Colour Creations: Gorgeous Grape

 Hi!

It's Wednesday evening, which means it's Colour Creations time! This week we are featuring Gorgeous Grape, which is a colour that sits in the Brights colour family. It's my 'Goldilocks' purple - not too dark and not too light, it's jut right. LOL!! One of my younger sisters' favourite colour is purple, so I try to make her a purple Christmas card each year, so I took this opportunity to make her card, ready for December.

I started by using a Blending Brush on a piece of Expressions In Ink SDSP to create the ombre background. The snowflakes over the top are from the Gingerbread Dies. They looked a little sparse to me, so each snowflake is actually two layers, with the top layer offset from the first. The fuller look is very pretty! I also swished some WinkOf Stella over the top, but unfortunately is was too dull on the day I took toe photos for the glimmer to be seen. You'll just have to imagine how shimmery they are.

While I had the brush out, I also cut the sentiment label from Whisper White card with one of my new Tasteful Labels Dies. I then lightly brushed ink around the very edges before I removed the cardstock from the die, leaving a gorgeous white border all the way around the label. It's such a cool effect, as it allows the embossed detail in the border shine and frames the Christmas To Remember sentiment perfectly.

When I created the ombre piece for the front of the card, I cut the DSP an inch wider than it needed to be so that I could use the offcuts for the inside of my card. Such a great, time-saving idea. I finished off the inside with another double layer snowflake, this time in Gorgeous Grape.

Thanks again for joining me, but please do jump on over to the lovely Vicki Boucher's blog next. A few of her Gorgeous Grape cards came up in my google search for inspiration for tonight's card, so I'm sure that she's made another stunner this time.

As always for Colour Creations, pop on over to Cathy Proctor's blog if you find a broken link, or if you simply want to see the list of all the ladies participating in tonight's hop.

Bye for now,

Tina

Heart Of Christmas Week 14

 Hi!

Wowee, Week 14 of the Heart Of Christmas Blog Hops! We are well into this year's series of Blog Hops, with only 10 more to go in 2021. Have you enjoyed seeing our Christmas inspiration each week? I certainly have!

This week's group of cards comes courtesy of the July 2020 Sheetload Of Cards template. I really liked this one! It's tricky to see in the photo, but the Cherry Cobbler DSP on the right side of the card is actually on the inside of the card - the card front has been shortened by an inch. The cut off section was used for the front sentiment label. Waste not, want not!

Here you can see better how the DSP goes on the inside. It's from the Sweet Stockings DSP, just like the DSP I used on the front with the cute critters in the stockings. Super cute! The sentiments are from Words Of Cheer.

As always, here is my group of four cards. My stash certainly is building nicely!

Please do continue your way around our Hop tonight - it doesn't matter where you start, just keep on hopping until you get back to where you started. Next up is the very lovely Michele Taylor with what I'm sure will be a visual treat!

All the blogs tonight will have a link back to mine, as I am hosting the Hop this week. If you find a broken link, just pop on back here, where you can pick up your trail from the links below:

Michele Taylor

Catherine Proctor

Kate Morgan

Claire Daly

Rachel Woollard

Caroline Manwaring

Christine Blain

Theresa Gerrard

Andrea Sargent

Ros Davidson

Rosa Leyden

Sharon Davern

Judy May

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC 338: CASE The Sketch

 Hi!

Thanks for popping by to see the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. It's a great way to spend an hour or so! This week we are asking you to CASE A Sketch of the red Thinking Of You card in the challenge image below.

To make it even easier for you, we've created a sketch to guide you in your card making. It's nice and simple when you look at it this way, but our Crew have certainly come up with some interesting and clever ways to interpret the sketch.

I had big plans to create a card with a window through to the inside where the circle is in the sketch, but my littlest boy finished the school term by getting a cold. He most kindly shared his germs with me, and I've been feeling a little low, so quick and simple became the best option for me this week.

I had decided that instead of a ribbon under the circle, I would use some kind of die cut element instead.  This (retired) Forever Gold Laser Cut paper did the trick without too much fuss.

The hardest part was cutting the hexagon from Whisper White card - the gold hexagon part is not symmetrical! In the end I sort of traced the gold onto the white card and then cropped about 3/16th of an inch inside the lines. It worked well!

The sentiments I have used on the card are both from Words Of Cheer. I just have the stamp set, and it was a great, inexpensive, Christmas set to purchase.

We would absolutely love for you to join in with our challenges. You just need to be a member of our Facebook group. Once you join you can just add a photo of your card to the group each week. Nothing fancy required!

Before you race of to get creating, please do finish our hop - the Crew have obviously enjoyed this Sketch challenge, and have a fabulous collection of cards to spark your creativity. The next stop along the way is my Kiwi friend, Sandra, with a very pretty card that I adore!

Bye for now,

Tina

JAI 574: Just Choose Two

 Hi!

Hey there! Are you ready for the new Just Add Ink challenge? This week Nikki has challenged us to Just Choose Two.

Hmmm, which two to choose? It's a tough choice, but in the end I went for Silhouettes and Stars on my card. I struggled for a long time to think about which products I owned that could be used for the silhouette part of the card, and then I remembered my Eat Your Heart Out stamp set from Ink Road Stamps.

Do you recognise the hair silhouettes? I'm a huge fan of this movie (and it's sequel), but even the one at the bottom left stumped me! Who do you think it is? The stars on my card are from the retired Label Me Bold stamp set.

I haven't played much with the Be Dazzling Specialty Paper, and now Sale-A-Bration is finished! I'm sure you'll be seeing more of it. This time, I coloured it with my Dark Basic Black Blend. It looks a lot like snake skin, I think! Colouring it is such a cool effect, and it doesn't lose any sparkle in the process.

The sentiments I've used on the inside come from a Kindred Stamps set, called Electrifying. It goes with the Ink Road set perfectly, as they are based on the same fandom. Black and pink are iconic colours, so I've stuck with them for the whole card.

Now that I've told you more 😉 about my card, I'm flying out of here! I hope you're peachy keen, jelly bean, to join in with our challenge! You can link your card and see what the rest of the Design Team have created this week over on the Just Add Ink blog. See you there!

Bye for now,

Tina

Colour Creations: Garden Green

 Hi!

Are you a fan of Garden Green? I used to think it was a dark green, but with the addition of Mossy Meadow and Shaded Spruce to the Stampin' Up! colour range, I've changed my mind and decided that it's more of a mid-green. However you think of it - it is tonight's Colour Creations Blog Hop feature colour.

My card features the soon-to-be-gone Sale-A-Bration DSP, Beautifully Penned. It's a B&W DSP, but I have given my card some colour with my Garden Green watercolour pencil and a Wink Of Stella Brush. WOS is my favourite way of blending the pencils for a smooth, shimmery finish. I simply coloured the background fairly roughly with the pencil, and then smoothed out the colour with the WOS.

I recently purchased the Tasteful Labels Dies (why did it take me so long??), and so I used them to crop my Biggest Wish sentiment for the front. Some Organdy ribbon finished it off nicely.

I used all of the same products, except the dies, to finish off my inside. I actually coloured the whole DSP piece in one go and then cropped off a length for the inside. So much easier!

Don't forget to continue your way around our blog hop. The next blog belongs to my lovely friend, Di Furniss. You won't want to miss what I'm sure will be a fabulous card!

If you get a little lost, or find a broken link, please pop on over to Catherine Proctor's blog. She's our host tonight, and she has a comprehensive list of participants at the end of her blog post.

Bye for now,

Tina

Heart Of Christmas Week 13

 Hi!

Wowee! Week 13 of the Heart Of Christmas Blog Hops already! That means that I've added over 50 Christmas cards to my stash already this year. I think it will be a very important year for sending Christmas cards this year, so I'm thrilled to be so organised so early.

This week my Sheetload Of Cards template is from June 2020. Have you looked them up yet? They make it a snap to make a heap of cards that uses up a heap of DSP - and let's face it, who of us doesn't have a heap of DSP to be used up? LOL! I've selected the Peaceful Prints DSP, as it's a Sale-A-Bration choice that will very soon be gone. I have been yet to use the birch tree print, so that's where I started with my card.

As you've probably worked out, I am really loving the Christmas To Remember stamp set for it's wonderful sentiments. They are all kinds of shapes and sizes, so you are bound to find the perfectly sized sentiment in the set.

I went back to an old favourite combo of the Pine Tree punch embossed with the Tasteful Textile 3DEF folder to decorate the front of my card. I think I might dig up a sparkly star of some sort to add to the tree, though - when I look at this photo they all look a little plain. What do you think?

Thanks again for stopping by, but please do continue your way around our Blog Hop. The next blogger on the list is my fabulous friend, Cathy Proctor. She'll have something wonderful to see, I'm sure!

That's all I have for you this evening, but if you'd like to see a list of all participants, or if you've come across a broken link, please jump on over to this week's Hostess, Sharon Davern, for a full list of hoppers.

Bye for now,

Tina

CTC 337: Step Up A Mini Catalogue Project

Hi! 

Hello, and thanks for stopping by for the new CASEing The Catty Sunday Challenge Blog Hop. I wasn't sure if I was going to have a card made in time for the hop tonight, but I just squeaked in. The concert band that I play in staged a large Proms concert last night, which was a lot of fun, but a lot of energy. It went very well, and I woke up feeling great this morning, so I was able to get crafty.

This week we are asking you to step up a Mini Catalogue project. What does this mean? Basically, make your chosen project more fancy! You could add more layers or colours or embellishments, or do what I did and turn it into a fancy fold.

I chose this cute card from page 68 of the Mini Catalogue. I don't have the bundle, but I do have the coordinating Penguin Playmates Sale-A-Bration DSP, so I used that instead to make a rocking card.

I started by roughly cutting five of the penguins from the DSP and gluing them to some Thick Whisper White cardstock. This gives them strength, but also makes the back of the card look a little nicer. Once dry, they were fussy cut and had Wink Of Stella added to their beanies and scarves. The base of the card was some die cut circles, cropped from Fresh Freesia cardstock and some of the DSP. The penguins were glued (back row) and popped up over the top, ensuring that the card stayed balanced. It rocks nicely if you give it a little push, but stays straight when it's not rocking.

Another die cut circle, from Whisper White card, completes the inside, along with a sentiment from Words Of Cheer. I cut the white circle in half so that the card still folded nicely. Too much bulk in the crease would prevent it from sitting nicely.

Again, thank for joining me tonight. We'd love for your to join in with our challenges, It's as easy as joining our Facebook group and adding a photo of your card for each challenge. No blog or fancy equipment/software/apps necessary. Just snap a photo and upload it to the group. Easy!

I'm the last stop on tonight's hop, but if you started mid-way, just keep on going until you get back to where you started. The next stop is my lovely friend from Queensland, Rebecca, with a gorgeous Christmas card.

Bye for now,

Tina