Friday, September 30, 2011

Unity Friends with Flair (30 September)

 

Hello Friends!  Time for Friday inspiration again with Unity FWF!  My card today uses the sketch from the Unity KOM challenge, and stamps from Nov 2010 KOM.  In case you are wondering, I just realised I've not inked up most of my Nov 2010 KOM stamps.  Typically, I print out the image sheets of all the Unity Stamps I have and store them in a folder like a handy catalogue.  That makes it easy for me to search for stamps that I'd like to use or have not used before {{guilty look}}.

This card was really fast to put together.  The patterned paper is so pretty, all I did was some stamping, fast colouring and that's it!  And since, it was a fast card, I did another little card to match... thought this would be so perfect as a set, to go with a gift.


I'm looking forward to see all the inspiration today from my Unity friends, just head on to the Unity blog and hop along.  Don't forget to comment and you could win some Unity stamps!!

I can't believe it's October tomorrow, where did all of 2011 go?  Someone just mentioned it's less than 88 days to Christmas!! I better get more organised with making my Christmas cards...

Have a great day!

Thursday, September 29, 2011

A Christmas Scene

A few years ago, I spent a couple of weeks to visit the Christmas markets in Europe.  It was so much fun, a chance in a lifetime perhaps, to experience how Christmas is celebrated in winter.  It snowed as we visited the Bavarian countryside in Germany and I just couldn't forget how beautiful everything was. 

Today's theme at Inspired Stamps is all about Christmas.  I had an idea of a lovely wintery image in my mind, and tried to recreate that on my card today.  It didn't turn out as pretty as the image I had, but I think you get the idea.  The Inspired Stamps sets I used are "Me and My House", "1 inch Snowmen" and "Perfect Sentiments"

First, I drew a horizon line with a pencil on a piece of scrap paper, and cut along the pencil line.  I used this as a mask, placed it on my a piece of white cardstock (cut to 4" x 5.25"), and sponged Distress Ink Stormy Sky just above the mask.  Then, I coloured the slopes with Copic Marker B01 as shown.  The church and houses were stamped on another piece of white cardstock, coloured and cut out and adhered to the cardstock with the house on the far left adhered with pop dots.  For the church building, I added some Flower Soft Polar White along the roof & steeple, and also along several parts of the card.  The pine trees were just triangle cuts of white cardstock, and coloured with Copic Markers YG91, YG93, YG95 & the Colourless Blender to create some texture).  I couldn't resist adding some snowmen on the card too.  Finally the scene cardstock is adhered to the cardbase using pop dots.  I added some faux stitch lines around the scene, some tiny crystals in the sky and adhered the sentiment as shown.  The sentiment was stamped on white cardstock and coloured with BG10 and cut out.

It takes a little effort to make this card, but I think the result is pretty fun.  Hope you like this.  For more inspiration on Christmas projects, please visit the Inspired Stamps blog.

Best Wishes


 I'm so glad to be able to create a card for the Waltzing Mouse Sketch challenge this week.  Love the sketch and this card is quite easy to put together. 
I will list the products used below.  The dress image was stamped on a patterned paper and cut out as shown.  I added some shading to the dress image using Copic Markers RV00 & RV11, and a little outline with BG000.  The sentiment was stamped and cut out and coloured wth BG000 as well.  To finish off the card, I added some pearls and a little rosette, and some white stitch lines.

Hope you like the card. Enjoy your day!!





Stamps : Waltzing Mouse "You're Lovely" & "Big Day Additions"
Ink : Memento Rich Cocoa
Paper : My Mind's Eye Lost & Found 2 - Blush, Green & Blue cardstock
Others : Spellbinders Floral Doily Motif & Classic Round Die, Zva Creative pearls, White Gel pen, Rosette, GKD button & Twine

Monday, September 26, 2011

Dies.. Dies.. Dies..

Have you ever made a card with just dies?  I don't think I have till now (well.. and a little stamping).  Somehow, I've accummulated so many dies (which I ABSOLUTELY love!) and I felt I should really try to showcase them on a card.

What do you think?  Is it a bit over the top?{{grins}}  The gorgeous papers are from Webster's Pages 6x6 pad (Spring Market).  I used my craft knife to cut around the signboards on the patterned paper and position the lace trim under it.  Next, I die-cut the the large postage frame using MFT's First Class Friend die-namics.  I love this die - you get 2 die-cuts, the frame and the insert and since the WP paper is double-sided, it was perfect.  I stamped the text image from the First Class Friend stamp set on the B side of the paper and tucked it under the lace trim.  The postage frame was adhered using foam adhesive for some dimension.  The sentiment was stamped and cut out using Spellbinders Labels 18 & the edges sponged with Distress Ink Pumice Stone.  To finish decorating the card, I added a Rolled Rose and Fancy Flourish and two buttons stacked on top of the other with a red baker's twine bow adhered.

The card was based on MFT's sketch challenge MFTWSC38, and I'm also submitting this to the Dies/Punches challenge at Simon Says Stamp.

Have a great day!





Ink : Memento Rich Cocoa, Distress Ink Pumice Stone
Paper : Webster's Pages 6x6 pad - Spring Market, PTI cardstock Aqua Mist
Other : Sakura Pigma Micron Sepia 0.1, Buttons, Baker's Twine, i-rock Glam Rocks, lace trim

Daisy Doodles Challenge #43

Hi! There's a new challenge at Daisy Doodles this week, in celebration of Canda's Thanksgiving.  My card uses the Pumpkin image and I coloured it with Copic Markers (YR07, YR15, YR17 & E04, E11, YG91).  At Daisy Doodles, we'd like to welcome two new team members too, Stephanie and Mandy!! Woohoo!! Please do visit their blogs to say "Hi".  And, don't forget to head on to the Daisy Doodles blog for more inspiration. Also, check out the new gorgeous look of Daisy Doodles' store.

Thanks for stopping in today.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Two Cards to Share

Happy Saturday!  Today I have two of my recent favourite cards to share.  So very thankful that I have a hobby (cardmaking) that I love and get so much satisfaction from.

I promised to share a Non-traditional coloured Christmas card in my last post.  It was a response to the challenge at Stamp TV, you can read all about it here


I absolutely LOVE this new Stamp Set by Melanie Muenchinger (Thank you for creating a fab set, Melanie!).  It's called Holiday Basket (and you can see it by clicking on the link), don't you think the set is so Gorgeous?  I stamped the basket and poinsettia on white cardstock - they are separate images.  The Copic Markers used to colour the images are - Poinsettia (R32, R35, R39), Pinecone (E31, E34, E37), Pine (YG67), Basket (E31, E51, E55, E57).  Then I dyed a plain seam binding with Distress Stain Broken China and tied a bow as shown on the card.  The papers I used are from Pink Paislee Nantucket 6x6 pad.

If you have never joined the Stamp TV challenges, you ought to.  You could be a winner and you'll get to select a stamp set of your choice.  Just click here for the current challenges running and upload your card to Stamp TV site.

The next card, is one I made with the stamps I received from Hero Arts.  I won their challenge back in June, and you can see my watercolour card here.  The stamps arrived while I was away and I didn't have a chance to use them.  When I got home two weeks ago, I thought I should join the Hero Arts September challenge just to show how much I loved the stamps.

I stamped the large Envelope Pattern background stamp onto a white cardstock with Versamark and heat embossed it with Detailed white embossing powder. Then I sponged some Distress Inks on the card (Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Victorian Velvet, Crushed Olive & Frayed Burlap).  Try to overlap the colours a little when sponging to get a really blended effect.  Before the ink dries, I brushed some Perfect Pearls onto the card and then spritzed some water to set it.  The flowers were coloured with Copic Markers : Round petal flower :YG00, YR02, YR12 & shadow W5 (flower), YG93, YG95, YG97(leaves), Three Petals flower : YR15, YR17 (flower), YG03, YG05, YG07(leaves).  I added an outline around the flowers with E93 and then cut out the images.  To add a little sparkle to the flowers, I used the Atyou Spica clear pen.

I could hardly believe my eyes, as I was reading this post and discovered my card was selected as one of the Fab Five a few days ago.  Thank you Hero Arts!!  If you have some Hero Arts stamps, you can still join the Round Two of the September contest, it's still ongoing till 29 Sep 2011.  You never know, you could be a winner!

Have wonderful weekend!!





Holiday Basket card
Stamp : Holiday Basket (love this set!!) & Blessed is the Season (sentiment)
Paper : Pink Paislee Nantucket 6x6
Other : Seam binding (coloured with Distress stain Broken China), White gel pen
Copics : Poinsettia (R32, R35, R39), Pinecone (E31, E34, E37), Pine (YG67), Basket (E31, E51, E55, E57)

Thank You card
Stamps : LP216 Three Quirky Flowers, S5507 Envelope Pattern, CL497 Find Joy (sentiment)
Inks : Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Inks Scattered Straw, Wild Honey, Victorian Velvet, Crushed Olive & Frayed Burlap
Others : Detailed White Embossing powder, Perfect Pearls, Copic Markers, Atyou Spica Clear (for some glitter) 

Unity Friends with Flair (23 September)

Hello! Today, I have a card and a tag to share which are probably not my usual style.  {{laughing}} Do you have days like this?  I couldn't think of what to do, with absolutely zero inspiration in my head for this post.  Here's what I came up with after a really late night...struggling ;)

I had just received my September KOM, and I really wanted to play with it.  I had just completed a non-traditional coloured Christmas card challenge (post coming up), and I really wanted to make another.  Hence, the above result, which I wasn't entirely happy with.  So, I thought perhaps I ought try a tag instead with another theme...

I die-cut the tag from a Tim Holtz sizzix die, and sponged Distress Inks all over, and stamped a couple of images randomly on the tag.  Then I added the frame (from the same die) over the hearts image, and finished off the card with a sentiment, seam binding and button.

What do you think?  I am in serious need of some Unity Friends with Flair inspiration, I reckon.  Would you like to join me?  Just head to Unity's blog and you can see all the participants this week, and remember to comment along for a chance to win some stamps.

Enjoy!





Stamps : September 2011 KOM
Inks : Memento Rich Cocoa, Distress Inks Crushed Olive (tree), Distress Inks Scattered Straw, Tea Dye, Tattered Rose, Pumice Stone, Frayed Burlap (tag)

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Inspired by Fall


Happy Thursday!  Today, Antoinette challenged us to make a Fall card.  Even though I live in country where we experience only two seasons (i.e. hot & humid or rain & humid weather), I've always loved the significance of Fall and the celebration of Thanksgiving.  I feel it's important to have a season to be thankful for all the blessings of life.

For my card, I used the Fall Gratitude stamp set.  I chose the sentiment from Psalm 107:1 as the main focal image.  The leaves and the loops were coloured using Copic Markers ( YG03, YG93, YG95 & YR24)  and the edges were sponged with Distress Ink Wild Honey.  The three sweet pumpkins at the bottom were coloured with YR07, YR15 & Y17 and YG91, YG93 and YG95.  Here's a look at awesome set :


Please visit Inspired Stamps blog to check out the amazing Fall inspiration from the Design Team.  While you're there, please also check out the Operations Write Home challenge, you still have time to participate.

Have a marvellous day!

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Taylored Expressions - Blast from the Past Blog Hop


Hi!  I'm excited today to join Taylored Expressions' September Blast from the Past Blog Hop.  It's my first time and I'm a newbie TE fan, so I hope I'm doing everything right.  This month's theme is special because it's a double theme Birthday/Birth Day to celebrate birthdays and the birth of Taylor's new baby.

Here's my card:

I used the stamp set Friendship Blooms and the matching dies (Leafy Branch & Friendship Blooms).  First, I stamped the leafy branch with Memento Bamboo Leaves, the flowers with Memento Rose Bud and Tangelo. Then came the fun part to cut out the images using the matching dies. It was so easy and everything cuts perfectly!  To add some interest to the leafy branch, I added some shading with Copic Markers (YG13 & blended it with YG00). For the flowers, I added an outline to the polka dot petals with E95.

I didn't have an appropriate Happy Birthday stamp, but I have a sentiment "Happy Holidays" from Tag...You're It! set.  So, I stamped just the word "Happy" and wrote "Birthday" underneath it with my Copic Multiliner pen.  The sentiment piece was from the die-cut Keeping Tabs.

Did you notice that cute button at the bottom just on the fence? Yes, that's another cute stamp from the Friendship Blooms set.  And, the fence is the awesome Picket Fence border die which I absolutely love.

Thanks for visiting me today!  I hope you like the card.







Stamps : TE Friendship Blooms, Tag...You're It!
Paper : Echo Park Paper Victoria Gardens
Ink : Memento Tuxedo Black, Bamboo Leaves, Rose Bud, Tangelo, Distress Inks Wild Honey & Spun Sugar

Sunday, September 18, 2011

New Mercies


Today's card has a story behind it.  I made this card for a friend of mine who recently lost a dear friend in a tragic road accident.  I sat there listening, so at a loss for words of comfort.  I guess when we lose someone we love, we'd think of all the words we should have said, the extra effort we should have made for the person and how angry we are at ourselves for not doing what we should have.  Nevertheless, God is good, and He is gracious towards us in many ways.  Without going into details, my friend did manage to catch up a little with her friend shortly before the accident, and that is a huge comfort.

I think I learnt something from this - to always appreciate the people who mean the world to us, to hold back words that hurt, and to always try to go the extra mile and be available for them.  After all, life is fragile and so very short.

The sentiment on the card, is a line from a wonderful old hymn "Great is Thy Faithfulness" which I so love.  I think it's fitting for the challenge at Simon Says Stamp, a place I'm starting to love, lots of fab products and great service I really appreciate.

Thanks for coming by today.  It means a lot!





Stamp : Verve New Mercies
Ink : Memento Rich Cocoa & Pear Tart
Others : PTI Satin ribbon (Aqua Mist), PTI kraft cardstock, MFT Die-namics Butterflies & First Class Friend, Teal pearls

Friday, September 16, 2011

Unity Friends with Flair (16 September)

Hi Everyone!  How is your day?  I got home earlier this week, and it feels like I'm still trying to catch up on life.  Time flies so quickly by... I guess you know what I mean. 

I have a simple card to share today, and I hope you like it.


The stamp is from Unity's Itty Bitty set - Jillibean Soup Sew. Sew. Sew.  I think I love every stamp from Unity's Jillibean Soup co-brand. Some of you know I can't get my sewing machine to work properly on cards, and this is sort of a reminder for me to work it out.  Sewing a gift for someone is so precious.  Yupe, gotta get that machine to work, any advice for me?  I can't get the tension right.

Ok, let's go hopping... click here to see all the Unity peeps with their fabulous creations.  And, if you hop along, don't forget to comment because you could be this week's winner for some Unity stamps.

Happy Weekend!!

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Inspired Stamps Sneak Peek

Hi!  Today is Deneen's & my turn to show you a preview of the new Inspired Stamps set, Nativity, to be released this Friday (16 September).  I can't tell you how excited I was when Antoinette shared with us the new stamp sets - they are all so Gorgeous!!
Nativity is a really fun set where each item is a separate stamp and you can use them in so many fun ways.  I've decided to keep them together to create this Nativity scene which I really love. It reminds me so much of the Christmas plays when I was a little girl.

Here's the list again of all the Sneak Peeks this week:

Monday 12 Sep - Belinda & Chere previewing Sing For Joy and Choir/Angel sets
Tuesday 13 Sep - Jamie & Amber previewing Gratitude and Thankful Boy sets
Wednesday 14 Sep - Jenn & Kim previewing Gratitude and Thankful Girl sets
Thursday 15 Sep - Deneen & Kary (that's me) previewing Nativity set

All the sets will be available at the Inspired Stamps store on Friday 16 September after 12 noon.

Inspired Stamps is also sponsoring a challenge at Operations Write Home the whole month of September as they celebrate their Birthday month.  Although I don't live in the US, I am appreciative of the work of Operations Write Home. It's a great cause and I encourage you to support and participate in the challenge.  Click here to read all about the challenge and where you can link up your card.

Big Congrats to Carol, who commented on my blogpost last week...

...Kary-wonderful card and I love your color choices with the pastel colors. I looked at your other creations on your blog and they are great. I look forward to seeing more!
September 10, 2011 1:46 AM

Carol has won a His Little One stamp set of her choice.  Carol, I hope you'll enjoy picking your new stamp set.  Thanks to Antoinette for being so generous.

Can't wait for the release tomorrow...

Friday, September 9, 2011

Unity Friends with Flair (9 September)

So glad it's finally Friday.  What are your plans for the weekend?  I'll be on a plane flying home, and looking forward to be back to my craft desk.  I have lots of new goodies waiting at home for me too... can't wait!! 

Today, I'm sharing another notecard using the January 2011 KOM.  It's one of my favourite KOMs and it has so many perfect images and sentiments for making notecards.  I hardly heat emboss but for this card, I did a little heat embossing for the sentiment.  It's a simple layout and so fast to make a few in one sitting.

Please visit the Unity blog to see the list of Unity fans participating in the Friends with Flair post.  Don't forget to comment as you hop along with us as you could be the winner of some Unity goodies.

Have a lovely day & an amazingly fun weekend!

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Happy News!

Hello Friends!  How's your week going?  I hope all is well.  Today, I am so excited to share some Happy News.  I've been invited to be part of the Inspired Stamps Fall Design Team!!  What a priviledge!  I'm truly thankful to Antoinette (the owner) for giving me this wonderful opportunity to work with Inspired Stamps. I really adore their lovely stamp images & thoughtful scripture sentiments.

For my card, I used the cute image His Little Ones: Girl Praying and a Scripture sentiment:


Don't you just love the cute little girl?  I coloured her with Copic Markers (E31, E33, E35, E37, E11, E00) and paper pieced her dress.  The Scripture Sentiment is from the Inspired Stampers Favorite Collection #2 which is one of my favourite scripture verses.

Please visit the blogs of ALL the Design Team members and comment along.  Antoinette will be picking two winners this weekend to receive an Inspired Stamps' His Little One Stamp set of their choice.  You won't want to miss out!


Antoinette
(Owner & Illustrator)



Thanks for stopping by today.  I can't wait to share more Inspired Stamps projects...coming soon.

Have a blessed day!





Paper : Imaginisce Garden Party 6x6
Ink : Memento & Copic Markers

Friday, September 2, 2011

Unity Friends with Flair (2 September)

It's Friday!!  You know, I can't wait for Friday to come every week, because I really look forward to Unity's Friends with Flair.  It's a wonderful place to be inspired by all the awesome projects by Unity fans.  Check out Unity's blog to see all the participants, and remember to comment for a chance to win some Unity stmaps.

I have a little notecard to share.  No patterned papers!!  ;) It's been a long time since I made my own background and card with no patterned papers.  (All images are from Unity KOM Jan 2011 (which is on sale right now!!) & Giving It All Meaning background stamp).  It's great to have a set of these notecards handy, isn't it?

Let me know what you think of it.  Right, I'm off to do some hopping...

Have a great weekend!!