Birds of a feather

Away crafting on the weekend with Jenny Martin & Jenny Dix and created this Christmas Card using a leftover Gelli print from Jenny M.

Using some of my favourite stamps from the now sadly defunct Winne & Walter.

Inspired by the colours and bird themes over at The Card Concept. 

CAS Watercolour Ocean Shell-ebration...

Thought I'd shell-ebrate by playing along this month at CAS Watercolour Ocean challenge with two variations on a theme. Using this gorgeous shall diecut by Kaisercraft as a starting point (thanks Jenny!), First up I created a watercolour wash background, overlay the Kaisercraft diecut in kraft cardstock and added the Paper Smooches sentiment.

Variation on a theme saw the Kaisercraft shell diecut smooshed into a variety of blue Distress Inks, sprayed with water, reverse diecut out of the pale woodgrain patterned paper.

Floral FUSION Cupcakes...

I've gone for a more vintage vibe for the fabulous FUSION challenge this fortnight. Inspired by both the super versatile FUSION sketch and super cute cupcakes, this birthday card was created using Distress Ink Ground Espresso to stamp Avery Elle Cupcakes stamp, paired with the Avery Elle Cupcakes die cuts and sentiment, added Distress Ink Spun Sugar to stamp Your Next Stamp Mini Flower Splatter and added a sprinkling of buttons from my stash and distressed the edges with Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide.

To play along you can take inspiration from either the FUSION sketch or inspiration photo - or combine the two as I have!

Hop on over to the FUSION blog for some more super sized inspiration from our fabulous Design Team...

Becca Cruger - Betty J. - Jeanne Jachna - Jen Mitchell - Karren Johnson

Linda Callahan - Michelle Leone - Michelle Lupton - Michelle Williams

Hope you can join in the fun this fortnight @ FUSION.

Can't wait to see what you create!

Also playing along with
Seize the Birthday
City Crafter Challenge Bake it Pretty

Stained Glass Hearts FUSION

Had super fun getting messy with Distress Inks for this fortnights FUSION! Love the stained glass look from the FUSION inspiration photo and tried to relicate this using the inks, then cut out my window of hearts using Verve diecut, and finished off with a cute Paper Smooches sentiment.

To play along you can take inspiration from either the FUSION sketch or inspiration photo - or combine the two as I have!

Hop on over to the FUSION blog for some more super sized inspiration from our fabulous Design Team...

Becca Cruger - Betty J. - Jeanne Jachna - Jen Mitchell - Karren Johnson

Linda Callahan - Michelle Leone - Michelle Lupton - Michelle Williams

Hope you can join in the fun this fortnight @ FUSION.

Can't wait to see what you create!

Got a chance to see the super amazing 'super blue blood moon' lunar eclipse too, on an almost perfectly clear night in my corner of the world, did you?

Paris FUSION with Oxide Inks and MFT

Can't believe it has been a whole month since I posted! It's not that I haven't been busy crafting, just not busy posting my crafting efforts!

Had a great excuse to pop back in today though, back to join in the fun @ this fortnights FUSION. It's almost a year since we headed off to Paris in the Spring, so this fabulous FUSION inspiration was making me feel particularly nostalgic! Thought I'd do a Paris sunset rather than rain, so broke out my Tim Holtz Oxide Inks and this gorgeous MFT Paris Skyline and frame die cuts to play along this fortnight.

You can find some more fabulous inspiration from the Design Team blogs:

Becca Cruger - Betty J. - Carol Mayne - Jeanne Jachna - Karren Johnson

Linda Callahan - Michelle Leone - Michelle Lupton - Michelle Williams

Hope you can join in the fun this fortnight @ FUSION. 

Can not wait to see how you are inspired! 

Paris in the Spring...

 

Discovering... FUSION

Time to discover... this fortnights FUSION!

I thought this may be my last FUSION contribution on the Design Team, but after having a massive clean out of my crafting space, I am feeling totally re-inspired! Combined this fabulously versatile FUSION sketch and gorgeous photo inspiration, rotated the sketch 90 degrees anti-clockwise and used this beautiful over-sized butterfly as the star element. Had a blast getting inky with a range of Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemon, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade and Picked Raspberry, together with this gorgeous Prima Cherry Blossom mask. Butterfly coloured using Mr Heuy's spray mist in Heirloom Blue. This fabulous over-sized butterfly stamp and sentiment are by Tim Holtz.

Hop on over for more gorgeous butterfly inspiration

from the rest of the fabulous FUSION DT

Amy Tsura - Betty J - Deanne - Deepti 

Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks

Kelly Griglione - Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan

Michelle Folland - Michelle Lupton - Stephanie Severin

Hope to see you playing along, can't wait to see what you create! 

Remember you can play along by being inspired by 

the photo, the sketch or BOTH.

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

Also playing along with Card Concept The Butterfly Effect (Mixed Media) and Happy Little Stampers CAS Mists / Sprays

Hello FUSION

Inspired by the colours and textures of this fortnight's FUSION, together with the gorgeous scripty background and of course the fabulous FUSION sketch! Combining two layers of yellow flowers and a couple of white fabric leaves from my stash with a silver tulle flower as the centre to create the flower. The Prima butterfly was stamped onto vellum using Momento Ink, then coloured on the back using yellow gelatos and fussy cut. The Heidi Swapp wood veneer "hello" sentiment is pop dotted against the MME scripty striped paper and dark grey background. The edges are also inked in Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink.

Hop on over for more gorgeous Vintage Floral inspiration 

from the rest of the fabulous FUSION DT 

Amy Tsura - Betty J - Deepti 

Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks

Kelly Griglione - Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan

Michelle Folland - Michelle Lupton - Stephanie Severin

Hope to see you playing along, can't wait to see what you create! 

Remember you can play along by being inspired by 

the photo, the sketch or BOTH.

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

Playing along with the Mixed Media Card Challenge Wings and

Virginia's View Textures and Layers too!

 

Mixed Media Card Challenge with Wings...

Had super fun getting messy for this months Mixed Media Card Challenge. First up I ripped a couple of pieces of printed Tim Holtz tissue paper and gessoed these onto cardstock, then oversprayed with Heidi Swapp bronze, didn't like the drippy effect so much so I used a baby wipe to spread the colour more evenly. Coloured the moths and butterfly using a variety of teal, green, brown and white gelatos. Stamped the Paper Smooches Party Posse "birthday" sentiment and die cut the Winnie and Walter "happy" sentiment from pearlised cardstock (in lieu of the optional foil element!) layered with Kaisercraft textured patterened paper. Swiped the edges of the background piece with Distress Ink and mounted on pearlised cardstock base.

Hop along to visit the fabulous Winged Mixed Media Card Challenge
creations from the rest of the DT.

Can't wait to see what you create!!!

Also playing along with 
Seize the Birthday Make Your Own Background Challenge.

Life's Little Treasures... Coffee (& Friends)

I so wanted to play along with the Spring Coffee Lovers Bloghop and just squeaked in with this Spring coloured coffee lover's card, Life's little treasures... Coffee (and friends!). You should check out the AMAZING 468 coffee cards!

Papers and tags are Kaisercraft, wood veneer hearts and this fabulous Verve "Coffee Word" die cut, based on this weeks gorgeous Viva La Verve challenge layout (flipped), and over zealously inked with Distress Ink Vintage Photo, perfect for playing along with Addicted to CAS Distress Challenge.

We'd love to see you play along with the March 

Mixed Media Card Challenge Hints of Spring too!

New Mixed Media Card Challenge...

Welcome to the New Year, and the new Mixed Media Card Challenge theme for January... NEW, with optional element of Tissue.

What new will inspire you? New year, new baby, new house, 

new pet, new job, new marriage???

I decided to tackle my fear of purple head on with this months first card LOL! Created by using Distress Inks Dusty Concord and Shaded Liliac, splattered with water, then dried and stamped with the Sweet Stamp Shop fireworks in Momento Luxe White and Zing White embossing powder. The Winnie and Walter The Big, the Bold and the Happy sentiment was diecut then inked with Distress Ink Dusty Concord, to match the sky. The Altenew Sketchy Cities New York city skyline, and Winnie and Walter "New Year" sentiment were also stamped in Momento Luxe White and Zing White embossing powder. The skyline was then fussy cut and pop dotted for more depth.

There's some more fabulous inspiration from the design team over on 

the Mixed Media Card Challenge blog.

Looking forward to seeing your fabulous NEW creations!

 

Also playing along with this fabulous inspiration from Inkspiration,
inspired by Winnie and Walter 1st Birthday Bash (1 Colour), 
Winnie and Walter 1st Birthday Bash (Gradient Challenge),

 the CAS(E) this Sketch - with a dash of liberal interpretation,
Little Red Wagon Another Happy New Year! and 
Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes.

PS I'd LOVE if YOU could link up your favourite creations for 2014 on 
Our Favourite Things linky party on my blog here!

This made me smile...

Twinkle All the Way...

After creating this card for last weeks Less Is More, I thought I'd have a go at making a one layer card version. I die cut two stencils from clear acetate sheeting, one with the negative space from Lil Inkers Stitched Square and the other with Making Memories Country Landscape, then taped them together to use as my mask for inking. Inked up with Distress Ink in Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean and Dusty Concord, moving upwards to the deepest colour. Stamped with Mama Elephant Believe in Magic star cluster and Winter Wonderland large star in Momento Luxe Wedding ink embossed in white embossing powder then added Mama Elephant Merry Greetings sentiment in black, and Wink of Stella Clear Sparkle to the night sky. It felt like it needed a little extra boost, so I created a hand drawn outline in black fine-liner for added depth.

Playing along with Less Is More One Layer Starry Starry Night, Mama Elephant and Me Holiday Cards and Tags, Color Throwdown, The Pink Elephant CAS and City Crafter Christmas CAS.

Inspired by Online Holiday Card Workshop Homework Day 4.

This made me smile...

Mixed Media Card Challenge... Summer with Burlap

Time for the next Mixed Media Card Challenge, and I'm on a roll with my Summer sunshine. Created using Heidi Swapp 12x12 Sunshine Stencil and Distress Inks Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey, and Spiced Marmalade, and this very summery Avery Elle Kombi Campervan, fussy cut from Distress Ink Peacock Feathers on watercolour paper, with a-very funky Avery Elle sentiment. The centre of the sun was created using a strip of burlap, folded in half and then twisted and rolled into a circle, which is glued onto a cardstock circle base. The burlap was then coloured using Momento Luxe ink in Dandelion.

I hope you take the opportunity to have a play with Mixed Media, I'd LOVE to see your creations!  In case you're wondering what qualifies as a Mixed Media Card, I have posted details here, and they can be found on The Mixed Media Card Challenge blog. 

While you are there, grab some more fabulous inspiration 

from the amazing Design Team!

Julia Aston

Shirley Bampton

Charlene Cundy

Maria Fischer

Jan Jenitis

Kripa Koushik

Maria Levine

Sanna Lippert

Deepti Malik

Jenny Martin
Shery Russ

Elina Stromberg

Loll Thompson

HOW TO PLAY

1. Create a mixed media CARD based on the theme, with or without the optional element.

2. For this challenge only, you may create a mixed media TAG based on the theme.

3. Display the challenge graphic on your blog post and link back to this challenge post.

4. You may enter as many times as you want, as long as each entry is different.

5. You may combine a maximum of 7 challenges (6 other challenges plus ours).

6. Submit your projects by August 25, 11:55 p.m. PDT (GMT -700).

7. We’ll announce the winner and favorites on August 31.

Also playing along with Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes and Seize the Birthday.

A Happy FUSION...

Hello happy FUSIONistas!! Welcome to this fortnight's FUSION inspiration.

So many amazing elements you could be inspired by in this fortnight's FUSION challenge! The colours, the cupcakes, the candelabra, the flowers, the wicker, the wood, the watermelons... the possibilities are endless! 

I was inspired by the summery yellows and blues in the beach house inspiration photo, and the horizontal lines in the sketch became my sunrays! Created the background using Heidi Swapp 12x12 Sunshine Stencil and Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey, and Spiced Marmalade. The blue Paper Smooches Clouds were die cut from a sheet of Gelatoed watercolour paper with rocksalt added on top and left to absorb the excess water. The Paper Smooches Happy Everything sentiment is stamped in Momento Luxe Nautical Blue, onto the background layer and the die-cut circle.

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 WEEKS FUSION!

The Design Team have some FABULOUS creations to inspire you!

Betty J - Dannielle Robeson - Deepti 
Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks

Kelly Griglione - Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan - Michelle Folland

Michelle Lupton - Sindhu - Stephanie Severin

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

Also playing along at Paper Smooches Sparks Anything Goes and
 Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes

Getting Distressed with Winnie & Walter & Mixed Media...

I couldn't help but join in the fun again with Winnie and Walters Distress Inks Challenges, and remind you that there is still time to play in the Mixed Media Card Challenge Touch of Nature. This time I decided to get out my flower stencil and create a card in ombre tones using Distress Inks in Squeezed Lemonade, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade, Picked Raspberry and Spun Sugar. As I wanted the colours to pop, rather than disappear into the book page, I first applied a layer of white gesso, before graduating and gently blending the Distress Ink colours within the stencil. To add some extra pop, I highlighted the shadow lines in black. This gorgeous Winnie and Walter The Big, The Bold and the Happy sentiment was stamped in Versarark Watermark ink then heat embossed in Zing Copper, to create added dimension and shine. To highlight the sentiment, the cardstock base is in a matching copper tone.

Playing along with Seize the Birthday too!

This made me smile!