Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

Greetings and welcome to all my new and faithful followers.  There's a new challenge over at Fashionable Stamping Challenge and this time you will have all of December to submit your project.  Our theme is "In the Holiday Spirit" and Anything Goes!  Please pop over to see what my brilliant Design Team Sisters have dreamed up for you and then I hope you will submit an entry of your own.  One lucky submitter will win a $20 gift voucher from our sponsor "FlonzCraft."  For my own piece I began with a piece of background paper by Tim Holtz.  The focal image is a new image by Crafty Individuals, which was painted with Distress Markers and glittered with Distress Glitter.  The sentiment, bear, candy cane and train engine at the bottom of the page are by Oxford Impressions.  The Dresden Tree is from Retro Art Cafe. Thanks so much for stopping by! Hugs, Yvonne 

Thanksgiving Blessings

Greetings Followers!  Today's post is for Word Wednesday over at 365 Cards.  Our word this week is "Thankful."  I was excited to be able to ink up this adorable pilgrim child by Lost Coast Design.  I stamped the focal image onto a manila tag, added some vines by Artistic Outpost along the bottom of the tag and distressed the entire tag with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  The digital image to the right of the focal image, the leaves at the top and the sentiment are all by Gecko Galz.  I stained a paper doily with Wild Honey Distress Stain and layered all the pieces over a white card blank that was distressed with Vintage Photo and Wild Honey Distress Stain.  A bit of spritz and flick technique and the corners were stamped with a complimentary stamp I received recently from Crafty Individuals. The pumpkin dye cuts were left over from an earlier project as was the seam binding bow that was colored with Distress Paint. A bit of brown burlap string and some buttons from my stash from my stash complete my card.  For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, Happy Thanksgiving.  It is nice to stop for a day and give thanks for all the blessings in our lives, to eat too much and spend time with family.  Hugs, Yvonne

Do You Believe in Santa and the North Pole?

Greetings! The weeks fly by and it is already time for a new challenge over at Inkspirational! This time, our challenge is "Anything Goes." I hope you will pop over and check out the beautiful samples created by the Design Team! I chose to use images from Red Lead and papers by Tim Holtz. I added a map of the a North Pole, also by Tim Holtz as it seemed appropriate! I hope you will join our challenge over the next two weeks! Thanks for dropping by! Yvonne

Happy Christmas!

Greetings! It has been ages since I have made a card for a challenge over at Make My Monday.  I noticed their theme this week was to create a Holiday Project around "Santa, The Big Guy."  I just acquired this gorgeous set of images from Artistic Outpost called Snowy Woods and thought I would join MMM's challenge.  I began with a background paper from Tim Holtz, which I distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  The focal image and sentiment were stamped with Fired Brick Distress Ink and the edges were blended with Vintage Photo Distress Ink. The focal image in my mind carries the card so I kept my embellishments to a minimum.  The burlap, snowflake, button and burlap string are thank you gifts from The Funkie Junkie Boutique.  The tartan plaid bow, game piece and cheese cloth are from my stash.  I am also entering my card over at the November Artistic Outpost Referral Program.  Thanks for dropping by! Hugs, Yvonne

Tie Down Your Business and Sail Away...

Greetings and a special thank you to my recent followers!  My card today is for the this week's "Word Wednesday" over at 365 Cards. Our word this week is "Tropical."  I am in full gear now for Thanksgiving and Christmas cards, so I needed to take a step back to give this one some thought.  And alas, my dear husband and I had planned to be living at the beach by now so all of my obvious "tropical" stamp images are far, far away, as are all of my fall and winter clothing, which is another story.  And so, in sorting through my present stash, I remembered this gorgeous plate of images I purchased recently from Non Sequitur. The white card background was blended with Tumbled Glass and Vintage Photo Distress Inks. The images were stamped with Jet Black StazOn Ink, water colored with Distress Markers and distressed with more Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  After doing the spritz and flick technique, I felt the background still needed something so I added some rays of sunshine, vintage style, using one of Tim Holtz's stencils.  It was not what I might have created if I had my "tropical" stash at hand, but I truly love the vintage feel that resulted.  I hope you will consider joining in our challenge.  Thanks so much for dropping by.  Yvonne

Peace on Earth, Good Will Toward Man

Greetings dear followers and those just visiting.  I truly appreciate every one of your visits.  It is once again time for another challenge over at Fashionable Stamping Challenge.  This time around, our challenge is to create a Christmas Card using a Shabby Chic Style. Now the term "Shabby Chic" probably means different things to different artists.  For me, it meant roughing up the edges of matting which were inked with Pumice Stone Distress Ink and then spritzed and flicked, tearing parts of the matting and fraying the ribbon. A measure of music and sentiment, all by Red Lead were added next. For my focal point, I chose this beautiful trio of angels, also by Red Lead, which I stamped, trimmed and water colored with Distress Markers and mounted to a doily that was distressed with Distress Inks and added to the matting.  The adorned matting was then layered onto a beautiful piece of handmade paper that was sent to me by a blogging friend, Darlene.  A gold charm by Red Lead was repainted silver with Crackle Paint and added to the card front, along with a few pearl gems.  I hope you will pop over to FSC and see what my Design Team Sisters have created to inspire you, and then create and submit a project of your own.  Remember, one lucky participant will win a $20 gift voucher from our sponsor, FlonzCraft.  Thanks for stopping by.  Yvonne

Howdy Cowgirl!

Greetings! It's another challenge for Word Wednesday over at 365 Cards.  Our Word this week is "Flag."  I immediately thought of this plate of stamps from Artistic Outpost, which includes flags.  The focal image was stamped twice, once with Red StazOn Ink and once with Black StazOn Ink.  The cowgirl was trimmed, water colored with Distress Ink and added to the the other image.  The edges were distressed with Vintage Photo Distress Ink and then matted with black paper and assembled over another panel of white card that was stamped repeatedly with a cow print, distressed and matted and added to the card base.  The word "Cowgirl" was created with chipboard letters by Alterations and were painted with Faded Jeans Crackle Paint. Embellishments by Alterations (tickets, paper string and a game piece) complete my card. I am also entering my card at the November Artistic Outpost Referral Program. Thanks for stopping by. Yvonne 

White on White for Christmas

Greetings!  The weeks roll by and already it is time for another bi-weekly challenge over at Inkspirational!  This time we have a color challenge:  White on White.  

I think "White on White" is very elegant, and I LOVE to see others who work comfortably, and often, in this color palette.  I have probably only made one other card in " White on White" for another challenge last year.  Hence, I was a bit apprehensive about my own creation.  After studying a few other "White on White" creations, I determined that texture with fibers and embossing can take your project a long way.  Although your project may be all white, raised surfaces allow for better photography.  I began by embossing "Merry Christmas, a Star Border and Ornaments, all by Tim Holtz Alterations onto white card.  The focal panel was wrapped with white lace and matted to multiple white mats.  The ornaments were layered with stars cut from the star border die cut. Ranger White Pearls were also added.  A bit of white seam binding fashioned into a bow completes my card.  I hope you will check out the gorgeous creations by the rest of the Design Team and then create a beauty of a project of your own to share with us. Thanks so much for stopping by!  Hugs, Yvonne

In a Land, Far, Far Away...

Greetings!  It's Wednesday and time for another Word Wednesday Challenge over at 365 Cards.  Our word this week is "Super."  My first thought was to make a card with Superman on it, but since all those types of items are safely packed away and down at the beach, I decided to go in another direction.  Instead, I thought of this huge, beautiful flower by Paper Artsy.  To further enhance the size of the flower, I selected a smaller image of a beautiful little girl trying to catch bubbles that is by Lost Coast Designs. The background was distressed with Iced Spruce and Black Soot Distress Ink. The sentiment along the bottom is a rub-on by 7 Gypsies.  I thought it appropriate as I was trying to give an illusion of a fantasy card!  I cannot wait to see what you come up with for your own card. Thanks for stopping by. Hugs, Yvonne

The First Thanksgiving

Greetings!  Just a card to share with you today for the current challenge over at Frilly and Funkie where the theme is "Thanksgiving!"  I really enjoyed making this card.  I just love vintage images of Thanksgiving and these beauties are from Gecko Galz.  I matted the images and layered them over a doily that I colored with Tea Dye Distress Stain.  The corners were stamped with Timber Brown StazOn Ink using a stamp included with a purchase of Gelatos.  Simple embellishments include a scrap of vintage lace and a seam binding bow, also dyed with Tea Dye Distress Stain.  Thanks for stopping by today! Hugs, Yvonne

Eye See You!

Hello faithful followers! I am having one of those days when I have multiple Design Team Posts to share with you, so thank you in advance for your patience.  The tag above is for the newest challenge over at Fashionable Stamping Challenge, where my Design Team Sister, Laura Bomber, has chosen for us to create a project "Without Using Ink."  We are permitted to use ink for coloring in.  As always, our challenge is supported by FlonzCraft and one lucky participant at the end of the challenge will be chosen to receive a gift voucher for $20.  Now if you follow my blog on a regular bases, you know that I am primarily a card maker!  I thought I was going to die when I had to make my first tag for FSC back in 2011!  For some reason, I just thought this would be a good challenge to use a tag.  I began by smooshing various fall colored Distress Paints onto my Craft Mat.  A bit of water mist came next and then I dragged my tag through the paints for my background color.  I would normally distress the edges with Vintage Photo or another color of Distress Ink, but I resisted and instead used some Gathered Twigs Distress Paint with a blending tool. Next, I embossed the tag with some White Embossing Paste by Dreamworks through a Tim Holtz stencil.  In the center of the tag, I pounced Black Soot DP through another Tim Holtz stencil.  The focal image by Lost Coast Design was stamped with more Black Soot DP and colored in with the allowed Distress Markers.  For more contrast, I added Idea-ology Rub-ons onto the tag. I painted several chipboard pieces with more Black Soot DP and dabbed some Spiced Marmalade DP onto a wood piece by Idea-ology.  The gauze behind the focal image and at the top of the tag where colored with more Distress Paints as was the metal tag.  I must say, I was out of my comfort zone for this challenge on many fronts and kept trying to reach for my ink pads, but that's why it is a challenge, yes?!  I'm glad I gave it a go, and I hope you will stop by FSC to see what the rest of the Design Team has created and then make a project of your own.  Thanks for dropping by!  Yvonne

Steampunk in Black and White

Greetings dear friends!  Thanks so much for stopping by today.  My card above is for the current challenge over at Eclectic Ellapu, which is "Black and White."  I do not often work in just black and white, but I really do like this color combination and found this to be a very enjoyable challenge. Beginning with a blank white card base, I used Wendy Vecchi's Black Embossing Paste with a Tim Holtz Stencil in the upper left corner.  Various black and white tissue tapes by Idea-ology were added next.  Also by Idea-ology, are the rub-ons I added to the card front.  The images, inked for the first time, are by Lost Coast Designs.  The sentiments are by Artistic Outpost.  Buttons and Idea-ology Sprockets, which were painted with Black Soot Distress Paint complete my card.  This is our last challenge until the new year.  I hope you will stop over and see all the gorgeous samples by the rest of the Design Team, and then, create a project of your own.  

I am also entering my card over at Our Creative Corner where they are having a Steampunk Challenge with Tic Tac Toe, having used Gears, Texture (buttons) and Transport.  What a fun challenge!

Thanks so much for stopping.  Hugs, Yvonne

365 Cards Blog Hop!

Greetings!  There's a "Free For All:  Rock Your Sytle" blog hop going on over at 365 Cards!  Each Design Team Member was asked to create a card in a style that we enjoy, with a caveat, we are to work with a package of goodies that our leader, Pam, sent to us.  Now for me, my favorite style is retro/vintage.  I LOVE the days gone by.  One of my all time favorite designers that I began following soon after starting to blog is Lynne Montcrieff of Adorn.  I am so drawn to her pieces.  They are always vintage, done with great restraint and I love how she uses just littlest bit of fabric and/or lace or fibers to create her card.  She make her own dyes, recycles shower curtains, and much more. She inspires me!  For my card above, I created a card that reminded me of one of the cards that Lynne created for a recent Take Ten Publication. I layered orange fabric to a card base, tucked a scrap of a vellum bag by Fancy Pants behind it, stamped a great retro pickup truck by Paper Artsy onto scrap card stock, added faux stitching and added it to the card front.  A bit of washi tape by My Mind's Eye, a sprocket by Idea-olgy, and a baker's twine bow by American Crafts were added next.  A bit of vintage style fabric was added next along with several words by Artistic Outpost.  I had a lot of fun and hope you will pop on over to see what the rest of the Design Team have created for you. 

Audrey http://organisedmess.blogspot.com/
Carla http://paperpastorale.blogspot.com/
Letisha http://letishainc.blogspot.com.au/
Janice http://twin2u2designs.blogspot.com/
Jennifer http://glitterinmyhair.blogspot.com/
Michelle http://scraposition.blogspot.com/
Pam http://pamcards.blogspot.com/
Ruth http://witchyfingers.blogspot.co.uk/
Victoria http://vmellifuousmusings.blogspot.com/
Wendy http://scrappydayinparadise.blogspot.com/
Yvonne http://www.journeyintoartistry.blogspot.com/  (You are here)

Now it is your turn! Create a card to link up to 365 Cards choosing the style of one of the 365 Card Designers by November 4, 2013 for a chance to win a package of goodies similar to those we received for the Blog Hop. Good luck!

Hugs, Yvonne