Tuesday 29 September 2015

CASology 166 - Science


This week's CASology Cue Card is Science!



What?! Meteorology is a science, isn't it? Or are you a sceptic like me? Seems like we pay billions of dollars and they still can't predict the weather. Like, not even tomorrow's weather. And don't get me started on 'long-range forecasts'! lol!

Anyway, I used dies from Waffle Flower (Partly Cloudy die) and Mama Elephant (Polaroid Fun) cut in soft colours. When it came time to add my MFT (Polynesian Paradise) sentiment, I used the new Stampin' Up Archival Basic Grey ink rather than black. The contrast is less harsh, but still crisp and clean!

Now it's time for you to turn your art into science! Make sure to get even more inspiration from the rest of the DT:


Monday 28 September 2015

Ellen Hutson Pin-sights - Happy Day!


This is for the current Pin-Sights challenge over at The Classroom.


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I was inspired by the photo in the bottom centre - that rainbow 'grid' of diamond rings really caught my eye!

I used a flower die from Bold Blooms and embossed a little stamp from the matching stamp set for the flower centres, using clear embossing powder. I sponged each flower with Distress Ink and laid them fairly haphazardly on a grey panel. I stamped the sentiment (also from Bold Blooms) in Versafine Onyx.

Saturday 26 September 2015

MCV21, LIM243, PSS - Christmas Greetings


This is my card for this week's Muse: ChristmasVisions challenge where we have a Guest Muse: Ingrid Blackburn. Ingrid gave us this wonderful, holly-ful inspiration:




I focused on Ingrid's:
-theme (holly - my leaf is from Paper Smooches Christmas Words 2 dies and the berries are from the Poinsettia set).
-gold sentiment (Christmas is also from the Christmas Words 2 set, greetings is from Metropolis).
-layout (I kept the white panel slightly longer so that the black cardbase only shows at the sides).
-bling (Ingrid used Gold ep and sequins, and I used inlaid foil cardstock).

It was fun to use foil cardstock to get some real shine and colour, but man, it's hard to photograph!

I'm also linking up to the current Paper Smooches Sparks challenge as well as Less Is More, where the recipe is 'Something Shiny'.

ETA - Oct 9 - this card was Showcased at LIM!

Anyway, I hope you'll join us - we are now less than 3 months away from the big day, people! The deadline for this challenge is Wednesday morning at 8 am EDT. At that time you can vote for your 3 favourites until Thursday at 8 am. Voting results will be posted on Thursday at noon.

Muse134 - Beautiful Day


This is my card for this week's Muse challenge where Anita has given us this soft, pretty inspiration:




I mentioned the other day that I tried to make one card that would work for this challenge and also for the Time Out challenge. Two beautiful pastel cards - both with white embossing, one with circles, one with flowers. It should have worked. And it seemed to, when I started - I used Doodle Buds and embossed flowers and leaves in clear and then the sentiment with Versafine Black and clear. So far so good.

Then I pulled out my Zig Clean Colour Real Brush markers. And the colours are so fun and vibrant that I just couldn't keep them soft! lol!

So, I focused on Anita's
-technique - watercolour over white/clear embossing
-placement and colour of sentiment
-black frame

and I had fun, which is of course, the most important thing!

AND we had exciting news - on Friday, we got our 400th Facebook like! To celebrate this momentous occasion, in addition to our normal voting process, one lucky participant will be chosen at random to receive some crafty goodies!

I hope you'll get a chance to play along with us. The deadline is Monday at 8 am EDT. At that time you can vote for your 3 favourites until Tuesday at 8. Voting results will be posted Tuesday at noon.

Friday 25 September 2015

Uniko Guest (Part 2)

If you can believe it, this is my second guest post today. For my MFT post, please scroll down.


I'm also back today with the second of my Uniko Guest posts (here's the first). I've been working with All Occasion Sentiments #6  and I just love how well they work with all of the previous sets Uniko has released.


My first card was inspired by this pin. I used the daisy from Flower Power #7. I love the vibrant colour combination, but of course, I wanted some white space! I love how Beverley designed the 'you make me' (and the 'be your own kind of') bits of the sentiments to fit right into the main words ('smile' and beautiful').  I finished with the 3 hearts from Flower Power #3.


For my second card, I used Beautiful from the current release, and the rest of the sentiment is from All Occasion Sentiments #3. I created a background by die cutting and inlaying the beautiful graphic flower from Time. I sponged the panel as well as the cardbase in warm sunny colours.


I love the casual, handwritten feeling of the 'smile' sentiment and decided to have a little fun with it! I used simple die cut shapes to create a funny face that is sure to make the recipient smile.

I want to thank Bev for inviting me to Guest this month - what an privilege to be an honourary member of the Design Team!

MFT Guest (Part 2)



Today is my second post as Guest Designer on the MFT blog - head over to see the rest of these two London-themed cards!

I really want to thank the people at MFT who asked me to participate this month - it's been so much fun to play a part in the September release!

Thursday 24 September 2015

TO40 - Beautiful Day


My friend and fellow Toronto Crafty Girl, Tracey is the inspiration at the current Time Out challenge with this gorgeous card:




I sat down this afternoon, determined to make one card for Time out AND this week's Muse challenge. It should have worked. But it didn't. The good news is that I now have two pretty cards (I will post the Muse card on Saturday).

I focused on Tracey's
-floral theme (I used Impression Obsession Watercolour Wildflowers)
-pink, yellow and blue (OK, I added some green!)
-theme and colour of sentiment (I used my brand new WPlus9 Doodle Buds set)

To highlight the sentiment, I did something that I just saw Jennifer McGuire do in her latest video. I used only 3 sides of a rectangle die (mine's an Avery Elle double pierced rectangle)

Wednesday 23 September 2015

MFTWSC247 - Happy Birthday!


This is my card for this week's MFT Wednesday Sketch Challenge.



I have to admit that all the Guest Designer activity this month has kept me busy with new-new products and that has meant that many of my old-new products (from July and August) have not yet seen any ink!

The balloon is cut out of red acetate and inlaid into the edge of the white panel. I actually had the idea to use the acetate as a shiny, vinyl-looking balloon for this card, but got 'stuck' (ironically), when I couldn't figure out how to adhere it to the card. My good friend Natasha helped me out with a sheet of two-sided adhesive and I love how you can see through the acetate where it pops over the edge of the card. It will still fit into a 4.25x5.5 envelope because the card base is a 4.25 square.

Rather than sequins, I cut 3 little stars out of scraps of the acetate and adhered them the same way, to add a little more colour.

I used:
-Double-Stitched Squares
-Balloons Stax Die-namics
-Birthday Wishes and Balloons set
-Blueprints#18 (for the stars)

Tuesday 22 September 2015

CASology 165 - Circles


This week's CASology Cue Card is Circles!



My card is very, very simple. One layer, two stamps and lots of ink! lol!

I chose the biggest outline circle from Simon's Lots of Dots and stamped it in 7 or 8 colours, slightly offsetting it to create a 'nest'. I then stamps a Simon/WPlus9 'thanks' in versafine ink. As you can see, my inkpad is getting dry. (and I hadn't used my MISTI - grrr!), so I talked myself into liking the slightly distressed look of the 'less-than-perfect' inking!

Now it's your turn - we can't wait to see what you come up with! Make sure to stop by and see what the rest of the DT did:



Sunday 20 September 2015

MCV20 - Season's Greetings


This is my card for this week's Muse: ChristmasVisions challenge, where DT Member Betty has provided us with this lovely inspiration:




I'm also linking up to Paper Smooches Anything Goes challenge.



I focused on Betty's:
-colour scheme - red, green and white (mine are Cherry Cobbler and Mossy Meadow)
-sentiment (mine is a Paper Smooches die, inlaid)
-circle element (I used a circle panel rather than a wreath)
-flowers (mine are Paper Smooches Poinsettia dies, along with Impression Obsession Pine bough dies)
-stitched/pierced element (my circle is an MFT Pierced Circle).

I hope you'll join us this week! The deadline is Wednesday morning at 8 am. At that time you can vote for your 3 favourites until Thursday morning at 8. Voting results will be posted on Thursday at noon.


Saturday 19 September 2015

Muse133 - Happy Birthday Emily!


My post for this week's Muse challenge is a little bit later than usual. That's because this is also my card for Emily's birthday, and I don't want her to see it until she gets to my house today* and sees it for real.

It was inspired by this card by Michele:



I focused on Michele's
-black background
-pops of pastel colours (I lined mine up in rows, using Simon's Medium Dot Line die)
- butterfly (mine is a small Stampin' Up! stamp)
- tag element (I used a sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Birthday set).

I hope you'll join us at Muse this week - the deadline is Monday morning at 8 EDT. At that time you can vote for your three favourites until Tuesday at 8. Voting results will be posted on Tuesday at noon! 

*today, Tracey, Natasha, Lindsey and Emily are coming over for a stamping day. We've planned a little (slightly early) birthday party for Emily with cupcakes and everything! 

Friday 18 September 2015

Guesting for Uniko - September Release


So today I get to tell you what a lucky girl I've been this month! Beverley from Uniko asked me to Guest along with the Design Team for the September release. I've been working with All Occasions Sentiments #6 and it is SO. MUCH. FUN.  I love to focus on sentiments - it really frees you to try so many different ways of using and enhancing them!

For my first card, I used the two-part beautiful sentiment. I used Kaleidecolor (Royal Satin) ink for the 'beautiful' and black for the rest. Then I inked up my favourite daisy from Flower Power #7, also inked up with Kaleidecolor. To create a frame and some dimension, I popped up the sentiment using a Pierced Rectangle from MFT.

Next up, two graphic Thank you cards. I always love to see people using the same supplies in different ways - I hope you do too!




 First, I wanted to stamp a 6-colour rainbow. But only 5 images would fit on my panel. Hmmmm. Ping! I stamped each in two colours and I love the gradient look it gives - especially from a distance - go ahead, take a step back! lol!


Next up, I combined the sentiment with the Flower Power #7 Daisy (used the leaves from Flower Power #6) and the stem from Flower Power #3 (isn't it great how these all work together!). I shaded the letters with Warm Grey copics and then filled them in with Stickles. I love the rich colour combination of SU's Cherry Cobbler and Tip Top Taupe.

Thursday 17 September 2015

Exciting News!

Remember this card?




I submitted it to the Paper Smooches call for the October Guest Designer and..... I won! This morning I received an email from Kim and I just can't wait to be an honourary member of this very, very, VERY talented DT (seriously, go check it out!) for the month of October! Thank you so very much, Kim!

Wednesday 16 September 2015

RIC91 - Happy Birthday, Bev!


Today is Happy Dancing Bev's birthday! Anita is hosting a party and we're all invited!

I decided to use the current Runway Inspired Challenge as my inspiration for Bev's card:




I used my never-been-inked MFT Scribble Roses  and a sentiment from WPlus9's Strictly Sentiments 1.

Bev, I hope your day is full of fun, family and friends! I'm sorry that this card will be late, but it is on its way to you right this minute!

Tuesday 15 September 2015

CASology 164 - Umbrella


This week's CASology Cue Card is Umbrella!



For my card, I used tiny stamps from Waffle Flower's Planner Add-on Weather 1 and a sentiment from RainCheck.

I wanted the icons to be an integral part of the sentiment, representing 'rain or shine'. I played around with various layouts and settled on this - the sentiment tilted and popped up and the 'rain' and 'shine' stamped so that you still read them left to right and top to bottom.

These stamps are very little, so repeating them 3 times each really allowed me to increase the pops of colour and create some balance. I finished by adding some stickles for a little sparkle.

And now it's your turn - we can't wait to see what you come up with this week!

Make sure to stop by the rest of the DT to see what they've created:

Monday 14 September 2015

MFT - Final Superstar Entry


Two more cards using September release MFT products.

For the first card I used Birthday Centre Pieces. To achieve the rainbow shadow on the birthday die, I cut it twice in white. On the lower panel, I coloured each letter with a copic marker and then glued them together slightly offset.

I also used London Mouse, but I chose to go with a fall fair theme, and used one of the trees (and its matchind Die-namic) as cotton candy. I coloured the London Eye in rainbow colours and added some glossy accents. I left the stickles quite chunky on the 'cotton candy' for some fluffy texture. This is my final entry for the  card design 'Superstar' contest that MFT is holding. I promise!
Card Design Superstar






The second card is very CAS, using Fall Florals (and matching Die-namics), Thanks So Very Much and a Double Stitched Square die, embossed onto the cardbase. I love the 'quilted' feeling it created! I filled in the flower centres with a black marker and some glossy accents.

Sunday 13 September 2015

MCV19, Mix it up - Merry Christmas


This is my take on this week's Muse: ChristmasVisions challenge, where DT member Chriss gave us this inspiration:



I'm also linking up (again) to the Ellen Hutson/Impression Obsession Mix it Up challenge.

I focused on Chriss'
-colour scheme
-layout
-starry night (mine is a not-quite-cut-all-the-way-through Taylored Expressions cutting plate)
-grey-blue sky (mine is sponged in Hickory Smoke and Broken China)
-sparkle (she has lit windows, I have Impression Obsession trees embossed with iridescent ep)
-white sentiment (mine is an Ellen Hutson die cut from Merry & Bright)
-small red element. I absolutely adore Chriss' little hearts. My red element is a masked Ellen Hutson sentiment from 'Tis the Season.

I hope you'll get a chance to join us at Muse: ChristmasVisions this week. The deadline is Wednesday at 8 am EDT. At that time you can vote for your 3 favourites until 8 am on Thursday. Voting results will be posted at noon on Thursday!

Saturday 12 September 2015

Muse 133 - Happy Birthday


This is my card for this week's Muse Challenge, where Joan has given us this inspiration:




I focused on Joan's
-focus on related sentiments
-tilted panel (I tilted a few more)
-colour scheme (black, white, yellow plus some others)

It's got quite a different feel to Joan's, but it's also got a different purpose - I wanted to capture the crazy fun of a birthday!

I'm also linking this up to the Paper Smooches call for October's Guest Designer. I took advantage of the consistency of size and font of sentiments from different sets to create a multi-messaged birthday card.

I used
-Birthday Bash (main sentiment)
-Knick Knacks ('you rock', 'aged beautifully')
-Wake Up ('have a nice day', 'this calls for a toast')
-Metropolis ('let's celebrate', tiny stars)
-Perpetual Bliss ('let the good times roll')
-Bold Buzzwords (larger stars)

Friday 11 September 2015

RIC91, MFT CDS (2) - Happy, Happy Birthday!


Last minute entry to the current Runway Inspired Challenge (my friend Tasha and I decided to enter together, but she had to go pick up her boys from school...) and the MFT Card Design Superstar challenge (they may regret saying that we can enter 5 times! lol!)

Here's the Michael Kors inspiration:



I used my newly-arrived Label Maker Sentiments and matching Die-namics. I also used my newly arrived Stampin' Up Archival Black ink - it's really black! Along with Limelight and Summer Splash. And I added a pierced square layer for the stitching and buttonholes on the jacket.
Card Design Superstar

MFT Card Design Superstar Entry


I'm entering the MFT Card Design Superstar challenge with this card. I won't go all philosophical about being a superstar - I suspect that we all have days where we feel like superstars and days where we don't! lol!


Card Design Superstar

This idea came to me while I was away last weekend with my daughter. It came fully formed and I don't think I've seen it anywhere. That's a rare occurrence for me! And in the end, I think its whimsical and fun!

I used
London Mouse - houses, clouds and mice
Things With Wings - sentiments - I cut up two of them and placed them on either side of the mice for balance.
Blueprints 25 - card panel
Blueprints 26 - balloon, balloon string and bow. I created stencils and sponged the balloon and string to keep the panel flat for my mice.


Thursday 10 September 2015

Guest Designer for MFT September Release






I am so thrilled today to share that I've been asked to be a Guest Designer at My Favourite Things a couple of times this month! The September release was absolutely fabulous - so many amazing products to choose from! I've been having so much fun playing and creating!

These are a couple of sneak peeks of what's on the MFT blog today - please go check it out!


My Favorite Things