Fireworks Cityscape!

Over at Less is More it is the 300th week of their fabulous challenge! Congratulations!  That really calls for a celebration!  I don't join in as much as I would like but had to join in this week.

This really was a quick card to make - I actually made two cause they will be suitable for many occasions.  I cut the fabulous Clearly Besotted Cityscape die out of a scrap of black card, glued it to the A6 card base then dotted a yellow Promarker through the windows for light.  I forgot this would show on the reverse of the card but will cover with an insert so no problem!  The stamp is by Crealies and is Bits and Pieces No. 29 and I think it looked just liked fireworks.  I stamped using a very old set of waterbased markers so I could get separate colours on each part.  The sentiment is from an awesome clear stamp set called Party Time by Stamplorations.  Stickles were added to the fireworks and to the card base for sparkle.  See, very simple!

I would like to enter the following Challenges:

Less is More - Celebrations and Festivals
Craft Barn - Fireworks
Stamplorations CAS Challenge - Anything CAS with optional twist of Purple - My largest firework is purple! Yay!

All these are fabulous challenges.  I love challenges cause they are so inspiring!  They certainly help crafters block!  Thank you to all you wonderful Challenge blogs out there, we really appreciate you!

Thank you so much for visiting me - I love it when you do and love your comments too!

Take care. Christine xxx

Freya's Third Birthday Card

It was my eldest Granddaughter's 3rd birthday last week and here is the card I made for her.  She is a huge Frozen fan and luckily I had found, on line, a card making Frozen set half price which I actually have bought for her so she can craft with her Mum.  I borrowed the stamp set included for the main image, I don't think she will mind!  Apparently she loved the card which I was very pleased about!

I stamped Elsa in black Versafine and embossed with clear powder and then stamped the image again on a sheet of copier paper and cut out the image which I then removed.  I placed the apperture I had cut over the image and stamped the snowflakes on the dress.  I cannot remember what ink I used, sorry.  The image was then coloured with Promarkers and I cut it out using the gorgeous Marianne die No. LR0112 using my Grand Calibur die cutting machine, then inked through the die with a matching Distress Ink.  The floral backing papers I used are from Wild Orchid Crafts but I don't know the name of the set and I covered the card base with the blue sheet and then used the pink sheet for the next layer.  I glued the main image down and added the '3' which I die cut with a Cuttlebug (I don't know the name of the set) die (using my Cuttlebug) from the same paper as the backing paper along with three sequins and the three birds. The birds are cut using Frantic Stamper die set, Small Birds, I drew little branches for the bottom two birds to sit on just to ground them.  The sentiment is from a Lili of the Valley clear fairy sentiment set and I inked it and cut it out.  Elsa's dress is Wink of Stella'd as is the sentiment.  I also added silver sparkle pen to the centres of the snowflakes on her dress.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Pixie's Snippets Playground - use Snippets - the sentiment, birds and main die cut were all left over snippets of card.
Cuttlebug Mania - Tic Tac Toe  - I have used the line Floral (the papers are tiny florals), Die-cuts and Number.  I have not entered this challenge before and I think I will be entering it a lot more!  I always use a manual die cutting machine which is what the challenge is all about!

Thank you so much for visiting me, I really appreciate it!  Take care.  Christine xxx

Fireworks Grid!

Hello!  Thank you for stopping by.  Sorry I haven't been around for a couple of weeks, Today's card is bright and colourful which is more than can be said for today's weather which was very dull indeed!

I started off with a piece of watercolour card cut to be a little bit larger that the Cover a Card stamp, Fireworks, by Impression Obsession. I used an anti static bag over the piece of card then stamped with black Versafine using my Misti so it could be stamped a couple of times to get a clear image on the textured watercolour paper.  I then heat embossed with clear powder.  The whole image was spritzed liberally with water and also Abominable Snowman Glimmer Mist then I dropped in Picked Raspberry, Salty Ocean and Mowed Lawn Distress re-inker ink using each colour for a different firework. I used Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink to fill in the gaps.  When dry, I cut the piece into equal sized squares, edged each one with a black Promarker, and then decided to mix them up before adding them to my 7 inch square card base.  I preferred the more random look of the mixed up picture for this particular card.  I added some tiny die cut stars (Mama Elephant) where the centres of the fireworks show then left it at that.  I was going to add a sentiment but decided against it as I like the colours too much to cover them up!

I would like to enter the following challenges:

PaperArtsy - Squares and Grids  (I was inspired by many of the fab samples).
Craft Barn - Fireworks
Bizzy Becs - Anything Goes

All of these are fabulous blogs and I get so much inspiration from them!

Thank you so much for visiting me, I am so grateful!  I will be round to visit you in the next few days. Take care and have a lovely weekend. Christine xxx

Autumn Wildlife

Hello again!  I have posted three times this week, more than normal, I am quite pleased with myself! I wonder if I can keep it up?  This is the birthday card I made for my wonderful sister, Lilian.

I started by stamping the mushrooms and squirrel from IndigoBlu stamp set Nature 2 in black Versafine embossed with clear powder then I painted with Pebeo masking fluid and left to dry. While it was drying, I inked a piece of card with Distress Inks to match my leaves which were left over from these cards. Then I stencilled the words with Black Soot Distress Ink through part of a stencil from Splodgeaway. I cut the sentiment up and edged with a black Promarker.

Once the masking fluid was dry, I watercoloured the background with Peacock Feathers and Peeled Paint Distress Inks.  I dabbed the blue with kitchen roll to give the appearance of subtle clouds.  I then removed the masking fluid with my finger (making sure my finger was free of any ink first).  Distress Inks were again used to paint the mushrooms and squirrel but I forgot to note down the colours I used, I am so sorry!  I attached the panel to a brown card base to go with the autumnal theme then glued the leaves around panel.  I love how different they look to the previous cards I made with them (see the link above).  I drew some white spots on the mushrooms with a white pen then added glossy accents to them and the squirrel's eye.  Popped the sentiment in the sky and it was done!

I would like to enter the following challenges:

IndigoBlu - Autumn Wildlife
PaperArtsy - Use Die Cuts - The lovely leaf jar inspired me!
Penny Black and More - Autumn
Stamping Sensations - Autumn

These are all absolutely awesome blog challenges, I love them!

Thank you so much for visiting me, I appreciate it so much! Take care. Christine xxx

More Butterflies!

More butterflies, Yay!  I love butterflies and have started joining in with Mrs A's Butterfly Challenge again and last time I entered, I won!  My prize was a wonderful selection of butterfly themed gorgeousness - thank you so much Mrs A!

Here is the card for this challenge.  I made this especially for my fabulous sister-in-law, Margery, for her very special birthday!

The checkered background is embossed using a Sue Wilson embossing folder - its the first time I have used it and I have had it for a long time!  The three large butterflies are cut with the butterfly die Rhone Butterfly Wings by Memory Box with the small ones cut using a Spellbinders die.  The label is punched with a Stamping Up punch and the numbers with a Cuttlebug die.  I added the ribbon and bow to the cyan background before I glued it to the white card base.  The label is popped up on double sided foam for extra dimension and for sparkle, the butterflies are all painted with clear Wink of Stella. This is a card with no stamping which is very rare for me!  I was pleased with how it turned out, especially the bow as I am not very good at them!
I would like to enter the following challenges:

Butterfly Challenge - Checkered and/or Cyan  (I managed both!)
Pixie's Snippets Playground - use snippets - Butterflies, Tag and numbers are all from snippets of leftover card.
Bizzy Bec's - Anything goes.

Brilliant challenges!  Pixies Snippets has hit 250 this time, how cool is that!

Thank you sooooo much for visiting me!  I am so happy that you did!
Take care, Christine xxx

Fairy Sparkles

Hello all!  I have a fairy card today - I love fairies and haven't made anything with them for a while so decided it was time!

I used one of my absolute favourite techniques for the background.  I applied Shaded Lilac, Dusty Concord, Peacock Feathers and Mermaid Lagoon Distess Inks lightly to an acrylic block.  Spritzed with a little bit of water then pressed the block onto a piece of watercolour card, gently rocked it a bit, then removed block and dried with a heat gun. The gorgeous fairy stamp, which was free with a magazine, was stamped in black Versafine using my Misti as it needed repeated stamping to get a perfect impression as its watercolour card which is textured.  The sentiment is from Lili of the Valley and I chose it because it had a similar swirl to the main image.  The turquoise mat is a piece of fabulous glitter paper then I popped it onto base card and added some star sequins for even more sparkle!

Here is another card I made which is virtually the same.  Its the same colours but I added more water so it gives a rougher edge where the ink bled more and the colours were used the other way up.  Also the main panel is smaller so the glitter mat is a little wider.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

That's Crafty - All of a Sparkle
Bizzy Becs - Anything Goes


These are fabulous blogs!  Thank you so much for visiting me, I really appreciate it!  Take care. Christine xxx

Autumn Leaves

I have an autumnal card for you today and it certainly is beginning to feel like autumn here in Bournemouth!  There is definitely a chill in the air now.  I love the colours that emerge this time of year as the leaves change and that is what I tried to achieve with my card.

I used the inlaid die cut technique.  I started with a couple of  pieces of card from my leftover stash that were already inked.  The colours were very autumnal.  I die cut the leaves using an awesome die set by Impression Obsession that Darnell kindly sent me as a pressi!  Thank you so much Darnell! Once cut, I then added some extra Distress Inks to bring out the colour that was already there.  I was going to just stick the leaves onto the black panel but then decided to inlay them instead so I diecut the leaf shapes into the panel then glued it to the card base and inlaid the inked leaves into the panel.  I love the look this gives.  The leaves are such gorgeous shapes!  I chose not to add a sentiment as I didn't want to cover up any of the leaves and the bonus is, I can use the card for any occasion!

I was left with some black leaves so I made this card too!

I quickly inked a background, its not my best job!  Die cut the leaves and inlaid the black leaves this time.  As its not so vibrant as the first card, I sprayed the whole thing with glimmer mist to add a little 'something'.  I prefer the first one but I quite like the second one too.  I also now have more coloured leaves left to use on another project!  I am sure I will be making some more autumnal cards!

I would like to enter the following the challenges:

PaperArtsy - Die Cuts - One of the fab DT posts is a jar where a leaf mask has been stencilled around to create a wonderful decorative piece - when I saw that, I just had to use leaves on my project!
Pixie's Snippets Playground - use snippets - my leaves were from snippets of card.

Both are awesome challenges - definitely worth a peek!

Thank you so much for visiting me!  I appreciate it more than you know!  Take care.  Christine xxx