Thursday, November 29, 2012

Twinchie Gift Tags


Today I have some fun little gift tags to share with you using some CS Designs digital stamps. The 4" x 2"cards, once folded, are twinchies (2"x2") cut from cardstock and lined with kraft cardstock with the "to/from" on the inside. The first one above is called Winged Emily. She, like all of the other images, is coloured with Prismacolor pencils. Emily was fussy cut leaving a narrow white border and then mounted on black cardstock and fussy cut again. Half pearls were added to a scallop punched border.



This little guy is called Blizz. The letters are beads and the BG paper is from DCWV's Christmas Combo Stack.

Angelina is fussy cut and adhered to the same paper as above. A leftover embossed scrap was dotted with Liquid Pearls before being adhered.



Lulu Goes Shopping is paired with a message from Christmas Sentiments 1 and adhered to an embossed background. Her shoes, wings, and antennae danglies all match on this one...she's that kind of girl!

 
The last tag has an embossed background, letter beads and Lulu's Shopping Bags digi fussy cut and adhered to the front. A black corner scrap was added to the upper left corner.She has bling earrings and silver gel penned wings.
 
Fun little gift tags...something a little different to jazz up my gifts this year. Thanks for visiting today.
 
Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Nutcrackers' Christmas



Holy crow! It's Wednesday already. Not sure where the time goes but it sure moves quickly these days. It's my turn again for another Stamp N Plus Scrap N blog post...and another Christmas card.

This week I chose to create with Stamp N Plus' Nutcracker stamp. I have a collection of  wooden nutcrackers which I put out every Christmas so for me it's a symbol of the season. I stamped this little fellow three times and coloured each with Prismacolor pencils and a metallic gold Sakura pen. Then they were each fussy cut and popped up on foam dots.



The background consists of two patterned papers from DCWV Christmas Combo stack. The grid paper was cut into a band to cover the center of the blue houndstooth paper. Using an MFT border die, the gold double scallop was cut twice and matted in black before being adhered next to the top and bottom of the grid paper. A narrow black satin ribbon lined the inside edge of the borders.

Once the above section was adhered to the cream card base, the three nutcrackers were popped up in a row. The greeting is Dazzle stickers, as are the nailheads, both from Paper Wishes. To balance the top greeting,  some  die cut leftover pieces were glued under the scallop border Waste not, want not :)

Thanks for dropping by today. It's always a treat!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Creative Card Crew Challenge 24 ~ Anything Goes
Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge 197 ~ use gold or silver
Cards for Men  Challenge 24 ~ Merry Christmas

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Monday, November 26, 2012

CYP Challenge 138 ~ Edible Holidays


The theme this week at Craft Your Passion Challenges is Edible Holidays and since you just came through Thanksgiving if you live in the US, this should ring a few bells for you. Think of all that yumminess that you just (over) indulged in. That's what we're looking for this week. My card is a Thanksgiving card which I know has passed...work with me here, people! I'm Canadian, remember :)




The image I chose to play with this week is called Pumpkins and Vines and is provided by our fab sponsor, Cedar Chest Designs. I coloured the image with Prismacolor pencils. The image was then cut into a rectangular shape and the edges were inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink. A dark brown cardstock mat was cut to fit the image and to mat the background paper from my scrap box. Before adhering the two background layers together, small lenths of ribbon were sandwiched between the layers so that they could be wrapped to the back of the brown mat.

The sentiment was computer-generated , printed on textured cardstock and cut out using part of a labels template. It was also matted on brown cardstock to give it added weight and keep it from disappearing into the green patterned paper. Three very old buttons from my grandmother's button stash were adhered next to the ribbon loops.

Thanks for visiting today. If you get a chance, visit the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see what the rest of the CYP created to inspire you...maybe have a snack first to avoid any sudden cravings :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Friday, November 23, 2012

Dragon Cutie


I logged in some atc playtime again and decided to play along with the Wicked Wednesday ATC Challenge. Their theme this week is Mythical Creatures. A few weeks ago, Tammy Siemers Thompson from A Day For Daisies offered this digi as a freebie. I totally love her and think her name, Dragon Cutie, is very appropriate :) As usual, I coloured her with Prismacolor pencils and then fussy cut her. Icicle Stickles was rubbed over her little dragon wings and foam tape was adhered to the back of her.


For the background, I applied Peeled Paint Distress Ink direct to paper on white cardstock. A large background stamp was sprayed with water and the inked paper was placed on top and then dried. Irridescent Gold Glimmer Mist was spritzed over the top before a fern stamp was randomly  stamped over the background. A scrap of text paper was embossed with a CB embossing folder and then dry-brushed with gold, bronze, and copper acrylic paint before it was torn and adhered to the corner. A branch was die cut and adhered to the background with a piece of  Glimmer Misted cheesecloth adhered for Cutie's nest. Small punched and stacked flowers with pearl centers were also Glossy Acccented to the branch. The finishing touches were a metal Believe charm, doodling around the edge, and a hand cut photo corner.

That's it for this little Cutie Patootie. I am entering this atc in the Wicked Wednesday Challenge # 59(Mythical Creatures). Thanks for visiting today.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

Puparazzo's Holiday Wish



I thought I'd have a little Christmas card fun today for my Stamp N Plus Scrap N post. I used SNP's Puparazzo Yappy Christmas FPP83 as the focal for this sweet card. Pup was inked with Memento ink and then coloured with Prismacolor pencils. An oval template was traced and cut to give him shape and to cut the matting. A tiny red bow was glued over the one in the image for a little more dimension.



The background is a layer of Paper Wishes Christmas paper over a layer of red cardstock cut so that the white card base still shows. More of the red cardstock was  hand cut into tabs which were then embossed using a Cuttlebug argyle folder. These were adhered over the plaid paper and faux stitching and black half pearls were added to the left side. Holly buttons were threaded with green embroidery floss and red half pearls were used for the berries on the right side of the tabs. The Pup oval and a Happy Holidays sentiment from the same paper stack were popped up on foam tape and added to the card.

This card makes me happy even thought it's simple. Hope it brings a smile to your face, too. Thanks for looking. You know I like that :)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

L'il elf



Love this little guy from Mo Manning. His name is Sticky and he's the star of another Christmas card. Sticky was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and his shirt was dotted with a red metallic gel pen.. The fur on his hat and pompoms was first layered with Snow-Tex mixed with white acrylic paint, and then Icicle Stickles for a little sparkle. Once he was dry, he was fussy cut and foam tape was applied to his back.



The background is rectangles cut from DCWV's The Christmas Combo Stack matted on black cardstock. The center scalloped circle was made with a Marvy Uchida punch, matted and adhered to the BG with foam tape. The little tag with the computer generated sentiment is an office tag with faux stitching and a red sticker added. The two black tabs were hand cut and faux stitched before the snowflake buttons were adhered. Icicle Stickles were rubbed over the buttons to match Sticky's hat.

Just a simple little card...can't make these cards my mom gives too dimensional because she mails them all over Canada and the US. I must say though...Sticky is a treat to colour. I smiled the whole time :)

Thanks for coming by to hang out with Sticky and me. It's always appreciated.


I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Mo's Digital Challenge #161 ~ Let's Chill ( winter or relaxing)...I did both :)
Anything Goes Challenge #81 ~ Stitching Real or Faux
Jackson's Digital Expressions #32 ~ CAS
Try it on Tuesdays November #2 ~ Christmas Sparkle

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Monday, November 19, 2012

So Thankful


I have a quick post this time... unusual for wordy ol' me! I wanted to make an atc for this week's Wicked Wednesday challenge #58 of Be Thankful. Atcs are such fun to  create and I treat myself pretty much every week to the opportunity to make at least one. They are small (2 1/2" x 31/2") but can contain a lot of  elements and have great impact.

For this atc, I embossed a black cardstock background with a Cuttlebug EF and then dry-brushed it with copper metallic acrylic paint. The image is from Dilly Beans, coloured with Prismacolor pencils, and cut out with a Spellbinders die. Black Soot Distress Ink was sponged around the edges and popped up on foam tape. The sentiment was computer generated and cut with another SB die before being mounted on faux stitched red cardstock. The tiny buttons are from my stash.

Easy peasy but I love it! Dilly Bean images are so fun to colour and play with!

Thanks for visiting.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

CYP Challenge # 137 ~ Use Your Scraps



There's a wonderful challenge at Craft Your Passion Challenges this week, one I could play in forever. It's use your scraps and my scrap box runneth over! I am always delighted when I find a new way to use scraps because I have so many. My pile never seems to get smaller. I think my cats make more when I am sleeping and think I won't catch on that they are playing with my stuff during the night. Anyway, that's a whole other story...



For this card, I coloured a  sweet Stitchy Bear Digital Stamps image called Tea Time. My husband and I join our 82 year old neighbour one night a week for tea so I know exactly where this card will find a home. I coloured the image with Prismacolor pencils , adding Black Stickles to the centers of the flowers on the top cup and black acrylic paint dots to the centers of the flowers on the bottom cup. I also added two sizes of black half pearls beside the words. The image was cut out using a Spellbinders die. The bottom mat used the same die for tracing the shape before fussy cutting.

The pieced background is a fabulous technique called herringbone background which I learned from Beate Johns, who is a card-making rock star IMO. You can find the tutorial for it here. I have used it to create entire backgrounds like on this card or to create a smaller piece to layer. It's quick to do and so effective. I matted the pieced background on solid black cardstock. A second rectangle of the same black was added across the middle with a piece of black and white washi tape on top of that. If I don't want the background colour to show through, I first adhere the washi tape to white cardstock and then trim it to the width of the tape. It gives you a more opaque colour which is sometimes the desired look. To finish the card, the image layer was added to the  background with foam dots to add dimension and create that interesting shadow.

Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you'll join our challenge this week. I need all the ideas I can get for using my scraps and I know you have lots of inspiration for me. Speaking of inspiration, drop by the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to check out the projects by the rest of the DT. Great ideas there!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Dream Valley Challenges ~ Anything Goes Challenge 45
The Squirrel & the Fox ~ Anything Goes Challenge 31
Inspire Me Fridays Linky Party 85 ~ Anything Goes

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Oops...missed it!


 It's always nice to have different types of cards on hand. I try not to forget people's birthdays but sometimes I get a brain cramp and lose track of the date. Next time I'll have just the card for the occasion.

For this card I used a Sassy Cheryl's digi which I cut out with a Spellbinders die and coloured brightly with my Prismacolor pencils. To get an even mat behind the image, I trace the outside edge of the die and then cut it out by hand. It makes a perfect width for a narrow mat.



The background papers for the card come from MME Reunion  paper pack. It's actually the same piece of paper but I have used the opposite side for the band. A brown grosgrain ribbon is adhered through the middle of the band. The sentiment is computer generated , hand cut into a banner and given flat back pearls for the three dots. The final embellie is a wooden heart button threaded with thin turquoise ribbon to pick up the stripe in the band.

Cute CAS birthday card...hopefully cute enough to take the sting out of it being late (should the occasion ever arise) :D Thanks for visiting. I sure do appreciate your spending your time with me.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #141  ~ belated Birthday
Challenges4Everybody Challenge 7 ~ Anything Goes
One Stitch At a Time Challenge 140  ~ use a digi
Pile it on  challenge 47~ orange yellow and brown

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Great News & A Challenge

I've been sitting on some exciting news 'til I thought I might bust a seam. Trust me, that would not have been pretty! I have been invited to join the Eclectic Ellapu design team which is such a fun challenge blog. I am both honoured and excited to join the talented crew as I have been a follower and a fan since Elaine started the blog. I am lucky enough to be on the Purple Team which is led by my former teamie, Paula. So happy to be teamies again!


This week is Abigail'schance to host the challenge for the Purple Team and it is so fun...Openable, Layered, and/or Interactive. It can be only one of these, two or, like I did, all three. Love the wide open possibilities of this challenge and the fact that any project following the theme is welcomed with open arms. So without further ado...here's my project for this challenge.


This first photo shows the Christmas tag closed using a TH spinner for the closure device. The tag has a painted chipboard base cut using a TH On the Edge die. Brown papers from DCWV's Christmas Combo Stack, lace, ribbon, and rickrack from my stash all layer up to create the background for this tag. A paper rose, mulberry leaves, a sequin star, and a gold button decorate the bottom portion of the tag. A snowflake button and more sequin stars decorate the top corner. The sentiment is a Tiddly Inks digi stamp cut out with a tag template. Half black pearls add dimension to the music notes.



When the tag is opened, it reveals a Tiddly Inks image of WinterWryn and Snowman plus another TI sentiment. Wryn and her buddy were coloured with Prismacolor pencils. Both elements were cut out using nesties. Faux stitching and Stormy Sky inking defined the edges. Metallic snowflakes were added to provide more continuity between the top and bottom.

But what about the interactive part, you say! (Don't you?)
 
 
There are hidden pockets within the main tag created by using a folded envelope with the sides cut off of each end. The envelope was covered with paper and that forms the part that opens to reveal the inside images. The tricky little pockets contain a tag each. Both are Tiddly Inks images : Wryn Goes Carolling and Snowy Wishes &Snowman which were both coloured with Prismacolor pencils.  Snowy was cut out using a Spellbinders die and then layered on corrugated paper. Wryn's base is a manilla tag covered with paper from the same stack and topped with baker's twine. There is room on the back for handwritten messages.
 
 
 
So that's it for my first project as part of the Purple DT at Eclectic Ellapu. Be sure to stop by the Eclectic Ellapu blog and check out the amazing projects by the rest of the Purple Team. You'll be inspired for sure! Then create your own project for this challenge (Openable, Layered, and/or Interactive) and link up so we can come visit. I can't wait to see what you create. Love that part!
 
Thanks for visiting.
Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Be Free

I made this fun atc the other day and thought I'd share it with you. I absolutely love these sayings and think they are a lovely reminder to have the courage to embrace joy and stop worrying about what others think or say. That's a great reminder about art, too. It's wonderful when other people like your art and "get" it but art needs to please the person creating it and satisfy him or her ... the rest is just bonus. Maybe I could have included "Make art like no one will judge it". OK, enough philosophy for one day :)



I started with a plain white cardstock background which I inked with Tumbled Glass and Broken China DI. I inked a little extra over a Crafters' Workshop stencil to get the chicken wire pattern and then doodled a black border with a Micron pen.

The two inchies were covered with scraps of music patterned wrapping paper. The two CS Designs images, Pirouette and Arabesque, were coloured with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut (yikes!!). They were adhered to each inchie with a musical brad for company :) The sentiments were computer generated, torn around, and inked with Black Soot before they were adhered beside the inchies which had been popped up on foam tape.

To finish off the atc, a blingy flourish, punched and stacked flowers with pearl centers, and leaves hand cut from DI text paper were added. A little Stormy Sky Distress ink was sponged around the edges of the atc to frame it.

Thanks for dropping by to have a peek at my latest play results. I really appreciate you taking the time to look and to leave such wonderful comments.

I'm going to enter this atc in the ATCs With Attitude Challenge 26 which is Anything Goes  with a sentiment.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Remembering Grandpa's Pocket Watch

I've always had a soft spot for pocket watches in part because my grandfather had one that he proudly pulled out of his pocket to check. It was a simple watch and worn around the edges and I loved it. . When I saw this Stamp N Plus Pocket Watch stamp, I knew it was a must have. While I'm in the remembering mood this week, I decided to make a card using the stamp while I remember lovely things about my grandpa.

I pieced the background on the cream coloured card with scraps left over from a mini album my sister and I made for my niece. We had used the Bo Bunny Timepiece paper and because I love it so much, I hoarded every scrap. I used a scallop punched section of black cardstock along the diagonal edge of the largest piece.

The pocket watch stamp was inked with Versafine black ink and embossed with clear detail embossing powder once it was stamped on white cardstock. To tone down the white peeking through, Antique Linen Distress Ink was sponged over the top of the embossed stamp. It was then fussy cut and popped up on foam tape. A section of TH chain was Glossy Accented to the card so that it looked like it was coming from the watch itself. Small watch hand stickers and three black rhinestones completed that half of the card.


The other section was embellished with a cream paper rose and mulberry leaves. Three black punched and stacked flowers with rhinestone centers were added to the grouping. The final detail  added was a TH word stick which says time.

I could see using this card for so many occasions,,,anything from thank you to birthdays to sympathy. It's one of those cards that are wonderful to have on hand for just the right occasion. Thanks for taking the time to stop by today (yes, I meant to say that ).

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Try it on Tuesday ~ memories
Cards for Men Challenge 23 ~ Anything Goes
Ooh La La Creations Challenge 118 ~ Someone Special
Crafty Boots Challenges ~ Remember

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

SNP Happy Thanksgiving



Our Canadian Thanksgiving occurred in early October but I would be remiss if I didn't take this opportuntity to wish all my American friends a Happy Thanksgiving for your upcoming holiday. As a matter of fact. the DT at Stamp N Plus Scrap N all want to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving so we did a group post. To see it, pop over to the SNP blog.




I chose to play with the Stamp N Plus Happy Thanksgiving Cornucopia stamp which is gorgeous. I stamped it in black Versafine ink and then coloured it with Prismacolor pencils. A Spellbinders die, Labels 26, was used to cut out the image . The edges were inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink. For the background, a TH embossing folder was used on the bottom brown cardstock. The top paper was a scrap from my stash. A thin strip of it was also added to the bottom of the brown embossed piece for continuity. Orange grosgrain ribbon hides the seam between the two papers.

To further embellish this card, wooden buttons were threaded with orange and white baker's twine and adhered in a row at the bottom of the card. Two punched leaves were glued to the top right corner and faux stitching decorates the inked edges of the card.

Thanks for visiting today. Be sure and drop by the Stamp N Plus blog to see what Thanksgiving inspiration the rest of the DT cooked up for you (Thanksgiving pun). If I don't see you before Thursday Nov. 22, have a wonderful holiday with family and friends.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Monday, November 12, 2012

Snowman and Friend

Not that I'm wishing for snow yet but I do love snowmen. I wanted to make another Christmas card today and there are a few people on Mom's list who are as smitten with snowmen as I am so it seemed like a win-win.



I chose this sweet Mo Manning digital stamp of the snowman and his little cardinal friend. I coloured both with prismacolor pencils, adding some half pearls for his coal eyes and Dazzle Stickers for his shiny blue buttons. They are holographic so they really catch the light without adding bulk. Liquid Pearls was added to the snow drifting around his bottom edge.

The image was cut out using a template from Paper Wishes. The edges were inked with Faded Jeans Distress Ink and then faux stitched. Shiny metallic blue snowflakes from the Dollar Store were adhered to the snowman's background. Slits were cut on either side of the label so that blue grosgrain ribbon with tiny white dots could be slipped through the openings, knotted and looped to the back of the background layers. The blue dotted paper comes from MME's Moments stack and is matted with yellow textured cardstock to tie in with his mittens and hat stripes. Finally a computer generated sentiment was  cut with a 3/4" circle punch and matted with the same yellow before being popped up on a foam dot.



I kept the inside very simple using scraps of  the papers and ribbon to layer with a computer generated sentiment. A Tonic snowflake punch brought the snowflakes to the inside of the card. Fun to colour, fun to design. Now that's my kind of Christmas card :)


Thanks for coming by to see my frosty friend and his buddy, Red. Always a pleasure to have you visit.

I'm going to enter this card in the following challenges:
Mo's Digital Challenge ~  # 160 C is for ...cardinal
Fashionista Challenge ~ #9 Blue Christmas
Tammy's Scrapin Corner ~ #36 Anything Goes
There She Goes Challenge ~ # 181  Let It Snow
Christmas Card Challenges ~ #50 Snowmen

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

CYP Challenge #136 ~ Clean and Simple



Yay! I love the challenge this week at Craft Your Passion Challenges. It's Clean and Simple (CAS) which is right up my alley. I always fall in love with the images I colour and then am reluctant to add too much that might distract from it. Yet when I look at cards that other people do that are more complicated or heavily embellished, I love them and think...next time! Anyway, this time I have a good reason to keep it simple.

The image I chose from one of our fabulous sponsors, Bugaboo Stamps, is this adorable Baby Bundle Flower. Those sweet little baby heads popping out of the flowers make me smile every time I look at them. I also love the squiggly stems. I coloured this image with my Prismacolor pencils and then cut it out using an MFT die. The matting was cut free hand following the shape of the image and the dotted lines were first pencilled in using the next size smaller die to trace. Faux stitching was doodled over the pencil and then the pencil lines were erased.



The background dotted paper was from my stash and was matted on the same brown textured cardstock used for the image piece. Three pieces of ribbon were cut to wrap around the background layer and were then adhered in the back. The image was popped up on foam tape over those ribbons. Three tiny buttons were threaded with brown floss and adhered to the upper left corner to balance the computer generated sentiment, Welcome to your new little bud, in the bottom right corner. That little tag was matted in brown, faux stitched and popped up on foam dots after the brad was added to the hole.

Clean, simple, easy-peasy. Love it!  Hope you'll join in this challenge. It's always fun to see what you create. For more inspiration, be sure to check out the projects from the rest of the Craft Your Passion DT on the blog. You won't be disappointed!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Make It Monday ~ Linky Party
Robyn's Fetish ~ Challenge 133 Anything Goes
The Squirrel & The Fox ~ Challenge 30 Flowers, Hats, or Horses
Crafty Catz ~ Challenge 158 Anything Goes

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Remembrance Day Tag


Remembrance Day is a memorial day in Canada to remember the members of our armed forces who have died in the line of duty. It marked the end of hostilities in WWI which occurred at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. At 11:00 am, Canadians observe a moment of silence. It's also a day where we express gratitude to those who have served our country and made so many sacrifices to protect us and our way of life. My dad was one of those people as he was a pilot in the RCAF during WWII.



I wanted to create a special post as a way of paying tribute to my dad and to all others who have served their country. I wanted it to have personal touches specific to my dad and his time in the RCAF. This tag is the result. I started with a white cardstock tag which I covered with a photocopy of Dad's escape map. Every pilot was given one of these cloth maps to keep in his pocket in case he was shot down. Paper could disintegrate but cloth would last longer. Next photocopies of his service book cover (burgundy) and his identity booklet cover were fussy cut and then adhered over the map.



Remembrance Day is also called Poppy Day so it seemed appropriate to colour a poppy image from Lindsay's Stamp Stuff  (can't find the link) with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut it to adhere to the bottom of the tag. A little stencilling with Distress ink  and white acrylic paint was added here and there over the background. The sentiments were created with alpha and word stickers to say "Always & Forever...Remember". Another word sticker, "Courage", was affixed to the left hand side. I added a metal button in the shape of an airplane because Dad flew Spitfires and a bingo piece with the number 11 to represent the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. The edges of the tag were distressed and inked to add to the vintage or aged look I wanted. Finally, a collection of ribbons were stapled to the top of the tag to finish it off.

Dad is no longer here to see this but I like to think he's still watching over us and that he would be proud to see this tag. My grandnephew, Jake, is getting a tattoo this month of a Spitfire with Dad's plane number and their two birthdates. They shared a common birthday in November. I think that is about the coolest thing I've ever heard and makes me so proud of both of them.

Thanks for visiting today and for taking the time to read this post. It means a lot to me.

Life is good; so is art.
 Bonnie

Saturday, November 10, 2012

It's time!



Ever have one of those weeks...or two? Of course you have. That's why you'll relate to this art journal spread that I completed today in response to a difficult week.  There's something about art journalling that always makes me smile and feel better. And there's something about Dylusions stamps and Rick St. Dennis digis that really speed that feeling better part up.

I started this page by covering it with Scattered Straw and Red Lipstick Distress Inks with a little Dusty Concord thrown in for good measure. Next the page got a flick of water here and there. I grabbed a few stamps that were sitting on my desk and inked them up in these same three colours to apply a little random texture wherever the mood struck me.




The border stamp from the Dylusions Further Around the Edge set was stamped in Black Archival on the top and bottom. Smash tape was used to define the two outside edges. Next white acrylic paint was spread on my favourite flip flop sole and pressed onto the page in two directions to achieve the cross hatch. More white paint was dabbed on through punchinella and Yellow Daisy Glimmer Mist was sprayed through plastic netting.



While all of that was drying, the March Hare digi (Love it!) by Rick St. Dennis was coloured with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut, and blinged out on the buttons and eyes. The sentiment was computer generated, patterns doodled in the spaces, and mounted on black cardstock. The sentiment and Marty (his friends call him that) were adhered to the pages along with a clock sticker. Two white chipboard flowers were Distress inked and blinged out in the center, then added to the page with washi tape stems. Lots of doodling with a black Micron pen, the addition of some off cuts from an MFT die, and a little more washi tape finished off these pages.

I don't know about you but I feel better. How can you look at that face and crazy outfit and not laugh or a least smile a litttle? Thanks for popping by for a visit. That cheers me up too :)

Life is good; so is srt.


Bonnie
.

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Rose Fairy



Sometimes when I start to colour an image, I have a bit of a plan when I start. Other times, like on this stamp, I have no plan, colour scheme, or direction in mind and it just evolves colour by colour. The Stamp N Plus Scrap N stamp I used for this card, Rose Fairy T2389, is a large one (61/2" tall). I stamped  Rose on white cardstock and then traced an oval from a template so I would know how much of her skirt and scarf to colour. I used my Prismacolor pencils and started with her skin, then wings, then flowers. The rest followed easily once those decisions were made. I added a little metallic gold gel pen to her jewellery both for the shine and the richness. When  Rose was completely coloured, the oval was cut out and inked around the edges.



The background was created from two layers of MME Moments paper adhered to a white card base. The pink flower is two layers of rose Kaiser flowers (part of a B-day gift from my buddy, Paulette) and a resin flower in the center. The small flowers are three punched flowers layered and cupped with bling in the center. I always keep these flowers made ahead. They are great little filler flowers and can be sprayed to match any colour scheme. The leaves are from my stash. To balance the opposite corner, three larger blue rhinestones were adhered to the bottom DP.

Again, this is a pretty simple card. With the image so detailed and colourful, it didn't seem to need a whole lot of layers or embellies. Sometimes the image just needs to be the star :)

Thanks for dropping by today. Maybe Fairy Rose will bring a little magic to your day!

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Monday, November 05, 2012

CYP Challenge 135 ~ hexagons

 
 
Good Monday morning! Does that sound confusing...good and Monday in the same sentence? Mondays mean a new challenge at Craft Your Passion Challenges so it can't be all bad. This week the challenge is Hexagons. You must include at least one hexagon on your project.

I chose to play with this digital stamp from one of our wonderful sponsors, The Paper Shelter. It's called called Little Miss Hall. She has the sweetest little face and I love her menswear inspired outfit reminiscent of Dianne Keaton's character,Annie Hall, from the Woody Allen movie. I coloured the little missy with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut her leaving a thin white border so she wouldn't fade into the background. She is also popped up on foam tape for added dimension.



The heaxgons in the background were cut with a Spellbinders die as was the one on which Missy is mounted. All were cut from Graphic 45's A Proper Gentleman stack. Space was left between the hexagons for the white card base to show through and that was echoed in the larger blue hexagon by cutting a white mat to go behind it. To continue with the menswear theme, a piece of gold chain was adhered under the focal piece so that it resembles a watch chain on a vest. Small gold rimmed navy buttons were popped up on foam to look like the buttons on a jacket sleeve. The sentiment was computer generated, faux stitched and adhered with a brad in hopes of reminding the viewer of a crisp white shirt cuff.

The entire card front was matted with blue corrugated paper for added texture and to repeat the blue in the larger hexagon and Missy's outfit. The final detail was a photo corner cut from text paper using a Martha Stewart punch.

Thanks for stopping by to have a look-see. For more inspiration for this challenge , be sure to drop by the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see other hexagonal creations by the rest of the DT. Awesome creativity! Hope you'll join our challenge. I can't  wait to see where your creativity takes you.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Sentimental Sundays Challenge 127~ Dimensions (popped up image and hexagon)
The Crafty Pad ~ Anything Goes
Totally Gorjuss Challenge 156 ~ Anything Goes With A Button
CAS-ual Fridays ~  Masculine (menswear paper)

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Winter Fairy Halla



Since it's already November (unbelievable) I figured I'd better get started on my Christmas cards. I make cards for my mom to send and then some for me as well. Today I decided to have a play with a Mo Manning image, Winter Fairy Halla. She is available in rubber and as a digital image. Love her! I think Mo Manning  creates aome of the sweetest little kids on the planet. Look at that face  and those tiny toes...oh, and the little belly. Cute!



I coloured Halla with my Prismacolor pencils. Then I spread some Icicle Stickles on her wings and on the tiny snowflakes. The swirls from Halla's breath are dotted in with a Sakura gel pen for added sparkle. Halla was cut out using a label template. The edges were inked with silver ink and the silver Sakura pen was used for the faux stitching.



A rectangle of Recollections embossed snowflake paper was matted  with textured teal paper to form the background for Halla. A fabulous piece of sparkly silver mesh ribbon was wrapped around the two layers of background and adhered in the back. A narrower piece of turquoise taffeta ribbon was centered over the silver. Halla was layered next, using foam dots for dimension. A white Recollections flower was sprayed with Turquoise Glimmer Mist and affixed to the bottom right corner along with some punched and layered white flowers that I make ahead and always have in my stash. Some shiny blue snowflakes were also nestled in under the flowers. Another snowflake was attached to the top left corner for balance. Turquoise rhinestones were used for the flower centers.

Yay, one down and lots to go! Good thing I love making Christmas cards :)

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
One Crazy Stamper November Challenge ~ Anything Goes
Addicted to Stamps ~ Things With Wings
Dream Valley Challenges #44 ~ Glitter and Bling
The Ribbon Girl ~ Add sparkle
Mo's Digital Challenge ~ Anything Goes with a Mo image

Thanks for coming over to meet Halla. We both appreciate it!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Chalk-Ah-Lot thankful challenge



The challenge this week at the Chalk-Ah-Lot Cafe blog is to do a project connected with thanks, thankful, or Thanksgiving  with powdered chalk as one of the mediums used. I continue to have fun experimenting with the chalks from Stamp N Plus Scrap N. It's interesting to think of different ways to use them for mixed media, art journalling, cards...whatever  I can dream up.



This week I decided to combine powdered chalk with Crafters' Workshop stencils. Starting with white cardstock, two colours of Distress Ink, Scattered Straw and Dried Marigold were applied with ink blenders. Once the ink dried, copper powdered chalk, called Ritzy, was mixed with Buzz N Magic paint. When you mix the metallic chalk with this paint, you get a beautiful sheen. The chalk and paint mixture was sponged over two different stencils, herringbone and distressed diamonds, separately to achieve two different patterns. Both rectangles were matted with brown textured cardstock and layered. Before adhering these two layers to the  card base, a sentiment was printed from the computer onto white cardstock. This was cut out using the Memory Box Bistro Label die and popped up on foam tape. Two pieces of brown embroidery floss were adhered to the back of the label and wrapped around  each side of the stacked rectangles. Amber rhinestones were glued to the top of the label at each end.


The little pilgrim girl is a Stamp N Plus stamp by Mary Helen Gould which can be found here. She was coloured with Prismacolor pencils, cut out with a Spellbinders die, and matted on brown cardstock cut from the next size die. That's it, that's all for this clean and simple card. I love the effect of the powdered chalk and paint sponging through the stencils. I know that this is a technique I will repeat...can't wait to try it with other colours. Wish I could have captured the beautiful sheen on the patterns for you.

Thanks for visiting L'il Pilgrim girl and me today. We always enjoy your company. Come join the challenge.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Saturday, November 03, 2012

Time Flies



Here's another little atc I cooked up the other day. The background is white cardstock inked with Scattered Straw and Spiced Marigold Distress inks. A few other texture stamps were randomly and imperfectly stamped again for background texture. The clocks and words come from a Kelly Panacci clear stamp set and were stamped with Vintage Photo. I wanted the edges a bit wider and not completely crisp which can be achieved with extra pressure when stamping with clear stamps. It gives a more aged and distressed look.

The wee bird came from my stash. His eye is a black half pearl. The two clock centers are deep amber coloured rhinestones. The little flower in the corner was white chipboard until it was altered with Distress inks and popped up on a foam dot. The metal sentiment tag forms the center of that flower. Once again, I smushed (technical term) Versamark around the outside edges of the atc, then dipped them in black embossing powder and heated them for added texture and weight. It frames the atc in much the same way as distressing and inking does but also creates a nice shine.

Thanks for visiting agin. Love it when you do that!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie