Eagle for dad

I've just realised I meant to blog this at the start of the week and forgot to make the post live! This is the card I made for Dad for Father's Day. A quick one layer card but one that still has impact, I hope!

The handsome eagle head doesn't need a lot doing to it - just a touch of colour for the beak and eye and a few strokes of grey pencil to shade the head a bit. I masked him and stamped the script at an angle, added some smudged Pan Pastel and then stamped the sentiment (the only father's day one I could find in my stash, as it happens!).

Stamps:
Eagle Profile (Beeswax Stamps)
19th Century French Script (Hero Arts)
Father's Day Centers (CHF, retired)

 Paper: smooth white

 Ink:
Onyx Black Versafine by Tsukineko
Stonewashed Adirondack dye ink by Ranger

 Other:
Prismacolor pencils (yellow and a couple of greys)
Pan Pastel (turquoise)
Corner Chomper

The theme this week at Pan Pastels UK challenge blog is an open masculine theme so I'm hooking up there.

Thanks for stopping by!

Cosy plaid pattern!

I'm rubbish at doing the "make throughout the year" Christmas card challenges! I really should try as I just gave up last year and only sent about four handmade cards. I've been meaning to try building a plaid background for ages and when this month's Waltzingmouse Stamps Christmas card challenge had the theme "snow" I decided a nice snuggly plaid background would be just the thing - warm blankets on a sleigh ride and all that!

Of course, having done the stamping, I discovered that Claire has really good instructions on the WMS blog - that'll teach me to look before I start! I did basically what she describes though, I just used the lines on my cutting mat as a guide rather than marking with a ruler and pencil as she does. I think I did OK for a first attempt.

I threaded the sentiment strip through a little slit cut in the background and added a crazy stitched border round the plaid panel. One of the snowflakes has Stickles smeared on for a bit of festive sparkle.

Stamps:
Pic-nic Patterns (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Compliments of the Season (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

Paper:
Cryogen white
Bitter Chocolate

Ink:
Toffee and Crimson Red Versafine by Tsukineko
 Antique Linen Distress ink by Ranger

Other:
Snowflake die by Hero Arts
Frosted Lace Stickles
Sewing machine and thread

Since Christmas usually involves sending loads of cards, I kept this reasonably flat so it won't need extra postage.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hexagon hello and a little giveaway

I haven't played at Less is More for ages but the planets have aligned this week - I recently got some Hero Arts goodies including a set of dies with hexagon shapes and as the theme for this week's challenge is hexagons it seemed right I should play! I have a brand new set of Hero Arts stamps to give away too.

I've gone monochrome for a slightly masculine feel although I think this would make a reasonable hello card for just about anybody!

I stacked black and white hexagone die cuts in two sizes, trimming them flush with the edges of the card. The pointy finger is cut out and popped up on foam pads. It's from a set with various vintage style transport-based images and I think it's a nice size!

Stamps:
Past Times by Hero Arts
Essential Messages by Hero Arts

Paper: black and white

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine by Tsukineko

Other: Geometric Shape Frame Cuts dies by Hero Arts

Now for the giveaway bit! When I got my stuff from Hero Arts, I received a stamp set that was having a bit of an identity crisis. It believed itself to be a set of script stamps where in actual fact it was a chandelier-based set (a little packaging hiccup). Having alerted them to the issue, Libby and the lovely folk at Hero Arts sent me the script stamps and said I could gift the extra set rather than sending it back.

Here it is - it's called Chandelier with Birds.

If you'd like it, just say so in your comment and I'll pop your name into a hat - comments on the card are, of course, very welcome so if you don't mention the stamps I'll assume you're not interested in the draw. I'll draw one at random next Sunday so leave a comment by midnight GMT on Saturday  22nd June 2013.

Thanks for stopping by!

Carved flowers

Do you ever get a backlog of new crafty things you've just not got round to playing with? I know I do! These carved flower stamps have been waiting patiently for me to ink them up for quite some time now. The Pan Pastels are a more recent purchase but they've still had to wait a while - oops! It was fun to try them out in anger though (having previously only tested them on the back of an envelope the day they arrived!).

The DL format of this card looks
elegant in real life but it was a swine to photograph - I hope you get the idea!

I stamped the flowers on an old book page and added Diarylide Yellow and Orange Pan Pastels over the top, letting the yellow blend out past the flower outline to get a "glow". I used a green pencil for the calyx area. I then smeared a liberal amount of Turquoise and a little Ultramarine on the background. I really liked the way the pastels spread and the amount of pigment is very impressive - a little goes a very long way and those pots are going to last ages!

The flowers looked pretty but I decided I'd like more definition so I used a stamp positioner and stamped again directly over the top of the original. If you planned to do this in advance I guess you could use a light coloured ink for the first stamping, just as a guide for where to spread your colour and then you wouldn't have to be quite as precise with the second impression.

That Hero Arts sentiment gets another outing - I seem to be incapable of making a birthday card without it at the moment! This one's destined for my sister-in-law but she's not a blog browser so I think it's safe to show.

Stamps:
Carved Flowers by Darkroom Door
Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper:
Old book page, black and white cardstock

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine by Tsukineko

Other:
Diarylide Yellow, Orange, Turquoise, Ultramrine Pan Pastels
Marine Green Prismacolor pencil
Krylon matt sealant
Acrylic nail art gems

The Pan Pastels UK challenge blog has an "anything goes" theme this week and since I remembered to look I'll hook this up there.

Thanks for stopping by!