Ori Kami

Hello!

How is your week going so far?  I am just popping in to post a few cards that I have made with a fantastic new set of stamps from Jen Rzasa and Tasnim Ahmed who have teamed up to form Altenew.  The first release from their new stamp company is just great - I have only got a few so far but will definitely be back for more :)

The set that I have been playing with is called Ori Kami and features origami style images:

 

Sorry again for the poor quality light :(

 

I paper pieced the elephant with some Studio Calico paper that I have had for a long time - I do like grey and yellow as a combination.  The sentiment is from WPlus9.

 

 

I sponged Squeezed Lemonade and Pumice Stone distress inks through a Memory Box mesh stencil in the shape of a heart for this card.

 

Given the distressed effect of the mesh heart I will join up with the current challenge at Addicted to CAS where the code word is Grunge.

 

I also used the sketch over at Less Is More for the layout of the butterfly card.

 

 

I hope you like these cards - they were fun to make :)

 

Enjoy the rest of your week!

 

Sarah x

 

 

 

A Few More Cards

Hello!

This is my second post today to share a few more cards!  I should have been doing some housework but never quite got round to it :)

 

I have used my Hero Arts Big Flowers Pattern and coloured it with promarkers.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.  I will join this up with CASology's Garden Cue Card and with Addicted to Stamps Make Your Mark Challenge.

 

I have also made another card for the combined CAS(E) This Sketch and RIC Challenge:

 

 

 

I used Hero Arts Tweed Background and Tiny Ink Spots on the die cut flowers along with a sentiment from Year Round Sentiments. 

 

That's it from me.  I hope that you had the chance to get creative this weekend!

 

Bye for now, Sarah x

 

Uniko Challenge

Hello!

I hope you are having a good weekend!  I have been playing with the fab new Background Builders stamp set from Uniko Studio and have made a card for their current spring challenge with the following colours:

Here is my take:

 

 

I am enjoying making cards with angled panels at the moment - don't ask me why!  The sentiment is from Uniko's All Occasion Sentiments #5.  I have used some Studio Calico paper to cover the card front, some American Crafts green cardstock and the lovely little blooms and flowers from Background Builders:Vines to create the clusters around the sentiment.  Very simple and quite spring-y. 

 

I will link this up to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to Keep It Clean and Simple while there is still time.

 

I also used this set to make an Easter gift for my mother last week in the form of a set of note cards:

 

 

 

I used a variety of sentiments from Clearly Besotted, Hero Arts and Penny Black. 

The Background Builders are really versatile and so pretty!  Uniko Studio have currently got a blog hop featuring this new set and the DT have made some stunning cards - its worth a look!

Thanks as always for your visit - I really appreciate it :)

Sarah x

 

 

Berry Card

Hello!

Popping in with a quick card for CASology whose cue word is Garden this week.  I have used Fruitilicious stamps from Clearly Besotted stamps.  Given that we were planting strawberry plants in our garden last weekend I thought this was a fitting image for the challenge.

 

The layout is very simple and the berries have a bit of shimmer from Wink of Stella.

 

As it is a CAS card I will also join up with Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to Keep It Clean and Simple.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

Makes Me Smile

Hello!

Thank goodness it is nearly the weekend!  The challenge at Less is More this week is Makes Me Smile - what a lovely theme :)  Actually I have only got to play along with an hour to spare....

 

There are lots of things about this card that make me smile - I love this stamp set from Mama Elephant.  It is new to me and so cute!  I also like putting my panel at an angle and I like lots of white space :) 

 

I will also enter this card to Card Concept #8 Use An Umbrella!

 

Whilst I was playing with these new Mama Elephant stamps I also made this card:

 

 

Apologies for the poor photos - it is a wet and dull evening here :(

 

I will also play along with this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge to Keep It Clean and Simple.

 

I hope you like them.  Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

CAS(E) This Sketch and RIC

Hello!

Back to school and work today - so less time to get creative.  However, I have a few cards to share that I have made inspired by the current combined challenge that CAS(E) This Sketch and Runway Inspired Challenge have put together:

Here is my attempt:

 

I have used Hero Arts Tiny Flags background embossed in white on black and the Painted Flower stamp in Fired Brick, Spiced Marmalade and Black Soot Distress Markers.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.  A few splatters and black sequins to finish.

 

I also made a variation using Hero Arts Five Line Background and die cut Penny Black's Love Buds out of the panel.  I combined it with their great Flutters butterflies cut out of a watercoloured background.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

 

 

I hope you like them!

 

Thanks for your visit, Sarah x

 

Animal Antics

Hello!

The Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is Animal Antics so I got out the fun Hero Arts Missing You stamp set.

 

I went with bright colours and stamped Magical Background, Tiny Flags and Delicate Leaf Clusters in the background.  Glossy accents on the eye and a heart button to finish.

 

 

I made a second card with the same layout and the woodgrain background behind the owl.

 

That's it from me - I hope they make you smile :)

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

 

Boy Birthday

Hello!

My husband and boys love the comic superheroes and we go to see all of the films - so I had to have the Explosion! stamp set from Uniko Studio.  I love the stamps that Bev designs and have been playing with the beautiful new Vines set that she has just released (which I will share later) - you should go and check out her store and blog.

I went for a bold card in comic colours of blue, yellow, black and red for this male birthday card:

I white embossed the explosions and words and coloured the background with Salty Ocean Distress Ink.  I spattered with water to add a bit of interest and bleached a bit of colour out around the explosions with a water brush too.  The sentiment is put together with Hero Arts Journal letters which I thought worked with the style of the explosion stamps. 

These stamps are perfect for male cards and I am sure that I am going to have lots of fun with them :)

As this is a male birthday card I will play along with Time Out's third challenge to create a birthday card with an optional twist of male birthday.

Have a lovely Easter Sunday!

Sarah x

A Note of Thanks

 

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying the Easter weekend :) 

Today I am playing along with CASology whose cue card this week is Note.  I can't believe that I got an Honourable Mention for last week's card - it made my day!  Thank you :)

 

As soon as I saw the cue card I thought of music notes and decided to combine it with thank you notes.  I stamped a music background from Hero Arts and die cut a Memory Box bird.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.

 

 

It was a really simple card to make but I liked the effect so I made another one featuring a heart die from Simon Says Stamp :)

 

 

I hope you like them :)  Thanks for your visit - see you again soon!

 

Sarah x

 

 

 

More Stencils

Hello!

I have been playing with more stencils this week - I think that I need to step away from them :)  I have two cards to share with you.

 

I have used clear embossing paste on this stencil (I think it is Heidi Swapp) and then inked over it with Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Scattered Straw and Antique Linen distress inks.  I splattered a bit of water to add to the distressed look.  I have used my new butterfly stamp from Hero Arts, white embossed on vellum over a watercoloured base.  I have gold embossed the sentiment from HA's Messages with Flourish on vellum.  This will be my last card playing along with Virginia's View Challenge!

 

My second card is made using a chevron stencil from Simon Says Stamp which I have embossed with black paste.  I cut it up and combined with gold embossed sentiments from Hero Art's Yay set.  Stamped stars and a few sequins to finish. 

 

 

I hope you like them.  Thanks for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

 

A Blog Named Hero Challenge #42

Hello!

It is a lovely sunny day here leading up to the Easter weekend.  I hope you are enjoying some spring sunshine too :)

There is a new challenge over at A Blog Named Hero to use layers/dimension on your card. 


I didn't need more of an excuse to get my stencils and embossing paste out - everyone is going mad for stencils at the moment!  I love the range of techniques that you can use with them from embossing paste to inking, spraying, dry embossing....they are a very cost effective way to add texture and interest to your cards.  And there are so many fab stencils coming on to the market at the moment so there is a lot of choice :)

Here is the card that I made for the challenge:

 

I used Hero Arts number stencil with white paste and then covered it with silver glitter - it is a party on a card!  I stamped a white tag with HA's Tiny Flags in Wet Cement and then covered with a vellum tag on which I silver embossed the sentiments from the set called Yay!.  I silver embossed the main sentiment on white card.  I really like all of the silvers and greys and figure there are about 5 layers on this card including the grey mat, embossed card, two layer tag and main sentiment!!

 

I will also play along with two other challenges with this card - Virginia's View Challenge #2 and the Hero Arts Sketch Challenge using Sketch #2.

 

I hope you will check out the DT's cards for the Layer Cake Challenge - remember there is a prize from our great sponsor, Simon Says Stamp!

 

 

See you over at ABNH!

 

Sarah x

 

CAS(E) this Sketch #72

Hello!

Another quick post with the card that I have made to play along with the current CAS(E) this Sketch challenge:

My interpretation is fairly literal - I decided to use the grid to play hearts and crosses :)

 

The stamps are all Hero Arts - the crosses are from Journal Letters, the hearts are from You're So Kind and the sentiment is from XO.  A really simple card but it was fun to make :)

 

I hope your week is going well - thanks for the visit!

 

Sarah x

 

 

Rainbow

Hello!

A quick card to play along with this week's CASology cue word - wet.  I have only just got this one in under the wire :)

I am on holiday this week over the kids' easter holidays so I hope that I will have a chance to make some cards although there are lots of things that we want to do - including planting some veg for the first time.  Given our limited experience with gardening I wonder if we will produce anything edible!

I used a (new to me) sentiment from Mama Elephant along with a paper pieced umbrella from Penny Black.  I thought the sentiment worked well with the cue word and I popped the rainbow banner up on some patterned paper.  I die cut a circle and used that as a mask to ink round the sentiment in tumbled glass distress ink.

I have just realised that I can use this card to play along with Make the Day Special's first challenge too - Anything Goes as it features a Mama Elephant stamp that I bought from the store :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah x

Just Because

Hello!

Happy weekend :)  A card that I made playing around with my Tim Holtz bubble stencil.  I used Hero Arts Painted Flower as the focal point.  I decided not to put a sentiment on the front and stamped a Get Well Soon message on the inside instead. 

 

I inked the painted flower with distress markers and spritzed with the water - love that they still give great detail and definition.  I don't often put things on an angle but I thought it added a bit more movement to this design :)

 

I will enter this in to Virginia View's 2nd challenge to use stencils.  Check out all of the fabulous cards that are in the gallery.

 

I hope you like it - thanks for stopping by!

 

Sarah x

Feeling Blue

Hello!

Just a very quick post to share a card that I have made to play along with this week's Less Is More Challenge to use turquoise - which is one of my favourite colours!  It has been quite a stressful week at work so I have only managed to get this in just before the deadline.

I have used a favourite set from Papertrey Inks for the flowers with a bit of washi tape and a few pearls.  Very simple :)

I have to dash but will hopefully have time to do some stamping over the weekend!

Thanks for your visit,

Sarah x

A Few Cards....

Hello!

 

I hope you are well and having a good week!  I really enjoyed my first solo post at A Blog Named Hero on Monday....I was a bit nervous but think it went ok :)

 

I just thought that I would put a few cards on the blog today that I have made over the past few weeks and not had chance to post.  They are very different styles!

 

 

This is just a fun card that I made using Hero Arts Missing You set - I do love those cute critters!  I created a polaroid style photo with some patterned papers for the background and a strip of cork patterned paper to suggest a noticeboard. 

 

The card below is one that I have made for Marcy from the Hero Arts Flickr group - I sent it over a week ago so I hope that it has reached her and that she doesn't mind me sharing it here!  Marcy is a great member of the group and we are all missing her lots - hope you are feeling better, Marcy :)

 

 

I gold embossed Hero Arts Looped Flowers background, masking a strip for the sentiment which is from the lovely Messages with Flourish set.  I picked out a few of the circles in the background and watercoloured with my inktense pencils.  I really like the random look!

 

That's it from me for today.  I hope you like the cards :)

 

See you soon, Sarah x

 

Happy Birdday

Hello!

Just a quick post today with a fun card that I made with the cute bird from Hero Arts Missing You set.

 

I popped up the three birds for a bit of dimension and added glossy accents to their beaks and eyes.  I attached some twine for them to stand on and added the fun sentiment.  The background is created by stamping Hero Arts Magical Background in tumbled glass with some inking around the edge.  I also stamped the background in the corners of the card base to add a bit more interest.

 

I will add this as my final card to play along with Simon Says Stamps Wednesday Challenge to make birthday cards.

 

I am over with a post at A Blog Named Hero today - come and see what I made :)

 

See you again soon, Sarah x

Time Out

Hello!

I hope you have had a lovely weekend.  We have just come back from my father in law's 70th birthday lunch - always good to see family! 

Before we set off I made a quick card to play along with the new Time Out Challenge.  It is a Home Sweet Home challenge using this home décor inspiration photo:

I loved the crisp white of the bedlinen and combination of blues/gold-browns of the butterflies.

 

I softly inked through the Memory Box Rhapsody stencil in teal and beige and added two Uniko Studio butterflies.  I used Wink of Stella on the butterflies.  The sentiment is gold embossed and from Mama Elephant. 

 

As I have used another stencil I can also play along with the second challenge at Virginia's View.  There are still 12 days to get your entries in!

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Sarah x

Rainbow Birthday

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying your Saturday!  Just a quick post with another birthday card that I made while I had the Papertrey Ink birthday die and stamps out.  This time I have teamed them up with Uniko Studio's Background Builders Round in Circles set which I stamped in a rainbow down the side of the card. 

 

The birthday die is built up with several layers of black cardstock and topped off with black glitter card for a bit of extra bling!

 

It is another entry in to this week's Simon Says Stamp 5th birthday Wednesday Challenge.  They have some great prizes!

 

I hope you like it :)

 

Bye for now, Sarah x

Happy 5th Birthday!

Hello!

Simon Says Stamp are celebrating 5 years of challenges and I have made this birthday card using a Papertrey Ink die and stamp set.  I love the look of inlaid dies that I have been seeing on lots of cards.  I have kept the colours more soft and neutral after my recent colourful cards :)

 

I hope you are looking forward to a good weekend!

 

Bye for now, Sarah x

 

Fabulous Butterfly

Hello!

I was so flattered to be showcased in last week's Less Is More Challenge - there are so many great cards every week!  It is one of my favourite challenges and I love to see what others create in relation to the challenges set by Chrissie and Jen :)  This week the theme is Round and Round.  I got out my bubble stencil from Tim Holtz and made this card:

I am loving these Penny Black dies!  The stencil is inked in peacock feathers, mowed lawn and tumbled glass distress inks.  The sentiment is from Technique Tuesday.

As my card features a stencil I can also play along with Virginia's View fab 2nd challenge too - she had an amazing number of entries for her first challenge - go and check it out!  I will also enter it in to Moxie Fab World's Styling with Stencils Challenge.

Love it when one card covers a range of challenges :)

Bye for now, Sarah x