Twofer Card Challenge #38 – Cake/Cupcake

Hello … bonjour! Welcome to our yummy new Twofer challenge for May, where we’re inviting you to dig out your scrumptious stamps, dies and/or stencils and join us to enjoy some …

That yummy looking cake stamp (the common image on both cards) is from Reverse Confetti … it appears just as intended (along with one of it’s accompanying alligators) on my birthday card … and on the hello card, it’s been dressed up with the help of a little masking and subsequent doodling! How about a closer look at each one …

The central design here ensures the cake is the star of the show. It was masked and stamped onto some mixed media card stock, I doodled those extra layers of chocolate ganache and the cherry on the top … and coloured it with alcohol markers. There are lavish coatings of shimmer and shine on the ganache and cherry too … tricky to capture … and more visible on the first photo. The two word sentiment is shared between Simon Says Stamp and Winnie & Walter (sadly NLIB). The panel was mounted onto a couple of layers of vellum, popped up on craft foam and adhered to a mixed media card base that had been embossed with a Spellbinders die. You’ll notice that the vellum went a smidgy bit wobbly round the edges after it was dry … must be all that luscious ganache that did it … couldn’t have been anything to do with the wet adhesive I used!

My second card is clean, fun and whimsical …

Another simple design, with the heat embossed images and sentiment laid out along the bottom half of a watercolour card base. Everything was coloured with Zigs and a water brush … and I gave the alligator a dry embossed pathway to walk on … firstly to ground him … and secondly so he could advance on that birthday cake easily!

How about choosing a cake/cupcake image from your stash … to make two distinctly different designs … for two different occasions … we’d love to see you (and your cards) in our gallery!  All the details, rules and FAQs are over at the Twofer blog … together with heaps of delicious inspiration from the DT as well as from our super talented Guest Designer, Janet from Swanlady Impressions. Do go and have a gentle meander around Janet’s blog … there’s so much loveliness to enjoy and be inspired by … and you can always say hello while you’re there!

My piled high cupcake is going over to …

AAA Cards – Up To One Third … no Mystical Beasts option

Krafty Chicks – Stamp Act

MFT Color Challenge – Poppin’ Pink, Carribean Sea, Jalapeno Popper, Vintage Timber

NBUS – Anything Goes … a little win from Reverse Confetti!

Papercraft Challenges – Fruits, Food and Vegetables

… and that cake craving crocodile (or alligator if you prefer, though the alliteration isn’t as good!) will be celebrating at …

AAA Birthday – Happy Birthday … congratulations on your 2nd!

Addicted to Stamps and More – Any Occasion

Happy Little Stampers Watercolour – Anything Goes

Reverse Confetti Stock Your Stash – Birthday … congratulations on your 8th!

Seize The Birthday – Anything Goes … no Furry Friends topping

Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy! Anita 🙂

Twofer Card Challenge #37 Reminder – Leaves

Hello … bonjour! I’m popping by with some more inspiration to tempt you to play along with us at Twofer this month … there’s a whole week left for you to join in with … 

Once again, as with my first set of Twofer cards last week, my common images here are those delicate Eucalyptus die cuts from Simply Graphic … one for a birthday, one as a spirit lifter. Let’s have a closer look at each one …

This is a deliciously clean design, with the leaves cut in gold and pink, growing right next to the crisp white Concord & 9th stacked die cut. The supplementary sentiment is from Simply Graphic … it’s embossed in white and translates to ‘it’s your day’. The frame was embossed with a Reverse Confetti square die … I don’t have a rectangular one, so did a little extending (similar to partial die cutting).

My second card, while still clean, is a little more layered …

This design began with a sponged panel of Bristol card … in every green Distress Ink hue in my possession. I die cut seven of the open eucalyptus leaves from the different colours and layered them up round a Concord & 9th stitched circle die cut (to guide the shape) … and adhered the circle to the card base. The sentiment was stamped in navy inside the spring wreath (it’s from The Greetery) … and I finished with some tiny blue gems to mimic berries.

So … have you played along with us at Twofer this month?  If you haven’t, why not give it a go … and if you have, do feel free to play again.  We’d love to see your two distinctly different takes on Leaves.  All the details, rules and FAQs are over at the Twofer blog … along with inspiration galore, both from the wonderful DT and from our talented Guest Designers, Alison from Cranberry and Eggplant and Natalie from natshobbycorner at Instagram.  Look forward to seeing you in our gallery!

My birthday card is heading to …

Addicted to Stamps and More – Birthdays

Krafty Chicks – CAS

Seize The Birthday – Anything Goes … No Topping of Spring Flowers

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Clean and Simple

and my spring wreath will be lifting spirits at …

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Shopping Our Stash – Plant Life

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Clean and Simple

Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy! Anita 🙂

Twofer Card Challenge #36 – Your Choice

Hello … bonjour … I’m delighted to see you! As it’s the tenth of the month, our fun new challenge has just started at Twofer … and it’s just a little different than usual. This time around, instead of giving you a prompt, we’re inviting you to choose one of your own …

I went with one of my favourite themes … ‘Blossoms’ …

… and created a bold, vibrant friendship card … and a soft, subtle hugs card, using Altenew’s Rosie Posy stamp as my common image. Here’s a closer look at each one.

The striped background is from Uniko … it was stamped over a circular mask to leave space for the central cluster of Rennie Mackintosh style blossoms. The blooms were watercoloured with Zigs and a waterbrush … and I added some detailing with a white gel pen. The Mama Elephant sentiment was stamped onto a die cut banner, which was popped up on foam dots under the focal image. Eyecatching in a CAS way!

In contrast, my second card has a dreamy, spring-like feel to it …

It’s still clean … it’s one layer … and unusually for me, it features a light grey card base. That lovely Rosie Posy blossom cluster was stamped and white heat embossed multiple times in a diagonal swoosh across the card. I sponged white pigment ink over the flowers (allowing it to go over the edges to create a halo effect) … and once it was dry, added a couple of different yellows in the centres. The sentiment was also white heat embossed … it’s from Papertrey. Soft Pantone colours anyone?

How about choosing your own prompt … to make two distinctly different designs … for two different occasions … using the same stamps, dies and/or stencils? We’d love to see you (and your cards) in our gallery!  All the details, rules and FAQs are over at the Twofer blog … together with heaps of delicious inspiration from the DT (who have each chosen a different prompt).  We’re delighted to have two fabulous Guest Designers joining us … Nancy from Scandinancy Creates … and Klara from My Favourite Day … welcome ladies!  If you haven’t met these talented artists yet, do go and enjoy a wander through their blogs … you’ll be so inspired!  Even if you are familiar with their work, why not pop along anyway … you can always say hello while you’re there!

My bold blossom is heading to …

Altenew – Emily’s Inspiration (see badge for those delicious colours below)

Happy Little Stampers Watercolour – Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday – Use Something Green (the leaves)

… and my soft spring swoosh is joining in at …

CAS on Sunday – Spring

Krafty Chicks – Stamp Act

NBUS – Anything Goes (first appearance of Rosie Posy here)

Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

Twofer Card Challenge #35 – Balloons

Hello … bonjour … and welcome back! Thanks so much for all your lovely comments and notes following my last post (eek … a month ago!), especially as I’ve hardly been around in blogland to make visits or leave comments as I usually would. I appreciate each of you … and am looking forward to being about a little more often from now on. Today, I’m here to tell you about our new challenge at Twofer … it’s such a happy one as our prompt is …

It always puts me in mind of a quote from Winnie The Pooh (well, A A Milne) … nobody can be uncheered with a balloon … how true … just try it!

I chose to make one conventional (birthday) card and one unconventional (Christmas) card this month … using a balloon stamp from Simon Says Stamp’s Big Birthday Wishes set. Here’s a closer look at them individually …

The balloons here are being held onto by a cool penguin from Ellen Hutson … and he’s balancing precariously on the birthday sentiment, which is made up of two different SSS sets. The penguin was lightly coloured with pencils … though his bright balloons, all shined up with glossy accents, are the star of this show. I added an embossed frame with a die from The Greetery … and kept it all deliciously CAS.

The balloons were turned upside down for my unconventional design …

… and became baubles hanging from a star strewn pine garland. The pine sprig is from Stampendous and was stamped multiple times in three different greens to give depth to the garland. The balloon baubles were stamped in red, I added the lettering using a Lawn Fawn alphabet set and topped it all off with a good dose of Glossy Accents to add shine. The supplementary sentiment is from WPlus9. I finished off with a scattering of gold stars … funny how they landed in just the right places to adorn the hanging strings isn’t it?

How about joining us with some stamped, die cut or stencilled balloons of your own … we’d love to see you (and them) in our gallery!  All the details about how to play along, including rules and FAQs are over at the Twofer blog … together with plenty of fabulous inspiration from the DT.  We’re delighted to have Greta from GG Creations sharing her talents with us as our Guest Designer this month … welcome, Greta! Do go and enjoy an inspiring wander around Greta’s blog … there’s so much loveliness on display … and you can always say hello while you’re there.

My balloon toting penguin is heading to …

Addicted To Stamps And More – Birthdays

Krafty Chicks – Stamp Act

Papercraft Challenges – Heat or Dry Embossing

Seize The Birthday – Anything Goes … No Hearts Option

… and my balloon baubles are joining in at …

Happy Little Stampers Christmas – Anything Goes … No Berries Option

Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy! Anita 🙂

Twofer Card Challenge #34 – Flowers

Hello … bonjour … and Happy New Year … Bonne Année! May this year be blessed with good health, joy, hope and creativity for us all.  Welcome back, too, after my six week blogland break … it’s great to be here again! Over at Twofer ,we’re leaping into our fourth year of challenges … with plenty of delicious prompts to inspire you … and some changes to the Design Team. We’re saying a very fond farewell to the lovely and super talented Kara and Cat … and saying a warm and happy hello to our new team members, Sonja and Bonnie … welcome, ladies! If you’ve played along at Twofer before, you’ll know how much fun it is to create two distinctly different designs for two different occasions using the same stamps, dies or stencils … and if you haven’t yet joined us … why not give it a go? This month we have one of my favourite card making themes to tempt you … and I’m pretty sure you’ll be itching to dig out your supplies when you see the prompt. It’s …

I created a bold, dramatic ‘just because’ card … and a bright, spring-like ‘beautiful day’ card … using this gorgeous Summer Sketches bloom from The Greetery. Here’s a closer look at each one …

This is one of my go-to clean and simple designs … the image is centred on the card and the sentiment (from Catherine Pooler) is stamped just below it. I added subtle detail by embossing a frame with a die from Spellbinders and doing a little splattering. There’s also a touch of shimmer and shine on the flowers and stamens, which you can see better here …

I stayed with the conventional use of the flower for my second card …

This is another CAS design … albeit a little fuller than the first. Here, the outline flowers were gold embossed in diagonally opposite corners of the card to form a frame around the WPlus9 sentiment (also gold embossed), before being over stamped with the solid images. I added some Nuvo drops to match and added interest by double scoring the two empty corners.

How about joining us with some flowers of your own … we’d love to see you (and them) in our gallery!  All the details about how to play along, including rules and FAQs are over at the Twofer blog … together with heaps of splendid inspiration from the DT.  We’re delighted to have two fabulous Guest Designers joining us this month … Viv from Viv’s Visuals … and Brenda from Inkspired To Stamp … welcome ladies!  If you haven’t met these talented artists yet, do go and enjoy a wander through their blogs … you’ll find inspiration galore!  Even if you are familiar with their work, why not pop along anyway … you can always say hello while you’re there!

My single floral sprig is heading to …

CAS Mix Up – Splatters (plus dry embossing and stamping)

Color Hues – Red and Grey (happy to be playing along at last!)

Watercooler Wednesday – Anything Goes with a Feminine Twist

… and my spring florals are joining in at …

Addicted to CAS – Emboss

Krafty Chicks – Stamp Act

The Flower Challenge – Heat/Dry Embossing

Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

Twofer Card Challenge #30 – Sun/Moon

Hello … bonjour!  We have a squeaky clean new challenge for you at Twofer that’s just started … this month we’re asking you to be creative with …

I chose to use a happy, fun, sun image on my cards … one from Simon Says Stamp …

My first card features a central, big bold sentiment where the sun takes the place of the dot above the i … a simple way to say a happy hello.  On the birthday card, my design takes up diagonally opposite corners, with the sun shining down onto an oversized corner rainbow.  How about a look at each one individually …

I created the shimmery sunshine goodness in the background by ombré sponging Distress Inks directly onto the card base … and spraying it liberally with shimmer spritz.  The front white panel was cut with a Winnie & Walter (sadly NLIB) bold sentiment … and I stamped the sun (and his chatty looking face) over the dot on the i.  The panel was popped up on craft foam onto the base, the centre of the sun was popped up again over that … and the supplementary sunshine sentiment (from Avery Elle) was slotted snuggly into the word aperture.  I finished off with a coat of Glossy Accents on the centre of the sun.

I don’t have a rainbow die, so cut this one using a curved Simon Says Stamp die and lots of coloured card scraps … added them to a breezy embossed background panel (thanks, Judith!) … and adhered the panel flat to the card base.  The white embossed sentiment is from MFT.  I ombré stamped and trimmed out the sunshine … and popped him up in the swirly sky.  He found himself dazzled by all the colours in the rainbow, so needed his shiny (Glossy Accented) shades … they suit don’t they!

How about joining us with a favourite sun/moon image of your own?  Just use the same stamps, dies and/or stencils for your two distinctly different designs, for two different occasions … we’d love to see you (and them) in our gallery!  Details about how to play, including the rules and FAQs, are over at the Twofer blog … along with heaps of celestial inspiration from the DT!  We’re delighted to have two super talented Guest Designers joining us this month … Mac from The Sweetest of Peas … and Linda from Scrappin, Stampin & Singin … welcome ladies!  Do go over and have a visit with both these super talented crafters … you’ll be so inspired … and you can always say hello while you’re there!

My sunny hi is joining in at …

Inkspirational – Face

Just Us Girls – Die Cut A Window (mine’s shaped like a hi!)

Krafty Chicks – Stamp Act

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Use Your Favourite Tool (Misti/Cuttlebug)

Watercooler Wednesday – Anything Goes With A Feminine Twist

… and my sunny rainbow scene is heading to …

Bastel-traum – Anything Goes

Seize The Birthday – Anything Goes (No Tic Tac Toe Topping)

Simon Says Stamp Monday – Happy Birthday (Congratulations to the team on their 10th!)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Use Your Favourite Tool (Misti/Cuttlebug)

Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

           

     

           

Twofer Challenge #28 – Circles/Bubbles

Hello … bonjour!  It’s the 10th of the month … and that means it’s time for a brand new challenge at Twofer … this time around, we’re inviting you to play with …

My common images here are a couple of circle stamps from Simon Says Stamp‘s Lots of Dots set.  On my hello card, they were joined by a whole load of other sized circles from the same set … stamped randomly to create a lower third border that’s kind of bubbly.  The second card (heureux anniversaire … happy birthday in French) features the circles stamped in a geometric pattern on a central panel.  How about a closer look at each one …

I drew faint pencil lines to act as a general guide for my individually stamped overlapping line art circles … and erased them once the stamping was done.  The secondary sentiment (WPlus9) was white heat embossed onto a slender strip of black card that was adhered flat over the bubbly background.  I cut the hello (SSS) from a left over piece of watercolour paper that had been rainbow coloured for a different project, stacked it up on another four die cuts and adhered it over the black strip.  Crisp and CAS with a pop of colour!

My second card features just two of the circles …

… stamped one inside the other to create a cool pattern.  They were watercoloured with CP inks using a subtle, masculine colour palette.  I added a couple of twine tied Simply Graphic leafy sprigs (adhered just where they intersected to allow them to drift free), stamped the sentiment which translates as Happy Birthday (also Simply Graphic) and popped the panel up onto an Oyster Grey card base.

How about joining us with your two distinctly different takes on circles/bubbles … we’d love to see what you create in our gallery!  Details of how to play along, including rules and FAQs are over at the Twofer blog … along with plenty of delicious inspiration from the DT and from our fabulous Guest Designers, Jenny from My Paper Epiphany and Linda from Lin’s Craft Corner.  Do go and check out Jenny’s and Linda’s twofers … they’re brilliant!   You can enjoy a wander around their blogs while you’re there … and maybe say hello too … they’ll be delighted to hear from you!

My first card is saying hello at …

Day Of The Month Club – Repeat Day

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Krafty Chicks – Stamp Act

… the second is heading to …

Seize The Birthday – Anything Goes (no Summer topping)

Simon Says Stamp Monday – It’s A Man Thing

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Masculine

… and my twofer is also joining in at …

Vesela Hiška (Happy House) – Dvojni Izziv (A Double Challenge) … a fun idea adopting the same principles as Twofer (two different designs, two different occasions, using the same stamp, die or stencil) … thank you ladies!

Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

     

    

          

Twofer Card Challenge #27 – Flowers

Hello … bonjour!  It’s the 10th of the month … and that means we have a lovely new challenge for you at Twofer!  This month we’re inviting you to enjoy a little arranging with …

I chose a fresh, stylised bloom from Papertrey (Daydreamer) as my common image … it appears solo on the lower right side of my CAS birthday card … and on my just for you card, the garden includes the same flower, blossoming among plenty of others growing up across the whole card front.  Here’s a closer look at each one …

    

Here, the Uniko stripes were stamped off the edge of the card … and the simple sentiment (also from Uniko) was white heat embossed onto a black strip, which was popped up along the base of the stripes.  I stamped the flower head, stem and leaf clusters onto some pre-prepared die cuts (received from Barb G … thanks, my friend!) … and mounted them on foam dots against the stripes.

My garden of blooms is a little less CAS …

The grass, stems and leaves were stamped directly onto the card base … with the flower heads stamped onto more pre-prepared die cuts.  The flowers were adhered onto foam tape over the stems … and I added the Hero Arts sentiment to finish off.

There were a few more die cuts left over when my Twofers were finished … so I made a third card to share with you.  Some of the flowers are different and the colours are rather more bold … but the design is the same as the garden one above …

How would you like to join us with your two distinctly different takes on flowers … we’d love to see what you create in our gallery!  All the details about how to play along, including rules and FAQs are over at the Twofer blog … together with heaps of brilliant inspiration from the DT and from our Guest Designer, Cindy from Stamps, Paper and Ink.  If you don’t know Cindy’s work, do go over and enjoy a gentle meander through her blog … you’ll be so glad you did!  Even if you’ve already been introduced, why not pop along anyway and see her splendid Twofers … and you can always say hello while you’re there!

My single bloom is heading to …

Addicted To CAS – Flower

CAS On Friday – Use Your Favourite Flower Stamp

NBUS – Anything Goes (as long as it’s NBUS) … those stripes, recently won

Seize The Birthday – Anything Goes … no topping

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Use Dies and/or Punches

… and the garden is going to be growing in the galleries at …

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Krafty Chicks – Stamp Act

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Use Dies and/or Punches

Watercooler Wednesday – Anything Goes With A Feminine Twist

I hope and pray that you are continuing to stay safe and well out there … and that you’re finding wonderful, creative ways to occupy those hands, hearts and minds!  Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

           

           

     

Turnabouts Times Two

Hello … bonjour!  Calling in today with a couple of cards made with different Concord & 9th Turnabouts … they’re going to be joining in at some of the fun challenges going on across blogland at the moment.   One’s masculine, one’s feminine … and then there are two extra ones at the end.  Here’s the first …

A one layer graphic card … simply stamped with Concord & 9th‘s Semicircle Turnabout … with a platinum heat embossed sentiment from Winnie & Walter (sadly NLIB).  One semicircle on each line had Glossy Accents layered over the top to add shine and dimension … tricky to photograph though you can probably make out those on the first two rows.  Cool and masculine I think!

This is heading to …

MFT Birthday Project – Circles

MFT Color – White, Sno Cone, Blue Raspberry, Orange Zest (my closest colours)

NBUS – Anything Goes (as long as it’s NBUS) … Missed Darnell‘s return last month so am happy to join in now with this Semicircle Turnabout (first use, though it’s been living here for a while!).

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Anything Goes

The Male Room – Sentiment in Focus

 

         

The next card is softer and feminine … maybe it’s the colours …

Here I used Concord & 9th‘s Bitty Burst … and added a stacked, shimmered, Glossy Accented, die cut sentiment from Simon … with a white heat embossed supplementary label popped up underneath the ‘smile’.  The panel was trimmed and adhered to a 10.5cm (roughly 4.25 inches) square card … which, most unusually for me isn’t white … I’m expanding my horizons!!

This little pretty is playing along at …

Krafty Chicks – Anything Goes

MFT Birthday Project – Circles

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Anything Goes

The Paper Players – Make You Smile

     

    

The change in colour palette and sentiment style gives this Bitty Burst Turnabout a different look.  Here are those extra cards I mentioned earlier … a variation on a theme, though just as much fun with that all that scattered confetti … and deliciously easy to make for quick hello’s.

    

I hope and pray that you are continuing to stay safe and well out there … and that you’re finding fun, happy, joyful things to do to occupy those hands, hearts and minds.  Keep smiling!  Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

Some Spring Flowers

Hello … bonjour!  First today, I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who left such lovely comments following my final Time Out Design Team cards/post … they were soooo appreciated … you warmed my heart and had me smiling all over my face … merci mille fois 🙂 .  In answer to a question that came up a few times … yes, I’ll definitely still be making cards … and will still be around in blogland … just not at Time Out (except as a player that is!).  So, onto a couple of cards (which is why you’re here!) … they both feature sunny spring flowers … and will be going into the galleries of various fun challenges that are going on at the moment.  Here’s the first …

… a simple stamp-layered, colourful, one layer card using an older image from Concord & 9th (Flourish) … and a sentiment from Simon.  This clean, whimsical, bright card is heading to …

Addicted To Stamps And More – Anything Goes

Krafty Chicks – All Occasions … where the lovely Bobby is GD this month

Seize The Birthday – Anything Goes … no Food/Drink option

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Flower Power

The Card Concept – Hello Spring Inspiration (below) … style is CAS/One Layer

     

            

My second card is more layered … though it is still clean …

All the images and the sentiment here are from Papertrey (One Big Happy and Birthday Cheer).  The Happy Birthday was heat embossed in platinum onto a panel of white card … and popped up onto the base.  The stamped and die cut flowers and leaves were then arranged above and below the edges of the panel, some flat to the base, others popped up on different layers of foam tape.  This card is going to be playing along at …

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Ink To Paper Project Reach Out – Flower Cards

Just Us Girls – Photo Inspiration (below)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Flower Power

 

           

I hope and pray that you’re all continuing to stay safe and well out there … keep crafting and keep smiling!  Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!   Anita 🙂