Fall in the forest

I think there is no denying that we are properly into autumn now. Leaves are turning into those golden autumnal colours, plums and figs are done and the pears are getting perfectly ripe. It's getting chilly in the mornings, I have added an extra shirt on top of my PJs at night and evenings are getting dark by the time I make it home. I know I should be embracing it all, but I just miss the light. Days seem so short now. And it will only get worse. But it's less than 100 days to Christmas, and then it will start getting lighter again! And I know this autumn will bring with it some changes, which is always exciting.

There are so many autumn themed challenges out there right now. And only the other day my order of the super cute Critters In the Forest arrived, so inspired by the sketch over at Viva La Verve I made this little autumn watercolour scene. I so love to watercolour with my Tim Holtz Distress markers, and the colours are so perfect for an autumn card. I made a banner using a Stampin' Up DSP with autumn leaves. 

I would like to link up with the following challenges:
Addicted to CAS - Leaves 
Make My Monday - Nature
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Use a Stamp and blog hop 
Our Creative Corner - Shades of Autumn
One Crazy Stamper - Christmas/Halloween/Fall
Let's Craft and Create -Dies or Punches
Crafting Musketeers - Autumnal Colours
Animal Friends Challenge - Forest Animals
That's Crafty - Lovely Leaves
Viva la Verve Sketches

Card: 300 gsm white linen card, Daler & Rowney 300 gsm Aquafine Watercolour paper
DSP: Stampin' Up Colour Me Autumn
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters In the Forest
Ink: Tim Holtz Distress markers
Other: Lawn Fawn Scripty Hello dies, Stitched Journaling Card die

Golden butterfly

This whole malarky of selling things on Ebay is so overrated. I finally admitted I will probably never be able to fit into some of my dresses and decided I might as well try to find them a new home. But after all the work of photographing, writing up ads, and folding everything up into envelopes and adding addresses, re-issuing payments with different postage fees etc. I recon I didn't even make minimum pay for my time. Oh well, hopefully someone else will love those dresses so at least they ended up somewhere useful instead of a landfill.

As I have spent most of my day folding up dresses and stuffing them into envelopes, the crafting today was a quick clean and simple card. I used the sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches for inspiration. I was also inspired by the butterfly theme over at House of Cards and the gold theme over at CAS on Sunday. I heat embossed the lovely Swallowtail stamp and I also stamped it in Versamark over the front and back of the card. I love the way Versarmark looks on kraft card. I'm also linking up at Clear It Out where Anything goes this week. 

Card: kraft card, mirri card

Stamps: Stampin' Up Swallowtail

Ink: Tsukineko Versamark

Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Journal Card, Papermania Enchanted Gold embossing powder, Stampin' Up Hello You die

Make a Wish in Watercolour

The Lawn Fawn Critters Ever After is one of my favourite stamp sets, if not the favourite stamp set ever. It's the first Lawn Fawn set I bough and really sparked my love for their gorgeous stamps and handy matching dies. If I had the money, I would buy every single stamp set they have ever released. 

This card was first and foremost inspired by the lovely video by Nichol on the Lawn Fawn blog about the watercolour look. I have been planning to try it out for quite a while already, but this video finally gave me the kick to actually do it. I was also inspired by the challenge over at CAS-ual Fridays which this week is watercolour. The layout of this card was based on the great sketch over at CAS(E) this Sketch and several of the great DT cards that used Washi tape to create the background. Finally a good chance to use up my Washi tape, yay!! I am also linking up with the current Lawnscaping challenge (number 99!!!), where the theme is Clean and Simple. Can't wait what they come up with to celebrate the 100th challenge soon... I'm also linking up at Clear It Out where Anything Goes.

I started by cutting out the journaling card form watercolour paper, and stamped the images in Antique Linen. I then painted the image using a watercolour brush and ink from the markers that I scribbled onto my craft mat. For the sentiment I used a scrap of leftover cardstock that I created for another card using Tim Holtz distress paints, stamped the sentiment in Versamark and heat embossed in gold. Last, I created the background using some craft card and Washi tape.

Card: kraft card, Daler&Rowney 300 gsm Aquafine paper
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters Ever After
Ink: Tsukineko Versamark, Tim Holtz Distress Ink Antique Linen, Distress markers
Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling die, washi tape from my stash, gold embossing powder 

Crafts Galore Encore February Challenge

This year seems to go at least as fast as the previous one, if not faster. January just disappeared without a trace. The good thing is time is rushing towards towards spring. I felt so sad last autumn watching the sunsets from the back of our house feeling nostalgic about the loss of summer. Right now, although I realise that the the worst of the winter is probably yet to come, we are moving towards longer days and more light.

And what better way to celebrate lighter and longer days than craft something colourful? Or craft in general! Our February challenge over at Crafts Galore Encore is to use a stamp or digi on your creation. It doesn't have to be a card, as long as it has a stamp or digi it qualifies. So me and the rest of the DT are super-excited to see all your fabulous creations in our gallery. Our sponsors for February are Kenny K and Jellypark who are both giving away digis to the winners. There will be both randomly selected winners and DT favourite winners, so plenty of chances to pick up prizes! We are also looking for a creative crafter to join our happy and friendly DT so if you are interested, hop over and have take a look.

The DT is showcasing plenty of inspiration using Kenny K images. For my card, I used the Texting Friends digi stamp and a sentiment from Social Media Sentiments. I used Copics to colour the image and the Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling card die to cut out the image. I also die cut a piece of brightly coloured DSP for the background, and the "Hello" using Stampin' Up Hello You thinlits. I matted everything onto two shades of purple card and added some colourful adhesive gems for embellishment.

I'm entering the card into the following challenges:
4 Crafty Chicks - Anything Goes
Bloggers Challenge - Cheers to You
Craft Your Passion Challenge - Anything Goes
Crafty Catz - Stitching real or faux
Hiding in My Craft Room - Freestyle
Inspiration Destination - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Suzy Bee's Bloomin' Challenge - Stitching real or faux
The Pink Elephant Challenge - Anything Goes
Card: Leonardo Stationery 300 gsm card, Coloured 240 gsm card Purple grape and Lilac, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card
Paper: Stampin' Up Sunshine and Sprinkles, Patterns Stack Brights collection
Stamps: Kenny K Texting Friends and Social Media Sentiments digis
Colouring: Copics
Other: Stampin' Up Hello You thinlits, Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling card die, Papermania adhesive gems

Purple note

And so it's back to work again. Sigh. I wish weekends could last forever. One day I hope I will be able to work part time. How wonderful would that be? Much more time in the crafting room...

Today's card is inspired by the Colour Me...! challenge and the sketch over at My Favourite Things. I'm also linking up at the Dragonfly Dreams challenge where the theme is to use your favourite colour (I guess you can figure out my favourite from the card, hehe), That Craftplace where the theme is monochromatic and Inkspirational Challenges where the theme is "Note".

I had a great time making the ombre watercolour background for the journal card, which I die cut with the Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling card die. I stamped the feathers in Versamark and heat embossed in white. To finish off the sentiment, I added a big piece of bling.

Card: Coloured 240 gsm kraft card Purple Grape and Lilac, Daler&Rowney 300 gsm Aquafine watercolour paper

Stamps: Stampin' Up Four Feathers, Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler

Ink: Tsukineko Versamark, Tim Holtz Dusty Concord

Other: Lawn Fawn Stitched Journaling Card die, Art Deco adhesive gems