Woodgrain window

Hi again, it feels like ages since I've used my window die and I've never used it on a woodgrain background. I managed to use the flower box the correct way up this time too!

I'm linking up to the anything goes challenges at Simon Says Stamp Monday,

and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday. 

I'm visiting Cuttlebug Mania again too where the theme is to use a stamp along with a manual machine. I've used Darkroom Door's woodgrain stamp and a few Memory Box dies with my Cuttlebug.

The scalloped blind and textured white paper are cut from left over scraps, so I'm also popping in to the snippets playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Supplies:

Darkroom Door woodgrain stamp, versafine ink & clear ep; Memory Box classic scallop, small madison window and small flower box dies; distress ink; Craft Queen tiny flowers painted with twinkling H2Os; Martha Stewart branch punch for the greenery; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

There's always something to be thankful for

Hi everyone, I hope you're enjoying your weekend.

We've had huge amounts of rain and floods in some areas here, so I didn't venture very far from home!

I inked up a few of these woodgrain panels to play with. I got this sentiment stamp as part of a freebie set from Stampin Up. I like the saying.

I'm linking up to a few challenges:

At Addicted to Stamps & More it's make your mark with paints, pencils etc.

I coloured the butterfly with inktense pencils and used distress ink for the background and tag.

At Simon Says Stamp Monday it's anything goes.

At Simon Says Stamp Wednesday it's also anything goes.

At Cuttlebug Mania the theme is to use a stamp as well as a manual machine like a Big Shot.  I used a couple of stamps and my Cuttlebug with an Mpress die to create the tag surrounding the sentiment stamp.

I had to trim 3 sides off and round the edges but I'm happy with how it worked out!

Supplies:

Darkroom Door Woodgrain stamp: Stampin Up You brighten my day stamp;

Hero Arts Antique engravings butterfly stamp; distress inks; Inktense pencils; Mpress label die;

versafine ink & clear ep; brad; stickles and bling.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy,x

Blue & gold floral

Hi again, I made this watercolour background using the same technique

 as this card.

It's a lot of fun so I think I'll be playing with watercolours again.

I'm linking up to these challenges:

 Simon Says Stamp Monday and 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday where the theme is anything goes.

I didn't like the black background showing through the diecuts so I inlaid the pieces cut from a gold scrap of shimmer paper. So I'm also visiting the snippets playground at
Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Supplies:

 Watercolour paper and paints; twinkling H2Os; sentiment sticker and Memory Box Wild Blooms die.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Black, white & gold hearts

Hi everyone, I've been asked to make a few wedding and anniversary cards.

I was inspired by the colour challenge at Addicted to CAS.

I'm also linking another entry to the anything goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday

and the clean and simple challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday

I used a snippet of black cardstock behind one of the inlaid hearts, so I'm visiting the snippets playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Supplies:

Memory Box Sofia Heart die; gold shimmer paper; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

have a great week,

Cathy x

Gold & White vellum flower

Hi everyone, I hope your week is going well.

I was using up odds and ends left over in my box of diecuts and images and came up with this card.

It fits the themes for a couple of challenges, so that's a bonus!

At Simon Says Stamp Monday it's an anything goes theme.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday has a clean and simple theme.

At Addicted to Stamps & More it's also anything goes.

Supplies:
Papertrey Ink embossing plate; SU flower shop stamp; versamark ink and gold pearl ep; vellum; Crafty Ann flourish die; sentiment sticker; bling.

Thanks for visiting,
Cathy x

Red watercolours

Hi, it's very windy outside today! I had to use lots of pegs on the washing line and lower it so it wouldn't spin! Needless to say, not a good hair day !

I was inspired to make this card after I visited Katherine's blog Little Things  and saw this amazing card. 

I also checked out Katherine's link to the video by Sandy Allnock and her faux glazed glass technique. I loved her gorgeous red card and wanted to try the technique straight away.

I don't have the watercolour or gold paints she used, but tried it with what I had and my gold twinkling H2Os.  Here's a pic to try and capture the shimmer a bit better.

I made a green and blue version too so I'll be playing with those next! (I also found the Finetec gold paints in stock in the USA so have ordered them and they're on their way!!)

I'm linking up to these challenges:

Addicted to Stamps & More where the theme is anything goes.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday where it's a clean and simple theme. CAS cards usually need to have a lot of open or white space so I'm hoping the watercolour background is CAS enough.

At Viginia's View Challenge the theme is layers and dimension.

I popped the vellum stamped flower onto one I stamped and embossed on painted watercolour paper.

I used foam dots to add dimension.

Supplies:

Watercolour paper; vellum; Stampers Anonymous Flower Garden stamp; versacolour gold ink & gold ep; MFT leaf filled flourish die; Simon Says Stamp Mum die; Koh i noor watercolour paints; gold twinkling H20s.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Butterfly on woodgrain

Hi everyone, I was inspired to make this card for a few challenges.

At Addicted to Stamps & More it's an anything goes theme.

At Simon Says Stamp Wednesday the theme is to make your own background.

I used the Darkroom Door Woodgrain stamp and distress ink to create this backdrop for the butterfly.

At Allsorts the theme is quick and simple. This card was quick to make as it involved a couple of stamps, fussy cutting, colouring and a couple of simple layers for the sentiment sticker.

Edited to add: I'm also linking up to the challenge at Uniko Studio where the theme is things with wings. (thanks Sarah).

Supplies:

Stamps: Darkroom Door woodgrain; Hero Arts butterfly (antique engravings).

Inks: versafine & clear ep; distress; inktense pencils.

Other: brads, stickles, bling and sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

enjoy the rest of your week.

Cathy x

Pink Fresh Daisies

Hi again, it's back to work again tomorrow so I'm enjoying my last "lazy" night!

I painted this diecut with twinkling H2Os, so it has a lovely shimmer that doesn't show too well in the pic.

I've put the floral panel in the middle of the pink textured dp base, so I'm linking up to the challenge at Simon Says Stamp Monday where the theme is in the middle.

I've used a snippet of gold shimmer card so I'm also linking up to the snippets playground at 

Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Supplies:

Simon Says Stamp fresh daisies die; twinkling H2O's; gold shimmer paper; pink crinkly designer paper; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

hope you have a good week,

Cathy x

Flower for Mum

Hi again, I'm on a roll at the moment,

 making the most of a quiet time in the school holidays!

I'm linking this card up to a few challenges.

At Addicted to Stamps & More it's a clean and simple theme.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge has in the middle as it's theme.

This sentiment panel is in the middle of the card.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge has an April showers or spring flowers challenge.

Supplies:

Simon Says Stamp Mum die; Petal Pleasures embossing folder; SU Flower Shop stamp; Memory Box Meadow Leaf die- (cut and modified); inktense pencils.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Flowers & Ribbons

I have quite a stash of ribbon that I haven't used in ages so I was glad to use this roll for the first time!

I coloured the fussy cut flowers with inktense pencils. The ribbon is covering the edges of the vellum panel and the greenery is  a couple of MB Meadow Leaf dies.

I'm linking up to the challenge at Allsorts where it's a bingo theme,

I've used ribbon, flowers, diecuts.

At Addicted to Stamps & More it's a CAS theme.

At Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge the theme is in the middle. (I'm always in the middle of something!) This floral panel is in the middle of my card.

At Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge the theme is April showers or spring flowers.

Supplies:

SU flower shop stamp & fancy fan embossing folder; Inktense pencils; Memory Box Meadow Leaf die; distress inks; vellum; ribbon; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Anniversary Balloons

Hi everyone, I've used quite a few leftover bits in this card!

The pink sentiment and balloon were diecut from a failed experiment using picket fence distress crackle paint and then spun sugar distress stain! I had a matching scrap of pink card to use in my layers.

I'm linking up to a few challenges:

Cuttlebug Mania has a tag theme. You also need to use a manual machine like a Big Shot.

I used my cuttle bug for the diecuts and to emboss the star background.

Virginia's View Challenge has a layers and dimension theme.

I'm also visiting the snippets playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop, as I used scraps of white glitter paper for my balloons.

Supplies:

Serendipity Stamps Celebrate die; Paper Smooches balloon dies: MFT tag die; Hero Arts tiny stars stamp; silver versacolor ink and ep; Cuttlebug stars embossing folder; foam dots; white glitter paper; Fiskars star punch; glossy accents; silver cord and sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Yellow Mother's Day flower

Hi everyone, hope you are enjoying your weekend.

I fussy cut heaps of stamped images while I was resting in the mornings at the Blues Festival over Easter. So I've been doing lots of colouring to get a few cards ready for Mother's Day.

I'm linking this one up to Virginia's View Challenge where the theme is layers and dimensions.

I've used dry embossing, diecuts and fussy cut images popped up on foam dots to add dimension to my layers.

The theme at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge is April showers or spring flowers.

Supplies:

 SU fancy fan embossing folder; SU Flower Shop stamp; versafine ink & clear ep; Memory Box  Meadow Leaf and Butterfly Delights dies; Spellbinders Floral Oval die; inktense pencils; distress ink; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Birthday Balloons

Hi everyone, hope you had a great Easter break.

We went to the Blues Festival at Byron Bay and camped for 5 days. It was fantastic!

I need to get a few cards made for upcoming birthdays and this one was quick and easy.

I'm linking up to the challenge at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday where the theme is birthday.

Supplies:

Serendipity Stamps celebrate die; MFT balloon dies; Hero Arts tiny stars stamp; silver ink and embossing powder; distress inks; clear wink of stella pen; twine; sequins and sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Best wishes butterfly

I cut and coloured a heap of butterflies on the weekend, it's good therapy!

I'm linking this card up to a few challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday has an anything goes challenge.

Time Out has a CAS theme with an optional twist of black and white with a splash of one colour.

Uniko Studio has an anything goes theme with an optional sketch.

Supplies:

Hero Arts butterfly stamp; versafine ink & clear ep; Petal Pleasures embossing folder; Annabelle stamps sentiment; inktense pencils; stickles.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Green butterflies on vellum tag

Hi everyone, the weekend is coming to a close here. I've had a good day though, did a bit of everything, baking, housework and crafting!

A couple of colleagues at work are leaving, so this is one of the cards I've made.

I stamped and fussy cut the butterflies and coloured them with inktense pencils.

The challenge at Addicted to Stamps & More is to make your mark.

At Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge the theme is anything goes.

Darnell at DJKardkreations is hosting her 4th NBUS challenge, so unearth your never before used schtuff, (that you just had to have) and play along! My NBUS is the sentiment stamp from Mama Elephant. I got a few sets for my birthday but have not used them yet!

The green silk embroidery thread on this tag was a scrap that a friend from work gave me, It's a snippet so I'm visiting the snippets playground at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.

Supplies:

Hero Arts butterfly stamp: Mama Elephant Every day Greetings stamp; versafine & clear ep; MFT tag die; vellum; inktense pencils; bling; Darice embossing folder.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Floral tag

Hi everyone, hope your week is going well. I had some good news in that my sister who was retrenched a while ago has found a job! I'm so happy for her.

I made this card last weekend but our internet has been so slow that it's a long job trying to upload and link anything!

 I fussy cut the flowers and painted them with twinkling H2O's so they have a nice shimmer. 

I'm linking up to these challenges:

Addicted to Stamps & More where the theme is to make your mark.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday where it's anything goes.

I used a snippet of ribbon from my offcuts box, so I'm also linking up to the snippets playground at

Pixie's Crafty Workshop

Supplies:

Heartfelt Creations flower stamp: versafine ink & clear ep: twinkling H20's; MFT tag die; Memory Box fresh foliage die; distress ink; Leafy Branch embossing folder; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Purple blossom

Hi, I've made another card to celebrate a family birthday, it's tomorrow so luckily I'm handing it over and not posting it! It's for my step dad who loves gardening, so I thought the purple and black
kept it masculine looking.

I stamped the image onto watercolour paper using twinkling H2Os, then touched it up with an aqua brush.

I'm linking up to the challenge at CASology where the theme is blossom.

At AAA Cards the theme is bare naked CAS.

Í've matted the image with a couple of layers, so I hope it's CAS enough.

At Fantasy Stampers the theme is Spring is in the air,  you do need to use a stamped image.

Supplies:

Rubbernecker blossom stamp; twinkling H2Os; tombow marker for the stems; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Big Blue Butterfly

Hi everyone, I hope you've been having a good week.

It's been flat chat at work, but the weekend isn't far away, so it's all good!

I stamped, fussy cut and painted this butterfly with twinkling H2O's a while ago, and have finally mounted it onto a card for one of our many March family birthdays.

I'm linking up to the following  challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday where the theme is the letter B. I've used a big bold blue butterfly!

 Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where the theme is things that fly.



I cut the 2 flourishes from snippets of silver shimmer paper, so I'm also visiting the playground at
Pixie's Crafty Workshop

Supplies:
Indigo Blu butterfly stamp; versafine ink & clear embossing powder; twinkling H2O's; Papertrey Ink woodgrain cover plate; Crafty Ann flourish die; bling; silver shimmer paper; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,
Cathy x

Ferns & Dragonfly

I spent some of today distressing some panels and tags.

On this one I used a few green distress inks then spritzed with some gold perfect pearls mixed with water. (There's a soft gold shimmer that doesn't show too well in the photo.)

I stamped and clear embossed the ferns, then added the dragonfly.

(It's covering a run of water that I didn't like!)

I'm linking up to these challenges:

At Simon Says Stamp Monday its time to use a hint of clover.

Addicted to CAS has a distress theme.

Addicted to Stamps & More has a CAS theme.

Virginia's View Challenge has an embossing theme.

My third entry uses dry embossing on the white base and wet embossing for the ferns.

At Cuttlebug Mania it's a monochromatic green colour challenge, and you need to use a manual diecutting/embossing machine like a Cuttlebug.

Supplies:

Papertrey Ink woodgrain cover plate; Memory Box dragonfly die; Penny Black Breezy stamp; distress inks; versafine olympia green ink and clear embossing powder; vellum; twinkling H2O's; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Green butterfly tag

This is the card I gave to my hubby for his birthday today. 

He loves gardening and wildlife, so I thought I'd use blues and greens to keep the card a bit more masculine looking.

I'm linking up to the challenges at Simon Says Stamp Monday where the theme is just a hint of clover. I've used green twinkling H2O's and distress inks.

At Virginia's View Challenge the theme is all things embossed. Congratulations once again on your first anniversary Virginia!

I've dry embossed my kraft card and brushed distress ink over it to bring out the pattern.

At Just us Girls the theme is masculine. I've kept my colour scheme to earthy tones to keep my card masculine looking.

At Seize the Birthday it's an optional toppings theme of masculine.

At Allsorts Spring is in the air.

Supplies: 

Birds & Swirls embossing folder:  Memory Box Grove branch (modified), Vivienne & Darla butterfly dies; Carl flower punch; vellum; twinkling H2O's; distress inks; bling; liquid pearls; sentiment sticker; scrap of silk ribbon.

Thanks for visiting, enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cathy x