Winnie and Walter Rerun Challenge #34

I love card challenges!! I wish I had the time to join in more of them, not for the prize winning etc but for the inspiration they offer for using stamps/dies in a different way. And some of them really are a 'challenge', especially when they are colours I don't use very often!!

For the current Winnie and Walter Rerun Challenge they are looking at the stampset 'Typecast', which is full of large capital alphabet letters. I've had this stamp set for so long and to be honest I never knew what to do with it. Now my eyes have been opened to the possibilities:
 

I would never have thought about using alphabet letters for a background before seeing the amazing DT cards for this challenge. Its such a cool idea!!

I started off by die-cutting a piece of white CS with the smaller waffle-edged die from W&W 'Essentials: Audreys Cutaways'. I grabbed pink ink pads from Waffle Flower and Hero Arts and the 'U' from the stamp set (along with my trusty MISTI) and stamped the 'U' across the panel (as straight as I could) with each pink shade. I then popped it up on the card front with a piece of white foam.

I decided to use one of the 'U's' to go with the sentiment, so I covered it with Wink of Stella and then with Glossy Accents. Unfortunately I got a bit carried away with the Glossy Accents and it went over the edges of the stamping (which drives me nuts every time I look at it) but not much I can do about it now....

I used sentiment stamps from W&W 'The Big, the Bold and Happy' and stamped with black ink on white CS. I fussy cut it out, adhered to black CS and cut around it to form a frame. I put this on foam tape beside the 'U'.

To add a bit more 'cuteness' to the card, I quickly blended some of the pink inks on white CS and die-cut the butterflies (also from W&W 'Essentials: Audreys Cutaways'), folded them in the middle and glued to the card front. I also added Wink of Stella to them and glued on some sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.

And will also link to the Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge where their theme is 'Monochrome'.

 
 Daylight Savings started last night in New Zealand and I'm all mixed up with my time. Its 1pm and feels like its still before midday. I do love this time of year, when we can go and play tennis etc after dinner and jump on the trampoline and look at the stars. Bye bye Winter!!

Take care
Shona
 

National Coffee Day Blog Hop!!!

How exciting, a whole day dedicated to all you coffee drinkers out there!!! Some of you may know that I don't actually like to drink coffee (I can hear you all gasp from here....) but I do love the smell of brewed coffee and know there are so many of you that are passionate about your favourite brew.

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps is part of a fun coffee-related blog hop today and myself (along with the other 'Girl Fridays') are up on the CFS Blog with some coffee-themed projects. There is a prize up for grabs and also a sale on Coffee/Tea stamps and dies, so a great chance to purchase some of the sets if you haven't seen them before. On the blog post you will also see the other companies involved in the hop and see where the hop begins. You don't want to miss any of the stops along the way, there are lots of prizes and inspiration to be seen!!

For my card I wanted to use my favourite die and sentiment:

Every time I see this sentiment I can't help but sing 'I like big butts' by Sir Mix-a-lot in my head. I tried explaining the song to my Mum and she thought it was hilarious!!

I started off by using the large cup die from the Coffee Cup Fri-dies on two paint chips in one of my favourite colours. I also used the same die on a dark brown paint chip for the coffee colour. These were held in place with some washi tape behind them. I cut a strip of woodgrain CS (to be a table top) and adhered to the bottom of my card front, and glued the two cups on top.

I thought because the sentiment is about 'liking' something, I would create the coffee steam using a heart stamp from the Peace Love and Coffee stamp set above each cup. I stamped the sentiment (from Hot Coffee) in black ink on a strip of white CS, adhered it to some black CS and cut around it to create a frame. This was popped up on foam tape, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I hope I've inspired you with my 'Big Cups' and you've gotten yourself a big cup of coffee, settled into a comfy chair and are ready to hop along the rest of the blog hop. Don't forget to visit the CFS Blog and answer the question for a chance to win. Enjoy your hopping and your coffee!!

Take care
Shona
 

Where Creativity Meets C9 Challenge #25

I have a bit of a problem. Last weekend I created a card for this months challenge at Where Creativity Meets C9. They have the most beautiful Autumn colour palette to use:

I have been trying since Tuesday this week to link it to the challenge but for some reason the Linky doesn't show. All I keep getting is a blue button that says 'Login to Continue' where the Linky button should be. I've been shutting down my computer, trying a different ways to bring up the blog and getting my husband to look at it but nothing seems to change. There must be something on my computer that is stopping me and no one else....its so bizarre and frustrating!! 

So I've decided to show you my entry anyway and leave a comment on the challenge blog post to see if they can include my entry somehow or whether they have any idea why this is happening. Here is the card I came up with:
 

This was so much fun to create and I loved doing all the stamping, which I haven't been doing much of lately. Thank goodness for my MISTI!!

I started by cutting a panel of white CS slightly smaller than my card front. I then used my MISTI and images from Concord and 9th 'Flourish' to create the background. Once I was happy I die-cut the 'wonderful' using a die from Concord and 9th 'Wonderful Florals' die set and also die-cut it again from some woodgrain CS. I added a panel of white CS behind the die-cut letters and inlaid the woodgrain ones in their spaces. 

The sentiments (from the Concord and 9th 'Wonderful Florals' stamp set) were stamped on strips of white CS and popped on foam tape, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.

And will also link to The Cats Pajamas Challenge #350 where their theme is 'Fall'.

I've got one more blog post to write for tomorrow morning and then I'm going to put on my pj's and continue a book I started to read last night. I haven't read a book for so long but I decided to re-read a book that my Mum owns because its just hilarious and very inspiring. 

Its about a New Zealand artist who goes out to buy some butter and comes back with a Catholic Church (that was being demolished). The things she goes thru to build her house with not only the remains of this church but also another one are truly amazing. Its by Da'Vella Gore and called 'This Blessed Life'. I highly recommend it and there are two more books after this called 'This Blessed House' and 'This Blessed Journey'. I can't wait to read them all again!!

Take care
Shona
 

Altenew September Inspiration Challenge

Its been another strange day today. After Max having hives since Monday afternoon, he finally came down with a bad cold/flu last night, so is feeling awful (and not so itchy) today. He won't be going to school tomorrow and its not a nice way for him to start the two weeks of school holidays. Phoebe is also home today as she has had a bad headache. Luckily it hasn't turned into a migraine and she will be back to school tomorrow. The weather is cloudy with a cold wind and hot sun, very peculiar....

Over the past weekend I was able to make a card for this months Altenew Inspiration Challenge. It must be so hard for them to choose winners as the entries are all so incredible.  For my card I decided to mix a bit of the old with the new:

Funnily enough when I was looking at the challenge colours over the weekend I kind of thought the lighter colour was more of a pale lavender. Now I'm looking at it again it seems to be a bit more pink.....I really need to get my eyes checked!!

I started off by using some of the outline stamps from Altenew 'Beautiful Day' and stamping all over the card front using Altenew 'Lavender Fields' ink. I then stamped the flower and leaves (from the same set) using Altenew 'Soft Lilac', 'Lavender Fields' and 'Midnight Violet', and 'Frayed Leaf' and 'Forest Glades'. I fussy cut them out and adhered in the bottom corner of the card front.

Using the Altenew 'Caps Bold Alphabet Dies' I die-cut 'LOVE' from some white CS x2. I then blended on some white CS with Distress Oxide inks 'Shaded Lilac' and 'Wilted Violet' and die-cut this with the same dies. I glued all the letters together and popped them up on foam tape. For the rest of the sentiment (from Altenew 'Floral Shadow') I stamped it in black on a strip of white CS, popped it on foam tape and glued on some sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is the ever popular 'Anything Goes'.

 

We've just come back from taking Phoebe for her regular Orthodontist appointment for her braces and in an hour Phoebe and I are going to get our hair cut (just a trim off the length). Max will be dropped off at my Mum's with my ipad so he doesn't have to wait and listen to women gossip at the hair salon. Then we can come home and relax....well they can while I quickly take the dog for a walk, bring in the washing and get dinner organised. A woman's work is never done!!

Take care

Shona

 

 

Simon Says Stamp - Flickr Challenge #106

So, as I've mentioned I spent the past weekend at my Mum's having a 'card making' marathon. I made 11 cards and I think I created my MOST FAVOURITE CARD EVER!!!!

The theme for the current Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge is 'Totally Resistible' where they are wanting you to make projects using the 'resist technique'. I was really wanting to try out another of my new WOW! embossing powders and I think I discovered the perfect pairing of powder and Distress Oxide ink:

I have always loved Tiffany blue/duck egg blue and when I ordered the WOW! embossing powder 'Pastel Glacier Mint' I was really hoping it wouldn't be a green colour (although I do love pastel minty colours) and I got exactly the colour I wanted!! I think I was also channeling Jennifer McGuire for this card too as I see her use this colour EVERYWHERE!!

I started by heat embossing the SSS 'Centre Cut Kaleidoscope' stamp (without the centre piece) with the new embossing powder on a panel of Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS. I then used my mini-blending tool and Distress Oxide ink 'Tumbled Glass to cover the panel except in the middle. I trimmed the panel down so it was slightly smaller than the card front and put it on a piece of white foam.

While I was blending the blue ink, I also used it on a spare piece of white CS and die-cut it using the SSS 'Kindness Matters' die. I also die-cut it 2x more from plain white CS. I glued them all together without the letters in place, adhered a piece of white CS behind it and pressed the coloured letters in so they sat down from the top layer. This was put on foam tape in the middle of the card.

For the rest of the sentiment, I used the same blue embossing powder to heat emboss the sentiment from SSS 'Kind Flowers' on a strip of white CS. This was  put on foam tape along with some blue and clear sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I love this card so much, I can't stop looking at it!!!

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge where their theme is 'Monochrome'.

 
It's nearly 9pm and you've been inundated with enough of my cards today, so think I will go and put on my pj's and watch a movie with the kids. I'm taking my Mum for a hearing test tomorrow morning and they offered to do mine for free as well. My hearing is atrocious so will be interesting to see how bad it really is. Now all I need to do is get my eyes tested.....in a few months time I could have glasses and a hearing aide....I'm getting old!!!

Take care
Shona
 
 
 

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge

I think I've found a new love.......WOW! Embossing Powders!! I've seen so many people using them on their cards and follow WOW! on Instagram to see their inspiring projects. There aren't many stockists of WOW! powders in NZ but recently when I ordered from Simon Says Stamp for my birthday, I decided it was a good chance to order a few to see what they were like.....and now I want them all!!!

The theme for this weeks Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge is 'Bling it on', so it was a perfect time to try one of the embossing powders, along with some of my new SSS stamps:
 

This was done with WOW! 'Metallic Gold Sparkle' Embossing Glitter. How I wish you could see the sparkle in real life....here's a closer look:

Isn't it divine??!! I need an extra big pot of this because I think I'm going to run out of it very quickly!!!

I started off by heat embossing the SSS 'Centre Cut Kaleidoscope' stamp on a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS without the centre piece. I then used my mini-blending tool and Distress Oxide inks 'Tumbled Glass' and 'Broken China', putting the darker colour in the middle and blending out to the lighter blue. I cut the panel down so it was slimmer than the card front and popped it up on a piece of white foam.

Using the SSS 'Love' die, I die-cut the shadow part from white CS. I blended some more Distress Oxide ink 'Broken China' on a spare piece of white CS and die-cut the 'love' from it, as well as two more times from white CS. I glued these all together and then to the card front. The rest of the sentiment (from SSS 'Kind Flowers') was stamped on a strip of white CS with the 'Broken China' Distress Oxide ink and adhered in place, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled. And for a bit more shine I added lots of Glossy Accents to the 'love'. I'm so over the moon with how this card turned out!!

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Flickr Challenge #106 where their theme is 'Totally Resistible'  where they want you to use the 'resist' technique on your project, which is what I've done with the heat embossing and ink blending.

And I'm going to link to the Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge where their theme is 'Monochrome'.

Time to go and organise some dinner for the hungry masses!! I've just lit the fire, which hasn't been going for over a week. The weather has been so beautiful for a while now but all of a sudden this afternoon its turned back to Winter. I took the dog for a walk before and I got earache from my ears getting frozen. So much for global warming!!!

Take care
Shona
 

MFT Stamps Card Challenge - Color Challenge #101

It was so much fun at the weekend to be able to relax and just make cards. I find it so hard to create when I know there is washing, ironing, vacuuming, toilet scrubbing to do, so its great to have just the cards to worry about for a change!!

I thought this colour combo for the MFT Stamps Color Challenge was so pretty and not colours I would normally put together, so I definitely had to give it a try:
 

I definitely need to use this combo of colours again, especially the red with the blues, its gorgeous!!

I started off by cutting a panel of white CS slightly smaller than the card front. I then stamped the butterflies from MFT Stamps 'Beautiful Butterflies' using Mama Elephant 'Ocean' ink and Waffle Flower 'Daydreaming' ink, stamping each colour twice using my MISTI. I then stamped the top detail layer with black ink. 

I cut a panel of black CS and adhered to the card front and then popped the butterfly panel up on a piece of black foam. I die-cut the MFT Stamps 'SMILE' die from a red paint chip and then twice more from black CS, glued them all together and then to the card. And to add in the peachy colour from the challenge colour combo I stamped the rest of the sentiment (from MFT Stamps 'Raving Racoons') using Hero Arts 'Fresh Peach' Shadow ink. The strip was adhered to the card front along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I've got Max home from school today as the itch on his legs just hasn't gone away. Its driving him nuts, especially at night time. Have just tried to make a doctors appointment but they are booked up for the rest of the week. The nurse is going to give me a call back soon to see if she can recommend something but if nothing helps I'll have to take him to the After Hours clinic tonight. So frustrating when you can't just fix something quickly yourself!!

Take care
Shona
 

MFT Stamps Sketch Challenge #403

I'm so ready for bed but its only 7.20pm......my new medication to help with my Fibromyalgia is not very pleasant at all and after only 4 days of taking it I just can't do it any more. I'm so drowsy, nauseous and not with it, its frightening and I've had a headache ever since I started taking it (as well as a rash), so I don't think this medication is right for me. Hopefully it won't take long to get it out of my system and I'll be back to normal. Such a shame as this is the only one I hadn't tried, so its back to the drawing board.....and hopefully I can finish writing this blog post before I nod off....

I played around at the weekend with this sketch for the current MFT Stamps Sketch Challenge and managed to find a way to use some of my new MFT stamps:
 

I started off by die-cutting the MFT Stamps 'Hello' from black CS. I cut a white CS rectangle that was only a bit bigger than the 'Hello' die and die-cut it from the middle of that as well. I adhered a piece of white CS behind it and inlaid the black die-cut letters.

The sketch has a diagonal strip going across the front, so I stamped the leaves from the MFT Stamps 'Painted Poppies' in black going into each corner. The die-cut panel was put over top of the leaves on a piece of white foam. I stamped the flower and leaves from the same stamp set in Versafine black ink on Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS and immediately clear heat embossed. I watercoloured these with my Zig Real Color Brush Pens and when dry fussy cut them out. I adhered these on the bottom corner of the panel.

The rest of the sentiment (from MFT Stamps 'Bitty Bears') was white heat embossed on a strip of black CS and popped on foam tape, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.

Right, I think I'll go and put my electric blanket on (its suddenly turned very cold), get in my pj's and sit down with the kids to watch a movie. Have a feeling I'll be falling asleep before they do this evening......

Take care
Shona
 

CAS Christmas Card Challenge - September

Its been a funny day today. It rained (with thunder and lightning) all night so everything was very soggy this morning but the sun was beaming so off to work I went. Unfortunately I had to finish early and pick up Max as he has the beginnings of hives on his legs and the itchiness was driving him crazy at school. So have covered his legs in steroid cream along with an antihistamine, so hopefully they will be better soon. This usually happens when he comes in contact with a virus, so I think he will probably get sick in the next day or two.....Now the sun is still out but its getting colder and trying to rain, so who knows what it will be like tomorrow!!

The joy of spending the weekend at my Mum's making lots of cards mean't I could join some new (to me) challenges. I saw the CAS Christmas Card Challenge on someone's blog and thought what a fab way to add to my very small Christmas card stash:

This is such a cool die that I picked up last year for $5 from The Warehouse. It has so much detail with all the bauble's that you don't need anything else on your card, which is perfect for a CAS challenge.

I started off by die-cutting the Couture Creations 'Bauble Wreath' from Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS and also twice more from white CS. I grabbed a rainbow of Distress Oxide inks and spent a bit of time watercolouring each bauble, not being too worried about getting it precisely in place. I used a heat gun to dry it out between layers and kept painting until I got the coverage I was happy with.

I really wanted it to be shiny, so I pressed my Versamark ink pad over the entire die-cut and heat embossed it with clear powder. It looked so good I decided to do it again, and again so it was mega shiny with dimension. All I had to do then was glue all the die-cut wreaths together and adhere to the card front.

For the sentiment (from Mama Elephant 'Puffy Holiday Greetings') I stamped it on white CS with my MISTI, using Mama Elephant 'Lollipop' pigment ink. I did it 3x to get good coverage and wetness so I could immediately heat emboss it with clear powder. I fussy cut it out and popped it on foam tape in the middle of the wreath. And to finish off I added some sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Bling it on'. If you could see the shine on this wreath, you would think it was covered in diamonds!!

 

Dave will be home from work soon, so I can then go and grab some groceries and take Bella for a walk. She's sitting here beside me watching to see if I'm about to get up, which to her means there's a chance she is going to a walk. She must be so disappointed when all I do is walk into the toilet.....

Take care
Shona
 

CASology Challenge Week #313

What a fabulous weekend I've just had!! I spent the weekend at my Mum's having a card making marathon, watching Scandal on dvd and talking to my Mum about all sorts of things. Always nice to spend some time with her and I made 11 cards (some for Design Teams and some challenges) so your about to be inundated with them all I'm afraid!!

I haven't had a chance to join in the CASology Challenge for ages but when I saw the 'cue word' I immediately thought of a stamp set I hadn't used yet and it would be perfect:

As you can imagine this was ultra simple to put together but I wanted it to be one-layer, soft and ethereal, just like a ballet dancer and her tutu.

I started off by gently blending Distress Oxide ink 'Spun Sugar' on the card front. I then stamped the dancer from Rosies Studio 'Arabesque' with black ink and then the tutu with Waffle Flower ink 'Safe Choice'. To finish off I stamped the sentiment from the same set in black and glued on some soft pink and clear sequins from Neat and Tangled. 

I'll be back here tomorrow with another card, will try to spread them out across the week. I was hoping to do some late night crafting this week but I started a new medication on Friday night to help with the pain of my Fibromyalgia and its making me so drowsy. I'm supposed to double the dose tomorrow night and I'm a bit worried I won't wake up on Wednesday morning. Hopefully the drowsiness will get better and it will help me deal with the pain, if not it will be back to the drawing board......

Take care
Shona
 

 

Reminder: TIME OUT Challenge # 118

Hi everyone, we are halfway through another month and another challenge theme at TIME OUT. I don't know where this year has gone and was just thinking last night that I need to start organising some more Christmas cards for my stash....so much for making a few each month.....

We have this photo to inspire you for the current TIME OUT challenge. You could use the flowers, the colours, the pumpkins or maybe a celebration project.....the possibilities are endless and all up to you!!

Our Sponsor for this challenge is Poppystamps and they are giving a $20 gift voucher to the winner. And their Design Team is also joining us for this challenge, so pop over to their Poppystamps Blog to see how they were inspired by this photo.

For my card I was quite excited about doing some orange flowers, as I hardly ever use orange on my cards. And then when I got colouring I realised I could fit in some pumpkins too...:

I think I might have to use orange a bit more frequently as it sure does jump off the card front with all the white behind it!!

I started off by stamping the flowers from Trinity Stamps 'Hello Sweet Friend' with Versafine black ink on Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS and heat embossing with clear powder. I also did the same with the pumpkins from MFT Stamps 'Witch way is the Candy?'. I coloured all these images with my Zig Real Color Brush Pens, Tombow Dual Brush pens and my Gansai Tambi paints. 

Once they were dry I fussy cut them out and added foam tape behind the flowers. I used an oval die from Studio Katia on white CS and put this on a piece of white foam on the card front. I then adhered the pumpkins in place and put the flowers on top. The sentiment (from the same Trinity Stamps set) was stamped in black on white CS, backed with some black CS and put on foam tape, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I'm going to link this to The Cats Pajamas Challenge #350 where their theme is 'Fall'. I thought these colours and the pumpkins would fit in perfectly.

You have until Wednesday 26th September to link your projects to the TIME OUT Challenge and pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the amazing Design Team and our fabulous Guest Designer Angie of Cimbacreativefun have created to inspire you. Look forward to seeing your projects in the Gallery!!

Take care
Shona
 

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - Girl Friday post #2 for September

Hi everyone!! Its been a glorious week here weather-wise and I'm relishing in all the flowers and tree's that are beginning to sprout (as well as the weeds......).

I wanted to let you know that I'm up on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog today with this card:

It has a lot of shine that you can't see here and there are lots of photos to go with my tutorial. Pop over to the blog if you'd like to see how I put this together!!

Take care
Shona
 

MFT Stamps - 2018 Card Design Superstar

Its so windy today, which is frustrating because its also quite warm but not pleasant to be outside. Especially if your trying to hang sheets on the line like I was this morning (many a bad word was muttered......). Last night I was able to finally create a card for the MFT Stamps - 2018 Card Design Superstar competition, while listening to Dave screaming at the tv while watching the All Blacks play South Africa (and lose.....eeeek!!).

I wasn't actually going to enter but this one card idea kept pecking at my brain (like a woodpecker....) so thought I better give it a go for the 'Clean and Simple' catergory.  I was going to try and colour a card for the 'Colouring Virtuoso' category but thought 'am I crazy????'. There are so many incredible colourists out there in 'card-land', I thought I would enjoy looking at their entries instead of embarassing myself.....:

 I went for what I love best....rainbow colours and die-cutting, so even if I don't win I'll love sending this to someone for their birthday!!

I started by using the MFT Stamps 'Snow Drifts Cover Up' die on a piece of white CS. I then grabbed  a 'rainbow' of colours from my Distress Oxide ink stash and blended colour on to each 'drift' part. I wanted to make sure I could get part of the sentiment 'inlaid' into one of the drifts, so I grabbed my MFT Stamps 'Little Lowercase Dies' and die-cut 'love' from the dark pink one. I added some washi tape behind it, die-cut it again from black CS and put the letters in place.

I used some non-permanent tape to hold the outside die frame to the card front. This gave me a way to make sure each 'drift' was put in correctly spaced and level on foam tape. And it was easy to carefully put it up and away when all the drifts were done.

For the rest of the sentiment I stamped the 'happy birthday' (from MFT Stamps 'Birthday Bears') on a small strip of white CS and adhered in place, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled. I also added some Glossy Accents to the die-cut word for a bit of shine.

I'm also going to link this to the MFT Stamps Birthday Project Challenge where their theme this month is 'CAS'.

And will also link as my fifth and last entry to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Pop it Up'.

Bella desperately needs another brush so I'm off out into the wind to see if I can do it without getting most of it in my mouth. I've been thinking more and more about getting another dog lately and I'm keeping an eye out for any suitable puppies or dogs that we could adopt. I would love a French Bulldog puppy but they are around $6000 which is rather out of our price range but another Golden Retriever would be perfect. Will see what happens.....

Take care
Shona

 

Reminder: The Flower Challenge #24

I'm popping in with a quick post today to remind you all about our current theme at The Flower Challenge. We already have some incredible entries, your designs and colouring skills have blown me away and I'm not looking forward to choosing winners at the end of the challenge!!

Its everyone's favourite theme 'Anything Goes' this month, which means as long as it has a 'floral' design, you can do whatever you like. Whoopee!!

We are also very lucky to have a prize for our winner this month, CAS-ual Fridays Stamps are giving a $25 gift voucher to their store to the winner, so they can buy whatever they like. They have a lot of gorgeous floral stamps and dies, so it won't be hard to choose!!

For this card I was really itching to stamp and watercolour some new stamps that I'd been eyeing up for a while. Its always so excited when you've wanted something for so long and it ends up in your hot little hands....very cool:

I've got a real thing for black against white and colour at the moment, its such a drastic difference and really makes colour jump off the card!!

I started off by stamping the floral image from Trinity Stamps 'Hello Sweet Friend' using Versafine black ink on Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS and clear heat embossing. I then used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush pens and a waterbrush to colour it in. After it was dry I fussy cut it out and popped foam tape on the back.

I found this Studio Katia 'Stitched Creative Nested Squares' die fitted behind the image perfectly, so die-cut it from black CS and popped it on a piece of black foam on the card front. I then put the flowers on top.

For the sentiment (from the same Trinity Stamps set) I stamped it again with Versafine black ink and clear heat embossed. I adhered slightly to the black panel and added some black foam underneath as it hangs off the edge. I also white heat embossed the smaller sentiment (from the same set) on a strip of black CS and put on foam tape too, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I'm going to link this as my 4th entry to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Pop it Up'.

And will also link as my 2nd entry to the CAS on Friday Challenge #141 where their theme is 'Flowers'.

You have until Tuesday 25th September to link your projects to The Flower Challenge and pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have created to inspire you. Can't wait to see more beauties in the Gallery!!

Take care
Shona
 
 

CAS on Friday Challenge #141

Its another absolutely stunning, hot day here today and I've been doing tonnes of washing, scrubbing shoes in the sun and brushing Bella. The kids and I are going into town soon, Max is going to the skatepark while Phoebe and I will wander around the shops, so thought I would quickly pop this card on my blog before we go.

The current theme at CAS on Friday  is 'Flowers' so I thought one of my newly watercoloured stamps would be a perfect fit:

 This poppy image is from Lesia Zgharda stamps and was so wonderful to colour with my Zig Real Color Brush Pens. I only have 16 pens and haven't purchased any new ones for over a year because I wasn't having much luck with them but think I might have fallen in love over again....

I stamped the Poppy on Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS with Versafine black ink and clear heat embossed. I coloured using my one red brush pen. I managed to get a lot of shading but unfortunately the sun was a bit bright when I took this photo and you can't see all my hard work, which is a bummer!!

I used a circle die from Couture Creations to cut it out and then used the next size die to cut some black CS. I added a panel of grey CS to the card front, adhered the black circle and popped the poppy circle on foam tape. I then stamped the sentiment in black from Concord and 9th 'Brushed Blossom'. Really love the font. To finish off I glued on some red, gold and pink sequins from Neat and Tangled.

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Pop it Up', its my 3rd entry, they will be getting rather sick of me.....

Better go and gather up the kids and get moving. Its so hard at the weekend when I've been outside all week and the weather is good. I want to do so many things inside but the sun is calling my name. And its good to get the kids outside and doing something active, very easy for them to get involved in their devices and forget there is a world out there.....

Take care
Shona
 
 

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge (Entry #2)

Last weekend I spent a lot of time watercolouring some of my new stamps. I really enjoyed myself and was really happy with the results using my Zig Real Color Brush Markers (which I used to have a love/hate relationship with.....). I've had all the fussy cut images sitting on my desk since Sunday afternoon and finally had some time this afternoon to get a few of them on cards!!

The theme for this weeks Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge is 'Pop it Up' and I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do with this beautiful whale image:

I've been dreaming about this 'Flower Whale' from Lesia Zgharda stamps for so long and when they recently had a Summer sale of 30% off, I saw it as a sign to finally purchase it, along with some others that I loved. Isn't it gorgeous!!!

I stamped the whale with Versafine black ink on a piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS and immediately heat embossed with clear powder. I then used a water brush and my Zig Real Color Brush Markers to colour her in, leaving the tummy a soft grey colour. After drying I fussy cut her out and added foam tape to the back.

I knew that my new Right At Home 'Watercolor Background' stamp would make a fabulous background for the whale, so I stamped it on a panel of white CS using Distress Oxide ink in 'Tumbled Glass', so it was a similar colour to the whale and the 'chalkiness' of the ink gives it a softer look too. I cut the panel down so it was slightly smaller than the card front and popped it up on a piece of white foam.

For the sentiment (from Simon Says Stamp 'Kind Flowers') I stamped it on a thin strip of white CS in black ink and put on foam tape as well, along with some pink, clear and light blue sequins from Neat and Tangled. I'm over the moon with how it turned out!!!

Its only 10.50pm Friday night but its been the busiest week of gardening I've had for three months. I didn't have one 'rainy day off' and worked long days, which I loved but now I'm exhausted. It was so hot today I thought I was going to pass out (mainly because I was planting up against a white brick wall) but I was so happy to be outside. I've got a few more cards to share with you tomorrow but for now my bed is calling my name!!

Take care
Shona