CCM #102 - Shabby Chic!

Time for another challenge from Crafty Cardmakers. This time, Betty has chosen 'Shabby Chic' for her theme. She would like to see any project - scrapbook page, altered art, card - that is 'shabby chic'! Ours sponsors this time are Milk Coffee who are offering a prize of 5 digis from their store. And also Sir Stampalot.

I have chosen an image from Milk Coffee to use this week. I'm still getting used to my Promarkers, so have taken to doing little colour swatches before I start colouring in an image - just so I can check that they work together.

Hopefully you can read my writing and see which colours I ended up using. I cut her out using Spellbinders Marvellous squares. I have to say, this has not been one of my most favourite purchases because I felt you lost the detail on the outside of the largest die as it cut inside it. So, this time, after cutting the image out, and inking with Victorian Velvet DI, I then drew around the edge of the die, cut the decorative edging out, and re-attached it to the image.

I decided to create my own background. I started with a piece of thick card (it came as part of some packaging), and painted it with Eco Green Mulch paint. I covered this over with Orchid - using a very dry brush, which allowed the brown to still show through at the edges.

Using a spatula, I scraped white paint over the top of this making sure the pink showed through.

I then took a craft knife to the edges to distress them a bit, and remove a bit of the white around the edges.

I wrapped wide lace around the side, then added pink satin ribbon, and a thin decorative white one over the top. This was stuck onto a Craftwork Cards base card.  

The finishing touches include a large bow using the same lace, two Creative Expressions hat pins, a pearl and crystal embellishment from my local craft shop, and some pearls from my stash.

Make sure you pop on over to the Crafty Cardmakers blog to check out what they have been up to! Then get busy and post your creations!

I would like to enter this into:
A Creative Romance - Pink

CMC Copic Challenge Group - Anything Goes
Inkspirational - Anything Goes

Cxxx

CCM Challenge #101 - Cute and Furry!

Our challenge this fortnight is 'Cute and Furry' - chosen by the lovely Jackie! You can use stamps, digi stamps, photographic images etc - but the focal image of your project must be cute and must be furry!!


Sponsoring us this time are Di's Digi Stamps with a gift voucher of $10, and The Stampman is offering a £10 voucher which can be used on-line or in-store. Make sure you check out all the DT inspiration at Crafty Cardmakers.

I have used a digi stamp called 'Parker the Puppy' from Scrapping Memories, for my card. The first thing I did was to colour him in. That then helped me choose the colours for the rest of the card - which turned out very autumnal! So I coloured him in using a combination of: Saffron, Apricot, Ginger and Spice for the lighter, more orangey areas. And the darker areas are made up of Cocoa, Teracotta, Henna and Walnut.  For the bone I used Ivory and Eggnogg. 

I cut the image out with a Spellbinders circle and inked with Tea Dye DI whilst still in the die. I also edged it with the same ink once I had taken it out.

Because the overall effect was an orangey brown colour, I decided to go with an orange base card (A4 folded in half - from my stash). The scalloped circle was cut from C&C Textured cardstock (from the pastel set) - whilst I used the largest Spellbinder Splendid Circle die with a piece of paper from my scrap box (don't know where it was from). I cut this in half and attached it to the back of the scalloped circle.

The autumn leaf card is also from my scrap box - I know that this was leftover from a Hunkydory kit. The colours really complement the orangey, brown autumnal feel the card has. A piece of white card was edged with Triple Scallop Edgeability, and embossed with That Special Touch Large Polka Dot mask. I inked the edges with Tea Dye DI. The ribbon, glittery flowers and fabric flowers are all from my stash. As a finishing touch, I added Glossy Accents to the nose! 

I would like to enter my card into the following:

CMC Copic Challenge Group - Fall Colours

Di's Digi Designs Challenge Blog - Show Off Your Colouring Skills

Graph'It Markers - Autumn Colours

See you soon,

Cxx

CCM #100 - Winged Things

Welcome to our latest challenge - Winged Things. Your 'winged thing' needs to be the main focus of the project - NOT a little butterfly charm, or bee in the corner of an image. Our sponsors are Crafts and Me with the choice of three digis, and Woodware who offer £12.00 to spend on-line or in-store at one of their stockists.

So, for my card I chose 'Whooo Loves Ya Baby' digi stamp from Scrapping Memories. Having printed the image on Elegance card,  I coloured it using Promarkers:

Bird house/Letters/Hearts - Frosted Jade, Island Lagoon, Marine, Solstice Blue

Owl - Grey Squirrel, Fired Wood, Umber, Eggnog. Daffodil Bloom

Ground - Grey Squirrel, Frosted Leaves

The image was cut with a Spellbinders scalloped rectangle die, embossed and inked with Pumice Stone and Peacock Feathers DI's.

For the mats and layers I have used pale blue Bazzill, and DCWV self-adhesive brown and grey card. The teal blue and cream are from Papermill. I added a strip of Washi tape (from The Range) and flat-backed pearls to finish it off.

Please make sure that your winged thing is the focal image of your project - pop over to Crafty Cardmakers for more inspiration.

I would like to enter this into:

Chocolate, Coffee & Cards - Anything Goes

4 Krafty Girlz - Anything Goes

Craftin' Boutique Challenges - Anything with an Owl

See you soon

Cxx

How cute!!

This card is my eldest step-daughter's birthday card!! This year I have used a digi image from DigiStamp Boutique called 'Barney and Flower' - chosen by her Dad. 

The brown base card is from my stash, and is embossed with Spellbinders Garden Lattice grand MBossability folder. I inked over this with Gathered Twigs DI to highlight the pattern. The green strip is edged with Classic Triple Scallop Edgeability, and I rounded the corners of the pink flowered card (DCWV Sweet mat stack) with my small X-Cut corner rounder!!  The reddish brown card is also DCWV (self adhesive) and was embossed in the same way as the base card.  I then cut a Splendid Circle from pink paper, cut it in half and arranged it slightly off-centre, behind the image.

The image was printed onto Joanna Sheen Elegance card and coloured with Promarkers:

Dog - Morning Mist, March Hare, Tawny Owl, Terracotta, Walnut

Grass/Leaves - Fresh Meadow, Apple, Forest Green

Flower - Pink Mittens, Pink Carnation, Pink Lobster, Wild Cranberry

I cut the image with a Spellbinders Labels 3 die, and I inked it whilst still in the die, with Picked Raspberry DI. All the elements were edges with Gathered Twigs DI, and the lettering was cut using my X-Cut Rome Alphabet Die. I finished it off with some pink pearls and green gingham ribbon from my stash.

Cxx

Becoming a teenager!!

Well, it's been a while since I blogged due to holidays and other commitments, but now school has started again, and I am back doing supply work, I should have the time to get back into it. I am starting with a card for my eldest niece who is soon to become a teenager! She loves cooking and baking - taking after both of her parents! But she is also at that stage of still growing into her body - all arms and legs and clumsiness. She is already taller than I am - although that isn't particularly difficult.

So, I thought that The Paper Shelter's "Patissier in Distress" would be totally appropriate! The digi stamp comes with a backing paper, so I attempted to match the general colour scheme of the digi with the paper.

I printed the image onto Joanna Sheen's 300gsm Elegance card, and coloured with my Promarkers. I am still new to using pens, but I am making progress - more work still needed on hair I think!

Anyway, the colours I have used are:

Dress/Shoes/Tablecloth = Pink Mittens, Pale Pink, Budding Rose

Cake Icing = Blossom, Pink Carnation, Rose

Skin = Ivory, Blush, Almond

Apron/Hat = Blush, Saffron, Apricot

Hair = Tawny Owl, Cocoa, Walnut

Trolley = Cool Greys 1, 2, 4  and Black

Candles = Cool Aqua

The image was cut and embossed using a Spellbinder Scalloped Rectangle, and inked with Vintage Photo and Victorian Velvet DI's.

I used an A4 sheet of brown card folded into a easel shape. I used another sheet of the same card for matting and layering. The blue is from a DCWV self-adhesive stack and the patterned card is Kanban. I printed 3 copies of the digi backing paper, using one as a whole, and cutting two further copies down to give height and dimension to the curtains and pelmet. The scrap from this was used to create the stopper for the easel, and to cut out the letters and numbers from my X Cut dies. The pearl embellishments are all from my stash. 

I then added some finishing touches - Cosmic Shimmer Aqua Twinkles for the pelmet, Glossy Accents on the cake icing and lettering, and Sepia Accents on the hair.

The Paper Shelter are having a DT call. Looking at the standard of work over there I don't think I stand a chance - but nothing ventured, nothing gained, so they say, so I am at least going to put my name forward! 

So, I would like to enter into:

The Paper Shelter - DT Call

Papertake Weekly Challenge - Child's Play

TTCRD - Anything Goes

There She Goes - Cakes, Cupcakes and Birthday Treats

See you soon.

Cxx

CCM #98 - Fun In The Sun!

So, summer is supposed to be here - although it really seemed to come and go during the school summer term - I remember sweltering in my classroom with 32 hot and tired 8-year olds, and finding little respite outside under the trees in the grounds!! But, in the true British spirit, we never give up, and hope that another hot spell is just around the corner! And this time at Crafty Cardmakers we are hoping to encourage the sun out again with our 'Fun in the Sun' challenge!! 

Lin would like to see something related to summer fun - maybe holidays, or in the garden - basically something that you would do outdoors when the sun is shining that is fun, clean and legal!! 

Our sponsors this week are Saturated Canary who are offering two of their gorgeous digi stamps, and also Sir Stampalot!! 

I love camping - my family were never into it, but I first encountered it through Brownies, and finally caught the bug when I did my first DofE expedition. When I was single, I would head off on my own during my holidays, and my love of the outdoors grew. Now I am married, I have a husband who also likes the outdoors and camping, so we still tend to go most years - initially with my step-children when they were smaller - and now on our own. I have to admit that it has evolved from the days where I was happy to plonk my small tent in a field with little or no amenities. Now we have all the mod cons that electrical hook-up can provide. And a tent that does not require getting on hands and knees to enter!! 

I remember from my Brownie days, the whole toasting of marshmallows over the open fire - and later using the flam from my little gas burner!! I still love the charred outside with the really gooey centre!! So, when I saw the "Camping" digi from our sponsors, I just had to choose that for this challenge. I also relate to the longer socks and slip-ons thing she has going on - as that is generally what I end up pottering round a campsite in!!

So here's the card! I have used a piece of brown card stock from my stash, embossed with Spellbinders Dainty Dots grand MBossabilities folder, and folded into an A5 card. The rest of the card is from my scraps box. The orange and green patterned card is Kanban, whilst the lighter brown is Bazzill. I cannot remember where the distressed brown card came from. The sentiment is from a really old, cheapie set of sentiment stamps that I bought years ago, and the butterfly decoration was cut using Spellbinders Decorative Inserts 6. All elements were edged with Gathered Twigs DI.

The image was printed onto Joanna Sheen Elegance card (300gsm) and then coloured with Promarkers:

Logs/stick - Walnut, Cocoa, Henna, Terracotta, Tawny Owl

Fire - Pastel Yellow, Apricot, Ginger, Spice, Red

T-Shirt/Grass - Fresh Meadow, Apple, Grass, Forest Green

Skin - Almond, Ivory, Dusky Pink

Hair - Tawny Owl, Henna, Walnut

Socks/Shorts - Tawny Owl, Cocoa

Slippers - Soft Peach, Tequila Sunrise, Orange

I used Wild Honey DI to ink whilst the image was still in the Spellbinders Rectangle die, and then Cosmic Shimmer Aqua Twinkles on the flames, Sepia Accents on her hair, and Glossy Accents on the butterflies. Some little golden Kanban pearls finish it off!

So now it's your turn! Make sure you visit the Crafty Cardmakers blog to check out all the other DT inspiration. 

See you soon!! 

Cxx

Anyone for cricket?

Just a quick post. This card was a commission. It's a 6" square boxed card. The base card and box were made from a large sheet of Centura Pearl Bronze card. 

For the cricket theme, I used two of the large toppers from the Kanban Afternoon Cricket topper sheet. 

The mats are cut from Bazzill card and more of the Bronze Centura pearl, using Spellbinders Lacey, Scalloped and Classic squares. I added a few buttons from my stash for embellishment! The lettering was cut with my X-Cut alphabet dies.

For the inside of the box, I used the smaller toppers from the sheet.

Cxx