Reminder Post for The Flower Challenge #21Use A Previous Challenge

This time I decided to go with Challenge #10 which was Embossing Heat/Dry

I have put one card up on the blog at The Flower Challenge but I actually made two cards, using a stamp I have had for quite a while just haven't used for a bit. Thats what happens so much nowadays with so many stamps coming out. I think we could probably stamp a stamp a day and still not repeat once in the year.

Now first I have to say I have always loved the cards done by Anita from My Papercraft World, I love her style and technique and colours and have always loved the fact that she uses a type of linen card stock that just looks amazing for just about all of her cards. I have looked high and low to find the same here in Australia and have not been able to find anything that has pleased me.

This is the closest I have come so far. I am currently trying out this cardstock that I ordered and have stamped and heat embossed on then Copic coloured on. I cant say whether it does well with Copics yet as the copics are within the embossed area and very light towards the embossed edges.

I do like the look. The image stamped really well. I stamped in black ink and quickly added clear embossing powder. I then coloured with copics trying not to touch the embossed areas as much as I could as the copic ink will break down the embossed area (apparently).

I love how it turned out keeping the colour really light towards the outer edge of the petals.

There is a wonderful sentiment that goes with this flower stamp that is from Technique Tuesday but I was just too chicken to try stamping on the linen cardstock as the sentiment was quite long and small print. I decided it wouldn't look right with an attached copy of the sentiment either as the stamped flower is level with the card.

So my best choice was of course a die cut and a shiny and silver one at that 'Just Because.....' straight under the flower to me was the perfect placement. To brighten the card and take it from black sadness to pink brightness.

Next I decided to stamp and white emboss. It is truly beautiful but needs to be seen IRL to be appreciated. Stamping onto this linen cardstock has not affected the image at all, it has stamped and embossed perfectly.

I went with blue Copics this time and faded the yellow out as it sent up to a very pale yellow though it looks like no yellow here, it is there at the top.

This time the sentiment is slightly smaller and because I have gone light and bright I have gone gold with the sentiment and slightly angled for 'hello sunshine'

Now it's time to go see what Stef our Guest Designer and the rest of the Design Team have been up to and they won't disappoint you. There is so much inspiration over there at 

The Flower Challenge

I expect to see many more cards and projects joining us in the next 10 days. 

Remember your choices can be anything from our Previous Challenges, that leaves the door wide open and we would love to see you there.

Thank you so much for coming to visit and I hope you come again soon.

Challenges:

Crafting With Friends Challenge #69 Anything Goes

Just Because

A Bit More Time To Craft Challenge #70 Anything Goes

Just Because

Southern Girls Challenge Team Lou Anything Goes

Just Because

Crafting With An Attitude Challenge #40 Anything Goes

Hello Sunshine

Fab 'N Funky Challenge #398 Bring Me Sunshine

hello sunshine

Smile, take time to enjoy the simple things

Another one of those times where I am entering a challenge at the last minute. I forgot that Just Us Girls Challenge this week is Alcohol inks and I had been playing around. It hit me about an hour ago and I thought bugger missed it. BUT then I thought, mmmm just check it out first

Still an hour to go, wha hoooo

So I made a panel with lots of reds, oranges, pinks and yellow, kept adding blending solution in streams so the panel was rather rich in colour not blown on this piece. You will see it a bit clearer further down.

I decided to cut the 'smile' sidecut that is for shaker window but I didnt want to fill with

sequins in this instance. I did add acetate behind so the cut frame and 'smile' would attach

again without any problem.

This is inside the card. Its so hard to show the richness of this piece, lightening to show the yellow and pink there, you will just have to imagine the depth of the colours. And the sentiment sits perfectly below it.

Here side on you can see the circle of the alcohol ink piece. The butterfly was cut from the same piece but an outer edge where the colours are much lighter. Can you see the little heart sequins below the butterfly (butterfly poo's!!! ohh Aileen you are so immature sometimes)

Only added a couple of larger sequins as I felt that was enough. As is often said sequins become the longest part of the card, sitting pondering, trying to decide, looking inside, should I, yes - no. 

Time waits for no man (or woman)

Its time to link it up

Just Us Girls #444 Trend Week

And for those of you who haven't visited in the last couple of weeks here's the Alcohol Ink Chart I made recently with my  Tim Holtz Ardublock Inks. Still to add my other inks

All here except my gold, silver and bronze as I don't like their flow. After dropping a drop on yupo paper I then flicked the pieces with blending solution.

Well thanks for coming to visit and I hope you come again soon

Challenges Added:

HLS June Challenge CAS 

HLS June Challenge Anything Goes With Dies

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #296 Anything Goes

Three random cards just because I felt like it.

Have you notice that peoples comments left on your blogs are no 

longer coming through to you as emails????

Now that I have mentioned it, you have just realised that you haven't read a comment lately!!

Well thats because Blogger has changed things again. My goodness why they cant leave good enough alone is beyond me. But the only way to fix this is to 

 a) Do your post as usual

b) publish as usual

c) now before anyone can comment make a comment yourself (doesn't matter what)

d)click on notify me before you hit that button publish

NOW YOU WILL RECEIVE COMMENTS MADE ON YOUR BLOG AND

YES YOU NEED TO DO THIS EVERY TIME TO POST

OR TILL BLOGGER CHANGES SOMETHING ELSE

Now my cards:

This first card was just because I felt like making a card with a bit of humour. I've combined a couple of stamp sets and with some masking managed to get the scene you see, the crab on the surf board asking 'What's Up??' Built the sea around the crab and added in the shark fin. There is already some sea and those water drops around the crab. It's a great little stamp and comes with some really neat

little sentiments but I cant find who made it. So if anyone recognises it please tell me as I would like to note for future reference. Anyway after stamping I coloured with Copics and stamped the sentiment. The idea of the card is that its for a someone you haven't heard from for a while and wondering why?

Next up, well I couldn't resist making another friend card, I coloured this the other day and showing my friends on Facebook, now I'm sharing here and will add to the Less is More Challenge if there is still time as its perfect I think.

Aren't they just the bees knee. Actually they make me think of Elysha and my eldest grandson.Very much best friends and it's so funny when Elysha says to me my little Keegan who at 16 is extremely tall 6' 7" and still growing and Elysha who missed out on height in our over tall family  4' 10" 

I love this dog stamp and the sentiment that comes with it and cant wait to play with it some more.

My final card

is a set of stamps I have had a while, layered stamps from Altenew using watercolour technique.

I have used Distress Inks, watercolour cardstock, each time doing the layers in different colours lightest through to darkest with a light spray of water onto the stamp after inking up each time.

Once the ink was dry I went over some of the petals with a shimmer brush to add some glitter which you can see better if you click on the photos to enlarge and go to the closeup photo. I had to quickly blow-dry once flower where I ended up sticking the diecut as the water got a bit too wet the green started to swell and spread. I then attached the 'thank you' die cut and some clear gems. 

Quite happy with the end result but still not totally wrapped in the layered stamping technique.

Thank you so much for coming to visit and I hope you come again soon.

Challenges:

'Less is More' Challenge #373 Friendship

Friends come in all.....

The Daily Marker 30 Day Colouring Challenge Day 11

Friends come in all.....

Crafting Creations Challenge #368 Anything Goes

Friends come in all......

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge #296 Anything Goes

Whats Up??

Work It Wednesday May 2018 Simon Says Stamps

What's Up??

Inspiration Destination Challenge Blog #152 Anything Goes Twist Use A Real Stamp

My first time playing at Inspiration Destination and I have used

four stamps including the sentiment stamp and the water stamp that

I used multiple times.

Crafting From The Herat #210 Anything Goes

Flowers 'Thank you'

613 Avenue Create Challenge #210 Anything Goes without the Twist

Flowers 'Thank you'

Penny Black and More: June: In The Garden

Flowers 'Thank You'

Motivation from Kathy's The Daily Marker30 Day Colouring Challenge

Every time Kathy has a Colouring Challenge I try to participate and most times I do colour every day. Some Challenges I have just coloured as I have not been home but down with mum and dad or babysitting and other times like now I am home most of the time so card making has been easier so I have coloured then made the colouring into a card.

This was one of those 10 minutes of colouring sessions and I love the yellow and green together. I was inspired to put these together after seeing a card on Instagram by @sharontraynordesigns who also has the blog address frommycraftdesk  and she had done a card with yellow and green butterflies and I really liked the two colours together.

This stamp must people would recognise as a Stamping Bella stamp and is a first time used and I just love it, its so sweet. So easy to colour, a redhead and a blonde, a light blue sky, a slight grey shadow.

A couple of sparkly dots up top and a heart dot to go with the sentiment as it matched their hands perfectly.

I also find that Kathy's Challenges bring out the craft room set ups in quite a few of us.

We all start looking at our pencils and copics and paints and checking our swatches, redoing, or making new ones, updating. Just in time for this colouring challenge Sandy Allnock has come out with a hex chart for  pencils (Luminance Polychromo and Prismacolor). Actually I don't know when she put them together but suddenly I am seeing all these people colouring theirs in as part of the colouring challenge. 

I have the COPIC one and I love it as its a great way to see what colours work well together. For those of you who have never heard of it, the idea is that Sandy has put the colours not in just colour order in a line as you see in a Copic list but a HEX chart six sided that shows the colours that work well together in blends. Its a fantastic way to see what to buy next to get a good mix in colours you like. I keep both charts fresh and up to-date, Sandy's Hex chart and the Copic list so I can look at both at a glance when colouring. Especially if I see an image I want to colour and they are suggesting a colour mix and it can save lots of looking for a colour that you don't actually have if you have your current Copic list up to-date.

I have made my own coloured pencil chart for my huge box of  pencils so will now get the HEX chart as it will give me some good mixes. I have also noticed that a lot of people have done half colour in very light shade and half in heavier, to give you an idea of he colour as richer - good idea. I did this on my box of pencils too as you always need to remember pencils are always about thin layers, building your layers.

Well enough layers now, so what have I been inspired to do, I decided to make an Alcohol ink Chart, I like easy access, visual, not put away.

I laminated an A3 sheet which is A4 or double Letter size so a good size. then I punched a pile of yupo ( 1 sheet A4 size label tag then dropped one drop of each ink on). Left them to dry. When dry I wrote on the back of each what they were then I cut up a pile of velcro dots, both sides in quarters, as they didnt need to be big or strong and I hate waste. I know they look really pitiful but hey those pieces of yupo are so light.

Anyway I then added dots seven along bit up and down as I am obsessive but not totally so my things never end up totally perfect (lol) and then I wrote very small their names. This way I can pull off, look at different mixes and ideas. Amazing to look and see that some colours automatically split no matter how much you shake you will always see two colours in the splatter, others change when drops of blending solution added (i flicked some on each). Some are so hard to compare to their name.

I will add some Copic refill colours for colours lacking and also plan to add some from another brand but have a very good mix here. Don't like the gold and silver that comes with this brand.

Then I decided to make swatches for my Distress Oxides. These are the Same as my Distress Ink ones. Big and easy to play with. I punch a hole in the white end on the corner and they all hang on a ring that I can undo and remove them from. I have done this with so many of my paints as its a great way to be able to see what colours look good together. Other than that brown there do you think I like brights???

After blending them all I flicked water and then blotted. Love these and my Distress Ink ones.

Last but certainly not least my granddaughter has caught the bug. She decided to draw the unicorn. I have taken a photo here of the two together.

But here you can see the unicorn in more detail. She did this on her own then showed me this morning. Look at that detail, the curls near the hoofs, the shadowing around the mouth, the mane getting longer as it goes down. Not bad for a five year old hey. Told her it was amazing and I would enter it in the Colouring Challenge.

#thedailymarker30daykids

Challenges

The Daily Marker 30 Day Colouring Challenge Day 9

A best friend is someone who........

Less Is More Challenge #373 Friendship

A friend is some who.......

Crafting with An Attitude Challenge #40 Anything Goes

A friend is someone who......

Crafting From the Heart Challenge #210 Anything Goes

A friend is someone who.....

Thank you for coming to visit and I hope you come again soon.