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.

A Masterboard Christmas

Hello sweet visitors and welcome to my blog.  Hope you are having a wonderful day!

A big welcome to my new followers too!!  Thank you so much for joining me.  I hope I can pass on a little inspiration now and then.

Today, I am sharing two more Christmas cards made with my Christmas Masterboard.  I really enjoy these Masterboards and am definitely going to do more of my cards this way.   It's a lot of fun  creating them and it saves using up my DP.  Although I still have so much of that I don't think I will ever get to use it up, LOL!!!

These two cards are almost identical so I thought I would share them together.

The poinsettias were made with a die from Poppy Crafts and the Pine Branch die is from Impression Obsession.

  The sentiment on Card 1 was printed, punched out and covered with an epoxy sticker ..

,, and on Card 2, I used a simple gold sticker.

Added a few prills and micro beads although I wasn't really happy with the result on card 1.  I think the colour is wrong but, once they are down, it's impossible to get them off again.

Was a bit happier with the result on card 2 .. but still, not quite what I wanted.
Should perhaps have used green.

Inside Card 1.

Inside Card 2.

Card 1 full frontal ..

.. and, Card 2.

Not quite sure about using the red cardstock base.  I think they may have looked better with a white base.  Still, I'm not unhappy with them so I guess they will do.

Have you started making your Christmas cards and decorations yet??  
Dare I say there are only about 8 weeks to go??  Scary isn't it??

Thank you for stopping by to take a look.  It's always so nice to have you visit and, whatever you are planning to do, make it a great day my friends.
Take care and God Bless.
Hugs xx

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #198 - Spooky

Hello lovely visitors and welcome to my blog.  A special welcome to my new followers.  Thank you so much for joining me on this creative journey.

There is a new Challenge starting at Crafty Cardmakers.  Glenda is our Host this time around and the Theme is all about being Spooky!!!  Anything you care to create is fine, it doesn't have to be a card but it must be Halloweenish!!  LOL!!  Is that even a word??  Guess it is now!!

This time I created a tag but, as I don't participate in Halloween and don't possess any 'spooky' items in my stash, I simply used the Halloween colours of black, orange and purple.

The inspiration for this tag came from Autumn Clark who created a stunning Graduation card in Halloween colours.  You can see it here.

I cut the base tag from black cardstock and covered it with some Prima papers.

 Die cut some leaves from orange cardstock and paper and also used some left over leaves from my 'Fancy Folds' card here.

 I have no idea where the flower came from nor do I remember what colour it was originally.  When I found it while searching through my stash, it had obviously been sprayed red, so all I did was respray it again with some watered down acrylic paint.  You can still see some of the red shining through.  It looks like a Prima flower to me but I may be wrong.

Layered a paper doily and a die cut one under the flower cluster and also added a scrap from a Prima journal tag under the leaves.   A little touch of lace for more texture!

Attached a twine bow at the side ..

.. and more twine at the top of the tag ..

.. and it was done!!!!

I hope you like my little Halloweenie tag and that I have inspired you to join in with the Challenge.

For more inspiration, pop on over to the Crafty Cardmakers blog and take a look at the fabulous creations by my Teamies and then link up your entry.  Don't forget to read the rules and please take note of our 15 Challenge limit.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #198 - Spooky

Thank you so much for dropping by and for leaving me a little love.  I really appreciate it!!

Enjoy the rest of your day.
Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #197 - Fancy Folds

Hello lovely visitors and welcome to my blog.  Hope you are having a wonderful day.

There's a new Challenge over at Crafty Cardmakers and I am happy to tell you that it's my turn to play Host!
The Theme is Fancy Folds and this particular Challenge is for cards only. 

I wasn't sure what type of card to make for this Challenge.  Thought about Step cards and Easel cards but they weren't really what I wanted to do.  Then I saw a card on Pinterest that piqued my interest .. an Upright Z Fold card .. I had never made one of these so I thought, 'That's what I'll do.  Something new and different.'    Well, for me anyway.

The papers are a mix of Maja and Kaisercraft.  I seem to be using them a lot lately but they do go so very well together.

I still had quite a bit of Autumn coloured bits and pieces on my work bench left over from the last Challenge (yep!!  afraid I haven't really been very particular about cleaning up my Craft room) so decided to use some of them.

The flowers are available at Megs Garden.  They were a creamy white and I altered them with sprays made from watered down acrylic paint.  I always make sure to wet the flowers with water first and then the colour soaks in really well.

The leaves were cut from Maja papers with a Cheery Lynn die.

Had to add some prills of course, with some micro beads mixed in, and I also added some gesso highlights to the flowers and leaves along with a few splats on the base.

 This is another first for me.  The bit of 'lace' was made with a mould and Acrylic Gap Filler.  It is a little fiddly but quite easy to do and looks pretty good, I reckon! 

When you start to open it right out, this card is fairly long ..

 .. and a bit difficult to photograph but I managed to get it in one shot.

 Easy to see how it stands up here.  I used a gem brad to anchor it.

It was fun to make and, although I probably won't use this style a lot, I might make some of my Christmas cards like this.

Update:  I have just found out that it was Berit Rosenfeldt who first created this fold.  Thank you Berit .. it is awesome!!   Unfortunately I cannot find a current blog of hers to link to but HERE is a video of the original cards.  I'm afraid it's in Danish but the cards are gorgeous!! 

Well, I hope I have given you some inspiration to try a new style of card and to join in with our Challenge!  For more inspo', pop on over to the Blog and take a look at the wonderful creations by my Teamies and then link up your entry.  Please read our rules and take note of the 15 Challenge limit.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #197 - Fancy Folds.

Thank you so much for your visit and for leaving me a little love .. I  really appreciate it.
Whatever you plan to do for the rest of your day, do it safe and do it happy!!

Take care and God Bless.
oxox   Marg

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #196 - Autumn

Hello sweet visitors and welcome to my blog.  Hope you are having a wonderful day.

There's a new Challenge starting over at Crafty Cardmakers!  For this Challenge, Kim is our host and the Theme is Autumn!!

As always, you may create anything you like, as long as it follows the Autumn Theme.
Please read our rules and take note of the 15 Challenge limit.

So, here  is the card I created for my DT contribution.
The papers used are from Maja and Kaisercraft.  I felt they were a really good match.

The leaves were cut with Tim Holz' Mini Tattered Leaves Die which I have had for ages but never got around to using.   I cut them from a light brown cardstock and then coloured them using sprays made from Distress Re-inkers.  I also added a few veins with a brown fine line pen.

Tucked some gauze under the cluster for some soft texture, added some berries and, of course, lots of prills.

The flowers were also coloured with sprays and I added a touch of gesso here and there.

More of the Maja papers inside.

Et Voila!!

Another fabulous Challenge from Crafty Cardmakers.

Take a look at the wonderful inspiration from the rest of the Team and, while you're there, why not join in the fun and link up your entry.  Simply click on the link below.

Crafty Cardmakers Challenge #196 - Autumn.

I am sharing this card with the Challenge at
Fussy and Fancy Friday #196 - Fall Colours

Thank you so much for your visit and for leaving me a little love, and,
whatever your plans are for the day, do it safe and do it happy!!!

Take care and God Bless.
oxox Marg