Opus Gluei Challenge #141. Colour challenge Turquoise and Red.

It's my challenge this fortnight and it's one of my favourite colour schemes Turquoise and Red with black, white and Kraft as neutral colours.
Hopefully I can illustrate what a versatile colour combination this is.

Firstly just by changing the focus of main colour gives such different moods to cards using this colour scheme.
Here are 4 of the same design all with different main colours.

Click on any picture to make it bigger.

 

I have used a Penny Black stamp set called Petal Party and the decorative border is in a Stampendous set called Elegant Borders.

I think this colour scheme works wonders for Halloween.

 

I've used a howling wolf from a Chocolate Baroque stamp set called Howling Moon and the spiders are from an Inkadinkado set called Creepy Crawly. I've also used Distress Inks in Festive Berries and Peacock Feathers.

It's also great for Christmas.

I've used the same distress Inks and a Chocolate Baroque stamp set called Snowflake Flourish and Spellbinders Reverse Wonky Rectangles.

To make a masculine teenage card I used a Kraft Card blank and muted shades of turquoise and red and an Inkadinkado stamp set called circles and dots.

Well I couldn't not include my favourite fella now could I?
Wolf whistles please for Stampotique's Heart Throb.

What? You want more Heart Throb?
Oh go on then, seeing as it's you, he'll meet you under the mistletoe...

I used Spellbinders Create-a-Flake Three for the Snowflakes.

I hope I've managed to inspire you to use this colour combination.

Happy creating with turquoise and red or anything else crafty you've got on your desk!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #140 A little Sketchy

This fortnight Kristen has challenged us all to use a sketch, which is not something I do very often and my interpretations are usually very literal but not this time.
No, this time I paid the price of not thinking this through.
Hmm.

Sooo once I realised just how difficult it is to get 3 separate square nestie die cuts to line up accurately; lots of maths and measuring....and  I thought WTF crafting is my hobby it's supposed to be fun. I had a rethink and decided that Wonky is fun and hip and cool and wicked and... but to make it look properly wonky I started again and used my Wonky Rectangles nesties.

I also went back to the Retro Sketches challenge site and had a look again and there is a PTI die that is three squares in a row, so that makes it easier, but there is no way I'm paying PTI prices and P&P, are you having a laugh mate?! I think not.
But 100 hundred intrepid card makers have done the calculations for the 3 in a row.
Kudos to them :-)

I spent ages cutting the apertures and then I forgot to mount the frame using dimension foam so you can't tell the wonky rectangles are apertures AND I also forgot the Butterfly element as I was FAR too busy fussing about the 3 in a row thing.
Grr so let that be a lesson for us all to not sweat the small stuff or it'll all go pear shaped!

To make up for the missing butterfly element I added card candy in the bottom left corner as I couldn't think of anything that would work with the rest of the card, without it looking like a botch job, which is exactly what this card is but hey I can hide that if I put some more card candy in the top left corner to balance it maybe a bit better- but now I think it is illegal because I've deviated from the sketch too much!
Who knew card making could be this exciting?

But aren't the Octopode flowers cute?
It's the smallest flower in the rubber stamp range stamped onto some Basic Grey Sweet Threads designer paper.

Happy creating with sketches!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #138. The Rock Diet.

Ever found yourself caught between a rock and a hard place?
When was the last time you tried the latest crazy diet that didn't work?
Well Two Barrettes definitely wishes she read the small print because she really wasn't expecting this on day 4 of her new diet.

Click on her rocks to make them bigger (snigger).

The Opus Gluei Challenge this fortnight is called "Me and my camera" and you are to use a photo in your project.
The challenge was set by the lovely Electra who makes absolutely gorgeous digital and hand papercrafted Scrap Book Pages and mixed media art.

Well I can tell you that this challenge nearly made me give up the glue. Boo Hoo.
I never use photo's or do scrap booking, it does not appeal to me at all to make it myself, and I tried all week to come up with something scrapbooky with a photo I took of a pebble sculpture years ago in Ilfracoombe harbour.
But I could not manage anything AT ALL.

In the end I gave up and cut out the pebble sculpture and made a person out of it, so I have used part of a photo I took after all - hooray!
The arms didn't look very arm like, so a made a handbag to try and give you a clue that hey, these really are arms, honest.
Hmm.

Happy Creating with Bournville Old Jamaica Rum and Raisin dark chocolate, my favourite yum! So much nicer than rocks...
Gini
xx

In the Pink Challenge #1. Anything Goes

A new fortnightly challenge blog has started called In The Pink that is co hosted by a dear friend Sylvia .
The themes of the challenges will change fortnightly but the projects are always to be predominantly pink in colour.
I'm sure the blog will be a big success for Christine whose idea it is and she is the creator of the blog and Sylvia.

I recently bought myself some Octopode rubber stamps and this card uses one of the chicks. Isn't she adorable???
I love circles so came up with this layout that I'm really pleased with.
The papers are Bo Bunny double dot and the Spellbinders Edgebilities die is the Classic Bracket one.
Click on it to make it bigger.

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #136. Seasons

This fortnight the lovely Rosemary has set the challenge at Opus Gluei which is to make a seasonal project. 
 I love Rosemary's challenges and this one is particularly flexible as it doesn't matter what season or what art form. 
 So it could be the Christmas cards you've been making throughout the year , Halloween pumpkins, the quilted Thanksgiving table runner, springtime flower displays, summer wreaths, scrapbook layouts, presents for the holidays - whatever you've been busy making.  

I chose to make an Autumn Card that doesn't look traditionally like an Autumn card (which to my mind would be with leaves or trees as the main focus and using reds, browns, yellows and green) but something that still was recognizably Autumy.
I think I managed to do it.
Click on it to make it bigger. 
Sorry it's a bit of a dodgy photo.

The birds are a Crafty Individual stamp set on ivory pearl card layered onto paneled kraft card that was embossed with a Tim Holtz embossing folder and then I rubbed bronze acrylic paint over the sun's rays with my trusty finger.
The leaves are a Hampton Art stamp set. The die cuts are Spellbinders.


Happy creating!
Gini
xx

There She Goes Stamps TSG161 challenge. Winged Things

I have one set of There She Goes stamps and it's called Aim for the clouds, it's the same stamp set as I used in my last post but this card looks quite different.
I made that beginners mistake (WTF?) of die cutting, stamping and colouring without having a plan for the finished card. I was just too excited maybe?
So I ended up wasting a lot of card before I came up with this layout.
But I like this card and the wings are on the little silhouette birds that came with the set making it qualify for the TSG161 Challenge.
There She Goes has some wonderful stamp sets, and they are on my shopping list.

I used my Whispers Brush pens to add the rainbow colours to the balloons which I stamped and masked to create the overlaping balloons.
I used Spellbinders Label's 10 and one of the Spellbinders edgeability dies, I think it's called upper crest or perhaps bracket?
The lovely coloured card is Bo Bunny's Double Dot basics range that comes in some fabulously bright colours.
Happy Creating!
Gini
xx

Sketch Challenge 133. Skipping Stones Design.

I followed the sketch quite literally to make this Hot Air Balloon card.
Unfortunately I don't yet have any Skipping Stone Design stamps but have my eye on a couple of gorgeous designs.
Click on it to make it bigger.

This is the sketch:

These are some of the wonderful stamps sets available.
The first two with just the cutest robin:-


                                                             Heartsong 2

 Heartsong. 

 Beautiful Botanicals.

 

 Dandelion Dreams

Healing Wings.

The sentiments are really good for the ever hard card to make; Sympathy for bereavement cards. The poem "Do not stand at my grave and weep" is wonderful and uplifting and I like to include it in Bereavement cards so I'm pleased to see it as a clear stamp.

My card is made using the set "Aim for the clouds" by There She Goes Stamps, another American stamp company that has loads of great stamp sets. The font used on the sentiments is really nice too.
I've paper pieced the stamps with Bo Bunny Double dot papers and the Hot Air Ballon is an Echo Park paper.

Happy Creating!
Gini
xx

1st Birthday Party for The Octopode Factory's Friday Challenge.

I wanted to do something in rainbow colours to celebrate the 1st Birthday Party for The Octopode Factory's Friday Challenge . Happy Birthday to you Lily and the Design Team!

I have also been wanting to make some colourful butterflies cards for a while and mooching about on the internet I found this marvelously happy card by Amy Rysavy from Prairie Paper and Ink blog and her card is based on an amazing Wedding Cake that is covered in colourful butterflies, I hope you click the link so you too can oogle the fantastic cake and her card.
So these two cards are CASed from Amy.
We have got Audrey Hepburn and her beau Charlie Chaplin celebrating in fine Octopode style.
Click on the picture to make it bigger.

I paper pieced Audrey and coloured Charlie in a very scruffy way with my coloursoft Derwent pencils as I wanted him to provide a contrast from the butterflies and look like he does in his films. (Do you notice Sylvia, how I'm on first name terms with them? Ahem)

Do you have any stash that you very nearly didn't buy but that you now use all the time?
I have my Martha Stewart 3 butterflies punch that I use loads, in fact it's my most used punch and the littlest butterflies are brilliant for added a little colour/space filler/added interest in card making.

I brayed my bright Andirondack dye inks; Citrus, Sailboat, Red Pepper, Sunshine Yellow, Pool and Raspberry onto individual white cards and overstamped a polkadot pattern in the same colour, as I didn't have any rainbow coloured plain card to make the butterflies with.
 It took a while to do but I think it works really well and I've plenty of coloured card left over for something else so I'd recommend giving it a try if you feel like it and want some coloured card to match your inks.

The heart in Charlie's hat is a Hero Arts button stamp.

The gorgeous little chicks in their shells are from Catslife Press and are tiny unmounted rubber and I understand that they love a good party (I think most chicks do), so I'm going to try very hard not to lose them on the dance floor.

Happy Creating!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #133 Get your grill on.

I have realised with this challenge by the lovely Deena over at Opus Gluei that I never ever make food related art, a bit strange seeing as I like food, well don't we all!

 So imagine whilst we're sitting on our tartan blankets sipping our Pimms and lemonade and eating a slice of every cake on the picnic table watching the children play nicely, and listening to the birds twittering in the nearby trees, that our eyes wander up to look at the blue blue sky and see a flock of hot air balloons drifting overhead...

What is a group of Hot Air Balloons called then?
Maybe a punnet of Balloons, mmm strawberries.

This card is made up of Echo Park papers and my trusty old sewing machine.
I used this template; scroll down to the one called Quilted Balloon Card and I printed it out in 3 different sizes for perspective.

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

The Octopode Factory Challenge, Girls just wanna have fun. "I love a Smartie Party!"

I initially typed Girls just wanna have fur by mistake, I don't think that's true for many girls do you?
I can't say I have any desire to have fur unless I was really really cold and even then it'd be a toss up between frostbite and fur.
I suppose there might be the odd girl wanting to be a werewolf, I nearly said dog... yikes,   I'll change the subject.

So this picture is called

"I love a Smartie Party!"

This is Audrey Hepburn Octopode style but without the cigarette, sorry the scalpel came out and the cigarette was vamooshed off the rubber.
She loves smarties; particularly the orange ones and it's even more perfect for her, when combined with a party.
She came in her ordinary clothes which is a shame.
I thought she might have dressed up a bit.

This shiny black card is just impossible for me to photograph, yikes.

I've used Hot Tropics Card Candi for the heart frame (which is the third largest Spellbinders nesting heart).
Now I don't know about you but I have quite a lot of card candi that I have struggled to find a use for apart from the ubiquitous 3 in a row.
Does this sound familiar to you?
But I have found I like using it to make frames for things.

I'm also looking forward to trying some of the new mini card candi which sounds great because the current candi is often just too big for the project.
If you buy the white icing card candi you can colour it with any ink to match your project, even dye inks, which surprised me, they just need to be allowed a longer drying time. Hold the card candi with your tweezers and use a bit of sponge to colour them.  You get a nice uniform colour this way.

Now to prevent you from repeating my tantrum, you have to do a trial run and place them around your frame to see if they will fit nicely before you glue them down. I know, who can wait?  but it'll save your stash and card if you do this.
Unless you know you are going to do an overlap with something else, in which case make sure you start gluing from that point, so if they don't fit together when you come to join them up no one will see.

The crown stamp is Artemio from the London set with Tower Bridge on it.
Big Ben is from the Papermania Portobella Road Stamp set.

The Octopode challenge blog is here.

Happy Creating!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #131 Sew what?

This fortnight's theme has been set by the lovely Jana over at the Opus Gluei Challenge and it is to use sewing in your project.

I got my 22 year old sewing machine out, and apart from the white casing having turned yellow with age, it started up just fine after 10+ years of slumbering in a cupboard, a big well done to Elna I think.

It is much easier to sew on card than material.
I used a size 70 needle (lingerie needle) and loosened the tension a bit from what I would sew mid weight cotton fabric with.
I set the stitch size to 3.1. (I would sew mid weight cotton fabric using a 2.5 stitch size.)

I used a Craft Stamper project (page 44 March 2012) by Sarah Engels-Greer which was using 2 or 3 red (Archival Vermillion) stamped inches with lace and red ribbon on white square cards.
I thought these would have been quick to create but seeing as I wasn't copying the designs it took a good long while.
I used a different ink to the project. I used Rocket Red Brilliance Ink which has become my new favourite ink evah.

This is what I came up with, these were such fun to create maybe you fancy making some?

Click on the pictures to make them bigger.
The first one uses a Prima stamp set (code 655350-2011-11. Sorry I can't find a name for the set on the packet) and the flower is Crafty Individuals.  I also used the 2 smallest dies of spellbinders set Wonky Squares.
I used red backed double sided tape to stick the ribbon and lace on the card and sticky 3D foam blocks to adhere the stamped card shapes.

This next one uses Tim Holtz stamps.

This last one is Prima stamps again and doesn't have sewing on it - oops.
The little red dots are ruby red liquid pearls by Ranger. The latest release of liquid pearls have a new formula and work much better than the original liquid pearls which were, in my opinion, crap for making pearls - sorry but I thought they were rubbish.

The only danger I found with making these cards was I got so focused on rearranging the layouts for another unique card that I was forgetting to ensure it makes a pleasing looking card.
I like them but I wonder how many non card makers will like the cards?

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #126 Branching Out with Madam Fairy.

The lovely Electra over at Opus Gluei has set the challenge this fortnight to use anything to do with trees or nature in general in your project.
Please welcome Madam Fairy who enjoys nature so much that she is often referred to as Nature Girl.
Click on the photos to make them bigger.

Of course her spare time is quite limited because she is such a busy Queen dealing with her royal subjects and doing her fairy duties as well as attending school.

Her mother thinks she is a proper little Madam and this off duty candid paparazzi photo clearly shows her mother to be right.

 Oh where would we be without the paparazzi and their high moral standards and their profound understanding of dignity and human rights, eh?

I tell you what; I am hopeless at using up my scraps by turning them into something artistic.
I think this card clearly shows that from now on my scraps and surplus bits need to go in the bin not in my shortly to be defunct scraps drawer.

For the canvas I wanted to use my new Memory Box die - Catalina Wreath as it has branches holding it together; well at least when I had the idea it seems like it had branches on it but maybe they are more like long green bits but very natural green bits... Anyhow I used white card to die cut it which I coloured with a cotton bud and Versamagic inks in Aloe Vera and Pixie Dust.
I stamped a Lost Coast stamp with Adirondack dye ink in meadow onto white card then cut it out with a Nellie Snellen die.
I painted a 5"x7" canvas with acrylic paints and used bubble wrap to apply some of the paint and then dry brushed white paint over the top to calm the whole thing down because it was very bright, which was lovely but didn't make a very good background as it competed dreadfully with Madam Fairy and that would never do.

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #124. Warm Fuzzies.

The lovely Rosemary has set this fortnight's Opus Gluei challenge which is Warm Fuzzies.
Now it could be a project made with felt or other similar texture or you could focus on something that gives you warm fuzzy feelings.

I chose to feel the LOVE and settled on the lovey dovey donuts of a Valentine's card for Himself who likes the colour purple. 
I prefer the colour red and seeing as I was making it, it's mainly red!

Click on it to make it bigger.

The top heart pulls up for the message which I haven't written yet OR maybe it's written in invisible distress ink that you have to lick for the writing to appear.
Oh come on, surely you're not surprised?!!
You know full well that Tim Holtz can do anything with Distress Inks. 

 

My card was inspired by Joanne Wardle's Tent Fold Card project on page 29 of February 2012 Craft Stamper magazine. All you need is a piece of A4 white card.

I used Distress inks in Festive Berries and Seedless Preserves. 

Chocolate Baroque stamp sets Daisy and Butterfly, and Seed pod and Butterflies. 

The background flourish stamp is Personal Impressions.

I also used Tim Holtz movers and shapers heart cutters and a blue Woodware 2 inch heart punch.

Happy Valentine's Day 

Gini

xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #122. Take a picture it will last longer.

The lovely Kirsten over at Opus Gluei has given the following prompt to get our creative juices flowing "Take a picture it will last longer."

Now I can't say that I use photographs much at all in my art but I often make pictures so I set out to make a picture that would fake the look of fabric in a photograph (WTF)  even I can't follow the very convoluted way I have tried to meet this prompt, when I was creating it all made perfect sense to me but in the cold light of day today who knows what I was thinking...my brain cell was not round the front but MIA.

So this fake fabric background that is made of paper but looks like a picture replica of a photograph of fabric..... is a tenuous entry at best for this prompt, but hey I've felt quite poorly this last week and this was my best shot.

Oh but doesn't Gooseneck's dear little face make you smile nestled in that flower?

 

Then I made another similar card, but it's very boring.

I took white card, Do Craft's V & A stamp set called V & A quilts- cornfield, and stamped in versamark ink and heat embossed with clear fine detail powder. Used cut and dry to apply Evergreen Bough and Festive Berries Distress inks to make the background.

I coloured a few of the flowers with Cosmic Shimmer Watercolours for a little bit of shiny.
Made a 3D flower using red card and Marianne design die cutting set of flower shapes glued together with white PVA and 3D decoupage glue.
Gooseneck's face from Stampotique.
A spellbinders die for the tag and metallic red card candi.
The sentiment on the second card is a Personal Impressions stamp.

I'm sure anything you make for this challenge will make far more sense than mine.
If you want to see a very clever take on the challenge go see what Electra has made as her brain cell is round the front and isn't budging from pole position.

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #121. Out with the Old and In with the New.

Firstly may I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Deena over at Opus Gluei has been very clever with her challenge title and theme because it is basically a free for all challenge just use some old stash or some new stash or a mixture of both and create something!
How clever is that?
I love clever play on words so Deena is off to a roaring start in 2012 and I hope the same is true for you.

I thought I would make something useful for this time of year so I made 6 identical Thank you cards and then I made another 3 identical general cards using a seahorse stamp from Chocolate Baroque.
My new stuff is the yellow sequins and the 3 and 3/4 inch square shaped blank cards from Craftworkcards, the rest is from my stash.

 

I have used some of my favourite inks, Brilliance Pearlescent Inks, I have use the tricolour pads in Peacock, Twilight and Aurora.
I used the background stamp from Penny Black Slapstick called Paisley Swirls but I think it looks great as stylized sea.
The flourish is from Inkadinkado called Sketchy Flourishes.
The Many Thanks sentiment is from Hero Arts Sending Smiles messages.
The With Love sentiment is from Papermania Hampstead Collection, Icon and sentiments.
The Dress form is a 3inch Woodware Punch Dress 2.

I've also used standard sized sequins which I think give a better balance of size on these small cards rather than using Card Candi which is bigger.
Here is a size comparison photo. See what you think.

For the Pinafore dress card.
I drew a pinafore template to fit the card blank on white card and coloured with distress inks using Rangers cut n' dry foam.
Spritzed with silver mica mixed with water in a mini mister.
The background stamp is from Chocolate Baroque and has been coloured with distress inks, the little Teeny Weeny stamps used on the Pinafore are also Chocolate Baroque stamps called Curiosities and Teeny Weeny Meadow.

I coloured Icing Sugar Card Candi (white) with Versamagic chalk inks to get an accurate match in colour.
Did you know you can colour Card Candi with your inks?
It makes the Icing Sugar white pack endlessly versatile.
Inks I have successfully used to colour the Candi are Distress Inks (dye ink), Versamagic (chalk ink), and Brilliance (pigment ink).
I use small 3D foam pads which are 2mm thick to stick my Card Candi on with.
The brand I use is Stick It! code number STI 4100. Very cheap and work well.

Happy Creating in 2012!
Gini
xx

Merry Christmas to you Cards

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy, peaceful, prosperous and creative New Year.

If 2011 was a crapper for you too, then let's believe in the miracle of Christmas and that next year will be full of wonderful surprises, peace and prosperity with a large daily helping of joy, excellent health and happiness.

If 2011 was a fabulous year for you I hope next year is even better.

I have told Santa just how good you've been this year so make sure you hang up a really big stocking tonight, I mean really BIG, you know;

a humungous whopper of a stocking - yes, you have been that good and so have I.

Here are just a few of the Christmas cards I made this year. Each one badly photo'd and wonky, no change there then. If you want to see it wonky even bigger, click on it, if not then just tip your head to the side a little bit.

 

Happy creating right through 2012!

Gini

xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #120. I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.

The lovely Electra over at Opus Gluei has set the challenge this time and it's whatever "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" inspires you to create.

Well I thought I would experiment.
Now as you well know, those are really dangerous words for any crafter, because it could all end up in the bin and me in a huff.
So last night at bed time I was in a huff and this project would have ended up in the bin had I had enough time to make something else but, alas, time is not on my side right now so here is my not quite white or quite right Christmas Scene.
Ooops, I was hoping to rescue it with my shiny Cosmic Shimmer watercolours and truly they did help but they cannot perform miracles.

Look through your fingers or out the corner of your eye at this and don't click on it, nobody wants to see it bigger.

If you join in I'm sure you'll make something nicer :-)
Happy Creating!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #118 Thanks for being You

The lovely Rosemary over at Opus Gluei has set the challenge this time, anything that the quote "Thanks for being you" inspires.

Flowers are so often given as a thank you gift so I made a card using the fabulous Paper Artsy stamps Hot Picks 1004 and their set of steampunk moth stamps.
I used the wrinkle free technique using Inkadinks from the bright range and oversprayed with a silver shimmer spray for the flower, stem and leaves, and Cosmic Shimmer watercolour paints for the moth.

It is amazing just how many pieces of paper can be filled when you spend the time writing down everything you are thankful for.
If your spirit is flagging a bit right now consider giving it a try, it gives you such a boost when you see those pages filling up and gets you in a much better frame of mind.
After the usual suspects of family and friends, my next thankful for thing is electricity.

Happy creating under your electric lights ;-)
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #116. Something wicked this way comes.

The lovely Kirsten at Opus Gluei has challenged us this time to make a project to celebrate Halloween so I have followed the Split Coast Stampers Shadow Box card instructions here for this 3D card. But I made the card centre a lot bigger and I punched a Martha Stewart border using Layered Arches and sandwiched that between the side panels for a bit of additional interest.

Mwah-ha-ha.............. Your carriage awaits you and it's ready to whisk you away; past the howling wolf and up, up, up to the creepy castle where your destiny awaits you...

OR if that doesn't tickle your fancy then a huge bar of your favourite chocolate, a foot massage, a large glass of wine, a roaring open fire and the person(s) of your choice :-)
(Feel free to change or tweak any of the above aspects to make your perfect evening entertainment - 'cos I'm helpful like that.)
Click on it to make it bigger.

The stamps are from Chocolate Baroque and are the new Halloween stamp set called Howling Moon. They are gorgeous aren't they?

The spider border and the sentiment is from the Inkadinkado set called Creepy Crawly.
The black ink is Versafine heat embossed with clear fine detail embossing powder.
I sponged Distress Inks in Stormy sky and Chipped Sapphire to colour the card.
I used a white Derwent colour soft pencil to colour the moon and I lightly shaded dark green Colour soft pencil over the foreground of the centre card to give some definition to the ground area. Derwent colour soft pencils work beautifully over distress inks.
The sentiment tag is from the Spellbinders Fancy Tags set.
The fence is Martha Stewart's Iron Fence border punch.

Happy creating!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #112. Everything's coming up Roses (and Rosettes).

The lovely Rosemary over at Opus Gluei has challenged us to make something with roses and rosettes as our inspiration for this coming fortnight.
For a change I wanted to try a different style and make something that Rosemary would make for herself.
Well I crafted myself right into a pickle with this one as I was so out of my crafting comfort zone, but I finally did make something I thought was blogable and that Rosemary would actually like to display on her desk.
This little card is only 3 1/2 inches square.
I thought a yellow rose would be nice and summery.
Click on the pictures to make them bigger.

This side shot is to try and show the sticky up bits.

Materials used:
Spellbinders lacy circles and classic circles small and large.
Papermania Signature,  Rose stamp set (polymer clear stamps). Stuck on with white PVA.
I used silicone glue to raise the inner lacy circle as it was too small for foam pads.
Roses coloured with Derwent coloursoft pencils.

I had a few nice bits of left overs from the nestible die cutting that I thought I would try and make another card from them as I admire so much all the crafter's who can make something wonderful out of a pile of crafting detritus.
Ladies like Godelieve from Stamping Matilda blog who on a Sunday comes up with fabulous cards from her scraps.
So far with my attempts I can only make a similar card of detritus from my scraps as it sure never looks good but I keep practicing. 
Whilst making this card I just had to cut out a few more die cuts which of course has given me some more scraps - I can see this as being a never ending project and probably one without a happy ending.

This card is even more tiny, get your magnifying glass out.
Floating in at 3 1/4 inches.

Ooh a shiny shot, click on it to make it bigger.

Isn't that embossing powder just a fabulous colour!!!
It not only looks wonderful but it has an exotic name to match.
It's Persian Sea Aurora by Cosmic Shimmer.
The trees are from a lovely set of clear stamps called Flight of Dreams by Inkylicious Expressions.

What crafting goodies would you like to marry at the moment?
I would like to marry my spellbinders nestibles and have the Sizzix range as bridesmaids.
The vicar's togs would have to be covered in that lovely Persian Sea Aurora Embossing powder.
The best man would be Chocolate Baroque's new Steampunk Christmas stamps just have a gawk at these beauties.

Weddings or not to go to happy creating!
Gini
xx