Chocolate Baroque: Canticum Flores

Good morning, friends. Today I'm showcasing the new Flora Musica stamp over at the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog. I'm calling this the "Canticum Flores" - Singing Flowers.  In keeping with the musical theme, I've paired it with a gramophone from an older set by Chocolate Baroque called Music Fanfare.

You can make this card in FIVE easy steps! It really is that simple. These stamps are so beautifully drawn - and that's most of the hard work is done for you.

Here's what you do:
1. Stamp the images with Versafine Vintage Sepia 
2. Colour the images with Faber Castell Polychromo pencils.
3. Ink the background with Distress Inks: Rusty Hinge, Vintage Photo, Fossilised Amber, Tea Dye and Scattered Straw.
4. Matt the design piece on purple casrdstock and adhere to card base.
5. Add pale purple sequins and subtle shimmer with a few strokes of Wink Of Stella Bush Tip marker in Gold to the gramophone.  

A closer look at the flowers. I didn't spend too long with colouring or blending. You could if you wanted to and it is very therapeutic. In any case, visible pencil strokes would not hurt the recipient.

Challenges:
Let's Colour Linky Party #4: AG With Something Coloured
Crazy4Challenges #325: Spring
CCEE1608: Floral Design Day
Craft Rocket #9: Mother's Day / Female
Cute Card Thursday #414: Florals
Crafty Friends #26: Floral
Sweet Stampin' Feb 27: Mother's Day / For Special Lady
Sisterhood of Crafters: Think Spring

That's all from me today. It's cold and the heavens are chucking chunks of ice at us. It's madness and mayhem outside. Even Charlie's concrete cranium is no match. Poor boy is staying in nursing a sore head. And so are we. Thank you for stopping by today. Stay warm and cosy, friends!

Beijinhos!

Supplies

Happy Birthday To Ewe

Happy Friday, friends. I'm ending the week with a couple of easy projects.

First up is this fun little tag for this fortnight's Tag You're It Challenge. The inspiration tag is a sweet little creation by Kara Lynne Progreba. I'm using similar colours and critters, the feathered variety and not furry ones.  The owl's cape is off the tag, just like the fox's tail.

I'm using Lawn Fawn stamps and dies to make my card. Super-Owl is from a Halloween set called Critters In Costume and the little guy on the ground is from Critters In The Forrest. The grassy bits are from Gleeful Garden. I inked the edges of the tag and the clouds with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink. And finally - Clear Wink of Stella just about everywhere.

Challenges:
Tag You're It #41: Kara Lynne Progreba's Tag
CASology #186: Distress - distress ink
Color Q #330: Poppy Parade, Daffodil Delight, Lucky Limeade, Tempting Turquoise + White

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Next up is a birthday card. I bought this stamp set last year and never got 'round to using it ... until now. It's called Feeling Sheepish by Clearly Besotted.  I used thin strips of kraft and pink card on the left and bottom edge of the card. Then I adhered it to the card base with foam tape. To finish - 3 pale pink sequins.

I stamped the grass on the card first. Next I coloured and fussy the lamb and adhered him on the grass.

Challenges:
CAS Colour & Sketch #162: Sketch
Colour Throwdown #381: Pink, Light Green & Kraft
Seize The Birthday: AG Birthday

Thank you so much for stopping by. Can you believe it's the end of the month! We have 10 months to Christmas ... aaaargh! Have a fun weekend, friends!

Beijinhos!

Supplies

Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #20

Hello, friends! It's Week 2 over at  Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #20. We have a spicy colour swatch for you to use in your projects: four red hot colours. If you haven't played yet, now's the time to do so.

You can use any medium to create your projects: paints, inks, pencils, pens, stains, etc., as long as you stick to the colours from the colour swatch, using as much or as little of each colour as you wish.  You don't have to use Chocolate Baroque stamps to play along but if you do you will be entered into a random draw to win £15 to spend on Chocolate Baroque stamps. All participants will have a chance to be on the Design Team's Top Three list and proudly display winner's badge on their blog.

Here's a little something I created to get you in the mood. I'm using a stamp from Chocolate Baroque's Fluttering Hearts A5 sheet. For the background I blended a few Distress Inks: Aged Mahogany, Barn Door, Festive Berries, Picked Raspberry, Fossilised Amber, Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Spiced Marmalade ... The blending stopped when I ran out of daylight! :)

I stamped the image with VersaFine: Onyx Black for the butterfly and Crimson Red for the heart and sentiment. And there's lashings of Wink of Stella Gold Brush Tip on the butterfly.

Challenges:
Dragonfly Dreams: Hearts & Flowers
Get Creative #33: Loads Of Red
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Inspired By A Song - Dog & Butterfly by Heart
Inspiration Destination #74: AG
Words 2 Craft By: My Heart's Devotion
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge: AG

Challenge #20 will close at 12.00 p.m. (UK) on Tuesday 15th March 2016, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday 23rd March 2016. I hope you'll play along and run the risk of winning £15 to spend on Chocolate Baroque stamps.

Thanks for taking the time to stop by - I really do appreciate for sweet comments. Have an amazing day and I'll see you again in a day or two. Until then, take care and stay warm!

Beijinhos!

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7 months ago today at 11:45am my André got his angel wings. Two days ago at 11:30pm it was 10 months since my Rosie got hers. Soon it will be a year, then 2 and 3 ... but to me it will always feel just like yesterday. This song by Heart called Dog & Butterfly has always been one of my favourite by the Wilson sisters... more so now than ever.

ATSM #182: Make Your Mark

Hello again, friends! Time for another challenge over at Addicted To Stamps and More. This week we are playing Make Your Mark and our sponsor is Robyn's Fetish Digital Stamps & More. For this challenge, you can create anything you like as long as you use something to make a mark. Feel free to use pencils, pens, markers, chalks, crayons, paints, stains, inks ... whatever takes your fancy.

Here's my offering -  an Easter card using our sponsor's image called Easter Basket. I'm keeping it simple: an easy sketch, some twine and few sequins for the obligatory sparkle.

And to make my mark, I used Faber Castell Polychromo pencils. I didn't fuss too much with blending, shading etc.  Not too shabby?

Challenges:
Fan-Tastic Tuesday #125: AG + Add An Animal
TTCRD Feb 23: AG
Critters & Creatures February Linky Party: AG With An Animal


So now it's your turn to link up your project at Addicted To Stamps and More. Don't forget to follow the rules to be eligible for the prize.

Thanks for stopping by and have fun with this challenge.

Beijinhos!

Supplies

MHKDesigns February / March Challenge

Hello, friends!  Here we are - at our second MHKDesigns Challenge. It's all about keeping it fun and simple, so each each month you will get  a photo and colour swatch prompt. YOU decide which you're inspired by to create your work of art. It can be either or both. AND you are free to make what ever paper project you fancy - a card, scrapbook layout, a tag, a box, art journal page... you choose! The options are limitless.

The Design Team will be showcasing products from MHKDesigns Etsy Shop and we would love to see you use them too. However, you are free to use any products and enter the challenge to win some fabulous goodies by MHKDesigns. If you use stamps or papers by MHKDesigns you may ignore the Challenge prompt altogether; i.e. it's ANYTHING GOES for you!  

Let's take a look at the Challenge prompt:

This month I'm going with only the colours and these are perfect for the brand new February Release set called Easter Blessings. The floral image from this set goes so well with the Easter Flowers paper pack. A few droplets of Liquid Pearls and some sheer ribbon is all I need to finish this card.

Here's a closer look at the beautiful flower. I coloured the image with polychromos, fussy cut it and did some partial die cutting before matting it onto a scalloped circle cardstock. I also managed to do some real stitching. How about that?!

Challenges:
Crafting When We Can #113: Use A Digital Stamp
Lil' Patch Of Crafty Friends #28: AG
Robyn's Fetish #304: Stitching - Real or Faux
Ribbon Girls February: Use Any Image
Creative Knockout #129: Stitching - Real or Faux

The winner of this Challenge stands to win some fabulous products by MHKDesigns. So make sure you follow the challenge rules and you'll be eligible for the prize. And if you need a little creative boost, you'll find more inspiration by the rest of the Design Team over at the Challenge Blog. You have until March 15th to link up your project.

Thank you for stopping by today and I'm looking forward to seeing what you create for us this month.

Beijinhos!

Birthday Weekend

Hello friends. This is a hurried post - sorry. It's a busy day ... actually, it's been a crazy week. I can't believe I made it to the end of the week in one piece.

First up is a LF Goodie Bag that I'm taking to a friend's birthday this eveing. She's got a very singular sense of style, and by that I mean everyday is a fancy dress party. Rumour has it she's dyed her hair a celebratory shade of "fairy blue" to mark the occasion. We had coffee together eight days ago and she was a flaming redhead then. What can I say? I'm old and boring!

And this is my Party Animal dressed in "fairy blue" coat. :) I used the Stitched Hillside Border die to make the hump and the 'shrooms are from Critters In The Forrest.

Challenges:
Lawnscaping  Challenge #124: Celebration
Seven Hills February Challenge: Fancy Folds - card/project with more than 1 fold

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Next up is a birthday card I'll be mailing to a friend in Australia. The sketch by Chrissy Larson from CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge #160, paired with the colours from CAS Colours & Sketch #161. I've used Clearly Besotted Stamps: Butterfly Wishes for the greeting and the Basic Stripes for the horizontal lines.

 

I've used the closest colours I can find from my stash:VersaFine Imperial Purple and Distress Ink Milled Lavender. For the stitches I used Lawn Fawn's Stitched Border dies and adhered thin strips of silver card to add interest. The greeting is heat embossed with WOW Silver EP and 3 purple  holographic sequins finish the card.

Challenges:
CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge #160
CAS Colours & Sketch #161
Allsorts #351: Birthday Wishes
AAA Cards #58: Sequins

That's all for now. I've got a million DT related stuff to do today...including a truck load of laundry... urgh ... before getting ready for the birthday party later this evening. Thank you so much for stopping by and have a fun weekend.

Beijinhos!

MHKDesigns February Release: Easter Blessings

Good morning, friends! Welcome to MHKDesigns' February Release Party. Head on over to the MHK Designs ETSY Store for the first full reveal for 2016 where you will find lovely vintage designs that suit all crating styles.

This month, MHKDesigns is releasing FIVE new digital stamp sets. Mynn has also added more Digital Paper Bundles that coordinate perfectly with her digi stamps. These are available for purchase NOW at the MHK Designs ETSY Store. 

As a special treat to celebrate the MHK Designs February 2016 Release, Mynn is giving away sets from this release. More on how to win at the end of this post.

One of the new products featured in this new release is this beautiful set called Easter  Blessings.

Here's my final offering for this release party - another Easter card. Purple seems perfect for the occasion. I've used patterned paper from the new Easter Flowers digital paper bundle and finished the card with ribbon and bling - also in purple!

Here's a close-up ... loosely coloured with polychromos and I softened the edges with distress inks.

Challenges:
Hiding In My Craft Room #239: CAS
Brown Sugar #186: AG
A Bit More Time To Craft #14: AG

How To Win

In order to get this new set OR the entire release for FREE, here's what you'll need to do:

1. Comment here on the MHKDesigns blog.
2. Comment on each DT member's blog (see list below)
3. Join our MHKDesigners and Friends Facebook group and comment there.

Alicia | Asha (me!) | Donna | Judy | Jerrie | Jessica | Lilian
Michele | Mynn | NanaConnie | Rocky | Sathya | Shawna

Mynn will be choosing comments randomly from all these places after the release is over, and the authors of those comments will be our winners! The best way to win is to comment every day! 

So this is our last day of the February Release. I hope you enjoyed see all the lovely projects and will be inspired to show us your works of art. Thank you for stopping by and come back tomorrow for the start of MHKD Challenge #2. 

Beijinhos!

Supplies

MHKDesigns February Release: Bunny Love

Good morning, friends! Welcome to MHKDesigns' February Release Party. Head on over to the MHK Designs ETSY Store for the first full reveal for 2016 where you will find lovely vintage designs that suit all crating styles.

This month, MHKDesigns is releasing FIVE new digital stamp sets. Mynn has also added more Digital Paper Bundles that coordinate perfectly with her digi stamps. These are available for purchase NOW at the MHK Designs ETSY Store. 

As a special treat to celebrate the MHK Designs February 2016 Release, Mynn is giving away sets from this release. More on how to win at the end of this post.

One of the new products featured in this new release is this beautiful set called Bunny Love.

Well what d'you know! I made an Easter card. I'm going with soft neutral colours. The doily and sheer ribbon add interest to this card.

Simple colouring with polychromos... again! :)

Challenges:
Crafty Ribbon #144: LEAP year and anything that jumps - bunny
Aud Sentiments #149: Cute + Sentiment
Cardz4Galz #16: Get A Hat
Cute Card Thursday #413: Warm Colours
PDE Linky Party: AG

How To Win

In order to get this new set OR the entire release for FREE, here's what you'll need to do:

1. Comment here on the MHKDesigns blog.
2. Comment on each DT member's blog (see list below)
3. Join our MHKDesigners and Friends Facebook group and comment there.

Alicia | Asha (me!) | Donna | Judy | Jerrie | Jessica | Lilian
Michele | Mynn | NanaConnie | Rocky | Sathya | Shawna

Mynn will be choosing comments randomly from all these places after the release is over, and the authors of those comments will be our winners! The best way to win is to comment every day! 

Thank you for stopping by and come back tomorrow for the last day of our new release. You'll have another chance to win a new digi set AND more prizes!!

Beijinhos!

Supplies

MHKDesigns February Release: He Is Risen

Good morning, friends! Welcome to MHKDesigns' February Release Party. Head on over to the MHK Designs ETSY Store for the first full reveal for 2016 where you will find lovely vintage designs that suit all crating styles.

This month, MHKDesigns is releasing FIVE new digital stamp sets. Mynn has also added more Digital Paper Bundles that coordinate perfectly with her digi stamps. These are available for purchase NOW at the MHK Designs ETSY Store. 

As a special treat to celebrate the MHK Designs February 2016 Release, Mynn is giving away sets from this release. More on how to win at the end of this post.

One of the new products featured in this new release is this beautiful set called He Is Risen.

Here's my card - a simple Easter card. The patterned paper is from the new Easter Flowers digital paper bundle. The lily on the design matched the image perfectly. A sheer deep green bow and a few sequins finish this card.

Here's a closer look at the elegant image. I barely touched it with my polychromos and gave the flowers a little shimmer with some Stardust Stickles.

Challenges:
Crafting By Design Feb 17: Tic Tac Toe - Glitter, Diecut, Faux Stitching
Crafting For All Seasons #120: 3 Of A Kind - 3 Sequins
Word Art Wednesday #220: AG Inspirational

How To Win

In order to get this new set OR the entire release for FREE, here's what you'll need to do:

1. Comment here on the MHKDesigns blog.
2. Comment on each DT member's blog (see list below)
3. Join our MHKDesigners and Friends Facebook group and comment there.

Alicia | Asha (me!) | Donna | Judy | Jerrie | Jessica | Lilian
Michele | Mynn | NanaConnie | Rocky | Sathya | Shawna

Mynn will be choosing comments randomly from all these places after the release is over, and the authors of those comments will be our winners! The best way to win is to comment every day! 

Thank you for stopping by and come back tomorrow for another new digi set AND more prizes!!

Beijinhos!

Supplies

MHKDesigns February Release: Purr-fect

Good morning, friends! Welcome to MHKDesigns' February Release Party. Head on over to the MHK Designs ETSY Store for the first full reveal for 2016 where you will find lovely vintage designs that suit all crating styles.

This month, MHKDesigns is releasing FIVE new digital stamp sets. Mynn has also added more Digital Paper Bundles that coordinate perfectly with her digi stamps. These are available for purchase NOW at the MHK Designs ETSY Store. 

As a special treat to celebrate the MHK Designs February 2016 Release, Mynn is giving away sets from this release. More on how to win at the end of this post.

One of the new products featured in this new release is this beautiful set called Purr-fect.

Here's my card -the perfect for birthday card for a cat-lover. I created a quilted background with little pieces cut from the new Easter Flowers digital paper bundle. A gingham bow and a few bling finish this card.

Such a pretty image, you don't need to fuss with it at all. A few strokes with polychromos ... nothing else needed.

Challenges:
Wonderful Wednesday Feb 17: AG
The Paper Shelter #236: Make It Digital
Creative Moments #87: AG

How To Win

In order to get this new set OR the entire release for FREE, here's what you'll need to do:

1. Comment here on the MHKDesigns blog.
2. Comment on each DT member's blog (see list below)
3. Join our MHKDesigners and Friends Facebook group and comment there.

Alicia | Asha (me!) | Donna | Judy | Jerrie | Jessica | Lilian
Michele | Mynn | NanaConnie | Rocky | Sathya | Shawna

Mynn will be choosing comments randomly from all these places after the release is over, and the authors of those comments will be our winners! The best way to win is to comment every day! 

Thank you for stopping by and come back tomorrow for another new digi set AND more prizes!!

Beijinhos!

Supplies

MHKDesigns February Release: Birds & Branches

Good morning, friends! Welcome to MHKDesigns' February Release Party. Head on over to the MHK Designs ETSY Store for the first full reveal for 2016 where you will find lovely vintage designs that suit all crating styles.

This month, MHKDesigns is releasing FIVE new digital stamp sets. Mynn has also added more Digital Paper Bundles that coordinate perfectly with her digi stamps. These are available for purchase NOW at the MHK Designs ETSY Store. 

As a special treat to celebrate the MHK Designs February 2016 Release, Mynn is giving away sets from this release. More on how to win at the end of this post.

One of the new products featured in this new release is this beautiful set called Birds & Branches

Here's my card. I tied a bow with some sheer peach ribbon to match the background paper. Keeping it simple to allow the bird to sing!

I coloured the bird with polychromos. No fussy shading or blending necessary.

Challenges:
Craft Your Passion #299: AG
Zoe Bunny February Challenge: Things With Wings
Crafting From The Heart #99: AG

How To Win

In order to get this new set OR the entire release for FREE, here's what you'll need to do:

1. Comment on the MHKDesigns blog.
2. Comment on each DT member's blog (see list below)
3. Join our MHKDesigners and Friends Facebook group and comment there.

 Alicia | Asha (me!) | Donna | Judy | Jerrie | Jessica | Lilian
Michele | Mynn | NanaConnie | Rocky | Sathya | Shawna

Mynn will be choosing comments randomly from all these places after the release is over, and the authors of those comments will be our winners! The best way to win is to comment every day! 

Thank you for stopping by and come back tomorrow for another new digi set AND more prizes!

Beijinhos!

Supplies