Tuesday 31 March 2015

Bold Blooms (Again!)


This is my second post today (scroll down for CASology) but I wanted to make the deadline for Ellen Hutson's Pin-sights challenge. This was another challenge that Emily brought to our crafty day last weekend. I stamped the bold black images while I was there, but finished the card earlier today.


Pinterest Challenge 1

I focused on the colour scheme of black, white and sparkly gold and used (again!) Julie Ebersole's Bold Blooms. I just LOVE these stamps and dies! To keep the card clean and graphic, I used a Simon Says Stamp row of dots die to create the inlaid sparkly gold dots down the side. No room on the front for a sentiment, but a scripty Happy Birthday or Thanks inside will fit perfectly!

CASology 140 - Spring


This week's CASology Cue Card is Spring!



I've gone in a direction that is maybe a little unexpected. I used an old Stampendous build-a-robot set (plus a little hand-drawing for his body) to create a punny, springy card.

Now, I'm not a person who draws. That's why I stamp! But the 'body' portions of stamps that I had with this set were not quite right for the robot I wanted to build. So I took a Copic Multiliner and drew his square little body.  The sketchy, imprecise style of these stamps made this very easy.

When I was finished, I realized that this guy and his sentiment were taking up a lot of space on my main panel.

To keep the card CAS, I

1) grouped the image and the sentiment as close together as I could, starting from the bottom left corner.
2) minimized the colouring, so that there is white space even inside the image
3) popped the panel up on a white card base, to create a clear border around the panel.

Now it's your turn. Can't wait to see how spring inspires you!

Monday 30 March 2015

MFTCC18 - Happy Birthday!




Do you know since I got home from our crafty day at Tracey's on Saturday, I haven't had a MINUTE to finish off all the fun projects I started. This one was the closest to completion, so now that I was able to dash into my craft room before the next thing on my to-do list, I quickly whipped it up and photographed it.

On Saturday, Emily, Natasha and I had a quick road trip (about 1/2 hour) to Tracey's house. We started with lunch at a nearby restaurant and got a lot of chatter out of the way, plus we fuelled up for a very, very productive afternoon. OK, and into the early evening! It's hard to say good-bye when we're having so much fun! (so much fun we didn't get many photos of us together - Tracey's daughter had left for work by the time we remembered!)



Emily had a great idea to bring a few current challenges along as a starting point for our inspiration. This card is for the current MFT colour challenge.


They're not colours I use very often, but they look lovely together- and it's good to branch out!

I used the full moon from You Move Me (looks like it's retired?) to stamp big dots in the blue, orange and yellow on a scrap of white cardstock before I die cut the Butterfly. I layered it with a black one, for a tiny bit more definition and contrast.  I used a sentiment from Celebrate You.

So I've got a few more things to show you later in the week, but let me give you this little hint - there are now 3 ladies completely in love with Gansai watercolours who will likely be placing orders!

Saturday 28 March 2015

MM151, CTS116 - Merry Christmas


I decided to combine this week's Merry Monday and CAS(E) This Sketch challenges.



This little Taylored Expressions tree die is one that I bought after this past Christmas. I love the quirky placement of the 'ornaments'. And I'm glad I thought of it - quite often, I see things at Christmas, buy them too late to use for that season and then completely forget that I have them!

I used my little polaroid frame die from Mama Elephant . To create the striped glitter background, I took a scrap of white cardstock and laid a 1/4" strip of double-sided tape on it before sprinkling it with GlitterRitz ultrafine glitter. Then I laid the next strip and sprinkled the next colour until I had 7 strips of glittery colour. I cut the frame again, and used only the  glittered centre square in the white frame. I finished it with a little sentiment from Waffle Flower.



Friday 27 March 2015

Muse 110 - Happy Birthday


This is my card for this week's Muse challenge, where Tenia Nelson is our guest designer. She provided us with this card for our inspiration:




I was also inspired to use my new Altenew Henna Elements set by the third card in this post by Joyce. I focused on the colours and theme, trying to capture the same elegant feeling while using a different mixture of elements. The sentiment is from Sketched Shapes by Papertrey and embossed in copper.

I hope you'll get a chance to play along with us this week - the deadline is Monday morning at 8 am. At that time you can vote for your 3 favourites, even if you didn't link up a card, until Tuesday morning at 8. Voting results will be posted at noon on Tuesday. Hope to see you there!

Tuesday 24 March 2015

CASology 139 - Style


This week's CASology Cue Card is Style!



I decided to go with a fashion theme and used my new Stamplorations Newlyweds stamp (by Shirley B, by the way!).

It's a large image, so I kept my card CAS by doing the following

1) I kept the card to one layer
2) I placed the image to one side to keep a large amount of white space
3) I only coloured (and Stickled!) the flowers, to maximize white space even within the image.

I cropped the image by masking the bottom and using part of the sentiment to complete the dress. This helped the couple fit better on my square card.

I stamped it all in Hero Arts Charcoal, trying to achieve a pencil-drawing, sketch feel that is true to the image. I used a 'hand written' sentiment to help with that.

And now it's your turn - how will 'style' inspire you? Check out the blogs of the rest of the DT for more inspiration!

Saturday 21 March 2015

RS157, OLS14, Muse 109 - Happy Birthday (National Geographic Style!)


I found myself with an hour this afternoon and decided to make a card (I probably won't get another chance to post again before CASology on Tuesday morning).

I went searching through blogland and found Retro Sketches - I haven't played there in ages! I don't always love sketch challenges, but since this week's sketch is perfect for a CAS card and my good friend Tracey is on the DT, I decided to play along.




I made my card one layer, by sponging the frame onto the white card base. I chose yellow, thinking maybe I could make another Muse card, using the frame element, the theme and the yellow from Marion's whimsical spring card. I figured since it was one-layered, I would only use a sentiment, and also link it up to the current OLS Challenge (Words, Words, Words).  I figured I would use blue for my sentiment, to add in another link to Marion's card.




But once I saw the yellow frame on the card base, I got a National Geographic feel and popped over to their website to see how close my design was to their logo. I ended up going very graphic and masculine (but wouldn't it be perfect for someone who is interested in (or even still gets hard copies of) National Georgraphic!).

So there you go. One hour, two colours, two stamps (Uniko Happy, Craft's Meow Birthday), three challenges and more than you ever wanted to know about my thought process!

Now I'm off to bake cookies and start prepping for dinner!

See you Tuesday!

Thursday 19 March 2015

Muse 109 - Happy Birthday


It's been a couple of days since I posted - it's March break this week, and being busy with kids means not much crafty time! This is my card for this week's Muse challenge, where Marion has inspired us with this bright sunny card:



I focused on the basic layout, the colours and some of the elements (frame and flowers).

I created my circle frame by cutting out the PTI Phrase Play #5 happy journal card die in white and then cutting it again with a circle die. Looks like that's what people were doing at the OLCC about Stretching your Dies today, based on some of the 'homework' I've seen.

I coloured the 'happy' with a black copic and then inlaid Coastal Cabana. I then cut a Yo-yo Yellow panel and inlaid the whole thing into that by cutting the same sized circle out of the centre.

I added some Stamps of Life mini-flowers with enamel dots and popped up a PTI 'birthday', stamped in Versafine Onyx and embossed in clear.

I hope you'll get a chance to play along with us - based on the gallery it seems like maybe a lot of you have the same problem getting to your craft room this week - I know here as well as being March break, the sun has been shining (although it's not very warm yet) and we've been trying to be outside as much as possible!

The deadline for this challenge is Monday at 8 am EDT. After that, you can vote for your top 3 favourites until Tuesday at 8. Voting results will be posted at noon. Hope to see you there!

Tuesday 17 March 2015

CASology 138 - Blossom


This week's CASology Cue Card is Blossom!




If you're going to use lots of colour and busy pattern, leaving lots of white space will ensure that your design is still CAS.  I used a tiny blossom from Altenew's Doodle Blooms set, in some of the new bright Ranger Dye Ink colours, plus Razzleberry from MFT. I popped the white panel up, but I could have masked the stamped area, or I could have chosen a strip of DP to achieve a similar look. I finished it with a Papertrey birthday sentiment.

Now it's your turn! I'm sure the gallery will be filled with delightful floral creations this week - we're definitely ready in Toronto for some colours other than white (actually, dirty brownish-grey now, as the snow starts to melt!). Of course, we at CASology love white (space, that is) all year long!




Monday 16 March 2015

ATCAS59 - Green Christmas


This card is for Addicted to CAS's green challenge.



I know it's spring, but somehow my thoughts turned to Christmas. I was inspired by Shona's triangle Christmas card here:



Instead of die cuts, I sponged and stamped. My triangle mask used a Spellbinders triangle die.  I sponged the tree in Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn and Evergreen Boughs. The sentiment comes from W Plus 9's Hand Lettered Holiday set, stamped in Versafine Onyx. I topped my tree with one of my blingy Michael's embellishments.

ETA - I've also linked up to One-Layer Christmas Card challenge - Anything Goes.


Sunday 15 March 2015

Pinterest-inspired Birthday!


Here's another pinterest-inspired card.  I took my inspiration from a quilt in this photo:


Mostly Teal - front

I love how the yellow and orange pop off the blues!

I used Happy Birthday dies from The Stamps of Life cut in Summer Sun and Berry Sorbet. The streamer is from Winnie&Walter and the sequins were in a little packet that was included in one of my recent orders.

ETA - here's a link to the word dies. They come with a 'shadow' die so that you can layer the words.


Saturday 14 March 2015

Muse #108 - Merci Beaucoup


DT Member Michele has given us a lovely, sunny inspiration for this week's Muse challenge.



I focused on the colours, the use of DP (mine's Doodlebug), a big yellow flower (Papertrey die) and a French sentiment (Impression Obsession). I finished my card with a sparkly Michael's jewel.

I hope you'll get a chance to join us - the deadline is on Monday morning at 8 EDT. At that time, you can vote for your favourite 3 cards (even if you didn't link up a card) until Tuesday at 8. Voting results will be posted on Tuesday at noon.


Friday 13 March 2015

Fusion - Thank you!


It's been a while since I played along with Fusion. This week's inspiration really caught my attention. The colours are gorgeous!



I chose to only use the inspiration photo. I used my new Mama Elephant Merci set and a Paper Smooches flower die. I love the scale and hand-lettered look of the sentiment! I coloured the daisies with Copics, to match the photo and then added little black enamel dots.

Thursday 12 March 2015

Oh Happy Day!


As I was putting away some new goodies last night, I just couldn't resist stopping to make a card with this new set: Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps Bold Blooms by Julie Ebersole. There are a lot of scribble flowers around these days, but these ones really appeal to me because of their thicker lines and almost Charles Rennie Mackintosh look.

Right now there is a Mix it Up challenge at The Classroom - your card needs to use Ellen Hutson and Hero Arts product. I used Red Royal and Charcoal inks, and at the last minute added some Stampin' Up More Mustard in the centres.

Wednesday 11 March 2015

MM149 - The Savior is Born


Here's my card for this week's Merry Monday challenge, monochromatic blue.



I'm excited about this one! Once again, I took my inspiration from this card by Diana. I love how she made her sponged areas look like ribbon.

I created arc masks in post-it paper and then sponged in Chipped Sapphire, Salty Ocean and Tumbled Glass.  I finished with a CSS nativity and sentiment (too bad Saviour is spelled incorrectly for us here in Canada! lol!). Not sure where my star came from - I really wanted to cut out a MB star, but they're still on my wish list!

(PS, you'll love the irony of this - the top panel is popped up with 4 previous attempts of the masking, cut down to 3.5" squares)

Tuesday 10 March 2015

CASology 137 - Tropical


This week's CASology Cue Card is Tropical!



Perfect timing because I am going to go crazy if the weather doesn't warm up soon! lol! We have had less snow than usual, but we had the coldest February on record in Toronto. Last week was just as cold and we're just now seeing the first temperatures over freezing in a LONG time! Today is going up to 10 C (50 F) and it actually does feel tropical! lol!

My card was inspired by a CASology entrant from the 'mini' challenge, Ksenija, who created this amazing sunset. I spread my sunset across the front panel of the card and focused on my sentiment, (also linking up to OLS14, Words, Words, Words) that was created by using both Uniko and Technique Tuesday stamps.

So you can use sponging and blending and big bold sentiments on a CAS card, by limiting the amount of colour and ensuring lots of white space around it.

Now it's your turn! For more inspiration, check out what the rest of the DT came up with for this lovely, warm cue card!

Saturday 7 March 2015

Muse 107 - Birthday Wishes


This is my card for this week's Muse challenge, where DT member Vicki has given us this inspiration:




I focused on the neutral colours, the layout and the circles (dots on the DP and the sequins). I used a Simon Says Stamp die to cut the circles and then coloured them with copics before popping them up on the card base. I used my brand-spankin' new PTI sentiment in Fog ink.

There is still time for you to play along with us this week - the deadline is Monday morning at 8 am EDT (yes, we've sprung forward into Daylight time here in Toronto!). At that time you can vote for your 3 favourites until Tuesday morning at 8. Voting results will be posted on Tuesday at noon. Hope to see you there!

Friday 6 March 2015

Pinterest-inspired Mother's Day


I know, it's early for Mother's Day, but only here in North America. In Scotland, where my mother-in-law lives, Mother's Day is coming soon (March 15, to be exact!)!

I took my inspiration from this photo on my inspiration board on Pinterest:


Large Flowers Abstract Painting Modern Floral Garden .. red yellow blue green ...24 x 54 ... Fantasia, Amy Giacomelli

I used the little Tulips from Stampin' Up's Painted Petals and a sentiment from Simon Says Stamp. I stamped and sponged a panel before cutting it into 3 and popping it up onto my cardbase.

Thursday 5 March 2015

Happy Birthday, Kate!


Today is Kate's 12th birthday and this is my card for her. You may recognize the layout from  Shona's card from last week's Muse challenge



...or you may not! This is the first card I made for that challenge (you can see the second one here). Kate's party theme is neon/glow-in-the-dark so it seemed appropriate to use these bright colours for her card. Notice, please, that there are 12 little dots.

Here's a photo of Kate, taken by the photographer at my sister's wedding last month (with the bride's bouquet):



We're looking forward to a party at home with 11 girls, black light and lots of glowing activities - decorating t-shirts with neon paint, a photo booth with lots of neon/glowing props, a movie, and meringues with whipped cream and fruit instead of birthday cake (don't ask!)

Tuesday 3 March 2015

CASology 136 - Basket


This week's CASology Cue Card is Basket!



It's the perfect time of year for this cue card - pretty soon all sorts of baskets will be popping up! I decided to also play along with Susan's new OLS challenge - Words, Words, Words. The only stamps you can use are words.

I was inspired by this card, by my good friend Geri, to create my 'basket' by 'weaving' sponged straight lines in Shabby Shutters and Spun Sugar - perfect Easter Colours. The sentiment is from Li'l Inker Designs.

Now it's your turn - we can't wait to see how creative you can be with this cue card! For more inspiration, make sure you visit the rest of the DT members' blogs:



Monday 2 March 2015

Merry Monday 148 Guest Designer - Red and Green


My funny Santa card was chosen as at winner at Merry Monday, so this week I get the honour of being Guest Designer!

This week's challenge is to use red and green:


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieXwMilZzVbAYSyO9yvEqqPPuEL8FNxvjkWWF8vgesVvTqR9DD7oo6KK2E6qpeQFUjeBYMKsXjlG_6RPVAOObvzUSqsnpzOBRNg80gjXlp2t6xiecRPqGNRPV6qiMjlvZm_8Kyda6B_v_8/s1600/148.png

I went ultra clean and graphic, using a PTI Super Stripe to create some clean swoopy banners in Classic Cherry and Electric Lime Ranger Dye inks. I finished with a deep red sentiment and some dots of Stickles. Simple but festive and fun!

Sunday 1 March 2015

Pinterest inspired!


This card was inspired by 4 different photos on my Inspiration board on Pinterest:

One:
Earth Day 2011 Windows by anthropologie+you

Two:
Diana Nguyen, Hero Arts, butterfly, Verve

Three:
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Four:
JJ Bolton: colored vellums and cut a variety of "waves". I layered them, attached them betw 2 card stock panels. Then ea corner has a dimensional underneath. them:) The last step was to add a tiny bit of sugar glitter here and there. I picked one of my favorite sentiments from the Everyday Greetings set

I was attracted by the cool fresh colours and the curves. I created masks with Post-it notes and my Creative Memories Curvy Cutter (retired) and sponged Salty Ocean and Mown Lawn. I finished with aSoft Suede sentiment and 'frame'.