Turtle in Lead Pencils

Hi all.  I have joined the Pink Inkers Group on Facebook and their challenge this month is colouring using just pencils with minimal added colour.  I luckily have a range of pencils which I have had for years but haven't really used them as a colouring medium with a stamp.

 

I used B, 2B, 3B and 6B pencils to build up the shading having first stamped the images from the Sea Turtle set using Versafine Smokey Gray ink and then added a background using a Sweet Dixie stencil called Splash, and using a stencil brush I managed to frame the turtle without getting the blue ink on the image itself.  I made sure I didn' t make it too dark so as not to overshadow it, starting darker around it and gradually fading it out using Adirondack Stonewashed ink.

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

I am also entering the following challenges:

Allsorts Challenge - Week 613 Feminine.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.
Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 399 Any Occasion.
Krafty Chicks Challenge - No. 548 All Occasions Week.

Bird and Mandala Sympathy

Hi everybody.  Well, it hasn't happened for quite a while luckily, but I had to make a sympathy card for a lady who is the former leader of a local choir which I belong to, and sadly her husband died having had dementia for quite some time and then latterly caught the virus whilst in hospital.  I have used a Funky Fossil Leafy Mandala Stencil and also a bird silhouette stamp from a Chocolate Baroque set called Let Your Heart Sing.

I decided on a piece of light grey card and using a stencil brush and Iced Spruce Distress Ink I placed the mandala over the corner of the card and then heat embossed it using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then added the silhouette bird in the bottom corner to balance it up, using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and then stamped bits of it using second and third generation ink, and finished by adding the sentiment over the mandala using the Nocturne ink. 

I thought that it would stamp OK over the embossing but it didn't come out as well as I had hoped so I used a black micron pen and went over it and then making sure the heat tool was really hot dried if off as quickly as I could so that it didn't make the embossing go too grainy.  I think I just about managed to get away with it...lol. 

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

I am entering the following challenges:

CAS Mix Up February Stencil Challenge - Stencil Heat Embossing. 
We Love Chocolate Baroque Challenge - Flowers, Butterflies and Birds.
Sweet Stamping Challenge - No. 53 Clean and Simple.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Favourite Technique (heat embossing).

Pug Love

Hi everyone.  I made this card for Hubby for Valentine's Day using a Mo Manning digital image and coloured it using Tea Dye, Brushed Corduroy, Walnut Stain and Black Soot Distress Inks applied with a waterbrush, and also used a couple of stencils for the background. 

I then cut a piece of white card to fit a 6" square card and found a large heart shaped stencil from Clarity which I received when I was a member of their stencil club and which I have never used.  It has an outer shape and then a pretty inner floral heart which I didn't want to use this time.  I then placed another stencil from That Special Touch called Paws for Thought under the aperture heart stencil and brushed Festive Berries through it to give a patterned heart shape.  I wasn't totally happy with the colour so I used my Inktense Pencils and a waterbrush and went over all the pattern to give a much stronger red as the original looked a bit pinky which I didn't think was terribly masculine.  I also used this on the heart that the sweet little pug is holding so that the colours matched.  I then attached it to the card.   

I finished by adding a sentiment on to the heart using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink and heat embossed it with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder, and then added the dog over the background heart and used some Stick It Silicone Glue to give it a bit of dimension.

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

I am entering the following challenges:

Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge - Anything 'with a Mo Manning Image' Goes.
613 Avenue Create Challenge - Anything Goes (Optional Twist Heart and Soles).
Stamping Sensations Challenge - Colour My World.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 611 Masculine (this may not look typically masculine but it was for my hubby).
Uniko Challenge - No 63 Anything Goes + Optional Twist Use A Stencil.
Watercooler Wednesday Challenge - No 308 All About Occasions.
Happy Little Stampers February Watercolour Challenge - Anything Goes.
Happy Little Stampers February Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes.

Carousel Horses

Hi there everybody.  I decided to make a card for a couple of challenges and got out this Crafty Individuals Stamp called Happy Days Hooray with these beautiful carousel horses which remind me of rides on the carousel when the local fair visited...a long time ago now..lol.  The Less is More Challenge theme is In a Row, and Colour Hues Challenge is to use Red and Pink.

I started by stamping the horse using Versafine Clair Nocturne Ink three time on to a strip of card.  I started more or less in the centre with the first and then spaced the one either side.  The stamp is bigger but had to miss the top bit off to make it a CAS card.  I then coloured the horses using my set of Derwent Inktense Pencils taking the colour from the tip and painting with a waterbrush which I find makes the colour more controllable.  I used a Poppy Red and Fuschia and a bit of Charcoal Grey on the horses.  I finished by matting it on to black card and added a sentiment again using the Nocturne Ink heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.

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

I am also entering the following challenges:

Watercooler Wednesday Challenge - No. 307 Anything Goes with a Feminine Twist.
Addicted to Stamps and More Challenge - No. 398 Birthdays.
Allsorts Challenge - Week 609 Our Four Legged Friends.

Christmas Circles - Robin Amongst the Holly

Hi all.  This card features a Chocoloate Baroque stamp set of two circular designs, one with candles and foliage and this sweet little robin sitting in the holly.  I also used a Crafter's Companion Embossing Folder called Entwined Holly.  It  is the 25th of the month and so time for Mo's Rudolph Days Challenge which runs until the end of the month, and a great opportunity to get some cards made every month.  I will try and do better this year than I did last! 

I started with a piece of blue card just under 6" square and embossed the Entwined Holly on to it, doing it twice to cover the square piece of card.  I then highlighted the pattern with some silver gilding wax, very lightly but just enough to bring out the pattern.  I then adhered this to the white base card.  

I then die cut a circle using a stitched die from The Works and stamped the robin using Versamark and heat embossed using WOW Silver Metallic Embossing Powder.  I then cut another slightly larger stitched circle from a darker blue and matted it to the stamped topper.  I finished the card with a sentiment also stamped and heat embossed with the Silver Metallic EP on to the darker blue card and cut it into this angled shape and added it to the card as you can see.  

The gilding is very shiny in real life but is difficult to see but I think you can just make out a bit of it on the raised pattern.

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

 

I am also entering the following challenges:

The Holly and Ivy Christmas Challenge - No. 86 Anything Christmas Goes.
Merry Little Christmas Challenge - January No. 30 Anything Christmas Goes.
Lets Squash It!! - No. 4 Use any Embossing Folder and an Animal (I noticed someone else had used a bird so hope this is acceptable).

Bags of Style in Navy and Cream

Hi everyone.  This card uses a Creative Expressions set of stamps which hasn't seen the light of day for a very long time and features some lovely handbags with frames and sentiments.  I also used a stencil from a set by Craft Sensations which I bought from The Range, and this particular set is Art Deco, with five designs and this is one of them.

I started with a piece of cream card and using a brush I added the design very softly using Faded Jeans Distress Ink.  I then stamped the handbag onto another piece of cream card using Versafine Majestic Blue ink and heat embossed it using WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and fussy cut it out.  I finished the bag with a very watery soft wash of Adirondack Sunshine Yellow ink onto the piece across the front of the bag and also on the stone in the centre of the ornate badge, and then added some Glossy Accents over this central stone.  

To finish it I also stamped the sentiment and two little flowers from a set of florals which came with a magazine sometime last year I think, using the same blue ink and with a little wash of the yellow ink to the petals, and also fussy cut them out, and added theme to the stencilled layer after I had stamped the sentiment. 

I finished by adding the handbag using some silicone gel to give it a bit of dimension.

Thank you for visiting here today and I hope you will visit again soon.

I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Less is More Challenge - No. 434 Fashion and/or Accessories.
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Make Your Own Background.
Uniko Challenge - No. 63 Anything Goes + Optional Twist Use A Stencil.
AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 21 A Stencil Background.
Colour Hues Challenge - No. 10 Navy and Cream.

Swimming Otter

Hi everybody.  I'm back with a Hobby Art Stamp set called Otters and it has some really lovely images and as I needed a masculine card I thought it would be good to give it its first stamping for this card.  I love otters and when I saw this set I just couldn't resist.  Quite a few years ago our son adopted an orphan otter pup in my name as a Christmas gift and they sent me occasional photographs of how it was doing.  It was on the Isle of Skye and I so wanted to go and visit the place but it being a long way to go I never managed it and within the year they released it back into the wild which was great.

Anyway here is the card.  I have made it with the CAS Mix Up January Challenge in mind the theme of which is Splatters.  I used stamping,  heat embossing, stencilling, ink blending and watercolouring. 

I started by using a A Special Touch Of stencil called Splats which I have had for ages but haven't used that much.  I stencilled using Stormy Sky Distress Ink and decided to extend the largest splat a bit to accomodate the size of the otter so started by making a roundish shape using a brush for a light look and when I was happy with the size I used the stencil to give the splatter shape adding extra of the little round water droplet shapes.  

I then stamped and embossed the otter using Versafine Vintage Sepia ink and heat embossed with WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder.  I then water bleached the blue colour out of the otter and watercoloured using a waterbrush with Vintage Photo, Walnut Stain and Black soot DIs.  I finished watercolouring with a bit of Chipped Sapphire and Blueprint Sketch DI to the water around the front of the image to give a little movement and shadow to the water.  Finally I added a sentiment stamped with the Vintage Sepia and heat embossed again with the Clear Gloss EP.

Before I go I would like to introduce Hannelie, a new follower who I think many of you will already know and who makes really beautiful cards in more of a CAS style and does them brilliantly.  If you haven't come across her you will find her blog here.

Do go and visit the CAS Mix Up Challenge too and perhaps join in as it is open until the 24th 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:

NBUS Challenge - No. 22 where we use our Never Before Used Schtuff. 
Happy Little Stampers January Stencil Challenge - Anything Goes.
Stamping Sensations January Challenge - Favourite Stamps (the otter is new and a new set is always my current favourite).
AAA Birthday Challenge - No. 21 A Stencil Background.
The Male Room Challenge - No. 146 Animals.  (so pleased to get an Honourable Mention)