'Modes of Transport' Inspiration

Hello there,

I'm here today to share with you a card that I've made for an inspirational mid-month piece over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges.

The stamps that I've used are all by Sheena Douglass. I've had the stamps for years but I think that they're still available.

The steam train was coloured using Spectrum Noir and the rest of the scene was painted using various inks.

Wishing you all a happy and colourful day x

Rudolph Day - March 17

Hello there,

Well, after starting off the year with very good intentions, I didn't manage to get my post ready in time for last month's Rudolph days challenge, so I'm adding two this month to make up for it and I hope that Scrappy Mo will forgive me :)

Here's my first card which made when I was having a play with a new stamp from Inkylicious, Snowy Pines.  I had intended to use just the trees but I got a little carried away and I ended up  some other stamps, all by Inkylicious. The ink used on this card for dusting and stamping is Adirondack Denim.

Here's Card No 2

This one is a very similar to one that I made for a sample on Hochanda.  Since putting it on Pinterest last Summer, it's had over two thousand pins, so I think people must like it.  I made this one using Adirondack Cranberry ink, which seemed quite appropriate as it was for a Christmas card.  I used an embossing folder which came free with a magazine and after dusting over it with the Cranberry, I then skimmed over the top with some silver Metallic Gilding Wax.

That's all for now, so I wish you a happy day.

Chocolate Baroque

Good morning,

Are we all ready for the weekend then?  I love weekends as they usually give me the opportunity to spend some time in my craft room, which I love.

I'm here today to share a card that I've made for the colour challenge over at Chocolate Baroque.  I love Chocolate Baroque stamps and I've really enjoyed watching Lesley Wharton demonstrate them recently on Hochanda, I think she's a true crafter and a great inspiration to both new and accomplished stampers.  I've watched the challenges come and go but I haven't joined in before as I only own one set of their stamps but when I saw the latest colour challenge, I thought I would have a go and join in this time, so here's my creation:

All of the stamps that I've used are from the 'Wild Meadow' set and the inks that I've used are: Memento - Dandelion; Lulu Lavender; Tuxedo Black; Adirondack - Terra Cotta; Cranberry; Versafine Black Onyx.

I used Ink Dusters to colour the background with the yellow ink and then used a circular mask to create the Sun by going over the sky again with more yellow and then with terracotta.  Next, I used a stencil to add the mountains.  With my background now in place, I stamped the flower and I used some bleach to take out the colour.  I then water coloured the head of the flower with the purple and cranberry and the part below was coloured with cranberry and terracotta. When this was dry, I highlighted the edges with a white pen. I stamped around the edge of the card with another stamp from the set and then used a finger dauber, first with purple, then cranberry to create a vignette to draw the eye into the image.  Finally, I finished by adding a computer printed butterfly.  I stuck the butterfly onto card and then fussy cut it out before curving the wings to give them some dimension.

That's me all done for today so I'll wish you all a happy weekend and hopefully lots of happy crafting :)

FSC - Modes Of Transport

Good morning my friends.

It's time for a new challenge over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges. The theme this time is 'Modes Of Transport' and was chosen by Dani. I decided make 'Cruising' the theme for my card. I really enjoyed making it and I hope that you like it too. 

I started by stamping the background randomly with a Nautical stamp that I've had for years by The Stampman. I then dusted around the edge, first with Distress Tea Dye and then Memento Teal Zeal.

The torn off pieces at the back of the collage were made using Starburst Stains which I painted on the card and the I sprinkled with rock salt to create a weathered look. I then used another stamp from the Nautical set to add the text and I used the full stamp to create the piece of text used in the collage. The tag is one that I had intended to use on the front of the card but that it just wasn't right, so rather than waste it, I added it as part of the collage and I think it works really well.

The Vintage Voyage stamp and the Film Strip stamps are both by Inkylicious. The inks that I've used to stamp and colour the images are: Versafine Black Onyx, Distress Tea Dye and Memento Teal Zeal. 

Springtime

Hello to all my wonderful blogging friends and followers,

I've indulged myself this week and bought myself a 6 x 6 Gelli plate.  I've seen so many amazing backgrounds made with them and they looked like a lot of fun, so I thought I'd give it a go.

I spent much of yesterday trying out the plate with various inks and paints and I actually couldn't see my desk by the time I'd finished but it was great fun and the possibilities are endless.

Here's a card using one of the backgrounds that I made:

I started by using a layer of lemon ink and then adding a stencil before brayering over it with a Spring green colour by Impress.  I then used the same ink to stamp the small ballet dancers that you can see in the background.  The daisies were also stamped directly onto the Gelli pad using an aqua blue ink. 

Once I was happy with the background, I then stamped the words directly onto the paper to ensure that the words would be the right way round.  When the paper was dry, I used a paint brush to bleach the colour out of the daisy petals.  Unfortunately, the petals lost a little of their definition so I went around them lightly with a charcoal pencil. I used a finger dauber to add the yellow and green to the center of the daisies.  To finish the card, I stamped the main ballet dancer and the Dance sentiment with Versafine Black Onyx to give a nice clean impression. 

With the exception of the Daisy stamp which is by Inkylicious, all of the stamps that I've used today are by the Artistic Stamper.    

Inspired by Tim Holtz

Hello there,

Well, the sun's been shining again today and I'm starting to think that Spring really is on the way.  It's lovely to see the blossom on the trees again and I'm looking forward to warmer days coming soon.

I'm here today with a card that I've made for the challenge over at Country View Crafts challenge which is 'Inspired by Tim Holtz'

My Daughter bought me the Tim Holtz Umbrella Man die for Christmas and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give him his first outing.

I made the background by using Brushos and Cosmic Shimmer Pixie Powder.  I'm really loving using my Brushos recently and I think they work really well with this particular die,  The effect at the bottom was purely accidental, as you never know what you're going to get as an end result but it does look like he's splashing in a puddle.  The sentiment is one that I've used may times before and is by Inkylicious.

I hope that you enjoy the rest of your weekend and that the sun is shining wherever you are :)

Stay Curious

Hello there,

It's really cold today but the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day. It's the first time I've been in my craft room for quite a while now and I've had a great time creating and I'll tell you why.......

I had a lovely surprise yesterday to find that my wonderful blogging friend Leanne had sent me a set of the brand new stamps by Visible Image called 'Curious Cats.'  This was most unexpected and I'm overwhelmed by Leanne's kindness.  I felt that it was only right that I should have a play with them as soon as I could and today's the day. Here are the first two cards that I've made with them this morning.  I can see that they are going to be very addictive!

The background was made using Brushos and Cosmic Shimmer Pixie Powers,  I then stamped over using VersaFine Black Onyx.  I bleached the colour from the eyes and nose and then painted them back in again.  I decided to use blue for the eyes to give a total contrast from the pink.

The background was made using a Creative Expressions Church Window stencil. I then stamped the various Visible Image stamps again with the Versafine.  I bleached out the colour from the eyes and the nose but decided to leave them white this time.  I used a Mountain stencil to create the hills in the background and then used the whiskers stamp to add some grass to the scene.  The hills and colour around the image is Adirondack Eggplant, I then dusted around the edge again with some black Memento ink to create a vignette.

I absolutely love my new stamps and I feel very blessed indeed to have such a kind and thoughtful friend, thank you Leanne and I hope that you like what I've made them. x