52CCT - Theme & DT Call ....

... Hi! We're half way through October and it's only 10 weeks until Christmas! So I think our new challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT41-16 might help to get you started on your cards. Of course, you may already have quite a stash. We have a theme for you this week - we want to see CHRISTMAS CRITTERS on your cards. Here's mine:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Little Deer, Flurries; Uniko - Simply Said Christmas
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black; Distress - Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Mustard Seed
Dies: Die-namics - Wonky Stitched Circles #5; Lawn Fawn - Stitched Hillside Borders
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Soft Sky;  Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear; Glitter

I had lots of fun making this card. I used the sketch from the current Fusion Challenge - FUSION#59 for the layout. I cut a panel of white card the same size as the base and die cut a circle at the top. I stamped the tree on the card base. I punched a small circle and masked off an area for the sun, then I blended some blues to create the sky. I added some yellow to the sun. I stamped the deer, cardinal, and pile of presents on some scrap white card and coloured them all with Copics.  The critter stamps I used for this card faced the wrong way, so to get them facing the right direction, I used the mirror stamping technique that I'd seen on Jennifer MacGuire's blog. I adhered the circle panel to the card, attached the critters and parcels and then die cut some snowy hills. I added lots of glitter for sparkle. On the inside I cut a mat layer of pale blue card and added another little critter in the corner and a greeting too.

The little deer on the inside is exactly as the image stamps. Love the mirror technique, gives so many extra options for your stamps.

For more inspiration - do visit the blog to see more from the rest of the Design Team.

Don't forget that we're in the middle of a DT Call at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown. In order to be considered you have to do at least 3 of the 5 challenges this month. So if you've skipped the sketch and colours, you have to do the last three challenges this month. Full details are on the blog.

Kat and I have a crafting weekend planned. We are both attending classes by the awesome Dyan Reavley. Will share photos later. Have great weekend!

TMR - Theme .....

... Hello! I'm here this morning to tell you about our new challenge at The Male Room - TMR#46. You probably won't be too surprised to learn that we have a theme challenge and that the theme is

HALLOWEEN

I've been busy making all my Halloween cards ready to post out to friends and family. This is a fun one:

Stamps: Rick St Dennis Digi - Aliens; Impression Obsession - Bump in the Night; Stampin' Up! - Playful Backgrounds; Ranger - Dina Wakley Halloween 16
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; SU - Pumpkin Pie, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SUDP - Halloween Night; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear

I adore this gruesome little alien and printed him on white card, coloured him with Copics and then fussy cut him out. I edged the image with a black marker to hide the white card. I used the sketch from CAS(E) this Sketch -CTS#193 for the layout. I used a strip of design paper for the vertical panel. I masked off the DP and stamped the bubbles in green and orange for added texture. I adhered the alien directly to the card and used my MISTI to position and stamp the greeting. I decided to add some sparkle to his eyeball with a clear Wink of Stella brush. On the inside I cut mat layer of design paper and on the white panel added some more bubbles, a greeting and a Halloween bat!

I used the colours from The Paper Players - PP#316, they seemed so perfect for a Halloween card. And I'm submitting this to Left of Centre - LOC#151 who want to see Halloween - check!

Do visit our blog to see more inspiration projects from the rest of the team. Don't forget that you can make any type of paper craft project for The Male Room, just remember it has to follow the theme and be masculine in style. That's all for now!

Happy Halloween ....

... Morning! I hope that you all had a good weekend. Ours was reasonably restful - Kat got her homework done and then chilled, Jonathan was out at a photo shoot and I got to mess around in my craft room. I was busy making Halloween cards and I've a fun one to share with you this morning:

Stamps: Impression Obsession - Bump in the Night; Stampin' Up! - Jar of Haunts, Ghoulish Grunge
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies; Lil Inkers - Dual Stitched Squares #1
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Basic Black; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear; Glossy Accents

I got the idea for this layout from Kristina Werner while watching the online class, Wild Card. However, I didn't make a shaker card - just a window card! I used the colours from CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#194 and as I've used more than 5 stamps I'm going to submit this to Inkspirational - INK#119.

I created the window frame by die cutting four small squares next to each other. I placed the cut panel on some white card and lightly pencilled inside the windows so that I would know where to stamp the images. I then stamped the little Halloween monsters in three of the windows and added a greeting in the fourth window. I coloured the images with Copics and added a coat of sparkle with a clear Wink of Stella brush. I adhered the frame over the coloured panel and then layered it on to some black card. I stamped a cobweb in the corner of the card base and attached the finished panel with some dimensional tape. I decided to add some Glossy Accents to the monsters' eyes. On the inside I cut a mat layer of black card and added a greeting and more little monsters to the white panel.

I love this new set from Impression Obsession - such fun little monsters! I don't have too many things in the diary this week, so I WILL get round to tidying up my craft room. It's a bit of a mess at the moment. Bye for now

Colouring ....

.... Morning! When Kat and I were shopping for school stuff last month, I picked up a composition book that was printed with outline flowers - perfect for colouring! I forgot to take a photo of the book without colour, but here are some photos after I finished colouring yesterday.

Here's the front of the book:

I used a mixture of Stadetler and Stabilo felt pens for most of the colouring. The glitter is from Kaisercraft pens. I kept it very simple - no fancy shading - just lots of colours. Here's a close up of the front:

I like rainbow colour schemes and you can see that in several places. I have lots of leaves in totally unrealistic colours.

Here's the back of the composition book:

I used some Copics on the back, along with the Stadtler and Stabilo felt pens. Once again, I used Kaisercraft glitter pens to add some sparkle. I used a clear Wink of Stella on some of the copic colouring. Here's a close-up of the back:

I really enjoyed colouring this composition book. It was so relaxing. I'm not sure what I'm going to use the book for, but I think I might use it for one of the handwriting challenges. That's all for now. I plan to have another fun day in my craft room. Bye for now!

52CCT - Colours & DT Call .....

... Hello! It's time for our new challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT40-16. This week is our colour challenge and Kaja has picked some really pretty colours for us to use - PALE GREY, SOFT BLUE AND SOFT GREEN. I had fun:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse - Elf Made
Inks: Distress - Shabby Shutters, Faded Jeans; Stampin' Up! - Smoky Slate; Memento - Tuxedo Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Smoky Slate; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear; Glitter; Glossy Accents

I masked off the card to create the vertical panel. I blended on soft green and soft blue and then sprinkled water droplets on the ink. I used my MISTI to position the sentiment and stamped it twice to give a crisp image. I stamped the little elf directly on the card and also on a scrap of white card. I coloured the image on the white card with Copics, carefully cut it out, edged it with a black marker and then adhered it on to the card base. I added some sparkle to the bell and mistletoe with a clear Wink of Stella brush. I added glitter to the cuffs of her mittens and finished by added a touch of glossy accents to the mistletoe and hair tie. On the inside I cut a mat layer of pale grey card and on the white panel stamped a greeting and some little wrapped chocolates. They're called Kisses - they look great, but I don't like the taste!!!

I used the sketch from this week's CAS(E) this Sketch! - CTS#193 for the layout and I got the idea of an elf from Merry Monday - MM#216 where they want to see elves. For more inspiration using our pretty pastel colours, do visit our blog to see what the Design Team have made.  Don't forget that we're having a Design Team call - full details on the our blog.

We're having a reasonably quiet weekend. Although Kat is going to a BBQ with her school choir at a local cider farm and Jonathan is going to be out at a photo shoot. So I'll have time to play in my craft room. Perfect. Have a fun weekend!

Beauty in the simple things ....

.... Hi! I've been playing in my craft room this morning - I should have been tidying, but this was more fun!! I've a clean and simple card to share with you today:

Stamps: Uniko - Originally Organic
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Poppystamps - Sparkle Burst Stars
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Wisteria Wonder; Tim Holtz Watercolour Card; Brusho - Violet, Turquoise; Wink of Stella - Clear; Copics

I was messing around with Brusho crystals and watercolour card this morning (thanks Kylie for the inspiration). I used the colours from this week's Less is More - LIM#296 - LILAC and TURQUOISE, along with the option of die cuts. As I've used watercolours on this card I'm also playing along with Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#98 and it's quite CAS, so I'm also playing at Addicted to Stamps and More! - ATSM#214.

I sprinkled some Brusho crystals on watercolour card and spritzed on some water, and let the magic happen. I love the way these crystals move. I was going to die cut something from the water coloured card, but instead I die cut these stars on the card and put the watercolour panel behind. I do like the way this looks. I finished the front of the card with a simple sentiment in black. On the inside I cut a mat layer of lilac card and on the white panel stamped a pretty organic flower. So pleased to finally have my Uniko stamps!!! I coloured the image with copics and added some sparkle too.

We have another gorgeous day here in Northville, but I have noticed that the trees are starting to change colour. I'll put up some photos soon. I think the best of the colour is likely to be next week. That's all for now. Do stop by tomorrow for our new challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown!

Happy Halloween ....

... Hi! I've been messing around in my craft room - I should have been tidying, but I made a card instead :) I suddenly realised that it's just over 3 weeks until Halloween and I've not got many cards in my stash. So that's what I made! Here it is:

Stamps: Rick St Dennis Digital - Voodoo Motif; Clearly Besotted - All Occasion Sentiments; Visible Image - Mr Bone Jangles; Ranger - Dina Wakley Halloween 16
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Green Galore; Hero Arts Neon - Orange
Dies: Die-namics - Wonky Stitched Ovals #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SUDP - Pumpkin Pie; Copics; Kaisercraft - Pens; Wink of Stella - Clear, Orange, Purple, Green

This is a fairly clean and simple Halloween card. I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#257 for the layout. I'm also playing along with The Paper Players - PP#315 where the theme is Halloween, and at Left of Centre - LOC#150 they want Halloween too!

I printed this fun voodoo image directly on white card, coloured it with a mixture of Copics, Kaisercraft pens and coloured Wink of Stella brushes and then I cut it out with a stitch edged die. I cut a piece of design paper in bright orange, adhered it to the card and then stamped a sentiment. I attached the image flat as I want to post this card. On the inside I cut another mat layer in design paper and on the white panel added a fluorescent sentiment and skeleton.

I also took a close up photo of the voodoo skull, on which you can clearly see all the shimmer and sparkle from the Wink of Stella brushes.

We are very lucky here in Michigan as we seem to be having a bit of an Indian Summer. Today we reached a temperature of 24C (76F) with gorgeous blue skies and lots of sunshine. And it looks like we've got this weather for the rest of the week. To my friends in Florida and along the coast, I do hope that you are taking precautions for the arrival of Hurricane Matthew - be safe.

That's all for now!

Autumn leaves and seeds ...

.... Morning! I'm here with another of the cards that I made yesterday. It's quite clean and simple and, I think, really pretty.

Stamps: Uniko Digital - Originally Organic, All Occasion Sentiments #1
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Sahara Sand; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear

I printed off several images from Uniko's October release but didn't use them all in my cards. I found this one on my desk yesterday and thought it would make a lovely card. I used the colours from this month's House of Cards - HOC#10 challenge. These are some of my favourite colours. I added sparkle with a clear Wink of Stella brush to the seeds. I layered the finished panel on some soft kraft card and attached to the card. On the inside I cut another layer of the soft kraft card and on the white panel added a greeting and some more leaves. As there are leaves on this card, I'm going to submit to Just Us Girls - JUGS#363 where the word is LEAVES!

I've got a busy day planned. I desparately need to tidy up my craft room - I've got stamps and dies all over the place and, as the room isn't very big, I need to get it sorted out so that I can create in a cleaner space. I also need to catalogue some of my new stamps! So that's all for today. See you soon.