Party Animals

I'm back again after another short break and Blogger has been updated!!

Seems to be pretty much the same just a bit more sleek in style so hopefully this will 

go smoothly.  These two cards were fun to colour... well they are fun images so what 

did I expect. By turning them into little framed pictures I gave myself some fussy

 cutting to do but that's okay... I like doing that :)

I used a patterned paper with text on which helps make the colours pop as 

well as being a good neutral backdrop.

I quite like colouring with greys but I did enjoy bringing these party 

parrots to life with colour and texture too.

The wording is made up using a mixture of alphabet and sentiment stamps, 

I spotted this pun on Pinterest and had to use it :)

Well there's no social distancing going on with these two!!

Thanks for stopping by

Jenny :)

Stash used:

Picture Perfect Party Animals - MFT

Selfie Square - MFT

 

Say it with Flowers

Well I'm gradually catching up now with all my cards to show you 

and this collection are all about the florals...

This gorgeous frame is a Hero Arts/Pinkfresh collaboration and I couldn't wait to try

 it embossed on dark card so I could use Prisma colour pencils to add some colour... 

When I had finished this next card I had flower pot envy!! Love this die set from MFT,

 all the pieces are well thought out and make such cute gardening tools, bench and flowers..

Flowers on the go!! Flora & Fauna have such whimsy images and this little van is 

just one of them. For a background I thought I'd try some subtle pattern making with 

a few smaller images... love the effect 😊

Saving my favourite til last and these silhouette stems from MFT are such a dream to stamp in 

layered colours thanks to my MISTI ... I was especially pleased with the daisies!

The vase is actually a take out coffee cup die that's been given a contemporary look.

Well that's all for this post, not sure what the next collection will be,

think we are heading towards a miscellaneous assortment!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Winter Brrrthday!

Hellooo! 

First blog post of the year and its nearly the end of January!!

I thought I'd share this card from before Christmas as its still quite relevant for the 

cooler weather although we haven't had much of that really.

I made this for my Mother-in-law's birthday... she is a top hot chocolate fan 😉

I've used Lil Inkers stamps and dies and have used Copics and pencils to add 

shade to the pieces... I love how it turned out 😊

Unfortunately Lil Inkers is closing its shop doors which is a shame but I 

wish Laura all the best for her future plans.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Comfy Cocoa Die and Stamps, Coffee Talk 2 die - Lil Inkers (discontinued)

Knitted sweater background stamp - MFT

Bright Lights

Ahh, bright lights.... quite ironic that the day I photographed this card was 

anything but bright!! I could have done with some good lighting.

I love coloured fairy lights and this set makes it super simple to add them twirling and 

sprawling across your card front. The gap I left was just the right shape and size for this 'bright'

die cut and all that was left was to add some glossy dimension to each bulb :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Party lights stamp and die set - MFT

Rainbow Wishes die - Concord & 9th

Mini Merry Messages - Mama Elephant

Cheers & Beers

It's another inking for the beer bottle this week for a 60th birthday card, I love 

trawling through my alphabet stamps and dies to make up these typography style cards..

Keeping all your alpha stamps and die sets together makes this job a lot easier 

then it's just a case of playing around on scrap paper. Having an image helps as a 

starting point for sizing and layout.

I'm quite pleased how this card turned out :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Bubble Over - Stampin Up

Cheers Die, Mini Well Connected - MFT

Count on it dies- Avery Elle

Jet Alphabet - Heffy Doodle

Journalling Alphas - Neat & Tangled

Lots of Letters - Mama Elephant

Amazing Type

Love this typewriter die from Sugar Pea designs, I had to make it red just like my toy

 typewriter... only wish I still had it! If you pull up the sheet of paper you 

can read the rest of the message..

I used a die to make a slit in the circle panel which is hidden behind the typewriter.

This is what the workings look like on the reverse..

I found I had a typewriter background which is the perfect 

pairing for a subtle background..

More details for this card can be found on the Seven Hills blog HERE

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash used:

You're my Type Die, You're my Type Stamp - Sugar Pea Designs

Typewriter Text Background - MFT

Confetti and Cake

A cake with candles is always a great image for a birthday card, don't you agree?

I mean who doesn't like a piece of cake on their special day!

The confetti turnabout stamp and cake layers die from Concord & 9th are such a cute pairing. 

The confetti background is a nice little circle of celebration that would work well with any 

image and the dies are well thought out with separate candle bodies so you can layer

them over the lit candles...

This first card is not necessarily boyish but I did decide to go quite girly for my second 

birthday cake with pink ombre icing..

I used pink Copics to colour a piece of copy paper then 

used the scalloped die to cut the layers

mmm.... my tummy is rumbling now!!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash used:

Confetti Turnabout Stamp, Cake Layers Die, Top it Off - Concord & 9th

Bitty Birthday Wishes Stamps - MFT

Autumn Park

I make no apologies for another Autumnal card but I felt we needed some full 

on colour to represent the season plus I've had these trees in my stamp 

collection a while now and they needed some love...

I was thinking the green background of the sentiment was a good substitute for parkland 

and the line of trees a nice edge to it.... in a very stylised and simplistic way of course.

Mixing inks on a stamp gives such great results for autumn leaves as does a soft

 blend of scattered straw distress oxide behind the trees... 

I'm very happy with how this card turned out!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Modern Trees stamps and dies - MFT

Sweater Weather dies - Concord & 9th

Autumn Wreath

Autumn is my favourite season, which I'm sure I've said on here every year, 

so when the seasonal crafting goodies come out I cannot resist!!

This beautiful stamp set by Avery Elle just had to live with me and I really enjoyed 

water-colouring the leaves and fungi... I went with a green leaved version this time 

and will try a more vibrant colour version another day,

The MFT background is a lovely subtle check to add pattern without distraction,

might find it hard to give this card away!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Fall Foliage - Avery Elle

All Lined Up - MFT

The Gift of Coffee

Here's a fun way to give a Giftcard to those coffee fanatics out there!!

This new die set from Waffleflower is brilliant and its great for mixing and matching

 with any coffee themed stamps and dies for a multitude of styles

I went girly and used this lovely lady in her autumnal outfit from a MFT set.... not tried paper piecing for a while but its a great technique for adding interest to your images..

I decorated the background with a subtle tone on tone 

floral pattern and added a sentiment

The tick box stamp in the coordinating set is a great extra detail to add 

to the back. I used the same floral pattern for the inside piece and masked an 

area to add a personal message...

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Coffee Cup Die and sentiments - Waffleflower

Friends at First Sip, Bundles of Blossoms - MFT

Uplifting Wishes - Newtons Nook

A Swell Background

Sometimes you just have to take your scissors to a stamp set and do some

 snipping to make it more versatile!! Come and see what I've done...

I've used the fairly new background stamp called Swell from Avery Elle

and I just had to perform a little stamp surgery to remove the boats from the background.

They can easily fit back in but by doing this it means I can use different colours 

for the boats as I've have for this card.

I've used a circle to cut the centre portion and inset the circular piece to add the 

sentiment to... I felt the Mama Elephant bunting went well with the nautical theme.

With the option of removing the boats means you can add other images instead, like this 

seagull from a smaller beach hut set from Avery Elle...

I've made another inset aperture to accommodate this gaggle 

of gulls, one of which is the birthday 'Gull' !!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Swell, Peek-a-Boo Summer Pals, Beside the Sea - Avery Elle

Swinging Borders, Lots of Letters - Mama Elephant

Seaside Gulls - MFT

Blue Hydrangea

I love Hydrangeas so this gorgeous stamp from Colorado Craft Company's new 

Big & Bold range had to come and live with me 😉

It's a BIG stamp and I love that for easy colouring and that off the edge style of image.

I practised my loose water-colouring again having stamped in light purple and green Distress ink.

When I had finished and the image was dry, I put the piece back into my MISTI and re-stamped using a grey pigment ink to give a clearer crisp edge. A simple vellum wrap was all it needed for a sentiment... I have to say I love that sentiment too :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Big & Bold Get Well Hydrangea - Colorado Craft Company

Anything But Basic Encouragement - MFT

Pool Friends

Now this is how to hang out with friends 😉

If you're lucky enough to have a pool!! 

I've revisited this fun set from Avery Elle's summer release last 

year and paired it with a fun sentiment from MFT...

The Neat and Tangled background make s a great ripple effect for the water and by 

cutting the pool outline die cut you can make the swimming pool any 

shape and size you want.... they're just needing a glass of something bubbly in their hands!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash used:

Splash stamps and dies - Avery Elle

Sassy Pants Best Friends - MFT

Receding Background Stamp - Neat and Tangled

A Bearthday!!

Love these bears from Avery Elle, the simplicity in the illustration makes them easy to 

colour and I tried to get a few different bears amongst them...

If you pull on the tab, one of the bears raises a sign to complete the greeting!!

I used the double slider die from MFT to make the pull tab mechanism and I have a few

more details and photos over on the Seven Hills crafts blog here, but this is basically 

what it looks like before adding the bears and frame on top of the pull tab....

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used: 

All of Us - Avery Elle

Double Slider Loops Slot Die,Polar Bear Pals   - MFT

Baby Box

I've finally got round to using the Mini Pop Up Box die from Lawn Fawn, it makes 

such a cute card and what better occasion to use it for than the arrival of a cute baby...

I used MFT's baby clothes die to cut a trio of garments and the celebration balloons 

from Mama Elephant to add a bit of height to the arrangement.... 

here's a photo of the opened card..

I made a couple of nappies using the bottom and sleeves of the onsie in the die set, 

I have more details and photos on the Seven Hills Crafts blog here to show you.

I kept the front of the card simple, using a sentiment from MFT and a twine wrap to help keep the card closed. The cute star charm is from the pop up box die.... the perfect finishing touch.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Mini Pop Up Box Die - Lawn Fawn

Bundle of Baby Clothes, Welcome Baby, Woodplank Background Stamp - MFT

Celebration Balloons & dies - Mama Elephant

Moon and Back!

I was asked to make a space themed project with this sentiment and luckily I still have 

an old discontinued MFT set containing the phrase....love when I can mix old with new 😉

I tried my Distress Oxides to make a galaxy, first time doing a whole background with

them and I have to say I love the muted effect and chalky texture. The stars are distress paint 

which has been watered down very slightly and flicked on using an old toothbrush.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash used:

Space Explorer - MFT

Happy Crocs

I couldn't resist these Crocs from Heffy Doodle.... just look at those 

facial expressions not to mention the toothy grin!!

You get a few accessory images in the set and I couldn't resist giving this one an 

empty bottle and glass of wine to go with this fun MFT sentiment. 

Here's what the inside of the card says 😂...

Here's another croc from the set... doesn't he look smart in his dickie bow??

He just had to be rushing along with a piece of cake for a special person...

Hmmm.... would you trust that smile? 🤔

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash used:

Happy Snappy Crocs - Heffy Doodle

Queen for the Day, Uncorked - MFT stamps

Fine Frames Rectangles - Altenew

Bella Letters - Mama Elephant