Random Acts Of Creativity

IMPORTANT - blog relocation!

2009-11-29T14:06:00.007+11:00

Hello folks, I've got an important information for you, so be sure you'll read through!
I decided that my blog needs a more convenient address, and since it appeared the most reasonable solution, I moved it here:

http://ipalamountain.blogspot.com/

It has all existing content imported, so you don't need to use this website if you'd like to get back to the old posts.
I've got a big request for my followers, those who have my blog bookmarked, and subscribe to the content by any other means - please replace this link with the address given above, as from now on all my posts will appear exclusively there.

Why did I decide on a change? Some of you might have noticed that I mentioned having recently signed up with Kaszazz, which is an Australian direct-sales company that sells quality stamping, scrapbooking, and cardmaking products, and shares the fun and creativity through demonstrations and workshops offered by the network of independent demonstrators.
I'm excited about the new opportunities that the new job brings to me, and I need a website that will be easily accessible, without spending ages to type in its name in the browser lol.

I'm sorry for the trouble that I'm putting you through - I promise that I'm going to stick to the new place! :)
I hope to see you all there, I especially count on my dear followers - I would dread to lose you!

Happy crafting!
Iwona Palamountain (Chupa)

simple card with an angel

2009-11-27T18:22:00.003+11:00

Hello, just a quick post this time, and a simple card to show you:

This is my submission for I is for Indigo Blue at ABC Challenge, KISS - PPA 18 at Pals Paper Arts (where KISS means Keep It Simple, Sweetie), and Winter Love at Simon Says Stamp.
I'm more and more into simple cards... having a baby, it's just the right solution if one wants to keep up with the crafty stuff :) But apart from that, the simplest designs are often the most lovely.

Thank you so much for looking!
Chupa xx

Tree Trimming

2009-11-27T15:10:00.003+11:00

I just got my hands on the beautiful SU stamp set, and I'm showing you two more holiday cards that I made with it. I suppose I don't need any more Christmas cards this year, for I made plenty already, but any extra ones I'll give out to my family to distribute them further :) I just can't stop making holiday cards lol!

The first card enters the Embellish Brads Color Challenge at Embellish Magazine (blue, red. green & yellow). I CASE'd this wonderful card by Teneale Williams. I love everything about that design!

Next one is for the Stamps and Smiles sketch (SASSC 42), and the colours are from The Play Date Cafe Challenge PDCC06:

There are a few more Christmas themed challenges around this week (I wonder for how much longer lol!), so I'm submitting these two to all of them. They are:
- Christmas Crackers at Papertake Weekly;
- Crafty Creations Challenge #43 (sadly I couldn't have a go at the cracked glass technique, as I don't have a heating gun yet...)
- Charisma Cardz Challenge 47 - Anything Christmas.

Hope you like them, thanks for visiting!
Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!
chupa xx

Dare to colour

2009-11-26T20:55:00.004+11:00

Hello, long time no see right? :)
Well, much has happened for the last two days - I got my starting kit from Kaszazz, YAY!
This means that there are changes coming to my blog, but I'll get to this in a couple of days...
For now I'm going to show you the two cards that I whipped up today.
The first one is for CD44 - Real Soft Saffron:

The second card features colours from Color Throwdown 70, and I used some tearing to create the bloom, so that it suits the Tearing challenge at Quixotic Challenges:

It's a quick post, but it's also a busy day for me, so I'll see you again tomorrow!
Have a lovely evening!
Chupa xx

A sketchy line up

2009-11-25T02:23:00.007+11:00

I decided this morning that with the solemn will to do a couple of challenges today and a limited time, I wouldn't waste it on posting a card or two at a time. Thus I'm going to show you today's harvest in its entirety :)
I'm going to be brief with descriptions, for it's late and I really don't know why I'm not leaving this for tomorrow lol!
First project is not a card, but a hanging decoration:

I made it for my hubby's niece as a b-day present. It uses Kazan's Sketch 40.

Next one is a card that I made for TSG 30:

This card goes to MOJO114:

Both this project and the previous one, being of Holiday theme, are also my submissions for FTTC43.

Next is my submission for Mercy's sketch (MTSC 49):

And the last card goes to sweet Sunday sketch challenge #45:

All images have been watercoloured, and there is a lot of background stamping in the first three projects.
Whew! I'm done for tonight :D
Now I must have some sleep, but I'll see you again tomorrow!
Happy crafting,
Chupa xx

Birdies again

2009-11-24T00:44:00.004+11:00

Ok, so this is my last post for tonight, but I'm calling this day enormously productive lol! I made five cards altogether, so please scroll further down to catch up with all of them! :)
The card that I'm showing you uses Sketch 42 from Card Patterns, the recipe from TPE: Something Plaid, any # of Brads and No Ribbon, and I worked with the colours from OCC's recent challenge.

The image is a digi stamp, I paper pieced the birds and mounted them on dimensionals.
Thank you so much for visiting, see you tomorrow - have a good night!
Chupa xx

Festive pixie

2009-11-23T22:39:00.003+11:00

I'm pretty much in a cardmaking mood today... I can't stop completing various challenges, while in fact I should be working on the other craft projects that I'm planning to give as Christmas presents for the family. Maybe tomorrow :)
This time I'd like to show you my submission for Crazy 4 Challenges Week 12 (C4C12):

I also used again the colours red, green & white, that are the theme for the Challenge 32 at Colour Create. The design is very simple, but I like the clean look, crisp colours, and how the dimension adds interest to the card.
Thank you for stopping by, see you again - perhaps still tonight lol!
Chupa xx

Tailored tree

2009-11-23T18:54:00.003+11:00

I'm really pleased with the card that I'm about to show you :)
I used the lovely sketch from Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #92 (TESC92), and (again) the colour combo of Really Rust, Pumpkin Pie & Bashful Blue (JUGS8) at Just Us Girls.
The sentiment was chosen to suit the I Am Thankful challenge at 2 Red Bananas.

The tree is a free clipart that I printed out in the needed colour, and then divided into panels, that have been then sponged with blue and light green ink. The sentiment is also computer generated. I popped up the journal block, and the main panel, on the mounting tape.
Thank you for stopping by, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Think green

2009-11-23T15:27:00.004+11:00

Hello folks, here I am with the first set of cards for today!
First one is for Friday Sketchers #79 and CD43 - Green Chocolate Roses (as my second submission):

The brown colour's being a little blue-ish on the photo, sometimes my camera decides that it would play up...
The image is watercoloured and blended.

I made the next card for CPS143, and the colours come from Colour Create's Challenge 32 - green, red & white. This is a thoroughly Holiday set of colours, but I decided on something different this time:

Hope you like them, see you again soon!
Chupa xx

OCC in Autumn mood

2009-11-22T22:41:00.004+11:00

A warm hello! I hope you enjoyed the weekend - mine was busy as always, so I didn't have time for cardmaking until the evening. There are a couple of new challenges waiting for me, and all of them look really yummy... I decided to go with the earliest first, and that's OCC's Thursday sketch challenge (SASSC41)
Here's what I did with the little house:

This is a tri-fold card, you can see how the folds work here:

I chose to work with the colours given by the Just Us Girls team this week: Pumpkin Pie, Bashful Blue and Really Rust (JUGS8).

Our Creative Corner came out with a very similar range of colours for their next challenge for this week, and these are Close To Cocoa, Pumpking Pie (again), White & chocolate Chip.
I whipped up a quick card with them:

The card also goes to the Thank You Somethings challenge at Stamp Something.

This post is very pumpkin pie-ish isn't it? lol
Thank you for visiting, I'll try to be back once more tonight so peep in later!
Chupa xx

Purple birdies

2009-11-20T23:26:00.006+11:00

I was given a link to another challenge blog earlier today, and guess what happened... I decided to celebrate the fact that I like it there with a submission for their recent challenge lol :)
The place is called The Play Date Cafe, and they're having a colour combo this week, of grey, blue, purple and white (PDCC05).
Now, blue and purple can look very stylish together, but I learnt that it's so easy to go overboard with them and end up with a card that looks too busy, and just not right. I think the trick with these two is to make one of them a dominant colour, and use the other one for highlighting/ complimenting the first one. This way they won't be competing :)
Anyway, here's my card:

The image with birds is a digi freebie, but excuse my lazy brain - I forgot where it came from...
I used a magnified part of the branch to create a subtle pattern on the grey cardstock. The birds are paper-pieced, and the sentiment is also computer-generated.
Because of these cute creatures, the card also goes to the Animal Antics challenge at Simon Says blog, as my second entry.
I wanted to keep this card simple and stylish, I hope I succeeded :)
Thank you so much for visiting, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Throwing down colour

2009-11-20T17:46:00.003+11:00

I mentioned yesterday, that I would make another submission for the current Color Throwdown, and so I did. Actually, I created two more cards with the given combo of chocolate, olive, cream & dark red.
Why? Firstly because it's a really nice set of colours, and secondly because of the yummiest prize ever - a set of stamps from Flourishes! This must be one of the companies with the most adorable stamps, I'm in love with them all!
Here are my submissions:

For this card I used the sketch from Charisma Cardz, although I altered it quite a bit - I decided on rectangular shape, and resigned from the accents on the upper sides. They're a nice idea, but wouldn't go well with my busy background.

Here's another card:

The sketch for this one comes from Pals Paper Arts (PPA 17).
All images were watercoloured, and I must admit that they're not the best examples of my skills lol :P
I'm also submitting the two cards to the Animal Antics challenge at Simon Says Stamp.
Thank you so much for stopping by, I hope to be back later tonight with some more paper stuff...
Chupa xx

Poinsettia card and a girl with flowers

2009-11-20T01:10:00.003+11:00

There are quite a few colour challenges around this week, did you notice? Well, I don't mind it at all, for I LOVE working with different colour sets! I especially like the moments when I discover that the colours that looked at least awkward together, in fact look fantastic :) But that's what's in my opinion the best aspect of taking part in challenges - each time our creativity is stretched a little bit further.
Anyway, I've got something to show you, and surprisingly it is a card lol. Actually two.
Here's the first one:

It goes to Quixotic Challenge #3: Colour Combo - Kraft & Red, and TSG 29 - In Stitches (I used faux stitching).

The other card uses the colours from CD43 - Green chocolate Roses.

The theme is taken from Thank You challenge at Paper Blooms (it's their last challenge!), and I also included a charm to suit the Crafty Creations Challenge #42 - metal or metallic finishes.

Thank you for visiting, see you tomorrow!
Chupa xx

Christmas card & tag sets

2009-11-19T19:51:00.006+11:00

I'm having my first make & take this Saturday, at the local market. I'm planning on advertising my soon-to-be business as a demonstrator for Kaszazz (it's an Australian version of SU)
I'm still waiting for my starter kit to come, but first I want to give people a hint about what I'm going to offer, as well as tease them a bit. Everyone likes a little freebie, right? :)
Here are two sets of a card and matching tag that I prepared for the demonstration:

All cardstock pieces are pre-cut, so there will be only stamping and assembling to do on site, which will take relatively little time.
I stamped the snowflakes with beige ink on a red and cream card, and the words are stamped in brown ink.
I chose to work with these colours earlier, but they fit just right for the Color Throwdown #69, with chocolate, cream & dark red. There's also optional olive, and I'd love to make another card later, that features this colour too. I'll see how it goes :)

Colours galore

2009-11-18T15:47:00.004+11:00

Hi folks, I have two projects to show you. My mojo seems to have taken a vacation today, so I'm not thrilled with them though. They're not too bad, but I've got a feeling that I went overboard with the colours lol!
Here's the first one:

The sketch comes from 2S4Y (Laura's sketch 39), and the colour scheme is taken from the Embellish Magazine, but silly me forgot to use brads as another requirement, so I'll have to give them another chance later...

Here's the other card:

The sketch for this one is Papertake Weekly's current challenge (Sketch #28), and I used the recipe from Tuesday Morning Sketches (3 decorative papers, 2 embellishments, 1 flourish).
It's not too apparent on the photo, but the deep blue paper underneath the central panel is not a plain cardstock, but a nice textured DP.
The flower was watercoloured and blended with an aquapainter.

Thank you for stopping by!
Chupa xx

Two sketches

2009-11-18T01:29:00.002+11:00

It's late and I should sleep, but I bet you know what kept me awake for so long...lol :)
I've been working with two wonderful sketches, first of them being Mercy's MTSC #48:

I made the card more regular in size, although not because I don't feel comfortable working with narrower shapes, but because I wanted to use my gorgeous cardinal stamp, and I needed some space around it. I added a resin snowflake and button with a bow for some interest, and wrote the sentiment myself, for I wouldn't bother printing this digi out tonight :P

The next card is for Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge (FTTC42):

This week's host is one of my favourite artists, the super talented Silke Ledlow. For this occasion I decided to go for her style (again). I think I actually got pretty close to it this time :P

Thank you so much for visiting, have a lovely evening!
Chupa xx

Two angels

2009-11-17T19:35:00.003+11:00

I'm running late with posting today, but I've got two new cards for you.
The first one responds to OCC Sketch/Inspiration Challenge:

while the other one is for Mojo Monday Week 113:

This cute angel and accompanying sentiment are freebie digis from Crafts On The Net. The angel's head and the panel with the snowflake were popped up using dimensionals.

I'm also having with these two another entry for Merry and Bright at Charisma Cardz (as a matter of fact, I could link there at least half of my recent cards lol) .

Thank you so much for stopping by, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

The Pink Elephant Challenge #41

2009-11-16T22:18:00.003+11:00

TPE has scalloped circle for a sketch this week, and I understand why they call this one a challenge!... I'm amongst these ladies without dies, who have to compromise the design to some extent in order to come out with something decent enough :)
My compromise this time was to enclose the scallop within the larger circle, so that the shape is much easier to cut:

The lovely image is Precious Moments. I watercoloured and blended it, and as a final touch I added some doodle dots around the circles.
Thank you for stopping by tonight, see you tomorrow!
Chupa xx

Botanical scraplings

2009-11-16T14:52:00.004+11:00

Firstly I'd like to thank so much all of you ladies, who chose my cards to be featured on their challenge blogs in the last two weeks! I'm so happy, and I still cannot believe in all the goodness that happened to me - you girls make me fly!

Now onto the new cards! I finally used some of my leftover cardstock, thanks to the current challenge over at Daring Cardmakers, which is to make scraplings :) I love this format - in fact the narrower and taller the card, the more fun! This time though I have them a tad wider, for they're what I had left from an A4 size.
Here's my bunch (excuse the pun):

I used only a small part of a leafy DP, some cardstock for matting and stamping, and less than a metre of ribbon. A few embellies and some mounting foam added a nice finish. What a nice effect still, innit?
Each card features a different sketch. For the first one it's Friday Sketchers #78.
Different format of the card forced some changes in the design though:

Next one uses this week's sketch from 2 Red Bananas:

I decided to use some eyelets and thread the ribbon through the holes.
Finally, the third card was made to suit CPS 142:

All images were stamped in grey ink, watercoloured and blended. I didn't go for my usual style and let the colours stay soft and pastel. It gives the card a nice summer look (hey, summer is about to come here in Oz!)

Hope you like them, see you again later today!
Chupa xx

Night time, craft time!

2009-11-16T02:18:00.004+11:00

I thought that I wouldn't find time for some cardmaking today, but every addict has this amazing ability to get what he needs in the most hopeless situations... LOL
Here I am then, and with me two cards.
Here's the first one:

I used the lovely sweet Sunday sketch #44, and the very Autumnal colour scheme (CD42) from The Color Dare. I added a small green accent to the palette. This is also my entry for JUGS7 - Dry Embossing. I just LOVE polka dots!! (but who doesn't...?)
The sentiment is computer generated - I needed a custom design to suit the sketch. As a finishing touch I added some doodly dots around the circle.

Next project is for the Card Patterns Sketch 41, and I used (again) the colours from Paper Blooms' current challenge: orange, blue & white. It's also yet another submission of mine for Dry Embossing at Just Us Girls. This time I used an embossing template & a stylus to emboss the squares, and then sponged the raised pattern lightly with white chalk ink, to help the dimension stand out.

To add to the pile, finally the card goes to the TPE Challenge #40 - Be Thankful. I already have made two submissions for this one, but I love making thank you cards so I couldn't resist :P Besides, they prove very useful for me, especially after my Zuzia was born :)
There are also some doodles drawn around the card edge.

That would be it for now, I'll see you tomorrow!
chupa xx

Ye olde card

2009-11-14T22:55:00.003+11:00

Ugh, I'm having just one card to show you today - but why? Because I spent my day at the Paperific expo in Melbourne, and it was terrific! LOL
Today, after a long conversation with some nice ladies, I decided that I sign up with Kaszazz. It's an Australian version of SU! and has some really good stuff! I'm so looking forward to converting my hobby to business, and to share my passion with the others! :)
There will be also some changes coming to this blog too, so stay tuned!
But on to the card:

I'm very much into vintage, and I love papers with a touch of nostalgia, but I don't think they always have to go with ageing/distressing. Clean lines also work very well, as you can see.
I made this one for the fresh new Taylored Expressions Sketch Challenge #91.
I cut out the image from the cream cardstock and I wouldn't do this again lol :) I then coloured it in with the marker.

Thank you for looking, have a lovely weekend!
Chupa xx

Three trees and my fav colours again

2009-11-13T23:23:00.003+11:00

I've got one more card for tonight, and it's another Christmas one to use not quite holiday set of colours:

I don't care though, as soon as it's my fav combo lol!
I made this one for the current Thursday sketch at OCC (SASSC 40). I love it, although the vertical panels are quite narrow, and it can be tricky to find a stamp to fit in these. Fortunately these lovely trees from Craftwork Cards did the job :)
I attached little pieces of silver string to the bottom of each tree, so that they imitate the trunks. I finally came to use this gorgeous velvet ribbon, that I bought over two months ago - I completely forgot that I have it!

Thank you so much for peeping in, have a wonderful weekend!
(Mine certainly will be, for tomorrow I'm going to the Paperific expo in Melbourne to indulge myself in the crafty yumminess, and most definitely will be back with some goodies lol!)
Chupa xx

Ta(i)lored sketch

2009-11-13T17:14:00.004+11:00

Woohoo I found Taylored Expressions blog! Well, not exactly found, 'cause I've heard about it for a while, but I didn't bother to look as I thought one has to play with the brand stamps to be able to participate... apparently not! *grin*
This week's sketch (TESC 90) is lovely, and so I made two entries lol!

The first one is yet another Christmas project (I'm having SO much fun making Holiday cards this year!)

The theme suits very conveniently two current "seasonal" challenges:
- Merry and Bright over at Charisma Cardz;
- and Challenge #41 - Snow at Crafty Creations (I trust that snowflakes count!)

I used Olive ink for stamping, and I added a little dimension by raising the circular panel on the mounting tape. I think the combination of tealy blue and olive works beautifully :)

The other card is quite different:

Can you see all that sparkly yumminess on the cupcake? I think that's enough to have the card entering Glitter Me Silly at Cute Card Tuesday :)
The idea for this project came from the Picture This challenge at 365 Cards. We've been given the most delicious photo of a cupcake with pink frosting. I tried to recreate that look, but nothing is going to beat the one from the picture!!
I'm also giving another go for Quixotic Challenge #2 : Stitching with this one. Again, I used my favourite faux stitching technique.

I got quite a few challenges covered with these two... As much as I hate "using" my cards like this, it's very convenient when there are so many of them (and all oh-so-tempting lol!), and so little time...

Thank you for stopping by today, I hope you'll come back later for I'm most definitely not calling it a day yet! :)
Chupa xx

Encircled birdie

2009-11-12T19:59:00.005+11:00

Let me tell you, I lost my nerves a couple of times over this card:

You know how it is to cut a scalloped circle with a pair of scissors? I did it a couple of times with smaller scallops, but this shape took me AGES to cut, not to mention that the result is far from being neat... Cuttlebug machine and a couple of Nesties are certainly at the very top of my shopping list!
(anyone for a little bank robbery? LOL)

Anyway, I've done it for purpose :) - the first one being Tuesday Morning Sketches #19, that features a sketch for a circular card (although I flipped it, and replaced the vertical panel with the bird), and the other is Quixotic Challenge #2: Stitching. I used faux stitching, this technique is always fun and gives great results :)

The stamps are from Nature's Moments by Tim Holtz (except for the sentiment)
The birdie and the panel with sentiment have been popped up on the mounting tape, and the card was embellished with two ribbons.

Thank you for stopping by, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Thinking of Mojo

2009-11-12T15:24:00.002+11:00

Yay, I'm back! This time I'd like to show you my submission for Mojo Monday 112:

I decided to give it a "thoughtful" theme, to compliment the "Thinking of You" challenge at Simon Says Stamp.
The sentiment is computer-generated, since I didn't seem to have anything appropriate in my stash.
I guess that's about it, for the rest is pretty obvious :)
See you again, perhaps still today, thanks for peeping in!
Chupa xx

Curried Cardinal

2009-11-12T11:28:00.006+11:00

I don't know how and why, but my style evolved somewhat over the last few days... :P
Although I must admit that I'm more than pleased with the way things turn... I might have just learnt a few tricks along the way (finally!)
I'm bringing you my first card today, that I made for the Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge #43:

I know it's quite unusual to combine a Holiday theme with the flowery DP, but firstly this lovely paper suited the current Colour Throwdown perfectly, and secondly, I thought - what the heck, I'm going to give this one a little twist! :)
The challenge colours are: Only Orange, Real Red, Crushed Curry, and some dark neutral. I've got quite a few of these neutrals here lol!
I think this is a nice, warm and thoroughly Christmassy card, and the flowers don't look bizarre at all :)
The sentiment is a digi, and it was a gift from Just Us Girls for taking part in their challenge. Yay ladies! I printed it in orange on white paper, and added a regular stamp in Grant Archival Yellow (it is much darker than the actual yellow colour would be, in fact it's very much like Crushed Curry - talk about accuracy lol!)
I double-popped up the middle panel on dimensionals, and embellished the card with a simple red ribbon and a charm in the shape of a bell.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, see you again soon!
Chupa xx

CASE with a tree

2009-11-12T02:01:00.004+11:00

As soon as I saw the current challenge (CD 42) at The Color Dare, of Really Rust, Chocolate Chip & Bashful Blue, I recalled the Autumn Meadows stamp class offered by Andrea Walford. It has a very similar colour scheme, and features a lovely card with a SU tree stamp. I found the relevant post, and decided that I'd actually gladly CASE the said card. And so I did :P

Again, my CASE'ing turned out not overly accurate, for I revamped the design - e.g. I added some doodle dots along the border, which proved to be a neat idea :)
The project enters two more challenges, both as my second entry.
The first one is an Inspiration Challenge at OCC, and the other one - Be Thankful at TPE.

Thank you for stopping by, have a lovely day!
Chupa xx

Time for some SU!

2009-11-11T22:19:00.004+11:00

I'm back with two more cards! Yay for me, I managed to make four today, and I'm not yet sleepy, so perhaps it's not the end yet lol :)
I really like the way these two turned out, take a look yourselves:

This one uses the lovely CPS 141 sketch from Card Positioning Systems. Since it's asking for something simple, thus I had CAS in mind... it's not perfectly CAS what I came up with, but I was close :)

The next one is for the Mercy's sketch (MTSC 47), and "Be Thankful" theme over at TPE:

The image has been stamped twice, in Sand Beige & Bark, to create the shadow effect. I designed and printed out the sentiment, so that it suits the design.
Isn't it a nice colour combination? :)

Thank you so much for visiting, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Earthy tones

2009-11-11T14:14:00.007+11:00

Good afternoon fellow stampers!
Again I wasn't stamping yesterday, it was a tiring day and I found that my brain's gone, about the time that I managed to scrape out some free time :)
I'm making it up for the lost time today though, and so I've got two cards to show you.

I made the first one for the current Super Sketchy Sunday at 365 Cards:

It also goes for Quixotic Challenge #1: Birthdays, and TSG #28 - Fun With Chipboard!. I sponged the chipboard buckle with white ink, and stamped it with some doodle flowers.
The owl's eyes were embellished with rhinestones, and I adhered little resin leaves along the branch.

My next project is my interpretation of Kazan's Sketch 39 at 2S4Y:

Also, Papertake Weekly's current challenge is Digi Sparkle, and requires a digi image (the sentiment that I used on my card), and some sparkle/bling. I've got bling (brad and gems).
Not sure if you can see it, but some of the flowers on the Dogwood branch have been popped up on the mounting squares for a 3D look.

Thank you so much for looking!
Chupa xx

Crazy for mittens

2009-11-10T00:42:00.002+11:00

Whew! The card that I'm going to show you took me ages to make... and I don't even know why!
It's true that being a 3-D project (an easel card), it takes some more time to decorate & assemble, and also true that my little girl had an especially cranky day, but still... At least it looks decent lol! :)

This card combines three challenges, and these are:
- the sketch (JUGS6) from Just Us Girls, applied to the upper panel;
- Favorite Things Challenge at Flourishes Newsletter - we are to pick a phrase from a Christmas song and create a project around it, and I chose "warm woolen mittens";
- C4C10 "Easel Card" at Crazy 4 Challenges.

This is my first easel card, and I really like the way it looks. It's a simple design after all, but my goodness, does it make a statement!
The mittens and the sentiment are from Verve, and they were a freebie! Woo-hoo, now I can say that I finally got to use their lovely stamps lol!
I wanted the shapes of the five snowflakes to be only subtly outlined against the background, thus I popped them up on mounting tape, so that it's not the colour, but dimension that exposes them.
I added some silver string, rhinestones to the mittens, and a large white button to support the upper panel.

Thank you for stopping by, I appreciate your comments!
Chupa xx

Gratitude

2009-11-09T15:12:00.005+11:00

As soon as I saw this lovely card by Laura Fredrickson, I knew that I want to CASE it. Mind you, my CASE'ing is far from from the true meaning of this term, for I'd often adjust the design to my needs, to the point that the resemblance is insignificant :P
This time the altering led me to this:

I knew that I wanted to follow the autumn feel of the project, the more that it suits the current Inspiration Challenge over at OCC. My choice of colours is different though.
I'm also using the recipe from 2 Red Bananas, which is 3 eyelets , 2 pieces of ribbon and an oval or ovals.
I added some doodling to the ovals, and wrote the sentiment myself, thus it's far from perfection... but hey, it's still got the charm :P

Thank you for visiting, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

The carolers

2009-11-09T12:19:00.003+11:00

Hello again! I'm sorry for not posting yesterday, it turned out to be quite a busy day - funny how it's the weekends that are usually busier for us than the rest of the week... Having my hubby at home means that all the jobs that require his assistance (and the car!) have to be squeezed into these two days, so we'd rarely call weekend the time of rest lol!
I'm planning to make a few cards today, catch up with a few challenges, and let out my built-up mojo... and here's the first one:

I used the sketch from Charisma Cardz, and the colour combination of blue, silver & white (with an option of silver and glitter) from Colour Create. I used no glitter this time, but there is some sparkle & shine, thanks to the silver ribbon, eyelets and the sentiment written using silver pen.

The background was created from the snowflakes stamped randomly in baby blue & silvery grey. The carolers have been printed out and fussy-cut.

Thank you for looking, see you again soon!
Chupa xx

Colours to die for!

2009-11-07T22:58:00.004+11:00

I stumbled upon the challenge blog called The Color Dare the other day, and got hooked on immediately. Firstly because colour challenges are, together with sketches, my favourites. Mainly though because of their current challenge with given colours: Very Vanilla, Bermuda Bay, Soft Suede. Now, whoever knows me well, knows too that the blue-brown match is my all-time craze. These colours look so perfect and warm together!
I've got a couple of different DP sets featuring this combination, so it was no problem for me to go for two submissions :) As you'll see, although they have the same colour scheme, the shades of blues & browns are quite different.

For my first card I used some bold patterns:

I'm entering it for "Do the Decade: The 80's" at 365 Cards, and Dream Duo at the same place (this one along with the next card in this post):

Both cards also go to "Recipe for Love Somethings" over at Stamp Something. The challenge says: 1 ribbon, 2 papers, 3 embellishments.

The second project alone enters "Getting Krafty" at Daring Cardmakers.
Ok, that about covers my list lol :)
Thanks for stopping by tonight, see you again tomorrow!
Chupa xx

Cute as can be

2009-11-06T16:06:00.002+11:00

It's time for the über-cute Precious Moments girls again! :)

I used the current sketch from Stamps and Smiles, and chose the "thankful" theme to suit the Give Thanks! challenge over at Simon Says Stamp.
The image is coloured with watercolour pencils, of course ;)
Thanks so much for stopping by today!
Chupa xx

Cute Santa bauble

2009-11-06T13:39:00.004+11:00

I've got a cheerful card to show you today:

I chose bold colours for this card, to address two challenges - Cute Card Thursday with "Primary Colours" (red, blue & yellow), and 365 Cards with "Marvelous Mondrian". For the last one Pam gives us the artist's most popular painting, which features the same colours, plus white (that's why it's also on my project).
The sketch that I used comes from Peachy Keen Stamps.

I hope you like it as I do, for it looks really fun & sparkly :)
Thank you for visiting!
Chupa xx

Two colour combos

2009-11-05T18:18:00.002+11:00

Hello, hope you're having a lovely day so far :)
Mine has been quite busy - I'm preparing for the craft market this Saturday, where I'm planning to sell some of my cards - talk about not having space any more to house them all lol!
I'll be also launching a craft business soon - I was hoping to join SU!, but since they have recently changed their policy, I'd rather go for something else than be confined to only one brand, however good the stuff is... I'm thus thinking about the Australian company called Kaszazz, they're having some really nice products too :) If that happens, there will be some changes coming to my blog, possibly involving the change of its address, so stay tuned!
...but on to the crux of the matter -I've got two new cards to show you.
The first one:

Have you ever had a set of DP's that you liked so much that the first cut into the paper felt like a murder? Well, I had that with these. They have such nice, vintage look & warm earthy colours, yet they're thoroughly modern in design. I LOVE them!
As befits some decorative papers, they were used to address a colour combination, which is soft sky, always artichoke, kraft & dusty durango, and is hosted by The Color Throwdown.
I'm also having this card as a second entry for OCC's current challenge (Vintage style).
And the sketch? Well, it's my free take on Mercy's Sketch #46. In fact I went so astray with it, that I decided to show Mercy that I DO like her design as it is and make another card lol. It's my second card in this post, please scroll below to see it.
The flowers in the oval panel have been designed and drew by me, they don't look too bad :)

Here's my second project:

As I wrote above, it's the second one to go for Mercy's current sketch, also it's my response to the colour combo of orange, blue and white over at Paper Blooms.
The sentiment is hand written.

Thank you for stopping by today!
Chupa xx

Doodly wishes

2009-11-04T23:45:00.002+11:00

The Creative Inspirations team wants us to use some doodling this week, and here's what I came up with:

The sketch comes from Papertake Weekly Challenge. The sentiment is, as usual, written by me.
This may not be the best example of stamping, but the way it's messy a bit only adds to the "doodly" side of the card, so I feel forgiven lol :P

This is the last card for tonight, it's been quite a good day! :)
See you tomorrow for some more crafting goodness, thanks for stopping by!
Chupa xx

Party animal :)

2009-11-04T21:29:00.002+11:00

I've got a cute card to show you tonight:

This is my submission for Cute and Fuzzy Somethings at Stamp Something, and sketch #18 at Tuesday Morning Sketches.
The image is watercoloured, and the sentiment has been rubbed on the tag.
There's nothing more to add, for the design is pretty simple, so I'm leaving you with the card to enjoy :P
Thank you for looking!
Chupa xx

The glory of autumn

2009-11-04T17:49:00.002+11:00

My "European" nature still cannot adjust to the fact that I'm now living in the Southern Hemisphere, and despite the signs of spring all around, I feel like autumn. Especially with the Holidays coming soon, I catch myself awaiting the first snow impatiently... but instead of having a snowball fight, I will be frying under the Australian sun. Some might say WONDERFUL! but I still prefer classic white Christmas :)

Feeling like this has its bonuses though - I have no problem with producing one seasonal card after another, and keeping up with the autumn themed challenges. Besides, it gives me an opportunity to work with some of my most loved colours.
Today I'm showing you two cards, that I made in response to three different, deeply autumnal colour schemes. The first one has been set by 2 Red Bananas, and features four colours: red, orange, yellow & brown, from which we've got to pick at least three. Here's my submission:

The sketch comes from 2S4Y (Laura's sketch #38), and the torn newspaper page, apart from being a nice touch, has been incorporated to the design to suit the challenge over at One Stop Craft that's called "Newspaper/Text".

My next creation uses the awesome sketch for Mojo Monday 111. It's a contest time again!!

LOL can you tell that I'm crazy for faux stitching lately? For weeks I've been annoyed that I don't own a sewing machine, and that I'm missing on one of my favourite ways of embellishing the projects... not any more my friends, Chupa has learnt the technique and is officially in love with it :P
The colours for this one come from TPE, and they're brown, yellow, neutral, and the colour of my choice. Also, 365 Cards hosts an Ad Inspired challenge, with a beautiful wreath featuring the same range of colours. What a truly autumny line up!
The sentiment was designed and written by me.

Thank you for stopping by today, I'm off to work on the next project! :)
Chupa xx

Joy indeed!

2009-11-03T23:32:00.004+11:00

Hello again, I'm back with wonderful news - I've been chosen for a Guest Designer for Sketch 40 at Card Patterns!! I cannot begin to tell how happy I was to find this out - thank you so much girls, it's an honour to join you!
I won't reveal the sketch, since it hasn't yet been posted, but I can show you my interpretation of it :)

The idea for this one came from the current challenge at Flourishes Newsletter (FTTC40).
The rules are to combine a colored image, texture or textures, and any shades of neutrals we want (which is any combination of whites, creams, blacks, browns, and grays). I used two shades of brown, white and grey (which for some reason looks a tad green here...)
The texture comes from faux stitching, cardstock, and some in-colour stamping on the panels.
I chose poinsettia flowers for this project, for I knew that a strong, vivid colour like red would pop up wonderfully against a neutral background.
The rest is a standard: I used watercolour pencils for the image, and wrote the sentiment using a marker.

EDIT: the challenge is now on, and you can see this lovely sketch here at Card Patterns.

Thank you for stopping by tonight, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Hoo-ray!

2009-11-02T01:02:00.004+11:00

I'm back with one more entry for Karen's lovely sweet sunday sketch #42, just as I promised :)
(also my second card for "G is for Green" at ABC challenge):

I actually LOVE this card! It has nice earthy tones, it's simple yet effective, the owl looks super cute, and I'm a big fan of faux stitching lately - it looks so realistic!
Colouring medium for the owl - watercolour pencils (what a surprise lol!), the sentiment is hand written (yet another surprise *laugh*)

Thank you so much for looking, until tomorrow!
Chupa xx

A pictured inchie

2009-11-02T00:12:00.004+11:00

Time for another fabulous sweet sunday sketch at The Sweetest Thing!
I LOVE doing Karen's sketches, they're just perfect, and so are her creations - I like them to the point that every time I see her sample, I want to CASE it. Sometimes I would use a similar colour scheme, sometimes I'd go for the same theme... one thing for sure, I cannot resist but to follow her clean style when using these sketches :) (well, at least I'm aiming for it lol!)
This week I liked how Karen used a calm colour together with a more vivid one, to create a perfectly balanced effect. On my card it's the DP that takes this role:

As you noticed, the card is quite unusual, for it has a photo instead of a stamped image (it's the three of us there :)), and that's because I wanted to address the Wild Card Challenge at Just Us Girls.
There's one more blog that the card goes to, and it's 365 Cards with "It's a Matter of Inches".
I know it's - again - quite an unusual inchie (it's also a tad bigger), but I had this little picture left over from beyond-the-page project, so I thought that there are actually no rules about what an inchies should be made of... :)
I'll send this card to my parents in Poland, I'm sure they'll like it.

Thanks for stopping by, see me soon with one more interpretation of Karen's sketch - I just can't stop at one lol :)

EDIT: I came back to Just Us Girls blog, and noticed that the requirement is that the submission is holiday themed... I haven't noticed that before! *rolls eyes*
Well, I've got one more tiny photo of us, so I might just use it :P

One lovely sketch in two scenes

2009-11-01T18:51:00.004+11:00

I fell in love with the sketch 39 from Card Patterns as soon as I saw it. It has beautiful proportions and great versatility. I decided to use it for two different themes, covering some other challenges.
The first one is also my answer to Vintage Style at OCC:

I was very impressed with Renee Van Stralen's sample of the sketch, that I went for similar style and choice of colours. I only added a stamped flourish around the border, but I'm not sure whether it was the smartest idea :)
It's not too apparent on the photo, but the petals of the flower are layered.

Here's my second card:

I wasn't planning to make any more Halloween cards this year, especially that it's already past this holiday, but since two of my favourite challenge blogs were asking for it, i couldn't say no to this :) Which ones are they? Caardvarks with "Boo!", and Crazy 4 Challenges with Very Scary.
The sentiment and the web with a spider are my creations.

Thank you so much for visiting today, see you soon with my new project!
Chupa xx

X-mas icons

2009-10-31T19:39:00.004+11:00

Good afternoon peeps, I'm going to show you another holiday set of mine, that I made after getting inspired by a similar one featured in an "Australian Cardmaking, Stamping & Papercraft" magazine.
I'm very much into classic, rich Christmas colours: red, green and gold, and I enjoy every piece I create, that features them. Here's my very Christmassy project:

This set took me more time that I expected, partly because it takes some time to do the embossing manually (I used Fiskars embossing plate and a stylus), and partly due to exceptionally high temperatures today, that left me pretty exhausted, and my little girl cranky :)

The cards were made to suit two challenges, one of them being "Getting Punchy With It" at Daring Cardmakers (which is to use punches of course), and the other one - "All That Sparkles" at Simon Says Stamp. The last one especially suited the idea behind these cards, to make the central elements twinkle. And oh boy, they do beautifully :)

Below are the photos of each card in detail:

The ornaments have been cut freehand from patterned paper and cardstock, and then glittered. The sentiments are, as usually, hand-written.
Hope you like them, thanks for stopping by!
Chupa xx

Still havin' it

2009-10-30T23:31:00.003+11:00

I did it again... I CASE'd Jenny Gropp's fabulous card :) Well, sort of CASE'd, 'cause mine is far simpler, but the basic layout has been retained, and I was striving for the same bold effect. Whether I made it or not, it's for you to judge lol :P

This project came into being, because I couldn't possibly stop at one submission for "Spots'n'Stripes" challenge at Papertake Weekly. I'm such a sucker for dots/stripes combination on cards!
There is also a challenge over at Cute Card Thursday called Midnight Margaritas, that is about featuring a drink/cocktail theme, and it just fits here, doesn't it? :)
I didn't have any appropriate whimsical sentiment, so I wrote this one myself.

Thank you for visiting!
Chupa xx

Two projects, two styles

2009-10-30T16:09:00.002+11:00

Good afternoon folks, here I am to show you two of my last creations!
The first one is not my usual style, but I needed something more "informal" for Kazan's Sketch 38 at 2S4Y. I couldn't think of any good-looking layering style for this sketch, and so I came out with something that, let's say, follows it quite loosely ;)

With this design, it was easy to follow the rules of "No Backing Papers" challenge at Charisma Cardz, although I did use pieces of DP to make the cupcake and the circles. Good way to use all these scraps!

Next project is a response to quite a few challenges... before I give you the list of them, let me show you the card:

The colouring medium for the bouquet is watercolour pencils. The sentiment is hand-written.
Here are the challenges that this one enters:
- SASSC38 sketch at Stamps and Smiles (entered via OCC);
- "Beautiful Bouquet" at 365 Cards;
- "Thanksgiving/gratitude" hosted by Crafty Creations;
- "Spots'n'Stripes" over at Papertake Weekly.

Thank you so much for stopping by today, hope you like my projects!
Chupa xx

Altered tea-light box

2009-10-29T17:56:00.005+11:00

There are two challenges at the moment amongst my weekly "to do" list, that want us to alter some item - well, Melissa from Tuesday Morning Sketches says "dress an item up", having a Halloween theme particularly in mind, but since I'm not too keen on this holiday, I went for something more classic :)
The other challenge is "Altered Lunch Tin!" at CCEE Stampers, and my item is a gift box holding tealights:

It bugs me that no matter how many different places and light intensity I was taking the photo in, the colour of the DP would always appear cream. In fact it's as green as the tea-lights that the box holds! Talk about viciousness! The box really lost half of its beauty with the colours messed up like this, but what can I do... my camera apparently doesn't like this DP ;)
Anyway, it's going to make up for a nice present, not sure for who yet though...

Hope you like it, thank you for looking!
Chupa xx

3-D flower for a friend

2009-10-29T13:29:00.005+11:00

Hello again, such a beautiful day we've got here today! :)
I just made a card that also turned out beautifully - at least for me! ;) I wanted to combine the 3 Dimensional Challenge at Just us Girls, that is to use a 3-D flower on the project, with Anja's bonus sketch from 2S4Y, and thus the scalloped circle was replaced with the flower - mind you, it too has a scalloped chipboard base :)

Apart from the chipboard element, the flower is built of several layers of cardstock (crumpled and flattened again for a textured look), a piece of lace and a button embellished with a twine.
I also combined some more lace and twine on the left panel. The words are hand written.
Here's a sideways view of the flower:

There's one more challenge that I'm having this one for, and it's G is for Green at ABC Challenge.
Ahhh...I {heart} green so much! :)

Thank you for visiting, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Quick Holiday cards

2009-10-29T00:18:00.008+11:00

Just when I was about to start with the 10 min. cards that I meant to create for TSG 26 at There She Goes blog, and having all supplies already chosen, an inner voice told me that maybe I should look what kind of a new colour combo the Color Throwdown team serves us this week :P
To my surprise, these were the colours that I've chosen! (elegant eggplant, bordering blue, rich razzleberry) LOL figure that!
Anyway, the more happy I was to finish the project, and it looks like this:

These took just a couple of minutes to make, except that I've hand written the sentiments, and it would take even less time if they were stamped or rubbed on.
I like how the colours pop up, even more that the DP panels are mounted on dimensionals.
Thanks for peeping in, happy stamping!
Chupa xx

Fancy borders

2009-10-28T20:35:00.004+11:00

Hello fellow crafters, I'm here to share with you the fruits of today's work! I'm glad to say that the two cards that I made turned out pretty nice - especially that the challenges I created them for are high in my ranks, and I'm always trying to do my best for them :)
Here's my first creation, that was designed for Mercy's Tuesday Sketch Challenge #44 , and Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge #39:

Apparently I'm not the only one combining these two together, since Mercy's sketch includes a punched border, which happens to be the Flourishes' recipe.

Next card is for Mojo Monday Week 110:

I'd usually have a lot of work with layering for the Mojo Monday's sketches, since they're just asking for that :) The final effect can be really rewarding though, as any fan of layering knows well... Well, my layering tends to be far from perfection, since it's hard to cut some shapes neatly without dies, yet the card above is one of my better jobs ;)

Thank you so much for looking!
Chupa xx

Highlighted bloom

2009-10-27T23:17:00.004+11:00

This is going to be my last card for tonight, it's made for the sketch CPS 137 at Card Positioning Systems:

The layout and the colours were adjusted to meet the rules of the recipe over at The Pink Elephant, which are the colour black, hardware and distressing.
Black & white is perhaps not the first choice of colours to compliment powder pink and browns, but they look great together, don't they?
There is also one more challenge that this one goes to, and it's Pin-Up at 365 Cards. The requirement is to include either a stick pin, safety pin with beads, or/and a charm on the project.

Thanks a bunch for stopping by!
Chupa xx

Aww...nuts!

2009-10-27T21:08:00.002+11:00

Here's a new card for you, based on the sketch 38 from Card Patterns:

The chipboard embellishments are from DCWV's Green Stack. This is probably the most distressed card I made so far - I thought it would go nicely with the autumn theme ;)
Thank you for looking, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Get well wishes

2009-10-27T17:16:00.007+11:00

Good afternoon fellow crafters! I'm back with a simple card, a submission for the 2 Red Bananas recipe, which is a square, the colour red, and 3 buttons; and "Get Well Soon" challenge at Simon Says Stamp:

I chose the DP with a subtle pattern for the background, and stamped it randomly with doodle flowers, using white chalk ink. After allowing it to dry, I traced the lines with white marker, and then sponged the edges of the paper with red ink. I cut a long piece of red cardstock, embossed vertical lines, and sponged the piece with green ink to bring forth the pattern. I used watercolour pencils for the image, but haven't blended them, so the colours would stay crisp.
Hope you like it, thank you so much for stopping by!
Chupa xx

Seize the cupcake!

2009-10-26T20:07:00.002+11:00

Here's my submission for the sweet Sunday sketch challenge #41 at The Sweetest Thing:

There's also a nice challenge over at Cute Card Thursday called Candy Corns, which is about making a candy-themed project, that I'm submitting this one to. Lastly, I think this card corresponds better to Crazy 4 Challenge week 8 It's All Geometric!, than my first entry for this challenge, so there it goes too :)
Hope you'll like it, thanks for looking!
Chupa xx

Catching up on the challenges

2009-10-25T23:18:00.003+11:00

There's a line up of five challenges prepared for the following card that I've just finished:

I hate how I dread to miss any of them, one day it's going to drive me crazy if I won't have time enough for whatever reason...lol. On the brighter side, it's fun to see how many different requirements can be met on a project.
So this one goes to:
- Friday Sketchers, for I used their sketch 75;
- Crazy 4 Challenges with their challenge called It's All Geometric, that's about including 3 different geometrical shapes;
- Color Throwdown's current colour combo of purely pomegranate, certainly celery & taken with teal (I know there are be dabs of several other colours on the DPs, but the given trio forms the leading scheme);
- Delightful Daisies at Charisma Cardz, which gives me the opportunity to play with my daisy-shaped fabric flowers;
- and finally, Favourite Things at Daring Cardmakers, that says: "use at least 5 of your own personal favourite things". What are mine? Firstly - papers (YUM!), then bold colours, ribbon (yesss!), flower, gemstones and chipboard. To close my fav list, there should also be brads and a stamped image, but there was no place for them on this card. It's rich enough already ;)

Thank you for stopping by today, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

A 2S4Y day!

2009-10-25T18:52:00.002+11:00

I had a forced break in crafting again, due to some health issues, but I've been doing as much as I could over the last 2 days, and I'd like to show you three cards today, all of them prepared for 2 Sketches 4 You.
The first one was made for Laura's sketch for this week:

I kept the card simple, but decided to give it some pizazz by adding some red accents and glittering the wreath. I embossed the background with the polka dot pattern, so it can enter the Dry Embossing challenge at There She Goes, and the colour scheme was chosen for Colour Create's challenge 30 "All White". The last one it enters is called "Celebration" and is hosted by One Stop Craft (I've got a lot to catch up with lol!).
Both sentiments are hand-written.

I also decided to answer the girls' DT call... I know that many extremely talented ladies will submit their creations, since this is such a tempting post to occupy, but that's why I could not possibly ignore the opportunity to give it a try! I cannot begin to tell you how overjoyed I'd be if I was chosen to work with these chicks! (one can always dream lol)
Here are my creations based on the sketches prepared by Laura and Kazan for this occesion:

I created the badge myself, since I didn't have anything appropriate in my stash. I used the faux stitching technique to decorate the panels, and coloured the image with watercolour pencils, partly blended to retain crispiness where needed.

For this card, I decided to give it an eclectic look, and used a couple of different embellishments, along with a variety of papers. The flower was created from two kinds of ribbon, and embellished with a button; the stem is a chipboard die-cut. The sentiment is from SU!, but again, I wrote it myself since I don't own it.

Hope you'll like what I've done, thank you so much for looking!
Chupa xx

Guess whoo's back!

2009-10-22T17:32:00.003+11:00

Me - with an owl-licious card :P

There is a recipe challenge over at Peachy Keen Stamps blog this week, and it says: make a card, use colours pink and brown, a ribbon, some glitter, and a stamped image.
I sponged the background with glitter, after having it embossed and sponged with pink & light brown inks to bring forth the pattern.
For this card I used the lovely sketch #27 from Papertake Weekly.

Thanks for looking, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Merry & passionate

2009-10-22T14:51:00.002+11:00

Hello again, I've got two cards to show you today!
I found yet one more yummy challenge blog yesterday, and I swear I was battling myself to close the browser window and forget about it lol! Well, it didn't work...
It's called Just Us Girls, and here I am with a submission for their challenge #3, which is a colour combo of aqua, red and cream. Don't you just immediately think of winter holidays?

The colouring medium for both cards are my watercolour pencils. I know I'm using them a lot lately, I guess after rediscovering them I fell into some kind of addiction :P
The sentiment is hand-written, again, on both creations.
The sketch comes from 2 Red Bananas.

Next card is designed for Card Patterns sketch 37:

There's barely any layering here, but apart from the watercolours used on the image, the project is heavy with sponging. I also stamped some flourishes around the edges of the DP to create the "lush jungle" look.

Thank you so much for stopping by today!
Chupa xx

Some birdies and a simple card

2009-10-22T02:09:00.005+11:00

I really dig simple cards lately, especially when they turn out nice. This one did, at least I think so ;)

It created it for another great week's sketch at Lord Have Mercy! (MTSC44).
The image was coloured with watercolour pencils, and the sentiment is hand written (like most of them on my cards lately...)
I really have nothing much to add here, except that I hope you like it lol!

Thank you for peeping in!
Chupa xx

Thanks to Silke :)

2009-10-22T00:02:00.004+11:00

Yup, thanks for the über-talented Silke aka Sparklegirl Chupa whipped up two more cards tonight :) And that's because her nickname is a theme for the recent CNFS challenge over at CCEE Stampers. Thus the requirements for the project are: to make a square card, include a girl, some sparkle, and true to Silke's style, a lot of white space.
Here's what I came up with:

The sketch C4C7 comes from Crazy4Challenges.
The photo was taken in a rather strong lamp light, so the white cardstock appears quite off-white here... The Precious Moments image was coloured with my watercolour pencils, including shading of the circle. I added some faux stitching in a few places. There is precious little bling though - just the rhinestones, so I decided that I'd make one more card. It turned out very nice... but I forgot about having the card square lol!

Anyway, the effort is not wasted at all, as the card enters the current Tuesday Morning Sketches challenge, for I used their lovely sketch :)

Thank you so much for visiting!
Chupa xx

Butterflies & flowers

2009-10-21T17:13:00.004+11:00

Back as I promised, with two cards this time.
I'm really glad that it takes a fraction of the time now to create a card, than it used to when I started a few months ago. I remember that back then I could spend even four hours fiddling with one card! (and in the end it it would look rather poor anyway :P)
If I were so sluggish still, I definitely wouldn't be able to keep up with all these wonderful and inspiring challenge blogs :)
This is the first of my quickies, that I made for Mojo Monday Week 109:

I did not hold on to the sketch too rigidly though... somehow when it comes to Mojo Monday's sketches, I always end up with a project more or less modified... *rolls eyes*
I coloured the butterfly with watercolour pencils, blended and glittered - and oh boy does it sparkle! Since I did so, I'm entering the card for "Bling It Somethings" at Stamp Something.

My next project uses the CPS 138 sketch from Card Positioning Systems:

I also used the colour scheme from OCC's recent challenge, which is: Soft suede, Handsome Hunter, Sage Shadow & Blush Blossom. Finally, the card goes for "F is for Flying" at ABC Challenge, and "It's So Distressing!" at Charisma Cards.

Hope you enjoyed, thank you for stopping by today!
Chupa xx

I'm back after a week's break!

2009-10-21T12:54:00.006+11:00

Whew, it was a hell of a week! However, I didn't necessarily lack the time for card making - I gave myself a break for a purpose, aiming to refresh my mojo a little. Also, I enjoyed devoting more time to my newborn Zuzia, although we did have some tough moments, lol.
As I'd expect, there is a bunch of new challenges waiting in line, some delicious sketches to start with!
I'm planning to play with a few today - I'll see how it goes, but for now I'm here to show you what I've done so far:

The sketch comes from The Pink Elephant. Speaking of which, I'm delighted to share with you some wonderful news that I found myself amongst the winners of their previous challenge with my Happy Hauntings card! That's my second TPE win, the more happy I am, for it's an honour to gain recognition of such talented ladies!

The project also enters Flourishes Timeless Tuesday Challenge (FTTC38). Dee Jackson, this week's host, wants us to use some watercolouring, and I used my watercolour pencils for the image. For those who didn't recognize it already, it comes from the Precious Moments series. I found a bunch of them cuties recently, while googling for some nice freebie digi stamps, and I can't believe how these incredibly gorgeous images can be used for free!
I fell in love with the characters instantly, so expect seeing many more projects of mine featuring these cute kids! :)
The last challenge for the card is "Blue" at Crafty Creations. Of course, it's about making a project using blue colour. Winter is an excellent theme for this!

That's it for now, meet me later today with a new creation!
Thank you for stopping by,
Chupa xx

In a Holiday mood

2009-10-14T23:46:00.005+11:00

I'm running late with posting lately, but it was one hectic day... it's almost midnight, and I've just finished the cards that I started making this morning... being so fast thanks to my gorgeous little newborn :P
The first one was designed for two challenges that occur at the same place, which is a recently found blog - Flourishes Newsletter. This is another one to host some extremely talented Design Team, not to mention that the stamps they're promoting are exactly my type! I sooo wish I could play with some of them... :)
Anyway, as I mentioned, they hold two challenges at the moment, one being a sketch, and the other one requiring some sparkle added to the project - and my goodness, I'd rarely drool over the prize as much as I do for this one, for they're giving out 6 brand new stamp sets!!! =P
Here's my card that uses "sketch C" and features some glitter (on Santa's beard, mustache & hat) - it's not much in comparison with the stunning samples from the DT members, but I'm sure it will do:

Since I also wanted to play with the current Mercy's sketch today, I decided that I add glittery bits to this one too. Here's my second card:

I love the way it turned out, especially that I drew the image myself (the stamp certainly exists, but surprise surprise... I don't own it :D ) I then coloured it with watercolour pencils, but have not blended them, since I liked the rough effect. The glitter is added to the snow & the snowflakes in the air.
I chose the colours from the Color Throwdown 64, which are baja breeze, chocolate and sahara sand. The last one turned out more like beige on the photo, and it's because I took the picture in the yellowy lamp light, that warmed up the colours.

Thanks for stopping by!
Chupa xx

A simple duo

2009-10-13T21:58:00.003+11:00

Hello again! :) I'm back with the last post for tonight - and I should have nothing to complain about, as I managed to make 5 cards, which was a good number even when little Zuzia was not here yet! She did give me a hard time today though, but at least - being a newborn - she sleeps a great deal ;)
I'm still recovering after a C-section too, also trying to adjust to this tremendous change in my life, thus I still can't do much apart from what I can squeeze into short breaks between the feedings... so I find cardmaking very relaxing :)
But on to the project:

These two are very simple designs, yet I find them most pleasing... mainly because they use my favourite colour combination of blue/teal and deep brown.
The "keep in touch" card is my free take on Kazan's sketch 37 from 2S4Y, and the "count your blessings" one follows the current sketch from CPS. I made them both tall so that they also suit the Shape Up and Stand Tall! challenge at CCEE Stampers. Lastly, they're both entering "Brown Plus Something" at Stamp Something Challenge Blog as my second submission.
Now I'm calling it a day and going to get some much needed sleep :)
Thank you so much for visiting and commenting!
Chupa xx

Thankful for you

2009-10-13T17:06:00.002+11:00

After having finished a "thankful" card earlier today, I felt like one more entry for a respective challenge at Crazy 4 Challenges. Here it is:

I find cards with bold sentiments (or better yet - quotes) working as main focal points very appealing, but I have preciously few stamps that would do a respectable job alone.
Therefore, as some of you probably noticed, whenever I need an image/sentiment that I don't have, I search the internet for it and then I draw/write what I've chosen. The effect is never as neat as if I were to use an original stamp, but to me a slightly imperfect image is better than no image at all ;)
On this card I combined a hand-written sentiment with a stamped image of the rose.
The sketch comes from the latest Mojo Monday; also the card enters the Day 226 challenge at 365 Cards, that is about including the word "so" somewhere on the project.
Thank you for visiting!
Chupa xx

Autumn in Spring

2009-10-13T14:04:00.004+11:00

There's a lot to Autumn to love, but nothing can beat the charming colours that the season has to offer. At this time of year, when we've just entered Spring in Oz, I envy my friends from Northern Hemisphere, that are about to enjoy this marvelous spectacle of reds, purples and yellows that we lack for so severely here... At least I can keep up making Autumn cards, and thus enjoy this richness whenever I please :)
Here's one:

This is my response or the "Fall" theme at TPE, as well as "Brown Plus Something" at Stamp Something Challenge Blog. I also finally succeeded in including all the components from Charisma Cards' recipe (1 ribbon, 3 flowers, 3 papers, 1 charm) on this card. This was perhaps my fourth attempt to do so, but previously I'd either forget to add some element, or deliberately resign from it. I combined three flowers to make one blossom though, and I got rid of the charm's ring, so that it's not attached to anything like it normally would, but adhered to the paper.
The sketch for the project comes from 2S4Y, and it's a bonus one. I will definitely have a go for their second sketch later, partly because I really like the prize lol!!
Thanks for taking a peek!
Chupa xx

Grateful for challenges

2009-10-13T11:22:00.006+11:00

I do LOVE challenges :) They give me constant, best source of inspiration, keep my creative juices flowing, and they're fun! The only bad side of participating in a number of them regularly is that the new ones keep coming daily, and for an addict like me it means a lot to keep up with! Especially with a demanding newborn to take care of... :P
That's why my cards are simplified lately, as I have no time to fiddle around too much - but at the same time my preferences tend to steer towards clean & simple style anyway - the style that I have not yet mastered, but I'm trying to ;)
Here's my new card for you:

The sketch is Karen's from The Sweetest Thing, and I'm also entering it for the "Truly Thankful" challenge at Crazy 4 Challenges, which is about creating a card with a thankful theme.
The sentiment I from Verve I believe, but again - I don't own the stamp, so it's handwritten. Stamped are the flowers around the sentiment though.
Thanks for stopping by!
Chupa xx

Let your light shine

2009-10-11T22:05:00.002+11:00

When I decided that I make a card for the Daring Cardmakers "Autumn Purple" challenge, I had only the set of papers chosen to work with, and a sketch that I was planning to use with them (which is a current challenge at Card Patterns). I didn't yet know what theme I actually want to set for the project, but I decided that I start anyway, and some idea will eventually pop into my mind. After having adhered the background, I rummaged randomly through my stash and found a chipboard star, and let me tell you - me likey how this spontaneously created card turned out! :)

The sentiment is Verve's invention, but since I don't own it, I wrote it myself using a white marker.
Verve lovers will easily notice the difference :)
Thank you for stopping by today!
Chupa xx

Play time fun

2009-10-11T19:33:00.003+11:00

One Stop Craft team asks us to create a birthday project this week - easy peasy :) For my card I used the current sketch provided by OCC's Lori Rider.

I haven't coloured in the stamped image, instead I applied different shades of glitter to the particular gift boxes. It was a quick project, but it looks pretty nice :)
Hope you like it too, thanks for popping in!
Chupa xx

So charming!

2009-10-11T17:30:00.004+11:00

I'm having one of those days, when my lil' sweet pea leaves me with precious little time for myself, so this card I've been gradually making since morning, and it's already tea time :)

I used this sketch from Friday Sketchers, but changed it slightly - I replaced the oval image with the flower, making it the main feature of the project. I also left the bow on the top unattached to the middle section.
I created a simple charm of two different beads, so that the card can enter the "So Charming!" challenge at Cute Card Thursday. The colours that I used respond to the combination given by the Color Throwdown this week. These are: kraft, olive green, dark brown, dark yellow.
(I don't know why some colours turned out untrue - they appear colder on the photo, making kraft look more like violet, and the brown mat rather like a dark gray one... I apologize for that, as it may look like I didn't quite follow the colours...)

Thank you for stopping by, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Monochromatic revisited

2009-10-10T23:54:00.003+11:00

The card that I made yesterday for the two challenges of the same theme did not satisfy me enough, so I decided to give it another try. The challenges that I'm talking about are "Monochromatic Mania" at TSG and "Monochromatic" at Paper Blooms. This submission certainly pleases my eye far more than the previous one.

I drew inspiration for this card from this most lovely creation by Loretta Lock. I admire every piece of art that's made by this talented lady, she totally rocks! There is no way I could make anything as precious and neat, often working with no quality stuff to start with, but I'm trying! :)
Anyway, I hope you will like what I did with the challenge, thank you for visiting!
Chupa xx

Back with a Christmas card...again :)

2009-10-09T22:24:00.004+11:00

I really enjoy making holiday cards lately... not only there are so many wonderful themes to try, but they are perhaps the most useful projects to work on - apart from the b-day or thank you cards that are always handy :)
This time I created for another blog that I found recently - Peachy Keen Stamps. I really must stop it, I've already got 30 places that I regularly submit to! *rolls eyes*
I couldn't resist this one though - their challenges are yummy, and so are the prizes! *grin*
This week's theme is a recipe: use colours blue & purple, a stamped image, a greeting, and 3 snowflakes. Here is my submission:

Thank you for looking, hope to see you again soon!
Chupa xx

Monochromatic vs. two-tone

2009-10-09T19:07:00.004+11:00

Whew...I had quite a day! My 2 week old girl was having some kind of ache, and I couldn't calm her down, no matter what I tried.... talk about the first tremendous motherly experience lol.
I managed to squeeze in some time for crafting though, you know me ;)
Here's the first of the two cards that I created:

Two different challenge blogs gave us the same task this week - to create a monochromatic card - and this is my response to both of them. They are "Monochromatic Mania" at TSG, and "Monochromatic" at Paper Blooms. I'm also entering it for the "Christmas in October" challenge at Creative Inspirations Challenge Blog, another nice place that I found yesterday. The sketch that I used comes from CPS.

The second card goes for Colour Create's colour combo for this week, which is red, yellow, black & white. I know this is an obvious invitation to make another Halloween project, but I decided to follow a different path.

The other challenge for this one is "Pick 5" over at 365 Cards. It's about using 5 different elements on the project, and mine are: 2 patterned papers, 1 length of ribbon and 2 stamped images.

Thank you so much for looking!
Chupa xx

Have a helluva day!

2009-10-08T17:59:00.005+11:00

I made another Halloween card, this time for the current week's challenge on Simon Says... Even though I have already submitted one project for the recent sketch at Lord Have Mercy!, it was an ideal one for what I had in mind, so I used it once more... after a few alterations ;)

I found this cute devil on this website, and I liked it so much that I drew it (scroll down for the samples on T-shirts for the image).
The sentiment is hand-written.

Thanks for stopping by, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Just hatched

2009-10-07T20:38:00.002+11:00

Last card for tonight folks :)
This one is made for the Papertake Weekly current sketch. There are so many baby sample cards over there, that they got me inspired to make one too.
Since the colours are light pastels, I'm also entering this one for the "All Shades Of Pale" challenge at Crafty Creations.

Thank you so much for visiting!
Chupa xx

Sketchfest Wednesday ;)

2009-10-07T17:23:00.004+11:00

Today I concentrated on "doing" a few sketches, and thus I've got three new cards to share with you (I'm not calling it a day yet!)
On to the first project.
The sketch that I used here comes from Tuesday Morning Sketches:

My next card is a second entry for Mojo Madness 107 (the sketch). It also goes for Something with Apples/Teachers/School at Stamp Something.

The last one uses another lovely sketch from Lord Have Mercy! I'm too going to give it another go for the Autumn Inspiration at One Stop Craft.

Thank you for stopping by, hope you like them!
Chupa xx

Mojo Madness!

2009-10-06T22:34:00.002+11:00

Here's my take on this week's Mojo Contest:

Nothing overly exciting I must say, I can definitely do better, but oh well... it doesn't hurt to enter the challenge with it, since there are soo yummy prizes to win! ;)
I might have another try on this great sketch tomorrow.

Thanks for stopping by!
Chupa xx

CAS with roses

2009-10-06T19:25:00.004+11:00

I seem to enjoy clean and simple style in cardmaking ever more with each CAS card that I make. Usually the projects that impress me most would follow that style too - it's relatively easy to achieve a nice effect with elaborate layering and well chosen embellishments, but to make a stunning card with limited means of expression is often much more tricky, because the eye catches every detail and imperfection. Don't look for them too avidly in my card though lol :)

I got this one made for Karen's current sketch over at The Sweetest Thing. Now, that chick has definitely mastered the technique!

Thank you for looking!
Chupa xx

For the love of ribbon

2009-10-06T16:37:00.004+11:00

Such a charming challenge there is at Caardvarks this week! It's called Take A Bow and it's about using ribbon in a special way. I say no problem! - ribbon is perhaps my favourite embellishment, and I use it on majority of cards that I create (although I prefer to have it in a classic way).
Here's what I did with it this time:

The other thing that's definitely to my taste are simple yet classy sketches, such as those that are offered every week by Laura and Kazan from 2 Sketches 4 You. I used their current sketch for this card.
Thank you for visiting!
Chupa xx

Happy Hauntings

2009-10-06T14:22:00.006+11:00

I wasn't sure whether I can actually make a decent Halloween card. It hasn't been a popular holiday in Poland, hence I never celebrated it, and frankly I'm still not too keen on it. I guess it's not exactly my pair of shoes :)
Yet I did challenge myself to get a card done for this occasion, just to see what I can achieve, and I am satisfied :)

The project enters the "Here's to Halloween" challenge at 2 Red Bananas, follows the colour combo of black, orange, purple and white given by The Pink Elephant, and uses the sketch provided by Paper Blooms. I'm also giving it a go for the Crazy 4 Challenges current "Sew Happy" challenge. I wish I could use real sewing on my project, but I don't own a sewing machine.... so whenever I feel like it, I must use a fake one (I'm usually too lazy to sew by hand lol)

Thank you for stopping by!
Chupa xx

Christmas mojo

2009-10-05T15:19:00.002+11:00

Whew, I managed to whip up a card for the soon-to-end Mojo Monday Week 106! Here it is:

Yep, it's yet one more Christmas card of mine - I'm really pleased with the number of them that I made so far!
This was another heavy layered sketch from the Mojo Monday Design Team, so I wasn't sure if I'm going to make it in time, but there you go :)
There is some sparkle added to the white star, but unfortunately it can't be seen on the photo...

Thanks for looking!
Chupa xx

Happy World Cardmaking Day!!

2009-10-04T23:20:00.003+11:00

It was a tough job to accomplish the task that I've been given to myself today - to celebrate my first World Cardmaking Day with at least three cards. My little bundle of joy was a bit cranky and occupied a great deal of my time, and we had unexpected visitors, so I had little time to devote to my addiction ;)
Considering the circumstances, I must admit that I did quite well though - I'm satisfied with all three cards that I managed to put together. Be prepared for a long line up of challenges that they're going to be entered for! :P

The first card is an answer to the Girly Challenge over at Simon Says Stamp. The team asks the participants to make a cheerful card for a 13yo girl that suffered from a severe injury. I hope many will take part in this challenge and send the card over to the girl!
The sketch for this one comes from The Friday Sketchers.

The sentiment (around the stamped flower) says "friends forever". It's quite a small lettering, and the photo turned out a bit blurry, hence it's hard to decipher. The stamped flowers were coloured with watercolour pens and partly blended (the colours that I wanted to stay sharp I did not blend)

Next card uses the sketch from Card Patterns. It's also my second entry for "We're Folding" challenge at Daring Cardmakers, and again I folded the ribbon. I wanted to make a tri-fold card for this occasion (and maybe I still will), but it takes extra time which I haven't got yet :)

My last card is packed with challenges :P
The sketch is taken from 2 Sketches 4 You, and the colours come from the current inspiration challenge at Our Creative Corner. The card has an autumny feel to it, which is my response to "Autumn Inspiration" at One Stop Craft. Finally, the included tree makes the card eligible for an entry in a tree-themed challenge over at Scrappy Frogs. And here's the card:

Hope you all found some time for cardmaking in this special day!
See you tomorrow, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Trying out a new format...

2009-10-03T19:12:00.003+10:00

...and really having fun with it! It happened that two different challenge blogs this week offered a sketch for a long card. This is a truly nice shape to work with.
The first sketch on which I based my card comes from Lord Have Mercy! , and here is what I did with it:

I sponged the embossed background in a purposely careless manner with green ink, and then applied a silver one to the dots only. The central element is sponged with olive ink, and some glitter applied to the "snowy" parts of the image.

Next card uses the sketch provided by Tuesday Morning Sketches. Also, I chose the colours from the combo over atColor Throwdown, which are basic grey, old olive, rich razzleberry & really rust. Finally, I folded the ribbon, so that it applies to the "We're Folding" challenge at Daring Cardmakers.

Thanks for looking, have a happy weekend!
Chupa xx

Gingerbread man

2009-10-02T17:22:00.002+10:00

Time for another card folks! This one has some yummy colours and an adequately yummy theme. Makes me feel like Christmas already... :)

This time it goes for two challenges (my gawd I'm really doing my best not to miss any of my favs lol!)
The sketch comes from The Sweetest Thing. The colours that I used are given by the Colour Create team, and they are hot pink, dusky pink and ice chocolate.
Enjoy!

Thank you for peeping in!
Chupa xx

Little bundle of joy

2009-10-02T13:25:00.004+10:00

Amongst the usual motives, I guess I wanted to commemorate my own baby's recent birth with this card. It's going to please some other happy mum one day, but for today it let me express once again my joy and thankfulness for having been granted with such a miracle that my little Zuzia is :)

I'm still making up for the outstanding challenges from the recent week, so this card is not going to be different from the last two - it combines a number of them. Here's the list:
- the sketch was taken from the Card Patterns;
- the colour scheme follows the Black & White + 1 challenge at Papertake Weekly (the "+1" meaning one additional colour, for which I chose blue - hopefully the DT will forgive me the tiny mauve butterfly...);
- I added some embossing (polka dots in the background, that I have later sponged with white ink to add interest & highlight the texture), so that the project qualifies for "E is for Embossing" over at ABC Challenge;
- also The Pink Elephant team came out with the following recipe this week: Something with Dots, Punch, Tag. The dots would be again in the background, and the punch & tag bit is composed out of a rub-on applied to a white paper circle, and then adhered to a clear epoxy tag;
- finally, Cute Card Tuesday has "A Pinch and A Punch" theme this week, which means that the project celebrates something first. Well, first or new, it is certainly there lol!
This is far than enough for one card, me thinks :)
Thank you for visiting!
Chupa xx

Heartfelt

2009-10-01T20:59:00.002+10:00

YAY I managed to make one more card tonight! Here it is:

It also combines a few challenges, and these are:
- "Tartan It Up" on Daring Cardmakers (requires including some tartan element - here I've got ribbon),
- "Monochromatic Mania" on OCC,
- this sketch from Friday Sketchers,
- and finally Crafty Creations' challenge with the leaves/autumn theme.

Thank you for stopping by, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

Back on track!

2009-10-01T17:09:00.004+10:00

I had an amusing time finding out how many new challenges are awaiting me after a week's break... I will certainly try to make time to catch up with at least some of them. So far my girl let me make one card today, and it was such a fun time! I realized how much I missed cardmaking!
So, here is my first post-natal card lol:

I tried to combine a few challenges in this project, and I came up with four:
- Cindy Haffner's sketch at Crazy 4 Challenges;
- One Stop Craft's challenge called "Die Cuts" - in my case these would be Christmas trees, of course;
- "Red & Green" colour combo over at Simon Says Challenge;
- "Let's Go Digital!" at CCEE Stampers. I use digital images (freebies) quite often, as I tend to follow cardmaking on a budget :) These ones I believe, came from the Canon website - they've got an extended scrapbooking section with beautiful papers, die-cuts and such, ready to print out.

That's it for now, meet me (hopefully) later tonight with one more creation - if my baby is not overly demanding! :)
Thanks for stopping by!
Chupa xx

My precious little gift

2009-10-01T13:06:00.002+10:00

Here I am again, after over a week of absence, with some exciting news about the safe arrival of my baby girl Zuzanna!! She is absolutely gorgeous, very calm, keenly interested in the world around already, and I just love her to pieces!!

I'm still feeling a bit cranky and awkward with the post-cesarean stitches, and of course Zuzia is occupying a great deal of my time, but I shall be back shortly with some new cards.
As much as my daily routine changed, I cannot stop thinking about cardmaking, and frankly I don't know whether I should be happy or worried about this :P
See you soon, have a great day!
Chupa xx

The time has come!

2009-09-23T21:56:00.006+10:00

This is going to be my last card for some time, I believe at least for a couple of days.
I found out this morning that my baby decided to turn breech at the very last moment (I'm 7 days overdue now), so that I immediately got a cesarean booked for wee morning tomorrow...
I'm going to have my little girl with me in a couple of hours, so wish me luck!!

I was planning to make a couple of cards today, especially knowing that I'll have to live without it for a while, but I couldn't concentrate!
I did make one though, but I'm far from being satisfied with it... I'm posting it anyway, as I'd usually do :)

This is my submission for the Tuesday Triplets challenge at 365 Cards (three brads), and Tuesday Morning Sketches #12 (a sketch that I used).
Now it's time for me to try and have some sleep before the Big Day, and hopefully I'll be back soon-ish with the picture of meh girlie! =D

Thank you for your visits & lovely comments, all this has been brightening up my days, and hopefully will continue to do so!
Chupa xx

hugs & kisses

2009-09-22T22:41:00.003+10:00

Day three of Sketchfest on Caardvarks has come, and I'm back with my entry for their new sketch:

This would be my absolute fav colour combination, and I like using it every now and then. It brings to my mind a table in a sunlit, inviting kitchen, a yummy chocolate cake on it, and the family gathered around and chatting happily :)
I decided to use the sketch a little differently to what one would expect, and I'm satisfied with the result. It only bugs me why the brown ribbon underneath came out almost black, while its colour matches the rest of the browns on the card perfectly. I guess it's the different material reflecting the light off in a different way.
Thanks for looking and all the lovely comments that I'm receiving!
Chupa xx

Seeing spots!

2009-09-22T20:46:00.006+10:00

I'm still waiting for my baby's little toes to arrive with the rest of her cute body lol, but I made another baby card instead. Can't get enough of them lately...

The design is based on the lovely Mercy's sketch at Lord Have Mercy!
I also chose the papers and embellies so that the card suits Monday's colour scheme at 365 Cards.
The image is stamped, but I used my watercolour pencils for shading around the edges of the die cut instead of sponging. Often I'd prefer using them over ink pads, as I feel like I have more control over the effect.
Thanks for stopping by, happy crafting!
Chupa xx

A framed butterfly

2009-09-22T17:15:00.004+10:00

Here's the next card for today, this time a little bit different to my usual heavy-layered style, but frankly I love the effect!

Its romantic, folk style meets glamour on this card, and it all goes so nicely together :)
I combined the lovely DCWV papers (including the butterfly in the frame and the flower cutout) with a chipboard frame and a tag, on which I put a clear sentiment sticker. Then I added some lace, paper string in two colours and an adhesive silver corners, sponged around the card in an olive ink, and that's it!
This card is my submission for Laura's Sketch 35 at 2 Sketches 4 You.
(I'm sorry for the nasty horizontal line that goes across the photo, it's some fault generated by Photobucket and I hope it disappears soon...)
Thank you for visiting!
Chupa xx

Thank you for everything

2009-09-22T15:25:00.003+10:00

As I promised yesterday, I'm back with another card for The Pink Elephant's newest sketch.
This time I didn't rotate it, although I put the sentiment inside the middle section, instead of the bottom right corner.

The square with the sentiment is popped up on a mounting tape, as are the leaves and the blossom of Echinacea flower. I actually painted the sides of the little mounting tape pieces underneath the flower parts with markers, so that they'd be less visible :)
The little bee is made of resin, I believe.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting, it's much appreciated as always!
Chupa xx

Another Monday, another Mojo sketch

2009-09-22T13:24:00.002+10:00

Here is my take on the sketch for Mojo Monday Week 105:

These lovely papers are from DCWV. I combined two kinds of lace and a ribbon to accentuate the border between the horizontal sections and emphasize the sentimental tone of the card.
The outer edges have been sanded lightly.
I hope you like the effect as much as I do :D
Thanks for visiting!
Chupa xx

Best friends

2009-09-21T22:44:00.002+10:00

This is probably my last card for tonight... I still feel like creating, but it's quite late *sigh* Am I an addict? Sure I am, lol!

I made this one for the brand new sketch over at TPE. I rotated it, changed the alignment of the ribbon and extended the length of the sentiment - the basic layout is left untouched though.
I like the sketch a lot, so I might make one more card tomorrow with no changes applied this time. I'll see how it goes :)

Thank you for looking!
Chupa xx

Spring has come!

2009-09-21T20:00:00.002+10:00

Indeed it has come to Oz! The air is full of sweet scent, butterflies chase each other above the flowers, and the sun kisses me on the cheeks when I'm out. Perfect time to have a baby, a completion and crowning of all the new beginnings... =D

I made this card for the day two of Caardvarks Sketchfest. I remember stating here not long ago that teal is far from being my favourite colour, but now I seem to be a sucker for it, and I use it often even when not asked for :)
On the other hand, this is not an isolated case - my colour preferences have undergone a big change since I started card making.... which is good, 'cause I probably was a bit mono-thematic before lol.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope your week begins well!
Chupa xx

A cheerful thank you

2009-09-21T16:33:00.003+10:00

This card I'm going to give to a wonderful lady whom we've never met, yet who recently helped us selflessly, I hope she'll like it!

This is going to be my second entry for the current 2RedBananas Split Sunday Challenge (1 piece of ribbon, 2 stamps and 3 dew drops or gems), as well as a submission to the sketch challenge on CPS.
The polka dot background has been embossed and sponged to bring forth the pattern. All the rest is self-explanatory :)

Thakns for looking!
Chupa xx

Best Wishes CAS

2009-09-21T14:15:00.002+10:00

Firstly I'd like to express my boundless joy - I've been chosen for the Fab 5 at 2 Sketches 4 You with my Get well soon card! YAY, thankies ladies! :)
Secondly, I'm back with my first post today, and another creation. This is no coincidence that it's another CAS card, as I was planning to make one today anyway ;)

It's been created upon my mum-in-law's request, her dear friend is soon turning 70, so she needs something unique for this special occasion. I hope this will be unique enough for her lol!
For the design I followed the brand new 2RedBananas challenge, which is a recipe: 1 piece of ribbon, 2 stamps and three dew drops/gems. In case the gems are not too apparent - you can find them on the ribbon :)
Thank you for stopping by and commenting!
Chupa xx

Joy definition

2009-09-20T22:19:00.003+10:00

Here is the card that I put together for another wonderful sketch over at The Sweetest Thing:

I really like playing with Karen's sketches, they're so sweet :) Not to mention that I'm in constant awe for that chick's awesome craftmanship...!
The images are from Kaisercraft - I tend to work a lot with their stamps lately.

Thank you for looking, wishing you a happy evening, and see you tomorrow!
Chupa xx

A beary Christmas card

2009-09-20T20:08:00.002+10:00

Sketchfest 2009 has just started on Caardvarks! For each day in the following week there is a sketch design to do, and there are some wonderful prizes to grab, so none the less this is something that every challenge lover should take part in =D

I'd love to complete all sketches, so that I could enter the drawing for the DT member, but I doubt my baby lets me - I'm already four days overdue, so I might end up in a hospital any hour now! :)
Here's my take on Sunday's sketch:

I'm systematically collecting Christmas cards. Certainly a good thing to do if one wants to spare some nerves in the last days' madness!
This card is also entering the One Stop Craft challenge called Beary Nice. The requirement is to include a teddy bear on the project. I found this one cute :)

Thank you for stopping by!
Chupa xx