CC&S Sketch Challenge 190: I too must say goodbye ...

I'm sad to say that this will be my last post as a DT member of CAS Colours and Sketches. To cut a long story short and keep this post about crafting, my mum has not been well recently and had a short stay in hospital. She has been staying with us since she came out as she lives on her own but it is going to take her some weeks/months to recover. Having taken on a more demanding role at work this term, something has to give so that I have more time for my mum and for now that means that my crafting time will have to be restricted.

So to finish with a card featuring a technique (which, if anything, is what I'll be remembered for at CC&S) and some flowers and butterflies. Karen is our hostess this month and this week she has given us a sketch with lots of possibilities! When I saw it I immediately thought of making a cutaway card which I hope shows up in the photo. To save time, I used part of a masterboard on the inside of the card that I made some time ago having followed a video on the fabulous Eileen Godwin's YouTube channel HERE. I cut away the curve from the front of the card and then trimmed the edge with die-cut and punched butterflies to match the colours used on the masterboard. The sentiment is printed directly onto the card and, after I had photographed the card for my post, I added some pearls to the butterfly bodies.

I think I can just about get away with calling this a CAS card because over half the front of it is still white even though the rest of it is quite busy! I'm going to give this to my friend Angela at work who is lucky enough to be taking early retirement in a couple of weeks' time.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Beautiful Blooms 1 (Uniko Studio) 
Ink Pads: Milled Lavender, Tumbled Glass & Worn Lipstick (TH Distress) - I think, though not sure exactly which colours I used now
Stencil: Small butterfly (free with a magazine)
Die & Punch: Small butterfly (XCut)
Sentiment Font: Rage Italic
Snippets: White gesso, Small bubbles stamp, White and silver gel pens

I will carry on crafting, card-making and blogging but maybe with not as much regularity in the next few months. I love it all too much not too and it has definitely become my sanctuary, somewhere where I can lose myself, listen to music and be creative.

Thank you all so much for being part of my CC&S journey and for your continued support of our CAS challenge. I will always remember it for being my first ever DT and I will continue to follow what's happening and join in when I can. The rest of the ladies on the DT are a brilliant bunch of crafters to work with and I am thankful to them for their friendship and support and for helping me to extend my creative boundaries over the last couple of years!

Stef x

CC&S Challenge 184 Sketch: Pepsi Pop Can Flower

I had to go out to an unexpected Guide meeting tonight so my card for CAS Colours and Sketches this week has ended up being a little rushed! It's Karen's turn to host as the holiday season enters full-swing here and she has very kindly drawn a nice easy sketch for us to work with.

I decided to make a pop can flower as the focal point of my card. I love making these with my Sizzix Bigz Die; they look stunning but are really quite simple to put together. I haven't made any for a while and experimented by making this one from a flattened Pepsi Max can. I'm not too sure about the accompanying papers and outlines that I have chosen to tie in with Karen's sketch but that was the bit that I rushed to do so it was to be expected.

Supplies Used:
Die: Bigz Die Flower, Daisies #2 (Sizzix) 
Snippets: Red & grey cardstcock, Red sparkly brad, Black peel-off outlines

Well that's all for this week!
Thanks for visiting
Stef x

CC&S Challenge 182 Sketch: Teabag folded dahlia

Sorry that my post for CC&S is late this week; I'm caught up in the juggernaut that is the end of the school summer term! Due to summer holidays each of the DT is taking turns to host in July and August and this week Jane has brought us this quite simple sketch which gives us all lots of scope to be creative!

I was following some links in blogland the other day when I came across a blog of someone who has brought a clean, fresh look to iris folding. It's ages since I did any folding techniques so thought that Jane's sketch lent itself quite nicely to a folded dahlia pattern using eight double-sided circles.

The paper was a bit too thick to fold easily but I managed it in the end and must make a note to self to search out some less heavy double-sided papers for folding. It's mounted on to a birthday embossed background using the same paper just to add some interest.

Supplies Used:
Double Sided Printed Paper: Pink Floral Branch PMA 41652 (Papermania)
Embossing Folder: Birthday (Papermania)
Snippets: Shiny brad!

Enjoy the summer and don't forget to craft along with us when you have the time (I think it's my turn to host next week)!
Stef x

CC&S 179 Sketch: Pretty Peony

I loved making my card for CAS Colours and Sketches this week. Bev has designed us a great sketch and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it so I didn't waste any time faffing around trying to decide!

This lovely peony stamp was stamped and embossed in white. The BG is coloured with three blended Distress Inks. The flower was then watercoloured by removing the ink with water and a paintbrush, giving a bleached effect. A few splatters of water were then added to work together with the stamped image. What really makes it come alive is the next part. I used three different Promarker blues to shade around the flower edges and a light grey to add highlights to the petals. The sentiment is also stamped and embossed in white (it shows up better in real life!) and a few gems and sequins added to finish. Finally I attached two loops of coordinating ribbon to the top left hand edge before adhering it to a card blank.

Supplies Used:
Flower Stamp: Dinkie Peony (IndigoBlu)
Sentiment Stamp: Free with a Simply Cards and Papercraft magazine (Clearly Besotted)
Ink Pads: Tumbled Glass, Broken China & Salty Ocean (TH Distress)
Markers: Azure, Sky Blue, Arctic Blue & Cool Grey 4 (Letraset Promarkers)
Snippets: Watercolour paper, Sequins, Gems & Grosgrain ribbon

Please try and find some time to join us this week. Can't you tell I loads of fun doing this! Do visit some of the other DT blogs for even more inspiration.

Thanks for visiting!
Stef x

CC&S 177 Sketch: Anchors Aweigh!

I'm so sorry that my post for CAS Colours and Sketches is late, I really have had a busy couple of weeks! It also took me ages to decide what to make and I kept changing my mind!

It's Father's Day in the UK next Sunday so I decided to make a male card. I rarely make Father's Day cards as my Dad died a long time ago. It was, however, forty years ago this year (22/05/76) so I decided I would make a card to remember him. One of my enduring memories of him when we were children is our family day trips to Cromer. He would spend all day fishing from the pier! My mum would walk me and my two brothers into town to the bakers and we would buy a loaf of bread, go back to the pier and make fresh sandwiches as we needed them. We would spend the afternoon trying to catch brown crabs from the pier. It's endearing to observe that kids today still love doing that as much as we used to!

Back to Bev's sketch and my card which is quite self-explanatory! I love this paper pack from Craftwork Cards and it is particularly good for men's cards. The tag is from the separate tag pack. The anchor and shells have been cut from the papers and I used some old rub-ons for the lettering. The windmill (another little piece of seaside nostalgia) was made from a small square of paper and a piece of Candi.

Supplies Used:
Paper and Tag Packs: Harbour Boulevard (Craftwork Cards)
Snippets: Blue textured cardstock, rub-on letters

Next week I hope to be back on track as I'm not away this weekend!
Thanks for visiting.
Stef x

CC&S Sketch 173: Layered roses in navy and mint!

I don't often buy craft magazines these days but when I saw one with an Altenew build-a-rose stamp and die collection with it, well, I just had to get it and try out the latest craze for myself! Caro has given us a fairly straight-forward sketch to work with this week at CAS Colours & Sketches so those were my two starting points.

I found it quite tricky to align the 3-layered stamps with each other but I suppose, with practice, I'll improve! Two outline dies were included for the flower and the leaf but TBH it was just as easy to fussy cut them out, especially the leaves. I used pigment inks in three different shades of blue for the flowers and three shades of green for the leaves. I stuck a spare piece of navy paper onto a square card blank, to tie in with the sketch, and played around with the positioning of the flowers and leaves until I was happy with them. The flowers are attached with foam pads, to add dimension, and the leaves have been curled and glued under the edges of the flowers. The sentiment was stamped onto a narrow length of textured mint paper and then adhered to the card blank to form the second band in the sketch.

It might seem a slightly odd colour combination for my subject but I chose them so that I could play along with challenge #108 at Inkspirational this week. I think this combo is gorgeous and actually I think the navy BG really shows off the flowers well.

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Build-a-rose stamp & die collection (Altenew - free with Simply Cards & Papercraft 149), Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches)

Ink pads: Smoke Blue, Atlantic, Indigo, Sage, Celadon, Turquoise (VersaColor), Majestic Blue (VersaFine)

Snippets: Navy & mint paper/cardstock

Well, that's all from me this week! Thanks for visiting.

Stef x

CC&S 171 Sketch: ... And Just A Few More

I have fallen in love with this set so much that I have used it once more for Louise's last choice for CAS Colours and Sketches this month, a sketch. When I first saw the sketch I'll be honest and say that I thought it would be a tricky one. But when I was tidying my new stamp set away I suddenly noticed my design was staring me in the face!

The image has been stamped onto white cardstock, coloured with Promarkers and finished with some glossy accents and a few pearls once again. The sentiment is another one from the same set. I mounted it onto a coloured card blank and rounded all the corners, job done! And to think I was struggling with it at first!

I think I quite like the idea of taking one stamp set and finding different ways to use it for all our challenges in the same month. I will definitely look at doing that again. It removes some of the time wasted in trying to decide what to do!

Supplies Used:

Stamp Set: Decorative Roses (Creative Stamping 30)

Inkpads: Tuxedo Black (Memento), Onyx Black (VersaFine)

Promarkers: Orchid, Amethyst, Leaf Green, Forest Green (Letraset)

Snippets: Glossy Accents & Adhesive Pearls

I do hope that Louise doesn't think I've strayed too far from her sketch. Can you take some time out to join us over the bank holiday weekend here in the UK? We'd love to see your artwork amongst our entries. I'm spending the weekend narrowboating with some Guiding friends. Must be daft as it's hailing outside right now. Will have to remember to pack lots of layers!

Thanks for visiting.

Stef x

CC&S 169 Sketch: Just Love This Decorative Rose Stamp

A quick card from me this week as I'm back from my short break and have got so much catching up to do! I love Louise's sketch for CAS Colours and Sketches this week and knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

I don't often buy craft magazines these days but I just had to have the latest copy of Creative Stamping. I've not come across it before but it's got the most gorgeous Rennie Mackintosh Glasgow Rose inspired stamp set with it this month and loads of ideas for how to use it inside. I stamped two of the image stamps with grey ink, cut round them carefully and coloured them with my Derwent colour pencils. I cut the two background mats to tie in with the sketch and stamped a sentiment on the largest one again in grey ink. I put it all together raising the bird image on foam pads

Supplies Used:
Stamps: Decorative Roses (with Creative Stamping Issue 30)
Ink Pad: Smokey Grey (VersaFine)
Pencils: 20, 21, 43, 69 & 70 (Derwent Cumberland)
Snippets: Textured blue/green cardstock

I chose this particular sentiment from the set so that I could give this card to a work colleague who is celebrating a big birthday this week! Please drop by the rest of the DT blogs for more inspiration.
Thanks for visiting!
Stef x

CC&S 166 Sketch: Watercolour Lifting

I've had lots of fun getting messy with inks again creating my DT card for CAS Colours and Sketches this week. I spotted this card on Anita's blog HERE and it reminded me that I had watched the same fab watercolour lifting video technique from Jennifer McGuire HERE and decided to try it out using this week's sketch drawn by our hostess Jane.

Next time I try this technique, and I will try it again because I loved doing it, I will use different paper. For this card I used a 230gsm watercolour paper but it seems to be a bit too porous and I don't think I managed to achieve quite such a marked effect as either Anita or Jennifer. I inked up four pieces of paper directly from inkpads, brushed them with water and dried them off with a heat gun. I then used a background stamp with Versamark and clear embossing powder on each piece. More water on top followed, mopping it up with kitchen roll which removes some of the ink leaving darker patches trapped underneath the embossing!

I then cut five equal pieces, inked the edges and placed them on a 7" x 5" card blank following Jane's sketch. The poppy die was cut from linen card and stuck on top with the sentiment hand-stamped to the side.

Supplies Used:
Watercolour paper: 230gsm (Crawford & Black)
Inkpads: Fired Brick, Broken China, Frayed Burlap, Worn Lipstick (TH Distress)
Stamps: Butterflies Block (Tanda Stamps), Sentiment Sampler (Paper Smooches)
Die: Prim Poppy (Memory Box)

The inspiration for my colour scheme was drawn from this week's challenge #334 at ColourQ so I would like to enter my card into their competition. I don't own any SU colours so have just used the closest that were suitable for this technique.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. I hope you all enjoy a lovely Easter weekend whatever you're doing.

Stef x

CC&S 164 Sketch: Oh What a Beautiful Morning!

Jane has given us a very simple square sketch to work with at CAS Colours and Sketches this week which opens up all sorts of possibilities.

I went to a Sincerely Yours craft show at Leigh recently where I watched Emma from Inkylicious demo a lovely technique of spritzing their ink dusters and using them on a satin card which gives a lovely subtle brushed effect to the inks.

At a similar time I took a beautiful photo in my back garden on a cold, frosty morning of the sun coming up behind the trees. I thought I would try and replicate that scene on my card. Unfortunately my small camera doesn't really do the colours justice and neither does my finished card as they were much more dramatic but hey ho! To finish the scene I tried to replicate the frost on the grass with a gelly roll pen.

Jane's sketch is square and my stamp is rectangular, though it does have the bold frame around it so I layered it onto a square of coloured card and included the greeting within that.

Supplies Used:
Card: Satin Silk 350gsm (Inkylicious)
Ink Pads: Tumbled Glass, Milled Lavender, Spun Sugar, Squeezed Lemonade, Dried Marigold, Bundled Sage, Frayed Burlap (TH Distress); Tuxedo Black (Memento), Smokey Gray (Versafine)
Stamp: Picture Perfect 1 (Inkylicious)
Stencil: Scenic Mountains (Inkylicious)
Pen: Gelly Roll 'Clear Star' (Sakura)
Snippets: Lavender cardstock, Happy Birthday sentiment stamp

We had tons of entries into our last sketch challenge. I hope you will all want to play along with this one. Please remember to follow the squareness of the sketch if you want to be considered as a weekly winner!

Thanks for your visit!
Stef x

CC&S 162 Sketch: Unusually Orange!

It's my last week as hostess at CAS Colours and Sketches for a while but I've really enjoyed myself this month. To finish I thought I would really challenge myself and dig out an old paper pad in a colour that I don't go for very much - orange! I've also added, unusually for me, a touch of bling! I have a few colleagues at work that I make cards for that do like their bling so I will probably give it to one of them that has a birthday soon.

Instead of adding a sentiment, as in the sketch, I have used a piece of embossed paper that has the main sentiment in a similar position. The rosette was made using a specialist die. Other than that I have used a few papers and the all-important bling (actually I think I quite like the text paper)!

Supplies Used:
Die: Paper Rosette 656931 (Sizzlits Decorative Strip Tim Holtz)
Paper Pad: Sunshine Capsule Collection (Papermania)
Embossing Folder: Happy Birthday (Papermania)
Snippets: Pearlised paper, Button, Sequins, Adhesive gems

Thank you for sharing all your creations with us this month! I hope you'll join us again this week. Next week I believe Jane takes the reigns as your hostess for March.

Have fun!
Stef x

CC&S 160 Sketch: Mothering Sunday Roses

This week I have made cards for my Mum and my MIL ready for Mothering Sunday which we celebrate here in the UK on 6th March this year. However I was almost stumped by my own sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches. Having said to the rest of the DT that the circles in the sketch were slightly different sizes, I thought that they and other crafters might think that that was a non-alterable element in the sketch.

I tried clustering two different sizes of the rose stamp together but I couldn't get them to look right because I think they are too different in size (for this card anyway). I then played around with adding smaller leaves instead of more flowers and decided that looked much better. Other than that the card came together quite simply. The sentiment is one I had saved on my PC, I loved it as soon as I saw it and I think it has several sources on the internet.

I would also like to play at a couple of challenges:
Addicted to Clean and Simple #81: Code Word 'Bloom'

Time Out 'Inspired By Words' Challenge #49: 'Love is the flower you've got to let grow' from a John Lennon song 'Mind Games'. I thought this phrase tied in a beautifully with the sentiment behind any card for Mothering Sunday.

Supplies Used:

Stamp Set: Flower Power #6 (Uniko Studio)

Inkpads: Hyacinth, Heliotrope, Smoke Blue, Atlantic, Bamboo (VersaColor)

Sentiment: Found on the internet

Snippets: White linen cardstock

I hope you like the sketch and you'll want to play along. You have until Wednesday 17th Feb to link up your design.

Thanks for visiting!

Stef x

CC&S #158 Sketch: Always & Forever

This week’s sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches is quite open to interpretation. Because of the simple nature of the sketch, I decided to concentrate on the background. I also wanted to play with my new Always and Forever stamp set from Uniko Studio and with a mixed media technique new to me that I learned by following one of Eileen Godwin’s YouTube videos called the Masterboard/Gesso Resist technique. Alas, I felt that my finished Masterboard even after simply matting onto a card blank was not CAS enough for our challenge so I made another card for CC&S and will post the Masterboard card separately! 

I stamped the smallest flower from the Beautiful Blooms 1 set using Versamark and clear embossing powder onto a piece of violet cardstock. This was simply matted onto a card blank and trimmed to follow Patricia’s sketch. I stamped the image with the flower from the Always and Forever set onto a piece of white linen cardstock and again clear embossed it. The sentiment stamp comes from the same set and this has been die-cut using a banner die. I felt the contrast between the dark mat and the white card blank was too much so added the white punched hearts, but I’m still not sure if that was the right thing to do. Hey ho, it is what it is and done now! I'm sorry for the reflections in the photo but with all that embossing it was difficult to get a good picture without the shine!

I would also like to enter my card into a couple of challenges:

CASology Week #182: Cue Card ADORE

Uniko Studio: Anything Goes with the option of a LOVE theme

Supplies Used:

Stamps: Beautiful Blooms 1 and Always & Forever (Uniko Studio)

Inkpads: Versamark (Tsukineko) & Violet (VersaColor)

Die: Tag Along (Clearly Besotted)

Snippets: Violet & White linen cardstock, Small heart punch

We would love to have you join us in our challenge. You can find the details HERE and you have until Wednesday 3rd February to share your card.

Thanks for visiting!

Stef x

CC&S #156: Wildfowl and Wetlands

This week I have taken a few more liberties than I normally would with our sketch at CAS Colours and Sketches. I usually like to stick very close to it otherwise, personally, I don't see the point of having it. Sure it provides a starting point but if you're going to stray too far away from it I'm not sure how your design can still be an interpretation of the sketch. Anyway, as I said, a personal view!

Apart from the sketch I started with the fact that our eldest daughter Laura has just got a brilliant new job at Slimbridge, the HQ of The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in the UK. I bought this stamp set from Stampin Up (the first product I have ever bought from them!) as I had seen some beautiful cards made with it and thought I may be able to make some for Laura and I to sell to support the work of the charity.

Secondly, I noted that Happy Little Stampers have a CAS challenge using the technique of 'Smooshing' this month and I just love getting messy with all different kinds of inky products.

Last, but definitely not least, I used the blue/green/silver combo from this week's challenge #324 at ColourQ. I can't resist blues and greens, they are just my favourite colours.

I played around with the inky products below till I was happy with my smooshed piece of card. While it was drying I cut an oval aperture from a piece of white cardstock. I didn't want to add a stripe of anything to the top and bottom of the design so thought that by raising the middle I was still being true to Patricia's sketch. I added the reed stamp off the edge of this piece and because the silver doesn't show up that well as a separate colour in the smooshing or as the gorgeous sheen that it is in the photo, I stamped and embossed the greeting in silver EP and die-cut a matching oval to replace the circle in the sketch.

Supplies Used:
Inkpads: Mowed Lawn DI (Tim Holtz), Sage (VersaColor), Green Green (Whisper), Smokey Gray (VersaFine)
Wax Paste: Turquoise (Inka Gold)
Spray Mist: Silver (Cosmic Shimmer)
Stamp Set: Wetlands (Stampin' Up)
Dies: Classic Ovals Large (Spellbinders)
Snippets: White textured card scrap, Silver EP

It's Martin's brother's birthday this week so I think I'll send this card to him, especially as he doesn't live far from Laura and no doubt visits WWT at Slimbridge with his family.

Thanks for visiting my blog today. Our new DT members designed some great inspirational cards last week so do drop by and see what they've made this week - I know some of them were very nervous at being on the other side of the table but they needn't have been, they were amazing!

Stef x

CC&S #153 Christmassy Sketch: Joy To The World

For my last post for CAS Colours and Sketches this year I have chosen my most favourite sketch of the year from challenge #124 in May. flipped it vertically and made it Christmassy! I have also taken the opportunity of combining my DT card with a few festive challenges along the way!

It combines two of my favourite card-making techniques (thus making it eligible for the HLS challenge)! Firstly the cling film technique used with my Cosmic Shimmer mists. Love, love, love this technique and while you're getting messy it's good to experiment with colours and make a few new pieces. The colour combos don't always dry how you'd imagined but that's half the fun of experimenting! Here I have simply die-cut three squares from a blue/silver piece, stamping the Wise Men image with black Versafine and raising this one with foam pads. The second technique involves my love of paper engineering/folding and here I have made a 3D star of Bethlehem from a 9cm square of holographic paper that itself has stars gleaming in it when it catches the light. A very clear tutorial for folding the star can be found on YouTube HERE. The sentiment is computer generated and the card is simply finished with a few silver star sequins.

Supplies Used:
Spray Mists: Aqua Lagoon & Silver (Cosmic Shimmer)
Stamp: Wise Men (DoCrafts)
Sentiment Font: Maiandra GD
Snippets: Silver holographic paper, Silver sequin stars

The challenges I would like to enter are:
Addicted to CAS: Challenge #78 Code Word 'Joy'

AAA Cards: Game #54 'Silent Night, Holy Night'

CAS on Sunday: Challenge #73 'Stars'

Happy Little Stampers: December CAS challenge 'Favourite Technique'

A very contemporary card but for me, this is a lovely reminder amongst the hustle and bustle of what Christmas is really all about. Thank you all for your visits to my blog over the last year and for your support for our CAS Colours and Sketches challenge. A few changes and some new faces joining the team in the New Year so please join us all then!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Stef x

CC&S #152 Sketch: Gilded Christmas

I'm very pleased with the way my card has turned out this week for CAS Colours and Sketches. Louise has given us a delightful little sketch to work with and I have also combined my DT card with two other challenges involving the use of metal/gilding.

My card involves gilding in three different ways. Firstly, I made the background. This involved getting messy with my mica spray mists, a piece of hammered cardstock and the cling film technique which pools the mica together in glorious folds when it's dry. Then I simply cut a rectangle with a stitched die. For my second gilding technique, I sponged Flitter Glu directly onto a piece of white cardstock and applied gilding flakes to make a solid piece of gilded card. From this I die-cut two circles of different sizes. I die-cut a small white Christmas tree and stuck it to the centre of the larger gilded circle and then layered this onto a white scalloped circle. This was then cut in two down the middle and positioned on the background piece as shown in the sketch, raised on foam pads. The third piece of gilding involves the printed gold sentiment  which was stuck onto the smaller gilded circle and adhered to my card with foam pads.

I would like to enter my card into the following challenges:
CAS-ual Fridays challenge #145: Precious Metals

and Happy Little Stampers November CAS challenge: Gilding

Supplies Used:
Dies: Stitched Rectangle Layers (Memory Box), Plain & Scalloped Circles (Spellbinders), Christmas Tree (free gift on PaperCrafter 88)
Mica Sprays: Meadow Lush & Rich Gold (Cosmic Shimmer)
Gilding Flakes: Yorkshire Dales (IndigoBlu)
Greeting: Gold sentiment (Craftwork Cards)

I hope you're not too busy yet with your Christmas preparations to join us this week and don't forget that we currently have a DT call!

Edit: So sorry my card didn't post on time. I had saved it as a draft instead a published scheduled post!

Thanks for visiting!
Stef x