Fab-U-lous

It's been a while since I used this LOTV word set, and the Less is More : Mostly Words Challenge was perfect for it.

I stamped a grey shadow to give a little more dimension ... a little washi tape and couple of stars with Diamond Stickles and I was done.

Embossing Paste 1

I had fun with embossing paste yesterday.

For the first card, I did double embossing : embossing paste & then embossing powder.

 I mixed up 2 tiny batches of embossing paste & ink : one with Distress Ink Mustard Seed and the other with Picked Raspberry. Using the Hero Arts Large Blossom stencil, I smeared the yellow first, then the pink and then in some areas mixed the 2 to get the orange tinge.

Once it was dry, I stamped the Flower Dot Pattern stamp and embossed in white. Great texture.

Will be entering this to the Simon Says Work-it Wednesday Challenge : Anything Goes, but especially with Hero Arts products.

2 Cards 1 set

I only recently discovered Darnell's NBUS Challenge (Never-Before-Used Schtuff!), which for someone with "buy-online-itis" like me is just perfect. I could be playing in this challenge for weeks without using the same set twice. I am so far behind in inking up my newbies.

So for my first entry, I just entered my most recent card using new stamps. But I had skim-read the challenge and had totally missed an added little optional challenge :

1. Christmas
2. Use the same stamp in 2 ways
3. Both of the above
4. None of the above

I guess my first entry was actually option 4.

But option 2 is my favorite. I LOVE finding more than one way of using a stamp.

So this here are my 2 :
- the first : crisp and clean in ordered colours using Hero Arts dye inks (in my challenge colours of orange, etc) ...

- the second : a watercolour, artsy effect with random colour using Distress Inks spritzed with water (in my go-to colours of blue and green). Love this! Like a peacock.

Which style do you prefer?

Pink Enamel

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the Fusion Challenge, was Pink Enamel.

It is late, and I can't get the light right to catch the lovely pearl embossing powder! But here it is. (I may try to get a better shot in the morning.)

This angle is a little better.

RIC : Manolo Blahnik

When I saw the RIC #68 : Manolo Blahnik Challenge, I knew I wanted to do some paper weaving!

Muse Challenge #85

I really struggled to get my mojo going with this Muse Challenge

I had wanted to go with something quite modern and CAS. Mixing the 2 SSS stamp sets - Scribble Flowers and Favorite Flowers, I came up with this.

I didn't want the swirls to be in black, so stamped in Versamark, and embossed in white.

Hello Friend

One Layer Simplicity Challenge #9 : Hip to be Square.

A little bit of masking ...

I will also enter this into the NBUS Challenge #2 (Never-BeforeUsed Schtuff). Thank you Darnell for organising this .... I have way too many "virgin" stamps due to excessive one-line shopping!!! They arrive too fast that I I feel inundated. I think a moratorium on buying new stamps is in dire need! 

Grass

This week's CASology challenge ...

I was inspired by the lovely sunset tonight. I just love sunsets .... I feel they are a once off painting gifted to us.

Happy Birthday

My last entry for the SSS Flickr Challenge #1. I don't think I've ever made so many "orange" cards!! It is so not my go-to colour. Been quite a challenge.

I think this is my favorite ... more CAS and light.

The centers and little dots were mounted on foam dots, and I add some white enamel accents. I love this chevron ribbon from May Arts.

Leaves 3

The last of my leaves series for the SSS Flickr Challenge #1. I added the swirls stamps of the Favorite Flowers set, and the sentiment and tag of the Tiny Tags set.

I inked up a white silk ribbon with the distress inks to match the background. I added glossy accents to the swirls to make them shine like berries.

Party

Another entry for the SSS Flickr Challenge #1. We need to use at least 3 of the colours.

Mixing up the Scribble Flowers and Birthday Balloons sets. The stars are in soft graphite, charcoal and black with Wink of Stella which doesn't show much in the photo. The swirls have Diamond stickles.

Leaves 2

One of the reasons that my craft studio gets so cluttered is that I don't like to throw things away ... so Instead of just throwing the negative die cut of my leaves, I decided to use it on another card. So this is my second card for the SSS Flickr Challenge #1.

I wanted to put green behind the stencil, so I sprayed some cardstock with Mister Huey Cash Money. Then I stamped the Hero Arts La Lettre stamp in HA Silver on the green. I also stamped the white card in 2 opposite corners.

I had my stash of SSS stamp sets next to me and Favorite Flowers was on the top. I realised that the doodle leaf stamp would fit in the larger leaves perfectly. I love it when a plan comes together! I added a freehand doodle line to frame it.

There is some sort of optical illusion going on here, as no matter how many times and ways I try to photograph it, the leaves look like they are in front of the orange/yellow background, when in fact, it is the reverse!

And guess what?

There is still some of that negative cut left, so another card is in the making!

Welcome Baby

For the Pattern Paper Challenge of Virginia and the A Blog Named Hero : Patterned Paper Challenge.

Leaves 1

Simon Says Stamps have started a new competition on their SSS Flickr Group. Yay!

The challenge is to use at least 3 of the 5 colours - and to use an exclusive SSS product.

I started off by inking up some paper with Distress Inks then splattering over some Silver Distress paint, and die cutting with the Clustered Leaves Craft die. On the background I used the Leaf stencil and sprayed with Mister Huey Cash Money spray. I then stamped the Hero Arts La Lettre stamp with HA Silver ink. When I glued the diecut down, I offset it off the stenciled shape to give light above it.

Here is a close up of the offset, and silver splatters.

THANK YOU so much

My album of our wonderful trip arrived today! I decided to make one printed album as we had over 2700 photos to choose from - I think I picked about 524 and the album ended up being 132 pages.  (I will be making scrapbook pages of the really special photos.) I made this card to go with the album to thank my husband for a dream come true.

I first painted the background with watercolours. I stamped the map and travel icons in brown, and the rest in black. I stamped the Thank You with Versamark ink and embossed in white. I added black shadow lines to make it stand out more.

I will enter this in the Simon Says Stamp Make your Background challenge, the Just Us Girls Water Color challenge and the Inkspirational Flight Challenge.

Just a taste of our trip .... Edinburgh for my daughter's Graduation

Off to Italy ... Rome, Florence & Tuscany ...

A last stop in Venice ...

Glorious last night!

Tagged ... in Getting to Know Me Blog Hop

I was tagged by Chark of Glitter in my Kitchen for the Getting to Know Me Blog Hop. We answer a few crafty questions, then tag some more to play the following week.

So here are the QUESTIONS ...

1) What Creative Projects are you currently working on?

I often have too many projects on the go at once ...
... playing with new stamps and seeing how many different ways I can use them.
... at the moment I have partly finished a twinchie wall piece which I started over a year ago. It's going to take 96 to finish it - so much bigger than my first one! (You can do a "twinchie" search to see them on my blog)
... an art journal for my favourite verses that hasn't got passed the 2nd page
... THREE travel albums (an altered folder album for my second daughter's trip on her way to her first year of university; a handmade album for a wonderful trip around Scotland with my eldest daughter; and a big scrapbook for our amazing family trip to Scotland and Italy this year)
... the many challenges by blogs - so many that I had to make myself a schedule!
... I have finished a queen-size Tunisian blanket, and am almost finished the throw that started as a baby blanket to use up the leftover wool, but the wool kept going on!
My biggest block at the moment is the mess that is my craft studio!! I know I should be tidying up, but when I do get out there, all I want to do is create.

  

2) How does my work differ from others in my genre?

I don't think I have one particular style, nor do I just do just one craft. On the stamping side, I love CAS designs, but love techniques too. For scrapbooking, I like the photos to be the focus; and I think I'm enjoying mini albums more than big 12x12 pages these days (perhaps because I know they have a beginning and an end and come in small bite size pieces). I love all paper crafts ... packets, boxes, ATC's, wrapping, Advent calenders, decoupage.

3) Why do I create what I do?

Because I love playing with paper, inks, stamps and stencils. I get lost in my world of creativity - it's fun, calming and so satisfying.  I love the scrapping side as I know it will last longer than a card, and it passes on our story.

4) How does my creative process work?

It depends on what I'm doing and what is the focus of the project.
- Am I wanting to use a particular product (stamp, ink, paper, etc)?
- Do I want to do a particular technique?
- Am I following a challenge (colour, sketch, theme)?
- Is it for a particular person?
- But in scrapping it is almost always the photos, and the story I want to tell, that starts me off.

5) Who am I tagging next?

I have asked 2 more wonderfully creative ladies to join in:
Deborah Nolan, whose blog S.O.S. Society of Stampaholics brings much creative inspiration as well as smiles. She has a great sense of humour (one of my all time favourite Christmas crafting stories! - sorry Deborah that Vivi was tough on you, but you brought us laughter with your story). Deborah is a member of the Design Teams for Memory Box and The Craft's Meow, and a staffer at Scrapbook News & Review. She also runs a monthly card chain challenge in which you get to send and receive a real card - how awesome is that!
Claire Barrin, aka Luckie, runs 2 blogs ... one in English and the other in French. I love the lightness and artistic touch in her scrapbook pages - how she uses stamps, stencils, paints and embellishments. She is on 5 Design Teams : éphéméria, Scrap FX, Scrap idees, Just Create and Scrap and Jas'piration Scrap.
Be sure to check their blogs next Monday when they will answer the same questions.

Enjoy life

Finally made it into my studio this weekend. So many lovely challenges out there ... spent too much time surfing blogs!

This card combines the challenges Color Throwdown, Muse and CASology.

  

Some embossing paste mixed with Tumbled Glass ink over the stencil I made from the Hero Arts Triangle Background diecut. I dabbed some Silver Distress Paint on my craft mat, then took some up with a paint brush and splattered over the butterflies which had been distressed with Broken China and Hero Arts Lime ink.

I will also enter it for the Simon Says Stamp Make your own Background Challenge.

Hosting the Card Scramble

It was my turn to host the Hero Arts Flickr Group card scramble this week.

I decided that the theme would be to use pages from a book on the card. It could be stamped, diecut, embossed, whatever you wanted.

I made 4 examples. The first was to use the paper as a background with neutral stamping.

The second card, I stamped on the book paper again, but this time I coloured in the image with Prisma coloured pencils. I used the same stamp as the background, matching the pattern.

The next card, I diecut many butterflies and distressed the edges, alternating the colours. The top die was also stamped, adding Wink of stella to the dots. I inked up the background grid stamp using distress markers, using Picked Raspbery on 2 sides of the squares, and Ripe Persimmon on the other 2. Spritzed it generously before stamping.

A close up of the layers of wings, and shimmer on the dots.

The last card, I used an embossing folder on the book page. The embossing was not that noticeable, so I sponged over it with Distress Ink to make it stand out more. I used the Hero Arts branch die, and flowers, adding Liquid Pearl yellow dots. (I was so happy the "Ebersole" was in the writing as I'm a fan of Julie Ebersole's cards, videos and laughter!)

A closeup of the dry embossing.