The Riverbank Swans

Hi everyone.  I have just made this card using stamps from Craft Consortium called The Riverbank.  I bought these a while ago and this is the first time I have used them.  I thought if I made a pair of swans this would be good as an anniversary card, especially as they stay as a couple for life.

I stamped the swans and the lily pads with Versafine Smokey Gray and coloured using my Distress inks and a waterbrush with Hickory Smoke as shading on the swans, and Ripe Persimmon on their beaks, which I also used on the water lily flowers with also Peeled Paint for the leaves.  I then coloured the water and background using Blueprint Sketch, Mermaid Lagoon and Adirondack Sunshine Yellow.  I then added the dragonflies and used more Blueprint Sketch and Mermaid Lagoon to their wings   I finished by adding the sentiment using more of the Smokey Gray ink.

Chocolate Baroque Sneaky Peek

Hi everyone.  Chocolate Baroque will be back on Hochanda again on Tuesday.  Lesley will be joined by Jean of Crafty Individuals and Lesley will as usual be assisting Jean on her shows.  Tune in at 10am and 2pm for Chocolate Baroque, and at 12 noon and 4pm for Crafty Individuals.

This is a little sneaky peek of my own contribution to the Chocolate Baroque shows.  If you miss them you can always watch using their rewind facility.

Twofer Card Challenge Holiday Greenery

Hi there.  I have an entry for the Twofer Challenge No. 22 this month and am so pleased as the last two or three months I have just run out of time to get cards in but have managed it this time.  There is a twist to the challenge with it being nearly Christmas and as this is the last challenge until the new year Darnell has changed the rules and we can enter two different cards using the theme of Holiday Greenery but for the same occasion if we so wish, and mine are both Christmas cards.  I am woefully behind with mine so any chance to make them is a bonus.  The stamp set I used is by Impression Obsession and called Winter Trees.

I started by stamping the image using Versafine Clair Nocturne ink and then heat embossed it using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I used Salty Ocean Distress Ink and also some Adirondack Sunshine Yellow for the setting sun, applied using my blending tool, and then I used some Pumice Stone on the snow for shadows.  I finished by heat embossing the sentiment using the same black ink, and added a white dry embossed stencil background using a Dutch Doobadoo tree stencil called Birch Trees and also matted the image on to black card to make it pop before adding it to a 7" x 5" white card. 

The second card uses just the line of trees, but I did ink parts of it again to lengthen the tree line.  I started by inking through a mini stencil from Creative Expressions called Stags using Vintage Sepia DI and then heat embossed them with WOW Clear Gloss EP.  I then stamped three of the trees at the right hand side using my Misti and Peeled Paint DI and then added the rest going over the embossed deer, and then added a few more of the most distant trees again to go well beyond the second deer.  I did stamp the bottom edge of the trees again each time with Forest Moss DI to darken and give some shadows.  I then sprayed some water on to the sky and added the blue using more Salty Ocean and Sunshine Yellow at the horizon but this time painting it with a waterbrush, but not sure that it looks like sun low in the sky on this one but it adds some interest I think.

I added some shading under the deer and to either side to look like tracks in the snow using Pumice Stone DI with a little of the blue added in.  I did take a fine black Micron pen and drew a face in on each of the deer, but as it has been glossily embossed it has marked it but very faintly so you get the faintest look of features.  I will be adding a Christmas sentiment on this one at a later date.

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

Sea Turtle

Hi there.  Another birthday, a lady this time, and I thought I would christen my Pink Ink Turtle.  This card is also for the CAS Stencil November Challenge the theme of which is Stencil Monoprint, and I've actually managed to enter three out of the four challenges this month which is much better than I have managed over the last few months, and this is the last one before the new year too.  I also used a That Special Touch mask which is a mandala shape and called Mandella.

I started with the stencil monoprint background.  I used Cracked Pistachio and Salty Ocean Distress Inks dotted over the stencil and then spritzed with water before pressing it down on the white card, although to be honest the colours have merged and don't look like two colours.  I always have a piece of kitchen towel handy to mop up any excess water.  I wasn't quite happy with the coverage so I inked and spritzed it again and managed to match it up.

I then stamped the turtle over the background using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink using my Misti as it is a big stamp.  I inked it several times to get good coverage and the I heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then watercoloured it using Vintage Photo, Peeled Paint, Crushed Olive and Spiced Marmalade DI's applying the colour with my waterbrush.  I did first water bleach the blue out as much as possible.

I finished by cutting the topper down just a little and then added the sentiment using the Versafine Vintage Sepia ink and again heat embossed with the Clear Gloss EP before adding it to the 6" square white card.

Some brighter colours might have been better for this feminine version, but it does have the sort of colours that a turtle would normally have but perhaps it is a little darker than I wanted it to be.  Thank you for dropping by today and I hope to see you again soon.

I am also entering the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More - No. 367 Make Your Mark.
Country View November Challenge - Hand Stamped.

Chess Art

Hi everyone.  I love this chess image from Aall and Create and I decided to use it to make a card for the CAS Watercolour November Challenge, and especially as this is the last one until the new year.  I also used a Dutch Doobadoo stencil called Blocks.  The challenge this time is monochromatic and white and black stamping/embossing are also allowed.

I started with some Salty Ocean Distress Ink and laid it down, spritzed with water and dragged the card through it to fairly well cover it.  I then dry embossed the stencil by running it through my die cutting machine.  There are lots of tips on line of the best ways to get a good emboss, and I have chosen one from You Tube for you to look at if  you wish.  It is about 10 minutes long made by MFT which was the most recent one I could find, but you'll get the idea after the first few minutes if you don't want to watch the whole thing, just to say that a lot of the videos suggest using shims, but I found that the result was fine with a rubber/silicone mat.  I then placed the stencil over the raised pattern and blended some Blueprint Sketch over the top to pick up the raised pattern.  In the photo the dimension doesn't show but I think it just adds to the overall look rather than just putting the ink straight on to the card.

I then inked up the chess stamp with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink, my current favourite black ink, and stamped it in my Misti because I knew that I might need to stamp it more than once to get a good impression over the raised pattern.  Luckily it worked well.

I finished by cutting this with a square stitched die and added the sentiment also using my black ink, again stamping using the Misti.  I then heat embossed with the Clear Gloss EP.

Thank you for coming to look at the blog today and I'll see you again soon.

I am also entering the following challenges:

The Male Room Challenge No. 124 Hobbies. (Thrilled to be chosen the winner of this challenge)
Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No 367 Make Your Mark.
Country View November Challenge - Hand Stamped.

*I was so pleased to be picked as one of the Outstanding Designs over at CAS Watercolour.

Eclectic Stems

Hi there everyone.  I had a card to make for a lovely friend whose birthday it is so I thought I would get out my Aall and Create Set again which has  several different flowers and some sentiments which is called Eclectic Stems (No. 199). 

I used the large flower which reminds me of a quirky poppy and stamped it twice on to a piece of white card using Versafine Clair Nocturne ink and then heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then fussy cut both flowers out and coloured with my Distress Inks using Candied Apple, Ripe Persimmon and Black Soot using a waterbrush.

I then made the background.  I had a piece of card which I had been using some inks on when making some backgrounds but wasn't in love with this particular one, so I turned it over and decided to use the back which had the meerest hint in places of orange which I thought would go with what I was planning.  I then used an embossing folder called Cable Knit by XCut, but I have had it so long I don't think you can get it any more.  I then inked this with some Salty Ocean DI and then added some Wilted Violet and Dusty Concord to break it up a bit and darkened the edges too which makes it pop a bit when added to the card.

I finished by making a sentiment tag from a piece of black card and white heat embossed the sentiment with WOW Opaque Bright White EP, and to this I added a piece of blue baker's twine tied into a bow.

I want to thank you for visiting me and I hope to see you again soon.

Lest We Forget

Hi there.  It is Armistice Day or Remembrance Day, which for those that may not know, is the day in 1918 when the 1st World War ended, and it became the day to remember those who have given their lives in all wars.  Remembrance Sunday, which was yesterday is the official day when they lay wreaths round the Cenotaph in London.

I was hoping to make another card but I'm afraid it didn't happen, so I am showing this one which uses a poppy image by Sheena Douglass called Perfect Poppies which I have shown on here before, but I love it and it does have the perfect sentiment 'Remember'.