Hats Essential!!

Welcome - it is sooo hot here at the moment, one dare not go outside without a hat!!

I enjoyed 'playing' with this set by Layers of Color stamp set Beautiful Lace, designed by Nina B.

Love this wide border and when stamped in dye inks the detail is amazing!!

This hat is also part of the set - I painted it with twinkling H2O's and fussy cut it and mounted it on foam dots.

The background doily was cut from pale blue card and the edges sponged before adhering just the centre of the doily to the base, which meant the edges lifted a wee bit giving, the impression of more dimension.

The sentiment was embossed on vellum, cut and embossed with a labels 10 die  and mounted over an identically shaped piece of blue card.

The final detail was the rhinestones and silver cord.

Creative Inspirations - Anything Goes

Fashionable Stamping Challenge #11 - travelling Around the world - a hat for summer in the southern hemisphere

Kenny K's Krafty Girlz Challenge #74 - Anything Goes

Penny Black december Challenge - Happy Birthday

Pile It On Challenge #49 - Bling it Up

Sparkles first Birthday Challenge - Anything But a Christmas Card

That Craft Place Challenge #2 - Sweet treats in Pastels

The Crafty Pad Challenge #152 - Anything But a Christmas Card
Cheery Lynn Designs Challenge #8 - Celebrate
Crafty Boots Challenge - Celebrations

Thank you so much for visiting - may your day be blessed

Blue Silk Moth

Welcome to you all - I am so glad you call by and visit with me.

I received some new stamps from the Layers of Color new releases this week and I could not wait to go and get them inky, and this is the result!!

I was colour inspired by this photo for the inspiration challenge over at 

Southern Girls Challenge Blog

I mulled it over overnight, and decided to sponge the background with the Tsukineko Kaleidacolor Blue Breeze colours, using the Versamark resist technique. The stamp I used for this is from the Layers of Color Fleur stamp set.

I then stamped the Silk Moth directly onto the card with Tsukineko Brilliance Mediterranean Blue, and embossed using Paua embossing powder.

This is a clear powder with pink and blue highlights in it.

I then stamped the image onto some pale blue velum using versamark ink and the Blue Breeze pad, and again embossed using the paua powder.

I 'fussy cut' it, ready to layer it over the image on the card, and added Ice Blue rhinestones.

I stamped the sentiment from the Artful Endearments stamp set, again using the Blue Breeze inks, lining the letters up over the changes of colour on the pad.

I adhered the cut out butterfly with vellum adhesive and the card was complete.

I am linking this to :

Southern Girls challenge #24

The House That Stamps Built - DCC720 - glitter

Little Red Wagon Challenge #91 - heat embossing

Papercraft Star challenge #55 - Anything Goes

Paper Shelter Challenge #24 - Anything Goes

Pixie Cottage challenge #80 - Emboss it

Scrapbook Sisters Challenge # 55 - Happy Birthday

7Kids College Fund Challenge #26 - Texture

Karen's Doodles #73 - Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp - Anything goes

Little Claires- Monthly Challenge #11 - Things with Wings
4 Crafty chicks - get your bling on
Pixie dust Studio challenge #84 - Monochrome in your favourite colour

Thank you for calling by - may your day be blessed.

Orange Butterfly

Greetings - it is nearly two weeks since last I posted - life just seems to have got in the way!!

Today I managed two cards, and I am posting this one as the person it is for does not read my blog so I am 'safe'.

I was inspired by Card Patterns Sketch 110, and this is the result.

The pink paper has a sheen on it, which IRL makes it really pretty.  I punched the border with a Martha Stewart punch, which seemed to set the theme of dotted curves.

The brown dp is some from a 'scrap pack' I was given,  the gold dots are embossed, making it a delight to work with. I am using it sparingly as there is only one small piece.  (Others call it hoarding!!)

The lace across the bottom is some tatting I did years ago and never used.... I threaded some gold ribbon through it for this card.

At one end I threaded a buckle through, and glued a really dimensional button on for a focal point... this came from my button jar which has buttons from both my mother and mother in law.

The butterfly I stamped and embossed with copper embossing powder on pale orange vellum - it is my original butterfly stamp from Kiwi Stamping, and for years has been my 'go to' butterfly stamp.  

I painted a few of the features and body with twinkling H2O's and used dimensional adhesives to mount it onto a spellbinders dotted circle cut from gold paper.  

I am linking this to the following challenges:

Card patterns sketch 110

Aud Sentiments Challenge #26 - Anything Goes

Do You Stack Up Challenge #15 - Scallops

Little Miss Muffet Challenge #7 - Glitter and Shine

Rainbow Ladys Challenge #148 - springtime

Sassy Studio Designs Spring Mix Challenge

Crafts And Me Challenge #30 - Ribbon

Fab n Funky Challenge Challenge #68 - Spotty and dotty

Flutterby Wednesdays #150 - Butterfly, Fairy or Angel

OWH Stars and Stamps - Layers

Thanks for calling by, I love seeing that you have visited.

May you day be blessed.

Pink and purple :-)

Hello, I just had to share the fun I had with this card this afternoon.

I have a friend who has limited sight and I wanted a card for here that had images that stood out - so I went for gold embossing, dry embossing and colour contrast.


The images are from Priscilla Styles Store and after printing them onto a bright pink vellum type of paper,  I heat embossed them in gold, then coloured the over-skirt on the frock with a glitter purple pen.  These images were then trimmed and stuck to white card.


The background paper is some that I painted eons ago, and I ran it through the Cutttlebug in the Oriental Weave folder.  The purple corner treatments are Vintage corners - again cut in the cuttlebug - where would I be without my trusty cuttlebug!!


I sponged the edge of the base card with purple ink, mounted everything onto it, and then added the rhinestones.


A quick card that I enjoyed making - I hope you have enjoyed the journey.


This is being linked to:


Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #70

Paper Players Challenge #14 - Clean and Simple

Alice In Wonderland - Shine or Sparkle

Bee Crafty - Anything (digital) Goes

Secret Crafter Saturday Challenge # 99 - Clean and Simple


Thank you for visiting, and I love the comments you leave.

Butterfly Congratulations

Greetings, and thank you for visiting my humble blog again. 

I managed to get going in the studio again yesterday and made this 'congratulations' card, which is well overdue, for a friend who has walked a half marathon - far far more than I have ever done, and I admire her for her achievement!!


This is an easel card - the second one I have ever made, and I must admit that I am very happy with the way it sits when opened and stood up .


I started by deciding on the base colour, and found some printed vellum that I have had on hand for some time - the print is of hibiscus flowers and as there are a lot of pink tones in it, it does not dominate the card as they are adsorbed into the red.  I tore the bottom of the vellum to add some subtle texture, and stamped and gold embossed the word congratulations in the lower right corner.


The ribbon and lace are of the same pale lemon colour and toned in well - the base that the butterfly is sitting  on is a pale lime/lemon coloured card with a slight sparkle in it.  It was cut using a Spellbinders Classic scalloped oval, which I then sponged the edges of with Memento Pear Tart ink.  This done I decided a wee bit of visual texture was required so  stamped one of the leaves from the acanthus leaves set from Layers of Color inside the oval in Memento Bamboo Shoot green.


The butterfly is another Layers of Color stamp from the Joyful Noise set.  This was stamped and embossed in gold on white card, and then painted using Twinkling H2O paints.  I mounted this on dimensional foam tape, and added a 'flight path' using some Zva crystals.

I wanted the base to echo the card front, so punched the edge of the white liner  with a lacey boarder punch from Fiskars and popped a wee white half pearl in the centre of each repeat, tied a narrow pale lemon ribbon around the base mat and added a bow, and then placed two tiny pearls as 'stoppers' part way up.


I really enjoyed creating this card, and I hope you enjoyed the journey with me.




I am entering this in the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #58


May your day be filled with joy and blessings, and thank you for calling by.

Birthday Poppies

Just a quick post tonight - I will edit it tomorrow and put some detail in, but I wanted to get this up for the Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge #40 before it closes.  I may have more time than I think I have, but here goes anyway :-)

I did not start out with the sketch in mind, but realised after I thought I had finished it,  that I could add a wee bit more and have the challenge nailed....


Here I am to finish the posting - after a good nights sleep.


I started out by giving myself a challenge to use a mid-gray base card - then I saw the teal coloured paper on my desk from a card I had made previously (would you believe that I try to tidy up after each card?).  The two colours went together nicely, so I ran the paper through my new cuttlebug folder, Oriental Screen - oops big trouble.  


Cheap paper, detailed folder and the surface of the paper cracked and showed the white core - where to now as I am too miserly, or should that be thrifty, to waste the paper.  


I had used the Whisper Sugarloaf Green with this paper in the other card, so out it came and I inked up my brayer and brayered over the surface.  That was better, but not quite good enough, so I applied the ink pad directly to the surface - success!! and the design now was beautifully highlighted.


I then found a piece of vellum that had a torn edge which inspired me to stamp, emboss and paint the poppies from Stampin' Up's Oh So Lovely set.  I have used this technique before and like the result.  To fasten the vellum to the card I used three flower brads along the ribbon, making sure I caught the ribbon ends under the outer two brads.


I then wanted to add the sentiment, but did not want to add to the layout, so simply stamped and embossed it over the stems - not a bad result from an experiment!!


I thought the card was finished , but then saw the Midnight Madness sketch challenge and I could not resist adding to it, so I cut a rectangle using a nestability die, embossed it and sponged the edge with the sugarloaf green ink (Not sure where the green comes in as the photo is very true to colour!) while it was still in the die I also stamped the poppies, making sure that the image on the left was placed so I could slide it under the image on the vellum.


Painted the poppies using my twinkling H2O's, mounted it on black card and decided to leave the edge at the bottom broader.  Slipped this under the original image and adhered it, then added the bling and it went from an o.k. card to one I am very proud of!


Thank youu for calling by - I do enjoy you visiting and love your comments - I am a bit of a junkie, and when I get comments I get a real buzz!