Welcome Babysaurus!

What a week it has been! I have been going a bit stir crazy as I have been working from home for the last three days. Being the antisocial Finn I am I thought it wouldn't be a problem at all, but I have to admit as soon as the Culinary Consultant has come in through the door in the evening I have had a 20 minute bout of verbal diarrhoea. I'm hoping to go and pick up my new car tomorrow, and my old car is fixed enough to make it safe to drive, so either way I can get to work next week. I feel a bit sad giving up my old car, it's been such a good car, I really love it but it's also been a bit of a money pit. Hoping to have better luck with the new one, although as the Culinary Consultant always says, there is no such thing as a cheap car.

Anyhow luckily I have also been able to do a bit of crafting, playing with some of my new Lawn Fawn goodies like the Snowy Backdrop die which I actually used as a night sky instead this time. I can't take full credit for the idea for this card as it was a request from my Sis and she also came up with the sentiment. I was inspired by the colours over at Colour Q and the sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch. I'm also linking up with Daring Cardmakers where the theme is to be inspired by the song "What a wonderful world" and I was inspired by the "dark sacred night" as well as watching babies grow. Last but not least I'm linking up with both Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge and Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where the theme is Stamp It in celebration of STAMPtember. 

Card: 300 gsm hammered white card, 160 gsm Hobbycraft white card, scraps of dark blue, yellow and red card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past and matching dies, Critters Down Under, Claire's ABCs
Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Copics, Signo white gel pen
Other: Lawn Fawn Snowy Backdrop, Stitched Circle and Everyday Sentiment Banners dies

Dino-critters in colour

Nothing like a bright and early Saturday morning, right? For some inexplicable reason, I have woken up before 6am all of last week, and on a work day that's ok, but on a Saturday... Oh well, at least by 8:30 I have already gotten lots of things done. And as an added bonus, I got to catch up with a friend who lives on the other side of the world.

I know things have been a bit quiet on the crafting front lately. But today I'm back with a new card, inspired by the Colour challenge over at Lawnscaping. I was also inspired by my new wonderful Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils, if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen them already. I wasn't sure if they would be my thing or not, but I really love them. And they are so convenient to work with, it's easy to do my colouring in front of the telly if I want to. I got a pack with 36 different colours which is a great set to start with, there are some colours I know I want to add, but usually I can pretty much get any colour I want, especially if blending a few colours together which is really easy. I also splurged and got a nice water brush, I only had a few cheap-o ones, which weren't very good, and I like my new Pentel Aquabrush. Although I still don't like using it with water in the brush, I prefer to just dip it in a pot of water as that gives much better control over the amount of water. But the brush part is really nice and perfect for detailed work like this.

I have also taken to listening to audiobooks while I craft (not at the same time as watching TV obviously...). Also, I would like to find some great podcasts to listen to, so let me know if you have any you like, I would love to get some tips. My current favourite is "No such thing as a fish" which is the QI podcast, and it's filled with great little facts, and it's really, really funny. I often listen to it at work if I'm doing boring routine things that don't require too much thought, and my colleagues must think I'm crazy as I burst into laughter and giggle all the time. 

Sorry, I strayed from the point at hand. Back to crafting! I stamped the dino-critters in Staz-on ink onto watercolour paper using masking for a one layer card. I coloured everything with my lovely watercolour markers, and used a permanent black marker to add some landscaping to the scene. Lastly, I added some final touches with a white gel pen. I absolutely adore the dino critters, they just look so happy, don't they! Last, I die cut the scene with the stitched rectangle dies, and matted onto white linen paper.

I would also like to link up with the following challenges:
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Things beginning with I (I is for indigo blue, for colouring one of the dinos. is that too far fetched? also I is for inspiration, which I always get when I look at my colouring pens and my lawn fawn stamps. last but not least I is for imaginary, which this scene is as I doubt all these dinos would actually been hanging out together in real life)
Daring Cardmakers - Rock birthday card, with added twist of using the colour ruby (ok, this takes a bit of explaining, but you know Bedrock from the Flintstones? That is a rock... sort of? and one of the dinos is clearly ruby red, right?)

Card: 300 gsm white linen card, Daler&Rowney 300 gsm Aquafine watercolour paper
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past
Ink: Tsukineko Staz-On
Colouring: Faber-Castell Albrecht Durer watercolour pencils
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangles dies, Signo white gel pen, black permanent marker

It's nearly chocoholiday!

I had a look at the calendar today. Not just a glance, I mean a proper look and I made an effort to engage my brain at the same time. This was a big effort for me, admittedly, but I came to the rather scary realisation that Chocolholiday (in some circles also known as Bunnyday, Chich-o-holiday or even Easter) is just around the corner. As in, a few weeks away! After Christmas it felt like it would be an eternity until Easter (aka the next break from work), and now it's almost upon us. I have spoiled myself by taking a day of annual leave each side of Easter making it a leisurely six day break with a three day work week on each side. I can't wait! I will spend the time in my craft room, chocolate bunnies at my side.

Of course chocoholiday means some chocoholiday cards are in order. Today's card was born inside my head while stuck in traffic yet again. Getting off the hospital site in 5 pm traffic is such a nightmare. And there are plans for new buildings (including relocation of another hospital to the site) with thousands of new jobs to appear on site over the years to come which will mean even more imaginary crafty time for me. Obviously the good thing of congestion traffic is that as long as I remember the current challenges that are out there, I can pre-design the cards in my head while stuck in traffic, and then it's a quick business of just putting them together once I'm actually in my craft room for real. Alternatively, I could take some stamps and markers in the car and sit there colouring away while waiting to move along. Oh well, for the safety of myself and others I may have to stick to imaginary crafting in the car. 

Anyhow, the inspiration for today's card was the Distress challenge over at Lawn Fawn, along with the inspiration image over at Curtain Call and the inspiration board over at Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. I am also linking up over at Simon Says Stamp Monday challenge where the theme is Animals, Creative Card Crew "Easter Critters", Artistic Inspirations Challenge "Anything goes with a twist of Easter" and Clear it Out challenge where the theme this week is Easter and stash item is pastel things (pastel distress inks, markers and cardstock).

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday inspiration board

I only have one proper Easter stamp set, and I have already used it for the last two years, so I wanted to change things up a bit so I went for non-Easter stamps. I made a mask for inking the egg using yellow, blue and pink distress ink. I love how the colours mix together to give greens and purples where the colours overlap. Then I stamped the bunny, birds and easter eggs and coloured them using watercolours and distress ink before fussy cutting them. Last, I stamped the sentiment in black ink and matted everything onto yellow card. 

Card: 300 gsm white card, Hobbycraft Three Shades of Yellow 160 gsm card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past, Critters on the Savanna, Critters in the Arctic, Personal Impressions Easter 1

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress inks Squeezed Lemonade, Picked Raspberry, Salted Ocean, Tim Holtz Distress markers in Squeezed Lemonade, Mowed Lawn, Salted Ocean, Picked Raspberry, Spiced Marmalade, Pumice Stone

Happy birthday from dino paradise

This card came to me in a split second when I saw the sketch over at My Favourite Things. I saw a sunset and partying dinos immediately. And I knew they would have to wear party hats. I can only imagine the party the dinos will have after dark. The theme for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is paradise. Right now for me, paradise would be a hot sunset under palm trees instead of an icy car on a freezing cold morning. I'm sick and tired of coming down with my gazillionth cold this winter. I want a party hat, hot sun, palm trees and maybe a cold drink. That's what I thought about when I inked the background for this card. I would also like to link up with Lawnscaping's Birthday Celebration for their 100th challenge, how cool is that! Happy 100 LawnScaping, and here's to at least 100 more! I'm also linking up at Addicted to Stamps where the challenge is to make your mark. 

Card: 300 gsm white card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past and Critters on the Savanna

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz Distress inks Dusty Concord, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade and Worn Lipstick

Colouring: Copics B04, B06, E34, E39, V04, V09, V93, V95, V99, YG11, YG13, YG17

Other: Paper scraps from my stash, pom poms from a piece of pom pom string, Lawn Fawn stitched hillside die

Welcome baby in pink

I think short is sweet today, I came home from the gym, had a shower and am writing this while eating dinner, about an hour past my bedtime. Some days life just gets a bit nuts. But I"m glad I dragged my ever increasing behind to the gym and had a great workout. I think I made a mistake sitting down on the sofa (yes, I admit, I eat dinner on the sofa) as I'm not sure I will be able to drag my aching bones, muscles and other tissues to bed.

On to more crafty things. Love seems to be all around. Valentine's day is just around the corner, and every card challenge is either about pink, hearts or love. I thought a slightly different take would be nice just for a change. I hope you like it!

I would like to enter the following challenges:
STAMPlorations - Sketch challenge #27
STAMPlorations - February challenge Stamps and Hearts
Crafty Creations - Owl how I love thee
House of Cards - Love 
Just us Girls - Love
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Red + pink
Tuesday Throwdown - Love is in the air
Artistic Inspirations - Anything goes with a heart
Crafty Cardmakers - Love

Card: kraft card
Paper: Stampin' Up More Amore Speciality DSP
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz distress inks Festive Berries, Worn Lipstick
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past with matching dies, Paper Smooches A Little Lovin'
Colouring: Copics B00, R20, R43
Other: Tim Holtz Hearts stencil, Lawn Fawn Say Cheese die

Dino holiday snapshot

Happy Sunday! I have been enjoying a great weekend with my Sis. I always keep saying I'm so lucky to have my sister in the same country as me, as the rest of my family and almost all of my friends are in another country. However the sad truth is that we don't get to see each other nearly enough. She is very busy being a first year doctor, and I'm busy just... well, crafting, gardening and spending my free weekends doing random stuff.

Today's card is inspired by the great sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch. I also used the colours on Color Throwdown for inspiration. I just treated myself to another die I have been dying to have, the Lawn Fawn Say Cheese die, so I thought I could use the dino and palmtree that I had coloured previously to make a little holiday scene. I used the Tim Holtz Bubble Layering Stencil and distress inks to create the border. I think it looks almost like scales (did dinosaurs have scales? My dino-knowledge is apparently very limited). I'm also linking up with Stampin' Royalty where the theme is "To Die For".

Card: 300 gsm white card, coloured 240 gsm kraft card Pillarbox red
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past and matching dies, Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress Ink Aged Mahogany, Broken China, Faded Jeans, Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Versamark
Colouring: Tim Holtz Distress markers and Stampin' Up Blender Pen
Other: Tim Holtz stencil, Lawn Fawn Say Cheese die, Papermania Seafoam White embossing powder

You can leave your hat on

It's been quite cold lately. I've had to scrape ice off the windscreen of the car in the mornings, and every time you stick your nose out of the door, you just want to retreat back inside. But that's ok, we are almost through January, and not many months now until spring. Days are getting longer. Soon it will be light when I leave for work in the morning. And even better, soon it will still be light when I get home, which means I will be able to get a bit more decent photos of my cards again! Yay!! I'm also saving up for a new camera, as my old one has really bad scratches on the lens and photos come out with strange blotches on them. I'm so excited about the prospect of a new camera, and am desperately trying to decide what I want. That's part of the fun, spending all the time online reading reviews and comparing cameras. 

Today's card is inspired by the fun challenge over at Daring Cardmakers with the theme "You can leave your hat on". Hence the cute little cap on the happy dino. I used the colours over at ColourQ and the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. I was also inspired by the theme over at Lawnscaping, which is "Stamp your own background". I stamped the snowflakes for the background using white ink, and added some Perfect Pearls for a subtle glimmer. It doesn't show very well on the photo, but looks quite cool especially when it hits the light at the right angle. 

Card: Kraft card, Coloured 240 gsm coloured kraft chocolate, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past, Critters in the Arctic and matching dies

Ink: Stampin' Up Craft ink Whisper White, Memento Tuxedo Black

Colouring: Stampin' Up Blendabilities Coastal Cabana and Melon Mambo, Stampin' Write marker Early Espresso

Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Hillside borders die

Dino baby card

As so many other crafters, I have accumulated quite a stash of crafting supplies. But I also have a stash of small paper pieces, half finished projects, stamped images that I didn't end up using. And I can't throw any of it away, but it all ends up in various boxes and folders. I'm challenging myself now and again to make a project only with the bits and pieces I find in these boxes and folders. And originally this card contained nothing but stuff from the stash - the dinosaurs are from the bunch of critters I coloured while laying on the beach in Cape Verde (that seems so long ago now). But I didn't like the green cardstock I used for the grass, so I switched it to this polkadot one, which technically also was from the stash but not one of the tiny little paper scraps but I had to cut it out from a bigger piece. But I like the look of the card much better like this.

This card was inspired by two challenges, Freshly Made Sketches and The Color Throwdown. The sketch immediately got my imagination racing, and I was thinking what I could use to replace the flowers. And what better than two dinosaurs!! I'm also entering the card in this week's Addicted to Stamps and more where the theme is Clean and Simple.

Cardstock: Leonardo Stationery 300 gsm and 350 gsm white card, Daler & Rowney 300 gsm Aquafine watercolour paper, Stampin' Up Pink Pirouette

Paper: Stampin' Up Patterns Stack Brights

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past, Paper Smooches A Little Lovin'

Ink: Tsukineko Staz-on, Tim Holtz distress markers and Stampin' Up Blender Pen, Blushing Bride

Other: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past die, Grassy Border die, Sizzix large embossing folder Birthday Stars 

More dino-mite

For this card I stamped the dinos onto watercolour paper in black ink and coloured using Stampin' Write markers. I used crafting paper for the sky and cut the grass using the Lawn Fawn Grassy Border die. I then cut the dinos using the matching dies and matted onto teal cardstock. I stamped the sentiment onto the teal cardstock and heat embossed using white powder. I added one more happy little dino inside the card.

Cardstock: Leonardo Stationery 350 gsm Smooth White Card, Daler&Rowney 190 gsm Watercolour paper, Coloured 240 gsm cardstock in teal
Paper: Stampin' Up DSP Sunshine & Sprinkles
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past
Ink: Hobbycraft black pigment ink, Tim Holtz distress embossing ink, Stampin' Writes Calypso Coral, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Pool Party, Smoky Slate, Soft Sky, Soft Suede, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi and Wisteria Wonder
Other: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past and Grassy Border dies, Papermania Seafoam White embossing powder

 

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Dino baby

If you follow my blogs on Facebook, you may have noticed that I couldn't go away on holiday without taking just a little bit of crafting with me. I'm sure my fellow sun worshippers thought I was stark raving mad sitting there in my beach chair in my pink tankini colouring little dinosaurs. What can I say, mad as a hatter...

This card is inspired by this weeks The Card Concept challenge which is Oh Baby! My chosen style for this card is Clean & Layering. I also used this week's Freshly Made Sketch for inspiration. In addition, I'm entering this card into this week's Addicted to Stamps and More which is themed Make Your Mark, as I coloured the cute little dinos with markers and a blender pen. Last but not least, I'm also entering Stampin' Royalty challenge #235 which is "Keep it simple" as this is at least for my style a rather clean and simple card.

I stamped the dinos in black onto watercolour paper and coloured with Tim Holtz and Stampin' Write markers and a blender pen. I stamped two different heart stamps for the background. The smaller hearts are actually a lilac colour, but it looks grey on the picture. The sentiment is heat embossed using silver powder onto vellum. This card existed in quite a few different guises before it ended up as it did, I tried so many different papers for the banners, but this simple layout worked best.

Card: Leonardo Stationery 350 gsm Smooth White Card, Dovecraft 110 gsm premium Vellum, Silver grey cardstock I ordered off eBay and has no branding, Daler & Rowney 190 gsm watercolour paper
Paper: Stampin' Up More Amore DSP
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past, Critters Ever after, Paper Smooches A Little Lovin, Sentiment Sampler
Inks: Stampin' Up Wisteria Wonder, Smoky Slate, Tim Holtz embossing ink, Hobbycraft black pigment ink, Tim Holtz distress marker in Shaded Lilac, Stampin' Write markers in Soft Sky and Marina Mist, Stampin' Up Blender Pen
Other: Stampin' Up adhesive gems, Papermania silver embossing powder

Dino-mite

I received a big pack of goodies from Simon Says Stamp the other day. I have been contemplating an order for at least a year so I though it might finally be time to actually go through with it. In this day and age of almost instantaneous deliveries form eBay, it was torture to wait for over a week to get my goodies. But it was totally worth the wait. It took so long to try and put together my order, my wishlist must have included pretty much every single Lawn Fawn and Tim Holtz product they stock... One stamp set I knew I just had to get is the Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past. This may be my favourite stamp set ever (together with Critters Ever After). The cute little dinos are simply the most adorable things, and every dino card I see makes me smile from ear to ear. I got the matching dies for the dinos as I thought it will probably be a while before I place another order. I may have to give my credit card a year or so to recover from the shock. 

I made this card inspired by the current Lawnscaping challenge with the theme stars and stripes. This might not be the type of stars and stripes they were thinking, but they are stars and stripes nonetheless. I coloured the cute dino and palm tree using Stampin' Markers. I created the background using heat embossing and Tim Holtz distress inks. I made the grass using the Lawn Fawn Grassy Border die, another Lawn Fawn die I really have coveted for a long long time. I added some faux stitching around the borders and die cut the sentiment using my trusty Tim Holtz alphabet die.

Cardstock: Stampin' Up Basic Grey, Daffodil Delight and Pear Pizzazz cardstock, Daler&Rowney 190 gsm Watercolour paper, scraps of Stampin' Up cardstock for the die cut letters
Paper: Stampin' Up DSP Sunshine & Sprinkles
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past, Critters Ever After
Inks: Hobbycraft black pigment ink, Stampin' Writes in Basic Grey, Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake, Melon Mambo, Pear Pizzazz, Pink Pirouette, Soft Suede and Wild Wasabi, Tim Holtz distress inks Broken China, Chipped Sapphire and Faded Jeans, Tim Holtz distress clear embossing ink
Other: Lawn Fawn Critters from the Past and Grassy Border dies, Ranger fine clear embossing powder, Tim Holtz alterations inside out alphabet die