The Raven

 Hello again,

I can't believe how many times I've posted this week, it must be a record, either that, or I've got way too much time on my hands!

It's that time of year again for all things spooky.  I don't do Halloween but I do enjoy creating gothic type art.  The piece that I'm sharing with you today is one that I've made for my art journal.  I followed a FB live demo by the very talented Dot Leathbridge about creating galaxy backgrounds and I've used one of them on here.  All the stamps that I've used are by Crafty Individuals:

It's a beautiful stamp and I've just added a little colour to some of the feathers.

If you celebrate Halloween, then I hope you enjoy it and if you're like me, I hope it will pass swiftly, then it will be onto all things Christmas, although goodness knows what that will be like this year with all that's going on around us.

Take care and have a good weekend xx

I'd like to add this card to the follwing challenges:

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge - Movie Inspired (The Raven)

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything goes

Dawn Whispers

 Hello,

I'm here today to sahre with you a card that I've made using the last of my four designs for Crafty Individuals:

These stamps are so easy to use, even if I do say so myself :) Simply stamp the image, then heat emboss to avoid making any smudges, then create your background.  This was blended with Ink Dusters and the water was water coloured, all with Distress inks.  The paper in the background is by Crafty Individuals from the 'Weathered Wood 2' pack and I've added a little colour with this Ink Dusters to blend with the scene.  Jean Hardy from CI has been doing a lot of demos and cards using these stamps and papers and she's used alcohol inks which give a wonderful, artistic look.  

Right then, as it's raining again, it looks like another crafty day for me.... The things that we do to keep ourselves amused!  Take care and I hope that your day is a colourful one xx

How To Catch A Star

 Hello there my lovelies and how are you all today?

I woke up to a beautiful sunrise, so that was a good start to my day.  I've done a little food prep for today, so time now to have a crafty play.

The card that I'd like to share with you today is one that I've made for the latest 'Library Challenge.' I'm always on the lookout for new challenges as they can often take me out of my comfort zone, which I like every now and again.  The Library challenge isn't new, just new to me but I find it an interesting one. Their challenge this week is a book called 'How To Catch a Star.' and here's my take on it:

I started by masking off my moon, then I blended Adirondack Denim, Distress  Oxide Wilted Violet and Memento Tuxedo to create my background. The silhouette stamp is by Inkylicious and I masked off the umberella.  This stamp worked really well as it does look like she's reaching up for the star.  I splattered the background with water, then once this was dry, I used my white Posca pen to add more stars.  I used a mountain stencil to ground the girl and to also add a little extra interest.  Finally, I finished by using an old Stampman sentiment, which I heat embossed in white and I added a silver die cut star.

That's all from me for today and I hope that it's a happy and creative one for you xx

Dawn Serenity

 Hello there,

I hope that you all had a good weekend.  The weather here wasn't too good but we did see the odd bit of sunshine.  Grey skies and rain again this morning, so I'm having a crafty play.  There's lots of housework do do but hey, life's short!

The cards that I'm sharing with you today were made using on of the new scenic stamps that I designed for Crafty Individuals using some of their older stamps:

                                                                            CI-553 'Dawn Serenity'

On this card, I've also used some of the older stamps to extend the scene.  When I started this card, I had fully intended to colour the robin but as it progressed, I really liked the monochromatic look of the robin in the moonlight, so I decided to leave it as it was.

                                                                         CI-553 'Dawn Serenity' 

This card was inspired by a demo that Jean Hardy did using her new 'Weathered Wood' background papers.  It consists of lots of snippets of paper stuck togeter again to form the background, then I've used my stamp in the center.  These new papers are beautiful and they've been made using photos taken by Jean's partner, Malcolm Noble.  The colours are really bold and quite dramatic.  I'm glad that you get so many in a pack as I could just sit and look at them....yes, I know I'm sad.  Perhaps it's this lockdown thing that's starting to get to me!

That's all from me today as I'm now going to have a play with all things messy :)  Take care of yourselves and I wish you all a very happy and colourful week xx

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

Make My Monday - Masculine

Tone On Tone

 Hello there,

I wasn't expecting to be doing this post and it's all a bit last minute. After some very kind and encouraging words from the very lovely and talented Mac at 'The Sweetest Of Peas' blog, I've decided to enter the challenge over at 'CAS Mix Up.'  The theme for this challenge is 'Tone On Tone' and stencils must be used.  Here's the card that I've made:

I'm afriad that you'll have to forgive the terrible photo as the light is fading fast here and if I wait until tomorrow, the challenge will be closed.  

The stamp that I've used is by Crafty Individuals, as is the snowflake stencil. The second stencil is one that I've had for ages but I can't remember who made it.  I've water coloured the image using Distress inks and Koh-I-Noor water colour paints.  The sentiment is one from my stash.

That's all from me, so enjoy the rest of your evening xx

Poppies Galore

 Hello there,

An very quick and unexpected post from me today but I've just finished a card, so I thought that I'd share it with you:

I made the background using the cling film technique on Brushos.  The poppies are by Chocolate Baroque and I've water coloured them with Distress and Adirondack inks. I'm really happy with the colours and how the card truned out and I hope that you like it too.  

Take care, stay safe and I hope to be back with you all again soon xx

Dawn Hideaway

 Hello there,

How are you all doing in these troubled and worrying times?  I'm starting to feel like this virus is going to go on forever.  Just when it seemed like were were getting back to some sort of normality, we're suddenly heading back to square one again.  It's like real life 'Snakes and Ladders!'  Once again, my crafting is keeping me sane, along with a few wonderful crafty friends who make me smile every day, thank you lovely ladies, you know who you are x

I'd like to share another card with you using another one of the stamps that I designed recently for Crafty Individuals using some of their older stamps:

With this card, I've taken the origional stamps and expanded the design to make an 8 x 8 card.  The new stamp on it's own is perfect for 6 x 6 cards and is ideal for batch making, which is great for people who make them for charities, or if you need a card in a hurry.  

That's all from me for today and I'll be back again with you all soon. Until then, take care and stay safe x 

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