Running it Close!!

 I'm running a bit late this time with my Snippets make, only 2 more days to go until the gates clang shut on the current challenge.  Part of the reason is that having made this Christmas card I realised that it would also fit with another challenge so I hung fire until today which of course is Rudolph Day for this month so 'two birds, one stone' as the saying goes.  Not that any birds were harmed of course 😉.  I decided to have another play with my postage stamp die using some little snowman images with matching dies.  A small poinsettia from my oddments pot came in handy to fill the smallest space.  Everything here, apart from the card blank, is from my snippets mountain - the leafy paper was left over from cutting into a 12" DSP; red, white and pale blue  layers from card offcuts. Really small snippets came in handy for stamping the snowmen and sentiment.

...and I remembered to take a picture of my snippet leftovers

Background DSP - Stampin' Up (retired) from couple of years back
Postage Die - from Amazon (Globelands I think)
Snowmen - unbranded stamp/die set

Challenges - Snippets Playground and Rudolph Days

Bargains

 I'm sure we all like a bargain and a friend kindly told me about a company who have a sale of some of their stamps at the moment so of course I couldn't resist a small purchase.(See link below)  They don't seem to show details of the sizes of the stamps on the website so I was pleasantly surprised to see that the ones I ordered are mostly larger than I imagined they would be.  The one I've used here would easily fit onto a DL size card although I used it on a 6" square allowing it to overhang.  I started by masking off part of a piece of card and blended three colours of Distress Oxide ink to make a border.  This was dried thoroughly before stamping in black and clear embossing.  I then used a fine paintbrush and a little water to lift colour from some of the small areas within the stamp.  A simple sentiment finishes this CAS card.

Border Stamp - Crafty Roo Designs (sale prices on some stamps)

Strange Birds

 A fun card to share today - might make someone smile anyway.  The background was left from a sheet  I'd printed for another project and the large white circle was die cut.  The birds were stamped onto scraps of inky play card from my 'useful bits'  box with a bit of extra pencil colouring for added interest.  After fussy cutting the birds I glued them in place and then stamped the  fun wording.  Hope you are all having a good weekend - weather fairly bright but we've still been seeing frost early on the last few mornings here in the south.

Stamp Set - Strange Birds from Aall & Create
Circle dies - from John Next Door set

Floral Silhouette

 A floral card to share today, CAS style using up a piece of card left over from one of my inky play sessions.  I added a bit of stencilling to make it a bit more interesting and then cut out a circle and glued it to a white card, adding a narrow white frame around.  The floral spray was die cut twice from black card and layered together for extra stability.  The final touch was a matching black sentiment and a few tiny gems.

Sentiment produced using Microsoft Word
Silhouette Flowers - unbranded die

April at Stamping Sensations

 The Theme this month at Stamping Sensations is **anything goes** and there is also a mood board for extra inspiration. I've used the daisy image which is echoed in my choice of background paper for this Spring garden card.The greenhouse and foliage have been stamped and I've added various die cut elements to complete the scene.  As usual there is a lovely prize for the person whose name is drawn at the end of the challenge.

Greenhouse and foliage - Garden Greenhouse stamps and dies Stampin' Up (retired)
Cat - dies by Impression Obsession
Rectangles - Creative Dies Designs (possibly no longer available)
Pots - dies from Joanna Sheen
Tiny flowers in pot - Sizzix Ikebana dies set
Butterflies - from my pot of 'useful bits and pieces'

Allsorts Challenge #776

 The theme for the current challenge at Allsorts is **Spring** and I'm certainly happy to note that it seems to have arrived at last - two consecutive days with sunshine and NO rain 😊.   I think this card with its planter tub filled with crocus should fit the bill so I'm popping along with it.  There are great prizes too with winners announced monthly so why not break out your Spring-themed crafty stash and have a go.  There is always the 'anything goes' option too.

Brick Background - 3D embossing folder from Stampin' Up
Dies - all from Gummiapan
Sentiment - produced on the computer

Spring

 Well at last it's starting to look a bit more like Spring outside - sun is shining this morning and - say it quietly - it's actually not raining 😊.  Also the lilac tree is showing signs of bursting into flower, followed closely by a laburnum, always a welcome sight.  I came across this stamp recently and thought it would make a nice card for someone who enjoys crosswords - love these hedgie characters.  A straightforward card with an image stamped and coloured along with some pretty background paper and a strip of embossed card to match.