Phoenix Inspirations

I've been a bit quiet lately as I've had my daughter staying with me. She's a teacher so she's enjoying six week off at the moment so I've managed to see her quite a lot. Today's card uses a retired set, one I'm very reluctant to part with - By the Tide. Stampin' Up have loads of lovely stuff in their catalogue - you just have to click on the link in my side bar to peruse all the loveliness! Here is my card My circle was die cut on my Big Shot and the white coral was heat embossed with white embossing powder. Soft Sky and Tranquil Tide ink was sponged over to make the coral stand out. The lobster and shell were also heat embossed in white and sponged with Tranquil Tide before being cut out and attached with Dimensionals. This card is being entered in to two challenges Freshly Made Sketches The Joy Of Sets Hope everyone is enjoying the Bank Holiday weekend - I have to work so please send me lots of sympathy please!! ...

I have been working hard this last week but I shall be rewarded with four days off from tomorrow - yay!!! Today's card if the challenge over in The Male Room Here is my card This still remains one of my favourite Stampin' Up sets - By the Tide and is great for male themed cards. The background is Lost Lagoon card stock and it's stamped with matching ink with over stamping of white craft ink. My many legged lobster has been heat embossed with white embossing powder. Thanks for stopping by today - see you soon xx

Yay - the day has arrived. It's the very first challenge over on my new challenge blog Sassy Sketcharinos Here is your first sketch And here is my card This is such a versatile layout and I've come over all manly for this and used By The Tide and Traveler stamp sets. Two colours were used: Pool Party and Chocolate Chip. It would be great to see you over there taking part and please do pop over to take a look at the other fab dt cards. Sassy Sketcharinos See you soon xx

It's been a while I know and a few have gone but for those that have stayed - thank you. I'm not through the worst yet but I have found solace in crafting. Here is a Waterfall card made recently for a Facebook swap. Colours are mainly Coastal Cabana and Not Quite Navy with a splash of Island Indigo. Also used Whisper White and Calypso Coral. See you soon xx

No card today but a box frame picture. I picked up a few of these box frames a while ago quite cheaply but haven't got around to filling them up till now. This one has some cut up pieces of mount board that have been stamped and then had clear embossing powder over them - take a look It uses a whole load of blue inks - past and present and some white craft ink too. When the tiles were inked and dry I dabbed all over them with a Vesamark ink pad and then covered them with clear embossing powder. When the heat is applied it gives a glazed ceramic tile effect. I had to put a few layers on but I think the end result is perfect and I'm definitely going to have another go at this. Craft time has been a bit scarce recently as dad's condition is deteriorating rapidly. I've got the Dr, care nurse and district nurses coming today as we need to install a hospital bed for him - not looking forward to that - it all feels very scary!. Thanks for visiting - see yo...

So - we've been on the open sea and now it's time to dive beneath the the waves and take a look at some cards with underwater creatures on them using the By the Tide stamp set. I'm still following a male theme so I've used sea colours - come and sea(!!!!!) Even the names of the inks are watery - I've used Bermuda Bay and Island Indigo! After scouring the blogs for a suitable challenge I found one over on the  Simon Says Stamp  challenge blog where the challenge is to 'Make it Masculine'. I spent a wonderful few hours this afternoon purging my craft stash. As most of my crafting equipment has been arriving sporadically in boxes it's been taking a little while to get it all sorted.  It's all unpacked now and put away however it's given me a good excuse to go through everything and get rid of a lot of rubbish! I've also found LOADS of unfinished projects - guess I'm going to be busy for a few weeks trying to finish them o...

It's Thursday and time for another challenge at  CAS - Colours & Sketches . Today it's a colour theme - take a look A beautiful collection don't you think, chosen for us by the lovely Louise. They are very Spring like too however, I went down another road and went under the sea - take a look I embossed with white embossing powder before sponging my ink over the top to create my sea. My Calypso Coral shell was also embossed and ink was sponged over the top before it was cut out and attached using dimensionals. The white heat embossed powder resists the ink and makes the images stand out beautifully - a sentiment was all that was needed to finish it off. Materials - Stampin' Up Stamps: By the Tide, Loving Thoughts Ink: Calypso Coral, Island Indigo, Pool Party Card Stock: Very Vanilla Accessories: White EP, Dimensionals (To order any of the above current items or items from the Annual Catalogue please e-mail me on deezinesart@icloud.com - ...

It's sketch time this week at  Less is More . The layout of the sketch has to remain the way it is drawn but the shape can change Here is my card Materials - Stampin' Up Stamps: By the Tide, Happy Day Ink: Coastal Cabana, Calypso Coral, Early Espresso, Soft Sky Card Stock: Very Vanilla, Accessories: Dimensionals (To order any of the above current items or items from the Annual Catalogue please e-mail me on deezinesart@gmail.com - a catalogue pdf can be found in the side bar along with the NEW SPRING/SUMMER MINI. Items can be delivered direct to you - just £4.95 p+p any size order. Also see the special offers above in the top tabs - thanks). You can also shop now directly from my Stampin' Up website - click  HERE  to take a look. Please don't forget that if your orders total £45 or more you can choose FREE  SALE-A-BRATION  goodies - email me for more details deezinesart@gmail.com

Today's card uses the lovely By the Tide stamp set - It's been hanging around on my computer for ages now waiting for an opportunity to make an appearance ad today's the day! The seaweed and script were stamped before the card stock was cut and then the lobster, shell and fish were added with dimensionals. I also used a bit of white bakers twine under the lobster. I CASEd this card from one I saw on Pinterest made I think by Lavinia Dow - it's not a direct copy but very similar. Materials - Stampin' Up Stamps: By the Tide Ink: Calypso Coral, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Crumb Cake, Island Indigo Card Stock: Whisper White, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Island Indigo Accessories: Dimensionals, Bakers Twine (To order any of the above current items or items from the Annual Catalogue please e-mail me on deezinesart@gmail.com - a catalogue pdf can be found in the side bar. Items can be delivered direct to you - just £4.95 p+p any size or...

Or in other words - Animal, Bird or Fish/Underwater. That's this week's new challenge over in  The Male Room Now you have to choose one or the other not a mixture and if possible make your whole project reflect the theme - the rules are better explained over on the blog so please do pop over and check. So that being said my card is all about the underwater fishy things - take a look I made this card a while ago and was inspired by a card I saw on Pinterest - however I've since lost my link and now can't find it to give it credit - sorry. The fish was stamped onto card stock and then masked with a post it note and the background script added. The square was then cut leaving the tail to be fussy cut so it hung over the side. The seahorse and shell were both fussy cut and attached using dimensionals. Materials - Stampin' Up Stamps: By the Tide Ink: Island Indigo, Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake Card Stock: Whisper White, Midnight Muse Accessories: Dim...

Today is the first day of the first challenge over at  The Male Room . Me and my team are inviting you to join us in making 'man cards' or anything else associated with men and boys. Today's challenge is ANYTHING GOES and you have two weeks nearly to take part. Here is my card I've used one of my new favourites - By the Tide and I had great fun colouring my lobster - he's been mounted onto embossed card with 3D Dimensionals. Materials - Stampin' Up Stamps: By the Tide, One in a Million Ink: Smoky Slate, Calypso Coral & Cajun Craze Markers Card Stock: Whisper White, Basic Gray Accessories: Scallop Edge Punch, Modern Label Punch, Big Shot, Hexagon EF, Dimensionals (To order any of the above current items or items from the Annual Catalogue please e-mail me on deezinesart@gmail.com - a catalogue pdf can be found in the side bar. Items can be delivered direct to you - just £4.95 p+p any size order. Also see the special offers above in the ...

That's right in just 6 days my new challenge blog  The Male Room  goes live with it's first challenge. It's a challenge blog for male only cards and we will be kicking off with an 'Anything Goes' challenge. Fellow teamie Caz has already started the countdown with her card  HERE  and today I'm sharing this card on the blog Materials - Stampin' Up Stamps: By the Tide, The Open Sea Ink: Baked Brown Sugar, Coastal Cabana, Bermuda Bay, Calypso Coral, Early Espresso Card Stock: Whisper White Accessories: Dimensionals (To order any of the above current items or items from the Annual Catalogue please e-mail me on deezinesart@gmail.com - a catalogue pdf can be found in the side bar. Items can be delivered direct to you - just £4.95 p+p any size order. Also see the special offers above in the top tabs - thanks). Please do pop over and take a look at the blog - it's going to be great fun! I am also entering this card into the challenge over at  Craft...