Tiger lilies

Hey!

Happy Friday! I'm popping in today to give you a sneak peek of what's in store for you with the new June release from Clearly Besotted. All of the new products are available for purchase from on Sunday 5th June from 10pm (UK time).

When I received my parcel of Clearly Besotted goodness (trust me, it's like Christmas every month!) I was immediately taken by the 'To Have & To Hold' stamp set. I love lilies and there are so many varieties out there that you could pretty much colour these any way you like and you'd probably find that you've captured a variety of lily perfectly!

For some reason, I'm gravitating towards orange at the moment. I also fancied a good colouring session, so I've transformed the lilies from the set into tiger lilies. I used a no-line colouring technique by stamping them with Desert Sand Memento ink. The sentiments of the stamp set cater for weddings, but you really could use these beautiful lilies for any occasion.

I decided to pair the bright tiger lilies with navy and touches of gold. I love this classic, sophisticated colour combo. I also coloured over the lilies with a clear Wink of Stella glitter brush pen. You can't see the sparkle on my pictures, but trust me, it's there!

That's all from me today, but be sure to visit Stephanie to check out more sneak peeks and links to the rest of the Design Team sharing even more fabulous projects!

Dino-mite birthday

Hey!

Happy Wednesday (halfway through the working week – woop!) and happy Clearly Besotted release day! Yup, the August release of CB goodies are available to purchase from 10pm tonight (UK time).

I'm celebrating the release with a little card created using the adorable set, You Rock. I love how the set is geared towards stamping your own little scene with style and ease. And seriously, who can resist the punny sentiment too? Love it!

I added a little more detail to my dino with the help of Glossy Accents (Yes, I've finally found them!) and a googly eye. So cute. :)

If you haven't already popped across from Stephanie's then what are you waiting for? Be sure to hop across to check out the full reveal of the August release. It's certainly a tough choice to pick my favourites, but these dinosaurs are definitely up there. ;)

I'm keeping it short and sweet today so I'm going to leave you to peruse the fabulous new release and let you make the tough decision of what you need and what might happen to jump into your virtual shopping basket!

Falling snow in June...

Hey!

Happy weekend! It's one of surreal, mixed emotions here as yesterday was my final day at school and I now start to look forward to my new job/career on Monday (more on that later!). My amazing colleagues and friends had me sobbing by lunchtime - it was inevitable I guess!

So seeing as I'm not going to be seeing my colleagues and friends so much now, I'm going to need a good stash of 'hello' cards to post to them! :) 

Cue a few of my favourite Simon Says Stamp goodies to come to the rescue that will have me whipping up hello cards in no time (handy seeing as I'm going to have little spare time on my hands in the future!) This card features a beautiful flower and sentiment stamp from the set, Summer Garden, as well as some fun with white embossing paste and a Simon Says Stamp stencil. Yes, it's a stencil called 'Falling Snow' but it's been known to snow in June, right?

• Although the stencil is perfect for creating snow falling as a background, it also works as a fun polka dot pattern for many occasions.
• As the polka dots are closer in proximity at the top of the card, the focal point for the flower and sentiment are best placed at the top too. If I'd have placed them on the bottom, the design wouldn't flow so easily and would force your eyes to work harder. ;)
• The sentiment stamp had a larger space inbetween the words; this meant that it was too long for the width of the card. I therefore simply inked and stamped the sentiment one word at a time to reduce the spacing.

Extra sparkles have been added to my flower with the help of gold stickles and dusting of magical sparkles with my clear Wink of Stella pen. :)

 

Well it's back to preparing for my first day of a new adventure on Monday. If I find time, I might squeeze in a bit of inky therapy too of course. :)

Thanks for stopping by today. Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

Products Used

*Simon Says Clear Stamps SUMMER GARDEN SSS101413 with Mama Elephant	*Tsukineko MEMENTO Full Size Ink Pad TUXEDO BLACK	*Neenah Classic Crest **110 LB** SMOOTH SOLAR WHITE Paper Pack 25 Sheets	*RESERVE Simon Says Stamp Stencil FALLING SNOW 121324
*Wendy Vecchi WHITE EMBOSSING PASTE Studio 490	*Copic Markers 25TH ANNIVERSARY BLACK BODY Limited Edition 36 Marker Set	*Ranger STICKLES GOLD Glitter Glue Christmas	*Doodlebug RED WHITE AND BLUE Assortment Doodle Twine

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A genius octopus...

Hey!

Happy Monday! It's the final week before the half term so it's countdown time to yet another bank holiday - hooray for May, the bringer of bank holidays galore! :)

May is also the time of year where we get stuck into the exam season. No doubt there are a few nervous students cramming for their final exams right now. I'm planning ahead with today's project and celebrating exam success with the help of a Top Dog Dies glasses die.

I used the glasses from the Top Dog Dies Photo Props Die Set to make this cute octopus from Clearly Besotted Stamps look intelligent. So simple to do! The hastag die from Top Dog Dies Camera Finishers Die Set adds that trendy, youthful vibe to the sentiment - well it's as trendy as this gal can be anyway LOL!

I created a quick video to show how I created the tag which involves a masking technique with Distress Inks galore but I'm having a few technical issues with it. I'll have it uploaded here as soon as I can get my resident geek on it!

• I'm not even sure that orange octopus/octupi exist! However, I opted for orange as it's a complimentary colour to blue. Check out colour theory for the thinking behind colour combinations. 
• Hashtags can make give any sentiment a modern, trendy vibe. Perfect for the younger generation!
• Don't limit yourself to these glasses and an octopus. The Top Dog Dies Photo Props Die Set comes with a variety of props so experiment to see how you can dress up your character stamps with them! 

Here's hoping that this octopus will be swimming its way to a student after exam results. Until then, it's back to the books and back to the revision classes! :)

Thank you so much for stopping by here today!

Products Used
N.B I've listed some products that are available here as well as across the pond in the USA via Amazon. They appear below as multiples of the same product - just click on the one based on your location. :)

Apologies that the 'genius' stamp was from a Sweet Stamp Shop set that has since been retired. 

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Too tall for a photo booth...!

Hey!

Happy Monday! It's the first morning of the Easter break so I've had a lovely start to the week with a lazy morning, stamping in my PJs and then a quick lunch date with the guy (who's still at work this week!) This morning's project I created was this fun, cute birthday card with some Top Dog Dies and Clearly Besotted Stamps goodies. :)

I think whenever it comes to creating cards with cute critters the addition of googly eyes is almost a must! I love how they can bring a character to life. :)

I used the new Top Dog Dies Camera Finishes Die Set to create this giraffe who is slightly too tall to fit into one picture in a photo booth LOL! I hope one day to use this same die with real photographs to create a fun, personal project but until then, stamped images will suffice. :)

  

• I lined up each section of the photo mats together and stamped the giraffe in one go, capturing a piece of him on every square.
• To achieve the background in each square, I created a mask of the giraffe and sponged Distress Inks over the top. The bottom is simply created by placing a straight-edged piece of paper across the bottom to mask the ground/sky. 
• The main panel of white card in the centre looked a little plain so I lightly stamped a ledger background in the same blue ink I used to sponge the sky behind the giraffe. It makes such a difference!

Right, it might be the first days of the holiday but I've gotta scoot! Picking up my guy from band practice, then off to a gym induction. No rest for the wicked, eh? *wink*

I know I always say it, but thank you *so* much for you visits. Every single one is appreciated! ♥

Products Used

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