CACTUS LOVE

Hello.

Today I'm sharing some cactus love with you,
for the Inspired By Challenge.

This was my first attempt at no-line water colouring,
and I'm really chuffed with how it came out.

The cactus pots were a challenge for me.
In the end I used a stamp, from a 'sketchy flowers' set - stamped in ink and then added some shaded areas with my zigs.
That sequin on the pot is to cover up where the paper rubbed up a little with the water.

supplies
mft - llama love, sketchy flowers, party penguins (sentiment)
zig clean color real brush markers

PERFECT PENGUINS

Hello.

I'm playing along with a new (to me) challenge today...

Inspired By

Have you joined in?

You really should pop over and check them out,

their DT work is A-ma-zing!

Here's my card...

From the inspiration photo I was drawn to the stripes and the ombre colours, 

and as for 'love', well, who doesn't love penguins?  ;-)

supplies
mft - party penguins
altenew - watercolor stripes stencil
clearly besotted - basic banners
distress inks - spun sugar, worn lipstick, pickled raspberry

CONFETTI

Hello.

Shhhh!
Don't tell, but I should really be tackling the ironing mountain!
Instead, I have sneaked into my craft room to have a play with my new confetti stencils.
What do you think?

 I used versamark and then gold embossed the confetti before adding the distress ink background and then an inlaid die-cut.

Don't you love it when you buy something that just get those creative juices flowing?
I'm already thinking of all the confetti I can stamp - bright colours, two tone, subtle shades etc
It's safe to say that confetti makes me happy :-)

Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday

supplies

mft - confetti stencils, happy birthday script die

distress ink - worn lipstick, pickled raspberry, seeded preserves

wow gold embossing powder

xcut gold effect card

PARTY PENGUINS

Hello.

Just a super, quick card from me today, using my new Party Penguins.
Aren't they cute?

It was a bit tricky at first, lining up the beak and feet, but I discovered it's best to do this after you've die cut the penguin.
Even after adding the tiniest bit of colouring to the cheeks and belly these penguins were so quick to put together.
Great for if you need a card in a hurry.

Challenge

MFT Card Challenges

supplies

mft - rectangular stax 1, party penguins

distress ink - salty ocean.

BRILLIANT BLOOMS

Hello.

With Valentine's day fast approaching, I thought I would make a card for my mum.
I've kept it simple, with just a couple of embossed blooms, but tried to add interest with the water colouring and my 3D letters.

I've used my new Zig clean color real brush markers for the water colouring, and I'm so happy with how it turned out. Not perfect, or exactly how I would like, but I think I'm learning a little bit more every time I use them. Baby steps ;-)

For the 'MUM' sentiment, I've used the inlaid die technique, and added a layer of coloured card and foam tape for that extra 3D effect.

Challenge

CAS Mix Up

Dimensional Die-cuts + Stamping,  + Water Colouring

Supplies

mft - brilliant blooms, embossed in white and coloured with zig clean color real brush markers

'i love you' from mft loveable leopards

'MUM'  mft stitched alphabet dies

mft stitched scallopedge die

TINY HUMAN

Me : I'm going to keep this card nice and CAS for the Less Is More Challenge.
Also Me : I'll just add some grass... and maybe a few puffy clouds.

It's still pretty simple, so I hope it's ok for the challenge.

(Oops. Just re-read the guidelines when linking this up and realise its probs not CAS enough. No worries if it needs to be deleted )

The little die-cut clothes are popped up on foam tape for some dimension.

Tip: I struggle to glue little pieces like the washing line, so I die cut it into the background, add some ds tape on the back, and then just press the die-cut line back into the space.

Happy 8th Birthday to everyone at Less Is More.

Wow! Is it really 8 years. I remember when the challenge

started and CAS cards were a 'new' thing :-)

Less Is  More

Navy and Yellow

Supplies

mft - bundle of baby clothes dies, sentiment from 'hello little one'

clouds and grass stencil

distress ink - tumbled glass, twisted citron

HEY FOXY

Hello.

This is one of those cards that nearly ended up in the bin several times.
I had SO much trouble with that sentiment.

I die-cut it from the cloud background and it just refused to come out of the die cleanly.
I ended up having to rip it in a few places, so don't look too closely!

Then, I cut a piece in foam and put that back into the space and the 'cloud' piece would not stick to the foam. Argh!
I tried several glues, and in the end glossy accents did the trick.
Phew!

Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday

supplies

mama elephant - 3 amigos

mft - happy birthday script die, clouds stencil, scalloped edges die

distress ink - tumbles glass, mowed lawn

copics

MY LOVE IS FIERCE

Hooray!
It's the weekend.

What do you think of when you buy a stamp set?
I don't have a big budget so I think...
Can I use it for both male and female cards?
Can I use it for more than one occasion (birthday, anniversary, valentine)?
Is it easy to colour?  ;-)
Does it have extra elements that help bring a card together?
Will I use the sentiments?
etc etc.

I looked at this 'loveable leopards' set for ages before I decided to get it,
and I'm not disappointed.
It ticks all the boxes.

Challenge

CAS(E) this Sketch

I flipped the sketch, so that the larger strip ( my sky )

was at the top.

supplies
mft - loveable leopards, clouds and grass stencils
distress ink - tumbled glass and twisted citron
copic markers

LET IT SNOW

Hello. 

I'm out of my comfort zone again today,
playing with watercolours.
I bought a set of the zig clean color real brush markers -
so I have to learn how to use them, right?

After watching a gazillion videos, here's my attempt at a watercolour background  ;-)

After playing along at CAS Mix it Up last week, I stumbled across 

their watercolour challenge.

Perfect for getting lots of inspiration and seeing how it's done.

CAS Watercolour Challenge

supplies

clearly besotted - into the woods again, stamped and embossed in white

wplus9 - winter wonderland

mft - snow globe sentiments

zig, clean color real brush markers

LOVE YOU FIERCELY

Hello

Inspiration was a bit lacking this morning,
so I went in search of some.

I ended up at the Less Is More challenge,
where this week's unusual sketch caught my eye.

This is my interpretation of it...

Less Is More

supplies

mft - loveable leopards, coloured with copics  rectangular stax1

distress inks - spiced marmalade / pickled raspberry / peacock feathers / salty ocean

AY CHIHUAHUA

Hello.

One of our tribe is 30 !
Not sure I can remember that far back 😀

I kept the card nice and simple, with some popped up die-cuts and
a tweaked sentiment.

The stamping tool is definitely my best friend when I add sentiments like this.
They stop me from buggering the whole thing up! 😁

Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday

hero arts - it's fiesta time, coloured with copic markers

mft - banners and balloon from party animals,