Pastel Beach Huts

This was another card I started last Saturday as part of the stamping and embossing workshop for my local scrapbooking group.  This was to create unique backgrounds by using stamps for pattern building.  Here's a fairly simple way to build up a grid on any sized paper.

• Firstly find the midpoint of your card front vertically and horizontally and draw faint lines.  
• Measure 2cm from these lines to the edges of the paper and draw these lines faintly.  I found 2cm works for a variety of different sized stamps, from 1cm square to 4cm.  There wouldn't be much pattern if you used stamps large than this.  
• You can choose to stamp in the boxes or on the intersections - whichever best suits the size of your stamp.  This was a fairly large stamp and I stamped on every second intersection (or within a group of 4 boxes if you like) on the grid but I could have chosen a smaller stamp and stamped within every box or on every intersection.
• You can make faint pencil marks where your centre point of your stamping will be (and what colour) if you find this makes it easier for you - for example a B where you want to stamp blue and a P where you want to stamp pink.
• Don't be afraid to stamp off the edge.  

Supplies
Stamps : Sarah Hurley Special Editions Beside the Seaside by Jaine Drake
Dies : Pilings from Sizzix Sizzlits Coastal Set, Clearly Besotted Wave Edge Die, Spellbinders Nested Pennants
Inks : ColorBox Pigment - Aqua, Brilliance - Pearlescent Orchid

I'm entering this in Darnell's NBUS Challenge 4 as the Beside the Seaside stamp set is NBUS.  (I have a terrible feeling that the Pilings Sizzlit die may also be NBUS and I've had it almost as long as I've owned a die cut machine!)

I'm also entering this at The Challenge where they are celebrating their one year anniversary with an Anything Goes challenge

and at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where they also have an Anything Goes challenge

Thanks for stopping by,
Kate

Irrestible Egg

I was teaching some stamping techniques at my local scapbooking group last weekend and one of the techniques I covered was Emboss Resist.  I stamped this wonderful pebble background onto an egg die cut element and embossed in clear, and distressed in a patchwork fashion.

Another technique I covered was stamping on a solid embossed element.  I embossed a bow with purple (3 times), then white and then purple embossing powders.  While it was still molten, I stamped it with a  rubber script stamp which I had coated with versamark (for protection of the stamp mostly).

Supplies used
Stamps : Sarah Hurley Special Editions Pebbles by Jaine Drake, WMS Compact Sentiments, WMS Fancy Phrases, WMS Zig Zag Backgrounder, Crafty Individual CI-017 French Script
Inks : Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean Distress Inks, Aqua Colorbox, Versamark
Die cuts : Spellbinders D-Lites Filigree Egg, Spellbinders Fancy Tags, Sizzix Princess Dress (Bow)

Unfortunately I missed the Curtain Call Jelly Bean Challenge (just look at this brilliant inspiration photo)

but I'm entering this in The Challenge's One Year Anniversary

and the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge which is anything goes this week

I've been so busy preparing for the workshop last weekend that I almost didn't see Darnell's latest NBUS challenge (I would have kicked myself if I had missed this one).   I'm sneaking this card in there as well - the pebble background stamp was NBUS.

Thanks for stopping by,
Kate

Clearly Besotted with Ice Cream

It's taken me way too long to break out this Clearly Besotted Super Cool stamp set and matching dies, which I bought last November !!!  It's a really fun set to play with and I especially love the chocolate crackling on top, which was stamped and then glossily accented.  The cherry on the top got the same treatment and the inside sentiment reads "HAPPY BIRTHDAY WITH A CHERRY ON TOP".  

I've teamed it with a WMS Stitched Tag and a WMS Zig Zag background.  The dinky little star grommet is from the WMS Folding Tag. The background was stamped in Color Box Robin's Egg and clear embossed.  The Clearly Besotted Wave Edge down the left side was a happy accident.  I left too much space on the left of the zig zag panel so I used a wave border to fill the gap - but I think it just brought it all together. 

I made this card for my youngest son to give my husband for his birthday last month.  Unfortunately a trip to hospital with said son the day after, and another small upheaval in our family meant that I'm only getting around to blogging it now.  Probably just as well - snow was falling thick and fast at the time and ice-cream was the last thing on our mind.  Looking at the sun shining outside this afternoon, it almost feels like ice-cream weather is finally on its way !!!

What flavours are you imagining - I'm thinking Mango, Mint, Lemon, Vanilla and Strawberry !!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Kate