OSAAT #207 - Flowers

This week the theme is Flowers so come over to One Stitch at a Time and join us. It was my turn to choose one of Hope Jacare's images and I chose Phalaenopsis which you can buy at the Stitchybear Digi Outlet.

If you come over to OSAAT you can check out all the design team cards.

My card blank is by Craft UK. The yellow card and maroon card used for the mat are both from Papermill. I used a Crafter's Companion embossalicious folder on the maroon card. The image was coloured with my Promarkers and cut following the shape of the drawing. I used a Distress Ink in Spun Sugar to soften the edges. I placed it on the right side of the card and then used some pressed orchids in the top left corner. I've had these for years after buying them at the Joanna Sheen website. They're not the same colour as the orchids in the drawing but they tone in with the matted layers. The leaves are all cut with a Memory Box die. I used a Best Wishes stamp that I must have had for about ten years and never used before! This was stamped and then heat embossed with Cosmic Sparkle N Sprinkle in palm green.

The prize this week is $9 to spend in the Stitchybear Digi Outlet but please head over to OSAAT to check out the prizes.

I'm entering my card into the following challenges:
Digi Choosday Challenge - Flower Power
Oldie but a Goodie Challenge - April Showers Bring May Flowers.  My oldie - orchids + the stamp
Papertake Weekly Challenge - Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
Crafter's Companion Facebook Page Challenge - Floral
Ladybug Crafts Challenge - Here Comes Spring
4KraftyGirlz Challenges - Anything Goes

Tiger Lily

This image is called 'Lilleth' and is by Teri of Delicious Doodles. However, I've decided to call her Tiger Lily because I've coloured the lilies as tiger lilies. We had masses of tiger lilies in our garden when I was young and I always loved them. Unfortunately, I've never been very successful at growing them in my own gardens over the years.

After I'd decided to colour them as tiger lilies that decided the rest of my colour scheme - orange and green. A very bright and cheery card. I coloured the image with Promarkers and after cutting as a rectangle I matted it on to lime green card. The card blank is by Joanna Sheen and the orange and green card is all from Papermill. The image is so beautiful that it doesn't really need many embellishments so I kept it relatively simple. It was matted on to a bright orange base that I embossed with a Crafter's Companion 'A Stitch in Time' embossalicious folder. I added a lime green cord down the right with a Lili of the Valley sentiment set at the top of the cord. I stamped the sentiment and embossed it with Cosmic bronze embossing powder before cutting with a Spellbinders lacy circle die. I added a few green gems in the corners, job done.

I'm entering my card into the following challenges:

Crafts Galore Encore Challenge - Creating with colour (use your favourite colour - mine is green).
Crafting by Designs - Anything Goes
Digi Choosday Challenge - Flower Power
Ladybug Crafts Ink - Birthdays
Oldie but a Goodie Challenge - April Showers bring May Flowers oldie is green cord, I've had for years.

Easter Greetings

A friend on Facebook, and a DT buddie on one of my DTs, asked if I would like to be guest designer for today on this site   I was up to date on my DT cards and as I'm trying to get back into blogging more I accepted.

She sent me the sheet of images to use. It's a pre-coloured sheet and includes the little girl, an image of lilies, a selection of sentiment tickets, a border of little chicks and some eggs. I decided to use the little girl and one of the sentiment tickets - unfortunately my writing isn't the best. In the past I would have asked Eric to do the writing for me because his writing was perfect and mine leaves a lot to be desired. It was good until I broke my right wrist and now my hand has a mind of its own and jumps when I don't  want it to and the pen does a scribble. lol

The sponsor is High Tea Design.

I tore round the image of the little girl and then used Distress Ink in peeled paint on the edges. The yellow card was embossed with a Crafter's Companion embossalicious folder and then the same Distress Ink was used on the top of the pattern. I matted the yellow on to pink card, both from Papermill, as the mat. The card blank is by Craft UK. Before affixing the mat to the card base I wrapped a strip of flowered washi tape round the left side of the card to tie in with the flowers in the little girl's basket. I fussy cut the sentiment ticket and distressed the edges before raising on foam pads. I then added some silver flowers to complete the design. These are like little charms and I bought them at the Bluewater Craft Fair a couple of years ago but have no idea of the make or supplier.

I'm entering my card into the following challenges:

Brown Sugar Challenge - Easter
Challenges and Candies - Embossing
Simply Create Too - Easter or Bunnies
Aud Sentiments Challenge - Easter
Paper Crafting Journey - Anything Goes

OSAAT #206 - Anything Goes

Here is my card for this week's challenge at One Stitch at a Time - everyone's favourite theme 'Anything Goes'. It was Jeanette's turn to choose an image for four of the DT to use and she chose Craftygirl's 'Puppy' which you can buy at the Stitchybear Digi Outlet. 

I rarely make easel cards but this is the second one in a row for me. This puppy cried out for standing proud and so after colouring with my Promarkers and fixing to some card I carefully cut round him. I've used a small Craft UK square card blank which I scored to make the easel. I then used a piece of patterned paper behind the puppy and it was already in my printed papers so I can't for the life of me remember which CD it's on. I put a green Card Candi in each corner and a small white foam bone - I've had these foam shapes for about ten years, at least! I bought them from Create and Craft. The base is embossed with a Darice paw print folder which had been coloured with two brown Distress Inks. The woof is also a foam shape.

Please check out the OSAAT blog for details of the prizes on offer this week.

I'm entering my card into the following challenges:
Creative Card Crew - Animals
Digi Choosday Challenge - Animals
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes
I Love Promarkers - Anything Goes
The Sisterhood of Crafters - Animals
Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes

One of my brothers died this morning so it hasn't been a very happy Mother's Day for me so far. He'll be greatly missed but it was a blessing for him.

For a Special Female

I've been colouring this image for most of this week, starting and then stopping, as my eyes were playing up again. Eventually it was finished and I decided to tear it out rather than use a die. The image is called Delphinium and is by Delicious Doodles . I coloured it with my Promarkers and after tearing it I edged with Distress Ink. I generated the sentiment on the computer and tore this out too, edging it with Distress Ink and tying with a narrow lilac ribbon as a tag. My card blank is by Joanna Sheen and the backing paper is from a Papermania Capsule Collection in blue. I cut this with a Spellbinders grand nestie and matted it on to the purple card which is by Papermill. I used three little pearls in each corner and they are from Wild Orchid Crafts. It's a reasonably simple card but I think it looks quite effective and is for my niece's birthday (I have four nieces so I wonder which one will get this?).

I'm entering my card into the following challenges:

Delicious Doodles - For Mother's Day or For a Special Female
4kraftygirlz Challenges - Anything Goes
Crafty Little Fairies - Add a Tag
Southern Girls Challenge - Floral Frenzy
I Love Promarkers - Anything Goes
Scrapper's Delights Challenge - For a Special Lady

Thank you all so much for visiting, please call again.

MAWTT Sketch

This is the sketch, above, that the DT had to follow and I hope you'll come and join us with your take on this sketch. It was Red (Riette) who set the challenge and the sketch was her first blogged card. I'll show you my first blogged card at the end of this post. This is my card for the Moving Along with the Times challenge.

 I haven't worked to a sketch for such a long time and I really enjoyed doing this one.

My small card blank is by Craft Uk. I used Papermill card and using a Crafter's Companion embossalicious folder. I embossed both pieces before cutting.The pink pearlescent card separated the two colours nicely and I topped it with one of my favourite sentiments. I typed it in colours to match the background card and then cut it with one of my cheap dies. The gold heart is from a little pack of hearts sent to me by Laurie, Designer Diva. Using my Martha Stewart punch I cut a butterfly in the pink pearlescent card and set it on top of the heart. I like this card and I love the colour combination.

I'm entering my card in to the following challenges:

Eclectic Ellapu Pink Team - Wings
Eclectic Ellapu Purple Team - Flowers and Butterflies
Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes
Crafting When We Can - Hearts and Flowers

Right, here is my first blogged card and write up which I posted in February 2011. I started off my blog by not writing very much at all. Now I forget to stop. lol

This is a card I made yesterday. I used a flower stamp that I got free on a magazine a few years ago. I made the leaves with my Crealies die. The bunch of flowers is backed with gold paper. The frame and the corners are the 'bits left over' after using one of my label nesties.

Kingfisher in the Rushes

I've had this image for a few months now after winning it in a blog challenge. I haven't really been crafting very much at all until quite recently when I felt in the mood for doing some colouring again. I've been making my design team cards and that's about it but I've had a spate of colouring images just for the sake of colouring a lovely image. I really enjoyed colouring this one even though my eyes were playing up and I had to stop and start a number of times.

The image is called 'Kingfisher in the Rushes' and is by Delicious Doodles.

Unfortunately my photo isn't 100% which I didn't notice until after I'd cropped it and saved it so I think I'll use it and hope it's not too noticeable. It's only at the top of the photo where the sun throws a slight shadow. I coloured the image using my Promarkers and a Sakura gelly roll pen on the dragonflies to make them glisten. I first of all cut it out with a Spellbinders grand oval nestie and it didn't look right with a broad white border. I then cut it down to half width and I still didn't like it so I eventually took the bull by the horns and cut round the black oval edge! I was dreading making a mistake because it had taken me ages to colour and I thought I would make a mess of it. I'm pleased to say that it worked. I think the image stands out much better. The card blank is by Joanna Sheen and the backing paper is from a First Edition 'Hideaway' pad. The pearlescent greeny/bluey/grey card is from 'I know not where'. I must have bought it at a craft show because there are ten sheets in a bag but with no name on it. It's a beautiful colour and I thought it toned in very well with the feathers of the kingfisher. After cutting the mat for the backing paper I cut three different widths of the same card to add as side pieces to the design. The little wooden dragonfly is from Create and Craft and I coloured it with the Sakura pen to make it glisten like the ones in the image. I used a Spellbinders resplendent rectangle for the sentiment which I'd generated on the computer. I added a little 'kingfisher' coloured pearl to each side of the sentiment.

I'll enter my card into the following challenges:
613 Avenue Create Challenge - Anything Goes with twist of Birds of a Feather
Eclectic Ellapu Pink Team - Wings
Eclectic Ellapu Purple Team - Flowers and Butterflies
Challenges 4 Everybody - Anything Goes