ATSM #222: Make Your Mark

Hello again, friends! Time for another challenge over at Addicted To Stamps and More and this week we are playing Make Your Mark. Our sponsor is Paper Smooches and the winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to spend at their store. 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.

I made a Christmas card using Lawn Fawn's Winter Owl stamp and coordinating die. The tree is from Critters In The Forest, which I paper pieced. For the background I used Chipped Sapphire and Evergreen Bough DIs. To finish the card, snowfall made with little droplets of Opal Liquid Pearls.

I coloured the little owl with Copics and gave him a coat of Clear Wink of Stella. It's Christmas and the little guy deserves to shine.

Challenges:
Christmas With The Cuties #1: Anything Cute and Christmasy
Simon Says Monday: O Christmas Tree
Come and Get It: Baby It's Cold Outside

So now it's your turn to link up your project for the Make Your Mark challenge. Don't forget to follow the rules to be eligible for the prize.

Thanks for stopping by and have fun with this challenge.

Beijinhos!

Chocolate Baroque: Bird On A Pie

Good morning, friends. Christmas is just around the corner. Oh yes it is! Tomorrow is Advent Sunday and what better excuse to share a festive make with you featuring the brand new Mr Robin stamp by Chocolate Baroque.

I know Mr Robin is a red breasted chap but I decided to give him a red coat this Christmas instead. So here he is, donning his new look proudly perched on a mince pie. I inked the edges of the patterned paper with Vintage Photo DI and finished the card with some red ribbon.

I coloured Mr Robin with Copic markers and spread some Ranger Texture Paste over MFT Snowfall Stencil to add wintery interest to the background. And don't forget lashings of Stardust Stickles and Clear Wink of Stella for the mandatory festive sparkle ... it is Christmas after all!

Challenges:
52 Christmas Card Throwdown November Stash: Glitter
Allsorts #391: AG Christmas
Crafty Ribbon #177: Christmas with Ribbon
Creative Knockout #169: 'Tis The Season
Brown Sugar #226: AG

I'm off to the annual Christmas Fair at our church. Hope you're having a fun weekend too. Thank you so much for stopping by and I'll see ya soon with another festive project.

Beijinhos!

A Fairy Happy Thanksgiving

Hello, friends. A quick post from me to wish all my American friends and readers a very HAPPY THANKSGIVING.

I'm sharing a card I made for the Lawnscaping Challenge#142 using Fairy Friends and Perfectly Plaid -Fall petite paper. I inked the background with Cracked Pistachio, Wild Honey and Rusty Hinge DIs, stamped the sparkly fairy magic with Delicata Gold ink and Lawn Fawn Walnut ink for the sentiment.

I coloured the images with Copics and cut them out with coordinating dies. Of course there's plenty of Wink of Stella in Clear and Gold for added shimmer and shine.

Challenges:
Lawnscaping #142: Give Thanks


I'll be flying off now! Thank you so much for stopping by and have fairy Happy Thanksgiving!

Beijinhos!

Word Art Wednesday Guest

Good morning, friends. I am incredibly excited to be a Guest Designer for Word Art Wednesday and today I am back with my second post.

As you know, Word Art Wednesday focuses on Faith and the Scripture and the talented ladies of Design Team do an amazing job with the word art.  The Scriptural narrative of the chosen Verse is truly inspiring and I encourage you to read it before posting your projects.

This fortnight's challenge focuses on 2 Corinthians 9:15, which is perfect for this Thanksgiving season. For my card, I am using two stamps sets by Altenew - Vintage Roses and Vintage Flowers. to create a feminine, floral card that will work all year 'round, not just for Thanksgiving. I also made my own floral background by stamping directly onto the card base before adhering the design panel. I masked the sentiment with a circle diecut and lightly inked the background with Salty Ocean DI before adhering the roses and stamping the leaves.

Here's a closer look. I carefully cut around the tails of the ribbon banner and flipped them over the roses on either end. This adds dimension and movement to the word art without extra bulk. And yes, a few tiny pale green bling did find their way on the card.

Challenges:
Creative Moments #107: AG
Inspiration Destination #113: AG
Dragonfly Journey #79: A Thankful Heart

That's all from me today. Thank YOU for stopping by today. Please head on over to Word Art Wednesday Challenge #258 - 259 and marvel at the Design Team's creations and to play along, of course!

Have a beautiful day, friends. We have much to be grateful for.

Beijinhos!

MHKD November / December Challenge

Hello, friends!  Welcome to our eleventh MHKDesigns Challenge. This Challenge is all about keeping it simple and having fun while creating. 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:

I made a friendship card featuring the acorn from MHKD's Fabulously Fall digi set. I'm also trying to keep it vaguely CAS despite the multiple layers, giant sheer bow and tiny bling .... Well alright then, it's not CAS! :)

Here's a closer look at the image. I flipped one of the acorns and the leafy branch, arranged them to create a corner frame for the sentiment and coloured the image with Copic markers.

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 December 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!

Grateful For You

Hello there! A quick post from me to share a card I made for a friend who has been (and still is) a tower of strength for me. I'm using Altenew stamps called Bold Blossoms. Inspiration for this card came from Altenew November Challenge.

The sentiment is from MFT Grateful For You. I applied lots of Clear Wink of Stella over the grateful die cut for added shine. I inked the background with Faded Jeans DI.

I stamped and fussy cut the flowers and leaves. For the flowers I used Ranger Dye Ink Lemon Twist, LF Wild Rose and Ranger Archival Carnation Red. For the leaves I used LF Mermaid, LF Jalapeño and Ranger Archival Cobalt.

Challenges:
Altenew November 2016: Photo Inspiration
Crafty Friends #45: Blossoms
Hiding In My Craft Room #276: Show Gratitude





That's all from me today. It's very late and I should be in bed! Thank you so much for stopping by and have a lovely weekend.

Beijinhos!

Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #29

Welcome to the start of another month of Chocolate Baroque inspired fun -  Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #29. We have a lovely colour swatch for you to use in your projects.  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 the winner's badge on their blog.

Naturally, with this month's colour swatch, I was  moved to make a festive card. The image is from Chocolate Baroque's Christmas Candlelight A5 sheet. This is a lovely stamp and I really did not want to do anything that might draw attention away from it. So I stamped it using VersaFine Onyx Black onto a piece of Canson Watercolour paper and coloured it with Winsor & Newton.

And for that festive touch - a sprinkling of Stardust Stickles and Gold Liquid Pearls.

Challenges:
Inspiration Destination #112: AG
TTCRD Nov 15: AG
Christmas Card Challenge #48: Glitter

Challenge #29 will close at 12.00 p.m. (UK) on Tuesday 20th December 2016, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday 28th December 2016. I hope you'll play along and run the risk of winning £15 to spend on Chocolate Baroque stamps.

Thank you so much fro stopping by. I hope you are making good progress with your Christmas mailing list... I know I'm not! LOL. We have a few more weeks before the panic begins. Have a super fun day, friends!

Beijinhos!

ATSM #220: Photo Inspiration

Hello again, friends! Time for another challenge over at Addicted To Stamps and More. This week the theme is Photo Inspiration and we are sponsored by Happy Little Stampers. The winner will receive a $15 gift certificate.

I was inspired by the bold greeting and traditional Christmas colours to create this festive simple card featuring an heirloom bauble. The greeting is from Compliments of the Season available from Gina K Designs. The bauble is cut using a die from Spellbinders 2010 Heirloom Ornament. I stamped little snowflakes directly on to the red cardbase with VersaFine Satin Red ink for a tone-on-tone look and brightened things up with little white dots. I finished the card with some Sweetheart Lawn Trimming.

I cut the ornament out several times and stuck them together to get a 3D look.

Challenges:
Double D Challenge Nov16: Traditional Christmas Colours
A Snowflake's Challenge #33: AG Christmas / Winter

So now it's your turn to link up your project for the Photo Inspiration challenge. Don't forget to follow the rules to be eligible for the prize.

Thanks for stopping by and have fun with this challenge.

Beijinhos!

Chocolate Baroque: Lest We Forget

Good morning, friends. Today is Remembrance Sunday - a day to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts. It is a day to remember that the freedom we enjoy today came at a price. Political affiliations aside, it is a day to lay a wreath and honour all heroes who lost their lives in battle.

I created a wreath of poppies using the single poppy stamp from the brand new Floral Notes A5 sheet. I created a mask and stamped the leaves from Autumn Poppy A4 sheet so that the leaves appear to the back of the poppies. I coloured the images with Copics and finished the card with a light dusting of Tumbled Glass DI around the edges.

The sentiment is from the Pretty Poppies A5 set, heat embossed in white. I fussy cut the lower half of the top and bottom cluster of leaves, taking care not to detach them, and flipped it over the diecut piece. The "cross" is now more obvious.

Challenges:
Pile It On #121: Thankful / Thank You
Creative Corner Nov 11: Thank You
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Thanks / Thanksgiving
Dragonfly Journey #79: Thankful Heart
Amusing Challenge: AG (Thank YOU, Chris. Congrats on your new adventure with CTMH)

Thank you for stopping by today. I am trying my best to catch up with the visiting and commenting. So if you see me on your blog, don't be too shocked! Have an amazing Sunday, friends.

Beijinhos!

Word Art Wednesday Guest Post

Good morning, friends. I am incredibly excited to be a Guest Designer for Word Art Wednesday. When Karen Letchworth asked me if I would like to design for the month of November, I said YES ... in a heart beat!

Word Art Wednesday is a very popular challenge blog where Faith and the Scripture take centre stage. The talented ladies of Design Team do an amazing job and I am amazed at the lovely projects they produce every fortnight. The Scriptural narrative of the chosen Verse is truly inspiring and I encourage you to read it before posting your projects.

This challenge focuses on Psalm 95: 2 and 3. Since we are fast approaching Thanksgiving, I wanted to use seasonal colours to bring out the Joy in giving Thanks and Praise to God. The floral elements are from Altenew's Beautiful Day and I used fall colours of yellows, orange and brown.  I added Wink of Stella Clear glitter to the flowers and leaves. To finish - little sequins and Daffodil Liquid Pearls to frame the word art.

Here's a closer look. I stamped the smaller floral sprigs first, coloured them with Copics and then layered the fussy cut big blooms and leaves over them. You will also notice that I cut around at the top left and bottom right of the verse and flipped them over to lie above the blooms. I got a tighter design this way without having to shrink the word art... and it is about the Verse after all.

Challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Thank / Thanksgiving
Creative Moments #106: AG / Thank You
Inspiration Destination #111: AG
Retarte #89: AG
TTCRD Nov 8: AG

That's all from me today. Thank YOU for stopping by today. Please head on over to Word Art Wednesday Challenge #256 - 257 and marvel at the Design Team's creations and to play along, of course!

Have a beautiful day, friends. We have much to be grateful for.

Beijinhos!

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MHKDesigns: Chicken In

Good morning, friends! Dropping in quickly to share with you a card I made for MHKDesigns, featuring an image from the October release called Chicken In.

I decided to use the beautiful chickens for my card. This is an adorable image and a treat to colour. I thought going CAS would be the best route. A very brave step for me!  I applied a hint of Distress Inks: Tumbled Glass for the sky and Brushed Corduroy for the ground.  I dropped a few blobs of  Silver Liquid Pearls around the sentiment...don't know why I did that. Oh yes I do! Because I don't understand CAS - that's why! And to add insult to injury ... some LF Cloudy twine to finish the card.

Here's a closer look at the chooks. So I coloured these guys with Faber Castell Polychromos. For the grassy ground I used Copics and added depth with the Polychromos. I like how this turned out.

Challenges:
Avenue 613 Challenge #191: AG
Lil' Patch Of Crafty Friends #45: AG
Crafty Friends #44: For Someone Special

Thank you for stopping by today. We have blue skies and sunshine today. So never mind the single digit temperature ... at least its dry! Off to Church in a tick and will catch up later. Cheerio!

Beijinhos!

Chocolate Baroque: Remember The Poppy

Hello and welcome to November. Let's start the month by remembering our fallen heroes - the brave men and women to fought and died to secure our freedom. Remembrance Day / Poppy Day / Armistice Day is observed to honour members of the armed forces who died in the First World War and to mark when hostilities formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Here is a card I made using stamps from the Pretty Poppies A5 sheet. I'm keeping it simple (which was quite a challenge for me!) so that the focus will be on the poppies.

I stamped the poppies with VersaFine Onyx Black ink onto Canson water colour paper and coloured it with Winsor & Newton water colours. And for an extra special touch, I adhered a few tiny red bling. The sentiment is also from the Pretty Poppies sheet, stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black.

Challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday: Thinking Of You
Crafty Creations #327: Water Colour
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Thinking Of You

That's all from me today. Can you believe we are in November?! Eeek! Time to start thinking about mailing out those Christmas cards. And I have a sneaking suspicion I haven't made enough this year! Ooops!

Thank you for stopping by and have a love beautiful day, friends!

Beijinhos!

ATSM #218: Holiday

Hello again, friends! Time for another challenge over at Addicted To Stamps and More. This week the theme is my favourite - Holiday. Our sponsor this week is Sami Stamps. The winner will receive a $12 gift certificate.

I made a Christmas card with am icy twist using stamps from Frosty Fairy Friends by Lawn Fawn. I coloured the images with Copics and cut them out with coordinating dies. To stamp the stars in the background I used Delicata Silver ink.

And here is a closer look at the fairy house. There's plenty of glitter and sparkle on this card. I used Stardust Stickles and Wink of Stella Clear Brush pen. The sentiment is also from Frosty Fairy Friends, stamped with VersaFine Majestic Blue.

Challenges:
Deep Ocean Challenge #141: Use Dies / Punches
Holly Jolly Christmas #84: Trees / Christmas Trees
Shopping Our Stash #276: Home Sweet Home
TTCRD Nov 1: AG
Unicorn Challenge  #15: Snow / Snowflake

So now it's your turn to link up your project for the Holiday challenge. Don't forget to follow the rules to be eligible for the prize.

Thanks for stopping by and have fun with this challenge. 

Beijinhos!
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