Blue is the Colour at Cardz 4 Guyz

Welcome to this year's last challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz.  This time our theme is "Blue is the colour"

I've used a Tim Holtz "cityscapes" stamp of the London Skyline. I stamped it in Versafine ink onto watercolour paper, then used a watercolour pencil and a water brush to add some colour to the buildings here and there. The papers and postage stamp are from Graphic 45 and I've added a stamped sentiment and some candi - and I've just noticed one of the candi dots has slipped out of position so now I'm off to repair it!

I'm sharing this with

Allsorts Challenge - Anything goes

Just Us Girls - Anything Goes

Butterflies and tags

Hello again - I've not been crafting or blogging for a while because we've had family to stay over Christmas, but things are beginning to get back to normal again and it's a refreshing change to make something that isn't Christmassy!

The papers I've used for this are snippets from the Dovecraft "Couture du Jour" 6" pad. I used a fancy punch on the horizontal piece - I seldom think of combining dies or punches with patterned paper but the effects can be lovely. Must make a note to try it more often in 2020. 

The butterflies and tags are odds and ends left over from old kits, and the gems were the very last ones on a sheet. Along with a tiny scrap of ribbon, this really is a "using up odds and ends" card but I think the colours and the vintage roses pull it all together. 

This is my entry for Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge 368 

What a coincidence

Yesterday Mark and I exchanged Christmas cards. Here is the card I made for him:

He laughed when he saw it - then I opened the card he had bought for me and it was almost identical, only blue where mine is red and with buildings instead of deer! On close inspection we think they've even used the same clip art for Santa and his sleigh on the card he bought as the artist who designed the rubberstamp I used did - the silhouette is identical in every detail.

Well, they do say that great minds think alike!

For my card, I blended distress inks over a square of card, keeping it white in the middle and dark at the edges, then dripped water from a fine waterbrush here and there to make those almost bokeh-like circles, blotting away the excess water. Then I built up the scene using an assortment of stamps, positioneing them well away from the centre so as not to distract from the sentiment.

I used white Brilliance ink to stamp snowflakes and added a touch of Stickles to the snowy ground.

I am sharing this with

Christmas Kickstart - last minute madness  

Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes  

Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers #150 - X is for X-rated Christmas

What would December be without a naughty challenge over at the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers?

This year out theme is X-rated Christmas (if you are easily offended, why are you still here?)

Of course, the X-rated bit is the fact that he's smoking a pipe - nasty, dangerous habit that! Anything else you read into it is entirely in your own mind (and mine).

The image is from  the now-defunct KennyK  designs, coloured with Promarkers,  and I produced the sentiment on the computer.  The background is meant to look like a leg in fishnet stockings, but the card that looked a perfect flesh pink on a dark, gloomy afternoon looks a much harsher pink in proper light. As if the wearer, perhaps, has has a few more proseccos than is strictly advisable. I embossed the card using a smocking effect folder with black ink dabbed over the raised surfaces.

Christmas Prize Challenge at CD Sunday Plus

In a change from our usual Anything Goes challenges, our latest challenge at CD Sunday Plus  is a special Christmas prize challenge with the theme Christmas.

I've used papers and a sentiment from the Katy Sue designs CD "The Christmas Spirit"  and added this fun Snowman digi from Bugaboo which I've coloured to go with the papers, using Promarkers. The finishing touch is a strip of self adhesive felt snowflake trim which was a gift from a non crafting friend.

Happy Birthday Claire

Today it's the birthday of my friend Claire, and I'm sharing the card I made for her.

I've used a pretty agapanthus background paper which was part of a joining gift I received from a craft club about 20 years ago - I just knew it would come in handy one day! The silhouette lady is stamped using a stamp from So Suzy, and I've added some die cuts and gems and a Tim Holtz sentiment sticker,  layered onto a snippet from some magazine freebie papers.

I am sharing this with

Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper challenge - December 

Stamping Sensations - Anything goes 

Watercooler Wednesday - Feminine anything goes

Christmas Critters at Cardz 4 Guyz

It's time for our new challenge at Cardz 4 Guyz and this will be our last before Christmas to give the team a festive break. As you may well still have some cards to make, we'd like to see Christmas Critters on your cards this time.

I've used the Woodware "Tweet Birds" stamp set, an old favourite of mine which I  won in the Snippets Playground 4 or 5 years ago. I used a deckle edged ruler to draw the ground and stamped them across the card, coloured them with Promarkers and topped each one with a Santa hat brad.

I am sharing this with

Crafty Hazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Anything goes/Things with wings

2 Crafty Critter Crazies - December challenge

Just Us Girls - Anything Goes 

Sparkling fairy

One of my granddaughters will be 6 years sold next week, and like most 6 year olds is all about fairies and sparkle at the moment, so here is the card I have made for her.

I've used a large stencil to make the card and coloured it in with glitter embossing pastes - I applied them very thickly, partly to make sure as little as possible of the background showed through and partly to give the fairy real depth and texture, especially for her hair.

And there's even a butterfly there to keep Mrs A happy, because I'm sharing this with the Butterfly Challenge where there's the annual month long fairies, elves etc challenge.

Winter Wonderland at Sparkles Christmas

It's time for our December challenge at Sparkles Christmas and this time our theme is Winter Wonderland.

I've used some ice blue card and stamped a winter mountain scene that came in a recent magazine, adding extra trees each side to fill the card, then heat embossed it. I added Stickles to look like sparkling snow and ran a black peel off border around the edge.

Here's a better view of all that sparkle!

I am sharing this with

Fab & Funky - Christmas 

Little Red Wagon - Snow Much Fun