Jingle your own bells

Second post today but I wanted to share this second card that I started on the weekend in Debi's class at Country Lane Scrapbooking.

This card uses Stampotique and Dylusions stamps for an unusual card. The background paper was created with Dylusions spray ink and some unknown snowflake stamps - super simple to create! The image is coloured with Tombow markers and Stickles glitter glue. The stripes at top & bottom are some washi-type tape from Michaels. I love the non-traditional colours and image coupled with the traditional snowflakes in the background. I also LOVE the sentiment - haven't we all had one of those days?


Challenges:

Poisoned Peas Please - walking dead
Forever Night - anything goes
Sparkle & Glitter - twisted holidaze

Something a little different - napkin art

Last weekend I took another wonderful class with Debi at Country Lane Scrapbooking. I swear Debi must spend most of her time just thinking up ideas for different ways to use materials and products because she continually amazes me with her creativity. This time she had us use a napkin (yes, a napkin) as our card base and then embellish from there.

Don't let the traditional colours fool you - this ain't your mama's Christmas card!

The napkin we started with was quite adorable but I'm thrilled with the finished, more interesting product. After removing all of the extra layers from the napkin, it was adhered to a piece of cardstock (I used a brayer to get it really smooth). To alter the design, I added a real button on the belt, some glitter on the snowflakes and pompom and, best of all, a new face. The face is part of a Stampotique stamp ("Clover") and it adds just the right touch of freaky. The final touch was the addition of a Stampotique Mini Ornament in the bird's beak. I'm sure many will disagree but this is just my favourite Christmas card so far this year! But who to give it to????

Challenges:
Christmas Cards All Year Round - card with santa
Crafty Catz - recycle (napkin & the button came from a shirt)
Dream Valley Challenges - non-traditional Christmas
Fab 'n Funky - non-traditional Christmas
365 Cards - pick a pattern: Stripes
Poisoned Peas Please - walking dead (tell me this doesn't look like a zombie santa!)
Forever Night - anything goes
Sparkle & Glitter - twisted holidaze

Twisted Trick or Treat

UPDATE:  My card was chosen as one of the Top 3 at Forever Night! I'm just thrilled to be included among such wonderfully creative & creepy cards.

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I'm hoping that my BFF Jacqui is too busy to check any blogs but if not, Jacqui, please stop looking now!

OK, so today I'm sharing the Halloween card that I created for Jacqui and normally I'd wait until it arrived before sharing it on my blog but there are so many challenges right now with Halloween for a theme and I just love entering challenges, so ...

 

Sorry about the picture being a bit blurry but honestly, it doesn't really hurt the look of the card (lol). The card front started as a tag (made a couple of weeks ago in a class at Country Lane). I trimmed the top and then added a couple layers of patterned paper (Basic Grey). The final - and my favourite - touch is the netting wrapped and tied along the top. The net is actually recycled from a Halloween treat bag! I just love the ragged look of the knot. In case you didn't see the first post, the images on the tag are Stampotique and Tim Holtz and the background was created using Dylusions sprays.

 

Challenges:

2 Sisters - Halloween

ATC's and Cards With Attitude - Halloween

Card Makin' Mamas - Halloween

Come and Get It - Halloween

Crafty Calendar - All things spooky w/ optional recycling

Craftymess Challenge - Halloween

Fashionable Stamping - Halloween

Forever Night - Anything goes / picture inspiration (I think my girl has as much attitude! lol)

Loves Rubber Stamps - Get your spook on it's Halloween

My Sheri Crafts - Halloween

Paper Playtime - Boo

Party Time Tuesdays - Trick or Treat

Pile It On - Any holiday

Pink Elephant - Halloween

Sentimental Sundays - Halloween

Sweet Stampin' - Halloween

Top Tip Tuesday - Halloween

Tuesday Throwdown - Halloween



Inky Halloween fun

I have been having such fun attending classes at Country Lane lately. I've now taken 4 classes, all with the amazing Debi, and I so wish there were more I could fit in. The latest class was Halloween Fun and I'm just thrilled with how each turned out. Debi teaches techniques, not card kits, so even though we had her examples to work from, every card in the class turned out a bit different.

These first 2 cards involved creating our own backgrounds using distress inks and stamps. I still can't believe these started as blank white pieces of paper! I particularly love the second card with the 3D tree and creepy bunny. The main stamps are Stampotique and the background stamps are mostly Tim Holtz. The images are coloured with Copic markers. I'm not sure who makes the die cuts for the tree and fence - if I come across them in my travels I'll add later. I love the technique for the first card where we covered the initial stamps (the tree & fence) with masking medium and then created the background. Once the background was finished, I just rubbed off the masking medium - sure easier than trying to cut out these detailed stamps!

This card was incredibly simple. It started with a napkin (yes, a napkin) which we then embellished. I chose to colour the pumpkin eyes/mouths and add a popped-up/cut out head from a Stampotique stamp. Once home I also added a couple layers of black grass using a Martha Stewart border punch. Ever since this class, I've been looking at napkins with a whole different eye!

 And this last project is a fun tag that started with a sprayed background (Dylusions ink) that we then built up for interest. I chose spiderweb and spider stamps along with a Stampotique girl (stamped separately, cut out and glued) and a Tim Holtz apothecary label.

So, aren't these some fun techniques and cards? I've already used the ink background idea for a card I'm making for my niece. And did I mention that I've been noticing napkins a lot more lately? If you like any of these ideas then drop by Debi's blog - she promises to post pictures and instructions!

Challenges:
Catered Crop - Halloween
Corrosive Challenges - Monsters & villians
No Matter Which Challenges - Halloween colours
That Craft Place - Make your own background
Crafty Calendar - All things spooky
Forever Night - Anything but a card
Moving Along With the Times - In the dark
Craft Room Challenge - Alter it (I altered the napkin)
Partytime Tuesdays - Frightfully scary

Oh happy day

Here is another card that started out with the Bo Bunny "Cambridge" card kit that I mentioned in an earlier post. I got a great deal on the card kit but it's been sitting in my stash for way too long waiting for me to actually do something! I've also had this Stampotique stamp that hasn't seen ink so I decided to merge the two by using the card kit design and recommended papers but switching out the suggested chipboard piece (which looked like a shield or coat of arms) for the Stampotique image which is coloured with Copic markers. The sentiment is a Bo Bunny rub-on and honestly, it's just perfect for this stamp - can you hear the sarcasm in her voice?

I'll be donating this card to Send A Smile 4 Kids (which provides handmade greeting cards to children ages 0-19 who are hospitalized). I'm hoping there will be a teenager who will appreciate the attitude.

Challenges:
ATC's & Cards with Attitude - anything goes
Pile it On - all about "S" (Stampotique, sarcasm, spots)
Use it Tuesdays - anything goes using hoarded supplies (card kit papers)

Sometimes you don't want to celebrate

The latest challenge for Christmas Crafting is to create a Christmas card using a non-Christmas stamp and as I looked through my stamps, for some reason, I decided on a couple of Stampotique stamps. I also decided to go a step further and use non-traditional Christmas colours and an unexpected sentiment. I plan to give these cards to Send A Smile 4 Kids and I think the slightly snarky/sarcastic tone and the non-traditional everything will be just about perfect for a couple of teenage girls who consider themselves a bit "above" all the holiday fuss. Certainly these would've been quite appreciated by me as a teenager!

As I said, the images are both Stampotique stamps - I am accumulating quite a collection of these wonderful stamps! The background papers are freebies from Simply Cards & Papercraft Magazine. I created the sentiment on my computer (it reads "I'll deck the halls but I refuse to jingle any bells"). Hope these made you laugh or at least chuckle a bit.

Challenges:

Catered Crop - ribbon
Christmas Challenges - sketch
City Crafter - extra extra (use 2 or more ribbons & 9+ words)
Creative Card Crew - humour
Crimbo Crackers - female
Fashionable Stamping - make it for a child
Fussy and Fancy - long sentiment
Pile It On - spots and/or stripes
Simon Says Stamp - anything goes
Stampotique Designers Challenge - pink/purple with black

Boredom

UPDATE: I'm part of a gruesome twosome! Thanks Haunted Design House for choosing this card as one of your Gruesome Twosome projects for the week!

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Today's card started out as a Halloween card (and probably could still be used for that purpose although I'm sending it to my niece who is always complaining about being bored) but I changed it around when I saw the current challenge at Haunted Design House Macabre Monday. Deadly sins, hmmm? I know it isn't an official deadly sin but I've always thought that boredom should be included.

The image is a rubber stamp, "Prom Queen" from Stampotique and is coloured with Copics. The inside of the card includes a rub-on web & spider from Basic Grey.

Challenges:

• Come and Get It - colour combo
• Craft Us Crazy - Autumn colours
• Crazy 4 Challenges - colour combo
• Haunted Design House Macabre Monday - 7 deadly sins
• Paper Sundaes - finish the inside of your card
• Pile it on - layer it (I've used 5 layers)
• Sweet Stampin' - for a teenager
• Truly Scrumptious - decorate the inside

Bla bla bla

Journal (Before)

I've been wanting to try my hand at making an art journal and I had the opportunity this past weekend when I created a journal for my niece. I picked up a couple of journals at Michaels for $1.50 each (practically a steal!) and decided to recover them. The picture to the right shows the album as it started, and the picture following is what I ended up with.

Journal (After)

Talk about a change in look & feel!!! I started by covering the journal with a green paper that I distressed and inked. I tried my hand at creating my own patterned paper - starting with white cardstock that I stamped, inked, spritzed and splattered until I was (somewhat) happy. I stamped this wonderful Stampotique image "Karin" over top of the patterned paper and then added some colouring with Copic markers.

The finished product is kind of weird but it is for my pre-teen niece and I expect she'll think it is just perfect!

Challenges:

• Amber's Crafts & Stuff - teen related
• Craft Room Challenge - anything goes
• Craft Your Passion - anything goes
• Dream Valley Challenges - stamp something
• Everybody Art - distress
• Fab 'N Funky - anything goes
• Haunted Design House Macabre Monday - pleasure (love colouring stamps) & pain (hate random spritzing/stamping)
• Moving Along With the Times - no designer paper
• Papertake Weekly - anything goes

Another Challenge Card

I can't believe I'm posting a second card in one day but I just couldn't help myself. I intended to watch the Germany/Canada game (Olympics men's hockey) but the fates (my husband & kids) conspired against me. The first period viewing went well but then everyone got home. I knew my viewing was at risk when DH said "any ideas for supper?". So the second period of the game passed in a blur of cooking dinner, waiting on the children and listening to complaints of "I don't liiiiiiike that". The third period was looking promising though (and Canada was well ahead) but there was homework to help with and stories to read. Next thing I knew the game was over and I'd missed pretty much the entire thing.

Oh well, I used that disappointment as my excuse to try out this image from Stampotique and the colour palette (mossy green, rose, yellow) for this week's challenge was just so pretty that I knew it would cheer me up.

I'm actually entering this card into several challenges (everyone has spring colours on the mind):

• Stampotique Designers Challenge - use mossy green, rose, yellow (my yellow turned out quite a bit darker than the challenge pallette but I hope it's still OK)
• Colour Create Challenge - use red, chocolate, white/off-wht, pink (absolutely all of these colours are in the DP)
• The Play Date Cafe - use red, brown, linen (again, all these colours are in the DP)
• The Pink Elephant - sketch

As usual, I've used Basic Grey papers; this time the series is from "Indian Summer". The image is from Stampotique Originals and is coloured with Copics. The stamps they carry are just so unique but I haven't found anyone locally who carries them - this means a month or more wait anytime I order one (which luckily reduces the impulse purchases a bit).

Another vintage card

I was so happy with the way my last card using a vintage image worked out that I decided to try another. This card is to congratulate my husband's nephew on the birth of his second daughter. I found the image on the Digital Two for Tuesday site and just fell in love with the sweetness of the two little girls holding hands.

Once again I am using a sketch from Midnight Madness Sketch Challenge. Their sketches are just so good and they always include two versions - one clean & simple and one fancier.

I'm also entering this card into these additional challenges:

• Digital Tuesday Challenge - create something girly
• Fab 'N Funky Challenges - theme is "it's childish" (this card is to welcome a new baby)
• Stampotique Designers Challenge - theme is "love" (this card just screams of sisterly love to me)
• C.R.A.F.T. Challenge - digi colouring

Recipe:

• Patterned paper - Basic Grey
• Digital image - free vintage image from Digital Two for Tuesday
• Spellbinders nestabilities die cut
• miscellaneous buttons