Happy New Year 2022

Hello there my crafty friends,

It's the 31st of December and that's another year almost done and dusted.  We'd all hoped for a better year than 2020 and although we've had more freedom than we had, it's still been challenging in many ways.  We are lucky enough to not live too far away from our two grown up children and their families, so once the lockdowns were over, we enjoyed as much time as we could with our three grandchildren and continue do so, other than the times where there are outbreaks of Covid in their schools.  

Craftwise, I'm still on the DT at Crafty Individuals and still very much enjoying it.  Jean and Malcolm are lovely and the DT are a great bunch and are very supportive of each other, which is wonderful and just as it should be.  

Right then, as it's the last day of the year, I'd like to share with you my favourite makes of 2021, just one from each month, so here goes:

                                                                             January

                                                                            February

                                                                              March

                                                                                 April

                                                                                 May

                                                                                 June

                                                                                    July

                                                                               August

                                                                            September

                                                                                October

                                                                           November

                                                                           December

Well that's me done for another year!  Still healthy, happy and surrounded by my loved ones.  I also have a great bunch of crafting friends (You know who you are) who are always there whenever I need them, come rain or come shine, so who could ask for more.  I feel well and truly blessed as we move into a new year and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your continued support and kindness.  I really appriciate your visits, thank you xx

Happy New Year 

And

All The Very Best Of Everything To You All In 2022

 x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Merry Christmas - 2021

Hello there my crafty friends,

It's Christmas eve, my favourite day of festive season.  I think I love this day because it's filled with the anticipation of the big day to come.  I will be starting the day by putting on some Christmas music and making the last batch of Mince Pies and some sausage rolls. Not the healthiest of choices but a firm tradition in our house.  We will indulge ourselves with one tonight with a festive tipple, then the rest will go with us when we visit our family tomorrow.  I love the smell of baking filling the house and I have a great sense of satisfaction knowing that all is done and now it's time to relax a little and look forward to tomorrow.  

I'd just like to finish by wishing all of my lovely followers and blogging friends a very happy and peaceful Christmas.  Let's raise a glass to absent friends and celebrate the love of our family and friends that we are blessed to still have around us.

Peaceful Christmas Wishes

xxxxx

A Squirrel In Winter

Hello there my crafty friends,

As always, Blog land is getting quieter as the big day approaches.   I'm here to share my last card before Christmas Eve.  Here it is:

I bought this lovely squirrel stamp set from Visible Image in their Black Friday sale.  It's a perfect stamp for autumn but I couldn't wait to get him inked up, so I used him to make a Christmas card.  I'm really enjoying all things Christmas at the moment, so I'm making the most whilst I'm in the mood to get ahead with my cards for next year.  I've realised recently that I have way more birthday cards than I will ever need, so I'd like to make more Christmas cards throughout the year.  I promise not to post them until the back end of the year, other than my monthly entries to the Rudolf Day challenge on the 25th of each month.  For anyone wondering how I made the snow at the bottom of my card, I used some Dr. Ph. Martin's Bleed Proof White.  It's a fabulous opaque white paint that's perfect for making and painting snowy effects.  It was a considered purchase for me but well worth it! 

As I've used lots of little snippets of card on this card with the squirrel, nuts, logs and leaves, I would like to enter this card into 'Pixie's Snippets Playground' challenge #418 

I think that's all from me for today, so I'll love you and leave you until my next post on Christmas Eve.  

Take care of yourselves, wrap up warm and stay safe xx

Last Of My December Samples

Hello again,

Did you all have a good weekend? I hope so.  The big day is getting ever closer and we all have so much to do at this time of year don't we,so I'll keep this post short. 

I've got my Covid booster jab and flu jab this week, so fingers crossed that it all goes smoothly.  My friends and family have given mixed reviews.  Some have experienced very few side effects and others have been quite rough for a couple of days after, so we shall have to wait and see what's in store for me!

I'd like to share the last of my samples with you from the shows on the 3rd of December.  Here they are:

Again, two different cards from me.  One quite CAS and the second one a collage of papers and stamps.  Both are very different from my usual inky style but sometimes it's good to have a play at something a little different.

That's all from me for today and I wish you all a very happy week xx

More Fishy Fun

Hello there,

Are we all ready for the weekend?  I hope that you've got something nice planned.

I''m here today to share the last couple of my fishy cards and here they are:

Two completely different cards.  One CAS and the other quite busy.  On my second card, I decided to leave the fish in black and white as there was already a lot going on in the background.  The text background is from one of Jean's paper sets and I distressed it slightly around the edges.

That's all from me for today and I wish you all a wonderful weekend, whatever you may be doing xx

Regret Nothing!

Good moning my crafty friends,

I'm here today to share a couple more of my samples that I made for Crafty Individuals.  How quirky are these dogs? I love how the one on the end looks like he's had a few too many, so I thought the sentimet would work really well with him.  I also had the idea that he was seeing stars, hence there being a lot of them on this card.  Who knows what he's really been up to! :)

I'm sorry about the size and clarity of my second card.  I'm not sure what happened there but it gets worse when I try to make it any bigger.  

I'll be back on Friday with a couple more featuring some of the fish stamps from the shows xx

Fishy Fun From Crafty Individuals Today On Telly!

Hello there,

Here we are in December and it's time for Jean Hardy's last shows of the year today on 'The Craft Store' at 10am and 2pm.  I haven't made as many samples this time around due to me being under the weather for a few weeks.  It wasn't Covid but some other nasty flu bug that put me in bed for five days and then lingered for a good while after.  Anyway, enough of that now and on to my first sample:

Jean's opted for some new fun stamps this time that have all be drawn by Sharron Bates.  I think this card would make a good retirement card, what do you think?

Hope you can tune in for the shows or watch them on catch up later.  I'll be sharing the rest of my samples with you throughout December, so until then, take care of yourselves and stay safe xx

Rudolph Days - November 2021

Hello there,

It's the 25th of November, which means that it's time for the final 'Rudolph Days' challenge of 2021 and I'm very pleased to say that I've managed to make a card for every month this year!  It also means that we're only one month away from the big day itself, how did that happen?  What do you have planned?  Last year was a very quiet affair due to the Lockdowns, so let's keep fingers crossed that we will be able to share this Christmas day with our families once again.  The hardest thing for me last year was not seeing our grandchildren and time with them is so precious as they are all growing up so fast.  Anyway, enough chatting for now, so here's the card that I've made:

I've used the lovely Sweet Poppy 'Bauble' stencil and a selecion of stamps by Lavinia, Crafty Individuals and Inkylicious.  Quite a simple card but I like how it's turned out.  These are very easy cards to batch make, so I've I will make something similar to this if I need to make any last minute cards, although  I've made a few Christmas cards every month this year, so I'm hoping that I've got enough.

Right then, that's all from me for now, so I'll wish you all a very happy day xx

Last October Sample

Hello there my lovelies,

I'm here with the last of my October samples.

I've used the stencils to create the hills, birds and the sun and all of the stamps that I've used are from the new CI botanical range of stamps.  I really enjoyed making the cards and sharing them with you all. Thank you for looking.

Take care of yourselves and I'll be back soon xx

We Will Remember Them

Wishing you all a peaceful day  xx

 

A CAS Botanical Card

Hell there,

Where on earth is this year going? November already and it will soon be time to start writing the Christmas cards won't it.

For this card, I've used a stamp from CI-583.  There are lots of lovely leaf stamps in this set but for this card, I've only used one of them.  I simply stamped it in VersaFine Clair, coloured with Impress Olive Green, then cut them all out.  That was a labour of love I can tell you.  Definitely fiddly but worth it in the end.  I've made this into a thank you card but I think it would also be perfect for a sympathy card too.  

Rudolph Days - October 21

Hello there,

It's the 25th of the month again, so time for another 'Rudolph Days' challenge over at Scrappy Mo's.

Here's the card that I've made:

The stamp  and backing paper that I've used today are both by Crafty Individuals.  This is a lovely stamp as it can be made to look very different.  Here's a card that I made as a sample earlier on in the year and as you can see, it doesn't look like a Christmas card at all.

That's all from me for today, so take care and be happy xx

 

Time For Some Floral Stamps

Hello again,

The last release of Crafty Individual stamps featured two designs by lovely Dora from our DT.  She's a very talented lady and here's a couple of cards that I've made using her designs:

On my first card, I've used the image from the second card to create my background and I think it's worked really well.  I stamped the image up several times so decoupage it and give it some dimension.  For my second card, I stamped the image onto Kraft card and then coloured it with Derwent Inktense pencils.  When it was finished, I sprayed it with some 'Spray and Shine' to add some depth to the colour.  I think you'll agree that Dora's done a wonderful job xx

Another Peaceful Scene

Hello there,

I'm here again with another of my scenic cards.  This one features the cottage from CI-460.  A beautiful stamp that's just perfect for a 'New Home' card' or as I've used it here to create a scene.  This scene reminds me of a leisurely Sunday morning stroll with a loved one..... just perfect! 

Wishing you all a very happy and peaceful week xx

Landscape Photo Tutorial

Here is the latest card that I've made using the brand new stamps and stencils by Crafty Individuals.  If you would like to see how this card was made and perhaps try something similar yourself, then I've added a photo tutorial below to show you how.  Here's my finished card:

1). Using a blending brush or blending tool, lay down some background colour.  I roughly placed the yellow where I want my sun to be.

2). Place one of the round CI stencils where you want the sun to be, then brush over it again with your blending brush or tool, this will increase the depth of the colour on your scene

3). Place a sheet of copy paper where you want the water to be.  I usually make mine the bottom third of the card.  Brush over from side to side, but try to use a little less pressure where the reflection from the sun would be

4). If using a brush, then spritz it with water and drag it across the water.  This will give the water a sense of movement.  Make sure that you mask with your copy paper first to avoid it smudging the rest of your scene

5).  I wasn't happy with the colour of my water at this stage, so I decided to make it darker by adding some dark blue ink.  If you do the same, then don't forget to blend some of the same colour at the top of the sence too

6). Place your copy paper at the top edge of the water and use the CI stencil to create some mountains in the background.  Take care to keep everything still at this point and build up the colour gradually

7). I used the same technique here as on step 6 to give the scene a little more balance.  You can always add more or less mountains in the background depending on the size of card that you're using

8). Time now to use the hanging branch from CI-583.  This is such a useful stamp and will be one that you'll use time and time again

9). As you can see here, I've stamped the branch one way, then turned it around to give a completely different look at the left hand side

10). It's really important that your ink is completely dry, so I stamped the branches using VersaFine, then heat embossed it with a clear embossing powder.  Once it's dry, then you need to blend around the edges which will then start to frame the scene.  I did mine first with purple, then with the dark blue

11).  Now it's time to start adding some botanical stamps into the foreground.  Think carefully at this point about the balance and framing.  You can see on this picture how I start with the taller stamps at either side of my scene

12). I used stamps from CI-584 and CI-585 to do this.  I also stamped a few in purple to add a little contrast

13). Once again, ensure that your stamps are completely dry before blending again with the dark blue ink.  Next, I used a Posca pen to highlight the botanical stamps

14). I used the CI landscape stencil to add the birds to my scene.  It's absolutely fine just to use a blending tool to do this but as I wanted mine to be a little darker, I went over them with a fine liner. The sentiment that I've used is from CI-583.   When this was done, I then mounted my scene onto some black card.

15).  As I had used lots of purple in my scene, I decided to mount the card again onto so purple card before finally adding it to my white base card.  My finished card is 8 x 8.  

All of the stamps and stencils that I've used for this tutorial are available from Crafty Individuals at:  www.craftyindividuals.co.uk

 

CAS Sympathy

Hi there,

Just a quick post from me to share a card that I'd like to enter into this month's CAS Mix Up challenge.  I spent a very interesting afternoon yesterday making leaf prints.  I didn't have a great deal of success but I very much enjoyed getting messy playing with my Gel Plate.  I'd tried stamping with the leaves and that didn't go too well until my crafty friend Lynne suggested trying Oxides to get a better coverage.  Anyway, after a few more attempts, I finally got a print that I was happy with.  In the end, I used Adirondack Oregano, Oxide Cracked Pistachio and Oxide Peacock Feathers.   Here's my card and apologies that it's not the best photo:

Here are a few of the prints that I made, mainly using the Gel Plate.  I think I'll try and find a way of using some of these in my art journal.  The pink one at the bottom is a fabulous print that I did using acrylic paint but it's too big for a CAS card, other than if I were to cut into it but that would be a shame I think.  My finger tips are still blue today :) :):)

That's all for today but I'll be back shortly with another photo tutorial x 

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

CAS Mix Up Card Challenge - Botanical Prints

I Love My Brushos

Hello there,

How's things with you? Good I hope.  

I'd like to start by saying a big thank you to all the people who have been kind enough to take the time and leave such lovely comments on my last few posts, I really do appreciate it.  Blog land just gets quieter and quieter, so thank you for sticking with me  x

I'm here today with another of my most recent samples:

As the title says 'I Love My Brushos' and I really do.  I honestly can't get enough of them!  I think it's the fact that you never know how a background it going to turn out.  I decided to use the single botanical stamps on this card to create a boquet of them.  Once everything was completely dry, I used a glue pen and added some glitter.  I think you can just about see it on the photo.  I used a crackle stamp around the edge but I had too much space left at the left hand side, so I added a black die cut and a few sequins.  They seemed apprpriate as I'd already used the glitter, so lots of sparkle on this one xx

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

Happy Little Stampers - Watercolour Challenge

A Bit More Time To Craft - Anything Goes

Gorgeous Botanicals

Hello there,

I'm back again today to share a couple more of my CI samples with you.  I absolutely loved using these new stamps and I could have gone on making this batch of samples forever!  They are such beatuiful stamps that can be used for so many different occasions.  Here's todays cards:

Jean released another beautiful set of papers on the last show and both of these cards feature one of the new designs.  I think my first card shows how well the stamps and papers work together.  I quite often make sets of cards for friends and family and this combination would be perfect for that and would look lovely boxed up.

More samples to come and I hope you're enjoing seeing them as much as I enjoyed making them x