Holiday Crafting

Hello!

I hope you had a wonderful Christmas - did Santa bring you any crafty goodies?!  We have just finished our family visiting and entertaining so I have had the opportunity to play in my craft room for a few hours today and am looking forward to lots more craft time over the next few days.

I really like Anita's sketch at Less is More so decided to play along with some of the fab new stamps from Uniko's pre Christmas release....

 

I used my Indian Flower stencil (which you can get from my Folksy shop) and inked through with some oxides.  I then stamped the fabulous large sentiment from Uniko's Big and Bold Hugs.

 

Here is the sketch:

 

 

On this card I stamped and masked the glorious roses from Uniko's Pure Florals - they come in both solid and outline designs.  I added a leaf stencil for a bit of greenery and the same sentiment from Big and Bold Hugs.  I shall link this card up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes this week.

 

I hope to have more creations to share with you later this week.  In the meantime, have a lovely time over the festive season.....

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

 

 

 

 

Birds in Flight

Hello!

I was inspired by the challenge at Less is More this weekend - birds/feathers.  I decided to play with my new Sizzix dies:

 

I coloured some watercolour card with a range of blue sparkle pens and die cut the birds from it.  I stuck the birds on the card base and splattered with blue ink.  A very simple design but I like the sense of movement that the birds give.

 

 

I made a second card with the negative of the die cuts and stuck a further positive bird at the top corner.  I shall link this up at Happy Little Stampers December Anything Goes with Dies Challenge.

 

 

Finally, here is a Christmas card that I made using a stamp from Woodware.  Again, I used sparkle pens for the background and added some highlights to the image by removing some colour with water.

 

I will link this up at Addicted to Stamps where the theme is Make Your Mark and at Simon's Monday Challenge where the theme is Christmas/Winter Holidays.

 

I hope you have had a good weekend....just one left to go!

 

Sarah x

Candles

Hello!

I am just stopping by to share a few Christmas gifts that I have made by stamping on to candles.  It is super easy to do but I think it makes a really pretty gift. 

 

I used a lovely Woodware floral image, coloured it with pencils on tissue paper and then transferred it on to the candle with wax paper.  I shall link this candle up at The Flower Challenge where they are looking for creations which are anything but a card.

 

 

I went for a more rustic look with my second candle and stamped some fern images from Woodware in a range of greens. 

 

Finally, I used a lovely image from Penny Black to create another floral candle.

 

Hopefully these quick makes will come in handy over the festive season :) 

Thanks, as always, for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

Time Out Reminder

Hello!

I hope your week has been going well :)  I was laid low with a particularly nasty flu bug last week so am relieved to be feeling much more human again and able to do some crafting.....However, it does now mean that my Christmas preparations are further behind than ever.  We haven't even put our decorations up yet!

I have another festive card to share with you as a reminder to play along with us at Time Out:

I have embossed one of my mdf snowflakes in pearl embossing powder and put it against a panel of wood grain paper.  The sentiment is from Concord and 9th and a few white nuvo drops complete the design.  It is a really simple card but I was still inspired by the white shapes against the woodgrain in the inspiration photo:

I hope you find time to play along with us at this busy time of year.  It would be great to see what you make with this fab inspiration image!

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

Guest Designer at Time Out!

Hello!

Today is a new challenge at Time Out and I am so excited to be the GD.....I used to be a member of the DT and it remains one of my fave challenges in blogland.  This time we have a Home Sweet Home photo inspiration and it is perfect for all those of us who are still trying to get our Christmas cards made :)

 

Isn't this just a delight?!  I was inspired by the woodgrain and white Christmas icons on the hooks and also by the red and green colour combo on the stockings below:

 

I inked with versamark through my stags head stencil (available to buy in my folksy store) and white embossed it on a piece of woodgrain patterned paper.  A stamped Christmas banner from Avery Elle and a touch of holly complete the design and bring in the red and green.

 

In addition to Time Out, I will link this card up at AAA Cards where the theme is Christmas and at Happy Little Stampers December Christmas challenge where it Anything Goes with the optional twist of using a stencil which I have done.

 

You have 2 weeks to play along with us at Time Out - I hope you check out the amazing designs from the talented DT and join in with the fun!

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

Green and Red and Exciting News :)

Hello!

I wanted to play along with the colour challenge over at Less is More this week as it gave me another chance to keep working through my festive card making back log.  Red and green is such a classic combo and this is what I came up with:

I used a Penny Black wreath die in two shades of green and embellished it with some nuvo drops.  A little red bird perches on the sentiment to complete the design. 

 

I used a Memory Box pine tree border coloured in sparkle pens and popped against a white landscape die.  Some little pops of red and glitter added with a quickie glue pen keep things festive.  I shall link this card up at Addicted to Stamps where Anything Goes

 

And...before I go, I wanted to let you know that I will be joining the Craft Stamper Challenge Blog DT from the new year.  I am so excited!!  It is a fabulous magazine and blog and I am so honoured to be joining the super talented DT line up :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

 

 

Round and Bright!

Hello!

I have been playing with my long neglected alcohol inks this weekend....and was inspired to make some Christmas cards in non-traditional colours after seeing Cathy's gorgeous card over at AAA Cards.  Here is what I have made:

 

I die cut a Memory Box bauble and backed it with some acetate that I had coloured with vibrant alcohol inks.  I topped the bauble with a die cut bow from Penny Black and a string of gold nuvo drops.  The sentiment is from Papertrey Ink.  I will also link up at CASology where this week's cue card is Round.

 

I used the rest of the alcohol ink with some die cut trees - backing them with white card makes the colours really pop.  A gold sun and mini mdf star complete the design along with a sentiment from Hero Arts. 

 

I like these bright Christmas cards - I hope they make you smile too :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

 

 

   

Festive Cheer

Hello!

I am popping in with a CAS one layer card which is inspired by CASology's cue card this week which is Cheer.  As I am trying to work through my Christmas cards I turned to new stamps that I have got from Concord and 9th and Altenew.  This is what I came up with:

I used Altenew's Bows and Bells and Majestic Mistletoe stamps combined with a sentiment from Concord and 9th's Joyful Noel stamp set.

I shall also link up for a second time at Addicted to Stamps CAS challenge and at Happy Little Stampers November CAS challenge where the theme is Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by, as always :)

Sarah x

Honey I Shrunk the Kit!

Hello!

I am back with a post featuring cards that I have made with the latest fab mini kit from our merry little band of card makers :)  This time the kit was put together by the super talented and super lovely Sarah from Sazzle Dazzle - she has called it Sugar Fix and it is packed full with lots of sweet inspiration.  I am putting this post together quite late at night so haven't got a pic of the kit to share with you but you will find it on the blog posts of my other teamies.

Work has been a bit hectic of late which has cut down on my crafting time so I only managed to get 3 cards made for this post but I could definitely have kept going with some of the gorgeous die cuts and images in the kit.  Here is what I did get made:

 

I used the lovely die cut frame from the kit along with the cute bear which I coloured with sparkle pens.  The balloon is die cut from patterned paper in the kit and the twine was provided too.  I have added a sentiment from MFT and I lightly stencilled my star stencil on the blue in the background to add a bit of tone on tone interest.  I will link this card up at Addicted to Stamps where the challenge is Clean and Simple.

 

I used the scattered dots stencil from Uniko to create a background on this card and coloured the cupcake from the kit with sparkle pens.  The sentiment is from the kit too.  Fortunately I have this stamp set so I stamped it directly on to the card.  I will link this card up at AAA Card Challenge where the theme is 'Celebrate'.

Finally I used the Uniko stencil again on the card base and used some of the patterned paper in a die cut polaroid frame.  The twine, image and sentiment are also from the kit.  I added glossy accents and glitter to the donut icing too.  I will link this card up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where the theme this week is Food or Drink.

 

I hope you like these 3 creations!  Please visit my lovely blog friends who are also making cards with Sarah's kit:

 

Sarah Platt

Anita Bowden

Hazel Hodgkins

Shona Chambers

I hope to see you again soon :)

Sarah x

   

CAS Holly

Hello!

Like lots of you, my Christmas card making is stepping up a gear.....I am sure that I will be making them well in to December!  I used the latest challenge at Less is More to make a CAS Christmas card.  We are CASEing Susan's lovely crisp card - she is so talented at colouring!

However, I am not a copic master like Susan so decided to focus on the red and green colour combo and layout of the card :)

The holly die is from Paper Smooches and I added glitter and glossy accents to the berries.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I hope you like my simple take on Susan's card! 

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Sending Hugs

Hello!

Just a quick post from me with a card that I have made for the current challenge at Time Out where we are CASEing a fabulous card by the equally fabulous Michele from I Card Everyone.  Here it is:

Here is what I have made:

I was inspired by the diagonal and the stencilled pattern so I used the Wonky Stripes stencil from Uniko.  Firstly I inked the masked area with Twisted Citron Distress Oxide before inking through the stencil with Peacock Feathers.  I cut the sentiment out of the stencilled area using an MFT die and stamped the word from a set by Simon Says.  A few heart embellishments complete the design.

Thanks for the great inspiration, Michele!

Sarah x

Fun with Challenges

Hello!

I have been enjoying playing along with challenges in blogland lately and here are a few cards for some which are closing soon!

The cue card at CASology this week is Tiny so I decided to go with a new baby card:

The sweet die is from Memory Box and I inked through a circle of my starry stencil in Picked Raspberry distress oxide in the background to add a bit more interest.  The sentiment is from MFT.  I will also link up at Addicted to CAS where the challenge is Bows.

At Simon Wednesday's Challenge the theme is Snow White so I have painted and embossed one of my large mdf snowflakes with white UTEE to give it a lovely glossy look.  The sentiment banner is from Avery Elle and I also clear embossed some snowflakes from Uniko in the background too - although you may not be able to see them in the photo!

 

Finally I am linking up at Inkspirational where the word prompt is Trend.  I always think of fashion when I hear that word so have gone with a sketchy catwalk style image from Tim Holtz.  I watercoloured it with some sparkle pens and popped it on top of my stencilled indian flower.  The sentiment is from WPlus9.  I will also link up at Addicted to Stamps where it is Make your Mark week given I used the sparkle pens on my focal image.

 

I hope you like the vibrant oranges and pinks!

 

The starry stencil, indian flower design and mdf snowflakes are all for sale in my folksy shop :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

Stencil Sunday

Hello!

Those of you who come by on a regular basis will know that I have been really enjoying creating mylar stencils with our laser cutting machine.....it has got my creativity flowing again after a bit of a mojo-less spell!  I particularly like the way that stencils can work as background or focal images and also the way that they can enable me to cover a card quickly :)

Here are 3 cards that I have made with my current stencils:

 

The stag stencil is one that I just keep reaching for.  Here it is inked with distress oxides - because you can flip a stencil over, it is easy to get the reverse image without any hard work!  I combined the stencils with a red heart which has been glittered and glazed along with a sentiment from Clearly Besotted.

 

This indian flower stencil is super versatile!  It works beautifully with bright colours and for mixed media and to create an elegant design such as this where I have gone through it with versamark ink and gold embossed it.

 

Finally, here is my star stencil which provides a quick and easy background.  Here I masked the central panel and went around the central square with distress oxides.  I added a sentiment from Uniko's gorgeous Reach for the Stars stamp set and the card was made :)

 

Do check out the stencils in my folksy shop:

 

  

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

Red and Kraft

Hello!

It is ages since I last played along at Merry Mondays but I couldn't resist this week's red and kraft colour combo!  Of course, I used my new stag stencil :)

 

I simply inked through the stencil on to some kraft paper that I had in my stash from a magazine.  The subtle script in the background adds nice interest.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts and I added some Nuvo drops in a copper colour.  A really simple card but the colour combo has such a warm feel to it!

 

I shall also link up at Happy Little Stampers CAS November challenge which is Christmas.

 

 

You can buy this stencil in my Folksy shop :)

 

I hope you have a great weekend!

 

Sarah x

 

     

Lots of Stars

Hello,

Just a couple of cards made using a new stencil, some mdf embellishments and the fab Uniko Reach for the Stars stamp set.

 

I white embossed my new star stencil on to watercolour card and scribbled some sparkly pens across it.  By adding some water I blended them together.  I coloured some of my mdf stars with the sparkle pens to complement the colourful panel and finished the design with a sentiment from the Uniko set.  I will link this card up at Addicted to Stamps as I have used sparkle pens to create my background.

 

I then went even more CAS by stamping the sentiment and trail of stars from the Uniko set and combined it with some mdf stars.  I will link up at Less is More where the colour challenge is fireworks and at Simon's Monday Challenge where the theme is thanks.

 

The mdf stars are available in my folksy shop and I shall list the star stencil there too at the weekend.

 

Thanks for stopping by :)

 

Sarah x

Indian Flower

Hello!

I have been playing with a new stencil design this weekend....Indian Flower!  As the winter nights draw in I was tempted to start making cards with bright colours.  It is also a design that works well for mixed media and home décor too :)

Here are a few of the cards that I have made:

 

I blended through the stencil with some distress oxides in Peacock Feathers, Cracked Pistachio and Twisted Citron.  The stencil is topped off with a die cut from MFT.  I shall link up for a second time at AAA Cards Ink Blending challenge and at The Flower Challenge where the theme is CAS.

 

I went with a warmer colour palette here and cut out the stencilled design which has been blended with Picked Raspberry, Abandoned Coral and Fossilized Amber distress oxides.  I combined the stencil with Marvellous Mendhi stamps from Uniko and a sentiment from WPlus9.  I shall link up this card at Addicted to Stamps where the theme is Anything Goes.

If you like the look of this Indian Flower stencil, you can find it in my Folksy Shop!

Thank you as always for stopping by :)

Sarah x

A stag for all seasons

Hello!

I am back with some more cards that I have made with my new stag stencil....I can't stop playing with it :) I love the look that I can get by blending inks through it.

 

I inked through the stag stencil in autumnal shades and used a leaf stencil from Clarity Stamp over the top.  I stamped a few leaves in a darker shade to provide some definition and added a sentiment from Mama Elephant.  The panel is matted on a piece of wood effect card.  I shall link this card up at Addicted to CAS where the code word is Leaves.  I will also link up at AAA Cards where the challenge is to use ink blending.

 

I really liked the card I made last week with the stag in blues so I combined it here with a snowy scene stamp from Hero Arts.  I added some glitter to the scene to enhance the wintry design.  I shall link up at Simon's Monday Challenge where the theme is All Creatures Great and Small and at Addicted to Stamps where Anything Goes.  I will also play along at Happy Little Stampers November CAS Challenge where the theme is Christmas and at their Christmas Challenge where Anything Goes.

 

You can buy this stencil in my Folksy shop!

 

 

 

Thank you for stopping by,

 

Sarah x