Tag Archives: Cards

Stampin’ Royalty Challenge #156

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I thought it was time I did some stamping for the enjoyment of it, so I have gone looking at some of the challenge sites that I used to frequent regularly, and today I have made a card for the latest challenge from Stampin’ Royalty.

Here is the sketch:

stampin royalty sample-005

And here is the card I have made:

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I have a few bits and pieces which arrived just before my move, and which have not been used, so definitely time to start using some of them 🙂  I have used the Summer Afternoon Hostess stamp set along with some of the Fan Fair patterned papers, which are just gorgeous!

I will be back over the next few days with more creations and with some updates for classes etc for the new year.  In the meantime, happy stamping!
Chris

Dynamic Duos #31

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Yes I did manage to get some stamping done this week…. 🙂  let’s just call it a limited supplies challenge though!

I have unpacked a lot of my stamping supplies now, but when I was trying to get this card made, I only had a few things unpacked, so had to make the most of what was available.  As a result, I am not happy with this card, and certainly would have made something completely different if I had had all my supplies available.

Make sure you check out the fabulous inspiration from the rest of the Design Team, and since I am sure you can do much better than this with these colours, why not make a card or project of your own and share it with us this week?  We would love to see what you can come up with.

Hope you are having a crafty weekend.  Happy stamping!
Chris

Foil and Alcohol Inks

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Another fabulous challenge for Our Creative Corner this week from Sue at Scrumplescrunch:

The technique of dripping Alcohol Inks onto Foil has an amazing effect. 
The item you make can be anything; a free standing decoration,  or an element to place onto your project, experiment and have some fun, it is getting close to the silly season, so why not let go and free all those inhibitions and let rip with some colour!
I decided not to do Christmas again this week, but did I have fun with the foil and alcohol inks!  Once I am unpacked after my move I will most certainly be playing with this one again 🙂  Thank Sue!
I have die cut the flowers out of a backed foil and then dripped the different colours of alcohol ink onto the foils, adding more colour once the first colour was dry, if I thought it needed more variation.
Here is a closer look at the flowers:
Well, I hope you are all getting lots of crafting time in.  I am looking forward to being able to unpack all my precious stamps and equipment and getting back into it.  But in the meantime, why don’t you check out all the creative and gorgeous inspiration from the very talented Design Team at Our Creative Corner.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Make your own Background

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Absolutely loved this week’s challenge at Our Creative Corner from the fabulous and very talented Susan Butler at Scrumplescrunch.  If you haven’t already, definitely head on over to her blog for some serious inspiration!
Sue’s challenge is to make your own background:

“Decide whether you are a Pablo Picasso- and delve into mixed-media which involves paint, inks, glue, newspaper-clippings, photographs; in fact anything that you can lay your hands on to make it work visually.
Or do you lean toward Paul Cezanne- water-colours-   (you are allowed to use Distress Inks as your watercolour medium) to set your scene, mood and connection to your project. 
Try not to cover up your background too much with your focal image, allow everyone to view it in all it’s splendour.
And absolutely no patterned paper on your project!”
Since I just love to do water colouring, I decided to use this technique for my background.  I have used a large sheet of water colour paper and wet it down completely under the tap.  So when I say, wet it down, I mean literally  put it under the tap and get it wet all over.
I then used my markers to add ink in different colours (you could use re-inkers for this but mine are packed!) and then an aqua brush to blend the colours nicely.  I wanted to keep the colours soft and subtle.  I then used the French Foliage stamp set to add the leaves, splodges and very faint words, while the paper was still very wet.  I thought it needed a bit more colour then, so I have used some alcohol inks and dropped some blobs of ink in various colours.  The flowers are from the Field Flowers stamp set, which have been stamped and then cut out and layered over the background.  The centres of the flowers have some tiny spots of  Copper coloured alcohol ink in the centre, which gives it a nice shine, along with some Champagne Glimmer paper and Crumb Cake Tulle Ribbon.
Lots of inspiration from the OCC Design Team this week (as always!) so make sure you check out their creations.  And please join in the fun with us this week.
Happy stamping!
Chris

Freshly Made Sketches #57

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I have made a Christmas card for this week’s sketch from Freshly Made Sketches. I am really enjoying getting into the spirit of Christmas this year, I have done a lot of Christmas shopping already, so thought it would be good to get started on some Christmas cards too.

I have made quite a few of these ornaments, to go on some Candy Canes to hang on the Christmas tree, and as I was making them, I thought how nice they would look on a card, and here is the result.  I will show you the Candy Canes in another post.
The card uses the Candlelight Christmas Specialty Papers, and the Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder.  And for the ornament I have used the Snow Flurry die, Real Red Glimmer Paper punched out with the scallop circle punch, and the greeting comes from the Mixed Medley hostess set.
Here is the sketch:    

Happy Stamping!

Chris

Clean and Simple Kitchen

Posted in Big Shot, Cards by

No, I am not asking you to go clean up your kitchen, it is this week’s challenge theme at Our Creative Corner.  Meihsia’s challenge is to create a Clean and Simple card featuring something you would see in the kitchen.

I have used the coffee cup from the fantastic Scentsational Season stamp set (page 16 Holiday Catalogue), and while this is definitely meant to be a Christmas set, I didn’t want to make a Christmas card this time, so I punched out the For You sentiment from the Mixed Medley stamp set, one of the new Hostess Sets in the Holiday Catalogue, and layered that over the snowflake image.  The image is cut using the matching dies, which can be bought in a bundle with the stamp set.
The patterned paper is from the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack, and also the woodgrain is from the Natural Composition Specialty papers.

So please join in this week, we always love to see what you come up with for our challenges.  The rest of the projects from the Design Team can be seen here.

Happy Stamping!
Chris

Fall in the Circle

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This week at Our Creative Corner, Meihsia has challenged us to create a circle card or project with a Fall (Autumn) theme – Autumn colours or objects.
I really like this challenge, even though it is Spring here in Australia, I love Autumn colours and the leaves falling from the trees.  And I rarely make circle cards, so it was good to do something a little different again.
I have used the Scallop Circle Die to make the card base in Whisper White, then done a reverse mask to colour the centre area.  The tree is from Serene Silhouettes stamp set and is stamped in Black Stazon ink. The Stazon ink allowed me to sponge the background colours over the top, without the black ink smudging and blending in with the colours.
The bow is made with Always Artichoke Seam Binding ribbon which is held together with a Vintage Brad, and the leaves around the edge are from the French Foliage stamp set.  I have inked the leaves in one colour (i.e. Old Olive), and then sponged around the edge using a different colour (Riding Hood Red) using a sponge dauber.
I do hope you will join in with this great challenge, we love seeing the projects you have made using our challenges.  And make sure you check out what the rest of the Design Team have come up with.
Happy Stamping!
Chris

Freshly Made Sketches #55

Posted in Cards, Christmas, Uncategorized by

I took some time out this afternoon to do some creating just for the fun of it, and thought I would have a go at this week’s sketch from Freshly Made Sketches.  I also thought it was time I got on and made some Christmas cards, since it won’t  be long before Christmas is here.

I have used a few new goodies for this card, the patterned papers come from the Festival of Prints Designer Series Paper Stack, they are gorgeous and great for card making (Page 20 of the Holiday Catalogue). The embossing folder is also new and is called Northern Flurry (Page 189 Annual Catalogue).  The stamp set is For the Birds (Page 34 of the Annual catalogue) – a fabulously versatile set with something for just about every occasion.  And the Cotton Ribbon and Slide are from the Holiday Catalogue.
Here is the sketch that I have used:
If you have any questions about how I have made this card, or if you would like to place an or

Hope you had a crafty weekend.
Happy stamping!
Chris

It’s a “Howdy” Challenge

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This week’s Our Creative Corner Challenge comes from the lovely Liliana, who has picked a photo of a country scene as inspiration, with the following requirements:

-Create a card or project with a country or western look. Use the photo to inspire you.
-Your project must have something plaid or gingham (checkered/tartan is acceptable too!), such as in a ribbon, or designer paper.
-Most of all, have fun!

And here is the photo:

It took me some time to figure out what to do with this challenge, since I don’t really have anything “country or western” but ended up choosing this cute little cart image from the stamp set For the Birds (Page 34 of the Annual Catalogue).  I decided this could easily be something you would see in the country.  Well, anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it!
I just adore this stamp set, it was on my “absolutely need to have it” list when the new catalogue came out.
The image has been water coloured in colours to match the stripey mount, which is made with the Orchard Harvest Fabric (Page 30 of the Holiday Catalogue).  The dark background layer has been embossed using the Woodgrain embossing folder, then just add some twine and one of the gorgeous new wooden buttons.
I do hope you will play along with us this week, so make sure you check out what the rest of the Design Team came up with here.
And if you have any questions about my card or the challenge, just send me an email.

I promise to return in the next day or so with some new projects, so stay tuned!
Happy stamping!
Chris

OCC Sketch Challenge

Posted in Big Shot, Cards by

This week it is my turn to set and host the challenge at Our Creative Corner, and I have chosen a sketch challenge for you for this week.  I would like you to make a card for a male using the sketch, and an extra but optional challenge for you, if you choose to accept it, is to use a Monochromatic colour scheme.
The zebras on my card are from the Zoo Review stamp set and have been watercoloured, then one has been cut out and raised and layered over the other.  I have used a masking technique for the sun – I punched out a circle of Post-It Note and then sponged around the circle using a sponge dauber.  The tree has been double stamped with two different colours of ink to give it that shimmery look.
The background paper is from the Howlstooth & Scaringbone DSP (patterned papers), and the strips of Cajun Craze card stock have been run through the Big Shot using the Woodgrain Embossing Folder.
The colours I have used are So Saffron, More Mustard, Cajun Craze and Early Espresso.

So, here is the sketch for you to use for your own card.

 Make it as simple or as complicated as you want, we would love to see what you come up with. And make sure you check out the inspiration from the rest of the Design Team.
Happy Stamping!
Chris