Birthday wishes

Hello

Sharing another card I made a few weeks ago before my neck issues. This one is for my mum's 95th birthday in a couple of weeks.

I used Wplus9 Watercolored Anemones. Using Distress inks I stamped each layer with a different colour on watercolour paper & then using a water brush blended the colours together for a softer look. A little Wink of Stella in the centres for subtle sparkle & a Simon Says Stamp sentiment and it's done!

This next photo shows the Wink of Stella a little more clearly.

I am entering this into Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for visiting.

Peace on Earth

Hello

Yes, I know it's been a while! Had some health issues to deal with, one of which was waking up one morning barely being able to turn my neck. A week & a half away from going on holidays & panic set in a little but with a few physio sessions squeezed in before we went all was acceptable & didn't impact on things too much. However I have been a bit restricted since I got back & stamping or colouring haven't really been an option.
I did have a couple of almost finished projects on my desk so here is a quick card with one of my favourite Christmas stamps.

The photography isn't the best & for the life of me I just couldn't get it to sit straight to photograph or maybe it was just the bad neck lol!
I used Hero Arts Nativity on a scrap piece of cardstock that had been inked with Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean & Chipped Sapphire Distress ink. Image was embossed in Wow! Opaque Bright White & mounted with foam tape. Some Star Dust Stickles was added to the large star. I used a favourite sentiment from Technique Tuesday's Good Cheer set, appropriate more than ever.
I am entering this into Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Christmas

Thanks for visiting.

Hero Arts Christmas Tree

Hello

Today I'm sharing a card made with Hero Arts Color Layering Christmas Tree.

I loved this tree when I first saw it but no matter how many ink combinations I tried, I just wasn't happy with the result. Then I saw a video by the wonderful Sandy Allnock where she used this tree in the second half of the video. Using her technique I stamped all layers in different distress inks and then used a water brush to blend. Sandy used all 4 layers including the one which is meant for snow on the branches. You can blend a lot or a little depend on the look you want but this gave me a tree so close to what I was after so I am very happy. I even made several more cards varying the glitter ornaments for Liquid Pearls instead. Changing up the ink colours would also give a different look as well.
I am entering this into the Hero Arts Holiday Cardmaking Challenge.

Thanks for visiting!


Supplies - 
Stamps - Hero Arts Color Layering Christmas Tree, PTI Sparkle & Shine Holiday Additions (stars)
Inks - Distress inks - Shabby Shutters, Peeled paint, Crushed Olive & Forest Moss, Versafine Onyx Black, Delicata Golden Glitz
Die - MFT Zig Zag Stitched Rectangle
Watercolour paper, Ranger Stickles Xmas Red

Merriest Wishes

Hello

Tidying up another unfinished project today. I've had this ornament from this card cut out & sitting on my desk for a couple of months now. It was a failed attempt for a challenge when I ran out of time so I've been staring at it ever since. I have lots of watercolour backgrounds where I haven't been happy with the whole piece but have been using them to die cut words & shapes instead out of the portions that I like. In order to get something done I stuck with a design I used last Christmas except I had used patterned paper then.

I used 2 old bough stamps to do the greenery. Both of these stamps are outline images so are perfect for use with distress inks. I stamped the larger bough in Shabby Shutters & pulled the colour in to colour all the leaves. Then I overstamped with the smaller bough in Peeled Paint & coloured the same. I felt the ornament needed something & I couldn't decide whether to overstamp in gold EP or clear shimmer EP. Such a dilemma, lol! I ended up going with Wow Neutral Ultra Shimmer EP for a soft , subtle look. Maybe I should have used gold....??!

Anyway, I mounted the ornament with foam tape & finished with some clear sequins scattered through the greenery after stamping the sentiment.
I am entering into the following challenges -

Sparkle & Shine Challenge 15 - 

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp World Cardmaking Day

Thanks for visiting.

Supplies - 
Die - Spellbinders 2012 Heirloom Ornaments
Stamps - A Muse Evergreen Branch, Great Impressions, Hero Arts (sentiment)
Inks - Distress Inks Peeled Paint & Shabby Shutters, Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black
Peerless Watercolours, Wow Neutral Ultra Shimmer EP, Clear sequins

Hydrangeas

Hello

Things have been a bit quiet on the blog front. I have been doing a little creating but meeting challenge deadlines has been beyond me so I've just let things slide for a little otherwise it just gets too overwhelming when there's a lot going on.
I've made a point of making myself finish off some partly finished projects instead of leaving them to stack up & jumping onto something new. The card I'm sharing today was one of those unfinished projects so I kept it simple in order to get it done!

Love hydrangeas and this stamp from Winnie & Walter's In Bloom: Addie's Garden is so pretty. Lots of options for colouring but I went with Peerless watercolours for both leaves & flowers after embossing with Wow White Pearl embossing powder. The white pearl is lovely and soft with a hint of glimmer in the light. I fussy cut & adhered to a white card base. I decided against dimensional tape as I wanted to keep flat for posting.
I thought I'd enter this into the following challenges -

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Virginia's View Challenge # 19 - All things coloured

Thanks for visiting.


Supplies - 
Stamps -  Winnie & Walter In Bloom: Addie's Garden,
Ink - Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black
Wow White Pearl EP, Peerless Watercolours, SSS Moonshine sequins

Lovely day

Hello

I have had the flowers on this card stamped & embossed for some time but have been waiting for the rest of my Zig Clean Color markers to arrive. I made the decision to purchase individual colours which are extremely hard to get here in Australia. So I had to get what I could here & the rest from the US. The ones from Australian suppliers come with coloured lids while the ones from the US have clear lids which is a little confusing when you go for a quick grab but they do the job so I guess that's all that matters.

The flowers were coloured with the Zigs and the background was coloured with distress ink. I added a few clear droplets on some petals with Glossy Accents but it was hard to get it to show in a photo.

Since I still have time I am entering this into Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Use a Stamp.

Thanks for visiting.

Supplies - 
Stamps - Penny Black Efflorescence, SSS Lovely Spring
Ink - Versamark, Versafine, Onyx Black, Tumbled Glass Distress ink
Zing White embossing powder, Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers, PPP sequins

SC112

This is my second post for today. Not often I get on a roll so don't get used to it, lol!
I am entering this card into Stamping Celebrations SC112 challenge

I loved the teddy on the cake (I think it's a cake), so cute. So my inspiration came from the stripes, gorgeous colours & of course that cute bear.

The background stripes were stamped with MFT Striped Background in Memento Summer Sky. Using a thin stripe stamp from Winnie & Walter's Scenery Stripes, I then stamped between the main stripes with Hero Arts Soft Brown using the MISTI. The teddy is from Hero Arts New Baby set & was stamped with Memento Toffee Crunch & coloured with Copics. The bear was fussy cut after colouring & mounted with foam tape. I stamped, cut & coloured a second heart so I could also mount with foam tape & added some Wink of Stella.The SSS Baby word was cut 3 times & stacked for dimension.

I am also entering this into Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Use a stamp.

Thanks for visiting.


Supplies - 
Stamps - MFT Striped Background, Winnie & Walter's Scenery Stripes, Hero Arts New Baby
Inks - Memento Summer Sky, Toffee Crunch, Hero Arts Soft Brown
Die - SSS Baby, SSS Stitched Circles
Copics - E31, E57, B41

Being strong

Hello

I made this card for my daughter from a MFT set I've had for a long time but never used. I love all the sentiments in the set & felt that it was appropriate for what she is going through. Although I should have made a second & framed it for my husband & I after the awful  couple of months we've had, lol.

I stamped the sentiment onto watercolour paper with Versamark and embossed with Zing White embossing powder. The background was coloured with distress inks using Laura Bassen's "smooshing" technique . I wanted vivid, bright colours & I think we can safely say that's what I got! I flicked some water onto the panel to finish. Then I die-cut around the sentiment with SSS Stitched Rectangles which also left me with a colourful stitched frame I can use at a later date. I used Avery Elle Finished Frames to cut a white panel & adhered to a pink card base. The coloured panel was then adhered with foam tape.  I debated for a long time about adding some sequins but for me I really wanted the sentiment to be the stand out so left them off. As this card was wider than I normally make I made a matching envelope with the We R Envelope Punch board out of one of the trillion pieces of patterned paper I own. Unfortunately I forgot to photograph the envelope before sending.

I am entering this into the following challenges -

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - use a stamp

Darnell's NBUS Challenge # 5             

It's the first time I've entered Darnell's NBUS challenge. I don't know why since I have so much NBUS it's not funny. If only life would stop getting in the way of creating! Darnell is such an amazing lady. The amount of time & effort she puts into her challenges & the blogging community never ceases to amaze me. I know I'm always guaranteed a good laugh when I read her posts.


Thanks for visiting.


Supplies - 
Stamps - MFT vertical Greetings
Dies -  Avery Elle Finished Frames, SSS Stitched Rectangle
Ink - Versamark, Distress inks - Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean, Squeezed lemonade
Zing White Embossing Powder

Muse: Christmas Visions 17

Hello

Just sneaking in with a card for Muse: Christmas Visions 17.
I loved how guest muse Kristie's card made the sentiment the focal point & also her lovely clean style.

I have several lovely Christmas sentiments & this one from Penny Black is one of my favourites. I chose to keep the card very CAS to really highlight the words.

I used a very old Hero Arts border which I coloured with Distress Markers, spritzed lightly and stamped on the main card. On a separate piece I stamped the sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black & cut with a stitched rectangles die. This sentiment is a wood mount stamp & unfortunately the rubber image is slightly crooked so requires several test stamps to check required angle of stamping before the final stamp. If I wasn't so lazy I'd use a stamp positioner but I have a good eye most of the time so prefer to wing it! I make it a habit to always check wood mount stamps before stamping as I own a few like this. You are probably wondering why I didn't do this at time of purchase but sometimes during the somewhat heady experience of shopping for new toys all commonsense seems to fly out the window!
I chose not to matte the verse panel as for me it just didn't look right no matter which colour I chose. I stamped a star in the bottom right with Delicata Golden Glitz and added a tiny silver star to the centre. The sentiment panel was then adhered with foam tape.
Apologies for the poor lighting & photography on this one.

Thanks for visiting.


Supplies - 
Stamps - Penny Black Hope is Born, PTI O'Tannenbaum (star)
Ink - Versafine onyx Black, Delicata Golden Glitz
Distress Markers - Fired Brick, Peeled Paint

Christmas ornaments

Hello

Unfortunately I had to take a bit of a break from card making & have been struggling to get back into it since. This card is not what I originally envisioned & I sort of got a bit stuck but figured a card of sorts is better than no card! Especially when it comes to adding to the Christmas stash!
I'm just scraping in with entering this into Merry Monday 169 - Light Green, Dark Green & Red.

Even though it wasn't what I set out to achieve it was a quick & simple project. Stamped the ornaments with Memento Tuxedo Black & coloured with Copics. Then I used a gold Sakura Pen Touch with a very fine tip to colour the tops of the ornaments. Firefly & Xmas Red stickles were applied for that much needed sparkle and after matting on red card stamped a sentiment from a MFT set to finish.


Thanks for visiting.


Supplies - 
Stamps - Poppy Stamps String of Ornaments, MFT Christmas ornaments set
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Copics - RV29, YG06, YG17
Sakura Gold Pen Touch, Ranger Stickles - Firefly & Xmas Red

Relax

Hello

It's been one of those challenging weeks again. Not much creating but I did manage to get this next card done before we head off for a few days to celebrate our 32nd wedding anniversary. A somewhat appropriate card as relax is what we both desperately need!
I am entering this in CASology 159 - Aquatic

I kept this card very CAS, just the stamped image and very subtle stencilling for the water. The seahorse was stamped with Tumbled Glass Distress ink on watercolour paper and coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers & a waterbrush. I used a wave stencil to very lightly stencil around the seahorse also with Tumbled Glass Distress ink. It's hard to see in the picture but I used Glossy accents for a few bubbles a swell. Close up gives a better idea.

Thanks for visiting.



Supplies - 
Stamps - Lucy's Stamps, Tattered Angels (sentiment)
Ink - Tumbled Glass Distress Ink, Versafine Onyx Black
Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers 031, 036, 042, waterbrush, glossy accents

Thinking of you

Hello

Dropping in with a card for the Sparkle & Shine Challenge Eleven

Love the vibrancy of the gorgeous orange flowers in the inspiration photo. Here's my take -

I stamped Simon Says Stamp Artful Flowers on watercolour paper with Versamark ink, then heat embossed with Wow Opaque Bright White embossing powder. I coloured the flowers with Kuretake Gansai watercolours & when dry added some Star Dust Stickles to the flower centres. I stencilled Twisted Citron Distress ink onto main card base before arranging the die-cut flowers & stamping sentiment. Final touch was to add some sequins.

Thanks for visiting.


Supplies - 
Stamps - SSS Artful Flowers
Die - SSS designer Flowers
Ink - Versamark, Twisted Citron Distress Ink
Wow Opaque Bright White EP, Star Dust Stickles, Sequins

CASology Week # 158

Hello

This week I was honored (and very nervous!) to be asked to be guest designer at CASology with this weeks cue - Precious

The first thing that came to mind was sweet, precious babies! My 2 babies are both in their mid twenties now but fingers crossed that one day there will be grandbabies! So don't have very much in the way of baby stamps but did have the Hero Arts New Baby set with matching dies.

I stamped the base card with Darkroom Door Plaid Background in Hero Arts Mint Julep. The white panel was die-cut with Lawn Fawn Stitched Scallop Borders using the middle scallop edge. I used Kuretake Gansai to colour a piece of Ranger Watercolour paper in a soft lemon & mint green (you have no idea how long that took to try & mix the right colours!).  The cute elephant was stamped on the watercolour piece with Versamark & then heat embossed with Zing white embossing powder, then die cut. I stamped just the heart a second time and fussy cut then mounted with foam tape. I applied some Wink of Stella to the heart just for a little sparkle but sat on my hands again lol, before I was tempted to add more bling! Two cards in a row without bling would have to be a record for me! The SSS baby die-cut was cut twice & stacked then I finished with "hello" from a Winnie & Walter set using Misti so as not to mess up the final touch.

Thanks for visiting.


Supplies - 
Stamps - Darkroom Door Plaid background, Hero Arts New Baby, Winnie & Walter The Big the Bold & the Happy
Dies - Simon Says Stamp Baby, Hero Arts Baby Motifs, Lawn Fawn Stitched Scallop Borders
Ink - Versamark, Versafine Onyx Black, Hero Arts Mint Julep Shadow ink
Ranger Watercolor paper, Kuretake Gansai Tambi Watercolors, Zing white embossing powder, Wink of Stella

Sending love

Hello

This is my second post today with another card for CASology # 157 - Wings

After making the previous butterfly card I remembered I had just received the Hero Arts Color Layering Bird & Branch so decided to use for the first time.

I really love this set & spent a bit of time playing with colour combinations before settling on the above colours. It's endless the different colours you could do & I found that the hardest part! 

Thanks for visiting.

Supplies - 
Stamps - Hero Arts Color Layering Bird & Branch, Hero Arts What's Up set
Ink - Hero Arts Shadow Ink - Cup O' Joe, Forever Green, Butter Bar, Pastel Yellow, Pool, Memento - Paris Dusk, Bamboo Leaves, Espresso Truffle, MFT Hybrid Ink Natural, Versafine Onyx Black

CASology - Wings

Hello

Today's card is for the CASology # 157 - Wings challenge.

I made the butterfly card first using 2 of the butterflies from WPlus9 Flora & Fauna 2.  I stamped the sentiment first & then positioned the butterflies around this.

Butterflies were stamped with Versafine Onyx black and coloured with distress inks & a water brush. I then added some Wink of Stella to each of the butterflies but more heavily to the larger middle one.

Thanks for visiting.

Supplies - 
Stamps - WPlus9 Flora & Fauna 2, SSS Lovely Spring (sentiment)
Ink - Versafine Onyx Black, Distress Inks - Salty Ocean, Picked Raspberry & Spiced Marmalade
Wink of Stella