Vintage Vellum

Lisa Silver has a wonderful technique for getting soft colouring and vintage style - she uses Copic markers on the back of vellum. I decided to try a little adaptation of the technique and see how it works with Prismacolor pencils.

If you want to have a go at this, just stamp your image onto vellum (I like Brilliance ink for this, it seems to work well to give a crisp image on vellum and dries reasonably quickly). Once it's dry, flip it over and colour the back. If you're using a coloured label as a guide, don't forget that you're working on a mirror image. I blended just a little with Sansodor and a stump. Turn your image back over and place white or very pale cardstock behind it to make the most of your colouring. Easy peasy and a great way to get very delicate colours, especially useful on vintage style projects.

I thought the paper looked kind of like a warm and cuddly blanket, perfect for a little girl at bed time! It's from the new MochaChica paper pack designed by Kim Hughes - the papers are really modern and funky but I thought I'd prove they can do vintage too!

Oh, for anyone who has a wishlist at CHF, there are double points in the loyalty scheme for all rubber purchases this weekend (Friday, August 29th (12am MST) to midnight (MST) Monday, Sept 1st) :o)

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Stamps: The Prayer (Sandra Kuck line at CHF)

Paper: MochaChica paper pack (Kim Hughes Collection at CHF)
vellum card stock
smooth white
Prism Birchtone Dark

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black by Tsukineko
Chestnut Roan Fluid Chalk ink by Clearsnap

Tools: Classic Oval Nestabilities by Spellbinders

Other: Prismacolor Pencils/OMS/stump
Flowers by Prima
Pearl brad
Vintage lace trim
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Thanks for visiting today, hope you enjoyed it!

A snowy hello

Summer seems to have passed us by so I thought I'd go straight to winter (do not pass go, do not collect £200). The CHF DT girls have a challenge each Monday and this week's is to use your favourite product on your project. I picked Glossy Accents, not a favourite because I use it on everything but because it's a new toy so I'm having fun playing with it!

I used it in several ways on this card:
- Each snow dot is highlighted to make it shine
- I used it as glue for the glitter on the star, it's great for this as it's completely clear and very gloopy so you can get loads of glitter on there without any interference with the colour!
- I filled the centre of my metal frame with it so it looks like it has a glass panel.
- I made the snowflake embellie by punching a flake from acetate and then coating it with Glossy Accents so that it has more dimension and a really icy look.

Here's a closer look at the acetate/Glossy Accents snowflake. I like how that turned out so I may well play with that technique again!

I stitched on my card too so it fits today's Think Pink challenge on Bubbly Funk and the card will go into my next bundle for Di to sell at the Think Pink sale in October. Check out the link in the menu on the right if you want to know more about this great fundraiser for Breast Cancer Care!

Stamps: Snowman with Star, Silhouette Blooms I (sentiment), paisley backgrounder - all Cornish Heritage Farms
Ink: Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black and Smokey Gray)
Paper: smooth white (unknown maker) and DCWV white core
Other: Prismacolor pencils, iridescent glitter, Glossy Accents, pewter hardware (Making Memories), acetate sheet

Tools: Sewing machine and metallic thread, snowflake punch (X cut), sandpaper


Thanks for stopping by! Lots of the girls have played with their favourites this week so why not check out a few others if you want to see some fun projects?

Alli
Kristine
Michele
Kim
Dawn
Lori
Sherrie
Carole
Becky
Val
Julie

A cute cottage and some very exciting news!

Thank you all so much for your lovely comments about my Thomas Kinkade fisherman. I have another Kinkade to share with you today and some exciting news alongside it.

I think this image, Foxglove Cottage, has a lovely warm feeling to it and it would make a great card for someone special returning home from a trip or someone moving into a new place of their own. I blended the first layer of colour on this one with Sansodor to provide a soft base layer and then added shading and texture over the top with the same pencils. A little bit of Glossy Accents gives the windows and lamp a glassy sheen and a white pen adds highlights. I used a fine paint brush to transfer the white ink in places where I wanted very fine detail.

I made the sentiment panel by cutting a frame with two Nestability dies and colouring it with a Krylon pen. Once the Krylon had dried, I sponged black pigment ink over the top to 'antique' it a bit and I filled the centre of the plaque with Glossy Accents so that it looks a bit like a ceramic name plate.

So... the exciting news is that I submitted this card to the recent Design Team call at Cornish Heritage Farms and I heard earlier this week that I was one of three people picked to join the team *big grin*. I am absolutely thrilled to be joining a really talented bunch of stampers and I'm sure I'll be learning loads!

Stamps:
- Foxglove Cottage (Thomas Kinkade series at Cornish Heritage Farms)
- sentiment stamp (my own design)

Ink:
- Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso)
- Versafine by Tsukineko (Vintage Sepia and Onyx Black)
- Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)

Cardstock:
- Birchtone light and Birchtone medium by Prism Papers
- smooth white

Tools:
- Prismacolor and Lyra pencils (plus OMS and blending stumps)
- sewing machine & thread
- Classic oval Nestabilities
- fine paint brush

Accessories:
- brads
- Glossy Accents by Ranger
- Inkssentials white pen by Ranger
- Krylon leafing pen (copper)

Thanks for stopping by, hope you enjoyed the card!

Gone fishin'?

Something a bit different from me today! Cornish Heritage Farms do several more detailed art lines including images by Thomas Kinkade (America's biggest selling living artist, apparently!). I got some images to play with and had great fun colouring! This one really makes you think about water and the fact that what you usually see when you look at it is not water itself, it's a version of everything above it! As ever, you can click on the pic for a closer view.



Sentiment is computer generated (Palace Script and New Century Schoolbook fonts) with a shadow added with a marker.

The little fly lure hanging from the hardware started life as an earring! Many, many years ago my aunt bought me a pair from a guy who'd obviously decided there was a lucrative jewellery sideline to his fly tying business! Sadly, I lost its partner a long time ago and my ear piercings healed so I can't wear earrings either. I decided to give this little fly a new purpose in life and add it to this card as it seemed perfect with this image!

Supplies: It Doesn't Get Much Better (Cornish Heritage Farms), Prism paper (Olive dark and medium), Adirondack ink (Espresso), Tim Holtz Distress ink (Antique Linen, Vintage photo), computer and printer, Prisma and Lyra pencils, OMS/blending stumps, Inkssentials white pen, antique copper hardware, Copic marker, sponge, old earring!

Thanks for visiting, hope you enjoy your day!

Walnuts? No thanks!

I actually like walnuts but since this is a post about walnut resist I thought I should refuse! A while ago I saw a card done with walnut ink resist on Deb Neerman's blog (she did a tutorial too - here) and thought it looked a fun thing to do. Could I find walnut ink anywhere in the UK? No I could not. Did I end up ordering ink crystals from the US? Would I do such a thing?

I like inky and I like random. I'm not so good at patience so I thought this technique would be good for my soul since you have to walk away and leave it overnight! For this card, I stamped the branch in Versamark and embossed with clear detail embossing powder then gave it a liberal spraying with my walnut ink so that it pooled and puddled a bit on the surface of the cardstock then I left it in its spray box and went to bed! This morning, my branch looked like this and just needed trimming, matting and I added a random wrap of waxed linen thread for some textural interest.

I love this effect, it's almost like leather and would make great masculine cards with the right stamp. Good job I like it really, it looks like the tiny jar of walnut ink crystals is going to go a looooong way as it is!

Supplies: Silhouette Blooms I (Cornish Heritage Farms), Versamark, clear detail embossing powder, walnut ink crystals, spray bottle, waxed linen thread

Thanks for stopping by, hope you're having a great day!

Think Pink!

I don't usually do pink. It's just one of those colours that's never really done it for me. But it's not really the colour in question here, it's breast cancer care. Over on the Bubbly Funk forum we're currently having weekly challenges leading up to a Cyber crop and a big Think Pink sale to raise funds for Breast Cancer Care - there's a Think Pink blog too, all the challenges will be there along with a gallery of completed projects.

Think Pink Blog

So although it's not geared to this week's challenge, I thought I'd add some pink in honour of the campaign when I made a card this morning (although all colours are welcome!). This card combines a Crafty Secrets Member company challenge (to use black in a vintage card) and a sketch challenge from Splitcoaststampers.

Supplies: Sew Special and Mini Memories (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets, Cheesecloth backgrounder (Cornish Heritage Farms), Versafine Onyx Black, Clearsnap Fluid Chalk ink (Dark Peony, Rouge, Pink pastel, Creamy Brown), Cuttlebug Textile Texture folder, Prismacolor pencils/OMS/stump, pinking shears, sewing machine and thread.

Why not check out the Think Pink blog to find out more about what it's all about?

Thanks for dropping by today, hope you enjoyed your visit!

Whoa, I'm going to Barbados...

I'm not really but I kept singing it whilst making this card!

I was lucky enough to win a set of Kim Hughes designed stamps from Cornish Heritage Farms during their last blitz event and have just made my first card with Paradise Found.

We could use a little sunshine at the moment so I thought I'd go for a tropical sunset and some bright hibiscus flowers to frame it. The layout kind of reminds me of that '70s kind of postcard, if you know what I mean! The flower garland was done with a simple mask and the stamp just turned at different angles. The sunset is brayered and the flowers are coloured with alcohol markers. I didn't have any suitable foliage stamps so I just drew some green shapes in there with markers. I sponged black ink up against torn copier paper to make the land bar for the distant palms.

Supplies: Paradise Found (Cornish Heritage Farms), Ranger Archival jet black, Adirondack ink (sunshine yellow, sunset orange), Tim Holtz Distress ink (Scattered Straw, Fired Brick), Clearsnap chalk ink (azurite), oval Nesability (used as a guide with a scalpel), alcohol markers (some Copic, some Tria), brayer

Three blog friends have been kind enough to give me an award too - thank you! Dan, Shaz and Hazel all have blogs of their own - why not pay a visit?.

I'm supposed to pick seven blogs and nominate them now but I'm rubbish at this because I love visiting so many blogs. Here's a handful: Lisa at Silver Stamping, Keri at Pink Lemonade, Kathy, in her own world, Tracy at Craftyme, Kaz at Slightly Wonky Crafts and Janice, the Serial Crafter. Please don't be offended if you're not here - my brain aches just remembering that many!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Seaside diorama

I fancied having a go at a diorama card after seeing the tutorial at Splitcoaststampers and when my Seaside set arrived I thought it would make a perfect diorama subject! I remember those postcards you used to get where things appeared to move depending on how you held the card and thought the diorama had a bit the same effect!

Here's the card front on - it sort of loses the depth a bit but I wanted to get the whole sentiment on there as I think it's so sweet! The shells are on the card front, the little girl is on the middle layer and the sea and sentiment form the backdrop. I stamped the images so that they overlapped where the ovals would be cut and then used an oval template and a blade to cut the apertures, trimming round the images to leave them cutting into the space.

Here's another view, this shows the multi layers and the depth a bit better and lets you see that little flock of seagulls hoving in to view - hope they're not about to spoil her fun and dive bomb her sandcastles!

This kind of card just pushes sideways so that it flattens to go into an envelope - fun!

Supplies: Seaside stamp set (Crafty Secrets), Versafine Vintage Sepia, Adirondack (Cloudy Blue, Stonewashed, Denim), Tim Holtz Distress ink (Antique Linen, Scattered Straw, Broken China), Nick Bantock ink (Charcoal Grey), Prismacolor pencils/OMS/stump, sponge, white gel pen

ETA a shout out for Dani of Four Creative Seasons - she has a fabulous eBay store and ships quickly and as cheaply as possible. She's my Crafty Secrets supplier of choice! Areas of California are suffering terrible fires at the moment and Dani is donating a portion of profits from the store to charities concerned with the fire fighting and relief effort. Why not check out the Four Creative Seasons store if you have some crafty pennies to spend?

Thanks for dropping by, hope the sun is shining on you today even if only metaphorically!

Time flies...

Ooops, bad blogger! I thought I'd show you this card - I made it a little while back but it's been in an anonymous voting process and I didn't want to blow my cover! The lovely people on the Tanda Stamps forum have a card making competition every month with forum members voting for their favourite card from all the entries. The theme for May was Bugs and Kisses - so anything with butterflies, ladybirds etc etc.

Being a last-minute minnie I had to choose something reasonably quick. I cut the dragonfly from the Crafty Secrets Earthy paper pad and just added a little sparkle to his wings with a clear Spica glitter pen. Edges of the paper (from the Radiant pad) are sponged and then overstamped with the swirls and the sentiment (which I thought went nicely with the fleeting nature of a dragonfly).

Supplies: Beautiful and Time to Stamp sets (both Cornish Heritage Farms), Earthy and Radiant paper pads (Crafty Secrets), Tim Holtz Distress ink (Tea Dye), sewing machine and metallic thread, nail art gems

Big smile - my card won the vote this time so I got to pick out a prize of some new stamps! Thank you very much Tanda, I'll enjoy playing with my vintage transport set just as soon as I get my (work) life under control!

Pop-up book?

Darlene's challenge this week in the Crafty Secrets member forum at Splitcoaststampers is a great one! She's asked us to "check our calendars" and make a card for any occasion that's printed on there (so not all those birthdays and anniversaries etc you write in for yourself). As soon as I spied International Literacy Day on September 8th I knew I'd found my calendar occasion!

I love to read. I've always loved to read. I don't even remember learning to read and I was pretty fluent by the time I started school so it obviously didn't present too many difficulties for mini me! This little bookish chap is obviously having a fine old time in his imaginary world and I thought he'd be perfect on a surprise pop up card which was yesterday's technique challenge at Splitcoast (there's a tutorial here if you'd like to make a card in this style yourself).

I used a cheesecloth background stamp to make my card base a bit leathery looking like an old book binding and sponged the edges too for a more aged and handled appearance and added a border of machine stitching, again because it made me think of old style book binding techniques.

I made a little tassel at the top of the slider as I thought it looked a bit like a bookmark! I stamped the panel that's revealed when you pull on the slider with a handwriting style stamp in Antique Linen ink so that I can add a message without it being swamped by a strong pattern but there's still some interest there.

I thought I could turn this into a gift by tucking a book token in there so it slides out at the same time as the message is revealed (not sure if my American visitors have book tokens - in the UK we have a national scheme which means you can buy a token in almost any book shop and send it as a gift that can be spent in almost any other book shop).

Supplies: Story of Me and Journaling (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets), Cheesecloth backgrounder (CHF), Tim Holtz Distress ink (Fired Brick and Antique Linen), Versafine Vintage Sepia, Prismacolor pencils/OMS/stump, sewing machine and thread, Brass and Cream Hardware stickers (Heartwarming Vintage/Crafty Secrets), Nestability Classic Circle (used as a guide with a scalpel), copper gel pen, old gold cord from stash, corner rounder.

Thanks for your visit today, hope you enjoyed it!