Group of Cardmakers - Faux Cyanotypes

Hi all.  This is the start of another month over at the Group of Cardmakers, and this month we are doing a faux cyanotype technique.  The original technique uses chemicals to coat paper or fabric kept in dim light to dry, and then part of it being masked with something and then moved into sunlight, and it develops the typical deep blue leaving the masked part white.  I have made this one larger so you can perhaps see it better.

This first card uses a stamp from Stampscapes, Blueprint Sketch Distress Ink and Hero Arts Unicorn White Ink, and also a Clarity Crafts set of Embedders, the first time I have used these.  This look here is the closest to the actual Cyanotype technique being a blue background with the white image featuring a 5" x 7" card as a landscape and I used one of the embedders with rounded corners to add the line around to give the image a frame.  For anyone interested in seeing how you do this Barbara Gray is seen doing the technique here.  Go to 26.13 mts and it finishes about 29.13mts.  I ink blended the background with the blue and then when dry I added the image using the white ink.  Perhaps this image was not the best to use as I felt it wasn't very easy to see the cabin amongst the trees even after stamping it quite a few times, and making sure I cleaned the stamp in between each application.  I decided to try heat setting it with Clear Gloss Embossing Powder which I think made it look brighter and perhaps a touch clearer.  

I am entering the above card in the following challenges:

Cardz 4 Guyz Challenge - No. 383 Monochrome.

The Male Room Challenge - No. 207 CAS (Clean and Simple.

The next two cards come away from the blue and white, and the first uses Peacock Feathers DI and the magnolia flowers which is a fairly old Penny Black stamp called Summer Dream, and a Creative Craft Products set of Torn Edge Hearts.  I cut a piece of white card to fit behind the aperture and blended the ink over it and then stamped the flowers onto it to best fit inside the aperture.  I placed the aperture a little above the centre to leave room for the sentiment which was stamped with the same ink and then heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder. 

I am entering the above card into the following challenges:

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything Floral Goes/Mood Board No. 38.

Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Feb. 26 Anything Goes/Romance.

Seize the Birthday Challenge - No. 321 Anything with Wings/Anything Goes.

I am entering the above card in the following challenges:

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 511 Make Your Mark.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

Try it on Tuesday Challenge - Countdown 3-2-1 (three, two or just one of something).

The last card was made using a circle die to cut a mask and again a piece of white card to fit a 6" square card.  I used a fox image from a Texture set of stamps by Lou Collins called Wildlife, and this time I used Ripe Persimmon DI to ink blend the masked circle and then added the fox to it, and I added a few leafy foliage branches using a set by Inkylicious called Mini Branches and Twigs to give it a bit more interest.  I finished with a sentiment also using the same orange ink and the Clear Gloss EP.

This is a lovely technique and looks quite effective I think and I hope that you will join in with it and if you do there is a Linky at the bottom of the GOC's post and we would love to see your cards.  There are also some beautiful cards to see from the other ladies.

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

Painted Snowdrops

Hi everybody.  Unfortunately I have been quite busy with other things recently and have been remiss in not getting to comment or put anything up, but I am back showing this card with snowdrops using a Chocolate Baroque Stamp from way back and which I haven't used at all before I think as when I was a guest designer I was sent quite a few stamps each month and didn't always get around to using them all.  I also used a NBUS Spellbinders Embossing Folder called Autumn Chevron, and I cut the frame around the flowers using a stitched die I got a few years ago from The Works.

I started with the snowdrops and stamped them with Versafine Smokey Gray Ink onto grey card, and I decided to use the acrylic paint technique I used for this card here, and also this card here.  I coloured the snowdrops with a couple of greens and then white on the flowers.  I did use a very small amount of water as the lines were rather thin on the foliage and it was easier to spread the paint.  I then shaded the little centres of two of the flowers.  With this technique you paint over the lines and when the paint is dry you restamp..obviously you do need a stamp positioner as you leave the stamp in it so that you can place the card back into a corner and get it to match exactly.  I decided with the restamping to use Versafine Clair Nocturne ink to get a nice strong outline.  I then used the shaped die to cut it out to make it more interesting.  I finished the card by cutting the Chevron EF from white card and cut it to fit this 5" x 7" card and I took the whiteness off it with a little added Tumbled Glass Distress Ink applied with a brush, and I also added the birthday sentiment again using the Nocturne Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and cut it into a fishtail banner shape.  

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

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Feb. '26 Hearts/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Feb. '26 Favourite Stamps/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 843 Embossing/Anything Goes.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 511 Make Your Mark.

Can You Handle The Pressure Challenge - Anything Using Embossing Goes/With Die Cuts.

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything Floral Goes/Mood Board No. 38.

Triple B Challenge - Feb. 26 Using Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (one, two or all three).

A Fruity Card

Hi all.  Tut tut! To those that thought this might be something other than a card with some fruit on..lol, in this case strawberries, using a very old but never used set from Stamping Sensations which The Range used to sell many years ago so not available now.  I thought I should have a dig through some old stamps and I suddenly remembered this set and perfect for the Addicted to CAS Challenge which this time has the theme of food.  I also used some papers which I got a while ago from The Works.  I don't very often buy papers but these caught my eye and I have used a few of the different coloured alcohol ink inspired ones but not the striped ones which are in different colours to go with the the all over mixed colour ones, and there are a few other patterns which coordinate too.

I was inspired by a few cards online that I have seen using torn papers for backgrounds and I chose these two and I tore them with the stripes and a piece of the all over coloured one and then more of the stripes so that they filled a corner of a snippet of white card a bit smaller than the 5" x 7" card base.  I then found a snippet of white card and stamped the bunch of strawberries using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and then coloured them using a set of Lyra Graduate Pencils which I haven't used lately.  I then cut them out..a bit fiddly but I got their with a minor snip in the wrong place but luckily it was easily rectified when stuck down.  I used some Pinflair Glue Gel to give them a bit of dimension and stuck them over the paper, and all it needed was a sentiment also stamped in Nocturne Ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Embossing Powder.  

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

I am also entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No.  525 where we use our snippets of card and paper etc.

We Love Stamping Challenge - Feb. '26 Hearts/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Feb. '26 Favourite Stamps/Anything Goes.
Allsorts Challenge - No. 842 Create Your Own Background/Anything Goes.

Freshly Made Sketches Challenge - No. 722 A Sketch by Kim.

NBUS Challenge - No. 83 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

I am also joining in with Darnell's I.D.E.A.S. and this is Week 1: Ink/Colour Mediums.  

Wish I Was Here

Hi everyone.  With all the terrible weather we have been having here in recent weeks I thought I would cheer myself up with something sunny and bright and this month's theme over at the Group of Cardmakers is Layered Scene Cards.  I used a new set of Spellbinders dies bought in the recent sale and called Summertime Vacay, and also I used another new die bought from Temu with a bold sun and some seagulls and I made a stencil of it to make the background of this shadow box card.  I cut the front aperture using a square die.  I ink blended the background using some brushes.

This card is quite easy to make and I made it the right size to fit into a 6" envelope.  It isn't quite square as I made it a bit taller to give myself room to make the proportions of the scene better.  Unfortunately I had to take a photo later in the day with a daylight lamp and there are rather a lot of shadows.  You can make this to any size you like and the two pieces front and back were cut from an A4 piece of card, and you just make two embossed lines and mine are spaced 1/2" apart, and make a mountain and then a valley fold and I used a square die to make the aperture in the front piece.  I made the background using Adirondack Sunshine Yellow and an orange which I think was Spiced Marmalade Distress Ink, and Salty Ocean DI for the sky and a mix of Stormy Sky and Salty Ocean DI's for the sea.  The shadows on the water were made with Blueprint Sketch DI.  The die is a cut into the card one with the sun and the shadows over the water and the the birds all in one die.  I cut it into a piece of card and cut the birds off flush with the edges of the sun and I masked off the water line and added the sun.   I then used the waste piece with the pieces of bird placed back in to complete the circle shape and taped them in place so that this would mask the sun so I could add the background sky, and then I masked above the water line so I could add the sea, and finally using my home made stencil I added in the darker shadows beneath the sun.  It worked better than I thought as I wasn't sure it would be any good but luckily it worked a treat.

I then die cut the pieces for the deck chair and parasol using snippets of white and red card and used some Hickory Smoke DI to shade different parts of both items, but not sure that it shows in the photo.  I also cut the piece of sand which also comes with the set using another snippet of white card and coloured with the Sunshine Yellow and also added some darker bits using Brushed Corduroy and Tea Dye DI's.  Before adding the front piece I added the background and made it just a very little bit smaller than the width to the first folds, and then I stuck the front side bars to the back.  I added the piece of sand onto the front of the card and placed the parasol and deck chair fixing them to the bottom and the very narrow edge of the aperture, and then I cut another of the background dies from white card and totally cut the birds out.  I shaded them with a bit of pencil and added an eye to the two larger ones, and fixed them in place.  Stupidly I should have added the sentiment to the front before putting it together but I managed to get it to lay flat in my stamp positioner and I stamped it using Versafine Majestic Blue Ink.  

I hope you will check out the Group of Cardmakers post as there are a few different ideas for layered cards with some links to several beautifully made examples, and then some sketches with measurements and also some brilliant cards from the rest of the team.  There is also a linky at the bottom of the post and we would love you to add any cards you make using this technique for us all to see and enjoy.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Snippets Playground Challenge - No. 524 Where we use our snippets of paper and card etc.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 841 For Boys or Men/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

A Cut Above Challenge - Anything Goes with a Die Cut.

Creative Creases Challenge - No. 111 Anything Goes with a Fun Fold.

NBUS Challenge - No. 82 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Cute Owl

Hi to everyone, and a very Happy New Year to you all.  I have another card using this months Group of Cardmakers technique which is Acrylic Painting on Coloured Cardstock.  I used kraft card again but this time I used this sweet little owl which is a stamp from the Textures rang by Lou Collins, but I'm pretty sure since the end of Craft Stash it won't be available anywhere now.  My previous card using this technique is here with flowers for a feminine card and this will be for an upcoming male birthday. I used a mix of acrylic paints with some metallic and some ordinary acrylic paints.  If you don't have acrylic paints then try using some Posca or similar Paint Pens which will work too.

I started with a piece of kraft card about 51/2"square and stamped the owl just above the centre of it in order to leave space for the sentiment, stamping it quite lightly with Versafine Vintage Sepia Ink, so I could see where to add the paints within the lines of the owl.  I then added the metallic gold and copper shading around it.  When it was perfectly dry I put the card back into my stamp positioner and restamped it but decided to use Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink.  I finished by cutting it with a square stitched die, and I added a thin gold layer and also added the sentiment using Nocturne Ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder before adding it onto a white 6" square card.

Thank you for visiting me here today and if you haven't seen it you can visit the Group of Cardmakers recent blog post which you will find here, and if you make a card using this technique you can add it to the link provided at the bottom of the post, as we would all love to see what you make.

I am entering this card into the following challenges:

We Love Stamping Challenge - Jan. '26 Something New/Anything Goes

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Something Beginning with 'B'/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 840 Winter Animals/Anything Goes.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 508 Birthdays.

Simply Clean and Simple Challenge - Jan. '26 Anything Goes/Use Something New.

Triple B Challenge - Jan. '26 Birds, Butterflies and Blooms (using one, two or all three).

AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 81 Winter Birthday. 

I am also adding this to the Group of Cardmakers post.

Group of Cardmakers - Acrylic Painting on Coloured Cardstock

Hi everyone, and here we are with the last post of 2025 and with a new year of fun creating to come!  This month the Group of Cardmakers are looking at Acrylic Painting on Coloured Card where you stamp, then completely cover the image with a single colour, or more if you fancy, using acrylic paints then re-stamp the outlines, and you do need to have a stamp positioner to do this.  I was lucky enough to win this lovely lily stamp as well as a cute dormouse one, both fronm Stamp Addicts, over at Allsorts and so these lilies are getting their first outing.  I also used a set of Royal and Langnickel acrylic paints and two dies from a set of Torn Edge Nestables from Creative Craft Products which I have had for a while, and are discontinued now I think.

I started with a piece of kraft card about 7" x 6" as I wasn't sure whether to go for a square or rectangle shape, and so I placed the image roughly in the middle.  I stamped it with Versafine Vintage Sepia and then using a set of Royal and Langnickel acrylic paints bought from a local store some time ago, I used a red, orange and a darker red to colour the flowers, and then a light and mid green for the stems and leaves.  I did use a small brush but still managed to go over the edges a bit in several places, but dampened the tip of a pokey tool and scraped carefully which removed most of it.  After it was dry I re-stamped it using Versafine Clair Nocturne ink which worked well.  It is best to try to keep the layer of paint as smooth as you can so that you get a good re-inked image.  

To finish the card I decided to make it square so I used the two Torn Edge dies to cut the kraft and the added black matted layer, and I then added the sentiment again using the Nocturne ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and then layered it up on the 6" square card.

I did go for a more dramatic look using black for the matted layer and I'm not sure if it works or not..perhaps you can let me know what you think.  I hope you give this technique a try and there is a video you can look at on the Group of Cardmakers post and if you do make a card there is a Linky where we can all enjoy the different ways to use this technique.

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. '25 Red and Green/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Dec. 25 Fantasy/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No.839 Create A Scene/Anything Goes.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Add A Sentiment.

Beautiful Blossoms Challenge - Anything Florals Goes/Optional Mood Board No. 36.

Triple B Challenge - Dec. '25 Using one, two or all three of Birds, Butterflies or Blooms.

NBUS Challenge - No. 81 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.

Beary Christmas

Hi everybody.  I am a bit late for Christmas with this one but it was a rather last minute...a card for hubby made on Christmas Eve..I was very behind, and I used this Pink Ink stamp which I've had for a while but have only just used here.

 

I started by stamping the polar bear using Versafine Smokey Gray ink onto a piece of white card and then cut it out as I wanted to added it over the top of the background.  I then coloured it with my Distress Inks and a water brush using Festive Berries, Scattered Straw Dried Marigold and Hickory Smoke, and not having much mojo as I think I am all Christmased out, I used the same colours as on the packing as a red Santa hat is the traditional colour, and I also used a black Micron Pen and a white Posca Pen.  I then  started on the background using a piece of white card cut to fit an 8" x 6" card..the stamp is large, about 6" x 51/2".  I smooshed Blueprint Sketch and Salty Ocean DI's over it and then I cut the white snow/ice and decided on the shape and depth and added this to the background, and then onto the card.  I added the bear and stamped the two sentiments top and bottom in opposite corners using the Salty Ocean DI, and also added just a little shading with a pencil beneath the skate.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I would like to say a bit thank you to all who visit and leave lovely comments which is always appreciated and I hope that you have been having a good Christmas and I send you all my good wishes for 2026.

I am entering the following challenges:

Rudolph Days Challenge - Anything Goes (open from 25th to the end of the month).

We Love Stamping Challenge - Dec. '25 Red and Green/Anything Goes.

Stamping Sensations Challenge - Dec. '25 Fantasy/Anything Goes.

Allsorts Challenge - No. 839 Create a Scene/Anything Goes.

Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 507 Christmas.

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Add A Sentiment.

Christmas Kickstart Challenge - No. 105 If It's Christmasy Link It Up.

Peace On Earth Christmas Challenge - No. 102 Anything Goes.

NBUS Challenge - No. 81 Where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff.