PORTRAIT OF A BEAR.

This weeks challenge over at I ♥ PROMARKERS is Animals, so your cards have to have an animal on them. The sponsor this week is CRAFTY EMMA with a £10 voucher to spend in the online store.

I considered using an animal as my focal image but then I found this Sarah Kay stamp still unused in my drawer. The bear she's painting wasn't really enough of an animal so I searched for a cat image and found this one in an Ollyfant set of stamps by Kars, so I stamped it and masked it before stamping the main image. Ok, so the cat is a 'little' large, but hey ho! lol.


My papers are from the V & A collection and I inked them all around the edges. Using my Tim Holtz ruler (the one with the holes down one side) I used my pokey tool and punched around the edges of the panels then added a few flowers and half a dozen pearls and that was basically it. Oh, and a Martha Stewart punch for the mat.

Entering into:
AMBER'S CRAFTS 'N STUFF - Cats and/or dogs.
CRAFTS AND ME - Anything goes.
CREATIVE CARD CREW - Cute and girly.
DIVA'S BY DESIGN - For the girls.
PAPER PRETTIES - Use flowers.
TRULY SCRUMPTIOUS - Anything goes.
A SPOONFUL OF SUGAR - Anything goes.
CLAUDIA AND COMPANY - Birthday for a girl.
MAKE IT MONDAY - Always anything goes.
ONE STITCH AT A TIME - Anything goes.
STAMP SOMETHING - Anything goes.

YOU GOTTA LOVE FLOWERS..

This is a super time of year when all the flowers start to show their pretty heads and this weeks challenge #115 over at THE CRAFTY PAD is just that - FLOWERS. We want to see lots of lovely blossoms and blooms on your projects.
We are sponsored this week by CRAFTY EMMA'S STORE and the prize for the winner is a £10 gift voucher to spend in her store (excluding p&p).

The design team all used an Animal in Window image available from THE CRAFTY PAD DESIGNS.

I decided to make an over the edge easel card for my project this week. I don't make many of these, so it made a nice change and I'm going to give it to my mum (who is in hospital), for mothers day with a big bunch of flowers and a gorgeous pink manicure set.





My image was coloured with Promarkers and my papers are from the My Minds Eye - Stella & Rose 'Mabel' pad with matching Bazzil cardstock. The flowers were cut with a Marianne Designs die with the little centre roses from Wild Orchid Crafts. I don't like gems personally, but mum does so I added some square ones from Papermania and the lace is from my stash. The sentiment is also from The Crafty Pad Designs.

Entering into:
I'll let you know later when I get back from Sherwood Forest.....back now, had a lovely day.
TUESDAY THROWDOWN - Florals
ALLSORTS - Bloomin' Blossoms.
CREATIVE INSPIRATIONS - Mum or Mothers Day.
I DID IT CREATIONS - Anything goes.
PAPER SUNDAES - Spring Blossoms.
SCRAPPY FROGS - Flowers and lace.
CATCH THE BUG - Anything goes.
MARK'S FINEST PAPERS - An animal.

INK IT UP...

Ooooh, two posts in one day. A rarity for me, lol.

I was in the mood for some inking and rubber stamping so I got out my distress ink pads and some of my gorgeous stamps from Onyx Impressions and sat down to see what I came up with. Onyx Impression stamps are just so beautiful. They have some super designs, cut in black rubber and really well made.

I stamped my tiger onto some orange paper from my Fancy Pants 'All Fall' pad but the black background didn't come out as dark as I'd like, so I stamped the tiger again, cut him out and used it as a mask. Then I used my Memento Black and some foam and really deepened the background. Some Marmalade was used to give some patches to the Tiger. That's Spiced Marmalade ink, not the stuff in a jar, lol and I used my black Promarker to draw my own stripes.

The frame is one of the newer Nestabilities...beaded oval.



Then I made a tunnel card. I'm quite fond of these at the moment, but this one didn't come out as well as I'd hoped. I'd actually binned 3 before deciding I'd had enough and going with this one. The black inking around the edges is a bit untidy, but I used a chalk ink pad, which I'd not done before, so I'll not be using one again.

I inked a piece of plain card with my distress inks and then stamped the scene on to it, making sure I had a yellow patch where the sun was. I then inked another the same and stamped the image again. This was cut along the tree and horizon line to make the middle 3D layer. The concertina folds were stamped with an orange swirl on the outside and inked black on the inside. More marmalade ink was added to the panels and then they were stamped with some Basic Grey swirl stamps.







They're really easy to make but just takes a little care (a bit more than I gave this one, lol).

I ♥ PROMARKERS # 19

This weeks challenge over at I ♥ PROMARKERS is to use bears on your project. Our fabulous sponsor this week is SIMON SAYS STAMP and he is offering a $15 spend and will even pay your postage for you. So what are you waiting for? Get out your bears and start colouring. :o)
My papers are from Dovecraft Funky Vintage.
Sentiment from Pollycrafts.
Bear from Firecracker Designs and
the ribbon from my stash.



I'm also going to enter this into another challenge this week.
JUST CUTE BEARS have a theme of summer, and my colours, I think, are really bright and summery.

IS IT A PLATE....?

Editing: It's 11th May 2011 today but I'm linking this post to MAKE IT MONDAY. I really like this card so am showing it again.

I had a go at something a little different this afternoon and made a plate card. I think I'll be making more of these as I love the way it sits on its stand and you can pop your written greeting on the back. I raided my scrap box for my papers again as there is so much in there. The pink paper is Basic Grey but where the brown came from is anybody's guess, lol. I wanted it to look a bit distressed so the BG paper was perfect and I inked all the edges with Black Soot distress ink. The image is by Elizabeth Dulemba who is a children's book author and illustrator and the flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.

I'm entering this card for 4 challenges this week.

PASSION FOR PROMARKERS whose theme is books.
MY TIME TO CRAFT are asking for Wild Things - something that lives in the wild and I figure an Owl fits the bill.
PEAR TREE DESIGNS who want flowers on your card/project.
CRAFTS AND ME who want distressing.

TAGS 'N SCRAPS

I recently hosted a tag swap and as one of my tags was a collage of scraps of paper I thought it was about time I went through my scrap box and made a few things with them. I'm still beavering away with them, but this is a couple I've done so far.

The tag on the left was collaged, inked with distress inks and overstamped with 5 different Paperartsy stamps. The centre tag was on Basic Grey 'Periphery' paper and Lottie from Impression Obsession Inc. was stamped and then I used my Promarkers to colour her dress to match the papers. The tag on the right was stamped with 'Maiden with Long Hair' from Hero Arts on some 7gypsies 'Morroco Journey' script paper and then her dress was shaded with grey Promarkers.


The image on this card is 'Charley' from Cuddly Buddly and she was painted with my distress ink pads. I have no idea whose the papers are but I remember buying them to do an October page in a CJ. I hardly remember where anything in my scrap box comes from anymore, lol. The leaf, bottom right, was cut out and raised on foam pads. Flowers from stash and I got the sewing machine out for this one too.


Ah, now this one is more scrap than anything else as what I've used is plain old brown wrapping paper. I thought a bit of distressing would work with this so that's what I've tried to achieve. All the inking was with T.H. Distress Ink Pads 'Walnut Stain'. The Owl is a stamp from Stamps Away and the tree on the background is from Kanban. Pearls from Kaisercraft Basics.
To make the background, I inked the edges, randomly stamped the tree and then screwed the paper up. I ran an inkpad over the creases and then ironed it flat and tore the edges a little. The owl was painted in a bit using the same colour ink plus Brushed Corduroy. The ribbon is Smirk and a bugged bit of white card swiped with Walnut Stain ink finished it off.

I ♥ PROMARKERS # 16

Well, another week, another challenge. Nothing much different from me this time though as you saw Rooster a week or so ago, only this time I followed the sketch. So, this is my DT card for I LOVE PROMARKERS challenge #16. As already mentioned there is a sketch to follow. We are sponsored this week by the lovely DIGI DOODLE SHOP and the prize is a $10 gift voucher to use at the online store. All the design team used one of her images and you really should visit her store. She has some absolutely brilliant digi stamps.

So, here is Rooster again. :o) Coloured, of course, with Promarkers and made into a tent card again.

NOTHING TO CROW ABOUT...

....because this is a screw up, lol. Not the actual card, but the reason I made it. I was trying to get ahead with some DT challenge cards but I didn't check the rules properly and should have used a sketch - which of course, I didn't. Grrrrrr!!!! Still, I thought I'd show you anyway. The Rooster, from DIGI DOODLE SHOP was coloured twice and cut out, stuck back to back and is hanging in the aperture. I used Promarkers to colour him and the papers are some old Daisy D's I had in my scrap box.
The little chuck in the corner is one of those lazer cut things I found in the bottom of my drawer and I thought it was a good chance to use one.





You'll be seeing Rooster again soon. :o)

I ♥ PROMARKERS # 9

This week's challenge over at I LOVE PROMARKERS is a theme. No sketch, but you must use an animal. This can be any animal, including birds, dragons and butterflies. The prize this week is a £10 gift voucher from JOANNA SHEEN. Come on over and have a go. :o)

Dragon Luck is a Lisa Victoria stamp and I used the Crafts Too butterfly embossing folder, Nestie label die, Cordinations cardstock and purple velvet paper. Other elements from my stash.