Southern Girls Challenge - Let's Go Retro - Smash that Stash!

I'm really proud & excited to announce that I am on the Design Team for Southern Girls for 2017. This challenge was started by a couple of kiwis Louise & Tracy way back in August 2010.

Today's challenge is a  RETRO challenge, designed to have you digging into your stash and getting rid of some of those older supplies that might be hanging around unloved. So for this fortnights challenge we would love to see you use some Buttons and or Brads on your projects.  Remember we are not just a card blog, we love to see scrapbook layouts, art journal pages and all types of papercraft.

The rules are pretty simple so do click on the Southern Girls pic above or on the LHS of my blog to take you to the challenge site & check out all the design team's cards, tags & even a scrapbook page using buttons or brads.

I'vs used one of the sponsor's digital images & I know exactly who is getting this card my delightful great niece Tyla-Marie who has been reminding me via Messenger for weeks she is turning 13 this coming weekend.

So this is Little Star by ppinky dolls:

I had a wee problem with a new Wink of Stella pen adding a huge drop of sparkle to my right cloud, so I mopped it up & added more outside the left  one too. At the time I was like OMG as it was the day before I had to submit my card, but I have to be honest I really like the look now. Maybe I'll start a new trend!! I added some glossy accents to make her boots all shiny as well.

Well this challenge was a challenge as I've never coloured such a complicated face or hair before & I know I have a long way to go with my colouring but I'm really happy how she has turned out. The digital image actually has a lot of shading which makes it easy to colour up. I've added some wee dots to that adorable wee bunny to add a bit of texture & again I love how s/he turned out too.

So I hope you can join in on the Retro challenge (see the SG Challenge site for the rules) and as always we have  2 amazing sponsors for this challenge, so there's goodies to be won too .....

✿ Karen ✿

So, so in love with Beautiful You

I went to a  launch party at my friend Debbie Lamb's place last Sunday & got to play with the new stamp set Beautiful You which I think is the most pinned stamp set on Pinterest from the new Occasions Catalogue from Stampin' Up!

 I also got to play with the new watercolour pencils from SU! I was going to resist buying them as I thought I could colour the girl with my Copics when I got my own stamp set. That was a great theory until I tried them, thanks Debbie!!

 I am no expert at watercolouring pencils but was blown away by how creamy they were & so easy to use. We just scribbled on a bit of colour & then using an aqua painter pulled the colour out I went back in when it dried & added a bit more depth of colour at the sides & folds.

The skirt is just a splodgey stamp in the set, so a really quick & easy card to whip up which was just as well as the ladies in attendance were so busy chatting about Christmas & New Year we nearly forgot to make our free make n' take but I think we all whipped one out in 15 mins easily.

The DSP used is also one of the freebies from the Sale-a-bration (SAB) catalogue. I do love SAB as for every $110 I spend I get something free, and who doesn't love free ;)

Recipe (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamp set: Beautiful You
Ink: Stazon Black, Calypso Coral pad & watercolour pencil
Paper: Whisper White, Carried Away DSP (SAB)
Other: Aquapainter, dimensionals

Thanks Debbie for a fun & happy afternoon chatting with a wee bit of crafting thrown in.

✿ Karen ✿

My happy Christmas mail

Just sharing today the hand created cards I received for Christmas 2016. I'm not sure where you all live but in New Zealand NZ Post has reduced our mail deliveries to every 2nd day. We all get too much mail delivered to our computers in this modern age. I still love receiving mail & especially if it's hand-made so a BIG thank you to my friends who sent me a card but a BIGGER thank you to those who MADE me a card for Christmas.

I'm just going to post these in the order I snapped them. If they have a blog their name will be bolded & hyper-linked.

From my friend Debbie Lamb, lots of gold embossing, foil & a fab Santa bringing me gifts & he did as he also had a few wee catalogues as a surprise with the card, which made me real happy to see.

From my friend & work colleague Frances Murray who brightens the end of my working day as she arrives at 5am at the start of her working day. It's always nice to have a natter & a drink with a fellow crafter. I'm pretty sure this is my Memory Box Grand Madison window box which she borrowed, teamed with Stampin' Up!'s falling snow EF & sleigh ride edgelits & matching words. I know she wanted to create a snow-scene looking out the window.

From my friend Donna Griffiths, who printed off this image & then coloured it all up with pencils beautifully, what a lot of work but so adorable:

From my friend Rachael Knight a stunning card using a stamp set I din't even like when I saw it in the last mini catalogue from SU! called Frosted Medallion I really like their new in-colour sugarplum something (you can tell I'm no longer a demo). I also really like that the panel is not square it really adds something to the card.

From my friend Sally Williams, Stampin' Up!'s cookie cutter punch & deer.

Each of these cards bought a smile to my face so thank you all for taking the time to make & send me a card.
✿ Karen ✿