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Ready, Set, Snow

Hello everyone. I have a big card for you today, made for the Guest Designer spot on the current challenge at 52CCT. The challenge is to use any challenge from 2017, and I chose the October 2017 theme challenge of ‘Winter Sports‘:

I stamped the images from MFT ‘Ready, Set, Snow‘ using Gina K amalgam ink, then coloured with my Copics – attempting some shading again. Once I was happy, I die cut them, then set about the scene itself.

Now – this scene took me forever to work out. I wanted a card large enough to take all my images, which meant I had to die cut the mountains and the slopes by moving the die along.

I distressed the edges of the slopes to give some dimension to the layers, and also used Distress Oxides for the sky.

I then played with the layout of my snowboarding animals, moved the tress around a little, then stuck them down. I did stamp and colour the little houses, but felt they would have been too much in the background, so I left them off.

Then – I forgot the sentiment! What to do? What to do? Shall I attempt stamping it onto my card? Dare I brave it? Well – yes – of course! I could always put a banner there if it went wrong….. :)

So – using my Misti – I took the sentiment from MFT ‘Santa and Friends‘ and stamped it. Phew! Thank good ness it worked alright.

All-in-all I think this card has taken me the longest to make for a while. I keep trying the scenes, and sometimes it works – sometimes it doesn’t. I  seem to get the layering wrong, or go too far with the elements, but I really like how this card turned out. Hubby has already nabbed it for the Christmas card for his his business partner!

I hope you are managing to play along with this challenge…… :) :)

ps – I see a little stray cat hair has got behind one of my mountains…….oh well!! They do like to keep me company when I am crafting.

Current challenge
October 2017 theme challenge

Watercolour Rose

Hello there. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their weekend. I have had more time to craft this past few days – but again not really getting down to making the actual cards – just the elements to go on them!

I had some fabulously fantastic news this week – I have been chosen to be part of the Design Team for the ABC Christmas Challenge for the next 6 months! My first design team position! Hugely excited. It means I can make Christmas cards all year long now – with no guilt!

I hope some of you find time to play with us……..

Now on to my card:

As you can see – I went big and bold with these colours, the current colours for Color Throwdown. Instead of colouring with alcohol markers, I went with water-colouring this time.

The Altenew ‘Leaf Frame Cover Die‘ was cut out of some coral card and some grey card and stuck together. The Altenew ‘Inked Rose‘ stamp was stamped and heat embossed with grey, then water-coloured using the Altenew water-colour pan set – red and green.

I tried to go for the messy water-colour look, as the stamp set has quite a few lines on the actual images, which themselves give some shading, I think.

This rose is very big. I almost went with a bigger card base, but I like the way the rose is the centre of attention and just grabs you from the get-go.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – coral, red, green, grey

Watercooler challenges – anything feminine goes

Addicted to stamps and more – anything goes

Merry Christmoose

Hello there. Phew – it’s been a busy week. I have made time to practice my Copic colouring, but found I was colouring loads of things – but never making a card. So – here is one I made this evening:

I ink blended a background with three blue colours, and decided not to splatter or splash or change those blues, as I like how clean and almost pure it turned out. This was placed behind the Lawn Fawn backdrop die. The sentiment is from Clearly Besotted ‘Merry Christmoose’ stamp set.

Once I had stamped and Copic coloured the reindeer/moose I die cut them and stuck them down as you see. I only used a couple of colours on these images, as I am still learning about shading etc.

The trees are from MFT ‘Ready, Set, Snow‘ also coloured, die cut, and slotted into the background. This time I used three green colours – gosh…….I’m getting very fancy, aren’t I? :)

I added some sparkle to the tress and to the top of each of the hills, which is slightly showing on the photo – much better in ‘real life’.

The photo was taken in a light box I recently purchased, as I found that being able to take bright pictures at this time of year – winter, UK – is quite difficult. This is the other picture:

This is something else I’m trying to get to grips with – but I think I need a bigger box………..gonna have a look later….

So, what with the light box and colouring, it’s a learning curve at the moment for me. I bought some Copics recently, and am really loving playing with them. I also joined the Kit and Clowder Monthly Colouring Class, and even just playing with the first two lessons – video and work-sheet – I feel I have learned lots about using Copics, and using a light source. 

Here is my practice sheet:

The odd coloured berry at the top is using a different set of reds – not bright enough for me so I changed them……………I don’t think I’ve done too badly with my first lesson…..positive thinking!

I shall be entering the card into the following challenges:

The Alphabet Challenge – ‘R’ for Reindeer

Crazy 4 Challenges – a card that features a tree

Try It On Tuesday  – winter wonderland

Inkspirational challenge – anything Christmas

2 Christmas Cards

I haven’t had much time to craft the past couple of days but as I had another delivery from Seven Hills Crafts today – I just had to make time!

This first card is made from the newly arrived MFT ‘Santa and Friends‘, and Lawn Fawn ‘Stitched Hillside Backdrop‘, with the piece that fell out of the die-cut embossed and placed back into the frame.

I shall be entering the following challenges with this card:

Color Throwdown – Kraft, Brown, Green, Cream

Addicted To Stamps and More – CAS

Christmas at Sweet Stampin’ – anything goes Christmas

This second card took me a little longer – I do struggle with shaker cards – but I keep having a go at them:

I used the stamps and dies from Lawn Fawn ‘Ready, Set, Snow‘ adding Distress Glitter and glass beads in the snow globe itself, layering Kraft card which I coloured with some brown markers for some dimension, and sticking the trees inside the dome, but the snowmen outside the dome.

This was stuck down onto and piece of card I embossed with a Tattered Lace embossing folder.

This card will be entered into the following challenges:

52 Christmas Card Throwdown – snow globes

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Let it Snow

Crafty Sentiments Designs – Snowman

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas

Handpicked Bouquet

Hello again. I designed a card to enter the current sketch challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches:

I stamped the Altenew Handpicked Bouquet using Altenew inks, and used a Lawn Fawn ‘Lacy Borders’ for the bottom edge.

The bottom piece is MFT ‘Framework background’ stamped using a Catherine Pooler ink, then cut to the size I wanted, and placed onto a 5 inch square card.

The placement of the stamped flower, and then the two layers of card were challenging – but I don’t know why! Just one of those things I just couldn’t get my head around…..mind block!

The sentiment is from the Altenew ‘Leaf Medallion’ stamp set, and stamped in the same ink as the background stamp – I didn’t want it very bold, as I wanted the bouquet itself to shine and noticeable more than anything else.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

CAS Colours and Sketches – sketch

QKR Stampede – anything goes

Happy Birthday

Hello everyone. I think I’ve finally recovered from the three days Crafters Companion ‘Craftaganza’. Phew – what a full-on three days that was. There was ink blending, stamping, stenciling, die-cutting, foiling, sewing (not for me!!), and any number of hints and tips from the Crafters Companion ‘tutors’. 

Since being back, I have been at work, but managed to try some colouring with a new set of Copics, and found they actually blend well with the Crafters Companion Illustrator pens too – win-win situation.

Here is a card which shows my colouring:

Here is a close-up of the glittery silveryness and colouring:

I stamped the Concord and 9th ‘Grateful For Everything‘ in a newly acquired Gina K Amalgam ink – liking this for colouring with alcohol markers – then set to the colouring.

The colour scheme is from the current challenge at Color Throwdown, and the layout from the current sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches.

I used grey for the leaves as a ‘free’ neutral colour. The silver is a piece of glimmer card I had left over – how handy are those little strips?

I find combining a colour and a sketch challenge really helps me plan what card I want to make, and you may have noticed I have done that in the past. This time, I went away from the Christmas cards – for a short time only – and decided this would best suit a birthday theme.

I shall be entering this card into the following challenges:

Color Throwdown – red, aqua, silver

Freshly Made Sketches – sketch

Seize the Birthday – birthday with option of CAS

Watercooler Challenges – occasions

It seems WordPress has made some changes to the way you add items to a blog post, and I must say I like how much more simple it is now. I have even played and updated by challenge badge page………..I think I’m going to play with the ‘all about me’ page next – maybe add some photos……. :) :)

Snowflakes 2 ways

Hello again. I am off to a Crafters Companion weekend tomorrow, and away until Tuesday evening. Can you imagine? 3 full days of crafting? Now worries about work, no cleaning, no cooking……..Oh yes!

So before I go, I wanted to post a couple of cards I made with a snow flake theme – but different styles and different colours. The first card is for the current challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown and Color Throwdown following the sketch and the colours:

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The white die-cut is from Christina Griffiths, raised on foam pads to give that added dimension behind it. The blue strip I added to the back of this so it highlighted some of the detail in the die.

The candles are from Altenew, as were the inks used for the layering. The hardest part of the layering was the blinking flames……….as they were a lighter colour, it was very difficult to line them up – but I managed!

This second card is for the current challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches and The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge:

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As you can see – I went big and bold with these colours! The die-cut snowflakes are from Uniko. I first ink blended water-colour card with ‘Broken China‘ Distress Oxide then stamped and heat embossed some snowflakes in Wow! embossing powder, then die cut the snowflakes.

The panel is Altenew ‘Layered Plaid‘ cover plate die, using only one of the two layers and embossing into the card  instead of die cutting.

I am so looking forward to meeting the Crafters Companion team in the ‘Craftaganza’, even though my bestie has had to pull out at the last minute.

Are any of you going?

:) :)

Christmas Greetings

Hello everyone. I have been playing with different coloured backgrounds – as mentioned in a previous post – and this one surprised me by how much I like the colours for the background of a Christmas card:

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I did the Distress Oxide blending then cutting out with the MFT Die-namic, flipping the two inner rectangles for colour variation in the background…….and I like the it. Don’t ask me which colours I blended, but I am sure there is a squeezed lemonade in there somewhere………….

I again splattered the background with a sparkle pen – not too many big blotches this time (!) and raised the outer frame on foam pads, the rectangles flat to the card base.

The images are from as mix of stamp sets I have listed and coloured with Crafters Companion Illustrator alcohol markers.

I’m still colouring with them, and still enjoying a small amount of time colouring – but still finding it a chore if I stamp too many images and try to colour them! I find it difficult to walk away if there are un-coloured images – maybe that’s why……………”walk away Lynda – walk away!!” :) :)

The sentiment is from the new release from Uniko, which was actually too long for the space – so I just masked off one part of it before stamping. Cutting the sentiment up? Oh no thank you very much!! I will have much more use for a long repeating Merry Christmas than yet another small ‘Merry Christmas’ – I have lots of them. (I think!!)

I  thought about putting some shading under the little log cabin – as you can see I didn’t. I thought about putting a sentiment or saying on the North Pole sign – I didn’t.

How about all those thoughts going round my head? I didn’t realise I did so much thinking when crafting…..who knew??? :) :)

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnuts Christmas Challenge – anything goes Christmas with option of glitter

Addicted to Stamps and More – make your mark

ABC Christmas Challenge – ‘W’ for Wishes and/or ‘X’ for Christmas

You Inspire Me

Hell there. I have spent a lot of time in my craft room so far this weekend, and planning on spending more time there this afternoon. Here is a card using the colours and sketch from the current challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches:

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I had the newest release delivery this past few days, and couldn’t wait to play with this floral stamp set.

I didn’t have the exact colours for the challenge, but I think these colours work well together.

The sentiment is also from Uniko – a block sentiment I already had – and the bow is from the most recent Catherine Pooler ‘Stamp Of Approval’.

I was toying with the idea of adding a bow of string or ribbon, but I like this clean and simple look more, by drawing some lines and stamping the bow to match the sketch.

This card will be entered into the following challenges:

CAS Colours and Sketches – sketch and colours – gumball green, midnight muse, raspberry ripple (double whammy!!)

Addicted to Stamps – anything goes

Clean and Simple on Sunday – brighten someones day

Santa’s Sleigh

Hello again. I have had some time to craft – and hopefully more time throughout the weekend. I am still doing Christmas cards, and still loving the stamping, colouring and mini-scene cards. (Stayed away from the reveal wheel this time!!)

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I have just received a lot of stamps from the new Uniko release – so I will be playing with those later today – some great stamps and stencils to play to my hearts content.

This card is using the Mama Elephant ‘Santa’s Sleigh‘ stamp and matching die set, coloured with Crafters Companion Illustrator pens. I’m getting to grips with them. (Still liking them.)

I have been playing with different colours of my Distress Oxides to get some different backgrounds. I have tended to go with blues in the past, but wondered what it would be like with these colours here – and I’m liking the effect.

I splashed the distressed card with a glitter pen instead of water, then die cut once it was dry.

I turned the two die-cut rectangles upside down in their little slots for even more interest. The outside main die is raised on foam strips, and the two panels set inside flat to the base card.

The main images arranged as you see here.

I shall be entering the following challenges:

Die cutting Divas – anything goes with a die cut

Watercooler challenges – anything goes

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – anything goes

4 Crafty Chicks – Christmas