Cats or Dogs?

Hello all,

So, are you a cat person or a dog person?

Me? Well I love both really. 

We have always had cats or dogs in the house at one time or another.

I think it stems from not being allowed to have a cat or dog when I was a kid, although I did have a rabbit.

Why am I rambling about cats and dogs you may ask?

Well, the challenge at Ching Chou Kuik this month is to use one of the fabulous CCK images that features either a dog or a cat.

So, for this challenge I went with the cat.

Ching Chou really does produce some beautiful images with animals and this was one I have had for a while and not previously used, so what better excuse than the enter the current challenge.

I have used

Poppy Night Adventure which you can find here.

and here is the card I made.

The image is coloured with my Prismacolour pencils and the clouds in the background are done with Distress Inks (Tumbled Glass)

I don't usually colour redheads because they are a bit out of my comfort zone but I thought, why not?  I am never going to get any better at it if I don't practice am I?

So I decided to do the poppies in blue rather than the more obvious red and I am really pleased with how them came out.

The background papers are from a Lili of the Valley & Raspberry Road Designs paper pad called Antebellum.

The lovely strip of gems is from a lovely ex DT colleague and FB friend as part of a card swap, thank you Susan.

So there you have it.

Apart from the Facebook challenge at Ching Chou Kuik I shall also enter this card into the following challenges:

Digi Choosday - Week 16 Anything Goes

Lemon Shortbread Challenge - Anything Goes

Through the Craft Room Door - Anything goes

Tuesday Throwdown - Anything Goes

Crafting from the heart #241 - Anything Goes

Addicted to Stamps #173 - Lots of layers

Dragonfly Dreams - Include an animal

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends #103- Anything Goes

See you soon.

xxx

Colour Crazy Challenge - Week 14

Hi everyone

Well, what started out as a Guest Designer place has turned into a permanent position.  Doing a happy dance right now. 

So, without further ado, let's get cracking shall we?

So you know by now that our theme is always 

ANYTHING GOES

BUT

there must be some colouring on there somewhere.

We do not accept pre-coloured images, sorry.

So our sponsor for this week's challenge is

A DAY FOR DAISIES

For my project I chose this gorgeous

WILD FALL POPPY

I just love the rustic look of this flower, and there are several more "wild" flower images for you to choose from.  In fact with over 5000 digital images I am sure you would be able to find something you liked.  Why not pop over and have a browse through their catalogue?

Anyway, here is what I made with it.

Now I decided as soon as I saw the image that the only way to colour it would be to use Distress Inks and a water brush.  Not something I do very often but I actually quite liked how it turned out, what do you think?

I used four different shades of blue on the flower and three different greens on the leaves.

The background was done with Pan Pastels, I do love the effect they give don't you?

The sentiment was stamped using the Word Chains and Word Chain Alphabet from Clarity Stamp which you can find here.

The quality of these stamps is, in my humble opinion, second to none. They always give a fantastic print no matter what ink pad you use.  If you have never heard of them or not visited for a while you really should have a quick look (well, when I say quick............... you could be there a while! Lol)

The background paper is from a Designer Paper Pad, also from Clarity Stamp, called New England Fall.  Again the quality of these papers is stunning - you really don't want to use them, just sit and stroke them they are so lush.  But, I digress, use them I must - I can always buy more!! Hehehehe.

The sentiment is also stamped on to a sheet of the same paper pad but a contrasting pattern.

So there you have it folks.

My little bit of inspiration for you to ponder whilst you decide what you are going to make.

Remember, you must have some colouring on your project to be in with a chance of winning our prize.

Challenges:
Crafting with an attitude - Anything Goes
Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
Crafty Sentiments Designs - Only for the girls
Digi Choosday - Anything Goes
Through the Craft Room Door - Anything Goes

April Challenge - 613 Avenue Create

Hi all,

Thank you for all your fabulous entries into our last challenge.

Time once again for another Just for Fun challenge over at 613 Avenue Create.

This time as always the theme is 

ANYTHING GOES

But - you know we always have an optional twist right?

So this month the optional twist is

WEDDING/ANNIVERSARY

Can't wait to see what you all do with this one, there is so much scope to make absolutely anything isn't there?

So, here is the card I have made.

I have used products from Claritystamp Ltd, they have such fabulous quality goodies.

If you have never come across them, or not visited recently you should really pop over and have a good look around. 

They have grown so much in the last five or so years that there is bound to be something you will like.

I can also tell you that there is loads in the pipeline too but can't tell you anymore than that! 

So this stamp is from a set called Wee Folk - Wedding and it fitted the theme perfectly.

Just so you know, there are several sets of these Wee Folk stamps (two of which are wedding themed) and they really do come in very useful for all sorts of projects.

The stencil I have used as the background is also from Claritystamp and is called Vine Heart Stencil and I have brushed through the stencil with some distress inks.

Then I also drew around the stencil lines with a grey pencil to make them stand out a little more.

I stamped a sentiment using the Claritystamp Word Chain set number 03 which you can find here, on to a torn piece of paper which I added across the middle of the card.

Finally I brushed the same colour distress inks around the edge of the card and mounted it onto a card blank.

So there you go, my anything goes with the optional twist of wedding/anniversary.

I look forward to seeing all your fabulous entries.

Challenges:

A Gem of a Challenge - Anything Goes

Allsorts - Sentiment in focus

Crafting with Friends - AnythingGoes

Crafting with an Attitude - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations - Anything goes

Feeling Blue!!

Hello all you lovely people.

My how the time is flying by again isn't it?

So, am I feeling sad? Feeling a little blue? 

Well, I am a little sad yes.

You all know how excited I was to be asked to be a part of the Aurora Wings Design Team don't you? It was something I had always wanted and with the help of Alyce Keegan's colouring classes at Kit and Clowder (sorry, what? You have never heard of them?? Oh my, you don't know what you have been missing!  Why not pop along to the website and have a quick shufty at what's going on?  You may even learn something - I did - Plenty!! Lol) I applied at the last DT call and was accepted.

Sadly, due to the decline in entries into the challenge Mitzi decided that it was time to call it a day on the Challenge Blog - I was gutted.

However, I have loved Mitzi's images for a long long time and that isn't about to change any time soon.  So here is a card I made recently for a friend's 40th birthday.

Mind you, after the nightmare I had with it, let me tell you, it came very close to ending up in the bin!!

Not that the image isn't beautiful, of course it is.

But you know how it is when you have an idea in your head and it is all going great until you make an almighty c**k up of things? Well that's how this one went. Each time I thought I had put it right, I stepped away from it and DUH!! Nope, that just won't do!!

So, finally - attempt number six gazillion and one and it is done!!

I decided to go with the gorgeous Eye Butterfly image.

Here are the buying options should you decide you might like to purchase it.

Eye Butterfly Dark at Aurora Wings

Eye Butterfly Light JPEG at Aurora Wings

Eye Butterfly Light PNG at Aurora Wings

Eye Butterfly Dark at Aurora Wings at Etsy

Eye Butterfly Light PNG at Aurora Wings at Etsy

Isn't it just the most beautiful image??

So, here is what I eventually managed to come up with.

I was going to add some flowers too but when I looked at the image, I thought "do you know what, it really doesn't need anything else!"

So I left it clean and simple. Simples! Hehehe.

So there you have it.  I do so love this image and I am glad I persevered with it.

Oh, by the way, Kit and Clowder have a facebook group too - it has 23,000 members and is one of the most friendly, supportive groups on Facebook.  Why not pop over and have a look and if you do decide to join any of Alyce's classes, it would be nice if you could mention that I sent you? Ta ever so.

Challenges:

CRAFT Challenge - Inspired by a song (Butterfly kisses by Westlife)

Time out challenges - Photo Inspiration (I took the butterfly and the blue from the couch)

Crafting by Designs - Anything Goes

Crafty Creations - Anything goes

Creative Moments - Anything Goes

Crafty Sentiments - Anything Goes

A Bit More Time to Craft - Anything Goes