Cardabilities - Final Sketch...

I so wanted to join in the final Cardabilities Sketch...

This card background went through many incarnations before I decided I liked it LOL! I quickly discovered that too much red Glimmermist ends up looking like the chainsaw masacre, rather than quiet Autumn tones! That's the beauty of a gesso layer - if you don't like it you can remove colour with a baby wipe and start layering again!

Dictionary page base and added modelling paste (to play along with City Crafter Paste It) and a Pink Paislee She Art doily stencil. Covered in gesso, sprayed with a combination of Glimmermists and Dylusions in Autumn hues, highlighted with Gelato rubbed crayon once dry. Gorgeous Winnie and Walter sentiment, Dynamics branch and Clearly Besotted autumn leaves diecuts. Leaves created from watercolour paper oversprayed with orange and yellow Glimmermists. See how it GLOWS in the sun...

Cardabilities

City Crafter Paste It and Inkspirational Glow

This made me smile...

Happy Falling for FUSION..

Even though it's warming up in our corner of the world, I still can't resist that gorgeous Autumn (or Fall!) foliage! This fortnight's FUSION inspiration photo is chock full of fabulous colour and texture. From the flowers, fruit and foliage, to the wicker, wood and woven blanket. How will you be inspired!!!

Leaves created using Glimmermist Sprays in golds, reds and oranges, with a Prima Tea Leaves and Primrose, using die cut leaves from Clearly Besotted. Wood veneer "Happy" sentiment from Heidi Swapp. Papers from Echo Park Everyday Eclectic die cut with Lil Inkers Stitched Polaroid frame and Stitched circles, and cardstock embossed with Couture Creations Royalty folder.

Hop on over for more gorgeous inspiration

from the rest of the fabulous FUSION DT

Betty J - Deanne K - Jeanne Jachna - Julia Aston - Katie Brooks

Karren J - Kimberly Wiener - Lynn Mangan - Michelle Folland

Michelle Lupton - Sandie Munro - Stephanie Severin

and WELCOME to 
Brandi Hall and Shannon Jaramillo

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 fabulous Color Throwdown and 

Little Red Wagon Embossing Folder Challenge 
and Simon Says Stamp Anything Goes (Clearly Besotted) too!

  

This made me smile...

Seize the Little Tangles...

It's been such a long time since I played with my Neat & Tangled stamps, I couldn't leave it a minute longer! Playing along with the current Little Tangles Stencil Challenge and Seize the Sketch, I oversprayed this Heidi Swapp Mini Stencil Hello Frame with Prima Color Bloom Peony Spray Mist, then stamped this cute Neat & Tangled Just Hello phone and masked the Little Tangles squiggly lines in Hero Arts Charcoal, to create the phone cord, and added a couple of sequins.

This made me smile...

Tag You're It Virginia...

A super quick post before I head out to lunch with family and friends, as I'm just squeaking in for the fabulous Virginia's View Die Cut Challenge deadline, and I'll tell you why Laura Bassen is a GENIUS with this Tag You're It Challenge #2 when I return ;) ...

... So did you miss me!!!

I just LOVE the tag Laura Bassen created for the current Tag You're It. It's my favourite colour trio at the moment, however I was running short on time, so I die cut my Paper Smooches tag and Memory Box butterfly from some watercolour paper I had previously coloured using Distress Inks and Glimmermists. I had borrowed the Simon Says Stamp leaves die from Joy when we went away, and had luckily cut the perfect vellum version in my stash. Instead of the gorgeous geometrics Laura chose, I created a white repeating pattern using an Avery Elle "For You" sentiment stamp. In my first attempt I had die cut the butterfly body from the watercolour paper, but the colours just got lost - til I looked back at Laura's tag and realised that with such bright colours, white AND black are needed to make the colours really POP, and so I replaced the butterfly with a black body - and voila - see I told you Laura is a GENIUS!

Virginia's View Die Cut Challenge and Tag You're It Challenge #2

 

Celebrating with Curtain Call Anything Goes Challenge too!
and a reminder there's still time to join in the fun @ the Mixed Media Card Challenge!

Lawn Fawn "FALL for you" Shaker Card...

I have to admit, I had about a hundred ideas to play along with Lawn Fawn CHA Catalog Challenge, and totally ran out of time to do all hundred, so this will be it for me this year LOL!

Amazingly I managed to photograph this without any light reflecting off the shaker box - so it's difficult to see it actually is a shaker card!

• Created by spraying a sheet of watercolour paper with a mixture of reds, oranges, yellows and gold Glimmermist and Dylusions inks and drying with a heat gun.
• From this watercolour sheet, die cut Lawn Fawn Stitched Leaves, and stamped Lawn Fawn Critters in the Forest fox.
• Die cut white cardstock with Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling Card and Cole's ABC's, and used the negative die cut sheet as the front of the shaker box card.
• Stamped Lawn Fawn Critters in the Forest "for you" sentiment.
• Adhered the stamped Lawn Fawn Critters in the Forest fox to a sheet of cardstock for stability and fussy cut then inked the edges, before positioning in place on the front of the card. 
• Adhered a clear sheet of plastic around the edges of the back of the die cut cardstock, for the front of the shaker box.
• Created the shaker box using foam tape as the edges and a second sheet of cardstock as the back of the shaker box - inserting the die cut leaves inside the shaker box, before sealing (so would have LOVED the Lawn Fawn Sequin leaves to be included!) 
• Adhered the shaker box to the front of the card.
• Discovered I had accidentally left out one of the leaves, so I adhered the little yellow leaf to the front of the clear cover of the shaker box.

Playing along with Therese's fabulous MUSE as well, 

inspired by this cute Lawn Fawn critter and negative die cut letters. 

 

Fabulous MUSE card!

This made me smile...

Little Tangles Guest Designer Post - Giving Thanks...

E.T.A.

So excited to be able to present this card to you as Guest Designer over at Little Tangles, the Neat & Tangled Challenge blog!  This fortnights Little Tangles challenge is Giving Thanks. Although we don't celebrate Thanksgiving in this part of the world, I do have a lot to give thanks for!

I thought I'd give you a few hints and tips to create a card similar to this, using Distress Inks, Glimmermist, Embossing powder, and of course, Neat & Tangled Stamps! 

• Cut your 6x4 inch card base to size and round the corners.
• Stamp several Neat & Tangled Fresh Blooms flowers (12) and My Heart Sings bird (1) onto watercolour paper in Versamrk Embossing ink (or similar).  Try stamping two rows of six flowers, with the bird stamped underneath the flowers on the right-hand end.
• Sprinkle with clear embossing powder before blasting with your heat gun.
• Using Distressed Inks, vertically swipe the ink pad over the clear embossed images. Swipe the colours so each is just overlapping the next colour. Try using Wild Honey on the left (4 flowers), Spiced Marmalade in the centre (4 flowers & bird) and Picked Raspberry on the right(4 flowers & bird).
• Overspray with Glimmermist, or water & perfect pearls, then dry thoroughly with your heat gun. Try using Glimmermist Twinkle Yellow, or Gold, or just plain water!
• Fussy cut the Neat & Tangled flowers and bird. Try using a really small pair of sharp scissors, to help get around all the curly edges more easily.
• Adhere the layered flowers in position on the card with double-sided tape.
  
• Cut a strip of cardstock 6.5 inch x 1.5 inch, round the corners and die-cut "thanks" letters. Try aligning and taping the letter dies with masking tape to them hold in place before die-cutting.
• Don't be afraid to cut your stamps to customise your sentiments. This sentiment was created using Just Hello "a note of thanks" and "o" from "hello: and Fresh Blooms "f" from "beautiful". Before you ink your sentiment, place the sentiment stamps in position on your cardstock, then press down your stamp press or stamping block to pick up the stamps from the cardstock - this will vertically align your sentiment with your negative die-cut letters. Alternatively use a ruler to measure the spaces before placing your stamps on the block. If you have a stamping block with grid-lines, you can use the lines to help align your sentiment horizontally.
• Stamp the sentiment using a coloured ink such as Hero Arts Soft Cantaloupe.
• Pop dot the sentiment banner across the card.
• Pop-dot the top section and double-sided tape the bottom section of the bird and attach to the card.

I hope you are inspired to give it a go with your inks and sprays,

 and Neat & Tangled stamps!

Also playing along with Seize the Sketch, with this fabulous sketch by Stacey.

Time for FUSION...

With over 100 amazing entries last week, are you ready to be inspired by the next FUSION Challenge?

PROCEDURES:

1. Play with just Jackie's sketch challenge.

2. Play with just Lesley's 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.

The first thing I thought of when I saw the gradient layers, circles, chevrons and lime and grey FUSION was a cityscape and a spotted lime green mini.  The city skyline was created using Graphite Glimmermist on watercolour paper, it sparkles like crazy in the sunlight - spritzed lightly for the background layer and went to town on the foreground layer - heat set then die-cut.  The funky The Alley Way Stamps Priceless Joy car was stamped onto some Fancy Pants spotted paper and some of the left over watercolour sheet to paper piece the car tyres.  The sentiment stamped in Zing White uses a combination of The Alley Ways Alphabet Soup and Chatterbox.  I couldn't work out how to create my arrows til I noticed a left over piece from the chevrons on my last card and realised the chevron die cuts were the perfect solution.

Why don't you head over and check out the FABULOUS inspiration 
from the rest of the DT and Guest Designers

Hope you can join in the fun at FUSION this week!

Joining in the fun at CASology Travel Challenge and Just Us Girls Ombre Challenge too.

 

TAWS Sneak Peeks... Petal Pushers

I got all inky with The Alley Way Stamps new Petal Pushers funky flowers today - love the en masse impact of these blooms embossed in white, and inked using Distress Inks in Shaded Lilac and Dusty Concord, oversprayed in Dylusions Crushed Grape and Glimmermist Denim, then fussy cut and layered.  The sentiment is created from Mad Gab and Chatterbox, stamped in Versa Colour Heliotrope and Violet.  This semi-transparent ribbon was from my stash, perfect for this months Shades of Lavender colour challenge at The Ribbon Girls.  

I couldn't stop at just one card, so created this card using The Alley Way Stamps Petal Pushers too, with papers from Pebbles Seen & Noted, the yellow and turquoise colour combination is perfect for the new Keep It Simple Challenge too.

Don't forget to head on over to The Alley Way Stamps to check out the gorgeous creations from the rest of the Design Team and for your chance to WIN a set of these fabulous new stamps!

The Ribbon Girls

Yellow & Turquoise

You're Brrr...illiant

I couldn't miss out on this weeks fab CAS(E) this Sketch, so I used My Favourite Things Snowflake die cuts on white cardstock - then decided to change the colour of the cardstock by overspraying with Dylusions London Fog and Glimmermist Denim and heat setting.  I love that you can see the sparkles in this photo if you look closely.  The Alley Way Stamps Jolly Holiday snowman and Monster Madness top hat are coloured using Whisper textas, and the sentiment is created using Admit One and Alphabet Soup.  I pop dotted the blue layer to Accentuate the Negative and join in the fun at Catered Crop - these gorgeous blues are perfect for CASual Fridays Snips, Snails & Puppydog Tails too.

Accentuate the Negative

More or Less CAS-ual...

I thought I'd share a bit of the thinking process that went into the creation of this card :)  Yes, I do think before I craft - sometimes too much perhaps LOL!  

I thought I'd combine this weeks Less is More Blue & Green challenge with CAS-ual Fridays On Cloud 9.   There are soooo many possibilities for cards to create that sometimes I find it easier to narrow down the possibilities by combining challenges.  As green and blue are harmonious colours, they are excellent candidates for creating layered inky backgrounds.  I sprayed my watercolour paper with Dylusions Vibrant Turquoise, Fresh Lime, and added a bit of sparkle by overspraying with Glimmermist Denim.  For me a negative die-cut is perfect for a "Miss You" card - because in order to create a negative die cut, something has to be missing!  I cut the circle from my sprayed watercolour paper to represent the sun, and then negative die cut my Marianne Design bird and branch and pop-dotted it onto my white cardstock.  The Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler "Miss You" was the right size for balance and it's in a casual font which suits the bright colours.  Next I matched the cardstock base colour to the darkest shade of blue in my circle to repeat and anchor it.  I wanted to soften the edges of the card to reflect the circle shape, so I used a corner rounder.  I left the bottom right corner squared off to serve the dual purpose of helping to focus on the sentiment, and the corner was missed - as is the recipient!

 What thoughts inspire your creations?!?

Love is in the air...

Poppies are my favourites for a number of reasons, probably more so since we were married on ANZAC day, our youngest is a Remembrance Day baby, and who could forget walking through the fields of redheads in Italy!  But I digress LOL!  For me, poppies are the perfect flower for a love card ;)

Inspired by the gorgeous Tuesday Trigger "Plate of Pretty Poppies", Moxie Fab Stamp It! Cards Week The Love Card Challenge, CAS-ual Fridays Text Me Challenge and Do You Stack Up Red Challenge.

After getting all inky yesterday making this Tuesday Trigger Poppy card, I had a left over poppy which was crying out to be made into a card lol! The poppy had been created by using watercolour paper and stamping Stamp-It poppies in VersamarkDazzle Ink, sprinkled with American Crafts Zing Metallic Pewter embossing powder, and heat set.  I liberally swiped over the poppy with Distress Ink Barn Door and Shabby Shutters for the stems, then let loose with Glimmermist Gold, til the ink pooled. Once this was completely dry, I used Dimensional Magic to create a gloss finish over the image.  After fussy cutting the poppy, I stamped my text stamp (from my stash - not sure which brand) in StazOn Black ink, and over-stamped the Heidi Swapp "Love stamp using The Essential Glue Pad, before sprinkling with ultra fine red glitter. The poppies are pop-dotted, as is the grey cardstock mat.

Come join in the fun!

Tuesday Trigger Poppies...

As soon as I saw this weeks Tuesday Trigger"Plate of Poppies" at Moxie Fab World, I knew I wanted to try out a couple of inky techniques.  Using watercolour paper, I stamped my Stamp-It poppies and Technique Tuesday sentiment in Versamark Dazzle Ink, sprinkled with American Crafts Zing Metallic Pewter embossing powder, and heat set.  I liberally swiped over the poppy image and sentiment with Distress Ink Barn Door (Top), Shabby Shutters (Middle), and Forest Moss (Bottom), then let loose with Glimmermist Gold, til the inks pooled together. I dried off the excess ink with the heat setting gun, which creates an amazing shimmer - that is really difficult to photograph LOL!  Once this was completely dry, I used Dimensional Magic to create a gloss finish over the poppy image. To imitate the plate shape I finished off the card with a circle cut from dark grey cardstock and this gorgeous ribbon from Ribbon Carousel tied with red jute through a Basic Grey button (reflecting the crepe paper poppy centres).  Nothing better than an inky Spring card in the midst of Winter! 

Perfect for playing along with Do You Stack Up Red Challenge , Papertake Weekly Anything Goes with optional Gloss Highlight and Penny Black Allsorts Summer Blooms Challenge too!