Simply Create Too Challenge #137

"Use die cutting" is the optional theme for the latest challenge from Simply Create Too.

Here I used a few separate die cutting sets to create my scene card - PoppyStamps Boddington Hillside, Lawn Fawn Puffy Cloud Borders and a sun die set (manufacturer forgotten). I'm not sure about the brown house - perhaps it should have been another colour?

I coloured the sun, hills and trees etc with my Copic markers, while the clouds were sponged with Distress Oxide ink.

I have to say that I found it quite difficult to get all of the layers to work together  (and especially to get it the right size for my card front.) Maybe it's just me???

                                  

 Anyway, click on over to Simply Create Too and create a die cutting creation of your own and check out the designs from our competitors.

Bye for now.

Love,

Angie's Digital Stamps - Challenge #19

Buttons and bows is the theme for the latest Blog Challenge from Angie's Digital Stamps.

I used the cute Teddy Bear digistamp and quite a few cutting dies to create my layers. Krafters Korner mini paper roses came in the perfect colour combo for me to use; and the satin bows were just the perfect hue. I opted out of using real buttons (but there was a "belly button"!) Yuk yuk yuk! I coloured some white cardstock with some Altenew ink pads (Lavender Fields, Deep Iris, Midnight Violet). It looks striking against the white.

 There's still time to head on over to Angie's Digital Stamps and join in the fun.

Thanks for visiting.

Love,

Challenge #18 for Angie's Digital Stamps blog

Challenge #18 for Angie's Digital Stamps blog has commenced and it is with great pleasure that I present my card, which timely, is an Easter card, using Angie's cute little bunny digi. While not content just to use one bunny, I had to flip the image and use two. I also included the scroll for the sentiment. Hope you like it.

 

I coloured the bunnies using my Copic markers and partially cut out the image to leave the bunnies and ground intact. The sky is using some patterned paper I had tucked away in my stash, that I added some blue Wink of Stella pen to.

Overall I am pleased with how it turned out, though I am very disappointed with my ground and grass. I need to do some more practice to get it looking better.

Head on over to Angie's Digital Stamps and see for yourself the creations and join in the fun.

                        

See you soon.

Love,

A new challenge for Get Creative Challenges

I'm back with the second of my February challenges. Challenge #66 from Get Creative Challenges has a theme of "Use Ribbon or Washi Tape". The sponsors for this month are Rick St Dennis, Twinkle Lane Designs and Knitty Kitty Digis and you could win images, etc from their shops.

 

I used a digistamp from Rick St Dennis called "Pavanne 2017 Fashion" and coloured her up using Copic marker colours that matched the washi tape rainbow background. The die cut sentiment was cut from a panel of cardstock that I covered with strips of glittered washi tape. I really love how this turned out.

Anyway, head on over to Get Creative Challenges and join in the fun by adding a washi tape creation of your own (or you can use ribbon if you really must. hahaha)

P.S. I bought the pastel washi tape from KMart. It came in a tube of 14 rolls; and I knew it would be perfect for this card.

Bye for now.

Love,

Oh oh!!!

I went AWOL for many weeks earlier in October/November, due to my mum tripping and dislocating and breaking her left shoulder. UGH! I happened to be away in Sydney/Melbourne on holidays at the time; but once we got back, Mum came to stay with us and I had to look after her, doing everything for her. The resulting stress caused my Chronic fatigue to flare.

The great news is that both of us are continuing to heal. Mum's back in her little place and I'm back doing some cardmaking and housework. Yay!!????

Some of the things I missed posting about included:

Angie's Digital Stamps had its last challenge for the year with a "Happy Holidays" theme.

I used Angie's Little Lila with Musical Instrument digi stamp for my card and coloured her in the reds and greens of Christmas. Some distressing and edge inking gave the card a slight vintage feel; but I just had to add a touch of glitz with the gold die cut "greetings". Nuvo Ebony Black Crystal Drops completed the card.

Get Creative Challenges also had its last challenge for 2017. Challenge #64 had a theme of "Holidays".

My card used a digistamp by one of the sponsors, Rick St Dennis called "Winter 2017". I coloured the image using my Copics and combined patterned paper, white paper roses,

organza red ribbon, some silver flower centres, leaves and a stacked red die cut sentiment. I have always admired Tracy Wray and her distressed and layered cards; and wanted to have a go at it.

Simply Create Too's last challenge for the year had the theme of CAS and I had fun creating a card using a Santoro Gorjuss "Fly Away With Me" stamp set. Did you know that Nuvo Crystal Drops will flatten? I stacked it along with some other cards (after it had been sitting out drying for several days) and when I later looked at it, the drops had flattened.

Anyway, off to have some more adventures (disasters???) in my life. I'll be back soon.

Bye for now,

Love,

A little bit ghoulish for Halloween.

For the latest challenge for Angie's Digital Stamps, I had to make a spooky Halloween card. As luck would have it I changed my plans halfway through, and ended up with two cards instead.

I traced the haunted house from an image I found on the internet, and the background was sponged using Distress Inks and masks made from Post-It tape. I went berserk with my white opaque Signo marker to create stars and added a dash of Iridescent Gold Glimmer Mist (the girl card was sprayed a bit more liberally than it should.) You should NEVER spray Glimmer Mist in the dark as you can't tell how much you actually have put on. I was in a hurry and too lazy to turn on the light in the kitchen and just went with the ambient light from elsewhere in the house. (Forehead smack!) Doh!!!

I generated the sentiment on my computer. I love the All Over Again font that I downloaded from Dafont.com. It's perfect for this type of occasion and for masculine projects, as it's a little bit grungy/graffiti.

The girl image is a digistamp called Daisy May with a Candle from Angie's Etsy store that was coloured using Copic markers.

The ghost was found after trawling through the internet, and after gluing several copies together, I coated it with Diamond Glaze. If you look really closely, you can see the bubbles I wasn't able to pop. (I hate it when it doesn't go on smoothly.)  The black dots are my new Nuvo Crystal Drops in Ebony Black. This was the first time I've used it and I LOVE IT! I think I'll be wanting the entire colour spectrum. It sure is easier than trying to glue enamel dots in position. Hahaha.

Stop by Angie's Digital Stamps and play along with Challenge #14. Make a Halloween card or two and see what your fellow crafters have created as well.

Bye for now.

Love,

I'm sorry about this...

I apologise to all about this, but since I had a very bad cold/flu/whatever over a month ago, I've been behind in everything in my life. It's only now, as I sit in a nice hotel room in Sydney, that I can post things that I should have over a fortnight ago.

One of these things is a card for Get Creative Challenges Challenge #62, that has a theme of Autumn/Fall.

I hope you can see the background design I tried to achieve with a stencil, double-sided tape and various containers of gilding flakes. The stencil is a gorgeous one by (forget the name but I'll fix up when I get home) with a leaf pattern over it. I lay some wide double-sided  tape over some white cardstock, positioned the stencil over top and then tried filling in the leaf patterns with a bronzy mixture of gilding flakes. There are some areas that represent the sky/void space, which I covered with silver; and then after removing the stencil, I filled in the leaf outlines with a greeny mixture. One thing with gilding flakes is that when you drop a piece on double-sided tape, there is NO chance of picking it up to try again. Anyway, that's it for the background. The image is AliciaBel's Felicity that was coloured using my Copic markers to tie in with the autumnal theme. You should be able to see the other accoutrements I used to finish the card.

This challenge is sponsored by Angie's Digital Stamps, AliciaBel and Fred, She Said Designs. Winners of this challenge can win 2 digistamps from Angie's Digital Stamps or a $10 voucher to spend at AliciaBel or Fred, She Said Designs.

Join us at Get Creative and see what Autumn goodness has been created. Make a card and join in the fun.

Bye for now.

Love,

Dance...Love...Sing...Live

I'm back with another challenge for Angie's Digital Stamps. Challenge #12 had an optional twist of "Back to School", but I opted to keep my card purely based on the digistamp. A cute girl with a microphone could only be linked with the quote from William W. Purkey " Dance like there's nobody watching, Love like you've never been hurt, Sing like there's nobody listening and Live like it's Heaven on Earth."

I created the layout on the background with a jpg I designed and then printed it with my laser printer. I was still waiting for my Distress Oxide Inks to be delivered, so had to smooch my background with Fossilized Amber and Twisted Citron Distress Inks. I really like the depth of colour I achieved by varying the amount of water added to the ink smudges on my craft mat.

I'm going on holidays soon so will have to take along my Copics and do some proper practice. Her hair is so bad!

Anyway, pop on over to Angie's Digital Stamps and join in the fun with this challenge.

                                  

Bye for now,

P.S. If you would like a copy of this jpg, email me at adashofflash@gmail.com, and I'll send you a copy.

It's been a long time coming...a new video tutorial!

Hi to all! After a very long time (after much time spent coming to grips with my health issues and those of my Mum; as well as collapsed computers and missing programs) I've finally managed to get it all together for a new video tutorial posted to YouTube. You can see it by following the link HERE. Or you can watch it below.

This time I've demonstrated the making of my "Hugs" Hidden Sentiment card from last week. I loved how this card turned out and I'm happy to show it to you.

While you're watching it, also listen to (you won't be able to avoid it) my own melody, Janelle's Theme, that I wrote especially for my new video tutorials. Please tell me what you think of it. I used an app called GarageBand to do it. (This took my time of creation and performing from two months down to two days.) It's a very easy program to use and I'm getting ready to write my next new song. Hahaha!

If you're not that interested in watching me colour my image (I'll admit it can be a lot tedious) watch the first three minutes or so, and then skip ahead to 17:30 minutes where I show the die cutting etc.

Hope you enjoy my revamped video format and I hope to see you again soon.

Bye for now.

Love,

Thank you and Challenge #60

First up I'd like to thank all of the people who sent me birthday wishes yesterday for my birthday. It's heartwarming to know that there are people all around the world who care about me. I had made this card for Challenge #60 for Get Creative Challenge blog, but it's perfect to show what I'm feeling today.

After seeing a similar technique used by Therese Calvird and Jennifer McGuire, I knew I just had to try it out, and then when I saw this digistamp by Drawn By Krista Mommy & Baby Elephant, decided now was the time. I was lucky to have scored the Altenew Bold Alphabet Dies (they'd sold like hot cakes) and they worked perfectly for this technique. I coloured the elephants with my Copics and couldn't have been happier with the results. I coloured the rest of the letters with a bright green so at first glance it looks like they're sitting on grass. Next time, though, I will colour around the sides of the letter stacks with the same colour. (I attached the die cut letters from the coloured panel onto a stack of three letters the same, cut from white cardstock.) In a couple of days I'm hoping to have posted a video tutorial I videoed showing how I made this card.

Now back to Challenge #60 for Get Creative Challenge blog. This month it's sponsored by Angie's Digital Stamps, Drawn By Krista and All Dressed Up.

Head on over for an opportunity to win digistamps from our sponsors.  The theme for this challenge is CAS (Clean and Simple). I think mine still qualifies, doesn't it???)

Anyway, bye for now.

Love,

Challenge #11 for Angie's Digital Stamps blog

I'm back with the latest challenge for Angie's Digital Stamps blog. The theme of this challenge was Red, White or Blue (or a mixture of all 3).

I chose to use all three colours in this cute image by Angie. The red of the octopus (or pink, rather), blue of the sea and sky; and the white of the bubbles. I also coloured some blue and white barber's twine with my copic markers so it was more blue and matching of my card panel.  

Head over to Angie's blog and see the lovely creations of the rest of the design team and the submissions from our readers. Join in on the fun, create and post a card of your own, and perhaps you could win some digistamps by Angie for your own use.

Bye for now.

Love

Challenge #10 Angie's Digital Stamps Challenge blog

Before I show you my card for the latest challenge, I will just blow my own trumpet and say "Yay! This is my 150th post."

Considering my 5th blogversary will be celebrated on 30th June, I'm the first to admit I'm not a dedicated or a prolific blogger. All too often, life gets in the way. (Which is nothing new to anyone who blogs.) This was supposed to be the year I got my act into gear and do all of the things I want to do with my crafting life. Not happening yet!!!

Anyway, on with my challenge which is Challenge #10 For Angie's Digital Stamps Challenge Blog. My card used one of Angie's cutie digis called Daisy May with Honey, and I added her to a shabby chic background (which I haven't done in soooo long.) I used a range of older Kaisercraft papers and a wooden bird, a Prima metal charm and various flowers etc. The sentiment used a The Crafters Workshop metal die cut from gold foiled cardstock.

Pop on over to Angie's blog to see the other lovely cards that have been created by the rest of the design team and our followers. Perhaps you could win some digi images by adding a card of your own creation. Best of luck.

Bye for now.

Love,
Janelle
XXX

Returning to you after the flu...

For the past month, I've been recuperating after having a bout of the flu. It's only now that I realise that I hadn't finished my trifecta show-and-tell. And apologies to Angie, those challenges are now finished.

It's always hard for me to bounce back after getting any infection or virus because of my Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. I have to get over the illness and then recover from the side effects from the CFS. If it wasn't for the frequent periods of shaking, extreme tiredness, scrambled thinking, swollen glands, aching ears, aching muscles and hands not working properly that are the CFS physical effects on my body, I could handle having the flu. My husband stepped up and took over the cooking and organisation of the household over that time, but I can't ask him to post for me as well.

Anyway, I'll quickly show these last two cards to you. (I can't just be making cards for my own benefit - I must inflict them on you as well.)

My first card here used the "Brinley" digistamp from The Fantasy Art of Nikki Burnette. We had to use buttons and bows for Challenge #58 for Get Creative Challenges. The background for this card used some tissue paper I used to mop up watercolouring on another card. It was too pretty to throw away; so I dried it out and then stuck to some cardstock with a thin layer of Multi Medium Matte. You can't really see it well in the photo, but the texture I achieved was interesting. I also added a little more colour (not much as I wanted to keep it pastel.) Go check out the Get Creative Challenges blog and see what great cards there are for Challenge #59 where the theme is to use a doily. 

My second card here was for Challenge #127 for Simply Create Too Challenge blog. It used the Fairy Swing digistamp from All Dressed Up. I have to admit this started life as a colouring exercise, but when the theme is use a digistamp and you've got one hanging around, well you make do. I enjoyed colouring this image and loved how it turned out. I'm not sure about the torn edges on the coloured layer, though. I wanted to use the mulberry paper and I always think that it looks most effective when torn, but the tear line on the coloured layer was way wider than I wanted. I have since given this card to my niece. I hope she liked it. For some current fun, hop along to Challenge #128 where the theme is Summer Fun.

I'll be back with some more cards in a tick.

Bye for now.

Love,

Janelle

XXX