Dawn Reflections

 Hello there on this Sunday morning,

That's another week gone and aren't they rolling by so quickly! 

As I mentioned in my last post, I've recently designed four new stamps for Crafty Individuals.  The shows were on Hochanda on Friday and they seemed to go really well.  If you missed them, then you can always watch them on catch up for the next month or so.  It's not my origional artwork but Jean has always admired the scenes that I make and asked if I would like to use some of their older stamps to create some new scenes.  It's always a lot of fun building up a scene but I feel that these new stamps are perfect for people who are just starting out stamping or if you need to make cards in bulk.  They would be great for anyone who likes to make lots of cards for charity.  The hard work has already been done for you, so you just need to colour your own background and hey presto, it's done.  Here are a couple of samples that I made with one of the stamps:

People are often drawn to refections but they're not always the easiest of things to recreate.  This stamp is so easy to use.  You simply stamp, heat emboss to set it and then colour the background exactly as you wish, it couldn't be easier. 

The new stamps will be added to the Crafty Individuals web site over the next week or so and they are usually on at a special price for a short time, so a good time to snap them up.  I've really enjoyed making up these scenes and I hope that you like them too.  My teamies at Crafty Individuals have created some amazing samples with them and many have been posted on the Crafty Individuals FB group page, so if you're on FB, why not pop along and take a look.

That's all from me for today, so thank you for your visit and I wish you all a very happy and colourful week ahead xx

Autumn Sky And A Sneaky Peek

Hello there,

I can't belive how quickly the week are rolling by.  Christmas will be upon us before we know it but for now, I want to enjoy the beauty that Autumn brings.  The card that I'd like to share with you today features a lone Beech tree.  My crafting friend Lynne (https://creativelynks.blogspot.com) can see this tree from her house and it was made into a stamp by Inkylicious a few years ago.  She has shared some spectacular photographs recently of some amazing sunsets where the sky looks like it's on fire.  Stunning oranges and red and this tree has been in the background, so I thought I'd have a go at trying to re-create something similar.  When I mentioned this in passing, Lynne suggested that it might be fun of all of us to have a go at taking one of the sunset photos and recreating it in which ever way we chose to do so.  So here goes...... this is my card followed by the photo that I used to inspire me:

 

This really is a stunning photo and my card comes nowhere near capturing its beauty, so I decided that the sentiment that I've used here is just perfect on this occasion.  I started by water colouring using Distress and Adirondack Inks.  Once this was dry, I then used some pastels to deepen the colour in the sky.  This was a little bit messy but it gave me the effect that I was looking for.  I finished by setting it with some hair spray.  First time that I've done this but it worked really well.  

If you would like to see what my friends have made, inspired by their choice of Lynne's sunset photographs, then you can visit them at:

https://creativelynks.blogspot.com

http://sal-utations.blogspot.com/

https://vivsvisuals.blogspot.com/

https://latenightstamping.blogspot.com/

Now onto other news and very exciting it is too!  Tomorrow (Friday 9th October,) lovely Jean Hardy from Crafty Individuals will be on Hochanda at 10am and 2pm showing her latest new stamps and papers and the bit that I'm really excited about is that I've designed four of the new stamps.  Now I have to point out that I'm no artist, so it's not my original artwork.  Jean asked if I would like to create some scenes using some of their earlier stamps and I said yes.  There's quite a lot of work involved, especially for Jean but I'm very pleased to say that we are both thrilled with the finished stamps and I hope that you will be too.  Here's a sneaky peek at one of the samples that I've made using one of the new stamps and Jean's new papers:

I'll be able to share more samples with you all after the shows have aired.  I do hope that you'll be able to either watch the shows live or on catch up, which you can do for about a month after.

That's all from me for today and I hope that it's a happy one for you all.  Until next time x

I'd like to add my first card into the following challenges:

Try It On Tuesday - Autumn Colours

The Library Challenge - What To Look For In Autumn

A Little Bit Spooky

Hello there,

I'd like to share with you a page that I made at the weekend for my art journal.  I had intended to make two with them being for Halloween, a left and right that worked together but sadly, that didn't happen.  I ended up with a right but didn't like the one for the left, so that's now a project for another day!  Here’s the one that I ended up with:

All of the stamps that I've used are by Crafty Individuals and the stencil in the background is by Visible Image.

That's all from me for today, short and sweet but I'll be back with you all again on Thursday xx

I'd like to enter this page into the following challenges:

Country View Challenges - Halloween (Make A Scene)

Moving Along With The Times - Animal/s and.or Bird/s

Ahead Of Our Time

Hello there,

I'm here today to share a card that I made recently for our Son's birthday:

I started by creating my background with Brushos and then I stamped and heat embossed the head in the center of my card.  I then masked it off before adding the clocks which I embossed in copper.  The door was stamped and fussy cut out .  Once all of the main elements were in place, I then added more stamps into the background for added interest.  Finally, I used my white Posca pen to add a little more detail to the clocks and added a couple of white die cuts to the center of each.  I also blended a little grey ink around the edges so that the eye would be drawn into the frame.  I was really happy with this one as the colours all seemed to work together really well and I had great fun putting all of the elements in place.  I'm pleased to say that he loved it too.  The stamps that I've used on this card are all by Visible Image.

Whatever you're doing today, I hope that it brings you joy.  Until next time, take care and stay safe xx 

Autumn's Here!

 Hello my crafty friends,

It was only a couple of days ago that we were basking in the sunshine but over the last couple of days, autumn has well and truly arrived! There's a definite chill in the air and the garden is a little on the damp side.  On the plus side, the leaves are changing colour on the trees and for me, the palette that autumn paints is the prettiest of all.  With all of this in mind, I decided that I would create an autumnal page for my art journal and this is the result:

I started by sponging some distress inks in yellow and orange to create my background.  Unfortunately, the orange doesn't show too well in this photo.  The stamps that I've used with the excetion of the sentiment are all by Chocolate Baroque from their 'Autumn Poppy' set.  The sentiment is by Inkylicious.  This was a labour of love as I stamped and cut out masks for each of the mushrooms.  I did this as I wanted to push some into the background to create some depth.  Once this was all done, I then set about adding some colour.  I used various inks and brush pens to do this.  Finally, I finished by sponging some colour around the edges and using a white Posca pen to add some highlights here and there.  I haven't had these stamps very long but now felt like the perfect time to use them.

Take care of yourselves, keep safe and keep warm xx

I'd like to add this card into the following challenges:

CCEE Stampers - Mushroom Month

Moving Along With The Times - Create a Scene

The Library Challenge - What To Look For In Autumn

Mid Month Inspiration - September 2020

Hi there,

It's time for some mid month inspiration over at Stamping Sensations.  Our theme this time around is 'The Great Outdoors, so plenty of scope for you there and still plenty of time left to join us.  Here's the card that I've made to inspire you: 

This scene was created using stamps by 'The Stamp Man.'  This was one of the first stamp sets that I ever bought and it's served me very well over the years.  Unfortunately,  I don't think it's available any longer, which is a shame as it's so useful, especially for masculine cards.  I've stamped the scene using VersaFine and then coloured it using various inks and water colours.

We are a stamping challenge and that's exactly what we want to see on your designs.  Pleased make sure that your main focal point is stamped..... we can't wait to see it!

That's all from me for today, so I wish you all a very happy and colourful day xx

Butterfly Tree and Whitby

 Hello there and Happy Monday,

Lets hope that this is the start of a fabulous week for all of us.  I've enjoyed the bit of sunshine over the last few days and we've taken advantage of it to give the garden a good tidy up before Autumn sets in.  Sunshine always gives us that extra spring in our step doesn't it.  I seem to be far more productive on sunny days than I am when it's raining, even if I'm not going out anywhere!  

I'd like to share a card with you today that is the second card that I've made for this month's challenge over at 'We Love Chocolate Baroque.'  This one is very simple and quite CAS as I didn't think that it neded much else.  If I make any for posting, then I would probably stamp out some extra butterflies and decoupage them to add some dimension but I decided to keep this one flat:

The Butterfly tree is by Chocolate Baroque and the sentiment was on a wooden stamp that I've had for so long that I can't remember who made it.  I peeled it off the wooden block so that I can use it on my stamping platform.

I'd also like to add this card to this week's challenge over at 'Allsorts' which is all about things that you love and I really do love butterflies.  Whenever I see one, they always make me feel happy x 

In other news, I forgot to mention that we had a trip to Whitby last week.  We ended up only staying for a couple of hours as it was getting really busy and people just weren't social distancing, so it was a short but sweet visit.  I found my happy place sitting on the beach.  Just seeing the sea and listening to the waves was pure bliss.  Here's a photo:

Right then, that's all from me for today and I'll see you on the 18th with some mid-month inspiration at Stamping Sensations.  Until then, take care, stay safe and be happy xx