You are freakin' awesome!

Morning all, how was your holiday weekend. 

Not so good chez us as I've been suffering with a bad cold since Thursday evening and hubster was complaining of a sore throat yesterday!.

Anyway making this card for the new challenge over at Cardz4Guyz took my mind off it for awhile!

This week our challenge is to make something for the male in your life on the theme -

Beginning with the letter Z

Tricky but I know you'll come up trumps and suprise us!

Zebras. Zoo, Zero, Zest, Zig Zag, Zombie, Zodiac and Zizz all came to mind but eventually I went with-

 Z for ZIPs.

For this card I used a #MFTstamps DieNamics set of dies called Zipper. Not sure if they still make it as when I went looking on their site I couldn't find it. 

The basic premise of the design is a leather jacket. I found some leather effect white card in my stash then inked it with Black Soot DI. I used the dies to create the zips and stamped a couple of sentiments in Versamark and heat embossed in white. The panel was then mounted on a linen base card so that the left hand side looked a bit like a white T shirt.

OK, that's it from me. 

Check out the rest of the DT for more 'Z' inspiration and why not give it a go?

I'd like to join in over at -

      

I mirrored the sketch

Guest Designer at ATCAS

Good morning all.

Hope you've all got great plans for this Bank Holiday weekend in the UK. The weather might even behave itself!
A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to win over at ATCAS with my little plaid shirt and was then asked if I would GD, so of course I said yes! After much thought I ended up making not one card but two for the new challenge, I couldn't decide which so I'm sharing both.

I think they fit with this fortnight's theme of

    

Flowers would have been the obvious way to go but then I remembered the Indigo Blu stamp I bought at Port Sunlight which shows the petals in close up. I wondered what colours to use then remembered the photo over at INKspiration and the lines in that reminded me of the veins in these petals. I dragged a couple of DI pads, Picked Raspberry and Salty Ocean, across the petals of the stamp, wiping away most of it from the center. This technique always gives a random effect, so its pot luck as to what it looks like. You can only control the ink to a certain degree!

For the large square card, I added blobs of platinum Pearly Doodles to the center and white Cosmic Shimmer glue to the smaller one. I liked the idea of focusing in on the petals, hence the small image but I liked the larger framed one too. 

I mounted both images over an inked square just so a tiny hint poked out then added a MFT diecut square frame over the top.

Please check out the rest of ATCAS's fab DT for more inspiration.

I'd like to join in over at -

Anything Goes option of a sketch

Mackintosh Roses

Good morning all.

I'm back today to share a card I made for the DT over at Cardz4Galz.

This week our theme is 

VINTAGE or SHABBY CHIC

I'm not very good with shabby chic so I went down the vintage route, it also allowed me to keep the design pretty CAS!

I picked up this stamp with a magazine awhile ago, loved all the Art Deco stamps based around the designs of Charles Rennie Mackintosh. For those of you who don't know he was an architect and designer from the Glasgow school working at the the turn of the 19th Century. I love his designs, they must have come as a bit of a shock to the overblown, blousey Victorians!

He is famous for his black furniture as well so I used his tall ladder back chairs as an inspiration for this card shape and layout, adding strips of black to evoke them. . 

I stamped the panel then heat embossed in black to give a stained glass feel then used DIs in a watercolour style to add a little colour.

So for more Vintage/Shabby Chic inspiration, please check out the rest of our fab DT over on the main blog.

I'd like to join in over at -

Flowers

Anything Goes

Anything Goes

Photo Inspiration @ ATSM

Oops sorry if anyone came by earlier and only found my card, I got my posts mixed up!

I usually schedule the ATSM posts as they launch after I have gone to bed! Usually Wednesday means a visit to my son so I get everything ready before hand but as we are not going this week I got my days mixed up!

Anyway here is my card for the latest Challenge.

As you can see from the photo below I was pretty literal in my interpretation!

I took the sketch from the Paper Players and the candy stripe from the cakes and background.
I didn't have a large enough cupcake stamp so I drew one freehand and then taking the sweet dispenser as inspiration, turned the circle from the sketch into a shaker.

OK, where will you go, what will you be inspired by, we'd love to see.
This week we are sponsored by -

Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More is proud to sponsor of Addicted to Stamps and More.

Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps And More, a division of I Did It Creations, was created and is owned by Robyn Weinrib. 

Robyn offers a wonderful variety of digital stamps and digital papers, designed to meet the needs of all digital paper crafting addicts for every occasion. 

Prize: 3 digital images (does not include designer papers)

and

QKR Stampede and Eureka Stamps was purchased by Stamp On It in 2013 from the state of Colorado and moved to its new home in Michigan! We (Stamp On It) had its humble beginnings over 25 years ago and is now a mobile(on-the-road) family owned and operated business. We travel coast to coast and attend as a vendor over 25 retail stamping and scrapping shows each year. 

Prize: 3 digital images 

So why not join us this week?

For more inspiration from our fab designers check out the ATSM blog.

I'm joining in over at -

Cardz4Guyz

Morning, back again to announce a new challenge over at Cardz4Guyz.

This week our theme is -

It's Hip To Be Square

Make of that what you will, but I chose to make a square card with the help and inspiration of a few challenges!

This little chap is from LOTV coloured with Copics and fussy cut and the DPs from NitWits Coastal connection.

I added a little life ring made from a die cut ring and some linen string. The number six was coloured to match and then added to the center.

For more info and inspiration please check out th rest of the DT and why not join us.

I'd like to join in over at -

   

Just the picture for me this time.

Man or Boy

Cards und More goes with a Bang

Good morning all.

The sun is shining here so it looks as though it's going to be another good day.

This is quick post to share a card to announce the start of a new challenge over at Cards und More.

This time our theme is.

USE LOTS OF COLOUR

Here is my card using the sponsor's image.

This challenge is sponsored by 

who are giving 4 digis to the winner.

My design was influenced by the latest challenge at Less is More, something that pops or bangs, so stamped some streamers around the lady exploding from the cake. The greeting from Altenew was stamped, then fussy cut.

Why not check out the rest of the DT and then show us your colourful creations.

I'd like to join in over at -

No DP

Something that goes with a pop or bang

Weeds are only flowers in the wrong place

Welcome.

I've been having some fun with Brushos and watercolour painting recently. My husband thinks I don't do as much painting now as I used to so ought to get back to it!

Needing no further encouragement I happened on a programme on Hochanda about using Brushos for watercolouring and thought I would have a go.

I love field poppies and encourage them to grow in our meadow by scattering their seed over mole hills and any bare ground I come across. Whether this works or not I'm not sure. They aren't showing as yet but hopefully they will brighten up the grass along with the other wild flowers I'm trying to cultivate. 

Anyway this is the end result of my second play, more of my first later!

To start, I sketched the flower head from a photo, along with a couple of buds and a seed head. I then masked the areas that I wanted to remain light with artists masking fluid, the edges of the main flower, buds, stalks and seed head.

Next I wet my w/c paper and dropped in some DIs in various greens and a bit of red. So as to keep the petals clear of Brusho crystals, I covered it with bits of kitchen roll before sprinkling leaf green Brusho over the damp background and watched the magic take place. When my background was dry I removed the kitchen roll and added a selection of red DIs to the petals, leaving the masking fluid in place for the moment. Using a mixture of red and dark green to make a black, I added the stamens of the flower and a little Olive Green for the center. When this was dry I removed the masking fluid and added more detail with a fine brush.

To finish the background I added some flicks of green and a few splatters of the same to the bottom half of the painting.

To turn this panel into a card I added a banner in black with an embossed birthday from STAMPlorations and a Wplus9 die cut happy in white.

That's about it from me for today.

I'd like to join in the following challenges -

'May All your weeds be wild flowers'

Feature Embossing on your project

Optional twist of create your own challenge

Pedal Power

Good morning all.

It's a new weekend and also a new challenge over at Fantasy Stampers.

This time we want to see your projects that are 

ALL ABOUT THE GIRL

I wasn't sure where to go with this but a quick look through my stash I decided on this Annabel stamp by LOTV called Pedal Power.

For the layout I used the latest sketch from MFT Challenges, some scraps of green card plus a bit of NitWits paper. I used some linen white card for the base and top panel, cutting an aperture with one of my MFT Stitched Circle Stax die. The lilac border was also cut with the same die from a circle of matching card in my stash, which I matched to the DP by colouring with Copics before adding to the top panel. 

Annabel was stamped, coloured with Copics and then fussy cut before popping over an extended banner die from a MFT blueprints set and some 'grass' from 3 shades of green. The happy birthday is from HLS's Doodled Flowers. The top panel was trimmed to size then popped up on pads and the banner and Annabel added flat.

Ok, that's it from me. Please visit the main blog and check out the fab inspiration from the DT and perhaps you'll be inspired to join us

I'd like to join over at -

Happy Birthday

STAMPlorations May challenge, a reminder

Afternoon folks and welcome to a post to remind you that the latest challenge over at STAMPlorations. is ongoing until the end of the month.

Here is my card for your inspiration -

As always it's up to you whether to go with the theme or the sketch or go with both.

            

For my card I went with the theme!

As the challenge over at Less is More is The Sea, I looked out my nautical STAMPlorations sets, True North and Anchored for this project. This is a OLC so I planned what I wanted to use to make my panel then masked of the card with Post its to create a panel to ink.

To start I used some DIs in Mermaid Lagoon, Salty Ocean and Peacocks Feathers, then stamped some elements such as the anchor, compass and text in the same colours. Now, I left it for a long time to allow the ink to dry as I wanted to heat emboss the next set of stamps an EP has a nasty habit f stickin to bits you don't want!. 

I took the yacht and stamped it across the panel, then masked it and added some waves, all embossed in white. This allowed me to use plain water, a paint brush and kitchen roll to bleach out the colour from the sails. I then washed in some Gathered Twigs DI over the hull. I then used a Memento brown ink to stamp the greeting from the Noteworthy set.  To sharpen up the edges of the panel and add a little interest, I scored along the reverse of the panel to create a raised border.

As usual all Ts and Cs are on the main blog, as are the fab DT's inspiration projects as well as this month's fab GDs, Jane, Pooja and Bozena.

So why not pop over and then join n.

I'd like to join in over at -

OLC - At Sea

(Thanks for the tip Sarah!)

Thanks Loll

Afternoon all.

Just popping by to share a quick make that was inspired by my friend Loll who was in turn inspired by her friend Mary and this Ellen Hutson You Tube video.

Over at CASology the theme is STENCIL and they are sponsored by STAMPlorations, so I thought I would use this Rose stencil of Shery's for the technique.

Here is the end result.

After embossing with the stencil, I inked the bottom corner with a mixture of Picked Raspberry and Spun Sugar DI then removed it to reveal the subtle embossing. I added a die cut in white with a hit of a black shadow, cut with an ancient Cuttlebug plate. A few sequins were added and the panel added to a taupe base card.

I'd like to join in over at -

Use three of these colours

I used the first 3

Yappy Birthday

Good morning peeps.
We've had nearly a week of glorious sunshine here, even if there has been a cool breeze, so at least I have been able to get my raised beds planted and sown. The onions have made a recovery after I thought they'd died off and there are some green seedlings showing. Hubster has almost finished the largest and deepest bed so there will soon be another to fill!

Anyhow, the real reason I am posting today is that it is time for a new challenge over at Cardz4Guyz.
This week the choice of theme is all mine and I chose -

MAN'S BEST FRIEND

So we would love to see your creations showing doggies, large or small.
As I type, ours is sulking in the kitchen because he would love to be with me but the windows are too high for him to see out of in my craft room and there is nowhere for him to get up high! He is an extremely nosy dog.
This cheeky pooch from Paper Smooches  reminds me of Max a little, but I've given this little cutie a few black patches!

The sentiment here is from a Stampendous set I bought on my way home from Port Sunlight, as are the paw prints!

I cut balloons from scraps of card using MFT dies and a Marianne one, the central panel, banner and number are also MFT. I'd seen a similar idea for a chubby chum holding the balloons out on the t'internet somewhere and thought it a great idea. Fussy cutting the little paw was rather tricky but worth it. To make the die cut balloons more realistic I added some white gel pen hi lights. The layout is more or less based on the one over at Can You Case it.
Pop over to the main Cardz4Guyz blog for more doggy inspiration and join in.

I'd like to join in over at -