Gina K Inspiration..

 I may be a bit late to the party, but last year I stumbled across Gina K Designs and her fab Facebook group...she is such an inspirational crafter and so willing to share her knowledge and ideas. She has a love of bold florals, simple designs and some fabulous techniques, plus she has also taught me to embrace black mats, coloured card bases and bold colours!

Although I would love to get my mits on some of her products (I LOVE the Little Love layering stencil) my crafty budget is a little tight at the moment, (partly because I've just treated myself to a couple of things including the fabulous Waffle Flower Birthday sentiment stamp in this card!) so I decided to revisit some of my own designs with a new crafting perspective...

 

For my card I used the Hummingbird image from Animal Antics and the Hibiscus flower digi from Say it with Flowers and coloured them up with my Promarkers - trying to keep to a bolder colour scheme!

 

I inked the background panel with Broken China Distress Oxide and stamped the WISHES sentiment using my Tim Holtz Stamping platform, before fussy cutting the flowers and bird. I raised them up on foam pads along with the large Birthday word stamp and finished off with a touch of glitter and some small pink gems for the flower centres.

I thoroughly enjoyed creating this card and even managed to use some yellow, a colour I always admire on other people's creations but very rarely use myself! It was nice to step out of my comfort zone for a change and I will have some more creations to share soon!

 

Crafty hugs,

Yesterday's workshop makes...

Good evening, Blogland!  Just thought I'd pop in and share the cards that we made at yestreday's workshop.  All the girls really enjoyed making them and went away with two lovely cards...

...The Easter holidays are almost over and I'm hoping things will start to get back to some sort of normality from Tuesday.  It's been lovely having the boys home but it totally throws my routine and I find it hard to get chance to sit at my crafty table, so much so, that it is practically empty at the moment...I know!?!  I need to try and organise my time a little better and wonder if making a list of things to do each day might mean that I'm more productive?...or it may just mean that I spend more time making lists?!
Hope you've all had a wonderful Spring break, despite the soggy weather here in the West and I'll be back bright and early on Tuesday with a new challenge for Passion for Promarkers - it's my week to host and I have a nice easy theme to join in with, so hop over and see what it is on Tuesday!
Until then, hugs from me...
Lisa x

Sugar Sketch 30...

Good afternoon, my lovelies!  I've been having a play at my crafty table and decided to join in with this week's sketch over at Sugar Pea Designs.  I am so grateful for sketches at the moment as they really help to kickstart my creativity - I think without them, I would shuffle paper around from here to eternity!

...I decided to use the Owl image topper from Animal Antics and added the sentiment and a couple of balloons from one of the embellishments sheets.  The papers are from the Cat, Owl and Fish design sets and the sentiment is from the Owl set...

I added a touch of glitter and some Glossy Accents to his eyes, beak and feet (but guess what?! Yep, you guessed it - they don't show up very well in the photograph!) I inked all the edges with Vintage Photo DI and completed the inside with a writing panel and diagonal stripe of polka dot paper to match the front.
Looking now, I should've made the owl topper a little bit shorter in height, but once the layers are stuck together, it's a bit tough! Oh well!
So there's another week gone and we're into October, though you wouldn't know it from the weather - not that I'm complaining!  We have beautiful blue skies and sunshine again today and forecast the same for the next few days, so my washing machine will be on overdrive! Have a fantastic weekend!
Hugs,
Lisa x
I'd like to enter my card into the Sugar Sketch Challenge - Sketch 30 which closes on the 11th October

AWOL...

Good morning, everyone!  I guess I've been MIA again! I don't seem to have the motivation to craft...or do anything to be honest, this last fortnight!  We've had a lot going in in our home life and head space seems to be at a premium at the moment!  I need to try and manage my time a little better as I feel as if I have just been wandering around, a little lost, these last two weeks.  I am still crafting in the form of workshop and DT cards and design work, plus I'm prepping for Sincerely Yours Summer paper Crafting at Newark on the 27th and 28th of this month...it's a bit scary as there's a lot more invested in this one, so I just hope that it turns out okay!
I am also desperate to get in my garden and do...we bought 1500 bricks off Gumtree last week in preparation for the hard landscaping that I want to do...though it's probably enough to build a small extension!  There was ever such a cute surprise when I went out there to hang washing the other day, however...

...this sweet little blackbird fledgling was chasing round after it's mother, wanting to be fed!  It was almost as big as her and was quite comical as it's legs seemed too long for it's body!

Anyway, enough waffle, I have the last workshop cards that we made to share with you all...

...The first was a sympathy card...

...They're always difficult to make but I wanted to keep some warmth, so went with an inked, Autumnal colour palette and lovely sentiment.

...The second card was an easel card using the dog and embellishments from Animal Antics...
I do hope I find some enthusiasm or motivation soon and that my days can be a little more productive...the sun is shining, so maybe that'll help! Off to put on some washing, clean the bathroom, then it's kid's club this afternoon and a basket full of ironing after tea!  I'll be back tomorrow with my card for a new challenge over at Passion for Promarkers, so until then TTFN!
Hugs,
Lisa x
PS Here's a link to the  leaves I used (well, I couldn't find the exact site that I used, but these are the same!) and the sentiment...

A happy, sunny, Easter weekend...

Hello, my lovelies!  Hope you have all had a wonderful Easter weekend, whatever you have been doing!  We have had a fabulous family weekend, started by a visit to the cinema on Friday evening to see the latest Fast ad Furious film (awesome and you've gotta love a bit of Vin Diesel!) even our big man graced us with his presence for the night! It was then a sort out on Saturday, trying to get my craft room into some sort of order...it's getting there, but still not finished! Yesterday, me, hubby and our little man, had a lovely day out at Erddig House near Wrexham - being National Trust members it was free to get in and with the warm weather, turned out to be a fantastic day!  Today, I finished the weekend with afternoon tea in the nearly finished garden room (this is the posh name)/lean to.  I made sandwiches, frittata, a victoria sponge and had my first attempt at making scones and was quite pleased with the results - here's a pic, after the boys had got their hands on them!...

...We burnt off a few calories with a game of swingball and then sat listening to the radio in the sunshine...bliss!  (Shame it has to end!)
I also have a quick card make to share with you.  It's my best friend's daughter's birthday tomorrow and she asked me to make a couple of cards, so this is one I created in PS...

...I used some of the embellishments from Animal Antics and added some glitter and pearls.

...I also got a lovely email from Margaret Cowburn who had made a version of the burger card for her grandson's birthday.  I really love when people show me what they've made and am so pleased if I can inspire or help other crafters to create something they didn't think they'd be able to, so THANK YOU Margaret for sharing your wonderful creation and a happy birthday to your grandson!
That's it for now!  Have a fabulous week!
Hugs,

Passion for Promarkers - Check it out...

 This card made Top 3 at Creative Craft Cottage - thanks so much, ladies!

Good morning, my lovelies!  Gosh, these weeks are really shifting - to think we are already in the middle of March and the clocks change in a fortnight!  Summer is on it's way!  I am currently working on a new disc...I know!?!...but I have so many ideas that I want to strike whilst the iron's hot, so to speak and am thoroughly enjoying creating new designs! Unfortunately, being sat at my computer for most of the day inevitably means that I am not sat at my crafty table and don't have very much craftiness to share with you all....But it's Tuesday!  Which means it's time to start another fab challenge over at Passion for Promarkers and I have my DT card to share!  It's the lovely Eileen in the hostess chair this week and she's chosen a nice easy theme of 'Check it out!', so we'd like to see checks, plaids or ginghams somewhere on your creations.  We are being sponsored by the wonderful Digistamp Boutique who are offering one lucky winner a £10 voucher to their online store...

Don't forget, to be in with a chance to win the prize, you need to use your Letraset products (i.e. promarkers, flex markers, aqua markers, tria markers, metallic markers or neon markers).

 ...I decided to use the pretty hummingbird digistamp from Animal Antics and make a new home card...

...The papers are from A Play on Words - the Lamp plaid, Sewing pink gingham and Mixer Aqua gingham...

...I coloured the image with my Pro/Flexmarkers and mounted onto one of my favourite dies - Spellbinders Floral Ovals.  I added some pink gingham ribbon and a couple of polka dot buttons for embellishment and highlighted the image with gold and crystal glitter.  The inside was finished with a printed insert.
I hope you get chance to join in with our challenge this week and look forward to seeing all your fabulous creations!  Don't forget to hop on over to the Passion for Promarkers blog to see what my wonderful teamies have made for your inspiration and have a fabulous week!
Hugs,

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges :

Cute Card Thursday

Celebrate - New Home closes tomorrow

Natalie and Amy Monthly Challenge

Flowers (on the image)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

Things that Fly closes tomorrow

Card Mania

Spring closes 29th

Creative Craft Cottage

Not quite Straight closes 20th

Ooops, dropped off the radar again!...

Good afternoon, lovely Blogger friends!   Hope you enjoyed the glimpse of Spring we had on Saturday here in the UK - I even managed to go to the local garden centre and buy my first touch of colour...

...There were a few pretty primroses left, so these got potted up...

...and last year, I bought an old pillar drill from a reclamation yard, when we were up visiting family in Scotland and it has been waiting to be adorned with some greenery until now!...

...And to finish off, a touch of colour by the front door.  The rosemary plant was grown from a cutting, when I pulled up the original plant last autumn and is doing really well.  All I need now is a bit more sunshine and I'll be a happy bunny!
I also have a card to share with you today, which TBH is about as CAS as it gets!...

...I just adore this dog's expression!  I printed off the pre coloured image topper from Animal Antics and added some grass with a few different shades of green Promarker.  I then cut around the bottom of the dog's ears and head and attached the orange circle paper (from the fish design set) and a strip of the same dark brown that I matted the image onto.  I printed one of the sentiments from the dog set and created a pennant shape and embellished with a few light green buttons...

...As easy as that!  This card had to be simple as I've had a busy weekend doing the jobs that I had planned on doing last weekend, changing around the boys' bedrooms - as usual, best laid plans and all that...my eldest had his girlfriend to stay and my youngest had 4 friends to stay over...well, if you're having one, why not four?! But it's all done now - beds have been chopped to cabin height, so no need for ladders and everywhere is neat and tidy...well, in their rooms anyway - the rest of the upstairs looks as if a bomb has gone off and will have to wait for now!
I'm off to try and get some ironing in before kid's club this afternoon...handprint trees and collage people...should be interesting! Take card and have a magnificent Monday!
Hugs,

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenge s:
Craft your Passion
Always Anything Goes until 15th
Scribble and Scrap 
Always Anything Goes until 14th
Crafty Catz
Song Title to match your image until 11th
'Hound Dog' - Elvis Presley

Passion for Promarkers - Lovely Lilac and Lemon...

Good morning, Blogger friends!  Gosh, it's Tuesday again! This means that we see the start of a brand new challenge over at Passion for Promarkers!  This week it's the lovely Shelly who is in the hostess chair and she has chosen a colour scheme of 'Lovely lilac and lemon'...It's great to see Shelly's CAS style and awesome doodling back this week, after having her beautiful baby Darcie last year, though I'm sure crafty time is still at a premium with a little one!...
...This week we are sponsored by Crafty Sentiments who are offering one lucky winner 3 digis from their store...

...I decided to make a simple Get Well card using the kitten digistamp from Animal Antics.  I cut away the front of the card and cut off the kitten's tail (cruel, I know!) so that it looks like he's peeking over the front of the card...

...I coloured the image with my Pro/Flexmarkers and here's the colour list I used :

Main body - Light Fawn, Champagne,Nutmeg

Muzzle and paws - Antique White, Linen, Champagne

Stripes - Umber, Shale, Nutmeg

Ears - Blush, Dusky Pink

Eyes - Lime Zest. Pear, Olive

...The papers are from A Year in Cards.  The yellow flower paper is from the February Scarecrow design set and the plaid from the August Fairy design set...

...The purple polka dot is also from the August Fairy design set of A Year in Cards.  I added a writing panel to the inside and embellished with the mouse, heart and sentiment from Animal Antics.

I have to say, this isn't a colour combo that I would normally go for - I don't tend to use yellow very often and should remedy it really as I love to see it in other people's creations! The lovely Sue Bearhouse always ROCKS yellow and it makes a card look so bright and sunny (remember what that is?!) Well, there we have it, another fab challenge for you to play along with!  I hope you can find the time to join in with this week's theme and look forward to seeing all your fabulous creations!  Don't forget to hop on over to the Passion for Promarkers blog to see the amazing DT inspiration and I'll be back soon with some more craftiness!

Hugs,

Deep Ocean Challenge

Furry Friends until 8th

I Love Promarkers

Animals closes today

Simon Says Stamp

Anything Goes closes today

The Paper Shelter

Make it Digital closes today

I've used a digital image, papers and embellishments

Happy 'Bird-day'...

...Hello, dear Blogger friends!  So where did February go to?! Not long now until the clocks go forward, the days get longer and hopefully a little warmer too! Can't wait to get out in my neglected garden, I so want to grow some more veggies this year!
Anyway, I have been sat at my crafty table for a couple of hours today and have a card to share that was inspired by the talented Tara Godfrey from Inking on the Edge...I just love this girl's style and use of colour and talk about die envy!!...So this was my take on the card she made HERE...

At Leigh Show, everyone loved the colours of the Bird design set from Animal Antics and I've teamed the papers with bolder mats than usual, to keep the card bright and sunny (though I did have to take pictures with the flash, so the pink isn't quite as bold as showing in the photo)...

After talking to so many crafters last weekend, the resounding thought was that people were unsure how to go about replicating the samples that they'd seen.  With this in mind, I will try whenever possible (a. if I remember and b. if I get the time) to add a card recipe and sizes when making new samples, so if you would like to replicate this card, or just use the layout for another project, heres the card recipe :

Hot Pink mat - 12 x 17cm

Bird Blossom paper - 11.5 x 16.5cm

Green mat - 12.5 x 9cm, corners rounded

Bird Polka dot paper - 12 x 8.5cm, corners rounded

Aqua mat - 14.5 x 5.5cm one end fishtail

Bird Chevron paper - 14 x 5cm one end fishtail

Hot Pink Spellbinders Scalloped Square

Bird Stripe - 7.5cm square, corners rounded

Bird Image Topper

Bird Sentiment - Snapshot Tool around the Happy 'Bird-day' sentiment, Click to Print, set Custom Scale to 130% and Print

Sentiment cut to 2.5 x 9.5cm, fishtail both ends

Green mat - 3 x 10cm, fishtail both ends

*Please let me know if you think this is a good idea!?!  (I so want people to achieve the same results as what they've seen)  And if you ever have a question about how I have made a certain card or a technique, then please do not hesitate to leave me a comment ( I have comment moderation turned on and will not publish anyone's email address) and I'll get back to you or send me an email at contact@ellasdesign.co.uk *

I embellished the card with buttons, pearls and White Liquid Pearl dots, plus highlighted the bird image with crystal glitter.  The inside was finished with the coordinating Bird 5x7 landscape insert.
It's workshop in the morning then a bit more sorting out of the house - I want to change the boys' bedrooms around as they're outgrowing their midsleeper bunks now (especially my big man who is now over 6 foot!) So, if I don't get chance to pop in, have a wonderful weekend, whatever you are doing!
Huge crafty hugs,

Animal Antics, Now Available!...

Good afternoon, my lovelies!  Firstly may I say a HUGE thank you to everyone who came along to Sincerely Yours Papercraft @ Leigh Show over the weekend - it was lovely to see so many familiar faces and to meet some new crafters too! Your support and lovely feedback really does make it for me and is the reason I continue to design! I can officially confirm that my new papercraft DVD-Rom (I couldn't fit it onto a CD!) is available to buy via the Add to Cart button on my sidebar!  It ends another six months of work from pencil and paper, colouring, digitising, creating the browser, compiling, burning, to printing and packaging...on to the next one?!  Maybe next week?!...
...I have had a couple of days off...well, not crafting anyway...trying to catch up with all the neglected housework plus delivery of a new sofa, tackling the washing and ironing piles and various appointments.  I have to take a family member for a hospital appointment tomorrow and workshop on Saturday, so the week will soon be over!
I have a couple more of the latest samples to share with you which I had at the show and have been trying to add some more images to my samples blog, so that they are all in one place and easy to browse!..

...The first was a flower wreath that I made by drawing around a CD for the outer circle and cutting the inner with my Spellbinders circle die.  I then printed off the Flower embellishment sheet, cut and shaped the flowers and added buttons to the centres, before attaching to the circle along with a hanging loop.  I used my Cheery Lynn Horizon Fishtail die for the centre, then used the Snapshot Tool to just print the birds from the Bird Image Toppers, cut out, glittered and attached with Pinfalir glue gel...

...For the second, I opened the jpeg and png folder and printed the branch from the Owl folder using Windows Photo Viewer, with A4 Page Size and printing 2 to a page.  I again used the Snapshot Tool to just print off the elements I wanted - the 2 Owls from the Image Topper sheet and the moon and stars from the second Embellishments sheet.  I added some Gold Liquid Pearl dots as extra stars and a hand stamped sentiment and bow...

...Lastly, I made one of the simplest cards ever!  I printed the Sun and clouds from the second embellishment sheet and attached to a panel embossed with Cuttlebug Divine Swirls embossing folder and used some yellow paper scraps as the sun's rays.  I printed a simple sentiment and matted the panel onto aqua cardstock.  The outer of the sun and the rays were highlighted with crystal glitter (which has shown up really well for a change!)...
Once again, many thanks for your continued support and lovely comments!  I hope you like my crafty creations and I'll be back soon with some more makes...until then, have a wonderful week and take care!
Hugs,

It is hard to be a woman...

Good morning, everyone!  Hope your having a wonderful Wednesday!  I'm back again today to share a  fun sample that I made using the Horse image from Animal Antics...not long now until it's available, I promise!...

...I decided to alter up another one of my 10p mdf plaques and thought it would be fun to use the horse image with one of the sentiments, which reads "It is hard to be a woman.  You must think like a man, act like a lady, look like a young girl and work like a horse!"...

...I used the Frog cloud paper as a background, Owl flower paper and Bird stripe, cut with my new MFT fishtail flags die.  Of course, I HAD to add some clouds...and buttons (another of my latest fetishes!) I highlighted the grass with glitter paste and the edge of the plaque with Liquid Pearl dots.  All that's left to do is for me to add a hanger of some sort - will have to raid hubby's shed later!
Hope you like my fun creation and thanks for dropping by!  I'm off to print covers for my new discs and start sorting things out for the weekend!  Leigh Show is only a couple of days away!!!

See you soon, take care,

I'd like to enter my plaque into the following challenges :

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge

All Creatures Great and Small (2nd entry) closes today

Creative Inspirations

Add a Button closes 24th

Papertake Weekly

Bingo closes 23rd

I've used Die Cut (fishtail flag die), Free (image) and Glitter

A new medium...

Good morning, dear Blogger friends! You'll be getting used to this post a day...better get making some more creations to share! I have a fishy card to share today...

...This time I coloured with a new medium - Prismacolour pencils!  I borrowed them from Mum, but still haven't got any blending solution (wink, wink!) so this one is purely coloured on, wait for it....the back of a porridge box!...

...I did wonder whether to put my title as 'Colouring on porridge' like I did for my Weetabix post, but thought it was a bit far fetched!...

...I used the Fish digistamp, Dog plaid, Fish orange circles, Cow polka and Bird chevron papers and one of the simple Fish sentiments (again printed onto the porridge box).  I kept the design quite simple and didn't add any glitter or anything (I know!) as I thought it would make a good masculine card? What do you think?  I finished the inside, as usual, with a coordinating printed insert and was done!
That's it from me, I hope you like my fishy creation and who knows, I may be back again tomorrow with some more crafty inspiration - all depends whether I  get to spend any time at my crafty table today! Have a super Sunday!
Hugs,

I'd like to enter my card into the following challenges :
Sister Act Challenge
Anything Goes until 19th
The Paper Shelter
Recycle until 17th
(I've recycled an empty porridge box as my colouring card)
Crafty Catz
For the Boys until 19th