This or That Thursday - Christmas Friends

 Hello on this lovely sunny Thursday. For my This and That cards today, I have made 2 similar projects but used different papers and the Christmas Friends stamp set and Dies too this time. 

 

 THIS

For this today I used a piece of the DSP from Winter Meadow DSP adhered to a of Night of Navy card base. I stamped several of the polar bears onto a scrap of White card and coloured them all in. I chose this one as I think it coordinates well with the paper colours. I used a gold gel pen for the decorations and the bow on the wreath around his neck and then die cut a bow from the Silver and Gold adhesive backed card. I also die cut garland pieces and adhered them to a piece of white card that I had stamped my sentiment onto. Once the garland was dry, I fussy cut around it to follow the leaves on the garland itlsef. I added another of the Polar Bears to the inside white mat and another piece of the garland under the sentiment. I used a Sticky note to omit the words from the sentiment... Owl be ...

THAT

My THAT card I used  a piece of patterned paper from the Nests of Winter DSP. This was layered onto a Basic Black mat then onto aGray Granite card base. This time I used the Reindeer for my card. I coloured him in using the Stampin' Blends pens, I made a small cut-out from his mouth and added a present into it. I used some more of the gold glimmer paper from the Silver and Gold adhesive backed glimmer again onloy this time for a bow or 2 and the ribbons for some presents. Very simple cards today so hopefully not too difficult to decide which you prefer.This time thought, I have added the Owl inside adn the sentiment Owl be thinking of you this season. 

 

This or That Thursday - Embraced With Love

I have really had fun this week with this stamp set. I've even had the family smiling and falling in love with them too! I have been using Embraced With Love stamps and today I have added a few more stamps and the dies from the Charming Duckpond and dies from Winterley Tree Tops too. Quite a mish- mash of stamps etc but if they work, then why not?

My THIS card I started by using a Granny Apple Green mat and die cut the frame from the Winterley Trees dies. I wanted to make it so the bear and rabbit were deep in the forest hiding as the bear was poorly. I guess even bears get poorly too, don't they?

THIS

   

My THAT card is in the same colours more or less as the THIS card but this time I have used the frame dies from the Charming Duck Pond. I coloured in some of the bullrushes and have given the bear a really bright blanket and added a few frogs to cheer him up. They may even sing the frog chorus to him to make him feel better!!! You never know? Stranger things have happened!

Fun Fold Friday - In My Heart

Hello, WOW! It's Friday already! Where has the week gone? My family have all been away this week with the children on a short holiday so I've been home with the 2 dogs and it's been very quiet here! Just to let you know that I chose the Coastal Cabana card from yesterday for my son and daughter-in-laws wedding anniversary card. They loved it too so that was good. For today's card, I have been playing with a few bits of paper and have made a multi layer card using the In My Heart stamp set.

 

I started off  with a standard C6 card base and removed one triangle from the right on the front panel. I then added a 10cm by 11cm wide white mat which I scored at 1.5cm on the left and added it on top of the card base. The triangle, I cut off was given a fold at 1cm and adhered around at the back too. I had recieved a special,demonstrator only, pack of pink DSP for a challenge a few months ago. It is called Countryside Rose. It's identical to the Countryside Inn DSP except for the colours. Fortunately, I love both the blues and the pinks. I used simple pieces of DSP for this card and a mat of Melon Mambo card to go on the inside with a white card mat on top for the sentiments and images. 

 

 

I then stamped and coloured all of the images once more and then punched them out using the Stampin' Up! circle punches in one size for the images and a slightly bigger one for the Melon Mambo cards for the pink behind them.

I added the tree to the inside and this once again tells the story of boy meets girl or girl meets boy and how life changes from there.

Well that's it from me for this week once more. Thank you for stopping by this week and I hope that you have been inspired to make yourself some cards too.

Until I get back, Cary will be here next week but as always...until I return,

KEEP SAFE, STAY WELL  but as always

KEEP ON CRAFTING

😍😍 xxx Gill xxx😍😍

Fun Fold Friday - Poised Peony

For my last day this week, I have made my one of my favourite types of card, a fun fold. I do get great pleasure in making fun folds as they are generally different from just a piece of card folded in half. Saying that though, any hand made simple card fold is generally really beautiful and I've seen many a gorgeous card made by some really talented people. Very clever people! Anyway I have had fun playing with the Poised Peony stamp set this week and although it hasn't any coordinating dies ...it's not been a problem. One of the reasons that I love peonies if that my mum used to have a huge Peony plant just beside her front door. It was a deep red, sort of Cherry Cobbler meets the retired Rich Razzleberry colour. Gorgeous!

Anyway, I made 2 cards for today, one landscape and I have tried one portrait! I believe it's called a centre, stepper fold card. I started making the Petunia Pop card first and really enjoyed the process so as I had a piece of the Peach Pie card also on my desk, I made another but this time a protrait one.

I used the new In Colour DSP on the Petunia Pop card and the Full of Life DSP for the Peach Pie card.            2 amazing bundles of gorgeous, unctious designer series paper!

Both cards were finished in a similar way and I have really had fun playing this week. Cary will be back on Monday so please stop by to see what she has been making.

Thank you so much for stopping by, I will be back in just over a week so until then, please take care, stay safe and as always....

KEEP ON CRAFTING

😍😍 xxx Gill xxx 😍😍

 

Tips, Tricks and Techniques Tuesday - Sketched Butterflies

 Hello and thank you for joining me today. With the Sketched Butterflies stamp set today, I have made a semi-easy card. I started by stamping 3 images of the mid-sized butterfly and coloured them in using the gorgeous yellow of Daffodil Delight and the lovely soft, orange tone of Peach Pie in my Stampin' Blends Pens. After fussy cutting them out, I put them to the side. I cut a strip of 7cm wide white card and embossed it using one of the 3D Basics embossing folders, although any folder will do. I added this mat to the left hand side of the card front and then using Tombow Multipurpose Glue, I adhered the butterflies to the right hand side of the embossed, smaller, top mat. I fussy cut out the right hand side of the butterflies only where they were overlapping the edge of the mat and the middle of the card base. Yes, through both layers of card and it wasn't difficult.

I added some butterflies on another white mat for the inisde of the card and stamped a sentiment inside and on the scrap of card that I cut from the card front. With another piece of the card scrap and my Peach Pie Blend, I coloured across the white to make my own background to go behind the front sentiment mat and trimmed them both down. 

Technique Tuesday - Magnolia Mood

 Hello again. My card today is a very easy one. Using the stamp set Magnolia Mood, and a mat 7cm by 10.5cm white mat and placed it in the centre of a White mat 10.5cm by 14.4cm then stamped an image on both opposite corners of the mats. As you can see, they overlapped the corners. I then stamped 2 more to go to the actual outer corners. There will be a small gap where the images were stamped because of the thickness of the card. That's not a problem as the next thing to do is to adhere the small mat onto a matching piece of coloured card. This would be approximately 0.5cm larger than the actual card mat. 

I added it to the card front and coloured the flowers all using my Stampin' Blends pens. 

That was it.

 

 

This or That throwback Thursday. Thursday's gone by

 Hello, as many of you know ... cos we've mentioned it so much... we have our retreat this weekend and Cary and I are up to our eyeballs getting ready. So apologies from me as today's post is this and that from a little while ago. I will start with one of my fave's of long ago. Well, not that long ago as it was on 12th of January 2023. I love this set so much that I still use it. it is called Dainty Delight. 

Using the Dainty Delight stamp set, I stamped the largest image and coloured it in using my Stampin' Blends, alcohol Marker pens. I picked a piece of the Silver foiled papers and embossed it using the Twigs and Sprigs gorgeous embossing folder. Sadly the folder has now retired but as always why stop using it just because it has retired? The detail on it is stunning! I adhered that to a piece of the Granny Apple Green mat and then to a White Card base. The stamped image was then cut down and adhered to another piece of the green and mounted onto the card using Dimensionals, 3D foam shapes. A simple message and the 2 mats on the inisde and this one was finished. 

THIS

 The next one is this weeks THAT card, this gorgeous blue flower,  was posted on 23rd of March 2023. We really did have some beautiful stamp sets last year too didn't we?

The gorgeous new stamp set and dies etc are called Irresistible Blooms. The images are beautiful and added to the dies too, they just go so much further.  My THAT card today is an all white based card and added a white mat with a piece of DSP from the Fitting Florets papers which have also retired. Just this simple strip of DSP adds a lovely hue through the card. I used one of the dies from the set which literally die cut the stripe going through the card. What a difference! 

Fortunately, both stamp sets are still current in the catalogue too so if you like it as much as I do and don't yet have it....now's the time to treat yourself.

So simple but I think so elegant. What do you think?

THAT

  

Please do let us know which is your prefered card again.

Tips, Tricks and Techniques Tuesday - Simply Zinnia

 Hello again, Today I have made a really orange card. Very unlike me as I'm not into orange very much. Fortunately, this is a soft orange called Calypso Coral and it's rather lovely. Using the lovely Simply Zinnia stamps, I started the same way as yesterday by covering a card mat with lots of the single flowers and a few leaves here and there using a very soft grey of Smoky Slate ink pad. I then coloured them all in using my Blends pens in the gorgeous colour of Calypso Coral and Granny Apple Green for the leaves. I love the name of the green! :)) Then I took another card mat in white and embossed it using one of the lovely trio of embossing folders called Basics 3D. I chose the one that looks like lots of flowers. I then die cut all of the flowers out of the first piece of card and mounted them onto the new card mat which was cut to size in advance. I used dimensionals, foam, double sided shapes. I added them all over the mat to give the effect that they are all floating. Another very simple technique only it takes a little longer.