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Friday 30 August 2019

A Heart Full of Love

Hi everybody.  I have another anniversary card to show you today.  I decided to use this pretty floral heart from a fairly recent set of Chocolate Baroque stamps called A Heart Full of Love and ideal for this particular couple who have been married now for 51 years and I thought they would like this.  It turned out to be a little busier than I initially meant it to be but they have received it and said that they liked it so all good.


I started with the background using just the group of flowers which you can also use to decoupage the main heart.  I found a snippet of white card and inked it using Versafine Satin Red Ink and stamped it four times over the background.  I then used Spun Sugar Distress Ink with a blending tool and covered the background leaving it a little lighter in the centre though most of that is covered by the central heart.

I stamped the heart on to another  snippet of white card and coloured the flowers using a waterbrush using Spun Sugar,  Shaded Lilac, Crushed Olive and Peeled Paint Distress Inks.  I then cut it out and added it to a larger die cut heart and using a snippet of white card and an XCut set of dies and on which I blended some Candied Apple DI.  I finished by covering it with some Wink of Stella Pen to give it a bit of sparkle though it doesn't really show up in the photo.

I finished by layering it on to a 6" square white card and added the sentiment also stamped using the Red Satin Versafine Ink and die cut it with a tag die.

As a bit of an experiment I made the tag larger by die cutting a little over half the shape and then moved the die up the cut piece and cut the other end to match.  It was a bit fiddly but it worked quite well.  I would have been better stamping the sentiment first and then cutting the tag evenly around the stamping rather than trying to do it the other way round, so next time that's what I will do.   I inked around the edge using what I thought was a bit of Spun Sugar but it was a bit darker and I think it was the blending foam that had had the Candied Apple ink but didn't press too hard so actually it wasn't so very dark, although the photo has made it looks much darker than it does in real life which tends to make the background and sentiment merge rather.

Thanks for taking a look today and I hope you'll visit again soon.






I am entering the following challenge:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No. 359 where we use up our snippets of card and paper etc.

Saturday 24 August 2019

Christmas is Coming...

Hi there everybody.  Here are some cards I made for last month's Hochanda shows.



These are all new Christmas images by Chocolate Baroque and this first one is a really big stamp called Christmas Garden.  I decided to give it a bit of a vintage look so stamped it using Vintage Photo Distress Ink and coloured using a waterbrush.  I decided to drag the colour into the lanterns, snowflakes and foliage, and then I added some Ripe Persimmon on the poinsettias, baubles, robin and baubles on the Christmas tree, holly berries and candle flames.  I then added some green into the foliage using Cracked Pistachio, and some Fossilised Amber and Ripe Persimmon for the rings of light.  I painted in the background again using the Fossilised Amber and a waterbrush and then highlighted the edges with some more of the same ink blending it with blending tool.  I then hightlighted the candles in the lanterns and the larger free standing candles with a white pencil.

I finished by cutting it down and then added a layer of red followed by a layer of kraft card, and then added the sentiment using the Ripe Persimmon ink and heat set with some Clear Gloss Embossing Powder before adding this to the square white card which is about an inch or so larger all round.


My next card features a pretty little bird sitting on holly and berry branches and comes from the Christmas Circle stamp set.  It actually doesn't have to be a robin but I just love a robin at Christmastime and so I coloured him in that way.  I heat embossed the image using WOW Metallic Gold Embossing Powder and coloured with a waterbrush using Distress Inks in Pine Needles, Candied Apple, Brushed Corduroy and Vintage Photo, then added the snowy background with well watered Blueprint Sketch and added some falling snow with a white Posca Pen.

I then made the background using a small snowflake stamp and sentiment which comes from the first set.  I stamped and heat embossed the snowflake using the Gold EP and then added the colours using Pine Needles, Blueprint Sketch and a bit of Mermaid Lagoon to bring them together using a blending tool.  I then added the sentiment randomly tone on tone and finished by water bleaching to give it a snowy look and cut the rectangle using a Crealies Pierced Rectangle die.

I finished by adding a gold mat using some Gold Mirri card, again die cutting with the Crealies die, and then added the topper across it for a bit more interest.  I then stamped another sentiment along the bottom of the card with the Gold EP.




The final card I am showing here was made using Brushos and an image which is part of the same stamp set used above.  I stamped and heat embossed with the WOW Gold Metallic EP and then sprinkled some Brushos - Yellow around the candle flames, Emerald Green along the bottom and around the edges, and Brilliant Red over the poinsettia.  I then spritzed with water and mopped up a bit and allowed it to dry.  I then filled in the leaves and berries and tidied up the poinsettia using the same inks, and then just added a little Orange on the candle flames.

I decided to frame this and cut a white layer to fit the card with just a small border and cut the circular aperture just a little above the centre to allow for the addition of a sentiment.  I then cut a frame for the aperture using the Gold Mirri card using a Stitched Circle die from The Works, and then added the corner leaves which come with the first set and finished by adding one of the sentiments which is included in this set all heat embossed with the Gold EP.

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








Wednesday 21 August 2019

CAS Butterflies

Hi everyone.  I have a card today which I made to enter two of the CAS Challenges run by Loll and Bonnie.  I would love to have made separate cards to enter one in each but I know that inevitably I will run out of time so I hope they will forgive me for making just the one card.  CAS Mix Up asks us to use our inky paper towel on, or to transfer the ink to the card, and it is the latter technique I have used here.  CAS Watercolour wants us to add colourful butterflies.  I was hoping to include CAS Stencil and the prompt was to use sprays and I had a go at making my own using Brushos.  I couldn't seem to get enough colour into the spray although the water looked very dark, and my spray was very uneven so the coverage was not the best.  I will keep working on it but I will probably not have the time to do it now I'm afraid, so at the moment no entry for that one.


I began by stencilling the background white card using one of a set of stencils I got at The Range some time ago.  I then heat embossed using WOW White Pearl Embossing Powder.  I then die cut two stitched circles and on the top one I transferred the ink from a paper towel which I had used to mop up some Brushos.  I laid it over the circle and spritzed pressing it down to transfer the ink on to the white card.  I thought I would continue the butterflies which were underneath the topper up and on to both of the circles, which I did and again heat embossed with the White Pearl EP.  I also outlined the butterflies on the top stitched layer using a white gel pen.

Lastly I stamped the two layers of the butterfly on to white card and cut them both out.  The stamp is from a set of flowers and butterflies from JustRite, the back layer is a silhouette shape and then their is a pattern to put over the top, and obviously it can be stamped as just one layer but I decided to give it dimension by stamping each as a separate layer.  I stamped the bottom layer with Peacock Feathers Distress Ink and then used my water brush to blend and give a more watercolour effect, and then watercoloured the top layer again using Peacock Feathers and Ripe Persimmon, and then mixed the Peacock Feathers with Scattered Straw DI to make a green.  I added some Wink Of Stella Pen to both layers before gluing them together.  I think this is the first time I have used this stamp set, naughty me, and I have had it for quite a while so don't think it is readily available over here now.  Anyway another NBUS item christened..lol.

I finished the card by adding a sentiment using Versafine Deep Lagoon Ink.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope to see you again soon.  The CAS Challenges are open until the 24th so still a little time to get your entries in.






I am entering this into:

CAS Mix Up August Card Challenge - Paper Towel + Stamping + Your Choice.  (I have done some heat embossing and die cutting as well as the required techniques)
CAS Watercolour August Card Challenge  - Colourful Butterflies.









*I was thrilled to be chosen as a one of the Outstanding Designs over at CAS Mix Up this time.

Friday 16 August 2019

Swirly Hearts

Hi there.  A busy anniversary month so here is another CAS card.  I don't find CAS cards that easy as I always want to add more but I am resisting the temptation...lol.  I used the current sketch over at CAS(E) This Sketch but unfortunately missed the deadline..aaagh, and I used a pretty flower background stamp from Chocolate Baroque Floral Heart set and a larger swirly patterned heart from Punky Hearts and using two colours of Distress Ink - Picked Raspberry and Shaded Lilac.


I decided to stick with my usual square card and in line with the sketch place the hearts over the floral banner.  I stamped the little flowers all over a strip of card using Picked Raspberry and then blending the same ink all over adding some Shaded Lilac to darken the edges.   I then stamped the two hearts on to a piece of white card using the same pink and then blended the lilac over the top and cut them out, and just to frame I cut a stitched square from more white card and added it to the base white card.

To finish I cut the strip into a banner shape and added the sentiment using Versafine Imperial Purple ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and layered it on to the stitched square.

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






I am entering this at:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No.358 where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.  (I used snippets for the stitched square, and both the hearts and sentiment banner)
Happy Little Stampers CAS August Challenge - Only One Third.














Wednesday 14 August 2019

August Twofer Challenge

Hi everyone.  Well, it's time again for the Twofer Card Challenge run by our friend Darnell, and the theme this month is a 'Nautical' one.  For both cards you have to use the same stamp, die or stencil but making two different cards for two different occasions, and I have chosen to use a steampunk sailing ship from a Chocolate Baroque set called Steampunk Sea World.  Here are the two cards:


The first card was made using Distress Inks in Blueprint Sketch and Peacock Feathers on to a piece of white glossy card.  I laid the inks down on my glass mat and spritzed before dragging the glossy card through them.  I did this several times drying in between until I was happy with the look.  I then stamped the image and the sentiment over the top of the background using Versafine Imperial Purple ink and I coloured using more of the Blueprint Sketch ink with a waterbrush to colour the ship.  I also used a white Posca Gel Pen on the sails to make them whiter.  I did use a baby wipe rubbed over the top which I think does brighten the colours a bit, but the result is more dramatic if you use Oxide inks as it takes off the chalky finish which obviously isn't there using ordinary Distress Inks.  I wanted  it to have the look of the sea, at least in colour, and I only have very few Oxide inks hence the reason I used DI's.   


I finished by die cutting the topper using one of my Crealies Pierced dies and then added a white mat using a slightly bigger pierced die and mounted it on to a white 7 x 5 card.

I am also entering this card in:

The Male Room Challenge - No. 117 6th Birthday.  (Congratulations to them on their six years of challenges)
Simon Says Monday Challenge - Midsummer Blues.
AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 4 For The Boys.

For the second card I have used a Sweet Dixie stencil called Splash and two colours of Brushos - Turquoise and Emerald Green.  I used some Removable Tape dotted on the back of the stencil and stuck it down on to a piece of white card 6" square.  I then I sprinkled the two different Brusho powders over it and spritzed with water and mopped up the excess water using a piece of kitchen towel.  I did this several time to buildi up the colour.  Mopping up the excess liquid seems to have in the main stopped it from leaking under the stencil too much, and when dry I used some Mermaid Lagoon Distress Ink over the whole piece applying it with a blending tool and then darkened the edges a little with Chipped Sapphire.  I then cut the finished piece down very slightly and stuck it to a 6" square white base card. 


I am also entering this card in:

Penny Black and More August Challenge - For Boys and Men.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Add A Die Cut.

I then die cut a circle from more white card and stamped the steampunk sailing ship on to it using Versafine Deep Lagoon ink which I then heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then found a Dutch Doobadoo stencil with some small dots and thin stripes and blended the Mermaid Lagoon very lightly to the background around the ship using and also added some around the edges.  I finished by stamping the sentiment again using the Deep Lagoon and Clear Gloss EP and blended more of the ink to the edges before attaching it to the topper.

Thank you for visiting today and I'll see you again soon.  The Twofer Challenge is open until the 24th so lots of time left to get an entry in.








Thursday 8 August 2019

Bubble Hearts Anniversary

Hi everyone.  I have another anniversary card to share with you today which has Tangerine, Aqua and White which is the theme for the  Less is More Challenge and Bubbles which is the theme over at Addicted to CAS Challenge - No. 165.


I started with the background using Broken China and Ripe Persimmon Distress Inks.  I laid a bit of each colour down on my glass mat, added some water and picked up each of the colours in turn on an old plastic card using just the edge to drag some in both directions in the centre of the piece of white card.  When I was happy I used a bubble heart stamp from Chocolate Baroque stamp set Floral Heart and applied it in both colours over the top.

I then stamped another of the bubble hearts from the same set on to a piece of white card with Versafine Habanero on one, and Deep Lagoon on the other, and heat embossed over the top with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then fussy cut them both out and added a piece of craft foam to the back of each.  I finished with some Clear Wink of Stella over the top to add some shimmer.

I finished by die cutting it using a square stitched die from The Works and added another layer of white card behind.  I added the sentiment using the Versafine Deep Lagoon, again heat embossing with the Clear Gloss EP.  I then added this to a 6" square white card.






 

                                          









I am also entering:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Add a Die Cut.

Monday 5 August 2019

Punky Hearts Anniversary

Hi all.  I have an anniversary card today and  a slightly different style to my usual I think.  I decided to try a background technique which involves using a credit card edge to pull the ink across the card.  I used a Chocolate Baroque set called Punky Hearts and Distress Inks in Broken China, Ripe Persimmon and Mowed Lawn, and highlighted the edges with Adirondack Pink Sherbet Ink.


I added the chequered hearts using the Ripe Persimmon together with the same swirly hearts as used for the two hearts on the top but just stamped in Broken China.  I stamped two more of the swirly hearts stamped with the Ripe Persimmon and heat embossed using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and I coloured with the Broken China before backing them with a piece of white card cut just a little bit bigger to give them a nice white edge and I used my Wink of Stella Pen to sparkle them up.  I then cut a piece of light green vellum and stamped the sentiment using Versafine Majestic Blue Ink and again heat embossed with the Clear Gloss EP before wrapping this around the background and glued it to the white base card.  I finished by attaching the hearts over the piece of vellum.