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

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #203 - Bling's the Thing!

Hello everyone and welcome!!  Lovely to see you here!!

Its time for the first Challenge of 2018 over at Crafty Cardmakers and I am happy to say, I will be staying on for another Term.  Thank you Lin!!  I thoroughly enjoy working alongside all of the lovely ladies on this Team.  They are so creative and their inspiration certainly helps to keep the creative juices flowing!!

The Theme for this Challenge is Bling's the Thing and Lin (our fearless Leader) is our Host.  As always, you may create anything you like as long as it meets the Challenge criteria.

The papers I have used for this card are a mix from Maja (the dark blue) and Kaisercraft.

Added a row of tiny pearls to the pretty piece of lace attached to the side of the top layer.

The chippie is by 2 Crafty Chipboard .  I daubed it with Cloud White Versa Magic Stamp Pad to lighten it and then attached a large glass bead.   Usually these beads live at the bottom of the vase when I have fresh cut flowers to display.  They make it easy to keep the arrangement steady and they also make the flowers last a bit longer.  I have thought for a while that they could look nice on a card too so, when I was looking for that extra bit of bling, I popped one on and, luckily, I like it!!

The bloom is a paper Azalea which is available from Megs Garden, and was originally white.  To give it that gorgeous bright blue colour, I sprayed it with Peacock Feathers Distress Spray Stain.  Although you can't really see it, the stamens I used also have some glitter on the tips.

For a little more bling I added some gem flourishes to the flower cluster.
The leaf die is Flourish #14 by Cheery Lynn.

It is quite difficult to pick up the bling when you are photographing but, it does sparkle quite prettily in real life.

I invite you to go over and take a look at the gorgeous creations by my Teamies.  I'm sure you'll  be inspired to play along and link up your own creation.  Would love to see what you come up with!

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #203 - Bling's the Thing!!

Thank you so much for stopping by.
Take care and God Bless.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #202 - Christmas

Hello everyone and welcome.  So pleased you dropped by, especially at this busy time of year.

The last Challenge for 2017 has gone live at Crafty Cardmakers.  June is our host and, surprise!, surprise!, the Theme is Christmas!!

As usual, anything you would like to enter is fine, as long as it is Christmas themed.

For this card I have used more of the papers from a 6" x 6" pad by Craft Smiths.

Instead of adding lace, I used some white cardstock which was edged with the Deep Edge Floral Vine border punch by Martha Stewart.

Placed some scrunched up cotton underneath the cluster for more texture and there is a small die cut doily hiding underneath there too.

Added micro beads and glitter to the flowers and, of course,  I scattered some prills around the card as well.

The chipboard pieces are by Scrapmatts.

I hope you are inspired to join in with our final Challenge for the year.
To have a look at the fabulous creations by my Teamies and to link up your entry

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #202 - Christmas
Please read the rules and take note of the 15 Challenge limit.

Thank you so much for your visit and enjoy the rest of your day
Take care and God Bless.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge # 201 - Animal Magic

Hello everyone and welcome to my bit of blog space.  

Hope you are enjoying your day so far.

It's time for another Challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers.  This time Kim is our host and the Theme is 'Animal Magic' so, we would love to see your creations based on an animal theme.
As always, you may create anything you like but please make sure your project has an animal large enough for us to see.  We are excluding insects for this one so, no bugs, butterflies or bees please.   Your project may still include them but you will also need to add an animal to meet the challenge theme.

My DT contribution is a Christmas card.
The inspiration for this card came from one created by Pamellia Johnson who is, in my humble  opinion,  a totally brilliant card maker.  If you love shabby chic you will adore her beautiful work as I do.  She also shares the most amazing wildlife photos on her posts so, if you like birds and squirrels and other assorted small, wild creatures, you will love that aspect of her work as well.  I urge you to go and take a look HERE.

 The papers used are from Craft Smiths and Kaisercraft.

 The poinsettia is handmade with a die from Poppy Crafts and the small white flower is a Cherry Blossom which is available from Megs Garden. 

The reindeer is a chipboard piece from 2Crafty Chipboard.  I originally coloured it red for use on another project but then decided to use it here and heat embossed it in gold.  I wasn't too fussy about the coverage so you can still see where some of the red shines through.

The greeting ornament is from Scrapmatts.  I used a fine texta to colour the writing but, as you can see, I obviously am hopeless at colouring in between the lines!!  LOL!!  It really stands out in a close-up but, is not quite so noticeable in RL.  Added my standard prills and micro beads!

 The inside ..

.. and the full frontal!

I hope I have given you some inspiration to join in with the Challenge.
 For more inspo and some fabulous ideas, pop on over to the Crafty Cardmakers blog and check out the projects shared by my wonderfully creative Teamies.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #201 - Animal Magic

Thank you so much for your visit and have a wonderful day!!

Take care and God Bless.

Marg oxox

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge # 200 - Anything but a Card

Hello and welcome!!!  So nice of you to stop by!

The new Challenge has gone live at Crafty Cardmakers and this time Angela is our hostess and the Theme is Anything but a Card!

So, you can create anything you wish, as long as it IS NOT a Card.

Well, as you can imagine, for a cardmaker like me, that is not an easy Challenge to meet.  I actually started a couple of different projects, but ended up putting them to one side, because they just were not coming together the way I wanted.  Haven't tossed them in the bin as yet as I'm hoping to go back later on and finish them off.  I had started this Art Journal page a little while ago.  All I had done was the basic background so, when nothing else worked for me, I decided to finish it off.  Wasn't really sure where I was going with this but, in the end, it came together quite nicely and I am very happy with the finished piece.

I used a piece of Canvas Paper and cut it to size so it would fit into the Art Journal I created a little while back.  I didn't want to work in the Journal itself because I didn't want any of the wet media
to soak through the page.  If you'd like to take a look at that Journal, HERE is the link.

I started by using texture paste through a Bubble stencil and then used Lindy's Stamp Gang Magicals for the colour. 

The colours are Tiffanylou's Blue and Dark Chocolate Truffle.  Once the Magicals were dry I rubbed the corners with gold Twinkling H2O's.  The stamps I used are from Prima and from Lavinia Stamps.

Found this flower in my stash.  It must have been re-coloured a long time ago, so I have no idea what I sprayed it with, but the colour was perfect for my page.  The chippie frame was simply swiped with more of the gold Twinkling H2O's.

The quote I used was found through Pinterest.  It is from a Journal page by Joanne Sharpe.  It doesn't say if it was her own quote or from someone else but, the full quote says ' To be true, you must embrace the life that is calling you and listen to the whispers in your soul.'   I loved it, so I hope she won't mind me using part of it for my page.

Added lots of prills for some more texture .. and, just because I love them!

Here is the page glued down in my Journal ..

.. and a little closie!

Would love for you to pop on over to the Crafty Cardmakers Blog and take a look at the incredible creations by my Teamies.  I am sure you will be inspired to join in.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #200 - Anything but a card.
Be sure to read the rules and please take note of the 15 Challenge limit.

Thank you so much for coming by and do enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #199 - Thankful!

Hello again sweet visitors and welcome to my little creative space.

It's time for another Challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers.  

The Challenge Theme is 'Thankful' and  Maike is our Host this time.  

As usual, anything you care to make is fine .. a card, a layout, a canvas, home decor piece ..  it doesn't matter as long as it has a Thankful Theme.  

Me, I'm mostly into cards and, as I needed one of the masculine persuasion, this is what I created for my DT contribution.

 The papers are mainly from Kaisercraft with just the ruler strip on the side being from Prima.

 The tags are pre-made ones from Franceville but the clock flairs are hand made.

 I found some free printable ones on the net ages ago so, I simply printed them, cut them out and covered them with Glossy Accents.   It took a while for the big one to dry but I like that extra shine so it was worth the wait.

 The chippie is from 2Crafty Chipboard.  I gave it some colour by swiping it with Versacolor Stamp Pads in Bronze and Lapislazuli.

 The greeting was also simply printed out and mounted on a Spellbinders die cut which I found floating around my workbench.

 Et Voila!!

Sincerely hoping I have inspired you to join in with the Challenge.

For more inspiration, pop on over to the Crafty Cardmakers Blog and take a peek at the fabulous creation by my Teamies.  I am sure they will inspire you to join in the fun.   Simply follow the link below to check it out and to link up your entry.
Please read the rules and take special note of the 15 Challenge limit.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #199 - Thankful

Thank you so much for dropping by and,
whatever your plans may be, hope you have a great day!
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg