merry kissmoose

merry kissmoose, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

card challenges are great for taking us out of our comfort zones ... a great example being this card which combined two colors that I personally would never have considered as being compatible, a rich berry color with a light aqua shade.

Color choice was based on this week's The Paper Players Color Challenge #162

Card design was based on the sketch challenge in this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS Sept 9-15 Designer Drafts Challenge.

Stamped image of the cute little moose together with the 'merry kissmoose' sentiment come from Paper Smooches - Chubby Chum Pals stamp set, whilst the ribbon banner is from Paper Smooches - Streamers stamp set.

And isn't it great that it's FRIDAY with the weekend to look forward to!

thanks with a lollipop

thanks with a lollipop, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

stars and gingham... wouldn't have thought that they will go together but I was proven wrong - what a great combination of patterns!

Card design was based on the following sketch in Freshly Made Sketches #103 and what a hoot that I was first in line in the card submission (especially since I'm usually late, with too many missed submission deadlines!)

And the image is a printed digital image from Tiddly Inks - Summer Sweet Wryn, which has been colored using Caran D'ache Neocolor II water-soluble wax pastels.

Card was also submitted for the current Tiddly Inks Challenge #117 - Saying Thanks.

Thinking of You

I'm a great fan of Magnolia stamps - totally enjoying the lovely images of Tilda and Edwin, which are great for coloring with Copics, water-color and just pure pencils (whatever your 'poison' is!).

I haven't quite mastered though the many layered and highly embellished cards that many Magnolia fans make .... too much going on in the card for me!

Preferring the clean and simple look with the emphasis on the stamped image itself, I couldn't resist the latest Magnolia-licious Tuesday Challenge - CAS (Clean and Simple), and this is the card that I made....

Thinking of You, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

- with a bit of masking work on the image to allow the distress inking of the yellow grungy background strip

- 'Tilda in Summer Rain' was colored using Caran D'ache Neo Color II water-soluble wax pastels

have faith

have faith, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

Card was made for this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS - September 2-8 Trend Watch challenge

inspired by this photo

The stamps of the vases, flower, and leaves came from Paper Smooches "Crystal Clear" stamp set, whilst the 'have faith' sentiment came from the Paper Smooches "Spiritual Sampler" stamp set.

The vases have been embossed using Zing! Metallic Finish embossing powders in purple, pewter and blue colors - creating a lovely texture for this clean single layer card.

bummer birthday

bummer birthday, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

a birthday card for my bro-in-law ..... simple, sedate and very 'guy-ish'.... until you open the card ......

and suddenly that 'back-side' pops out at you, all wobbly and shaking - courtesy of the action wobble attached to it! Hope he gets a chuckle from this!

The stamps (both the front and back images, and the 'bummer' sentiment) are from Art Impressions - Shake Your Booty - Bummer Set.

The design for the front of the card was taken from this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #44.

a wish for peace

a wish for peace, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

a Christmas card made along the lines of the latest sketch from Freshly Made Sketches #101

the swirly stamp is Stamp-It Australia Tree Whirl stamp (from Crafter's Companion), and is a great versatile stamp for many uses, e.g. embossing, water-coloring, and can be used both on the outside and inside of cards .... for this card, I had stamped using Tsukineko's Encore Ultimate Metallic ink - teal - which has a lovely sheen but unfortunately did not turn out so well in the photo!

you're purrfect

you're purrfect, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

a 'purr-fect' card to tell someone that they are just great the way they are....

the card design was inspired by this week's Paper Smooches - Aug 26-Sep 1 Picture Perfect Challenge - which show-cased lots and lots of frames!

* frames are die-cuts from Paper Smooches wise dies range - Duo Die 1 and Duo Die 2

* the little kitten and puppy - Paper Smooches : woofers and tweeters stamp set

* 'you're purr-fect' sentiment - Paper Smooches : Chubby Chums stamp set

dear santa

dear santa, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

made this cute card at my coloring class yesterday evening ... and the stamps and the red and green colors have now got me into the Christmas mood ... and it was a good reminder that it's time to start cracking on my Christmas cards!

The main image of that cute teddy bear comes from Crafter's Companion - Popcorn the Bear series - Dear Santa stamp set.

Background stamp (in grey with red highlights on the title) comes from Stampendous - First Christmas stamp.

And on the inside of the card - I added a small circle of a mini cute Popcorn on the upper right hand of the holiday sentiment!

Card was also entered into the Crafter's Companion August Challenge: Animals

birthday cake

birthday cake, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

now if only birthday cakes were all so totteringly high and sinfully yummy ... this was such a great image for coloring, especially the cake layers, and the pink glitter on the icing made all the difference for this card!

Card was meant for submission for Challenge #199 (Happy Birthday) on Mo's Challenge Blog, but sigh.... as usual - I was too late, missing the deadline by minutes!!

Little baker girl with tall cake is a digital image from Mo Manning (she's a very talented artist and illustrator) - check out her images for sale at Mo's Digital Pencil.

Happy Bark-day

Happy Bark-day, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

A simple and clean birthday card created based on the sketch from this week's CAS(E) this Sketch #42.

The choice of colors are from this week's Paper Smooches SPARKS August 19-25 Cool Shades Challenge

using cocoa, coral, kraft and yellow.

* all stamps are from Paper Smooches

- sentiment and dog stamps are from the Birthday Buddies stamp set

- talk bubble comes from the He Said, She Said stamp set

hey there, friend

hey there, friend, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

I love Popcorn the Bear stamps, but I must say that the images are a challenge to color.... especially the furry shades of brown, yellow and orange. 

This stamped image is actually a combination of 4 stamps, with some masking work done on the bear, to position the picture frame, table and teaset, and finally the lying dog just behind the bear - the positioning of the stamped images was made a little easier with the help of a stamp positioner - a nifty little gadget that is very useful especially when combining stamped images.

Coloring was done using Caran D'ache NeoColor II wax-based water-soluble pastels - love the vivid colors of the pigments.

* Bear with tray and dog with flowers : Crafter's Companion - Popcorn the Bear - Floral Delight stamp set

* table with tea set : Crafter's Companion - Mulberry Wood - Tea for Two stamp set

* Roses and leaves : die-cuts from CheeryLynn Designs - Large and Medium Rose and Stacker Flower 1 Leaf designs

* 'hey there friend' sentiment : Paper Smooches Sentiment Sampler stamp set

Card was submitted for Crafter's Companion Challenge - August Challenge: Animals

LOVE - for a young couple

Love-marriage, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

a wedding card made for a young couple, the groom being the son of a friend

in Singapore, red is an auspicious color and in keeping with tradition, the background of this card and the fussy-cut hearts are red in color

but I kept the stamped image of the bridal couple (from Stampendous - Happy Couple wood-stamp) in white with gold embossed edges, to align with the gold-embossed 'LOVE' sentiment (from Hero Arts) created on the white card-stock

a further 'marriage' sentiment (from Impression Obsession - A Good Marriage wood-stamp) was stamped on the inside of the card

and a pocket was created also on the inside of the card for the 'ang-pow' to be given to the couple - 'ang-pow' being a red packet containing a cash gift for the couple

this card is submitted for this week's Freshly Made Sketches #99 (Sketch by Rita)

You're simply the best!

Simply the Best, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

yes.... there's no time like the present to say this to a loved one, a friend or even a colleague - why wait until tomorrow? And this one is for my hubby, the only one I know who takes all my nonsense and somehow still loves me and is there for me when I need him!

The design of this card was based on the sketch from a new challenge blog - Seize the Sketch #1 - a simple sketch easily adaptable for any card occasion.

* Superhero stamp is from Paper Smooches - Super stamp set

* "you're simply the best!" sentiment stamp comes from Penny Black - Edge to Edge stamp set

let's do lunch

doggie lunch, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

outdid myself for this simple card .... how?

By using stamps from 4 different Paper Smooches stamp sets:

* cute doggie - from Santa Paws

* sausage - from Wake Up

* doggie bone - from Woofers & Tweeters

* sentiment - from Think Fast

The stamped images were affixed with foam tape onto vellum placed within a window cut-out on the front of the card.

Why vellum?.... because it's "Sheer and Clear" at Paper Smooches SPARKS - August 5-11 Trend Watch challenge!

with inspiration from this picture

The simple card design was inspired by CAS(E) this Sketch #40, which I flipped into a horizontal design.

you're too sweet

you're too sweet, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

one cannot but feel cheerful when confronted by these two bright colors - red and yellow! And this week's Dynamic Duos Challenge #64 - Strawberry Slush and Daffodil Delight brought a big smile as I was coloring this cute digital image from Tiddly Inks - Anna Belle Sweetness.

Card was also submitted for this week's CAS-ual Fridays Challenge: CFC111 - Buttons.

As well as for this week's Curtain Call Inspiration Challenge - Watermelon Wonder

A close-up of the very cute Anna Belle with her slice of refreshing watermelon!

Have a great week ahead!

thanks so much

thanks so much, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

another thank you card - this time made based on the design in retrosketches #75 - am loving the wonderful ideas that these challenge blogs present!

* the flowers and leaves stamps : Hero Arts - Love Jar stamp set

* the sentiment stamp : Hero Arts - Made with Love stamp set

with gratitude

with gratitude, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

a simple thank-you card based on the sketch for this week's

CAS(E) this sketch #39

* the outline of the flower petals were embossed in white, and the petals were then colored with Derwent Inktense water color pencils - love the brilliant effect of ink pigments on kraft-stock paper

* the stem and leaves were embossed in different shades of green embossing powder

* both the flower and stem/leaves stamps are from Penny Black's Round and Round stamp set

* the banner (from Paper Smooches - Streamers stamp set) was stamped and white embossed

* the sentiment (from Paper Smooches - Chit Chat stamp set) was stamped and yellow embossed

*** it's always good to take a step back and reflect on all who deserve a word of thanks for being part of our lives ***

my very first tri-fold card

cottage tri-fold, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

I have just learned the technique to stamping a tri-fold card (a card with two flaps on the right and left) - i.e. having a series of co-ordinating stamped images on the centre portion, and on the overlapping right and left flaps. For proper alignment of the three images, the best method requires the use of a stamp positioner, and how easy the task becomes! Love the possibilities that this may throw up in the days to come!

This tri-fold card was stamped using the 'cottage' series of stamps in Art Impressions "Tryfold" range - the scenes are beautiful, especially for water-coloring.

Scene from the second flap:

Final image scene on the centre portion when both flaps are opened:

The very appropriate sentiments come from IO - Impression Obsession - Joy in the Journey clear stamps set.

enjoy the little things in life

enjoy the little things in life, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

coloring these cute girly images from Mo Manning is such a joy ... this particular one is the digital image "Make a Wish" - and for me, the simple act of blowing on dandelions has got to be one of those little things in life to enjoy just because you can!

Card was submitted for this week's Mo's Challenge #196 - Alphabet Challenge: G is for .... (in this case 'girly girl')

birthday wishes in color pencil

birthday wishes in color pencil, a photo by eatzycath on Flickr.

For Mo's Challenge #195, kraft paper is the required 'ingredient', and I'm so glad that this was the theme, otherwise I would not have tried coloring on kraft paper with my colored pencils, and what a revelation it was to see the colors layered up beautifully against the neutral background. Unfortunately, I couldn't make it in time for the challenge...

Instead, this card is going into the Penny Black's Beat the Heat challenge

* Image from Penny Black - You are a Peach cling stamp (from the talented Mo Manning's range) - was stamped on kraft paper, and colored using my Derwent Colorsoft colored pencils

* the circle was die-cut using Quickutz Nesting Doily Circles