pretty christmas gals

More vintage-y Christmas goodness!

~ Ü ~

 This is a set of 4 which I made using images from a collage by magic moonlight.

They are playing at Cute Card Thursday, Christmas Inspirations, addicted-to-stamps, Little Claire's, ABC Christmas Challenge, The Pink Elephant, Lollipop Crafts, Pollycraft Monday Challenge, Christmas Cards All Year 'Round and Simon Says Stamp.

All four are very similar, so one explains all. 

The sketch is from Cute Card Thursday. The image has been inked, distressed and stitched to a mat, which has also been treated to the same. Embellies are "Joy" die from sizzix, pearl pen from Viva Decor, and snowflakes from my stash. The ribbon is layered upon an MS border punch strip. Background paper is coloured kraft wrapping paper.

Again, I am making it nearly flat for easy mailing.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

christmas cats

A vintage-y Christmas card featuring cats. 

~ Ü ~

This card uses Natalie's sketch from Pink {INK} sketch challenges. 

Also playing at jingle belles, Little Claire's, Dream Valley Challenges, ABC Christmas challenge, Simon says Stamp, The Pink Elephant, Cards for Men and Christmas Card challenge week #48.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~ 

die cut christmas

Time to dust off some of my christmas dies

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Using a Papercraft Star sketch this time round.

One of my favourite Chrissy dies from Sizzix. Paper-pieced using scraps, lightly inked and topped with gloss gel.

A Spellbinders die for a label, sentiment is Anita's peel off. The background paper is from The Paper Shelter, and embossing folder from Papermania.

There is some dimension, yet flat enough to mail easily. 

This card is also playing at

Christmas Inspirations, Christmas Cards All Year 'Round, Crimbo Crackers, Little Claire's, Charisma Cardz, Moving Along with the Times and Card Makin Mamas.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

boys & their toys

I love playing with vintage prints, and here's another

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It's a set of 3 ATCs featuring vintage boys. A combo of the vintage challenge at ATC Challenges and the set-of-3 ATC challenge at Wicked Wednesday.

Lots of distressing & inking going on here. To keep to the masculine theme, I substituted embossed kraft paper for ribbon to create the strip at the base. The letters are sizzix die cuts. They are simply finished with machine stitching, corner peel offs and gel dots.

Also playing at Moving Along with the Times, Raise the Bar, Do More with Less and Simon Says . . . Anything Goes.

 Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

trick or treat

A brighter Halloween creation for today . . .

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Make My Monday has a black & orange autumnal challenge, with an optional halloween extra. Stampin' Royalty has spooky/creepy/halloween theme and Top Tip Tuesday says Trick or Treat.

So I'm linking up to all three with this

Tip #1 -  Don't limit yourself to one image. If two or more images can tell a story, then by all means use them!

Tip #2 - I've used gloss gel for the eyes, and let it dry. Then applied the crackle paint on the bat, including the eyes. Spooky, eh!

The fence is corrugated cardboard. It has been liberally inked, and then coated with crackle paint.

Tip #3 - I find that a lot of embossing folders are designed to American standards and do not match A4 size. So, instead of shortening the card, I ripped the embossed piece through the middle. That way, I can get even edges on all four sides (and more black!). To fill the gap, I drew spider webs with a marker, and ran gloss gel over the lines. I also added black glitter to give the embossed piece more definition.

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Ü ~

vintage girl

Good morning . . . I hope it's bright and sunny today!

~ Ü ~

 The (paper) Trail makers is having their last challenge this month, which is to incorporate cardboard into your creation. I'm not being very creative in its use here, I'm afraid. Just a little tearing and then some stamping & inking. The layout is based on the CPS 241 sketch. Quite a simple card, really, with several little details. It's also linking up with the anything goes challenges over at Simon Says Stamp, The Paper Shelter & Charisma Cardz; Debbie's vintage photo challenge at Do More with Less, and the Fabulous Faces challenge at Our Creative Corner.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

boo again

Back again with another ATC going boo

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I just realised that I have breached a rule at Wicked Wednesday, so I'm linking up this ATC there and at Fun with ATCs. 

I usually make these in sets of two. This time featuring a little shrinky ghost at the graveyard. For someone who does not celebrate halloween, it's a wonder how much related stuff I have!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

boo atc

Just a wee little ATC but . . .

entering a whole host of halloween themed challenges at Wicked Wednesday Weekly ATC Challenges, Papercraft Star, Hooked on Craft, If the Shoe Fits . . . Scrap It!, The Crazy Challenge, Creative Card Crew, Fun with ATCs, The ABC Challenge, Delightful Challenges, Divas by Design, Inky Impressions, Crafting for All Seasons, Stampin' for the Weekend, Allsorts, Addicted to Stamps and Dream Valley Challenges.

Also playing at Try It On Tuesday (Taking to The Skies), Paperplay (use black), The Stamp Man (Night Time Challenge) and Raise the Bar (Orange & Black).

supplies: diecuts from Cuttlebug, letters from Sizzix, stamps from Tim Holtz, embossing folder from Sizzix, vintage photo distress inks, crackle paint, Viva Decor gloss gel

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

autumn splendour

Another autumn offering

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Challenges

CLP Challenge CLP-41

 Deep Ocean challenge #10

Fab 'n' Funky challenge #95 

Lollipop Crafts challenge #53 

Pollycraft Monday challenge #115

The Paper Shelter challenge no. 36
If the Shoe Fits . . . Scrap It! FF#94

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

blue + green tilda

 It's been awhile since I brought Tilda out for some air, so here she is today
 ~ Ü ~

 Generally based on the sketch at Sunday Sketch & Stamp, I've used the colours from Magnolia-licious Challenge, which are blue, green & white/clear. There is a hint of pink in the background, so I'm also linking up to Crafts & Me Challenge #57.

Tilda has been coloured with coloured pencils and aqua brush. Her frame and brickwall she sits on has been embossed, so it fits challenge #42 at Charisma Cardz. There is also plenty of layering, so I'm linking up with Top Tip Tuesday.
Today's tip is a thrifty one. When you're misting smaller pieces or die cuts, line the surface with white paper. And move the pieces around if you're misting more than once. This backing sheet makes a great background for other projects. And you can even blend on distress inks to tweak the colour for a unique shimmery background.

I've added this pretty butterfly for balance & added interest, so it now plays at Flutter by Wednesday #176. Other more general challenges include Lollipop Crafts (#53 no sentiments), Pollycraft Monday Challenge (115 girls, girls, girls), and the anything goes challenges at Shelly's Images TTT & KB Cute Monday.

Thanks for stopping by!

 ~ Ü ~

owl bag

Something a little different today . . .

~ Ü ~

We'll be going off for a few days soon, and we always need baggies for packing little stuff. So, I decided to make a cute one just for fun. I'll be entering this for the challenges over at Make My Monday (autumn - flora & fauna inchies), Fashionable Stamping Challenges (anything but a card), Kaboodle Doodles (squares/inchies), Charisma Cardz (in stitches) and CES Challenge Blog (Forever Autumn).

The stamping leaves much to be desired, but what's done is done. I'll need to redeem myself  when I finally get all the cotton stuffing out of my head. I used several shades of brown for the leaves and made the inchies from felt. It is then layered onto a darker piece of felt, and stitched in place.

The cute little owl is a Dustin Pike freebie. I traced the image and stitched the outline, and added a branch for it to sit on. I actually had to google autumn animals, and owls appeared a number of times.

Thanks for stopping by!
~ Ü ~

naughty . . . but nice

Sharing another ATC crisp from the oven

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Unfortunately, I am having a spinner of a headache right now. I have my head leaning to one side as I type this. I'm sure my neck will suffer later, but at least I see only one screen in front of me, not several around me. 

So just a quickie . . .

I just came across a new ATC challenge blog and could not resist having a go. All About You is the theme of the first challenge over at Wicked Wednesday Weekly ATC Challenge Blog. I really am a nice person, but I also love a bit of leg-pulling, and enjoy a good joke.

~ Ü ~

I'm using my favourite colours here, as well as the ever-present distressing, inking and die cuts. The cute stamps are from smirk, and the medallion from Viva Decor. More favourites - stitching, ribbon, dots and some doodling. The small canvas is perfect for using up my scraps as I have tons of them.

Also linking up with the girlie theme at ATC Challenges, Moving Along With the Times (ATC), Flutter by Wednesdays (scraps) and The Crafty Pad (Monochromatic).

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

mushroom atc

I have two mushroom atcs to show this morning. 

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I made two for a swap and decided to have them both similar with slight variations. The mushroom stamp is from buzzcraft, and they are embossed in ranger ep. I had quite a bit of issues with that particular ep. They actually get blown away in chunks by the heat tool! No idea why. I also cannot explain why the pictures turn out so differently. They were both taken at the same time, same lighting, same location . . .

Anyway, the base is sprayed with mists, then distress inks layered on. They are then embossed on the left with sizzix folders, and highlighted with more DIs, and distressed edges. The mushrooms are coloured with distress inks with an aqua brush. The colours used are antique linen, forest moss, stormy sky, fired brick & vintage photo. To finish, I added coordinating coloured gems and Viva Decor gel dots.

Moving Along With the Times has an ATC challenge, so I'm linking up there. ATC Challenges has a girlie theme (or anything goes) going, so I'm playing there as well. My previous ATC was not well-received, so I hope these get a better reaction. There are still a few more days to play, so I might have a go at a girlie one if I can fit it in.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

autumn leaves

I have an autumn zigzag fold card to show today. I recently got myself this cute little digi image from The Paper Shelter. I've used the colours of autumn, the warm shades anyway.

~ Ü ~

The base papers are embossed with a cuttlebug folder, and highlighted with antique linen & vintage photo DIs, and burnt sienna chalk ink. The side & bottom panels are cut from autumn print scraps. The border punch is from xcut.

She has been coloured with coloured pencils and an aquabrush, with little touches using markers.

The sentiment is computer-generated.

 The punched leaf has been highlighted with gloss gel, which has also been used to create the swirly dots on the label and corners.

The top banner is made from leaf sequins, hung from gold twine. The corners are cuttlebug.

Challenges

CES Challenge #58 Forever Autumn

Deep Ocean Challenge #10 Fall Colours

Delightful Challenges - Colours of Fall

Fab'n'Funky Challenge #94 Crazy for Colour

Fussy and Fancy Fall or Halloween Challenge!

Kaboodle Doodle challenge #88 - Let's See Those Leaves!

Papercraft Star Challenge 66 - photo inspiration & a Leaf!!

Scrapbook Sisters Card Challenge 56 - Anything Goes

Stampin' for the Weekend challenge 18 - Colours of Autumn

The Pink Elephant TPE120 - inspiration challenge!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

spooky autumn tree

Hi again! 

Make My Monday is having an autumn month, and this week, it's trees. Well, I only have one full tree stamp, but it's made up of flowers and birds, so using that for autumn is pushing it a wee bit too far.

 ~ Ü ~

What I do have is an autumn tree in a quickutz embossing folder. So using that, some supporting stamps from TH and a vintage silhoutte printout, I created this

A spooky autumn night scene . . .

The bat & leaves silhouette has been treated with gloss gel and the moon with crackle accent.  The background is spritzed with glimmer mists and given a good dose of antique linen & fired brick DI, with vintage photo for highlights.

Do you know what else is spooky? Cupcake Craft Challenges and Everybody-Art-Challenge both have the same challenge number and theme (#163 - Halloween)! It must be a favourite theme as it's also being hosted by Simon Says Stamp and Challenge up your Life. So this little spooky tree is branching out all over those places. To round off, I'm also linking up with Papercraft Star Challenge 66 - include a leaf!

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

dance tag

I made this tag because I like the image

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Ok, so I also signed up for a tag deco swap. I thought of using the dress tag I made earlier, but decided it was too elaborate and probably would not survive the many mailings it will be expected to endure.

Basically black & white, it was given my standard vintage-y treatment of distressing, inking & stitches. Then I added a splash of orange just for fun. I was not sure how it would go, but overall, I like it.

I enjoyed adding a banner to a previous project, so I decided to add one here, too. And a pleated paper doily to finish with a little curtsy. 

A fun little piece playing at these challenges

Crafts & Me Challenge #56 orange

Charisma Cardz Challenge #41 in stitches

PaperCrafting Journey Challenge 21 colour challenge

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

sewing deco

 Hi, sharing a deco today. The theme is sewing, and this is my take

The layout is based on Sketch 136 from Card Patterns. The background is stitched paper patchwork. The image is also stitched. 

Just figured out how to mix stitches.

~ Ü ~

Delightful Challenges says make it dimensional, and I've got a cotton reel. Divas by Design would like to see buttons, and I have four. The (paper) Trail Makers wants ten of something, and I've got ten little gel dots. They are transparent, so I hope you can find them. The last three are inserted in the lace, making little eyes.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

vintage in coral & red

Today, I am playing with colours from Papercraft Star. I chose to combine coral & red. Not the usual colours I play with, so it's a bit of a challenge. I'm using the sketch from Sketch Saturday as a base.

It's a vintage card (yes, another one!), so I'm linking up with The Crafty Pad. And since I've not used any design papers, I'm also linking up with Ladybug Crafts Ink TLT challenge. I'm seeing a lot of reds here so I can link up with CES challenge blog.

Stamps from Viva Decor, flower punch from Dovecraft, embossing folder from Papermania and dies from Sizzix (leaf) and cuttlebug (flowers & sentiment). Liquid pearls from Ranger & Paper Pen from Viva Decor

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

girl in pink

Hi again!

It's still October and I have another pink card to show.

~ Ü ~

This card is using the Top Tip #54 sketch from Top Tip Tuesday (sorry, no tip today). Basically pink, it is playing along with the pink challenges over at The Crazy Challenge (CC #87), Incy Wincy Design (challenge #114), My Sheri Crafts (challenge #70) and  Dare to be Sassy Thursday #93. I've added touches of green to create affinity with the green hat in the vintage print. And touches of brown, for a more vintage feel.

The base is stamped with Viva Decor stamps, with a strip of pink vintage print (free download from Cardmaking & Papercrafts), and pink lacy border using a Fiskars punch. All distressed and edged with tattered rose DI, and stitched.

The main image is framed by a cluster of flowers, butterfly and flourish atop lace and pink satin ribbon. The flourish is a sizzix die cut in kraft, which I have inked in pink, and edged in vintage photo DI. The flowers & leaves are a mix of dies and punches.

This cheery lynn butterfly die cut has been inked, coated with pearl pen and topped with a flower gem.

Other challenges

Cards und More challenge #38 - lace & buttons

Truly Scrumptious challenge 67 - distressing

The Crafty Pad challenge #142 - vintage

Flutter by Wednesday #174 - open

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

dog atc

Just a simple ATC today. Playing along with the "what little boys are made of" challenge over at ATC challenges.

The stamp is from Daisy & Dandelion. I have pieced and layered several parts. The flower is highlighted with a white gel pen, and gold liquid pearl centre. The nose also has a pearl-y job done. The backgound is painted and finished with stitching , inking, distressing and liquid pearls.

Also linking up with One Stop Craft Challenges - Anything Goes and Truly Scrumptious - distressing.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~

dress tag

Hi! Have inspiration, must create!

~ Ü ~

I have a little tag to share today. Well, not so little . . . The sizzix TH tag die is rather huge, actually. It was a bit of a shocker when it arrived. On the up side, there's plenty of room to play in.

One of the places I'm playing at is Flourishes: The Beauty of a Technique. The tag background is one of my new favourite techniques. Emboss text print paper and swipe with ink. The pieces can either be torn, then embossed; or do a whole piece first, then tear. Adhere the torn pieces any old way you like. I've used several folders for these, but inked with the same colours (vintage photo, antique linen & walnut stain DIs). The background is finished with layerings of diamond print kraft paper, and grosgrain ribbon.

This tag uses the colours from PDCC - wine, smudge, leather & parchment. I love the combination, so am having a second cuppa.

 

I'm using a dressform as the focus of this creation. The grey chipboard has been inked in walnut stain DI and charcoal chalk ink. The "dress" is a piece of scrap curtain fabric, which I've gathered at the (very high!) waist. It is finished with some satin ribbon and and a vintage button.

 

The dress has such a lot of volume . . . I wonder if it qualifies for the 3D challenge at City Crafter Challenge Blog.

I've added an inked chipboard spellbinders fancy tag, and topped it with buttons. There are more little stitch-y touches along the sides and bottom.

Also linking up with these challenges

Hooked on Craft Challenge 9 - Anything but a Card

Crafty Cardmakers challenge #53- anything goes

Craft Your Days Away Challenge #30 - Tag It!

Papertake Weekly Challenge - anything goes

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Ü ~