Twofer Card Challenge #13 – Stars

Hello … bonjour!  Our new challenge at Twofer has just started … this time around our theme is positively heavenly … it’s …

… here are my celestial designs …

One of the things I discovered when coming up with ideas for my cards was that there are very, very few starry stamps in my stash … what a serious omission!  What I was delighted to come across was a stencil from Winnie and Walter (my common image) … double delight actually … not only the stars … but a chance to play with stencilling too, something I’ve rarely done.  Here’s a closer look at my first design …

… a star covered birthday gift. Here I stencilled the stars in three Distress Ink colours onto a mixed media panel, moving the stencil’s orientation with each change of ink so that there was no overlapping.  The panel was trimmed to size, I sponged the edges to add definition, did some gentle silver splattering over it and silver heat embossed the Papertrey strings.  The WPlus9 tiny tag was die cut and sponged round the edges … and silver heat embossed with a smidge of the tied string (where it’s threaded through the hole) and with the Uniko birthday sentiment.  The miniscule stars around the sentiment are from Winnie and Walter.  The tag was popped up on foam tape on the package … and the package was popped up on the card base.

My twofer stars …

… a starry Christmas card.  Here, I used the stencil just the once, sponging over gold Delicata ink, stamped tiny silver dots (Winnie and Walter) between the stars and edged the panel with gold washi tape.   The sentiment is from Papertrey, stamped in gold and mounted over silver washi.  This isn’t how this design started out … it was originally one layer … the stars and dots weren’t coralled by the washi but were spilling out across the middle of the card in a playful, unstructured sort of a way.  However … when washi tape that was destined for the bottom edge of the card stuck where it shouldn’t have been and I pulled it off too quickly, my finished OLC was left with an ugly torn surface.  Oh dear (bet you can just hear me saying that!) … what to do … start from scratch or do a rescue job?  I rescued … by trimming out the unstructured spilling out stars and dots and edging them with the washi.  The first version was fun … this one is clean and crisp … and in the end I’d have been happy with either (which is p’raps as well really!).

What comes into your creative mind when you think of stars?  We’d love to see!  All the details about how to play along are over at the Twofer blog … together with with heaps of splendid starry inspiration from the DT.  We’re delighted to have two Guest Designers with us this month … Barb from Barb’s Studio Creations and Cat from Cat Luvs Paper … welcome ladies!  If you’re not familiar with Barb’s and Cat’s fabulous work, you’ll really want to go and have a visit with them both … there’s so much delicious inspiration to enjoy and absorb!  Even if you are familiar, pop along anyway … you can always say hello while you’re there!

My birthday gift is heading to …

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Seize The Birthday – Anything Goes … without the black and white topping

Uniko – 7th Birthday Party … many congratulations, Bev and all the team past and present!

Watercooler Wednesday – Feminine Anything Goes

… and my celestial sky is joining in at …

CAS Christmas – Peace

Happy Little Stampers Christmas – With Star Option

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

                   

                   

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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 #120 – We Challenge You To Be … Colourful!

Hello … bonjour!  Our fabulous new challenge starts this morning at Time Out … this fortnight … We Challenge You To Be … Colourful!   Here’s where I went with the theme …

My ‘Colourful‘ is those cutie patootie, sparkly edged little bobble hats that are keeping this festive row of sweet penguin-ettes warm!   The penguins are from Winnie & Walter … they’re stamped in black and clear heat embossed … and are set along a distress ink sponged ice flow, into which the Winnie & Walter sentiment was stamped/heat embossed.  The colouring was done with Zigs … and I added some frosty shimmer to the furry brim and pompoms with a touch of Stickles.  Want to see the glitteriness a little better …

          

Where will our challenge take your creative imagination … to colourful images, as mine did … to something bright, bold and graphic … or somewhere else?  Wherever it takes you, we’d love to see what you create!  This time round, we’re sponsored by Winnie & Walter  (thanks, Shay!) … our  winner, as voted for by the DT will receive a $25 GC from the store … 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 … why not pop over and enjoy!

I’m playing along at …

Addicted To Stamps And More – Holiday

CAS Christmas – Birds

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

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

The Cats Pajamas – Holiday

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

        

               

A Few Florals!

Hello … bonjour!  Hope you’re having a good summer or winter, depending where you are … and a happy weekend.  I have three cards to share today … and I’m delighted to be blogging them before the deadlines pass on challenges I’d like to link up with!  First into the spotlight,  a fresh card that turned out to be especially QACAS (quick and clean and simple in Darnellese) …

I won a GC from Altenew recently via Therese at Lost in Paper (thanks, Therese!) … and this one layer card was made with one of the sets I got with it.   I used the rock and roll technique to stamp the flower heads in two blues … it added a little dimension and some extra definition to the edges.  The flower centres were done in the darker of the two blues and I added the grey leaves … before finishing with the shiny heat embossed sentiment and a touch of stickles in the middle of each bloom. Forget me nots?  They look a bit like that to my eyes!

I’m playing along with (badges are at the bottom of the post) …

Altenew – Inspiration/Colours (below)

Inkspirational – An Under 10 Minute Card … it was close, 9’51 as I added the last Stickles!

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Anything Goes

Next up, some rainbow-y goodness …

A watercoloured rainbow panel with a Poppy Stamps bloom die cut from it and inset into it, adhered flat to a white mat with a WPlus9 sentiment stamped along the bottom edge.  I scored lines onto the card base before mounting the finished panel onto it on craft foam and adding a couple of tiny black pearls to the flower centres.

I’m joining in at (badges are at the bottom of the post) …

AAA Cards – Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Poppy Stamps – Birthday Party

Seize The Birthday – Stripes … the scored ones

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Anything Goes

Finally, a bright, summery, colourful little number …

Another one layer card, this time stamp layered with the second set I got with my Altenew GC.  The sentiment is from Winnie and Walter and the supplementary greeting is from Simon Says Stamp.  I added some black gel pen dots to the flower centres and a fine black line along the crease edge to tie them in to the black greeting.

These florals are going to be blooming at (badges are at the bottom of the post) …

Fusion – Inspiration (below) … all those lovely colours at that summer picnic

Seize The Birthday – No Option … unless a line counts as a stripe!

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Anything Goes

That’s it for me … I’ll be back on Thursday with a little something for the new challenge starting then at Time Out.  In the meantime, thanks so much for coming by, your visits and comments are always a joy!  Anita 🙂

 

                  

                   

                   

Twofer Card Challenge #7 – Beverage

Hello … bonjour!  Welcome to our July Twofer Card Challenge … where our theme this month will have your taste buds tingling … it’s …

and here’s where my creativity took me …

My stamp in common here is a glass of wine from a set by Stampendous called Wine Buff (no longer available, I believe) … a conventional use on the first card … and something rather unconventional on the second.  Here’s a closer look at each.

For my anniversary card, the glasses and the sentiment (SSS) were heat embossed in liquid platinum onto the card base.  I coloured the images with alcohol markers, making the wine into ceIebratory pink champagne (fit for the occasion!), which was covered with shimmer and had a layer of glossy accents added over the top.  The bubbles are jewel drops.  To finish, I craft foam mounted a card panel over the image, that had been die cut with a peek a boo window (MFT).

My Twofer …

For my hello card, with a little careful masking and doodling, I turned the wine glasses into a couple of cute monsters.  They were coloured with alcohol markers, trimmed out, shimmered, covered with glossy accents … and have enamel accent eyes.  They were popped up on craft foam on a Mama Elephant heat embossed pathway … and as you can see, they were so pleased to see each other that shimmery, glossy accented hearts appeared between them.  It’s how they express themselves … after all they have no arms to hug with!  I adhered the monster panel to a card base that had been washi-ed round the edges.

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

How might you interpret ‘Beverage’?  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 thirst quenching ideas from the DT to spark your imagination.  We’re delighted to have two Guest Designers with us this month … welcome to Bonnie from Stamping With Klass and Marianne from Marianne’s Cards ‘n Stuff.  Do go and have a visit with both Bonnie and Marianne … you’ll find so much glorious inspiration to get those creative juices flowing … and you can always leave them some love while you’re there!

My champagne is going to be bubbling over at …

CAS-ual Fridays – Heat Embossing

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Simon Says Stamp Monday – Summer Fun … pink champagne at a summer picnic … yum!

… and my monsters are heading to …

CAS(E) This Sketch – Below … turned landscape and with a little stretch!

CAS-ual Fridays – Heat Embossing

Simon Says Stamp Monday – Summer Fun … the chance to spend time with friends!

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

        

         

A New Challenge At Time Out – #110 – Home Sweet Home

Hello … bonjour!  Our new challenge has just started at Time Out … this time round, we have a vibrant, funky, retro style Home Sweet Home photograph to inspire you to join us … it’s a little further down … here’s my take on it …

… and here’s that bright, colourful inspiration …

I focussed on the florals in the wallpaper … selected the yellows, oranges, pinks and greens for my stamped and masked Essentials By Ellen bouquet … and chose the white lampshade as the base for my colours, rather than the taupe on the walls.  My Winnie & Walter die cut and ombré sponged sentiment mimics that vivid pink chair, with the supplementary Essentials by Ellen ‘birthday’ picking up the frame underneath it.  I finished off with some white gel pen doodling on the light pink and orange flowers … and a scattering of Lucy’s Little Gems.  Voilà … fresh and clean with just a smidge of sparkle!

What sets your imagination in motion in our Home Sweet Home photo … the bold colours, those cool shapes, maybe that framed picture or the wooden floor … or something else completely?  Whichever way you’re inspired, we’d love to see what you create in our gallery!  Our winner, as chosen by the DT, will receive a $20 gc from our fabulous sponsor, Happy Little Stampers (thanks, Kylie!) and will have the chance to guest design with us in a future challenge.  All the details are over at the Time Out blog … along with a heap of brilliant ideas from our fabulous DT and from our super talented Guest Designer, Ksenija from Sweet Kobylkin.  Ksenija’s blog is chock full of the most delicious cards … you probably know that already (and if you don’t, what a wonderful discovery you’ve made!) … why not pop over and see her, explore and say hello while you’re there … you’ll have a fantastic time!

I’m playing along at …

AAA Cards – Inspired By Nature

CAS On Friday – Birthday

Simon Says Stamp Monday – Inspired By A Song … She’s a Wildflower by Lauren Alaina

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday – Use More Than One Stamp … there are six here (two sets)

Simon Says Stamp Work It Wednesday – Sunshine & Summertime … sunny summer blooms

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

        

              

 

Twofer Card Challenge #5 – Butterflies

Hello … bonjour!  Welcome to another Twofer Card Challenge … this month, we have a lovely prompt for you … perfect for this time of year.  It’s …

Here’s how my fluttery friends landed …

My common stamp here is from Uniko‘s English Country Garden – Butterflies set … it ranks as my current favourite butterfly image (I used the smaller of the two here), it’s so beautifully detailed and lends itself to both line art stamping and to colouring (especially the large one after heat embossing).  Here’s a closer look at that first kaleidoscope of flutterers …

A one layer birthday card, simply stamped in ombré pinks to purples along one edge … a sentiment from Winnie & Walter in grey with the supplementary ‘birthday’ from SSS nestled beneath, in the same colour as the adjacent butterfly … and a scattering of glimmery gems to match.  CAS and done!

My Twofer …

A friendship card … clean and crisp once again … with a little more dimension than the first.  I die cut a circle from the front panel, adhered a piece of brusho’d paper (there’s still a little left from the Lake House!) direct onto the card base and popped the panel up on craft foam over it.  The butterfly was stamped onto vellum in white pigment ink, heat set, trimmed out and had a little shimmer added with Wink of Stella (which combined with the ink, gave it a soft, frosty look … happy accident!).  It was adhered along the body to the brusho’s, I drew in the antenna with a white gel pen, added some glossy accents to the body and folded the wings up.  The sentiment is from SSS … IMO a delightful sentiment for a friend … and it seems to go along just so with the butterfly.  It’s stamped, trimmed and adhered with foam dots.   I took a close up so you could see the shimmery, shiny detail …

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

Where will our ‘Butterfly’ prompt take you this month?  We’d love to see your two distinctly different cards … for two distinctly different occasions … using the same stamps or dies … in our gallery!  All the information you need, including timescales, guidelines, rules and FAQs,  along with heaps of fantastic inspiration from the simply splendid DT … is over at the Twofer blog … it’s just a click away!  We’re delighted to have two Guest Designers with us this time round … Linda from Life In The Craft Lane and Mac from The Sweetest of Peas, winners of our March challenge.  Do go and have a visit with Linda and Mac … apart from their delicious Twofer cards, you’ll find loads of wonderful inspiration to meander through and enjoy!

My birthday card is going to be celebrating at …

Addicted to Stamps & More – Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers CAS – One Layer Card

SSS Monday – Ombré

Watercooler Wednesday – All About Occasions

… and my friendship card is heading to …

Addicted to Stamps & More – Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers Dies – Anything Goes

Happy Little Stampers Watercolour – Clean and Simple (Optional)

The Cat’s Pajamas – Die Cutting

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