Teeny weenie iris folding

I have never done iris folding on this small of a scale before so I was most interested to see if I could manage it. With a few adjustments it was as easy as larger iris fold designs I have made. I started by stamping this iris fold design, QIR075, from Stamp N Plus Scrap N twice on white cardstock. I stamped once for the entire design and once for the center circle which gave me the lines to follow.

After cutting out the center section, I coloured the entire design with Prismacolor pencils. I redotted the large dots with black acrylic paint and the smaller dots with Micron pen and set the piece aside to dry. In the meantime, I cut the center circle out from the second stamping, cutting outside of the lines to make the piece larger than the circle. When the coloured image was dry, I taped that piece face down over the circle section so that the lines showed through to the back of the main piece through the hole I had cut out. In other words, I had the right sdie of the center circle piece taped against the right side of the main image so that the lines showed through the hole.

Normally, I use folded pieces of thin paper for my layered strips. Because the opening was so small and the layered strips so thin, I chose to use unfolded 1/4" strips which I inked on one long edge. That served two purposes: the inking better shows the layers and the white edge of the paper was now black so it didn't look unfinished. Instead of using double sided or scotch tape for adhering each strip around the circle, I usedQuick-Dry glue just on either end, again reducing the bulk considerably. Then I just followed the lines round and round. It was completed in no time and I love how intricate the pattern looks.

I cut out the stamped and coloured design and adhered it to the turquoise rectangle made from the same paper as the iris folds. Then I just continued to layer up cardstock alternating colours and inking the edges with Distress Ink. Two little flat pearls anchor the lines from the design that extend beyond the coloured sections The sentiment was computer generated, cut out using an oval template. inked, matted, and dotted with more black paint.


I really kept the card design very clean and simple in order to let the colour palette and the strong and intricate pattern take center stage. It reminds me of a Navajo rug with the rich colours, graphic design, and punch of black. If you haven't tried iris folding yet, I urge you to give it a go. It's easy and pleasey...oh, you know what I mean :)

Thanks for visiting today. Happy Halloween...eat chocolate!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

CYP Challenge 134 - Photo Inspiration

Another Monday has arrived and with it, another Craft Your Passion challenge. This one has a bit of a different twist because it's a photo inspiration challenge. I've never actually done this type of challenge before so it was pushing the envelope a little for me. Gotta say...it was fun!

Here's the photo:

And here's my take on it:

I took inspiration from the sun in the photo but switched it out to the moon which became the shape of the card. I cut it from two pieces of yellow cardstock. On the top layer, I printed this sweet A Day For Daisies image, Spooky tree, to mimic the tree in the photo. The bottom circle was scored a half inch from the top and then set aside to become the card back.

The image was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and the circle was inked around the outside edge with two colours of Distress ink. A doodled border was added over the ink. A tiny black witch silhouette was fussy cut and adhered over the moon and rub-on lettering created the sentiment.

Such a simple little card. I am amazed that I actually only have one layer as the front of my card. Don't think I've ever done that before either...at least since I was a kid. To put the front and back of the card together, glue was added to the top half inch of the back above the score line. This allows the card to open without creasing the front.

Thanks for visiting today. Be sure to visit the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog for more inspiration from our design team. I can't wait to see how you interpret this photo in your design. It's a wide open challenge.

I am entering this card in the following challenges::
So Artful Challenges ~ Harvest Moon Challenge
Scrappy Frogs Challenge ~ Fall or Halloween
Sentimental Sundays ~ Challenge 126 Pumpkins
2 Sisters Challenge ~ Challenge 115 Halloween or Fall Colours
Crafty Mess Challenge Blog ~ Challenge 20  Halloween


Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

AWNB and RRR Halloween challenge Week 4

I'm doing the twofer again...two projects for one post :) We are continuing our Halloween challenges at Art With No Boundaries and Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent. We've all had so much fun with this theme and these images that we'll hate to see it end.

For the Art With No Boundaries challenge, I decided to be brave and work on the first page of my brand new 9x12 journal. Usually, I do other pages first and then come back to the first page once I'm warmed up. This time, I just went for it :) I actually like this size journal because sometimes I want more room to play. I started by gessoing the page and then adhering dictionary page pieces with gel medium. Then I did my usual make-a-mess-and-create-lots-of layers background. I used things like spray and regular inks, stencils, gesso on my finger, some stamps, Pitt pen, FC Big Brush pens, Neocolor II crayons, punchinella, acrylic paint, etc.

Next I shaded the edges of the fun and funky CS Designs striped forest tree which was printed on kraft paper, and cut it out.  A little gel medium and the background was ready for the fruit :) The Shrunken Head 1 image from CS Designs was printed numerous times in different sizes (I love my digis) and each was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and fussy cut. They were mounted to black punched circles and "hung" on the tree with baker's twine. A sparkly sun, lots of doodling, a stencilled and cutout raven, drywall tape, and a crazy sentiment that made me laugh were all added. The whole page is a little weird but definitely fun.

The RRR project is an 8x8 canvas starring the lovely Raven Digital stamp from CS Designs. Neocolor II watercolour crayons were used for the background colour and then many of the same things listed above were used to add texture. The additional items used  to stamp on this piece were a piece of flipflop sole smeared with paint and piece of bubble wrap inked. Anything that makes a mark is fair game. I freehanded a tree shape on kraft paper, cut it out, crumpled it into a ball, and then inked the  daylights out of it before adhering it to the canvas.

Raven was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and then fussy cut. A purple rhinestone heart was added to her waist. Then Raven and I made her a nest out of recycled burlap, reclaimed feathers, leftover paper branches from another project, a piece of yarn on my closet floor, an old button, and a pearl stuck to my desktop. Raven was happy to stand in her nest while I added her name in foam letters, a canvas banner, and a TH keyhole plate. Doodling finished this canvas off.

These pieces were created with pure play....very little thinking, planning, and no second guessing. Try it - it's addictive. For lots more inspiration check out the two blogs to see what the DT and our guest designer, BlackDragon, have created. Love, love, love!

Thanks for visiting us today...and for reading this big, long post. I appreciate it!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

SNP Dog-gone Halloween....the Sequel :D

I couldn't resist playing with this  Stamp N Plus Scrap N Peter Pup stamp, PP13, for another Halloween card. Once again I coloured Peter with Prismacolor pencils. I cut him out using a Spellbinders die which I also used to trace the black mat. The die the next size down was traced in Black Micron pen and then thickened to make a doodled type of frame. It just adds a little more interest to the image.

The background comes from my favourite DCWV Midnight Spell matstack layered on black cardstock for added visual weight. Orange grosgrain ribbon was adhered to the background on either side of the image and black spider stickers were placed on top of the ribbon. Two black threaded buttons were the final embellies for this CAS card.

Easy-peasy and fun to colour. Gotta love it!

Thanks for visiting Peter and me. We always appreciate your visits and your comments.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

CYP Challenge #133 ~ Fairies and Fantasy

 We have a fun theme for our challenge this week at Craft Your Passion Challenges...Fairies and Fantasy. I chose to play with this fabulous image from Delicious Doodles called Fairy Fae. She's a beauty and those butterflies are so sweet.

I coloured Fae and her friends with Prismacolor pencils adding a smear of Stickles to her wings for extra magic. I printed the image twice but only coloured the butterflies on the second image so they could be fussy cut and adhered to the other ones just in the center. This allowed their wings to be free and created additional dimension.

Papers from Graphic 45's Once Upon a Springtime collection were used both for the background and for the semicircular element to the right of Fae. A doodled border and some simple cream matting gave it additional weight. A die cut lacy border with half pearls added was used to trim the left side of the card and add contrast to the vibrant colours. More pearls accent a doodled corner and gold buttons finish off the lower right corner..

Fae is only one of a huge collection of gorgeous images found at Delicious Doodles. To see more inspiration using other images, check out the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog. Fabulous projects by the CYP design team again this week!

Thanks for dropping by to meet Fae. I look forward to seeing what you create for this challenge theme. Bring on the magic!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Eureka Stamps #11 ~ Things With Wings
Make It Monday ~ Anything Goes
Challenges 4 Everybody ~ Anything Goes

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Chalk-Ah-Lot challenge - Orange

Although the leaves in this part of Ontario are past their peak and some trees are bare, others are still gorgeous and the colours are among my favourites. That's what inspired this card today.

 

 

I used one of the new Ardith Trumpy, As the Crow Flies, kids from Stamp N Plus Scrap N as the focal for my fall celebration card. This fortnight's challenge at SNP's sister blog, Chalk-Ah-Lot Cafe, is to include the colour orange and the SNP powdered chalk on a project. Before stamping this sweet image, I prepared my chalked background for the brick wall. I painted a small area of white cardstock with Buzz N Magic paint and then pounced into the wet paint with 3 colours of chalk using a scruffy brush. This paint gives a lovely shimmer to the chalked background, allows the colours to stay very vibrant, and sets the chalk so it doesn't rub off. When I had the colour blend that I wanted for the bricks, I painted a thin coat of the paint over the chalked section...more shimmer and more setting before I added the image.

I stamped Alice twice: once on the chalked cardstock for the bricks and once on white cardstock for Alice herself. The brick grout and a bit of shading were added with Prismacolor pencils and wee Alice was coloured with the same. The grass was coloured with a FC Big Brush pen. The brick wall was cut out and then Alice was fussy cut and adhered on top of the wall. Her checked dress lines were added with a Micron pen. Alice and the wall were then adhered to a scalloped circle whose edges had been inked.

The card base and circle were created with MME Reunion paper, with the BG matted on brown textured cardstock. Two pieces of brown grosgrain ribbon were wrapped around the background section before adhering the Alice piece with foam dots. Two silk leaves were overlapped on the right side of the card and chipboard circle  letters were popped up on the leaves. A brown button threaded with orange baker's twine and three small half pearls were placed in opposite corners to finish off this card.

Alice is a sweetie, sitting on her shimmery brick wall, watching the leaves fall. Thanks for dropping by. Be sure to hop over to the Chalk-Ah-Lot Cafe blog to see what other inspiration Cindy has in store for this challenge. I'm really enjoying these chalks and the Buzz N Magic paint. I wasn't a fan of the pressed palette chalks but these give me so many options for techniques that I'm lovin' them.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Crafty Cardmakers #77 ~  Autumn
Forever Friends #47 ~ Autumn
Kaboodle Doodles #142 ~ Fall


Life is good; so is art.


Bonnie

Cutie-Pie Witch

Happy Friday! Just one more sleep 'til my birthday! LOL

I'm still in the Halloween mood, so I thought I'd create a cute Halloween card using  two Tiddly Inks images and a sentiment. I used Witchy Wryn which I coloured with Prismacolor pencils and dotted with acrylic paint. A small twine bow was added to Wryn's broom.

I also coloured the Twisty Tree digital image with Prismas and then watercoloured the background with Neocolor II watercolour crayons. I inked generously around the edges of the tree segment with Black Soot and then layered a fussy cut Wryn on top so that she and Miss Kitty were standing in front of the tree. The third image used was the Born to Spook sentiment which was a freebie (thank you!) from Tiddly Inks. This I printed on patterned paper which I then punched, and inked/faux stitched the edge. The sentiment was then matted in black cardstock and popped up on foam dots.

To complete the scene, a moon was punched from yellow textured paper and glued to the upper left corner of the background. A photo corner was punched and adhered to the right top corner with a nailhead sticker as an accent. Doodling was done around the outside of the scene and spider stickers were adhered and given doodled web strings.

The scene was adhered to purple and silver spider paper from the DCWV Midnight Spells matstack and the entire scene and borders were then adhered to the card front. I just love Wryn and think she is such a sweet little witch along with her wee frog and cat. What a fun way to spend an afternoon!

I'm entering this in the following challenges:
Tiddly Inks Challenge #96~ Halloween
Little Miss Muffet challenges #46 ~ Halooween colours (orange, black, purple & green)
Fab n Funky Challenge #143 ~ Orange, Black & Choice

Thanks for visiting today. Wryn and I appreciate it.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

SNP Dog-gone Halloween

Happy Wednesday!

With Halloween quickly approaching, I thought I'd better seize the moment to have some playtime with my Halloween images from Stamp N Plus Scrap N. This little guy, Peter Pup PP17, cracks me up with his mask, cape, and "doggie bag". He was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and cut out with a Memory Box ticket die. Black lines were added to the ticket with a Micron pen before mounting it on black cardstock.

The background paper comes from the DCWV Midnight Spell matstack. I've gotten a ton of mileage out of this collection of papers. Two orange tickets were adhered behind the image ticket and a threaded button was glued onto the left edge. The sentiment, Happy Halloween, was stamped on a scrap of green cardstock cut into a rectangle, faux stitched, and then inked around the edges. Nailhead stickers were placed on either side of the sentiment before popping it up on foam tape.

Just a CAS card using busy papers and bright colours to showcase this sweet image. Thanks for having a look. You've made Peter's little tail wag, he's so happy.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Oldie But a Goodie Challenge ~ Purple Black & Stripes; tickets are 5+ years old
Sassy Cheryl's ~ Orange & Black
Shopping our Stash ~ Trick or Treat
Eureka Stamps ~ Halloween

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

SNP I am here for you

To honour Breast Cancer Awareness month and to help spread the word to get the girls checked, the Stamp N Plus Design Team decide to do a joint post featuring pink cards. It's also a way to celebrate the important women in our lives.

My card features the Stamp N Plus stamp, X818 Loving Birds. The image was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and then cut out with the Memory Box Cherise Label die. Distress inks were layered on the background to create the sky effect.

The background of the card consists of three pink striped rectangles and a smaller pink floral rectangle, all pulled from my scrap box. The image was anchored visually by two large pink half pearls. The sentiment was computer generated, cut out using a template, and inked around the edges. A small ribbon with a pearl center represents the breast cancer ribbon of hope. A pink resin flower and two punched stacked flowers balance the upper left corner.

For more inspiration from the SNP design team, please visit our blog. Maybe you'll feel inspired to create a pink card or remind someone you love to get a breast examination for both your sakes.
Thanks for dropping by today.
Life is good; so is art.


Bonnie

AWNB & RRR Halloween Double Header

It's week 3 of our Halloween/October and No Bones About It challenges at Art With No Boundaries and Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent. I simply could not choose between two images from CS Designs: Bride of Frankenstein and Raven. Both tickled my creative bone (like a funny bone but louder!) so I decided the only way out of this dilemma was to make two projects.

 The first project is an 8\'x10" canvas altered to look like an envelope for a fancy wedding invitation. I used Bride of Frankenstein, a brand new image from CS Designs which will be posted on the store site soon. She was coloured with Prismacolour pencils and she used a blingy flower and Stickles to glitter her white hair streak.

The canvas was first covered with glittery paper. Then, the end of a thrift store table runner was adhered like an envelope flap with recycled zipper pieces bordering the slanted sides. Bridie wanted to include her wedding invitation which was computer generated and distressed with crumpling and inking. The date is clearly marked with foam stickers so that you will all save it. She also included a spray of her wedding bouquet (black flowers, of course), and a charm from an old necklace. Bridie is quite taken with shiny things :) A small piece of the gauze that covered her before unwrapping seems to have stuck to the corner of the canvas. The sentiment was also computer generated, framed with a blingy design, and fussy cut. For Bridie, this is...just another day in paradise.

.......................................................................................................................................................................

The second project is a double page journal spread featuring another new Halloween image, Raven. I just love her to bits! I coloured her with my Prismacolor pencils before fussy cutting her. She waited patiently for her home to be completed.

For the background, I used my go-to journalling proces which means using everything but the kitchen...err, cauldron. I tend to use whatever is on my desk and just start palying and layering. I used spray and regular inks, drywall tape, stencils, rub-ons, punched cardstock scraps, paint, stickers, old button, punchinella, and my doodling pen. Whatever I see becomes fair game and I just keep adding until I like what I see. Once Raven and I were satisfied, she was adhered to the left page and the Happiness is who you are sentiment, also from CS Designs, was added to the right hand page. So much fun! A good time was had by all :)

Thanks for stopping by to meet Bridie and Raven. Pop by the two blogs, Art With No Boundaries and Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent so you can be inspired byt he cool projects created by the rest of the DT and by our guest designer, Lyn Brough (aka BlackDragon). It's worth the trip..or the click...you know what I mean.

I'm linking these babies up to the following challenges:
Anything But A Card challenge ~ Halloween
Challenges 4 Everybody #5 ~ Anything Goes
Eclectic Ellapu ~ Anything Goes
Make It Monday ~ Anything Goes

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

CYP Challenge 132: Which witch is which?

I don't know about your house but at my house,  my husband and I don't buy Halloween candy until the last minute because if we buy it early, it disappears and we still have to buy it last minute. The dilemma is whether to buy treats we like in case we have some left or to buy treats we don't like in case we have some left. LOL

Our challenge this week at Craft Your Passion Challenges is Which Witch is Which. To qualify for this challenge, your project must have a witch on it...good or bad, cute or not so much! I absolutely love the Pretty Witch image I was able to play with from  A Day For Daisies. She's so sweet and whimsical. I coloured her with Prismacolor pencils and dotted her dress using a stylus and  white acrylic paint. The image was cut using a template to trace the shape. The edges were inked with Black Soot and doodled around with a Micron pen.

The three background papers came from the DCWV Midnight Spell matstack.I used my 3/4" hole punch to cut the half circles which formed the black scallop. An orange gem sticker was added to the folded corner and a sparkly bat from my stash was adhered so that  the little witch appears to be looking at it. Faux stitching, rub-on words,  and inked edges completed this not so spooky Halloween card. I love her sweet little kitten companion. This is my kind of Halloween witch...'cause I'm a scaredy cat!


Thanks for visiting and for the lovely comments you leave. I really appreciate you taking the time to do both. Stop on by the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to check out the rest of the DT's witchy creations. You'll be glad you did! I can't wait to see what witchly delights you enter in the challenge this week. So fun!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Dream Valley Challenges ~ Halloween
No Matter Which Challenges ~ Halloween
Scrappers Delight Paper Crafts ~ Halloween
Allsorts Challenge Blog ~ Too Cute to Spook

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Clara Bow ATC

Over at Split Coast Stampers, I am in a rainbow atc swap. That means that each person in a group chooses a colour and then makes atcs in that colour scheme for everyone in the group. When I receive my returns, I will have one atc in every colour. How fun is that? For one of my groups I chose black which I love but it is a devil to photograph! Always forget that part :)

I am a huge fan of movies and their stars from the 20s, 30s, and 40s so I used CS Designs' Clara Bow image which I coloured with Prismacolor pencils and then fussy cut. Clara insisted that she have a black flat back pearl earring and a gold sequin tattoo. Her dress was coloured black and then Black Stickles was added to achieve that glitter so appropriate to a star of her era.

The background is cut from an embossed DP where the floral pattern is raised and shiny. The Drama Queen wording is also a CS Designs image from the Performing Arts Collection. It was fussy cut and edged with platinum coloured ink so it would stand out against the background. The filmstrip, another CS Designs image, was printed on acetate and then fussy cut to layer behind Clara. A set of three black flowers were punched, cupped with a stylus, and stacked to form the embellie in the top left corner. A bronze sequin leaf and a rhinestone center were added to the flower to finish it off.

Hopefully, my swappers will like her. She certainly looks better IRL because there is a lot of texture and dimension that my photography can't seem to capture...trust me :) Are you rolling your eyes?

Thanks for stopping by to see Clara and me. It's always a treat to have company.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

SNP Cat in Rose Pot

I love this Patti's Kids image from Stamp N Plus Scrap N. As anyone who knows me is fully aware (hard to miss), I am cat-crazy and Patti's kids has some of the cutest cat images going. I stamped this little fellow, called Cat In Rose Pot X2574, on white cardstock and coloured him with Prismacolor pencils. The background was loosely coloured with Neocolor II watercolour crayons. The image was then cut out using a die. Faux stitching was added to the outside of the die cut before inking.

The background was a series of coordinating scraps from my overflowing stash. A scallop punch was used on the narrow edge of one layer. The rectangles were each matted on brown cardstock which helps unify the various patterns and shades of green. White cord was wrapped around the solid green layer and tied in a simple knot. Foam adhesive was added to the back of the image piece before adhering it to the card. Three buttons in the roses' colours were the only other embellies added to this CAS card.

Thanks for dropping by today. I really appreciate that you took the time to do that. Oh look, you made the kitty smile, too :)

Life is good; so is art

Bonnie

Double whammy

I combined two challenges for the piece I am featuring today: Halloween for Art With No Boundaries and No Bones About It for Recycle, Re-Purpose and Re-Invent. That's why I called this post Double Whammy although it might also refer to the gruesome twosome on this altered shadowbox.

I stared off  by printing the CS Designs Haunted Appartion 4 image, Dementia, on white cardstock. It was coloured with my trusty Prismacolor pencils, using OMS to blend her skintones. Red bling was used to accent her spider-leg lashes and clear rhinestones create the highlights in her eyes. She looks a little sinister to me but perhaps I am just a suspicious sort. At any rate, with her bead letters, she is beckoning to you to join her for a dance...don't do it! The bony arm and hand between the words should be a clue, not to mention the spider web charm in the upper left corner  balanced by the metal corner plate in the lower right.

A recycled black coat zipper lines the bottom and right side of her shadowbox. I like the hard edge of the metal teeth...it adds a little menace to this scene. Dementia's beau stands at her side in all his bony glory. His blingy eyes sparkle at the sight of her. The metal roses he bought her are adhered just above his head. Dementia is offering you three gifts to try to win your compliance: a skull (wonder who that used to be), a button ace of spades card (her favourite) and a key to who knows where. Don't be tricked. She's not offering a treat :)

Perhaps she has inspired you to join in one or both of these challenges. If not, more of her friends can be seen on the Art With No Boundaries blog or the Recycle, Re-Purpose & Re-Invent blog as they assisted my teamies and our guest artist, Lyn Brough) in their creations this week. Be prepared...they are spooktacular!

Thanks for visiting Dementia, Sir Skellie, and me today. We love the company. Bwaa-haa-haa-haa.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

CYP Challenge 131: Hip to be square

Are you humming along after reading that title? That used to be one of my favourite songs back in the day :) "Hip to be Square" is this week's challenge theme at Craft Your Passion. To qualify for fabulous prizes from our sponsors, your entry must be a square project. I rarely make square cards so this was fun. I like changing things up because I tend to fall back on what is comfortable and familiar.

This week's card features the Pumpkin Watering Can with Mums digital image from Pattie's Creations. It was printed on white cardstock and coloured with Prismacolor pencils. A template was used to trace the oval which was then cut out and mounted on pop dots.

The background of the card uses two patterned papers from MME Reunion paper pad as well as a rectangle of black cardstock. The small scalloped piece with the "fall" stickers is the reverse of one of the BG papers.

Baker's twine, a brown button and a leaf button are the embellishments for the right side along with three small flat pearls. Two other pearls balance the upper left corner. Easy peasy but cute as two buttons :)

Thanks for dropping by today. Remember to stop by Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to take a peek at the gorgeous inspiration left for you by the rest of the DT. You, too, can be square and hip at the same time. Just link up your specific project post and mention CYP while you're at it.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here in Canada, this is Thanksgiving weekend which, along with the leaves turning, is a sure sign of fall. I wanted to make a quick card to wish all my fellow Canadians a Happy Thansgiving. I used the sweet Tiddly Inks digital image, Annie Gives Thanks, for the focal of this card. Annie was so fun to colour with my Prismacolor pencils, using a little OMS to blend the brown sections. She was cut out using an oval template, inked with Distress ink and then matted on brown cardstock. Dimensional foam dots were added to the back and Annie was set aside.

The background used two different papers from MME Reunion 6x6 paper pad. Both papers were matted on the same brown cardstock to give them visual weight. A threaded button was adhered in the triangular space left by the handcut banner. A computer generated sentiment was printed onto a white tag that was then inked and faux stitched. A piece of narrow grosgrain ribbon was also faux stitched, folded and adhered to the top of Annie's oval. A small flat back brown pearl and a hand cut photo corner finished off this card.

I will be entering this card into the following challenges:

Tiddly Inks challenge #95 ~ Fall

Simply Create Too Challenge 23 ~ Autumn/Fall

4 Crafty Chicks Challenge # 110 ~ Thanksgiving


Happy Thanksgiving, fellow Canadians! Enjoy your long weekend. To everyone, thanks for visiting Annie and me. Now go indulge in some pie to celebrate with us :)

Life is good; so is art

Bonnie

Chalk-Ah-Lot Leaves challenge card (#20)

The leaves are so beautiful right now in our little part of the world. They are gorgeous shades of red, orange, yellow, brown, and still some green. It makes for breathtaking drives on country roads. That's what inspired me to make this card for the new Leaves challenge at Chalk-Ah-Lot Cafe this fortnight.

I started by running a piece of heavier cardstock through my Cuttlebug using the TH Tattered Leaves die. I set aside the die cut leaves because all I needed was the piece with the leaf shaped holes. This was placed like a stencil over a piece of regular weight cardstock. Completing one leaf at a time, Buzz N Magic paint was pounced through the open leaves a section at a time. While the paint was still wet, either crimson, jade or sunshine SNP powdered chalk was pounced into the sections, overlapping colours slightly to blend. The Buzz N Magic paint gives a delicious sheen to the chalk and allows the vibrancy to show through. While the colours are still soft, they are not washed out at all.

Once all of the leaves were chalked and the paint had dried, a black pen was used to sketchily doodle outlines and veins on the leaves. This provides definition to them and lends a hand-drawn or painterly feel to the card front. A Stamp N Plus Scrap N stamp, Mountain Ash, was inked with a pale brown colour and randomly stamped in the white spaces between leaves. Using Distress ink, a splatter dot stamp was also randomly stamped over the negative space and on the leaves to create more texture and interest.

Two mats of textured paper, one orange and one brown, were cut to fit the chalked leaf piece. Before assembly, all edges were inked with Distress inks. A green and white dotted grosgrain ribbon was added to the left side and a large green button was threaded with baker's twine and adhered on top of the ribbon. A computer generated message was printed on a die cut tag with inked and faux stitched edges. Faux stitching was also added to the white border of the card..

That's it...that's all. It was fun to play with the SNP chalks to create this card. I love the variety of looks that can be achieved with the powdered chalks. The experiments continue! For more inspiration, take a peek at the Chalk-Ah-Lot blog to see what other leafy delights the DT created for this challenge. Once you do, I'll bet you'll want to play along :) Think of all the other stencils you could make with those dies and punches you own. This is such a versatile chalking technique.

I am entering ths in the Allsorts Challenge  #175  Autumn Leaves and Trees

Thanks for visiting.
Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

SNP : A Happy Hello

Fall colours always inspire me. It's my favourite season. I love the nip in the air, the cool nights, and beautiful sunshine on the changing leaves. We always decorate the outside porches with pumpkins and gourds which make me smile...and that makes my neighbours wonder what I'm up to now :) Anyway, that was the inspiration behind this card.

I started out stamping this Stamp N Plus Scrap N maple leaf stamp (I am Canadian, eh!) on scraps of patterned paper. Then I fussy cut them and set them aside. Next this fun SNP dog splat guy was stamped on white cardstock and coloured with Prismacolor pencils. Two labels were die cut with the green one getting Distress inked and the brown one faux stitched. Leaves were adhered under Dawg and then over him so that he looked like he had just jumped into the pile and was in Doggie-heaven.

The background consisted of layers of orange, brown, and yellow papers. Before the yellow and brown layer were adhered to the  orange paper, brown and white dotty ribbon was wrapped around it and glued in the back. Hello letters were computer generated, cut out, and inked before being glued to the card front. A few more fussy cut leaves were added to frame the greeting. Copper nailhead stickers were affixed to each corner. To finish off the card and repeat the stitching detail,  brown doodling was added to the white card border.

The look on Dawg's face makes me smile and perfectly represents my feelings about autumn days. Hope he gives you a smile, too. Thanks for visiting today.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
Use it Tuesdays ~ hoarded supplies (ribbon); scrap papers from my stash
Sassy Cheryl's Challenge #135 Let's Think About Fall
Try It On Tuesday  ~ Lots of Layers ( background papers and fussy cut leaves)

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

In the pink ATC

With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, I have been inspired by the wonderful stories of courage that I have heard on TV shows, the radio, and in the news about Breast Cancer survivors and women currently going through treatment. There are also some fabulous and inspiring cards and other art projects being featured in blogland. One of the swaps that I'm playing in at Split Coast Stampers is a rainbow atc swap and I chose the colour pink to remind us all of this important cause.

I covered my atc in pink patterned paper and then layered a piece of doily sprayed with pink Glimmer Mist over that. The beautiful little bird is a digital image from A Day for Daisies. I absolutely love the sweetness of the images from there and this little birdie is no exception. Birdie was colored with Distress ink and Distress marker, fussy cut, and then given a black half pearl eye. She was popped up on foam dots and nestled into some pink fibre with a button adhered to the right side. The sentiment was computer generated and coloured with a pink Sharpie. Pink bling was added to the top to finish it off.

It's funny how when a certain thought or theme is my focus, I then see the symbols or images that support that focus all around me. I was in my flower bed pulling weeds and doing a general clean up yesterday when the image on the photo below captivated me. I ran for my camera and was able to capture only one image but it turned out lovely and seemed to symbolize my thoughts of hope for all those who have, are, or will battle breast cancer and for those who love them.


Here's my photo of hope:

 

 

I am linking this up to the Anything Goes challenge at A Day For Daisies blog and also to Link Up For Pink which is featuring projects with pink in them. Craft Your Passion Challenges also has a similar theme this week. Won't you play along?

 

Thanks for dropping by.

 

Life is good; so is art.

 

Bonnie

 

 

AWNB Step Into My Parlour

Chris Stern and the DT at Art With No Boundaries have switched formats to a monthly challenge instead of a fortnight challenge. We will still be bringing you weekly inspiration projects to encourage you to play along so tune in each Monday to see what's new...and for this month, spook-tacular. We are dedicating an entire month to October and Halloween. For October, think of Fall Colors, Rustling Leaves, and Big Orange Pumpkins and for Halloween, Black Cats, Outrageous Costumes, anything Spooky or Haunted, Ghosts, Goblins, Ghouls  or even something dark and Gothic.

I chose to play with the Solitaire Mask of Webs image from CS Designs for my first project. I coloured her using Prismacolor pencils and a little OMS for blending. I love her purple lips. For Webster's eyes That's what I named her), red rhinestones create the highlight, whereas the spider dangling from her mask has white half pearl eyes. Webster was matted in black and popped up on dimensionals awaiting her background.

For the background, an 8"x10" canvas was altered. It was first painted with black gesso before a torn piece of kraft paper decorated with a flocked raven and candlestick was crumpled up and gel-mediumed down. Then out came the stencils, acrylic paint, inks, and other art journalling bits to create grunge, texture, and dimension to the background. When it was sufficiently messy,  pieces of cheesecloth meant to resemble spiders' webs were adhered to the canvas.

The sentiment, also from CS Designs, was printed on a scrap of Halloween patterned paper, torn on the edges and inked. Neocolor II crayons were added to the sentiment and the background at this point. Glittery spiders, web-patterned ribbon, and TH metal numbers were adhered to the canvas to tell the rest of the story. I wonder where Webster's other spider friends have gone? Bwaaa-haaa-haaa-haaa. (Evil laugh)

For more spooky inspiration, be sure to visit Art With No Boundaries to see the rest of the DT projects. We are so happy to have a special Guest Designer for the month of October. Lyn (aka BlackDragon) Brough is lending her talents to us on both blogs. You'll be amazed by her projects and those of  my other teamies.

Thanks for dropping by. I look forward to returning the favour when you link up to our challenge.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie