Simply Does It

Morning all.  We have a new challenge for you over at Make My Monday.  Don't worry, we've picked a nice simple one for you this time.  We would like to see your 'Clean and Simple' projects please. I can do clean and simple but I tend to do it by accident. So, let's have a think about it and try to do one on purpose.  Firstly, chose a stamp.  Maybe choose the lovely stamp that 'accidently' fell into my shopping cart when I was shopping for my tropical nightmare Island Fun card.  It's only a ickle stamp and it wasn't many pennies - honestly.  I just couldn't resist this tiny Toucan.

I stamped him and coloured him, along with some of the flowers in set.  I left him flat (apart from his wing) but popped the flowers up on some silicone glue.  It looked a bit lost on a blank card so I stencilled a pattern in Momento London Fog ink and layered them up. I added the obligatory bling and there you go.  Now why didn't I think to enter this for the Tropical card!  Oh well, never mind.

Please pop over and join the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

This is why I holiday at home

Alternative title - My Tropical Nightmare!

Well, if yesterday's card went perfectly today's has more than made up for it.  The Alphabet Challenge has come to 'I for Island Fun - anything tropical'.  Fun, she says! That definitely got lost in translation whilst making this card.  I have very little in the tropical line so I went shopping (shh, don't tell my other half) and bought a My Favourite Things stamp set from Seven Hills Crafts.  It had palm trees. It had flamingos.  It was just what I needed.  

So, I started by creating a lovely sunset using distress inks blended over a circle mask.  Well, 'lovely' may be stretching it.  It went straight in the bin.  I umm'd and arrr'd a bit and finally gave up and cut a circle from some backing paper.  I had a couple of goes at creating my island from some sandy paper with some more distress ink.  Then I came to stamping my images. I don't have a lot of coloured stamping inks so I dug out my mum's old watercolour markers and used them to stamp my palm tree and my flamingo.  They didn't work great but they didn't look totally rubbish either.  I cut everything out carefully and set about sticking my scene together and stamped the flamingo's legs where I wanted them.  I totally forgot to remove the flamingo and promptly ruined it with black ink.  Ok, that followed the sunset into the bin.  I stamped a new flamingo - which turned out to be different from the one I'd previously stamped and was facing the wrong way.  That also went in the bin.  Anyway, here is the result.  

I did fling a bit of sparkle pen at it to try and make it more appealing but you can't really see it on the picture.  Looking at it now I sort of like the effect the markers have on the stamp.  It adds a bit of texture.  Anyway, now it's your turn.  I'll be back to check the entries later.  I've got to go and empty the bin!

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Getting Krafty with Colour

Morning all. New challenge day for you over at Cardz4galz. Shell has chosen 'stamping on kraft' for this week's challenge.  Thank's Shell! Not something I would choose to do normally. So, just to make it even more of a challenge for me I also decided to create a one layer card for my design.  Was I really feeling well! This was never going to go right.  

Firstly, having chosen my stamp, I had to stamp it upside down in my stamping platform with the card stuck to the top side.  My stamp is a very old red rubber one that won't stick to a block.  It was given to me years ago by a friend. I stamped it twice for a clear outline and, miracle of miracles, it didn't smear or move and stamped perfectly.

Secondly, alcohol markers don't work well on kraft card so that meant I had to resort to my inktense pencils.  I've never had very good results with these. I much prefer alcohol markers.  Wow, second miracle of the day, I used a damp paint brush once I'd laid down my colour and I really liked how it turned out.  

This can't be right.  Something has to go wrong.  What if I add a sentiment up the side of the image.  I really was tempting fate.

And there it is.  Don't ask me how I managed it.  I bet I couldn't do it again.  The stars must have been in alignment or something.  I can't tell you how pleased I am with the result.  I can't believe I pulled it off.  Can you tell I'm a bit chuffed?

Anyway, now it's your turn.  You don't have to make it one layer but you do have to stamp on kraft.  I'm looking forward to seeing your projects.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Get Well Wishes

Morning all.  Hope you are feeling fit and well.  If not, I may have a card for you.  Today's new challenge at Cardz4guyz is to make a get well card.  I have just the stamp set for this.  I won it years ago and it's from Lawn Fawn.  I don't know if it's still available as my got to site for these things - Seven Hill Crafts - hasn't got it in.  

This challenge also gave me a chance to try and rid myself of some of the endless scraps I have scattered about my craft room.  I've made a whole set of card bases using one of the Moroccan tiles from Xcut and some scrap pearlised card in yellow and grey.  Having chosen one of these blanks I mounted my sentiment and my little smiley tissue box. Voila.  A quick and simple card.  Well, it would have been if you didn't count the endless hours spent in laying all those little bits into the tile die.  Strangely enough it was quite therapeutic.

You may be seeing more of this background. I have long ones, square ones and rectangle ones.  If I could work out how to make it fit I would probably have made triangle ones as well.

Okey cokey, over to you.  Let's see your get well projects please.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Beautiful Baby Wipe Butterflies

So sorry I'm late with this post.  I should have posted yesterday but I had a vile sinus headache and couldn't face the computer screen.  Anyway, now I'm here, this week's challenge at Make my Monday is to use the Baby Wipe Technique. There is a link to a You Tube tutorial on the challenge post for anyone who has never seen the technique before.

I did think I was going to have to sit this one out as I don't have any re-inkers but I thought I would try before I gave in.  I found some of my most vibrant ink pads and swiped the colours onto my baby wipe.  The result is a much more muted effect.  I used a lovely stamp set I recently bought from a friend getting rid of some stash.  It's by Clearly Besotted.

My photos aren't really very good but you can see how the technique gives a mottled effect better on the bottom card.  I used the baby wipe on the background as well as the butterfly.  You can see how the baby wipe altered my colours on the top card as I used the same colours to ink my inner circles. If you've never tried this before I urge you to have a go.  My pictures aren't the best to show off the technique but it does give a lovely effect.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Be a Sweetie

Morning all.  Three days running!  I'm exhausted.  Time to stop for a re-fuel.  How appropriate as The Alphabet Challenge has us up to 'H for Hungry'.  We would like to see your foodie projects - and they don't have to be the healthy option.  Probably a good job as I've gone for choccies on my card.  I've had this backing paper forever and couldn't think what to do with it.  In the end I kept it very simple using my Cricut to cut out the word 'sweetie' in my stripy paper.

I added my little flag and a couple of gems and that's it.  Time to see your culinary creations and sweet treats.  Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

She sells sea shells on the sea shore

Morning all.  My blog title was easier to type than to say.  I remember it as a tongue twister from my childhood.  Try saying it fast.

It's appropriate because today's challenge at Cardz4galz wants Sea Shells on your project please.  

I heat embossed my stamp before sponging various pink and sandy coloured inks over the top.  I'm afraid I can't tell you who made the stamp.  It was sent to me years ago with some other stuff and didn't have a name on it.  I kept the card simple just mounting everything on sandy coloured pearlised card.  

Please pop over and join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x