ATC #1

This is a rubberstamped ATC I made for a swap. It's a monochromatic piece, stamped using Papermania's birdsong collection. Other than the crackled bird, there are no other finishes. I've never really delved into rubberstamping, but I thought I'd try the masking technique for this.

This design is inspired by the monochromatic theme and the photo inspiration over at The Shabby Tea Room. There's an option of one colour and a neutral, but I'm sticking to browns only. 

It's also playing along with the anything goes - optional kraft challenge at Crafts and Me, and the masking challenge at Delightful Challenges.

SIL challenge week 7

It's the last challenge from the second anniversary blog hop over at Scrap-It-Lah. Amelia's challenge is to create a mini album from packaging. I was of two minds whether to play along. The stack of loose photos finally won, and I made a last-minute dash to meet the deadline...

Never having made an album before, I thought it would be good to have just a few pages. After browsing a few mags, the one thing that stuck with me was that there should be a cohesive feature repeated throughout the album. So armed with that, and  a few packaging pieces, this is what I came up with.

I didn't think any of the packaging was pretty. Being blister packs, they have uneven torn surfaces. So they're either treated with paint or covered with paper. Here are the rest of the pages. There's an initial highlighted for each child. I thought that was a fun thing to do.

 

 

I had a really messy time with this. I think I overdid it a bit, though! LOL! A bit stressful as I left it so late, but still enjoyable.

daisy & dandelion again

This is another daisy & dandelion creation. The design is based on a sketch over at Sketch N Stash. It's been ages since I used the leaves die, so that's my neglected stash.

Again, this project is playing along with the anything goes challenges over at Stamp Something and A Spoonfull of Sugar.

daisy & dandelion deco

This is the cover for a daisy & dandelion deco I made for a swap. The design is based on a sketch over at 365 days. They had a sketchy week, and this was from day 73. The image is coloured with distress inks and highlighted with stickles.

This project is also entering anything goes challenges at Stamp Something and A Spoonfull of Sugar.

ruffles and lace

Another ruffled post. LOL!

This card is based on the Saturday Sketch over at 365 Cards. I've rotated the sketch and taken a slight twist on it with the addition of a lace bow. The sentiment used is a Tim Holtz stamp. The lace ribbon is cut from a scrap piece of lace fabric which I inherited from my late grandmother. I've inked it a little to take the shine off its crisp whiteness.

I'm inspired by the beautiful creations at Simon Says Stamp and Show, and am quite pleased with my own. I'm also entering the following challenges: The Shabby Tea Room (ruffled up and inspiration photo - vanilla), Crafty Creations (anything goes), Fab 'n' Funky (buttons and bows), Cute Card Thursday (It's so Distressing), Moving Along With the Times (2Bs - button and bow!), Sew many Challenges (anything goes), Stamp Something (anything goes), CAS-ual Fridays (button and twine) and Our Creative Corner (au naturel with a twist).

ruffles and roses

There's a ruffles and photo inspiration challenge over at The Shabby Tea Room. I'm inspired by the girliness of it, and made some ribbon roses to go with the ruffles. The ruffles are created by pleating a paper doily, which I had inked the edges. Do remember to ink both the front and back of the doily though. Otherwise when it's pleated, the whites of the back will show. Then ink some more to highlight the folds.

This card was actually based on a sketch over at CardPatterns. However, by the time I finished it, the challenge already closed. Oh well!

So instead I'm playing along with Delightful Challenges (flowers), My Mum's Craft Shop (to die for), Aud Sentiments (no sentiments), Sew many Challenges (anything goes), Stamp Something (anything goes), Papertake Weekly (fancy a punch?), Crafty Creations (anything goes) and The (Paper) Trail Makers (challenge #3 create your own flowers)

best wishes tag

I love tags! I have them dangling from my handbag, my kids' bags and all over the place. It's a wonder I've never had one here.

This is a Sizzix diecut tag. I started out with chipboard, which was inked and stamped all over. I actually stamped the main image as well, but it did not come out as strongly as I wanted. Instead of restamping, I went over the image with a fine-tip glue pen. Which I then heat-embossed with glittery powder. It's an interesting effect, really textural.

The tag is finished with a sentiment (which was also distressed), ribbon and plastic flowers.

This tag is playing along with Papertake Weekly (fancy a punch? oh yes!), Creative Card Crew (May flowers), Top Tip Tuesday (flower frenzy), Tuesday Throwdown (use diecuts), Charisma Cardz (no cards allowed), Paperplay (show us your style), Crafty Catz (quote/sentiment), Allsorts (3 different stamps), Secret Crafter (dust off your stash - plastic flowers), Let's Ink It Up (embellish it), The Paper Shelter (Bling it up!), Divas by Design (Anything Goes).

SIL challenge week 6

It's week six over at Scrap-It-Lah's seven-week challenge. Jessy has prepared a easy-to-follow tutorial on how to make a folded flower. This is my card:

Somehow, I folded the flaps on the circles at a smaller angle, so I ended up with more petals. I made another set of folded circles with 6 petals but decided that I liked this one better.

As with most of my creations, I just have to distress everything in sight. I actually started out with white printed paper which I inked both sides. Vintage photo + antique linen on one side, and tattered rose on the other. More grungy =)

I topped the petals with a flower centre which was an extra from the previous challenge. Fits perfectly, yes?

The flower came out to be such a focal piece, that I had to have a plain background for it. It is with much difficulty and restraint that I held myself back from distressing the embossed piece as well!

The colours on the ribbon wrap add a festive air to the card, and helps to make the focal feature pop even more.

Thanks, Jessy, for this simple yet fabulous tutorial...

Happy Mum's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all mums out there!

It's been a rather painful day today. Inflammation in my knee and ankles make walking a bit difficult, and the worse is the one in my right wrist - my crafting arm! Aargh!

 However, I still managed to complete this card today, so that makes up for all the discomfort!

I've used a prairie fairy digi image, which I won in a card challenge earlier this year. I have not had the opportunity to use it earlier. Prairie fairy is having a challenge over at their blog, so I'm playing along with them. I've coloured the image with markers, and blinged up the tutu top with crystal stickles.

This card is based on a sketch over at Sketch Saturday. I've used two diy papers for this. One is the stamped butterflies for the background and the other is a marbled piece. Made right in my own front yard!

I'm also entering the following challenges:

Cute Card Thursday - Challenge 163 I Like Chocolate a lot! (Yes, I do! =))
365 Cards - Day 66 DIY Patterned Paper
Paperplay Challenges - Week 18 Show Us Your Style
Totally PaperCrafts - Challenge #65 A Recipe
Stamp Something - May Digi Day
Secret Crafter - Challenge #133 Dust Off Your Stash (old butterfly stamp)
Pollycraft - Challenge #91 Anything Goes
Papertake Weekly - Anything Goes
Top Tip Tuesday - #32 open Challenge
The Paper Shelter - Challenge #12 Bling It Up!
The Paper Variety - Let's Get Messy!
Fab-n-Funky - Put Those Papers Away!
Divas by Design - Anything Goes!
My Mums Craft Shop - Challenge 4 Cute & Girly

of eyes and swirls

My youngest recently discovered Purble Place. So whenever possible, he'll push me off my chair so he could have a go at "eyes". Problem is, he wants someone to sit with him while he plays, or he'll go wandering to other sites and pages. Which has resulted in a loss of concentration for me. I think it rather shows here...

This card is based on the sketch from sketch Saturday. The image is a magazine freebie, which I've coloured with DI. It's hard to see, but there's added glitter to the tail end, stars and the ribbon on the gift.
I'm also playing along with these other challenges:
Cupcake Craft Challenges - something beginning with "c" (cat)
Papertake Weekly - anything goes
Top Tip Tuesday - #32 open challenge
The Paper Shelter - challenge #12 Bling it Up!
Crafts and Me - #33 swirls
Totally papercrafts - glitter
Let's Ink It Up - Embellish It

altered canvas

Scrap-It-Lah is having its Second Anniversary Blog Hop, now into week 5. You can get details here. It's an altered canvas challenge, something new to try, and I came up with this:

Seeing it's a new thing, and given the short time frame, I decided to stick to my oft-used monochromatic scheme. That way, it would also serve as a backdrop to make the photos pop. I love the different expressions on these photos, and felt they deserve something special.

The canvas is first prepped with gesso. Then I tried out Tim Holtz's alcohol ink agate technique. I only did the edges and coloured the middle portion sparingly. It turned out differently though, probably due to porosity. 

 

 

Even though it's basically a boy canvas, the hues allow me to use blooms without it appearing feminine. I spent quite a bit of time experimenting with different flower layering. I'm quite happy with the final outcome. So you'd probably see more of these flowers in my next layouts.

 

Using alcohol inks again, I coloured a piece of transparency, upon which I framed the main photo with inked chipboard. The monogram is highlighted with stickles and crackle accent.

I've had quite a bit of fun (a lot, actually) getting messy with this. Would probably make similar layouts for my other kids as well. But that's some other story...