Trust Your Wings...

Had a fabulously messy time on Sunday morning creating this mixed media piece at an Artified Getting to know Gelatos class taken by Naomi Cox. It was amazing how much variation in the finished pieces was achieved by everyone, even following the same instructions! I love how the spotted texture stamp ended up looking like Autumn leaves swaying in the breeze. At one point I thought I had absolutely ruined my piece when I added texture paste over a musical notes stencil and it did not dry properly before I tried to add the next layer of colour - but luckily I was able to just grab a wet wipe, remove most of the texture paste, and build up the colour layers again.  That's the FAB thing about mixed media - if you don't like it, you can always change it!

Also playing along with Moxie Fab World Hip on Handwriting Challenge, 

with this Autumn Leaves Typewriter Font Hand Drawn,
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge Anything Goes, and
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Not so Mellow Yellow.

I'm Fawn'd of Sequin Shakers...

If you're fawn'd of Sequin Shakers, make sure you stop on by Paulina's Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Blog Hop for some SUPER Sequin Shaker inspiration (and SUPER prizes too!) You can join in by creating your own Sequin Shaker and linking it up, or just stopping by and leaving a little love!

Also playing along with Lawnscaping Mini Challenge, I created this mini Sequin Shaker, using Lawn Fawn's Say Cheese die cut as the shape. Created by stacking and gluing two Lawn Fawn's Say Cheese die cuts from craft foam as the sides of the shaker, adhering these to the Lawn Fawn Hello Sunshine background paper, filling with a mixture of large and small cupped sequins, topping with a Lawn Fawn Say Cheese die cut from Hello Sunshine paper and Lawn Fawn Year Four hippo, birdie and balloon paper pieced with Hello Sunshine papers. Lastly added the Lawn Fawn Year Four sentiment, and these cool googly eyes - perfect for shaking!

Also playing along with Lawnscaping Mini Challenge and

joining in the fun at Seize the Birthday!

To show that Sequin Shakers come in all Shakes & Sizes, I thought I'd add my other Shakers here. Click on the photos to get to the original posts...

For Super Stars...

A Musical Note...

Jars of fun...

For the young...

Everyone loves a mover and shaker...

Fall for you...

Hope you're having a FABULOUS day!

This made me smile...

Head Over Paws Sequin Shaker...

Can I tell you how much I'm LOVING Mama Elephant - and judging by how much they were "borrowed" when we went away, there are many new Mama Elephant fans too :)

Playing along with this months Mama Elephant Photo Inspiration Challenge, I drew my inspiration from the fabulous jars of potions, combining circles and glass/transparent elements to create a "love potion" sequin shaker. Just right for joining in the fabulous Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Blog Hop too. This super cute Mama Elephant Pandamonium panda tumbles "head over paws" when you roll the shaker card along the table.

Created using a die cut cardstock circle base, layered with two die cut craft foam donut circles glued together to form the sides of the shaker. I also cut two small semi circles of craft foam to fill the void behind the front layer of cardstock, just so the sequins would not all "disappear". The shaker is filled with a combination of red and gold sequins, including these gorgeous teddy bear sequins from my local $2 shop, together with some red and gold glass beads from my stash. The sequins shaker is sealed with a die cut circle of transparency sheet, topped with a cardstock donut circle. The front panel is created using circle die cuts and Mama Elephant Landscape Trio stitched cloud die, stamped with Mama Elephant Sketchy Letters, and hand written "over", highlighted with red Mama Elephant Pandamonium hearts.

Joining in the fun with Mama Elephant Photo Inspiration Challenge,

Paulina's Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Blog Hop

and Moxie Fab Hip on Handwriting Challenge.

 

Keep It Simple Bright Spark Challenge

Storytime Sequin Shaker...

I LOVE the colour combo for Avery Elle's Colour Challenge, and couldn't resist creating a shaker card for Paulina's Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Blog Hop.

The shaker part of the card was created by die cutting two windows from white craft foam and gluing them on top of each other and removing the internal window dividers. The teal base piece of the shaker was stamped with Avery Elle Storybook shooting star, and a small sequin star glued in place.  I collected together some traditional shaped sequins and star sequins in clear, pale blue, yellow and silver. I layered my shaker box with the teal base piece and glued foam die cuts, then filled the box with the sequins, added a clear transparency sheet then the green die-cut window. I stamped the Avery Elle Storybook sentiment then added the paper pieced Avery Elle Storybook bunny with added foam dots for dimension.

 

Playing along with Paulina's Pretty Pink Posh Sequin Shaker Blog Hop, 

Avery Elle's Colour Challenge and 

Keep It Simple Bright Spark Challenge too.

A-very Far Away Wish...

Had these stamps out and couldn't resist creating this super quick CASE of Chunyuan's gorgeous card with these fabulous images from Avery Elle.  Bunny and sentiment are from Heather Campbell's Avery Elle Story Book and paint strokes are Aver Elle Brushed.

Playing along with:

Addicted to CAS Far Away Challenge

AEI{heart}U Colour Combo Challenge

 

A Bright Spark @ FUSION...

This fortnight's FUSION is full of FUN! As you can see, I was inspired by the bright colours and rolled paper cylinders, as well as the fabulous sketch.  In my card the three arrows morphed into the three words and colours.

Created by cutting down three paper party straws as "candles" and knotting a length of twine in each as the "wicks". Stamped Avery Elle's Cake & Candles sentiment in Momento Luxe Dandelion, Hero Arts Soft Pool and Momento Luxe Rose Bud, to match the candle stripes. This cool spotted paper is from American Crafts.

How to join in the fun...

1. Play with just the sketch challenge.

2. Play with just the inspiration photo challenge.

3. Or you can create FUSION by combining BOTH challenges into one card.

4. Use the challenge graphic and link back to Fusion in your post.

5. Please read the other considerations on the Our Rules Page before playing along.

Can't wait to see how you will be inspired by this fortnights FUSION!  Remember to stop by the fabulous Design Team blogs for more fantastic inspiration - you know you want to!

Anya Schrier - Betty J - Cathy Weber - Dannielle Robeson - Deepti

Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks - Kelly Griglione
Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan - Michelle Folland - Michelle Lupton - Sindhu

Please check the linky for the days left to play with us!

Playing along with Seize the Birthday, Simon Says Stamp Keep It Clean, and
Less is More Makes Me Smile - my youngest spied this card in the study and commented,
 "I really love that new card it's my favourite!" and that makes me smile :)

Don't forget to Keep It Simple Bright Spark too!

KIS Bright Spark...

Hope you have a relaxing Easter, we'll be having a short internet-free break away with friends :)

I hope you have time to play along with this fortnights KIS Challenge! It's my turn to choose the theme and I chose Bright Spark - create something bright and/or sparkly. I have focused on bright, using Momento Luxe Inks in Dandelion, Morocco and Rose Bud to stamp these gorgeous brush strokes from Paper Smooches Positive Strokes, together with these cute masked and pop dotted Mama Elephant Pandamonium pandas. The sentiment from Paper Smooches Giddy Bug was stamped over the top in Momento Tuxedo Black, and a few coloured sequins for a bit of added sparkle (thanks Cecilia!)

I hope you are inspired and take a look at the rest of the 

cards from the fabulous Keep It Simple DT.

Hope you get a chance to play along - can't wait to see what you create!


Playing along with Paper Smooches Sparks Picture Perfect Challenge too.

Going Green...

Catered Crop Think Green is celebrating the forthcoming Earth Day on April 22 (and USA National Arbor Day on April 25), a perfect time to Think Green. Just make a project that includes the color green and come join the party, and, of course, be sure to recycle your scraps!

I created my mixed media piece completely from scraps or recycled materials. I started by recycling a page from an old book, covering with Gesso, then applying Gelatos in blues and grey, blended together with a baby wipe. I used the Crafter's Workshop Mini Clouds stencil and using a baby wipe, removed the Gelatos from within the clouds, then filled three of the clouds with texture paste for some added dimension.

Using the Lil Inkers Leaves background die, I cut a few of my green scrap papers into leaf shapes, and layered these around the edges to create a frame, these were adhered using mixed-media paste. The Memory Box Woodland Branch, Poppystamps Serene Bird and Lawn Fawn letters were also cut from scrap papers. The Verve Words of Wisdom sentiment was stamped - and I discovered that the Momento Tuxedo Black doesn't dry as fast when stamped over Gesso! But hey, like it says:

"Life doesn't have to be perfect to be wonderful"

Playing along with Virginia's View Stencilled Challenge too!

E.T.A. Linking up to the new Mixed Media Card DT Challenge!
My Mixed Media projects can be seen here :)

A-very New Watercolour Technique...

With watercolour so "in" at the moment, I thought I'd have a bit of an experiment using Gelatos, clear embossing and black ink. Using watercolour paper, I created the base layer of my panel by scribbling Gelatos in pink/red/orange/light orange/yellow, then diluting and blending these colours with water and a paintbrush.  Once this layer was thoroughly dried, I stamped these gorgeous Avery Elle scallops in Versamark Watermark and American Crafts Zing clear embossing powder, and heat set. Lastly I used my Momento Ink Tuxedo Black and Momento Luxe Tuxedo Black to soak into the watercolour paper in the areas not heat embossed, wiping off the excess ink with a baby wipe. I mounted the watercolour panel onto black cardstock, before pop-dotting onto the black front panel. I love the contrast between the glossy coloured surface and the matt black. After a few unsatisfoctory attempts at adding a sentiment, I decided I prefer this card without one ;)

Playing along with Avery Elle Water Color Challenge, 

CASology Wet Challenge, 

A Blog Named Hero Build A Background Challenge, and Just Us Girls Watercolour Background.

 

A-very Watercolour Background..

I couldn't resist playing with Gelatos as watercolours one more time for the current Avery Elle Water Color Challenge, A Blog Named Hero Build a Background Challenge and Just Us Girls Watercolour Background Challenge. I created two watercolour background panels - the larger graduating from purple through blues to metallic green, and the second from dark orange through to yellow - and stamped and fussy cut the scene and sentiment using Avery Elle Home Sweet Home and Happy Camper.  Lastly I added Distressed Glitter Clear Rock Candy to add a little sparkle.

Hope you're getting plenty of crafty time this weekend!

Happy Easter with Stencils...

 

 

Created the background of these two Easter cards using this gorgeous Studio Calico mask and Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry for the bunny card and Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn and Tumbled Glass for the sheep card. As a rule, I like to stamp my baby cards and Easter cards in brown rather than black inks, and this is no exception - stamped in Hero Arts Cup O' Joe using Hero Arts Happy Day Animals, and the sentiment combines Happy Day Animals and Lawn Fawn Happy Easter. The papers are from Lily Bee Designs.

Playing along with A Blog Named Hero Build Your Own Background, 

Virginia's View Stencil Challenge, Moxie Fab World Styling with Stencils Challenge, 

and don't forget you still have time to play along with Keep It Simple Stencil Challenge too!

Love FUSION...

How will you be inspired this fortnight? When we went away, we were each lucky enough to receive a fabulous bag of goodies from the gorgeous Joy. As I was working on this FUSION Challenge, how could I not incorporate these stunning flowers onto my card? I paired them with these die cut rose leaves, Simon Says Stamp Hugs and Kisses, and Love sentiment, die cut twice and offset to create shadowed letters. Following the sketch, I inset the negative die cut Lil Inkers Stitched Oval with the flowers and petals, and used the hugs and kisses die cut as the ribbon strip.

How to join in the fun...
1. Play with just the sketch challenge.
2. Play with just the inspiration photo challenge.
3. Or you can create FUSION by combining BOTH challenges into one card.
4. Use the challenge graphic and link back to Fusion in your post.
5. Please read the other considerations on the Our Rules Page before playing along.

Here are some fabulous cards by our design team showing you how it works!
Anya Schrier - Betty J - Cathy Weber - Dannielle Robeson - Deepti
Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks - Kelly Griglione
Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan - Michelle Folland - Michelle Lupton - Sindhu

Winners: Will be chosen by all of our teammates in two weeks! We each will choose one favourite! The winners will be announced at 4am (PST) in two weeks!! Please check the linky for the days left to play with us!

Playing along with CASual Fridays Good Egg Challenge,

and The Pink Elephant Photo Inspiration Challenge too.