Technique – die cutting

Featuring die cutting

Springtime Snowdrops

Hi there!

I was very pleased when I saw the sketch for this week’s challenge at Freshly Made Sketches as I knew I had the perfect stencil to replicate the three panels. So I grabbed my inks, the fabulous Pinkfresh 1″ blending brushes and got busy!

I love snowdrops – it always amazes me that something so delicate is so hardy and the first flower to emerge from the depths of my winter garden. My snowdrops are almost completely finished now but I’m so happy to celebrate them with this card!

The sentiment is from an older Memory Box set.

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.

Pretty Blooms

Hi there!

There’s a really interesting sketch for this week’s challenge at Freshly Made Sketches. At first I thought I may pass on entering this week because nothing sprung to mind immediately. But as is so often the way with crafting, I suddenly had an idea!

I realised that elements from the Pinkfresh Studios Pretty Blooms washi product suite by that I received in the February Create & Connect event kit would work very well. I also used a frame and sentiment stamps from the event kit.

The gold element is a Paper Rose Studio Honeysuckle die cut – I thought the shape tied in nicely with the sprigs on the washi.

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.

Nordic Hello There

Hello everyone!

I was disappointed when a crafty order didn’t arrive as hoped yesterday… but honestly, it’s not as if I don’t have any unused crafty supplies! So my entry for the first Color Throwdown challenge of March uses a new-to-me Poppystamps die set called Nordic Drifting Flowers.

I have to say that I completely overlooked this set when it was released last year. It was only when I saw it used on the Poppystamps website that I knew I had to have it! My inspiration is that very Poppystamps card – and I used Craft Consortium paper in the challenge combo of light brown, blue and dark brown.

I cut the die four times, once in each colour and again from the blue paper and then had a lot of fun assembling the flowers. I used a frame cut using a Pinkfresh Studio die set to house my images which I then arranged…. this part always takes me far too long because I always second guess myself. This time, I took photos of each iteration before I landed on my favoured layout – I think it helped having photos of previous arrangements to look at!

The sentiment is by My Favorite Things.

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.

Glittery Mod Blossoms

Hello again everyone!

Next up today is my entry for the second February Color Throwdown challenge – an interesting combo of pink, lime and teal.

Quite a challenging combo for me but I decided to use my new Waffle Flower Mod Blossoms stencil set and coordinating die with some fabulous Pinkfresh Studio Glitter card.

The sentiment is by Spellbinders and cut from some mirror card that by sheer chance coordinates perfectly with the glitter card!

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.

Pinkfresh Studio Create and Connect February 2025

Hi everyone!

Last weekend, I took part in the Pinkfresh Studio Create and Connect ‘Cards by Theme’ event. I signed up for this event back in November after watching the unboxing video, knowing that it would be nice to have something to look forward to after Christmas – and it was such a happy January day when the box arrived at my door!

Class One – Birthday Balloons product suite

Yana Smakula’s class was up first and her theme was happy birthday. There was only one birthday stamp in the whole kit, but I have plenty of birthday stamps already! I love the balloons and the delicate coordinating die. I thought it was very clever to include floral stamps/die cuts separately as the balloons can be used with or without flowers. I switched up my colours to make it more me.

I also used the set for my interpretation of Dawn Woleslage’s Make and Take press plate/foil card. I just used the stamp with an older daisy Pinkfresh coverplate that I’ve had for a while. but still love!

 

 

Class Two – Altenew Briar Blossoms product suite

 

Next up was Bridget Casey for the guest company, Altenew. It’s been a long while since I bought Altenew stamps and I loved using the product suite they provided, which included an embossing folder. I ‘went rogue’ with my first card! The inspiration was delicate peach/pastel tones, with these amazing gold gel pen centres. I thought they would really stand out if I used vibrant colours and a black background! For the second card, I learnt a new-to-me technique to trap ink colour on vellum using adhesive sheets – I’ve already tried it out on another card.

Class Three – Pretty Blooms product suite

 

 

The theme of the final class of the day was ‘hello’ and Heather Hoffman used a fabulous floral product suite that included washi tape! I love these products as I have the ‘quick and easy’ route with washi or I can really put my own spin on it with the stamp and stencil combo.

 

 

 

 

Class Four – Majestic Swan product suite

 

 

First up on Day 2 was one of my favourite cardmakers, Raquel Arribas. We used my favourite product suite from the event, called Majestic Swan. So versatile and easy to use! I’ve already used it on other cards. I did another Make and Take with this set using Isha Gupta’s press plate/foil card as inspiration. Isha also designed this product suite.

 

 

 

 

Class Five – Butterflies in a Cloche product suite

 

 

Lea Lawson was up next with the ‘hello’ theme using the Butterflies in a Cloche set. I love how quickly I could create with this set! Another very versatile set! Once again I used Isha Gupta’s press plate/foil card as inspiration for my Make & Take card.

 

 

 

Class Six – Mix It all up!!

 

 

Final class of the day, and always the most involved, was Jennifer Maguire who focusses on ‘stretching’ our kits. I’m not an interactive cardmaker but I could be converted after making the amazing pop up balloon card. The second card was simpler, using that wonderful Majestic Swan product suite.

I’m not sure if I will sign up for the next class which is ‘Cards for Him’ but I will definitely be hitting that ‘buy’ button when registration for the August event opens up!

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.

Happy Valentine’s Day 2025

Happy Love Day everyone!

I’ve been saving the first February Color Throwdown challenge for this card – it’s a perfect Valentine’s combo of pink, brown and white.

I used the new Memory Box small nest – I coveted the larger die that was released a few years ago but didn’t get it before it sold out in the UK. So I snapped this one up as soon as Bumbleberry’s had it in store!

I paired it with some heart dies and an older Memory Box embossing folder and coloured the die cuts with distress inks. The sentiment is from an older wooden stamp.

Thanks for stopping by!

LucieG.