Top Tip Tuesday Challenge - Get Stitching

Good Morning!  It's time for another Top Tip Tuesday Challenge and this week I've done a tutorial on one of my favourite techniques, using the sewing machine.  I hope you'll check out the tutorial over on the challenge blog and I hope you'll find some hints and ideas to help you sttich on your card projects, whether you're a beginner or an old hand at sewing.  I did an enormous amount of sewing at one point and I still teach quilting, my obsession with cardmaking began when I went into the wrong Hall at a big craft exhibition and found rubber stamping lol!

OK on to my card and the snowdrops are flowering their hearts out at the moment, a little later than usual.  It's good to know that spring is coming!  The image I used is from a Fred She Said set called Spring Flowers which come with a paper pricking frame as well as digi images of crocuses, daffodils and tulips, which pretty well sets you up for all spring eventualities!
I've based my card on this week's Friday Sketchers Challenge and stuck to a cool green colour palette.  The snowdrop is coloured with Copics, I've inked the embossed circle with Pine Green Distress Ink, DP is Prima, border punch Martha Stewart and flowers made from a Little Claire die.  I've sttiched a double border round the image and then a straghit line around the DP.  Can't wait to see all the sttiched creations, hand, machine or faux, on this week's Top Tip Tuesday Challenge!
My card is entered for:
Friday Sketchers Challenge - sketch
Digital Tuesday - use a die cut
Bunny Zoe - flowers everywhere
Challenge up your Life - monochrome
Digi Doodle Shop's Best - nature

Phindy's Place Challenge #38 - Valentine or loved one

Good morning, it's Friday - hooray - so it is time for a new Phindy's Place Challenge.  This week we're making cards for Valentines Day or for a loved one. I've used the adorable image "We meet again" from the Phindy's Place store.  This image is very evocative of my marriage:  two people with a terrier constantly doing its best to get between us lol!  Don't forget we also have a Design Team Call at Phindy's Place, you need to let us know by 22 January if you'd like to joni the fabulous Phindy team, check out the details here.

I tried something new with my digi, printing onto glossy cardstock so that I could try brushing inks around to get shading to the ice.  I found my image printed just fine onto glossy cardstock but it was tricky to get the ink really dry so it didn't smudge.  I used the heat gun for ages on this one before I inked it with Distress and Memento inks in a variety of colours.  Then I was worried it looked too grey, so I gave it too coats of iridiscent glitter spray and now it's full of sparkle:).  The figures are decoupaged onto the glossy card, after colouring with Copics.  I didn't have big enough pieces of mirri card to mat my scene so I rubbed my embossing inkpad over the deges and covered them with silver embossing powder, it doesn't look the same but it's a really nice effect.  I saw this on Stamp TV first and it's a great idea, thanks Gina!  The red DP is from an Artylicious CD, elegant brocade I think,  the background is Cuttlebugged and the sentiment has been inked, it is from Craftwork Cards.

My card is for the following challenges:
Card Patterns -sketch
Papertake Weekly - cold and frosty morning
CD Sunday - something new - 2 new to me techniques.  Also THANK YOU for my prize from last week!

Meljens Designs - square or round cards
Do you stack up? - distress it
Pals Paper Arts - Valentine
Some Odd Girl - embossed
Bunny Zoe - love is in the air
Woodware USA - hearts
One Stitch at a Time - love and Valentines
Wags n Whiskers - with love
Crafty Cardmakers - red and a die cut
Cupcake Craft  -something new - techniques
Sweet Stampin - try something different

All through the city

A few weeks back I entered a favourite song challenge.  Having watched Oil City Confidential and rediscovered Dr Feelgood I had "All through the city" on the brain and made a watercolour card of a jetty.  Fast forward and I STILL have the same song on my mind, here is the same song, different viewpoint, for the Charisma Cards Challenge of favourite song.  "I've been searching all through the city, see you in the morning down by the jetty".  This is another card from the Sarah Anderson class I took at the Stamp Attic.  It's a Hero Arts stamp ( I need this stamp LOL!), image stamped onto card sprayed with Adirondack Inks, blended with a wet wipe.  Further images stamped onto paper coloured with the same wet wipe.  Sentiment is Wendy Vecchi.
My card is also for the following challenges:
2 Sisters Challenge - Monochromatic
Bunny Zoe - Distress It
Paperplay Challenges - In Stitches