and now for something a bit different....

I spent the weekend among 100+ creative women at the TSF retreat in Grand Bend. I had decided before going that I really needed to work on cards and get my Christmas tags done for the forum swap. For those of you who don't know, I am NOT typically a card maker. I will often throw something together last minute when I need a card.

I made a few cards on Friday night and completed a layout for one of many challenges going on throughout the weekend and then it happened. Emily, owner of Stamping Bella, was invited to join us at the retreat to demonstrate how to use Prismacolour pencils. She was doing a make and take which I thought I would try using a stamp, pencils and a little tube of something called 'liquid applique'. When I started colouring I felt a similar feeling to when I started scrapbooking. Uh-oh, I knew I was in trouble. It was so much fun especially when I saw what the liquid applique did. You apply this white liquid, almost like an opaque Glossy Accents, and then you apply a heat gun and that's when the magic happens!! It puffs up like marshmallows!!! Needless to say the big joke for the rest of the weekend was that I had gone a bit crazy on the applique.

I picked this little Santa up last year and thought it would be perfect to add a little applique to him

OOh I could use it on clouds too!

And for snow of course!

I made 17 of these cards! I used a Bella stamp, Memento ink, Prismas, Glossy Accents on the windows, Stickles and liquid applique to make snow under the tires. This is my first go at using Prismas and it was seriously fun! I suggest if Copics intimidate you (like they do me a bit) Prismas are such a great alternative.

It was a great weekend and I did get loads of cards made, so many that I'm not sure what I'll do with all of them. It was so much fun to work on something different and to learn a new technique.