Under the sea

It's Svenja setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she's sending us under the sea. There are extra virtual brownie points for an octopus. As I can always use extra brownie points I used it as an excuse to pull out this colour layering stamp that's only been used once or twice.

I liked the idea of an eight limbed creature sending hugs so this sentiment seemed perfect!

I stamped dark to light on the octopus (Dusty Concord first for the detailed layer and then a mix of the other two on the solid layer), using the MISTI so that I could clear emboss the whole octopus as a final step. That means it resists the ink for the stencilled water and the stamped weed/coral without having to worry about any masking.

This fits today's Free For All challenge on Splitcoast Stampers too - why not come play in both?!

Stamps:
Layering Octopus (Hero Arts)
Truly Appreciated (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord, Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, Salty Ocean)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versamark by Tsukineko

Other:
Fibres stencil (Visible Image)
Clear embossing powder
Sequins
Corner Chomper
MISTI

Thanks for stopping by!

Beady fish!

Miri has set the challenge for us over at Daring Cardmakers this week - she'd like to see us using a bead or beads on our cards.

I found some tiny seed beads in my stash and this background was lying on my desk and the colours seemed to go. To me it said "seascape" so that's what happened. The beads are providing a bit of texture and sparkle - they're just sprinkled onto some Glossy Accents.

The fish have glittery scales if you get the light right - courtesy of clear Wink of Stella pen. I've left it with no sentiment so it can be an all-purpose card!

The background is one I made for a mixed media challenge at Splitcoast a few weeks back that's a slight twist on the old shaving foam marbling technique. Details here if you fancy a go!

Stamps:
Under the Sea (Darkroom Door)

Paper:
Smooth white
Oxidised shaving foam background (on premium weight copy paper)

Ink:
Brilliance (Graphite black, Pearlescent Ivy)
Distress Oxide (Cracked Pistachio)
Distress reinkers (Broken China, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch - for the background technique)

Other:
Seed beads
Glossy Accents
Wink of Stella (Clear)
Fineline marker

Thanks for stopping by!

Life on the ocean wave

Shabneez is setting the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers today and she'd like us to go nautical.

A few years back my hubby spotted some interesting printing blocks on a  stall in Covent Garden and bought a couple for me including this ship. I'm not sure how they're intended to be used but I found that with a little bit of jiggery-pokery it's possible to run them through the Big Shot as a kind of letterpress. The printing lines are etched into a metal plate so you can't just use it like a rubber stamp, it needs some pressure.

I've added just the slightest hint of colour around the ship using dots of Copic marker that get more widely space as they get further out. I thought the plank embossing could represent the ship's deck.

Supplies:
Printing block
Sentiment words from Say It Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Bristol board
Versafine by Tsukienko (Onyx Black) 
Memento Luxe by Tsukineko (Love Letter)
Copic marker
Silver mirror card
Pinewood Planks embossing folder (Stampin' Up!)
Rectangle Nestabilities by Spellbinder
White Enamel Accents by Ranger
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

ABW!

It's my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and I'd like to see ABW - anything but white! I've fallen into the habit of using white as my card base so I thought I should challenge myself at least.

Of course, being a last minute minnie it had to be a father's day card. I was in the mood for texture so I decided to emboss rather than stamp this week.

I swiped charcoal grey ink onto the folder before embossing some mid grey cardstock and then rubbed silver ink and two shades of Perfect Pearls over the large shell.

The embossing is deep enough that it's really easy to reseat the piece in exactly the same place on the folder so I swiped the inkpad around the large shell area again and put it back through the Big Shot to redefine the inking after adding the pearl effect.

The die cut word has the same Perfect Pearls and silver ink treatment and the rest of the sentiment is stamped onto the torn vellum strip to finish it off.

Stamps:
Happy Stamp & Cut (Hero Arts)

Ink:
Delicata by Tsukineko (Silver Shimmer)
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Charcoal)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Paper:
Stormy Medium (an ancient Prism papers one!)
Vellum

Other:
M-bossabilities folder by Spellbinder (Shell Beauty)
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Blue Patina and Blue Raspberry)

Here's a close up that shows the depth and detail of the embossing a bit more clearly.

We'd love to have you join us with your ABW creations - just have a look at the lovelies the rest of the team came up with if you're looking for ideas to get you started!

Mirror, mirror

Sharon is setting this week's dare over at Daring Cardmakers and she's asking us to include a reflective element in our cards this week.

I started with some watercolour paper and stamped the seahorse then used a mask cut from a Post It to cover him up and stamped the streaks in three Distress inks. I spread the ink just a little with a damp paint brush and then added three stamped splashes.

There's just a tiny touch of Copic shading added to the seahorse before finishing with a stamped sentiment and the very shiny dots. They're the "waste" portion from various dies that include a hole which are domed with an embossing stylus on a piece of fun foam. The mirror card really is very reflective - you can see the window frame if you look carefully!

Stamps:
Under the Sea by Darkroom Door
Brush Strokes and Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper:
Watercolour
Silver mirror card

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlscent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Broken China)

Other:
Copic marker (Eggshell)
Tag and bauble dies
Embossing stylus 
Corner Chomper 

Thanks for stopping by, hope you have a lovely weekend!

Against the tide

I'm just sneaking under the wire with a postcard for this month's swap on UKStampers. Our theme this month is "windows".

I went for a specialist window - a porthole. It must be on a submarine since there's a fish just outside! The fish is stamped on acetate and painted with Precious Metal paint and then flipped so you can see the detail of the stamping. The base is metallic silver which made it hard to photograph since I either got glare off the acetate or the silver bleached out to white!

I've layered up the piece painted with silver acrylic with a die cut hole, the stamped acetate and a piece painted with various turquoise acrylic paints for the background. A ring cut with Nesties makes the porthole frame and I made dots with glue for rivets and let them dry hard before painting. I used some pewter Perfect Pearls to add streaks to age things a bit.

The wording is done by printing onto the shiny side of a transparency sheet with an inkjet printer, laying it onto the painted surface and then burnishing with a wooden stick. You need to remember to print wording in mirror image if you do this but it works well, particularly for a slightly grungy look where you don't need a super crisp result!

A quick spray with Krylon Matt sealant to give it a bit of protection and it's done.

Stamps:
Under the Sea (Darkroom Door)

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Paper:
Smooth white
Acetate sheet

Other:
Class ic Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Acrylic paints (silver and various turquoise blues)
Precious Metal paint by Viva Decor (Pearl and Azure)Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Pewter)

Thanks for stopping by - hope your weekend is a good one!