Considering that I wasn’t overwhelmed by my previous stenciling attempt I decided to try again and this one I quite like. Although it isn’t in Halloween colours it still works for the challenge and it also works for the Peace on Earth one as well. The background was stenciled in Pine Needles ink and used a stencil called pine leaves by Vicki Boutin. It is a larger size stencil so I have another small piece that can be used on a different card later. While it was drying I stamped the snow couple using a new Stampendous Cling rubber stamp and then I coloured them using Inktense pencils and a Sakura pen. The word was cut using a die set by MFT also new although purchased earlier in the year. It leaves a slightly puffy look to the letters which I quite like. The stenciled layer was offset very slightly on the card front and then I fussy cut the top of the stamped image before layering it on top with words added to the side. I’m much happier with this attempt and having it work for 2 challenges is a bonus. Hope you like it too.

I decided to play in the new stencil challenge and used a metal stencil I got recently in a mystery box. It is made by Lasting Impressions and is called Tall Cake. Using the Halloween colours I stenciled each section and then let it dry. It was a bit bland so I added a few embellishments here and there to jazz it up a bit. The layer was added to a scrap of orange card stock and then added to the card front. Using some rose gold embossing powder and a new stamp set that was also in the mystery box I added the sentiment at the bottom and heat set it. Can’t find the label for the stamp set so I don’t know who it is by. Could be Doodlebug Designs but I’m not sure. Sometimes I find stenciled images are a bit blah and this card seems that way to me, but it fits the challenge so I’m going with it. I do have another one for the same challenge but it has different colours altogether. I think the next time I use this stencil I will use texture paste as I think it may give a much more vibrant look. Thanks for sharing some time with me.

This background was made for a different Halloween card and I ended up not liking it and did something with stars instead. I thought I would use it elsewhere and here is the result. I inked over the stamped words, but due to the fact that I hadn’t heat embossed them they didn’t stand out very much so I went over each word with a black Nuvo glitter pen. My hand wasn’t too shaky so it worked better than I expected. I added the spider and he has some glitter too. Then I stamped the toadstools twice, coloured them and fussy cut. Did the same thing with the bats and owl. Stamps used were from GKD and a new one by SSS. I added a belly band and then these elements as well as a few gem embellishments. Layered it onto some Orange CS and then onto the card base. This is intended for the sister of the little girl I made the other card for and uploaded a week or so ago. I shall be mailing them soon. This works for two challenges – Make the Cards Halloween and Crafting Happiness challenge 135. Thanks for looking and hope you are enjoying the fall colours.

AAA Cards has a colour scheme with a twist of using dots or spots and I thought this die of sketchy rings fit the bill. This is my 2nd attempt as although the original one was a nice attempt – I forgot that it was supposed to have this colour scheme so today I basically recreated the card in the right colours, or at least as close as I can get to these colours. My background panel was inked with both cracked Pistachio and Speckled egg which brought me close the colour in the image. Once I added the sketchy ring die cut I added some Opal blaze in the center of the largest circle. The little bird was die cut twice and I used a small piece to add to his head and the leftover part behind the glitter part so it has a bit of strength. He was popped up onto the rings and I added a tiny black eye as well. His head is cut from a scrap inked piece I made some time ago and the sentiment is cut from the same inked piece too. I backed it with the leftover glitter paper. The musical notes are from my stash. I’m quite happy with how this turned out and actually like it better than the original one. Thanks for looking.

When browsing Pinterest the other day, I saw a card that had a single leaf with a matte background and I thought it looked really pretty. I decided to make my own version and this is what I came up with. Firstly I die cut two leaf shapes (from GKD), one in scrap CS and the other in a shimmery vellum and then I glued them together. Then I ran it through my Big Shot using the foliage 3D folder from Sizzix/Tim Holtz. Once it was done I added some inks and while it had some shimmer it wasn’t enough for me so I added some Opal Blaze on top. In real life the shimmer is iridescent, shiny and is pretty. Also the embossing is way more prominent in reality. I took a piece of water colour paper and wet it with a spray and then using a brush I added a wash of two colours, gathered twigs and rusty hinge. I popped up the leaf on top once the ink was dry and then thought of adding some gold glitter at the top of the inked piece. Big mistake, as it looked awful and I had already added the embellishments from Trinity Designs. What to do – I could take the layer apart and create a new background or do what I ended up doing and tearing the ugly bit away. As I didn’t manage to remove all the glitter I left it but added a tiny bit more along the tear as you can see in the photo. In a way it looks like the trunk of a tree. The scrap that was torn off became the sentiment piece. For this I used 2 different stamps one from an older GKD set and the other I can’t remember and have temporarily misplaced the set. I inked the edges of the sentiment piece with rusty hinge. This works for 2 challenges, the one at JUG’s and at CYHTP. Probably my last card for a couple of days as I am weeding my garden, which means my hands will be hurting for a while and I can’t craft easily then. Thanks for sharing some time with me.

I often forget about using Washi tape on a card, but had received the baby one used here in a mystery box of goodies. The other gold piece is from my stash. In fact the baby and other baby items were also included in the package. These stickers are by Doodlebug Design. We often need a new baby card so I thought having one in my stash would be useful and I made this one to be generic. The sentiment comes from an MFT Bitty basics set and the scalloped circle was something I had cut and didn’t use from ages ago. I added the pops of colour dots around the scallops for added interest. A very simple card and quick to make. Thanks for spending time with me today.

When I saw this mood board a couple of weeks ago, my mind kept returning to it wondering what I might do for the challenge. When talking to my housekeeper the other day I commented on rain and it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. Then I had to figure out how to make the idea work so another day went by. I knew I had a stamp set, several actually, by Designs by Ryn, and I also knew I had a new uninked stamp set from MayMay Made It and was wondering how I could put the 2 together. Yesterday I saw some raindrop emoticons that made me smile and I suddenly knew exactly how to use both stamp sets. This card is the result. I wanted something that would be fun, and very different and I think I’ve achieved it. I did make a few practice pieces to ensure I could stamp properly and not lose detail. I began with the faces, added some Sakura glaze so they would stand out once the rest was added and then I carefully stamped each large raindrop over the faces using Hickory Smoke ink and clear heat embossing. I did each one individually and once heat set and cool I added Nuvo Chrystal drops on top and left the panel to dry. I’m impatient so to prevent myself from ruining them I took the dog for a walk. When dry I added some smaller rain drops around the larger ones. Should have done this before adding the Nuvo drops but I made it work and although they are not as defined in a couple of places it doesn’t matter as real water isn’t defined either. It took me a few minutes to decide how to add it to a card front and in the end I decided to add 2 glitter side strips and then foam tape to make it stand out. Choosing the DSP was another thing and the paper I thought would work I had finished so I went through everything until I found this one. I kept it small enough to allow a larger border showing and then added the main panel to it. I have decided to leave the sentiment for the time being as I’m not sure about it, but I’m really happy with the result as I made the idea that was in my head come to life. Hubby likes it a lot and I hope you do too. Thanks for looking.

As most of my friends know, I’m not a big Halloween fan and don’t make many of this type of card. Occasionally I will do one for a child and this is such an occasion. The stamp set used is from GKD and is an older set. I stamped the pumpkin onto some yellow vellum using Carved Pumpkin ink and then heat set using clear embossing powder. The little ghost was stamped onto a scrap piece of normal vellum with white dye ink and then heat set as well. He was fussy cut and then glued near the word Boo. The vellum was scored at one side and then adhered on that fold at the back of the other layer but before I added it I stamped the stars in Versamark and heat set them in silver. Using a sponge I added some Shaded lilac ink to give some colour for the stars. I stamped, heat set and fussy cut the little bat and added him on top of the main sentiment. These 2 layers were added to a dark gray card front. I think this works for the sketch so is entering into the Sunday Stamps challenge. Thanks for looking.

As I was working with 2 of these colours yesterday, I decided that adding a 3rd would be easy and this card was the result. When I initially began the card the only thing I knew for sure was that I would be using this MFT stamp set and dies, (called You Gnome Me) but had no specific plan in my head. I began with the card base which is not quite brown and not quite orange but a muted version of both and the white panel. Before actually stamping anything I laid the stamps on the white piece to see what they might look like and decided that they would need some grounding so I added the thin brown strips using my T-ruler to keep them even and straight. Then I stamped the images on a scrap piece, coloured them using Inktense pencils and some Sakura glaze and then die cut them. I added foam tape on both pieces but a little thicker version on the boot image and placed them on the strips as you see. I stamped the sentiment at the top and added a smaller brown strip underneath it. I also went over the sentiment with a glitter pen. Then I stamped the tiny snails, coloured and die cut them and added them at the bottom of the piece. The grassy layer behind the image panel is some packaging that I kept and I decided to add some of it here for a background to the rest. This card works as a masculine card and as I have several masculine birthdays coming up, one of them will receive it. Thanks for looking.

When making the earlier card for this challenge, another idea popped into my head so I decided to do a 2nd card. This one uses a sentiment stamp from GKD and a leafy swirl stamp from CTMH which is very old and likely discontinued. Taking a small white panel I stamped the leaf along the edge in Gathered Twigs and the sentiment lower down and to the left using Ground Expresso. Then I die cut the flowers in 2 different yellows and added them together. Die is from Memory Box and is called Layered Impatiens. I only used the smaller layers for this card but I now have some larger flowers ready for a future card because of the way this die cuts. Once I had them placed the way I wanted I glued them down and added a few single flowers using the smallest section of the die. To finish the panel I added some Trinity Stamps embellishments in gold. I took the same bright yellow paper and cut a panel to be offset behind the main layer and added it to the brown card front then I added the image layer at a slightly different angle. Its a simple card but quite effective and I’m pleased with it and I have a few friends who will appreciate a little note like this. Have a great day everyone.