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

Arrrgh! Quick...a Card!

The problem with posting DT work for Sparkles Monthly Challenge is that it sneaks up on you.  With the fortnightly challenges I can think 'ok, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday' on one week and 'just Monday' on the other. I don't think 'oh, it's the 15th this week'.  I did think 'oh hell, I've forgotten again, I'd best rush home and do a card with half an hour to spare for the schedule deadline'.

Isn't it funny, with half an hour to come up with an idea and put it together you would think it would look like a rushed mess.  However, I am pleased with this in a way that I rarely am with my planned out cards.

The remit for this month's challenge is 'Red, White and Blue'.  I sat down at my desk and looked around at my dies and spotted my 'Moroccan' tile dies from Xcut.  I haven't used them in such a long time.  Perfect.  After that it was just a case of sticking the layers together and adding the greeting and the obligatory bling.  I'm so chuffed with it.  Even the scan doesn't look too dodgy for a change. Maybe this is where I've been going wrong.  Maybe I need to throw all my projects together at the last minute.  Then again, maybe not.

OK guys, you have a whole month to plan, execute and enter your projects.  And...Go!

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

No Patterned Paper?!!!

Morning all.  We have a new challenge for you today over at Cardz4guyz.  And for this challenge we don't want to see any 'Patterned Paper'.  What?  No patterned paper?  But I have tonnes of the stuff. It doesn't matter that I've taken to stencilling or inking up my backgrounds.  The minute you say I can't use any that's all I can think about.  Argh!

I already had a stamp set on my desk as I was making a birthday card for my Father in Law. I decided that, as I had stamped out way more images than I eventually needed for that card, I would used up my spares for a little scene.  When I say scene I don't really mean scene.  I am useless at those types of card and other DT members can show you amazing examples of that kind of project.  My 'scene' is a lot simpler than that.

The images are from this wonderful set by Gerda Steiner.  I saw this set a while ago and really had to have it.  I think my little tableau speaks for itself.  My money, however, is on the mouse. I think he looks mischievous. The cat doesn't look very confident.

Anyway, it's your turn now.  Please pop over and play.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Stars and Stripes

Morning all.  We have a lovely new challenge for you this morning over at Make My Monday. We would like to see 'Stars and/or Stripes' on your creations this week.  Stipes!  Now there's an excuse to use up some of those endless scraps of paper that I just can't bring myself to throw away.  And, believe me, I don't seem to have made a dint in the stash.  I backed a piece of card with double sided sticky tape and cut strips of co-ordinating papers before randomly adding them to the tape.  Once I'd completed the panel I trimmed it down to fit a card blank.  I then took another piece of white card and die cut a few star shaped apertures.  I added one to the other and then used a sentiment strip and a few gems to finish it off.

I found this so therapeutic to do.  If I wasn't running out of double sided sticky tape I would have made many more of these.  Oh well, my stash of scraps isn't going anywhere.

Please pop over to see the lovely inspiration created by the design team and whilst you are there you can join in the fun.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x 

Time to Shine

Morning all.  For anyone who read through my frustrations with yesterday's card, I can say that today's was a doddle! The Alphabet Challenge is up to G for glitter and gems.  The hardest thing I had to do for this card was to trawl through my files for the sentiment stamp that I knew I had.  The sentiment was from the fabulous Desert Diva's blog.  Hannelie often creates sentiments for personal use and posts them on her blog for other's to use.  I have a whole bunch but it took me a while to find the post she used it on (it went all the way back to 2015). Anyway, once I had the sentiment printed I just found some gem paper and die cut  a heart from glitter card.  And that's it!

A touch of bling finished it off and I am so pleased with the result.

Please join in with the challenge.  There is so much scope for inspiration with this one.

Thanks for reading.

Love Dawn x

Wedded Bliss?

First of all today I need to say Happy 32nd Wedding Anniversary to the lovely Lynda and her husband.  As today is her anniversary she has chosen 'Wedding' as this week's theme over at Cardz4galz.  Although I wish Lynda and her husband all the congratulations she deserves I have to admit to a Love/Hate relationship with wedding cards.  I have just spent the entire afternoon struggling with a die cut wedding cake and a 'Happily Ever After' file on my cricut.  Neither of these made the cut and I eventually started the whole process from scratch and came up with something entirely different to what I had intended.  

In the end I stencilled a heart background (another one of my cheap purchases from the Range) in spun sugar and worn lipstick distress ink.  I cut a heart and frame from pink and silver and the words Mr and Mrs - also in silver.  I did try to layer the words for a little dimension (how the hell do you do this without making a total mess Jennifer Mcguire) but that went in the bin - which now needs emptying after today's antics.

Anyway, this is the final result.

I wish I had stencilled it in one colour as the middle doesn't look like I pressed on hard enough but it will have to do.  

I obviously need a little inspiration for this type of challenge so I am begging you to join in - on bended knees!

Thanks for reading

Love Dawn x