Sympathy Flowers and Birds

Hi everyone.  Today one of those cards we never want to have to make for the wife of a lovely gentleman who we knew through a couple of choirs, a male choir that hubby sings with, and another we both sing with on an occasional basis, and who will be greatly missed.  I used this Woodware stamp called Going to Seed and a stencil of flying birds bought with some other stencils quite a while ago from The Range.  

I started by stamping the flowers using Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink and then added the birds over the background using Adirondack Stonewashed ink applied with a blending tool.  The stencil has a flock of birds but I decided to pick a few of them out and dot them about behind the stamping and in the areas around just to give a random look.  I finished with the sentiment stamped with the Chipped Sapphire and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I cut it down and added it to a white 6" square card.  I used my stamp positioner as the DI's are not renowned for stamping that clearly without going over with the ink a few times, as the inks are by their nature not really intended to be used in this way, but they work fine if you can repeat stamp.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - Week 673 I spy something beginning with 'B' (blue, blooms and birds).
Everybody Art Challenge - No 512 Monochrome.
Stamping Sensations April Challenge - "I love... flowers and the colour blue".

Love A Duck

Hi all.  This is another birthday card for a friend and using another stencil.   I'm never quite sure what sort of card to make for him, and after a bit of umming and ahing I settled on this one from Creative Expressions call Flying Duck which has only been used once, so high time it came out to play again, and I thought he might quite like it..don't think it is available anymore though. 

I started with the Brusho background on to a piece of Claritystamp stencil card using Brilliant Red, Scarlet Red and Orange in the middle.  I then pencilled over the lines of the stencil and then inked it using a black Micron Pen size 03.  I decided to ink the bulrush heads and the duck's eye which I then added white to the centre of using a gel pen.  I then used a 6B pencil and a paper stump and shaded the rest of the image to give it some depth and to make it stand out more from the background.  I finished by adding the black shading around the edges using some Momento Tuxedo Black Ink blended using a blending tool and added the sentiment using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder before adding it to a 6" square white card. 

I didn't know what to call the post and this phrase came into my mind.  I was born in Surrey near Croydon and my mother's family were Londoners, and this is a typical London cockney phrase though is probably known elsewhere in the country, and is an inoffensive expression of surprise not really used these days.  I love this photo I found of a Mallard duck, he has the look which says "I'm really rather a handsome chap and don't chat to just anybody you know"..lol.

Thank you for visiting me here today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Happy Little Stampers April Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes.
Just Us Girls Challenge - No. 628 Red, Black and White (it is an orangy red but does look a bit yellow for some reason so hope this is OK).
Allsorts Challenge - Week 671/2 Masculine.
Stamplorations April Stencil Challenge - Always Anything Goes.

Up In The Clouds

Hi everybody.  I have another masculine card for a friend who has in his time been a pilot and I thought this Sweet Poppy stencil called Biplane & Banner which I acquired recently would make the perfect card, and this is its first outing.

I stencilled the bi-plane onto a piece of white card using Versafine Smokey Gray Ink and then leaving a small border I cut it out.  I then cut another piece of card just a bit smaller than the 6" square card and built up a cloudy sky background with a few mountains below using Tumbled Glass and Shaded Lilac Distress Inks and a cloud mask I cut myself.  I started with the top bit much darker by mixing the two colours together and then using a bit of each I worked my way down and finished again mixing the colours and applying a bit heavier for the mountains.  The colours are brighter than they seem to show in the photo.  

I then pencilled the outline of the banner onto another piece of white card and inked it with black Micron Pen and then stamped a sentiment onto it again using the Smokey Gray Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and cut it out.  I decided where the plane would be and as the banner couldn't possibly trail behind I decided to bring it round to sit below and made a rope fixing using the Micron Pen and then stuck the pieces down.  I decided to give the impression of a pilot inside the cockpit and pencilled this rather than use the black pen which I thought might be a bit too heavy.

Thanks for taking a look at my blog today and I hope to see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Happy Little Stampers April Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes (so pleased to be chosen as the winner).
Allsorts Challenge - Week 671/2 Masculine.
Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge - Add Texture to your Card.
NBUS Challenge - No. 37 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.
Stamplorations April Stencil Challenge - Always Anything Goes.

Heart Frame

Hi everybody.  I am still doing some tangling and I saw an idea for making this heart frame..the tangle is called Funsin, and the central pattern is called Florz, and so I decided to draw it and make it into a card. 

I decided to use a purple and a pink marker from a set of ten pens which I bought a few weeks ago in one of the cut price shops at what I thought was a very reasonable price.  They are called Emott and made by Mitsubishi.  I used pencil and then went over it with the two pens when I was satisfied with the outline.  I do some tangles freehand using just a pen but this needed to be even on all sides and the hearts similarly sized.  I used another tangle called Florz in the centre inside a scalloped edge to which I added some pencil shading to give it depth, using a paper stump/tortillion to blend it in.  I then found a lovely ornate frame embossing folder, so old I'm afraid I don't know who made/makes it and think probably not available any more.  It does have an extra line around the outside to make a double frame, but to make it fit more comfortably I cut that off.  I also mounted the piece onto some pale pink vellum which makes it stand out more from the white background.  I have now sent this as an anniversary card.

Thank you for joining me here today and I hope to see you again soon.

CAS Pink and Gold Flower

Hi all.  I decided to join in with Less is More and their latest theme is Pink & Gold.  This is a one layer card which is not my usual style, but it is good to mix it up sometimes.  I decided to use a NBUS image from an Aall & Create set called Eclectic Stems..No. 199 which I have had for a long time so I think is probably unavailable now.  I also used a graph stamp from a set by Chocolate Baroque called Small Graph Paper and also an Art Journey stamp set called Ripples Small.  

                             
I started by stamping the stylised flower and embossed it using WOW Metallic Gold Rich Embossing Powder and coloured it with Picked Raspberry Distress Ink using a waterbrush.  I then made a mask for the flower head and added the background using Picked Raspberry for the graph, and then the two different sized ripples in Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide Ink, both second generation stampings to keep it soft.  I finished with the sentiment again using the Picked Raspberry DI and embossed with WOW Clear Gloss EP.

Thank you for your visit and I look forward to seeing you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Less is More Challenge - No. 461 Pink & Gold.
NBUS Challenge - Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.
Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge -  No. 426 Make Your Mark.
Stamping Sensations Challenge - April: I Love... (I love heat embossing and making my own backgrounds).
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Happy Birthday.