Tuesday 23 December 2014

CASology 127 - Light


This week's CASology Cue Card is Light. Actually, this one's a two-week challenge.



A perfect cue-card for this time of year when our days (at least up here in the northern hemisphere) are so short! But I decided to use a different meaning for light.

I created a frame for my Inkadinkado sentiment with a Creatiate feather. It's very easy to keep one-layer cards CAS. I used only two stamps and two colours and left plenty of white space.

Now it's your turn. Over the next two weeks, create a card with a 'light' theme and link it up. There's lots more inspiration from the rest of the DT, too:

Sunday 21 December 2014

Daisy Take Two


I had so much fun making the blue daisy for Muse that I thought I'd try again. I went for warmer colours (Festive Berries, Worn Lipstick and Mustard Seed) and a little more drama this time, by backing the daisy on black. Same Expressions in Ink sentiment.

Saturday 20 December 2014

Muse 98 - Happy Birthday


I love Marion's fun, whimsical Muse this week:




And I love all the fun, whimsical interpretations in the challenge gallery. I chose to focus on the colour scheme and layout but changed the feeling a bit.

I cut the Penny Black flower once in white and 3 times in black and stacked them all together. I sponged the white layer with Salty Ocean and Chipped Sapphire and then popped a yellow (sponged with Marmalade) centre on top. I coated the whole thing in Glossy Accents and added an Ink Essentials (oops - Expressions in Ink) sentiment.

There is still a little time to play along - the deadline is Monday at 8 am. Voting will start at that time and continue until 8 am on Tuesday morning. Results will be posted on Tuesday at noon.

And that will be it from Muse until 2015! We'll take a little break over the holidays and return with DT Member Vicki Dutcher on January 5.

Wednesday 17 December 2014

Snowy Inspiration


CASology is made up of an amazing team of designers, each of whom has her own style and I'm often inspired by all of them.

This set of cards was inspired by both GD Laura's card, as well as Jen's card. At some point, I am going to figure out how to case May's card - did you see that clean embossing?!

(and I apologize for the photos - one of the consolations of living in Toronto in the winter is that even when it's cold, we often get lovely, crisp, sunny (ie good photography) days, but I don't think we've seen the sun since December started!)



For the first card I used a Tim Holtz Joy die (disappointed with the less-than-clean cut) and an unknown little snowflake (it's one of my faves). The second two will be given to my kids for Christmas. I used an MB alpha,  a Lil' Inkers Designs snowflake for 'noel' and an unknown snowflake for joy.

Tuesday 16 December 2014

CASology 126 - Snow


This week's CASology Cue Card is Snow



You know there are so many opinions about what makes a clean and simple card. At CASology we have our own guidelines.

1. One main image. Check.

2. Lots of open space. Check.

3. Limited Layers and embellishments - here's where I maybe went a little off the rails. There are 6 layers here - black card base, white panel, 3 stacked die cut snowflake frames (Simon Says Stamp) and 1 black merry (Essentials by Ellen). I sponged one of the panels with 3 different colours of blue and got very inky. Hmm.

4. Quick and easy to recreate. Well. It's not difficult, but it does take some tools and time.

So, is this a CAS card?

I would say that it's definitely a clean card - lots of white space, simple shapes, clean edges, no distressing.

Maybe it's not so simple. What do you think? Healthy discussion and presentation of different points of view are important and definitely make life more interesting!

Be sure to get more inspiration from the rest of the DT:

and this week's Guest Designer: Laura

I'm also thrilled to finally be able to link up to Merry Monday (winter theme)  - I've seen their challenges whoosh by each week with every intention of playing along, and this week I've finally done it!




Saturday 13 December 2014

Muse 97 - Sunshine



Here's my card for this week's Muse challenge, which is Therese's final challenge with us.
Here's the super-fun card she gave us as inspiration for this week:




I focused on the colours, and tried to use similar elements - a white frame, blue sky, yellow/orange image and elements on the grey card base, as well as the simple black sentiment.

I used a Papertrey frame die, with the centre portion sponged with a variety of blue distress inks. I can not remember where the sun die came from, but I sponged it in yellow and orange, stacked it up and added a little bit of yellow Stickles. I popped all this up over some clouds (also unknown) cut in the same colour as the card base. I finished it with a CASual Fridays sentiment.

I know you all join me in thanking Therese for all her inspiration and hard work for Muse over the last couple of years and also in wishing her all the best in her future endeavours!

The deadline for this week's challenge is Monday at 8 am. Voting will start at that time and continue until Tuesday at 8. Results will be posted at noon on Tuesday. Hope to see you there!

Friday 12 December 2014

Holiday Inspiration Group - 12 Days of Christmas - DAY 12





Welcome to Day 12 of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration Blog Event brought to you by "The Inspiration Crew".  What a ride it's been! I hope you've enjoyed seeing all these Christmas projects!

Every year, I make 80 photo cards for a friend. This is the design we settled on for this year. It's a hybrid card - "From the Taylors 2014" is printed using "Just Realize" font, which we love because it looks handwritten and contrasts with the block font of the Merry Christmas from Gina K, stamped in Smoky Slate. The white panel is embossed above the sentiment using a Papertrey Impression Plate. I think it worked really well because the edge gave a nice strong border. The sparkly snowflake is from Clearly Besotted.

Here's your last chance to visit all the participants of 12 Days for lots of holiday inspiration!

Thursday 11 December 2014

Holiday Inspiration Group - 12 Days of Christmas - DAY 11



Welcome to Day 11 of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration Blog Event brought to you by "The Inspiration Crew". 

This card was inspired by Lesley Croghan. In fact I bought this set because of Lesley's card. I loved her watercoloured, loose look and waited impatiently for the set to arrive.

I decided to use one of my favourite techniques to make this sparkly and glossy. I call it "Faux Cloisonne" (I'm sure you're impressed with my French!) and I do it by heat-embossing an image, colouring it (with copics in this case) and then smearing Stickles all over it. It's a bit of a messy technique for me, but I always love the sparkly results!

Remember to visit all the crafty ladies for loads of fun Holiday craft ideas.

Wednesday 10 December 2014

Holiday Inspiration Group - 12 Days of Christmas - DAY 10



Welcome to Day 10 of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration Blog Event brought to you by "The Inspiration Crew". 

This card was made 24 times as part of my Church Christmas Card project. I used a Printworks Sentiment, and a Stamplorations bell. I love that they both have a sketchy feel and to continue that, I doodled the frame around the edges. This provides a bit of definition without another layer of cardstock, and it's easy to do - no precision required!

I coloured the ribbons in the colours of the Salvation Army (my church) flag - yellow for fire, red for blood and blue for holiness. I added a layer of sparkle to the bells with a Silver Wink of Stella pen.

Here is a list of all the crafty ladies participating in this event. Be sure to visit all the blogs each day for loads of fun Holiday craft ideas.

Tuesday 9 December 2014

CASology 125 - Silver



This week's CASology Cue Card is Silver!



There are so many ways to interpret this cue card, but I went with a Silver wedding anniversary.

From Wikipedia:

The historic origins of wedding anniversaries date back to the Holy Roman Empire, when husbands crowned their wives with a silver wreath on their twenty-fifth anniversary, and a gold wreath on the fiftieth

We're at 17 1/2 years - well on my way to my silver crown! Can't wait!

While I'm waiting, I cut the letters out with Memory Box Urban Lower Case alphabet and added some tiny stars. Then I started to try and get a good photo! Not easy to capture, especially with cloudy grey weather! Anyway, you get the idea!

Now it's your turn - which way will this Cue Card take you?

Be sure to check out the rest of the DT blogs for more silver inspiration!

Holiday Inspiration Group - 12 Days of Christmas - DAY 9




Welcome to Day 9 of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration Blog Event brought to you by "The Inspiration Crew". 

This card is Pinterest inspired:


DR Koncerthuset - Rune Høgsberg

I used a Deep Red sentiment and a Walztingmouse tree. I love the graphic look of the bright colours and blocks of font. I started with the red sentiment in the centre - I wanted there to be at least one full impression - and then built the pattern from there.

Be sure to visit all the crafty ladies in this event for loads of fun Holiday craft ideas.

Monday 8 December 2014

Holiday Inspiration Group - 12 Days of Christmas - DAY 8




Welcome to Day 8 of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration Blog Event brought to you by "The Inspiration Crew".  We’re a group of online crafty blog friends who love being creative. This time we're doing a 12-day event to provide you with tons of Holiday Inspiration.

This card was a real labour of love. I cased it from Kristina Werner's gorgeous card and made it while on our trip to the Lake House.

I made 24 of these and it was a great lesson in sponging. Normally I wouldn't do such labour-intensive cards as mass-production, but the week away seemed like the perfect time to invest the time to get better at this skill. The ladies will definitely recall that after I completed each one, I would call out "this is the best one yet!". It seriously takes practice to get the blending and placement of the colours correct, and I even went back and 'fixed' a few of my early ones later in the process.

I used Antique Linen, Victorian Velvet, Seedless Preserves, Cracked Sapphire and Black. I used a Taylored Expressions die and sentiment. I also used (for the first time ever) a shimmer spray that I bought on our trip, in Biscotti. The whole sky shimmers!

Don't forget to visit all the crafty ladies participating in this event for lots of fun Holiday craft ideas.

Sunday 7 December 2014

Holiday Inspiration Group - 12 Days of Christmas - DAY 7



Welcome to Day 7 of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration Blog Event brought to you by "The Inspiration Crew".  We’re a group of online crafty blog friends who love being creative. This time we're doing a 12-day event to provide you with tons of Holiday Inspiration.

This card was inspired by Anita. I made it very early in the year as part of my Church Christmas Card project. When you make 24 of one design, they have to be pretty simple and the most difficult part of this one was to wait long enough for the brown ink on the Hero Arts image to dry before sponging the sky and ground. The sentiment is from the same Hero Arts set.

Here is a list of all the crafty ladies participating in this event. Be sure to visit all the blogs each day for loads of fun Holiday craft ideas!

Saturday 6 December 2014

Holiday Inspirations Group 12 Days of Christmas - Day 6/Muse 96 - Merry Christmas




Welcome to Day 6 of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration Blog Event brought to you by "The Inspiration Crew". 

This is also my card for this week's Muse challenge, where DT Member Vicki gave us this fun card for inspiration:



I focused on the colours, using a black Winnie & Walter sentiment on craft, a green (Mossy Meadow) die cut (Stampin' Up stamp and die) with dimension (created by white enamel accents), and a big white polka dot on on red.

Here's a list of all the crafty ladies participating in this event. Be sure to visit all the blogs each day for loads of fun Holiday craft ideas.

Friday 5 December 2014

Holiday Inspiration Group - 12 Days of Christmas - DAY 5




Welcome to Day 5 of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration Blog Event brought to you by "The Inspiration Crew".  We’re a group of online crafty blog friends who love being creative. This time we're doing a 12-day event to provide you with tons of Holiday Inspiration.

This card is yet another of my Church Christmas cards. I love how festive red and white look together and I cut this Savvy peace die and a dove die (can't figure out where I got it! - updated November 20, 2015 - it's a Die-Versions die), embossed them with iridescent embossing powder for some sparkle and laid them onto a bright red panel.

Be sure to visit all the ladies playing along each day for loads of fun Holiday craft ideas.

Thursday 4 December 2014

Holiday Inspiration Group - 12 Days of Christmas - DAY 4




Welcome to Day 4 of the 12 Days of Holiday Inspiration Blog Event brought to you by "The Inspiration Crew".  We’re a group of online crafty blog friends who love being creative. This time we're doing a 12-day event to provide you with tons of Holiday Inspiration.

This is another simple card I made 24 times for my Church Christmas Card project. I used a Stampin' Up Angel stamped in Smoky Slate, a Stampabilities sentiment stamped in Versafine Onyx and embossed with clear embossing powder. I finished it with some dots of silver Stickles. To save paper, I created the black border by running a thick marker around the edge of the paper.

Don't forget to visit all the crafty ladies participating in this event each day for loads of fun Holiday craft ideas!