Gearing up for a 50th

I had a guys 50th birthday card to make for a relative and he's a keen cyclist so 

I had the idea to use this Paper Smooches die and highlight the parts of the 

frame to make the numbers 5 and 0.... 

Using the white diecuts on a white card base gives a clean and simple look

... ideal for a masculine card . 

I noticed The Male Room challenge have the perfect theme at the moment so I'll pop it in

 over there It's a great challenge to get those guys cards made and I follow along but never 

get around to making stuff for challenges anymore! What can I say... I know the idea is 

to challenge yourself to make a card but the stars have aligned for me this

 week and the theme is perfect.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Bicycle Die - Paper Smooches

Beep Boop Birthday (retired) - Lawn Fawn

Not Feline Well?

I realised the other day that I haven't used my Inktense pencils for a 

while so I had to rectify that. I dug out an unloved stamp set to match the unloved

 pencils and stamped out this cute scene.....

I started with a big ginger cat and a dark purple chair then grabbed my colour 

wheel to choose a suitable colour for the wall which is painted with regular watercolours.

Love the big scripty sentiment.... luckily it fitted in the space 'purr'fectly 😉

I coloured the edges of the card base with Distress Oxide ink then added water with a 

background stamp...... you're left with a fun texture when you soak

 up the moisture with a piece of kitchen towel.

More details can be found on my Seven Hills Crafts DT blog post here

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Hello Stampurr - Waffleflower

Critter Card Puns - Paper Smooches

Totally Toads!

Well aren't I the lazy blogger!! It's the start of February tomorrow so I thought I should put in an appearance for January with a couple of recent cards...

I thought I'd try a simple interactive card with these MFT toads, they are fun to colour.... breaking out my different green Copic combinations. This is what happens when you pull the tab..

The mechanism is hidden thanks to Lawn Fawns new slider die which fits perfectly on the back of the toad... he he.... basically he's toast shaped!! 😃 

I coloured up a fourth toad but couldn't fit him in the pond so he got his own separate card and is quite far from the pond!!!.....

I presume he's positioned so he can sit on a lily pad but I also thought he could be floating away with a bunch of heart shaped balloons. He does look rather out of place but then again he's trying to get a message across 😉

I have more details about these cards on the Seven Hills crafts blog here and here.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stash Used:

Toad-ally Awesome, Heart Balloon die, Mini Well Connected Alpha - MFT

Let's Toast pull tab die - Lawn Fawn

Critter Card Puns, Cloud dies - Paper Smooches

A Post at Last (part b)

Hello there again,

Okay so here are a few more recent projects to catch up on.... and they seem to be all animal related which is a pure coincidence!!

I Had to have these dies from Paper Smooches.... love that they look like the animal has taken a selfie :) Lol.  Lots of dies in the set so I had a play and ended up with this character.... I reckon he's a husky type breed with bright blue eyes like that ;)

Next up is this cute little doggy kennel I made using the Lawn Fawn Milk Carton. By adding a cardboard roof it not only makes it more of a kennel shape but holds the carton closed too. Of course I couldn't find anything doggy related to go inside for the photos but have since found some mini Scottie dog shaped shortbread biscuits in Sainsbury's that would have been perfect .. *sigh* ;)

A couple more photos but there are others on my Seven Hills blog post (link below)... oh and the doggies around the outside are from a Wplus9 stamp set by the way....

I can't help thinking that Snoopy should be lying up on that kennel roof!!

Finally, to bring us up to date is this card which just makes me smile...

Seriously, that bear's expression was made to go with a phrase like that!! I'm just glad pants aren't trousers here in the UK or I'd have to think again!! I also got round to trying out the technique of using a stencil as a guide to making the dotty backdrop, so subtle and I love it :)

Here are the Links to the Seven Hills blog posts for these projects with more details and links to the products used..
Raise the Woof - click here
Kennel Milk Carton - click here
Smarty Pants - click here

Thanks for stopping by :)
Jenny x

Baby Dragons

Hi There :)

Just popping by to share this New Baby card... yep not exactly your usual baby themed

 images but these two dragons are certainly cute enough for the job :)

I inked a mountainous scene for them on a die cut circle and used the lovely scripty Welcome die from Paper Smooches..... it has a perfect gentle curve to match the circular scene :)

It's something a bit different and I love this simple CAS design too :)

Thanks for stopping by

Jenny x

Stamps:

 (Magical Dragons, Prehistoric Pals) MFT

(Little Bundle) Lawn Fawn

Dies:

(Welcome Word) Paper Smooches

(Cross Stitch Circles) MFT

A Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge

The new challenge this month at Seven Hills Crafts is a

TIC-TAC-TOE board ... they seem to be a favourite for challenges and 

it's fun to see which line inspires your crafting project too :)

As you can see, I went with the diagonal line containing animals, big words and die cutting.

I went through my Paper Smooches stamps and found these cute critters to sit 

alongside the Big sentiment.... love the whimsy style of the letters which

 are a great size for cutting with patterned paper.

We'd love to see you play along with us... which line on the board inspires you?

All the details can be found on the blog here with details of the prize up for grabs

Hope to see you there :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

  

Many Thanks

Hi there :)

I'm just popping by to share my DT card for Seven Hills Crafts

This card started out as a great idea but proved quite tricky to work out!! 

I guess 'Word Art' is a lot easier when you're starting from scratch and doing all

 the lettering yourself because fitting stamps together is more of a puzzle than crafting!

I needed a batch of thank you cards after our lads birthday bash and one layer seemed the 

quickest route so I pulled out a Paper Smooches set called Many Thanks and had a 

go at arranging the phrases on scrap paper. I soon gave up on that idea and 

trimmed them all out so I could arrange them on my cutting mat instead....

That made the job a lot easier along with my MISTI, which meant I could make multiples :)

I chose rainbow colours but didn't follow rainbow order and then added 

a strip of black card to contrast those colourful phrases :) 

I'm quite chuffed how it turned out, quite effective for a one layer card and

 James approved of them too!

Thanks for stopping by 

Jenny x

A Box of Balloons

Hi there :)

I really enjoyed making Hannah's graduation box card a few weeks ago so I decided to use the same design for a 21st Birthday card for a friends daughter.... this time it's filled with birthday balloons...

Definitely a girlie card... all those balloons in shades of pinks with some glittery white ones thrown in and they're floating away with the help of some acetate strips which also make them gently sway in the lightest breeze ...

I hand-drew and cut out the 2 and 1 shaped balloons from black glitter card ... 

I used an MFT background stamp to make the panels for the flaps and 

used Paper Smooches dies for the greeting

I shared this card over at Seven Hills Crafts blog on Monday so more details and

 links to the products I used can be found here

Another fun card to make and Katie was thrilled with it too :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

When Stamping becomes a Game!!

Hi there :)

I love when I think of other ways to use my stamps aside of card-making and today I'm happy to share one of those ideas over at the Seven Hills Crafts blog....

I picked up this DIY memory card game from my local Tiger store ( I love this shop so much *wink*) and set about making a matching pairs game using lots of stamps from my ever growing stash :) The box contains 44 sturdy blank cards and they have a lovely papery finish which takes ink and Copic markers well..

I was careful not to do too much fancy colouring and saturate the paper, I then finished them off with a coat of glossy mod-podge to make them more durable and I also found it made the colours more vibrant too!!

My twenty year old Autistic lad still loves to play this game and he's pretty good at it too... a nice sized game to take out with you when waiting and patience is required :)

A few more details and links to the sets I've used can be found on the Seven Hills Crafts blog here.

Thanks for stopping by  :)

Jenny x

Behind the Clouds

Hi there.... I have a card for the CASology challenge..... 

I love the sunshine, who doesn't,..... so I had to play along :)

I love this sentiment, what better way to illustrate it than with a happy cloud 

and Mr sunshine peeking out from behind...

I've used Paper Smooches Fruit People dies to make the sun, 

complete with his arms and sun rays.... I love how he's cuddling the cloud, 

this die set is worth getting just for the arms and legs!! ;)

As always the DT have provided some fab inspiration for us, I bet the 

gallery will look amazing by the end of the week too:)

Stash used:

Dies: (Fruit People, Cloud Dies) Paper Smooches

Stamps: (The Great Outdoors) MFT- discontinued

Hope you have a great day and thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Relish the Challenge!!

Hi there :) 

Well it seems another month has slipped by and now we are into June!! 

This also means a new challenge over at Seven Hills Crafts and this 

month we have sketch for you to play with...

 I have kept the sketch pretty much 'as is' and 

dug out some older stamps to ink up...

We would love you to play along with us....

 all the details and the gallery link up can be found here and keep an eye out for our 

weekly challenge inspiration posts over on the Seven Hills Crafts blog.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stamps used:
(Think Fast) Paper Smooches
(Let's BBQ) Lawn Fawn

Using that Christmas Stash in July!!

It's the hottest July day on record here in the UK so the new challenge this month at Make the Day Special Stamp Store will help to cool things a little because we're asking you to dig out your Christmas stamps and dies to create with for.... Anything but Christmas.

                                        

I actually thought this sounded a simple challenge at first but it wasn't long before I was scratching my head!! I turned to my dies instead and went with the Stocking dies from Paper Smooches to make some dinky baby socks...

Instead of paper piecing, I cut them in white card and used Promarkers in three shades of blue to add stripes and solid colour to the heels and tops.... squee!!.. aren't they adorable :)

The stitched frame die is also from Paper Smooches and the sentiment by Lil Inkers.

The challenge details and gallery linky can be found here... I really can't wait to see the clever ways you guys use your Christmas stamps and dies for this challenge, the only rule is that you use a product from the store on your creation :)

Thanks for stopping by

Jenny x

Dotty Daisies

It's been half term holidays here in the UK so I'm only just getting round to blogging my DT card for Make the Day Special Stamp Store. I went all dotty with my Promarkers on this daisy from Paper Smooches Twiggy Florets stamp set...

Another new technique for me and the hardest part was the white petals!! I have to say how different the Paper Smooches stamps look when you take the black outline away :) The dottiness of the background was made with the Tim Holtz Spritzer tool.... that would've been soul destroying hand dotting that!!!

This one is going to join my stash when an inspirational nudge is needed.... I think I'm going to need one of those to get James back to school next week and it'll take more than a card to do that *sigh*

I'll pop this in over at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge which is Anything Goes this week

                                                     

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Coloured Pencils

It's my turn to post a card over at the Make the Day Special Stamp Store blog today so I thought I'd share it here too. I was inspired by a fab card in our monthly challenge gallery, Kate acheived the retro fabric feel on her card by using masking and minimal colouring... it's just so cool :)

I used a Paper Smooches pencil stamp instead and some bright coloured Promarkers... not so retro but I love the off-set style of the pattern :)

I took a couple of photos of the process to make the background ....

I made several masks of the pencil and stuck them down on the panel before sponging the background colour. I didn't worry about cutting the masks exactly along the lines as it's quite a simple shape.

After removing the masks I stamped the pencils in Memento and made sure I off-set them... then I used the chisel end of my Promarkers to add some swishes and flicks of colour :)

Instead of using the whole piece I chopped into two and made a couple of cards :)

Those bright colours really make me happy and I think I'll need to experiment with other stamps and this technique :)

Thanks for stopping by :)

Jenny x

Stamps used:  Just a Note by Paper Smooches

Knock Knock

I'm back with another comical, punny card ..... apologies, I seem to be having a run of them at the moment and I assure you I can do serious cards too...Lol :)

The joke, this time, is provided by the Knock Knock Valentine set from Wplus9.... another quirky set I wanted to add to my collection....

Don't tell Apple that I made my own copy of the iPhone, only mine is ultra slim and very lightweight... only drawback ...it doesn't work !!
I took the cue from the joke and gave the phone to this little guy, he's made with the Fruit People dies from Paper Smooches, and because he's quite small compared to the phone he's holding it forward for you to read :)

Laughing at myself getting the proportions right for this little scene.... coz you often see oranges texting people don't ya!!!... especially those with one arm longer than the other!!... Lol :0)

I'm popping this little fella in over at CASology were the Friend cue word is coming to a close soon... I hope it's CAS enough for the ladies!!?? 

Thanks for stopping by
Jenny x

A Metallic Wreath

Now we're into November the challenge blogs are lending themselves nicely to help us get cracking on our Christmas cards.... or is it just me that leaves it until now!!!???

Chrissie and the ladies at Less is More are asking for Christmas cards but not using red or green in the design and Virginia's View Challenge this month is 'All Things Metallic'.... they seem to be a good pairing of challenge themes to me ....

I've made my own silver embossed wreath using a Paper Smooches stamp and adorned it with gems,wire and of course a neat little blue/purple bow. The irridescent nature of the mauve coloured gems meant capturing them in a photo was a complete nightmare so this angle below is still not great for colour, but at least you can see them :0)

These wreaths are quite easy to whip up in batches and other colour themes would look lovely too.... I think I'd go for a smaller card base next time though!! Love the sentiment... very girlie :0)

                                             

Thanks for stopping by :0)

Jenny x

Stamps used : Jolly Holly - Paper Smooches