A blog devoted to the cards I make in my tiny upstairs space. When my sister stays there, she calls it an "artist's garret". I'm not an artist, but am an enthusiastic cardmaker - hence the title "Cardmaker's Garret".
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Friday, 13 March 2026

Birthday Flowers, a Hollyhock Garden, and Green and Gold Christmas

I've got three cards for today.  I've really been in the mood to make cards lately!

First up a birthday card (a belated one as I know the post won't get it there in time!).  It's for Cut It Up's "Happy Birthday" challenge.

I inked up a Penny Black background stamp with Distress Oxide Shabby Shutters and Speckled Egg and patted off some of the ink with a rag.  I inked on hammered cs which added to the faded texture of the stamping.  I die cut the flowers and smooshed them into the same two inks.  I  used a separate "belated" sentiment stamp over the "birthday wishes" stamp.

Addicted to CAS's code word is Garden.  One of my favourite flowers is hollyhock and I always have a section of my garden devoted to them.

I stamped and heat embossed the hollyhocks in gold on watercolour paper, then painted them and splattered a bit of gold paint. I created a frame by cutting out the centre of a piece of gold cs with a double stitched rectangle die.

Last one is a very quick CAS card for Color Hues "Green and Gold".  It's also for the Neglected Stuff challenge - I haven't used this stamp set since 2017!

I stamped the base tree in green, then heat embossed the overlap in gold.  I wanted a border that matched the gold on the tree and sentiment so I cut a rectangle one size larger, went around the edge of it with Versamark and heat embossed with the same gold embossing powder all around the edge.

 
Cut It Up  PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD!   







Supplies for card 1:
Stamps - Penny Black background stamp, SU birthday wishes, Impression Obsession belated
Ink - Distress Oxide Shabby Shutters and Speckled Egg, Archival Potting Soil
Paper - white hammered cs
Size - A2
Accessories - Poppy Stamps flower die

Supplies for card 2:
Stamps - The Stampin' Place hollyhocks
Ink - ColorBox Gold
Paper - watercolour paper, gold and off white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gold embossing powder, watercolour paints, Memory Box double stitched rectangle die cut, Spellbinders rectangle die

Supplies for card 3:
Stamps - SU Solemn Stillness tree, Rosie's Roadshow sentiment
Ink - ColorBox green and gold
Paper - white cs
Size - A2
Accessories - gold embossing powder, Spellbinders rectangle dies


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6 comments:

  1. Karen14 March 2026 at 05:06

    Your beautiful Christmas tree has definitely not gone out of style since 2017! Your CAS design showcases it wonderfully, and the gold swirls and framing add just the right touch of elegance. Thanks for sharing with us at Color Hues!

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  2. Darlene 14 March 2026 at 06:22

    These are all just beautiful Susan! Thanks so much for joining in the fun at our Neglected Stuff challenge! Good Luck and we hope you’ll come back often.

    Darlene
    DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS
    Neglected Stuff Co-Owner
    NEGLECTED STUFF CHALLENGE

    ReplyDelete
  3. Melanie Hungerford14 March 2026 at 13:37

    What pretty cards, love the pastel flowers with the gold frame! Thanks for sharing with us at Addicted to CAS!

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  4. Loll15 March 2026 at 11:11

    Love the soft, muted colours of your first card. Removing some of the ink creates an artistic background for your pretty flowers. Such beautiful colours for your hollyhocks. Made even prettier with the gold frame! And your tree is awesome. Love this stylized drawing. Adding the top layer with gold makes it extra special. Great way to create a gold frame that matches. Wonderful work, my friend! xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous17 March 2026 at 18:57

    Three great cards Susan, I love the distressed effect with the stamping and the hammered card with the first. Your hollyhocks look wonderful in full bloom and that old stamping up image still makes wonderful cards xx

    ReplyDelete
  6. Larelyn19 March 2026 at 12:22

    Oooo, love the texture the card stock created with the ink. Lovely card. Thanks for sharing at Cut it Up Challenges.

    ReplyDelete

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