An Oriental Splenour - Star Card

This is a star card made for my mother's birthday, a little while ago. I used Starburst Stains and stamps from The StampMan, by Non Sequetur. Two stamps are from Stamp Addicts. I wrote a line in each page which became a poem, at the end.


Cherry Blossoms
Painted in light.
After the storm through the window,
The Butterflies Dance to
The Music of Life.


I have entered this card into the challenge at Daring Cardmakers, called Oriental Splendour. It is NOT to use red and black (not necessarily oriental colours, anyway) and the colours here are pinks and purples and gold. The cover of the star book is a page of the Far East stack by DCWV, and the cord ties are from my stash. My mum was thrilled to bits with it, and still has it up on at the side of the bed...

Face to Face -

I really enjoyed doing this one!! I have thrown the kitchen sink at it to make an aged-looking collage!! I used a myriad of Egyptian stamps, distress inks, chalks, and a flourish screen, and I surrounded the lady image (which had to be used for the challenge) with some tiny embellishments, which have small seed pearls in pink and blue, from my stash. The Challenge was from Art Creation Friday, so thanks to them...

Rainbow Lady's Rainbow challenge - yellow

This is my card for Rainbow Lady's Rainbow Challenge this week. I decided to do yellow as I well and truly "did" red the other day. I made all the backgrounds here except the pale lemon glitter card. The stamps are from Umount, for the swirls and flourishes, and full bloom from Hobby Art. I just went for all my yellow sprays and dabbers. The beads have slightly distorted the scan, but I expect you get the idea??!!

Thanks for this Great Award

This is a very special award from a very special blogging friend, Ann, who has been so supportive and helpful since I began a few weeks ago. I am so honoured that she has added my name to the list of 5 (plus a couple more, 'cos she has so many lovely friends!!) she has chosen to receive this.

I would like to pass it on to these people who have had nice things to say to me and who do some fantastic work on their own blogs, so check them out, if you can...

Christine, Hermine, Beryl, Violafreckles and Rita.

Birdie Became a Fully Fledged Card!!

I have fallen in love with this for the colours and the aged, distressed look, which makes it appear quite oldy worldy... The computer doesn't do it justice. I have used some pretty pink ribbon, which exactly matches the ribbons on the image. I also mounted the image on to some figured mirror board, which just adds to the ambiance of the finished card. The backer uses the script pear stamp, decoupaged for a "lift" to the pears, and that's about it. It's quite nice to feel so pleased about a project, when it's finished.

This is the back of the card.

RED RED RED!! (and white...)

I just had a ball with all the reds I could find... the background uses glimmer mists and Starburst Stains daubers - oh! I LOVE these and not used them for a time... they are out on the desk now, so... The piece is made for the Arty Girlz challenge this week - red and white.

The letters are formed from card, dyed with alcohol inks, and the white flowers along the bottom, are made using vellum through a Cuttlebug border folder, with white Pen Touch behind for greater effect, and attached with 2 red brads. It's not a work of art, but it was fun and VERY red to do!!!

Double Challenge - A Pear in a Birdie Tree

I really love this. It will definitely find it's way on to a card!!

I am entering it as a double challenge, for My Time to Craft - a little birdie told me - and Mixed Media Monday - fruit, chosen by Hermine, whose own offering is lovely. I have stamped this one with the Partridge in a Pear Tree theme plate, by Elusive Images, in saddle brown stazon. I masked the tree, after embossing it with gold ep, and printed the script pear 4 times, and coloured in with Sakura pens.

The bird and large pear in the centre are raised on 1cm pads, and the whole is distressed with my usual old paper and brushed corduroy. I used A Field of Sky, by A Stamp in the Hand, to add pitted looking dots, to help the aged look and mounted the whole on a sheet of my fav DCWV Fairy Tale paper. Thanks for looking, I appreciate all the comments I get!!

A Commission using the 4X4 Topper

I have received a commision to make a birthday card for my Taiji teacher's mum (I make all her cards now!!) I decided to turn my 4x4 challenge entry into a topper for this card. I used the bug for the swirly background with the swirl folder and joined 2 pieces of vellum with some paper ribbon from my stash. The small blue brads were used to attach the vellum to the crease card.

The backer uses the dragonfly stamp from the ghostly front image, and the stylized flower folder. The tiny stamp is floral scroll from the Hobby Art set. I picked out the dark blue and creamy colour from the paper ribbon, to make a double bow at the side. It's interesting to see the card made up, I think.

This is the back of the card

Theme Thursday 4x4 - Double Layer

I have entered this one in the Theme Thursday challenge, which is to make a 4" x 4" piece. I have gone more soft and gentle with this one, and chose blue, because I have not used it for a while!! The flower stamp is from Hobby Art, and is a fav of mine, because I feel it is so oriental. I used a french blue chalk eye inkpad and embossed in clear ep. The flourishes are from a UMount set, and I added dots with my Sakura pens, in the same colours as I used for the flower. The second, chalked layer, is a collage stamp from Creative Stamping, done with versamark to obtain a soft, ghostly imprint. I think it works and I enjoyed it anyway...

Sunday Postcard Art - Full Moon and Circles

Oh!! This is fun!!

I used some shiny card and printed various circles with several distress inks. I embossed with clear ep, then laid a mask and sprayed with glimmer mist in fully purple. I finished off by brayering with Big n juicy gumdrop to take the whiteness off the clear spaces. The cloudy moon is a Stamp in the hand, printed in purple stazon, masked, then brayered with the gumdrop and cut out with a large punch. The whole postcard is mounted on a corner of a sheet from the DCWV Fairy Tale pack, to pick out the marigold colours in the circles. I SO enjoyed this... thanks for the challenge Hermine, at Sunday Postcard Art.

Tag your Arch - and use an image

This arch has two challenges attached to it... I shall submit it to Gothic Arches for "Tag your Arch" and to Art Creations Friday, from where comes the image. The tag is made using alcohol inks, stamped with a UMount corner flourish, using Encore bronze ink, with clear ep. The ribbon is from my stash and the flowers are cut from the secondary paper ( DCWV Fairy Tale Pack) and coated with Glaze drops, heated so it bubbled and made some texture. The purple/pink background was made by stamping the same flourish corner stamp, on to shiny card, with versamark. When dry, it was brayered with Big N Juicy Happy Birthday, and scanned to A4 size. I really enjoyed all these processes. Hope you like it too...

Dans Ma Maison Il Y A - a ladder!!

I have entered this house in the challenge from Dans Ma Maison Il Y A, this week. The addition was to be a ladder. I used my glimmer mists and Glitz spritz for the background and the cut outs, stamped in black stazon, from a set of stamps called "Avant Garde" by A Stamp in the Hand. I mounted the house on to some more of that paper I made by swirling and painting different glitter glues. I shall also send it to TGIF, whose theme this week, is green - this IS very green!!!