Bunches of...

I'm setting this week’s challenge at Daring Cardmakers and I’d like to see something that comes in bunches featuring on your cards this week — flowers, grapes, bananas…

This wasn’t what I set out to do but that ended up in the circular file, I’m afraid. So I decided I should finally get round to playing with a set I got on sale some time ago (ahem, think years rather than months!) and that has been reproaching me each time I look for something else in a particular box. 

Monkey is having quite the feast! All the animals in this set have separate heads and bodies so you can align them different. His head is actually on a wobble here so you can get him to do a cute head shake. 

I stamped the body directly onto the card base so I just cut a little slit to poke the banana into. If you use the coordinating dies, the tail actually gets cut in the little spiral so you can thread his treats through. 

I ended up being in a rush so the colouring is a bit rudimentary but it’s quite cute, I think. 

Stamps:
Jungle Friends (Stampendous)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Wibbly wobbly die (Jane Davenport)
Phrases set I (Spellbinder)

Birds of a feather

Nat is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week — she’d like to see feathers or something feathered.

Birds are probably second only to florals in my stamp collection so that seemed to be the way to go. I decided to play along at A Blog Named Hero as well and use the HA colour layering stamp for my bird, making her a restful combination of blues. As April is their blog birthday month, HA want to see birthday cards this time.

Going white on white for the sentiment seemed right for a light and airy feel. The lovely die was gifted to me — thanks Margot! — and gives a beautifully crisp cut. 

Stamps:
Bird and branch colour layering (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Twisted Citron)
Momento by Tsukineko (Bamboo Leaves)

Other:
Happy Birthday Poe Script die (Poppystamps)
Strobes stencil (Visible Image)
Corner Chomper

Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero — They Say It’s Your Birthday

Bloom and grow

Dawn is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week — she’d like to see what we have planned for the garden as we move in to spring and then summer. 

We have a glorious poppy patch just at the front of our house, I look forward to them bursting forth each year (usually early to mid May so not too long to wait now, the leaves are up already). That made me chose this lovely Indigo Blu stamp to make a card for my aunt who has a round number birthday coming up. I stamped once, masked and stamped again for extra abundant poppies!

A base layer of Copic colour got topped up with pencil shading and a few pearl dots to finish it off.

Stamps:
Poppycock (Indigo Blu)
Big Day Today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Copic markers 
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Corner Chomper 

Elements for April

 Dawn is setting our first challenge of the month over at Daring Cardmakers — as ever with our “elemental” challenges, just choose at least three elements from the inspiration picture to include in your project. 

I chose a hedgehog, spotty toadstools, colours, woodgrain and leaves. I haven’t used pencils on kraft for ages, it was nice to revisit that and I’ve always thought the combination of balloons and hedgehogs has a delightful optimism about it! I got this set ages ago from someone who was clearing out and haven’t got round to using it until now. I don’t think this stamp has ever been off the backing sheet, I had a real struggle to peel it off without damaging it. Got there in the end and hopefully it will be a bit easier next time.

Here in the UK hedgehogs will be coming out of hibernation around now, if you have local ones you could make sure they have access to drinking water (put out a shallow dish) even if you don’t want to risk attracting other critters by putting food out. If you do want to put food out, apparently the best choice is a meaty (as opposed to fishy) cat food or kitten biscuits — no matter what we were told as kids don’t be tempted to put out bread and milk as hedgehogs are lactose intolerant!

Stamps:
Critter Party (Penny Black Transparent)
Spring Trees (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Kraft

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Phrases I dies (Spellbinder)
Festive Rose dies (Sue Wilson/Creative Expressions)
Pinewood Planks embossing folder (Stampin’ Up)

Link in the chain — March

It’s reveal day once again at Card Chain Challenge. My card has gone to Brenda this time so it didn’t have too far to travel. 

From the options on offer I chose the theme of birds and the colour palette. Of course the product option of stamps was pretty much a given for me! I intended to use proper watercolours but somehow got sidetracked into using Distress inks instead. 

This beautiful bird stamp is one of Maria Kitano’s designs for Crafty Individuals, I don’t use him nearly enough. He makes a lovely robin with some orangey red for breast feathers. I added some leaf shapes to the twiggy bit of the stump — it seems in springtime anything with even a bit of life in it will push out optimistic leaves!

The sentiment is from a very old set but it fell in to my hands while I was looking for something else and this sentiment seemed right — we often associate robins with winter and Christmas time but they’re around and singing loud and clear to herald spring, too!

Stamps:
Perching Bird (Crafty Individuals)
Scene It Sentiments (Hobby Art)

Paper:
Watercolour

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Rustic Wilderness, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door)

Other:
Corner Chomper 

There are still a few days to sign up for the next chain, why not come and join us — it’s a lovely way to spread crafty happiness around the world!