Sunday 31 July 2016

FS495 - Floral Gridlock


This week's Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper is helekins. She has an amazing gallery full of dramatic cards. She also participates in an ATC swap and often, her project is 9 similar or identical ATCs.

I chose one of these projects as my inspiration, but made it into one card:




I focused on Helen's:
-grid layout
-bright, blended colours
-dramatic black silhouettes

I changed:
-one card instead of 9
-moved the silhouette in the coloured block
-shape
-less 'distressing' around the edges

I used:
-Papertrey Be
-Papertrey Keep It Simple: Thank You
-Distress inks (Worn Lipstick, Persimmon; Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade; Twisted Citron, Peacock Feathers)
-MFT Pierced Square dies

Saturday 30 July 2016

More Henna Elements


Can you even stand it? Seems like lately, when I pull out a floral set, I can't make just one. I've made 4 more with Altenew's Henna Elements.


I absolutely love how you can get so much 'dimension' from these flowers due to the images themselves and by enhancing them with shades of Copics.


 
After all the drama, my brain was screaming for something a little cleaner, so I made this elegant card, using the same sentiment idea. Love how the letters line up with the stems!


This one was inspired by this pin 
Russia:
Love the gold with the blues and greens. I cut my panel down so I could have a bit of white space! Sentiment from Brushed Sentiments;



This was also inspired by a pin:
Ceramic Bowl Flowers Blue Black White Botanicals Painted Floral Turquoise Housewarming Wedding Gift by sewZinski.:



Friday 29 July 2016

MCV55 - Merry Christmas


We've got Kevin Bray as our guest Muse at Muse: ChristmasVisions this week and he has provided us with the sweetest inspiration:



I lifted my own rainbow tree-line idea from last week's card and reused it with a different stamp. I sponged my sky (and I found it much harder to get a smooth blend on Neenah - the smooth finish on Whisper White makes that an easier blend, but Copics are better on Neenah..... these are serious problems! lol!). (also for Day 25 of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge).

I focused on Kevin's:
-penguin theme (with a red piece of clothing!)
-circle
-blue sky
-bright fun colours

I used:
-Papertrey Tremendous Treats: Christmas
-Poppy Stamps I'm Dreaming of A White Christmas
-MFT Pierced Circle die
-Copics
-Stickles
-Distress Ink (Tumbled Glass)

Thursday 28 July 2016

July Pin-Sights: Merry Little Christmas


Here's my card for the current Essentials by Ellen Pin-Sights Challenge where our inspiration comes from this collection of images:

July

I focused on the 4 corner images. My tree is inspired by the red sugar sticks and the red glitter tape. My background is inspired by the red bowls and the gift bags.

I used:
-Essentials by Ellen Christmas Scribbles, embossed in glittery red, glittery gold and black ep
-old Stampin' Up Polka dot paper
-gold glitter cardstock
-MFT Pierced circle die
-red glitter ep
-gold glitter ep

Wednesday 27 July 2016

Muse 176 - Thanks


Here's my card for this week's Muse challenge and Day 23 of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge. We have Linda S as a guest and she's given us this pretty inspiration:



I focused on Linda's:
-flower theme
-2 purple flowers with green leaves
-general layout (flower position, sentiment position, minus the diagonal cut)
-(I'm SO proud of this) - partial die cut technique

This card came about for another reason too - one of the crafters I follow on Instagram (@doodleincolor) made a gorgeous card using this set. I commented that I had the set and should use it more often - we went back and forth a few times and ended with her challenging me to watercolour my card - this is the result!

I watercoloured the big flower and leaves on one panel and the smaller flower separately.

I started with a wash of distress inks over the whole thing, then layered up some colour on the flowers and leaves.

I finished with some Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers to get my colours to the vibrancy I wanted.

I cut the smaller flower out using matching dies and popped it up on the panel.

I used a pierced square die to cut my panel, very carefully using the partial die cut technique so that the top leaf could poke out of the square.

I used:
-Altenew Hennah Elements
-Distress Inks
-Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers
-Pretty Pink Posh Sequins


Tuesday 26 July 2016

CASology 208 - Journey


This week's CASology Cue Card is Journey!



I am far behind on making cards for my Church Christmas Card project (information here), and the summer is a good time to catch up (kids are away at camp!). And this week's Cue Card provides the perfect inspiration!

Masking and sponging distress ink is not always thought of as particularly clean, but if you limit it to about 1/3 of your card and ensure that there's lots of white space, it can work really well! I'm using this 'colouring' method for Day 22 of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge via Instagram.

I used:
-Stampin' Up Come to Bethlehem
-Distress inks (Mustard Seed, Broken China, Chipped Sapphire)
-Avery Elle Double-Pierced Rectangle die

The nice thing about sponging a smaller area like this is that you can whip up 24 of these pretty quickly!



Now it's your turn. Summer is a perfect time for travelling - we can't wait to see your Journey cards! Make sure you stop by the rest of the DT for more inspiration:

Monday 25 July 2016

Seize the Birthday - Another Floral Multiple


Once again, I spent some time making more than one card with a stamp set - this time Artful Flowers from Simon Says Stamp. I enjoyed exploring different-but-same colour combinations - lots of pinks, corals, oranges and yellows - as well as different methods for shading the petals.


I was surprised to find that I think I prefer the softer colours (I know they're still bright!).

I'm linking up to Seize the Birthday's Anything Goes with Optional Bold and Bright theme.  Also both for Day 21 of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge (via Instagram) and for Simon's Flickr Challenge (sssflickrchallenge#50).

Sunday 24 July 2016

FS494 - It's Your Day


This week's Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper is Jen Carter. She has a growing gallery full of fun cards. I picked this one as my inspiration:



I focused on Jen's:
-daisy theme
-colour scheme

I changed:
-number of flowers
-added more white
-layout
-grey (in the sentiment) to silver glitter

I used:
-Hero Arts Lia Griffith Mum dies
-Hero Arts June 2016 kit
-Avery Elle Double-Pierced Circle Dies
-Avery Elle Double-Pierced Square Dies

Saturday 23 July 2016

Muse 175 - Birthday Wishes


Here's my card for this week's Muse challenge (also Day 19 of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge), where Jenni has given us a beautiful, elegant, classic inspiration:




I focused on Jenni's:
-layout
-colours
-floral theme
-clear sparkle

I made mine a bit more whimsical and used my copics with no shading, like Lisa did last week - you get a very simple but rich feel with this technique.

I used:
-WPlus9 Doodle Buds
-WPlus9 That is All
-Pretty Pink Post sequins

Thursday 21 July 2016

MCV54, OLS29 - Warm Wishes


I just love Cornelia's inspiration for this week's Muse: ChristmasVisions Challenge:




You know that I love rainbows. But rainbows are not inherently "Christmassy", are they? You have to work a bit by introducing other festive elements.

I focused on Cornelia's:
-tree theme
-rainbow colours
-Santa

I used:
-Essentials By Ellen Cozy Christmas
-Mama Elephant Jingle Greetings
-Impress Cards and Crafts Santa
-Stickles

I am also linking up to One Layer-Simplicity, where the challenge is Christmas In July.

Wednesday 20 July 2016

Just Dandy-inspired Daisies


The other day, Melissa (Just Dandy Studio) made a fun, colourful panel for #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge. Sometimes, I see something I like so much, I just want to make it exactly the same. I think that's ok. Of course it's nice to give credit to the person who inspired you. And of course, it wasn't EXACTLY the same, since I don't have the same stamps. 

But then I just kept going until I ended up with these 6 cards. (can you tell that both my kids are away at camp?) The Waffleflower A Bunch daisies are so much fun that I couldn't stop! I made two panels each of colourful daisies, white daisies on a white background and masked daisies in a field of green.

And then, as I was assembling cards, I got so excited that I made a major error - I forgot to put any sequins in my white daisy shaker.


As you can see, I tried to fix it by using my (best ever 'fixing' tool!) old Cricut spatula - it has a thin metal edge that can often slide between layers and separate them without damage. I thought I could slide the sequins in through the gap, but the spatula was sticky (and sequins stick even when there's really nothing to stick to, don't they? lol!) So I ended up taking the white panel and acetate off the top, filling the hole with sequins and then adhering a new piece of acetate and a white panel on top.

Here are close ups of each card:

Mama Elphant Script Birthday die, SU! Jewellery Tag punch, Avery Elle Sentimental wishes

Clearly Besotted Say it in Style sentiment

MFT Stamps Delicious Birthday sentiment

WPlus9 That is All sentiment

Technique Tuesday Watt's Up sentiments

Tuesday 19 July 2016

CASology 207 - Rough


This week's CASology Cue Card is Rough.



I decided to go with something like "Life can be rough, make sure you get lots of hugs". Very simple - one Papertrey die and a very neutral, monochrome colour scheme keep this feeling very CAS even though there's a lot of hugs there!

Now it's your turn - I think this one's going to be fun - I can think of so many ways to go with this cue card! Be sure to check out how the rest of the DT used it!

Monday 18 July 2016

CTS181 - Thank You


Here's my card for this week's CAS(E) This Sketch challenge:



and also for Day 14 of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge.

I used:
-Neat&Tangled Scandinavian Prints (yes, again!)
-Copics (same colours as this card: RV04, RV06, RV17, Y17, Y38, YR04, YG25, YG09)
-Wink of Stella
-Glossy Accents

Sunday 17 July 2016

FS493 - Thanks


This week's Splitcoaststampers Featured Stamper is Vickie Y. Another amazing gallery full of inspiration - I chose 4 in my initial run through, but settled on this one:



I focused on Vickie's:
-stormy colours
-horizontal stripe background
-black script sentiment
-gold dots

I changed:
-no flower
-changed spatter from purple to gold
-shape of the focal panel

This is also for Day 13 of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge.

I used:
-distress inks (Pumice Stone, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Blue Print, Chipped Sapphire)
-Gold KGT
-Mama Elephant Thanks script die.

Saturday 16 July 2016

MCV53, OLS29 - Season's Greetings


My very simple card for two Christmas challenges: Muse: ChristmasVisions and One-Layer Simplicity.

MCV DT member Chriss gave us this inspiration:



I focused on Chriss':
-3 poinsettias in rich, rich red
-black greenting

I left mine clean and graphic - no gold flower centres, no black spatter.

I used:
-Impress Poinsettia (retired)
-Penny Black sentiment.


Friday 15 July 2016

Simon Wednesday Challenge - Create a Scene


I was playing with a friend's stamps yesterday and in the middle of trying to fit as many mermaids on a page for die cutting, I arrived at this fun scene!

Linking up to Simon's Wednesday Challenge: Create a Scene. Also for Day 11 of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge. Still working on my watercolouring. Not 100% happy with the hair, but I like the mix of colours on their 'scales'!

I used:
-Neat&Tangled Mermazing
-Neat&Tangled Dala Horse
-Avery Elle Wonky Stitched Rectangle
-Zig Clean Colour Markers
-Stickles


Thursday 14 July 2016

Muse 174 - Coolest


This is my card for this week's Muse challenge, where Tracey gave us this adorable inspiration:



And also for Simon's Monday challenge - this time I have Fauna.

I think I may have gone a little off the rails, but I focused on Tracey's
-layout (image over sentiment)
-3 images on a green background (and then I added brown....)
-one food item
-CUTENESS!


I changed the scene from camp to beach (it's Texas-hot here today!) and added a temperature-related sentiment. Notice my guys are starting to get a little pink on their tummies? Don't notice (like I did) that they look a bit like sushi.

Also for Day 10 of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge (via Instagram). Colouring with my Copics on Neenah again, really liking it.

I used:
-MFT Penguins in Paradise
-MFT Pierced Square die
-Copics
-Fruit Punch (of course!) stickles


Wednesday 13 July 2016

Simon Monday Challenge: Flora Birthday


This is my card for this week's Simon Monday Challenge: Flora and Fauna. I chose Flora.

I mentioned on Instagram the other day that I have always used Whisper White for my Copic Colouring. I have a bunch of Neenah (which most people seem to use), so I did a comparison between the two cardstocks as part of #thedailymarker30day colouring challenge:



I found that the Neenah gave brighter colours, better blending and a smoother finish. Having said that, I'm so used to Whisper White, it will take me a while to adjust to the differences. Whisper White is a coated (very smooth) cardstock. The ink has more of a tendency to sit on top. Neenah is non-coated and absorbs the ink. This means that it can bleed more than Whisper White would and I found I needed to be more careful coming up to the lines.

Anyway, I decided to keep practicing and stamped this fun panel full of roses. (I do find it harder to stamp on Neenah - thank goodness for my MISTI!) I love how vibrant the colours are. I used 3 pinks (RV04, RV06 and RV17) and 3 yellows (Y17, Y38, YR04) and 2 greens (YG25 and YG09) and then filled in the background with 3 greys (T1, T2 and T4).

I used:
-Simon Says Stamp Handwritten Borders
-Simon Says Stamp Roses for You
-Avery Elle Double Pierced Rectangles
-Stickles


Tuesday 12 July 2016

CASology 206 - Art


This week's CASology Cue Card is Art!



I went all out and decided to make my own "art", complete in a fancy gold frame, hanging on an all-white (of course!) 'wall'!

I used Zig markers to make my tiny watercolour painting. I started by swiping a strip of green across the bottom for the ground. I placed a number of dots of various colours and sizes and then added water to them to expand them. When it was dry, I added dark grey centres and green stems and leaves. I think they look like poppies.

I used a Papertrey Ink die to create the canvas and the frame.

I finished with a partial sentiment from Neat & Tangled Scandinavian Prints. I will also link this up to Day 8 of @thedailymarker30day colouring challenge.

Now it's your turn. In my opinion ALL the cards we make are art, and I can't wait to see how you interpret this fun cue card!

Be sure to check out the rest of the DT for more inspiration: