Seize the Birthday #323 Add a Tag

 Hi there Crafty Friends! It's time for another Seize The Birthday Challenge.  

Jules is our host for this challenge and her chosen Topping is for us to 'Add a Tag' to our Birthday card.    If however you are not in to our 'toppings' option, you can make any kind of  Birthday Card.

I decided to use some of my old and coveted patterned paper from Basic Grey and made 2 cards using the paper and a new (to me) co-ordinating stamp/die set from Pinkfresh Studio.

Stamp & Die Set:- Keepsakes of the Heart

Sadly, I've forgotten the brand for the tag. I think it's Avery Elle, but it's at our beach house. 

You can see more from our talented Surprise Party Guest, Jennie, as well as Leslie our Guest Designer and the rest of the team at  Seize the Birthday Challenge blog.

I hope you'll find time to join us. Remember, the topping is optional, so if you prefer Anything Goes, that's fine,  so long as it's birthday themed. 

   Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

TIME OUT CHALLENGE #303 PHOTO INSPIRATION

 Hi there Crafty Friends! It's time for a new challenge at Time Out. This is our last challenge for the year. 

I hope you like the photo for this challenge. It was taken by our lovely teamie, Ishani at a wedding. Remember you can be inspired by any element or colour, so have some fun! 

I zoomed in on the photo and saw the gorgeous henna decoration on the hands and arms and I thought this old coveted paper from Basic Grey would emulate that. The flower was inspired by the gorgeous trim on Ishani's dress. 

I coloured the Penny Black flower with Prismacolor Pencils and blended with Nuvo Aqua Shimmer Glitter Gloss Pen. 

Here's a closer look at the photo. 

Photo Credit: Ishani. Dharamsala, India. Date 16 Apr 2024

Our wonderful sponsor, Birch  Press Design, is generously offering a $20 store credit as a prize to our Challenge Winner as chosen by the Design Team.  Our winner will also get invited to join us as Guest Designer for a future challenge.

We are joined by  Trina Pham of Phamtastic Design, as Guest Designer. You can see her gorgeous card 

and more inspiration from our fabulous DT at the TIME OUT CHALLENGE blog. 

 Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                                

52 CHRISTMAS CARD THROWDOWN may '22 SKETCH

 Hi Crafty Friends.  Tracey is our host for April at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge. The first challenge of the month is always a sketch challenge.  Here is Tracey's sketch for this month. I thought this sketch was a perfect opportunity to use some patterned paper. I hope you'll join us!

I think the paper is from Kaisercraft, as is the wooden sentiment. The die for the gorgeous foliage is from Simon Says stamp.

I hope you like my rustic take on the sketch:)

You can stretch this out, or use different shapes, as long as we can see the basic sketch in your card.

I hope you'll visit the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown blog to see what our fabulous  Design Team have created with this sketch. Looking forward to seeing your cards in the gallery:)

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

CAS COLOURS & SKETCHES #441 SKETCH

  Hi there Crafty Friends. It's time for a new challenge at CAS Colours & Sketches and it's a sketch challenge this week. Vicky has designed a unique and fun sketch for us. 

I had a sudden urge to use patterned paper, but made sure to use a very subtle pattern so the card would still be CAS.

I don't buy much patterned paper, the exception being at Kaisercraft sales when I can get 6" x 6" 

pads for 1/2 price. I inked the edges of the paper with Antique Linen, to get a vintage feel.  Then I matted it on my fave textured card-stock and used it for the sentiment as well.

Oh dear, no stamping or colouring on my card - it feels like I'm cheating😉.

I would love for you to visit our blog to see what the rest of the team have created and will feel inspired to join us in the challenge.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

Peony for a Friend

Here is a card inspired by Susan Wong for 'Case the Designer' week at GDP Challenge. 

I used some beautiful patterned paper from Craft Consortium as my background. I stamped the flowers with Karin Markers and blended with Zig Markers.  Then I adhered to a white card base and tied the black twine. To finish a stamped the sentiment on the die-cut shape and inked the edges with co-ordinating ink. 

Stamps: Stampin Up Prized Peony 

Dies: Penny Black Rectangle Frame; Papertrey Ink Don't Forget to Write

I'm sharing at the following challenges:-

CASE = Copy And Selectively Edit

die-cuts, flowers, twine

ALLSORTS CHALLENGE BLOG

***Anything Goes***

Here is another card I made, based on a sketch in last week's CC&S. 

Stamp and dies from Sugar Pea Designs. I used some of my remaining washi tape (sadly most of my washi tapes melted together in the summer heat).

I'm sharing this card at the following:-

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

Twofer Cupcakes

 A cupcake makes everything better, so a Twofer should make us extra happy! Yes, the theme at Twofer Card Challenge is 'Cakes/Cupcakes'

I used the same stamp set and designer paper pad for both cards. 

I did a bit of paper piecing in this card. I used kraft paper and coloured the toppings with Zigs and Karin Markers.

I'm not sure about this one, maybe chocolate wasn't the best colour option for this shape cupcake:) 

I added some sprinkles with Liquid pearls. Did that make it better??? 

You can't tell from the pic, but I used Acetate for the window.

Stamps: SSS Sweet Cakes

BONUS!

IF YOU'D LIKE TO JOIN IN A FUN RECIPE EXCHANGE, PLEASE ADD YOUR

FAVOURITE CAKE OR CUPCAKE RECIPE TO YOUR POST WHEN YOU PLAY,

AS SOME OF THE DESIGNERS HAVE DONE!

SIMPLICITY CHOCOLATE CAKE

2 TBS BUTTER

2 TBS COCOA

1 CUP SR FLOUR

1 CUP CASTOR SUGAR

1/2 CUP MILK

2 EGGS (lightly beaten)

1/2 TSP VANILLA

1/2 TSP INSTANT COFFEE (optional)

MELT BUTTER. CHUCK ALL THE INGREDIENTS TOGETHER. BEAT IT FOR A COUPLE MINS. COOK IN GREASED CAKE TIN FOR 30 MINS AT 180 DEGREES. ICE IT IF YOU WANT.

EAT IT.

Or my favourite variation

EASEY PEASEY BANANA CAKE

As above, 

Omit Cocoa

Add 1 mashed ripe banana

I use 3/4 cup sugar instead 1 cup 

I'm also sharing my Birthday card at the following challenge:-

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

52 CHRISTMAS CARD THROWDOWN (MAY SKETCH)

  It's time to begin a new month of challenges at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown, with Fabiola as our Host.  She's designed a wonderful sketch to inspire us.

I chose some gorgeous monotone paper from Kaisercraft and dies to create my card.

I sponged the edges of the die-cut panels for definition.  

You can see more wonderful cards from our Guest and the rest of the Design Team at our blog. 

I hope you'll be inspired to join us this week!  

                                     Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                                          

CAS Mix Up April '21

   Hello there. It's April already and it's time for a new CAS Mix Up Challenge!

This month is a Mixed Media themed challenge. Linda is our host and the prompt is 'Paper Piecing'. There are some links to video tutorials on the CAS MIX UP blog. Please be sure to keep your card designs Clean and Simple and include one other Mixed Media element.

Inused the very popular Concord & 9th Hello Lovely stamp and various patterned papers. 

I stamped the image 3 times and fussy cut each layer. I actually left out the smaller parts of the image, because it would have been impossible to fussy cut and it also made my card more CAS. 

The sentiment stamp is from CASual Friday Stamps. I added some sequins for my extra element. 

Tip: Cut right on the line and use a black marker to colour the edges

We have the talented Bonnie from Paper Crafter at Large as our Guest Designer this month and you can see her card  and more inspiration at our blog.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

Penny Black Saturday Challenge Feb 21 (reminder)

 Hi there.  It's mid-month at Penny black Saturday challenge and you still have time to join in.

The theme this month, as always is Anything Goes or the optional twist, 'Paper-Piecing'.

I had fun making this card! I used patterned paper, which was a bit fiddly, but worth it I think.

The background card is a gorgeous textured grey. 

Stamps: Penny Black 'Nose to Nose' 

Sentiment from Mama Elephant

Paper: Lawnfawn

You can see more cards from our Design Team at our blog.

The prize for this challenge is provided by our generous sponsor:

Prize - $20 voucher!

                                      Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

                                            

52 Christmas Card Throwdown

 I'm very excited to announce that I'm joining the Deign Team at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown! I had so much fun playing along with their challenges last year and found the team to be incredibly friendly and very talented!

Our host this month is Lucinda and she's created  a fabulous sketch to inspire us.

I used some pretty designer paper and twine to create my card and closely follow the sketch.

Paper: DWCV

Die: Simon Says Stamp Gnome  (sssd112037)

Stamp: Papertrey Ink

I hope you'll visit the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown blog to see how the rest of the team interpreted the sketch and then be inspired to join in the challenge!

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

Pretty Paper & Die-Cuts

 I very rarely use Patterned Paper on my cards these days, but I was inspired by the theme at Seize the Birthday, which is to use die-cuts, to finally use this coveted paper from Kaisercraft.

I layered the 'Happy' die-cut to give a bit of shadow. 

Dies: Paper Rose Studio Happy Stitched Border; Penny Black Butterfly

Stamp: TBA 

Designer Paper: Kaisercraft Magenta

Im sharing at the following challenges:-

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)

Magnolia Frenzy and More

Hi there! I hope you're keeping warm, or cool, depending where you live. It was very here chilly today. Our neighbour's Magnolia tree is full of buds and is getting ready to flower. IIt is the nicest Magnolia in our area and I'm so happy we get to enjoy it too:)

Hi 

I'm very happy with the colours of this magnolia.  This is a Penny Black Brushstroke stamp. I used Zig Markers and blended on the stamp and on the card.  I used the Antique Fame die and sponged the edges to get a vintage feel.

Stamps: Penny Black 'The Unfolding', 'Banner Sentiments'.

This stamp set is from The Ton Stamps.  I silver embossed the image and coloured with Zigs again and silver Wink of Stella. The colours are a bit softer this time. 

The sentiment and butterfly are from Clearly Besotted and the frame die is from MFT. 

I used the same stamp for this card and blended the zigs with a Nuvo Shimmer Gloss pen and used patterned paper in the background.  The frame die is from Mama Elephant. 

My next card is inspired by the sketch at Case this Sketch Challenge. I decided to use some of my coveted Japanese paper.

I made a couple of strips with white card and Gold Delicata Ink. The Alexandra Renke butterfly was coloured with Zigs and I placed a touch of gold thread under the butterfly.

I'm sharing  at the following challenges:-

******In the Garden******

Flowers all Over

                        Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! I love to read your comments:)