Sunday, March 17, 2024

CardSwap - March - TicTacToe + Sketch

Time for my March Swap Cards for CraftMad - this time using a sketch + TicTacToe.

Card 1 - sketch + TicTacToe

For my first card, I started following the sketch, but as I played with it, the more I started following the TicTacToe as well.  In the end, I went with bottom row - neutral/ribbon/patterned paper.

First up, I stamped, coloured in and die cut some cats from the Uniquely Creative Purrfect stamp set, then placed them on some vellum circles cut with Spellbinders Circle dies.

Patterned paper was placed on the left side and white cardstock embossed with Dots using my Cuttlebug placed on the right side - a ribbon was used to cover up the join.  Vellum circles were then added to cardfront using double-sided tape.  To finish, cardfront edges were inked slightly to emphasis the edges, then added to the cardbase.
 
Linking this card with:
Allsorts Challenge #772 - Feathers or Fur
Shopping Our Stash #517 - Round and Round


Card 2

I played with some new stamps (new for me).  I recently received a prize in the mail from Christina of Flowers,Ribbons and Pearls.  Each Friday Christina has a giveaway for her followers and I was lucky enough to win in January and by February, the magazine & stamps were in my hot little hands!
 

Thank you so much Christina, and for the little extras in the package too!  you are most generous!
 
I was itching to have a play with these stamps - I usually struggle with cards for males and I think these stamps will really help with the creativity.

Following the sketch layout, I cut 3 circles and stamped them with some of the text/elements in StazOn ink.  I then used the 'road map' stamp and stamped that on some DP, then trimmed to size.  The 'tyre tracks' were stamped, then circles placed to follow the sketch layout.

The TicTacToe elements followed for this card were middle row:   masculine/die cut/ink.


Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.
Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.


Friday, March 15, 2024

Floral cards

I have been playing with some more floral stamps from #Altenew. Here are some using the Build-a-flower Coneflower & Anemone Coronaria sets.
 
My February card swap for the CraftMad group had the theme of florals + sketch - we swap two cards, one card following a theme and one card using the theme + sketch.
 
 

Card 1 - Floral card

This card was in my stash of cards made last year - you can read how it was made HERE 
I think it was perfect for my first swap card. 
 


 

Card 2 - Floral + Sketch

The next card came together fairly quickly :)  I had some flowers left over from a previous stamping session, so it was just a matter of playing around to find a pleasing layout.
 

The background ribbons were cut from offcuts/snippets of cardstock.  The gold has a lovely sheen that doesn't quite show up well in the photo.  Ribbons were layered using 3d foam tabs, then the flowers were added to cardfront 3d foam tabs for more dimension.  Sadly, the sheen on the gold ribbon does not show up well in the photo ..... it looks lovely in real life!
 
Stay tuned for my next post for the March swap ...... coming soon!
 


Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.
Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.


Saturday, February 24, 2024

Thank You for all you do!

Mr Fixit was experiencing some health issues at the end of last year and I don't know what I would have done without the support of my family but the help and support from my BFF Joy has been exceptional!  Joy has gone above and beyond!

So, I have made her a card to say 'thank you'.
 

Once again, I have used the Altenew BAF Lavender set and die cut several layers, glued together to add dimension.   These particular lavenders were stamped with some different shades of purples and greens from an old ink set from 'color box' which I got for $5 from a 'craft fair' ....... I think ...... I have had them for so long, I really can't remember where I got them from. I tied 3 lavenders together with some gold twine and glued them together, then added a 'tag' diecut stamped with 'thank you for all you do'.  The layered lavender flowers were then added to a black cardfront using 3D foam tabs, which was then then added to a white 300gsm cardbase.



I am loving this Altenew stamp set ... the more I use it, the better I get at lining up the layers and the more confident I get at selecting different colours to stamp with. Next time, I am going to use some pinks, or maybe some reds and see how it looks. #Altenew, #AltenewChallenge, #CaughtbyAltenew  The As You Like It Challenge asks us to nominate our favourite, and as I struggle with masculine cards, my favourite is definitely feminine LOL .... on checking my stamps (both physical and digital) there is definitely a leaning towards the feminine and I seem to have a preference for flowers and 'very girly' stuff  LOL
 Linking with the following challenges:Creative Inspirations February: A Special Friend As you Like It Challenge:  Feminine or Masculine


Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.
Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.


Thursday, February 22, 2024

Thinking of You

I was in need of a Sympathy Card this week ..... a dear family friend had passed away.
 
Serendipitously, I had been playing with some new #Altenew inks that had arrived in the mail from Auzz Trinklets N Crafts just a few days earlier.  I stamped up some lavender flowers using the Altenew BAF Lavender set and die cut several layers, glued together to add dimension.  I tied 2 lavenders together with some gold twine and glued them together.  For the background, I used a single lavender stamp, and Altenew 'Wisteria' Crisp Dye Ink - stamping several times, then adding some 'splatters' using a few other inks.  I then stamped 'thinking of you' using the Altenew 'Permanent Black' Crisp Dye Ink at the bottom of the cardfront. 
 
 The layered lavender flowers were added to the cardfront using 3D foam tabs, and a final touch of 'bling' added with some randomly placed pearls. Linking with the following challenges:Creative Knockouts #515 - die cuts/stencils/punches Beautiful Blossoms Challenge #14 - Anything Floral
#Altenew, #AltenewChallenge, #caughtbyaltenew,
 

Thank you for visiting my blog today - I hope you have a good day.
Remember, any day doing something you love makes it a good day ;-)
Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.