Something Wicked This Way Comes

Hello there my crafty friends,

I hope that you're all keeping well and happy and that life is being kind to you.  If not, then I wish you brighter days to come.

Now very recently, I received some new Gothic stamps from Jean Hardy at Crafty Individuals and she asked if the Design Team would make a few samples to share with everyone.  Well, as soon as I opened them, I knew that I just had to get them inked up straight away.  Needless to say, I had an amazing time creating this card as I'm sure you'll see.  I've never made anything for Halloween or in a Gothic style previously but everything seemed to flow perfectly with this one and I have to be honest and say that I absolutely love the finished result, so much so that I'm going to frame it and keep it in my craft room.  Being my own worst critic, that's praise indeed from me lol :)  Anyway, I'll stop going on and show you the card:

The background was made using two shades of Brushos spritz with water.  I then stamped the CI image of the Crow and Cross, along with Whitby Abbey and the birds.  Next, I bleached out the colour from both images and the moon, and then water coloured the colours back in.  On this occasion, I left the Crow in black and white to give a a more dramatic look.  I used another new CI stamp to create the lightening and then heat embossed it in white.  The ghost in the right hand corner is from a CI Filmstrip and the date on the gravestone was cut out from an old calendar,  I used a CI Crackle stamp around the edge and then used a blender tool with Adirondack Eggplant ink to create a darker outer edge which with then naturally draw the viewers eye in.  The cobweb was stencilled in using a Bee Crafty Dinkable.

I'll be back soon with more samples of the new CI stamps but until then, I wish you lots of crafty happiness x

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

That's Crafty - Spookalicious Challenge
Artistic Stamper - Inktober

Shades of Autumn at Stamping sensations

Hello there you crafty lot and thank you for visiting today.

It's time for a new challenge over at Stamping Sensations and our theme this time is 'Shades of Autumn.'  Now I don't know about you but I love this time of year when the colours of nature at at their finest.  We visit the Lake District quite often and I never fail to be amazed by the scenery at this time of year.

Here's the card that I've made for this challenge:

I started by stamping and masking the Owl which is by Flonz Craft.  I then stamped my moon and masked it off using a circular stencil.  Next, I used my Ink Dusters to colour the background with autumnal colours.  I stamped the trees in the background and then set about creating some hills before stamping in the larger trees in the foreground.  I removed both masks and then used some distress inks to watercolor  my owl.  Finally, I stamped the sentiment to complete my card.  All stamps with the exception of the Owl are by Inkylicious.

We are very generously sponsored this month by Stamp Addicts, who are kindly offering the lucky winner a £25 voucher to spend at their online store.

We would really love it if you could join us with a piece of your artwork featuring this month's theme but please remember that Stamping Sensations is a 'STAMPING' challenge, so we must see a stamped image, sentiment or quote as the focal element of your artwork, this means: Stamping must be the central point of attention and interest.

All the details of our challenge rules can be found here

Please note:  If we don't comment on your entry it will be because it doesn't follow our theme to qualify under our rules, or because we are asked to sign in or provide additional data to comment on third part hosts such as Instagram, Flickr or Facebook etc.  We really don't want to be rude but we do want to be fair to those who follow the rules.

That's all from me for now, so I'll wish you a happy and peaceful day x

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

Allsorts - Trees or Leaves

Penny Black and More - Autumn Splendour

Craft Stamper Take It Make It - Anything Goes

Artistic Stamper - Inktober

Just The Ticket - Mixed Media

Hello there,

I hope that you're all keeping well and happy.

Just a really quick post from me today to share with you the wall hanging that I made as a sample for Crafty Individuals' Hochanda shows earlier this week:

Hope you like it.

Take care and I'll be back with you on Sunday when we'll be starting a new challenge over at Stamping Sensations but until then, I wish you lots of happy crafting x

Just The Ticket

Hello there,

Well, it seems ages since my last post but life has been quite hectic of late with one thing and another, so sorry for my absence and for my lack of commenting.  I'm hoping that things will be back to normal soon so that I can be back with you all a little more often.

Did you manage to catch Crafty Individuals on Hochanda yesterday?  There were some great demos by Jean Hardy and Lesley Wharton of Chocolate Baroque.   The shows were all about tags and tickets and I'd like to share with you a few of my samples:

I hope you like them and I'll be back with you on Thursday to share a wall hanging that I made.  Until then, I wish you lots of happy crafting x

'Slap It On' at TIOT

Hello there my crafty friends,

I'm here again with my second post of the day.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to have my card chosen in the Top 5 over at 'Try It On A Tuesday'  and I was very happy when I received an email from Avril asking if I would like to do a Guest Design spot for them, so here I am.

The theme this time is 'Slap It On' and so I decided that I would take out my Brushos and slap on some colour.

I started by stamping the image of the artist which is by Flonz Craft and then masking it with some masking fluid.  When the fluid was dry, I then used several different shades of Brushos and let the colours run. Once this was dry, I then removed the mask from my image.  As there was so much colour on the tag already, I decided to leave the image black and white to create more of an impact.  I pained in some droplets of colour at the top of the tag and stenciled in the word 'Create' to finish.  The word 'Artist' and sentiment are by Inkylicious.

The lovely ladies over at TIOT always have some wonderful samples on their blog, so why not pop over and take a look at what they've all been up to this week.  Even better, get your sleeves rolled up and join in with them on this fabulous challenge.

Before I go, I'd just like to say a big thank you to Avril and the rest of the team for giving me the chance to get messy.  Needless to say, I had a great time! :)

Take care and be happy x

Mid Month Inspiration - September 18

Hello there,

It's time for us to offer you some Mid Month Inspiration over at Stamping Sensations and here's my card:

Our theme this month is 'I Spy Something Beginning with B.'  On this card I've used the colours blue and black and I've stamped on some birds.    I stamped the girl by Inkylicious and then masked her off using a circular stencil.  Next, I sprinkled Brushos around and spritzed them with some water.  I remove the stencil and then when it was dry, I stamped on the birds and sponged in a little colour behind the girl.

We are very generously sponsored this month by fabulous Bev and Co. over at Bee Crafty, who are kindly offering the lucky winner a £25 voucher to spend at their online store.

We would really love it if you could join us with a piece of your artwork featuring this month's theme but please remember that Stamping Sensations is a 'STAMPING' challenge, so we must see a stamped image, sentiment or quote as the focal element of your artwork, this means: Stamping must be the central point of attention and interest.

All the details of our challenge rules can be found here

Please note:  If we don't comment on your entry it will be because it doesn't follow our theme to qualify under our rules, or because we are asked to sign in or provide additional data to comment on third part hosts such as Instagram, Flickr or Facebook etc.  We really don't want to be rude but we do want to be fair to those who follow the rules.

I'll be back with you all later today with another piece of my artwork, so I hope you can pop back again later x

Go Wild On Your Birthday

Hello there my crafty friends,

Well it looks like Autumn is well and truly on it's way.  There's definitely a nip in the air on a morning and the nights are drawing in.  I don't know about you but in our house, salads are on their way out and soups are on their way in!

It's our eldest Grandson's third Birthday this week and so I thought I'd share with you the card that I've made for him:

The stamps that I've used were free with the Creative Stamping magazine a couple of months back.  I have to say that I've made quite a few cards with these stamps already as they are so versatile and the possibilities with them are endless.  For this card, I opted to create a scene on an 8x8 card and then add a couple of images that I fussy cut out, and also a few die cuts to add some dimension.

It's hard to believe that it's three years since we were sat waiting for a phone call to say that Jack had been born....how time flies.

That's all from me today as I'm busy at the moment making some sample for the next Crafty Individuals show on Hochanda on the 1st of October.  I'll post more details of that a little nearer to the time, so until next time, take care and be happy x

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

Allsorts - Bear (Koala Bear)