Island Vacation

Challenge #268 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight we challenge you to be

on Vacation

This challenge is generously being sponsored by Varada Sharma and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design teams a $25 credit to the 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.  Wait until you see what she has created for our challenge this fortnight - do drop by and leave her some comment love!!

What does being On Vacation mean to you?  Claire and my talented team mates have plenty of inspiration for you over on the Challenge Blog!

For me, being on Vacation means creating memories with my family.  I would love to go somewhere exotic but it doesn't really matter as long as I have a camera and am able to snap some pics which will capture some of the memories we make together!

To make my vacation snap, I pulled out a very old stamp set I haven't used in over ten years (My Island from Waltzing Mouse Stamps).  I created quite a few "vacation snaps" but ended up using this one because of the colours I'd used (Tumbled Glass and Picked Raspberry).  I found a piece of co-ordinating DP and created a polaroid frame with the use of a rounded square dies and a rectangle die - which left plenty of room to stamp this gorgeous vacation text (also from the set).   

I used a wooden camera charm I had in my "finds" box and coated it with versamark then embossed it with WOW! Fluorescent Tickled Pink EP and trimmed a piece of silver mirror card to back it (so it looked more realistic).  I also added some glossy accent to the lens.

I'd like to send my card packing ...  to the following fabulous challenges

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday Challenge for June/July - Anything Goes;

We Love Stamping July Challenge - Sun, Sea, Sand;

Word Power Challenge #7 - Focus on the Sentiment;

Four Seasons July Challenge - Anything Goes Summer;

{Pin}spirational Challenge #315 - Recycle (the camera);

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

Starry Starry Night

Challenge #267 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight it's a theme challenge because it's the 4th July and we are Seeing Stars.  I would like to wish all my American friends a very happy celebration of their independence and democracy. 

This challenge is generously being sponsored by Picket Fence Studio 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 Simeen Batra of Simeen.creates - our top pick from Challenge #263.  If you didn't come here from the Time Out Challenge Blog, you really must see what Simeen has made especially for this Time Out Challenge ... and while you're there, let her know how much you love it!

What will Seeing Stars inspire you to create?  I hope you'll take Time Out of your busy schedules and come play cards with us this fortnight! 

I had been eyeing this gorgeous Arched Gothic Cathedral Window frame for ages, so once I had decided to put in an order at Poppy Stamps it was first in my basket - it's such a pain to put in an order from the USA that if I can't buy crafting goodies through Amazon (who take care of any duties payable) I usually don't bother!  But every now and then I spoil myself and try not to think of the duties I'll have to pay when the goodies finally arrive.  Unfortunately I exceeded a €150 limit I was previously unaware of and had a customs bill which was hefty (more than 1/3 of the order value)!  Ouch, I'll have to be more careful next time!

I had it out for a play the very next day (in order to forget about the customs debacle as quickly as possible) and created a Christmas card with this beautiful window revealing the starlit heavens!  And I must say, I just love it - not only is the detail gorgeous, but it cut straight through this very tricky gold glitter card stock on the first pass.  And there was enough room on the window sill for this little sentiment (from Waltzing Mouse Stamps 2011 Ornaments) to be stamped underneath!  

I started by cutting an aperture in the front panel using the overlay die from the set (though both dies cut the same aperture).  I then cut the base window frame from gold glitter card stock and laid it into this space.  I then overlaid the white frame I'd cut originally on top of the gold base frame.  

I backed the panel with a piece of starry DP and added a star cut from glitter card stock (Memory Box Star of Wonder) to one of the frames.

Very elegant and ever so easy peasy and as an added bonus, I was able to make up these two little tags from the negative bits!  

I know Christmas cards in July is a little odd but I like to get them made throughout the year so I can focus on family when December rolls around.

I'd like to join these fabulous challenges

NBUS Challenge #64 -  NBUS Poppy Stamps Arched Gothic Cathedral Window;

Retro Rubber Challenge #234 - Christmas in July, I've had the Sentiment Stamp since 2012;

Die Cut Divas July Challenge - Add Glitter;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #57 - Anything Christmas Goes;

The 12 Months of Christmas Challenge #112 - Anything Christmas Goes;

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

Ornamental Forest

I have just joined the talented team at the The Sparkles Christmas Challenge where Challenge #162 has just gone live.  Caz has chosen as the theme for July

A Handmade Ornament or Ornaments

I have several lovely ornament stamps which coordinate with Spellbinders Heirloom Ornaments but after 2 false starts decided to use a die set that has been patiently waiting for over a year now for its first outing.   It's from Love2Craft and has 3 circle dies (a plain circle, a snowy circle and a branch circle) and many tiny elements to decorate the branch - lanterns, birds, flowers. leaves and these ornaments.  The bird I've added here wasn't from this set one but was left over from a previous project (it's one of the lovely cardinal birds that come come with the Impression Obsession Birch Trees Set).  The sentiment is from Waltzing Mouse Stamps (Season Flourish).

I'd like to join these fabulous challenges

NBUS Challenge #64 - NBUS Love2Craft set;

Merry Little Christmas Challenge #57 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Peace on Earth Challenge #66 - Anything Christmas Goes;

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday June and July Challenge - Anything Goes;

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

Safe Harbour

Challenge #266 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight it's an Inspiration Photo Challenge!

This challenge is perfect if like me, you're missing your Vitamin Sea!  Here's a closeup!

This challenge is generously being sponsored by Lawn Fawn and they are offering our Top Pick as chosen by the design team a $25 voucher to their store.  

Our top pick will also be invited to guest design with us at a future date 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 Joyce Mehrberg (our Top Pick of Challenge 262) as our guest this fortnight!  Many of you will already know and probably follow Joyce's blog Cards By The Sea - definitely worth a visit and leave her some comment love while you're there!

And you'll find plenty more inspiration from Joyce and the rest of the team over on the Challenge Blog!

I love anything to do with the sea and so does my hubby and my father-in-law was a naval commander so I have accumulated quite a few nautical stamp and die sets over the years - some still NBUS!  But this photo reminded me so much of a card I made ages ago that I've CASEd myself on this one except that I've swapped the sentiment for a New Baby (a friend of mine is expecting her first grandson) and I also cut everything for this card from white card stock (apart from the base panel) and used distress inks (Shabby Shutters, Squeezed Lemonade and Blue Lagoon) and alcohol markers to add colour rather than using coloured card stock.  The sentiment is from WMS Ocean Bound and fits perfectly on this Spellbinders Wonky Frame which I think resembles a ship's square sail fluttering in the wind, 

I'd like to enter these fab challenges

Papercraft Challenges #106 - For the Boys;

Allsorts Week 785 - Masculine;

Make My Monday Challenge #228 - Outdoor Summer Fun;

Word Power Challenge #6 - Make the sentiment the focus of your card.

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

Hip Hippo Hooray

I recently won as a Guest Designer Star at Traumfabrik (for this card).  Traumfabrik (The Dream Factory) chooses a movie each month as a source of inspiration and this month they have chosen the movie Inside Out or its German title Alles Steht Kopf (which Google translates as Everything is Upside Down).

Here is the movie poster (both English and German versions) and they would like us to create something Upside Down or perhaps be inspired by the colours and layout of the poster(s).  Traumfabrik welcomes any kind of handmade projects - card, art journal page, ATC, canvas or 3D project!  

When I recently asked my youngest son Simon what he wanted for his upcoming birthday, he jokingly replied "a hippo"!  He loves Christmas and spends much of the year listening to Christmas music and he especially loves that corny old Christmas song "I want a hippopotamus for Christmas (look it up on Youtube but I'm warning you it's both very corny and very catchy)!   Well a hippo may be out of the question, but a hippo birthday card was definitely within the realms of possibility.  So I was already planning a hippo birthday card when Rosi invited me to join Traumfabrik as a guest!  And the upside down prompt gave me just the inspiration I needed - a spinning hippo card - and slowly this design evolved.

I coloured my tumbling hippo (Poppy Stamps Happy Hippo) with alcohol markers and then liberally coated him with Glossy Accents so he'd be nice and plump and blubbery!  I cut a blue lagoon for my hippo to frolic in (Memory Box Underwater Collage) which caused a problem as it's only meant to be an aperture die so there were two unattractive spots on the lagoon shoreline.   But I managed to hide those with a life preserver ring (from the 2024 Gummiapan Advent Calendar) and a younger smaller hippo (Poppy Stamps Whittle Floating Hippo which came with its own life preserver).  

I stamped the two sentiments on the front panel (Poppy Stamps Whittle Wild Animal Sentiments), worked out where I wanted my lagoon to go, I cut a track in the lagoon and the front panel and added the lagoon to the panel (lining up the track) and added the panel to the card base with foam tape.   I've devised a mechanism for my spinner cards that utilises magnets.  I find the magnet system is sturdier and the spinner element can be easily added to or removed from the card - if you're interested, you can see how this system works in this blog post.

Here's the hippo in action

and the right way up!

As I was about to pack everything away, I suddenly had yet another idea ... based on the English title of the movie - Inside Out! 

For this card I made an aperture card so that the inside was on the outside!  I cut an aperture (Poppy Stamps Whittle Wave) from the card front and coloured this blue and added some waves with a white Posca Pen.  I then added it to the inside of the card so it lined up with the aperture.  I used the hippos again though the smaller one is now wading while his mama looks on from the edge of the lagoon.  I used the same life ring I used on the first card but also added a beach umbrella and a palm tree from the same set (Gummiapan Advent Calendar 2023 Day 5).

Here's the inside

 I do hope you will be inspired by Traumfabrik's movie title this month and I do look forward to seeing your upturned creations in Traumfabrik's gallery!

I'd like to enter the following fabulous challenges

NBUS Challenge #63 - NBUS Happy Hippo, Floating Hippo, Underwater Collage and Gummiapan Advent Calendar Day 5;

Crafty Animals Challenge #84 - Anything with an animal;

Four Seasons June 2024 Challenge - Anything Summer Goes;

Seize the Birthday #284 - no topping;

Thanks for stopping by - your visits and comments are always a joy and always appreciated!  And if you leave a comment, I’ll know you were here and will (hopefully) be able to find and visit you!

Kate

Under the Mistletoe

 

Challenge #165 has just gone live at The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge and here is my DT card. 

I am on a mission to use all the NBUS items in my stash and this card is the first outing for these bears (Poppy Stamps Nordic Bears).   I thought purple might be a nice change for their vests and a little gold is always a good idea for Christmas.

Once I'd made up the bears, they appeared to be kissing so I decided to put them under some mistletoe (Memory Box Mistletoe Bundle).  I cut the mistletoe from green card stock (stacked twice) but I did go around the edges with distress ink which always helps to add a little dimension.

It's rare for me to have no sentiment, but sometimes there just isn't the space and sometimes the image says it all!  

I'd like to enter these fab challenges

NBUS Challenge #63 - The Nordic bears were NBUS;

Crafty Animals Challenge #84 - Anything Goes with an animal;

Make My Monday Challenge #227 - B is for .... bears;

Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday Challenge June and July  - Anything Goes;

Girls Creative Christmas Challenge #76 - Ijsberen - Polar Bears;

The 12 Months of Christmas Challenge #111 - Optional Twist of North Pole;

Sparkles Christmas Challenge #161 - Use Dies;

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 will hopefully be able to find you!

Kate