Muse Challenge #14

Morning crafters

Woke up really early this morning and couldn't get back to sleep so decided to get up and put my papercraft head on.

Its the last day to get entries in for this week's Muse challenge and this week's muse is Virginia Lu who has created a gem of a card. 

I had a rummage through my stamps and just couldn't find anything I wanted to use....need to shop!  So, instead I decided to trawl through my very neglected patterned papers and found an unopened pack so got stuck in. 

This is what I came up with, I think its pretty clear where my inspiration came from, pretty much every element of Virginia's card!

 

 

The patterned paper has an off-white background so I started with a cream card base for a change, I think white may have made the paper look a bit grubby.  This design took a while to plan out as a fair amount of measuring was needed to get the four strips the same size and to ensure they fitted correctly.  Once the strips were adhered to the pink background card I ran the whole thing through my Big Shot using a circular die.  Once stuck to the card base I then stamped the sentiment through the window and also stamped a flourish to mirror the design in the paper.  A few gems were added to finish.

 

Materials used:

• Cardstock: Cream card base from stash; Bazzill Basics Premium Cardstock (pink)
• Design Paper: Dovecraft - Garden Party 6 x 6 Designer Paper Pack
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Stamps - Happy Everything (sentiment); Marion Emberson - Just Because (flourish)
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: XCut - Nested Circles
• Gems from stash

 



This is the beautiful card by this week's Muse, Virginia Lu...

After making my challenge card I was left with the cute little circular die cut so in true crafting 'I'm not throwing anything away' fashion, I made this card using the same materials.  The sentiment is from SP & Company 'Just a Note' stamp set.

That's all from me today.  Got a busy day, not doing anything exciting just mega busy, off here and there.  Thanks for visiting and I always appreciate any comments you take the time to leave.  If you get chance follow the link to the Muse challenge, there are some really stunning designs this week, its going to be a tough choice when it comes to voting!

Have a lovely Saturday :)

CAS One Layer Flower

Hi guys

A bit of a late one for me tonight but I wanted to take part in a couple of challenges, one of which ends tomorrow.

This card is very CAS for me but I thoroughly enjoyed creating it and it gave me another chance to practice with my ProMarkers and Flexmarkers.  I still don't have my markers organised so it took longer to find the right colours to blend together than it did to colour it in!

 

and a closer view...

 

 

 

I started by using a score board I got free with a magazine ages ago to create the embossed waves and dots at the top and base of the card.  Its not too easy to use as you have to place your card on it and try to find the grooves but it worked ok here.  I then stamped the image and sentiment with VersaMark and heat embossed with black embossing powder.  I love this gerbera image and it took a while to decide what colour to use.  I've seen alcohol markers used on kraft card before so thought I'd give it a go and I really like it.

 

Materials used:

• Cardstock: Kraft base card from stash
• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Stamps - With Love stamp set
• Ink: VersaMark
• Embossing Powder: Stampin' Up - Black
• Coloured with Promarkers and Flexmarkers

 

 

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

 

The Paper Players - One Layer Card

 

 

Addicted to CAS - Flower

 

 

Thanks for popping by, I hope to be back very soon with more to share :)

 

 

 





 

Fusion Card Challenge #3

Hi there

Today I've made a card for the challenge over at Fusion Card Challenge.  Unfortunately, I missed the first two weeks on this new challenge blog but when I saw the inspiration photo I really wanted to enter this one.  I love the colour combo, my bedroom used to be almost identical!

The idea of this challenge is to use the sketch or the photo as inspiration, or a Fusion of the two.  You can see the inspiration photo further down in this post.

Here is my card, I chose to combine the two inspirations to create a Fusion...

 

I used dies to cut out the leaves and flowers.  I have scored the black panel at the base to mirror the stripes in the inspiration photo.  Here is a closer view to show the detail...

 

 

 

Materials used:

• Dies: Clearly Besotted Stamps - Leafy Accents; Sizzix - Flower Layers #6
• Cardstock: Papermania Premium Textured Cardstock (pink); Black cardstock from stash
• Stamp: Marion Emberson Designs - On your special day
• Ink: Versafine - Onyx Black
• Ribbon and dewdrop from stash

 

 

Here are the inspiration photos for the challenge...

 

 

Thank you so much for visiting and please leave a comment, your views are always greatly appreciated :)

 

Right, I'm off to bed!

 







Muse Challenge #13

Happy Saturday lovely crafters

Back today to share my entry for this week's challenge over at Muse.  I didn't think I was going to get this one made in time but I was wide awake at 6.30am today so thought I may as well get up and was in a crafty mood so here is my card.

I kept the layout and colour palette pretty much the same as this week's gorgeous Muse card by Marion Vagg.  Marion's card is beautiful, you can see it further down this post, and I don't think I've created anything nearly as stunning but I had a go with what I had.  I wanted to create some shading on the blooms but I only have pigment ink in my stash so I was a bit limited.  I wanted to use ProMarkers over the images to add some definition but I think alcohol pens can only be used with dye based ink, am I correct? 

So instead, I stamped the blooms with a pale ink, then re-inked a second time by just lightly dabbing with a slightly darker tone and lined it up and re-stamped over the top.  It didn't turn out exactly as I had hoped but still added a little more interest than having a completely flat colour.  I then die cut the central bloom and popped this up on 3D foam.

I've used the large rose from this set before (Clearly Besotted Stamps - Blooming Marvellous) but this is the first time I've inked up the little rose buds.  Aren't they gorgeous?

Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Stamps - Blooming Marvellous and Butterfly Wishes stamp sets
• Dies: Clearly Besotted Stamps - Blooming Marvellous
• Ink: Versa Color - Olive, Petal Pink, Pink, Lavender, Grape; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Gems from stash

Here's the card by this week's Muse, Marion Vagg...

Thanks for popping by, and good luck if you are a fellow Muse participant, all the entries look fabulous this week.

Take care

New Home

Me again!

Back to share the last of the three cards I made for a friend's order.  This is very CAS as requested and was pretty quick to put together.

I'm really limited with new home bits and bobs, this is my only appropriate stamp!  I feel some shopping is required very soon!

I stamped the image with a dye ink as I wanted to use my ProMarkers to colour it in.  I die cut the image panel and a larger piece of green card using dies from the same set and then wrapped and tied twine around the image panel before matting and laying onto the card base.  That was it, easy peasy :)

Materials used:

• Stamp: Katie & Co - New Home (wood mounted stamp)
• Ink: Impress - Jet Black
• Cardstock: Papermania - Premium Textured Cardstock (green); white cardstock from stash
• Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Classic Rectangles Large
• Twine: Doodlebug - Green from Bright Assortment
• Coloured with ProMarkers

That's it from me tonight, thanks for visiting an please leave a comment, I always love what you have to say xx

Congrats on your Engagement

Hi guys

Back with the second card I made last night for an order, a CAS card for an Engagement.  I knew exactly which stamp sets to grab for this one, two sets by Clearly Besotted Stamps.  All of Stephanie's sets are fabulous, some with matching dies, so take a look if you've not visited her site before.  You won't be disappointed! :)

 

 

I got a bit carried away with the stamping and perhaps used too many colours on the main image so I decided to keep the rest of the card white apart from the sentiment.  The birds and the 'congrats' were stamped in silver to add a little more interest.  I die cut the image with a circular die and popped this up on 3D foam.

 



Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Stamps - 'Paired Up' and 'Framed Sentiments'
• Ink: Versa Color - Canary, Green, Rose Red, Silver; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Die: XCut - Circle Nesting Dies

Back in a mo! :)

A Little Bundle of Joy - Baby Boy

Hello there

This is the first of three posts sharing cards I made last night for an order.  All were requested to be CAS cards.  The first was for the arrival of a baby boy...

 

 

I started with a square card base.  I stamped the image and sentiment and then die cut to create a fancy white mat.  I then die cut the blue background using a larger die from the same set.  I then tied some organza ribbon around the two layers and popped it up on 3D foam.  Finally I rounded two of the corners with some decorative scissors to mirror the corners of the die cut mats.

 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Anita's - wood mounted floral pram; Personal Impressions - Mix and Match
• Ink: Versa Color - Baby Blue; Versafine - Onyx Black
• Dies: Spellbinders Nestabilities - Labels One
• Cardstock: Kanban - Sherbert Pips (blue); white cardstock from stash
• Tools: Fiskars - Corner Edgers 'Rounder'
• Organza ribbon from stash

I'll be back shortly with the next post, thanks for taking the time to visit :)

Less is More - One Layer Week 115 - Take 2!

Hi there

I'm back with another entry for this week's challenge at Less is More, to create a One Layer Card inspired by a film.  And yes, I'm still creating stood up in my kitchen!

This was my third attempt for this card.  I tried two different variations before I was happy with this one!

I stamped the bag, cake and shoe with VersaMark ink before embossing with silver embossing powder.  I was going to colour them in but in true Less is More mode, I decided to leave them just outlined.  I had a slight problem with the card warping after using my heat gun.  No matter how hard I try to emboss quickly without having the gun too close, it still manages to warp the card so I had to put the card under a pile of heavy magazines to straighten back up!

Here is a close up of the embossed images:

So, what film does this represent I hear you ask?

What does every girl long for....bags, shoes, love and of course, cake!  The film is...

What Women Want

 

 

My last card was based on a film starring Mel Gibson which is why this one then sprung to mind.  I'm on a roll now, perhaps another film will pop up in my brain before the deadline! :)

 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Inkadinkado - wood mounted stamps (bag and shoe); Anita's - wood mounted stamp (cupcake); Clearly Besotted Stamps - Many Thanks set (heart); Sentiment wood mounted stamp (brand unknown)
• Ink: VersaMark; Versa Color - Rose Red
• Embossing Powder: All Night Media - Silver

 

 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend guys and thanks as always for stopping by, I appreciate the support :)

 

 

 

 

Less is More - One Layer Week 115

Morning crafters

After making my last card it made me realise I really like one layer cards although I find it quite difficult sometimes to make them look interesting enough, which is mainly due to the lack of variation in my stamps.  I always tend to go for the same types of things such as flowers and butterflies and have now realised that my stamp collection, albeit still very small, is all very samey!

When I saw this week's challenge at Less is More I really wanted to take part.  This week's theme is to produce a One Layer Card (yay, just what I wanted to hear), and the card needs to be inspired by a Film (uh-oh, not so good!).  For every film that popped into my head I didn't having anything remotely helpful in my stash.  So, I now have to admit that I can't take credit for this week's idea as it was my mum's suggestion that I went with.  She often does crafting with me and so she knows roughly what stamps I have.

And here it is...

 

 

I think this has to be the most CAS card I have ever created!  I stamped the design but then had to think of a fitting sentiment to use.  As the bird is supported I thought this worked quite well.

 

 

 

So have you guessed the film yet...

 

 

It's the Mel Gibson / Goldie Hawn film,

 

Bird on a Wire!

 

 



Materials used:

• Stamps: Clearly Besotted Stamps - Background Builders II (woodgrain), Clearly Besotted Stamps - Paired Up (bird), Personal Impressions - Mix and Match (sentiment)
• Ink: Versa Color - Brown and Turquoise
• Pen: Whispers Strokes

After the brain block I had yesterday I've just had another film spring to mind so I may be back later with another one!

Thanks for visiting as always, I hope you're all having a lovely weekend :)

Muse Challenge #12

Hi guys, I'm back!

Sorry I've been a bit quiet with my blogging posts lately.  My flat is still upside down, I'm still in the throws of decorating my lounge with all my furniture, etc. still in it.  My home is so small I'm unable to move it elsewhere in the flat so the table I use for crafting is buried under a mountain of clutter!

I really wanted to take part in the latest Muse challenge, as I unfortunately missed the last one *sobs*.  So I grabbed a few bits and bobs from my craft stash and made the following card stood up in my kitchen!  The challenge was to use Therese Calvird's beautiful design (shown further down in this post) as inspiration for our creation.  Although the challenge wasn't for a one layer card that's what mine turned out to be and I'm actually really pleased with it!

Here it is...

 

 

I used the ferns as my main inspiration as I had these stamps in a set and hadn't yet inked them up, and I was also inspired by the bottom left placement for the design and the large sentiment.  As the fern images are small and detailed I didn't feel flowers would work so I used a circle/sun image to create the pop of colour.  I only wanted the sun image to have a pinky tone, not be completely pink, so I first inked up with a creamy yellow and gently stamped this onto some scrap paper to take away the bulk of the ink, I then did the same with pink and orange before stamping the final image on my card and pressing down hard to get all three colours to blend.  I finished of with what I think is a fitting sentiment for the design and a few pearls, and used my decorative scissors to create a rounded corner to match the curve of the sun.

 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Kanban - Spring Meadow (ferns and birds); Clearly Besotted Stamps - Paired Up (sun); Clearly Besotted Stamps - Blooming Marvellous (sentiment)
• Ink: Versa Color - Narcissus, Pink, Orange, Versafine - Onyx Black
• Pearls from stash

 

This is Therese's stunning design, fabulous as always...

 

 

 

 

Thanks for visiting today, hopefully I'll be able to get back to creating more often very soon :)  Have a great weekend.

 

 





Less is More - Scallops

Hi guys

Apologies for not being around much lately, as I'm in the middle of decorating I've had to clear away my crafty space and haven't had anywhere to create.  But I really wanted to enter this week's challenge at Less is More so I scooped some clutter out of the way in order to make this card, with about 4 hours to spare!  My new blog friend and super-talented Lizy is Guest Designer this week so all the more reason why I wanted to enter.

This week's challenge is to use Scallops on our creations, and this is my card...

 

 

I bought the Stampin' Up Both Way Blossoms stamps set a while ago on eBay so wanted to incorporate one of them on this card.  The floral image I thought suited a sympathy card so I decided to go with soft lilacs and purples to keep the whole thing quite subtle.

 

Materials used:

• Stamps: Stampin' Up - Both Way Blossoms; Clearly Besotted Stamps - With Love (sentiment)
• Ink: Versa Color - Grape and Green Tea
• Die: Spellbinders Edgeabilities - Classic Triple Scallops
• Cardstock: Papermania Premium Textured Cardstock

 

 

That's all from me tonight, thanks so much for visiting and please leave a comment, I really do appreciate what you have to say.

 

Take care