Hi there!! Its Friday night and its been raining since this afternoon, so its very nice to have the fire going and know I can stay up late and catch up on some Netflix.....
The 2020 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is on its final day. Its been an incredible week and as I write this there are 1224 entries....woo hoo!! That's amazing and there are so many inspirational projects.
Funky Fossil Designs is one of the Sponsors for the hop. They are also having a Sale that will end at the same time as the hop. You can get 15% OFF EVERYTHING IN STORE by using the code FOSSIL15.
For this card I wanted some bright, pretty colours to go along with the cute little 'coffee-loving' pug:
He's so adorable and I think the little pug puppies are probably small enough to actually fit into a cup. Can just imagine bringing one home, our Golden Retriever Bella would love it but probably end up by sitting on it by accident....
I stamped the image from the 'Pugs and Hugs' stamp set with Gina K Amalgam black ink on white CS. I watercoloured it using my Zig Real Color Brush Markers and fussy cut out when it had dried.
I cut a panel of pink CS so it left some white CS showing top and bottom and adhered to the card front. Using the 'Round in Flowers' stencil I blended lots of Distress Inks pinching the round blending pad to create a dauber. Once I had finished I cut the circle out and put it on some white foam. The sentiment (from the same stamp set) was white heat embossed on a strip of black CS and popped on foam tape, along with the dog. And I finished off with a few Neat and Tangled sequins.
I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'. This is my second entry.
Time to sit myself down in front of the fire with some Diamond Painting and to watch the new 'Space Force' show on Netflix. Its looks hilarious and has so many well known comedians included. I did unfortunately read a review of it this morning that said it wasn't funny at all but luckily we all don't have the same sense of humour so maybe I'll find it a hoot.....
Take care
Shona
Hi there everybody!! Hope your week has been good to you and things are slowly getting better where you live with regards to Covid-19. We are at Level 2 in New Zealand where nearly everything is now open but with rules like only so many people in the store, names and ID are taken for tracing purposes, still social distancing where possible etc. We've only had 2 new cases in the last week which were linked to existing clusters so hopefully that means it isn't hiding out in the community somewhere. Nice to see everyone back to work and life!!
The theme for the current TIME OUT challenge is 'Free'. It can be interpreted however you like. Maybe feeling free or breaking free from somewhere....its totally up to you!
Our Sponsor for this challenge is Visible Image who are giving a $25 voucher plus free shipping to the winner! How fantastic!!!!
I wasn't actually sure what to do for my card, so spent some time going thru all my stamps, coming up with different ideas until I saw the perfect sentiment:
How I wish I had a pot full of these adorable 'succulent' people!!! They are so sweet and can't help but smile when I look at their smiling faces. Why haven't I used these sooner???!!
I started off by stamping all the images from Uniquely Creative 'Sweet Succulents' (which unfortunately isn't available any more) on white CS with Gina K Amalgam black ink. I coloured them with my Altenew Artist Markers and fussy cut out.
Using some white CS I die-cut an oval using the Uniquely Creative 'Cross-stitch Nesting Oval Dies'. I blended Distress Ink 'Salty Ocean' across the top, keeping it darker along the edge and lighter towards the middle. Along the bottom I blended Waffle Flower 'Coffee Loves Milk' and then stamped a 'pebble' image (from UC 'Good Onya') with the same ink to add more texture to the dirt. I also stamped the 'Free Hugs' on the sign.
I used a rectangle die (from UC 'Round Branch Window Dies') on some soft blue/grey CS, adhered it to the card base and put the oval on some white foam. To finish off I decided it didn't need any embellishments but added some sparkle to all the 'succulents' with a UC 'Clear Sparkle Brush'.
Will link to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'!!
You have until Wednesday 3rd June to link your projects to the TIME OUT challenge and if your needing any help with ideas, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team and our fabulous Guest Designer Joanna from Jo-Jo's Spot have created to inspire you. Look forward to seeing you in the Gallery!
Take care and stay safe
Shona
xxx
Hello there!! It poured with rain yesterday which was glorious, and then it rained last night to make the ground even more soggy, so no gardening for me today. However, it gave me a chance to finish off a few cards, make some new ones and create the need for me to vacuum once again around my crafting area!!
The 2020 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is in full swing at the moment and as I write this there are 715 entries!! I love how popular this hop has become and the inspiration from all the different projects entered is extraordinary!
Funky Fossil Designs is one of the Sponsors for the Blog Hop and they are also having a SALE for Blog Hop week with 15% off everything in store until the 29th May. All you have to do is use the code FOSSIL15 at the checkout!!
For my card I wanted to use bright, Summery colours and even got quite bold with a different card shape for a change:
When I made this card I didn't quite factor in how tricky it would be to photograph. My usual 'standing card' didn't work because it was too wide and even laying it down and shooting from the top was tricky as there was so much space around the card. So my favourite Rachel Carley side plate saved the day!!
I started off by white heat embossing the cup from the 'Folksy Christmas' stamp set 5x on white CS. I then blended Distress Inks - Twisted Citron, Mermaid Lagoon, Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed and Spiced Marmalade over each one, adding concentrated colour to the lids.
I decided on a 7 x 2.5 inch card base so that the cups just fit on there nicely in a row. I wanted some cardstock in the background and finally decided on some kraft CS because it reminded me of the beach, so I cut a 2 inch strip and adhered in place. After fussy cutting the cups I put them on the card with some foam tape. The sentiment (from the 'Happy Words' stamp set) was white heat embossed on a strip of black CS and was glued in place, along with pearls from Studio Katia.
I've got another card to share with you tomorrow that is a more normal size and has some beautiful Spring flowers. Hope to see you then!!
Take care
Shona
Hello there!! Can't believe its nearly the end of May, even though we had lockdown, the year still seems to have zoomed on by. I was even thinking about Christmas today which was a scary thought. It will be on us when we least expect it!!
The Stamp and Colour Mini Kit for May from Uniquely Creative was released last week. Its called 'You're Weird' and has the cutest platypus images. Just in case you've never heard of or seen a platypus before (they are only found in Australia), here are a couple of photos.
They are really unique animals and so very adorable, especially as babies. I would so love to cuddle one!!
For my card I definitely had to have them in some water and had lots of fun playing with some watercolours:
These images are such a good size to colour and the 'Stitched 3 Window Frame Die' is one of the extra products you can buy along with the kit. You'll find the tutorial for this card on the Uniquely Creative Blog.
Time to get into my pj's, grab my colouring supplies and sit myself down with the final season of Schitts Creek on Netflix. If you haven't seen the show I highly recommend it, its hilarious and I'm really sad this is the last season.
Take care
Shona
Hi there!! Its been a very cold and dreary day here today, the complete opposite to yesterday. And it even started raining around 3pm and hasn't stopped since, which is quite a shock. It has hardly rained at all this year and has only rained twice during the day. We've had the odd 10 minute shower in the middle of the night but that's been it. So even though it probably means I won't be able to garden tomorrow, its definitely well received, especially by the farmers!!
A few months ago this 'Caravan Die' was released by Uniquely Creative with their 'Tropical Dreams' kit. I managed to get my hands on it and had a bit of a play:
I'm not very confident about creating scenes with masking but I love doing them with dies. This was so much fun to put together and I spent ages trying to work out how to make smoke!!
I started by die-cutting the caravan from white CS and colouring with my Altenew Artist Markers. I added some patterned paper from the 'Good On Ya' Paper Pack behind the window and door for interior decoration. I also die-cut some bright green CS with the 'Grassy Borders' die and some grey CS with the 'Stitched Mountain Range' die. I did the same with two different shades of green CS and dark brown CS, creating trees with the 'Tree Builder' die.
To create a night sky I blended Distress Inks 'Black Soot' and 'Chipped Sapphire' across the top of the card front. I adhered the mountains on top, as well as the trees, cutting off the over-hang. The caravan was glued in place with the grass over top. For the fire I cut some thin strips of brown CS and die-cut the flames from white CS using a 'grass die' from the same 'Tree Builder' die set. I coloured them with Altenew Artist Markers and glued under the trees. I used a very light grey marker to make the smoke.
The sentiment (from 'Read Past Your Bedtime') was white heat embossed on black CS, backed with white CS and put on foam tape. I then added stars to the night sky with a white gel pen and put on some enamel dots. And to finish off I used the 'Clear Sparkle Brush' on the caravan window and door.
I'll be honest, I'm not a camper, I'm more of a 'you stay in the caravan, I'll stay in a hotel with a mini-bar' type of gal but this caravan does look pretty cute. Maybe if it was parked near a hotel I would be ok.......
Take care
Shona
Hi everybody!! Its been a glorious day here today and I've been busy picking up hundreds of Autumn leaves and mowing my Mum's lawns. I've got the fire going and its so nice and warm. Been in a t-shirt all day but as soon as it hits 4pm and the sun starts to go down, boy oh boy does the chilly feeling begin...
I've got a card to share with you today that I've been 'umming and ahhing' over for the past week. I garden very quickly, very fastidiously and go to sometimes four different gardens in one day. I wanted to capture that with a card. I don't think it quite pulls off the effect I was going for but maybe its still a good card?? Hopefully someone can tell me how to get it to look better for next time:
So you know the scenes in movies or tv where the superhero runs really fast and his body is blurred along, like your seeing lots of layers of him put together as he streaks past?? That's what I was trying to do with these gumboots. I even looked on the internet to try and find drawing techniques to show images 'moving' hence the black lines to the left but it didn't work. Do you have any ideas you can share with me??
I started by stamping the gumboots from the 'Plant a Garden' stamp set with Gina K Amalgam Black ink on white CS and colouring with my Altenew Artist Markers. After fussy cutting them out I grabbed my 'rainbow CS scraps' bag and traced the gumboots on each colour. I cut them out and then glued them together with only the very edges showing. It makes them quite high on the card but no more than doubled foam tape.
Using a brown Faber Castell pencil I created some dirt for the gumboots to be 'running' on and then stamped the sentiment (from the same set) down the bottom. I glued the boots in place and then used a ruler and 0.3 pen to draw the lines.
I still think its a cool concept but needs some work and would really appreciate some advice. Its hard to share a card I'm not 100% happy with but sometimes its good to show each other that we all struggle with our designs and things don't always work. And to share our knowledge because I know someone out there will have the drawing experience to make these boots zoom across the card!!
I'm off to try and create something amazing for dinner. Have no idea what, hoping I'm inspired when I look in the fridge...Enjoy your weekend and will see you back here very soon.
Take care
Shona
Hi everybody!! With everything going on in the world right now, it sure is nice to have something happy to participate in and that's exactly what the 2020 Spring/Summer Coffee Lovers Blog Hop is all about!!
The hop is so much fun and with so many prizes to win and so much inspiration from the thousands of entries, its one fantastic week!!
CAS-ual Fridays Stamps is very excited to once again be a Super Sponsor and providing prizes for the hop. Michelle the owner has also put all of the Coffee Collection products on sale with 25% off with no code needed..yippee!
They are also releasing a cute set of 'Coffee Chips Chipboard' which has all sorts of goodies to add to your projects. And its included in the sale too!
To celebrate the Design Team have created lots of fabulous coffee-themed cards to get you in the crafting and coffee drinking mood. Here is my floral card:
I came up with the idea for this one while out walking my dog Bella. I quite often do that, I just wish I could take a screen-shot of my brain to remember the designs.... Thought this would be a really good card to slip a gift card into and the flowers add a Spring/Summery vibe.
I started off by die-cutting some white CS using the 'To Go Cup Fri-die'. Using inks from Waffle Flower, Catherine Pooler and Gina K Designs I stamped flowers and leaves from the 'Peaceful Garden' and 'Peace and Comfort' stamp sets all over the cup. I also added some coffee beans from the 'Peace Love and Coffee' set.
Once I had finished stamping I used my Tim Holtz Mini-Guillotine to cut the coffee cup in half. I also did the same with the lid that I die-cut from black CS. I glued the lid in place and then popped the cups on the card front with foam tape. The card base is quite slim so the cups are closer to each other.
The sentiment (from the new 'Coffee'isms' stamp set) was black heat embossed on a strip of plain vellum and wrapped around the front of the card. I finished off with a few sequins from Neat and Tangled.
Hopefully this card got you in a 'sitting in the sun to drink coffee' mood and if your thinking of doing some shopping, if you use my code to buy any of the Coffee Collection, you can save 15% on top of the 25%....that's 40% in total!!!!
Enjoy the blog hop and hope you win some prizes. I'm sure I'll see you back here shortly with some more coffee-related crafting!!
Take care
Shona
Hello there!! Its been a glorious Sunday outside with lots of sun, while I've been very busy doing the groceries, vacuuming and cleaning the toilets. Shortly I need to get the washing in, fold it, put it away and then take Bella for a walk. And then make dinner.....does it ever end???
I wanted to let you know that I have a card tutorial for this card over on the Uniquely Creative Blog featuring the cute kitties from the April 'Purrfect' Mini Kit:
I hardly ever take a selfie but I gotta say these cats are very good at it!! This was so much fun to put together and I have plenty of photos showing how it was done.
Right, off to my next job! Fingers crossed the washing has dried so I don't have to hang it up all over the house (the joys of not owning a drier....) but I'll light the fire later on to warm us up and dry the clothes at the same time. The only time it gets really gross is when it rains during Winter for days on end and the washing takes days to dry. Better make the most of the last few weeks of Autumn while I can...
Take care
Shona
Hello there!! Hope your finally getting to the end of your week and have a nice relaxing weekend planned. I've spent a lot of my time today giving my son's room a Spring-Clean, even going thru his drawers to sort out clothes that are too small and his wardrobe which was a mash of old school books and computer boxes etc. Was very cathartic and have lots to pass on to our local charity shop.
I wanted to let you know that I'm on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog today with this 'eyeful' of a card design:
So many pairs of eyes and I'm so glad my eyelashes are long but not this crazy in shape!! Pop over to the blog to find out how I put this all together.
Take care
Shona
xx
Hi everyone!! I'm typing this out while enjoying the fire. The nights have become a little bit colder of late, even though the days have been glorious. We only have a few more weeks of Autumn left and then the cold harsh days of Winter will be upon us......can't wait!!
This months theme at The Flower Challenge is 'Monochrome' which is basically creating a project using the same colour but in different tones. I think its a fantastic idea, gives you a chance to try out some colouring techniques and see what 'pink leaves' would look like!!
I've been raking up a lot of leaves lately and one of the most frustrating ones are the Magnolia leaves as they are so HUGE!! However it got me thinking about why I don't have a Magnolia tree myself and how beautiful the blooms are that make the leaves worth it. So I pulled out one of my favourite Magnolia stamps for a colouring session:
I'll be completely honest, I made a few mistakes colouring these and the more I tried to fix them, the worse it got. So please look at it from VERY far away and just enjoy the stamp image itself!!
I started by stamping the flowers from Funky Fossil Designs 'Beautiful Inside and Out' with Gina K Amalgam Black ink on white CS and colouring with an array of purple Altenew Artist Markers, using the palest one to create a shadow around the outside. I fussy cut around the outside of the image and then decided to cut a hole and do the inside as well, as I wanted a window for the sentiment.
I cut a panel of purple CS so it was slightly slimmer than the card front. I managed to find a circle die (from Couture Creations) that was nearly the same size as the inside of the flowers. I die-cut it from the purple panel and glued the flowers on top. Using my MISTI I stamped the sentiment (from Funky Fossil Designs 'Happy Words') thru the window on to the card front and popped the panel on some white foam. I then finished off with a few purple iridescent sequins from Neat and Tangled.
You have until Monday 25th May to link your projects to The Flower Challenge and if your needing some ideas, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have created for you. Can't wait to see your floral projects in the Gallery!!
Take care
Shona
Hi everybody!! Really hope life is treating you kindly and your making your way through lockdown or maybe your like us in NZ and slowly getting back to a more normal way of life. We went back to Level 2 today which means all stores can open (bars have to wait another week), as well as cinema's, gyms etc. We still have to social distance and wash those hands but nice to see the hustle and bustle around the town, even though its a little bit scary too.
Our current theme at TIME OUT is 'The Art's which has SO MANY possibilities!! You could literally make some art on your project, maybe watercolour. Or you could make something around the arts themselves i.e. dance, singing, writing, floral, painting etc. Its a very cool theme and there is also the 'Optional Twist' of creating a one-layer card which could win you a prize....
Our Sponsor for this challenge is Birch Press Designs and they are giving a $20 gift voucher to a random winner chosen from those who do the 'optional twist'!!
Lucky them!!
I can't wait to share my card with you!! I was going through all my stamps trying to find something to do with dance, music etc and came across an Ellen Hutson stamp set that was perfect:
Any idea what it is?? How about a clue 'three little maids'?? This card is representing the Opera 'The Mikado'!! I've never actually seen it unfortunately but its supposed to be very funny and is one of the most performed opera's in the world. One of the most popular songs from this opera is 'Three little maids from school are we' and I've been singing it to myself daily since making this card!!
This was so much fun to put together and actually did it while watching a Studio Ghibli movie with Max called 'The Wind Rises'. It was really good, just like all the other movies from this studio. We especially love 'Ponyo', 'My Neighbour Totoro' and 'Spirited Away'.
I started off by stamping the three girls, their fans and two lanterns from the Ellen Hutson 'So Matcha' stamp set with Gina K Amalgam black ink on white CS. I coloured them with Altenew Artist Markers, fussy cut out and then glued the fans to their hands.
For the 'stage' I cut some red CS freehand for the curtains on each side and a strip for the top. I found a very old piece of patterned rice paper in the bottom of my drawer. I adhered it to the card front for the stage background and put a piece of wood-veneer CS on top for the stage floor. I glued the red strip to the top of the curtains and then put them on foam tape. I also put the lanterns on foam tape, as if they were hanging from the roof. The three girls were then put in place with foam tape and some glue.
The sentiment is from a very old Reverse Confetti 'Fancy Word Co-ordinates' set that I've had for years. I white heat embossed it on a strip of black CS, put it on foam tape and then added Wink of Stella to the fans for some sparkle.
You have until Wednesday 20th May to link your projects to the TIME OUT challenge and if your struggling for ideas, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team have created for you. Looking forward to seeing all your 'arty' projects in the Gallery!!
Take care
Shona
Hello there!! I can't believe its already May, time has gone so fast this year (even in lockdown) and feel like I need to start getting some things ready for Christmas because its going to sneak up on me. The weather is still really warm and we just had our first all-day of rain for 2020, which the weeds will love!!
A new month means a new challenge theme for The Flower Challenge and this month its 'Monochrome'. I think this is a brilliant theme because it makes you think about how you can colour or create your flower images with the same colour but still have shading etc. I'm really looking forward to seeing all the entries!!
For my card I really wanted a big floral image, and the biggest one I have is from Picket Fence Studios:
I'm so excited with how this turned out!! My husband saw me painting this and even he commented about how good it looked, which is unusual as he doesn't really take notice of my cards. I've definitely gotten better with all my colouring over the past 6 years but still have ALOT more to learn.
I started off by stamping the Picket Fence Studios 'Botan Peony' with Versafine Onyx ink a couple of times on watercolour CS and immediately clear heat embossed with Simon Says Stamp powder. I really wanted a dark blue to use and found the perfect one from Altenew Brush Markers - Tropical Fiesta Set 'Desert Night'. I did a first coat with water and a round brush, putting a little of the blue on each petal and not worrying too much about shading. Once that had dried I then went back in with less water in spots and lots in others because I wanted to remove some of the colour.
When this had dried I wanted to add more depth and detail with some colour pencils (cheap ones from Faber Castell). This is where I realised I had made a mistake by heat embossing the image. I have been scared to watercolour without clear heat embossing yet as it helps keep the colour in place. But now I add pencil shading the clear embossing gets in the way and flakes off. So I'm going to have to take the plunge next time..... And then I broke my pencil sharpener so had to give up the pencils completely!!
I fussy cut the flower out and added white foam to the back. I created a white 5inch square card base but wanted some blue on it as well. I found some lighter blue CS in the same tone and added it to the card front. I then cut a panel of white CS the same size as the flower and put it on white foam.
For the sentiment (which was also a BIG MISTAKE as I thought it was Mother's Day on the 3rd May and since this comes out the day after it would be fine but now Mum is going to see it before next weekend....buggar....) I knew my Mum would love this. So I used Hero Arts 'Navy' ink on Winnie and Walter 'The Big, the Bold and Love' stamps, backed it with the same blue CS and put on foam tape, along with Neat and Tangled sequins.
I'm going to link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.
You have until Monday 25th May to link your projects to The Flower Challenge and if you need to see any cards to get some ideas, pop over to the blog to see what the rest of the Design Team and our amazing Guest Designer Nonni of Nonni's Handmade Cards have made to inspire you. We will be back on the 15th May with some more cards for this theme and I can't wait to see your projects in the Gallery!
Take care and stay safe
Shona
xxx
Hi everyone, I hope your having a wonderful weekend and for those on this side of the world I really hope your able to return to work. I've got a full week of gardening to look forward too. Some places I haven't been to for nearly 9 weeks so can just imagine how many weeds there will be to greet me.....Very glad to be back at it and nice to see everyone again, even from a distance...
I'm on the CAS-ual Fridays Stamps Blog today with this card, where I'm using a stencil in a way I've never tried before:
I came up with this idea while I was watercolouring the other day. I accidentally flicked paint in different colours on a spare card base and thought it looked so pretty, I would try it out.
I started by putting the Modern Petals Stencil over a piece of watercolour CS. I gathered up a rainbow of Distress Ink colours and using some water and a brush, I flicked each colour over the stencil repeatedly until I was happy with the pattern. Once it had dried I then put the stencil back over it in the same way and gently blended Distress Ink 'Spun Sugar' to add some definition. The panel was then cut down to size.
For the sentiment I wanted a window, so used the smaller die from the Ornament Tag Fri-Dies to create it in the stencil panel. I wanted the card front to be light grey but the sentiment itself to be on white, so I cut a panel of grey CS and used the larger circle die from the same Ornament Tag Fri-Dies set to cut a hole behind the stencil window. I then die-cut some white CS to gold heat emboss the sentiment (from the new Terrific Flowers set). The grey panel was adhered to the card front and the white sentiment circle inlaid into it.
The stencil panel was popped up on white foam and I glued on some Neat and Tangled sequins for a bit more shine.
I hope you like this card and that its given you a few more ideas on how to use your stencils. If you decide you just have to have the products I used today, don't forget to use my special code to save yourself 15% on your purchase!!
Thank you so much for coming by and I'll be back later in the month with some more CAS-ual Fridays Stamps goodness. Hopefully my New Release goodies will have arrived by then.....
Take care and stay safe
Shona
xxx
Hello there!! Just when you thought the rainbow cards had finished......I've come up with a few more!! The colours make me so happy and after such a busy past three days gardening I needed a bit of 'happy'.
The theme for this weeks Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge is 'Anything Goes' and since I had lots of cardstock strips left over from my other cards, I thought it was a good time to make some cards for friends to thank them for their kindness.
I created two cards with the same design but different die-cut colours and sentiments.
I glued the cardstock strips on to some white CS, this time in a true rainbow pattern using Gina K Connect Glue. When they had dried I cut the panel down so it was slightly skinnier than the card front and put on the card with a piece of white foam.
The die-cut sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp. I die-cut it twice from white and navy CS, gluing the navy one to some scrap white CS and then inlaying the white letters. The sentiment stamp (also from SSS 'Kind Flowers') was stamped with Versafine Onyx ink, backed with black CS and put on foam tape along with the die-cut. I then finished off with Neat and Tangled sequins.
My poor strips got on a bit of an angle with this one but on well, that's what happens with home-made sometimes.....
For this one I die-cut the same die but this time I used Creativ Gold Paper (which unfortunately wouldn't photograph well) and inlaid with the white letters. The sentiment (from the same SSS 'Kind Flowers' set) was backed with the same gold paper and both put on foam tape, along with Neat and Tangled sequins.
I'm also going to link these to the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge #148 where their theme is 'Let's Encourage Each Other'.
I've got one more card to make tonight and then I'll jump in bed to watch some Netflix. Now I've finished Kingdom I have to find another movie or series which can take forever.....at least there is YouTube in the meantime. What did I used to do before social media??? Oh yeah...I used to read books.....
Take care and stay safe
Shona
xxx
