Sunday 25 December 2016

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!! We are bringing you a special Christmas Edition of our Sweet Sunday! Everyone on the team made a Christmas card with our Rubbernecker Stamps. I used the Snowflakes and Stardust Set. 
Snowflakes and Stardust
I stamped the tree on vellum and then mat it on plain white cardstock.  I heat embossed the tree, the sentiment, and the Merry Christmas frame with silver embossing powder. Below is a close up at an angle so you can see the detail better: 


Simple and sweet. 😉

Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT's gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE

We are also going to be moving into doing cards with themes in the new year, so make sure you keep checking back in to read more about that! xx

Friday 9 December 2016

Winter Gift Emma

Today I have a Christmas card made with an image from The Paper Nest Dolls, Winter Gift Emma. I was asked to be a Guest Designer this week, so I hope you'll pop on over to her Facebook page or her website and show her some love for her super cute images. 

Winter Gift Emma
My DP is from Stampin' Up. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. I tucked some cheesecloth behind the image mat, and a little bit of gold ribbon in the top corner by the flowers to fill in what felt like empty space. I coloured the image with Copics and glitter gel pen (just on the present).

I hope you like it. You can find The Paper Nest Dolls in rubber and digital formats. Drop by the website and check out these cuties!

Monday 5 December 2016

Caroling Penguins

It's Monday, and time for another Rubbernecker Stamps project. I am back with another Christmas card this week using the super cute "Caroling Penguins" stamp and the "Silent Night" background stamp.

Caroling Penguins
I didn't need to do too much colouring with this stamp. Just the hats and scarves, and I used C3, C1, and C00 to add some shadow to the penguins white bellies, which you can just barely see here in the picture. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts, the white ribbon is from May Arts, the ornament die cut is from Stampin' Up, as is all the DP. The Silent Night background stamp I stamped on red paper with Versa Mark watermark ink and then clear  heat embossed it. A better picture from an angle so you can see it is below:

Silent Night
Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT's gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE

Links to the stamps I used for this project are below:
http://www.rubbernecker.com/index.php/silent-night.html

Winter Wonderland

Today is the start of a new challenge at Aurora Wings, and the Stella DT is challenging you to create a project with a "Winter Wonderland" theme. 


I have wanted to make a shadow box card for quite awhile. I have had my Cameo for a couple of years, and have done a pitiful job learning how to use it. This was the opportunity I needed to brush the dust off of it and put it to work! I used two Aurora Wings images for this: "Christmas Lights Sprite" and "Christmas Tree Sprite".


I used the 5x7 Reindeer Shadow Box Card by Lori Whitlock from the Silhouette store, and I simply placed my Christmas Tree Sprite over the reindeer cut out. You can't even see a hint of him, but it gave me a base to adhere the tree to. I almost trimmed the reindeer off, but realized just in time that my tree would probably be flopping around in the card if I did that. 😉 I coloured the images with Copics. I added some glossy accents and Frosted Lace Stickles to the tree. You can see the close up below: 


The wood snowflake embellishments are from South Ridge Trading, the silver glitter snowflakes are from a Martha Stewart punch using some scrap glitter paper from a previous project. I used Versa Mark and some opaque Snow embossing powder to make my wood snowflakes white.

Please stop by the Aurora Wings Challenge blog and join in with your take on our "Winter Wonderland" theme. Please check out the RULES for the challenge, and while you're on the blog, visit my fellow Stella DT member's blogs to leave them some love for their projects. 💗💗

Sunday 27 November 2016

Ellynn

'Tis the season for parties!!  And since it is, I did a funny little card with "Ellynn" and the "Quit Drinking" sentiment from Rubbernecker Stamps. I think I have had enough parties already this Christmas season and it's not even December yet!
Ellynn
I used some discontinued papers from Stampin' Up, and coloured the image with Copics. This was a fun card to make, and I used a sketch from my friend Cristena (who really likes my wine bottle prop ;-) ) to put it all together.  

Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT's gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE.

Saturday 26 November 2016

Spirit of Christmas

I needed to make a Christmas card for my twin daughter's preschool teachers. If I had more time, I would do one for each, but I don't, so one card for the three of them will have to do. Tiddly Inks' "Jill - Spirit of Christmas" is perfect for what I wanted to do because my girls actually have similar hair cuts to the girls in the image. I coloured them in their favourite colours too!

Spirit Of Christmas
I used Copics to colour the image, Michele R Designs digital papers, embellishments and flowers from Live & Love Crafts and Wild Orchid Crafts.

Copics used:
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04
Purples: BV08, BV04, BV02, BV00, BV000
Blues: B06, B05, B04, B02, B00

I hope you like how it turned out! Make sure you check out all the awesome stamps at Tiddly Inks, including the new Molly releases some of which are Christmas themed. They're super cute! 💖

I'm submitting this card into the following challenges:
Blossoms at http://craftyfriendschallengeblog.blogspot.ca/2016/11/challenge-45-and-winners-of-44.html
Use Ribbon, Lace or Twine at http://kraftinkimmiestamps.blogspot.ca/2016/11/challenge-359-use-ribbon-lace-andor.html
ATG at http://crafting-with-friends.blogspot.ca/2016/11/challenge-32.html
Winter at https://creativecornerchallenges.blogspot.ca/2016/11/team-mel-winter-sponsored-by-day-for.html

Monday 21 November 2016

New Challenge at The East Wind

This month's challenge is "I Can See Clearly Now". You need to add something sheer or transparent to your project to follow the rules, and use a TEW image, of course. 


My image is "Lovely Winter Couple" and I used white vellum layered over blue cardstock, which I dry embossed with a Softly Falling embossing folder from Sizzix that is available through Stampin' Up, and my snow flake embellishments are both crystal clear and translucent with a blue tint. I've layered them and used little silver star brads to hold them together. 

You can join us in The East Wind's Facebook group for a monthly contest, and on the BLOG for twice monthly challenges. The challenge on the blog that starts on the 1st of every month is the freebie challenge, and to get the freebie you need to be signed up for the newsletter, so make sure you look for the bright pink box on the blog's homepage to sign up for that!

Butterfly Shoes

Something different from me today for Rubbernecker Stamps. I'm taking a break from Christmas, and bringing you "Butterfly Shoes". I've also used the "Right Pair of Shoes" sentiment.
Butterfly Shoe Set
I heat embossed both stamps with gold Tsukineko embossing powder. The gold ribbon is from May Arts, and the paper is scraps from my stash. I never throw anything away! The sketch is from a friend of mine who manages the Rubbernecker DT.

Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT's gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE.

Sunday 13 November 2016

Rubbernecker Christmas

Today is Rubbernecker Stamps' Team 1 Sweet Sunday post, and if you visit the Rubbernecker blog you get a card from all of us on Team 1. Make sure you go by the blog and check everyone's amazing cards out. I used the new "Santa with Tree" stamp for today's card, along with the new "Happy Holidays" sentiment stamp.


This was a fun and easy card to make. I really love these new Santa stamps! All of my DP is from Stampin' Up. I used the Holly embossing folder from Stampin' Up too! It was a Stampin' Up kind of day, I guess. We very were lucky to have the Rubbernecker folks send us a bunch of ribbon from May Arts to make our cards with. They are really an amazing stamp company, family owned and run. They make all of their own stamps!

Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT's gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE.

Friday 11 November 2016

Plant Love to Harvest Love

Today is a new release day at The East Wind, and today's image is "Plant Love to Harvest Love". A pretty relevant idea these days given the unrest in the States after a very divisive election. 

Plant Love to Harvest Love
I coloured the image with Copics. My laces are from Live & Love Crafts, which is now closed. The flowers are from Wild Orchid Crafts. The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch. The sentiment stamp and the tag are from Stampin' Up.

Copics used:
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04
Hair: E49, E57, E55, Y21
Dress: R81, R83, R85, R89

You can join us in The East Wind's Facebook group for a monthly contest, and on the BLOG for twice monthly challenges. The current challenge in the Facebook group is "Come Over To the Dark Side". The challenge on the blog that starts on the 1st of every month is the freebie challenge, and to get the freebie you need to be signed up for the newsletter, so make sure you look for the bright pink box on the blog's homepage to sign up for that!

xxM

Monday 7 November 2016

More Christmas Fun with Rubbernecker!

Hi all!!! Back again with Rubbernecker Stamps new Santa stamps. Today I'm using "Santa with Present looking right" and the new sentiment stamp "Heavenly Christmas Season".


The paper I used is from Martha Stewart. It is double sided so I used the dark slate blue side to mat the image and sentiment, and with the pale blue side I used a Sizzix Softly Falling embossing folder from Stampin' Up. I embellished with some beautiful ribbon from May Arts, and an ornament die cut from Stampin' Up's Merry Tags die set. I coloured the image with Copics.

Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT's gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE.

What's Your Favourite Quote?

Hmmm.... that's a hard one for me to answer. But I had to narrow it down for the new Stella Team challenge at Aurora Wings "Your Favourite Quote". I guess my favourite quote depends on how I'm feeling. There are some quotes by Marcus Aurelius that blow me away. They are so relevant even today, and he lived in 121 - 180 AD!! I think he was a really brilliant man. I also really love the works of Thich Nhat Hahn. He is a Zen Buddhist monk who writes some very beautiful books regarding peace and mindfulness. "True Love: A Practice For Awakening the Heart" is a really beautiful book. But for my project, using Aurora Wing's Lady Of Compassion, I chose a quote by the 14th Dalai Lama. He has a really great message about compassion and the purpose of life, and how to achieve happiness. It really speaks to me and I hope that I incorporate it into my daily life, if not always, at least a little every day. "The Compassionate Life" is a book that I highly recommend to anyone, and since compassion was the ruling force in my life last month, this was the quote and the image I chose for this month's new Stella challenge: "Only the development of compassion and understanding for others can bring us the tranquility and happiness we all seek." This quote is simple enough, but seems to be a hard idea for people to grasp. It seems the world is lacking a lot of compassion these days.

Lady of Compassion
I coloured the image with Copics, and tried to keep a soft colour palette. I chose not to do any embellishments, and mounted it on a khaki coloured canvas board with a Kaisercraft DP mat. This image was offered for sale as a single purchase digi for a limited time in September. If you didn't get her then... well you are in luck, because Mitzi is making her available again for the duration of this challenge since Ann-Marie and I both used this image for our projects this month. You can also find her in the Gardens and Goddesses colouring book, Vol. 1, which is temporarily sold out. This is the single image and I printed it out at 5x7". 

Please stop by the Aurora Wings Challenge blog and join in with YOUR favourite quote. Please check out the RULES for the challenge, and while you're on the blog, visit my fellow Stella DT member's blogs to leave them some love for their projects.

Sunday 30 October 2016

Bag of Toys

Today is the Rubbernecker DT's Team 1 Sweet Sunday, and I'm bringing you the new release "Bag of Toys" stamp, along with the "Twas the Night" background stamp, and the "Merry Little Christmas" sentiment. As usual, I used Copic markers to colour the image.


The detail on the background stamp is incredible. The lines or so great you can easily read every work. I stamped it in black pigment ink and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. 
You can see how clear the lines are on this stamp

I just used scraps from my stash to create this card. I don't like to waste paper! The ribbon is from May Arts. The kind people at Rubbernecker sent us all a whole bunch to work with and I had a hard time deciding which ribbon to use. 

Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT's gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE.

Friday 28 October 2016

Kitty Trand

It's time for a new release from The East Wind!! This one is a real cutie, and I coloured it up in record time so I could get it done before we headed out on a road trip! And I should be packing right now actually, so this post is going to be short and sweet! Here is "Kitty Trand" for your crafting pleasure.

Kitty Trand
I went with a dark shabby chic theme (if there is such a thing) with this card. I think my daughter will really like it as a fun "just because" card. I'll run down the recipe real fast and get back to my packing before my husband comes home and gets mad because I'm not ready to hit the road. lol!!!

Filigree corners - LaLa Land Drafts die
Flowers - Wild Orchid Crafts
Heart frame chipboard - Make It Crafty
DP - DCWV
Coloured with Copics:
Hair - R59, R56, RV34, RV32
Skin - E000, E00, E21, E11, E04
C and W's for the greys, plus some glitter gel pen for her shirt sleeves which actually look like they have sequins on them if you see them in person. The effect actually came out really well!

Make sure you head over to The East Wind's Facebook group and join in on our current dark themed challenge. There are also twice monthly challenges on the blog and the freebie is about to go out on the first, so make sure you are signed up for the newsletter!! Look for the bright pink box on the homepage. 

Monday 24 October 2016

Santa Needs a Hug

Santa Needs a Hug
Rubbernecker Stamps coming at you today with this awesome "Santa Needs A Hug" rubber stamp. I love all of these new Santa stamps. They are just perfect. I also used the "Laughter and Joy" sentiment stamp (also new). I coloured the stamp with Copics. All of my paper is from Stampin' Up. I actually matted the sentiment on an extra wide piece of ribbon. How do you like my little ornament die cuts?? I got a new die set from Stampin' Up, and all the dies are just too cute! I can see making lots of gift tags this Christmas.

Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE.

Friday 21 October 2016

Merry Creepmas!

It's that time again! Time for a new challenge at The East Wind's Facebook group. The theme this month is "Come Over To The Dark Side" (use a dark themed image). I used "Creepmas Girl" to make a creepy little Christmas card. 
Creepmas Girl Mon Amour
I coloured the image with Copics. The paper is from Stampin' Up, as is the ornament die, holly embossing folder, and sentiment stamp. (Copics used: Cool greys, R20s, G20s, RV90's and Cs for her skin)

Please stop by the Facebook group and join in on the challenge this month. First place prize is 3 TEW digis of your choice; second place is a 25% off coupon to the TEW Etsy store. As always, make sure you are signed up for the newsletter on the BLOG. A free image is sent out on the first of every month!! You don't want to miss that! 

Sunday 16 October 2016

Getting Ready for Christmas

We are getting ready for Christmas at Rubbernecker Stamps! There was an awesome new release a few weeks ago of some amazing new Christmas inspired stamps, and the DT is going to be using those new stamps to hopefully inspire you in your own Christmas card making endeavours. Today I am using "Santa With Present". I also used the new sentiment stamp "Have Yourself". I coloured the image with Copics. The DP is from Stampin' Up, as is the tag punch.

Santa With Present
 Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT's gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE.

Here are the links to the stamps I used on this card:
http://www.rubbernecker.com/index.php/santa-with-present-962-04.html
http://www.rubbernecker.com/index.php/have-yourself-982-03.html

Friday 14 October 2016

Thorns and Roses

Today brings a new release from The East Wind called "Thorns and Roses". In conjunction with this new release is a special Halloween blog hop at the "Markers! Papers! Digis!" Facebook group, involving the other awesome sponsors of that group along with TEW. (See the pinned post at the top of the page after you join the group.) This image is only $1 right now, so make sure you go grab her! Here is my take on the new release:
Thorns and Roses
I coloured the image with Copics, but also used Prismacolor pencils on her hair. That curly hair really gave me a hard time! I was frustrated with how to colour it, and ended up adding ringlet shapes with a black cherry coloured pencil.

Please stop by The East Wind's Facebook page and join in on the monthly challenge. This month's theme is "Leaf Me Alone" and goes until the 17th, so there are a few more days to pop a project in the challenge folder. Just see the pinned post at the top of the group page. Also, make sure you are signed up for the newsletter on the blog so you get your free image on the first of every month. October is flying by and November 1 will be here before you know it!

Monday 10 October 2016

Skiing with a Snowman

It is Team 1's week again at Rubbernecker Stamps and I am getting things started this week with this new release stamp called Snowman Skiing. I went with an untraditional Christmas colour because, why not?? I love purple, and I actually don't craft with it very often, for reasons that elude me. 

Snowman Skiing
In addition to the Snowman Skiing stamp, I also used the new sentiment stamp "Peace, Joy, and Goodwill", along with the Snowflake Panel background stamp. I used opaque silver bling embossing powder with the Snowflake stamp and it came out beautifully. The stamp is so well made, and the details on the snowflakes came out awesome! The ribbon and buckle are both from Live & Love Crafts. I actually used white iridescent paper for the mat behind the snowman and sentiment, which does not seem to show up in the picture, but it's nice and sparkly in person. 

Remember, commenting on our Design Team's posts every week automatically enters you to win all of the stamps used on one of the DT's gal's project. We don't know which designer's project will be chosen, and the winner will be chosen by random. So visit the Rubbernecker blog, leave some kind words on all of our DT's blogs, and maybe you will be this week's winner! For all the details visit the challenge page on the blog HERE.

Links to all the stamps used on this card:
http://www.rubbernecker.com/index.php/snowman-skiing-963-04.html
http://www.rubbernecker.com/index.php/snowflake-panel.html
http://www.rubbernecker.com/index.php/peace-joy-and-goodwill-982-08.html

Monday 3 October 2016

Black & Orange and...

The new challenge is up at Aurora Wings and the theme this time is "Black and Orange and One Other Color". I picked my one other colour to be purple. I wanted a colour that was totally away from the orange colour family, so red and yellow were out! I made a cute little Halloween card with Candy Corn Fairy

Candy Corn Fairy
I coloured the image with Copics. My papers are from Michele R Design, Cricut, and the purple is just from my stash of scraps. Since I stayed away from red and yellow, I had to take some creative license with the candy corn hat. Here are the Copics I used on this image: 
Orange: R08, YR07, YR04, YR17, YR15
Purple: BV08, BV04, BV02, BV01, BV00
Blacks: W1-W9

Make sure you drop by the Aurora Wings Challenge blog to check out this challenge and take a look at the rest of Team Stella and their fantastic creations!

Saturday 1 October 2016

Ornament Branches

Today I have a new stamp release for you from Rubbernecker Stamps. It is called "Ornament Branches". It is a lovely simple stamp that I chose to colour up with my Copics. I just traced over the lines of the stamp with my markers to give it a little flair, and then coloured in the ornaments. I also used the new "Christmas Be Filled" sentiment stamp. The DP is from Stampin' Up.

Ornament Branches
Please check out our other DT creations at the Rubbernecker blog HERE. They are so fantastic and such an inspiration!! Make sure you check out the ongoing Rubbernecker challenge for your chance to win all the stamps used on a Rubbernecker DT card you comment on by visiting the designers blog. 

Left of Center 150th Challenge Celebration

Left of Center Creative Challenges is celebrating their 150th Challenge on October 1, which is also National Card Making Day. The East Wind is sponsoring this challenge and The East Wind DT was asked if any of us would be interested in making a card for this celebratory and dark themed challenge. I put my hand up and decided to do something with Lucy Loo 'Devil'. I decided to go monochrome with this, which is something I haven't done before. Technically, her hair and wings are a bit purple, so it's not really monochrome, but the colours I used in her skin I wanted to tie in with the rest of her as well. I think you have to look at it twice to see that it's not a black and white picture. I debated taking the picture again with a different background, but I thought the skulls suited it, so I kept it as is.


I coloured the image with Copics. I used the C's and V90's for everything. I also washed some BG70 over her skin in the highlights, though in the picture it's hard to see the greenish tint. I had this concrete brick wall paper by Ella & Viv that went perfectly with the image. I inked some black stars over the paper, heat embossed some pewter embossing powder over chipboard stars, and there you go. I kept it pretty stark and dark. 

Check out the new challenge at LOC and drop by The East Wind if you do something with a TEW image and let us see what you did! 

Friday 30 September 2016

Aurora Wings Showcase

Aurora Wings on Etsy
Today is a special new release showcase at Aurora Wings!! There are TWO new releases today. I am bringing you the new Jellyfish Sprite! I don't tend to gravitate to the sprites, though there are some that I really love (mostly the flowers!), but this jellyfish grabbed me right away! 


I coloured the image with Copics (a list of colours is below). The paper is the Seascape digital paper from Michele R Design. You know I love her papers, and this one is no different. My sentiment stamp is from Kraftin' Kimmie Stamps. The shell is one my oldest daughter picked off the beach when we lived in Florida many years ago. I still have a stash of them in a bucket. (They make me miss the ocean.) I layered the card with cheesecloth, and burlap trim (from Live & Love Crafts). I made the bow from brown raffia.
Copics used: 
Skin - E000, E00, E21, E11, E04
Jellyfish - E40's (all of them) and E09, E08
Clothes - BG49, BG45, BG00

This was my photo inspiration for the jellyfish. I didn't quite get the reddish-brown, but I'm still happy with the outcome. 

Make sure you check out the showcase HERE. There are some projects from the designers! Also, head to the Stamps by Aurora Wings Facebook group to show us your AW makes. We love to see everyone's interpretations of Mitzi's images. And you can see from the pink and orange banners there are coupon codes and a freebie with a purchase of $10 USD or more (make sure you read all the details carefully). So visit the Etsy shop!!!

Monday 26 September 2016

Halloween is Coming!

This week I am bringing you a card I made with the "Owl Tree Tag" stamp from Rubbernecker Stamps. I was going to make a tag but I had a mental block. I only got so far as the stamp and inking the edges an d my mind went blank. I hate it when that happens! I searched for some inspiration on the internet, but nothing spoke to me, so I ended up making a card.

Owl Tree Tag
I heat embossed the stamp with black embossing powder, used Tim Holtz Distressed Ink in Black Soot around the edges.I also used a Skull embossing folder from Cricut.

Please check out our other DT creations at the Rubbernecker blog HERE. They are so fantastic and such an inspiration!! Make sure you check out the ongoing Rubbernecker challenge for your chance to win all the stamps used on a Rubbernecker DT card you comment on by visiting the designers blog. 

Wednesday 21 September 2016

New TEW Challenge on Facebook

It's the 21st of the month and that means it's time for a new contest in The East Wind's Facebook group!! This month's theme is "Leaf Me Alone". We want you to use a TEW image with a leaf in it, or incorporate leaves into your project. I am trying to get Christmas cards done ON TIME this year, for a change, so I used 'Aurora Holly and Olive' for my card.

Aurora Holly & Olive
As I have been doing, I used a sketch from a book a friend of mine is compiling. I think it really helped me with the design of the card. I was able to use a few different papers from my new Stampin' Up This Christmas designer paper collection and the coordinating This Christmas cardstock. I also used the Holly Textured embossing folder for the small circle die cuts and for the red background mat. My embellishments are from Wild Orchid Crafts and Live & Love Crafts.

I coloured the image with Copics, using E20's for her hair. The berries are R59, R29, R27, R24. I left a little white space on them. I used two different green combos for the leaves since they are different plants. The holly is G99, G29, G17, G05. The olive is YG17, YG06, YG03.

Please drop by the Facebook group and join in on this challenge. The top prize is three free digis of your choice, plus there is a winner up prize of a 25% off coupon to the TEW Etsy store. There are also TWICE monthly challenges on the BLOG and a freebie is sent out on the first of every month in the newsletter. Look for the pink box on the blog's homepage to sign up for that.

Tuesday 20 September 2016

Mexicana from The East Wind

It's new release Tuesday from The East Wind!! Today's image is the line art from a watercolour that Unky did a couple of weeks ago. When I saw her painting, I was hoping we would get line art from it, and we did!!!! Here is my version of 'Mexicana'.
MEXICANA
I coloured the image with Copics. The paper is digital paper from Michele R Designs called Designer Grunge. I used the Flourish Thinlit Dies from Stampin' Up also, with flowers from Wild Orchid Crafts.

Copics used: 
Skin: E000, E00, E21, E11, E04
Dress: G29, G17, G05, G03
Hair: E40's 
Flowers: R's 59, 29, 27, 24, 22 and B's 16, 02, 12

Please stop by The East Wind's Facebook page and join us for our monthly challenge (a new one starts tomorrow!) and check out the blog for TWICE monthly challenges at www.theeastwind.com. You can also follow me on social media by clicking on those little buttons to your right. xx


Sunday 18 September 2016

Halloween at Rubbernecker Stamps

Back today with another Halloween card using only stamps from Rubbernecker Stamps Halloween Set 1. The words rhyme nicely, so I went with it and made a little poem with these three stamps: "goblins", "boo", and "witches brew", then...

Halloween Set 1
Carried it on into the inside of the card:

I used Michele R Design Halloween digital paper and By DieZyne stitched circle dies. I used a sketch from my friend Cristena. She's going to be publishing a sketch book in a month or so. Keep an eye open for that; I'll link to it here as soon as it's available. 

Please check out our other DT creations at the Rubbernecker blog HERE. They are so fantastic and such an inspiration!! Make sure you check out the ongoing Rubbernecker challenge for your chance to win all the stamps used on a Rubbernecker DT card you comment on by visiting the designers blog. 

Thursday 15 September 2016

Christmas Already??!

You bet!! There are a whole lot of new Christmas stamps being released by Rubbernecker today and they are AWESOME!!! I had so much fun with nine of these new releases. Here is one of my favourites, Santa With Bell.


In addition to the Santa With Bell stamp, I also used the Snow Flake Frame stamp, which I heat embossed with Silver Color Box pigment ink and Silver glitter embossing powder. The sentiment is also one of the new Christmas sentiment stamp sets available today from Rubbernecker (set 982).

Monday 12 September 2016

Rubbernecker Showcase

Hello!! Another Halloween card from me today using THREE different stamp sets from Rubbernecker Stamps. Yes, THREE, so if you are participating in the challenge every week on the Rubbernecker blog this could be a huge haul for you if your comment on my blog is picked this week. 


The three stamps I used on this card are:

I coloured the scarecrow with my Copics. I heat embossed the tree and the witch, then I darkened up the edges of the paper with some Black Soot Distressed Ink from Tim Holtz. The paper is from Michele R Design. It's digital paper you can manipulate to fit your project, which is a huge plus for me. It's all put together on a black card base.

Please check out our other DT creations at the Rubbernecker blog HERE. They are so fantastic and such an inspiration!! Make sure you check out the ongoing Rubbernecker challenge for your chance to win all the stamps used on a Rubbernecker DT card you comment on by visiting the designers blog. 

Saturday 10 September 2016

Emoticons

There is a new release in The East Wind Etsy store called "Lucy Loo Emoticons". I love this image because of the attitude Lucy has in this image. I said to Unky that Lucy looks mad that she drew her in this hat. She's not impressed with the trend of emoji patches on your clothes, I guess. I have seen it around in the stores too, and I wouldn't wear this hat either. lol!


I thought the sentiment came across as sarcastic given how happy she looks. haha!! I coloured the image with Copics. The paper is just scraps from my stash that I embossed with a Cuttlebug folder. Sorry, I can't tell you which one though. I've had it for years, and if it was printed on the folder it's rubbed off now. The sentiment is from Stampin' Up.

Make sure you check out The East Wind's Facebook group for monthly challenges, plus the blog for twice monthly challenges. Signing up for the newsletter on the blog gets you a free image on the first of every month, so definitely pop your email in the bright pink box for that!!

I am entering this in the Left of Center Feisty Ladies challenge.

Monday 5 September 2016

Wisteria Sprite from Aurora Wings

Today is a BIG BIG day for me!! It's my debut as a member of the Stella Design Team at Aurora Wings!! I was so excited when Mitzi asked me to join the team! Of course, I said YES, and here I am today bringing you my first project as part of the team and announcing the new Stella challenge theme which is "Fantasy". Most everything at Aurora Wings is fantasy, so the door is wide open for you to create something wonderful with one of her amazing images. 
I used Wisteria Sprite to make a card. The image is printed at about 5" x 4" and I've mounted it on a 6" x 6" card base. I coloured the image with Prismacolor pencils. A list of the colours I used for her petals and leaves is at the bottom of this post. To colour her skin, I followed along with a Kit and Clowder Create & Learn class from a few months ago. The skin effect in that class was quite luminescent and had that purple undertone that I thought would work well with my Wisteria colours. The purple/blue colour I used on her skin was also incorporated into her petals so it all tied together.

All of the paper is from Michele R Design's Sophie Rose collection. I've used a few different dies on this card including: By DieZyne Butterflies & Puffy Things and Stitched Ovals, and Stampin' Up Flourish Thinlits. I used Liquid Pearls for the little details in the flowers near her hair because I wanted them to pop and I needed the dimensional effect the Pearls gave me.
By DieZyne Butterflies die, detail of the Liquid Pearls
I've layered the card with cheesecloth, lace, and shapes from the dies mentioned above. After I attached the image with foam tape, I added some mulberry paper flowers.
Stampin' Up Flourish Thinlits
As usual, working with pencils is time consuming. It always a labour of love to create something with pencils, but I think it is totally worth the extra time and effort it takes.

Please check out the AW blog for details about the current challenge, and check out my fellow team member's blogs too. They are so talented and deserve some love! Don't forget that the Facebook group (Stamps by Aurora Wings) has a monthly challenge as well. If you aren't a member over there, go join! There is always some super amazing inspiration!

Here is the list of the Prismacolor pencils I used on this image:
Indanthrone blue
Dahlia purple
Parma violet
Lilac
Deco pink
Sunburst yellow
Lemon yellow
Dark green
Grass green
Spring green