Less is More #207 and Paper Players Challenge #228

Hi Everyone!

This is my entry to the Less is More #207
and to the Paper Players Challenge #228.
This card was showcased at Less is More.

A friend of mine, Nonni from Runaway Cards gave me this floral stamp for Christmas. It is by STAMPlorations called Tulips. By the way, Nonni is very talented crafter, I encourage you to visit her blog for endless inspiration. She happens to my friend also outside of blogland - in real life - you know! We met here and started talking since we are both from Finland and after a few emails we noticed that we live in the same town - how funny is that? I am just glad that we met, she is a wonderful person! 

Another friend of mine, this time here in blogland - Karren from Stamping Stuff is Guest Designing for The Paper Players Challenge blog for this spring. I have not met her in real life - we happen to live on the other sides of the globe, but I have been lucky enough to have her as my friend here in blogland. She always encourages me and she always sees good and positive things in my creations. Thank you Karren! And above all, she makes cards which are very cleverly designed, beautifully coloured and she can do it almost in every style there is! 

When I saw the latest challenge at Less is More #207 - the theme there is Friends. I wanted to combine in this card the stamp from Nonni and take part in Karren's challenge at the Paper Players. And that is how my card came together.

I started with stamping the tulips with Antique Linen Distress Ink. After that I stamped the sentiment Halftone Hello by Altenew with Versafine Vintage Sepia and heat embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder. I watercoloured the tulips - I tried to be loose and get more watercolored look. I need to practise a bit more. Then I inked up the frame with Fried Brick and Gathered Twings Distress ink and put the card together.

I will enter this into these challenges:

Less is More #207 - Friends

The Paper Players Challenge #228 - Use your sentiment as your focal point

Here are the challenges' graphics:

Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!

Marika

Muse #100, Inkspirational #74, Fusion - Two Hearts

Good Evening again!

This is my entry to the Muse #100
Fusion - Two Hearts and to the Inkspirational #74.

My husbend took the kids to swim tonight and I had time for myself. For some odd reason I really didn't feel like colouring. I wanted to participate to Muse this week since it is Michelle's fist time as our Muse and it is the 100th Muse Challenge this week! Congrats to both! 

I really liked white on white effect on Michelle's card and the hearts. I wanted to use this Butterfly heart from Memory Box. I also saw the new challenge at Inkspirational where the theme is Ombre and there it was - my background. I watercolored the background to an ombre blue. I missed the last Fusion deadline with a few hours so this time I wanted to be an early bird. The theme there is Two Hearts: Perfect! The sentiment is from Label Love by Altenew, it is inked with black pigment ink and then heat embossed with Clear Matt Dull embossing powder. 

Here are few close-ups where the ombre is seen better:

I will link this card to:

Muse #100 - I was inspired by the white on white and a die cut heart

Inkspirational #74- Ombre

Fusion - Two Hearts - Well, I used two hearts

Here are the challenges' graphics and Michelle's wonderful inspiration card!

Thanks for visiting! Have a wonderful day!

Marika

CAS(E) this Sketch #106 and CASology #129

Good Evening!

This is my entry to the CAS(E) this Sketch #106
and to the CASology #129
This card was CTS Favourite.

Well, there is a reason why I colour images almost in every one of my cards - and I usually use "no line colouring"-tecnique. The reason is that I really can't stamp. :) When I saw the sketch at CAS(E) this Sketch this week I immediately knew that I wanted to use Altenew's Label Love for this card. I still think it really is cool design BUT this is my second attempt and I really can't do better than this. Sorry. 

Anyhow I started with stamping the Just for you- label either Black Versafine or Memento London fog. For the first attempt I used second generation stamping for the gray ones, I liked the colour better but the way that I was able to stamp it was so horrible that I had to use grey ink. All the labels are heat embossed with either Clear Embossing powder (black) or Clear Matt Dull (grey). I die cut some little tiny hearts and coloured them into black and grey. For the main sentiment I used Red Versafine and heat embossed it with Clear Embossing powder. And that's it.

Not really my usual style - no flowers, tiny bit of colour and not colouring at all. Refreshing, but I think I will stick in my usual style...

I will link this to

CAS(E) this Sketch #106 - the sketch

CASology #129 - NBUS - I used stamps Just for you and Congrats from Label Love for the first time.

Edit: My blogfriend, Sarah, reminded me that there are challenge for masculine cards going on this week SSS Wednesday challenge. Thank you, Sarah! I will enter this also to

Simon Says It's a Guy Thing - a masculine card

Here are the challenges' graphics:

Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful day!

Marika

Less is More #206

Good Evening!

This is my entry to the Less is More #206.

I had a little time to colour with my daughter today, I made this card and my daughter coloured a card for her friend's birthday. She was quite a lot of quicker in colouring though! :) I wanted to participate to Less is More #206 where is going on a one-layer week with a theme of New Beginnings. My dear friend is going to be starting in a new job in a few weeks. She doesn't enjoy her work in her current one so I wanted to make a card to give her a little smile and strength or "sisu" as we call it in Finnish to keep going these few days she still have left in her old job. Inside of this card there is text "Blue skies are ahead" Hopefully she will enjoy her new job. 

I started this card by masking off the "uncoloured area" with post-it notes. Then I stamped all the images with black pigment ink. The branch and background trees are from Purple Onion Designs and balloons, the dog and the sentiment are from stamp set called Flying High by Tiddly Inks. I also drew the road and I coloured all images with Derwent Coloursoft pencils. Then, I masked off the coloured part of the card and stamped the rest of the branch and the bakcground hills and trees with grey ink. At the top of the card, one of the balloons was cut off from the backside of the card to give some interest to the card. The sentiment inside of the card is from a set called Blue skies by Lawn Fawn.

Here are some close-ups:

Hopefully you like it and I hope it will give a smile for my friend. Thanks for visiting and have a wonderful day!

Marika

Happy Anniversary!

Good Evening!

This is my entry to the CAS(E) this Sketch #105,
The Card Concept #26 and

It's been quite hectic life since Christmas - not a whole lot time for crafting. I saw the sketch at the CAS(E) this sketch and wanted to participate. I had a few ideas on my mind for that one, this one actually ended up into a finished card.

I started with stamping the flower - Lacy Scrolls from Altenew a craft cardstock and coloured it with Coloursoft Pencils and with the same technique as the previous Altenew cards.  I used more grey/cool colours this time since I wanted it to match to the grey cardstock and then cut it out. The partial frame is die cut from Spellbinders and the background paper is handmade paper bought from a craft store in UK. It is called White Silk. The sentiment is from a Painted Poppy stamp set by Altenew. I stamped it with black pigment ink and then heat embossed it with Clear Matt Dull Embossing powder. The frame and the flower is popped up with foam tape.

I will enter this into these challenges:

CAS(E) this sketch #105 - the sketch

The Card Concept #26 - One year anniversary: Clean and Layered

Here are challenges' graphics:

Thank you for stopping by today and thank you for your comments from my Altenew Guest Design post. They made my day! Video tutorials... me... hmm.. I am terrified to be honest. :) Let me see what I can up with. Anyhow, a request to my husband has been sent to come up with the equipments for the videos... Maybe someday.

See you soon and Have a wonderful day! 

Marika

Guest Designing for Altenew - second post

Good Evening!

Hopefully you all are doing well today. A few weeks ago Tasnim from Altenew asked me to guest design for them - she asked then if I could do two posts and this is the second one. Thank you so very much for your kind comments on my cards on the first one. It really gave me enthusiasm for making these new cards as good as I can. Thank you for it! 

Last time the theme was Flowers with Watercolours. This time the theme is Craft Cardstock and Color Pencils. And perhaps the theme combining these two sets are Butterflies: I just couldn't resist using that gorgeous Painted Butterflies also this time. 

Stamp sets used: Peony Scrolls, Halftone Hello
and Painted Butterflies.

Stamp sets used: Whimsical Flowers, Label Love
and Painted Butterflies.

Stamp sets used: Lacy Scrolls, Label Love and
Painted Butterflies.

I started with stamping the sentiments using either Versamark or a black pigment ink and then heat embossed them with either Vanilla White or Clear Matt Dull embossing power. Then the main images were stamped using either white pigment ink (Lacy Scrolls, solid image) or Memento Desert Sand (outline images) and then coloured with Derwent Coloursoft Pencils or Faber-Castell Polychromos Color Pencils (greens). Since heat embossing resist the ink, I was able to stamp images after stamping the sentiment and still got the illusion that flowers and leaves are behind the sentiment. The "Love U"- card is made in different order: At first, I stamped the main images with white pigment ink and then the sentiment with black pigment in so the white shines through just a tiny bit.

Here are close-ups: 

Thank you Tasnim and Jennifer for this great opportunity to be your guest. It's been a wonderful experience. Thank you very much!

Thank you stopping by today and have a wonderful day! See you soon!

Marika

Guest at Inkspirational

Good Morning all!

Hopefully you are all having a good day! Wonderful ladies at Inkspirational asked me if I was interested guest designing at one of their challenges. To me it is a true pleasure and a great honour just to be asked. Thank you for inviting me! It was so fun to make this card.

In this challenge #73 the Word Prompt is "Note". 

And here is my take on it. I was heavily inspired by Lapland for this time. The view at the background is what the view is like when I am standing at my parents' backyard and looking at the lake. This time of the year the sun is shining very low - just above the horizon - that the sky is painted by wonderful mix of colours during those few moments with day light.

The stamps used are from Purple Onion Designs, I stamped them onto a watercolour paper and I coloured them with Inktense Pencils. I just printed a note from the net and fussy cut it out. Then I stamped it with Versamark and heat embossed it with Metallic Platinum embossing powder by Wow for few times. The spruces at the back and the sentiment are also from Purple Onion Designs, I coloured them with Derwent Coloursoft pencils and then added Versamark pen over them. I added some Opaque white Embossing Powder and White Twinkle Embossing Powder by Wow to give the illusion of snow on the trees and onto the ground. The sky on the back is inked with Spun Sugar DI, Memento Cantaloupe and Sky blue Versacolor inks. The sentiment is also heat embossed with clear embossing powder.


Thank you Inkspirational. It was such a pleasure to be your guest. 

Thank you for stopping by today. Hopefully you are having a wonderful day and as always - I love to here what you think. See you soon!

Marika

Guest Designing for Altenew

Good morning everyone!

Today I have something really special to share. A few weeks ago I received an email from Tasnim from Altenew and she asked me if I were interested to guest design for them. Are you kidding me, of course I am! That was the easiest part of it - to say yes. I really wanted to make something very special for them, since Altenew is one of my favourite stamp companies. I just love their stamps, especially floral ones - they are so beautiful and perfect for watercoloring. This set of three cards are what I created with Altenew stamps - hopefully you like them and they give you some inspiration. 

Stamp set used: Persian Motifs, Painted Butterflies
and Magnolias for her by Altenew.

Stamp sets used: Magnolias for her, Painted Butterflies
and Sketchy Rose by Altenew.

Stamp sets used: Painted Butterflies and
Persian Motifs by Altenew.

For all the three cards I stamped the outline images with light water soluble ink and watercolored them with Distress Inks and Kuretake Gansai Tambi- watercolours (My newest love affair). I created a border stripes with Distress Inks: Picked Raspberry, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire. I trimmed one edge of the watercolour panel to overlap the border edge. The watercolour panels are raised up with foam tape and for the finishing touch I added a few sequins. Sentiments are stamped either black ink or Versamark and then heat embossed with either Clear Embossing powder or Silver Embossing powder. 

Thank you Tasnim for inviting me as a Guest Designer. It has been a true pleasure. 

Thank you for stopping by today and sharing this with me. I hope you liked my cards and got some inspiration for your own work. Have a wonderful day and I wish for all of you all the best for the year 2015! 

Marika

Merry Christmas

Good Morning everyone!

Today is  Christmas Eve and here in Finland we celebrate Christmas today. I don't have a card to share but this picture was taken outside of my parents house here at the Arctic Circle. We usually have white Christmas, and this year was no exception. There is -22 degrees in Celsius outside so it is lovely to gather inside with my parents and my kids, drink hot coco and open presents.

I also wanted to pop in and wish all of you very Merry Christmas. I hope you are able to enjoy your holidays with your family and loved ones, eat well and relax. I also want to thank all of you who I have met here in blogland. I truly appreciate your kindness, lovely comments and support this year and the endless inspiration that you have given me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Merry Christmas to all and enjoy your holidays!

Marika

Let it snow!

Good evening everyone!

This is my entry to the Less is more #202 - Snow
and to the Card Concept #25 - Silent Night.

This is my entry to the CASE this Sketch #103
and to the Merry Monday Christmas Card #139 - Winter Wonderland.
This card got Honorable Mention at CASE this Sketch.

I am back from our vacation to the beautiful city of Oxford, UK. It was very lovely to see the sun really shining again. Well, during those two weeks I had tons of time to gather some ideas and luckily, four of the challenges that I usually enter my cards had a theme that fitted into my ideas. 

In both of the cards the image stamps used are all from Purple Onion Designs and I coloured images with Derwent Coloursoft pencils and Inktense Pencils. I added some snow with two different kind of embossing powders: Opaque White by Zing and White Twinkle by WOW. 

For the second one I wanted to add some colour and I used the sketch from the CASE this Sketch. The owl is made the same way as in the one layer card but I was lazy and didn't want to create a mask so I stamped the owl to a watercolour paper and coloured it with Inktense Pencils and fussy cut it out and glued it to panel after I had made the background. For the background I inked the night sky with Distress Inks: Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry and Chipped Saffphire and Memento Lulu Lavender.

Here are the closeups for the snow with that White Twinkle embossing powder. In real life it really is pretty and shiny. It was quite hard to photograph.

 

Challenge:

The card Concept #25: Silent Night Neutrals - Clean and Simple. 

CASE this sketch #103: the sketch

Merry Monday Christmas Card: Winter Wonderland

Less is More #202: One Layer and Snow

And here are the challenges' graphics:

Thank you for stopping by today, hopefully you like what I have come up with. And thank you for those who has given me such kind comments during last two weeks. I do appreciate them very much. Thank you. 

Hopefully you are having a wonderful day!

Marika