A Barn Swallow.

I thought I would send another entry to the Make My Monday background challenge. Again it is a simple background.

I stamped some Distress inks in Barn Door and Spiced Marmalade on to a glass block, spritzed it with water and then stamped it on to card.  When it was dry I stamped the Barn Swallow from Stamps Away Wildlife set in black. It gives a very interesting background I think and I have used this technique many times using different colours.  The red mat is pearlised card from stock, but the yellow mat was made by me.  I used white Centura pearl card, sponged on a Scattered Straw Distress ink and then spritzed it with a mica spray.  Again, simple but effective.
There are some fabulous backgrounds produced by the DT on MMM and also by other crafters. I'd love to have a go at them as they are just stunning. I wish I could leave comments on a lot of them as they are so lovely, but sorry ladies I am very pushed for time at the moment so have not done any comments yet.  In fact this may be my last post for a while as I am going away  next week for a few days and am busy trying to get my Romahome (a mini motorhome) ready.  Lots to do.  However I have just seen the new CAS sketch challenge, oh dear, I would love to have a go at that one, so you never know!!

Christmas Star

After I came home I thought I might as well make another card and if I do one using the 52 CCT sketch and also make my own background I could enter the Make My Monday challenge too.
Here is Christmas Star.  It is a Clarity stamp and I have been dying to use it, so I think I will be making quite a lot of Christmas cards using this stamp.  I love it.

Like a lot of crafters I make lots of my own backgrounds.  This is nothing exceptional, it is quite a common and simple technique.  I used Clarity Silk card, and stamped snowflakes and baubles in Versamark all over it.  I then used the brayer to go over the whole card.  I used Big and Juicy Waterfall and Stampin' Up Brilliant Blue.  It gave quite a variation of blues, but it isnt very clear in the photo.  The star is heat embossed using silver tinsel embossing powder and  looks very shiny with some glitter in it.  Again not obvious in the photo.  I then brayered all over it, so the background is very plain and simple.I added some ribbon down the side so that the white frame of the star showed up.

Folded Frame Card

I didn't think I would have time this week to make any cards, but kept wanting to have a go.  The first one was the Colours And Sketches colour challenge, Raspberry Ripple, Daffodil Delight and Bashful Blue.  I have to confess that for some reason I just couldn't get an idea what to do although I gave it a lot of thought.  I thought of all sorts of designs but none really felt right.  Then yesterday I went to a workshop at Jacqueline's where we made a folded frame card and I thought if I make it in the CAS colours I could send it to the challenge. So here it is.

I chose a design paper from Bo Bunny that was pale blue one side and pale yellow/cream on the other.  After folding it I stamped some little flowers round the edge in Daffodil Delight and stamped some Stampin' Up butterflies in Raspberry.  I added a few gems to give it a little bit of bling.  At first I thought I wouldn't make this design again as there was the usual measuring and folding which as you know I don't like, but in the end it wasn't too bad and it does give you the chance to use some of those beautiful double sided design papers, that you just keep and don't want to use because they are so beautiful. I never know which side to use.  At least you can see both sides with this design so I think I will make some more cards using this technique.  Thanks Jacqueline for showing us how to do this.

Elsie's birthday

Yesterday was my Granddaughter's 2nd birthday.  Where has the two years gone?  She is of course absolutely beautiful and such fun to be with. (I know all Grandmothers say that.)  She smiles all the time and is such a busy little person, into everything, and wants to know how everything works, pulls apart, goes together etc and is fiercely independent wanting to do it all herself.  We had a little party for her on Sunday and she had some lovely presents, her favourite being a cooker and lots of things to go with it, all made of wood.  She loves 'cooking' and putting her teddy to bed in a little carrycot she had and he has to be tucked in 'just so'!  Here is Elsie Rose trying to do up Merlin's (my little dog's) collar and she has done it!! The smile says it all.

This photo was taken at Christmas.  I haven't got any photos of her birthday on my computer yet.

Here is the card I made for her.

It is a Sheena Douglas stamp and I bought it because it reminded me of Elsie, she has a little bike and tousled hair and she was going to wear a fairy dress with wings, but when the day came for her party she wouldn't put it on!  The image is coloured using water colour pencils.  It isn't a very clear image because there is quite a lot of glitter on the wings, stars and dress and the sentiment is mounted on glitter card.  The camera didn't pick it up.  I hope she liked it and I hope she had lots of fun on the day.  I am sure she did.

A Little Bit of Sunshine

On Easter Monday when the weather was so dull and so cold I cheered myself up by making a card for the CAS circles challenge.  Then I had the bit between my teeth so I thought I would make a couple of cards for the Make My Monday one layer challenge.  I had loads of ideas for this.  I like the idea of not matting and layering because I can never get them straight!  It is also a quick way of making a card and will certainly do this again to add to my stash. I thought I would introduce a little bit of sunshine to the dull day.  I have used this stamp set from Clarity stamps.  I just love the sentiment, I think it is a lovely idea to send sunshine to someone, especially if they are feeling a bit down.  The image of the children playing in the meadow is such a happy scene and hopefully a promise of lovely sunny days to come.

It is such a simple card to make.  I made a scalloped edge aperture and mask and sponged Daffodil Yellow and Pumpkin Pie through the aperture.  I have used this technique quite a few times in the past using different shaped apertures. I think it might have worked as we have just had two days of lovely sunshine!  Dull again today unfortunately.

                                                         

Blue Circles

It was a miserable day yesterday, dull and absolutely freezing, so I thought I would cheer myself up by making a card for the Colours and Sketches sketch challenge, circles. So here it is.

I used Stampin' Up stamps.  The blue circles are from a set I have but I don't know the name of, I don't think it is available any more, and the pink circles are from the Madison Avenue set. I used Distress inks Chipped Saphire and Picked Raspberry, and Stampin' Up's Tempting Turquoise.  As I have so many lovely backing papers I thought I would use one from my stash instead of making one this time.