Galaxy technique

I'm a bit early with tomorrow's blog post. So if you read this on Wednesday, close the browser and come back tomorrow as this is meant to be Thursday's post. Just kidding, just kidding, read on. The reason I have to publish this post a bit early is that I just received some paint, just a few hours before the end of a challenge deadline that I really wanted to create a card for. The story goes as follows.

When I saw the galaxy technique challenge on The Friday Mashup last Friday, I immediately watched the linked technique videos as I just loved the look of the DT inspiration cards. This is the great video I used to help me get to grips with the technique. And then I immediately headed up to my craft room to play with my Distress paints. Only to discover that I actually don't have black paint. Ever so often I do this, I see a product used so much in blogs and videos that somehow my brain has convinced me that I have that in my stash. Very disappointed, I had to wait for several long days until my paints finally arrived today, only a few hours before the challenge deadline. So off I went into the craft room like greased lightning, and after a bit of playing around with the paints I managed to put together this card. 

For the layout I was inspired by this week's Freshly Made Sketch, and for the colours I used the amazing palette over at Colour Me...! I'm also entering the card over at Simon Says Monday Challenge where Anything goes.

I created the galaxy according to the instructions in the video using the Distress paints. I stamped the stars in Versamark and heat embossed using white powder. I stamped the sentiment using Versamark and heat embossed using white powder. I then coloured the white embossed parts using a Copic marker to match the colours in the galaxy.

Card: Daler & Rowney 300 gsm Aquafine watercolour paper, coloured 240 gsm kraft card in black and purple
Paints: Tim Holtz Distress Paints Black Soot, Dusty Concord, Picket Fence, Spiced Marmelade and Seedless Preserves
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters Ever after, Stampin' Up Just Sayin'
Ink: Tsukineko Versamark, Copic YR04
Other: Papermania Seafoam White embossing powder 

Peacock inspiration

I haven't been crafting for a few days, and it was going to be a very quiet end of the week on the blog. However, yesterday when I was catching up on my crafting challenges I was reminded of this fabulous inspiration picture on Just Add Ink. I had the perfect paper in my stash for this card, which has been waiting for a challenge like this. 

For the layout I used the sketch over at The Challenge. For the smaller details on the card I was inspired by the current Addicted to CAS codeword which is Vellum and by CAS on Sunday where the theme is Emboss it. I used dry embossing for the blue panel in the background, and heat embossing for the sentiment on the vellum. Last but not least I'm linking up at Craft Hoarders Anonymous where the challenge is to use at least three layers. I seem to have quite a few more with the background, blue embossed panel, blue matting, peacock feather paper and finally the vellum. This was another card where I used only stash stuff, starting with the long unused paper, and old stamp set for the sentiment, and scraps of vellum and dark blue cardstock for the matting and embossed background. It feels so good to find some use for those leftover scrap pieces of cardstock, doesn't it!

Card: Leonardo Stationery 300 gsm white card, Coloured kraft 240 gsm card teal and navy, Dovecraft 110 gsm premium vellum
Paper: Free papers with Cardmaking & Papercraft magazine
Stamps: Stampin' Up Chalk Talk
Ink: Tsukineko Versamark
Other: Embossing folder Sizzix swirls, Papermania embossing powder silver

White Christmas in kraft

The first thing I got from the Stampin' Up Holiday cattie this year was the White Christmas stamp set. It seemed to me like such a versatile set, you can do so much with it. I love the trees in the set, they are so graceful. I seem to be enamoured with tree stamps this season, with these beautiful stamps along with the Lawn Fawn Joy to the Woods trees. I love stamping them, and I love the look of them. I have seen several cards with this set stamped in white ink on kraft. I was asked to make some Christmas cards with Finnish and Swedish greetings, so I made a few different wintery scenes with the stamp set. I matted the wintery scenes onto mirri card and stamped some matching envelopes. I'm participating in the ABC Christmas Challenge where this week U is for Uncoloured. I'm also entering at Crimbo Crackers and Christmas Stamping where Anything goes this week. I'm entering the top card with the snowman in the challenge over at Christmas Card Challenges where the inspiration pic is a snowman in a snowglobe, and I thought my snowman in the snow would go well with the theme. 

Card: Craft UK kraft card, mirri card (I bought it off eBay and it came without an indication of make)
Stamps: Stampin' Up White Christmas, Hobbycraft Typewriter Alphabet clear stamps
Ink: Stampin' Up Whisper White craft ink

Bloom with Hope in Real Red

Today's card is just a simple sweet little thing. I used a few flowers I coloured in my "remote office" that I had set up in our car when I joined the Culinary Consultant for a day out on Saturday for his wheelie course I got him for his birthday. It was quite a dramatic day as one of the participants ended up falling off his bike, dislocating his shoulder and breaking his humerus. Luckily it wasn't anything worse, as the fall looked quite bad and the bike ended up rolling over him. In the end he had to be taken away in an ambulance.

So back to today's card. I had prepared for a day in my makeshift car office by stamping lots of images, and I took my stash of Copics with me. So there I sat in the car, with the Great British Bakeoff Masterclass on the iPad, a cooler bag full of sandwiches, some yummy Finnish biscuits and a whole lot of images to colour and cut. Among those were these gorgeous flowers from the Stampin' Up Bloom with Hope hostess set. I used the lovely colours from this week's Color Throwdown. I also used this week's Freshly Made Sketch for inspiration for the layout. 

In addition to the flowers I used a notecard from a Stampin' Up DSP called Fan Fair. The sentiment stamp is from a set called Vintage Verses and I also added a die cut border. I added the same flower and scalloped border inside the card. 

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

DSP: Stampin' Up Fan Fair, Summer Smooches

Stamps: Stampin' Up Bloom with Hope, Vintage Verses

Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up Real Red

Colouring: Copics R02, R24, R46, Y13, YR00 

Other: Tim Holtz Alterations Vintage Lace

Metallic Christmas ornaments

My post today is a bit late as I was away all day yesterday watching a bunch of men drive round and round and round on motorbikes (hence my remote crafting office set up in our car you might have seen a picture of if you follow me on Facebook) and didn't get around to schedule today's post. Apparently sitting in a car watching Great British Bakeoff Masterclass and colouring flowers is so exhausting that I managed to fall asleep on the sofa around 8 pm yesterday, and after dragging myself to bed slept all the way through to 8 am, a full 12 hours of sleep. Very uncharacteristic of me, but I guess my body needed it. But now I'm back to crafting, and for today's card I have used the amazingly beautiful inspiration picture over at Stampin' Royalty. I just love the colours in the picture. For the layout I used the sketch over a Viva La Verve, which I thought was absolutely fabulous as usual. 

I used Centura Pearl Bronze paper for the background and as it went through the BigShot for embossing it did get a slightly distressed look. I die cut the Christmas ornaments from gold paper from my stash, Centura Pearl Copper paper and orange card which I heat embossed with holographic embossing powder. Sadly I don't have any banner stamps, so I created the banner and sentiment using PowerPoint and printed onto the same Bronze cardstock that I used for the background. Finally I attached everything onto a cardbase made from the Copper card. Very quick and easy. 

Card: Centura Pearl Copper and Bronze, Stampin' Up Pumpkin Pie, a leftover scrap of gold card from my stash
Other: Stampin' Up Holiday Ornaments framelits, Vinage Wallpaper embossing folder, Papermania Holographic embossing powder

I am the walrus

So there is a bit of a story to this card. It's an epic tale of coincidences and artistic inspiration, taking place in the exotic countryside of Cambridgeshire. And so it happened that the parcel from Stampin' Up arrived exactly on the same day as the new Poppy Sketch Challenge went live. And it had also happened that the DSP called Sweater Weather had been in the Stampin' Up Clearance Rack, so I had finally decided to get myself a pack (I only buy DSP on sale, as otherwise I think it's too valuable to actually use for crafting, and it just sits around in my stash). Further, coincidence on a galactic scale also would have it that one of the patterns in the DSP was Houndstooth, which is the Pop of Pattern for the current Poppy Sketch. This paper also happens to be the only crafting supply I have with Houndstooth, so no going back and forth between multiple choices. I did turn the sketch upside down though. Finally, a fun Finland fact of the day: the houndstooth pattern in Finnish is called kukonaskel which translates to "the rooster's step".

As the DSP was called Sweater Weather I immediately started thinking winter. Because that's when you wear sweaters (see what I did there, free association, very artistic indeed!). And thinking winter the first thing you think is obviously "Winter is coming", the Stark family motto (ignore that if you don't watch Game of Thrones). And what goes with winter better than the Lawn Fawn stamp set Critters in the Arctic? Nothing of course, so I inked up my stamps and coloured them with Copics. And when it's winter, you need a warm hat, one that matches the DSP, so I paper pieced the hat. I liked the hat so much I stamped and paper pieced it several times on the inside of the card. Sometimes finding inspiration is just that easy!

Card: Stampin' Up Smoky Slate, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card
Stamps: Lawn Fawn Critters in the Arctic and matching dies
Colouring: Copics B00, C1, C3, C5, E09, E34
Paper: Stampin' Up Sweater Weather

Hardwood Florals

I got a big bunch of Stampin' Up goodies the other day. I just love opening a new parcel of goodies. I must have been like a kid of Christmas, not knowing which new toy to play with first. I thought the I Like You stamp set would go really well with the current Fusion challenge so I inked it up. I'm also entering the Addicted to Stamps and More challenge where the theme this week is "Make Your Mark" as I coloured the flowers with markers, and the Crafty Creations Challenge where the theme is "Thinking of You".

I coloured the flowers with alcohol markers. The Hardwood stamp was a "must" based on the inspiration image. For a bit more stampin' and colourin' fun I stamped flowers inside the card as well.

Card: Stampin' Up Pacific Point and Old Olive card, kraft card, Hobbycraft 160 gsm white card
Stamps: Stampin' Up I Like You, Hardwood Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler
Ink: Tsukineko Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin' Up Crumb Cake
Colouring: Stampin' Up Blendabilities Daffodil Delight and Old Olive, Copics B41, B45, B06
Other: Papermania adhesive gems Capsule Sunshine, Stampin' Up 1 in circle punch