International Art and Soul Challenge 22

The challenge at International Art and Soul for this fortnight is Buttons and Bows!

I immediately thought of my bow dies - from Creative Expressions, I think, and from there, I thought Easel Card, and this is the result.

The main image uses a stamp from Creative Impressions, stamped in Memento ink and coloured with Promarkers. I edged the image with a little Distress ink.

The background was created with Distress Ink. I used my Gelli Plate for the first time here. First I applied an overall layer of Distress ink Old Paper, then used a stencil. Through that, I applied some Peeled Paint  and Crushed Olive. I printed the result onto some card, but was a little disappointed at the lack of background colour. So, I applied some more using some Ink Dusters - using Peeled Paint, Crushed Olive, and finally some Pine Needles. On the base of the card, that's it. For the background of the upright section, I then added a regular stamp using more Pine Needles. The stamp is one of the small ones from an Inky Doodles repeatable background set.

And finally, the last bit, but actually, the first bit I thought of, is the die cut bow.

I rather like the image and suspect it'll turn up in a number of colour combinations among this year's Christmas cards. I definitely need some practice with my Gelli Plate - I suspect it'll prove versatile, but we'll see!

Hope you can join us!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 185

This time at Crafty Cardmakers, we want you to Spring into Spring!

For me, spring means trees just coming into bud.

For the central image, I used a Clarity stamp stamped with Versafine which I coloured using Promarkers, and edged with Distress Ink. The background was made using a repeatable background stamp from Inky Doodles. I stamped and shaded the background with Distress Ink. The dies are all from Spellbinders. The Springtime die is a wood mounted stamp I got ages ago from a reduced bin somewhere. There's no manufacturer's label on it so I don't know its origin.

I hope you can join us this time!

International Art and Soul First Ever Challenge!

That's right, it's a brand new challenge blog, and this is our first challenge. Our theme is Love is in the Air, so very appropriate for this time of year!

And for this, I made a card for my husband for our anniversary which is next month.

A little bit of a cheat. I made the background for this card ages ago using stamps from Inky Doodles and Distress Ink. I do like the way their background stamps can be combined like this to give a (fairly) regular background pattern.

The hearts and sentiment are all cut using Sizzix dies, and the sentiment is computer generated. To complete the card, I've added some embellishments from my stash.

I do hope you can join us for our first challenge!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge 101

Our latest challenge at Crafty Cardmakers is set by my team mate Jackie, and she wants to see your 'cute and furry' creations!

Our sponsors for this challenge are:

See the challenge blog for details.

Now, cute and furry isn't my style at all. In fact, I have problems with 'cute' in general. So, when I trawled through my digi images, I pretty much came up blank. Then I had a vague memory of a stamp I picked up as a freebie at a craft show at Olympia a few years ago, and I was off!

I stamped him using Versafine ink, and coloured with Derwent Coloursoft pencils. I cut the image using a Nestibility die, and edged with Distress Ink in Spun Sugar.

For the background, I used one of my most recent acquisitions. Last weekend I was at Alexandra Palace for the BSSBS and came across a company I hadn't noticed before called Inky Doodles. They've got a fabulous range of background stamps with one huge advantage over most of the ones I've seen: they repeat! And what's more, they've got several sets of stamps where there are two or three different patterns which can be combined to create multi-coloured backgrounds. I used one of these sets to create the backgroun above. I stamped it in Distress Ink in Spun Sugar and Tumbled Glass, adding some of the individual elements  supplied (hearts and filled squares) to finish the effect. For embellishment, I punched some flowers, edged with Distress Ink and finished with s blog of Stickles.

And, because I was on a roll, I went ahead and did a variation:

The background this time is another Inky doodles stamp, this time a single background, but again, repeated to fit the required size. I also overstamped using an Indigo Blue crackle stamp to give a hint of pink in the background, but that isn't obvious from the photo.

I hope you can join us this time.

I'd like to enter the top card into the following challenges:
4 Krafty Girlz where anything goes,
A.R.T.where anything goes,
Chocolate, Coffee and Cards where anything goes,
Sister Act where anything goes,
Crafting by Designs where anything goes,
Bearly Mine where anything goes,
2 Sisters where anything goes.