CCM #179 Christmas With a Twist

It’s time for our final challenge of 2017 at Crafty Cardmakers. I cannot believe the year has gone by so quickly, but Christmas is once again nearly upon us, and as usual I am totally unprepared! Anyhow, our challenge is Christmas with a Twist, the twist being something non traditional, quirky, unusual, not necessarily thought of as Christmas.

I have used a couple of twists in my card. Firstly the colour scheme is not necessarily one used for Christmas, secondly the image is a bit out there, a Stampotique stamp by Daniel Torrente called Tangled Enthusiasm, which brings me to thirdly I went for a play on the word twist, as this quirky little fella is all ‘twisted’ up in the Christmas lights.

I stamped my image and then masked him off with Eclipse tape whilst I inked over the background with DIs. I then coloured him to tone in with the background inking with my Copics. The lights actually looked quite effective in reality, not showing up so well in a photograph sadly, but all twinkly like lights would be, because I glittered the bulbs in lots of different coloured glitters. The presents were coloured and cut out separately to give the impression of some dimension but without actually creating any……. have to fool Royal Mail somehow and not have to pay them extra to post my cards!

The sentiment was stamped from a Dylusions stamp, Christmas Words, which I stamped and then cut out to fill the top of the card more.

I am entering this into:-
Addicted to Stamps - #137 Christmas
Allsorts - #393 Christmas Lights
Country View Crafts - Dec: Christmas
Crafty Calendar - Dec: Christmas Time
Crafty Catz - #350 Christmas in Non Traditional Colours
Creative Corner - Christmas Time
Crimbo Crackers - #121 Non Traditional Christmas Colours
Kitty Bee Aloha Friday - #86 Christmas
Pattie’s Creations - #129 Anything goes related to Winter or Christmas
Pink & Main -  #16 Not so Traditional Holiday Cards
QKR Stampede - #221 Non Traditional Christmas Colours
Sparkles Monthly Challenge - #86 Christmas Is Coming

DV #146 Christmas

Our final challenge of the year at Dream Valley today is Christmas. We are sponsored by both Robyn’s Fetish and by All Dressed Up. The team were given lots of lovely stamps to choose from and I chose this Robyn’s Fetish image called Home For the Holidays.

I printed him and then stamped around the edge with the outside edge of a Chloe Endean stamp which makes a gorgeous border, which I embossed with Jingle Wow powder. I coloured him with my copic pens and then matted it onto some lovely paper from Crafters Companion. The snowflakes at the top are also from Crafters as are the gorgeous little Christmas tree diecuts which were on today’s door in their fabulous Advent Calendar which was a gift to their Platinum Members! Thanks you CC. Some adorable little dies are appearing day by day, and today’s was perfect to finish off my card.

| am entering this into:-

A Gem of a Challenge - #183 Snowmen/Women
Addicted to Stamps - #137 Christmas
Alphabet Challenge - T For Trees
Come and Get It - Christmas
Crafty Calender - Dec: Christmas Time
Crafty Friends - #46 Merry Christmas
Creative With Stamps - #9 Christmas
Dies R Us - #62 Christmas
Fussy and Fancy - #178 Christmas in Tones or Pastels
Paper Creator’s Crafts - #54 Christmas
Paru’s Cardmaking - Dec: Christmas
Robyn’s Fetish - #345 Square or Rectangle
Sparkle’s Monthly - #86 Christmas is Coming
Sweet Stampers - #1 Christmas
The Crafter’s Cafe - #162 Christmas
Winter Wonderland - Frame It or Night Scene

DV #145 Winter Animals

Our challenge at Dream Valley today is Winter Animals.

I went for a slightly obvious ‘Winter’ animal with a gorgeous Deer stamp from Chocolate Baroque. I stamped it in Archival Watering Can, and embossed with clear powder. I then inked around it with Broken China, Picked Rapsberry and Squeezed Lemonade DIs, using stencil brushes from Clarity.

When that was all done I put the whole thing through a lovely freebie embossing folder that came with a magazine last year.

I picked out the large snowflakes, small snowflakes and dots, on the embossed areas and glittered them. The oval I also glittered but with a glitter that has a sort of tinsel flake in it.

Then I matted onto rainbow mirri card, and onto a scalloped card blank.

I am entering this into:-

Cardz4Galz - #35 Contemporary Christmas
Challenge Up Your Life - #54 Santa’s Helpers (The Reindeer pulls the sleigh)
C.R.A.F.T. - #390 Christmas
Crafty Hazlenut’s Christmas Challenge - #308 Cute or AG Christmas
Cute Card Thursday - #452 Christmas/Holidays
Daring Cardmakers - A Musical Christmas (It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas)
Fashionable Stamping - #117 ‘Tis the Season, Autumn or Winter
Fresh Brewed - Nov: Pastels or Friendship
Imagine That - #10 Christmas Is Coming
Inkspirational - #122 Chill
Sasayaki Glitter Challenge - Nov: Christmas
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Christmas Critters

Sparkle Creations Christmas Card Challenges - #49 Christmas

CCM 176 Explosion of Colour

Our challenge today at Crafty Cardmakers is an Explosion of Colour.

For my explosion I started off with a Carabelle Studio stamp called Stitched Mixed Media Background and stamped it twice and embossed in silver detail powder. I forgot to take a picture before step three so I am including a pic after I cut the petals!

I then just coloured randomly with three shades of Primary Elements from Luminarte mixed with bind and resist powder and water, so a sort of watercolour wash. I have to say at this stage I nearly threw it away as it looked too jumbled and dark and quite frankly a mess!

However I persevered and cut petals from the ‘mess’ with a mylar template. I cut more than I needed for choice, and edged each petal with a sparkly, but clear based, glitter glue. I formed the petals into a flower, using 12 of the petals I had made, against an embossed floral background I had already made from Crafters Companion. All are matted onto a couple of layers of plain white card and turquoise mirri to match the main colour of the flower. I created my own border with a complementary colour stabilo fine liner, and a gorgeous sparkly gem with a large silver pearl centre from Chloe’s Creative Cards to finish off the flower.

I was rather pleased with the end result, it definitely looked better than the ‘mess’ I cut it all out from!

I am entering this into:-

Brown Sugar - #222 Birthday
CAS on Sunday - #95 Flowers
Colour Crazy Craft Challenge - #25 Anything Goes
Crafting With Friends - #30 Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - #449 Lace and/or Pearls
Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - #44 Anything Goes
Morgan’s Artworld - #22 Embossing Wet or Dry
Polkadoodles - #42 Anything Goes
Simply Papercraft - #39 Anything Goes
Sisterhood of Snarky Stampers - W is for Watercolour

DV #143 One For the Girls

Our challenge today at Dream Valley is One for the Girls. We are sponsored by Live and Love Crafts.

My card was for a friend’s birthday. I love this cute Mayz Art image of a girl with her scooter, which I coloured with copics. The lovely fan border edge is a punch from Martha Stewart. With all the gorgeous dies these days we tend to forget our old faithful punches! The border is overlaid with  a blue ribbon and also with a paper doily self adhesive ribbon. The mat behind her is from Marianne, and the flowers are from my stash.

Sorry for the poor quality of the pic, I somehow saved it at a very small size and as the original has long since gone to the recipient I can’t take another pic.

I am entering this into:-

Brown Sugar - #221 Anything Goes
Cardz for Galz - #33 Use At Least One Die
Crafting With An Attitude - #20 Anything Goes
Crafty Catz - #343 Anything Goes with an Embossing Twist (die cut mat)
Crafty Girls Creations - #28 Anything Goes
Julia Spiri - #25 Anything Goes with a Tic Tac Toe Twist, Diagnonal L-R Flowers, Image, Blue
Little Miss Muffet - #149 Anything Goes
Perfectly Created Chaos - #4 Anything Goes
Simply Papercraft - #39 Anything Goes
Southern Girls - Team Trace Punches and Dies

CCM 174 Birthdays

We have a lovely easy challenge today at Crafty Cardmakers, Birthdays!

My birthday card was created with a stencil I created myself by diecutting a Go Kreate die into mylar. First I stamped the Katzelkraft Cat and then masked it up before brushing various DIs through to create a sort of landscape. The little border at the bottom was added later and coloured with Stabilo Fine Point pens, as the detail on it was very small and much easier to colour with a really fine point than a copic or even a pencil.

The birds in the trees stamps is called Corbeaux Silhouette also from Katzelkraft. I misfired the edge and had to finish it off with a sharpie marker!

Die cut is from Britannia dies, all matted onto a 7” scalloped square card. The cat is actually coloured a very pale lilac but sadly it’s so pale it looks as if it’s not coloured at all.

I am entering this into:-

AAA - #74 Masking
Classic Design Team Open Challenge - #07 Anything Goes
Colour Crazy - #23 Anything Goes Craft Colouring
Crafting With Friends - #28 Anything Goes
Crafty Catz - #340 Birds of a Feather
Creative With Stamps - #7 Sentiment
Cute Card Thursday - #445 CAS
Ellibelles Creative Moments - Creatures and Critters Linky Party 8
Freshly Brewed Challenge - #21 Animals
Kitty Bee Aloha Friday - #81 Birthday
Robyn’s Fetish - #336 Square Cards
Seize The Birthday - Soft and Simple
Southern Girls - Pretty In Pastels

DV #141 Embossing Wet or Dry

Our challenge today at Dream Valley is embossing. You can use wet embossing or dry. We are sponsored by the fabulous Live and Love Crafts.

I chose wet embossing. My stamps are mostly from Paper Artsy, the flowers and butterflies are the new Kay Carley set EKC03 and the words are from JOFY 11. I stamped with versafine and embossed with clear detail powder, and then watercoloured using my lovely new Prima Watercolour Confections! I used Tropicals, Classics and also Decadent Pies. They are fabulous paints, just the merest touch of water brings them to live and the pigments seem really rich. I have no idea about their lightfast properties, or indeed what colours they actually are as Prima have not bothered to put this on the packaging, nor on their website. They come in a funky little tin with two fold out mixing palettes, and even a thumb ring to hold them with if you were using them outside.

I also made a border with Leonie Pujol’s lovely border stamps, and then added glitter glue to lots of the accents on the flowers and butterflies. It’s matted onto some pink mirri.

I am entering this into:-

A Bit More Time To Craft - #28 Anything Goes
A Gem of a Challenge - #178 Female Birthday
Crafting from the Heart - #129 Anything Goes
Crafting With Friends - #28 Anything Goes
Crafty Awesomeness - Sept: Anything Goes
Ellibelle’s Creative Moments - Creatures and Critters Linky Party 7
Get Creative - #48 Must Include Embossing
Incy Wincy Designs - Things That Fly
Make My Monday - #31 No Patterned Paper
QKR Stampede - #210 Embossing
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Powder Power

DV #140 No Squares Allowed

Our challenge at Dream Valley is No Squares Allowed. I have to admit I veer towards the square card as I am a fiend for symmetry. So it’s nice to do something other than the ‘norm’ for me.

We are sponsored by the fabulous Live and Love Crafts.

My card is all made from scratch including the base, which was created with a Tonic die called Bowscale. I love the versatility of being able to cut any size I like, and the fact that I can make them square or rectangular depending on my mood.

The tree design is a Sweet Poppy stencil called Wishing Tree. I first inked through the stencil with a combination of DIs and after the ink dried I spread clear texture paste through, before it was able to dry I covered it in clear micro beads. The little sentiment is from a diecut pad from Craftwork Cards and edged in one of the colours I used through the stencil.

I am entering this into:-

4 Crafty Chicks - #315 Birthday
ABC Challenge - O is for Open
Artistic Inspirations - #163 Anything Goes
Aud Sentiments - #163 Anything Goes + Sentiment
Bastel-Traum - #44 Mask/Stencil/Die Cutting
Brown Sugar - #215 Anything Goes
Crafty Catz - #337 Anything Goes, twist no squares
Creative Artiste - #18 Anything Mixed Media Goes
Creative Fingers Challenge - #115 Anything Goes
Love To Create - #19 Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes
Oh La La Creations - #213 Anything Goes
The Corrosive Challenge - #9 Anything Goes

DV #139 Monochrome

Our challenge today at Dream Valley is monochrome. You could, of course, go down the black and white route, or as I have done, just shades of one colour.

We are sponsored by Crafty Ribbons.

I have used Stampendous’ The Look, which also comes with a feather, which I have used and a rose, plus a stencil.

I stamped the face and then masked it off before stamping the Justrite script background with Forget Me Not Archival ink. I coloured the face in with Neocolor II watercolour crayons. I stamped the feather twice onto the first of the background papers that I used, in the same Archival ink I used for the script stamp. My papers are from NRN and K & Co. I distressed all my edges and then inked them with the Forget Me Not inkpad. I used Glossy Accents on her lips, and Spectrum Noir sparkle in clear over her eye makeup. A flower and small pearl/crystal spray finished it off.

The glossy accents and sparkle show up better in the pic below.

I am entering this into:-

Colour Crazy Challenge - #20 Anything Goes Craft Colouring Challenge
Crafting From the Heart - #125 Anything Goes
Crafty Creations - #322 Words/Letters on the Background
Ellibelle’s Creative Moments - Let’s Colour Linky Party 11 Anything Goes
Oh La La Creations - #212 Girlie
PDE Linky Party - 135 Bold, Bright Colours
Polkadoodles - #34 Something Beginning with F (Feathers)
Simply Create Too - #116 Use Feathers
Stamping Sensations - Aug: Anything Goes
The Pencil Case - #27 Anything Goes

CCM 171 By Or Under The Sea

Good morning and Happy Monday. Did everyone enjoy the Olympic Games? I am so proud of our Great Britain team. We even outdid our performances from the home games in 2012. Congratulations to all the medallists, and better luck next time for the ‘near misses’.

Right over to our challenge at Crafty Cardmakers, which this time is being hosted by Bec, By or Under the Sea.

We are delighted to be sponsored for this challenge by Woodware Craft Collection with a fabulous £12 voucher for our winner.

Apologies this is picture heavy!

My Under the Sea is a bathroom cabinet that I purchased from my local recycling centre (or The Tip as we like to call it) for just £2. It started off as the most awful dark mahogany colour and boy did it take some sanding down to get it to the stage where I could even consider painting it. Ignore the ‘false’ mirror, but the reflection of the camera wasn’t exactly enhancing the pic so I photoshopped in a pretend mirror over the real one.

Unfortunately I forget to take a pic before I started work but this one is after about three hours of sanding!

I mixed some emulsion to get an aquatic type colour and having gessoed it first I painted with the new colour. It was still a little too bright though so I dry brushed in some white paint to tone it down a little.

This was actually finished in two stages, because my ME got really bad half way through and I pushed it to one side and didn’t get round to finishing it until I saw this challenge was due to be published so I cracked on at that point and finished it. However, when I started it, I only had a couple of underwater type stencils and a set of Magnolia dies which were ocean/underwater themed.

I textured pasted a mermaid and also bubbles through stencils. No idea where the mermaid stencil came from but the bubbles stencil is actually called Wave and is by Dutch Doobadoo. I also made my own embellishments from the Magnolia dies, and the tiny turtles which was a turtle border die, which I die cut several times and then layered up before painting.

As you can see from the pic below, I moved things around before I was happy with where they all were, and before finally sticking them down, I painted them with Maya Gold paint, and also painted the mermaid and dry brushed some maya gold onto the top of the bubbles to give them a bit more definition. It was at this point it got pushed to one side and forgotten.

Then the Heartfelt Under The Sea collection was released and I just knew I had to use it. I couldn’t face starting again, but hope that the addition of the Heartfelt pieces enhances it!

I took a couple of sheets from the paper pad and stuck them inside the cabinet, adding extra diecut fish to the background.

Before I stuck anything down, I placed various pieces to see if I liked them

But I decided there were too many, and also it needed bubbles to match the front. After I stuck it all down I sprinkled Glamour Dust over the fish, you can just see some of the twinkles in the pic below, but in real life it’s must more twinkly.

and the other side

Before I put it all back together I gave it several coats of Plasti-Kote satin transparent paint spray, because obviously going into a bathroom it will have to deal with a lot of steam and I wanted to make sure that all those lovely paper pieces didn’t just fall to pieces in the heat and steam. Word of warning, if you go down that route yourself……. do it outside, the fumes and smell nearly choked me and Poppy dog.

Finally a view inside with everything re-assembled and the shelf in place. Can you spot the non deliberate error? Yep, I forgot to measure where the shelf was going to be so I could hide the join in the two different sheets of paper! Ooops

As you can just see above. I stamped a gorgeous little Stampendous sentiment at the front of the cabinet. Near the sea We forget to count the days. I love this sentiment because it’s exactly how being near the sea makes me feel.

And here it is in more close up

Looking at it from the left, this is the view on entering my bathroom, well not quite. This is on top of my cooker at the moment, but after it has sat outside for a few days to get rid of the smell from hell, it’s the lefthand side you will see more of as you enter the bathroom.

Sadly it wasn’t until it was all re-assembled I realised that I should have tried to find a way to remove the mirror before sanding down as you can see, at this angle, the reflection of the dark mahogany areas I was unable to reach with the sander! I may have to see if I can sort that out over the coming days. I also had to die the knob as I forgot to get a new one and the original one was bright white and stuck out like a sore thumb.

And finally the view from the right. By the way, my Daughter informs me I should have cleaned the mirror before taking a photo! But it took me so long to get a pic from the side that didn’t show the mess reflected in it, that a couple of finger prints are neither here nor there!

I am entering this into:- (way too many! but this has taken me ages, so I am showing off!)

Alphabet Challenge - M For Mythical (the Mermaid)
Altered Eclectics - Aug: Anything Goes
Bastel-traum - #44 Mask/Stencil/Die Cutting
Classic Design Team Open Challenge - #05 Anything Goes
Crafting Musketeers - #40 Anything But a Card
Crafty Boots - Anything But a Card
Crafty Hazlenut’s Patt Paper - Aug: Anything Goes
Deep Ocean Challenge - #135 Seaside/Beach
Delicious Doodles - Aug: All Creatures Great and Small
Ellibelles Creative Moments - Critters and Creatures Linky Party 6
Fantasy Crafters - #2 Aug: Anything Fantasty Goes
Fantasy Stampers - #69 At The Beach
If You Gave A Crafter A Cookie - #50 Photo Inspiration
Little Red Wagon - #355 Surf’s Up
Love To Create - #17 Anything Mixed Media Goes
Make My Monday - #28 Photo Inspiration
Melonheadz Friendz - Use Diecuts and/or punches
Mixed Media World - #17 Summer/Sea/Nautical
Morgan’s Art World - #17 Anything But A Card
Not Just Cards - #35 Aug: Anything Goes
Pile It On - #115 Die Cut Embellishments
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Go Fish
Sparkle N Sprinkle - Aug: Anything Goes with loose glitter ( I promise it is there, please read post!)
The Crafty Addicts - #22 Use Die Cuts
The House That Stamps Built WIW Photo Challenge - A1716
Worldwide Open Design Team Challenge - Aug: Anything Goes

DV 138 Pretty In Pink

We are sponsored today by All Dressed Up for our Pretty In Pink challenge. We were lucky enough to have one of their gorgeous images to use in the challenge. I chose Fairy Flowers.

I coloured her with copics and used some Stabilo fine point pens for the flower which were very small because of the size I printed the image at.

She is matted onto some pink mirri cut with a spellbinders label die. The diecut area in the corner is one of Tim Holtz’s Mixed Media dies and the sentiment die is another Spellbinder die.

I am entering this into:-

Come and Get It - Punches and Dies
C.R.A.F.T. - #376 Anything Goes
Crafting When We Can - #125 Things With Wings
Crafting with An Attitude - #18 Anything Goes
Crafts Galore Encore - Use a Digi or Stamp
Crafty Girls’ Creations - #24 Anything Goes
Happy Little Stampers - Aug: Anything Goes with Dies
Stamping Sensations - Aug: Anything Goes
Star Stampz - Add a Sentiment
Through The Purple Haze - #106 Anything Goes

CCM 170 Time

It’s my turn to host over at Crafty Cardmakers this time and I have chosen Time as my theme. I am happy for you to interpret that anyway you like, but if it’s not obvious then please tell us how it relates to time.  I am a little tardy with my post because I have had a nightmare week and didn’t get it finished on time.

I started with a 5x7 canvas panel that I had already started but really didn’t like, but it was in the finished colours so that influenced everything else I did. I splodged various Paper Artsy Fresco colours on and then added a couple of stamps from the Ding and Dong range in the background. The main image is also from the same range. I stamped the components onto three different shades of Elizabeth Craft Shimmer Sheetz with stazon. The main body/clock I embossed around the two large circles and then flipped it over and embossed between them to give it some body (no pun intended). I also coloured the beak in yellow to give some definition and added some colour to alternate stripes on the legs, and the clock edge.

The wings and head plummage I accentuated with a white sharpie poster paint pen. I used brads for the eye and to hold the hands of an old clock, I had dismantled, in place. Finally I popped a few tiny gems into place in the centres of the stamped clocks in the background. The craft sheets were a nightmare to stick to each other. I ended up having to use Glossy Accents, but sadly it did leak onto the front of the bird and I had to try and repair it with copics. The upside is it’s really shimmery in real life. The photo doesn’t pick up how the colours change on the metal sheets.

I am entering this into:-

Art Journal Journey – Nature’s Wonders
Crafting When We Can – #125 Things With Wings
Crafty Boots - Use a Stamp
Creative Corner – Anything But A Card
Delicious Doodles – All Creatures Great and Small
Digi Choosday – #32 Anything Goes
Ellibelles Creative Moments – #6 Critters and Creatures Linky Party
Happy Little Stampers – Aug: Mixed Media Chall – Metal
Kitty Bee Aloha Friday – #77 All About Animals
Lemon Shortbread – #21 Anything Goes
Love To Create – #16 Anything Creative/Mixed Media Goes
Pile It On – #114 Make Your Own Background
QKR Stampede – #203 Things With Wings
Rhedd’s Creative Spirit – August
Try It On Tuesday – Leftovers and Scraps (my clock hands were left over from a clock I dismantled for the cogs)
Unicorn Challenge – #12 Animal Kingdom

DV #136 Christmas in July

Our challenge at Dream Valley to day is Christmas in July and as I sit here in my room roasting inside at 26 C I am wishing that perhaps it really were.

We are sponsored by Pink Gem Designs.

My Chsristmas offering is a gift bag. I started with a plain white bag. The floral arrangment has various berries and leaves from my stash, but the poinsettia I diecut myself. The paper was a magazine freebie, and the little tree was in a pack of mdf Christmas embellishments. Cannot recall where the little string of lights came from. Sentiment is a Sue Wilson one. I added some glitter around the edge of the paper and to the tree to look like tinsel.

I am entering this into:-

ABC Christmas Chall – N for No Rules
Broken Fairy Challenge – #6 AG with a Twist of Christmas
Christmas at Sweet Stampin’ July: AG
Christmas Cards All Year Round – July: AG
Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge – #290 AG Christmas
Crafty Hazelnut’s Christmas Challenge Extra – July: AG
Fussy and Fancy – #168 Christmas In July
Just For Fun Rubber Stamps – Christmas in July With a Little Sparkle
Kitty Bee Designs Aloha Friday Chall – #76 Christmas in July
My Time to Craft – #325 Christmas In July
Send a Smile 4 Kids – Christmas in July 4 Kids
Sparkles Christmas Chall – #66 Snowflakes (They’re are round my sentiment)
Sparkles Monthly Chall – #82 Christmas in July
Sweet Stampin’ Christmas - July: AG
The 12 Months of Christmas – #19 Optional Theme Christmas Blooms

CCM #168 Bling It Up

Our challenge today at Crafty Cardmakers is one of my least favourite, but only cos glitter seems to stick to me like glue, it’s bling it up. We would love to see all your blingy creations that are sparkling with gems or glitter, or perhaps shiny mirri card or foil.

I hate glitter. Three weeks after you last used it, countless showers and hair washes later, there you are sitting in the Dr’s office when your eye wanders down the side of your nose and twinkling away is a speck of glitter!

Anyhow, my dislike of using glitter aside, it does make for a blingtastic finish!

I used a Sweet Poppy stencil onto linen card and spread texture paste through. I then added clitter in three different colours, purple, green and teal, until it was covered. When it was fully dry I used a Clarity wordchain stamp and a Kaleidoscope inkpad to stamp the word kisses. The image and stamp together are meant to indicate the phrase ‘butterfly kisses’ which my Daughter used to give me when she was small.

I matted onto green satin mirri and that onto a card blank I created myself with a Tonic die.

I am entering this into:-

4 Crafty Chicks – #306 Summer
Crafts & Me – July: AG with optional Summer Memories (butterflies flitting around)
DL Art Thankful Thursday – #183 Summertime
Little Red Wagon – #349 It’s Summertime
Live & Love Crafts – #49 Sprinkles of Summer
Morgan’s Artworld – #14 Animals
Moving Along With the Times – #24 No Design Papers
Seize The Birthday – Birds, Bees or Butterflies
Sparkle N Sprinkle – July: AG with Loose Glitter
The Corrosive Challenge – July:#7 Nature/Animals
The Crafters Cafe – #152 Things With Wings

DV #135 Colours of your Flag

We have an unusal challenge for you this time around at Dream Valley. It’s a colour challenge with a difference. In honour of American Indpendence Day, we want to see what you can come up with that uses the colours of your flag! I’m expecting a great deal of Red,White and Blue as I suspect a lot of our entrants are in the UK or the US, but I am sure there will be many lovely European variations, along with other parts of the world too.

We are sponsored by Angies Cards and Gifts with a prize of three of their digis.

As I am in the UK my colours are from the Union Flag and are Red, White and Blue.

My image is a Kanban stamp, can’t recall what’s it’s called but there are two dress forms and a male figure plus some steampunky extras. I coloured the image with copics and then went over just the skirt with a clear Spectrum Sparkle pen. I also edged down one side with a La Blanche swirl stamp to introduce a bit more blue into the image area.

My background is a Candy Button design, but I have overstamped it with the red script and the red circles. The splatters and the rest of it were already on the paper. It’s all matted onto red mirri card. A sentiment and some clear gems I coloured red completed it.

This second picture is much closer in colour, but because of the lighting conditions does not capture the sparkle that the top picture does.

I look forward to seeing you over at Dream Valley with your flag’s colours, and please remember to tell us what those colours are, and where you are from.

I am entering this into:-

Blessings Ink Amusing Challenge – Red, White and Blue
Color My Heart – Color Dare #200 Ruby, Sapphire and Colonial White
Glitter and Sparkle – #195 Red, White and Blue
Inkspirational – #112 Anything Goes with Red
Jo’s Scrap Shack – Fun Day Friday #145 Red, White and Blue
Kraftin’ Kimmie – #338 Red, White and Blue
Melonheadz Friends – Red, White and Blue
Paper Sweeties – #45 July 2016 I used the colours on the board
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge – Red, White and/or Blue
The Color Sisters – #34 Colour Challenge
The Paper Girls – #107 Be Patriotic (the Colours of my flag)