It's Challenge Chicks day!

It's Challenge Chicks day at Cornish Heritage Farms and today's challenge is to use Adirondack inks. I love these inks and my colour selection is growing perhaps a bit more rapidly than my wallet would like - the news that they're launching a range of pigment inks to coordinate with the existing dye-based ones might not be good news for the budget!

This adorable collage stamp is a new release from the Rummage Bin line at Cornish Heritage Farms and will be available tomorrow. She looks so dejected, all dressed up in her pretty frock, you have to hope that she's right and her prince really does show up some day!

I brayered Espresso ink onto the rubber to stamp the image and then used other ink pads to watercolour her (if you don't have reinkers you can just squish the lid of your pad down onto the felt and when you open it up you'll have a little pool of ink you can use with a brush). Her skin was coloured with pencils to give it a smoother, slightly more solid look. I just sponged a bit of ink onto the background so that the colouring keeps the focus on the little girl.

As little girls often seem to have a collection of 'treasures', either in pockets or in a special box, I added some eclectic bits and pieces as embellishments on the card.

TFL! Hope you enjoyed your visit today.

Stamps (all from the Rummage Bin line at CHF):
Someday My Prince Collage
Swirls from Beautiful
Clocks from Time to Stamp

Paper: Scrapblock Layers and smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack by Ranger (Espresso, Latte, Raisin, Cool Peri)

Other:
Lyra Skintone pencils
Gold gel pen (scribbled on to plastic and used as watercolour for her crown)
Vintage Buttons
Vintage lace
Waxed linen thread
Square brad

Lots of the CHF girls are playing today, why not check out some more uses of these fabulous, vibrant inks?

Alli
Becky
Dawn
Jennifer
Julia
Julie
Kim
Kristine
Lisa Silver
Michele
Val

Santa's Lap!

It must be something about the unseasonably cold weather and the nights starting to draw in - I keep wanting to make Christmas things!

I love this Santa stamp and wanted to make something with a bit longer life than a Christmas card so that I can bring him out each year! The canvas is 8" x 8" with torn cardstock stuck at top left and the gold circle painted directly onto the canvas with acrylic paint. I stamped Santa and the little boy onto smooth cardstock and coloured them with Prismacolor Pencils then cut the image out and stuck over the gold circle. I wanted to retain the artist's initials though so I inked just that part of the stamp and stamped directly onto the canvas before I stuck Santa into position. I used the edge of the inkpad to apply a little ink directly under the image to ground it a bit.

Here's a little bit of trivia for you: this image originally appeared as a cover for the Saturday Evening Post in 1923. The SEP enjoys iconic status in America and is the subject of many a fond recollection (it stopped publishing in 1969). The artist for this image was J C Leyendecker.

I dusted off Mr CraftRobo (he's been a little neglected since I discovered stamping) and cut the word Christmas in a nice cursive font. I added some Glossy Accents to give a raised finish. The word merry is chipboard letters that have been inked and dry brushed with gold acrylic paint.

I guess everything else is obvious, lots of ink and sponging, some Prima flowers and a brad. The red velour fabric is tacked onto the frame with small nails to hold it in that kind of ruched way.

If you have a computerised cutter that uses gsd files and you would like the welded word Christmas, just send me a message and I will happily send you the file for your personal use.

TFL, hope you enjoyed your visit today.

----------------------
Stamps: Santa's Lap (Saturday Evening Post line), Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock™ (Cornish Heritage Farms)

Ink: Fired Brick, Antique Linen and Vintage Photo - Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger, Vintage Sepia and Onyx Black Versafine by Tsukineko

Paper: smooth white

Other: 8x8" canvas, Prima flowers, crystal brad (Making Memories), Prismacolor and Lyra Skintone pencils/OMS/stump, velour fabric, white satin ribbon, chipboard letters (Maya Road), metallic gold acrylic paint

Tools: sponge, Craftrobo

Vintage Christmas

Sorry, I know it's still a bit early for Christmas projects but I had this idea in mind since first seeing this set of stamps (Winter Vintage Signage) and I managed to grab some time over the weekend to have a go.

Instant vintage appeal with modern materials!

I rolled thin sheets of polymer clay and stamped the images into it with Brilliance ink. I chose Sculpey Premo as it's a very durable clay so even though they're thin (I used a pasta maker on Number 1 to roll my sheets) the ornaments should stand up to being bumped around in a storage box for most of the year!

I stamped the designs first and then used a stamp positioner to stamp the frame around them. The stamps sink into the clay slightly (so don't press too hard!) and give a slightly carved or engraved feeling to the words and images.

The clay is soft enough that it's very easy to trim to shape with a craft blade, just trim a little outside the edge of the frame. If you're going to have a go at this, I recommend making holes for your jump rings or wire before you bake as it's not easy to make them later (yes, ask me how I know *rolls eyes*). If you're using an oven you use for food, it's best to make a 'tent' of foil over your polymer clay pieces as they bake, just to make sure you don't get any vapours from the clay condensing on your baking surfaces later.

I used Copic markers to add touches of colour to the ornaments and then sponged Timber Brown Stazon ink around the edges and very lightly in the centres to tone down the white clay and give them a bit more of a vintage look.

I used jump rings and some wire to make hangers so that I can hang them from my Christmas tree or maybe even a bare wintery branch in a vase.

TFL!

-----------------------
Stamps: Winter Vintage Signage (Cornish Heritage Farms)

Ink: Graphite Black Brilliance, Timber Brown Stazon (both by Tsukineko)

Other: Sculpey Premo Polymer Clay - white, Copic markers, jump rings and wire (jewellery supplies)

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)

---------------------
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
---------------------------

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!