To err is human

And as you can see from this card I am most definitely VERY human.
You see, the challenge at Make It Colourful is Black With A Splash Of Red and it doesn NOT have to be monochromatic but for some reason I understood that I needed to make a monochromatic card.

Oh well. Here it is.

The image is brand new Tank Girl from Tiddly Inks who is also sponsoring this weeks challenge.

Background cool house is an immensely early preview from Make It Crafty which doesn't even have a name yet!

I used the whole range of warm greys and a touch of 100 (black).
Reds are R39/37/24/01/000
Most of highlight areas in blck/grey are given a tiny touch of R000 or R01 to echo the red sky.

For a red sky I scribbled someR01 and R24 on acrylic block, wetted sky area by area with W1, picked up some red from the block with my W1 and carried it into the sky near the horizon in light sweeping motions. Basically used reds as paint and W1 as a brush.

The papers (lush ones which I mainly covered up, duh) are from Echo Park For The Record 6x6 pad. The super cool cogs are laser cut chipboard, covered with glue stick and then hot embossed - doesn't it look fab!!

And I couldn't resist wrapping some Divine Twine I got from Quixotic around the card too. Twine makes me happy. 'Nuf said.

Challenges
 Sugar Creek Hollow  - 3E, SIO - Embossing 
Crafts 4 Eternity Recipe Challenge - 3E - R#16: Anything goes
Fairy Fun Fridays - 2W, SIO – 2nd wk - #51: April showers bring May flowers (showers or flowers)
Just Add Ink - JAI 66: Just add a flower
Simply Create - 2W - 2nd wk - Challenge #42: Time to rock the metal
4 Crafty Chicks - Challenge #35: Distressing
Simply Scrapping Copic Challenge - 1E, must use Copics - Colour something white.
Stamp Insanity - SIO - 2nd wk - Challenge #SISC56: Use metal
Crafts and Me - #32 vintage/distress
Scrapbook Sisters - #33 distress


Thank you so much for visiting and happy crafting!
Hugs

Something with wings...

This week at Stamp Something  we want to see Something With Wings on your projects.

This weeks sponsor is Simon Says Stamp.

There are two things I love on my card...the rest I'm not so keen on. First I absolutely adore that image, its from Emerald Faeries, I won it at their blog hop and couldn't wait to colour it up! The sentiment is a quote I typed up in Gimp using one of Nestie-friendly frame digis from Whimsy Stamps.

 The second thing I adore are these absolutely stunning papers from Basic Grey. That pad is called Hello Luscious and oh when I saw these colours my knees went weak.

Yes. It happens. For papers. Ribbon. Lace. Occasionally for hubby too. Which is probably why he puts up with my overflowing crafts room. lol

 I wanted very soft gradiates here and mild colours so used a lot of tip-to-tip colouring.

Copic colours:
Skin: E0000/000/01/00/21
Hair: E44/43/41/87
purples: V05/91, RV66/63
Greens: YG0000/00/21/03/25
Blues: BG000/75/32, G00
Wings:R0000/17, Y18, YR30
Sky:00, BG07, Y18, R17, R000, Y0000, B0000

Thank you so much for visiting!
Hugs

I'm just visiting...

Two weeks ago I won a challenge at Die Cut Dreams and the prize was a guest designer spot for one week. Their theme for this week is Wedding which must be one of my Top 3 Feared Cards To Make.

I have combined 3 digital stamps from 2 different companies, how's that for you, lol.
Aim em Up Cupid and Run Away Cupid from Make It Crafty
and Cupid's Rectangle from Whimsy Stamps.

Oh, and those ornate metallic corners and delish filigree circle? SO not metal, just lasercut chipboard from Make it Crafty. If you live in UK/Europe - it's now available at Quixotic Paperie as well.

I propped the image on bed of feather which I nicked from my kids craft box again.

The pearls are loose pearls from Quixotic again - totally in love with that stuff atm. Next time I'm putting in an order I'm gonna try out THOSE, just look at the colour!

Oh, and I coloured on Make It Colour blending card...sheesh, it sounds like Zoe has totally purchased my immortal soul - but I just love her stuff!!! lol

Challenges:

Cheerful Stamp Pad - 2W #16 There is a man in my life

Creative Inspirations - 2W - use a Digi.

Paper Sundaes - 3E, C10 -  Use at least 2 from: Sparkle, Pearls, Die Cuts and the Colour Yellow!

Sparkles Forum - 2W - Anything goes. 

Crafty Emma - Spring Colours/Images

Marks Finest Papers -  Anniversary Card

Simply Create - 2W - Challenge #42: Time to rock the metal.

Totally Papercrafts - Challenge #63: Weddings

Aud Sentiments Challenge - 2W -  2nd Wk - Anything goes

Fab 'n' Funky - 1E, C10 - #69 Here comes the Bride

Flutterby Wednesdays - 1E, must include butterfly, fairy or angel - #151 open challenge 

Thank you so much for visiting!
HUgs

She's new, she's sweet and very-very sparkly

The challenge at Make It Colourful is colouring BLACK HAIR this week - using whatever medium and image you want.

We might be a wee bit puzzled if you start scribbling black wigs onto mushrooms and houses and whatnot but we solemnly  promise to be totally non-judgemental!

Anyways, I went with Copics this week - I know, I'm boring. BUT, to cheer you up, here's Cordelia, a sign of Things To Come at Make It Crafty.
I applied acrylic paint, microbeads and glitter in 3 different colours to EVERYTHING, including the image...

And those beautiful filigree circles and flower centers and corners - all cool laser cut chipboard which I just lightly sponged with metallic acrylic paint. It warms my heart to see that stuff now more readily available in UK and Europe as well, hurry before Elaine runs out of stock! Soon you won't see a card of mine without them ....sooo effective and versatile.
And I'm easily obsessed, lol

There's a certain sense of satisfaction in cheerfully mucking around with paints and glitters.

Oh, and see all the pearls? I have recently become terribly clever (cough) and cost-effective and don't get self-adhesive pearls and gems any more.Instead I get loose flat back ones and just stick them on either with Tombow or glue gel. Quixotic has a good colour selection in 2 different sizes here.

Copic colours:
Skin: E11/01/00/95/000
Hair: C9/8/7/5/4, B99/39/14
The rest: B14/02/00/0000, BG97/93, G24

The sentiment I threw together myself in Gimp, it's a rush-job and not artsy or anything and Gimp is doing my head in cause I'm used to Photoshop but if you like it, help yourself (just click to enlarge before you save):

Challenges:
Aud Sentiments Challenge - 2W -  2nd Wk - Anything goes
Southern Girls - 2W, 1E - Green & blue
My Mum's Craft shop - 3E - #2 glitter
Truly Scrumptious - 2W - #55 vintage
Everybody-Art-Challenge - Pearls
Cupcake Craft - Lots of Layers
Stamp Fairy - For the Girls with a Sentiment
For Your Inspiration - 2W, 3E - Challenge #4: Inspirational Photo
 

OK, I'll stop rambling now before you throw something heavy at me and thus destroy your monitor.
Mwah!

Does that look like my card at all??

The challenge this week at Stamp Something is a recipe: Flowers, buttons and sparkle.

Our sponsor this week is Sugar Nellie with a lovely prize you should definitely check out!

I've liked the stamps from Leanne Ellis for a long time but haven't really had a chance to play with any. Well, I had a go this time and tried to go with the artsy feel of them - I'm not sure of what to think of the result. Not exactly BAD but probably too different from my style, takes some getting used to.

I coloured the image with watercolours (yup, a cheap-as-chips set and I think I have to invest in better one - the pigment doesn't dissolve properly and I get kinda powdery bits in my washes). Also added some detail with white opaque calligraphy ink - tastes revolting, btw, managed to stick the brush into my mouth while I was contemplating. Note to self - need a 1mm (extra-extra fine) brush. Anybody know where to get one?

The papers I'm using are from Prima Melody 6x6 pad. I got some different ones from Quixotic and I have to say I adore them - not only are the patterns and colours lovely (I was sorely missing some purples and lavenders in my stash) but they are also really big (48 sheets) which in my book makes them an excellent value.

Little pearly dots are made with Viva Pearl Pen in Dark Brown. Who in their right mind makes dark brown pearls, you ask. Well...me, lol

I made the flowers with various punches and embossing tool (you know, the one with a ball end) and that intricate tag die is from Whimsy Stamps. If you're in UK or Europe, you can get it from Quixotic HERE. It is a total staple die that I can see myself using again and again and again ... and you'll all will become sick of it and stop coming here and...

OK, now I'm getting all depressed! lol

Challenges
C.R.A.F.T. - Challenge #99: Flowers.
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - SIO -  Challenge #55: Glitter & glitz
ABC Challenge - C5 - S is for Sparkle
Scrapbook Sisters - #32 buttons
Truly Scrumptious - 2W - #55 vintage
Cards & Things - 1E, JFF - Colour
 Oldie But Goodie Challenge - 2W, must use stamp at least 6mts old - Fit for A Queen/Princess
Sweet Stamps - 1E, SIO - Some Sort Of Frame On Your Card
Top Tip Tuesday - 3E - Open Challenge
Stamp Fairy - For the Girls with a Sentiment
Woodware USA - 2E - Die Cuts/Punches

Thank you so much for visiting and happy crafting!
Hugs

The carnival is IN DA TOWN!

Wooo-hoo, the big day is here and Mo's and ZO's Big MARVELOUS BLOG HOP is in the full swing!

If you didn't come here from Maria's Blog, you might want to hop to the beginning to Jak's Blog not to miss all the AMAZINGNESS on the offer!

Zoe from Make it Crafty and Mo from Mo’s Digital Pencil, came together to share the delight and fun of The Carnival. To celebrate - the two fabulously talented teams have come together for a massive blog hop to offer you plenty of inspiration when playing with these images.

Along the way you will find balloons with a letter in them. Write down the letters as you go because at the very end we want you to guess what the saying is!

There will be THREE grand prizes randomly drawn from the correct answers PLUS there will be hidden prizes along the way so make sure you leave some love as you hop along!

Now we know this is a super big hop, but we wanted to make sure you would get LOTS of inspiration! The hop will be open until the 28thApril so you will have plenty of time to come back each day with a cuppa to soak it all up! (Just don’t lose the letters you have been collecting!)

We would like to thank our fabulous sponsors, Mo’s Digital Pencil, Make it Crafty, Stamping Bella and Quixotic Paperie for providing the fabulous prizes for this grand carnival hop!

And here's my humble contribution featuring Aunt Flo and Candy Cart!

The story goes like that - aunt Flo arrives with a transatlantic flight to visit her young relatives only to find them gone gallivanting on the carnival. Disgruntled, aunt Flo gets the cab to drop her on spot to find and disinherit the ungrateful lot.

See, the dog is nervous NOT because she is afraid of her mistress, just traumatized from the long flight.

Colouring is Copics with a generous application of Sakura stardust pens. The swirls are from Make It Crafty. Flowers made myself of fabric and lace.

The papers are from Cosmo Cricket Togetherness pad.

I LIKE that card. Well, I like Aunt Flo with her daring fashion choices and grumpy attitude. One day I hope to be just like her.

And here is my balloon!

In case you're having trouble seeing the image, the letter is "L".

Make sure you leave a comment for a ‘possible’ chance at winning some hidden treasure!

Mo also has an image on offer for ONE DOLLAR for the duration of the blog hop so hurry and snag it!

And now shoo-shoo, hop on to Leah's blog - you do not want to miss her creation!

Challenges:

ABC Challenge -  S is for Sparkle

Freshly Brewed -  #43 sparkle and shine

Little Red Wagon - #77 clouds

Papercraft Star - #42 recycle

My Mum's Craft shop - #2 glitter

A Spoonful Of Sugar -  Lets Celebrate

Anything Goes Challenge  - pearls

Everybody-Art-Challenge - Pearls

Going Grey With Scrap-Creations - Digital Image

Try It On Tuesday  - Something Recycled in Your Project (fabric) 

Copic Creations -  Favourite paper to use with Copics(Make It Colour paper from Make It Crafty)

A Gem of a Challenge - Pearls and/or swirls

Crafty Ann's -  Raise a smile.

Fabulous Friday - Homemade/handmade embellishment

Thank you so much for hopping with us!
Hugs

Whimsy April Blog Hop prize winner

And the time has come to announce the winner of all that goodness from Whimsy Stamps:

Yup. Delicious.

Well...drumroll and...

And that's Marilyn from One Stamping Fool (who, by the way, is jaw-droppingly talented!)

I will contact you very shortly!

Hugs to all!

Oooops...now that is something that WOULD happen to me!

If you are looking for WHIMSY STAMPS new release blog hop and prize draw then you can find my post HERE.

Now this is a card I made in the end of March for Crissy Armstrong's DT - and, can you believe it, forgot to post it! This is just borderline embarrassing! lol Well, it IS embarrassing.. Anyways, the challenge is up for the reminder of April and it's Spring or Babies.

This cute baby dragon (awww) is a digital stamp called Hello World and isn't he just ADORABLE! I combined hims with Meadow Background to create a cute little setting. As to colouring - well, I was trying to be Dorcas with Prismacolor pencils and mineral spirit and pretty much failed miserably, lol. She does the most delicious subtle Prismacolor sky and I had this idea of replicating it and of course got too carried away and yeah, you can see the result...

But the papers are from my treasured (and thus used pretty sparingly) Echo Park Little Boy collection. Love the clear patterns and delicious colours, who says boy papers need to be muted or muddy!!!

I might sneak back tomorrow and enter some challenges but now I'm going to post this card before I forget about it, lol

Challenges

Digital Tuesday -  Pretty Punches

Going Grey With Scrap-Creations -  Digital Image

Karen's Doodles Netherlands -   Punches

Craft Your Passion - You've been spotted

Drunken Stampers - Project without using tools that need electricity

Secret Crafter - Stitching - real or faux

Card Makin' Mamas - Spring colours.

Fabulous Friday - Homemade/handmade embellishment - flowers

Fussy and Fancy -  Card for a child

 
Luvs ya all!
Hugs

Tutorial: Colouring in small areas with Copics - clothes (dull creamy yellow and greyish purple)

I am back to colouring up Kitty Katastrophy from Whimsy Stamps. For those of you in Europe and UK she is available HERE in Quixotic Paperie.

The card I am using is Make It Colour marker blending card from Make It Crafty and no, I am not being paid to say so. It is genuinely my favorite cardstock for Copic work at the moment.

I would actually call it more so a colouring video than a tutorial. A lot of babbling, as usual.

Markers needed:
YR21, YR23, Y28, E97
and
BV20/23/25/29

You can see all my colouring videos on Youtube HERE.

The second part of that video about colouring suede leather boots and adding final touches is coming up soon.

And THEN I'm going to tackle colouring on kraft cardstock with Prismacolor pencils, lol

Luvs ya all!
Hugs

Kenny K challenge - Anything Goes

If you are looking for WHIMSY STAMPS new release blog hop and prize draw then you can find my post HERE.

Today there's a real fun and easy challenge at Kenny K-s Krafty Girlz: ANYTHING GOES.
Our Guest Designer is Karla - welcome! 

The digi I am using is called Strong Island.

Sponsors are - Michelle's Scrapbooking Store

 - offering $15 gift certificate to her store as well as Kenny offering 5 digi's of the winner's choice.

The image is coloured with Copic markers - nothing else in sight. I didn't  write down the colours though - sorry!!

The denim flowers I made myself from my toddlers ripped jeans which I had to turn into shorts. You know, with a scissors. :) Suddenly I had these bits of denim fabric I was reluctant to toss. All it took was some cord, scissors and glue gun and voila - cute flowers!

Oh, and the paper is Little Yellow bicycle Twig which I ADORE!

Challenges:
Fabulous Friday - Homemade/handmade embellishment.
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything goes
Do You Stack Up? - 3E, SIO - Challenge #15: Scallops
Pals Paper Arts - Use flowers
The Rubber Cafe - SIO - Challenge TRCC#13: Use fabric.
Stamp Insanity - SIO - Challenge #SISC55: Flowe power.


Luvs ya!

TWO fab announcements

First - make a nice juicy mark on your calendar for Thursday, April 21st because...

 

 Mo's digital Pencil and Make it Crafty have come together for a spectacular event and seriously, girls, I've seen some sneak peeks on what's gonna be shown and you're in for a treat!

And now for my second announcement - look at this badge:

Could you guess what that means?? Yup, you're right!

Elaine Hughes from Quixotic Paperie (loooves that name) approached me this week and I happily agreed. Elaine's own work is stunning, her design team is amazing and she sells  the most delicious goodies. And the cherry on the cake is that she is the European stockist for Whimsy Stamps and Make It Crafty rubber stamps! Now how perfect is that, lol!

Now, I'll stop squealing now before you get REALLY annoyed and never come here again!

See ya soon! (hopefully)
Hugs

Stamp Something - April Showers...

If you are looking for WHIMSY STAMPS new release blog hop and prize draw then you can find my post HERE.

Today's challenge at Stamp Something is SOMETHING APRIL SHOWERS. Today's sponsor is Whiff Of Joy!

I've used a cute Stampavie hedgehog and he's coloured with Derwent Inktense pencils. You can use those dry but if you wet them the pigment becomes ink and colour very vibrant. Once the ink dries it becomes waterproof. They are kinda cool to work with and I see myself  trying a lot of different things with them. They also work with mineral spirits so possibilities are truly endless.

The papers are from Echo Park Sweet Sumertime - love the colours!

Challenges:
Cute Card Thursday - Weather inspired
Pals Paper Arts - Use flowers
Crafts and Me - #30 Ribbon
A Spoonful Of Sugar -  All Creatures Great & Small
Kaboodle Doodles - cute and cuddly animals
Paper Playtime - Weather

Thanks for looking and happy crafting!
Hugs

Yup, experimenting again

If you are looking for WHIMSY STAMPS new release blog hop and prize draw then you can find my post HERE.

Today is a new challenge at Tickled Pink Challenges and we have a really nice sketch to follow. I used a new  image called August.

She is coloured with Copic markers with Prismacolor pencils and the background is done with soft pastels.

I went for a really rich colour scheme and happy over-embellishing this time. :) The feathers were fished out my kids crafts box (one of these days they will start to slap my fingers!)

Challenges I'm entering:
Crafts and Me - #30 Ribbon
For Fun Challenges -  pink, blue, purple, green, yellow (use at least three)
Freshly Brewed -  cute and sweet
Simon Says Stamp - Card for a child
Paper Take Weekly -  Dimension somewhere On Your Card
Tuesday Throwdown - Sparkle & Bling
My Partner in Crafting Crime -  Layer it up
Totally Gorjuss -  Anything Fluffy
Fussy and Fancy - Card for a child.
The Outlawz Copic Challenge - Mix mediums on your image.

Thanks for looking and happy crafting!
Hugs

Whimsy April Rubber Stamp Release Blog Hop - and a fab prize for grabs

Hello and welcome to the start of Whimsy Stamps April new rubber release BLOG HOP!

We have 13 fabulous new Whimsy Stamps plus 2 new wonderful dies to show you today! These new goodies are available to buy right now from the Whimsy Stamps store along with all your Whimsy favourites. We also have our wonderful special guests joining us for this hop - Beate Johns, Deb Routledge, Jacque Beddingfield, Mindy Baxter and Minna Paajanen.

The Whimsy Stamps DT have been sneak peeking these fabulous stamps for the past 5 days, so if you missed them be sure to hop on over to the Whimsy Inspirations Blog for some more inspiration!

Here is a full list of the wonderful new rubber stamps and dies being released today:

3 stamps from Crissy Armstrong
Big Comfy Cake ~ Come Fly With Me ~ Cupcake Bliss

3 stamps from Meljen's Designs
Curious Little Fairy ~ Fairy Toadstools ~ Little Fairy Friend

4 stamps from Kenny K
Biker Babe ~ Cheers Dude ~ Madison Attitude ~ Soho

3 stamps/sets from Raindrop Echo Designs
Everyday Mini Postage Stamps ~ Party Mini Letter Seals ~ Postcard Background

2 dies/sets from Raindrop Echo Designs
Mini Postage Die ~ Double Scallop Tag Die

I have an absolutely gorgeous prize to give away to all those that post our release badge on their blogs to help advertise the new release. LOOKIE:

To qualify for the prize just pop the badge from the beginning of my post on your side bar with a link back here and enter your name to Mr. Linky at the end of the post!

The hop starts today (Wednesday April 13th at noon EST) and ends on Wednesday April 20th at noon EST.

For this hop we have 6 different prize draws! We have not one but TWO grand prize draws, so two lucky hoppers will win a large selection of new release stamps. Grand Prize 1 will be for those who help us advertise the hop, and Grand Prize 2 will be for those who hop along with us. We also have 4 mini candy stops throughout the hop where you can enter to win a new release stamp! I'm not going to tell you where they are, so if you haven't found them you'll just have go back to the beginning and start hopping! *wink*

For my blog hop creation I used Biker Babe from the new release and the ticket sentiments from the previous release.

I used a new cute fold I found a tutorial for on StampArtic. It's good for soul to try something a bit different once in a while.

The image is coloured with Copic markers (the whole E40-ies series) and dark brown and white Prismacolour pencils. As usual, I worked on Make It Colour blending card which is my absolute favorite for Copics.

The fancy chipboard swirls are from Make It Crafty, the flowers I made myself from cheesecloth. Flower center was made using felt, microbeads, bling and beads, all welded together with me trusty glue gun.

So now it's time for you to continue the hop by hopping on over to Deb's blog.

Finally, here is a complete blog hop list in hopping order:

Annika Ryan (me)
Deb Routledge
Crystal Irwin
Vicki Parson
Stephanne Maraver
Erin Bailey
Jacque Beddingfield
Marley van der Heijden
Ann Vento
Iris Wiechmann
Mindy Baxter
Denise Lynn
Crissy Armstrong
Chris Olsen
Debbie Eastman
Beate Johns
Donna Smith
Lori Pachkowsky
Minna Paajanen
Patricia Garcia
Simonne Clay

Thank you so much for hopping with us today and I hope you enjoy the new release!

Hugs,
Annika

ENTER YOUR NAME HERE FOR THE "HELP US ADVERTISE" PRIZE


Challenges:
Anita Be Stampin' - SIO - Anything Goes
Claudia & Co - 2W, 1E - 2nd W - Monochromatic
Flourishes -  Flowers, flowers everywhere
Karen's Doodles Netherlands - 1E, SIO - Anything Goes
Paper Take Weekly -  Dimension somewhere On Your Card
Sweet Stamps - 1E, SIO - For The Ladies
Tuesday Throwdown - Sparkle & Bling
Creative Stamp Friends - 2W - #22 Swirls
Karens Doodles - 1E, SIO - Fancy & Feminine
Make it Monday - Anything goes
Simon Says Stamp and Show... - distressing
Woodware USA - 2E - #22 Anything goes
Stamptacular Sunday - Must use a stamp - Girls and swirls

Last Whimsy sneak before the release

Today is a last day of Whimsy Stamps April rubber stamp previews and I am showing you a card that almost made it's way into circular file instead of the pages of my blog.

Lets start with the adorable fairy from Meljens (called Curious Little Fairy). I tested my kids watercolours again but this time it was a different box and these paints didn't seem to have much pigment at all, on top of it they were kinda waxy and would leave smears on paper instead of being absorbed in and blended. Lesson learned. That box will not be nicked by Mommy again. lol

The sentiment is from the new Everyday Sayings Mini Postage Stamps set. All the papers, leaves and flowers were altered with acrylic paints and Tim Holtz Rock Candy distress paint.

Tomorrow is a day of the Whimsy Stamps April release blog hop and I'm pretty HAPPY with the card I made so I really hope you will find time to pop in! :)

Hugs