Use your Favourite Colours - Delicious Doodles

This week's challenge at Through the Purple Haze is to use your favourite colour. This was a bit difficult for me as I have so many favourite colours. I like all sorts of bright, intense colours like red, fuchsia pink, purple, royal blue, emerald green, teal etc etc etc, but as I had to choose one I went for Red.

I had the beautiful Quiet Contemplation  from Delicious Doodles to play with. She's so beautiful that I wanted to do her justice and kept the focus of the card on her.

I mounted her on gold card and used dark red card backed with gold as the card base.

I coloured her with my Promarkers.

For her skin I my normal Coral, Sunkissed Pink and Blush, but then used Saffron and Vanilla over the top to give her a less pink and more oriental skin tone. I used Pastel Pink for her cheeks

Hair - Ice Grey 3, 4 & 5 & Black

Robe - Red, Berry Red, Cardinal Red, Burgundy

Sash and Jewellery - Pilot Super Gel Gold Pen

Flowers - Berry Red & Blender

Parasol - Henna handle, Vanilla, Satin & Ivory canopy

I cut the Chinese Characters on my Cougar. 

They mean

Peace

Tranquility

Strength

We'd love to see what you create with your favourite colours so pop over to Through the Purple Haze Challenges and join in. There are some great prizes to be won from 

Sleigh Ride with Sue - Encino Stamps

I wanted to make a fun card with this image of a Sleigh Ride with Sue (coming soon to the Encino Stamp store) so decided on a play on words to make a fun 40th Birthday card.

I used my Cougar's ability to Print and Cut to create a unique card shape with Sue riding down a lovely snowy slope. I also used it to cut the 'Happy 40th' from silver card.

I coloured Sleigh Ride with Sue with my Promarkers

Skin - Coral, Sunkissed Pink, Blush with Pastel Pink cheeks

Hair - Tulip Yellow, Sunflower, Gold, Raw Sienna

Top - Cerise, Shocking Pink*, Maroon

Trousers - Purple, Aubergine

Boots - Turquoise, Marine, Petrol Blue

Sleigh - Cocoa, Henna, Chestnut, Walnut

I sprayed some Arctic Blue and Ice Grey 1 Promarkers with my Blitzer to give a little texture to the snow.

I hope you like her. 

You can see more Encino Stamps over at the DT Blog 

Freddy the Frog

I'm so honoured and excited to have been asked to be part of the Encino Design Team. I've loved Ina's images since she opened, so when she asked me to join I was literally speechless (anyone who knows me will know what an unusual thing that is!). I'm really looking forward to colouring these lovely images. 

A little bit about me - I'm 34 yrs old. I live in the South West of England and have been crafting pretty much all of my life. My biggest love is colouring with my Promarker pens and I've been addicted to Digi Stamps for about 2 years now. I love how flexible they are and how little storage space they take up. I do all sorts of other crafting too, but Promarker colouring is my favourite. 

I made this Birthday card using the lovely Freddy the Frog and made him nice and bright and colourful as he looks like a cheery chap. 

I created the sky by cutting some cloud masks on my Cougar then spraying Sky blue, Azure and True Blue Promarkers with my hand airbrush tool. I love the effect it gives.

The font is Jokerman

I coloured Freddy using my Lime Green, Bright Green and Forest Green Promarkers.

I cut him out using the Print and Cut function on my Cougar Cutting Machine from Thyme Graphics and I put an extra cut along his front legs a little so he could be hopping over the front layer of grass (Grass border cut file).

I really hope you like him. Thanks so much Ina for inviting me onto the Team. I'm really looking forward to creating more cards.

Homemade Advent Calendar

Advent is a big thing in our house. For the last few years I've treated myself to one of the Playmobil Advent Calendars (when I can get them on special offer) and I've built up quite a following with my friends on Facebook all asking what I've got behind each day's door.

I decided to make myself an extra advent calendar this year using digi stamps and my Cougar cutting machine from Thyme Graphics . The digi stamp sets are 25 & Counting  and Jolly Bingo Bits from Stampin Up - yep - did you know they now do digi versions of some of their stamps? I'm soooooo pleased!

I designed a grid in Inkscape with doors that were attached on the left hand side and in a tiny section on the right (to keep them closed until the day). I then lined the digis up to the doors before printing them on my laser printer. I did this in 3 sections for the front and each time passed it through my Foil Master so the coloured foil attached to the laser toner. It's really difficult to capture on camera just how luxurious and shiny the foil is, but it looks really festive.

I lined the printed and foiled card up on my Cougar and cut the doors.

I arranged the Jolly Bingo Bits and printed and foiled them to make the base layer, then fixed it to the back of the front section.

Here are the first two doors open.

Happy Advent everyone x

I'd like to enter this to the following challenges:

My Mum's Craft Shop - Winter/ Christmas

Paula Holifield Challenges - Christmas Cheer

Love to Create - Holiday Gift/ 3D Project

Craft Creations - Anything Goes

Craft Spot by Kimberley - Sparkle and Shine

ABC Challenges - Almost Christmas

Sketchy Colours - Red & Green

Crafty Hands - Sparkle and Bling

Jellypark - Christmas

Things with Wings - Emma Canning

Time for a new challenge over at Digi Galore. This fortnight the theme of the challenge is 'Things with Wings' and we're sponsored by the lovely Emma Canning.

I was lucky enough to have Taylor Bell  to play with and decided to take the theme to extremes by making Taylor Bell fly while using the beautiful butterfly paper from the Do Crafts Tulip and Friends CD.

I used my Cougar Electronic Cutting Machine to cut out Taylor Bell and to create the card blank with an inverted scalloped oval shape cut out of the middle. 

To make Taylor Bell 'fly' I cut out a duplicate of her and then glued the two halves together with two lengths of invisible thread running out of the top and the bottom.

I printed the butterfly paper on card & again used my Cougar to cut it to size & cut the inverted oval out of the middle. I then glued it to the front of the card base making sure I caught the ends of the invisible thread between the butterfly card and the card base so Taylor Bell was suspended and looked like she's flying.  I added some Stickles to some of the butterflies to add a little sparkle. You can hardly see the invisible threads so they do their job well.

I coloured Taylor Bell with my Promarkers:

Skin - Coral, Sunkissed Pink, Blush with Pastel Pink cheeks

Hair - Tulip Yellow, Sunflower, Gold, Raw Sienna

Dress - Lime Green, Bright Green, Forest Green

Wand - Cocoa

Wings - Crystal Stickles

I really hope you like her & I'm looking forward to seeing your entry into 'Things with Wings' at Digi Galore 

I would like to enter the following challenges:
Cute Card Thursdays - Sparkles
Flutter By Wednesday - Any Winged Creature

Fortune Teller Betty

It's challenge time over at Simply Betty and this month we had Fortune Teller Betty to play with. I decided to go with the fortune teller theme and designed a Crystal ball shaped card which I cut on my Cougar from Thyme Graphics. I used acetate to give the effect of a crystal ball and used Print and Cut to cut around Fortune Teller Betty & the sentiment.

Ignore the strange light effect at the top - with the acetate it was hard to get a clear photo as the light always caught somewhere.

As you can see the card is folded at the top and the ball at the front, and the whole of the back section is stiff acetate.

I added a border of Stickles around the edge to add to the Crystal Ball effect.

As always I used my Promarkers & I've actually hardly ever used more colours.

Skin - Coral, Sunkissed Pink, Blush, with Pastel Pink Cheeks

Lips - Antique Pink

Hair - Ice Grey 3,4,5 & Black

Eyes - Green, Lush Green

Headband & Skirt - Orange, Ruby, Berry Red, Cardinal Red, Burgundy

Top - Ivory, Satin, Vanilla

Cocoa, Henna, Walnut

Skirt - Orange, Berry Red, Marine, Vanilla,

Chair - Burgundy, Pilot Gold Gel Pen

Tablecloth - Ivory Satin, Pilot Gold Gel Pen

Crystal ball - Acetate & Crystal Stickles

Bas - Cocoa, Henna, Walnut.

I hope you like it x

Through the Purple Haze Challenges - I'm on the DT!!!!

Hi Everyone, I have exciting news to share with you today! As you know I've been following the Through the Purple Haze Challenge blog since it launched a few months ago. I've really enjoyed taking part in the weekly challenges, so when an opportunity came up to apply for the DT I thought I'd give it a go. I wasn't expecting anything to come of it, so was amazed when my application was accepted! It seems like a really nice team of people and the challenges coming up are brilliant so I'm delighted to be part of the team.

My first project as part of the DT is part of the Double Team Challenge where Team A & Team B go up against each other & everyone who enters gets to vote for the winning DT creation so it adds an extra spice.

The challenge this week was to follow a sketch.

Our sponsor for Team A is Stitchy Bear and I had 'Waiting for You' by Priyanka to play with. 

Here's the card I created.

Here's a close up of pretty Waiting for you

I coloured her using my Promarkers and Flexmarkers (shown with a *)

Skin - Coral, Sunkissed Pink, Blush

Hair - Tulip Yellow, Sunflower, Gold, Raw Sienna

Dress - Cerise, Shocking Pink*, Maroon

Wings - Pink Carnation, Cerise, Shicking Pink, Marooon

Foliage - Leaf greem, Bright Green, Pine

Flowers - Pink Carnation, Cerise 

Sky - Powder Blue

I added quite a few layers to add dimension. I cut the Flower Doily and Grass border on my Cougar Cutting Machine. I also designed and cut the 'Hi' sentiment and Tag on it then coloured the mirri card shocking pink to tie in with her dress.

Don't you just love my daisys? They're made by the very talented Sam of Samaflora. I've been itching to use them for a while and thought they fitted this card perfectly!

I also tried a new technique to make the sky. I had a cloud mask from Sam's Masks and Stencils and I followed her tutorial on using Chipped Sapphire Distress Inks with the foam tool to make the clouds. I've owned some Distress Inks for a while now, but this is the first time I've used them. I need to practice and master them more. For the grass at the bottom I dabbed it with Mown Grass Distress Ink on a foam tool.

Anyway enough from me today. I hope you like it and I'd love to hear what you think so leave me a little message. 

Don't forget to pop over to Through the Purple Haze Challenges and join in - see you there x

I'd like to enter this into the following challenges:

One Stitch at a Time - Use a digi

Kenny K Skateboarder - something a little different!

The challenge at Through the Purple Haze this week is 'Funky' & the sponsor is Kenny K. I love Kenny K's images & there are so many of his that fit the 'funky' category that it was hard to choose.

I was lucky enough to win Airborne a while ago & decided he fitted the bill perfectly! For some reason I came up with the idea of him jumping through some stars & making a really 3D Card (you know how my brain works - it never goes for the obvious!). It was a bit of a challenge but with the help of you trusty Cougar electronic machine I made it work. I made all of the base with stars designed in Inkscape, then layered them up and cut out and coloured Airborne. with my Promarkers.

At an angle you get a bit more of an idea of the angle at which he's jumping out of the card!

From above you can see how I've built dimension in with foam pads between each of the stars.

I made a stand at the back to help keep the stars standing upright.

I used a card stack from Lidl to make the stars and some silver mirri card on the base to add impact.

Promarkers Used:

Skin - Coral, Sunkissed Pink, Blush with Pastel Pink cheeks

Hair - Tulip Yellow, Gold, Raw Sienna

Eyes - Sky Blue, True Blue

Helmet & Board - Red, Berry Red, Crimson, Burgundy

Jacket - Green, Lush Green, Pine

Jeans - Cobalt Blue, China Blue, Midnight Blue

T-Shirt Accents - Sky Blue, True Blue

Wheels - Ice Grey 2, Ice Grey 5, Black

I hope you like him. He challenged my brain a bit to make him, but I'm really pleased with the result.

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges:

Creative Corner Challenge - Child's Play

Sister Act Card Challenge - Anything Goes

Creative Craft Challenges - Not a Square

The PaperNest Dolls Challenges - Shaped Cards

Card Crafters Circle - One for the Boys

Dylusions, Home Made Masks & Ryn's Koi Carp

Well now for something completely different. The amazing Sam came to stay with me on Sunday & we went to a crafty get together on Monday which was great fun. She did a demonstration of how to make the glorious tags she makes. Now I'm normally a tidy crafter so this was a bit of a step out of my comfort zone to say the least but wow was it fun! I'll show you the ones I made with her at a different time as now I want to share the ones I made today.

The techniques Sam showed us included spraying with Dylusions, using Masks, using Distress Paints and many many others. Luckily enough my own Dylusions arrived yesterday so I am now able to play. Aren't they pretty! I'm in love already!

Sam had showed us some beautiful techniques with masks and as I don't have any of my own I decided to make some on my trusty Cougar. I had some A4 plastic zipper wallets from Asda in the house & cutting the edge off gave me a nice piece of plastic to work with. It cut beautifully and at only 55p per folder it's a bargain price.

Here are the results - this one is Birds Cards Background 1

This fish scales one came out slightly wrong as my cutter stood itself down part way though the cut, but I actually really like the effect so it was a happy accident.

I used tags & sprayed Midnight Blue and Calypso Teal Dylusions through the gaps in the mask. The one on the left has cosmic shimmer spray applied as well.

I also experimented with spraying the whole tag with Midnight Blue & Calypso Teal. I then applied the mask & sprayed cosmic shimmer water thorough the gaps before removing the mask & blotting the tag with some kitchen towel. This removed a bit of the ink from the sprayed areas making them lighter.

The tag on the right was made by taking the sprayed side of the mask & applying it to a plain tag.

This tag was made using Crushed Grape & Cherry Pie Dylusions, placing the other mask over the tag & spraying with water, then dabbing with a piece of kitchen towel.

I like all of the effects & am so pleased I an make my own masks

I had a think for a while about how to complete my tag - this is what I came up with:

I've stamped & embossed a swirl from the Inkadinkado set Dot Flourishes and embossed it with green and holographic embossing powders to make the pond plant.

The sentiment is from the Stampin' Up hostess set Occasional Sayings

The Koi are amazing rubber stamps from Designs By Ryn I stamped them, sprayed them with Dylusions, then cut them out & embossed them with clear embossing powder to make them look even more realistic.

I hope you like them. I've had a great time playing & am looking forward to making more. Thanks for the inspiration & tutoring Sam x

Digi Galore Challenge - Anything but a Square

It's that time of the month again - time for a new challenge on the Digi Galore blog. This time we're lucky enough to have the lovely Betty of Simply Betty Stamps as our sponsor, and you can win 3 SBS images.

The challenge this fortnight is to make something Anything but a Square. It's funny as I've just got into making square cards & love making them, but this was a fun challenge. I'd seen a circle easel card on one of the forums I'm on and decided to use that idea.

 I used Doily Circles 2 from Birds Cards and added a base to it to form the easel which I cut on my Cougar cutting machine. I cut a single Doily Circle 2 & printed Confetti London in the centre. I then coloured her with my trusty Promarkers.

As you can see the easel construction means it stands up on it's own. I used adhesive pearls (coloured with Promarkers) as the 'stop' to make the easel card work. The Happy Birthday stamp is a wooden stamp (brand unknown).

As you can see the card fold flat for postage.

I then decided Confetti London looked a little lonely, so I made her a friend using Kams Heart (retired Digi (No longer available))

Don't they make a cute couple!

Don't forget to pop over to the Digi Galore Blog and enter your own Anything But a Square creation. 

Simply Betty Spring Basket Swap

Over on the Simply Betty Facebook Fan page Betty & Corinne organise fun swaps between the members several times a year. There's a set theme, set budget and Betty often gives a Digi specially to be used to make something for your swap buddy. I've always been a bit scared of them as they seem to contain so many amazing things, but I thought I'd join in the fun this time.

There's a great blog hop on today where everyone gets to show the goodies we got. We've all been sitting on our hands & working very hard not to let on what we got until today - it's been so difficult! So now it's time to reveal all! You should have arrived with me from Stacey. If you've just randomly found me welcome :D You can start the blog hop from the beginning here at the Simply Betty Blog

I was lucky enough to have the amazingly talented Erin as a swap partner. She's an incredibly talented lady & an amazing persons so I was really lucky to be paired with her. She treated me BIG Style!!!! Look at all the goodies she sent me!

I opened the packet & found this Easter bag crammed with goodies just waiting to be explored!

 Inside was this adorable rabbit bag stuffed to the brim!

Unpacking I found aaaaallllllll of this!!! Who knew a rabbit could hold this much love!

Here are close ups of my gorgeous goodies

Yummy yummy edibles!

Sparkles!!!

More lovely goodies including a bookmark made by Erin

Amazing charms!

Great stamps & embellishments :D

Gorgeous paper pads - I'm determined to master the use of paper pads

and finally what must be my favourite - two Gorjuss stamp sets. These have had a lot of use already!

I consider myself to be very very lucky. Thank you so much Erin - I hope you were nearly as pleased with the goodies I sent you.

Here's a sneak peak of the basket I sent to Erin - you'll be stopping by her blog a little later on the hop x

She even got her very own personalised block of chocolate (I love what I can do with my Cougar!)

Your next stop on the Blog Hop is the lovely Louise Mann  so keep on hopping