Poe Appreciation Day

In 2016 the Mayor of Baltimore declared Edgar Allan Poe's Birthday, January 19th as an official city- wide Poe Appreciation Day. At the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity we thought we'd join the fun with a 5-day progressive blog hop.

Here is my card for the hop, featuring one of the new and fabulous stamps released today, this a new zentangle raven from Lost Coast Designs, dressed smartly in his hat and heading to the party : 

The raven is stamped and coloured with copics, then I fussy cut him and added a hat with a pom pom. 

The background is made using nuance powders and the new zentangle feathers stamps. 

To get the effect above I sprinkled some different colours of  nuance powders onto my craft mat, spritzed it with water and then stamped into it and onto the water colour paper. I love the colour variations. Water soluble powders are so versatile. I lightly sponged the outside of the card with black ink.

The words 'Its a Party!' are from the Party Words set.

I hope you are enjoying the hop, and perhaps feel inspired to add your own creation :)

Read more about the bop, and the new release from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda :

An InLinkz Link-up

Thanks for stopping by, Nikki x

Aud Creatures

Oh my ... the new release from Lost Coast Designs is so cool, I am loving these new Aud Creatures.

But of all of them, this is my fave, how cool is he, featured in my card :

The awesome Aud dude is coloured with copics, prisma color pencil and gel pen, then fussy cut. There is actually a little detail from his cape that I removed because I thought the background was too fussy for it.

For the background I used some card stock that already had some colour on it from a previous project, then I added more acrylic paint with a brayer. I stamped in the background with co-ordinating colours using images from the Leonardo accessories set. Finally adding some washi strips, and the words which were typed on my typewriter.

Thanks for stopping by x

Looking forward to 2017

For my design team make at The Lost Coast Portal to Creativities and their new 'Anything Goes' challenge, I have made an art journal page ... 2016 was not a good year for many people, and I don't know about you but I sure am looking forward to ringing in a New Year :

The stamps I used are, Back view of woman, spray webbing background stamp and Old typewriter alphabet SOTA. 

Happy New Year, I hope its a good one for you, Nikki x

Christmas Gift Tag

The challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity is entitled 'Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas'. Lost Coast Designs and Carmens Veranda have some awesome and unique Christmas images. Check them out :)

Here I have used the awesome Snowman image from Carmen's Veranda.  What I liked most about him is that he is over 4" high and easy to colour and fussy cut, great for lots of Christmas gift giving.

I also used the snowman to make an ATC. In this monochromatic ATC I would like to acknowledge that not everybody has a great time during the festive season. It fills some with dread and sadness. Its not always jolly :(  The blue also is for the cold and icy snowman.

This background of the ATC is made with paint chips that I cut up, edged with blue gelli roll pen and clear embossed. I used the same Snowman image as above and edged the ATC in brown ink. Words are typed on my typewriter. I used a die for the icicles at the top.

Thanks for stopping by x

It's a Party !

It's that time of year ... the season of the (dreaded !) Christmas party ...

This gorgeous gal from the Mini Manga set by Lost Coast Designs is certainly looking the part, heading out for the first party of the season :

The girl is stamped and coloured with alcohol markers, then her dress and boots are clear embossed. She has been fussy cut.

The gorgeously rich background is made with Nuance powders by Magenta, and when it was dry, I stamped 'It's a Party!' from Party Words by Lost Coast Designs and embossed them in white. I added a little red washi tape and matted the ATC front onto red card stock.

Hugs and best wishes as we approach the holiday season, Nikki x 

Contemplating Gratitude

Today I wanted to share with you a postcard I made for this months thankful challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, featuring the beautiful image from Lost Coast Designs  'Head in Hands' :

The background is made with nuance powders on water colour paper. 

In the background I have also stamped a long swirl flourish, and I stamped some butterflies from the Butterfly Set. The words are typed on my typewriter.

Thanks for stopping by x

By the light of the silvery moon

Today I am sharing another make for the 31 Days of Halloween, are you following the daily blog hop? If you missed any, don't worry, you can go back and check it out :)

I have made a card, featuring the awesome background stamp from Lost Coast Designs,  Tree Branches. I stamped this onto clear acetate with stazon ink. The background is made with Nuance powders . When it was dry I cut a shape and slotted in my glitter embossed moon. The adhered everything together, typing the words on my typewriter

Thanks for stopping by x

A Murder of Crows

If you are a follower of all the wonderful makes and daily blog hop for the 31 Days of Halloween I hope you are enjoying the vast variety of projects shared, its just wonderfully creative and inspiring.

My 31 Days of Halloween make for day 19, features the awesome three birds stamps from Lost Coast Designs, and I called this collection of ATC's 'A Murder of Crows' :

The birds are stamped and embossed in white on yupo paper that I had colourised with alcohol inks. I then fussy cut them. And added a little black pearl dot for an eye.

For the background I used distress inks to color the card stock grey, then I stamped one of the images from the ATC Grunge Set in a darker shade of grey and then Flying Birds in black. I edged the ATC with black distress ink and cut think strips from the yupo paper for the bird to stand on.

The words are typed on my typewriter. This caw caw noise is one I hear a lot, there are many crows around where I live, and they often come in large groups to the trees in my backyard. Bit boring though ... I just get the black variety here, not these lovely Halloween coloured breed. LOL

Why not check out the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity for inspiration and all the other links to the daily bombardment of creativity :)

Thanks for stopping by x

When you travel you see yourself in a new light

Today there is a brand new challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, Anything Goes. As much as I like the challenge of creating to a theme, its fun to be free and create whatever your heart desires :)

I have used this gorgeous stamp from Lost Coast Designs. Its her first inking, and I loved her even more than I thought I would. Meet Feather Diva with Face : 

For this card I created a water color background with nuance powders and a water spray bottle. I firstly added the orange and red, then when it was dry I added the blue across the top and made it run with the water. 

Feather Diva was stamped into the background in black, then I also stamped her onto plain white card stock and also onto a co-ordinating colorised piece of card stock. This was all fussy cut, her face and feathers colored with copics. I paper pieced her dress. I used a charcoal pencil to add some shadows and the ground. I like to ground my images, rather have them floating. I also used a saying from Travel Quotes and lightly stamped images from the travel stuff set in the background. 

Thanks for stopping by

Hugs, Nikki x

Jester ATCs

Today I want to share some Artist Trading Cards (ATCs) I made using the Jester Square from Carmen's Veranda. There is a Hip to be Square challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, daily inspiration .. check it out :)

The wording 'Cracking Up' (as in laughing uncontrollably) accompanies the jester - well at least I hope he's funny, being such a great court entertainer.

So many techniques in these three little 2.5" x 3.5" ATCs. The background is sprayed with Lindys Stamp Gang sprays, then I stamped in a combination of black and brown archival ink. Some images I then colored with markers, and black and white gel pen highlights. I then added a layer of crystal effects, followed by a layer of crackle glaze. When it was dry what I ended up with were really deep, large cracks :

The letters were die cut, sponged with distress ink and glued on. I added layers of card stock and knotted twine. To emphasize the humorous side of this ATC, I added a Ranger Embellishment and I wrote LOL (laugh out loud) on a circle then added crystal effects to the hole. I like how it stands up prominently.

The three ATC's were all slightly different, which is your favourite ?

Thanks for stopping by x

Believe

Morning today I am sharing a card I made for the new challenge over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, Water color background. I really enjoy this look and it is complimentary to so many images. For my water colour effect background I have used nuance powders.

My card features one of the awesome new zentangle feather stamps, Zentangle Feather 1 from Lost Coast Designs :

The feather was stamped onto white card stock and fussy cut.

I used nuance powders in the background, in green and yellow, then stamped the feather stamp without reinking it, so it gives a light, shadow effect.

I added the twine, buttons and white embellishments and stamped the word 'Believe' from the Misc Words stamp set. I sponged lightly around the card, and the final touch was to matt the decorated card onto a white card base. 

I really like this zentangle feather, especially how the traditional black and white zentangle pops off the colored background. 

Thanks for stopping by x

Whimsical Birds and other awesome new releases

There is an awesome new release at Lost Coast Designs, which includes whimsical birds,  zentangled images and more. Check out all the stamps HERE.

We are having an event at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity to celebrate the new release.

For my card I have used this darling whimsical bird, her name is Ruthie :

Ruthie is stamped in brown memento ink and colored with alcohol markers, prisma color pencils and gel pen. I added diamond glaze to her eye, then fussy cut her. 

For the background I put overlapping strips of distress ink onto my craft mat, in blues and green, spritzed it with water and placed the card front down into it. What a cool and easy background it makes. The water diffuses any clear lines between the colours.

I then inked up background stamp Sunflower in the matching green of the ground and stamped it over the green. I have used this sunflower stamp quite a lot, I really like it. I also lightly stamped Misc Words in the background. I reinked and stamped it onto white card stock and cut out some words I thought would best describe Ruthie. These were edged with matching distress ink colours.

I added Ruthie to my card front with dimensions, and using a charcoal pencil and blending stub I added some shading behind Ruthie. Finally I added the words and matted the card front onto a white 4.25" x 5.5" card.

Isn't she gorgeous. Why not check out the daily inspiration from the design team and see many other  Lost Coast Designs stamps brought to life ...

Thanks for stopping by, Nikki x

I'm a Lover not a Fighter

With Fathers Day approaching, at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity we are celebrating males ... and showcasing some of the awesome male images from Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda.

I would like to share my make, a card featuring The Boxer from Lost Coast Designs :

For my card I made the background with a brayer and acrylic paint, black, white and a touch of red. I added water to some red and added splatters in the direction of the boxers fists. I stamped Cityscape across the bottom in grey and black ink, to give a shadowed effect. I trimmed the card and used a strip across the bottom for my boxer to stand on. The boxer is stamped and coloured with alcohol inks, then fussy cut. The words are typed on my typewriter. Then I matted the card front onto a white card base.

The words are from the Ebony and Ivory song that Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney sang ... all those years ago.

I really like this boxer, and I can imagine lots of uses for him in various male cards.

Thanks for stopping by x

Unrequited Love ATC

There are a few things going on over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity today, there is our new challenge which is to use something see-through (like acetate) and the Skellie-Fest. I have created an ATC that fits both of the these challenges/events.

Here is my make, an ATC featuring the awesome Winged Skeleton from Carmen's Veranda : 

For my main focal image, I stamped the winged skeleton onto the acetate in black versamark and embossed it in clear powder. I then coloured the back of the image with alcohol markers. I went around the edge in dark grey and added the punched out red hearts. 

Here is a close up : 

There are so many layers here .... The base is a playing card with acrylic paint in black and red. Then I added some white splodges of paint. Next I added a layer of vellum with butterflies on it. Then finally I added the top layer which is acetate. I made the frame from stamping the Swirls and Dots border from Lost Coast Designs onto black card stock and embossing it in a pewter colour. I then cut it down and distressed it and made it into a thin edge border. Finally adding brads and sentiment. I had a happy accident with the sentiment. I typed the words 'unrequited love' on my type writer and when I came to add some of the pewter embossing powder around the sentiment, it also adhered to the typed letters so I was able to embossed them in a matching colour.

Here is a pic of the light catching the front of the ATC, you can more clearly see the detail, layers and texture : 

You know, I'm not really into skeletons etc, but I sure do enjoy creating with them.

Thanks for stopping by x

Blogiversary giveaway

Its been a full year since The Lost Coast Portal to Creativity launched. Wow, time has flown .. along with a multitude of challenges and events. Its been fun and lots of people have played and won ... more every month in fact. To celebrate this awesomness there is a celebration and giveaway, check out the blog HERE

Celebrating Women

We have a challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity to celebrate women, Women Rule the World. It has been going on for a few days now and there has been wonderful  daily inspiration from the DT. 

I am celebrating women by using this beautiful Cosmos Face image as the main feature on my card : 

The background is made with the purple tones of nuance powders, they are water soluble and I just love the interesting backgrounds they create. I stamped onto the background when it was dry with the script image from the Leonardo Accessories Set and embossed it in white. I then stamped Cosmos Face in black versamark onto the background and embossed it. Cosmos Face was then stamped onto cream card stock in memento ink and coloured with copics and prisma colour pencils. I then fussy cut the main part of the image and glued over the top of the black stamped image. I like the way the black sort of shadows her.

Finally I stamped the Wish from Dictionary Words onto velum with stazon.

A close up, do you like her co-ordinating eye shadow ? :

Thanks for stopping by, please check out the event at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity, and join the fun :) If you link up your project by May 15th, you will be in with the chance of winning the $10 shopping spree at Lost Coast Designs or Carmen's Veranda. 

Diamonds ATC

Today I would like to share an ATC with you today, featuring the gorgeous gal Manga Goth Dots from Lost Coast Designs. 

This was made for the challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity to add a splash of neon or bright colour. I think the pink is pretty bright here, it makes the flowers in her hair appear even bigger !

This gorgeous gal is coloured with copics and gelli roll pen for her dress. I wanted to give it a PVC, leather sort of look. She is pretty sassy wouldn't you agree? Hence the words from the song 'Single Ladies' by Beyonce :

"If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it"

See the bling on her finger ? Looks like someone 'liked it' ! LOL

For the background I have used two background stamps. Firstly I stamped Grunge Black Swirl from Carmen's Veranda in a taupe color. Then I stamped the Fourth Dimension stamp from Lost Coast Designs in peacock feathers distress ink and embossed with iridescent ice embossing powder.  I don't normally use much bling, but really thought this ATC was calling out for it. 

Finally I added a few more gems to the background, the words which I typed on my typewriter and I edged the ATC in black ink.

Thanks for stopping by and please leave me a comment if you feel so inclined :)

Have a lovely day, Nikki x

New Pastures

I have made this card for the Cracked Critter Event over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity :)

I have made a card featuring this adorable Cracked Yak. 

This is actually a card for a new home ... Moving onto New Pastures. 

For this card all the stamps I used are from Lost Coast Designs.

The yak is coloured with copics and fussy cut and clear embossed. I added a layer of diamond glaze to the eye and popped it up with dimensions on the card front. The yak was actually stamped onto the background as well, then the fine details didn't have to be fussy cut.

The background is sponged with distress ink then I spritzed the Circle Frame stamp with water and stamped the background. It gives such a cool effect as it removes the ink from the areas the water goes onto. 

The alphabet is stamped with Old Typewriter alphabet SOTA in black ink with a little white gel pen highlights.

I drew the hoof prints, the yak is after all moving ... onto new pastures. 

Here is a close up :

Please go and check out all the other awesome cracked critter makes at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity.

Flora and Fluffy Tails

Our Spring / Easter themed event over at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity is Flora and Fluffy Tails.

Here is my mail art creation, using the fabulous nuance powders to create a colourful background. These powders are so highly pigmented and fun to work with :

The mail art features two stamps, Rabbit with Flowers and Doodle Flowers background from Lost Coast Designs. 

The flowers are stamped with green distress ink, then the rabbit with versamark and then embossed with a chocolate coloured embossing powder. Unfortunately you lose some of the detail in the rabbit by embossing like this, if you go and look at the actual image HERE, you will see the gorgeous flower pattern in his fur. But I was going with shiny chocolate bunny sort of Easter rabbit look :)

I added dots to the centre of the flowers and outlined some of the rabbit detail with white shapie paint pen, and doodled around the edge of the mail art and on the velum address label. 

Here is a close up, see how vibrant those colours are and how cute the bunny is:)

Hop on over, LOL no pun intended, to the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity for more inspiration :)

Lets get this party started !

There is a new Challenge at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity : Lets Party !

I have made this card, featuring Party Girl from Lost Coast Designs : 

Party Girl was stamped in elderberry memento ink, coloured with copics and white gel pen highlights added,  and I fussy cut her.

For the green in the background I used a gelli print background, then inked up the Sunflower Background from Lost Coast Designs in green ink. Without putting the stamp onto a block I rolled sections of it here and there on the background. I also stamped the sunflower onto another piece of white card stock, then punched this into shapes : the circles and scalloped strip you can see. I sponged a little of the elderberry ink onto them and glued them down. Finally adding some lines with an old credit card and ink.

The words were stamped on my typewriter and the card front matted and glued together.

I really like the contrast here of the elderberry and green, and she is such a great image to work with.

And there's plenty more where she came from .... Check out the other inspiration at the Lost Coast Portal to Creativity or the wonderful, varied and unique images at Lost Coast Designs and Carmen's Veranda.

Thanks for stopping by x