Blue Lace

My friend Maria has recently joined the Design Team on Simply Create Too, and their current challenge is a bingo challenge where you include all of the items under one letter:

I went for G: blue, lace, stamp, tag, polka dots (do bubble wrap impressions count as polka dots?)  I cut the tag from a sheet created with my Gelli plate.  You get fabulous lace impressions by pressing fabulous lace into the paint, removing it then pressing your card onto the plate.  I'd also made the bubble wrap dot impressions before pressing the card onto the plate, so it was achieved all in one go. There was a natural border between the dots and the lace, so I hand stitched a couple of lines using twine, which means I can enter it into the Less is More challenge:

String or Twine

And Simon Says Monday and Wednesday challenges are both having an Anything Goes week.

Stamp: Whimsy Stamps Simply Everyday Greetings

Purple Present

A quick pit stop to post this card.  I've suddenly got back into researching my family history and it gets a bit obsessive.  Or I do.

Dynamic Duos colour combo:

Simon Says Monday Challenge Anything Goes

Seize The Birthday, Anything Goes

Although it looks like a one layer card, the present is actually popped up on thin foam dots.

Image - Tim Holtz Birthday Blueprints, sentiment Hero Arts.

Got to get back to the ancestors...

Happy Orange Birthday

I've been playing with my new JOFY stamps.  I love those spiky bursts of flowers, and the unusual butterfly.  I've used the colours from colourQ:

This week's One Layer Wednesday hostess, Karen at Snippets, wants us to use orange on our one layer card:

'Orange' You Glad You Played Along- create a card with Orange on it.

I've based the design on this week's CAS(E) This Sketch but jiggled it round a bit:

And at this week's Muse, the inspiration is provided by Janet.  Isn't that a fabulous tree?

Just in case you're wondering how I've made the leap from blue Christmas tree to orange flowers: placement to the left, baubly leaves/flowers with highlighting, star becomes butterfly.  Yes/no?

Christmas Joy

Maybe it's time to start making Christmas cards.  For this card I've used stamps from Hero Arts AC026 Brush Strokes, a very non-Christmas stamp set, to make the tree and the baubles using my favourite stamping technique, which is stamping without embossing (lazy).

Hero Arts are having a Holiday Challenge, with three categories (mine's the third category):

• Deck the Cards — ‘Tis the season for decking the halls…and of course the cards, too! Use at least one Hero Arts embellishment to deck-out your holiday card. A few options include metallic decor, gems, pearls, and felt embellishments.

• Merry and Bright – Brighten up your holidays with NEON! Use any Hero Arts neon ink or neon dauber on your project.

• A Few of My Favorite Things – Create any Christmas/Holiday/Winter card with a favorite stamping technique plus a Hero Arts holiday stamp.

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And the challenge at Less is More this week is TREES:

It doesn't matter what kind of trees, but we would like to see a little more than just leaves!

So mine's a Christmas Tree:)

Hero Arts: AC026 Brush Strokes, CL630 Miracle of the Holidays

Celebrate Dolly Mixtures

I'm playing along with this week's Muse, where the fabulous Darnell is guest designer with this fabulous card:

But it's not just a fabulous card, it's also very symbolic.  If you read Darnell's post, you will see the thought that she put into making this card, and the symbolism of the different elements that she has incorporated.  Told you she was fabulous - the hamster wheel in her head never stops.

I've used the sketch from the current Little Tangles challenge which, spookily (and that's as close as I get to Halloween) is very close to Darnell's design:

I just got this set from Neat & Tangled.  See the bow there?  I saw a flower.  See the curly swirly balloon strings?  I saw leaves.  See the straight line?  I saw a stem (so I bent it).  See the crescent?  I saw the whole of the moon.  Oh no, sorry, that last one belongs to a song.

See the little shapes?  I saw Dolly Mixtures, so I used Dolly Mixture pink and green to keep in with Darnell's Breast Cancer Awareness theme.

Stamps: Neat & Tangled Just For You, On The Strip
Sequins: Neat & Tangled
Song: The Whole of the Moon by The Waterboys

Make A Wish

I've been playing at dressing up dolls today.  This one normally has a short dress but I wanted to collage a long dress for her.  The colour scheme for the card comes from A Mixed Media Colour Challenge:

I'm also entering it into Seize The Birthday challenge, with toppings:

To use the colors of FALL on your project!

It's not often that brown is the main colour on a card, particularly a female card, but I liked this background paper.  I softened it up with some Picket Fence Distress Stain and some chalk inks stencilled through some punchinella.  Made the long skirt from torn papers and made word blocks from a sentiment, drew round them with a .005 pen, added some Walnut Stain Distress Stickles and some Prima Marketing Got Flowers, with Liquid Pearls centres.  Here's a close-up:

I like how the Distress Stickles looks like tiny ink splats on the sentiment.  I put some on the bottom of her skirt but it looks like she took a short-cut over the fields.

Dreams Come True

So I've been playing with the Gelli Plate again.  This time using red, white and blue (and pink), which isn't a combination I'd normally go for, but I wanted to play along with A Mixed Media Challenge where the colour theme is pink, red and light blue.

The pattern on the background is from an embossing plate, and the stamp is by Neat & Tangled.  I laced some baker's twine around the heart for a bit of interest/texture.

Splitter Splatter

It's the last day for the Uniko Studio challenge to use washi - tape, stamps, or make your own.

I had a go at making my own.  I won't be having another go.  I'll stick to the shop-bought stuff, I think!

I'm also entering it into the Craft Stamper Make It, Take It Challenge - to use stamping and a splatter technique.

I stamped the solid gerbera image using yellow, orange and olive, then overstamped the line image in Versafine Onyx Black, then masked it and stamped a line image to the right, also masked that and stamped a third image to the left.  Masked the third image, and with all three masks in place, splattered some Distress Paint onto the card.  Added some (shop-bought) washi and stamped the sentiment, then added a bit more shading to the main flower with coloured pencils.

Stamps: Uniko Studio Pure Florals Gerbera

White Christmas

It appears that I've started my Christmas cardmaking drive ;)  This one is for Less is More, where the challenge is WHITE ON WHITE, with a CHRISTMAS theme.

I'm also entering into CASology, where the theme is CRISP.  Deep and crisp and uneven.  And frosty.

And the theme at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge is to use a rubber or clear stamp.

Dies: Impression Obsession Birth Trees, Deer Trio
Stamp: ...joy,hope... 3028F
Stickles: Stardust

Grungy Chevrons

The challenge at Little Tangles is to create your own pattern paper.

I used the chevron strip stamp with Salty Ocean, Ripe Persimmon and Evergreen Bough Distress Inks.  I inked my craft sheet then spritzed with water, and then stamped rows of the chevron strip, reversing each row.  Because the ink had pooled more in some places than others, it loaded unevenly onto the stamp and blotched onto the card, but I really like the effect.  I like looking at that grungy pattern.  I'm happy with grunge.

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays is to use sequins and chevrons.

And the challenge at Simon Says Wednesday Challenge is to use a rubber or clear stamp.

Neat & Tangled: On The Strip, Everyday Circles, Fresh Blooms, sequins.

ETA:  At Jenny's suggestion, I'm also entering it into Moxie Fab World Tuesday Trigger.

Apache Tears in the Key of Autumn

Seeing Dots

Susan at Simplicity is hosting this week's One Layer Wednesday, and she's challenging us to take inspiration from our Pinterest boards.  Even if you aren't playing along, it's a good excuse to actually look at all those photos that you've pinned.  I'm as guilty as anyone - I don't even remember pinning some of them, so it's like looking at them for the first time.  This is the the pin that inspired my card:

source

I used the colours from this week's Dynamic Duos:

And I'm also entering it into Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, We're Going Dotty!

Dots and blobs: Hero Arts AC026 Brush Strokes
Sentiment: Hero ARts CL611 Many Birthday Messages

Gold Congrats

I haven't posted since last Monday.  Where did last week go?  I wanted to play along with Moxie Fab World All That Glitters Is Gold Challenge before it closes in a few hours, so I need to get a wriggle on.

I stamped the background image onto black card with Encore Metallic Gold, then once it was dry, matted it onto gold card and added Platinum Stickles to the dot pattern around the leaves.  Added a gift wrap tie around, then mounted it onto gorgeous white card that has a gold sheen to it when the light catches it.  Stamped and gold-embossed a sentiment onto the same card, and that's it!

Background: Rubber Stampede 3255R
Sentiment: Marion Emberson Designs It's All In The Words

Oh, and I got published in this month's Craft Stamper magazine, with this card: