Sea Breeze ....

...  Morning!  We're enjoying gorgeous summer weather here in Northville.  It's a bit milder than normal, but that suits me very well.  My card today celebrates balmy summer evenings at the beach - be it lakeside (as here in Michigan) or at the seaside.

Stamps: Inkadinkado - Coastal, Down by the Seaside; Stampin' Up! - Work of Art
Inks: SU - Pacific Point, Tempting Turquoise, Smoky Slate; Versafine - Onyx Black; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Smoky Slate; Wink of Stella - Clear; Copic Markers

Our theme at The Male Room - TMR#16-15 is Vacation or On the Beach - last week I made a card showing vacation preparations, so as a reminder I thought that I'd show a beach card this week.  I'm also submitting this card to Inkspirational - INK#88 (photo inspiration) and to Colour Throwdown - CTD#355.

I cut a panel of soft grey card slightly smaller then the card and adhered it directly the base.  On the white panel I stamped this lovely lighthouse scene - reminds me of the lighthouses around Michigan.  I masked off the clouds, lighthouse, beach and moon and stamped a gradient of blues to create the sky and lake (sea).  After removing the mask, I coloured the lighthouse, clouds, and beach with Copic markers.  As I decided to make this an evening scene, I added sparkle to the moon with my clear Wink of Stella brush.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of grey card and added some shells to the white panel.

I took a close-up photo of the moon to show the sparkle:

We've had some fabulous submissions for The Male Room challenge and there's still plenty of time to join in, deadline is Tuesday 18th August midnight BST (7.00pm EDT).

Last Friday Jonathan, Mum and I took a short road trip to northern Michigan.  We stopped first in Mackinaw City and headed out to see the bridge connected the upper peninsula with the main body of Michigan.  It was getting dark when we arrived, so we went back out in the morning to have another look - it's a fab bridge.  Then we drove to several towns - Petosky, Charlesvoix, Glen Arbor, Leland, Frankfort, and Ludington.  It was a lovely day, but we weren't able to spend much time in any one place - so we'll have to visit again.

Jonathan, Mum and me in front of the Mackinac Bridge.  

Looking across the lake towards Mackinac Island - you can see the ferry taking over the first visitors of the day.

Petoskey Marina - it was so quiet and peaceful.

Early(ish) Sunday morning at Ludington Marina.  This is a view of the lighthouse through one of the many sculptures in the area.

The Spirit of Ludington.  We had a lovely time walking around the marina and watching people take their boats out to the lake.

We then headed off to Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp to pick up Kathryn and to watch the choir concert.  Kathryn spent 12 days at the camp singing and studying Shakespeare.  She was very pleased to see us as she had missed us all very much, but she loved it and can't wait to do it again!!  The choir concert was fabulous.  It was a really good weekend.

The Little Things ....

...   Hello!!  This morning I've a one layer card to share with you, made using the monochromatic colours from this week's CAS - Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#118 and the layout from CAS(E) this Sketch - CTS#117.  I actually made another card using these two challenges, but it's a DT card and won't go up until after both challenges close.  Green is my favourite colour, so I had to play along:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Work of Art; Penny Black - Dandee, Heartfelt
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; SU - Glorious Green, Green Galore, Gumball Green, Certainly Celery, Gable Green, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Lucky Limeade; Stickles

I used one of the smaller paint swatch stamps from the Work of Art set and stamped it in shades of green.  I only realised after I finished stamping that all the greens I used are in fact discontinued colours - I got several of them second hand.  Told you I like green :)  I stamped the big dandelion image in bold black, added a sentiment and finished by applying Stickles to the flower head.  On the inside I cut a mat of lime card (so glad I bought extra card) and on the white panel I added a few seeds floating along the bottom.

I've taken a close-up photo of the flower head showing all the lovely sparkle from the Stickles glue - it's a much bolder look than using Wink of Stella.

That's it for now!  Take care.

SNG - Turtle Art ....

....  Good morning!  I think many of you know that I like the turtle images drawn by Rick St Dennis and I've got another to share with you this morning.  This is a fun guy - he likes to get inky and messy - a bit like most of us!!

Stamps: Rick St Dennis Digi - Artemis The Sunday Painter; Stampin' Up! - Work of Art; Stamp free with Stamp Crafter
Inks: SU - Strawberry Slush, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Wild Wisteria; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Spellbinders - Squares Lg (S4-126) #7, Lacey Squares (S4-295) #5
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Copic Markers; Sakura Glaze Pen

I printed Artemis on white card and coloured him with Copic markers and Sakura Glaze pens; if you like him you can find him on Rick's Zibbet shop where you can check out even more of Rick's images.  I cut out the finished image with a square die.  I coloured some white card to match the turtle's body and die cut the lacy square for a mat layer.  I added splodges of colour to the corners of the card and stamped on words that seemed absolutely perfect.  The words come from a stamp that I got free with the Stamp Crafter several years ago.  On the inside of the card I stamped the colours again and finished a fun sentiment.

I've got a bit of a dull day planned today - I've got to call several different medical insurance companies to sort out some bills - I can't think of a duller way to spend the day!  But it has to be done.  I do hope you have a better day.  Take care - see you tomorrow!

Stampin' Up! CASE cards ....

....  So much for getting back into a routine now that Mum is back in the UK!!!  Kathryn finished school last Thursday for her long, long summer break and while I had planned to stick to my routine - it's sort of fallen by the wayside!!!  And I can't really blame Kathryn, I think it has more to do with the Football World Cup in Brazil - I've been watching it - a lot!!!  So today's cards were actually made at a recent Stampin' Up! get together run by Karin.  I had lots of fun.

The first card is a masculine card with a vintage, nautical theme.  It's a CASEd (Copy and Share Everything) card based on Georgia Giguere's lovely card. We changed the white card she used to Very Vanilla, giving a more vintage feel.  The rest of the group made their card into a Father's Day card, but I decided I needed another masculine birthday card.

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Open Sea, Endless Birthday Wishes, And Many More
Inks: SU - Sahara Sand, Early Espresso, Marina Mist
Dies: SU/Sizzix - Deco Labels Framelits, Circles Framelits
Accessories: SU Card - Crumb Cake, Marina Mist, Very Vanilla; Essential Paper Piercing Kit; Candy Dot Brads; Window Sheets

Next we made a really fun birthday card with a cute image and pun sentiment.  This one was CASEd from Lori Hellig's card.  This is pretty much as she made it, but with a variation in the design paper.  Every card looked different depending on where you punched out the circles to create the "cheese" layer.  We added a bit of dimension by shading around the cut out circles.  I coloured the image on the front of the card with Blendabilities, which I found bled just a bit, but I like the colours.  On the inside I used my Copic markers which didn't bleed, but don't quite match the card colour.

Stamps: SU - Giggle Greetings
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; SU - So Saffron
Dies: SU/Sizzix - Circles Framelits
Accessories: SU Card - Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey, So Saffron, Whisper White; SU Circle Punches 1", ¾" and ½"; SU DP - Moonlight; SU Blendabilities (image on front card); Copic Markers (inside image)

Next we used the fabulous Swallowtail stamp, this card is CASEd from Jan Tink's wonderful card.  Not only do we use the beautiful butterfly, but also my other favourite new SU set - Work of Art.  The only real change here is that we only used three little flags for the greeting.  The butterfly was "coloured" by using second generation impressions from various Work of Art stamps.  I can see this card working in lots of other colours.

Stamps: SU - Swallowtail, Work of Art, Gorgeous Grunge
Inks: SU - Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Hello Honey
Dies: SU/Sizzix - Banners Framelits (you), Hearts a Flutter (Just for)
Accessories: SU Card - Sahara Sand, Blackberry Bliss, Lost Lagoon, Whisper White, Hello Honey; SU Ribbon - Hello Honey; SU Gems

Our last card was a super clean and simple thank you card based on Susan Itell's CAS creation.  We switched up the colours and papers used, and I can see this working layout working for so many cards!  I used an aqua brush to paint on Blushing Bride ink and allowed it to dry.  Then it was simply a case of stamping the sentiment and adding the little flowers and gems.  I covered the envelope flap with some design paper; such a good way to use up scraps of paper. 

Stamps: SU - Watercolour Thank You
Inks: SU - Night of Navy, Blushing Bride
Accessories: SU Card -Whisper White, Night of Navy; SU DP - Flower Pot; Itty Bitty Punch Pack; SU Pearls

I spent yesterday afternoon watching the England v Uruguay match.  I started with a feeling of optimism for an England win, but it was just awful!  We ended up losing the match with a score of 2 - 1 to Uruguay.  It looks like England is heading home unless something really strange happens in the last few matches.  So it looks like I'm going to be supporting USA now!  Sorry, I know this is totally off topic ;)

I think we're off to the cinema today to see either Maleficent or How to Train Your Dragon 2.  I think it depends on what time Kathryn gets up!  That's all for now.  See you tomorrow!

ASM - Anything Goes ....

....  Hello!  I managed to get an hour in my craft room this morning to make a card for this week's challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More!  This week is our ever popular Anything Goes challenge - so got for it!  Our sponsor this week is Rick St Dennis.  Now, I'd not heard of him before this challenge, but I love, love his digi images.  They range from cute, cute with an edge, sassy, funky, scary to down right mad!!  Here's the card I made using Art Will Set Us Free:

Stamps: Rick St Dennis Digi - Art Will Set Us Free; Stampin' Up! - Work of Art
Inks: SU - Pacific Point, Rich Razzleberry, Melon Mambo, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Copics

When I was browsing through Rick's collection of digis I came across this image and knew I had to use it.  I think at heart, many of us are mad crafters and this image really captures that feeling.  I printed off a couple of images (varying the size) and coloured them with Copic markers.  Once coloured, I cut them out and found the one to fit this card.  I decided to make her have mad green hair (wish I was young enough to get away with a style like this) and colour the dress (straight-jacket) grey.  If you look at the digi you will see that each paintbrush has a colour - which is what I used to stamp the brush stroke image on the card.  I finished with a bold, simple sentiment.  I've left the card inside blank for my own message.  The brushstroke image comes from one of Stampin' Up! new sets which I think is fabulous and goes so well with the digi.

For more inspiration check out our Addicted to Stamps and More! blog to see what the rest of the team have made. 

I know it's been a bit quite around here lately, so I thought I'd say thanks to everyone for dropping by and leaving such lovely comments on my Birthday Surprise post - they are all very much appreciated.  I told you that I'm having a great time with my Mum here, well last weekend we headed over to Grand Rapids.  I took Mum to see The Glenn Miller Orchestra playing with the Grand Rapids Symphony at DeVos Theatre.  It was a wonderful afternoon and we had a great time.  Here's a clip of the band playing In The Mood - fab!



That's all for now - see you soon.

A trio of green ....

... Hi!  Just popping in with a quick post.  I'm really enjoying having my Mum here to stay, but it does mean that I'm not getting into my craft room to play very often.  However, I managed a quick half hour this morning and have a very clean, simple card to share with you.

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Work of Art
Inks: SU - Green Gable, Green Galore, Glorious Green; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card

This one came together based on a couple of challenges - Less is More - LIM#170 to use either three colours or three shades of one colour and CAS-ual Fridays - CFC#131 - three thirds.  This is a small card only 5" × 3½".  I was lucky enough to go the launch of the new Stampin' Up! catalogue last week and we were all given a free set of one of the new stamps - Work of Art - it's fabulous!  I used one of the stamps from that set, stamped it three times in three shades of green and kept it on a third of the card.  I finished by added a simple sentiment.  This card is a mix of old and new - the new stamp set and old, discontinued colours from Stampin' Up! which I got recently.  I absolutely love them!!  The inside of the card is blank for my own message.

Even though Mum is visiting, I was able to go to the Great Lakes Mega Meet yesterday morning.  I had hoped to watch the demos by Tim Holtz, but sadly the crowd was so deep around him that I couldn't see anything!!  Still I had a great time.  I had gone hoping to get a few things specifically some new Spellbinder dies and Copics and I did.  Here's a photo of my goodies.

I got some fab new dies as well as some of the new enhancing elements.  I got new Copics and found some new Dylusion stamps.  Really pleased with my stash!

The weather here has been a bit of a mixed bag this week.  We started off the week with storms, thunder and lightening, and yesterday we set a new record high in Detroit with a temp of 86°F (30°C) and glorious sunshine.  Mum is really enjoying the warm, sunny weather.  It's a bit cooler today, but that's no bad thing!  Anyway, that's all for now.  See you soon.