CYP Challenge 143 ~ Get Well

Allow me to introduce Lenny, the star of my get well card which is the theme this week for Challenge # 143 at Craft Your Passion Challenges. Lenny from Stamp Fairy has been coloured with Prismacolor pencils with the exception of his ice pack. That was paper-pieced because I wanted a very retro pattern on it and this paper was just the ticket. I did shade and highlight the patterned paper with Prismas. Lenny's nose has Glossy Accents over the pencil...he might not be as sick as he says :) Lenny was cut out using a Spellbinders die and then matted on blue cardstock. A doodled border was addedwith a Micron pen and the dizzy circles were inked with metallic gel pens..

The striped paper behind the image comes from the MME Moments paper pack. Two layers of cardstock, one yellow, the other deep blue, matted the striped paper, pulling from the colour of the stripes. A precut chevron border was layered over that and anchored with blue brads. A photo corner cut  from the chevron piece was added to the top corner with another light blue brad repeating  the colours from the bottom right. The sentiment was computer generated, printed on a yellow dotty scrap from the same collection, and then.coloured with a Sharpie marker. Two layers of foam dots on the sentiment and one layer on the image addded dimension to the card.

CAS all the way on this one. The image is adorable and strong enough to stand alone without many embellishments. Hope Lenny gives you a smile today. Be sure to check out the rest of the DT projects on the Craft Your Passion blog. They'll make anyone feel better...just like sunshine :)Thanks for visiting today.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

FPWA Challenge 30 ~ New or Celebrations

It's time for another new challenge at Fat Pages With Attitude and since the new year is just around the bend, our challenge theme this fortnight is New or Celebrations. That means a card for anything new (new baby, new job, new house) or a celebration of an occasion (B-day, New Year's, etc.). That gives a very broad set of choices for this time...no excuses not to play along :)

I was fortunate to be able to play with Party Time Cat, a fun image from one of our fabulous sponsors, Meljen's Designs. I based my colours for his hat and balloons on a scrap of glittery paper which I used as one of the background layers. If you follow my blog or even visit only occasionally, you'll know that I love bright colours especially paired with kraft. I coloured Mr. Kitty with My Prismacolor pencils, rounded the corners of the image, and inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress ink. The image was then matted with turquoise sparkly paper.

The background and banner flags were cut from corrugated card and inked along the edges with Walnut Stain Distress ink. The banner flags were popped up on foam tape before adhering the brown embroidery floss to the tops and attaching the flags to the dotty background. The sentiment was computer generated, coloured in with a Sharpie, cut out and inked with Vintage Photo. Once the card layers were assembled, a hot pink button was threaded with more of the brown floss and adhered to the bottom right corner.

Love this party cat image. He's be cute for a birthday or Congratulations card, as well. He certainly knows how to party hardy :) Thanks for visiting with us today. Be sure to visit the Fat Pages With Attitude blog to see what the rest of the DT have created. Lots of inspiration to get you thinking "new/celebrations". I hope you'll play along with us.

Thanks for visiting. That makes me happy...maybe I'll dance along with Mr. Kitty.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Happy New Year

Happy Boxing Day! Are you a mad shopper today or do you prefer to stay home and relax? I really am uncomfortable in crowds so I definitely prefer to stay home and play with my inks and pencil crayons. I have a list of things to complete that's a mile long! Good thing it's fun stuff.

I wanted to create a Happy New Year post for my Wednesday Stamp N Plus card but I didn't have a New Year's stamp. I did, however, have this large birthday in envelope stamp which I love so I decided to repurpose it. I stamped it with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock and stamped an extra of the star balloon which has the Happy Birthday sentiment in the center. Rather than masking or rubbing ink off the stamp, I decided to paper piece the star balloon using the extra one I stamped as a cutting template. The rest of the image was coloured with Prismacolor pencils except for the white dots which are acrylic paint and the small stars which were punched with a MS punch and adhered with glue. The image was then fussy cut leaving a narrow white border around it. More of the tiniest stars were set aside to glue to the image background once the card was assembled.

The background is layers of Paper Wishes birthday paper and glittery purple cardstock. A doodled border was done with a Micron pen around the yellow layer and a purple dotted ribbon was fastened around that same layer before adhering the image layer with foam dots. The sentiment was computer generated, inked with Distress ink, and mounted on the paper scraps from the first layer. Foam tape was added to the back of each word for added dimension. This stamp is extremely versatile and fun. I'm sure I'll be using it for other occasions in the future. I love when I get different uses out of the same stamp.

Thanks for visiting today. I'm always glad to have the company...and such good company at that!

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

Father Christmas

Merry Christmas!

 

I hope you have a wonderful day with family and friends.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

CYP Challenge 142 ~ Alter It!

This week at Craft Your Passion Challenges, the theme is one of my favourites...Alter it (No Cards). I chose to take a plain tin gift card holder from Golf Town (which is why it looks like a golf ball) and make it into an altered version to hold a gift card from the very popular Canadian coffee shop, Tim Horton's aka Timmy's or Tim's.

The top was traced to cut a white cardstock circle to fit. This circle was inked with Faded Jeans, Tumbled Glass, and Broken China Distress inks. Snowflakes were punched out of the remnants of the white cardstock, fingerpainted with Icicle Stickles and left to dry. The negative cardstock from the punchouts was placed over the background and Glimmer Misted to create ghostly snowflakes. A Tiddly Inks image,  Snowy Wishes & Snowman, was coloured with Prismacolor pencils, fussy cut, and adhered to the circular background layer. Liquid Pearls was added to create the snow line and the punched snowflakes were scattered around Mr. Snowball. To complete the front, a computer generated sentiment (Your kindness warms my heart) and a stamped, embossed and inked sentiment (Let It Snow) were added with foam dots. Snowflake buttons filled in below Mr. Snowman.

The foam insert was traced to make the inside circles, both of which were cut from blue houndstooth paper from DCWV. Another Tiddly Inks image, Cocoa Wishes, was printed on white cardstock and cut with a Spellbinders Hexagon die. Before the die was removed, Tumbled Glass Distress ink was applied to the edge nearest the die, leaving a white edge and white around Wrynn. Wrynn and her wee friend were coloured with Prismacolor pencils. metallic gel pen was added to the steam and Stickles to the marshmallows. Two more of the Stickled snowflakes were adhered over the image and background to tie in with the front and soften the hard line between background and foreground.

The bottom of the tin had the foam insert to which the other patterned paper circle was added. Another white circle the same size was cut and snowflakes were randomly pinched from it. Then the circle was Glimmer Misted to create shimmer. Once dry, it was adhered over the blue paper. Another computer generated sentiment (Now I want to warm your tummy. Enjoy) was traced with a template, cut out, matted, and faux stitched. A cup brad was added to the bottom right and small foam tape squares were added to the bottom and the two sides, allowing room for the Timmy's gift card to slide in and be held in place. And...TA DA! The altered piece is done and almost too cute to give away...almost, I said :)

Thanks for popping by today and reading this super long post. Be sure to drop by the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see the altered projects of the rest of the DT. So fun! I hope you'll join us in this challenge. I always love to see what you create.

I am entering this project in the following challenges:
Anything But a Card ~ Challenge 9 Anything Goes
Challenges 4 Everybody ~ Challenge 10 Anything Goes
Quirky Crafts ~ Challenge 26 Last Minute Christmas
That Craft Place Challenge Blog ~ Christmas

Merry Christmas! One more sleep!

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Santa Love atc

The challenge at Wicked Wednesday this week is  I Love Santa. I didn't think I would get a chance to play this time but I found a little time today. I decided to use this sweet image from The Paper Shelter called Are U Ready My Friend which I coloured with my Prismacolor pencils adding a little gold gel pen to Santa's belt and Rudy's bell. The image was fussy cut, mounted on black cardstock, and fussy cut again.

The background is a piece of red cardstock run through my Cuttlebug using a Darice hearts embossing folder. Then the embossed hearts were dry brushed using gold acrylic paint. The words and the holly were cut from a 6x6 Christmas stack from MME. The berries have a touch of Glossy Accents on them to create a shine.

That's it; that's all and for me, playtime is over until I finish a bunch of to-dos on my list. Thanks so much for stopping by. I wish you all the Merriest of Christmases and Happy Holidays.

I will be entering this in the Wicked Wednesday challenge of I Love Santa.

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

From Our House to Yours(SNP)

I got this Stamp N Plus Cute Door stamp a while ago because I thought it was so  fun but wasn't sure how I wanted to use it. I have several spring/summer ideas but today, a Christmas one popped up in my mojo centre. I decided to combine the door with this Spruce Bough stamp and use it on a From Our House to Yours card. Both the door and the bough were stamped separately with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock. Then the trusty Prismacolor pencils were put to work colouring the images before fussy cutting them. Liquid Pearls was added to the bough to resemble snow on the needles before the bough was adhered to the door.

The background paper is a scrap left from a MME Lost & Found Christmas paper from last year. It was adhered directly to the white card base. Once the door was adhered to the textured light brown rectangle, it was matted with white cradstock and popped up on foam dots. A Martha Stewart corner punch cut the red cardstock photo corner. White snowflake buttons were added to the front of the house to add to the wintry feel. The sentiment was computer generated, printed on green cardstock and cut out after tracing a template. Faux stitching and white matting gave it additional visual weight.

Just a sweet and simple card  with lots of faux and real texture. Thanks for taking the time out of your schedule to drop by. I really appreciate your visit and your comments...your support and friendship.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

CYP Challenge 141 ~ Recipe

The challenge this week at Craft Your Passion is to follow a recipe. You need 3 patterned papers, 1 circle, and 1 ribbon or twine. I chose to play with this gorgeous cardinal image from Delicious Doodles, one of our fabulous sponsors. The cardinal is one of my favourite winter birds so this choice was a no brainer for me. Love it!

I printed the cardinal on kraft cardstock and coloured him with Prismacolor pencils. Using them on kraft cardstock is always such a treat. The contrast between the kraft colour and the vibrant pencil colours is yummy and the pencils seem to blend a little easier, too. The cardinal image was cut into a rectangle and double matted. A punched scallop border accents the right side. Another double matted layer is adhered beneath this directly onto the cream card. Now at this point you are probably wondering where the patterned paper is. Well, let's just say that the patterns are so tiny that they are all but invisible to the human eye :) Yep, that's what we'll say...

My circle element is the large red button and the twine was used to thread it. The button is adhered over two pine branches cut with a McGill punch. To balance out the opposite corner, a computer generated sentiment was cut with a die, matted on black, and popped up on foam tape. This card is one of my favourites so far this year. I love red, black, cream, and kraft together and the image from Delicious Doodles is outstanding. So fun to colour. The inside of the card is super simple, using the scraps from the front to layer a collage of shapes and a stamped sentiment.

Thanks for visiting today. Be sure to drop by the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see the wonderful projects the rest of the DT created following this recipe. Then pull out your "stuff" and play along. We love to see what you create.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Come & Get It Challenges ~ Anything Christmas
Dream Valley Challenges ~ #47 Christmas
The Squirrel & The Fox ~ #33 Christmas

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Steampunk Nutcracker

 Warning : Long post. Grab snacks and beverage of choice.

It's time for another challenge at Eclectic Ellapu and this time both teams are combining their efforts for an Anything Goes challenge. I could hardly wait to post this. I bought the November/ December issue of Somerset Studio magazine and discovered these fabulous nutcrackers altered by Michelle Ward. She has also posted them on her blog and they are brilliant. I was absolutely smitten with the Steampunk version and since I collect nutcrackers and am a huge fan of steampunk, I had to create one for myself, not copying hers but using it as a wonderful source of inspiration. I actually didn't look at her nutcracker again once I started mine because I knew I would be tempted to CASE it...hers is so cool!

I had an unpainted nutcracker in my stash from years ago when I thought I would paint one. I'm so glad I kept him even though I rarely paint these days. I used acrylic paint to cover all of the wood (black, fleshtone, pigskin) and let him dry. There he was...a blank canvas ready and waiting for anything that suited my fancy.

A flat jewellery piece from my stash was glued to the top of his hat. Hrdware pieces from my husband's toolbox, a watch part, and a half pearl decorated the hat along with two pieces of chain. His one eye is cut from a G45 sticker and the other has two stacked jewellery pieces. His fluffy moustache is black yarn pieces tied in the middle.

Steamy's suit came next. Gray trim was adhered around his epaulettes and a TH mini gear was glued to the top of each. His cuffs were wrapped with pieces of a TH ruler sticker and half pearls were added for the buttons. A Bo Bunny compass sticker was adhered to the wooden piece that moves up and down when the handle does. HAlographic Dazzle stickers were placed to form his buttons and more mini gears decorate the peplum part of his uniform. His belt is silver ribbon with a TH pin looped over it before it was adhered. A partial clock charm and a rusty key charm were attached to the pin with jump rings.

Steamy's boots were fun to create. Grungeboard hinge pieces became the decorations for the front with half pearls filling in the holes. The hinges were inked with Vintage Photo Distress ink before adhering them. Tiny watch parts formed the buttons on the boots. On each side of each foot, a TH mini paperclip was adhered to amp up the metal factor :)

The final two elements added were the clock key glued to the handle in the back and two clock hand stickers for his chin straps or ears...whatever you want them to be. I had an absolute blast creating this guy. I had no idea how he would turn out yet he is exactly what I hoped for. Love it when that happens!

Thanks so much for visiting Steamy and me today and thanks to Michelle Ward for her inspiration.. Pop by the Eclectic Ellapu blog to see the amazing creations from the rest of the DT. It's well worth the trip! I hope you find time to join in this challenge. I'd love to come and visit you.

I am entering this guy in the following challenges:
Craft Us Crazy ~ Challenge 32 Christmas/Winter/Favourite embellie
Inspire Me Fridays ~ Anything Goes
Really Reasonable Ribbon ~ Challenge 62 Anything Goes + Ribbon
Anything But A Card ~ Challenge 8

Life is good; so is art.
 Bonnie

To Fairyland

I am in such an unsettled and emotional mood today after the tragic news of the school shooting yesterday. Being a retired elementary teacher, the tragedy seemed very close to home and my heart goes out to all those whose lives were horribly altered yesterday. It touched and saddened all of us whether we knew any of the victims personally or not. I also want to say how proud I am of the staff and students for the way they handled the emergency. As a teacher, I know that we train for those events, we practise, but we never in a million years think that it will happen in our school. It is beyond our imagination. They are all heroes in their own way.

When I am upset, I lose myself and calm myself in art and as long as it isn't too complicated or requiring clear thoughts, it usually gives me some relief from my sadness and troubled heart. Today I chose to play with fairy houses and to throw myself into a world of make-believe and peace. Wicked Wednesday has a new challenge up and it is Fairy Houses. so I coloured and inked and sat quietly with my comfort tools. The image is from Make it Crafty and I coloured it with Prismacolor pencils, adding a little Liquid Pearls to the mushroom dots. The image was fussy cut and mounted on black cardstock before being fussy cut again. A small sign was hand drawn, stamped with a Crafty Secrets "To Fairyland" message and then fussy cut. A little Prismacolor pencil was added to give it dimension.

The background is stamped with a Stampabilities vine stamp using Versamark and was then clear embossed. Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans Distress inks were applied over the embossing to form a resist effect. The bottom section was covered with a torn piece of vellum and washi tape was applied over that before the sign was attached with foam tape. The background was cut smaller than the atc size so that a black border could be added and still have it be "legal". A Martha Stewart corner punch was used to create the faux stitched corner piece.

Just a simple little atc but it's amazing how healing and comforting art can be. Thanks for visiting today. Go hug someone you love and be kind to each other.

I am entering this in the Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge ~ Fairy Houses

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Rowena

Psssst! I have some exciting news to share with you today. I have joined the Card Design Team of Fat Pages With Attitude. They are an amazing group of designers who have several sister challenge sites and a whole lot of talent to provide inspiration for fortnightly challenges. I feel very fortunate to be on this team. My card today was created in response to Challenge # 29's theme which is to use Any Christmas Colour. Easy-peasy.

I was lucky to be able to play with this gorgeous digital image, Rowena, from one of our fabulous sponsors, Delicious Doodles. I just love Teri's images and always enjoy colouring them, especially the flowing hair. You know how I love to colour hair, especially red hair. Squeal :) I coloured Rowena and her little friend with my Prismacolor pencils and added a rhinestone for her sparkly earring.

The background paper is from DCWV's Christmas Combo Stack and is matted in black cardstock. A white cardstock rectangle was embossed with a paisley Cuttlebug folder before being adhered to the large matted green  rectangle. A silver ribbon was wrapped around these layers and adhered to the back. The image was mounted on a rectangle of the same green DP which was punched with a Fiskars border punch and matted on black. This rectangle was adhered to the background with foam tape for added dimension. A knotted length of silver ribbon was glued onto the image layer where it meets the other ribbon.

To finish this card, a mulberry flower and a Merry Christmas sticker sentiment were added to the top and bottom of the card. With an image this strong, clean and simple seems to work best so as not to detract from Rowena's beauty. Thanks for dropping by today. For more fabulous inspiration, be sure to visit the Fat Pages With Attitude blog and see what the rest of my awesome teammates have created. Then join us for this fun challenge. I always enjoy seeing what you make.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Totally Stampalicious ~ Anything Goes
Daisy Doodles Creative Challenges ~ Challenge 73 Anything Goes
ABC Christmas Challenge ~ Y is for Your Favourite punch/die


Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Another CAS Christmas card

While I admire cards that are more elaboratively designed and embellished, I tend to most often chose CAS cards as my Go-to style. This card using a Hampton Art Outlines stamp is a perfect example of my comfort style. The image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on white cardstock before being cut out using the Labels 26 die. It was coloured with Prismacolor pencils and black and white half pearls in three sizes were added where the image had circles. Black Soot Distress ink was applied to the edges of the die cut piece. To cut the black matting, the same die was traced around the outside and then hand cut. This gives a nice narrow mat, especially helpful when you have used the largest die in the "nest" or if you don't want the wider mat that one size difference provides when using the smaller ones.

The three background papers all come from the DCWV Christmas Combo Stack and were all matted on black cardstock for contrast and addded weight. The tag holds a computer generated message and some doodling. A yellow brad fills in the hole at the top and matting allows it to be framed. Both the tag and the image piece are popped up on foam dots for dimension. Three half pearls balance out the upper right corner.

The inside is done in my usual fashion with three different shapes cut from the scraps from the front and matted for more contrast. The sentiment is stamped but I couldn't tell you who makes it. It was edged in Black Soot so it stood out from the background.

Wow! Pretty soon it will be time to get these cards in the mail. The time is just flying by :O   Oh, and there's that Christmas shopping thing, too...yikes! Thanks for taking time out of your busy schedule to visit today. I appreciate that!

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
The Perfect Sentiment ~ Sentiment on front + Christmas
Stampin' Royalty ~ Challenge 154 Christmas/Winter
Christmas at Sweet Stampin' ~ Challenge 1 Anything Goes
Anything Goes Challenge ~ Challenge 82 Traditional Christmas Colours

Life is good; so is art.
 Bonnie

Stamp N Plus All Wrapped Up

Today's card is done in the CAS style. We're getting so close to Christmas that I thought I'd keep it as simple as possible.  The image is from Stamp N Plus and is called Holiday Bells J1955. It was stamped on white cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and cut out with a Spellbinders Lacy Oval die. The colouring was done with Prismacolor pencils and the berries were dotted with Stickles.

The background paper is Lost and Found Christmas paper from last year. The red layer on top of that is from DCWV's Christmas Combo Stack and is wrapped with silver ribbon to resemble a present. Once everything was adhered to the front, scraps were used to complete a simple inside collage. Just a quick little card which could easily be done production style.

Thanks for taking a peek today. I always appreciate that.

Life is good: so is art.
Bonnie

CYP Challenge 140 ~ Stitching

This week's challenge at Craft Your Passion was a stretch for me. The theme is stitching, real or faux. I often include faux stitching but wanted to try real stitching, having never had much success with it in the past. I absolutely love the look of it and one of my card-making heroes, Tracy MacDonald, uses real stitching all the time and makes it look so easy. The funny thing is I am very good at real sewing. I used to make all of my own clothes, coats, etc. Go figure! Anyway, I decided to give it a go.

 Two different patterned papers from the MME Moments paper pad were torn with the white core showing on the edge. They were rolled slightly and then adhered to a white piece of cardstock cut smaller than the card front. The stitching was done on the machine...I still don't have the tension right but I can live with it. once the thread ends were stitched through to the back, raffia was wrapped around the bottom section before adhering the stitched card to a red mat.

A yellow stitched felt flower button was layered with a navy blue button and threaded with ribbon. This was combined with a mulberry leaf and adhered over the raffia. Round chipboard letters made by Fiskars were popped up on foam dots and adhered above and below the torn opening. A ladybug button was popped up on foam dots and a walking path was doodled in with a Micron pen. Two little blue rhinestones bring that colour into the upper half of the card for continuity.

I actually enjoyed the process of making this card, in spite of my stitching woes. Any tips you might have for me would be greatly appreciated. Check out the other DT projects on the Craft Your Passion blog. Very creative and fun! Then come and join us in this week's challenge. I can't wait to tap into all of that inspiration out there.

Thanks for stopping in to visit.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Find your wings

The theme this week at Wicked Wednesday ATC challenge is Wing It and they have many wonderful and inspiring atcs from their DT and that of Stampotique so, of course, I wanted to play along. Such a fun theme and atcs are such a treat to make. They are a wonderful place to test drive new-to-me techniques which is what I did on this one.

I started by colouring a Mo Manning baby fairy digi with Prismacolour pencils. Sakura gel pen was layered over the curlicues on the wings and then Icicle Stickles spread over that before cutting out this Little One. Glossy Accents was applied to the ladybug to give her that shiny red jacket.

The background was inked with Tumbled Glass and Broken China Distress Inks before stamping a Stamper's Anonymous dragonfly blueprint stamp loaded with Broken China over the background. While everything was still wet (stamp and background) clear detail embossing powder was sprinkled over the atc and heat set. This gives such a cool effect because the embossing powder sticks completely to the image and here and there on the background. A Dylusions stencil was placed over the top edge of the card with a post -it masking the other rows and Glass Bead Gel was layered over the openings quite thickly. This was repeated in the bottom right corner. I've done this with molding paste but never with bead gel. It gives an amazing amount of texture which is semi-translucent but really catches the light because of the tiny glass beads embedded in it. Once dry, gold Glimmer Mist was spritzed over the entire background for added "magic".

Music themed washi tape was adhered to the bottom edge of the atc with a second layer placed on the right so Little One would have a place to rest her wee feet. Raffia was wrapped around the tape and tied in a simple knot. The sentiment was computer generated, cut apart, and matted with black before being adhered over the dragonfly. A small silver wing charm was attached with a brad so that it rested under the last word.

Love this little atc in part because I love Mo Manning's images and in part because the message is sweet. Isn't that what we wish for all little ones and what we strive for in our own lives...finding our wings. I also imagine that I am wishing this for her while she is wishing it for her little ladybug friend. Maybe the ladybug is wishing it for all of us :)

Thanks so much for visiting the three of us. We do appreciate it.

I am entering this atc in

Wicked Wednesday challenge ~  Wing It

Fun With ATCs ~ Challenge 76 Embossing

Mo's Digital Challenge ~ Anything Goes with a Mo Manning image.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

Snow bird

 I created another Christmas card, this time using the Snow Bird image from Stampendous. I stamped the little guy on kraft paper which was then cut out using Spellbinders Label 26 die. With the die still on the cut out shape, Tumbled Glass Distress Ink was applied around the image to create the sky and to leave a kraft border. The image was coloured with Prismacolor pencils using small choppy strokes to create the look of feathers, one card with a brown bird and one in shades of blue (not gray :D). A half pearl was added to the eye. Before matting the image piece onto cream cardstock and fussy cutting, the kraft edges were inked with Walnut Stain DI.

The patterned papers are from DCWV's Christmas Combo Stack and the brown textured band is from Bazzill. The sentiment from Stampabilities  was stamped using Memento Rich Cocoa ink onto a handcut banner matted in the plain brown paper. Copper nailhead stickers from Paper Wishes decorate the banner and the image.

I generally do my Christmas card insides the same way. Using the same papers from the front, different shapes are inked around the edges and layered and a computer generated sentiment added. It's a no-fuss way to fancy up the inside and use up some scraps, plus tie the inside to the outside with very little thought required :)

I love this little image and the sentiment happens to be one of my favourites, too. That's why the little guy and I enjoyed the experience so much :) Thanks for hanging out with us today.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Guylou's Inimitability Challenge ~ twisted Christmas using non-traditional colours
Stempelsonnen Challenge ~ Anything Goes with a stamp
Charisma Cardz Challenges ~ Challenge 48 Christmas

Life is good; so is art.
 Bonnie

Visions of Sugarplums ~ Day 4

Today is my turn to show you a project that I made for Visions of Sugarplums. Have you been checking out the other projects each day? All it takes to win wonderful prizes is to leave comments. Easy-peasy.

I decided to make an altered canvas for my project. I am absolutely smitten with Olde World or Victorian Santas and I found a wonderful downloadable Santa postcard sold by The Velvet Rabbit on Etsy. I printed him and then heavily distressed the edges before applying Vintage Photo Distress Ink over the roughened edges. I mounted cheesecloth to the back of Santa and placed foam tape on the top of it.

The canvas has crumpled white tissue gel mediumed to the gessoed canvas so that it formed creases and wrinkles. Once that was dry, two shades of brown acrylic paint and a little Quinacridone Nickel were sponged over the tissue wet on wet to blend it and give the look of old leather. That was allowed to dry before torn and inked book text DP was adhered. Gold and copper acrylic paints were pounced through punchinella as well as a CW stencil and onto a stamp. The same colours were used to dry-brush over the creases in the tissue for some highlights. The Santa image was adhered to the canvas before continuing.

White lace was toned down with Antique Linen Distress Ink and then adhered to the bottom of the canvas. TH bead chain was glued along the edge of the lace. The metal numbers were roughly covered with copper alcohol ink, allowing the silver to peek through in some places. A large watch charm was popped up on foam tape and distressed slightly with the same alcohol ink. More of the beaded chain was adhered with Glossy Accents in a meandering path starting at the watch. Three large copper coloured half pearls and a silk poinsettia with Stickles accents were the finishing touches.

I hadn't created an altered canvas in a while and forgot how much I enjoyed it. Note to self: don't wait so long next time :) Thanks for dropping by today. Be sure to leave a comment and to hop on over to the rest of today's Visions of Sugarplums participants and comment on each one. You could have a winning comment. How fun would that be?!

Here are the links for Thursday's Visions of Sugarplums particpants:

Lori -http://lorihairston.blogspot.com/

Lisa - http://minkimpressions.blogspot.com/

Debbie - http://debssimpletreasures.blogspot.com/

Mitra - http://mitralee.blogspot.com/

Lauren H. - http://www.thepastonaplate.com/

Bonnie - http://artfuldigits.blogspot.com/ (ME!)

Linda - http://myhappyplace-linda.blogspot.com/

Giveaways: 1 set of choice - Paper Sweeties - http://www.papersweeties.com/

1 set of choice - Moonlighting by Mary - http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoonlightingByMary

Christmas Creation - Mitra - link above

1 set of choice - Paper Sweeties - http://www.papersweeties.com/

 

Life is good; so is art.

Bonnie

SNP Iris Folded Bell

Those of you who know me also know that I love iris folding. Although I am still new to it, I find it very relaxing to do and love the results. Anything that looks complicated and isn't is good in my books. I love "faux-effort" :) So for my Wednesday Stamp N Plus Scrap N post, I decided to play with the iris folded bell stamp. I also thought it would be fun to make a Christmas card in non-traditional colours.

I stamped the bell image on white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The image was cut out using an MFT die, and then coloured with Prismacolor pencils. Next, the center of the bell was cut away. A second image was stamped in order to place it right sides together with the coloured image. The lines showing where to place the papers now showed through the bell opening from the backside. I found some fabulous metallic origami papers in these lovely jewel tones so I cut the turquoise one into 1/4 " strips. I inked one edge of each strip with Stazon black ink but I'm not convinced that it really shows. Then I just followed the numbering system, gluing the ends of each piece with Scotch Quick-Dry. Once the tape holding the image and the guide together was removed, I could see the iris folding pattern. Love that moment! I stamped the inside of the bell again with Stazon onto silver origami paper, fussy cut it and glued it over the original image because the white just wasn't doing it for me.

The rest of the card was super easy. The image was matted on black cardstock, faux stitched,  and popped up on foam tape. A large and a narrow rectangle were cut from dotted teal cardstock and the corners of the narrow one were punched to create the fancy corners. Blue patterned paper from the same ol' DCWV Christmas Combo Stack was cut to fit inside the larger rectangle. A tone on tone hot pink ribbon was added to the larger blue stack with another knotted piece added to the top of the base ribbon. Finally half pearls were added to the holes created by the corner punch and this card was done like dinner.

If you haven't tried iris folding, I challenge you to do so. Using the SNP stamps makes it a breeze and there are tons of  stamp choices on the Stamp N Plus website. If you do try it, be sure to leave a link in the comments. I'd love to come and see what you create.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Created With Love Challenges ~ #20 Christmas Blues
The Stamping Boutique ~ #61 Holiday Cards
Incy Wincy Designs ~ Non Traditional Christmas colours (pink & turquoise)

Thanks for visiting today.

Life is good; so is art.
Bonnie

CYP Challenge 139 ~ Let It Snow

Another Monday...another fun challenge at Craft Your Passion Challenges. The theme this week is Let It Snow and I had the chance to play with this adorable A Day For Daisies image called Miss Snow Lady. I love the whimsy of this image :)

The image was printed on kraft cardstock, coloured with Prismacolor pencils, and then cut out with a Spellbinders die. Tiny half pearls were added to this sweet lady's eyes. Once matted with black cardstock and popped up on foam tape, she was set aside and asked politely to wait for her background :)

The background started with a layer of kraft cardstock being adhered to the card, followed by a  rectangle of DCWV's  Christmas Combo Stack patterned paper matted on black cardstock. The corner of this layer was rolled down and held in place with foam dots. The horizontal band is a scrap of text DP, inked around the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink, and then matted on black cardstock. Snow LAdy was placed over this band.

The sentiment is from a clear stamp set (can't remember who makes it) and was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on the same text paper as the band. It was  hand cut into a flag banner, matted, and popped up on foam. Half pearls were added to the straight edge of the banner. Larger ones were placed in the four corners of the band. A sparkly snowflake button minus its shank was affixed to the folded corner and a photo corner punched from the text paper and faux stitched was adhered to the upper right corner.

The inside uses the same papers matted with black. A scalloped edge was punched in black, washi tape was added near the sentiment, and the sentiment was  applied using a Penny Black stamp. A little faux stitching finished the inside.

Thanks for visiting. For more inspiration, check out the Craft Your Passion Challenges blog to see the amazing projects from the rest of the DT. We'd love to see you play along with our Let it Snow challenge. It's always so fun to visit your blogs.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
Cards Galore ~ December challenge Christmas
By the Cute & Girly Challenges ~ December Red White and Blue
Digi Galore ~ Anything Goes

Life is good; so is art.
 Bonnie