Stags and Stars

Hello!

I am back with some more makes that I have been creating with my laser cut designs....

Firstly, I can't stop playing with my stag stencil and have made a trio of cards filling the aperture of the stag with snowflakes:

 

These CAS cards came together really quickly and it was lots of fun to layer up the snowflakes.  I shall link this design up for a second entry at Less is More where the theme is layered stamping.

 

You can buy the stencil in my folksy shop.....

 

 

 

I have also cut some mdf hanging star decorations which I have painted and stamped in gold and white:

 

 

I have put these in my folksy shop too along with some blank stars in case you would like to decorate your own!

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

 

Simple Sympathy

Hello!

I wanted to make a card to play along at Time Out where the theme is Sympathy with the optional twist of distressing.  Here is a simple one layer card:

I inked through a circle aperture and added an elegant stamp from Inkylicious.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts.

I hope not to need this card for a good while but will keep it in my stash just in case....

I hope you have had a great weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sarah x

Elegant Stag

Hello!

I love stag images and decided to create a stencil that would allow me to use a gorgeous stags head on some card designs.  This is a stencil that I cut from the same image as the mdf shape that I shared recently here. 

Here are a couple of the cards that I made with my new stencil today:

 

The open space of the stag's head provides a great opportunity for inking and stamping which is what I did here with some Card-io and Uniko stamps.  The sentiment is from Penny Black and the doe is grounded with some glitter which isn't showing up too well here!  I will link this card up at Less is More where the challenge this week is over stamping and at Simon's Monday Challenge where the theme is monochrome.

 

Here I dabbed gold paint through the stag aperture and them added some snowflake and foliage stamps from Uniko in black to create an elegant Christmas colour combination.  I shall link this card up as a third entry at Simon Wednesday's Anything Goes Challenge.

 

I have added the stencil to my folksy shop in case you are interested in getting hold of one for yourself.  The stencil measures 13cm x 13 cm and the stag image itself measures approx. 9cm tall which makes it a great size as a focal point on cards and other projects.

 

 

Thank you for stopping by!

Sarah x

       

LIM Monsters

Hello!

Can you tell that I have had a few days off for half term?!  It has meant that I have been able to indulge myself with lots of playtime in my craft room :)  I wanted to take the opportunity to play along with my friends at Less is More again this week where the theme is Monsters....

I have been playing with my new distress oxides and the new wonky stripe stencil from Uniko.  I inked through the stencil to create the stripy base and stamped the cute Lawn Fawn monsters over some blended card to create a shaded look on them.  I thought that the top ones look like they are floating so I made them in to balloons!  A sentiment from Mama Elephant completes the design.  I shall also link up at the Anything Goes challenge for a second time over at Simon's Wednesday Challenge.

I hope you like it....it certainly makes me smile :)

     

Thanks again for stopping by,

Sarah x

Scattered Polka Dots

Hello!

I love playing with stencils - they are so versatile and can be used with lots of techniques.  Recently I have been playing with the new Scattered Polka Dots stencil from Uniko.....this fun design can be used for snowfall, confetti and general dottiness :)  As it is a 6x6 design it is large enough to cover a card base or use in smaller segments as required.

Here are some of the cards that I have come up with.....

 

First up I have created a one layer card by masking off a panel and blending some distress oxides .  I then stamped some of the wonderful new images from Uniko's Organic Wishes and inked through a scattering of the dots to create the effect of them blowing in the breeze.  This was very easy to do with a bit of careful inking and shows that you don't have to use the whole of a stencil design on your card.

 

I shall link this card up at Happy Little Stampers CAS October challenge which is one layer.

 

Given I am starting to get a move on with my Christmas card making the scattered dots did make me think of snowfall!  I masked off the bottom section and then pressed versamark through the stencil before adding white embossing powder.  Some distress inks add a graduated sky and I completed the design with some of the images from Uniko's rustic Christmas set and sentiment from the Most Wonderful sentiment set.  A few little pops of red help to add contrast to the design including one of my mini mdf stars.

 

 

 

 

This card shows how the scattered dots can literally create a party on a card :)  I inked through with some distress oxides to get a blended, multi-coloured look and combined them with some Uniko balloons from Balloon Bash and sentiments from Simply Said Birthday and from the Pure Florals, Cosmos set.  By embossing them on vellum I can still see the lovely dotty background!

 

I shall link this card up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes.

 

I have a number of other ideas in mind for this stencil including texture paste, gilding flakes and glitter so hopefully I shall have more to share with you soon :)

 

Thanks for stopping by,

 

Sarah x

 

    

A card for Time Out

Hello!

I was intrigued by the photo inspiration at Time Out and wanted to make a card that reflected the elements that jumped out at me which was the vibrant orange and the crisp white of the sea shells.  I had a rummage in my stamp stash and came up with this using some old Hero Arts stamps....

I stamped and white embossed the sea shell multiple times before blending Spiced Marmalade and Abandoned Coral over the top.  I die cut a square in the middle to create a frame and stamped a Hero Arts birthday sentiment in the middle.  It is very simple but I think that the vibrant oranges really pop! 

I hope you like it!

Here is the inspiration from Time Out:

I shall also link up at the Clean and Simple Challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where the colours that I have used on my card work with the lovely autumnal inspiration board.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x

    

Rustic Makes and a New Arrival!

Hello!

I hope you are enjoying an autumnal October weekend :)  It is windy here and we have lots of leaves whipping around the garden.  Although I am very much a hot weather person, I do like the colours and movement of this season (when it is not wet and grey).  We have been having an eventful week with the arrival of a new puppy - little Oscar who is a cockapoo and lots of fun :)  He has settled right in to family life and we are just trying to get him in to a routine.  Fortunately it is half term so we have some time at home to do the necessary house training, vaccinations etc.

However, I have also had the chance to spend time in my craft room too and have a few countryside inspired makes to share with you.  First up is this glorious owl which is a stamp from Hobby Arts.  It is large enough to make a fabulous focal point on a one layer card and all I have done here is stamp it and highlight a couple of elements such as the eyes and wooden stump.  The sentiment is from Hero Arts. 

I shall link this card up at Simon Wednesday's challenge which has a fab autumnal inspiration board and also at AAA Cards where they are looking for cards inspired by films - I think this owl looks like Hedwig from Harry Potter.

I have also been playing with some more mdf shapes that we have been laser cutting and I have a stag picture to share today:

Here I die cut some leaves to create a wreath effect and used nuvo drops for the berries.  This was all adhered to some wood effect paper and I popped the mdf stag silhouette in the middle.  I used grey and white to give the stag a distressed look.

What do you think?  I have put this picture for sale in my folksy shop but can also make the mdf silhouettes available too if you would like to get hold of some for your own crafty projects!

Well I think that is enough wild life for one day.  Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

     

Wonky Stripes

Hello,

I have been playing with a new stencil that Uniko is launching this week.  It is a versatile 6x6 design which is perfect for full card fronts through to mixed media.  I have lots more ideas for this stencil but this is what I have made to date:

I used it on a full card front and simply blended a range of blue distress inks to create some variation in tone.  I added a few of my mdf stars in shades of blue and a Uniko sentiment.

Next I went for a rainbow look by masking off the top portion of the card and using a range of inks through the stencil.  The sentiment adds a pop of black.  A one layer CAS card that is quick to make.  I shall link it up at the October CAS challenge over at Happy Little Stampers where the theme is one layer.

Here is inked and clear embossed the stencil before die cutting a heart and layering it up on top of an acertate aperture on the card.  It has a lovely shine in real life!

 

Finally, I inked through the stencil in softer colours before rotating it to create a loose check effect.  I then used complementary colours for the Uniko onesie.  A simple new baby card.

 

Bev has also used the stencil on her card as guest designer over at Less is More today.  I will be back with some further ideas again shortly :)

 

Sarah x

 

Hot and Spicy

Hello!

I hope you had a good weekend....it was a busy one here with sleepovers and football matches!  However, I did get the chance to make a couple of cards for this week's challenge at Less is More which is to use hot and spicy colours.  I don't use oranges and reds that often in my crafting so this was a good opportunity to break out some neglected colour combos....

I made two cards featuring Uniko products - Uniko are sponsoring this month at LIM.

 

First up I stamped up the starry strings from the latest release in a combination of reds, oranges and yellows from Altenew and combined them with one of the sentiments.  A scattering of loose stars adds to the design but still keeps it CAS.

 

On the second card I white embossed the beautiful mandala from Marvellous Mehndi and then had fun using colour bursts to create the watercolour background.  I inked and die cut a frame in matching distress inks.

 

I hope you like these two spicy designs and pop by again soon!

 

Sarah x

Cross Stitch Heart

Hello,

I made a card recently for a dear friend and I thought it would work for this week's cue card at CASology - grid.  I used a new to me die from Waffle Flower to cut a cross stitch card which is, of course, based on a grid.

I added a sentiment from Paper Smooches and a needle and stitch details from Neat and Tangled.

The red and kraft colour combo of this card inspired me to make a rustic, scandi style Christmas card using dies from Concord and 9th and one of my mdf snowflakes:

I die cut the letters out of woodgrain patterned paper and stacked them on some layers of black card.  The snowflake is painted in red and has a layer of wink of stella over the top.  I shall link this card up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Christmas.

Thanks for stopping by :)

Sarah x

Watercolour Smooshing

Hello!

How is your week going?  I am stopping by with a quick post and a second card for the current challenge at Less is More which is to watercolour.  I combined some watercolour smooshing with one of my mdf snowflakes to create this seasonal card:

 

The smooshing was done with a range of distress inks which were also used to colour the cardstock from which the sentiment was die cut.  I simply painted the snowflake and stuck it in the corner.

I will also link up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where the theme is Christmas.  I am going to have to get a move on if I am going to have enough cards ready!

Remember that you can find the lasercut snowflakes for sale in my folksy shop :)

See you again soon,

Sarah x

  

Watercolour Iris

Hello!

I hope that you have had a wonderful weekend and have found time to do some crafting.  I was inspired by this week's theme at Less is More - watercolour - and a new (to me) set from Altenew to make this card:

I white embossed the iris and watercoloured it with distress inks to give a really soft and subtle look.  I love this delicate flower.

As this is the first time that I have inked up the Altenew set I shall link up at Darnell's NBUS challenge for a second time.  I will also link up at Simon's Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes and at Addicted to CAS where the theme is Favourite Stamp.  Every time I get a new stamp it is my favourite, until I ink up the next one :)

I have also been trying to get organised this weekend and sort out my craft room which had become a total mess.  I got a few storage units from Ikea and now it looks like this.....

The pictures are all pretty washed out as I took the photos once I had finished tonight (I can't guarantee that it will look this tidy again in 24 hours!).  I still need to get a new desk and some pictures to brighten up the walls but it looks a lot brighter (and cleaner) than it did with the old, mis-matched furniture.  I definitely need to thin out my stash too but that is a job for another day :)

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah x