Twofer Card Challenge #20 – Critters

Hello … bonjour!  Our fun September challenge has just launched at Twofer … this month we’re inviting Critters to play with us …

… my critters are little bitty things … A confetti strewn birthday card and a starry, festive Christmas card … with a gift toting Bitty Bear from MFT as my common image (one was coloured as part of our tutorial at the Lake House with the lovely Kara, colourist extraordinaire … the others were coloured especially for today!).  Here’s a closer look at each card …

Here, my design is a circle within a circle with the sentiment placed underneath.  Bitty Bear is the star of the show, set against the softly sponged yellow centre of a halo of celebratory confetti, stamped with Concord & 9th‘s Bitty Burst Turnabout.  The sentiments are both from Simon Says Stamp.  I added shimmer to the gift … and Glossy Accent-ed it, along with some random parts of the confetti and Bear’s eyes and nose.  Here’s a closer look at the shine …

I used Bear conventionally again on my Christmas card …

… in a design that has him and his friends clambering around a large central die cut sentiment that stretches across the width of the card.  The ho ho ho was made up of the first and last letters of Altenew‘s Mega Hello die.  The Bears climbed aboard, I adhered them and the ho ho ho to a panel of pp (yep, I used pp!) and attached the pp to the card base.  The sentiment and gifts were layered generously with shimmer … and I once again added Glossy Accents to the Bears’ eyes and to the gifts.  They chose the red Rudolph noses themselves … they thought it was appropriate for Christmas!  You can see the detail a little better here …

How about joining us with some critters of your own … we’d love to see you and them in our gallery!  All the details about how to play along, including rules and FAQs are at the Twofer blog … together with heaps of splendid inspiration from the DT.  We’re delighted to have as our Guest Designer, the super talented Nora from A Creative Touch … welcome Nora!  If you haven’t met Nora yet, do go over and enjoy a wander through her blog … you’ll have a splendid time!  Even if you are familiar with her work, why not pop along anyway … you can always say hello while you’re there!

My confetti Bear is heading to …

Simon Says Stamp Monday – Stamp It

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Stamp It

Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday – Celebrate

… and my clambering Bears are joining in at …

Happy Little Stampers Christmas – Anything Goes … no elf option

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday – Stamp It

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Stamp It

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

              

      

A New Challenge At Time Out #143 – Inspired By Words

Hello … bonjour!  Our new challenge at Time Out has just started … and we have an ‘Inspired By Words’ theme for you to join in with for the next two weeks .. it takes both rain and sunshine to make a rainbow.  Here’s where I went with it …

        

As you can see, my focus was on the ‘rainbow‘ element of our words.  I took a white card panel and sponged it in a bevy of scrumptious rainbow colours, making sure to keep any muddy-able colours away from one another.  The panel was cut with Cover Model: Multifaceted Cutaway (from Winnie & Walter) … and I adhered a frame around it, that had been cut with two Hero Arts Infinity Dies.  The little ‘happy’ sentiment (from Simon Says Stamp) was stamped onto the frame, then I adhered the panel onto the card base using tiny slivers of foam tape.  The main sentiment is from Winnie & Walter, cut out of black cardstock, embossed in clear, dotted with silver pen (to mimic either rivets or jewels, depending on the recipient) and adhered/popped up over the rainbow.

        

Where will our words take your creativity?  You can use any or all of them to inspire your card … we’d love it if you played along with us.  We’re sponsored this time around by Winnie & Walter (thanks, Shay!) … our winner, as voted for by the DT, will receive a $25 GC … and as usual, will be invited to guest design with us in a future challenge.  The details are over at Time Out, along with heaps of lovely inspiration from our fabulous DT … and from our talented Guest Designer, Arlene from Sunday Stamper Papercrafts.   Do go and enjoy a visit with Arlene … there are so many inspiring designs to enjoy … and you can always say hello while you’re there!

I’m playing along at …

Addicted To Stamps And More – Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday – S Is For … Sponging (and Simon for that tiny sentiment!)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday – Celebrate

Watercooler Wednesday – All About Occasions

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

               

              

A New Challenge At Time Out – #132 – Home Sweet Home Inspiration

Hello … bonjour!  We have a Home Sweet Home photo to inspire you at our new challenge starting right now at Time Out … it’s a little further down.  Here’s my take on it …

… and here’s the stylish interior to get your creative imagination going …

At first, my eye went straight to those amazing butterfly pictures on the wall … but then I spotted the tiny vase of pink blooms sitting on the stack of white books on the table … perfect CAS elements!  My blooms are from WPlus9‘s Watercoloured Anemones … stamp-layered onto a crisp white linen base card … with the centres highlighted with black Stickles.  The sentiment is from Pretty Pink Posh.  The colour IRL is closer to the flowers in the photo … rather more pink than coral … though that’s my photography for you!

        

What draws your attention in our photo?  There are so many ways you could be inspired … and we’d be delighted to see what you make in our gallery!  We’re sponsored by Altenew this time round with a $20 GC offered to our winner.  All the details are over at the Time Out blog, where you’ll find plenty of ideas to spark your creativity … from our fabulous DT and from our super talented Guest Designer, the lovely Bobby from Bits and Pieces.  Do go for a visit with Bobby … you’ll love every meandering moment!

Finally today, you may have seen a blog post by our beloved leader, Sandie, on Tuesday (Purple Day), aimed at raising awareness of epilepsy.  In it, Sandie shares details of the Purple Day Blog Hop (with prizes), along with her own story of living with this often misunderstood disease.  She also has a giveaway over on her Instagram account.  If you haven’t already seen the post and followed along the hop, please do check it out … and if you can, contribute to raising awareness and understanding by spreading the word.  Thank you!

I’m playing along at …

Addicted to Stamps And More – Clean And Simple

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday – Spring Flowers

Uniko – Spring (No Easter Option)

Watercooler Wednesday – All About Occasions

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

         

                     

Twofer Card Challenge #12 – Birds

Hello … bonjour!  Welcome to our first Twofer Card Challenge of 2019!  This month, we have a fabulous prompt that will have ideas popping all over your creative brain … it’s …

… it might even be happening already!  Here are my feathered friends …

My common image here is that happy little waving penguin, from Arctic Pals by Essentials By Ellen, used conventionally on both cards … isn’t he a cutie?  Actually, all the stamps I used are from the same set, designed by Julie Ebersole … I love it!  Here’s a closer look at the first …

Here, my penguin is saying a heap of hello’s to his pal just across the ice.  They were stamped onto a white card panel, coloured with alcohol markers and grounded with a touch of grey pencil. The eyes on both were altered using white and black gel pens so that they look as though they’re glancing at one another … and  I added Glossy Accents (carefully!) to the eyes and the beaks.  The cracked ice background (that’s how I see it!) is from Winnie and Walter (Multifaceted Cutaway) … cut from grey card and adhered flat to the base.  I doodled a dotted frame around the penguin panel … and popped the panel up on craft foam over the ice.

My twofer penguin …

         

… sending Happy Brrrthday wishes from behind his iceberg.  This little scene was built up on a white card panel using stamping and masking … I added a touch of colour to the penguin’s beak … and some shading and frosting to the icebergs (you can see the shimmer better in the first photo if you go in close).  The finished panel was adhered flat to a card base that had been sponged along the edges to match the icebergs.

Voilà … my two distinctly different designs … for two distinctly different occasions … using the same stamp!

How might you interpret ‘Birds’?  We’d love to see you in our gallery with your two takes on it!  All the details you need are over at the Twofer blog … along with plenty of fine, feathery ideas from the the DT to spark your imagination.  We’re delighted to have two Guest Designers with us this month … a warm welcome to Izzy from Izzyscrap and Sonja from Old Punca.  Do go and have a visit with both Izzy and Sonja … not only will you find their brilliant Twofer cards, you’ll also enjoy a whole heap of wonderful inspiration to meander through … and you can always leave them some love while you’re there!

My happy pals are wandering off to …

Happy Little Stampers – Anything Goes With Dies

Simon Says Stamp Monday – Use Something New … my penguins

Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday – Try Something New … my penguins

… and my surprise birthday friend is celebrating at …

CASology – Frozen

Less Is More – Water … icebergs are frozen water!

Watercooler Wednesday – All About Occasions

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

                  

          

A New Challenge At Time Out – #126 – We Challenge You To Be … Loving

Hello … bonjour … and Happy New Year … Bonne Année!  I do hope you spent a truly joyful Christmas and celebrated the start of 2019 in a way that was just right for you.  Thanks so much for being here during the last year … friends, followers and silent viewers … your enthusiasm, encouragement,  warmth and support is so appreciated … thank you.  I’m looking forward to another year of fun … and mutual creativity and inspiration with you all.  Today, I’m here with our first challenge of the year at Time Out … this fortnight We Challenge You To Be … Loving!  The first thing that popped into my mind when I thought of ‘Loving’ was hearts … here’s what I came up with …

         

I stamped the deliciously sweet sentiment from Reverse Confetti onto a white linen card panel and accented it with Poppy Stamps‘ embossed stitched lines and die cut hearts.  The panel was adhered to the card base and I ran a black fine line pen along the edges to give it definition.  The hearts were ombré coloured with alcohol markers, shimmered up with Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle and given a top coat of shine with Glossy Accents.  Once dry, they were popped up on foam dots into the die cut spaces along the stitched lines … and I added an extra couple at the side of that lovely sentiment to keep it company!  How about a closer look at the concentrated shimmer and shine …

         

Where will our challenge take you … why not let your creative imagination roam free and see where it goes … we’d love to see what you make!  This time round, we’re sponsored by Birch Press Design … our  winner, as voted for by the DT, will receive a $20 GC … and as usual, will be invited to guest design with us in a future challenge.  All the details are over at Time Out, along with heaps of inspiration from our brilliant DT … and from our talented Guest Designer, Jane from Purplejet Loves Crafts.  Why not pop over and have a wander round Jane’s blog … there’s tons of loveliness to enjoy … and you can always say hello while you’re there!

I’m playing along at …

Reverse Confetti Stock Your Stash – Love Is In The Air

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Something New … both the sentiment set and the die are new

Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday – Try Something New … as above

Watercooler Wednesday – Feminine Anything Goes

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

                

A New Challenge At Time Out – #124 – We Challenge You To Be … Joyful!

Hello … bonjour!  Our fabulous new challenge starts this morning at Time Out.  This fortnight … We Challenge You To Be … Joyful!  There’s aren’t too many things more joyful than Christmas … so that’s where I went with our theme …

I stamped and gold heat embossed the berry sprig and main sentiment from Uniko (Originally Organic, All Occasion Sentiments 4), plus the supplementary sentiment from Simon Says Stamp.  The sprig was coloured with zigs, had the berries Wink of Stella’d and covered with Glossy Accents … and I added a scattering of red gems over the already embossed gold dots.  They appear dark in the photo for some reason … IRL they’re a good match for the berries.  Voilà … a one layer QACAS (quick and clean and simple in Darnell-ese), joyful, Christmas card!

Where will our challenge take your creative imagination … to a joyful occasion, as mine did … to to something bright and happy … to a joyful melody … or elsewhere?  Wherever it takes you, we’d love to see what you create!  This time round, we’re sponsored by Uniko  (thanks, Bev!) … our  winner, as voted for by the DT, will receive a in stock stamp set of their choice … and as usual, will be invited to guest design with us in a future challenge.  All the details are over at Time Out, along with plenty of fabulous inspiration from our wonderful DT … and from our super talented Guest Designer, Chrissie from Simply One Of A Kind.  Why not pop over and have a meander through Chrissie’s blog … she has the most delicious CAS cards to enjoy!

I’m playing along at …

Clean And Simple On Friday – Make A Christmas Card

Inkspirational – Anything Christmas Goes

Less Is More – Holiday One Layer Card

SSS Monday – B Is For … berries

SSS Work It Wednesday – Ho Ho Holiday

Hope your Christmas preparations are coming along splendidly!  Thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

              

         

         

A New Challenge At Time Out – #121 – Inspired By Words

Hello … bonjour!  We’re starting a fresh new challenge at Time Out today … this fortnight we’re Inspired By Words … let us be grateful for what makes us happy.  Here’s where my imagination took me …

Top 3 Spot – Thank You!

I very recently discovered Pink Fresh Studio (such delicious, whimsical and delicate goodies!) … and used one of the stamps in a newly acquired set (Fleur 1) for my thanks card, picking out the let us be grateful part of our Inspired By Words phrase for my theme.  I masked off a panel on a mixed media card base and stamped the floral cluster several times, changing direction and height to avoid an obvious repeat pattern.  The stamped panel was loosely watercoloured (a new to me technique that has me just a smidge outside my oh so orderly comfort zone … eek) and I drew a fine black line along the top and bottom of it.  The SSS thanks was cut out of the card front and out of black craft foam, I lined the inside of the card, and the die cut was set back into place, popped up on the foam.  I added clear Stickles to the centres of a few of those sweet blooms … and Spectrum Noir Clear Sparkle, topped with Glossy Accents, to the sentiment.  As a finishing touch, some of the same colours in the flowers were splattered top and bottom of the floral panel.  How about a look at the detail …

         

Where will our words take your creativity?  You can use any or all of them to inspire your card … we’d love if it you joined us in the gallery.  We’re sponsored by STAMPlorations (thanks, Shery!) … our overall winner (as voted for by the DT) will win a $15GC … and there’ll be a random draw from all the entries for a goodie bag of stamps or dies.  As usual, our winner will also be invited to design with us in a future challenge.  All the details are over at Time Out, along with heaps of lovely inspiration from our fabulous DT.

I’m playing along at …

Pink Fresh Studio – Fussy Cutting/Die Cutting (see colour palette below)

Happy Little Stampers Watercolour – Anything Goes (No Gold Option)

SSS Work It Wednesday – Give Thanks

Uniko – Wonderful World (With Thanks Option)

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

                   

Twofer Card Challenge #10 – Harvest

Hello … bonjour!  Welcome to our October Twofer Card Challenge … where our theme this month will have your creative imagination kicking up into seasonal gear … it’s …

As I write this post, the grape harvest (la vendange) is well under way in our region of France … so what could be more fitting than vines for my harvest themed cards?

My stamp in common here is the vine leaves … part of a set from Woodware (which I think is retired now).   Here’s a closer look …

For my ‘juste un mot’ (just a note) one layer card, the vineyard scene was stamped and white heat embossed onto a watercolour base card.  I coloured it with Zigs, stamped the sentiment (Simply Graphic) and hand drew the border around it.  So like our countryside, albeit a little more whimsical!

My Twofer …

For my Joyeux Anniversaire (Happy Birthday) card, I created a random background for my grape cluster by repeatedly stamping the names of well known wines direct onto the base card (sadly my favourite is not among them!).  The grapes were stamped and masked … and I added the vine leaves from the landscape by doing some (very!) careful inking.  The images were coloured with alcohol markers … and had white pen highlights and glossy accents added to the grapes.  The sentiment is from Simply Graphic.  I didn’t add bling as this will be going to a wine loving male friend … don’t think sparkle (unless it’s in a glass!) would be his sort of thing.  Want to take a look at the individual glossy grapes … mmm … luscious …

Where will our ‘Harvest’ prompt take you this month?  Your mind is probably working on it already … we’d love to see what you make in our gallery!  All the details are over at the Twofer blog … along with heaps of fabulous inspiration from our brilliant DT … it’s just a click away!  We’re delighted to have two Guest Designers with us … Linby from Crafty Linby and Liz from Crafty Sunflower.  Do go and have a visit with Linby and Liz … you can check out their delicious Twofer cards to start with … and afterwards enjoy a delightful meander through all the other creative projects on display!

My vineyard landscape card is heading to …

AAA – Inspired By A TV Show … A Year In Provence

SSS Work It Wednesday – A Favourite Stamping Technique … Heat Embossing

Happy Little Stampers Watercolour – Anything Goes (No Optional Twist)

and my grapes will be joining in at …

AAA – Inspired By A TV Show … Last of The Summer Wine

SSS Work It Wednesday – A Favourite Stamping Technique … Masking

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

                   

A New Challenge At Time Out – #117 – Inspired By Words

Hello … bonjour!  We’re starting a fresh new challenge at Time Out today … this fortnight we’re Inspired By Words … toes in the sand, wine in our hands, life is good today, let us be grateful for what makes us happy.  Here’s where my imagination took me …

Here I picked out the middle part of the phrase … life is good today … and made a fun, one layer CAS card with a Simon Says Stamp rising sun as the focal point.  It was set in a masked and sponged sun filled sky … and the Mama Elephant sentiment was stamped underneath.  I added some dimensional eyes with white and black Enamel Accents … and just had to layer on a little shimmer onto that cute face.  Here’s a closer look  (with apologies for the fuzzy focus!) …

Where will our words take your creative imagination?  You can use any or all of them to inspire your card … we’d love if it you joined us in the gallery.  We’re sponsored by Uniko (thanks, Bev!) … our overall winner (as voted for by the DT) will have their choice of any in stock stamp from the store … and will also be invited to design with us in a future challenge.  All the details are over at Time Out, along with a heaps of lovely inspiration from our fabulous DT.

I’m playing along at …

SSS Wednesday – Anything Goes

SSS Work It Wednesday – Celebrate A Favourite Stamping Technique … masking with stamping

Watercooler Wednesday – Anything Goes

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

                  

A New Challenge At Time Out – #115 – Food And Drink

Hello … bonjour!  Welcome to our first Time Out Challenge of August, where we have a theme for you to play with … it’s Food And Drink … with the optional twist of making a one layer card. I went for an almost-twist this time around …

It’s been wonderfully and deliciously hot with us for weeks and weeks … so we’ve been keeping hydrated with plenty of fresh, chilled drinks.  That’s what prompted me to go all zesty and lemonade-y with my card.  I did some Distress Ink splashing onto a base card created with watercolour paper from Ranger … Squeezed Lemonade as the first and second layer … and a touch of Mustard Seed over the top.  The lemonade glass (TAWS, no longer operating) and the sentiment (Simply Graphic … ‘a sunny thought’) were stamped and heat embossed onto the patch of zingy colour, I coloured the straw and lemon seeds with Sakura gel pens, went round the rind with a Zig marker to make the colour deeper … and added Spectrum Noir Shimmer and Glossy Accents to the lemonade.  The effect puts me in mind of condensation on the outside of the glass … mmm … doesn’t that look mouthwatering!  The strip of washi along the edge of the card ties in with the straw … and that’s what makes this card an almost one layer!  Here’s a closer view of that condensation …

How will you interpret our Food And Drink theme … and will you use our optional twist?  We’d love to see what you create in our gallery.  This fortnight, we’re sponsored by Birch Press Design … there’ll be a random winner of a $20 gift certificate for the store, drawn from those who use the optional twist.  As usual, our overall winner, as voted for by the DT, will be invited to guest design with us in a future challenge.  All the details are over at the Time Out blog … along with heaps of inspiration from our brilliant DT … and from our talented Guest Designer, Susie from Created 4 Creativity.  Why not pop over and have a visit with Susie … you’ll have a splendid time exploring all the inspiration on display … and you can always say hello while you’re there!

I’m playing along at …

Addicted To CAS – Summertime

SSS Work It Wednesday – Watercolour

Watercooler Wednesday – Feminine Anything Goes

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