Pukeko!!

Greetings - I am so glad you choose to come and visit my blog.

The subject of this post is a New Zealand indigenous bird, the Pukeko, also known as a Swamp Hen in other parts of the world.

I love this stylized stamp of these birds which so captures their cheeky nature.

I ran the card through the Flourished Frame folder to emboss it, and stamped the birds inside the frame. 

The birds were then painted with watercolour crayons, mixing a deep blue and black, then to try and give the sheen on the coats that these birds have IRL, I then over-painted them with irridescent blue.

The sentiment was stamped off centre in Memento Tuxedo Black as the birds were the focus of this card.

I am linking this to:

Less is More - One layer card & birds

Crafty Cardmaker Challenge #59 - No Floral Embellishments

Incy Wincy Designs Challenge #129 - Bold and Bright - these birsd are both!

Lexi's Creations Challenge #56 - Anything Goes

Lollipop Crafts Challenge #63 - No Embellishments

Stamp and Create - January Challenge - Anything Goes

There She Goes - Challenge #139 -Back To Nature

Truely Madly Crafty January Challenge - Anything Goes

The Crazy Challenge - Tic Tac Toe - flourish, image, word

Thank you for call in -= May your day be blessed.

Fishy Beach

Greetings to my cyber visitors.

 I trust you feel welcome - and relaxed at this beach.

I made this from 'scratch', starting with a chalked background. The sky was chalk applied with my finger. The sea, chalk applied with a cotton bed (Q-tip), also using a torn piece of paper as a mask. 

The palm image (by Kiwistamping) was stamped using a watercolour crayon direct to stamp, and then touched up using a brush and colour from the crayons.  The fishing rod (Hastings Rubber Stamps) was stamped using a dye ink.

The sentiment was computer generated and double mounted.

Kindy Glitz was added to give the impression of foam on the wave edges.

The whole was then mounted onto a dark blue base.

A simple card which the photos do not really do justice to.

I am linking this to:

Card Crafters Circle Challenge #5 - Happy Birthday

Chocolate, Coffee Cards Challenge #4 - Glitter Latte

Crafty Ann's Challenge #56 - Lets Think Hot.

Fairy Fun Fridays Challenge #70 - California dreaming

Crafts 4 Eternity - challenge #54 - Recipe
Bugaboo birthday Challenge - Happy Birthday
The Secret Crafter's Saturday Challenge #168 - Anything goes, with blue
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - All that Glitters

Thank you for visiting (and commenting, I love seeing your thoughts.)
 May your day be blessed.

Jenna and Daisy Dog

Welcome, and may you enjoy your visit today.

I have two cards to share using new releases from McMahon Five Design.com.

The first image is from a new line Sue is carrying called D'Amour Allure

Which has both red rubber,digi and clear acrylic stamps.

Let me introduce you to Daisy Dog  who is available as a digi stamp in both JPG and PND files. Isn't she so cute!!

Daisy was printed and then coloured with watercolour pencils.

She was then mounted in a frame made using Spellbinders Labels 10 that was previously embossed. 

The sentiment was computer generated using the Gigi font.

The lower right corner was adorned with some paper flowers that I had coloured with ink and rhinestones. 

The final detail was some silver cord on the top.

The second is being released under the Solocosmo label and is entitled Jenna.

I printed the image onto linen textured card and coloured her with chalks.

I mounted her over some paper scraps that were on my desk, the green is from the Prima Fairy Flora 6x6 stack. All the edges of the layers were sponged with the green ink used to colour her eyes. 

The wee doily at the bottom was one that I had stamped and embossed some weeks ago when I was just 'puddling around' in the studio.

After mounting all the layers on a some speckled cream card, the corners were pierced and the edges sponged with Memento Bamboo Leaves ink.

Please do visit the other DT members' blogs (by clicking on thier names on the side bar) to see all the crafting beauty that has happened this week, and all the other releases. 

I am linking these to:

Crafty Creations #152 - something new - shaped card - first time

My Mum's Craft Shop Challenge #39 - for the girls (2nd card, Jenna)

Whimsy Stamps Challenge #21 - Happy Birthday (1st Card)

Thank you for visiting - may your day be blessed. 

Orange Dahlias

Greetings to my guests - Thank you for calling by.

It is a soggy summer in my corn of the Antipodes, and today I have been chased indoors from the garden by the rain, so I have chosen this cheerful card to share.

I used the Dotted Dahlias image by Nina B Designs for the focal point, stamping the large one three times and cutting two smaller layers.

They were painted with twinkling H2O s and mounted with foam between the layers to give dimension, and a pearl finished the centers of all three blooms.

The card base was orange card stock, with a green pattern designer paper layer. I made sure the palest corner was where I was going to stamp the quote from Spurgeon.

I finished the card by stamping a Dahlia bud and the sentiment inside.

I am linking this to:

House of Gilli - Anything Goes

Lexi's Creations challenge #56 - Anything Goes

Make It Monday's #71 - Anything Goes

Stamp and Create - Anything Goes

Stamps R Us - Anything Goes

Crazy Challenge #101 - Lace and/or Pearls

Truly Madly Crafty challenge - Anything goes

Thanks for visiting - may your day be blessed

Paper Piecing and Dotted Dahlias

Welcome - May I take this opportunity to wish you all the best for 2012.

This card was inspired by another blogger who uses the paper piecing technique frequently and to great advantage.

I used the Nina B designed Dotted Dahlias set from Layers of Color . 

 The paper on the flower is from an old, unnamed set of scrap book papers, the stems from a Bug a Boo set of papers.

These layers were from various scraps that I had saved/hoarded (depends on your perspective) and punched the edges.

The sentiment was stamped on another re-purposed scrap and formed into a mini-tag with a punched the edge.

This fabulous thread is called feather twine and is gorgeous!

The butterflies were punched and adhered to the base, then had micro beads glued on.

I am linking this to:

Addicted to Stamps Challenge #20 - something new -' new to me' technique, paper piecing and new stamps

The Squirrel and the Fox Challenge #8 - Something new - Stamps and Technique

Sentimental Sundays Challenge #83 - Anything Goes

Pile It On 1st Challenge for 2012 - Anything Goes

Paper Sundaes challenge #101 - Something Old, Something New (old paper stash, new stamps, technique.

Robyn's fetish Challenge Blog #88 - Anything Goes

Fashionable Stamping Challenge #12 - Use new stash - the stamps

Creative Inspiration paints Challenge - Inspired by Something New - the stamp set
Paper Creations Challenge #16 - die Cuts and/or Punches

thank you for visiting - May your day be blessed

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

Christmas Card 2011

Thank you for visiting, and may I take this opportunity to wish you Christmas greetings. 

Just a short post today to display my Christmas card for this year, as I know folk I posted to have now received them. 

I kept them very CAS this year and was pleased with the result.

The images are from Layers of Color, from two of their new Christmas sets

Christmas Verses and Glad Tidings.

The dove was stamped and gold embossed, the holly painted with twinkling H2O's and some Kindy glitz added. 

I cut a spellbinders classic oval die out of some scrap card, stamped the image on another scrap, then cut it out and adhered it inside the edges of the cut oval, this was used as a stencil so I could sponge the edges of the oval.  After sponging I ran a blue glitter pen around the inside edge of the die.

The sentiments were both stamped in red.

My apologies to the overseas recipients that they did not get the glitter on their cards - that inspiration did not strike until later .

I am linking this to:

Stamping Sisters In Christ - Challenge 120 - Christmas Card showing the Christmas message

Crafting for all Seasons Challenge #16 - Christmas

Crafts and Me Challenge #66 - Christmas

Little Darlings Challenge #13 - Christmas

Sisterhood of Crafters - Christmas

May your Christmas be blessed.

recipe:

Card: white

Ink: memento Red Rooster and Danube Blue, Clear Embossing ink.

Accessories: Blue glitter pen, spellbinders classic oval dies, kindyglitz.