House of Cards Blog Hop!

The fabulous House of Cards Challenge Blog has now reached it's fifth term.  Mynn and the gang are saying a fond farewell to some of the Design Team and a big thank you to the girls who are staying on.

Sadly, I'm one of the girls saying 'farewell, and thank you' as I'm feeling the pressure of my DT commitments right now. I'm so sad to be stepping down as I've loved being a HOC girl and have thoroughly enjoyed creating with such a friendly and supportive challenge team. Thank you guys, I'm sending a huge MWAH! to you all.

The HOC Blog Hop will run from Wednesday 1st June until Wednesday 15th June. Any card style is welcome and here's a gorgeous inspiration photograph to get those creative cogs turning!

Who wouldn't want to sit down at this beautiful table!

As you can see, I decided to use the fabulous colours as the starting point for my card which combines Art Impressions images with a stunning Reverse Confetti sentiment.

Anyhooo, let's get back to the Hop... There are prizes and sponsors galore so make sure you leave a comment at each person's blog along the way because the prizes are hidden and the DT will be making random draws from the blogs where they are hiding! After you're done, make a creation to share with us for another chance to win!

Here are all of the fabulous sponsors.

The HOC team will be using a variety of products

from these amazing companies!

A Day For Daisies

Prize: 3 Digital Images

Reverse Confetti

Prize: $25 Gift Certificate

Great Impressions

Prize: Prize Package

MHKDesigns

Prize: Any three products of your choice!

And now, here's your hop order:

HOC Blog | Mynn | Sue T. | Cohenna | Donna | Dotty Jo | Em | Emily 
Heather | Jane | Judy | Karen | Katarzyna Ewa  | Katy | Leslie | Linda

Merethe | Merlina | Michele | Paula | Rocky | Rosi | Ruza

Shawna | Shirley | Steph | Sue N. | Susan | Tina | Toni

Now get to hoppin'!  Hopefully you arrived here from Donna's Blog so your next stop is Em's Blog.  Don't forget to link-up a project on the HOC blog after completing the hop for an extra chance to win a mystery prize from one of our fabulous sponsors, too!  

Happy hopping everyone!

House of Cards - May Challenge

The House of Cards May Challenge is a real beauty!
This month Mynn and the gang want you to create a card with transparent or semi-transparent papers.

Told it was a good one didn't I!

I went for sweet and girly with my card and had a lovely time creating this little piece of prettiness which hasn't photographed very well!

I stamped two pretty Hero Arts butterflies in Versamark and then heat embossed with white powder.

I stamped a Hero Arts script stamp over some pink spotted paper and then layered with glitter paper and matching pink paper. A few gems finished a very simple but satisfying make!

As always, the HOC team have created a stunning selection of cards for this new challenge.

House of Cards - April Challenge

It's time for another new monthly challenge over at House of Cards. 

There were some simply stunning entries last month, and I, for one, can't wait to see how everyone gets on with this month's challenge!  Mynn and the team want you to create a card with script and/or using this beautiful colour inspiration.

To be honest, I had to think long and hard about sharing this card. It's a sad truth that every now and then we have to create a card to send love and sympathy to someone who has lost someone special. This card has been made for the wife of a very good friend who has finally lost his long, brave battle with illness.

I used one of my favourite Hero Arts Peeking Pansies plus a subtle script background to create this simple card. I wanted it to be a pretty card rather than a sombre card so decided to paper piece the flower and use the green paper again for layering. I masked the square after stamping the image and then coloured, and stamped the script, with Distress Ink. 

As always, there's a stunning selection of cards on show for this challenge (with a total show-stopper of a card from Mynn) so why not head on over and check them out...

House of Cards March Challenge - Silhouette

It's time for another new challenge over at House of Cards!  This month Mynn and the girls would like you to create a card inspired by our code word:

I love making simple cards and to be honest they don't get much simpler than this one! 

The code word made me think of an outline image stamped randomly on a coloured background. The flower is from a beautiful Hero Arts set: Garden Flowers by Lia and gave me exactly the 'look' I was aiming for. I finished with a sentiment and then went on the produce a second card in the same style using a pretty leaf from the set.

My tiny card puts in an appearance top right! Happy birthday, Em!

As always the HOC gang have produced some gorgeous cards and you can check out all the inspiration right here.

Happy crafting everyone!

House of Cards February Challenge

Hi, everyone. It's time for another new monthly challenge over at House of Cards! 

For February, Mynn and the gang want you to 'Shape-up' and create a shaped card... That's anything other than a square or a rectangle if you were wondering.

To be honest I thought I'd struggle with this challenge. I usually stick with square and rectangular cards but I have to say I really enjoyed making this little card. I'm now feeling inspired to create more shaped cards.

This little cutie is from The Ton's sweet set 'Hey, Foxy'. I started by inking up a die cut circle with Distress inks to create the nigh time background. Then I stamped the trees (Hero Arts: Winter Trees) in Sepia Versa Fine. The fox is popped up, as is the circle. Finally, although you can hardly tell it, I added Wink of Stella and Stickles to give a frosty finish.

So why not come and join us at House of Cards? We'd love to see how you shape up this month!

House of Cards January Challenge - Use embossing and/or colours

Happy New Year everyone!

We're getting 2016 off to a great start over at House of Cards today with a technique and a colour challenge all rolled into one!

Isn't this a gorgeous graphic? I love the colours and was delighted to find some card to match the darkest green of the palette. 

This little stamp set stole my heart when I spotted it over at Make the Day Special. Adorable or what!

I wasn't sure how to colour the alpaca so did a little Googling and found this crazy picture. It's official: Alpacas are cute!

Our technique for January is embossing. I used an oldie but goodie embossing folder plus I heat embossed the wording... Job done!

As always there's plenty of inspiration to see over at House of Cards so why not take a look and join in our January Challenge?

House of Cards - End of Term Blog Hop and Prizes

Hi everyone, are you ready for some blog hopping fun?

Welcome to the end of term hop from House of Cards, if you're following the hop you'll have just landed here from the blog of my talented teamie Donna T.

Did you know that this blog hop is also a DT Call?

The House of Cards Team are looking for crafters comfortable in any card making style and it might just be YOU!  You'll be contacted after the challenge closes to let you know if you've made the team. Each DT member will just be in charge of one or two cards/projects per month plus commenting.  If you're interested in working with us a HOC for a six month term from January - June 2016, please email our leader, Mynn at onastampageATgmailDOTcom with the following information:   

• A link to your blog.
• Attached cards showing your style - 3 maximum.
• A brief description as to why you'd like to join the team at House of Cards.
• Any major life happenings you KNOW you have coming up in your life from January-June 2016 that might interfere with your DT responsibilities.

(Please email Mynn at onastampageATgmailDOTcom if you have any other questions!)    

I can hardly believe that I've come to the end of my 1st term at HOC. For many of the girls this is their third term on the team and Mynn and the gang are saying a fond farewell to some of DT members and feeling grateful to those staying on. 

So, to say goodbye and thank you, we're celebrating with a blog hop! 

This hop will run from 1st December through to 15th December... Any card style is welcome. Here's a gorgeous inspiration photo to get you feeling all Christmasy!

For my offering I've used a very traditional image from Mynn's Etsy shop MHK Designs. I loved the red candles in the inspiration picture and made sure that Santa's tree glowed with gorgeous red candles too. I also love the touches of gold in the picture so searched my stash for some gold card to use as a mount.

                                      

  

You can check-out the sponsor details on the HOC blog and also find that all important information about applying to join the Design Team. Make sure you leave a comment at each person's blog along the way because the prizes are hidden and we'll be doing random draws at the blogs where they're hiding! After you're done, make a creation to share with us over on the HOC blog, too, for another chance to win! Prize winners from the Blog Hop will be announced on 20th December and card winners will be announced next month on the 15th.

Your next stop on the hop is Em. 

Don't forget to link up a project with us after completing the hop for an extra chance to win a mystery prize from one of our fabulous sponsors, too!  

House of Cards November Challenge - Stamped and Cut Window Technique

The House of Cards team have done themselves proud this month!

It's technique time for the November Challenge and the girls have created a beautiful selection of cards using the stamped and cut window technique.

To be honest I wasn't at all sure what this technique entailed but after watching the video featured on today's post and made by our leader, Mynn-the-Marvel, I felt filled with confidence to try this for myself.

I stamped in Versamark and then heat embossed as I wanted to give this technique a CAS twist. I then used the finished panel as a background for SOG Mae and her mistletoe.

There's plenty of gorgeous inspiration for you over at House of Cards. I think this is a lovely technique and one that really lends itself to Christmas/Holiday cards. Why not head-over, take a peek at what the HOC DT have created this month and join us for our November Challenge.

House of Cards - October Challenge

We've got a lovely colour and texture challenge to share with you over at House of Cards this month.

Just look at this beautiful autumn colour palette: isn't this a season when Mother Nature simply out does herself??! 

I made my card for my friend and colleague, Jayne. She's our Dance/PE teacher and if there's ever laughter to be heard in the school where I work she is usually close by. Here's Jayne celebrating her birthday on Roald Dahl Dress-up day being a fantastic Fantastic Mr Fox and coordinating beautifully with her HOC card. 

Doesn't she look great? Jayne roared with laughter when she opened her card and enjoyed this Art Impressions Inc. stamp and sentiment combo every bit as much as I hoped she would.

The HOC girls are a very talented bunch and there's a fabulous selection of cards on offer to celebrate this stunning season over on the blog today. There's also a great tutorial from Mynn you really shouldn't miss and a beautiful card from our October Guest DT member Paula for you to enjoy.

House of Cards September Challenge - Stitch it up!

We've a brand new challenge over at HOC and it's all about sewing... Faux, hand or machine sewn its all good and we're looking forward to seeing some bewitching stitching on your creations this month!

As you can see I went the machine stitched route for my simple little card with my current favourite flower image from Wplus9. I appear to have set myself a mini-challenge to see how many different ways I can use this pretty stamp! It really is so versitile. The beautiful sentiment is from Reverse Confetti purchased from Make the Day Special.

I was trying for a feminine and fairly homespun look with this card and am pleased with how pretty the white embossing looks against the kraft cardstock. I coloured with my water brush and Distress Inks.

Yet again the HOC girls have created some beautiful projects so why not head on over, take a look and join in...

House Of Cards August Challenge - Metalics

Hi everyone, guess who has been operating waaaaaaaaaaay out of her crafting comfort zone???!!!
Yes, that would be me. I know that I joined-up with the HOC girls to push and challenge myself creatively but METALICS? Seriously?

Actually, after a little panicking I decided to use metallic embossing powders and a homemade stencil to create my card. I opted to make another shaker card and have even created a mini photo tutorial which will be appearing on the HOC Blog later this month.

Its a pity the light is catching the card in this way. In real life it looks much better and much less gaudy. My super-talented teamies at HOC have created some total fabulousness for their metallic-inspired creations and you can take a look by following this link to see for yourself.

Have a great day!

House of Cards - July Challenge

Hi everyone, just take a look at my shiny new badge!

Yes, I'm proud to announce that I am now a House of Cards DT member. Sadly, I haven't covered myself in glory with my new role thus far as I missed the posting deadline for the July Challenge. This was due to a whole bunch of things happening during the last fortnight which I could have done without! Nearly loosing this little guy

has to be the worst but the attempted car-jacking wasn't great either. Thankfully Mynn and the team (and my adorable Naughty Or Nice buddies) have been very understanding. So, without further ado here I go with my latest crafting adventure...

The July Challenge for House of Cards is to create a card with a food theme and/or using the colours in this totally yummy inspiration picture. Strawberries and mango... a real taste of summer don't you agree?

I decided to break out my brand new Stamping Bella stamp and get colouring with Promarkers and pencils. I just can't get enough of these pretty stamps right now.

I'd planned to include a 'Happy birthday' or 'Seize the cake' but after trying a whole bunch of different sentiment stamps I finally opted to leave this card sentiment-free.

When I played along with the previous HOC Challenge I was blown away by the range of different styles and techniques on offer over at HOC HQ. This month is no different, so why not head on over and check out the creations of this oh, so talented crew!

Colouring Challenge and House of Cards

Happy Saturday to you all!

So, hands-up everyonewho is playing along with Kathy R's second Colour Challenge? Thought so... Its great isn't it! Kathy is so talented and I've found myself positively drooling over her creations from the first few days. I'm also picking up useful tips: I've already started to give my Promarker coloured images a quick blast with my heat gun to avoid the colours spreading into each other as per Kathy's advice.

Over the last few days I've been colouring a different Up Town Girls image from this one but can't share it until I know its reached its destination. With that in mind, here's what I coloured today!

I really do love Opal the Optimist and that sweet sentiment! This wasn't my original layout plan but I had a small mis-hap with my die-cutting so went for off-centre layering for a change!

I've chosen my colours from the gorgeous inspiration picture over at House of Cards blog.

I never need much incentive to work with a pink and green palette as its one of my favourite colour combos.
The House of Cards girls have their end of term blog hop and a DT call-out on offer so I decided to join in the fun!