WMS Flower Show (2)

Claire has posted on the Waltzingmouse Stamps blog to open up the Flower Show for anyone who has played along by CASEing one of the projects made by the talented bunch of designer/bloggers who took part in Friday's blog hop - details here.

For my second project (first one posted yesterday in this post), I was inspired by this beauty which is showcased here on Debbie Olsen's blog.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm a candidate for "World's Worst CASEer" as things tend to fall apart when I try to base my work on somebody else's project but it was fun to play along.

From Debbie's original I kept the larger size (7"x5"), the stamp set, the zig zag stitching and the basic layout.

I created my own background paper with gesso, acrylic paint and some stamping (a retired CHF backgrounder with a small leaf pattern and the sprig from the WMS Paris Nouveau set). Versafine Smokey Grey ink is perfect for this sort of thing, especially if you blot it before it's fully dried so you get a slightly hazy effect.

As with yesterday's card, I omitted the bulkier embellishments, using a coloured mat around the sentiment panel for that second pop of mauve rather than the bow and stick pins. I used the same Copic marker to colour some white cardstock for the mat so I got a perfect match for the rose colour. I added an intricate die cut under the rose as an echo of Debbie's lacey edging on her sentiment panel. Some some tiny pearls added an extra feminine touch and the centre of the rose has some gold Spica pen for a tiny bit of glimmer.

Stamps:
Roses in Bloom (Walzingmouse Stamps)
Sprig from Paris Nouveau (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Leaves 3 Backgrounder (CHF, retired)
Sentiment from Say It All (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Espresso (Adirondack by Ranger)
Smokey Grey (Versafine by Tsukineko)

Other:
Gesso
Acrylic paint
Copic markers
Persian Accents dies by Spellbinder
Nail art pearls
Sewing machine and thread
Tracing wheel
Gold Spica Glitter pen

Thanks for stopping by!

WMS Flower Show

Claire at Waltzingmouse Stamps has had a lovely idea for a blog hop and challenge - the Flower Show. Several well known designers and bloggers have made guest projects focusing on WMS florals for a lovely spring display.

The challenge bit? Just CASE one of the projects and hook it up to the WMS blog tomorrow. I couldn't decide between two projects so I've actually made something for each of them and I thought I'd blog the first one today in case anybody who reads my blog hasn't seen the WMS Flower Show and would like to join in before Claire posts tomorrow.

I loved this project my Emilie Chamel, showcased in her blog post here.

I got this set recently and hadn' got round to inking it up yet so I decided this was a good push in the right direction!

I should probably say that I'm possibly the world's worst CASEer - it usually all goes to pot when I try to base my work on somebody else's! I had fun having a go, though. For my version, I kept Emilie's technique (black pen outlines for a hand-drawn look), placement off the edge of the card and the colour scheme.

I changed the orientation, used a different sentiment and slimmed down the embellishments for an easier-to-post version of the card - I used a velvet brad and some nail art gems in the centres of the purple flowers. Instead of Emilie's ink splatters I've used a scattering of tiny gemstones in colours to match two of the inks in the medallion.

This is a fun set with lots of different elements that you can build up in different ways, I'm sure it will get more outings soon!

Stamps:
Folk Art Medallion and Say It Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

Paper:
Canvas textured white

Ink:
Spanish Moss, Onyx Black (Versafine by Tsukineo)
Cherry Pink, Agean Blue (Versacraft by Tsukineko)
Spring Pansy (Versacolor by Tsukineko)
Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade (Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger)

Other:
Copic Fineliner
Velvet brad
Nail art gems
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by - do check out the Flower Show for some floral goodness and maybe join in the fun if you're inspired along the way (there are prizes, too!).

Yellow circles

Our theme for this month's postcard swap on UK stampers is "mostly yellow with circles on it somewhere". Bicycle wheels are circular so this is where my brain went...

I may have gone a bit overboard with the yellow (my fingers look like I have a heavy nicotine habit!) but nobody can say it's not bright! I did a light-handed job with the Copics since I didn't plan ahead and I'd stamped with Versafine before deciding on my colouring medium but I just about got away with it!

Stamps:
Bike and Basket (Hero Arts cling stamp)
Many Dots (Hero Arts clear stamp set)
Sentiment from Journaling Words 3 (Artistic Stamper)

Ink:
Lemon Drop (Jenni Bowlin ink by Ranger)
Mustard Seed (Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger)
Onyx Black (Versafine by Tsukineko)

Other:
Sequin Waste mask (Tando Creative)
Gesso
Copic markers
Silver gel pen

It's a low-commitment swap (make one card, get one card in return and they're posted "naked" so it's a single ordinary stamp) so why not join us if you fancy some happy mail? All the details are here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tear it up!

Time for a new "Take It, Make It" challenge over on the Craft Stamper blog. This time around we're being inspired by Helen Chilton's Terrific Tearing article which is on page 78 of the May issue. Don't worry if you haven't got hold of it yet, the challenge is open for a couple of months so there's plenty of time to play along.

I immediately had the idea of something bursting out of the card when I saw this technique so I ran with that and made a kids' birthday card with this cute monster and some bright colours. I used a textured white cardstock for just a touch of extra interest on the torn layer and added a simple doodled border as it seemed to fit the character of this little chap!

His eye stalks are raised up on foam pads and his feet are stuck to the card so he does have some movement as if he's coming out of the frame.

Stamps:
Monsters Ink (Technique Tuesday)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts)

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Paper:
DCWV textured white
Smooth white
Orange

Other:
Copic markers
Copic fineliner
Foam pads

There were some great entries for the first challenge - don't forget the winning entry will be published in a future issue of the magazine so if you fancy seeing yourself in print, why not join us?! There's a lovely stamp from sponsors Indigo Blu for the winner as well. All the challenge details are here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tipsy glitter cover girl!

I'm blowing my own trumpet just a little today - I've just got back from a couple of weeks in Italy and find myself a cover girl for the first time!

I have a step-by-step article in the May issue  of Craft Stamper on using glitter and alcohol markers (hence "Tipsy Glitter") and one of the three cards described in the article is featured on the cover. I'm quite excited!

I don't use a lot of glitter in my crafting and this is a good way to make a single colour stretch much further!

Hoping to get  back into some crafting in the next week or so but you know how it is when you've just got back from a holiday and feel you have no idea which way is up!

Stamps you can see on this cover card are
Butterflies from Antique Engravings (Hero Arts)
Sentiment from Truly Appreciated (Hero Arts)

Thanks for stopping by!

Up, up and away!

A departure from my usual stampy style today - only the sentiment is stamped on this one! 

It struck me while making this that it was probably inspired by this week's Daring Cardmakers challenge so I'm linking there. It wasn't a conscious thing but I knew the dare was "acute angles" and having gone to sleep trying to come up with an idea for a seven year old's birthday card, I woke up thinking kites for no apparent reason.

I don't own a kite stamp so I found a clip art kite and used it as a template to cut DCWV cardstock for a paper pieced kite. Lots of acute angles in those tail bows even if the kite itself has some right angles in the mix!

Supplies:
Clip art kite
Essential Messages by Hero Arts
DCWV textured  cardstock
Adirondack ink by Ranger (Stonewashed)
Versafine ink by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Sewing machine and thread
Corner Chomper
Foam pads

The recpient seemed pleased with it which is always a relief when it comes to kids' cards - I find them hard enough I never know whether I've pitched them about right or not!

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

Spring is in the air

I'm not sure that spring really is in the air yet (although we have both snowdrops and crocuses up in the garden).We're having a postcard swap on Bubbly Funk though and our theme is spring.

The person on the receiving end of my card is Net so I went with a bird theme. It's an imaginary bird, not coloured to look like anything I've ever seen!

I printed the wording out (mirror image) on the glossy side of a transparency and transferred it onto the card. I find that printing onto the card sometimes gives you a result that looks a bit too perfect and this transfer technique is just slightly grungy. I did the O separately so I could stamp and mask the bird first - I wanted the fat birdy shape to largely stand in for the rounded letter.

The HOPE letters have some doodling in both black and white marker on them and the bird and spring leaves are coloured with Copics. Since this is going through the post without an envelope that's about it!

Stamps:
Bird Notes (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)
Autumn Leaves (Sheena Douglass)

Paper: smooth white

Ink: Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso and Lettuce)

Other:
Computer and inkjet printer
Transparency sheet
Copic markers
Copic Fineliner
Posca white pen 

Thanks for stopping by!

Bright thoughts

I wanted a quick "thinking of you" card to send to a friend and thought bright colours and a cheerful image would be the way to go.

I masked with torn paper and sponged inks into the centre and then "finger walked" a paisley background stamp to give just a touch of hit-and-miss pattern to the block. I did my usual trick of stamping just the antennae on the card and then adding a cut out butterfly over the top - just the body is stuck down so the wings are bent up slightly from the card.

I was just going to add the sentiment and leave it very clean and simple but I managed to get a tiny smudge of espresso ink on there - typical when you're about done! Tiny gems came to the rescue and I think I've got away with it.

I'm afraid the pinks didn't photograph too well, the colouring is smoother in real life.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts)
Sentiment from Poppy bottles (Stampendous)
Paisley Backgrounder (CHF, retired)

Paper: smooth white

Ink: Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Pool, Stream and Espresso)

Other:
Copic markers
Acrylic nail art gems
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Getting emotional

Sam chose "getting emotional" as the theme for this month's postcard swap on UKStampers rather than going for the ubiquitous Valentine theme. As ever, cards are to be posted without an envlope so flat is good!

I started thinking about the heart as the seat of emotion and the heart vs the head. I Googled to find an appropriate quote and used that as my starting point; it's just printed from the computer on the paper I used for the card.

I thought this vintage young lady fit the bill quite nicely - she might be learning something from that book but she's dreaming about something else as well, I reckon! Or perhaps it's a novel and she's feeling somebody else's emotion vicariously - Kathy's passion for Heathcliff or Anna Karenina's despair, maybe?

Stamps
Relish Reading (Rogue Redhead Designs)
Vintage Flourish (Indigo Blu)

Paper: ivory and dark chocolate

Ink: 
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink (Antique Linen)

Other:
Copic markers
 Tracing wheel

Tonmorrow's the last day for this month's postcards but the new theme will be up soon after that if you fancy joining us and getting some happy mail!

Thanks for stopping by!

Craft Stamper Hop Spot Prize Winner!

Just a quick post today - the randomly drawn winner for the Tando Creative spot prize in last week's Craft Stamper blog hop post is Helen at Stamping by H.

Congratulations Helen! Please use the "contact me" link on the left to send me an e-mail so that I can put you in touch with Tando Creative to claim your prize!