The Spotlight Challenge

Under New Management – Design Team Call

2011-09-11T17:33:00.006+01:00

I have recently taken over the running of the Crafty Cardmakers and Spotlight Challenge blogs and am looking for some new team members to join our happy and talented, bus sadly somewhat depleted band.
Crafty Cardmakers is a more generalised blog specialising in, but not exclusive to, card making, and the Spotlight Challenge is more technique based dealing with technique, style or product.

We do not offer rewards, although occasionally we may have Sponsors who might offer items to use for the challenge (normally digital) and you should be prepared to use these when offered.

We are interested in people who are willing to try different styles or showcase their own particular technique, perhaps with the occasional tutorial as we aim to be a resource for the newer crafter as well as the more experienced one. So you might like the CAS approach or excel in shabby chic, altered art, steampunk or maybe you are a scrapper. Whatever your talent we could have space for you on the team.

Your commitment will be to produce two projects per month and to contribute with ideas for challenges. We take it in turns to host the weekly challenge and it will be your responsibility when it is your week to choose a Top 3. You will also be responsible for commenting on entries, including to the challenges you do not participate in yourself, and to that end you will be assigned a number to comment on. For example all entries ending with 1, 2, etc. 10% of the total entries.

If you like the sound of this and think you could give it a go then please create a blog post, in which you can showcase your three favourite projects or those that you think reflect your style the best, and also a new creation for the call along the theme of New Beginnings and then link to it below.

The call will run until 2nd October.

There will be no further challenges posted on either blog until I have a new team up and running and I will put a post up here when we are re-starting.

I am having real issues with the linky thing so please visit Crafty Cardmakers on this post to post your link.

Spotlight Stencils

2011-08-01T22:34:00.000+01:00

Evening all! Welcome back to another spotlight challenge, before we move onto our new theme we'd just like to thank you for your ATC entries from our previous theme, fantastic wow!
We've got a few movers and shakers on the team at present and the loooooong school holidays aren't helping much so we're actually going to have a summer break and will be back in september all refreshed!

Our new theme today has been set by Gill who has sadly stepped down from the team as has Cazro so wishing them both good luck in the future and don't be strangers!

Gill has wrote a lovely tutorial for us on various forms of stencils so thank you for that! You can use any kind of stencils, if in doubt just ask!

gill

I have chosen stencils for my challenge this week you can use your stencils in any way you wish but as using embossing paste is my favourite method of using brass stencils i thought i would do a walkthrough demo for any newbies just in case any one fancies having a go, it is quite easy to do and can produce gorgeous results.

You can buy pastes in many different colours but if you are just starting out and are planning on colouring your design with chalks or mica or using metal leaf etc just invest in either a white or a translucent to start with as you are going to change the colour anyway. then you can add the gorgeous silvers golds and colours blacks reds etc as you build up your collection of pastes. I have used dreamweaver paste and stencils

Here is a pic of the general tools you would need to use embossing paste with a stencil, choice of paste-pallet knife-tub of soapy water to drop stencils into-low tack tape-card-stencil

first thing to do is to position your stencil on your chosen card and tape it down with low tack tape

next scoop a large blob of paste and spread along the top edge

now spread out the paste like icing a cake so whole stencil is covered

now using the side edge of your knife remove excess paste in as fewer sweeps as possible

clean off knife straight away with damp cloth peel off tape from around the stencil and carefully lift it off card drop stencil into tub of water so paste doesn't dry on

now you have your design stenciled onto your card leave to dry for at least an hour i like to leave mine overnight

i tend to do several designs in one go and leave them all to dry so i have a few to play with without getting all the kit out everytime i want to add colour or as in this case i am going to add gold leaf

here is the kit you would need to add gold leaf to the above design

gold leaf-heat gun- stamp and stick glue pad- stencil-craft sponge or nailbrush

right put the stencil back onto the design and tape into place so it won't move

use the glue pad and dab it all over the stenciled area so you have a good covering its quite a spongy pad so press down well so the glue gets in good contact with the paste underneath

now remove the stencil and heat the stenciled area gently until the glue is tacky to touch

when cooled place card over your tub of metal leaf i choose a mixed one for this project press plenty of the leaf onto the design and press on so it sticks to the tacky surface underneath you wont waste it as

you will now use your sponge or nailbrush to remove the excess leaf and brush it back into your storage box it does fly all over the place so make sure you are not in a draughty area and do it over a tub to collect all the excess to use again

when all the metal leaf is removed you will have a beautiful design as below. this techinique can be so effective and is quite easy to do with a bit of practice

this is the finished card

hope you like the effect, if you do, have a go at it and join in our challenge this week

another way to colour your image is with perfect pearls or mica to do this you would follow the method above but instead of using the glue pad use a veramark pad (no need to heat this) and add your colours with fine brush .when all colours are added remove the stencil and use a fluffy brush to remove any excess powder. i used this method with my feather stencil and matted it up and made a bookmark

here is a pic of it

you could use chalks with this method too

i also made a card using mat black paste using just the first stages above which were taping stencil to card spreading paste on removing stencil and leaving to dry. then used the image just as it was mat black.

here is the finished card

hope you like them

and hope it will inspire you to have a go with embossing paste and join us at crafty cardmakers this fortnight come over and have a play

gill x

Jacki

Now this is the first time for me with stencils I used a similar method to gill but instead of using paste I used versa mark ink,I stuck the stencil to card inked over it then carefully removed stencil cover inked area with emboss powder and heated the centre piece was done exactly the sane but on a seperate piece of card and then matted on to some red and black card

Sarah W

I've never really done anything with stencils but thought I would have a go with this. I have used sequin waste as a stencil plus a brass one which I drew with white gelly roll pen then dusted over with mica powders. It was very difficult to get this to photograph clearly so I hope you can make it out!

Jenni

I have used Distress ink with my stencil, using some cut & dry foam to apply the ink. I have kept it all very simple to try to make the stencilled image the focus of the card however the brightness of the ribbon is kind of defeating that purpose and I think I should maybe have used something a little less vibrant!

Spotlight ATC's

2011-07-18T14:42:00.001+01:00

Afternoon again and welcome back for another Spotlight Challenge! This fortnight we will be looking at ATC's. If you're new to them and don't really know what they're about there is just one simple rule - Artist Trading Cards or ATC's absolutely must be 3.5" x 2.5" Doesn't matter what shape or how many folds you put in but they must end up as 3.5"x2.5" as they are stored usually in wallets of those measurements. They are designed to be traded, preferably face to face with other traders although thats not practical sometimes and there are loads of online places with organised swaps or like Do Crafts you can browse folders and request to swap individually.

They take a little getting used to at first if you've never made one before but it gives you freedom to use techniques and materials you maybe wouldn't use for your cardmaking on a larger scale so have a go at this fun hobby!

Over to the girls!

Jacki

here I have done 3 ATC's printed off the images then attatched them to the atc I haven't made many of these I find them very strange for some reason I still like them though I think it's because you are scaling everything down

Paula

Ive been making ATC's since 2006....they are a fab way of trying new techniques and are a fab size to begin with, if you are new to crafting.
My ATC has a little bit of everything on it, text paper, paint,ink,doodling,rub ons and a printed image.

Eiglas

I've made three as I wasn't entirely convinced any of them would suit! LOL!

The first two are, clearly, a Liverpool theme and the last one a kitty-themed one.

I haven't made ATC's for ages and I know the more I make in a batch, the better they get so Judie's probably catapulted me into an ATC-making frenzy! LOL!

Jenni

I have only made one ATC for this challenge - I quite like making them and used to enjoy swapping but I haven't made any for a while so it was fun doing this one. I used spray inks applied with babywipes to create the background, then stamped, sponged and splodged on some more inks to make it a bit more interesting. I stamped the PaperArtsy image on a separate piece of card and coloured it with a mix of distress ink and Promarkers then cut round it and stuck it onto the base card. Finally I added some handmade mesh paper which I coloured with Promarker in the top corner to add texture.

Jack

The stamps for my ATC are all from Paper Artsy Bricks and Mortar sets. For the main background I used card that had been sponged with Brilliance Pearlescence inks, then I stamped my little arch directly onto this. The houses and flowers are stamped onto card that has been coloured with Starburst Stains, then Sakura Stardust pens added for that extra sparkle.

Sarah W

I've used a mish-mash of textures to make this ATC a little less flat than my first attempts last year and thrown lots of alcohol inks, stamps and flowers at it and some mica powders too for good measure just to add some shimmer.

Cazro

I started making ATC's in 2004, I still make and swap them within an ATC forum. For this challenge I have made 3 unrelated, to show a few different techniques. This is my first attempt at Steampunk, time I caught up with what's 'on trend'. The beauty of ATCs is you can do no wrong, as long as the size is correct, it is an opportunity to experiment and create what you will.

Vix

Like Ei I also went on the rampage lol! I've created 2 sets using encaustic wax and made 14 in total. This one is using the larger group of 3 fairies from The Stampmans Aspects of Design 59 Starburst Fairies set of stamps and I've used encaustic wax and the round stylus tool to create the moon. The rest of the set are on my blog to trade!

Winners!

2011-07-18T14:24:00.000+01:00

Good Afternoon all! We have our winners for 3 of our challenges below!

First up is the winners of our CHALLENGE YOURSELF sponsored by The Stampman and the random winner is - 18 - Anne Well Done Anne, please email me to claim your prize!

And our Top 5 in no particular order as it was so close to call!

25 - Hannah Clark

21 - Merry

50 - Marjo

35 - I don't do straight

23 - Carla

Top 5's for Parchment & Sentiment spotlights to follow

Well Done all and thank you for taking part!

Spotlight - Masking

2011-07-04T18:32:00.000+01:00

Evening all! Bit late today as I've been away for the weekend and a 3 and half hour drive home and I'm zoned out with a ton of washing and cleaning to do today eeek! How can 2 little people get through so many clothes in 2 days lol!

Just to say a huge Thank you all for your sentimental entries, we will do winners catch up this week (weds or thurs) so please check back then for all previous challenge winners.

Jack has set our new challenge so I shall hand over to her just now. We have a fab stamp by Crafts & Me designed by Lemon Shortbread up for grabs for this challenge called Flapper 2 Melody.

SPOTLIGHT ON MASKING-
Its my turn to set the challenge this fortnight and I'd like to see you using masking - This can be using a bought mask (or stencil), making your own, stamping your main image and masking over it before you do your background, using torn paper as a mask, but NOT a picture of a mask. I'd also like a short explanation of how you used your mask.

Jack

Oh I do enjoy a bit of masking! And masking on a One Layer Card has to be my absolute favourite thing at the mo! I decided to have my rhino escaping from his background and so have used masks for the rhino, to limit the background to a square, and to create the actual background. I shall put details on my blog of how I did this (with lots of pics of course!)

Paula

To create this, die cut a circle but use the negative as a mask to colour through , then stamp the face, I then stamped the face again on to a sticky note, cut out and placed over the image stamped on to the card and then over stamped with a background stamp.

gill

to make this card i used a dreamweaver stencil with paste and a few die cuts the masking part of the design was made with distressed ink worn lipstick and a crafters workshop 6x6 plastic template used a dabber to ink it up added a piece of ribbon and thats that.

Lin

I stamped the LOV couple first and then masked them off and stamped the Cuddly Buddly church. The sun was made by punching a circle into scrap paper and inking through it. Then masking the two main images off I stamped the larger of the trees, the smaller one was far enough away not to need anything masking. The backgrounds were made with Broken China DI and a couple from a Kaleidoscope pad for the ground. The images were coloured with promarkers.

Jacki

well this is my take on Jacks challenge for us this time I am not really very good at this part of stamping but love the effect the sky and gradd on image are all done using big and juicy ink pads and masking off areas to make clouds and land the image was also masked off so not to colour him with the same colours as sky and grass BPs are from MCS hope you like it

Jenni

I have used two images from Lavinia stamps, masking the fairy one while stamping the fairy houses as a background. I also used a masking method I saw in Craft Stamper magazine to stamp a flowery border - using a rectangle of paper held down with blu-tack and stamping a variety of flowers in different colours to create a frame. I used a combination of distress inks and Promarkers to colour the image.

Caz

I too used Lavinia stamps. I first prepared the background with TH Distress inks, Peeled Paint, Tumbled Glass and Dusty Concord, using a shaving type brush. I first stamped the centre houses, stamped them again onto a post it note, which I then placed over the centre house. I was then able to stamp the same houses to the left and the right without spoiling the centre houses. The post- it note is then removed. I completed the card by stamping the branches and pixies, adding some glitter here and there and a little colouring. Masking is an interesting technique, which can be used in so many different ways.

For my card, I've made my background with my Copic markers and my airbrush system. It's the first time I've tried it and I'm quite happy with it for a first attempt! I'll put details on my blog but basically, it's just torn card, used as a mask and moved each time.

In addition, I have used a Magnolia image of rope, a tour Jeep and tickets. The wooden 'bridge' is real veneer and alpha from stash (Brenda Pinnick I think).

Sarah W

The masking on this card is the panel on the left, done using my favourite technique of embossing then using shimmer mists, then ironing with newspaper to re-melt all the powder and take it off again! The stamp is a Stitchy stamp coloured with promarkers and a few touches of polychromos pencil. The sentiment is a diecut using the same paper as the background and then highlighted with pencil. I've added the pink bow as a baby card always has to have a gender-specific bow somewhere lol

Spotlight - Sentimental

2011-06-20T12:00:00.001+01:00

Good Afternoon and welcome back for another challenge here at The Spotlight Challenge! Thank You for playng our previous challenge of Parchment, not many entries as its quite specialist nowadays but we are an all rounder and like to push out the boundaries a bit more so its great to see some new and inspiring work!

Our new challenge for you today has been set by Jenni and she would like to see SENTIMENTS AS YOUR FOCUS. This means that the sentiment is the dominant part of the card and not a secondary element.

We dont have sponsors today so its just for fun (with a top 5) If you're interested in sponsoring the challenges in future then get in touch!

Jenni

For my card I wanted to make a big deal out of a simple sentiment and to make it the main focus. I stamped the Thank You sentiment and used a Nestie die to cut it and the backing card. I also stamped the other words and cut out the individual letters, inked round them and stuck them onto the cardstock, making a pennant out of the first two. I used backing paper from DCWV, the bird was cut out from another paper from the same set and the flowers and brads were from my stash.

gill

for this card i used embossed dp from craftwork cards also the frame under the sentiment is from craftwork cards too inked it with gold brilliance ink to make the embossing show up. added a gold bow and die cut the words bride and groom to turn it into a wedding card another quick and simple card.

Paula

Ive used a Tim Holtz quote stamp as the main focus of my card, and coloured using Distress inks.

Josephine

For this, I've gone for a very simple design. The sentiment is stamped and embossed in silver, and I've roughly sponged around it with silver ink. I've embossed some white card in my Wizard using a Cuttlebug and a Papermania folder, and matted everything with silver mirror card. I did intend to add some white flowers, but when I got to this stage, I decided I liked it as it was!

Vix

For this I went for a minimalist style which I'm playing around with lately. I stamped and embossed a hero arts sentiment and cut out with an oval template and stamped tapestry stamps around the edge, added glitter glue and mounted on holographc pink card and added some sticky gems.

Caz

For the sentiment I chose a Crafty Individuals stamp Hope, for I am sending this to a friend, who is not very well. Her favourite colour is green, so I used green hues with contrasting cream and gold. I distressed the paper, then used mica powders, green, yellow and blue to colour the sentiment. The green shiny card is from my stash, along with the flowers

Jack

My sentiment is from a Tim Holtz set by Stampers Anonymous - Good Thoughs. I bought the set just because of this one. I have teamed it up with an umbrella stamp from PaperMania's Stamping Chic - Party set (odd combination I know but it works) which I have stamped onto blue vellum. I love sentiment stamps and have managed to collect quite a few, lol.

Lisa

I've kept my card very simple. I used a sentiment stamp from Paper MakeUp, stamped in 'bamboo' memento onto ivory linen card, and added a tree stamp from a Kanban set, stamped in 'new sprout' memento. I then mounted the stamped square onto coredinations card.

Sarah W

Simple and me on cards don't usually go together! It was pretty difficult to keep it all about the sentiment but I had a stamp in mind which I have in my stash which I think is by Debbi Moore. I have stamped it and embossed it onto some gold paper and then cut with my nesties labels 4. I have used core'dinations paper, sanded and torn at the edge for the background and then used a key stamp of unknown origin embossed with gold to emphasise the travel sentiment. It was a bit of a nightmare to photograph but I hope you can see it!

For my sentiment this week, I wanted to use something that really is a true-ism for me and I'd come across this quote by 'Dilbert' creator Scott Adams a few months ago so had it in my mind before the theme was even chosen.

I made the quote myself and mounted it with a Nestie and a Tim Holtz die. The backing paper is from stash and I would be very grateful if anyone could identify it for me as I love it and only have a little left. The strange ribbon I picked up in North Wales a couple of years ago - I can't even guess what it's meant to be for but I liked it so bought a few yards.

Look forward to seeing your sentiments!

Spotlight on Parchment

2011-06-06T12:00:00.002+01:00

Good Afternoon and welcome back to The Spotlight Challenge! We have another cracker of a challenge for you this fortnight hosted by Jacki so before I hand over just to say THANK YOU for your fantastic 'Challenge Yourself' entries and you certainly rose to it! Its lovely to see you tryng out new things and mastering your new toys and techniques so well done!!

Winners will be announced n about 2 weeks, our latest winners post is below this one so dont forget to check!
Right I shall hand over to our hostess with the mostess for this fortnights challenge!

Hello everyone Jacki here one of the newbies on the team and what a great team it is too. Well this weeks spotlight has been given to me and I decided to go for PARCHMENT now I know it's not to everyones taste but please give it a go you will suprised at the results, there are are some fabby freebie patterns around and the only other tool you really need is a ball tool whuch we all have now I am no expert infact I think I have only had a go at it twice before but I do love the look of these cards and I don't think there is enough people doing it it is sooooo relaxing so come on peeps lets see all those parchment cards and here's mine for you have laugh at be kind.....

Jacki

I've not done much parchmentcraft - I'm not the patient type! LOL!

But I do admire it when it's done well and I know a few uber-talented crafters who perform this discipline the way it's meant to be performed - beautifully (...listen up Tina - I'm talkin' ta YOU!..)!

Unfortunately - I'm not one of those crafters so must apologize for my effort forthwith!

Parchment pricked and dry-embossed and coloured with Copics. Rainbow card behind.

Tracy

I have never done parchment craft before I mentioned to my friend I was wanting to try it and she loaned me a parchment grid. This is a metal plate with embossing sections and piercing sections. I took it to my craft group and mentioned I wanted to have a go and the lady sat next to me was able to give me some guidence on how to get the best from the template. I found it very therpautic and when I was finished was so pleased with the results

When I was using the paint fusion stamps I thought how nice the daisy might look in parchment, so I stamped on some parchment, embossed the lines, cut it out and mounted it directly to a card for a different look with parchment.

Caz

This is probably my fourth attempt at Parchment, I think I’m too heavy with the embossing tool for I invariably end up piercing a hole somewhere. Please don’t look for they will be there, but I do like to try different techniques, which is why I love this challenge group, the girls are so open to trying something out of their own comfort zones. For my parchment attempt, I went to Google, typed in ‘ Free parchment patterns’, found this , which wasn't too hard. I'm not a peel of person either but the corners needed a little soemthing. Placed onto rainbow paper. You don’t have to use parchment, vellum gives a nice finish. The aim is to try and to have fun, relax and learn from the challenge. I did.

Jack

It's just amazing what you can make with parchment! I made an elephant, lol! I traced the little beastie with white pencil and gold pen, added some colour to his roses and ankles with felt pens, made patterns by embossing, poking holes and cutting on a straight grid, then cut him out and fixed him together. I love parchment work and used to do it a lot till I started to suffer from carpel tunnel. The embossing really brings on the pain, but it is getting better so maybe I can start doing a bit more.

I so enjoyed making my elephant I got my patterns out and made another card. This one is a pattern by Judith Marsden that doesn't have too much embossing. I coloured the balerina with Derwent Studio Pencils and added the corners to the parchment using a Multi Grid (No. 6).

Wowzers won't you look at them!! I actually had the full kaboodle but gave it away a while ago (I know I know...!) Still the girls have shown you don't need anything too special to have a go at it and the results are amazing, I do love to see them as they are so dainty! Beautiful work girls and lets see some from you!

Winners!

2011-06-05T22:49:00.000+01:00

Good evening! Here are the winners for our recent challenges! We have a new challenge starting tomorrow so check back to see what that is!

We have an unclaimed prize from the previous winners so a redraw for the decoupage challenge by Mandy and that is.... 5 - Nathan who wins a CD by The Technique Junkie Newsletter

First up are Winners of the Inchies challenge by Cazro and that is ...10 Christina G who wins - well actually its a surprise but its a nice surprise!

And Cazro's Top 5 are...

1. Mustavcoffee
4. Meggymay
17 Wenchep
18 The Navy Wife
19 Ali Belly

And finally the winners of the bottlecaps challenge by Paula!

Paula has chosen #10 Susie Little who wins herself a cute Hero Arts sentiments set of stamps, well done Susie!

Paula's Top 5 are...

#6 Joan

#1 Dragonllew

#3 Valerie - Jael

#7 Lorraine A

#9 Claire C

Well Done all and thank you for your brilliant entries and we hope to see you taking the plunge again! Please email Vix to claim your prizes, NB any unclaimed prizes after 2 weeks are forfeit and redrawn.

Spotlight Challenge Yourself

2011-05-23T12:00:00.002+01:00

Welcome back to our Spotlight Challenge and today we have a treat for you! Before I get onto that just a huge thanks for all your entries to our inchies challenge! We still have a couple of unclaimed prizes from our previous challenges (Spotlight decoupage and Spotlight Own papers) so ladies please contact by wednesday as we wll be announcing the winners of the latest challenges then plus redrawing if not claimed!

Todays challenge is one we ran last year and was very popular, we are having a CHALLENGING CHALLENGE. We challenge you to challenge yourself to try something new, master a technique that kind of thing. You do need to tell us which bit of your design is your challenging yourself bit.

Some additional points -

You do not need to show a completed project for this ie where you're mastering a technique
You can try ANYTHING crafts related - try making a bracelet, item of jewellery, alter a tin it does not have to be a card.
It does not have to be the whole design, just part of it but please point out what you've challenged yourself on
We choose winners on effort not how good the end result is so if things don't go as well as you'd hoped show us anyway!

The fun of this challenge is simply having a go, stepping out of the safe box and just having a play!

We have a fabulous prize for this of course and that is a whole stamp sheet from THE STAMPMAN. I chose Aspects of Design 31 Swirly Flutters n Florals designed by Kay Carley as there is lots to play with on this A4 sheet including text, flowers and butterflies

So over to the team to see what we've challenged ourselves on!

gill

wanted to have a go at decorating candles for quite a while but never got around to it. but when this challenge came along thought it was the ideal time to pull my finger out and have a go so bought some plain pillar candles at a good price off ebay and set to.

the first one i had a go at was the poppy one

i stamped the image in gold onto some tissue paper then embossed it with some gold embossing powder. cut around the image then laid it on the candle covered it with some grease proof paper and pulled it tight around the back then heated gently until wax melted slightly and the tissue paper sank into it. removed the wax paper let it cool off then added some glitter glue, then let dry and added ribbon top and bottom

the second one was the wedding candle similar method except i stamped image and coloured it in with promarkers applied in same manner the scroll was stamped and embossed before applying. when cooled etc added some glitter glue and a few pearls. made a mat out of embossed grunge board sprayed with silver glitter spray.added ribbon and bow then wrapped in florist celophane and tied with florist ribbon and curled it

hope you like my first candle decorating efforts, hope to do more and sell them to raise money for the Asperger support group who run a youth club that ian goes to in our area.

Paula

Ive just completed 'The She Art Workshop', which has been created by Christy Tomlinson - Ive challenged myself to do a canvas in her style, I haven't completely copied everything she does as Ive added my own twist on things.The canvas is approx. 16" x 18" which happens to be the biggest canvas Ive ever done!

If you've ever wanted to do an online course, then I would highly recommend this one - it was my first ever time doing a course online or otherwise and I wasn't disappointed!

Jacki

This weeks spotlight is to challenge ourselves to do something different push the bounderies and do something either new or we're not to good at so to speak well there is plenty for me to choose from but I decided to challenge myself not to make a card and not to use my computer in any part of the design so this is what I came up with

Eiglas

I have a real problem using peel-offs. I don't care for them in general and use them only in moderation.
So here I've used them but in a different way. I placed the peel-off on some gloss-coated card (Astrolux) and brayered over it with my Big 'n' Juicy pads.

In the first one, I left the peel-off on and in the second one I removed the peel-off of the large rose before brayering over with a darker ink then removing the butterfly & the smaller rose.

You can layer like that a few times (..make sure you take off some of the sticky first so the peel-off doesn't damage the card...) before removing the last of the peel-offs to expose the original card colour.

Caz

Try something new is the idea of the Challenging Challenge, to challenge ourselves . Many will be surprised to see my chosen challenge, for I do NOT DO cute. The DT have been daring me to give cute a try, so I did. I didn’t feel any pain or discomfort making the card, for the blow was softened when I found a recently new make of cute stamps, with normal shaped heads and pretty faces. I apologise to those who have a deep affection for the alternative cute I refer to. Molly Bloom stamps are fairly new, made in the UK, designed in the UK by Clare. I used paper from my craft stash, made the flowers and leaves, used some card candy to decorate. For the ballerina’s skin and hair I used Promarker’s . The remainder I used Distress Inks, as watercolours. Another new experience for me was to use a Pearl Pen, Wow! I am so impressed, the pearls do actually keep their shape, I will be buying more as soon as I can.

Mandy

It's my Sister in Law's 40th Birthday today and after watching this tutorial on Youtube for a Circle Flip Book I decided I wanted to have a go. It looks pretty innocent enough when you take it out of the envelope but just look what it turns into when you flip it open and tie the ribbon in a bow:-

This is the view from the top, it measure 12" across as I used 4 sheets of 12" cardstock. You have loads of surfaces to decorate and I am really pleased with how special it looks. I always try to push the boat out with special cards for family and I think this fits the bill.

There are more pictures of the decorated sides on my blog if anyone is interested in seeing it.

Sarah W

So what has she challenged herself on with this card then? I hear you ask. It's the stamp. I am a confirmed Tildaphobe as the whole idea of the scary faceless children freaks me out! I have vowed never to touch them but I took the plunge and bought one to have a go with - if that isn't facing your demons I don't know what is! To celebrate the launch of my new blog I decided to make her dark and even more creepy, I toyed with the idea of adding some facial features like a mouth with fangs but I don't think I would be able to sleep lol

Tracy

Tracy challenged herself to make shaped cards for a wedding

Spotlight on Inchies!

2011-05-09T12:00:00.002+01:00

Good Afternoon and welcome back for another Challenge here at The Spotlight Challenges. Thank You for your bottletops entries, winners will be announced at a later date.

Today our new challenge has been set by Cazro and she has chosen Inchies - You must use a minimum of 3. The prize is a stamp grab bag - I'm off to Port Sunny next week so will find interesting stuff! I shall hanbd you over to Cazro now x

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Hi, I am one of the newer members of the D.T. This is my first challenge choice, I have chosen Inchies - your project MUST HAVE AT LEAST 3 X INCHIES.

Your first question may be, "What are inchies?" An inchie is either a piece of paper or card, you can use other materials but for beginner's I would advice the paper or card, which is cut or punched to measure 1" square. There are so many ways, techniques and designs which can be used. They can be a good area to start practicing some of the more advanced techniques. You can buy Inchie stamps, or use part of a larger stamp or even a large stamp to cover a number of inchies. Hero Arts have a good video to watch a project on You Tube, plus if you want to see more there are a number to watch on the same page here or Google Inchies. I have on my blog

3 cards with various numbers of inchies being used. The card above has been coloured with Distress inks, Tumbled Glass, Mustard Seed and Peeled Paint.

I sprayed the background card with water to achieve the effect. The inchies I cut from a previously prepared masterboard, which if you want more info go to here, then matted onto 3cm squares.

The bookmark below shows you can make more than cards, this is for one of my grandsons. I stamped and embossed with silver E.P. onto a grey card, matt and layered onto silver and black.

The stamp is from Elusive Images.

Tracy

Using Inchies was a first for me and I thought long and hard about what to use, I was having a rummage through my stamps and saw this tree from Kanban. I watercoloured the background with some ink pads, stamped the tree with Versamark, used my Micaboss and mica powders to colour it. I repeated the process and cut out inch size pieces which I mounted on top, a little like decoupage. Once I had decided what to do I enjoyed the process so I think I will use inchies again.

gill

This is first time i have made a card with inchies. Card is 8x8 backing paper is from stash the embossed piece is time pieces by tim holtz on coredinations whitewash cardstock the main image is from set from qvc i stamped the under one in lilac then stamped it again in blue and cut it up into inchies then decoupaged it with some of the pieces missing falling from main image then added 3 inchies stamped squares in the right hand side at bottom as accent

Josephine

I've never knowingly used inchies before, and I admit that, knowing this challenge was coming up, I bought some special stamps from Inkadinkado which I spotted. They're a lovely floral mix, and some will be ideal as sentiments with other, bigger images. Apart from the ferns and matting, all the colour in this card came from my Kaleidacolor ink pad in bouquet. The backgrounds, including the stamped areas, were made using a 'spritz and smear' method. The flowers are all hand made from white card using a variety of punches and I finished the card with a spray of Crafter's Companion Spray and Sparkle in irridescent.

Jacki

This is my card for our Inchies theme I have never used them before and my first idea was to use this image but to cut it into 1inch pieces and mount it to make the whole pic well what a pigs ear I made of that don't ask me how but it went all wrong lol so I started again with another print of the image from MCSs Sillhouettes

and then printed 4 at an inch square and used these as corners to set it off

Paula

The woman is an inchie stamp by Inkadinkado and the papers are by Pink Paislee which Ive roughly cut freehand (basically I dont measure or cut with a straight edge).

Lin

I have to confess to choosing my stamp because it was easily divisible by inches, 4x3 to be exact! Having stamped and embossed it I cut it out and layered it over some purple paper that I had. Then my mind began wandering off at a tangent as it so often does, and I started thinking about inches and corsets and before I knew it I had a theme for my card. I made my own background paper using another corset stamp in the same colours as the main image, and I designed my sentiment to be a play on the theme of inchies and the theme of my card, as the whole thing is meant to look like an advert for a corset making company. All sorts of dressmaking odds and ends have ended up here including a lace flower and you don't want to know where that came from *winks*

Lisa

Mandy

My card has been made with a set of rubber stamps from Crafts Away which are 1" squares. I have coloured the base layer and added a second layer with thin 3D foam to give depth to the flowers. The papers are from the Citrus Mat Stack by DCWV. This is the first time I have used inchies on a card

Uma

What a fantastic challenge this was! It's the first time I'd really considered using inchies and I've had so much fun that I'm definitely going to try it again. I used my brand new Penny Black set 'Nine lives' which suited this challenge very well. At first I was nervous because my ability to cut perfect squares with any trimmer is awful but I decided to use a more haphazard configuration to disguise my inability to cut perpendicular lines. Using inchies this way tapped into my scrapbooking creativity and I thought the addition of a circle with lots of sentiments (from the same set) would be great. I always find lovely 6x6 paper pads very inspiring and this time was no exception: Jillbean Soup's 'Blossom Soup'. I added a bit of doodled stitching, inking round the edges and felt some glittered flourishes would add that finishing touch. I used Inkadinkado's 'Artistic Creation' to stamp my flourishes and really went to town with my stickles. I hope you all have as much fun trying this challenge.

Jack

Inchies - oh how I love them. I even have a 1" punch that I bought especially for them cos I'm useless at cutting small squares, lol. Although I haven't actually made any in ages, which is why I just had to make a card for this challenge. I decided to make a little rural scene using my Hobby Art Countryside Scene-It stamps, watercoloured them using Whispers Pens, cut out the inchies with my punch and matted them onto some lovely dark green card. Then I just added a sentiment and some ric-rack ribbon. Et voila!!

I'd no idea what 'inchies' were so a quick Google and off my brain went!

The two lickle trays used to contain small elements (coins I think) and I've been waiting to find a use for them - and for this I think they worked well!

My Mum left me her button box which as a child, I used to spend hours playing with the buttons and sorting them out. The box she had, had a large tray similar to these miniature ones (I have that too!) so I came up with the idea of picking some of the older, antique buttons and placing them into the mini-trays as a bit of a memento. Full destructions on my blog!

Sarah W

This was another one of those Spotlights where I was thinking errrrr what's that? But I always find those the most challenging as it makes me try something new. So here are my inchies. I admit I have become a little obsessed with them and couldn't stop making them once I started... then I realised I had better stop and get them posted up here or Vix would tell me off lol

This is the first set I did, and it was the only set I intended to do, used one of my new Sweet Pea stamps stamped onto a background I had made with Mr Holtz's colour washes with stazon then highlighed the whole image with white gelly roll pen and gently shaded with a white polychromos pencil to make give it an almost ghostly effect... then I got a bit hooked:

For the second set I have done a few different styles including tin foil hand embossed and painted with inks, some stamps onto card painted with acrylic then again painted with inks and the others are a combo of metallic gilding flakes and added blingy bits.

Vix

I love inches and use them a lot particularly stampbord inchies. I actually tinkered with a few types for this challenge then ran out of time so this box I actually made a while ago but never blogged. Full destructions on my blog later :)

Jenni

Again, for me, inchies are a new thing, although I've had the Inkadinkado Birds stamps for a couple of years I've hardly used them before. I found it difficult to make them the main focus of my card and really had to keep going back to them before this layout came together! I have used Distress Inks for the stamping and for edging the inchies, I also spritzed the background grasses image with mica spray which gives the whole background a lovely glimmer which is hard to photograph. I added faux stitching round the image then stamped and die cut the bird, image and die are from PaperArtsy.

I also stamped directly onto the backing paper from 7 Gypsies, again the stamps are PaperArtsy. I used linen thread and a sentiment from Stampin Up to finish the card off.

Winners!!

2011-04-30T14:03:00.000+01:00

Good Afternoon - Hope you all enjoyed the wedding and are now soaking up the sunrays! We've revamped and redesigned and are catching up so here's all the latest winners for The Spotlight Challenge (Formerly Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Challenges)

First up the winners of the Make your own Design Papers sponsored by The Stamping Boutique

Josephine has chosen #29 Shirl Freeman who wins a choice of 5 images from The Stamping Boutique - Well Done Shirl, please grab your badge above and email us to claim your prize!

Josephine's Top 5 are (in no order...)

#29 Shirl Freeman

#44 - Joyce

#33 - Laney

#47 - Ms Petersen

#31- Claire C

Well Done Ladies, please grab your new Top 5 blinkie above!

Next are the winners of Mandy's Spotlight on Decoupage sponsored by The Technique Junkie Newsletter

Mandy has chosen #9 Terri Sherman who wins a fabulous CD from The Technique Junkie Newsletter. Well Done Terri, please grab your badge above and email us to claim your prize.

Mandy's Top 5

#5 Nathan

#10 Angie

#11 Gemma

#25 Lisa

#28 Crafty Amy

Well Done Ladies & Gent, please grab your new Top 5 blinkie above

Finally winners of Fiona's Spotlight on Tweens who will win a set of American Crafts Mini Marks

Fiona has chosen #22 Feebsy who wins Americanb Crafts Mini Marks set. Well Done Feebsy, please grab your winners blinkie above and email me to claim your prize.

And Fiona's Top 5 are...

#30 Wenche P

#25 Jill

#13 Dana

#29 Alethea

#36 Little Me

Well Done Ladies & Gent, please grab your new Top 5 blinkie above

Thank You all for your fantastic entries, we get so much pleasure browsing through!

Bottletops!

2011-04-25T12:00:00.004+01:00

Gosh where did the time go? I can't believe how fast its going and all this lovely weather around too!
We have a fabulous new challenge here today hosted by Paula so I shall hand over to her to introduce :)

Paula here and this is my first time setting a challenge, I hope you'll find the challenge fun and something a little different.

I'd love you to use Bottle caps either metal ones (new or used) or plastic ones - and remember, you don't have to make a card, you can make anything you like incorporating the bottle caps....anything from jewellery, card embellishments,fridge magnets or like me, a key ring.

To create my key ring, Ive made a hole in the bottle cap for the key ring chain, to do this I used a pokey tool - you just place the bottle cap on to a flat hard surface (I used an old chopping board) and then take the pokey tool and push through....a lot easier than it sounds! I then punched an image out to fit inside the cap - I added a small amount of glossy accents,then started to add the old watch parts, then another layer of glossy accents and finally I added a few more cogs to give the piece more depth - leave the bottle cap on a flat surface for the glossy accents to dry overnight. Finally,I added a key ring and chain and then made a little bit of packaging up for it to sit on so it makes it more of a gift.

Ive also made this,which could be used as either a magnet or a card embellishment - I've coloured the metal bottlecap with a gold Krylon pen, circle punched an image out and added a layer of glossy accents over the top,then added some seed beads and a little flower.

Jacki

Here is a card for the spotlight bottle tops to make this I used cuttlebug and nesties label dies for backing then using 3 bottle tops attatxch to centre piece of card take a small cupcake stamp (making sure it fits ) stamp out 3 times and colour with water pencils cut out they measures roughly an inch all round and glue in place the only other things I added were ribbon and sentiment

gill

Here is my design for using bottle tops. I decided to go with flowers not very original i'm afraid. The smallest flower was made with the sizzix die from tim holtz the rosette. the other flowers i made myself buy just scoring every 1cm a 12 inch long piece of paper not sure how wide they were as didn't measure just made one a bit wider than the other then folding as concertina. I dropped a couple of drops of alcohol ink in each top and then over sprayed them with gold glitter spray look lovey in real life. The dp is from dcwv glitter selection the butterflies and edging of the dp are both MS punches, the stalks of the flowers are marrianne dies

Lin

Here is my creation incorporating bottle caps. I had several ideas to use them, none of which came to fruition. In the end I have gone for this scrap LO of my lovely little puppy having a nap, which she seems to be doing all the time, unless she is destroying something, digging holes in the garden, or barking at the neighbours, and as Jack could tell you, she is the most disobedient little creature. However, when she is asleep she looks like an angel with a fur coat! I simply used dimensional epoxy stickers inside my caps, and I hope it still looks effective.

Vix

I was a bit nervous of this challenge but I do like a challenge and Paula said it was OK to use plastic - I go through so much milk the local shop laughs at me and tells me it would be cheaper to buy a cow lol! I remembered a project in Craft Stamper Jan 11 by Hels Sheridan where she recycled a box and used bottletops as the feet and I'd saved it in my 'to do' list so perfect time to have a go! I used an old dishwasher tablet box painted with gesso and acrylic paint then overstamped with paper artsy stamps in brilliance inks (brown, black and gold) and used a gold paint dabber around the edges and to colour the bottletops which I used as feet on the box and I cut another one up and threaded it through a brad to make the flower at the front. I now have a new mail holder and its recycled :) I'm loving all the samples from the girls I'm gonna have to get me some metal ones to play with now!

Jenni

I have made a small tag shaped card for this challenge. I started with pearlised card and coloured it on all sides with distress inks, sprayed it with glimmer mist and then stamped a few images and words directly onto the card. I then stamped the main Paoerartsy image on a piece of white cardstock, coloured it with Promarkers and trimmed it close to the lines. After sticking it to the card I printed out the face and coloured it again and punched it with a 1" circle punch which fitted inside the bottlecap, I finished it off with Glossy Accents and stuck it on to the figure with some fibre strands behind to resemble hair. The tag was finished off with some distressed multi coloured ribbon.

Judie

Hmm, this was a Challenge, a BIG Challenge lol, okay underneath all this is a milk bottle top !!! I punched out some flowers from paper I had sprayed with cosmic shimmer mists, added them in layers, attached a piccie of a lady in the middle, but you cant see her !!! added lots of little beads around the edge of her and some perfect pearls on the edges of the petals, then covered in sepia. Bottle tops again ?? I dont think so !!!

Mandy

I wanted to use a bottlecap as the centrepiece of a flower I had made on a Hana Ami flower loom. It was my first attempt and took blinking hours but it is very tactile and I'm quite pleased with it. The bottle cap is a silver one that was recycled from a bottle of vodka based drink. Fortunately it didn't have any writing on it but did have a dent from the bottle opener. I used an Imaginisce rub-on to add a pattern and a gem to cover the dent.

The doily was coloured with an inkpad in black to match the DCWV flocked paper and the black and solver velour ribbon. The sentiment is also from the DCWV paper pad.

Sarah W

This was a challenge I got my OH involved in as I made him drink the beer so I could use the cap. Whoever would have thought I would have got him in on a challenge eh? lol The bottlecap (Heineken - was nice apparently) is filled with tiny seed beads and is on a simple concertina flower. The flower stem is a cable tie wrapped round with florists tape and the 'leaves' are a scrap of ribbon.

Tracy

My late addition to the challenge is a fridge magnet using a bottle top, I used a fabric flower, added the bottletop which I filled with glitter glue so the bits on show would be sparkly, added a paper flower and a large gem for the middle. My niece has a collection of fridge magnets so guess where this one is going!

Eiglas

Bottle-top Locket

Materials

Metal screw-cap from soft-drink bottle or similar.

Vintage photo to fit ( I used a pic of my Aunt, who practically brought me up and was born in 1907!)

Glossy Accents or similar

Any embellishments you like - I've used a pair of metal earrings with a pierced Celtic Knot pattern and a disc pendant from an old necklace.

Circle of make-up sponge/packing foam if required. Full destructions on my blog!

Our little prize for the winner is a set of Hero Arts text stamps called LL997 Tiny Greetings

Please remember to read the rules before entering. You can combine with up to 9 other challenges but you can play as many times as you like. Please provide a link back to this blog in your post and no backlinking to work posted before 25th April. Challenge will run for 2 weeks.

Get your thinking caps on and have a crack at it as its always nice to experiment isnt it!

Cards for Teenage Boys (Tweens)

2011-04-11T12:00:00.000+01:00

Good Afternon and welcome back to Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Challenge! Thank You for your fab entries to our Decoupage challenge, winners will be announced soon!

Fiona has set a challenge for you this fortnight and that is to make a card for a TEENAGE BOY. Its one we often dread although some do love making male themed cards so face your fears with this one! Please remember to check our rules above and ensure your card is aimed at teenage boys (baby boys and cards for grandads won't suffice sorry!) and we do have a limit of 9 other challenges (10 including this one) although you can have a go as many times as you like.
If you do not receive a comment from one of the team it is probably because you haven't followed the challenge and/or rules so please do check and don't let it put you off playing again. If in doubt or unsure please ask, the DT cards are usually a good guide too :)

Our prize for this is a set of 4 American Crafts Mini Marks rub ons which are...

Jack Jr (blue)

Jack Jr Sidekicks (blue)

Frank (white)

Frank Sidekicks (white)

These include handy rub on letters, numbers, phrases and accents useful for cardmaking, scrapbooking and journalling.

Over to the team and their teenage creations!

Fiona

I have used a digi stamp from Mo Manning and coloured it with ProMarkers. The background paper is from a Smirk mens paper pack (it's little space invaders i think lol) I've matted the image and paper onto blue mirror card. Also cut a star from the same mirror card and added a button. And my sentiment is from Craftwork Cards.

Benita

Having a 14 year old, Top Gear mad, teenage boy in the house, helped with this one - he wants this as his birthday card, he says. The cars are from a Kanban decoupage sheet; layered onto an image that I googled and adjusted. All matted onto black grooved paper (wheel tread) and then onto glitter paper (asphalt, I'm told) and mounted onto a 14 x 14cm brushed steel base card. Four happy birthday stickers round it off.

Cazro Speed's the thing! Decided in making a card to suit a young teenager, dirt and mess wouldn't be out of place. I made an easel card, the section holding it up, made to look like a road, even with the stones to light the way. Neither are road bikes but if you don't tell, I won't either. The background is of course torn corrugated card, from a box, messed up with TH Distress Walnut Stain ink. Both the decoupaged bikes could be from Kanban, I'm not sure, I bought the sheet ages ago. I had fun making this card, something different to tackle.

Jacki

Heres my card for teen boy I went a football theme as most lads love footie I printed off the topper and some co-ordinating papers and followed a sketch then added a sentiment

Paula

The blue backing paper has had its edges distessed(roughed) and then wiped with black ink - I then did the same thing for the red panel but added some lines along the edges with a black fineliner pen. I then added the preprinted wording and main image...and added some doodled circles.

Josephine

I've used a Kenny K image for this card - it was a freebie a while ago, and it seemed ideal for this theme. It's coloured with Promarkers, and matted using my new diamond Nesties. The paper and sentiment were put together in Photoshop Elements. I've added some band names, largely on the advice of my daughter (who's 16).

Jack

I don't have any stamps for Teenage boys (I know, surprised me too!) so for my card I've used a freebie from Cuddly Buddly. It's a LillyBoo design. I watercoloured the image with Stampin' Up inks and used papers by twelve x 12. The senitment stamp is a new one from Inkadinkado and the cute little tickets are from a set by Hobby Arts.

Donna

I used a gorgeous Someoddgirl digi image that was a freebie a while back. How cute is he? The papers are DCWV. I've coloured this little dude in with Promarkers, Derwent pencils & Sansador. I used Spellbinders Labels 11, which I extented as it wasn't quite long enough. The letters are from a Sizzix alphabet die set and I then embossed them.The border has been punched with a Martha Stewart punch and a strip of DCWV paper layered over the top. I then added a couple of stars cut with Spellbinders Stars Nesties, a stamped Birthday and a brad from my stash.

gill

not my favourite type of card male but here goes 8x8 purple card craftwork cardstock the image is a digi stamp (i think charmed cards and crafts) precoloured for quickness.matted some DCWV card onto red mirri after die cutting the words love and wi.sh into it using sizzix movers and shapers with the tray. cut our 3 circles with spellbinders and punched in middle to make some cds. added ready made happy birthday matted on red sanded card then finished off with some deco strips from voila they are 12inch long made from sticky back felt material i cut them up using the words yippee and wow.

Jenni

I chose the Mo Manning image because it reminded me of my 15 year old son, who spends a great deal of his time on his X-box, and coloured the image with Promarkers. Used K&Co recycled cardstock and ran one layer through a ribbler to add texture then distressed the edges and sanded the surface with an emery board. Used recycled twine to attach button and added a sentiment from Personal Impressions .

Tracy

This time at Crafty Cardmakers we are looking for a card for a tween/teenage boy I think this has to be among the hardest type of card to make so I went for an older teenage boy with my choice. I used an image from Kenny K, coloured her with Promarkers and Sakura pens as I wanted a metallic look for her outfit and a glaze on her lips. I made a spring card using black, red and silver to keep the colours quite strong.

Spotlight on DECOUPAGE

2011-03-28T12:00:00.004+01:00

Good Afternoon and welcome back to another challenge at Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Challenges! Firstly we'd like to thank you for playing along with our last challenge and making your own design papers!
We do not have a Top 5 here but we will be picking out designs that have been 'Spotlighted' along the way. The winner of our previous challenge will be announced before the start of the next challenge so remember to follow and pop back to check. Thanks also to The Stamping Boutique for sponsoring us!

Onto our new challenge which has been set by Mandy and she would like to see you use DECOUPAGE on your design.
***Please note that in line with Crafty Cardmakers we have altered the rules slightly in that we only accept entries that have been entered in 10 challenges or less (including ourselves) but you can enter as many times as you like. Your work needs to be new and not back linked (ie published before the challenge date) and you need to link back to this blog. If you are unsure how to do this there are instructions here.***

We are sponsored for this challenge by The Technique Junkie Newsletter

"The Technique Junkie Newsletter was started in 2002 as a resource for Rubber Stamping Techniques. The Newsletter is published every-other month, featuring 15 or more stamping techniques in step-by-step format.

Each technique has a corresponding pictorial online, and a full page of inspirational artwork by the talented Technique Junkie Newsletter Designers. To date, over 600 Techniques have been published, by far the largest and most extensive library of rubber stamping tutorials available.

Our newest CD has over 79 cutting and embossing machine tutorials with over 850 techniques. The prize would be an Emboss or Die CD (Value $17.95). "

Wow doesn't that sound fab!

Mandy has kindly written a tutorial below on a couple of decoupage techniques if you haven't tried them before.

Mandy

An Introduction to Decoupage

This week's spotlight theme was chosen by me and it is all about 3D Decoupage. Traditional decoupage is decorating objects and items of furniture with paper cut outs and applying up to 12 layers of lacquer. However the majority of crafters know it as creating a 3D image by layering up parts if an image and mounting on 3D foam to create a highly dimensional focal point to your card or project.

If you have never done decoupage before I have created 2 projects for this spotlight to highlight different ways that you can ease yourself in gently.

First of all, anyone who shops in the traditional craft retail outlets will have seen the die cut decoupage packs which are the easiest way of starting. As you can see in the example below, all the layers are numbered making it very easy to follow. Just be careful taking them out of the main sheet, use tiny scissors to cut the paper tabs if they don't come out completely.

I would suggest that assemble one layer at at time so you don't get confused with which layer is next. If you are a complete novice this is the easiest way of not getting into a mess. You may find there are a lot of layers and in this case I would suggest that you use foam pads that only 1 or 2mm thick to reduce how deep the overall design is. As you can see in the image below, there are a lot of layers in this image so I used 1mm pads.

The only real downside with using pads may be that you have to be careful with your placement when you are layering your image as you generally only get one chance to place it an it is stuck.You may also want to try decoupage gel which enable you to create your own depth and can be more forgiving when you are assembling the layers.

I used this image to make an easel card as below:-

One of my favourite styles of cardmaking is to use a digital image that I have coloured and decoupage certain areas to add dimension and more interest. I have used a very simple image to show you how easy it is to create this with your own images, either stamped or digital.

In the example above you can see that Image 1 is the complete digital image. First of all you need to decide what the layers will consist of and this will dictate how many times you need to produce the layer. In my case I have used a graphics program to crop each layer so that I only print out the part I need. You may decide to print the full image and just cut it down with scissors. Just do whatever you feel comfortable with. As you will see on layer 1 I have coloured only the stem and the outside edge of the petals. This bottom layer can be your practice layer if you want to experiment with your shading as a lot of it will be covered up. You do not need to colour in everything but I would always suggest that at least put a colour edge around the next layer up so that you wont see any white gaps in between the foam pads. It will make your card look a lot neater and more professional.

Layer 2 I have again coloured in the same way. The final layer #3 is simply popped on the top and you have a completed, entirely coloured image with 3D layering.

You will see how the design of this flower lends itself to 3 very simple layers. You may find the image you choose may need more or less. How complex you make it is entirely up to you. You may find as you do more of this of this technique that you will take on more complex images with more intricate layers. It is a great way of using your images in a new way and making them more versatile.

I hope this tutorial will give you the confidence to have a go and I look forward to seeing your projects for this Spotlight on Decoupage. More information on the material used in these cards can be seen on my blog.

THANK YOU MANDY! Now over to the team!

Judie

This is a piccie that has been sat in my decoupage folder for a while, I cut out the piccie of the boat and layered them on, there are five, then the scroll was layered there are 3 and the compass I got from google, which i printed out 3 times. I added some eyelets around the frame and then threaded through some string which I coloured with walnut stain. More piccies on my blog xx

Benita

This little Teddy Bear has been in my stash for a long time, waiting for that perfect moment, and what a better way than Mother's Day. Tea in bed for that special lady. The background paper is from Pink Petticoat Vintage Rose Collection and the frame was cut on my Craftrobo. A length of pink ribbon with a big bow tied to is secures the top half in place. The roses are from Wild Orchid and the 'gem' from the local Poundshop! The little bear was pre-cut, so no fiddly bits to cut out, just pop out the five layers, a few foam pads and done.

Cazro

For the decoupage challenge I thought I would make a really simple card, if you've never tried it before, a one layer addition couldn't be easier and yet remain so effective. This is from a Kanban kit, I added from my stash the main card, which is a D.L. size and the light blue card I matted the girl onto. Her head, arms, dress and feet have an additional layer, secured with silicone gel. I made the flower posy by gathering a length of blue organza ribbon, securing it, adding a white flower, with silver and the same organza blue ribbon trailing down the card. On my blog I have also added the same girl but in her day wear, also decoupaged.

Tracy

I was asked to make a special card for a lady at my Mum's work so this is what I came up with, I cut the base card and the letters using the craft robo. The card was printed with a design from the Crafters Companion Flower Fairy CD in two different colours. I used gliding flakes on the edge to highlight the letters and used a distress ink to colour the flowers which have been glimmer misted as well. The little lady on the side is the Zinnia fairy also from the CD. I cut her with the robo and trimmed some bits so she looked right. She has been glamour dusted as well for some sparkle.

gill

just a simple decoupage this week using LOTV large printed images used 3 layers on this card. flowers are also decoupaged they were from a kit in my stash i think from qvc added a little glitter to centres. green Bp layered with pink spot paper cut with patp martha stewart then mat again edged with another martha punch this time hearts patp. sentiment is lotv stamp.

Josephine

I don't normally do a lot of decoupage. I finally decided that that's because I don't trust my cutting skills, so I got myself some die cut sheets! I returned to my first love here, stitching, using a pattern from 'Easy Embroidery on Paper' by Joke de Vette. The paper's from MME, and the sticky gems were coloured with Promarkers. The decoupage sheet is from a range called 'Prestigious Pearls', and the great thing about decoupage is that you can use it as a centrepiece to so many other techniques.

Donna

This one was something different for me. I don't usually do decoupage but I couln't resist when I saw these Gorjuss decoupage sheets. I adore these cute characters. I've made an easel card using Spellbinders labels, 10 added a Martha Stewart border and Marrianne D scroll. Punched out some tiny Xcut flowers and a few gems to finish.

Jacki

For this card I have used a free docrafts disc using daisy and dandelion image I haven't done decoupage like this in while so it was great to do it again the papers are off the disc tooI used a nestie to back the image and inked over it I have put a side view on so you can see depth

Paula

Ive had the Gorguss decoupage images for over a year but haven't known what papers etc to use with them - So, this challenge proved the perfect time to dig them out and see what I could come up with - Ive used Tim Holtz 'Lost and Found' papers and Ive roughly cut them freehand (its a new style/way I'm trying out at the moment)To finish,Ive used some gem swirls,Prima flowers and a stamped sentiment.

Lin

I have had this Fairy Poppet decoupage for a few years! She came in a kit from Create and Craft, along with the backing paper I have used. I'm with Josephine in that embroidery was my first love on cards and the embroidery in the corner here was from a metal stencil in a set called Cosy Corners, and the threads are from Joy Crafts. The butterflies were cut from butterfly ribbon.

Lisa

I've used a Forever Friends decoupage that was free with a magazine, and the matching papers that came with it. The cardstock is Bazzill, border was cut with the MS scallop dot punch, little flowers cut using an x-cut punch. Added some little pearls to the flowers. The tag sentiment is from Craftwork Cards, button from my stash.

Dee

I used this wonderful digi stamp by All That Scraps. I made 3 copies and layered the dress twice and the wings once. Isn't she super cute.

Thank You girls! Now over to you!

The Spotlight has moved!

2011-03-14T12:29:00.004Z

If you're reading this you've found us in our new home! We felt that we needed to expand a little so that the Spotlight Challenges can grow, we can run tutorials and step by steps so we've also added to the team and we'll all be covering both Crafty Cardmakers for their regular challenges and here the Crafty Cardmakers Spotlight Challenges.

What is a spotlight challenge?
We will challenge you (and ourselves!) to look at various ways of using a technique, product or style so it could be looking at making your own flowers and embellishments or using paint on your designs. They are designed to be a little more of a challenge than the norm around blogger as we feel that is the best way to learn and develop your skills is to actually step out of your comfort zones and try new things.

We have our regular team and we'd also like to introduce you to our new girls who will be starting between now and a couple of weeks time, some have never been on a team before so give them lots of encouragement! We have a huge array of talent and skills across the whole team so you will find inspiration that suits your tastes here for sure!
Our newest members are...

Paula - A New Beginning

Tracy - Scrapcat's Scribbles

Cazro - Cazro's Crafty Corner

Benita - Smudged! by Benita

Jacki - Cards by Jacki

Uma - A Sense of Uma

A warm welcome to you ladies and hope you settle into the team!

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Our challenge for you today has been set by Josephine and she would like to see you MAKE YOUR OWN DESIGNER PAPERS be that the inky way or the digital way, so long as you start with a blank sheet in front of you and make papers of your very own then its a pass! Its so rewarding making your own unique backgrounds and trying something you may have been putting off for a while so come and take the plunge and see what you come up with!

As always the challenge will be open for 2 weeks so plenty of time!

We're sponsored today for this challenge by The Stamping Boutique, some of the team have used images kindly provided by The Stamping Boutique :) They are offering the winner 5 digital stamps from their store and there is something for everyone!

"Tracey Malnofski's resume reads like a whose who of the Stamping Industry. Besides being the owner and a designer for The Stamping Boutique, she's also a stamp artist for Unity Stamp Company and has also worked for InStyleStamps, Squigglefly, and The Digi Shack. Her "Boutique" has it all - fairytale, whimsy, sentimental . . . and Candy! I do not envy the winner who has to choose digi stamps from all those delicious choices. Yep! A winner will be randomly selected to win 5 digital stamps of their choice from Tracey's Boutique!

Here's what Tracey says about her Stamping Boutique.

"The Stamping Boutique" is dedicated to quality products and original artwork. We not only provide wonderful digital images in our store, but also several lines of red rubber images. Our designers are chosen for their character and personality, as well as, their beautiful designs. We work hard to give you our very best. Thank you so much for having us as your sponsor this week."

Store: http://thestampingboutique.com/
Challenge Blog: http://thestampingboutiquechallengeblog.blogspot.com/
Monthly Challenge: http://thestampingboutiquechallengeblog.blogspot.com/p/monthly-contest.html

Now over to the team and our Make our own Designer Papers samples!

Josephine

This card uses an image generously provided by our sponsor, Stamping Boutique. It's coloured with Promarkers. I made my paper for this card using a 'messy' technique - various mica sprays and daubers which I spread on a non-stick sheet. I then put some light card into the result. When it was almost dry, I added some glitter glue which I spread with a finger. The border was done with the Tonic system, and I've glittered the cut-out flowers with Glamour Dust.

Also from Josephine

This card uses a Ching Chou Kuik image from Sweet Pea Stamps coloured with Promarkers. The papers have been created digitally in Photoshop Elements. If you check out my blog, you'll find my first ever attempt at a tutorial showing how I created them! I finished the card with some flowers and lace and some punched ferns.

Cazro

I am so excited for this is my first offering as a DT member of Crafty Cardmakers.

I made my background design paper to blend with my main stamped image. I created the DP using an A4 sheet of white card, using TH Distress inks and a piece of Cut & Dry foam I added random splodges of colour to cover the card, using

Mustard Seed, Scattered Straw Bundled Sage, Antique Linen and Weathered Wood.

The first 3 were used to colour the main image where I used a brush to apply the inks, before I stamped with the Sanctuary stamp from the Paperartsy set HP1006. I then added a piece of DP to a yellow card, stamped the dragonfly from a Debbie Moore set Butterflies and Dragonflies coloured with above colours, added small jewels and added to the card.

Jacki

this is my take on make your own papers the main bp is done using big and juicy ink pads cover a piece of card or paper in chosen colours then stanp an image on top with versa mark emboss with clear powder then go over the whole piece with black ink I used distressed ink then buff it up with kitchen roll. The smaller piece is done similar but instesd of stamping and embossing I used a crackle paint the tear the edges and went round those with black crackle

Jenni

I have used the digi stamp She who Paints the Forest provided by this week's sponsor and coloured the image with Promarkers to match the backing papers I created digitally when I was experimenting with designing papers to work alongside some of my own digi stamps. These ones were all based on a leaf design, I used Adobe Illustrator CS5 and drew a leaf shape which I copied and pasted into repeat patterns - very laborious - I'm sure there must be easier ways!!

Dee

My card base was made by stamping a soft grey background stamp and then I went back and colored some leaves with purple Copic, and added lots of sparkle.

Here's my card. The four papers are my own Eiglas designs from my 'Roseheart' kit.

Flowers are 'Wild Orchid', leaves are Sizzix, the metal corner is Tim Holtz and my altered button will be featured on my blog on 29th. March. I've not made a greeting for it but think someone might like it for their Mum....?

gill

made my 6x6 bp using piece of card covered in double sided adhesive sheet then drew wavy line with scalpel just deep enough to go through the adhesive sheet did this 3 time then removed a piece at a time covered sticky area with chosen metal leaf, rubbed off excess with craft sponge then repeated it on next area until whole card was covered in metal leaf silver gold copper and mixed card then decorated with die cuts in complimentary colours

this second card is made using a digi image from our sponsor it's called she who paints the forest.this time the BP is made with alcohol inks on 4 pieces of white gloss card i then stamped some tim holtz stamps in black onto the background

i coloured the fairy with my inktense pencils added a bit of glitter and cut her out and put her on 3d foam added a few glass beads like drops of paint

Sarah W

I have used ching-chou kuik's Black Rose Fairy coloured with promarkers for the main image. The DPs were created using Tim Holtz' Adirondack Colour Wash sprays in stream and raisin colours over an embossed in lilac over some Inkadinkado stamps. Behind the main image there is a piece of paper which was made using the same colours, but then dry embossed and rubbed over with embossing ink then sprinkled with moonglow powders to give it a little sheen. The prima flower came from a pack at QVC outlet and the ribbons are from Hobbycraft in the sale.

Judie

My choice of Digi images from this weeks Sponser is Thread - For my papers I sprayed two sheets of paper

with Cosmic Shimmers over a mask, then cut them up and stuck them down - I used some PEEL OFFs (I know, I hate them !!!) and then I cut a thin piece of the shimmered paper and threaded the needle. I added some faux sewing around the edges.

Lisa

I've used an image from Digistamp Boutique, coloured with promarkers with lots of glamour dust for sparkle. The papers were made using ivory linen cardstock, stamped with Stampin' Up flower and dot stamps, using memento inks, then inked around the edges with pink memento ink. Added a digi sentiment from TLC, flowers, button and raffia lace from my stash.

Vix

I've used a gorgeous image from the sponsor; The Stamping Boutique called Hidden and coloured her with promarkers and coloursoft pencils. My papers are made with a purple and green cosmic shimmer mist, the green I've embossed using a butterfly plate, the purple I've heat embossed with a flower cling stamp by Hero Arts. The butterfly in the corner I've probably had since my first month of crafting and it just seemed to fit this card!

Paula

Ive created my DP using a blue Distress ink sponged onto a white panel and then stamped the leaves in a blue Adirondack ink - I also rubbed this ink around the edges of the panel...finally I stamped a dotty stamp in the blue Distress ink and then wiped over the panel with the sponge to smudge the stamped images.

Lin

I've made my 'paper' with Angelina Fibres. Creating two duo coloured sheets which I then layered over one another on a card blank to create a multicoloured look. I stamped into opposite corners with Memento Grape Jelly a small flower which matched the flower in the image, to give the background more detail. The image, coloured with Inktense watercolour pencils, is from our sponsor, The Stamping Boutique, and is called Swan Song, isn't she just gorgeous. The Angelina Fibres give the background a soft shimmer.

Hope you're brave enough to take the plunge too and design your own papers!

DT CALL

2011-02-21T00:47:00.000Z

We are expanding Crafty Cardmakers to allow room for it to be more of a learning resource as it was intended so we are moving our regular spotlight challenge here which will run fortnightly as usual, just in a different place! It will also give us space to add more tutorials and spotlights on creations.
The Spotlight Challenges look at a STYLE, TECHNIQUE or PRODUCT and show various ways you can use them so we're looking to expand the team slightly to even the numbers out.
Here's the run down!

We're looking for crafters who are willing to TRY, who are interested in having a go. We do not offer reward though we may at times have occasional sponsors who may offer items to use for the challenge (usually digital) This is OPTIONAL.

We are looking for people interested in techniques, trying different styles and products (You dont have to buy anything for challenges)

Your commitment is 2 creations every 4 weeks on either Crafty Cardmakers main challenge or The Spotlight Challenge (You choose yourself) and to contribute ideas to the team, set a challenge or spotlight and leave comments on entries (You are assigned a number)

You do not have to be experienced, newbies always welcome, the main thing is you like to PLAY!

Sound OK? Pop me an email with the following...

Your Name
Your blog address
Your experience including styles & techniques you like

We do not have a minimum/maximum term here so its what suits you.