Break over!!

The summer (mid-winter for me) break for the Design Team for McMahon Five Design is over and we are all keen to present to you the new releases for this week.

This first image Shipwrecked is a wonderful atmospheric vintage image from McMahon Five Vintage Stamps

I painted the image with Twinkling H2Os after printing it out on watercolour paper giving the whole a rather eerie impression.

I then mounted the image over some distressed, double embossed card.

Here is a close up of the double embossed card. 

After mounting this on a deep blue base card, I then added the white panel and buttons.  This then had the ribbon added before it was mounted onto a white base card.

My second card this week is using an image from Solocosmo Digital Stamps.

I took the baby cupcake image and came up with this card

I made the background of the card by 'blocking' Pearlescent Lavender and Orchid inks direct to white card. (I learnt the technique here)  This gives a subtle sheen to the base.

The image was printed out and painted with Twinkling H2O's, had some pink rhinestones added and was mounted on dimensional foam dots.

The sentiment was stamped in the Orchid ink and mounted over some lace

The very base of the card is pink, and I taped some narrow pink lace to the edges before machine stitching the main panel onto it.

Please visit the rest of the design team (names and links on my sidebar) to see all the other exciting releases from McMahon Five Designs.com this week.

Thank you for visiting - may your day be blessed.

Simple circles

Greetings to my cyber guests, you are most welcome here - I had hoped to get this post up sooner but as many know, just sometimes life gets in the way!

I had to have another attempt at the Less is More Challenge, and the theme this week is circles, and I have been dying to ink up this stamp set that has sat languishing on my desk for some weeks without ever seeing some ink!!

The set is called Just for you and is marketed by  by The Crafts Meow.

As the challenge is for a Clean and Simple Card I simply stamped three circles down the side of the card and added the sentiment in the same Pearlescent Orchid ink, added the bow and three half pearls and it was complete.

I then used the same images and ink and altered the layout slightly, 

This time the ribbon was a different, more 'blue based' pink, and I used a mauve pearl, and the ink looked more mauve too.  Very interesting.

In this next photo you can see the pearlescent glimmer in the ink on the left.

And here is a close-up of the gorgeous bow

I was pleased with both these cards and I doubt if they took longer than 45 minutes for them both.

I am linking this to:

 Simply Less is More - challenge #24 - circles (top card)
And then I was so late posting this the challenge had closed :-(

CCEE Challenge 1129 - Encouragement

DigiDoodle Challenge #68 - Clean and Simple

Sassy Studio Challenge #82 - Clean and Simple

Aud Sentiments Challenge #33 - Encouragement

Thank you for visiting , and please keep the comments coming, I love knowing what you think.

May your day be Blessed.

Twins and digi twins.

Evening everyone from a cold, wet, windy antipodean island, thunderstorms snow (but not here, thankfully) and all!!  

Last week I was asked to make a card for a family who have recently had twin daughters.

I started with an image from May Brit's blog (here) - she draws and shares some beautiful images.  I took the baby bear image, copied it and flipped it to give the impression of twins.  I coloured them with chalks, the one that the camera shows as blue is actually a mauve. 

I added some mauve lace and pink and mauve rhinestones, and sponged the edge of the image with plum ink. 

 I mounted it on a lemon card that I had randomly stamped pink butterflies on - the butterfly image is from The Crafts Meow Friend of Mine stamps set.

After mounting the main image I ran a glitter pink pigment pen around the edge of the panel.

The sentiment (unknown origin) was stamped in Pearlescent Orchid ink, cut out using a ribbon tags die from Spellbinders Arts, and then sponged with the Plum ink and ran the pen around the inside edge of the die before removing it.  (I tried to alter the colour of this image to make it more realistic, but didn't do it correctly.) The ribbon was a narrow stitched one I had on hand.

I am linking this to the following challenges;

One Stitch At A Time - Anything Goes

Quirky Crafts challnge #14 - No Patterned Paper

Stamping Sisters In Christ Challenge #97 - what works for you - chalks

(The Stamping Sisters In Christ challenge is based on James 2:18-19.  I commend their study to you)

Paper Creators Craft - Challenge #2 - Special occasion

Sweet Stampin' - Cute and Cuddly

Thanks for visiting, and 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.

Change of direction

A warm hello to all my visitors.

I made this card a week or so ago, and I don't remember what the original recipe was that I was working to, but I do know what I made was totally different and was not 'eligible' for the challenge I had in mind when I started!

I guess a few of you would identify with that?

This is the result

I started by running an embossed line approximately 8mm inside  the edge of the card.

I then stamped the the Layers of Color greeting from the Happy Wishes clear stamp set, and the large flourish from the Stampin' Up Baroque Motifs set in Tsudineko Pearlescent Lavender ink.

I then tried stamping the large motif in red Staz On ink on acetate to layer over it, but lets just say it did not work.....

So I did a fast re-think, and added the ribbon and pearls and called it quits - since then the card has grown on me and I am quite happy with it now.

I am linking this to:

Claudia and Company Challenge #80 - Clean and Simple

Party Time Tuesdays #13 - Anything Goes

Get Hippity with Ippity - Use a stamp

Stamping Scrapping Challenge Central - Anything Goes

Sparkles Forum Challenge #10 - Anything Goes

Thanks for calling by - I really appreciate your visits, and comments when you leave them.

May your day be blessed.

Tickled Pink

When I went to make this card this afternoon I was not intending to use pink - somehow I got ambushed!!

I looked at the card colour and thought 'why not'.  Then I realised that the piece of lace that I previously had used as a stencil looked good on the base colour and it just grew from there.

The sentiment is from the Layers of color latest release Happy Wishes and was stamped in the same Tsukineko Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid ink that the lace was coloured with, cut with a Spellbinders Classic Oval and embossed, then  sponged with the same ink, before being mounted on a  scalloped oval in a pale mauve.

Plum coloured kaiser half pearls scattered over the card finished a very quick card.

I am linking this to :

Aly's Sunday Sketch - bling bling

Let's Ink It Up Challenge #9 - Romance/valentines (The lace looks romantic)

2 sisters challenge blog-challenge #25 - The world is our oyster - pearls

Catch the Bug - February Anything Goes Challenge

Little Claire's Challenge #1 - Anything Goes

I trust you have marked February 23rd on your calender for the sweetest Cake Decorating Party on the web!

Thanks for calling by - May your day be blessed

Out of my Comfort Zone!!

Greetings to you all!!

I was recently inspired by a post by Becca Feeken showing a calendar that she had made. Please note I was only inspired - the end result is totally different and nowhere near the same as hers :-)

I found a small 2011 calendar on the internet (and forgot to note where, and now cannot find it) that printed out onto a single A4 page.  I remembered a canvas that I had bought years ago, and thought I would 'have a go', and this is the result.

The calendar was cut into the small pages and held together with small split pins, that went through the card behind it.

The lace pattern was made by taping down and sponging a piece of lace with ink - Tsukineko Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid.

Next step was to stamp the top right corner - I used a clear polymer stamp from Layers of Color from the Merci Bouquet set, and when I stamped with it on the acrylic block, it only stamped in the corner. Big panic - I ended up taking the stamp off the block and pressing it straight onto the canvas.  I was so pleased I had chosen that stamp as it was possible to do that!!  I then painted the image with other inks in the same range - thyme green, lavender and platinum planet.

Next came the dragonfly - a purchase from the local Warehouse, from memory. this was attached with white PVA glue.

The calendar was then attached using the ubiquitous double sided sellotape.

I was still not happy as the whole seemed a little bland, so I fossicked through a draw and found the last of a packet of Zva gems that were just the right colour, so after a certain amount of fidgeting, I got then to form the flight pattern of the dragonfly, and a wee highlight in the top and bottom right hand corners.

The final detail was the ribbon - there was not quite enough to do what I had originally planned, so it was glued around and then the ends were tied to form a loop to hang the calandar from.

So that was my venture into something different - I was pleased with the outcome, and am keen to do it again, sometime :-)

I am linking this to the following challenges

The Cheerful Stamp challenge #9 - Lets relax - I relax by crafting

The Crafty Pad #105 - Something Girly

Ginger Loft Challenge #10 - Things That Fly

Lets Ink It Up - #8 - Anything Goes - No Digis

Quirky Crafts 2011 #2 - In The Spring Garden

Crafty Calendar #16 - New Beginnings - a new year

Gem of a Challenge #13 - Ribbon and Lace

Fairy Take # 6 - Flowers

I would also like to invite you to a very special party to be held on the 
23rd February - there will be loads of fun, and cakes galore, but the secret is that there are no calories, no sugar, no fats, nothing to harm you, just sheer pleasure and loads of eye candy!!

Thank you for calling in - may your day be blessed :-)