Scientifically Speaking...

Hey!

So I'm slowly playing catch-up here with the fabulous, new Clearly Besotted Stamps June release. It was so fun to actually find time to sit and stamp after what has been a crazy couple of weeks of chaos (including some super-exciting news I have to share with you, but I'm not allowed to yet!)

This card features a set that makes my geek-lovin' heart skip a beat. Scientifically Speaking is a set that features all things scientific including some pun-tastic sentiments! For this card I used the tiny molecular structure stamp repeatedly on some ancient Basic Grey patterned paper to create my own background.

The sentiment was then stamped on a strip of green for a pop of colour and I figured that this mini bulldog clip would be an appropriate embellishment for the occasion. I think this will be going into the guy card stash *wink*.

The new release is available from Thursday 5th June at 10pm BST (UK time) and I recommend you pop across to Stephanie's to check out some sneak peeks from everyone of the rest of the sets and dies available. I know I think it every month, but this release is awesome! 

I really have to keep it short at sweet. My super-crazy-exciting news has left me with little time to get my head around anything else! I'll be back tomorrow though with another CBS creation so I hope you can stick around. :)

Die -> Stencil -> Lettering -> Video Tutorial...

 

Hey!

I'm over on the Top Dog Dies blog today with this card. It features a mish-mash of products and techniques. It's kinda similar to yesterday's card but I like to think that this one is a little more grungy. :)

I've been playing with stencils on this card (as well as stamping of course!) I used a swoon-worthy Memory Box stencil to select random stars to draw around my sentiment and I created a stencil of my own using a Top Dog Dies die.

I used the Top Dog Dies Vintage Alphabet Die to create my lettering by simple creating a stencil from it. I did the same for yesterday's card too. I've braved the camera and created a little mini-video-tutorial to show you exactly how I do this. I do babble a lot but I hope it gives you a better idea of how easy this is to do:

 

If you can't view the video for any reason, check it out here. :)

Easy, right?! To grunge up my card a little more I added some stamped flourishes and ink splatters - it makes such a difference to the design which looked a little bare before. However, I then realised the flourishes stamped over my lettering so I shaded the lettering using a pale blue marker.

Well that's all from me today! As always, thank you so much for stopping by today! 

Products Used

InLinkz.com

Diva for the day...

Hey!

Happy Wednesday - just! It's rare that I post so late at night; I'm live bloggin' as I've spent most of today being a Diva (Verve stylee, of course!) an catching up with their fun Anni-VERVE-sary challenges! I was desperate to squeeze them into what's turning out to be a very busy week here.

So I'll get straight to it! I had 3 challenges left to play along with so here are the result from my Diva session!

Challenge 3 - a sketch challenge. I used to be able to follow sketches so easily but now I find that they hinder my mojo more than boost it! I guess it's pretty hard to interpret a sketch like this one to a CAS gal like myself *wink*

I'm serious. This sketch was keeping me up at night! But maybe that's a good thing because I'm happy that I managed to crack it:

Now it's still kinda CAS...I inked up some new Paper Smooches background stamps for the houndstooth pattern but the rest is Verve. The rest you ask? Surely there's only one more stamp on this card? Well there's a li'l magnetic magic behind this card - simply lift to complete the sentiment:

Hee! I do love an interactive card, even if the sketch behind it nearly killed me! I simply adhered a tiny magnet behind the circular panel of card and another magnet behind the houndstooth pattern. I was lucky enough to be sent some samples of magnets from Magnet Expert and I love 'em! The sizes range from the super big to the super tiny, perfect for cards that require an interactive feature *wink*

Challenge 4 - a challenge that I think was thought of just for me (and my buddy, Lynn!)

Woo hoo! This I can do in a jiffy - no sleepless nights for this challenge! :)

This card will be heading to either my brother, or my guy's brother for their birthday soon.

4 challenges down, only one more to squeeze in! Challenge 5 was something that I don't do enough when I think of all the supplies I own:

Now I'm gonna 'fess up - I was getting pushed for time at this point. My guy is off work too and wanted to head out so I needed to whip up something quick. So cue a coordinating tag to match the card created for Challenge 4:

I now need to get busy stamping coordinating wrapping paper methinks! Ha!

Right, if you've made it this far, well done! And if you've just looked at the pictures and ignored the waffle then that's OK too - it's late after all!

Thanks so much for stopping by tonight (or today!) I can hear a cuppa calling me so I'm signing off.

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{You're so AWESOME}
Stamps: Happy Days (Verve Stamps)/Large Houndstooth Background, Small Houndstooth Background (Paper Smooches)
Ink: Buttercup (A Muse)/Red (Versamagic)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: White, Pure Poppy, Harvest Gold (Papertrey Ink)/Teal (Bazzill)
Patterned Paper: Ledger from Basic White 6x6 Collection (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Small Magnets (Magnet Expert)/Chompy (Corner Chomper)/Circle Nestability (Spellbinders)/

{Have a HAPPY Birthday}
Stamps: Happy Days (Verve Stamps)
Ink: London Fog, Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Blue Marvy Blending Block (Marvy)
Cardstock: White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Linen and Canvas Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)

{HAPPY Birthday Tag}
Stamps: Happy Days (Verve Stamps)
Ink: London Fog, Tuxedo Black (Memento)/Blue Marvy Blending Block (Marvy)
Cardstock: White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Tag Sale #3 Die, Fresh Snow Twill, Cream Button Twine (Papertrey Ink)

Neon fawn....!

This is my second post of the day. Please scroll down or click here for my CASE Study post - thanks! :)

Hey!

So happy you could join me for The Craft's Meow Blog-Hop today! Today is release day! I'm sooooooo excited as you get to see the full reveal of the gorgeous sets for sale, including my first ever stamp set, Oh Deer! What a way to celebrate my birthday today! :D



Now you should have hopped over here from my awesome teamie, Amy T. If you've not, you wanna start here as a simple comment on each blog, including the TCM Blog, by Sunday June 24th could win you the entire June release!

Now for my blog hop card, I couldn't resist inking up my set, Oh Deer. I think I've developed a bit of an attachement to it...I've got sweet fawns stamped on just about anything and everything!

I'm always tempted to try and colour my fawn in realistic colours and I fancied breaking the habit for the blog hop. I wanted to show how this sweet fawn doesn't require the most awesome artistic skills to remain fun and cute. And I guess if you're not a fan of colouring,  I've seen some awesome paper-piecing by my TCM Teamies with this fawn too! This fawn is near neon and I'm going to admit that I wish I'd added some sparkles to it for extra pizazz...I think I may just have to do that!

And before I dash, here's my set, Oh Deer, in its full reveal and available for purchase today! Yay!

And if you spend over $50 at the TCM store, then you'll receive the set, Summer Fun absolutely free!
 
Now I've babbled enough as there's a lot of hopping to be done. Thank you so much for stopping by today! Your next hop is across to the lovely Ivana Camdzic!

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{my deer friend}
Stamps: Oh Deer (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Tuxedo Black, London Fog (Memento)
Cardstock: True Black (Papertrey Ink)
Paper: White 6x6 Basic Collection (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Promarkers

For the dads...

Hey!

Yay for Friday! Yay for the weekend! Yay for Day 2 of the TCM May Release countdown!

Ready for a sneaky peek of yet another set? How about two new sets? Yup, today we're giving you a peek of two sets available from May 21st. Today's sets focus on the Dads and Grads - it's coming to that time of year to celebrate 'em!

'For my Dad' is a fabulous set designed by Michelle Bertuzzi and will cater for many of the guys in your family (and let's admit it, we've all struggled with a guy card, right?!) For my card I couldn't resist the image of the glasses resting on the books:

I masked a sentiment from the same set to give me the simple sentiment, 'DAD' meaning that this card could be for Father's Day or a birthday or even just a note card!

You can't see on my pic, but I added a nice dollop of Glossy Accents to the glasses - they look pretty cool but you'll have to take my word for it!

The next set we're featuring today is 'Grads and Dads' by Kaitlyn Ord and it has some fabulous graphic-style images. I immediately knew that I wanted to ink up the tie and play:

Pretty simple, but I wanted to keep the tie the main focal point. To add a little more interest, I created a collar around the tie with strips of paper.

So there you have it! A sneaky peek of two more fabulous sets to be released on May 21st. Be sure to check out the rest of the super duper TCM DT who will be giving you some more sneaky peeks of these sets today. Oh and if you fancy winning one of these sets yourself, be sure to pop across to the TCM Blog and leave a comment!

I'll be back tomorrow giving you another sneaky peek of another new TCM set up for release this month!

Thank you so much for stopping by today - I really appreicate your visits!

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{DAD}
Stamps: For my Dad (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: White, Scarlet Jewel (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Promarkers/Glossy Accents (Ranger)/Canvas and Linen Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)


{dad}
Stamps: Grads and Dads (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Basic White 6x6 Collection (Basic Grey)

Flower + Stem = Eggs + Bacon

This is my second post of the day! Please scroll down to check out my CASE Study post - Thanks! :)

Hey!

My oh my! How quickly does a month go by? It seems like only yesterday I was having the pleasure of giving you sneak peeks of the April release from The Craft's Meow and here we are again with the May release!



You're in for a treat today as we get to give you a sneaky peeky of the gorgeous set, Flower Garden, designed by Nina.B. This set features beautiful block images of flowers giving you the flexibility to ink to perfection! However, when I was playing with this set, I had an idea and just had to roll with it:

Where are the flowers, you ask? Well I promise you that I was not under the influence of any intoxicating drugs whilst making this (apart from tea and chocolate) . I honestly saw eggs and bacon in Nina's designs!!! The flower makes for a fabulous friend egg when embossed and given a good dollop of glossy accents:

Couldn't you just poke that yolk?! :)

The stem is stamped in Terracotta Tile ink, then flipped and stamped again (without re-inking!) to create a rasher of bacon. I know, I know, I'm crazy - but luckily Nina.B finds this idea funny too - phew!

Now obviously this wasn't intended to be an eggs and bacon set, so be sure to check out what the rest of the TCM DT whipped up to get more sneaky peeks. Oh, and be sure to welcome our Guest Designers too - we're so happy to have Sharri Seffens and Annette Allen on board with us this month!

Fancy winning this set for yourself? Then be sure to pop across the the TCM Blog and leave a comment today!

Thanks so much for stopping by today, and for tolerating my kinda crazy approach to floral stamp set! I'll be back tomorrow with another sneaky peek - don't worry, not as crazy as this one!

Catch ya later!

Card Deets
{We Belong Together}
Stamps: Flower Garden (The Craft's Meow)
Ink: Versamark (Tsukineko)/Terracotta Tile (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Basic White 6x6 Collection (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Detail White Embossing Powder (Stampendous)/Yellow Marker (Promarker)/Glossy Accents (Ranger)/Alphabet Stickers (My Little Shoebox)

It's show and tell TIME! :)

Hey!

Happy Saturday! Happy weekend! Happy half-term (for me anyways!) AND...

A happy welcome to Uniko Studio!

Hooray! The day has finally arrived that Uniko Studio is here for real and can reveal to the world its first two stamp sets called Time and Extra Time! I can't wait to show you what inky adventures I've been on with these two sets.

These stamps take ink and stamp like a dream! They take both dye and pigment/chalk inks very well and give fabulous results. Rest assured that here on my blog, I'll never endorse anything doesn't meet my own high (and at times perfectionist!) inky standard.

So that's enough gushing on how fabulously well these beauties stamp; lemme show you what I've made!

For today's post I want to share projects that give you a good idea of the main images in these sets:

So in keeping with the theme of time, how about a clock?

OK, OK so that's not exactly the clock from the set, but it's actually the clock in my living room. Both my guy and I adore our huge timepiece (the pic doesn't show big it is but believe me, it's big...and heavy!) and as soon as I laid eyes on 'Time' and 'Extra Time' I just knew I had to re-create my living room :)

This would make a not only a super classy birthday card, but an invite too methinks.

Now check out how well this set has been designed: You can actually set this clock to *any* time you desire as the clock hands and fingers are separate stamps and easy to position due to the clear nature of 'em. Sweet! As you can see, I decided that 8 o'clock is party time at my place *wink*

I used a simple masking technique here: I stamped the clock on a post-it and cut it out to create a mask. Then I covered my stamped clock on my card before inking up my large Hero Arts stamp and stamping the background. It just adds a touch more interest to a CAS design and still reminds me of my living room :)

Next up a card that I originally stamped as a friendship card, but the more I look at that sentiment, the more I think this would make a lovely sympathy card too:

I simply inked up those different clocks with different colours to create the background and stamped the sentiment over the top. To finish I mounted the card onto some scrummy, polka-dot Pink Paislee paper I've been hoarding to tie in with the circular clock faces.

Now one stamp that I just *had* to ink up from this set was the cool cogs! My immediate thought was Father's Day (I realise it's a way off yet, but it's good to be prepared when it comes to cards for the guys)

Now to tie in with the whole idea of those cogs being the internal workings of an instrument, I decided to brave a vellum card-base to echo that kinda internal feeling. PTI Vellum works pretty well for this as it's very sturdy and I kinda like the extra dimension it adds.

And seeing as I've covered a card for the guys, lemme share one for the gals:

Doesn't get much girlie than this, right? :)

I couldn't resist inking up the three different sized geometric flower designs from 'Time' in Versamark on vellum, dusting each one with chalk and cutting a layering them to create a pretty embellishment.

I'm loving how versatile 'Time' and 'Extra Time' are proving to be; They can cater for just about any occasion! I hope you can check out the new Uniko Studio store and pop across to the Uniko Studio Blog and say hi. I know this new business would really, really appreciate your welcome :)

Be sure to check back here tomorrow when I'll be sharing some designs with these stamps that are a little more out-of-the-box...

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Catch ya later!








Card Deets
{It's Party Time}
Stamps: Clock from 'Extra Time', Sentiment from 'Time' (Uniko Studio)/ Classic Fabric Design (Hero Arts)
Ink: Latte (amuse ink)/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: True Black, Vintage Cream (Papertrey Ink)


{In Good Times and Bad Times}
Stamps: Clocks from 'Time' and 'Extra Time', Sentiment from 'Time' (Uniko Studio)
Ink: Aqua Mist (Papertrey Ink)/Buttercup (amuse)/London Fog, Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: News - Daily Junque Collection (Pink Paislee)

{Happy Father's Day}
Stamps: Cogs from 'Time' (Uniko Studio)/Sentiment - Daily Design Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: London Fog, Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Vellum Cardstock (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Basic White 6x6 Collection - Basic Grey

{Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Geometric Flowers x3 and sentiment from 'Time' (Uniko Studio)
Ink: Versamark/Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: Pink (amuse card blank)/White (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Canvas and Linen Impression Plate (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug/Jewelled Brad (Maya Road)

For Cath (sans CHA) with Love Blog Hop

Hey!

Welcome to a special blog hop (if you've not visited as part of a the hop be sure to start here or here!)

Unless you've been hiding under a rock, you'll know that a lot of crafty peeps are having a whale of a time at CHA right now...but there are some of us who just have to sit drooling and stroking our monitors as we're updated with the pictures. Included in that group of people is not only myself, but for this year it includes the totally Moxie Fab, Cath Edvalson ...

Cath is the ultimate trend detective and it's the first time in six and a half years she's unable to attend CHA. So here in Blogland we're throwing her a special get-well soon blog hop to cheer her up (fingers crossed it works!)

So without further ado, follow the instruction on my card and get well soon, Cath!

Yay! Check out the DP usage on this! Yup - I'm slowly working my way through my stash; this card features some Basic Grey gorgeousness. I wanted to keep the card kinda clinical and clean with those ticks providing the perfect pop of red :)

I'd like to extend a HUGE thanks for both Lorena and Virginia for organising this sweet hop and for inviting me - thanks ladies, you're both so sweet and sum up exactly what's so special about this creative community we have here ♥!

Be sure to hop along now with me to check out what everyone else created to spread the Blog-land-lovin' :)

Thank you so much for stopping by today!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Doctor's Orders}
Stamps: Doctor's Orders (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Basic White 6x6 Collection (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Square Nestabilities, Grand Calibur (Spellbinders)/Red Promarker

Hip to be square...

Hey!

Happy Tuesday! I'm back into the swing of things at work now; it feels like I've never been away (but not in a bad way as I'm fortunate enough to work alongside some fabby and very funny colleagues!)

I'm posting today to show that square doesn't have to be geeky...(though I admit that I'm a fan of geek chic!)...but square can be elegant and understated as well as a graphic and cool with my approach to The Square Sketch Challenge over on Moxie Fab World.

Here's the sketch:Here's my first take:

You just never know when you may need a sympathy card so I like to whip 'em out when I don't need to make 'em as I always feel too much pressure if I have to make one on demand (fingers crossed that it'll be a long time until I need one) Twine didn't suit the style of the card so I decorated my button with bling instead.

My final take involves a spot of doodling :)

I'm on a bit of a fix with merging sentiments with images - I like they way they can inter-lock and let the design flow nicely. Speaking of which, this card continues on the inside too:

It's rare that I take the time to decorate inside a card too - I really should take the time to do it more but once I finish the front of a card, my mind is already wandering to the next project I have!

That's all from me today! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!







Card Deets
{With Sympathy}
Stamps: Dainty Doilies 2 Small (Waltzingmouse Stamps)/Round and Round (Papertrey Ink)
Cardstock: Stamper's Select White (Papertrey ink)/Grey (Craft Supply)
Ink: London Fog (Memento)/Versamark
Accessories: Papertrey Ink (Button, Canvas and Linen Impression Plate)/Zva (Bling)/Cuttlebug

{In my heart...}
Stamps: Wonderful Word Additions (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento)
Cardstock: True Black, Stamper's Select White (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Basic White 6x6 Collection (Basic Grey)
Accessories: Promarker (Red)/Papertrey Ink (Wonderful Words Die)/Cuttlebug

Not your average butterfly...

Hey!

Hope you all had a super weekend - I didn't get half as much done as I'd planned due to an unexpected visit from the sun! You've just gotta make the most of any sunshine around here - even when it's still freezing cold - so I spent most of my weekend topping up my Vitamin D levels :)

I also squeezed in a bit of inky time too (when I had my guy convinced that I was "sorting out my crafting supplies for moving" - Ha!) to create a card for the current paper piecing challenge over on Moxie Fab World which just so happens to be our new challenge on our PTI blog:

You know I do love this technique and I never seem to have the patience of time to dedicate to it but maybe I should make the time as I love the end results!

Oooh and check out what a good dollop of Glossy Accents and Prisma Glitter can do to your average, paper-pieced butterfly:

Gotta love me some shimmer :)

So why not get paper piecing and join in the fun? Glitter and Glossy Accents are not a requirement BTW!

Gotta scoot now and really start getting myself organised for our move next week...who knows, maybe I'll be able to secretly make a few more cards during the process of sorting out my stash *wink*

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Catch ya later!






Card Deets
{Happy Birthday}
Stamps: Butterfly Dreams, Birthday Bash Sentiments (Papertrey Ink)
Ink: Tuxedo Black (Memento) Versamark
Cardstock: Enchanted Evening (Papertrey Ink)
Patterned Paper: Basic White 6x6 Pad (Basic Grey)/Hibiscus Burst Bitty Dot Basics (Papertrey Ink)
Accessories: Simply Chartreuse Felt, Eyelet Border Die, Simply Chartreuse Button (Papertrey Ink)/Cuttlebug/Circle Nestability (Spellbinders)/Glossy Accents (Ranger)/Prisma Glitter/Chompy (Corner Chomper - We R Memory Keepers)