Gingerbread Men

well it has to be at Christmas doesn't it. More cards from card classes over the last few weeks starting with the Gingerbread tag

Cute little guy is from a recent free stamp set on Creative Stamping. Easy to colour and cut out. Just what I like.
Next it's the Snowman in a Jar

Once again easy to do and great for the kids.
Number three is the Christmas Geese

Now this one is great to make in bulk for friends. Quick to colour and so easy to make. 
There are still loads more to come so keep checking back if you want more inspiration. xx

Seaside

This layout was done in a class a few months ago and it's taken me this long to find it again. I was, and still am, in love with everything sun, sea and sand. I have loads of dies, stamps and stencils which I use to make bright and breezy layouts however with this black and white photo of my mum and her sister and brother I thought I needed to tone it down a bit.

The two sea horses were stencilled onto black card and cut out. By turning one over I was able to add my journalling to the reverse.

I added hand drawn bubbles and a swirl stencil to create the background.

I used Distress Oxide Inks through seashell and starfish stencils to complete the look.

I love the Oxide colours but to make them brighter I spritzed with a fine mist of water to make them pop. xx

Oooh More Christmas Cards

and all still so easy to make. Here's the first one which everyone really loved because it's the sort of card you can make using any Christmas stamp old or new 

 This has been made using another of the Penny Black Bears.

Next something contemporary using stamps I bought earlier in the year.

and how was the background made you ask. Distress Oxides of course. Just can't stop using them lol.

Last card for today and this time a bit of traditional red and green

Hope you're finding these useful. Many more to come so keep checking back xx

A Mixture

I listened to the he ladies in class last year and notice that although they liked the Christmas cards they made, by far the most popular were the simple, flat cards. Easy and cheaper to post and cards which could be easily made in bulk. This year I have made many simple cards for them to make. I'll save the larger cards for the last class.

Here are a couple to start the ball rolling

Love these Penny Black Polar Bears. They as so easy to use and need very little colouring in.

Then there was the little fairy just for the little princess in your life, or for someone who likes pink, or a fairy lover or..... well you get the idea/

Love the cloth tag detail on the top right of the card.

and lastly for today I had to use my Distress Oxides and new Tim Holtz Tree Die, well it would be rude not to.

I hope these three have given you some inspiration because there are still loads more to come xx

Love That Smile

Normally when I am asked to do a male layout I head for the deep blues and greys but I decided this month brighter is better and this was the result.

The beauty of this one is that you can use it for anything.....a celebration maybe or just for a favourite photo.
The star banner was first cut with scissors from the bottom of a sheet of paper

and then detail cut with a sharp knife.

The tags were added behind the photo to allow for hidden journaling.

The little red hearts made up the rest of the detail made by drawing around a stencil. Hope you like it xx

The Great Outdoors

I'm back again, well behind as usual but with so much to share. This is a recent layout from class, the idea taken from a beautiful layout I spotted on Pinterest and just adapted to suit the style I wanted.

The fantastic colours of the new Distress Oxides made this layout and everyone really enjoyed the stamping and colouring.

The letters were also coloured using the ink pads as were the butterflies and the simple white paper flowers finished the circle nicely.

I did try using white cardstock for the journaling however the black worked much better and helped tone down the busy background.

In this next picture you can see where I dropped one of the inked stamps which is where I positioned the white flowers. Just to show how accidents don't have to spoil the final effect.

The stamping in the middle was done using the largest stamps first and then gradually filling in the gaps with the flowers getting smaller and smaller.

Layout two coming soon. Please leave a comment if you have the time. It's nice to know there is someone out there watching xxx