Blended

Nat is setting the challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see some ink blending going on.

I've resisted the lure of the new Distress Oxides so I reached for my trusty old Distress inks and a sponge, splattered some water and then sat and looked at it for ages, completely at a loss what to do with it. I ended up going very simple with a stamped image and a "hidden" die cut sentiment. The word is intended for Christmas cards but I thought it would suit a peaceful image, too!

Stamps:
My Island by Waltzingmouse Stamps (no longer with us but this set is now available through Gina K)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean, Seedless Preserves)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Die from Peace Stamp & Cut by Hero Arts
Corner Chomper
Black marker

Thanks for stopping by, hope your weekend is a peaceful one!

City or country?

It's Friday so it must be challenge day over at Daring Cardmakers. Miri is setting this week's challenge and she'd like to know: city or country? Which are you?

I'm very definitely a country girl. I have done city living (Manchester being the biggest) but I'm now firmly back in a rural location.

As well as the obvious trees, fields, wildlife, birds etc, one of the things I love about where we live is the dark skies. Northumberland International Dark Sky Park has gold tier status from the  International Dark Sky Association, making us "officially the best place in England for people to go to enjoy the heavens" according to the Northumblerand National Park website.
 
So I wanted my card to reflect something of the night sky we enjoy in the country, hence the dark background and the splatters of "starry" light behind the glowing autumn oak leaves.

I did the thing of overstamping the coloured image with Versamark and clear embossing to resist the watercolour - I gave it the tiniest of offsets to get moolight glints along the top edges of the leaves. A MISTI makes this easy to do! I actually broke out the iron and ironed off the clear embossing once I'd done with the rest of the card.

Stamps:
Oak Branch by Beeswax Stamps
Say It Loud by Waltzingmouse Stamps (no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Versamark by Tsukineko
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Blueprint Sketch, Black Soot)

Other:
Copic markers
Watercolour pencil
Detail silver and clear embossing powders
White paint pen by Posca
MISTI

Thanks for stopping by!

Parisienne Walkways

I'm squeaking in at the last minute with an entry for the Craft Barn song title challenge this month.

Mickie has chosen "Parisienne Walkways" for us - as usual, the song title and artist should be included and I've stuck with the postcard format I've been using for this challenge.

There are things I would do differently if I was doing this again but it's the last day of the challenge and I don't have time to do a re-make, I'm afraid! I'm reluctant to miss a month though so here it is, even if I'm not 100% happy with it!

I took the lyric

"Oh, I could write you paragraphs
About my old Parisienne days"

as the starting point, stamping a paragraph in the centre of the card. I added the song title and Gary Moore's name in my own handwriting then stamped the Eiffel Tower, the number 49 and some art nouveau style detail before sponging the edges with blue ink.

Stamps:
Haute Couture (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
19th Century Script (Hero Arts)
Paris Nouveau (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper: smooth white

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versfine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Delicata by Tsukineko (Golden Glitz)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Stonewashed)

Other:
Memento makrer (London Fog)
Fine line black marker
Charcoal pencil

Thanks for stopping by!

October Elements

Can you believe it's the first Friday of yet another month?! Of course that means it's an "elemental"challenge at Daring Cardmakers - just choose at least three elements from Leo's picture to kickstart your project.

I didn't consciously set out thinking that the overall feel of the picture was quirky but maybe it was bubbling under since what I made is definitely on the quirky side!

From the picture I chose the strawberry, a hand (it's even a left hand!) and some black and white stripes. Although I didn't go for the colour scheme there is a wee bit of kraft, like the box of washi tapes.

The striped frame is hand drawn onto a scrap of kraft cardstock and cut out to make a focal point in the middle of a white card with the images layered on top.

Stamps:
Past Times by Hero Arts
Vintage Garden - Produce by Waltzingmouse Stamps (no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Kraft

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Black fineline marker
White Posca paint pen
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Anthracite)
Pinflair Glue Gel

Here's the inspiration picture Leo chose for us this month. We'd love to see what you're inspired to make if you get chance!

Thanks for stopping by!