Tangled Fun(gi)

I thought it was about time I revisited Zentangle drawing - such a long time since I did any and I really enjoy this mindful activity in much the same way, I imagine, as so many people have been drawn to the adult colouring which seems to have come to the fore.  I copied the outline drawing of these fungi, filling them with various tangles as they popped into my head once I'd had a little browse through some of my books.  I've used some bits and pieces of coloured papers and card to make a birthday card.  It is a beautiful sunny day with blue skies today but very cold - much nicer than the dark, wet and windy day we had yesterday.

Pixie Snippets challenge 212

Somehow I've not managed to post a card on my blog since last Sunday - busy week one way and another.  My offering for the Pixie Snippets challenge this week is a card suitable for a man using up yet another small scrap of the Brusho'd background I produced recently along with some other matching bits and pieces from the scrap boxes.  The stamp is an old faithful, stamped onto black card and gold embossed; background paper was another remnant; the Brusho'd piece was embossed and treated to some gilding wax and finally a greeting added on a banner. Di has made an interesting card this week from an idea she spotted in a recent magazine and very helpfully has given some measurements so do take a look at that one as it is something a bit different which is always handy to come across when seeking inspiration.

Stamp - Tim Holtz
Embossing folder - textures from Crafter's Companion
Dies - banners from Sue Wilson

Pixie Snippets 211

I was one of the lucky winners in the big give-away event from Pixie Snippets challenge and thought I would use my prize before I finally put away all the Christmas bits and pieces still  lying around on my desk.  This Woodware stamp lends itself to many interpretations and I decided to go with paper piecing in an effort to use up more of my snippets.  There was enough of the chosen background paper to stamp the image onto and cut out the numbers and the holly leaves and berries were cut from other bits and pieces.  The image was then stamped onto a piece of white, mounted onto a red snippet which had been embossed with a snowflake design.  A circular greeting was popped onto a scalloped circle and there it is my offering this week for Pixie snippets.  Di has chosen some great picks from last week's entries and also made a very pretty butterfly card so do pop along and take a look.

Stamp used - by Woodware
Embossing folder - Cuttlebug

Penny Farthing

This die hadn't been used for a while so I thought I'd use up some more of my scraps and make a male card. Background paper was from a pad which I think is quite handy for male themed cards and a scrap of black card was embossed and then rubbed with silver gilding wax.  The penny farthing was cut from another black scrap and popped onto a pierced square which was left over from making a frame.  The whole thing was brightened by using some coloured card to accent the layers and sentiment.

Dies - penny farthing by Memory Box, square Sue Wilson, sentiment Sizzix
Background - paper by papermania
Embossing Folder - circles from Sizzix

Stamping Challenge

The challenge for this month on Stamping Sensations is to use a combination of dies and stamping.  The stamp I've used on this card has been in my collection for some years and at the time it was a 'must have' but to my shame I'm pretty sure that this is the first time it has been inked and used - how bad is that??  The image has been coloured with Inktense pencils before using an oval pierced die to cut it out.  I dug out a piece of script background paper and a lattice work stencil which I thought was reminiscent of ironwork on a railway bridge. Do take a look using the link above to see some great inspiration from the guest designer and the design team.

Stamp - Joanna Sheen railway themed set
Oval Die - Spellbinders
Lattice - Tonic die
Banner - Sue Wilson die
Sentiment - Tim Holtz stamp
Background - script pad by Prima

Pixie Snippets Challenge 210

For my Pixie Snippets card this week I've used a fairly large snippet of some Brusho'd watercolour paper, embossed and gilded with gold wax.  I raided the bits box for a piece of paper for the background and also die cut a plaque from scraps for the sentiment; finally adding some Card Candi (have loads of that)!!

I don't really make New Year resolutions but I'm going to try to make much better use of all the 'stuff' I have rather than be tempted to add any more to the stash. The trouble is that there are always so many lovely dies, embossing folders, stamps et al being produced and showcased in ways that try to persuade us that we really NEED them!! I've definitely decided that if I see a particularly nice idea I want to use I will try to adapt it to suit my existing dies/stamps etc - not sure how long this will last!!

Embossing Folder - Tim Holtz Sizzix
Sentiment - computer generated
Dies - Sue Wilson

Butterfly challenge 45

The theme for the butterfly challenge this month is X for Xanthine and if you take a look at their blog you will see a definition (in case you don't know) and also some great work from the design team.  I've used a piece of watercolour card which was coloured with Brusho powders before being embossed with a floral design, sponged with Distress ink to show up the design..  The square frame was die cut with a smaller square of flowers cut from the centre and a stamped sentiment was added.  The butterfly was also die cut in two layers using a scrap of the coloured card for the plain layer and a scrap of yellow for the lacy layer.

Embossing Folder - Sheena Douglass floral design
Butterfly - Sizzix dies
Central floral panel - Sizzix die
Frame - Tonic die