Flying High

Whilst I was busy stamping watercolour effect backgrounds I made a second card, this time for the challenge which goes live today at The Male Room. It's a special day too as we are welcoming four new designers to the team! Today's challenge is a theme and, somewhat predictably (although we are a challenge blog for cards for guys, so we have a very valid excuse) we have chosen

And here is my card

I used two inks, Tempting Turquoise and Crushed Curry to make my skyscape for the little plane to fly out of. I don't own the stamp, I just borrowed it from the craft club leader. It is stamped in Always Artichoke.

I made a banner and stamped the greeting also from a stamp set which I borrowed (it's fun to play with other people's stash and share yours too!). After fussy cutting out the banner I popped it up on 

foam. I had the idea of it trailing behind the plane but just couldn't get it to work here.

I love the way the ink has pooled and dripped and spread over the shimmer cardstock.

There is a fun watercolour challenge at another CAS challenge blog AAA cards which I will pop this card into.

Blooming Summer

As it is school holiday here in the UK I had time to sit and craft this morning to bring you my card for the new colour challenge at CAS Colours and Sketches, a rare luxury these days. I also went to a new catalogue launch for Stampin Up yesterday evening and can't wait to get my hands on some of the new colours and stamp sets, so I've been having a crafty few days, which all started on Tuesday with a trip to my regular craft club. We were using acrylic blocks to produce water colour effects and so I have incorporated that into today's card.

Can you see the colours? Aren't they lovely and summery?

I used an old set, I think it was saleABration, and I think it's called Bloomin' Marvellous to stamp the flower and the bird (can you see his iridescent eye?)The sentiment is, of course, from Happiest Birthday wishes. I have ordered some new sentiment stamps...hurray you say!

Finally, I decorated the inside of the card, unusual for me, with some DP and then cut a white mat to allow a message to be written and finished with another tiny bird stamp.

simply Sketched Sympathy

I have a really clean and simple Sympathy card to share with you and CAS Colours &Sketches. Once I'd found the stamp which felt right with the sketch it was a simple matter of stamping and colouring, I've even kept it one layer, how's that for simplicity?

The two important elements here are the diagonal and the reducing size. I've used Simply Sketched and Perfectly Preserved to create my card, I hope you can see the sketch

I used Promarkers to colour the image and my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to get the positioning just right.

I'm not in need of a sympathy card, luckily, but I like to have a couple ready. I like this design very much, funny how sometimes it all just clicks so quickly into place. Usually I'm still working on my cards hours after I start!

Blackberry Lagoon

Wow, these Thursday's come around quick! It's time for a new challenge from the team at CAS Colours & Sketches and it's a colour challenge, using two of the retiring in-colours from Stampin Up. You don't have to use SU colours, just match them up!
You will notice that my 'white space' isn't white at all! That's OK for CAS cards, well, in my book anyway

These are the colours

I used Blackberry Bliss card stock for the mat and then stamped the sentiment from Happiest Birthday wishes in Versamark and heat embossed with metallic silver. I usually use this sentiment on masculine cards but I wanted to have a feminine touch on this one. I figured the BB and the Lost Lagoon would look good with two step stamping so I chose a flower from Stippled Blossoms.

After fussy cutting the flower I added a few touches of silver sparkles and then used foam pads to both pop up the mat and then the flower

A super quick card, made without having to stamp and restamp because I'd made a hash of it the first time. Happy me!

Critter Card

I'm not sure I know what a 'critter' actually is but I'm hoping it includes reptiles as I've used my little gecko stamp on my card for The Male Room today. I certainly don't have any bug stamps....I'm not a fan.

At first I thought of stamping the little gecko repeatedly to make a background. I got all the way to the finished card and decided it didn't work...too busy. I picked the parts I liked best and distilled them into this, much more CAS card

I liked the little fussy cut gecko, with his shiny eyes, I liked the tail of the gecko stamped on the edge as if he's just wandered across the card....

...and I liked the colouring in of the lettering when it was just a few solid lines, not too accurate. This time I also went for monotone, using a Promarkers pen, yep, it's all done with just one pen and one ink pad, Mossy Meadow.

Finishing touches include a black mat. 

The Cats whiskers

There is a new challenge today from CAS Colours & Sketches and it's a real clean and simple sketch

I've made the diagonals with washi tape and tried to pick up the colours in the cats eyes and collar tag.

Matting the white background onto a white card with foam pads always gives a CAS card a crisp look, I think

To add a bit of interest I fussy cut out the little cats' head and also popped that up, which also allowed me to overlap the washi tape.

It's a bit of a cute card for me, but to be honest I was lacking a bit in creative mojo and time. I am pleased to have used up some of my stash (the washi tape) and a stamp set that I rarely use.

Happiness is a man on his Bicycle....

Just squeaked in with this one for The Male Room as I got carried away making a card for a swap challenge, which has taken me most of the day! Lucky I knew what I wanted to do. I have used one of my favourite colour combos, Kraft, red and white, usually reserved for Christmas cards, well, for me anyway. The theme this time is transport. Good one for me, I'm married to a transport modeller, a Dutchman, who is bound to like this card!

I am into using some of my older stamps and Pedal Presents doesn't come out of the box very often. The Happy die cut is from Hello You and the birthday is from Best Dad Ever.

I used my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig to make sure the cake was exactly in the right position.

I hope you like my CAS take on the theme. There is a DT call too, over at the challenge blog and we'd love you to join us, creating masculine projects (not just cards) fortnightly.