Wild Flowers and Ferns Silhouette Take 2

Hi all.  I'm afraid that I have not been very productive lately and my mojo has definitely not be much in evidence..lol, but we needed a card to send to hubby's former SIL who we have just found out is unwell and has been in hospital for a while and I decided to use this Crafty Individuals stamp which I also used here, in much the same fashion, but last time I used shades of blue ink blended onto the stamp, and this time I decided to use my Staedler Water Brush Pens straight to stamp, and coloured with two greens, and a pink with a touch of red for the flowers.  

I used the same Torn Edge Die set for the mat placed in my stamp positioner so that I could repeat stamp to get the right depth of colour, and I simply attached it to the 6" square card.  We decided not to put anything on the outside but simply write an appropriate message inside.  I think unfortunately she will need to be in hospital for ongoing treatment which is frustrating I'm sure, and hope that things will improve for her soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Jan. '25 Anything but Square/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Jan. '25 Anything Goes/Hand Coloured Image.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 814 Matching Pairs/Anything Goes.

Simply Clean and Simple Challenge - Jan. '25 Anything Goes/Something New.

Triple B Challenge - Jan. '25 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (using any one, two or all three).

My Favourite Cards of 2024

Hi everyone. This is something that I do every year, looking back over all the cards from last year and choosing a card from each month which got a lot of comments or one that I especially loved, and here they are:

That is the twelve, one for each month, but I have picked out three others which are ones I was really pleased with as they turned out so much better than I expected at the time:

 

It's great to look back on the year just to remind yourself what you did, and I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who has visited and commented throughout 2024 as it means a great deal to me, and I wish you all:

                                  A VERY HAPPY AND CREATIVE NEW YEAR

Ombre Technique - Group of Seven

Hi everybody.  I was so pleased and flattered to have been asked  if I would like to join the lovely talented ladies of the Group of Seven Cardmakers, and this is my first post.  The technique this month is all about Ombre, meaning shading which generally speaking is a graduated tone of one or more colours going from light to dark with inks using stamps, die cuts and stencils, or even using coloured card, which is the subject of the first video which you will find on the GO7 post.  There is also a second video illustrating the use of a flower stamp and a couple of different complementary ink colours which is similar to the technique I have used on my second card.  You can also see some brilliant samples from the other ladies and also find out how they achieved them by visiting their blogs.  Anyway here is my first card.

I have opted to use Distress inks and some masking and have added some stamping over the top.  I used Dried Marigold, Carved Pumpkin, Abandoned Coral and Candied Apple, and the strip I masked off is about 2 1/4" wide.  I used the Acacia tree and the group of elephants from a set of stamps by Sheena Douglass from a few years ago called African Landscape, and the Zebra is a Crafty Individuals stamp which came with Creative Stamping Magazine No 121, and finished with a birthday sentiment, and all stamped with Versafine Clair Nocturne ink.  The lefthand side is the darkest colour, a tone of red but it looks rather pink in the photo unfortunately. 

This is very achievable using a brush, the more recent type with the fine soft bristles really helps to give a smooth finish, and I find just rubbing the inked brush lightly onto a piece of spare card first helps to stop any funny lines or heavy patches, and also using a circular motion to apply it, building up the colour slowly, and if using a single colour to get a good contrast applying lightly and gradually adding more ink and using a bit more pressure on the head of the brush will give that variation of tone.

For this second card I have used a Crafty Individuals stamp called Wild Flowers and Ferns Silhouette and I also used a new set of Torn Edge Dies by Creative Craft Products.  I used my stamp positioner and three Distress Inks - Faded Jeans, Broken China and Tumbled Glass, starting with the darkest at the bottom to make the Ombre effect.  I inked it up quite a few times with the three inks and used an ink blending tool to gently blend the colours in so there were no harsh lines.  I finished by adding a sentiment using the Faded Jeans DI and it was all heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  It's a simple CAS card but quite effective and easily achieved providing you have a stamping platform.  

I think this is a fun technique and we would love to see what you make, and if you do make anything there is a linky at the bottom of the post where you can put up your cards for us all to see and enjoy.  

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

Winter Wonders

Hi everybody.  This is the card I made for our son using the Its Just Paper Winter Wonders, one set called Winter Woods and the other Animal Silhouettes which unfortunately are not available any more.  I have used both sets before but not the particular stamps used this time which were being inked for the first time.

I started by adding the background trees and the three in the foreground using Versafine Clair Nocturne, and as the lines on the background trees were a little light and I wasn't sure whether I would colour them or not, I decided to clear emboss them using WOW EP.   I then added in the background hills using a set of Lavinia masks and using three colours I ink blended the background sky for which I used Adirondack Sunshine Yellow, and Distress Inks in Spiced Marmalade and Salty Ocean.  I did hold a piece of card over the couple of place where the trees were above the hill line so that they stayed relatively ink free.  I decided to use the two silhouette deer in the foreground and also three little birds in the sky, and again inked using the Nocturne ink, and also added the sentiment with that too.  I did decide to colour the trees and did so with my Lyra coloured pencils trying to make them look as though they did have some snow on them, not sure that it totally worked and would probably have looked better with a darker green, but hey ho, and then I added some grey with a little touch of a light purple to shade below the trees and deer and just a bit of grey to contour the snow covered hillside a little.   I then used my white Posca Pen tapped over the scene for some falling snow, but I did cover the sentiment up.  I don't usually add snow this way, but it does give a more random look..the ink does seem to go everywhere you don't want it too as well though..lol, and then when dry I added it to my 5" x 7" card.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Rudolph Days Challenge - Dec, '24 Anything Christmas Goes.

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge - No. 78 Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 812/3 Use Your Dies/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Monday Challenge - Cold and Frosty.

NBUS Challenge - No 69 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Nature's Garden

Hi all.  Well it's Christmas Day and I hope that most of you have a very enjoyable time, but I know though there will be those for whom Christmas is less happy and I hope that the new year brings better times.

This is the card I made for hubby using a set of stamps from Highlight Crafts called Nature's Garden which came with a Creative Stamping Magazine, and I'm afraid that this is the first time I have used it...tut tut.  I thought I would use this background and make it a snowy landscape with the addition of some pots and a cute robin, and the hare is part of the stamped scene.  I added the snowy hills and the soft blue sky in the background using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink which I blended using a brush.  I coloured with my set of alcohol pens and added some Flower Soft for the snow which came free with some winter decoupage eons ago and I had only used a very little of it.  I just used some glue and then sprinkled some of it onto the wet glue and pressed it down a bit to get it to stick and left it to dry.  I stamped the two different flowerpot images and coloured and cut them out and added them using Pinflair silicone glue gel.   I also used a white Posca Pen for snow on the pots and also used a bit on the branches behind the large pot on the right.  I finished with the sentiment stamped and embossed using Versamark and heat embossed with WOW Silver Metallic Embossing Powder before adding it onto a 5" x 7" card.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Dec. 24 Winter/Anything Goes.
Stamping Sensations Challenge - Dec. 24 Anything Goes/Winter.

NBUS Challenge - No. 69 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Pine Cones and Holly Frame

Hi all.  This stamp set from Spellbinders called Pine Cones and Holly Frame is a recent addition as I thought it would make quite quick cards used in different ways, and for its first outing I have stamped it with Versafine Smokey Gray ink and coloured using a set of Staedler Watercolour Brush Pens.  I added it to a 5" x 7" card but as I didn't have to add a sentiment beneath it looked out of proportion so cut a piece off so now it is 5" x 6".    

I am entering the following challenges with the above card:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Dec. '24 Winter/Anything Goes.
Stamping Sensations Challenge - Dec. '24 Anything Goes/Winter.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 8912/3 Use Your Dies/Anything Goes.
NBUS Challenge - Dec. '24 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I also made two other versions using green card and heat embossing with WOW Metallic Rich Gold Embossing Powder, and both are on white 6"x 4" cards and on the lefthand one I fussy cut around the edge and added to the white card with a white embossed background made using a very old Cuttlebug Embossing Folder called Holly Ribbons which surprisingly is still available, and on the righthand one I added it just as it is with two  sprigs of holly also on green card with the gold embossing.

I am entering the following challenge with the second card:

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Goes/Poinsettias.

 

 

I am entering the following challenge with the third card:

 

Peace on Earth Christmas Challenge - No. 78 Anything Goes.

 

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

Winter Postage Collage

Hi all.  I have made a couple of cards using a Globleland Postage Collage die which came in a set with a stencil and some stamps, but used on its own here.  I used an upcycled card front which had a pretty winter scene on it, and I cut the die from kraft card.

There are some inner stitched mats but I opted to cut using just the outer die for the background frame and I also cut the scene from this as well and cut into six pieces, and then cut each piece down a little smaller on all sides to fit inside the outer frame.  I then added the sentiment using Versamark and heat embossed it with WOW Metallic Copper Embossing Powder.  The white card measures 5" x 7".

With This first card I am entering the following challenges:

Christmas Kickstart Challenge - No. 93 If It's Chrismassy Link it Up.

52 Christmas Card Throwdown Challenge - Dec. '24 Pick a Previous Colour Challenge

(I chose Oct. '24 Challenge - Shades of Brown).

Peace on Earth Challenge - No. 78 Anything Christmas Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - Week 811 Lots of White/Anything Goes.

The second card done in the same way was cut from Silver card and the paper was a piece from an old paper pad I have had for some years.  I finished this card with a Silver embossed sentiment and I added an upcycled snowflake taken from another old card and I partially coloured it with a red alcohol pen and used a Clear Wink of Stella Pen over this and also over the black and white snowflake covered paper.  I then mounted it onto a piece of red card before adding it on to another 5" x 7" card.

** Before I sent it I managed to remove the central snowflake without damaging the paper as I decided it looked better with just the pretty snowflake paper on its own.

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