Squiggly Christmas Trees

Hiya! I recently bought a new Lavinia stamp, which I think is really designed to be for trailing foliage, but in the Lavinia For You FB group I saw someone use it as a Christmas tree, and it looks beautiful! So I had to have a go... I stamped the 'tree', and then masked off the panel, and used torn paper, ink dusters and inks to create the background. I added some 3D sparkle with Nuvo Glitter Drops, and then added snow by using watered-down gouache, flicked at the card. Yes, it went everywhere! But I love the effect. Thanks very much to Debbie for helping me with the technique! xx

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

HLS CAS:

Rubber Stamp Dance:

Allsorts: Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown: Anything Goes
Mix It Up: Anything Goes + optional twist



Ingredients:
Lavinia stamp: Small Whimsical Whisps
Adirondack ink: Denim
Nuvo Glitter Drops: White Blizzard
White gouache

New Daisies!

Hi! I bought a stamp set last week after falling in love with some cards I saw on Pinterest. It arrived yesterday and I love it so much! Here's a card I made for the Tuesday Throwdown challenge: 'Favourite Colour'. I love blues and purples, and my favourite colour is a kind of inky blue that's somewhere between blue and purple.

I made the card by stamping the outline in black, then inking up the filler stamp in blue and purple, then spritzing a couple of times with water before stamping. I love the simplicity of the result!

My lovely mate Debbie has got a similar stamp set to this, and she used a shimmer spray to smudge the inks. Really beautiful result... I am going to have to copy her and give that a try!

Anyway, here's my card:

Ingredients:

Stamps By Me: Amazing Daisy set

Artistry Inks: Indian Jamun, Blue Chase

Painted Harvest

Hi! I've been drooling over the Stampin' Up! Painted Harvest set for a while, and my lovely mate Debbie found it on eBay for me... would've been rude not to buy it! Here are a couple of cards I made with it. I masked the panel and then stamped the flowers. On the purple one, I added some leaves, and used an ink duster to colour some of the background green. On the blue one, I added mica powder to the flower centres and to the inked blue card border, but it's hard to see the shimmer in the photos.

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

Shopping Our Stash: 'Birthday'
Creative Inspirations: 'Something New' (stamp set)
MAWTT: 'CAS'
My Time To Craft: 'Something New' (stamp set)
Addicted to Stamps: 'Anything Goes'

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

Addicted To CAS: 'Ombre'

AAA Cards: 

Stamping Sensations: 'Cold and Frosty Colours'

Pink Gem Challenge: 'Cool in Blue'

Tuesday Throwdown: 'Anything Goes'

Ingredients:

Stamps from Stampin' Up! 'Summer Silhouettes' set

'Birthday Wishes' sentiment from Woodware 'Daisy Panel'
Artistry Ink pads: Indian Jamun, Lavender Dash, Pampas, Midnight Blue, Blue Chase

Sweet Poppy Mica Powder: Silver Pearl

Thank You!

Hi! Here's a card I put together today. I actually made the flowery background a few years ago, but wasn't sure what to do with it, so it's been kicking around in the unfinished projects pile! The background was made with Crafty Notions colour sprays, gilding flakes and stamped flowers. I covered the flowers with some sort of glaze, but I can't remember what I used now. Then I glued the glass pebbles to the flower centres. The background was a much larger piece, but I liked how this section of it looked through the frame so I cut it down to fit, then added the sentiment.

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp: 'It's a Stitch Up'
Tuesday Throwdown: 'So Very Thankful'
Fusion:

CAS-ual Fridays:

Cupcake Inspirations:

Creatalicious: 'Anything Goes with Optional Thanks'
Mix It Up: 'Anything Goes with Optional Stencilling'


Ingredients:
Flower stamp from Crafty Notions
Crafty Notions Colour Sprays
Gilding Flakes
Glass Pebbles
Some sort of glaze
Sentiment from Stampin' Up! set: Easy Events

Wildflowers

Hi! Here's a card I made today. I wanted a tall flower, so it would work for the current CAS(E) this Sketch challenge, so I sketched a flower. I rediscovered my watercolour pencils today! I'm not very good at colouring, so I roughly coloured with the pencils and then used a water brush to blend and soften the colours. When it was dry, I went over the flower with a fine black marker, and added some detail to the ground. I stamped the birthday sentiment, and used a Uni Posca pen to add little white dots to the flowers and leaves.

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

CAS(E) this Sketch:

Simply Create Too: 'Favourite Colour Combo' - I love blues, purples and greens together
Addicted to Stamps:

Tuesday Throwdown: 'Clean and Simple'


Ingredients:
Prismacolour Fine Line Markers, 0.1mm, 0.3mm
Faber-Castell Watercolour Pencils

'Birthday Wishes' sentiment from Woodware 'Daisy Panel'

Distress Oxide Ink: Peeled Paint
Uni Posca pen - White, 0.7mm

Stencilled Flower

Hi! Here's a card inspired by this week's Muse card. I used a stencil which can be used to create a detailed flower, and also to create the outline around the flower. I created the detailed flower first, using pink and orange distress oxides, and then filled in the background with a paler pink distress ink. I stamped the sentiment with the orange distress ink, then added gold Nuvo Drops to the flower centre and dotted the 'i's in the sentiment.

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

Muse:

Less Is More:

Inkspirational: 

Unicorn Challenge: 'Perfectly Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness'
Tuesday Throwdown: 'Stencilling'



Ingredients:
Stencil Girl Products: Deconstructed Chrysanthemum Mask and Stencil
'Birthday Wishes' sentiment from Woodware 'Daisy Panel'

Distress ink: Picked Raspberry
Distress Oxide ink: Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade
Nuvo Drops: Pale Gold

The Dreaded 'Man Card'

Hi! Here's an attempt at a masculine card. I am so rubbish at these, and I really struggle not to add a bit of glitter, or a couple of gems... But with this one, I have kept it very simple, not even adding colour, so nobody can accuse it of being too girly, surely!? I stamped the cat, and extended the line he's lying on to go right across the card. Then I masked above the line, and used ink dusters to add shading below. I'm thinking I could maybe do a Christmas version of this - exactly the same, but with a bright red die cut Santa hat on his head!

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

CAS(E) This Sketch:

Sisterhood of Crafters: 'Oh Boy!'
HLS CAS:

Tuesday Throwdown: 'Happy Birthday'
Crafty Creations: 'Anything Goes'



Ingredients:
Katzelkraft stamp: 'Mini 03'

'Birthday Wishes' sentiment from Woodware 'Daisy Panel'

Rainbow Flower

Hi! When I was making a rainbow background for the card (here) for the Time Out challenge, there was still a lot of distress oxide ink on the block, so I used it on another piece of scrap card. This time it was a much softer rainbow wash, and I had a flower stamp just the right size for the piece of card. I wanted to make another card for the challenge, but keeping to the simple black lines of the flower this time. I stamped the image and embossed in black, then added Glossy Accents to the flower centres and buds, and the border. I had tried Glossy Accents on a scrap of card that had some distress oxides on, and it had changed the colour, bringing out the orange and yellow from the oxides underneath, so I was hoping for the same effect here. Unfortunately the colour stayed the same, so maybe it only works when you have layers of oxides and mixed colours. In this card the colours are in separate lines. I'll have to experiment! So I coloured the petals a darker shade of the colour from the background, then added Glossy Accents to them, to make them stand out. I printed out the sentiment, going with ' Happy Birthday Sweetie' because the colours remind me of sweets!

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:

Time Out

CAS Mix-up (Heat embossing and Glossy Accents)

Tuesday Throwdown: 'Happy Birthday'


Ingredients:
Distress Oxide Inks: Candied Apple, Spiced Marmalade, Fossilized Amber, Peeled Paint, Broken China, Wilted Violet
Woodware 'Daisy Panel'
Stampendous embossing powder: Detail Black

Glossy Accents

Here's the scrap of distress oxides, with some Glossy Accents added. Strange how it has brought the oranges and yellows out!

Oxides and Die Cutting!

Hi! I recently bought a Big Shot machine, after years of resisting the temptation. I'm not going to admit how many dies I have bought so far, and I know it's only the start of a very slippery slope... Today I had a go at making some cards with die cuts and backgrounds made from Distress Oxides. This is what I've made so far. I used some Glimmer Mist on the backgrounds, so they have a bit of a shimmer, but you can't really tell from the photos.

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:
Less Is More: 'Royal Green and Lime Blue'
Unicorn Challenge: 'Birthday'

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:
HLS Watercolour: 'Anything Goes with Optional Twist: Spritz' (The background was spritzed with water, and then with Glimmer Mist)
Tuesday Throwdown: 'Punches and/or Dies'

I'm entering this one in the following challenges:
City Crafter: 'Pick One'

Watercooler Wednesday: 'Feminine Anything Goes'

Ingredients:

Distress Oxide Inks: Faded Jeans, Twisted Citron, Picked Raspberry, Broken China, Spiced Marmalade

Dies: Spellbinders: 'Make A Wish', Xcut: 'Meadow Flowers', Presscut: 'Happy Birthday'

Glimmer Mist: 'Iridescent Gold'

Crystal Parade gem: Clear