Layered Holly

I decided I had to make a card with a stamp set designed by my talented friend Shirley Bampton.

Shirley designed this set last Christmas for Stamplorations, called Layered Holly.

It's a great set for making fast and fun Christmas cards.  I used Distress and Memento Inks and spritzed for a watercolour look.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

Magical Christmas

I'm still trying to make a few more cards for the Festive Season, before I lose enthusiasm. 

I used distress inks to make a smooshed/splash background and then stamped some snowflakes with the lightest colour. The sentiment is from Hero Arts and was heat embossed with Recollections Snow embossing powder. The die is from MFT, the snowflake stamps from Avery Elle and the wooden snowflake is from Kaisercraft.

This card was inspired by the following challenges:-

A few more Christmas Florals

Here are a few more cards I made, but didn't use for the a design team card. 

Hero Arts, Avery Elle stamps and some freehand used to make this card.

Avery Elle And Kaisercraft stamps used on this card

Avery Elle and some random deconstructed stamps used here.

Holly Jolly Christmas

Hello there! Not long to go! Ho! ho! ho!

I stamped the holly with distress ink and then applied a wet brush to move the colour. I die cut the flower from a watercolour splash background and added the gold bling. The stamps are from Kaisercraft and the flower die is from Concord & 9th.

I'm joining in the fun at the following challenges:-

Traditional Christmas Colours

Challenge Me a Christmas Card with Michelle

I'm so happy to be joining Michelle Lupton of 'Handmade by Michelle', in her 'Challenge me a Christmas Card' event.  Michelle asked her friends on Facebook to set her a challenge to make Christmas Cards with a specific theme or using a particular technique or product.  She has asked us to join her in sharing a card.

I chose 'MOSAICS' as a theme, because I travelled to Italy in Oct/Nov and was inspired by all the beautiful mosaics in the churches we visited.

Here is my card...

I used a stencil and Distress Inks for the background. The nativity stamp is from Stampendous and the sentiment is a magazine freebie.

Now, you must pop over to Michelle's blog and see the ingenious card she created!  Thanks for asking me to play Michelle!

A Masculine Christmas

Happy Sunday!

I was experimenting with a new technique, which was shared by Loll from Stamping with Loll.  It involves covering your shadow stamp with versamark and then brushing over it with Brushos, then spritzing and stamping. Well, I went off on a tangent and instead of just using Versamark, I used Distress Ink as well. Then I used some Delicata Gold. The result was very organic! 

I touched up some of the shadows with Zig Markers.  I decided to keep this card CAS and thought it would make a good Masculine card, so I mounted it on a black card base and stamped the sentiment with Versafine Black.

I'm sharing my card at the following challenges:-

Christmas

Warm Wishes . (colours)

Butterfly Love

Hi there! I'm just popping in with a reminder for the Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

As always the theme is 'Anything Goes' or the optional choice is Christmas/Winter.

I've chosen 'Anything Goes' for my card...

 I stamped the largest butterfly from Penny Black's 'Butterfly Trio' with Delicata Gold on watercolour paper and then coloured with Distress Inks and Zig Markers and a aqua brush. I allowed the gold to mix with pinks to make a Pink Gold look.  It's hard to see in the pic, but there's lots of shimmer.

So now it's your turn! Check out the projects from the rest of the team at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog and enter the challenge here. As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch, who will give the randomly chosen winner a $20 voucher.

I hope you have the most Wonderful Christmas and a Brilliant New Year!!!

I'm sharing my card at the following challenges:-

Alcohol Ink and Snowflakes

I had this Snowflake die cut in my stash from this years Craft Retreat, so I thought I'd combine it with an alcohol ink background, also found in my stash.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

ADDICTED TO STAMPS - Non Traditional Colours

SIMON MONDAY CHALLENGE - Warm Wishes

Wish Upon a Star

Here is another card - yes,  my 3rd today!!!  This one was inspired by the theme at CAS Christmas Card Challenge.

The stamp set is an old favourite from Papertrey Ink, stamped with Distress Inks. I used Delicata Gold to stamp the sentiment and stars.

Fa La La Llama

This is the second card I made today. This time I used the quirky 'Fa la la Llama' set from Flora and Fauna Clear.

I stamped the mountains and then made a mask, before stamping the llama. I added some highlights with a gel pen and red Zig Marker.  Then I stamped the sentiment and extended the sides of the mountains with black marker.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

Anything Goes

Penny Black Polar Bears

Hi there. I found some spare time to make a couple of cards today. I used a new stamp which was part of a prize from Penny Black.on the first card.

This is a very simple one layer card. I stamped with Versafine Black and coloured with Prima Colour Pencils and Zig Markers. I added the snow with Gel pen.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

'B' is for Bear

Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps - Christmas non traditional colours

Check out my next post for my second card.

Geode Watercolour Thank You

The count down is on! Yes, December is upon us, so I hope you're still finding time to create during all the Festive activities!

It's the 2nd of the month, which brings us to a new CAS Watercolour Challenge. The theme this month is 'THANK YOU' and out host is the delightful Bonnie of Stamping with Klass.

I decided to practise layering with my Daniel Smith and Maimeri Blu watercolour paints on Arches Cold Press paper.

I chose my favourite colours and I am thrilled with the result - I think these colours are so soothing. 

I added a bit of silver foiling. The butterfly and sentiment stamps are both from Penny Black.

The trick with layering is to wait until each layer is completely dry and to use colours that wont go muddy. I plan to try this technique again with a more organic Geode shape. 

The Design Team have made some wonderful cards to inspire you and we have a fabulous Guest Designer, Michelle, from 'I Card Everyone'.  I hope you'll check out their creations over at 

CAS Watercolour Blog and join the fun! 

Oh Christmas Tree....

Welcome back to another Penny Black Saturday Challenge. Can you believe it's December?

The theme this month is, as always, 'Anything Goes' or, yes you guessed it -  'CHRISTMAS!'. 

I recently returned from a wonderful holiday in Europe and it was definitely starting to  feel like Christmas over there, but now I'm back in Australia and I'll admit, the sunshine and warmth just don't evoke the same festive atmosphere. 

So to get myself back in the mood, I played some Christmas carols as I was making this card....

The stamp is called Christmas Glow and I  knew the first time I saw it, that I had to own it!!!

I used distress inks and Zig Markers, colouring directly on the stamp and spritzing with water. I touched up the stamped image with the markers. The sentiment die is also from Penny Black.

So now it's your turn! Check out the projects from the rest of the team and enter the challenge here. As usual, we are sponsored by the awesome 1-2-3 Stitch, who will give the randomly chosen winner a $20 voucher.

Let the Festive Season Begin!

Hello there. I've been back from my big Europe Adventure for 10 days and I'm starting to come back to earth! It was a magical holiday! 

Since my return, I've been busy fine tuning decisions for our house renovation. My husband very kindly held the fort while I was galavanting around Europe:) Yes, I'm very lucky!!!

So now I'm attempting to recover a bit of my mojo and make some cards for the Holidays.

I used a stamp set that came free with a magazine.  I stamped the image and sentiment with Delicata Gold ink and coloured with Zig Markers and an aqua brush. The Berries were stamped with Memento ink and touched up with  the markers and aquabrush.

I'm entering the following challenges:-

Less is More are having a DT Call, so check it out if you like making CAS cards.

Anything Goes

Penny Black Hoopla!

I'm popping in with a reminder for this month's Penny Black Saturdnay Challenge.

The theme is Anything Goes or if you wish to be more challenged 'Anything But a Card'.

I made some Christmas themed hoops last year and decided to add to my collection.

I put some random fabric in the hoop and then covered it with a die cut circle of Kaisercraft designer paper. I stamped the Penny Black image on watercolour paper, coloured with distress Inks, Zig Markers and a wet brush. Then I fussy cut the image, which would be very difficult, if I didn't have my fave scissors, a gift from the lovely Jenny Dix. I added some glossy accents to the berries.

The wooden sentiment is also from Kaisercraft. 

There is more inspiration from the Design Team over at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog and we love you to join in the fun:)

More Christmas Florals

Hello there. I'm back with a reminder for the CAS Watercolour Challenge. The theme this month is 'Christmas Florals & Greenery'.

I used a stamp set that came with a magazine, Zig Markers, Distress Inks  and Delicata Gold Ink to create the watercolour floral arrangement. The sentiment is from Penny Black.

Please visit the CAS Watercolour Challenge to get more inspiration and enter the challenge for a chance to win a prize or be Guest Designer.

Off The Page Project

Ciao Amici! Yes I'm still in Europe travelling with a friend, but I'm popping in to share a project I made for this month's Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

As always. the theme is 'Anything Goes' or if you want more of a challenge you can take up the option which is to 'Make Anything But a Card'.  Here is what I created...

I tend to keep most of my creations fairly CAS(clean and simple), so I haven't added too many layers. I began with a Tim Holtz Ideology Mini Clipboard and removed the screws to cover it with the Kaisercraft DP. I sanded and inked the edges to give it an aged look. Next I die cut the next layer and glued it in place and put the clipboard back together. I stamped the image with Zig Markers and distress inks and used a wet brush to blend. I then fussy cut, sponged the edges and adhered to the board.  To finish I added the twine and bells. 

You can see more inspiration at the Penny Black Saturday Challenge Blog and I hope you'll play along. Don't forget you have the chance to win a prize and possibly be a Guest Designer.

Christmas Florals & Greenery

Welcome to a new CAS Watercolour Challenge. This month we starting to get excited about the coming holidays and the theme is 'Christmas Florals & Greenery'.

I made lots of practice cards, before I decided which one to use, so I now have a good supply of Christmas cards.

Our host this month is the talented Susan from Cardmaker's Garret and I love the theme she's chosen.

This stamp set is 'Spruce & Sprigs' from Papertrey Ink. It took me a while to find an arrangement I was happy with, but when I added the gold, it seemed to come together.  I used Distress Inks and Zig Markers and spritzed with water, before stamping. I added some more highlights with the ink and wet brush after it was stamped.  The sentiment stamp is from Kaisercraft. 

We are so happy to have Maura as our Guest Designer this month. Please check out the challenge blog to see her card and get inspiration from the rest of the Design Team. I hope to see your CAS Watercolour card in our gallery!

Frightful & Delightful

Ciao! I am currently in Sicily, probably enjoying canola or othe local delights! Meanwhile, I scheduled this post to remind you about this month’s Penny Black Saturday Challenge.

The theme is ‘spooky colours’ or anything goes.

I stamped Penny Black ‘Restful’ and the bird from ‘Season’s Marvel’ and then sponged the background with distress inks (masking the moon).  Next I removed the mask and coloured the moon.  The sentimentis from Winnie & Walter as I don’t have any PB spooky stamps.

I hope you’ll pop iver to the Penny Black Saturday Challenge blog to get more inspiration and play along. There’s a chance of a prize and Guest Designer spot. Here is the link.