My first ever card making video!

Yesterday, I spent the day with my sister and my two eldest nieces, both of whom love cardmaking.  I made a card similar to the one I'm sharing here today, but I decided to make a new version this morning using watercolour paper.

My nieces also love to make videos using iMovie.  So, I got niece number 1 to give me a lesson in how to use iMovie - this is the result!

PS in the video, I said that I was using a different brand of watercolour paper.  I usually use Canson 300gsm, but this one is Eraldo di Paolo 300gsm.

PPS If any of my workmates (or any closet botanists) decide to watch this video: Yes, I know it's a poinsettia, therefore they are not petals.  They are bracts.

PPPS please excuse the very odd way I was holding my coloured pencils whilst colouring - my thumb on my right hand is sore and swollen at the moment.

Thanks for visiting :)

CASEing a sketch

Another quick Christmas card today - this time, using a sketch from CAS(e) this sketch. 

It is SO DIFFICULT to photograph the shimmer and sparkle that Wink of Stella gives - trust me, these dangling ornaments are sparkly with both Wink of Stella all over, and stickles in the middle.

Thanks for visiting :)

MUSE Christmas Visions

I made a quick card today, based on inspiration from Ingrid Blackburn at MUSE Christmas Visions

Here's Ingrid's card:

Thanks for visiting :)

MUSE challenge

Playing along with this week's MUSE challenge - the inspiration is provided by Anita Bowden.

Mu card has an identical layout and colour scheme to Anita's - just some differences in the background stamp, the sentiment and the embellishments.

 I'll also be submitting this to Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge - no designer paper. 

Thanks for visiting :)

Coffee Lovers Blog Hop!

I'm joining in with the Fall Coffee Lovers Blog Hop today - except I prefer to think of if as the tea and hot-chocolate lovers Bloghop!

I tried to do some no-line watercolouring using Distress Markers (as I have been doing some homework for the latest Online Card Class on Watercolouring.)  I am very much a beginner when it comes to no-line colouring, so I went with a simple image :)   The tea cup is from Avery Elle "Tea Time" and the sentiment is from Hero Arts "Yummy Treats".

I cut the watercolour paper down with a stitched square die from Lil' Inker Designs, and popped it up onto some dimensional adhesive, then matted it onto two pieces of patterned paper (I think they are both from Stampin' Up, but they are discontinued). 
Can you see the little bit of shimmer on the cup? I added some clear Wink of Stella to the pale pink stripes.

 Thanks for visiting :)

Watercolour class day 2

I love watercolours, but I'm not very good with them at all.  So I love using techniques like the one demonstrated by Laura Bassen today in class, using Distress inks to make a loose, blended background. 

I used Distress inks and water for the background, then some stamps from Avery Elle's "Tea Time" set stamped with Hero Arts black ink, and some patterned paper from Lawn Fawn's "Let's Bokeh In the Snow" 6X6 paper pack. I finished with some sequins from Simon Says Stamp.

Thanks for visiting :)

Gold embossing with watercolours

Day 1 of the latest Online Card Class - doing some homework with Distress Markers and gold embossing:

A new challenge at A Blog Named Hero

We have a new challenge over at A Blog Named Hero today - it's all about dies!

Make sure you go and visit A Blog Named Hero to see all the rest of the design team creations, and to link up your own version of the sketch!

As always, our generous sponsor, Simon Says Stamp, has a $25 gift voucher for one of our entrants!

Thanks for visiting :) 

InLinkz.com

Solo post at A Blog Named Hero

I have a card over at A Blog Named Hero today - here's a sneak peek:

Please come and visit us at A Blog Named Hero to see the whole card.

Thanks for visiting :)

Colourful, glittery sentiment

A bright, happy card today - lots of colour, lots of glitter on a one-layer card!

I inked up a sentiment from "Written in Watercolour" by My Favorite Things with various Shadow Inks from Hero Arts, and added the MFT Checkerboard stencil, which I inked up with Squeezed Lemonade and Twisted Citron Distress Inks (I moved it in between inkings (is that a word??)).  A coat of Stardust Stickles over the sentiment, a scattering of wood veneer stars and some sequins, and I was done!

 Today, I'm playing along with My Favorite Things "Card Design Superstar"

 Thanks for visiting :)

Fusion - Peacock Dynasty

Welcome to another Fusion challenge!  As soon as I saw the latest photo inspiration, I thought of a particular patterned paper called Peacock Palace from Cristina Re. I had a single piece of this paper left, so I did some fussy cutting around the peacock image and came up with this:

I created the background by adding Versamark ink over my Swirl Stencil from Hero Arts, then adding Iridescent Sparkle embossing powder from Judikins and embossing with my heat gun.  I then used my blending tool to add Distress Inks to the background in Mermaid Lagoon and Peacock Feathers (of course!!)
The sentiment from Clearly Besotted is white embossed on black card stock.

(It's with cards like this one that I wish photos could capture glitter and sparkle better.  This really looks special in real life!)

 Please come on over to Fusion to check out the creations of all of the design team, and decide whether you will use the photo, the sketch, or create a fusion of both!

 Thanks for visiting :)

Using leftover roses

If you saw my card yesterday (you can check it out HERE), you might have wondered if I had inked up the entire background stamp, and created a whole panel? The answer is yes, and here's the rest of that panel!

I used the Roses All Over background stamp from My Favorite Things, white embossed onto watercolour paper and then painted with my Kuretake Gansai Tambi watercolours. I stamped a sentiment from Hero Arts (which I mounted on my acrylic block on a curve to match the cut of the stamped panel, stamped in Versafine black ink and clear embossed), and then added some sequins from Simon Says Stamp.

I'll be sharing this card at two challenges - My Favorite Things "Card Design Superstar", and the  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge Stamptember blog hop - Stamp it.

 Thanks for visiting :) 

Roses roses

I bought a couple of bunches of roses for my Mum last Wednesday at the farmer's market at work (you can see a photo of them that I posted on Instagram HERE.) I wanted to make a card based on those colours, so I pulled out the My Favorite Things "Roses all over" background stamp, and this is what I came up with.

I cut the stitched curve with a die from Lawn Fawn. The sentiment is from "Quite like you" by Wplus9.

I'm playing along with two challenges today - My Favorite Things "Card Design Superstar", and the  Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge Stamptember blog hop - Stamp it.

 Thanks for visiting :)