Monochrome Bears :)

Hello again!! :)

Two posts in two days for the second week running- what has come over me!?!lol Well, last night I was moving all the Forever Friends images I coloured during my colouring binge last week when I decided to make a couple of very quick cards to go in my box with a couple of them, inspired by the current Monochrome Challenge over at the FF blog... so a quick post with a couple of quick cards!! :)

Back to the CAS with these ones- still haven’t done my OLC for this week’s LIM challenge so maybe this will have got me back in the CAS flow!! – with some very simple matting and a teeny bit of gorgeous grosgrain ribbon :)

I used:

• FF images stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa
• PMs as in my last FF post for the bears- Ivory all over to help the blending, Oatmeal for the shaded areas and Vanilla all over to blend together. Then a few touches of Sunkissed Pink for cheeks and ears and Satin for shade below feet :) Amethyst and Lilac for the flower on the purple card, Ivory and Cool Grey 1 for the glass with Ivory over the whole background of that image :)
• Nestie Ovals and Scalloped Ovals- the scallops were cut from copier paper and coloured with PMs again in Lilac and Cinnamon
• Grosgrain ribbon in brown and white coloured with Lavender PM (as I didn’t have the right tone of purple anywhere... always the way when you're trying to be quick, isnt' it!?!lol)
• Greetings from Woodware Clear Magic ‘Salutations’ set stamped in VersaMagic Jumbo Java and Spring Pansy inks

I really like adding just these little loops and tails of ribbon to simple cards to break up the lines :) I’m so loving working with these gorgeous bears again after them lying neglected for too long- they’re so cute and I find myself smiling whenever I look at them!! :) I think FF images are so well suited to CAS style cards, too, which is great for me as it means more cards made with less energy :)

I'd like to enter this in the Forever Friends Fortnightly Challenge - Monochrome :) and the Forever Friends Monthly Challenge - No Designer Papers as I've just realised it'll fit perfectly in that one, too!! :) ; I Love Promarkers - Men's Cards (with the cream and brown card only!!) :) ; Charisma Cardz - To 'Die' For :)

Right, I shall go and link this up then contemplate which of the many ideas I’ve had for the LIM challenge I might actually have enough energy for... ;) Hope you’re all well and having a good day :)

hugs,

Fairies, Flowers and Flutterbies... :)

Hey bloggers!! :)

Hope you’re all okay and having a good week so far- I had a slow weekend again with little energy but managed to make a card from an image I’d coloured on Monday which made me feel better... well happier at least, if also achier and more exhausted but it had to be done!!lol 

This one was inspired by a combination of challenges- it began with a DoCrafts forum challenge to make a LOTV card that was ‘Pink and Girly with plenty of embellishments’, then came the LOTV blog challenge to ‘Say it with flowers’... nice and compatible, I thought :) Then I saw the Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight was to make your own backing papers- be that digi, by stamping, etc.- and that gave me the push to make some more spring-like digi papers of my own, as I’ve been thinking I should for a while since I’ve been missing using the papers I made for Xmas!! :) I had spent rather a lot of Sunday afternoon looking at free font sites- think I’m officially a turning into a font junkie!!lol- and found some lovely butterfly dingbat fonts, which seemed like the perfect thing for spring-y papers and this was what came of all those ideas:

I used my simply gorgeous LOTV fairy stamp for the first time- thought I should try and ink up the rest of the last ones I ordered before the new ones arrive... it truly is an addiction!! ;) - with ‘the out of the box’ technique (which I think looks so much better with the Nestie shape embossed, too- seems to make the cut lines far less noticeable) and then my Blossom Nesties for the mat and to make the flowers... just to really get into the spirit of the LOTV challenge!! :)

The full list of materials went something like this:

• Gorgeous LOTV stamped image- Garden of Wishes, stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black
• Promarkers to colour: Dress- Fuchsia and Blossom (top layer), Amethyst and Fuchsia (under layer), Amethyst and Cerise (flowers and trim) ; Wings- Amethyst, Fuchsia and Blossom ; Skin- Ivory, Satin, Blush and some Dusky Pink for cheeks, I think!! ; Hair- Cinnamon and Walnut ; Star- Marine, Soft Green and Pastel Green ; Ground- Soft Green and Satin  ; Sky- Pastel Blue drawn out with the brush tip of the new Copic Blender Pen I got as I thought the softer tip might make this kind of blending-to-nothing easier- think it will do the trick with a bit more practise!! :)
• Circle and Blossom Nesties
• My new Butterflies Digi Paper :)
• Fuchsia and Blossom PMs to colour mat layers (cut from copier paper)
• Tim Holtz Paper Distressing tool on all edges
• Scraps of already embossed and sanded Core’dinations Whitewash cardstock for flowers
• Marianne D Swirl Die- cut from copier paper and coloured with Soft Green PM
• Birthday Wishes sentiment from LOTV Girly sheet stamped with Brilliance Orchid ink (always forget this ink looks so pale on fine stamps but glad it’s not overpowering in the end :S )
• Dew drops attached with Stickles and Pale Purple Flat-backed Pearls
• Oodles of Crystal Stickles on the image and generally all over the edges of everything- was in so much pain squeezing the bottle- but you have to suffer for your art and all that!! ;) - and had to give up and come back later to finish it but it really brought the whole card to life!! I LOVE Stickles!!lol

And a couple of close-ups :)

You can’t see that much of the papers so, as it’s part of the challenge, I’ve taken a pic of the leftovers and some of the other colours I printed out, too :) I used a ‘splatter’ image from within my graphics program to get a bit more colour and interest behind the butterflies and I love that it makes the whole thing look a bit more random than the butterflies alone would :) I did have a bit of trouble getting things arranged on the page in the order (in terms of what appears to be on top) that I wanted- thought I was there but when I printed them, apparently not!!- so will go back and do some more tweaking but generally I’m happy... and the result kind of justifies the afternoon spent on font sites... right!?! ;D

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Lili of the Valley – Say It With Flowers (woohoo- that’s two out of the last three I’ve managed to enter!! :) ) :) ; Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight – Make Your Own Papers :) ; Wild Orchid Crafts – Dieing To Punch It Out :) ; Bunny Zoe’s Monthly Challenge – Happy Birthday with lots of pearls :) ; Cupcake Craft Challenge – Up In the Air with optional green :) ; Papertake Weekly – Triple Tastic :)

Thanks so much for all the comments on my last post and thank you all for sharing your preference of the two cards- I still don’t know which I prefer (think it’d come down to my mood at any given minute and the recipient, I guess!lol) but I found it really interesting to see what you thought... I think the Lilac one seems to have come out on top which just proves that even amongst cardmakers it’s not always all about how much you pile onto a card!! A liberating idea perhaps!?! :D Though I did enjoy this more embellished card for a change, too!!lol

Right, off to link up and leave you all in peace- sorry I’ve gone on so long again but it takes less energy to ramble than try to edit and be succinct at the mo’!! :S Thank you if you’ve taken the time to read it all and I hope you liked my card enough to feel it was worth it!! :)

ETA: I wrote most of this last night as my brain simply won't work well enough this early in the morning, but just have to add that my new release LOTVs dropped through my letterbox earlier... they are sooo gorgeous- I can't wait to have the energy to play with them!! :) :)  

hugs,

Pastels... and the long overdue return of some adorable little bears :)

Hello!! :)

How are you all on this very blustery day? The perma-gales aside our weather in Manchester doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing- raining one minute and bright the next- isn’t it a shame the beautiful, settled sunshine couldn’t last a bit longer?! It was lovely, though, and I’m sure it contributed to my extra creative energy last week!! :)

Well, after that very productive crafting week things seem to have slowed down a tad- I’ve still got plenty of last week’s ideas just bursting to get out of my head and into full-3d card form but so far it’s only these two cuties that have made it as I’ve been a little lower on energy this week... also a little slow on the brain-power front so apologies in advance for any parts of this post that don’t seem to come out looking much like English!!lol Fairly simple cards, though, so shouldn’t be too hard really... ;P

Now, one of main creative focuses for the week has quickly become the Less Is More challenge-  I already can’t imagine what I did before LIM and it’s only in its 5^th week!?!- which this week is ‘Pastel Colours’... I know, from my very happy travels through the LIM Linky portal, that this has freaked some people out but I have to say that I found thinking in paler tones quite restful for my tired brain- simpler somehow and less chance of those (all too common for me!!) accidental colour clashes that spoil the whole thing when it comes to putting it together!!lol So, armed with the newest additions to my Promarker collection- some paler shades, as I didn’t seem to have many despite the boxful of pens!!- and some gorgeous stamps, I set to work :)

I’ve also been having a rather Forever Friends-obsessed week this week- I gave in and decided to get the new Easter sets I’ve been wanting since they launched in January (I couldn’t choose so a big thank you to my mum for giving me one as an early Easter pressie!! :) ) but I’d also realised I’d been neglecting the not insignificant collection of wooden ones I already had so I stamped several sheets worth of them out ready to colour- they are so lovely to colour that I know when I do one I’ll want to carry on and do another one... or ten!! :) Managed to stop myself eventually, though, and got these two on to cards!! :)

 

I used:

•        Gorgeous Forever Friends wooden stamp from Papermania, stamped in Memento Rich Cocoa
•        Promarkers in Ivory, Oatmeal and Vanilla- the Vanilla is one of the new ones and I think I’ve finally hit on a combination I’m really happy with!! :)-  plus a teeny bit of Sunkissed Pink for cheeks and ears. Rose Pink & Blossom and Lilac & Lavender for the flowers and vases, and Satin under the bears’ feet :)
•        Nestie Ovals and Scalloped Ovals with PMs to colour the Scalloped layers to match
•        Greetings from Woodware Clear Magic’s ‘Salutations’ set with Versa Magic Spring Pansy ink
•        For the first card only- Cuttlebug D’vine Swirls folder and Spun Sugar and Milled Lavender Distress Inks (the SS always looks just a bit too bright to me so the ML softened it a bit!!)
•        And for the second card only- my Hougie Board and an embossing stylus for the frame. This is the first time I’ve been happy with the results from the Hougie and I think that was down to the stylus... I really don’t like the little green tool it comes with- I get bigger dents in my index finger than the cardstock with that thing!! o_O

I’m not sure which of these is my favourite- I love the swirly embossing on the first but there’s something about the white space (an unusually large amount of it for me) and the neat border on the second that really appeals, too- my mum’s vote definitely went to the swirly one but I’d love to know what you think?! :)

I did actually add some Stickles to the centres of the flowers after I took these but since I have to clear off my desk to make space to take pics at the mo’, I haven’t re-done them, I’m afraid!! ;D It does look pretty... though I kinda wished I hadn’t bothered when I knocked the card off my desk and on to the carpet- jam side down, ofc, just like toast!!lol Thankfully the glitter came off the carpet easily enough- getting the glue smudges (and carpet fluff :/ ) off the card took a bit longer!! :S

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Less Is More – Pastel Colours of course :) ; Wild Orchid – Anything Goes :) ; and also in the Forever Friends Monthly challenge – No Designer Papers as it’s been a while since I played over there and combining these two challenges was perfect :) 

So, I’ve waffled for far too long again (and if you didn’t read it all I can’t hold it against you!!lol) but thank you for popping by and for any comments this week or on last week’s cards- I’m really pleased that you liked the Shabby-style Butterflies as it was so different for me!! :) I hope you’ve all had a good week and hopefully I’ll be back before too long as I have a couple of cards waiting to be shared!! :)

hugs,

CAS meets Shabby Chic...

Hello everybody!!  :)

Back again so soon, I hear you ask!?! lol Well, yes- I’ve managed to make a card to enter into this week’s Less Is More challenge…  four weeks in a row, must be some kind of record for me!!  :) I’m having a good week this week, creatively at least- lots of ideas and finally a little bit of energy to try some of them out…  shame about the stupid hand pain but I decided last night that actual crafting would probably aggravate it less than trying not to craft and hurting my hand by checking out everybody else’s blogs online!!lol

So, this week’s LIM challenge is a Recipe of ‘Three Squares’ and this is the card I made:

 

I had the colour scheme in my head and also knew I wanted to use my new MS Butterfly punch and have an ongoing mission to uncover and put to use some of the mountains of old stash I’ve got hidden away... this time it’s the lovely blue card blank. I’m sure you all be nodding along when I say I get so carried away with my new bits and bobs that I’ve forgotten so much of what came before- and after almost seven obsessive crafting years, there’s a lot of it!!lol 

I started by covering some squares of kraft card with Distress Crackle Paint in the gorgeous Weathered Wood (another *fairly* new acquisition  :) ) and then waited a loooong time for it to dry before taking to it with my heat tool as I just couldn’t wait any longer!! ;D It’s only the second time I’ve tried Crackle Paint but I wanted big cracks to show the card through, unlike last time, so I applied it pretty thickly- it would probably have dried on its own eventually but using the heat tool was actually really fun as I got great cracks before my eyes!! :) I also spritzed some parcel paper with Perfect Pearls Shimmer Mist to punch the butterflies from :) Then it was on with cutting, punching, inking and sticking as normal... and when I call this card CAS rest assured that the simple part only applies to the layout- I don’t know if maybe I didn’t feel as okay as I thought I did or what, but boy did it seem like hard work getting all the bits of paper the right size and the punched borders matching!! :S And as for what angles the butterflies should be at... well, don’t even ask how long I faffed around and I’m still not really happy!! If anyone can put a finger on the problem for next time, I’d be grateful for your thoughts!?! :)

The full list of ‘ingredients’ was:

•          Dusky Blue A6 card blank from Lakeland years ago, when they still did craft stuff (another ongoing mission this year is to try not to always use square base cards (something I do unthinkingly since starting blogging!!) and the two combine nicely as so many of my old card blanks are rectangles of varying proportions!!)
•         Blue paper from a matching envelope to the blank for layering
•         Parcel paper for all the brown paper layers and butterflies
•         Perfect Pearls Shimmer Spray in Pearl on the butterflies
•         Scraps of a kraft card blank for the blue squares
•         Distress Crackle Paint in Weathered Wood
•         Heat Tool
•     Antique Linen DI on edges of the painted squares, blue paper and butterflies for a bit of depth
•         Greeting from Woodware Clear Magic Jane’s Script set, stamped in Versafine Vintage Sepia
•         Mink Flat-backed Pearls

And a couple of close-ups to show the shimmer and lovely cracks!! :)

I would usually consider Shabby-chic as something I love but just don’t do well so it wasn’t my idea when starting out on this card but I think, between the Crackle Paint, dusky blue tone and brown kraft, this has that kind of feel to it...?! Maybe there’s some hope yet!!lol

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: Less Is More – Recipe- Three Squares :) ; Cupcake Crafts – Anything But Square :) ; Paperplay – Shabby Chic/Vintage :) ; Papertake Weekly – Anything Goes :) ;

Dream Valley – Anything Goes :)

I’m still really enjoying the inspiration of the Less Is More challenges and am pleased that I seem to have broken through the one-layer thing I’ve had going on the last few weeks... I just hope this will count as CAS still as I did take a lot of inspiration from the fab DT card Chrissie made?! Thanks again to anyone who stops by and leaves comments- they’re all much appreciated!! :) I’m off to bed when I’ve linked this up- I hope everyone has a great weekend!! :)

hugs,

Rosie Posy’s Pretty In Pink :)

Hey!! :)

Wow- I’m finally managing to enter a LOTV Challenge!! :D I’ve had ideas for just about all of their challenges this year but my body/energy levels and the list of other things and cards that had to be made first  have seemed to have other ideas entirely unfortunately!! :S But I’ve spent the last couple of days’ energy on this one and have really enjoyed myself- I’ve tried my new nestie technique again, as well as making another long overdue tent card and some more of the fabulously easy and fun Lollipop flowers I tried for the first time not long ago, as well as inking up a gorgeous new LOTV stamp... so, all in all, feeling very happy and creatively satisfied!!lol :)

On the downside, I’m having problems with my hand again this last couple of days and it’s already complaining so will try to keep this short from here... nothing will stop me getting this in that LOTV challenge this time!! (Asking for a power cut- or something worse!!- there aren’t I!!!lol)

So here it is:

 I love this sweet image and a have been wanting it for quite a while- I cut her out using the technique I described in my post with the CAS Tulip card below and then just played about with plenty of pretty papers and colours that made me think of spring :) I tried to get a bit more of a sketchy style with the colouring- I always seem to overwork things and never have any of the lovely light areas I see with others colouring so that was my aim this time... could do better but closer, I think!! ;)

I used:

•          LOTV Rosie Posy image stamped in Memento and coloured with Prismacolors
•          Nestie Circle and craft knife to cut away behind image
•          Nestie Labels 1
•          All papers from the Forever Friends Pink Parfait pad- even managed to use up some of my scraps for the flowers (circles cut freehand)!! :)
•          Spun Sugar DI on the main paper panel
•          Brilliance Pearlescent Inks in Orchid and Lime for the flowers and Orchid and Purple mixed for the words
•          Words from Woodware Clear Magic Family Christmas set
•          Sakura Clear Glaze pen on words
•          Pale Purple and Green Flat-backed Pearls
•          Lots of Crystal Stickles- love the intensified colour you get by using Stickles over DIs!! :)

  

A couple of close-ups :)

And one to show the 'Tent Card' bit for anybody who's not seen it before :) I decided that a tent card would suit the cut out front as it holds it all together and lets you see the background paper piece better- might make the folds closer together next time, though...

I’d like to enter this in the following challenges: LOTV – Circles :) ; Sweet Stampin' – Oh So Girlie :) ; Wild Orchid – Anything Goes :) ; Papertake Weekly – Anything Goes :) ; Crafty Catz 71 – Friendship :) ; Dream Valley – Anything Goes :) ; Bunny Zoe’s Crafts – Spring... Flowers Everywhere :) 

Eeep- hope my hand lasts out while I link all those!! :S Thanks to all who left comments on my last card (and to my mum for helping me to type some of this last night!!) and hello to my new followers- if I can find a link to your blogs in my followers list then I’ll visit you soon but there are some I can’t find links for, I’m afraid :S Well, we have more of the same beautiful sunshine this morning as we had yesterday- but with the same bitter cold, too, so the urge to throw open the windows and welcome in what looks like summer will have to wait for a while!!lol I hope you’re all okay and have had a good and at least partially sunny week so far!! :)

hugs,