International Art and Soul Challenge 121

 The challenge for this fortnight was chosen by my team mate Sall, and she wants projects on the theme of Remembrance. 

That's a very appropriate theme for this time of year, but I found it hard to come up with a project that I could actually use. It's not normal to send cards for Remembrance day, and while people wear poppies, making your own kind of defeats the purpose of poppies as a way of making money for the Royal British Legion. So, my project has poppies, but no specific mention of Remembrance, beyond the fact that sending someone a card is a sign that you're thinking about them.

I started with Claritystamp stamps. The image and text are from the beautiful Art Deco range, and have the added benefit (from my point of view) of being stained glass style, so they represent two of my favourite styles immediately.

I stamped the image with Versafine Clair, then coloured with Promarkers, although the very narrow borders were coloured with water-based fine liner pens. I simply cannot get Promarkers to behave in that sort of very narrow space. I know they used to supply fine tips for the pens and these were great, but quickly became clogged and unusuable. It's such a pity they couldn't make those work.

The background started with Distress Ink applied to white card. My thinking was a kind of 'out of focus' poppy field, but I'm not sure how well that worked out. I took the result and embossed it with an Embossalicious folder. Then, I used black Distress Ink to pick out the raised areas.

I matted the image on red and then black card, and the background on black, and that's it. I considered adding something (like some poppies) but decided it worked well enough without.

I do hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 83

Our challenge for this fortnight is one I'm sure you'll want to enter. Any project, and colours. It just hast to contain flowers and butterflies.

I made something for my sister when she was feeling down.

I made the frame using an Elizabeth Craft die, embossed the card with an Embossalicious folder and added detail with some gilding wax then finished with some Modge Podge. The backgroudn was created with a couple of stencils, Versamark ink, Perfect Pearl powder and some embossing gloop I've had for many years. The fowers were made using a variety of dies, including ones from the Sizzix Susan's Garden range, Memory Box, Joanna Sheen and shaded with Pan Pastel, and the butterfly used some Spellbinders dies.

I hope you can join us.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 246

The challenge for this fortnight is to do away with patterned paper. Leave your stash of pretty papers alone, and other than that, any project is allowed!

I made a card and matching box for a friend who retired last month.

I started with some white card which I coloured with Distress Oxide ink in several of my favourite shades.

Then, I embossed two roughly 8in by 8in pieces using an Embossalicious folder. I then added a little more distress ink on some of the embossed areas and finished with a little gilding wax.

I made some flowers using dies from Sizzix's Susan's Garden range, Elizabeth Craft's Susan's Garden Notes range and finally a die from Printable Heaven along with some greenery cut using a Sue Wilson die. To complete both the box and card, I put together a label in Photoshop Elements which I die cut using Spellbinders dies. After photographing, I removed my friend's name from photos of both the card and box because I don't think it's fair to include that sort of detail in public without permission.

And that's it!

I do hope you can join us this time.

International Art and Soul Challenge 16

The challenge at International Art and Soul for this fortnight is to use lace and/or pearls. Anything you care to make, so long as it includes at least one of those two, is very welcome to enter.

I'm getting a rather slow start on my Christmas cards this year. But, I decided to give a new stamp a whirl and this is what I came up with.

The image and word are from a set of Sweet Dixie stamps which I bought earlier this year. This is the first time I've inked them, and while I love the image, I was a little disappointed to see that there's a flaw in it. I had to ink in a small band of the image by hand. Fortunately, that seems to have worked quite well, and while I'm disappointed, I'd had the stamp for too long to consider sending it back. I used Promarkers to colour the image.

Although you can't see it too well in the photograph, I embossed some white card using an Embossalicious mistletoe folder. I decided to forgo matting the image, just attaching white on white, but then completed the card by using some stick-on lace that I got in Tiger.

And that's that. I hope you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 160

This time, the challenge at Crafty Cardmakers is to make something inspired by Easter.

For this, I've made the first of this year's Easter cards.

I started by making a border using a set of Sue Wilson Gemini dies, although I used both edges rather than just one! Then, I tried out a new (to me) die. It's another Susan Tierney die, but this time, produced by Elizabeth Craft. it's designed to be flatter than the Sizzix range, and that's definitely something I'd welcome. For the image and greeting, I've combined a cropped image from Joanna Sheen's Pamela West CDRom with a greeting. the embossed background was done using an Embossalicious folder.

I hope you can join us this time.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 129

This time at Crafty Cardmakers and More. our challenge is simple! Make a Christmas project!

Our sponsors for this challenge are:

and my team-mate Kim is providing 'a large box of crafting yumminess'! See the challenge blog, link in my sidebar, for details.

Now, I make a lot of Christmas cards. I generally start at around Easter, so by this time of year, I've finally got a chance to move on to other things, so, this is actually a card I made a little while ago but which I've only just got around to photographing.

When it comes to styles of cards, I have two main favourites. I do like very pretty cards with lots of flowers or similar embellishment, and I also like very simple designs. I'm not very good at very simple designs, but this sort of thing, with die cuts and clean lines is definitely something I enjoy doing. I've used a beautiful gold pearlescent card from Lime Tree Crafts and some gold mirror board and let them have centre-stage. The embossing was done using a Crafter's Companion folder and the die cuts used Spellbinders dies. The sentiment is from pre-inked stamp I've had for many years.

I hope you can join us for this, our last challenge of 2014, and I hope to see you back with us in the new year!

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

A Creative Romance where anything goes,
Sister Act where anything goes,
Inkspriational where anything goes with gold,
Robyn's Fetish where they want Christmas cards,
That Craft Place where the theme is Christmas,
Crafts Galore Encore where anything goes,
Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Extra where anything goes,
Die Cut Divas where the theme is snow/Christmas,
Sisters of Craft where anything goes,
Addicted to Stamps and More where the theme is 'snowflakes'.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 223

This time, at One Stitch at a Time, our challenge is, 'Anything Goes with Distressing'. So, lots of scope for you. Our sponsor for this challenge is:

And the prize is a pack containing images and papers.

This time, I worked with an image from Hope Jacare called 'Snowman Wreath'. Of course, the first card I made, I forgot the 'distressing' requirement. But first, the one I remembered to 'distress'!

A very simple design. I embossed the Coredinations card in the background with an Embossalicious folder and sanded it so the pattern stands out more clearly. The image is coloured with Promarkers, and I finished the card with a couple of bows made with my new Creative Expressions dies.

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

Sisters of Craft where anything goes,
Crafter's Companion where the theme is Christmas,
Creaine where they want red/green themes,
Doodle Pantry where 'any digi goes',
Always Something Creative where they want red/green,
Bearly Mine where they want Christmas Cards,
Crafts Galore Encore where anything goes,
Christmas All year Round where they want 'no patterned paper'.


And here's the one where I forgot the distressing requirement.

This time, I used a background I made using the acrylic block technique with Distress Ink, and I stamped and embossed a greeting over that. Again, the image is coloured with Promarkers, and the card is finished with some die cut bows.

I hope you can join us this week.

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

Crafty Cardmakers and More Challenge 126

This time at Crafty Cardmakers and More, the challenge has been set by Sonia who wants us to 'Cut it Out!'

Our sponsor for this challenge is:

with this prize

For this challenge, I used one of my favourite images - a Crafts and Me digi of a Sara Burrier image.

I printed the image onto watercolour paper and coloured it with Promarkers. For the background, I embossed a piece of glossy yellow card using an Embossalicious folder. I added a little distress ink to the background to bring out the embossing. The panel at the bottom uses a fabulous Sue Wilson die that I treated myself to recently. I cut the panel in violet card, and again in white, collecting various cut out shapes which I coloured in the greens from the image before placing them into the apertures. I backed the whole thing with more of the yellow card.

I hope you can join us this time.

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

Craft Room where they want us to make our own background,
Crafty Girls where anything goes,
Inspiration Destination where anything goes,
Brown Sugar where anything goes,
Sister Act where anything goes,

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 196

This week at One Stitch at a Time, we've got an easy challenge - all you've got to do is 'use a digi'! Of course, if you use a digi from the Stitchy Bear shop, you've got a better chance of winning as you're eligible for a separate draw.

For this challenge, I chose an image from IKEsART called Finch on Pine. Now, I'm not what you'd call a bird enthusiast. Apart from a few obvious ones, I really don't know one bird from another, but this image looked so like the photograph for January on the calendar in our study, that I decided to colour it that way even though the photo is of a Blue Tit. (Apologies to anyone who can spot differences I couldn't.) Anyway, it gave me a chance to use lots of bright colours, which always makes me happy. And it shows the wonderful versatility of digi stamps; if you see the image differently from the original artist, then that's fine. It's your interpretation, and this is mine!

The image itself is coloured with Promarkers, but the background is shaded with Pan Pastels. I embossed a panel of light blue card using a Cuttlebug folder, and gently shaded the birds and vines, again with Pan Pastels. The background is also embossed, this time using an Embossalicious folder. To finish, I've added a couple of feathers from a pack I bought ages ago, but keep forgetting about. And feathers on a card featuring a bird (of any variety) seems very appropriate!

I hope you can join us this time.

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

Card Mania where anything goes,

LEJ Designs where anything goes,

Crafting for All Seasons where the theme is 'All Things Bright and Beautiful',
My Heart Pieces where anything goes,
Emerald Faeries where they want 'things with wings',
Cards Galore Encore where anything goes,
Doodle Pantry where any (digi) goes,
Brown Sugar where anything goes,

CMC where they want texture,
My Sheri where they want digis.

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 188

This week at One Stitch at a Time, our challenge is to use a digi! Easy!

We're sponsored by

See the challenge blog for details.

This time, I got to choose an image from Sentimental Susan for Hazel, Shell and Lisa. I chose Bear Guitar, as I've got two guitar-playing sons and it appealed to my sense of humour.

I added the wording in Photoshop Elements, printed, and coloured with Promarkers. For the background, I embossed some pearlescent white card using folders from Crafter's Companion and, I think, Papermania. I matted with blue to match the text, and die cut some snowflakes from the same card using Cuttlebug and Spellbinders dies. I finished the snowflakes with glitter glue to add a bit of sparkle.

I hope you can join us this week.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Crafty Sentiments where anything goes,
Party Time Tuesdays where anything goes,
Lady Anne where anything goes with a stamp,
Crafty Hands where anything goes,
Sister Act where anything goes,
Aud Sentiments where they want Christmas sentiments,
Moving Along with the Times where they want no patterned paper

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 90

April is almost over, but we're celebrating April in this challenge. Our theme is, April Showers May Bring Flowers! To qualify, your creation must have something rain-related (umbrella, puddles ...) and at least two flowers.

Our sponsors for this challenge are:

and

See the challenge blog for more details.

For this challenge, I used an image from Reece's Scrap Pieces which is available from Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps. It's called Stroll in the Rain.

I coloured the image with Promarkers, and added some background shading with Distress Inks and an Ink Duster. (So much easier to use than sponges.)

The background was embossed using an Embossalicious folder in my BSP, and to finish I added a corner die cut (Marianne Creatables) and some punched flowers to which I added some seed beads.

I hope you can join us this time.

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

Stampin' for the Weekend where they want die cuts/flowers,
Stamping with the Dragon where 'Spring has Sprung',
Cute Card Thursday where the theme is, 'Can't Stop the Rain',
My Heart Pieces where they want embossing,
Crafting by Designs where anything goes,
Creative Moments where the theme is 'Spring',
Crafty Calendar where the theme is 'sunshine and showers'.

Getting Started Early

I make a lot of Christmas cards every year - and I'm often asked when I start. The answer is generally, 'Easter!' Since I work in a school, I've normally got a break at this time of year, and many of the other cards I need to make are are normally up to date.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought some bits from a colleague who's giving up her card-making, and among that lot was a Dovecraft Christmas paper pack. It uses a fairly limited range of colours, so I picked out some Promarkers to match, and got stuck in to some colouring. Then, once I had a decent number of images, I assembled.

Last year, I won a few stamps from Whimsy Stamps, and this is one of those. Bearing in mind that I need to post a lot of Christmas cards, I try to keep the designs fairly flat, and I'm finding I prefer fairly simple designs anyway. I edged the image with Distress Ink and I've used dies from Spellbinders and Sizzix as well as some pre-sticky lace from Tiger.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Digi Stamp 4 Joy where anything goes,
Sparkle and Sprinkle where they want a digi image,
Catch the Bug where anything goes,

Another Whimsy Stamps image, again coloured with Promarkers and edged with Distress Ink. I've added a bit of sparkle to her wings with a Sakura Stardust pen. Dies used were by Spellbinders, and the border punches are from Tonic.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
CRAFT where the theme is Christmas,
Creative Moments where they want 'things with wings',
Card Mania where they want die cuts and punches,
Totally Gorjuss where 'anything goes with sparkle',

And a third Whimsy image. Dies and punches from Spellbinders and Tonic.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Forever Friends where they want die cuts/punches,
Whimsy Stamps where the theme is 'Pretty in Pink',
Lacy sunshine where anything goes,

This is a Mo Manning image that was a freebie several years ago. I've used it several times before, but it seemed perfect for this paper which is printed with the names of various Christmas carols and songs. Dies used all from Spellinders.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
Bronte and Bella where they want 'Things with Wings',
In the Pink where they want 'things with wings',
Kaboodle Doodles where they want pink,

And finally, an image from Milk Coffee. I've used dies from Spellbinders and Tonic punches as before, as well as an embossing folder from the embossalicious range.

There are a few more that I've made, but they were made for specific DT requirements, so they'll appear in due course.

I'd like to enter this card into the following challenges:
ABC Christmas where the theme is 'Girl or Guy',
I Love Promarkers where they want embossing,
Whimsical Designs where they want embossing,
Die Cuttin' Divas where they want pastels,


I may be along later to link to some challenges ...

One Stitch at a Time Challenge 158

This week at One Stitch at a Time, our challenge is ... Anything Goes!

We're sponsored by:

See the challenge blog for more details.

This week, I worked with a lovely image from Delicious Doodles called Fuchsia and Hummingbird.

I gave the background of the image a faint blue tint in Photoshop Elements before printing. I coloured with Promarkers, and cut the image before mounting it onto some pretty mint green pearlescent card. For the background, I embossed some Coredinations card with an Embossalicious folder (petite dot) and then sanded it.

It's a simple card, but I love that colour combination, and I like the contrast between the pearlescent and the duller shade of the Coredinations.

I hope you can join us this week.

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

Sparkles where they want birds,
Digi Makeover where anything goes,
Crafter's Companion where they want flowers, (I used a DieSire embossing folder.)
Happy Campers where the theme is 'flower power',
Stampotique SDC 94 where they want flowers,
Ladybird Crafts Ink where anything goes,
Two Sisters where anything goes,
Catch the Bug where anything goes.

March is Apparently Birthday Month

It seems to me that a lot of people have March birthdays. And, because I hate doing things last minute, and because I spend the end of every year concentrating on Christmas cards, I often find there's nothing ready-made in my box! So, I've been working on a few, and of course, Valentine's Day is coming up too.

First, the card I made for my OH. I'm a firm believer that valentines should never be signed, so although he's going to know it's from me, it'll be signed 'an admirer'! I've used some gorgeous shimmer card I picked up at the BSSBS at Alexandra Palace in September, and embossed it using one of my new Embossalicious square embossing folders! Thank goodness that there's one company out there who have realised that most people seem to make square cards! The heart dies are from Marianne, and the label die is from Spellbinders.

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

Top Tip Tuesdays where the theme is 'Let me call you Sweetheart',
Party Time Tuesdays where the theme is 'love and romance',
Crazy Amigos where the theme is 'hearts',
Celebrate the Occasion where they want a valentine card with ribbon,
Emerald Faeries where the theme is 'love',
Cards for Men where the theme is love/romance,
Created with Love Challenges where the theme is Valentines,
Kaboodle Doodles where they want hearts,
Dream Valley where they want valentines,
The ABC challenge where they're going dotty.

This is the first of two birthday card in this post. The image is from Delicious Doodles via Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps.I coloured it with Promarkers and Flexmarkers and cut it with my Spellbinders Octagon die. I matted with more octagons. The paper is from the Papermania Capsule collection - one of my absolute favourites from that pad. I finished with die cut 'leaves' and some flowers made from punched shapes. I added shading to the petals using Distress Ink.

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

Craftroom Challenge where they want us to make our own embellishments,
Bearly Mine where anything goes,
Papertake Weekly where anything goes,
Happy Campers where they want flowers and something digital (the image is a digi),

And another birthday card. This one uses an image from a stamp I bought at Alexandra Palace. I can't tell you whose stamp it is - it was in a bargain bucket and I just fell in love with the simplicity of it. It kind of reminds me of Clarice Cliff images. I stamped in Memento ink and coloured with Promarkers and Flexmarkers. The first mat is die cut using a Nellie Snellen die. In the background, I've got some paper I've had for many years - it was a magazine freebie. I've also embossed some card. The folder is a Sizzix one and I've added some colour to the embossing using some pastel sticks and softened the effect with a brush.

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

Artistic Inspirations where they want embossing,
Bunny Zoe where anything goes,