Watercolour Poppies

This glorious stamp is from the final set sent to me recently by Sandy of Crafty Secrets - aren't these poppies beautiful?

Because the stamp is so detailed (it's big too - this is a 5" square card) I've gone for a simple layout again and just added some textural interest by ruching silk ribbon onto a pin.

I used inks to do the watercolouring - I laid down a complete layer of Spiced Marmalade first and then used Fired Brick over it, aiming to get some of that "glow" you get when the sun shines through poppy petals. The blue is done with just one colour - Adirondack Stonewashed tends to break down to give purplish and turquoisey tones when you add water. I like the tonal variety it gives so I often end up using it for a background wash like this.

Stamps:
Poppy (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
140lb hot press watercolour paper
Black

Ink:
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx black)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Spiced Marmalade, Fired Brick, Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain, Bundled Sage, Peeled Paint)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Stonewashed)

Other:
Sewing machine and thread
Silk ribbon
Pin

Thanks for stopping by, hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Dear Santa

I'm sure this little girl has been nice this year, even if she does look just a little nervous of sending her letter to Santa! She's just too sweet-looking to have been naughty, don't you think?

I have to say that the "Dear Santa" is the teeniest, weeniest stamp I have ever seen! It stamps beautifully though and fits the space on the envelope perfectly. You could personalise your card to the recipient though by handwriting their initials (or name if you have tiny writing and a fine nib pen!) on the envelope instead.

I happened to have both "Artsy Banners" and this Christmas Mail set out on my desk at the same time and noticed that the snowflake would be a great fit in the scallop border (this is the small version of each, the large snowflake fits equally well in the larger scallop). You could stamp the flake in a punched border, too.

I used a Copic in one of the reds used to colour the little girl's coat to colour the matting strip so that I got a perfect match.

Stamps:
Christmas Mail and Artsy Banners (both Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Smooth white
Kraft

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Antique Linen)
Colorbox pigment ink by Clearsnap (Frost White)

Other:
Copic markers
Flowersoft (Polar white)
Cuttlebug embossing folder (Ice Crystals)
Nestabilities by Spellbinder (Classic Ovals, large)
Tracing wheel
Corner Chomper by We R Memory Keepers

Thanks for stopping by!

Heart's Treasures

One of the stamp sets Sandy was sweet enough to send me from Crafty Secrets recently was "Artsy Banners". This is a great selection of mix 'n match stamps but of course me being me I started by reading the text that makes up the border stamps! I can't manage to read the script one (used as a background here by repeat stamping it) but the typewriter style one is made up of some lovely quotes. I decided to pull one out and use it as a feature of the design by snipping out the individual words and sticking them down.

The vintage photo of the child is one that came in my secret Santa package from Caroline last year so I'm not sure of the source - I think it was probably part of a Bubbly Funk kit.

Stamps:
Artsy Banners (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Smooth white
Kraft
Black

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Vintage Photo, Victorian Velvet)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Vintage photo print
Pin
Pink grosgrain ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

Snowflakes!

Tando Creative has some wee chipboard shapes that are perfect for using to decorate the advent calendar they have but also cute for other things! I used the tiny snowflakes (approx 30mm cross each flake) to make these little hanging ornaments. The chipboard is sturdy enough to handle easily and give them a little weight but still looks really delicate with the detailed design.

I simply painted the flakes with gesso and then added a clear dewdrop in the centre and tiny gems around the points of each flake. I decorated both sides (clear gems on one side, pale blue on the other) so they can be used on a display that can be seen from all sides.

The hanging threads (simply glued on with a dab of Glossy Accents) come out of a point on some flakes and the centre of others so they'll hang at different
angles. I think they'll look really pretty hanging from a bare twig come Christmas time.

Here's a closer look at one:

Supplies
Christmas minis (Tando Creative - see here for Tando stockists)
Gesso
Clear Dew Drops
Acrylic nail gems
Glossy Accents (as adhesive)
Silver thread

Thanks for stopping by!

The monsters are coming!

It's my nephew's birthday today - Happy Birthday Josh! I always struggle a bit with cards for kids and this took waaaaaay longer than it should have done but I got there in the end.

The little monsters are mounted on foam pads for a bit extra "movement" and dimension.

Stamps:
Little Guy (Kim Hughes Collection from Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)
Sentiment from a Hot off the Press set

Paper:
Smooth white
Orange

Ink:
Adirondack dye in by Ranger (Espresso)
Versacraft by Tsukineko (Spring Green)

Other:
Copic markers
Cuttlebug embossing folder (Traffic Jam)
Foam pads

Thanks for stopping by!

Eek - it's pink!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so it was inevitable that one of the challenges I try to get involved in regularly would involve the use of pink. I am probably the least pink person on the planet but I decided to give it a go for the Crafty Secrets member company forum challenge over on Splitcoast Stampers.

Sandy Redburn (owner of Crafty Secrets) was very sweet recently and sent me some new stamps to play with. Four new botanicals sets were released recently and I had the rose and poppy ones in my package. They're beautifully detailed and remind me of the PSX stamps that so many people mourn the loss of.

I stamped my rose on kraft cardstock and coloured with Prismacolor pencils. I love the look this gives and don't remember the technique often enough - I always have fun when I do this!

I decided to keep everything else simple as the image is so detailed so the panel is simply machine stitched onto the card base and then I added the sentiment on a tag with a little ribbon and a pin. The ribbon was coloured with a Copic marker to match the rose (it's a much better match in real life, dodgy light in Northumberland today!).

Stamps:
Rose (medium set from Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Kraft
Black

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso, Latte)

Other:
Prismacolor pencils/OMS/Stump
Sewing machine and thread
Silk ribbon coloured with Rose Red Copic marker
Tags Trio dies by spellbinder
Pin

Thanks for stopping by!

UK Stampers header competition

UK Stampers is one of the forums I like to visit. There's a header competition running at the moment to choose a new banner for the forum. There are a dozen entries to choose from - if you're a forum member why not pop over and vote for your favourite on this thread? (You'll need to be logged in to see all the entries and cast your vote.) Voting closes on Sunday so you still have a couple of days to decide.

My entry uses

Stamps:
Retro women (Tanda Stamps)
Alphanumber backgroundr (Cornish Heritage Farms, retired)
Not My Type alphabet stamps (Ma Vinci's Reliquary)

Paper: Cryogen White

Ink:
Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger (Dusty Concord)
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Pool)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Spray can lid
Bubble wrap
Dymo label maker
Copic multiliner

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Christmas Shaker ornament - step by step

I've been asked to explain how I made the ornament I posted yesterday so here you go, some instructions for you!

I made this in a slightly different way than the "classic" method of using foam pads to achieve the depth needed for your shaker inclusions. I figured that with a circle that's a bit of a pain and you're likely to end up with tiny gaps that stuff could leak out through and the job of neatening up the outer edge. So, here's how to do it the way I did:

1. Cut four rings from black card by placing two Nesties one inside the other on your cutting platform - two consecutive ones from a set gives a nice width frame. Use a magnetic mat or a couple of pieces of low tack tape to hold your Nesties in place so that all the rings are exactly the same (you might need to use a pokey tool to ease the ring out of the dies if you use a magnetic mat since you can't push it out through the hole while the dies are in place). Emboss the final ring with the tan mat before you remove it from the dies.

2. Now remove the smaller die and use the larger one to cut three circles: one each of black, white and acetate.

3. Stamp and colour your image on the white circle. Make a wire loop and stick it to the back of the circle to make a hanger at the top.

4. Emboss the black circle in your choice of Cuttlebug folder (I used Textile Texture as the small scale is perfect here). Use Rub n Buff to gild this textured circle and the one ring you embossed while still in the Nesties. Go lightly and you'll leave some black showing which gives that lovely aged appearance.

5. Now you're ready to stack! I used Glossy Accents as it's strong and quick drying. Glue together the three plain rings then glue the stack of rings onto the stamped image. Glue the embossed and gilded ring onto the acetate circle. Spoon some glitter and/or microbeads into the ornament (glass glitter is perfect for this as it's heavier and creates less static so it won't stick to your "window" so much) and then glue the acetate layer and frame on top.

6. Glue the textured circle on to finish the back. You may find the circe is very slightly smaller than your ornament because of the embossing - just add a little Rub n Buff around the margin if needed.

7. Once everything's dry, add a little Rub n Buff around the edge of the ornament and a silk bow to top it off.

You're done - a pretty ornament that's safe around children and pets!

See this post for a complete list of supplies if you're interested in the exact stamp set and so on.

Christmas ornament

OK, so the one layer, clean and simple card making was probably too good to last - lol! I've come over a bit vintage and pretty and not card-based by way of an antidote.

ETA: I put up a step by step for making this ornament in this post

In the Crafty Secrets member forum on Splitcoast Stampers this week, Marcy's challenge is "Just hanging around" - make something to hang or that has a hanging element. I had an immediate image in my head of a shaker ornament using this stamp and for once I not only manged to find time to do it but it came out looking something like I imagined!

I cut three extra rings and stacked them up to give the ornament some depth and added glass glitter and microbeads behind an acetate layer to give her some sparkly snow to sledge through! Doing it this way gives a neater edge than messing about with foam pads, I think and you don't have any issues with possible gaps for stuff to leak through. I use a piece of magnetic paper to keep my Nesties in place so the rings are all the same.

The back circle was embossed and rubbed with the same Rub n Buff I used on the frame so that it still looks pretty if the ornament twizzles round as it hangs.

Stamps:
Sweet Kids (Clear Art Stamps by Crafty Secrets)

Paper:
Smooth white
Black

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso)

Other:
Copic markers
Nestabilities by Spellbinder (Large circles)
Deko ice glitter by Efco (Crystal)
White microbeads (these are steel one sold for nail art)
Rub n Buff by Amaco (Gold Leaf)
Cuttlebug embossing folder (Textile Texture)
Silk ribbon

Thanks for stopping by!

Note for Amaco - I didn't ignore your last comment on my blog but you left no contact details and an e-mail to your customer services address got no response so presumably didn't get passed on. If you read this, please leave a contact e-mail address!

More one layer work

I obviously got bitten by the one layer bug when I made the card for this week's One Layer Wednesday challenge. I needed a card for my brother's birthday and went with another nature-inspired clean and simple design.

I just treated myself to some new stamps including Under the Sea from Darkroom Door. It's my first Darkroom Door purchase but I'm sure it won't be my last! The stamps are wonderfully detailed and the quality is great. There are quite a few places that stock them in the UK too so no hanging around for post to arrive from down under, even though they're an Australian company.

I stamped the seahorse and coloured with Copics then masked it and used Post-It notes to mask off a rectangle and sponged blue inks in there. A teeny weeny birthday sentiment finishes it off and I have a masculine and easy-to-mail card ready to go!

Stamps:
Under the Sea (Darkroom Door)
Sentiment from Kinkade Birthday Expressions (CHF, retired)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Adirondack dye ink by Ranger (Espresso, Cloudy Blue, Stonewashed, Denim)

Other:
Copic markers

Thanks for stopping by!