More stenciling multiple ways

I got some new goodies this week and one was an Altenew stencil called " Flowing Hearts" as well as a new Altenew ink pad called "Enchanted Gold".  It's a pigment ink that is very shimmery.    So I used a technique from the class "Stenciling Multiple Ways" - using a pen to outline the heart. 

I blended the gold ink through the stencil with blending brushes.  I then added a clear sparkle gelly roll pen around each swirl.  It's hard to see ... here's a close up

It's so shimmery in real life.   I also added a few spots of white gel pen on the little dots and circles.   You can also see the shimmer in the ink, where I did a direct to paper technique for die cutting the sentiment. 

Also part of my new goodies were some Lucy's Little Things clear gems.   They are gorgeous and finished this card perfectly.

I'm entering this into the Anything Goes challenge at Simon Says Stamp as well as at The Sisterhood of Crafters - Wedding or Anniversary. 

I'm super excited as my daughter, son in law and grandson arrive at 6.00am tomorrow morning.  I haven't seen them since mid July last year... so can hardly wait.  I'll have both my children and both my grandchildren at home... and even more special they will be here for my birthday on the 14th.  First time in a number of years everyone has been together. 

WWC#223 Anything Goes challenge

Hello there, it’s time for another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  This week is an "Anything Goes" challenge being the 5th Wednesday of the month.

Can you image it's the end of May.  5 months of the year gone by...   Today I have a birthday card to share. 

I have to admit to making the ink blended stenciled flower some time ago as part of a class was taking over at Altenew Academy, but it sat unfinished for some time.  So here it finally is, all completed.   I used a Penny Black stencil called Lustre.  I used Altenew inks in Coral Bliss, Hydrangea,  Green Fields and Firefly.  Once I had finished the stenciling, I gently blended some of the Coral Bliss and Firefly over the entire roses and leaves to give a glow.  I then used a Coral and Green Prismacolor pencil to add some detailing.  Add the Nuvo white drops.  I added a sentiment from Altenew Happy Bloom set and some clear sequins.  The sentiment is curved to fit a banner in the stamp set, but like the look it gives just stamped here. 

Come join in the fun.  Check out the projects that the artists at Watercooler Wednesday Challenges have created then take the challenge and link your creation to the challenge post. We’d love to have you join us.  You have until Mondays at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (Tuesdays at midday NZ time) to link up your project.

Laugh and Live - May Card Chain Challenge.

I'm sharing my card for the May Card Chain Challenge as Helen, my recipient  has received the card.

 

 I decided to use the Sketch this month 

I used some pretty Patterned paper for the bottom half of my card and a stripe of green to separate the two areas.  The beautiful floral image is from Altenew's Wallpaper Art set.  I used Altenew Alcohol markers and Spectrum Noir markers to colour the flowers and leaves.  I then used my Scan'n'Cut to cut out the flower and leaves.  I stamped the sentiment from Kaisercraft's Violet Crush set.   Some gold gems finished off the card.  

Thanks for stopping by today.

Stencilled Multiple Ways...

I've been taking part in the latest Altenew Academy class "Stencilled Multiple Ways" with tutor Laurel Beard.  Such a fun class

 

I've watched Day 1-5 but been quite busy and only have done homework for Day 1 - which was all about masking while stenciling. 

I don't have many Altenew stencils (although my stash of stencils is quite large) so started by using the Cube Builder stencil.

I masked off some of my panel.  Can you pick up the boo boo I did?  I lined up my stencil with the masked area and ended up with my stencil a bit skew-iff.   I used inks from the Spring Bouquet set and my blending brushes.  I added a blended flower from the Wallpaper Art stamp set with a leaf from the set and a sentiment from Sincere Greetings.

As I wasn't overly happy with this one, I tried another one. 

For this one I used Classy Stripes stencil and the same inks.  I masked off a portion of the panel and blended the pink stripes first, then turned the stencil 90 degrees and blended the green ink.   Was liking this stenciling much more.  I used the Painted Flowers stamp set, to make the flowers and leaves using the Spring Bouquet inks.  I die cut a Simon Says Stamp stitched circle and added the flowers to it before adding to the panel.  A simple thank you sentiment finished the card.

I'm hoping to have some time this week to get some crafting done as my daughter and her family arrived for two weeks from next Saturday.  It's a long weekend - Queens Birthday weekend - so I get to spend three days with them, then they are heading south to the snow for a few days and to visit relatives before I take the second week off to spend with them.    

Thanks for stopping by

May Flowers at Die Cut Divas

It's my day to share over at Die Cut Divas .   Our theme is May flowers and our sponsor is

 

I chose to use this sweet image

These little poppets are just the cutest ever.  I printed her and then die cut with a Spellbinders square,  I brushed on some pale blue ink while the die was still in place.  I used my computer to print the sentiment.  The base card has been embossed with a floral folder.  

Do come at join us at Die Cut Divas with your flower projects

Dawn T and the Divas

WWC#222 Helen's "All About Occasions" challenge

Hello there, it’s time for another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Helen is our hostess this week with an "All about Occasions" challenge.

I'm building up my Birthday card stash so here's another one.  I has reviewed one of my Altenew Academy class... All About Layering 3 and day 1 used Altenew Sweet Rose Bouquet.  

I stamped the layered rose set onto some white card using Altenew Enchanted Garden mini cubes (Wisteria, Hydrangea, Ultraviolet and Andromeda) for the roses and Green Valley set (Firefly, Green Field and Shadow Creek) for the leaves. I fussy cut the rose bouquet with scissors and a craft knife.  I wanted some soft brown stripes and wasn't able to find any in my huge hoard of Patterned papers, so just took a sheet and turned it over and took the Altenew Classy Stripes stencils, my blending brush and Vanilla Cream ink and made my own.  I added a lovely lacy washi tape along the bottom.  I chose to use a sentiment from a Clearly Besotted set A few purple sequins and it was done.

Come join in the fun.  Check out the projects that the artists at Watercooler Wednesday Challenge have created then take the challenge and link your creation to the challenge post. We’d love to have you join us.  You have until Mondays at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (Tuesdays at midday NZ time) to link up your project

Amazingly Amazing.

Today I'm sharing a card I made for a colleague.  It's to say thanks for being so awesome.  Jen and I have been working together over the past two and a bit weeks to support and assist our other colleagues with coming to terms with the business transformation and changes our work has made.  She has been just amazingly amazing. 

My long time arriving parcel arrived last week and I finally had time to play.

As the background die is A2 American size which is different to our NZ sizing, I adapted it by using the pieces that came out of the die.  I used die cut as a template to add the pieces and then mounted onto the mat.  I stamped the Book Club stamp and added the sentiment from Catherine Pooler Designs "Lovely Flowers"   I used Alcohol markers to colour up the image.  I used the image on the die cut package for my inspiration.   Once I had die cut the stamp, I added to the base.  Added some white Nuvo drops.

Off to the beach for the weekend and then to visit Grace and her Mum and Dad on the way home on Sunday. 

Sparkle and Shine at Southern Girls

Hi there... It's Team Trace's turn to share at Southern Girls Challenge again.
Our lovely sponsors are

I am Roses.

I got to work with a sweet image from All Dressed Up... called Summer Breeze

Once I had printed and coloured my image, I die cut with a Spellbinders die and added to a gold 

glittered scalloped oval.  The blue background card was embossed with a daisy folder.  I added gold Wink of Stella to the centre of the flowers for added sparkle and shine. 

Come and join  us at Southern Girls Challenge with your Sparkle 'n' Shine project. 

WWC#221 Tristan's Masculine "Anything Goes" challenge

Hello there, it’s time for another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge. Tristan is our hostess this week with a masculine "Anything Goes" challenge.

My card today uses a Stampin' Up set called "Wetlands" together with some masking and sponging.

I started by stamping the geese... one and then masking it to stamp the other.  While I left the masks on, I used Altenew inks - Rocky Shore, Caribbean Sky and Frosty pink to blend over the background.

I removed the masks and coloured my geese with Zig Marker (Light Green) Copic (light gray) and pencil (orange)   Not sure what made me choose green geese!  What was I thinking!!!! Added the sentiment and it was ready to be matted onto some brown then maroon card before adding to a cream card base. 

Come join in the fun.  Check out the projects that the artists at Watercooler Wednesday Challenges have created then take the challenge and link your creation to the challenge post. We’d love to have you join us.  You have until Mondays at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (Tuesdays at midday NZ time) to link up your project.

Another Snarky Christmas Card

My bloggy friend Jo, runs a great challenge called "Christmas Kickstart"  The latest challenge is "S for Snarky"

I have a number of Bugaboo images that are Christmas snarky so I've entered a couple of Snarky cards.

First one

I used watercolour paints to colour up this image and to make the striped background. 

and my second one:

For this one, I printed the snow globe and coloured with Alcohol markers, some white paint pen, and some glitter glue.    I embossed some white card for my textured base and added the snow globe

I had some fun with these cards.

Baby Grace is now home and all cozy in her own bed. Mummy is not sleeping well and is feeling very tired, but I am so proud how my son has stepped up to help with baby and give her time to rest and gain her strength again

Thanks for stopping by today.

AECP - Color Your Day

Today I am sharing a couple of cards I made as part of my Altenew Educators Certification Program -

I am working on my Level 2 program.  The class I am working on is called "Color Your Day".  This class was taken by Therese Calvird.  She is a fabulous tutor and this class was awesome. The class was designed to help you feel more confident using color in your projects.  You can be inspired by colours and that inspiration can come from literally everywhere.  Therese used some photos to give her inspiration in day one's class. 

I did some Pinterest searching to find colour combinations that inspired me.  Here's what I found

Blue and yellow became my inspiration

My first card used a Dark Navy base and then I made a bouquet using flowers and leaves from the "Adore You" set.  I coloured these with a combination of Altenew markers an Spectrum Noir markers. As I don't have the dies, I fussy cut the flowers and leaves before layering them together.  The sentiment is from "Fresh Freesia" set.  I added a frame drawn with a white gel pen and some white Nuvo drops.

I also made this card inspired by the blues and yellows.

This time I used a slightly lighter blue base.   I started by stamping the "Fresh Freesia" stamp onto some white card and coloured it with the markers.  I then fussy cut - time consuming as I used a craft knife so I could get it close to the stamped image.  I added it to the card and then white embossed the sentiment from the same set.  I cut a quick mask from computer paper and laid it over the flower, while I added the splatters of watered down silver acrylic paint.  I trimmed the image and added to a white card base.

I learn a lot from this class.  Colour inspiration is all around us.  Use of a colour wheel can also help with finding the colours that work together.  Therese also explain a formula that is a guide to a good combination for using colours together... 70 / 20 / 10.

Thanks for stopping by today. 

Introducing Grace Georgina Turley

Our beautiful Granddaughter has finally arrived... 11 days overdue on 10th May 2019 at 1.59am, weighting in at 8lbs 1oz (3.69kg) 

Mum, Dad and Grace 

 Proud Nanny with Grace

 Pop, Nanny and Grace

Happy Baby Grace

As Erin had to have a C-section, they spend the day and night at the hospital and today moved to the Birthing Centre in Warkworth (about 30 mins north of our place) to have a rest before going home in a few days.  We are heading up tomorrow morning to visit and cuddle again. 

Here's the card I made to celebrate her birth 

And then late afternoon got a panic message from my son... he hadn't got a Mother's Day card for Erin and asked me to make her one for tomorrow.  Lovely that Grace arrived in time to celebrate Mother's Day.  

A sweet little card for Grace to give to her new Mummy.  Inside it says "it doesn't get any better than this" 

Thanks for stopping by today.  One proud Nanny signing off

WWC#220 Kath's "All About Occasions" Challenge

Hello there, it’s time for another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Kath is our hostess this week with an "All About Occasions" challenge.

For today's card I was inspired by a sketch I used recently for a card swap.

I started by die cutting a square with a Spellbinders die.  I stamped one of the daisies from Altenew's "Spring Daisy" set in Industrial Diamond with Sunkisssed  with Firebrick for the centre.  The leaves used Green Fields with a touch of Shadow Creek.  I layer this panel on some more card and trimmed it 1/16" around.  I used a few scraps of a dark yellow and orange card to draw the eye to the focal image.  The sentiment is from Altenew "Sincere Greetings set " 

Come join in the fun and make a card for your choice of occasion. Check out the projects that the other artists at Watercooler Wednesday Challenges have created, then take the challenge and link your creation to the challenge post. We’d love to have you join us. You have until Mondays at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (Tuesdays at midday NZ time) to link up your project.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Bleach painting...

My NZ swap group this month had a theme of Bleach... I haven't used this technique for quite some time but it's one I do like. 

I just love this lovely big Tim Holtz butterfly and sentiment.  I stamped in black ink and clear embossed as this makes it easier to do the bleach painting.  I used an old paint brush and some liquid bleach to paint the butterfly.  I used my heat gun to dry the painting.  This causes the bleach area to lighten up.  You never know what colour the bleach will cause. I like that grey/lilac colour that the bleaching made.   I used a dark grey envelope and white embossed part of the butterfly and bleach it as well.  Forgot to take a photo but it looked awesome.

Well it's been 8 days past Due Date and still no sign of the baby.  If nothing happens by Wednesday evening Erin is going to have an induction.  So by the weekend we'll definitely have our granddaughter. 

Progressive Card Making - Day 6 Washi Tape

Well after starting and going rip, s**t and bust on this class... I haven't had time to do much on the last few days of classes.  Work has been hectic...working 8 - 81/2 hours each day.  The transformation went well on the whole, but a few little niggles.  Our front of house area has increased it's opening hours so longer days. 

Today, I can a little bit of time to have a play, after doing a DT card, I did a card for the Washi Tape class.  I was inspired by some of the blog hop participants for the latest Altenew washi tapes.  I've got one of the new ones on order... so used an older one I have called  "Monochrome"

I started by adding the washi to some white card stock and then fussy cut out this spray.  I used some ink blending and stenciling as well as some ink splattering for the background.  I used Altenew Morning Frost to blend then add more ink through a Memory Box Textured Diamonds stencil.  I used some Lava Rock and  Midnight Velvet to add the splatters.   I added the cut out washi and then added a Hero Arts Hello die cut - cut once in white and once in navy blue card.

This class has been one of my favourite Altenew classes.  Justine Hovey was an excellent tutor and I thoroughly enjoyed taking part.  I still have a few days homework to do.

We are still waiting for our little Princess.  One week overdue tomorrow.  Hopefully by the end of next weekend we will be able to cuddle her.

WWC #219 Heidi's Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge

Hello there, it’s time for another Watercooler Wednesday Challenge.  Heidi is our hostess this week with a Feminine "Anything Goes" Challenge.

 

I've made a Birthday card today - in a few days (6th May) it's my daughter's birthday so this has made it's way over to Perth.

 For this card I did some masking.  I started by stamping the Floral Bliss stamp from Simon Says Stamp and made a mask to cover it so I could stamp the vase from Altenew's Versatile Vases set.  I used the matching stencil to do my sponging with Altenew Sea Breeze ink.  I then used the mask stencil to sponge Altenew Limestone ink for the background.  The sentiment is from the Versatile Vases set.  The flowers were coloured with a combination of Copics, Spectrum Noir and Altenew markers.  I added some clear Nuvo drops to the centre of my roses.  A few pink sequins finished off my card

Come join in the fun.  Check out the projects that the artists at Watercooler Wednesday Challenges have created then take the challenge and link your creation to the challenge post. We’d love to have you join us.  You have until Mondays at 5 p.m. Mountain Standard Time (Tuesdays at midday NZ time) to link up your project.

I'm entering this into the challenge at Simon Says Stamp, Wednesday challenge. 

Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your visit.