Chinese Dragon

Time for another challenge over at

IKEsWORLD

and this fortnight it is

Anything Goes  

We are onto the second week of the challenge so there is still plenty of time for you to enter and win the fabulous prize of $15 to spend in the IKEsWORLD store and an extra goodie pack :)  To win the prize or be voted in the top 3 you must use and IKEsWORLD digi, lots to choose from so why not pop on over to the shop and have a look around.

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I have chosen to create a card with the fabulous digi - Chinese Dragon.  Having hunted for ages to find a great dragon digi I was over the moon to come across this beauty by Ike, he is such a stunner.

For my card I used black card then added the layers of red and black again with the dragon on.  Chinese cards with dragons on should be dramatic so I hope I captured this by using red black and gold. The red layer is a pearlised card which was embossed with a Spellbinders embossing folder. The dragon is coloured with Promarkers and my every trusy gold paint pen and the finish off the flowers I used clear embossing powder and added an orange gem to the centre of each.  The flames were designed by me and cut on my Black Cat using gold mirror card which was then sprayed with red and orange Promarkers.  The lantern was cut by hand using gold mirror card and embossed to which I added some fancy edging trim I found - it is great, long strands of gold with gold balls at the bottom, I think it looks great on the lantern :) To finish off I made a simple Happy Birthday label to tuck behind the red layer, and added three gold brads so it is nice and easy to pull out and read.

The hidden tag :)

Ingredients:-

• Black and red pearlerised card from Craft Creations
• Digi - Chinese Dragon by IKEsART
• Promarkers 
• Spellbinders and Cuttlebug embossing folders
• Dies - Spellbinders Grand Nestabilities Labels 1
• Mirror card, embossing powder, gems, brads etc from my stash

I am entering this project into the following challenges:-

• Scribble and Scrap - Anything Goes  (Oct27)
• Stamping Sensations - All Creatures Great and Small (Nov 8)
• 4 Crafty Chicks - #164 Multiple Layers (Oct 26)
• Delightful Challenges - Frame It (Oct 24)
• By LORi Challenge - Colour (Blank, Orange plus your choice) (Oct 24)
• Digital Stamps 4 Joy - Embossing (Nov 1)

Halloween Night

When in the UK I bought some Shrink Plastic and today I eventually got round to trying it out. With Halloween approaching I wanted to make a card for a friend of mine who decorates her house to the hilt, has a brilliant party every year and likes her party going guest to dress up lol.  Unfortunately this year she has moved away from where I live so alas hubby and I will be missing the party so I will be there via a card instead.

Here is a mini step through of my Shrink Plastic experiment lol
First I used a piece of clipart of a raven and printed onto the shrink plastic using an inkjet printer.  This really was a bit of a risk as the only instructions with the shrink plastic are are hand colouring.  I was not daft, I used the hubbies printer just in case it went badly wrong lol.  As you can see it printed really well. Next I had to cut the raven out ready for the next step.

 With the oven heating up nicely I raked out a baking tray and following instructions, lined it with tin foil (aluminum foil)

I don't have a picture of the next bit, but after placing the tray and raven in the oven I cringed watching this lump of plastic twist and curl.  The instructions warned this would happen and said it would go flat when ready (I didn't believe them) but they were right.

When ready, only took about 3 minutes, I took the tray out and placed a book on top per the instructions to keep it flat while cooling.  I now have the perfect use for a cookery book - those who know me know I detest cooking and am in a disaster in the kitchen :)

 Time to remove the book and see what has happened.  The instruction said the shrink plastic would shrink to one seventh the size of the original image.  Well like my cooking my maths is equally bad and demonstrated here as my raven turned out a lot bigger than I anticipated.  Oh dear, now I have to re-design my card to make him fit.  Apart from being to big I am absolutely delighted with the outcome and already got a few more ideas lined up for other projects.

Now for my card. I used the Halloween Night Digi Stamp and Paper Pack by Coosty Creations and added a couple of spider webs which I created and cut on my die cutter.  I then used black embossing powder on the webs. After hunting for ages I found a quote which I think goes pretty well with the card by Edgar Allan Poe - 'Convinced myself, I see not to convince' and then added a bit extra on myself lol - 'For tonight I take up my broom and FLY'.  This was printed onto one of the digi papers from the pack. The digi was coloured with Promarkers and fussy cut then put to one side for the time being.  Now for the hard bit, as my raven turned out much bigger than expected I had to think how to position it on the card.  A trip to my garden was in store to find a suitable twig for him to sit on. I coloured the twig with my black Promarker and attached it to the card with a strong adhesive. I then added a small green gem to the eye of the raven, attached the witch on her broom with foam tape and then stuck the raven into place.

 Ingredients:-

• White Linen card and black card from Craft Creations
• Digi - Halloween Night Digital Stamp and Paper Pack by Coosty Creations, available from the StitchyBear Digital Outlet
• Webs - designed and cut by me
• Shrink Plastic for the raven
• Stick, gem, brads, embossing powder and orange bobbly trim from my stash and garden

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

• Passion For Promarkers - Spooky (Oct 23)
• Dream Valley - Halloween (Nov 3)
• Pile It On - #42 - Halloween/Day of the Dead/Cute and Creepy (Oct 28)
• Cut It Up  - #30 Halloween (Nov 1)
• Digi Haven - Halloween (Oct 30)
• Lori Designs - Colours - Black, Orange +1 your choice (Oct 24)
• Crafting For All Seasons - To Cute to Spook (Nov 1)
• Digi Galore - Halloween (Nov 1)
• The Cupboard Trilogy - Halloween (Nov 1)
• Lunagirl Moonbeams - Witchery (Nov 3)

Bluebells

Hello folks.  We have another challenge at One Stitch At A Time so how about popping over to see all the fabulous creations by the design team.

Challenge #186

Theme 'Anything Goes'

It was Ali's turn to pick for our group this week and she chose the beautiful 'Blue Bell' digi by Gingerloft, I love flower digi's, well I just love flowers in general - natures painted canvas :)

The sponsor for this challenge is StitchyBear Digi Outlet Prize giving all the digi images that the team used in challenge 184 To win main prize you must use an Image from our store.  Runner up prize. For person using none store image... Prize is $3

For my card I used the poem 'Bluebell' by Emily Bronte which I typed in a script font and then applied an embossed appearance in Photoshop. Once printed I tried something I have not done before - scrunched it up into a small ball then flattened it out.  Have to admit it was a bit hard to do, bit like the feeling book lovers get if they have to write comments on the pages for future reference. I printed the digi twice and fully coloured one  image and only the leaves of the other so I could decoupage them over the edge of the mount.  Next I played around with my lace stash, choosing four types of lace and overlaid these on the background.  Next I cut the didi out using Spellbinders Nestabilities Labels 20 and the lacy mount below using Spellbinders- Adorning Squares.  To finish off I added a small folded section of lace with three flowers which I coloured with Promarker Bluebell and draped a pearl string around too.

Ingredients:-

• White Linen card from Craft Creations
• Digi - Blue Bell by Gingerloft, available from the StitchyBear Digital Outlet
• Background paper by me along with sentiment
• Promarkers Indego Blue, Violet, Bluebell, Powder Blue, Forest Green, Bright Green, Leaf Green, Meadow Green and blender for the material flowers
• Lace, pearls and flowers from my stash

I am entering this card into the following challenges:-

• Wags' n Whiskers - Paper Piecing (Nov 1)
• Nutcrafters - Lots of Layers (Nov 1)
• Whimsy Stamps - Shabby Chic / Vintage (Nov 1)
• Paulahoilfieldscrafts - A Little Bit Shabby (Nov 1)
• Cards Galore - Flowers (Nov 7)

Can You Feel The Chill???

Hello folks.  We have another challenge at One Stitch At A Time so how about popping over to see all the fabulous creations by the design team.

Challenge #185

Theme ' Winter Wonderland'

Our sponsor this week is Creative Craft World with a prize of 3 Promarkers.  To win this prize you MUST use a StitchyBear Digital Outlet item.  With over 20 creators in the StitchyBear store it really is worth popping over to have a look.

For my DT card this week I worked with a fab digi called Skelly Gossip by Ike - unusual, funny and open to so many ideas - yep a cracking good digi <g>.  The digi is available through the StitchyBear Digital Outlet.

Now having a few ideas on how to use this digi and link it into our theme this week of Winter Wonderland I decided to really think outside the box - really how on earth can skeletons have anything to do with a winter wonderland.  I did think of having them buried in the snow with snowballs landing on them but I also had this tiny ball of wool and knitting needles I have been waiting to find the opportunity to use.  There are a few folks who will see this card who are rather partial to knitting, one of them being my sister so I now the funny side will be seen lol.

I printed a winter wonderland background and cut the window frame out with my die cutter.  I placed sheet plastic behind the window frame and then attached to the card with foam tape.  For the table I coloured some white lace with Turquoise Promarker then attached it to card, this was also attached with foam tape.  Next the really hard part - to fussy cut the skeletons, that was a job in itself but so worth the outcome.  I created the speech bubbles and cut them out, again attaching with foam tape.  To finish off the card I used blue lace to make the curtains and white cord to make the tie-backs.

Ingredients :-

• Blue card from Craft Creations
• Digi - Skelly Gossip by Ike
• Window die cut and speech bubbles by me
• Lace, cord and fabby knitting embellishment from my stash

I am entering this card in the following challenges:-

• Card Crafters Circle - Use 3 Embellishments ( Oct 18) 
• Craftitude   #50 ~ Anything Goes/ Things beginning with the letter S (Skeletons) (Oct 18)
• Crafts Too Challenge You - Create a Scene (Nov 3)
• Stamping for the Weekend - Anything Goes (Oct 25)
• Sweet Stampin Christmas - For Men (Oct 28)
• Divas By Design - 3 or More Layers (Oct 15)
• Pile It On - #41 Humor (Oct 20)

A Mini Album of Hope

Hello everybody.  This is my first DT challenge for the new IKEsWORLD, so excited to be on this team with some wonderfully creative members along with working with IKEsART.  The challenge this week is 'Awareness'.

With it being my first contribution as part of IKEsWORLD I thought I would try something new, a mini album.  I don't have many pink supplies with it not being a favourite colour of mine :) so I really had to rummage through all my supplies for this one.  To create a mini album in keeping with the theme I decided to put a pocket with a tag on each page, the tag contains either an inspirational quote or a thought which I believe would help somebody with cancer to face the challenge they are undertaking.

The album is made from scratch, I first covered each side of some white card with  my chosen papers for each page then cut out with a Spellbinder die.  Next I set about decorating each page.  For the front cover I used the didi Ike had asked us to use called 'Awareness' which I coloured with Promarkers.  The 'You are' text is computer generated as is the backing paper.  For the word 'Beautiful' I printed on acetate and cut out using and XCut label die.

The tags on these two pages say "When life kicks you, let it kick you forward' a quote by Kay Yon and 'You were given this life because you are strong enough'.

The tags on these pages say 'I may not be there yet but I am closer than I was yesterday' and 'I can do this'.

These two tags say 'Take proud in how far you have come and have faith in how far you can go' and 'I can and I will'.

These two say 'The story isn't over yet', and 'Storms make trees take deeper roots', a quote by Dolly Parton.

These two say 'Strong, Beautiful, Brave' and 'I will overcome'.

The final two pages of the album have one page with saying 'I don't just want to survive, I want to live', and the final page with three blank tags for the recipient to write their own thought or inspirational saying on.

Ingredients:-

• White card from Craft Creations
• Digi - Awareness by IKEsArt 
• Dies - a multitude - Spellbinders, Cherry Lynn, XCut, Joy Crafts (think that was all the companies)
• Promarkers -  for the digi - Cerise, Rose Pink, Blossom, Ivory, Blush, Dusky Pink.  Other Promarkers were used with the spray gun to colour the labels but I have forgotten to write them down - silly me <g>
• Lace, gems, backing papers, ribbon etc from my stash.

I am entering this project in the following challenges:-

• Lexi's Creations - Pink (Oct 14)
• Love to Create - #86 ~ Breast Cancer Awareness (Oct 15)
• Tammy's Scrapin Corner - Inspired by a Song Title (Oct 14) - song title used in 'Beautiful' by Christina Aguilera
• Paper Creator's Crafts - Dies and/or Punches (Nov 2?)
• Shopping Our Stash - SOS #121 - Pink or Cancer Awareness/Support (Oct 9)
• Cut it Up - Think Pink (Oct 18)
• Link Up For Pink - 3rd Annual Link up for Pink (Oct 18)
• Inky Chicks - #14 - use two different die cuts (Oct 15)
• In the Pink - Luscious Lace 
• Path of Positivity - Hope (Nov 3)
• Cuttin and Stamping - BCA (Oct 14)
• Patties Creations - Ribbon (Oct 18)
• Wags n Whiskers - Pink BCA (Oct 18)

Ellie Love

Hello folks.  We have another challenge at One Stitch At A Time so how about popping over to see all the fabulous creations by the design team.

Challenge #184

Theme 'Use A Digi'

The Prize is the full set of digi images that the DT used in challenge #182, so that's about $20 worth of digi images.. To win our main prize you MUST use an image that's available in StitchyBear Digi Outlet by any of our creators.  You can still enter with a none StitchyBear Digi Outlet image but will be entered into a separate draw to win $3 to spend in our store.

It was Tammylee's turn to pick for our group this week and she chose the cute digi 'Elmer The Love Struck Elephant' by Floppy Latte Designs.  With a digi like this I can't see what type of card to make other than a Valentine one lol

Where do I start - yes I am out of my comfort zone again, well a grey elephant and a red and white colour scheme would work, lots of hearts and lots of white space.  Now I am far from a poet but the white space just didn't work, I didn't want more patterns or dies which only left me to try out my creative writing skills (maybe not such a good idea but at least original!!!).  The elephant digi is attached to the card with a wobble - oh what fun.

 Showing the elephant wobbling <g>

 Inside of card

Ingredients:-

• Red Hammer card from Craft Creations
• Digi - 'Elmer The Love Struck Elephant' by Floppy Latte Designs
• Dies - Cherry Lyn Heart to Heart Doily
• Embossilicious embossing folder 6x6
• Heart Mulberry paper, ribbon, gem and wobble from my stash

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

• The Male Room - Challenge #5 - Animal, Avian or Aquarian (Oct 9)
• C is For Challenge - Boys and Men (Oct 14)
• Crafty Boots - Sweet Treats (Oct 14)
• Melonheadz - Animals (Oct 15)
• Path of Positivity - Honesty (Oct 15)
• There She Goes - Decorate the inside of your card (?)

A Page in my Album

Just a quick post :)  I am in the middle of making my first mini album and this page of the album is for the Cherry Lynn Challenge 'Lace'.

For this page I first covered both sides of white card with the backing papers I wanted to used and then cut the shape with a Spellbinder die.  Next I started to decorate the page.  Each page in my mini album will have a pocket with a tag inside and each tag will have an inspirational saying.  The one on this page says 'I don't just want to survive, I want to live'.  After the page I attached some lace at an angle then created the pocket by by cutting a quarter circle and embossing it with a heart embossing folder. This was attached to the card and some lovely maroon lace I have was added.  Next I used my lovely Cherry Lynn Dreamcatcher die to make three circular doilies which I attached over the edge of the embossed circle section and placed a gem in the centre of each.  I printed the text for the tag and then cut it out with an XCut die and added pink ribbon and a small flower so it is easy to pull out the pocket.

Ingredients:-

• White card from Craft Creations
• Dies used - Cherry Lynn Dreamcatcher, Spellbinder Grand- Labels 1, X-Cut - large tags
• Ribbon, backing paper, lace, flower and gems from my stash.

I am entering this album page in the following challenges:-

• Cherry Lynn - Lace (Oct 6)