Penguins and Snow Penguins

Today I have been colouring and die cutting penguins. I was probably inspired by being freezing cold all day yesterday. My birthday gift for the Culinary Consultant was a full day of ski school at the Snow Zone in Milton Keynes. So I spent a lot of the day in the very cold cafe at said Snow Zone watching him do really well. I also took a walk across the street to the giant shopping centre, but I realised I really suck at the whole shopping thing as I didn't buy a thing. Apart from a Krispy Kreme. Ok, that's a lie, as I bought two Krispy Kremes. Then I went back to the ice cold cafe to watch the skiing and spent a small fortune online-shopping for crafting stash. Looks I'm good at shopping, as long as it's the right kind of shopping.

Today's card was inspired by the image over at The Challenge, the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and I'm also linking up over at Crimbo Crackers where the theme is Snowmen, although I'm assuming a snowpenguin fits the bill also.

Card: 300 gsm white card, dark blue Vanguard card, scraps of burgundy card, Neenah Solar white card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Toboggan Together, Snow Cool and matching dies, Winter Unicorn 

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark, Copics

Dies: Lawn Fawn Scripty Merry, Stitched Hillside Borders, Snowy Backdrop 

Other: Papermania Seafoam White

Coffee and Donuts

I'm back to celebrate the wonder of coffee and this time I'm celebrating the sweet union of coffee and donuts. Every time I look at the STAMPlorations Sugar Rush stamp set I get such a craving for donuts. I love the "Drink Coffee, Read Books, Be Happy" sentiment from the fantastic Literary Caffeine-ations by the funny and talented Becca Cruger but I thought she had left out a very critical bit about eating donuts, so I decided to add that little bit to make the sentiment complete. 

I started by stamping the coffee mug from Coffee Happy, and after masking the mug I stamped the coffee pot and then the donuts onto a white card base that I had die cut using the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting dies. I stamped the sentiment and die cut the happy using CUTplorations Happy Word die twice, once using black card and once using patterned paper from Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall paper. I coloured the images using Copics inspired by the colours from the patterned paper. Last, I inked around the edges of the die cut panel using Tim Holtz Vintage Photo Distress Ink and attached the stamped panel onto Early Espresso card.

I'm linking up over at the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop for one last time, it's been such a blast as usual and the inspiration from all you fellow crafters has been so amazing. I'm also linking up over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenges Anything Goes and AAA Card Challenges where the theme is masking. 

Card: Neenah Solar white card, Stampin' Up Early Espresso, scrap of black card

Stamps: STAMPlorations Sugar Rush, Coffee Happy, Literary Caffeine-ations 

Ink and Colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Vintage Photo, Copics

Dies: CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting dies

Other: Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall paper

All I Want For Christmas...

I'm still not really getting into this whole annual leave thing, all I'm doing is stressing over work I should have done before going on leave and stressing about the leave coming to an end. Today I have tried to distract myself from all the destructive thoughts by cleaning the house and trying to be a bit creative. I'm continuing to work on my Christmas card stash, this time using the super cute Winter Unicorn stamp set. I guess it's not a surprise that I can't resist anything unicorn related. 

I was inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch as well as the Geometrical shapes theme over at Lawnscaping. I thought all the square frames would fit the theme quite well. I'm also linking up over at CASology where the theme is Cute and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes.

Card: 300 gsm white card, Neenah Solar white card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Winter Unicorn and matching dies
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics
Paper: Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Christmas
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Square Frames

Merry Christmas to a Deer Friend

This whole annual leave thing is good for my crafting but not so good for my diet. It's very hard to keep away from the chocolate biscuits is all I'm saying... But I love that I have time to be creative! Today I decided to use the new (to me) Toboggan Together stamp set. I was inspired by the image over at Merry Monday as well as the Geometric shapes over at Lawnscaping (circles for the snowflakes and the lines on both of the patterned papers. Lines are geographical shapes. I'm sure we had to learn to draw parallel lines in geometry). I'm also linking up with ABC Christmas Challenges where the theme is Sew What (real or faux stitching) and Sweet Stampin' Christmas where the theme is Christmas Die Cuts.

Last year I had all my Christmas cards made well in advance as I was on the DT for a Christmas card challenge. This year I can't say I'm quite as well prepared, but luckily there is still plenty of time. And I actually made enough cards last year to have quite a bit left over so I should be fine. But I love creating with the cute Lawn Fawn critters, so there will probably still be more to come. 

For this card I started by creating the snowy sky by stamping the snowfall from Snow Cool and heat embossing in clear powder. Then I inked using a light and bright pink distress ink. Next, I die cut the trees and snowy hills. I also stamped the cute reindeer and coloured them with Copics, adding some accents with my white Gel pen. Last, I arranged the scene and added a pink frame and the scalloped background paper. 

Card: 300 gsm white card, scrap of pink and grey card, Hobbycraft 160gsm white card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Toboggan Together and matching dies, Snow Cool
Dies: Lawn Fawn Scalloped Rectangles, Stitched Rectangle Frame, Forest Border, Stitched Hillside Border, Scripty Merry
Ink and Colouring: Memento Tuxedo Black ink, Copics, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, Stampin' Up Basic Grey, white gel pen
Paper: Stampin' Up Brights Designer Series Paper, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Winter
Other: Ranger clear fine embossing powder

Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice

Pumpkins aren't really a big thing for me, and neither is pumpkin spice. It's clearly an American thing. I can't say I really care for a Pumpkin Spice Latte. Or pumpkin pie for that matter. But when I saw the gorgeous free digi-stamp over at STAMPlorations I knew I had to play along with the pumpkin theme for a day, perfect for the ongoing Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop! I can't believe all the gorgeous fall coffee cards. And there is extra prizes to win on the STAMPlorations Fall Coffee Blog Hop page as well!! Which is were you can pick up the free digi if you get inspired to create a card. 

I was also inspired by the image over at Just Us Girls, the colours over at Color Throwdown and the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches for my card. I printed the digi stamp on watercolour paper and coloured with Tim Holtz Distress markers and a waterbrush. I used Lawn Fawn patterned paper for the background and printed the sentiment onto orange card which I then die cut with a Lawn Fawn banner die. The font is a free one called Vintage Typewriter which I really love!

Card: White 200 gsm card, 300 gsm Daler&Rowney Aquafine watercolour paper, scrap of orange paper

Stamps: STAMPlorations A Pumpkin and 3 Lattes, Coffee Happy

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord, Ground Espresso

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Dark, Perfectly Plaid Fall

Other: Lawn Fawn Everyday Sentiment Banner

Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

I'm so excited to be part of the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. I mean, who doesn't love a huge cup of the elixir of life? I have tried to cut down on my caffeine consumption due to health reasons, but it only makes every cup I can have an even bigger enjoyment. I used to just drink coffee while doing other things, but now I enjoy my Sunday morning treat while focusing on nothing but the coffee, maybe sitting in our lovely conservatory, looking out the window at the garden and fields beyond. 

Did you get a craving for coffee? How about pouring yourself a big mug and then join us over at STAMPlorations for the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. Not only are there fabulous STAMPlorations prizes to win in the actual blog hop, but Shery also has some extra prizes for you over at STAMPlorations so come and join us!! And if you feel like doing a bit of shopping, you can find all STAMPlorations coffee related projects here.

I'm also very excited to get this chance to show you a few new coffee related crafty goodies from STAMPlorations. For my first card I used stamps from the new Anywhere There's Coffee stamp set and the matching die for the big coffee mug. I also used the new CUTplorations Oh Frap phrase die. I cut both panels for the card using the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting dies and inked Distress Ink through the ARTplorations Art Splatters stencil which made me think of spilled coffee. I stamped the big coffee mug and stamped some of the funny little phrases onto it before colouring using Copics. I used Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall paper for the background and the sentiment. 

For my second card, I started by stamping several phrases from the new STAMPlorations Anywhere There's Coffee in Versamark and heat embossing in clear powder. Then I inked the background using Tim Holtz Distress Inks in fall colours and splattered some water on the background to create a distressed look. For the main panel I stamped the new Framed Coffee To Go in Versamark on white card and heat embossed in copper before colouring the takeaway mug using Copics. I attached the panel using foam tape on the card base. 

Card: 300 gsm white card, Neenah Solar white card
Stamps: STAMPlorations Anywhere There's Coffee and matching die, Framed Coffee To Go
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tsukineko Versamark, Tim Holtz Distress Inks Vintage Photo, Ground Espresso, Fossilised Amber, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Copics YG11, YG13, YG15, YR00, YR02, YR04, YR07
Dies: CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting dies, Oh Frap phrase die
Other: ARTplorations Art Splatters stencil, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall patterned paper, Ranger fine clear embossing powder, Papermania Copper embossing powder

Christmas Wreaths

I had some happy mail recently as I decided to stock up on new Christmas card stash. Can't use the same stamps two years in a row after all... I mean, we all craft so we can save money compared to buying ready made cards, right? I did the math at some point based on the money I've spent on crafty stash (this is why you shouldn't have an app to track all your spending as it will allow analysis like this) and I think after dividing the money I've spent by the approximate number of cards I've made, I think it came out at over £30 per card. So a clear saving compared to buying ready made cards, right? That just made me laugh. And cry... I should probably also disclose that in addition to writing this blog post I have another tab open on my browser where I'm shopping for more stamps. I know, I know, I have a problem but I bet I'm not the only one.

Anyhow, on to today's card, which became multiple cards as I had so much fun. I was inspired by the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch. I started by stamping and heat embossed the wreath from STAMPlorations Joyful and colouring it with Gansai Tambi watercolours. Last, I used the Merry Christmas phrase die to die cut the sentiment from a scrap of red. I'm also linking up the card over Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge where the theme is "Inspired by music". I was inspired by the Taylor Swift song Christmas Must Be Something More (one of the lines is about hanging a wreath on your door). I'm also linking up with Sweet Stampin' Christmas where the theme is Christmas die cuts.

This was a really quick card to create, so I made a few other variations of it, as you can never have too many Christmas cards. I particularly like the one one red card with the gold die cut.

Card: 200 gsm white card, Stampin' Up Real Red card, gold mirri card
Stamps: STAMPlorations Joyful
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Gansai Tambi watercolours
Other: CUTplorations Merry Christmas phrase die

September STAMPlorations CAS challenge - Mid-month inspiration

Welcome to mid-September and our mid-month inspiration post to remind you that there is still time to participate in this month's STAMPlorations CAS challenge. Our optional colour twist this month is pink. Hop over to STAMPlorations to see all the gorgeous projects from the rest of the DT. As usual they have created absolutely stunning cards! 

I decided to go for a super CAS card using some of the new STAMPlorations dies. I started by die cutting a rectangle using the Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting dies from linen textured white card. Then I die cut the main word for the sentiment using the Amazing Word die and stamped the start of the sentiment using a stamp from Bold Sentiments Hashtag Authentic. To highlight the die cut word I used a scrap piece of rainbow coloured card I created using Tim Holtz Distress Paints. Last, I added some adhesive gems for a bit of bling. I have to say I really love that rainbow colour coming through the die cut against all the white.

I'm linking up my card over at The Card Concept and Happy Little Stampers where Anything Goes with die cuts. 

Card: 300 gsm linen textured card
Stamps: STAMPlorations Bold Sentiments Hashtag Authentic 
Ink: Stampin' Up Regal Rose, Tim Holtz Distress Paints 
Dies: CUTplorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Rectangle Nesting dies, Amazing Word die
Other: Adhesive Rhinestones from my stash

You're Smokin'

As it's pouring with rain outside and the leaves are falling off the trees it's time to think back to summer and all the lovely BBQs we had. This year, in addition to the regular burgers and sausages we tried some new things, including BBQ pizza which was a big success. It was particularly fun to do when my BFF and her other half were visiting as everyone had something to do - one person rolled out the dough, another one did the actual BBQing and then everyone got to pick their favourite toppings to go on their own pizza. We perfected a technique that seemed to work for us. BBQ the pizza crust on one side, flip so that the cooked side is up, put tomato sauce and toppings on this side and then place back in the BBQ for a few minutes to cook from the bottom and get some melty gooey cheese. Definitely going on the list of things to BBQ next year as well!

Inspired by the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches I decided to make a card for the BBQ master of our house aka the Culinary Consultant. He has patiently been turning those sausages all summer long. I coloured the images using Copics in colours to match the background paper. I'm also linking up with the Stamp It theme over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge and Just Add Ink where the challenge is Just Add "P" (P for plaid or patterned paper).

Card: 300 gsm hammered white card, 160 gsm Hobbycraft white card, scrap of orange card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Let's BBQ and matching dies
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black and Copics
Other: Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Fall paper, Stitched Rectangles and Everyday Sentiment Banner dies

Welcome Babysaurus!

What a week it has been! I have been going a bit stir crazy as I have been working from home for the last three days. Being the antisocial Finn I am I thought it wouldn't be a problem at all, but I have to admit as soon as the Culinary Consultant has come in through the door in the evening I have had a 20 minute bout of verbal diarrhoea. I'm hoping to go and pick up my new car tomorrow, and my old car is fixed enough to make it safe to drive, so either way I can get to work next week. I feel a bit sad giving up my old car, it's been such a good car, I really love it but it's also been a bit of a money pit. Hoping to have better luck with the new one, although as the Culinary Consultant always says, there is no such thing as a cheap car.

Anyhow luckily I have also been able to do a bit of crafting, playing with some of my new Lawn Fawn goodies like the Snowy Backdrop die which I actually used as a night sky instead this time. I can't take full credit for the idea for this card as it was a request from my Sis and she also came up with the sentiment. I was inspired by the colours over at Colour Q and the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch. I'm also linking up with Daring Cardmakers where the theme is to be inspired by the song "What a wonderful world" and I was inspired by the "dark sacred night" as well as watching babies grow. Last but not least I'm linking up with both Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where the theme is Stamp It in celebration of STAMPtember. 

Card: 300 gsm hammered white card, 160 gsm Hobbycraft white card, scraps of dark blue, yellow and red card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past and matching dies, Critters Down Under, Claire's ABCs
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics, Signo white gel pen
Other: Lawn Fawn Snowy Backdrop, Stitched Circle and Everyday Sentiment Banners dies

Snow Cool Penguins

It's been a good week with a lot of my backorder Lawn Fawn stash arriving. Don't we all love a good happy mail from time to time. I had so much fun playing with the cute penguins from Lawn Fawn's Snow Cool stamp set which I used for the first time. I also thought the penguins would mix perfectly with the skating penguin from the Winter Penguin set. The snowy background stamp just calls for a wintery scene complete with some trees in the background and some snowy stitched hills completing the scene. I also couldn't resist creating a frame using the Perfectly Plaid Christmas paper set, another new and unused set. I think my Christmas cards will definitely have a penguin theme this year, they are too adorable in their hats and ear muffs. 

I am linking up with the new challenge over at Lawnscaping where the theme is to add texture. I have added lots of stitching, the heat embossing for the snow and the linen textured background card as well. I'm also linking up with the new challenge over at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where the theme is Stamp It. I'm also linking up with Darnell's 7th NBUS challenge which sadly ends today, but looking at the gallery over there at least a lot of NBUS in craft rooms across the world has now gone to being ex-NBUS. Last but not least I'm linking up with Crimbo Crackers where Anything Goes.

Card: 300 gsm linen textured card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Snow Cool, Winter Penguin and matching dies
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Inks Pine Needles, Chipped Sapphire, Blueprint Sketch, Broken China, Copics 
Dies: Lawn Fawn Forest Border, Stitched Hillside Borders, Stitched Rectangle Frames, Scalloped Rectangles
Other: Ranger clear embossing powder, Lawn Fawn Perfectly Plaid Christmas

Unicorn on Clouds at Sunset

Wow, the last few days have been quite a roller coaster ride. If you saw my post yesterday you will know my car had a very severe and pretty much fatal breakdown on Friday. Living far beyond any civilisation, not to mention public transport I could not just stick my head in the sand and ignore the issue as I have to get to work somehow. To make a very long and emotional story short, I have today bought a new (well, used but new to me) car which I should hopefully be able to pick up on Saturday next week. I'll introduce you to Fernando when he arrives home. Apart from what will be a very inconvenient week of car-pooling with the other half, and of course not having any money to spend on things like crafty stash for at least the next year (or four...) things should hopefully slowly return to normal again here in InvisiblePinkWorld. Thanks for all your commiserations, I appreciate it a lot. And then on to more crafty and interesting things!

Apologies for a second unicorn card right after yesterday's rainbow unicorn but I just can't resist this adorable little darling. Today's card was inspired by the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches and the colours at ColourQ. I'm also linking up with Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge where the theme is "It's A Stitch Up" (my second entry) and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where anything goes (my third entry).

I started by blending Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry Distress ink for the background and then spritzed with a very fine mist of water. I then die cut the clouds and stamped and coloured the unicorn in orange and pink. After adhering everything I stamped a custom sentiment using Clare's ABCs and to finish I added some Ice Stickles and adhesive rhinestones. 

Card: 300 gsm linen textured card, 160 gsm Hobbycraft white card, Neenah Solar white card, Dovecraft 110 gsm premium vellum 
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Winter Unicorn and matching dies, Clare's ABCs
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Copics
Dies: Lawn Fawn Spring Showers, Puffy Cloud Border, Stitched Rectangle
Other: Adhesive rhinestones from my stash, Ranger Ice Stickles

Rainbow Unicorn

My car broke down on me. Now I'm panicking, trying to make a decision whether it's worth throwing a lot of money on trying to resurrect the poor thing knowing it will need more major surgery later or whether I should just give up and spend even more money (which I don't have) on getting a new car. Which would involve having to decide on what car I want, and that's way too overwhelming. It gives me a headache and I feel like I just want to hide under my covers and wish someone could pick out a cheap and good car for me. So instead I did what any sensible person would do - I shut myself in the craft room with my wonderful new Lawn Fawn stuff and forgot all about cars. 

I could not wait to get to play with the super-uber cute new Winter Unicorn stamp. Expect a number of unicorn cards in the near future, that's all I'm saying. That's how much I loooove it!! I was inspired by the great sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch as well as the colours over at Color Throwdown. I'm also almost too late for the party, but I finally get to link up to the seventh NBUS challenge over at the Playhouse of the wonderful Darnell as I used the Winter Unicorn, Big Scripty Words die (which I have already had for at least a month and it still hasn't made it out of the original packaging until now) and the Perfectly Plaid Winter paper pack for the first time. Last, but not least I'm linking up with Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge where this week It's a Stitch Up and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where Anything Goes (my second entry).

Card: 300 gms linen textured white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card, Dovecraft 110 gsm premium vellum

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Winter Unicorn and matching die

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics

Dies: Lawn Fawn Puffy Cloud Border, Spring Showers, Rainbow, Everyday Sentiment Banners, Stitched Rectangle, Big Scripty Words

Paper: Lawn Fawn Let's Polka, Let's Polka in the Meadow, Perfectly Plaid Winter

September STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - Anything Goes with Pink

Welcome to a new month and a new CAS challenge over at STAMPlorations. How crazy is it that it's already September, the seasons have once again turned from that blissful summer to the long dark season. It's bye bye lovely holidays and long light days, welcome crisp weather and hopefully lots of apples and pears on the trees. 

Our CAS challenge runs with all the same rules you are probably already used to. You can use our optional colour twist which this month is pink, or you can choose not to. You can use any products you wish, but we love to see your STAMPlorations products if you have any. The winner of the $10 gift card to the STAMPlorations shop is randomly chosen, and the DT will also vote for our top picks. Just remember that we ask you to display the challenge badge to be eligible for the prize. 

For my card, I wanted to play with the lovely Framed Zinnia stamp I received quite recently. I started by stamping it onto watercolour paper and then heat embossed in clear powder. Next, I coloured the image with Distress markers, blending with a watercolour brush as I went along. I fussy cut the image. For the background, I started by inking Squeezed Lemonade and Twisted Citron ink through the Shutters ARTplorations stencil. I then added some grungy stamps from Art Marks and adhered the zinnia image. I also stamped the "Be" sentiment from Bold Sentiments Hashtag Authentic onto one of the flower petals.  Last, I die cut the Happy sentiment in pink and green, attached them to the card and added Crystal Effects to give that glossy surface.

I'm linking up with the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - ATG
Craft Rocket Challenges - ATG 
Addicted to Stamps and More - CAS
Tuesday Throwdown - CAS

Card: 300 gsm linen textured white card, 300 gsm watercolour paper, scraps of pink and lime card
Ink: Tsukineko Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Ink Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Picked Raspberry, Squeezed Lemonade, Mowed Lawn, Twisted Citron, Aged Mahogany
Stamps: STAMPlorations Framed Zinnia, Art Marks, Bold Sentiments Hashtag Authentic
Other: ARTplorations Shutters stencil, CUTplorations Happy Word Die, Stampin' Up Crystal Effects, Ranger ultra fine clear embossing powder