True Colours - CAS on Friday challenge

I just love colour challenges, probably because I love playing with colours in inks and paints etc.

Hi all and welcome to another CAS on Friday challenge! This is challenge #174 and as you may have already guessed, we have some colours for you this time around.

My first instinct when I saw coastal cabana, crushed curry and Bermuda bay together was for an ocean sunrise/sunset scene but I must admit, it floored me at first about how I would incorporate granny apple green. Thankfully, after a few days my brain kicked in to remind me that the sea can be a greeny-blue!

I made simple masks from post-it notes, sponging the sky area first with crushed curry, then Bermuda bay and granny apple green for the water. My only coastal cabana is the card base itself. All-in-all, this card took less than 10 minutes to make!

Materials used:

• stamps - Thoughtful Branches (SU)
• card - whisper white, coastal cabana
• other - blending brushes, post-it notes, 1" circle punch, Stamparatus, clear Wink of Stella, craft foam

Please visit the CASOF blog and my fellow DT members to see what wonderful things they've done with these colours - and don't forget to leave us all some comment love!

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Sepia Roses

Inspired by a gorgeous card by Erum Tasneem I found on Pinterest, I've been having a play with my Altenew Build a Flower Rose stamps and dies. The main flower in this set has SIX layers! Yep, you read that right, S.I.X., lol. But look how realistic it is and how much depth you get! Luckily there's a guide on the pack to show you how to align them all plus plenty of very helpful YouTube videos, so it's nowhere near as difficult as it may sound.

Here's how my card turned out:

Once I'd decided where I wanted all my die-cut images to go, I stamped a few splodges (very technical term) around on my background then added the first batch of flowers and leaves. I've only stamped two of the four layers on the leaves as I didn't want them to steal the limelight from the roses. The stamped sentiment is layered on a narrow strip of brushed gold card and I added some gold pearls to finish off.

A very essential item in the stamping of these roses was my Stamparatus. As I'd bought extra plates, I was able to set up all six layers using both sides of three plates, which made multiple stamping a breeze. While it's all set up, I'll stamp some more roses in different colours so I have them all ready and available for future cards - brilliant!

Materials used:

• stamps - Build a Flower Rose (Altenew), Tiny Words Birthday (SSS), Timeless Textures (SU)
• card - very vanilla, brushed gold
• Altenew inks - Coffee Break set (sand dunes, rocky shore, mocha, espresso)
• other - Build a Flower Rose dies (Altenew), Big Shot, Dimensionals, gold pearls, Stamparatus

There's something so timeless and elegant about sepia tones, isn't there? I love them.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Happy Galentine's Day!

If you're a Parks and Rec fan, you'll recognise my header today, lol. I love the idea of women celebrating other women in their lives on Feb 14th and not just romantic love, so this card is dedicated to all the wonderful gals who enrich my life, both past and present.

Materials used:

• stamps - Forever Lovely, Good Morning Magnolia
• card - pink pirouette, whisper white
• other - stitched rectangle die, stitched frame die, magnolia die, detailed hearts die, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Stampin' Blends, pearls, craft foam, subtle embossing folder

I cut the hearts die and attached that to another piece that had been embossed, then cut both with the stitched frame. This process flattens the embossing a little but also has the effect of making it look like the hearts are embedded in the background piece, don't you think? 

Wishing you all the happiest of happy Galentine's days and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Case-ing Myself

I made another of the heat-embossed Breathtaking Bouquet cards, this time in navy with rose gold, which I'm thinking I prefer to my earlier black and yellow gold combo. I'd be interested to hear which version does it for you...

I hope the pinkish tinge shows up sufficiently in the photo for you to get the full effect. We made this one in class and my ladies loved it - and were very happy with how easy it was to make.

Materials used:

• stamps - Breathtaking Bouquet
• card - night of navy, rose gold foil (Bazzill)
• other - rose gold embossing powder (Lawn Fawn), heat tool, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, craft foam

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Piggy Love - CAS on Friday Challenge

Hi all! It's time for another challenge at CAS on Friday so I hope you'll feel inspired to join us.

This week's challenge is #173 and the theme is LOVE.

We're getting close to Feb 14th and not that you need an excuse to declare your love, but it certainly has become traditional to exchange a card and maybe some flowers and/or chocolates. How much more heartfelt is the message when you make your own Valentine?

Here's my clean and simple card:

All I did was blend a bit of granny apple green ink on my small panel to match the card base, trying for an ombre effect and lightening the colour as it moves up. The pig was coloured with a mix of SU Blends and Copic markers and I added some Wink of Stella to the heart for added sparkle. Clear epoxy dots finished it off after adding the white embossed sentiment.

Materials used:

• stamps - Hog Heaven (MFT)
• card - whisper white, granny apple green, basic black
• other - blending brush, Copic Markers, Stampin' Blends, Hog Heaven dies, Big Shot, Dimensionals, craft foam, white embossing powder, heat tool, clear Wink of Stella, clear epoxy dots

I hope you'll visit the blogs of my fellow design team members to see their gorgeous creations, and don't forget to leave us all some comment love!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Kia Ora and G'Day

Happy Waitangi Day to all fellow Kiwis out there! I hope you're enjoying your day off and hopefully a nice day at the beach or a BBQ with some mates.

My card today is a simple one but nonetheless incorporates four symbols of New Zealand - the long white cloud, silver fern, black background and, of course, a kiwi.

Materials used:

• stamps - Plushies Down Under (Clearly Besotted)
• card - whisper white, basic black, baked brown sugar, silver foil
• other - cloud dies, stitched rectangle die, tropical die, Big Shot, Dimensionals, Copic Markers, Stamparatus, craft foam

As my Aussie SIL put on a meal for me for Australia Day, I'm doing one for her for Waitangi Day - and you can bet there will be pavlova involved! And probably also some kiwifruit, lol.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Doggone it

For today's card I couldn't resist the opportunity to get out a Cottage Cutz die that hasn't been used in a while. When a friend had a stamp that went with it perfectly, it seemed like a match made in heaven.

Materials used:

• stamps - Various sentiments (unknown origin)
• card - whisper white, basic black, baked brown sugar
• other - Santa Puppy die (Cottage Cutz), Big Shot, sponge dauber, white gel pen, subtle embossing folder, Dimensionals, Sahara sand marker, Stamparatus, craft foam

Soooo adorable! And now you know where all your missing socks go, lol.

Thanks for calling in.

Cheers

Kez

Birthday KISS

Today I'm keeping it simple with another bright and cheerful card for you. I didn't need much in the way of embellishments when the background papers and die-cut balloons do all the work.

Materials used:

• stamps - Tiny Words Birthday (SSS)
• card - whisper white, melon mambo, daffodil delight, Bermuda bay, basic black, Sugar Shoppe paper (Doodlebug)
• other - balloon dies, Big Shot, stitched rectangle die, Dimensionals, mounting strip, craft foam, white gel pen, white embossing powder, heat tool

I guess with balloons being so environmentally unfriendly, we won't use them as much for celebrations, but at least these ones pose no threat to sea life or the supply of helium!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Inky Hello

While the recent rains (well, thunderstorms) are very, very, very welcome, unfortunately the low cloud cover traps the heat and brings with it the humidity, and that I loathe and detest with every fibre of my being! Who enjoys being sticky and sweaty when the sun isn't even out? Not me, nor anyone I know, lol.

So to cheer myself up I've made another inky background card, this time using my favourite distress oxides, which you know I'm a complete sucker for...

Materials used:

• stamps - All About You (MFT)
• card - whisper white, basic black
• distress oxide inks - mustard seed, picked raspberry, wilted violet
• other - Hello die, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, iridescent sequin assortment, mini glue dots, blending brushes, distress glaze, spritzer tool, water spritzer, white distress spray stain, white embossing powder, heat tool, glue, craft foam, melon mambo and highland heather markers

Once my feature panel was to my liking I blended some distress glaze over it - this helps deepen the colours so they don't fade, plus has the advantage of 'locking' them in so they're no longer affected by water etc. It's easily applied - just put a tiny smidge on your finger and rub it in. It looks shiny at first but dries to a matte finish. 

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Be Happy

A week or so back I had a play with Brushos again and made up a partial card - all it needed was a focal feature. I finally found that in a cute die I borrowed from my BFF and now my card is complete.

Okay, admit it, who's singing along with Bobby McFerrin in their head? I'm playing it now as I type, bopping my head away, lol.

Materials used:

• card - blackberry bliss, watercolour, basic black
• other - water spritzer, Brushos, heat tool, DWBH die, Big Shot, sequins, mini glue dots, craft foam, double sided adhesive paper, stitched rectangle die

Have a great day and thanks for calling in.

Cheers
Kez

Happy Australia Day

If you stretch your mind back twelve months you may remember my last Australia Day card, which featured the Aussie flag and a cute little gnome. A gnome convention is held nearby every year and as luck - and crafty fate - would have it, just yesterday I borrowed from my bestie a number of dies including ones for constructing a gnome house! I thought it was perfect for my Aussie Day card this year. Here tis:

I sponged the clouds on to white then ran that piece through the printer to get the sentiment (as I don't have a stamp that says this). Isn't the wee house adorable? There are a number of other dies in the set too but I decided to stop here! I would have added in a gnome but the proportions don't match the house AT ALL and I'm too anal to do it, lol.

Materials used:

• card - whisper white, real red, night of navy, granny apple green, very vanilla
• other - mini cloud stencil (MFT), blending brushes, gnome house dies, Big Shot, grass hill die, mounting tape, craft foam, tweezers, glue

If you're in Aussie, throw another prawn on the barbie for me and save me a slice of pav!

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Feeling a Terrible Draught - CAS on Friday Challenge

Hi everyone, it's time for another CAS on Friday challenge! I do hope you'll be inspired to join us this week.

Today's challenge is #172 and the theme is GET WELL.

Those of you who are regular visitors will know how fond I am of puns and word play, so you'll understand how I simply could not resist this cute and funny image from Art Impression's Get Well set.

Is that adorable or what? There are more great images and sentiments in this set that I know I'll be using for future cards - and, in fact, one of my fellow DT members has used one for her sample!

Materials used:

• stamps - Get Well (AI)
• card - whisper white, seafood spray
• other - Stampin' Blends (seaside spray, ivory, mint macaron, pink pirouette, smoky slate), craft foam, Dimensionals, Stamparatus, stitched rectangle die, Big Shot, Sahara sand marker, shaping mat and tool, internet image, computer and printer, mini library clip

Please pop on over to the CAS on Friday blog to see what my fellow design team members have created for you and don't forget to leave us all some comment love! 

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Breathtaking

I've been playing with the Breathtaking Bouquet background stamp again and this time my card was so much quicker to make than the watercoloured one I last showed you. In fact, it's such an easy card that it takes no more than 5 minutes to construct.

See? It was only a matter of stamping, embossing, stamping and embossing again - and voila! all done!

Materials used:

• stamps - Breathtaking Bouquet (SU), Tiny Words Birthday (SSS)
• card - basic black, gold foil
• other - gold embossing powder, heat tool, Stamparatus, black Dimensionals both regular and mini, embossing buddy

I kept my sentiment small again though, just like last time, because really you want that glorious floral image to take centre stage, don't you? I know I do.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Oops I Did It Again

Some new goodies arrived in the mail yesterday which I had no trouble sitting down to play with almost immediately *wink*. Once I'd trialled a couple, I thought 'hey, this would look good in the corner for that one layer, off-centre challenge' ... and so here is entry #2 for the Simply Less is More challenge that I mentioned in my last post.

Materials used:

• stamps - You Matter (SSS)
• card - whisper white (SU)
• other - Altenew layering stencils dahlia, blending brushes, Stamparatus, clear embossing powder, heat tool, epoxy dots

I'm looking forward to trying these stencils out with other colours too.

Thanks for dropping by.

Cheers

Kez

Brighter Days

Over at Simply Less is More they have an interesting challenge at the moment and I couldn't resist playing along.

It's like two challenges in one!

Here's my card:

I stamped the girl first and coloured her, then covered her with a mask and sponged the background. The raindrops and sentiment were added after that. I just had to make the umbrella yellow as DD21 has one and it makes me think of her.

Materials used:

• stamps - Beautiful You, Under My Umbrella
• card - whisper white
• other - Stamparatus, blending brush, sticky note, Stampin' Blends, basic grey marker

Why not pop over to the SLIM blog and check out the other entries - or better yet, enter the challenge yourself.

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez