52 CCT Theme Challenge

Hello! Here is my DT card for this week's theme challenge over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. As there are five weekends in the month, it is time for a:

 

Please trawl through our archive of previous themes for inspiration. I have gone all the way back to March 2012 and the theme of Christmas animals or birds. I have used Hero Arts' Colour Layering Dimensional Bird to create a Turtle Dove. The leaves and branch are from the same stamp and die set and I have added a holly background made using a stencil that came with a magazine. I like him, as he reminds me of William Morris' Strawberry Thief, although my bird has his eyes firmly on those mini pine cones!

 

 I do hope that you will join us over at 52CCT. It's my last week of hosting and the cards have been wonderful. I have really enjoyed visiting so many lovely blogs!

 

Card-making has taken a bit of a back seat recently, as we have been enjoying a lovely two week half term. We visited the Harry Potter studios at Watford and Monkey Forest near Stoke. Both were fabulous! I've got my bunting up for our Halloween party tomorrow (some real cobwebs needed removing first). I made the abstract picture from fused plastic shopping bags when they were still free. It will have shot up in value now!! :-)

 

 

Finally, a photo of one of the residents of Monkey Forest! Love those fluffy legs! April x

 

 

I would like to enter my card in the Hero Arts Christmas Card Challenge, CHNC Challenge Extra, Winter Wonderland Challenge and Pixie's Snippets Playground.





52 CCT Technique Challenge

Hello! This week over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown we have a technique challenge for you.



We would like you to make a card that uses the technique of resist embossing. I started off with a piece of Whisper White cardstock. I stamped a wood-grain image using SU's Hardwood stamp and Versamark, then covered it with clear embossing powder and heat embossed it. Then I used a sponge dauber to rub Sahara Sand ink over the image.

 I had originally intended to use the whole piece, but over enthusiastic use of the embossing powder had created blotchy areas! Inspired by some birch star table decorations I have hanging around, I decided to cut out elements from the embossed card instead. I've combined my stars with a brushed gold background and a Blackberry Bliss card. I hope you like it and that you will be inspired by the DT's lovely creations.

Have a creative weekend, April x

52 CCT Theme Challenge

Hello! We have a theme challenge for you at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. When I was thinking of my choice of theme earlier in the year, I turned to my favourite Christmas music for inspiration. Every year, particularly when doing the dreaded wrapping, I have to listen to Annie Lennox's gorgeous version of 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen', Bing Crosby and David Bowie's 'Little Drummer Boy', Jona Lewie's 'Stop the Cavalry' and John Rutter's 'Wild Wood Carol'. It's the last one that I have chosen as my theme. Any combo of winter trees and/or woodland creatures would be fab!

For my card, I have used a fox stamp from Lawn Fawn's Joy to the Woods. The tree stamps were a magazine freebie and I have added a touch of Cosmic Shimmer to them. Mr Fox is trotting along a piece of SU Glimmer paper.

I do hope that you join us with your woodland inspired cards over at 52CCT! April x

I would like to enter my card in CHNC challenge extra for October.

Inky Musings

I am very excited to have started Jeri Parks' texture class at CourseCraft. I thought I would blog about my progress as I go along, as a way of recording the samples that I have made.

We have started with the ghosting technique. I have had such a wonderful inky morning making these tags! The first one was made with a Hero Arts Ombre inkpad. I just spattered water from my fingers on this one.

I love the second tag because it reminds me of vintage enamel. This was created using a SU Cucumber Crush inkpad with the water spritzing from a spray. The last one was made using Strawberry Slush and a SU heart stencil. No baby wipes to hand, so I used a makeup remover wipe which worked really well!

 It has been so lovely and therapeutic to just mess around with ink and learn new things! Happy Friday! April x

Gaby Girl

Hello! For today's card I have chosen a fab digi from A Day for Daisies called Gaby Girl. I have made it for the ADFD Challenge - add black lace. Great, I thought. I have a brand new roll of black lace I bought during my last foray into the impressive craft section of a local garden centre. Where is it now? After frantic and totally fruitless searching in one of my craft black holes (yes, there are more than one) I had to make do by dabbing a snippet of Sahara Sand trim with some black Stazon.

Another thing that has disappeared into the ether is a brand new packet of red Glimmer Paper. The heart was punched from the tiniest snippet in the world, so I am sending Gaby to shake her tail feathers at Parsnip and Eve over at Pixie's Snippets Playground.

Last but not least, I would like to enter my card in Craft Your Passion - anything goes and Quirky Crafts - two colours.

Have a great week! April x

52 CCT Colour Challenge

Hello! Over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown we have a colour challenge for you.

 

 

I chose a combination of purple and silver to make a very simple little card that would be good for batch-making, I think. I started off with some SU speciality designer paper that I sponged with Perfect Plum ink and sprayed with violet Cosmic Shimmer spray (every card I make at the moment gets sprayed with this!!) The overall effect has such a lovely sheen. I haven't managed to capture that at all in my photo! I didn't really want to cover the background so I stamped a sentiment in silver ink on a piece of vellum and added some silver star and sequin bling.

 

 I hope that you will join us and be inspired by the rest of the DT's gorgeous creations. April x

A Pansy Sundae

I really enjoyed making this card with ADFD's Pansy Sundae digi. I made the background using one of my favourite techniques. You apply inks directly to an embossing folder, spritz with various sprays (in this case a pearlescent one and a violet Cosmic Shimmer spray) and then place a piece of watercolour paper on top to make a print. The digi has been coloured with Promarkers and sponged with ink. The flowers were cut from a snippet left over from my previous Flutterby.

I would like to enter my card in the challenge over at A Day for Daisies that uses this lovely inspiration board:

 

I am also sending it as a snack for Parsnip over at Pixie's Snippets Playground and Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes.

 

 

Happy Crafting! April x

52 CCT Sketch Challenge

 

Hello! I am delighted to be hosting the October challenges over at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. I hope that you will join us with your Christmas and winter themed cards.

 

We have a sketch challenge for you this week.

 







You are very welcome to change the shape of the elements if you wish or to flip your card, but we should be able to recognise the original sketch.

I have used an owl stamp from a Papermania set called Honey and Hugs: Festive Frolics. He has been coloured with Promarkers and I lined his envelope and hat with glitter, although you can't really see that very well! Thc gingham circle stamp is from a retired SU set called Kind and Cozy. I also used a SU woodgrain embossing folder to make the tree trunk. The lovely sentiment came with Creativity magazine.

Please have a look at the wonderful cards that the DT have made this week.

I would also like to enter my card in CHNC Challenge extra for October.

 Have a great weekend, April x

Flutterby

My goodness! Two blog posts in one day. Whatever next! This card was inspired by the challenge over at the Friday Mashup where you can create an image that combines a silhouette with a colour- filled background.

 

I made the background by applying layers of Blushing Bride, Pear Pizzazz and Sahara Sand inks to an acrylic block that I spritzed with water. A piece of card was placed on top to create a nice inky impression, then I added sea salt and dried it with a heat gun. I did the same for the purple butterfly, but that was made with a Cosmic Shimmer ink spray. I added some stencilling and cut a butterfly silhouette from black glimmer paper using SU's Bold Butterflies die. The purple butterfly was embossed with a Sheena Douglass embossing folder and I added some gold by rubbing a Gelato over the raised detailing.

 

 

 

I'd also like to enter my snippety card into Pixie's Snippets Playground.

 

Have a great weekend! April x

Mr Meow Meow

Oh I love this guy! When Brett Weldele's Mister Meow Meow and Tweets McGee arrived today, I had to start stamping straight away. He's a bit like one of my own fur babies, but I can't get mine to wear a bowler hat and a shirt and tie sadly...

I have used an old snippet of SU dsp to stamp and stencil on. I also sprayed Cosmic Shimmer ink spray to create the background. I began with just two 'Meow' sentiments and then remembered that's actually the name of a drug, so I had to quickly stamp a load more! I coloured with pencils for a change today, which was nice. I just love this handsome feline fellow!

Mr M. is off to play with Di and Parsnip at Pixie's Snippets Playground. It's all quiet here, as my two feline partners in crime are having an afternoon snooze...

Happy crafting with cats, April x