It's spring!

 After this long and dreary and seemingly everlasting winter it is nice to have sunshine and flowers and warmth.

My card features a wax transfer background that I inked in various hues of green. (With wax transfer you take a piece of wax paper, run it with your substrate through in an embossing folder, then iron the substrate through a paper so that the wax can sink in. Then, when the time comes, you ink it. The wax creates images that resist ink.)

On top I added a selection of die cuts from papers that I had pulled from a gelli plate.

Entering it in these lovely challenges:

Make My Monday: #225 Florals

Everybody Art Challenge: #557 Garden / Garten

Four Seasons Challenge: Spring season

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Feminine

Inkspirational Challenge: #315 Seasonal - mine is Spring

This card has already been sent to lovely Brenda through our mutual participation in the Daisy Chain challenge. Won't you join, too?

Summer flowers for birthday

 Do you like plain paper or patterned paper for your projects? I would have answered this question with "plain", as I practically never buy patterned paper. Then I started my project and grabbed my favorite papers, made with gelli plate. I had to decide that they were not plain, not even those where I had used one color.  The color creates texture and thus a pattern, and I also use old books as a substrate.

Summer flowers are so pretty, especially those unassuming field flowers. I picked poppy, chicory and a simple nameless flower and stamped them onto some gelli prints, then  heat embossed them with a transparent embossing powder that gives the outline a nice shine.

The background papers are from my snippets box.
 

Entering in:

AsYouLikeIt Challenge: Favorite Patterned or Plain papers (and why) - it would be pattern, but one that I have created myself

Make My Monday: #204 Birthday 

Try It On Tuesday: Summer Blooms

Happy Little Stampers: July Birthday AG

SimonSays Wednesday Challenge: AG 

 

Thank you for stopping by!

A collection of fish

 This set of ATC cards was created using a cereal box as substrate, in fact you can still see a bit of the bar code behind one fish.  I lightly sanded the background so it takes color better. 

 

After painting the background with acrylics I for the fish and applied different colors. Then I removed the stencil and stamped the fish with black ink and heat embossed them with Psychedelic transparent emboss powder.

It makes the fish glitter and glimmer. Lastly I applied "waves" through a (flower!) stencil, stamped a bit of background noise and applied the collector numbers.

Entering this into challenges that inspired me:

ATC around the world: Im/am Meer

Make my Monday: On water

Creative Artist Mixed Media. #94 

The Outlawz Paper Challenge: He's some guy 

Simon Says Monday Challenge: Pick a number

 

Thank you for your visit!

and the living is easy...

 I needed these couple of challenges to snatch me out of my comfort zone. Firstly, I seldom do brights, and secondly, I don't like beach life.

But - that was exactly what was called for. I pulled out my old stamp of a rather bored looking mouse type character. I have had it for ages but actually not used it on greeting cards yet. (On ATC's, yes.) Her neck was too long for my taste so I shortened it drastically. Also drew a new arm so she could hold an ice cream cone.

 

The background was ink blended first (squeezed lemon, twisted citron, salvaged patina) and then sprayed with mica through a stencil. Even though the stencil shows foliage, the result on the card reads water.

I then selected bright summery shades of yellow, orange and hot pink for everything else. (The text reads: Happy times.)

Entering in to the challenges that served as my muse:

Simon Says Wednesday challenge: Lots of layers (I have three)

StencilFun Challenge: use stencil, Optional: layered stencil. - I used only one.

Double Trouble: #140 On a warm summer's day - I am entering with all 3 TWISTS

Color My Heart ColorDare Challenge: #552 - entering in the DT partner challenge as well

Make my Monday: 202 Summer theme

Avenue 613: AG or "Good Old Summertime" - I went with that

Thank you for your visit!

Make a wish on Father's Day

 I make far more feminine cards than cards for males. A few celebrations are coming up so this will be remedied. 

When a dear someone loves fishing the theme of the cards is almost a given. I was heavily inspired by Festive Friday Challenge and picked the prompts 'plaid' (Tim Holtz plaid die), 'blue'  and 'monochrome' to go with the fish (fishing also happens to be one of the prompts, incidentally).

I colored the die-cut plaid in with ac ouple of blue Oxides, then mounted it on black cardstock. 

The fish lie on a bed of silver thread (supposed to mimic a fishing line). I colored them in with markers and popped a drop of shiny accent for their eyes.

Entering in these challenges:

Festive Friday FF#0135 "Fathers Day" - thank you for these lovely prompts!

and its partner Double Trouble Challenge #139 - entering in all three options.

also in:

As You Like It Challenge : My favorite masculine theme is fishing

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Add a sentiment

Make My Monday: #201 Masculine

Here's to Winter!

 Oh the glorious days of hats, mittens and other woollens! We had fresh snow last night and today is the day to go out for a forest walk.

Of course I own stamps that picture winter garments - how could I not - and was overjoyed to discover some challenges that are a perfect match to each other. I made this card to spread some of the wintry joy.

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Make my Monday: #189 A Winter Card (not Christmas)

My Time to Craft; #495 Anything related to sheep - Wool! And anything made of this incredible fiber. 

MTTCC: #48 Winter clothing

Double Trouble: #127 A Caleidoscope of colors ... if I understood the options right I am entering in Double Dare

Colorful Options: Winter White
 

Fusion Card Challenge: A Christmas Chalkboard - I went with Winter instead but kept the chalkboard theme.

Pink and Gold

It all started with a stencil and spray paints. I used several shades through the same stencil. In the middle the colors mixed, but you can see the yummy splattering of small colored droplets in the corner here.

As is my habit, I like to use printed paper, I find the text doesn't distract but gives a nice texture to the finished piece. I then added a golden die cut, stamped and hand colored butterflies and a new-to-me sentiment by Creativ-Depot. 

This is the finished card. I colored in the matting with one of the spray colors so it would match. Also the matting for the sentiment.

 

Entering this in:

Make My Monday: #171 Use a stencil

Stamplorations: April Stencil Challenge 

Challenge up your life: #172 Kleckse / Splatters

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge: Happy Birthday

Daisy Chain Challenge: #62 Birthday