Monday, October 31, 2011

Penny Black October Sketch Challenge

I have been busy all week working & teaching classes at the recent Melbourne Craft & Sewing Show, that I've only just managed to get my entry for the Penny Black October Sketch Challenge made today, with just a few hours to spare!




3989K joyeux noel
Having just gotten a set of Spellbinders Shapeabilities Holiday Tags dies, I really wanted to have a play with them and decided to use them on my Sketch card (see the challenge sketch here). To make this card, I stamped Penny Black 3989K joyeux noel on yellow, red, mauve & lime green cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink. Using the Holiday Tags, I diecut portions of the image, and holding the die still in place, sponged distress inks in co-ordinating colours onto each tag. The ornament tags were then layered onto various cardstock with foam tape, and a gold twine bow added to each tag. Seasons greetings from Penny Black 30-018 crystalline was stamped on yellow card with tuxedo black ink, punched out using McGill Vintage Label punch, and lightly distressed around the edges.


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

"Christmas Sparkle" Greeting Cards

I created these cards for the "Christmas Sparkle" Greeting Card Workshop for the upcoming 2011 Melbourne Craft & Sewing Show. (Workshop details available here).



These cards are relatively simple to create; images were stamped with Encore Ultimate Metallic ink (various colous) and greetings stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink. Add a little bit of bling - rhinestones, stickles & liquid pearls - and VIOLA! Sparkly & dazzling Chrissy cards in no time at all!


Penny Black 4200K berry wreath + 30-087 winter wonders clear stamp set + Encore UM Green (green card)
Penny Black 3990K home for christmas + 3507F merriest + Encore UM Gold (yellow card)

Stamp-It 4547F Dotty Tree + Penny Black 4117H the gift of peace + Encore UM Pink (pink card)
Penny Black 4180J reverie + 4116H a wonderful christmas + Encore UM Purple (purple card)

Hero Arts CG395 Sparkling Holiday + Encore UM Blue (blue card)
Penny Black 40-083 Twinkling + 30-086 let it snow clear set + Encore UM Bronze (red card)

I am also entering these cards in the Lily Pad Cards Simon Says Stamp Bling Challenge.

Hero Arts Sparkling Holiday Card

I created this card partly for an upcoming Christmas Cardmaking Workhop (details here) that I'm teaching, but also for the Hero Arts October Card Challenge.

Hero Arts CG395 Sparkling Holiday was stamped with Encore Ultimate Metallic Blue ink, and the greeting stamped with Versafine Onyx Black ink. Self-adhesive rhinestones and various colours of Stickles glitter glue were added to "bling" it up.

I am also entering this card in the Lily Pad Cards Simon Says Stamp Bling Challenge.

Monday, October 24, 2011

APE 20 Sneak Peek & BONUS!

It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks for me and I haven't had much of a chance to get online. Unfortunately, this upcoming week is going to be no different... The Craft & Sewing Show starts this Thursday, and runs till Sunday (27-30 Oct 2011) at Caulfield Racecourse in Melbourne. If you're coming to the show, do pop by to the Dragonfly Crafts Stand (No 192) and say Hi!

Anyway, just a quick share... this past week, I've been working on a Valentine's Day Feature for Australian Papercraft Essentials magazine, featuring the super cute "Piece of my Heart" clear stamp set by Penny Black and gorgeous Echo Park Country Drive papers. Although I would love to show all the cards here, I think I'll get in trouble with my editor, LOL, so instead, here's a little sneak peek to whet your appetite. The full article will be in Issue 20 which comes out in January 2012.

30-042 Piece of my Heart
I had a few supplies left over after finishing the article, so as a BONUS, I have an extra card to card to share that won't be in the magazine. Hope you like it!

Supplies Used:
Penny Black 30-042 Piece of my Heart clear stamp set
Penny Black 30-087 winter wonders clear stamp set (greeting)
Echo Park Country Drive patterned papers
Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels Two
Spellbinders Edgeabilities Classic Scallop
Die-namics Fancy Flourish
TRIA Alcohol markers
1-1/2" & 1-3/8" circle punch & 2" scalloped circle punch

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Stamping Inspired By

I'm so excited and thrilled to be featured on Jill Foster's Blog this week!! What an amazing honour!! Check out Jill's gorgeous cards on her blog Stamping Inspired By!

Monday, October 17, 2011

Penny Black Dusk Challenge

"I was really happy to have won last week's Penny Black Collage Challenge (see my card here). I do realise the winners are now picked at random, and not based on merit, but hey, a win is a win! I'll take what I can get, LOL" J

Anyway, as I have been working at a papercraft show (Picture to Page) all weekend, I didn't manage to get to make my Penny Black Dusk Challenge entry until the very last minute... Having had so much fun creating a sunrise/sunset background (see my previous post) for the Penny Black Inspire Card Challenge a few weeks ago, I really wanted to try my hand at it again, and see if I could improve my technique.

Snowdust At Dusk
For this card, I first diecut a piece of white cardstock using Spellbinders Nestabilities Curved Rectangles. Keeping the die in place around the cardstock to create a frame, I masked off the portions of the card, and sponged on Forest Moss & Crushed Olive distress ink for the green "hill" and Antique Linen & Brushed Corduroy distress ink for the brown "hill". I then masked off the two hills with scrap card, and starting in the middle to create the sunset, I applied Spiced Marmalade distress ink with a dauber to create the sun, then applied Mustard Seed, Barn Door, Fired Brick & Faded Jeans distress ink around it with an ink blending tool to form the sunset. When the background was finished, I stamped Penny Black 4102K snowdust with Versafine Onyx Black. I added a few more dots to the image with a black Sharpie fine point marker, then decorated with various colours of Stickles glitter glue.

I am also entering this card in the Penny Black at Allsorts October Challenge, as it falls within the Challenge Guidelines. (To see my previous two entries, click here and here).

Inclinations At Dusk
This second card was simpler than the first. After diecutting the white card stock, I simple sponged on Distress Inks in bands across the cardstock - no masking required. Then I stamped Penny Black 3984K inclinations with Versafine Onyx Black, and decorated with various colours of Stickles glitter glue. Die-namics Fancy Flourish diecuts were stuck to the card with Glossy Accents, and Thinking of You (made by Hero Arts) was stamped and punched out with McGill Vintage Label Punch.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Penny Black at Allsorts October Challenge 2

Here is the second card I created for the Penny Black at Allsorts October Challenge  (to see my first card, click here).

To create this card, I diecut a piece of white card using Spellbinders Nestabilities Curved Rectangles die. Keeping the die in place as a frame, I masked off the top part of the label and sponged the bottom with Scattered Straw & Antique Linen Distress ink. I then masked the bottom and sponged the top with Tumbled Glass & Broken China. I then stamped Penny Black 3997K majestic with Versafine Onyx Black, & dotted on some black Enamel accents and various colours of Stickles glitter glue & Liquid Pearls. The finished piece was attached to a blue card blank.

Penny Black at Allsorts October Challenge

This is the first time I'm playing in the Penny Black at Allsorts Challenge. The October Challenge is to use this picture as inspiration (see below).
 

Here is my take on the challenge. To create this card, I first diecut a piece of white card using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 17. Keeping the die in place as a frame, I masked off the top part of the label and sponged the bottom with Aged Mahogany & Fired Brick Distress ink. I then masked the bottom part and sponged the top with Mustard Seed & Scattered Straw. I then stamped Penny Black 3880K fantasy with Versafine Onyx Black. A few punched sakuras & rhinestones were attached, then various colours of Stickles glitter glue applied. The finished piece was attached to a red card blank.

Here is the inspiration picture:

Also entering this in the Lily Pad Cards Simon Says Stamp Bling Challenge.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Penny Black Collage Card Challenge

This week on the Penny Black Blog, the Card Challenge is to create a Collage card. I have to admit, I don't own very many collage stamps as they are not really my usual style, but I do love Penny Black 4182K butterfly suite.
To create this first card, I stamped butterfly suite with Memento Rich Cocoa onto white cardstock. I then trimmed the piece to size, so it measured 9.5cmx12cm (approx 3-3/4"x4-3/4"). I then cut it into 4 equal strips (measuring 9.5cmx3cm each). I distressed each piece with a mix of Scattered Straw, Brushed Corduroy & Walnut Stain distress ink. I then attached the strips to another piece of white card, and lightly distressed around it. I stamped the 2 butterflies on a scrap piece of card, distressed with Mustard Seed distress ink, and cut out. They were stuck to the card with Glossy Accents. The paper flowers were also distressed with a mix of distress inks to achieve the right colour and attached to the card with a brad. Some distress stickles were added to the flower image, and clear stickles added to the butterflies. A ribbon, some twine, a few rhinestones & a Die-namics Fancy Flourish diecut were added to finish the card.
This creation of this card is pretty similar to the first card, but I stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black, and cut the piece into 6 strips. Each strip was individually distressed with two matching colours of Distress ink (eg. the blue piece was done with Tumbled Glass & Broken China, the purple piece with Milled Lavender & Dustry Concord etc) to create a rainbow palette. The strips were then attached to a piece of black card leaving a thin border. I then sprayed it lightly with Smooch Spritz Vanilla Shimmer and attached to a piece of lavender card. The coloured backing was created by sticking scrap strips of coloured cardstock onto a black card blank. Coloured buttons were threaded onto black yarn, and the yarn stuck to the back of the card with sticky tape. I adjusted the spacing of the buttons until I was happy, then stuck each one down with foam tape so that they won't move on the card. The sentiment is from a 7 Gypsies Librarie stamp.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

World Cardmaking Day Penny Black Guest Designer Card Challenge

Would you believe it?? I didn't even realise that World Cardmaking Day was on Saturday the 1st of October 2011. Unfortunately it fell on the same day as the AFL (Australian Football League) Footy Grand Final here in Melbourne. Although I am by no means a mad keen footy supporter, but you can't live in Melbourne and be married to an Aussie bloke and ignore the Footy Grand Final!! Cardmaking didn't even enter my mind all weekend.

So it was only when Monday came around, and I was busy uploading my Penny Black Winter challenge entries that I realised that there was a Penny Black Guest Designer spot up for grabs for World Cardmaking Day! The dateline was midnight Sunday PST, which actually was Monday 6pm here in Melbourne (we are ahead by 18 hours). Either way, I had less than 3 hours to create, photograph & upload my *best* card! No small ask indeed!

It really was bit of a mad scramble for me to create a a few decent entries. I knew that in the given time limit they weren't going to be my best, but as they say "something's better than nothing".

As I already had my Distress inks and my Big Shot/Spellbinders dies out to make my Winter Card Challenge entries, I decided to quickly ink up a few backgrounds using the Spellbinders Labels 17 die. I rummaged through my stamp collection and grabbed a couple of stamps that I hadn't used in a while.

For this first card, I used Penny Black 4201K adorned tree  and stamped it with Versafine black. I debated between placing brads, rhinestones or buttons on the ornaments on the tree, but in the end decided to punch some sakura flowers from red cardstock and embellish them with small rhinestones. This was then stuck onto a red card blank, with a couple of yellow corners & faux stitching added. The leaves were decorated with 3 different clear stickles - Star Dust, Crystal & Diamond. I love using all 3 clear stickles together because they each have a different iridescence, as you might be able to see in the photo. The greeting is from PB30-013 critter party.

For this next card, I diecut white cardstock with Spellbinders Nestabilities Curved Rectangles then sponged on Distress ink (Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Faded Jeans, Shabby Shutters & Scattered Straw) to create the background. I then stamped Penny Black 4102K snow dust with Versafine black. I usually stamp this stamp in a horizontal/landscape fashion, but decided to try it vertically for a change. The greeting is from Penny Black 30-087 winter wonders clear set. The trees were then dotted with stickles and liquid pearls. I must say, I am quite happy with the result, considering I made this card in under 30minutes!


For this card, I tried to create a frame by using a smaller diecut of Spellbinders Labels 17 as a mask before sponging on the distress ink - Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade & Barn Door. I then stamped the two little mice from Penny Black 30-020 hugs! in the middle using Memento black and coloured with TRIA markers. I chose the image because it was fairly quick & easy to colour. I stamped the flower portion of the image again, coloured it, cut it out  and attached it on with dimensional foam. The greeting is from Penny Black 30-028 micey day. I'm not sure if it is obvious in the photo, but I tried to add a bit of interest to the distressed portion of the frame by stamping the flower bouquet from Penny Black 30-066 eat cake randomly around the frame with Distress Spiced Marmalade ink. I then outlined the frame with a black marker to define the frame, and added stickles to the flower portion of the image. To be quite honest, I wasn't entirely happy with this card, and wished I had had a bit more time to work on it, but time was fast running out. Less than an hour to go before the dateline and I had to get my 3 cards photographed and uploaded!


After uploading the preceding cards, and with half an hour to go, I decided to quickly do one last card. I have to admit, this last card was a bit of a cheat... I already had an extra image (from Penny Black 30-066 eat cake) stamped, coloured & diecut for the the Penny Black Critter Challenge a couple of weeks ago and a few precut diecuts in my craft stash, so I quickly assembled this card from bits & pieces in under 15 minutes.

Penny Black Winter Card Challenge

I've had a busy start to the week and have only just gotten a chance to blog about the Penny Black Winter  Card Challenge. This challenge ran last week on the Penny Black Blog.

Supplies used:
Penny Black 4105J starlit
Penny Black 30-087 winter wonders
Penny Black 4117H the gift of peace
Spellbinders Nestabilities Curved Rectangles
Distress Inks - Tumbled Glass, Broken China, Faded Jeans
Versafine Onyx Black & Majestic Blue
Stickles & Liquid Pearls - various




This was the first card I made, and once I made one, I had so much fun that I had to make a few more. To start, I diecut a piece of white cardstock using Spellbinders Nestabilties Curved Rectangles die. Keeping the die in place to create a frame, I masked off the bottom part of the card, then sponged on Tumbled Glass distress ink on the top. I then stamped PB 4105J starlit randomly over the top using Versafine blue. I then masked off the top part of the image, and sponged Versamagic Aspen Mist chalk ink on the bottom part, then carefully inked the "winter wonders" part of the sentiment from the winter wonders set with Versafine black. Liquid pearls and stickles were dotted onto the trees, and extra clear stickles spread over the bottom for sparkle.




Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...