Playing With Colours

When we were at Stamp Camp - seems like aeons ago! - team mate Nikki demonstrated the Black Magic technique. I made one card at camp but haven't done any since, until the other night when I decided it was a nice simple technique to try with my beginners class.

I have used three shades of violet and teamed them up with the gorgeous in colour, Concord Crush, and I love it! (Mind you, I've always been partial to a bit of purple) The photo makes the darkest colour look a bit manic though - it's not that bad IRL!!!

The next night I was inspired by a card by Barbara Howell on SCS and played with sponging. After a number of aborted attempts (which, admittedly, after the first accident were mostly my own fault as I didn't wait patiently for the ink to dry before I began sponging!) I finally got a card I am happy with.

I stamped the image in StazOn on gloss card, then sponged using Crumb Cake and Soft Suede for the base and Baja Breeze and Marina Mist for the top. I've used my Square Lattice embossing folder again - it honestly didn't look as good before embossing - the texture of the embossing seems to blend the sponging together quite nicely, luckily for me! I love the texture this Square Lattice embossing folder gives and sincerely hope it appears in one of our minis soon. You all NEED this one as much as I did, LOL!

Because I used gloss card, the main panel has a gorgeous glossy sheen to it that doesn't show in the photo - it's luv-er-ly!

Hope you get a chance to play with colours today. Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez

Waterfall Backpack

Hi again, here I am back with more goodies from our team's stamp camp in the beautiful Hunter Valley to share with you.

Here is an adorable project presented by Liam, who very cleverly took the mini backpack and turned it into a mini waterfall album. I used the Hoppy Memories simply scrappin' kit for mine - I know, it's rare for me to do "boy" things! - but I thought it would be perfect to put photos of DH as a boy inside. Here's the outside:

And here are the pages of the waterfall album:

Those frogs and tutles are so perfect and I know DH will enjoy the bright colours.

Many thanks to those who have enquired after hubby since his accident; he is slowly making progress and can now walk with the aid of a stick. Being a typical male, he doesn't wear his sling as often as he should though!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.
Cheers
Kez

Satin Wings

I couldn't help it.
I just had to do some more butterflies. There's something about flowers and butterflies, isn't there? So serene. Mother Nature is truly amazing.

First up I cased a lovely card by Kirsty Brown but changed the colours completely and added in All A Flutter. I wanted to use this colour combo before these colours are gone forever ... sniff! (It's OK. I'll be alright. Ta.) This is blush blossom, cameo coral and ruby red, with a touch of choc chip.

Then I just had to use Upsy Daisy to pair with AAF. In spite of all kinds of different ideas popping in my head, I fell back to my all time fav, brayering. Just love the effects you can make with this little rubber roller! Here I have used the colours from the JAI challenge a couple of weeks back, just for something a little different - taken with teal, elegant eggplant and melon mambo. Very vibrant..

There is a song about butterflies and love and I always think of it when I use this stamp, so I thought I'd try a wedding/engagement/anniversary card. I stuck with classic black and white and added kraft, soon to be renamed Cookie Crumb! and added the gorgeous medallion in the background.

Well, that's my butterfly obsession for today! Thanks for calling in.

 
Cheers
Kez

Variations on a Theme

There's nothing quite like getting fixated on a card style...!

This morning I was quietly admiring my quick and simple bird card from the other day (see this post) and I decided to try some different colours. So Saffron sprang to mind first and when I was thinking what colour to put with it, somehow a sneaky purple worked its way in there! So here's quick and simple bird card No. 2 with So Saffron and Perfect Plum and just a little touch of bling!

Then I got really adventurous - I added more colours, flipped the design sideways (woo hoo!) and even went two-tone on the bird! Wowser, living on the dangerous side now!!! Here's quick and simple bird card No. 3 with Riding Hood Red, Pink Pirouette, Chocolate Chip and a dash of Kiwi Kiss:

Well, as you all know, one of the rules in papercrafting is you always have an odd number, so I just HAD to make another quick and simple bird card, didn't I? For this one I had it in my mind that I wanted to use Sahara Sand and Basic Black. With no paper in SS, I made my own background using the Very Vintage wheel, which I am now LOVING in this colour. I read on a blog or chat group somewhere recently that Blush Blossom is a card colour they almost never use and I realised I am a bit the same; I use the ink pad endlessly as my skin tone when watercolouring, but hardly ever use the cardstock, so I have set myself a challenge to use it more often and here it is as my accent colour. The ribbons of course are "contraband" as SU doesn't have BB ribbon (and now never will, sadly).

I think this one is my favourite of the three. Hope you like them too.

Non SU materials used: peach ribbons, adhesive pearl, adhesive rhinestone, rhinestone buckle.

Thanks for calling in, have a great day.

Cheers

Kez

M is for Male

Like many of you, I often have trouble making male cards. It doesn't help that my own DH is not in to standard "male" colours - ie most of the Earth Elements colour family. He prefers bold colours so asking him for an opinion on a male card I've made is pretty much a waste of time! Basically I ignore him and keep going with my own instinct - sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't!

This first card is one that for me, falls into the category of "it doesn't". I was inspired by a card made using the US in colours and adapted it to be more "male", but I'm not that happy with the result; it just doesn't "pop" IMHO. It'll probably end up in the box of cards the girls are allowed to give away!

Now this second card works for me and even has the added benefit of having an unintentional mistake turn into something good! Can't ask for better than that, LOL!

I used gloss card and discovered that StazOn ink slides around, creating the shadow effect I've got here. My first thought was "Oh oh!" but then I decided I kinda liked it and it may even look like I've made that effect on purpose, LOL! Ssshhhhh! Don't tell! (I dunno what's happened in my photo, though, it's made all the lines look jagged; they're not, honest!)

Created by Kez. Stamped images ©1990-2010 Stampin' Up! ®

I'll be back later in the week with a very special project I am working on, so stay tuned!

Cheers
Kez

Lovin' that Combo

Hi all, thanks for calling in today. Hope your week is going well. It's rather a nail-biting one here at the moment - we've been waiting for Uni offers to come out! DD17 has received two, and luckily one of them is from her first choice. Now we have to wait and see if her first choice college accommodation makes an offer too. Nerve-wracking!

Meanwhile, my last post showed one of the cards we're making in class tomorrow; here are the other two. Firstly a card using Friends 24/7, a really gorgeous set, with Really Rust, Bashful Blue and Brocade Blue and I've tried the cracked glass technique.

Created by Kez. Stamped images ©1990-2010 Stampin' Up! ®

The next card uses a colour combo I haven't tried before, but I love, so I'm thinking it will crop up again before too long! It's Certainly Celery, Regal Rose and Whisper White. I don't often add a touch of sparkle but the dazzling diamonds top this card off nicely, IMHO!

Created by Kez. Stamped images ©1990-2010 Stampin' Up! ®

Isn't Upsy Daisy an amazing set? So versatile. Gotta love that about SU! Hey and don't forget something else to love about SU - Sale-a-bration! Starts on Monday and you'll love the sets available this year. Just contact your usual demo ...

Cheers

Kez

Marching Onward

Christmas is over and life goes on and with two birthdays coming up later in the week that means cards need making! My SIL and one of my BFFs both celebrate their birthdays on Dec 31st and with the rain we are having (thank goodness!), I have perfect excuses to sit and "play" at my craft table, LOL!!!

Here's the card for my SIL. I was compelled to drag out Chef Henri, who you may remember from previous posts here, here and here. This time I watercoloured him and I think he looks rather spiffy! The colours and the simple design are perfect for my SIL, so I know she will like it.

Created by Kez. Stamped images copyright Stampin' Up!

The sentiment on the tray is from one of the Sale-a-Bration sets called Whimsical Words, available from Jan 25th, and I love how it pokes gentle fun at getting older. Not that I ever do such a thing of course .... ! :)

Materials used:

• stamps - Voila, Whimsical Words
• card, inks and markers - Soft Suede, Bermuda Bay, Crushed Curry, Blush Blossom, black StazOn
• other - dimensionals, adhesive pearls (Kaiser), photo corner punch

My BFF loves bright colours, so I immediately thought of the Kaleidoscope papers from the Summer mini for her. Only have scraps left, though, so the patchwork style background was the way to go. Now, you all know that I am definitely NOT a bold brights person, but these papers are growing on me, I have to admit! I stamped the daisies in Versamark and embossed in white first, then overstamped in tangerine tango slightly over to one side to get that shadowy effect. The family agree she will love it, so here is card number two:

Created by Kez. Stamped images copyright Stampin' Up!

Materials used (all SU):

• stamps - Upsy Daisy, Dreams du Jour
• card & paper - tempting turquoise, tangerine tango, whisper white, Kaleidoscope DSP
• inks - tempting turquoise, tangerine tango, Versamark
• punches - large oval, scallop oval
• other - white embossing powder, dimensionals

Hope you're not sick of easel cards yet! Thanks for stopping by; I hope you're having plenty of rain too!

Cheers

Kez

I actually made some boxes!

Tonight is our team Christmas dinner and we always do a Secret Santa gift. Naturally, craft items and creative wrapping usually play a large part in the proceedings! So I actually made some boxes! Amazing, I know! I picked the Urban Garden papers and Upsy Daisy stamps for my theme and made the following:

The items are:

• a calendar/notebook
  
• a tissue box

• a post it note holder

• a mini bag in a box (containing craft items)

a window slider box (also containing craft items)

And of course a co-ordinating bag and tag to store them in:

Hope my Secret Santa likes them! I'll find out in a couple of hours!

See ya!

Kez

Inspired by Alcohol

No, it's OK! I haven't taken to binge drinking or anything! The title just refers to the alcohol ink technique I've used on my cards. (Phew!)

I was having a fun play (don't you just love those?) cos it had occurred to me that I hadn't used my alcohol inks in YEARS and that they might look kinda cool with the silhouette style of stamp. So here's my first one, using Adirondack/Tim Holtz alcohol inks (stream and terracotta) and Inspired by Nature, matched with perfection to really rust and taken with teal cardstock.

Then I had a play to see if I could get the same effect using SU re-inkers, which worked OK except the gloss card loses its sheen rather. Here I've used riding hood red, so saffron and baja breeze re-inkers for my background and stamped with Upsy Daisy.

There you go, more ways to have fun with alcohol, LOL!!!!

Now, don't forget two great offers that expire at the end of this month, which is just 6 days away:

1. my blog candy (just leave a comment on any post this month, and yes, the more comments you leave, the greater your chance to win!)
2. the SU ribbon offer - spend $100 and get 18.2 m of FREE totally gorjus ribbons! See the photo below.

That's all for today! You have a good one now, and thanks for stopping by.

Cheers

Kez

Me and My Big Mouth

Being the sweet, generous, kind and thoughtful person that I am (YILM!) I said to DD17 the other night to let me know if she wanted me to make any Thank You cards. I was thinking there might be one or two teachers that she would like to give one to when she graduates (less than 2 weeks now!)

She asked for 10!

Me and my big mouth! So I began working on Thank You cards, which have to of course be all different to each other! This is my first batch:

Back again in a day or two with the next batch!

Cheers

Kez

Watercolour Technique Class

This week's class looks at different methods of watercolouring. Card one uses what I call the "spritz watercolour" method and has also been called foolproof watercolouring! It is lots of fun to experiment with and very easy to do. Using shimmer paper gives it a lovely sheen, but whisper white works too and watercolour paper would as well. I ALWAYS use waterproof black StazOn ink for watercolouring. We'll make a card similar to this one

Created by Kez. Stamped images ©1990-2009 Stampin' Up! ®

For card two we will be using inks and watercolour paper. With this method I use markers for highlighting (I just LOVE how everything SU colour co-ordinates!).

Created by Kez. Stamped images ©1990-2009 Stampin' Up! ®

Materials used:

• stamps - A Kind Word, Best Yet (level 1 hostess)
• cardstock - Baja Breeze, Sahara Sand, Apricot Appeal
• papers - Sweet Slumber Speciality DSP, watercolour paper
• other - Baja Breeze ribbon, dimensionals, aquapainter, nestabilities, Big Shot

Card three is a flower pot card; such fun to make and so pretty to give away! The roses have been stamped on Whisper White and coloured with watercolour crayons, then ink is used over the top of the crayons for highlighting. The pink has come up a bit light in the photo; it is slightly darker IRL.

Created by Kez. Stamped images ©1990-2009 Stampin' Up! ®

Materials used:

• stamps - Fifth Avenue Floral, Best Yet, A Rose Is A Rose
• cardstock - Really Rust, Pretty in Pink, Whisper White
• other - Pretty in Pink ribbon, dotted ribbon from stash, Martha Stewart lace doily punch, Big Shot, Swiss Dots embossing folder

You've just gotta love Fifth Avenue Floral - looks great any which way you use it!

Our last technique is fun too - colour the stamp with markers then spray it with water before stamping. This method looks great with the new silhouette stamps.

Created by Kez. Stamped images ©1990-2009 Stampin' Up! ®

Materials used:

• stamps - Upsy Daisy, Best Yet, Friendly Words jumbo wheel
• card - perfect plum, pale plum, old olive, watercolour, very vanilla
• other - markers (perfect plum, pale plum, old olive), 35 mm circle punch, 38 mm circle punch (non SU), dimensionals, old olive wide grosgrain ribbon, water spray bottle

Thanks for calling in. Enjoy the rest of your weekend.

Cheers

Kez

More blokey birthdays

Howdy! The kids are back at school today and we all know what that means - guilt free stamping time!!! Yay! Here are some more male cards that I've been working on for my posse of bloke birthdays coming up soon.

Created by Kez. Stamped images ©1990-2009 Stampin' Up! ®

I think this one could be male or female, but I've decided for now that it's male, OK? Yes, you may be right, it could just be a pathetic excuse to play with my brayer!!! :-)

Supplies used:

• stamps - Upsy daisy
• inks - baja breeze, blue bayou, not quite navy, basic black
• paper & card - whisper white, basic black, baja breeze
• other - brayer, 32 mm circle punch, post it note, sponge dauber

This second card could be given to blokes with trucks, otherwise I think it's probably more suited to a boy.

Created by Kez. Stamped images ©1990-2009 Stampin' Up! ®

Supplies used:

• stamps - Loads of love and Loads of love accessories
• paper & card - Urban garden DSP, kiwi kiss patterns DSP, not quite navy, baja breeze and whisper white cardstock
• other - dimensionals, 32 mm and 35 mm circle punches, Big Shot and nestabilities, kiwi kiss striped grosgrain ribbon, blender pen

And this last boy one is a direct case from page 141 of the Idea Book & Catalogue. It uses the Rock Star Simply Sent Card Elements set and the co-ordinating Starring You stamp set. It's the very first time I've ever used one of these and I have to say - SO QUICK AND EASY! It took me literally less than 5 minutes to make this card, and they give you all the things you need except ink. Gotta love that!

Stamped images ©1990-2009 Stampin' Up! ®

Phew! I'm feeling desperately in need of some pink!!! More guilt-free playing in store .......!

Thanks for stopping by. Have a nice day!

Cheers

Kez