Distress oxide sprays and a stencil.

Hi everyone, it's time for a new challenge at CAS Stencil. and this time the theme is all about using sprays with a stencil. This is a lot of fun and there are some videos to help with the technique on the challenge blog.

The DT and our guest designer have some wonderful cards to inspire you, so I hope you get the chance to play along.

I used distress oxide sprays and I love the dotty look the sprayed colours gave - picked raspberry, wilted violet, cracked pistachio and mermaid lagoon.

Here's a closer look.

The diecut sentiment was inked with versamark and embossed with Lindy's midnight violet embossing powder.

I'm linking up to these challenges:

Simon Says stamp Wednesday where it's anything goes.

CAS on Friday where the theme is use a stencil.

Watercooler Wednesday where it's anything goes.

Seize the Birthday where I'm playing along with the anything goes option.

Supplies:

Tim Holtz ornate stencil; distress oxide sprays; Poppy Stamps jumbled birthday die; Lindy's midnight violet embossing powder; versamark ink; Spellbinders A2 curved borders one die; sequins and a birthday sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Hang in there!

Hi everyone, I needed a quick card and this fun elephant from Katzelkraft fit the bill!

He is stamped in versafine, clear embossed and coloured with Prismacolour pencils.

The sentiment is diecut from a brushos scrap, layered up for dimension.

I'm linking up to a few challenges:

Make My Monday where the theme is for a guy, any age.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday where it's anything goes.

Addicted to Stamps & More Make your mark.

Stamplorations Cutplorations Challenge

Watercooler Wednesday, anything goes.

Supplies:

Katzelkraft Jungle stamp; versafine ink & clear ep; Prismacolour pencils; Stamplorations diecut sentiment; brushos.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Purple Floral Birthday.

Hi everyone, it's time for a new challenge at Seize the Birthday where the optional theme is flowers.

If you like you can just play along with anything goes birthday. A great chance to catch up on all those birthday cards that we need!

This is a new to me flower stamp, and it took ages getting a print I was happy with lol!

I ended up using Versafine clair ink which is wonderful for fine details, as all of the other inks I tried were way too juicy and caused the image to be blobby!!

I'm linking up to these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday where it's anything goes.

Watercooler Wednesday where it's also anything goes.

Die Cuttin Divas also are anything goes.

Supplies:

Stampin Up Healing Hugs flower stamp; Happy Little Stampers sentiment from Doodled flowers stamps; versafine clair chianti & shady lane ink; versafine onyx black & clear ep; MFT wild greenery dies; distress ink; Crafts 4 U stitched rectangle die.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Birthday Bouquet.

Hi everyone, I wanted to play along at CAS Watercolour this month as they are celebrating the birthdays of two fabulous ladies, Darnell and Bonnie. Both are amazing card makers who always inspire me and their blogs are such fun to visit.

 Happy Birthday ladies!!

The theme is bouquet. I knew I had purchased this stamp ages ago, one of the few flower stamps I have lol!

For the background, I brushed on some oxide inks in victorian velver, squeezed lemonade, crushed olive and milled lavender with some toothbrush makeup brushes, then spritzed with some water.

The bouquet is clear embossed and coloured with worn lipstick and dried marigold distress inks. I pressed some ink onto an acrylic block and used that to watercolour.

I'm also linking up to these challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday where it's make your own background.

Seize the Birthday, I'm playing with the anything goes option.

AAA Birthday For the Girls.

The Flower Challenge, pretty pastels.

Supplies:

Stampendous blossom bunch stamp; versafine ink & clear ep; distress inks and oxide inks; Crafts 4 U stitched rectangle die; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Rainbow birthday!

Hi everyone, it's time for a new challenge at Seize the Birthday!

The optional toppings theme is rainbows, or as always, you can play along with anything goes as long as it's a birthday theme.

I think I broke a personal record for using a new toy almost as soon as I received it lol!

This is a new die from Paper Rose Studio and I thought it would look great in rainbow colours.

I blended some distress oxide inks in on some watercolour paper and spritzed with some water to blend them.

I layered it up on a white die cut for dimension, added a sentiment sticker and that was it.. Next time I think I'll spritz with some dazzling diamonds or perfect pearls for some shimmer.

The design team and our party guest have some amazing projects to inspire you, so I hope you can play along.

I'm linking up to these challenges:

Allsorts where it's a CAS theme.

AAA Birthday where it's a girly theme.

Double D where it's a birthday theme with this gorgeous moodboard. The colourful balloons are like a rainbow.

Supplies:

Paper Rose Studio Rose Frame Background die; distress oxide inks; sentiment sticker.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Evolution stencil and alcohol inks.

Hi everyone, have you had a chance to play along with the latest CAS Stencil challenge?

It's a technique theme, to use alcohol ink or alchol ink lift with a stencil.

It's a lot of fun and there's still plenty of time to join in. 

The DT and our wonderful guest Janet have loads of inspiration for you and there are some video tutorials on the challenge blog too.

For this tag I wanted to try something different with the alcohol inks. I put a few drops of  blue and purple with blending solution on a felt pad and swiped stripes across some yupo. I swiped a few times so the colours merged to mostly blues. I like the texture the stripes add so will try this method again.

I taped the stencil over the yupo and put a drop of alcohol lift ink reinker onto a sponge pad and used a blending tool to pat away some of the ink. The ink came away pretty easily.

I added a yellow hello diecut, layered for dimension and embossed with sparkle clear, and then clear embossing powder for some shine.

(Looking at the tag here I can see a face in the design, so hello seems appropriate lol!!)

I'm linking up to these challenges:

Watercooler Wednesday where it's anything goes masculine.

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday where the theme is to make your own background.

Just Us Girls has the sentiment as the focus.

Supplies:

Stamplorations Evolution stencil; yupo; Ranger alcohol inks; blending solution; Dienamics pierced tag die; hello die ( not sure of brand); Wow sparkle clear and clear ep.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Using up scraps of alcohol inked yupo.

Hi everyone, I had some scraps of yupo left over from my blue and green card and was able to scrape together enough for this layout.

It's a design I've used before with watercolour panels but I don't think I've used alcohol inks in it.

The dies are the Lucienne tile and Moonlight Butterfly, both from Memory Box.

Here's a closer look at the shimmer from the gold foiling and the pearl alcohol inks.

I'm linking up to these challenges:

Watercooler Wednesday where it's all about occasions.

Dies R Us where it's a birthday theme.

AAA Cards I've gone without the Christmas twist this time.

Less is More where it's about celebrations.

Allsorts where it's a clean and simple theme.

Supplies:

Memory Box Lucienne tile and moonlight butterfly dies; yupo paper; regular and pearl alcohol inks; Rebekah Meier gold foil; sentiment stiker; hammered card base.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Pick an age!

Hi everyone,

I've had this crazy bird in my stash, coloured in and ready to go for ages! I think from memory he's coloured with Inktense pencils and a waterbrush. 

I love his perplexed expression!

The challenge at Just Us Girls is smile, these birds always make me smile!

It's anything goes at Happy Little Stampers anything goes with dies.

I used the matching die to cut out this bird, and a stitched rectangle frame.

At Seize the Birthday I'm playing along with the always anything goes option.

AAA Birthday has a for the girls theme. We're reluctant to give our age out aren't we? I know I'd rather just pick one I liked lol!

Supplies:

Tim Holtz crazy bird stamp and die; Art expressions sentiment stamp; Happy Little Stampers birthday stamp; versafine ink & clear ep;  Crafts 4 U stitched rectangle die; brushos; Inktense pencils.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x

Blue and green alcohol inks.

Hi everyone.

This is another one of the backgrounds I made recently with regular and pearl alcohol inks, blending solution, isopropyl alcohol in a spritz bottle and a distress marker sprayer that I used to blow air to move the ink around. I also pressed some foil onto the inky tacky parts to add some extra shine.

 Lots of fun!

Here's a closer look at the shimmer and shine.

I'm linking up to Country View Challenges where the theme is blue and green.

Make My Monday are celebrating their 100th edition, congratulations on reaching that awesome milestone! The theme is Thankyou.

At Addicted to Stamps & More it's clean and simple.

Mix it Up Challenge Blog has an anything goes theme with the optional twist of foiling.

I'm also linking up to  Happy Little Stampers Anything goes with Dies.

Supplies:

Spellbinders rectangle dies; Poppystamps Hampstead Bloom die; Thanks die from a friend; Regular and pearl alcohol inks; yupo paper; Rebekah Meier gold foil.

Thanks for visiting,

Cathy x