Monday 28 March 2011

Clean and Fairly Simple!

This was my week over at Splitcoaststampers to be the Clean and Simple guest designer!  The challenge was to use cut up sentiments.  I used a Crafty Secrets (A Couple of Cuties) long sentiment and cut it up to fit on a Nesties Circle, which was sponged while still in the die with Ranger Distress Frayed Burlap ink - it made a fair match to the Stampin Up dp!  The leaves are cut with a Marianne die and the scallopes with a My Favorite Things Die-namic.  The best part is that I can think of so many people in my life that I could send this card to!  God has blessed me with many friends and family members (both biologically and in the church!) for which I'm thankful.  And one of the advantages of sending a card is being able to say what needs to be said in a way which doesn't embarrass the recipient of the message and people know if you've gone to the trouble of sending it, you REALLY mean it!! 

Friday 25 March 2011

Enduring Love



I created this card for three challenges over at Splitcoaststampers.  Today's Free for All challenge is to make a card inspired by sunshine.  This is also my March entry for the Bible Verse Challenge.  The Queen for the Day 53 is Karen Dunbrook (kdunbrook)  - besides being a lovely person, Karen's an absolute master at creating CAS cards so I'm continually inspired by her creations. 
 I stamped the circle with a Hero Arts Friends Definitions background stamp in orange Colorbox ink.  The SU Inspired by Nature cone flower image was stamped in Versafine Black Onyx - it's a good strong black that I find works well for silhouettes.  I used a Fiskars circle cutter for the circles as my Spellbinders Nestabilities weren't large enough for the desired effect.  I used a ruler and a black fine line marker to make a border.  The Bible verse was computer generated using Pharmacy font. 
This verse is from a Psalm which has been meaningful to me lately - Psalm 136 lists the signifigant events of the nation of Israel down through the years with the phrase "His love endures forever" after every one!  If Bible scholars are correct in saying that repetition is signfigant in interpreting the Bible, then this is HUGE, as the phrase is repeated a whopping 26 times!!  I thought how fabulous it would be if we were to write out our stories of how God has taken care of us and worked in our lives down through the years and in between each event we were to write that phrase, "His love endures forever"!!  What a reminder that not only has He done it in the past, He promises He'll keep doing it forever!

Monday 21 March 2011

Gaining Confidence with Liquid Pearls!

It's a CAS sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers today - this one is based on a fabulous sketch by Lisa lara.  I used a Sizzix large dots embossing folder on Canford Amythest card for the back panel.  The circle is cut with Nestabilities Circles and sponged while still in the die with SU's Certainly Celery.  The flowers are SU's Sweet Summer set.  I popped up the blossoms after coloring with copics using AmethystV17 and Mauve ShadowBV00.   
 I also added some liquid pearls - in the past I've always made a mess of liquid pearls but this time I was pleased with the subtle result - probably so subtle they don't show up well in the photo but IRL they finally please me!  I discovered that if I let a tiny bead out of the tip and THEN touch it lightly to the paper it leaves a uniform dot - my mistake had been to touch it to the paper and then squeeze - not good !!  I added some twine and three little buttons, along with the sentiment (SU) to finish the card! 

Sunday 20 March 2011

Featured Stamper Challenge Card

Over at Splitcoaststampers, Sunday is Featured Stamper challenge day and today the featured stamper is Mary Beth (mbrcutie25).  I was inspired by this creation from her lovely SCS gallery:
Mary Beth's Card
The square was cut with a Spellbinders Nestabilities die and sponged while still in the die.  I used a cloud cut with a Papertrey Ink die with Stampin Up's Cool Caribbean blue for sponging to make a cloud covered sky!
The grass is cut with a My Favorite Things Die-namic from Stampin Up's Kiwi Kiss.  The flowers and leaves are also cut with MFT Die-namics.  The dp is from My Minds Eye.  To finish I added tiny grassy green buttons and three colors of twine from the The Twinery in complimenting colors.  For those of you from the U.K., ordering twine from The Twinery in the U.S. couldn't be easier, it's so light the postage isn't too bad.  I've discovered that if the merchandise is under £18 there is no customs charge (for gifts you're allowed under £40).

Saturday 19 March 2011

Inspiration Challenge Card

This is the first card I've uploaded on my blog, it's for today's Inspiration Challenge at Splitcoaststampers, which today took us to Kirklands.com.  I chose to be inspired by a wall hanging with a red layered flower and a pierced butterfly found here:


I used a thin paintbrush handle to gently curl the flower petals up to give dimention to the flower.  The sentiment was cut out with a Spellbinders Petite Oval die and sponged while still in the die to give a stencil effect. 
Supplies used incude:
My Minds Eye dp, SU Real Red, Baja Breeze card stock
SU Baja Breeze seam binding
My Favorite Things Die-namic flowers and leaves
Die-namic large scallops
Spellbinders Nestabilties Petite Ovals


Friday 18 March 2011

My first post!

I have finally taken the plunge and started a blog!  I feel a little out of my depth but have been assured by many bloggers out there that it's easy once you get started, so here goes!  I know you'll all be understanding if it takes me a while to catch on!