Using stickers

LIM has the challenge of using stickers or something of the sorts this week. I've got loads of stickers. I know my card perhaps isn't perceived as totally CAS, it's definetely borderline, but this is the quickest card I've ever made. So it's quick and simple, without a doubt.
I rummaged through my stash of  stickers, saw this armchair one and just knew I had to use it and how. I've had it for a while, I have just been waiting for the right moment and idea I guess.
The armchair sticker is quite large, it's dimensional and it's really nice to the touch.
I used a Tim Holtz stamp to make the maculine wallpaper, took a piece of burlap paper and an oval die to make the carpet, added as newspaper and glasses sticker from the same set. And the sentiment - Best Wishes - is also a sticker. I think that's one that will work for many occasions.
The card is perfect for a man who's not necessarily one of those avid golfers, or one who loves to go fishing or one who's interested in cars.

This card is for:
Darnell's NBUS Challenge - #7(2nd entry)
Less Is More - #291 Use Sticker, Sticky Label or Peel-Off

Sentiment as main feature

This card almost ended up in the bin - several times.
It started out with me not finding my big, bold LOTV sentiments. They're therr, somewhere, in my creative chaos room. So I opted for a sentiment from Marianne, it comes in different parts, this was the first time I used them all together. I stamped it with purple ink. I wanted to make something folkloric like, but for that I should have heat set the sentiment. So change of heart. I took out some yellow and a gold gelato. The gold was a mistake, big time. Toss it? No, had to try and cover it up by adding purple gelato and adding a coat of gesso. The stamping around the edges is also part of that cover up job, I used a leaf and flower stamp from Fiskars (NBUS) and used brown, green, orange and red inks. I let it all dry before I added Perfect Pearls for a shimmery look and made my liquid pearls. I attached the panel onto a panel of gold mirri card and attached it to a black card base.

This card is for:
Twofers - #26 Stamped sentiment as main feature
City Crafter Challenge - #325 It's all about You
Crafty Creations - #322 Words/Letters on the Background
Darnell's NBUS Challenge - #7

More scraps used...

Hello! Today I'm sharing my card for the new challenge over at Catch the Bug and this time it's a COLOR challenge.
I'm still focusing on using scraps, I will not let myself cut into any new, untouched DPs just yet, I want to see the pile of scraps being reduced a bit more. I had already colored up my image with Promarkers and started my hunt in one of three large boxes of scraps to find papers in green and brown shades, I found several. So I chose a few in different patterns that were the right size to cover an A2 panel. I die cut a tag for the sentiment ("Today is your day") and attached it with string to the frog's wrist. Three wooden stars were added. Zigzag stitching.

This card is also for:
Aud Sentiments Challenge - #162 For A Man + A Sentiment
Seize The Birthday - Birthday + Tags
Passion For Promarkers Challenge - #360 Make It Digital (digi image)
Polkadoodles - #34 Something Beginning with F or Anything Goes (frog)

Rainy bear

Hello! I'm here to show you my DT card with an "Oldie but Goodie" image from the Bugaboo store.
I saw this sketch and thought it suited my new goal of using more scraps before I will let myself cut into any new, untouched DPs. I had already colored up my image and started my hunt in one of three large boxes of scraps. Cough, hm yes, I'm embarrased to say I have that much scraps available, but I'm quite the DP addict, even though I've enjoyed making my own backgrounds lately... So I went on a hunt for something yellow, blue and red and had no trouble finding these colored papers in my stash.
I tied my string a bit differently than in the sketch because I didn't want to cover up the image. And I chose a red button to balance with the red Dymo made sentiment.
The weather in Oslo feels like something in between summer and autumn, which I think my card does too.

This card is also for:
Retro Sketches - #228 Sketch
Crafts Galore Encore - Use a Stamp or Digi
Sparkles Forum Challenges - #83 Lots of Layers

For a baby girl

I was invited to be a Guest Designer over at Challenge Up Your Life for their new challenge, which is all about babies. For some reason I don't see my card up on their blog but decided to show you this now on my blog anyway, as it was made with other challenges in mind as well.

I started out picking out a few scrap papers from Maja Design to be used with my "Mini Perfect Patches" die from Memory Box. Then I used dies from Lawn Fawn to make the little hearts and the banner with sentiment, stamped with a Kaisercraft stamp.
The duck, rabbit and rattle are made with Lawn Fawn stamps. I stamped directly onto DP leftovers. I also added one button with a little string bow.

This card is also made with these challenges in mind:
Cards in Envy - Squares
Creative With Stamps Challenge -  #5 Geometric
Inkspirational - #115 Patterned Paper
Dream Valley Challenges - Pink

Card Kit Swap with Nonni and Marina - take #3

I'm doing a "Card Kit Swap" with Nonni of Nonni's Handmade Cards and Marina of My Perfect Life. We're supposed to make 4 cards out of the kit and we can add some of our own stash too as we're keeping it really simple and fun. It was my turn to make a kit and I chose elements of "Feathers & Wings". My kit contained two die cut feathers, a dream catcher, a fairy and a stamped image of two birds. 1 DP from Marianne, 1 unknown with script, one white whith engraved flower pattern, silver mirri card and a heat embossed piece of vellum with script. Sequins, pearls and bling, gold metal thread, silver thread and white string.
Here's a photo of the kit:

Card#1: Feathers
Here I used the embossed vellum, feathers and white string. I colored the feathers with gelatos. I added a sentiment "For You" and sequins. Stitching around the edges.
This card is for: Creative Knockouts - #154 Sew It Up

Card#2: Fairy
Here I used the engraved floral paper, mounted onto the silver mirri card, the fairy, sequins and gold metal thread. I heat embossed the fairy with gold EP and frantage.The sentiment translates something like "Frinds are as valuable as gold".
This card is for: Glitter n Sparkle - #201 Anything Goes

Card#3: Dream Catcher
Here I used the grey paper with script, the dream cather a pearl and a bling. The dream catcher is heat embossed with silver.
This card is for: Brown Sugar - #211 Anything Goes

Card#4:Love Birds
The image was embossed with clear EP then colored with Promarkers. I also used the silver thread and DP from my kit, as well as a die cut swirl, lace and flowers from my stash.
This card is for: Passion For Promarkers Challenge - #358 Hip To Be Square

Hot flashes

Over at Twofers the theme this fortnight is THE HEAT IS ON. I struggled finding an idea for this theme and a rubber/clear stamp that would work (obviously forgot about the possibility of hot drinks...), but I came over this uninked wooden stamp in my stash (from AI?) and though it looked like she was troubled with hot flashes. So I colored her with Promarkers, fussy cut her and made a scene with papers for a wall paper and floor.
The sentiment is in Norwegian and it translates something like this: "Inside of every older person there's a young person wondering what happened". Thats' s true isn't it? Sometimes we all still feel like young girls. I used my stitched oval dies from Dienamics to cut the sentiment.
I machine stitched around the edges.

This card is for:
Twofers - #25 The heat is on

Just Add Ink – #324 Inspiration (floral "wall paper" wooden floor)

Feathers on paint background

My card today is made with a sketch and a color scheme as main inspiration sources. I started die cutting the feathers. There was actually 4 of them, but the 4th one didn't fit in on the panel. Next I colored the feathers using blue, brown and white gelatos, brown DI and some frantage with blue shimmer. Then I stamped a sentiment onto the white card base. But I didn't feel right, it feld bland and empty ut not CAS. I left the project for a couple of hours, made the brown panel with another project in mind, but decided to try it with the feathers on. The brown panel was made with paint and I just pressed a stamp with circles (from Kaisercraft) into the paint on the panel (my dip element for Inkspirational), I think it gave the panel a textured look. I heat embossed a sentiment and tore the edges of the paper. Now, this card is more CAS than what I usually make, but I don't know if there enough "space" for this card to qualify as CAS? I'll leave that for you to decide:)

 This card is for:
CAS(E) This Sketch! - #184 Sketch
Less Is More - #288 Blue & Brown
Inkspirational - #114 DIP
Happy Little Stampers - AG with dies August

Flowers and Cake

When I've got too many ideas in my head nothing ever goes as planned. I've been in my craft room for almost 5 hours and this is the only thing finished yet. A lot of half made projects waiting to be finished, wrong for what I had in mind, so I need some time away before I can continue and finish them up without the original design idea "clouding" my work. That ever happens to you?
The flowers I had made for another challenge, but they ended up here, with cake and spots and stripes as my primary inspiration sources. They are made with stamps from Prima. I also added a fabric one, along with 2 roses from my stash, I added glass glitter to them.
The image is a NBUS from Stamping Bella, colored with Promarkers. The image was cut with a stitched Dienamics die, and I used a bigger sized one to emboss the background paper.
Flowers were colored with gelatos and DIs, they got liquid pearls too.  A few sequins, a sticker sentiment saying "best wishes".
The background was made with gesso, red, pink and white gelatos. The stripes were added with a stencil, the spots were stamped (Kaisercraft stamp). White mist. Stitching around the edges.

This card is for:
City Crafter Challenge - #323 I gained a Stone (baking) or Photo Inspiration
Allsorts - #375 Spots & Stripes
Just Add Ink - #323 Just Add F (flowers)
Inky Chicks - #70 Use 5 or more Flowers (I used 7) 

Soldier freebie

Today I've got a tag to show you featuring this week's Freebie Friday image-  you can pick it up at no cost in the Bugaboo store.

I colored the image with Promarkers. The background was made using one of the "due date library cards" I got from Mimi. I covered it with with white gesso beafore I covered the front with green gelatos. The smudge in the middle was made using a splatter stamp from a stamp set I got from Donna. I was trying out using my gelatos with water for stamping for the first time. It didn't quite come out as planned, but I was lucky this time - smudge suits better than splatters here. I also randomly stamped some words on the background.

I machine stitched around the edges using really small stitches, added an eyelet, ribbon and twine.

Wishing you alll a great weekend!

Three Martinis - Floor

When I first saw this stamp I knew I had to have it. I love the fairy's curves and more mature style. So I colored her with Promarkers and gave her grey hair.
I added glossy accent to the rose in her hair and the martini glass and used WoS on her wings, which is almost impossible to capture in a photo.


I was inspired by the sketch over at Sunday Stamps for the layout and the colors of CYCI. I embossed light yellow card stock and used a strip of DP with spots (Kaisercraft). Stamped the sentiment that comes with the image, added the fairy onto a die cut stitched circle and decorated with 3 grey enamel dots.


This card is for:
Sunday Stamps - #132 Sketch
Can You Case It - #131
Cards in Envy - Wings

Color Q #352

Color challenges haven't been my favorites, I've always loved seeing the entries of such challenges, but haven't really participated myself. But now I'm hooked! It forces me to use my stash and try out color schemes I wouldn't have thought of myself. This color scheme was really challenging. The background is made of two shades of gelatos to ressemble the saffron and orange, but I also added 3 orange enamel dots.
I tried to replicate the rose red and rich razzleberry on the flowers and the stenciled stripes, but I might be a bit off. My purple flower looks more blue in the photo, but IRL it's defintely purple. I used a gelato and brusho, but while watercoloring the edges get lighter.
I stitched a border with white thread and heat embossed the sentiment in white as well.

This is for Color Q challenge #352