Having Fun with Merry Monday

Good Merry Monday morning!

I hope you are having fun getting ready for Christmas.

Here's something to make you smile.

I had this in my UFO box.  I'd stamped it from a borrowed stamp.

When I saw Lori's challenge, I couldn't resist using it.

These guys make me smile every time I look at them!

Come join us if you have a chance.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Snowflakes (Rubber Cottage)

Ink:   Memento Tuxedo Black

Paper:   Garden Green, Whisper White (SU)

Other:  Copic Markers, Glossy Accents, Wink of Stella

Candy Canes for Merry Monday

Good Merry Monday morning.

We're down to the wire.

Are your Christmas cards done?

Mine are, but it's never too early to start on next year's cards.

Or have one on hand for that someone you forgot!

This week Linda is our hostess.

I find that I don't have a lot of candy cane stamps so I started looking

for stamps that had a candy cane on them.

This Paper Sweeties set was a NBUS and I thought a CAS card 

would work really well seeing as Christmas is almost upon us.

And it has a tiny candy cane peeking out of the stocking.

I stamped some stockings and colored with Copics.

A little Polar White Flower Soft made a fluffy cuff.

Quick and easy!

And since I used snippets, I'm off to

Pixie's Snippet Playground.

I hope you'll put a candy cane on your Christmas card and join us at

Merry Monday.

Debbie invited me to enter this at the Paper Sweeties December Challenge

Thanks, Debbie.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Dear Santa (Paper Sweeties), Holiday Snippets (PB)

Ink:   Memento Tuxedo Black, Real Red (SU)

Paper:   Solar White (Neena 110 lb.), Snippets of Whisper White and Real Red (SU)

Other:  Stitched Shapes Framelit (SU), Snowflake Swirl EF (Darice), Polar White Flower Soft

Guest Designing for Penny Black and More

I am so excited to be the December Guest Designer at Penny Black and More!

Their Challenge this month is

"BLACK AND WHITE PLUS ONE"

I used the smallest butterfly from the Penny Black Butterfly Trio set.

I used the Watercolor Resist technique and stamped it with Stazon Black ink then clear embossed it.

I used a Gansai Tambi watercolor cake to color him up.  He needed a bit more shine,

so I liberally added some Wink of Stella. He's quite shimmery IRL.

The Background is a NBUS stamp, also Penny Black.

I used 2nd generation stamping to add the ghost of a flower over the script.

The background is covered with a subtly patterned vellum.

CAS Watercolour Card Challenge

A special thanks to Brenda and the rest of the Penny Black and More team for

including me on their team this month.  And special thanks for this

challenge blog and all the inspiration your provide!

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Butterfly Trio, Love Chapter, Enjoy (PB)

Ink:   Black StazOn, Memento Tuxedo Black, Pool Party (SU)

Paper:   Solar White (Neena 110 lb.), Basic Black, Whisper White (SU), Vellum (retired SU)

Other:  Clear EP,  Watercolor (#57 Turquoise Gansai Tambi), WOS, Sequins (SSS)

Warm Wishes for CAS Watercolour

Time for a new CAS Watercolour Card Challenge

This month's challenge is

I stamped this beautiful Penny Black Poinsettia with Whisper White craft ink and heat embossed it.

I colored the flower with re-inkers and my Aqua Painter.

The embossed resist helps to stay in the lines.

It gives a nice contrast too.

The background was my first try with my Gansai Tambi Watercolors.

I've had the set for months and it seems like I'm always in too much of a hurry and 

go with what I know.  I finally made a sample sheet so I could see what the colors 

look like with water and had a play with them.  They are very creamy and I need lots

more practice with them.

I added a little of the Gansai Deep Pink to the base of the petals.

A very subtle contrast.

I hope you'll find time in this busy month to relax

with some watercolor resist and share it with us at

CAS Watercolour Card Challenge

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Warm Wishes, Season't Gifts (PB)

Ink:   Whisper White, Night of Navy (SU)

Paper:   Mixed Media (Strathmore), Solar White (Neena 110 lb.)

Other:  White EP (SU), SU Re-inkers (Pink Pirouette, Pretty in Pink), Gansai Tambi Watercolors (#34 Dk. Pink, #67 Deep Blue), Stitched Mat Rectangles (LI), Fun Foam

Sponging with Shimmer for CAS Mix Up

It's time for a new challenge at CAS Mix Up!

Our CAS Mix Up Challenge this month is

I used a technique that Jennifer McGuire shared here.

I started by masking a piece of white and sponging some Distress Ink
Then I brushed Perfect Pearls over the top while the ink was still damp.
It makes for a wonderful shimmer!

I've die cut the sold butterfly from vellum and the open butterfly from white.

Here's a close up of the shine.

I used Stamping, Sponging, Masking, Perfect Pearls, Heat Embossing, Dry Embossing, Die Cuts and Vellum.

The Design Team has some awesome inspirations pieces to show you.

And we have another fantastic Guest Designer, Maura,

who won the October Challenge.

Here's some videos if you'd like some ideas.

December - Sponging videos:

Basic Sponging Techniques by Dawn (3:04).
Bokeh by Brenda Keenan (6:32)
Color Layering for Galaxy background by Ilina Crouse (7:40)
Emboss Resist Ink Blending by Laura Bassen (5:48)
Faux Mother of Pearl by Loll Thompson (6:09)
Layered Sponging by Susan Campfield (6:05)
Masking and Sponging by Brenda Keenan (7:42)

The challenge is open until the 24th of December.

Hope to see you in the gallery.

Thanks for the visit and special thanks for your comments.

Enjoy!

Card Recipe

Stamps:  Painted Butterflies (Altenew)

Ink:   Abandoned Coral, Fossilized Amber (Distress), Whisper White (SU)

Paper: Solar White (Neena (110 lb.), Whisper White, Vellum   

Other:  Perfect Pearls (Metallic Pearl), White EP (SU), Butterfly Thinlits, Bold Butterfly Framelits (SU), Stictched Mats Rectangles Die (LI)