Friday 31 March 2017

Coffee Lovers Blog Hop 2

I had another cup ready to go, so I thought I might just as well create another card for the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers blog hop.


Ingredients:
Coffee cup - Coffee Break, Whimsy Stamps
Sentiment - Literary Caffeine-ations, Beccy Cruger/STAMPlorations
Black embossing powder, Ranger
Books - Smarty Pants, Whimsy Stamps 
(both stamp sets were bought using the voucher 
I won at the previous Coffee Lover blog hop)
Vellum
Distress Inks for acetate smooshing
Distress Oxide Inks for stamping the books
Spectrum Noir sparkle brush to add some sparkle to the cup

I'm linking up my card at:
2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop


SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

STAMPlorations Anything goes with STAMPlorations stamps


Aud Sentiments - #176 Any sentiment except for birthday

Whimsy Stamps - #93 Anything goes with Whimsy stamps



Coffee Lovers Blog Hop 1

I have a card to share for the 2017 Spring Coffee Lovers Blog Hop. I had created the cup and butterfly in the same session as my butterflies for this card and had already cut them out, so all I needed to do today was create the background.


I created my white panel by repeatedly stamping the birthday sentiment and then die cutting it using a stitched frame die. Since I had my new Distress Oxide Inks out, I decided to try and blend a few colours that more or less matched the colours I had used for my smooshed images. They do blend, oh my! I also added some water splatters using a paint brush and then blotted with a piece of paper towel. I adhered my stamped panel using tape runner and popped up the images using foam tape.

Ingredients:
Coffee cup - Coffee break, Whimsy stamps 
(bought with the voucher I won at the previous Coffee Lovers blog hop)
Butterfly - Blissful Butterflies, Pretty Pink Posh
Sentiment - It's only words, Ladybug Crafts Ink
Stitched frame die - Birthday Journal Card, SugarPea Designs
Distress Inks for acetate smooshing
Distress Oxide Inks for blending the background

I'm linking up my card at:




Time Out - #80 Inspired by words:
'When it rains look for rainbows, when it's dark look for stars'
I created another rainbow card

Uniko - #40 Spring with the optional twist of Easter
So happy to be this month's guest designer.


SSS Wednesday - Anything goes

SSS Monday - Things with wings

Seize the Birthday - Anything goes (no toppings for me)


Cupcake Inspirations - #400 Birthday + # 399 Tea Party

 

Whimsy Stamps - #93 Anything goes with Whimsy stamps


Uniko GD - Butterflies

Hello and welcome! It's time for my second installment as a Guest Designer for the current Uniko challenge, with another Spring themed card.


I used this pretty butterfly stamp by Uniko (English Country Garden - Butterflies) and my brand new distress oxide inks to stamp a rainbow of butterflies. Next, I sprayed my stamped images with water to test the properties of these new inks. The pigment component in the oxide inks allow you to stamp a very crisp image, while the distress component reacts with water and wicks out. Such a cool effect!
After drying my panel with a heat tool, I used my Misti to double stamp the sentiment from the same set in Archival jet black ink, trimmed down my panel and foam mounted it onto my card base (SSS). A few sequins finished off my card.




You have until April 21st to link up your Spring themed card with the optional twist of Easter. Don't forget to pop over to the Uniko blog to see what the Uniko design team has created to inspire you.


I'm also linking my card up at:

Time Out challenge - #80 Inspired by words:
'When it rains look for rainbows, when it's dark look for stars'
I think it's pretty obvious that I focused on the rainbow

CAS-ual Fridays - CFC170 No dies allowed


Aud Sentiments - #176 Any sentiment except for birthday

SSS Wednesday challenge - Anything goes

SSS Monday challenge - Things with wings

ATSM - #235 Photo inspiration







Tuesday 28 March 2017

No peeking

Hello and welcome! I have a fun card to share, which was inspired by this month's Christmas muse, Cornelia Wenokor. I focused on the brick wall and the peeking element.


Above shows the card in opened position, but below is what the recipient will see when s/he receives the card.


Love this peekaboo window die that I bought last month (along with the butterfly stamps from my previous post) using a Pretty Pink Posh gift certificate that I won last December at Tracey McNeely's blog.

Ingredients:
Soft stone cardstock - Papertrey Ink
Peekaboo window die - Pretty Pink Posh
Stitched rectangle die - Stitched bundle, Simon Says Stamp
Stencil - Stamperia (bought at a local store)
Aleene's True Snow - has a silken texture that is
very easy to apply in a very thin layer
through a stencil as flimsy as the one I used
Stamps - Tis the Season, Essentials by Ellen
Colouring medium - Spectrum Noir coloured pencils
Foam tape - Simon Says Stamp

Challenges:
Below is Cornelia's fun card that inspired mine


SSS Wednesday challenge - More than 1 die/punch

Rudolph Days at Maureen's blog - always anything Christmas goes

LIM - #321 Use a frame


AAA Cards - 86 Die cuts




Friday 24 March 2017

Birthday butterfly

Hello and welcome. Today I have a very CAS card for you, that was inspired by this card by Laurie Willison that I saw yesterday.


I stamped my sentiment (It's only words, Ladybug Crafts Ink) repeatedly at the top of my folded card base and added a strip of shape n' tape (Lifestyl Crafts) underneath. I stamped several butterflies (NBUS Blissful Butterflies, Pretty Pink Posh) onto a piece of watercolour cardstock (Crafter's Companion) using Archival jet black ink and smooshed distress inks (twisted citron, fossilized amber, abandoned coral, wilted violet) by picking up the ink from my craft mat using a piece of acetate. I used the matching dies to die cut my butterflies and adhered them using glue dots. To add a little more interest, I added glossy accents to the small butterfly and the body of the large butterfly.

Challenges:

CAS Mix up March - Stamping & smooshing + die cutting, washi tape

 

Less is More - #320 Washi tape


ATSM - #234 Clean and Simple


Butterfly challenge - #75 Butterflies + R is for Repeat

HLS March watercolour challenge - Anything goes (option: smooshing)






Friday 17 March 2017

Uniko GD - Happy Spring

Hello there! The new Uniko challenge is starting today, and I'm thrilled to be making a guest appearance after having been picked as the winner of a previous challenge.


I used one of the freebies that Beverley created for Simply Cards & Papercrafts. Click here for the link to the free download. This image was just perfect for the theme of the new challenge, which is Spring, with the optional twist of Easter.




After printing my image onto some light grey cardstock, I coloured it in using Spectrum Noir coloured pencils. The sentiment (Spring tags, WPlus9) was heat embossed in white (SSS). I used a die cut by Winnie & Walter (Essentials: Noelle cutaways) to shape my panel, wrapped a string of fibre around it and foam mounted it onto a yellow card base.

I hope you will play along. Do pop over to the Uniko blog to see what the Uniko Design Team has created to inspire you.

I'm also linking up my card at:

The Flower Challenge - #6 Anything goes (with flowers)


Stamping Sensations March - Close to nature

Cards in Envy - Keep it simple

STAMPlorations March Theme & Sketch - Stamps & Spring


STAMPlorations March CAS - Anything CAS goes


And of course, I'm also linking up
at Kathy's 30 day colouring challenge







Amazing fox

Hello and welcome! While I was doing some colouring last weekend, I coloured two foxes in one session. The first one (by Paper Smooches) ended up on the card of my previous post. For today's card, I used the equally sweet fox from the NBUS Fall Friends set by My Favorite Things, but I think my fox also feels happy on a Spring-themed card lol.


I coloured the image using Spectrum Noir coloured pencils and then fussy cut it out so that I could foam-mount it onto my panel. For the background I used a fun technique shared by Jennifer McGuire, layering two stencils (Moroccan Latice and Scrolled BG, both by MFT). I used distress inks to do my blending (twisted citron for the first layer and mowed lawn for the second one). I die cut my panel using a die by MFT (Stitched rectangle scallop edge) and adhered both the inner and outer part flat onto my kraft card base. The sentiment is from another NBUS stamp set by MFT (Geometric Greenery). The wood effect sequins are from Studio Calico.

Challenges:

Just Us Girls - #384 Use a stencil


SSS Wednesday - Bit O' Green

SOS - #294 Luck O' the Irish (use green)

Sparkles Monthly challenge - #90 Let's go green







Monday 13 March 2017

Sweet fox

Yay for crafty weekends! I've been able to create more cards this weekend, involving some hand colouring.

One of the images I coloured was this sweet NBUS fox from Paper Smooches (Chilly Chums). I used coloured pencils (Spectrum Noir blendable pencils), and used complementary colours (orange and purple) as demonstrated by Sandy Allnock (she rocks!). You can check out the video on her blog here. The background was created using the Stiches cover plate die (Essentials by Ellen), that I inked up with SSS mint ink before putting it through my Cuttlebug with my cardstock panel.


Challenges:
Ellen Hutson Mix It Up - Essentials + Paper Smooches


Paper Smooches - Greenery

 



ATSM - #232 Make your mark


Colour Crazy Challenge -  #10 Anything goes

Sweet Stampin' - Anything but birthday

Sunday 12 March 2017

Nail polish marbling

I know, I know, you all thought I was done marbling, didn't you? Well, you thought wrong. I had made several attempts at nail polish marbling in the past and they all failed miserably. But today, I found some very cheap nail polish in the most gorgeous colours at an Animal Welfare sale, and I decided to spend 4 euros to buy 6 bottles and give this technique one last go. And to my own surprise, it worked brilliantly this time. So be prepared to see even more marbling soon.


For this card, I paired my marbled panel with stamps and dies from the Masterpiece kit by Papertrey Ink, The 'paint' on the brushes was stamped with Altenew inks. They are a perfect match for the colours of the nail polishes. I die cut my panel using a stitched rectangle die (Simon Says Stamp), matted it onto a panel of black cs and adhered this to my Neenah card base. The clear drops are by Pretty Pink Posh.

Challenges:
PTI Make it Monday - #277 Nail polish marbling

Seize the Birthday - Anything birthday goes


SSS Monday - Make your own background

ATSM - 232 Make your mark


Penny Black and More - Anything goes

Tuesday 7 March 2017

Merry berries

Hello there! I'm back with a quick CAS card for a couple of challenges.


The lighting could have been better, but day light was already fading when I took this photograph.

I heat embossed my image (Mini Scenery: Merry Berry, Winnie & Walter) onto my white card base (Neenah, slightly smaller that A2) using white embossing powder (Hero Arts), masked off the edges and blending distress inks (tumbled glass, peacock feathers, evergreen bough) over the stamped image using a Clarity brush. The sentiment (Sentimenal:Winter, Winnie & Walter) was stamped in Archival black.

Challenges:
W&W 3rd Birhday Bash - Ink blending challenge with Vanessa


Less is More - #318 Mainly Teal


STAMPlorations March CAS - Anything CAS goes (optional: sky blue)


Cards in Envy - Keep it simple

ATSM - #251 Anything goes