Link in the chain - February

It’s reveal day at Card Chain Challenge. There were 33 players for February and my card has gone to Mia in Greece this time.

From the options on offer I chose the theme (hearts) and product (gauze) ones. I wanted to do something a bit different with my gauze so I used black acrylic paint to stick it to some card, let it dry and then highlighted with some gilding wax. 

I think my Delicata ink pad has started to separate out, or maybe it was the painted surface, either way I couldn’t get the little hearts to show up clearly so I used a gel pen to draw round the inside of the stamped shape.

The butterfly is stamped, coloured and cut out and glued on along with some die cut rings and a sentiment strip.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Delicata by Tsukineko (Golden Glitz)

Other:
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Copic markers
Fine frames circle die (Altenew)
Acrylic paint
Gauze
Rub n Buff (Gold Leaf)

There’s still time to sign up for the March chain if you fancy it — just make one card and receive one from the next link in the chain, it’s a lovely way to spread a little hand crafted love around the world. 

Fish in the frame

It's Nat's turn to set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like us to put something or someone in the frame.

My crafty mojo seems to have taken a holiday and even my trick of combining with another challenge didn't really seem to drag it back. I combined with the current challenge at Let's Squash It which has an under water theme. I'm not all that happy with this but thought I'd share it anyway. Maybe it's the lack of white space bothering me. What do you think?

I don't have an embossing folder with a watery theme. I did consider using a woodgrain folder turned sideways and done in blues but in the end plumped for something that would echo the fish scale patterning on the stamped images. There's some shimmer on there courtesy of Perfect Pearls but of course that doesn't really show up on a still photo. The fish are shimmery too (Wink of Stella).

I scored the corners of the die cut frame to get the diagonals, stamped wood texture on there and accentuated the mitres with a few Copic pen strokes.

Stamps:
Under the Sea (Darkroom Door)
Weathered wood (Cornish Heritage Frams, no longer with us)

Paper:
Mixed media
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
Wink of Stella pen (clear)
Stitched frame square dies (Paper Rose)
Scales embossing folder (Marianne Designs)
Leaves dies (Sizzix)
Water colour paints
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Turquoise)

Thanks for sopping by!

Time for a check up

Our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week is all about checks - backgrounds, accents, clothing patterns… there are lots of ways to add checks to your designs.

I opted for textured checks by using an embossing folder and went mixed media on this one. I rubbed a white crayon over the embossed piece (best done while it’s still on the folder as the support means you can press quite hard with the crayon) and then used a couple of Dylusions sprays. The crayon resists the spray but as you’ve generally got imperfect crayon coverage, you tend to get a nice slightly grungy effect.

The Party Puffin hasn’t been out to play for a while and I thought he’d be fun on the bright background. His crown and heart have some subtle sparkle courtesy of Spica glitter pens  

Stamps:
Party Puffin (Crafty Individuals)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board
Black

Ink:
Brilliance (Graphite Black)

Other:
Dylusions sprays (Vibrant Turquoise, Fresh Lime)
Checkerboard embossing folder (Tim Holtz/Sizzix - retired)
White crayon
Black fineliner
Spica glitter pens (gold and red)
Copic markers
Stitched rectangle dies A6 size (Paper Rose)

Thanks for stopping by!

Molly’s makeover

Today, Molly has had a mermazing makeover for Daring Cardmakers. Jenny has set our challenge and as May is apparently the month of mermaids, she’d like to see these mythical creatures inspiring our cards. 

So, Molly thought it would be fun to dress up for the occasion. She found some sea-inspired colours in her eyeshadow palette, created a seaweed tangle wig, a coronet of shells and pearls and finally projected some fish, seaweed and bubbles onto a watery background. 

Molly’s streaming hair is created with hot glue with various shades of Perfect Pearls brushed over (I used black glue as it creates a lovely effect when you put mica powders over the top). I used blue and green metallic gel pens to add some finer lines between the ribbons of glue. Copic markers, various inks, glitter, pearl pen and Glossy Accents make this a genuinely mixed media makeover for Molly!

I’m also playing again at Lost Coast Designs where the current challenge theme is “under the sea”. 

Stamps:
Molly (Beeswax Stamps)
Under the Sea (Darkroom Door)
Seaside (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Hero Arts shadow ink (Soft Granite)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Cracked Pistachio)

Other:
Hot glue (black)
Perfect Pearls (shades of green and blue, I lost track!)
Copic markers 
Glossy Accents
Pearl Pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Metallic gel pens (blue and green)
Fibres stencil (Visible Image)
White paint pen by Posca
Glamour Dust (Crystal)
Corner Chomper 

Vellum

Dawn has set the challenge for us at Daring Cardmakers this week. She says she finds vellum tricky to work with so she'd like to see some ideas.

My instinct with vellum is to go for soft and pretty so I decided to challenge myself a bit extra and see if I could do something more masculine. I ended up using it as an overlay to tone down a busy background to make more of a feature of a sentiment. 

I couldn't actually find my vellum so I used a sheet of heavyweight tracing paper - this is some that has draughstman's markings on it so I kept that part as a sort of base line for my piece.

The age old question of how to attach vellum is solved here by wrapping it round the panel and sticking to the back . I also added a few dots of glue and then used black enamel dots to hide those spots.

The background has been in my scraps box for years - it was part of a masterboard for resist techniques but I stand little chance of remembering what was on it - spray inks, acrylic paint, white embossing powder and gesso at a guess! 

Stamps:
Numbers border (Kaisercraft)
Birthday (Letter It range by Ranger)
Essential Message (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board
Black
Mixed media piece from scraps box
Heavyweight tracing paper

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukieko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Anthracite)

Thanks for stopping by!

Book lover

Svenja has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers today - she’d like to see us celebrating books and reading. 

I fully intended not to use the little reader again having used the stamp for a recent dare but in the end just couldn’t resist! I did change things up a bit by adding some hand drawn pigtails. I found a piece of book text with finger-painted circles in a box of bits and used that as my background. I added a bit of Picked Raspberry ink over the open text areas and a strip of washi tape for grounding. 

I decided the reader needed to stand out a bit more against the busy background so I added some vellum circles just to tone it down slightly behind her. 

Stamps:
Story of Me (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Old book page with acrylic painted circles
Vellum

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide (Picked Raspberry)

Other:
Washi tape
Copic markers
Black fineliner
Large circle squeeze punch by Fiskars
Pinflair gel glue

Thanks for stopping by!

Got your number

I’d had the intention to make a card with the bingo embossing and the '50s style ladies for the current challenge at Lost Coast (where the theme is numbers) but hadn’t been getting round to it. The latest challenge at Let’s Squash It to use at least three folders and a person gave me the extra push to do it before the deadline when I hit on this idea for combining. 

The bingo card became the backdrop for the sassy pair and I took inspiration from Gail’s Technique Time post and embossed three scraps with the other two folders - circular scraps in this case. The birthday sentiment is already a circle and I put two other circles into a folder that has lots of circles on it. Pearl dots seemed to be in keeping with both the circle thing  and the '50s feel. I even gave the top lady a pearl  earring!

I initially planned to sand the bingo card having painted white card with black acrylic paint but I wasn’t getting quite as much contrast as I wanted so I ended up using silver wax on it. 

This was a fun make, even if the end result isn’t very “me”!

Stamps:
Tea and Coffee, Cherish Alphabet (both Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Bingo and Retro Circle embossing folders (Tim Holtz/Sizzix)
Happy Birthday embossing folder (set of four small folders by Sizzix)
Copic markers
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Silver Leaf)
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Black acrylic paint 

  

February elements

It’s the first Friday of the month so it must be an elemental challenge over at Daring Cardmakers - my turn to host and I’ve taken inspiration from the month to put together our inspiration photo.  Violet and amethyst are February’s flower and gemstone, it’s usually cold and wet so curling up with a book is a good option but thoughts are starting to turn to gardening or beach walks if you’re lucky enough to live close to one. 

As usual, choose at least three elements from the picture to kick start your project. I chose a shell, book text, amethyst colour gems and a “hello” sentiment. 

I stamped the shell on the book page (taken from a book that was too shabby to give to a charity shop when we did a cull recently), painted over with gesso then stamped again once dry and shaded with Copic markers. I did try a version without the gesso but the detail of the stamp didn’t work well with the text showing through. 

Stamps:
Coquillage #2 (Carabelle Studio)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board
Old book page

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Wilted Violet)

Other:
Copic markers
Gesso
Cressida stencil
Nail art gems

Here's the inspiration photo for February:

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

October’s elements

Dawn has chosen a lovely picture for inspiration for our ‘elemental’ challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week.  As ever, just choose at least three elements to kickstart your project. 

I picked the cable knit, book page, twine, autumn leaf and airmail envelope stripes for a collage-style card.

We recently had a good clear out prior to getting our dining room plastered and there were a couple of books that were too shabby to donate to a charity shop so I “rehomed” them in the craft room and used a page here. I embossed a torn piece of kraft cardstock and layered up with a stamped leaf and some twine. I’d just finished a book of airmail stamps and there’s a little sticker strip along the edge of the book so I used that to underline the sentiment. 

Retro Rubber’s current challenge is “anything goes” and as I’ve had the leaf set for five years or more, I’m playing along there too. 

Stamps:
Falling Leaves (Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous - I’ve had mine five years or so) Sentiment from Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board
Kraft
Old book page

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Crochet thread
Copic markers
Cable knit Dynamic Impressions embossing folder (Stampin Up!)
Airmail stripes from book of stamps

Here's the inspiration picture if you would like to join in with us at DCM this week:

Thanks for stopping by!

Creative Chaos

Svenja is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to see some sheet music on our projects.

I couldn’t find my book of old and damaged sheet music so I printed a freebie score onto copy paper (it’s Beethoven —Für Elise— if any musically literate folk are trying to make it out through the other stuff here!)

I use my Gelli plate to do a print from a magazine onto the musical score, tinted it with Distress inks, stamped some circles and a sentiment (which I curved slightly before stamping to follow the shape of her face a bit more closely). The circles have a tiny bit of grey shading to give them some depth.

Creative chaos is a polite term for the usual state of my craft room!

Stamps:
Limor Circles (Indigo Blu)
Creative Chaos (Visible Image)

Paper:
Plain copy paper
Black

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tattered Rose, Picked Raspberry)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Wilted Violet)

Other:
Copic markers
Gelli plate 
Black acrylic paint
Brayer

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

Recycling duty

Ruth has set this week's challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers, choosing her topic well before the current state of affairs. It might be very apt for times when we have to stay in since it's about using what you already have, not nipping out to buy new: recycling!

I decided I'd make postcards to send to my dad and brother - a bit of actual mail dropping through the letterbox might be extra welcome at this time and I figured postcards might raise a smile or two as they worked their way through the mail system.

My recycled elements are the insides of a couple of "security" envelopes (the sort that have bank statements etc in them) and the pointing fingers which came from cartons of oat milk - the printed layer of the carton peeled off beautifully so they were easy to cut out and not too bulky.

The bubble borders are painted with iridescent colours so they have an extra soap bubbly look about them but of course that doesn't come over on camera.

On a side note: if you're looking for a plant-based milk that froths well and keeps that froth for the perfect cafe latte or capuccino, I have to say that Oatly Barista does the job extremely well!

Stamps:
Bubble border (Lost Coast Designs)
Just My Type (Ma Vinci's Reliquary, no longer with us)

Paper:
Security envlopes (stuck on white card)

Ink:
Archival by Tsukineko (Cobalt Blue) 
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Oatly carton
Perfect Pearls
Fine line marker

Thanks for stopping by, stay safe and remember to wash your hands!

March elements

Miri has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers today and as it’s the first Friday of the month of course it’s an “elemental” one - just choose at least three elements from the inspiration picture to include on your card.

That’s Crafty had a plate of Viva Las Vegastamps at a price I couldn’t resist in their end of year clear out sale - I really wanted it for the police box/Tardis image that’s on there but Brian Kesinger’s quirky illustration style should provide some fun, too!

Presumably Otto can build up a lot of speed on that penny farthing since he’s wearing driving goggles. Maybe when his tentacles get tired he just switches to a different pair since he has eight to chose from!

From the inspiration picture this month (it’s at the end of this post if you didn’t arrive via the DCM blog) I chose quirky octopus, painty strokes, little gold circles in threes, typewriter font and the colours. I stamped the image on the card just below the painty background and then stamped again on a scrap piece, coloured Otto, cut him out and stuck him on with gel glue so he’s raised up. The tiny circles are “stamped” with the little tube that’s sometime threaded on the end of a fine paintbrush to protect the bristles.

Stamps:
Otto's Sweet Ride (from Plate 909, Viva Las Vegastamps)
Sentiment from Mini Memories (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Delicata by Tsukineko (Golden Glitz)

Other:
Copic markers
Coloured pencils
Acrylic paints
Pinflair glue gel
Stitched rectangles dies, A6 size by Paper Rose

Here's our inspiration picture this month:

I've got your number!

Ruth has set the challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to see numbers on our projects as her son celebrates a significant birthday soon!

I wanted to have a go at a reductive painting technique that featured in a recent challenge at Splitcoast Stampers and thought this might be a good opportunity. I used Tim Holtz alphabet masks that I've had forever and a day over a shaving foam background left over from a play with the oxidised shaving foam technique. A layer of black acrylic paint and there you go - a dramatic background!

The quirky Party Puffin is always fun and he's useful for cards where people don't have specific hobbies or anything to theme things around. I gave him a bit of a "halo" with a white pencil to reduce the risk of him disappearing against the background.

Stamps:
Party Puffin (Crafty Individuals)
Sentiment words from Say It Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Shaving foam piece done on preimum weight copy paper

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Copic markers
White pencil
Stitched rectangles A6 size dies (Paper Rose)
Black acrylic paint
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the Chain - July

It's time for another reveal at the Card Chain Challenge. My card has gone to Gail this month. Gail is part of the team that does a fabulous job organising the Chain each month so it's a particular pleasure to be able to send her a card.

From the options on offer this month I chose the theme of faces and also the product options of watercoluring and stencils.

I have to confess to a slight cheat this time - Molly was already watercoloured and mounted on another card that I had never used so I pulled it apart and made a new one since I liked the way she turned out and it seemed a shame not to have sent her to anybody! She's stamped in a very light ink so I could do some "no line" colouring.

I had a stencil out on my desk that was cut with the Spellbinder fancy lattice die - I used that to add a bit of background with Tumbled Glass ink and then ran a glitter pen around the edge of a few shapes and smudged it for some shimmery shading.

Stamps:
Molly (Beeswax Stamps)
Sentiment from Journaling Words 3 (Artistic Stamper)

Paper:
Cold press watercolour
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Black Soot, Pumice Stone, Tumbled Glass)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Circle Nestabilities and Fancy Lattice die (Spellbinder)
White paint pen by Posca
Turquoise Spica glitter pen
Charcoal pencil
Corner Chomper

There are still a few days to sign up for the August chain if you fancy it - just make one card using one or more of the challenge options, send it out and get a handmade card from the next person in the chain.

August elements

Kathy has chosen a lovely inspiration mood board for the August “elemental” challenge over at Daring Cardmakers. As ever, just chose at least three elements from the picture to kickstart your project.

I chose a shell, waves, random sparkle, book text, turquoise blue and a single word in a handwritten style.

I used the square from the Gel Press Petites to add brayered turquoise paint to a card base. I then sketched lines with a Spica glitter pen on the gel square, spritzed with water and pressed it over the paint. Just take care not to press too hard with the pen if you do this so the nib doesn’t damage the surface of the gel. I used the little white imperfections in the paint impression to guide where I put dots of Glossy Accents and poured on some clear glitter. As usual with a still photo the glitter doesn’t show up too well but it’s there and it’s pretty in real life!

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Say It All (Hero Arts, both retired I believe)

Paper:
Bristol board 
Old book page

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Gel Press Petites
Fresco Finish acrylic paint by PaperArtsy (Mermaid)
Spica glitter pen (Turquoise)
Glossy Accents
Glamour Dust by DecoArt (Crystal)
Washi tape
Corner Chomper 

Here's the inspiration picture if you’d like to join in and didn’t arrive by way of the DCM blog!

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain - June

It's reveal day at the Card Chain Challenge. My card this month went to Jane and from the options on offer I chose the colours (lemon, lime, sky blue) and the theme of feathers.

I just coloured the die cut feathers with inks for a sort of ombre effect and smooshed slightly watered down blue ink onto the card base using a piece of acetate. It's pearlescent ink so it has a pretty sheen in real life. I used the same ink* to stamp the script for a bit of background interest.

Stamps:
Essential Messages and 19th Century Script (both Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Sky, Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress Oxide by Ranger (Twisted Citron)
Jenni Bowlin ink by Ranger (Lemon Drop)

Other:
Feather Duo die/folder by Tim Holtz/Sizzix
Corner Chomper
Pinflair glue gel

*That ink pad is over 13 years old - never been reinked and still performing just fine! I happen to know how long I've had it because I bought a pink and a blue ready to stamp a setniment on a card when a friend was expecting her first baby and that baby (who got a Pearlescent Orchid sentiment, as it happens) is now a teenager!

Thanks for stopping by!

Link in the chain: May

The reveal for May's Card Chain Challenge has just gone live. My card went to Jo this month and from the options on offer I used the theme of insects and the sketch.

I used an embossing folder to "stamp" the backkground - the positive side with a couple of shades of Distress ink and the negative to add the fine lines in dark brown - I didn't try precise line-up to get a slightly "off register" look.

After drawing in the charcoal pencil to fit the sketch I thought "bee line"!

Stamps:
Queen Bee (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 
Watercolour

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate) 
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed, Wild Honey)

Other:
Sizzix Texture Fade Folder (Honeycomb)
Copic markers
Charcoal pencil
Phrases I dies (Spellbinder)
Hexagon dies (X Cut)
Corner Chomper

There are still a couple of days to sign up for the June chain if you fancy it!

Initially speaking...

Kathy has set our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers  this week - she'd like to see the letters of this month inspiring what you use or how you make your project. For example Masking, Anniversary, Yellow - the intials spell MAY.

I used a Magazine page, Alcohol ink and Yupo paper for a surprisingly quick mixed media card.

I started with the thought of doing an underwater thing so dripped various green and blue inks onto the Yupo - you have to go with the flow to a certain extent and see what emerges. I used a bamboo skewers to dot in a little rubbing alcohol in places to create the lighter spots. The magazine page was out on my desk and the eyes wanted to be used here so the watery world will have to wait for another time!

Supplies:
Yupo paper
Alcohol inks
Rubbing alcohol 
Magazine page
Fineline marker 
Sentiment from Wild Mushrooms (Power Poppy)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Thanks for stopping by!

Time to create

Sylvia is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers  this week and her theme is “a moment in time” - it could be clocks or watches or something like story time or tea time!

I've used an astronomical map as well as a traditional clock on my card - light years count, right?

I played with the circular Gel Press Petite here, pulling text from an old book page then adding a subtle dotty white layer using an embossing folder to texture the paint on the Gel Press. Background stamping, die cut frames, sequins and a punched star add to the mixed media credentials!

Stamps:
Reach for the Stars and Time to Stamp (both Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Small stars from Merry Cut and Stamp (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol boarp
Premium weight copy paper 
Silver mirror card
Silver glitter card

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Gel Press Petites
Acrylic paints
Old book page
Gently Falling embossing folder by Stampin Up
Fine frames dies by Altenew (rectangle and circle)
Star squeeze punch by Fiskars
Sequins
Fineline marker

Thanks for stopping by!

Recycle it

The lovely Svenja is setting our challenge this week at Daring Cardmakers and she'd like us to do a bit of recycling. It could be a failed project that you've given a makeover to turn it into something fabulous or it could be bits and pieces you rescue from the recyle bin and put to good crafty use.

I used three bits of "recylcing" here: a magazine page to make a print using a gel plate, my sentiment word is cut from a piece of tomato paste tube and I used a "stencil" that is actually a piece of plastic that came on a computer keyboard as a protector while in transit.

If you have a gel plate and haven't played with the magazine transfer technique it's a fun thing to do - this video is a good introduction if you want to have a play! Premium weight copy paper seems to make a good surface to pull prints and it's not expensive so it doesn't feel too awful if something doesn't work!

I used a white pencil to add some gentle highlighting and a charcoal pencil for some grounding shadows.

This is for a friend with whom we enjoy the odd wine tasting!

Supplies:
Page from Decanter magazine
Gelli plate
Acrylic paints (black, yellow green, turquoise)
White pencil
Charcoal pencil
Happy Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts)
Tomato paste tube
Keyboard “stencil”
Tim Holtz Distress ink (Mowed Grass) 
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Black Copic marker
Corner chomper

Thanks for stopping by!