From me to you

Last night - about 8.30 pm - I heard a noise outside the front door.  I thought it was a person crying - upon investigation, it was a possum, or rather three possums, having a fight.  Two ran away but one stayed on the fence and allowed me to photograph him! Cute huh! He was young and healthy.

I made a card today but am not happy with it.  It is for Annabelle Stamps sketch with bling challenge, but I not happy with it. However, I will also enter it into Crop Stop #21 challenge - Complimentary Colours. 

I should have stamped the numbers strip in blue but I did it in black Momento ink as is the sentiment. The yellow card is stamped with Peach Parfait ink and Pacific Blue for the three parcels. The embossing folder is Lovers Lane by Country Companions.  The stamps used were all from Annabelle Stamps - two background sets and Swingin' By, which is coloured with Copics.  The scalloped strip is from a piece of stash card. Some ribbon and three sprinkles onto a base of cream. The main card is Barely Banana (old stock) and the yellow is Daffodil Delight. All the other card and ink is from Stampin'Up!

Dads

Mine is no longer with us - he died nearly 30 years ago now but I still remember him as if he had gone yesterday, especially when I see my youngest brother who looks so much like him (pity about the hair, though - Dad has such lovely dark soft curly hair,John is nearly bald). I usually don't want to make Father's Day cards  because the idea is still a little raw. Now, our Father's Day is celebrated in September, but I know that in other areas it is celebrated next month, so I made a Dad card, but thought it would suit a birthday as well as the traditional Father's Day.  I am going to enter it into several challenges:

Tuesday Throwdown #50 - use stripes in your project
Sweet Stop sketch #110

Here it is:

It uses Verve stamps for the sentiment, SU card in Not Quite Navy and Cajun Craze, with Bordering Blue (an out colour now) as the base card.  The DP is an old piece of Junkiz Boy Plaid (my stripes), and I used Kaiser Fozz Felt (blue stars), some dark red ribbon and a piece of blue string (from my stash) to make the three stripes in the sketch, but I took a liberty with the third strip, and made it across the sentiment instead of behind it! It is all layered up! I threw around a little Not Quite Navy ink as well to soften the edges. Oh, and there are four blue brads!

Dropping you a line

This stamp is from Lili of the Valley Ltd in the UK - such simple lines calling out to be coloured in - and the sentiment is from Flourish - the set called Kids at Play. I decided to enter a sketch challenge from Papercraft Star #47, where you not only have the sketch but the challenge is to use 1 colour cardstock, 2 coloured pattern paper and 3 pieces of bling. My card is SU Real Red, the two patterned papers come from Cosmo Cricket DeLovely mini set and the bling is the sparkly red brads.

I coloured with Copics and the scallops are cut using a die in the cuttlebug. The little fish was in my stash. 

One Layer Wednesday

This Challenge site  (One Layer Wednesday) used images from the Cake Wrecks blog to challenge us to create a card  - mine is not suitable for the challenge because it has too many layers, but I took a look at the site and found a cake by Poppy Belle's Cakery in pink, brown and cream with stripes and used the colour scheme with MOJO Monday's Challenge #192 sketch to make the card.  It took me all afternoon!!  I did clean up and put away a few new toys that had arrived earlier in the week and that I hadn't done anything with but drool over until then. One of these was a stamp set by "My Favourite Things" - called 'Enjoy the Ride'.  Another item was two new Magnolia stamps - they had such a pretty pink and cream striped paper backing them I couldn't throw it out. So, the card:

It took me a while to colour the image (watercolour using Inktense pencils), and then I angst over whether what was essentially a square could be cut out with the circle die, but I did it anyway. I backed that onto a scalloped circle in Pink Pirouette,  and layered that card behind the stripes as well,.  The brown is Early Expresso.  I knew I had a tag die that would suit but it took some locating, and I had already cut out about three others as I came across them (just in case) but none of them looked quite right. This one is Sixxix.  I thought I would go overboard on the Martha Stewart border punches.....and it all became bigger than Ben Hur! The whole thing is mounted onto a folder piece of Vanilla card.  I then added some pearls, ribbon and some white twine for the tag. The birthday sentiment is from Verve.

I am also entering this in Delightful Challenges - Tags. 

The photo below is of inside the card.

CR84FN

I decided to have a go at a challenge this morning, so looked at the colours of CR84FN challenge #29; these always seem to me to be the colours for sympathy cards ( plum, light plum and kraft), so that's what it became. I used the sketch at CPS #129 to create the card and all the card itself is made with SU products except for the bling, which is Kaiser.

Here it is:

The ink colour is Elegant Eggplant. The image behind the sentiment is stamped in Momento London Fog and coloured in using Copics.  Both it and the sentiment are from the set Thanks for Caring and so is the inside sentiment.  The DP is a scrap of old SU DP.  The ribbon is from stash and the central panel was die cut using the Spellbinders Nestabilities Ovals and Scalloped Ovals in the Cuttlebug. 

I am crafting all day today so look out!!! Have a good one folks. 

Two more cards CASed

These two are also from 'Stamp It! Techniques' - a USA magazine.  This time the pages are 17 and 19.  My first card is quick and easy, and mostly made from scraps on the desk i.e. the kraft is left over from the last crafting effort, and the clear EP was also sitting there.  The journalling mini paper is from Jenni Bowlin Studio - Vintage Cream Line. The stamp is a SU Motorsycle, stamped in SU Brocade Blue ink and embossed.  The word is from Annabelle's Treemendous set. Some string and three pieces of bling completed it - oh, I swiped the edges in the blue ink as well. It can be a birthday card or just a card for Dad.

ED:  I was invite to enter this in the Kraft blogspot even though it is a Cased card.  So I will.

This one used the Waltzing Mouse stamp set Victorian Fripperies, and the SU tag stamp and punch To and From Tag, some white EP, some green bling, lace and ribbon from stash.  I stamped and embossed the white edge and then fussy cut it out, stuck it on some green bazzil and added the white lace strip.  The bottom of the card has been stamped and embossed with the big background stamp from SU - Lace.  I masked the inside of the tag so that it was clear, and then stamped into it a sentiment from the WM set and embossed that. That green is such a lovely clear colour - it always makes me feel happy. 

More CASing

In the first one (page 14 of the American mag mentioned below), I used a tag off a new windcheater I purchased for my DH - he needed one without paint stains, or food stains or just plain stains - which I painted with white acrylic paint first. I then stamped and embossed with clear EP, using the flourish from the SU set Bliss.  I then stamped it with a script stamp in Momento London Fog, but the ink just disappeared into the paint.....interesting........so I sponged it with some SU Sage Green ink - that held up.  I then stamped the same flourish onto the bottom of a piece of folded SU kraft, and used a bit of green scrap to decorate the page.  I punched this with a Martha Stewart edge punch first and swiped it with the Sage ink.  I also swiped the edges of the kraft card. I then decided that the whole thing looked too flat, so I added some rik-rak and buttons, and stamped the word (from a WMS set called Victorian Fripperie) in the same ink. Better, but not much....but I left it as it was. 

The second one was also cased, but the original used pumpkins! I used some freebie stamps from the Craft Stamper magazine, and some beautiful EP called Sparkle Ebony.  I tried to take the photo in the fading winter light, so that the sparkle would show through because it really is lucious. I used two images only, and mounted them on to some blue scrap (I think it is some SU card that is no longer made).  I coloured each image with a different Copic, and added some bling. I put them onto a white commercial blank. I quite like this - the black EP looks so thick and the sparkle makes it look special. 

Recycling and CASing

I was given three smallish bookmarks by my husband this afternoon in passing - they had been in one of the frequent charity begging letters we get here (they seem to pass information between each of the groups or NGO's re names and addresses). I immediately knew what I would do with them and so I cut off the bottom piece which gave information re the roses and the painters, and mounted them on some SU Handsome Hunter, and using some SU Cranberry Crisp as my base card, I placed them on the card as seen below.  I used one of my Spellbinders Shapeabilities Frames, and the HH card scrap to cut a frame and then cut another in SU Cream, and trimmed it to fit into the frame.  I then used the SU set Thanks for Caring for the sentiment and the inside to create a sympathy card. The ink is SU Handsome Hunter. John is always sending out sympathy cards these days, so thought it would be useful - he was chuffed!

The second card is cased from my American magazine, page 12, but while I used the colour scheme and the sketch, the stamp set is from Annabelle 'All Things Grow' and I used one image to stamp the SU Always Artichoke card with SU Handsome Hunter ( it was on the desk!) and then used the Cuttlebug again and some Nestabilities - circles (green scrap) and scalloped circles (in kraft) and another Annabelle image, as well as the sentiment (in SU Poppy Parade)  - I also swiped the circle edges with this. Three Annabelle sprinkles and some Kaiser ribbon, mounted on SU Poppy Parade and then onto a card made from folded SU Kraft. Again, the Annabelle set was used inside the create a male birthday card for a family member, perhaps. 

It was pretty late when I photographed this and a bit dark outside, so it looks a little darked than it is IRL.

Spread your wings....

......the stamp said, and so I decided to have a go at something different.

The first card I have to share is one I made to highlight a stamp I got on my June Craft Stamper magazine; it is a stamp by Toby Tumble and is called Cuddly Buddly!  I used my Copics to colour him, die cut him with a Spellbinders Nestie and then put him in a commercial card that had already been dry embossed with some words. I also die cut a butterfly and added that as well as a handmade flower. Three Annabelle sprinkles were used for the body of the butterfly

The second card is made after I bought and read a magazine from USA called Stamp It! Winter 2011 (this version was on techniques) which I only buy occasionally as it is so expensive here.  However, this one has lots of great ideas in it so I forked out. The two cards were made using embossing differently.

Number one uses the flat side of a butterfly stamp to create a basic shape, and use this to stamp in Versamark, load it with EP and build up several layers doing this before turning the stamp around and stamping into the hot EP.  You then cut out the butterfly and make a card with this element. I made three butterflies and used lots of different EP before settling onto my Pipe Dream Opalettes - Tropicals.  I then used a Tim Holtz embossing folder in the Cuttlebug, with some Co'ordination brown card, lightly sanded, of wood grain, and a Spellbinders Shapeabilities label. I stamped the sentiment with Memento brown ink and sponged the label in both TH Antique Linen ink and some gold Pearlex. This is hard to see in the photo.  I also rubbed some of this over the butterflies to make them shine.

The second card in this series used watercolour paper (SU) and embossing with clear EP. Then use dye ink - my Tim Holtz distress inks were used, a green, red and blue one - and apply the ink, creating a gradient effect.  I spritzed it with water and  then put some gold Pearlex into a spray bottle of water and lightly sprayed the mixture over the paper as well.  I dried it off with the heat gun carefully, and used a tissue to clean up the embossed bike. I then stamped the sentiment with black Memento ink and trimmed the piece before rounding the edges.  I put some green silk ribbon and some twine onto the card and added the image with dimentionals.

This is a close-up so you can see the shine a bit better - it actually looks really good IRL!

Another week gone!

Just like that! I have a new part-time job and it is taking more of the part than it should at this stage, but hopefully it will settle down.

I haven't had time to craft until today, so made a card to fit several challenges.  I used the Mojo Monday #190 sketch for my layout, and Crop Stop wanted me to use Copics "in the shadows", while the CR84FN Challenge wanted me to use red, yellow and neutral. Tuesday Throwdown this week is to use a die cut in your work, and I have! Copic Oz is also having a challenge to 'celebrate women', so her goes for that too. So, here goes!

I used an image from Annabelle stamps, stamped onto Xpress paper with Memento black, and coloured it with Copic pens.  I die cut a frame using Nellies rectangles in red card, and die cut a flower as well.  The red in the flower and the red it the frame are just slightly different as I used scraps from my stash - didn't show up that much until I took the photos!  The background paper is from Basic Grey's Hello Luscious paper pad.  The ribbon is a Kaiser one and the rub-on is also one of theirs I think.  The base card is a commercial blank. The brads are from stash, and the heart is a Bella jewel. It is assembled as you see it, with the frame layered over the image. 

This is a clearer picture of the image and the colouring.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers and grandmothers and steps and others that act like mothers.......hope you all have a great day!

Finally I got some time to craft after all the running around when we got home getting things sorted out, washing and ironing and other household chores, doctors appointments and ladies breakfasts, visitors and such!  However, my MOJO has been on holiday and doesn't want to return,  so I found myself staring at stuff without any ideas of what to do next!!! Finally decided to colour in a digi  image I have had for a while and practice my Copic work.  Before I did that I carefully re-read all my notes and sorted them with  my samples into my notebook, so I thought I knew what to do........hmmmm, not so sure now I have completed the image, think I need a bit more practice!

So, thought I would enter a challenge next - chose another digi image from Digital Delight and decided to enter their Someone Special challenge. 

However, this time the printer ink smudged and worked against me (I had just changed the black ink cartridge) and smudged despite the fact that I heat set it beforehand.  I tried to feather the wings as well and look at light source, but I am afraid my image needs more work.

I thought someone who needs cheering up would be pretty special!  I followed the sketch at CPS #216 but am too late I think to enter it in their challenge. My die cut is Labels Fourteen by Spellbinders, and the card is all SU scraps except for the base card which is a Bazzil card.  The sentiment is from WMS and the flag is also. Three Annabelle sprinkles were used. 

My next attempt was to try something Clean and Simple - Challenge #139.  

I used the WMS stamp set Irish Blessings and SU Glorious Green ink on some green card scraps, and a blank card made with SU Glorious Green card.  The ribbon is from Papermania Verde set.  I stamped the clovers in a regular pattern but twisted the stamp each time I stamped it to get a different position for the clover.  It looks OK.

My last one was to go all out and make a fussy card for the Colout Throwdown Challenge #40 using SU Blushing Bride, Early Expresson and Baja Breeze, with a touch of Kraft.  I followed the MOJO Monday sketch Challenge #189 for this, and decided to let my head go and enter the Let's Ink It Up Challenge to Embellish It also.  

I used SU card and stamps and ink, the flag is a WSM stamp and the background paper is from My Minds Eye Pretty Please Spring papers. The SU stamp set for the sentiment is Well Scripted.  The circles were eithr punched out using SU punches or were from the Nellies Multiframe Circle set. I sponged the edges of the papers with SU Close to Cocoa ink and used Annabelle twine, Kaiser pearls and Websters Pages designer trim lace. The base card is folded Early Expresso, and the Kraft colour is in the twine. 

Tuesday Throwdown #47 was to create a Mother's Day card - well it was made on Mother's Day and is for a mother! Aud Sentiments #27 also wanted a card for Mother's Day - so I will enter it in both these challenges as well!!

I have been busy!

Been visiting family in Canberra and Melbourne, and while in Melbourne I was able to attend a Copic class and get myself Certified (!) as a Copic Teacher. So, guess my colouring will need to be pretty up there in future!!!

Will be back later with a few samples.