Kellie Winnell's 100,000 blog hits Celebration

copyright to All That Scraps

Kellie Winnell is celebrating 100,000 visits to her blog by giving away the Spring Swiss Pixies Kit (pictured above - closing date 23rd April). I keep coming across her work & am learning a lot from her posts. For  a chance to win the candy (which she is offering in conjunction with All That Scraps) have a look at her posting here where you can also see what she has made with one of these images.

Monochromatic Cock-a-doodle-doo

easel card standing

card open to show message panel

close-up of focal image

close-up of background panel

close-up of propping panel

I actually set out to practice inking techniques when the Doodle Something challenge reminded me of a set of stamps I'd not used. The doodles made me think of a cockerel's tail feathers (I'd been looking at the cockerel stamp with Easter in mind). I have tweaked this Creative Inspirations sketch a little by replacing the sentiment with a gem.

Recipe

Focal Image Stamped (Elusive Images Easter Greetings), heat embossed (Stampendous Detail Copper & watercoloured (Twinkling H20s). Oval (cut using Xcut Shape Cutter) edged with Stickles Glitter Glue.

Background Panels Using Distress Ink cardstock was inked, dampened with moist paper towel & stamped (Elusive Images Funky Doodles).

Propping Panel Image stamped (Hobby Art Easter Eggs), heat embossed (Stampendous Detail Copper), coloured (combination of Twinkling H20s & Stickles), cut out & mounted onto punched (Woodware) scalloped oval.

Message Panel Punched (Woodware) & scallops inked (Encore Copper).

Cardstock, metallic twine & gems from "stash".

Challenges Entered
Charizma Cards #12 - Spring Has Sprung (Easter images)
Crafty Cardmakers #17 - Spring into Spring (Easter images)
Creative Card Crew #47 - Vintage/Aged (aged look of background panels, traditional Easter images, brown colour scheme, the gems remind me of amber)
Creative Inspirations #53 - Sketch
Cupcake Craft # 84 - Spring or Easter & lots of chocolate (Easter images, chocolate colours)
Cute Card Thursday #105 - Dimensions (easel card format, background/image panels mounted on foam pads, 5mm high gems)
Fussy & Fancy #7 - Easter
Pile It On #12 - Animal-Riffic
Quixotic Challenges #18 - Monochromatic
Saturday Spotlight SSHP24 - Inspirational Coffee (coffee colours)
Simon Says Stamp - Easter/Spring & some glimmer (Twinkling H20s, Stickles)
Stampin' for the Weekend #35 - Easter
Stamp Something - Doodle Something (stamped doodle background panels)

Sugar Nellie Split Coast Stampers Easel Card Challenge

easel card standing

close-up of image

easel card open to show message panel

Split Coast Stampers have a forum dedicated to Sugar Nellie where Karen has posted a challenge for users to submit an easel card made using a Sugar Nellie image.

Recipe 

Image Stamped (Sugar Nellie, Little Artist) using Brilliance Graphite Black & watercoloured  (Daler-Rowney Artists' Watercolour Pencils). Cut out & mounted onto circle (cut with compass cutter) edged with Ice Stickles Glitter Glue (Crystal Ice).

Corners Punched (EK Success).

Message Panel Punched (Woodware).

Paper Bits N Pieces Black & White Crafty Wee Book, edges inked (Distress Ink).

Cardstock Black, Moondust Black & Moondust Silver from "stash" edges inked (Distress Ink). White for corners & message panel - Bits N Pieces Assorted Embossed Card: Snow White Textures.

Ribbon from "stash".  

Pearls Kanban.

The Sugar Bowl Challenge 31

Challenge 31 is the following sketch with a stipulation to include stars

Stars make me think of night & the owl who calls in the woodland at the back of our house when night falls so I have used the Sugar Nellie owl image issued free with the July 2009 Craft Stamper magazine. Rotating the sketch I made a shortfall card.

shortfall card closed showing front

close-up of gems in top left corner

card inside

Recipe
Image Stamped using VersaFine Vintage Sepia. Watercoloured (Distress Inks with the addition of Whispers Brush Markers & Sakura Stardust Pen).The beak & claws highlighted using 3D Crystal Lacquer.Cut out & mounted on punched circle (Woodware) edged with faux stitching {Inkssentials White Opaque Pen). Paper & Sentiment Nancy Watt Collection Stars & Stripes, edges inked (Distress Ink). Gems Papermania. Cardstock & Sequin from "stash". The white cardstock panels were inked (Distress Ink) & the star border created by inking through punched (Woodware edger) scrap cardstock.

A Dilemma in Distress

For some reason I cannot list the challenges properly at the end of the post so I am listing them at the beginning

Challenges Entered

A Gem of a Challenge #2 - Sketch

Allsorts Wk 44 - Spring is in the Air (colours)

A Spoon Full of Sugar #95 - Easter (colours)

Crafty Cardmakers #17 - Spring into Spring! (colours)

Creative Card Crew #46 - Going Dotty (paper pierced flowers & corner, dots on textured white card & patterned paper)

Creative Inspirations #52 - White, Yellow & Green

Fussy & Fancy #6 - Green

Pile It On #11 - Furry Friends

Secret Crafter Saturday #75 - Spring (colours)

Stampin' For The Weekend #35 - Easter (colours)

Stamp With Fun #51 - Easter (colours)

Simon Says - A Splash of Green

Stamp Something - Distressed Somethings (Distress Inks watercolouring & inked edges)

Totally Gorjuss #22 - Ribbon

easel card standing

close-up of image detail of flowers showing paper piercing
paper piercing on corner & image panels
card open showing message panel

Uncertain whether inking edges with Distress Inks makes something sufficiently distressed to qualify for the term, I searched the web for an answer in vain. However, upon examining the Stamp Something Design Team's examples, I concluded that it does. I tried using the nail file on my main panel but ended up with a sore throat from the dust & so unhappy with my efforts that I dismantled it.

When I used to purchase cards I often found a card that I liked but with an inappropriate sentiment for the occasion/recipient. Therefore, more often than not, I now make my cards without a sentiment on the front. The scalloped corner replaces the sentiment in this sketch.

Recipe
Image Stamped (Pink Gem "Horace" Craft Stamper April 2010 free stamp) using Brilliance Graphite Black. Apart from the stem the flower watercoloured (Distress Inks), cut out & edged with a brown permanent marker (Sharpie). A glitter gel pen (WH Smith) used on the stalk. The flowerhead coloured using the same gel pen & a Sakura Stardust pen & covered in Glossy Accents with a gem set into it. Mounted onto punched (Woodware) circle & scalloped circle, the scallops being paper pierced & all edges inked (Distress inks).
Flowers Made using punches (Xcut except leaves, Woodware). All edges inked (Distress Inks) & smallest petals paper pierced.
Corner Punched (EK Success), scallops paper pierced & edges inked (Distress Inks).
Message Panel Punched (Woodware) & edges inked (Distress Inks). Scallops paper pierced.
Paper Provo Craft French Country Colors Bitty Scrap Pad, edges inked (Distress Ink).
Cardstock (except white for flowers, corner & image panel - Bits N Pieces Assorted Embossed Card: Snow White Textures), ribbon & gems from "stash".

Sweet Cream & Green

card front

card inside
detail of butterfly panel

I thought I would try simplifying my blog entries so this is what I have come up with. As with everything the more one does the more one develops (or tinkers). Although I think the easel format will remain a favourite with me, I wanted to make something a bit different & so I thought the sketch at Simon Says Stamp would lend itself to a shortfall card. I flipped the sketch & used a mirror image to give the card stability. I also replaced the text with a corner element.

Recipe
Image Stamped (Inkadinkado 99120 Patterned Birds & Bugs), heat embossed (Stampendous Emerald Green) & watercoloured using Sakura Stardust pen. Circle & scalloped circle punches (Woodware) used for cutting out & mounting. the innermost circle being inked (Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy).
Flowers Made using punches (Woodware except innermost petals, Xcut). All edges inked (Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy ) & the large flower stamped (Penny Black Crystalline) with the same ink. Gems from "stash".
Message Panel Punched (Woodware) & scallops inked (Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy).
Corner Punched (EK Success).
Paper Nancy Watt Collection Fancy Framed Quotes & Florals, edges inked (Brilliance Pearlescent Ivy).
Cardstock & everythings else from "stash".

Challenges Entered
Creative Card Crew #46 - Going Dotty (dots on butterly & large flower)
Cupcake Craft #82 - Going Green
Fussy & Fancy #6 - Green
Penny Black Wk 92 - Spring Colours
Simon Says Stamp - Sketch
Stamp Something - Cream & Green
Stampin' for the Weekend - It's Monochromatic Week
Totally Gorjuss #21 - Sweet! (the colours of vanilla & mint ice-cream with mint liqueur sauce)

Bunny in the Pink

easel card standing

card open detail of image
paper piercing detail on message panel
paper piercing detail on floral embellishment

The whole card is rather pinker than I'd intended - almost verging on shocking in artificial light. So, it has ended up being a girlie card, whether for a birthday, Easter, Mother's Day or just to say "Hello" or "Thank You" to a female friend, aunt, grandmother etc..... I wasn't going to add a flower to the base panel but the pinkness was too overpowering & needed softening. I paper pierced the flower petals - not something I've done before - as after I'd pierced the message panel (I used the punched piece from the next size down scalloped oval as a template to pierce around) I found my mind thinking of other places where the piercing technique could be used.

The bunny stamp was a free one ((Quick Cards Made Easy#72) which I teamed up with some Bunnies, Butterflies & Blooms patterned paper from The Nancy Watt Collection. The image was watercoloured with Distress Inks & the ground chalked (Pebbles Inc. - Earth Tones). The 2 large pink panels were made by using the Cuttlebug with the Floral Fantasy embossing folder & then inking the raised surfaces & edges with Brilliance Pearlescent Orchid. The latter also edges the patterned paper & all the pink & apricot cardstock elements. The ovals & circles & their scalloped counterparts were punched (Woodware) as was the scalloped corner (EK Success). The floral embellishment uses an EK Success punch for the outer layer & then Woodware punches for the remainder, the edges of these pierced petals being inked (Tea Dye Distress) prior to piercing. Distress Ink (Tattered Rose) also edges the white circular main image panel. Looking for some wide brown ribbon I delved into my gift wrapping drawer & found a length which was probably salvaged from a florist's bouquet, so that is my recycled item qualifying the card for the A Spoon Full of Sugar challenge. Everything else is from "stash".

The easel card format is one I particularly like since the personal message panel is hidden whilst the card itself is displayed. I also like the versatility of being able to create something masculine or feminine, elegant or cute by concentrating upon the images & embellishments rather than the actual mechanics of card construction.

The card fits the following challenges:

A Spoon Full of Sugar 94 - Recycle

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C27 -Paper Piercing

Creative Card Crew - Celebrations

Cupcake Craft #81 - Flower Power

Lili of the Valley #48 - Easel Card

Sketch Saturday Wk #93 - Sketch

Stamp With Fun #49 - Spring

The Stamp Man Blog Candy

As I have just started to use my Distress Inks I was particularly excited to see that The Stamp Man have an amazing giveaway of the new release of Distress colours. The link is below for all the information about how to enter:
http://thestampmanuk.blogspot.com/2010/02/giveaway-all-12-new-tim-holtz-distress.html

Blog Candy - Stamp & Create

At Stamp & Create there is blog candy every Wednesday. If you click on this http://stampandcreateblog.blogspot.com/ you will see the banner on their blog, click on that & you will see the qualifying rules to enter for the draw. This is a blog that I visit regularly as it gives me a wealth of information when it comes to non-British craft items. Until recently I had not realized how many products are available from overseas.

Red, Black & Off White Texture for Mum

easel card standing card open showing panel for personal message
detail showing stamped image & patterning in paper
detail of clover leaf pattern

Main image stamped (Artemio 10001044) & embossed (Stampendous Detail Black) with smaller stamp from same set stamped (Aged Mahogany Distress Ink) onto flower petals. It was when I saw the same pattern as in the papers (Creative Cardmaking Magazine 2) that the card actually came together. All the ovals were punched (Woodware) & edged with Aged Mahogany - as are most of the edges. The bow was in a Syntego pack I was given, the small cream pearls are Kanban & everything else is from my "stash". The floral punches excepting the outer layer (EK Success) are also Woodware.

The card was intended as a Mother's Day card following the sketch at Create 4 Fun & the colour combination at Colour Create. There are actually 3 different textures (heat embossed main image, textured metallic red cardstock - the clover leaf image fits the Pile It On Challenge of Lucky Me - & the hammered cardstock used for the card itself) so the card also qualifies for the Crazy 4 Challenges challenge.

The Challenges entered:

Colour Create #39 Red, Black & Off White http://colourcreatechallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-39-red-black-and-off-white.html

Totally Gorguss #19 It's for you Mum! http://totallygorjuss.blogspot.com/2010/02/its-for-you-mum-challenge-19.html

Allsorts Wk 41 Card/gift for Mother's Day http://allsortschallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/week-41-at-allsorts.html

Crazy 4 Challenges C4C26 It's All About Texture http://crazy4challenges.blogspot.com/2010/02/crazy-4-challenges-c4c26.html

Create 4 Fun Wk09 Sketch http://create4fun-challenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-week-09.html

Pile It On #8 Lucky Me! http://pileitonchallenge.blogspot.com/2010/02/challenge-8-lucky-me-and-winner-of.html