Coming up roses

Hello, crafting friends!

 

Welcome to another fun challenge at Addicted to CAS! Helen has decided on the code word for the next fortnight and I think you are going to love it:

 

We all love to think pink don't we!  I thought of deep-hearted, sweet-scented pink roses for my note card.

 

This is a very simple one layer card, using a rose stencil from Uniko. It's a really big stencil (you can see how it fills a whole card in THIS card) but I've taped it quite a way off my card base here to make the roses smaller. I stenciled twice, in opposite corners, blending pink inks into it each time. When the stencil was removed I added a tiny bit of detail with a pink coloured pencil.

I love a touch of gold with pink, so I finished my card with this beautiful sentiment from C&9th's Beautiful Branches, stamped with versamark ink and heat embossed in gold.

 

Okay, so now it's your turn! Do hop over to the Addicted to CAS challenge site to check out the beautiful pink samples my teamies have made to inspire you. You'll find the Linky Tool at the bottom of the post and you can use it to share your own creation with us when you're ready. Don't forget we are a clean and simple challenge and we love to see clear white space on your cards!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Happy Little Stampers Stencil challenge where Anything Stenciled Goes; also Try it on Tuesday where the theme is Summer Blooms; and last but not least, Allsorts where a new theme of Anything Goes with optional roses starts today.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I was wandering around the garden centre the other day when I saw a rose called Fair Eva. What an excellent addition to my tiny flower garden I thought, adding it to my wish list; it would be a wonderful tribute to my beloved golden retriever! When I got home I looked it yup and discovered it comes in many versions, from a miniature rose to a large rambling variety. I suppose I should get the rambling one so that it can take over the entire garden and REALLY remind me of my girl!

 

Sending hugs,

Flying in late

Hello, crafting friends!

 

I found out that I'd missed a friend's birthday recently and hurried to set things straight. Thank goodness for card challenges to kickstart the creativity!

I liked the idea of this pair of birds from Clearly Besotted's Love Birds being pals, and can you see that the top one is flying in late for the birthday party?! I stamped the birds first and masked them off so that I could sponge in a pink inky background. After that, I positioned Funky Fossil's Brick Wall stencil over it, sponged more of the pink ink, and turned the background into a garden wall.

While I still had the bird masks in place I stamped the branch from Concord & 9th's Beautiful Branches and added some blossom using a tiny flower from Inky Doodles' Some Bunny to Love. The masks were removed and I coloured everything with pink, orange and yellow coloured pencils. 

The card was finished with a sentiment from Funky Fossil's Snail Mail and a few black details with a fineliner pen.

CHALLENGES

The inspiration came from Less is More where the theme is One Layer and Off Centre; The Paper Players where Jaydee has chosen Birds and/or Bees as her theme for the week; Allsorts where Lynn's choice of theme is Anything Goes with the option to Create a Scene; my zingy colour palette came from Color My Heart Color Dare 493 which I just couldn't resist!   

 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

As I was walking Eva down the hill into town the other day, I spotted a lady coming towards us beaming from ear to ear. "Hello!" she called enthusiastically as she came closer to us. I  didn't recognise her but I'm a friendly soul and called hello back - and just as I did, I heard another voice behind me calling hello too. Yes, they were greeting each other and Eva and I just happened to be in the way!

Sending hugs,

Thanks and leaves

Hello, crafting friends!

Welcome back to your usual bundle of Tuesday fun courtesy of CAS Colours and Sketches. It's a new month and Jenny is taking over hosting duties, and the first colour palette she has chosen is a beauty:

I don't own a single one of these colours so I've gone for the closest match I had. I mention that because if you don't have those colours, please don't feel you can't join in - just go for a close match and if you don't have suitable inks, take a look at your markers and/or card stock.

I decided the paler greish blue-green reminded me of eucalyptus leaves so I brought out my Beautiful Branches stamp set by Concord & 9th. The branch  is a lovely curved shape and I used the round leaf image to stamp foliage all the way up it, adding shading with a coloured pencil in the very dark greyish green. The card panel was trimmed to  size with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle.

I  thought a die cut sentiment would look great as a pop of pink but found that it looked a little disconnected from the leaf image. To link it more closely, I scored some lines using my score board and that did the trick.

So now it's your turn! There's lots of inspiration from my teamies over at the CAS colours and Sketches website so do hop over and take a look. At the bottom of the post, you'll  find the Linky Tool which will enable you to share your own creation. Have fun!

CHALLENGES

The theme at Stamping Sensations this month is Stamp of the Moment and I've used Beautiful Branches,  a stamp set that is rarely off my desk! I'm also linking up with Chocolate Baroque where Anything Goes this month (with Celebrations as an optional theme.)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I heard a very silly joke about eucalyptus leaves once and I feel that this is the moment to share it with you:

Q: What did the Koala Bears say after their manicure?

A: "Eucalyptus!"

*shuffles off sheepishly to get coat*

Sending hugs,

Birthday with a zing

Hello, crafting friends!

Welcome to another fun challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches! We alternate between sketches and colours to inspire you and, this week, our host Holly has chosen a gorgeous colour palette.

I've had citrus fruits on my mind recently. I'd seen a photo of oranges growing and had thought how strange it is that oranges should sometimes look so yellow! So here's what I did with the colours:

I used Beautiful Branches by Concord and 9th for this card. The set doesn't actually have any images of oranges but it does feature eucalyptus leaves that also make brilliant citrus fruits (click here to see another fruity little card I made with this set!)

The branch was stamped in the darker green, then I stamped the chubbiest leaf three times to represent oranges. The pointiest leaf was stamped repeatedly up the branch using Pear Pizzazz ink.

I added detail to the stamping with coloured pencils to make the image pop, and finished the card with a block sentiment from Uniko's Simply Said Blocks. 

Here's what the Beautiful Branches stamp set looks like for those that are wondering :)

So now it's your turn. What do these colours make you think of? Do check out the inspiration from the rest of the design team on the CAS Colours and Sketches website and share your own creation with us using the Linky Tool you'll find there. Don't forget to keep your card nice and clean and simple with minimal layers and plenty of lovely clear space!

CHALLENGES

I'm linking this card up with Happy Little Stampers CAS challenge where the theme is Citrus and zing; I'm also playing again with Watercooler Wednesday where Dawn is hosting the popular Occasions challenge.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

While sitting in the shade in the garden yesterday, this little ball of downy feathers rolled out of a nearby flowerbed! (Sorry about the photo - obviously I couldn't go too close and this is the best my camera lens could do!)

There are two pairs of robins currently nesting here and I had noticed that the adults have become increasingly vocal. He seems so vulnerable but apparently it's perfectly normal for the fledglings to leave the nest before they can fly, and for them to hop about in the undergrowth. Eva is interested and watchful but shows no sign of violent thoughts! I don't allow her in the garden without me at the moment though, just to be on the safe side :)

Sending hugs,

When life gives you eucalyptus leaves...

Hello, crafting friends!

I had a moment of inspiration today and made a quick card while the going was good! It's still pretty gloomy around here but I'm hanging on to my mediterranean dream with these oranges and lemons, tumbling past a sun-warmed terracotta wall...

... But wait, I don't have any oranges or lemon stamps in my stash! These citrus fruits are in fact eucalyptus leaves from Concord & 9th's Beautiful Branches. Honestly, this has to be one of the most versatile stamp sets I own - the eucalyptus leaves have also been lanterns (here) and sunflowers (here) and the rest of the set has worked very hard indeed too (here, and keep scrolling down for more.)

To make this card, I stamped two different shapes of the leaves onto a card panel and coloured them with coloured pencils. The stamps are textured which really helps give the effect of dimpled citrus skin. I added leaves from one of last year's Stampin' Up Sale-a-bration sets, and doodled stems in with a fineliner pen.

To finish, I scribbled in a loose watercolour background with a paintbrush and diluted ink. When it was dry, I added one of the sentiments from Beautiful Branches and a sprinkling of clear gems before attaching it to a card base with dimensional pads.

CHALLENGES

Inspired By has inspired me again with both the inspiration photo and the sketch! I'm also joining in with Happy Little Stampers' watercolour challenge.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

While our children were growing up, it was a family tradition to go out to a restaurant on birthdays - and the birthday boy or girl got to choose where. We have a wonderful Indian restaurant near to us which was a popular choice even when they were small, and they took to spicy dishes from a young age too! My youngest son used to love the lemon and orange sorbet there, served in the fruit itself and decorated with other fruits and cocktail umbrellas! He alternated them and could always remember which flavour he'd had the last time he was there!

Happy Friday, enjoy your weekend!

If you go down to the woods today...

Hello, crafting friends!

What's your favourite flower? I've been pondering that question all week and have come to the conclusion that it depends on the time of the year and my mood! I just love all flowers. I'm paying tribute to the bluebell today because I just happen to have been walking up in the woods again and seriously, is there anything more magnificent than a carpet of bluebells stretching as far as the eye can see and scenting the air with sweetness?

I started this card by painting some blocks of blue onto a panel and, when it was dry, stamping the bluebell image from Clearly Besotted's Fresh Flowers over them.

The bluebell was coloured with coloured pencils  and I added some splatters of diluted ink before trimming the panel with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodle.

To finish, I stamped a sentiment from Concord & 9th's Beautiful Branches and added a sprinkling of sequins, following the curve of the flower. The panel was matted onto dark blue card stock and attached to a card base.

CHALLENGES

The inspirations for this card were Amy's sketch at Freshly Made Sketches, the Periwinkly colour theme at The Rainbow Challenge and of course the Use Your Favourite Flower challenge at The Flower Challenge.

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I'm practically living in my local bluebell woods...

... well wouldn't you?! The contrast between the flowers and the lime green of the new beech leaves is breathtaking.

Sending hugs,

Thinking of you in black and white

Hello, crafting friends!

Something very simple from me today - one layer and black and white. You can't get more pared back than that can you!

I've been using more of my new Uniko goodies! This stamp set is Happy Succulents and it's been on my wish list for a long time!

I stamped the largest image directly onto a card base in black ink and gave some of the leaves stripes with a black fineliner. I used my Posca white acrylic paint pen to colour the large flower and other details.

That gorgeous sentiment is from Beautiful Branches by Concorde & 9th. When I stamped it, I left room for a little bud and leaf which I coloured as I did the main image. Finally I added a doodled frame with my fineliner and called the card done!

CHALLENGES

I'm playing along with Color Hues where the current challenge is Black and White. I've not used this stamp set before so I'll also share at NBUS (Never Before Used Schtuff)

AND IN OTHER NEWS

Excitement mounts here as the weather forecast is predicting temperatures more commonly seen in the summer months for the next three days. Eva and I will be in the garden pretending to be on holiday!

Sending hugs,

Chalk it up

Hello, crafting friends!

Here's a simple little card I started last night and then finished in daylight when I could actually see!

I've used the chalkboard technique, choosing a sentiment from Concorde & 9th's Beautiful Branches stamp set and heat embossing it in white on black card stock. To get that 'rubbed out' look, I used my embossing buddy liberally and rubbed it into the black card stock with my finger.

I gave my blackboard a frame using two Heffy Doodle stitched rectangle dies, then added some greenery from Reverse Coinfetti's Fall Foliage and some pretty yellow daisies from Clearly Besotted's Sending Sunshine.

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD

So pleased this card was chosen as a Watercooler Rocker!

And it was a winner at The Card Concept - woohooo!

CHALLENGES

I'm joining in with Less Is More's Chalkboard Technique challenge and was also inspired by the beautiful inspiration photo at The Card Concept. I chose the green leaves, the yellow flowers and the blackboard to make my Clean and Simple card. I'm also playing along at Watercooler Wednesday where it's Kath's All About Occasions challenge 

AND IN OTHER NEWS

I was looking on Pinterest at the kind of blackboards people put outside pubs and shops and some of them really made me chuckle. I'm sharing them here because don't they say laughter is the best medicine? You're welcome!

(Source: Pinterest)

Sending hugs,