Cuttlebug Mania Challenge - 'May Flowers'

Time for another fortnightly challenge over at Cuttlebug Mania - and this time the theme is 'May Flowers' (ie. have one or more flowers on your card).

You do have to use a manual die cutting/embossing machine for Cuttlebug Mania entries (it doesn't need to be a Cuttlebug but it must be manual, not electronic). And, you can't mix the two, it must be all manual please. Then make your entry, link into the challenge, link to the challenge in your own blog post and and make sure that you also say what products you used for any die cutting/embossing.

Details of our sponsor can be found over on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog and this is the card I made:

I used:

- 5.5" x 5.5" square pink card blank 

- piece of white card, embossed using a 6" x 6" Embossalicious Die'Sire folder called 'Swirl Corner' and trimmed to just slightly smaller than the card front 

- the next step was to add the sentiment, using the Stampendous 'Happy Messages' set, having worked out the placement of the rose and leaves just by using the metal dies as a guide. As I was using the Misti it meant I could draw a faint pencil line onto the piece of embossed card as a guide for the two part sentiment - when you use the Misti you place the stamps face down onto the card stock where you want them to end up and fold the lid onto the card with stamps on - the lid then picks them up ready to ink and stamp. Then I inked up the stamps using a Delicata 'Silvery Shimmer' ink pad and stamped onto a spare piece of paper to double check that the alignment was right. It was, so I popped the embossed panel back in place, after rubbing out the fine pencil line, and re-inked then stamped the sentiment

- glued the embossed panel to the card front

- a lovely friend had sent me a surprise package the other week and I couldn't wait to use one of the die sets she enclosed - it's by Ultimate Crafts and is from the Magnolia Lane Collection, called 'Rose Cutting. Thank you so much once again :)

- the die set is in three parts, a solid shape for the body of the rose and two 'skeleton' dies for the rose detail and the leaves. I didn't want the rose background to be just one shade of pink so first of all I used Tim Holtz Distress Markers (Spun Sugar and Picked Raspberry), a perpex block for picking the colour up from and a waterbrush to wash right over a snippet of Crafters Companion Watercolour Card. Then using the 'Picked Raspberry' I scribbled more colour onto the perspex block and picked it up with the water brush to add swirls of the deeper pink onto the piece of card - ending up with this:

- it only needed to be 'rough and ready' (and perhaps a tad rude?) as a lot would be hidden by the 'skeleton' shape. Once it was dry I die cut the solid piece of the rose and found a snippet of card the same as the pink card front, backed it with Stick-It, die cut the skeleton detail for the rose and popped it in place

- found a snippet of green card stock, backed it with Stick-It then die cut the skeleton leaf spray and added it to the embossed panel

- added the rose itself using thin sticky pads

- final touch, five pearlescent sequins, glued in place using Glossy Accents

We'd love to see you over at Cuttlebug Mania, it's a great theme with plenty of scope! Come and play :)

Di
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Pixie's Snippets Playground - Week 175 and 176

And it's now May in the Playground! Don't time fly when you're having fun?

Len's Uncle Charlie passed away recently and this is the card I made to send to his family:

I used:

- 5" x 5" square white card blank

- green backing card from the snippets folder

- Penny Black 'Poppy Poem' stamp, stamped using black Archival ink and coloured with Tim Holtz Distress inks ('festive berries', 'forest moss' and 'gathered twigs') plus the very fine end of a matching green Whispers marker. I just touched the distress markers here and there on the petals, buds and leaves then dragged the colour out using a water brush. Added a tickle of light grey Pro marker as shadow/grounding

- the sentiment was stamped using SU's 'Thinking of You' sentiment from their 'Sincere Salutations' set and black Archival ink

Although the 'Sincere Salutations' sentiments set is discontinued, and has been for some time,  SU's 'Wetlands' set (still available) has three sentiment stamps in it, which are of similar fonts (scroll and block capitals).

Given Uncle Charlie's Armed Forces background, which included years as a Prisoner of War in Poland, the poppy seemed so appropriate. He had a long (94 years), full and interesting life for sure!

Onto this week's picks now:

Kate was first into the Playground last week, and went straight onto my list of possible picks. I do whittle the list down a bit later in the week, but this gorgeous bauble card so deserves to remain a pick! I've had to sit on my hands to resist buying the stamp and co-ordinating die!

I truly think this is one of the very best male cards I've seen for a long time, brought to us by Eve (who is currently recovering from pneumonia!). The dogtooth paper is such a perfect background.

Kath almost caught me out here with this beautiful card - the background is DP, I thought Kath had stamped it until I read the list of materials properly. I wish there were more gorgeous papers like this one to be had!

Sarah (Craft Nerd) showed us a few cards in one blog post, with the most darling Easter scenes. What absolutely stunned me was the intricacy and smallness of the details she added - especially the fabulous little flowers. The flowers on this card actually have a micro bead in their centres - now that really IS working small! Do please hop over to look at the close-ups!

I just love this scene that Lynn (Linby) created! And, some of the die cutting was actually done using an old brochure - very imaginative and a great success too.

I totally adore this card, made by Carol L. Of course, it's pink for a start, uses those lovely stitched dies and the background is so beautifully water coloured. But, it's how Carol used the Memory Box 'Prim Poppy' die that really makes this card stand out for me - firstly using striped paper but also splitting up two die cuts and arranging them so well.

So those are my picks, I hope you like them and that they give you some inspiration. I do try to give everyone a little turn to be a weekly pick, but sometimes there are perhaps more appearances by some playmates - and that's because it would be a shame to leave them out :)

And, we have three new playmates this week:

Firstly, Joan W hopped in with this lovely Christmas card - using one of my all time favourite images. So pretty!

And then Joanne arrived, immediately after, waving this gorgeous sunshine card - I love the design and such a great sentiment too!

And, much later in the week, Kikka Cards brought this adorable trio to share - so cute!

Welcome to you all, and I hope you come back to play with us again!

Straight onto the draw for last week's prize of the Cuttlebug 'Pinking Stitch' embossing folder and the Joanna Sheen Signature 'Daffodils' die. Gosh this was a popular prize, one of you really wanted just the embossing folder and 27 of you would have loved both parts of the prize. And, drum roll, the winner is:

Carol L

Well done Carol, it's quite ironic really as you use your dies and embossing folders so beautifully, plus once again (purely coincidence) a pick of the week got chosen by Mr Random too! I do have an address for you from a previous win, but can you please confirm that it's right? (di_wray@hotmail.com)
 
So here's this coming week's prize, which isn't connected to my snippets card for once. There are two chances to win a Sheena Douglass 'Simply Sweet' stamp set. Those of you who are familiar with Sheena's 'Paint Fusion' technique will know that the general idea is that you stamp the 'bones' of an image and then add the extra detail using brushwork techniques. The sets come with stamps, full instructions and a laminated practice sheet. A chance to get arty without having to start right from scratch :)

This time, the Snippets Challenge will run for two weeks and the Playground gates will close at 11am UK time on Saturday 16th May. The gates will open again at midnight UK time on the same day.

I'm sorry to mess folk about but we need to be away for Uncle Charlie's funeral for a couple of days at the end of this coming week as it's at the other end of the UK to where we live. That means I won't have time to do the write-up on Saturday as I usually do, and will have comment catching up to do as well. So it seems best to let this current challenge run over two weeks instead of just the one.

I'm leaving Parsnip in charge and he has my mobile number on speed dial! And Sarn will have her prefect's hat on - I hope :)

Maximum of three entries (over the two week period) and please say 'Yes please' (or similar) in a comment if you wish to play and be a possible winner of the prize. As I already pointed out, there are two of these Sheena Douglass stamp sets to be won (both the same) so there will be two winners.

Mr Linky is below - do please let me know if you have any problems linking, it's easy for me to sort out so don't struggle on alone :)


Di, and of course, Parsnip!
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Sheltering Tree - Take One

Recently I bought SU's 'Sheltering Tree' stamp set - and at the weekend I found time to have a little play:

I used:

- 6" x 6" square white card blank

- snippet of SU's 'Smoky Slate' card stock, cut just slightly smaller than the card and then run through the Cuttlebug with Die'Sire's 'Swirl Corner' embossing folder

- a snippet of 'Annabelle's Meadow' paper from Wild Rose Studio's paper pack

- the image was made up using stamps from SU's 'Sheltering Tree' set and mostly Tim Holtz Distress Markers. Using the brilliant Fiskars 'Compact Stamp Press', first I stamped the grass using 'Mowed Lawn', next the tree trunk and branches using 'Gathered Twigs' - followed by the blossom using firstly 'Victorian Velvet' and then 'Picked Raspberry'

- I then added the swing by colouring the stamp using a Whispers Black marker - the jury is still out on this one to be honest as I think the swing looks much too chunky. It could be the marker I used (maybe an ink pad would be better) - or I pressed too firmly on the stamp press. OR, it's just made that way :( I need to have a play with ink pads when time allows - failing that it would be easy enough just to draw a swing using a fine liner

- the sentiment also comes with the set, stamped using Memento 'London Fog'

- finally I die cut the image using a Lil'Inkers 'Stitched Rectangle' die and just stuck the whole card together using Collall All Purpose Glue

Job done - and I think this card would be fine as a sympathy card or to wish someone well who is under the weather. I still need to work on that swing stamp though!

Di
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Less is More - watercolour

The current challenge over at Less is More is 'Watercolour' - you can use Distress Inks, pencils etc. so long as you use some water in its production. I hate to miss LIM, unless the challenge really stumps me, so I had a little break from other stuff going on here, nipped into the craft room and it took about fifteen minutes to whip up this card - almost 'record quick time' for me:

I used:

- 5" x 5" square white linen card blank

- Penny Black 'Poppy Poem' stamp, stamped using black Archival ink and coloured with Tim Holtz Distress inks. I just touched the markers quite lightly on the petals, buds and leaves then dragged the colour out using a water brush

- the sentiment was stamped using Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink and stamps from a lovely set by Winnie and Walter called 'the big, the bold and the happy - WW002'. It's thanks to my lovely friend Sarn that I found this great set of stamps - mwah!

- then just rounded the bottom left corner

In case you missed the post, this is the poppy in our garden three weeks ago that inspired the colouring:

AND, because it was the very first outing of the sentiment stamp set, I'd like to go and play again over at Darnell's playhouse with this as a third entry where she's not far from closing her NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff) celebration.

Well done Darnell on making your blog such fun and so successful :) Here's to your next 500 followers - and this card was made very much with friends like you in mind - mwah!

Di
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Quick and easy - in a hurry

Things are busy here right now, so I'm possibly late commenting if you came to play in the Playground - and I'm certainly not spending very much time in the craft room. But, I did sneak in yesterday for a quick play:

I used:

- 4" x 4" square white linen card blank

- a square snippet of plain pink card topped with a square snippet of white linen card

- an uncoloured topper (sadly cut a bit off centre during manufacture - in fact the whole set was a bit like that which is perhaps why they lay forgotten for so long) and a pink oval scallop, both from Craftwork Cards, bought ages ago - I coloured the flowers and leaves using TH Distress Ink markers

- the topper had space for words of your own choosing so I stamped 'Just for You' in Memento 'Tuxedo Black' ink using a stamp from the 'Everyday Words Happy Birthday' set by Personal Impressions

Isn't it funny, I thought the uncoloured topper was very ordinary (even allowing for it being die cut off centre) and only picked it out for speed - but in fact do quite like the end result.

Many thanks to those of you who kindly left your thoughts, and some links, regarding the white tool storage 'carousel' I asked about the other day. I should have said at the time - Samuel Taylor's in the UK stocks them - the jury is still out here though. So many really valid pros and cons were put forward - still more thought needed. As Len keeps saying about me, I used to be indecisive, now I'm not so sure!

Di
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Less is More - Thank You

The current challenge over at Less is More is a one-layer 'Thank You':

I used:

- A6 white 'tent style' card

- Kanban 'un-named' stamp. First I made a mask by tearing a strip of paper and attaching it to the card using a removable tape runner then stamped the image using a Stayzon Black ink pad before removing the strip of torn paper, which left a gap for the sentiment

- then (wily old bird is learning here) I stamped the sentiment with the same Stayzon and a stamp from a Hero Arts set called 'CL047 Clear Design Messages'

- and only then did I colour the design using Tim Holtz Distress Markers :)

- final touch, the bottom right corners of the card were rounded using a punch

Di
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Playing with Distress Markers

Tim Holtz Distress Markers have been on my wish list for quite a while now and the other day I spotted over at Kate's blog that there's a new 'Seasonal' set of 12 lush colours, perfect for a first purchase and little play. They arrived in under 24 hours from Craft Obsessions, along with a 'Picket Fence' marker (white) which I added to the order 'cos I think it'll be very useful. The colours really are ideal for a starter set too. So, yesterday I had a really super fast little play:

It's a Sympathy card, as others have said, they are the one card that you often feel too saddened to make when the time comes so here's one to keep on standby.

I used:

- 7" x 5" white card stock

- deep purple/aubergine Core'dinations card stock for the main backing and to layer the image onto

- embossing folder is 'Bon Jour' by Couture Creations - one of these is coming up in the Playground shortly :) It's a lovely folder with a plain panel down the centre - would look good either way round too depending on the image or even just a nice sentiment. What doesn't show up well in the photo is that I layered the image onto a square of the deep purple/aubergine card before adding it onto the plain panel

- the stamp is Penny Black's 'Irises', coloured with 'Mowed Lawn' and 'Seedless Preserves' Distress Markers - then 'huffed' on and stamped

- sentiment is LOTV ''General Greetings - Small', coloured with 'Seedless Preserves' marker again

I adore these markers and can see lots of fun ways to play with them.

Edit: On my way to bed last night I spotted a comment from Kim (Kimbo), one of our Playmates. So I hopped over to look at her snippets make here and am still laughing - do go and take a peek!! Flipping hilarious :)

Di
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