I have been thinking about the Altenew May Challenge all month and finally had a chance last night to sit down and commit to an idea.
This is the inspiration photo for this months challenge, its so spectacular! There are so many different elements, colours and patterns to inspire our creations. I was immediately taken with the ceiling design of the dark blue flowers/leaves against the white and the light blue/green frame around them. Luckily I received some new Altenew stamp sets recently and one was perfect for my card:
I used stamps from Altenew 'Striped Flowers' on a white CS panel. I stamped the starfish-like flower on a separate piece of white CS and fussy cut. This was popped up on foam tape. I die-cut the top of the panel with a stitched curve from Pretty Pink Posh and did the same to a piece of teal CS. The panels were adhered together and then to the card front. I heat embossed the sentiment (from Altenew 'Hennah Elements') in gold and threw on a few co-ordinating sequins from Neat and Tangled.
Would like to link to three other challenges:
Simply Create Too Challenge # 86 (Keep it Simple)
Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge (Anything Goes)
Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge (Thank You)
I have a few emails to catch up on and more cards to make but since I didn't go to bed till 5am this morning (and then got up at 9.30am) I feel I won't be staying awake too long tonight. Phoebe has her BFF staying the night and they want to sleep in the lounge room, so might just clean up and leave them to it. Reminds me of doing the same thing with my friends when I was young. How quickly life changes.....
Take care
Shona
Its a glorious day today. After a week of freezing temperatures, its time to get out the t-shirts and shorts again. No wonder everyone is getting sick!! I'm finally back to normal after my flu three weeks ago and hopefully that will be it for the whole of Winter.
This is the sketch for this weeks Paper Smooches - Sparks Challenge and the Gallery is full of amazing creations. As usual I've left it till the last moment and was up till 5am this morning catching up on my cards (crazy I know!!). I got a new Paper Smooches die on Friday and knew it would be perfect for this sketch:
I don't know why but I find this size card so hard to photograph. I just can't capture the sunlight as much as a portrait top folding card. I'm sure there will be some photographic reason why....
I smooshed!!! Yes, you heard me right....smooshed! Such a fab word to say and so much fun to do. I watched a video by the wonderful Kristina Werner the other day where she tried out 'smooshing' after watching Laura Bassen do it. She uses a piece of acetate to move the ink around which I thought might be easy enough to try. Its brilliant and you really must watch the video!
I 'smooshed' Distress Inks - Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade and Mustard Seed on to a piece of water colour paper. After it dried I even sprinkled on some water droplets and pressed with tissue (something else I've never done). It looked so cool!! I die cut the flower shapes and also a few tiny hearts from the left overs.
I cut an angled panel of white CS and gold CS. After heat embossing the sentiment in gold, I glued them together and attached to the card front. I then popped the larger flower up on foam tape and also the smaller flower on top. Finally I just scattered around the tiny hearts. I am so 'smooshing' again, I might become rather addicted.....
The flower dies are from Paper Smooches 'Big Blooms' and the hearts dies are also Paper Smooches 'Tiny Hearts'. The sentiment is another Paper Smooches set 'Uplifters'.
I have four other challenges I would like to enter:
Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge (Thank you)
Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge (Anything Goes)
Simply Create Too Challenge # 86 (Keep it Simple)
Artful Crafts May Colour Challenge
Phoebe has her BFF Ella over and they are turning the lounge room into a hideout. And Max has his friend Tom over and they are stuck to their IPods. Trying to get kids outside sometimes is like pulling teeth. We are all off to my Mum's for dinner tonight so will go early so we go play at the school across the road. Hopefully it will tucker everyone out and they will fall asleep early....fingers crossed!
Take care
Shona
Its the end of another week (weekend here we come!!) and it also means that its time for another Just Add Ink challenge.
This is the fantastic sketch we have to inspire you this week. Your more than welcome to turn it around and see where the ideas take you....
I have a floral die that I've been wanting to try some paper piecing with, so thought this would make a great focal point for the sketch:
I cut a strip of white CS to go across the card and then a piece of patterned paper which was slightly narrower. These were glued together and then to the front of the card. I die-cut the rose from some white CS and then from two different patterned papers. I arranged the different pieces in the rose and used washi tape behind it to keep it together. I also die-cut some leaves from white CS, which I glued to the card front, with the rose popped up on foam tape over top. I stamped the sentiment in black and added some soft pastel sequins.
The rose die and leaves are from Paper Smooches. The patterned papers are from Dear Lizzy 'Serendipity'. The sentiment is from Lil' Inkers 'Rainbows and Clouds Sentiments' and the sequins from Neat and Tangled.
I have three challenges I would like to enter:
Uniko Studio Challenge # 21 (Flowers)
Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge (Anything Goes)
Simply Create Too # 86 (Keep it Simple)
You have until next Wednesday to link your entries to the Just Add Ink challenge. And of course the rest of the Design Team have created some beautiful projects on the blog, to help with your inspiration. Can't wait to see what you do with this sketch!!
Take care
Shona
We've come to another Thursday (the last one for May...eeekkk) which means its time for a new challenge at TIME OUT.
The theme for this challenge is:
CASE THIS CARD with your own twist
And this is the fantastic card we have to inspire you:
The designer of this card is the amazing Deepti of Dee's Art Utopia. I'm sure you will have come across her gorgeous cards in blogland. She is on many Design Teams and often the winner of many challenges. She seems to be able to make cards for any theme and she is very artistic. She recently had the chance to design her very own stamp sets under the name 'Dee's Artsy Impressions' with Stamplorations. Her first stamp set Blooming Buds is so beautiful and she is giving it to the winner of this challenge. Talk about lucky!!!
Our Guest Designer for this challenge is the very talented Maura. I'm sure you will have come across her cards in blogland as she is often in the winning circle for so many challenges. She doesn't have a blog but you can check out her cards at the Splitcoaststampers Gallery.
I love the chalk-board look of Deepti's card but its something I haven't mastered yet. So I concentrated on the dark red and pink flowers instead:
I used my favourite flower dies to die-cut the flowers from paint chips. I then stamped and heat embossed some leaves in white on to vellum and cut them by hand. I cut a panel of black CS smaller than the card front. I set the leaves and flowers up how I wanted them and then carefully removed till I had the bottom layer and started adhering from there, using foam tape for the top red flower. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in white, put the panel on some foam tape and threw in a few enamel dots for good measure. I hope Deepti likes it!!
The flower dies are from Paper Smooches. The leaf stamps are from Altenew 'Striped Flowers' and the sentiment from Lil' Inker Designs 'Rainbows and Clouds Sentiments'. The enamel dots are from Papervine.
I have four challenges I would like to enter:
Simply Create Too Challenge # 86 (Keep it Simple)
Uniko Studio Challenge # 21 (Flowers)
Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge (Thank you)
Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge (Anything Goes)
You have two weeks to link your entries to the TIME OUT challenge and of course the rest of the Design Team have made some incredible projects on the blog to get those creative juices flowing!! Look forward to seeing you in the Gallery!
Take care
Shona
Its the last Wednesday of May (eeekkk!!) which means that its time for a new challenge at Addicted to Stamps. The theme for this weeks challenge is the immensely popular:
ANYTHING GOES
This means you can make anything your heart desires with regards to papercrafting. So get out those new craft goodies or old ones you haven't used for a while. Or maybe try that new technique you've been thinking about. All is welcome!!
The sponsor for this challenge is Stamplorations and they are giving a $10 gift certificate to the winner. Yay!!!
I decided it was time to play around with some patterned paper which has been very overlooked lately. I saw the latest sketch at Retro Sketches and loved the stacked coffee cups.
I knew exactly what to do with regards to the cups but it took me almost an hour to decide on the papers. My creative flow doesn't happen so smoothly when papers become part of the design for some reason. I almost gave up when I found the perfect pairing:
I started by stamping the coffee mugs and fussy cutting before adding foam tape and adhering to a white CS panel. I cut a slightly wider panel of the woodgrain paper and used a waffle die along the side. I also cut a panel of the sentiment paper and adhered it to the card front. That way I could put the waffle panel over top, followed by the mug panel. I decided not to do a sentiment as I had the 'smile' in black on the patterend paper in a column that really stood out. Only one strip of white CS....yikes!!
The patterned papers are from Kaisercraft 'Happy Snaps' and the coffee mug stamp from Paper Smooches 'Cyber Cafe'. The stitched-waffle die is from Pretty Pink Posh.
You have one week to enter the Addicted to Stamps challenge. The rest of the Design Team have put together some amazing projects on the blog to give you some ideas, if you need a push in the 'inspiration' department. Can't wait to see what you create!!
Take care
Shona
I'm scraping in by the hair of my chinny chin chin to the Muse Challenge this week. My mind was blank with regards to a design until today!
This is such a gorgeous card and would be perfect for a dog lover like me!! I love the different dog dies and the clean, simple design. I don't have any doggie dies but I did have a new die I wanted to try out:
I think that since I started making cards 18 mths ago, I've only made two baby cards. They always seem to stump me when it comes to the design. You would think it would be easy to make things 'cutesy' but maybe its because I'm not a 'cutesy' card maker that I run into trouble. Well, I can now say I've made three baby cards!
I purchased the Paper Smooches die set 'Baby Shower' a while ago, mainly for the umbrella (still haven't used that either...). It came with this cute little onesie that I die cut from some paint chips. I cut a thin panel of white CS and a slightly larger one of black CS. After die-cutting the onesie hole's, I glued them together and then glued the blue onesies into place. I cut a panel of white CS slightly smaller than my card front and adhered it. After stamping the sentiment (from Reverse Confetti 'Fancy Word Co-ordinates') I popped the onesie panel up on foam tape. Its so clean and 'cutesy' free...I love it!
I have three other challenges I would like to enter:
Little Tangles Challenge # 56
Happy Little Stampers - May CAS Challenge
Simply Create Too Challenge # 86 (Keep it Simple)
On the subject of 'onesies', I purchased a set each for Phoebe and Max last week and they absolutely love them. They put them on as soon as they get home from school, and spent most of this past weekend in them. To be honest, I've never thought much about them but after seeing the kids enjoying them so much, I went out and bought some myself.
Unfortunately they only had one type in my size - stars and stripes in purple and pink but boy oh boy are they warm and comfy. Dave burst out laughing and cringed at the same time when he saw me in them. I admit, they aren't the most appealing piece of clothing I own but when you stay up till 3am quite often and the weather is heading towards minus 5 degrees (celcius), who cares what I look like!! Wouldn't you agree??!!
Take care
Shona
I promise this will be my last entry. I just had this pattern in my mind and it kept annoying me (like a pesky fly) until I tried it out!
I've really enjoying looking at geometric designs and making entries for the Winnie and Walter - The Gossip Column challenge this month.
I'm a huge fan of Orla Kiely, especially her amazing geometric and retro inspired patterns. I've had an idea for a pattern for months but never had the nerve to try it out but this challenge gave me the push I needed (thanks Taheerah) and I love the result:
Ages ago I won a stamp set from Stamplorations and chose the 'Retro Mod Shapes' set. When it arrived I thought of Orla Kiely straight away, and this pattern. I don't know why I've sat on this idea for so long, maybe because I usually leave so much white space when I design? Who knows but I'm so happy to finally see it somewhere apart from my mind. I think I might even try it in other colours and frame it!!
I don't use rulers or anything like that when I do any repeated stamping. I probably should but I'm terrible with rulers and they seem to make things worse. So, I just started stamping the vertical columns, the dark pink ones first and then the light. I stamped and heat embossed the sentiment in silver and then fussy cut. I cut a banner from vellum and adhered the 'hello' to it with foam tape. That way I could put some double-sided tape on the vellum under the foam tape, so it couldn't be seen.
I wonder what Orla would think of this??????
Take care
Shona
Its been a while since I've played along with the CASology Challenge , due to sickness and lack of mojo, so I thought it was time to get my 'CAS' hat on and go to town....
I've never actually made a card for a wedding before and didn't think I would come up with anything for this challenge. However, I was playing with some geometric designs for another challenge and this one hit me from out of the blue:
Now, this might be just a bit too CAS for a wedding card. But when I looked at the interlocking rings I thought of marriage itself, wedding rings, tuxedo's (black and white), gold jewellery etc and this card just came to life.
I die-cut the 'Ring Trio' (from Paper Smooches) from black CS and glued them together. I worked out where they would sit on the card front and then stamped and heat embossed the sentiment stamps (from Winnie and Walter 'The Big, the Bold and the Happy') in gold. I then just adhered the rings in place. Simple, striking and hopefully makes sense!
I have four other challenges I would like to enter:
Little Tangles Challenge # 56
Simply Create Too Challenge # 86 (Keep it Simple)
Happy Little Stampers - May CAS Challenge
Winnie and Walter - The Gossip Column with Taheerah Atchia No. 2
Its supposed to be minus -1 degree's (celcius) in the morning with a huge frost. Not the best time of day to be going off to school on our scooters, if its too cold we might have to go by car instead. Makes me feel very sad for all the kiddies we pass freezing to death.
We came across two little kids a few weeks ago (6yrs and 5yrs) that had no gloves or jackets and the Mum just dumped them out of the car (with their scooters) and drove off with the 6yr girl crying and begging her Mum to drop her at school because it was so cold. How could she have left her children like that? Talk about cruel. I helped them out and walked slowly to school with them. They were smiling by the time we got there and I had done my good deed of the day!
Take care
Shona
Beautiful day today, even though it feels like its minus 5 degrees. The sun is shining and can hopefully get outside for a little while and do some gardening.
Its 'Anything Goes' at the Paper Smooches - Sparks May Wk 3 Challenge. As you can imagine its always a popular one and there are some amazing entries in the Gallery. I wanted to use a new die I purchased a few weeks back (shhh, don't tell my husband....) and thought this would also be perfect for another challenge:
I die-cut the 'Frame 2' from Paper Smooches and glued to the card front. I glued the bottom of cup cake as well and popped the cupcake top on foam tape. The sprinkles had lots of Wink of Stella added to them. I die-cut a few 'Tiny Hearts' (also PS) and added them after stamping the sentiment from 'Bold Buzzwords' (also PS) and covered them in Wink of Stella too. Its a Paper Smooches overload card!!
I have four other challenges I would like to enter:
Little Tangles Challenge # 56
Happy Little Stampers - May CAS Challenge
Seize the Birthday - May
Simply Create Too Challenge # 86 (Keep it Simple)
Max is off swimming with a friend shortly and I might take Phoebe and Ella for a drive to Picton. Its by the sea and there is a playground etc. Will be freezing but nice to get some fresh air and a change of scenery. I also need to make a chocolate mud cake today because...well....because it will be yummy!!
Take care
Shona
No posts for nearly a week and suddenly three in one day??? That's me, all or nothing (as my husband would say....). I'm just so excited that I've finally made some cards and this one in particular I'm super happy with!!
This is my third entry in the Winnie and Walter - The Gossip Column with Taheerah Atchia No. 2. I have a few more designs up my sleeve, so will see how I go over the weekend. The challenge ends on Monday, so still plenty of time for you to enter as well.
When I was playing with my stamps the other night, this is the first design I came up with. I really wanted to try overlapping my new Hero Arts Mid-Tone Shadow Inks to see how they worked. Turns out, they work pretty well:
I would so love this as a print on my wall!! I've always wanted to attempt a design like this but its never worked out. Maybe now I have these inks I might be able to do some more....
I used triangle stamps from Altenew 'Simple Shapes' and 'Sohcahtoa', starting with the pink triangles first and layering from there. It was going to be a one layer card but I wanted the design to pop more, so I cut it out and adhered it to a piece of black CS to give it a slight frame. I used some washi to gently stick the design in place and stamped the sentiment (from Winnie and Walter 'The Big, the Bold and the Happy') on either side. I then put the design on some foam tape. Love this so much!!!
Will link this to the AAA Card Challenge # 39 1st Birthday Extravaganza:
And will also enter the Little Tangles Challenge # 56 where their theme is:
I'm gradually feeling my mojo returning and hopefully after the weekend I will be back to having cards coming out of my ears (so to speak...), fingers crossed!
Take care
Shona
I'm back with my second card for the Winnie and Walter - The Gossip Column No. 2 with Taheerah Atchia. This time I wanted to add a bit more colour and direction with my card. I spent ages going thru my stamp box and found this stamp that I don't think I've ever used. It was waiting for this moment:
Unfortunately I have no idea where this stamp came from as it was purchased second hand with no labels. The stamp is only about an inch and a half long of arrows, so I just kept changing where I would start off each line and kept them staggered. The sentiment is from Winnie and Walter 'The Big, the Bold and You'. I cut the panel slightly smaller than the grey card front and popped it up on foam tape. Its a little hard to see the grey as I hadn't realised it would it blend into the background wall of my bedroom..... I also added some sequins from Neat and Tangled for a big of bling.
I'm going to link this to the Little Tangles Challenge # 56 where their theme is:
And also to the Showcase Your Style Challenge # 15 where their theme is:
It's very cold and dreary outside but I need to talk Bella for a walk. I haven't walked her myself for two weeks and I think she misses it alot. So will rug up, take lots of tissues and wander along the riverbank for a while. I've come up with quite a few card designs walking along the river in the past so maybe its just what I need.....
Take care
Shona
What a long two weeks this has been. I am so sick of being sick!! Has been an awful flu virus that doesn't want to let me go but will keep fighting it and surely I will be back to normal soon??!
I was so excited when I saw the theme for Taheerah's next Winnie and Walter - The Gossip Column was 'Geometrics'. I love geometric designs on anything i.e. pillows, wallpaper, prints, fabric etc. It does seem to be everywhere at the moment which is brilliant for me. I had so many ideas for card designs and then my flu hit. I made myself sit down on Monday night with my stamps and ink pads and just play around.
I'll be honest, I've never had such a problem with my mojo disappearing like it has at the moment. I think its because I'm constantly left with a sinus headache, that it keeps interfering with my imagination. Anyway, it was good to create just something and I came up with four different designs. Two I have finished and the others need more work, so watch this space....
This first card is one I thought of pretty quickly because I thought the stamps would look great in lines and have such a retro vibe:
I stamped the larger round stamp from Clearly Besotted 'Simply Quilled' in red ink across a piece of white CS. I then die-cut the circle and popped it up on foam tape on my card front. I stamped the sentiment from Winnie and Walter 'The Big, the Bold and You' in black ink and heat embossed twice with clear embossing powder to give it lots of shine. I cut it out with scissors and put on foam tape as well. A few enamel dots (from Papervine) in black and clear rhinestones (from Kaisercraft) finished it off.
I have quite a few cheap canvas's at home that I've covered with fabric that I love and think this design on fabric would be awesome!!
Will post my other card shortly (which is quite a bit different to this one). And fingers crossed I will gain enough mojo back to make some more. I always enjoy the Winnie and Walter challenges, they really get me out of my comfort zone!
Take care
Shona
Sorry I'm a little late for the party (my virus was holding my mojo back but its clawing its way back into my brain slowly.....) but I definitely wanted to be a part of the celebrations for the forever fabulous Sandie.
I'm sure you will have come across Sandie somewhere in card making blogland. She is an incredible card designer with her blog London Days and is on the Design Team for Addicted to Stamps, Inkspirational and Uniko Studio. She also has her own challenge TIME OUT CHALLENGES which is where I first met her. She invited me to be a part of the Time Out Design Team (which was my first DT), so I will always be grateful to her for that.
Her good friend Kylie of Kylie is Addicted to Stamping is holding a party in Sandie's honour and we are all linking our birthday cards for her there. Your more than welcome to join in the fun too!!!!
Sandie and I both love CAS designs so I definitely wanted to try and keep as much white space as I could and have a one-layer design. Sandie has been trying lots of different techniques of late and inspired me to creep out of my comfort zone a bit. So I also tried something new as well....hope you like it:
I was extremely lucky to win a challenge a few weeks ago with Altenew and received a voucher, so of course I shopped straight away. I've admired these stamps on everyone else's cards, so nice to finally have some myself.
I've never tried masking before but realised I needed to give it a go. I stamped the big flower on some scrap paper and fussy cut it out. I adhered it gently to the card front and stamped the leaf and smaller flower. Once I lifted the mask, I was able to stamp the flower again. I'm so happy with how it turned out and really hope you like this one Sandie!!
The sentiment is from Altenew 'Sohcahtoa' and the flowers are also Altenew 'Hennah Elements'.
I have five challenges that I would like to enter:
Seize the Birthday
Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge
AAA Card Challenge # 39
Uniko Studio Challenge # 21 (Flowers)
Little Tangles Challenge # 56
Sandie, I hope you had a wonderful day yesterday at the Theatre (although its only around 3am Sunday morning in the UK so you might still be celebrating.....). I'm so grateful that we have met and become friends. You are always willing to answer all my millions of questions and check up on me when things aren't going well, I really appreciate it. I'm sending lots of hugs from the other side of the world, hope you can feel them!!
Take care
Shona
Another Friday means it's time for another Just Add Ink challenge. We have a gorgeous colour combo to inspire you this week:
For some reason, these colours immediately transport me to a tropical island (I wish!!). Maybe they transport your creative mind somewhere else, I look forward to seeing where that is.
I have to admit that my card this week is not one of my best. I got sick on Saturday night with some horrible flu virus and I'm still battling it, so I apologise for not being more inspiring this week. Hopefully it will at least give you an idea of what you can create when you should be passed out in bed!
I only had one stamp colour that was similar to the colour combo (Hero Arts Shadow Ink Mid-tone 'Fresh Peach') so used that to stamp the flower. I cut a piece of patterned paper (with light blue and green colouring) and adhered it to the front of the kraft CS card base. I cut a strip of white CS and kraft CS and trimmed to shape. After fussy cutting the flower, I glued the kraft strip to the card. After stamping the sentiment, I popped the white strip up on foam tape. I also added foam tape to the back of the flower. A few co-ordinating enamel dots and my simple card was finished.
The patterned paper is from Carta Bella 'So Noted'. The flower stamp is from Close to My Heart 'Word Puzzle' and the sentiment from Lil' Inkers 'Rainbows and Clouds Sentiments'. The enamel dots are from Papervine.
I really needed help with a design so used the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch # 122, which unfortunately closed a few hours ago.
You have until next Wednesday 10pm to enter the Just Add Ink challenge. To get a lot more inspiration, please visit the blog to see the amazing projects from the rest of the Design Team. I hope to see you in the Gallery. And I promise my next challenge card will have a lot more pizazz!!
Take care
Shona
Another fortnight has disappeared which means its time for a new challenge at TIME OUT. Our theme for this challenge is:
GRUNGE- with the optional twist of 'embossing'
I have to admit I was a little stumped with 'grunge' but after looking at many cards on Pinterest and talking to a few other card makers, it seems that it mainly means to make a card that isn't clean and precise. Its a little rough in places, darker colours may be used, stamping isn't perfect etc. And with this challenge you have the option of including any sort of embossing in your design too!
Our Sponsor for this challenge is Stamplorations. They will give a $10 voucher to the winner. Also for those of you who twist with us (do some embossing) there will be another $10 voucher, which will be chosen randomly from those entries.
Our Guest Designer for this challenge is the fabulous Ksenija from Sweet Kobylkin. Her cards are really amazing and you will quite often find her in the winning spots on a lot of challenges. I really recommend you pop over to her blog and be prepared to be wowed!!
I'll be honest, this challenge did scare me a bit. But as I mentioned, I looked at a lot of different cards on Pinterest with a 'grunge' theme and I realised that I could still keep my card pretty clean:
I had a really good look thru my stamps and realised that I had a few that would work with the 'grunge' theme. I started by stamping the squiggle brushstroke in aqua. I then stamped the sentiment in Versafine Onyx Black and immediately covered it in clear embossing powder and heating. This gave the letters are really glossy look. I then stamped the other 'splotches' using stamps and orange ink. I even made a mistake and didn't push down enough on one of the stamps. Usually that would be an instant fail but it fitted in perfectly. Grunge isn't so scary after all!!
The sentiment is from Reverse Confetti 'Shine from Within'. The paintbrush squiggle and singular paint spots are also Reverse Confetti 'Color Me Happy'. The group of splotches is from Rosies Studio 'Onyx and Pearl'.
You have two weeks to enter the TIME OUT challenge. If you need any help with understanding 'Grunge' or would like to see some more examples, please pop over to the blog where the rest of the Design Team have prepared some gorgeous inspirational pieces! I can't wait to see what you come up with and hope to see you in the Gallery!
Take care
Shona
