Aspen and Tennis Anyone

Good morning good folks - the time zones have caught me out again and I am late..... 

The first card from the McMahon Five Designs this week is Tennis Anyone?

As soon as I saw this image I thought of this paper from the Le Chateau pad of dp by Kaiser Craft.  This sat well on the gray base I had decided to use.

Naturally I left his trousers white, but used chalks to colour his jacket  and a pale blue glitter pen for his tie - a wee smidgen of grey sponged at his feet, and pale blue for the sky and he was 'done'.

The whole was mounted onto cream card-stock but still looked rather stark, so out came the button jar and on went a corner full of assorted ones, and some doodled lines which make me think of tennis court markings.

So what do you think of this rather suave looking tennis player from

 McMahon Vintage collection?  

My next image is from Solocosmo Digi Stamps by Jessica Grundy, marketed by McMahon Five Design. 

I had one thing planned for days, but just before I went to make it, the idea of sepia tones like on old photograph popped into my head, along with a different layout, and this is what the result is:

Isn't Aspen just so sweet holding his frog toy?

I used a chalk to colour the main image - just one colour applied in different intensities. This panel was then distressed and sponged with Tea Stain Distress ink and mounted on very dark brown card.

The image panel was then layered over a light brown card which I doodled around the edge of with gold, as my brown pen would not co-operate.

To finish I mounted it all on a white base card stock which was distressed and sponged and layered with some dp from a generic pack I bought years ago.  (Yes I am a bit of a hoarder.)


I am linking these to:
The Paper Shelter Challenge #20 - Anything Goes - both cards 

Stampavie and More - #146 - more than three layers - Tennis Card

Bearly Mine challenge #13 - Summer - Tennis Card
My time To Craft #146 - summer - Tennis player
Art Impressions Stamps Challenge #22 - Distressing - Aspen
Charisma Cardz Challenge #26 - Ice Cream Colours - Aspen, Caramel Ripple
Moving Along with the Times Challenge #105 - Here comes the Summer Sun - Tennis card
Pals paper Arts Challenge #100 - Your favourite technique - colouring with chalks - Aspen
SouthernGirls Challenge - Bring out the Inner child - Aspen

I do hope you have enjoyed these images - they were fun to work with  and I really appreciate being able to work with these images.  Do  go and look at what the other DT members have done with the other images released this week - their blog links are on the side of my page.

May your day be blessed

Green Sympathy

Welcome to my blog, and thank you for visiting.

I have a simple card today which I made to have 'on hand', as there is nothing worse than struggling to make a sympathy card at short notice.

I started with a base of light green card, then a layer of a speckled cream card  that had been run through the Argyle embossing folder and the edges sponged with  Memento Bamboo Leaves ink.

The sentiment is from and Our Daily Bread Designs set of the same name. It  was stamped with Pearlescent Thyme ink and clear embossed, cut with a Spellbinders Classic Oval and sponged with the bamboo leaves ink before  the die was removed.  This was set on a scalloped oval of mid green card, green pearls added, then mounted over a ribbon which ran the length of the embossed panel.

The butterfly, from the Layers of Color Flutterescent set was gold embossed on green card, cut out and adhered to the corner of the sentiment oval, with green pearls to accentuate the body.

Over all a very simple card to make, and I was very pleased with the result.
I am linking this to:


Stampin'doodles - animals-nature
Make It Mondays Challenge #43
The shabby Tea Roon - Favourite things - pearls
Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Challenge - Sentimental
Clear it out - Keeping it Simple
Creative Craft Challenges - make your own background paper
Oldie but Goodie #22 - Anything Goes

Thank you for visiting, and comments you may leave are greatly appreciated.  May your day be blessed.

Swans and Flowers

A warm welcome to my guests

 I am trying something new today (?tonight) and pre-scheduling this post - I just hope it does what I want it to, as I am dealing with more than one timezone. A bit of a challenge to this 'second time round' blonde!

These are more new releases from McMahon Five Designs

Sarah's Swans is a lovely vintage image which I coloured with chalks and mounted using some lace, text embossed card and silver fabric that I have had for years and a few rhinestones.

The next image in another one from the vintage image called Poppy - yes, some more flower power.

'Poppy' was painted with twinkling H2O's and also had KindyGlitz added for some extra glam.  I cut the image out using a Spellbinders Lacy Square die on the diagonal. 

This was mounted it onto another square cut with the same die and set square on the dp. The dp is some from a pack from the local 'Warehouse' (Think K-Mart in USA).  

The card was finished with some gold ribbon and gold stickles on the diecuts.
I am linking Poppy to :
The HotSpot Challenge #5 - Diecuts 

Last but not least is a CAS  card using the Modern Flowers - Black image and dp by Studio 313 , another name in the McMahon Five Designs range.  

This vase of flowers was sized to the card, and printed on white cardstock which was had a frame embossed on it and was then cut to size and layered on some mulberry coloured paper. 

 The striped matching border was also mounted on the same paper before being mounted on the cream base card, with a frill of lace and rhinestones.

Thank you for taking the time to visit and read this rather long post, and please visit the other designers posts (the links are in my sidebar) for some more beautiful samples of the new releases.

May your day be blessed!

Edited - I had to over ride the pre-schedule as I got it wrong - oh the joys of time zones :-)

My Mojo Returned!!

Warm greetings from a chilly Antipodes to all of you.

I guess most of you have known the frustration of "loosing your mojo", and there is never a worse time than when you start on a new Design team!!  

But I have survived, and the other afternoon this card came together wonderfully - the second one that afternoon!

This was a card 'made to order' and the colours originated from there.

The scripture is from the Our Daily Bread Designs Scripture Collection 2 and was stamped in Versacolor violet ink.

The metallic butterflies are some I was given, and were adhered  with white PVA glue, as were the small pink beads on the top of them.  The stripe was paper pierced and then coloured with chalks, as I had no ribbon that 'fitted' the card.

The large motif stamp is one of a set called Simply Delightful, designed by Nina Brackett and marketed by The Crafts Meow. I coloured it with Stampin' Up watercolour pencils and blender pen, and  metallic mauve and gold pens, then added the clear rhinestones, sponged the edge and layered it.

This is the finished article - yes an easel card.  The base was stamped with the  Layers of Color Happy Wishes stamp set, and the phrase "To A Special Aunt" was computer generated by me!! 

To finish the base I added lace and a row of small, clear rhinestones.

I am linking this to:

Southern Girls Challenge Blog Challenge #21 - Anything Goes

The Cheerful Stamp Pad Challenge #20 - Things With Wings

Hooked on Crafts Challenge #1 - Anything Goes

Creative Stamp Friends Challenge #27 - Happy Birthday

Make It Monday - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp and Show Some Metal - the butterflies

There She Goes - Use 3 Different Stamp Sets

One Stitch At A Time #67 - Things With Wings

Paper Sundaes - Easel Card

Pile It On #25 - Show Me Some Metal

Thank you for visiting I do enjoy knowing you have called by, and love to read your comments - they make my day :-)

May you have a blessed day

First Cards for McMahon 5 Designs

I am so pleased to be able to show you what I have been working on - and thank you for you patience - I must admit I have not blogged much recently.

On this first card the main image is from the McMahon Vintage, and just goes to show that the "flower power children" of the  '60's were not as original as they thought.

Introducing Wildflower

I painted her with twinkling H20's after printing her out twice - I then cut out the two flowers - her skirt and hat - painted them and layered them onto the main image which had been cut out using a Spellbinders labels 14 die and sponged.

As she is a Wildflower I used the Leafy Branches embossing folder behind her - I used the letterpress technique to colour the de-bossed area, and although it was not quite what I expected, I like the way it turned out for this card.

The paper I used at the base of the card is from the Studio 313 exclusive selection at McMahon Five Designs.

A couple of corners from the Cuttlebug Vintage corners and some rhinestones and Wildflower was ready for her debut.

My second project is again from McMahon Vintage  and is called Tea Time.

As soon as I saw this image I thought of a maid leaving the kitchen to take tea to her employer, and having read a lot of historical fiction, I know that the kitchens of old were poorly planned, dark and unpleasant, so I tried to tell this story in the card....

She was coloured using chalks, and the kitchen area smudged with Tea Stain Distress ink.  
Here is a close up of the detail in her face and the tea things on the tray.

The wall covering in the area she is walking into is a piece of figured vellum, and the 'portrait' was made using a wee oval of brown card and some white embossing.

Some white pearls trimmed the top of the vellum

The white flowers were smudged with orange ink, stacked with an orange one, and held with a flower brad.

This was mounted over some lace which had been 'glammed-up' with some more pearls.

I have really enjoyed working with these images, and I invite you to 'tour' the other design team creations and enjoy yourself - their work is outstanding.

There are also some exciting new releases being announced on Sue's blog today.

Thank you for visiting today, and may your day be blessed.

Now I can tell

I hinted in my last post that I had been working on things that I could only show you 'later' - and that is because they are cards made for a design team commitment.

And which team are you asking??

McMahon Five Design.com

I am so honoured to be asked by Sue to join the team and I am really looking forward to working with her, and the awesome images that she markets, and being part of a great team.

On a more somber note - for those of you who pray, please pray for the people of Christchurch (New Zealand) who have had another swarm of earthquakes, with two large ones - 5.5 and 6 on the Richter scale. :-(.

Thankfully no deaths, but more buildings have collapsed and there have been injuries.

Thank you - and may your day be blessed.

Bad Taste Card

Greetings - I have been busy but cannot share some of what I have made, yet...

but on to todays card.

I saw these images as freebies on Create with TLC and immediately thought of my friend, who this morning was (quite deliberately) the "Queen of Bad Taste", and with whom I had a few jokes about weight control - something we both have issues with :-).

Loved this wee one with her 'cuddly' figure, and the orange and pink combination, which is where the colour scheme started.  She is mounted on some very textured wallpaper that I recycled, which I  sponged with orange ink before mounting on the orange card.  The saying was deliberately slipped under her foot.

Then there were too many voids, something that doesn't usually worry me, but it was just too stark, so I made a pink flower that I 'found' how to make here  on Becca's blog, and mounted it on pink ribbon.

Next came some bling, and some doodles around the edge and it was finished.

A little bit of fun that came together very quickly.

I am linking this to:

A Spoonful of Sugar challenge #155 - Here comes summer

Bearly Mine Challenge #12 - Anything Goes

Craft Room Challenge #1 - Anything Goes

Crazy Amigo - Summer

Deep ocean Challenge #1 - Anything Goes

High Hopes Challenge #110 - Favourite pet or animal

My time To Craft Challenge #144b - Wildlife

Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes

Tuesday Throwdown #52 - Animal

Thank you for visiting, and may your day be blessed.

Baby Blues

Greetings again - I managed some time in the studio today and made a baby card using this delightful digi from May Brit.

I used two different designs of baby dp from a Warehouse pack, and embossed them both with a folder called "Gem Swirls". 

The large piece was mounted on the white card stock base, and the smaller pieces mounted the panels of dark blue.

The image was coloured with chalks and 'fixed' with a quick spray of hair spray.  The edges of the image panel were sponged with blue ink.

This was attached to the base with sticky tape, but I used some foam spots in the top left corner to compensate for the layers,  it also gave a lovely sense of dimension to the whole.

I finished the card with a bow and some rhinestones - I had forgotten that I still had some of these larger, clear rhinestones in my stash.

I photographed this in the late afternoon and the white background of the image has taken the colour of the sun setting.... Ah but it was lovely to see the sun!

I am linking this to:

Anita Be Stamping - Go Crazy with Layers

Digital Tuesday Challenge #113 - Animals - A teddy is an animal :-)

Tip Top Tuesday - Wrap it up with ribbon

Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #106

The Cheerful Stamp Pad Challenge #19 - A Special Occasion

KB Cute Monday - Anything Goes

PollyCraft Challenge #95 - Be My Teddy Bear

Squigglefly Challenge #100- triple digits

Stamps + Fun= Creativity - Challenge # 49 Swirls (the embossing)

Woodware USA Challenge #29 - Use a forgotten embellishment - the rhinestones

Thanks for calling by - I love it when you leave a comment - it makes my day.

May your day be blessed.