Happy New Year and Mixed Media Card Challenge reminder

And just like that - it's a new year! I hope you all had a wonderful festive season and are now having a bit of a catch up and getting crafty!

I'm not one for making New Year Resolutions, but I do have a very strong desire to get back to creating and blogging on a more regular basis. I won't lie - it's a real struggle - I'm going through a seriously bad creative block, but I guess I'll have to ease myself back in to it and maybe not reject so many of the things that I make.  Here is a card I made with a new (to me) Tim Holtz stamp from the Documented set.

 I have used Distress markers, Distress ink pads and Zig Clean Color Markers.

 I also added a bit of perfect pearls for a bit of shimmer.The map stamp is from Stamper's Annonymous,  the sentiment is from 

STAMPlorations and I think the plane might be from Amy Tangerine.

If you would like to join in the challenge - the theme is 'BEGINNINGS', which covers may things and the optional element is 'SEQUINS'. You can enter the challenge here.HOW TO PLAY

1. Create a mixed media CARD based on the theme, with or without the optional element.

2. Display the challenge graphic on your blog post and link back to this challenge post.

3. You may enter as many times as you want, as long as each entry is different.

4. You may combine a maximum of 7 challenges (6 other challenges plus ours).

5. Submit your projects by January 25, 11:55 p.m. Pacific (GMT-8).

6. We'll announce the winner and highlights on January 31.

I would also like to enter my first card in the Simon Monday Challenge - the theme is Something New.

The gorgeous Alexandra of Art Scrap and More is having a giveaway - check it out here.

The gorgeous Alexandra of Art Scrap and More is having a giveaway - check it out here.

❄︎ Noël ☞ It's a Giveaway! // C'est Cadeau!

For a chance to win this prize, all you have to do is:

- Become a Follower (right column)

- Copy Paste the picture above onto your blog with a link toward today's post.

- Come back here and leave me the deep link toward your post.

Mixed Media Celebration

It's the beginning of the Silly Season - yep December is upon us and not only that, but it's also time for another Mixed Media Card Challenge! Yay! The theme this month is 'CELEBRATION' and I'm sure we'll be doing a bit of that! The optional element is 'Vellum', (which I forgot to add - oops).

I have been really struggling with my mojo lately - lots of ideas, but when  I sit down to create, I just hit the wall! Consequently, I'm not really happy with card, but  it's a step in right direction.

I started with a piece of pale green card stock and did some layered stamping - the snowflakes with Tumbled Glass distress ink, the background christmas script with Hero Arts Silver shadow ink and then the white polka dots with hero Arts Unicorn White ink. Next I adhered the glitter paper stripes on the base card. I painted the chipboard tag with white gesso and then stamped the sentiment from Avery Elle and embossed with silver embossing powder. The edges of the frame have also been siver embossed. To finish I used some twine to anchor the frame and added the silver metal stars, which came off an old ornament.

So now it's your turn to make a Mixed Media Card about any type of celebration.
Head on over to our blog to see what the rest of the team have created and add your cards to the challenge here.

Loll's 12 Tags of Christmas

Hi there!.  I'm so happy and excited to be a guest designer this year for Loll's wonderful Twelve Tags of Christmas. I hope you've been following her event because this year, Loll is showcasing even more guest designers - 2 each day, along with one of her own. Today is Day 10. 

To make my tag, I began by creating a water-colour wash on some water-colour card stock and then, when dry, I die-cut the tag. Next I sprayed a bit of Heidi Swapp Color Shine for  a bit of a shimmer. Then I stamped some background 'Christmas' text with distress ink, for more depth. The foliage was die cut and coloured with Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers.
The Kookaburra was die cut from patterned paper and white card.
The sentiment is cut from patterned paper, because I thought the red and white looked more festive.

Have you ever heard the Aussie version of Twelve Days of Christmas? There are several different versions of kookaburras laughing, koalas cuddling, and dingos dancing etc. So many Australian animals it can get confusing ... but lots of fun too. I based my tag on one version, 'On the 1st day of Christmas, my true love sent to me .. a kookaburra in a Gum tree.' The most common version starts with an Emu up the gum tree, which I thought would look a bit strange, because everyone knows Emus' can't fly, but that shows the Australian sense of humour!  

I hope my tag looks festive, but also evokes the type of Christmas we have Down-under, due to it usually being hot!

The best part of Loll's event is that you can join in the fun and win prizes too! Here's how to play...

Make a MIXED MEDIA Christmas tag (any size, any style) and link up here.

More 'L' Letterpress Play

This is a very quick post, but I just wanted to share some more of my results from testing out my new 'L' Letterpress toy tool. It definitely is messy and I've noticed that the big plates are easier to manage, without accidents, than the very small Christmas plates. But hopefully practice will help.

So first I tried the red on watercolour paper and that looked yuck, so If I'm using red, 
it will have to be on Letterpress or thick white card stock.  
Next, I tried the Kraft, which is 300gsm and I love the possibilities!

Next I tried the teal on the watercolour paper and that looked good.
 Then I decided to try adding a bit of navy for an ombre effect and that made me HAPPY!
 I think if I try this again I'll have to use 2  acrylic blocks and 2 rollers so I don't waste ink 
and get it muddy.

So what do you think???

I'm also very relieved and happy to have received my parcel from Papertrey Ink - I'm so excited and will have to put aside some time to make Christmas goodies over the next few days!

Testing 'Letterpress'

Hi there! Just popping in to say hi! I've been busy getting ready for a market, which is happening this weekend.

I recently bought the Lifestyle Crafts (WE R Memories) Letterpress kit and I fully expected to be disappointed - I new it wouldn't be anything like what you can get in shops, because hey, they are made with professional Letterpress machines. I've been putting off using it, because I thought it would be fiddly and take me a while to work it out. However, today I watched a couple of videos and then gave it a go and I am pleasantly surprised and look forward to having more time to play!

      I apologise for the quality of the photo. I'll give you a better look when I turn them in to cards.

The Mixed Media Card Challenge #17 (FAMILY)

Hey there! It's November! Can you believe it?! A new month means a new Mixed Media Card Challenge and this month the the is 'FAMILY'.

I began with one of my stash of Geliplate backgrounds, made with acrylic paint,  bubble wrap and stencils on core board.
I then used some distress ink  to stamp some script to create a bit more depth. I used alphabet stamps and a Winnie & Walter stamp to create the sentiment and embossed it to make it stand out more. The bird is from Stamplorations (The Bees Knees) and was stamped on black card, white embossed and fussy cut. To finish of I used a Copic Outline pen to create a border on the panel and a frame for the word 'family'. Then it was mounted on a white card.
When I'd finished, I realised I'd forgotten the arrows, but in a way the leaf outlines look a bit like arrows!
 

Now it's your turn. I hope you will join in the fun - you can enter the challenge here and get lots more inspiration from the design team.