Guest Designing at Inkspirational!

Hello … bonjour!  I’m thrilled and honoured to be Guest Designing with the fabulous and talented DT at Inkspirational today … thank you, Marina and all the team for the invitation!  For the next fortnight, there’s a cool, stylish photo inspiration to get your creative juices going (it’s below) … here’s my take on it …

          

… and here’s the inspiration …

My eye was taken with the blue, grey, black colour palette, by the glow around that cascade of rain and by the tall/long images (man in black, what I took to be flag poles each side of him, and window apertures in the background building).  I cut an MFT peek a boo window out of a white card panel, adhered a slip of printed vellum (thanks, Darnell!) behind it and foam mounted the panel onto a grey card base.  The tall stylised leaves are from Simply Graphic (thanks, Maria!) … coloured with alcohol markers and sponged over with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink, attached just where the stems meet the vellum.  I white heat embossed a WPlus9 sentiment onto a strip of black card stock and popped it up on foam tape across the stems and window … and finished off with a few enamel accent dots.  I was hoping that the light shining on the rain-like print on the vellum would mimic that glowing rain cascade … and it did, sort of … don’t you just love it when a design comes together!  Here’s a detail shot …

What voyage of discovery will your imagination take with this inspiration?  Wherever it takes you, we’d love to see what you create.  All the details are over at the Inkspirational blog, along with a whole heap of delicious ideas from the Design Team … hope to see you in the gallery!

I’m playing along at …

Addicted to Stamps & More – Anything Goes

Mod Squad – Simply Clean

AAA Cards – A Favourite Technique (Die Cutting)

A big thanks, once again, to Marina and the Inkspirational DT for their invitation and warm welcome … it’s been so much fun!  Thanks so much to you too for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

         

Guest Designing at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – November 2017 – Week 5

        

Hello … bonjour!  My excitement at being here today, Guest Designing again with the talented Simon Says Stamp Wednesday team, is tinged with just a hint of sadness that this is my final week.  It’s been an absolute delight to work with the lovely Lols and Jo (as well as the rest of the DT) this month … thank you so much, ladies, for the opportunity and for the warm welcome … it’s been an honour and a privilege!  Thanks also to all of you … friends, commenters, visitors and readers … your support and encouragement has been fabulous … I’m grateful for every single one of you!

         

So, onto our new challenge, which this week is ‘Anything Goes‘ … and we’re showcasing products from Tim Holtz.  You don’t need to use Tim Holtz goodies to join in … but we’d love to see them if you have some!  As always, if you play along, you’ll be in with a chance of winning a $50 GV to spend at the wonderful Simon Says Stamp store … and it’s nearly Die-cember … how’s that for an incentive to join us!

Up until a while ago, the only Tim Holtz products I had in my stash were Distress Inks (were there some incredulous sharp intakes of breath there??), which I love.  Then I was given some mini stencils (thanks, Darnell!) … and though they’ve been played with, this is the first time they’ve made an appearance on any cards.  The first is an almost one layer floral number …

I masked a linen card base and sponged Distress Inks in Candied Apple, Carved Pumpkin and Seedless Preserves through the Tim Holtz Scribble Mini Stencil  … and then spritzed it all lightly with water.  The stencil was removed and when the ink was dry, I added a touch of Delicata Gold to the rose centres (at least that’s what they look like to me!) and did some splattering (Delicata Gold and Seedless Preserves).  The die cut happy is from Winnie & Walter (covered with Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle) and the secondary stamped and heat embossed sentiment is from Simon’s Happy & Smile set.   I finished with a scattering of black Enamel Accents.  Here’s a look at the shimmer …  I went all rustic and neutral with my second card … and added a pop of bright colour …

This time I used a panel of mixed media paper and sponged Ground Espresso Distress Ink through the Tim Holtz Woodgrain Mini Stencil.  When the panel was dry, I sponged over it with Antique Linen Distress Ink, which softened the woodgrain pattern.  The pine branches (Gina K Designs Festive Foliage) were stamped and heat embossed in white and the fir cones were treated to a touch of the Ground Espresso Distress Ink.  The die cut sentiment is from Concord & 9th’s Holy Night (except the tréma, which is from Simon’s Joyeux Noël) … it was sponged with Candied Apple Distress Ink and clear heat embossed before being adhered flat to the panel.  The panel was added to a card base of mixed media paper … and I was done.  The shine isn’t too obvious here … here’s close up so you can see it better …

If you haven’t been there already, do pop over to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog to check out all the fantastic Tim Holtz creations from the Design Team … you’ll love them!   Hope you’ll be inspired to play along with us this week … maybe a Christmas card or two to add to your collection?

So, this last card brings me to the end of my month in the Designer Spotlight … and I’ve loved it! Again, thanks so much to Lols, Jo and the DT … and to all of you for cheering me on here for the last five weeks.  I think you already know it, but I love to tell you … your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

Guest Designing at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – November 2017 – Week 4

        

Hello … bonjour!  I’m delighted to be back today, for my fourth week Guest Designing with the talented Simon Says Stamp Wednesday team … thanks so much for your lovely comments on last week’s critter cards!            

Our new challenge this week is ‘Food and/or Drink‘ … and we’re showcasing products from Mama Elephant.  You don’t need to use Mama Elephant goodies to join in … but we’d love to see them if you have some!  As always, if you play along, you’re in with a chance of winning a $50 gift voucher to spend at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp store … imagine moving those goodies from wish list to basket!

After saying last week that I don’t make many cards with critters on them … here I am with another couple … it just so happens they come bearing gifts … of a sort!  Here’s the first, a fun little goat, his beard all brushed for the party, carrying the birthday cupcake …

An MFT wonky stitched panel, cut with Mama Elephant Inline Letters dies and stamped with the party goat from Simon’s Birthday Farm Animals.  He’s coloured with Promarkers, has Glossy Accent/Enamel Accent eyes and his cupcake has shimmery frosting, courtesy of Wink of Stella.  The base was ombré sponged with Evergreen Bough and Cracked Pistachio Distress Inks and water sprinkled, before the panel was popped up on foam tape over it.

So, the food/drink was obvious on that one … are you wondering where it on this next one?

… keep reading if you haven’t guessed already!  Here’s a dotted die cut frame (Gina Marie Designs, thanks to sweet Michele), backed with black and adhered flat to the base, with a bunny from Mama Elephant’s Up and Away set (a Lake House goodie) sitting in the corner.  He was coloured with Promarkers and liberally covered with Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle … and is holding onto a die cut pastel rainbow smooshed Painted Hello from Simon Says Stamp, popped up on black craft foam.  I finished off with the stamped sentiment from Winnie & Walter (Sentimental:Endearments).

So what did you guess was the food/drink?  Surely not that cute little rabbit … or hare?  What about the sorbet colours in the sentiment?  Nope, neither of those … it’s that tiny stamped sentiment … after all, most of us have munched our way through a sweetie or two in our time!  You didn’t really think I’d be calling that sweet bunny food did you???

If you haven’t been there already, do pop over to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog to check out all the scrumptious food/drink cards from the Design Team … you’re sure to come away wanting to create!  I do hope you’ll have chance to join us this week.

Finally for today, to all of you gathering to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, I wish you a blessed day, filled with love, gratitude, family and friends!  Thanks so much, as ever, for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!    Anita 🙂

Guest Designing at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – November 2017 – Week 3

        

Hello … bonjour!  I’m so grateful for your visits and sweet words about my Snow White cards last week … merci mille fois … and am thrilled to be here for the third time with the DT at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday as their Guest Designer for November!         

Our new challenge this week is ‘Furry Friends‘ … and we’re showcasing products from Newton’s Nook.  You don’t need to use Newton’s Nook goodies to join in … but we’d love to see them if you have some!  As always, if you play along, you’re in with a chance of winning a $50 gift voucher to spend at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp store … yum … fill that basket!

I realised while coming up with ideas for this challenge … I make very few cards with critters on them … birds, yes, critters, no.  So it was a wonderful change … and heaps of fun … to come up with a couple of cuties … with a touch of whimsy about them.  Here’s the first, a happy, pensive little bear with some good advice … I hand cut a mask and lightly sponged the background with Tumbled Glass Distress Ink, fading it out to nothing at the top.  The bear and bucket of fish are from MFT’s Polar Bear Pals and were a gift from the lovely Cat (thanks, my friend!) … they’re coloured with Promarkers and trimmed out.  The fish had Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle added over the top (cause wet fish shine, even when they’re just a thought!) … and the bear was dotted with Blender pen to give him a fun furry look.  I stamped the sentiment onto the snow bank (it’s from Newton’s Nook Happy Little Thoughts, cut apart to make it long), doodled the thought bubbles and filled them with Glossy Accents, then popped up the images up on foam dots in their rightful places.  How about a closer look at that fluffy fur …

Now for a little mouse, not even stirring … mesmerised by the arrival of the Christmas star …      Here, I did all the stamping first … the sentiment is made up with Lawn Fawn’s Milo’s ABC’s … and the mouse and star are from Avery Elle’s Storybook (thanks to my sweet, happy dancing friend, Bev … merci mon amie!).   I used a torn mask to create the snowy landscape, and hand cut masks for the mouse and star … sponged Distress Inks onto the remaining space to create the sky (Tumbled Glass, Antique Linen, Seedless Preserves, Chipped Sapphire) … and spritzed it with a swoosh of Shimmer Spray.  Once it was dry, the images were coloured with Promarkers and covered with Glossy Accents … and the camouflaged word (SSS Christmas Blessings) was cut into the stamped sentiment and pieced back in on craft foam.  This detail shot shows off the shimmer and shine … and the sentiment … a little better … Twas The Night Before Christmas!

If you haven’t already been over there, do pay a visit to the Simon Says Stamp Wednesday blog to check out all the gorgeous cards from the Design Team … you’re sure to be inspired!  I know it’s an especially busy time of year … but I hope you’ll have time to join us this week … furry friends are such fun to play with!  Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!    Anita 🙂

Guest Designing at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – November 2017 – Week 2

        

Hello … bonjour!  Thank you so much for all your lovely words about my tags last week … it’s so exciting to be back for the second time with the Design Team at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday as Guest Designer for November!

         

Our new challenge this week is ‘Snow White‘ … and we’re showcasing products from Reverse Confetti.  You don’t need to use Reverse Confetti goodies to join in … but we’d love to see them if you have some!  As always, if you play along, you’re in with a chance of winning a $50 gift voucher to spend at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp store … wouldn’t that be fun!

I have to admit to having no Reverse Confetti goodies in my stash (yet!) that would be a good fit for the theme … though a sweet friend sent me some Lacy Scalloped Frames recently (merci mille fois, Michele!), that happened to come in so handy for my first card …

This glorious centrepiece is Simon’s Eliza Snowflake die … cut twice in glitter card and twice in plain card, sandwiched together with a fine silver thread running down the centre, to make a double sided embellishment.   The aperture was cut with an MFT Circle Stax 2 die in both the Lacy Scalloped Frame and the card base … and the snowflake was suspended between them.  It twirls on the thread … wish you could see it as it does, it’s so pretty the way it catches the light!  I finished with a sentiment from Simon … the die cut is from Christmas Blessings, the secondary stamped ones (in Delicata Silver ink) are from Thoughtful Messages.  Even though I can’t show you the movement here, I can show you all the shimmer …

My second card is snowy rather than shimmery …

Again, the aperture was cut with an MFT Circle Stax 2 die in the front panel and the card base … this time I added some snowy mesh to the background and created a little village scene, cut  with Simon Village dies, layered up on craft foam.  The sentiment is stamped in Delicata Silver ink and is from Scandinavian Prints Christmas by Neat & Tangled.  This is the day time view … how about a look at the warm and rather magical night time view …

If you haven’t already been, do go over to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday to check out all the gorgeous cards from the Design Team … you’ll be inspired!  Hope you’ll have chance to join in with us this week … a few more additions to your Christmas card stack perhaps?  Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!    Anita 🙂

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Guest Designing at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge – November 2017 – Week 1

        

Hello … bonjour!  What an exciting day for me today … I’m honoured, thrilled and so delighted to share with you … I’ve been invited to be November’s Guest Designer at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge … squeal!  Huge thanks to Lols and the team for the invitation … and for the wonderfully warm welcome!

         

As always, there are brilliant challenges coming up for you during the month … and if you play along, you could win a $50 gift voucher to spend at the fabulous Simon Says Stamp store.  This week, our theme is ‘Christmas Tag‘ and we’re showcasing Simon Says Stamp goodies with our creations.  You don’t need to use Simon products to play along … but we’d love to see them if you have some!  We’re also joining my sweet friend, the lovely Tracey McNeely for the first day of her annual 25 Days of Christmas Tags event … Simon Says Stamp is today’s sponsor.

I came up with two tags using the largest die from WPlus9’s Timeless Tags 2 … here’s the first …

This one is cut from watercolour card, masked, stamped and gold heat embossed with a trio of trees/leaves from SSS One With Nature, and watercoloured with Zig Real Brush Markers and a Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle pen.  The sentiment is part of the SSS Joyeux Noël die, covered with shimmer and coated with a layer of Glossy Accents.  I finished off with a sparkly reinforcer cut from washi and some bakers twine for the tie.  You can’t see much of the shimmer and shine from here so how about a close up …

In contrast to the rich, traditional colours of this first tag, my second one is crisp and positively frosty …

Here I cut a base and a sparkly polka dot vellum overlay for my tag.  The base was blended with Distress Inks in Tumbled Glass, Cracked Pistachio and Mermaid Lagoon … with a concentration of colour in the centre (to go under the snowflake) and a spritz of Shimmer Spray.  I cut the SSS Maryanne Snowflake twice … once in silver foil card and once in white glitter card … layered them up to make a single flake and added a shiny droplet to the centre.  The finished snowflake was adhered to the vellum just in the middle, leaving the ‘arms’ free to be all dimensional.  I die cut the sentiment in silver foil card (again, SSS Joyeux Noël) and fixed it in place underneath the snowflake.  The two tag layers were attached together with multiple strands of silver filament and I threaded a few seed beads onto each end to finish off.  How about a little more detail so you can see all that sparkle and dimension …

If you haven’t already been, do go over to Simon Says Stamp Wednesday to check out all the delicious tags created by the Design Team … you really won’t want to miss them!  I do hope you’re inspired to play along with us this week … just think of all those beautifully wrapped Christmas packages tied up with string … with your gorgeous tags attached to them!  Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!    Anita 🙂

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Guest Designing At Inspired By All The Little Things

Hello … bonjour!  It was a wonderful surprise to get an email from my sweet friend, the lovely Tracey McNeely recently, asking if I’d like to be her Creative Guest at Inspired By All The Little Things.  Erm … well, that response took less than a nano second … YES!  So, here I am this afternoon, thrilled, honoured and excited to share with you a couple of cards I made based on this beautiful inspiration photo … isn’t it a stunner?

         

Here’s the first, a kind of in-reverse take on it …

A popped up white card panel, sponged in the centre with three Distress Inks (in order, from the outside going in … Dried Marigold, Abandoned Coral, Picked Raspberry), lightly splattered with water droplets.  The die cut white frame and bloom are from Simply Graphic (courtesy of the lovely Maria) and were adhered flat over the ink, with the petals left free to be all drifty and dimensional.  The sentiment is from Winnie & Walter and there’s some Lawn Fawn pierced detailing along the panel edges.  In my photo here, the variations in background colour didn’t come out as well as I’d hoped (though IRL they’re rather delicious!) … so I made another card to show you all those splendid shades …

A watercolour card panel stamped with the Essentials by Ellen Mondo Hydrangea (from my Lake House stash), wet on wet watercoloured with Distress Inks (same shades as above, plus Shabby Shutters and Mowed Lawn for the stems), with the centres done in pearly silver drops.  The sentiment is from SSS, white embossed on a black strip.  The strip was adhered flat to the card base and the watercolour panel was split and popped up over it.

How would you like to play along and be inspired by that spectacular bloom?  I’d love it if you had time to join in!  All the details, plus an abundance of amazing cards from the Design Team, (and a short interview with little old me!) are over at the Inspired By blog  … do go and enjoy a browse … and maybe get those crafty fingers walking!

My florals are also heading to (badges below) …

Card 1

Addicted to Stamps & More – Anything Goes

Seize The Birthday – No Option

SSS Wednesday – Anything Goes

Card 2

Addicted to Stamps & More – Anything Goes

Less is More – Watercolour

Seize The Birthday – No Option

SSS Monday – Heavy Metal (just a touch in the flower centres!)

SSS Wednesday – Anything Goes

Hope your weekend is either starting, or turning out to be, wonderful!  Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

                   

         

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Guest Designer – CASology #232, Darnell’s NBUS #8, Happy Little Stampers Dies – January

Hello … bonjour!  I’m thrilled to be guest designing with the CASology team this week … thanks so much for the invitation, Melissa … and thanks to the DT too for having me!  The Cue Card is ‘Cut’ … here’s where I went with it …

You can see where my ‘Cut’ is can’t you!  I stamped the WPlus9 blooms around the sweet spot (where the thirds lines intersect) on a white card panel, popped up the NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff in Darnellese) and Wink of Stella’d die cut sentiment onto craft foam next to it, added some dots of Glossy Accents to the flower centres and sprinkled on a little bling.  Voilà!

I do hope you’ll let your imagination wander through all things ‘Cut’ … and that you’ll join in the fun at CASology this week.  If you haven’t been for a visit already, do go over there and check out what fabulous inspiration the Design Team has prepared for you to get your creative juices flowing!  Look forward to seeing you in the gallery!

My ‘Cut’ card is also heading to …

Darnell’s NBUS Challenge – Anything Goes … NBUS die cut sentiment … sorry my friend, no kraft paper and no coloured pencils in my possession!

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Thanks once again to the CASology Team for having me over to play cards … and thanks to you too for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

         

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STAMPlorations Giving Thanks Blog Hop

         

Hello … bonjour!  I’m delighted to be representing Time Out today … at a special blog hop being held over at STAMPlorations. The STAMPlorations girls and a whole heap of amazing designers from all over the blogosphere have come together for the second Stamplorations Giving Thanks Blog Hop .  If you’ve arrived from the lovely Maria’s blog (Riesling Mama), you’re right on track … if not, you can always leap (tee hee) to the little blue frog at the bottom for details of all the participants.  I have four cards for you today, all made using the Many Blessing Bundle … starting with a scattering of autumn leaves …

This was created using the Autumn Falling ARTplorations Stencil, sponged and subsequently splattered with various Distress Inks and a touch of gold.  I die cut the CUTplorations Blessings Word Die in gold foil and brown card, stacked them slightly offset, adhered them over the sponged/splattered panel and added the supplementary sentiment from the Many Blessings stamp set.  The panel was adhered to a card base that’d been sponged at the edges with Ground Espresso Distress Ink … and I was done!  How about a detail shot of the shimmery gold …

Next up is a harvest basket, also from the Many Blessings set, stamped, coloured with alcohol markers and cut with the matching die.  I added glossy accents to those rosy apples, heat embossed the ‘sweet’ onto the basket in gold and popped the whole lot onto a woodgrain panel.  The ‘blessings’ was cut twice … once out of white card, which was swiped with Versamark and heat embossed in gold … and once out of craft foam.  The two were stacked together and adhered over the basket and woodgrain.

You can’t really see the shine on those luscious apples from here … so here’s a close up …

My last two cards are more or less mirror images of one another.  I sponged a card panel with Distress Inks and cut the Blessings die repeatedly from it … then did the same cuts with an ordinary white card panel.  This one has the white sentiments inlaid into the sponged base …

… dressed up with shimmer spray to make it glisten …

… and this one has the sponged sentiments adhered to a white card base, trimmed top and bottom with some shimmery brown card strips (thanks, Barb!).  I used the same brown card stock to make dots for the i’s … topped them with Glossy Accents … and covered the words with Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle.

Here’s a better view of the shimmer and shine …

Now what would a blog hop be without a giveaway or two … or more?  There are plenty of gorgeous goodies up for grabs … all the details are over at the STAMPlorations blog, so do check it out if you didn’t start there!  If you’re already hopping, your next stop is with the amazing Shirley (Shirley Bee’s Stamping Stuff).

Just below is the little blue frog I mentioned earlier … if you need to go back to the start or would like to check out the full list of designers taking part, just click on him and he’ll whisk you off to a wonderful journey of gratitude and inspiration … enjoy!

Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

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Uniko #33 – Guest Designer – Mid Challenge Reminder, Addicted to Stamps & More #199, Seize the Birthday – 16 June, SSS Wednesday – 22 June, The Paper Players #300

Hello … bonjour!   Lots of activity on the old blog this week … what fun!  We’re half way through the delicious June challenge over at Uniko, where I’m delighted to be Guest Designing with Bev and the DT … thanks so much for the invitation and warm welcome, ladies!  Did you see the inspiration photo last week?  It’s a colourful, whimsical one with so many possibilities (it’s just below my card) … here’s my second take on it …

and here’s that fabulous photo …

See what I mean about the possibilities?  This time round, I went a little more doodlie!  The top of the card was masked and I stamped a random pattern of leaves and dots (Uniko Nature’s Treasures 1, Background Builders – Vines) using similar colours to those in the inspiration.  Once it was all dry, my white gel pen came out to play … and wandered about doodling highlights over all the leaf sprigs!  I stamped the Uniko ‘smile’ into the now unmasked space, white heat embossed a supplementary sentiment from SSS onto a slender strip of grey and attached the strip over the ‘join’.  I added a healthy coating of Wink of Stella to the sentiment and some sugary glitter to the tiny dots (although the WoS still isn’t playing nicely with the camera) … would you like a closer look …

Have you joined us already?  Would you like to?  There’s so much to play with in this picture … style, doodles, colours, shapes, flowers, lines … let your imagination roam … let your fingers create … and link up to the gallery, we’d love to see you there!  All the details are over at the Uniko blog, together with all kinds of fabulous inspiration from the amazingly talented Design Team … do go and meander … and enjoy!

My doodlie leaves are off to a quartet of challenges …

Addicted to Stamps & More – CAS

Seize the Birthday – Anything Goes

SSS Wednesday – Add Some Shimmer

The Paper Players – Celebration

A big thank you, once again, to Bev and the DT at Uniko … it’s been so much fun playing cards with you this month!  Thanks so much to you too for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

         

         

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