Use a sentiment....

Creative Craft Cottage has it's fortnightly challenge up and running and our theme is Use a sentiment.

Our sponsor this fortnight is Karleigh Sue

And here is my card

The sentiment stamp I used is from a Tim Holtz  set I got last week with my Simon Says Stamp order.  As you know I like to use dies and embossing on my cards and this one certainly does.  The brick wall embossing folder is by Sizzix and the die from Spellbinders.

As you read this, I am enjoying a holiday break away on Kawau Island... We arrived Friday and are staying till Thursday.  We are staying in a friend's bach (holiday house).  To get to the island you came over by ferry.  Our bach is then 49 steps up the hill from the wharf and  51 steps down to the water... so nestled in the bush.  I've got some photos on my iPhone so once I upload I'll do a post showing you the seclusion. Not a lot to do but read, swim and occasionally catch up with blogs... don't have a whole heap of data on my phone which I'm hotspotting so I can use the computer.

Thanks for visiting.

The Moment a Child is Born

I did promise another baby card... This one is for Die Cut Divas, using a lovely quote from Quietfire Designs.  

I made this card for my niece who had a baby boy in December.  I used this adorable image from Mo's Digital Pencil. It's called Hush.  I coloured it with Copics.  The dies are by Spellbinders - Fancy Labels and the original labels.  I sponged the die centre with the die in place.  

Do pull out your words/quotes/sentiments and joined us at Die Cut Divas.

"Sometimes said Pooh........."

I'm back with another card for Die Cut Divas  Did I tell you I've fallen in love with the amazing sentiment/Quote stamps from Quietfire Design.

I used the stamp " Sometimes said Pooh"...and a die from Sue Wilson's Scandinavian collection

I used some PP from a Couture Creations and a very simple design.  I embossed the quote and cut out the frame.  Finished with a little bow with ribbon that came as an extra from my order from Ellen Hudson.

We would love to see you join us at Die Cut Divas with your sentiment/quote cards.

I've got Butterflies on the Brain!

or so it would seem... for days now I've been dreaming up a butterfly shaker card so I could enter into the challenge at Virginia's View.  Took some time this morning to get it done...

It turned out just as I had hoped and dreamed it would.... I used a pile of chunky glitter that came as a freebie with a magazine.  My die cut butterflies are from Memory Box... the Tristan and Chloe butterflies.. one a solid die and the other the filigree one that matches.  I used some fun foam for my dimensional layer.  Inlaid the filigree die over the acetate layer.  

and here are some photos of the butterflies in my garden.

these two were fighting with each other.

Off to the beach for a swim now... just LOVE summer!

Inpsired by Catherine Pooler and Jill Foster....

I've joined Catherine Pooler's StampNation... an amazing online site that has lots of videos and techniques and a fabulous forum.

Catherine is a fabulously talented lady - very real too... you'll often see her making mistakes and bloppers and then showing you how to fix them.  I really enjoy visiting... On one of my recent visits to StampNation, I watched a video by Catherine that was inspired by one she'd seen Jill Foster do.  Jill is another extremely talented artist.  The technique both ladies used was a Ghost background... a very simple but effective technique where you stamp a background in versamark ink and let it dry.  Once dried, you sponge on distress ink and paints.  It give a very subtle background.  I CASE'd the card that Catherine did...

Can you see the subtle background.  It's a Hero Arts background stamp.  My green colour is Bundled Sage.  My focal panel is made using a Penny Black Sunflower stamp. I used Distress Markers to colour the stamp and spritzed with water before stamping.  I then used Wink of Stella to move the colour around a bit.   The sentiment is from a Winner and Walter set.  I used a Fiskers punch to cut the panel edge and added some PP down the side.  Finished with some Pretty Pink Posh sequins. 

Here's a close up of the beautiful background. 

This is will be a background technique I will be trying again. 

Live your Dream with Passion

That's one of the sentiments in one of the new Tim Holtz stamp sets...

 

I got this set in today's parcel from Simon Says Stamp together with  couple more stamp sets, a die set from DieNamics, a stencil, some sticky adhesive sheets, a new Wink of Stella pen, micropore tape, SSS Fog card stock, mini brushes and the January Distress ink colour Cracked Pistachio... 

So what's girl to do.... but create.

I took some Strathmore watercolour paper and used distress markers in Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain to colour up the stamp.  Spritzed with water and then stamped onto the paper.  Used an old Wink of Stella pen that I've added water to, to move the colour around.  Lots of sparkle in real life.   The die was cut with the watercolour paper and the sentiment stamped in Versafine black ink.    Once the butterfly had dried, I fussy cut it and added with some dimensional tape.  I finished it off with some gems.  The panel was added to a kraft card which had been embossed and inked with Antique Linen distress ink.  

I have added this to the "Favourite Quote or Saying" at Crafting When We Can blog.

Winged Things at Southern Girls Challenge

It's another challenge day over at Southern Girls Challenge blog and our sponsors this fortnight are -   Stamps by Aurora Wings and Retail Girl.

  The DT got to work with some of Mitzi's images and I chose a ballerina

  
I printed off the image a bit larger and then cropped it.  I then used a circle die and a scalloped fancy die for the frame.  I distressed the edges of the background PP and the die.  Added some Prima flowers and some punched leaves.   The PP is from a pack from Couture Creations.

We would love to have you join us with your "Winged Things".                        

Embossing at A2Z Scrapbooking

Been playing this afternoon and made this card for A2Z Scrapbooking challenge... hope just using a Hero Arts sentiment is okay.

I used an embossing folder to make the centre panel.  My sentiment is from Hero Arts and inked in Versafine Black.   My flowers are from a stamp by JOFY from PaperArtsy.  I stamped it three times, coloured the flowers with Copics and fussy cut.  Added some enamel dots to the centres.

I'm also entering this into the challenge at City Crafters - You Matter.  Thinking of you seems to fit the theme I hope!

Thanks for stopping by today.