Starry Sky Bunnies

Just a quick post today to link up with a few starry sky related challenges. I tried something a bit different with inking up the moon and the sky on black card using Distress Inks and then adding plenty of Ice Stickles to the moon and stars. 

I'm linking up with a few challenges:

AAA Cards - Moonlight 

Lawn Fawnatics - Bling It Out

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Starry Night

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Animal Antics

Card and paper: White 200 gsm card, black card, Lawn Fawn Let's Polka in the Dark, Perfectly Paid Rainbow, Perfectly Plaid Fall

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Starry Skies

Ink and colouring: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Distress Oxides, Copics

Dies: Lawn Fawn Grassy Border Die

Other: Gold embossing powder, Ranger Ice Stickles

Shining White

When I saw the current inspiration image over at Inspired by All the Little Things, I immediately knew the card I wanted to make. Which was this card, except I thought I had some white glitter card. Which I didn't. So I made my own instead, by inking white card with Versamark and adding holographic glitter embossing powder and then die cutting the background and the Christmas tree. I popped it all up with 3D foam dots. Last, I used some silver glitter card to die cut the sentiment and added some adhesive gems to the tree.

 I'm also linking up with Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge where the theme is Snow White, ABC Christmas Challenge where the theme is W for white and Happy Little Stampers CAS Challenge where Anything goes with an optional twist of Christmas.

It was hard to capture the gorgeous glitter of the tree and the background in the pictures but this gives an idea of the beautiful shimmer. 

Card: White 250 gsm card, silver glitter card

Ink: Tsukineko Versamark

Dies: STAMPlorations Crazy Double Running Stitch Nesting Dies, Christmas Icons - Christmas Tree #1, Lawn Fawn Scripty Merry die

Other: Papermania holographic embossing powder, Stampin' Up adhesive gems

STAMPlorations discount code: If you want to save 20% when shopping at the STAMPlorations store you can use the code STAMPGIRLKAROLA at checkout. The discount applies to all normal priced and discounted stamps, stencils and dies. The code cannot be combined with other discount codes.

July STAMPlorations CAS Challenge - Anything Goes with Orange

Wait, what? How can we be in July when June only started yesterday? I am feeling we are being cheated of half the summer. Anyhow, the good news of course is that it's time for a new CAS challenge over at STAMPlorations. Did you enjoy our week long 3 year Birthday Bonanza? If you want to keep creating, just join us for our CAS challenge. This month our optional colour twist is orange. Note that we have changed the rules a tad - from now on the random drawn prize ($10 gift card to the STAMPlorations store or $15 if using STAMPlorations products on the card) is for participants who use the optional colour twist. But you are also free to link up any non-orange cards, all we ask is that you make it CAS!

I created a truly CAS one layer card. Minimum products and time required. I started by stamping the gorgeous shoes from Shery's fantabulous A Girl and Her Shoes set, leaving room for the sentiment. Then I stamped the sentiment in orange - thinking back it would probably have been easier to stamp the sentiment first, and then fill in with the shoes. Anyhow, I coloured one pair of the shoes with Copics. The orange is pretty much identical to the ink I used for the sentiment, don't you think? I finished by adding some orange Distress Stickles to the shoes and the sentiment. Quick, easy and a fabulous card for a fellow shoe lover!

I'm linking up with the following challenges:
Clean and Simple on Sunday - Black, white and one other colour
Addicted to Stamps and More - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations - CAS

Card: 300 gsm white smooth card
Stamps: STAMPlorations A Girl and Her Shoes, Art Marks 
Ink and colouring: Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie, Copics
Other: Tim Holtz Distress Stickles Spiced Marmalade 

Disclaimer: I have received some STAMPlorations products for free in exchange for creating cards for the challenge. All opinions however are completely my own. As you can see by browsing my blog, I have been using STAMPlorations products (which I bought myself) way before my time on the DT and I wouldn't recommend them unless I absolutely loved them myself.

Texure - my (subtle) interpretation and how I finally mastered the spritzing tool

You know that feeling when you have so many ideas, and whatever you try just ends up being a total disaster and you find yourself with a craft room full of discarded bits, die cuts, dies strewn all over the floor and endless stamps spread all over the desk? If not, congratulations. If you do, let me know, I need to know I'm not the only one. Thanks. Anyhow, I proceeded from this state to eating my bodyweight in stuff I shouldn't be eating, and had a huge mug of coffee (only the second time in over three weeks that I broke my caffeine fast). Now my hands are shaking. 

Anyhow, I finally managed to produce a card which I'm not completely embarrassed about. However, I have to admit the inspiration for this card is not completely from my own head. I have borrowed it from this amazing card from Nichol Magouirk. In fact, this is a long story, but bear with me (if not, thanks for visiting, and do come back on another day when I'm not suffering from verbal diahorrea). Anyhow, I saw Nichol's gorgeous card way back last year when she first published it, and I was just blown away by it's amazingness. In fact, it inspired me so much that I went and bought myself the Tim Holtz spritzer tool as I wanted to create the beautiful backgrounds Nichol was showcasing. Long story short, I just couldn't make the spritzer work, at best I could get a few silly dots of colour come out of it, and that was it. So it just got forgotten. Today I dug it out again, as I thought I do have a PhD after all, and what else is a PhD than the ability to go back over and over to things that failed and eventually get them to work. I also thought that a spritzed background would be perfect for the Texture challenge over at Lawnscaping. Long story short, I ended up with the same problem, I couldn't get any colour onto paper. Then in my frustration I managed to somehow move the pen a bit in the spritzer which inadvertently made it pop into that tiny little groove in the nozzle bit that I hadn't noticed before. And then, all of a sudden there was colour aplenty coming out. I had finally mastered the spritzer tool!! I felt this to be almost as big of an achievement as my PhD...

So happily I spritzed the background in all blues, turquoises and greys I could find in my Tim Holtz distress marker arsenal. Great fun! Then I added some water and blue Perfect Pearls into a mini mister and gave it all a bit of a mist for that watery look and a subtle spark. These were my first two attempts at texture in this card, it's the visual texture of the splotchy background combined with the hammered texture of the cardstock. Then adding a bit more texture by cutting the background with a stitched rectangle die. Then for more texture, I double embossed the sentiment with black and glittery silver embossing powder. The die cut snowflakes also have lots of texture, first of all the sparkly and highly textured feel of the glitter cardstock, and I also built the snowflakes in two layers, the bottom being blue card for added texture in the form of height. Last, I created the multi-layered snowflake, and matted everything onto teal card using 3D foam tape. I hope you think this is far enough from Nichol's original card not to be considered plagiarism. And of course imitation is the greatest form of flattery is all I can say in my defence.

Anyhow, that's more than enough from me for now, thank you for reading all the way through to the end. I would like to link up with the following challenges:
Lawnscaping - Texture
House of Cards - Stitch it up
The Friday Mashup - Glitter 
Jingle Belles and Shopping Our Stash - Use something at least a year old (large snowflake dies, spritzing tool)
NBUS - Anything NBUS goes (the dark grey, blue and silver glitter paper, the deep blue cardstock, and that damned spritzing tool. Well, technically I've *tried* to use it before, but as this is the first time I've ever produced anything with it, I would say it counts as NBUS?)

Card: Coloured 240 gsm card in teal, Coloured 240 gsm card Vanguard Deep Blue, hammered 300 gsm white card, multiple colours of glitter card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Joy to the Woods
Ink: Tim Holtz distress markers Blueprint Sketch, Mermaid Lagoon, Chipped Sapphire, Faded Jeans, Peacock Feathers, Iced Spruce, Hickory Smoke, Cracked Pistachio, Tsukineko Versamark
Other: Black embossing powder from my stash, Papermania Tinsel Silver embossing powder, Lawn Fawn Stitched Rectangle dies, Stitched Snowflake dies, Mini Snowflake dies

Party on, you striped little zoo friend

It's been a crazy week, and spending time in the craft room unfortunately hasn't been a priority. Today the weather has been miserable, and I welcome the thunder storm as it gives me some time to play in the craft room, while I watch the skies weep and the thunder roll.

Today I wanted to make a cheery card, and ever since I saw that the theme for this week's CASology was "Stripes", I knew I wanted to make a card with the funky disco zebra I coloured on holiday. I was also inspired by the Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers where the theme this week is "Z is for Zoo" and I thought the psychedelic zebra would fit right in with all the funny animals the Sisters have created this week. I was also inspired by this week's Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge where we are asked to "Make it sparkle". 

I coloured one swirl from the Sweet Threads Spirals background stamp using Tim Holtz distress markers and stamped onto white cardstock. I printed the sentiment using free fonts Cutie Patootie and Hey Pretty Girl. I stamped the zebra using Staz-on onto watercolour paper and coloured using Tim Holtz Distress markers, and cut using the matching die. I used a punch to cut out the stars from silver paper. Not only did I add the sparkly silver stars, but as you can see from the close up photo below, the disco zebra also has a bit of sparkle in it's mane and tail. I also stamped inside the card. 

Cardstock: Silvery grey cardstock from my stash (ordered from eBay and has no indication of make on it), Hobbycraft 160 gsm white cardstock, Daler & Rowney 300 gsm Aquafine watercolour paper, Stampin' Up Glimmer Paper Silver

Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters on the Savanna and matching die, Hero Arts Sweet Threads Spirals background stamp, Stampin' Up Banner Blast, Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler

Ink: Tsukineko Staz-on and Memento Tuxedo Black, Tim Holtz distress markers in Festive Berries, Mowed Lawn, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves and Squeezed Lemonade

Other: Tim Holtz distress stickles in Crushed Olive, Dusty Concorde, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmelade, Tumbled Glass and Worn Lipstick