Yellow birdie

There's a challenge at Paper Smooches Sparks, which I haven't been entering because I haven't got many of their stamps - soon to be rectified by a delivery from the postman in the next couple of days ;) 

But Paper Smooches generously provide free digi stamps, and this is my first venture into digi stamping.  This week it's a picture challenge:

The bird is the free digi sentiment coloured with water soluble pencils, and the sentiment is from Paper Smooches Simply Said stamped with Versamark and white embossed.

Silver Holly

Penny Black are having a Cute to Elegant week, with a chance every day to win a giveaway.

They're also providing a sketch if you want to play along each day.  This is Monday's sketch which I thought I would use for the Dynamic Duos colour challenge of Navy and Silver:

I stamped the Brush Holly 2789J with Versamark and embossed with silver, and sponged the surrounding area with Faded Jeans distress ink.  I masked the base card and stamped the berry branch (from 30-136 A Wish for Peace) with Faded Jeans, and added sponging, then sponged a layer of Faded Jeans above. The silver strip is double-sided tape with Mega Flakes added to it.  The sentiment is from 30-087 Winter Wonders.

Christmas Tag Trio

I've been having a tag fest.  This first one is for the CASology challenge, the cue word for which is:

He looks like he's gobbled all the chocolates up, and is regretting it.

Once I'd made the first one, I wanted to use my other stamps in the same range.  This one looks like he's already had the contents of the bottle, and he's very merry!  I'm linking this one to Heather's One Layer Wednesday gift tags challenge.

And I think this one must be getting a CD for Christmas!  I've used the colour scheme from The Play Date Cafe for the tags so I'll link this third one to their challenge.

All the images are from Ann-ticipations.  The sentiment on the first one is from Clearly Besotted, and on the others from Paula Pascual, stamped in Memento London Fog.

Silver Snowflakes

I got some Mega Flake as part of a subscription gift to a magazine, for use with Flitter Glu, and does it flitter!!  It's lighter than glitter, and you just daren't breathe when you're using it for fear of decorating the walls with it.  You're supposed to make an inkpad with the Flitter Glu on Phat Foam, use that to stamp your image then coat the image with the Mega Flake, but I improvised.  I didn't want complete coverage with Mega Flake, so I stamped the image with Versafine Smokey Gray then dotted the image with a glue pen, and added the Mega Flake when the glue had dried.  No cleaning of messy stamps afterwards, no hardening Phat Foam pad.  Works for me.

The challenge at CASual Fridays is Winter Blues:

The challenge at The Paper Players is to create a CAS project with silver or gold:

And the first challenge for Addicted to CAS is still open, so this is my second entry:

The image is Penny Black, and the sentiment is Anita's.

Two Cheers

This is my second post today.  Click here or scroll down for my snowman card.

The challenge at A Blog Named Hero is to give one of your cards a second chance by remaking it in your current style.

Here's my original card:

And here's my new version:

I tend not to use as many background papers now, which is a shame considering the amount that I have accumulated.  But I'm sure they'll come into their own again.  My other new trend is that I've started to use sketches, which I'd always avoided before.  As in this week's CAS(E) This Sketch:

The image stamp is from Stamps Happen, and Cheers is from Rubber Stampede.

My Favourite Snowman

I've got quite a few snowman stamps (haven't we all?), but this one is my favourite.  I love the sketchiness of the image, the expression on his face, and the movement of him trying to catch his hat in the wind.  And what about those mittens joined with cord?  Hands up who had a set of those threaded through the sleeves of your winter coat when you were a child? Hands up who still has?

The Black Tie challenge at Dynamic Duos this week is Marina Mist and Basic Black, together with a snowman for dessert.

The new challenge on the block is Addicted to CAS, and the theme for their first challenge is:

The snowman image is from Printworks, and the sentiment is from Paper Salon.

Deco 50

The challenge at CR8FN is to use plum gold and tan:

Sometimes you just have to use Peel Offs!

The Art Deco lady image is a freebie from a magazine, stamped in Versamark Onyx Black, coloured with Tombows, and Suze Weinberg Puttin' On The Glitz Grape glitz glue added to the belt fronds.  The numbers are die cut with Sizzix Roundabout, the rest is Peel Offs.

Framed Flowers

I've found a new challenge, thanks to Darnell!  The Ribbon Carousel has a blog, a monthly challenge, and a fabulous prize.  I want one.

This month, the challenge is Giving Thanks/Fall.  My favourite autumn flowers are coneflowers/rudbeckias, whatever you want to call them, and I'm sure they come in Cajun Craze as well as yellow and pink!

The challenge at ColourQ this week is

which fits in nicely with the colour of my coneflowers!

The challenge at Less is More is to use HARWARE on your creation - brads, eyelets, clips, staples, pins, studs, or in my case, a metal ribbon slider.

The image is from Magenta, stamped in Versamark Onyx Black onto watercolour paper and coloured with water soluble pencils, cut out and mounted onto another piece of watercolour paper, then mounted onto turquoise card.  The ribbon is the hanging straps from a top - waste not, want not!

I Appreciate You

I loved the inspiration photo for Runway Inspired Challenge #23, but I was stumped for ideas.  When I finally did get a couple of ideas, they just didn't translate onto the card, so back to the drawing board.

I didn't have any big circle stamps, but as I was rifling through my stamping stash, I saw this set, and thought if I can't go big, I'll go small.  So here's my thinking, working from right to left:

Zig-zags - shoes
Dotted lines - border of denim dress
Bullseye - circular lines of the bag
sunburst flower - just so that I could add the red dot to the centre :)
Dots - loosely representing the model's bodice top
Stem - those long legs!
Leaves - border on the bodice top.

Yes/no?

Now, the cue word at CASology this week is

Not exactly a thank you card, but it's along the right lines (or circles).

And the challenge at Simon Says this week is also a thank you card, so ditto.

And if you're still with me, this card is for you.  I really appreciate all the effort that you girlies put into your own blogs, your challenge blogs, and visiting my blog and leaving lovely comments!

The sentiment is from Hero Arts CL646 Happy Birthday, and all the other stamps are from Sassafras Lass, Blooms N' Stalks.

That's Torn It!

The challenge at CAS-ual Fridays this week is to create a clean and simple project that has something torn on it.

So I tore up some washi tape and made a Christmas tree out of it.  Both washi tapes are from We R Memory Keepers, and the tiny sentiment is from Dovecraft Studio G.

Purple Houses

It's a one layer challenge at Less Is More this week, and the theme is HOUSES.

The colour scheme at The Play Date Cafe is Plum ... Fuschia ... Wisteria

The houses stamp is from Paper Artsy Squiggly Ink range, Bricks & Mortar2, coloured with Tombows, and the sentiment is from Woodware FRCL059 On The Move.

Flower Sketch

Susan's One Layer Wednesday challenge this week is to use the colours dark red, yellow/gold and green (and black if you must, for the sentiment).

I've taken liberties with this week's sketch from CAS(E) This Sketch by placing the flowers alternately up the stem.  The side stems and leaves are hand drawn.

The flowers are from Hero Arts CL519 Many Dots, stamped in ColorBox ochre and chianti, and the sentiment is Hero Arts C2656 coloured with a green Tombow.

Watercolour Tulip

The challenge at Simon Says is to create a sympathy or thinking of you card, and the colour challenge at ColourQ this week is:

This card almost fits Susan's One Layer Wednesday challenge of red, yellow and green, but I've done another card for that which I'll post tomorrow.

The tulip stamp is from Penny Black 40-103 Delicate Florals, coloured directly with Tombows and the colour dragged with a water brush.  With sympathy is from Clearly Besotted, stamped in Colorbox Dune.

Orange Thanks

Funny how we react to different colours.  This week's Less is More challenge is pink.  I have an aversion to pink, yet I knew instantly what card I wanted to make.  It turned out how I expected, and better still, I liked it.  This week's CASology challenge is orange, which is one of my happy colours, but I just couldn't come up with anything.  

So I went for a wander through blogland, and a card in this post by Maria inspired me.  

Now I could tell a beautiful lie and say that those birds are starlings, and the tiny specks on their breasts are their iridescent feathers.  Or,  could tell you the ugly truth that the ink pooled on the stamp so the coverage wasn't good.

The challenge at The Paper Players is Give Thanks.

The orange panel is Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink on an acrylic block and spritzed.  Once stamped, I let the colour pool at the top while the bottom portion dried, then let it run down.

Birds stamp is cArt-Us, thank you stamp is Ladybug Crafts It's Only Words.

If you're looking for another challenge, there's a new one called Addicted to CAS starting soon.  Check it out.

Think Pink

The challenge at Less is More this week is Pink.  I made the bottom card first, and was about to post it, when I got the idea for the top card, and now I like that version better, it's a bit funkier.  The petals are stamped with Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid, and the outlines are overstamped with Brilliance Graphite Black.  The centre is raised on pop dots for added dimension.

I like the slightly arty/grungy feel that the overstamping gives to the flowers.

Sentiments are from Hero Arts CL611 Many Birthday Messages, and the petal stamps are from Stampin' Up Pick a Petal.

Bring On The Bling

During my daily blog-stalk yesterday I found this card by Therese, and was inspired to CASE it.  I don't have that particular memory box die, so I decided to use these flowers from Hero Arts Framelits instead.

The colour scheme at Dynamic Duos this week is ideal.

Add a bit of bling, and it's eligible for the Hero Arts November challenge, Bring On The Bling.

And because the bling is so old (Suze Weinberg Puttin' On The Glitz glitter glue - I must have had it 10 years, and it's a tad gloopy now from lack of use) it's also eligible for Lawnscaping's Dust 'Em Off challenge.

I also made this card for the Hero Arts Bring On The Bling challenge,

and this one for the colour challenge:

I created a vague tree shape using the Hero Arts CL519 Many Dots set, and added silver self-adhesive gems.  Sentiments on the top two cards are from Hero Arts CL611 Many Birthday Messages.