Big Birthday Heart

Hi Crafters,

how have you been?

I am suffering from crafter's block these days. Mostly caused by the mess in my craft room, that never gets cleaned up, because there is so much more urgent house work to do all the time. Tonight's happy plan is folding a ton of laundry, yuk! The weather has been nice and dry, I've been washing like a maniac, so I could dry it outside.

Anyways, today I have a very simple stencilled and doodled Birthday card for you. One of my very rare one layer cards. Not much to explain, pretty straight forward.


Have a beautiful day
Ela


Challenges:
Seize the Birthday: #181 Stencils

 

Get well monster

Hi Crafters, 

happy card making day to all of you! I hope you are having a great time in your crafty corners. 

I actually haven't created anything today, except gluing on the last piece (now dry) of yesterday's work. I did however partially succeed in repairing my bike. So at least progress there.

One of my work colleagues was off sick a while ago (nothing too serious luckily). Since this is someone I like a lot, I decided to make him a get well card. 

I stamped a very simple scene on water colour card and coloured the monster and balloon with my ZIGs. Then I added the panel to a green card base, so there is the colour surprise when you open it. I also covered the balloon in glossy accents very liberally. 

 

Since I don't have his home address, he only got the picture on his phone when he was still at home, but I gave him the card when was back, so he can send it so someone else - which he says he won't do, because it's all his. ;)

I adore this little monster, he's so cute. And the balloon has a really good size too.

Hope you have a wonderfully creative day

Ela 

Challenges:

CAS on Friday: #165 Make a masculine card

Addicted to Stamps and More: #361 Anything Goes

Addicted to CAS: #169 Creature

AAA Cards: #150 One Layer

Challenge up your life: Challenge #80 Trees

Hello Crafters,

can you believe how time flies? Only one month to Christmas eve, I can feel the panic rising... But with today's Challenge for

I did at least make a start on my Christmas cards - finally. To assist you with your Christmas card list, we are challenging you this time, to use trees on your project.
 

Challenge #80 Trees

I watched Lindsay's watercolour tutorial the other day, and decided to try that out myself. So here are my results. 

I actually did 4 panels, but the colours one one didn't turn out right and another panel I ruined the heat embossing, so I cut it down to fix it, but I didn't like how that turned out either. 

At first I was very unhappy with my trees, they just didn't look right, but when I came back the next day with a fresh perspective, they looked okay after all. Sometimes you just need to take a step back. 

So, that's it from me today, I hope to see a lot of tree cards from all of you!
Hugs

Ela

 

Wild horse

Hi Crafters,

today I have an entirely handmade card to show you. My daughters are invited to a birthday party tomorrow, and their friend likes horse riding. So I wanted to create a card with a horse. But I didn’t have a suitable stamp and didn’t find a digital image I liked. So I decided to try my watercolour skills.

It didn’t turn out the way I had imagined it, so when I was done I didn’t like it at all and went to bed rather frustrated. The mane is rather a bit too wild, and I had imagined more shadows and structure on the face, but didn’t dare paint them in.

But when I saw it the next morning, I thought it wasn’t all that bad. Rather messily painted, but still recognizable as a horse and watercolour needn’t be perfectly realistic. I like it after all. And I think so will the Birthday child.

I decided to keep the card simple and not even use a sentiment. I thought maybe she'd like to keep the image and that way she can frame it without the sentiment spoiling the effect.

Have a nice week-end

Ela

Challenges:
Seize the Birthday: Anything goes Birthday
(Hope that's ok, even without a Birthday sentiment, because it is intended as a Birthday card)

Christmas magic

Hi all,

I've been playing with the thought of getting a set of Polychomos pencils lately, but on the other hand I tend to REALLY NEED all kinds of colouring mediums, and then end up not using them enough.

I also REALLY want a set of ZIG real brush pens, and the only reason I still don't have any is, that my orders went wrong twice. The first time I ordered them on ebay, someone hat put in the wrong picture and wrong description and actually wanted to sell entirely different pens. Well, they were too cheap to be real, so that was that.
And the second time my order was shipped from Japan but never arrived. Bright point, the money was returned to me without any trouble.

Anyhow, knowing myself and my budget, I decided not to invest in the Polychromos' yet, and try to make do with my Inktense pencils instead.

This is my first try at using them without a lot of water. I actually created that card before Christmas and already used it, which is why you can see part of the name on the envelope.  

For this card I once again used several stamp sets to create the scene. After stamping and some masking I coloured the image with the dry pencils, doing all the shading. When it was all done, I carefully used just a little water to activate the colour and blend it a bit more.

After all had dried I used the white pencil to add a few highlight and also colour in the white areas. Unlike all the other colours, the white covers best when used dry.

I really like how this card turned out. Especially the shadows look good, apart from the fact that I messed up their direction.

I also like the sentiment a lot, it's so playful.


So, that's it for today, have a great time and don't forget, only 315 days 'till Christamas.

Ho Ho Ho
Ela



Challenges:
Simon says stamp: One Layer
Less is more: #263 One Layer with a stem (hope the mushroom's stems count)
The daily marker: 30 days coloring challenge

Challenge #34 Without patterned paper

Hello Everyone,
 
guess what, it's Challenge time again. This week's theme is:  

Challenge #34 Without patterned paper 

 

over at

  

That's right up my sleeve, I ain't good with patterned paper anyway, so I did some colouring. And true to my intent not to let the next Christmas get as stressful as the last, this is another Christmas card.

I combined 3 different stamp sets from TAWS, Lawn Fawn and Newton's Nook, to create the frosty little mail-monster. Never hesitate to combine your stamps whichever way you like. So much more possibilities... The sentiment actually says "snail mail for you", but I cut off the "snail". "Mail for you" is so much more versatile, it can be used for almost any occasion, and I can piece it back together any time.

The colouring was done with Inktense Pencils. I really like how the shadow turned out, I think it looks like he's standing on ice.

So, grab your supplies and get started, we want to see all kinds of cards without patterned paper.

Hugs
Ela


The daily marker: 30 days coloring challenge

More cards featuring Birch

Hi there,

as my last post was so long, today I'll make it really quick. Promise.

Besides, I don't really have anything new, I would just like to show you two more cards I created with Birch, pretty much the same as before.

But I love the water coloured look. The first of these two cards is also the first I ever created with these stamps.

Have a wonderful day
Ela

Flirty frames

Hi Crafters,

How are you? I've been rather busy lately, so I didn’t get around to much crafting. My daugthers' Birthday is coming up and I am not at all done with planning. Besides there was our street festival last week-end, which is always a huge affair. As we practically live right next to where they set up the Ferris wheel every year, we can't avoid it either...

This year my girls had three performances with their dance group, which cost me (and them) two full afternoons. 

Anyhow, I managed to create at least one card:

I cut my card base from water colour paper and stamped the frames in black Archival ink. Then I masked off all the frames and stamped the animals and sentiment.

I coloured all the frames and animals with water colours and added a little bling – mainly because I had to hide a spot where I hadn’t waited long enough and some blue seeped into the yellow.

I admit, I am not entirely happy with it, but it’s nice and bright, so I am pretty sure one of my daughters’ friends will like it.


Have a great day
Ela



Challenges:
Seize the Birthday: Animal Birthday

Birds and water colour

Hey Everyone, 

can you believe it, it's Friday already. This week went by so fast. 

I am now getting really panicky about my girl's Birthday next month. Despite my best intentions, I still haven't started on the preparations. Besides, as in the previous years, I really have difficulty limiting the number of guests, because there are so many "must haves".
I'll really have to make a start this week-end. 

Meanwhile I'd like to show you two more bird cards I made last week. I really love that set.

For both cards I embossed the image on a water colour card base, so they are true one layer cards. Then I coloured it with my water colours and added a fun Paper Smooches sentiment. 

I know, these cards are nothing incredibly new, but these birds are just so much fun!

Hope you all have a lovely week-end
Ela



Challenges:
Seize the Birthday: Anything goes Birthday
Paper Smooches: Anything goes

More birds

Hi Crafters,

remember the envelope I created the other day. 

I fell in love with that bird, I really liked the look, so I decided to make a matching card - or maybe rather more, because this one will probably be just the first. I thought this could be really nice as a set to give away, with different birds and different sentiments.

Anyway, I stamped and embossed the bird and and coloured him with my water colour set this time, instead of my Inktense pencils for a change. I also picked different colours for a change, but actually I like the red yellow colour combination better.

I wanted him to think or say the sentiment, but I don't have a speech bubble stamp and I didn't want to adhere anything on, so I used a Copic Multiliner and a die cut as a template. Unfortunately this means the sentiment is not embossed, like the bird. I think I need to get a new embossing pen (or a Versamark re-inker). Mine es pretty dried out, which is why I didn't even try to use it.

So, have a good start into the week-end
Ela


Challenges:
Addicted to CAS: Birds

Just a Note

Hello Crafters,

I created another card with the Ori Kami set from Altenew. 

Once again I used Inktense pencils and a lot of water to colour the image... I also added some sequins and a sentiment in grey. Very simple but I like it.

Have a great day
Ela



Challenges
Just add ink: #259 Sequins

Challenge up your life: Challenge #9 One Layer

Hello everyone,

I am still having trouble with my mojo. I really do hope it'll be back soon, maybe now that spring is in the air. 

Anyhow, today is Challenge time again, over at 

I missed out one challenge, so this is

Challenge #9 One Layer

I grabbed the chance to create a birthday card for my friend's little girl, who is three today. 

 Happy Birthday little Nala!

My daughters wanted to take part in my craft session. So I went back to something I wanted to do with them ever since I first saw the cute new "in print" stamp set by clearly besotted: our own fingerprint animal cards. I love that, there are so many possibilities to create fingerprint animals...

For this card, the idea was that the butterflies would fly out from the sentiment.

My friend and her daugther aren't much into pink and girly, so we went for rainbow colors instead. Probably a bit of a guilty conscience, because I missed the rainbow challenge two weeks ago. I picked and stamped the rather large sentiment and my girls created the butterflies with their fingerprints and a copic multiliner.

When I tried to pick a matching envelope I found that none of my colored ones match the colors on the card, except the green, so green it is once again. Seems that green is my new teal...

So, that's it for today. I hope you'll join us in creating a one layer card and maybe try your own fingerprint animals.

Happy crafting

Ela

Underwater thoughts

Hi Crafters,

and happy Sunday. I used two more of the acrylic block stamped panels I created last night, to create a very simple one layer card and matching envelope.

I used greens and blues on the clear block and because I laid the panel on the (finally turned on) radiator to dry, my panel got three slightly angled darker streaks. These reminded me of sun rays shining through water, especially after I had stamped the black plant silhouette. So I decided that's what it is, an underwater card.

I added a simple sentiment and a few drops of glossy accents and adhered it all to an off-white card base. I chose off-white, because my watercolor paper isn't bright white either.

Then I decided to use another of the panels to adhere to the front of the envelope. I would have preferred if the envelope had been one layer too, but I don't have large enough sheets of watercolor paper.


Have a great day
Ela



Challenges:
Just add ink: #237 Clear block stamping
CAS on Sunday: #45 One layer wonder

Birthday cards

Hey Crafters,

Did you have a good week-end? We sure did, though the weather wasn’t too great. We spent the day in a theme park and I am still not sure if the kids had more fun or their Dad. He's very much into coasters lately. Anyway, it was great, only today we’re all so tired. None of us got up well.

So I’ll just quickly show you two cards I created on Saturday. They both use mostly the same colors and techniques.

I wanted to create a very simple card, with partial stenciling and a rather male color palette. So I used my wavy stencil and some blue and teal inks. I also picked a grey, but unfortunately I grabbed the wrong sponge, so my grey has a rather brownish tinge. Let’s call it a warm grey.

For the second card I used a butterfly stencil to mask of most of the card and leave only the butterfly. I discarded the grey and used antique linen instead and added a little black soot on the top to darken the blue.

Both sentiments are from the same set and so are the stars and swirls.

I also created matching envelopes with the same stencils and colors.

Have a great day

Ela

Challenges:

Creative Friday: #113 Gestalte einen Umschlag / Create an envelope

Crazy for CAS: #55 One layer stamped card

All words: Merry Christmas

 Hello Everyone,

what a sad and rainy day it has been today. The right weather to stay home and craft. And I really planned to do that, because their Daddy picked up the kids from school and with the shopping  all done before work, I could have stayed home all day. (I am working from homeoffice mostly). 

If only my cardreader hadn't quit service today. But it did in the late afternoon, when I tried to upload this card. I didn't want to wait 'til tomorrow, so I went and bought a new card reader after all.

And here's the card that couldn't wait until tomorrow. Very simple this time.

I used a craft cardbase and stamped the sentiment, which means merry Christmas in German, in SU early espresso ink. Then I added the same sentiment all around it, filling the whole card, with white pigment ink. I cut a small slit into the fold, threaded the ribbon through and made a bow just underneath the focal sentiment.

Then I used the same sentiment on the envelop in red and espresso to tie in the red ribbon.
I am thinking about rounding the top right corner, but I'm not entirely sure yet. What do you think?


Wish you all a great day
Ela



Challenges:
Virginia's View: clean & simple

Another rainbow sympathy card

Hi Everyone,

last night, I finally did my ironing - well, at least most of it. But before I started, found time to I pull out a stampset I have hardly used yet. Though, when I got it, I thought I would use it all the time. I really think I need to give it some use!

Today, I decided to create another sympathy card with it, just because it fits so nicely for it, when stamped in black. And because I really don't have many sympathy cards in my stash. I probably just don't want to think about them, but I know that some day I'll be gratefule to have them. 


So, I cased my own card (small picture) changing it just a bit. This time I used distress inks for watercoloring, just because my daughters were working with my inktense pencils over on the couch table. They love to use them, probably just because they know how much I treasure them and that I'd prefer they'd just use the other watercolor mediums we have.

Well, I allow it anyway, when I am in the room to make sure they treat them well.

I used a German sympathy sentiment and stamped the same branches on the envelop. 

To be honest, I like the original better. The long elegant stems and the slim stretch of watercolor just suit me better.


Have a great day
Ela



Challenges:
Virginia's View: clean & simple

Watercolored smpathy card

Hello there,

I have another sympathy card to show you, this time using my favorite watercolor medium: my inktense pencils. But I think with a different sentiment that would also work for a happy occasion.

I started with wetting my watercolor paper with irregular edges. Then I started out with yellow in the middle, bringing in the colors in rainbow order one after the other. I made sure they blend a little, but not too much. After it had all dried I brought in another layer of color and let it dry again.

Then I die cut the flowers from white cardstock and and also from the watercolored piece, so I could inlay the white ones. I mainly did that to avoid having to glue on the stems, that's always such a mess. At last I stamped the sentiment from a German stamp set.


Have  a nice day
Ela


Challenges:
Simon says stamp: Anything goes
Creative Friday: #112 One layer card

Fantastic Birthday Wishes

Hello out there,

today I'd like to show you a card, I created with a digi stamp from a new German stamp company, create a smile.

I simply love how this card turned out, I am feeling very creative right now. When I first thought of it, I imagined the ant colored with alcohol markers, but frankly: I'm not  good at that. So I went with what I know: Inktense pencils. I am really glad I bought them and also that I chose the set of 36, instead of a smaller one.

I colored the ant with very dark grayish brown, which I think fits quite nicely. I stamped some parcels on his back, actually from a Christmas set and colored them too. Then I used distress inks to color the embossing paste and stenciled some grass underneath the ant. At last I stamped the curved sentiment, (it somehow looks more curved in real life) to imitate an ant track.

To create the envelop, I resized the ant and used a few of the little fellows as a border. The last one got cut off by my printer, because it was to close to the edge, so drew his bottom with a copic liner.

With this card I'd like to apply as a guest designer for create a smile, though unfortunately I don't fulfill one of the requirements: I cannot like them at facebook, because I deeply distrust facebook and have no account. I hope in this case it's not mandatory.


Have a good day
Ela


Challenges:
Seize  the Birthday: Anything goes
Stempelküche: Geburtstag / Birthday
Create a smile: Guest designer call

Stenciled homework: Water colored bird

Hi again, 

I did have a creative night last night. I wanted to create a card with structure for a challenge, but when I had completed my water coloring, I was so happy with it, I didn't dare add structure paste as I had intended... So I kept it very CAS and one layer:

The sentiment says "Get well" in German and is espresso, not black. It's a bit softer, and there is some brown but no black in the water coloring.

The bird I colored through a stencil, a technique I learnt at "Stenciled". I used my water color pencils for it and kept with blues and greens mainly. 

It reminds me of a kingfisher, though it was actually intended as a fantasy bird. For a true kingfisher the beak would have to be bluish dark and longer and the belly would have to be orange. But still it reminds me of one. 

For once I managed not to overwork it and I am really happy with how it turned out. 


Love
Ela


Challenges:
clean&simple: 305 (Hope it is ok, that the sentiment moved to the left a bit)

One layer card with still more feathers

Hey Crafters,

as I said the other day, I had another idea for a differnet use of my feather dies, so here it is:

I die cut the larger feather from fun foam and used it as a stamp, stamping one feather in red, all the others tone on tone. The sentiment, though you can  hardly read it on  the pictures is "you're special" from the TAWS set Monster Mash. I inked up only the last words of the sentiment "My imaginary friend says you're special". 

I also created a matching envelop and stamped the red feather on the inside, for extra detail.

Bye
Ela


Challenges:
Simon says stamp: Anything goes