Wednesday 24 December 2014

Guest Designer - CASology Challenge # 127

Its with great honour that I get to do this blog post as a Guest Designer for this weeks challenge at CASology. I had been hoping to get a chance to do this all year, so I'm super-excited today!!


When Melissa told me the cue word for this challenge would be 'Light' I was overcome with ideas. You could look at how light something weighs, or starlight, sunlight, moonlight etc. Or maybe light colours or actual lights themselves. I tell you, the possibilities are endless!!!!

I decided to squeeze in one more Christmas card before the big day, so went with actual lights. In particular, Christmas lights:


I don't know why I keep creating cards that are impossible to photograph!! I knew it would be difficult while I was making it but I couldn't help myself....

I die-cut the tag from the card front and then cut the windows from the tag. I then put the tag back in the die-cut space and adhered at the back, so it remains a one-layer card. The 'merry' was die-cut twice from silver cardstock, glued together and adhered across the top of the tag. I then stamped the sentiment in black.

Next came the hard part. I had to stamp the lights across the inside of the card so that they would go across each row of the windows. After the ink had dried, I coloured in the light bulbs and covered with Glossy Accents. Kind of like looking through someone's window at their decorations!!

The 'merry' die and 'christmas' stamp are from WPlus9 'Hand lettered holidays'. The tag and window dies are from Pretty Pink Posh. The 'Christmas Lights' stamp is from Lawn Fawn 'Peace Joy Love'.

Since I've used a Lawn Fawn stamp, I'm going to link this to the Lawnscaping Challenge # 96 where their theme is:


I'm also going to link to the Crazy for CAS challenge # 60 where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.

And lastly, will link to the CAS on Sunday Challenge # 49 where their theme is 'Christmas'.

Since its such a busy time of year, the wonderful women at CASology have given you two weeks to enter. Hopefully that means you can put all the crafty goodies you got for Christmas to good use and create a card. And if you need any inspiration, please head to the CASology blog as the Design Team have created some incredible projects. I'm so looking forward to seeing what you create!!

And thanks to the CASology DT for allowing me to visit!

Take care and Merry Christmas!!!

Shona

Saturday 20 December 2014

CASology Challenge - Week # 126

I'm still coming off my high after winning last weeks CASology  challenge. I've wanted to win this challenge for so long, it was definitely an early Christmas present for me!!!!


This weeks challenge is all about snow. Its something I don't know much about, having only been on snow once. We have a ski field about 90 minutes from us but its quite an expensive business to get the gear and snow chains etc, we haven't taken the kids there yet. I would love to have one white Christmas, it must be so beautiful.

Once again I wanted to try something different with my card, which turned out great but boy was it hard to photograph, so I hope you can get the idea:



I just love using acetate and thought it would be a chance to try out some snowflakes, as if you were looking out a window or door. I die-cut the rectangle from the card front and then cut out a piece of acetate to fit behind it. I then, very carefully, stamped the snowflakes with white ink straight on to the acetate. The stamp wanted to slip all the time, so I had to do it so slowly. I added double sided tape around the inside of the rectangle and adhered the snowflake panel. I quick red sentiment, a bit of bling and my snowflake scene was finished!!

The rectangle die is from Pretty Pink Posh. The large snowflake stamp is from Simon Says Stamps 'Presents and Ornaments' and the smaller one from Lawn Fawn 'Peace Joy Love'. The sentiment is from WPlus9 'Hand lettered holidays'.

When making this card I also kept in mind the Curtain Call Challenge - Candy Cane as you know I love a red/white Xmas combo but also loved the paneling on the door behind the wreath. So will link to this challenge:


I'm also going to link to the Addicted to Stamps Challenge # 126 where their theme this week is 'Anything Goes - with optional twist of love'. I haven't gone with the 'twist' this time but I'm sure I will be back with another entry.

I will also link again to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where they have some beautiful photos for inspiration. I'm still loving the top left with the snow:



As last but certainly not least, I will link to the Just Add Ink Challenge # 245 where they have this beautiful inspiration photo full of wintery and Christmas goodness:






With regards to Just Add Ink I have some very fabulous news. I have been accepted to join their Design Team!!!! I'm so excited to be a part of their team as this challenge is closer to home (based in Australia) and I've loved playing along this year. I will start with their first post in January, so watch this space and I hope you can join in!!

I'm off to my Mum's now to bake my famous 'Cowpat Cookies'. I had a blog comment asking for the recipe in one of my posts. Will definitely do that tomorrow as I'm sure I will make more cards tonight. Its a no fail recipe and you can never have just one!! And someone is coming on Monday to wire in our new oven, so fingers crossed!!

Take care
Shona

 

 

 

Thursday 18 December 2014

Time Out Challenge # 21

One week to go and I'm so excited about Christmas!! The kids had their last day at school today and the excitement amongst the kids was palpable! They were mainly playing games today and found out after lunch who's class they will be in next year. Max is happy but Phoebe is not as she is not in the same class as her best friend......I've told her it will all be fine.

Hard to believe I know but its time for another new challenge at TIME OUT. This time we are taking inspiration from the words:

                              Christmas is love with all the trimmings

You can take inspiration from anything to do with these words and I can't wait to see what you all come up with!

Our Guest Designer for this challenge is the always fabulous Shirley-Bee of Shirley-bee's Stamping Stuff. I'm sure you will have come across her gorgeous cards somewhere in blogland, she is very popular and love's to enter challenges. I highly recommend you visit her blog!!

The word that stuck out for me with the inspiration sentence is 'trimmings' and I immediately thought of a Xmas tree. I didn't want to use a stamp Xmas tree or papers. I wanted my brain to stretch out a bit and come up with something different and amazingly enough it did!


A turquoise Xmas tree, who would have thought! This is my favourite colour, so I'm always looking for a chance to use it.

This was so simple to make and you could use any patterned paper you like. I cut the paper into the same shape and size as the front of the card. I measured halfway across the top of the panel and then used my paper trimmer to cut from that mark to each bottom corner. I heat embossed the 'christmas' sentiment in white and then popped up on the card front with foam tape.

I die-cut the 'merry' three times from white CS and glued them all together for some height. This was glued directly to my tree. The pattern on the paper is actually smooth and shiny (hard to see in photo), so only added a few turquoise sequins so not to detract from that. So happy with how it turned out!!

The patterned paper is from Kaisercraft 'Happy Snaps' (I know, its not even Xmas paper!!). The 'merry' die-cut and sentiment stamp are from WPlus9 'Hand lettered holidays'. And the turquoise sequins are from Pretty Pink Posh.

I'm also going to sneak this into the Simon Says Stamps - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Winter Inspiration' and they have the most gorgeous mood board to inspire you. I was immediately drawn to the top left photo with those beautiful blues and the trees with snow:


You have two weeks to enter your creation and if you need any ideas, please visit the TIME OUT blog where the rest of the Design Team have created some beauties! I hope you have time to join us amongst all your Xmas preparation and I'm so looking forward to seeing your designs.

Merry Christmas!!

Shona


Tuesday 16 December 2014

Addicted to Stamps Challenge # 125

What a wonderful way to start the day!!! I dropped the kids at school this morning and then went off to pick a few kilo's of raspberries and then 2 kilo's of big, black cherries....yummo!! I feel very lucky living in a small town that grows the most amazing fruit and produce. Christmas isn't Christmas for me if I can't pick my own cherries and stuff myself with more than I put in my bucket. You could say I'm feeling rather full right now.......



Such a gorgeous inspirational photo for the challenge at Addicted to Stamps this week. The red and the gold jumped out at me straight away and I decided to try a different way of doing a wreath.

 I started this by die-cutting the circle from the card front. I then stamped around the edge with a snowflake stamp. I took a risk and didn't try to work out how many I could fit in and when I came to the end I had to overlap it slightly but hopefully you don't notice..........

I cut a piece of vellum and adhered it behind the circle and then die-cut the 'merry' 3 times from gold card stock. I stuck the three of them together and glued it across the vellum. A few gold sequins for bling and my wreath is complete. It actually looks better in the picture which doesn't happen very often for me!!

The 'merry' die-cut is from WPlus9 'Hand lettered holidays' and the circle die is from Couture Creations. The snowflake stamp is from Simon Says Stamps 'Presents and Ornaments'.

As I've used gold, I'm going to link this to the Inkspirational Challenge # 71 where their theme is:


And I'll also link to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Bling it on'. This is my second entry.

Maybe I'll take the dogs for a walk now to try and get rid of the 'stuffed like a turkey' feeling I have from the cherries. Unfortunately cherries don't have the same effect on me as they do many others i.e. they move on very quickly if you know what I mean......

Will just have to do a lot of exercise to use them up and make room for a few more kilos. They are my most favourite fruit in the world and I always count down to this time of year. Thank goodness I've lost 15kgs in the past few months to fit them all in!!!!

Take care
Shona

Sunday 14 December 2014

CASology Challenge Week # 125

I have more Christmas cards than I know what to do with at the moment, which is good because Phoebe has decided she would like to send some to a little girl she read about the other day that is very sick. So she is going to choose some of her favourites and send her a few, so she gets lots in her letterbox. Talk about sweet!

I've become rather obsessed with embossing my cards with either Gold or Silver of late, so was very excited when I saw the cue word at CASology  this week.

You wouldn't think such a simple card would be so hard to photograph!!! I could never get the right amount of light on the embossing so you could make out the sentiment AND have the snowflakes sparkling, so I hope you get the idea.

This was extremely easy to make and I just love the silver on the light grey cardstock. I stamped my sentiment in Versamark and then heat embossed in Silver. I then did the same with the stitched-circle stamp and followed with the snowflake stamp in the middle. I didn't even think of embellishing this card (which is strange for me....). I love the shimmer and the simplicity.

All of these stamps are from the same set - Simon Says Stamps 'Presents and Ornaments'.

I'm also going to sneak this into the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Bling it on'. I suppose this card has more of a 'shimmer' than a 'sparkle' but I love how it looks in the light.

My bed is calling me. I didn't get to bed until 3am this morning so I need to catch up a bit but there are so many things to do between now and Xmas Day. I desperately need to do my Christmas baking. I always make my famous 'Cowpat Cookies' before Xmas (they taste way better than they sound, its just unfortunate that they look like a cowpat!). 

Unfortunately our oven died a few weeks ago and we can't afford to get it fixed at the moment, so need to book some time at my Mum's house to use her 'facilities'. The joy's of no money but at least it gives me time to spend with my Mum and chat about 'anything' while I mix away. That's one of the best parts of baking I think!

Take care
Shona
 

Muse Challenge # 97

Boy did that weekend disappear quickly! The kids had a lot of friends over both days and I was gardening, shopping and playing chauffeur to all the children. Its now Sunday night and it all seems a blur. However, I did manage to have a rather big card making session last night, so have a few posts to do.
 

Isn't this little dinosaur so adorable?? This week at Muse we have a wonderful card from Therese Calvird. Unfortunately this is her last post as part of the Muse DT and I will really miss her cards. She is an amazing designer and her colouring skills are out of this world!

As usual I didn't quite have the craft doo-dads to create a polaroid, so had to create something similar:


I die-cut the film strip from white CS and cut a piece of patterned paper to fit behind it. Santa was stamped in black and then cut out by hand. I coloured the hat and cheeks and used Wink of Stella on the fur band and pom pom of his hat. I adhered him in his window with the paper behind. This was stuck to the card front. I then stamped the sentiment in red, threw in a little bling and ta da!

The film-strip die is from Pretty Pink Posh. The patterned paper from Lawn Fawn 'Peace Joy Love'. The 'Santa' stamp is from Kaisercraft. The 'joy' stamp is from Winnie and Walter 'The Big, the Bold and the Merry' and the 'to the world' stamp from WPlus9 'Hand lettered holidays'. The rhinestones are from Kaisercraft.

Phoebe is off to the beach with her class tomorrow for the day. Hopefully the weather will improve as the sun (and heat) seems to have left us for the moment. I'm sure she will have a great time no matter the weather. I've got a few hours of gardening to do in the morning and then hopefully a bit of Xmas shopping. Fingers crossed I can find what I'm looking for!!!

Take care
Shona


 

Friday 12 December 2014

Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop - second entry!

I loved my brand new Paper Smooches 'Cyber Cafe' stamp set so much, I couldn't resist making another card for the Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop.



This card isn't exactly 'holiday' inspired but I loved the sentiment so much, I just had to make this card.

I cut a piece of patterned paper (which has fantastic positive words on it) to be adhered straight to the card front. I then cut a smaller square of white CS and stamped the cup and sentiment in black. After stamping the hearts in pink, I gave them a lashing of Wink of Stella. The card was then popped up on foam tape. Enamel dots, check! Card that makes me smile, double check!!

The cup and sentiment stamps are from Paper Smooches 'Cyber Cafe'. The patterned paper is from Kaisercraft 'Happy Snaps'. The heart in the cup is from Simon Says Stamps 'Christmas 3x4' and smaller heart stamp from Lawn Fawn. Enamel dots from Papervine.

Its nearly 9.30pm Friday night and I've decided I need an early night. Its been a very busy week full of lots of gardening jobs. And today I spent the day with Max's class at an Outdoor Pursuits area trying out the flying fox and rope swings etc. Was a sunny day so I joined in with the kids for the water slide. 

Out of the 30 parents that came along for the day, I was the only one to get into my togs (swimsuit) and repeatedly zoom down the slide. The kids loved it and I had a blast but it made me wonder what the other parents were thinking of me....because I kept thinking they were all missing out on so much fun! And sometimes there is nothing funnier than making a fool of yourself, don't you think??

Take care
Shona

Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!!






I'm so excited to finally have a chance to get in on the 'blog hop of the moment'!!! I've been looking forward to this for weeks after getting the invitation from the gorgeous Amy at Tsuruta Designs.   

Amy is a full blown coffee addict and has worked so hard to get this blog hop organised. She has also managed to get some incredible sponsors too and the prizes are amazing!!!

Unfortunately, I admit that I don't drink coffee (what????) but I do love the smell of brewing coffee. I don't actually drink hot drinks at all, apart from the odd hot chocolate when out with friends (to be social). This has mean't that I've never seen the need for any coffee related stamps...until now!



I wanted this to be as simple as possible to make the mug of hot chocolate the star. I stamped the mug in red and covered in Wink of Stella for some sparkle. I then found some candy cane striped paper and adhered a thin strip across the bottom of the card. Red, white and yummy!

The mug and steam stamp are from my brand new Paper Smooches 'Cyber Cafe' stamp set. I absolutely love it and can see why the Paper Smooches stamps are so popular (this is my first ever set!). The sentiment is from WPlus9 'Hand lettered holidays'. The striped paper is from Lawn Fawn 'Peace Joy Love' and rhinestones from Kaisercraft.

Its been so much fun looking at all the different 'coffee' cards that have been linked to the hop. Please stop by Amy's blog to either link your own card and be in to win some amazing prizes. Or maybe you can make a cup of coffee and look at all the entries for inspiration.

Thank you so much Amy for organising such a fantastic event and hope that one day we can actually meet for coffee in person!!

Take care
Shona

Thursday 11 December 2014

Showcase Your Style Challenge # 3

Another flat-out day today consisting of grocery shopping, 4 hrs gardening (in mud..), dog walking and then ukelele lessons for Phoebe followed by all the other jobs that I didn't get done BECAUSE I was gardening. 

Whew, no wonder I'm so tired, think I will pop off to bed shortly. I need the energy tomorrow as I'm going out for the day with Max's class to an outdoor pursuits course i.e. flying fox, rope swings, water slides etc. Should be a lot of fun but not sure if my body can take much more......


I saw this inspiration photo for the Showcase Your Style Challenge last week and couldn't get it out of my mind. All I knew was that I wanted to have some lights along a curved line. I sat here for hours last night trying to make a Xmas card but it wouldn't work. So after giving up that idea, another one arrived straight away!



The thing I loved about the photo was the gorgeous colours of the lights, so decided to run with the 'colour' idea and knew exactly what paper to use.

I die-cut the stitched curve from white CS and cut it down to the right height. I stamped the lights in a slight curve, coloured the bulbs with pencils and covered with lots of Glossy Accents. While that was drying I stamped the sentiment and cut the stripey paper. This was adhered to the card front, with the curved panel popped up on foam tape. A bright, colourful card for any 'happy' occasion.

The paper is from American Crafts 'Polka Dot Party'. The curved die and sequins are from Pretty Pink Posh. The sentiment is from Kaisercraft 'Hexagon Sentiments' and light-bulb stamp from Lawn Fawn 'Peace Joy Love'.

The light-bulb stamp is from my very first Xmas stamp set that I purchased this time last year. And come to think of it, I don't think I've used it since last Xmas!! With this in mind, I'm also going to link this card to the Crazy for CAS Challenge # 59 where their theme is 'Something Old'. 

I've been counting down to this day for the past few weeks as I was looking forward to joining the Holiday Coffee Lovers Blog Hop, which has been organised by the one and only Amy Tsuruta. I'm desperate to go to sleep now but I promise Amy, I will link up my cards tomorrow....that's if I don't break a leg on the flying fox!  Wish me luck!!

Take care
Shona

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Just Add Ink Challenge # 243

What a wonderful day I've had today. It rained ALL DAY which is a welcome relief to everyone. This mean't I had a day off from gardening and was able to do lots of jobs at home that I've been putting off for weeks. So feeling a little more rested and organised now.


These are the gorgeous colours for this weeks Just Add Ink Challenge and they got me thinking. I haven't done a one-layer card for a while. And also I haven't done a lot of stamping of late either, so it was time to remedy them both!


This is the most colourful card I've done for a long time and I just love the happiness of it all!! I used my Wink of Stella to add sparkle to the snowflakes on the ornaments, which looks fantastic in person. You can never have enough sparkle at Xmas!

The stamps are all from Echo Park 'Holly Jolly Christmas', the rhinestones from Kaisercraft and the enamel dots from Papervine.

I'm also going to link this to the Uniko Studio Challenge # 16 where their theme is 'Anything Goes'. They will be so glad the challenge is finishing soon so I can't link anymore cards to it!!

Will also link to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Christmas/Holidays'. This is my fourth entry.

And with my little enamel and rhinestone dots, I will also link to the Addicted to CAS Challenge # 53 where their theme is:

 
I'm off to explore Pinterest for a little while (yeah right!!) to see what people have been pinning of late. Its such a wonderful place to find ideas, recipes and just beautiful photos of things that make me happy. I must give myself a time limit though or I will look up at the clock to find I've lost 3 hrs of my life!!!

Take care
Shona


 

Tuesday 9 December 2014

Addicted to Stamps Challenge # 124

The last few days have been a bit of a blur for me. I've taken on a few gardening jobs to earn a few extra dollars for Xmas, so spent 4hrs on Friday cleaning up someone's garden. On Sunday I spent 4.5hrs cleaning up a very large garden I've been working on for a few weeks. 

Monday was spent in Nelson taking Phoebe to an Orthodontist appointment. Turns out she has inherited my terrible teeth and may have braces in six months (which she isn't happy about....who would be at 9yrs of age...or any age....). And then spent 5hrs today weeding a garden I don't think the people have touched for nearly two years. I'm buggered but with braces on the horizon, I'll be gardening into my 90's......

However, last night I thought it was about time I got creating and created a card for the latest Addicted to Stamps challenge, where their theme is 'Clean and Simple'.

I don't have many different colours of cardstock but managed to scrounge up some pale blue and adhered a piece over a white card front. I created a smaller panel in white and used a hole-punch to create the three circles. I used washi tape to put the panel in place temporarily, so I could stamp the snowflakes in the holes and emboss them in white. I also stamped the sentiment in grey ink.

Lots of foam tape was added to the back and the circle panel was adhered over the snowflakes. I added a few rhinestone dots for a bit of sparkle and all was done. I really like this design and can see it done in different colours.

The snowflake stamp is from Simon Says Stamps 'Presents and Ornaments'. The sentiment stamps are from WPlus9 'Hand lettered holidays'. The rhinestones are from Kaisercraft.

As I've used my favourite pale blue colour, I'm going to link this as my second entry to the AAA Card Challenge # 29 where their theme is:


And along a similar blue theme, I will link this to the Curtain Call Challenge: Clearly Christmas as my second entry. This is their inspiration photo:


I'm also going to link to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Christmas/Holidays'.

And last but not least, I'll link to the Addicted to CAS Challenge # 53 where their theme is:


I received a new stamp set today that I'm dying to play with, so will go and set myself up in front of the tv and catch up on Revenge. Tomorrow I have another 4 hrs of gardening to do. Its supposed to rain (which we desperately need) so if it does, I'll be crafting and relaxing all day. If not, I'll be digging in the heat and reminding myself 'think of the money, think of the money'......

Take care
Shona
 

Thursday 4 December 2014

TIME OUT Challenge # 20

Its exactly three weeks till Xmas.....are you ready???? I most certainly am not but just love the rush and excitement between now and the big day. Plenty of time to make some more Xmas cards too!

Speaking of making cards......I hope you have time to join in with our latest TIME OUT challenge. This time we have a gorgeous card to 'CASE with your own twist' from the amazing Amy Wanford (aka Aimes):


I really recommend you visit her blog Crafting Confessions, her designs are really spectacular and I'm a huge fan. You'll find many more fabulous cards like this one!!

We also have a Guest Designer joining us for this challenge, Milla from Mustesormi. Her cards are so sweet and delicate. I'm sure you will love visiting her blog too!

I just love the crisp, white layers of Aimes' card and the simpleness of her greeting. Light blue is one of my favourite colours and I knew I had the perfect paper to combine this and some snowflakes:


I started off by cutting a rectangle of patterned paper and adhering straight to the card front. I don't have any landscape/hill dies, so had a go at free-hand scissor cutting. Pretty pleased with my white hill! After die-cutting the cloud I used foam tape to give it some height and a few rhinestones underneath for snowflakes.

I also popped the white hill on some foam tape, added some glue to the back of the veneer house and tucked it just underneath. On a strip of vellum I heat embossed the sentiment in silver and glued it across the hill. I don't make 'scene's very often on my cards and now I know I can make my own hills, I think I will do it more often!!

I'm going to link this to the Inkspirational Challenge # 70 where their theme is:

Will also link to the AAA Challenge # 29 where their theme is:


And I can imagine this won't be the only time I enter the Curtain Call Challenge - Clearly Christmas, as the inspiration photo is beautiful:


Lucky last is the fantastic Uniko Studio Challenge # 16 where their theme is 'Anything Goes'. I've entered this challenge quite a few times, Bev will probably tell me to stop soon!!

Righto, you have two weeks to enter the TIME OUT challenge and the design team have created some incredible projects on the blog to get those creative minds working. I really hope to see you there and can't wait to see what you create!!

Take care
Shona




Monday 1 December 2014

Fusion Card Challenge - Sparkly Christmas

I've seen so many entries for the latest Fusion  challenge, I just knew I had to see what all the excitement was about and join in the fun!
 




After seeing this photo and sketch for the challenge, I could understand now why so many people have entered. You know I'm loving red/white and silver at the moment, so I love the photo. And now I have some circle dies, I'm always looking for a chance to use them. And use them I did.....





Yes, its a 'ring' shaker card. I haven't seen one so far in my blog travels and goodness knows why I thought of it but didn't think it would be too hard to do. Hmmmm....

I started by cutting two pieces of white card the same size as the card front. I arranged my circle dies on top of each to cut out the ring. After cutting the clear acetate, I glued it behind what would be the card front and glued the small circle on to the front of the acetate. I then glued the small circle to the other side of the acetate (so they covered each side) and also glued the other card panel. This way the acetate was glued in-between and not seen. 

Next was the hard part. I spent ages cutting out pieces of foam tape and arranging them around the small circle (so no gaps) and around the larger circle too. I then had to cover the rest of the panel in foam tape. With it upside-down, I poured the star glitter on the acetate, removed the foam tape covers and put the folded card down on top, creating the shaker. This turned into a disaster for me only because I hadn't glued the panels enough over the acetate and stars starting slipping thru.....

I die-cut the 'merry' from silver card stock and also 2 pieces of white card. These were glued together and then adhered over the circle. I stamped the rest of the sentiment in red and added a flat heart sequin.  It was a very long process but this is one of my favourite Xmas cards so far!

The star sequins are from Papervine. The 'merry' die  and sentiment stamp from WPlus9 'Hand lettered holiday'. The circle dies are from Couture Creations.

I'm also going to link this to the Addicted to Stamps Challenge # 123 where their theme is 'Holiday'. This is my third entry.

Will also link to the Uniko Studio Challenge # 16 where their theme is 'Anything Goes' and have lost count of all my entries....

And finally, will link to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'. This is my third entry.

Wow, rather a long post I'm afraid, sorry about that. Its funny because the card looks so simple and CAS but the 'behind the scene's' work certainly pushed my sanity button but was totally worth it. May be a while before I attempt this again though......

Take care
Shona

Muse Challenge # 95

I spent this past weekend with my Mum and had a wonderful time catching up on magazines, watching horror movies, eating cheesecake and making cards. I managed to get 3 cards made on Sunday afternoon while chatting away and watching cooking shows together. So nice to have time together, just us girls.


I have to admit I was a wee bit nervous about CASing Caroline's incredible card. Its so simple but also has a lot of different layers and techniques going on. I don't think I could ever do this justice but I'm pretty happy with what I came up with:


I started out by die-cutting a tag from some grey card stock, some silver card stock and some red patterned paper. I then cut a thin banner from white card stock and stamped the sentiment in black. I don't own many Xmas stamp images but love this Santa, so stamped him also on white card and cut out by hand. I coloured his cheeks and hat in red. 

The red tag was adhered to the card front first, then the silver on top with lastly the grey. I made sure there was a hole in the grey tag so I could add some silver twine. The sentiment banner was adhered across the front and Santa was popped up on some foam tape.

The tag die is from Pretty Pink Posh. The sentiment from Winnie and Walter 'The Big, the Bold and the Merry'. The Santa stamp is from Kaisercraft. The red paper is from Studio Calico 'Magical Collection' and the grey card stock from We R Memory Keepers Journal Cards. 

I'm also going to link this to the Addicted to Stamps Challenge # 123 where their theme is 'Holiday'. This is my second entry.

And I will link this to the Fusion Card Challenge - Sparkly Christmas where they have a photo and/or sketch for inspiration. I loved the colours in the photo:

And of course I will link to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Anything Goes'. This is my second entry.

And lastly will join in the fun at the Uniko Studio Challenge # 16 where their theme is 'Anything Goes'. This is my billionth entry.

Alrightly, one more card to post and then let the card making begin. Have so many tv programmes to catch up on at the moment. I think that if I stayed awake for 5 days straight I STILL wouldn't have watched them all. And just remembered that Revenge was on tonight....excellent!

Take care
Shona

CASology Challenge Week # 123 (Phoebe's entry)

Phoebe is a great follower of my challenge cards and she is always fascinated by the cards I make for the 'word challenge', by which she means the CASology  challenge. 



When she saw the cue word for this weeks challenge she asked if she could make a card. I didn't think the CASology DT girls would mind Phoebe joining in, so I told her to go for it. This is her entry:






She knew exactly what she wanted to put on her card. She had seen these stickers from Echo Park 'Let's Picnic' and stuck them straight to the card front. Phoebe also loves to use twine, so added some across the top of the card. 

I'm extremely proud of her. She has left a lot of white card, its wonderfully balanced with the design and perfect for the challenge. And she did it all herself!!

I will also link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge (just like my CASology entry) where their theme is 'Anything Goes'.

I was very lucky to win some Blog Candy from SSS last week. It arrived today and included a gorgeous stamp set from Echo Park 'Holly Jolly Christmas'. Its so cute and Phoebe immediately had her eyes on it. Watch this space for her next 'Christmas' design.......

Take care
Shona


 

CASology Challenge Week # 123

1st of December...eeeekkk...where did this sneak up from?? I can't believe its only a few weeks till Christmas. We spent this afternoon after school putting up the Christmas tree and decorations, so the house is ready but I am not. Thank goodness for online shopping!!


So, the cue word at CASology this week is 'Eat'. I spent quite a few days pondering this one as I don't have many food orientated stamps. I started one card but then this idea suddenly hit me:





Poor little Gingy!! Losing half his leg to some hungry child, oh the tragedy!!

I stamped the gingerbread man (from Kaisercraft) on to white card stock and then cut out by hand. Unfortunately I don't own any inks that are close to a 'ginger' colour, so had to leave him black and white with a hint of red. I stamped the sentiment (from Couture Creations) and then popped Gingy up on foam tape, minus his leg. I was pretty hungry when I made this card so he's lucky that's all he lost!!

Will also link little Gingy to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge  where their theme is the ever popular 'Anything Goes'.

Have two more cards to post and then need to get a card made that's due tomorrow. Thank goodness I already have the design in my mind but you never know what I will change once I start putting it together. Max has been sick since Friday with croup and he is pretty silent at the moment (after visiting doctor today for Redipred) so hopefully it will be a quiet night for both of us.

Take care
Shona

Thursday 27 November 2014

Reminder: TIME OUT Challenge # 19

We are already halfway through our challenge at TIME OUT and have received some incredible entries so far. Its getting harder and harder each challenge to vote!! The theme for this challenge is:

                         Embossing with the optional twist of sparkle!

For some crazy reason I decided to try out something completely different with my embossing. It was incredibly fiddly and messy but really like the finished look:



It was very hard to take this photo and get the embossing to shine with its true colour, so I'm sorry about that. 

I cut a piece of white cardstock into a rectangle. I stamped across one end with a flat border stamp and Versamark Ink, and heat embossed in gold. I then masked the embossing off with washi tape. I left a gap of card stock and masked rest of card with washi tape and spare paper. I stamped again with Versamark Ink, removed all the masking and heat embossed the thinner line in silver. 

From there I repeated the process, leaving differing widths of space to emboss so not all the lines were the same. I also made sure that when I masked the embossing, I exposed the very edge of it, so it was embossed over with the next colour and there would be no gaps. Very fiddly indeed!!!!

The lines aren't perfect (I realised after a few lines that it was better to remove the masking and THEN sprinkle the embossing powder and heat, than sprinkle so it went all over the masking tape and then peel off) but I absolutely love how it all melted together and is smooth and shiny. Will definitely do this again!!!!

After all that, I trimmed down the edges and cut out a piece of black card stock that was slightly larger. This was adhered directly to the card front, with the embossed card put on top with foam tape. The 'merry' was die-cut three times, one from white card, one from gold and one from silver. They were glued together but slightly off centre so you can see the silver and gold underneath.

The border stamp is from Simon Says Stamp 'Tag Sayings' and the 'merry' die from WPlus9 'Hand lettered holidays'. The sequins are from The Warehouse.

I'm going to link this to a new challenge (for me) Showcase Your Style # 2, where they had a colour challenge that I used for my card:



I will also link to Addicted to Stamps Challenge # 123 where their theme is 'Holiday'.

Also, I'm joining in the challenge at Inkspirational # 70 - Designers Choice where their theme is:



And will also link this card to the Artful Crafts - Christmas Countdown Challenge where this week they are looking for 'Fancy Cards'.

And of course I will link to the Uniko Studio Challenge # 16 where the theme is 'Anything Goes'. This is my millionth entry!!

Wow, didn't quite realise this would turn into such a long post!

The TIME OUT challenge finishes on Wednesday 3rd December at 5pm, so you still have plenty of time to join in the fun. And if your looking for inspiration, please head over to the blog to see what the Design Team have created, their cards are spectacular. I hope to see you there!!

Take care
Shona
 


Monday 24 November 2014

Just Add Ink Challenge # 241

I've had a lovely Monday morning at home pottering around with housework, finishing my card, covering my cherry tree in bird netting etc. No rush and no one else around. And after I finish this I'm off to the river bank to take the dogs for a walk in the very hot sun. Awesomeness!!

I couldn't wait to get started when I saw this sketch at Just Add Ink this week. There are so many possibilities for ideas. I was wandering around blog land leaving some comments when I came across a card with some solid butterflies stamped all over it. This jogged my memory about a butterfly stamp that I haven't used, and maybe it would be perfect.





This is the largest stamp I have and it just fitted on to my stamp block. It has so much detail I didn't think it would emboss very well but it totally surprised me and turned out perfectly. Why haven't I used this before??!!!

Basically I cut the front panel out of white card stock. I then stamped the butterfly in Versamark Ink and embossed in silver. I then took a bit of a risk and very gently painted it in with some Distress Ink mixed with water. I don't have watercolour card stock so as long as I don't use too much water, it turns out fine.

After drying I cut the panel into three strips. The 'thanks' was also stamped and embossed in silver but I didn't have an ink pad in a pink that would match the watercolour. So I took another risk and stamped the rest of the sentiment in Distress Ink. Hooray, it worked!! This strip was adhered straight across the three panels. A few pretty sequins and my risky card was complete. And I love it!!!

The butterfly stamp is from Couture Creations. The sentiment stamps from Winnie and Walter 'Big Bold You'. The light pink sequins from Neat and Tangled and darker pink sequins from Pretty Pink Posh.

I will also link this to the Simon Says Stamp - Wednesday Challenge where their theme is 'Thanks/Thanksgiving'.

I'm also going to join the AAA Cards Challenge # 28 where their theme is also:


I'm going to sneak this into the Winnie and Walter - Playdate No. 4  where they have some photos and colours for the theme inspiration. My eye was instantly drawn to the silver goodness in the top right:


This is also going to be my second entry into the CAS(E) this Sketch # 101 challenge where their sketch is very similar to this card (must have had it in my mind still....):


And last (but definitely not least) I will join the Uniko Studio Challenge # 16 where their theme is 'Anything Goes'. I think this is my 4th entry, they will be getting sick of seeing my cards!!!

Whew, I haven't joined so many challenges at once for a long time. Now I have the fun task of linking to them all. How I wish the brainy computer people would come up with a way to do it all at the same time........

Take care
Shona