Russets, reds and golds

Oh autumn, you bewitch me -
your sparkling russets, reds and golds
falling freely down before me
are a wonder to behold.

It's the middle of autumn here in Australia and who doesn't love the gorgeous rich colours of autumn leaves? Not that there's a lot of them around - Mother Nature seems to have been slow getting the message this year. Although there are many evergreens around town, the deciduous trees are late in showing us their beautiful hues, some with just hints of yellows and reds on the tips of leaves.

Nevertheless, I made a card using the following autumn tones:

I also added in touches of gold and used very vanilla as my neutral.

I've challenged my ladies to also make a card with these colours and can't wait to see what they create.

Materials used:

• stamps - Under My Umbrella, Colourful Seasons
• card - cherry cobbler, very vanilla, gold foil, watercolour
• other - Stitched Seasons die, Big Shot, gold embossing powder, heat tool, water spritzer, Stamparatus, enamel dots, Stampin' Blends, gold stickers

Thanks for dropping in. I hope you're enjoying the colours of Mother Nature wherever you are. 

Stay safe.

Cheers

Kez

Just Breathe

I was honoured recently to be picked as winner of the CAS on Friday challenge #167 - a one-layer card (this one) - and subsequently get to be guest designer for their new challenge. The theme this time around is to use black and/or white and one colour.

For my colour I picked the beautiful seaside spray - such a lovely soft warm blue.

Materials used:

• stamps - Hugs from Shelli, Colourful Seasons
• card - whisper white
• other - Dimensionals, Mini Cloud Edges stencil (MFT), sponge dauber, Stamparatus, craft foam

I am so happy with how this card turned out and must admit, the more I make clean and simple cards, the more I'm drawn to them. Something about the clean lines and simplicity of design really resonates with me, so you can probably expect to see more in the future.

Pop on over to the CAS on Friday blog and be inspired by the design team's lovely creations - and hopefully you'll get the urge to join in the challenge!

Thanks for stopping by. 

Cheers

Kez

Deeper and Deeper

You may be forgiven for thinking that by now I would have begun to dig myself out of the distress oxide inks rabbit hole; but no, you'd be wrong. So very, very wrong. See, I stumbled upon some more YouTube videos and ... yeah, enough said, I think. #jennifermcguireisanenabler

Up until now I've been sponging my DOs on regular white card but that all ended today - because I tried them on watercolour paper and OH. MY. GOLLY. GOSH. I am deeply in love all over again. Man, these things just keep getting betterer and betterer (yes, I know that's not a real word, but it expresses my feelings so well, so roll with me on this one, okay?)

Here, take a lookie:

Materials used:

• stamps - Seaside Shore
• card - watercolour, basic black, pistachio pudding
• other - aqua painter, distress oxide inks, water spritzer, shimmer mist, Dimensionals, glitter epoxy shapes

I maybe kinda sorta went just a smidge overboard spritzing this piece with some shimmer mist as well as regular water. But oh, it's sooooooooooooo pretty, all sparkly and stuff. Mhmmm. The little glitter epoxy "bubbles" fit right in. Unfortunately, I could not seem to capture all the sparkle in a photo, so you'll just have to take my word for it, ok?

And also:

Materials used:

• stamps - Sunshine and Rainbows
• card - watercolour, basic black, vellum, daffodil delight
• other - rainbow builder dies, Big Shot, Stamparatus, MFT radiating rays stencil, distress oxide inks, blender tools

DD says the combination of spritzed splotches, stencil effect and graduating colours gives this one a tie-dyed look, which I can totally see. Very Katoomba-ish, lol (sorry - Blue Mountains joke).

And then I did go back to using white card, and came up with this Autumn-themed beauty which I am loving the background of.

I stamped and embossed the sentiment before sponging, then did the water-drop thing and also stamped leaves with water. More sponging on scrap white let me cut out leaf dies in matching colours, which I curled slightly at the edges and only attached in the middle, so they'd look as if they are actually fluttering down the page. Did it work? Let me know - feedback, people!

Materials used:

• stamps - Colourful Seasons
• card - Sahara sand, whisper white, early espresso
• other - distress oxide inks, blender tool, water spritzer, white embossing powder, heat tool, Big Shot, Seasonal Layers thinlits, mounting tape, fine tip glue

Okay, I've been out here long enough, methinks. Time to get back down my rabbit hole. Toss me some chocolate, would you please, and thanks for stopping by. 

Cheers

Kez

I Just Can't Resist

Hello from down the rabbit hole! It's great in here - there's distress oxide inks and chocolate marshmallow Easter eggs! What more could a crafter wish for? Okay, you make a good point: wine would be good too. I'm sure the sun is over the yardarm somewhere in the world, right?

So...cards, yes.

I've always loved the white on white effect, especially when teamed with a pop of colour. Today's first card is such a one - take a lookie:

Materials used:

• stamps - none
• card - whisper white, lemon lime twist
• other - balloon punch, Celebrate You thinlits, Big Shot, mounting tape, distress oxide inks, sponging tool, two-way glue pen, snail adhesive

More balloons for my second card and I've used a stencil for this one, spritzing it with water then applying over my sponging for the oxidation process to give me my pattern.

In the next close up, you can see the recessed panel and the shine on the sentiment. It was stamped in craft ink and clear embossed.

Materials used:

• stamps - Picture Perfect Birthday
• card - Sahara sand, whisper white, basic black, Sahara sand patterned paper
• other - basic black craft ink, clear embossing powder, heat tool, double stitched rectangle dies (non SU), chevron stencil (non SU), black rhinestone (non SU), balloon punch, linen thread, Dimensionals, mounting tape, sponge dauber, distress oxide inks (non SU)

My last card is pretty straightforward sponging, but I love the colour combination.

Materials used:

• stamps - Colourful Seasons
• card - basic black, whisper white, silver foil
• other - distress oxide inks, blending tool, silver embossing powder, heat tool, Card Front Builder thinlits, Big Shot, Tree Branch Circle die (Memory Box)

 Time to get back to some chocolate...I mean...housework :-P

Thanks for stopping by.

Cheers
Kez