RSD - Progressive Challenge Team B ....

...  Hello!  It's time for Part Two of our Progressive Challenge.  If you played along with Part One of the challenge, then you will be able to get your free image (which must be used for this part of the challenge) from Monique.  If you didn't play along with Part One, then you'll be able to find the cute August Mouse at Rick's Zibbet shop.  Team A have already shown off their creations with this sweet mouse and here's my card:

Stamps: Rick St Dennis Digi - Helen's August Mouse; Inkadinkado - Coastal, Down by the Seaside
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Crumb Cake
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Kaisercraft DP - Tropicana; SU DP - Crumb Cake; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear

I printed the mouse on white card, coloured her with Copic markers, cut her out with a scalpel and then edged the image with a black marker.  With her pretty tropical blouse and gorgeous flower in her hat, Miss Mouse had to be setting out for her holiday on a tropical island.  Fortunately I found the perfect background in my stash of design paper.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of kraft design paper and added a simple image to the white panel.  Once again, I'm rather late with my card - technical issues last night (in other words I managed to destroy my first coloured image and had to start again!!)

Do visit Sparkle and Glitter to check out what the rest of the team have made using Helen's August Mouse.  Why not check out Rick's Zibbet shop - there are over 1,200 images from cute to dark, from fun to scary - they're all fab!!  Rick has created an Adult Colouring Book called Day of the Dead - and a Limited Edition of 100 signed by Rick and numbered is available at the Zibbet shop, but you can get an unsigned version from your local Amazon store too.  I'm waiting for my copy to arrive and can't wait to colour!!!

That's all for now.  Whatever your plans are for the weekend, have a great time.  We're going to be very busy - off to see a cruise - details later!!!

52CCT - Theme ....

... Good morning all!  We're having such wonderful warm summer weather that it's been really tough to think of Christmas cards this week, and I only finished this card late yesterday afternoon.  It's our theme challenge here at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown and Julie has picked a really fun theme - you need to make your Christmas or Winter card "FOR A CHILD".  Here's my take:

Stamps: Docrafts - Forever Friends Stamp G, Forever Friends Stamp H (both discontinued)
Inks: Memento - Tuxedo Black; Versafine - Onyx Black
Dies: Memory Box - Postage Rectangular Layers (30052) # 3 and #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Pink Pirouette; Martha Stewart Glitter; Copic Markers

I used pastel colours on my card (soft pink for a little girl) so I'm submitting this card to Merry Monday - MM#168 and as there's a bit of a postal theme going on, I'm also playing along with Jingle Belles - JB:15:17.

I stamped the teddy on some white card, coloured her with Copic markers and then fussy cut her out.  I die cut the white postage stamp and then stamped the sentiment and teddy.  I adhered the coloured imaged directly on top and added some glitter to her hat.  I cut another stamp layer in pale pink and adhered both to the card base.  I've not done the inside yet - but will add a picture later.  I think this would look really sweet in pale blue too!  Edited:  I've finished the inside - fairly simple, a mat layer of pink card and another Christmas image with these cute teddies!

I do apologise for the quality of the picture inside!

Don't forget to visit the blog to see what the rest of the team have made this week.  See you soon.

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.

Uniko - Revisit ......

....  Hello and Good Morning!  It's time for our August 2015 Team Blog Hop at Uniko.  Beverley usually releases new sets every other month, and in the month where there are no new stamps, we get the chance to revisit some of Bev's previous releases.  This month we're having a play with a couple of sets Beautiful Blooms I and Beautiful Blooms II, both feature fabulous flowers, appropriate for summer.  Here's my card:

Stamps: Uniko - Beautiful Blooms II, All Occasion Sentiments #3
Inks: Versamark; Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - So Saffron, Wisteria Wonder, Blushing Bride
Dies: Die-namics - Thank You; Winnie & Walter - Party Confetti Cutaways; Spellbinders - Nested Pennants (S5-025)
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Cuttlebug EF - Geometric Rings; SU Card - Wisteria Wonder, So Saffron, Blushing Bride; Vellum; Gold Embossing Powder; Clear Embossing Powder; Gold Mirri Card

I used a few challenges making this card.  The colours are from CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#135, I've used vellum which is the featured trend at Just Us Girls - JUGS#305 and I've cased Michele's beautiful card at MUSE - MUSE#128.

I stamped the outline flower from Beautiful Blooms II in Versamark and heat embossed them with gold powder.  Then I stamped the smaller shading image in three different colours on to the vellum and heat embossed with clear powder.  Then I cut them all out!  I cut a panel of white card, slightly smaller than the card base, embossed it and adhered it to the card base.  I die cut the word "thank" from the same three colours and adhered them to create the effect of a drop shadow.  I stamped the word "you" in Versafine on vellum, heat embossed it with clear powder and used a die to cut out a flag.  I finished the front with a gold flourish.  I've not had chance to finish the inside yet - but will add a photo once it's done.

Now it's time to check out what Bev and the rest of the team have made using either Beautiful Blooms I or Beautiful Blooms II:

Bev/Uniko

Jane

Gillian

Nicki

Sarah G

Sarah P

And we have a GIVEAWAY too - simply comment along the Hop for your chance too win the featured sets or an ecertificate to the same value if you already own the sets.  

That's all for now - thanks so much for stopping by.  See you soon.

52CCT - Colours ....

.... Hi!  It's time for our colour challenge at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown and Julie has picked traditional RED AND GREEN.  I've made a quite clean and simple card - there's not much white space, but it is very quick and easy to make:

Stamps: Waltzingmouse Stamps - Jolly Old Elf, Cabin Plaid Background, Tis the Season
Inks: Kaleidacolor - Fruitcake; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Real Red; Martha Stewart Coarse Glitter - Crystal

I've used the layout from this week's CAS(E) this Sketch - CTS#135.  I inked up the plaid background with my Kaleidacolor pad - shades of red and green and stamped the card.  I then stamped Santa (the Chief Elf) using only the two shades of red.  I fussy cut him out and then added glitter to his beard, hat and gloves.  I finished the front by stamping the sentiment directly on the card.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of red card and stamped a bold Christmas greeting on the white panel.

Don't forget to visit our blog to see inspiration cards from the rest of the team.  And while we've got traditional colours for you this week - you don't have to be traditional in design - can't wait to see what you make.  Have fun!!

TMR - Theme - Vacation or On the Beach ...

Hi!  It's time for our new challenge over at The Male Room.  We are taking the opportunity to celebrate Vacations or On the Beach.  I've been doing a lot of travelling recently and it all starts with packing the bags for the trip - so that's my take on the challenge:

Stamps: PTI - Pack Your Bags
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Baked Brown Sugar, Cherry Cobbler
Dies: PTI - Pack Your Bags; Spellbinders - A2 Matting Basics A (S5-131) #1
Accessories: Cream Lustre Card; SU Card - Cherry Cobbler; Kaisercraft DP - Check In

I love the excitement of getting ready to go on vacation - deciding what clothes and shoes to take, and whether or not you've got room for a few books to read on the beach or by the pool.  My card has a background of travel related images.  I stamped the suitcases on cream card using my MISTI - which is a fab tool as you can re-ink if you need to.  It also allows for really precise positioning of the suitcase handles.  I stamped the sentiment on cream card and cut it out with a Spellbinders die.  I adhered the cases and sentiment flat to the card - so it's easy to post.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of dark cherry card and on the cream panel adhered a journal panel from the Kaisercraft papers and stamped a simple greeting.

Do visit out blog to check out the inspiration projects from the rest of the Design Team, as well as our Guest Designer, Sue of Cards by Q.  You've got plenty of time to join in - just remember that your project MUST be for the designed for the men in our lives be they young or old!  Have fun!!

ASM - Anything Goes ....

.....  Good evening!  With all our travelling during July, I haven't been able to do my DT card for Addicted to Stamps and More!  So, I'm absolutely delighted to be getting back into my routine and be able to join the team this week with my card for our Anything Goes Challenge:

Stamps: Uniko - Garlands Galore, Sweet Baby
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Bashful Blue, Brocade Blue; Memento - London Fog
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Bashful Blue; Copic Markers; Wink of Stella - Clear

My mum wanted me to make a new baby boy card for her to send home to the UK.  I've gone for a clean, simple layout in shades of blue and with banners.  As there are banners on the card, I'm submitting it to the current Addicted to CAS challenge - ATCAS#69.  I cut a mat layer of pale blue (sadly discontinued) and on the white panel stamped some starry garlands along with a name banner.  I used the new Uniko Garlands Galore set, stamping each flag on white card and adding the letters in dark blue.  I love that you can customise the banner to say just what you want!  I finished the front with a simple sentiment and a tiny little yellow duck!  I've added a touch of sparkle to the duck and the garlands, although you can't really see it in the photo.  On the inside I cut another mat layer of blue card and added a bold sentiment in the middle of the white panel.  I added a lower case alphabet and faux stitching for a fun border.

Our challenge this week is sponsored by Sami Stamps and the winner of the challenge will receive a $12 prize certificate to spend at their shop - they have so many fabulous images.  Do visit our blog to see inspiration pieces from the rest of the Design Team, some of whom have used digital images from Sami Stamps.  Can't wait to see what you make - have fun!!

Art Journal ....

.... I've not managed to get much crafting done this last week - what with the car breaking down for the third time in two weeks and taking Kathryn to the other side of the state for a summer camp. 

Last Sunday (26th July) I was at Scrappy Chic Kitchen Roll Sprayers Art Journal Club.  This group was formed after a group of us attended Dyan Reavley's classes in March and we meet each month to carry on working on our journals.  We get to review techniques, share ideas and generally play.  I finished a double page spread - making some pockets in which to store secrets.

I used mostly Dylusion products to make the pages, adding a touch of sparkle to the flowers with Wink of Stella brushes.  This is still a work in progress - I've got some tags and such to make, but I'm please with how it's coming along!

Yesterday I was at a stamp show in Novi - I got some new bits and pieces to add to my art journal supplies - pan pastels, stencils, paints and lots of tiny pots of Inka Gold!  I'm a very happy girl!

52CCT - Sketch ....

.... Morning all!  I finally managed to get into my craft room yesterday afternoon to make today's card.  As it's the first Saturday of the month, that means it's our sketch challenge at 52 {Christmas} Card Throwdown.  Our host this month is Julie and she's got a really nice sketch for us - you can flip or rotate the sketch and add any embellishments you like.  Here's my take:

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Delightful Decorations; Winnie & Walter - Winter Wonderland
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black, Olympia Green, Crimson Red; Versamark
Dies: Lil Inkers - Dual Stitched Squares #3
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Kaisercraft DP - Christmas paper (FOC with Simply Cards & Papercraft); Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder; SU Punch - Christmas Ornament; Martha Stewart - Christmas Ornaments Border Punch

I used some lovely vintage style papers as the basis of my design - great colours and I think the snippet of Christmas newspaper is super.  I stamped the Christmas bauble in Versmark and embossed with Gold Tinsel powder - it has a lovely shimmer - and cut it out with the matching punch.  Sadly, both the punch and stamp set are discontinued.  On the inside of the card I cut a mat layer of design paper and added a greeting to the white panel.

Don't forget to visit our blog to see more inspiration cards from the rest of the team.  Have fun!