Tuesday Throwdown #238: Easter Recipe

Happy Tuesday, friends! Hope you are ready for another week of crafting fun with the Tuesday Throwdown gang. Our challenge theme this week is Easter Recipe.

So what is the recipe? It goes something like this:  1 image AND 1 patterned paper AND at least 1 egg (image or embellishment) AND colours from the inspiration photo below:

Our sponsor this week is  MelJens Designs but you can use any stamps from your stash as long as you follow the Easter Recipe. For my card, I'm using MelJen's the super adorable Easter Bunny.

The background patterned paper is from Polka Doodles' Sugar Birdies CD. I could help but add those cute little Card Candis. For extra shine I doused them with Ranger's Glossy Accents and finished the card with a peachy bow.

The greeting is from Clearly Besotted's Hoppy Easter set, stamped with VersaColor Heliotrope. I coloured the Bunny with Graph'It markers.

Challenges:
Craft Dee Bowz March: AG with Handmade Bow
Crafting From The Heart #53: AG
Craft Your Passion #255: AG
Simon Says Stamp Monday: Pastels
Pile It On #62: Easter / Spring
Corrosive Challenge #221: Hop Into Spring
That Craft Place: Easter / Spring

Products used in this card:

Now it's your turn to create a project based on this week's "Easter Recipe". For ideas and inspiration, take a peek at what the rest of the DT members have made. Remember to link up your project at the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge Blog by 3pm Pacific / 11pm UK on Monday,  6th March 2015. And the most important requirement: Have Fun... it's almost Easter!

Thanks for stopping by today and I wish y'all a Blessed Holy Week. 

Beijinhos!

Birthday Roses

Hello, friends. A quick card from me... and this really is quick. It took me 16 minutes! That is a HUGE deal because my card-making endeavours generally take between 2 hours to 2 days. AND check this out: no embellishments of any kind on this project - no bling, nor sequins, ribbon, not even a single stitch in sight! I barely survived the 16-minute ordeal!

I'm using Clearly Besotted stamps today. The roses are from the Sketched Blooms and the sentiment is from Sweet Little Sentiments. The chevron cut-out is a die by WRMK-Lifestyle.

I stamped the out line of the blooms with VersaFine Onyx Black and the solids with VersaFine Satin Red. Then I cut them out and adhered the larger one directly on the white panel and popped of the smaller rose on foam tape.

Here's a closer look at the chevron cut out section. I lined it with Heidi Swapp's Black Glitter Washi Tape.

Challenges:
Time Out #27: CAS + Twist B&W and one other colour
Just Us Girls #285: Black + White + Third Colour Of Choice
Seize The Birthday: AG Birthday
Aud Sentiments #128: AG + Sentiment
Crafty Creations #285: Chevrons or Stripes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: AG
Word Art Wednesday #176: AG 

Products used in this project:

Rosie's Update:  It's been a long day. Rosie is not feeling well. She's not eating and has to be fed by hand, even then it's a struggle. She goes through these cycles of no appetite and it's important that we address it immediately to stave off cachexia. Her cough is getting worse, which is expected and she's visibly more tired. My heart is heavy with worry and fear... and Rosie is strong and fearless as alway. We'll continue to soldier on, taking one day at a time.

Thank you for stopping by today. Have a beautiful day and give your furbabe a hug or two or three.

Beijinhos!

He Is Risen

Hello friends! Just popping in very quickly to share a card I made over the weekend combining Distress Inks and Faber Castell Gelatos. I've been meaning to make Easter cards since... well, the beginning of Lent. Not much success there, but here's one to join my meagre collection.

I stamped the large cross from Chocolate Baroque's Easter Traditions A5 sheet on Cason Cold-Pressed Watercolour paper and heat embossed it in silver. Then I did a background wash with TH Distress Inks: Dusty Concord, Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire and Shaded Lilac. When completely dry and rubbed Silver Ice Gelato directly on the paper in a sweeping motion and blended with my finger. Next, I stamped the gothic window from the Texture Fragments A4 sheet with Dusty Concord and cleaned the embossed surface with some Kleenex.

To brighten up the card I added a few purple sequins and teeny tiny pale purple bling. The sentiment is from the Easter Traditions sheet and is stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black.

I took these photos with my iPhone. That's my excuse today for putting up photos that could be better... not that I do a grand job with my camera, mind you. Here's the thing, I took the memory card from the camera, went down to the kitchen to make a barrel of coffee with the memory card in hand.... and that's all I remember. Haven't the foggiest where it is now. I just hope I didn't drink it! :)

Challenges:
Through The Purple Haze #83: AG
Hiding In My Craft Room #192: Embossing
Cards Und More #128: Monochrome
Loves Rubber Stamps #144: Create Your Own Background
Retro Rubber Challenge #10: Emboss It!
Through The Craft Room Door Mar 24: AG

Products used to make this card:

Today is a super special day - it's Richard Parker's birthday!!! He was born on 24 March 2014 and that makes him one year old today. Here are a couple of photos of my boy.

He is looking shocked, maybe embarrassed that his Mama started the day by belting out his birthday song at 6am today :)

"Whaaat?! It's my birthday?"
Richard Parker - 24 March 2015

 
And this is baby Richard the day we got him - 8 weeks after his birth. Oh so tiny!

Richard Parker - 25 May 2014

Thanks for stopping by and have beautiful Tuesday, friends.

Beijinhos!

Chocolate Baroque: Spring Daffodils and A Regal Bird

Happy Sunday, folks! We are so close to Easter ... can you believe how quickly we are getting through Lent?! And I am so behind on all kinds of everything - let alone my Easter greeting. Anyways, I'm here not to complain but to share a couple of projects I made with Chocolate Baroque's new Spring Bird - Daffodil stamp sheet.

There is a sentiment on the stamp sheet but I made both my cards plain so that if I don't use them for Easter, they'll work for any occasion too.

The first project showcases the lovely daffodils from this stamp set. I did some masking and stamping to get the flowers in overlapping clusters. I used Distress Inks to water colour the image and background. Hardly any embellishments on this card, except for that luxurious gold ribbon at the bottom sent to me by my crafting buddy Carol of CM Design. Thank you, Carol!

Not too many Tim Holtz Distress Inks on this card. The yellows are Scattered Straw and Squeezed Lemonade. The greens are Crushed Olive and Mowed Lawn. For the sky I used a wash of Tumbled Glass and earth is Tea Dye. For a softer look I stamped the image with VersaFine Vintage Sepia, onto Canson Cold-pressed watercolour paper.

Challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Spring Inspiration
One Stitch At A Time #233: Nature
Scrappy Hands #35: Bingo - Flower...Ribbon...Stamps
Crafty Catz #271: No Design Paper
Graph'It Colour Challenge Wk 12: Spring Colours - with Distress Inks


My second card is a more regal affair. I created a frame by repeat stamping the smaller accents stamps from the Spring Bird - Daffodil sheet and heat embossed it with WOW Gold Embossing Powder.

I water coloured the image with Caran d'Ache Supra Soft water soluble pencils, keeping it soft and light against the strong colours of the card. As before, I stamped the image with VersaFine Vintage Sepia on Canson Watercolour paper.

Challenges:
Avenue 613 #116: AG Optional Twist - Purple
Come and Get It: Winging It - Bird
Fairy Tale Stamper #53: Things With Wings
Hiding In My Craft Room #192: Embossing
Stamplelsonne #137: AG with Stamped Main Image
Wonderful Wednesday #18: AG

Products used in this project:

That's all from me today. Thank you so much for stopping. And if you're following me on Facebook, you'll see these sticky sweet delights I made today. It's a tradition in our home to make Hot Cross Buns every Sunday in the run up to Easter, starting today the 5th Sunday of Lent. Hope you're having a sweet Sunday too!

Beijinhos!

Speedy Recovery

Hello, friends! Spring is finally here... and about time too. I have a quick post today - a card for my mother in law who's feeling poorly. I'm hoping his card will cheer her up.

It's been ages since I inked up my Lawn Fawn stamps. This set is called On the Mend. I did some masking and stamping and simple colouring with Graph'It Markers. All the edge I sponged TH Distress Ink Cracked Pistachio - LOVE that colour. Finally, 3 teeny tiny clear bling to seal the deal.

To add shine and sparkle, the flowers and bugs got a few coats of Wink of Stella Clear and Glossy Accent.

Challenges:
Lawnscaping Challenge #102: Addicted To Distress
Addicted To Stamps #136: AG
Time Out #27: CAS
CASology #138: Blossom

Products used in this project:

That's all from me today. The sky is looking a little gloomy. Fingers crossed it doesn't rain. Thank you so much for stopping by and enjoy the Spring weekend... whatever the weather!

Beijinhos!

CASE-ing Christmas #12: Pat

Tell me it isn't true! Is it Friday already?! I guess it's time to welcome you to another lap of  CASE-ing Christmas - a weekly challenge devoted to the holiday season all year 'round. Today we're starting Challenge #12.

Here's how you play along. Each week you'll be given you a card to CASE and ... you CASE it! It's as easy as that. If you've never CASEd a card before, here's how you do it:

• Look at the photo of the card to CASE; 
• Be inspired by some elements of the card - the colours, layout, image, embellishments, etc 
• Make a card based on that inspiration and link it up at CASE-ing Christmas Challenge Blog by Noon (Central) / 6pm (UK) on Thursday,  26th March 2015. 

And that's all there is to it. Our CASE card this week is this gorgeous creation by Pat. Lots of ideas here and I can't wait to see how this project inspires you.

This week's card posed a bit of a problem for me. I wanted to make a quick card. And (foolishly) I attempted a CAS. Should've known better! I did not like the look of it... not one bit. After cannibalising my disastrous first attempt and sending the remains to the recycling bin, I gave new life to the snow globe in this new and improved (?) version:

The papers are from Basic Grey's Life Of The Party 6x6 pad. The stamps are by Clearly Besotted. The little guy in the snow globe is supposed to be a snowman, but I stamped him on kraft CS and turned him into a teddybear. His accessories are paper-pieced from scraps. The sentiment is stamped directly onto the patterned paper with VersaFine Crimson Red.

To fill the snow globe, I first stamped little circles with VersaMagic Sea Breeze. That wasn't enough... so I threw in some TH Distress Glitter Rock Candy. Still looking empty, I added added little blobs of Baby Blue Liquid Pearls. Now do you believe me when I say I don't / can't do CAS?!

Challenges:
Brown Sugar #138: AG
Winter Wonderland: Warm Winter Wishes (hat and scarf)
Holly Jolly Christmas: Stitching - Real or Faux
Crafty Ribbons: AG With Ribbon
Inspiration Destination #25: AG
Little Red Wagon #281: All Tied Up
Wonderful Wednesday #18: AG

Products used to make this project:

Now it's your turn to make a Christmas card by CASE-ing Pat's creation. And if you played along last week, the Winners of Challenge #11 will be announced on Wednesday, 25th March 2015.

You'll find more ideas over at the DT's blogs: Mynn ... Donna ... Ellen ... Pat ... Steph.

Thanks for dropping by and Happy CASE-ing. I'm looking forward to seeing your take on Pat's card. Have a lovely day, friends.

Beijinhos!

Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #9: Blue Bells

A new Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge has started and we're kicking off this monthly meet-up with cool. classy colours. If you haven't played yet, now's the time to do so. These colours are super elegant and will work for any occasion.

You can use any medium to create your projects: paints, inks, pencils, pens, stains, etc., as long as you keep to the colours from the colour swatch. 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.

This card was made in a hurry. It took me under an hour ... 53 minutes, to be precise. Seriously! That's what I like about watercoloring. When you've got awesome stamps to start with, that's half the work done. Truth be told, the stitching took me longer to do. The key is NOT to over think anything, limit the materials used and keep it simple. And the result is this:

Instead of pulling out all my watercolours, I stuck to just 4 Distress Inks: Chipped Sapphire, Cracked Pistachio, Shabby Shutters and Shaded Lilac for the image from the Harebell Butterfly A5 stamp sheet. I adhered a piece of violet CS randomly stamped with little leaves from the Butterfly Dreams A4 stamp sheet and VersaMagic Cloud White ink onto the card base.


To save time, I did not even mask the image before painting the background. You can see how that turned out in the photo below! :)  I added Liquid Pearls in an attempt to "add texture and interest" - although I have no idea what that phrase really means!

Challenges:
Word Art Wednesday #175: AG
Addicted To Stamps #136: AG
Through The Craft Room Door: AG
All Sort Challenge #302: Flowers & Pearls
Creative Moments #64: AG, optional twists for Special Lady

Products used in this project

There you have it - a very quick card from me. I've come to learn that water colouring is very forgiving. You can hide a multitude of mistakes by pretending it is some obscure technique and that every (mis)stroke is a deliberate and considered action. I <HEART> watercolours!

Challenge #9 will close at 12.00 p.m. (UK) on Tuesday 22nd April 2015, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday 29th April 2015. I hope you'll play along and run the risk of winning £15 to spend on Chocolate Baroque stamps.

Beijinhos!

Tuesday Throwdown #236: More Than One Fold

Top of the morning to you, friends! Happy St Patrick's Day ... and .... a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Nana Connie, much loved ex-teamie at Tuesday Throwdown. May all your days is blessed with love, happiness, good health and pots of Irish Luck!

Today also sees the start of a brand new challenge.  We have a fun theme for you "More Than One Fold ". Our sponsors - Creations by AR. The company is run by Adela Rossol and she has very generously provided the team with cut files to create fun 3D projects. I chose this super stylish Haute Tote.

This bag makes a one of a kind gift "box". I made 2... well actually, by the time this post goes up, there should be at least 6!

I made the tote bag from one sheet of Doodlebug double sided 12x12 patterned cardstock. (I wouldn't recommend plain patterned paper as it is too flimsy.) I used eyelets to attach the handles. The flowers are from my crafting buddy Snoopy of Snoopy's Homemade Fun. The stitched details make the bag look quite realistic. I'm very happy with how it turned out, nay... I'm thrilled!

The finished project is about 5-1/5" high (excluding handles) and 4-1/2" wide.

There's a little pocket inside to fit a 3x3 note card. How cool is that?!

This is the very first one I made - a simple, no frills version. To my delight, it was so easy to put together, thanks to Adela's clear instructions.

The templates supplied by Creations by AR  are digital downloads which include:
• PDF files (used for printing and cutting by hand);
• SVG files (used on most cutting machines); and
• Step-by-Step Instructions with lots of photos.
You do not need a cutting machine such as a Silhoette, provided you have good pair of scissors and don't totally suck at fussy cutting!  Obviously, the intricate, fiddly designs will be more challenging. This tote bag can easily be done by hand.

Challenges:
Buckwell's Crafty Challenge #6: Flowers
Not Just Cards #15
Craft Your Passion #253: AG
Crafting From The Heart #51: AG
Bunny Zoe Crafts March: Spring Colours
Craft My Life Feb/Mar: AG Non-Card
Lil' Patch Of Crafty Friends: &: AG
Scrappy Hands #34: Blossom

Products used in this project

Now it's your turn to create a project based on this week's theme: "More Than One Fold". For ideas and inspiration, take a peek at what the rest of the DT members have made. Remember to link up your project at the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge Blog by 3pm Pacific / 11pm UK Monday, March 23rd.  And the most important requirement: Have Fun!

Beijinhos!