Viva la Autumn...

Hiya!

Sorry I didn't get back quite as quickly as I'd hoped to post my other Viva la Verve card - this week has been extremely busy with our church conference so I've not had much time to create or blog! I wanted to share this card with you cos I really had a blast making it and I love the finished result:

I used the sketch from the challenge, along with this inspiration pic:

So pretty right? I'd love to have a table setting like this in my house!!

I used the woodgrain DSP from the Woodland Walk pack for the background (to imitate the table) and I used Basic Grey for the layers behind each section to pick up the grey cupboards in the background. I spotted a leaf on the table that was orange in the middle and red on the outside so I made one in those colours using Autumn Splendour and Pumpkin Pie/Riding Hood Red ink on watercolour paper. The oval piece was stamped with the berries from Autumn Days (to pick up on the berries on the plates). The sentiment is from the fabulous Curly Cute set new to the UK cattyn and I punched it out with the Modern Label punch. I added some LUSH pumpkin pie striped ribbon with a basic grey button to finish things off.

So now you've seen a glimpse into my creative process, I would highly recommend taking part in an inspiration challenge - they are brilliant for getting you to think a bit differently from what you normally would!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

More watercolouring...

Hiya!

Just popping in quickly to share a card I made for one of the Viva la Verve challenges:

I combined the sketch with inspiration from this challenge - I took the colours and ran with them! I used some of our new in colours - Concord Crush, Pear Pizzazz and Peach Parfait. I watercoloured with markers and an aqua brush, and added a bit of Sahara Sand ink around the image to make the white icing pop a little more. The greeting is from the Perfect Punches set.

Thanks for stopping by - I have another card to share later so I might be posting twice in one day!

x Amy x

Playing with Watercolour...

Hiya!

I am so thrilled that SU are now carrying watercolour paper in our new catty - I've been waiting for this for AGES cos I absolutely adore watercolouring! There are also some lovely new stamp sets that are perfect for colouring and my favourite of these images is the flower from Happiness Shared. I combined this week's Colour Q challenge with this week's sketch from the Sweet Stop to create this:

The colour challenge was to include Concord Crush, Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black and Whisper White - it was meant to be Halloween themed but I'm not into Halloween so I went botanical instead. I coloured the image with Concord Crush and Old Olive with a little touch of Pumpkin Pie in the centre of the flower. The DSP is from the Brights Patterns pack. I used the Music Notes wheel with Old Olive ink to create the background strips - love, love, love this wheel! The greeting is from Notably Ornate and I cut it out and layered it on a 'designer label' punched from Old Olive card. The Sweet Stop sketch had a twist of adding sparkle so I added some self-adhesive rhinestones to the corners of the image panel. I also added some black ribbon and olive button to finish.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x

Curtain Call meets new stash!!

Hiya!

My new box of goodies from Stampin Up arrived on Monday and I've been having so much fun playing! Sooo many lovely things!! I had to use my FAVE set from the new catalogue first - Notably Ornate. When I saw it in the US catty I was desparately hoping we would get it here too and lookie - we did! I used this week's Curtain Call colours as a basis and came up with this:

I stamped the frame with Stazon onto whisper white and cut it out. The bird is stamped with Marina Mist and I added a teeny tiny pearl (from the new self-adhesive pearls in the catty) for his eye. The greeting is from Curly Cute - my favourite sentiment set in the catalogue. The background paper is So Saffron DSP from the Soft Subtles DSP collection. I added some black grosgrain ribbon (yippee - we finally have black ribbon!!) and a Crumb Cake button to finish.

My first card with this set and I love it - can't wait to play some more!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Distressed Etchings...

Hiya!

Are ya impressed with the amount of posting in the last few days?? I guess I'm making up for the woeful last couple of weeks lol! I made another card for a colour/sketch challenge combination tonight - love these! I combined the Stampin Royalty colour challenge (Concord Crush, Tempting Turqouise, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip) with this week's Sketch for You to Try. Here's what I came up with:

I started out with the SFYTT but kinda went a bit off track when I put the whole thing together - oh well! I used one of the new sets in the catalogue - Artistic Etchings. I've used three stamps from this set - the Eiffel Tower, the round medallion (for the ruffled flower) and the accent element on the Tempting Turqouise card (look closely...). I stamped the white background with French Script background (thought that would be appropriate considering the main image!) then dragged the So Saffron inkpad around the edges. See that lovely punched edge? That's the FAB new border punch in our UK catty - woohoo!! The greeting is from Oval All and stamped in Concord Crush. The panel down the side (also Concord Crush) was stamped with the border from Vintage Vogue for a bit of added interest. I added a Saffron button to the centre of the flower and a little piece of Concord Crush ribbon to finish.

Thanks for stopping by...!

x Amy x

Mojo Trimmings...

Hello again!

Two posts in one day - good grief what's going on lol?! I've had a wonderfully productive weekend so far and have managed to make quite a few things - as well as catching up on several hours of lectures that I've missed this week!

I wanted to play along with this week's Mojo Monday sketch and I really wanted to make it a Christmas card as I'm beginning to get {slightly!} concerned about the amount (or lack thereof) of Christmas cards that I have made so far this year... must get cracking! I saw a beautiful card on Ilina's blog that used a combination of Blushing Bride, Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla - it was so gorgeous that I had to case that colour combo. I used the Tree Trimmings set and came up with this:

I stamped the ornaments with Versamark then Blushing Bride/Soft Suede then I embossed them with a mix of Heat & Stick powder and Dazzling Diamonds glitter, then embossed again with clear EP - lovely and sparkly IRL. The sentiment is from Occasional Greetings and punched with the 1 3/4" circle punch. The Blushing Bride piece in the background was stamped with the snowflakes from Serene Snowflakes. The DSP is the fabulous Newsprint pack - love, love, LOVE this stuff! I added some twill tape and a filigree brad with a rhinestone brad through the middle.

I'm loving how this turned out! Will definitely be using this colour combo again!

Thanks for stopping by...

x Amy x

Greenhouse Birthday...

Hiya!

I made a little something this afternoon for the Inkspirations sketch challenge along with the Colour Q challenge... Here's what I came up with:

The colours were Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Pumpkin Pie and Pear Pizzazz - aren't they lovely together? The photo doesn't really do it justice as the light was fading and I had to adjust some of the colour/light properties with my photo editing software - doesn't quite look like the real deal though!

The flowers (from Greenhouse Garden) were stamped first with Baja Breeze then with Pacific Point. The stems were added with Pear Pizzazz. I added little pearls to the centres of the flowers (I'm so exciting about getting my hands on SU's new self-adhesive pearls!). The background paper is from the Greenhouse Gala pack and included the perfect colours for this challenge. The ribbon is white organza - gorgeous!

I'll be back later today with my Mojo card for this week - see ya!

x Amy x

Golden Leaves...

Hiya!

I actually got a chance to sit down and just PLAY with paper, stamps and ink last night for the first time in ages (I always seem to be preparing for a class or workshop which is fun in itself...!). I wanted to play along with the Verve sketch challenges that were going on for World Card Making Day - I ended up making four cards last night - was on a bit of a roll! I'll share the others in the next few days but here's one I combined with this week's Curtain Call Colour Challenge:

The colours were More Mustard, Cajun Craze, Old Olive and Crumb Cake (still getting used to not saying KRAFT!). These colours were so autumnal I had to go with the lovely Autumn Splendour set of leaves. I embossed each leaf in gold on a different colour cardstock then cut out. The background is Crumb Cake stamped with Crumb Cake ink and the Baroque Motifs swirl (my go-to background element!). The sentiment is from Trendy Trees and I added some lushious Old Olive striped ribbon to finish.

Thanks for stopping by!

x Amy x