Tuesday Throwdown #336: Sparkle

Good morning, friends! Time for another new challenge over at Tuesday Throwdown. This week we want your projects to " Sparkle ".  Our sponsor for this challenge is All dressed Up. You'll find lots of adorable images over at their Etsy Store.

Today, I'm using this cute little image called Little Birdie to make a sparkly, glittery, put-your-shades-on card. I'm not sure if I dare send it out to anyone. I might have to include a health warning: do not stare directly at the card! We have bling, glitter ribbon, Stickles and Wink of Stella on a tiny 4.5" square piece of real estate.

I coloured the image with Copics. No fancy shading, especially since there's so much going on in the background.

Now it's your turn to create a project based on this week's theme: " Sparkle ". For ideas and inspiration, take a peek at what the rest of the DT members have made. Remember to link up your project at the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge Blog by 3pm Pacific / 11pm UK on Monday, April 3rd. And the most important requirement: Have Fun!

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a super sparkly day.

Beijinhos!

Art Journal: He is Risen

Hello, friends! Welcome to another ART JOURNAL collaboration with a very dear and special blog friend - VICKI PARSON of Stamp Smiles. We are both passionate about art journalling and we have a monthly show and tell. What better reason to get inky and messy and, as an added bonus, we get to inspire and encourage each other while having fun.

We are half way through Lent and an Easter inspired Art Journal seems appropriate. I wanted to create "serious" page... not the usual bunny rabbits and chocolate eggs. My starting point was this cling mounted stamp angel by Chocolate Baroque called Rejoice! and the rest took shape quickly.

I primed the background with Faber Castell Gesso before applying Folk Art Acrylic Paints. Blues for the sky, yellows for the rising sun leading down to deep earth tones of the hills.

Here's the angel. I heat embossed her wings with WOW Bright White EP onto vellum. The rest of her I stamped with Memento Espresso Truffle, coloured with Copics, fussy cut and adhered  to the page, except for the lower half of her bodice so she looks like she's floating.

The grassy accents on the hills are from Silhouette Grasses stamped with Ranger Archival Fern. I also stencilled in some swirls using Tim Holtz Flourish stencil and Ranger Dye Ink Lemon Twist. The cross is a die cut using the smallest cross from  Spellbinders Shapeabilities Cross 2 set. I cut it out several times with dark brown cardstock and adhered them together. Then I rubbed on some Chocolate Gelatos and Iced Chai Gelatos.

I applied some Faber-Castell Gelato Metallic Icing on the sky to get a misty cloudy look. To finish the page I applied Versamark all over and heat embossed everything with WOW Clear Sparkle EP.

You can see the sparkle as it catches the light. I didn't adhere her wings all the way so she looks like she's hovering. Also, I used foam tape to prop up her head for added dimension.

And here is another look at my Easter Art Journal. I stamped the quotation using Claire Brennan's  (Waltzing Mouse) Victorian Alphabet and Ranger Archival Jet Black ink.

"He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come and see the place where He lay."

Matthew 28:6 KJV

Challenges:
Addicted To Stamps #144: Easter
HeARTful Stamping Mar 16: AG
Mustard Seed Faith #1: Use Yellow
Simon Says Stamp Monday: Things With Wings
Make My Monday #42: White Embossing (wings)
Hiding In My Craft Room #294: Any Holiday (Easter)
PDE Linky Party #165: Anything But A Card

Please head on over to VICKI PARSON of Stamp Smiles and check out what she has made. Vicki never ceases to amaze me with her creativity.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope your week is off to a magical start!

Beijinhos!

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Chocolate Baroque: Spring Birthday

Hello, friends! It's finally here ... Spring, I mean. or is it? The past few days have been cold, wet and icy. I'm not so sure about packing away my winter woollies. Not just yet, anyway.

In an effort to embrace the vernal joy, I made a cheerful Birthday card using bright, zippy colours and stamps by Chocolate Baroque. My card features the silhouette tall plant from Spring Foliage. The greeting is from Words To Dazzle and Sparkle and the butterflies are from Baroque Meadow.

I started by blending Distress Inks on a piece of watercolour paper. Here are the colours I used:
Grass: Mowed Lawn and Cracked Pistachio
Sun: Mustard Seed and Fossilized Amber. With the Tie Dye stencil by TCW, I applied Wild Honey to suggest rays of the sun.
Sky: Mermaid Lagoon and Peacock Feathers

Then I splashed some water to get that splodgy effect. Next came the images and greeting  - all stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black. Final touches - little drops of Mint Liquid Pearls and some Stickles Black Diamond over the silhouette leaves.

Challenges:
Brown Sugar #243: AG
Colour Crazy #12: AG

Thank you for stopping by today. Hopefully, the sun is shining in your neck of the woods. We are down to 6ºC where we are... which isn't very springy! :) Have a great day, everyone.

Beijinhos!

ATSM #234: Clean And Simple

Hello again, friends! It's time for another challenge over at Addicted To Stamps and More.  For this challenge, you can create anything you like - card, tag, bookmark etc - as long as it is CAS.

Here's my clean and simple card using Cool Cat stamp set by MFT. I've used glitter and buttons to give it some pizzazz... and also because I haven't quite grasped the true meaning of Clean and Simple.

I coloured this upper crust kitty with Faber-Castell Polychromos.

Challenges:
TTCRD March 21: AG
Retarte #93: AG
Colour Inspiration Monday #17: AG Handcoloured

Now it's your turn to link up your project for the Clean & Simple challenge. Thank you so much for stopping by and have an amazing day.

Beijinhos!
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Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #33

Welcome to Week 1 of Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #33. We have a lovely colour swatch for you to use in your projects. If you haven't played yet, now's the time to do so.

You can use any medium to create your projects: paints, inks, pencils, pens, stains, etc., as long as you stick to the colours from the colour swatch, using as much or as little of each colour as you wish. You don't have to use Chocolate Baroque stamps to play along but if you do you will be entered into a random draw to win £15 to spend on Chocolate Baroque stamps. All participants will have a chance to be on the Design Team's Top Three list and proudly display the winner's badge on their blog.

Here's my offering for this challenge - a floral birthday card. It turned out more "earthy" than I intended but hopefully, the lovely lotuses (or should the plural form be loti?) stand out against the background.

The focal image is from the Floral Notes A5 stamp sheet and the sentiment is from Words To Dazzle.  First I stamped the image with Ranger Dye Ink Cool Graphite. Then, I masked the flowers before inking the edges with Vintage Photo, Scattered Straw and Antique Linen Distress Inks. For the sentiment, I used VersaFine Crimson Red and finished the project with little drops of Hydrangea Liquid Pearls.

Here's a closer look at the flowers. I coloured them with Caran d'Ache Suprasoft Aquarelle Pencils.

Challenges:
Word Art Wednesday 274 & 275: AG Inspirational
Crafty Creations #337: AG
Inspiration Destination #124: AG

Chocolate Baroque Colour Challenge #33 will close at 12.00 p.m. (UK) on Tuesday 18th April 2017, and the winner will be announced on Wednesday 26 April 2017. I hope you'll play along and run the risk of winning £15 to spend on Chocolate Baroque stamps.

Thank you for stopping by and have a magical day!

Beijinhos!

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Tuesday Throwdown #334: Tags / Bookmarks

Good morning, friends! Time for another new challenge over at Tuesday Throwdown. This week we want you to make " Tags / Bookmarks ".  Our sponsor for this challenge is Joy Clair Stamps. Check out their online store for some delightfully adorable stamps.

Here's my floral bookmark. I heat embossed the sentiment with WOW Rich Gold EP and added a few droplets of Baby Blue Liquid Pearls.

Challenges:
TTCRD March 14: AG

Now it's your turn to create a project based on this week's theme: " Tags / Bookmarks ". For ideas and inspiration, take a peek at what the rest of the DT members have made. Remember to link up your project at the Tuesday Throwdown Challenge Blog by 3pm Pacific / 11pm UK on Monday, March 20th. And the most important requirement: Have Fun!

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a beautiful day.

Beijinhos!

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Chocolate Baroque: Spring Will Follow

Hello again, friends! I'm back with another spring themed project for you. Today I have an uplifting card for you using stamps from the Glorious Spring A5 sheet by Chocolate Baroque.

I started by blending Distress Inks to create the sky (Chipped Saphire, Weathered Wood and Broken China) and grass (Scattered Straw, Crushed Olive and Mowed Lawn) background. Then I stamped the primulas on a separate sheet of Canson watercolour paper with Archival Jet Black ink, coloured them with Caran d'Ache Suprasoft Pencils and fussy cut them. After I worked out the placements, I stamped the catkin directly onto the background with Archival Jet Black ink.

I adhered the primulas off the card, and trimmed one edge and left a couple of leaves hanging off the card. Next, I stamped the sentiment directly on the card with Archival Jet Black ink. And now for the finishing touches: Stardust Stickles on the primulas; shading around the plants with Faber Castell Big Brush Markers.

And one final touch: little white dots around the catkins to add some movement. I like the idea of them swinging in the gentle spring breeze.

Challenges:
Artistic Stampers March: Springtime
Paradise of Stamps #54: Spring
Stamping Sensations March: Close To Nature

There you have it ... a simple yet encouraging card. I'm hoping Spring will get here soon. It's been teasing us with a few good days so I dare say it's on its way.

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a Blessed Sunday.

Beijinhos!

ATSM #232: Make Your Mark

Hello again, friends! Time for another challenge over at Addicted To Stamps and More and this week we are playing Make Your Mark. For this challenge, you can create anything you like as long as you use something to make a mark. Feel free to use pencils, pens, markers, chalks, crayons, paints, stains, inks ... whatever takes your fancy.

Since we are in the season of Lent, I made a card about faith. The flowers are from Altenew's Peony Bouquet set, stamped with Lawn Fawn inks.

The die cut sentiment is by MFT called Peaceful Greetings, cut out of grey card stock and given a generous coating of Clear Wink of Stella.

Now it's your turn to link up your project for the Make Your Mark challenge. There are so many colouring medium to choose from. I look forward to seeing your projects.

Thank you so much for stopping by and have fun with this challenge.

Beijinhos!

MHKD: Sending Love

Hello, Friday! Yes, that was a huge sigh of relief from me. Here's a fun card I made for some friends who have moved to beautiful Bali for a year to do missionary work. I thought I'd send them some love.

This card features several products available in the MHKDesigns Etsy Store: the airplane is from Various Vehicles and the sentiment from the Christmas Wonderful Wreath digi stamp sets. The dotted patterned paper is from Easter Flowers and the anchor design is the Serene Seaside digi paper pack.

On this card I've pulled in Easter, Christmas, masculine and summer elements to create a card that will work anytime of the year. Now that's what I call versatile digis.

Minimal colouring with Copics and a few red bling are all this card needs. No excess baggage here, folks! :)

Challenges:
Brown Sugar #240: AG
Fussy and Fancy Friday #182: AG
Pattie's Creations #132: Anything With Wings

Oh, and don't forget to join in the MHKD March Challenge. You have until 31 March 2017 to link up your projects for a chance to win the adorable Bunny Love digital stamps and Egg-cellent digital paper pack.

Thank you so much for stopping by and have a beautiful day!

Beijinhos,

Chocolate Baroque: Spring Allium

Good morning, friends! Can you smell Spring? It's definitely in the air, and I say - about time too! I made an all-purpose card from Chocolate Baroque's aptly named stamp sheet called Breath of Spring.

I started by inking the edges of the card with Distress Ink Aged Mahogany. Next, I stamped the allium: the stem in Memento Tuxedo Black and the flowerhead with Ranger Archival Cobalt. To frame the focal image I stamped the swirly corners from Breath of Spring using Ranger Archival Plum. To finish - Lawn Fawn Orchid twine tied in a bow.

Take a look at the details on the flowerhead... perfect stamping every time! I coloured the leaves and stems with Copics. And to really draw attention to the flowers I smothered it in Nuvo Snow Blizzard and added little blobs of Daffodil Liquid Pearls.

Challenges:
Cute Card Thursday #467: AG
Word Art Wednesday #272 & #273: AG Inspirational
Crafty Girls March: AG

These are probably not your typical spring colours, but I thought I'd live life on the edge for a change! :) On the other hand, these colours will do nicely for Lent.

Thank you so much for stopping by. I'll see you again tomorrow with another project ... and finally, the weekend!

Beijinhos

MHKDesigns March Challenge

Welcome to MHKDesigns March Challenge. Our monthly challenge begins on the 1st of each month and will end on the last day of the month. Winners will be announced on the 15th of the following month.

We want to keep our challenges fun and simple, so each each month you will get a photo prompt to inspire you. You are free to make whatever paper project you fancy - a card, scrapbook layout, a tag, a box, art journal page etc. You don't have to use MHKD products participate but if you do the theme is ANYTHING GOES.  Here is the Prompt for this challenge:

Here's my card incorporating the colours and elements from the inspiration photo. Bunny Love is the obvious choice for this challenge. And I like the peach - mint combo. So perfectly spring you can hear the birds sing!

Here's a closer look at the adorable bunny. This really is a simple card. All I did was colour in the leaves and the bunny. For the sky I used a cloud die cut and distress ink. To jazz up the tulips I gave them a coat of Gold Wink of Stella and finished the card with some sheer peach ribbon.

Challenges:
Crafting By Designs March: AG
Crafty Creations #336: AG
Crafty Gals Corner #112: Add Ribbon
Word Art Wednesday #272 & #273: AG Inspirational
The Crafty Addicts #34: AG / CAS

The winner of this Challenge stands to win some fabulous products by MHKDesigns. So make sure you follow the challenge rules and you'll be eligible for the prize. And if you need a little creative boost, you'll find more inspiration by the rest of the Design Team over at the Challenge Blog.

Thank you for stopping by today and I'm looking forward to seeing what you create for us this month.

Beijinhos,