Postal collage card...

Good morning, crafty friends! I'm back to share a pretty postal collage card that I created using Sizzix Snail Mail by Eileen Hull...

I created a stencil for the stamp sections using Mylar (which still need a bit of tweaking!?) and inked with Broken China Distress Ink. I picked out some botanical stamps and stamped through the windows with Memento Tuxedo Black and coloured with my Spectrum Noir pens, then added a couple of layered elements with the postage stamp images. I stamped some of the franking style stamps across the sections and die cut some small numbers in a dusky pink cardstock...

I started with a 5x7 inch card base and layered up some mats in blue and then pink woodgrain effect, adding a green polka dot strip across the bottom third. I inked the edges of the postage panel with Black and popped it up onto a slightly larger white mat using foam tape, then finished with a touch of glitter and some enamel dots and pearls...

Thanks for popping in to see my simple creation and in the words of Mr Schwarzenegger...I'll be back!

Crafty hugs,

 

Simple floral cards...

Good morning, my crafty buddies! I'm back to share a couple of simple floral cards that I created for my sending box. I often dither over sending out cards that I have spent a long time creating, especially if I feel that the recipient 'isn't bothered about cards'...there are some people that appreciate and cherish a handmade card (be it for a week or years) and then there are others that you know will put it up for a day or two and then it's going in the bin! I know that we can't expect everyone to keep our creations forever, so decided to create some more simple cards that still have the same handmade feel but without the long creation time...

I stamped some of the flowers from Christina Griffiths Spring - Summer stamp and die set and coloured them with  Distress Inks and Oxides, using stencils that I cut by hand (as the dies cut out leaving a white border). I used Carved Pumpkin, Abandoned Coral and a hint of Festive Berries on the California poppy style flower and Tattered Rose, Abandoned Coral and Festive Berries on the gerbera style flower, colouring the stems with a couple of different green alcohol markers. For the leaf I used Peeled Paint and Forest Moss...

I lightly inked the card front in an area where the flower would sit, then randomly stamped portions of script and added a hand doodled border. I tore a strip of patterned paper and attached across the bottom third of the card, placing the flowers and attaching with glue/foam pads. I used my favourite Yana Smakula sentiment dies and added a second stamped part to the sentiment, mat onto black to tie everything together. I finished off with some gem/enamel dot sprinkles and a touch of gold glitter on the poppy...

I really liked the way they turned out and need to come up with some more simple designs to send - my first one has been sent out to it's recipient already! Hope you like them too...

Crafty hugs,

 

Tiddly Dogs...

 Hey there, crafty buddies! So it seems that I forgot to post the card that I made for my eldest son's birthday earlier this year and thought it would be good to play along with Lorraine's 'Use Red and/or Pink' challenge over at Passion for Markers...

 I made this sweet A6 card (not a size I make very often but should try and do more of, if only for storage space?!) using Tiddly Inks Flying high stamp set - which is now available as a digital download from their Etsy store HERE...

 I kept my card clean and simple, just stenciling a cloud background with some simple mats and layers, a few cloud die cuts and my favourite script sentiment dies....

 I finished with a few gem sprinkles and decorated the inside to match with one of the balloon stamps fussy cut with a white border...

Colour List :

Dogs - Cappuccino, Umber

Balloons - Pale Pink, Cocktail Pink, watermelon, Red, Berry, Burgundy, Dolphin Blue, Cornflower, Storm Cloud, Tea Green, Pebble Blue, Blender 

I'd like to enter my card into the Passion for Markers #775 Use Red and/or Pink challenge 

and I Love Promarkers challenge #576 Anything goes with optional Down on the Farm

 

Thanks for dropping by and I may be back soon with some creations from my crafty Sizzix haul....

 

First card of 2025!...

 Hey there, crafty friends...well isn't this a turn up for the books?! I have actually sat at my crafty table (a couple of times now!) and made a few cards...I can't say that it came naturally or whether I completely enjoyed it or not but I've found that breaking things down into pieces helps. So I sat one afternoon and coloured some images, then I stamped and cut some sentiments, then made up some cards...I found it much easier to do like this and didn't feel that I was taking a whole afternoon or evening creating...

So for my first card of 2025, I have used a Tiddly Ink stamp called "Flying High" (which is now available as a digital image in Christy's Etsy store HERE) and coloured the girl and balloons image up with my Pro/Flexmarkers :

Skin - Blush, Dusky Pink, Sunkissed Pink, Coral

Hair - Pastel Yellow, Cappuccino, Umber

Yellow - Buttercup, Tulip Yellow, Gold

Truquoise - Cool Aqua, Duck Egg, Surf Blue

Pinks - Pale pink, Baby Pink, Cocktail Pink, Watermelon

 I used a printed thank you card that I picked up in The Works for a bargain price in the sale last year as my card base and added a simple white panel for the image to sit on. I added a strip of candy stripe paper matted onto dusky pink and then some of my favourite dies - clouds (of course!) and my Yana Smakula sentiment dies - I think I could add these to most of my creations (and have recently!)  I finished off with some crystal stars and pink enamel dots (courtesy of the lovely Marianne)...

I would like to enter my card into the Passion for Markers Week 771 Challenge - For the Girls

I hope you like my pretty, girly card and will be back soon to share some more creations...long may the craft/life balance continue! 

Hugs,

Passion for Markers - Spots and/or Stripes...

 Good morning, crafty friends! It's time for another fun challenge this week over at Passion for Markers and I have the duty of hostess with a simple theme of 'Spots and/or Stripes', so as it suggests, we would like to see either or both of these patterns on your creations...

 We're being sponsored by Di's Digi Stamps who are offering one lucky winner a $6.00 voucher to their online store...

I decided to colour up a cute stamp that I picked up from a destash site called 'Yeti to Party' by Darcie's Heart & Home and go with my favourite CAS style...

 

I coloured the cute yeti with my Pro/Flexmarkers and he was super easy to colour - 

Cool Grey, 2, 3 & 4, plus grey pencil for added texture

Putty, Tan

Primrose, Vanilla

Abandoned Coral Distress Oxide for the cheeks

I picked out some paper scraps from my overflowing drawers, inking the edges with black ink and used them to create a simple background design, then mounted the yeti on a circle over the top. I stamped one of the sentiments and cut out some small snowflakes to add along with a few pearls. I often wonder whether there is enough to this type of card but stopped myself from trying to add more!

I hope you can find the time to play along with my fun challenge this week and look forward to seeing all of your wonderful creations!

Crafty hugs,

Passion for Markers - Colours of Spring...

 Hello there, crafty friends! Another Tuesday arrives with the start of a brand new challenge over at Passion for Markers. The lovely Sue is in the hostess chair with a topical theme (or it would be if Mother Nature hadn't decided to turn the thermostat down!?!) of 'Colours of Spring'...for me, Spring is primroses, magnolia and pale blue skies but as long as you use colours that evoke Spring to you and remember to use your markers, then you'll be in with a chance of winning this week's prize!

We're being sponsored by Dies to Die For and they are kindly offering one lucky winner a £15.00 voucher to spend in their online store...

 For my card I used a new to me stamp set from Simon Says Stamp called Sketched Flowers...those destash sites are dangerous!...

 I coloured up with my Pro/Flexmarkers and gold embossed one of the sentiment stamps, keeping the card clean and simple with the image being the star of the show! I mat onto a panel of gold and added just a couple of flags, gems and a touch of glitter to embellish...

If I can find my colour list, I'll post it up, but there is a number of lists on my desk and not one of them has been labelled as to what it coloured?! One step forward, two steps back!

I hope you can find the time to play along with our challenge this week and look forward to seeing all of your wonderful Spring inspired creations!...

Crafty hugs,

Passion for Markers - Things with Wings...

Good morning, dear crafty friends! I hope you're all well and enjoying the Spring weather (if a little on the chilly side?!)...

I'm popping in this morning to let you all know about our brand new challenge which starts today over at Passion for Markers...the lovely Marlene is in the hostess chair with a topical theme of 'Things with Wings' - with the recent sunshine, there has been a definite increase in activity with winged beasts of all varieties!

We're being sponsored by Di's Digi Stamps who are offering one lucky winner a $6.00 voucher to spend in their online store...just remember to be in with a chance of winning the prize, you MUST use markers (of any variety) somewhere on your creation and follow the challenge theme...Good Luck!

For my card I used a new to me stamp from Stampavie called Blossom Birds...

 I coloured in using my Pro/Flexmarkers -

Birds - Putty, Tan, Cinnamon, Primrose, Buttercup, Blue Pearl

Flowers - Blender, Pale Pink, Dusky Rose, Antique Pink, Buttercup, Mustard, Sandstone

Leaves and branch - Soft Khaki, Pear Green, Olive Green, Umber

Outer shadow - Pastel Blue

I wanted to keep my card pretty simple and dug out my Taylored Expessions Leafy Vine embossing folder for the background...it's funny how I go through spells of not using something for a long time, as I haven't used my embossing folders for ages!...I added a strip of polka dot green paper and mat the image onto a fresh, sky blue coloured scalloped rectangle. I embellished with some die cut flowers and leaves, a pretty sentiment, some blue pearls and a touch of gold glitter on the flower stamens...et voila!

 I hope you can find the time to play along with our fun challenge this week and look forward to seeing all of your wonderful creations!

Crafty hugs,

Passion for Markers - Birthdays...

 Good morning, Blogger buddies! Hope you all had a good Bank Holiday weekend, here in the UK and maybe got to join in with the Jubilee celebrations? Things have been pretty hectic here for me and I'm finding that crafty time is feeling like a bit of a chore at the minute...I have moved my craft room upstairs thinking that a change of scenery might inspire me, but alas, no! Mr Mojo has once again left the building!

 I did manage to make a card for our new challenge that starts today over at Passion for Markers, however...the lovely Sue is in the hostess chair with an easy, peasy challenge theme of 'Birthdays' - it doesn't get mush easier, so why not get out your markers and play along?

 We're being sponsored by Di's Digi Stamps who are offering one lucky winner a $6.00 voucher to spend in their online store...

 For my card I used a sentiment stamp that I picked up in the New Year and coloured with my Pro/Flexmarkers. I used a Sizzix Textures plate for the embossed background and added a strip of dotty paper and die cut stars. I really struggled making this as I just cannot seem to find inspiration...not the best of situations to be in when I have card orders and workshop ideas to come up with?! Oh well, here's hoping that I can muster up some enthusiasm to sit at my new crafty desk!

I do hope that you can find the time to play along with our challenge this week and look forward to seeing all of your wonderful creations...

Crafty hugs,

Passion for Markers - Things with Wings...

 Good morning, crafty buddies! Another Tuesday rolls around, which means it's time for a brand new challenge over at Passion for Markers! This week it's the lovely Marlene in the hostess chair and she's picked the fun theme ' Things with Wings'...so whether it's birds or butterflies, dragons, fairies or even aeroplanes, we'd like to see them! Just remember that to be in with a chance of winning this week's prize, you MUST use your marker pens (alcohol or water based) and follow the challenge theme...

Our sponsor this week is the wonderful Uniko Stamps who are offering one random winner a choice of stamp set from their store (has to be in stock)...

 For this week's card I used a stamp set that I picked up in the post Christmas sales 5 for £25 over at CraftStash...

 

This one is called The Seagulls by Daisy Mae Designs and I thought it would be good for making those awkward male cards...

Blender, Cool Grey 2, Pebble Blue , Canary, Sunflower, Gold, Sunset, Red, Poppy, Burgundy, Sapphire, Egyptian Blue, Midnight Blue, Cinnamon, Saddle Brown, Auburn, Umber, Sandstone, Cappuccino, Tan, Soft Peach

I used the background paper from the Lighthouse design set of Words at Play and a scrap of navy blue anchor paper from Seas the Day 12x12 scrapbook pad. I kept the image the main focal point of the card, creating the scene with the stamps and colouring with my Pro/Flexmarkers. I used the Daisy Mae Distressed Rectangle die as a mat for the image and added some twine and a couple of my favourite die cut clouds. The sentiment was a freebie with the Little Birds set that came free with SC&P and I finished with a few red star gems to pick up the accent colour of the life ring...

I hope you can find the time to play along with our fun challenge this week and look forward to visiting your blogs and seeing your fabulous creations!

Hugs,

Passion for Markers - Christmas Critters...

 Good morning, crafty friends! It's the last day of November and we have a new challenge starting over at Passion for Markers with the lovely Julie choosing a topical theme of 'Christmas Critters'...so think robins, reindeer, penguins and polar bears!

We're being sponsored by Clearly Besotted Stamps, who are offering one lucky winner a £15 voucher to their online store...how fab!

There's a bit of a story behind this week's card... Storm Arwen goosed my monitor power supply, so although my PC is working I couldn't see anything! All my images are on my PC and because I have only recently got into 'proper' stamping, I discovered that I don't have many Christmas stamps, let alone animal ones...so it was time to improvise! I found these bird stamps that came with an embossing folder in the bottom of my stamp basket and turned them into Christmas robins...

I used a couple of different sentiment stamps, mistletoe embossing folder and some die cut holly leaves as the main embellishments, keeping the design clean and simple...

I have to admit that it was nice to create something from start to finish without touching my PC but think I am still going to be a hybrid crafter in the future, although my stamping stash needs some attention...maybe in the New Year?!

I hope that you can find the time to play along with us at Passion for Markers this week and look forward to seeing all of your wonderful creations...

Crafty hugs,

Lisa x

Mini Slimline Cards...

 Forgot to share my latest makes here on Blogger - these are my first ever mini slimline cards! I don't know why I don't make smaller cards and it seems to be a trend with fellow crafters here in the UK, so when the latest craze from the US for slimline and then mini slimline cards came, I just had to jump on the bandwagon!...

I have to admit that I think that the card size is really cute and is great for sending cards 'just because', which is something I am going to try and do more often!

The floral cards use a layering stamp set from Papercraft Essentials magazine, which I picked up off the lovely Marianne and I coloured the outline stamps with my alcohol markers. I created a stencil for each of the flower base stamps from the floral set, as I was struggling to get a good finish with the layering stamps and thought that the finished background on the blue card looked a lot like succulents, so used the herb stamp set from Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine for the image topper.

I am sending these mini cards out to family just to let them know that I am thinking of them and wishing them well...I hope they like them!

Right, off to work and then I'll be back to share this week's brand new Passion for Promarkers challenge...catch you later!

Crafty hugs,

Gatefold aperture card...

Good afternoon, crafty buddies! I was supposed to be tidying my craft table in preparation for our video workshop tomorrow, only I got a bit distracted by this month’s copy of Simply Cards and Papercraft!…

I noticed that one of the challenges this month in the Craftworld Forums is to create a gatefold card…well I have to admit, I haven’t made one for literally ages! Just to complicate things a little more (because I can never do anything simple!), I decided to create a gatefold aperture card and used the porthole stamp to create a frame around it….

I stamped the lighthouse and shells with Versafine and coloured with Distress inks for a change and inked some light clouds with a blending brush. I couldn’t get the porthole to stamp clearly, so added some eyelet die cuts in silver. I placed the ship’s wheel sentiment inside the card so that it aligned with the aperture and added the ‘Seas the Day’ sentiment on the front. The strip of blue anchor paper is from my Words at Play CD and I finished with my obligatory 3 grey pearls

Thanks for popping by and I hope you like my nautical creation! I'd best get back to tidying my table, as I seem to have managed to make more mess rather than clear up!

Have a wonderful Wednesday and I'll be back soon with some more craftiness!

Another flamingo...

So it seems I have another temporary obsession?! I just love this carved wood effect background, that was inspired by the talented Gina Ks Monday Stamp and Chat video...
This time, I decided to go with more muted colour tones as I had this flamingo coloured up on my desk already and went with a simple design to try and showcase the background. I also added a white feather for softness, after seeing Beris Godfrey's card and finished with a bit of bling...
I think that it turned out rather pretty and feminine, and a quick make too!
Here's a link to Gina's video on how to create these fab backgrounds... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MwvaMa7Zc0

I started by embossing the tropical leaf folder that came with Simply Cards & Papercraft Issue 205, cutting down to 16.5 x 11.5cm and then used my embossing board to score some vertical lines through the design...(this time I went with debossed lines, which then resist the colour and stay light)...

Firstly, I dragged Stormy Sky Distress Ink direct to paper over the panel, following the embossed lines rather than going across the grain, so to speak...

Next I layered up with some Victorian Velvet, again using the ink pad direct to paper and dragging in the same direction as the embossed lines to help create the woodgrain effect. I then used some Cut n Dry foam (or you could use a blending pad or makeup sponge) with the inks on to add more colour to the background. All the time, I kept the direction of application following the embossed lines to accentuate the grain and layered up more colour direct to paper, if needed...

I then blended around the edge with Weathered Wood Distress Ink before matting the panel onto pink cardstock 17 x 12cm. I attached a circular die cut so that it was hanging over the edge and then cut away the excess, then attached a 2cm border strip of pink dotty paper that had been matted onto silver card and stamped the sentiment using my Tim Holtz stamp platform (how did I manage without this?!)...

I attached a feather to the card using a small piece of double sided tape, then attached my Flamingo coloured with Pro/Flexmarkers using foam pads. I cut a couple of fishtail flags from pink and white card (white 2.5cm wide and pink 2cm wide) and added some diamante carousel type gems for a touch of sparkle...

Colour List - 

Cocktail Pink, Watermelon FM, Antique Pink, Shocking Pink, Cool Grey 4

Thanks for dropping by and I hope I've inspired you to craft...

Hugs,

Passion for Promarkers - Happy Birthday...

Good morning, crafty friends! Gosh, these Tuesdays are rolling around quickly and we're already into the third month of the year!

We have a brand new challenge starting over at Passion for Promarkers today, with the lovely Nic (aka Coops) giving us the easiest of challenge themes with 'Happy Birthday'...so whether it's for a guy or gal, young or old, cute or grungy, we want to see your creations to celebrate Birthdays...

We are being sponsored by Dr Digi's House of Stamps who are offering one lucky winner the chance to get their hands on 2 digi stamps of their choice from the online store...just remember that to be in with a chance of winning the prize, you MUST use your Winsor & Newton/Letraset mediums and follow the design brief. (it always helps us DT members if you can state where you've used your pens, for example, image coloured with Promarkers)...

 For my card I used Altenew's Beautiful Day floral stamp set - I have been contemplating getting some of these pretty layering stamps for a while and thoroughly enjoyed colouring up this rose...

Colours used :

Blender, Primrose, Tulip Yellow, Sunflower, Gold

Meadow, Leaf, Grass and Forest Green

I used Distress Inks and Oxides to create the background which was then spritzed with water to soften. I stamped the accent flowers in the background and used water to create a faux bleach effect, before mounting my focal flower over the top using foam pads. The sentiment stamp is from a magazine set that I had...

I love the way this card turned out and hope it gives you inspiration to play along with our challenge this week. I look forward to seeing what you all come up with and don't forget to cjeck out what my talented teamies have created for your inspiration too!
Crafty hugs,

Passion for Promarkers - Christmas or Winter...

Good morning, crafty friends from a rather frosty North Wales! It seems Winter may have already arrived...for now anyway...and rather aptly, it coincides well with our challenge over at Passion for Promarkers this week! We have a brand new challenge starting today, which the lovely Marie has set for us with a seasonal theme of Christmas or Winter...
We are being sponsored by Uniko Stamps who are offering one lucky winner a choice of stamp set from their online store (stamps must be in stock)…

Don't forget, to be in with a chance of winning the prize, you MUST use your Letraset/Winsor & Newton products and follow the challenge theme - it also helps our design team if you can state where you've used the products, for example, coloured with Promarkers...

For my card, I decided to recreate one of the cards we did at our last workshop. I love this collage style of card and thought it worked well with the stag stamp which came from the Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine Issue 182...
I coloured him with my Pro/Flexmarkers, decoupaging his head for a bit of dimension and adding a touch of brown glitter to his antlers. A bit of doodling, snowflake, star, gems and dots all add to the collage feel and the string circle gives focus to the head of the stag...or that was the intention anyway!

Well, I don't suppose my washing is going to dry on the line today, so I'd best go and turn my house into a Chinese laundry and catch up with some housework...Hope you all have a terrific Tuesday, whatever you're up to and if you can find the time for a bit of crafting...and maybe even join in with our challenge this week...then all the better!
Hugs,

Passion for Promarkers - Flower Power...

Good morning, lovely Bloggers and a happy Tuesday to you all!   Can't quite believe that we're already over half way through the first month of 2016 - I have a lot going on with home life at the moment, so crafting for pleasure is at a premium at the moment!
It is however, the start of a new challenge over at Passion for Promarkers and the lovely Marie has chosen a nice, easy theme of Flower Power! So whether it be flowery papers, a floral image or flower embellishments, as long as it has flowers on...and you've used your Letraset mediums....you'll be in with a chance of winning this week's prize, which is a set of 6 Letraset pens and a 10 euro voucher for Michele R Designs!  Fabulous, so what are you waiting for?! Hop on over to the Passion for Promarkers blog to join in ...

I decided to go with a floral image using this pretty Anita's iris stamp and kept the layers white to give a real spring feel and focus on the image...

...I coloured the image and coloured layers with my Pro/Flexmarkers, here's the colour list for all you Letrasetters...
Flowers - Soft Mauve, Orchid, Amethyst, Purple, Sunflower, Gold
Leaves - Lime Zest, Pear Green, Moss, Olive Green
I hope you get chance to join in with our easy peasy theme this week and look forward to seeing your wonderful makes.  Don't forget to see what my talented teamies have been up to by clicking on their names on the Passion for Promarkers blog and I hope to be back with you soon!
Hugs,
Lisa x