Monday 30 June 2014

Thank You Hero Arts

This month's sponsor at Die Cut Diva's is none other than Hero Arts.  So I've made a card to say thanks.  Our theme was His, Hers or Ours... so my card is a bit masculine


It did start as a one-layer card, but when I was doing the embossing, the little folder slipped  a little, so had to trim it up to straighten.  I stamped and masked the feather from My Favorites (AC030)  using Hero Arts Wet Cement and Charcoal inks.  The sentiment was stamped with the Charcoal ink.   I added strips of black card down each side of the embossed part.  A few pearls to finish and some Wink of Stella in clear and black.

Do pop over to the blog as a new challenge starts tomorrow.

Sunday 29 June 2014

Two for the price of One....plus one extra

Well at least two cards from one stencil and another from left over ink....

I had a great afternoon playing with my inks, stencils and stamps.  Recently I was lucky enough to win a Memory Box stencil on a blog hop - it's this one 

 

I pulled it out today and made one background with some embossing paste and then I decided to use some Distress inks to sponge.  I used vibrant colours - Mowed Lawn, Spiced Marmalade, Seeded Preserves and Salty Ocean.

This is your life....

I used a Stamp-It sentiment as my focal point, but letting the background take pride of place.  I coloured up my ribbon with the inks but once I spritzed it, the green sort of took over... a bit more about that later! 

Before making up the card, I took the inky stencil and gave it a good spritzing with water and then used a piece of cardstock to "stamp" the stencil.  I think it's called reverse stencilling.  Tim Holtz showed in during the Stenciled Online class earlier this year.  The resulting negative of the stencil turned out very soft and airy looking.

Shine Every Day

Once again, I wanted the beautiful background to take pride of place.  So just added a sentiment.  This one was from two Winnie and Walter sets and did involved a little stamp surgery... the every started life as everything.   Finished with a few iridescent flat sequins.

And my final card came about from the ink left over from my ribbon.  I had beads of ink on the craft sheet so grabbed a piece of white card stock to sop it up.  As it was very wet, as the card stock picked it up, little bobbles appeared.  I added a little more blue and orange inks to the sheet to fill in the gaps on the card.  Once it dried, a very interesting background resulted.  

IMG_8713

I decided to simply play and see what would happen.  Started by stamping the Scribbly Bird from a Dina Wakley set and enhancing it with some Copic markers.  Then stencils, inks, paints, some washi tape and the sentiment from the set.  A mixed media card resulted.   I am entering this into the Anything Goes Challenge at Simon Says Stamp

And I still have my embossed piece to do something with... a very successful day's crafting!


Saturday 28 June 2014

Wine and High Heels...

Quite a combination.  My friend Vaj commissioned me to make a card for her DIL, Rebecca, and said she wanted wine and high heels on it... well for a while I just sat there stumped as to what to do.  I knew I had high heels in a Hero Arts set... but a wine glass????

So first up was to look at Clip Art on Microsoft Office... and yes, found what I wanted... so here is how it turned out

Wine and High Heels

The wine glass held red wine so decided that I need to make the shoe red too.  I stamped it once on the card and then onto scrap white card, coloured and cut it out and popped it onto the card.  The sentiment was printed on the computer at the same time I printed the wine glass.  I added some Copics to the glass and then once I had it all matted together and on the card base, lots of glossy accents on the glass and the shoe.  Finished with some red pearls.  

Happy to say, Vaj, was thrilled with the results.  I had to take the photo at work as it was too dark when I finished it on Thursday evening.  So you can see the cords at the back of the desk.  Good light though in the office for taking photos!


Thursday 26 June 2014

29 Again?

One of my work colleagues had her birthday this week.  I made her an amusing card using a Bugaboo image.  It made me laugh and she really enjoy the humour as well.

29 Again?

I printed it out and coloured with Copics.  The PP has a lovely sheen to it.  Add a touch of glossy accents to the balloons and the candle and on her hat.  I went over the 29 with Black Wink of Stella to give it a touch of sparkle. 

Off to make a card that has been commissioned.  The lady wants it for her daughter in law and has asked to a wine glass and high heel shoes.  A bit of a challenge! 


Tuesday 24 June 2014

Bokeh Effect

Have you heard of the Bokeh effect?  I recently found out about it.  It's a photography term, and it refers to the look of sparkles that appear in a photograph when part of the image is out of focus or if light reflects.  Over at A Blog Named Hero the latest challenge is to use this effect.



I decided to make a CAS card using the Bokeh effect as my background.  I was inspired by the last photo in the above collage.

Bokeh Birthday

I used two stamps from Hero Arts Brush Stroke set and a variety of Hero Arts Shadow inks and distress inks together with Colourbox Frost white ink.  I added the sentiment from Winnie & Walter and finished with some iridescent sequins.

I'm really pleased with the look I achieved and this card will be going to a friend who is having a birthday later this week.  

Sunday 22 June 2014

Inspired by Virginia.

Getting back from holiday I struggled for a day or two to get back into stamping and creating, despite new stamps sitting on my desk.  So off to the internet to see what my friends are up to.  Virginia has been really busy with one botanical collage stamp from Penny Black and it really got me inspired.  One of my new stamps is a set from Stamp-It, an Australian company, and is a collage set.


I did two cards using the stamps in the set.


This first one is the bigger of the two stamps.  I coloured with Copics and then masked them and used my air spritzing tool and a Copic and a Tombow marker to colour the background.  Sentiment is from Close to My Heart.  I added some Wink of Stella.  It splattered when I shook it and I ended up with splatters, so added some more all over the card. 

 
My second card used two of the other collages.  I used a Poppy Stamps die to cut the 3x4 journal card and stamped the image.  I used some Inktense pencils and a Tombow colourless blender to colour.  The sentiment is also a Stamp-It stamp.  For the background I used the smaller collage with some sepia Archival ink and added some distress around the edge.  I layered a couple of washi tapes across.  To finish I added black pearls. 

This was just the kick start I needed.  So much so that I managed two cards today for my July posts on Die Cut Divas.  Getting myself a little ahead.  And I even went out to look at some storage ideas for the craft room.  Got some ideas for tidying up one corner with some cube storage.  Just got to wait till some repairs on the corner of the floor are done.  A while back our water cylinder leaked and the floor under it and into the corner of my room has gone soft.   The repairer is coming in this week and I've moved out some of my supplies to give them room to fix the floor.  Once it's all back I'll get the new storage in place. 

Thanks for stopping by today.  


Thursday 19 June 2014

I'm Home......

Hi there all.  I'm home again after an awesome week with my daughter and her fiancĂ© over in Perth.  I thoroughly enjoyed my week there.  The first 5 days the weather was perfect... sunny and reasonably warm, then 2 days of rain and cold weather.  We did lots... tourist stuff, shopping and eating. Here are a few pics of my week away.

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I also had the pleasure of going out to Fremantle and meeting up with one of my Facebook friends ~ Gayatri.

Not the greatest of pics of the two of us.   I'm not great at taking selfies!  I had a lovely time with Gayatri, sharing a fabulous meal she made and got to see some of her beautiful cards and her cute crafting space.  We talked about all sorts of things like we knew each other for ages.  She also gave me a few goodies to bring home... thanks so much.

Back to work tomorrow... then the weekend.  I did manage to get some new stamps while I was away, so looking forward to getting some time to play.  I also bought a few new clothes and shoes... a new winter wardrobe!

Sunday 15 June 2014

Flowers everywhere.

Hi there... it's a new challenge at over at Creative Cottage Challenge Digi Creations.  And our theme is "Flowers"  This is your chance to use your digis and make a card.  Our sponsor this time is Aurora Wings.


We got to trial some of the beautiful digi stamps and today I'm sharing two cards I made.

First up is the image that Mitzi used for her logo


I am especially thrilled with the results of my colouring on this one.  I used Copics.  The layers are cut with a Lil Inker's die.  I am going to get this framed.

My second card is a little cutie, using Bluebell Sprite. 


 
My flowers are the Bluebells on the image.  I used Spellbinders dies for the oval and the fancy label.  This sweetie got posted off to a little cutie who recently turned 4.  Happy Birthday Miss Lilly. 


Tuesday 10 June 2014

Sweet Tea Birthday

One little card before my holiday.  It's a just for fun card I made a few weekends ago when I'd gone to the beach.  I only had limited supplies ~ and no markers so I did my colouring with watercolour paints.

Sweet Tea birthday

I stamped the sweet little girl (Penny Black stamp) with her cup of tea and coloured with the watercolour paints.  I did leave her skin till I got home and used Copics to colour.  I fussy cut and add her to the background I'd made with two pieces of PP.  Added the sentiment from Winnie & Walter to finish this simple card. 

Well, the packing is done, the money exchanged and I'm all ready to go.  The shuttle is picking me at 10 to 11 in the morning.  My flight leaves at 2.30pm.  Can you tell I'm excited?   So you may not see a lot of me over the next week and a bit.  Only got one post scheduled but will try and pop in if I can. 

Monday 9 June 2014

Another tag for Virginia's View

I did a big tidy up of the craft room yesterday and came across the a discarded die cut.  The die didn't cut cleanly and a portion tore as it came out.  I decided to turn it into a tag for the challenge at Virginia's View.  A very CAS tag.

Tag #2 for Virginia's View.

I used some chipboard from a tissue box to cut some leaves which I used to cover the torn bits.  The roses were made with some blue vellum and I finished with a Spellbinders word die cut from some black scraps. 

Getting a bit excited about my trip to Perth.  The bag is nearly packed, the shuttle is booked and the money is exchanged.   Just two more sleeps and I'm on my way. 

Friday 6 June 2014

Pretty florals


I have a few flower cards and a tag to share today.  I love doing flower cards and recently my new WPlus9 "Coming Up Roses" stamp arrived.  A great opportunity to make some floral cards and a tag for Virginia's View challenge #4.  

I started by pulling out a piece of watercolouring I'd done a while back but wasn't happy with the amount of splatters I'd done.  I used my Tim Holtz Tag die to cut the tag. 

Virginia s View ~ Challenge 4

I then took the stamp set and some orange distress inks and stamped the roses.  I used some green distress inks to stamp the stems.  Next I added my recycled item... the wax paper from a little doily die I'd cut.  It really looks pretty in real life...  I then used the doily, which had been cut from Kraft card, as a stencil to sponge some more colour onto the tag.  Finished with some chiffon ribbon and a button and crochet cotton bow.  The sentiment from Hero Arts was stamped with Delicata Golden Glitz and clear embossed.

My next card was made to sent to a friend, whose Mum passed away last week.

With Sympathy

My centre panel is some Bristol paper.  I used the WPlus9 set again and some distress inks.  I used my paintbrush and water to do a bit of water colouring.   The sentiment is from a Simon Says Stamp set.  The PP behind is from a pack by Prima called "Fairy Belle"  Inside I have added a Hero Arts sentiment "so sorry for your loss"  The gems and pearls finished off the card.

And just one more flower card.

Cute Ballerina


This is for a challenge at The Paper Shelter - Flower Power. I used a digi stamp from The Paper Shelter and also the matching background.  I wanted to try out making some vellum roses after seeing this video.  I have a pack of coloured vellum that I got ages ago and there was a pretty pink amongst the pages.  The little ones were a bit fiddly but got there in the end.  I used glossy accents rather than hot glue for the little ones.

Thanks for persevering through my long post today.  Only 5 more sleeps till I head off to Perth to visit my daughter.  Getting a little excited now.  This will the longest trip I've done on my own.  I'm going on the direct flight - 6 hours 45 minutes.  I'll have a few posts schedules as I have a couple of DT challenges starting while I'm away.

Tuesday 3 June 2014

Congratulations on your engagement

Some exciting news in our family over the weekend... Our son got engaged.  This is the second engagement for us this year as earlier in the year our daughter also got engaged.  Some of you may be aware she got married 4 years ago, but alas, it did not last...however she has now meet a very nice young man and they are planning to get married at the end of this year.

So one happy Mama to have my children so happy and settled.

I made a couple of engagement cards as part of my samples for Chalk'n'stock blog this month.

First up for my daughter and her fiancé (who I will be seeing in 8 days!)


I used a Bugaboo image coloured with Copics and sponged with pale blue chalk around the image.  The digi stamp reminded me of my daughter with her sunnies on.  She is living in Perth Australia where it is very warm in the summer. The sentiment is from Hero Arts.  Inside the sentiment is from Bugaboo...and is the same as what is on the front of the card for my son and his fiancĂ©e....


Again Bugaboo digi stamp coloured with Copics and sponged with the chalks.  Just love the sentiment :-)

I've also shared another card over on the Chalk'n'stock blog  If you want to have a look, please hop over the blog for a look.

Thanks for stopping by today.  I appreciate all my visitors.

Monday 2 June 2014

Autumn colours and Use a Die Cut

Both the Creative Craft Cottage challenge blogs have a new challenges starting 1 June.  The Original Creative Craft Cottage has a colour/photo inspiration challenge theme of Autumn.

thanksgiving hues 

Here in the Southern Hemisphere were have just finished Autumn with 1 June being the start of Winter.  

Here is my sample card 


My main focal image is a stamp I borrowed a few weeks ago when I had friends over to "play".  I used Wild Honey distress ink to stamp it and then matted with some grey and then onto brown card.  Sentiment from Winnie & Walter.  

We would love to have you join our challenge.  Anyone, anywhere in the world is welcome to play along.

And over at  CCC Digi Creations challenge #2 is underway.  We had overwhelming response to our first challenge.   So we are looking forward to seeing you back again...  So what's the challenge?

Use a Digi with a Die Cut somewhere on your creation.  We have a lovely sponsor this challenge

 

We got to work with some cute as digi stamps this time..   I made two cards to share on the blog



First card uses "Love Kitty"  a real sweetie.  Printed and cut with a Spellbinders label die.  I added some ink while the die was still in place to give the glow around the Kitty.   My background die is from Penny Black, cut from some cream card and backed with black card.  I also used a Simon Says Stamp die for my banner, with it's matching sentiment.


And for my second card I used "Fancy Fish"
 

My die cut with this one was the stitched rectangle from Lil' Inkers.  I went with Funky colours for my fish and finished with a tiny sentiment.  Added lots of Wink of Stella and some blue sequins. My background was dry embossed with a circle folder.  

Thanks for preserving with this long post.  I'll be back tomorrow with my cards for Chalk'n'stock.   

Sunday 1 June 2014

His, Hers, Ours.....

New challenge up at Die Cut Divas and one of my favourite stamp companies is our sponsor ~ Hero Arts
 


Hannah has set an interesting challenge.... lots of options....
.
His: Make a masculine or fathers day card and/or use this color scheme






Hers: Make a feminine card, and/or use this color scheme







Ours: There always seems to be lots of weddings in June so lets see your wedding and anniversary cards too

For my sample card I went with a masculine card

Travel

This uses a Hero Arts stamp I've had for a while, but haven't used much.  I did an embossed background.  See the black gems... well they had to be added as I got some ink onto my background.  I added the netting and twine as texture.  

So we would love to have you join us at Die Cut Divas this month...

Entering into the challenge at Simon Says Stamp.