Playing with Brushos & Cosmic Shimmers

Plenty of time at the moment to play with and use some of that stuff that sits at the back of the cupboard! So today, I got out those little pots of Brushos and some Cosmic Shimmer mists to get messy with.

I made over a dozen different background sheets, using up some old stamp album pages that have been kicking around for ages.

And started making a few cards for the charity pile

This one uses for the pink card mat, an old pocket file that I rescued when lots were bring thrown away at work.

And this black mat was recycled from the inside of a box of chocolates!

Time to experiement

With time on my hands, there is no excuse not to play around and experiment a bit! I'm using different colour schemes and matching up toppers with backgrounds I might not have considered before. Are you?

Piles of Papers

I keep the unused parts of freebie paper sets from magazines in poly pockets in 4 ring binder files. They are roughly divided into Vintage, Modern,  Men's and Animal & Bird themes.

All this extra time has made me go through and try to use some up! These 2 Good Luck cards use the Up and Away set from May 2015 edition of Making Cards.

Whilst these pretty fairy cards come from an old freebie from Cardmaking & Papercraft Magazine - however I still have dozens of sets to go through, at least it helps to pass the time whilst staying at home.

Exciting Discovery

I was carrying out some long-overdue clearing out of the cupboards and discovered tucked away at the back of one, this box full of old ATC's !

They date between 2008-2010 and were from so many different crafting friends - many of which I lost touch with when Docrafts closed down their forum a few years ago. I used to participate in 7-8 different swaps every month and there were some fab ATC's in this box. I've had a great time looking at them and remembering those talented crafters.

Bits & Pieces

I really have far too many little embellishment bits and pieces left over from other projects, so this weeks challenge was to try and use some up that have been hanging around for TOO LONG.

A small sense of achievement after I made a few cards! I've also been selling off some of the stamps that I never use on eBay to make a bit of space.

Thank You Cards

In these difficult times, we all have people we want to say Thank You to, for supporting us in different ways.

At least us Crafters can easily come up with some special hand made cards for those around us

Basketball Cards

I bought these felt basketballs back in October on holiday in USA - they go well with the stamp of a basketball hoop that was in a Sporting set of stamps from Creative Stamps Mag a while ago.

I've teamed them with a flaky brick wall backing paper for a very urban street effect!

Stockpiling Essentials

Yes, I'm confess I have been out this morning just to stock pile some essentials in case of  self isolation.  A trip to The Range to buy up card blanks and double sided tape before they all disappear.

Phew! Now I can rest safe in the knowledge that I can keep on crafting for the foreseeable future.

Die Cutting

This weekend I've been using my Big Shot and doing lots of die cutting - this cute mouse and toadstool is from Creative Expressions and is from their paper cuts Edger range

I've made several variations of this cats climbing over grid - but this is the first time I have used a yellow scheme

It's difficult to make Get Well Cards for men, who don't really want flowers or cute animals! I thought this simple card would fit the bill for a builder friend who hurt himself recently.

A Frollick of Fairies

Yes, that is what a collection of fairies is called - a frollick!

Had to go to The Range today today to get some silicone glue and door mat, but finished frugal February by not buying any other craft stuff - so that is 2 months now that I have resisted buying anything other than basics such as card blanks, DST & glue. I've managed to make over 40 cards just using up papers, dies, embellishments and sentiments  I already had in my stash.

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Flowers, Leaves and a Moroccan Tile

Some more cards made with some old dies that have been sitting around unloved and unused for a while.

Experimented a bit using some Kraft card that was sitting at the bottom of the pile too!

Still on track with frugal February and I  have only bought card blanks and double sided tape so far this month!

Tim Holtz idea-ology Botanical

I've had this Tim Holtz idea-ology Botanical pack of die cut images for ages - the butterflies were all used up first.

 I'm now trying to come up ideas for cards to incorporate some of the other vintage plants & flowers now.

I've still got 25 out of the 83 images in the pack left!

Dufex

Do you remember Dufex? Those detailed foiled toppers you could buy in sheets. Well, I found a couple of steam train images that I had lurking around for ages, so just had to use them up.

I've teamed them up with vintage travel background papers and tickets. So that's another small dent in the stash pile - at least Storm Dennis is a good excuse to stay in and craft this weekend!

Seeing Stars

A couple of cards for the men in my life made with  die cut stars. Ideal for men of any age.

Used some odd scraps of  coloured card up in the process too!

Twilight Makes

I'm still using up the background papers from the Hunkydory Twilight under the Sea pad that I bought last year

As well as the Hunkydory Twilight Kingdom pad that I bought back in June 2017! Despite making loads of cards with these papers, there are still loads left!

Frugal February

Well, I managed to get through January by only buying card blanks and double-sided tape. My mission for February is to do the same again and only buy basics - no magazines, no eBay bargains and no visits to The Works, The Range or Hobbycraft. Good job it is only a short month!

These two cards were made from pages of an old bird-watching calendar.

Clearly Besotted Roses

Here's another set of stamps and dies that have been sorely neglected! These are from the Clearly Besotted Merci Beaucoup set that I won back in June 2016

I've dug out some embossing folders that haven't been used for a while to team them up together and make a few more birthday cards

Floral Hearts from Simply Cards Mag

A couple of cards using the new Floral Hearts cut and embossing folder free from this months Simply Cards magazine. 

Love the embossing effect and the heart cuts out cleanly. Made in a pale green colour scheme as a change from Valentines Day red!

Woodland Friends

I've had these cute woodland animal foam stickers for absolutely ages, so it's time to use them up! I've teamed them up with some Craftwork Cards toppers and scraps of freebie papers from magazines

Ignoring Bargains

Still determined to use up my stash and not buy any craft stuff in January (except for double sided tape) So, these 6 cards were made using just 1 sheet of sentiment toppers that came in the Craftwork Cards bargain box that I bought nearly 4 years ago, back in April 2016. Have made loads of cards so far, but still got quite a lot of stuff  from that goodie box still in my stash!

The background papers were mainly freebies from magazines. I decided to cancel a couple of my magazine subscriptions as they seem to feature the same type of cards and I wasn't feeling inspired by their projects.

Cards Galore!

Getting into the swing of stash busting now and trying to be more inventive with different designs to use up old stuff

The charity card pile is now getting bigger and I have plenty in stock for my own use.

However, I have just bought a job lot of 500 5 x 7" white card blanks from eBay at a great price - they should keep me going for a while!