A Postcard from....

Some boring life stuff got in the way a little bit for a while there, but today I would like to share this project which was made for a swap. There was no particular theme for the swap but it had to be a standard 4x6 post card size and had to include visible collage as part of the design.

I began by thinking about where I might like to send a post card from...and since San Francisco is on my bucket list, I decided that would be my starting point... When I think of San Francisco two songs immediately pop into my head... I left my heart in .... and be sure to wear some flowers in your hair.... and so these were my reference points. In the background you can see there is an ornate heart and hopefully the flowers reference is blindingly obvious.

I had great fun with this project and I loved using up some old book pages. The one tip I would give anyone using book pages in any art project is to check the text. Make sure that the text content is suitable for the audience. The text may or may not have anything to do with the theme of the project (in this case it does not) but people may still read it and it is vital to make sure there is nothing contained within it that might cause offence. (A few years ago a craft magazine issue carried free papers that included a text design, but they clearly did not check because the content would make even a sailor blush! They withdrew it of course but not before it had been viewed and complained about...OOps!)

Anyhow that is it for me for today. I hope to be back with regular projects moving forward and I have great plans for the New Year... more about that later.
Bye for now, take care
Cxx

Inspiration Journal sneak peek

I take part in a monthly Art Swap  over at Jenniebellies Journal Workshop forum and this month we each had to make an Inspiration Journal for our swap partner. 

I had such a blast with this. I can't show the whole thing here today because
A) there are just too many elements (cover , pages, pockets and tags)
and more importantly
B) I only just posted it off so my swap partner won't have seen it yet...

which is why I am sharing just one photo today...of the back of the journal...and no close ups!

This is the first time I have made this particular format and I was stunned by simple it is to assemble... in fact it was so easy I assembled three other bases at the same time as I made this one just so I have them ready to start on when the mood takes me. I particularly love that you may them in many sizes, the final size simply depends on the size of the sheet of paper or card you start with as your base.

I will be back with more details of this little project and hope maybe it will inspire someone else to have a go.
Until next time
Cxx

Inspired by Lucy

Last weekend I, along with hundreds of other craft addicts, went along to the Craft show at Alexandra Palace. I went armed with spending money but no plans to actually spend it as deep down I know (and I need to whisper this next bit...) I really do not need anything else to be able to craft... in fact I could probably craft daily for the next ten years and not need to buy anything other adhesive... but of course when faced with lots of products the temptation is great.

So feeling virtuous I decided I was going to go along simply to watch the demos...and this is where Lucy comes in... She was helping out on the PaperArtsy stand and she began to make a rather lovely tag...using ordinary tissue paper, inkfusions and treasure gold... and we chatted as she worked and she very kindly gave me the tag to take home...and it is gorgeous...

and because of Lucy's generosity of her time, skills and in handing over her creation, I decided I must try my hand at a similar project... and this is it. It is nothing at all like Lucy's lovely creation of course .. not helped by the fact I was slightly sidetracked by watching an art journal video online while making this (which is where the flowers came from) but the background was definitely inspired by Lucy...so Thanks Lucy, I had fun!

Until next time
Cxx

Bright Birthday

I spotted this image on some patterned papers in my craft room and really liked it... so I cut one of the sheets down and used it for this bright card  (which with the addition of a computer generated sentiment became a card for a Granddaughter.)  I chose two of the colours from the image to tie in the mats and used a wink of Stella pen in the centre of the three coloured flowers for a little subtle sparkle. I was quite pleased with the end result.

Until next time,
Cxx

Hello again

I have been languishing in self imposed exile while recovering from a small  surgery, but now I am back with a selection of tags I made for an International swap.

The tags on the right I made using brushos,  stencils and stamps

The tags on the left were made using  Decoart fluid acrylic paints.

It was such fun to simply relax and play with the materials and tags are fast becoming a favourite of mine.

Hopefully my swap buddies will like them ...

Until next time, take care
Cxx

Summertime Dream

This was an art journal page I  created as part of a  Summer themed page swap... It was actually my second attempt because initially I had wanted to make a summer meadow scene with butterflies rising up out of the flower-filled summer grass ... but there was a real problem transferring what was in my head onto the page ... it ended up being a hot mess. As with every hot mess project there comes a time to admit defeat and start over and so that was what I did... I wrote on my hot mess page acknowledging defeat and I flipped it over  and set to work on what I hoped would be a sunnier side.. and I was right!

This is one of those pages that just grew  and grew until I decide okay that's it, I'm done!  As with all good pages, it starts with gesso... followed by layers of blended acrylics,... I  drew the flowers and leaves freehand - something I need to work on - and then followed it with some colouring, shading, stamping, paint splashing., sponge edging and in this case a little Wink of Stella too...

And this is it. All Grown...

Until next time
Cxx

Stamps used:
Labeler Alphabet  and Butterfly stamps are by Stampin' Up!
Dream is one of a set of Artistic Expressions by Chocolate Baroque
Scribbly swirls in background are by Viva Las Vegas Stamps

I Dared to Create... the final workshop

Day two and the final workshop... a collaborative piece from Tracy and Andy combing their ideas and styles.

There were several points in the making of this piece when I thought what the heck...and once or twice I referred to my piece as "a hot mess!" but as the session progressed and we added more layers and used more techniques I grew to love it.

It has loads of texture and a little whimsy from the hand drawn imperfect heart (which by the time I was done with it, I loved!)  When searching for the perfect word stencil I knew I had found it when I saw one with SERENDIPITY...I just had to place it at an angle to be sure of not losing any off the edge.  This piece is very personal to me and is going to hang on my wall right where I sit and can see it.

This was my very first retreat and I loved it. It most certainly will not be my last.

Until next time
Cxx

Dared to Create on Day two (part one...the morning)

The second day of the Dare to Create adventure began bright an early with a workshop with Andy Skinner and this wonderful notebook was the project we made that morning.

This was all new stuff to me and a few times I could be heard saying "what did he say?" or "what colour?"...  and despite using it several times throughout the weekend, I still can't quite get my mouth round Quinachridone Gold. In fact a lot of colours have names that leave me totally tongue tied.  I do know my primary colours though! 

We started out with a notebook and set too preparing the covers for the Andy treatment. Once this was done we started on all the elements that go to make this a mini work of art.
I particularly loved the way we arrived at the bolts and I loved the aged and distressed appearance of the bookplate once we had finished it.

I chose to put mine on the back of the book but on reflection I think I may have preferred it on the front... its not a problem I can always add to the front if I still feel this way in a few days...I know I want to add a little something to the back anyway...

But for a first foray into this style of things I was very pleased with how it all came out and I loved every second of the workshop. Cheers Andy!

I also was surprised (or should I say stunned,  as I never win anything) to be the lucky recipient of a prize giveaway in Andy's class ... and my prize was this fabulous set of Chocolate Baroque Stamps.

I love the winged heart image and can see myself using every single one of the wording stamps in the coming weeks. I couldn't have hoped for a better prize.


The session ended in time for lunch after which we all met for our final workshop of the day and of the weekend... but more about that next time.
Cxx

I did Dare to Create

I spent the past weekend in some fabulous company at the first Dare to Create event , which was held in Coventry. It was a weekend of artyness and fun and at the end we each took away three completed pieces, a ton of inspiration  and some new friendships. 

Day one was an all day workshop with our chosen artist...and what a choice we had to make between the lovely Tracy Weinzapfel  from San Diego USA with her  bright cheery colours and  whimsical flowers and swirls ... or homegrown Andy Skinner with his darker grungier style - complete with skulls and eyeballs. 

I chose Tracy (actually mainly on the basis that she was from overseas and I might never get the chance to work with her again) and our group spent a fabulous day creating pretty artwork.                                                                                    It was a base and four squares that we painted and layered and painted some more and stamped and painted and painted some more until we each ended up with a unique piece and something we could be proud of...

 Tracy was very inspirational and sweet and very funny and encouraged us all to enjoy the process.
There is no wrong way to do this she said... and set us free.

It was amazing to see the whole range of art produced that day...each one unique.

This style was a complete first for me and I loved it. I came away energised and inspired and hoping to take what I learned forward into my own arty journey

At the end of day one I was happy... and also looking forward to day two...which I will tell you about next time.

Until then, take care
Cxx

Butterfly dreams

This is another card I made recently... this one is for a buddy overseas and is on its way to her as I type...

For this card  I used  Stampin' Up! products to build the background and stamp and punch the butterflies but the wording is from Off She Flew one of the new stamp sets by Leonie Pujol.

I was pleased with how it came out.

Until next time
Cxx

Wings...

This card was made for a buddy who likes pink and girly things.

For this card I used stamps from Leonie Pujol's new range. The main image is from the set called "Just Be" and the wording is from another set called "Off She Flew" . The background swirls are a stamp from VLVS latest 2016 collections.

I deliberately chose not to colour anything but her lips and I used a Wink of Stella to add a little sparkle to her eyes, hair and wings...which sadly does not show up in the photo...but it is definitely there.

Hopefully my buddy will like the card.
Until next time
Cxx

Awesome

I made this card specifically for an awesome little boy I know.

The background was painted with Brushos and matt gel medium (no water) . The Houses of Parliament is a Paper Artsy stamp and I used archival black,. The boy with a cape is one of my favourites from  VLVS and the  sentiment is one from a set by Stampin' Up!

The recipient lives over 5,000 miles away and the last time we saw him  he was wearing green wellies so I stamped an extra pair in green and added versamark and clear embossing powder to give that shiny green welly effect.

It was a fun card to make for a special kiddo. I hope he likes it.

Until next time
Cxx

Flowergirl

And now for something completely different... a card I was asked to make a for a little flower girl. I used a tonic die for the background and left the cuts in the design at the four corners. The image was coloured (and adapted slightly) using markers. Wink of Stella on the wings and flowers and perfect pearls as corner accents to complete.
Thanks for dropping by...
Until next time
Cxx

Celebrate your Fabulousness

This sentiment (from Happy Happenings set by Stampin' Up!) has quickly become a firm favourite of mine and I have already been using it in a wide variety of projects.

This was a very simple card made with dylusions sprays a few stamped flowers and a double punched butterfly but I really liked the simplicity in this one.
Thanks for dropping by.
Until next time
Cxx

Shine... like a super nova

I made this bright fun card  using new stamps from VLVS .

I started out with a piece of glossy card and to this I added Brushos in shades of yellow, lemon and orange with a few touches of turquoise here and there. Once I was happy with the balance I left this to dry.

I then stamped the wording and the star using archival ink. I also decided to stamp another star to add over the top of the base for a bit more depth and for this I used a Dylusions spray in pure sunshine for a slightly different gold yellow effect. I cut this out with scissors around the heavy scribbly lines of the star and adhered it over the top of the original, lining up the scribbly edges of course.

I wanted to keep with the shiny idea and so after inking the edges of the completed panel I decided to mat it onto a blue mirri board. I was quite pleased with how it all turned out
Until next time
Cxx

Say Cheese

I just love this ratty lil mousey rat (I thought it was a mouse but the title of the stamp calls it a rat...shock horror!)  Anyhow...it is a fab stamp to work with and it is central to the monthly challenge over at VLVS blog this month and it was the challenge that prompted this card.

 The chevrons and splodgey bits are all from the latest VLVS releases too. All greys and black for this one...cheese excepted of course because black cheese would be just wrong!

Until next time
Cxx

Playing with Brushos ...

I decided to have a play with Brushos and rather than use them as water reactive backgrounds for this card I used them as a paint... but because I knew I wanted to add on top of the background  and Brushos react to liquids, I decided to try something other than water to seal the colours in place.

I still sprinkled the Brusho powders onto my piece of card but instead of water I used matt gel medium and a paint brush to blend the background shades. This pretty much reacts like acrylic paint and allowed me to add inks and texture paste and stamping on top of the background with no blending of the background colours. It also allowed me to use a baby wipe to remove colour as I worked.

This was the first time I had tried this and I was pretty pleased with how it came out so I think I will probably try to develop this further.

Until next time,
Cxx

Age doesn't count...

Another in the "creepy" series...I just love these new stamps, can you tell?

This one I made specifically with the monthly challenge over at VLVS  (home of all that is wonderful in the rubber stamping world...and where you can buy the creepy stamps) in mind and I will admit that I didn't fully read the brief for this one  when I started out -  I was so caught up in the idea of using creepy mouse ....

So initially my background was a bit too colourful...but of course that was easily remedied with the addition of some extra grungy texture and the liberal sponging of darker shades (lots of greys and blacks) . This is offset slightly with the splatters of shimmer paint. Its one of those cards that looks way better in the hand than it does on the screen, but it is one of my favourite makes this week.

I also plan to enter it into the Craft Stamper  Take it Make it Challenge which is a free challenge to make anything as long as it has a stamp on it....which of course this card does....and also into the Make Your Mark challenge over at Addicted to Stamps and More

Until next time
Cxx


Products used:
shimmer card (from Papermill Direct)
Ranger distress paints (broken china, weathered wood, spun sugar,picked raspberry)
Dylusions ink spray (crushed grape, pure sunshine,)
Stamps from VLVS,... coloured with markers from Stampin' Up!
Dreamweaver texture paste,
Stencils:  Tim Holtz cargo &  Memory box texture mesh
Letraset fine line marker
Decoart shimmer mister in white
weathered wood distress ink, Ranger archival black ink.

Creepy critters

I am loving the creepy series of stamps on one of my new plates of rubber from VLVS. I have been messing about with them, stamping onto just about everything within reach.

For this card I used an off-cut of  white card with a few shades of distress inks for the background. I stamped the image onto the background and also onto pearlescent card using archival ink.  I also stamped two of the hats and another of the creepy critters heads and cut them out. ...giving the head a quick hair cut in the process. It was then simply a matter of lining them up over the base stamped image. It wasn't until I was assembling the pieces that I decided to offset the extra head.

I can see lots of ways this (and the other stamps on the plate) can be used and I suspect I will be sharing lots of these in the coming weeks.

Until next time
Cxx

Made with He{Art}

This card combines some of my favourite things right now... Brushos and VLVS plates of rubber. The background panel was Brushos over glossy card with edges sponged with archival ink. The scribbly star, wording and the random scribbly drops are all from one of the newest releases from VLVS. Simple but effective...and of course "in real life" the background card has that glossy sheen to it that the camera has not picked up.

I'm happy.
Until next time
Cxx

New plates of rubber

This week I took delivery of three brand new plates of rubber from Viva Las Vegas Stamps and they are  gorgeous. The latest release consisted of five new plates and the three I chose were 1471, 1472 and 1474. These plates comes as  a flat rubber sheet with as many stamps crammed onto each sheet as is humanly possible. You then simply cut them out and mount them in the way you prefer. I actually don;t mount mine at all. I prefer to keep them as plain rubber and I use them with a block that has tack'n'peel on it. That stuff is magical and it saves me a ton of money of mount foam and  loads of time because I do not have to faff about and there is zero stress involved.

For the above card I used  stamps from plate 1471 for the scribbly background and border,  the flowers and the wording and plate 1474 for the quirky little creature.

It was a very quick and basic effort but I was dying to try these out...and I shall be back in the craft room in a little while get all inky as I try out some of the other fabulousness that landed through my letter box this week.
Until next time
Cxx

Running lady

We recently returned from a USA trip and I picked up a selection of stamps I had pre-ordered from the wonderful Viva Las Vegas Stamps store (in Las Vegas of course!)

I absolutely love this running lady image and could see it working for a number of situations/occasions. This was my test stamping and I chose to keep it really simple, stamping in black archival ink on linen textured card. A simple red mat was all it needed and I will add a sentiment when I decide how to use it.

Sometimes simple is really good.

Until next time
Cxx

HeArt

I recently took part in an art swap where the remit was to make a heart using recycled or reclaimed materials...

So I grabbed an empty cornflakes box and a marker pen and roughly drew a heart shape and cut it out with scissors. I used this as a template for another layer and I stuck the two together to strengthen and allowed it to dry.

At this stage I will admit I have no idea what I was going to do...so I grabbed the gesso and coated each side of my heart with white gesso and left that to dry... while I gazed around for items I could recycle to use in this project...

and I spotted a pile of pretty paper napkins on the shelf and among them was the plain white backing layer that I had removed from a napkin used in a previous project. It had a little texture around the edges but otherwise was really plain, so I took some archival ink and a grid stamp and randomly stamped over the tissue paper and then tore it into little pieces and added that to both sides of my heart and once again left that to dry...



The drying was time was really useful because it allowed me thinking/gathering time in between stages.

I knew I wanted to decorate both sides of the heart but I also realised I would need to add a string to hand it and so the reverse side needed to be fairly flat....and I needed to work on that side first.

By this time I had an idea of what I planned to do and I wanted a contrast between the two sides and decided to stick with monochrome on the reverse side. I added extra tissue to give more texture and stamped more of the grid onto the dried base. Then I chose the wording stamp (SU) and stamped it centrally before adding a heart frame using liquid pearls.

Once that was dry I could start on the front of my heart. I decided I wanted something pretty and I wanted there to be texture. I chose two stencils and applied texture paste through each one and left them overnight to fully cure.

It was at this point that I found some scrap red card and punched a heart. To this I added some white cotton mesh trim which I adhered to the red heart with gel medium. Once this was dry I trimmed it with scissors, leaving a little overhang all round.

Then it was time to add colour. I used a whole mixture of colourants including luminarte powders, brushos, distress paints and inks. I started with a generous dollop of gel medium and added the colour bit by bit, mixing as I went and using water spritz and tissues to blot and add layers of colour. When I was happy I set it aside to fully dry.

Now all was left was the finishing touches..I made up the teeny locket which had been lurking in my craft room for over two years (shame on me), sealing the image inside with gel medium and topping with a dome, I attached this to the heart and adhered the heart to the project.  I added liquid pearls to the flowers and around the edges of the heart  and used stickles shimmer to the butterflies and once I was happy I went around the edge of the heart on both sides with some diluted soot distress ink and then added the rescued ribbon to finish it all off.

I have been sitting on this project for a while because my swap partner was away and I wanted to be sure she saw the heart at her house before it appeared anywhere on-line.

That is it for now..my recycled heart has a new home.
Until next time,
Cxx

Bookmarks

I love books (real ones) and bookmarks and so it was an easy decision for me  to take part in a bookmark swap. For this swap we had to make a pair of bookmarks based around a favourite book. Now asking me to choose a favourite book is like asking a mother to choose a favourite
child, but since I had a set of gorgeous Alice stamps it seemed only right to use them here...and who doesn't like the Alice books eh?

I made one wider and slightly longer than the other but basically used the same process to link the two. I started with mixed media paper and used a variety of inky sprays to from a background base - letting each colour dry before adding the next to avoid the possibility of "mud" colours. Once the base was dry I added some texture paste through an Um Wow Studio stencil and when they was dry I added colour using a variety of colours in the perfect pearls range...this gives the text a little bit of sparkle.

The stamps I used for this are from VLVS and I stamped them onto the background and then again onto another sheet of moondust  paper. I  coloured the background to the image on the right and then fussy cut the characters out of the the moondust images and adhered them over the top using gel medium.

For the tails of the bookmark I punched and set the bookmark with my cropodile and then used some wool fibres. I rolled paper beads around the tail ends of the fibres to finish them off and sealed them with a gloss finish. I placed the bookmarks on the worktable with the tails hanging over the edge to allow them to dry overnight and to prevent them form sticking to anything or to each other.

I was quite pleased with the end result and sad to have to have to put them in an envelope and send them off. I think I may make a second set for myself...I do love a nice bookmark!

Until next time, take care
Cxx

Because you're awesome

I made this card for an awesome friend of mine with a birthday soon.

The butterfly was triple stamped and embossed onto glossy card and has split fibres for antennae. It was cut out by hand using scissors.

The background was a triple mat of gold foil card, chocolate brown textured card and a pretty pastel card which I embossed with a crafter's companion texture 8x8 embossing folder

The wording is from a Stampin' Up! set called Botanicals for You and I stamped it onto vanila card, cut it out and used a distressing tool and some vintage photo distress ink to age it slightly.

End result is a very simple card that says what it needs to say and I know my friend is going to love it.

Until next time
Cxx

March Madness

March was a bit of a crazy busy month and  time just ran away from me... but March included a long awaited trip to the USA.  The trip was my lovely husband's birthday present so there are no prizes for guessing that we ended up in Las Vegas! It was wall to wall fun though and we also got to enjoy some down time as well as catching up with our fabulous friends... and of course some shopping.

The time flew by and before we knew it we were bouncing back across the Atlantic - the turbulence was quite something and the storms that followed here in the last day or so were no real surprise to us. Now we are home, unpacked and enjoying all that jet-lag has to offer.

I picked up lots of lovely goodies in the States (courtesy of Viva Las Vegas Stamps, Michaels, The Crafting Place, Dick Blick and Tuesday Morning) and will be putting them to good use in the coming days and weeks... but for now I will share this card...

It was made for a daughter's birthday but using parameters set for a challenge...killing two birds with one stone is a horrible phrase but that is effectively what I did here.

The remit was to use at least six embellishment options  and I used lace,pleated ribbon, gold loop trim, feathers, silk flowers, paper flowers, leaves,
pearls, gems, pearl pins, a punched  bow and some gold brads, a  die cut panel, a tag and a banner. Not exactly my usual style but it is good to step outside of your comfort zone every now and again and try something different.

Luckily this was being hand delivered or it would definitely have need a protective mailing option and the depth would have increased posting costs considerably.

Tomorrow I plan to start on some tags for an International swap...there will be inkyness involved for sure..but until next time, take care
Cxx

.

Birthday card

March is a birthday heavy month in our family and friends circle and I am trying to get ahead of myself because some of these cards need to travel a fair distance and I can't leave them to the last minute.

I love the simplicity of this one...The Tonic die was on offer as a weekly deal at CraftsULove and so was hard to resist and as soon as it arrived I opened it and did a few test cuts because that always helps me to have a better idea of how I will use the die in my projects.

This card is going to be mailed overseas and so needed to be fairly flat... but flat does not have to mean boring and I love the detailed die cut on the back ground piece... in fact I thought it was enough really and so all I added was a pair of small stamped and punched butterflies  around the stamped greeting and a pearl gem at each corner.
I really like how this came out and I hope it travels well.

Until next time
Cxx

Messing about with Brushos

I got a set of Brushos for my birthday last year, but last summer was not a good one and its only recently that I have actually opened them up and started playing with them...and I love them.

It is so quick and easy to get the most amazing backgrounds and its highly addictive too. Once I start I seem to always end up with a least a few sheets of Brusho backgrounds ready to use in future projects.

The blue base was originally intended for a sea themed card but that failed and the murky mermaid was ditched in favour of sunny butterflies... The centre panel and the butterflies were made from a background using warmer tones in Brushos. I stamped the butterflies in archival black once the background sheet was fully  dry and then punched them out.

The picture doesn't really show it but the brusho sheets were formed using shimmer card and this gives the colours an extra shimmery sheen...it is also a heavy weight card (330 gsm I think) and so it was really easy to curl the wings over the end of a pokey tool before attaching the butterflies to the card panel.

This was a fun card to make and I was quite pleased with the results... and in the process of making those background sheets I discovered which shades when used in close proximity to each other will make mud...

If you play around with Brushos I bet you will soon find that out too...

Until next time
Cxx

Crazy Cats

I have crazy cats!... my new stamps and dies arrived at lunchtime and my desk is now covered in crazy cats...I love them.

Pretty much as soon as they hit the mat I ripped open the packaging, inked the first cat I laid hands on and stamped him on a piece of pearl card that  was on my desk... which just  happened to be one I used with brushos for another project earlier today.

This was a first tester card...the card base already had the patterned paper in readiness for another card idea  but that was quickly shelved when the cats landed here.... because I just had to work with these little beauties.

I have the crazy birds too and I reckon the two will work beautifully together. They are perfect when you want to inject a little humour into a project and I am sure I will use them loads in coming months.

Until next time
Cxx

Awesome

Here is a cute card I made for my great nephew's birthday.

It is really simple but I think that is part of the charm.  The wording is from a set by SU and was stamped direct to the card panel and then heat embossed.

The image is one of the quirky darlings (Boy with a cape)  from VLVS. I stamped this on a separate piece of card, heat embossed it and then fussy cut and mounted it on foam pads

The card panel is a shimmer card (does not show up well in photos but in real life is really pretty)  and was ink edged before being adhered to the card base.

That's it for this one. Until next time...

Cxx

No longer neglected stash

This was more of an exercise in playing with a new die that I found lurking unopened on the mess of my desk  where  I just happened to have multiples of an also neglected stamp I was trying out recently...and the two just seemed to marry well and so this little card was born.

Orange is a colour I don't tend to use that much when it comes to cardstock and I'm not really sure why because it is such a bright  and cheery option.

Anyhow this was simple card really. I used a tonic die  and a stamp from VLVS. It involved minimal colouring and was finished with a couple of enamel dots.

Until next time...
Cxx

Feeling sketchy

I am not referring to me feeling sketchy of course, but I did feel like stretching myself and so I joined in with a sketch challenge on Trimcraft forum boards.

Although I often find myself widely interpreting a sketch and using it as a starting point for my own sketch inspired design, for this one I didn't really deviate  from the basic sketch.

It is a very simply monochromatic design using textured card and patterned paper. I included some paper piercing and I used foam pads to add add dimension.

I did not include a sentiment on the front of this card because it was a sketch challenge and I don't yet know how or when I might use it...but I do like the clean lines on this and  it will be easy to add a sentiment when needed.

That's it from me for now, Until next time, take care
Cxx

Birthday card

February is a birthday heavy month and I have lots of cards to make, so needed to get a head start rather than leave it all to the last minute as I sometimes do...

 I used a couple of sprays onto a shimmer card panel and added some ink with sponges for the background on this one.

Once it was all dry I over-stamped the gorgeous tree image  and  the sentiment in Black Archival ink.

I popped the whole image onto a bright yellow mat and adhered that to the front of my card base.

Image  was one of the stamps on a plate of rubber form VLVS. The sentiment is by Stampin' Up! and is from the Happy Birthday Everybody set.

Until next time,

Cxx

Choose Happiness

I was playing around in my craft room today with some emboss resist and some floating colour. The centre panel was one of my off cut test pieces but I really liked the soft embossed flower on the cream pearly card so I added some more water and some Brushos ...

With the freedom that comes  with free-fall crafting, I opened the box of Brushos and ,  without even looking to see what they were, grabbed three at random  and added them to the panel. To ground the flower I stamped a couple of leaf stems and added colour to them with a blender pen. I  stamped and heat embossed the sentiment at the bottom of the panel.

By the time I had finished working on this panel it was pretty warped from all the water I had used so I stuck it firmly to some purple card and then using lots of foam tape added that panel to another piece of the cream pearl card and that formed my completed mat panel for the centre of the card.

I really didn't want any more stamping or patterned papers around the focal image panel but I wasn't so keen on the plain card either side, so I embossed the edges with a border embossing folder (from Stampin' Up!) and I liked that as a frame for my panel. I punched a bow from a scrap of the painted pearl card and added that with a glue dot. A purple gem finished it off.

Inside I added a cream panel which I sponged with ink all around the edges , added a stamped greeting and a die cut butterfly...and that was my card, born out of a scrap of inky card. I just love it when something simply falls into place. That is Serendipity!

Until next time, take care

Cxx

Keeping it simple

I was sorting through some of my stamps last evening and came across a plate of Alice in Wonderland themed stamps which included this one.

I really liked the black on white for this image and I stamped it onto linen card which gave it a more line art effect. I adhered  the stamped image onto a red  mat to make it pop.

I wasn't sure about the flat plain background of the base card and decided to add texture by embossing the front of the card. For this I used an 8x8 folder in a basket weave pattern.

I haven't added any sentiment or greeting as yet because this truly is an all occasions card and I shall keep it in my cards to go basket until its needed.

Until next time
Cxx

Be adorable....

Within my buddy swap partners this month I had a male crafter and decided this caped boy image  would be perfect along with one my favourite wording stamps the A-Z stamp... Be Adorable, be brilliant, be crazy, be daring... etc that I used on my 2016 New Year postcard project. Both stamps are from VLVS.

This time I opted for a plainer background than I used on the postcard project, and I stamped the boy and sponged the shading using midnight muse ink (from SU) on plain white card and over-stamped the wording with black archival ink. The stars were made with gold embossing texture paste through a  Heidi Swapp stencil.

I really enjoyed making this card and I'm delighted to report that the recipient loved the card too... and although he's not a stamper (yet) he  has decided to give stamping a try... What's not to like? .

Until next time,

Cxx

Dream Big

Sticking with some of my fabulous VLVS stamps,  this one was another  card I made for a buddy swap this month.

I used a variety of sprays for the background and then I used the spritzer tool and markers to fill in some gaps and add some extra depth. As this was a sort of New Year theme (at least in my head)  I added the stamped burst in a shade of bright gold and stamped the Dream Big in archival black.

I decided to use the little girl with the crown for this one and I stamped her on a separate sheet and decided to colour only the crown and the sash and rose detail on her dress.

 Once this was done I fussy cut the image and decided on placement. ...But before I adhered her to the card I wanted to ground her ,rather than have her appearing to be  hanging in mid air. For this, I grabbed another VLVS stamp (designed by my friend - the fabulous DeeDee Catron) and over-stamped along the base using perfect pearls and some water mist. This gave some added interest, texture and a little shimmer too. Once everything was dry I ink edged the decorated panel, popped it onto a coordinating mat and once all was adhered I popped the little girl on the front using foam pads and added some teeny drops of crystal lacquer to adorn her crown.

I was pleased with the end result and hope my swap- buddy likes it too.

Until next time, take care

Cxx

Make a Wish

 This week I have been  busy trying to get my chaotic craft space into some kind of organised shape. Its a mammoth task and not made any easier by the fact just about everything I pick up makes me want to start making something...

and with that in mind it stands to reason that  trying to sort out my VLVS collection of rubber stamps would  lead to a creative halt in the organising..

and it did. BUT I  am glad because I love this card!

 I masked off the circle and  used a couple of Heidi Swapp sprays to make the background. Once that as dry I used four shades of distress markers to freehand the frame around the circle and used vintage photo distress ink all around the edges of the card panel before adhering it to a  chocolate brown mat.

On a separate sheet I stamped the girl in archival black and the balloon in red and then heat embossed the balloon for the  clear glossy effect.I also stamped and fussy cut some teeny flowers and added crystal lacquer to the centre of each. I stamped a few leaves around the framed circle and adhered the  flowers, girl and the balloon  with foam pads.

I used the same four distress markers as before to ink the sentiment which  cut out and light edged with the vintage photo ink before sticking it to the card.This card is now on its way across the ocean to a swap partner who I hope will love it.

Until next time
C xx

2016 starts here...

2015 was a particularly difficult  and horribly unforgettable year for us ..but it is gone now and a fresh and shiny new  year lies ahead.  I have never been one for making New Year's Resolutions, we often set ourselves up to fail  with vague and sweeping resolution, and I am not about to start now.
That said, I do want to make sure that 2016 is a better year than its predecessor and so I thought that the sentiment I used on this project was a good one for the year.

The A-Z stamp is from VLVS (as is the boy with a cape)  and I think it is a good template to live by... Be adorable, be brilliant, be crazy....
be  daring, be excellent, be fun...
be gracious, be humble, be inspired...
be  joyful, be kind, be loving...
be nice, be original, be punctual...
be quiet be random, be spontaneous...
be thankful, be unique, be vivacious...
be eXtravagant, be young, be zealous...

 and of course we really should not need to be reminded to do more of what makes us happy... but this SU sentiment says it anyway and I could not resist.

So I make no resolutions for the new year but I plan to make this one the best I can ... and I wish you and yours the kind of 2016 you really need.

Cxx