* Butterfly Girl

Hello

Yesterday was a scorcher (and it's not often you hear that in the North West of England), so hot in fact that I had to stay indoors to keep cool. I spent some time in my craft room getting inky and made this card for the current challenge at Rubber Dance:

I went with the colour challenge.

I made the background from Distress Oxides. I applied colour to my craft mat, spritzed it with water, dabbed a piece of acetate into the puddle and patted it onto my card. This way I built up the colour, drying each layer before adding the next. I used Peeled Paint and Broken China. When I was happy with the background, I stamped some flowers, from the Botanical set, around the edges in Peeled Paint. 

I stamped Butterfly Girl #1 and two sizes of Butterflies from the Antique Botanicals set onto smooth watercolour paper and heat embossed them with clear powder. I coloured them using Arteza Brush pens and when dry, fussy cut them. To hide the core of the paper I ran a black Copic marker around the cut edge.

I stamped the images onto the DO background and glued down the coloured images, leaving the wings free to add some dimension. A Tim Holtz Small Talk sticker provides the sentiment.  The background was edged with a blender and some peeled paint and then I added black ink to the very edge of the background.

The background was placed onto a 6 x 6 inch card base. 

That's all for today!

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

Rubber Dance Colour Challenge 30/06
* The Happy Craft Challenge AG 30/06
* A Gem of a Challenge #12 AG 30/06
* Path of Positivity #70 Encouragement 30/06
 
* The Crafty Addicts #61 AG 02/07
* Artistic Inspirations #216 AG 07/07
Crafting from the Heart #246 AG 07/07

* Crafty Creations #393 AG 08/07
* Creative Fingers #167 AG 11/07

* Imagine

Hello!

Where do the days go?

We're nearly at the end of the month and there are still a few challenges that I would like to enter. I found some time this afternoon to play with Brushos and stamps to make this card for the Lost Coast 'Face On' challenge. 

I don't own any Lost Coast human face stamps, but I do have this little beauty called Julianna from Inkylicious. 
Here is the card I made: 

I began by sprinkling Brusho pigment powder on my card and spritzing it with water. I used a combination of blues, reds and yellow, dabbing, blotting and drying each colour in turn. When I was happy with the colours I let the card dry naturally, spritzed on some Gold Glimmer Mist and then randomly added some second generation black text stamping. 

I stamped Julianna and the Imagine sentiment with VersaMark ink and heat embossed both with clear powder. 

Next I used a That's Crafty Flourish stencil and modelling paste to add dimensional swirls and flourishes.

This is where the boo-boo happened. I have to be one of the clumsiest people on the planet ... this time I plonked my wrist right over the modelling paste, squashing a part of it. I read Dot's blog post today and that made me laugh since I usually do something dumb right near the end of a project!  To try and rectify the problem, I replaced the stencil and added more paste - some details were lost, so I used a cocktail stick to 'engrave' the details. 

Once the paste was dry, I inked the edges of the card with black archival ink and adhered it to a 6 x 6 inch card base.

I love the Imagine sentiment and the font!

That's all for today!

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

* A Place to Start Stencil Me In 29/06 RISING STAR

* Lost Coast Portal to Creativity #78 Face On 30/06 WINNER

* The Happy Craft Challenge AG 30/06
* A Gem of a Challenge #12 AG 30/06
* Path of Positivity #70 Encouragement 30/06
 
* The Crafty Addicts #61 AG 02/07
* Stamping Sensations Show Your True Colours 03/07
* Artistic Inspirations #216 AG 07/07
Crafting from the Heart #246 AG 07/07

* Crafty Creations #393 AG 08/07

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* Vera Lane Studio: ATCoins

Hello!

I've been having fun making some Artist Trading Coins with Vera Lane Studio images. 

My first set of coins features images from two sets, 'Under The Sea' and 'Seahorse and Octopus'. Neither of these sets are in the shop, but are still available upon request - the thumbnails of the images are below.

I love this little mermaid - look at her fishy eyelid! I coloured the images with my usual Copic markers and added some white Posca pen highlights. I added plenty of Diamond Stickles to all the images for sparkle, and some Glossy Accents to the mermaid's eyes The images were fussy cut and placed on a Brusho background which had also been spritzed with Glimmer Mist - the shimmer is lovely! The edge of the coin was inked with Jet Black ink. Finally I added some golden Prills to resemble sand and added two Tim Holtz Small Talk stickers.

Under The Sea              Seahorse and Octopus

 

My second set of ATCoins feature the cutesie, quirky couple, Meg and Doug, from the Anniversary Set.

Again the images of Meg and Doug were coloured with Copic markers. Glossy Accents and Diamond Stickles were added here and there. This time I added elements from the Bow Bee collage sheet - some quirky flowers and leaves. They are glued onto a Distress Oxide background which has added texture from stamped text and adding modelling paste through a Tiny Dots stencil. The coin is finished with black ink around the edge and white Posca pen dots. The words are from an older VLS set called Helga's Hedgehog.

Anniversary               Bow Bee      

  

Helga's Hedgehog

I hope you'll come along and play on Vera Lane. 

It's such a friendly, fun place to be!

  

Here's all the info you need:

Vera Lane Studio Blog

Vera Lane Studio Facebook Group

Vera Lane Studio You Tube Channel

Vera Lane Studio Etsy Shop

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

Mermaid & Seahorse

* Crafty Catz #467 Circles 27/06
* Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #108 AG 29/06
* Angies Digital Stamps #32 Fun in the Sun 29/06
* Polkadoodles #25 AG 30/06 TOP 3

* The Happy Craft Challenge #13 AG 30/06

Meg & Doug
* PIP Challenge #1925 AG 30/06 HONOURABLE MENTION

* Crafters Castle #18 AG 01/07
* Cardz TV #92 AG 04/07
* Corrosive Challenges AG 06/07

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* Vera Lane Studio: Fun Collage ATCs

Hello!

I have two ATCs to show today using the fabulous Fun Collage Sheet from Vera Lane Studio.

These are pdf sheets and once downloaded just need to be printed. The colours are beautifully vibrant and you could experiment with different types of card. Once fussy cut, the possibilities are endless!

I fussy cut all my images right up to the black outline, then ran around the cut edge with a black marker to hide any cutting imperfections. I added some white highlights to the images with a white Posca pen.



For this girly 'Let It Go' ATC, I applied Distress Oxides in Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves and Dusty Concord, through a stencil, then edged the ATC with black ink. I brayered some Snowflake PaperArtsy paint over the stencilling to knock back the pattern.
I added touches of glitter to the flower.  I placed a torn strip of the digital washi along the bottom of the ATC to ground the girl and flower. The flower was glued directly onto the background whilst the girl was popped on foam tape. I cut the pretty scalloped border/label and used the scallops to accent the washi and to add some detail at the top edge. Glossy Accents was added to the scallops for dimension and shine. The sentiment is from the Tiny Words collage sheet

My second 'Happy Bird-day' ATC also has a stencilled Distress Oxide background, this time using Peacock Feathers. It is brayered over with Snowflake paint and edged with black ink. I used the rest of the scalloped border/label from the first ATC to ground my images. The birdie is glued directly to the background and the cake is on foam tape. I added Glossy Accents to the cake's candles and icing and Stickles to the candle flames. Extra scallops were placed at the top edge of the ATC and both lots of scallops are covered with Glossy Accents. The sentiment was typed and printed using Vera Lane Studio's font, Baby Powder.

Fun Collage Sheet        Tiny Words       Baby Powder

          

I hope you'll come along and play on Vera Lane. 

It's such a friendly, fun place to be!

  

Here's all the info you need:

Vera Lane Studio Blog

Vera Lane Studio Facebook Group

Vera Lane Studio You Tube Channel

Vera Lane Studio Etsy Shop

Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

* Crafty Animals #27 AG 27/06

* Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #108 AG 29/06
* Angies Digital Stamps #32 Fun in the Sun 29/06
* Polkadoodles #25 AG 30/06
* The Happy Craft Challenge #13 AG 30/06
* Try Stampin On Tuesday #413 Sketch

* Crafters Castle #18 AG 01/07
*Shopping Our Stash #398 You're So Punny 01/07
* Cardz TV #92 AG 04/07
* Corrosive Challenges AG 06/07

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* Gecko Galz: Summer Time Fun

Hello!

Today is my DT day at Gecko Galz and I have some retro Summer Time projects to share.

The first is a trio of summer cards:

The cards were made with similar designs - nothing complicated just matting and layering and some pretty trims. I chose colourful images and matching papers from the hundreds available at the Gecko Galz Etsy store.

Image: Summer Sweeties collage sheet
Papers: Paradise Island paper pack
Sentiment: Simply Sentimental stamp set
Own stash: Black ink, mesh trim, glitter stickers, green & gold trim, white card base, green card for matting.
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Image: Summer Sweeties collage sheet
Papers: Paradise Island paper pack
Sentiment: Simply Sentimental stamp set
Own stash: mesh trim, red ribbon, red card, black ink, white card base
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Image: Swimsuit Sweethearts collage sheet
Papers: Paradise Island paper pack
Sentiment: Simply Sentimental stamp set
Own stash: black ink, gold sequin waste, purple ribbon, metallic look gems, red card, white card base.
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I love pinks and yellows together and made this retro card:

Image: Let's Make Lemonade collage sheet
Papers: Lemonade paper pack
Sentiment: Journal Toppers Kit
Own stash: Vintage Photo Distress Ink, pink raffia trim, pink dotty washi tape, pink card, black card
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These next two Summertime cards were made for my Gecko Galz DT post on the 1st June and the details can be found here:

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I also made a card with one of this month's free images on the Gecko Galz blog. The freebie images this month are all summer themed and are perfect for the Gecko Galz customer challenge! 
My card details are here:

That's all from me for now!

I hope you'll join our Good Old Summertimer Challenge where the Winner will get 

$25 shopping spree 
at the Gecko Galz shop.

The only rule is that you must use at least one Gecko Galz product 
(this can be one of the freebies or, of course, you can buy at the Etsy store!) 

Also if you sign up for the Gecko Galz newsletter, you'll be able to claim a free collage sheet each month and get first claim on the weekly $1 deals!

Please pop over to the Gecko Galz blog to see the fabulous designs by the very talented DT.

We also have a Private Facebook Group where there are 4 monthly challenges, each with a collage sheet prize. Come and join us!

I'll be back on the 1st July with more Gecko Galz projects.

Here's all the info you need:

Gecko Galz blog

Current Gecko Galz Challenge : "Good Old Summertime"

Gecko Galz Etsy Shop

Gecko Galz Facebook group

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Thanks for stopping by today.

xoxo

I'd like to play along in the following challenges: 

Trio of Summer Cards

* Crafty Creations #392 AG 25/06
* Penny's Challenges #435 AG 25/06
* Little Red Wagon Summer Fun 26/06
* CRAFT Challenge #518 Summer 27/06
* Cardz TV #92 AG 05/07

Lemonade Card
* The Crafty Addicts #61 AG 02/07

* Crafty Gals Corner #194 Polka Dots 03/07 TOP 3

* Cardz 4 Galz #99 Favourite Colour Combo 03/07

* AS You Like It Favourite Summer Colours 03/07

* Ellibelle's Corner Summer Colours 31/08

I'd really love some feedback :)      

I read and appreciate all your comments. 

* Colour Crazy: Penelope Hugs

Hello!

Today sees the start of a new colouring challenge at the Colour Crazy Challenge Blog. The challenge is always Anything Goes, but of course your card must feature some colouring. You can use any colouring medium you wish. 

This week Oddball Art is the sponsor.

I was lucky to receive a digi stamp to work with and I chose Penelope No 3.
Here is my card using one of my favourite colour combos pink and green:



I cut the image with a Cottage Cutz Stitched Rectangle die and coloured Penelope with Copic markers, adding a few white highlights. Leaving the die in place, I blended Memento Pear Tart ink to the stamp background. I matted the image onto pink card.

The background is made from patterned glitter card by Deco Time. I chose two coordinating patterns and glued them together with a thin strip of pink card separating them. I matted the background papers onto pink card.  Next I added a strip of pale pink sheer organza ribbon along the bottom of the card. The image and mat was popped on foam tape and added to the centre of the background.  



I cut two pieces of the ribbon and tied a knot in them, then attached the 'bow' to the bottom left side of the image. I die cut a flower circle, blended Picked Raspberry ink around the edges and stamped the word 'Hugs' in black. This was placed to the centre right of the image. I had some pale pink mulberry paper flowers in my stash, but as they were too pale, I added some colour with Distress Ink. When they were dry, I re-shaped them and glued a green gem to the centre of each. I arranged them in the top left corner along with some die cut leaves.

Many thanks to Oddball Art for sponsoring this challenge.

I hope you'll find time to share your coloured projects at the Colour Crazy Challenge! 
We'd love to see what you make!

That's all from me for today!

xoxo

I'd like to play along in these challenges:

* Dream Valley #204 Summer Colours 22/06
* Crafty Creations #392 AG 25/06
* Penny's Challenges #435 AG 25/06
* Little Red Wagon Summer Fun 26/06
* CRAFT Challenge #518 Summer 27/06
* Creativ Fusion #12 AG 29/06
* The Crafty Addicts #61 AG 02/07

*Crafty Gals Corner #194 Polka Dots 03/07
* Cardz 4 Galz #99 Favourite Colour Combo 03/07
* Ellibelle's Corner Summer Colours 31/07



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