Project: Texture cards for MAWTT

This week at Moving Along with the Times we have a fun challenge featuring texture. I played a lot with this but ultimately decided on a really fun (and girly!) card featuring three types of texture: foiled paper, layered dies and a big pop-up embellishment.

The foiled  spotted paper was a freebie from Crop on the Cape this year and I layered it against hot pink. The die cut sentiment is a Sizzix set and I thought the pink on its own wasn't standing out so I layered it over a black die cut and really like the shadow effect. Finally these incredible flamingos are from Claire from Paper Source. Aren't they too much fun?! This card is making me smile with how sweet and yet weirdly sophisticated it is.

Hope it provides some inspiration for you this week!

Project: Blended giraffe with a stamped border

I got this freebie set of wild animal stamps and it came with a border stamp that I loved but couldn't figure out how to use. I have so many like this and I never know what o do with them! In the magazine there was a card made using the border and I thought, you know what, let's give that a go.

I blended the card using Distress Inks and then stamped the border on top. Quite tricky at times to line it up but I was happy with the result. I think next time I will be really meticulous and measure the space to fill it out. But it's ok for now. I added the giraffe from the set to the middle as I had kept the panel quite narrow and thought it fit the space perfectly.

I've left off a greeting - for now - as I couldn't make up my mind about what to use this for. But I love the colors and way it came out, some good learnings for next time.

Project 421: A dino color sketch challenge

It's my FIL's birthday soon and as he is like a big kid I always like to make him fun cards. I saw the colors and sketch at CAS(E) This Sketch and The Paper Players and thought they would go together perfectly for the card I wanted to create:

The stamp set is from Stampin' Up and I've had it for 2 years, so I thought I would link up with Retro Rubber's Anything Goes challenge this week as well.

I flipped the sketch on the side and stamped two panels with the triceratops stamp in lime green and light orange. The dots are enamel accents. The sentiment is a die cut square with white ink - I was going embossed, then didn't, and now kind of wish I had. Oh well! It's playful and fun and that's what I was going for so I'm pretty satisfied with it :) 

Project: Sketch Saturday 13th May

Another week, another opportunity to show off my shiny Guest DT spot at Sketch Saturday this month!

This is the sketch this week and I found it a great joy to play with:

This week I used this wonderful image from Bugaboo. They are one of my favourite digi providers and I love this image. I decided to go for a really simple color scheme, and grey and blue felt like it would be unisex though now that it's done it is a bit more masculine than I intended. I used a patterned grey check paper and then layered up stitched die rectangles. I colored the image with ProMarkers and added a little Happy Birthday tag stamp that reminded me of a dog collar. I decided to add little paw print stickers to complete the sketch and a border of ribbon at the bottom of two of the cards to bring a bit of dimension.

I love the sketch and hope you do too!

Project 409: A summery sketch challenge

I haven't had the time/mojo the last few weeks for crafting. Which is sad as it's one of my favourite ways to unwind and enjoy my evenings and weekends. But I hit a craft store on my way back from vacation and it inspired a good session at my desk. So now I'm back in it!

I went 'sketch shopping' as I had so many fun new goodies I was a bit overwhelmed and a good sketch challenge helps me focus. I really liked the one at Sketch Saturday:

I started with the background paper, a new one from The Range by Simply Creative. [Spoiler alert: Claire, you are getting this too.] I knew I had some pre-cut die sentiments from Claire about a year ago and I dug through them until I found this great Smile circle. I layered it over a pink scallop circle which doesn't exactly match the sketch but I hope they forgive me!

I then stamped, heat embossed and die cut a flamingo to layer over my stripes of cloudy gem stones. I love these at the moment - they seem more modern than bling and in my session yesterday I used them in just about everything I made. It looks simple but it got me die cutting, embossing and punching and that's the ticket for a good bit of inspiration!

Project 302: Playdate fun with new techniques

Today's posts are a bit random but both feature new techniques and tools from a recent playdate with Claire. We were both feeling a bit weird so we decided to keep our focus on two cards rather than try to reinvent the wheel and end up frustrated!

The headline features a new technique she discovered where you heat emboss and then use distress inks and an aqua brush to fill the raised image. I went for this Little Claire image and by using the Spiced Marmalade distress ink I think it looks a bit like a monarch butterfly. The paper got a bit grubby with the embossing powder but I actually like it. The greeting is Recollections from a tag die and greeting stamp set Claire gave me. Great technique, will definitely do again.

The second card features a new die she got that punches out all these little leaves. It's a great double whammy where the punched leaves are great and the negative space left is great as well. I wanted it to stand out so I blended over the surface with Broken China distress ink and then layered it over a scrap of green paper that I already had lying around. The spotted ribbon and button were added because it looked a bit naked. Not entirely convinced but they definitely helped lift it. The greeting is from a sentiment set Claire gave me last summer that contains a greeting for any occasion you could imagine.

So much fun playing with my craft buddy, I'm always keen to try new things and it the session was such fun as we both made such great little makes.

Project 287: A seahorse birthday card

My husband had an in-joke with his best friend about seahorses. I don't get it, never have, probably never would. However I indulge it for the sake of all the craft opportunities it presents: I mean they're awesome.

So I used a Bugaboo stamp that I bought in a sale last year and colored him with ProMarkers. I die cut him out and layered against a plain orange circle so the scallop edge was easier to see against the busy chevron paper (Recollections). The greeting is from a Fiskars birthday set and the enamel dots are from my new stash from my trip home at Christmas.

Super simple outcome but enough going on to make it fun for me in the process. And as we gave it to him yesterday before I had a chance to publish this post I can say he was well tickled by it. A simple weekend win.

Project 286: A doggy bday card

Today's my husband's birthday so I wanted to post the card that I made 'from the dog.' Yes: we are that weird family where the animals give/receive presents as well as humans.

This digi stamp was a gift from Claire and I colored him with ProMarkers to make him look like my dog Zippy. I cut him out and backed him in red and layered him on top of a patterned card base.

The little dots are from Paperchase and were like gold dust when I first got them but nothing gets saved for best now. The greeting is also an old one from my collection - simple and works well on the busy paper.

It cracks me up and I think he's going to love it. Who knew the dog could be so talented and invested in crafting?

Project 266: A blended black cat

This stamp is from Little Claire and I've had it for at least a year or two yet I've never been able to really use it that well. As I've gotten more confident with blending and heat embossing I decided to give it another go and was really pleased with the resutl.

The background was blended with Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed and Spiced Maramlade Distress Inks. The stamp was embossed using black embossing powder and the greeting is from a sentiment set Claire bought me years ago.

I trimmed down a black card blank to make it a bit more propotional and I'm pleased with it. It looks simple but I know that I couldn't have gotten the cleanness right without months of embossing practice. A triumph I think!

Project 246: Fun with the blending tools

Claire introduced me to a new technique using a blending tool and I am IN LOVE. It is a great technique to get colors and texture and all sorts of fun. So I decided to play with it using three strips I made with Claire and one I made after I raided Amazon and bought all the stuff for myself.

The headline is a card I made tonight using one of the scraps from my first blending attempt with Claire. She also gave me this stamp great stamp and I tried a new black embossing powder to make it stand out. The black speckled a bit so I decided to embrace it and I did a splatter using a iced spruce Distress Ink. I love it. I added two scraps, the green and the red to get a border across the middle and added green twine for an extra earthy texture. The pearls and candy make it a bit more polished. I really liked the roughness with all the technique. A win.

This card is amazing - if I do say so myself. I blended two colors and added two stamps from a free magazine set that I got. The black embossing powder comes out again for a silhouette that I love. I added a Martha Stewart punched border and some purple and blue pearls. The sentiment is for my sister's in-laws, they lost my BIL's grandfather this week and I thought this card would be a nice way to show I was thinking of them.

This card uses the same free card set as above, just a different dragonfly. The card came together organically - the blue paper was on the desk already, the tag was already embossed (for another project that didn't work out) and when I made a little mistake with a slip of the stamp, I took a spotted stamp from a Stampin' Up stamp set and I think it really made the whole card. It's all dotty and fun now. The stitched die is from Claire's collection and that she brought with her.

Finally this card is a great thing featuring new stamps Claire brought with her. This was my first blending tool attempt and I thought it worked well with this backing paper from Studio Callico. The greeting is great, isn't it? Such a simple layout but so sweet. The blending works so well to give it a bit of extra pizaaz.

Great technique and I can't wait to play with it more...now that I have all my own stuff!

Project 245: A trio of owls and an elephant

My friend at work commissioned a card for his girlfriend's birhday, with either an owl or an elephant. I've done plenty of owl cards but never an elephant so that was a bit of an adventure!

I decided to make a bunch and let him pick, as I needed to boost my stash a bit and wanted to add a bit of fun to the mix.

The headline card is based on a pin I found on pinterest (actually, most of these are on this board because I was in need of inspiration) and it was just too much fun. I don't have an elephant stamp or punch (never needed one, still don't need one) so I cut him out of paper and added a little ear on top. The button balloons all have matching baker's twine. It was a bit fiddly, the biggest challenge was tying them up and getting the lengths right so the buttons were different heights.

The elephant doesn't really look like an elephant. But who cares. I love it. If he doesn't go for this one, I'm keeping it.

I decided to focus all the owls on the Stampin' Up punch as I haven't used him in a while. The first is one is probably my favorite, and it really was pretty simple. The branches are from a different Stampin' Up bird set but I thought he needed to be sitting on something within his little box. The moon is a stitched circle die from Claire. The papers are all from my stash - I think my mother-in-law gifted me the spotted paper and the green is just old!

The second one here was a simple layout that I did on a playdate with Claire in the week. I used a Studio Callico paper and a bit of twine and a pre-printed tag punched from Claire's stash ages ago. It's really simple but I really like it. Again, one for the stash (or one to make again if he chooses this).

Finally this little guy was an idea from - you guessed it - Pinterest. I saw this aperture idea of using a woodgrain paper and loved it. I used corrugated brown card for the background and layered a little purple owl inside. I went purple, not a natural color because I wanted some standout. I used a Martha Stewart punch for the branch leaves. I don't love the but they do add texture. Finally I used a nice little sentiment and some green twine.

I'm pleased with my random little set and can't wait to see what he chooses.

Project 235: No bones about it card

Claire is here and we are having a great time crafting, chatting, hanging out....and sometimes going to work!

She brought loads of goodies from Stampin' Up that I had ordered and I was excited to try out these dinosaur stamps. I love dinos and what was great about this set was you got whole dinosaurs and dinosaur skeleton images. How much fun is that?

I missed a colleague's birthday because he insisted we not make a fuss but I wanted to do something special. I thought this funny greeting was perfect as it's not a birthday but is so much fun.

The paper is from Do Crafts (I think) and I kept everything monochrome and masculine, even the little fake metal candi.

This is just one of several cards we put together over wine this week, so I wll share the rest shortly! 

Project 232: See you later gator card

Another week, another commission!

My colleague's boyfriend is American and is getting transferred back to his New York office. She wanted to make him a special card that would be big enough for people to sign at his leaving party on - incidentally- today, the 4th of July.

I love 'See you later, alligator' in goodbye cards. It keeps things light and fun and doesn't dwell on sentiment so people can write whatever they want in their message. I have been having fun with paper cutting lately so I decided to go big and bold on this one.

Originally she asked me to have the gator over the Union Jack but it was a mess. So busy, so hard to see anything. So I made a small flag on the corner and a bigger one on the back:

All but the blue background paper are scraps as well that I was able to cut into my shapes. Everything on the gator is cut by hand except the white eye, that's a die, as is the banner which is Simon Says Stamp from Claire. The flag was dead easy, just red and white strips layered up and the scraps used to make the mini flag on the front.

I didn't think the banner stood out enough all white when it was folded so I added some hand drawn lines for texture and depth - I really like the result and will definitely do this again.

This has been a very busy time personally and at work and yet I've managed to produce some pretty crazy commissions. When I make cards for other people I cement the idea really quickly in my head and I'm able to get the details crafted precisely; when I'm just mucking about on my own things seem to take longer and with fewer good results.

Anyway, I'm grateful my colleagues continue to come to me for fun and unique cards!

Project 229: A colouring challenge round up

I thought I'd share some of the bits and bobs from my 30 day colouring challenge with Claire these last few days. It's been really good fun, trying colored pencils and different markers, relying more on dig stamps than I usually do and generally just having a good old fashioned play in the stash. It's ace.

Here are some hits:

The headline card is the second in a set and started with Fiskars toadstools above, and when I colored them and cut them with a circle die, it was such an easy card to just add a little scallop circle and hand-drawn border that I did it again the next day with a different stamp from the same set. Love, love, love. I want to make two more and make it a set of 4 to give away. This is one for the win.

This is my big-eared bunny cupcake colored with pro markers, and a very very very subtle shading technique on his ears that is so subtle I'm not sure why I bothered! I criticised myself last week for starting but not finishing all that much so this week I wanted to make sure that I tried to make a few cards, no matter how simple. Hence this page!

I found that by just cutting him out and layering him over two simple papers (the bottom is cut to mimic a punch but is actually just cut along the chevron lines) it became a super simple layout, very reminiscent of the cards Claire and I made in our early days. And this layout is still super nice! I think big strip + featured image cut out + border along bottom is classic. Long may it inspire.

And then here's a badass lion from my art therapy colouring book. I'm loving my colouring book. I always have and always will love just colouring in images. And that's what this challenge is all about.

Expect many more colouring book pages this week because I'm travelling for work. I brought my little bag of colored pencils and colouring book on the plane and the stewardesses no doubt thought I was nuts. Ces't la vie!

Project 223: An autumnal woodland critter birthday

I got a great brief from a colleague to make a birthday card featuring woodland creatures in golds and oranges. She pointed to two specific images on my blog that she liked and unfortunately they were both using materials I no longer have/have access to.*

But that didn't stop me - I knew I could make something that would work to the brief. 

I found these puffy stamps from my stash - Claire sent them to me a while ago and from what I can see they were a billy bargain! - and as she specifically called out foxes, hedgehogs and squirrels being the recipient's favourite animals I thought I'd go for these lovely orange stickers. I usually don't work with stickers like this; it feels a bit like cheating. But I thought if I put enough craft into the other elements it would balance my fear of taking a shortcut.

As there were three animals I went for the Sketch Saturday layout this week:

I embossed the brown paper with a diamond pattern (reminded me of a beaver's tail) and layered this on shiny gold paper, followed by navy to make it pop. The backing paper is slightly textured, it's a gorgeous Recollections Trader Jane paper. The orange paper is punched using an EK Success punch and the banner is stamped with a Fiskars greeting.  I added two spotted brown candies on the bottom to finish it off.

I really like the autumnal feel and the cuteness of the images. I still feel a bit like it is cheating but it is true to brief so I'm happy with it!


*Yes Claire. I'm referencing the  lack of access to your stash.  It's sad times not being able to rifle through your things, stealing/borrowing things to my heart's content. :*(

Project 220: A green and black biker chic card

My colleague loves the pin-up stamps from Kenny K and asked if I could do one for her friend. Specifically, she said "Can you get the sexiest one and make it green and edgy and the opposite of me?" (She's synonymous with pink and butterflies).

Ok!

So I used Biker Betty from Kenny K and looked for some inspiration, and found it at Freshly Made Sketches this week. This was their sketch:

You can't really see it with the paper pattern but green paper is cut on a diagonal across the page!

I used Femme Fatale paper from Recollections for the green tiger paper to give it texture. I colored the image in greens and greys and black using ProMarkers. The flowers were added for extra texture and the little black tag is perfect for the greeting.

My colleague asked for a specific greeting - which of course I didn't have- so I just wrote it on in silver pen and added some little green bling for accent.

 I had fun making it, short and simple and hope the recipient likes it!

Project: A golden butterfly theme for Moving Along with the Times

We have a gorgeous photo as inspiration over at Moving Along with the Times:

The image is so beautiful, I really didn't know where to go with it as I had so many ideas!

I stuck with a CAS layout but decided to add some drama by using a black back ground.

The butterflies are punched out of different colored stock, including a red glitter paper, and the sentiment is heat embossed with gold powder. I am still really new to heat embossing so it's not as neat as it could be. I'm a big believer in sharing "in progress" techniques as it's a bit silly if I show you a card that has been redone 5 times - feels like a lie!

I added the sequins and mini half pearls to the butterflies for texture and added bling.

I folded all of the wings a big so they would have some 3D texture, just like the photo.

Hopefully you will find this as inspirational as the rest of the wonderful DT!

Project 213: A very cheerful challenge entry

This week I spent some money on Bugaboo's retired digi sale. With some stamps available for less than $0.50 it was just too irresistable!

This mouse image is my favourite of the lot. Look at its little face! I knew he'd look great cut out in a circle and when I saw the sketch at Sketch Saturday this week I knew it'd be a perfect one for this little guy to be featured.  Here is their sketch for the week:

I am coming off the high of winning a Cut Above shout out at Paper Players (see my shiny new badge?!) and so I was very happy to see their bingo card challenge this week. I am going for the diagonal row of:

• Any shade of yellow
• Sequins
• Polka dots 

I liked the color combos at this week's Color Throwdown Challenge and thought they would dovetail with the Paper Players board as well.

Finally all of the layers added to the page made me think of Digi Choosday's challenge to get layers on there. I know it may not be a lot of layers for some but for someone who defaults to CAS layouts this is loads!

This card really created itself - once I had die cut the mouse image out and colored him in with ProMarkers I found the spotted paper for the background. How perfectly does that match the color combo? I embossed the yellow card with small dots for extra texture and cuteness. The celebrate stamp is an old favorite - maybe Studio G but not sure - and I think it adds so much to the festive feeling of the card. I went for big and small sequins to complete the bingo card and really think they add the right amount of bling with the tiny red glittery heart on the mouse.

So chuffed with this card, I can't help but smile when I see it because of all the fun I had making it. 4 challenges is a lot for me to enter in a single card but I love how it all came together here.

Project 212: A triple challenge Easter card

I saw the layout at Paper Players this week and knew it would be perfect for the new Bugaboo Easter stamp I bought in the sale this week. Claire alerted me to the sale and - if you haven't checked it out yet - get over to Bugaboo and get involved!

Anyway - back to the challenges - I wanted to get involved with The Pink Elephant and I <3 ProMarkers challenges with Easter themes as well as I've been off the challenge circuit for a while.

The background is embossed with a basketweave pattern and the stamp is layered up in a lovely spring green color to offset the orange. The image is colored with ProMarkers (always!) and I added the O Happy Day greeting to add an appropriate sentiment.

The big heart is a Woodware punch and the little hearts are punched out of card stock using a small punch from Tiger. Finally I added a green gingham candi to top it off.

It's fun to be doing a few challenges again, hopefully I'll find the time to sustain it!

Project: A Wild Moving Along with the Times challenge

This week at Moving Along with the Times we have an "Into the Wild" theme for you - country, weather, animal or whatever this means to you.

I decided to use one of my favorite but often under-used stamps from Little Claire, a beautiful elephant stamp with a reflection pool of the image. It's a bit tricky to use but it's just so stunning.  I put it on a slightly textured mustard card stock so that it would have that grainy appearance - it's quite a big image and I love the way it looks with a bit of color coming through it.

The punch is a Martha Stewart branch punch that I used as a border. I decided to use natural card for the greeting and embellishments. I thought the gold gems would look like petals or leaves - not sure they do but they're sweet all the same!

Originally I had it all over a patterned paper but I thoguht it was too busy so I paired it back and just used white. I'm glad I did, I didn't want to ovewhelm the beauty of the image.

I can't wait to see what you do with the wild theme!