Circle of Life

I haven't managed to play along in the postcard swap at UK Stampers for ages. I had such fun finger painting circles and doodling for my last card that I thought I'd try a quick postcard with the same technique and sneak in under the wire for this month's swap.

Sam wanted to see circles and stars for this month's cards. I made painty circles (there's a tutorial here) on an old book page (I'm still working my way through the paper ephemera pack that a local business puts together from books that are not in a fit condition for resale - this one seems to be the tale of the magic ass from a children's book!). The sentiment is heat embossed to make sure it would be dense enough to stand out well on the busy background.

I used punched stars in a couple of sizes as templates to draw the stars and then filled in with doodling (so I'm linking up the Daring Cardmakers again). Then I brushed on some diluted Dylusions to colour the while thing, avoiding the stars and some of the small circles.

Stamp: Journaling Words by the Artistic Stamper
Paper: old book page (on white card for stability)
Ink: Versamark
Other:
NeoColour II water soluble crayon
Acrylic paints
Fiskars star punchies (used to doodle round)
Black detail embossing powder
Dylusions spray - Funky Fuchsia
Fineline marker

Thanks for stopping by!

Round and round

I've had a frustrating couple of afternoons in the craftroom where nothing has worked out quite right, so today I decided to play along with two very "freeform" challenges and not try anything too structured.

This week's mixed media challenge at Splitcoast Stampers is based on painty circles and the Daring Cardmakers asked for some doodling.

I started with a piece of old sheet music and used a pink Neocolour crayon to scribble some rough circles and smuged over them with a damp finger. Then I added some turquoise, yellow and white acrylic paints (again using that highly sophisticated crafters' tool - the index finger). I dipped three different sized lids into black paint and stamped circles with those.

Of course, once it was done I ended up liking the bit I'd trimmed off the main panel more than the panel itself! I turned it into a graphic card just by mounting on a strip of black and cutting the bottom at an angle and mounting it on a crisp white base, finished with a bit of doodling and a stamped sentiment.

Stamp: Journalling Words by The Artistic Stamper

Paper:
Smooth white
Black
Old sheet music

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black

Other:
Neocolour II water soluble crayons
Acrylic paints
Fineline marker
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Dad - look away now!

I don't usually blog ahead of sending projects where they're going but I'll be too late to join in the current Pan Pastels challenge (One for the boys) if I don't get this blogged so Dad, if you're reading, look away now if you'd rather not see your Father's day card before you open the envelope!





I've just treated myself to a few masks from Caroline's revamped Bubbly Funk shop (bargains to be had as well on older stock as she clears out to make way for new things!). I used the Crafter's Workshop 6x6 Wood Grain here, spreading modelling paste through it with an old credit card.

Once the paste dried, I painted over with gesso using a coarse brush to add some extra texture in the more open areas. I then used Burnt Sienna Shade Pan Pastel to colour the panel.

I really must get a new Father's day sentiment stamp - this is the only one I have and I'm sure Dad will notice eventually! I just stamped it on a simple banner finished with some copper brads and added a single die cut to leave the wood grain as the star of the show as I loved the way it turned out. I did colour the die cut leaf with two shades of green Copic marker, just to give it a bit extra depth.

Here's a more detailed shot of how it turned out adding some gesso for that bit extra texture - I think it works well with the woodgrain!

Stamps: Sentiment from Father's Day Centers (Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)

Ink: Brilliance Pearlescent Chocolate by Tsukineko

Paper: kraft, laid texture, scrap of DCWV blue

Other:
Pan Pastel - Burnt Sienna Shade
Spectrafix Degas fixative
Maimeri Light Modelling Paste
Copic markers
Gesso
Crafter's Workshop 6x6 mask - Wood Grain
Leaves dies by Impression Obsession
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday olives

It was my hubby's birthday recently and this is the card I made him. He's a fan of olives and olive oils (he actually had oils as his gift) so I went in that direction.

I did something unheard of for me here - I drew my focal image! I have one olive stamp (from a set by the original Cornish Heritage Farms) but it was really a bit small for what I wanted to do. I decided to just get over my conviction that I can't draw and using the small stamped image and a photograph of a real olive branch for guidance, I sketched very lightly in pencil and then coloured using a combination of Copic markers and watercolour pencils, aiming for a "borderless" look. I was quite pleased with the result.

The olive image is mounted on a background done with home-made shimmer spray and pigment from a watercolour pencil brushed on through drywall tape for a bit of textural interest. I made speckles by wetting the surface and sanding the pencil over it (the blue around the olives and a dark purpley colour on the background panel) and also by flicking thinned down black acrylic paint from a brush. I added a few black enamel dots and a couple of photo corners for more texture and contrast.

Stamps:
Sentiment from Big Day Today by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Hand drawn image of olives

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black by Tsukineko

Paper:
Bamboo Mixed Media paper by Hahnemuhl
Laid texture
Black

Other:
Copic markers
Watercolour pencils
Shimmer spray made from Tumbled Glass reinker and Turquoise Perfect Pearls
Drywall tape 
Tim Holtz/Sizzix ATC and Photo corners die
Black acrylic paint
Black enamel dots

Thanks for stopping by!

Starry sketch

As usual when needing to make a kiddie card, I used a couple of challenges to get me going - no idea why I struggle as much as I do with these but I daren't even start to think how long this took me, even with the kickstart!

The Daring Cardmaker's challenge this week is to use stars and the current challenge at Waltzingmouse Fanatics is to use this sketch.

Apologies for the quality of the photo - as any of you who have tried to photograph mirri card will know, it's an absolute nightmare! The card looks more "integrated" in real life but this was as good as the photo was going to get, I'm afraid.

I toook the liberty of changing the third rectangular panel on the sketch to a circle as it fit the space rocket better to make a sort of planet/moon thing there. I used marker caps to stamp the "craters" on there.

This is destined for a wee boy celebrating his sixth birthday, I hope it's OK!

Stamps:
Half Pint Heroes by Waltzingmouse Stamps

Paper:
White
Silver Mirri
DCWV textured blue

Ink:
Brilliance Graphite Black and Starlite Silver

Other:
Fiskars squeeze punches - small and medium star
Tracing Wheel
Copic markers
Pinflair glue gel
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Light as a feather

I've been meaning to play with the Waltzingmouse Fanatics since they launched but failing to get my act together. I also follow the Daring Cardmakers religiously each week and yet haven't played along in forever. So I'm combining challenges just for fun again today.

The DCM theme this week is feathers and as I've just treated myself to the WMS Fine Feathers set I thought I should take it as hint that those stamps needed to see ink sooner rather than later! The Fanatics asked for some texture on our projects.

I mixed some reinker and Perfect Pearls in a mini mister to make my own shimmer mist and sprayed some cardstock. Once that was dry, I added texture paste through a home made stencil, let that dry and spritzed again with the shimmery stuff.

I added some stamped splats and some actual splats flicked from a paintbrush before adding a strip with the stamped sentiment. The feathers are stamped on vellum and cut out (Claire does have cut files as well as matching dies for these stamps but I went for the old-fashioned scissor approach).

I cut my stencil from a piece of cereal box cardboard - the intricate die does need a couple of passes on this thickness but it went through and all the pieces popped out cleanly. I've given it a coat of Mod Podge each side and hope it will last for a few goes at least. I could have used acetate but I wanted something a bit thicker to use with the paste.

Stamps (all Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Fine Feathers
Splat That
Big Day Today

Paper: 
Laid texture
Vellum

Ink:
Pearlescent Chocolate Brilliance by Tsukineko
Distress Tumbled Glass reinker

Other:
Brown brad 
Spellbinder Fancy Trellis Die
Maimeri Light Modelling Paste
Turquoise Perfect Pearls
Mini misting bottle
Tracing Wheel
Corner Chomper
Snowflake Fresco Finish acrylic paint

Thanks for stopping by!

Playing with words

I decided I needed a little play with no real purpose in mind this morning. I did use a couple of challenges as a direction for play time but this is a project with no occasion or recipient in mind.

This week's Mixability challenge on Splitcoast Stampers is to "take it away" - do something to show what's underneath a top layer. Indigo Blu's Challenge 15 is "words are all you need".

This little scrapling (the piece left over when you trim a sheet of cardstock to make a square card) started off with a piece of old book page which was spritzed with Dylusions. I added a layer of Mod Podge and once that was dry, a layer of Fresco Finish acrylic paint. I laid a stencil over the top of the dry paint and used a combination of rubbing alcohol, baby wipe and elbow grease to remove the paint and let the inky text show through. I found this technique didn't work without a clear layer (the Mod Podge), I just ended up rubbing away the paper if I rubbed hard enough to remove the paint.

I doodled rough circles round the exposed areas then added a single word, part of a definition and random snippets of script writing with Brilliance ink and finished with a double layered punched star for a bit more drama.

I had fun doing something away from my "norm"!

Stamps: Sarah's Choice by Indigo Blu

Paper: old book page

Ink: Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Dylusions ink spray (Vibrant Turquoise)
Fresco Finish acrylic paint by Paper Arsty (Mermaid)
Mod Podge Matt
Random Circles mask by Tando Creative
Fineliner pen
Fiskars squeeze punches (star medium and large)

Thanks for stopping by!

Bright flowers

A friend asked me to make a card for her mum's 80th birthday. Her mum is a "young" 80, still an active member of her local badminton club etc, so I didn't want to do anything that looked too "old"! The only steer was "She likes flowers, especially poppies, and I'd like her age on there".

She also wanted a bigger format card - this is A5 size (for our North American friends, that's basically a whole sheet of cardstock folded in half to make the card base).

I did try something with an actual poppy stamp but I just couldn't make anything look right for some reason. I'd been experimenting with the carved flower stamps for something else so they were out on my desk and I thought if I stamped in red this one would look poppyish!

The vases are done by sponging through apertures cut with the Tim Holtz Apothecary Bottles die (small one done first and masked so it appears to be in front of the big one). As it's Distress ink, I was able to lift a bit of the colour with plain water to make highlights on the bottle shoulders - not sure how well that shows on the photo but it's quite effective IRL.

I kept her age subtle by stamping in Antique Linen and overstamping with the birthday sentiment. The panel is finished by adding a little patterning with a stencil and grounding the bottles with a darker ink before running a tracing wheel round the edge for a quick pierced detail and sticking to the card base with gel glue for a little "lift".

Stamps: 
Carved Flowers by Darkroom Door
A&P Numbers by Ma Vinici's Reliqary
Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper: Laid texture cardstock

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko - Pearlescent Chocolate (for sentiment)
Distress ink by Ranger (Barn Door, Fired Brick, Antique Linen, Pumice Stone, Shabby Shutters, Peeled Paint, Walnut Stain)

Other:
Cressida stencil by Memory Box
Apothecary Bottles die by Tim Holtz
Tracing Wheel

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday sub

I needed a simple card for a little boy's fifth birthday and thought the Half Pint Heroes set would work perfectly as he's into sea life (through the Octonauts, obviously!) and it makes a nice change from all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stuff currently invading their house!

I stamped, coloured and cut out a  submarine, cutting out the porthole too - a really easy way to do this if you prefer scissors to a craft knife is to use your Crop-a-Dile or other hole punch to "nibble" out a good size chunk so it's easy to get the scissors in there. I stamped the sub again on the base layer, stamped the boy's face on there and used gel glue to raise the cut out sub for some dimension.

The fish have Glossy Accent bubbles which will probably never be noticed but I felt the need to add them anyway!

Stamps:
Half Pint Heroes by Waltzingmouse Stamps

Ink: Graphite Black Brilliance

Paper: smooth white, kraft, DCWV textured blue

Other:
Copic markers
Glossy Accents
Pinflair glue gel
Dry wall tape
Tracing wheel
Corner Chomper
 
Thanks for stopping by!

Fantasy Garden

I'm back from holiday and easing into a bit of crafting! Lydia set the week's Mixability challenge on Splitcoast Stampers and asked us to go "back to kindergarten" and use crayons somewhere on our projects.

I rubbed white crayon over my embossed cardstock (leaving it on the folder makes this easier as you can press quite hard with the crayon without squishing the embossing) and then spritzed with a couple of Dylusions colours.

I put a bit of the fuchsia Dylusions on my cutting mat and used it with a wet brush to colour the flower. The flower center is Copic coloured with Prismacolor pencil highlights. Rubons add a bit of detail at the bottom and a sprinkle of tiny gems adds some sparkle.

I decided to go sentimentless on this one and have a multi-purpose card on hand!

Stamps: Large Striped Flower by Hero Arts 

Ink: Brilliance Graphite Black 

Other: 
Tim Holtz embossing folder 
White crayon 
Dylusions sprays (Vibrant Turquoise, Funky Fuchsia) 
Hero Arts Palm die (cut apart) 
Tim Holtz Remnant Rubs - Words 
Copic markers (dark brown and dark bark) 
White Prismacolor pencil 
Acrylic nail art gems 
Fiskars squeeze punch small star 

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