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.

Link in the chain - August (and July!)

It's reveal time again over at Card Chain Challenge. My card this month went to Kath so it didn't have too far to travel.

From the options on offer, I chose the themes of summer and friendship. Summer seemed like the perfect excuse to revist this sweet image. I thought simple pencil colouring might work (although not so well for the photograph, it turns out!) and used the Toned Grey paper again as a nice neutral, slightly sandy base.

Stamps:
Seaside (Craft Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Toned Grey by Strathmore

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Other:
Stitched rectangle dies (Paper Rose Studio)
Coloured pencils

I realised I forgot to blog July's chain card so I'll do that here too, just so I have a record if I check back on my blog! This one went to Helen and I chose the underwater theme, the colours and the sketch (mirror image as my octopus faces right).

I used the MISTI and stamped dark to light so I cold heat emboss the solid layer of the image so the octopus would resist the inking for the background circle - sure beats trying to mask those fiddly tentacles!

Stamps:
Color Layering Octopus (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
I don't remember but Distress and Oxides in Wilted Violet, Milled Lavender, Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean probably went in there somewhere! I do rememeber the sentiment is Charcoal by Hero Arts.

Other:
Detail embossing powder (clear)
Sequins
Stickles (Frosted Lace)
Stencil (Fibres by Visible Image)
MISTI

Thanks for stopping by, hope you are keeping safe and well. There are still a few days to sign up for the September chain if you fancy making and sending a card and getting one from another chain member. sign up here.

Power of three

It's my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week. As it’s the anniversary of the birth of Alexandre Dumas, I thought we might celebrate The Three Musketeers by featuring threes on our projects this week.

I opted for three circles and three dots of Enamel Accents on a masculine birthday card. I got some toned grey paper for Christmas having seen some lovely pencil colouring done on it and I’m ashamed to say I’ve only just had a first play with it! I’ve opted for more of a simple sketch book look, too.

Embossing adds some textural interest for a limited colour palette. I inked the folder so there’s a bit extra shading going on, too. I still had the pearlescent watercolours out on my desk from last week's card so I spattered some gold on the panel before sticking down the elements.

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

Paper:
Toned grey (Strathmore)
Bristol board 

Ink:
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Soft Granite)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Smokey Gray)

Other:
Coloured pencils (white and two greys)
Charcoal pencil
Circles dies by Spellbinder
Fine frames circle die by Altenew
Stitched rectangles A6 dies by Paper Rose Studio
Shell Beauty M-Bossabilities by Spellbinder
Metallic gold pen
Metallic gold paint
Enamel Accents by Ranger

Thanks for stopping by, please do continue to take care as we ease out of lockdown and, if you’re in England, don’t forget your mask from today if you’re heading out to the shops!

Link in the chain - June

It's reveal time at Card Chain Challenge - mine is winging its way to Dawn in New Zealand this time.

From the options for June I chose the theme (beach) and sort of followed the sketch. As the card needed to go half way round the world it’s a single layer to keep it light and flat for airmailing - masking is always a useful technique when you want a “layered” image without actually using layers!

I used a stiff stencil brush to stipple various light brown and yellowish inks to give the sandy strip the appearance of some texture

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Color Layering Waves (both Hero Arts)
Seaside (Crafty Secrets, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen, Scattered Straw, Tea Dye, Tumbled Glass)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Latte)

Other:
Copic markers 
Brown fineliner 
White paint pen by Posca

Thanks for stopping by, stay safe.

Link in the chain - August

Time for another reveal over at the Card Chain Challenge. This month my card has travelled to Dee in Kenya. Unbelievably I've been playing for a year now, last August was the first time I was a link in the chain. Fittingly enough, the card I received this time is from a first time player - Tina in Slovenia!

From the options on offer I chose the theme of water and loosely followed the sketch (rotated 180 degrees).

I got this lovely seahorse stamp as a gift last Christmas and I'm ashamed to say he's only just seeing ink now!

The seahorse is coloured with Copics and then masked so I could use a stencil and three Distress inks to give him a watery background, following the sketch for placement. I sponged the same inks through circles cut in a piece of acetate, again using the sketch - the third circle is invisible to the naked eye because of the splatter trailling the seahorse!

A simple sentiment and three tiny nail art gems for some sparkle finish it off.

Stamps:
Create Your Calm (Visible Image)
Sentiment from Say It All (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

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

Other:
Copic markers
Nail art gems
Fibres stencil (Visible Image)
Corner Chomper 

Thanks for stopping by!

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!

Summertime

Miri is setting the challenge for us this week at Daring Cardmakers - she’d like us to take advantage of the summer weather and get outdoors. Picnics, sunbathing, tennis, waterskiing, a stroll along the prom with an ice cream... what would you choose to do?

I’ve opted for a spot of beach combing with some stamped shells and die cut netting. A piece from my scraps pile provides a splashy blue background and a smattering of sequins finishes it off.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings and Say It All by Hero Arts (I suspect both sets are retired)
Seaside by Crafty Secrets (no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board
Unidentified inky piece from scraps pile!

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Netting die cut (Marianne Design Craftables)
Sequins
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!

New year elements

A third of January gone already - eek! Hope it's not too late to wish everyone a very happy and peaceful new year.

Of course a new month means an "elemental" challenge at Daring Cardmakers, see the end of this post for the lovely inspiration picture Shabneez chose for us this month. As ever, just choose at least three elements from the picture to kickstart your project.

I chose the shell, burlap, coiled white thread and a translucent circle to make a masculine birthday card. The burlap is stamped through an aperture cut with a Nestie so it's directly on the card base rather than being a separate layer.

Stamps (all retired or from companies sadly no longer with us):
Antique Engravings by Hero Arts
Burlap backgrounder by Cornish Heritage Farms
Big Day Today by Waltzingmouse Stamps

Paper:
Bristol board
Kraft
Vellum

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Latte)
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
White crochet thread
White Enamel Accents by Ranger
Circle Nestabilities by Spellbinder
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

I must go down to the sea

Lythan is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week and she'd like to see anything to remind her of the sea as she misses the Welsh coast these days!

I played with Yupo paper and alcohol ink - although I used a single ink colour, it broke down beautifully into blue/aqua/green and really looked reminiscent of the ocean. I decided lots of white would show it off better though so I was brave and instead of leaving it in one piece, I die cut/punched circles to go against a fresh white background.

A single stamped starfish and bold sentiment finish it off and I think it came out nice and summery.

Stamps:
Seaside by Craft Secrets (no longer making stamps - they've gone digital)
Say It Loud by Waltzingmouse Stamps (no longer with us)

Paper:
Yupo
Bristol board

Ink:
Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance by Tsukineko

Other:
Holiday Blue Various ink Copic refill
Circle dies/punches
Corner Chomper
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by - do have a look at the DCM blog for the DT's breath of seaside air to go with the heatwave if you're in the UK!