Carved flowers

Do you ever get a backlog of new crafty things you've just not got round to playing with? I know I do! These carved flower stamps have been waiting patiently for me to ink them up for quite some time now. The Pan Pastels are a more recent purchase but they've still had to wait a while - oops! It was fun to try them out in anger though (having previously only tested them on the back of an envelope the day they arrived!).

The DL format of this card looks
elegant in real life but it was a swine to photograph - I hope you get the idea!

I stamped the flowers on an old book page and added Diarylide Yellow and Orange Pan Pastels over the top, letting the yellow blend out past the flower outline to get a "glow". I used a green pencil for the calyx area. I then smeared a liberal amount of Turquoise and a little Ultramarine on the background. I really liked the way the pastels spread and the amount of pigment is very impressive - a little goes a very long way and those pots are going to last ages!

The flowers looked pretty but I decided I'd like more definition so I used a stamp positioner and stamped again directly over the top of the original. If you planned to do this in advance I guess you could use a light coloured ink for the first stamping, just as a guide for where to spread your colour and then you wouldn't have to be quite as precise with the second impression.

That Hero Arts sentiment gets another outing - I seem to be incapable of making a birthday card without it at the moment! This one's destined for my sister-in-law but she's not a blog browser so I think it's safe to show.

Stamps:
Carved Flowers by Darkroom Door
Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper:
Old book page, black and white cardstock

Ink: Onyx Black Versafine by Tsukineko

Other:
Diarylide Yellow, Orange, Turquoise, Ultramrine Pan Pastels
Marine Green Prismacolor pencil
Krylon matt sealant
Acrylic nail art gems

The Pan Pastels UK challenge blog has an "anything goes" theme this week and since I remembered to look I'll hook this up there.

Thanks for stopping by!

Floral inspiration

Inspiration is everywhere but not always when you want it!

We have free rein for the postcard swap on UKStampers this month and I always find that the hardest challenge of all as I don't have a starting point! So I chose a challenge to give me a kick start - Indigo Blu are on their third monthly challenge and the theme is Flowers (details here).

This lovely Anemone Corner stamp has rarely seen ink so I thought I'd give it an outing. The word Inspire and the script I used to give the background a bit of interest are both from the Sarah's Choice set. Colouring with waxy pencils means there's a resist effect when you stamp with dye ink (as I did with the script stamp) which saves a masking job!

I finished with a tracing wheel and faux stitching on the white layer. As ever, the cards go through the post as genuine postcards with no envelope for protection so steering clear of embellies is a good idea!

Stamps:
Anemone Corner (Indigo Blu)
Sarah's Choice (Indigo Blu)

Paper: smooth white and black

Ink: 
Onyx Black (Versafine by Tsukineko)
Antique Linen (Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger)

Other:
Prismacolor pencils, Sansodor and blending stump
Tracing wheel
Fineliner

Thanks for stopping by! Why not come and join us in the postcard swap if you fancy some handcrafted happy mail?

Dragonfly birthday

It was my dad's birthday earlier in the week and this is the card I made for him. A little bit different for me but it was fun!

I spritzed my cardstock with water first (make sure it's something that's happy with plenty of moisture if you
do this) and dripped a little ink onto it, letting it pool and tilting the card to make it run. I used three inks and let them mix a bit where they met. I also flicked some ink from a paintbrush for some splatters of more concentrated colour.

Once dry, I stamped the dragonfly, used a wet paintbrush to lift some of the colour from his wings and used Spica glitter pens to give them a shimmery finish. A sentiment and simple white on white layering finishes it off. I actually mounted the white panel on black before sticking it down so if you view from the side there's a very thin black margin round the panel.

I think that Hero Arts "Happy Birthday" is fast becoming my favourite birthday sentiment - maybe because I wish my handwriting looked like that!

Stamps:
Wings (Darkroom Door)
Sentiment from Say It All (Hero Arts)

Paper: Cryogen White

Ink:
Distress reinkers by Ranger (Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn, Bundled Sage)
Versafine by Tsukineko (Onyx Black)

Other:
Spica glitter pens (turquoise and green)

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

Modern art?

There's a "mixed media" challenge every Friday over at Splitcoaststampers. I'm very much of the mind that mixed media is not a style, despite the predominance of a certain artsy, grungy, eclectic look that springs to many people's minds when you say the phrase. To me (and to the ladies who set the challenges, I suspect) mixed media is exactly what it says on the tin - using more than one medium!

The very talented Birgit set this week's challenge - make some modern art using at least two colouring media and doing something different than your norm.

I usually treat images pretty literally so my "difference" is to use a rose image with non-flowery colours and crop it to make it look quite abstract.

I heat embossed in black on black card and then used metallic markers and pencils to colour the sections. Some sections are just pencil so they're a matt finish, others are metallic marker shaded with pencils so those have a sheen.

I  cut it out with a Nestie and kept the setting very simple as there's a lot going on in that twinchie!

Stamps:
Rose Bloom by Stampendous
Say It All by Hero Arts

Paper: White and black

Ink: Versafine Onyx Black

Other:
Metallic markers (blue, green and silver)
Prismacolor pencils
Detail black embossing powder
Fineliner
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

She sells sea shells...

It's my 15th wedding anniversary today. It's only just occured to me that I could have looked at the gifts associated with it for inspiration for DH's card. It seems to be crystal (not easy for a masculine card) or, if you're modern and American, watches! I guess I could have done something with that but the thought came after the card was made - never mind!

I went clean and simple with these lovely detailed shell images. I stamped them on kraft card so they have a different look than if they'd been stamped on white. Even when you colour with an opaque medium like pencils the base colour does make a difference, I find.

A bit of torn kraftcore provides a splash of colour and I've sanded the torn edges for a more natural feel - reminiscent of weather-worn paint on beach houses, perhaps. I used scraps of cardstock to raise a couple of the shells just very slightly from the card as I stuck them down. A simple stamped sentiment and one rounded corner finish it off.

Stamps:
Antique Engravings by Hero Arts
Sentiment from Script Essential Expressions (Cornish Heritage Farms)

Paper:
Smooth white
Kraft
Tim Holtz Kraft Core

Ink:
Espresso Adirondack by Ranger
Vintage Sepia Versafine by Tsukineko

Other:
Prismacolor and Lyra pencils
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by!

WMS Flower Show (2)

Claire has posted on the Waltzingmouse Stamps blog to open up the Flower Show for anyone who has played along by CASEing one of the projects made by the talented bunch of designer/bloggers who took part in Friday's blog hop - details here.

For my second project (first one posted yesterday in this post), I was inspired by this beauty which is showcased here on Debbie Olsen's blog.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm a candidate for "World's Worst CASEer" as things tend to fall apart when I try to base my work on somebody else's project but it was fun to play along.

From Debbie's original I kept the larger size (7"x5"), the stamp set, the zig zag stitching and the basic layout.

I created my own background paper with gesso, acrylic paint and some stamping (a retired CHF backgrounder with a small leaf pattern and the sprig from the WMS Paris Nouveau set). Versafine Smokey Grey ink is perfect for this sort of thing, especially if you blot it before it's fully dried so you get a slightly hazy effect.

As with yesterday's card, I omitted the bulkier embellishments, using a coloured mat around the sentiment panel for that second pop of mauve rather than the bow and stick pins. I used the same Copic marker to colour some white cardstock for the mat so I got a perfect match for the rose colour. I added an intricate die cut under the rose as an echo of Debbie's lacey edging on her sentiment panel. Some some tiny pearls added an extra feminine touch and the centre of the rose has some gold Spica pen for a tiny bit of glimmer.

Stamps:
Roses in Bloom (Walzingmouse Stamps)
Sprig from Paris Nouveau (Waltzingmouse Stamps)
Leaves 3 Backgrounder (CHF, retired)
Sentiment from Say It All (Hero Arts)

Paper:
Smooth white

Ink:
Espresso (Adirondack by Ranger)
Smokey Grey (Versafine by Tsukineko)

Other:
Gesso
Acrylic paint
Copic markers
Persian Accents dies by Spellbinder
Nail art pearls
Sewing machine and thread
Tracing wheel
Gold Spica Glitter pen

Thanks for stopping by!

WMS Flower Show

Claire at Waltzingmouse Stamps has had a lovely idea for a blog hop and challenge - the Flower Show. Several well known designers and bloggers have made guest projects focusing on WMS florals for a lovely spring display.

The challenge bit? Just CASE one of the projects and hook it up to the WMS blog tomorrow. I couldn't decide between two projects so I've actually made something for each of them and I thought I'd blog the first one today in case anybody who reads my blog hasn't seen the WMS Flower Show and would like to join in before Claire posts tomorrow.

I loved this project my Emilie Chamel, showcased in her blog post here.

I got this set recently and hadn' got round to inking it up yet so I decided this was a good push in the right direction!

I should probably say that I'm possibly the world's worst CASEer - it usually all goes to pot when I try to base my work on somebody else's! I had fun having a go, though. For my version, I kept Emilie's technique (black pen outlines for a hand-drawn look), placement off the edge of the card and the colour scheme.

I changed the orientation, used a different sentiment and slimmed down the embellishments for an easier-to-post version of the card - I used a velvet brad and some nail art gems in the centres of the purple flowers. Instead of Emilie's ink splatters I've used a scattering of tiny gemstones in colours to match two of the inks in the medallion.

This is a fun set with lots of different elements that you can build up in different ways, I'm sure it will get more outings soon!

Stamps:
Folk Art Medallion and Say It Loud (Waltzingmouse Stamps)

Paper:
Canvas textured white

Ink:
Spanish Moss, Onyx Black (Versafine by Tsukineo)
Cherry Pink, Agean Blue (Versacraft by Tsukineko)
Spring Pansy (Versacolor by Tsukineko)
Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade (Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger)

Other:
Copic Fineliner
Velvet brad
Nail art gems
Corner Chomper

Thanks for stopping by - do check out the Flower Show for some floral goodness and maybe join in the fun if you're inspired along the way (there are prizes, too!).

Yellow circles

Our theme for this month's postcard swap on UK stampers is "mostly yellow with circles on it somewhere". Bicycle wheels are circular so this is where my brain went...

I may have gone a bit overboard with the yellow (my fingers look like I have a heavy nicotine habit!) but nobody can say it's not bright! I did a light-handed job with the Copics since I didn't plan ahead and I'd stamped with Versafine before deciding on my colouring medium but I just about got away with it!

Stamps:
Bike and Basket (Hero Arts cling stamp)
Many Dots (Hero Arts clear stamp set)
Sentiment from Journaling Words 3 (Artistic Stamper)

Ink:
Lemon Drop (Jenni Bowlin ink by Ranger)
Mustard Seed (Tim Holtz Distress ink by Ranger)
Onyx Black (Versafine by Tsukineko)

Other:
Sequin Waste mask (Tando Creative)
Gesso
Copic markers
Silver gel pen

It's a low-commitment swap (make one card, get one card in return and they're posted "naked" so it's a single ordinary stamp) so why not join us if you fancy some happy mail? All the details are here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tear it up!

Time for a new "Take It, Make It" challenge over on the Craft Stamper blog. This time around we're being inspired by Helen Chilton's Terrific Tearing article which is on page 78 of the May issue. Don't worry if you haven't got hold of it yet, the challenge is open for a couple of months so there's plenty of time to play along.

I immediately had the idea of something bursting out of the card when I saw this technique so I ran with that and made a kids' birthday card with this cute monster and some bright colours. I used a textured white cardstock for just a touch of extra interest on the torn layer and added a simple doodled border as it seemed to fit the character of this little chap!

His eye stalks are raised up on foam pads and his feet are stuck to the card so he does have some movement as if he's coming out of the frame.

Stamps:
Monsters Ink (Technique Tuesday)
Essential Messages (Hero Arts)

Ink:
Brilliance by Tsukineko (Graphite Black)

Paper:
DCWV textured white
Smooth white
Orange

Other:
Copic markers
Copic fineliner
Foam pads

There were some great entries for the first challenge - don't forget the winning entry will be published in a future issue of the magazine so if you fancy seeing yourself in print, why not join us?! There's a lovely stamp from sponsors Indigo Blu for the winner as well. All the challenge details are here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Tipsy glitter cover girl!

I'm blowing my own trumpet just a little today - I've just got back from a couple of weeks in Italy and find myself a cover girl for the first time!

I have a step-by-step article in the May issue  of Craft Stamper on using glitter and alcohol markers (hence "Tipsy Glitter") and one of the three cards described in the article is featured on the cover. I'm quite excited!

I don't use a lot of glitter in my crafting and this is a good way to make a single colour stretch much further!

Hoping to get  back into some crafting in the next week or so but you know how it is when you've just got back from a holiday and feel you have no idea which way is up!

Stamps you can see on this cover card are
Butterflies from Antique Engravings (Hero Arts)
Sentiment from Truly Appreciated (Hero Arts)

Thanks for stopping by!