Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 136

This time at Crafty Cardmakers, the challenge is to have wings! They can be any type you like - fairies, angels, butterflies, birds - even aeroplanes - you choose.

For this challenge, I've made another Easter card.

The image is one I stamped ages ago when I was having a play with different techniques. The stamp is from Crafty Individual  and I 'inked' it using a combination of Aquamarkers and Marvy Brush Pens. I was wondering what to use for this challenge and spotted this! I've added some further colour with Promarkers.

The background paper is from my trusty Flower Power CD. The sentiment is computer-generated and cut with Spellbinders dies. The lace is another example of my attempts at crochet. It's not perfect, but I love that I could do it in the colour I wanted rather than having to use what I had or trying to shade with Promarkers. The flowers are also hand-made using dies from the Sizzix Susan's Garden range, shaded with Pan pastels and finished with liquid pearl centres.

I hope you can join us this time.

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

Artistic Stamper where the theme is 'flora and fauna',
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper Challenge where anything goes,
Craftalicious where anything goes,
Emerald Faeries where the theme is 'Spring Flowers/Easter',
Ladybug Crafts where anything goes,
My Artistic Adventures where the theme is 'Easter',
One Crazy Stamper where anything goes,
Paper Creators Crafts where the theme is 'flowers',
Scrapbook Cardmaking where the theme is 'Easter',
4 Crafty Chicks where the theme is 'Easter'.

A Couple More Birthday Cards

I've managed to get a couple more cards photographed, so here they are!

This is an unusual card for me - not least because it's watercoloured! The gorgeous image is from Becky Muir and I printed it out ages ago. I also watercoloured it ages ago - about the time I first got my Aquamarkers. But for various reasons, I never did anything with it and it's languished in a box until recently. I've always loved the image, and I was reasonably happy with the watercolouring although I'm not generally.

So, I cut and matted the image with various Labels 8 Nesties, added some paper from Papermania and a Sizzix die cut finished with some sticky gems, and that's it!

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

Craft Us Crazy where they want us to 'get cutting',
Lady Anne where anything goes,
Crafty Bloggers Network where anything goes.
Sweet Pea Stampers where they want digital stamps,

Now, for the second card, if, by any chance, my daughter is visiting here, she should leave now. No scrolling down, please. (I don't think it's likely she'll visit, but it's a possibility.)

So, now, the other card is for my daughter's 19th birthday.

Of course, this is a Ching Chou Kuik image, and it's been coloured with Promarkers. The stamped image was kindly given to me by a blogging friend ages ago, and I've been saving it for a special occasion!

In the background, I've used some paper I got on clearance from Craft Creations last time I put in a card order. It's really pretty - embossed and foiled too. The other paper is from Papermania.

The die cut is from Cottage Cutz. I'm reasonably impressed with how it's cut the mirriboard here - although it took a lot of passes through my machine. I think the problem I've had before with this die is due to the ejection foam. Attaching the die to the card as I would a 'normal' die doesn't work as the card seems to stretch during the first pass and subsequent passes shave bits off each cut line. Here, I've used eight bits of tape to hold the card securely all round, and I've then run it through with extra shims and at different angles until it seemed to be cut. Even so, there are a couple of areas where the paper behind the mirror finish wasn't completely cut, but I've managed to finish that by hand.

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

Forever Friends where they want animals/butterflies or birds,
Hanna and Friends where anything goes,
Moving Along with the Times where it's 'Only Girls Allowed',
Flutterby Wednesday where it's an open challenge.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 52

This week at Crafty Cardmakers, we're asking you to go to the seaside! We're looking for holiday memories. And we're sponsored by Joanna Sheen, so why not have a go and maybe win a £10 voucher for her shop?

Now, a traditional beach holiday is the last way I'd want to spend my time. But, I love being close to the coast, and was brought up in an area where there's a very coastal feel even though it's on a river estuary rather than the sea. So, this is what I came up with. It reminds me of sitting on a paddle steamer, soaking up the scenery.

The stamp is one I bought earlier this year from Hobbycraft. It's pretty big, and it lends itself to minimal embellishment. I stamped the image onto watercolour paper in Versafine ink, and then watercoloured using my Aquamakers. The pretty paper is from Paper Cellar.

The watercolour effect is great for this because in that area, warm summer weather is normally accompanied by a heat haze that leaves colours pale and washed out, and the beach here is exactly the sort you might see as you cross the river on a ferry or cruise on a paddle-steamer.

Hope you can join us this time!

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

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Clearly I Stamp where the theme is patterned paper,
Stampin' for the Weekend, where the theme is holidays,
The Paper Shelter where 'anything goes',
Creative Card Crew where 'anything goes',
Get Funky where the theme is 'by the seaside'.

Long Time, No Blog

I haven't been around much lately. Although I've been at home, I'm anxiously awaiting various paperwork from banks so I can get my mums accounts submitted and things handed over to the solicitor. And the banks keep making mistakes and taking forever to correct them. It's looking like I might not get it all finished in time for going back to school in a couple of weeks which is crazy.


What with hanging around, waiting for the postman, and generally fretting about things, I haven't done a lot of cardmaking. I've taken leave from OSAAT because I'm just not reliable at the moment, and Crafty Cardmakers/Spotlight is taking a break because so many DT members just needed some time away for various reasons. Still, I make cards as a recreation, so the other day, while I was frustrated at yet another mistake in the figures I was sent, I decided to calm myself with a little watercolouring.

A while ago, I tried out my Aquamarkers and wasn't that impressed, but I stuck with them, and having found a better watercolour paper, I'm getting better results. (I've still got concerns about some colours specifically which seem to sink into the paper instantly and defy all attempts to move the colour at all.) And, when I'm feeling a bit down, what better than to think about fairies and fantasy creatures?

(Entered into the following challenges: Die Cut Dreams where the theme is pink, green and coffee,

Stamps R Us where 'anything goes'

Corrosive Challenges where the theme is 'girlie'

Stamp Insanity where 'anything goes)

 

(Entered into the following challenges: Stamps +Fun where they want 'mythical creatures'

Fashionable Stamping where the theme is hand-made flowers,

Simply Stamping where the theme is 'punch it up'

Art Impressions where 'anything goes.)

Both Ching Chou Kuik images, of course. The top card uses some of those gorgeous MME papers from a magazine. In the case of the second, I coloured as I wanted to, and then found I didn't have any paper to match. so, I got out some yellow card, tapestry stamps and distress Inks. I've also used a Martha Stewart border punch on that one.

The flowers in both are made using a Martha Stewart cornflower punch and card coloured with Aquamarkers and Twinkling H2Os.

(Entered into the following challenges: Cards for Men where 'anything goes',

Here Come the Boys where the theme is brown and oranges,

Lollipop Crafts where the theme is 'make it masculine' )

This one is quite different. I love my Blossom Kaleidacolor ink pad - so much so that I've been wanting to get a few more. I finally ordered a couple - Autumn Leaves and Berry Blaze. I've got to say, I'm not as impressed with the colours on these. The thing I love about the blossom one is that the colours blend to give other colours which are very different to those in the pad while all the shades work beautifully together. With these two newer pads, the colours do work well together, but you only seem to get the basic five shades you started with. Still, Craft Stamper had a lovely leaf stamp recently, so I stamped it with the Autumn Leaves pad, using various combinations of the colours. The background uses the same pad, with the colours added to a non-stick sheet and 'smooshed' with some water.

(Entered into the following challenges: Bunny Zoe where they want Easel cards,

Shabby Tearoom where the theme is summer with a photo inspiration,

Dream Valley where there is a colour theme,

One Stop where the theme is 'bold and bright'

Stampman where they want summer colours,

I Love Promarkers where they want easel cards.)

And finally, a card for my sister and her partner. They got the keys to a new house just a few days after Mum died. It needed quite a lot of work, so they didn't move in right away, and instead pulled the place apart. They're due to finally move in in a couple of weeks.

The image is a Dover Books sample I've had for a while. It's actually a colouring page, but meant to be much bigger. Shrinking it to card-sized made it a bit fiddly to colour, but I was happy with the result, using Promarkers. The paper is from Papermania, and the sentiment is computer generated.

Aquamarkers

Anyone who ever visits this blog will know that I'm a Promarker fan. I've tried watercolouring using various options - paint, twinkling H2Os and markers, but I generaly prefer the result I get with Promarkers.

However, I was lucky enough to win some Aquamarkers by way of the Passion for Promarkers challenge blog, and I've given them a try. The pack I got included a blender pen, so my first attempt tried to use them as I would Promarkers. I stamped an image onto watercolour paper, put some colour directly onto the paper and used the blender pen to move the colour and combine shades. This didn't work very well - mainly because with almost no blending, I was picking up surface paper on the pen nib. The result was that the inked image got worn away in places, and the blending didn't work that well.

So, I switched to applying colour with a paintbrush. Once I'd done that, I added some shadows directly and blended them with the brush. This worked a lot better than the previous method, but it'll take some practice before I'm as comfortable with it as I am with Promarkers, if that ever happens. But, in the meantime, I have a result.

The image, of course, is one of Ching Chou Kuik's, and it's stamped on watercolour paper in Versafine ink. I added some detail with Sakura Stardust pens. The papers are by My Mind's Eye and Personal Impressions. I added some flowers - the large ones are Prima and the little ones from Wild Orchid Crafts. I finished them off with a couple of ribbon rosebuds I've had for so long, I've forgotten where they came from.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges: Colour Create who are looking for pink, cream and green,
Magical Monday Challenge where they're 'Going back to Nature' with some sort of magical creature - mermaid with bamboo and flowers.