Bird and Mandala Sympathy

Hi everybody.  Well, it hasn't happened for quite a while luckily, but I had to make a sympathy card for a lady who is the former leader of a local choir which I belong to, and sadly her husband died having had dementia for quite some time and then latterly caught the virus whilst in hospital.  I have used a Funky Fossil Leafy Mandala Stencil and also a bird silhouette stamp from a Chocolate Baroque set called Let Your Heart Sing.

I decided on a piece of light grey card and using a stencil brush and Iced Spruce Distress Ink I placed the mandala over the corner of the card and then heat embossed it using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then added the silhouette bird in the bottom corner to balance it up, using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and then stamped bits of it using second and third generation ink, and finished by adding the sentiment over the mandala using the Nocturne ink. 

I thought that it would stamp OK over the embossing but it didn't come out as well as I had hoped so I used a black micron pen and went over it and then making sure the heat tool was really hot dried if off as quickly as I could so that it didn't make the embossing go too grainy.  I think I just about managed to get away with it...lol. 

Thank you for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

CAS Mix Up February Stencil Challenge - Stencil Heat Embossing. 
We Love Chocolate Baroque Challenge - Flowers, Butterflies and Birds.
Sweet Stamping Challenge - No. 53 Clean and Simple.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Favourite Technique (heat embossing).

Pug Love

Hi everyone.  I made this card for Hubby for Valentine's Day using a Mo Manning digital image and coloured it using Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain and Black Soot Distress Inks applied with a waterbrush, and also used a couple of stencils for the background. 

I then cut a piece of white card to fit a 6" square card and found a large heart shaped stencil from Clarity which I received when I was a member of their stencil club and which I have never used.  It has an outer shape and then a pretty inner floral heart which I didn't want to use this time.  I then placed another stencil from That Special Touch called Paws for Thought under the aperture heart stencil and brushed Festive Berries through it to give a patterned heart shape.  I wasn't totally happy with the colour so I used my Inktense Pencils and a waterbrush and went over all the pattern to give a much stronger red as the original looked a bit pinky which I didn't think was terribly masculine.  I also used this on the heart that the sweet little pug is holding so that the colours matched.  I then attached it to the card.   

I finished by adding a sentiment on to the heart using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and then added the dog over the background heart and used some Stick It Silicone Glue to give it a bit of dimension.

Thank you for visiting me here today and I hope to see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge - Anything 'with a Mo Manning Image' Goes.
613 Avenue Create Challenge - Anything Goes (Optional Twist Heart and Soles).
Stamping Sensations Challenge - Colour My World.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 611 Masculine (this may not look typically masculine but it was for my hubby).
Uniko Challenge - No 63 Anything Goes + Optional Twist Use A Stencil.
Watercooler Wednesday Challenge - No 308 All About Occasions.
Happy Little Stampers February Watercolour Challenge - Anything Goes.
Happy Little Stampers February Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes.

Carousel Horses

Hi there everybody.  I decided to make a card for a couple of challenges and got out this Crafty Individuals Stamp called Happy Days Hooray with these beautiful carousel horses which remind me of rides on the carousel when the local fair visited...a long time ago now..lol.  The Less is More Challenge theme is In a Row, and Colour Hues Challenge is to use Red and Pink.

I started by stamping the horse using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink three time on to a strip of card.  I started more or less in the centre with the first and then spaced the one either side.  The stamp is bigger but had to miss the top bit off to make it a CAS card.  I then coloured the horses using my set of Derwent Inktense Pencils taking the colour from the tip and painting with a waterbrush which I find makes the colour more controllable.  I used a Poppy Red and Fuschia and a bit of Charcoal Grey on the horses.  I finished by matting it on to black card and added a sentiment again using the Nocturne Ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope to see you again soon.

I am also entering the following challenges:

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge - No. 307 Anything Goes with a Feminine Twist.
Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 398 Birthdays.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 609 Our Four Legged Friends.