Happy autumn dragon

Happy autumn dragon

I love this digi from Wee Stamps. I decided to go with an easel card for a change today and used a sketch by Everybody Art Challenge. I don’t make many autumnal cards as I don’t really have cards I need to send at this time of year. However, I wanted to make a card for a friend who is having a tough time so inspired by the Papercraft Star photo I decided to go for autumn colours.

I made the papers and embellishments with Craft Artist. I colour matched everything to the Papercraft Star photo. I used a leaf embellishment with a stamp effect using the key colours from the picture to make the background papers. I added a leaf doodle patter on the bottom right and went over it with my Sakura copper star pen.

I added 2 pieces of web material which I coloured using a variety of pearlescent inks in matching colours.

I coloured the image with promarkers. I used pearlescent inks to highlight the dragons cheeks, chest and tummy. I used glaze pen on the berries, his tongue and his eyes.
 

This photo shows the leaf doodling a little better.

I would like to enter the following challenges

Freshly Brewed – Love/Friendship + fall colours
Crazy Amigo Challenge -Falling Leaves
Inky Impressions –  Autumn colours
Papercraft Star inspiration photos plus fall colours

A pirate gains a brother!

A pirate gains a brother!

Two makes for you tonight. A matching card and treat box to celebrate becoming a big brother! I designed everything based around a couple of photos where the recipient is dressed as a pirate using Craft Artist. I added a pirates hat to the baby and an eye patch to the recipient (as usual faces blurred for privacy)

On of the amazing things with Craft Artist is the way you can create the shadows- it really helps make it look like the boys are in my scene!It also adds dimension but with only 1 layer which helps if you are looking out for postage costs!The edges of the card are inked with distress ink.

I then altered a wooden box to make a pirate treasure chest for some treats. I painted the box with blue pearlescent ink. All the papers were designed on Craft Artist and were decoupaged on using Mod Podge. This is the top of the box.

I added some plastic gold coin trim around the outside.

Inside the top lid.

In the base…

Then full of treausre!!

I would like to enter these for the following challenges

My Craft Spot – Treat Packages
Sweet Stamps – Altered Item
Party Time Tuesdays – Anything but a card
Penny’s Paper-Crafty – Anything but a Card
Craft Room Challenge – Alter it
Simply Create – Always anything goes digitally
Craft My Life– anything but card/layouts

Can I meet the deadline?

Can I meet the deadline?

I have put this together in about an hour- when I saw the sketch at the crafting when we can sketch challenge I just had to go for it! I grabbed some left over digital papers I had printed together with a matching freebie I had out from a previous card.Of course grabbing things on my desk this month has to involve pink!

The rose papers were made digitally and the damask paper was a freebie. My mat was pearlescent card with blended pink distress ink and then stamped with a damask stamp and flocked.
The image is a Lili of the valley die cut but I recoloured the dots on the dress, shoes, bag, flower and background with pro and flexmarkers to match the card colours.

The ribbon was from stash and was coloured with Promarker to match the image- pink ribbon for the stamping boutique challenge.  I added 3 pearls to the top corner, coloured with the same Promarker, and 3 flowers from Wild Orchid Craft to the bottom corner for a little embellishment.

I made the inside to match.

I would like to enter the following challenges
Wild Orchid Challenge– anything goes

The Stamping Boutique – pink ribbons

Crafting when we can sketch

Thanks so much to Crafting when we can- I won!!

Holly birthday!

Holly birthday!

I wanted to make a Winter birthday card for a change. I used a sketch from Sketch Saturday and the Sylvia Zett digi Holly. This picture gives you an idea of the sparkle and shine when it catches the light!

The papers are from Nitwits  and I used a red glaze pen and Lime star pen to give them some extra zing by colouring the berries and leaves around the outside. I used Peeled paint distress ink around the edges of the card.

 I designed the sentiment on Craft Artist and then highlighted the words with lime star pen. I used a ribbon from stash and coloured gems with flexmarker. I’ve taken a close up without flash. I coloured with Promarkers and flexmarkers. I also used my Sakuras over the top of the Promarkers but the effects of these show up better in the other photos with flash! I used a red glitter pen for the hair band, blue stardust for the wings, red glaze for the berries, white souffle and silver star for the snow and metallic red for the bells.

I made a single layer inside using maching elements.

I’d like to enter the following challenges

Stamp and Create Winter Wonderland 
Crafty Sentiments – Anything goes
Card Mania – Happy Birthday
Simply Create – Anything goes for digital papercrafting
Sketch Saturday – Sketch

Cute as a button picture

Cute as a button picture

This is the picture I made to accompany the card for a new arrival! Once again I blurred the picture for privacy. I used a box frame from Hobbycraft.
I used some of the elements I had designed for the card. They are colour matched to the blanket on the baby. I used some bright DP from my First Edition Hideaway stash and used sage distress ink on the card edges. I wanted to use dots on the paper and pearls to match the button theme.

I used ribbons from stash and coloured them to match using soft green Promarker. The buttons were from stash.

I coloured all the pearls with Promarker to match and pull my elements together.

I would like to enter the following challenges

Simply Create – Anything goes for digital papercrafting
Papertake Weekly -Anything Goes and optional celebrate
Cute Card Thursday Lots of ribbon

Pink, pink, pink and orange!

Pink, pink, pink and orange!

Hi!
As you can see I’m getting back into my blogging every day! Another birthday card for Think Pink using Sweet Sketch (a really fun sketch to work with) hopefully I can raise some cash for cancer research with them. I’m finding the murky lighting difficult for photos at the minute- might have to build a mini studio when I have time!

I used the photo of the Stampin’ royalty colours to colour match my digital papers I made on Craft Artist. I used a pink frame with circles. as the basis of my patterns. I then used a pink Sakura glaze pen and orange Sakura souffle pen to add some detailing and to make it pop. I tore some pink fibrous paper and stamped orange circles on it using a wine cork.

I made circle embellishments by printing from Craft Artist and then adding pearls I had coloured orange. I mounted them and my image using foam pads. I then attached my sentiment using pearl brads I had coloured orange and fixed it with a curve on it to add dimension.

I also used a pink sakura glaze pen to highlight the middle of the sentiment.

I coloured the image with Promarkers and flexmarkers.

I designed a matching inside but put all the elements on 1 layer to print.

A good few hours of fun! I would like to enter the following challenges

Sassy Studio Designs –  Think pink
Stampin’ Royalty – colors. Thanks picking me as a ‘top pick’ for this challenge.

Sweet Sketch – Sketch

 

Having a sketchy Sunday!

Having a sketchy Sunday!

Hi everyone! I wanted to use another sketch today- I find they help me when I’m in a rut or mojoless. This time I used sketch and stash- a great combination for a challenge as it also helped me to use up some scraps I have created recently. I have been playing with my new Daydream digikit in craft artist 2 and a lot of the papers I made are therefore teal and pink- I love this colour combo. Hence some matching scraps and I just designed a couple of things to finish off using the same colour scheme.
I’ve used pearlescent papers for printing and it was tough to get good photos today.

I used tumbled glass distress ink around the edges of my card- hopefully it was ok to mat with black card for the colour challenge- I had more scraps I wanted to use up and thought you wouldn’t mind as it is neutral!!

I decided to stay simple with my embellishments as there were quite a few layers- some pearls coloured pink on some of the flowers in my patterned paper and 3 of my flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts. It was really difficult to resist adding more flowers but I thought it would look too much!

 The sentiment isn’t showing too well but it is happy birthday.

I coloured my Saturated Canary digi with promarkers- my first attempt at black hair.

I decorated the inside with a kaleidoscope paper I had created.
I would like to enter the following challenges
Wild Orchid Challenge – Anything Goes 
Squigglefly – Teal, Pink, White

 

Think pink

Think pink

I wanted to make some cards to make some money for cancer charities this month. Krista Smith kindly created the digi I am using- as ever it is beautiful and I only hope I do it justice with my cards.
I decided to use the colours from the colour Q challenge and to go with a think pink theme for a birthday card.

This is my card

I love this layout which is from the graphicat challenge (see end of post). I made my digital papers using Craft Artist so I could colour match them for the colour Q challenge. I used spun sugar distress ink on the edge of the card and black pearlescent ink around the edges of the pink layers. I made the pink patterned paper using blended spun sugar ink on pearlescent paper and then a damask stamp with slightly darker pink ink. I used some pearls coloured black to embellish.

I coloured the image with Promarkers and Flexmarkers. I then used pink pearlescent ink to do some highlighting on the image and paper.

I decorated the inside of the card to match.
I would like to enter the following challenges

Celebrate the Occasion – Breast Cancer Awareness
Dream Valley Challenges – Go Pink (BCA)
The Cutie Pie ChallengeUse a Digi  
Cupcake CraftPink
Flourishes – Think Pink
Love to Create Thinking of You
Songbird ChallengesGirls just wanna have Fun 
Graphicat Sketches – Sketch

ColourQ – Colour challenge

Cute as a button!

Cute as a button!

Hi everyone!
I’m trying to catch up on some blogging. I’ve been crafting lots but it’s been to make displays at work and I haven’t really been able to blog about them.
A new arrival in the family warrants a cute card. I made it in a rush so decided to use Craft Artist and keep it to one layer physically. As usual I have blurred the photo and message inside to protect privacy- it doesn’t look blurry in real life!!

 The benefit of using Craft Artist is also that I could colour match the papers and embellishments to the blanket in the crib. This allowed a monochrome look which I think adds to the cute factor. I used sage distress ink on the edges of the card.

I decided to go for buttons, bows, ribbons and teddies for embellishments and  I made the paper using polka dots to match the blanket in the crib as well as using some patchwork material DP.

So there it is- cute as a button just like the baby!!

I would like to enter the following challenges

One Stitch At A Time – Butterflies or Buttons 
Tuesday Throwdown – Cute & Cuddly
Little Miss Muffet Challenges –  One layer or CAS (definitely in the one layer camp rather than CAS!!)
Challenges 4 Everybody – Anything Goes  
MyGrafico – Anything Goes

Can we have it all versus do we have enough?

Can we have it all versus do we have enough?

Lots going on in real life so sorry I haven’t been around much.
I’ve been pondering on questions raised by a change in lifestyle that has been somewhat forced upon me by health issues. I’ve gone part time and am trying to adapt to the change. As ever with most change there are mixed feelings- both positive and negative. 
On a positive note I have more time to rest and take care of myself.
The main negative is the loss of income and trying to live more frugally as a consequence. This is not necessarily a bad thing but I must admit that at the moment it is a real struggle. I have been pondering the urges I have to buy things that are luxuries rather than necessities and the emotions and inner needs that I am actually trying to meet by such consumption.
Image from http://www.mountainpark.org/resources/sermon-library/i-want-it-all/

I came across this article which sums up nicely why rather than asking can I have it all? we should consider whether we have enough. The attitude of the writer gave me lots to think about and is really inspiring so I thought I’d share the link
What my sons disabilities taught me about having it all

Image from http://sivers.org/trust