More Brushos!

I needed a card for a friend with a Christmas birthday - her favourite flowers are poppies so this still looks a bit Christmassy because of the red/green combo and it would be easy to substitute a poinsettia if you were that way inclined.

I played with Brusho again to make the background, stenciling over the top after it was dry for a bit of subtle "texture" and to tie it together a bit. The poppy is coloured with Copics with layers cut out and stacked for a bit of dimension.

Stamps:
Poppycock by Indigo Blu
Sentiment from Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper: Bristol Board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko - Graphite Black
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger - Mowed Lawn and Peeled Paint

Other:
Copic markers
Brusho - Leaf Green
Pinflair gel glue
Cressida stencil by Memory Box

Thanks for stopping by!

40th Fly-by

A friend asked me to make a card for her son's 40th birthday recently. They got him a flying lesson in a Cessna for a gift so she wanted a plane on there if possible.

The plane turned out to be an accent rather than a feature but I find you can't try to dictate too much of what happens at the craft table and this is what happened!

I'm late to the Brusho party but my parents bought me some for my birthday (thanks Mum and Dad!) and this is my first little play with them - just a simple sprinkled background with two colours (Ultra Marine and Turquoise).

I heat embossed the 40 so it would resist the Brusho colour. I also masked the tickets - I obviously didn't do a brilliant job of that in terms of resisting the colour but I decided I quite liked the arty look that accidentally emerged and ran with it rather than trying again! I used a very light Copic marker to tie them together a bit.

I added some "depth" to elements with a fineliner pen and some smudged charcoal pencil and the wee stamped plane is cut out and raised on a bit of dimensional glue.  I stamped it directly onto the card first so that the squiggly "trail" lines would be there, too.

My friend seemed extremely pleased with it which is the main thing - I hope her son liked it too!

Stamps:
Plane and ticket from Explore by Craft Secrets (retired)
A&P Numbers by Ma Vinvi's Reliquary (retired)
Essential Messages by Hero Arts

Paper:
Hot press watercolour
Black
Laid textured white

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko Graphite Black 

Other:
Brusho - Ultra Marine and Turquoise
Bright White embossing powder by Wow
Copic marker
Fineline marker
Charcoal pencil
Pinflair glue gel

Thanks for stopping by!

Colour me Christmassy!

I'm posting on the Bubbly Funk blog again today - three cards made from the lovely Colourful Christmas kit currently available in the shop

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Daring reindeer

Bubbly Funk is sponsoring the Daring Cardmakers this week and I'm sharing my card on the BF blog, hope to see you there! (There's a prize package from Bubbly Funk on offer too - even more reason to join us in stenciling something!)

Supplies:
Message Wreath stencil by Hero Arts
Memento Luxe ink - Pear Tart
Canvas textured paper (inkjet printing stuff - try your local pound shop!) 
Kraft card blank
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Reindeer Flight die
Tim Holtz/Ranger Distress Glitter - Antique Linen
DecoArt Glamour Dust - Crystal
Pebeo Metal Touch paint - gold
Acrylic nail art pearls

Anything but a card...

...that's what Dawn has asked us to do for this week's DCM dare.

One of these days I will think ahead to what might photograph well before I start in on a project. In the meantime, may I present a brooch with a very shiny surface that really hasn't photographed well at all?!

I started with a die cut oval of water colour paper and drew a line across it with black hot glue. While the glue was still molten, I dragged it out with a pokey tool and sprinkled copper embossing powder onto it then heated again so that the powder melted. It can tend to separate a bit but I like the slightly tarnished look you end up with if that happens.

Once the glue had hardened, I gave the whole thing a good spritz with water and added drops of Distress reinkers and then a wee bit of Perfect Pearl mixed to a glaze with water in a few places. Once dry, the whole lot got stuck to a sturdier piece of card for stability and finished with Lisa Pavelka Magic Glos (a UV cure resin) for an enamel-like finish.

Supplies:
Watercolour paper
Sizzix Framelits Ovals 
Tim Holtz Distress reinkers by Ranger (Peacock Feathers and Salty Ocean)
Perfect Pearls by Ranger (Blue Raspberry and Forever Blue)
Black hot melt glue (and glue gun)
Copper Embossing powder
Lisa Pavelka Magic Glos 


Why not join in with DCM this week if you have gifts or decorations to make for Christmas? There are lots of fab ideas on the blog if you fancy a play but you're not quite sure what you'd like to make.

Cuddly Creatures

It's Nat's turn to set the dare on DCM this week and she's given us the theme of cuddly creatures. I've gone clean and simple with these super-cute kangaroos - I reckon being carried around in a pouch must be like a permanent cuddle!

 The image is just a shade small to stand alone on a regular A6 sized card but I reckon giving it a swirly focal point sorted that out. I sponged over the mask with two shades of ink which gives a nice effect, I think. Kanga has her feet stuck to the card blank and her ears supported with some dimensional glue so she leans forward a bit - poised for her next hop, perhaps?!

The "hello" sentiment is dark brown in real life so it's not quite as heavy looking but the camera refused to treat it as anything other than black in today's odd lighting conditions! It has clear Wink of Stella on there for a little glitz.

Stamps: Kanga and Joey by High Hopes

Paper: Cryogen White and Chocolate Brown

Ink:
Versamagic (Key Lime and Turquoise Gem)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso) 

Other:
Rubber Bands by Crafters Workshop
Hello die by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Copic markers
Wink of Stella clear pen
Pin Flair Glue Gel
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugs for DCM

I'm delighted to be joining the Daring Card Makers as Guest Designer this month. There are so many challenges around now but DCM was at the start of it all in 2006 and is still going strong. I don't play as often as I used to but I still drop in every Friday morning to see what the new challenge will be.

The lovely Gez is setting this week's challenge and being the first week of the month it's an "elemental" one. The challenge is to incorporate at least three elements from the picture into your project.

I had a bit of a nightmare because my original idea (which involved coffee stirrers!) didn't work out but I clung to it rather doggedly and made a couple pf projects fit only for the bin. When I finally gave in to my natural impulse to use at least one stamp, I got something I'm happier with.

I managed four things from the picture: black chalkboard-type back wall, red heart shape, bright snippets of colour from the paint pots on the shelf and the blond wood flooring (although I'm not sure that the stamped woodgrain really shows up on the picture - the light for taking photographs was my second nightmare!).

Stamps:
Woodgrain by Darkroom Door
Sentiment from Say It Loud by Waltzingmouse Stamps

Paper:
Black
Cryogen White
Various DCWV white core

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger - Antique Linen
Brilliance by Tsukineko - Graphite Black 

Other:
My Heart dies by Waltzingmouse Stamps
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Autumn anniversary

My mum and dad celebrated their wedding anniversary last week. This clean and simple, one layer design seemed appropriate for an autumn anniversary - red and golden yellow colour palette and a harvest image (which, since it's two stalks, also seemed a good symbol for two people in a marriage).

This design is easy to achieve with a bit of low tack tape to mask off the strip - just sponge on some inks, remove the tape and stamp the image.

Stamps:
Thankful Silhouettes by Stamper Anonymous/Tim Holtz
Sentiment from Putting on the Ritz by Waltzingmouse Stamps

Paper: smooth white

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Barn Door, Fired Brick)
Brilliance Graphite Black by Tsukineko

Other: Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

Birthday bird

I needed a birthday card for my nephew this week so combined some slightly quirky stencilled stars with the very quirky party puffin!

More chat about the card in this post on the Bubbly Funk blog.

Stamps: 
Party Puffin by Crafty Individuals
Say it Loud by Waltzingmouse Stamps

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko - Graphite Black
Tim Holtz Distress by Ranger - Tumbled Glass and Broken China

Other:
Starry Starry Night Stencil by Dylusions/Ranger
Chit Chat Stencil by Claudine Hellmuth/Ranger
Typeset die - Tim Holtz/Sizzix
Copic markers
Wink of Stella clear glitter pen
Charcoal pencil
Black fineline marker

Thanks for stopping by!

Metal makeover

More stenciling today but a bit of a different direction with a makeover for a throw-away item. Do pop over to the Bubbly Funk blog for a look if you have the time - we'd love to see you!