Link in the chain - June

It’s reveal day once again at Card Chain Challenge, my how the months fly by! I had the pleasure of being the filling in a sandwich of new players this month.

My card has gone to Alice who is not only a new player but, much to Gail’s excitement, ticks off a new country for CCC — Finland. Welcome Alice!

From this month’s options I chose the sketch and the colour palette and stuck with my usual one layer aesthetic for CCC, using another of the bargain Katzelkraft stamps I got a while back. I thought the cat looked like she might be about to spring a surprise so the sentiment seemed an appropriate one to go with the image! 

I used a fineliner to extend the line of the stamped image and make a “curtain” that goes all the way to top and bottom of the card. The circles are inked through apertures in my trusty piece of acetate and have doodled edges and white pen highlights. A bit of Copic colouring, a rounded corner and call it done.

Stamps:
Les Gros Chat 09 (Katzelkraft)
Joy (Carabelle Studio)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Cranberry)
Memento Luxe by Tsukineko (Rosebud)

Other:
Copic markers
Black fineliner
White paint pen by Posca
Corner Chomper

There are still a few days to sign up for the next chain if you fancy it — just make and send one card, get a lovely handmade card just for you, spread some crafty love around the globe!

What's the (typewritten) word?

I’m mixing fonts and challenges today! Nat wants to see typewriters or typewriter font for this week’s Daring Cardmakers challenge and the current Hero Arts challenge wants the focus on sentiments.

My typewriter font is taking a bit of a supporting role but it is there! I know Father’s Day was a couple of weeks back but I was holding off on blogging this until this week’s DCM went live!

I used several shades of blue ink and repeatedly stamped the word to make a background and then used the matching die to cut one that got coated in Glossy Accents and tucked in around a little label with the rest of the sentiment. 

Stamps:
Happy Stamp n Cut (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (I lost track!)

Other:
Glossy Accents
Stitched rectangles dies A6 size (Paper Rose)
Corner Chomper

Make it masculine

Dawn is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week and she’d like to see some more masculine makes.

The Tim Holtz lumber folder makes a good base for a masculine card, I think. I cut an extra “plank” to extend it for the proportions of the card. As there’s a join between each plank in any case, it’s not too difficult to make it look fairly seamless.

I rubbed a Neocolour water soluble crayon over the embossing (keeping it on the folder so it has support underneath is a good idea) and then smudged with a damp finger. 

Simple white die cut foliage tied with a tomato paste dot and a scripty sentiment finish it off. 

Supplies:
Tim Holtz/Sizzix embossing folder (Lumber)
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Wildflower dies
Poppystamps die (Happy Birthday Poe Script)
Neocolour crayons
Bristol board
Kraft card
Brown fineliner
Tomato past tube

Everything’s coming up roses

It’s my turn to set the challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week. As one of June’s birth flowers is the rose I thought we’d go that way but with an option of using yellow (with a rose image or with any other image/technique) as yellow roses represent friendship. 

I went for vivid yellow roses against a green backdrop. The flowers are stamped with some masking and coloured with pencils. A bit of inky stencilling for the background, a bold sentiment and a few nail art gems to finish. I haven’t made a square card in ages, it was nice to use different proportions for a change.

Stamps:
Jumbo Rose (Stampendous)
Say It Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Mowed Lawn)

Other:
Black fine liner
Coloured pencils
Corner Chomper
Nail art gems

Link in the chain — May

It’s time for this month's reveal at Card Chain Challenge. There were 32 players and my card went to Joanne in California this time.

From the options on offer I chose the theme of hats, the colours and (sort of) the sketch. Owen’s hat was originally going to be on a wobble but I couldn’t make it look right so in the end it just got some cardstock scraps underneath so it’s a little bit raised. Heat embossing for the gold of the colour scheme made it perfect for adding some watercolour as the raised lines make little “cells” to contain the colour. 

Stamps:
Owen the Owl (Cornish Heritage Farms, no longer with us)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts, retired)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)
Versamark by Tsukineko
Hero Arts Shadow ink (Soft Granite)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass)

Other:
Watercolour paints (Winsor & Newton)
Strobes stencil (Visible Image)
Gold detail embossing powder

There are still a few days to sign up for June’s chain if you fancy spreading some crafty joy around the planet. 

She sells sea shells...

It's time for a new challenge at Daring Cardmakers and this time Rizwana would like to see shells on our projects.

I was away on holiday last week so of course I suffered the usual syndrome of a couple of false starts on your first crafty session but I eventually managed something half way decent by sticking to clean and simple.

Shells from one of my all time favourite stamp sets, a bit of basic masking, watercolouring with Distress inks and my usual rounded corner and call it done.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings (Hero Arts, retired)
Big Day Today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Watercolor

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black, Vintage Sepia)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tea Dye, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Peacock Fathers, Tumbled Glass, Black Soot)

Other:
Corner Chomper

Sea shells make for a great summery projects - why not check out the rest of the design team's ideas and come join us?

 

Link in the chain — April

It’s reveal day at Card Chain Challenge once again! There were 28 links in the chain this time and my card has gone to Imke in Germany.

From the options on offer, I chose the sketch, the colour palette (charcoal, lime, bumblebee) and the theme of umbrellas. 

That’s Crafty had a sale recently as they’re on the move and there were lots of lovely Katzelkraft stamps at bargain prices. I may have treated myself to a few! This chap with his umbrella seemed perfect for this month’s theme. 

It’s my usual one layer card for CCC. My original intention was for rather less grey but I managed some fairly significant smudges in areas that were going to be white so I just rolled with it and added more ink! He looks as though he might be emerging into a rather gloomy April day to brighten things up with his umbrella!

I used skinny strips of low tack tape to mask off the lines from the sketch while I added ink and then drew in some yellow, deliberately trying not to fill in all the white so there’s a bit of a “halo” round the colour. There’s a gold gel pen line along the bottom of each as well, just for some glitz! A rounded corner, doodled border and some dimensional paint dots finish it off. 

Stamps:
Les Gros Chat 03 (Katzelkraft)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board 

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)
Shadow ink by Hero Arts (Charcoal)

Other:
Copic makers
Gold gel pen
Fine liner
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Anthracite)
Corner Chomper

There are still a few days to sign up for the next chain if you fancy spreading some crafty smiles around the planet. 

Bunches of...

I'm setting this week’s challenge at Daring Cardmakers and I’d like to see something that comes in bunches featuring on your cards this week — flowers, grapes, bananas…

This wasn’t what I set out to do but that ended up in the circular file, I’m afraid. So I decided I should finally get round to playing with a set I got on sale some time ago (ahem, think years rather than months!) and that has been reproaching me each time I look for something else in a particular box. 

Monkey is having quite the feast! All the animals in this set have separate heads and bodies so you can align them different. His head is actually on a wobble here so you can get him to do a cute head shake. 

I stamped the body directly onto the card base so I just cut a little slit to poke the banana into. If you use the coordinating dies, the tail actually gets cut in the little spiral so you can thread his treats through. 

I ended up being in a rush so the colouring is a bit rudimentary but it’s quite cute, I think. 

Stamps:
Jungle Friends (Stampendous)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate)

Other:
Copic markers
Wibbly wobbly die (Jane Davenport)
Phrases set I (Spellbinder)

Birds of a feather

Nat is setting our challenge over at Daring Cardmakers this week — she’d like to see feathers or something feathered.

Birds are probably second only to florals in my stamp collection so that seemed to be the way to go. I decided to play along at A Blog Named Hero as well and use the HA colour layering stamp for my bird, making her a restful combination of blues. As April is their blog birthday month, HA want to see birthday cards this time.

Going white on white for the sentiment seemed right for a light and airy feel. The lovely die was gifted to me — thanks Margot! — and gives a beautifully crisp cut. 

Stamps:
Bird and branch colour layering (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black, Pearlescent Chocolate)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Tumbled Glass, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, Twisted Citron)
Momento by Tsukineko (Bamboo Leaves)

Other:
Happy Birthday Poe Script die (Poppystamps)
Strobes stencil (Visible Image)
Corner Chomper

Stay Crafty with a Blog Named Hero — They Say It’s Your Birthday

Bloom and grow

Dawn is setting our challenge at Daring Cardmakers this week — she’d like to see what we have planned for the garden as we move in to spring and then summer. 

We have a glorious poppy patch just at the front of our house, I look forward to them bursting forth each year (usually early to mid May so not too long to wait now, the leaves are up already). That made me chose this lovely Indigo Blu stamp to make a card for my aunt who has a round number birthday coming up. I stamped once, masked and stamped again for extra abundant poppies!

A base layer of Copic colour got topped up with pencil shading and a few pearl dots to finish it off.

Stamps:
Poppycock (Indigo Blu)
Big Day Today (Waltzingmouse Stamps, no longer with us)

Paper:
Bristol board

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Other:
Coloured pencils
Copic markers 
Pearl pen by Viva Decor (Ice White)
Corner Chomper