Dragonflies and a Double Pleat

Welcome

I fully intended to have posted before now, but life got in the way!!

This is a card I made for a swap in a group of  New Zealander cardmakers.  The brief was to make a card using the 'double pleat' technique.  A tutorial is here.

Again I needed double sided paper, but this time I did not need a full sheet. 

The contrast between the patterns was not as great as I thought when I folded it, so I sponged the edge of the exposed side with Tea Die D.I.

The image I used as a focal point on the band, made of two ribbons, was from a magazine.  It was stamped in Rich Cocoa Ink and coloured with polychromo pencils, and die cut with a S/B  oval.  The hello was embossed with platinum embossing powder.

After layering the folded panel and ribbon band onto the purple background I them placed it all onto a soft green panel, and added the sparkly punched dragonflies.

I am linking this to:

Crafty Catz Challenge #426 - Anything Goes optional, use dies or punches

Creative Fingers Challenge #150 - Anything Goes

Jo's Scrap Shack Funday Friday Challenge #243 - Anything Goes

Polka Doodles Craft Challenge Week #29 - Anything Goes

QKR Stampede Challenge #305 - Anything Goes

Simply Papercrafts Challenge #59 - Anythng Goes

Crafting With an Attitude Challenge #41 - Anything Goes

Cute Card Thursday Challenge #539 - Bugs or butterflies

Little Miss Muffet Challenge #193 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #344-345 - Anything Goes

Sequins and a Moth

Welcome back - it's great to know you have visited.

Believe it or not, this beautiful image is of a Silk Moth, not a butterfly!

It was manufactured by the now defunct Layers Of Color, and is one of my original stamps that I bought from overseas,  and I still love it. 

I stamped it directly onto the card base and gold embossed it before painting it with Twinkling H20's.  The camera was unable to capture the gorgeous sheen the finished image has.

Some 'plum' sequins and a simply stamped and embossed greeting, layered over some lace, finished the outside of the card

The left hand side of the insert in the card was stamped with the same image in a soft pink ink.

I am linking this to:

Moo Mania Challenge - Butterflies

(it's pretty enough to be a butterfly, isn't it? and there are no moth challenges)

Thats Crafty Challenge - Close to Nature

Creative Moments Challenge #148- Anything Goes

Addicted To Stamps Challenge #300 - and 6th Birthday - Happy Birthday

Little Miss Muffet Challenge #193 - Anything Goes

Southern Girls Challenge Team Lou - Tic Tac Toe

(Lace, Stamp and Sequins)

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #71 - Anything Goes

Crafting By Design Challenge - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations Challenge #370 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #342-343 - Anything Goes

Introducing Ethel and Arthur

Welcome

A change of pace today - my first love for many years on the craft spectrum was embroidery, and in the past 12 months I have renewed my membership in the local Embroiderer's Guild.

This year is the national bi-annual conference of the Embroiderer's Guilds, and there is a theme given that the guilds can create a banner for, as one of the competitions/exhibitions.

We chose to create a Noah's Ark as our interpretation of the theme. Each member was able to select from a range of animals sketched onto some fabric by our talented co-ordinator of the project, and we were also given a small image of the animal.

After collecting my critters, I did some research, compliments of Mr G**gle, and printed out some more images.

I then searched my stash and selected my colours - just a note, some of my stash has been around for a while, and I discovered to my dismay part way through the project, that ordering the same thread number did not ensure I had the same shade of colour when it arrived!

I learnt in my researching that  Rhino's hide is actually VERY rough, in patches looking like huge warts - I was not keen to try to replicate that, so went with an overall texture

I started with the feet and legs and worked up from there

Adding some rib 'shadows' along the trunk

And making sure the eyes, horns and ears were stitched with enough contrast not to 'loose' them

I also learned that Rhinos have a wee tassel on the end of their tails - who would have knowed!

So here in all her glory is Ethel

Followed closely by Arthur - who found a new mud puddle to wade in, but Ethel would not let him stop, so hence he only got partially submerged, and it shows.  Well that's my story, and I am sticking to it!!

And here is the banner all but finished, with Ethel and Arthur, Snip and Snap (the geese), Slither and Slide (the snakes) Jumbo and Nellie, Fanny and Flinn (the flamingos), and Jemima and Jimmy (the Giraffes)... and company!!  

The names were given by the various members who stitched them when on a weekend retreat. 

Ladybird Anniversary

Welcome

And a very special welcome to my newest follower Carla Aerts, co-founder of the blog

Carlins Kaartenparadijs, a new Challenge blog.

This card is using some of the tiny pieces (Snippets) from my 12" x12" paper challenge, and a 

Bugaboo Stella Says Sketch  Challenge.  I thought I may have missed it as I have not been well, but thankfully it is a month long challenge this time!! Phew. 

I printed off three copies of this image and coloured them all - I thought I had done very well and printed them on the opposite side, and end, of the sheet of card to another two images I had previously printed... much to my disgust, after colouring all the images, I realise I had printed them back to back, so ended up using just one of these images and one of the others... 

I coloured the image with my Polychromos,  then trimmed it, and distressed the edges before mounting it over the tags and some layers of (cereal box) card to give some dimension before adding it to the embossed background.

The sentiment (from a set of now discontinued Fire Cracker stamps) was embossed with deep green ep, and also mounted over layers 

Before adding the green embossed layer to the base, I wound the twine around it three times and tied a bow for some added interest, and to 'hide'  the blank top of the embossed panel, as the British stationery sizes (which I use) differ slightly from the USA ones. 

I am linking this to:

Catch the Bug July Challenge - Anything Goes

Lil' Patch of Crafty Friends Challenge #85 - Anything Goes

Dragonfly Dreams Challenge - Summer

Angie's Digital Stamps Challenge #22 - Anything Goes

Allsorts Challenge #475 - In My Garden

Pixies Crafty Workshop Snippets Challenge #330 - Anything Goes

Crafting From The Heart Challenge #214 - Anything Goes

Artistic Inspirations Challenge # 204 - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #342-343 - Anything Goes

Catch The Bug Stella Says Sketch Challenge # 612

Sunny Cycling

Welcome

Thank you for choosing to visit my blog, and a special welcome to my newest follower, 

Charlene 'White Deer' Heathwood.

I created this card for a woman who loves to ride her bike, and not just around the streets, but also on Scenic Cycle Trails here in New Zealand, which are a challenge in themselves.  I suspect she has a somewhat more 'grunty' and appropriate bike than this one.

I started by water colouring the sky and ground then stamped the sun.

I was not happy with the result, so added some Tsukineko Electric Yellow Irresistible Neon using the Pico Embellisher.  Loved the results it gave.

I die cut the bicycle using this Memory Box die towards the base of the card, painted it with watercolours and re-inserted it into the base, and added some 'shadow' to the ground..

The flowers and butterfly were some wee stamps from a magazine set, stamped with die inks and then loosely painted using the same inks.

The sentiment was stamped onto a scrap of black card stock and white embossed, cut to a banner and mounted over some yellow .  The edges of the main panel were sponged with yellow ink and then it was mounted over a strong blue base.  Some white/iridescent sequins added and all was finished.

I am linking this to:

Southern Girls Challenge - Just A Bit Flash

(bikes in New Zealand don't usually have flower filled baskets, or sequins floating around)

Carlin's Kaarten Paradijs Challenge #1 - Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread Challenge #71 - Anything Goes

Love to Craft July Challenge - Anything Goes

Love To Scrap Challenge #111 - Anything Goes

Crafting By Design July Challenge - Anything Goes

Word Art Wednesday Challenge Weeks #342-343 - Anything Goes

Polka Doodles Challenge Week #27 - Anyhing Goes

Crafting With an Attitude Challenge #41 - Anything Goes

CAS Mix up July Challenge - Colour Your Die Cuts

I have stamped the sentiment, flowers and butterfly and added a water colour background

1 + 2 + 3 = 4 and Counting

Welcome

I have been sorely lacking in mojo of late, and then on Friday last week there was a challenge set in a facebook group that I am part of, and did that get me going!!

(warning, this post is photo heavy)

The challenge was to take one 12" x 12" piece of patterned paper (it could be double sided)

Two colouring techniques

and make three cards (or more).

This is the paper that I chose, part of a RAK from Alicia of Papercraft Secrets,  it is from a Kaisercraft release, Romance, apparently unavailable now, and it is a double sided sheet.

This was my first card, using an unidentified die cut.  The edges of the card base and paper were sponged first with memento Rhubarb Stalk ink, then with Sweet Plum.  The card was finished with some ribbon and a simple bow.

The next card I embossed the white card base, and used a diagonal cut of the paper.  

I was inspired by the STAMPlorations 5th Birthday celebrations to get my Stamplorations stamps out, so stamped this butterfly tile from STAMPlorations Hope Blooms set, coloured with water colour pencils and blended with water.  The card was finished with a fine strip of the paper and some very narrow white lace up the side of the card, and the embossed word hope from the same set.  All edges were swiped over a pad of  Memento Dark Cocoa ink.

My third card used a panel of the paper, a (retired) S/B edge die and layers in a green handmade paper, and the rose and sentiment stamp from Darkroom Door

The rose was stamped in Memento Desert Sand and coloured with poloychromo pencils, the highlights were made with a white Signo pen.

The final card uses both sides of the paper.  There were strips cut from the main sheet and then cut into smaller lengths before being adhered onto a rectangle about 5cm wide.  The Thanks was die cut out of those layers before placing it onto the dark brown base.

I decided that panel was too small for the base, so added a layer of the second side of the paper

the ribbon and flower at one end, and the layered clear Wink of Stella into the die cut. , 

 

And why the 'And Counting' in the title - I have two more cards at least planned using some of the balance of the original sheet of paper - there is enough paper for a full card base as well as other odds and ends that can be used.....  

I am linking this to:
STAMPlorations 5th Birthday Celebrations

STAMPlorations Never Ending Challenge  (Card Two)