Tips, Tricks and Techniques Tuesday...

For the last post of 2019 I'd  like to share a little tip and a great technique with you...masking.
This easy technique helps you stamp with depth.  I use sticky notes to help do this. First you stamp, on the sticky edge, on a pad of sticky notes. Then my tip...pull 3 or 4 sheets off together and then cutting through all 3 or 4 layers cut the image out.
Now stamp the image on the place where you want it to be at the forefront of the image. Then using the sticky note to cover the image and stamping again to create multiple images behind the first. This is where my little tip comes into its own you can now use the extras you cut to cover all the area and stamp more with out having to fussy cut any more...cut once use multiples!!
Below are pictures showing how I created the card.
I hope this little tip and technique inspires you to have a play 😊

Make it simple Monday..

Today I'm  sharing a card that features a sneek peek of an upcoming stamp set that is only available for free! Yes free stamps! The set is called The Gangs all Meer and is part of Stampin' Up's Sale-a-bration offering. It also has a sentimentfrom a stamp set that is in the upcoming spring summer catalogue from Stampin' Up. (If you'd like to know more just comment below 😉)

#Simplestamping - Day 4  

Hello again. Today I've made another Christmas card. We all have friends that we don't get to see very often but we always remember them to send them a card and add some catch up news at Christmas. I know that I do! Anyway, I used Night of Navy for the card base and Whisper White for the front mat. I have cheated a little as I'v added a piece from the Feels Like Frost papers. Those papers are beautiful, just beautiful. :) The stamp set that I used is Playful Penguins. 

Sadly, I can't give you a link as they've now all sold out!

Once again, I stamped the 3 penguins onto a scrap of white card then fussy cut them out. 

I decided that I needed to add some sparkle to the card so I have added some snowflake sprinkles to the sky.

#Simplestamping - Day 3 

Hello, today's card is made using another new stamp set. This time I have used Botanical Prints.

It's a lovely little set of images and words.

I used Very Vanilla for this one and only 1 whole sheet of A4 card again. I like using mats and this    card is no exception. I stamped 2 lots of the little branches and left a little room for the main flower. Yes, I fussy cut but it's such a simple little cut so not difficult at all.

The front mat was edged with Granny Apple Green Ink Pad. Just standing the edges of the card mat onto the pad and moving onto the next part. It's so simple and effective.

The messages I used are from the lovely stamp set, Lilypad Lake.

 

#Simplestamping - Day 2  

Today I have really gone a little bright. I used a Real Red card base and a Whisper White mat to create this one. Using the little lady birds (lady bug) from a NEW stamp set called Little Ladybug.

Yes we in England call them Lady birds.

There are 4 different ones and I've randomly stamped in Memento over the white mat. Then on a separate scrap of white, I stamped the flower and the Lady bird, coloured them in using the Stampin' Write marker pens. If you don't have the marker pens, you can used other colouring pencils, felt or gel pens to do a similar job. It won't be the exact colour unfortunately, so if you are thinking of an idea for yourself at Christmas, you could always ask for a set of the markers. You can buy them in their colour families, there are 4 of them, or you can buy the whole lot which comes in a case. 

Click HERE for the link for all of the pens.

I fussy cut once again, as I always love to do. A simple Thinking of You message, says it all really. 

I do like the message inside too, Spread your wings and fly. Lovely.

Weekly Inspiration - #Simplestamping

#Simplestamping 

 week is just that. Making a card that is very simple.

This week I'm starting off with a Pool Party card using 1 whole sheet of A4, I cut in half,                     Then one half of that was then cut in half again. Simple enough? Good!

I have stamped both the deer and the message onto the separate mat and using a Stampin' Write marker pen, scribbled a little shadow under the deer and a squiggle under the message. 

Why? I have no idea! 

Adding a few Basic Rhinestones and I stood the mat onto the Pool Party ink pad to put an 

'edge' around to show definition. This mat was mounted using Dimensionals.

         

  

Balmy Blue..

Ho, Ho, Ho Gnomey Christmas!
Don't you just love it when you see a punch art project and you have all the punches????😁😁😁😁
I saw this ever so cute gnome on a demo site and fell in love 😍
Gnomes are very popular around Christmas here and this project just ticked all the boxes for me...cuteness overload, punch art, non traditional..
This is my last project to share with you before Christmas so think of it as my Christmas card to you 🎅
Gill will be sharing her inspiration with you next week so don't forget to pop over and take a look and leave a comment or 2.
Merry Christmas
Have fun
Cary xx

Balmy Blue..

Do you have your ducks in a row for  Christmas?
 Or are you like me still paddling like crazy trying to catch up!!😂😂😂
Today's card has all it's stockings in a row and is most definitely keeping it calm!!
This non traditional colour palette of crumb cake, balmy blue and white is very gentle  and soft.
The stockings are coloured in white with the Stampin chalk marker. This marker is a permanent marker so colours over other colours. This also enables you to place another colour, in this case balmy blue blend, over the top and the true colour shows. The technique is called black magic and as the name implies it works well on dark coloured card but it also works on other too such as the crumb cake today.
Well I'm  off to get back to wrangling my duck have a nice day and see you tomorrow. 🎅

Balmy Blue..

Need a gift in a hurry? Don't  know what to get? A gift for that person who has no idea what they want?....Get a gift card!!!
Well thats how it goes in my household 😂😂😂
But as a crafter you can't just hand over the boring gift card now can you?
So a gift card is the perfect time for a little  extra crafting . But what do you do if you have no time ? Well I have the solution for you..... add it to a card you already have made!!
All it takes is a scrap of paper and a simple circle punch! All I did was put tape on 3 sides, leaving the top edge open. Then using the circle punch punch a notch in the center of the top edge. Stick to the inside of your card and voila a gift card holder!!
Oh if you like the background paper I made it using the Itty Bitty Christmas stamp set. Its all small sentiments so I just added them to a large acrylic block and treated it a s a background stamp!
Well that's  it for now of to try my luck at the shopping center to get some of those elusive Christmas gifts for my loved ones 🎅🎅🎅

Balmy Blue..

Now I stamp fir lots of reasons but one of them is because  I'm a frustrated painter!! I'd  love to be able to capture the beauty of the world with a paintbrush or pencil in a few effortless swooshs .....but I can't! So when I discovered stamping it was amazing💡💡💡
Now Stampin Up  carry several scene building stamp seta in a watercolour style and oh my!!! There are some stunning examples created by some incredibly talented people. These samples led me to give it a go..was it going to be the answer to all my painter dreams???
 Well I'll let you be the judge of that. But all I'll  say is please be gentle it's  my first go at this style and I'm a little nervous  to share it.
The moral of this card is don't  be afraid to try new things.  You never know it might become a firm favourite in you papercrafting arsenal....or it might be a fun way to discover it's not for you 😉

Balmy Blue...

Now I don't  know about you but when I hear a name like Balmy Blue my mind goes to warm, gently, soft summer skys and water. Not exactly  the kind of weather we are experiencing here in the UK at the moment! It's grim , grots and grimy! So to cheer myself up and chase away the dull , overcast winter weather I have decided to feature the beautiful Balmy Blue colour from the Subtle's colour family from Stampin Up this week.
For today's inspiration I've stuck with a subtle colour palette of Balmy Blue, Mint Macaron and Gray Granite. I used the polka dot mask from the basic pattern decorative  mask pack and sponged a background.
Then using the Christmas Gleaming stamps and coordinating punches I created the focal point. A simple flourish of whisper white twine and I was done. 

Most Wonderful Time - Day 5

For my last day this week, I went the whole way! I added Red Rhinestones, a Gold Star, DSP, Stamped presents in Real Red and Gold then a gorgeous banner to complete the front.

As I have already said, the papers are so lovely I will be using this set to make the rest 

of my Christmas cards and gift tags.

For more information on the product bundle, please click HERE

 

Once again, I found some previously die cut ovals and used this for the card. I stamped the tree in Memento black then wrapped the Tinsel trim around the branches on the tree. Then went crazy with Red Rhinestones before stamping and fussy cjtting our the parcels.

Yes, there are dies but I would rather cut them out individually for this card.

 I completed this card with a Whisper White mat stamped with a message 

and another parcel on the inside.

Thank you for joining me this week, I hope I've given you some ideas to make some more of your own projects. If I have, please let us see your creations too please?

Cary will be back with you on Monday with some of her amazing creations.

Thank you again, Gill :)