Keep it in the family

It's my turn to set this week's challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. It's World Family Day today so I chose the topic of "family". When I chose the topic I had no idea that it would have extra poignancy as many of us are not able to see our families at the moment because of the lockdown restrictions.

I chose a stamp that has “family” in its name and I reckoned that maybe we could all do with a bit of owlish wisdom to help us through the tough times.

Stamps:
Owl Family (Crafty Individuals)
Sentiment from Big Day Today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Watercolour 

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Vintage Sepia)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen, Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Blueprint Sketch, Mowed Lawn, Spiced Marmalade)

Other:
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose Studio)

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you are staying safe and well.

Inky!

Rizwana is setting her first challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to see some inky backgrounds.

I have two quite different projects to share for this one but they both use the same basic technique - add some ink to a sheet of acetate, spritz with water and add to a sheet of heavy cardstock or watercolour paper.

For this bird card I stamped the image first and masked it, then added the inky background in a pale blue for a subtle effect. I painted the berries in green in the hope they'd look more like leaf buds for a more spring-time feel.

Stamps:
Blue bird with branch and berries (Crafty Individuals)
Sentiment from Big Day Today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Tim Holtz watercolour

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed, Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Stitched Rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose Studio)

The second project features more postcards for my dad and brother.

I added three different blues to some watecolour paper, building up layers using the acetate technique. Then I stared at them for ages trying to figure out what to do with them. I finally settled on a VE Day theme and added some bunting and stamped numbers since we're commemorating 75 years this year.

The blues lifted quite well from the open flag areas just with water but I decided I wanted a cleaner white so those are painted with a bit of gesso.

Stamps:
Artsy Banners (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
A&P Numbers (Ma Vinci's Reliquary, no longer with us)

Paper:
Watercolour

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocen, Blueprint Sketch, Barn Door)
Mid tone ink by Hero Arts (Charcoal)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Gesso
Microglaze

Thanks for stopping by, if you fancy getting inky to distract yourself in lockdown why not come join us?

Card chain - April

I'm late for reveal day at Card Chain Challenge again - I'm sure I'm not alone in finding the days blurring into each other at the moment! Hope everyone's finding ways to cope and stay as sane and happy as possible.

Our options for April included the colour scheme of plum, lilac and black and the theme of hats. I couldn't find the stamp I originally planned to use so I revisted an old favourite from the long-defunct Tanda stamps.

My card went to Suzanne in Pennsylvania this time so it's a single layer to keep it light and flat for airmailing.

Stamps:
Retro Ladies (Tanda Stamps, no longer with us)
Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Shaded Lilac, Dusty Concord)

Other:
Momento markers (Sweet Plum, Lulu Lavender)
Copic marker (Eggshell - used for skin)
Black fineliner
Stencil cut with Spellbinder Fancy Lattice die

Thanks for stopping by, may you and yours stay safe and well.

May's elements

It's Dawn setting the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week - as it's the first Friday of a new month it's an elemental one, just choose at least three elements from the picture to kick start your project.

A neighbour across the road was celebrating a big milestone birthday this week. We popped a bottle of champagne into a gift bag for him so I took inspiration from the tall glasses in the photo and made a card to tie in with the gift.

Other inspiration elements are yellow and green from the colour scheme and stacked squares. I used gold emobssing powder for the sentiment so that it's opaque over the stems of the glasses. There's some clear Wink of Stella going on so the champagne has some sparkle.

Stamps:
Champagne Celebration (Crafter’s Companion)
Birthday (Letter It by Ranger)

Paper:
Bristol board
DCWV

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Versmark by Tsukineko

Other:
Copic markers
Clear Wink of Stella pen
Square dies (Spellbinders)
Giold gel pen
Gold detail embossing powder

Here's our inspiration picture this month:

Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and well.