New year's resolutions

Wow, it was a busy week last week at the Christmas market where I was selling my cards. It was my first time selling my cards to other than my mum & grandma,  so a bit nervious to start with, but had a lot of fun in the end. I hope the cards will bring lots of joy and smiles to the people who they are sent to. Must say that the AI stamped cards are a great way to give people a smile.

The photo was taken on the first day, you can see how nervious I was :D

But then to this week's challenge!

I used to make them too, new year's resolutions. Then I understood that I rarely kept them and stopped making them. Maybe they were the wrong kind of resolutions? One should only make them like "I allow myself eat as much chocolate as I want" or "I can buy as many new stamps as I want this year". No problem keeping those!

The card I made for this week's Art Impressions challenge is going to be sent to a good friend of mine to wish her happy new years, and I am sure she'll get the joke. The stamps are of two different characters, but I think they work as one and same person when coloured the same.

As always, I coloured my stamped images with Distress Inks and markers. I tried some hand lettering for the sign, something I think I will be practicing more this Christmas time..

Stamp: Art Impressions Sylvia

Clock: KaiserCraft collectables

Die: Sizzix & Die-namics

 Stamp: Art Impressions Madge

Background paper BoBunny

Die: Spellbinders

I submit the card to the Art Impressions Challenge #174. Check out also the new AI stamps (which would have been fun to have for this challenge) and the awesome cards by the DT!

It's the last AI challenge this year, so I wish all of AI team and followers a joyful holiday and happy new years! I look forward to see you next year. 

Santa Klaus is coming to town

Something very different this time. A couple of months ago I was selecting new Christmas stamps for this year's cards. My husband walked pass my computer and saw this stamp set. There was an immediate custom order made for a set of Christmas cards that would finally suggest that I am not the only person making decisions on Christmas cards in this family.

Stamp used: Brett Weldele Zombie Santa
Coloured with Distress Inks

All the cards have got this red page inside. 

Season's favourite colours

The oh, so familiar colours of the season, red and green are the theme of this week's AI challenge. This week I used the same stamps as last time, I just think they belong together :)

Stamps used: Art Impressions Reindeer games set & Cliff as Santa

Papers: This&That Christmas collection by Lori Whitlock
Flowers from I Am Roses

I submit the project on Art Impressions challenge #173, Rudolph red & evergreen. Make sure to click the link below and check out the other, always as awesome cards on the challenge and of course, see what the design team has been up to this week. They are ever so inspirational.

Thanks for stopping by, and please, do leave a message. I'd love to hear from you!

Reindeer games

Wow, time does fly. It's been a very long while since my last post. I have not forgotten my crafts, quite the contrary - I have been making cards for the annual Christmas market. I'll post some photos of those later.

I got my new Art Impressions Christmas stamps a couple of weeks ago, and conveniently, Art Impressions has a challenge this week "Be Merry". Just can't help but love these funny characters! I think Cliff's face is a perfect answer to her question :)

Here's the card I submit to the challenge.

Stamp: Art Impressions Reindeer games set & Cliff as Santa

Papers: BoBunny Sleig ride

Remember to check the other cards and the new AI Christmas stamps at:

Is it a box?

I've been gone from my crafts for over a week enjoying some outdoors fun in the north. Coming back home I found myself back in my crafts room with lots of energy and new ideas. This card's idea and instructions I got from this Russian site. I don't speak any Russian, but they have really good photos, and Google translates the rest :)

I really like the idea of this gift box / card. It's just the perfect size for small gifts. I can't wait to make one for my brother's baby who's due any day now.

Papers I used: Reminisce Autumn Harvest collection and Fancy Pants Designs BeLoved. 

Mistletoe kisses

The card I made this weekend is something I have been thinking about for a good few months. I saw something similar to this somewhere online, so the idea is not completely original. The last push to make this card now, I got from the Art Impressions challenge, which this time is "Shake it off". I had thought not to participate this week, as I don't have any of the shaker stamps and I didn't think I'd come up with another idea either. Well, here we are, another challenge with my favourite stamps.

Stamps: Art Impressions In the tub
Art Impressions Dive in (I cut out the lady)
Bath tub and background papers are from Kaisercraft Christmas basecoat paper pad
I also coloured the edge of the card stock with Distress Ink ground espresso 
As usual, I couloured the stamped images with Distress Inks and Markers. 

The man with his mistletoe is attached with a homemade string. Might not be so elegant, but wobbles!  

I submit the card on two challenges:
Art Impressions "Shake it off" challenge and
Simon Says: Anything goes Wednesday challenge. 

Thanks for visiting, and please do leave a comment! 

Already dreaming

I know for sure, that where I am, there will be a white Christmas. I will be up so north the sun doesn't rise at all during the holidays - or for about 6 weeks to be precise. Instead of daylight we enjoy pure white snow, the Northern Lights and some stunning hours long dusk. That is where we used to live, and my husband still works over the winter. Awesome place, I'll post some photos in December.

A couple of weeks back I got another honorable mention in the Art Impression challenge Southern Style (167).  As my reward I asked for the Christmas Scene TryFold set. It arrived a couple of days ago, and I just couldn't resist making one - or three. Thank you once more AI Design team!

This one came out as my favorite, and I submit it to the Simon Says Monday Challenge. Use a stamp and blog hop. There's still a couple of days time to participate, and it is definitely worth the hop even if the challenge has closed already!

Stamp:  Art Impressions Christmas Scene TF

Background paper: Kaisercraft Teddybear's picnic collection.
Colours: Distress Ink & Markers

The sentiment inside is from Heidin Korttipaja and says Merry Christmas and Happy New Years in Swedish, which is a second language in Finland. 

Here all three cards. I must admit, it takes a bit of effort to place the stamps at the right place, but practice makes perfect, I hope. 

 The card with Finnish sentiment (Stempelkeller)
Background paper:  Bo Bonny Sleigh Ride Collection 

And finally, the first card I made with the original sentiment form the stamp set.
Background paper: Joy!Craft Happy Holidays Paper bloc

Have a mice day

The true autumn weather has settled in finally; rain, dark evenings, storms. Inspired by this,  I wanted to make something fun with the Art Impressions Buzzard set stamp. There is something about this bird which just makes me smile.

Stamp: Art Impressions Buzzard set
Coloured with Distress Markers
Background paper: Kaisercraft Outdoor Trail paper pad
Die-namics Stitched Circle - die
Stamped image fussy cut

Background coloured with Distress Inks
Text written with Distress Marker 

This time I submit my project in three challenges:
Art Impressions Challenge 168: Cut Your Cards! 
Simon Says Stamp: Work it Wednesday for August 2015 
Papertake Weekly: Animal Magic

Make sure to visit the challenges - there are some awesome cards by the design teams and of course, other cards submitted!

Feeling merry & bright

This no colouring, but good old cut&clue cards. Outside is the perfect autumn day, sunny, warm and just a light breeze, but I couldn't help myself - today was the day to make the first Christmas cards of the year.

Paper: KaiserCraft Basecoat Christmas 6,5x6,5 Paper pad PP947

Sizzling away

A full month gone with my blog already, with many fun challenges, and many more to which I didn't have a change to participate.

The latest Art Impressions challenge - southern style - took a bit of thinking again. And that is exactly why I love the challenges, you have to think outside of the usual card making - and in the process your cards get new tones.

This time the thinking was mainly around not having any suitable stamps for the challenge, until I realized that a bit of tuning of the image is of course allowed. Thus, I made the hats for the BBQ Couple (Art Impressions, of course) southernizing them for the purpose.

As per usual, I coloured the image with Distress Inks and Markers. The background paper is from the Best Creation Inc. Barbeque Collections.

I submit the card to the Art Impressions Southern Style challenge. Take a look at the awesome cards the DT made again using the new Zoo Crew stamps. I can't wait till the Long Horn Set is available in Finland! 

Happiness all around

This is a stamp that I have been wanting since - well, a long time ago. There is something so calming about the mess and the calm she is taking it, so apt for the "must be perfect all the time" - culture we live in. So, when I got an honourable mention in the Art Impressions challenge and had a chance to choose a stamp from Art Impressions, I knew immediately which one to get. Thanks once again!

Art Impressions TryFolds; Messy house coloured with Distress Inks.

Nothing but black

This weeks challenge on Art Impressions was "anything goes". Kerry had made some stunningly colourful Pop Art cards for inspiration - I think I will need to try those one day too. But this time my inspiration came from my husband's work with black and white photography . I wanted to try "nothing but black" with watercolouring.

My first draft was coloured with Distress Ink & Markers Pumice stone, Black sooth and Hickory smoke. It was ok, but it wasn't what I was looking for, so I decided to try the challenging one colour only approach. It was slightly odd to think about colouring skin with black but I think the result works. I used only Distress Marker Black sooth  in this image. The first layers I made with a brush and lots of water, slowly adding shades and shapes with less water - until the last touches which I made directly with the marker.

The card I made with black cardstock, and used some pearl white paper which I embossed with Xcut embossing folder. The ribbon is cut from KaiserCraft's paper which I coloured with the same Black soot Distress Ink.

The stamp I used is Art Impressions Uptown Girls 

Make sure you also check out Kerry's Pop Art cards and the other works on the challenge!

Missing you

It's the clean and simple - challenge at the Paper Players with beach theme this week. For 6 days, my mind has played a bit too simple, just a blank white paper in front of me and the idea of my last summer days card that I posted a couple of weeks ago. Until today, half way cleaning my car, I got the inspiration. Wonder why..

Here's what I made, and don't take it wrong, it might be simple, but it wasn't easy to make. There's a good few discarded 13x13 cm water colourings at the rubbish bin - one of them actually the favourite of my husband.

I coloured the ocean with Salty Sea and Mermaid Lagoon Distress Inks, sprinkled some colour from the brush to add some life and added the die with Joy! Craft's Seashore die. I wrote the text with Distress Marker Broken China. 

Autumn falls

Well, it is really the last beautiful summer weeks in Finland, but my thoughts have been in autumn colours for a while already. The Art Impressions "Create a card set" challenge was perfect for what I had had in mind. So, the complete set of four cards; autumn is my favourite colour.

The cards are A6 in size, and the backgrounds are made with Reminisce's Autumn themed scrapbooking papers. All the stamps used are from Art Impressions Girlfriends series, and they were coloured with Distress Inks, main colours were rusty hinges, peeled paint, fossilized amber, gathered twigs and wild honey. In addition to those, I used heaps of other colours for hair, skin and shadows.

I simply love these Girlfriends stamps, they are such happy mood stamps. Below the cards individually.

This card's stamp is Under my umbrella 

This card's stamp is In the tub

This card was stamped with Uptown girls 

This card was stamped with Girlfriend blend

Take also a look at the other awesome cards which participated on this Art Impression challenge! 

Inside the box

I've been playing around with Distress Ink backgrounds, trying different techniques and getting rather colourful too. When I saw the Paper Players Challenge for the week, It's Hip to Be Square, I instantly thought of this picture, and I spent the morning making the card. So, my last summer days card became my first ever card to be entered to a challenge.

Background Distress Inks
Stamp: Impression Obsessions Puddle Jump
Tag: Kaiser Craft Collectables
Paua shells from New Zealand

It's Hip to be Square: Paper Players Challenge #256

One for the rainy day

This summer has been incredibly rainy in Finland. The constant rain gave me inspiration for this joyful summer card. The text says "let it rain!"

Stamp: Art Impression Dive in!

Coloured with Distress Inks and Distress Markers