Strut your flamingo stuff

I LOVE the "Tropical party" stamp set from Skull and Croos Buns. It is so  fun and I feel like I can use the stamp set for almost every occasion and for both feminine and male cards and for everything in between.

For this DT-card I chose the girliest of the girly approach and created a flock of flamingoes strutting their flamingo stuff on their way to a party. Btw. have you seen this movie clip of the dancing flamingoes! That's strutting for you!

Ahem...back to the card. I stamped the flamingoes using masks on a piece of Bristol smooth cardstock and rubbed a little bit of blue distress ink by their feet to imply water. I then colored the flamingoes using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers (Who is responsible for this extremely long name on the markers?) I blended several of the colors to create shades of pink and purples. I then coated them with a layer of Wink of stella glitter pen. to make them even more ready to party.

I then diecut the flamingoes to a circle using a stitched circle die and matted this wit two more circles (a glittery silver one and a hot pink one), 

I then diecut a white stitched rectangle panel and matted this using silver glitter cardstock. Before I glued my circle panel on the rectangle panel I stamped 6 leaves where I knew the circle was going to make them peak out from behind the panel.

And then I popped up the circle on the leaves before I stamped the sentiment. Both the leaves and sentiment is also from the "Tropical party" stamp set. To finish the card I glues the whole panel on a white card base and found a couple of "dew drops" that I scattered around the front of the card.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
* Simon says stamp wednesday challenge - Pop it up (19.09)
* Dream valley challenge - #186 Girlie (22.09)
* A Gem of a challenge - One for the Girls/Ladies (27.09)
* Addicted to CAS - Tweet (28.09)

A latte love

We are celebrating fall at Cardz 4 Galz today and are using all things fall related. For my DT project this time I have made a stack of coffee cups sitting on fall leaves. I can't imagine anything better than sitting with a coffee cup in my hand and a blancet on my lap listening to the sound of a fall storm outside and watching a movie or a TV-show on the TV.

Or maybe even taking my family out in the woods and bringing a good lunch and warm coffee and cocoa and spend time eating outside and collecting lots of red and orange leaves.

Yes, I do love fall time.

Well...for my card I started glueing a piece of leaf patterned paper on a piece of white cardstock. The patterned paper came from my big pile of left over pieces of paper so I have no clue who made it. It could be DCWC, but I am not sure.

I then cut out a panel from the cardstock and patterned paper using a stitched rectangle die.

I then stamped my three coffee cups from the August My monthly hero card kit and colored these using my Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers. I chose browns, oranges and a deep red color to enhance the fall feel of the card. I cut a slit in the coffee of the bottom two cups to put the top two cups in. I also stamped a red heart on each of the cups and colored these red. I then popped them up on some foam tape before I glued them on my card panel.

To finish the card I stamped the sentiment, also from the August My monthly hero kit and coated the red hearts on the cups with clear Nuvo drops. I then mounted the whole panel on a white card base.

I hope you will join us in our fall challenge.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
* The Library Challenge - Winnie the Pooh (22.09) - Inspired by the colors, the cup and the story about the blustery day
* City Crafter challenge - Fall colors (17.09)
* Stinkin' inkers - Leaves are falling (28.09)
* Simon says stamp wednesday challenge - Pop it up ( 19.09)

Geometric time

Hi all. I hope you are well. Today I am sharing a card for the new The Male Room challenge. This time we are playing with geometric patterns and I found this really old Dylusions stencil in my stash and went to town with my distress oxide inks in the colors Mowed lawn and Twisted citron.

The stenciled piece of cardstock became my card panel that I matted with a green glitter cardstock from Simon says stamp. I also cut out a piece of Tonic mirror cardstock using a stitched rectangle die that I also matted on the same glitter cardstock. I also stamped a sentiment from the July My Monthly Hero kit on the mirror cardstock.

Now for the cute air balloons. These are also from the same My monthly hero kit as the sentiment. I colored three of them using my copic markers, cut them with a coordinating die and then coated them with a layer of glossy accents.

To finish the card I glued all the elements on the card panel and tied a piece of brown string around the whole thing. Lastly I glued the panel on a bright green card base.

I hope you will join us in our geometric challenge.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
* Simon says stamp wednesday challenge - Stamp it (12.09)
* Crafty Sentiments challenge - Dies or punches (17.09)
* Crazy 4 Challenges - C4C451 (15.09)

Happy Happy Happy!

Another beautiful august day. The summer is almost over and that means lots of rainy days to enjoy in our crafting areas surrounded by coffee and crafting goodness. Today I am sharing my DT- card for the new challenge on the Cardz 4 Galz challenge blog.

This time we are making our own backgrounds. No patterned papers allowed. So there you have it. Go crazy with your inks and paints and stencils and stamps and whatnot. I look forward to seeing what you make.

For my project I made this distress oxside crazy background as a base for the stamps from the My monthly hero July kit. I was a bit hesitant to this kit. I really didn't think it was going to inspire me a lot, but that was until I sat down, made a couple of sketches and created 8 cards in a day. What a fun stamp set. This is my first card using the kit.

I started masking off where the water was going to be and where the sky was going to be and first made the sky and then the water. Both the water and the sky was made using Distress oxside inks in various colors. When I was happy with the result I spritzed little drops of water on the card panto create a little interest in the color. I also used a white gel pen to make some ripples and waves in the water.

Then for the stamping; I stamped the fair scene in black and embossed it using clear embossing powder. It created such a beautiful shine against the bright sky. I then stamped a "curtain" of stars using the star border stamp from the stamp set in several lengths and silver embossed these.

To finish the card I used the "Happy" sentiment from a previous My Monthly Hero kit and stamped the sentiment three times and silver embossed these as well. I mounted the panel on a black card base and called the card done.

Simple and very fun!

Now it's your turn to create some magical backgrounds. See you in our challenge gallery.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

* The Library Challenge - I know why the caged birds sings (colors and black silhouette)

* A blog named Hero - Sparkle and shine (silver embossed stars and sentiment)

* Double D Challenges - The moon and the stars

Say cheese!

Strike a pose! At The Male Room today we are feeling a bit paparazzi and invite you all the find all your photo related stamps and embellishments for the next two weeks challenge.

I have been MIA a bit the last two weeks being a away for a work trip and for a funeral and finally I got really ill, so I have to admit that there is a bit of a feverish DT card I am sharing today.

For this card I found this big camera wich I fussy cut from a patterned paper a good while ago. The lens in the middle had this baby pink color so to give the camera a bit more masculine feel I made a cardstock circle and colored it using grey Hero art ink. I drew a couple of circles on the circle before I glued an extremely old gem stone that has been lying around in my stash for many years to create a colorful lens.

I used a piece of a yellow patterned paper from Simple stories to ground the camera on and raised them both up on foam tape on my card panel.

The "happy" is an acrylic embellishment that I got in a Studio Calico project life kit many moons ago. The birthday sentiment is a stamp from the Lawn Fawn "Beam me up" stamp set that I white embossed on a piece of craft cardstock.

Finally I finished the card by "hanging the camera" in some string that I attatched behind the card panel. I also glued on a couple of red, yellow and grey sequins before I attatched the whole panel on a white card base.

Now it's your turn. I hope you will join us in our photographic challenge.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
* Inkspirational - Snap
* Use your stuff - Lots of colour 
* Dream Valley Challenge - #185 Autumn colours 

Flowers with punch

Good morning! Today I am a bit girly because we have a new challenge at Cardz 4 Galz again. This time we are making cards using our dies and/or punches.

For my design team card I decided to go all frilly on my background and dug out a couple of border punches that I haven't used for a while. I punched out some borders and glued them on my card panel. This made this subtle and frilly and clean background to put my stamped image on.

The stamped images are from La-La-Land Crafts and came with the background stamp set "Just for you". Such a cute set! I really like it.

I used my Copic markers to color the image, glued it on the card panel and found a sentiment from the Tim Holtz Idea-ology small talk sticker book.

To finish the card popped the card panel up on foam tape and glued it on a white card base and squeezed on a few glittery Nuvo drops (They are hard to see on the pictures).

 

I hope you will join us in our dies and punch challenge.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
* Time out challenges - #116 Bright (bright colored flowers)
* Papercraft challenges - #18 Summer
* Dragonfly journeys - #124 Flower Power
* Inspire.Create.Challenge - #24 Floral

Some vitamin sea

It's The Male Room time again and this time we are going a bit wild. The theme for the challenge this time is "wild and free". For my design team card I chose to interpret this as wild and free animals. I have always loved sea turtles. They look so struggling when they are on land, but as soon as they are in their right element, as soon as they are in the sea, they fly, float, dive and just simply excist with all they are. I love them. It makes me so sad when I see the heartbreaking pictures of the creatures trapped in plastic and junk that we humans dump in the sea.

In my card though...the turtles are free, drifting in the ocean currents. For this card I used Echo Park stuff from the June Flavor of the month card kit. I stamped the 5 turtles from the "Vitamin sea" stamp set using green ink and then outlined the stamps and the "lines" inside of the images to make the images more crisp. I also made som highlights on the images using my white gel pen.

For the background panel I used a bubbly Echo Park patterned paper and swiped a white ink cube from hero arts across the paper. I then poured some white embossing powder on the ink and made some scratches in the owder and ink before I heat set the whole thing. It made kind of an ocean  current  feel that my turtles could swim in.

I stamped the sentiment and the corals from the same stamp set directly on the patterned paper. It worked well since they are so bold. I also matted the background panel on black cardstock to bring the black in a bit more.

Before I mounted the whole thing on a green card base I popped the turtles up on foam tape and placed them on the ocean currant and glued on a bunch of blank sequins to mimic bubbles.

I hope you will join us in our wild and free weeks.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
* Dream Valley Challenges - Animals
* Ike's world challenges - Anything goes/all at sea
* Always fun challenges - Going around in circles (patterned paper and sequins) 

With love for stencils

What would you do if you had the "Small double arrows" stencil by Skull and cross buns? My first first project where I used it was a stamped background and that worked out great because it is a very fun stencil. But I like to look for other ways to use my stamps and stencils so I just had to try it again and have a second look at it. And when I looked... I saw christmas trees.

I started this card by blending salty ocean distress oxcide ink on the bottom part of a white cardstock and then cut out a card panel using a stitched rectangle die. I used a white gel pen to create some subtle hills. And then I used my stencil. I placed the stencil a couple of centimetres above the first stenciled line of trees to create taller trees. I drew on tree trunks with a brown pen and gold embossed 5 wooden stars and glued them on the tree tops. To create some extra shine I used gold stickles on top of the stars.
 

To create the sentiment I gold embossed the "with love" from the "quirky sentiments" stamp set and created a white fish tailed banner around it. I matted the card panel on gold glitter cardstock and a plaid patterned paper before I glued it on a white card base.

To finish the card I created some snow using white Nuvo crystal drops. here and there on the card.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
* Simon says stamp wednesday challenge - Distress it
* The Holly and Ivy Christmas challenge - Anything christmas goes
* Sweet stampin - Christmas in August 
* Merry Christmas challenge - August-September challenge

Kitty fishing

I am totally in love with the "On the bookshelf" stamp set by Gerda Steiner designs. I can see so many uses for the set and since I am a total book nerd I just had to have it. I have earlier shared a card using the set here and I have also shared another card on Instagram which you can see here.

But a couple of days ago an idea dawned to me using these stamps that didn't include any books or shelves. I felt that the kitties in the set should take a fishing trip and this card was born.

 

I recently purchased my first distress oxcide inks and I have to admit that I didn't really understand the fuss about them. I could get great results using the regular distress inks, but I have to say; WOW! They are so fun to work with. They are so smooth and saturated and lovely! I am ready to fuss about them as well.

To create some interest in the water and sea floor I spritzed some water on it and I also dotted the sea floor using my copic markers.

I stamped the images and colored them all using my copics and highlighted them using my white gel pen.

The dock is made using the shelf from the stamp set and the mouse sits in a boat made of the vase also from the stamp set. I drew a little snorkel to avoid the diving kitty to drown.

To complete the scene I used fish and plants from the stamp set "Fishin' hole" by Hello Bluebird and sea shells and starfish from Hero Arts's stamp set "Seas the day seagulls". 

To finish the card I drew some air bubbles and a fishing line and hook for the mouse's fishing rod. I also swiped a little glitter from the Wink of stella glitter pen over the fish and stamped the sentiment also from the "Seas the day seagulls stamp set".

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:
* Simon says stamp wednesday challenge: Distress it
* Classic design team challenge: Anything goes
* Tuesday throwdown: Anything goes

A little puff

My first "Flavor of the month" card kit from Scrapbooking for less didn't arrive before I went for my summer vacation so I have desperately wanting to play with it all the time I was away, but the last couple of days I have been diving into the kit and it's so much fun. Love the 4 mini kits in the kit.

Today I will show you the first card I made with the kit (june kit).

I stamped three of the blow fishes from the Avery Elle stamp set "Sea-prise" and colored them using my copic markers. I also made some gold party hats and replaced the "old ones". I highlighted the images using a white gel pen.

The background was made masking the background panel and drawing lots of lines with several copic markers in the BG-colors. I started with the sark ones and used lighter colors to blend the dark ones. I also used a white gel pen to create ripples and bubbles in the water. I also covered the water with my Wink of Stella glimmer pen.

I mounted the fishes on some foam tape to make them pop and finished the card by glueing on some enamel dots and stamping the sentiment from the same stamp set as the fish.

I glued my panel on a aqua card base and called the card done.

Clean and simple and very fun coloring work.

If you want to see more of the things I make look me up on Instagram by my username lisemaa.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:
* Cute card thursday - #541 Anything goes
* Freshly made sketches - Challenge #349
* Always happy birthday - August challenge
* Der challengeblog vom kreativeinkauf - #65 Unterwasserwelt

Christmas carols in northern light

Lawnfawnatics have this fun challenge going about favourite places to be. For me this meant combining two things; northern lights and christmas. If I can have both I am in total bliss. I come from the northern part of Norway where the northern lights are totally amazing. We have them here in the middle part of Norway as well, but as beautiful as in the north. And I love christmas; everything about it.

I bought the "Critter concert" stamp set by Lawn Fawn right before the summer vacation and I haven't used it until yesterday. The critters are so cute and I love the music instruments and how they sway and stamp their feet to the music. Look at that owl! Adorable!

The critters are all colored using my copic markers and highlighted with white gel pen. They didn't have any Santa hats so I drew three of them. The fox didn't get one as it has a bullfinch on it's head.

And then I made the background using distress inks in blue, purple and black. I splattered some white paint on the northern light sky and drew some extra stars.

I mounted some stitched hills on the background and covered them with Wink of Stella. In real life the snow really glitters under the stars.

I mounted the fox, bullfinch and note stand directly on the background panel and the polar bear and owl on foam tape to create extra dimension.

To finish the card I silver embossed some notes all around and the sentiment from the Lawn Fawn "Sprinkled with joy" stamp set.

I just got to say it; I'm in love with these critters!

I am entering the card in the following challenges:
* Lawnfawnatics - #34 My favourite place
* Simon says stamp wednesday challenge - Make your own background
* Dream Valley Challenges - #183 Christmas in July 
*Crafty Hazelnut's christmas challenge - #397 Anything goes with optional embossing

Wish you were here

Hello! I hope you are enjoying your summer. Today I have a summery card for the the Cardz 4 Galz challenge #77. This time its's a fun little sketch we are playing with.

For this card I am using lots of elements from the June Lollipop box club kit. The papers are exclusive for Lollipop box club. The flowers and bees are made for Lollipop box club by Happy Scatter. I also made a frame using the gold patterned washi tape from the kit.
  

 

To add some fun texture i handstitched the bee trails around the sentiment. The sentiment is from the Altenew stamp set "Dearest Friend". To finish of the card I dotted some Nuvo drops in the color simply white on the card and glued the whole thing on a white card base.

 I hope you will join us in this sketch challenge. I look forward to seeing your creation.