Nobody Can Be Uncheered With a Balloon

Especially a shiny red balloon!

In what I'm calling my Pooh series, I'm back with another card using Spellbinders Pooh Bear dies, this time featuring everyone's favourite depressive donkey. The quote from Pooh himself is very fitting for Eeyore and I'm thinking some (uninflated) balloons inside the card is a great way to send a simple pick-me-up.

I made some modifications to the die-cuts - I cut two heads, trimming the second to make a muzzle and inner ears. Apparently this colouring is more used for merchandise rather than the classic look from the books, but I think it gives him a bit more cheer. 

Materials used:

• dies - Tigger & Eeyore, Pooh & Piglet etched dies (Spellbinders)
• distress inks - kitsch flamingo, lost shadow, hickory smoke, candied apple, brushed corduroy, tumbled glass
• other - Dimensionals, craft foam, Sidekick, blending brushes, computer & printer, alpine aster ink (Altenew), clear embossing powder, heat tool

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

JAI #649 - Just Add a Colour Combo

Hello and welcome; it's time for another colour challenge with Just Add Ink and the combo we have for you this week is a stunner!

Bermuda bay has long been one of my favourite SU colours and I'll be sad to see it go 😞, so it was nice to have the opportunity to give it a good send off, so to speak. Today I've paired the challenge colours with some neutral black in a simple layered card. 

I've had the ombre paper for some time but haven't used it until now - I'm going to have to get it out again soon though, because I rather love the effect here with the embossing. It's quite thin paper and my Big Shot has a ton of pressure, so there's a few little cracks but as there's nothing I can do to fix it, I'm telling myself leaves do often have cracks in them! 😉 As you know, I love layering up my sentiment dies and this one has three layers, making it a nice solid base for the birdie to sit on. 

Materials used:

• card - basic black, basic white, SU retired ombre DSP
• other - floating foliage 3D embossing folder (Altenew), layered songbird dies (SSS), hugs die, blending brushes, Dimensionals, craft foam, black gem, Big Shot, water and paintbrush

Be sure to check out other inspiration for these colours over on the challenge blog and of course we'd love to see your own creations in the gallery.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Hexagons - CAS on Friday Challenge #223

Welcome to CAS on Friday challenge #223 where our theme is HEXAGONS.

There are so many ways to use this versatile shape! For my card I used them to add colour and texture as a compliment to my die-cut flower. 

The mosaic pieces are ones I made some time ago with a stencil, crackle texture paste and a number of SU embossing powders, so I merely cut them with hexagon dies. I used some of the colours from those patterns for my flower. Some ink speckles for the background, a simple sentiment and touch of sparkle, and my card was good to go!

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Words Birthday (SSS), Gorgeous Grunge (SU)
• card - watercolour, soft sea foam
• distress oxide inks - mustard seed, fossilized amber, mowed lawn, rustic wilderness, pumice stone, barn door
• other Tim Holtz products - stacked hexagon dies, wildflower stems 3 die, mosaic stencil, distress crackle texture paste, picket fence distress paint
• other - various embossing powders (SU), heat tool, Dimensionals, blending brushes, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot Switch, paint brush, clear sequins, craft foam, peeled paint archival ink, Memento tuxedo black ink

We'd love you to create your own clean and simple card featuring hexagons and load it in our gallery. If you'd like further inspiration, follow the link to the CAS on Friday blog to see my team mates' cards.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kerry

Feel Better - CAS on Friday Challenge #222

Hello and welcome to our first CAS on Friday challenge for 2022! 

Our theme for challenge #222 is FEEL BETTER. 

It's always lovely for someone who's feeling low to receive a handmade card you've put thought into, so these are great to have a stash of on hand all year round.

For mine I coloured and fussy cut this beautiful rose, layering it over a partial stencilled background.

Materials used:

• stamps - Merci Beaucoup (Clearly Besotted), Itty Bitty Greetings (SU) 
• card - basic white, crumb cake
• Copic markers - V0000,V000,V01,G40,G43
• other - stitched rectangle die, Big Shot Switch, craft foam, Dimensionals, blending brush, Bubble mini stencil (Tim Holtz), antique linen distress oxide ink, MISTI

We'd love you to join in the fun and share your creation with us. Take a look at what my team mates came up with on the CAS on Friday blog for more inspiration.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kerry

Poor Ted - CAS on Friday Challenge #196

Welcome to the very first CAS on Friday challenge for 2021! I hope you all have a wealth of wonderful crafting goodness ahead of you in this new year.

To start us off our theme for Challenge #196 is FEEL BETTER. 

Two old favourites were used on my card: this adorable stamp from Lili of the Valley and one of my all-time fav techniques, watercolouring. I got out some long-retired ink colours from SU and spent a very pleasant few minutes giving life to the image.

Materials used:

• stamps - Itty Bitty Greetings (SU), Get Well Soon (LOTV)
• card - pistachio pudding, watercolour
• ink colours - strawberry slush, baked brown sugar, Baja breeze, pistachio pudding, petal pink, so saffron, smoky slate
• other - aquapainter, craft foam, Dimensionals, pennant punch, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, pool party and Sahara sand markers

Poor Ted!

When I was a child my mum had a linctus for coughs that had to be diluted in warm water and it was horrible! Very hard to keep down, lol. My younger daughter couldn't physically keep liquid medicines down - and of course most children's medicines come in liquid form. Doctors always gave us the side eye when we asked for it in tablets. Happy days.

I do hope you'll join our challenge and make your own Feel Better card - perfect to have on hand for those summer colds and winter ills alike. And don't forget to pop over to the CASOF blog to see what lovely creations my fellow DT members have come up with for your inspiration - and comment love is always welcome and appreciated!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Feeling a Terrible Draught - CAS on Friday Challenge

Hi everyone, it's time for another CAS on Friday challenge! I do hope you'll be inspired to join us this week.

Today's challenge is #172 and the theme is GET WELL.

Those of you who are regular visitors will know how fond I am of puns and word play, so you'll understand how I simply could not resist this cute and funny image from Art Impression's Get Well set.

Is that adorable or what? There are more great images and sentiments in this set that I know I'll be using for future cards - and, in fact, one of my fellow DT members has used one for her sample!

Materials used:

• stamps - Get Well (AI)
• card - whisper white, seafood spray
• other - Stampin' Blends (seaside spray, ivory, mint macaron, pink pirouette, smoky slate), craft foam, Dimensionals, Stamparatus, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, Sahara sand marker, shaping mat and tool, internet image, computer and printer, mini library clip

Please pop on over to the CAS on Friday blog to see what my fellow design team members have created for you and don't forget to leave us all some comment love! 

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Well Wishes Dandelion

I wonder what the story is behind a weed becoming the symbol for wishing someone better health? Maybe it's a sort of 'blow the nasty weeds away and leave only healthy flowers' kind of thing? Who knows? If you do, feel free to enlighten us!

Anyhow, I felt the need to get out a set I haven't used in quite a while - okay, honestly? I wanted to use my distress oxides and wonderful new blending brushes! But I also felt this stamp set would suit the background beautifully, so...yeah, that's my story and I'm sticking to it!

Once I'd stamped my sentiment I overstamped with Versamark and clear embossed it - this makes the colour go a bit darker, which is the effect I was after.

Materials used:

• stamps - Dandelion Wishes
• card - whisper white, dapper denim
• distress oxides - fossilised amber, faded jeans
• other - water spritzer, blending brushes, Stamparatus, clear embossing powder, white embossing powder, heat tool, craft foam, embossing buddy, Versamark pen, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot

How do you like this colour combo? Let me know in the comments!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Floral Fantasies

Many things excite we crafters but there's not a lot that compares with a brand new catalogue full of shiny, gleaming new SCHTUFF! Yeah, baby.

So I've been having a play with lots of new schtuff and here are the cards we made in class yesterday - which, coincidentally, all feature flowers.

First up is new set Dandelion wishes and new colour Balmy Blue. This was cased from Monica Gale, who I think used the Bokeh stamp but as I haven't got that, I did the Bokeh the old fashioned way. I stamped the flower and sentiment with black craft ink and clear embossed (you could also stamp with Versamark and use black embossing powder, but I didn't have any at the time. I've fixed that now.) so I could sponge over the top. Post it notes were used to mask a portion of my white card, I sponged with balmy blue then with whisper white using my Bokeh template. Don't have a Bokeh template? Just punch a mixture of circle punches on a piece of firm acetate and voila!

Materials used:

• stamps - Dandelion Wishes
• card - smoky slate, balmy blue, whisper white
• other - post it notes, sponges, circle punches, clear embossing powder, heat tool, Stamparatus

Our second card is another 'get well soon' type, this time using new set Healing Hugs, which is one of the new DisINKtive type stamp sets. These are deeply etched at different levels into the rubber, creating depth without having to 2-step. This one was inspired by a creation by Lynn Hoyt.

Materials used:

• stamps - Healing Hugs
• card - grey granite, lovely lipstick, whisper white
• other - embossing paste, Pattern Party decorative masks, palette knife, Dimensionals

And lastly another case, this time from one of the Artisan Design Team members but I don't remember who! When I find their name, I'll come back and add it. They had used a different sentiment and also sponged an ombre effect in the background, but I chose to just use plain card. Varied Vases is the new stamp set (which I borrowed from my friend Robyn, along with the matching punch) and two returning colours are featured - coastal cabana and poppy parade, along with new colour grey granite. I'm rather liking this new colour, it's a great mix between grey and brown.

Materials used:

• stamps - Varied Vases
• card - grey granite, coastal cabana, basic black, whisper white, Delightfully Detailed laser-cut DSP
• other - embossing buddy, white embossing powder, heat tool, Stamparatus, Dimensionals, Big Shot, pinewood planks embossing folder, water spritzer, vase builder punch

All the fussy cutting on this one should keep my ladies busy - and quiet! LOL! 

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez