Fancy A Cuppa?

I've been playing with my Paper Artsy Infusions powders again, this time in autumnal colours.  I started by stamping the Tea Cup Row, then masked it while I sprinkled some Infusions powders around and spritzed with water.  I removed the mask immediately (it was already disintegrating with being so wet), then added a hint of shading with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink.

I'm adding this to the Fall Coffee Makers' Blog Hop

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Powder Power

AAA Cards - Masking

CAS on Sunday - One Layer Card

Paper-Pieced Party Dresses

Fusion meets CAS on Sunday with this card.  When I saw the inspiration photo for the Fusion challenge, I immediately thought of polka-dot dresses.

As luck would have it, the challenge at CAS on Sunday is paper piecing.

So I had a rummage through my paper stash for blue and cream dotty paper, stamped some dresses from The Bee's Knees PartyDresses and fussy cut them.  The background panel was in my stash of embossing folder prints à la Tim Holtz in Weathered Wood, sponged with Antique Linen.  The hangers were stamped directly onto the panel before adhering the dresses.

The sentiment is made from a couple of STAMPlorations sets:  "simply" and "stunning" are from Blossom Overture and "have a" and "birthday" are from Sentiment Builders: Happy.

Heart Flowers and Hundertwasser

Here's a quick watercolour card for CAS on Sunday - Flowers.  I used the heart image from STAMPlorations Sentiment Builders: Love for the flowers, and the stem and leaf images from Vignette: Eclectic Florals.

Once the images were stamped, I sloshed some Distress Inks on, and added a few dots near each flower and top-right.

I'm over at STAMPlorations tonight with another card inspired by Hundertwasser.  Click on over to see the step-by-step.

Mwah!

Been playing with my new STAMPlorations toys: ARTplorations stencils.  This one is called Hello & Company.  I used Worn Lipstick (of course!) to stencil the lips and the You, then stamped 'love' from Sentiment Builders: Love set which is being showcased next week on the STAMPlorations Release Week (prizes to be had!).

I'm entering this into CAS on Sunday Stencils

The Card Concept, Love (I'm being clean and simple today)

Fusion

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge, Heave a Heart

Time Out, Valentine's

And Uniko Studio, Love and Friendship

Phew, bit of a marathon!

If you've got to the end of this, you deserve a prize!  And if you're lucky you could win one on the Craft Stamper Blog Hop - only 4 days left to comment.  And for a mega-humungous prize, how about entering a stamped card into the Craft Stamper Take It, Make It challenge?  Again, you've got 4 days left to enter....

Merry Christmas Eve

CityGirl is being one of Santa's helpers tonight.  I made this one at the same time as the previous SantaGirl, and this time I backed it with some pink snowflake paper which has been in my stash forever.  The die-cut sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp, with a tiny self-adhesive ab gem instead of a dot for the 'i'.

I'm entering this into CAS on Sunday - Christmas.

I'm back tomorrow with a Christmas tree with a difference.

Seize The Birthday - Banners and/or Pennants

We've got a new challenge at Seize the Birthday today, Banners and/or Pennants.  My favourite way to make pennants is with Distress Inks and solid patterned images.  I used Winnie & Walter's Scenery: It's A Wonderful Pennant.  I inked up the stamps with Wild Honey, Tattered Rose and Worn Lipstck, spritzed with water and stamped onto the card.  I masked the larger stamps while I stamped the smaller ones. The two different sizes of pennant help to give an impression of depth of field.  The sentiment snuggled nicely into the gap on the right.

I added a few sequins, so I'm entering this into CAS on Sunday - use sequins.

So come over and join us at Seize The Birthday.

If you don't want to use banners or pennants, you can still play along with a birthday theme.

ETA: Also adding to CASology - Flutter (thanks for the prompt, Anita!)

Vellum Butterfly

Today I've been playing with vellum.  It popped up at Paper Artsy with this gorgeous card by Keren,

Keren's card for Paper Artsy

and also the Runway Inspired Challenge inspiration lends itself to vellum:

I used Polyfilla (spackle) and a Tim Holtz stencil to create the base and left it to dry.  Then I stamped the images in Versamark and heat-embossed them in white, then coloured the reverse of the vellum with markers and cut them out.  Then I went to the hairdressers.  When I came back the butterfly had curled up on itself like those free gifts you used to get in comics where you laid a thin plastic cut-out image on your hand and the heat from your hand made it curl up.  Remember them?  Oh, yes you do.  So some extra-strong double-sided sticky was required to pin the butterfly down on the card.

I added some Brushed Pewter Distress Paint on the Polyfilla to reflect the silver on her shoes, sponged the edges of the card with Antique Linen, and partially stamped the numbers (Tim Holtz) and stain (STAMPlorations) in Versafine Smoky Grey and added a few grey credit card makes.  Added a few self-adhesive pearls and a part-sentiment (Hero Arts).

The challenge at CAS on Sunday is Butterfly,

and the challenge at Mixed Media Monthly is Stencils and Paste.

Celebrate With One Layer

This month's One Layer Simplicity Challenge, chosen by Heather, is Wave The Flag.  Heather (an Aussie living in Canada) made two cards, one for each country's flag.  I've made one card for two countries' flags, because I've got dual nationality (UK/Australia):

Quite convenient for this card!  The card was inspired by Keren Baker's card which was showcased on the Paper Artsy blog.

I'm also entering it into CAS On Sunday where the challenge is One Layer Wonder 

Stamps: STAMPlorations Vignette: Celebrate Artsy and Sentiment Builders: Celebrate.

Seize The Birthday - Stars and/or Stripes

Time for Seize The Birthday, and for this challenge it's Stars and/or Stripes.  I used a star embossing folder to take a Distress Ink print and made a colourful cake - just think if it was real - all those e-numbers!

Come on over and join us.  If stars or stripes don't do it for you, you can still enter as long as it's a birthday card.

The cake and celebrate sentiment are from the new release at STAMPlorations.  The happy birthday sentiment is Dymo tape.

I'm entering my card into CAS on Sunday - birthday challenge

Birthday Ovals

I seem to be stitching, scuffing and splatting everything in sight lately, and I've learned one useful lesson about paintbrushes.  The longer the bristles, the further the splat range and the less control you have over where it lands.  I tried splatting with a shorter-bristled brush on this one and it was much easier and neater (as neat as splatting can be, anyway).  And all the splats landed on the card instead of the desk and the walls :)

So this card is for a few challenges:

CAS-ual Fridays - use ovals.  I've used the CAS-ual Fri-Dies Oval Tag, both as a die and a mask.

The design has come from the inspiration at Runway Inspired Challenge:

At CAS on Sunday it's Stitched - Faux or Real

And at Simon Says Wednesday it's Happy Birthday.

Stamps: STAMPlorations Vignette: Live Love Laugh, Vignette Chevron and Arrows

Sending Hugs

I'm behind on my school work at Online Card Class.  This card is inspired by Laura B's plaid card on Day 5, although I've masked one area and stamped the bands of colour using the back of a sentiment stamp rather than spongeing them.  Spongeing?  Sponging?  Whatever, I didn't.

I've used the sketch from Waltzingmouse Fanatics (and I didn't even change it!):

I've used the colour scheme from Just Us Girls:

I've used masking so I can enter it into Less is More:

And at CAS on Sunday, it's a one layer wonder challenge.

Off to catch up on my school work now.