Taking a blogging break for a few months or so

Hi there Creative Friends,
As many of you know my health has been a real pain in the arse over the last 2 years and it has resulted in the lack of creative action here on my blog.
I've just about managed to keep up with my DT efforts for the Opus Gluei challenge but I haven't kept up with even that lately.
So I am taking a break for a bit.
I have had lots of changes in meds to try and improve my health without much success but maybe in a few months I may be doing better and be able to get back into crafting and blogging.

I have loved interacting with you all creatively and have loved blogging and making up silly stories and funny stuff so I don't want this part of my life to end.

This is a card I made for an OG challenge but didn't blog here.
Click on it to make it bigger.

It uses Penny Black butterflies from a clear set that came out last year.

The good news is whilst I can't manage crafting, I can sit in my comfy chair and pin like a demon on my ipad.

I love Pinterest, it's been a real life saver!

You can find me as Gini Owen on Pinterest

http://pinterest.com/giniowen/

Why yes, I do love the Birdies and Red Squirrels. 

I have put some of my creations on there to. 

If you are also a pinner please let me know and I can visit your boards and share the pin love with you, blink blink.

As Arnie said "I'll be back" 

Only I don't have his muscles or his austrian accent or any man parts although I probably have more hair on my chest...

Just joking, now c'mon, I'm a proper lady, I only have hairs on my chinny chin chin - mwah!

I wish you all a very creative and happy spring!

Gini

xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #141. Colour challenge Turquoise and Red.

It's my challenge this fortnight and it's one of my favourite colour schemes Turquoise and Red with black, white and Kraft as neutral colours.
Hopefully I can illustrate what a versatile colour combination this is.

Firstly just by changing the focus of main colour gives such different moods to cards using this colour scheme.
Here are 4 of the same design all with different main colours.

Click on any picture to make it bigger.

 

I have used a Penny Black stamp set called Petal Party and the decorative border is in a Stampendous set called Elegant Borders.

I think this colour scheme works wonders for Halloween.

 

I've used a howling wolf from a Chocolate Baroque stamp set called Howling Moon and the spiders are from an Inkadinkado set called Creepy Crawly. I've also used Distress Inks in Festive Berries and Peacock Feathers.

It's also great for Christmas.

I've used the same distress Inks and a Chocolate Baroque stamp set called Snowflake Flourish and Spellbinders Reverse Wonky Rectangles.

To make a masculine teenage card I used a Kraft Card blank and muted shades of turquoise and red and an Inkadinkado stamp set called circles and dots.

Well I couldn't not include my favourite fella now could I?
Wolf whistles please for Stampotique's Heart Throb.

What? You want more Heart Throb?
Oh go on then, seeing as it's you, he'll meet you under the mistletoe...

I used Spellbinders Create-a-Flake Three for the Snowflakes.

I hope I've managed to inspire you to use this colour combination.

Happy creating with turquoise and red or anything else crafty you've got on your desk!
Gini
xx

Opus Gluei Challenge #121. Out with the Old and In with the New.

Firstly may I wish you all a very Happy New Year.

Deena over at Opus Gluei has been very clever with her challenge title and theme because it is basically a free for all challenge just use some old stash or some new stash or a mixture of both and create something!
How clever is that?
I love clever play on words so Deena is off to a roaring start in 2012 and I hope the same is true for you.

I thought I would make something useful for this time of year so I made 6 identical Thank you cards and then I made another 3 identical general cards using a seahorse stamp from Chocolate Baroque.
My new stuff is the yellow sequins and the 3 and 3/4 inch square shaped blank cards from Craftworkcards, the rest is from my stash.

 

I have used some of my favourite inks, Brilliance Pearlescent Inks, I have use the tricolour pads in Peacock, Twilight and Aurora.
I used the background stamp from Penny Black Slapstick called Paisley Swirls but I think it looks great as stylized sea.
The flourish is from Inkadinkado called Sketchy Flourishes.
The Many Thanks sentiment is from Hero Arts Sending Smiles messages.
The With Love sentiment is from Papermania Hampstead Collection, Icon and sentiments.
The Dress form is a 3inch Woodware Punch Dress 2.

I've also used standard sized sequins which I think give a better balance of size on these small cards rather than using Card Candi which is bigger.
Here is a size comparison photo. See what you think.

For the Pinafore dress card.
I drew a pinafore template to fit the card blank on white card and coloured with distress inks using Rangers cut n' dry foam.
Spritzed with silver mica mixed with water in a mini mister.
The background stamp is from Chocolate Baroque and has been coloured with distress inks, the little Teeny Weeny stamps used on the Pinafore are also Chocolate Baroque stamps called Curiosities and Teeny Weeny Meadow.

I coloured Icing Sugar Card Candi (white) with Versamagic chalk inks to get an accurate match in colour.
Did you know you can colour Card Candi with your inks?
It makes the Icing Sugar white pack endlessly versatile.
Inks I have successfully used to colour the Candi are Distress Inks (dye ink), Versamagic (chalk ink), and Brilliance (pigment ink).
I use small 3D foam pads which are 2mm thick to stick my Card Candi on with.
The brand I use is Stick It! code number STI 4100. Very cheap and work well.

Happy Creating in 2012!
Gini
xx