Hopping with sunny Soleil

Today is the last Tuesday Blog Hop of 2010 with Queen Kat Designs. It is in fact the last of the weekly Tuesday Hops as the Royal Court is begining something brand new for the start of the New Year 2011.


This is also my last posting on the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog as I am moving to a new area within Queen Kat Designs from January onwards. I shall be working with other ranges of stamps and posting on the Dark Ink Sorority blog each week. It will be refreshing to work within a new and challenging area (for me) and stretch my creativity a little more!

If you'd like to join in with this last weekly hop, start here and follow the links - there are some stunning projects created by the DT.

We've got an 'Anything Goes' theme for our projects this week so I'm sure you're going to see lots of variety - Queen Kat is happy for us to use any QKD stamp, in any style, using any layout - Yay!!! A great opportunity to dig deep for inspiration.

When making my Christmas cards this year I've used a lot of the 'white on white' theme and, although my project is not 'yet another' Christmas card (I hear you sighing with relief!!) I decided to continue with the white on white as I love it so much. I selected the lovely Soleil for my image as her name means Sun and I for one could certainly do with a little more sun and warmth right now while the UK is locked into a Big Freeze, with no respite forecast for the forseable future.

I embossed the background layer with a 'Crafts Too' embossing folder using white pearl cardstock. I used the Spellbinders nestabilities 'Lacey Circles' die set to cut out the image layer and a larger layer from the white pearl card. The flowers were created using my two Nellie Snellen punch & emboss flower sets and added them around the lacey circles layer, with Waco Crystal Pearlmaker Pen to create the centres. The finishing touch was adding Stardust Stickles around the edges of the embossed layer, and no sentiment on the front so the card can be used for any purpose. I think this one will be one of the 'Thank You' cards I'll be sending out in the next few days.

Thanks for visiting today, I hope you had a fabulous Christmas and are looking forward to welcoming in a brand New Year ! I'm very excited to be starting a journey with the Dark Ink section of QKD stamps and bringing you some great new projects and challenges.

Back to School - with a difference!

Well dear reader, September is almost over and we are well and truly into the Autumn/Winter season.  Summer holidays are just a distant memory for many people and the children are settled into a new school year.  The Queen Kat Designs DT blog hop today
has the theme of  'Back to School' and there are so many ways to interpret this theme.  As part of the hop my card is posted on the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog and if you'd like to do the whole hop just go here and follow the links.

Now you may have to run to keep up with my creative process for this one!!!

I often work on planning my projects by jotting down words, colours, anything that the theme brings to mind. I just allow my mind to wander in whatever direction it chooses, hoping that I will finally arrive at something usable.

The school year starts in the Autumn/Fall so I immediately thought of all the fabulous rich colours that surround us at this time of year. The trees are all changing from their summer greens to an amazing array of reds, golds and oranges. The word 'school' also made me think of fish ! Still with me? I hope so!

I now had rich colours and fish on my ideas sheet and thought of the beautiful QKD Koi Pond stamp which was perfect to fit my idea. I also have this great Cuttlebug embossing folder of Koi in water, which again was ideal for my project.

I coloured the beautiful Koi Pond in autumnal shades with Copics and Promarkers and used a piece of DCWV 'Taj Mahal' paper for the background layer. I cut out a piece of green card with an oval nestabilities die and embossed it with the Koi folder. This lovely distressed Prima flower has been in my embellishment box for a while, and again, the colours are just right for my project. I punched out some leaves from white card and coloured them with Promarkers then added the gems and gem flowers to the bottom right to balance the layout.

I hope you've enjoyed my interpretation of the 'Back to School' theme - til I see you again, Happy Crafting!

hugs
wynneth
x

Colourful Verona

ORANGE, GREEN, PURPLE,

BLACK and WHITE. 

Now I know this collection of colours screams "Halloween", but me being such a rebel, I decided not to make a Halloween card for the Queen Kat Designs blog hop this week!  As part of the Hop, my card is posted on the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog and if you'd like to do the hop just start here and follow the links.


It's so long since I brought the lovely Verona out to play from my stamp stash that I thought I'd use her for today's project.

This fabulously wild piece of colourful paper has been languishing in my stash for a long time - I just didn't want to use it up, but it was just so perfect for today's challenge as it has all the right colours in the design.

I coloured Verona with a mixture of Copics and Promarkers, keeping the background very pale to emphasise the main image. Verona is such an elegant, chic and serene mermaid and I love the contrast with the wildly eclectic background paper. I added a piece of this lovely shiny orange ric rac ribbon from my stash and coloured some white flowers with an orange Promarker to match the paper. The fronds were cut with a Martha Stewart punch from white card and coloured to match the image. The final touch was adding Diamond Stickles to the flowers, the frills on Verona's outfit and the bubbles in the background.

Hope to see you again soon when I'll be bringing you another project with a different theme - til then Happy Crafting!

hugs
wynneth
x

Echo Lily Tri-Fold

Happy Tuesday morning dear reader.  Every Tuesday the Queen Kat Designs DT run a blog hop to share our projects.  My projects are posted on the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog as part of the hop, but I also like to share it here.  If you'd like to take part in the Hop, start here and follow the links to see all the projects.









This week we are challenged to work with the great
sketch on the right and I've chosen the newly released Echo Lily stamp for my project and created a tri-fold shutter card.

Here's a side-on view of the card which shows the tri-fold aspect more clearly.

I decided to use a sheet from the 12 x 12 DCWV Taj Mahal pack. It's a great design and needs no extra embellishing other than the delightful Lily, some pearls and a sentiment! 

I coloured Lily with a mixture of Copics and Promarkers in shades to match the card base design, before cutting out with an oval nestabilities die. I set the image layer on dark blue pearlised card cut with a slightly larger oval scalloped nestie die.

The flowers were originally white and I coloured them with a Promaker to match the background and added Diamond Stickles for a pretty effect.

I always think shutter cards have big impact and yet are relatively simple to make. There's a tutorial on Split Coast Stampers if you'd like to try one for yourself. The closed card fits into a C6 envelope for mailing too which is so cool!

Thanks for visiting today, I hope you've enjoyed seeing my project and look forward to welcome you back again soon - til then Happy Crafting!

hugs
wynneth
x

Mad Fancy and Friends

Happy Tuesday dear reader, boy are the weeks flying by now, September already! I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but in the UK there is definitely an autumnal feel to the days now, but don't you just love all the fabulous rich autumn colours around.

As it's tuesday, there's a blog hop going on with the Queen Kat Design Team and this is the project I am showing on the Whimsical Ink Sorority Blog as part of the Hop. If you'd like to do the hop just start here and follow the links.

This week we've got another great sketch to work with and I got to play with the fabulous 'Mad Fancy with background' stamp - how lucky am I?
I decided that as she was called Mad Fancy, I'd be a little more outrageous with my colouring and colour scheme. I've often used this lovely lady before but not with this fabulous background., so my project has a sort of monochromatic scheme, but with a kick!

The fabulous black and white papers are from one of the older QKD kits. I love the asymetric stripe and the circles paper just makes me think 'oriental' - I think it looks very much like chinese coins or is that just my vivid imagination!!. I stamped the lilies from the August WIS kit either side of the main image to match the sketch and I think they're just the perfect touch.

My girl has purple hair, is dressed in black and white and I added peachy/oranges to her Flamingo Friends so they pop against the more muted shades in the rest of the background. I coloured with a mixture of Copics and Promarkers and added lots of Spica Glitter pen to her tail and beads.  This gorgeous black lace has been languishing in my ribbon bag for a while and I just thought it added a tiny touch of feminity to this bold and surreal image!

I hope you've enjoyed your visit today, do leave me a comment and let me know what you think of this new QKD mermaid, I do so love to hear from you.
Til next time - Happy Crafting!
hugs
wynneth
x

Seeing Double

It's tuesday again so that means it's Hop day with Queen Kat, if you'd like to do the whole hop, just click here and follow the links.  Each tuesday I post my project on the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog which is part of the Hop.  I like to also post here on my blog so my visitors get to see them too.

So, my brief was to create two ATC's, going a bit grungey and distressed - all good so far! The exciting part is that I am able to bring you one of the new release stamps for September - yay! I know it's still August, but only for a few more hours and these new girls will be officially launched on 1 September.

I started out with two ATC sized pieces of kraft card, used Tim Holtz distress ink around the edges to give me a grungey effect, one with Brushed Corduroy and the other with Chipped Sapphire.

Using DI again I stamped some QKD images on to the backgrounds before adding the gorgeous mermaids which I'd coloured with Promarkers and Copics. I wanted to demonstrate the versatility of larger stamps, using the whole of the stamp on the brown ATC and just a 'cameo' cut from the full image with a nestabilities die for the blue one. The same image looks so different when you use only part of it don't you think?

I 'aged' the lock and key charms with a black Promarker and attached them with dark blue organza ribbon. The flowers were cut with a Martha Stewart punch and the gems were from my stash. The 'bronze' sentiment on the brown ATC was from my stash and I attached it with a length of twine.

Til next time - Happy Crafting!

hugs
wynneth
x

Vibrant Princess of Callas

Tuesday are Queen Kat blog hop days each week and I spotlight my projects on the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog as part of the Hop.  If you'd like to do the Hop yourself, just start here and follow the links.

We have this fabulous picture to inspire us this week, I do so love turquoise and olive/lime green together, it is one of my favourite colour combinations.  I decided to use these two colours for my project and I love the fluted/scalloped edging to these beautiful ceramics and wanted to create a similar effect on my card. 

In order to do this, I used a set of scalloped circle and one of plain circle nestabilities dies to cut out a number of different sized circles. I layered the image on to a larger scalloped circle cut from the green card used for the background.  I coloured the lovely Princess of Callas image from the August WIS kit with Copics and Promarkers and added touches of Spica Glitter Pen and Glossy Accents.

The 'Thank You' sentiment is also from the WIS Kit and I added three small turquoise half pearls to the bottom of the sentiment layer. I have a big bag of these clear half beads in my stash and they are perfect for adding to projects to create a bubble effect with these gorgeous mermaid images.

That's all from me for today, so til I see you next time - Happy Crafting!

hugs
wynneth
x

Lovely Lani

Every Tuesday, Queen Kat Designs run a Blog Hop and I showcase my DT project on the Whimsical Ink Sorority Blog as part of the Hop - if you'd like to join in, just start here and follow the links.  I also like to share my projects on here with my regular visitors. 

This week we are working with a beautiful colour combo, I love these luscious colours - Rose, Butter and Melon - mmmm..... my mouth is watering just thinking about them !!! These lovely pastel shades are so gentle and easy on the eye and a true pleasure to work with.

When planning my project I selected the colours and also took inspiration from the pictures on the left, I just love the rose bouquet at the top left so decided to have a posy of roses on my card.

It is nice to bring out some of the stamps which have been around for a while, instead of using new releases and I felt the lovely Lani Mermaid was just perfect for my project.

I coloured Lani with Copics and Promarkers, addubg touches of Spica Glitter Pen here and there. I used a plain oval nestabilities die to cut out the image and added this over a layer of buttery cream coloured card cut with a scalloped oval die. I then added Frosted Lace Stickles around the edge of the plain oval layer.

The pink background paper was from my stash and I embosed a piece of melon coloured card with a Koi Pool Cuttlebug embossing folder - you can just about see the Koi swimming around under the image layer. The sentiment is from the QKD August WIS kit and I again used the Stickles around the edge of the sentiment layer.

The leaf fronds were cut with a Martha Stewart punch and the tiny pink and white roses were from my stash. The wired gems are by Magnolia and the pink ribbon is from my stash.

I hope you enjoyed today's project and that you'll drop by again soon, til then - Happy Crafting!

hugs

wynneth

x

Princess of Callas

Here we are, the second tuesday in August already - where did last week run to?   My regular visitors will know that I post a project every tuesday on the Queen Kat Designs Whimsical Ink Sorority blog as part of the weekly Blog Hop by the DT.  The card I'm sharing with you today is the one I created for this week's Hop, if you'd like to join in with the Hop just start here and follow the links.

We are working with another great sketch and I am again using the fabulous August WIS Kit stamps.

This gorgeous girl is called 'Princess of Callas' and she sits so regally in her watery domain, holding her trident wrapped in gems and wearing her crown.

I recently acquired some of the amazing Microbeadz and thought they would be just fabulous used on my project this week - what do you think?

I coloured the image with Promarkers and Copics and then added two different colours of Microbeadz with Glossy Accents to her tail and top. I also added clear Microbeadz on her crown and the bubbles around her. The Microbeadz certainly give you a completely different finish and look to a project. I don't think the full effect can be seen in a photograph but I did the best I could!

I added a small punched shell, embellished with a half pearl bead and used the 'Heart of Gold' sentiment from the kit . I punched out the lefthand strip with a border punch and added half pearls to tie in with the sketch layout. The sparkly green/blue ric rac ribbon was from my stash and the background paper is part of a 12x12 sheet I recently picked up for 10p at my local Art Shop.

Thanks for visiting today and until next time - Happy Crafting!

hugs

wynneth

x

Red, White and Blue Thank You!

Happy Tuesday morning to you, I hope you have a nice day planned !   As it's Tuesday it's time for this week's Queen Kat Designs Blog Hop.   If you'd like to join in with the Hop you should start here so you don't miss the fabulousness that's on show today - all of it created by the very talented members of the Design Team to share with you.

This week we were asked to use the colour combo Red, White and Blue on our projects. If you hopped with us last week you will know that one of my fav shapes at the moment is the star, I couldn't help myself again this week as this colour combo just makes me think of stars - red, white and blue, stars and stripes - you get the picture!!

Rather than using one of the gorgeous Mermaid stamps I love to work with, I decided to take one element from the June WIS kit and use this as my main image. The June kit included this delightful cupcake stamp which I stamped up three times and coloured with Promarkers before cutting out and adding to stars cut with a set of nestabilities dies. The stripes were formed by using a Martha Stewart border punch and layering the different coloured card. I used one of the new Happy Stixx that the Queen is now stocking in the Store and this 'Thank You' sentiment just seemed to fit my card perfectly. Before attaching the star to the top, I wrapped some red raffia that I had in my stash around the stick and tied it in a bow.

That's it from me, I hope you've enjoyed viewing today's project, do come back soon I love sharing my projects with you !

hugs

wynneth

x

Starring the Tremendous Tilly

Good morning! It's Tuesday so it's time to hop with the Queen Kat DT. If you'd like to do the whole hop just start here and follow the links. 

My choice of stamp for this week is the gorgeous Tilly Mermaid, she really is the 'Star' of the 'Show' !  I coloured Tilly in shades of purple and grey which work perfectly with this groovy retro background paper I had in my stash, using Copics and Promarkers with Clear Spica Glitter pen on her hair and tail - although this just isn't showing up on the pic, sadly. I had this yummy purple metallic card in my stash and the mat finish silver card which I cut out using a set of star shaped nestabilities dies. I used another of the fabulous Happy Stixx on my layout, cutting it short and colouring with a pale grey Promarker before attaching a small silver star cut with another of the nestie dies - the sentiment was just perfect for my project, Tilly really is a Lucky Star!

There's another qkd hop next Tuesday - I hope you'll join in again.  Til then,  Happy Crafting !

hugs

wynneth

x

Inspired Anna Sapheer

As this week is Inspiration week for the Queen Kat Design DT, we have all be working with this fabulous picture to inspire our projects. What aspect of it caught your eye first? I'd love to know, just leave me a comment and let me know what it inspires you to create. 

On first view, I immediately thought 'spotlight' technique - highlighting just a part of a monochromatic image in colour for maximum impact. I think the dark red is stunning against the shades of grey and so, quite simply, selected these two colours for my project.
The fantastic Anna Sapheer was newly released this month and I thought she was perfect for my project for the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog as part of today's blog hop.

I coloured Anna with ProMarkers, using 'artistic licence' and giving her grey skin rather than introducing another colour to the card. Doesn't her red hair look stunning against her grey skin? I layered the stamped image over a piece of cardstock which I coloured with a ProMarker to exactly match the colours in the image.

The background paper is from my stash, as are the small white roses. I created the heart embellishment, from a piece of mountboard, in my meltpot, using pearl UTEE and a tiny amount of platinum UTEE. I was very pleased with the finished marbled effect!

I hope you've enjoyed viewing my card today, thank you for visiting.

hugs

wynneth

x

Sadie's Been Framed !

Welcome to this week's Queen Kat Designs monday blog hop.  You should have arrived here after being inspired by the lovely Lara's project, if not I'd like to send you back to the QKD blog to start at the beginning, so that you don't miss out on any of the fantastic DT creations.

This week we have a colour theme to work with which is one of my favourite combinations - Blue and Brown, I just love how these two colours compliment each other so well.

I haven't used the lovely Sadie's Victory stamp for a few weeks so I thought I'd dig her out of my stash to use for today's project.

Up until a couple of years ago, my Dad did a lot of marquetry work, using luscious wood veneers to create beautiful pictures.  He very kindly gave me all the veneer he had left and I have kept them in my stash, intending to use them in my projects at some point. 

I decided the veneers would be ideal to use for this week's lovely colour combo.  First, using a set of nestabilities oval dies, I cut out a frame from (what I believe to be) a sheet of dark brown walnut wood veneer.   I then stamped Sadie on to a piece of very pale coloured veneer and coloured her with ProMarkers before attaching to the 'cut out' oval created when I cut the frame.  I 'varnished' the frame with Sepia Glossy Accents and attached this over the image layer with silicone glue to raise it up a little.

The background paper is from my stash and the flowers were cut from Grungepaper and coloured with ProMarkers to match the colours I used on Sadie.  I added some Star Dust Stickles around the outside of each petal on the flowers and attached small aqua coloured half pearls in the centre of each one before attaching them to the frame.  The Sentiment is from the May WIS kit and was attached with silicone glue.

I hope you've enjoyed viewing my card as much as I've enjoyed creating for you.  I am sending you on your way to Kimme's blog now as I know she has a fabulous project to share with you today.  Don't forget to swing by the QKD Store after you finish the Hop, you never know what bargains the Queen might have for you in the Castle and right now there's a whopping 25% off all rubber stamps - how good is that?  This special offer runs through to 25 June, so get your wish list filled while the prices are low :o)

Do come back and join us next week when we'll be hopping all over again - the rest of the DT will be doing their Hop tomorrow, just start again at the QKD Blog and follow the links.

hugs

wynneth

x

Lovely Lani Mermaid

Today I am sharing with you my DT card created for the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog as part of the Tuesday Blog Hop for Queen Kat Designs Stamps.  This tuesday the QKT DT are working with the colours Black and White and using stamps which have been around for a while rather than new releases. I decided to use the lovely Lani Mermaid and I think she looks stunning in black and white.

Recently I've been enjoying creating some different shaped cards and I decided to add a small twist to this one by creating an inverted decoupage effect on an easel card. I cut frames in reducing sizes from a set of spellbinders nestabilities, using different patterned papers, then layered them up on silicon glue to give the frames more dimension. I also cut the base card from the largest of the same die set to create an easel card. I coloured the image using ProMarkers and added some clear Spica Glitter Pen to the flowers, although this isn't showing up too well on the pictures.

Here is a side-on view of the card on the right to better demonstrate the layered effect. I punched a flower from the same black and white card as the top frame, added a black half-bead and attached this to the inside to function as the 'stop' for the easel.

I hope you've enjoyed viewing my card today, I will be sharing more of my QKD projects next monday and tuesday and other projects throughout this week, do drop by again soon it's great to see you!

hugs

wynneth

x

Hoppy Monday to You!

Hi Folks!  Here we are it's Monday again and time to hop, hop, hop along with the Queen Kat Designs DT. You should have arrived here from Lara's blog but if you didn't I'd like to send you back to the start of the hop on the QKD Blog - you really don't want to miss any of the fabulous creations the Team have to share with you today.

Today we are working with this great little sketch and I decided to use the WIS Kit for May which recently arrived through my door in the mail - and what a great kit it is too.  I love all things oriental and so this kit is one of my favourites - well so far at least!!!
 


I stamped Suri three times onto shrink plastic and shrunk each one with a heatgun before colouring them with Spica Glitter Pens.  I edged each one with a gold Krylon Pen then added a layer of Glossy Accents.  I then layered each one on to a piece of black card, which had also been edged with the Krylon Pen.   I have had these lovely Japanese Origami papers in my stash for some time, the colours are so lovely and vibrant.  The gold half beads were from the QKD Store and add the finishing touch to this simple but effective layout.

I hope you've enjoyed visiting my blog today and I thank you for allowing me to share my creation with you.  I'm now going to send you hopping along to Kimme's blog to view the amazing creation she has to share with you today.  Hope you'll join us again next week and don't forget that the rest of the DT will be hopping again tomorrow, just start again at the QKD Blog and follow the links.

There are still a few acrylic stamps left in stock in the Store with a huge 60% off the price - why not stop by and pick up a bargain!  This week's special offer is 'buy 2 stamp sets and get 1 free' just hop over to the Store for full details.

hugs

wynneth

x

Anna Sapheer - shades of blue

The Queen Kat Designs Tuesday blog hop is happening today and for my project I'm using the lovely new June release - Anna Sapheer Mermaid. My contribution to today's hop is on the Whimsical Ink Sorority blog but I do like to share my projects on here too for my regular visitors. The DT have a sketch to work with for today's Hop and I selected a palatte of blue shades for both the background papers, flowers and to colour the image.

I coloured Anna with my Copics and ProMarkers and added Spica Glitter pen and Glossy Accents on various parts of the image. The papers are by Papermania and I used one of my current favourite tools to create the flower - Marianne Designs have some wonderful flower dies and by layering up and combining different papers, some amazing results can be achieved with them.

Thanks for visiting today, I do appreciate your support and love to read the comments left for me.

hugs

wynneth

x

Introducing Anna Sapheer

Hey there nice to see you !  Monday has rolled around again soooo.... quickly this week - where have the past 7 days gone?   So, a brand new week and a brand new released stamp from Queen Kat Designs for me to introduce to you with my project today. 

Mondays are blog hop days for the QKD DT and if you are hopping along from Lara's blog, you are in the right place. If you came direct to my blog I should send you back to the QKD Blog where today's hop starts - that way you won't miss any of the fabulous creations from the rest of the team !  Today's new girl is called Anna Sapheer and she's a real beauty! The whole DT have new stamps to play with this week and we are working with this great sketch.

I decided to use Anna Sapheer on an easel card with the sketch layout and in shades of brown and cream. 

Firstly I cut the base card with a nestabilities labels die to give it a different shape for a change.  I used dark brown and pearlised white star patterned card.  I used large label and circle nestabilities dies to create the various shapes and layers and a tag shapeabilities die for the sentiment.  I have moved some of the elements around  little from the sketch to better balance the layout of my card.

The image was coloured using Copics and ProMarkers, with touches of Spica Glitter pen added here and there.  I decided that she wouldn't have bare arms on this card, but is wearing a 'shrug' to match her top!  The lovely dotty brown ribbon was in my stash.

For the inside of the card I cut three flowers with a Marianne Designs flower die and attached these three sweet little wooden buttons in the centres to act as the easel 'stop'.  I lined the inside with more of the star patterned card and attached a plain white piece of card, cut with the smallest die from the same labels set, to provide room for a hand written greeting.

I hope you've enjoyed your visit to my blog today, I'm now sending you off to see what gorgeousness Kimme has to share with you.  Don't forget to visit the QKD Store at the end of the Hop, who knows what goodies and bargains you might find in there!!  I hope you'll join us again next monday and I'd like to remind you that the rest of the DT will  be hopping tomorrow, just start again at the QKD Blog and follow the links.

hugs

wynneth

x