Baking/Sweet Treats
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
Baking/Sweet Treats
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
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!
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
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
Kate
Challenge #273 at Time Out Challenges has just gone live and this fortnight we have an Inspired By Words Challenge with this quote from Vincent Van Gogh
“As long as autumn lasts, I shall not have hands, canvas and colours
enough to paint the beautiful things I see.”
How do these words inspire you and where do they lead your imagination? We hope you can take Time Out of your busy schedule to come play cards with us!
I just love this squirrel (Poppystamps Nordic Squirrels) - like all the Nordic animals he was so easy to assemble and his sweet little cardigan is so sweet and perfect for this time of the year when there is a little nip in the air! He's having a frolic in some fallen leaves (Tim Holtz Fall Foliage) against an embossed lumber panel (Tim Holtz Texture Fade). The "Playful Hugs" sentiment (also Poppy Stamps but discontinued) was cut and stacked three high from orange card stock to which I added some Candied Apple DI to the lower half to create an ombre effect. I also added touches of gold to the leaves with some gilding wax.
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
Many years ago I bought two sets from Waltzing Mouse Stamps that I never got around to using - Way out West and Sheriff. I also bought this Elizabeth Crafts Props 6 Cowboy Accessories a long time ago that has likewise languished. All three sets came in handy this week when I needed a card for a big country music fan. The card happens to be for our parish priest and I'm hoping the sheriff badge will make him chuckle.
It needed to be a big card since many people will probably want to sign it. This card measures 13cm x 18cm (5x7) - and I don't find it easy to fill that much space!
I knew I wanted to make a spinner card so I cut a track in the top half of the panel. Next I used the Tim Holtz Lumber Texture Fades 3-D Embossing Folder to emboss roughly the top half of the panel. I then stamped this text border from Way Out West along the bottom. I used various DIs (Ripe Persimmon, Spiced Pumpkin, Peeled Paint, Mowed Lawn, Broken China, Gathered Twigs) to add some colour to the panel. To bridge the gap between the embossing and the stamping, I created a little scene with two more of the borders from the Way Out West set on a separate piece of white card stock, tore the top and bottom edges, blended a little Broken China DI for the sky and placed it over this empty area. I then added the hat, bandana and boots from the Elizabeth Crafts set.
I cut three badges using the cut files that came with the Waltzing Mouse Sheriff set, stamped onto one of them and used the other two for stacking since it was going to be a spinner element. Here is a video of the Sheriff badge in motion. In hindsight, perhaps the 3D embossing folder wasn't such a great idea as it definitely impedes the smooth running of the spinner element but I love the effect of the woodgrain!
And here is a photo of the computer generated sentiment on the inside.
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
Challenge #272 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight we challenge you to be
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
The Sparkles Christmas Challenge #164 has just gone live and the theme this month is
Sentiment as the Focus
I used this sentiment die (LDRS Christmas Wishes) as the focus for this card. I lined up the sentiment die on this tartan panel (I used a tartan because I wanted something with a definite pattern). I then stacked the die cut so it would be more stable and layered it on a gold mirror card shadow. Then I covered the hole left from die cutting the sentiment in step 1, carefully lining up the pattern. I tried adding a few small die cut Christmas around the sentiment but wasn't happy with any of them and ended up only adding these small golden dots left over from a previous project.
I'd like to enter these fab challenges
Kate
Friendship/Encouragement/Support
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
Challenge #270 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight it's an Inspiration Photo Challenge!
Here's a closeup!
Kate
Christmas Critters.
Kate
Challenge #269 at Time Out Challenges has just gone live and this fortnight we have an Inspired By Words Challenge with this quote from Lilly Pulitzer
"It's always Summer somewhere"
How do these words inspire you and where do they lead your imagination? We hope you can take Time Out of your busy schedule to come play cards with us!
While I was playing around with an old stamp set (WMS My Island) last month, I created a few different scenes and this is one of them. I cut it with a Spellbinder classic oval, stacked it, matted it and mounted it on an ornate oval (Spellbinders Floral Ovals) that I had cut from Kraft and gone over with gilding wax so it looked like an old fashioned gilded picture frame. This frame has stars around the edge of the oval and it made me think of star fish one might be lucky enough to find washed up onto this idyllic beach.
It was then just a matter of stamping this sentiment from the My Island set and adding it to a black card base.
I'd like to enter these fabulous challenges
Four Seasons August 2024 Challenge - Anything Summer Goes;
Papercraft Challenges #107 - Holiday Time;
Allsorts Weeks 791-792 - Delights of the Season - beautiful sunsets;
Krafty Chicks Challenge #727 - Stamps;
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes;
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
Challenge #268 has just gone live at Time Out Challenges and this fortnight we challenge you to be
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
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