Birds and Flowers

Hi everybody.  I am back today with a floral card made with Crafty Individuals stamp Spring Flower Garden bought recently and used for the first time here, and a square birds and flowers frame die which I  bought some time ago and have only just got around to using, and unfortunately it doesn't seem to be available anywhere now.

I die cut the frame from white card and being quite intricate it did take several goes to get it to cut properly.  I then stamped the flowers on to my base card using Versafine Olympia Green and coloured them with Distress Inks and a waterbrush, also used a bit of blue for the background.  I then stuck down the frame over the top of the flowers using wet glue.  As I had placed the flowers so that the base of the stamp was hidden beneath the frame, some of the flowers were rather hidden by the leaves and flowers on the frame, so I did snip one or two away from the bottom part so that the flowers were much more visible.  I finished by adding white gel pen to the flower centres, and a sentiment banner strip again using the Olympia Green ink, and then heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

Thanks again for visiting my blog and I'll see you again soon. 

I am entering the following challenges:

NBUS Challenge - No. 15 (Never Before Used Schtuff)  Both the stamp and die.
Happy Little Stampers June Watercolour Challenge - Anything Goes (optional Layers).
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Diecuts & Punches.
Country View Challenges - Summer Fields.
Ellibelle's Crafty Wednesday June Challenge - In The Summer Garden.
Crafty Calendar June Challenge - Flowers.

Embossed Vellum Floral Heart

Hi all.  I decided to get going on the CAS Mix Up Card Challenge quicker, and  instead of being late to the party I should be reasonably early this time..lol.  The way the CAS Challenges work has been changed and the Mix Up, Watercolour and Stencil Challenges have been amalgamated into one and will rotate, so this month it is a Mixed Media theme which is embossed vellum plus stamping and at least one other mixed media technique.  Mine has alcohol inked vellum on which I have stamped and heat embossed, and then die cut mats and dry embossed on the background layer.

I put the AIs on my glass mat and added some blending solution and covered a piece of pink Vellum.  The colours were Watermelon, Butterscotch, Lemonade and Flamingo.  When dry I inked the Chocolate Baroque A Heart Full Of Love stamp with Versamark and then heat embossed using WOW Opaque Bright White Embossing Powder.  The embossing powder did take up a bit of the AI colour when I heated but I do quite like that.  I die cut the vellum with a stitched square die.

I then moved on to the background and cut the square with a Tonic Scalloped Edge Die and then dry embossed with an XCut Hearts and Kisses Embossing Folder extending it to cover the square white background.  I finished by putting it together and then stamped and again heat embossed with the Opaque Bright White EP on to a leftover piece of vellum cut into a fishtail banner shape and adhered it to the card.

Thank you for joining me here today and I hope you will visit again. 

I am also entering the following challenges:

Penny Black and More June Challenge - Favourite Stamps.
Stamping Sensations June Challenge - Make it Colourful.
Uniko Challenge - No. 59 Anything Goes + optional twist Bright and Happy.

Pretty Polly

Hi everybody.  Another masculine card today and I thought this digital image would work well, bright and cheery and watercoloured on Bristol Smooth paper using my Distress Inks.

I used Barn Door, Mustard Seed,  Mowed Lawn, Pine Needles, Peacock Feathers, Black Soot, Ground Espresso and Brushed Corduroy applied using a waterbrush.  When I had coloured it I fussy cut it out and then moved on to the background.  This stencil with an all over large leaf design which is one of four in a packet I got from The Range looks a bit like tropical leaves.  I made a monoprint by brayering Mowed Lawn DI on to it, spritzed with water and laid it on to a piece of white card and pressed it down firmly to tranfer the ink.  I did this several time using some Pine Needles ink too.  I then stencilled through it to fill the leaves in with some more of the same colours to give it some light and shade.  I then inked around the edges with both inks.

I finished by adding a sentiment using Versafine Olympia Green and heat set it with Wow Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and added the parrot using some Pinflair Glue Gel to give it dimension.

I am entering the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Masculine.
Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Make Your Own Background.
Seize The Birthday - No. 192 Anything Goes Birthday.
Happy Little Stampers June Watercolour Challenge - Anything Goes (no optional twist).
My Time To Craft - No. 433 Use A Stencil.

May Rudolph Days Challenge

Hi there.  I coloured this digital image of a holly wreath and berries at the same time as the last card on my blog, and so thought this would do nicely for the Rudolph Days Challenge.

I printed it on to Bristol Smooth Watercolour Paper and again coloured with my Staedler Brush Pens using a waterbrush.  I also used some glossy accents over the berries to give shine and a little dimension and then die cut it with a circle die.  I then finished with a sentiment in the centre of the wreath using Versafine Satin Red Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

I decided to do something completely different for me and cut a circular easel card using one of my white cards placing the die a little way over the fold of the card to make the basic shape.  I layered the topper with a snippet of red and then another stitched circle with a green snippet, and added a piece of holly covered dp to the base again cutting with a stitched circle die, using a snippet which I found in amongst the pages.  I put it all together and added a little gem as the stopper for the easel.   The holly dp is off white but not as dark as it appears in the photo.  I don't have many papers and this one with the holly seemed the best to complement the topper. 

I haven't made an easel card for absolutely ages and don't think I have ever made a circular one, but was pleased with the finished result.

The challenge finishes in less than 24 hours time, but for anyone who is a speedy crafter still just about time to enter.    Thanks for visiting my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am also entering the following challenges:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No. 379 where we use up our snippets of card and paper etc.
Christmas Kickstart Challenge - No. 31 Wreathed in Christmas Smiles.
52 Christmas Card Throwdown - May Technique Challenge - Embossing.
Winter Wonderland Challenge - Your Favourite Colour Combination. 
Christmas Craft Creations May Challenge - Use A Die Cut.

 

Holly and Berries

Hi everyone.  I have just about managed to get my entry in for the CAS Christmas Card Challenge the theme of which is Winter Berries.  I used this digi stamp which I thought would be perfect and printed it on some Bristol Smooth watercolour paper.  I am still not completely confident using digital images and last time I used one I printed it in grey and the water affected the outline and faded it in places, so this time I did it in a very pale green so it was a bit like doing no line watercolouring, but then I did feel that made it much more difficult to colour the holly leaves and get the lines which are part of the texture of the leaves, and had to put back the lines and wasn't sure I did a very good job of it, and the bottom left leaf and piece of ribbon was not quite right, but I decided to enter it anyway as I was in fact extremely happy with the berries.  I feel I have been missing challenges which I normally like to enter through lack of mojo, and for me at the moment things work well or it begins to feel as though I have lost my creative skills entirely...lol, and I suppose I have just not been in the right frame of mind recently.  

I coloured it using my Staedler Brush Pens and a bit of added shading using some dry watercolour pencils, and then blended some Tumbled Glass Distress Ink around the edges, and inked the sentiment with Versafine Deep Lagoon Ink before heat embossing it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

The CAS Christmas Challenge is based in Western Canada so although the clock has ticked over into the 25th I have a few hours to the close of the challenge.  Sorry to leave it so late Loll and Bonnie, I just wanted to enter.  Thank you for looking at my blog today and I hope to see you again soon.

I am also entering the following challenges:

ABC Christmas Challenge - J for 'Joy' and K for "King' ( I have 'Joy' as part of the sentiment.
Sparkles Christmas Challenge - No. 112 Add Ribbon, Lace or Twine (mine is a virtual ribbon as part of my digital image - hope this counts).
The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - No. 72 Anything Christmas Goes.
Merry Little Christmas Challenge - No. 22 May Anything Christmas Goes.
Happy Little Stampers May Christmas Challenge - Anything Goes (Optional: Ornaments).

(So pleased and surprised to be chosen as one of the Outstanding Designs at CAS Christmas Challenge)

Born Wild

Hi there.  Another masculine birthday to make for and I decided to use my NBUS stamp from Penny Black, won a good while ago and, shame on me, never inked until now, and called Born Wild, and I am entering my card over at Darnell's NBUS Challenge.  I expect most of you know that NBUS is a phrase coined by our friend Darnell and means 'Never Before Used Schtuff', and I'm sure that most of us have got lots of things in that category..lol.  My mojo is a bit variable at the moment and I wasn't totally happy with it but I needed to get it in the post rather quickly as I had the day wrong in my head.  Every day seems much like the last at the moment and I was a day out..lol.

I used an embossing folder on the bottom section to give the idea of a road.  It's a Sheena Douglass one from the Textures range called Distress.  I used the ink straight from the pad and rubbed it over the embossing with Hickory Smoke Distress Ink and then blended Pumice over the top.  I then stamped the image using Versafine Smokey Gray Ink and watercoloured with my brush pens using a waterbrush.  I also added some ink just below the bike to ground it better, and a bit of blue in the background.   I finished by adding the sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink, and think it might have been better in grey as the black is a little strong I think.

Before I go I would like to say thank you to Mariann, a new follower to my blog who you will find here.  As well as cards she does some wonderful book folding and takes commissions I think. 

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

I am entering the following challenge:

NBUS Challenge  - No. 14.
Penny Black Saturday May Challenge - Anything Goes/Inspired by a Song (Born To Be Wild)
Penny Black and More May Challenge - Boys and Men.
Happy Little Stamper May Watercolour Challenge - Anything Goes/Emboss (I used dry embossing).
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Animal Fun.
Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 389 CAS.
Watercooler Wednesday Challenge - No. 271 All About Occasions.

These Boots Are Made For Walking

Hi everybody.  I thought that this was an apt title after the song by Nancy Sinatra, way back in the 60s I think, showing my age now..lol.  This is a birthday card for hubby's brother who has always been a very keen walker, and when I caught sight of these freebie stamps with Creative Stamping Magazine about a couple of months ago, with the theme of the great outdoors, I decided to get them with this birthday in mind, and there are lots of other stamps which will come in useful for other male birthdays throughout the year.  I particularly love the walking boots and there is a scenic background in there, but I had a yen to use this Clarity Woodland stencil as a background.

I started with the stencilled background with a snippet of white card left over from another project, and using some Clarity brushes to apply the Adirondack inks in Stonewashed, Lettuce, a small amount of Bottle and Sunshine Yellow.  I have a set of Clarity mask which have gentle hills on one side, and more dramatic mountains on the other, so I used the hills for my scene.  I also have some sun/moon masks which I used to make an appropriately sized sun.  I then stamped the boots on to another snippet of white card using Versafine Majestic Blue, and then coloured them using more of the Stonewashed ink and also Faded Jeans and Black Soot Distress inks, watercoloured using a waterbrush, and then fussy cut them out.  I finished by adding a sentiment from the set using Versafine Smokey Gray ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and when layered on to the card base I adhered the boots using Pinflair Glue Gel to give them some dimension.

Thank you for stopping by today and I hope to see you again soon.  Take care.

I am entering the following challenges:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No. 377 where we use up our snippets of card, paper etc.
Penny Black and More May Challenge - Boys and Men.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.
Not Just Cards April Challenge - Anything Goes.
Mix It Up Challenge - No. 37 Anything Goes + Masking.
NBUS Challenge 14 - (Never Before Used Schtuff) - the walking boots are a NBUS item.