Stampin' Up | Cookie Cutter Christmas #1 - Reindeer

When is it too early to start making and posting about Christmas cards? In crafting land it's never too early and it's always good to be prepared! That's why I'm coming on today to start sharing my Christmas makes. 

First up is this lovely set of cards that proved very popular with my friends and family last year but I didn't share on my blog. Because they were so popular I decided to make some more!

Mama Elephant | Sending Smiles Across the Miles

Hello there! Today I wanted to share a card I made using an older stamp set by Mama Elephant called Up and Away.

This card involved a lot of distress inking. The pattern on the background was created using an embossing folder, inking over the top with Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and spritzing with some Perfect Pearls powder mixed with water.

The topper was created using the Lawn Fawn stitched rectangles dies. I stamped the bunny and balloons and coloured them in using distress markers and masked over them so I could create my background. I created a cloud stencil with a pair of scissors and inked with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink to create the cloud background.

I had a lot of fun creating this card as it involved so many different techniques.

I hope you like this card, stay tuned for next time!

Hayley Q

Mama Elephant | Three Amigos

Hello there! I'm back sharing more cards! I've set myself a challenge to try and get using my stamps. I have so many stamp sets that are still unused in my stash because I don't get the time to use them and I want to change that! I bought them because I loved them so they deserve a bit of love. 

This Mama Elephant set is a perfect example, I was so excited to get my hands on this set because I loved the concept and the critters but I never found time to get it used. 

I cut out the white panels using the Mama Elephant Femme Frames and stamped my critters in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. I then picked a couple of funny sentiments and stamped those on the paper in the critters hands. 

This one (above) is my favourite as I coloured them in to look like me and my boyfriend and gave it to my mum for her birthday. She thought it was really funny!

I coloured the images in using my Tim Holtz Distress Markers and a water brush. The patterened paper background was cut out using Mama Elephant Femme Frames again and adhered to a blank card base. 

Quite simple cards but so fun to make!

Thanks for stopping by!

p.s. I've started using inlinks so that it is easier for you to see what products that I use. Enjoy!

Three Amigos	Femme Frames	White Premium Smooth Card A4 100 Pack 300gsm	Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Ink Pad, Black
Ranger Plastic Tim Holtz Distress Marker Tube Set 49 kg-4-inch x 7.35-inch	Royal & Langnickel aqua flo 3 piece pack set	Double Sided Sticky Tape 1.2 cm x 25 m	50 White Greeting Cards - 5 x 7 Inches
Dovecraft A4 Foam Sheets, Pack of 50, Assorted

InLinkz.com

My 2015 Favourites: Inks & Pens

Welcome to Day 3 of My 2015 Favourites series. Today I will be talking you through my favourite inks and pens of the year! Let's get started.

Inks

• Memento Tuxedo Black
• This is by far my favourite black ink of all time. I have tried a few over the years and have finally found one that sticks. It doesn't bleed with alcohol markers, it doesn't stain stamps, it cleans off really easily and it dries quickly.

• Versamark Ink
• I use this ink solely for embossing. It is a great sticky ink that takes a while to dry so is perfect for attracting embossing powder. 

• Distress Inks - Gathered Twigs, Peacock Feathers, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade
• Distress inks are great for blending and water colouring. I usually use the ink pads for creating an ink blended background and spritzing with a bit of water to help it blend even better. I have picked out a few of my favourites. Gathered Twigs is great for edging to help distinguish between layers or creating an aged look. The other three are some of favourite colours. 

• Avery Elle Pigment Inks
• These inks are great for solid image stamping or adding a pop of colour to your sentiment. They stamp nice and evenly and you can also use these inks for embossing as they take longer to dry too. They are great for stamping a sentiment and then embossing with clear embossing powder for an added shine.

Pens

• Distress Markers
• These are the pen version of the Distress Ink pads and I mainly use these for a quick and easy water colouring. I tend to colour my image in with these and then add a touch of water to give a nice water coloured effect. 

• Spectrum Noir Alcohol markers
• These are the marker pens that I do all of my colouring with. I found them a really great option for my budget. There is a great range of colours and they also blend really nicely. 

• Wink of Stella Clear Brush Pen
• I've classed this as a pen because it looks like one. Its basically really fine glitter in a brush pen. I use this when I want to add a little touch of shine to my coloured images. Its brilliant! The best thing is, when its run out, you can open it up and refill with water to get a second life out of it!

Thanks again for tuning in for my third installment of My 2015 Favourites. Pop back again tomorrow to see the next chapter, My 2015 Favourites: Tools! 

Let me know in the comments what your favourite inks and pens are.

Thanks for reading, 

Hayley :)

Clearly Besotted | Simply Cards & Papercraft 133

Now I know I'm probably very late to the party, but with my final set of my Masters exams spanning the past couple of months I haven't had any time for crafting and I have missed it dearly. However, I still picked up the issue of Simply Cards & Papercraft that had the free Clearly Besotted stamp set. As soon as I saw it, I simply knew I had to have it. 

So I made quite a few cards using this set (which you will also see in some upcoming posts) because I just found it so inspiring. It's got a nice mix of elements that all work so perfectly together.

I started off using the fuschia stamps. I stamped them onto white cardstock using Memento tuxedo black ink and then coloured them using distress markers. In would ordinarily use my spectrum noir pens but unfortunately I left them at home.

I then cut out some white panels using my new Mama Elephant Femme Frames and a panel of patterned paper with the same dies. I stamped the leafy vine using Avery Elle Lemon Grass pigment ink onto each white panel and then added the fushia flowers and buds using 3D foam pads. 

The sentiments were all from the same stamp set and stamped using Memento Tuxedo black ink once again. The panels were then all adhered together and then adhered onto an A6 Papermania kraft card blank, which I trimmed with my paper trimmer to make the panel fit nicely. 

The full stamp set:

I have noticed these stamps are included in some sets that you can currently purchase from the Clearly Besotted website. They are called Elegant Butterflies, Sweet Rose and Fabulous Fuchsias. 

Hang in there.

I made this card a while ago and I completely forgot to post it, but its such a cute card I thought I would share it now. 

Products I used:

• Mama Elephant - Up & Away (Pictured below)
• Hero Arts Lattice Background Stamp
• Distress markers (for all of the watercolouring, background, monkey & balloons)
• Versamark Ink
• White embossing power
• Heat tool
• Black Ink
• A few sequins to scatter.