Crazy Robin ...

Another sunny Sunday ... blue skies and Autumn sunshine are my favourite!  The colours of the leaves are so vibrant at this time of the year!

I've moved away from the colours of Autumn to the classic colours of Christmas - I really need to get a wriggle on with my Christmas card making.  I haven't come up with that 'one' design that I like and also enjoy creating but today's contribution might just be the one!  It is not that quick to make but I love the finished card - so I might just make a few more.

I used:
Tim Holtz - Bird Crazy Stamp set
Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers
Stampin Up - Christmas sentiment stamp
Die-namics High Rise Alpha die 
Versafine - Onyx Black Ink
Red Mirri card
Glossy accents

I am entering the following challenges:
"Less is More" #243 Recipe week - to include Something Shiny 
(I failed to enter last week as I just could not get my mind around the theme - Technology. A bit ridiculous really as I would with technology all day every day!!)
Addicted to Stamps #163 - Addicted to Holidays
Happy Little Stampers


A big thank you to the design team over at Fusion Card Challenge for selecting my card for an Honourable mention - I'm chuffed to bits especially as it was a very different card for me.  This the card they honoured - thank you.



Enjoy!

Autumn Leaves ...

The nights are drawing in and the temperature is dropping I guess that must mean Summer is over and Autumn has arrived.  It seems fitting that there are a number of challenges around to reflect the change in seasons, so it seemed appropriate to join in and create a card with the flavour of the Autumn and here it is:

I thought I would switch things around this evening ... I usually put the finished card photograph first on my posts but I really wanted to showcase the detail of the leaves.  The leaves started as a piece of water colour card that I liberally coloured with brushos.  I then stamped the leaf images before die cutting and then blended the edges with distress ink (vintage photo).  I then hand embossed them to add some definition to the veins.  The sentiment is heat embossed on a piece of vellum - I added a piece of thread from some hessian just to add in some more texture.

I used:
Brushos
Uniko Pure Florals: Gerbera Stamp set and matching dies
Distress Ink - Vintage Photo
Cosmic Shimmer Gold Embossing Powder.

I am entering the following challenges:

AAA Cards #48 Autumn Colours


Addicted to CAS #72 Leaves


Back again!  Thanks to Sandie for the heads up I'm also going to enter this months challenge at UNIKO #25 where the theme is AUTUMN/FALL.
Enjoy!

Birthday Bird ...

I've waited and waited to buy the Tim Holtz Crazy Birds and eventually decided they were a must have - the I had to find some!!  The wait is over and the Birds have landed so it only seemed right to get them out straight away and play.  This is my first card:

I love these birds!  I've seen some wonderful cards and mixed media creations in blogland using these stamps and, with practise, I hope I can make some equally wonderful creations. For the first outing I'm quite happy with the result!  I water coloured the bird using distress inks and created the sentiment using die cut balloons and an alphabet stamp set - not an original sentiment but it always makes me smile!

I used:

Distress ink - Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean, Festive Berries, Ripe Persimmon and Scattered Straw.
Clearly Besotted Balloon dies
Lawn Fawn Milo's alphabet
Embroidery Thread

I'm going to enter the following challenges:

Addicted To Stamps Challenge #162 Make Your Mark
Penny Black and More September Challenge Anything Goes

Enjoy!

Purple Vellum ...

It's time for a new challenge over at TIME OUT challenges this time it as opportunity to CASE another designer - Tracey from In My Creative Opinion.  I've taken elements from Tracey's design - white embossing, vellum, pink and floral - then added my own twist.  You can see Tracey's card below mine.

I'm still struggling to take decent photographs but I hope you can see the pink splatter

I white heat embossed the image before colouring on the reverse with Zig markers a twist on Tracey's design, die cut the image, added a few splatters of pink ink before stamping the sentiment and adhering the image to the card.  This is Tracey's card:



I used:
Uniko - Pure Florals Chrysanthemum
STAMPlorations - Subway Art Builders DARE
Versafine Onyx Black Ink
Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers

I'm entering the following challenges:

TIME OUT Challenge #40 CASE Tracey
Addicted to Stamps #162 Make Your Mark
Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge Colouring


Enjoy!

Christmas Wishes ...

A quick post this evening!  I need to get moving on Christmas card production otherwise the final posting days are going to be here and I will not be ready!  I like to come up with a couple of designs that are easy to make ... tonight's card is my first attempt at this year's design - if you've been following my blog for sometime you will recognise last year's colour theme is still popular!

My first indoor photograph for weeks ... not good!

Embossed snowflake and heat embossed sentiment

What you see is what you get!  Apologies for the awful photographs I need to sort my lighting out for the long dark days!

I used:
Stampin Up - Endless Wishes
Uniko - Stunning Snowflakes
Distress Inks - Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass and Peacock Feathers
Sizzix - Christmas Thinlits

It is One Layer Week this week at "Less is More" with the theme of 'Wishing' - so I think this fits!

Enjoy!

Special Birthday wishes ...

Tonight's card was created with love for my daughter.  

It seemed fitting to create a card using one of my gelli prints as it was my daughter that bought me the gelli plate for my birthday!  Add to it one of my favourite stamps - the gerbera - and some texture using a musical embossing folder.  My daughter was pleased with the card so to me that is all that matters! 

I'm going to enter the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps Challenge 161 - Anything Goes
Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
Penny Black and More Challenge - Anything Goes

I used:
Uniko - Pure Florals:  Gerbera stamps and dies
           - Pure Florals: Cosmos, sentiment stamp
Sizzix Sheet Music Embossing Folder

Before I go I need to say a big thank you to the Seize the Birthday team for awarding me with a birthday honour for this card - thank you I am truly honoured.



Enjoy!

Steampunk for my niece ...

This card represents so many things that I don't normally do that I am surprised that it has ended up presentable.  I've used a digi stamp which I haven't used before, there is patterned paper that I rarely use and the image is human!!  My, soon to be 8, great niece decided that she likes steampunk - so I felt it only right to encourage this change of style by creating this birthday card for her! But where to start ... find an image, look for a sketch and stop procrastinating!  This is it -

The image is a digi stamp 'Top Hat Marci' from La-La Land Crafts which I coloured with Zig markers before mounting on dimesional tape and adhering to the stamped background.

I plan on entering the following challenges:

Darnell's (djkardkreations) NBUS Challenge 5 - if you don't know Darnell and have not visited her blog then you really need to!  Darnell is one of the friendliest bloggers that I have 'met'.  Her blog is entertaining and fun and her cards are amazing. Pop along and check her out.  (NBUS means Never Before Used Schtuff)


TIME OUT Challenge #39  Make Your Mark

Fusion Card Challenge  I used the sketch element of the challenge as my starting point for the layout.


I used:
La-La Land Crafts - Top Hat Marci
Zig Real Brush Clean Color Markers
Justrite Deluxe Round Monogram Kit
Stampin Up - Off the Grid
Stampin Up - Baked Brown Sugar

Enjoy!

Bauble Joy ...

A quick post this evening with a second card for the challenge at "Less is More" - colour theme Green and Gold.

Hopefully you can see the shimmer on the bauble

I took a piece of card and blended Mowed Lawn distress ink all over it and then brushed on perfect pearls to create the faux metal effect.  I embossed the panel and then cut out the baubles - the embossing is quite subtle as I should have cut the baubles before embossing but I had a senior moment and did it the wrong!  The sentiment and the tops of the baubles were die cut from gold card.  The finished card doesn't look quite right - I think it would have worked better without 'joy' but it's too late now.

I used:
Sizzix Holly Swirls Embossing Folder
Memory Box, Classic ornament die
Distress Ink - Mowed Lawn
Perfect Pearls - perfect pearls
Lawn Cuts Joy die
Embroidery thread.

Enjoy!

Christmas tree ...

Well, it's been a busy and hectic week ... It was back to work on Thursday so time for crafting is limited to evenings.  That doesn't mean I can't spend the weekends crafting (in between housework, of course!).

This is the first card I completed:

It is colour challenge week at "Less is More" and the colour choice is Green and Gold.  I die cut the tree before heat embossing using versamark and gold embossing powder three times! I die cut three more trees in white card and then stacked them together.  I used the negative of the die as a stencil and sprayed some distress ink (left over spray from last week's challenge) through to add colour behind the tree.  The tree is flat on the main card with a frame added using foam adhesive to add dimension and depth to the card.

I used:
Spray made with - Distress reinkers in Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn and Squeezed Lemonade
Cosmic Shimmer Gold Embossing Powder
Memory Box - Kensington Christmas Tree die
Stampin Up - Endless Wishes

I'm entering the following challenges:

"Less is More" Week 240 Colour Challenge, Green and Gold
AAA Cards Challenge 47 - Spectacular Embossing.



Enjoy!

Today is your day ...

The countdown has begun for term to start and for me to be back at work ... I popped in for a few hours today but start in earnest on Thursday!  I do enjoy being on holiday and only wish I could afford to retire or that I could earn money crafting but unless I win the lottery I will still be going out to work for a few more years.

I have squeezed in some craft this afternoon and this is the end result:

Not a flower in sight!!  I cut up some card into strips for the white on white background - I've seen a background die that creates this effect but felt sure I could recreate it with my guillotine! The strips are adhered flat to the card base.  I stamped the main sentiment with versamark on a scrap of card coloured with acrylic ultramarine paint before adding embossing powder and heat embossing it.  I coloured some card with festive berries distress ink and then die cut 'Be' and 'happy' - once in the red card and then twice in white card, stacked the die cuts and added them to the card.

I used:
Kaisercraft Clear Stamp - Today
Stampendous White Embossing Powder
'Be' Simon Says Stamp
'Happy' Clearly Besotted
Festive Berries distress ink.

I am entering the following challenges:

Stamping Sensations - August challenge, anything goes with stamps and dies

TIME OUT Challenge - as you will see I was inspired by the photograph:



Enjoy!