TH 101 Day 3

It is great fun watching the videos and then having a go...

I haven't got all the stuff of course but can make do...

The first technique today is Alcohol Ink Agates technique.

I have the felt applicator and glossy paper but only gold and silver alcohol inks.

However, I quite like the background I produced.

I then overstamped with StazOn Azure  (solvent ink pad).

Next it was Solvent ink Resist technique:

First I stamped glossy paper with SazOn red and then added Distress ink.

Finally I overstamped with StazOn Black

The third technique for today was using an embossing folder to stamp a reflection

 - here's my tag:

Bring on Day 4!!

I gave the second technique a 'Chinese flavour' and then used this background to make a Chinese New Year Card.

I used an SDD design - Zentangle snake on the front - we are just coming to the end of the year of the Snake - remember my ATC last year?

I used the border of this for my own image for 2014 - drawn with black Promarker

I am going to submit this to Scribble and Scrap Anything goes

Happy Chinese New Year of the Horse!

Susan's Anniversary Blog Candy!!

Today, January 29th, is exactly one year since I started blogging!

 This will probably be my 160th post -
 well maybe 159th as I didn't manage to post the blog I was going to do yesterday!

As a thank you to those who have supported my blog throughout the year

  it is time for some blog candy!

 The blog candy will be a surprise but I am sure one of you lucky people will be really pleased with the crafty goodies. I will post all over the world too!

To be in with a chance to win this blog candy there are only a few things you need to do.

• Become a Follower of my blog or already Follow
• Leave a Comment on this post
• Post a picture of my Candy on your Sidebar with a link to this post
• Add your name to the Linky below

This Winner will be chosen by Random Org on Friday 28th February.

Good luck!

Happy Crafting!

Simple sketch

I have been playing all day today with a simple sketch -

 well, apart from going to my Indian embroidery class!

I found a couple of SDD images in my 'to be used' folder.

I basically covered two white square card blanks with a pretty paper, added a banner, an image and a sentiment. I used Promarkers to add some colour and some fine glitter. The image was a christmas bauble - I cut it down and covered the holly with a flower to make a Birthday Card!

The bauble remained intact for this one to become a Christmas card. This was supposed to be shades of blue for the Stamping with the Dragon Challenge

However in the photo, the red in the 12 Days of Christmas DP rather takes over despite the blues elsewhere. The strip under the sentiment is some of one of my 'food colouring and shaving foam' backgrounds.

I will also submit it to CHNC January extra

Happy Crafting!

White on White plus a touch of Red

I recently came across this image by Elisabeth Bell 

and the challenge "White on White plus a touch of Red"

I decided only to add a little Berry Red Promarker to the image

 and some red cardstock behind it.

Apart from that there is some white embossed card behind - the embossing folder also has to do with mail - wrapped around with some white ribbon.

I will submit this first card to the challenge but then I decided to get even more minimal 

and use this same image in a Less is More Sketch:

and this is what I came up with

I am submitting this to Simply less is more week 156

Hope you like it!

Happy Crafting!

Penguins

I am very fond of penguins so I decided

 I really needed Bugaboo's penguin with roses digi!

I was then looking at this sketch and decided to use this digi as the 'star'.

Here is my mine -

Instead of a rectangle within a rectangle I went for a shaped card

 with a matching die cut shape inside.

The digi was coloured with Promarkers (tequila sunrise - my favourite, cool grey4, amethyst, berry red and forest green) and a little pencil.

The stamps are from SU's Valentine Defined and were stamped in cardinal.

I distressed the edges with antique linen.

Finally I added the ribbon flowers, bunting and twine -

 the bunting was from a little packet 'Riverbank Revels' by Helz Cuppleditch.

I am submitting this to 

Catch the Bug January Photo Challenge

Seize the Sketch Challenge #12

Passion for Promarkers - ribbon, lace or twine

Happy Crafting!

Playing...

We had fun the other day having a craft-along tutorial on Mad Crafters Giggles

led by Zoe Russell

The techniques we played with were

• Wrinkle free Distress - I used 'wild honey', 'evergreen bough' and 'broken china'
• Embossing a stamped image - my image was Kaisercraft 'Tic Toc' embossed in dark blue
• Using a distressing tool - with 'black soot'

But now what to do with it? Well I let my imagination run wild with this sketch...

which became...

I started with a brown card base which I matted with this lovely orange handmade paper -

 I will soon have used the stash I bought from a local market!!

The sentiment is from Tim Holtz Visual Artistry Collection. This was stamped onto a piece of green card, distressed with 'black soot' and then layered upon more orange and brown. Some brown twine finished the look.

Hope you like it!

I am submitting this to 

Sketch'N'Scrap Card Sketch #18

Happy Crafting!

A week of crafting with Bugaboo

This is my 7th card of the week! This one uses the Friday Freebie - the cupcake tower.

The card features 4 buttons, 4 fours and 4 cupcakes.

I initially embossed a white card base with a numbers embossing folder.

The digi, embossed numbers and wooden 4 were coloured 

with magenta, red and yellow Promarkers.

Hope you like it!

This is for Bugaboo's turning four Friday Freebie challenge

Anyway bedtime for me...

Happy Crafting!

A Scary Story...

Left of Center Creative Challenges

This is pretty exciting as I am showing you my first DT inspirational card for LOC!!

The current challenge (#23) is Scary Stories!

I chose to depict Edgar Allan Poe's narrative poem 'The Raven'.

The lovely Lenore is lost and a Raven comes tapping at the window - only to croak one word 'Nevermore!'

I was fortunate enough to be able to use Ikesart's digi Lenore and free Raven paper.

I wanted to start by using backgrounds that might suggest a supernatural theme - so I got out my Tim Holtz Distress Inks, smeared them on my craft mat, spritzed them with water and allowed them to seep into my cardstock...(Wrinkle Free Distress Technique)

 I used lots of colours but finished with 'seedless preserves' which is a super mulberry colour!
 I used this to distress around the edges of my shapes too.

I then scored and folded a card base with a 'purple-y burgundy' cardstock.

I used a nesting window shaped die to cut around Lenore, which I had printed on white card and coloured with Promarkers - Amethyst, Gold, Ivory and Cool Grey 4.

 A smaller window die was used to cut out the Dimensions Crafts Raven stamp - stamped with black Versafine onto one of the backgrounds. I used a purple cardstock to mount each piece.

Using my computer, I overprinted the Raven paper with

'Quoth the raven, "Nevermore".'

This is how I assembled the parts...adding a ribbon of similar colours to the backgrounds.

Hope it inspires you to have a go at the LOC Challenge!

I am also submitting it to 
Quoth the raven Challenge - Anything Poes

Happy Crafting!

Get Inky! Newspaper/Yellowpages

Did you enjoy last weeks Blog Hop and Hand-made flower challenge?

There were some super entries!

But now we are on to a new challenge...use newspaper or yellow pages in your creation!

Find more details at Get Inky! Challenge

Remember my quilt-inspired DT inspiration?

I decided once again to use that "Backside Bunny" found at

Blue Moon Creations

But I think you will find it makes a far different card...

here are some of the things I used to start off with.

I used the Indian Financial Times - first to print my digi on and then to cut some Tim Holtz rosettes. I cut out and distressed the edges of the bunny with 'wild honey' and then spritzed some of this ink with water to add colour to my rosettes.

Shopping in India I recently found some lovely hand-made paper...

I used the purple with gold flecks to make my first layer - I started with a shaped card blank which I distressed around the edges with 'shabby shutters'. I then added a circle of the purple paper which has a lovely texture.
I added the bunny and rosette with final touches of the ribbon and sentiment (this was just printed on my computer, die cut with an oval nesting die and mounted on more of my purple.

Hope you like it!

Happy Crafting!

Getting diverted...

Well the plumbers are here so I thought I would spend the time in my craft room...

I started with one idea in my mind and got diverted into making this Christmas card!

I was looking through my embossing folders and started embossing lots of backgrounds - this reindeer one is a cArt-Us one embossed on a 'chocolate' piece of cardstock from my scraps.

I wanted the embossed piece to be the main part of the card so I just matted and layered it on a red card blank, followed by vanilla hand-made paper, followed by craft cardstock - all from my scraps. I added the ribbon and bells embellishment before the top two layers.

Back at my Big Shot again, I die cut a Sissix reindeer and added it, with a wobbly eye...

I am linking this to

Merry Monday #92 - colours with a ribbon

(red, vanilla, chocolate and craft)

ABC Christmas challenges - B is for bare essentials 

(I think this card has a bare minimum of embellishments)

Holly Jolly Christmas Challenge - animals

(reindeers)

CHNC Challenge extra for January

(Anything goes)

Happy Crafting!

More Bugaboos

For Humour me Wednesday I used Bugaboo's 'glass of wine'

 and decided on a red, black and white theme...

Just a red cardbase, black card behind the images, ruby and cool grey 4 Promarkers,

 a few red gems and black lace flowers!

a

This is for the Bugaboo is turning four - humour me Wednesday

Thursday is just kidding around - a card for a child.

I decided to use my picnic blanket idea - a rocking card. 

This is my template:

I decided on a Teddy Bear's picnic using lots of purchased die-cut teddy bears.

These have holes in their palms so I threaded ribbon through as though they were playing

that game where a ring is secretly passed round the ring...it should be a continuous ribbon.

The rhyme you sing as it goes around is

Paddy from home has never been, a railway train he's never seen,

He longs to see the great machine that travels along the railway.

The person in the middle has to guess who has it then they can swap places.

Find it here!

The Bugaboo image is 'whipcream' - coloured with Promarkers and with fine glitter added.

This is for Bugaboo is turning four - just kidding around

Happy Crafting!

Two more Bugaboos!

Monday, day 3 of the Bugaboo Birthday Challenges uses this colour palette.

Here's my card -

I decided to make a Scalloped easel card -

 the template for which, I once obtained from Emma at http://www.emmascardsuk.com/

I used black cardstock for the two scalloped circles, matted with grey from my scraps.

I found the orange, pink and green cardstock also in my scraps and used them to layer up behind the sentiment and the image - last week's Friday Freebie from Bugaboo 'stickcheerleading'.

I added lots of 'ribbons and bows'!

This is for Bugaboo's turning four - colour challenge

The Tuesday Challenge is 'Bling it Up'

I used Bugaboo's 'akvgirlcelebrate' and my colour scheme was purple, using different shades of purple cardstock and Promarkers - plus some Gold. Then I just had to 'Bling it on'...

This is for Bugaboo's Tuesday Challenge -Bling it up

Happy Crafting!