Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #204 - Get Inky/Messy!!

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  So pleased that you dropped by!

It's time for another Challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and the Theme this time around is to get Inky or Messy!!  Chanya is our host and, as always, you may create whatever you like as long as it meets the current Theme.
You may be pleased to know that we no longer have a Challenge limit, so you can enter as many other Challenges as you like.

Well, as usual, I have created a card.  Actually, I created a number of cards or, I really should say, I created a number of backgrounds using Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals, but most of them were a total failure!   Just couldn't seem to get the process right.  I simply ended up with  these big blobs in the middle of my paper but, I am happy to  say, that I did manage to get a couple I liked, one of which I am sharing here.

This was, actually, the first background I did .. and didn't really like at first.  Wasn't sure what kind of card I wanted to make either so, I put it aside, and tried again, and again, and again .. four times again, as a matter of fact, LOL!!  Finally I made another one that I quite liked and did start making a card with that one but, even that, wasn't working out for me.  So, I went back to the first one and, all of a sudden, it just came together!  

When I had a closer look at it, I really did start to like the different shades in the background and, once I started to build up the card, I was liking it more and more.

At first, I wasn't sure what to use for the cluster but then I remembered a card made recently by Lisa of A Mermaid's Craft.  She used a Chloe Stem Die by Memory Box on her card and it looked gorgeous and I remember thinking that I have that die but have never used it.  So, I got it out and voila! .. I love it!!

The die below is the Garland Threads Die by Altenew which I purchased just recently from
Megs Garden.  I really love that too!!

I didn't even use any prills this time!  Didn't think they were needed.

Tried to capture the shimmer on this photo, but it is really difficult to pick up with a camera.

In the end, I am really happy with my summery, shimmery card and I also know just the person to give it to!  All good!

Would love for you to pop on over to take a peek at the lovely creations by my Teamies.  I am sure you will be inspired to join in with Challenge!  Would love to see what you create!!
To check it all out, and to link up your entry simply follow the link below.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #204 - Get Messy/Inky!!

Thank you so much for stopping by and enjoy the rest of your day!!
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

More MM for Christmas

Hello again everyone and welcome to my blog space.  
Hope you are having a wonderful day!

Well, here I am, still creating Christmas cards.  Don't know about you, but I'm almost getting a bit tired of them!  Almost!!  LOL!!  Still have a few more to go and they have to be finished by the end of this week!

This is another of my Magicals cards, the background having been created with nothing but a few Lindy's Stamp Gang's Magicals.

 This one is very much like a card I created a little while ago HERE,  but the coloured area for the background is larger and I have used different embellishments.

The colours of Magicals used are Rizzo's Rowdy Red, Greased Lightning Green and Glory of the Seas Gold.

Love these cute little pine cones I found.

The sentiment was printed with my label maker.

Added some prills!

Et Voila!!

I really love this one and not sure I want to give it away .. might be giving myself a Christmas card this year .. LOL!!

Thank you so much for finding the time to pay me a visit .. I know how busy it gets at this time of the year so I really appreciate it.

Enjoy your day!!
Take care and God Bless.

A Watercolour Christmas

Hello lovely visitors!!  Welcome to my blog.  Hope you are all having a wonderful day!!

I am here to share another Christmas card with you.  This one is a little different in that I created a background just using Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals and,  I must say, I am really happy with the result.  Hope you like it too.

Lately, I've been playing around a bit with paints and sprays trying to create backgrounds for my cards instead of simply using dp.  I have quite enjoyed the process even though some things I tried  haven't worked  and, consequently, ended up in the bin but, some things actually did work.  
This one worked!!  It  is very simple but I really liked it and so, turned it into a card. 

To create that little bit of background, I used Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals in Rizzo's Rowdy Red, Greased Lightning Green and Glory of the Seas Gold.

I simply laid down some water on my watercolour paper and then sprinkled the colours on one at a time, spreading the colour out with a paint brush.

Not difficult and certainly not fancy but I really love how it created those patches of colour.

Once it was dry, I simply added my cluster and some coloured prills.

The greeting is a simple gold sticker.

What I really love about these magicals, is the gorgeous gold shimmer you get from the Glory of the Seas Gold.  It is very difficult to pick up with a camera but, believe me, it is beautiful IRL and adds quite a bit of pazzazz!!

The flower was coloured with Cherry Red Dylusion S.pray

Very happy with this one.  Hoping to make some more in a similar vein!!

Thank you so much for your visit today and a huge thank you for any comment you may care to leave for me.  I love reading them and appreciate each and every one.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Take care and God Bless.

1 Master Board = 3 Simple Cards

Hi everyone!!  So lovely to have you drop by.

Hope you are all having a wonderful day!

I've been spending some time watching videos (don't we all??)  on You Tube and came across one that I found really interesting.  It was made by Eileen Godwin of Eileen's Crafty Zone and she was demonstrating how to create a Masterboard.   There's actually two videos and HERE is the link to the first one if you're interested.   There, you will see the link to the second one as well.   I thoroughly enjoyed it and was inspired to have a go.  

So, this is what I made.

I didn't take progress photos while I was making this (if you wish, you can see all that on the videos) and I even forgot to take a photo before I cut it up so I simply pieced it back together so you could see how my Masterboard ended up.  The colour was added with Distress Inks and I wasn't overly impressed with my colour choices at first but, started to like it more and more as it progressed.
The colours I used are Mustard Seed, Ripe Persimmon, Faded Jeans and Pine Needles.

I managed to make three cards with this masterboard and am really happy with the result.
They are all very similar but, still, a little different.

The first card measures 3.5" x 7".

I used similar elements on all three cards.    Had to use prills, of course, along with some micro beads.

The gauze has been brushed with gesso to give it shape and structure and the flowers were coloured with sprays made from Distress Re-inkers.

Got myself a Brother Label Maker just recently (been going nuts labelling everything I can in my Craft Room.  LOL!!) and used it to make the sentiment.  

Wrapped the twine around the panel on this card before tying the bow.

The second card measures 4" x 6".

 

  Larger flower this time and simply left it as is.  Another label from my maker for the sentiment.

 Didn't bother wrapping the twine around this one .. just added a simple bow.

The last card measures 4.25" x 5.5".

Same gauze, same prills and micro beads.

 Different flowers again, coloured with sprays made from Distress Inks.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating this Masterboard and then the three cards.  It was something totally different to what I normally do and I love the results.  As I said at the beginning, I didn't really like my colour choices at first but it turned out nice and bright and cheery in the end. 
Thank you so much Eileen for sharing your talent and for inspiring me to do something a little different.

Thank you all too for dropping in and taking a look.  I hope you will go over and check out Eileen's video and her work .. I think she is awesome!!

Whatever you plan to do today,  make it a good one and have fun!!

Take care and God Bless.

MM - Clean and Simple

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog.  So pleased you dropped by.

I have been playing with my Lindy's Magicals again and, this time, created a couple of clean and simple cards.

I've actually been getting into a bit of a rut with my cards.  They were all starting to look the same to me so, I thought I would try something a little different.

No background papers on these two, just some magicals and texture paste.

As you can see, both cards are pretty much the same with only a few, slight differences.

This card measures 4" x 6" and the Magicals colour I used is Danny Zuko's Denim.

I used removable masking tape to mask off the area I wanted to colour, wet the paper and then dropped some of the powder onto it. 

You get such a great effect with the magicals and, although the texture paste ran under the stencil a little,  I love how it soaked up some of the colour.  It is possible that I didn't dry the magicals properly but, as I said, I like the effect.

 A piece of gauze under the flowers for some soft texture and then plenty of prills and some micro beads for extra effect.  I saw this combination on Tracey Sabella's blog and really loved how it looked so thought I'd try it out ..  Love it even more now!

 

My second card measures 3.75" x 7" and the colour I used here is Greased Lightnin' Green.

 The little medallion shape was made with a glue gun, some Mod Melts and a silicon mould.  I sprayed it with the same Magicals for a bit of added colour.

 I dabbed the gauze on both cards with gesso just to give it a bit more structure.

I didn't pre-mix the Magicals.  I simply wet the watercolour paper and then picked up a small amount of the powder on a paint brush and simply flicked it onto the page.  To spread the colour a bit more I sprayed again with a bit more water and this was the result.  I love how you get so many different shades just from the one colour .. awesome!

Lots of prills again.

.. and a final look at both cards together.

Unfortunately my stamping is not as  sharp as I would have liked and the texture paste bled a bit under the stencil but, all in all, I am really happy with the way these turned out.  They are certainly different from what I usually do and, I think, that's a good thing.

I apologise for the long post but I felt that these two cards needed to be shown together.  So glad that you made it to the end.

Thank you so much for popping in and taking a look .. I do hope you enjoyed the visit.

Have yourselves a wonderful day!!
Take care and God Bless.