July Twofer Card Challenge

Hi there everyone.  This month's Twofer Challenge run by Darnell has the theme 'Garden' and I decided to use this Penny Black stamp called Summer Dream which I bought recently, so here are my two cards.

Using my Misti and Bristol Smooth Watercolour Card I stamped using various shades of Distress Inks I gradually built up the colour spritzing slightly each time before stamping then added extra ink with my waterbrush.  I used Spun Sugar, Dried Marigold, Picked Raspberry, Crushed Olive, Peeled Paint, Brushed Corduroy, Aged Mahogany and Walnut Stain.

I finished with a sentiment stamped using Versafine Olympia Green Ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

I am entering this card into:

Stamping Sensations July Challenge - The Earth Laughs in Flowers.
AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 3 For The Girls.
Penny Black and More July Challenge - Summer Colours.

The second card was made with alcohol inks in Stream, Indigo, Stonewashed, Flamingo, Watermelon and Terracotta, and using the same Summer Dream stamp and my Misti I applied stamp cleaner to the stamp itself to lift the alcohol ink away leaving that ghost print.  I don't have the proper TH ink lifting pad but the stamp cleaner has a sponge on the top of the bottle and I applied a good even coat to the stamp and it worked fairly well.  I repeated this several times .  I then backed this piece with some blue card and added the Wild Rose Studio Rose Bunch die cut in white which stands out well over the AI background. 

I then added a sentiment using Versafine Deep Lagoon ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

I am also entering this card into the

CAS Mix Up Challenge where the theme is Alcohol Lift Ink + Stamping + Your Choice, and my additional technique is die cutting.

I am also adding another card into this post which is for the CAS Stencil Challenge as time is running short and all of the challenges close on the 24th I thought I would post this one here too.  The theme for this one is Alcohol Ink/Alcohol Lift and I opted to use alcohol inks through a stencil.

The stencil is a new one bought recently called Floral Waves from Dutch Doobadoo and using Flamingo, Watermelon and Clover alcohol inks and some Yupo paper I applied them using a piece of blending foam.  I then added some glue to the centre petals of the flower shapes and added some gold gilding flakes to add a little bit of sparkle which really doesn't show up in the photo.  I then mounted this on to a piece of green card cut using one of my Crealies Pierced Rectangle dies.  I then die cut a set of leaves which I got from The Works some time ago and which I have also used for the first time and which I triple embossed with WOW Metallic Brass Embossing Powder.  I mounted this on to my white base card and finished with a sentiment also heat embossed with the Brass EP.

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

                                                      
                                    



        
                      

Cards for June TV Shows

Hi everyone.  Here are some cards I made for last month's Chocolate Baroque TV shows.  The first one was made using the Rose and Thistle set of stamps.  I used the fan shaped flower head stamp and decided to make a wreath shape with it.  I divided a 7" square piece of card into four marking with a pencil and then began by stamping the image top and bottom across the centre line, and then added in one image either side making sure they stopped at the centre line.  I then turned the card and did the same bottom left and right, and stamped using Versafine Majestic Blue ink and rubbed out the pencil lines.  I then used spritzed Oxide inks in Salty Ocean, Squeezed Lemonade and Wild Honey applied using a piece of acrylic sheet.  I wanted to keep the centre light and using the acrylic helps to direct the ink where you want it.  I did this several times until I was happy with the look. 

I then coloured the flowers using the same three inks, blending the blue and yellow to make light green and used the yellow and orange on the flowers.  I finished by adding a sentiment from the Rose Stem Script set to the centre of the wreath using the Salty Ocean ink, and after matting onto a piece of dark blue, added this to a slightly larger square white card.  This obviously makes a very large card, but you could make the wreath shape smaller by using less of the fan shapes or by infilling with one of the smaller stamps.

I am entering this card into the following challenge:

Stamping Sensations July Challenge - The Earth Laughs in Flowers.

My second card again features the Rose and Thistle set of stamps and I used the multi rose image and stamped it using Versafine Onyx Black ink and heat embossed using the WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then coloured the roses using Candied Apple Distress Ink for the flowers and Twisted Citron and Peeled Paint Distress Inks for the leaves with just a little added Candied Apple and trimmed round the edges.  I continued by stamping the little rosebud image on to another piece of white card using the same black ink and blended some of the Twisted Citron over it, and I mounted the topper on to a piece of craft foam to give it dimension before adding it to the card over the rosebud background.

I am entering this card into the following challenge:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No. 356 where we use up our snippets of card and paper etc.  (two white snippets which had been laying on my desk left over from another card)

This again uses the Rose and Thistle set but this time the floral heart stamp and the fan shaped flowers in the background.  I stamped the heart on to a piece of white card using Versafine Smokey Gray ink and then coloured using Worn Lipstick Distress Oxide, and Broken China and Peeled Paint Distress Inks.  I then fussy cut it out.  For the background I die cut a rectangle using a Crealies Pierced edge die and blended the Worn Lipstick and Broken China on to it with a little Hickory Smoke too.  I stamped the fan shaped spray of flowers on to it around the edges using the same colours to give a tone on tone effect and I adhered the heart to it using Pinflair Glue Gel to give it dimension.  I then added a die cut white mat using the same Crealies Pierced Dies and added this to a white base card.

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

A lot of Birds!

Hi there.  As the title suggests these are both bird inspired cards, and both made for my Hubby whose birthday it is today.  We have just come back from a week's holiday in North Wales and the day we left was our anniversary, so I decided to show both cards here at once.  The birthday card was made with another of the freebie stamps from the Craft Stamper magazine set which has featured on a couple of cards recently.  I must admit to being in a bit of a rush as we were going away and had naturally been busy with that and the cards needed to be fairly straight forward.

The background was made with a couple of blue Distress inks, Mermaid Lagoon and Blueprint Sketch.  I used an old plastic card, both the edge and flat to swipe the watery ink across the card in a fairly random fashion and is a very quick way of getting a background, and the inks blended together nicely.  I then stamped the images using Versafine Smokey Gray ink, first the wooden pier then the seagull on the top, and coloured with more Distress Inks using a waterbrush, including Brushed Corduroy on the wood and some Peeled Paint into the water for shadows, and Hickory Smoke on the seagull's wings.  I added some white gel pen to the face and breast feathers and then painted in a horizon line and the distant hills for background interest using the same colours.  I finished by adding the sentiment using Versafine Majestic Blue ink and die cut with a stitched square die from The Works and backed with some dark blue card before adding it to a 6" square white base card.


The anniversary card was made using a set of Flamingos by Sheena Douglass using the foliage and the sentiment too.

 I stamped the main image and foliage using Hickory Smoke DI and then heat embossed with Clear Embossing Powder.  I coloured using Distress Inks Brushed Corduroy, Fossilised Amber, Peeled Paint, Mermaid Lagoon, Stormy Sky, Picked Raspberry and Adirondack Pink Sherbet.  I then die cut it using a Crealies set of Pierced Rectangles and added the foliage at the top and agained coloured with DI's.  I decided to add the sky with the heart shape behind the birds obviously keeping the inside of the heart white, and finished by adding a sentiment using Versafine Onyx Black Ink and heat embossed with Clear Embossing Powder.   I did add a bit of Black Micron Pen around some parts of the image as the Hickory Smoke looked a bit too pale and some of the lines were not very distinct.

I was happy with the seagull seascape, but wasn't too sure about the flamingos which didn't work quite as well as I hoped, and Hubby did like them both, but when pressed he did say the seascape was his favourite which I suspected would be the case.

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

Oh I Do Like to be Beside The Seaside

Hi everyone.  This is my second card made from the lovely seaside themed freebie stamps which came with Craft Stamper Magazine and this time I have used several colours of Adirondack Ink to watercolour with using a waterbrush.  They are Stonewashed, Butterscotch, Sunshine Yellow, Cranberry and Bottle Green.  I did mix the green with a little of the yellow to brighten it up a bit and I stamped the scene and sentiment using Versafine Smokey Gray Ink.

I finished by adding some White Posca Pen to the sea to give the impression of waves, and I added three little birds in the sky using a very fine Black Micron Pen.

I made this card for the lovely Darnell and wanted to post it on Tuesday which was her birthday but as I did send it a little late I wanted to be sure she had received it before I showed it on here.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope to see you again soon.

More Autumn Themed Cards

Hi everyone.  Here are the last of the cards I made for last month's Chocolate Baroque TV shows.  This first card was made using the Chinese Lantern type flower from the Autumn Poppy set of stamps, using the different leaves in the background.

I started by stamping the flower stem using Versafine Onyx Black Ink and coloured using Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves, Cracked Pistachio and Peeled Paint Distress Inks applied with a waterbrush.  I then fussy cut it out.

I decided I would have an aperture on the background filled with an alcohol inked background and used a mixture of Pool, Watermelon and Clover and some blending solution.  When the colours mixed obviously there is red and blue and the resulting purple, but I'm not sure what happened to the Clover, but it is in there somewhere..lol.  I then colour blended the background aperture layer using Tumbled Glass Distress Ink and stamped the four different sets of leaves over the top.  You may see some very faint lines in the background because I did think I would make a watermark effect using the leaves but when I blended the colour over the top they didn't show up enough so I then stamped again with the blue ink which I thought looked much better but still soft enough to stay in the background.  Luckily I did use a stamp positioner leaving the stamps in place until I was sure all was OK.

I finished by adhering the alcohol ink piece to the back of the aperture and then added this to the white base card.  I then added the flowers over the top and to one side and stamped one of the sentiments from the Fungi and Flowers Collage set on to a die cut stitched oval tag, again using the Onyx Black Ink, and added a little blue ink around the edges before fixing it to the card covering the base of the flower stem.

I am entering this card into the following challenge:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop - No. 355 where we use up our snippets of card and paper etc.  (I used up snippets of white card, and the Yupo was a small leftover piece too).

My second card features one of the new stamp sets called Toadstool Garden.  I stamped it using Versafine Onyx Black and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then coloured just the fungi and flowers using two red Distress Inks - Candied Apple and Fired Brick, applied with a waterbrush and when dry I added some Wink of Stella over the top.  I then added a sentiment from the set and layered on to red and black card before adding it to the white base card.

My last card was made with the Autumn Poppy set using the three different fungi images.   I used Peeled Paint, Fossilized Amber and Spiced Marmalade Distress inks laid down on my glass mat and spritzed before laying the card into it to pick the ink up, and I did this several times to build up the colour, drying in between.  I then stamped the fungi using Versafine Vintage Sepia Ink and I masked the tall slim group and stamped again.  I bleached out the colour using my waterbrush, and then coloured them using more of the Fossilized Amber and added Candied Apple, Brushed Corduroy, Ground Espresso and Abandoned Coral in varying degrees.  I finished by cutting the piece down a bit and then added a sentiment from the Fungi and Flowers Collage again using the Versafine Vintage Sepia Ink, and then added it to the white base card.

I am entering this card into the following challenge:

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

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

CAS Watercolour June Challenge

Hi everybody.  I am back with a card for the CAS Watercolour Card Challenge run by lovely Loll and Bonnie, and the theme this time is Something Blue.  I have been seeing some really lovely cards made using a freebie stamp set from the latest Creative Stamping Magazine and saw it whilst in the supermarket and just couldn't resist with its seaside themed stamps and also some images of sea birds too, three stamp sets in all!

I stamped this lovely lady sunning herself on the beach using Versafine Majestic Blue ink and then heat embossed using Papermania Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  This is a brand I haven't used before but needed a new pot in a hurry and bought it in a local craft shop, but am happy enough with it so far.

I then coloured the image using three shades of blue Distress Inks, i.e. Mermaid Lagoon, Blueprint Sketch and Chipped Sapphire, all applied with a waterbrush.

I finished by stamping a sentiment from the same set using the Majestic Blue ink and again heat embossed with the Clear EP.

Before I go I have to introduce a new follower called Val, who I'm sure lots of you will know, but if you don't I'm sure she would love you to go and visit her here.  All the CAS Challenges run by Loll and Bonnie are open for a few more days so still time to get an entry in.

Thank you for visiting my blog today and I hope to see you again soon.  

I am also entering the following challenges:

CAS On Friday - No. 160 People.  (Really pleased to be chosen for the Top 3)
Stamping Sensations June Challenge  - Show Your True Colours (I just adore blue tones).
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Travel/Vacation.
The Artistic Stamper June Challenge  - By the Seaside.
AAA Birthday Card Challenge - No. 2 Use Water Colours.

Chilling Out

Hi all.  Here is another masculine card as I needed a card for a cousin's husband and so I decided to use this Sheena Douglass stamp called Just Chilling which I have used only once before.  Last time I did it just as a silhouette, but this time I decided to use my Misti stamp positioner and ink up the stamp in different colours to make the scene. although I did do the sea and sky with a waterbrush.   Here is the last occasion I used it, for hubby's birthday actually nearly two years ago, and dreadful that I haven't used it since...shame on me!

I stamped the boat, the ripples in the water and the distant horizon with Brushed Corduroy Distress Ink to start with by adding the ink to the stamp where I wanted it and then spritzed with a little water before stamping.  I then added a little Candied Apple DI to the bottom of the boat, and Lucky Clover and Pine Needles DI's to the greenery on the left, all spritzed with a little water before stamping.  I then added the birds using Versafine Vintage Sepia and then coloured the water using Adirondack Stonewashed and Blueprint Sketch DI.  For the sky I again used some Stonewashed but added some bits of Mermaid Lagoon but sparingly as it is quite bright.  I applied the inks using a waterbrush.

I then layered it on to some blue card and stamped the sentiment again using the Vintage Sepia ink and then added it to a 7" x 5" white base card.

This technique is a bit fiddly and if the ink strays where you don't want it I wipe it away using some kitchen towel.  I think to firm up the outlines of the boat I did stamp again using the Brushed Corduroy but this time without spritzing.   I think the jury's out as to whether this looks better than the last time, and one of the birds got smudged a bit, but I had spent quite a lot of time on it and needed to get the card posted so I decided it looked good enough to send, and just hope he likes it.

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

I am entering the following challenge:

Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Masculine.
Crafty Calendar Challenge - June - Masculine.
AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 2 Use Water Colours.