Before I get into it I want to send a big 'THANK YOU' to Jennifer at Just Jingle. She is the most incredible card maker and love following her blog. A few weeks ago she had a week long celebration after reaching over 1200 likes on her Facebook page and gave away amazing prizes every day. I was shocked when she contacted me to say I had won a set of Radiant Neon Ink Pads by Tsukineko. You can imagine my excitement and they didn't take long to arrive either.
So thank you Jennifer and the lovely sponsor at Tsukineko, the inks are fantastic and you will be seeing some very bright card designs soon! I can't believe a week has gone by since my last post. Have had so many jobs to take care of that nearly every day a challenge was passing me by. So I finally got my 'A into G' and created a card this afternoon for the challenge at Casology.
So, this weeks inspiration was 'Wood'. I had many wonderful ideas but they all required the skill of colouring, so that didn't work. Today though I was going through a box of embellishments and came across a forgotten piece:
I can't even remember where I got this gorgeous arrow from but it was in the bottom of the box. I kept it simple and die-cut the 'hello' and put some green paper behind it to represent maybe tree leaves. I then decided that wasn't enough, so die-cut four more 'hello's and stuck them all together and glued it into the die-cut space. And that was that! The arrow is from Kaisercraft, the 'hello' metal die from The Crafters Workshop and the green paper from Lawn Fawn 'Into the Woods'. I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge. The inspiration for this week is 'Anything Goes'. Will also link this to the challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More where their inspiration is also 'Anything Goes'. Off now to quickly whip up Lasagne for dinner. Its not usually something I make quickly but running late today and want to get something cooking before the natives get restless (starving husband and children can become quite frightening!!). Take care Shona
Two of my favourite card challenges have joined forces this week to do a combined challenge. This way we have had a gorgeous inspiration photo from Fusion and brilliant sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch.
What a fantastic simple sketch paired with gold, gold and more gold!! You should have a look at the other cards linked to this challenge, its a beauty to be hold...of gold!
It would seem that I'm the only crafter around who doesn't have a butterfly die/stamp or hole punch. I must rectify this immediately!! But in the meantime I covered some white card stock with gold glitter washi tape and cut out the hearts. I attached these to the banner and popped up on foam squares. I just wish you could see how beautifully this sparkles, especially at night. The gold washi tape is from Papervine. The sentiment from Altenew 'Socahtoa' and the rhinestones from Kaisercraft. And the heart dies are from CAS-ual Fridays.
I'm also going to link this as my 2nd entry to the Simons Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Gotta Have Friends'. I definitely know a few wonderful woman that will always be fabulous to me. Right, better bundle up to take my doggies for a run. Thank goodness I put on my thermals this morning!!! Take care Shona
The wonderful team at the Addicted to Stamps Challenge blog are celebrating their 100th challenge and 2nd birthday. They must be so happy that their blog is still as popular as ever!!
This is the gorgeous photo inspiration for this week. I decided to follow the rainbow colour theme and try something new with my triangle stamps.
I know its not perfect (this was my 3rd attempt and just couldn't get the right spacing between each stamp) but it was the closest I could get to having a similar shape of an umbrella. I love the rainbow colours and decided to go with a birthday sentiment too. The triangle stamp is from Altenew 'Socahtoa', the sentiment stamp from Kaisercraft 'Hip Hip' and clear rhinestone also from Kaisercraft. I'm also going to link up to the challenge at CAS on Sunday #36 where their theme is also 'Birthday'. One more card to go and then off to freeze my back-side off down the riverbank with the dogs. Very overcast today and extremely cold. Looks like its snowing on the hills so will be a chilly evening indeed. Perfect to make more cards! Take care Shona
Didn't go to bed until 1am this morning, was having too much fun making cards for different challenges. Even after I got into bed, my brain was still coming up with designs. Sometimes I wish my brain had an 'off' switch...
This is the fabulous inspiration photo for the Just Add Ink Challenge this week. You know I LOVE triangles and geometric prints, so definitely had to make a card for this!
Really wanted the triangles and thin lines of colour to stand out, so kept the embellishments and sentiment to a minimum. I'm very happy with the result!
The triangle stamp and sentiment are from Altenew 'Socahtoa' and the enamel dots from Papervine. Also at the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge their theme is 'Gotta Have Friends' so I'm going to link up to that as well. Two more cards and so many links to go...... Take care Shona
Over at Musethis week they have a card which is stunning and in one of my favourite colours.
This is gorgeous and I'm a big fan of Marion's work. I wanted to create something along the same lines but would be a slightly different shade of turquoise.
I loved the idea of having a stamped pattern coming from the side of the cardstock, so tried this with my one and only flower stamp set. I added some Wink of Stella to the middle of each flower and then popped it up on some foam squares. I even managed to restrain myself from using any enamel dots as I wanted it to be very simple. The sentiment is from Altenew 'Sohcahtoa', the flowers from Altenew 'Painted Flowers' and the paper is from American Crafts 'My Girl'. Off to hang out washing and then do some gardening for my Mum. Her hands are gradually getting better (after surgery) but don't want her out there trying to use the secateurs on her hydrangeas. Hopefully I won't freeze to death doing it!!!!
Freezing here this morning, nothing like a big frost to get you moving so you can warm up!!
Over at Casology they have been celebrating their 100th challenge. Its been fantastic as they have been interviewing all of their design team, which certainly has been rather fascinating.
So of course their theme this week is 'Celebrate'. So needed something simple but with a little bit of sparkle.
I wanted it to look like fireworks blasting in the sky, so added a few red rhinestones to the red stars. I actually used a stamp from Lawn Fawn 'Peace Joy Love' for the stars, nice to use my xmas stamps for something different. The Celebrate sentiment is from CAS-ual Fridays 'Shenanigans' and You Rock from Altenew 'Socahtoa'. Another quick post to do and then on with my housewifey jobs....oh joy!! Take care Shona
I have sitting in front of me right now 5 containers of embossing powder that are begging to be used. I can't wait for my heat gun to arrive in the mail (along with Versamark ink pad) so I can emboss my heart out!!
This is my second card for the challenge at Less is More and this time I finally had a chance to play with my new Altenew stamp set 'Sohcahtoa'.
This challenge asked for a 'One-layer card' and the theme is 'Off the Edge'. This layout came to mind straight away but didn't know exactly which stamps to use or colours, so took me a while to get the pattern I liked. I actually kept imagining doing some of this heat embossed so will tuck that idea away for a few weeks. There are so many things you can do with this set and I LOVE the sentiments. Its that time again to take the dogs for a walk. So much for it raining all week. My neck is burning from the sun coming in the window while typing this. Will give the squashy, muddy areas a chance to dry out before the next lot of rain. Its the shortest day this Sunday and thats when the really cold, frosty and rainy weather starts. Actually, just had a thought that at least it will be good card making weather....maybe winter isn't so bad after all! Take care Shona
Birds stamps as flowers.....what??! Strange but true. The challenge this week at Less is More is to make a one-layer card with the theme 'Over the Edge'. I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to try my crazy 'bird flowers'.
Who knew that birds were so 'floral'?? I was playing around with my Xmas stamps and came across the 'Peace Joy Love' set by Lawn Fawn. In this set there are two separate bird stamps that face each other. I thought that justone on their own looked a petal. So I stamped away and voila!
So not only are these birds stamps but they are also Xmas bird stamps. Was so good to find another way of using these and it makes me look at my other stamps in a different way. I'm going to take the next Online Card Class 'Stretching your Stamps 2' which will be even more of an eye-opener for my little stamp collection.
The sentiment stamp is from Altenew 'Sohcahtoa' and enamel dots from Sullivans.
One more card to go. Was having too much fun last night stamping and watching 'Scandal' that I made two cards. Although (anyone who watches the show will understand this..) I kept finding myself with my stamp all inked up but my hand just hovering in the air because something has happened on the show. Its amazing I got anything finished, the show is that good!
Got some exciting news yesterday. My husband managed to find 2 free office drawers that will fit nicely either side, under the computer table. This means I can finally get my craft pile off the dining room table. Dave is especially pleased about this, as he's sick of eating off the coffee table. Hope it all fits....
I was a little stumped with this sketch as I kept imagining either watercolors or different patterned papers. Finally, I found something I liked.
I've never had a go at the 'ombre' look but realised last night that the light pink, dark pink and red (all from Mama Elephant) worked together really well. So I cut out three strips of white cardstock, got out my new favourite flower stamp and went to town! When finished I popped them all up on foam tape and did the same with the sentiment. Might give this one to my Mum (she is having surgery on her hand again today) and I know she will love this. Flower stamp from Altenew 'Painted Flowers' and sentiment stamp also from Altenew 'Socahtoa'.
The flowers were the first thing to catch my eye in this photo, especially with the darkish pink and red flowers and the light pink of the bottom plate. I was tempted to stamp in yellow as well but really liked the ombre look. Better get started on those drawers, I might be some time.......
My last post for the day and can then start going thru all my emails from over the weekend. Came home to 150 emails last night, alot of them are blog posts so look forward to spending some time tonight wandering thru blogland to see what everyone has been up to.
I really love this shade of blue so was very inspired by this photo from the Color Me...! Challenge. And I also wanted to try out a different technique.
I used a metal die that I haven't used much before. Mainly because its really hard to get the cardstock out of it. I persevered and glued together 5 layers of the 'thank' and 'you' in white. I saw a technique on the Muse Challenge Blog where they talked about putting a layer of coloured card in the middle of your white layered die-cut. It gave the word a lovely effect but I decided to try something different. I die-cut the word in blue once and adhered it straight to the front of the cardstock piece. I then took the layered words and glued them to the blue but pushed up slightly so you can see a touch of the blue underneath. I think it gives the word even more dimension and love the hit of the blue with the white. I will DEFINITELY do this again. I glued a strip of the green paper to the right side of the card front and then popped the card with the sentiment up on foam dots and then over the green. For the flower I used a flower hole punch on the green and white cardstock and glued them together so the top petals were in-between the lower ones. I also used a textured white cardstock for the first time and love how it looks. Whew, sorry about all that rambling. The metal die is from Couture Creations 'Inspire', the green paper from Lawn Fawn 'Into the Woods' and the enamel dot from Papervine. I'm also linking this card to Muse Challenge #71 Below is the card this week from the Muse 'Therese Calvird':
And of course you know what I'm going to say next.........I'm going to link this card to the challenge at Addicted to Stamps Challenge #99 where their theme is 'Clean and Simple'. This will be my sixth entry....eek! Off to clean and cook. Really enjoyed doing all my posts today as I get a chance to look at all the other entries in the challenges. So many creative out there is blogland. Take care Shona
Back from walking the dogs. Very muddy along the river from all the flooding and I think they brought back most of the mud with them!! Time to get out the dog shampoo but first....
These colours for the Color Throwdown Challenge are just divine. I had a lot of ideas but nothing seemed quite right until.....
I really wanted to use my flower stamps again but make the design simpler. I adhered a strip of white cardstock straight to the front of the card. I then stamped the flower with the dark/light pinks and the green for the leaves. I wanted to soften it a little so covered with vellum.
I then wanted to try a technique I've seen a lot lately. I found some light blue cotton (in my Mum's sewing drawer). I then took the card with the sentiment on the front and added foam squares. I pressed the foam straight down onto the cotton and it stuck to the vellum as well. I love how it turned out but for someone like me who doesn't like things out of place, it was very hard to get the cotton looking just right. I will definitely do this again though!! The flower stamp is from Altenew 'Painted Flowers', the sentiment stamp is a set that I purchased second hand and I don't know who made it (if you do, please let me know!!). Enamel dots from Papervine. I'm once again going to link this card to the challenge at Addicted to Stamps #99 where their theme is 'clean and simple'. This is my fifth entry to this challenge. If I was wondering what my card style was becoming, I think this gives me a very big clue........ One more card to post then it will be washing the dogs and baking lasagne. At least one of those jobs will be in the warmth of the house.... Take care Shona
My second post for the day and already my fingers and brain are tired from all the 'linking'. There is probably an easier way to do it but I haven't worked it out yet!!
Another brilliant sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch. They have such wonderful ideas each week and they are all different. How do they do it?! I purchased some die-cut journal cards a few weeks ago and have been dying to try them out, so thought this would be the perfect chance.
I was trying to make this journal card into a shaker but I must have been over-flowing with static electricity yesterday because I just couldn't get the sequins to stick on to anything else but my fingers! So put my acetate away and used some as embellishments. I stamped the hearts in a light pink until they got to the middle of the photo frame. I covered the middle heart in Wink of Stella and lots of Glossy Accents to make it the star. The journal card is from We R Memory Keepers. The heart stamp from Lawn Fawn 'Woodgrain Backgrounds' and the sequins from Studio Calico at Papervine.
I'm also linking this card to the challenge at Moxie Fab where their theme is 'Use a Journal Card' with your card design.
And will also link this to the challenge at Just Add Ink where they had this colour combo for inspiration and you had to use '3 colours' on your card. I chose dark pink, light pink and yellow.
My fingers are beginning to feel icy cold which means the rain isn't far away. Will rush out now and walk my doggies and then post my other two cards. I like to get the posts done before the kids come home from school as I lose my train of thought and ability to link to everything with 'Can I have a sandwich?', 'Where is my book?', 'I'm thirsty' in the background. Take care Shona
Well, what a wonderful weekend I had with my Mum. Helped her out with her washing, cleaning etc and managed to make four cards. And she loves watching me create.
The colours and flowers in the inspiration photo for the Fusion Challenge were just too hard to resist. I was going to get out my new flower stamps but managed to come up with something different....
Searching through my boxes I came across a flower punch that I had forgotten about. I played around with colours and arrangements and this is the result. I punched the flower shapes out of the strip and placed coloured cardstock behind and was going to leave it there. But had the idea to place another one on top so the petals were inbetween and folded them up a little. Voila! Even my husband loves this one. The sentiment is from Kaisercraft 'You!' and enamel dots from Papervine. I'm also going to link this card to the new NBUS Challenge #1 on Darnell's blog since I had never used this hole punch before and NBUS stands for 'Never before used schtuff'. Anything goes with this challenge and has a 'Friendship' theme. And I will also link this to the challenge at Addicted to Stamps #99 where their theme is 'clean and simple. This is my fourth entry. Right, have three more cards to post and need to walk the dogs before it pours with rain again. Hasn't rained for past three days which is brilliant but supposed to rain all this week...better get our life jackets ready!! Take care Shona
This is a new one for me as I usually don't get a chance to make a card for the CASE Study Challenge until the day before it finishes but when I saw the inspiration card last night I knew exactly what I wanted to do.
This is the gorgeous card by the Guest Designer of the month Pamela Ho. I don't have any kraft paper unfortunately but I do have something that I haven't used for a while.....
My acetate has been feeling very left out of late, so thought I would take it out for a spin. And sorry about the photo, I just couldn't get those shadows in the acetate to disappear. I cut a strip from the card front and then put it back in with washi tape behind it. I then stamped with my flower stamps so that they overlapped on to the strip. I removed the strip and replaced with acetate. I could then find the middle and stamp the sentiment on the inside of the card. So happy it turned out the way I wanted! The flower stamps are from Altenew 'Painted Flowers', the sentiment from Simon Says Stamps and the rhinestones from Kaisercraft. They will be getting sick of me but I'm also going to link this card to the challenge at Addicted to Stamps #99 where their theme is 'Clean and Simple'. This is my third entry. I've decided to also link to the challenge at One-Layer Simplicity Challenge #6 as their theme is 'I've been Framed'.
And for my final link, I'm going to enter this in the challenge at Casology - Week # 99 where their theme is 'Anniversary'. Right, off to walk the dogs. Rather hard to walk both at same time as Oscar is older and walks slowly, whereas Bella is 2yrs old so wants to run everywhere. Gives me an arm workout too, which is a bonus!! Take care Shona
Zooming round at 100 miles an hour today trying to get all my jobs done. Makes me feel like the cartoon Tasmanian Devil as he whirls along in a little tornado (make is quite a bit bigger!!).
Another brilliant sketch this week at Retro Sketches and luckily I knew exactly what I wanted to do for my card.
I decided to let my knew flower stamps shine again. I just love the way they look and for me they seem to look a bit different every time I stamp them. Flower stamps from Altenew 'Painted Flowers' and sentiment 'Sohcahtoa'. Enamel dots from Papervine. When designing this card I also had in mind the challenge photo from Cure for the Monday Blues #20.
Those fabulous flowers on the mat jumped out at me and the little pom-poms on the bedspread, so I stamped my flowers inspired by this and added the enamel dots for the bed. And also I will link this to the challenge at Addicted to Stamps #99 where their theme is 'Clean and Simple'. This is my second entry. One more card to post and then its off to walk the dogs round the block. Its finally stopped raining but the rivers are severely flooded and we are supposed to get rain all next week. Think I might have to invest in a houseboat!! Take care Shona
I seem to have gone a little 'paper piecing' crazy over the past few days, funny how I go thru phases of creation with different products. I can imagine I will be stamping alot soon though with all my lovely new stamp sets...
This is the brilliant sketch for this weeks challenge at CAS(E) this Sketch. Luckily I had an idea for it straight away after finding a pile of forgotten coloured cardstock in my cupboard...was a bit like xmas finding it all!
Its raining here again (Day 5 of this horrible weather) so I decided to choose some colours that would brighten things up! Basically I cut a long strip from the card and went about placing different colours and widths of cardstock onto it. I then put the strip back in place and adhered at the back. Simple, bright and happy! The sentiment is from Kaisercraft 'Hip Hip' and enamel dots from Papervine. I also going to link this card to Challenge #35 at CAS on Sunday where their theme is 'Paper Piecing'. This is my third entry, they will be getting sick of me! And I will also link this to Challenge #99 at Addicted to Stamps where their theme is 'Clean and Simple'. Max is standing beside me pleading for an ice cream (it seems ice cream is still yummy when its freezing and raining outside...) so better finish this off! Take care Shona
So cold and wet today. And the corner where my computer sits is absolutely freezing! Must invest in a little heater to keep me toasty while I surf the net.
I decided to have a go at the challenge this week at CAS - Colors and Sketches as the colour combo is quite pretty. I wasn't sure if I would have the right colour ink pads but they are close...
Yes, you are actually seeing flower stamps on my card. Amazing isn't it???!!! Yesterday I came home to find my Altenew stamps had arrived. My squeals would have been heard all over town. I spent hours last night playing around with them (I purchased Simple Shapes, Sohcahtoa and Painted Flowers) but spent most of my time stamping out flowers.
The effect from these stamps is incredible and I actually have some good ink combos for lots of different flowers, so you will be seeing many floral designs over the next few weeks.
I really wanted the flowers to shine so stamped directly on to the card base and saved the turquoise for the sentiment. I did struggle with putting on enamel dots or not but decided that the sentiment needed help to shine.
The flower stamps are from Altenew 'Painted Flowers', the sentiment from Altenew ' Sohcahtoa' and enamel dots from Papervine.
I'm also going to link this card to a new challenge that has been started by the fantastically wonderful Darnell. Its called the NBUS Challenge. Darnell coined the phrase 'NBUS' which stands for 'Never Before Used Schtuff' and her first challenge is 'Friendship Theme - Anything Goes'. And as my flower stamps are brand new, I'm going to play along.
Off to have some lunch by the fire with the dogs....lovely!
We are on to Day 4 of constant rain which is awful for my doggy's (as not much walking action happening) but wonderful for us crafters!!
I sat up till 1am this morning not only because I really wanted to make a card for this weeks challenge at CASE Study but I also received my Altenew stamps!! They are just divine and I couldn't stop playing around with them. Can imagine my cards for the next few weeks will be lathered in Altenew.
Isn't this the most amazing card!! Its so simple yet striking and the die cuts are so perfect. Pamela Ho is the Guest Designer this month and can't wait to see what other incredible cards we will be inspired by of hers.
I seem to be in a 'circle' mood at the moment as I got out my circle punches again. After punching I put a piece of white cardstock behind the middle hole and stamped my sentiment. I then popped the black paper up on foam squares. So happy with how the card turned out! The pink paper is from Echo Park 'Everyday Eclectic' and the black paper from Teresa Collins 'Memorabilia'. The sentiment is from Altenew 'Sohcahtoa' and heart from Kaisercraft. I decided I would also link this as my second entry to the challenge at CAS on Sunday #35 where their theme is 'Paper Piecing'. One more card to post and can then get started on the next challenge. Certainly no gardening going on here today! Take care Shona
Wow, its been two weeks since my last post. I've thought about my blog every day, its become part of my life.
Unfortunately the weekend of the 31st May/1st June lead me up to the First Anniversary of my fathers death. I thought I would have been fine but as that week went on my emotions got the better of me and I lost all my happy. He died on the 2nd June from a stroke, 4 days before his 79th birthday. He would have been 80yrs last week. I miss him dearly.
The one good thing is that his passing was the reason I started my blog and he would be very proud of me for doing something WAY out of my comfort zone. And......my happy is coming back......
So, what a better way to start than with the Curtain Call Challenge. Their cue this week was 'Something Simple'.
This was perfect for me. I wanted a card that was soft, white and with no embellishments (had to say no to my enamel dots...eeek).
I love this card, its exactly what I wanted to do. Simple and colours I love. Although I must say that trying to cut up tiny bits of foam tape to adhere the 'hello' drove me a little crazy. I adhered 3 'hello's' in white cardstock together to make it stronger. And used my circle paper punches to create the background. The Hello metal die is from The Crafters Workshop. The blue paper from Carta Bella 'So Noted' and grey paper from Teresa Collins 'Memorabilia'. I'm also going to link this card to the challenge at CAS on Sunday where their theme is 'Paper Piecing'.
And will also link to the challenge at Less is More where their theme is 'Colours of your Bedroom'. We have this shade of blue on our walls with white trims and our bed is decorated in grey. Its my favourite room in our house as its all the colours I'm drawn too.
Better start all my linking. Still raining here so perfect weather for more crafting. And happy ideas are starting to fill my brain.....
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