this was a happy accident that occurred while i was designing cards for my next watercolouring class at papercraft cafe. i stamped the image, enhanced the colour of the paper with distress inks and added black stickles to some of the dots. i’m submitting this to the really reasonable ribbon keep it clean challenge. thanks for popping by.
Category: CAS
Rudolph Day In August
i made this card for sandra’s rudolph day challenge to make christmas cards on the 25th of every month; it’s a great way to build up my stash. i stamped the snowflakes in white, pierced some of the dots and two rows, added black mats and sponged the edge of the card with white. thanks for popping by.
Glittered Tulips
i haven’t been up to much while recovering from my tooth extraction, but i managed to participate in the the august flourishes bring back beautiful challenge to make a clean and simple (CAS) card. i watercoloured the image with distress inks, covered the flowers with stickles and the bucket with glossy accents – a very quick card. thanks for popping by.
Vellum Flower
i loved the inspiration photo at the ribbon reel challenge, but this card didn’t come together until i loosely followed splitcoaststampers’ sketch challenge. i sponged pink distress ink onto the patterned paper and attached a strip of scalloped shimmer card stock to one side and the lace to the other. to make the flower, i embossed some vellum, punched two flowers from it and one from blue paper, then attached the single pearl and finally, all the smaller ones. i’m also submitting this to the allsorts challenge of free and easy. thanks for popping by.
Serene Scene
i missed being creative this past week, but we were out of town enjoying a change of scenery and visiting family. it was relaxing to be unplugged, but it’s always good to be home. i had a couple of nice surprises waiting for me – i found out i was a top pick for two challenges and this magenta stamp that i won a couple of weeks ago arrived. this photo inspired me to ink up my new stamp and make this CAS card for the splitcoaststampers inspiration challenge because i think my mojo is still on vacation. :) thanks for popping by.
A Green Christmas
this is part of a set of cards i made for my daughter; she loves green. i tied the bow on the card, which took longer than the entire card because i have three fused fingers on my left hand. i should’ve known better and next time i’ll just use my bow-easy. (my emphasis). the card is 4.25″ square and the tiny ornaments are peel offs. i’m submitting this to the less is more challenge to use a ribbon or button. thanks for popping by.
Rudolph Day In July
i joined sandra’s challenge to make christmas cards on rudolph day – the 25th of each month; it’s a great way to build up the card stash for the holidays. i watercoloured santa teddy with distress inks, although i don’t think the photo reflects the real colour and red is just one of those tricky colours to edit. i’m also entering this into The Stamp Man challenge to use anything by tim and Winter Wonderland challenge to use holly. thanks for popping by.
Blue Butterfly
this is the second card i made from this one inspiration photo for splitcoaststampers‘ inspiration challenge. i started it yesterday, but it just wasn’t working; when i looked at it again today, everything came together quickly. i’m also submitting this to the allsorts challenge which is ‘free and easy’ for all of july, and the open theme at flutterby wednesday. thanks for popping by.
Sock Monkey Smiles
i haven’t played along with the inspiration challenge at splitcoaststampers for a really long time, but this weekend i was inspired by one inspiration photo to make two cards. this was a quick and easy card that i started when the butterfly wasn’t working; it’s just printed paper matted and attached. i’m also submitting this to the allsorts challenge which is ‘free and easy’ for all of july. thanks for popping by.
Two Cozy
today’s free for all challenge at splitcoaststampers was easy enough, that i had time to play. you have to use at least two of something, so i watercoloured the peas, used two die cuts, two rows of twine, and a double bow. thanks for popping by.
Made With Magenta
i followed magenta sketch challenge #22 to create this card, using magenta papers and one of their sentiment stamps. i cut out the die shape, lightly sponged the edges with distress ink, punched the flowers and attached them to the die cut branches. thanks for popping by.
Get Sketchy With Flourishes
there are some challenges during their release week, so i had time to create this for the flourishes sketch challenge, literally following this clean and simple layout. the image is watercoloured with distress inks and markers, die cut and attached to the DP layer and mat. the sentiment is from the same set. thanks for popping by.
Bright Lanterns
the flower soft challenge to use bright colours was a real challenge for me, since i tend to use pastels a lot. i cut the lanterns out of DP and added the ultrafine citrus flower soft to the two lanterns on the left and the peony pink to the one on the right. i may have created a new use for flower soft – the garland. the white base is covered in a bright pink foil paper. i’m also submitting this to flutterby wednesday – open theme and wee memories – summertime theme. thanks for popping by.
a fruitful thanks
i needed a thank you card so i opened a cute fruit set from my friend sue for my birthday. this is also the first time i used the letraset aquamarkers i won from the penny black at allsorts challenge in march; very fun to play with – i’ll keep practicing. the ribbon reel challenge is summer fruit and and use two ribbons/lace or twine, at least one brad and to include a summer fruit element. i used two brads; first i coloured a green brad red and inserted it into the white flower brad. i’m also submitting this to the free and easy challenge at allsorts and the summer theme at the secret crafter. thanks for popping by.
Blogiversary and Butterfly Card For Class
wow, it’s been a year since i started this blog. my goal was to motivate myself to continue to be creative and participate in challenges while i traveled along on my grief journey after the loss of my son in june 2009; i needed something to focus on so i didn’t lose myself in the sadness.
thank goodness there are no challenge rules to blogging; i post when i can, share when i want and try my best to maintain a positive tone, even if i’m not feeling up to it.
throughout this past year, i’ve met some wonderful and caring friends along the way and i appreciate the comments, support and encouragement. i love visiting blogs and finding cute images that make me smile, posts that make me laugh and cards that are just so inspiring – all i could ever do is wish to be so talented.
my goal for the upcoming year remains unchanged, although i might push myself to try new techniques. for now, i’m enjoying my comfort zone and monthly challenges that allow me to move at my own pace. i’m also having fun teaching watercolouring with distress inks classes at the papercraft cafe and this is one of the cards for my July 16 class. i’m submitting this to the flutterby wednesday’s open challenge this week. thanks so much for popping by.
Rudolph Day In June
it feels strange to say in june, but i’m behind in my monthly splitcoaststampers’ christmas card challenge, so i thought sandra’s post about rudolph day was a great way to remind me to get some cards done by the 25th of every month. (this is for february; lol). also, after seeing this gorgeous card made with splitcoaststampers‘ sketch challenge, i had to use it. thanks for popping by.
Framed Butterflies
the less is more challenge this week is a one layer card with the theme of ‘in the frame.’ since i watercolour 99.9% of my cards, because of my hands, this was a real challenge for me. the card base is watercolour paper; i inked the image with three different distress inks, lightly spritzed it and stamped it – done. i feel like i cheated; i didn’t actually paint an image. lol. thanks for popping by.
More Or Less My Christmas Card
the less is more challenge this week is to pick one of 5 squares and leave the rest of the white space alone. my first card is still a work in progress; i really tried to fit the image in the lower right, but it just looked off balance. in my mind’s eye, it would work with a one layer, so in 5 minutes i made this. since i’m so far behind in the monthly christmas card challenge, you might see a lot more like this. thanks for popping by.
Colour Challenge Card
i never seem to have the right colours to play along with splitcoastampers‘ colour challenge, but i used substitute colours that i think are close enough. the base is a very dark boysenberry, which might explain why the photo looks a bit blurry? sometimes red card stock is tricky. anyway, the image is watercoloured, die cut and popped on foam tape; of course i had to add stickles to the flower centres and dots on the frame. thanks for popping by.
Butterfly Kisses
this week’s flutterby wednesday challenge is clean and simple. i think this is the largest card i’ve made; it’s 5 1/4″ x 6 1/4″ to accommodate this image, which is watercoloured and the edges are lightly sponged. my blogging buddy, sandra, let me know about the less is more challenge, which is butterflies this week, so i’m playing in that one for the first time. i’m also playing along with the get hippity with ippity challenge. thanks for popping by.
Hey There!
this is one of the cards i’ll be teaching at my next watercolouring with distress inks class on saturday. i love the look of stitching on cards, but i’m afraid my old sewing machine isn’t up to the task, so i used a white gel pen instead. thanks for popping by.
Spring Blossoms
this week’s penny black saturday challenge is clean and simple, which i think is the perfect layout for this watercoloured penny black image; i added peony pink flower soft for the flower soft spring challenge and i’m also submitting this to splitcoaststampers‘ monthly fan club challenge. if only spring weather would arrive, the picture might be a little more clear. thanks for popping by.
Simple Thank You
well this won’t happen very often, but i managed to make another card today. the penny black at allsorts theme this month is black and white plus one, which i struggled with until now. i stamped the sentiment and the butterflies, which were stamped off first. i’m also submitting this to flutterby wednesday and the splitcoaststampers‘ monthly fan club theme. thanks for popping by.
Party Balloons For Class
this is one of the cards that i taught in my watercolouring class this afternoon at the papercraft cafe. participants learned how to paint the balloons and the stripes with distress inks; it was a lot of fun. thanks for popping by.
Fruit Punch
this week’s flower soft challenge, #27, is sweet treats (anything food related), so the orange slice is my taste of sweetness with flower soft on the edge. i also used white polar soft on the rim of the glass, which is full of fruit punch. i watercoloured the images and cut out and popped the orange. thanks for looking.
Spring Daze
this week’s penny black saturday challenge is to say it with flowers and i love this little hedgie, which means a quick and simple card. i watercoloured the hedgie, sky and grass, and added stickles to the flower centres and the bee. the image was die cut, mounted on foam tape and done. i’m also submitting this to the stamping royalty spring has sprung challenge. it is spring, isn’t it? why do we still have cool weather? thanks for popping by.
Watercolour With Distress Inks Class
this afternoon was the first time i taught a ‘watercolouring with distress inks’ class at the Papercraft Cafe in kingsville, ontario. what a fun group of ladies; we made this cookie jar card, using these cute images from your next stamp company and the second class card was this bunny card. thanks for popping by.
Spring Chicks
this is as tiny as yesterday’s card; it measures 3.5″ tall. since lois, aka clownmom, is queen for the day at splitcoaststampers, i decided to case one of her scraplings. i watercoloured the chicks and sponged the sky and grass. thanks for popping by.
Egg Hunt Time!
i love making tiny cards, so when i saw that irene, aka DandI93, was today’s featured stamper at splitcoaststampers, i made this 3.5″ tall card in her honour. irene’s gallery is full of beautiful easel cards and tiny cards too. the image, a RAK from sue, aka irishgreensue, is watercoloured and of course i had to add stickles. the pink is not really as bright as in the photo; it’s so dull today – where is the spring weather?! thanks for popping by.
A Royal Hello
i was inspired by splitcoaststampers’ queen for the day jill’s bright and colourful card that just popped off the screen; i tried to duplicate the colours, but my first case ended up in the trash so i changed the colours. the image is watercoloured and a small punched butterfly was added. thanks for popping by.
Where Are Those Eggs?
this month’s forever friends challenge is to create a card without using designer papers, which is how i started making cards; but i’ve been using papers more and more, so it actually was a challenge! everything in the image panel is watercoloured and flower soft was added to teddy’s tail. i’m also submitting this to the flower soft monthly and easter challenges and the spotted canary spring challenge at splitcoaststampers. thanks for popping by.
Teddy’s Garden
i created this spring card for a couple of challenges: sir stampalot called for greens, yellow, and/or pink; the paper players‘ says spring has sprung; simon says ‘anything goes’ and splitcoaststampers is having a Spotted Canary Spring Challenge. the image is watercoloured, stickles were added to the dress, yellow flowers and water stream and a pink gem was added to the pink flower. thanks for popping by.
Hoppy Spring!
just when i thought it was starting to feel like spring, we’re supposed to get hit with 2 inches of snow; as you can tell by the photo, it’s very dull today. i made this for splitcoaststampers’ ways to use it challenge to use felt, the Spotted Canary Spring Challenge and the monthly flower soft challenge. thanks for popping by.
Spring Is Almost Here!
the days are getting longer and spring is almost here; that’s what i’m wishing anyway. this week’s flower soft challenge is ‘in the garden,’ so i watercoloured this floral image, added gold flower soft to the flower centres and popped it on an embossed piece of card stock that was distressed around the edges. the embossing folder and gold ribbon are part of a christmas gift from my friend, anne ryan – thanks anne! i added the gold pearls to the ribbon and it was done – a quick and easy card. thanks for popping by.
Have A Wonderful Day!
i made this CAS card for the penny black at allsorts’ february theme to ‘Say It With Flowers.’ I watercoloured the image, added stickles to the bees and used my paintbrush to emphasize the word wonderful. The image panel was die cut, distressed around the edges, popped on foam tape and attached to a 4 1/4″ square card base. thanks for popping by.
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