52CCT October 2020 Technique Challenge

Hello everyone, here we are at the end of October already. Only 2 months until Christmas – WOW! Well actually only 6 weeks until I have to get my letters and cards in the post. Yes I still send quite a few cards each year, actually I send cards out quite regularly during the year.

This being the 4th week of October means that we could have had a Technique or Stash challenge. And this time we have a Technique to play along with and that technique is …

I must admit that I don’t do a lot of different types of folds on my cards because they can cost more to post but I can use this card for someone that I will give personally.

From the it looks quite normal but then …

This is called a Double Z Fold and I do like making them this way because they give a good sized writing area for a message to the recipient. I didn’t do a lot of embellishment on this card because I wanted the fold to be the main event with this card. Just adding some Love From Lizi Gold Straight Stickers to give a bit more and to help the circle die cut be more at home on the card.

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my Design Team card for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge. Please let me know that you have stopped on by today, I appreciate it all. Before you depart my blog I would like to leave you with this last thought for this post.

Until my next post,
Be kind to Yourself and Others/=.
❤ Tracy

AHSC no.391

Hello everyone. I hope that you are all going well in these crazy times. To escape these crazy times at the moment I have been diving into my craft space more often because I find that being there helps me to forget about the world for a little while and anything that may be happening with my health. I find that when I am busy on a craft project then I don’t notice what is going wrong as much and this gives me some peace.

But anywho onto the reason you stopped by – my card design for Atlantic Heart Sketch Challenge. If you have been by my blog before you will know that I love playing with sketches and if you haven’t been here before well yes I do love them 😀

And this is the sketch that Michelle design for us and now you to have fun with. Since we are coming up to Christmas I decided to make a Christmas card with this design.

I decided to go quite simple this time around, I changed out the flowers for some berries which I die cut from some red cardstock and then put some Nuvo Clear Crystal Glaze over the top to give them a gloss. This was my first time using this product and I have to say that I am quite pleased with the outcome. This die set from Paper Rose of berries and leaves is becoming a favourite of mine as I use the berry die quite often as accents on cards so its a very versatile set.

Thanks for stopping by to look at my card design for the AHSC no.391. I hope that you will stop on by the other designers and give them some love on their blogs. I appreciate all the comments and likes on my posts. I hope that you will consider joining in on the fun with this sketch. Before you leave my blog I would love to leave you with this last thought for this post.

Be kind to yourself. Don’t talk down to you because you live with your thoughts all the time. YOU ARE AMAZING!

Until my next post,
Be Kind to Yourself and Others.
❤ Tracy

52CCT October 2020 Theme Challenge

Hello everyone, how has your October been? We are getting so close to the end of year now. It is interesting doing Christmas Challenges while thinking about our youngest graduating High School next month – OH Boy! How did we get here!! But it is the 3rd week in October and we have a challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge.

And this being the 3rd week of the month means that we get to work to a theme for our card makes and the theme is

Of course you can use this challenge in anyway – you can use a stamp to make a background or if you have a stencil that looks like a sweater pattern you could use this on your project or as in my case you can have a critter wear a sweater.

Isn’t he adorable? And yes I did use him in a previous card make but I just love him and his sweater can be coloured in so many different ways plus in this stamp set there is a 2nd sweater for this bear to wear so I can have lots of fun creating different feeling cards. I coloured his sweater in with my copic markers but the bear himself is coloured in with a combo of both markers and my Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils. The snowy background I printed and added extra details.

Thanks for stopping in and looking at my card for the 52CCT Design Team. I hope that you will stop by the other designers and see what they have been up to and then come and play along with our Theme challenge for this week. Before you leave my blog I would like to share this last thought for this post.

Something that I have become more aware of this year.

Until my next post,
Be Kind to Yourself and Others.
❤ Tracy

Stella Says Sketch no.816

Hello everyone, I was able to have some fun with some images that I actually won last Christmas from Meljen Digi Stamps. I am so happy with how this turned out. I wasn’t sure when I first started but I loved playing with Stella’s sketch.

This is the card that I came up with using this sketch. Stella Says Sketch #816.

These reindeers are just so adorable I wanted to make sure that I used them in a project this year. Then I also found this great paper that just bought everything together.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and looking at my card design. I am so happy with how this all came together and now I have another card to add to my collection for this year. Before you depart my blog I would like to leave you with this last thought for this post.

Until my next post,
Be Kind to Yourself and Others.
❤ Tracy

52CCT October 2020 Colour Challenge

Hello everyone, we are ever inching closer to Christmas. And with it being the 2nd week in October it is time for a colour challenge over at the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge. And the colours that we have to play with are

These are colours that I don’t usually put together but since I have had an opportunity to do so I think that this combo will be come a favourite of mine. Here is the card that I created using these colours.

I am quite happy with how this turned out. I had a couple of problems with my heat embossing but I still liked the background. Adding the Nuvo Crystal Drops to the background helped fill in some bare patches but it helped with bring home the colours of the challenge. The scalloped edge below the sentiment I made using a rectangle die that was a little wider than the sentiment strip and then I cut it down. I usually use scissors to cut these edges but lately I haven’t been able to do it straight to save myself. I am so glad that I figured out this work around I will be using it more often to save myself some hassle but also the wasting of paper because I didn’t cut it correct 🙂

Thanks for stopping by and looking at my card design for the 52CCT for the colour challenge. I hope that you will stop on by the other designers blog and give them a comment as well. I appreciate all the comments and likes on my posts. Before you leave though I would like to leave you with this last thought.

This is so true when you are living with a chronic illness. Each day is very precious, can be hard but rewarding.

Until my next post,
Be Kind to Yourself and Others.
❤ Tracy

MOJO no547

Hello everyone, October has begun and I am still making Christmas cards. So I was looking around for some inspiration to help me to continue to finish off a paper pad that I have been working my way through. Since I love sketches I decided to check out a favourite sketch challenge blog to see if the paper that I had left would work and yes it did 🙂

 

The paper at the top and bottom of the card is actually a smaller piece cut into two and I could do this because of the bigger panel in the middle. The green star paper was a panel that had been cut off from another project. So this was a card made from leftovers from other cards. The only new thing on this card is the image and that is a stamp that I have in my stash from quite a few years ago but it was freshly stamped for this card and coloured on the same day.

Thanks for stopping by and having a look at my card project. Please let me know in some way that you stopped on by, I really appreciate it. Before you depart my blog I want to leave you with this last thought for this post.

Doing anything that is good for my health at the moment. It’s been one of “those” kind of weeks.

Until my next post,
Be kind to Yourself and Others.
❤ Tracy

AHSC no.389

Hello everyone, I have been having some fun with colouring some images that I love using. The image that I used this time around is one of my favourites because the budgerigar is adorable and I have owned a couple of them.

This card first started off with a sketch that Michelle over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge sent to us to play along with.

The middle rectangle was the starting point for the image panel; it just happened to be sitting on my desk when I looked up this design team sketch to use. So I decided to make the sketch work for this particular image. The image is Waiter, There’s a Parakeet in My Teacup Digital Stamp Set.

Such a fun image to play with and it suits so many different occasions. This time around this image is staring on a card for some residents in care that are in lockdown at the moment. SO I just wanted to send them some cheer because its a pretty bleak time for a lot at the moment. I coloured in the image with my Copic markers, I am still learning how to manipulate them so at the moment I have a love hate relationship with them.

Thanks for stopping in and looking at my design team card for the sketch over at Atlantic Hearts Sketch Challenge. I hope that you will come on over to the blog and see what the other designers have been up to with this sketch. Before you go on over I would love to leave you with this last thought for this post.

My mind usually goes to what I have last been working on or into a book that I was last reading.

Until next time,
Be kind to Yourself and Others.
❤ Tracy

52CCT October 2020 Sketch

Hello everyone, can you believe that we are at the beginning of October. I must admit in some ways it feels like we got here quite quickly and in other ways it feels like its really dragged on. No wonder I am feeling so out of place at the moment. But I have been able to get into my craft space a little and while I was there I had fun creating the card for the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge. With it being the first week of the month it is sketch time and this is the sketch that I and now you get to create with.

As you can see this sketch is representing a square card but I don’t make many of these. So I changed it to being a Portrait A6 sized card.

I changed the elements but you can still see the essence of the sketch in my design. The sketch reminded me of this die that I have in my stash so I put some double sided adhesive on my cardstock before I ran it through my Gemini Jnr this made the sticking of it onto the purple mottled paper so much easier instead of trying to put glue on the little parts. I coloured in the Star with gold pen and the windows with a brown and yellow pen just so that they looked lit instead of being the same as the background.

I used a round die for the sentiment panel and inked around the edge with some Fired Brick Distress Ink just to help it gel with the layout a bit better. The star stickers are from my stash and they have been hanging out there for quite a few years it’s good to find a use for them. Once I put everything onto the main panel of the card it looked a little barren at the bottom so I added some red glitter stickers from Love From Lizi which helped finish the card off.

Thanks for stopping in and looking at my design team work for the 52CCT challenge. I hope that you will come and join in on the fun, we have different challenges each week so lots of variety. Before you depart my blog I would love to leave you with this final thought for this post.

If only people would realize this and stop competing against each other.

Until my next post,
Be You because no-one else can.
❤ Tracy

52CCT September Technique – Partial Stenciling

Hello everyone. Can you believe that we are at the end of September! I think that this year is both flying by and also going slower than a sloth. But any who onto the reason that you stopped by – my design team card. This time around we get to do some partial stenciling; I can hear you say what is that well below I have included a link to a Youtube video by Jennifer McGuire who explains.

And this is the card that I created after watching this video.

To make the star I got some copy paper and cut out the star with a die but kept the star for later use. I then temporarily adhered it to my main panel so that it wouldn’t move during the inking process. Next I chose a distress ink which was Mowed Lawn and used a Star stencil but I thought that it was a little sparse so then I chose a 2nd ink this time Wild Honey and a circle stencil.

When I took off the mask I didn’t like that the edges of the start weren’t really recognizable but this is where I used the star die cut and held it in place while sponging the edge with Black Soot Distress Ink. To finish off the card I used an Aussie Santa Die Cut from Paper Rose and a sentiment I’ve had for years. I am really pleased with how it all came together.

Thanks for stopping in and looking at my design team card for 52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge. I hope that you will pop on over to the blog and see what the other designers have been up to. Before you go over there though I would love to leave you with this last thought for this post.

Until my next post,
Be kind to Yourself and Others.
❤ Tracy

MOJO no.546

Hello everyone, I have been fortunate to be able to get into my craft space in the last couple of days which has been nice. I have been working through another paper pad that has been sitting in my stash for quite a number of years. This time around it is a Christmas paper pad called Christmas Carol by Kasiercraft.

As you may know if you have been to my blog before I love working with card sketches because I see them as maps on how to put a card together. I may not fully follow the sizes but you can always see the sketch was my starting point. This card was no different – I went to one of my favourite sketch sites intending on using a previous sketch but Julie had uploaded a new sketch so I have gone with that instead.

Using this sketch, Mojo Monday #546, as my starting point this is the Christmas card that I came up with.

The images Birgitta and Presents are 2 separate digi images from a company called All That Scraps but they are no longer in business but I still love these images. The presents digi I love using with images from lots of different companies because they can be used for lots of different occasions. To colour in these images I used my Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils, I am still getting used to using these pencils and I love using them.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and having a look at my card creation. I hope to put more posts up that are of my other crafting and not just my design team work. Before you depart from my blog I would like to leave you with this last thought for this post.

Until my next post,
Be kind to yourself and others.
❤ Tracy