Monday, 11 November 2024

Ruby, Ruby, Ruby, Ruby

 

A friend of mine asked if I'd make a card for a work colleague of hers who had just had a new baby.  When she told me the baby's name was Ruby, well how could I not want to make the card in red?!   Not an easy colour for a baby card to be sure - and so I was forced to really put on my thinking cap!  

In the end, I kept the red to a minimum - basically a white on white and just a few accents of red.  My lovely Gummiapan dies (rocking horse, teddy bear and crib and curtain) came out once again along with this pretty circle aperture die from Waltzing Mouse.  

The trick with these Gummiapan dies is to "snip and layer" them (the dies have been cleverly designed to allow for easy snipping)!   For example I cut the cradle body twice and snipped off the legs and back walls of the 2nd cut and it was laid over the first.  Now the back walls of the crib and the legs sits behind - as they would IRL!   Because the effect was too subtle in white on white, I actually did the same to a third die cut.  Christine Stokes has a Youtube channel that will explain it much better than I ever could!  Then it was just a matter of placing a snippet of red card stock behind the heart cavity and filling it with glossy accents for a heart shaped ruby fit for a princess - especially one named Ruby!  

I cut the curtain from vellum and then the top and bottom frill of the curtain from red, snipped and layered it over the vellum, added my curtain to the crib and placed it over the crib then added it to my aperture with thin foam tape.   The advantage of the red bits on the curtain is that there are places to hide any adhesive - although this vellum is so thick it's barely visible anyway.  The top of the curtain is directly glued to the base and I managed to hide a tiny snippet of foam tape behind the red part of the base of the curtain to give the curtain support where it extends beyond the crib.

The teddy bear was cut from white card stock and then again from white felt - I cut a few dots from a snippet of black for the eyes.   I cut the rocking horse twice, snipped the mane, tail and around the front legs from the 2nd die cut and laid it over the first.  I then did the same again to one cut from white felt.  I used another of the black dots for the eye.

The Welcome sentiment (Lil Inker) was cut 3 times, stacked and added to the top and the name (this tiny alphabet is also from Gummiapan) was cut and stack twice.  Afterwards I decided to add glossy accents to the curtain trim, sentiment and name so they matched the ruby on the crib.

Since the Colourful Option for the month of November is red, I'd like to add my card there!

As soon as I heard the baby's name I thought of the song from the Kaiser Chiefs Ruby, hence the title of this blog post - if you're not familiar with the song check it out here (it's a favourite of my son's and mine)!  And as Fab'n'Funky Challenge #604 has the theme "music to my ears" (basically make something that's inspired by a song or song title or has a musical theme), I'd like to enter my card there! 

The theme for Inspirational Challenge #328 is layer it up and that's exactly what I had to do with this card to achieve the desired 3-D effect!

Thanks for visiting, I hope you go away a little inspired!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and hopefully be able to find you!


Kate

Thursday, 7 November 2024

Cozy Bundled Snowman

 

Challenge #276 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight we challenge you to be

Cozy


Our generous sponsor Newton's Nook is offering a $25 store credit to our Time Out Winner as chosen by the Design Team!  And the winner will be offered a guest design spot with us in a future challenge!   



Speaking of guest designers, we are joined this challenge by the lovely Kerry Parkinson of Kerry's Papercraft our winner from Challenge #271 - wait until you see what she has created for our challenge this fortnight and do drop by and leave her some comment love!!

Personally, I think you can't go wrong with any sort of tartan but especially a buffalo plaid for cozy!  Even cosier if the panel is cut with this lovely NBUS Patchwork die from The Greetery!   And doesn't this snowman (Memory Box Tall Bundled Snowman) look cozy in his tartan scarf and beanie!   

I used foam tape between the body layers when assembling the snowman and I mounted him on a wobble spring.  The sentiment words are from an old WMS set (Sewing Box Christmas)!

I'd like to enter the following fabulous challenges
NBUS Challenge #68 - NBUS Bundled Snowman die set and Greetery Patchwork Die;
Allsorts Week #805 - Magic of the Season;
Colourful Options November 2024 - Red is the colour this month;

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!  Your comments are always appreciated and always bring me joy and if you do leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!

Kate

Friday, 1 November 2024

Sparkles Snowflakes

Sparkles Christmas Challenge #164 has just gone live and the theme this month is

Snowflakes

I love Snowflakes and have loads of them!  However my addiction to new Christmas related stash, meant I couldn't resist this gorgeous Diamond Snowflake from Poppy Stamps on a recent spree!  

This is a two-die set and there are a lot of options but I liked it because I could finally do something I've been wanting to try for years - create a scene within a snowflake aperture - all my other snowflakes were too small or had narrow centres.


 

I cut into this glittered pink snowflake panel to create my aperture using the detailed overlay die from the set.    I then added a white frame using the second die in the set.  The left over bits of the snowflakes weren't wasted as you will see shortly!  Underneath I placed a scene I had stamped using Waltzing Mouse Stamps Alpine Village.  The Alpine Christmas set has some lovely sentiments but stamping wasn't an option on this glittered panel so I went with a die cut sentiment instead (another recently acquired and NBUS set - Avery Elle Let it Snow) cut from pink foil.  There wasn't really enough room on the panel for this large sentiment but I managed to squeeze it in by placing it at a jaunty angle.

Twofer

I assembled a snowflake from the bits left over from my first card and made that the focal element of my second card - a spinner card!  Even though it was the second design, I actually finished it first because I had to wait for that sentiment die to arrive before I could finish the first card whereas I could stamp on this panel!  Once I stamped this simple sentiment (also from WMS Alpine Christmas) to the base of the panel, I cut a track for the spinning snowflake and mounted the panel with a double stack of foam tape.  I filled in the rest of the panel with pink snowflakes cut from snippets of pink that were lying around on my work area from previous projects.  I couldn't resist adding more sparkle with these clear water droplet gems - this card is definitely being hand-delivered!

And here it is action!


My team mates at the Sparkle Christmas Challenge have some wonderful Snowflake inspiration for you as well as all our participants in the gallery so be sure to call by there as well!  

I'd like to enter the following wonderful challenges

NBUS Challenge #68 - the snowflake die is NBUS;
Hand Stamped Sentiments Challenge #450 - For my 2nd Card, love that pink snowflake in the  inspiration pic;
Festive Friday Challenge - Themes of Christmas and Snowflakes;
Merry Little Christmas Challenge #59 - Anything Christmas Goes;



Thanks for visiting, I hope you go away a little inspired!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!


Kate

Thursday, 24 October 2024

Sweet Lime Pie


Challenge #275 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight we have a theme challenge for you 

Baking/Sweet Treats


This challenge is generously being sponsored by Lawn Fawn and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design teams a $25 credit to their store!  The Top Pick will also be invited to join Time Out as a guest designer in a future challenge!


Speaking of guest designers, we are joined this challenge by the incredibly talented Claire Apostoloff of Life on the Scrap Heap our winner from Challenge #270!  If you didn't come here from the Time Out Challenge Blog, you really must see what she has made especially for our challenge ... and while you're there, let her know how much you love it!

World CP Day was earlier this month (6th October) and I was involved in a fundraiser/information event for a Luxembourgish based Cerebral Palsy Association that I am closely involved with.   I thought it would be fun to make some cards for sale using primarily the colour green (the colour associated with Cerebral Palsy).  Lime Pie was the first green idea that popped into my head,  inspired by the theme for this challenge and this recently acquired NBUS die set - Spellbinders Perfect Pie!  I teamed it with a few segments of lime from the Tim Holtz Happy Hour die set and a "sweet" sentiment from Love2Craft.  

I'd like to enter these fab challenges




Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!   Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and should be able to find you!


Kate

Thursday, 10 October 2024

Café Americano


 Challenge #274 at Time Out has just gone live and this fortnight it's an Inspiration Photo Challenge!


Here's a closeup


Our generous sponsor Newton's Nook is offering a $25 store credit to our Time Out Winner as chosen by the Design Team!  And the winner will be offered a guest design spot with us in a future challenge!   



Our Top Pick will also be invited to be our guest in a future challenge so I hope you will take some Time Out of your busy schedule and come play cards with us! 

Speaking of Top Picks, we are delighted to welcome Heidi Kunkel of Heidi's Creative Side (our Top Pick of Challenge #269) as our guest this fortnight!  If you haven't already done so, please drop by and see what Heidi has made just for our challenge ... and let her know how much you love it!

Our very own Nonni snapped this photo on her visit to New York last year.   There's quite a lot in this pic to inspire - the blackboard, the traffic, the city block ... and of course the mention of coffee!  I can't wait to see what captures your imagination!

I was inspired to break out a spanking new stamp set - Mid Mod City by Claire Brennan Designs - that I picked up on my recent trip to visit my son in Scotland!  Many of you probably remember the brilliant Claire Brennan from Waltzing Mouse Stamps.

I was also inspired to break out another NBUS item - the Colorise Café set by Tim Holtz ... finally!  I'm embarrassed to say that I just had to have this set two years ago and have only now got around to using it!  It did take a bit of working out how to assemble it but fortunately Youtube was very obliging and it came together quite quickly once I found snippets of four suitable pink shades of card stock.  I think it looks right at home with the futuristic retro look of the Mid Mod City block and I can just imagine sipping coffee from this gorgeous pink cup while contemplating the big city before my eyes!

There are some fabulous sentiments that came with the Mid Mod City set but I went with this "anything is possible" sentiment from Verve Coffee and the matching "Coffee" die - the vibe of this stamp set seemed to suggest anything is possible!

I'd like to enter these fab challenges


Snippets Playground Challenge #490 - Here are the snippets (left over bits from cutting card bases);

Double D Challenges - To Spook or Not (I've opted for the Breast Cancer Awareness option);


Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!  Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and should be able to find you!


Kate

Tuesday, 1 October 2024

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas


The Sparkles Christmas Challenge #165 has just gone live and the theme this month is

Use the Word 'Christmas' on your creation!


I don't want to panic anyone but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas - as of today you have 2 months to start getting your Christmas cards done if you haven't been making them throughout the year.  I thrive on last minute stress - just kidding!  I am ever so grateful to Caz and the design team at Sparkles and all the design teams who have made making Christmas cards throughout the year - for their inspiration, hard work and for showing me what I absolutely must add to my burgeoning Christmas craft stash!

   

I visited my son in Scotland during August and while there was able to "shop" for stash that is difficult to find in Europe post-Brexit and yes much of it was Christmas related so watch this space!  I also picked up some (as many as I could find) craft magazines and this die was a freebie with one of them!  


The two dies in the set pack a lot of punch and don't need much IMO, so all I did was add a little Distress Ink to the base layer and stack the sentiment layer - easy peasy lemon squeezy (or lime squeezy in this case)!  I think this die will lend itself to doing something like I did last month so will try it again if I find an appropriate tartan panel in my stash!


  If after visiting the Sparkles Challenge Blog you're still in need of inspiration, you can see all my Christmas cards and how I made them by hitting the "Christmas" Label (just below the archive list) or click here!

I'd like to enter these fab challenges

Word Power Challenge #10 - Make the sentiment the focus;
Merry Little Christmas #58 - Anything Christmas Goes;
Peace on Earth Challenge #71 - Anything Christmas Goes;
Girlz Creative Christmas challenge #92 - Anything Christmas Goes;
Kraft Chicks Challenge #735 - Week 4 All Occasions;

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you go away a little inspired!  Your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and how to find you!


Kate