International Art and Soul Challenge 77

For this challenge, we want you to follow a sketch. You can make a card, layout, or anything else you can imagine, and you can turn it or change relative dimensions, so long as the original sketch is recognisable.

And I used it to make an anniversary card.

The central image was stamped using a stamp from Creative Expressions, and the papers are from Papermania. I embossed two pieces of card, one using a Sizzix folder, and the other, one from Design Objectives. I used some Memento ink for the image and for shading the embossing, and added a little colour to the image with coloured pencils.

To complete the card, I triple embossed a card heart. I had intended to give it some texture with a celtic knot work stamp, but didn't like the result, so I re-melted the embossing powder. That left a ghost image which I did rather like, so I let it stay!

I do home you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 177

This time, at Crafty Cardmakers, the challenge is to use embossing: heat or dry - it's up to you!

Of course, if you're like me, you get a word in your head: embossing and you have to try all of them, and about now.

So, the image has no embossing! It's a stamped image using a Debbi Moore stamp I've had forever, and I've coloured it with Sharpie markers. It was really just an 'I wonder' moment, and there's no finesse in the colouring at all, but I liked the vibrant result. I've added a little glitter to the butterfly using a Spectrum Noir glitter marker.

For the background, I first dug out a Spellbinders Impressability plate. I inked it using a Kaleidoscope ink pad, then ran it through my Big Shot Pro. The result is techinically debossed, but it definitely adds some texture. Then, I embossed some green card using an embossing folder, then applied some of the same ink to the result with a brayer.

I've triple embossed a chip board flower. The main part uses UTE powder, and the centre is standard, both Cosmic Shimmer. The sentiment was stamped in Versamark ink and embossed with the same standard embossing powder.

I hope you can join us this time!

Crafty Cardmakers and More Challenge 150

This time at Crafty Cardmakers and More, the challenge is to use Autumn colours!

Being somewhat awkward, I decided to make a Christmas card, and this is what I came up with.

I was recently given some cards by someone who was doing a clear out - long, narrow gold cards which seemed perfect for Christmas when you sometimes want something smaller than I usually make. I matted with red card - it's really quite a warm red but for some reason seems to be shading to blue in the photo - no idea why! I added a raised snowflake panel and the word 'Noel'  in brown. I triple embossed heavy duty card snowflakes using Cosmic Shimmer UTE in a red/gold shade and used these to finish.

I hope you can join us this time.

A Secret Santa Gift

At work, we do a Secret Santa each year. This year, I bought a gift and added a home made edible, so I needed two matching boxes. Needless to say, the easiest way to find what I wanted was to make them!

The left hand box has the main gift in it, while the square one is filled with edibles! I stamped black card with Versamark before embossing with Silver Detail powder. The stamp is one I picked up on sale while I was on holiday during the spring - it's a big stamp, but incredibly useful for things like this. For the top panel of the smaller box, I triple embossed a piece of black card with ultra thick EP, then stamped the same image in silver ink while the embossing powder was still melted. I matted the panel on silver card, and that's it!

I tied the two boxes together with silver string and added a tag.

So, that's one item on my present list ticked off!

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

Challenge Up Your Life where they're looking for boxes/packaging,
Krafting Kimmie where they want embossing,
Pattie's Creations where they want anything Christmas with a stamped or digi image,
Stampin' with the Dragon where anything goes.

Crafty Cardmakers Embossing Challenge

This time on Crafty Cardmakers, we want to see your embossing! It can be heat embossing, or dry embossing by machine or hand - it's up to you!

This time, we're sponsored by Joanna Sheen, who's offering a £10 voucher to the lucky winner.

As is often the case, I couldn't make up my mind, so I've got a couple of cards to show you.

This one uses a background which I stamped in gold ink then embossed with holographic clear powder. Then I edged the card with more of the gold ink. The image is a die cut I bought while on holiday a while ago. I heat embossed it, first with a blue ultra-thick powder, for about four layers, and then with some gold ultra-thick powder, before stamping the result with a floral background stamp while the embossing was still melted.

I finished the card with some matting, and some sticky gems coloured with Promarker.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Penny's Paper Crafty Challenges where anything goes,
Paper Pretties where they want texture (embossed dragonfly and background),
Crafty Creations where anything goes,
Sew Many Cards where anything goes,
Stamp Something where anything goes,
AI Factory where they want something from a nature walk (dragonfly),
Creative Inspirations where they want glitzy and bling,
Card Cupids Blog where they want no patterned paper (hope this counts - it wasn't patterned when I started!).


And then, there's something a little different!

The image is from Crafts and Me, and was stamped (in black) and heat embossed (clear). (One tip I picked up some years ago when I was struggling with stamping in general, was to put your colour with ink and emboss clear as it tends to record more detail because the embossing powder 'smudges' when it melts.) I've watercoloured the image with a combination of Aquamarkers and Twinkling H2Os.

The background is Coredinations Chocolate Box card, and I used a Spellbinder's Borderability (for the scallops), and embossed with Cuttlebug folders in my Wizard, then sanded to reveal the blue shade underneath.

The flowers are from some gorgeous lace I'm hoarding (and yes, I've got it in two different widths - I like it that much!) The lace and the ribbon are both from Hobbycraft.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Tuesday Throwdown where they want die cuts (borderability die with scallopped edge)
Top Tip Tuesday where they're having a flower frenzy,
Papertake Weekly where they want punches or die cuts (borderability die with scallops),
Everybody Art where they want flowers,
Creative Craft Challenge where they want distressing (distressed embossing),
Clear it Out where they want ribbon or trim (ribbon and lace pieces),
Fabulous Friday where they want ribbon,
Really Reasonable Ribbon where anything goes,
I Did it Creations where they want ribbon and lace (the flowers are from a piece of lace).

Challenge 58 at One Stitch at a Time (First Post)

This week at One Stitch at a Time, the theme is 'Make it Sassy'. Now, that theme gave me some problems. It's probably because I'm from the UK (and not still a youngster) but that word just doesn't have any positive connotations for me. I can think of many words I'd use instead, but all of them are rather insulting. So, I checked a US online dictionary looking for something I could use and it said it meant 'bold'. Now that can be negative too, but I took it to refer to colours, and that works for me!

We're sponsored this week by Joanna Sheen, and remember she doesn't charge postage to anywhere in the world, so it's a great prize wherever you are!

This week, I got to work with an image from Floppe Latte, and chose the lovely 'Floral Border 2' image. As the name would imply, it's one of a series, and the only problem I had was picking just one!

Given the theme, I wanted some boldly coloured papers to go with the image, and I decided to use a couple from Floppe Latte's Fun'n'Funky papers set which I got a while ago. And they're so bright and cheerful, I couldn't decide which to use, so I ended up with two cards!

I placed the digi-stamp over the paper in Photoshop Elements, filling the inside areas of the stamp with white, then added the greeting. Once I'd printed the combined stamp/backing, I coloured the digi-stamp with Promarkers, and then coloured copies of the main flower and leaf to match before layering them over the image.

To finish, I used some heat-embossing. I die cut a flower shape using my nesties and Wizard, then embossed with some pastel coloured powder I've had for a while. I used four or five layers of embossing powder, and when I was happy the layer was thick enough, I added some Perfect Pearl powders to the surface before melting it into the embossed surface. One more heating of the embossing, and I stamped with a floral background stamp to give some texture. Both are finished with a sticky gem.

And so you can see the cards in a little more detail ...

Hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter these cards into the following challenges:
Papertake Weekly where the theme is 'Truly Dimensional',

Top Tip Tuesday where the theme is 'Spring has Sprung' and what says 'Spring' better than flowers!
Crafty Calendar where the theme is 'April Showers bring forth May Flowers'
Daring Cardmakers where the theme is 'Easter or Spring', and to me, Spring means flowers.
Digis with Attitude where the theme is 'Spring has Sprung'
Totally Papercrafts where the theme is 'Springtime'
Stamp Insanity where the theme is 'Flower Power'