1920s lady

The main image for this card is stamped in Wow Gold Embossing Powder and coloured with gold and honeysuckle Promarkers.  The topper was then mounted onto a spellbinder die and the edges have been coloured with Aderondack Peach Bellini.  I've used some black card matted onto gold mirri card and cut the trellis in gold mirri card using a die and some gold ribbon across the middle hides the join.  The flourish was cut from black and gold mirri card and I 've made the flowers from some circular cut card.  I am entering this card into the Crafts to Challenge You Twist 2.  Not entirely sure of the decade but I would guess 1920s and unfortunately the photo doesn't do justice to the card it looks better in real life.

Donkeys on the Beach

This card has given me a chance to practice some techniques, and I admit its probably the 4th version/ attempt to get something I felt was worth submitting for the July Clarity Stamp Challenge Oh I do like to be beside the sea theme.  I used the Clarity silk card and masked a border on all 4 sides stamping the Bunnies into the border then masking when dry.  I brayered Aderondack Stonewash and Denim for the sky after using cotton wool soaked in Versamark to make some wispy clouds.  For the sea I used Aderondack Pool and darkened with some of the leftover denim, running the brayer over some scrunched up paper to get texture for the water. For the sand I made a wavy template and brayered Mustard Seed Distress ink onto the card and then added some shading with Aderondack Peach Bellini, Tea Dye Distress ink for the sand dunes and meadow for the grasses from the Bunnies Set and the top of the Cow Parsley Clarity club stamp.  The flocks of flying birds are hand drawn with as black pen, the boat is hand drawn as demonstrated by Barbara in the April 2013 Create and Craft show (after several tries on scrap paper).  I've added some glitter around the shoreline for shingle and stamped the donkeys from the Countryside set onto the beach and finally the thank you stamp which was the last Clarity Club stamp. I drew a border around the picture and used the thick end of a Gold Promarker to edge the card and then matted onto some turquoise card.

Summer Sizzler

I think the colours on this card certainly sizzle just like the weather over the last few weeks which we have enjoyed here so I am entering it for the Country View Crafts Challenge Summer Sizzler.  For the card I've used some hot citrus colours. I die cut the trellis and coloured with Mustard Seed Distress ink.  The main image was printed from a CD by Jane Shaskey.  I don't own many craft CDs or do much CD crafting but find I go back to this one for numerous occasions both for male and female cards.

Dies and Die Cuts

For this card I've used a Sheena Douglas stamp for the main image together with a steamer and yachts all from the same set of stamps which I remember buying after watching Sheena demonstrate them on Create and Craft some time ago.  The main image was coloured with Promarkers, for the background sea I used Momento Pool and for the sky Aderondack Stone Wash using a brush to apply the colour. The dies I've used are some of my favourites. The main image has been matted onto the largest of the Spellbinder Decorative Labels Eight die, the latest addition to my collection. I then used a Spellbinder decorate edge die for the base of the background card. I am entering this into the Crafters Companion July Blog Challenge

Baby girl

This is a card I've made for a couple whose wedding we went to last year as they have just recently had a baby girl.  I've used a Lilly of the Valley stamp and sentiment which I bought at the Summer Crafting Show in Doncaster recently. The stamp has been coloured with promarkers and then I've incorporated it into the aperture of a Marianne Die with a deep pink mirri card backing.  This has then been matted onto some pinkn Dottie Card from Annamariedesigns, another purchase from the Summer Crafting Show, and some more of the pink mirri card behind and then finally I've used a white card with a scalloped edge.  I cut the swirls in mirri card and the flowers in various colours of the Dottie Card.I love all the dies I've used for this card, the central one is so versatile and I've used these flowers and swirls on a number of cards I've made recently as they are just the right size. I'm entering this card into the following blog challenges:

LOTV July Challenge Pretty in pink
Paula Holifield Crafts Die-ing for it challenge
Ladybug Crafts July Challenge - your favourite die

Lemon and Lavender

I bought the flitter glue starter kit some time ago and decided to have a go with it after watching Kay demonstrate this again last Saturday at the Indigoblu opening of their new shop.  I bought one or two stamps there and thought they would be ideal for the fussy and fancy challenge theme of Lemon and Lavender.  I made a background by brushing Mustard Seed and Milled Lavender distress inks onto white card and then stamped the bubbles background in the same colours.  I cut a spellbinder die and stamped Juliet in flitter glue and heat embossed with Wow persian indigo embossing glitter and brushed round the edge of the die with Milled Lavender. I then cut some swirls from mirri and plain purple card and some flowers from white card and coloured in various yellow tones with Promarkers.   I'm quite pleased with my first attempt at using flitter glue and with the finished card which I'm going to give to my daughter for her birthday next week. I am also entering it just in time I hope for the fussy and fancy challenge which finishes at midnight tonight.

1940s

Here is a card I've made for a friend's birthday later this month using a Debbi Moore topper and background papers. The flowers are die cut from some gold mirri card.  I'm entering this card into the Crafts Too Challenge You challenge twist 1 for July choose a decade.  I'm not totally sure of the decade this picture comes from but am going for 1940s as it reminds me of photos of my mother in that decade.

Don't be Square

This is a card my mother in law asked me to make recently for her niece's 50th birthday.  I used an image from my favorite CD by Jane Shasky, From the heart of the garden, which I had to buy after seeing Joanna Sheen demonstrate on Create and Craft. I've rounded off the corners of the topper and matted onto a Spellbinder die I'd just acquired.  I used a floral embossing folder to emboss the white background and matted this onto the turquoise card which I had used for the spellbinder die and sentiment.  I found some ribbon which matched the colour scheme to finish off.  I am entering this into the Joanna Sheen Challenge Don't Be Square.

Steam Punk

Steam Punk is completely different to anything I've done before but I had some stamps that I thought might be on the right lines so thought I'd have a go and get some practice with embossing and inking techniques. I used script, cogs and clock stamps for the background and vintage photo, antique linen and walnut stain distress inks to both stamp the images add shading to the edges.  I stamped and embossed the globe, cogs and clocks some with clear embossing powder and some with gold.  The globe is matted onto a piece of Old World matt stack card which I embossed in the grand calibre with a circles embossing folder and tore the edges.  Finally I attached the 3 clock faces with some string. This was a whole Saturday afternoon job, hope this first attempt at Steam Punk fits the bill for the Fussy and Fancy Friday Challenge

Summer

This is my summer themed card. I started by brushing Mustard Seed Distress ink and Adirondack Pool into the center of a piece of white card and Adirondack Raspberry around the edges.  I stamped the Indigo Blu flourish stamp with Adirondack Wild Plum ink around the edges of the card and placed one of the Indigo Blu sentiments stamped into the middle.  I stamped out a few of the Indigo Blu blazing poppy stamp onto separate cards, cut out the individual flower heads and coloured them with a mixture of promarkers and cosmic shimmer powers mixed with water and used some glossy accents in the centres.  I then attached the flowers with pinflair glue.  Unfortunately the full effect of the cosmic shimmer doesn't show up on the photo. The butterfly is a die cut in silver and purple mirri.  Finally I matted onto silver mirri card and a white card with scalloped edges. I am entering this card for the Indigo Blu Challenge 5 Summer competition and Country View Crafts Challenge Summer Sizzler Competition.