Crafting in Croatia

It's about time

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 02 Sep 2019 11:56:00 +0000

I have had several inquiries about my blog and cardmaking lately. I guess I forgot to leave information here that I share all my work now on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/ninaboneenah/). So even though I have stopped blogging, I have not stopped making cards. Please find me on IG and follow if you'd like. :) Have a great day, friends!

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Winner of the Creative Watercolour Course

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 24 Oct 2016 12:06:00 +0000

Thank you all for entering the giveaway last week. The winner of the free course is:

Maria Wicks.

Maria, please email via the contact tab above. Enjoy your new watercolor painting adventure! If you didn't win and still are very interested in the class, you can CLICK HERE to get it at 50% off until Nov 18.

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Creative Watercolor Course Launch Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 17 Oct 2016 07:00:00 +0000

Hello, friends! I know it's been a while since I blogged, but I continue to create and share my projects Instagram. Today, I have a special reason to revive this little blog of mine. My fellow crafty friend, Angela Fehr, is also an extraordinary watercolor artist. She is launching a new watercolor online course, Creative Watercolor Techniques, that will be specially helpful to paper crafters like me and you. If you've followed me on this blog, my FB page and/or Instagram, you now how much I love watercoloring. So, I was more than excited when Angela asked me to participate in today's hop.

Please bear with me as this is a long post, but I hope it'll be worth it to read to the end. I'm sharing lots of photos, info, tips, a huge discount code, a list of hoppers and a GIVEAWAY (leave a comment to win access to the course).

A Little History:

Back in 2015 when I had to take a break from blogging due to a family health situation and temporary relocation, I had to make do with limited creative supplies. I had been dabbling with watercolors for my cards, but was limited in my supplies and skills. That Christmas, I received some fancy watercolor paints and papers. I then discovered Angela Fehr's Watercolor YouTube Channel and quickly enrolled in her online courses. I've been slowly learning to combine my love for cardmaking and watercoloring by painting small pieces of art that I make into cards. You can see what I've been up to in that area through my Instagram account.

About the Course:

Creative Watercolour: Techniques for for Hobbyists, Art Journalers, Paper Crafters,Calligraphers and the Enthusiastic Amateur

Watercolour isn't just for single-minded painters! In this course, artist Angela Fehr demonstrates watercolour techniques and applications for using watercolour in your creative pursuits, whatever they might be! 4.5 hours of video content in 12 lessons. Covered in this course are:

basic techniques and an overview of watercolour terminology

tools and materials recommendations and how to use them

using watercolour with masks & resists

wet-in-wet techniques

watercolour special effects

product demonstrations: pigment markers, pigment powder, watercolour pans, masking fluid, pen & ink, watercolour pigment sheets & more
is priced at $59 USD, however until November 18th, students can get the course for $29 (50% off) using the discount code FIRSTDIBS. If you win the giveaway after you already enrolled, you will be refunded the course amount.

My Thoughts about the Course:
I consider myself an amateur watercolorer, but have learned so much in the last year about this art form by reading several books, watching videos, taking online classes and just doing art. The Creative Watercolourcourse touches subjects that I never encountered in my previous learning experience. Some new things that were new to me include products like Brusho paint and watercolor ground. New techniques to me include using transfer papers and watercoloring on canvas.

The Creative Watercolour course will encourage the paper crafter to do more with the supplies they have on hand, and produce better projects. They can even begin the process of going beyond being just a hobbyist to a more serious watercolorist.

My Projects Inspired by the Creative Workshop Course:
Since this course has paper crafters in mind, I decided to use my crafter supplies, rather than my artist watercolor paints. I used Ranger's Distress Inks for the first projects below. In this exercise, I want to show you the importance of good paper.

I dabbed my Distress inks on my pallete as below.

***TIP: My pallette is a dollar store picture frame. The small indentation is perfect for Distress Inks watercoloring. I inserted a white cardstock to show the colors.

I painted two floral bouquets using the inks above, one on Tim Holtz watercolor paper (left), another on Arches 100% cotton watercolor paper (right). You can see the difference between the two. The colors just blend well together on the Arches paper.

I wasn't that satisfied with the saturation level, so decided to use the Distress ink refills or Distress Ink Stains for the samples below. The photos didn't capture the colors well, but the results are way more vibrant and beautiful. Again, you can see, especially on the leaves, how much better the paints blend and shade on the Arches paper on the right over the Tim Holtz paper on the left.

I have found after a year of casual painting, paper is the most important of the three items you need for watercoloring (paper, paint and brushes). You can work with cheap paints (even kids' paints, water-based markers, distress inks, etc) and cheap brushes (some professional artists I follow use them) and produce good art. But when you use cheap paper, I just found it harder to make the painting work and I ended up being frustrated. It makes a huge difference when you use good 100% cotton paper. I have used both Arches and Fabriano Artistico.

***TIP: An economical way to get the 100% cotton paper is by buying them in bulk and in large sheets (22" x 30") and cut them to card size. I get mine from Jerry's Artarama (around $43 for 10 large Arches and $35 for 10 Fabriano sheets). Large individual sheets of Arches can be purchased at Hobby Lobby and Michael's for around $5 with a coupon. One 22" x 30" sheet can be cut into 28 sheets of 4.25" x 5.5" card size. That ends up cheaper than the Tim Holtz paper that retails for around $5 - $6 for only 20 sheets.

More Projects:
For my card below, I used a stamp set I designed for Penny Black called Animal Wisdom. I first stamped the image with the Versafine ink, then with the Distress Ink. The Versafine is not water soluble, so the stamped image line art stayed. I then colored the rest of the image with a waterbrush by moving the water-soluble Distress ink. For the background, I did the wet on wet technique using the blue Distress ink.

***TIP: In order to keep the line art intact, yet still achieve the watercolor look, stamp the image first with pigment ink (Versafine) then with the water-soluble ink.

Here are a few more cards I created for the hop. The top left is the closest I can to copy Angela's style of free and loose. The top right includes calligraphy using watercolors. The bottom is ink and wash, also covered in the Creative Watercolour course. And finally, the one on the bottom left is just my attempt to create a pattern using leftover paint.

Finally, as I was cleaning up my desk, I happened to have more diluted Distress Ink leftover. I used it to practice my hand lettering and calligraphy, using a dip pen. These can also be used to make cards!

Blog Hop List:

Please check out the rest of the hop participants below.

Course Information: Angela Fehr's blog with a free watercolour video tutorial
Guest Author: Karin Akesdotter's blog, Peppermint Patty's Papercraft
Doodlewash blog: Charlie O'Shields
Scarlett Damien (video post)
Kimberly Crawford's blog
Guest Author: Lindsay Weirich, the Frugal Crafter
Nina Brackett's blog - you are here!

Finally, the Giveaways:

I'm giving away a free access code to the Creative Watercolour: Techniques class. You can enter a maximum of two times for my giveaway. I will pick the winner by the end of launch week.

First, leave a comment below.
If you want another entry, please follow me on Instagram (where I am most active) and leave another comment below to say you've followed me there. If you're already an IG follower, please leave a comment below to say so.

And don't forget, you can also go to the bottom link for Angela's grand prize that includes both the class and the kit. If you win the prize after you already enrolled, you will be refunded the course amount.

Enter to win the grand prize here!

Remember, Creative Watercolour: Techniques is priced at $59 USD, however until November 18th, students can get the course for $29 (50% off) using the discount code FIRSTDIBS. If you win the giveaway after you already enrolled, you will be refunded the course amount.

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Hello, friends!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 11:35:00 +0000

I know it has been awhile since I've posted. Lots of things have happened in the last year, the biggest of which was I was away from my craft supplies. As a result, I couldn't create my usual cards. I did, however, become more interested in watercoloring because I received some supplies for Christmas. So, really I haven't stopped creating, just blogging.

I have now started posting again, but not here on my blog. I am now on Instagram where I share my latest watercoloring and lettering projects, along with my usual cards. My Facebook Page is still there and I post whatever I have on Instagram there as well. I have found that posting there are easier to manage than here on my blog. I've had to relearn some aspects of blogger when posting this (I'm old! :) ).

Here are some of my recent projects that I have posted on Instagram. I hope you will join me there:

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Watercolored Unity

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 25 Jun 2015 16:56:00 +0000

I have two cards for you today using some Unity stamps. I love that their stamps are huge and still the old-fashioned rubber on cling.

The first one was stamped on watercolor paper and colored with Distress inks. The sentiment is by Penny Black. The wings and tag were highlighted with some fancy Want2Scrap bling. The card base, tag and lace are by Hobby Lobby. I hope you're not getting tired of the striped backgrounds. I bought a 50-card set at 50% off. You can't beat the price and the colors are lovely.

The layout was inspired by the Unity Be Inspired Challenge and the colors by ColourQ. I'm also entering this to the SSS Wed challenge.

For my second card, I colored directly onto the stamp and spread the color around with water on the stamped image. I splattered some water colors to add interest. The sentiment is by Penny Black and bling by Want2Scrap.

This card is inspired by the Color Throwdown, I'm also entering this to the SSS Wed challenge.

This is it for me today. It's a scorcher here in the south. I hope you're enjoying fine weather where you are.

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Watercolored Butterfly Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 19 Jun 2015 16:15:00 +0000

Before I show today's cards, a few people asked about what I meant by wet on wet technique from a previous post. here's a Youtube video that shows you what it is and how to do it. I love it for coloring backgrounds.

I have 2 CAS cards for you today using a big butterfly stamp by Indigo Blu. These were so quick and easy to make. I applied Distress markers directly on the stamp before making an impression on the water color paper.

For the first one, I added more watercolors on the stamped image and while it's wet, I loaded my brush with clean water and barely touched the wet color on the paper. This made the ink "bleed" as you see on my card. The sentiment from Tim Holtz Just Saying was heat embossed. The pearls are by Want2Scrap.

This card is inspired by the following challenges: Paper Players (colors), Fusion (inspiration photo), Our Creative Corner (smile), SSS Wednesday (favorite technique: watercoloring), Card Concept (Butterfly effect), Muse (inspiration), ATS Challenge (CAS).

For my second card, I spritz water directly onto the stamped image. Because orange and blue are complementary colors, when they are mixed, they make a neutral color. In this case, a dark grayish brown. The sentiment is by Avery Elle. The rhinestones are by Want2Scrap.

This card is inspired by the following challenges: Fusion (inspiration photo), Our Creative Corner (smile), SSS Wednesday (favorite technique: watercoloring), Card Concept (Butterfly effect), ATS Challenge (CAS).

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Watercolored Flowers

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 15:41:00 +0000

I have two cards for you today that are water colored. I just love summer flowers. Even the weeds look beautiful. :) The first card, I applied distress markers directly on the stamp, then stamped on my paper. I used Hero Arts Blooming Meadow cling stamp that I found on ebay for really cheap.

For the background I did a wet on wet technique. The pearls are by Want2Scrap. I'm entering this card to the following challenges: SSS Monday Challenge, Our Creative Corner, JUGS, Shabby Tea Room (In my garden inspiration).

My next card has a freehand watercolored flower. I was playing around to see if I can make a messy flower using the loose watercolor technique. It's not quite what I had in mind, but I like that about this technique. You never know what you're going to end up with. :).

The sentiment is heat embossed black using the WPlus9 Hand Lettered Thanks set.

I'm entering this card to the following challenges: SSS Monday Challenge, Our Creative Corner, Retro Sketches, JUGS.

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Water Color Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 14:19:00 +0000

It's hard to believe that I haven't posted any cards this year. This doesn't mean I haven't been creating. Since our short visit to the US changed to a temporary move, I didn't pack a bunch of supplies. So the cards I've been creating use very minimal supplies. My choice of coloring medium has been water colors because it doesn't need a lot of other things like regular stamping does.

I have been enjoying the process of learning to watercolor on my cards. When I saw that Pretty Pink Posh is hosting a water color blog hop, I was motivated to share my cards on my blog again.

Here are a couple of cards I made. They both use Penny Black stamps. The card bases are by Hobby Lobby. The first one uses the Divine cling stamp and it's colored with Peerless Watercolors. The paper is Arches cold press.

My second card uses Woodland Friends and colored with Distress inks and Peerless Watercolors.

The heart bling and rhinestone in the first card are by Want2Scrap. The paper is Tim Holtz Watercolor Cardstock.

Make sure you check out the Pretty Pink Posh blog for more inspiration and information about prizes! And there are a ton of them, from your favorite paper crafting companies!

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More Items For Sale of Brand New Items

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 21 May 2015 17:50:00 +0000

Thank you to those who bought stuff already, but I have more to sell. I hope you will find something you want and help me unload these goodies. Paypal only please. Send me an email with the items you're interested in via the Contact tab above. with subject, "SCS stamp sale," in order for me to see your request quickly.

Buyers from 48 Cont US States:
Shipping is $1.50 per order, REGARDLESS of how many items you buy. That cost covers only the tracking fee of your purchase. Therefore, prices INCLUDE SHIPPING to the 48 Cont US States. I can include insurance, which is also extra (cost varies), but I was told that unless I'm an official merchant, there is no way to prove the value of the package if it gets lost. So it's an unnecessary cost.

Buyers from other locations.
Please send me a list and I will ask the PO how much shipping will be to send to you. Tracking will not be available for those outside the US.

Thanks for checking these out:

Spellbinders Dies $6 each BRAND NEW

Crosses 3

Celtic Medallion
School is In

Spellbinders Dies $12 each BRAND NEW
Planting Love
Lonely Hearts

PENNY BLACK Clear Sets - $12 each BRAND NEW
Love Chapter
Dahlias
Embellishments

PENNY BLACK Rubber on Cling - BRAND NEW
Christmas Banners - $10

Merry & Happy - $10

Dotted Fusion - $9

Wreath Celebration - $9

PENNY BLACK - BRAND NEW, not in packaging $9 each
Blooming Tags
Petal Power
Dazzlers

From my original list, these are still available. Please refer to THIS POST for photos.

GINAK DESIGNS $12 each. Red Rubber on cling. Most of these were used only a couple of times:
Only these two are left from the photos:
Back to School by Rupa Shevde (only 1 stamp used)

SPELLBINDER DIES: Brand new in packaging $15 each
1 x Asian Accents
2 x Asian Motifs
2 x Fancy Framed Tags Two
Branching Out - pending

Moroccan Motifs
Fanciful Lattice
Butterflies (A2)

THE CRAFT'S MEOW (retired): all brand new

$8 each (4"x6" sets)

Vintage Baby

Fruity for You

Happiness is...

Banner Day

Vintage Poinsetti

$5 each (4"x4" sets)

2x Sweet Silhouettes

Sweet Sentiments

2x Just Sayin'

2x Soaring High

Stitched Sentiments 2

Baby Shelf
In Tandem

$4 each (4"x3")

2x Mother & Father

LAYERS OF COLOR (retired): $12 each

Elegant Labels (coordinates with Spellbinders Labels dies)

STAMP LOTS: $12 $15 each (Sorry for the typo. Price reflects what I offered at SCS)

The Craft's Meow Pk#5 (3-4"x6" sets)

The Craft's Meow Pk#6 (3-4"x6" sets)

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UPDATED Stamps and Dies for Sale!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 May 2015 16:03:00 +0000

*****UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND HERE***

Hi, friends...Goodness, I can't believe it's been a while since I posted. It's been a difficult few months, but the Lord showed Himself faithful through it all. The short version of what I've been up to and why I haven't posted on my blog in a while is that my family suddenly had to change plans to be with my husband's family. My dear MIL was suffering from the effects of cancer and she passed away at the end of February. We are grateful that we were able to spend her last few months with her. And her faith in Christ remained strong to the very end, for which we are very thankful.

I may write a post later about details and things the Lord taught/has been teaching me through it, but in the meantime, I've updated the list of items I'm selling. These items need to go, so if you want to make an offer, I'm all ears. :)

Paypal only please. Send me an email with the items you're interested in via the Contact tab above. with subject, "SCS stamp sale," in order for me to see your request quickly.

Buyers from 48 Cont US States:
Shipping is $1.50 per order, REGARDLESS of how many items you buy. That cost covers only the tracking fee of your purchase. Therefore, prices INCLUDE shipping to the 48 Cont US States. I can include insurance, which is also extra (cost varies), but I was told that unless I'm an official merchant, there is no way to prove the value of the package if it gets lost. So it's an unnecessary cost.

Buyers from other locations.
Please send me a list and I will ask the PO how much shipping will be to send to you.

PENNY BLACK
Love Chapter - $12

GINAK DESIGNS $12 each. Red Rubber on cling. Most of these were used only a couple of times:
Only these two are left from the photos:
Back to School by Rupa Shevde (only 1 stamp used)

Bold Flowers Stamp TV set

SPELLBINDER DIES: Brand new in packaging $15 each
2 x Asian Accents
2 x Asian Motifs
2 x Fancy Framed Tags Two
Branching Out
Moroccan Motifs
Fanciful Lattice
Butterflies (A2)

THE CRAFT'S MEOW (retired): all brand new

$8 each (4"x6" sets)

Vintage Baby

Fruity for You

Happiness is...

Banner Day

Vintage Poinsettia

$5 each (4"x4" sets)

2x Sweet Silhouettes

Sweet Sentiments

2x Just Sayin'

2x Soaring High

Stitched Sentiments 2

Baby Shelf
In Tandem

$4 each (4"x3")

LAYERS OF COLOR (retired): $12 each

Elegant Labels (coordinates with Spellbinders Labels dies)

STAMP LOTS: $12 $15 each (Sorry for the typo. Price reflects what I offered at SCS)

The Craft's Meow Pk#5 (3-4"x6" sets)

The Craft's Meow Pk#6 (3-4"x6" sets)

Heartfelt Creations and The Craft's Meow Pk#7 (2-4"x6" TCM sets and brand new HC red rubber on cling) pending

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Just Saying Hello

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 12:04:00 +0000

It's hard to believe that it's been almost a month since my last post. I hope you all had a great holiday season. I have been busy with life and am enjoying the break. We were able to spend it with family and that is always a treat for us, living so far away. My inlaws have had some health issues and I'm glad we were able to help them. And based on this and other pressing needs that require my immediate attention, I may have to hang my card making hat for a little while longer.

On the upside, I got some really fancy water colors and handmade paper for Christmas. I mean top of the line, French-made 100% cotton paper and professional quality paints that have honey in them. I didn't even know such things exist and that honey would be a great additive to watercolors. I also signed up for a watercoloring class from a fellow paper crafter, Angela Fehr. I have loved her videos on YouTube and am looking forward to taking her class.

Also, I had to stop selling on my Etsy Store because of new EU VAT (or sales tax) regulations. I haven't had time to look it over. It seems super complicated that I don't have time to figure out the new laws that affect my tiny, little store. :(

Other things I'm busy about: homeschooling my girls and reading. On my Kindle right now are Yawning at Tigers: You Can't Tame God So Stop Trying (I love the subtitle), If I Had Lunch with CS Lewis and just for fun, Calvin & Hobbes that were on sale a few weeks ago, and The Brethren by John Grisham that I borrowed from the library. Did you know you can borrow Kindle books from the library? Pretty cool!The Tiger book is a good study on the grandeur of God, that He is, like Aslan in Chronicles of Narnia, not safe, but He is good!

I leave you with an excerpt from Yawning at Tigers:

"...often our knowledge of God is dry and cerebral. We give mere mental assent to truths that should leave us shaking. We mumble perfunctory prayers. We ask God to keep us safe, not realizing that it is from him we most need protecting...God’s holiness is deadly, incompatible with life, especially for sinful mortals like us. 'No one may see me,' God warned, 'and live' (Ex. 33:20)...
The good news is that this dangerous God turns out to be a lover. And he’s not content to love us from a distance. He wants to be with us so desperately he cooked up the most creative and costly way imaginable to bridge the chasm."

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Winner of the Coffee Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 12:18:00 +0000

Hi, friends. We've had a family situation that I will be taking time off my blog the next few weeks. We're all fine, if you're wondering. I just need to get time to attend to non-crafty things the next few weeks. I'm also trying to catch up with home school stuff as we approach the end of the semester in about a month.

Thank you for wonderful comments from the Coffee Blog Hop . The winner of my giveaway is.... #41karenladd. I sent you an email, Karen.

And I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Here's a great quote of what's amazing about Christ's birth!

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Coffee Lovers Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 10 Dec 2014 14:00:00 +0000

I've been so busy with life and the added holiday goings-on. It's all good, but it's nice to take a little break to take part in today's blog hop. My friend, Amy Tsuruta, is spearheading this event with coffee-loving paper crafters like yours truly. And we have a ton of surprises and prizes for you. Make sure you comment to be eligible for my own blog candy below.

As I was planning my card, I realized of all the many stamps I own, I only have one that's coffee or tea-themed. It's a tiny 3x2 stamp set that didn't inspire me. So, since I've been loving experimenting with my watercolors, I decided to draw my own mug of hot yumminess and color it with watercolors. As you can see I'm still new at this, but the flaws add to the cup's character. :)

I wanted it holiday-themed as well, so I heat embossed a snowflake from Penny Black's All is Bright set right on the mug. The stamped tag was made using Papertrey Tiny Tags. I received that as a gift many years ago and just now it's being used. I added a Want2Scrap pearl in the center and also some fancy bling along the bottom. The panel and tag were attached using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Foam Squares.

Now on to giveaways. The first is mine: some lovely Want2Scrap bling! Use these to decorate your coffee-themed stamped images like I did above. I will pick the winner from the comments below.

Here are the Super Sponsors of the hop. Some info about the giveaways:

Everyone who links up with a newly created holiday coffee/or other favorite hot holiday drink project is eligible (No back linking).
You can add your project via inlinkz, which will be available on Amy Tsuruta's blog at 6 am PST on Wednesday, December 10th, until 11:55 pm PST on Friday, December 12th.
5 prizes will be awarded to people who comment on ALL of the linked blogs!
Please make sure to turn off word verification.
When commenting, please make sure you leave info on how you can be contacted, so we can notify you if you're the winner.
The blog hop is open until Sunday, Dec 14th.
Make sure you check Amy Tsuruta's blog for more detailed info.

Happy hopping!


17Turtles	Veronica Zalis	Chris Franco

Add a Little Dazzle	Butterfly Reflections Ink	Color Cast Designs

Create a Smile	Hero Arts	Kraftin' Kimmie

Kreative Kymona	Latina Crafter	Neat & Tangled

Newton's Nook	Pickled Potpourri Designs	Poppystamps

Reverse Confetti	Stamp Academy	Stamp Simply Ribbon Store

STAMPlorations	SugarPea Designs	Sweet 'n Sassy

The Alley Way Stamps	Two Paper Divas	Verve Stamps

Whole Wild World	Your Next Stamp	Paper Smooches

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Thank You, Paper Crafts Blog Hop

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 03 Dec 2014 13:00:00 +0000

Today, a large group of paper crafters are expressing our thanks to our beloved magazine, Paper Crafts & Scrapbooking, that will be closing its doors early next year. I have had the honor to have several projects published through their beautiful magazines over the years. It's hard to believe that it will be no more.

Thank You, Paper Crafts Magazine and Staff. You have been my source of inspiration ever since I started paper crafting a few years ago. You have made my day many times when I received the acceptance emails from Susan that my projects would be published by you. You will surely be missed. My prayers are with you as you seek new adventures and adjust to life apart from our beloved PC Mags.

If you came from Heather's blog, then you're in the right spot. My card today is pretty easy with a simple sentiment. I free hand painted the tree with watercolors. The sentiment is from Penny Black Sunny Hello. The panel was attached using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L Photo Corners.

To make the tree, I first loaded my brush with watercolor paint, then flicked it all over the paper with my fingers. I then smeared more water on the drops. When that dried, I painted the trunk and branches. Finally, I added the blue background and grass.

Your next stop is CLEARSNAP, makers of some of my favorite inks. Happy hopping!

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Peace Joy Tag Cards

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 02 Dec 2014 15:09:00 +0000

Hello, friends. Sorry for my absence the last couple of weeks. Thanksgiving took all of my free time and I'm thankful for the much-needed break. Before I share my card, I have to ask you to come back tomorrow. I will be part of the largest blog hop I've ever been part of, I believe. You don't want to miss it! Also, I still have some stamps and dies for sale HERE. If there's anything your really want and the price isn't agreeable to you, please shoot me an email and let me know your best offer.

My card today has one of my favorite color combos (red, white and blue). I didn't use any stamping here. Can you believe it? The papers, buttons and tags are by Fancy Pants. The sentiment dies are by Penny Black Love & Joy.

I stitched around the white panel. The tags were mounted using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares.

Challenges: Runway Inspired, The Card Concept, Just Us Girls, SSS Monday, Card Mania, Die-cut Divas, Vintage Stamping.

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Watercolored Swirly Background CAS Card

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 09:31:00 +0000

Hello, I have a simple card for you today.I first heat embossed watercolor paper with sparkly white powder using my Penny Black Dotted Fusion stamp. I then colored it with various Distress markers and wet them to blend the colors.

The sentiment is from Penny Black Amazing! which I stamped on a flag. The only embellishment the card needs is a little flower and some burlap string. Adhesives are by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

Challenges: Time Out Challenge (embossing) Paper Players (CAS Thank You), The Shabby Tea Room (Photo Inspiration with Burlap), Runway Inspired (Photo inspired colors), CASology (flag sentiment), Cardabilities (sketch), ATRS (Make Your Mark), Uniko Studio (anything goes and/or sketch).

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Golden Autumn Leaves

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 18 Nov 2014 14:29:00 +0000

Gold has been trendy for a while now and I've resisted using it because it's just not me. The only thing gold I own is my wedding ring. But as I was organizing my craft room, I stumbled upon some old gold embossing powder that was just begging to be used. So, here's the result, which was inspired by so many lovely challenges going on right now. I used my Penny Black Foliage Fancy set. I inked the solid images with distressed ink spritzed then with a little water before stamping.

I then heat embossed the detailed images with gold. The sentiment is from Penny Black as well. I finish the card with a simple flag sentiment, button and a burlap string. Adhesives are by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L.

Challenges: Virginia's View, Shabby Tea Room, The Paper Players, Runway Inspired, Pals Paper Arts.

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Water Color Painting Card #2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 14:26:00 +0000

I'm back with my 2nd card this week using a freehand watercolor painting. This is really easy to do. I just basically tapped my very wet brush with the paint directly onto the paper. I then spritzed just a tiny bit of water and let it dry before painting the trunk and branches.

I distressed the edges and sponged some ink to make it look vintage. The sentiment is from Penny Black's Foliage Fancy. I finish the card with a little bird sticker by Paper House.

I have two more cards using the same technique but with very different results. Challenges: Moxie Fab Trees, CASE this Sketch, colorQ, Addicted to Rubber Stamps, The Pink Elephant.

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Water Color Painting Card

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 11:23:00 +0000

As you know, I've been enjoying playing with water colors. I have so far just created mainly backgrounds that I used for my stamped images. This week, I'll be sharing some cards with water colored images that I did free hand. If you're an expert water colorist, excuse the noticeable novice mistakes. But I enjoyed making them and I hope you will be inspired to try your hand at water color painting.

I first sketched the trees with a pencil and went to town with my watercolors. I did the wet on wet technique on this. First with the background and when that dried, I spritzed some water to create the texture. I then painted the trunks in light brown and the details in dark brown. I made the background trees subtle to show perspective.

After I painted, the trees looked kind of bare, so I added some birds, die cut from Penny Black In A Row. The sentiment is from Hero Arts. Adhesives are by Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L. In order to prop the birds, I cut the foam squares in half.

Challenges: Card Mania (die cut), SS Wed Challenge (thinking of you), Moxie Fab (Trees).

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Watercolored Masculine Card #3

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 07 Nov 2014 13:14:00 +0000

Hello, friends! Aren't you glad it's Friday? It's chilly and rainy today in our little corner of the world and the trees are bursting with color. I have another watercolored masculine card for you today that uses just one stamp set, Penny Black's Tweet Tweet.

I first just randomly colored the background with water colors following the Curtain Call challenge using the wet on wet technique. After that dried, I stamped the foliage images in Versafine black. I did the the repeat stamping (is that what it's called?) to add dimension to my card. The farther the image, the more faded the color should be.

I heat embossed the beautiful sentiment with white. I then colored around it using a dark yellow Derwent water color pencil to make the words stand out. I love the grungy look. I used Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L. Next week, I have another series of cards using water colors. They're different from what I've share here so far. I'm learning something new and loving it! Have a great weekend!

Challenges: SSS Monday (Good 'Ol Days), SSS Wednesday (Thinking of You, Cardabilities (sketch), Curtain Call (colors), Paper Players (vintage), Pink Elephant (photo inspiration).

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Watercolored Masculine Card #2

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 05 Nov 2014 12:46:00 +0000

I have another water colored masculine card today. It's also clean and simple, which seems to be the style I follow when making cards for men. The layout was inspired by CAS(E) this Sketch!. The card in general was inspired by this week's Muse. The background was watercolored and dotted with my white pen.

The birch trees were die cut using my Silhouette Cameo. I propped it using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares.The lovely script sentiment is from Penny Black Wishes.

Challenges: CAS(E) this Sketch!, Card Mania, Muse, SSS Wednesday.

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Watercolored Masculine Card

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 03 Nov 2014 13:20:00 +0000

I have been playing around with my watercolors and made several cards using them. I will share some this week that are all masculine. It's something I don't do often, so these cards are a little different from my usual style. I did enjoy making them and seem to always be in need for masculine cards.

Today's card is a CAS Christmas card with no stamping! I first water colored my background with fall colors. I wanted to go with non-traditional Christmas colors. The deer was die cut using my Silhouette. I lost the wall plate part somewhere along the way, so I hand drew it using my Copic Multiliner pen that I won a while ago from a giveaway. I'm glad I was able to finally use it.

The sentiment is hand lettered. The patterned paper is actually chevron, but it shows as stripes here. I propped the deer head using Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L foam squares. And who says a masculine can't have a bow? I guess as long as it's twine, it's okay. :)

Challenges: Mixed Media Card, Poppy Sketches, Fusion, Diecut Divas, Card Mania, Addicted To Stamping, SSS Wed Challenge.

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Autumn Leaves with Watercolors

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 14:34:00 +0000

We're right in the middle of fall here in Croatia. The leaves have changed and the trees are starting to look bare. It seems autumn came and went really fast and now we're having temps close to freezing already. Yikes! I'm not quite ready for snow.

I have a simple fall card today using my Penny Black Foliage Fancy stamps.I first water colored with background (inspired by a few craft challenges), then embossed the maple leaves in white. Pretty simple.

The sentiment was stamped with Versafine ink. And then I flicked black watercolor all over.

Challenges: SSS Wednesday, Card Concept, Color Throwdown, Pink Elephant, Just Us Girls.

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Bird on a Bike

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 12:46:00 +0000

As you've probably noticed, I'm not much of a Halloween crafter. We don't celebrate it in Croatia and never did celebrate it growing up in the Philippines. I do love the colors associated with it and I notice so many of the craft challenge blogs I follow have very similar challenges the last few weeks. So, I decided to take their halloween inspirations and make a springy card with them. I also want to say that I'm not a big fan of purple so I used the closest hue: blue! Here is the result.

I made a fun & cute card with a country bird on a bike for my daughter who recently celebrated a birthday.The patterned papers, bike are by Fancy Pants. I die cut the chevron paper using PTI clouds. The bird is Penny Black's Perched die that has been watercolored with orange.

The sentiments are by SRM Stickers. Buttons, twine finish the card. The different elements were adhered using SAby3L Foam squares.

Challenges: Time Out (bird), Card Mania (buttons), Color Throwdown, Just Us Girls (photo, basket, country), Seize the Birthday, Die Cut Divas (fall colors on a spring card).

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Mixed Media Sunflower Botanical Card

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 Oct 2014 14:28:00 +0000

Hi, all. Aren't you glad it's Friday? I have another mixed media card today. I have been inspired by many challenges that seem to highlight the fall colors of yellow and orange. I didn't want a fall card, so decided on a sunflower. I freehand painted the sunflower with watercolors. I meant for it to be just a plain painting, but I messed up on some of the petals, so I decided to use it as a background for my card. I love that I didn't have to throw it away.

I stamped the Penny Black Music Background stamp with Distress ink and spritz it with water. When it dried, I white embossed Penny Black Letter background with white on the lower right of the panel. I tore some paper scraps for the corner, distressed the edges then stitched the whole thing on the card base. The bird stamp I got from ebay and was water colored as well. The sentiment is from PB Amazing! I adhered Want2Scrap pearls on the corners. Adhesives by SA by 3L.

Challenges: Fusion, Diecut Divas, SSS Monday Challenge, Card Concept, Mixed Media Card Challenge, Color Throwdown, Curtain Call, Card Mania,

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