Throwback Thursday Zoo Globe

"We three Giraffes of Orient are...." 🤴🤴🤴

Today's Zoo Globe inspiration goes Christmas!!!

The fantastic Zoo Globe stamp set coordinates with the Still Scenes stamp set and dies which are all from Stampin' Up! 

The Still Scenes stamps and dies we're in last years winter mini catalogue and returned in this years annual one 😊

So for today's inspiration I thought I'd combine both sets and for some reason We Three Giraffes 🦒  sprang to mind 🤣🤣🤣

So taking my lead from the colour of the Giraffes I looked to some new pattern paper , Plaid Tidings a collection of fab checks and tartans in some great colour combo's.

All in all a fun,  non traditional christmas card for that quirky someone in your life 🦒🦒🦒

Tips, tricks and techniques Tuesday..

I keep cut flowers in a vase next to my daughter's photograph, she died 2 years ago. So each week I buy beautiful flowers to share with her. A few weeks ago peonies were a very good price so I treated us to a few bunches. One of which was the most amazing colour ... the most beautiful pale lemony yellow frulled centers with just 5 pale pink outer petals!! They were stunning!! I'd never seen lemon yellow peonies before!

So I have taken inspiration from these beautiful flowers to create today's card..yellow peonies 😊

Now that was one of my top tips took to nature to inspire you. There are no right or wrong colour combinations just those that are pleasing to your eye.

I used my Stampin Blends alcohol markers to colour the stamped images.  I first gave the whole blossom a quich wash of colour using light so saffron a very pale yellow. I then went in and using the stamps shade lines as my guide went over them with a light mango melody blend to give it both depth and a little pop of brightness. I blended the colours together with the light daffodil delight blend . 

Overall I am very happy with the way my yellow peonies have come out 🙂 

What do you think? 

Makebit simple monday

Are you a gardener? Do you love beautiful flowers? I'm no gardener but I sure do love flowers! As a stamper flowers are a staple of my stash and luckily for me they come in all shapes and sizes. But when I opened the Stampin' Up! annual catalogue and saw that they have a stamp set featuring my favourite garden beauty my heart went boom!! The stamp set is called Prizes Peony!! Be still my heart for I absolutely love peonies 💗
So for  this week I shall be showcasing this beautiful set.
Now for today's #simplestamping card I've made 2 using the same layout but different sentiments.
The sentiment space is created by masking off the band with a piece of copier paper. And then stamping all over the card front and the copier paper. When you remove the copier paper it reveals a white space to add your sentiment... simple but effective 💗

Fun Fold Friday  

Hello from me for the last time this week. Today is Fun Fold Friday and I have made a very

simple fun fold. A Z folded card. 

In actual fact, last night, Cary and I held a Christmas craftalong. It's where we all get together and using all of our own materials and stamps, we have started our Christmas cards.

Hopefully in my case, that will mean I wont have to panic at the last moment makeing cards for everyone!
I used the papers from last year called Feels Like Frost. They are gorgeous silver patterns on one side and the front has photgraphic images printed on. The colours in them were mostly soft for example, Balmy Blue, Blushing Bride, Highland Heather, Purple Posy etc. Then with the added Night of Navy, Pretty Peacock and Rococo Rose to bring them all together. They really are gorgeous and the bonus is....They may be in the new seasonal catalogue coming out very shortly! Yippee!

My cards were both onWhisper White card bases and I've added Balmy Blue and Seaside Spray mats to coordinate with the papers.

A Z fold card is very easy to make.

In this case, I cut a piece of A4 in half doen the longest length of the card. Scored half way across that and on one half only, scored half way along that too. I then added a matching white mat the same size as the C6 card base once it was folded. In this case 14.85cm by 10.5 cm.

Onto the mat, I added a piece of the DSP ( Designer Series Paper) from the pack

 cut at 14.4 cm by 10 cm, which is only a half centremetre smaller than the base card and mat.

On the first card base, where I had scored the one half of the card again, I folded it into the card. Then adding adhesive onto the smaller, outer part of the folded card base, I added the separate mat with the DSP onto the card base. It really was a very quick card as all I added was a message to the front and inside onto a piece of coloured card to match.

The stamp set I used was the lovely Itty Bitty Christmas which has stayed in the catalogue this year.

There are 18 lovely messages in the set for only £20, a bargain in my mind.

More information HERE

 

 

Above view you can see how the card will look like once together.

The next one carrying on from the simple Z fold, I changed it up and made it into an Easel card. 

Exactly the same process and papers but this time I added a message mat which was raised up using Dimensionsals or foam adhesive. This then acts as the stand for the easel.

A simple addition this time in that I stamped the deer onto a scrap of white card, coloured him in using Soft Suede Blends and a little white gel pen on his head and back. I then added him using Dimensionals once again. You can see from the side once again the shape the card will be once completed.  

I used the lovely Nature's Beauty stamp set which last year was a hostess gift. Thankfully, it has carried on into the annual catalogue!

More information HERE

 

 

I added another piece of DSP to the back edge of this card to add a little more interest.

Not essential but I rather love the papers!

Thank you for joining me this week. 

Cary will return on Monday with some of her amazing projects to hopefully inspire you.

 Gill xxxxx :) 

Throwback Thursday  

Today is due to be another scorcher here in the UK. 

My card today is in Pretty Peacock, Soft Sea Foam and Whisper White. As you can see I used the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch to get the effect. I haven't added the ribbon yet as I'm waiting for my ribbon order to arrive but I will add it as it finishes it off!  I cut the front mat and scored and folded it in two then punched the topper out of it. I used the 2" and 2, 1/4" circle punches for the message on the front.

The stamp set is once again, By The Dock. More information HERE

There are coordinating dies too if you want them! Needless to say, I did!

The white mats were punched stamped and coloured then added to the front of the card. On the inside I used a mat 1cm smaller all around to get a border in the Soft Sea Foam, scored it in half then each half, in half again. Each half was then punched out using the Scalloped Tag Topper Punch again. The Whisper White was done the same way and cut into strips, stamped, decorated and added the little elements too.  A simple Happy Birthday for the inside and it's complete. 

This is based on a card that I made about a year ago as a Christmas card.

 Here is the card that I made for Christmas. 

I used Night of Navy, Whisper White and Silver Foiled card.

Yes, I do get through an awful lot of Whisper White card stock.

Watercolour Wednesday 

Hello this lovely and warm Wednesday. Did I say warm? I change that. 

This SCORCHER, it hit over 33 degrees in my room today. It's crazy hot!

I know to a lot of you it's not very hot but here in the UK we arent used to these temperatures!

Silly, I know but there it is. 

Anyway, I apologise for the lateness of my post. My very new, very cute and cuddly Great Grandson came to visit with his mummy and daddy too. So I had to spend time having lots of cuddles.

He was 4.4 kg which in English pounds is 9 lb 11 ounces! He's a bruiser and his mummy is only         5ft 1 inch tall. I thought she was 3 inches taller but no!

Anyway, my watercolour card is made on 2 small pieces of watercolour paper, taped together and then I had fun washing lots of colours across them. Then chopping them up, stamping, glueing them to black card and mounting them onto the Whisper White card base. 

I used the By The Dock stamp set and had great fun playing. 

More information HERE
There are Dies to match the stamp set too which has a leaping frog and other extra dies.  

I even edged the white card with a black Stampin' Write Marker pen, I would like to say as a border but it was to cover up ink on the side of the card! 

I carried on with the black marker pen on the inside mat too.

Tips, Tricks and Techniques Tuesday 

For today's card I have added some Designer Series Paper, (DSP) for a little difference.  

The pattern was chosen on purpose as I wanted to punch, cut or die cut a few shapes out and make them stand out. I used a die for the compasses on the papers and a retired punch, the 3/4" circle for the Whisper White mat behind it. I did the same with the seagulls and Misty Moonlight card too.

The card base is in Misty Moonlight card, which is one of the NEW In Colors from Stampin' Up! this year.

The stamp set is By The Dock and there is more information on the link HERE

The mat is Whisper White card and the DSP was glued to it using Tombow Multipurpose Glue.

The boat, the little circles and the message, in case the pictures don't show it, are all raised up using Dimensionals to add the extra dimension.  

 

 I love the sentiments or messages in this set, they are so useful for all occassions.  

 

Make It Monday or #simplestamping  

Hello and welcome back to the 2 Big Girls Crafting Blog posts and thank you for joining me.

Once again, Cary has super excelled in last week's posts that she is going to be a very hard act to follow. 

Well, here is the start of my projects for the week.

#Simplestamping is exactly that, a simple card made quickly and very painlessly for those fof us who need a very quick card for an event or even a beginner crafter who has very limited materials. 

So with a stamp set, I used By The Dock, card and Memento Ink pad, I've made this very quick card.

Using Sahara Sand card stock, 4 of the stamps and the black ink pad it was quickly completed.

For more information on the By The Dock, please click HERE

I made a stepped up version of the card too only this time, the oars are along one side only.

This time, I added a Basic Black card mat and a WHisper White card mat for the stamped images.

 I finished this version off with a simple message and the gorgeous Timeless Label Punch.

 

 

Both cards were so simply made with one slightly stepped up and more importantly, quick for those last minute cards. You can always add a little bling or colouring in different areas to step the card up even more. 

The sky is your limit!

Fun fold friday

#simplestamping doesn't have to mean boring it can mean elegant, stylish, clean....it can also mean bright and fun! And today's sample sure is both those things!!
I literally cut the front of the card diagonally off! I wanted to create a fun fold card that wasn't intimidating for the beginner stamper.
I also wanted to be able to play with pattern and colour to show that sometimes its fun to stamp everywhere! So I then stamped on the piece of card I cut off and stuck it onto the inside of the card!!
I have loved working with the Cute Fruit collection this passed week. I love the bright colours of the Stampin Spots . The stamps are such fun.
I hope that I have shown that as well as  beginner stampers this collection is great for all stamper beginner, casual and avid!
Have a great weekend, hopefully including some Crafting time 😉.
Please join us next week when Gill will be sharing her talent with us all.
Have fun and stay safe
Cary xx