stamping!

Claire

Freshly Made Sketch Meets Time Out

Hello folks,

I just had time to make quite a clean and simple card using this week's Freshly Made Sketch and taking some inspiration from Time Out's photo challenge:

 

I struggled initially with the diagonal line on the card sketch but then remembered my favourite Cheery Lynn die cut. I added a couple of blooms from Ink to Paper with a sentiment from Clearly Besotted. The background lines have been white embossed with Mama Elephant's Basic Borders.

No guessing required as to where I drew my inspiration from - the colours from the surfboard and the stripes from the flip flops (or thongs as we say in Australia.)  The starfish immediately made me think of  Grout Gray card stock.

Hope you have the chance to ink up some of those stamps this week!

Thanks for popping by,

Claire