Handsome Buck

Hi everybody.  This Serendity Buck, or deer as we say here, is an image I have had for quite a while but haven't used it recently, and I needed a quick birthday card and although you can colour this image to within an inch of its life, just a bit of simple heat embossing will do equally as well.

I found a piece of packaging which came with an embossing folder and which I kept as I thought it might come in useful with its woodgrain look, and I used some Aged Mahogany Distress Ink around the edges and over the lines which as it is shiny didn't colour it as much as I had hoped but stained it slightly.  I then cut a snippet of kraft card with a square stitched die from The Works and then inked the stamp with Versamark and heat set it using WOW Metallic Copper Embossing Powder.  I finished by finding another snippet of black card and stamped and heat embossed the sentiment on to it again using the Metallic Copper EP, and cut it into a fishtail banner shape and rounded the other end.  I layered the topper on to the piece of background card and then wrapped some jute type string around it twice and knotted it before adding it to my 6" square white base card.  I then finished by adding the sentiment.

Thank you for stopping by today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering this into the following challenge:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No. 339 where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

We Will Remember Them

Hi everybody.  I'm sure there are not many people who haven't realised it is 100 years since the end of World War One today.

We went to a lovely concert last night which included a lot of wonderful music and singing, they even had a piper and a bugler, and it was really moving.  Though this year we especially remember WW1, on Remembrance Sunday here in the UK we remember those that have fought and given their lives in all conflicts.

Chocolate Baroque November TV

Hi there.  Here is a sneaky peek of some of what Chocolate Baroque have in store for you next week over on Hochanda ....

They will be on air on Tuesday 6th November at 11am and then again at 3pm, so if you want to get some crafty tips and see lots of inky tricks then please join Lesley and Judith then.

Butterfly Lady, Auricula Script and Floral Edges Landscape

Hi everyone.  These are three cards I made for the Chocolate Baroque September TV shows on Hochanda featuring the pretty Butterfly Dress, Auricula Script and Floral Edges stamps.

I started by making a spritzed ink background on a piece of white card.  I used Adirondack Stonewashed ink, and Twisted Citron and Cracked Pistachio Distress inks, laying the colours down approximately where I wanted them.   I then stamped one of the Floral Edges at the bottom using second generation Cracked Pistachio and another with leaves at the top using Lucky Clover.

I then stamped the image on to a piece of Drawing Cartridge paper using Versafine Smokey Gray ink and coloured with her using some watercolour pencils just as they are without any water.  I then cut her out leaving a border round the edge, and using a craft knife I cut round the largest butterfly on her skirt so that I could lift the wings for dimension.

I decided to frame the background then add the lady over the top.  I made the frame using another piece of white card and cut it using a Tonic scalloped edge die, but cut the internal square with a craft knife because none of my plain rectangle dies were the right shape and size.

I finished the card by stamping the lady's skirt again using my Smokey Gray ink and cut out and coloured some more of the flowers and added them to the corners of the frame. 

 My second card features the Auricula Script image which I stamped on to Velvet Card using Versamark ink and heat embossed with WOW Gold Metallic Embossing Powder.  I matted the image on to a piece of dark green card.  I then stamped the image again heat embossing with the WOW Gold EP and coloured just the flower using my Distress inks in Candied Apple and Carved Pumpkin on the flowers, and some Twisted Citron and Cracked Pistachio and also some Adirondack Bottle on the leaves and sepals round the flowers.  I then used Ground Espresso for the stem and to darken bits of the leaves.  I applied the inks with my waterbrush.  When dry I cut the flower out and using Pinflair Glue Gel I added it over the flower on the background.

For the background I used the flower image from the Floral Edges set stamped on to a rectangle die cut using a Crealies Pierced Edge die.  I stamped it on all four sides butting it up to the previous edge by masking just where I thought it might cross over by placing a piece of paper just over the edge of the previous image.  I then heat embossed using Versamark ink and heat embossed with the WOW Opaque Bright White EP.  I then blended with the green Distress Inks to complement the flower.  I added this to an approximately 7" x 5" white base card.

I am entering this card in the following challenge:

Pixies Crafty Workshop No. 338 - where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

My last card was made using the Floral Edges.  I created a background using my gelli plate and Distress Inks in similar colours to those used on the previous cards, these seem to be my favourites at the moment.  I laid the inks down on the gelli plate and spritzed with water before pulling the print on to some Velvet card.  I then added the floral edge stamps to frame the scene and also added the hills and the sun in the background using a brush to blend.  I used Fossilised Amber for the sun and also some Mermaid Lagoon and Blueprint Sketch in the sky area, and the various greens already mentioned together with the Fossilised Amber for the foliage and flowers in the foreground, and the foliage around the top of the card.

Thank you for looking at my blog today and I'll see you again soon.

October Rudolph Days Challenge

Hi everybody.  It is time again for the Rudolph Days Challenge, and I am just rushing in through the gates and late again.  I will try to be more prepared next month as it will be the last one before Christmas.  This challenge is run by the lovely Mo, and although there is no point at all me suggesting that you do the challenge this month as it is about to close, but maybe next month, or certainly start the new year with the resolution to keep making your cards so that there isn't that sudden rush and panic come Christmas.

Anyway, here is my card, the quickest card ever I think.  This is another upcycling of a card using the whole card front as the design, cut with a scalloped die and added on to a piece of dark blue card.  The only extra embellishment is a little white snowflake which I found in the bits bag that I keep with old cards and embellishments I have made and not used.  Not much imagination used here but really wanted to enter the challenge albeit rather late,  as I have managed every month so far, and hopefully next month too to make the whole set...lol.

Thank you for visiting today and I hope to see you again soon. 

Kim Moody's Quirky Houses

Hi everybody.  Chocolate Baroque are producing stamps for a new designer called Kim Moody who does these wonderful drawings of buildings in quite a quirky style, and they are celebrating this by showing cards made with his super stamps over on their Design Team Blog.  I have made a couple of cards with two of the stamps,  La Maison, and Loft Conversion.  He actually bases the designs on buildings he has seen, but obviously draws them in his own unique way.  Here is the first using La Maison.

I thought I would use some thin cork material which I have had for ages and have never used.  I wasn't sure if it would work, but I stamped on to a piece of this cork using Versamark Ink and then heat embossed it with WOW Opaque Brilliant White Embossing Powder.  The surface is a little uneven but it took the embossing powder fairly well, and then I coloured the image with my pencils in shades of yellow for the house walls and red for the roof and doors and the wall, and then a little blue in the sky, and a little black for shading and to ground the house.  I then used a Black Micron Pen to add the birds, and a few bits to enhance the details.  Obviously the colours do not look very bright because of the strongish colour of the cork.

I then backed the cork with a piece of pattern gold card.  Meanwhile I cut a piece of hessian to fit the 6" square white card and pulled out some of the threads to make a fringe.  I then used some of these pieces of thread twisted to make a cord which I wrapped around one side of the topper before adding it to the card.  I then took some more of the pieces together and knotted them to the cord,  and finished by adding a computer generated sentiment cut into a banner shape, and adhered this behind the knot, as I thought this would make a lovely new home card.

Here is my other card with Loft Conversion.

I stamped it on to a piece of white card using Versafine Smokey Gray Ink and then heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss EP.  I then painted the house and a scene around it using various Distress Inks and added it to a white base card approximately 7" x 5".  I finished by adding a computer generated sentiment cut into three small strips again using some new home related words.

Thanks for visiting today and I hope to see you again soon, and if you want to see more cards using these and the other fun designs by Kim then go to the Chocolate Baroque Design Team Blog.

CAS Mix Up October Challenge Reminder

Hi there everyone.  I can't believe we have reached the middle of the month already, and halfway through this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge for which I am lucky enough to be Guest Designer.  The theme this time is Metal and there are some videos on the blog to help you with some ideas of different techniques to use.

Bonnie very kindly sent me some beautiful copper sheet and a very pretty die cut leafy frame as a thank you for being GD, and so I thought it would be good to use them for this card.

 

To add to the required elements of Metal and Stamping, I used die cutting, heat embossing, watercolouring, and alcohol inking.

I started by mounting the leafy frame on to some white card and then adhered it on to an approximately 6" x 5" card, which gave a 1/2" border all the way round.  The middle section of the frame is separate and I decided to colour it before setting it back into the frame, but at that time hadn't decided on a colour.

I coloured the piece of copper sheet with my alcohol inks, using several greens and browns and a bit of red, and light and dark blue.  I then die cut it using a pair of Sue Wilson dies called Trailing Ivy.  One of them cut much easier than the other using my Gemini machine with the metal shim and a rubber mat added for more pressure, but don't really know why as I rotated them both several times to get the best cut.  I persevered and got there in the end, and I love the leaves so feel it was worthwhile.

I then decided on a colour for the centre piece of the frame.  I used two of my Brushos in Turquoise and Emerald Green.  I tapped some powder from each on to my glass mat and spritzed with water and then dragged the piece of white card through it several times to build up the colour, and ended up with a quite intense sea green which I think complements the colours in the ivy leaves really well.  The colour has more blue in it then it appears to have in the photo.  I found it incredibly difficult to get a decent photo which showed off the pretty colours in the copper leaves too, but I think you can get the idea.

I finished it with a sentiment heat embossed using WOW Metallic Copper Embossing Powder on to a strip of black card cut into a banner shape.

Thank you for looking at my blog today and I'll see you again soon, and also a big thank you to Bonnie and Loll for asking me to be GD this time which I have thoroughly enjoyed.  You still have lots of time to get an entry in as the challenge doesn't close until 24th October. 

I am entering the following challenges:

Happy Little Stampers October Anything Goes with Dies Challenge.
Dies R Us Challenge - No. 107 Anything Fall.
Die Cut Divas Challenge - Autumn and Halloween.
Addicted to CAS - No 147 Foliage.