Gina K Design November 2020 Monthly Mix Challenge

 Hello again....

What's happening you are probably asking. We don't hear from her for months and months and then suddenly 2 posts in one day! All I can say is when the gardening season ends for me, I start stamping!

I am playing along with the monthly challenge over at Gina K Designs. For November 2020 the challenge is to make a card with a tag on it and there is a colour theme of red and white.

I have used an older sweet set called Winter Mittens which has a coordinating Spellbinders die. I am still upset that I missed the Kit release this month or I would have used a tag from that but I did miss it so used another tag die and an embossing folder on the tag for some visual interest. Sparkly background paper and a satin bow and the sentiment is from Gina K Designs Seasonal Greetings stamp set.

Thanks so much for visiting. Please leave me your comments as I love to read them. Stay safe everybody. Cheers.

Melanie

My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #514

 Hello everyone....

Well, it certainly has been a long while since I posted anything! It has been a crazy year for everyone, our family included but we are all safe and healthy for which I am thankful.

I have a card to share for the My Favorite Things Wednesday Sketch Challenge which you can see here.

I have used the Joy Wreath die set and also the separate Joy die for my card, along with an embossing folder. I decided to keep everything silver and gold (thinking of Burl Ives singing on Rudolph I guess) and I have used some gold sparkly ribbon to make the horizontal lines.

Thanks so very much for stopping by. Do leave me a comment if you have a moment and have a wonderful and safe day. Cheers.

Melanie

Almost finished

Hello and welcome....

If you have followed my blog for a while you will know that in addition to making cards I have an absolute passion for needlework, most especially cross stitch embroidery.

Here is my latest project.....almost finished.

Thanks for stopping by. Cheers.

Melanie

MFT February 2020 Birthday Project Challenge

Hello there...

I have a card to share today for the My Favorite Things February 2020 Birthday challenge. The necessary element since it was February was to use a heart on the card.

I have used the Adorable Elephants stamp set along with Brushstroke Expressions for the sentiment and there are lots of hearts in evidence.

Thanks so very much for visiting. Your kind comments are always much appreciated. Cheers.

Melanie

My Favorite Things - Cool Cat

Hello everyone....

I have a card to share today that I made with a new stamp set I bought from My Favorite Things called Cool Cat. As a cat lover, I could not resist.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

Melanie

Gina K Designs February 2020 Challenge

Welcome everyone....

I am playing along with the February challenge over at Gina K Designs which is to add texture to our cards.

I have used a really old stamp set from Gina K Designs that I still love as it has a great sentiment to accompany it. Alas, I cannot remember the name.

The texture on my card comes in two forms, an embossing folder in a knit design and also some felt flowers and leaves.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

Melanie

MFT Sketch Challenge 477

Hello and welcome...

I have a card to share today for the MFT Sketch challenge. Here is the sketch.

For my card I used that adorable stamp set...Polar Bear Pals. I just got the matching die set so that made it really easy to cut out the bear and the fish bucket.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

Melanie

Honey Bee Stamps - Everything Wonderful

Welcome everyone....

I have a card to share today that I made using the Everything Wonderful stamp set from Honey Bee Stamps. I just love floral images and that great big floral cluster just spoke to me as soon as I saw it.

I stamped it on watercolour paper and coloured it up with ZIG markers and cut it out with the coordinating die. Mounted on cardstock cut with a Spellbinders die. Added the little tag with the sentiment and some ribbon and pearls.

Thanks so very much for stopping by. Cheers.

Melanie

Honey Bee Stamps Spring Chicks

Hello everyone and welcome....

I simply love chickens. I live on a small farm and I have a small flock of chickens who I think of as pets with benefits. They are all different heirloom breeds and of course they all have their own names. They come when they are called and will jump up and sit in my lap to be petted.

So of course when I saw this adorable stamp set from Honey Bee Stamps called Spring Chicks it was a must have. 

I have created a card today using the sweet little hen from that set. I stamped on watercolour paper and coloured her up with ZIG markers. Her colouring is much the same as my hen Snowdrop who is a Delaware breed. Doesn't she have just the sweetest little face! The sentiment is from the coordinating stamp set called Eggcelent Sentiments and of course inside the card it reads "You're a Good Egg". Love it!

Hope you like it. Thanks for stopping by. Cheers....

Melanie 

Cotton Comforts from The Greetery

Greetings and welcome....

I made a pact with myself, sort of like a new years resolution but not quite. I decided that if I bought any new stamping materials that in stead of admiring how beautiful there are and then filing them away to use later I would leave them on my desk and use them immediately....or at least reasonably soon before I put them away.

So, my card is from my latest little purchase from The Greetery where Betsy Veldman continues to astound with the most amazing stamps she designs. I love them all. I would like to have them all but I do not. But I do have this beautiful set called Cotton Comforts and that is what I have used.

If you have followed my blog at all you already know how much I like monochromatic cards. I have used white as the predominant colour and a bit of Distress Oxide inks on the focal stamped image but kept quite soft.

I have used the Halfsies Oval die and a bit of Antique Linen ink sponged very softly in the background. Directly behind the focal image I have used the Inside & Out Berry Branch die both the positive and negative pieces. The sentiment is from the same stamp set. All dies used are also from The Greetery.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers....

Melanie

MFT January 2020 Birthday Project Challenge

Hello everyone and welcome....

The Birthday Project challenge over at My Favorite Things is all about using the word "Cheers" on your card to celebrate both the birthday and the new year. 

I have used a mixture of MFT products for my card. The focal images are from Hog Heaven. I just love those cute little piggies. The balloons are from Adorable Elephants and of course the Cheers die is a stand alone die. I have also used a Spellbinders Medallion die up in the top corner.

Thanks so much for visiting. Cheers...

Melanie

Honey Bee Threshold Die

Welcome....

I have a card to share today that I made for a friend who is about to move into her new, long-awaited apartment. I have chosen to use the Honey Bee Threshold die set.

I absolutely love monochromatic cards and most especially white cards so I decided to do the whole thing in white. I love how it turned out.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers....

Melanie

My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #472

Welcome everyone....

I am playing along with My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge which you can see here.

I have chosen to turn the sketch on it's side for my card.

I have used the Celebrate die on top of  wide silk ribbon and the stamps and dies are from Birth-Yay which is a wonderful Birdie Brown set. She always has very useful little stamps in her sets and in this case I have used the birthday cake, the wee little present and the balloon. Coloured them up with Copics and there is Wink of Stella on the cake icing.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Cheers...

Melanie

Reverse Confetti January 2020 Challenge

Welcome everyone....

My card today is for Reverse Confetti January 2020 challenge which is to use the theme of Love is in the Air and also for Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge in which we had to use a stencil.

I have used a sweet stamp set called Smitten Mitten. I confess that it took me a while to find the right ink to use to get really good coverage on the mitten and in the end I went with Memento and then cut out the mitten with the coordinating die.

The heart and corner dies are from Spellbinders. 

The stencil background is from The Greetery and I just love it.

A lovely little silk bow from my ribbon stash and it is all done.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers...

Melanie

My Favorite Things Color Challenge #133

Hello and welcome....

My card today is for My Favorite Things Color Challenge and you can see here the colours we needed to use.

I have used the Ewe Are The Best stamp set and die for my card. I simply adore that little sheep holding the heart. Coloured up with Copics in the two greys and the red and the background is the pink. All other dies are from Spellbinders. 

If you have followed my blog for a while you already know how much I adore ribbon so this bow is a lovely single sided satin saved from a parcel. A few sequins finishes it off and a touch of Wink of Stella on the heart which you can barely see in the photo.

I do apologize for the photos. The weather here has been so dull and grey that it is hard to get a good photo.

Thanks very much for visiting. Please do leave me your comments as I appreciate each and every one. Cheers...

Melanie

My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #471

Hello there and welcome....

I have a card today for the My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge and you can see the sketch here.

I have used the wee little fellow in a pile of leaves from the Harvest Mouse stamp set and cut him out with the coordinating die and three different leaves from the Falling Leaves die set.

I have coloured up the wee mouse with Copics but I chose to use chalks on the leaves and also on the wee little tag with the sentiment. I think we all tend to use ink for blending these days but I used to love to use chalks to get a soft subtle effect so had another go at them.

Finished off with a ribbon and a button on the bottom.

Thank so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

Melanie

Gina K Designs January 2020 Challenge

Hello everyone...

I am playing along with the January 2020 Challenge over at Gina K Designs. The theme of the challenge is "Let's Reflect". The idea is to take a previous card design and remake it into something new. We must keep some element of the card the same and change the rest.

I have chosen to remake this quite simple card I made and the only thing I am keeping is the embossed paper.

 My new card uses an old Gina K Designs stamp set from 2011 called Celebrate in Style. I have always loved that little dress form....she is just too cute.

I have used a soft pink 5x7 card base over which I have used the embossed layer in white.

My focal image, that adorable dress form, is stamped in black and I paper pieced the skirt and coloured the top with Copics.

The dies are all Spellbinders. I have added a couple blossoms and leaf sprig at the top and of course a wee silk ribbon bow. I have a huge stash of tiny pieces of gorgeous silk ribbon that I try to use whenever I can. They are only wee little pieces but I can still squeak out a bow!

Thanks so much for visiting today. Cheers.

Melanie

Newtons Nook Sketch Challenge #114

Hello and welcome....

I am playing along with Newton's Nook Sketch Challenge #114. Here is the sketch.

I have used Newton's Birthday Flutter for my focal image. I absolutely love it! Naturally inside it reads  "so I ate him". Priceless.

All dies are from Spellbinders.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

Melanie

My Favorite Things Sketch Challenge #470

Hello everybody...

I am playing along today with the My Favorite Things Sketch challenge. You can see the sketch here.

I struggled with this card. I felt that I would have to keep the design clean and simple but that is absolutely NOT my forte. 

In the end I used the Strike Up The Band stamp set and dies and the Arrow Greetings dies and I am not totally unhappy with the result. I used Zig markers to colour the images and I am still struggling a bit with them as I usually use Copics and there is a huge difference in the way they perform. Practice makes better!

Thanks so very much for stopping by. Have a wonderful day. Cheers.

Melanie

Ink To Paper Organization Challenge - Stamps

Hello everyone...

Over at the Ink To Paper blog they are sharing ideas for stamp storage. I really liked the way Jennifer McGuire stored hers so that is the method I use...namely, stamp pockets. Love it.

Here is a photo of my bin stuffed full of Papertrey Ink stamps. So easy just to flip through and see what I want. They are filed alphabetically.

Thanks so much for visiting today. Cheers.

Melanie