AAA CAS Card Challenge #139

I'm still sick!! I can't believe how long this virus is going on for and feel like it will never end......The pain in my body is slowly going which is great but its just the pain in my head and sinuses that's driving me a little crazy. Luckily its raining today so don't feel so bad about missing another day of gardening. And the kids went back to school today. Its very quiet without them here which is good and sad at the same time.....

I think this sketch for the current AAA CAS Card Challenge is awesome, especially for a CAS design. I will probably be entering this one a few times and will try to make a shaker card if my head stops throbbing....

I did manage to make these, another play with my The Stamp Market stamp sets. They have just hit 10,000 followers on Instagram and are having a giveaway. So happy for them, great to see these new companies doing so well:

I couldn't decide which colour combo to use with this design so decided to use both!!

As  you can imagine this was SUPER easy to put together! I stamped the floral frame image from The Stamp Market 'Framed Floral' with Versafine black ink on white CS. I also stamped the sentiments from The Stamp Market 'Feeling Floral' in the same black. I fussy cut these out and a piece of white foam behind them.

I cut some strips of coloured CS, making the pink one smaller. These were glued to the card front with Gina K Connect Glue and the frames popped on top, along with some Neat and Tangled sequins.

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'. I think this is my 4th entry.

 

There is so much to do around the house. The toilet desperately needs to be cleaned, as well as the bathroom but when I bend over my head screams. Maybe they can last one more day and will tackle tomorrow. Don't think the Queen is visiting today so might be able to get away with it.....maybe I'll stamp and colour instead....by the fire.....with toast.....and watch more Veep......

Take care
Shona
 

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Entry # 3

I think my flu virus is trying to kill me. I should be getting better by now not worse.....had a horrible night last night as my head was pounding, along with my sinuses and eyes. I've hardly had a runny nose so not sure why my sinus area is involved but breathing thru my nose is extremely painful. I've taken so many painkillers but my head wants to explode. Going for a drive to Picton soon with the family. I don't want to go but feel I should go to get a change of scenery and maybe doing something fun with the kids will help.


Luckily I made this card the other day while playing with my couple of stamp sets from The Stamp Market, as I don't think I'll be making anything today:
 

For this card I started by cutting a panel of white CS slightly slimmer than the card front. I worked out where I wanted the open space on my panel and drew two faint lines with a pencil and ruler, and then stamped the sentiment in black from The Stamp Market 'Feeling Floral' set.

Using Waffle Flower Inks in pastel colours, I stamped the leaf image (from the same stamp set) across the panel, stamping twice each for good coverage. I alternated the colours as I went with no pattern in mind. Once finished I erased the pencil lines and added a big piece of white foam to the back.

I love grey with pastel colours, so cut a strip of grey CS and glued it to the card front. The leaf panel was adhered over top, with a few Neat and Tangled sequins added for a little shine.

This will be my third entry for the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where the theme is 'Anything Goes'.

Will also link as my last entry to the Kat Scrappiness April Challenge where their theme is 'Pastels'.

Think I'll go lay down for a bit now. I was feeling a little crafty last night but not ready to make a card, so I tried making some origami cranes. I found it so hard to follow the instructions, they turned out very deformed so think I'll leave trying that again until I feel better. Might try some colouring later just to keep my head in the 'crafting' game.....

Take care
Shona
 

CAS-ual Fridays Stamps - Girl Friday Post for April #2

Hi everyone!! I'm just popping in to let you know that I have these cards on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog today:

I'll have all the details for you on how I put these together and even have a few photos to show the process. I hope you've got time to pop over and take a look!!

Take care

Shona

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge

I'm still sick and its driving me a bit crazy!! My fevers have stopped but my body is so sore and all the glands have come up in my neck so not really wanting to move much. I feel so terrible because even though the kids don't say so, they must be so bored. They haven't been anywhere all week (although Phoebe is still a bit sick....) and they are back to school on Monday. Hopefully I will be better for the weekend so we can do something together and they both said they would love to go to the movies again to see the Avengers movie with me, so fingers crossed for that!!

Earlier in the week I was playing around with the couple of The Stamp Market stamp sets I have and trying to use them in different ways. I have two other cards to share with you but firstly here is a one-layer CAS design:
 

I think it took me longer to find the solid stamp image than it took to do the whole card!!

I started by stamping the 'hello' from The Stamp Market 'Framed Floral' set in the middle of the card in black. I then stamped the floral image (from the same set) randomly over the card front in the same Versafine black ink. 

For the solid image I used a stamp from Neat and Tangled 'Scandinavian Prints'. I wanted it to be a 'non-perfectly round' circle and smaller than the floral image, so this was perfect. I used 'Mint to Be' ink from Catherine Pooler and 'New Fish in Pond', 'Safe Choice' and 'Happy Go Lucky' inks from Waffle Flower, stamping each circle twice for good coverage. To finish off I glued on some sequins also from Neat and Tangled.

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

Will also link to the Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge where their theme is 'Going around in Circles'.

Its such a beautiful day, I'm going to take Bella for a walk round the block with the kids just to get myself and them moving. I'll be honest, I'm not looking forward to it physically but will be just nice to go for a walk with Phoebe and Max, where we quite often have some of our best conversations.....

Take care
Shona
 

Stamplorations - Cutplorations April Challenge

It is an absolutely gorgeous day today, just wish I felt better so I could enjoy it!! I do feel a bit better than yesterday which is good so I'm sure by Monday I'll be back to my normal self and ready to attack some weeds!

This photo from the current Cutplorations April Challenge has been on my mind ever since I saw it and you know I'm always a sucker for a rainbow design:
 

I loved how the rainbow eggs were in the middle of a white bowl, it made their colours pop even more so that encouraged me to create a white boarder around my rainbow panel!!

Firstly I stamped The Stamp Market 'Diamond Design' background stamp 3x with Versafine black ink on some TAS watercolour CS and immediately clear heat embossed. I decided to use my pack of Tombow Dual Brush Pens 'Bright Palette' which I had only tried once before and it was a disaster. This time I worked out how much water to use and I'm amazed at how vibrant the colours are. Will definitely be using these again!!

Once the panel was dry I trimmed it down slightly and put it on a white card base with a piece of white foam. The Stamp Market 'Love' die was die-cut 3x from black CS, glued together and then to the card front. I gave it a lashing of Wink of Stella and Glossy Accents, as well as gluing on some Neat and Tangled sequins.

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

Phoebe and I just got back from the supermarket, my first trip out of the house since Sunday. Was nice to be out but I'm so tired now. Think I'll go and make some more Vegemite on toast (my favourite thing to eat when I'm sick) and watch the latest Veep episode that was on last night......bliss.

Take care
Shona
 

Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge - Entry #2

Its been a very long day. I've been trying to do housework here and there while feeling sick. When I get too tired I lay on the couch and watch Veep. I love that show so much and even though I've watched it a thousand times, it still makes me laugh!! 

The theme at this weeks Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge is 'Going round in Circles' and I shocked myself with this card design because I reached for patterned paper:
 

Its extremely rare for me to use patterned paper (even though I love it and have a drawer full of pads) but I was trying to work out how to use this The Cats Pajama's 'Round Tree Die' while giving it a 'Spring' feeling.

I started by die-cutting the tree die from Rosie's Studio 'Arabesque' paper and also twice more from white CS. I glued them all together to give it some dimension and stability. To help bring out the colour of the flowers on the paper, I blended some Distress Oxide ink 'Spun Sugar' on the card front and glued the die on top.

On a piece of white CS I stamped the rabbit image (from The Cats Pajama's 'Family Forever' stamp set) with Gina K Amalgam black ink, coloured with my Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cut out. This was popped on the tree die with some foam tape.

The sentiment (from Verve Stamps 'New Beginnings') was stamped twice on white CS with Versafine black ink and immediately clear heat embossed. It was then adhered to a larger piece of the same patterned paper and put on foam tape, along with Neat and Tangled sequins.

I'm also going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where they have this mood board for inspiration.

And will also link as my third and final entry to The Cats Pajama's Challenge #356 where their theme is 'Spring'.

 

Time for some ice-cream I think and more Veep. Its very quiet here at the moment as Phoebe, Max and Phoebe's friend Natasha have all gone to the new Avengers movie. It won't finish till around midnight so I'm glad Dave is around to pick them up. I really want to see this movie too so will have to go on my own at some stage, although I'm sure in the meantime I'll find out how it ends thru social media, if my kids don't spill the beans first.....

Take care
Shona
 

The Cats Pajama's Challenge #356 - Entry no. 2

I don't feel well, in fact I feel like someone has run over my body with a bus...well actually not my whole body, just all my muscles and joints. I don't have a runny nose or bad cough like the kids had but there's some sort of virus playing havoc with my 'system' and unfortunately having Fibromyalgia makes it a billion times more painful. What's even more frustrating is that the sun is shining and I can't enjoy it!!

Luckily on Easter Sunday I had a card making marathon and made another entry for this months The Cats Pajama's Challenge where their theme is all about 'Spring':

Spring time in NZ is usually still pretty cold and wet but the sun gradually visits more often, encouraging the bulbs to grow and open. Its such an exciting time of the year!!

I started by cutting a panel of Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS the same size as the card front. Using a mini-blending tool I then coloured it with Distress Inks 'Peacock Feathers', 'Mermaid Lagoon' and 'Salty Ocean'. I flicked it with a wet paint brush and pressed with tissues to remove some of the colour, reminiscent of rain. Once dry I adhered it to the card front.

Using the circle die that comes with The Cats Pajama's 'Round Tree Die Set', I cut some white CS and blended Distress Ink 'Mustard Seed' for some sunshine. I stamped the bear/duckling image from The Cats Pajama's 'Family Forever' stamp set with Gina K Amalgam ink on white CS and coloured with Altenew Artist Markers. I fussy cut them out and put them on the yellow circle with foam tape. The circle was then popped up on a piece of white foam.

The sentiment (from the same TCP set) was white heat embossed on black CS and attached to the circle, along with some Neat and Tangled sequins.

I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Monday Challenge where their theme is 'All about Circles'.

 

Time to lay back down on the couch again and watch some more 'Veep'. The kids are pretty quiet today. Phoebe has a friend coming around later and they are going to see the new Avengers movie tonight. Max and I really want to go too but we don't want to go with the rest of the town, will wait for the excitement to die down first (and for me to feel better).

Tomorrow is Anzac Day and a public holiday, a day to remember people who fought for our country. I might be feeling sick but its nothing compared to what soldiers go thru every day fighting for freedom and the protection of others.....

Take care
Shona
 

 

Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge - Entry #2

Its Sunday night and still pouring with rain. I'm not feeling well at all, so have been watching a movie with Phoebe ('Life of the Party' with Melissa McCarthy, it was hilarious!!) while sitting in front of the fire. Its not a really cold night but makes me feel better and helps get the washing dry too!!

They have this most beautiful mood board at Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge  this week. I've already made one entry but I couldn't help making a second:

I loved all the pastel flower colours in the photos and also the green/white flowers in the bottom corner photo too. So I combined all those elements for my card.

This was super simple to put together. I cut a panel of white CS slightly smaller than the card front. I die-cut the leaves from The Stamp Market 'Botanical Beauty' two times from white CS and glued to the panel, which was then put on a piece of white foam.

For the sentiment (from The Stamp Market 'Love' die) I cut four small strips of the coloured CS. The die cuts four separate letters so I adhered each CS colour over the one letter. I also cut it two times more from white CS, glued them all together for dimension and then to the card front. And I added more colour with Neat and Tangled sequins.

I'm also going to link this to the Kat Scrappiness April Challenge where their theme is 'Pastels'.

Think I'll take a couple of Panadol's and jump into bed with my electric blanket, my iPad and Netflix. And I'll hopefully dream my cold away before it gets any worse. Also I don't think I'll be gardening tomorrow with all this rain, which is quite handy if I wake up feeling like hell......

Take care
Shona
 

Kat Scrappiness April Challenge

I started off today feeling like I was coming down with a cold. Its mid-afternoon now and I don't feel any worse but don't feel any better which is a bummer. Hopefully I'll go to bed tonight and wake up feeling my 'kind of normal' self!!

The challenge this month at Kat Scrappiness is all about 'Pastels'. I use pastel colours ALOT on my cards, even with my rainbow colours, so I've entered this challenge many times this month. They will be getting so sick of me in their Gallery but oh well, whats one more card right??

I received a new stamp set this week in time for the long weekend and set about colouring it how I imagined I would if I ever got my hands on it:
 

I actually coloured this one while sitting with Phoebe on her bed, watching The Conjuring on Friday night. I don't usually watercolour anywhere apart from my desk but wanted to do both things and managed to find my water brush pen, so problem solved!!

To start with I white heat embossed The Stamp Market 'Diamond Design' background stamp on some TAD watercolour CS. I then used my waterbrush and five pastel Zig Real Color Brush Pens to colour it in.

Once it was dry I decided I wanted a hole in the middle. So I used a ruler and scalpel to cut out the middle diamond shapes. I then added lots of foam tape to the back of the panel. I also cut a panel of light purple CS and adhered to the card front. Once I worked out where the window would sit, I heat embossed the sentiment (from The Stamp Market 'Framed Floral') in white and put the panel on top, along with some clear jewels from Studio Katia.

I ended up painting another one of these background stamp panels with mega bright paint. Will share that one with you later on this week, you'll need sunglasses to look at it compared to this one!!

Take care
Shona
 

The Cats Pajama's Challenge #356 - Entry no. 1

Hi everyone!! I hope everyone is enjoying their long Easter weekend. Ours has been full of sickness and now rain, so not the best but I made a huge pile of cards yesterday so that's a bonus. The kids have had terrible colds since Thursday and are slowly coming right. Unfortunately I've woken up this morning not feeling 100% so think I'm coming down with my first cold in 4 years.....yay....
 

The current challenge at The Cats Pajama's is all about 'Spring' which is the total opposite of our weather in New Zealand. We are experiencing a wet Autumn, which makes up for our very dry and hot Summer. So not much 'Spring' inspiration in my garden at present but luckily I had some in my stamps:
 

I started by stamping the floral and bunny images from TCP Stamps 'Family Forever' using Gina K Amalgam black ink. The florals in a pattern on the card front and the bunnies on some white CS. That way I was able to colour them using my Altenew Artist Markers. 

I used a Studio Katia 'Stitched Oval Die' on some black CS and popped up on some black foam on the card front. I fussy cut the bunnies and put them on foam tape. The sentiment (from Verve Stamps 'New Beginnings') was white heat embossed on some black CS and put on foam tape, along with some Neat and Tangled sequins.

I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where they have this Mood Board to inspire you.

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

I've got so many cards to share with you from yesterday, will try to spread them out a bit so not to overwhelm you. Not sure if I'll be able to make any more today, I'm really hoping my cold symptoms will magically disappear.....you never know....

Take care
Shona

 

CASology Challenge - Week 339

When I first started my blog the CASology Challenge was one of the first challenges I ever entered and I used to enter every week. As time went on life got in the way and I haven't joined for ages but for the last three weeks I haven't been able to help myself and made sure I found time to play!!

When I saw the Cue Word 'Leap' I had all sorts of ideas with jumping dogs and cats but decided on this cute little chickie because it reminded me of my children:

I've probably mentioned this before but when the kids were little I used to always encourage them to jump in puddles. And sometimes I would join them!! I always had spare clothes and towels in the car so it was never a problem and that's what washing machines are for right??!  Lots of the other children were desperate to join in but the Mum's would grab their hands tight, tell them no, give me a dirty look and drag them away. Their children looked so sad and the Mum's so angry. My children still talk about those days and how much fun they had.  And Phoebe is still jumping in puddles when she gets the chance....... 

I started by using a circle die from Waffle Flower 'Flower Circle Dies Set' which cuts the circle and leaves pin-prick holes on each edge. I die-cut this from the card front. On the die-cut circle I stamped the little chickie from Your Next Stamp 'Puddles of Fun' using Gina K Amalgam black ink. That way I could colour the image with my Altenew Artist Markers. I even gave the gumboots a rainbow pattern!!

To add a bit of 'whimsy' to the card, instead of inlaying the circle, I popped it on foam tape in the hole, attached to the inside of the card. So when you open it up you can still see it:

All I had to do then was stamp the sentiment (from the same YNS stamp set) in black and added some Wink of Stella to the puddle.

I'm also going to link this to the Your Next Stamp - Fun Friday Challenge #112 where their theme is 'Clean and Simple'.

Its nearly 8.30pm Thursday night and its freezing outside. The fire is on and with both of the kids sick with colds it will be a very quiet evening. I'm going to put my pj's on and feel like watching the final two season's of Scandal again while colouring some images. Its supposed to be a nice day tomorrow, can't imagine the kids will want to go anywhere so I can get in my garden...yippee!

Take care

Shona

Reminder: TIME OUT Challenge #133

Hi everyone!! I'm so excited that its the end of day Thursday here in New Zealand and it means I'm on holiday now for four days over the Easter Weekend. Will be nice to spend some time with the kids (although both of them are sick with colds), go to the movies with them and attack my own garden. And I DEFINITELY want to spend some time making cards as I have so many new products to use!!

Our current them at TIME OUT CHALLENGES is 'Embellishments'. We are wanting you to use two or more and have the optional twist of 'one-layer'. There are so many types of embellishments out there, I can't wait to see what you use and how you use them!!

Our Sponsor for this challenge is Birch Press Designs and they are giving a $20 gift voucher to one of the random chosen entries that use the 'optional twist'. So lucky!!

We are very lucky being part of the TIME OUT Design Team and get very spoilt by our Sponsors. For this challenge we were sent a random die in the mail. I received the 'Stitched Maple Circle Frame die' by Memory Box (who are a sister company to Birch Press Designs).  A lot of the girls used the same die last week, so had to come up with something different:

There are so many different ways to use this die and love that I finally have some leaf dies to use for Autumn cards!

I started by cutting a panel of grey CS and adhering to the card front. I then used the large outer circle die (which cuts a stitched-circle frame) on some white CS. I used the inner solid circle piece (that's left over) and glued it to the card front.

For the leaves I die-cut some white CS twice using the leaf die. I then used Distress Oxide inks 'Mermaid Lagoon' and 'Tumbled Glass' to colour them both. The darker blue one was glued to the white circle. The lighter blue one was popped up on tiny pieces of foam tape. I white heat embossed the sentiment (from Poppy Stamps 'Little Kindness') on some black CS and put on foam tape.

As this challenge is all about 'embellishments', I used two different ones. I glued some blue sequins from Neat and Tangled around the sentiment. And for a bit more sparkle I glued on some tiny clear jewels to the bottom of the light blue leaves, from Studio Katia.

You have until Wednesday 25th April to link your projects to the TIME OUT CHALLENGE and if your needing any help with design ideas, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have created for you. They always blow me away with their creativity!! Look forward to seeing you in the Gallery!

Take care
Shona

Kat Scrappiness April Challenge - Entry #5

Its very quiet in our house at the moment. Max is staying the night at a friends house and Phoebe has a friend staying the night here. The girls are in the bedroom and you hear the odd giggle but they probably won't be out again till the morning, they are so engrossed in their phones and Netflix. So Dave is behind me in the lounge watching some random programme on Netflix while I catch up on some challenge commenting. Talk about an exciting evening!!

I finally finished off a card last night using the third and final image from my new Funky Fossil Designs 'Chubby Unicorns' stamp set. This is what the set looks like:

Aren't they just so cute, wish I could cuddle them all!! And here is my card with the 'unicorn couple', coloured with pastel colours for the Kat Scrappiness April Challenge:

So happy with how this one turned out and will have to send it to a friend so it can be enjoyed by somebody instead of sitting in a box!!

I started by cutting a panel of black CS and adhering to the card front. I then cut a panel of white CS and used some temporary tape to hold the Funky Fossil Design 'Floral Lace Heart Stencil' (the one that has the open area of the heart shape) over top and blended Distress Oxide ink 'Spun Sugar'. I then placed the floral heart stencil piece in the middle and blended over Distress Oxide ink 'Picked Raspberry'. This gave me the two-toned look which I adore!!

I stamped the unicorns on some TAD watercolour CS with Versafine black ink and clear heat embossed. I then used Gansai Tambi Pearl Watercolours to colour the tails, manes and horns. Once dry I fussy cut them out.

After trimming the sides of the heart panel I put it on a piece of black foam and then popped the unicorns on foam tape. The sentiment (from SSS 'Love Always') was stamped in black on a strip of white CS and put on foam tape, along with some Neat and Tangled sequins.

I'm so looking forward to the four day weekend coming up. We aren't going away anywhere which is a shame. However the kids and I will be going to the movies and I have lots of my own gardening to do. I also have so many new stamps and dies, I want to spend some time trying them all out so I don't feel so guilty about spending all that money......why did I choose such a 'there are new products coming out every month that I need to buy' hobby??!

Take care
Shona
 

 

MFT Stamps - The Birthday Project Challenge

Hi everyone!! Its been a fantastic day with lots of sunshine. I finished off a huge gardening job which was very satisfying. I then came home and went out straight away with Phoebe to do some shopping (always fun!!). I then took Bella for a HUGE walk around the streets near our house. She does the sniffing and I do the looking at peoples gardens (its so hard not to pull out a weed or two....). So now I'm just about to make dinner and I'm halfway in my pjs!!

Each month at MFT Stamps they have The Birthday Project Challenge and this month was all about 'ROYGBIV' or in other words 'rainbows'. You may have noticed that I'm rather obsessed with using rainbow colours on my cards, so I definitely needed to enter this one!

I've been watching a few videos lately on YouTube by Jennifer McGuire and Channin Pellletier and this one by Channin really inspired me. The funny thing is that the technique she showed is not actually the one I used (although I definitely have to try that over the long weekend coming up) but it reminded me that I haven't really played around with this technique at all, so was about time I did:

I'm sure you've all tried this technique a billion times before but I've always been a tiny bit scared of it because its hard to control (yes, I'm a control freak) but I'm surprised how much I enjoyed it and will definitely keep trying it out on other stamps.

I started by using the MFT Stamps 'Blueprints 27 - Waffle stitched edge die' on some black CS and adhering to the card front. I then cut a panel of white CS the same size as the card.

Grabbing my MISTI and my MFT Stamps 'Bundles of Blossoms Background Stamp', I set the panel and stamp up ready to go. I then used my mini-Distress Ink cubes (in a rainbow of colours) to press them on the stamp, trying to keep the colour to one area but not worrying about blending over top. I then sprayed the stamp with water and pressed on to the panel. It looked so cool when I lifted it up, was very happy!!

After drying the panel with my heat gun, I used a die (from the same MFT Stamps 'Blueprints 27' die set) to cut strips down the panel. I glued strips of black foam to the back of them and glued to the card front in order. The sentiment (from MFT Stamps 'Birthday Bears') was stamped on white CS with black Versafine ink and clear heat embossed. It was then glued to black CS to form a frame and popped on foam tape, along with some Neat and Tangled sequins.

Better go and get dinner started. I'm really excited because on Friday last week I saw the trailer for a new show on Netflix by Australian actor Chris Lilley. He has created shows 'Jonah from Tonga', 'Angry Boys', 'Summer Heights High' and many more. He plays so many characters (girls/boys/young/old) and does them all so well. His new series looks just as hilarious and comes out this Friday, just in time for the long weekend. I've already booked in with Phoebe to watch all the episodes Friday night, so can't wait!!

Take care
Shona
 

Reminder: The Flower Challenge #31

Hi there everyone! I'm just popping in today to remind you all about our current challenge theme at The Flower Challenge.

This month its all about this sketch for inspiration. You can use it upside down or even side-ways, its totally up to you!!

I quite often get really stuck for ideas with sketches and my first card was a real struggle. This time though I decided to not get so caught up in following the sketch exactly and went with the flow:

 
 I really hope you can see the sketch in my design!!

I started off by die-cutting the Simon Says Stamp 'Flower Cluster Die' from white CS 2x, once from green CS and then 2x from pink CS. I adhered the white die-cut (as the longer strip with the flower at the top from the sketch) on the card front and inlaid the pink petal and green leaf pieces. 

I then die-cut the SSS 'Whoa! You're Amazing!!' die from white CS and the same pink CS. I glued a scrap piece of white CS behind it so I could inlay in the pink letters and added a piece of white foam to the back.

For the two flowers (on the shorter strip from the sketch) I decided to put them under instead of on top. I cut down the other white flower die-cut piece so I just had the two flowers and adhered them to the card front so they would be under the sentiment die. After inlaying the pink and green pieces I glued the sentiment die on top, along with some sequins from Neat and Tangled. 

I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge #121 where their theme is 'Die-ing for Creativity' so they are looking for die-cutting. Certainly no shortage with this card.....

Will also link to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'No Designer Paper'. This is my fifth and final entry.

You have until Thursday 25th April to link your projects to The Flower Challenge and head over to the blog to see lots more inspiration from the rest of the Design Team. Looking forward to seeing how you use the sketch in the Gallery!!

Take care
Shona
 

CASology Challenge Week #338

The sun has finally returned and its a glorious day! Just home from taking Bella for a huge walk along the river for an hour, with her stopping every four steps to hunt out rats. I might even go outside now and tend to some of my own weeds the sunshine is so warm.

The cue word for this weeks CASology Challenge is 'Plastic' and I knew straight away which stamp image I would use:

A few months ago I was very lucky to win a voucher for the 'Kat Scrappiness Challenge' which I used to purchase two stamp sets, one of them being this one from Newton's Nook 'Summer Vacation'. Summertime has certainly finished for us here in New Zealand but its wonderful seeing all the Spring blossom photos on Instagram and warmer weather on the way for many of you.

I started by stamping the cat on his plastic tube on some Strathmore Bristol Smooth CS with Gina K Amalgam ink. I used my Altenew Artist Markers to colour him in and fussy cut out.

For the waves I used dies from Simon Says Stamp 'Border Waves' on some white CS. I coloured them with Distress Oxide inks 'Tumbled Glass' and 'Mermaid Lagoon', flicked them with water and dabbed them with a tissue. I glued them together and then to the card front. I was then able to tuck the kitty between the waves, stamp on the sentiment (from the same stamp set) and glue on some Neat and Tangled sequins.

I'm going to link this to the Kat Scrappiness April Challenge where their theme is 'Pastels' (this is my 4th entry, they might ban me soon.....).

And will also join the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'No Designer Paper' (this is my 4th entry there too.....).

Time to attack the weeds while the sun is still out. Now Daylight Savings has finished it gets darker so much earlier which is a bummer but does mean that I can put on my pj's sooner.....

Take care
Shona