Gold and Silver Christmas cards.....

I still need a few more Christmas cards and have just picked up the latest copy ( or at least the latest here in NZ) of Cardmaking and Papercraft magazine.  It is the Nov 2010 issue and in it was a lovely card by Karen Watson that used Krylon webbing and silver ink.  I decided to CASE the card using what I had to hand... namely a crackle stamp that looks a bit like the webbing, and using some Hero Arts and Papermania snowflake stamps.  This is what I came up with....

I wasn't entirely happy with the snowflake.  Realised I should have embossed both the crackle and the snowflake.  So embossed the snowflake and replaced the panel

Much better!!!!!  in fact I so liked the design, I decided to do it again, this time in gold and white.

I embossed both the crackle and the snowflake on this one and was much more pleased with the results.

As both used a Hero Arts stamp, I have entered into the challenge for December - under the shine part, and as it was a CASEd card, both have been entered into the Wee Memories challenge this week and I have also entered both into the Caardvarks final challenge as they are monochromatic.

One last little tidbit.... one of the guys I work with, Mike, created this little ditty of the 4 of us who work together..... it's a bit of a laugh.  See if you can recognise me
Elf yourself



Take care all.... While many of you are suffering the cold weather.... I am SWELTERING in very humid conditions.... so stuffy here tonight.

Caardvarks Christmas Tags in August!!!

Caardvarks challenge is Christmas minis or tags... so I thought I'd do a set to make a start for Christmas.  Once the holiday is over in Sept there is only 2 months to our daughter's wedding.... so need to be organised this year with Christmas!!!!
I decided I like the little singing mice on the card I had made the other day so decided to mask off two of them and just stamp one.

I coloured him with the Pearlescent paints and some Copics, added a few musical notes and stamped the Just for You sentiment from a Hero Arts Sparkle Clear set.  The background scallop is die cut from some paper that has lots of presents on it.   I made 3 of these and 3 with a Penny Black Hedgehog

Once again I used Pearlescent paints and Copics to colour.  These are really cute stamps and the Pearlescent paints really give it a nice sparkle.

This shows the two tags together.  I did the scarf and mittens in different colours on all the tags.

I was also making a card last night to enter into Wee Memories challene ( Butterflies)  Had made some awesome background paper with distress inks, pearlised water and some water resist.  Had it all looking nice and decided to stamp and emboss the sentiment straight onto the background.... and what happen?  the silly stamp blurred and when I embossed the white .... it was like a double image.... Boy was I mad at myself... ruined the whole background...wasn't able to salvage any of it,.... Peeved off to the max.  Of course when I try to recreate the background it didn't look nearly as nice~~ Still working on it tonight. 

Thanks for stopping by....
This time 8.25pm next Wednesday we will be in the air.... yeah!!!!

More Penny Black's

)

I have a few Penny Black stamps and have found they suit the Pearlescent paints for colouring in. I did one yesterday afternoon and another one this afternoon. They are so quick to colour using this medium.

Yesterday I also used Card Patterns #76 sketch -

I changed it about a bit... putting the scallop edge up the top rather than at the bottom.
I used some PP I found on my desk...( not sure who it's by) and the green for the scallop and the sentiment are from Paint chips. I painted the Penny Black mice with Pearlescent paints and die cut the circle. I then sponged Distress ink with the die still in place. - Broken China for the sky and Bundled Sage for the grass. The Kaiser flower was sprayed with home-made glimmer mist... ( Wild Honey re-inker and Perfect Pearls mixed together) I added a small green button and the green pearls.

Today's card is also for the Caardvarks challenge ( Christmas Tag or mini card)  I made a 4 x 3 3/4 inch card with a Penny Black Slapstick stamp

I stamped with Versafine Black and quickly embossed with clear EP. I then used Pearlescent paints to colour the image. Cut it to size and stuck to the red base. Added a Peel Craft sentiment.  ( made a mess with the first one so had to added a piece of card with it on to cover the boo boo!!) A really nice a quick card.

Went back to work today, but still coughing a lot so came home at lunch time... everyone was getting annoyed at the noise I was making!!!!    MUST GET BETTER SOON!!!!  The countdown is on... 9 more sleeps!!!!

take care and have a great week.

Something a bit different.

I found this wonderful blog yesterday - while surfing and blog hopping with TiddlyInks.... Valita had this amazing template for an Iris fold dress.  I decided to give it a go and ended up making this card for my niece's 21st ( previous card now back in the pile!!!)  This one is so pretty I am really pleased with it.

The silver is a very shiny slippery piece of Christmas wrapping paper - but it gives such an awesome look.  I used the same Inkadinkado stamp that Valita used on her card.   ( Note - yet another Purple card!!!!!) 

Tonight I quickly made a Thanks card for the woman I sit beside at work.  Jasmine came in this morning with a pile of old stamps she had and doesn't use any more.... All of them by a company called All Night Media.  One of them was a lovely Spring Bouquet and I used it to make this card.... following one of the Caardvarks sketches for this months challenge.

I coloured in the image with my water colour pencils and cut it out with Label 4 ( just arrived today) and used some of the Kaisercraft paper and die cuts that also arrived today - part of my prize from Paula for the Cuttlebug challenge last month.... Thanks Paula.... ( will blog Em's card once I get a good photo of it!!)   The top scallop is cut with a new border die from Spellbinders. 

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day... dinner out with the kids and their partners was just lovely last night, a lovely finish to a wonderful day.  Have a great week.... and thanks for visiting.

More butterflies

As you know I LOVE butterflies... so when I got some new Distress ink this week - Vintage Photo, I decided to make another monochromatic card for Caardvarks challenge.  I know it doesn't have any core'dinations card... but I think that's okay.
For this one I started by stamping a script stamp over a white card - using the ink and second generation stamping so it was lighter. I then tore round the edge and distressed the whole sheet with the ink. I then inked up my Dandelion Frame and stamped it. I stamped the butterfly from the antique engravings onto the card and then twice onto scarp card. These two I distressed all over, cut out and double mounted with glue dots. Before putting the lot onto the cream card I distressed the card edges with the Vintage Photo ink as well. I added a little Kindyglitz gold glitter round the edges of the wings

Here is a close up... The glitter looks better in real life.

I am feeling a bit off colour today- woke with a bad headache ( luckily some Paracetamol has helped) but decided to sleep it off a bit... so now it is 11.15am and I have just gotten up to take the photo and blog this card.  I'll probably get some house work done as well as all weekend is Stamp Camp.... 2 FULL days of stamping and papercrafting... very exciting.  I can't believe a whole year has gone by since last one... but it has. 

Take care everyone and hope your weekend will be as exciting as mine!!!

Monochromatic Butterflies

Caardvarks current challenge is to use some Core'dinations card to make a monochromatic card. My LSS didn't have much available but I did find this Whitewash card, It is amazing when you put it through the Cuttlebug and sand it. The blue underneath colour comes through so well. I tore the edges to make the most of the two colours. The embossing folder was Jules Jewells and it is lovely. I put a small piece of the card through the Textile folder and punched out the butterflies with a Martha Stewart punch and added them to the card where the butterflies were on the base. Added the little sentiment at the bottom and all done.  Luckily this afternoon was fine and I was able to get outside to photograph the card.  We are still having an amazing run of weather.  Today was very warm and sunny even though it is getting darker earlier at nights and a bit cooler.
Thanks for stopping by

Spring has sprung in the Northern Hemisphere!!!

I was reading my niece's face book and she was saying how pleased she was Spring has come to Canada.  She lives in Toronto with her husband who is a Canadian.  So when I saw Caardvarks photo inspiration challenge - a lovely set of birdcages - I decided to combine a number of challenges and make a Spring card for Rachel.  I recently bought the Hero Arts Digi kit " and your bird can sing" and this is what I came up with

 

I started by resizing and printing the birdcage onto the cream cardstock.  I then used a negative from a nesties oval as a mask/template and sponged over the birdcase in Antique Linen distress ink.  I then overstamped the Hero Arts Old French writing in Sahara Sand Versamagic ink.  I added the "Happy spring" in black to stand out.  I matted onto the bright yellow and added the yellow butterflies (cut with a Martha Stewart punch) with some Kindyglitz on them.  Finished iwth the pale yellow ribbon.  I am also entering this into PaperPlay Challenges "Just Because" as I am sending it off to Rachel.  Plus it fits the Spring theme at Hero Arts...

I am dying to make some more bird-cage cards now I have this kit.  I have seen some wonderful examples using the stamp... 

I'm not sure what happened but I lost my lovely blog template last week, so decided a change was needed so I hope you like my new blog look.  There are so many lovely ones out there but Shabbyblogs.com have some really pretty ones as well as the headers.

Well thanks for popping in for a visit... I'm off to make some more cards - lots of birthday's this month.

Take care and have a great weekend all.

Caardvarks Digi challenge

Caardvarks Digi challenge

I seem to have come full circle..... when I started making cards for my family's birthdays many years ago I used to make them on the computer, using a program called "American Greetings" - the cards were very one dimensional - simply choose a design and print it out.... then I found stamping..... the cards got a bit better... more dimensional, better designed etc etc..... now I'm back to using the computer.... but oh how different it is now!!!!!
Caardvarks together with Hero Arts are having a challenge to incorporate some digital into your card, layout or other paper project... even if it just using the computer to print out a sentiment..... ( which I do heaps as I don't always have an appropriate sentiment stamp)
For this card I used a Hero Arts digi kit ( Snowman stamp) I printed it out twice ( from Word so I could easily resize). One image got layered onto the red cardstock and the other one got cut up and layered back on the image ( sort of decoupage) I added Liquid Appliqué round the edge of the hat and on the pompom. And I put glossy accents on the hat, the scarf and the buttons and heart. The sentiment here is stamped - a Hero Arts set from last Christmas called Joyful Greetings...
I have been using my computer for some time to download free background papers from all sorts of places - some of my favourites are the English Magazine sites: Cardmaking and Papercraft,  Papercraft Inspirations, Crafts Beautiful and Papercraft Essentials.  Now I have added 2 peasinabucket - as they have a lot of digital kits... some free, some pay to download....Hero Arts have now got 134 kits - and then there are all the others!!!!   So if you haven't tried digital - have a go..  I have to admit I do not do full digital.... I still love the feel of paper in my hand, but I am making use of the computer to help me make real cards - with just as much fun as stamping.
Thanks for stopping by... Only 18 days and it's Christmas Day!!!!!  Done all your shopping yet?

Unto us a child is born.....

I got a new set of Christmas stamp from Inkadinkadoo this week.
O Holy Night.  For this card, I stamped the sentiment onto white card stock and cut it out with my Labels 1 nestibilites. While it was still in the nestie, I sponged the edge with Faded Jeans distress ink. I coloured the star with yellow pencil and used the aqua pen to spread the colour outwards. I then stamped the Mary and Jesus image onto card stock and coloured it in with blues and a touch of yellow. I cut it out and pop dotted it onto the corner of the label. I added some ribbon and used my Fiskers Threading water punch to edge the blue layer. I entered this into the CAARDvarks Color it Challenge. 

I also managed another quick card this week.  I had got a new set of Tim Holtz Alcohol inks... Salmon, Aqua and Sandal.  I used them to make the background for this card.  The sentiment  stamp is by Stamp It was stamped with Archival Ink in Sepia on white card. This was then overlaid with embossed vellum - with holly leaves on it.  I then finished with three bronze gems. 

Today I spend the morning in surgery.  I have been having a few issues with "woman's stuff" as my DH would say and had to have a D&C( Dilations and Curettage) and a hysteroscopy to see if there is anything wrong.  Initial results are all fine...Hopefully the D&C will fix the issues I'm having.  I am feeling a bit dopey still from the anaesthetic  and bit uncomfortable feeling so it's off to bed for an early night.  I've taken tomorrow off so if I feel better - will do a bit more crafting.

Thanks for stopping by.  I appreciate all the wonderful comments people leave.
Take care  ( one month till Christmas - 4 weeks till my Mum and Dad arrive to spend Christmas with us!!!!)

Caarvarks sketch challenge - sketch #3

As I wanted to give the person who asked me to make a fishing card, some options, I also made this one.  I used the Caardvarks challenge sketch #3.
Again, I found the image on the internet and printed it on the white linen cardstock.  This one I coloured very lightly with pencils.  For the strip down the card, I used a piece of the Basic Grey PP with a bit of black ribbon attached.  The image was matted onto the PP and then pop dotted for dimension.  The sentiment is from Peelcraft.   This is a very basic and simple card, but I am pleased with the outcome.
Thanks for stopping by.

Another butterfly card....

I just couldn't resist .... another one for Caardvarks colour challenge. Just love pink with black and white. This started as the beginnings of my earlier card but decided on pink on white. So last night took this one and played around. Originally I wasn't that happy with the pink on the black... still feel I could have inked up the stamp a bit more, but I'm happy with the result. I using one of the techniques I learn from Jennifer McGuire's Thinking Inking classes... used a drop of liquid pearls and water to paint over the butterfly to give it a lovely shimmer.
I have also entered this for the Hero Arts Mail it challenge. I am going to sent this to my Mum who lives in Australia. I haven't seen her for nearly a year and won't see her till Christmas time. We email each other all the time, but I will sent this to her - just to say hello.
Thanks for calling by.

Caardvarks colour challenge- More butterflies

Today is an absolutely gorgeous day - really spring like and I saw the Monarch butterflies flitting around the back yard while I was sitting outside having lunch. Great for mid August. I've told you I'm butterfly mad at the moment so it was great to be able to photograph my card for the Caardvark challenge this week, outside. - hence the lovely shadow on the card where the wings of the butterfly lift off the card.
The challenge is to use the sponser's main colours of hot pink, black and white.
I stamped the butterfly ( from Stamp it set 010) in Pink versacolour - once as the background and once to cut out the butterfly. I added black gems to the butterfly and 3 gems on the bottom. This was mounted onto black card and then onto hot pink card. I offset this onto the white card stock.
Sentiment is also by Stamp it - from set 012.
It reminds of the the lovely day today.
TFL - and have a great weekend