Thursday, 30 April 2015

AAA Challenge 38

The AAA Challenge has had some interesting challenges and this week is no exception.


Over the last month, I've been experimenting quite a bit with using layers and holes in my cards, so this challenge was a good chance to play around some more. I've made some cards using layers of off-set circles, creating a rabbit-hole kind of effect (see here) but this is the first time I've tried the idea with ovals. Originally, I had a more off-set layout for these ovals too but this centred arrangement was more pleasing.





I will also enter this card into Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Ingredients
Card: Whisper White, Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Early Espresso, Pool Party, Vellum
Stamps: SU Wetlands, By the Seashore, Hardwood and Butterfly Basics and Clearly Besotted Say it in Style
Ink: Crumb Cake, Soft Suede, Pool Party, Early Espresso, Black Stazon
Other: Oval framelits, dimensionals, Early Espresso marker, sponges



Monday, 27 April 2015

CAS on Sunday 57

The challenge at CAS on Sunday was to produce a CAS card using only white and one colour. I was immediately intrigued by this and for most of the day, it was bubbling away in the back of my mind. It's funny how your ideas can change. Initially, I was playing around with the idea of using lots of textures. While cooking dinner, I had an inspiration and the card ended up quite differently to how I'd been thinking.




The colour I've used is Night of Navy. I am especially pleased with the die-cut 'happy' because the navy 'happy' underneath gives a great sense of depth and life to the word. I'm also very pleased with the simple elegance of the card.

I really enjoyed this challenge - thank you!

Ingredients
Card: Night of Navy, Whisper White
Stamps: SU Flowering Flourishes, Crazy About You,
Ink: Night of Navy
Other: MFT Happy Birthday die, Circle punch, Pearls, dimensionals

Paper Players 242

This weekend is a long weekend for the commemoration of ANZAC day. 25 April is a day for remembering the sacrifices of war. This year was a special one since it is 100 years since the ANZAC landings at Gallipoli and it is also the first time ever that the holiday has been "Mondayised" so creating a long weekend when the day falls in a normal weekend.

So in the quiet of this afternoon, I have made a remembrance card, for the many occasions we want to remind others that, for whatever reason, we are thinking of them.

This morning, I saw the new, and lovely, sketch at The Paper Players and have used that as inspiration.


I liked it so much that I've been quite literal in interpretation and have used some old favourites of mine in the process. I love the Blackberry Bliss, Sahara Sand combination with one other (often Hello Honey or Lost Lagoon). I was sad to see that my favourite background stamp, Dictionary, is retiring. And although I was slow to like Kinda Eclectic, it has become a favourite go-
to, especially the butterfly.




Ingredients
Card: Blackberry Bliss, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Moonlight DSP stack, scrap of Hello Honey.
Stamps:  SU Dictionary, Kinda Eclectic, Wetlands (for the sentiment), Hero Arts Dandelion.
Inks: Sahara Sand, Blackberry Bliss, Hello Honey
Punches and Folders: Elegant Butterfly punch, Oval framelits, CTMH Honeycomb embossing folder, Couture Charming Chevrons embossing folder
Other: Brad base, Sahara Sand candy dot, linen twine (another favourite!), dimensionals, Early Espresso marker.

Sunday, 26 April 2015

Paper Craft Crew 141

This week's sketch at The Paper Craft Crew is another good one, which stimulated a few ideas for me, but I eventually settled on one to run with.


I particularly like the combination of Lost Lagoon, Cherry Cobbler and Sahara Sand and so worked with that again for this card.



In this photo, you can see that the Sahara Sand layer is raised above the panel of white, which has been stamped in Cherry Cobbler with a stamp from the retired Sweet Summer set.


I'm also quite addicted to the Papillon Potpourri set and you can see the layers of the butterfly well in this photo.


Update: Delighted that this card made Featured Artisan at Paper Craft Crew.

Ingredients
Card: Cherry Cobbler, Lost Lagoon, Sahara Sand, Whisper White
Stamps: Papillon Potpourri, Sweet Summer, Crazy About You.
Ink: Cherry Cobbler, Lost Lagoon, Black
Other: Decorative Dots embossing folder, circle punch, Bitty Butterfly punch, pearls, Cherry Cobbler baker's twine, dimensionals



Cas-ology 143 and SCYS 13

Today's card was a bit of an experiment.  I was aiming for a masculine, very clean, almost graphic card which is something I don't do a lot of. It was also an experiment in inlaying dies.

The stimulation for this card came from the challenges at Cas-ology and Showcase Your Style.





Ingredients
Card: Whisper White
Stamps: Altenew Label Love
Inks: Wisteria Wonder, Perfect Plum, Elegant Eggplant
Dies: SSS Stitched Rectangle, MFT Thank You.
Other: Enamel dots from Paper Vine, dimensionals


Saturday, 25 April 2015

My Creative Sketches April 2015

During the school holidays, I visited my daughter as I wanted to scrapbook her at work. Her workspace is open to the public and she was in full flight deleting discards. So the perfect papers for this were October Afternoon's Public Library collection that I had stashed.

I'd also seen a lovely sketch at My Creative Sketches, which I have based this layout on.



I've added in another background layer made from an old library pocket and two due date cards behind the bottom photo, although they're something of an embellishment in themselves. The papers are so beautiful, and quite busy, so I've kept embellishments to a minimum. The 'Love your Library' tin badge is just wonderful though!



Using the SU Rotary date stamper fitted in with the whole library theme of this layout. Using vellum and sponging the strips and banners with Soft Suede added to the soft, slightly vintage look.

                                          

Although her desk is open to the public, they're often reluctant to ask her for help if she looks busy. So she added in the big ASK sign to her workspace. The butterfly that is part of it, I have taken out to add to the layout.


Ingredients
Papers: From Public Library collection by October Afternoon, SU Pool Party, vellum
Inks: SU Soft Suede, Hero Arts Black
Embellishments: October Afternoon tin badge, butterflies made using SU Bitty Butterfly punch and Soft Suede candy dot, Teal paper doily from Paper Vine, old library date cards and pocket,
Lettering: October Afternoon Public Library Alphabet stickers, Mini-alphabet stickers in a tin from Typo
Other: SU Rotary date stamper, Early Espresso marker to colour edges of photos, vellum and other un-sponged cut edges, dimensionals.


Sunday, 19 April 2015

As You See It 83 and JAI259

Today is the last day of school holidays and it's back to work tomorrow. So I've given myself a bit more time in the craft room and have spent it experimenting. The assortment challenge at As You See It just seemed to scream out for a shabby chic approach, so I've indulged myself. Over at Just Add Ink, this week's challenge is to "Just Add Sequins." I seldom use sequins and had to dig through the sewing box to find the left overs from a long-ago ballet costume. Handily, they were mother-of-pearl and some had a pink tint. They have now been re-located to a more accessible shelf for future reference!



Showing the texture of the background...


...and the black shadow under the newsprint butterfly...


...and, if you look carefully, the Iridescent Ice embossing over the butterfly.


As I was making this card, my daughter came around. When I explained the Assortment Challenge to her, she said it was just like doing a mystery box challenge on MasterChef and I guess she's right!

The 'pink' is covered in the background, created with a mix of Spun Sugar and Picked Raspberry distress inks.
The 'newsprint' is in the Dictionary stamp in the background and the book pages used for the butterfly and the banner.
The 'butterfly' is in the die cut butterfly and its shadow and in the butterflies stamped into the background with Picked Raspberry then diluted with a wet wipe.
The 'lace' is in the bottom layer, stamped with I Love Lace, the black lace ribbon strip at the back and the Textile embossing folder used on part of the pink background.
The 'shiny' is in the Iridescent Ice embossed on the newsprint butterfly and the pink-tinted mother-of-pearl sequins on the butterfly body and the background layer.

This card was a lot of fun to make, so thanks to the challenge blogs for great inspiration!

Ingredients
Card: Whisper White, Black, a discarded library book
Stamps: Stampin' Up I Love Lace, Dictionary, Gorgeous Grunge, Papillon Potpourri, Hastings Rubber Stamps Birthday.
Ink: Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, Soot Noir distress inks, Hero Arts Black, Versamark
Other: SU Butterfly thinlit, Provocraft Textile embossing folder, black lace, sequins, large oval scallop punch, oval framelit, blending tool, dimensionals


Friday, 17 April 2015

PaperVine April Colour Challenge

I've wasted quite a lot of time browsing through the delights at PaperVine and was interested to see they have started a monthly colour challenge. Last month's colours were delicious but this month's colours (citrus brights) are ones I use less often.



While making good my promise to myself to spend a bit more time scrapbooking these school holidays, I came across a fun picture of my kids, dressed and ready for an Op-Shop New Year's party. The orange tree in the background and the prevalence of citrus 60s and 70s clothing got me into a bit of an experiment with a more mixed-media approach to scrapbooking which happily coincided with the colour challenge. It was a lot of fun to do. I think I'll play with sprays a bit more now. Strangely, the Ground Coffee ink bled out to a kind of aubergine purple.



Ingredients
Card: Bazzill White, SU Tangelo Twist, Kaisercraft Abort from Technologic collection
Stamps: Hero Arts Music background stamp, SU Rotary date stamp
Inks: Soot Noir distress ink, Dyelusions Pure Sunshine, Tangerine Dream, Ground Coffee
Tools: Gesso, Martha Stewart lace edge punch, TCW Chevron stencil, distressing tool, sponges, square framelits
Embellishments: Mother-of-Pearl sequins from the sewing box, Enamel dots from PaperVine, alphabet stickers from Typo, AC Thickers black chipboard letters.

Thursday, 16 April 2015

Freshly Made Sketches 182 and ColourQ 287

I felt really inspired by the colour palette at ColourQ this week. It matched up with an idea I'd been percolating for a while but I couldn't settle to a layout for. Then, in very timely fashion, came this week's design from Freshly Made Sketches.

The sudden onset of winter continues today, as does the school holidays. Perfect crafting time!



Originally, I die cut a Hello Honey pair of glasses in a swept up style and used Glossy Accents to give them some shine. I had this pair die cut to use as a space filler while the Glossy Accents was drying but when I replaced them, the other glasses added a female presence to an otherwise bloke's card. The gloss was wrong too, so these simple Hello Honey frames stayed in place. I also thought about using two candy dots in the centre of the short side to act like simulated nails but instead went for the one off-set candy dot, to echo the 'one' of the words.

And once again, my beloved Dictionary stamp gets an outing.

Ingredients
Card: Black, Basic Grey, Whisper White, Hello Honey
Stamps: SU Dictionary background stamp, SU A Dozen Thoughts, MFT Geek is Chic
Ink: Black, Basic Grey
Other: MFT Geek is Chic dies, SU Square Lattice embossing folder, SU Label punch, dimensionals, Crushed Curry candy dot.

Tuesday, 14 April 2015

Spring Card SSC99 and Sketch-n-Scrap 47

Today's polar blast is an unavoidable reminder that winter is coming, if last night's new season of Game of Thrones wasn't hint enough! So it's been nice to look at card challenges from the other hemisphere and be reminded of spring.

One such challenge came from Sunday Stamps, a new discovery for me. This inspiration board is just delightful! Years ago, when I was at university, I had an old pushbike that I painted pink and black. I'm wishing I still had it now - it would be a great garden feature.



This worked in well with the card sketch challenge at Sketch~n~Scrap. This site is also a new discovery for me and it does both scrapbook and card challenges each month. This is my first card at this site although I've entered a scrapbooking layout here this month too. I liked this layout and I've been quite literal in my interpretation because it's so pretty.






Ingredients
Card: Wild Wasabi, Perfect Plum, Blushing Bride, Whisper White, Blushing Bride DSP
Stamps: Clearly Besotted Good Times, Grass stamp found at jumble sale, Stampin' Up I Love Lace
Ink: Perfect Plum, Certainly Celery, Wild Wasabi, Blushing Bride
Other: Good Times die, Certainly Celery button, linen twine, dimensionals, Provocraft Swiss Dots and Textile embossing folders, Large Oval Scallop punch, Oval framelit.


CAS Colours and Sketches 119

This week, it's sketch week at CAS Colours and Sketches. With the second week of school holidays and a polar blast sweeping up the country to remind us all that summer is over and autumn was quite brief, it was a good chance to get into my room and make something for this challenge before the deadline.




The Cherry Cobbler and Sahara Sand were sitting on my desk still as I hadn't fully tidied away after my last project and they reminded me what a fabulous combination they are by themselves. So began this card.

We had to put the heating on for the first time last night and only the fact I'm going out later has stopped me putting it on right now, even if I am the only one at home. I forsee a cosy night in with my craft gear later.

Update: Delighted to have this card make the Top Picks at CAS Colours and Sketches.

Ingredients
Card: Cherry Cobbler, Sahara Sand and Whisper White
Stamps: SU Gorgeous Grunge, Papillon Potpourri and A Dozen Thoughts.
Ink: Sahara Sand, Cherry Cobbler
Other: Cherry Cobbler baker's twine, dimensionals, sponge to sponge the edge of the white panel, Decorative Dots embossing folder, Bitty Butterfly punch, candy dots.

Sunday, 12 April 2015

CCMC350 and Paper Craft Crew 139

This week, a marriage made in heaven: a colour challenge from Create with Connie and Mary plus another great sketch from the Paper Craft Crew.



The colours were a bit scary as I tend to stay away from Crushed Curry. I was also determined to use the Butterfly thinlit, since I made a last-minute decision to buy it before the end of Saleabration and hadn't used it yet. So, here's how it turned out.




I gave the butterfly translucent wings by gluing it to vellum, cutting it out, then colouring it with Crushed Curry near the body and Calypso Coral further out. The little Coral butterflies were punched from a piece of Calypso Coral that had been embossed with Beautifully Baroque and had been sitting in my leftovers basket. The Hardwood stamp in Crushed Curry in the centre panel is quite muted in the photo but is a bit stronger in real life, although not overpowering as I had initially feared.

Ingredients
Card: Night of Navy, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry, Whisper White, Vellum, Crushed Curry DSP
Stamps: Hardwood, Crazy about You, Butterfly Basics
Ink: Night of Navy, Calypso Coral, Crushed Curry
Other: Butterfly thinlit, Bitty Butterfly punch, Pretty Print embossing folder, Beautifully Baroque embossing folder, Calypso Coral ribbon, Night of Navy and Crushed Curry candy dots, dimensionals, oval framelits.