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

Well that didn't go so well and now its November

Its not that INKtober  escaped me, I was busily creating away throughout the month, it was that various elements of technology got suddenly rather stroppy and refused to play nice...with me and with each other and I was unable to load anything.  I have finally figured out  and resolved the problem (I hope) and normal cheery service should now be resumed.


There seems little point in flooding this post (or the next few) with all the INKtober projects  so I will just start over...Its November and here in London we have been enjoying  some pretty impressive and rather wet fog. So to counteract the wintery gloominess, here is a Happy Hello from me today.

I love the Tim Holtz bird crazy set - those birds are so cute and now I have the dies, I am going to use them loads more - cutting them by hand was driving me crazy, especially trying to get round all the fiddly bits. This was  coloured using promarkers. The little bow was made using the TH bow punch and everything else (base card, embossing folder, sentiment, ribbon and dahlia embellishment) is  from Stampin' Up!

That's it from me for today...until next time, take care
C xx

Inktober the 8th

A little simple floral inkyness today with cream stamped card matted onto on gold matted onto a kraft card base.

I deliberately stamped off the page on this one. I then stamped the larger flower, then the leaves and then stamped a second flower on a scrap piece of cream card and cut it out. (I do have the punch for this flower, but it wasn't to hand and the scissors were right there... and since it was just the one it was easy enough to do)  A foam pad to pop it up and it was placed over the original image. A small white perfect accent in the centre of the flower finished it off.

And that is today's quick and simple offering. I'll be back tomorrow with something different...and I am still trying to steer clear of Christmas cards,...at least until the clocks go back.

Until tomorrow, take care.
Cxx

Inktober the 7th

A whole week of Inktober has passed already and wow that just  flew by...

Anyhow a really quick and simple card from me today using the layered letters stamp set from Stampin' Up! It is a photopolymer set that comes with two base stamps (rectangle and oval) and a full set of letters and symbols to stamp over the top. Its really quick and easy to use and the possibilities are endless.

I teamed the set with another to complete the sentiment and add a little extra interest and Ib finished it with a little bow of tied lace trim.

Haven't yet decided what I will make tomorrow, but it is INKtober and so it will involve ink for sure.

Until next time, take care

Cxx

Inktober day 6

More stencil work included today...I cheated a little and started this one yesterday because the metallic texture paste  needed a long time to dry.  I used the metallic texture paste through a butterfly storm mask (sourced from my dear friend the fabulous Dee Catron at  Um Wow Studios).

I left it to dry overnight and today I went back with sponges and ink to create a blended sky (using  blues, yellow and  pinks) to which I added a die cut and punched layered butterfly and a stamped sentiment. I really like how this one came out. Playing around  with ink just for fun is so therapeutic
Until tomorrow
Cxx